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"I'll take the fire escape. Steel, can you pass through the fire safely?"
"Yeah, and fire tends to make the patients uncomfortable."
"I was wondering who had done that, nice job. Got those installed fast, I'm impressed. Want to wait just a little bit and see who shows up? Looks like more than one person needs us today." "Looks like most of us are just taking off in either direction. I guess it's good that they all recognize our logo." He looks around. "Even so, El Beasto should definitely have arrived by now. I wonder if he'll leap through the hole he left yesterday, or just create a new one?"
Arthur strangely vanishes once again, whilst Blackjack steps into the alley to meet with his allies. "Good think I spoke with Constable Goromov to get those signals installed. I'll head west, who's with me?"
Arthur gets to work tallying up the earnings from the previous night, while his staff cleans up the mess left by the rowdy dwarves. "That was one of our most successful nights ever, even in spite of that spider incident! I do hope they'll be staying town a while." He glances at the newspaper while sipping his morning coffee. Why did they draw me all hunched over like this? And what's with the glowing eye sockets? This looks like a costume for a play. Where's the subtlety? "Hm, looks like those masked madmen are causing trouble again. Still, whatever they did down there seemed to make the spiders stop, so maybe they're good for something."
"I'd hope that whatever inn or hospital we bring her to doesn't have that many spiders."
"We'll have to question her once she's recuperated. See if there's anyone who might have had the means or motive to enchant her. If we find the culprit, we can make them dispel the curse, or whatever it is." Blackjack turns to Sandra. "You've done a great service to all of Sommweir today. We can't thank you enough."
Blackjack sighs and glares at Ice Strike. "Yes, that's very helpful. Are you aware that Sandra will be using her bare hands for this?" He turns to Arachnae. "What he means to say is that Sandra doesn't have the same hand-to-hand combat training that we do. You have even less to fear from her than from us."
"The sewer." Blackjack says bluntly. "Don't wear any clothes you're fond of."
Blackjack gathers information about the most powerful clergy in the city.
"Onetwothree not it." Blackjack murmurs.
"You can even tell us about your spider friends on the way!"
"Call us biased, but we're gonna side with the humans on this one."
"Exactly that. I noticed it when my torch started burning hotter, and decided to use it to our advantage. Though I admit, I underestimated the size of the explosion."
Blackjack has just enough time to look away before the explosion happens, maintaining his status as a cool guy. "Okay, that was a little bigger than I anticipated."
"...Oh, f++& it." Blackjack throws his torch as hard as he can, aiming for the stone box.
"We may want to get the hell out of here."
"Something's making my torch burn brighter. Some kind of fuel source in the air ahead. Be careful with any fire you're carrying."
"I don't like spiders." Blackjack states calmly, as he burns away the swarm around him.
"Yes, and I'm sure it's a boon to the city's criminal underworld. You could set up a hideout down here and go undiscovered for years." Blackjack growls in frustration at the lack of progress. "This is getting annoying. We should be marking our path, at least." He takes out his dagger and starts periodically scratching out a "B" on the walls every 100 feet or so.
Blackjack lights a torch, casting an eerie shadow on the surrounding walls. "I say we try forwards. I think it goes without saying that splitting up down here would be a bad idea."
Upon meeting with the others and learning this information, Blackjack buys several torches and passes them out. "Sounds like we'll be exploring the sewers. Wonderful."
"We should try talking to here, maybe get a heal for her, if she's suffering from some sort of insanity." "I agree, she clearly needs help. But in the meantime, she's dangerous, unpredictable, and has some powerful magic at her disposal. Don't let your guard down until she's been disabled."
Meanwhile, Blackjack slinks off into the shadows and vanishes. A few minutes later, Arthur steps out of the Lucky Rabbit, and seeks out his usual contacts for information about Aranea, queen of spiders.
Blackjack climbs back down to ground level. "I'll ask around town about her. Maybe someone has seen something."
"Right...but tracking down Aranea could still get us clues about what El Terrible is up to. So I say we focus on that."
"No, this Aranea is clearly just a puppet figure, and El Terrible holds the strings in his oversized fingers."
"Wouldn't bet on it." He tosses it down to Psykoblade for real this time. "I think it just may be a tad magical."
"Yes. All these powereds are definitely here by coincidence, not through any of my cunning machinations." Blackjack tosses the card down to Psychoblade. "Catch!"
"What's this, a calling card? How trite..." Blackjack examines the card.
"Any of you magic-users know what this is?"
"My thoughts exactly." Blackjack ties a rope to his grappling hook and throws it onto the nearest rooftop ledge.
Then he begins climbing.
Blackjack burns one of the spiders that just dropped.
Blackjack cuts one of the guards free. "Give me your torch."
"Hey, anyone have fire? Use it!" Blackjack retreats from the fight to cut someone free.
"ALSO I THINK YOU ALL ARE CHATTING TOO MUCH. THE INNOCENT ARE IN DANGER!" "Yeah, some of us get really caught up in theatrics sometimes."
"Seems like it was so long ago. Good to see you haven't lost your touch."
Blackjack attempts to cartwheel around the nearest spider and stabs it from behind.
"Guys, can the introductions wait?" Blackjack keeps trying to de-web himself.
Blackjack snarls and tries to slip out of his bonds.
Then he snarls some more because he failed to do so.
Blackjack stabs a spider, flanking with someone if possible.
"Are you saying El Terrible went to the trouble of summoning several monsters into the city, or convincing a local spellcaster to do so...all for a distraction?" Blackjack rubs his chin. "I had no idea the world of professional wrestling had so much intrigue. I may just come to your match to see how it all pays off."
"I waited a little while because it would've been suspicious if we all left at the exact same time. The name of the game is subtlety, and I-" He is interrupted by El Beasto crashing through the wall. He glares at the wrestler. "...See, that's exactly what not to do. And it's coming out of your paycheck."
"Monsters...and here I was hoping it would be a good day for business." Arthur stands and stretches. "I've got some paperwork to fill out. Jack, take over for a while. If the dwarves leave to fight, make sure they pay their tab first." He slinks off to his office and presses a button underneath his desk, opening a panel in the floor that reveals a hidden staircase. He descends the stairs to a small underground room, containing an array of magical equipment and a large black cloak with a skull mask. Within minutes, Arthur has transformed himself into the mysterious vigilante known as Blackjack. Opening another secret panel, he leaves his safehouse through an underground tunnel, emerging in the alleyway behind the Lucky Rabbit.
"Then why do you keep coming here?" Arthur looks baffled. "Are Jack's drinks really that good?"
Arthur goes to greet the newcomers. "Just food and drinks? Are you sure you don't want to try your luck? These fine dwarves are making quite a killing tonight!"
Arthur nods and smiles. "My pleasure, Mr. Gardnt. This was much more convenient than getting my own cookware. Besides..." he nods toward the dwarves. "...I'll be taking in plenty of cash today." He notices James making his way to the card table, and calls out to him. "Hey, James, could you take these to the kitchen? That is, if you're able to take a moment out of your busy schedule."
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