Unsure how to respond to the implications of becoming a "mule' to smuggle items out of the city, Davin none the less steps forward.
"If you can help us, then I will agree to carry your packages."
Shaldinari listens to the halflings offer. As she takes another look at the full table she turns back to the smuggler with a smile. "Seems fair enough." She says. "But how about I add one small item to the bargain." Picking up a piece of the bacon she nibbles it thoughtfully. "I help carry your goods out, you make sure this toad of a dwarf makes it out of the city...and you get a portion of this food to the homeless children of the city."
Brushing the grease from her fingers she leans in toward the halfling. "I figure half of them are already on your payroll anyway. You make sure they have enough to share with some of their friends. And if you haven't recruited them...well...trust me...street kids make excellent eyes and ears because no one ever pay them any notice."
If you help us, and accept Shaldinari's addendum, I will also take your delivery, Abrel says nodding in agreement.
He looks at the young elf, appreciatively, never ceased to be amazed by her.
"I'm in." El looks around at the rest of the crew before hastily adding, "The stuff with the kids would be nice too."
Shal's request seems uncomfortable to him "Bah, the little scoundrels are Baneites, all of them...animal torturers..." he paces chewing on her words a bit "...but alright...20 children. Maybe this cataclysm and a helping hand can turn them away from the Black one."
I will carry for ya. Any chance ya want to share what it is I'm holdin'?
Bhoors notices Abrel's glances toward Shal. He adjusts his stance putting himself in full swagger. He shifts around the group so as to step between Shal and Abrel 'casually' before offering. "If its for kids. I'm all in."
"Oh, just a bit o' the Knighted Veil from across the Sea of Fallen Stars. Silkroot. Have ye been to Akanul? The Airspur? Land of genasi, the city stretches into the sky like the Netherese of legend..."
Shal's request seems uncomfortable to him "Bah, the little scoundrels are Baneites, all of them...animal torturers..." he paces chewing on her words a bit "...but alright...20 children. Maybe this cataclysm and a helping hand can turn them away from the Black one."
With a nod Shaldinari agrees to carry something for the halfling. "Then it's settled. And most children only follow what they are taught or the choices offered. Give them an alternative to the darkness of Bane, along with a little kindness and support, and you might be surprised. Maybe start this city down a different path."
"As for Silkroot, I've heard of it. Traveled with a druid from that region not long ago." She says trying to remember more, but shrugs after a few seconds. "Can't remember much, doctoring really isn't my forte. I do know she didn't really approve of the stuff. Some kind of stimulant, but with a nasty kick if you over did it."
Abrel seems completely oblivious to Bhoors' posturing and simply nods in appreciation of the bard's sentiment.
Drugs? the young knight asks after Shal's rumination, Or medicine?
Noticing Bhoors sudden move, Shaldinari pauses and watches the bard for a few seconds. Glancing between him and Abrel, she lets little show except the simple raise of an eyebrow followed by a thin smile before turning back to accept her package from the smuggler.
When she looks at Abrel, he smiles at her then turns back to the smuggler, So, when do we leave.
At Abrel's question "Afraid my beard isn't white enough to know the difference. Godspeed."
Radomir's posse leads you further down the half-tunnel, through a series of portcullis and murder holes until reaching a heavily trapped portal of solid steel. As they de-tension the triggers one mentions "Yeah, this ain't like a sewer or old king's escape route...yer going damn deep. Can't clear the city otherwise. Keep an eye for our insignia, you know it now, right? Oh, and be quiet..."
Shal, you sense the codex is pulling you down into the tunnels like the momentum of water over an edge...if you didn't know better you would think Boltsmelter's Book was pleased with this choice of path.
The first day of the journey you sense the air becoming cooler and more stagnant as the chaos of the city above becomes a distant memory. The size of the cavern mushrooms grows larger and their colors and forms more distorted as you delve. You cross a spine-tingling solid plank bridge over a chasm only a few inches wide, find your way through a labyrinth of man sized amethyst crystals, and even evade an ambuscade of concealed darkmantles. Soon you are tired from the hike and find a place to perhaps chance a break...
Before they leave, Abrel asks for help removing the stony plate and re-dons his mithral breastplate before pulling his coat on over it.
Shall we take a rest here? It has been a long day, Abrel tries to hold up a strong front, but it is clear that he is exhausted.
I could use a rest myself.
Her shoulders drooping from exhaustion, Shaldinari simply slumps to the floor. Glad to not be walking and glad to not be feeling the book's odd sensation. After a bit of time catching her breath and rubbing feeling back into her sore limbs, she glances back to the dwarf.
"You ever get any odd sensations from this book?" She asks Furgis.
Even at rest and with the book tucked in her pack, she can still sense the thing's eagerness to continue moving.
"Where ever we are headed, the book seems to be...eager...to get there. Feels like it is pulling me to go faster. I don't know if that is good or bad. Given our experience so far with anything having to do with this glitzy tome, I'm guessing it'll lean more to the downright awful and life threatening." She adds to the rest of the party.
Nearly asleep tucked in his little bedroll, with one eye strained open wide, bacon grease still dotting his 'stache, in typical Boltsmelter style he curtly responds "Nay, don't be stupid. Only bored housewives get any feelings from reading each others diaries...*snore*"
Abrel tilts his head, Magic sometimes attracts magic. We'd best be alert to danger. It is possible that what is there is trying to get to the book as well.
The knight breaks out some food and begins munching, I can take first or last watch, but am going to need a good chunk of rest if I want to have enough energy to cast tomorrow. We are going to get some sleep, right?
EDIT Holy! Was only rolling because Abrel does not trust the dwarf, but did not expect to glean anything...
And I thought being stuck on the ship was bad...
Elandil shrugs at Boltsmelter's comment, "I can take watch in the middle of the night. I can see slightly better in the dark."
I will take the first watch.
As Cole settles in for first watch, he nudges the dwarf.
You, my friend, are a terrible liar. What does the book bring to mind for you, exactly?
"I can fill in where needed."
Bhoors slumps down throws out his bedroll and sits up on his pack like a pillow. He brings his lute up and lightly picks at it.
Grimacing at Cole "Biggest payday in a decade is what. Check me choppers..." he opens his mouth in your face so you can inspect his smelly, hole-ridden, black teeth "I know a gnomish chap that can turn these into solid platinum, y'see. I don't lose sight of whats important...and so what if the book pulls downwards or sideways or up yer arse. Only one place its goin: the buyer." he informs you, turning his back and starting snoring again..."...bastard sunk me ship..." he mumbles.
The strange rest underground begins, driven more by exhaustion than by the normal cycles of Toril. Bhoors plinks his lute, gazing out into the darkness of the cavern, a mild sort of madness setting in.
Suddenly he hears a *squaaaaak* burst from nearby, a sound like a diseased, pregnant, ostrich of the damned. Its maybe 100 or 200 feet away, or perhaps further...hard to tell with the strange echos possible in this type of terrain. Silence.
"Sooo....what you're telling us...." Shaldinari says in a quiet, dangerous, deadly tone. "Is that we we've been attacked by a giant tentacled beast, we're stuck in this underground maze, on the run from a city full of blood-loving cultists, carrying some big bad juju filled tome of calamity, not to mention what is probably a highly illegal drug.....all so you can get some new...platinum...teeth!?" Shaldinari shouts the last few words, her exhaustion overcome by her pure dislike and quite possibly a small bit of fury induced hysteria.
Looking back over her shoulder to Bhoors, "You should play something fitting for the gory and painful death of a sneaky, lying, $#@#% excuse of a dwarf." She says to the bard as she starts to move toward Furgis, eyes blazing.
"I'm going to rip your....." She stops mid-threat as the awful bellow of the creature echoes from the caverns. Turning to look down the tunnel, her anger quickly dissipates and turns much more wary. "What in all the hells, was that?"
Abrel can't help but flinch at the unlady-like cursing that comes out of Shal's mouth, but as the cacophony erupts, the knight is on his feet in an instant!
El is busy trying to tune out the bickering that always accompanies communication with Boltsmelter when the horrible squawk echoes in the tunnels. He immediately tries to sink into the shadows.
Furgis huffs and puffs "Sneaky? Lying? $#@#%?! ...fair." he takes another long drink from his nasty little hooch bottle and goes ice cold at the sound "...twas...twas just a hen, lost her way, I wager..."
The party guards itself against the bumps in the night and time passes, soon some chance a return to trance and slumber, until everyone is well rested. No more snores were heard from Boltsmelter, however...thank god.
You once again set out, noticing that Radomir's secret symbols become farther and farther apart. Your confidence in being able to navigate these tunnels begins to wane.
Suddenly dim shapes emerge form from the darkness at the edge of your torchlight.
A party of well-armed dwarves stands before you. The dwarf in front holds a lodestone, dangling from a chain in his hand. The stone's silver point pulls and tips directly toward the elemental codex, defying the pull of the world. "By my father's beard, I am Kalda Purefist, Forge-Knight of the First Anvil and leader of the Hammers of Moradin. We will have what is rightfully ours, Furgis!"
Boltsmelter stole the book. Why am I not surprised?
"Oh what now..."
Boltsmelter mcgruffles "...erg...whats this paladin's snot. It was your own leader, Astor mac Hastor, that gave me the book of his own free will. Collect yer facts before ye be raising a hammer at me in the dark, lass..."
Her mood seemingly improved after getting a tight bandage on her ribs and some solid rest, Shaldinari follows along through the tunnels. Although still nervous with the underground tunnels and dark, tight caverns she is able to keep herself in check with a series of quiet breathing exercises and by staying as far from Boltsmelter as possible.
With the path continuing deeper and deeper and the signs become less frequent she whispers to the group. "I'm not certain...but..but..I think we're either near...or already within the Underdark." She says with a slight stammer of nervousness.
Nerves already frayed the witch barely avoids blasting one of the shapes as the dwarves appear out of the darkness. Taking a deep breath, she relaxes at the signs of Moradin become clearer.
The lodestone and its peculiar pull in her direction catches her attention and with a little thought she concentrates on the book for a moment to see if the pull she has been feeling all this time is toward the stone and the Forge-Knight or in some other direction.
Bhoors uses song of rest while camping.
Later Bhoors notes the Paladin and other likely goody dwarves. He suddenly regrets carrying drugs frowned upon by the faithful.
Clueless to the situation Bhoors lets the dwarf manage his own affairs.
Davin has hung back, mostly because he is mostly useless in this dark, underground realm. He chuckles and shakes his head at the revel of what Boltmelter was hoping to use his ill-gotten gains for. When they encounter the dwarf troop, Davin moves to have a clear line of sight if things go bad.
Abrel, its true, honesty isn't one of Furgis' 7 pillars. Still, the paladin doesn't deny his claim, her face twisting in extreme agitation.
She shouts "Boltsmelter! Your crime is blackmail! Twisting Astor mac Hastor actions through your stolen secrets...you attacked his very honor and left him no choice. To the rest of you, defending this...man...will be an act of complicity in the eyes of the Earthfast clan. Give us Boltsmelter and the codex...please." Her please is the type of please that isn't really a please. "Your honor is not yet stained, stand aside and have our respect."
The dwarves are 6 in number with 2 of them heavily armed and armored. The others are perhaps scouts or other types of specialists.
Cole stand next to Furgis and casually places his hands on both hilts of the blades sheathed on his hips.
Well now, Furgis, ya seem to have angered some stout holy noses. A fine mess, indeed.
Before saying anything Shaldinari concentrates for a few moments on the Knights of Moradin. Opening her eyes to her fae sight, she looks for any sign of illusion or other magical trickery that could be disguising someone, or something, more nefarious than Boltsmelter's sorry personality.
Abrel looks at Boltsmelter and thinks real hard, You are reading my mind again, aren't you? I know your secret. Did you really weasel the book from the dwarflord as they claim?
To Cole he mutters "Don't let em between us and the big payoff, were almost out...Ill triple yer fee."
Shal, you don't sense any illusion magics, however the 2 clad in heavy armor have a very heavy conjuration aura that you recognize as divinely inspired. Additionally, the device they called the lodestone resonates with the tell tale symbols of divination.
He turns at Abrel and winks... ...gripping him gently by the shirt and pulling him in closer to whisper "Listen, it aint just about me and treasure...sure thats my draw but there be a reason the fence is payin so much. Only this book can save their people...get us out of here, these no nards god bowers will never understand."
Bhoors, yes, your musically trained ears pick up the conversation.
If you are lying to me again, I will end you myself.
Abrel steps forward, I'm sorry, I cannot let you take him.
I'm all about doing the job I was hired for but fighting Paladins?
Not liking where things look to be heading, El one again tries to blend into the shadows.
She reaches into her vest slowly, wise enough to notice that things could explode at the drop of a copper, pulling out a shiny bar of solid platinum. She tosses it on the floor in the cave dust before you with a heavy *thonk* "Fine, if ye wont listen to honor, maybe ye'll listen to wealth. That'll be our final appeal to reason."
Abrel sighs, This book could do a lot of people, a lot of good. Look around! Volcanoes? Flooding? You are amongst the holy, can you not help us rather than hinder us?
Then, suddenly, as if struck with inspiration he asks, Are you able to discern truths with your divine magics?
Abrel turns to Boltsmelter, Tell her what you told me. If you were lying, by all the gods I will turn you over to her before you can blink twice.
Bhoors steps forward a stern swagger to his movements an aire legitimacy his traveling companions have never seen. Seems to naturally move and borrow Abrel's errnest demeanor. Abrel speaks again. Bhoors cut short hangs back looking to see what unfolds.
Listening to the tensions escalate, Shaldinari sighs deeply at the thought of having to actually defend Boltsmelter. With Abrel's suggestion, she nods and waits to see how the dwarven knight responds.