"Let us investigate it."
He approaches, trying to be quiet.
Galinndan moves the bars out of the way and begins creeping down the tunnel.
Most merchants scoff at Kanzen's description and inquiry. "Ach shurr we've seen 'im. Good fer nothin'. I can't tell ya more than that he scuttles about."
One of the merchants looks a little uncomfortable with the Droki question.
Oy! Why the sour look? Just what do you know? Galenus presses on the merchant who looks uncomfortable.
The merchant shakes his head angrily but is also clearly flustered. "I don't owe ya anything! Le' me alone or I'll call the guard!"
"Galinndan wait! Should we get the others? We have no idea what's down there?"
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Mmmm.... meat pie... Eddrikk moves in to hhe side of the merchant, Me ma made a great meat pie, siad da secret were mushroom oil, look we be stuck down 'ere an donah wanna be. You can 'elp us, 'ell whatcha know, an we can move on like ye never saw us... Whatdaya say?
"A compromise. A quick look."
Galinndan steals inside quietly to look.
You creep 100 feet down the pipe and encounters a rough wooden hatch in the floor of the pipe.
The strange bad-cop/good-cop routine of Kanzen and Eddrikk seems to work on the merchant, especially Kanzen's bad cop. "Look I dunno much, ok!? I just saw him make a delivery once. Handed a parcel to a fella in an alley. The fella was caught and executed for bein' a ghost a little while later. But don't tell anyone I told ya I saw nothin!" He looks pretty nervous about it.
The Gray Ghosts are the only thieves' guild in Gracklstugh and all of the Deep Kingdom.
The ghosts, eh? You mean the Grey Ghosts, the thieves guild. Ya, I heard of them.
"Ok let's go."
The merchant nods to confirm Galenus' recall and shudders. "I don' mess wi' them. My name stays out o' it, clear?"
Irdril comes up behind Galinndan somewhat loudly and finds the hatch he discovered.
"A secret passage it seems. Shall we inspect further?"
"I am tempted, but let us return for the others."
Cyrus finds a single footprint leading out of the tunnel in the muck.
The derro are mostly confined to hovels built along the walls of Laduguer’s Furrow in the West Cleft District and East Cleft District.
The group from the Bazaar heads out to the east pier. There they see Cyrus searching around the pier while Irdril and Galinndan climb out of the dirty pipe.
Upon seeing his allies, Galinndan approaches them and quietly notes:
"That pipe leads to a secret hatch 100 feet in. I believe this is something that we should all investigate straight away."
Well den lets get a move on. Although I sure we'll be runnin in ta guards accusing us of 'loafin bout' while in it...
You head into the dark, spiraling tunnel for 100 ft until reaching the trapdoor. Galinndan opens it quietly and you see an iron ladder leading 60 ft down through a vertical stone shaft to another trapdoor, well below the waterline of the Darklake.
Galenus starts climbing down, being one of those who do not need light to see down. He heads down to the hatch and prepares to open it (assuming others are following).
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After Galinndan relates what he's foubd, Kanzen responds in kind. "It seems this derro we're searching for has connections to the thieves' guild here in Gracklstugh... the Gray Ghosts you said?" he confirms with Galenus. "If they've managed to establish themselves in a brutal place like this, they must be reasonably powerful. We should take care."
Kanzen follows Galenus into the shaft, moving as quietly as he can. Galenus! Try to keep it down to a dull roar! he projects to the noisy dwarf.
Irdril follows along, hoping to stay in the middle of the pack..
"What was discovered, if anything, in the Bazaar?"
Cyrus follows close behind the lead moving as quietly as possible.
Eddrikk falls in as the back.
Galenus opens the door, revealing an area of stone cavern that is surprisingly clean and orderly, split into two levels connected by a ramp made from zurkhwood planks. The upper level contains a fully furnished laboratory, while the lower level has two bunk beds. The wall of the lower level is set with a closed door. The laboratory contains a work table, a desk, a case of shelves lined with vials, and a dome-shaped oven. All furnishings are made of zurkhwood except the oven, which is made of stone.
You surprise a duergar wearing an apron full of poisons and vials of strange liquids. He turns on you with a curse but you react faster!
Kanzen charges forward, blades leading the way.
"We could have tried to talk first.."
She holds her action.
"A thieves guild? We can expect traps."
******
Galinndan launches himself at the duergar.
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Galenus sees that he's not the Derro they're looking for, being the wrong race and all, and calls out.
Wait! Stop! We're not here for you. Give us information, and we leave.
The Duergar curses at you but replies "Sure thing, laddie! Drop your weapons!"
He seems to still want to fight you. He also seems a little more confident than you'd expect.
"I ain't gonna be droppin' nothin'." Cyrus deadpans.
"Liar.",Galinndan says as he continues his assault.
With the elves seemingly under some sort of bloodlust spell Irdril watches with a bit of an annoyed look on her face.