Gods Among Men: Ilum's Prison

[Frog Dragon]

Karnbau
The slave-labor run Karnbau sits at the side of a mountain named in honor of the same man. It's establishment has been a mixed blessing for the inhabitants of Karnhan a few kilometers away from the mine, as the Carac guard has entirely taken control of the village. However, many have become richer for catering to the guards who have nowhere else to go in their off-time.

The mine itself digs deep from all of its five entrances, the first of them situated directly on a road north of Karnhan, while the rest are situated on plateaus cleared for small camps on the side of the mountain.

Though most of the guards are housed in barracks on the plateaus, the prisoners are kept in a somewhat easier to control environment. Near the entrances, there are cavernous halls with enormous holes broken into the sides of mountain, too high to reach, but good for ventilating and supplying some light to the prisoners.

Jase
Being more literate than almost every other guard employed by the mine, Jase had been given bookkeeping jobs. The administrator was of the opinion that everyone be assigned where they were most suited. And that had been the idea in Jase's latest command. When the miners had found rock no-one could identify, Jase had been ordered down there to look at it.

Lowered by winch into the depths of the mine, Jase soon reaches the cavern in question. Though he is forced to crouch a few times as he walks, the passage opens up into a larger cave, the single entrance to it flanked by two guards leaning on wooden support struts. One nods lazily in your direction. Walking past them, he notices the 1-foot cubical cask of explosive elven powder placed behind one wooden support.

A torch on the wall illuminating the cavern, Jase easily spots the rock he had been asked to look at. The rock is deep red, with a texture like tin, and though picks had dug into every other piece of wall, the dark scarlet stone seemed untouched. A pick has been left leaning on the wall, likely from when the slaves dug to this vein of stone.

Spoiler

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You realize that this area has been marked a minor collapse risk, making the use of elven powder a really bad idea.

Uroo, Bo, Kadar
A large hide covering has been drawn over the hole in the ceiling, and now it serves to let the raindrops slide down the face of the mountain. Looking around the cavern, there seem to be around 40 people, almost half of them gnolls, as well as two orcs, with the rest of them being humans. The darkness of the cavern, result of the late hour and the covered hole in the roof make it hard to judge whether a particular human is Carac or Angrian, but the majority of them nevertheless must be Angrian, as they are the majority in the prison mines.

One gnoll has been chained to a wall by his foot in a corner of the cavern, though one may only guess at the crimes that led to it. The rest are at least free to move about the cavern, and some are laying on beds of loose straw set near the walls. And though the persistent sound of rain from the outside obscures sound, one can nevertheless hear the guards speak outside.

Carac speech

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"Hey, your watch is over."

Kekth
Having been assigned sole guard to a prisoner cavern that holds 40, he can't help but realize that if they were to get free, he would have little chance to defend himself. Still, other guards were only a shout away. Further, the door to the cavern was a massive, oaken one that was barred both to the wall and to the floor by diagonal struts. Still, if some of the prisoners got determined enough...

Nevertheless, no-one had ever tried escape from the prison caves. The guards outside the entrance were within shouting distance, and the guards at the barracks could quickly be roused to deal with a disturbance, and this the prisoners knew. Further, Kekth's watch was about to end.

True to this estimate, a Carac clad in scaled leather armor and armed with a spear and a shield walks up from the passage to the outside. He waves and speaks, "hey, your watch is over."

[boldfont]

Friendly Bo sat spread eagle on the ground pushing pebbles from place to place with his finger. It was a game he invented for passing time. What the rules were, he couldn't tell you, but you "won" when you manged to forget you were in a prison.

"Hey, your watch is over."

Friendly sighs.

I was almost on beach before you speak.

He glances over at the gnoll's chains. Friendly could probably pull them out of the wall, but it wasn't the chains that kept prisoners here. It was the prison's reputation. A whole barracks stood between him and freedom. Friendly didn't like the idea of being "on a lamb" for the rest of his life either. He did want to be free though. He wasn't even sure of what he'd done wrong. Still! After all this time. He thought he'd never understand this strange land.

[Nanoblack]

Uroo

Resigning himself to a dark corner of the room, Uroo casually regards the other prisoners as he nurses a set of fresh bruises. He usually makes it a habit to attempt socializing with the other gnoll prisoners, but he had been subconsciously avoiding the last one chained to the wall. After some deliberation, a set of popping joints brings him to his feet and he makes his approach.

Silently sliding along the wall, he squats just out of reach of the chained individual. It had been some time since he had vocalized so he exhales sharply to clear his throat before speaking. "What did you do to earn your shackles, kinsman?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Jase

Jase wanders through the abandoned site examining the rocks and the supports to check that everything was safe: once the blackpowder was removed he wanted to be sure there would not be the chance of a natural collapse anyway.

He'd come here to free Bo, not realising quite how difficult that might be. It wasn't in his nature to hide his intelligence an that had landed him with jobs like these, far away from any of the prisoners.

He examined the dark red rocks again, wondering what it was they had been digging for.

Spoiler

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Knowledge (if local, planes or arcana then +1) (1d20+4)[9]

Afterwards he called out to the guards behind him: "One of you two get over here and shift this crate, don't you know it could go up any time, you could bring half the country down on your heads." Even as he said those words, a plan began to form...

[TwelvePointFive]

Kadar
Kadar sat on a rock, leaning against the wall with his legs crossed. As he sat there, the burly orc whistled a jolly tune, one seemingly out of place in the rather gloomy suroundings.

He recalled what the kithrian he'd once met had told him. If you ever get jailed, no matter if it's for stealin' you gotta remember this: Keep your mood up, do what you're told, and be ready to break for it when there's opportunity. But don't let 'em break you!
Mentally Kadar tried to make sense of what he could do once this "opportunity" presented itself. He had charms. He had looks too, if you asked himself atleast, though people were prone to disagree with him there. He could fight, and he could run. None of the above seemed particularly likely to help, no sweettalking the guards, and no weapons to fight with. But then, of course, he had magic. And the other prisoners could be useful too. It might pay to get in good with the gnoll that was chained to the wall. Scary fellow, he was. Or perhaps, that giant over there. He looked like he could punch clean through the door. He also looked considerably less scary.
But for now, he'd sit here and rest, and he'd whistle. Keeping the mood up.

[boldfont]

Friendly Bo was feeling blue. Prison does things to a man's soul, and Bo's soul had been so gentle and happy before. Now it was downtrodden and a sorry sight to see for any that had known him before. This was no place for a man like Bo.
But he had no where else to be. His family was either dead, like his father, or spread over the four corners of the world, like his mother and sister who could be anywhere. His only friend in the world, Jase, had probably abandoned him. Friendly couldn't say he blamed him. Friendly felt lower than he had ever felt in his life. He began to sing a dirge from his homeland. He was no bard, but the genuinity of the moment was touching for those that had any sort of heart.

Das vertk ya'blet kursten
Jae plavst ver tern
Das vertk ya'korn brastk virst
Doe bae der ya'hern

Gor stalt for tern
Lept spatze shoen
Gor stalt for tern
Lept t'hern stae fhoen

(Hello my sweet little bird
Why are you crying?
Hello my sweet friend
Rest yourself in my hands

I am crying
because the wind blows
I am crying
because I'm in your hands


The giant's strange Kilthish song reverberated off the cavernous walls and carried throughout those hellish mines. And then all was quiet again.

[Frog Dragon]

Prison Cave
The gnoll shifts around, trying to stretch his leg. "I don't suppose you'll go away, will you?" he grumbles to Uroo. He sighs, and starts talking. "I was tossed here over a year ago. My grandmother had told me to go get my brother from a bar. It was for some family business, forget what," he turns in place, slumping against the wall with his left leg slightly contorted. "When I got there, my brother was being arrested for a bar fight. 'Course, he'd started nothing, but they were going to toss him to the mines anyway, along with a bunch of other people. So I attacked them. My brother got away, but I got tossed here instead, he looks down. "They put me in chains last week. I met one of my father's friends here. He told me that my brother had joined the Strongerlanders and gotten himself killed on a raid on one of these mines. I may have tried to drive my pick into a guard's skull after that. Now they keep sending me into danger zones. I think they're half-hoping a roof'll collapse on me or something," he says. His ear twitches as he hears Bo sing. He breathes heavily, and shouts. "Would you shut up!"

The Depths
Though Jase cannot recognize the mineral in the wall, the cave does not seem to be any real danger of collapsing just yet, and the wooden supports appear fairly well laid. As he turns to the two guards, one of them turns around to pick up the cask, but the other grabs him by the shoulder before looking at you.
"What are you going on about?" he asks, gently pushing the other guard away from the cask. "The administrator said we should blast the red rock out, since our picks can barely scratch it." He shifts slightly, between Jase, the other guard, and the cask.

[boldfont]

sorry Bo says.

[Nanoblack]

Uroo

The sudden raise in volume from the gnoll was enough to make Uroo drop his ears in surprise. "I mostly do rubble clearing and receive beatings so I only really see the uppermost levels of this place. What are the deep tunnels like?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"Well we better hurry then," Jase replies, smiling maliciously and waving a hand, causing a blinding flurry of colours to strike the struggling guards.

Spoiler

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Cast Color Spray Will negates DC 15.

I'm not sure if the Mountebank's ability to increase HD caps will apply to this spell.

"Lesser Archetype Power: A mountebank may add his Intelligence modifier to all his Bluff, Disguise, and Sleight of Hand checks. In addition, any HD caps on his enchantment spells are increased by his Charisma modifier." - Your decision.

[Frog Dragon]

The Depths

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Initiative
Guard 2
Guard 1 (this is the one who's speaking)
Jase

The slightly shorter guard to the left of you looks at you wide eyed, while the second's reaction still registers surprise, but not nearly as great. Then, before Jase can act, both shake their shock off, bringing their weapons to striking positions. Holding his weapon like a javelin from the midpoint of the haft, the shorter guard stops himself before striking as the taller guard places his shield before himself.

"Not a step," the shorter guard warns, spear ready to strike.

Prison Cave
"Damp. Small passages," the gnoll says. "Hardly space to swing a pick sometimes. But it's where the best bounty comes to these red bastards," he grumbles. Then his eyes shift to the door. It creaks. A ray of light escapes through into the cave. Slowly, the door opens into the cave, letting the torchlight from the hallway in. A figure stands in the doorway, smirking. One of the guards, a Carac, as evidenced by his redder skin and taller frame. He steps inside.
"Come on out," he says, with barely an accent to his Angers. Some of the forty in the cave stand up, regarding the guard with suspicion. The scarred gnoll pulls on his chain. The Carac starts walking, unarmed, towards Uroo and the scarred gnoll.

[TwelvePointFive]

Hearing the song end, the burly orc gets up from his position against the wall.
He walks over, and casually sits down cross-legged, Shooting the giant a friendly, if tusky smile.

He appears about to say something, when the door opens. As the guard barks out a command, Kadar gets to his feet attentively. This might be his chance...

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Jase takes a step backwards to get clear of their weapons, then casts the same spell again, hurling bolts of disabling light at the pair.

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Color Spray once more. Casting defensively if they have the reach to still threaten Jase. Concentraiton: (1d20+6)[9]

Will save DC 15

Jase lurches sideways as the man's spear lashes out at him, opening a large gash in his side. He cried out angrily, and once again as his knees crashed into the cavern floor. "I didn't think you'd take that so literally," Jase murmured through the pain, "I was only trying to stop the pair of you two fighting, we've enough to get on with down here as it is without you two bringing down the cavern on our heads."

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Bluff roll: [roll]1d20+12[/roll]

[Nanoblack]

Uroo

The opening of the door immediately breaks Uroo's concentration. He backs away from the chained gnoll as the guard approaches, hoping for a position out of the way but closer to the door.

[Keegan__D]

Relieved to be done with work, Kekth heads to the barracks. A few rounds of cards, then sleep. The exciting life of a prison guard.

[Frog Dragon]

The Depths
Pulling the obsidian-tipped spear out, the guard cringes in exasperation. "I warned you!" he shouts. He shifts his spear to his shield-hand and covers his face with a palm. "How are we going to explain this to the shift commander?" he curses. Then, the other guard speaks up. "Take him to the barracks. We can have a healer take care of this." He looks at the shorter guard, and they both nod. "I'll keep watch here," the taller one says.

The shorter one sighs and crouches down, dropping his shield and spear. Attempting to settle Jase on his shoulder, he picks up the shield and spear again and starts walking back down the hallway.

Kekth
Walking out of the mine passage, you see the two guards standing at the entrance. One nods curtly at you. There is a small clearing ahead of you, with three buildings. Each has accommodations for around 20 guards, but not all of the space is in use. Due to the late hour, many of the guards are already asleep, and apart from the two guards at the entrance, you can only see one other guard, another giantkin, on the yard. It appears to be the shift commander and her shield and spear and laid against the wall next to her. For whatever reason, she stays there, leaning against the wall of the furthest barrack. She does not seem to take any note of your passage.

[Keegan__D]

Since no one else is around to talk to, Kekth approaches the shift commander, "Got some time for a workout?" He has yet to test himself against her, and a game is no fun with two.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Jase grunts as the man picks him up, but he is mainly concentrating on not passing out from the pain and blood loss, and keeps his mouth shut as he is carried to a medic. That plan didn't turn out so great...

[Frog Dragon]

Prison Cave
The guard walks closer, pulling out a set of keys attached to a wooden loop. He kneels down in front of the scarred gnoll, and puts the key into the lock in the chain around his leg. The shackle clangs to the floor, and the scarred gnoll stands up. Another gnoll skulks towards the doorway, sniffing the air. The guard takes a step back from the scarred gnoll and walks back into the doorway, stepping over the shield and spear he had left on the floor. Turning right, into the hallway leading further into the mines, he turns back only to say, "Do as you will."

Jase
Reaching the lift into the upper mines with Jase still on his shoulder, the guard smacks a bell with his spear and steps into the basket. Slowly, the wooden basket lift rises upwards, and soon, Jase can see two giantkin guards pulling on a mechanism of ropes and pulleys, steadily lifting the basket until it is level with the floor on the upper level. The guard steps out.
"What happened?" one of the giantkin asks. The guard carrying Jase fidgets slightly and starts to answer. "There was a fight on the lower level," he says. He is about to continue, only to be interrupted by a rumble reverberating from somewhere below. He pauses for a second, but then continues. "And we need a healer," he continues. "I saw Aloc going to the eastern barracks not too long ago. Try there," the giantkin guard says before turning back to the other giantkin.

Kekth
The shift commander does not react at all. And with her position, chin pressed against her upper chest, it is difficult to see her face. Looking closer, you notice that her position is quite limp. Her arms are hanging by the sides, and her shoes have dug slightly into the ground. She leans heavily on the wall, and you notice that this is not the pose of someone in idle contemplation on the late night. Rather, her unnatural stillness reveals a simple fact. She is dead.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Jase groans as he fills the man's shoulder becoming slick with blood, but he doesn't dispute the man's story; as long as it seems like it was just a fight then he doesn't need to worry; although they might wonder why he can suddenly perform magic...

[TwelvePointFive]

Kadar stood dumbfounded for a moment. Could it really be this easy? He was just about to cheer, when he realised that of course it couldn't. The guard was probably acting alone. They would need to work together to get out.
Of course, the situation would quickly change into panic.
He stepped up on a rock, fixing a friendly smile on his face. He looked out at his fellow prisoners.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I don't intend to stay here any longer than I have to!" He grinned. "But there're other guards than our friend who just left. And the sad truth is, we'll probably need to fight them. So I ask you, which of you can fight? Which of you can do magic? Which of you are willing to work together, so that we can all make it out safely?"

Spoiler

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Diplomacy check: (1d20+4)[18]

[Nanoblack]

Uroo

A distrusting glare follows the guard across the room and out the door. Moving closer to the doorway, Uroo peeks outside sniffing the air for any signs of trouble. "It's never this easy, we need to be cautious."

[boldfont]

Friendly Bo shifts his frame and looks with wide eyed innocence at Kadar. you mean escaping? but i have no been punish yet. what for i do wrong i can no say, but is bad i am sure. He notices Kadar's confusion and disapproval and realizes he is being what Jase would call "a total and complete killjoy".

sorry
sorry
i ruin escaping plan
wery rude
okay i come
but no killing things

[Frog Dragon]

Prison Cave
"We've all swung our picks for these bastards," one prisoner stands up to say. "Who among us cannot fight?" He turns around, regarding the rest of the prisoners. None speak a word. The scarred gnoll speaks next. "I'll stand behind with anyone who'll lead us to freedom." He turns to Kadar. "If that be you, then with you I stand." Soft murmuring fills the cave. Finally, the rest of the prisoners start to stand up, one by one, speaking the same phrase, some over each other.

"So will I."

Prison Cave & Jase
Sniffing at the still air in the cave, Uroo can nevertheless smell blood from deeper within the passage, and the smell is only getting stronger, closer. Though, unlike most gnolls, he can barely see in this light, the few torches on the walls illuminate the comers. A guard, jogging forth as quickly as the bleeding body on his shoulder allows.

"So will I"

The guard curses. "Free. They're all free," he mutters in Carac, squinting at the gnoll in the doorway. Then he breathes in deeply and shouts, and one need not understand Carac to understand that it is a cry for aid. Crouching down to set Jase against the wall, he takes his spear in his right hand again.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"He-help me," Jase calls at the guards, "Don't leave me here! They'll kill me!"

[boldfont]

Friendly Bo gathers Uroo and Kadar close. He was wise enough to know when a crowd was getting out of control and who in the room he could trust to lead. He felt drawn to Uroo and Kadar for this reason. i feel better if one of you take leadship. this mob - is dangerous if let wild, no? To Uroo now you say caution and i agree but this man will no be caution.

Spoiler

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I'm not rolling to make this assessment. It unifies us as a party and moves the story in a positive direction. Hopefully you agree. If not, roll sense motive for me.

[Nanoblack]

Uroo

"I have no wish to lead this wild pack. There's blood in the air, and it worries me. If you want to leave this place alive, you'd best stray from these stupid dogs. With that, he steps into full view of the guard in the hallway, hands splayed outward to show he was unarmed. "You'll not hold the line against this many, run while you still can."

[Keegan__D]

Kekth nearly rings the alarm bell when another guard shouts for help. Confused, he forgets himself and sprints toward the call. A call for help from the prison cave is definitely more relevant than an already dead guard. "Could a prisoner have killed the shift captain?" he worries about a large-scale break, but rushes toward the potential danger.

[boldfont]

Friendly follows behind Uroo is his best bet for a safe exodus. His eyes catch Kadar's. If he had to choose between Kadar's unruly mob and Uroo's cautious approach, he would have to go with Uroo and avoid bloodshed.

[TwelvePointFive]

This was just what he'd hoped wouldn't happen. If they could just stay together and help each other, the guards would probably step down rather than fight and die. Of course, there was a real concern in the former prisoners simply running amok and killing every guard they met. Kadar didn't want that. But now, when the prisoners seemed to be splitting up and forming smaller groups, he probably had to look out for himself first... And the gnoll and the giant really seemed to know what they were doing. Chances of survival were probably higher with them than with the rest of the prisoners...
Survival... He'd hoped to see his family again. He stood undecisively for a few moments, shifting his weight from one leg to another. He really hated to do this, leaving the others behind. But perhaps he could help out the other prisoners by clearig out problems for them before they arose. Reaching a decision, he spoke up. "Alright folks. I'm going scout ahead with these two, you make straight for the surface, I'll ease your way."He turned about to join the gnoll and the giant.

Spoiler

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(1d20+4)[24]Bluff check, for as much as Kadar hates it, he's not planning on reporting back.