"No, you and your friend," Myrtha said, pointing at Eugenios,
"can help me search these men. Lyrel, can you keep a watch on them and an eye out the door as well?"
She observed the prisoners with cold, clinical eyes. In part she hoped to keep these men scared, in part she wished to determine if any of them might be considered their leader.
OOC:
Adding an
intimidation and
insight check, just in case they are useful.
standing taller and pointing the wicked edge of her spear, she asks the conscious men in an authoritative voice
"If you have tattoos or amulets on you, now is the time to let us know. Nod vigorously if you have either of those on you..."
And with little ceremony Myrtha stepped straight towards the prisoner who, to her eyes, seemed likely to be their leader, or their senior member.
OOC:
If the insight roll does not give her any clues, Myrtha will go by apparent age, or whomever was calling out orders outside, as a proxy for authority.
She exposed his neck, looking for any necklace, and began handling him like a sack of potatoes, looking for tattoos.
OOC:
The rough handling is for show. If the individual was nodding to say he had tattoos, she will go softer and have him point with his nose to the placement of the tattoo. If he tries to resist or act courageous, she'll slap him with all her force, backhanded, and then continue to speak.
she stated, emphasising the the last word with disgust.
"Maybe some of you have nothing to do with this cult and their evil, my friends and I will soon find it out," she continued, encouraging her new companions to examine the prisoners as she suggested.
As she continues her inspection, she talks loud enough for all the men to hear her clearly.
"You've been told plenty of lies about us. That we're cold-hearted killers. That we've come to prey on your lovely community. That we've taken your kinsfolk, and slain your dogs. Those are all lies. We are the Dungeon Busters. We work for Cecily Raptor and we've come here to investigate some mysterious and fearful rumours. Unfortunately, they've mostly been proven true. Yes, trade has died out because your neighbours have been killing travellers and traders, have been preying on nearby settlements, all to bring offerings to 'Her'. And we will soon get to the bottom of what ails your village. The cultists think that if they kill us, their little secret, their back dealings and stealing will continue to go unnoticed. But let me tell you this: if I die, heck if all my friends die, more will come. If we fail, others will uproot this evil and free your town." She sure hoped this was true. Myrtha thought that if any of them were not cultists, telling the truth and inspiring hope would probably pay dividends, given time.
"We have no love of violence, but we will kill to defend ourselves. Bertram and his buddies at the Golden Grain Inn drugged us with buteo, trying to take us unawares. We're made of stern stuff, and now Bertram's gone back to the mud. He and his torturer friend, Derek. They were put down like the animals they were. They were stealing from the travellers they killed and brutalised: both had safe boxes filled with gold. We left Lhari and Hamiff tied up and alive, just like we're going to do with you, unless you misbehave. Just like we did with your constable, though he's rotten to the core and tried to kill men who had surrendered freely to him under a banner of truce."
She paused to catch her breath. She observed their reactions and took mental count of how many of them were compromised.
"We though we might find more clues under the Golden Grain. That place was like an anthill, plenty of underground passages and hidey-holes. Carrion-eating undead and snakes down there to eat the bodies Bertram and Derek fed them regularly. And more booty. When you head down there, to make sure we're not lying, you might find the bodies of Lhari and Hamiff: they chose to gamble their lives away for a losing cause, though we had given them an opportunity to repent, and to walk in the light again. As we are giving you. If you go down those horrid, stench-ridden tunnels be careful not to be eaten by 'Her' minions. We're leaving your town now, and I suggest no one follow us: the last party who tried are rotting under the eaves of the Dim. Get your lives right while you can, because we're here to fix this problem. And the Dungeon buster's get their job done. Now, I'm going to ungag one of you, so you can speak. You yell or misbehave, and you're getting hurt, so be courteous to a lady, will you?"
Last edited November 15, 2025 7:17 pm
I still need a WIS (Medicine) check from @WanderOne. GM can curse Morton later for succeeding.
