"Illnore said you're a mean guy!" Chiselnits shouts as he rolls around the corner and bumps up against Barralbus. "Mean guys get in trouble!" He whips out with his muscular vine first, then with a thorny vine.
Dolan's strike sends the hired muscle to the ground. He dives forward to encircle Barralbus and set up Yakuthiel's attack, but the crazed caster is too wary to his tricks and cuts off his approach. His follow-up attack falls short of its mark.
Yakuthiel, however, needs no distraction to aid his attacks, and with furocious ease his blade slices through Barralbus' robes, turning golden finery into red rags. As Barralbus stays standing he hews again, this one landing a bit more lightly than the last.
Barralbus shrieks in shock as Chiselnits appears in view: "What monster is this!" He barely keeps his feet as Chiselnits' viney appendage wraps around his ankle and tugs hard.
Barralbus concentrates, and the ball of fire continues to pursue Yakuthiel.
He snarls: "I am beset by fools and freaks. Let their blades miss me!" He swirls his hands and a smoke curls into the shape of a butterfly before coursing around him and obscuring him from easy sight.
Yakuthiel plunges his bastard sword through the black butterfly swirling before Barralbus, and it almost seems to guide his strike home. The smoke puffs away revealing a deeply impaled Barralbus. He collapses with a deflated sigh, sliding off the blade to the warehouse floor.
Themolin brightens up immensely as you untie him and see to his injuries - nothing serious, fortunately. He stares a bit shocked at the two corpses now occupying his warehouse:
"H-h-he was trying to f-find out what I had been so worried about lately. S-said I acted s-so supiciously I had to be scheming. I loathe this city. The man was a paranoid social climber. D-d-didn't understand that I wasn't his e-enemy."
"T-t-the amount of borderline s-skullduggery I've had to endure to try and leave this place. Ugh. Y-y-you better make good on Guaril's p-promises."
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After giving Chiselnits a hug and de-manifesting him, Illnore contemplates the bodies. Oh, I really wish we hadn't killed them. But then they'd put our whole operation at risk if they escaped or were found. --Found!? Oh dear... "So...We don't want anyone having a reason to come to looking for you until after you've successfully left. Any ideas for hiding these two and cleaning up this mess?"
Themolin lets out a deep sigh: ”Secreting away c-corpses. Who am I. J-j-just stuff them in a crate f-for all it’s worth. Barralbus did n-not have many friends who w-will look for him. We are l-leaving the city shortly, correct? This secrecy need no last years.”
Themolin moves quickly now: indicating a couple of empty crates at the back, even helping shift a dragging ankle as you work. Afterwards he collates a few things and stands ready.
”Y-you have lodgings-a hideaway, somewhere safe, correct? W-when do we depart and how?”
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First peeking around to make sure no one sneaked into the warehouse to eavesdrop on them, Illnore informs him in a low voice: "Well, you're leaving tonight, from the Rockfish Inn, where we're staying. Your route is through the sewers--I know, gross, but keep your eyes on the prize--to Shard cove, where the Rolanna's Prayer will be waiting for you and a few others at dawn. We're working on making a raft for you guys to make the swim easier, but I wouldn't recommend bringing anything heavy or that would be damaged by water."
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"Oh, wow Dolan! This raft is perfect! It's even small enough to fit through the tunnels. Great work! How's it coming in here?" Beaming, Illnore enters the room to which Dolan retreated so he could work on forging documents in peace. Peeking over his shoulder, her smile falters. "Oh. Uh... These are really tricky, aren't they? Do you want some help with the rest?"
"My my," Yuleg yawns as he trots in from another room in the inn. He eyes up the well-crafted raft with admiration. "While I don't much enjoy the idea o' things underneath me I can't see, that does make me feel a bit safer. And it barely smells like salted fish anymore!"
"I'll turn in for a little sleep, if I can. It's a good thing Vurna's still so tired, else I don't think she'd get any shut-eye with the nerves of all this," Yuleg says as he nods good night.
Unassigned
1. Seddothrum (if you're inviting him)
2. Astrid
Shard Cove
1 & 2. Vurna & Yuleg
3. Themolin
4.
5.
The Docks
1. Flitch
2-5. Daffrid, Tellith, Taffrit, and Maffree
Seddothrum peels himself from the carved wall to a chorus of surprised gasps from all assembled.
Astrid: "I thought all stone giants were registered with the Emerald Guard..."
Vurna: "Ooh, it'll be a tight squeeze gettin' ye to Shard Cove."
Themolin: "Another f-f-fugitive. W-what a stunning c-collection of people we are."
"I am indebted to you, strangers, more than I perhaps can ever repay. But I will give it my all to do so," Seddothrum rumbles deeply. He bows in respect.
The respect doesn't last long once you begin making your way through the sewers to Shard Cove.
"Such cramped confines," he grumbles.
"If you s-s-squeeze much m-more, you'll go from s-stone to d-d-diamond," Themolin jibes the giant.
"Aye, you'll get a good wash once we make it," Vurna calls back from the front.
You have your own struggles. Dolan's sturdy raft is tough to fit around some of these tight corners.
Yakuthiel takes a brute force approach to raft transport. Corner too tight? Ceiling a bit low? There's a bit of flex to the boards, just need to really bend it. Tunnel half-collapsed? Shove Seddothrum through first to clear the way. Awkward ladder climb? Tie a rope around it and hoist. The raft arrives completely undamaged.
The first hint that Shard Cove is near is the air, as sewer stench gives way to sea salt and the the distant sound of washing waves. The stubby, rusted remnants of a grate do little to block the exit to a narrow, rocky beach.
Steep cliffs of bare rock almost encircle the cove. The Rolanna's Prayer bobs at the edge where cove meets sea, unwilling to risk the unknown depths to draw any closer.
Seddothrum strides into the ocean with no mind to the water's chill. He laughs - a great booming sound - as he figures out an ungainly, incredibly splashy paddle that keeps him afloat: "I will stay far from the raft, or I will sink it like a tidal wave!" Vurna chortles at the sight, while Astrid keeps a keen eye on the waters for any threats. Themolin and Yuleg - the least adventurous of the group - make themselves comfortable as central on the raft as possible.
As you're pushing the raft into the water and taking those first gasps of shocks as the cold hits your legs, Illnore lets out a shocked cry. She'd been standing to the side scanning the sea towards the ship, and a gull swooping across the water had suddenly been snatched out of the air by a large claw. Something lurks within the calm waters of the bay.
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"Pathfinders! Protect the civilians! There's a threat in the water, over there!" Relief that Daffid and the children aren't along for this danger flashes through Illnore's mind as she begins manifesting Chiselnits. He pops into being beside her. "Chiselnits! Protect us from that thing over there!" She points to where she saw it.
"Okay! On it! Uh...what thing?" Chiselnits swims to position himself between Illnore and the threat, whatever it is.
Well, he thinks he's going to swim, anyway. Turns out he's never practiced. And down he goes.
You scan the water. Calm and reasonably clear as it is, the submerged rocks, spines, and coral of the reef are alive with movement; swaying seaweed, darting fishes, scuttling crabs. It makes it difficult to pick out any greater threat.
Keen-eyed Yakuthiel, however, does. A flurry of frightened fish catches his attention, and while it tries to keep into the mottled shadows of the reef he spots the distinctive large pincers and sinuous eel-like tail of a reefclaw.
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"Chiselnits!" Firmly gripping the raft, Illnore cries out as Chiselnits sinks like a rock. Quickly, she casts Evolution Surge on him to give him the ability to swim and breathe underwater. A small part of her mind wonders if that last part is even necessary, since he has no lungs, but now is not the time to ponder that. As he bobs back to the surface, she casts Protect Eidolon on him as well. "Stay within 30 feet of me, buddy, okay?"
With Illnore's magical help, Chiselnits stops flailing and sinking, and finally gets the hang of the rhythm of swimming. Popping back up to the surface beside Illnore, he gives her a sheepish grin. "Okay, but I wanna play in the water when we're done fighting that Bad Thingy, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he churns his vines to propel himself through the water to await the arrival of The Bad Thingy.
Darius levels a furious glare at the distant reefclaw. His burning gaze would melt through the courage of any normal foe, but the reefclaw isn't close enough to get a good look at it.
Dolan takes a long shot at the reefclaw. The bolt splashes harmlessly into the clear waters of the bay. Some startled fish begin to nibble at it.
The reefclaw - realising it has been spotted - whips its eel-like tail and hauls itself across the reef with its pincers, sending its body hurtling forward. A small bow wave churns up in front of it as it moves towards Chiselnits. Seeing a strange intruder in its territory it strikes!
A solid blow. The claw tightens around Chiselnits' viney form as the reefclaw Grabs him.
"I'm hanging, Illnore! This guy's mean!" Chiselnits may be as simple as a child, but he's at least smart enough to know that tripping doesn't work so well in the water. Instead, he lashes out with his thorny vines, trying to poke its eyes out or something.
Yakuthiel is unperturbed by the treacherous waters of the bay: he plunges through them with fierce strength. The reefclaw - one pincer thrashing with Chiselnits viny form - is caught almost unawares. Yakuthiel swings off Chiselnits for leverage, and plunges the bastard sword into the reefclaw's exposed flank.
It sinks hilt-deep. The reefclaw thrashes violently at Yakuthiel with its free claw in its Death Frenzy.
The pincer bites into Yakuthiel, and he fights the feeling of his strength draining from the wound.
The waters of the bay grow still. Fish peer from reef crevices and nooks. Gulls disturbed by the sudden commotion and stillness caw grumpily overhead. The occupants of the raft sit motionless, all eyes peeled for another foe.
"We got it! Yay!" As Chiselnits swims back to the raft, he crows with pride. "I fought in the water, Illnore! It's fun!" It's like he doesn't even remember that he only splashed water in the reefclaw's face; Yakuthiel did all the actual fighting.
He pops below the surface and swims around the group. Bobbing back to the surface, he announces: "I don't see any more of them. Let's go!"
Even with his body wracked by a strange poison, Yakuthiel glides through the water with ease. You reconvene at the raft. Even were the poison to run its course Yakuthiel would be in safe hands here and is in no danger of drowning if it sapped more of his strength.
As you paddle out the bay towards the Rolanna's Prayer, Seddothrum - splashing back and forth with sewer-grime-cleansing-glee - lets out a booming "OUCH!" He rolls over and rubs at some large grazes across his back, before kicking at something beneath the water: "Is good to stay in the middle of the bay: there are sharp bits of rock hiding here."
"Why'd ye think it's called shard cove," Vurna cackles.
You draw up alongside the Rolanna's Prayer. A rope ladder hangs over the side. Seddothrum tests it gingerly, but its cords are thumb-thick and tightly wound, so even he can board with ease.
The deck is empty. A small face peers from the doorway of the aft cabin: a swarthy halfling in bright orange and turquoise clothing, his ears studded with numerous bangles.
"Oooh, visitors! Bedraggled and a little odoursome - the salt spray will cover that soon enough - but all are welcome aboard so long as you're the ones we've been arranged to meet. Our mutual friend has organised passage, am I correct?"
"Stupendous," the halfling exclaims, darting forwards with quick jangling steps. He flits between the group, bowing, shaking hands, and giving Seddothrum's size a double-take. "Welcome to the Rolanna's Prayer one and all. A safe harbour - or it will be once we leave this harbour - for the oppressed and downtrodden. Forgive the mercantile bluster, a cover is only as good as it outwardly shows."
"There is an aft cabin in the hold for you, hammocks for all - though we may have to jury-rig a sail for this one. Our voyage should be easy so long as we leave promptly to avoid the next Emerald Guard patrol galley."
The group turns to thank you. You can see the first signs of relief on their faces as the knowledge that they are free from Xin-Edasseril begins to set in.
Seddothrum booms first: "You have been most generous to me. I only hope that our roads meet again that I might repay your kindness."
Vurna looks a little green as the ship bobs beneath her feet. Yuleg holds her shoulder to keep her steady: "It's a bit of a surprise, y'know, her gallavantin' about the sewers came to good after all."
"I'll be happy not t' see another rat for a while," Vurna says. The halfling captain assures her that Rolanna's Prayer is a rat-free vessel.
"I am t-t-thrilled to be free of that p-place," Themolin says. He glares back at the beach and sewer entrance you just swam from. "T-t-time for a city where a-accountancy is not a cut-throat profession."
Astrid digs her armour and longsword out of the heavy sack she's been carrying, offering it up to the group as payment, along with a pouch of gold coins: "Glad to be rid of them. A well-deserved prize for such an efficient operation." She nods with respect at Yakuthiel, warrior to warrior.