Oblivious to the crowd and the plight of his new friends, Leaf concentrates on the newcomer
'No, no it is an important question to me. I have no answer yet. Fortunately, the disconnect has been less than lethal. Actually, I find I hardly miss the place, but it is all I know. All I knew anyway.'
rotating as if to show what has influenced his life recently, Leaf notices where a friend with initiative might help his new friends
'Please assist if you are able. We seek to breach the sewer system and rescue spaw- children from the city. And no more 'Archon'-ing me, it will be forever before I overcome that brainwashing! Call me Leaf'
Leaf then begins casting spells
Arathalia looks from Leaf to the newcomer.
"So you know this person?"
'No, but after meeting tall dark and powerful in the bar, I have decided to be more trusting. No doubt it will end poorly for us all.'
Arathalia smiles.
"Do not worry, you can trust. If they are untrustworthy, I will handle them."
Intrigued, Aehrick quirks an eyebrow. "You don't know why?" He decides to be mildly amused by this revelation after a moment's consideration, even going so far as to crack a brief smile. "Luck is a funny thing."
He looks between Leaf and Arathalia, past Alderthane and lifts a pointed finger to indicate where Zissaren fell. "That would be your companion, then, that destroyed the sewer grating? The large lizard-man? He seems to have 'breached' them already."
"I'm called Aehrick, or the oddskeeper, as you please. I would help you, ar-- Leaf. But it does seem you only need to ascend." He points again, this time indicating the raised entrance to the sewer. "You are a leaf on the wind..."
Zissaren lay on the muddy riverbed, the heavy iron grating having come to rest across his legs. He reaches down and lifts the metal away with ease, dropping it back into the thick silt beside him. A few seconds thrashing his way free of the clinging mud and Zissaren swims over to the dock he so recently dived off, remaining underwater to make sure as much of the mud washes away as possible. He breaks the surface a few feet from where the group is gathered and sucks in a huge lung full of fresh air before leaning back and letting the cool water soothe the gouges left by the grating as it had smacked him into the riverbed.
Nightflier
** spoiler omitted **
Nightflier
Climb
'Pleased to meet you Oddskeeper. This is Arathalia. Jack Ketch is currently trying to climb the cliff, the pixe Luff is invisible, and Zissaren is in the river. We are bonded together by an informal agreement, although I have sworn oaths to stand by them all.'
Leaf fires a light beam towards the sewer entrance for emphasis
'I am in no hurry to move towards the sewer. It is likely the earth will open, or Zissaren will engage a giant sea creature before we realize this opening will not do. Still, if Jack is unable to ascend, I could teleport up a rope and grappling iron...'
** spoiler omitted **
Nightflier
Climb
"Careful," Luff speaks quietly, fading back into view and offering a hand as Jack reaches the entrance. "There is a strange presence in these tunnels... it is quite a disturbing sensation."
"Careful," Luff speaks quietly, fading back into view and offering a hand as Jack reaches the entrance. "There is a strange presence in these tunnels... it is quite a disturbing sensation."
"My good man. what hasn't been disturbing in this strange town?" Jack continues into the tunnel, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light.
|
The tunnel stretches in front of you far enough that your sight is eventually thwarted by the curving of tunnel wall. Dimensions seem the same as the dimensions of the tunnel near Yanko's inn, so it would be reasonable to assume that the sewer system consists of uniform-sized tunnels. At least those under major streets and squares. Once again, you are taken aback by the lack of bad smells usually associated with the sewers.
The tunnel stretches in front of you far enough that your sight is eventually thwarted by the curving of tunnel wall. Dimensions seem the same as the dimensions of the tunnel near Yanko's inn, so it would be reasonable to assume that the sewer system consists of uniform-sized tunnels. At least those under major streets and squares. Once again, you are taken aback by the lack of bad smells usually associated with the sewers.
"What a strange place this is. Makes one wonder what these tunnels are really used for. Or by." Jack will begin moving forward at around half speed, drawing his silver sword cautiously.
Leaf fires a light beam towards the sewer entrance for emphasis
'I am in no hurry to move towards the sewer. It is likely the earth will open, or Zissaren will engage a giant sea creature before we realize this opening will not do. Still, if Jack is unable to ascend, I could teleport up a rope and grappling iron...'
"Where would you be keeping this rope and grapple?" Aehrick wonders idly, stepping past Leaf and closer to the edge of the docks. He turns and looks back over his shoulder at the growing crowd of onlookers to add "And would you be able to retrieve it before the city's enforcers arrive to extract a fine for the damage done?"
"Are you fit to make the climb?" He asks of Alderthane, no hint of mockery or cruelty in his voice-- just a practical question.
"Heh," the old man laughs to Aehrick, clearly not taking his question as an insult, "I imagine not laddie, but the blessin's o' Shaundakul can provide me with alternate means o' entry to the sewers. If ye can be findin' a grating near to that entrance I can be meeting ye there."
'Rope and grapple must be provided.'
"What a strange place this is. Makes one wonder what these tunnels are really used for. Or by." Jack will begin moving forward at around half speed, drawing his silver sword cautiously.
"Indeed," Luff whispers, following the 'halfling' forwards cautiously, "the denizens of this place seem very strange indeed - though I have yet to see them I feel they are oddly familiar to me..."
"I have rope....And Leaf,perhaps it would be better not to tell people when one of us is invisible."
"I have rope....And Leaf,perhaps it would be better not to tell people when one of us is invisible."
'But if I do not tell people then they will not know...oh I believe I understand. Although Luff's natural state is invisible, there are times when it is advantageous for his presence not to be acknowledged? Would it be too much to ask if there are rules regarding such conduct or is this something one must make up as one goes along?'
Leaf waits patiently for Arathalia to produce the rope before teleporting with it up to the top of the cliff. He searches for some remnant of the gate mounting and, 'mage hand's' one end of the rope through before using the spell to bring both ends of the rope together. Once together he uses glue and then mage hand's the rope down to Arathalia. As he works, a musical 'tinkle' emanates from Leaf - evoking the thought of happy craftsmen working contendtedly.
"He's not quite what I expected." Aehrick states, speaking as much to himself as the other two still standing on the docks. He kneels and tests the water, then braces one hand at the edge of the wood planking and hops down into the water. Still holding onto the edge of the wood, he pushes his dark hair back from his face and looks up to Alderthane and Arathalia. He seems like he might add something but simply shrugs instead and pushes off, swimming out to where the rope hangs down.
|
|
"He's not quite what I expected." Aehrick states, speaking as much to himself as the other two still standing on the docks. He kneels and tests the water, then braces one hand at the edge of the wood planking and hops down into the water. Still holding onto the edge of the wood, he pushes his dark hair back from his face and looks up to Alderthane and Arathalia. He seems like he might add something but simply shrugs instead and pushes off, swimming out to where the rope hangs down.
Leaf flies up into the tunnel
With the rope in place, the new arrival has little problem making it up and into the sewer. He stops just inside the mouth and kneels, facing out into the open air so he can help should anyone have difficulty at the top.
"No sea monster." He observes for Leaf's benefit once the archon floats past him and into the tunnel. "Your luck is holding out for now."
"What is it you know so far of these missing children?"
With the help of his companions, the old man manages to scramble up the rope and into the tunnel.
Rodrigo's small, dripping wet frame clutches to Al's shoulders as he ascends, before dropping down to the tunnel floor and looking around at the group with wide, innocent eyes. After a short hesitation, the badger proceeds to shake himself dry, sending a shower of river water spraying about the entryway.
Once the large lizardman is inside the tunnel, Al looks him over concernedly, "Those gashes look mighty painful lad," he says, "would ye like me to be takin' care o' them?"
Luff looks back to the new addition to the group with a suspicious glance, but seems to conclude that the others' trusting demeanor towards him must have some reason.
"We know very little of the missing infants," he replies to the question, "only that several have gone missing recently and there are indications they have been brought into the sewers."
The pixie seems somewhat hesitant to continue, but adds a final comment, "I believe that The Folk may be involved in this..." he seems to struggle for a moment, as though unsure he should continue, "but if they are, they do not seem to be abiding by the old customs."
Arathalia quietly climbs after the others, her body giving off a gentle glow in the tunnel's darkness.
Nightflier
When I am in cat form, can I speak? I would guess in a conventional D&D game no, but since this has a certain fairy tale feel to it... Thanks!
After assisting Alderthane up the cliff zissaren clambers easily into the tunnel, shaking himself much like rodrigo to remove the worst of the moisture. At Al's words he looks down at his own wounds and notes the few ripped scales and dark blood oozing out of a nasty looking cut on his leg.
"Thank you Al, I would be glad to be rid of the pain and I'll be better able to aid the rest of you uninjured."
"No problem me boy," he says, leaning forward to inspect the wounds more closely, "these should clear up nicely."
He draws out from under his woolen vest a silver hand, its index finger outstretched and surrounded by swirls of a delicate filigree. Whispering a short prayer to the lord of the four winds, Al reaches out to lay a hand on the lizardman's injuries, which briefly glow with a faint blue light before beginning to close over.
|
|
All of you have entered the tunnel by now. You notice that it stretches into shadows so far that you can't see any turnings or branching. Down the middle of the tunnel is a five feet wide channel filled to the brim with dirty water. One of the strange things about it is that the sewage channel is perfectly normal in relation to the tunnel and the tunnel itself is perfectly normal in relation to the ground, but sewage water is running faster than it should. The other thing is that the tunnel walls have no seems. They are as cut from living rock, or formed by lava flow, but it is obvious even to untrained eye that the material from which the tunnel is made of is different from the stone of the cliff through which the tunnel passes.
'This does not conform with the rules of the city, where are we?'
'Friends, the City limitations do not function here. Perhaps this is a reasonable variation in operating parameters, but it is a new experience for me. Do any of you have knowledge of what part of the multiverse or what power reigns here?'
'Do any of you have knowledge of what part of the multiverse or what power reigns here?'
Aehrick just shakes his head, looking away from Alderthane's holy symbol when the floating presence speaks. He takes a few cautious steps further into the tunnel with the tips of his fingers idly tapping against he pommel of his sword. He doesn't seem too concerned by the odd behavior of the muck-flow.
"This place is as alien to me as it is you, Leaf, and it seems to draw its residents from every corner of existence. I don't find it surprising that the architecture follows suit." He glances down at the water to consider it momentarily before adding "I honestly don't know what to expect from a sewer that doesn't smell. Perhaps the whole thing was shaped by wizards."
"I grew up in primeval forest on ethereal plane. This is my first time in a sewer."
"'A primaeval forest on the ethereal plane!'I wonder about the endless variety of the multiverse. Should it make me cling more strongly to what I have been taught, to distrust it, or to find some compromise?"
"Now, I've seen a sewer or two in my time," Al mutters, "and that don't look right."
"There are forests even on the ethereal plane?" Luff asks the otherworldly elf, "I thought it was a place of dead things, not the vibrant life of a forest."