Goradh shakes his head, frustrated by the child-like behavior and still convinced that it is a ruse. He motions to two guards who are appear to be the most dressed. "You two, take up our post outside, but stay close to the door. With the low visibility, the battlements won't provide much cover."

He turns to look up at stack of crates, judging whether or not he can jump up and grab the little pipsqueak.

If conditions were different, you could not say with any confidence that laying hands on this creature would be an easy task. However, fate has granted you the upper hand and you are able to use the environment to your advantage. Cornering him at last, you snatch up the tail of the beast, though it takes you longer than you would have liked, surrounded by peers as you are. Holding your quarry aloft, you are about to begin barking inquiries in his direction, when he nimbly swings and latches onto your upper arm! Using the moment of shock, his tail wriggles free like an eel and he proceeds to deftly scuttle over your armor, burying himself somewhere under your cloak. You have the odd feeling that there are four hands latched onto your harness, though only one creature now hangs from you. From beneath the cape, a muffled pleading like that of a petulant child issues forth. "Hey, hey, hey! I don't wanna fight! I need your help! You're a guard, aren't you? Guard me!"

"If that critter creature is speaking the truth, then it would be an ideal candidate in defending the keep's walls," Len said as he devised the best way to remove the creature from Goradh without any unneeded grabbing. "Goradh and I can take any foe that comes at us, so it needn't worry about getting harmed. Plus we can use it's prior experience to aid us in battle; we don't know how to fight these demons." Len met Goradh's eye to judge whether he thought this was a good idea, and whether he caught on that they could also keep a close eye on the creature.

"And I feel bad calling you it creature, what is your name?"

Len's attempt at subtlety was entirely lost on Goradh. "If this little runt had any skill in combat, it would not be hiding like a coward!" The half-orc, unused to having his personal space violated in such a manner, felt his blood begin to boil. "It infiltrated our fortress under cover of the storm, lied about its intentions, and is now distracting us from a possible threat at our gates!" The half-orc turns and slams his back into the nearest wall, attempting to pin the creature against the hard stone.

*THUD!* Goradh's broad back smacks into a wall of cold, gray brick, but there is no soft cushion of monkey-flesh to lessen the impact. Feeling the backwards rush, he instinctively flung himself from you before you could grind him into a pulpy mess. He dashes to the door. Len is ready and immediately braces himself in a solid stance that could stop a rushing bull, but swings his arms through empty air as the little imp slides between the arch of legs. However, what transpires next is most curious. Instead of bolting for the battlements as one might expect, all observe him peeking back into the room around one of Len's legs, eyes wide with fright. "Whoa, what happened to not harming me?! I'm not lying! There were devils marching North for Osbale when I left my home! It's probably all a pile of rubble by now.... And how could I be distracting you from an attack if I'm warning you one might be coming?! I only came here because this place looked safe, but if you're going to keep trying to squish me, I'll take my chances in the desert!"

"I can give you no aid if you return to desert little one, and I cannot let you pass through this keep, especially while we are on such high alert." Len looked down at the creature; trying to gauge whether it was telling the truth. He wanted to believe he was; not because he was keen on fighting demons, but Len would be happy if maybe there was a little honor left in the world. He was prepared to deal with the situation either way, as he unfortunately had to in the past many times before. "If you stay and fight with us, I can assure you that we will be victorious, but if you would rather return to the desert then that's your decision." Len glanced at Goradh for a moment before returning his gaze to the creature around his leg. "I'd make you decision quickly before Goradh decides to shackle you in the dungeons."

[&dragons]

The half-orc narrows his gaze at Len and then back at the creature. He hefts both axes in his hands and says "What'll it be, little runt? And if you try bolting again, you'll have my axe to outrun." He advanced a few short paces. "These demons, if they exist, how many were there? And how did you stumble your way to our fortress in the middle of a storm if you were on the run from them?"

"Well, there'd have to be enough to wreck a whole naval fleet and a port town, wouldn't there? It was an army!" he exclaimed as if it was obvious. "There are only so many places to run on an island, you know. As I've said, they were marching North when I caught sight of the devils and they seemed to be hitting anything remotely important along the way. There's not much North of Osbale except some mountains and lots of sea-water beyond those. I figured they'd move East to the Swamp next, coming after all its special plants and such. Although, now that I think on it, I'm not sure if that's the sort of thing their kind even cares about..." he said as if it was the first time he'd ever had a thought on the matter that wasn't steeped in terror. "Oh! And what's more, they had a monster like something I'll wager you've never seen in all your days," he proclaimed, shifting his tone to the relish of a boastful survivor of some great danger. "There was with them a giant crab-demon. It went along on eight legs, tearing trees up by the roots with its huge pinchers, eating them whole. The gnashing of its teeth might as well have been a great many swords in battle. It must've had a fire in its belly because it had an orange light to it and there was thick, black smoke pouring out from under its shell. And strangest of all, the demons were pouring some potion onto the steady trail of shit it left behind and walking on it! Eeeugh!" He shudders in a mixture of horror and disgust. "That was more than reason enough for me to make myself scarce, so I went as far as my feet could take me and then I... hitched a ride on a ship bound for the mainland. When we landed in the port, I remembered what happened to Wakefield and I didn't even stay long enough to learn its name, I just kept running. Never seen the mainland except for on a map. I had no idea how big the desert was. Yours was the first sight of a civilized building I'd had since I entered this sandy waste, but it looked shut up for the night and the storm was getting feisty, so I quietly let myself in. All the awfulness with the demons had me on a bit of an edge, you understand. Didn't expect to find anyone awake until the morning. That's why I tried running away when I saw you." Gods, this thing loves to talk when you let it.

Goradh stares at the strange creature for a moment. A long moment. "I find it hard to believe that you stumbled upon this fortress by chance. And in the middle of a storm this fierce. Still, if what you say is true, our kingdom must be warned." He turns to another one of the guards. "Convey the information about the attacks to the commander. Tell him that Len and I will lead a scouting party to investigate as soon as the storm breaks." He turns and strains his ears, listening for whether the commotion outside was continuing. "That's assuming that we don't have even more company. We should probably investigate, Len."

"Agreed. If this creature won't stand with us then detain it until the storm stops," Len said to a nearby guard while readying himself to follow Goradh. "I don't think there's enough spare manpower to interrogate this little guy now, so just keep him in your sights until we get the all clear."

"Hoo, you guys must have even more sand in your ears than I do! Or maybe you just weren't listening. Why would you need to interrogate me? I just told you everything I know. And if you're going to keep me here, you could at least feed me." He turns to the guard you appointed to watch over him, "Looks like it's you and me, pal. Where do they keep the mess hall around here? Come on, let's go find it." He waves his hand for the guard to follow and blathers on as he heads for the stairs, "I could, by myself, eat one of those big baskets of fruit rich-folk send to one another when they want to give a gift without putting any thought into it. You have those in these parts, don't you?"

"HALT!" Goradh's voice booms down the hallway. "No guest privileges have been granted to you. Do anything other than remain in this room, and the only food you'll be getting is the scraps that the hounds leave you!"

He turns to Len. "We need to keep an eye on him. Do you want to check outside, or should I? We need to make sure that those demons aren't at our walls, but I feel it in my gut that he'd like nothing more than to be roaming the fortress, unwatched."

The two guards move to block Hanu's path down.
"You're not going anywhere, Osmeri. Unless it's to see the commander."

One pulls some hand-shackles from his belt, and adjusts the clasps for a pair of very narrow wrists.
"Now hold still and cooperate, or you'll be answering his questions with several fewer teeth."

He steps toward Hanu a second time...

His eyes widen, his nostrils flare, and you can see the tension in his bearing as he prepares to hop away from the advancing guard. "Wait, wait! Hold on! I've done nothing but inform you on a threat you didn't even know existed ever since I figured out you lot weren't demons yourselves. I'm not interested in going anywhere in your fort alone. Running into another pack of edgy guards looking to squash anything that moves isn't something I want. That's why I was willing to tag along with your buddy here," he says, jerking his thumb at his erstwhile supervisor. "I really did only want something to eat, but if you're going to be stingy about it, I'll wait here quietly. Just keep the fancy wrist-wear to yourselves. I'm not going to have my hands bound if those things come knocking tonight."

Len turns toward Goradh. "This is most certainly taking way too much time. I'll keep an eye on him if you want to return to our post. I'll take him to one of the bunkhouses and see if I can determine if anything else is going on here." Len turns toward one of the guards blocking the creature's path. "If you could bring us whatever is a step above the scraps we feed to the hounds I'd appreciate it." Len turns toward the creature. "Now you're going to follow me and cooperate and if you do then there will be nothing to worry about. I'll try to make it as comfortable as I can for you but know this; the second you try to run, or pull anything shifty, I Will Not Hesitate to break you where you stand. If you are telling the truth then there's no reason why you would need to suddenly escape my presence, so I will take your hypothetical flight as proof that you are lying. " Len motions for the guard with the shackles to hand them over to him. "Don't make me need to use these creature." Len turns back toward Goradh. "If this works for you then we shall part ways for a brief moment. Please send for me at a moments notice and I will return as swift as the wind." Len addresses the whole room. "Any objections?"

Goradh grins, in no small part because of the threat that Len made. He motions to the remaining guard. "Follow me outside. It would be wise to have another pair of eyes on a night like this. Once we ensure that the perimeter is secure, take up my post. I will then meet Len and this little runt at in the bunkhouse. If the commander is available, I will bring him, too."

Goradh looks around, assessing the attire of the guards. "And if all of the extra sentries are dressed as poorly as you, then you can expect we'll be having readiness drills for the next month." He turns and heads for the door to the ramparts.

Having heard all the extreme and genuine threats and insults being hurled around the room and seeing the solemn faces of the deadly serious warriors, he speaks in a markedly smaller voice. "Uh... there shouldn't be any need for bloodshed or iron bars between us. ...Let's head for that bunker." His words are much less warm than they have been up to this point, but he is showing no signs of being unwilling to comply.

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