“I look forward to the unarmed prisoner versus the armed guard brawl then.” He glances at the other cell and lowers his voice. “And call me paranoid but I worry that annoying gnome might give our plan away.”

Jason speaks quietly to the duo: “Perhaps we should just gag the bastard. Or let him run free, as a distraction. They’ll probably kill him. If we can just convince him to go out there first….”

“That’s a surprisingly intelligent plan. Would you have problems picking another lock with that string?”

“No, but it would take quite a while… it wouldn’t be ideal. A wire or a pin would be excellent right about now. Of course, if it was the same type of lock, it would be a great deal easier, but they’d have to be pretty stupid to have the same key for both this door, and the one to the outside. It all depends if the plans were designed by a noble, or by the one who runs the prison. In my experience, not that I do this TERRIBLY often, or anything, if it’s designed by a warden, then we’ll have a more difficult time. They know what they’re doing, of course, since it’s their job. A noble would be more likely to use one key, as it ‘saves money.’”

“I think that we all have the right intentions, here. Just get the gnome up there, and we’ll be fine. If he doesn’t go up… well… I’m pretty sure that we could do some pretty nasty things, to a little gnome, especially if we worked together.” Grin.

I roll Move Silently, 9, and if that is successful, I check the lock, which I bumume will take no roll.

EDIT: DURPA DURRRRR I’M A COMPLETE IDIOT!

genericangstyposter Posted:

I take my chances with rolling (10). I’m confident that I know the lock, now. If that fails horribly, I take 20.

You approach the opposite jail cell’s lock and the gnome gushes with relief.

“Ohthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou…”

With your trusty shoelace, you start to pick at the lock. #3s never really confounded you, even though you knew many people who were stumped even by a #5 basic configuration; you always had that peculiar sensitivity of touch vital to “locksmiths” everywhere. All the same, you wish you had your rake and tension lever- you would have had this damned thrice-blasted cur-

You jump as you feel a hand on your shoulder. Instinctively you spin around, hand reaching for a weapon- any weapon- but coming up empty. You almost bolt before you realise, heart still pounding in your chest, that’s it’s just the blind elf, face mere inches away from your own.

“The guards won’t be by for another three hours. You can take your time.”

The smile flickers on and then off again just as suddenly, as if a switch was flipped somewhere behind the blindfold. You can feel your goosebumps rise on your arms even as you repress a shudder from being so close to him. There’s an unnatural symmetry to his face, even for an elf, that is both unnerving and alien at the same time, as if that smooth perfection was hiding something yet more sinister beneath it: from the smooth ridge of his nose to the thin, flat lips, you can find no flaw save for its flawlessness.

“May I enquire, out of pure academic interest, what do you intend to do with the gnome after you release him as a distraction?” The gnome shoots the both of you a look of pure terror. “After you kill the three guards above you, then what?”

The gnome whimpers softly, but the elf ignores him and continues.

“What I mean is, do you even know your way out of this place? There must be close to ten levels to the dungeon complex, some of which abruptly end in dead falls and guard quarters.” It’s true; in your half-conscious stupor, you remember being brought down a long way before ending up in this cell. The smile flickers on again.

What now, my valiant adventurers?

Clearly, the plan had to be elucidated for the poor fellow. “Well, clearly, we should find where our goods have been confiscated to, even before we killed the guard. And where did you get the idea that the gnome was to be a distraction? I merely thought it would be best for him to scout ahead as he seems the best suited to the cause. I mean, look at how tall I am. Do you think that it’s terribly easy for me to hide? Of course not. That is why We must rely on the help of our friend, here. I’m sorry that you seem to have misunderstood my intentions, kindly one. Of course, there is a risk involved, but I believe that we are all quite capable of handling ourselves if we work together. If we find any other things which could aid us, such as gold, then we will split it as evenly as possible, just as a team should. I don’t see why that is unreasonable. Also, we don’t seem to have terribly much choice in the matter, as there is only one exit that isn’t death. I’m certain that all of us would rather take our chances with the guards than with the hangman.”

“And what do YOU propose we do, if you understand this place so much.” Jason doesn’t like it when people steal his thunder.