"I am not against it," Kalak says, "The more we have, the greater chance in succeeding our mission."

Vishnu shrugs.

"Seems fair to me.  If he tries to backstab us I can probably backstab him first."

Kandalou rubs his chin seemingly in deep thought. "I'm okay with it. Sometimes a broken warrior has to prove to himself that he can be fixed." He nods to the warlord, "If you try to backstab us, I will not hesitate to cut you down."

“I have concerns. While I hold no grudge against the dueragar, neither are they known to be well regarded towards those not of their own kind. Plus, he has already shown himself vulnerable to their psychic control.”

DM's Screen:

@Ven: You have no reason to believe the duergar has lied to you. He is battered both physically and mentally, and his quick and repeated glances at Kandalou's fearsome figure reveal that he is still in doubt if he will get out of this interrogation alive. Not that he is actually afraid of it.

Then, as the group deliberates on whether they should welcome the duergar into their ranks at least temporarily, the warlord himself responds (again, translated by Quadere): "Vengeance is demanded, yes, but the one that it is demanded against lies dead just a few feet from me. Yet, my men do not rise, and never will again. I have no love for you as you surely have none for me. I may be responsible for my men's death, but you had your part to play. Did you even try speaking with them? They were only doing their jobs."

The warlord spits at the ground near Quadere following her voiced concerns and adds: "If you are making me choose between joining your party against the better judgement of even just one of you or being slain right here, then go ahead and put me out of my misery."

You can all sense that it is not out of pride that he demands death, but something more dour, more guttural, and likely closely related to distrust.

Kandalou shakes his head disappointedly, "As you wish." He will stand up, unsheathing his longsword, and bring it to an attack position, waiting for anyone to ask any questions or anything they want to say.

Ven does not need to understand the Duergar language to see that the Warlord declines. He nods at Kandalou. "Time is running out"

"Kill him" Shai says rather dispassionately "I will not have him betray us....he seems to know nothing..there is no benefit to keeping him alive, and plenty of risk"

OOC: I thought we were going to take a short rest to recoup some abilities - I will be guided by others but Ki is Shai's primary asset so topping that up would be beneficial (to allow Visnhu to keep hiding in the shadows)....

OOC: sorry, yes. OK for a short rest. Editing my post

(Short rest sounds good.)

(OOC: A short rest could benefit Kalak as well. Arcane recovery, yay.)

"Friends, I do not wish to be the harsh zerth intruding upon your respite, but if we are to rest, we must do so now. Kalak, how is the Reliquary? How are we on time?"

"The reliquary remains darkened. We can risk some rest."

Upon the approval of his comrades, he will nod to the Warlord, then bring the blade in a swift slice across the neck. "Farewell, warrior." he mutters.

(If you want an attack roll: Attack: 22 Damage: 12)

(Short rest sounds good!)

Ven sits down and start playing his cittern to magically help the healing of his companions (+1d8 healing if you use hit dice, only once)
HP: 8 + 1 + 6 + 6 + 2 + 5 = 23hp

The rrakmma does not hesitate in indulging the warlord. Once given an approval signal from Shai, Kandalou slices the gray dwarf across the neck, decapitating him. Part of his long five-tipped beard is cut off in the process; something he would have certainly disliked.

Then, upon Quadere's insistence, Vishnu and the others agree that a moment of respite would be wise before jumping into the portal. The rrakmma settles down for a short rest while Ven weaves some calming, healing melody into the air and the group relaxes for a little while.

(OOC: Go ahead and roll however many hit dice you wish, add your CON modifier to each of them, and then add a single d8 to the sum. Make sure to hit the "Short Rest" button at the top of your character sheet, mark down the appropriate number of hit dice you used, and confirm by pressing the green button that appears.)

• Ven heals for 23 HP.
• Shai heals for 16 HP. (reference)
• Kandalou heals for 45 HP. (including Second Wind, reference)

After the hour-long rest is over, Kalak notices something different in his bag. A quick peek is all it takes to confirm that the reliquary now emanates a faint brownish light.

Shai finds a wall to sit and meditate by for the hour, a smile touching her face as she absorbs the pleasant music 

9  1 (bonus HD)

As her meditation completes its cycle, she stills from the deeply relaxed state and uncurls gracefully to her feet and says "Right....lets get moving....any bright ideas on how we get the portal to work?"

As the party move, Shai will quickly investigate any area of the cavern that the dwarves appear to use to sleep or eat, looking for anything that could be of use, and invites Vishnu or Kalak along, figuring those two have much more luck at finding things

If they come Shai will just use the Help, if not she will investigate by herself 4

"The duergar said all we need to do is step in the middle." Kalak says. "If that's the case, it seems we have grossly overestimated the ilithids."

Short Rest: Kandalou will sit down and meditate, giving himself a Second Wind (13). As well as rubbing some medicine on his wounds, (7 7 14 + 7)

((Woo 53 HP healed, that goes over by 13, but it's whatever :P))

(OOC: tbc by DM but you can probably disregard your last roll so it doesn't go for nothing. When you roll Hit Dice, you can rol them one by one I think)

Ven is getting himself ready to go through the portal. "Let's move silently from here my friends."