Immersive Ink

"Oi..." is about all Desmond (and Mondes) can muster at first. "Not exactly the magical sword we was hopin' for," mutters Desmond.

Suddenly struck by his lack of manners, Desmond then manages to say, "Err... sorry, ol' chap. Name's Desmond. This here's Mondes. How do ya do? Wass your name, then? And what precisely are you doing in a cage in the privy?"

"Yeahr," grumbles Mondes, "Watcha doin' hangin' out in the shitter?" He chuckles at his own crude joke, glancing at Desmond to see if he finds it funny as well.

Desmond quietly rolls his eyes.

| The referee makes the obligatory reaction check 2d6=3! Well now, Desmond's 11 charisma doesn't adjustment this, although his two-headed state might be a negative, but getting the miniature-person out of the privy might be a positive. All in all a 3 is a negative reaction. |

"I suppose you think that's funny do you?!" It chirps irately, "I've heard cleverer remarks from rabbit! And your revolting disguise doesn't fool me for a moment; Hobbits have only one head you blithering idiot. Two heads but half a brain, ha! You go crawling back to your mistress and tell her I won't talk. Not now. Not ever! SO THERE!"

Desmond frowns, "Dang it, Mondes. Shut yer hole; yer upsetting the little blighter!" It is as if he genuinely doesn't believe anyone could react so poorly to being pulled out of a toilet.

"Look, fella, I'm no idiot. And this noggin to my right is no joke; he's my second head. He grew there when I ate the seed from the fruit of an... upside down... tree... in a... dungeon. OK, so maybe I'm an idiot. But he ends up being kind of useful. In any case, I have no idea who you're talking about; I surely don't have any sort of mistress that would keep little people, er... littler people prisoner. More importantly, I don't think anyone should be locked up in a cage and hung in a privy, even if they are tiny and crabbier than my second head," Desmond replies in a hushed whisper, not wanting to make any more noise than necessary.

"Now then, if you promise not to bite me or... or curse me, I can see about setting you free."

Desmond examines the cage to see how it is closed and, if locked, attempts to pick the lock with his newly-acquired set of thieves' tools.

[Removed OOC comment]

"Oh yes?" says the midget sarcastically, folding its armed and glaring at Desmond/Mondes archly. Clearly it--o..r rather she as it appears to be a Lady-midget--doesn't believe for an instant that the Hobbit would genuinely consider freeing her.

However, Desmond sets the cage down and soon figures that the roof can be hinged open if a tiny catch is released. This is a bit fiddly for thick fingers, but with his lock picks it is a matter of simplicity, and click! the catch is opened.

With that, it is as nothing to open the lid.

The midget seems almost... afraid to escape.
"If you think I'm going to run for it only to be re-captured again, you'll be disappointed!" she asserts. But clearly she is assessing her chances...

"Look, ma'am," Desmond says, backing away from the cage as best he can inside the privy, "I don't know what kind of sick people you've been dealing with up until now, but we're not with them. We were, umm... well, it's kind of a long story. But we've been fighting werewolves and... and worse things, to be sure, although I think that creature is dead now. We're here to rid the abbey of this evil, not... not perpetuate it."

He opens the door to the privy. "You're free to go. Please be careful, though, as I'm sure there are still werewolves and black robed men roaming about."

The miniaturised person watches Demond/Mondes backing off with some suspicion, making no attempt to get out of the cage... yet.

"Off you go then," she scoffs after a while. "Leave the door ajar, if you don't mind!"

Clearly she is not a very trusting sort!

Desmond looks at Mondes and shrugs. "Very well, Madame. Farewell. Try and think better of us if we meet again."

Then Desmond slowly backs out of the room, leaving the door ajar.

He immediately puts the diminutive woman out of his mind, but indicates Mondes should watch the privy as he listens to the door at the end of the hallway and gives it a look over for traps. If he hears nothing on the other side, he will open the door.

Very good.

Mondes keeps a look out behind, as Desmond moves 10 paces up the hallway to check over the door at the end... d6 there might be a muffled sound of movement beyond, but it's impossible to tell what it might be. Whatever it was, Desmond only heard it once, then not again thou he waits a good minute...

Desmond hesitates for a moment at the door. He hasn't been feeling himself since they left the elf camp, so he's not sure he is up for any kind of head-to-head fighting. But... maybe it is Gustave? Or maybe it is another captive faerie? In any case, he isn't quite ready to head back to the others just yet.

He checks his sword and silvered dagger to make sure they are easily accessible, then checks the door again to make sure it isn't locked, and finally - very slowly and as quietly as possible - he operates the handle, moving it fractionally to retract the latch free of the catch so he can open the door just a hair and get a better idea of what is in the next room...