Divo was stiff as one of the children hugged him, uncomfortable with the affection from a child who wasn't one of his sisters. He awkwardly laid a gloved hand on the kid's back and gave them a soft pat. "There there..." he managed with noticeable effort, "We still have unfinished business children. Go meet your fellows outside. We will meet you after."
Amadine kneels to hug her nephew as tightly as she dares, given her armor. Baji climbs out of her pocket and up Daval's sleeve, sitting on the boy's shoulder to groom his hair.
She manages a watery chuckle, wiping her eyes with a corner of her scarf.
Daval simply hugs his auntie tighter and replies in the same language.
"There there..." he managed with noticeable effort, "We still have unfinished business children. Go meet your fellows outside. We will meet you after."
Oh, right. They still have to catch the ringleader. Amadine gives her nephew one more hug and then stands up, switching to Taldane. "Divo is right, sweetheart. We still need to catch Lamm and make him pay for hurting you. Stay with the other children, all right? For the spirits' sake, please don't wander off again. I don't think my heart can take it."
Daval lets her go reluctantly. As much as he doesn't want to let his auntie out of his sight, he wants to know that Lamm won't come back for him even more. "I'll be good, promise."
Trebelle seems a bit confused at first, but seeing the others, he mimics their actions as she hugs the children too. Not saying much as this was a very new concept to her
Romli starts to go down the stairs to find Gaedren.
Divo was momentarily surprised Amadine had remembered his name. Nobles expected people to remember their names, but given how horrible the man was at it he never really expected that himself. He also wasn't a noble anymore.
Seeing Romli exit he followed suit. When they got back to the ground floor he paused. "Mind if I go first?" he asked the dawrf, "Romli... right?"
"That's right. And if you want to go first, Divo, that's fine with me", the dwarf answers.
Divo holds a breath, then exhales and steps forward. "Alright." he says firmly. He waits for everyone to fall in behind him and takes a moment himself. He closes his eyes and feels for his innate magical ability. This may have been all he could do with it, but it was enough. He let that power slip into his warhammer. Then, he kicks the door open with all his strength.
Remaining mindful they have left the building exit unattended, Prax gets through any needed hugging as quickly as possible.
"We need to keep moving. The stairs down aren't covered."
She tries to get everyone hustling out so they can finish the job they (or at least she) came to do.
Prax does take a few moments to frisk the dead half-orc for valuables though.
A fifteen-foot wide loading dock abuts the side of the building here. A few carts sit nearby, partially loaded with large, tar-caked barrels marked with a fish-shaped splotch of red paint on the side. Double doors to the immediate south of the loading dock's ramp provide access to the building's interior, while a rickety flight of stairs descends ten feet to a point just three feet over the river's surface, where a simple door provides a secondary entrance.
There doesn't seem to be any other doors this way; a dead end.
As the kids are heading outside, one of them tugs at Divo's shirt and says, "That's not the way! Gaedren is under, but you gotta go to the ship. But...nobody likes going to the ship."
Divo kneels, his shield coming to rest on the floor as he addresses the child from their height. "Which way is it little one?" he asks quietly.
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 3; 1d6 + 2
Divo kneels, his shield coming to rest on the floor as he addresses the child from their height. "Which way is it little one?" he asks quietly.
[dice=Persuasion (If needed.)]1d20 + 9
Romli calls out: "There's something in the water! And it isn't just a small fish, so be careful!"
"Wondering if water and zap the bad thing?" she sparks a bit at the thought
Divo kneels, his shield coming to rest on the floor as he addresses the child from their height. "Which way is it little one?" he asks quietly.
[dice=Persuasion (If needed.)]1d20 + 9
The kid goes back upstairs, pointing to another set of stairs going up. "The bridge there takes you to the boat."
The second Romli mentions something in the water, the other kids bolt out of the house. One yells, "Jigsaw! Jigsaw!"
Romli shares what he knows about the thing in the water.
"Ah, a jigsaw shark. This one doesn’t look very hungry, though, so no need to fight it..."
"Well, that's a relief." Amadine follows Romli and Divo toward the stairs indicated by the child.