Tail of a Toothless Dragon

[Faulkner]

Life is difficult. Some days more than others. Today, well, today is definitely one of those days. You’re not even sure it’s still today, it’s hard to tell time when you’re trussed up and your head is stuffed in a sack. You’re sure the floor is hard and uncomfortable, and that it reeks of body odor and pee. You’re sure the ropes are rubbing your already raw wrists and ankles, and you’re absolutely sure that you’ll have a few choice things to discuss with a few lousy, sneaky, no-good, rat-faced, sons-of-a-gully-dwarf that did a job on you. Now you’re one coin-purse lighter, missing your gear, tied up, and only gods know where.

You’re not exactly sure, but you could swear that the floor has been moving from time to time during your captivity. Not big moves, but an almost gentle, sometimes nauseating rocking. While you’re not certain how long you have been tied and held, it can’t be too terribly long as you haven’t eaten and are still alive, though you are starving.

[Marillion]

"Well. Well, this is just dandy." Sebastian shifted his legs, trying in vain to find a comfortable position, and sighed. He then stomped on the floor in anger and yelled out as loudly as he could "MAY THE SOVEREIGN OF SUN DAMN BOTH HALF-ORCS AND WIGMAKERS TO A COLD AND DARK PLACE WHERE EVERYONE IS BALD!"

[Zore]

Stark

"Be calm, we may be able to escape." Stark said, attempting to shift his arms to see if he could catch some of his sharper metal plating on the ropes, "Yelling will accomplish nothing at the moment. We need to come up with some plan to break these ropes. Is anyone of unusual strength? Can anyone reach a sharp object?" Stark spoke logically and smoothly, attempting to sound as non-hostile as possible. 'This is just another combat scenario, nothing to worry about.' He told himself to calm himself down.

[d13]

Aelena

"NO NEED TO BE SHOUTING, DAMMIT!" Clearly annoyed, Aelena struggled a little with the shackles before giving up. "I have enough of a headache already... Sorry about the yelling. As you may guess, the mood is not the greatest, at the moment." Failing to see anything, Aelena tries to remember what happened, and why was she there.
"Seems like we've got a good deal of trouble, ahead... May I ask... Can you see anything?

Spoiler

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OOC: Can you state the name of your character at the start of your posts? It'd help to associate names with colours, until we get to "know" each other xD

[Knight13]

Joral

Having given up on breaking the ropes binding him hours ago, Joral is currently engaged in trying to rip a hole in the sack over his head with his teeth, though more to keep from losing his sanity then for any actal hope of success. He spits out the rough sackcloth for a moment to answer the female's question, his voice a bass rumble, "I cannot see anything, though I am working on that." He goes back to vigorously chewing on the sack.

[Marillion]

Sebastian

Upon realizing he was in the presence of a lady, Sebastian immediately calmed down."I also apologize, ma'am. I am just very frustrated. No, I cannot see anything, and believe me friend, if I were very strong or had something sharp, I would have set us all free by now." Just to be safe, he feels along the floor, hoping to find a board that had warped out of place or splintered.

[Gorgondantess]

Rice sits in a corner, having gained what poise and relaxation he could, acting completely normal and nonchalant. He tilts his head back and forth, singing in a ringing, crystalline voice.
There's no earthly way of knowing...
Which direction we are going....
There's no knowing where we're rowing...
Or which way the river's flowing...
Is it raining is it snowing...
Is a hur-a-cane-a-blowing...


Ha pauses, for a bit, motionless, then proceeds to whistle the rest of the song in an inhumanly loud, piercing, clear whistle.

[Zore]

Stark

"It is important that we try anything we can and do little to alert our kidnappers. Any tactical advantage we can gain will be necessary if we wish to escape this situation. I doubt, however, they are going to kill us. They have gone to great trouble to immobilize and transport us so presumably we are some form of slaves or are sacrifices for something." Stark echoed monotonously, trying not to think about the implications of what he was suggesting.

[Knight13]

Joral

Having made no progress over the last two hours, Joral gives up on trying to chew through the sack. "By Great Oalian's leafy crown, I should have known better then to lower my guard around outsiders." With that, he begins to worm his way across the floor, trying to find the walls of the room.

[d13]

Aelena

Now trying to slip her hands out of the manacles, Aelena whispers
"I have the hell of a headache and am starving. I don't know which one is worst.
Anyway, whoever talked before the last one has it right. We do not gain anything for shouting or making loud noises. We need to escape as silently as possible if we still want to hold the element of surprise against our captors." Aelena pauses to catch her breath, and assess the situation. While still trying to free herself, her stomach grumbles.
"And the sooner, the better, I think. By the way, what's up with that ticking noise?"
Aelena pauses for another second, concentrating on freeing herself, and (presumably) failing really hard.
"Oh! How rude of me, I forgot my manners! The name is Aelena. Pleased to make your acquaintance, though the circumstances are far from pleasant."

[Faulkner]

"Oi, they be wakin" A gruff heavily accented dwarvish voice. "I tollya they'd nae throw dead 'uns down 'ere."

One by one you are untied and set loose by strong, heavily calloused, not very gentle hands. Off pops the smothering sacks and you see where you've ended up.

The room is constructed of wooden walls, floor, and ceiling. Several areas of the wall have been torn down to reveal average, but solid, stonework behind the wood. The floor is in reasonably good condition save for a few holes that open directly onto dirt and rock. The ceiling is a good 12 feet up from the floor and there is no ladder or staircase visible. There is a trap door in one corner of the prison room ceiling and a refuse pit in the opposite corner.
The air is fairly warm, there is a faint smell of fire from up above. While there are no shackles or restraints, there is also no apparent way out aside from the trap door in the ceiling. The trap door is not close enough to the wall to make it easy to climb up using holes in the wooden wall planks, but it might be possible for a skilled acrobat.
In total, there are two warforged, one shifter, three humans, one halfling, and one dwarf. It's a little cramped for all the company, but at least you're not dead and the bag is off your head.

[Marillion]

Sebastian

Ah! I see we are not the only ones to fall afoul of these kidnappers. Sebastian begins to rub his wrists, restoring the circulation and soothing the burns. I don't suppose you know why we are here either, do you, friends? he asks, idly looking around their surroundings for something that he might be able to use.

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Diplomacy check. Whoever these guys are, it can't hurt to try to be friendly. (d20+4)[20](24)

[Zore]

Stark

"Well met all, I am Stark." Stark said to the group as his eyes Search - (1d20+5)[18] the room. "Does anyone know why we have been brought here? Has anyone been in this room for any length of time?" His voice is steady and reassuring, jarring a bit with his short appearance and mismatched parts.

[Knight13]

Joral

Joral rubs his raw wrists. He is obviously a shifter, but distinctive even for one of his race. With his armor taken by your captors, he is dressed simply in rough spun brown trousers and a dark green sleeveless tunic. His unkempt black hair falls to his shoulders and on the right side of his head some of it is twisted into a thin braid tied at the end with a piece of green string, but the short, thick hair on his forearms is tan-orange with black tiger stripes. When he glances at you, you can see that his eyes are gold, shading to green near the pupils, which are vertical slits.

"Thank you for freeing us, do you know where we are?"

[d13]

Aelena

Aelena shrugs, as blood start filling her limbs again.
"Phew, thanks. I was starting to think I was blind, at the very least."

Looking around, she tries to see if the others are also prisoners, or this is some sort of setup. (Rolls in spoiler, below).

"As I said before, the name's Aelena. How may I call you all? I really don't like to address people as 'you'"

Spoiler

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Rolls:

Use as needed:
"Spot" - (1d20)[12]
"Sense Motive" - (1d20)[9]
"Diplomacy" - (1d20+3)[15]

OOC:
Do I discern anybody's gender? Aelena wouldn't be really comfortable were she the only girl.

[Faulkner]

The room is a fairly large room, though it seems small with this many occupants. The hole in one corner that you can assume is a refuse pit is small and dark, no indication of how far down it might go. The trap door in the far corner looks fairly solid. Being so high up, there are no obvious ways to access it, though in the two walls it is closest to there are holes punched in the room siding that could act as a ladder were you so inclined to use them as such. Even with that make-shift ladder, you'd practically have to crawl across the smooth and quite solid wood that makes up the ceiling to get to the door.

There is a very faint smell of something cooking, or more accurately, something burning. Not much, but enough to remind everyone it's been quite some time since you last ate.

The three who are not in the party are one halfling girl who might be fairly pretty if she were able to wash herself and put on something other than shapeless rags, a gruff and beat looking dwarf, and a human who is overly thin, pale, and is hunched over sitting in a corner, eyeing you all through sunken sockets.

The halfling girl approaches Aelena hesitantly, her brown eyes carrying a look of pleading and fear.
Tricksi-
"I'm Tricksi, Aelena, good to meet you, even in this place. That's Delfunn over there" Tricksi gestures to the dwarf who grunts and folds his arms in response. "He's been here longest of us, and he's a sourpuss." Tricksi casts a sympathetic look at the human in the corner who has began shaking and coughing a hollow very unhealthy sounding cough. "That's Gin, he came in at the same time I did."
Delfunn-
"Aye, an 'ell be 'ere 'till 'is diein' day likely too. Ain't much price ta be got fer tha sickly an the weak." His face splits into a wry grin "Or those o' us who be so surly no livin being'd want to part with gold fer. You, young lass" Delfun motions to Aelena "are in tha same boat as lil' Tricksi 'ere. You'll lik'ly be 'ere for a time, 'till some wealthy lonely old sod o' a man meets tha' price they'll be askin." Tricksi holds herself and shakes, tears willing in her eyes and her lower lip quivers. "Unless one o' ya' manages to find a way outter this place. Good motivation eh?" Delfunn looks up at the ceiling "Though, I canna say I'd be o' much 'elp there. Never did fight fer a darned an' couldn't get me way out o' a lit room wit' tha door wide open."

[d13]

Aelena

"So slavers, then..."

Struggling to remember the name, Aelena address the coughing man.

"Are you okay? ...Gin was it?"

After being answered (if she is), Aelena turns around, assessing the current status of the people around her, and trying to figure who of them could be heplful, and who would need to be helped.
Our captors must have a way of getting down here, we should use that opportunity... but HOW?
Checking if she at least had her belt pouch.

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If she has it
Not recognizing the voices of the halfling and the dwarf as the ones that spoke when she was hooded, Aelena turns to the rest of the people.
"I understand for what I've heard, some of you have some sort of tactical warfare training or experience. We all need your help. At least I, am certainly not waiting to be sold."

If she doesn't have it
Aelena continues with the thinking, and unconsciously thinks aloud
"If only I had, at least, my belt pouch..."
And start searching for enough sand to cast a Sleep spell
I think I've got an idea...

"Anyway... Tricksi, don't be so harsh to Delfunn. Those were the names, right? Anybody would be a sourpuss if held down here long enough."

Sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall, Aelena frowns at the smell of the burning, as her stomach grumbles again. Mostly speaking to herself, but loud enough for the others to notice

"Damn. How long have we been unconscious? (gr?) I am starting to think I will starve to death."

[Knight13]

Joral

"I am Joral. I do not know how long we have been unconscious, but it has certainly been some time. I am hungry as well." Joral walks around the room tapping at the walls, both wood and stone. Then he scrapes at the dirt visible through the holes in the floor to see how far down it goes. "So we are in a slavers' den. As I asked before, do any of you know where this is?"

[OOC: Does Joral still have his divine focus? It's a small sprig of bracken fern that he wears pinned to his tunic.]

[Faulkner]

@Aelena
Gin is too busy hacking up a lung to answer anything at the moment.
You do not have your pouch, but can scrape up enough loose sand to do the trick.

@Joral
You've still got the majority of your holy symbol, though it's pretty badly beat up and chunks have gone missing during your trip. It should still be serviceable.
The dirt turns quickly to clay and stone. You could try to dig further, but you'll bloody your hands very quickly without much progress.

Delfunn
"I dunnae know where we be, but ter say tha buildin above us be a tavern. I ken 'ear the music an' smell the drink some nights. As ter feedin' and 'ow they be gettin us up an' down, they got a rope ladder they be keepin' in tha room above. They drop a bucket with slop fer feedin and with water fer drinkin. When it comes time ter be sold, they tell which to climb up. Some time past we tried ter all climb up an' overwhelm 'em. They jus' cut the rope an' let us starve a good few days. Came down on a new rope an' beat us black an' blue, took the ol' rope an' left."

[Zore]

Stark

"Then they are selling us as slaves." He turned to the rest of the group, "Does anyone have the ability to use any kind of magical powers? Any weapons or things that can be made into weapons around? We may be able to get out of here, based on our resources."

[Gorgondantess]

Rice looks around for any kind of weapon- specifically, a pole of some sort.
He goes to the center of the room, and gathers some attention.
"So we're to be sold as slaves? We living, breathing beings? And you two just sit there, placid? I will find a way out! I will fight them! Though my flesh may be rent and my blood be spilt, I will not allow myself to be sold away like some object! I am a human being!" He looks over himself. "At least, I think I am. I always fancied myself maybe a half-elf. I don't know, though, my parents are long gone and I'm none for physiology." He trails off, muttering about this and that, looking around the place.

[Marillion]

Sebastian raises an eyebrow at the insane mutterings of the metal creature, then decides discretion is the better part of not having a psychotic metal creature on a rampage. It's obviously not all there and needs to be pitied and played along with rather than shatter it's delusions, and then have it shatter his fine-featured face.

You know, you do seem to be rather...pointy. Like an elf. Personally, I think you're a quite dashing specimen, whatever you may be. He then looks around, making eye contact with everyone and mouthing play along at them.

Anyway, what you are doesn't matter. What does matter is, you're here in this light-forsaken pit with us. But have faith, friends. We will escape, and these scalawags will be brought to justice, somehow. Our Goddess will give us providence. We have simply to wait for an opportunity, and then take it when it comes.

Ah! I am too rude. My name is Sebastian.

He then turns his attention towards Gin, walking towards him and kneeling beside him. "Please, friend, allow me to see if I may do anything to help you."

Spoiler

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If Gin lets Sebastian examine him, a Heal check to determine 1st what he's suffering from, and 2nd what (if anything) can be done, even if it's only to ease the pain.
(d20+3)[19](22)

[Gorgondantess]

Rice nods at Sebastian, raising his eyebrows. Pointy, eh? What a nut. Better not piss him off though, the man looks like a bruiser. Can't take any chances with a delicate complexion like mine. He looks to the others, making eye contact and moving his head in a "play along" gesture.
He then steps over to Sebastian and shakes his hand. "While I'm not on very good terms with the gods myself, what a name you have, sir! I am known as Rice. A fine name, I think. I picked it out myself. Yours is better, though. Now, any plans on getting out of here?"

[Marillion]

Rice nods at Sebastian, raising his eyebrows. Pointy, eh? What a nut. Better not piss him off though, the man looks like a bruiser. Can't take any chances with a delicate complexion like mine. He looks to the others, making eye contact and moving his head in a "play along" gesture.

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Haha, that made my night.

Somewhat bemused at the prospect of shaking hands with a machine, Sebastian nevertheless accepted. Pleased to meet you, Rice.

As of yet, I...no, I do not have a plan. But I trust that one will come.

Sebastian looks around again, the beginnings of an idea in his mind. His gaze settles on the trap door.

Hmm...Perhaps, if we were to...Rice, Stark, do you think you two together could support mine and someone else's weight? If we could lift Tricksi or Aelena up to the trap door, they may be able to climb out and lower some rope for us.

[Zore]

Stark

Stark glanced at Sebastion, slightly incredulous of what the man was asking him. He glanced down at himself and saw that he was still three feet and change tall, then glanced up at the enormous and delusional Rice.

"I'm the shortest one here, despite my 'heritage'," Stark said, "I have no exceptional strength. Actually me being the one boosted to the top would make more sense then being at the bottom. I do not share the customary strength of my taller brethren, Warforged Scouts are built in the vein of Halflings more than anything, short, quick and sneaky." Stark said in way of explanation.

[d13]

"I'm not very sturdy myself, but I have a trick or two under my sleeve that could put any common guard out of the way for about a minute. Anyway, I am a failure at being stealthy, for what it takes... I wouldn't know what to do if my tricks fail, besides shoving sand to the closest one's face"

Aelena speaks, showing the handful of sand she holds in her hand, and taking a look around the room again.

"Those holes at the wall may be useful in some other way than needing a freakin' acrobat to pull that through. Maybe we should focus on those before trying the human...oid ladder thing?
Besides that... Rice, would you lift Sebastian in your shoulders? Or me, for what it matters, I'm only a couple of inches shorter. We need to check where that trap door leads, and if it's even unlocked, or we have to wait for our captors to open it to feed us".

Taking a moment to look at everyone in the eyes trying to see if everyone is willing to escape, or if there's anyone afraid of doing it.

"In order to pull this escape through, we need to play the same game, together. There's no time for feeling offended at what's been asked if it helps to escape, there's no time for personal grudges, and there's even less time for doubt.
I would rather die trying to escape this, than live the rest of my life as a slave. And I'm not going to be held down here any longer, if I can help it."

Pausing to catch her breath, and looking how any/everyone reacted to her statements.

"Is any of you with me, or will I have to pull this on my own?"

Spoiler

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Rolls:

Sense Motive - (1d20)[18]
Diplomacy - (1d20+3)[7]
[roll=Perform (Oratory)]1d20+3[/roll]

Use as needed, tell me if I need to re-roll something, or roll something else xD

OOC: I just re-checked my character sheet, and realised I took Eschew Materials as my first level feat xD.
I've been scrapping for sand pointlessly, so I'll be using it for something, I guess xD
@Zore: You got your HP wrong in your charsheet. You should have 10 hp, not 9 xD.

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[d13]

Rolls messed up, seems like I cannot use parentheses in the description...

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Perform Oratory - (1d20+3)[13] (not trained)

[Knight13]

Joral

"I agree, I will not be sold like livestock." Joral gingerly fingers the sprig of fern pinned to his tunic. "I am a druid, with the power of nature as my ally. Unfortunately, I do not think any of my spells will be useful for escaping from this cell, though they will be useful for dealing with our captors. Also, my heritage grants me the ability to fight without weapons, so I think I stand the best chance of defeating them in close combat until such time as we can find weapons for the rest of you."

[Marillion]

Sebastian

Distracted by Gin's odd state, Sebastian responds Hmm? Ah, I apologize, Stark. You sounded taller. Something is...off...about this man, but he can't figure it out.

My sword-er,fist- is pledged to help you and all the slaves escape, Aelena, though I confess I can't think of anything to do but the ladder, as I am no great athlete. Sebastian inwardly shudders when he realizes that Rice might insist on being on top. If someone else can think of a way to get up there, I'm open to suggestions.

[Faulkner]

Are y'all trying the human pyramid thing? Is anyone searching around the rest of the room?