Spike sighs in frustration. He had hoped to do this without fighting. Since that isn't happening, he leaps to the front lines and launches two punches hoping to break the knees of one of the guards. (I am trying to incapacitate this guy, not kill him.)
Attack rolls (I think I have advantage, but I'm not sure)
(Advantage?)
(Advantage?)
Damage
Spike tumbles from out of the corner unleashing a perfect kata against the gambling dockworker, nearly felling him instantly.
Round 1:
Bhoors, Dwalar, Bjorn, Davin, Nella, Spike, Shal <--UP
Enemy
For Davin's turn.
Attack:
Attack (Adv):
Damage:
With no need for the illusion to continue, Shaldinari drops the spell. Calmly scanning the the streets below, her gaze lands on the smuggler still standing on the catwalk.
The cold chill of an ancient, dark corner of the multiverse envelopes the air around her for a brief second. The purple glow dances in her eyes as her hand stretches forth and unleashed a blast of eldritch energy toward the unsuspecting man below.
Drop your weapons and surrender yourselves." She says in the cold hard voice of one who has seen aeons pass. "Continue to resist and you will be food for the crawling things of the deep dark earth."
The man on the catwalk turns to Shal's location, scanning and trying to pinpoint while ignoring her words. A fatal mistake because at that moment Davin's arrow passes clean through his skull...and he topples backwards off the railing.
Orange sees his comrade fall in front of him and screams "Arg, they got Ted! Get 'em boys!"
"Don...this little s$$! got the wind out of me good, I dunno if I can make it..." says glowing Cyan, clearly on his last leg. He summons one last burst of energy it seems...
...but they werent expecting a fight today and their lazy blows glance off lacking discipline.
Green retreats under the crosswalk and trains his crossbow on the frontline...
...but it skitters off a flagstone nearly kabobbing a winged snake.
Round 2:
Bhoors, Dwalar, Bjorn, Davin, Nella, Spike, Shal <--UP
Enemy
Spike aims another set of punches into Cyan's kneecaps. If he goes down after the first attack, Spike will attempt to incapacitate Orange as well. He is not trying to kill either of them.
Attack Rolls:
(advantage?)
(Bonus Action)
(Bonus Action) (advantage?)
Damage Rolls:
Spike's fury collapses the tired smuggler hard to the dirty back alley floor, and his momentum carries him pummeling into another still standing.
Round 2:
Spike, Bhoors, Dwalar, Bjorn, Davin, Nella, Shal <--UP
Enemy
Nella tumbles through the legs of her new-found comrades, zig-zagging through the alley and ending up behind Bjorn. Unable to reach up to his back, she places a hand on the back of his knee. She then tumbles back to her original spot.
Nella's voice attempts to speak into Bjorn's enraged mind.
There will be more blood unless we convince them to surrender. You may be able to cow them.
Bhoors moves up to the last man standing. He strikes out with his rapier.
The remaining 2 men stand down.
W-what?! What do you want from me!"
Shaldinari carefully makes her way down the roof to hop down onto the catwalk. The arcane nimbus slowly fading until it is completely gone by the time her feet land on the catwalk and she spends a few moments brushing some of the dirt and grime from her clothes. Climbing the final few feet to the ground, the elf makes sure the other smuggler is disarmed and unable to run off for help.
"Best join your friend over there." She says, pointing to where the other smuggler sits surrounded by the others. Her voice back to the normal friendly tone from the tavern.
While the Dwalar starts to question the smugglers, she steps over to the hatch covering the sewer entrance.
"It seems to me the most likely place for a secret smugglers passage from the harbor to the anchorage is through the sewers." She says, a sour look on her face at the thought of descending into the dank, foul tunnels beneath the city. "Probably why their dice game just happened to be on top of this hatch."
Davin moves back to the alley where the group is now disarming the thugs. While he had hoped for no bloodshed, being a soldier he understands that sometimes it is "them or us".
"Well now, let's get a look at this hatch. Locked, huh...well who has the key gents?", he asks the still conscious stevedores.
Bhoors keeps his rapier up poised to pounce like a lithe cat. He circumvents the remaining guards moving to the far side of the guard beneath the catwalk . Indicating with his chin for the man to join his compatriot if he doesn't want the pointy end of the rapier. "Go on. If you've a key it might save your life."
They look at each other and then at one of the fallen "We just...were here to make sure no one comes through we don't know. Ted had the hatch key...you...you killed him." he points down.
Nella moves forward slowly to Ted. She bows uncertainly to the dead man then begins searching him for the key and any thing else of note. In particular, she is curious as to any clues to this man's character and life.
She then proceeds to silently searching the remaining men, particularly interested in making sure they have no knives hidden in boots, etc.
How much are you being paid to stand guard here?
They aren't wearing uniforms or insignia of any sort, though together Nella and Bhoors find about 10 gp. Nella, who saw the key before, easily locates it. To Spike, "We get 4 gold a day...never had any rough'ns like you before...better'n lifting freight down here in the shade."
He gestures toward Ted's body, "Is it really better? Your employers seem to be caught up in some shady business. I understand that the pay is good, but your lives are worth more. Please, choose a better path."
Nella arranges the fallen man's arms across his chest and closes his eyes. While she is obviously busy with this and turned away from the captives,
she uses silent speech to speak into their minds in turn, giving no visible indication that she is doing so.
The small one is right. You see where this leads.
Bhoors "Your cooperation is noted." He sheathes his rapier. "You did the smart thing here. I am hoping you will want to continue that. He looks at each them with a look of concern. "I never meet a honest boss who pays 4 gold a day to guard an alley who doesn't take that money out of your flesh if things go south." Bhoors lets it sink in that their danger is not just us. "About how many folk can we expect to find down below? If you help us we can send you on your way headed out of danger. Any traps or defenses that might get in our way down there?"
Davin will come up behind Bhoors as he is speaking to the thugs, giving them all a menacing glare while the bard asks his questions.
"N...no, we ain't allowed down there. All I know is its a passage to the Harbour...sometimes people are takin' stuff in, sometimes people are takin' stuff out. We're just watchin' the gate..."
[ooc]Do I think they know more.
Bhoors looks at them skeptically, Never been down there huh?" He relents a little, "Fine. About how many folk you seen in and out today?"
Shaldinari watches Nella and her respectful treatment of the fallen dockworkers. The elf's sapphire eyes are thoughtful and curious as she slips over to where Nella is tending the corpse. "It's not often that I've encountered someone so concerned about their conquered enemies." She says quietly to the halfling. "It is refreshing to know there are some who still consider the loss of mortal life a solemn occasion, even if they were merely foolish misguided men, following the orders of what will likely be other foolish misguided men."
Placing her hand across her heart, she tips her head to the halfling in a show of respect, then stands and readies herself to descend into the passage.
"Just one...one 'o the regular runners. Look, I've told you what I know, are you going to kill us? I don't want to die. I promise I'll not take jobs anymore...vagrancy...yeah, that's what I'll do!"
Playing off the threatening manner of the others as 'the good cop', Bhoors leans in, "Heat is on fellas. You f@#ked up. Your employers have no mercy and it was 'the authorities' that sent us here so you've no where to go. I have a friend aboard a ship that will likely beheading out of port soon. 'The One-Eyed Plankton' head to the dock straight way. Tell the captain your there to work for passage and settle any debts for Bhoors Thistledown."
Nella bows slowly to Shaldinari.
She then turns to the captives and attempts to read their intention with the help of her god.
Neither of them say anything for a time before finally "...alright then, a fresh start, as you say." Nella believes they are truthfully going to seek the One-Eyed Plankton for new employment. They offer to shake hands before departing.
Popping open the hatch provides a cool blast of air to the face with no foul smells at all. Beyond the grate a rickety wooden ladder descends about 20 feet straight down into a dimly lit winding passage. A platform attached to a rope pulley runs next to the ladder. The air is stale. The walls are crafted of roughly hewn stone and dirt. The ground is somewhat uneven, with occasional slight dips and slopes.
Spike shakes hands with the would-be guards, thankful that they made the right choice. Then, he attempts to climb down the ladder without being seen.
Assuming he was unnoticed, he looks around to get a grasp on his surroundings.
Spike, you lead the way to a small storage room littered with various crates, boxes, and barrels. A small desk sits in the corner of the room.
Nella examines the boxes and the desk for any clues or valuable items.
Nella, it looks like this area was used to temporarily store items for transfer to the other end of the passage. The crates mostly contain common clothing and foodstuffs. On the desk you spot a little danging key (). A number of documents are also sprawled out here, what looks like a ledger book and also a handwritten letter:
Sanuya,
It has come to my attention that our operation may have been discovered. If the princes or the Ytepka learn of our existence, destroy everything. Leave no trace!
--Nahu
Nella carefully places the keys on a small string and wraps a small piece of cloth around each of them before placing them in her pocket.
She looks inquiringly at the letter then holds it out for the rest to see. She then walks over to spike and places a hand on his shoulder, casting guidance.
Nella speaks into your mind.
Perhaps this will help you examine ahead of us.
Nella carefully places the keys on a small string and wraps a small piece of cloth around each of them before placing them in her pocket.
She looks inquiringly at the letter then holds it out for the rest to see. She then walks over to spike and places a hand on his shoulder, casting guidance.
Nella speaks into your mind.
Let us know what lies up ahead when you are ready.
Neither of them say anything for a time before finally "...alright then, a fresh start, as you say." Nella believes they are truthfully going to seek the One-Eyed Plankton for new employment. They offer to shake hands before departing.
Bhoors shakes hands, "Keep your heads down now lads. The authorities know something is up here." That should tie things up nice. These guys will at worst walk across town before the Captain curses them out. At best they will be a few weeks in the bilge of the One-Eyed-Plankton as they travel north. He watches them go. "Give the captain my best."
Bhoors turns around and regards the others. "That worked out pretty well. Hopefully they will consider their actions in the bilge of our former ship. At worst they won't be back this way for awhile. And there are few needing gravestones." He looks at Dwarlar, "I'm not all bad." He looks to Shaldinari and winks flirtishly, "not all good either."
He rubs his hands together, "I heard something about a key. Did we find anything else. That was an expensive distraction. I lost nearly 12 gold."
Popping open the hatch provides a cool blast of air to the face with no foul smells at all. Beyond the grate a rickety wooden ladder descends about 20 feet straight down into a dimly lit winding passage. A platform attached to a rope pulley runs next to the ladder. The air is stale. The walls are crafted of roughly hewn stone and dirt. The ground is somewhat uneven, with occasional slight dips and slopes.
Once it is confirmed the coast is clear. Bhoors will cast a spell singing quietly a few lines about, "Fire flies on the water, moonlight on your skin." 4 lights appear he floats one over both humans and spreads the other 2 out to keep things lit.
Bhoors looks at the clothing. Holding some of the items up.
He notes Nella picking up the second key. He whispers, "These papers might come in handy." He quietly continues, "They have a notion that someone's on to them but they haven't destroyed things here. Unless they left the note and a fake ledger . . . Are they that clever."
Bhoors, it almost seems like the clothes are intentionally uninteresting. Perhaps it could be useful for blending into a crowd of peasants or farmers.
Bhoors, it almost seems like the clothes are intentionally uninteresting. Perhaps it could be useful for blending into a crowd of peasants or farmers.
Bhoors stuffs a couple things in his pack, "What free clothes. You'd be surprised how often you have to run with the shirt on your back . . . or less."
Placing his bow away in its carrying case, Davin climbs down into the tunnels. He follows Spike as he moves forward, one hand brushing the side of the tunnel wall. When they arrive at the room, he moves over to the desk as well, but mostly to try and keep an eye on everyone.
Looking back over the table, Davin examines the furniture.
Investigate: