[Vile] Puppy-Kicking PCs at Work, part 2

[Cepter]

Sunedilar al Hazir, Human/Male Fighter

As they enter the woods, Sunedilar stills the horse and slips off, removing the pouch with the jewels from his belt and digging out roughly half of the coins as well. After all, even a disciplined warrior has limits, and the stench is repulsive.

"She is not my leader, merely a fellow traveler. As for the items, they have already proved more trouble than their worth. I'll even throw in the rest of the coins if you tell me how you came by so much knowledge of myself and my compatriots."

He holds the bag out with his left hand, his right hand near his chain but not making contact, just in case the "dwarf" with him should try anything.

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

In a prison cell

Modrin eyes the dwarf carefully, his smile not remotely masking the fact that he’s judging Aligor’s every word. “To be honest, the witnesses did say that Hectaras and the young lady chased you into the antique shop, which would back up your self-defense claims. But perhaps if I understood why this rogue wanted you dead so badly… he lost a few men the other night; I take it you were the one responsible?”

"Hex wasn't a rogue, he was a runty little bastard! The reason he wanted me dead, now that's gonna cost ya! Make sure my belongin's are returned, ALL OF THEM, when I git outta this place. As fer Hex, well, to put it simple, we had a little run in. Just ask Rusty. Looks like Hex sent some boys to do a man's job. Two brothers went in, tryin to rough up Rusty and mess with my drinkin. They called me out, and drew swords on Rusty. He was unarmed. Totally dishonorable. So I did what any dwarf would do. I evened the odds. I tried knockin them sensless, with the flat of my axe, but no, they stabbed me. So I stabbed them back. I didn't outright kill them, but I lef tthem there to die. I'm guessin Hex found out, and tried to ambush me. He couldn't, and we ended in a stale mate, so to say. Instead of me rippin his head off and his boys takin care of me afterwards, he offered to leave, if I performed a little job. I took his money, and said I'd think about it. Well, after a long night uv drinkin, I slept in. Then that damn runt sent a damn wizard after me! The nerve of that boy! Stupid wizard even told me that this little job was a setup ta kill me. Damn wizard ran off, scared shitless after I put an arrow an inch from his heart! Anyways, Hex came back, thinkin this little wizard's pet killed me. He attacked a lady at Boone's and I got my chance to leave. Hex ran away, behind Boone's. I went the opposite direction. But no, the damn rogue sent more men, and that damn woman after me. They killed my dog! Poor mutt... So I ran away, into Boone's to git away. But no, that damn Hex's stubborn head and the lass cornered me. Bad choice on their part. Sent both of them straight to hell, with what I thought was my last breath. This dwarf ain't gonna die by the likes of that little rat!" He puffs his chest out a little, showing his proudness of dispatching the likes of Hex and his woman. The stress is a bit much, as the wounds throb and ache. He coughs a bit, then lays back down. He seemingly tells his tale, without regard for the reaction of Mordrin.

“What do you know about your companions, the ones who apparently killed a celestial? Know where I can find them? Know what they’ve been up to? Especially the other night, when so many died and were assaulted. Speaking of which, one of the victims was the Lady Elorelei Tegan; did you have any contact with her that night? Did any of your companions?” He’s still smiling, but Aligor can tell he says the next thing through gritted teeth, “Perhaps one of your friends mentioned having a bit of fun with a noble woman. Showing her a… ahem, good time. Why, I bet we could forgive all the deaths and damage if you just helped me solve the mystery of who was with her that night.”

"Companions? COMPANIONS?!? Those bastards left me high and dry to deal with that damn ambush by myself! And a celestial? What the hell you talkin about? You mean that thing at Brei's? Well, I don't know what happened there, as when I arrived, they had pretty much taken care fo that thing. My damn axe was clean of his blood. I don't know what they were up to that night, but from the looks of it, they wanted outta town quickly! They ran at the first chance they got! And as fer this Lady person, I never even heard of her. Who was she? I only deal with battles that are worthy. No killin ladies. Hex's tramp was another story, as she stabbed me first. I don't know about the others, as I left after you showed up at Brei's. Went straight to sleep, I did. All the deaths and damage I did was only to those that attacked me or threatened me first. Your mystery is as much a mystery to me as well."

“What are your ties to Brie? You know, the madame at the whorehouse… I had thought she had just hired you for the celestial, but now it seems she has her servants robbing and killing at will through the streets.”

"Brei? Nah, I didn't know who the employer was fer the job I was offered. An old friend, Sunny, let me in on some work. Said it was retreivin some lost women. Easy 'nuff fer the likes of me. Turns out that celestial thing was the culprit, and the others took care of him as I said. I never met the others, but some of them look like the likes ta do all that stuff that night. I may be a killer, but only ta those that deserve it! I ain't workin fer her. And what do ya mean runnin around killen and robbin? What else's happened? How's Boone? He's the only one I trust these days. And Rusty, fer as far as I can throw him."

“And one final set of questions: what do you know of this Accalon character in your group?. Why does he associate with… well, let’s face it, your group is a band of ruffians and thugs. Of which I’m sure you’re proud, but I’d like to know how he fits in. I thought he was staying at Brie’s, but he’s not there this morning.”

"My band? Hell no! Ruffians and thugs are not the right words. Hell, I don't even know them at all. I just met with Sunny and the man with glasses. Can't remember his name though. Damn guy just sat damn in the fight with Hex. Scared to fight fer his life! He's the one that caused the stale mate, otherwise, we woulda took care of Hex that night! Nah, I don't know the others. That damn woman seemed to be the bossy one though. But then again, they coulda all been the boss. Good riddin's if ya ask me! Hope they git lost fer all I care!" He seems a bit outta breath, talking his head off. He doesn't care for trying to get around the questions, and answers them openly. After all, he did what he thought was ok in his mind. As twisted as it is...

"Now fer my questions. Where's all my stuff? Has Boone come by? I wanna talk wit him. And my mutt. Just make sure his carcass doesn't go to the rats on the streets. I got coin enough ta giv'm a grave. Worthless mutt deserves that at least." He calms himself when he thinks of Bane. It was his partner so to speak. His faithful, at times, mutt whom he could talk to and not worry about talking back or arguing.

 

[Telsar]

Just inside the forest north of Taeirn

The female dwarf grabs the offered bag and checks out Sunedilar’s loot. “Ah, this jewelry is pretty old. Coins too… you must have hit old Boone’s.” She chuckles a bit “He is really going to be upset. He used to run a thieves’ guild, I think; even though he gave it up, he’ll probably try and retaliate. Good thing we’ll be leaving here, then. And how do I know so much? I could say I’m all-knowing and wise beyond my looks, “, she cackles a bit, apparently amusing herself, “but the fact is I was spying on you guys at your camp, before you went into town. You’d damaged my wicker man, so I knew there were intruders in my forest. But this loot, and all I managed to make in town with your leader’s help, has more than made up for a little intrusion. So I can forgive.” She waves her hands a bit and yells something in some obscure language, and Sunedilar can once again see the green mist coming off the loot, and from him, but it seems to dissipate, and soon the warrior only smells his new dwarven ‘friend’, and not himself. “So… did you get the map to the ruins? If not, I have a rough idea where they are, but a map sure would help.”

Both head deeper into the forest, and unless Sunedilar decides to strike the dwarf down on the way [in which case I’ll edit this], they soon reach camp and find a good number of the party. When the dwarf sees Alicia, she smiles big and says “My dear! I’m so glad you made it out alive! Hope you got some decent potions, because I made a killing selling those warriors you almost killed my own concoctions.”



In a prison cell

Modrin watches Aligor carefully as he answers his questions. In response, the lietenant says “As for Lady Tegan, she’s the widow of one of our ambassadors, who was close to the king. So you can imagine the pressure I’m under to solve that one. The only problem I have with your story is, I’ve talked with this Rusty, and he never mentioned you. Talked to Boone as well, and he said he didn’t know you, just mentioned that one of Hectaras’ men must have made off with some of his stuff, since some valuables from his display cases went missing. But the culprit should be easy enough to track. I imagine your two ‘friends’ just didn’t want the hassle of admitting they knew you.“

The cell door opens, and a young man in a robe enters. The man looks warily at Aligor, and Modrin says “Ah, Ernest, our resident cleric of St. Cuthbert. Would you be so kind as to offer our ‘guest’ a bit of healing?” The man looks the dwarf up and down and says “You know I don’t heal killers. I understand he killed a woman today, and the Captain of the Guard won’t be pleased if…” Modrin interrupts him, saying gruffly “The dwarf acted in self-defense, and when the captain isn’t here, you’ll do as I say. And when you’re done, there’s the body of a poor dog who got caught up in the fighting today… perhaps you can see to it that he gets a proper burial” The young man grumbles, casts a healing spell on Aligor, and turns to leave saying “The church won’t tolerate this much longer; you’re not as important as you think you are.”

[Aligor is healed, giving him 17/37 HPs]

After the cleric leaves, Modrin says to Aligor “So, you’re under the impression this group left town, hmmm? I guess that’s possible… the other killings today were performed by some sort of hulking monster with a greatsword… sounded like Brie’s bouncer to me. But, I believe you, if there’s some master plan of mayhem here, I don’t think they’ve let you in on it. So, you can just rest here a couple days until the magistrate is ready to see you, and I’ll tell him my opinion and you’ll probably be let go.”

Modrin moves in closer to the dwarf, and speaks quietly “Of course, there’s another option. If I were to happen to forget to lock that door, why, you could just leave here. You’d probably have no problem finding your belongings in the room at the end of the hall. The only problem of course is, escaping guard custody is a crime itself. Once it was noticed you were gone, I’d have to scour the city for you; the only way you’d be safe is if you left town. For good.”

He steps back and says in a more normal tone “So a few days won’t be that hard on you. I’ll have a meal sent to you in a few hours. And eventually, the magistrate will have this all resolved for you. Now, unless there’s anything else you wish to tell me, I still have an ogrish woman to get my hands on.”

 

[Serpenteye]

Just inside the forest north of Taeirn
When the dwarf sees Alicia, she smiles big and says “My dear! I’m so glad you made it out alive! Hope you got some decent potions, because I made a killing selling those warriors you almost killed my own concoctions.”

Alicia laughs happily, picks Girdra up from the horse and hugs her. "You made killing, I did killing, we're going to go killing again. Fun, Fun." She tosses the dwarf gently a couple of times then sets her down on the ground.
"We're just waiting now," she says in a bored tone of voice and turns to Lydia. "But maybe now is time to go," she finishes sharply. "Almost all are here, and the man-dwarf in prison."

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

Modrin moves in closer to the dwarf, and speaks quietly “Of course, there’s another option. If I were to happen to forget to lock that door, why, you could just leave here. You’d probably have no problem finding your belongings in the room at the end of the hall. The only problem of course is, escaping guard custody is a crime itself. Once it was noticed you were gone, I’d have to scour the city for you; the only way you’d be safe is if you left town. For good.”

He steps back and says in a more normal tone “So a few days won’t be that hard on you. I’ll have a meal sent to you in a few hours. And eventually, the magistrate will have this all resolved for you. Now, unless there’s anything else you wish to tell me, I still have an ogrish woman to get my hands on.”

Grateful for the healing, Aligor looks at Mordrin, and grins. "Me thinks you are tryin ta test me. As fer another crime, I guess its too easy of a crime. Nah, besides, looks like those others left me fer a reason. And if'n I left, what then? I sure as hell ain't a lookin fer the likes of ones that back down from a fight. No matter what kinda warrior, there's still a code. And they broke it. As fer me, I guess you could say I got a bit used ta the food here. Besides, its free. Nuthin wrong with that. No sir, I will just stay right here and wait fer the magistrate. I did nuthin wrong...THIS TIME."

Aligor lays back down on the mattress and rubs his bruises. Feeling the cut on his neck, he simply chuckles. "Damn. That's gonna be a nice scar!"

OOC - Well, as his intentions are rightly fulfilled in his eyes, Aligor is content with getting a few days of free food and rest. IF he gets out of this jail, he will seek out Boone, and see if there's a job he wants done. Those are his intentions, for now. Don't worry about the others and Aligor, as a dwarf holds a grudge for a long time.....

 

[Telsar]

In the forest north of Taeirn

Girdra, the dwarf, tries to hug Alicia back, but the difference in size makes it difficult. Also, she seems a bit dizzy from Alicia’s affections, but once she’s got her wits back, she says “I’ve got nothing keeping me here, so your right, we should go. And if you guys don’t have a map, we’ll just have to trust in my keen instincts to find the place.” She chortles a bit at that, apparently a private joke only meant for her. “Where we should start searching is about a week’s travel from here, and hopefully will be far enough away to keep the city guard from looking for us.” She pokes Sunedilar in the ribs and says “We wouldn’t want that, now would we? So, is everyone ready to go?”

[In a day or so, if no responses, I’ll just assume the answer is yes. A quick reminder to Serpenteye: you only opened one of the potion boxes, there were two. Of course, the first one was trapped.]


In a prison cell

Modrin actually seems a bit disappointed that Aligor didn't seem interested in his escape option. In a few hours after Modrin’s departure, Aligor hears noise in the hallway. Then the door opens and two new individuals are apparently thrown in by a guard. The new prisoners reek of alcohol, reminding the dwarf that he probably won’t get any while he’s staying here. The men shout at the guard as the door is closed and locked “Ya can’t do thish to us! We wuz jus’ fightin’. Can’t blame a man fer fightin’!” Aligor has been around a lot of drunks in his life, and maybe it’s because he’s sober now, but the way these two are acting doesn’t seem quite right. The dwarf thinks these two might just be acting, not really drunk. Once the guard moves away from the door, the two quiet down, and sit together on the other mattress. One says “Dwarf, we don’t want to fight ya or nuthin’, just stay on yer own side of the room. What they got you locked in here fer?”

[Aligor rolled Sense Motive 17]

 

[Serpenteye]

In the forest north of Taeirn

Girdra, the dwarf, tries to hug Alicia back, but the difference in size makes it difficult. Also, she seems a bit dizzy from Alicia’s affections, but once she’s got her wits back, she says “I’ve got nothing keeping me here, so your right, we should go. And if you guys don’t have a map, we’ll just have to trust in my keen instincts to find the place.” She chortles a bit at that, apparently a private joke only meant for her. “Where we should start searching is about a week’s travel from here, and hopefully will be far enough away to keep the city guard from looking for us.” She pokes Sunedilar in the ribs and says “We wouldn’t want that, now would we? So, is everyone ready to go?”

[In a day or so, if no responses, I’ll just assume the answer is yes. A quick reminder to Serpenteye: you only opened one of the potion boxes, there were two. Of course, the first one was trapped.]

"Yes, go. We killed many, many men and they will send many men to get us. Must go."

Alicia suddenly remembers the second box of potions, she looks at it carefully and attempts to break it open by twisting it's hinges off, avoiding the lock and the presumed trap entirely.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"I am quite ready to go whenever our hostess is..." Lydia says politely, shaking her head mentally at Alicia. Amazing creature, she finds a new master within a day of losing her old one...

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

In a prison cell

Modrin actually seems a bit disappointed that Aligor didn't seem interested in his escape option. In a few hours after Modrin’s departure, Aligor hears noise in the hallway. Then the door opens and two new individuals are apparently thrown in by a guard. The new prisoners reek of alcohol, reminding the dwarf that he probably won’t get any while he’s staying here. The men shout at the guard as the door is closed and locked “Ya can’t do thish to us! We wuz jus’ fightin’. Can’t blame a man fer fightin’!” Aligor has been around a lot of drunks in his life, and maybe it’s because he’s sober now, but the way these two are acting doesn’t seem quite right. The dwarf thinks these two might just be acting, not really drunk. Once the guard moves away from the door, the two quiet down, and sit together on the other mattress. One says “Dwarf, we don’t want to fight ya or nuthin’, just stay on yer own side of the room. What they got you locked in here fer?”
[Aligor rolled Sense Motive 17]

Sensing something wrong with this picture, Aligor grins.

Looks like perhaps they have another agenda here! Been too quiet anyways. Let's have some fun with this!

He looks over each man, and what they are wearing. He checks their hands, their clothes, their shoes and such. He wants to see if they have their boots soaked in liquid, as being drunk would have had a few spills on them. He is a very knowledgable person in drinking and its effects, so he would know a drunk person or not. After a few seconds getting this info, he decides that they have another agenda. Perhaps Hex has some loyal followers that want to exact revenge. No matter to him, as he is content with what he did. Although, he is unarmed, as well as they are. He curses his luck right now, as these two don't seem right to him.

He then looks at the men, saying, "They think I had me way with some lady. Some widow of an ambassador. I told them it wasn't me, but they won't believe me. Damn bastards!" [ooc - It's the truth!!!]

He looks around the cell, trying to get an idea of what he can use as a weapon and what he can use as a shield. He has seated himself at the edge of the mattress, with his hands firmly gripping the mattress edge. He is ready for them to attack, if they are indeed Hex's men. If they charge him, then he will ready an action to scream for the guards, yelling "MORDRIN!" while pulling the mattress between himself and them, with his back against the railing. That should afford him a few seconds to devise a plan...

 

[Telsar]

In a prison cell

Aligor looks at the men carefully. Both are rather plainly dressed, simple cloth shirts and drab, leather pants. Their shoes look completely dry. They carry no obvious weapons, but of course, more than likely, such things would have been taken from them before they were thrown in here. In the search for a weapon of his own to use, the dwarf comes up empty… there is nothing in the room besides themselves, their clothes, and the two mattresses.

One looks at Aligor curiously. “I heard about that, a lady being assaulted. Part of what they called the Night of Bloody Terror.” His voice is oddly no longer slurred. “Lots of terrible things happened that night.” The two men look at each other, like there’s some sort of secret communication going on, and then the man continues. “People dying in the streets. Even a death at a ladies’ boarding house. You know anything about that?”

Before he can answer, the door opens, and a guard brings in three trays, with bread, a simple stew, and a cup of water on each. He passes these out, and Aligor realizes he hasn’t eaten in awhile. The man who was talking a moment ago goes back to his slurred speech, talking to the guard “When ya going to let ush outta here? It was jusht a mistake, those fes… festa… festival workers was gonna make our bar close for a week!” The guard grunts at him “You and the other dozen drunk trouble-makers can just wait. When you sober up, if you can pay the fine, you’ll be free to go.” The guard soon leaves, and Aligor thinks the serving trays might make a halfway decent bashing weapon.


North of Taeirn

Alicia tries to grab hold of the hinges on the second box, and can’t seem to get a good grip with her large fingers.

[Gave Alicia 3 Str checks of 2+6=8, and 5+6=11, and 7+6=13, none of which were good enough to break the strongly-made box. Three tries are enough to say the box simply won’t open that way.]

Girdra will draw a rough map in the dirt, and most of the PCs know the general terrain of the area to figure out what she’s depicting. She says “We could take the road north, but it’s a bit out of our way, and we really don’t want people seeing us and mentioning so in Taeirn. Unless, of course, you plan to kill everyone we meet.” She laughs a bit, then suddenly stops, adding “Oh wait… you might. Well, it’s still better to not take the road. We’re heading for the area where the Relink plains meets the Norenal Steppe, and we’ll have to cross the Glind River; shouldn’t be too difficult… if you can swim.” She smiles at another of her private jokes.

[I would have already set you guys out, but we should find out what Alicia does about her difficult box first. I’m including a simple map. Since I have no skill at making terrain maps, I stole this from some website, and cloned out the original text, which will probably be obvious upon close inspection. Not sure where the map originally comes from, maybe a video game, but just ignore that if you recognize it. I just chose it because it didn’t disagree with how I pictured things. You are currently in the small, unnamed forest north of Taeirn, and you’ll be heading to the Norenal Steppe in the northwestern corner of the map.]