Chandra speaks an arcane word, "મટાડવું", and reaches around the corner and touches Viktyr, sending a surge of healing energy into him.
Then she dives low and does a somersault through the space threatened by the Hellknight battling Janiven to get to the sides of Blast and Aristaios. The slippery conditions and limited solid spaces to land on spoil the effectiveness of her move, but the smoke at least makes her harder to see. "Exit--running all the way--stage left!"
Blast frowns as his attack seems to do nothing to the Hellknight battling Daniel, and he finally takes a moment to see to himself. Snatching a potion out of his pocket with his tail, he pops the cork and drinks it down.
After he finishes the healing liquid, the tiefling flings the vial to the floor, where it shatters. Even as the glass breaks, however, he lifts his hand and the shards rise with it. With a grunt, he thrusts his hand forward, fingers splayed, and the razor-sharp glass shards shoot toward the Hellknight attacking Daniel, seeking openings in the black plate.
Aristaios strikes at the rising Hellknight, striking at the side of the head like with the commander.
While Viktyr fails to strike true, Aristaios again manages to connect, if only barely, with his fist. While it does not stop the man from rising, there is a discernible wobble to his step as he moves to close in on Janiven. While relatively uninjured, it does appear he has managed to do some damage.
-----
Surrounded again, Janiven lashes out towards the Hellknight moving to pin her in. Through the smoke and lack of light, her attack goes wide, and she doesn't manage to connect. "I'll meet you all back at the safehouse!" she yells.
Daniel moves back the tunnel yet again, his only option as the Hellknight approaches him. As he steps back, he reloads his pistol again and fires. While you can no longer see the fighting between the two, due to the smoke, you can yet again hear the Hellknight roar as the ring of the gunshot reverberates through the tunnels.
"How will we find it?!" Aristaios yells back.
"Morosino will get you there. He can find the signs!" she yells, trying to prevent the two Hellknights from gutting her as she did their companion. The young man still crouches next to Viktyr, a panicked look on his face as he hears Janiven. "You heard me! Get them to the safehouse! I can fend for myself."
Aristaios' face scrunches with a moment of indecision before he gives Janiven a hard look.
"I'm sorry."
He yanks Morosino up and points him towards the retreating Chandra and Blast.
"Let's catch up with them. Time to go."
He then grabs Viktyr and begins helping him along.
"We'll live to fight another day, brother."
Chandra wants to run but Aristaios risked his life to save hers and she could not do any less for him. She moves closer to him and repeats the arcane word that triggers the flow of healing energy and touches his shoulder. She feels a warmth rise up from her gut and down her arm. "Viktyr! Come on! We're not leaving you behind!" She hoped he had not been wounded again.
As her eyes searched the billows of smoke for the sight of Viktyr, she thought she saw, just for a moment, the face of a woman. She had dark hair, darker than Janiven, and she had a red rose clinched in her teeth, it's thorny stem dripping blood. Chandra blinked and the face had vanished, but words echoed in her mind, "You have been called!"
A single bead of sweat runs down the sides of Abraham's face and he wipes it idly away with the back of his hand. The sound of fighting still rages but he can also hear the calls to retreat. He holds fast a few seconds longer.
Over the chaos of battle and the party's escape, the fight between Daniel and the Hellknight captain still thunders on, despite the smoke obscuring a clear view. "Fall before me, boy! You'll rot in the Citadel, just like the others!" the man roars again, before you can clearly hear the sound of a blade tearing through flesh, and a body crumpling to the floor. Another gunshot rings through the sewers, but this one is not followed by a scream of pain.
The other two Hellknights continue to pen Janiven in, coming at her as a team. While one's swing goes wide, the other cuts deep into her leg, and the blood pours from her wound onto the floor of the sewer. She grimaces, her saber still held in front of her defiantly, although she is barely on her feet. "Viktyr, move!" As the paladin moves, the Hellknight closest takes a swing, but his blade swishes through nothing but smoke. He returns his attention to Janiven, the two clearly dedicated to bringing her to her knees.
-----
Keeping her blade up as she does so, Janiven slides her body against the back wall, maneuvering herself away from one of the Hellknights. Seeing his attention diverted as Viktyr moves to the others, she pulls a cylinder from her belt filled, seemingly filled with some sort of potion. While still in an unfortunate position, her bleeding stops as the potions work their magic. Invigorated, she takes the opportunity and swings towards one of the Hellknights, but her blade clashes against his armor yet again.
Getting to his feet Viktyr turns and faces the hell knights again shield held high. We have to pull back we can stand up against there! Start moving i"ll cover you.
Blast hangs against the wall as the others move to join him, looking to run. He nods to them as they move, and decides he can get away with one more attack before leaving. He glances about for a moment, looking for something to use, and his eyes settle on the fallen Hellknight down the opposite corridor. Grinning, the tiefling hooks his fingers in his mouth and gives a shrill whistle. "Oi! Tinhead!"
When the Hellknight blocking that opposite corridor turns to him, Blast reaches out and makes a grabbing, yanking motion with his arm. The fallen knight's sword suddenly flies from the ground and spins, its point aiming for the knight's back.
After this, Blast readies to dart down the hall Abraham went down, intending to move near the end of the pack to help cover their retreat.
Aristaios tugs on Viktyr's shoulder.
"She said "go!" Come on!"
He fishes his final potion from his sash and gulps it down.
"We have to trust her!"
Chandra lets out a groan of relief as she sees Aristaios and Viktyr emerge from the smoke. Her fear is driving her to flee immediately, but she masters it enough to try to give Janiven one last hope of escape. She gets an idea. "Artemus!" she calls out, "Face your fears!" Chandra then utters an arcane syllable and hurls a bit of wool at the smoke.
As she turns to move away down the passage to the north, the sounds of a pack of dogs splashing along the water emerges from the passage to the south. She hopes it will give the Hellknights pause and that Janiven and Daniel will properly interpret the situation.
Artemus refers to a famous character in a play about whom it was said, "His bark is worse than his bite." Chandra hopes Janiven recognizes the reference and realizes the sounds of the dogs are an illusion.
The rules on this say the speaker makes a bluff check. I'm not sure this is needed in this case, but I'll make one just in case.
According to the rules, the DC for the Hellknights to get the message, they need a DC 24 Sense Motive result.
The Ghost Sound appears to be coming from 15 feet south of the smoke cloud and will only last one round.
Seeing the others finally rounding the corner of the tunnel, Abraham is not ashamed to breathe something of a sigh of relief.
Without a word, he turns and begins heading away from the scene of the battle.
As the party groups together and moves down the tunnel after Abraham, the sounds of battle slowly fade away, with the clatter of Janiven's blade against steel being the last thing you hear as you flee the scene. While moving quickly at first, in order to put distance between you and the Hellknights, Morosino eventually slows you all down, his eyes and hands searching for the symbols left by Janiven and Arael on previous excursions. "Where are they? I'm sure this was the right way..." he says, mumbling as he draws his fingers across the grimy walls. "I... I've found something!" he says, pointing to a symbol carved into the walls. While not the one Janiven originally showed you, the symbol is undoubtedly one deliberately carved.
"I know it's not quite right... but she did once tell me they had made more than one symbol." Morosino says, moving down the tunnel slowly. After a few more paces, he comes to a hole in sewer wall, blocked from the inside by what appears to be a table of some sort. "There may be something inside!" He looks to the party, clearly nervous. "Maybe something else she stashed down here, for emergencies?"
Viktyr grimaces as he runs from battle, the pain from the brutal attack still hurting as he feels a few cracked ribs. Focused on where they came from more than where their going he watches their back, expecting a group of HellKnights at any moment. "We could use anything we can get our hands on right now." He says still keeping his eyes lock on the tunnel behind them.
Abraham casts a furtive glance behind them.
If you're sure we have time. Although this might be an excellent place to hide and regroup
Chandra peers cautiously at the opening.
She winces slightly when she moves certain ways. A significant remnant of the Hellknight's sword cut still shows through a rent portion of her leather jumpsuit.
Aristaios moves to help move the table.
Blast also pauses at the blocked door and nods, placing a hand on his own wound. Absently, his tail flicks out from beneath his coat and flicks some larger specks of dirt and grime off his coat. "We should have time. We need all the help we can get." He looks over to Chandra, wincing as she leans in, and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You okay, lady? Got tore up pretty bad back there."
"We all did. I'll be okay as long as we don't have to fight more battles like that. I'm out of healing potions and spells of my own, so let's hope there are a few more of those vials in there. Be careful, though. Who knows what might be hiding in the dark small places down here?"
I have to say, I thought you were all finished. If nothing else that encounter with the Hellknights shows how dangerous this... endeavour is.
"I'll just chalk up your eagerness to retreat to a healthy sense of self-preservation and not having second thoughts about signing up," Aristaios replies, his voice thick with sarcasm.
What is the sense of a battle bravely fought and lost? Abraham asks. It was foolish to stand against the Hellknights without significant planning. I would have thought that to be self evident but whatever the result of our clandestine meeting, it seems that should be the first thing we learn.
"We were all there it was stupid to think we could get the drop on them, they had better planning and better training." He states as a fact. "It wont happen again, but we have to get out of here. Or our grand plans to help will be for nothing."
"They beat us up pretty well. No need for us to beat ourselves up for things we couldn't foresee. Janiven approved the idea of an ambush, which makes me think these Hellknights were more formidable than usual. Had she known they'd be armored up in full plate and as well-trained as they were, I doubt she would have suggested the ambush."
"Anyway, how about one of you who can see so well in the dark have a looksee into this chubby hole to see if there's anything dangerous in there and then let's see if we can find anything useful. We need to keep moving. Those Hellknights spotted our trail before, so we can expect them to catch up with us eventually."
Abraham conjures a new set of Dancing Lights and sends then through the hole to illuminate what is beyond.
That was quick thinking with the dogs, Chandra. Most commendable. Though I confess I did not understand your reference to Artemus? he says over his shoulder as he peers inside.
"I was hoping Janiven is familiar with the theater. Artemus is the famous comic character in Don Rimelius' play The Westcrown Story. He styles himself the Mastiff and tries to make everyone think he is a tough guy, but in the end, he is all bluff. In the epilogue, the jester narrator explains that 'The Mastiff's bark is worse than his bite.' I hope she'd realize it was an illusion and ran toward it while the Hellknights were uncertain what to do. That's why I said, 'Face your fears.' I can only hope it worked."
As a few members of the party move to push the table aside, they reveal a room that appears to have been carved from the rock by former denizens of the sewers. While short and squat, the room does appear to be furnished with a few bedrolls, and is tall enough for the party to move into, although they may need to stoop their heads a bit.
"It looks like some sort of little safe house..." Morosino mutters, moving more easily through the room due to his own lack of height. "It's a bit dirty, but nothing too bad." He pokes about a bit more, moving the bedrolls and other items around. "Aha! Come in, I think I found something!" Beaming, the child pulls a small basket out from a hole beneath one of the blankets, with a few small vials of red liquid stored within. "I think it's a few more potions."
As you all move in for a closer look, it seems as if something else may have been living in this enclosure at one point in the recent future. While the bedrolls and blankets themselves are not terribly dirty, the rest of the room is covered in dried muck from the sewers and other such dirty bobbles fished from the water. Even just a passing familiarity with the little cretins confirms your suspicions--this small hideaway was once the home of a group of goblins.
Filth and degradation. Abraham says distastefully.Two watch-words of goblinoids. At least it doesn't appear that they have been here for a while. Still, if their kind make use of the tunnels we should be wary. Alone, they are irritations, as a pack they are surprisingly cruel.
Viktyr moves to help search the area.
"Goblins.. Vile scum. I had heard they like pester some of the towns folk it seems they are using the sewers to get around." He say as he moves about some rag while searching. "Are we considering staying here? If this is one of their nests it could be dangerous if they happen along."
At least this might prove valuable. Abraham says picking up the jewelled bracelet. Still, we should not tarry here. Those goblins might be back any time, or worse; the Hellknights.
Chandra looks around the cramped space, her nose wrinkling at the smell and squalor. "Goblins exist? I always thought they were just imaginary creatures parents use to scare children into staying off the streets at night. I agree with Abraham; let's keep moving."
Aristaios double-takes at Chandra's statement.
"Seriously?! Goblins are why street kids like me didn't hang out down here more often. They eat whatever they can catch. My goodness, an educated person like you and you never read about the Goblinblood Wars in Isger?! That's basic Chelaxian history!"
"I'm sure she meant the goblins in the sewers," Blast comments, still peering back out into the main hallway to keep watch for the Hellknights--or anyone else. "Lot of folk think of it like an urban legend, I'm sure. Took a good view of some of them myself to fully believe it."
"The history of Cheliax is being rewritten, so I expect this will not be the last revelation of the sewers and streets. I've lived a sheltered life up to now."
Viktyr nods "I haven't seen any myself but i listen, i've heard these stories and they are real if we can keep moving we should, but this might be the best place for us all to recharge." He then turns to look at Morosino. "Morosino were there any other markings? Is this the only one?"
Lead on, Morosino.
Aristaios nods and waits for Morosino's directions.
Morosino pokes around further, and moves outside to look for other symbols etched into the walls. "I... I didn't see anything. This was the only marking I could find." He looks a bit disheartened, and kicks a loose stone against the wall with his foot. "I don't know where to go. I don't know how to get out of here." He sits himself up against the wall of the enclosure, his head in his hands.
"I'm sorry. They didn't train me for this. I wasn't ready--I wasn't..."
Aristaios squats down and looks Morosino in the eye.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for. No one is ever ready for the strife and wrongs life brings to them. No amount of training can allow you to see the future...well, unless you're a wizard but neither of us are."
He chuckles, his stern facade cracking a little.
"You did the best you could with what you had, Morosino. The only thing we can do now is watch, learn, and remember when we are next called to act. You have not failed. Let's find our way out of here."
He stands up straight again and offers his hand to the lad.
"But I was supposed to lead you to the statue. I was supposed to get us all home..." He stands when Aristaios offers his hand, but still sulks against the wall. "We're lost down here. If we leave now, the Hellknights will surely find us. Even if we don't, who knows when these goblins will be back?" He walks a little ways towards the table now propped against the wall, and rolls it a bit with his hand. "In the dark, the Hellknights might not notice this, but the goblins know what's here. We're down here because of me, and I can't even find the way out."
"Goblins are a lot easier to fight than Hellknights, Morosino, I don't think they'll give us too much trouble. Besides, if we don't look for the way out we'll never find it. The only way to stop being lost is to press forward until you find the way again. Janiven's doing her very best to keep the hunters busy, and we need to take advantage of the opportunity she's given us."
Morosino, for better or ill, you represent our best chance of getting out of this situation with our lives. Abraham says with an air of resignation.
Now Janiven trusts you, and whatever you thought you’ve been doing up until this point, it is no longer a game. But rather time to repay that trust, don’t you think? So come now, self-pity is neither productive nor personable. Get up and lead us out of there.
Chandra digs in her small pack and pulls out a small notebook and pencil. She sits near Morosino and then begins to sketch what she can remember of the tunnel the group is in and any branches they passed prior to this point. She asks for input from the group. On another page, she sketches what she can recall of the intersection where the fight occurred and the path they took away from that point.
Then she says, "The great adventurer Marcello de Bene was once asked if he had ever been lost in the wild. You know what he replied? He said, 'No, but I have been a mite bewildered for several days.' We're not lost, we're just bewildered. The cure is to use our brains. From this point forward we mark every branch and identifiable feature. We can leave pebbles at intersections with our own code that reminds us we've been this way and which way we went, in case we find ourselves retracing our steps. Anytime we encounter something that could give us an idea of what is above us, we think about where in the city we might be. Sooner or later, we will find our way to a way out of the sewers. You ready?"
Viktyr stands at the door peeking out every now and then so the hellknights or goblins get the drop on them, but he hears the conversations of the others then speaks up "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." He nods at Morosino. "Everyone here gets afeard it what we do when face it that shows our character."