BTW: You and Tenchuu must have ninja'd me because I didn't see either of your posts after I put up the skill challenge. Otherwise I might have entertained Gensai's suggestion to return to the prison cells. Oh well. Your choice. You can abandon (or postpone) the skill challenge to pick up the prisoner(s) or continue.
Too much retconning makes for confusion. Let's continue with this, then go back and pick up the prisoners. Looking for companions should take precedence anyway.
I'm cool staying. I just think, tactically, if our friends are captured, sneaking in the back way might be better. Plus we might get an extra sword hand for the fight. Since I am all out of dailies, it couldn't hurt.
Tikchik is neutral to either idea as he's got nothing vested either way, he doesn't know you any more than the prisoners, but you helped him out and haven't (yet) tried to hurt him, so he's going to follow your lead for now.
As the sorcerer called upon his arcane guidance for help, the thri-kreen moved over to the corpse, pulling out a set of tools from his pack and begins working the skeleton key and clamps in the manacles that have the torn apart body to the altar.
Can I use my arcana roll already posted? It's my best skill, so it's the first I would use (and the first I will use, if you need me to roll it again), and stick with the theme than I am examining the body for arcane clues as to it's method of dispatch and perhaps any rituals done to/with it.