Cyanne's rapier bends comically as the gremlin laughs, a dark, high-pitched laugh that seems to echo in the tiny room. Then, Lali's axe smashes into its head, knocking it a good blow that rattles its skull and leaves a good-sized wound.
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Cyanne tries to calm down, remembering the sword lessons that Daen taught her. Breathing. Footwork. She fights defensively, trying to fend the noglub off, dancing lightly on her feet, narrowing her focus to just this opponent, this moment.
Stay smart, Cyanne. It's him or you. Stay calm and go for the kill strike if you can.
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The swordsman, looking about the area, noticed there was a much wider alleyway that could have been taken the other way and darted off to cut off what he perceived as a evil fey creature. He arrived on the other side of the place she was squeezing through, holding out his sword to halt her progress. "So, you've been causing trouble. But now it's come back to you."
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Lali's axe bounces off the nuglub and she gets even angrier. Why isn't she carrying cold iron? This thing is beating up Cyanne and that's not ok. She needs to draw its attention.
"YA HIT LIKEA BABY, YA SMALL DUMB PANSY"
Kazimir is still calming down the horse as Daen and Luthor go rushing past him in pursuit. He looks after them for a moment, then back to the horse. After a few pained seconds of looking around for the owner, he sighs, shakes his head and locks eyes with the creature. "I'll bring you right back, alright?" he murmurs, before swinging himself onto the creature's back and taking off after the fleeing pair.
With Daen going after the girl, he chooses to follow Luthor and the boy before overtaking them, bringing the borrowed horse around in front of the - in front of what he assumes had been the boy. Positioning his mount to block the street in front, he glances over the thing's head to Luthor for guidance. "Did I miss something?" he asks in confusion.
Despite the ladies' best efforts, the creature doesn't look to be succumbing to its wounds quite yet. Instead, it lashes out with first one claw and then another, trying to rend Lali's stomach open. Fortunately, though, her armor takes the first blow and the change in angle from the impact pushes the second claw wide.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Instead of surrendering or attempting to flee, the blinded creature bares its teeth and reaches clumsily for a length of barbed chain around its waist as Kazimir rides up, still astride the borrowed horse.
Meanwhile, the gremlin that Daen and Rikka have cornered drops to the ground, crying piteously as Daen menaces her with his blade. "What did ya do to Harry? He was my friend and you turned him into a monster!" One or two concerned citizens take notice, but for the moment, none come close enough to try helping.
"You may have with all that was going on." Luthor answered, warily shifting his position in response to the creatures movements, making sure he would be able to lunge at it if it attempted to escape.
"This blindness wont last long, you should probably see about knocking it out sooner rather than later." He quickly added.
He edged towards it, dagger at the ready, more concerned with presenting another threat to draw its attention than actually inflicting any meaningful harm.
Continuing to fight defensively, Cyanne presses the attack, just barely missing the gremlin's heart.
"Keep at it, Lali. Together we can fight this freaky fey."
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Laliytsa keeps slashing away with grim determination. It may take a while but this nuglub's going down
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The half elf looks a bit flustered. He expected more of a fight, not piteous weeping. It was likely a trick, but he also didn't quite know what to do. He couldn't just stab a evil fey that looked like a sobbing girl, what if he was wrong? But there was something he could do that was effective against children and evil fey alike, assail them with logic. "What? Are you lacking any sense? Any wizard worth his salt wouldn't turn a cornered person into a more dangerous foe than they already were! There's no way we did that! That's what he always was."
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"Maybe so, but what is it?" Kaz asks in amazement, even as he draws his axe and takes a swing at the creature. He does pull his blow, though, not wanting to kill what had, to the best of his knowledge, been a child a few moments ago.
The nuglub takes another couple swipes at Laliytsa, missing horribly before beginning to eye the exits, as if waiting for an opportunity to escape.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Kazimir's axe bonks the gremlin on the head, doing surprisingly little damage to his foe. It clumsily lashes out with its chain, reaching with ease into Kazimir's side and leaving a trio of gashes where fishhook-sized spikes pierced his patchwork armor.
Meanwhile, the orphan girl looks at Daen's sword with wide and teary eyes, then casts her glance toward the concerned citizens of Restov. "Please, stop scaring me! You already turned my friend into some horror!" She pauses to sniffle loudly. "I don't want to be a monster! My name's Erinat, and I've just b-been trying to help my friend!"
She's playing for an audience.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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Lali sees that the gremlin's about to make a break for it. Afraid that they'll lose him in the tunnels she decides to take a gamble. She drops her axe, lunges for the creature and tries taking him to the ground.
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Once Lali had grappled the creature, Cyanne pulls out a cold iron arrow, but Lali and the Nuglub were rolling around on the floor so fast that Cyanne knows she can't get a clear shot. Still, the nuglub was between her and Erinat.
Maybe the kid had set them up. Maybe she really was in trouble. Either way, The nuglub was in the way.
So Cyanne just took the cold iron arrow and just stabbed down at the nuglub with it, using it as an improvised dagger. She's covered in beer; she's covered in barf; and now Lali's rolling around on the floor, and she's stabbing a fey with whatever's handy that will penetrate its thick skin. Screw grace. Screw dignity. It's time to END this.
The arrow broke as she stabbed the creature with it, but she didn't care. "Guess what? I have lots more arrows. This ends NOW! Surrender!"
She repeats this message in Sylvan.
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Daen's eyes narrowed into slits and his brow furrowed like a freshly plowed homestead. This wench's twisted logic wouldn't help here. He didn't care if he got a bad reputation out of this. "Help your monster friend start a riot you mean. Now, I don't like games. You'll shut your mouth or I will cut off your arm and everyone will see whether or not you're a monster. You can trust me on that. Lay down and be quiet or suffer a fate far worse than bullying."
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"Nnngh!" Kaz grunts in pain and surprise as the hooks dig into his side, ripping easily through his old armour and biting into weathered skin. Reconsidering his previous stance, but telling himself the creature will be able to answer more questions alive than dead, he tries for another swing.
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"Just lay into it proper Kaz, I can heal it once its down!" Luthor shouted, noting the rather awkward way he was swinging his axe. He then made more of an effort to distract the creature, waving his dagger around as if he was about to stab.
At last, between Lali's hold and Cyanne's reckless improvised stabbing, the nuglub gives up trying to claw Lali's stomach and lets out a shudder before falling still in her arms. As she picks herself up, the ladies are finally able to assess the cavern in relative peace.
The dirt walls of the cavern seem to have been carved out recently, judging by the amount of rock and dirt still loose on the floor, and are disrupted by a trio of tunnels. The two to the north seem to have been what the gremlin was eyeing as it looked for its escape. From there, a chorus of giggling voices can be heard. Meanwhile, from the west comes no sound.
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The gremlin Kazimir's fighting takes the blow, this time working itself into a panic as the axe clunks into its stomach and drives the air from its lungs. Then, it lashes out in a big circle with its chain, catching the paladin across the chest and ripping another set of jagged cuts into him.
Meanwhile, Daen's little girl zips her mouth, eyes crossing as she focuses on the blade for the first time. She stays that way for a few seconds before Daen suddenly feels mounting confusion fill his mind. He whips his blade quickly, but the girl jerks her arm out of the way, and then his strength of will beats back the sudden confusion. Meanwhile, a few of the more bold members of the crowd step forward, eager to stop the horrible man who'd dare swing his blade at a poor, defenseless child.
Cyanne offers a hand to Lali. "Ugh! That was awful, but you, Lali, are as fierce as a she-bear."
She searches the gremlin, then prestidigitates both of them clean, and then draws out the two potions she'd bought off Bokken, the ones that tasted like "sweat and bile." Waving her hands, she makes both taste of lemon mint before drinking them down.
She's not hearing screams. Just giggles. Then she turns to Lali. "Are we going to chase the gremlins now and try to get Erinat back, or we going to take the Western tunnel, leave, and try to find some cold iron first?"
Feeling the dizziness and confusion from the girl-looking thing in front of him, his suspicious were completely confirmed. If only he had the ability to show the crowd what he just felt. This was an insidious fey for certain, especially if it's able to disguise itself this well. "I keep my promises, you subversive malcontent. I gave you every chance to settle this peaceably. If you won't go to the magistrate to answer the charge of inciting a riot, I'll have to settle things here, no matter what magic of chaos you choose to use on me or anyone else."
The half-elven swordsman lit his sword with it's blue eldritch glow. Since she twisted away from him, he cast a spell before closing in to strike, aiming again for the arm with an artful spin.
Eying Kazimirs wounds but judging them mild enough to postpone treatment, Luthor continued to stab and twist, trying for eye catching and distracting motions. "Youve got this, keep at it!"
"Wait a moment. Lali... Erinat was acting strange, right? And there's no screaming, just giggling. What did Perli say? He said that he'd seen no bigguns down here, just gremlins!" It felt weird saying this, because Erinat had looked so real. And when she'd chattered about Harry, Cyanne had felt so protective. She'd wanted to take care of the kid, maybe find her a home with Aron and Lirpeth if the child's parents were truly gone. Cyanne's stomach turns over. "Those other gremlins... the ones that barfed, they recognized her. And she recognized them. She looked like a little girl, but maybe.... maybe we've been played. Lali, let's get out of here, and get some cold iron weapons. I don't mind being pranked by Perli and Tyg, but I don't like being set up and ambushed. Let's get out of here, and deal with these stupid monsters later."
She looks down at the evidence they've collected. "We've found evidence of the noble houses getting involved with whatever went down in the Onion, right? We've came for what we were looking for. There's something off here. Let's continue with our mission for the church." She looks over at her friend. "We have two choices. Climb back out of here or go down the quiet western tunnel. I'm voting we take a quick peek down the quiet tunnel, see if it offers a way out. If it doesn't, let's just climb up."
Then Cyanne's stomach grumbles. "By the way, are you hungry? We're really close to my brother's bakery. He makes these cream-filled pastries brushed with cinnamon..."
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The barbs dig into the farmboy's chest, hooking in and ripping open the old arrow scars. His head swims, his vision starting to blur; his hand loosens on the reins of his "borrowed" horse. To die once, to come back, to be given such grief by a gremlin?
Thump. His heart pounds in his chest, a sudden surge of blood, a sudden surge of anger. His breathing deepens, nostrils flaring. Every sense heightens - the chaotic noises of the street, of the mob forming behind him; the flash of light on Luthor's wildly-swinging dagger; the movements and frightened snorting of the horse beneath him. His knuckles whiten as his grip on his axe tightens, and when he swings, a sudden surge of strength guides his arm.
Laliytsa nods ”Somethin’ fishy goin’ on. Ain’t the first time I’da run ‘cross a kid what ain’t really a kid. Oughta peak down the tunnels, only I don’ wanna leave ‘fore we get Perli an’ that rope.”
The ranger takes a minute to think about gremlins. Are there gremlins that frequently masquerade as children? Or just another species?
As she’s thinking she says ”Pastries’ always good. Bet Perli’ll love it. Ya can clean us off once we get outta here?”
The western tunnel dead-ends after a few dozen feet in a cave-in, below which the ladies can see the smashed body of one of the vomit-spewing gremlins.
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Kazimir's axe crashes into the abominable little gremlin, and it drops its chain with a squeal that's almost human, if it weren't so pig-like. A moment later, it's down on the ground, bleeding and not moving. In the distance, however, he and Luthor can see Daen striking out at what seems to be a child.
For Daen's part, his blade and the spell behind it cut deep, causing massive damage to the child's shoulder. She screams piteously, but doesn't transform. A moment later, the first of the crowd lays a hand on the swordsman, wrapping him up in a bear hug and trying to pun his sword-arm to his side!
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”Erinat. ERINAT. CONSARN IT!” Lali smacks herself in the face ”S#~# Cy, I screwed up. Erinat’s’a type’a Gremlin, likes lookin’ like a kid an’ causin’ chaos an’ violence. Gotta be more ‘round here. We need’a get outta here an’ deal with ‘em. Perli? PERLI? Yeh follow us?”
Lali looks down at the dead vomit-gremlin. Does it look like they could fit down that tunnel?
With the creature down, Luthor quickly set down his backpack and pulled out his silken rope. "Ive got this, go help Daen before things turn sour." He said, quickly wrapping the rope around the horrid little thing on the ground. Once he had confidence that it was securely tied up, the rope uncomfortably tight around its, he touched a glowing hand to the last nasty wound Kazimir had inflicted.
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The half elf's eyebrow arched a bit as the wound he leveled on the creature refused to follow his promise. That strike should have hewn through the joint at least. He was fairly sure that was about the best he could do. If quality wouldn't finish the job, then quantity surely would. He raised his arm to bring about another blow when hands grabbed him from behind. He twisted and managed to get the glowing blade toward the monster in front of him despite the grasping crowd. "No!" He grunted through gritted teeth. "You're fools all of you. That is no girl!"
"Erinat is not her name, it's her breed?" Cyanne sits down, heavily. "We both messed up, Lali. But we can't go back and take care of the rest of them now. Not until we have the right weapons. One of those gremlins nearly killed me. Can you imagine what two or more will do?"
Lirpeth tsk-tsks in her head. That's not very daring, Cyanne.
Maybe not, but you two also taught me to use my brain, and to know when to retreat. That time is NOW.
She looks for her whip, hanging off the Solid Note spell. "Ready to climb up, Lali? I'll boost you, then climb up myself."
She boosts Lali up, and then quickly follows suit.
"Let's get out of here, then find the stuff we need. We can take care of this nest later."
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"Help Daen," Kaz mumbles, wiping his forehead on his sleeve. "Right." Part of him wonders what's wrong with him, where this sudden burst of fury came from; the rest of him wants to keep moving, keep going, before it fades.
He nudges the horse with his heels, pushing it into action, promising to return it safely as he takes off toward Daen, currently grappling with... a child?
"Stand down!" he exclaims in shock and horror. "These children aren't children at all! The girl's companion just transformed before my own eyes!"
As the ladies begin making their way north from the Burnt Onion, they're greeted by a bizarre sight in Tumbledown Town. A half-dozen rough-looking men seem to be in the process of trying to restrain Daen, whose sword blurs as it chops into the arm of the street urchin he's attacking. The sword-stroke chops in deep, leaving the urchin bleeding out in the dirt street. As she drifts out of consciousness, she transforms from a little girl into a tiny, bug-eyed creature, eyelids half closed over bloodshot eyes.
For a moment, the rough-looking men look in horror, then surge forward to restrain the half-elf. A moment later, they look over their shoulder as Kazimir rides up, yelling something, with Luthor on his heels. Faced with superior weapons and an unexpected reinforcement, the crowd does what they do; disperses into the slums around them. After a moment or two, the road is empty except for the two groups and the sobbing Emmala in the street behind Kazimir, knelt down over the body that once was Harry.
The sounds of the street and the hustle fade do a dull roar in Kazimir's ears, the heightened rush ebbing away. Suddenly weak, he dismounts shakily, patting the horse's flank and sending it back in the direction it came from. His legs barely seem to support his own weight.
As Laliytsa and Cyanne rejoin the group, he leans heavily against a nearby wall, one hand pressed to the wounds in his chest. "What were these things?" he asks of no-one in particular, his voice low and hollow.
Cyanne takes in the scene: the mob breaking up, the dead gremlins, Daen's grim look of determination as he cleans his bloody Aldori dueling blade, Kaz's exhaustion, Luthor's concern and the woman sobbing in the middle of the street. She answers Kaz's question honestly. "I'm not sure, but we met a gremlin named Erinat who disguised herself as a little girl. Maybe these are more of the same?"
She runs up to Daen, hugging him perhaps a little too fiercely, wanting nothing more than to lose herself in his touch and just cry with relief that they're both still here, still alive. She's shaky and wounded from her own battles, and all the pent up adrenaline is still coursing through her, making her certain that any moment more nasty blue things will leap out at them.
But no, that won't do. Daen does not need to see her weak. He needs to see her strong. She releases him from the hug, turning instead to the weeping woman in the street.
Only minutes ago, Cyanne would have given her own life to protect Erinat, whom she'd perceived as a lost child in need of help. What if she'd followed her instincts, taken it home, protected it, believed in it, become a mother only to be betrayed? She meets the gaze of the others, and then walks to the sobbing woman.
Tears are streaming fully down Cyanne's face now. Her own feelings of loss, betrayal and grief are fresh in her mind, and she barely knew Erinat. She kneels down next to the woman, gently putting her own arm around her. "I'm so sorry for your loss." She lets the woman sob, and then says, gently, "It's not your fault, and he wasn't what you thought he was. Come, there's a place I know near here. It's called Mikal's Delights. We can get out of this street, and I'll buy you a hot chocolate or a tea, and you can tell me all about it. I'm Cyanne, and you are...?"
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The half elf straightened his shirt contemptuously as the crowd let him go. Spending a bit more time on his cuff, he nodded gratefully to Kaz's intercession when he was again grappled. This time was more welcome as he hugged her in return, basking in the aura of pheromones wafting up from her bright blue tresses.
As she let him go to go tend to the other bard, he cleaned his sword and sheathed it. He spoke to Kaz as they regrouped. "Gremlins, I presume? Never heard of one before today. I found them to be a bit tougher than I expected them to be."
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Lali’s first instinct is to look the gremlins over; just because they look dead doesn’t mean they actually are. The last thing any of them need is for one of the ‘dead’ gremlins to pop up and either attack or make an escape. She’s so preoccupied that it takes her a minute to realize who the sobbing woman is.
”Em!” The sense of relief pouring through her body makes her weak in the knees. She rushes toward her friend, almost running Cyanne over in her haste. She grabs Emmala, crushes the bard to her chest and starts patting her on the back. ”Gremlins Em. All of ‘em are gremlins. Don’ cry, it’s all gonna be ok now.”
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The wheels in Daen's head spun round, whirring quite nicely. If the girls came across gremlins when looking into the Burnt Onion, then it would make sense that the fey were behind the attack and not the various nobles who were fighting in the first place. He leapt from his thought process into his words as he cleaned off his glowing sword with a cantrip before stowing it in it's rightful place. "Well, I suppose our benefactors would appreciate if we took care of the problem. What do we do, look around for riots? With these around, I wouldn't be surprised to find more of that."
He watched the ladies comfort each other for a bit, feeling a bit out of place. He thought that this was business, and they thought it was personal. Hopefully they'd all get it worked out themselves, so he turned to the men. It was obvious that Kaz hadn't fully recovered from being dead as of yet if such a short skirmish would make him that tired. That second spell couldn't come soon enough. "Did either of you note that they were hard to damage? I felt like I was trying to chop wood."
Cyanne joins the girl group hug. "Emmala! I've heard so much about you from Lali! But I'll let you two catch up, while I go grab the guys. Then we'll all go eat, okay?"
Cyanne returns to Daen and the others. "There's a nest of evil fey under the Burnt Onion, but I'm not going back in there without a cold iron weapon. One of them shocked me, and nearly tore me apart, and Lali and I together had a horrible time bringing it down. I took both the awful-tasting potions that I bought from Bokken, and I'm still hurt. I know we were saving them for emergencies, but..." She feels a bit embarrassed that she used the potions up, selfishly. "I wasn't sure if when I'd be seeing all of you again, or how many were left in there." Cyanne looks up at Luthor. "Do you have any healing magic left, my friend?"
She takes Daen's hand and looks at the others. "My brother's pastry shop is barely three blocks away. We can get some food, talk over the clues Lali and I found, and maybe find a weapon shop?"
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The half elf wrinkled his forehead. "Cold Iron, then? That makes sense. I've heard it works well against the chaotic, even some demons. Having some weapons made from that material could definitely be useful to us in the long run. Svetlana's father has a forge, he may have some cold iron weapons around, but we might have to look elsewhere."
He was a little anxious to get to the fey nest. Now that he knew the source of the problem he trained his attention on it as a mountain lion with his prey. "I very much would like to go to your brother's bakery, but I'd like to be able to linger there. I'm afraid I would much rather grab something quick if we need to eat and take care of this infestation as soon as possible. Then, in triumph enjoy your families delicacies."
As he mentioned that, the quick realization of the double entendre caused the tips of his ears to blush a bit. He tried to get back to the subject even though he was distracted by his wayward mind. "I'd like a new sword in any case. This one I have is an old hand me down. Now that we have a few resources, a proper one would be useful, and one of a special material would be doubly so."
"Cold iron?" Kaz echoes dumbly, staring at his axe. It was in remarkable shape for one so old, and certainly better than the one he'd brought from home, but apparently that hadn't been enough. He pushes himself away from the wall with a grunt; the world suddenly spins, and his shoulders sag as he shakes his head to clear it.
Fighting back the urge to comfort Emmala - Cyanne and Laliytsa had that well under control, at least - he nods in mute agreement with Daen. Taking care of the nest sounds pressing, even if his aching muscles protest.
Carrying their prisoner, Luthor joined the others, the small creature awkwardly slung over one shoulder, its girth almost doubled by the multiple layers of rope wrapped around its spritely form. "Is everyone ok?" He asked, unceremoneously dumping the creature on the ground. Reminded of Kazimirs wounds, and the request of Cyanne, he quickly set to work.
"Feeling ok, or do you need more?" He asked his patients, unable to gauge much other than that the bleeding had stopped.
Within a few minutes, Emmala pulls herself together, comforted by the party's words. Straightening up, she leaves "Harry's" corpse and looks toward Cyanne. "I...I know the place. I actually sing on Peddler's Alley, now that the Onion's burned down. Look, I'll meet you there, but I'm...I'm going to go back home first. How about in a few hours we c-could meet up there, once you've cleared out the Onion." She starts making her way shakily away from the scene of the fighting before turning around and taking a small trinket off the corpse. She slips it into her dress around her neck and then continues on her way.
With their quick shopping done, the party makes their way to the Burnt Onion and finds themselves inside the beer-and-vomit-stained basement. Oddly, the corpses of the three gremlins the girls fought are missing, though three slightly-cleaner spots in the floor's revolting layer of ale and bile show they were dragged down the tunnel.
The half elf stepped lightly through the basement and headed toward the tunnel where the gremlins were hiding out. Hopefully they hadn't gotten out of the area, or had a back entrance. This needed to be finished, not only for the good of Restov, but Daen didn't want to have to deal with this kind of pranking. It was fine if did not hurt anyone, but gremlins weren't into that and it would make things much more uncomfortable here in town.
"Luthor, if you will, some lights would be nice." he spoke politely but without much emotion, his mechanical mind focused on the task at hand. "I'll go in first, then Kaz, Luthor, Cyanne and followed by Lali, unless someone has a reasonable objection. The sooner we can finish this, the faster we can enjoy the rest of our time here with good food and company." He steps into the tunnel, keeping his eyes darting to and fro, inhaling any information that would give him an edge against his enemies.
Cyanne almost protests Daen's suggested line up. Who was consistently the most quiet? Who of them didn't need light? Then she thought better of it. Stealth wouldn't matter now... The gremlins surely knew they were coming, and who was the deadliest with the blade? Daen. Holding grimly onto her brand new cold iron rapier, she follows the others intently.
The watch over the Burnt Onion goes smoothly, with not even a sound heard below...
With one exception.
Near dawn, just as Laliytsa is ending her watch, she spots a pair of needle-toothed, grinning creatures lurking in the depths. A moment later, they pop out of existence, only to reappear dangerously close to the party's sleeping place, rusty blades drawn.
Struggling to extract himself from his bedroll, Luthor sprang to his feet, bleary eyed and squinting. "I,uh, my spells, I barely have any!" He called out, before producing a quartet of hovering ghostly torches to illuminate the early morning gloom.
Luthor's light removes the cover of darkness from the equation, and then battle is joined in earnest.One of the creatures lifts its shortsword and dashes forward, trying desperately to cut into Laliytsa while she's still preparing for battle. The other moves more cautiously toward Cyanne, stopping just short.
The swordsman had kept his new cold iron weapon out in the night, not knowing if the gremlins would attack. As he awoke, he raised his sword as it's glow overtakes the blade in it's brilliant eldritch blue. He steps toward the menace in front of Cyanne and swings it artfully toward the tiny creature. "We'll have no more of your mischief here." he intoned as he were instructing a child.