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"Unfortunately, it seems we have gone from the merry band of do-gooders stage, to the surrounded by Hellknight stage of this operation a little sooner than I would have hoped. We didn't even get to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Unless anyone has a better idea, I think we need to flee. I may know a way out of here."
Sordello sheaths his dagger, shoulders his pack, and straps on his buckler. Picking up his bow, he turns to the rest of the group.
Based on Sordello's earlier reconaissance of the building, Sordello hopes that he might have identified a way to lead the group out. Ideally, a close building that would allow us to roof jump would probably work well. If needed, a survival check was rolled (12+5=17).
The revelation of Hellknights surrounding the tavern causes Genevieve to fumble with the metal lid, but she quickly regains her composure in time to catch it before it can clatter to the ground.
“A way out?” she asks Sordello, a hint of panic rising in her voice, “the boy said we are surrounded, how do you plan for us to get past the Hellknights outside? Unless you mean to fly us away, or maybe you know of some secret tunnel to lead us to safety?”
"Once we've decided a way out, I can make it a bit more difficult to see us. One of the gifts from Shelyn. I cannot promise it will last too terribly long, however. I can also give a bit of a blessing and a further shielding of one of us."
They weren't much, but it was about all he could do. He had an idea an idea or two for exit strategies, but none of them seemed that appealing. His kind eyes turn to the young man. He tries to smile reassuringly, but it isn't terribly convincing.
"Have you any idea how many followed you here? Anything you can tell us about them before they burst in might be helpful."
Dispite the news Janiven remains calm, setting her jaw in determination. "I am sorry to have involved all of you in this." she says as she walks towards the back of the room, just as a mailed fist begins hammering on the door and booming voices demand entrance and surrender. "Follow me, quickly. You have indeed hit on just the way out of this, Genevieve."
Swiftly, she and the young boy move behind the tavern's decrepit bar and into the kitchen where they lift up a heavy trap door in the floor of a cupboard. As the pounding on the door increases she looks to the faces around her. "This drops down into the sewers. There is a route that we explored earlier to a safe house. The way is marked with signs but you will have to be careful and watch for them. It will be very easy to get lost if you miss one." She motions for the boy to go, and then Gene. "Morosino knows the way. I will dellay them as best I can but I will be right behind you. I do not intend to be captured and tortured today." Without waiting to see if anyone else goes down into the tunnel she moves to close the kitchen door.
(OOC: I made the assumption that everyone followed her, but I figured it was a safe one.)
Koveless follows Janiven close by Gene but before she has a chance to get into the tunnel, Koveless drops into it. His keen eyes determined to ensure it's safety before she makes the plunge.
Kleggisnep stays silent until Janiven leaves them. He crinkles his nose slightly.
"Sewers? Oh, well, that's just lovely. Never hear about the heroes in epics wading through waste water. Let's find our way out of here as quickly as we can, then."
He sighs softly, muttering something about his armor.
Corvus dutifuly follows the group into the sewers.
Genevieve calms down when Janiven begins to lead them to the exit, and even breaks a smile at Kleggisnep's comment.
"No, this was hardly the sort of tunnel I had in mind," she offers him, "but don't worry, when the bards are recording our exploits, we can always omit this detail."
When Koveless plunges into the sewer ahead of her, she waits for a moment to allow him time to assess his surroundings before she continues, grasping the necklace around her throat as she descends, filling it with a ruby glow.
The secret tunnel under Vizio’s Tavern is very dark, save for the soft glow from Genevieve, rough-hewn, and leads down along a 20-foot-long, 5-foot-wide hallway to a simple wooden door. As each person comes to the door they find it already open, Morosino on the other side beckoning each through the doorway. Janiven is not idle as her guests flee. She knocks over the shelves in front of the door, then tosses a tanglefoot bag onto the floor before retreating into the tunnel last.
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"I was planning on taking the high road out of here, but it seems our hostess was well prepared." Looking to Morrosino, "do you know the way or would you like me to try to use my skill to find the marks?"
Upon moving into the sewer, Sordello pauses to allow his eyes to adjust, thankfull of Genevieve's light. He secures his bow unto his pack and draws his longsword. "I can't imagine making any feats of archery down here in these close quarters."
Corvus keeps her rapier in one hand and attempts to keep her senses attuned to what's beyond the immediate group.
Genevieve follows closely after her brother, her eyes glinting slightly in the crimson light of her necklace.
"How far is your safe house?" she asks Janiven as she catches up to the group.
The space on the other side of the door is not large and gets smaller as all seven people eventually file in. The space is even more reduced by the barely five foot ceiling, causing most everyone to stoop at least a little. The smell is not as bad as one would think from a sewer, but is there none the less. Running water can be heard near at hand though at least this stoop seems dry.
As Janiven comes in behind she closes the final wooden door, dropping a bar across it before turning to look at Gene. "It is a ways but not far. We should be able to make it within an hour if all goes well. But the Hellknights will not let these small barriers stop them. We must assume that they will follow." She hurries over to a rock propped near the entrance to the small foyer and pushes it aside, sighing with relief at what she finds.
"Good, they're still here." Reach into the small hole she pulls out a handful of softly glowing blue potions, handing them to the nearest person. "There will be no time to rest with the Hellknights pursuing us. These will help should we be forced to fight."
(OOC: She passes out enough Cure Light Wounds potions for each of you to have 3.)
Corvus looks at Janiven. "How well do the Hellknights know these passages? And is our way forward so clearly marked for all to see?"
Corvus points towards the marking on the wall.
Kleggisnep searches around carefully for an exit after placing the potions in a small belt pouch. He takes his mace carefully in hand as he looks around. He raises his voice in a whisper.
"I have a minor blessing that can convey a good deal of light, but I think it would be best to get moving a bit before I use it. I doubt they will see it through the cracks of the door, but best to be sure."
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Sordello looks around and then spands a minute listening carefully to attempt to hear any pursuit. "I recomend we hurry and occasionally pause to listen. I wish I had some materials to set a basic trap, as that could help slow down pursuit. Still, unless anybody has a better idea, I think I might be able to stay in the rear of our group, using my skill in tracking to obscure our trail and false tracks away from our path." Sordello adjusts his position to be last in the group.
Janiven walks out into the sewer tunnel that crosses left to right just on the other side of the small side tunnel every has huddled in. The sewer tunnel is no taller than the side tunnel, and ten feet wide with half of that width taken up by a three foot deep trench for the water. The construction is solid, with walls and ceiling giving no hint of collapse, but the cramped quarters and smell more than make up the difference.
"I doubt they know the tunnels well at all, but neither do we. I seriously doubt I could find my way again if I did not have the signs. At best it would take me some time." As she moves to the left, the symbol of a sword pointing that direction drawn on the wall becomes plain to everyone. "If you wish to attempt to obscure our tracks, that would certainly help, but I wouldn't disturb the signs as we pass them. We may need them again if we get lost."
With that she heads off, Morosino in front, hurrying down the tunnel at a good pace.
(OOC: I'll need a marching order. It's single file unless anyone wants to walk in the sewer water.)
(OOC: I'll need a marching order. It's single file unless anyone wants to walk in the sewer water.)
Corvus moves forward, as if to take the lead, and glances at the others to see if anyone objects. "Do we keep following the arrows?"
Genevieve nods in thanks to Janiven as she hands out the vials, tucking them into a pocket in her cloak.
"Wait," she whispers to Morosino as he moves to take the lead. She draws out a roll of parchment from the tube at her belt and begins to unroll it as she hurries forward.
"Just in case," she says to him, before reading arcane phrases from the scroll and reaching out to place a hand on the boy's unarmoured shoulder.
Falling back to be close to her brother, she repeats the spell on herself before returning the scroll to its case.
Kleggisnep takes a place nearest the middle of things that he can, and begins to whistle a bit of birdsong while touching his holy symbol. A soft light in the shape of a sparrow flies around him in two swift circles, then glides into the head of the mace in his right hand. As the sparrow-light touches the head of the mace, it bursts into a clear white light.
"Well, let us find these signs and get moving. The quicker, the better"
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"You guys move ahead. Don't be surprised if I occasionally drop back as I try to leave some false tracks and stop to listen. Don't worry, I won't distrub the marks, but I do think we should consider getting back to the surface and blending into the crowds to get to this safehouse. We are pretty conspicuous and easy to attack down here."
The seven of you move quickly down the tunnel. It isn't long before you can hear the door into the sewers that Janiven had barred behind her being pounded through.
After about forty feet you come to a side passage that leads off to the right. Corvus stops as she quickly tries to find the marker and as she's looking everyone else crowds up behind. The sound of pounding against the door echoes down the dark passage, reminding everyone of the urgency required. Then Kleg spots the sword, pointing down the right hand passage and it is with great relief that everyone hurries down that passage, hiding the light from pursuers. And none too soon as the obvious sound of the door giving way can be heard behind them.
The moments pass by in a blind rush of shadowy worked rock, murky water, and unpleasant smells. The echo of pursuit remains close behind but with the twisting that the tunnel takes and the few other intersections passed where the mark is more obvious, the exact direction of pursuit becomes hard to discern.
After what seems about fifteen minutes of hunched running the passage opens up into a four way intersection with a larger area off to one side. Wooden planks form crude bridges over the murky water but the sight that draws everyone's eyes is the grate in the ceiling with iron rungs imbedded into the stone to form a ladder up to it. Soft starlight filters through the bars of the grate, teasing everyone with the idea of escape.
"That's not our exit," Janiven is quick to explain. "And as much as we might like to use it, all the entrances to the sewer are locked from above. They're next to impossible to open from below." She pauses a bit to listen then leans against a wall, painting softly. "We should take a second to rest. But not long." The boy especially looks in bad shape. He was tired before he even got down here and this hunched running has been hard even on those used to such exertion.
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"Well maybe we can make our pursuit a little paranoid. I have some ink in my bag. I'll make a hasty fake mark here, an arrow up. A little sloppy, not exactly my best work. Still, now I cut a little fabric from my tunic, and put up here, 'snagged' on a ladder rung. If we move carefully out of here, I can cover our tracks. With some luck, maybe our pursuers will think we had a way to climb up here and lock the door behind us.
Once we get moving stay alert for any signs of rats. With the help of a light spell from one of the casters, some cloth, and food, I may be able to create a decoy by having a rat moving with a lighted bag of bait on a side track."
Corvus gives Sordello an admiring glance and a hint of a smile. "If you ever think of a change in profession, you must let me know."
She grabs some caltrops from her bag. "And if they aren't fooled, you can leave these where they'll cause maximum annoyance."
Genevieve moves towards a wall breathlessly, almost reaching out to it to support herself before noticing the slimy surface and deciding instead to lean forwards with her hands on her knees. "I would be..." she lets out between heavy breaths, allowing the glow of her necklace to fade in the light of Kleggisnep's mace, "happy to provide... the diversionary lighting..."
She looks longingly towards the grating above, before looking back towards the tunnel behind them, "I've lost track of where we have traveled... where does that opening lead?"
He smirks slightly at Genevieve's remark. Eyes drifting worriedly about the passage.
"Well, wherever it leaves, we can find out after a breather. Not that I imagine any of us wish to breath too much down here. Janiven, how far shall we be going along down here? I fear our young friend shall be exhausted if we go much longer. And while I'd be happy to carry him, I don't quite think I'd be able to keep up the pace if I did."
Koveless crouches beside Gene, looking at her with concern before flashing his hands in a quick series of signs.
Are you alright?
As concerned as he looks for her, he too is deffinitly feeling the strain. After all, he is over six feet tall.
Genevieve smiles towards her brother reassuringly, after a slight delay as she mentally interprets his gestures. "I'll be fine," she whispers, “It’s just been a while since I’ve had to run this much.”
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"I would say you are doing fine, Genevieve. I seemed to have inherited a lack of vigor from my elven father, which is fairly uncommon in my line of work. You seem to be doing better than I am right now, so I think we will be able to help each other make it out. Just remember, our pursuers are probably all in heavy armor, so if we just keep a steady pace, we should be able to stay ahead of them."
While everyone is enjoying the moment of rest they also know that it cannot last long. Just because the sounds of pursuit can no longer be heard, doesn't mean that the pursuit is gone.
The time is spent well, however, as Sordello begins to set up some distracting signs towards the grate above. It is as he is doing this that Kleggisnep notices something.
SURPRISE ROUND
"We appear to have small, squishy company. Watch your feet."
18 to hit, 6 bludgeoning damage if I hit.
[ooc] Total defense, AC rises to 19 until next turn, and no AoOs for me
Some kind of slimy rat sized things have already gather at the feet of both Gene and Sordello, four at each.
Kleggisnep brings down his mace, causing the light to cast confusing shadows as if moves and smashing one of the small vermin approaching Gene into a gooey smear.
The other three start to bite at her feet, however, one scoring a stinging bite as a bit of acid sizzles into the skin of her leg.
Sordello meanwhile is assaulted by four of them, though only one manages to get through the half-elf's armor to deliver a sizzling bite.
The slimy things continue to bite at the feet and legs of both Gene and Sordello, attacking faster than nearly anyone can react. Another scores a hit on Gene's foot while the four clamoring after Sordello seem to be getting in each other’s way too much to mount any effective attack.
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"Cursed vermin! These weren't the kind of rats I was hoping to find."
Sordello steps to the side while drawing his long sword, leaving the pack of four trobles where he was standing. Holding his buckler low to protect his legs, he swings his sword in a low, sweeping arc in an attempt to kill one of the vermin. The awkward angles makes the swing clumsy and unnatural.
Corvus reacts quietly and gracefully and swings down at the closest creature.
Klegg slams down his mace at the nearest creature, moving as needed to get to them.
"Gah, disgusting little beasts."
[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2286879/]Very much doubt a 7 hits, but I deal 8 damage if it does.[url]
Genevieve suppresses a small gasp of pain as the creatures' excretions burn at her feet. Backing away from them she pulls out a small dagger to fend them off while thrusting forth her other hand and speaking an arcane syllable, causing her necklace to flare briefly and a wave of icy energy to spring towards one of the jelly-like vermin.
The group erupts into a flurry of activity as the vermin are discovered. Kleggisnep’s mace comes down yet again at those near Gene but this time the surprising agility of the things throws off his aim and he hits only the stone of the floor.
Corvus swings her rapier down and forward towards another of the creatures near Sordello, but meets with little more success than Kleg had.
Koveless comes quickly to the aid of Genevieve bringing a dagger down towards the things but the odd angle, attacking around Gene as she is moving back, is hard to overcome and the attack goes wide.
Sordello steps back, drawing his sword and making a low sweep but it does more to keep them at bay than to hurt any of them.
Brief chanting proceeds an icy burst from Genevieve’s hand. The ray freezes one of the slimy things to the floor and stopping any movement from it.
Janiven acts as quickly as anyone to the danger, stepping up beside Sordello as he steps back and bringing her own longsword down in a chop that severs one of the vermin attack him cleanly in half.
The remaining two beasts that had gone after Gene continue to pursue her, intent on feeding. But the aim of Koveless and Kleggisnep is more true this time and both vermin fall to their blows before they can even get close enough to attack.
Likewise, the other three chase after Sordello, moving in through the attacks of Corvus, and Janiven. Though Sordello manages to bring one down, the other two catch up to him and he is forced to bring his shield low to fend off their acidic bites.
Through all of this Morosino makes himself as inconspicuous as possible, not wanting to get in the way of the flashing blades and crushing mace.
Klegg hesitates, checking to see if any of the foul little beasts are nearby, an eye passing over young Morosino. He moves himself in between the youth and the vermin.
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"Gorum's breath, these things are disgusting!"
Giving up on finesse, Sordello steps and then swings down hard, in a chopping motion, in an attempt to completely sever one of the offensive vermin.
Genevieve smiles gratefully to Koveless and Kleggisnep as they strike down the approaching beasts. She then turns her attention to the remaining torbles assaulting Sordello, lashing out once more with arcane cold.
Corvus shakes her head with frustration and moves to attack one of the beasts that threatens Sordello.
The ensuing string of attacks on the two remaining torbles results in one crushed flat by Klegg's mace and another skewered on Corvus' rapier. There is a moment of calm before the familiar clink of armor echoes down one of the side halls, reminding everyone of the real danger. Still, the attack by these vermin give warning that there may be other things to worry about down here besides Hellknights.
Sordello is mostly successful in the bulk of his efforts to redirect pursuit. The idea of using a rat is quickly squashed as everyone realizes they haven't seen or heard a rat since they came down into the serwer.
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"The elder rangers never taught me how to clean one of these, and as much as I would savor cooking some of this up," Sordello kicks a troble corpse, "it would seem our pursuit is closing too fast for me to figure it out. I say we should be off, before we end up with trouble that doesn't squish so easy."
Sordello sinches up his backpack and quickly pats himself down to ensure that he didn't drop anything in the fight. He turns and looks expectantly at Corvus to lead the party out.
He turns and looks expectantly at Corvus to lead the party out.
Corvus takes the hint and quickly looks around for the next sign.
"OK ladies and gentlemen, rest time is over. We need to get going." With that, she leads the group in the direction the arrow indicates (rapier still in hand).
Corvus quickly finds the sword symbol pointing down a left passageway and the group is soon trundling along again. Janiven, who had previously been running with her longsword sheathed, now also runs with it drawn and ready for anything else that might come, and a dagger can be seen in each of Koveless' hands.
The minutes seem to crawl by as the tunnels drag on and on. A right turn is missed by Corvus but caught by Janiven behind her, keeping the trek on track, and two other intersections lead everyone first right, then left. The last turn barely caught by Corvus as the mark is nearly wiped clean by a rivulet of water.
As everyone moves into another multiple exit intersection, Corvus looking about for the proper exit, there is a cry from Sordello. A piercing pain shoots up his leg and as he turns around he spots the giggling goblin that must have lain hidden as the group past him, just waiting to plunge his dogslicer into the rear guard.
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"Asmo's bowels!! There's a goblin back here, beware, there's probably more around!"
As pain shoots through Sordello's body, he feels his fury release with the curse he hurls. Stepping adroitly to close the distance on his attacker, he holds his buckler at the guard position while he swings his longsword through a falling, diagonal arc.
Genevieve spins around at Sordello's exclamation, her hand raising unconsciously to grasp at her necklace. Backing against the wall of the sewer, she sends a glance down each of the tunnels leading to the intersection.
Corvus takes a moment to survey her surroundings for more goblins.
She then moves to the closest/most threatening goblin and attacks it with her rapier.