Dimma, on hearing Gib's call for help would begin to make her way up the stairs to the second story to reconvene with them.

As Tul steps into the room, she hears a sudden creaking, and with some of the fastest moves that you've ever seen, Gib, you see Tul do some crazy monk shirt (TM Matthew Mercer), leaping to the other side of the room and running along the wall as the floor where she originally stepped plunges downward, creating a large hole where you can see down to the first floor below. Fortunately, the corner where the half-elf is tied up seems to be untouched, and there is enough flooring remaining in the room for you both to be able to get to him.

As Tul approaches, the man flinches and cringes, not looking at her.

Upon hearing the commotion, Arvastan immediately heads for the stairs to catch up with the others as well, peering curiously into the room at the half-elf in the corner. "What's all this, then? You decide to bring the whole house down?" 

Tul takes a deep breath, looks down at the caved in floor and mess it created and then smiles at Arvastan.

"I thought I saw a spider."

Then she turns and kneels down by the gagged and tied half-elf. She pulls the gag from his mouth.

"And who might you be?" she asks, watching his body language and tone closely if he answers.

(Insight: 15 )

"Leadfoot, here, keeps stomping holes. But more importantly, we have a hostage! Or... wait... no, it's more of a... um..." Gibson's brow furrows as he sidesteps the gaping hole, stepping into the room while trying to figure out his wording. Leaning down over the half-elf he enquires, "Are you a hostage or a captive?" He stands up and raises a finger, looking back at his companions, "Perhaps this was a matter of an intimate encounter gone wrong!" Losing himself in thought, he mumbles, "In my day we never left each other tied up afterwards. Unless this is still part of the experience..." he trails off imagining possible scenarios.

The man's eyes widen. "You mean....you ain't one of them? Thank the Gods, you gotta get me out of here." He pushes his binds towards you. "Its the Sea Princes! This is one of their hideouts, it is. There's some wizard leadin' them, but it ain't old man Dilpas. He's responsible for all the weirdness in this place." He takes a deep breath to try and calm himself. "Look, my name is Ned Shakeshaft. I'm an adventurer, same as you. Untie me, and I'll tell you everything I know." Hearing GIb's comments, he raises his eyebrows and looks to the rest of you. "Is he with you lot?"

Tul -- he does seem genuinely scared, and there is a large wound on his forehead that seems to suggest the man had it pretty rough, but otherwise, he's hard to read.

Arvastan is startled into a laugh at Tul's joke and he grins back at her, though it fades when the man starts talking. He'd really hoped 'pirate hideout' wouldn't make the list, particularly those particular pirates. He sighs, grimacing at the thought of dealing with them. "Well that's less than ideal," he mutters, shaking his head. "Don't suppose they'd just wander back out to sea, hm?" 

"Well, friend," Gibson sets in, "today is your lucky day! Pirates are what we're on the hunt for and I'll tell you something else, I never believed this Ghost of Dualface or whatever garbage." Gibson begins fumbling with Ned's bindings without consulting the others. It takes a while as he's more of a "soft skills" guy. "So tell me, Ned, who is this big, bad, mysterious wizard fellow leading the Princes? How did you end up being left for dead in this rathole instead of 'walking the plank'? That's such a catchy phrase, don't you think?" He stops working on the bindings and looks thoughtful. "Pirate life has always seemed so glamourous in the stories. Do you think they actually sing songs together while they work?"

Hugh lumbers after Arvastan up the stairs and slows down as he reaches the room.

(OOC: Would Hugh recognize the Half-elf from around Saltmarsh?)

The half-elf's brow furrows at Gib's patter, and as his hands get free, he rubs them together vigorously to restore the circulation, then attempts to provide a little extra shielding than his undergarments already provide.

"I...uh, don't know about that. I'm one of the town's guardsmen. I overheard Lord Anders last night in the Wicker Goat, and thought with that kind of gold, maybe I could buy my own ship, get set for life like the Owelands. Not have to do no rounds no more. My dad used to come out here and do the gardening for old Dilpas, so I knew the layout of the place pretty well. I came out here last night found a secret door to the basement downstairs near the front of the house. I set off some sort of trap, so they heard me coming. A bunch of them grabbed me. The scariest one is some dwarf wizard..." his eyes flick over to Dimma briefly, "weird fella, called himself Sanbalet. He shot some sort of magic color beam into my eyes so as I couldn't see a bloody thing. Then the others gave me a good working over. I played possum, I did, and I heard a few things. They've got a big shipment of weapons, they're waiting to sell to someone, I couldn't tell who..."He pauses, and thinks.

"Oh, and the dwarf ain't the big boss. There's some big muckety-muck in town who's calling the shots. He's the one in charge, working with the Princes, getting these weapons out."

He looks at Gib, still playing with the knots. "Oh, for crying out loud, I can get it!" His hands deftly start to pick at the knot and within seconds it comes loose. He stands up carefully, and his legs, still asleep give way a bit. "Y'all can leave me. I'm getting the hells out of here. You should join me, if you know what's good for you. The Princes are abso-bloody-lutely ruthless to those that interfere with their business."

(Hugh -- you don't recognize him at all. He's certainly not among the old salts that you run with in the city nor one of the regular Pit fighting crowd.)

Tul cocks her head as she listens to Ned talk. And she also spots how quickly he unties the knots.

"You seem to know an awful lot for the Sea Princes to just tie you up and leave you here," she says to Ned. "I did not think they were known for their mercy."

She ponders him for a moment longer.

"Who's your father? Maybe one of my friends knows him."

(OOC - a lot of red on the screen so changing Tul's colour)

"She's right," Arvastan agrees, leaning forward on his trident to peer closer at Ned. "Here you are, all tied up an' alive, but espousing the ruthlessness of the people what tied you up!" He narrows his eyes, turning thoughtful. "Doesn't hardly make sense, does it?" 

Ned's jaw hardens and you see a spark of defiance in his eyes. "Oh aye, leaving me naked in this bloody house is a real mercy. You know there are giant fecking snakes in the house? I soiled myself, I did. Maybe the Princes were gonna sell me into slavery,  or let the centipedes and rats get me. I didn't have time to ask that wizard before he blasted me and his goons gave me a good kicking."

He stands up again and starts to push past you all. "Dad's name was Bill, and he was a servant for the Owelands. Or you can ask in town with Captain Eliandor. He'd say...well, he'd say, I'm a good for nothing layabout, but he'd vouch for me. I'm grateful to you lot, but I'm leaving. Now."

(Arvastan as you are acquainted with the Owelands pretty well, you can make a history check if you like.)

History: 13

Arvastan, from your visits to the Oweland estate through the decades, you can picture their gardener -- an older human with big bushy eyebrows, but for the life of you, you can't remember any details that would collaborate or contradict Ned's story.

"If they wanted you dead, you'd be dead," Arvastan counters, then shrugs, "or so I would assume, of such dastardly pirates." They'd lost enough crewmates over the years to the Sea Princes that he could account for their ruthlessness. "I vaguely recall the Oweland gardener," he admits to Tul and the others then, narrowing his eyes as he concentrates, "but there's been so many humans over the years, I can't really recall more than that." 

Tul watches Ned carefully and then stands to the side to give him room to leave.

"If your story is true, then it is even more important that we not leave before we have fully explored this manor," she says. "Thank you for warning us of the dangers. Let me help you out of here. There are several spots one is likely to trip up and go through the floor."

Tul gives herself some room from Ned, but she has no intention of letting him just walk out of the room without staying close enough to make sure he actually leaves the building.

"Now wait just a minute, there, friend! You came here to accomplish a goal. And a right important one at that! Important enough that you risked your own hide coming here alone in the middle of the night. So important that all of us came here, too! Now, I'll tell you one thing that you have that none of us do and that's knowledge of this blasted house and how to get around in it. That could very well prove to be the linchpin to our whole operation! I can tell by the look on your face and the fear in your eyes that you can't wait to get out of here and, let me tell you, I feel the same. But now you've got a fighting chance to see this through! You've got the likes of US backing you up!" Gibson smiles broadly and gestures to the group, but keeps the focus on himself. "Now there are two kinds of people in this world, son: doers and quitters, and you got this far so I don't think you're the latter. There's no telling if these pirate lowlifes are walking back in through the front door right now or not but I can tell you two things: 1) We need you to help us toss this place in a more efficient manner and 2) You need us to make sure you make it back to town in one piece, seeing as how you're in a bit of a sad state at the moment."

Gibson pauses to let his words sink in for a moment before continuing. "So why don't you help us get this thing done right quick and then head back, head held high, and collect the sweet, sweet sack of gold that sour old elf at the Council Hall will have waiting for you?"