Ma'elo tries his hand at picking the lock.
He makes good progress.
Ka'elen sighs and tries again.
A board pops off the window, allowing access inside.
You find that the flat is spartanly furnished inside. A thin coat of dust covers everything.
No one is here. Indeed, no one appears to have been here for some time. There is little of note to be seen within the flat except for some haphazard graffiti scrawled along the southern wall.
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"I mean..." Beezhul hesitates only a moment "...it's not like he's going to be living here much longer..." scratches her head "...unless he has changed his mind?..." she startles from the thought that comes next "Oh! What if he has told the Emerald Guard about us!?" and "And doesn't our entire Shard Cove plan hinge upon his knowledge of the caves!?"
She paces back and forth, and looks left and right, then covers her guilty mouth in conspiracy: Anyone could be watching them right now!...
Spurtz studies the graffiti. "I see Filch's name... Maybe there's a secret message."
Spurtz is unable to decipher any meaning from the graffiti.
His eyes are drawn to the graffiti. "There might be message here."
The ancient elf deciphers the message and concludes that Flitch is hiding out in the sewers.
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Finding a well-oiled grate leading down into the twisting sewer system, the party heads underground. Here, tunnels head off in numerous directions seemingly for miles. Passages twist and turn, some lead to dead ends. Others are dislocated or collapsed.
Graffiti covers the walls at every intersection of the labyrinth.
The features are disorienting and the smells overpowering, making it difficult for Beezhul to follow any signs of the missing Flitch.
The party wonders for two hours. During that time, Ma'elo does spit Flitch's name among some of the graffiti.
Spurtz uncovers a low-grade silver shield and 25 silver pieces in loose coins within the sewers.
A tracker for the party's time spent is not available on Slides.
Ma'elo and Spurtz scan the graffiti. Each discerns that there is a secret message about Flitch, which confirms that the man has gone into hiding within the sewers.
Perhaps urged on by the message, Ma'elo begins trying to track through the sewers. His efforts leads him through the twists and turns of the sewers until he discovers a campsite.
Sitting at the campsite is a young man with a wholesome face, accented by dark hair. A single curl dangles over his forehead, which he brushes aside as he spies the party. "Whoah!" exclaims the young man in surprise, before asking cautiously. "Just who are you?"
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Probably Flitch, looking at the campsight - and probably not where the Emerald Guard would be stationed to spend a night or two "Beezhul" still looking left and then right after answering his question, just in case.
"We are the Rescue Crew, and you are Way Out. I'm told you know your way around Shard Cove. The others think it is dangerous..." her thoughts drift to Seddothrum a moment - she asks "How, um, big are the tunnels?" she raises her hand as high as she can, then stretches both arms as wide as she can, trying to get a gauge on the dimensions of possibly fitting a large (or larger!?) creature through them.
"Are you Flitch?" Spurtz says, getting right to the point.
The young man eyes the party suspiciously. He pauses for a moment and thinks hard on a response. "Maybe?"
"We are the Rescue Crew, and you are Way Out. I'm told you know your way around Shard Cove. The others think it is dangerous..." her thoughts drift to Seddothrum a moment - she asks "How, um, big are the tunnels?" she raises her hand as high as she can, then stretches both arms as wide as she can, trying to get a gauge on the dimensions of possibly fitting a large (or larger!?) creature through them.
"Oh, these tunnels are quite extensive." He answers quickly, then catches himself. He tries now to choose his words cautiously. "Wait a minute. What do you mean by 'Rescue Crew'? And who told you anything about Shard Cove because I sure didn't."
"I am just a guy camping out here in the sewers. That's all you need to know about me." He adds.
"Maybe you should all just move along." He suggests, trying to get the party to move along.
Ma'elo sighs, "Your uncle has been asking about slippers."
"Slippers?" repeats the youth quizzically. The young man slips deeper into what seems to resemble thought.
"There there, the code word. I thought you wanted to flee the city - plus, we need you back. Can we just crack on now?"
"Oh, right! The code word!" The youth cries out, giving a deep, knowing nod along with a wink. "So, you're here to finish the job for Uncle Guaril? Yes! I knew he wouldn't leave me to hang here in Xin-Edasseril. I'm too valuable, you know?"
He pauses for a moment, again lost in thought.
"Or maybe you don't know." he wonders aloud. He then flashes you a smile and bows before holding out a hand in introduction. "I'm Flitch. Flitch Napovic."
"The plan's still on then? Good to know." he continues as he begins to forage through a pack of meager belongings, "When things got too hot in the city and Uncle Guaril left, I figured that the ship to Shard Cove wouldn't be coming. So, I've been busy trying to think of any other way out of this awful place. Got stuff for disguises and a set of forged papers"
As he speaks, Flitch produces a disguise kit and a small flask, which he sets down neatly.
He next produces a repair kit, which he quickly tosses aside. "Guess, I won't be needing that now." he mutters to himself as he dives back into the pack. After a few more moments, he produces a set of rolled up papers, which he holds out and offers to the party.
"Here. Forged travel papers." He explains. "Made them myself. Fine work, don't you think?"
The papers look fine to Ma'elo and Ka'elen. Spurtz, however, believes the forgeries to be of poor quality and notes a number of flaws. However, the kobold believes that Flitch’s forgeries are similar enough to the actual documents to produce a suitable forgery.
"Flitch, can you describe this passageway to Shard Cove? We do have others we will need to take to the ship.
"Of course I can!" Flitch replies. "I could even take you there tonight, if you'd like. You may not know this, but this city has a curfew for visitors. The last bell is likely to ring soon, so you probably don't want to leave the sewers before first bell anyways."
Ma'elo nods, "Can we get to the Cove from the sewers?"
"There is no other way to the Cove other than the sewers." Flitch replies. "Unless you want plan to scale city walls, before descending down a cliff. But, that way is far more likely to draw attention."
"The trek through the tunnels to the Cove takes about two hours from here." Flitch explains. "Of course, if we go tonight, there won't be much to see since the sun will have gone down by the time we get there. The shards in the water are hard enough to see in broad daylight. Depending on the tide, you might be able to spot some from the shore."
"You're a pretty good forger, lad.." Spurtz says, sharing what he knows with the others.
"Uncle Guaril keeps telling me that I'm 'something else'!" Flitch replies. "I'm sure he means that my forging skills are in a league all of their own!"
”Sharks in the water?” Beezhul gasps ”Or did you say Shards?”
"Shards," Flitch repeats, stressing the final, hard consonant. "A shard is a jagged crystal. These shards lie just beneath the waves of the cove. I don't know about any sharks or anything else that might live in the water, but I can tell you that I wouldn't want go swimming in the cove unless my life depended on it.”
"The path to the cove is going to look the same regardless of day or night. So, familiarizing ourselves would be a good use of our time. Plus, I've seen some spellcasters utilize magic light, so maybe one of ours has the ability to do that."
"Oh, I am familiar with the path alright." Flitch says. "Follow me!"
At the request of the paryt, Flitch leads the party through a nearby tunnel, which converges with a main tunnel. He then leads you down one of offshoots, which itself branches into a number of tunnels. As you travel, you spot clear signs that the sewers are home to various forms of vermin, including a number of rats of unusual size. However, the other life forms that you encounter in the tunnels usually skitter into holes, under water, or into other tunnels as you approach, avoiding contact with a group of so many, relatively larger creatures.
En route, Flitch tries to make conversation. He speaks loudly, clearly not concerned about alerting any of the authorities while down in the sewers.
"One of the elves said that some of you could cast spells? Amazing!" Flitch says eagerly. "Which one of you? What can you do?"
As he listens for any response, the Sczarni lad takes you down one of the smaller branches of the tunnel until you reach a fissure that leads into a natural tunnel carved out of the rock through erosion. Most of the sewer tunnels are 10 feet tall and five feet wide.
The kobold has no difficulty making his way through it, but the others each have to duck their heads and stick close to the wall.
Eventually, the natural tunnel system gives way to a sea cave that opens out onto a sparse beach spilling into the sea cove. As Flitch had predicted, the trip from his lair has taken nearly two hours and the time is now well after nightfall.
A full moon shines down on the calm, pure water of the cove. The tide is low. Occasionally, a momentary glimmer or glistening of reflected light can be seen near and around the water line.
"Behold! Shard Cove.” Flitch declares.
The water at low tide is approximately 25-40 feet deep. No ships can be seen on the horizon.
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"Flitch - what about the ROUS's?" Beezhul wonders, the only creature she can visually make out as they travel. She tries to observe the water from the shore, trying to see the sharDs, but too, knowing full well that she's not the most observant of pathfinders (even if she is rather tough!)
Not wanting to venture into the water, our kholo hero votes they "Head back to camp?"
The moonlight continues to flicker off the waves of the cove, but its light fails to force the waters to give up any secrets.
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Back at camp. Amid the company of her trusted 'finders.
"Daffrid"
"Flitch"
"Seddothrum... apparently..."
She 'checks' off their names in the sand with a stick.
"How about we visit..." "...The Rockfish Inn next?"
Either way, she rubs the markings away after the decision is made. Don't need to be leaving your secret plans around, after all. Who knows when the Emerald Guard will wander by!
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Sitting at camp with Beezhul going over the list, Ka'elen once again proposes splitting up slightly
"As I mentioned before, there are 6 of us. We're running out of time here and we're also a suspiciously large group, should some number of us head to the Rockfish inn and the others go fetch Daffrid and Seddothrum?"
Ka'elen stops to think for a minute. "Actually, do we think Seddothrum will actually fit through this passage... probably not. We will need to come up with another solution there."
After a trip to the cove and back, the party has time to bed down for the night in the sewers. By morning, some of you may have almost become accustomed to the smell.
With the ringing of first bell, the party exists the sewers and heads toward the location of the Rockfish Inn.
After about two hours of making sure you are not spotted leaving the sewers and masking scents, you find yourselves in front of a sturdy, stone building with a meticulously thatched roof. It is marked by a hand-carved, wooden sign with silver inlays that declare the building to be The Rockfish Inn.
All of the windows of the inn are shuttered and there is a sign upon the door.
It states: "Closed Due to Illness".
A series of heavy footfalls coming the interior of the building towards the door. It soon opens and reveals a red-bearded dwarf wearing spectacles.
"I'm very sorry, very sorry. But, The Rockfish Inn is closed at present. My daughter, Vurna, is quite ill." says the dwarf as he shakes his head in apology. "As much as I would like to tend to guests, I'm afraid her sickness demands my time and, while I do not think her contagious, the last thing I would want is to risk any of my fine patrons getting sick. Thank you for your interest and do come again."
He raises a meaty hand in a pleasant wave as a sendoff and then prepares to close the door.
Next to the inn is a stable.
You find it contains an unhitched, light wagon and a pair of mules munching on some hay.