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Sylvester aims for the intersection between the two swarms in an attempt to splash both of them and hopefully ignite the gas. Successful or not he lets Shaggy take them away from the swarms.
(1 point of splash fire damage to both swarms plus possible gas explosion)
Shaggy takes them 30' off the map.
Despite his best intention a faint fey giggle can be heard muffled under his breath.
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Johann shoots an arrow that fails to connect with the swarm, too swift for the ranger's aim.
Xusius waits to have an open spot while Sylvester throws an alchemist's fire before backing off. The trapped sewer gas explodes and washes fire over the swarms and over Johann and Iladora.
Both swarm dodge most of the fire, but are heavily wounded.
Iladora throws another alchemist's fire that fails to connect and lands on the wall behind the swarm, dealing a bit of fire damage to it.
_____________________
SoS [GREEN@6 ; RED@5]
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Xusius throws an alchemist's fire but misses his target, as it bounces on the wall and lands on the ground a bit further, burning a bit of the swarm anyway.
Bernard misses with his shot.
The swarms move on the pathfinders, biting them all over the body!
Xusius is badly hurt, where Johann manages to dodge a bit of the bites!
However, both of them feel poison creeping in the systems.
Buffs: None.
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Johann [3/13] : ?
Xusius [10/16] : ?
Bernard [27/27] : ?
Iladora [24/28] : ?
Sylvester [30/30] & Shaggy [13/13] : ?
----------------------
SoS [RED@5 ; GREEN@7]
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Relieved that he is not distracted and really annoyed at being bitten by hundreds of eight-legged monstrosities, Xusius casts Burning Hands in an effort to perform beneficial pest control services for the denizens of the sewer system. He plans to bill them individually later. He will cast so as to catch the swarms but not the party.
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Iladora heals Johann and Xusius while the group proceeds into the sewers.
Graffiti covers much of the walls here, most of it simple drawings. Prominent among them is a large stylized drawing of a wyvern in shiny gray paint.
Also among them is an image of a skull crawling with bugs and an arrow pointing back to the west, and a representation of a beggar’s bowl holding a coin and a key with an arrow pointing to the south.
Underneath the picture of the bowl is the word: “Almsman.”
You find in the rubble a silver dagger.
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Xusius informs Ildara to use the wand on herself as well as to hold it for the rest of the adventure as he cannot use it himself.
Examining the symbol, Xusius considers it carefully .
He remarks dryly. "Ze zymbol ees rather obvious, no?" Steeel, we zhoud be on our guard. Ze could be traps ahead." He points to the south as the direction they should go.
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The party presses forward in the direction of the Almsman's sanctuary. Ahead a faint light glimmers in the dark. Slowly it resolves into a crude lantern held by a toothless old beggar who holds a chair leg in his other hand. Beside him stands a scrawny youth, similarly armed but obviously terrified. Behind the two derelicts is an open door bearing the symbol of the beggar’s bowl, coin, and key.
"If yer intentions be peaceful, Abadar makes you welcome."
Though putting on a brave face, you can easily deduce that these two 'guards' would flee at the slightest provocation. By their appearance, they are definitely not thugs with the Steel Wyverns.
They allow you entrance. Beyond the door, a short flight of steps leads up into what appears to be the basement crypt of a church of Abadar. Perhaps two dozen beggars huddle among sarcophagi, some sleeping, some haggling over bits of junk or scraps of food laid out on blankets.
A man dressed in a clean robe and wearing a copper mask makes his way among the destitute. Upon noticing the group of Pathfinders enter, he stops and calls out, "If you respect this sanctuary, I offer you what sanctuary I can. Otherwise, begone!"
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The old man nods, not at ease. You sense that past events seem to have worn him out.
"I am, yes. The alms, you can toss them in the bowl at the door." he answers, pointing at a tin bowl on the ground.
He looks at you with a raised eyebrow and an expression mixed between fear and hope.
"If you're no thugs, then who are ye? And what's yer business down here? You don't look like sewer slugs to me." he asks the heavily armored group roaming the sewers.
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"Well... as you can see, things could be better. Need healing do you? I'm able to provide some comfort to these souls - all by the blessing of Abadar, of course." he then sighs heavily and leans on a nearby wall.
"Don't get me started on those thugs! They keep threatening me to shut down my sanctuary here if I don't help them. See, we're in a long-forgotten sub-basement of the local church of Abadar. There's an entryway hidden in the corner back there..."
he pauses, crosses his arms over chest, before resuming.
"Anyway, those Wyverns want me to break in and steel from the church. The church doesn't even know I'm down here. You know, folks down here... they don't have much expectation of safety. As far as I know, I'm it. Well, come here..."
The Almsman waves you over to three especially sickly-looking people. All unconscious and moaning weakly. "These poor souls - contracted filth fever. I can provide some basic healing, but I'm not trained to cure diseases! All I can do is try and make them comfortable as they await death."
He sighs, "Not that they have much time anyway. The Steel Wyverns told me that they're giving me until today - just a couple of hours - to bring them some stolen goods from the church, or to allow them access, and they've threatened to kill me and everyone in here. I don't suppose you lot would be able to help?"
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The gnome's eyes brighten at the mention of a secret door. Much more interesting in his mind than talking about religion, healing sick people or even waiting for large and stupid thugs to appear.
"Maybe we should check out the hidden entrance to the sub-basement of the church? That sounds like a good idea."
His pet Shaggy seems to agree but it is not quite clear if the dog is being supportive of his master or actually understands what is going on.
"Woof, woof!"
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Bernard pitches in, "We can noot let these bantoots keep harassing this poor priest."[b] He waves his hand around at the state of the church, pointing out how disheveled everything is. [b]"He is dooing good woork. We should stay to help."
He looks around, "There is noot much places to hide here, unless you wish to stake oot inside the filthy water." He takes a sip from his flask, "We could barricade ourselves inside, and wait foor them to barge in unsuspecting the Almsman has new security!"
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Dodging a bit the matter of how secret passages work down there, the Alsman is pleased to know you want to help him. You hear a sigh of relief beneath the mask. "Very well, I think the best we can do is surprise them with an armed group ready to fight. That's the best deception down here..."
He however asks another question: "You spoke of intel? What kind?"
You hear a bit of disbelief in his voice.
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Xusius speaks up. "We encountered a group of Wyvern thugs who zeem to have been keeping guard een ze zewers. Zey weel no longer be doing zo. Zey confessed zat an attack was planned upon zou. I zink we zhall turn ze tables on zem instead. We need zese "fine folk" here to clear ze area. Zat zecret door ees ze best zolution for zat."
He points to the door.
"Zen we weell geeve ze Wyverns a greeting zey are not expecting."
Motioning to the party, he says, "We zhall deesguise ourselves as ze beggars. Zose of zou who fight in close quarters can conceal zour weapons under ze rags for eazy access. Zose who employ ranged attacks or ze fine arts of majeeck can be further back. Hopefully we can spring ze ambush and zen zou can queeckly stab or hack zem down."
He begins to look for the cleanest rags to disguise himself with.