RPGWW

Ciele looks disdainfully over at Adil. "Either way, that wasn't entirely necessary. And this arguing isn't helping us find Mister Bergher's daughter any faster either." she says, with a bare edge of anger in her voice. Mercenaries. Just as she expected, you couldn't really trust em not to stab you in the face if you hadn't paid them yourself. Although... Hm.

Ciele suddenly decides to work off a hunch and walks over to the nearest goblin. "Mercenaries are such bloodthirsty beasts, you know? Never can really trust them for much except violence. As such, I'll make you a deal. You help us find this man's daughter" she whispers, pointing to Mister Bergher. "...and I'll do what I can to make sure that nothing untoward happens to you in the meantime. I have a few skills in that regard."

(Nakibe should be reminded that Bergher is still quite invisible! His position is noted by a floating Bag of Holding, though.)

The goblin nods weakly. "I'll take you there. Don't worry, I know the way."

(Ah. Sorry 'bout that. Forgot. Assume that she didn't point then. Not necessary or useful.)

Ciele nods demurely at the goblin. "Good. Now if we can only get this show on the road..."

The goblin's agreement was quick... With the threat of death hanging over it, that's to be expected. But still. It bears watching to Ciele's mind.

(Ciele will be taking periodic Sense Motive checks on the goblin. Insurance is good.)

"Tch..." Dashe is beginnig to get annoyed. He didn't much care what the paladin had done with the hobgoblin, but what he did know was that arguing about it wasn't the right thing to do. He curses in Kyotan, then approaches the two squabblers.

"What is done is done," he said to the two, "And there is not much we can do about it now. We should figure out where to go from here instead of figuring out who's throat to slit next. We have here a creature that is willing to lead us to our goal, so perhaps we should put our best efforts into finding out if he is truthful in his tale."

Dashe then turns to the goblin. "Incidentally, how do we know you can be trusted? Is there some way you can prove your fidelity? If you can indeed help us in the way that you speak of, then you will be a great asset, but otherwise, you may be a fatal burden."

(Dashe will also be making lots of Sense Motive checks.)

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=darkknight61189>darkknight61189</A]&nbsp; at: 5/25/06 18:08

"As reluctant as I am to listen to someone who jumps at the auras of our stuff", Adil replies, "I agree that we should bother to get to our original task of rescuing the girl, and, if he is telling the truth," he states while looking back toward the goblin, "the goblin's family as well."

Turning back to Dashe, the fighter then states "He can be trusted because we have no other choice but to believe him at the time being. If he proves otherwise, and turns on us, he dies. But otherwise, I would rather follow the one form of assistance we DO have." He then turns toward the "leader" of the three hobgoblins, muttering some choice words in Kaafzian under his breath, and then states matter-of-factly "If the leader knows something the goblin didn't, now would be the time to find out. Otherwise, it would be a good idea to dispose of him as well."

Dashe takes great offense from what the fighter said of him. "Do not mistake my past actions, fighter," this last word he spits out like a bad curse, "but I was merely bringing to your attention my ability to serach for magical items which might have prematurely informed us of the incoming 'traders'. Unless you already knew of my ability, I would advise that you not speak ill of your teammates when you do not know better." He glares at Adil with the attentions of attacking him if he was made any more annoyed, despite his former speech about dissention amongst the group.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=darkknight61189>darkknight61189</A]&nbsp; at: 5/25/06 19:50

Varlak was, to put it mildly, annoyed. He wasn't happy about having some narrow-minded fool along who was on some kind of personal crusade to wipe out the forces of injustice wherever he might find them. For now, there was nothing to be gained by joining the outcry. It would just delay them further, and there was no indication that it would have any effect. He did, however, make a note to have a little chat with Adil once they were on the move.

As for the goblin's tale of how he'd been roped into it by others, he didn't believe a word of it. Given the chance, he'd happily betray them all. At least if he thought he'd survive the experience. Varlak had to admit Adil had put the fear of gods into him there.

For now, he was content to keep to the background, letting the others handle the questioning.

Adil duly notes the martial artist's apparent irritation--no, fury at the comment, but pays no further heed to him aside from "Next time, I would advise more caution," and instead walks over to the unconscious, handcuffed, but still alive hobgoblin, making an effort to remove all possible things that could be used against him, even when manacled, taking the maul, shield, and if possible, all manner of pack and container, and flinging them in a direction generally away from the party before standing over the hobgoblin, sword in hand but to the side, and giving him a good kick in the side to wake it up from its unconscious state, adding for effect, "Wake up--you have to sometime..." though knowing that his statement wouldn't be necessary in waking him up.

The hobgoblin Adil kicked lets out a little groan, and groggily cracks an eyelid open a few seconds later. "Slar kleh?" he mumbles. He tries to move, then appears confused when he realizes he's manacled. As the fog in his mind clears slightly, he looks at his surroundings and the people around him and yells in High Goblinoid. "Grepa shla closclo slar! Get these chains off so I can throttle you!"

Varlak decided to make his presence known at this point, walking over to stand next to the hobgoblin, "I really wouldn't make threats," he said in a mild tone, "My associate here's the bloodthirsty type, and he might get it into his head that you're more trouble than you're worth."

Which was completely true. Though Varlak hoped Adil would be able to restrain himslf. For now, he decided to keep the fact that he spoke fluent high goblinoid under wraps.

Adil replies to the hobgoblin's threat by first stating in a likewise...somewhat mild tone. "I'm sorry, but that would be counterproductive to what I intend to do. See, I need some information, and I believe that you might have some that the others may, how do I put it, NOT. So if you cooperate, things won't be painful at all..." Adil again grasped the sword with both hands, just in case he tried to get up and move--though that was unlikely what with his hands bound and the such...

"First off, I want to know if that goblin over there is right in stating that the camp is roughly three miles southwest of here. And don't lie. That isn't cooperation, after all."

Mulligan's palm collides with his forehead at near-relativistic speeds. He is half tempted to start arguing with the dragonhalf again, but now is hardly the time for it. At least one of his compatriots is showing some sense.

Still, they had the information they needed, and this interrogation... might be an amusing spectacle to witness. He was at least reasonably sure that he could separate the fighter and his captive in time to let the more... restrained members of the party intervene.

(Readying an action to Dimension Door with the Hobgoblin to G11 if Adil makes a fatal-looking armed attack. Hamstringing and whatnot are totally kosher, though.)

The hobgoblin glares with hatred at the goblin. "Gloso! Ve pa naroo glann korhab toh tur!" he yells at the smaller humanoid. He glares up at Adil with no appearance of fear and spits on the ground at his feet. "Kill me then, I'll never tell you anything, lizard! You'll never find it!"

(Unfortunately, this is probably my last post before I leave for the weekend. I'll be back Sunday. I might have internet access between now and then, I might not. I can't leave anyone as Dungeon Master between now and then due to the fact that no one knows what's going to happen and I haven't been able to reach my adjutant in a couple days. If you guys want to still do some RP here while I'm gone, that's fine with me.

Oh, and Kelne has a translation of that High Goblinoid sentence in his email inbox.)

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=spleeninfinity13>SpleenInfinity13</A]&nbsp; at: 5/26/06 10:46

Varlak weighed his options and decided that there probably wouldn't be any more outbursts that were quite so useful. And the leader's reaction might well be interesting.

"Korhab, I think, is the least of his worries," he said, "Though I must admit you've piqued my curiosity about him."

(ESTOY USANDO EL INTERNEEEEEEET!!!!

How come motels have free internet, but expensive hotels always make you pay through the nose for it? It's bizarre.)

"You...understood me?" the manacled leader stutters, caught off guard. "But...but how?"

"What did he say?" asks Dashe. He hates having to ask, but he wants to know what is going on more than anything. He walks over to the two and stands a bit behind Adil.

Varlak waved Dashe's question aside. It could be answered later, and keeping the momentum of the questioning going was more important just now.

"Is it so unusual that somebody would take the time to learn your language?" he asked. In point of fact, the ability was a legacy of a misspent youth. He'd picked up a few phrases (often obscene) from friends, and had worked to develop his vocabulary in later life. Every so often, speaking high goblinoid came in handy. Such as now.

"What interests me is what brings you here," he continued, "You're not locals, and you've obviously gone to some lengths to keep your presence a secret. With all respect to Mr Bergher, I doubt you were drawn here by tales of his wealth and his daughter's beauty."

Adil added, "I'll have to agree with him--there's apparently a larger reason behind your actions aside from money. Particularly since you seem uninterested in following through with your end on the ransom...what in particular are your intentions with the girl? I know it's not money, and it's likely not anything to do with beauty or the such, so what is it?"

He resisted smashing the hobgoblin's face with his foot for the time being, as tempting as it was to give in to his anger and baser thoughts, instead keeping the sword pointed diagonally to the ground...

The hobgoblin glowers obstinately at Adil and Varlak. "I will tell you nothing. Kill me as you killed my companions. You know you want to, lizard. Puffed up lizard who thinks he's so strong. You couldn't kill me if you tried."

"See, as tempting as that would be, no. And you have your facts wrong. Lizards sit on rocks in the sun all day. And it's ironic that you say I THINK I'm so strong, when you apparently need to assure your own strength by pushing others around...but, back to the point, there IS a price for uncooperative behavior, implied before..."

And as such, Adil quickly makes a strike...at the hobgoblin's leg, aiming to disable and tear the hell out of it for a good, long while if nothing else, though leave the hobgoblin alive...

Unbelievable. Varlak didn't have time to try and figure out what Adil was thinking. If indeed he was thinking at all. Since he was standing right next to Adil, he simply gave him a good hard shove, intending to unbalance him enough to abort the strike.

Of course, it belatedly occurred to him, shoving a solidly built fighter in full battle gear could well be akin to shoving a brick wall.

Dashe turns to the spellcaster in the group. "Seems our captive doesn't want to say anything. Is there any sort of way you could assist in the endeavour magically?"

Adil's attack against the hostage hobgoblin causes him to fall unconscious once again.

"You," Varlak says to Adil in a seriously annoyed tone, "Are no longer allowed to interact with the prisoners. Go stand over there and be a figure of silent menace." He waves a hand off in a random direction before checking that the hobgoblin isn't in imminent danger of bleeding to death.

Adil said back, not flinching, and equally irate, replying with a single sentence that should say everything Varlak would need to know...

"I'm not your underling."

He stood still, not listening to his order, then noted...

"I didn't aim to kill him, you know."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=namagomimk0>NamagomiMk0</A] at: 6/2/06 1:18

"Clearly not. If you were my underling, I'd have fired you by now." Adil's intentions don't strike him as particularly relevant. Irregardless, the hobgoblin is no longer in any condition to answer questions. And Adil could easily have hit a major artery, in which case, without magical intervention, they would now be watching him bleed to death.

"I have neither the time nor the inclination to argue this with you. If we need to hit something until it dies, then you're our man. In the meantime, have the decency to leave the questioning to somebody who knows what they're doing."

"I don't see why we're bothering anymore," Adil replied, stepping away from the now-unconscious hobgoblin. "He's likely not to talk, and we already have a decent guide as far as we know. Remove everything but his clothes and leave him a bit further out from civilization than here." As he gave this last statement to apparently nobody in particular, he walked over, and, well, if there was a pack, moved to inspect the contents thereof. Maybe there was something in paperwork here.

The hammer-wielder's pack contains a very small knife, 28 gold peices, half a day's food and water, and a capped quiver of arrows. No paperwork that you could find, and really it's not like there are any hiding places in a pack that small.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=spleeninfinity13>SpleenInfinity13</A]&nbsp; at: 6/2/06 18:14

Honestly. The man's like a child with a toy. If he's broken it and subsequently lost interest, why should anyone else get a turn?

Not only is the suggestion of letting their prisoner go a complete turn-around, it is in effect casting away the opportunity to learn more about what the tribe is doing here. As for this teaching the prisoner a valuable lesson? Varlak somehow doubts it.

"We'll leave him here and collect him on the way back," he says, "he may not be immediately useful, but I for one will be very interested in what he has to say. Unless anybody else feels we should simply let him go?" From his tone, he doesn't feel that anyone will speak up, and is merely demonstrating that nobody supports Adil on this or, in fact, any other issue.

"You miss my point. It is not simply 'letting him go', as you put it. But however, leaving him in the middle of the wild, far from civilization, to fend for himself in his current state. There's something quite a bit different between the two." His tone signifying that Varlak has no idea whatsoever about what he's talking about, "Unless you're suggesting that I would've been smarter killing him outright instead of this option."

The sheer idiocy of this person is astounding. If nothing else, he's been spoiled beyond belief. There is a significant difference between letting someone go, and forcing someone to survive with nothing but their own wits. The punishments here are ridiculous, to say the least. They lock you in a room, completely safe from the elements outside. Even more ridiculous...they give you food and water. Then again, when one has access to an excess of food, it must be apparently customary to give prisoners food when there's others that've done nothing to deserve their situation sitting in the streets, trying to live off of almost nothing.

In short, this whole place could be considered to be ridiculous.

Viewing the spectacle with a bit of distaste, Mulligan replies to Dashe, "Not presently, it would seem. Perhaps the young lady," here he nods to Ciele, "could give him something before he bleeds out on us?"

He turns to Adil. "Perhaps, good sir, you are missing the practical benefit to us. While it might be wonderful fun to watch this one be mauled by bears, we might do better submitting him for a more... thorough interrogation. He probably knows more than our friendly goblin, and he sure as hell knows more than us."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=gc130a>GC130A</A] at: 6/3/06 0:31

Adil turns over to the gnome while having rifled through the sparsely-populated pack, replying "If you have something to get him to talk, fine. But after we get what we need, then we leave him to fend for himself. Not that I'm interested in watching..."

The gnome moved himself up in Adil's mind. If nothing else, he actually got the point, and he was being a bit more agreeable than Mr. "You can't do this anymore" Varlak, in Adil's mind...

He turned back to the gold--if nothing else, there was something unusually...mesmerizing...about gold to him. He couldn't quite place it, but...there was something about it. Nevertheless, it was too tempting not to grab. Okay, so it wasn't much, but it was still gold.

He then quickly shot to the others who weren't directly involved with the hobgoblin, which were likely few in number as of current, "Search the others' packs. They might have something of potential use."

Ciele sighs. Perhaps it would be best to just leave this seriously demented lot behind and go back home. It would be better than staying and having to choke down the urge to kick mercenaries in the face for being stupid.... but then she thinks of Mister Bergher's girl, trapped somewhere by vicious goblins.

Rolling up her sleeves, she made her choice, casting a spell on the goblin in hopes of saving its life.

(Ciele casts Cure Moderate on yon hobgoblin, healing it for 18 HP)



Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=nakibe>Nakibe</A] at: 6/3/06 1:31

The hobgoblin is now awake once more. He opens his eyes and blinks, seeming confused for a split second but then remembering his situation.

Adil stops and turns his head back toward the hobgoblin whose pack he is now holding in one hand, saying with a rather condescending tone, "Be glad that the others wanted you to have a second chance; some of us aren't so merciful," before heading off to the corpse of the dead archer, ready to check his pack for anything potentially useful in either an informational or practical sense, lazily carrying the hammer-wielder's pack in one hand.

After all...material possessions aren't very useful to the dead.

Mulligan's thoughts parallel Varlak's, it would seem. Although he's managed to express them in a way that got through Adil's thick skull.

Since the leader actually wants them to kill him, conventional threats aren't going to have much impact. Though Varlak doubts the idea of spending the rest of his life in a dark cell subsisting on bread and water holds any great appeal.

Unfortunately, the only way to get immediate answers out of him seems to be through magic, and nobody's indicated they have any helpful skills in that regard. Which is why Varlak would like to save him for later. By the time 'later' comes, of course, any information he has could be redundant. But Varlak hasn't built a career by simply giving up on uncooperative people in hopes that he'll be able to find information elsewhere.

Still, there is the goblin to consider. There's no sense going to great trouble to extract information from the leader without first learning all they can from him. With that in mind, he leaves the leader to consider his situation, and turns his attention to the goblin, "I'd like a description of the layout of the camp, sentries posted, and the location of Mr Bergher's daughter," he says, in a mild tone.

No doubt the leader will interrupt, possibly giving away more than he intends in the process.

Dashe moves over to the leader hobgoblin, aware that he might try to stop the smaller goblin from divulging any secrets. He stands right next to the hideous creature and readies an action to attack the hobgoblin in the hopes of knocking him out again if he attempts to stop the other goblin from talking.

The hobgoblin started to yell again. "You tell them nothing! You tell them something, and I'll bash your head in! Don't think I won't!"

The goblin swallows visibly and looks at the hobgoblin in obvious fear, and then up to Varlak, eyes pleading.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=spleeninfinity13>SpleenInfinity13</A]&nbsp; at: 6/5/06 19:40

Adil taunted back at the hobgoblin. "It's hard to be convincing on that threat when you have no weapon to back it up with, and your hands are shackled, you know. I don't think anyone can take you seriously by now."

"One way or another, he will not be in a position to harm anybody," Varlak says firmly. Certainly he'd kill him himself rather than let him loose again. Not that he'd give Adil the satisfaction of admitting it, but he's beginning to suspect that the leader is indeed more trouble than he's worth.

For now, he simply waits to see if his words will have any effect, or they're going to need to knock the blasted leader out again.