The Closed Eye (DM: Halford, Judge: garyh)

[Dunamin]

“Good boy.”

Woe collects his split and hands over equal shares to Tander and Atreus, then pats the apprentice wizard on the head for good measure.

“Alright fellas, let’s saddle up.”

“Naturally, first order of the day would be to check if the Zealous Squad outside is directing us to the same location we just got. Assuming that to hold up, we’re probably going to need Tander’s assets in particular, considering how many unsnuffed inhabitants creeps around those parts.”

Woe leads outside once the entire party is fully armed, armoured, and able, keeping a close eye on Arnest and blowing a raspberry at the gold-tusk orc goon.

 

[KenHood]

Palindrome slaps Woe's hand away. He shoves his finger, tip glowing, in front of Woe's face. "Touch me again, *****. Touch me one more ***** time."

 

[Dunamin]

Woe exchanges his finger for his spear, lightning crackling at its tip, inches from Palindrome’s face.

“You keep our money from us again, Pally, I’ll do a lot more than touching.”

 

[nerdytenor]

"That's enough!" Tander shouts, eyes blazing. "We will be lucky to get out of our predicament alive without your squabbling. And for your information," Tander adds snippily, scowling at Woe and Palindrome, "coin is of little use in the underworld, should either of you be unfortunate enough to end up there."

"Now are we ready to do this or not?" There could be no doubt that Tander was ready.

 

[KenHood]

Palindrome gives Tander a hollow, hollow look. "Yeah, but death has to be better than this..."

He walks away.

Palindrome exits the tower. He smirks at Arnest. "So...how's the old compulsion doing? Feeling a terrible yearning to be with your 'true love'?" he says, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Maybe a sense of guilt or desire for revenge over the harm that's befallen her? Perhaps it's so strong that it overclouds everything? Yes. That's what those compulsions do. Feel almost like the real thing, but even stronger."

"By the way, noble leader, do you happen to have a destination for this journey?"

 

[covaithe]

Arnest clenches his fist a bit tighter around his staff, and the furrows on his brow grow harder and deeper as Palindrome's barbs sink home. His voice is calm, though.

"I do not yet have a final destination in mind, no. I had thought to look for the homes of some of my disappeared comrades, thinking perhaps to convince them that I intended to join this cult. It is... not a brilliant plan, but it is the best I have yet come up with."

He pitches his voice louder making sure that all of the party hears his next words. "I should tell you before we set out that I have taken certain precautions against any second thoughts you may be having about leaving me alive. I don't think it's necessary to go into the details, but if I should happen not to survive the next few days for any reason, certain information about your recent activities will reach the authorities, and a large reward will be offered for your deaths. I hope this won't put any further strain on our amiable working relationship, but I felt it was best to be honest." The corners of his mouth turn upward, but the resulting expression can hardly be described as a smile.

 

[KenHood]

"Wow. You are about as useful as fecal matter in meat pie. Lucky for you that I know the location of the cult, but it's going to cost you 500 pieces of gold to receive it."

"And as far as your little threat, you're assuming that I want to live or value the lives of my companions, to whom I am bound by mystical compulsions far stronger than any placed on your feeble brain by your dearest one. But, I'll see your threat and raise you. As you may or may not know, I am a wizard trained on the Isle of O. (You know, that little place that specializes in ritual curses?) It may surprise you to discover that while you and your 'lady love' were in my care, I took some samples of hair and blood. Then, I took said samples and wove them into fine sympathetic curse, bound to my life-force, so if I happen to die, not only do you slowly wither away in excrutiating agony, your mind-controlling girl-friend gets the singular joy of rotting from the inside out, conscious the entire time, screaming until she chokes on her own fluids filling her lungs."

[sblock=Skill Check]Bluff Arnest (1d20+9=12) -- Ridiculous. I don't know why I even bother to roll anymore. I can only hope that equals or exceeds his passive Insight check.
[sblock=Check this out...]I rolled 1d20+9 two times more, under a 'test' designation. Exactly the same result each time: 1d20+9=12 and 1d20+9=12. Anyone want to explain that?! This is crazy!

And here's an even better test: 1d20+9=10, 1d20+9=23, 1d20+9=24, 1d20+9=13, 1d20+9=19, 1d20+9=24, 1d20+9=29, 1d20+9=23, 1d20+9=15, 1d20+9=27, 1d20+9=15, 1d20+9=12, 1d20+9=23, 1d20+9=10, 1d20+9=19, 1d20+9=10, 1d20+9=10, 1d20+9=28, 1d20+9=11, 1d20+9=22. There are FOUR natural 1's! I used to joke about someone at Invisible Castle having it out for me, but I'm starting to think...[/sblock][/sblock]

 

[Dunamin]

"I had thought to look for the homes of some of my disappeared comrades, thinking perhaps to convince them that I intended to join this cult. It is... not a brilliant plan, but it is the best I have yet come up with."

“Just what exactly do you know about how your former fellow fanatics went about defecting?” Woe asks, prowling close enough to keep the bodyguards on their toes.

“Did a Closed Eye operative drop by their homes and mediate the switch? Did they receive a letter with directions for the club house? Did they leave behind any parting notes to help recruit their old chums?”

“Despite how unhinged you people are, you’ve still managed to keep hidden all this time. I’m betting you do some regular checking up on each other, especially in a time of crisis like this. Give us what you got.”

 

[covaithe]

"I know very little about their defection. We did not keep each other's company, outside of our headquarters. There were no parting notes. Some were found murdered in their beds, but most simply disappeared. It is possible, even likely, that some of those disappearances were simply cowards fleeing the country, rather than defections. That is why I expect that tracking them to their new lair would be difficult and time-consuming, if it is even possible. And why your information is valuable -- if it is true. If you are right, and your information allows us to arrive in time and stop them, I will pay the extra 500." Arnest shows no sign of being bothered by Palindrome's most recent set of threats.

 

[KenHood]

"Wow. Just, wow. Now that was some useful, useful information. Gods know we couldn't do this without Arnest."

"Good job, Woe. I'm glad you decided to keep him around. Now, let's see...," Palindrome says, putting his hand on his chin, "You've received 125 gold pieces so far. If ***** here pays the group the 400 gold pieces promised to protect him, that's an additional 100 gp for you. (Though I notice he didn't show up with that particular bag of cash.) So, has this been worth 225 gold pieces? Just to be clear, by 'this', I mean the whole death threat thing and an enemy showing up with reinforcements."

"Thanks for selling us out!"

Palindrome turns to Arnest.

"Oh, and Arnest, I really don't care if the cult summons a monster to gobble up the entire world. You want to know where they're located, that's 500 gold NOW, as in this moment. Not 500 gold after we arrive, expend all of our resources in a fight, and get stabbed in the back by you and your pig-boys."