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"Thank you very much!" Isabel says, pulling out all the stops on the manners since it seems to have worked so well. "I really appreciate your help. If you like you could try this for the cough, my mother swears by it."
She pulls out a twist of paper. "Chamomile. Make a tear of it and it should really help your throat." She finishes, offering the paper to Fenster.
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Once they're done with the old man Isabel looks around. "So where exactly is the Seacleft from here?" She asks, looking at Wesley who seems to know his way around.
Fallende barely conceals her sneer at Fester's appearance as well as his choice of abode. It seems that everything that she's heard about the 'Great Human City of Magnimar' is entirely accurate.
Wesley leads the way to the old boarding house Natalya is supposedly holed up in. Natalya’s new hideout has seen better days. Its clapboard sides are dark with mildew and marred by scorch marks. In places fire has gutted portions of the roof’s moss-covered tile shingles, but the building appears to be structurally intact. The building stands near the stark wall of the Seacleft, and scree from several decades of minor rockfalls has piled up along its southern face. All of the windows are boarded over.
A small shack leans against the side of the building, probably a storage shed of some sort.
With one hand still on her weapon, the elf approaches the shed and bangs a fist on the door.
"Natalya Vancaskerkin, come forth! Ne nous faites pas attendre!"
Before Fallende can reach the door, two Varisian men emerge from the shack and move to block her progress. "Oi! You lot best turn around and get lost, if you know what's good for you!" They brandish their morningstars.
Finally seeing a challenge that's almost worthy of her, Fallende grins and reaches over her shoulder to draw her curved sword and presents the point towards the two thugs.
"Oh, I quite know what's good for me," she says with a grin. "The question remains as to whether you are as equally knowledgeable. Tenez bon ou mourez."
The thugs look pointedly at the tip of Fallende's sword. They wisely step away and back down. "Right. Yeah, she ain't payin' us enough to get cut up!" Both men quickly scurry off.
There is no response to Fallende's insistent knocing, so you open the door to the main building. The entire floor of this chamber has collapsed into a pool of water five feet below. The earthen walls of this flooded subcellar ooze with foul rivulets, and the smell is abominable. Two oozing sewer pipes protrude through the east wall of this pit just above the level of the sewage. Part of the ceiling above the entrance has collapsed, revealing an attic crawlspace above; a rickety ladder leads up from the water into the crawlspace. A door stands in the far wall across the sludge pit. A wooden plank balanced between both doors makes a precarious bridge between the two doors.
Unfortunately, Isabel is not as quiet as she would like to be. The creaking and clanking of her armor and the ladder draws the attention of a trio of goblins who emerge from the sewer pipes! The filthy creatures grab handfuls of sewage that they prepare to hurl at you!
Fallende readies her sword and moves nimbly across the plank to strike at one of the goblins.
"Goblins" Charlotte says in a flat cold voice. She might have a slight history. The young doctor's hand explodes in fire, which is flung with great dislike toward the nearest goblin.
An act Charlotte immediately regrets as the smell of brimstone swirls under her nose accompanied both soft whimpers of the tortured softly in her ears. Those and fire. Always fire, every where she looks.
Charlotte badly burns one of the goblins, while Fallende misses with her attack. As the wounded goblin shrieks and scurries back down the sewer tunnel and out of sight, the other two hurl pouches full of night soil and broken glass at Fallende. She misses with her attack of opportunity.
One of the pouches strikes true, splattering filth all over the elf and slicing her with the broken glass. The goblins then draw their blades and attack!
Meanwhile, Isabel pokes her head into the attic crawlspace. Rafter beams extend across the area to the opposite side. After a few feet, she can se the ceiling of the room below has collapsed, revealing a drop into the filth below. Charred rafters extend to the western wall, providing a means of crossing the space to the north.
Wesley creates an arc of lightning between the two remaining goblins. One goes down, while the other evades the blast!
Charlotte moves behind the wounded elf, flinging another ball of fire at the remaining goblin. The flame this time is smaller.
Charlotte takes down the last goblin!
Fallende sheaths her sword and pulls a cloth from the bag on her hip. She vomits more than once as she attempts to clean the foulness from her arms and chest.
"De vils morceaux de merde," she mutters to herself once she's regained control of her stomach and is slightly more presentable.
Still taking deep breaths, she gestures up the ladder after Isabel.
You follow Isabel's lead in navigating the precarious rafters. Crossing up above, you bypass the open cesspool below.
As you are navigating the beams, however, a buzzing noise alerts you to a group of four stirges detach from their roosts and move to attack!
Before... As Fallenfe starts to clean herself Charlotte offers to help. "minor magic, but useful.". She says, casting prestidigitation, and once clean she looks at the cut, getting out her doctor's kit "dirt in wounds cause more deaths than the wounds itself. I have magically healing as well but we might need it later".
Finally once she can see the on coming enemies she produces another flame and fires it at the closest.
The elf's eyes narrow in suspicion at first, but as the woman tends to her wounds, Fallende's features soften. "Merci," she offers, testing the movement with the bandage. "You are not without some skill, it seems."
Charlotte's flame goes wide as the stirges fly toward you. Each chooses one of you to attach themselves to, shoving their proboscises into your bodies to drain your blood!
Fallende punches at the one that's attached itself to her and then follows up with a punch on the one attacking Charlotte.
Charlotte tries to smack the bug off of her with a flaming hand, but fails to do so.
Fallende's fist and then Bel's sword makes the poor doctor nearly wet herself. "Eeee!" the semi stoic woman regresses to a squeaking scream, but the hacked apart bug makes her settle slightly "Thank you, Bel, and for the attempt Fallende.
Fallende kills the stirge attached to her body, while Isabel slays the one stuck to Charlotte. Wesley curses as he zaps the remaining pair, but they are still alive. They continue to drain Isabel and Wesley.
Fallende draws a dagger and steps closer to Isabel. "Ne bougez pas," she says as she stabs at the blood-sucking vermin.
Charlote attempts to return the favor that her friend gave her (killing bugs sucking the very life out of you). Gingerly, she places her finger against her thumb, tensed, then Thumped the creature, with her digit ablaze.
The remaining stirges fall, releasing their grasp on Isabel and Wesley. Wesley groans and wobbles a bit unsteadily, crouching to avoid falling from the rafters. "Ugh, that was horrible. We should probably take a few minutes before we continue."
"Please make sure the insects have been terminated, then step closer." her clinical voice requests, her tone somewhere between polite and commanding. A doctor with a good bedside manner. Once all is in order, she chants a melodious prayer to Sarenrae and slow glow removes their wounds.
Charlotte's magic heals all of the group's injuries and reverses the effects of the blood drain. Healthy and hale once more, you continue along the rafters toward the back of the building.
Like elsewhere, the ceiling has collapsed into the room below, but most of the rafters have gone with it in this area, leaving large gaps of empty space over the drop. A large fireplace in the room below climbs the wall as a wide chimney into here. The crumbling, charred brick of the chimney has been chipped away to create a large hollow within, with a tangle of discarded planks and other rubbish now serving as a floor.
Natalya Vancaskerkin is here, crouched upon the makeshift platform. Two goblins with bows drawn stand guard in front of her. There is a look of supreme arrogance in Natalya's eyes as she sneers at you. "How dare you intrude upon my domain? You will pay for your insolence! Open fire, my honor guard!" she calls out. The goblins raise their bows!
"But you look like a strapping warrior," Natalya says to Fallende. "Join me, and I promise to make it worth your while!" Her words are laced with a charm spell.
The goblins shoot at Isabel, but her armor keeps her safe!
Fallende, who was reaching for her mace and shield, pauses.
"We should listen to her," she says to the others. "There's not reason for conflict."
"Are you insane?" Charlotte exclaims as the elf considers the woman's suggestion. The distraction causes her fire ball slams ineffectively into the water.
Wanting to be closer to her friend, then the crazy elf, she jumps down behind her.
Charlotte's fire goes wide, splattering harmlessly against the far wall. Wesley's electric arc completely fries one goblin and injures the other enough that Isabel is able to dispatch it with a solid strike of her morningstar!
"I don't know what's gotten into you, cousin," Wesley says. "Surrender now and we won't be forced to hurt you!"
"Surrender now? In my moment of triumph? I think you overestimate your chances!" Natalya calls. She dashes in to attack Isabel, raising a shield of force with a quick spell.
Wesley sighs. "She's family, but my family's always been pretty s**%. Do what you have to do." He extends the reach of his magic to enhance Isabel's weapon.
"She's delusional if she thinks squatting in a dank hole with a bunch of Goblins is a 'moment of triumph'"
As her friend sets between her and the mad woman, she assured Wesley "I can heal her once we have her contained." said as she flings some fire at her.
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Fallende continues to watch the melee, torn between her agreement to support her companions in their mission and the odd feelings of friendship she now holds towards this human, Natalya.
"Someone is going to get hurt if you keep this up!" she calls out to everyone.
Wesley regrettably blasts his cousin with magic missiles. Isabel lands a good hit, leaving Natalya badly hurt.
"I'll never surrender!" Natalya shrieks, eyes wide. She stabs Isabel again, but the aasimar is able to deflect what might have been the finishing blow!
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Nearly felled Isabel doesn't pull any punches and clobbers the woman on the head.
"Lottie, keep her alive." She says sharply, clutching at the puncture wound in her leg. "Could someone disarm her and check her pockets please?" The unimpressed look she shoots at Fallende makes it clear who she's talking to.
With Natalya unconscious, the charm spell ends on Fallende, returning her to her senses. Natalya has a tattered burlap sack containing 8 gp, a brass comb worth 2 sp, assorted buttons made from semiprecious stones worth 3 gp total, and a faded printed handbill declaring its possessor to be rightful owner of the Grand Mastaba of Korvosa (an obvious fake sold as a novelty at carnivals).
Of much more interest, however, is the jagged shard of coppery metal Natalya has on her person. Wesley can confirm that is radiates strong magic, and a close inspection reveals that it is made of not copper but a rare skymetal called horacalcum. This must be the Thassilonian artifact Sheila Heidmarch is interested in.
The elf stows her weapons and steps forward to search the unconscious woman with a frown. She can't help but be confused by her own behavior.
She holds up the coppery artifact. "I believe that this is what we're looking for," she says.
Charlotte knees down quickly to stablize her with a spell, then pulls out a length of rope from her pack. Looping it around the unconscious woman's wrists behind her back and knotting it tightly while the others loot her body.
She doesn't say anything to the elf that decided to be diplomatic while arrows were flying. It had only been a short time together but she thought the elf looked more like a warrior than a politician...
"It's not your fault. You were charmed," Wesley says to Fallende. His eyes light up when he sees the coppery shard in the elf's hands. "Now that is a prize worth fighting for." He seems to be resisting the urge to try to take the shard for himself.
He turns to Natalya. "Should we rouse her and question her, or just bring her with us back to the Lodge?"
"A charm spell?" Charlotte seeks clarification but reevaluates her opinion about the elf based on Wesley's observation. "If she can cast spells we should wait to bring her awake until we have her safely in custody. Even with her hands bound, it is best to minimize risk, unless there is a benefit in doing so." textbook doctor answer.
"Fasciner?!" Fallende questions, her eyes widening. Rage twists her elegant face. Drawing her dagger, she grabs a handful of the bound woman's hair and yanks her head back, baring her throat. The blade presses against the pale skin for just a moment before the elf slams it back into its sheath and throws the incoherent woman back to the ground.
Rising to her feet, she stomps away spitting elvish under her breath.