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As the Petite Chenille starts turning the lock picks, Lilly Ann peeks over his shoulder.
"Hey, don't twist them like..."
With a sigh Lilly Ann takes off her backpack and starts rummaging around. She takes out a small pouch from which she fishes a few more lock-picks. She quickly sticks her tongue out at the Petite Chenille and then winks at him.
"You're gonna get me something nice later, okay? You owe me."
Clearing the broken lock-picks away, Lilly Ann gives the lock another try.
After the Petite Chenille broke her last set, Lilly Ann quickly tries again. And indeed, she immediately opens the lock at her first try. The door swings open.
A thin layer of dust covers the floors of this sparsely furnished wood-walled apartment. The northern wall bears crude etchings, graffiti, and other odd markings.
This apartment has clearly been unused in quite some time. The graffiti'd wall looks interesting...
Koredrel, Lilly Ann, and Petite Chenille find Flitch's name hidden underneath different streaks of paint, along with what looks like a coded message.
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The Petite Chenille rushes into the house, his healer's tools at the ready. He however finds out, just like the rest does, that the house is empty. "Oh no! We're to late! They've already moved his body to the morgue!" The Petite Chenille goes to the nearest wall, leans against it (face-first) and slams his fist against it.
When he is done making a scene, he opens his teary eyes and suddenly sees Flitch's name on the same wall he was leaning against. "Wait a minute, what is this?!?" Although he was inconsolable a moment ago, he now is the calm itself as he meticulously tries to decipher these symbols.
"AH HA! Flitch is not in the morgue, he is in the sewers!" A sudden realization materializes on his face. "Aaaaahh damnit... Seriously? The sewers? Doesn't he know how unsanitary that is? It's going to take weeks to get that smell out of my cape..."
The kid's mouth drops open and his eyes focus on the silver coin, the finger in his nose seemingly forgotten. He's clearly not the brightest bulb in the box.
"Uh, who? Mister Curl? He said he made someone angry and had to lie low for a while. Hasn't been home in weeks, far as I know. I know someone like that. He always bullies me and he's pushed me in front of a carriage once."
The kid finally extracts the finger from his nose and points in a direction.
"There's sewer grates all over the city, but I don't get why..."
The boy doesn't even finish his sentence, he's that confused.
Sewer grates aren't super common in the city, but yeah, there's an entrance a few blocks away. However, when you look down, it comes to a dead end quickly. Seems like when the city phased back in time again, it wasn't perfect, collapsing or dislocating several tunnels. Finding a suitable entrance (and finding Flitch) will take a significant amount of time.
A well-oiled grate leads down into a twisting sewer system. Graffiti covers the walls at every intersection of the labyrinth.
You walk around for a while. You have to backtrack frequently as some tunnels end in unworked stone, some others are collapsed, or open into deep drops. It's clear that in the five thousand years this city was gone, there has been seismic activity, changing the layout of the sewers, closing some paths and opening others.
You walk around and keep your eyes open for signs of Flitch, but apart from graffiti everywhere, you don't find a trace of him. You do find some loose change that's been accidentally flushed into the sewers, though, and, bizarrely, a low-grade silver shield. Maybe it was evidence in a crime that needed to get rid of? Anyway, if you clean it for a bit, it's still usable.
You think you'd need a Survival check to find find Flitch. Randomly roaming around won't work, the sewers are too big for that.
Together, Tao Lin Chen and Dothrek navigate through the sewers, sometimes using the graffiti on the wall as a directional marker. Eventually, you reach a small sewer maintenance shack, with light flickering through the window. If you look through the window, you see a handsome man reading a book in a tattered chair, the light coming from a single candle next to him. He does not seem to have noticed you yet.
When Dothrek knocks on the door, The man inside jumps up from his chair and knocks out the candle besides him, plunging the room in darkness. Lilly Ann sees him hiding behind his chair.
"W-why would I be worried for my slippers? It's not like I borrowed them or anything," comes a hesitant voice from inside.
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Lilly Ann looks at the others with slight confusion on her face.
"I know we have a codeword and such, but we can still talk to him like normal people. As far as we are normal that is"
She giggles, then turns to the man again, through the window.
"Are you Flitch? We're here to help. The weird, slick guy sent us. To get you out of the city. If that is still what you want..."
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"Aye, mister, stop the hiding. If we meant ill to ye, we would not be knocking on ye door, but rather busting it open. Ye heard the elf, ye uncle was asking about ye bloody slippers, so open that door, and lets get this conversation to a more civilized status, shall we?"
Ulfar keeps his hands raised to shoulder level, away from his axes, not to provoke any panic mode situation.
"We have been tracking through these sewers for some time now, and pretty sure no one is following, so lets be quick about it!"
After hearing about his uncle's slippers, it's quiet inside for a few seconds. "Wait just a second, I'll be right there."
You hear some stumbling from inside, and the door opens. The man looks relieved to see you, and runs a hand through his hair to push back his single curl. The curl jumps back immediately.
"Thank the deities someone came after all! After Karela became wanted, I knew I wasn't safe here anymore, either. I had to hide somewhere! I had to live on rats and whatever this weird fungus is that grows down here to survive. I'd love to see daylight again! When do we leave? Right now? Don't worry, I've fixed some travelling papers for myself, I'll go grab them." Flitch runs back inside to grab something, then comes back outside and practically pushes some pieces of paper into your hands.
These are decent forgeries, but they're nowhere near the quality the Society gave you. Flitch would definitely get caught if he handed these over.
This is, however, a good example of how to not make a forgery, so creating forgeries for others becomes easier. You get a +2 circumstance bonus to Society checks to create forgeries. Both Dothrek and Petite Chenille are trained in this.
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"Aye, hold ye horses lad! I think that fungus got to ye head. Calm down, take a deep breath. Ship will be here in a couple of days. We will try to provide some rations, and maybe some warm..."
After a couple of second Ulfar of conversation, Ulfar got stops half sentence.
"Who, in the nine hells, is Karela?"
Flitch's face falls when he hears he'll have to wait a few more days.
"You know, Guaril Karela, the man who probably tasked you with extracting me. Speaking of which, I haven't paid him in full yet. Here's the rest of my payment."
He goes back inside and comes back out with a disguise kit, a repair kit, and a minor healing potion.
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"Guaril's cover was blown, he had to be pulled out.
We are the replacement extraction crew."
Chen looks over Flitch's papers and rolls them up, stashing them into an empty parchment tube.
"These won't suffice Flitch, we can't have you endangering the mission."
"And yes, you'll have to wait until we come to get you, I hope we can count on you staying put, no ?"
"We're not leaving right now? B-b-but I've been cooped up here for so long, you're the first conversation partner I've had that isn't a rat in weeks! For my own sanity, please, get me out of here!" Flitch becomes significantly more agitated now, his eyes darting left and right. "A few more days in here and I'll probably lose it! Oh heavens, the walls are closing in on me, please, I-I-I..." Flitch starts hyperventilating and can't finish his sentence.
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"Sir Flitch. I know that you want to get out right now, but the pickup is in four days. And to make sure things run smoothly, we are doing prep-work. Part of that prep-work is making sure that secret tunnel you know towards Shard Cove is free of any villains or hungry beasts. And since you are the only one who knows where that tunnel is, we need your help getting there to clear it."
The Petite Chenille moves towards Flitch's chair, pulls it towards him, and then steps on it to place his hand on Flitch's shoulder. "Now listen, the Petite Chenille knows you're scared, but you need to calm down. We are here now, and everything will be all right. And yes, you need to stay hidden here for a while longer when we go up and prepare some more. And that is okay, no need to worry."
While holding Flitch's shoulder, the Petite Chenille does a dramatic look to the opened door and points with his other hand around the cabin. "Remeber, if this really starts to gets to you down here, then just think; "What would the Grand Papillon do in a situation like this?". He quickly brings his face closer to that of Flitch. "And then don't do THAT, for you are no hero Flitch. You do not have the might or the justice to deal with all the corruption of this city. YOU are an innocent bystander in NEED of a hero!"
The Petite Chenille pushes his cheek against Flitch's so that they look in the same direction and stretches his hand towards the rest of the group. "And here we are, ready to save you from evil. Heroes that sneak into the capital of all that is vile, seek out the cries of the weak, the trampled, and sweep them away like a tide of righteousness that carries them far from this tyrannical state."
He releases Flitch's face and grabs both his shoulders, staring him straight into the eyes. "But it is low tide at the moment, Flitch. And the beavers of villainy have created many dams to block us. That is why we bide our time. Four days, Flitch. That's all that it takes to find the log that blocks our path, and remove it! And during the scramble of the tyrant's troops, we will move like majestic salmon, and escape by water!"
The Petite Chenille then releases Flitch. "That is why you need to stay here for a while, Flitch. This is the closest place near the dam, and we need you ready to go when we break through it. Do you understand this?"
Flitch looks with hopeful puppy-eyes to everyone who suggests bringing him along, but then Petite Chenille speaks up and Flitch looks confused.
"Beavers... Salmon.. Yes, I think I understand. I think? We need to breach the dam and use its forces against it in order to escape."
He remains silent for a moment, clearly mulling over the bizarre speech in his mind. He pulls at his curled hair as he does so, clearly a nervous habit of his.
"Speaking of low tides and dams, this might be useful to know. Guaril Karela probably told you about Shard Cove, and why it's named like that. Wading through the cove is very dangerous if you don't know where the sharp rocks are, and even then it's risky. There's nearly three hundred feet of shallow water you need to cross, and the tide will drag you across every single rock if you're not careful. Something like a raft would be ideal, but getting those through the tunnels will be a tight squeeze. I don't have the materials to build one, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now. But maybe you can get a hold of some rafts for our escape?"
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Chen sighs, coming to terms with the fact that this seems to be one of those 'complicated' missions.
He speaks out to Flitch and his companions :
"How long would it take to build such a raft and how much material are we talking about ?"
He ponders that perhaps the giant could come in useful hauling such a large cargo through town...
"How narrow is that tunnel leading to shard cove anyway?"
"Er, I guess a few sturdy planks would do, depending on how many people you want to put on each raft. As for the time, do I look like a boatsman to you? Anywhere between one and three days, I guess?
"The tunnels can get pretty claustrophobic here and there. Typically they're about 5 feet wide and 10 feet tall, but that might vary a few feet here and there. Certainly enough for us to get through, but a raft could get stuck here and there."
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With Flitch finally willing to stay put, the Petite Chenille also calms down. He listens to the specifics about Shard Cove with great attention.
"Hmmm, getting materials to make a raft can get tricky. Luckily Flitch, you have crafting tools. Which means one problem with building a raft is already solved. Now... where to get the rest."
His mind wanders a bit, but then a sudden realization kicks in. "Biscuits, it's almost dinner time! We can't miss that, for you cannot fight evil if you do not eat regular meals to strengthen that body! Well... that and it is almost curfew. Shall we make our way towards an inn and plan our next day accordingly?"
After saying goodbye to Flitch (and much protest from him), you return to the surface world again. You take a little time to clear the sewer stench from your clothes and head for the Rockfish Inn. You notice it's getting dark, and as you come close to the curfew, you see more and more of the Emerald Guard eying you closely, their hands close to the weapons at their side. Eventually, you find the inn you're looking for.
A sturdily built stone building with a meticulously thatched roof is marked by a hand-carved wooden sign with silver inlays that declare the building to be The Rockfish Inn. The windows are shut, and there's a sign on the door that reads, "Closed due to illness." Only one light peeks out through the cracks of a shuttered windows upstairs, the rest are dark.
There are several people hurrying home in time for curfew, but no one seems to pay you any attention in particular.
After Tao Lin Chen knocks, an older dwarf opens the window and looks down. "Och, visitors this late! Come on in, before the guard catches you! Wait a minute, I'll be downstairs shortly."
He opens the door and ushers you inside. "Normally the inn's closed, but this close to curfew, I'll make an exception. Please follow me upstairs, we can talk while I take care of my daughter."
He leads you to the only lit room in the inn, where a dwarven woman is tossing and turning in her bed. "I'm sorry I can't offer you anything to drink right now, but my daughter's very ill. She mentioned she wasn't feeling well the last few days, and she fell unconscious this morning. I haven't been able to leave her side for more than a few minutes, otherwise I would've called for help. I've closed the inn in the meantime, but you can get a room if you'd like. I'm afraid I can't lead you to your rooms, though."
As he speaks, he grabs a washcloth and mops his daughter's face with it, which is slick with sweat.
Koredrel looks over the dwarven woman. She's clearly in an advanced state of some sort of disease, but he can't quite figure out what, exactly.
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"Ah fair maiden, felled by a vile disease?
This cannot stand! Make way, good sir. The Petite Chenille will save your daughter. Even if I have to stay up all night, this evil will be evicted from her!"
The Petit Chenille grabs a nearby chair and drags it to the woman's bed. He sits on it and produces all kinds of medical tools from hus bandolier.
"Koredrel, I see you too are a hero of the people! Shall we watch over her tonight? The good in this world needs all the help it can get!"
for identification
for long-term treatment (if it isn't the same roll).