Gwenhwyfar sits down on the floor. "Is that how we are going to handle all encounters now? Killing all and every person we meet."
"I know they are no good and lawful people. But are we going to be the ones handing out judgement as we see fit?"
Tauriell searches the bodies for valuables "Yes. Exactly like that." she answers Gwenhwyfar's question. "But you don't need to do that. I'm fine doing that for you."
"You two are a real dream team. Abomentolor makes sure there is no talking and you make sure no one starts talking ever again." Gwenhwyfar accuses the other team members.
"Yeah. You better get used to it. The people you meet in this business are not the nice kind. If you want to talk and drink tea you should find another occupation. By the way, would you mind healing me. I got hit by two bolts." Abomentolor states his point of view.
Jimmy walks up besides Gwen and places a hand on her shoulder while Tauriell ends the fallen. He keeps an eye open on the remaining doors in case anyone else heard the noise of the fighting.
"We all know they are certainly not the nice kind, but we can all also agree that there are other options, taking prisoners for one. I don't think anybody is trying to say that we shouldn't protect ourselves, but that perhaps investing in a few pairs of manacles might be a good idea?"
"Patricia got a second chance. I'm not giving her a third. And who wants to turn in a wererat? Also, how many prisoners do you want to take before you carry them back to the guard? And what would you accuse them of?"
Bagging the money from the bodies she adds "I gave up on being the good guy a long time ago. It complicates your life a lot and doesn't pay."
"They are all issues yes. But we didn't even give them half a chance. It just feels wrong to kill helpless people somehow."
"No problem. Next time you bring manacles, Carl and that other guy and then you can set up a make shift prison here. Until then I make sure they wont reappear at a most inconvenient moment to stab us from behind." Tauriell replies.
She then pulls the chain shirt from Patricia to try it on herself. "A fine quality. I think I'll keep that."
"That is a plan I like. Gwen?" Jimmy asks
"It's a lot better that Tauriell's solution. We should give it a try." Gwenhwyfar agrees.
"Now you only need to find enough money to buy the manacles. Last I heard you were short on money." Tauriell mocks Jimmy.
"You wanna go now or do we continue here first?"
"They probably know we are here now, going back now is probably not a great idea. Gwen, I fear we may just have to cope for today." Jimmy says
"Well, I'm also short on money. And if we leave now and they find this, they will be prepared for us and then we might end this way." Gwenhwyfar replies, not really happy wiht the situation.
"I imagine we can appropriate the money we need from them as we go today, and next time have the manacles and guards ready."
"But where to continue? I don't see where else the rest of them might be." Abomentolor says looking around.
"Hey look there is a door in the wall."
"Where else would you expect there to be a door?"
The door opens easily. The murals in this new room are scratched and faded. Several portions of the wall and floor show signs of past chipping. An empty plinth where a statue once stood rests by a small alcove.
The room is open to the long shaft where one can see the boats lying below. A ledge festooned with old bird nests looks out over the shaft dropping nearly two hundred feet to sea level below. A large coil of rope sits on the ground near the shaft, one end anchored to a large piton driven into a crack near the wall. Opposite the shaft is another ledge with a window looking out over Magnimar’s harbor. The ceiling is a mere ten feet above, and crisscrossed by a complex tangle of stone arches that support the roof. Between the two ledges, a five-foot-square wooden platform hangs from four thick ropes that hang from the stone arches. The platform is further anchored by two thick ropes to spikes hammered into the walls near the edge of the western ledge, while another pair of ropes hang from the ceiling above, anchored to a hook driven into the wall near the same ledge.
"Well if you already saw this stone door that looked like the rest of the wall, you could have told us."
Walking into the other room he looks around and looks down the shaft. "Oh my. 200 feet down into the water. This is for sure for someone else to explore."
"Who is the lightest?" Jimmy asks matter of factly
"Hey! You can argue all you want. I wont go out on that." Abomentolor protests.
"No, honestly, who is the lightest?"
Tauriell takes out her rope and binds it around her waist. Handing the other end to Jimmy she says "Jimmy, hold that and be prepared to hold me if I fall."
She then walks out on the ropes the swinging rope in her hands to help balance.
She then looks around, why one would build that thing there.
Tauriell notices a fine line in the shape of a rectangle around one of the pitons. Pulling at the piton a trap door opens in the ceiling. The trap door has ladder like carvings on the inside makingit rather easy to climb up into a secret passage.
"Hey Abomentolor. You can argue all you want. Everyone will have to come here if we want to explore any further." Tauriell reveals the unpleasant news with a smirk.
"But this thing here is rather sturdy. If you don't fall off you'll be fine."
"If you are really worried Abomentolor, we could all tie ourselves together and tie ourselves to one of the supports, if we have enough rope."
"I'm at one end of this rope and you on the other. Between us two holding that, my grandma could walk over here." Tauriell says teasing the gnome.
"Can I try next?" Gwenhwyfar asks. She takes Destinée on her shoulder and grasps the rope waiting for Jimmy to give the confirmation.
"Go ahead, we should have this." Jimmy smiles at her. "Be careful."
Niamh catches up with the others hearing Tauriell's last comment. "Your grandmother is alive?"
Watching Gwenhwyfar Abomentolor tries a joke "Good thing I left Brutus on the boat with the Captain. With him on my shoulder this would be ridiculous."
Gwenhwyfar's knuckles become white as she clinges to the rope and carefully steps out on the rope.
It's a slow progress but eventually Gwenhwyfar reaches the platform, where Tauriell stands.
"Niamh, you next?"
"My grandma is in her best years. Why wouldn't she be alive?" Tauriell asks.
"Shall I climb up into this duct. It will get rather crowded if all come over here." Gwenhwyfar asks.
"Yes." Niamh answers Jimmy's question and walks toward the rope.
While she is going on the rope she replies Tauriell.
"Oh, I just thought..." Niamh stops herself "No, I haven't thougt or I would have noticed that she is an Elf too."
"Hurry up before Niamh comes over and the platform breaks under all that weight." Tauriell jokes.
Gwenhwyfar climbs up into the duct.
"How about you go, and once you're back you tell me how it was? No?"
Abomentolor takes the rope and with the color vanished completely out of his face he tries to make it to the platform.
Happy that he made it he wastes no time and follows Gwenhwyfar back onto solid ground.
"I hope you don't mean I'm too heavy! But I guess this is just an allusion that I shouldn't buy apple pie anymore that you don't feel coerced to eat it. " Niamh teases Tauriell.
She follows Abomentolor and Gwenhwyfar.
"The dog that feels kicked barks. You can feed me apple pie all day." Tauriell answers.
"You know, I am a halfling, not a dog! You should have learn that in two hundred years." Niamh disabuses Tauriell.
Tauriell walks around one of the vertical ropes to bring more friction between her and Jimmy's end of the rope. She then throws him the swinging rope. "The easy passages are sold out. You have to take that to hold your balance. And don't you dare to fall down."
"Wish me luck." Jimmy says under his breath as he waits for Abomentolor to cross before starting to make his own way across. "Just because you asked Tauriell, I shall try my best not to."
Jimmy misses the rope on the third step and hangs on the rope over the abyss.
"If you tied yourself to that rope, I could simply drag you over here. But the good thing is, you can't drag me down this way. You have to swing here on your own." Tauriell says looking a bit annoyed.