(#1-12) "Burden of Envy" (Inactive)

Game Master rainzax

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

With Kallade among the refugees, Bardok turns his attention back to the barrels. ”Do you think this will keep us afloat when we head to the ship?”

Is the new arrival with the other refugees? I was assuming that we had them out of the way, in case a fight broke out.

Zamp looks at the barrels too. We have no choice but to hope.

Trouble at Rockfish Inn (Part Nine)

It takes some time, but eventually Kallade - who outs herself as "Garrla" and surrenders her payment and weapons (Including a +1 Striking Longsword!), organizes herself in whichever way the PCs deem in their Escape Plan - even offering to help with the flotation device currently under re-re-re-construction. But with a single "condition" despite being in no position whatsoever to really bargain:

"You have to hide me completely - because I know most of the Guards on the force, and they know Me. And not only Know me - they Know me as somewhat squeamish, even as I have done my best to put on a Face, trying to suppress some of the horrible memories I have of times I Stood By while innocent civilians' rights were violated and their lives taken. I didn't sign up for this. I signed up to Protect and Serve. But This is not That. Maybe it started that way? The Power Trip - I'll admit it was a rush at first - but next thing I know I'm not fitting in as well with these Men; my Coworkers; my Gang. They take their Badge to the Head, use it to impose their will on people, to retaliate disproportionately at the slightest provocation with the gravest consequences. And they Know me. I can feel their eyes on me when I avert mine when there are trumped up arrests, unfair state seizures, public executions. And I know what happens to those, like me, who begin to think differently - who begin to Feel. You don't want to know what they do to Emeralds who betray their own..." Astrid Kallade looks off in the distance a moment, shuddering, having a memory nearly overwhelm her "Her name was Lois... she... she tried to hang up her badge and walk away from it all. My old partner. We used to hit the Beat - cover for eachother when we went easy on a Perp. But someone somehow caught wind, and they separated us. Paired us up with new partners. Lois dragged her heels, gave her superiors her mind, threatened to quit. And they took her. They..." She reaches the end of her composure here, and as if for the first time in her life, begins to ball. It's an ugly cry. Perhaps years of stress pouring out of her body, coughing and sniffling and running down her cheeks...

...From the other room, the two children emerge and instinctively sit at her side, and begin crying too, seemingly confused as to why themselves, drawn in by the power of the moment. Yuleg is stand-offish with his arms crossed, and Vurna, in the presence of her stern father, holds back her own emotions. Daffrid and her husband come to comfort their children, who each in turn shift into their respective laps, the whole Chaverly family spread across the floor with Garrla, whose torrent of tears flows like a decanter of endless water...

...Themolin snorts as he rolls over onto his other side, completely oblivious as her peacefully sleeps through the entire thing...

...And eventually the PCs return to their work, and are excited to finally succeed in lashing the barrels together to create a functioning flotation device capable of supporting three medium-sized creatures, and bed down to rest the night, but not before formulating an Escape Plan! And as the sun rises on New Thassilon, the PCs rise early, and begin to put the first phase of their Two-Day Escape Plan into Action!

...

...

Adding the 3-man (makeshift) Rowboat, here is the list of Resources.
So.
What is the Plan!?

Rose steps out from behind the curtain as the guard starts to spill all her pain, worries and fears. For once the thirty plus years show on her face as she seems to commiserate with the woman. She turns to Vurna, stating "Vurna, get a kettle going. We need tea. Yuleg, you still have left over stew from dinner? She needs food. Anyone have something soft to squeeze?" After getting people mobilized she sits down next to the woman and just pats her and rubs her back in a comforting way. " There, there. We'll make sure you aren't seen. It'll be okay. We're normally very good at getting around without being noticed. Here have some soup. It's good, lots of vegetables and some good chunks of lamb!"

I think the plan is to get people down to he sewers and outta here. But how, I don't have any strong ideas yet.

I think we only talked about moving the passengers for fear that 'Garrla' was a trap and would bring a whole patrol of guards with her. No need for it now.

Helène reiterates her plan: Before dawn they'll leave with the rowboat in the cart. The children and Kallade could hide under the tarp. We pick up Filtch from the sewers and then head for the docks. If we encounter any guards, we'll try to talk or bribe our way past them.

I second Helene's plan.

The Escape Plan (Part Zero)

From each player:

1) Post a Description on how you will Contribute.
2) Identify which NPCs are part of your Contribution to The Plan.
3) Describe which portion of the City / Sewer / Dock you are Active for.
4) Include a list of Resources you will use for your Contribution to The Plan.
5) Choose two (different) Skills / Checks / Spells that represents the above Description and Considerations. The better the "fit" of the Skill / Check / Spell to the Description, the lower the DM sets the DC. Furthermore, you can earn a circumstance bonus to the check based on your Attention to Detail, scaled from +1 to +5.

And Good Luck!

Bardok looks over the floatation device. Let's hope this holds.

I agree, let's get the kids, the guard, and Flitch out first.

1) Bardok will intercept any guards or other folks asking too many questions, confident he can talk them out of poking around.
2) If we have enough space for two more people, the kids' parents should come and help give Bardok some cover as a visiting scholar of rune magic.
3) Mostly active in the city, but will help with whatever he can when the group gets to the sewer.
4) Social skills and spells where necessary.
5) Deception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21, Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

I agree, let's get the kids, the guard, and Flitch out first.

Zamp shakes his head at the idea of separating Daffrid and her husband from their children. Helène, Bardok… is Daffrid's family willing to be separated? Are she and her husband willing to leave their children in the care of strangers for days on end? Splitting up a family for what could be days or even weeks between here and Absalom is likely to do more harm than good. It will undermine our cause: distraught parents are more difficult to slip by guards, as are crying children who won't listen to strangers.

Zamp is not willing to separate families unless we absolutely need to. I vote the four of them go on the boat at dawn.
----

1) Post a Description on how you will Contribute.
Zamp uses his slippery nature, and his slippery mind, to help!

2) Identify which NPCs are part of your Contribution to The Plan.
Zamp will suggest taking Daffrid's family of four (Daffrid, Husband, 2 children) and Astrid on Rolanna’s Prayer first.

Then, wait for the Merry Mayfly on day 5 with the rest.

Zamp will suggest will have Filtch help navigate there sewers this morning

3) Describe which portion of the City / Sewer / Dock you are Active for.
Zamp would prefer to be active for all parts.

4) Include a list of Resources you will use for your Contribution to The Plan.
Zamp will try to conceal the barrel raft and its passengers with items from the inn ("Towels, Linens, Room furnishings, Pickled fish...""), places inside the Wagon with 3 horses.

5) Choose two (different) Skills / Checks / Spells that represents the above Description and Considerations. The better the "fit" of the Skill / Check / Spell to the Description, the lower the DM sets the DC. Furthermore, you can earn a circumstance bonus to the check based on your Attention to Detail, scaled from +1 to +5.

Deception to distract attention awat from the raft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Acrobatics to help move the raft through the tunnel: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

”That’s a good point. Can we get the entire family out together with Flitch and Garrla? If not, they should wait for the second ship. We can take Yuleg and Vurna instead.”

Imiriax smiles. "Of course we're not going to separate the families."

How many can we get into the boat safely? And who knows how to pilot the boat?

I'm not ready to answer the GM's questions before I know more about the circumstances.

"Given that we've got some time, I wonder if we can improve our chances a bit. We've got a few assets I'm not sure we've considered. To begin with, we have travel papers. Can those be copied and given to the refugees in case we're stopped? And what about Garrla? Couldn't she help us get past some of the guards? Surely we'll have to deal with gaurds."

In answer to the questions:

1: Kunsheng will a) make sure that the raft is minimally damaged during movement, b) repair it quickly if it is, and c) vet any plans the others make.

2: Kunsheng agrees with Apollon that moving Daffrid's family plus Astrid on the sloop is the best bet--they're the most likely to cause issues with control or being recognized. Besides, Flitch will be more likely to stay put the extra couple of days if Vurna also stays behind for the second wave....

3: Kunsheng is going to be better at the City and wherever the raft ends up--Docks or Sewers. If possible, be active for all three areas, though.

4: From his personal resources, Kunsheng can keep Vurna plied with lesser antiplague elixirs in case her symptoms return, and has a repair kit to use on the raft if it's damaged in transit. He can also make sunrods for use in the Sewers, for people who (like himself) lack darkvision. For the communal resources, Kunsheng would use the linens and such to pack the raft to avoid damage during movement, and would carefully pack along some pickled fish for use in distracting predatory species once the raft is in the water.

5: Crafting (for moving and repairing the raft) and Society (for vetting plans).

Crafting check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Society check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Imiriax - these are the Resources.

Players, am I hearing that Daffrid Chaverly, her husband, and the kids, are the only refugees you are taking the first phase?

Or are we also adding Astrid ("Garrla") and/or other passengers as well?

My vote would be to send the family plus Astrid and possibly Vurna in the first phase, with Flitch and Yuleg in the second with Vurna if she hasn't gone yet.

I momentarily forgot about the limit of five passengers on this first boat. Concerning the raft: I propose the two children could board it, with one of the adults to row. The others could hang on at the sides and have to swim/paddle along.

Helène agrees with Zamp. "No, you're right. With only five people allowed on board the Rolanna's Prayer, it should be Daffrid Chaverly with her kids and husband, along with Astrid." She thinks for a moment. "I still think Astrid should hide in the cart with the kids, she can keep them quiet if we encounter anyone. Or they could all hide in the cart, if there's room."

She thinks for a moment. "I've got an idea for a story we could tell if we're stopped by the guards: We've been granted permission to export a rare species of fungus - or mold, that's probably better - that grows in the sewers of the city. They're valuable because of... medicinal purposes? That sounds so odd that it could be true, right?" She continues talking, caught up in the story. "The mold's properties disappear if exposed to light, so that's why we are allowed on the road before dawn. And we have to keep the stuff wrapped under the tarp, because we don't want to take any risk from torches and street lanterns. Maybe it even becomes dangerous if exposed to light? Something like that. That might deter a nosy guard, who insists they should check." She draws up some papers. "Let's see if we can forge some official-looking documents. And then a bit of fast-talking should do the rest."

Helène will help getting the cart with all the passengers through the city and to the secret cove without being searched.

Society to forge some paperwork: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Deception to sell the story, if needed: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

1) Post a Description on how you will Contribute.

Imiriax will help keep the boats in good working order. He has Crafting +8

Imiriax will also help with working out the safest routes through the city. He has Society +8 and Architecture Lore +8.

2) Identify which NPCs are part of your Contribution to The Plan.

I'll adhere to whatever the plan is. But I foresee that perhaps Imiriax should stay behind with Fitch and Vurna and move forward in the second wave. However his familiar Anton can scout with each wave.

3) Describe which portion of the City / Sewer / Dock you are Active for.

Imiriax plans to be active for the whole thing, of course. But he would be most useful in the city. His knowledge of societies and how cities are constructed can be useful in finding alternate routes at a moment's notice as well as places to most easily evade patrols.

4) Include a list of Resources you will use for your Contribution to The Plan.

Imiriax's most important asset is his raven familiar, Anton, who can talk and thus be a valuable asset to any team member. Anton will fly ahead, circling around as birds often do in cities, and warn the Pathfinders of any obstacles or patrols in their path as well as possible alternate routes.

5) Choose two (different) Skills / Checks / Spells that represents the above Description and Considerations. The better the "fit" of the Skill / Check / Spell to the Description, the lower the DM sets the DC. Furthermore, you can earn a circumstance bonus to the check based on your Attention to Detail, scaled from +1 to +5.

Crafting, to help with the boats: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Society, to help with planning routes and alternate routes: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Stowaway!?! (Part One)

As the party is finalizing their discussion about their plans early in the morning, Imiriax and Zamp go to fetch and load the Rowboat onto the Wagon, and discover a large-sized humanoid creature sleeping in the shed tucked around the Wagon across from the 3 Horses!...

Imiriax and Zamp, please make a Stealth check to see if you disturb the creature!

...Meanwhile, Helène discovers something funny about Flitch's Papers... she suspects that they don't look quite right, and consults Bardok for a second opinion...

Bardok, please roll a Society check if you'd like to corroborate Helène's claim!

...

Imiriax Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 Frack.

Stowaway!?! (Part Two)

...The large humanoid - which must weigh within the vicinity of one ton - stirs at the sound of the clumsy wizard, clearly uncomfortable being cramped into a "U" shape around the Wagon, and begins to open first one eye, then the other, looking around for the source of the noise that stirred it's slumber...

So?

"Uhh... Hello, sir. How are you?"

Imiriax knows that Zamp is far better with people than he is and lets the rogue take the lead.

Internet is a little spotty it seems, so have to do this on my phone. Just rolls for now until I can get everything running again.

Society (corroborate Helene): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Thassilon Lore: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

”Woah. That’s a stone giant, friends. What’s it doing here?”

Is it hostile?

Society (T): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Are stone giants around here usually evil or hostile?

Stowaway!?! (Part Three)

The grey-skinned creature waits a moment before speaking, seeing three humanoids not immediately taking up arms against it, considering you all with a curiosity evidenced by a raising of eyebrows "I _ have _ over-heard _ the _ scholar, _ and _ her _ family, _ talking _ about _ leaving _ Thassilon _ through _ some _ arrangement, _ and _ have _ come _ to _ plea _ my _ case." it says with a slow and methodical temperament, as if choosing every single word carefully and cautiously.

So?

What's your name, friend? If you have a case, I think that, perhaps, we can help you. He looks at the lash marks. We may be pragmatists, but we're not cruel.

Dimplomacy to Make an Impression: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

To friends: I would not see a creature mistreated so, and Valais would laud saving this person. We should get them out. And perhaps a stone giant could be useful to have along on the way to the Rolanna’s Prayer…

Helène continues working on the paperwork, while keeping herself apprised of the situation with the stone giant. "I agree. If he's a victim of the situation here, and we can get him out, we should. We have to think about security first, though. Will he be missed? Can he be tracked by his employer or master?" She considers. "I'd be leery to change our plans for tomorrow so close to the deadline. And I think putting a stone giant on an improvised raft would be a recipe for disaster! We'll have to bring him with us to the docks when we leave."

With that said, she consults Bardok again to figure out what's wrong with Filtch's paperwork. "Is it forged? Did he make his own attempts to get out, or is he deliberately sabotaging our efforts?"

Helène tries to find out what's wrong with the papers. If she can, she'll fix it. And it it seems like Filtch deliberately endangered their mission, she might consider leaving him behind.

Truly Sorry I fell out of my habits for the past few days. I'll be much more consistent from now on!

1) Post a Description on how you will Contribute.
Rose pulls out a disguise kit and then looks over Astrid and the kids, then over at the blanket that teh would use to cover them and tries to paint their faces in a color that blends in with the covering, camouflaging them as best she can. "If you stay still and wear some clothes that are a similar color, assuming you brought some, if not I'll try adjusting some of Yuleg and Vurna's clothes. But I digress, you need to stay still but this should make you harder to spot."

She then takes a look at the identification papers that Daffrid and her husband have. "Hrmm, I think I can change some of the details on here. Daffrid, Mr. Chaverly, I'm going to have to change your job titles. How does a sewer or fungus scholar work for you Professor Chaverly? And Mr. Chaverly, you could be her trained assistant, the person with all of the necessary tools and skills to collect samples etc."

2) Identify which NPCs are part of your Contribution to The Plan.
The kids and Astrid for disguise, and the Chaverly wife and husband for forging documents.
3) Describe which portion of the City / Sewer / Dock you are Active for.
City for the most part
4) Include a list of Resources you will use for your Contribution to The Plan.
Disguise kit, and see if Yuleg has pen and paper and forgery supplies as I need to buy Rose some. (though there is no kit for it yet! ARUGH!) Also she probably should have been working on these last night as they are a downtime activity.

5) Choose two (different) Skills / Checks / Spells that represents the above Description and Considerations. The better the "fit" of the Skill / Check / Spell to the Description, the lower the DM sets the DC. Furthermore, you can earn a circumstance bonus to the check based on your Attention to Detail, scaled from +1 to +5.
Disguise: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Society Forgery: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

She pops her head out the door as there seems to be some commotion happening in the courtyard, the bags under her eyes from having worked over the night on the forgeries of Identification papers obvious. "Something up? ... Oh, he's big. We need to do something about him?" She lays a hand on her rapier and watches what happens for a bit.

Kunsheng takes a break from his work on the raft and joins the others with the stone giant. "I have a thought." He addresses the tall humanoid. "You have been bought and sold before, yes? If we forge a bill of sale for you, perhaps we can take you away openly."

I put my skill use and such for the escape plan into a post HERE; what did I miss?

Stowaway!?! (Part Four)

"What's your name, friend? If you have a case, I think that, perhaps, we can help you." He looks at the lash marks. We may be pragmatists, but we're not cruel.

He considers Zamp for a moment, sitting up with a leaning lurch being too large for the stable to even do so properly "I _ am _ called _ Seddothrum, _ friend" And smiles slowly at the elf's choice of words. He then listens to Kunsheng while considering his words as well:

"I have a thought." He addresses the tall humanoid. "You have been bought and sold before, yes? If we forge a bill of sale for you, perhaps we can take you away openly."

The time he spends thinking is the longest here so far - he takes note of Rose's hand upon her rapier while doing so - and finally responds with "You _ have _ not _ yet _ heard _ my _ case." And adding after a beat "I _ am _ very _ large." which is perhaps a strange addendum, being obvious.

Meanwhile

With that said, she consults Bardok again to figure out what's wrong with Filtch's paperwork. "Is it forged? Did he make his own attempts to get out, or is he deliberately sabotaging our efforts?"

Go ahead and roll me a Detect Forgery (Society or Legal Lore or Scribing Lore; or Perception at a much higher DC) check!

Rose pulls out a disguise kit and then looks over Astrid and the kids, then over at the blanket that teh would use to cover them and tries to paint their faces in a color that blends in with the covering, camouflaging them as best she can. "If you stay still and wear some clothes that are a similar color, assuming you brought some, if not I'll try adjusting some of Yuleg and Vurna's clothes. But I digress, you need to stay still but this should make you harder to spot."

The kids get fully "into character", and furthermore both begin standing facing the same direction as Rose applying her makeup to their parents faces, laughing and giggling as they do, even as the wrinkles of stress show in the lines of Daffrid's and her husbands' faces.

+1 circumstance bonus to Aid Rose's disguise checks!

...

"What, then, is your case?" This giant is going to be a representative for a dozen more....

He's been to Treebeard's Ent speed talking course. Hrooom.

GM, can Imiriax aid Helene in examining the potentially forged documents?

Sorry for the delay, had to deal with some hurricane fallout.

Bardok listens to the giant's plight and looks to his comrades. "We obviously can't leave him here. Beyond it being cruel, he knows too much. Could we maybe put him in the cart and sneak him onto the ship under a tarp or some such?" He then turns his attention to Flitch's papers. What now? No wonder Guaril cut this dork loose.

Society (check out the forgery): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Waiting to actually hear the giant's story, and Bardok seems to have taken care of the roll for Filtch's papers.

If we want to smuggle the Giant out, maybe we could purchase a scroll with the Shrink spell? It's only 5 minutes, but makes him tiny. That could be enough for him to sneak past the Docks guards. Or maybe Anton could carry him? Just dropping some ideas here while we wait for the encounter to play out.

Stowaway!?! (Part Five)

"What, then, is your case?" This giant is going to be a representative for a dozen more....

Seddothrum shares a story about how he came to work on one of the wings of the Arcanium Abjurant during it's renovation, and it was here that Dr. Chaverly was the only person who would look him in the eyes, which most of the busy scholars wouldn't deign. Perhaps it's not something that she would even register as memorable, but it becomes clear that he knew she was "different" somehow, so he started sneaking out to check up on her, wondering what made her so. It was during this spying that he overheard a conversation she had with her husband about arranging an escape. Since then, he has been waiting for the agents who would smuggle the family away, and decided to follow the party back here, hiding in the shed, bringing us to the current moment.

"I _ want _ to _ help _ too." he adds, after taking the quarter hour to tell the story (which felt like longer). "So _ you _ will _ take _ me?" he asks, wanting you to understand the long journey he has taken in anticipation of being here!

Meanwhile

Bardok and Imiriax discover that Flitch's papers are indeed shoddy - but not for lack of trying. Not terrible for an amateur - perhaps sufficient to pass a single person off or two with minimal cargo - but certainly not sufficient to pull off something as grandiose as involving the smuggling of six pathfinder agents, a family of four and two, a former guard and a bureaucrat - and a giant! - over a two-day multi-ship heist through the sewer cove and the docks!...

...

So!
1) How does this modify the plan? If at all?
2) What was the consensus of Who to bring for the first wave? The Family and Who Else? Or just the Family?
3) Does the party want to chance leaving before Curfew ends? Or right when it lifts?
4) Is Anton interested in rolling a check to participate?
5) Any last minute changes before setting off?

No modifications to the plan. For the sake of time, I will second a vote to put the giant in a cart when the other ship leaves on the next day. I believe the consensus as the family + Astrid. The ones who don't fit on the raft will swim (probably Astrid and Daffrid or her husband).

Seconding Zamp here! That sounds like a good plan for now. Get giant in second group. and the family and the most recognizable person need to go first.

Feel free to narrate how the party successfully navigated the following obstacles:

Back into the Sewers (Phase One)
-Flitch is waiting for you, with his usual complaints, but in his panic, ended up killing the assassins, figuring that it was either him or them...
-The tunnels to the Cove are narrow, with more than a few choke points.
-On the beach, the boat could float with the Chaverly family only, and would sink otherwise, judging by testing a load.
-Rowing / swimming to Rolanna's Prayer, the party is attacked by Reefclaws.

Then the party has the rest of the day to plan Phase Two

Return to the Docks (Phase Two)
Depending on the precautions the party takes, the following hiccups might occur:
-A refugee gets stressed out and needs to be soothed
-Vurna has a relapse vomit at a tense moment with the guards
-One of the refugees - perhaps Astrid or Seddothrum - has a costume malfunction
-The PC's ID papers are blown away by a stiff wind
-There is a final inspection check by the same guards who met the PCs at the beginning

Those are the obstacles ahead. Feel free to narrate as much or as little as you like to close out Burden of Envy.

Check my status bar for "Burden of Envy Chronicles" to get me your contact information. Expect Chronicles by Sunday.

Helène works through the night to fix the papers that Filtch provided them with, grateful for any help. She's quick to accept the stone giant as one additional passenger for their trip on the last day, and reiterates her plan to use magic in shrinking him down.

Once it becomes clear that Filtch has killed the assassins, Helène snorts wisps of smoke in anger and looks ready to chew iron. She's of a mind to leave him, but eventually decides against it; it was their own choice for leaving the assassins with him and - more importantly - abandoning the rat might jeopardize their entire venture.

Regaining her cool, Helène does what she can to get the passenger's extraction going smooth, fast-talking her way past guards, encouraging her companions and the passengers as needed, and rolling up her sleeves when things get ugly. Her unarmed fighting style means she has to get up-close to the reefclaws, but she comes out of the fight with only a few scars to show for it.

Bardok's blood magic helps to dispatch the hostile reefclaws, but most of his expertise goes toward the docks. His soothing, diplomatic efforts help keep the panicky refugee under control, and he creates a suitable distraction to keep onlookers at bay as they fix Garrla's outfit, replace their papers, and deal with the former guards.

Zamp helps the party avoid the jagged shards in the eponymous cove, and sends electric arcs down into the deeps after sharks brush against the legs of the swimmers! He feints to help Helène punch them in the nose, driving them off.

At the docks, he assists Bardok in smoothing over negotiations with the bureaucrats and guards when they are almost exposed. He also bluffs his way out of a jam when Flitch almost blows their cover…

Below the rail of the Merry Mayfly he makes a rude gesture at the fascist city as the ship pulls out. I vow to never return to that place!

The night before the first group is to be moved, Kunsheng makes sure that Vurna drinks a lesser antiplague elixir, trying to keep her from having a relapse during the rescue. Then he returns to the raft build. "If we are going to move it through the sewers, there may be places where the passage is too narrow. See, I have put it together in two halves that are tied together with ropes here--we can take it apart if we need to and put it back together at the beach."

In the morning, Kunsheng prepares four lesser antidote elixirs, two lesser cheetah's elixirs, two lesser antiplague elixirs, and two sunrods. "Anyone who is going to fight reefclaws, drink an antidote when we reach the water. It will help you resist their poison. These other elixirs will help you swim faster, but they only last a minute and I only have two of them."

At the sight of the dead assassins, the alchemist shakes his head and meets Helène's angry gaze with a matching glare, but says nothing. Once the raft has made the transit through the sewers, he ties it back together. "Imiriax, please look at these knots--I think I have done this correctly, but with the stakes as high as they are we must be certain." Then he takes his prepared bundles of salt fish some distance from the raft and starts throwing them into the water, drawing as many aquatic predators as he can away from where the family is making their escape. He gives them a wave as they go on their way.

After the first phase is done, Kunsheng busies himself treating the wounded. "Hold still while I am stitching this cut up, Helène, or you will have a--no, you would probably like another scar or two." He gives a wide smile. Then he takes the rest of the evening preparing duplicate sets of papers for each of them before dosing Vurna with another lesser antiplague elixir.

The next day, he prepares two more lesser antiplague elixirs and eight lesser cheetah's elixirs. "If we have to run, these will help." In contrast to the clandestine efforts of the previous day, this time the party travels the streets openly, depending on their skill at subterfuge--disguises and forged papers. A stray gust of wind at exactly the wrong time could have been disastrous but for the alchemist's foresight in preparing duplicate travel documents, and despite some pointed questions about the stone giant and Astrid, Bardok and Zamp smooth things over and the group boards without further incident.

Kunsheng holds his composure until the ship is well on its way, even giving Zamp a smile when the elf makes his promise. "You have a long life ahead of you, and a long career as a Pathfinder. Who knows what the future holds? You may well be back." He looks back at the formerly timelost city. "Are we safely away yet? Good." Then he faints.