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"...now as for the surname 'Greenbottle' I would presume that dates back to the early Mendevian crusader division known for carrying green canteens to allow them to remain hydrated without disrupting their camouflage? I may be leaping to a far off conclusion but... oh... that's another Derro? Grmph..."
As you approach the blockage, you can easily get a glimpse into the open area beyond. The pile of debris used to create the dam is quite impressive, almost coming all the way up to the level of the walkways themselves. But you clear it all on the upper sections, and can easily enter the area beyond on either side of the obstruction. The far side was indeed one of the many catch basins that are part of the sewer system, but with the flow of water blocked, this basin has drained dry, leaving a large open area on the other side.
The floors there are dry, and appear to have been cleaned... the entire area now making for a fair sized room around thirty feet on a side, with the walkway circling the outside edge like a balcony fifteen feet above the bottom. There were probably once ladders inset along the edges, but you see only metal rivets and braces where they once were, all of them now removed. On the floor, on the dry side of the dam, a huge chalk drawing of a rat about to pounce has been sketched, much like the one you saw below the cooper's warehouse a few weeks earlier. The symbol of the Groetus worshiping Cult of Nature's Cataclysm.
In the back corner, two scruffy-looking men stand at the ready, wearing light armor, staves in hand. They do not approach though, or move to cut you off, both of them standing fast over a sewer grate set in the floor.
"Leave the way you come." One of them yells, with a snarl. "And perhaps yer doom will come later!"
"Though it'll still come!" The other adds menacingly.
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"Hello there, brothers! It seems you are not off of your minds, like your superiors were back there."-Fifi says assuming the two men are of a lower rank than the two clerics they fought.
"We mean you no harm, as long as you cooperate. The two clerics have been taken care of, and helping in this investigation could earn you your freedom! What say you, then? Cooperate and live to fight another day, or try and pick a fight outnumbered 3 to 1, and with us on the high ground?"-the paladin says without drawing her weapon, her arms held up as if about to hug them.
"If you figure you need those numbers ta win, then bring 'em lady." The one on the left shouts. "We win either way."
"Lady?" The other adds, with a sneer. "Look at her. She should go back to walkin' the streets, instead'a the sewers."
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Fifi pouts at the enemies' stubbornness, but her pity quickly turns to anger once she is insulted. Her hair igniting and growing, she tries to keep her cool with a few deep breaths.
Calmer now, she adds-"Perhaps a demonstration of our advantage should be made"-motioning Midge and Kioshi to pepper them with a shot of their ranged attacks each, to see how the men react.
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Marcus seems shocked by the sudden escalation but attempts to cover for it with bluster. "Does that seen like oblivion to you or just the slow grind of a river etching its way through stone to forge a new path? Cast aside your sigils and blades... Reconsider your stance... Or be ground down until you are utterly useless and cast aside to watch how this story ends from the sidelines... There will be no oblivion, just futility."
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We are here for the kidnapping victims. Where is Masym! What do you plan to do with him! Plenty have crossed us before and none have lived to tell of it. Don't worry about Fifi. Worry aboot I am an old old man and yet....somehow I defeated all your other cultists... wonder how that happened.
Londo brandishes his great axe threateningly like he had to far too many times in his "middle years" between the Crusades and the Present. Before meeting Zarisha and changing his life. He gives a wink back to Zarisha.
Zarisha comes forward wailing in misery
This is the fate of those who oppose us. Surrender.
Fifi will feel a little guilty, at encouraging the others to fire at the two men below, who have done nothing yet, beyond comment on her poor clothing choices. Her prayer from earlier sounding a little hollow in her ears now.
Kioshi and Midge don't seem to have any problems with it though, as the first lobs down a ball of acid and the later uses her wand once again to fire a small force missile. With a curse, the man on the left ducks under Kioshi's acid, as it splashes harmlessly on the stone wall behind him... but the second man can't avoid Midge's missile, which tracks him even as he dodges, striking solidly.
Both of them snarl, not at all nonplussed by their positional disadvantage.
"They look like harlots and nancy boys, and apparently fight like 'em too!" He calls back, with a sneer at Marcus' words.
"And look, they brought their grandma and grandpa, too!" One calls, though looks at his partner a little nervously.
"Probably earns more'n the tart in the skirt." The other observes. "Though I think gramma's a bit past her expiration date."
Neither one stands down though.
Calling on the last reserves of his psychic magic, Londo tries to fill the nearer man's thoughts with fear... though the man just sneers at Londo, clearly not giving in to such thoughts.
"Probably what the old lady tells you ever night." The other man calls back.
"Clearly overcompensatin' with the axe." The other adds, as he shakes the last of Londo's mental assault away.
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Before proceeding, Fifi tries one more plea-"Friends, we will extend our generosity one last time, but we cannot promise your well-being after that. If you surrender and cooperate, we'll forget your insults."
"I think she's saying you might need to get our shots after you lay with her." One says to the other, in a stage whisper.
"Me?" The other retorts, feigning shock. "I think I'd rather the dead one."
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Marcus shakes his head. "I had thought better of you to skip straight to open hostilities, but I backed your actions with my words since it seemed it was all that could be done with the given situation. If you don't have the stomach to see your threats through, you should not make them."
He readies his bow and maintains his position and shouts down. "If you prefer a duel of words I am happy to oblige. If you are willing to negotiate terms of a cease in hostilities, I am adept at management of such discussions. You are quite clearly in a very disadvantageous position. I have a bow and you are at the bottom of a pit. I will have you know that I have no love of needlessly spilled blood, so while I will of course endevour to complete the mission I have been assigned, thus far it appears to require confrontation with you. Thus far you have been willing to trade insults rather than blows. That is a good start. I might even add that many of them did make creative use of wordplay, inference, and theatrics, and while my fr..." He mulls over the word 'friends' and reconsiders. "...compatriots may not appreciate the allegations contained, I most certainly appreciated the delivery. If you would be willing to name your terms for right of passage, we can begin the process."
"Go away. How's them for terms?" One growls. "You and your walkin' brothel can piss off."
"Look at his clothes. Looks like one of them poncy nobles." The other adds. "Probably gonna have the vapors at the first sign of blood, anyway."
Marcus' words do little to diffuse the situation, as both men seem determined to stand their ground, no matter what.
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"Why are we even talking to these guys? They worship an evil god that wants to bring the end times, they're hanging out with slavers, and whatever's in that hole they don't want us to find. CLEARLY they're bad news." Midge shakes her head in disgust at her comrades and shoots a magic missile at each of the bad guys.
"What's in the pit?"
Marcus' stream barely misses one of the men as he jumps aside swearing.
"If it weren't so small, maybe you'd have better aim." He snarls.
"If it weren't so small, he'd have better things to do with it" The other responds.
Neither bothers answering Marcus, he already knows their answer.
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Marcus raises an eyebrow. "Really? You're asking that now?"
He draws an arrow, scrapes the arrowhead across the stonework until it blunts, then draws and fires it at the nearest guard. "Well, you should be more careful how you phrase your responses. Anyhow, this may take a while, and I certainly will not be handing out free passes to oblivion, so if at any time during this process you wish you change your minds about negotiated passage, let me know."
Londo's javelin strikes the side of the catch basin, chipping the rock, but not coming anywhere near the two men below. Even as Midge sends another magic missile their way, one of them looks over at the other, who nods, then goes and picks the javelin up. With a heave, he hurls it back at Londo on the ledge above, the shaft piercing his armor with ease. , getting another blast from Midge for his trouble.
"Hey, he was right, it didn't miss!" He retorts.
"You cowards got any more?" The other yells.
As the Pathfinders prove they are little better than the bullies and ruffians many claim at times, the two men below, who really have no way to defend themselves, are easily dispatched. They eventually fall from the continued volley of attacks bravely fired their way from the safety of the ledge above.
Not once do they even try to surrender.
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Fifi closes her eyes as she utters a brief prayer-"May the law of Taldor be just upon the crimes of these vagrants, and may their time behind bars serve to teach them not to protect criminals. May their lives take a turn towards the better. "
With the men taken care of, Fifi takes out a rope and rendezvous with the rest of the group, so that Marcus and Londo would help the rest of the party not land poorly.
If the climb down proves to be successful, Fifi will use the same rope to tie up the two men together.
Marcus doesn't get that far, as soon as he gets near them, suddenly there is an arcane glow around the sewer grate, and a greenish missile of arcane energy streaks towards him. It strikes him square in the chest, and immediately starts to burn through cloth and exposed skin alike!
Marcus ignores the acid burning painfully on his skin, vaguely defined feelings of guilt forcing him to push them aside to check on the two men laying in the corner. He will be able to stabilize one... but has no luck on the other, first aid well outside his typical area of expertise. Luckily, that man seems to stabilize on his own.
Up on the walkway, Fifi is able to tie off her rope to one of the broken ladder brackets. Though rusty, and twisted beyond repair, the brackets remain solid enough to allow her to lower herself down.
Of course, it's never that simple... as she moves over to secure the two men, the same magical force forms around the grate, and another missile fires at her. She proves a little quicker on her reaction time then Marcus, and manages to duck, as it sizzles by overhead, striking the far side of the catch basin, and leaving rivulets of acid streaking down the stone there.
Whatever it is, it did not appear to end with Marcus!
Londo can climb down without issue, whatever is causing the acidic projectiles apparently not caring, as long he stays away from the corner.