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After taking suitable precautions, the party moves over to the T-intersection...
To the right, the corridor extends off into the distance, whilst to the left, dirt and rubble surround a hole in the wall of a small alcove. Within, a rough-hewn tunnel leads off into darkness. Two picks and a shovel lie on the floor in front of the hole.
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When the party returns to the alchemist's laboratory, he is fussing over a glass canister, containing an electrode-festooned body floating in a nauseatingly-colored sea of chemicals.
He looks up in annoyance at further interruptions, before recognition crosses his face.
"Oh, you lot again. Did you find another exit point?"
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"Aye, we did. It's a relatively safe route, although you will have to climb through a tunnel. You can leave here and do you experiments in a different location. You will be safer there. Otherwise, the priests will likely send even more people down here to investigate, and they may not be as understanding. We can help you carry some basics, but you won't be able to take anything very bulky."
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"Yes, yes... I don't want them to stop my work! Nothing can stop my work..." the hunchback's voice trails off, as he appears lost in thought for a few seconds, before snapping back to reality. "Transportation will not be an issue. I have a workforce; I just need time to pack..."
He then starts fussing around the canister again, and after about ten minutes, nods with satisfaction, and pulls a lever on the wall adjacent to it. Crackling electricity plays through the fluid within the canister, arcing from electrode to electrode, and causing the body to twitch spasmodically. after a few seconds, he flips the lever again, and then pushes a button on the side of the canister, canister it to split open with a hiss, splashing water across the floor, the body hangs limply from its restraints for about a minute, before its limbs begin to twitch spontaneously, and then it stands up.
"Excellent." The hunchback moves over and undoes the straps, and ushers his newest creation out into the lab.
"Mr Marrow, dry this one off. I have packing to do..."
He then yells down the corridor at the back of the lab: "Esme! We need to pack - We're moving back to Ankar-te..."
He then settles down to boxing up as much of his lab as he can.
When the packing is complete, he moves over to a section of wall, and presses one of the bricks at knee level, which slides into the wall with a click, causing a section of wall to swing inward, revealing another chamber.
"All right you lot, come out and pick up a box - then follow me."
At his command, four animated skeletons, their bones stained a vivid rainbow of colors, leave the secret room, and begin to pick up boxes.
At about this time, two more skeletons, these ones dressed in faded burial garments, come down the corridor behind the lab, accompanied by what would once have been a beautiful young woman, but her skin is now rotting and putrid, and her once-lustrous blonde hair rank and lifeless. An attempt has apparently been made to conceal the decay beneath heavy makeup and cloying perfumes, but it’s a lost cause. Her clothing and jewelry are formal dresses and accoutrements, but they seem garish and vulgar on her decomposing body.
"Svilennius? I have packed what I can..."
The hunchback's face is momentarily a mixture of warring emotions, before settling on happiness, and he moves over an embraces her.
"Esme! It is time to go..."
So saying, he and his entourage follow the party to the exit tunnel, and after circumventing the logistical challenge presented by the limb from the ledge down to the path, the hunchback turns to the party, and nods his thanks.
"Thank-you for your help. Here, take these - it is the least I can do..."
He then leads his group off down the path, out of sight...
