Gwynn, quite uncharacteristically quiet up until now, widened her eyes at the eery sight. She blinked, then turned to the rest of the group. My, my, I think I’ve read horror novels that begin —or end— this way.
Gwynn, quite uncharacteristically quiet up until now, widened her eyes at the eery sight. She blinked, then turned to the rest of the group. My, my, I think I’ve read horror novels that begin —or end— this way.
The party rounds the corner to see another identical tunnel, this one is leveled out and dry. Following the direction the figure left in... no-one is there.
"Ooh! I know the one you're talking about. The one with the clown and the kids in the sewer?"
The figure is against the other side of the tunnel, leaning against the wall and pointing at Gwynn.
Certainly short enough to stand at full height down here, the individual seems relaxed at the sight of the party. Her legs have an extra joint where the shin should be, with feet balanced on the toes. The individual is wearing the same tan-brown suit that concealed the other people down here. But even moreso than the other group, this suit is lacking in distinguishing features, such as the flag of the city. The shape of the mask is more evidence that this isn't a gnome or halfling. Even the comparatively less common kobolds would have a noticeable tail.
May i ask what you're doing down here?
Seraphina tried to work out what was behind the mask, or at least what it could be. Some kind of Goblin, maybe?
"Workin'. And I hear you happen to be looking for somebody. Am I right? I'm right. I can tell because one a you said it. As it so happens, I'm in the business of dealin' with people." The individual speaks quickly and starts to inspect one of her large black gloves as if it's a fresh pedicure.
"Business sounds like you might have a deal for us. What ya selling, and what ya want for it?"
"Ooh, I like you. Right to the point. I might know where your halfling is. Might be he paid me to help him set himself up somewhere down here. But I dunno, it's awful bad for business to go back on someone just like that, ya know? What's this guy worth to you? Besides ruining perfectly good clothes? Worth 2000 gold coins up front?"
But how do we know you won't just go back on us too?
Mindos visually scans the area that they're in.
He again looks for signs of the halfling
"Right. See, thats kinda why I'm charging ya such an exorbitant amount, chief. Quite frankly, I was just gonna send ya on a bunch of errands I don't feel like doing at first, but the lady decided ta cut to the point, an' I liked that enough to give ya a shortcut. Take it or leave it, cause ya ain't finding him without me now that I've seen your faces."
Seraphina scoffed. "Direct I may be, but throwing around that kinda gold I'm not." She pulled back the hem of her skirt, revealing a thoroughly filthy foot. "Who would be walkin' around a sewer at this hour in bare feet if they had two grand to there name, in gold, on their person? How about we pay you something a little more likely now, do a couple of jobs for you down the line, and you tell us what we need now so we don't lose his trail and our boss pays us the kind of bonus we'll need to pay you."
"There's six of ya." The figure calmly responds before resuming leaning against the wall, inspecting her glove.
"Or..."
"This man is responsible for accidentally burning down a friend of mine's home, putting a family at risk, and he's probably transporting dangerous aberrations through your territory. You want a bunch of mindless, ravenous slimes cutting into your stomping grounds? Let him go free and he might get careless again and drop some down here. Let me have him and he won't be making the same mistakes again," Jean said, coldly angry and impatient.
Coco had been a little distracted as she meandered along. but finally being out of the water, she sat on the dry ground to empty the water from her boots.
another good pair of boots ruined. probably the third time this week. she mutters to herself. and soon lagging behind.
finally getting back to her feet, she catches up with the others, hey guys, you find a new friend? but Jean's rising anger give Coco an answer, or maybe someone that just needs some persuasion. she adds
i would not suggest running. As an undine i am a natural in watery environments. You would not get away Abel sounds generally friendly despite the clear implications of a threat
"This man is responsible for accidentally burning down a friend of mine's home, putting a family at risk, and he's probably transporting dangerous aberrations through your territory. You want a bunch of mindless, ravenous slimes cutting into your stomping grounds? Let him go free and he might get careless again and drop some down here. Let me have him and he won't be making the same mistakes again,"
"Cool it skippy. I'm well aware of the 'cargo'. We won't be worrying about the other ones. The container our acquaintance brought up topside was an experimental sort. See, the others are nice and tucked away. Even if the well-tested tubes give way, they're sealed so the ooze is taken care of as soon as it tries ta escape. No need ta worry on my behalf." She Looks at Seraphina and Abel with a shrug and sigh.
*sigh* "Fine. How about you folks put together 1000 now, and I'll only send you on one teeny tiny little errand? Sound better? Quite frankly I don't owe you people anything so consider this my final offer before I walk and find some other clients."
Perhaps you'd like to play a game of skill? if you win you get the 2000, if i win its 500. All you have to do is throw a knife and hit me. Better yet, i wont move from this spot...unless of course you aren't confident in your abilities Abel steps forward, with a pleasant smile holding a simple throwing knife
That was exactly the book she was thinking of. Reading it alone and usually under the light of a dark candle, it contributed a lot to her coulrophobia. That’s the one. Yes. Thanks.
She watches the process of bargaining going on, intently, looking to get a feel for what this guy was like.
Perhaps you'd like to play a game of skill? if you win you get the 2000, if I win its 500. All you have to do is throw a knife and hit me. Better yet, I wont move from this spot...unless of course you aren't confident in your abilities Abel steps forward, with a pleasant smile holding a simple throwing knife
"You uuhhh, what now? Did I hear that right? You want me to throw a knife at you? Well, if you're sure. I really dont want to actually hit you, ya know. But if you're so sure of yourself..." The figure gingerly takes the knife from Abel and steps a few feet back. The air is hot and stagnant... And she hurls the knife in a chopping motion!
Abel stands completely still and maintains a calm demeanor. As the knife flies through the air at him, in one flawless motion he flicks it away like someone would a bug. He looks at her with a smirk, having only moved his hands, That was a good attempt, honestly
"I... Wait, that counts doesn't it?" The figure gestures to the group huddled down behind Abel, apparently looking for a second opinion.
i see no marks or cuts on my person
Seraphina watched in amusement and shrugged. "We're not real impartial, so it's kinda up to you."
"Heh, yeah fair enough. I mean, at least some of you must have seen... Feh. Fine. You know what I respect the hustle. Follow me would ya."
The individual turns around and proceeds down the tunnel at a leisurely pace.
"You know I'm gonna have to get you back for that, right? 500 is still a lotta gold for some people." She talks over her shoulder occasionally to the group.
She makes many turns on her way, not all of them are made with the same amount of confidence, she stops to look in some of the boxes attached to the pipes, shutting them quickly and proceeding again. Each tunnel only really distinct from each other via the quantity of filth on the ground.
"So, we're gonna need to pass through Freddys place to cut down on travel time. Hope you brought your noseplugs."
Noseplugs. That sounds promising. I love my job, Said Gwynn, her shoulders slumping.
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"It could be worse," Seraphina replied cheerfully. "If you give me a minute I might be able to think of how."
The truth is that if something underneath the city did steal children in the night, it would have been removed long ago. "Freddy" as he's referred to is simply the repeated sightings of a peculiar creature Calweld allows to reside under it and in exchange it effectively picks up litter cleaning work through the city late in the night.
"What, Freddy the cleaner? Guess that explains why you warned us of the smell." Seraphina followed along as best she could.
"I think the smell wouldn't be so bad but he loves his... collection? Yeah, lets go with collection. Just down this way."
The tunnels take a sharp decline in angle, requiring a modicum of footwork from the party to keep upright. Soon the path levels out once more, though it's hard to say exactly where under the city this is any longer. It could even be outside of Ainsworth territory by now. The dull monotony of the surrounding concrete and pipe decor could reduce the senses enough to almost stop one from seeing the large valve approaching on the left. The groups guide reaches up and twists with an almost full body motion. The accompanying shriek of metal echos down the tunnel.
"Oww. Oh that got way worse since the last time I was here."
Continuing through, the party comes across another valve sealed entrance not five yards down from where they crouch. This new section of sewers is only new to the visitors. Hairline cracks can be seen along the walls of the tunnel, and there's rusting on the piping. The guide walks up to the valve, tugs and... nothing. Once more she tugs with a grunt. It still doesn't budge.
"Eheh, this is embarrassing. It's uhh... stuck. Can anybody, you know..." She gestures towards the entrance with a kick.
Mindos looks around the sewer, and then says to the group's new guide;
So um... where exactly are we? In relation to the surface, I mean.
"Hm? I wanna say... several feet underground. Lets say at least three. And under a train station."
Jean steps up and takes a look at the stuck valve...
Jean approaches and feels around for a bit before grabbing onto the door handle. He twists on the door and once again gives the party the opportunity to traverse a sunless hole filled with bacteria and sludge.
"Ooh look at you, skippy. And you can't even see. Who know's what might happen when I walk by?"
As the door shudders, so too does the cylinder the group is ducking in. The rumbling continues for several seconds before all is quiet again.
"That'd be the train. One of 'em anyway."
The guide once again takes the lead. This time looking around corners occasionally before ushering the group along.
The following section of the trip takes a faster pace, and not without it's benefits, as the scent that has permeated the air thus far grows stronger with each turn until the party comes to the first stretch of concrete that even those individuals with darkvision can't see the end of.
Dreaming of a hot bath with lovely candles, rose petals, scented oils and strong, strong soap Seraphina followed along.
Don’t say it could be worse. That’s when it starts getting worse, Gwynn said to Seraphina, chuckling a bit nervously.
Were you able to see in the dark before you— ah... died? Gwynn asked. Weird question to ask. Gwynn supposed that she had suspected the same thing of him. Are you able to see anything new since your recent be-spirit-ment?
During Freddie’s ‘tour’, Gwynn took a handkerchief and placed it over her nose.
"As long as we get this over with, I don't much care," Jean said, refusing to rise to their guide's jabs.
Those who can see will no doubt notice the strange guide hold up one finger and ask Gwynn "...What." as flatly as inhumanly possible.
For the record, i can see just fine. Then again, im not human
Coco has been trudging along with the others, actually wondering what she had gotten herself into.
Sorry, I’m having words with my bird friend. Please ignore me. Said Gwynn, as if there was nothing wrong with that sentence.
Hmm?
Mindos turns around and starts inspecting near the spot where his spell went off. Er... Can one of you guys that can actually see right now come over here?
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"Riiight. You're just out here stealing my thunder as the weird girl in the room, aren't you?"
Mindos perks up for just a moment and sidles over to inspect a section of the wall the guide was looking at.
"Ya noticed, did ya? Yeah we'll be making an express trip. Down."
She reaches in a small crevice and the sound of cranking gears follows. A hiss of steam spouts somewhere unknown, and the wall begins to give way and slide into itself. And reveals an elevator with cage walls. At least it's tall enough for everyone to stand in.
"So? Who's going first?"
"Riiight. You're just out here stealing my thunder as the weird girl in the room, aren't you?"
** spoiler omitted **
Mindos perks up for a moment and sidles over to inspect a section of the wall the guide was looking at.
"Ya noticed, did ya? Yeah we'll be making an express trip. Down."
She reaches in a small crevice and the sound of cranking gears follows. A hiss of steam spouts somewhere unknown, and the wall begins to give way and slide into itself. And reveals an elevator with cage walls. At least it's tall enough for everyone to stand in.
"So? Who's going first?"
Abel steps in the cage first, by the way Jean. Check your pocket
Jean follows, reaching into his pocket as he did so. Considering he still couldn't really see, actually finding anything there would be sort of irrelevant without some light to figure out what it was.
Mindos sighs. I wonder why she hid this from us?
He climbs into the elevator with Jean and Abel.