Citadel of the Iron Crown - Burglars in Mirkwood

[Binder Fred]

At this point, Aranel confers briefly with the others, suggesting that they switch to the female for a little while and that the man and woman be separated so he can't hear or see her responses...nor intimidate or influence them.

"Hum." Baran casually rises and steps close to the silent one, going so far as to hold her head up by the chin as he considers...

<OOC: Take 10 on a heal check, please Dave. Use one of the Spots earlier as well while he's at it (I don't suppose she has any jewelry on? Necklace, bracelet, earing? Any meaning /sense as to point of origin on the hem+sleeve embroidery? )

Assuming the lass is good :

"Works for me, sure enough. Aerec?" he gestures to the bedroom door.

"Now what was this about a tower?"


<OOC: So I'm suggesting the girl in the bedroom with the candlesti - oops. No, I'm sugesting the girl in the bedroom with Aerec and Aranel, the guy in the mainroom with Baran, Ulfang and the dog. Two questions each per "turn".

For the guy I'm thinking:

1. Where did you come from? (that would be the "tower" question, i.e. any detail on their homebase, who lives there, how big, how far, how many, etc)

2. And you are? Personal history before he came to said homebase. A name/title would be good, but making him choose a nickname for himself quite sufficient for now. If he asks for Baran's own name, segue into :

3. "What do you know about me?" AKA "You mean you don't know?"

In general, Baran's strategy is to get him talking/lying as much as possible while looking amused/doubtful -- or even admirative if the lad can manage a truly entertaining/well-crafted lie. Sift the truth from that and hope he slips. Baran is a patient man.

Binder Fred, thinking maybe we take turn choosing the questions? Tag Renau.

 

[renau1g]

Ulfang will agree with Baran's questions and remain silently leaning against the wall, glaring at the thieves with his massive arms crossed.

[sblock=ooc] If there's something he can think of he'll pipe in. Right now the questions seem to be going in a direction he's comfortable with

P.S. Disharrock I've posted Ulfang's stats in the OOC thread
[/sblock]

 

[Dlsharrock]

[SBLOCK=Sblocked post due to changed details, see below]
[SBLOCK=renau1g]Thanks and he does have a bonus on Sense Motive.[/SBLOCK]
[SBLOCK=necro_kinder]Hope the real life situation is improving. I'm assuming Aurvandil remains out of the picture for the next round. If you want him to return please do so IC at whatever point seems convenient to you. If you need extra timeout I advise we leave Aurvandil pottering around outside[/SBLOCK]
[SBLOCK=Baran's Spot results]
Can you give courtesy links, it's a bit of a pain filtering back through the thread in search of the rolls, especially when Enworld is on a server go-slow. That said, I realise I missed the rolls originally, so slapped wrists all round

Baran spots nothing new with regard to either hobbit (nothing a strip search probably wouldn't reveal at least, and trussed up as they are that doesn't seem practical). No jewellery, no additional tattoos he can see. The markings on their clothes - if they have a meaning - mean nothing to him.

The wound on the female Stoor's forehead is a nasty gash, but simple enough to treat. It needs cleaning with some warm water and a gauze and Baran probably has a ready prepared poultice he can use to dissuade infection. A bandage would probably be a good idea also. His greater concern surrounds the Stoor's previous unconscious state. This suggests a cracked skull, though there's no real way to tell for sure and Baran lacks the necessary means to treat such an injury. Only time will tell if there's any lasting damage.[/SBLOCK]

Aerec wanted to take the male into the bedroom I think? and it looked like Aranel wanted to stay with the girl, so my assumption is the male is taken into the bedroom by Aerec (picked up, chair and all?) and Baran,Ulfang and the dog follow. So Aerec, Baran, Ulfang and dog in the bedroom with the male Stoor. The girl remains in the main room with Aranel and Gellion.

As the two interrogators are no longer working together they lose any Aid Another bonuses.


The girl watches wide-eyed as Aerec, the Dwarf and Ulfang pick up the male Stoor in his seat and carry him through to the other room. The Stoor struggles in his bindings and complains the whole way, but soon the door is shut and his voice is muffled. The girl shifts her gaze back to the Elf, eyes dewy with tears, face paler than ever. In turn this makes the black symbol on her forehead with its angry red wheals, seem even starker than before.

Q1
What is the mark on your forehead?

Gentle cajoling and well measured words seem to be the way to go with the girl. Indeed a more aggressive stance is nigh impossible to take, given such a gentle face and innocent eyes (though the eyes were not always so, Aranel recalls).

The girl remains defiantly mute, however, and fails to respond, lowering her eyes as though shy, allowing the dark curls of her hair to fall across her face.

Q2
Why did you try to steal the dwarf's scroll?

Aranel changes her tactics, forces herself to remember the eyes from before, the sensation of staring into the face of something else. Something wicked. Her tone becomes more abrupt, her manner more threatening. Removal of empathy seems to have the desired effect and the girl begins to sob once more. Her lip quivers, but this time words are forming.

"He... Him. Wants... Wanted it."

With such a subtle and garbled response, Aranel is unable to determine whether the girl is lying or telling the truth.

--

In The Bedroom

Q1
Where did you come from?

Baran plies the male Stoor with questions, trying a quick-fire approach, hoping to force an angry response. But the Hobbit is already seething, complaining so loudly that the Dwarf's words can barely be heard. This enrages Baran all the more and the pair enter a pitched battle of insults and yelling. At the outset the Hobbit falls mute and refuses to even look at Baran while the Dwarf is left red in the face and thoroughly frustrated. Aerec and Ulfang get the distinct impression the interrogation is deteriorating and their foredwarf's subjectivity may be hampering efforts to learn anything useful.

Q2
What do you know about me?

Baran starts making demands, incensed by the Stoor's attitude. The Hobbit lets Baran know exactly what he thinks of him, but tells nothing of what he knows.

OOC
In accordance with the method for diplomacy checks (altering attitudes and lowering DC to alter attitudes further in order to garner information), the attitude of the Stoor has escalated now to a point where the DC is too high for Baran to make any progress using diplomatic channels. I would suggest switching to intimidation, or switching interrogators
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Binder Fred]

Baran plies the male Stoor with questions, trying a quick-fire approach, hoping to force an angry response.

And

Baran starts making demands

<Fred> Uh, granted that this is mostly just window dressing for his roll... still, that would seem to the exact *opposite* of my described strategy : patience and occassional encouragements. Assuming this is all IC, can Baran get a (WIS?) roll to realise that he's not acting normaly (and make a guess as to the cause : the Hobbit's manipulations? magic? Deeper emotional trauma than previously thought?)? http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1601716/

Back IC:
Baran pauses, blinking. Wait... Didn't he think the elf maiden impatient not three heartbeats ago? And now...

The dwarf throws his hand up to the wooden sky as he suddenly breaks away from the confrontation, muscles tight: "Do *something* with him, Ul," he growls before stomping towards a corner! Why is he so damp ANGRY?

<OOC: Next 2 questions to Renau1g, me thinks.

Binder Fred, charmed, I'm sure.

 

[Dlsharrock]

In this instance it's actually a case of not noticing this in your previous post:

Baran's strategy is to get him talking/lying as much as possible while looking amused/doubtful -- or even admirative if the lad can manage a truly entertaining/well-crafted lie. Sift the truth from that and hope he slips. Baran is a patient man.

And instead continuing with the general mood laid down in the previous IC bit. ie:

"not the filthy Elf's business." This infuriates Baran who reacts with a little too much aggression. At this point things seem to be going rather badly and no matter how they dress up the question the Hobbit refuses to respond.

But yes, it is window dressing for some pretty awful Diplomacy rolls, just a misinterpretation because I was a bit rushed last turn: the standard translation of a very very low roll on Diplomacy being a complete absence of diplomacy. It could be translated otherwise, however, to fit the patient characterisation of Baran.

So I can only apologise for missing the crucial paragraph, and I'm reposting the whole last turn with appropriate alterations.

 

[Dlsharrock]

Repost due to missing a crucial aspect of Binder_Fred's last post. See previous message from me.

[SBLOCK=renau1g]Thanks and he does have a bonus on Sense Motive.[/SBLOCK]
[SBLOCK=necro_kinder]Hope the real life situation is improving. I'm assuming Aurvandil remains out of the picture for the next round. If you want him to return please do so IC at whatever point seems convenient to you. If you need extra timeout I advise we leave Aurvandil pottering around outside[/SBLOCK]
[SBLOCK=Baran's Spot results]
Can you give courtesy links, it's a bit of a pain filtering back through the thread in search of the rolls, especially when Enworld is on a server go-slow. That said, I realise I missed the rolls originally, so slapped wrists all round

Baran spots nothing new with regard to either hobbit (nothing a strip search probably wouldn't reveal at least, and trussed up as they are that doesn't seem practical). No jewellery, no additional tattoos he can see. The markings on their clothes - if they have a meaning - mean nothing to him.

The wound on the female Stoor's forehead is a nasty gash, but simple enough to treat. It needs cleaning with some warm water and a gauze and Baran probably has a ready prepared poultice he can use to dissuade infection. A bandage would probably be a good idea also. His greater concern surrounds the Stoor's previous unconscious state. This suggests a cracked skull, though there's no real way to tell for sure and Baran lacks the necessary means to treat such an injury. Only time will tell if there's any lasting damage.[/SBLOCK]

Aerec wanted to take the male into the bedroom I think? and it looked like Aranel wanted to stay with the girl, so my assumption is the male is taken into the bedroom by Aerec (picked up, chair and all?) and Baran,Ulfang and the dog follow. So Aerec, Baran, Ulfang and dog in the bedroom with the male Stoor. The girl remains in the main room with Aranel and Gellion.

As the two interrogators are no longer working together they lose any Aid Another bonuses.


The girl watches wide-eyed as Aerec, the Dwarf and Ulfang pick up the male Stoor in his seat and carry him through to the other room. The Stoor struggles in his bindings and complains the whole way, but soon the door is shut and his voice is muffled. The girl shifts her gaze back to the Elf, eyes dewy with tears, face paler than ever. In turn this makes the black symbol on her forehead with its angry red wheals, seem even starker than before.

Q1
What is the mark on your forehead?

Gentle cajoling and well measured words seem to be the way to go with the girl. Indeed a more aggressive stance is nigh impossible to take, given such a gentle face and innocent eyes (though the eyes were not always so, Aranel recalls).

The girl remains defiantly mute, however, and fails to respond, lowering her eyes as though shy, allowing the dark curls of her hair to fall across her face.

Q2
Why did you try to steal the dwarf's scroll?

Aranel changes her tactics, forces herself to remember the eyes from before, the sensation of staring into the face of something else. Something wicked. Her tone becomes more abrupt, her manner more threatening. Removal of empathy seems to have the desired effect and the girl begins to sob once more. Her lip quivers, but this time words are forming.

"He... Him. Wants... Wanted it."

With such a subtle and garbled response, Aranel is unable to determine whether the girl is lying or telling the truth.

--

In The Bedroom

Q1
Where did you come from?

Baran plies the male Stoor with questions, trying the empathy approach, hoping to lower the Hobbit's guard enough to loosen his tongue (even if only to loosen his tongue for lies). But the Hobbit is seething, complaining so loudly that the Dwarf's words can barely be heard.
The Dwarf's patience is tried, but he proceeds as planned.

This only seems to enrage the Hobbit more. Rather than calming, he becomes even more agitated and starts yelling insults at Baran, leaving the Dwarf frustrated and no nearer the truth.

Aerec and Ulfang get the distinct impression the interrogation is deteriorating and that the Hobbit is responding badly to Baran's techniques.

Q2
What do you know about me?

The Hobbit lets Baran know exactly what he *thinks* of him, but reveals no real information. Clearly his appraisal of the Dwarf is colouring in exactly the opposite direction to the one intended.

OOC
In accordance with the method for diplomacy checks (altering attitudes and lowering DC to alter attitudes further in order to garner information), the attitude of the Stoor has escalated now to a point where the DC is too high for Baran to make any progress using diplomatic channels. I would suggest switching to intimidation, or switching interrogators

 

[Binder Fred]

Too bad, was looking forward to a bit of mind-control.

This only seems to enrage the Hobbit more. Rather than calming, he becomes even more agitated and starts yelling insults at Baran, leaving the Dwarf frustrated and no nearer the truth.

"Right... Back to the heart then : what the damp did you want with me anyway ?"

The Hobbit lets Baran know exactly what he *thinks* of him, but reveals no real information. Clearly his appraisal of the Dwarf is colouring in exactly the opposite direction to the one intended.

"Tough piece to shape." Maybe what they need - is an axe. "Ulfang?"

Binder Fred, the "good" one?

 

[Shayuri]

Aranel cups her hand under the small, childlike chin of the woman and lifts her face so she can peer into those soulful eyes. Her own eyes are narrowed, searching for any sign of the other presence.

She was afraid she knew the answer already, but if there was anything Koravar the huntmaster had taught her it was that assumptions were nothing more than manacles for the mind. And for something like this, she didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"What is his name, and where were you sent from?" the elf maid asks. Her voice is quiet, but hard...like a steel blade being drawn from a velvet lined sheath.

 

[renau1g]

Ulfang pushes himself from against the wall and advances to the hobbit, cracking his knuckles as he moves. He reaches down and with one hand grabs the hobbit by the front of his shirt, hopefully pulling some chest hairs out as he does.

Bringing the little one up to his eye level, Ulfang leans in and says to the thief "Now listen hear you pint-sized sneak, I could snap you in half like a twig if you ain't telling Baran what he needs to know. Don't think I won't do it, besides we got another of ya on the other room so I'm for thinking you are mighty expendable, that is unless you can be telling us some information."

[sblock=OOC] Intimidate (1d20-1=19) Huzzah! [/sblock]

 

[Dlsharrock]

The cantankerous Hobbit's complaining ceases instantly, eyes wide, lips quivering. "Ssyus" he nods, the smooth flesh of his face wobbling, tears pricking his eyes.

[SBLOCK=OOC]modified level check roll = 6 (+4 to Ulfang also for size difference) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1603163/

Ulfang's aggression (and daunting Intimidation roll) have forced a change in attitude from our friend in the chair. It pays to have a barbarian about the place DC has now dropped again for Diplomacy checks if Baran wants to have another go with two new questions, or you can go with the previous two again Binder?[/SBLOCK]
Aranel's Charge

Q1
What is his name?

Aranel's gentle approach permeates the veil of fear and the female Stoor blinks back tears, licks her lips. "Gr..." she begins, swallows hard, closes her eyes and tries again, "Gren..." she takes a deep, shuddering breath, "Grendel." She turns her face away from Aranel, looking toward the doors and windows as if anticipating the owner of that name might suddenly burst into the room. When nothing happens she seems to reflect for a moment, thoughtful and suddenly less vulnerable, though Aranel isn't sure that this has anything to do with the strange presence making a return. More likely this is merely the woman's own conviction rising to the fore. She glances up at Aranel and the Elf can see the beginnings of a smile hovering at the corners of the woman's lips. "Black Grendel," she whispers with a conspiratorial nod.(roll-wise, Aranel is undecided whether this is truth or falsehood.)

Q2
Where were you sent from?

The female Stoor's eyelids flutter at this question. She suddenly seems uncomfortable, and the smile vanishes. She avoids Aranel's gaze, but only for a moment. The smile returns, briefly before she answers, "from... the woods." This is followed by an almost apologetic shrug of the shoulders. (Though I rolled Sense Motive, it's pretty negligible as the answer gives nothing away. If Aranel were to decide if the Stoor is lying or telling the truth she'd be undecided again).



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