Jacinth backs down. "Fine. Sarenrae teaches us to forgive. Once."
Nemien bows. "Thank you for your kindness," he says to Tippi. "You won't regret it. I shall head off into town now. I think I have some supplies to pick up." He bows again and departs.
Outside, Festa sees Nemien emerge from the shop and head off down the street.
Shefton stares at the floor for a few moments after Nemien leaves, shifting his feet and clearly trying to decide whether to say something. After a moment or two, he does. "I don't suppose you might consider letting me go now? I know you have no reason to trust me and all that, but...well...I won't be of much use to you in the Lotus Dragons' hideout. I've never been in there, so I don't know the layout. I can't help you find your way around, and I'm not much help in a fight. I'm too much of a coward. There, I admit it. I'm a coward. In fact, I'd be more of a liability to you if you insist on taking me with you. I'd just get in your way. You'd have to watch over me. A lot of hassle for you with little benefit is all I'm saying. But if you insist I come with you, I'll come with you. Just thought I should say my piece."
"What would you do?"
"I'm...urm...flexible," Shefton replies. "To be honest, I'd prefer to just skip town, but if you'd prefer, I could go back to the Lady Vanderboren's home or whatever else you think is best."
"Do you intend to be a coward the rest of your life?" Tippi asks him. "Because as long as you keep running away, you'll never be anything else. Wouldn't you like the chance to look Vanthus in the eye and tell him off for betraying you and trying to kill you?"
Felos nods at Tippi. "That's more what I meant, though not about facing Vanthus. If we turn you in to the authorities, we can pretty much guess what's going to happen to you, but if we let you go? You say you're a coward. Fine, accept that you're a big chicken and remember that chickens are tasty. Clearly, you aren't cut out to be a criminal mastermind and you're too afraid to be a trusted thug or piece of muscle. If you keep going down your current road, you aren't going to live long and certainly aren't going to get rich at your life of crime while you spend your whole existence licking milk out of someone else's bowl, waiting, afraid, to get eaten up by the big dogs. An honest life would probably suit you much better than your current one, if you aren't too lazy for it. Lady Vanderboren already thinks you're one of her brother's business partners. She would probably be happy to get you a decent job."
"Well, I... I could ask her if she has a job she can give me," Shefton stammers. "If that's what you'd like me to do, that is. I... I don't know how good I'll be at the honest life, but...well, I can't be any worse at it than the dishonest life, I guess."
Festa immediately springs forth, there was a sound of urgency in Tippi's head-message. He jumps through the open front door, a roll, and comes up standing with one hand extended backward and one forward. "HOOOo-o..haah?"
Pause
"Yes, Shefton. I think the honest life is best for you. It's a lot safer.""
After his extravagant entrance, Festa discovers the others aren't in the entry chamber any more and thus didn't see his display of athletics. He quickly finds them through the next door and down the hall.
Pause
"Yes, Shefton. I think the honest life is best for you. It's a lot safer.""
"So, I can...uh...go then?" Shefton asks, edging slowly back down the hall towards the exit.
Felos knocks an arrow and aims at the man's throat. "Go directly to Lady Vanderboran's. Don't go anywhere else, and wait for our return. Ask her for a job. If you run or try to leave town, we will find you."
Shefton gulps and nods. "You have my word...for what it's worth," he stammers and then hurries off. Unless someone stops him, he gets out of the taxidermist shop as quickly as he can.
"About time," Tippi remarks as Festa finally joins them. "Our taxidermist friend was very helpful; showed us the secret door to the Lotus Dragons' lair and then suddenly remembered an appointment across town. Oh, and apparently there's a dragon." She shrugs. "Probably a pseudodragon really, or maybe a tatzlwyrm; you can't fit a whole dragon into a sewer." She looks as if she's trying to convince herself of the fact. "Are we ready?"
"Whether we are or not, let's go now before they get warning and can prepare."
You open the trap door to find a rickety ladder leading down into darkness. Once you have a light source ready, you descend down the lantern into an old sewer shaft running to the southwest. To the northeast, it has been blocked off by a somewhat shabbily built stone wall, presumably because the area you're in is no longer in use. Small gaps between the stones used in the wall have allowed a small trickle of sewage to seep through. The place is damp and stinks.
With only one direction to go, you set off. It's clear that this tunnel once had other shafts branching off it periodically, but they too have been walled off, leaving the choice of direction to go quite simple.
After about five minutes of walking, you see another trap door in the floor along the south wall. The tunnel continues for a short distance before ending at another shabbily built wall.
Felos uses detect evil to scan through the trap door (and the shabbily-built walls as well).
Festa drops down the trap door and begins to find a relatively dry path to follow until they get to the next trap door. Quietly he asks: "Anybody know the town well enough to guess under what we are right now?"
"You know, it just occured to me that should have looked around the shop for more information."
Tippi shrugs, unconcerned. "If Nemien was telling the truth, we wouldn't find anything up there other than the tools of his trade. He said his shop was merely a doorway to their lair. Now stand back, and we'll see if there's anyone down there waiting for the door to open."
Also, Knowledge (local) to answer Festa's question 1d20+6 Tippi obviously doesn't kno this part of town very well. ;)[/ooc]
The trap door isn't locked, so your group backs away from it and Tippi uses a spell to flip it open. You hear no sound of people moving about below, so move closer for a look down. A wooden ladder leads down to the floor of a natural tunnel. The walls and floor of the tunnel are damp and you can make out the smell of sea water over the putrid smell of the sewer. The slave district is near the cliff edge just east of the Arch of Aroden, so it's possible you're looking at a tunnel that runs from a cave entrance in the cliff-side.
The tunnel runs roughly east to west (although it bends), but just east of the trap door, it ends at a reinforced wooden door. Two torches hang either side of the door, providing feeble light in the passage. You can make out the glint of more light to the west.
"Check the light first?" Tippi whispers, glancing between the door and the glint of light to the west.
Felos nods, continuing to use his senses to probe for evil.
Festa nods, but spends the next few moments examining the door for anything that suggests it might be rigged in some way.
Felos nods, continuing to use his senses to probe for evil.
Felos doesn't detect any evil about. Moving down the corridor a bit and looking round the bend, he sees that the flickering light comes from another pair of torches, one on each side of the corridor. The corridor turns south and some distance down it, he can see water lapping up on the floor. There must be a cliff-side entrance to these tunnels letting sea water in.
Festa nods, but spends the next few moments examining the door for anything that suggests it might be rigged in some way.
Festa discovers no evidence of any traps rigged to the door. The door is a bit swollen from the dampness, but that looks completely natural.
"Is this high tide or low?" Tippi asks nervously, remembering the wet tunnels they spent the previous night in. "Anyway, I suppose the tide can't come up as far as where the Lotus Dragons stay, unless they're merfolk. If that door's locked or stuck from the damp, we might have to do this the old-fashioned way." Keeping her bow ready in her free hand, she uses her brass key to try to open the door from a distance, once everyone is ready for whatever may lie within.
"Well if it does matter and it is high tide, we'll know real soon."
Everyone backs away from the door a bit and Tippi uses her spell to open it. It swings open without difficulty to reveal a passage running north-south beyond it. A torch on the wall opposite the door provides light. You don't see or hear any immediate sign of any creatures beyond the door, so moving up and peering through gives a better view of the passage.
Just a few feet south of the door, the hallway ends at another door. To the north, it bends to the east.
"Check around the corner," Tippi breathes to Festa.
Festa looks around the corner and sees that the corridor extends for a good thirty to forty feet before turning back to the south again. There is a door in the north wall at the point where the passage turns. A few torches hanging on the walls light the corridor.
Tippi sighs. "Too many doors. This reminds me of a bedroom farce I saw in Oppara once, only probably with more weaponry and fewer romantic misunderstandings. Jacinth and Felos, watch these two doors; I'll stand in the corridor where I can see the third; and Festa, peek around the corner again and let's see what's in play there."
"We've had romantic misunderstandings? Is that why you wanted Shefton to leave?"
On the very first step he misplaces and stubs his toe and a soft "eishh-" escapes his lips. Still... Festa somewhat cautiously creeps to the next corner and takes a peek.
"We've had romantic misunderstandings? Is that why you wanted Shefton to leave?"
"It was you who sent him away. I thought maybe you're the jealous type." She gives the catfolk a wink.
You spread out a bit as Festa approaches the next door. As he gets close to it, he starts to hear sounds from beyond, muffled at first, but a bit clearer as he gets closer. They seem to be coming from a group of people on the other side of the door involved in some sort of physical exertion. Listening a bit longer reveals that it seems to be a couple of people sparring while the others cheer them on. After a moment, there's a loud cheer erupts, loud enough for Xanthippe and the others to hear down the hall.
Looking around the corner, Festa sees that it immediately turns to the left again. There is another door immediately to the right. Looking round the next corner, he sees it leads to a large room at the end of it containing a long, wooden table and chairs.
Upon hearing about the long wooden table, he points at the door with the voices and whispers, "Block door?"
Tippi looks dubious. "What are the odds we can maneuver that around the corner quietly?"
Jacinth shrugs "It depends on how loud they are really. It will cause some noise when we jam it against the door."
"Chair, then? On the next big cheer?" Felos whispers.
Tippi sighs and moves on down the hallway toward Festa, motioning to Felos to stay where he is and keep an eye on Jacinth. "Festa," she whispers, "see what else is in that room. Anything smaller than the table but heavy?"
Festa stealthily gets himself to the doorway and then back, close enough to report on the full room content.
Festa sneaks up to the end of the hall and peers into the room. It's definitely a dining area. The large table is long enough that it leaves very little space to the east and west of it. The chairs around it are simple wooden ones, individually not very heavy looking. In the southeast corner of the room , there is a large cage filled with listless tropical birds. A couple of doors exit the room, one to the north and one to the south.
Having taken stock of what he's seen, Festa moves back down the hall.