Mehji stumbles up to the door Aja and Cassius were trying to hold shut.
"Well, I guess we need to keep moving this way, but first I would appreciate it if somebody could do something about the hole in my shoulder."
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Seeing Guen step back, Mehji takes advantage of the opening to send more ice streaking towards the kobold.
Hearing the door open, Mehji turns. She points at the kobold attacking Isabeau, mutters some words, and freezing air and ice emerges from her fingernail, streaking towards the kobold.
Did the kobold make its save vs. Mehji's shadow trap?
Mehji looks down at the missile impaling her shoulder. You know, I kind of felt like I needed to be up front to be a guide, and Cassius looked like he might need help with the door, but maybe I'm not cut out for being this close. On the other hand, at least my magic will reach this time, I think. Mehji mutters some words and points at the shadow the kobold is casting. Tendrils emerge from it and begin trying to wrap themselves around the kobold's legs.
Without waiting to figure out if her spell takes effect, Mehji tries to hide behind Aja.
Mehji moves alongside to help Cassius.
"Looks like they held prisoners here. There's two glowing stones, possibly magical-- anyone capable of checking for such?" "Sure thing. I probably won't be able to tell you much, if anything, about the magic, but I can definitely tell you whether they're magical." Mehji's green eyes begin to glow as she mutters some words and waves her hands.
Why are we-- ah. Nasty little mechanism," he murmurs. "Do you have it, or shall I?" Mehji waves in the direction of the trap. "Go for it. I'll see what I can do to help, but you're probably better at this than me."
"I wouldn't suggest we dash pell mell after them-- too easy for them to lead us over the traps they know about, and too easy for us all to get separated." Mehji nods. "Agreed." Gather ‘round all of you.” At the offer of healing, Mehji returns the vial she had drawn to her belt. "Thanks, that'll do."Toward the stairs?" Mehji nods again when Robert suggests a direction. "That's as good as any, I suppose. I'll scout it out, but I would appreciate you all staying close enough to help if I run into something else unfriendly.". She moves in the chosen direction stealthily, trying to stay alert for any dangers.
Mehji looks down at the crossbow bolt jutting from her stomach. Ouch. Discretion is definitely the better part of valor at this point. She turns and runs to hide behind Alixus and Isabeau, pulling a small vial off her belt as she does so.
Sorry. I'm not the best of... company. Jhondar winces. "No, it's not you at all. I've been gone from the Plains for a long time, and I was hoping for a reminder of home. That, however," he says pointing at the stage, "is not authentic Ghallanda music, just in case you have never encountered the genuine article." ”No need! Helping you is obviously a priority and time is of the essence! Every moment we wait is time the thief may use to escape! Sustenance can wait if justice is to prevail!” "I agree that helping is a priority, but sustenance cannot wait. After all, we're clearly going to expend some energy in this endeavor." Jhondar stands, drains his coffee, and then grabs his plate and silverware and heads for the door. I'm certain all will be sorted in smart fashion. "Indeed. Let's go."
Mehji moves to follow Robert, but her short legs will not carry her as far. As she moves, she waves her hand and mutters some words. All of a sudden, the sound of four people sloshing seems to come from the sewer water beneath the space separating Mehji from the group of kobolds.
Mehji reels from the blow. As a grimace crosses her face, a black dart emerges from her hand and streaks out towards the kobold.
Curiosity strikes Mehji when Rsolk tells them where his storage room is, but she knows better than to try to go after it now. Instead, she motions to the two doors he offers as options. "I would suggest that we examine both doors before we commit to one. When we decide on one, though, I will be happy to lead the way."
"Passage negotiated, cost yet to be paid. We have to keep going from a door inside though, so come on. We've been warned there's many traps ahead." Mehji emerges from the shadows, still disguised as a different human kid than the persona she has used with the Dead Rats before, and falls in next to Cassius. "Thanks for coming to get me and the update."
Mehji flushes. "Fair. Sorry, this whole working with a group thing is kind of new for me. It didn't seem relevant until the plan was to actually talk to them. To be clear, however, the trouble later would just be trouble for me with getting repeat business, not anything that would affect the rest of you. Big sister it is."
As the group approaches the Rats' lair, Mehji says: "I've dealt with the Rats in passing before, but always in the guise of a human kid who'd been hired as a courier to conceal her bosses' identity. If I show up here and now as myself and negotiating in my own right, it could cause problems later. I'm going to try to hide in the shadows and keep a lookout. Does one of you bigger folks want to volunteer to be the 'parent' I run to if I get spotted?"
"Negotiating, in good faith, with the Dead Rats is the best way, then? Assuming we have something they want." "We definitely have something, or rather could get something, that they want—the heads of the Gnashing Fangs. If we agree to take out the Gnashing Fangs, or at least scare them into getting out of the Rats' hair, the Rats will let us by. I'm just saying that, if we make that deal, we had better be willing to follow through and, for that matter, confident in our ability to do so. If we try and fail, we may well have made enemies of both sides. The germane question is: what are we willing to do to make it to the Gnashing Fangs? "Do either of you already have a working relationship with the Dead Rats? We may indeed need to ally ourselves with one group or another. Though I do think actual membership should be avoided if possible." "I don't think membership is on the table. I doubt they would offer, and I wouldn't recommend accepting, even if they did. That doesn't mean that we might not have common interests or that we cannot engage in a simple exchange of services, i.e., safe passage through their territory in exchange for us getting rid of the Fangs. If, that is, we think we are able and willing to get rid of the Fangs." Cassius assesses the others thoughtfully. "Of course, some of us may be easier to spot than others-- and we're a good-sized group. And it only takes one scuffed foot to alert watchers." "There's a lot of truth to that, Cassius. All in all, I think negotiation is our best path forward, but I want everybody to know ahead of time that it's liable to get messy."
"And Mehji-- what do you estimate our time to reach the brewery if there are no interruptions?" "Should be 10 minutes or so." "We must gain access to the leader of the Gnashing Fangs, through either subterfuge or force. Preferably, in that order. He has information we need so his cooperation would make things simpler." She related in hushed tones. Turning to the dark halfling, she asked, "Mehji, can you tell us something more of the gangs we are likely to encounter, and under what circumstances are they likely to let us pass?" "Force may be necessary. We have to go through the Dead Rats' territory to get to the Gnashing Fangs. The Fangs split off from the Rats a while back, and now the two of them are in a turf war. Most of the other gangs are sitting it out to see who comes out on top, but they're liable to insist on us resolving our situation with the Fangs violently, or at least to convince them to move, before they'll let us through. And, if we've got to fight, I think fighting the Fangs is probably preferable to fighting the Rats. The Rats are bigger. Subterfuge would probably requiring us sneaking past the Rats too. I don't really recommend making an agreement with the Rats and then stiffing them; that's a good way to wind up swimming with the crocodile, if you catch my drift."
Mehji looks around at her companions, sizing up their reaction to the admittedly eccentric old woman.
Mehji smiles, deciding that a turnabout is fair play. If this lady wants to play games, Mehji can play games. "Ooh! She knows the password! New friend! Hi, new friend, I'm Mehji...Mehji Thicktoes. I'm this many, Mehji says in a higher-pitched voice than normal and holding up two fingers. Turning to the address the group as a whole, Mehji takes off into the shadows. "Let's go!," she exclaims.
Sense Motive: Mehji is an adult halfling, not a human toddler.
he man smiles, ”This brief conversation has already given me a story I can spin into something to get the well-to-do in an absolute tizzy. I say, we should keep this one around.” "Lovely to meet you too. I would advise care in how you craft your story. I have no problem with the upper crust getting in a tizzy. If the tizzy makes them take actions that wind up being bad for business, however, you will have made yourself a target. And, just to be clear, I don't mean a target for just me." ”Down here?” the blind woman queries, seeming puzzled. Dank water drips from the ceiling, splashing on her shoulder. She ‘looks’ up… well, angles her face in that direction. ”Seems we might be due for a spot of rain tonight.” Mehji snorts, but keeps her mouth shut until she shes how the others respond.
Mehji twirls her hair a bit and returns the bow. "Well, the gangs are everywhere since the eruption. I am on good terms with some of them, but not so much with some of the others. Monsters and creatures are everywhere too. And, of course, there's overlap between the two. Recently, I've been running into some wererat gangs, and one of the gangs I've done some work for uses the albino crocodile as a 'disposal system,' if you take my meaning. In any event, we'll need to keep our eyes peeled and our ears to the ground. Fortunately, the latter is easy for some of us," she says winking at Cassius.
"Indeed. A mutual acquaintance informed me you might be looking for a guide. I am Mehji...Mehji Thicktoes," says the halfling, waving to each of the group members as they sit down.
The halfling woman looks from her purple disk. Seeing a group approaching, she brushes her long, black hair behind her ears. She pushes up on the table so that she can sit on the back of the human-sized chair, and you can see that she is wearing a dark purple dress with an embroidered raven on the front. "The shadows guide your path," she says, her green eyes glistening with humor.
Glad to be on board. @Aja: I do love it both thematically and mechanically, given that it is one of the only first level spells that will trigger my bloodline arcana. That said, I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with us having some overlap. |