Daxius has not taken his eyes off Janniven. In response to the questions posed to him, he replies "Ask her." He points at Janniven accusingly. "She has been watching the door nervously for a while now. Someone else is likely to come through that door soon. I would prefer to know their intentions in advance." He continues to watch Janniven expectantly.
"Is this true, Janniven?" Nico stares at her intently. If we're to trust one another, perhaps it would be best to level with us?"
Janniven looks quite taken aback: Daxius, I... this won't mean anything to the rest of you but Daxius should understand: I'm waiting for Arael. He should have been here by now.
She looks around the group: Arael normally does the talking, he's better at it than me. She lets out a sigh. Braces herself and then stands to deliver an impassioned speech.
The people of Westcrown labour under an unfair weight: capricious laws are cruelly enforced; criminal gangs plague the streets and the wilderness and every night we must cower in fear from the shadow beasts the government leaves to prowl our streets. Hellknights come and go as they please and yet our blasted Lord Mayor is more interested in the latest twisted opera from the capital.
Well, we say 'enough'!She bangs her hand on the table and her fork spins onto the floor: Westcrown deserves better: safer streets and safer nights. And if nobody else will doing anything about it then we'll do so ourselves! And we'd like you to be a part of it...
She peters out rather uncertainly at the end and looks around the room expectantly.
,
"So I'm taking it by the way you're lookin' at the door that this Arael is late?" As Hyngrot says this he gets up and heads over to a window to peak out it. " 'cause if he is we may be wanting to think about the possibility of a quick escape. Especially considering those dangerous thoughts you just spoke"
[ooc]
Nicolai pales a few shades. "Meu zei! Do you realize what you're saying? If we did do anything, the Hellknights would be upon us in a heartbeat, not to mention the dottari." Nico shakes his head, and looks to all of you. "I know things are bad in this city...but what could we do without heading towards the gallows?"
"I'm in. I'm as good as dead if I'm caught anyway, so might as well try and do some good before I take that last journey."
Astra turns to Nicolai, a smile on her lips and a fire in her eyes.
"What's the matter? Your blue blood running cold? trust me when I say this, there isn't going to be a way to help these people that doesn't risk having that pretty little neck of yours stretched."
Earlier:
Daxius looks extremely sheepish after Janniven's explanation. "My deepest apologies, ma'am. As you well know, there are...sensitive materials here, and the presence of these strangers has unsettled me perhaps more than I had realized." He then drags his chair back into place, making a shrill scraping noise that fills the awkward silence.
Now:
"You are entirely correct, Miss Vesper. In fact, the simple act of remaining here and not reporting this treasonous statement is enough to implicate us in a conspiracy, even though we have taken no actions ourselves. He looks around the room to see the effect his words have had on the others, then continues.
"I will not pretend I have not had these self-same thoughts, Miss Janniven, but I have not survived physically unscathed in my years working in an Asmodean temple by being incautious. I will not take any...political action unless and until I develop a great deal of trust in yourself and the others gathered here. I will, however, commit to action against the fell creatures that stalk the night. Perhaps by fighting these creatures together we might build a trusting relationship with one another."
He finally adds, "Not to belabor the point, but Arael's tardiness has rekindled my concerns that this gathering is a trap of sorts. I would be remiss if I did not reveal my deep suspicion of every one of you."
The young wizard's absent-minded expression vanishes, replaced by a steely determination as she nods to Astra and Janniven. "Yes. I might be a fool for saying so in front of strangers, but something has to be done." She pauses and looks around, then continues, "I know of Arael. The work he's known for isn't like this, though--what are you suggesting we do?"
ETA: She sighs after Daxius finishes. "You're right to be suspicious, of course. But every day that we turn aside and pretend we don't see the--the myriad injustices around us leaves our souls that much more corroded than they were the day before. We all, no doubt, have much to lose...you, perhaps, more than I. Truth be told, I'm glad you've asked me here, Janniven. Because now I realize that I'd rather die working for something noble than live without a hope for a better Westcrown." She sits back down, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Nicolai gives a genial grin to Astra. "Not at all; I'd rather have a better idea as to what we'd do. Revolutionaries don't count for much dead."
Nicolai sighs and nods. "I suppose I'm in; this city can be better than what it is.
As you are talking you suddenly hear footsteps outside, a small boy tumble through the door, gasping for breath:
Janniven, they've got Arael!
He stops with a jerk and stares for a split-second at you all, clearly shocked to see other people there, then he goes on:
The dottari nabbed Arael, and the Hellknights of the Rack are wanting him too! I'm about twenty steps ahead of a bunch of hellknights!
The door has a bar but it has not been put across, the windows are all sturdily shuttered. You are in the main taproom of the inn, there are stairs up, and two ground floor exits, one has a closed door and the other leads to the kitchen.
"What's your name, lad?"Daxius observes the boy carefully.
Hyngrot quickly moves to the front door and bars it shut. "We should probably be leaving. Now. Is there another way out?" The question is directed towards Janniven.
Astra abandons all pretenses of trying to appear unarmed and grabs the punching dagger from the waistband of her pants. She goes to the kitchen and looks for any obvious and not so obvious exits.
The bar slots firmly into place.
Janniven rushes behind the bar and swings open a trapdoor.
Quickly, everyone, this way!
There is an old storeroom behind one door, and no rear exit.
The upper storey has mostly sealed windows but a few are open to the air.
There is a trapdoor behind the bar that leads into a cellar.
"Better than my idea."
Astra jumps down through the trap door.
Moving a bit more circumspectly than Astra, Pontia follows the rogue through the trap door.
Pushing away from the table, Nicolai gives out a quick Varisian curse, as he pulls out a small baton, as well as a small vial. He heads towards the revealed exit.
Daxius is really beginning to feel like this is some sort of setup. He knows of no exit through the cellar, but doesn't fancy their chances with any other egress options either.
Quickly deciding that there's strength in numbers, even potentially treacherous numbers, Daxius strides over to the trapdoor and holds it for Janniven. "Ladies first."
Once Janniven has climbed into the cellar with everyone else, Daxius will be more assured that she's playing it straight. He'll see that everyone else is through, then he'll climb down last, closing the door over his head.
Hyngrot follows the others down the trapdoor.
Janniven ushers the boy down the cellar, calling him Morosino, and follows:
Thankyou, Daxius.
In the dimness of the cellar Janniven bangs a sunrod against the wall and you are bathed in a soft radiance.
She opens a large old cupboard and begins taking the shelves down, carefully placing the old plates and cups on the floor before removing the actual shelf.
When Daxius sees the light come on, he takes one last quick look around to ensure that everyone has made it through the trap door, then closes it.
Daxius raises an eyebrow when he sees Janniven's actions. He'd been in the cellar many times, and had no idea there was some sort of hidden exit. While she works, he casts a quick light spell on his sheild. He faces the sheild toward her work area, but downward so that the light isn't shining up through the cracks around the trap door.
In a hushed tone, "Whereabouts does this exit lead to? It might be best for me to scout ahead since I don't need the light to see."
Astra looks at Hyngrot and whispers
"Probably."
She nervously shifts from one foot to the other. She looks a little scared about the prospect of being caught in a fight with no armor on.
Janicen pushes open a doorway concealed behind the shelves and the pungent odour of the sewers wafts toward your nostrils...
Daxius nods at Hyngrot's comment. "A fine idea; you take point. I will guard the rear of our group." As he talks, he shrugs his sheild over his shoulder and loads a bolt into his heavy crossbow.
Sword in hand, Hyngrot stealthily leads the group into the passageway behind the shelves. As he passes Janniven, he whispers, "Make sure to let me know which paths to take."
Seeing how the passage was concealed, Pontia asks, "How much time do you think we have? I have some minor magics that would help restore the shelf and obscure our trail after we go, if you believe it wise."
Nicolai looks down the dark tunnel he's about to venture into, and swallows. "I will be right ahead of you, Daxius; my 'magic' is limited to my own use, though I can throw...explosive concoctions. I'll have to keep my aim careful in these tight confines."
Janniven turns enthusiastically to Pontia: That would be great. They'll go through the tavern like a whilrwind.
Hold a second, Hyngrot, the sewers are difficult to exit: we have marked a route. Janiven produces some chalk and scratches a two-pointed arrowhead on the wall, then wipes it away. It should lead to our safe-house. Please erase them as you go.
Janiven pulls a brick out of the wall and hands a small sack to Nicolai
The sewer is a tight fit, 5ft tall and 5ft wide, with a ledge about 2 ft wide running alongside an open sewer. The water is dirty but not profoundly disgusting because it flows with some speed.
A loud banging and some shouting can be heard from the tavern above.
"All right, let's get going. Sounds like we should go." Hyngrot heads in. No going back now. Hope this isn't a mistake.
Once everyone is out of the basement room, Pontia casts prestidigitation to clean the floor, then casts mage hand and replaces as much of the shelving and dishes as she can before it's time to close up the panel.
Once Pontia closes the panel the only light is from Jannivn's sunrod.
With the shadows of your companions you can just about make out the person in front of you but little more.
Daxius waits for Pontia to cast her spell. He then helps to usher everyone through the door and closes it behind him.
Daxius mutters, "Sewers?" but doesn't hesitate.
EDIT: Yes - Daxius cast light on his sheild.
Things are better lit from the rear. Daxius' shield illuminating the passage around him and throwing long shadows forward.
The sewers are a seamless architectural wonder, except for the smell.
I'll wait for everyone to post before we move on.
Nicolai looks at the items that Janiven gave him quickly, and nods. "These may come in handy - I doubt whoever may be pursuing us are simple guards." He then quickly falls in line, just ahead of Daxius.
Astra falls in line behind Hyngrot. Her nerves are still showing, but she deftly picks her way along the narrow ledge.
As they move down the tunnel she whispers back to Janiven
"I don't suppose we can risk running by my place so I can get something a bit more protective than a thin tunic?"
Janniven whispers a reply to Astra, their voices echoing weirdly off the dank tunnels:
We don't know if they've seen any of us yet.
A bundle of twisted wood and vines floats by, the wake sending a thin layer of dirty water onto the walkway.
We should get to the safe-house, most of the drains are sealed
Finding the paths is simple once you know what to expect, when you make your second turning, Janniven breathes a sigh of relief:
They'll find it harder to mark the light now. She explains.
As you near a T-junction you see that the path crosses the sewer-stream and an old wooden door is lain over the sewer as a makeshift bridge.
Strange, amorphous rodents can be seen just beyond the 'bridge', they shimmer weirdly in the light:
These 'rodents' are peculiarly common in Westcrown, they are Torbles: a type of ooze-creature that eats rodents and large insects.
As she steadies herself with her staff, Pontia murmurs, "Torbles. They're not supposed to be dangerous, unless you're smaller vermin than they are."
She continues in as low a voice as can be heard. "Janniven, who among you knew our names? And please tell me you left nothing in writing in the tavern...."
Daxius resists his natural urge to direct the group from the back, leaving the decisions to those in the front.
Every twenty feet or so, he turns around to fully face the tunnels behind them. He tries to tune out what's going on in the group and detect any sound, light or motion coming from their pursuers.
Perception
Perception
Perception
"Hopefully these ones don't decide to be viscious." Hyngrot cautiously leads the group around the Torbles, at ready if they suddenly become hostile.
You can hear muffled sounds of movement. The twisting, arched tunnels make distance or direction difficult to predict.
The arrows here lead over the bridge and past the Torbles.
You can cross and try to step past them, move further down and leap the 'stream' or come up with something else.
Crossing the bridge or jumping will both require an acrobatics check: the bridge is particularly slimey and the damp conditions make leaping awkward.
Hyngrot carefully attempts crossing the bridge and trys to walk past the Torbles.
Astra tries to follow Hyngrot past the bridge and vermin eating oozes as well.
Acrobatics:
Nicolai eyes the curious creatures with a mixture of nervousness and interest. So bizzare! I wonder what composes their outer membranes?
Acrobatics:
Daxius calls forward, "I hear movement behind us. We must assume it is our pursuers. Make haste."
Then he watches as Nicolai slips on the bridge.
Daxius moves carefully across the bridge. He looks warily at the vermin, prepared to stomp them under foot if they make any aggressive moves.
Once Hyngrot and Astra are across the bridge, Pontia will reach her staff out for one of them to grab the end of, steadying her as she crosses the bridge herself.
Nicolai falls into the flowing water with a sound somewhere between a splash and a phlomph!
Although Daxius cannot save him, he quickly helps to yank Nicolai out of the water.
Janniven
Morosino
As Nicolai stumbles in the filth, Hyngrot weaves past the strange ooze-rodents more of the tiny creatures appear from cracks in the floor and walls, some even climb out of the filthy water... and they swarm toward him!
initiative, please.
torbles initiative