The warrior sighs when he hears Rhees' offer. "You oath to not slay them in their magical trance?" He seems very agreeable to this proposal.
"I promise not to kill them while they are in the trance," agrees Forte, an angry tone in his voice.
Once bound and gagged, the wizard and his lady friend look very pissed, but can do little to cause you trouble.
Caboto sighs with relief. "I would have slit his throat in cold blood, but would not have relished doing so." Caboto does more than just tie the two. He makes sure they are stripped of pouches, ornaments, rings, shoes, every "accessory". Furthermore, he carefully searches their clothes for pockets or small compartments, and empties them. He does this with a tactical zeal, using his dagger to cut rents in their clothing as needed to either search or remove objects. "Perhaps we should get off the street and withdraw to the warehouse where Manus lies" he suggests. "Is Amibar alive?"
The woman wears chain mail and a shield as well as a mace at her belt. Perhaps a priest? She also wears a brilliant blue cloak over her armor, thrown back cavalierly. At her belt is a large belt pouch that contains about fifty Turkish gold coins, not uncommon around here, along with some Russian platinum, perhaps a handful. Most interesting to Caboto is the bone scroll tube within the pouch.
Golthar wears his typical pale yellow robes. He has a belt about them with a strange buckle in the form of two linked manacles. Other than that he has several daggers on his belt and a ring on either finger, one is plain gold and the other made of fine jade. However, neither appears to be worth very much. As he is almost finished with his thorough search, Caboto cuts through a secret compartment in the magician's robes, within which is a large stash of small gems, lots of very valuable stones.
Forte turns to the others in his group. "If no one wants any of their stuff, I would like some of it. The rest we can sell."
Rhune looks up "I wouldn't mind having the jade ring." she replies, then winces in pain as her arm is tied off. When she is given the ring she puts it in a pouch.
At the mention of going back into the Inn Rhees asks, "So you killed the monster that was in the basement?"
"I have driven it off.......it will not bother us again. I promise." Arkady looks down at the pus and goop that stains his clothes and armor.
"Good job, Cabato," Forte says seeing his thorough search of the captives. "Tie up all their bodyguards, too."
It is easy enough to tie up the two thugs. However, the bodyguard steps back, "That was not in our bargain. I will not be tied up." The rat-faced man that was holding Rhune has vanished, obviously Plebius' spell on him wore off before you had a chance to capture him.
"We all know what a magick-user can do if given the chance" Caboto explains grimly. "Let's take no chances with these two"
"Friend" Caboto asks of the agreeable guard, "who are you, how long have you been in the service of these two, and how did that come about?".
The man shakes his head, "Our bargain was not for information, only that if I did not resist, you would not kill them." He stands very close to Golthar, even bound and gagged. "I will pay dearly for not giving my life as it stands now, but I gave you your lives as well. I would not have died alone. Honor demands that you keep your bargain."
Caboto nods another look of appreciation to Rhees, whose brilliant intuition saved them considerably more fighting. He also looks with concern at Rhune, but notes that Tag is tending to her. He looks at Amibar, the fallen one, and all of a sudden feels overwhelmed at how quickly friends, companions and even enemies can die.
Patting Ullar on the head. "Ok, you will live for the moment, I will take a look at Amibar now." Pietro moves over to Amibar, putting his fingers in the neck of the man, checking for a pulse. "Move them to the house, take Rhune with you and give her some water. We will have to decide fast over there. I will try to take care of Amibar."
Unfortunately, Amibar has bled out while all the fighting and talking was going on. He is beyond the help of such minor magicks as Pietro has.
Pietro slowly shakes his head. "That wizard has a lot to account for." He picks the small man up, and carries him back to the house. All along the way he is muttering in himself. "We should feed those two to that huge monster, maybe we could cut of their hands. " As such, the elf is entering the house, tears slowly welling in his eyes.
"Account for?" Forte says, not really asking a question. "Later, he'll pay for what he did to Amibar and tried to do to Rhune. But first we have to interrogate him." He looks around at the others. "Caboto's right. We'd best get inside before the pretend stevedores come back."
Ullar looks up at the mention of the little gnome's name. A tear starts to emerge from his eye. "NO! He can't be dead! Not Ami! NO! NOOOOO!"
With that, Forte sheathes his sword and picks up the wizard and hefts him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He walks into the inn where Manus died, drop the body, waits to make sure Pietro can guard the wizard, and then returns for the lady.
"Please, take us there.." says Ullar, while motioning to the Crossed Swords. "I don't want to be out in the open much longer, as nightfall is not our best friend in this place. I for one need to rest."
"Bodyguard, we cannot take you with us if you will not surrender. I know that you are quite capable of bringing down several of us, but you can't fight all of us. As you can see, you're on your own now and there is no way that you can win this fight."
"Perhaps a compromise can be made. If you hand over your weapons than we will not tie you up. Do we have a deal?" asks Ullar, while checking if the wizard and the woman are gagged securely, afraid that they give the bodyguard 'new' orders.
Forte looks at the bodyguard to gauge his reaction.
The bodyguard shakes his head, "My name is Sligh, and I will not turn over my weapons, lest you turn out to be as lacking in honor as Golthar said you were. If you have honor, then you have nothing to fear from me, and if you have none, then I have much to fear from you. Perhaps I cannot defeat you all, but you struck a deal with me that you would not kill my employer if I did not fight, and you and your elvish friend would be dead now if I had attacked you with the fury with which you all attacked us. You know that and I do, and even if you kill me where I stand, your life you owe to me." He looks calmly at the party, though you can see a bead of sweat coming down from his brow. "I will stay with the Master until you release him, or you must kill me and be done with it. I am not afraid to die."
Plebius uncharacteristically steps forward to the man," It is unusual to see any with honor working in the ranks of the Katoliks. In all my dealings with the Katolik hierarchy, I have found corruption and dishonor among their leaders. Pity that so many are fooled by their hypocrisy. Jerboha will judge them. As for our bargain, I pledge you my life on its keeping."
"We said we would not kill him while he was entranced. That is all." Forte looks to the others for confirmation as he continues. "However, we have honor. It is your employer who has tried to kill us in the past and continued that insanity tonight. You think he's honorable? One who says, 'do what I want or I'll kill your friends?' Our DEFENSELESS, BOUND friends. You are an idiot if you believe that to be the action of an honorable man."
Sligh responds "Such would not be necessary if you had done as he bid in the first place. He saw you planned to attack us. And in any case, the little fellow attacked us, which resulted in his capture. He attempted to cast a spell on my master, which he was not powerful enough to pull off. He then slung a rock at him, which forced us to capture him. This merited his death, similar to how those Hounds." He points offhandedly at the two shaven-headed corpses "fought with you and merited their own deaths, even though you were the aggressors in the conflict."
He shrugs his shoulders, "You may fault my master to escape your own guilt, but by my perspective, you were more responsible for your small friend's death than we were."
Ullar shakes his head in disbelief. "Surrender or your friends dies? That is our fault? Did we have any other option? Do you really think we still would be alive if we surrendered? We fought 'your master' before and he has NO honor, none whatsoever, so don't think we're the aggressors here..." says Ullar, some of his inner strength returning while speaking, although the loss of Amibar makes him feel very, very guilty.
Pietro moves himself in front of Ullar, looking the warrior in the eyes. It is almost a pretty sight, comparing the size difference of the elf and the warrior "Ullar, stop it! You, me, or the rest hold no blame for the deaths of either Amibar or Manus. It's always the killer that is the guilty one. What do you think what would have happened if we'd surrender? Think! Golthar got cocky, that's the reason we were able to surprise him, this will not happen again." Whispering he adds, "I'll cast my charm detection prayer now, I might find out a charm on the woman or the bodyguard as well. This could give us valuable information about the way Golthar selects his henchmen."
Sligh sighs as well, "Perhaps that is your perception. The truth is somewhere else, though."
A great sigh escapes Forte's lips. He looks Sligh in the eye. "However, we will not kill you. Well, let me take that back. I will not kill you. I can not speak for the others." Here, Forte gestures to the other party members, lingering on Arkady a tad longer than the others. Someone listening intently will notice that Forte emphasizes the 'you' in 'we won't kill you' just slightly.
Arkady meets Forte's gaze and nods.
"Your master killed an innocent man," Forte says, his voice choking a bit as he thinks of Amibar. "A defenseless, bound man. Remember that. No funny business and you'll be fine. You try *anything* and you'll join your master in death."
"Quickly........" Arkady leaves the threat hanging as he moves to roll the prisoners over.
"I am bound by an honorable agreement. Were that not the case, your numbers would be two less, and unless I miss my estimation, perhaps three or four less. Your man made the offer, not me. I will only act if you break your oath and attempt to harm Master Golthar."
"Can someone remove EVERYTHING from that lady and Golthar? Especially amulets, rings, fancy symbols. Try to not touch it with your bare hands, use a piece of cloth if possible." says Ullar, while struggling to climb up.
"I think Caboto has done that already," Forte says with a slight smile. "It is good to see you alive, my friend," he says with a serious tone in his voice. "I was worried when that sword ran you through." He leans a little closer to Ullar and whispers, "And even the thought of getting my sword back did not dampen my sadness at your demise."
"Well.. I'm still here.." replies Ullar, with a weak grin, ".. although it has never been as close as this time!"
The large bodyguard stands hard by Forte in his efforts, never allowing himself to be separated from Golthar. When Forte goes to fetch the lady, he stands protectively over the yellow-robed mage.
Arkady skids to a halt and jabbers incoherently as foam flecks fly from his mouth. He keeps lurching forward towards the surrendered foes then wrenching back as reason and rage battle in his mind. Finally he calms and moves to watch the prisoners in the Inn.
Standing over the bound and helpless forms, he ponders their fates as he considers the evils they have put him through. "Lucky for you Golthar, that I hold honor dear........otherwise I would paint this Inn with your Offal!!!"
Tag's face is a mask of worry and he seems not to hear his friend's request. He quickly wipes his blades clean on the coat tails of one of the fallen enemy and sheathes his weapons. He then crouches to the fallen Rhune, taking the sack off and untying her.
He wipes away the elf's long locks from her face slimy with sweat and dirt. He tenderly strokes her cheek. "Rhune, Bella Donna, are you hurt? Speak lady, what an ordeal you have been through, please don't be hurt."
Gasping for air as he removes the sack, Rhune blinks back tears. Crying out "aaaggggh!!!!" as he unties her, wincing sharply when Tag touches her left arm which appears broken. tears rolling down her cheeks she tries to move her arm but can't as the pain shoots through her, "oh, Tag.....is...the baby alright?" she mutters.
Rhune's face feels cool and clammy to his touch and even to his untrained eye she looks pale and sickly. Her child like features, slack and lifeless. "Don't die Rhune. Think of the life within you and the love we must return to you. Rhune, say something!" Tag cradles her head in his lap as he tries to revive the elf maid.
Shrinking from Tag's touch at first the recognition sinking in she nuzzles his hand "I am....alri....ouw!!!!! my arm!" she cries out as he lifts her head.
Plebius quickly makes his rounds to anyone in need.
He finds that Rhune's arm is not broken, but sprained badly. He is able to minister to it and regain her mobility, though it is badly pained mobility. The others respond well to treatment, though Ullar and Forte both bear great injury still. They will be some time healing. Amazingly, Arkady's solo duel with the troll did not damage him as bad as might be expected, as his wounds are not terrible. Caboto and Taglio both bear some injuries, but will recover easily.
Wincing as her friend works on her arm, Rhune looks over at the body of Amibar. She shudders as tears roll down her cheeks at loss of yet another friend. Her hand goes to her belly and caresses it as if she is trying to comfort her little one. Desperately she wishes Asif were here. When Plebius is finished, she says "Thank you my friend"
In despair Ullar watches the wound in his stomach, not realizing what Pietro is doing. His mouth is open as he gazes at the what should be mortal wound, which closes just a little now. Still, Ullar is far from reasoning right now.
>From a small distance, Pietro slowly checks out the woman, looking at her intensely for a moment. After that he turns to Plebius. "Plebius, who is hurt the worst? I can still use one healing prayer."
Plebius replies," Ullar or Forte are most in need presently."
After Plebius' answer, he moves over to Forte. "Relax, this is not going to hurt one bit." A small grin enters Pietro's face, as if somehow the incantations have relaxed him.
The effects of Pietro's spell on Forte are minimal at best. His injuries are still most severe, worst among them those inflicted by the troll. Ullar still looks as if he should be dead, but seems to have less numerous injuries than Forte.
Forte smiles at Pietro. "Thanks," he says softly.
Pietro is totally unable to place the faith of the woman, if she be priest. She wears no Katolik regalia, and in fact has no holy symbol of any kind on her person. Perhaps she's just a warrior that likes to use the mace? Not terribly uncommon.
"Probably just old yellow-robe's whore," Forte says, kicking the bottom of her foot playfully with his boot.
The woman's ice-blue eyes pierce Forte as much as Sligh's sword did Ullar, the venom in them almost palpable.
There is no sign of activity in the Inn of the Crossed Swords now that the troll has been chased off. However, it is also clearly not the headquarters of Golthar and his band, as it has not been used for many months.
Taking her pack and Amibar's, Rhune puts them on another table, one at a time, away from Golthar and the lady. Putting herself between them and the packs, her back to them, she rummages through each of the packs, looking for the blue tube. When she sees that it is still in her pack she makes sure that she does not let the others see that, wincing every so often with her arm.
As she looks for the tube, Rhune speaks "Ullar are you alright, is everyone alright? I...I don't want to lose anymore friends." she utters as tears well up in her eyes, then she returns to looking for the tube.
"I'll live.." is Ullar's response, his voice still filled with remorse that he was unable to guard Amibar, ... and Manus.
Indeed the tube is there, and has not been disturbed. It looks as if Rhune was not searched, which is fairly odd, considering the circumstances. However, as she was either held or sacked for her entire ordeal, Rhune can shed no light on the mystery.
The elf immediately moves to a separate corner in the room, gently putting Amibar on the floor. "Arkady, please make sure the three of them are not looking, they are not worth it so see Amibar's last passage". Closing the eyes, straightening the body, crossing the arms of the small man, Pietro slowly starts to conduct the last rites, almost whispering the incantations. "For the second time today, I say goodbye to a friend. He was stabbed to death in cold blood. Though bound by oath now, I will vow to make sure that the murderer gets his deal when we meet again. Small of stature, though bold as Odysseus himself, the friendly man will be missed. Dear Hermes, please guide this man on his last journey." A soft blue nimbus transfers from the hands of Pietro to Amibar's head, settling there for a moment before dissipating. You see Pietro stand up. "We will have to burn the bodies, there is no time to bury them, and I won't give their bodies to some scavenger."
"Let's interrogate them, then burn this place down and leave," suggests Forte. "We can't carry the bodies with us."
Wiping away the trickle of blood from his cheek, Arkady rolls each prisoner over face down, and stands over them silmar blade in hand.
"Strip them down and we'll pack up the loot. A ring for a memento of today's fight wouldn't bother me at all."
And so Arkady takes the gold ring from Golthar's other hand. It is plain, with no engraving or decoration.
Arkady fits the Golden ring on whatever finger it will fit on, on his left hand. Helping to sack up the other "treasures" he grins maliciously at Golthar.
Forte takes everything else Cabato has stripped off the prisoners which remains unclaimed, except the armor and shields. He puts the woman's blue cloak over his shoulders, laughing gaily as he does so. "So," he says to the others, "is it 'me'?" His words seem merry, but his face looks a little pale.
Arkady chuckles at the jest. "It'll keep you warm where we're going."
His face suddenly serious and a little more pale, Forte says softly, "Yes, I suppose it will."
"Did someone take the gems?" Ullar asks. "Otherwise I'll take them, for the groups grand total!"
"Here they are," Forte says, handing Ullar the pouches with gems in them. Since no one expressed any interest in anything else, he packs up the rest of the captive's belongings and prepares to carry it. Forte pauses at he looks at Golthar's belt buckle. He wraps the belt loosely around his waist to see if it would fit, then shrugs his shoulder and puts it in the bundle with the other loot.
Rhune says as she sighs with relief at finding the blue tube still there. "Ullar, Forte, come here for a moment please." she slips over to the side of the room away from the others. Once there and they have joined her, "I just checked. The blue tube is still here. Now either they didn't have time to search for it or something else is going on. Either way we should be getting out of here soon and on the road. This Sligh seems okay if we tell him not untie his friends till and hour or so from now we would have a head start. I know this does not give us much time to bury Manus and Amibar but we could take the bodies with us. Anyway what do you guys think?"
"A decent plan," agrees Forte, "but maybe we should take Sligh with us for an hour or so. Then, he can come back and get them..." His voice trails off, but not before he adds, "...if something else hasn't."