"I've no complains with letting you live after." Arenel said with a shrug. How about you Arya?"
Valghaz took a moment to stand there contentedly. He had no idea where Elaina had wondered off to, but she wasn't causing any trouble. So in his book, all was right in the world.
"Sounds like a fair deal to me, Klenden. I'd suggest once we do so, you go and find yourself another line of work...."
Arya claps a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Once we're done, your boss is either going to be very mad... or very dead."
When she finishes with the bolt, Mimi realizes she still hasn't heard any Eliana sounds. She decides maybe she should look around to make sure she's alright.
Klendan leads the party to Dead Dog Alley, a plaza in Sunrise at the junction of Crown Street, Monkey Street, and Water Street - very near the Taxidermist's Guildhall, actually. In the center of the plaza sits a well, which Klendan points to. "We climbed down there to get to the guildhall."
Klendan:
Mimi:
Arya:
Elaina:
Valghaz:
Arenel:
"And?" Arenel asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Don't start holding back now boy." She said.
“We’ve been fair and honest with you Klendan. What is it you’re not telling us?”
Since no one was coming to rescue her, Elaina unhappily set about rescuing herself, wrapping bandages torn from her skirt around her wounds after cutting off the heads of the arrows and pulling out she shafts. She hobbles after the others as they make their way with their new friend, but doesn't recognize him until they stop and the well and she catches up. "Th-Th-That's the one that shot me full of arrows!" She sputters, a hot mixture of anger and disbelief rising in her chest. "Why isn't he dead?! He tried to murder me and I didn't even do anything bad to him before that I can remember!"
”Ah, there ye are. He’s not dead because he’s taking us to his bosses.”
"Well can I kill him after he shows us?! Or..." She didn't want to kill anyone, not really. "At least I could shoot him a couple times, that seems fair!" She didn't want to do that either, but was still quite cross with the man. At least she could get some pleasure from scaring him.
"No." Arenel said bluntly. "He's going to walk away with his life intact and no new wounds from you." She added as she crossed her arms. "That was the agreement."
Mimi can't help but keep looking at Elaina's very badly bandaged injuries.
Eventually she asks "do you want me to take a look at those? They look painful."
"Ohhh yes!" Elaina exclaims, thinking it was about time someone showed some concern for her. She flops down on the ground, clutching at the wound on her thigh and groaning. "I don't think I've ever been hurt this much in my whole life! I'm probably gonna die!"
”Really? Well...don’t ye know some healing magic? Or have ye already used it all up?”
"I think she forgot she has them." Arenel shrugged.
Klendan heaves a sigh. "I don't think this is the only entrance. It's where Vanthus led me and a couple other recruits, but the other day I heard him refer to it as 'the rubes' entrance,' and he mentioned how unwelcome visitors would regret using it." His eyes nervously dart over your faces. "But I don't know where the other entrance is."
Mimi cuts away the bandages on Eliana's leg. If she thinks the woman's complaints are exaggerated she doesn't show it. She studies the injury closely, then digs out a vial containing an ivory-white liquid.
"No, the bleeding as mostly stopped, so you're in no danger anymore. It will be slow to heal though, it's deep."
She hands Eliana the vial. "Drink this and I'll see how it looks again afterward."
Elaina hides a smile behind her hands while Mimi tends to her wounds. The alchemist was right, of course. Her wounds weren't that bad and she could heal herself, but it felt so nice to have some taking care of her. She could feel the liquid Mimi gave her closing her wounds. It felt similar to the magic she uses to heal herself, but not exactly the same. "This is just like that time you were sick from those spikey creatures and I helped you! We're like twins!" She follows up with a quiet, excited squeal.
"We should make him go first, then." Elaina says, eyeing her attempted-murderer with suspicion. "That's what we should have done last time someone tried to get us to go into a dark hole in the ground."
"No. He's leaving after all of our questions are answered to the best of his abilities. That is final and not up for debate." Arenel said as she crossed her arms. "Anything else you want to tell us about what is inside?"
Elaina also crosses her arms and turns away from Arenel with an indignant "Hmmph! This is going to be just like that last time then, 'cept instead of bitey zombies there will be stabby people who probably don't even wash their clothes very often!"
Arya smiles awkwardly at Elaina. It was almost certainly going to be just like last time. But she had given Klendan her word... what was she supposed to do.
Thinking back to the taxidermist's hall she struggles to think of anything she could have missed. But she hadn't seen any more doors in there, and she could have sworn she checked every room.
"Are you sure you don't have any idea where the other entrance is Klendan? It's not, say, hidden away over in the Taxidermist's Guildhall?" she points across the plaza in the direction of the hall, as if it might prompt the ruffian's memory.
"I really don't know! They did say something about the Taxidermist being off limits, but nothing beyond that."
"Alright, fine." Arya sighs, it was starting to sound like she definitely did miss something in the guildhall.
"Well gang, I guess either we jump down this hole and hope it doesn't go as bad as the last time we pulled that trick, or we charge back through the Taxidermist's and don't take 'no' for an answer this time."
"We could go back to that horrible shop at night and sneak in. But someone would have to watch him." Elaina says, nodding her head towards the bandit without looking at him. "Until then so he can't go tattle on us."
"We could take him with us to the taxidermist. Though seeing as how someone wants us dead, I'm inclined to just go in here with me hammer. Kill them before they try again."
Mimi peers down into the hole. She asks their captive "How exactly did you climb down? Is there a rope or ladder? What is at the bottom? Describe entering that way, where does it lead once you're down?"
"Vanthus had me climb down a rope. He didn't follow me, though. He said this would be the test to see if I could join the Lotus Dragons. I climbed down the rope to a large chamber partially filled with water. I think it was sewage. There were several small pipes and one larger one in the walls, and a small strand of dry land next to a tunnel."
"I was hanging on the rope, looking around, when I fell, the rope coming with me. Just as I splashed into the water, the large pipe started spewing more water into the room. I swam for the dry land and went down the tunnel, but it just lead to a dead-end. The water was rising at that point, and I made my way back to the large chamber, having to swim to make it in. I started looking around the walls more carefully, and finally found a secret door. It was totally submerged by that point, but I managed to open it and get out. I was greeted by Vanthus. He smiled and slapped me on the back, and said, "Welcome to the Lotus Dragons!""
"Well that doesn't sound too awful... maybe this is the safer way in, at least now that we know what to expect. Better than charging in through the front door?"
"I agree with you Arya. Let's allow this poor bastard to leave then head down." Arenel said as she waved at the man before them. "Go, get out of here. Though fair warning, you turn us in, even if I die you won't be safe from me. I'll haunt you till your death." She warned him.
Elaina peers apprehensively over the rim of the well, not at all liking the sound of "rising sewage". "Hmm. Maybe some of you guys should go down first and some people stay up here so you don't get trapped down there by a giant bucket or something. Then when you find the way in you can come back up here and lead the rest of us in."
"That could work, as long as you don't mind swimming through sewage after it's risen past the secret door in the time it takes us to come get you?"
"Yes... I like that idea better. I think it's best to have a plan B exit ready in case things go wrong."
Mimi has one more question for the captive. "Where exactly is the secret door?"
"Ohh. Oh no." Elaina whispers nervously, anxiously grabbing Arya's wrist. Swimming through sewage sounded even worse than rising sewage. "I can't swim cuz of my religion so I should probably go with the first people."
"Is anyone willing to remain up here?" Arenel asked as she crossed her arms. "Because either plan ends up with poor ideas. After all, plan B splits us up again."
”Pretty sure I should be in front. Heaviest armor, if anything is going to hit us, it’ll hurt me least.”
"The secret door was in the dead-end passage I mentioned, several feet off the ground."
"Oh. Well it sounds like everyone has to go then, even though we are gonna get SO trapped!" Elaina didn't want to get hit by anything and she wanted there to be more targets so she doesn't get grabbed by the sea monster that no doubt lives in the well.
”That’s a much better idea. Shall we delve the depths then?”
Arya agreed with Elaina and heads over to peer down the well.
Arenel sighed and moved as she began to move down the latter. "Let's get going. We don't have time to stand around any longer." She told them as she headed down.
”Not going down without me.”
Descending down a rope, you find yourselves in a circular cavern consisting of a large pool of brackish-looking water, its surface greasy with filthy and rotting seaweed. Dripping lead pipes protrude from the walls of the twenty-foot-high cavern, including one that's nearly two feet in diameter to the east. To the west and south is a five-foot-wide beach of grit and gravel. A narrow tunnel leads up at a shallow angel to the west and out of sight.
As the last of you drops in, you hear two ominous things - the sound of water rushing, and the roar of some bestial creature from the west. Water begins pouring out of the large pipe.
"The way out's at the end of this tunnel, someone light it up, let's go!"
Arya moves to the opening of the tunnel and draws her sword, steeling herself to face whatever it is standing between her and their escape route.
Arenel moved foreword as she called back to Vlaghaz. "Didn't you cast a spell of light before?" She asked.
”Aye.” He turned away from the pipe. ”Was thinking of a way to close it.” With that he put a hand on her weapon, causing it to glow with divine light.
Mimi readies her crossbow and follows after Arya.
Elaina draws her sword and screams "I told you there was gonna be sea monsters down here!" Her scream amplified as it echoes off the cavernous walls.
Creature #1: hp 25/25; AC/T/FF 14/10/13; Fort/Ref/Will +6/+4/+2; vs Feint 13 Condition Charging, Grappled
As the party moves forward, Arya looks down the tunnel, and sees a crocodile moving towards them!
The crocodile rushes forward and bites Arya, it's jaws clamping down on her legs with force and holding on tightly.
Meanwhile, a crossbow bolt flies out somewhere from the north and sinks into Valghaz's shoulder.
LDT1: 11/11, in D11, in combat
LDT2: 11/11, moving to the east, will join combat in round 3
LDT3: 11/11, moving to the south, will join combat in round 5
Water level at end of this round: 0.6 inches.
"S!!%!" Arenel said when the animal rushed foreword. "We've got company!!" She called out before a ray of frost came shooting from her hand and struck the crocodile, just barely, with Arya in the way.
Arya tries desperately to escape the beast's jaws.
Managing to slip free, Arya daringly runs across the animal's back, jumping off to spin around as she gets into a flanking position.