Interrogation of Dench

• Recount the manner and place his birth, how old he is

Dench was born in the wastes to the south of The Necklace, and wandered much of Western Ytesh. He emerged from a hyena that dined on the flesh of a naturalist. He is currently 20 years old.

• Recount how he got his notches and who gave it to him

Dench got his notches the usual way, by accruing kills. They only began counting once he started being taught magic, at around 15. However, they were less assassinations and more so results of raids. They were given to him by his Elder, save for the ninth, given by the Deepest One before he was sent to Nockmar.

• Recount how he keeps in touch with his elder(s)

He would whisper into the book, and be visited by his elders in his dreams. Sometimes, they would speak orders or ask questions in his mind.

• Recount about the book, everything he knows

Dench does not give any new information. He was given the book just as he began learning magic.

• Xarla: where was she born? Who was she before? How did she become a Channeler.

Xarla was much younger, only around 5. She was once a tabaxi mage, and inherited her old skin's talent for magic. She was barely taught much, working mostly off of instinct.

• Are all his Elders Gnolls?

Yes.

• Are all Gnoll Shadows trained in magic?

No.

• Where in the Necklace was he given his notches?

Outside, where his tribe was stationed at the time.

• How and in what circumstances was Xarla turned?

She was shifted from a tabaxj directly to a gnoll. Dench os unsure of exact circumstances, but assumes consumption of Gnoll flesh.

• (Trick Eyes Only) What does he know of the Shadows or the Deepest One capturing, stealing or holding on to the souls of other Shadows, or the soul of the person who killed the Deepest One in particular?

Nothing at all.

• (Trick Eyes Only) Is there any truth behind the "10 kills is too much for the soul" belief?

He certainly believes it.

• What kind of questions would the Elders ask?

General reports on how missions are ongoing. Strange things of note, interactions with outsiders, etc

• Who were those raids against? For what purpose?

Anyone, Necklace included. Most for survival- for food and reproduction. Some as services to receive resources from the Shadows.

• How are the Gnoll side and the Tabaxi side of the Shadows kept apart, and the former hidden by the latter?

The Gnolls were entirely separate, working as a secondary branch. As far as Dench knows, only the Deepest One interacted with them until recently, Likely has other members related, nowadays, since his move East.

• Are Tabaxi Shadows or Enshrouded being turned into Gnolls? Or have they been before?

The process is not active. Some individuals are hand-picked. Mostly as punishment- best to turn a thorn into a sword once again.

• Another gnoll with nine earmarks was spotted with Walleh's group of Gnolls. Can Breeders birth full Shadows, or reincarnate them, perhaps from the Abyss? Otherwise, who could that be?

There could be many possibilities. It could be a pretender. It could be an infiltrator. They shouldn't be born notched.

• Has he ever died and been brought back from the Abyss?

Not yet.

• What does he know of the Vitral of Rot? What has he heard of them?

He is a worthy warrior. Very adept with the blade.

• Do the Shadows, Gnolls, or Yeenoghu have any particular interest in children? Do children that are turned into Gnolls manifest (or have higher chances to manifest) different capabilities?

Children are typically deemed not worth turning into Gnolls. They may be used as food, but that's it. Gnoll children are rare, only present in well established and stabler tribes that need not worry much about food- why have a version of your kind that hungers just as much without having anything to offer for it?

• Does he know or suspect of any Shadows' operations in or near Nayora?

No.

• What would they have done with the corrupted Ghost of Nockmar? (I can't remember if this was asked before)

Nockmar would have been consumed just as the rest of his town. Their souls would be part of a ritual to greatly empower Dench.

• What phrases, gestures or other means would he use to identify himself as a Shadow to another Shadow if he were under the Potion's effects?

A passphrase. One individual would speak and the other would be expected to reply in turn.

"The night is deepest before the dawn."
"But the sun breeds its own Shadows."

• Identify any known or suspected accomplices, collaborators or pawns of the Shadows that he knows of.

He has been completely cut off from this information. You may cut concentration on suggestion to detect thoughts if you'd like.

• As Riga dives into Dench's mind she feels that indeed he does not know anything in regards to her question. However, she spots something she had not spotted during her previous investigation. This part of his mind looks a little... artificial. With your arcana, Riga suspects Dench has had his mind altered at some point. His information might not be fully reliable.
• This alteration was not spotted during the initial interrogation. Very well-hidden, noticed only through probing on this specific question.
  • Riga believes it's a Modify Memory spell. Therefore, either Greater Restoration or Remove Curse would remove the block.

• Beyond all these questions, what things would he not want the enemies of the Shadows and his own to know?

In general, he does not care if they know they are in the East. He mostly cares if they know about his potions, and the fact that gnolls are not as much of a wildcard as they seem.