Pick shrugs a second time and turns for the stairs. "Hot glass. Bad death. Goblins."
He feels that last word bears repeating. He really doesn't want to be blamed for the scene upstairs. He rather likes regular meals.
Grudgingly, Ameiko agrees to see her father, and so, (stopping to pick up Tsuto's body as they leave) our heroes escort her upstairs and into the main smelting room. When she sees the glass-encased figure, it takes a moment for her to recognize that this is what has been referred to as her father's death. When she does, she chokes back a sob and covers her mouth before she turns away from it. "Oh." she says, softly. "You're right. Oh. He was never the kindest..but he certainly didn't deserve...THAT."
In any case, the situation requires several proceedings, most of which are handled by the Sandpoint Guard who, when summoned, take to the tasks with admirable vigor. Ameiko is escorted home, Tsuto is carried to prison and his wounds tended to, and the Glassworks are cordoned off to be cleaned. To be sure, they belong to Ameiko now, but there's no way it'll run for awhile, given that its filled with gore and missing its entire staff.
Despite the pandemonium and the certainty that there's much to do, our heroes manage to meet up again in the Rusty Dragon not long afterward, to discuss what's transpired.
Studying the notebook reveals many, many interesting things, and Rhanloi is glad to share them during the meeting.
The booklet is only about 25 pages long, and most of the pages are filled with maps of Sandpoint or erotic drawings of a white-haired, slender and beautiful young woman.
The maps of Sandpoint are all marked with arrows and exes, and appear to be battle plans. One of them is circled, and studying it closely reveals that this is the plan that the goblins executed just a few days ago during the attack on Sandpoint. The few pages after that page are of more pressing concern, and illustrate an assult on Sandpoint by a force of what appears to be a presumed 200 goblins. Unlike before, none of them are circled, and many of them have been scratched out.
There is one drawing of the young woman that differs from the rest of the pictures, and it is on the last page of the booklet. It depicts her, naked as usual, but with a clawed and black hand, batlike wings, a forked tail, and fangs.
There are three passages in the booklet of interest.
Rhanloi studies the drawings of the woman closely and matches them with the descriptions of the late Father Tobyn's daughter, Nualia. The graphic depictions of her match the theory that she did not actually die in the chapel fire like her father, and confirms she is the mastermind behind these events.
And the passages are most disturbing..."By the spirits, we must prepare Sandpoint for this invasion! And we should attempt to stop her before this Malfeshekor is released!" Rhanloi says to the others...
From his now-customary nook by the fireplace, Pick listens with a blank face to Ran-loy's explanations. A lot of it goes right over his head, to be sure.
He squints. He scratches at the stupid fur-beard. (Which is looking pretty mangled by this point in the day's activities, but he hasn't caught sight of his own reflection to know that.)
"Girl lead... goblins. Bugbears. Quasit... too many to fight. Block tunnel helps. Tell guards?"
"This girl become demon, Rhanloi? Why? She is daughter of holy man, now lover of demons? She must be stopped, yes? Does book say where she is?"
To Khalbar the calculus is pretty simple, she's a problem, find her and end it.
"yes, Pick. We must inform the guards and help establish the town's defenses immediately." Rhanloi will study the multiple maps drawn in the book to determine where Nualia's most likely location would be...
"If book not tell us where demon-girl is, then skinny man tell us. Khalbar make him tell, even if him not want to." Khal cracks his knuckles suggesting exactly how he might get the location from Tsuto.
"You're right, we should take the fight to them. Only if we strike first do we have a chance to stop this invasion. And Tsuto should be able to point us in the right direction .."
But A'letta sure doesn't like Khalbar's intended way of getting that information out of him.
As they discuss it among themselves, Pick volunteers to go back into the Glassworks and search for the smuggling tunnel that Tsuto's journal mentions (), so that it can be cordoned off. He's happiest underground anyway.
He is not happiest talking to human authorities, and nudges Ran-loy or Spear-Woman to tell the guards what must be told.
He does not volunteer himself for the questioning of Tsuto. Back among the people, he had never been assigned to such task as interrogation of slaves. There were keener children of the tribe for that.
"...Thistletop shrine," he says thoughtfully. "Thistletop is goblins? So... goblin shrine. Not in town. In woods? Goblins... still in..." he doesn't know the Common word for jail-- "...guard-box?"
Leaving the tavern for the Glassworks again and delving back into the basement, it doesn't take long for Pick to find the smuggler's tunnel. The room that Tsuto was apparently trying to escape into contains a poorly-concealed door (behind a large piece of furniture that's been shoved aside, probably by Tsuto on his way in). The door is unlocked and reveals an extended stone tunnel winding into the stone below Sandpoint.
Pick is pleased with himself for finding the tunnel. Guarding this tunnel. It is my tunnel. There are many other like it, but this one is mine...
Because Rhanloi is more fascinated with Pick than Sandpoint militia preps, he goes along with the dwarf-who-he-suspects-is-something-more/else. He tries talking with the tactiturn man, but discovers what conversations between human parents and their teenagers are like.
"So, Pick, how was your day?"
"Ok."
"Did you do anything interesting today?"
"Nah."
"Is your voice actuator disrupted? Should get a tech in here to replace it?" <grinning>
<evil eye stare>
And yet, Rhanloi won't quit trying to talk with Pick. Until he finds the smugglers' tunnel. Then he becomes all business again, and finally talks with Pick about something of importance. "We should follow this tunnel and clear it out - maybe see where it leads!"
Khalbar wanted to go interrogate Tsuto, but these tunnels are promising new lead. He will join the others and prepare to explore underground.
While some of the others seem eager to return to the Glassworks, Kyra has no interest in following them. As she saw it, the Glassworks was something that was finished, and she was more excited for what came next.
Walking through the inn that morning, she found herself pleased to know that Ameiko was back. Still, there were things to attend to, and she didn't want to waste the opportunities before her.
Meditation and practise was somewhat interrupted by thoughts of what the wizard had spoken to them about the previous night. She let the information swirl around in her head, hoping that the pieces would fit together and she'd see the entire picture, but there were too many gaps. She would need to know more about this Nualia, and there was only one person she could ask.
The walk to the prison is uneventful, and Kyra walks with a certain purpose. So much has been unclear thus far, but now, now she has a chance to unravel the plans. Especially if it means using force. She makes sure to stop smiling before entering the room, looking right at Tsuto and the bruises all over him. "How's the face?" She asks lightly.
Tsuto looks up from his spot on the floor in his cell at Kyra. "Thankfully of better quality than yours, worm." he replies, simply. "So, are you Hemlock's latest puppet?"
Kyra laughs at Tsuto's comment, replying "'Least I'm not a half-breed." and then outright scoffs at his accusation. "That peasant? Hardly. If he doesn't get off my back, I'm going to put him in the ground." She cocks her head. "Seems you're in that business, too. Unless, of course, you expect me to believe that one of the goblins was angry enough at your father to kill him in such a... deliciously painful manner." Her tone makes it clear that she approves of the kill, and she pauses a moment to smile, remembering how outraged he had looked when she spit on him. She paces back and forth considering what she's going to say, and then stops, shaking her head knowingly. "Don't suppose it matters much since you aren't intending to be in this cell long enough to be charged."
Her face turns serious. "Look. I've known her for years, and I know that you're fool enough in love to think she'll free you, but deep down, you know as well as I do that her obsession's clouding her judgment."
Pick hums to himself as they stand at the mouth of the tunnel, peering ahead into the shadows. It's not exactly, uh, 'happy' humming, or a tune anyone would recognize, but it qualifies as more noise than he usually makes. It's a tuneless hum from the back of his throat, a busy noise that brings to mind the industry of things that buzz and swarm in groups. Ants. Bees. Worker-creatures.
The fact that it helps him drown out Ran-Loy's constant noise is a bonus.
He gives the drow-cousin looks that waver between confusion and irritation, since he understands only half of what Ran-Loy is ever saying. But at last...
"Tunnel leads underground," Pick says with no trace of humor or irony. "Is good."
His goggles can be tugged down around his neck. His red eyes can see without pain. Vast improvement.
"You... talk.... less now. Yes?"
The tunnel underneath the Glassworks winds lazily into the stone underneath Sandpoint - crudely carved, the tunnel is barely large enough for a normal person to walk - A'letta and Khalbar, both being tall Shoanti, have to stoop a bit in the tunnel. The tunnel winds for nearly a quarter of a mile until it comes to a dead end.
Tsuto begins to grin as Kyra talks - it's clear that he approves of her assessment of him, his actions, and her assumption of his plan to escape. When she mentions knowing him, however, his large grin turns into a scowl of disdain and then a frown of anger.
"You can't honestly expect me to believe that you've known her for years. She's been presumed dead for longer than you've been alive and her only friend is me. You really ARE a tool. I don't know how you find out about her, but she will free me, and will only pause long enough to separate your impetuous head from your shoulders."
While the rest of the party splits up, Xogar travels to the guard-post with Kyra, but for a different purpose. He pointedly ignores her when she goes into the cells and goes to talk to Sheriff Belor.
"Sheriff Belor, I have news..."
Pick is happy! (or what passes for happy with him) He is underground, where he belongs. His eyes are keen, the stone is familiar and comfortable around him, the air is cool and the lights are dim.
His eyes turn out to be very keen, as he has no problems spotting the shape in the wall ahead. Teeth flashing in something like a grin/grimace, Pick trots forward to probe and push at the stone, checking for possible traps. He would totally trap a secret door.
"Door," he says communicatively to the others.
The door is untrapped and unlocked - all that is required is that Pick push on a catch on the side of the door, and it will open.
As the group proceeds further underground, Rhanloi's mood seems to be inversely proportional to Pick's. He is uncharacteristically quiet, and if one were to look closely, they could almost see his fingerprints in the quarterstaff he carries in a death grip...
Thanks to his elven father's eyes, Rhanloi is also able to make out the secret door's outline and helps Pick find the opening mechanism. He looks to the others and whispers, "Ready to see what's on the other side? Maybe Pick and Khalbar should go first?" He then slings his quarterstaff and draws the light crossbow from its belt hook, fitting a bolt into place and cocking it. He also thinks through the spells he prepared for the day, playing out in his mind several possible scenarios and what would be useful for each.
Pick is also made happy by the fact that Ran-loy talks less, underground. Ahhhhhh, quiet.
He unslings his namesake weapon from his belt and tosses it hand to hand, getting a good grip on the hilt. Whenever Khalbar signals that he is ready, Pick opens the door.
Kyra laughs at Tsuto's outburst. "Can't blame a girl for trying. Still." Her face turns serious and she cocks her head at him, "The rest was true."
"Still, I wouldn't worry too much about her severing my head. After all, she's still in Thistletop, isn't she?"
He sneers and chuckles for a moment. "Not for long. Soon enough she'll be here, giving up you and your little band of friends as Burnt Offerings to her new Mother. You'll die screaming, worm."
Kyra smiles almost politely while he finishes his threats. "You make many assumptions, Half-Breed. You've caught me in a good mood, though, so rather than uglying up your face any more than your whore mother did, I'm going to tell you a secret."
Her voice drops and her eyes narrow. "No one here is my friend. I am an Arkona. I'll assume you've traveled out of this tiny, backwater, sand-filled hell enough to know what that means. This town will survive, because it belongs to me, as do the people in it."
Before turning to go, she thought for a second, before adding. "There's one thing I'm still curious about. Would you prefer to watch me crush Nualia's skull, or would you rather lie in a pool of blood as I hand her your heart? Don't bother answering, I don't actually care. But it's something for you to think about while you rot in here."
On the way out of the prison, she'll stop by the guards, with a smile. "You know who I am?" she asks, though it comes out as more of a statement. "Do whatever it takes, short of murder, to make sure that he doesn't leave that cell, and I'll make it worth your while."
'Good day,' she thinks, wondering what to do next.
Upon finishing his delivery of the news to the Sheriff, Xogar enters the are with Kyra and observes the exchange for the time being. He nods at Kyra when she sees him.
Tsuto's growing rage is evident as Kyra talks - you can tell he wants to get a word in edgewise, but Kyra just keeps going. The veins stand out on his neck and Tsuto leaps to his feet and slams himself against the bars, straining to grab at Kyra.
"Your family can't save you from a death in agony! I swear to the Mother, I will kill you myself!"
She's already walking away.
Sheriff Belor jogs for a moment to catch up with Xogar and Kyra as he sees them together. "Just a moment! I've remembered. We ought to talk. I'm having a meeting with the Mayor and a local hunter and I'd like you to be there."
A'letta covers the hulking form of Khalbar and the skulking shadow that is Pick. Danger could be around any corner here and the confined spaces of the tunnels plays tricks on her mind. The outer rim of her shield illuminates a bright light and she has her spear at the ready.
Knowing that at last action may be through this door, Khalbar grips and re-grips his axe, then nods to the strange little dwarf, ready for him to unlatch the door. As he does, Khalbar goes through first looking in all directions for danger the light from behind illuminating the area beyond.
The door opens to reveal (surprise!) more tunnel.
Here, though, the tunnel branches. One leads further into darkness and the other branch is bricked over. The brick wall, however, seems to have recently been broken through, and there's a person-sized hole in the wall.
"Hmmm," says Khalbar, examining the rubble of the brick wall. "Someone been here already. Secret place must be important?"
Khalbar pokes around in the broken brick trying to determine from the dust on it how old the breaking is, and also if the bricks are broken inward (toward them) or outward (into the further tunnel) to determine which way the "breakers" were traveling.
Khalbar can't divine much from the bricks, but he can clearly see that they were broken inward.
Sheriff Hemlock leads the pair from the barracks across town to the town hall, taking them upstairs to a comfortable office room where a pair await. Kendra Deverin, Sandpoint's mayor as well as a rugged and ragged elven huntress sit together at a table in the room.
As Hemlock enters, he gestures to Kyra and Xogar. "Kendra, Shalelu, these are a pair of Sandpoint's newest crop of goblinslayers. Kyra, Xogar, this is our mayor and Shalelu, a local hunter and survivalist. Please, sit, we have things to discuss."
Pick crouches and turns over a brick in his hand. "Goblins come in here?" he wonders aloud, with a grunt.
A'letta kneels down next to Pick and examines ground. Perhaps there were tracks here that could give them a clue as to who came by here and where they went.
"Yes, I think may be Pick has the flow of it. Let's check this passage out first. Pick, since our human friends are limited by the light, perhaps you and then I should go first."
Goblin-related refuse clutters the non-bricked up tunnel and signs of their passage are evident everywhere.
"Goblins must come from there." says Khalbar pointing down the tunnel clearly littered with goblin detritus. "Then who goes in here?" he points to the knocked down wall.
"I think we follow goblin trail, then come back and see what is in this place. Agree?"
"Let me just quickly check this one out. If it leads deeper underground it could be where Nualia is trying to uncover and revive the foul creature. I will only be a few grains and then come back to tell you what I've found." he says with a serious look, ducking through the brick wall.
Exploring beyond reveals a natural stone tunnel that extends for farther than the light can reveal even to his elven eyes. As he creeps forward, silent as the dawn, he does see two things.
The first is that the tunnel branches off to the right, just at the end of his vision. The second is that as he creeps, a face pops out of the branch. Not just any face, but a leathery face with a four-jawed, toothy mouth, preceded by a pair of claws that grasp the cave walls. The creature slowly opens all four of its jaws and growls before it starts to crawl forward at Rhanloi, revealing a humanoid and bipedal form, but strangely warped to be slightly alien.
Pick - 13
Sinspawn - 12
Khalbar - 9
A'letta - 3