The brigand snaps out of it. He stares at you all, surrounding him, seemingly frozen in fear for the moment; he makes no attempt to flee, or to speak until spoken to.

Alton waves his hand in front of the brigand, "Hey, look at me, we've just got some questions for you. Most importantly, how many of you are left? We've cleared out everyone outside, upstairs, and on this floor. Going to be honest, we just wanted your boss and our friend, but no one wanted to cooperate, so we didn't have much choice." 

Alton, the brigand, no longer entranced but still very much confused, looks at you uncomprehending for a moment, then his eyes narrow as he considers his response. Make a Persuasion check.

Persuasion: 13

"I, uhhh, I..." he seems very hesitant, and he swallows before continuing. When he speaks, it's in a very low voice, as though fearful of being overheard. "I can tell you... but you've got to let me go. All right?"

Alton makes firm eye contact with the man, "Only if you tell me your name and swear you will use the rest of your life to make up for any wrong doings you have done. I want to see you go from disheveled brigand to glorious paladin." 

Rhane stifles a chuckle at the mental image.  Still, stranger things have happened.  He holds his peace and tries to remember anything he can about this particular brigand…

Intelligence:  10

Balassar just stays quiet as Alton begins to interrogate the brigand.

"I... sure, yes, I can do that. I can try. I can go home. You'll let me go home, right? My name is Sebastian. I swear I will do my best to help people. I swear it. I don't think I can be a paladin, but I can be good, I swear. I swear."

Sebastian tells you about the floor below, with perhaps a dozen more brigands there, including their leader, who he refers to as Wainwright. "He's dangerous, he is. Has magic, too, just like you folks. Be careful of him; he can change what he looks like, as easy as spitting. You'd never know him from one of your own family. He's cruel, but he knows what he's doing. Some of the others are scared of him." He looks pretty scared himself.

Sebastian also says that aside from those you killed here and above, there are perhaps a dozen brigands outside the lair at the moment, off gathering coin or doing other things, he's not sure what. They're not nearby and not expected to return any time soon.

Rhane, this is the most generic bandit you've ever seen, and you can't remember if you've seen him before. Nothing he says contradicts anything you have learned about this place, limited though that is.

Swin walks around behind him. "That would be great. We're really tired of doing this the hard way," she says, pointing at the bodies surrounding them.

Sebastian looks suitably intimidated, even without an Intimidation check.

During Sebastian’s explanation of what lies ahead of the party, Darren almost idly examines and cleans his blade. After Swin says her piece Darren asks, “and what assurances can you provide us that you aren’t this Wainwright person. If he really can do all the things you say?” Darren gives him a questioning look between glancing at his freshly cleaned blade and back to Sebastian. 

(insight: 18 to gauge Sebastian’s response both to Darren’s question and his sentiments on turning his life around)

Darren, Sebastian is panicked and would likely say anything if he thought it might save his life. His eyes dart about, unsure of who to be most afraid of. Your insight tells you two things: he is genuinely afraid of Wainwright and so is either an extremely good actor or is not Wainwright in disguise; and in his present state he is probably not capable of maintaining a controlled, calculated lie, though he might blurt out untruths if he thought they would help him live.

Alton gives a nod, "Well, do your best to become a paladin. It would make a good ballad." He waves his hands in a grand gesture, "The ballad of Sir Sebastian... Has a nice ring to it. Anyway, there probably isn't a way to get to your boss without going through the rest of the lot, is there?" Alton says more as a rhetorical question. He taps a finger to his chin thinking, "I can't think of anything else. You guys have any questions, or do you have anything more to add, Sebastian?"

Balassar just looks at Sebastian “How many of y’all are left?”

(Per post 6211, about a dozen including the leader Wainwright. Plus about another dozen that aren’t at the lair and out doing something. Just in case you didn’t see that. Though I understand if you are trying to catch him in a lie or something 😊)

Rhane:

“Where is my equipment?” asks Rhane simply, though he fears it is past all those brigands.

Sebastian repeats his answer about how many brigands are left.

"I don't know. In Wainwright's room, I guess. Can I go?"

Alton shrugs, "If nobody else has anything, I don't see why not. I'd suggest picking up anything you can sell and any provisions you'll need from this place." He gives Sebastian some room. "I'll be in touch to get that ballad from you, Sebastian. Don't disappoint me now."

Rhane:

"Shall we head down and eliminate the rest of the bandits, or do we need to retreat and rest first?" asks Rhane.