Once the man falls, Nicoleta takes a moment to reign in her anger before looking around the room. Apparently not seeing what she is looking for she reaches down and grabs one of the lambs by the scruff of the neck.
"Where is Lamm?" She says quietly but coldly to the ragged orphan, slightly baring her teeth. "Where does he hide? His debt's come due and it's time for him to pay."
With Yargin down, Danni rushes down the stairs, elated at the speed of their victory. When the dhampir grabs the orphan though, that elation takes a turn. "Nicoleta," she says calmly, but firmly, "put that boy down now." (I'm assuming she'll look at me)
Danni returns the monk's dangerous stare with her own. "We will get the information, but not at the expense of these children." She's pretty sure Nicoleta can kick her ass... but she's also pretty sure she won't make it easy for her. "Please," she adds.
"I didn't hurt him," the olive-skinned woman says in an offended tone as she returns Danni's gaze, but she lets go of the child. "I just asked him a question."
She looks back at the 'lamb'.
"And I'm still waiting for an answer."
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Looking at the monk
Back off the kid...they just helped us and getting your rocks off making him piss himself is doing no one a favor. So try asking nicely...for once
Alistair raises a hand to stop her next line of words that he assumes will come out of her mouth.
OK, OK, we understand that this is you being nice...we get it yada yada yada...you are one mean b*@@&, we know, we know...we all want Lamm but in your haste to get him do not become like him.
He nods to the children
They are kids and the helped us..The deserve your thanks...at the very least.
He looks at the children and then looks around the room while he address them. His eyes roaming around looking for the person that was to come to help.
Thank you for your help and please excuse my friend...she gets angry at her own shadow for following her. Where is this Crookshanks person that Mr. Trend-Setter here spoke off...and of course...where may we find Lamm?
"First off, Mr. Judgmental, No that wasn't me being nice," Nicoleta says with a sneer as she crosses her arms over her chest. "I don't do ... 'nice'. All 'nice' has gotten me in life is f@~@ed, and not in a good way - I gave up on it when I was ten."
Her sneer fades away.
"And secondly ... " she waves her hands as if waving away smoke. "You know what? Nevermind, you already think you know everything about me so anything else I say is just wasted breath."
She turns and begins searching the room for exits on this level.
Garran ignored the squabbling of the others, and the children. He’d wait until they were clear before making sure Yargin was dead. There were a couple doors out - Lamm may be behind one of those. The children probably wouldn’t know, anyway.
Knowing that he judge her for her actions and not some assumed wrong...Alistair smiles, chuckles a little bit and shakes his head...
Ok, sure...
"I dunno!" the Lamb admits, squirming under the dhampir's gaze. "He's usually under the fishery, countin' his money."
There are four exits from the main fishery floor: a door in the northern wall on the main floor, a door up the flight of rickety wooden stairs along the northern wall, and a door atop the catwalk that runs along the western wall.
Yargin's body holds a number of items: the wand, three vials of acid, leather armor, a dagger, a light crossbow with 10 bolts, a garnet amulet worth 100 gold, and a pair of keys, one bronze and the other iron.
Nicoleta looks around at the exits with a confused expression. She then leans over and looks through the opening in the floor.
"Under the fishery? How does he get down there?"
She moves around the opening looking for a rope or ladder to allow someone like Lamm to descend.
Alika sheathes her scimitar. The Varisian woman adjusts her head scarf and says, "He must have a basement. Some kind of processing or storage room, converted for his evil gains." She makes sure to open the way for the children to escape, throwing open doors as needed.
Nicoleta rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, got that. But how does he get there?" she asks in frustration.
Danni takes the wand and puts it away until she has the time to properly study it. She also takes the keys, vials of acid, and amulet. "We can divvy this up later as needed, unless anyone feels a strong need to use one of these items sooner."
Danni points at the door along the catwalk (#2). "Might as well try that one."
The kid shrugs and wipes his nose with a filthy sleeve. "I dunno where it is. Yargin never lets us go down there." He glances anxiously towards the exit.
The Jeggare river flows sluggishly beneath the opening in the fishery floor, roughly a five-foot drop.
Danni points at the door along the catwalk. "Might as well try that one."
"But that goes up," Nicoleta grouses.
She drops to the floor and slides partway over the edge of the opening. She loweres her head down as low as she can get to try to see underneath the fishery.
"Hookshanks," the orphan explains to Alistair. "His name is Hookshanks and he's real mean. He's up there." He points towards the door on the northern catwalk.
A narrow space exists under the fishery, with about five feet of room between the floor of the eastern side of the building and the languid, foamy water of the river below. Wooden pilings support the building and thick mats of moss and cobwebs hang from ropes and rusted chains between them. A wooden walkway, five feet south from the hole Nicoleta peers through, floats on the river's surface, winding along the inner wall of pilings that supports the building's frame above. The walkway leads from the hull of a sodden ship moored on the eastern end of the fishery all the way west to a small two-and-a-half-foot-square door that leads to an understructure below the fishery's land-bound half. The pilings below this understructure are densely arrayed, leaving only narrow gaps into the water below it.
There is no obvious way to reach the walkway from the hole, except for dropping into the water and swimming.
The monk pulls herself up from looking under the fishery.
"We have to go through that boat out there to get underneath this place," she says. "So back outside and around."
She looks up at the door up above.
"But we can deal with this guy Hookshanks first," she says with a grin. "It'll let me get a little of this ... " she waves her hand in the air. "Out of my system first. Wouldn't want to kill Lamm right away."
Garran nods. "Agreed. We don't want any of Lamm's cronies restarting his business or coming after us for revenge."
Garran moves up to the door and takes position right outside it, ready to open it or bash it in.
Or hurting any of these children. Danni gives the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "It's gonna be okay," she says kindly.
Hookshanks...Got it...Sorry...his name reminds me of a cat...nasty creature that thing.
He slowly makes his way up towards the door the child pointed at.
What can you tell us of him...weapons...does he use magic...is he a fashion diva like our friend there? Any information will be of use.
as he climbs the stair...
Thank you, now go on and get out of here. Make for the temple of Sarenrae. They will look after you. Be safe and move fast.
"Let's do this," Nicoleta says as she moves to join the others on the catwalk. She's bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in anticipation.
The stink in this room, a mixture of fish and sweat, is enough to make your eyes water. To the east, a large wooden trough holds a hideous mound of half-rancid fish, seaweed, and brine. Filthy river water and fish blood stain the floor around the trough. A pair of wooden chutes lead from the container through holes in the eastern wall into the main fishery floor, trickling its repugnant contents into the wide vat there.
To the west, a desk and chair sit in one corner while a tall cabinet sits in the other.
Four of Lamm's Lambs are here, prodding the mound of spoiled fish with pitchforks in a half-hearted attempt to force it down the chutes. They level their tools against Garran as he comes through the doors, but make no effort to stab at him, regarding the party with wide, scared eyes. Of Hookshanks, there is no sign.
Allistair looks at the weapons and then at the faces of the kids.
Woo..easy there kids. I suggest you lower those things. Before you get hurt...
He looks at Garran and then down the line towards the rest of his companions.
and we do not want that. We only want Lamm and those that push his evil ways. Cro..Hookshanks..where is he. Do you know?
His lowers his weapon knowing full well that he is ready to defend himself if needed but it might cut the tension in the air.
Garran hefts his shield before him as the Lambs point pitchforks at them. If the kids tried anything, he would show them the error of their ways.
Alika wipes her eyes and says, "We're clearing this place out. Your friends upstairs have already left, gone to the temple of Sarenrae, and the evildoers who've kept you here are being punished. Even now we're seeking Hookshanks and Lamm, to end their wickedness."
Nicoleta cracks her knuckles.
"Yeah, we'd like to a have little 'sit-down' with this Hookshanks fellow. Explain to him the error of his ways. Anyone know where we can find him?"
She smiles, showing her teeth and it's not a pleasant look.
Looking over at Nicoleta, a slight smile crosses Alistair's lips.
Better...being mad is easy...being nice is hard..My sister was fond of saying that.
Nicoleta responds by sticking her tongue out at the swashbuckler.
Danni stands up on her toes to try to look into the room to see what's going on.
now now...keep your mind on the task at hand...Lamm
One of the Lambs gestures with his pitchfork towards an open door in the southern wall. "He heard some shouting and went that way. Probably to find Giggles."
"Oh, for f@@~'s sake!" Nicoleta snaps and moves to look through the southern door to look for any sign of the elusive foe.
Nicoleta finds the front room of the fishery much as how the party left it when they first rushed in: door kicked in, desk overturned, remains of the fishery's guard dog slowly bleeding in the corner.
Giggles's unconscious form is missing, however. A few glass vials lie on the floor near where he was left and a door in the eastern wall, adjacent to the hallway that leads to the catwalks above the fishery floor.
"Eyes open, people; Giggles is gone too!" Nicoleta calls out.
She moves across the room to look through the eastern door.
With a lunge she attempts to kick in the southern door.
Garran rushes after Nicoleta, cursing. Once in there, he checks the door next to her to see if anyone went through, then gets ready to follow her into the next room.
They could not have gotten far.
Alistair states the obvious as he enters behind Garran.
The open door leads to an office, of sorts. A desk sits in the southeastern corner of the room, the way it has been positioned would prevent the door to the catwalk from opening all the way. The desk is heaped with dozens of slate boards covered in messy chalk scrawls, while to the west a cabinet slouches against a wall.
A damaged leather chair has been pushed far from the desk. Where it might have once sat, some of the floorboards jut unevenly from the wooden surface of the fishery.
The door to the west leads back to the front room, the door to the east leads onto the catwalk of the main fishery floor, and the door to the south leads onto a rickety boardwalk that runs along the southern side of the fishery.
Seeing no one in the office, Nicoleta growls in frustration as she moves to the unopened door to the remaining area. A sandaled foot snaps up to kick at the door near the latch.
"Where the f$## are they!" she snarls.
Just as she turns to move to the other door, Nicoleta's eye catches the exposed edge of the trapdoor. She smiles showing all her teeth.
She moves softly over to the opening, indicating to the others the concealed exit. Showing surprising restraint, the monk squats down near the wooden portal and waits for the others to approach.
Danni has vivid memories of Hookshanks. She shudders a little bit involuntarily as a chill runs up her spine.
She moves up next to the trap door with Nicoleta, ready to blast anything that might appear within.
Alistair moves over and looks down the hole.
Garran moves into the office with Nicoleta and Danni, looks at the trapdoor, then nods and unlimbers his shield, before whispering, [smaller]"Once we open the trapdoor, if anyone has any magical attacks, they should use them on anyone we see. Then, I'll jump down first, followed by Nicoleta and Alistair. We should expect Hookshanks, Giggles, and, maybe Lamm down there." Garran's voice, when he says Lamm's name, carries a tinge of hate - and just a bit of eagerness at confronting him.
Nicoleta gives a thumbs up and reaches out to grasp the edge of the door.
"Step back from the door in case they're waiting to fling something as soon as it opens," she says quietly.
She then begins a silent countdown with one hand before tugging on the door to throw it back.
Alika follows as the team makes its pursuit through the complex, and quietly steps back to hug the wall as they find the trapdoor. She nods to Nicoleta that she's ready to proceed.
Alistair nods his approval of Garran's plan.
I am ready...On you word, we move.
Garran steps back, just in case, then nods that he's ready.
The trapdoor opens with a gust of cold air that smells of river water. A rope ladder leads down 10-feet to a wooden floor.
"You've had your fun," calls the dry voice of Gaedran Lamm from somewhere below. "Come down and let's talk this out."
"What makes you think I'm done having fun?" Nicoleta calls back, her eyes glittering with intensity. She flexes her hands in preparation for action.
Lamm's voice feels Danni with a mixture of emotions, mostly a combination of fear and anger. "Do not believe him," she whispers. She's sure the others probably know that in retrospect, but it just popped out of her by reflex. "He probably has a crossbow or some trap ready to go down there."