IndyPendant's Sunless Citadel

Lehko slowly raises his hands, palms open in universal sign of non hostility. Out of the corner of his mouth very quietly, "Jair? Terrek?" and he reaches for the bindings of the prisoners, bringing them forward almost in offering. "No big speeches Jair, they don't seem the type to have a long attention span."



(OoC:Will attempt to aid another on any Diplomacy checks made.)
 

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Ydyr swivels his head between Lehko and Kuma. Catching Kuma's eyes, he shrugs and sighs... bowing his head.

Diplomacy, friends, allies... all take second place to "surprise" he thinks.
 

Heirmund steps out to stand in sight of the goblin chief, walking staff in hand and speaks in goblin "Hold your attack! we come in peace, we would like to discuss a bargain!"

Heirmund whispers to the others in common "Jair, keep him quiet please." as he motions towards Terrek "Just go along with what I say, we can't be seen as confused or undecided.

Back to goblin and talking loudly to the chief: "I will have my men leave this room and shut the door behind them, except for one to guard me. Then you can send forward one of your lower ranks to see that all is as it should be. After that you come forward with one guard and shut the door behind you and we shall discuss the bargain."

"Will you agree to do that?"
 

The hobgoblin leader's eyes tick to each of you in turn, before finally coming to rest on Heirmund with a sneer, stating in goblin, "You speak for these? I should have known. We have a deal. But only if you give up your prisoners now, and only if four of my tribe guard the rest of your...demons." He snickers.
 

Lehko grimaces slightly. "Tell them the doors stay open, in that case. And we keep one prisoner for the duration of the talks." He begins to get antsy almost, shifting weight from foot to foot slightly.
 


The hobgoblin growls angrily, raising his longsword high over his head for emphasis, and yells out in stentorian goblin. "You sneak in without talk, kill many of my tribe, steal our new ally, and now you choose to talk?!? You fight a few of our weakest before, you win. They call you demons. Pfagh! Now you face Durnn himself, and the entire Durbuluk tribe! I give you one minute to tell me what you want right now, and what you give us in return. I don't like the deal, you die."
 

Lehko scowls, his temper rising to match Durnn's. "What ally? The wyrmling? We seek only passage. And what chance was there for talk?! We approached your territory openly, only to be ambushed in the dark! We seek passage, an audience with the Druid. You have your soldiers back, claim to his grove, and a small, quite small, share of the spoils." He finishes his proposal, seemingly ready to kill the hobgoblin with looks lone if necessary as very slight sparks play across his brows.

(ooc: Nice vocabulary use, Indy. :))
 

Jair turns to Heirmund "Tell him what we want is passage through their territory to Belok's hole and offer them prisoners returned in exhange. They have a more pressing foe in the kobolds and the dragon who turned on them and could use all the warriors they can get. We will grant them back their warriors live and unharmed who can tell of the kobolds, or they can see how we fight like demons along with the animal spirits who fight at command of our druid. Tell him I am our leader, a druid with many spirits at my command and that there is great magic at our call in addition to warriors who fight like demons. Tell him he can ask the prisoners whether we keep our word, we kept them alive when we could have killed them on the battlefield and again when the kobolds wanted to eat them."
 

After Heirmund quickly translates Jair's words--using up more than the one minute's time given, he's certain--Durnn slowly lowers the longsword he was holding effortlessly over his head. He then responds in goblin "This is the deal you offer me?" He mulls it over for what seems an age, and then slowly begins to grin. It is not a pleasant sight. "I accept your offer! Come with me. But should you so much as blink without my permission while passing through my home, I will kill you. Or worse. I will leave you alive to be fed to the Tree."

He then barks a few short words at his tribe, which Heirmund translates as orders basically telling some of the Durbuluk to precede you all, some to follow, and threats of severe violence to the first Durbuluk who attacks without provocation. A few of the guards, plus one goblin dressed in warpaint and animal parts (teeth, feathers, claws, even a few skulls), watch you warily during the few moments it takes to complete the preparations.

Then Durnn himself leads you down the long, wide, smokey hall toward a door leading north. On either side of you as you follow are large stone columns marching in step, entwined with carved dragons. The door opens onto a much smaller hallway, which he leads you down and turns left before ending up at another door. You have time during this short walk to get a more accurate estimate of the goblins facing you: there are seven total hobgoblins surrounding you, and nine goblins.

He opens this door to reveal a 40-foot-diameter domed chamber. A wide circular shaft pierces the floor of this chamber, from which dim violet light shines, revealing sickly-looking white and grey vines coating the shaft's walls. Four torches set equidistant around the periphery of the chamber supplement the light from the shaft. A crudely fashioned throne of stone sits against the curve of the northeastern wall, and a large iron chest serves as the throne's footstool. A sapling grows in a wide stone pot next to the throne. Another door leads south out of this room.

Durnn turns to you, his grin still in place, and explains (again in goblin) "You will have to climb down, but the vines make this simple. They are safe, and will easily bear your weight. Go now, and leave your prisoners here. You will not be harmed by anyone here while you do. You have my word." His grin widens.

Despite appearances, Ydyr and Lehko can't find any deception in him; as far as they can tell, he is telling the truth. He's just not telling the whole truth...
 

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