The goblin smiles, its overwide mouth filled with sharp teeth making the smile appear more discomforting than not. "Oh yes, yes! I's would love that!"
He appears confused for a moment, "Hostile?" He pauses, "No, no... Snake's ol' boss! New boss lady throw him down from throne!"
You're not getting the idea that he's being deceptive. His body language just isn't reading that way.
"Then you'll guide us through. And remember, any trickery and you'll never be free from the curse." Raven turns to Jotune. "Let's get the others and Natalya and make our way through."
While Jotune gets the others, Raven will take a look in the pipe pointed out by the goblin. "While we're at it, why don't you tell me your name, and where this pipe lets out. And if you know who might be coming?"
Pridefully sniffing in disgust at the open sewer drain. Nadja keeps her back to the wall farthest from the door, unsure how how much time they have left before whoever was planning to ambush them decides to rush in. Listening as Raven continues to interrogate the goblin, Nadja considers the options at hand before gracefully making her way towards Calendir.
Calendir.. considering how friendly you and Natalya are, why don't you carry her while we are in the tunnels. You can protect her, and see that no further harm comes to her. Agreed? The witch wispers in a low tone while gesturing to the bound and gagged woman with a prod of her slipper. As the others are gathered by Jotune, Nadja gives him a chance to announce they have found an alternate route out of the ramshackle warehouse.
Jotune, take the lead with "teeth". The witch states giving a long stare to the goblin whose tongue she wanted to cut out. And remember creature.. betray us and you will not like what will come next.
Calendir, your in the middle with Natalya. Omoro you have the sharpest eyes of the group. I want you in back in case our guests try to follow us. The rest of us are in the middle. Any questions? No? Then lets depart before someone starts to wonder whats taking so long.
Jotune pulls his scimitar. toward the front at last. Much better planning this time.. "Lead us out of here, friend goblin, if you please. I've got your back."
One look down the pipe shows that it'll be a squeeze to get down it. "Teeth?" He grins and nods, "I like that more than last name. Teeth it is!" He gestures down the pipe, "Pipe goes to sand on the salt-water." "Teeth" clambers into the pipe motions for others to follow.
Aurora draws another arrow and falls in at the middle of the group, eyes alert for the impending ambush.
"I really, REALLY don't like this idea..." are Calendir's words as he clambers down the pipe after the goblin, dagger close at hand in his belt.
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Omoro nods silently at Nadja's plan, and nocks another arrow into his shortbow to fire at the pursuers. "As bad as this will be for us, it will be doubly so for the hounds on our heels. I don't envy an armored warrior who must trudge through this space." He keeps his bow trained on the entrance, entering the pipe after everyone else has gone before him.
"I'll stay towards the back with Omoro. If pursuit does come upon us, perhaps I can help slow it down. And besides, if Teeth wants his curse removed, he'll have to make sure we all survive."
"Teeth" crawls ahead of the group, clambering down the length of the twisting and turning pipe. It grows ever smaller as you go, eventually reaching the point that it is quite the squeeze for those larger than a halfling, or goblin. For his part however, "Teeth" never tries to rush ahead very far, always pausing for a short, "This way," or, "Here, here."
The going is difficult, especially with an unconscious person to carry. After Omoro clears the first bend, he and a few others hear the sounds of splashing and discussion, "Where'd they go?" a male voice asks. A female one replies, "I don't know, buffoon. Search the place, tear it apart if you have to! Ayala won't be happy if I return empty handed!" However, there are no signs of anyone climbing through the pipe and you all continue down the disgusting length of the pipe without harassment.
Eventually, after a crawl that seems like it lasted for a good hour (in reality only a few minutes), you emerge from the broken sewage pipe onto the sands on the beach of the coastline. You can see one of the pilings of the Irespan a distance out from you and a glance up reveals that you still remain in the shadow of the Irespan, in the district of Underbridge.
"See, right where Teeth said." Sheepishly, he asks, "Can I have curse removed?" The goblin looks up at Raven with a bit of expectation.
Raven focuses the magical conjured motes and sends them into Teeth, disappearing as they strike. In the process, she warms his shirt. "I have suppressed the curse. But I haven't taken it away. You will remember nothing or the curse will come back. Now off with you before I decide to turn you into a dog."
"Teeth, you have been honorable in dealing with us. Go. However, if we find you doing bad things again, we will have the curse put back o n you forever! Now get along now, before we change our mind..."
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The tengu sighs in relief as they exit the dank sewer pipe and find themselves in Underbridge. His clothes are ruined, and he stinks of waste and worse, but they had eluded their pursuers - at least for now.
As Raven magics the goblin once again, he adds his voice to the group allowing it to live. "Hai, leave this place, little bakemono. Run far from Magnimar, and never come back."
Looking back from the pipe to his fellow Pathfinders, he whistles low. "Not the worst exit I've had to do, but certainly not the best. Can you clean us up again, Raven-san? We'll attract a great deal of attention if we go through the streets stinking like we do, and Heidmarch-samas would undoubtedly frown upon us tracking the muck onto their carpets."
He looks back to Nadja. "Do we spend time getting the wagon, now that we have hounds at our heels?"
Teeth looks at you all dejectedly for a moment, "Teeth not want to leave powerful new bosses, but if bosses want Teeth to leave, then Teeth leaves." He heads off down the beach, heading soutwest towards the docks.
"Teeth," Jotune yells as the goblin starts to leave. "If you really want to stay with us, I'm sure the others wouldn't object too much. But don't ever try to do us wrong or we will get very angry and curse you even more than before."
He turns to the others. "I say we keep the little guy. He might prove helpful in the future. Every team needs a mascot, you know."
Shaking his head, Calendir comments - "Curious little fella - doubt he will ever find a decent path to thread on his own though. good luck to him I guess..."
Picking up the unconscious corpse of their mark, and slinging her easily over his shoulder he adds - "Shall we get out of here?"
Running her thumb slowly along the shard Nadja emerges into the shaded expanse underneath the Irespan. One day.. one day soon, I will find out who tried to kill me. And when they die it will be to them choking on the same offal that I just crawled through. By Norgorber's black fingers I will see it so. Giving a nod of haughty appreciation, Nadja watches as Raven uses her magic to clean each member of the filth and sewage. A useful spell.. the tall, thin woman mutters appreciatively.
Once all of the group has been properly cleaned the raven haired witch turns and regards Omoro. No.. it's not in our best interested to waste any more time. We need to get out of this district as soon as possible without being recognized. Head swiveling towards Raven, Nadja cocks her head and gives one serpentine blink. Raven dear.. Do you have any magic that could disguise our features?
"Perhaps, if tightly packed together. If we could acquire a wagon. Attempting to disguise us all would be difficult, I would have to concentrate and adjust for each of our movements. Attempting to cover us all with a more stable illusion, such as a wagon full of hay, would help."
Hearing no objection to keeping Teeth with the group, Jotune relaxes a bit and turns to the objective at hand.
"Let's get on with it, then. If we can't find a wagon, perhaps we can all bunch together and Raven could simply hide us from sight, perhaps even making us look like a wagon."
"Whatever we decide, it should be quickly. Omoro, Calendir, could you please see about acquiring a wagon? Teeth, understand if you do come with us and wish to join our group, you'll have to maintain the best of behavior. I won't curse you again unless I'm absolutely forced to, so you'll have to be good on your own. Can you do this?"
"I can also just carry our quarry without much effort - we could just make a run for it..."
Teeth nods fiercely towards Raven, "Oh yes! Teeth be on his bestest be-have-yor." He looks around for a moment, "So, uh... What's we doin' now?"
You set out from the beach to search for a means of conveyance. Within a few minutes of asking about, you are led to a home of a local porter. The tales you are told indicates that he sometimes operates as a go-for man for the sczarni, but he himself is an independent agent, for unknown reasons.
The house is a rundown ramshackle of a building, only a bit better looking than the one that Natalya was hiding in. It's a couple of blocks distant, but nothing too far. A cart sits outside with a lean-to that serves as a small stall for the donkey within. The animal looks strong, capable, and well-groomed.
Knocking at the door earns you a shout, "Minute! Just a minute! Gettin' everythin' straight fer this evenin'!" The sounds of someone shoving furniture or other large objects about can be heard (which you didn't hear until you knocked), but after a short wait they stop.
Several locks are heard unlocking, the bolts snapping back into the door. Finally, a chain is heard sliding and the door opens. A man dressed in tattered old traveling clothes and a wide-brimmed hat holds the door open. An eye patch covers one eye while the other rolls over each of you. "Don't recognize ya'. Whatcha' lookin' fer?"
Shortly after the other three leave to find a cart to transport your target to Heidmarch manor, you all notice that a number of people are beginning to gather on the edge of the beach. While this place is a bit out of sight, the sheer volume of people in the city means that nothing is kept secret outside for very long.
Teeth looks around a bit nervously, "I hope th' longshanks don't bring no d-dog 'round here. I'm tryin' ta' be on my bestest best bee-hav-yur, but ain't nothin' more scaree than a d-dog." He looks around nervously, scanning the edge of the beach and fidgeting constantly, frequently going for a weapon that is no longer attached to his belt.
"Dmt worry, Teeth. We'll keep any dogs away from you."
Wishing to attract as little attention as possible, Nadja reluctantly takes off her cloak. Holding it in one hand she studies it for a moment before handing it to Teeth. This is not a gift? Do you understand me Teeth? Put it on and remain quiet. Hopefully any passers by will think you a gnome or a halfling. Now follow us. We will try to find somewhere to hide while we wait for the rest of our group to return. Sniffing in distaste at her actions Nadja follows behind Jotune as he looks for something to give them shelter. A perfectly good cloak. No doubt I will have to burn it after this is over with, along with all of my other clothes. I liked this dress! Fuming Nadja scowls and crosses her arms while she waits for the others to arrive.
Calendir mirrors Omoro's actions, keeping his eyes open for their surroundings, knowing he is not the best negotiator.
"it fits you rather nicely, Teeth. How does that nice new cloak feel? we might talk her into giving it to you later," he whispers, surprised th witch gave Teeth anything but a hard time.
Aurora cannot hel the small grin that crosses her face at the goblin's mutterings as she watches the gathering crowd.
He eyes Welby for a short bit, running his eye over the gnome as if he's scanning for something more. "Well, can't say I understood ev'ryt'ing ya' just spoke, but I get th' word 'transporta-shun'. Ya' wants me ta' take som't'ing som'where's. A'right. Five gold ta' take it ta' som'where in Underbridge or th' Docks. Ten fer anywhere else. Deal?"
Teeth pulls the cloak tight around himself, "Thanks..." You almost expected him to say, "longshanks," but the word never leaves his mouth. Maybe this one does have manners.
A quick inspection shows that there is a small outcropping that might hide you from casual observation for the moment. It'll likely do little to deter the current crowd if they get brave, but it'll put you out of sight of the road that runs along the beach.
Teeth's Posse:
After everyone climbs on board or displays other plans, he snaps the reigns and the donkey begins to trot off, "Where ta'?"
Calendir suddenly realizes that after walking around looking for transportation, he is completely LOST.
The cart rolls towards the beach, under the direction of Welby. The man talks a bit, but the conversation is shallow and a bit rambling. He never asks for information more than where to pick-up. He never even speaks his name.
The cart arrives on the beach within approximately ten minutes of exiting the drainage pipe. The group loads Natalya's unconscious body, Teeth, and themselves into the wagon.
"Where ta' now?" the man asks without looking back.
As the cart rolls along the beach with Welby giving directions Nadja gives a sigh of relief. It was always dangerous to trust a minion to do the work of the master. Still, it seemed that the halfling had done effective job. Putting a forced smile on her face Nadja gives the driver a patently false, but friendly wave. I would be best to simply kill the man once we are done with the cart, as to not leave any witness, but I doubt that the rest my team would feel the same, no matter if it was the best solution.
Walking forward Nadja quickly thinks of a location that would be near enough from the Heidmarch Manor that the team could easily transport Natalya the rest of the way, but not so near as to draw attention to their final destination. Knowing of an possible location, Nadja directs the driver there, while she takes a seat in the back of the cart and watches for anyone that might be following them.
Having spent some time pondering, as the wagon is produced Raven takes a comfortable position in the wagon to better aid her concentration. As everyone is loaded in, she focuses and summons an illusion, covering the wagon's backside by a collection of boxes, crates, and burlap sacks of foodstuffs, all covered in a stretched cloth to keep it together. "I will need to focus on the illusion, so be aware I will have little chance to observe dangers, though I don't any will present themselves."
Jotune sits near the back of the wagon, hoping to look out, and help the group spot and possible dangerous element that might be paying untoward attention to them. "Sit here, Teeth. Don't touch anything," he orders to the goblin, pointing to a spot beside him in the back of the wagon.
After a rather uncomfortably long trip, the porter stops the wagon outside of the Heidmarch estate. You all unload Natalya and catch a few looks in your direction, but the fact that you're carrying an unconscious person into the local Pathfinder Lodge is not lost on the locals, some of which frown and look away with disdain. The guard at the gate smirks and gestures for you to enter, "All 'n th' typ'cal duty o' a Pat'find'r, eh?" He chuckles a bit to himself and plops himself back down in a nearby chair.
The bell is rung at the front door and Alexandre opens it shortly thereafter. His eyes go wide for a second before her gestures you inside. "Bring her in and to the study." Alexandre helps you carry Natalya into the study before quickly leaving with the remark, "I'll get Lady Heidmarch. I'm sure she'll want to speak with you."
Teeth stays quiet the entire time, doing his best to hide his appearance and stay out of the way. He hides in the corner of the room, his fear readily apparent.
It only takes a couple of minutes for Lady Sheila Heidmarch to arrive. The entire time that you are waiting, Natalya glares daggers at Nadja. Lady Heimarch enters the room and quickly takes stock of what she sees. Her gaze pauses momentarily over Natalya and Teeth.
"I see that you've completed the task I asked of you. My thanks to you all. May I ask what transpired before we continue?"
Imbecile Nadja thinks as she watches the gate guard smirk. At least Teeth knows when to shut up. Giving the guard one last glance, Nadja malevolently strides forward into the Pathfinder Lodge while Teeth follows behind displaying the proper amount of sycophantic humility. Behind her the rest of her team follows, with Calendir hefting Natalya over his shoulder.
Once they reach the study Nadja motions for Calendir to set of down. As the man does so, the witch directs Alexandre to bring her some wine while she waits for the Venture Captain.
Several minuets later Lady Heidmarch arrives with Alexandre in tow. Reaching for the glass of wine with one hand. Nadja takes a small sip, clearing some of the dust and smell of offal from her throat before she addresses the woman.
We did as you asked Captain. Nadja begins, gesturing to Natalya with the shard. We began by seeking out The Amazing Zograthy as you suggested. I was able to use my connection to the Sczarni to good effect and he directed us to seek out a man named Fester the Blight. Zograthy also mentioned that gang named The Tower Girls had been looking for Natalya and that the local Sczarni were interested in finding out what was happening to the missing people in the city. Taking another sip of the wine Nadja continues.
After we left Zogarthy, we went to Underbridge were we found Fester. It turns out that the Tower Girls had recently used the warehouse that Fester lived in. He also claimed that he had seen "little bluies" and that they were causing the disappearance of the people around the city, however his claims were.. questionable at best. Regardless from there we were able to track Natayla to an old warehouse near the boarder of the Irespab and Seacleft. It was during this time that Iliria and Bertholdt disappeared. We searched for them, but were unable to find any trace of where they went. Because we knew that others were seeking Natayla we decided go ahead with our plan. We had assumed that if Iliria and Bertholdt had been captured then what time we had was short and we needed to act quickly.
Gesturing to Aurora, Jotune and Welby, Nadja continues. We had just finished scouting the warehouse but before we entered we encountered the three agents you sent to assist us. After introductions we began our assault on the warehouse. It was protected by a mix of humans and goblins and was trapped and fortified. Most of the goblins we killed but Teeth over there. Nadja motions with the shard to the cowering goblin. Decided to betray his employer. After several more fights through the warehouse we reached Natayla and captured her. Clearing her throat again and thinking back to crawling through the sewers like a rat Nadja shutters.
We were preparing to exit the warehouse and we sent Oromo out to find us a cart so we could surreptitiously transport Natayla back to your manor. However, on how way out Oromo discovered that several armored persons were waiting for us to exit. Unsure as to who they were and unwilling to risk the prisoner we elected to take an alternate route out of the Warehouse. After our egress we found another cart and with Raven's magic we were able to disguise our passed back to the manor.
Pausing to allow the Venture Captain to digest her words Nadja speculatively makes one final comment. I have no proof, however I suspect that the people who were waiting to ambush us at the Warehouse were likely some of the Tower Girls. Natayla here Nadja mutters, prodding the woman with her foot. Did a poor job of hiding her tracks. It was only a matter of time before they found here. In hindsight, shes lucky that we captured her instead of them.. which brings me to my next question. Why were they hunting her to begin with?