Nesswen adjusts her grip on her longsword and tries stepping out of the light and into the shadows. She won't strike until it has been made clear they are enemies. It's still possible that they are friends who have gotten worried about us and come looking. She crosses her fingers in hopes this is the right one.
As the figures slowly approach, Prevara starts to get a better look at them, and the look is not reassuring. They are people... Kind of. But their walk is certainly unnatural, a shuffling sliding kind of thing that puts a slight shiver down her spine. And is that part of his insides trailing out? And does that one have his lower jaw missing?
The two figures seem to catch on to her presence just as she sees them for what they really are, and with a loud groan they rush forward to feast.
Kalvek's look behind turns up nothing as Hakkar growls at the comming menace.
Nesswen leaps forward and to her left. Intentionally letting the slimy floor take her down to the ground, but also hopes that the muck and grime plus her movement carries her until she has slid past the weird creatures. Attacking from the ground as she slides by hoping to at least severely injure one leg.
Nesswen slides past the zombies, but her attack is blocked by the creatures down-swinging arm. She recovers quickly however, now behind them.
Yuki's swing is a tad too early as the odd gait of the zombies is hard to gauge. The staff smacks with a loud *clack* against the wall of the sewer to her left. Unfortunately she is also now directly in their way.
Things look a bit dire for Yuki for a moment. Until Savidus shoulders his way past Prevara to a spot beside Yuki. His massive sword swings in an arc that cuts one of the zombies in half from shoulder to hip, both halves splashing into the water.
Prevara attempts to get past Yuki enough to swing against the remaining zombie. Ewww.
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Prevara manages to slip between Savidus and the remaining zombie, straddling the fallen undead as she swings her chain around at the remaining foe. The chain impacts hard against what's left of its skull, caving it in with a crunch that seems to echo down the hallways.
The zombie collapses in a heap of rotting flesh, leaving the way forward open.
"It isn't far now," Janiven says as she pushes past the undead remains. Just a few turns up ahead and we should be at the exit. Almost able to taste the fresh air, she presses ahead quickly, confident now of her course.
Savidus gives Prevara a nod of respect before motioning for her to follow after Janiven ahead of him.
Prevara winks at Savidus and tries to give Yuki a smile, "Could have happened to anyone." Trying to shake off the bits of zombie and ick from her chain she moves to follow everyone else.
"Think nothing of it," Savidus answers Yuki before taking up his position in the marching order once more.
Nesswen stands up and turns around preparing to strike the zombie from behind when Prevara's chain finishes it off. Guck and muck splatter in Nesswen's face. Wiping her face clean as best as she can, she joins the rest of the group as they continue down the sewers.
The group hurries allong behind Janiven who seems far more certain of her direction now than she had been. A good thing too as the sounds of persuit seem to be closing in all around. It's hard to tell if there are actually hellknights comming from all of those directions or if the echoes are just making it seem as though there are. Either way, the sound is enough to cause everyone to hurry.
After about another five minutes of frantic scurrying, Janiven stops under another grate. "This is it. We sawed through the lock on the other side so it should open easily. You'll find yourself in an alley behind an old abandoned temple of Aroden. That is where we are headed."
The murmur of what could be voices echoing down a side passage punctuates her statement and she hurries up the ladder to the grate. With a little effort she pushes the grate up and over, revealing a rectangle of star speckled night sky. Her head pops back into view for just a momment, beconing for them to hurry up before dissapearing once again.
Nesswen sheathes her sword quickly and almost seems to fly up the ladder. Once up top, she moves to the side letting the rest of the group up the ladder. She crouches her hand on her sword handle ready to draw it at the first sign of trouble.
The chain gets wrapped around her body in preparation for the climb. Hiding it beneath her cloak once more she scurries up the ladder, humming a happy tune. "Let's not do that again," she says after breathing in the refreshing night air.
Savidus comes up near to last, lumbering up the last few rungs and squeezing his bulk through the small grate only to find Janiven already moving off. With a small grumble he stands up to his full height, his back cracking in protest, takes a deep breath, then moves off after.
Janiven hurries off to a boarded over door to the abandoned temple to Aroden and knocks in a certain sequence. The door opens, apparently not as boarded up as it looked, and a small sliver of light shows through the opening doorway that does not make it out of any of the windows. Janiven and Morosino stop at the doorway, waving the others inside.
As Savidus and Kalvek hustle in, the last of the smelly and exhausted band, they are able to see what everyone else is no doubt already standing there watching.
Janiven has passed door holding duties off to Morosino and has moved further into the room to speak softly with one of many people in the large sanctuary area. The sanctuary itself has obviously been undergoing some recent renovations but it still shows signs of the deteriorating and unkept state of the exterior. Still, it is dry, warm, and spacious. The only things that likely matter to the new 'heroes' at this point, aside from maybe baths and food. There are also about ten to fifteen others people in the room, in various groups, men, women and even some children running about playing.
The largest group of people is near the altar area having a rather heated discussion about something. It's hard to tell from this distance.
As Morosino closes the door behind Savidus, Janiven turns from her conversation and the person that she had been speaking to hurries off on some errand. "This is the safe house. All of these people here are citizens who, like myself, want something better for Westcrown. However, as you demonstrated with your actions in the sewers, none have the martial skills that you four possess." She motions for all of you to follow her towards the alter area.
"I realize that all of you probably just want a little to eat and certainly a hot bath and I can accommodate both of those needs. However I would like to introduce you to some of our people first." It's obvious that Janiven herself feels no better than any of the others recently come from the sewers, only with a distinct edge of worried stress.
A small sound of glee escapes Prevara, almost a squeal of delight as she sees the others around the temple. People! People not trying to kill us! Her eyes track the children with almost a longing look, following Janiven rather distractedly.
Having squeaked in just before the door closed on her, Nesswen follows behind the group. Dripping wet from whatever slime covered the floor she passes on handshaking with anyone who introduces themselves and merely nods at them. Though her weapon is sheathed, she still seems on edge and worried.
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Seeing people that don't look like they can cause much harm at all, Yuki takes her hand off her staff and follows Janivan much more calmly. I hope they don't find us; these people seem like they'd be little help. She introduces herself warmly trying not to let her worries show on her face for it would be a little rude. They have gone though just as much if not more than her.
Janiven walks up to the largest grouping of people and pauses just on the edge, waiting for them to notice her. They seem caught up in a rather heated discussion about what they should call their group. Some seem to see themselves as rebels and freedom fighters and push for names like “The Knights of Westcrown,” or “The Scions of Aroden.” Others see the group as something that should be gentler and more subtle in its attempt to win the hearts of the citizens and push for less antagonistic names like, “Guardians of Cheliax” or “Children of Westcrown.”
At first hearing it might seem odd that, while their leader lies in the clutches of their oppressors, they debate something as trivial as names. But upon taking a closer look at these revolutionaries it is obvious that they truly stand little chance of raising up to rescue him on their own regardless.
The talking dies down rather quickly however as Janiven is noticed and the degree of respect that they all hold for her is obvious. With an outstretched hand, Janiven begins the rounds of introductions.
"These are a few of our more regular and loyal members. Amaya, Ermolos, Fiosa, Vitti, and Yakopulio." She points to each in turn, a stunning human woman whose plain clothes do little to hide her beauty, a well muscled human man in blacksmith's clothes, a female halfling who was the one to call the group silent upon noticing Janiven, an excentric and wild looking human man with hair died green, and a well dressed female gnome who seemed to be enjoying the discussion more than the others.
"Everyone, this is Yukimura, Nesswen, Helwyr, Kalvek, and Savidus. They are the recruits I had mentioned. They have already proven themselves more than capable by assisting me in my escape from the Hellknights at the tavern. We can only hope that they decide to help us further."
All five of them offer welcomes, a few even brave a handshake, but the conversation is limited as Janiven then hurries the new heroes off to get bathes, food, and some sleep.
Prevara waves wildly with a big, toothy grin and her blue eyes beaming. She vigorously shakes any hands that come near in an attempt to draw them into a bear hug. "You really should go with Creatively Cloaked Crusaders of Cheliax, or Whimsical Warriors of a Waning Westcrown, or or Aroden's Ardently Avid Avengers, ooh ooh or or... Hey, is that a bath?" she says hurriedly before being ushered off. Her other thoughts drift off as she loses track of her thoughts.
Janiven leads the five newcomers to a pair of side rooms down a hall from the main chapel. "You may use these rooms as long as you stay here. There is a washroom just down the hall. I'm afraid we only have a single tub, but the water will be hot. I'll wait for you all to finish before cleaning up myself." And with that she returns to the main sanctuary.
It takes some time for everyone to get washed up but Janiven's promise of hot water is true and before long everyone has a chance to wash the filth if the sewers off of them, as well as most of the stench.
Cots are supplied for the five newcomers in the two rooms. They are nothing fancy and, for anyone used to a more comfortable sleeping arrangement, they are likely not conducive to a good night's sleep. But they are better than the ground.
Once the group settles in there are no disturbances until the morning.
Savidus takes the room with Kalvek and his wolf as his roommates. He allows the women to bathe first taking the time to remove his bulky armor, sit calmly, and pray while he waits. He holds a small token clenched in one hand as he prays and does not respond to anyone until finished. Once bathed he is more amenable, but still not very forthcoming.
The next morning finds the scents of breakfast wafting into the two rooms shared by the new companions. The first to seek it out find a modest spread laid out in a kitchen with Morosino, Amaya, and Vitti sitting around a large table eating and another Garundi man finishing up the cooking. Janiven is no where to be seen.
"Smells delicious," Prevara states sleepily. Her long hair is done up in a loose bun and her chain is wrapped around her waist like a belt. She stretches for a bit before addressing the Garundi man. "Anything I can do to help?"
The Garundi man smiles but shakes his head. "Is there anything you'd like?" he asks in a deep rumble of a voice.
"There's plenty left over already, Larko," chimes in Amaya with a grin. She stands and stretches out a hand towards Prevara. "I don't know if you remember me from last night, my name is Amaya. The taciturn cook is Larko, and this is Vitti who you also met last night. You all looked pretty exausted. Did you rest well?"
Vitti pushes his chair back from the table and pulls out a small wood carving and a knife and proceeds to continue working on it as he listens to the conversation.
A shadow passes over the doorway as Savidus comes walking in. He is dressed now in simple clothes of gray and brown, and armed only with a long dagger at his waist. It's a sharp contrast from the previous evening that makes him almost unrecognizable as the same man. He nods to everyone in the room, a motion that becomes closer to a bow towards the two women, murmering a goodmorning to each before making for an empty chair at the table.
"I... " Prevara stops as Amaya speaks and then shakes her head. She takes Amaya's hand, "I slept very well, thank you. Although I did have this odd dream about zombie goblins dancing through the street with hats on. I wonder what it means." As she starts to pull a chair out to sit she turns to look at the man who enters. "Savi? IS that really you?!" Prevara runs to give the large man a hug, blue eyes focused intently.
He looks closer to terrified by Prevara's hug than he ever did in the sewers fighting zombies and getting chased by Hellknights.
He recovers a bit, giving Prevara an awkward pat on the back hug. "Yes... It is." He extricates himself as politely as possible then takes a seat and begins to fill a plate with eggs, bacon, and bread. He's a big guy after all, takes a lot of food to keep all that muscle going.
When Yuki enters he stands politely, but says nothing, sitting back down to his food immediately.
Larko shrugs and just puts some more bacon on. Can never be too sure.
Amaya laughs at Prevara's description of her dream and manages to bring it down to a stiffled giggle at Savidus' reaction. "Likely it means you ate some of Janiven's cooking," she comments as she watches Savidus filling his plate. "Maybe I was wrong about there being plenty left. I hope the rest of your friends make it out before everything is gone."
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Yuki wonders why Savidus stood up to sit back down. She reasons that he obviously was going to get or do something, but forgot or changed his mind. She shrugs, then says a good morning to everyone in the room with a small bow. Because everyone else is eating, she assumes that she's allowed a plate. She gets a small portion of food, then sits down at an empty chair to eat.
Nesswen falls off the bed she had been asleep in. It had been the first actual bed she had slept on in a long time. Landing hard on the cold floor, she wakes up with a start. Yawning and stretching she gets up and wanders about the room looking for something to wear.
Still half asleep she walks out of the bedroom wearing some slacks and a shirt that's about two sizes too small. Still yawning and rubbing her eyes she meanders over to the smell of food and picks out a pieces of bacon, but mostly takes on eggs and bread. Sitting down at the table, she enjoys the meal.
Savidus stands again as Nesswen enters and perhaps might have raised an eyebrow at her tight clothing but goes right back to his food with singular focus. He already knows that he's managed to hook up with some unusual people and at this point doesn't think anything they did could surprise him.
Meanwhile the conversation seems to die down, except for Amaya. As Yuki takes a seat with her meal the fellow Tian shifts over next to her. "I must admit I was supprised to see a someone from home so far away. May I ask what brings you out here?"
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Yuki quickly and a bit excitedly responds, "That's very funny you say that because I was wondering the same thing about you. Well, I hung out at the Five Kings Mountain for a while after leaving my home to find something better. While I was mourning at the mountains, I found out about how badly the people of this city were treated and wanted to help. I thought it be better to leave there anyway, and was ready for a new adventure, especially one where I can do some good. So how about you? Why did you come so far?"
Hearing Yuki's voice Nesswen looks up from her meal and sits back. Looking around the table she easily spots Yuki talking with the other Tian and Prevara being, well, Prevara. Turning her head about she tried to see if Savidus and Kalvek were somewhere else in the room.
Turning to Prevara, Nesswen asks. "Have you seen Savidus and Kalvek this morning? Their missing out on some good cooking." and in a whispered voice she adds, "Who's the cute guy?"
Zanian walks into the room, fully armored and armed. His armor looks newly oiled, ( he stayed up an hour that night cleaning it from the sewers). He stops mid stride, and looks at everyone in turn, and then at himself. "Heh, I feel a tad over-dressed now, but what can you do?"
He pulls up a seat next to Savidus, nods at him, and piles some eggs and toast onto his plate. He closes his eyes briefly, and then begins eating with gusto, but not messily. After the first bite, he bids everyone else a good morning, and continues his breakfast.
Prevara bursts into a fit of giggles. She points at Savidus, unable to say anything at the moment. Unable to control herself she falls out of her chair. "Savidus is already eating," she says, gulping for air. As she gets back up she waves to Zanian.
Savidus might not have heard Nesswen's whispered comment because the look he gives Prevara as she laughs herself out of her chair is one of utter confusion. He's starting to think the girl might not be right in the head. But then, maybe that's just a trait of Tieflings. He's never hung around any after all. Instead he focusses on Nesswen for a moment, after all she did ask where he was, and gives her a soft "Good morning." before going back to his food. Zanian earns a manly silent nod of greeting in return before the taciturn man goes back to his food.
Amaya is too engrossed in her conversation to pay any attention to Nesswen's question, though she does glance over with a curious look and a smile as Prevara laughs herself silly.
"I've always lived here, actually. My father and mother moved here before I was born. Even they didn't come from our homeland, but from Magnimar." She gives a grin, "I even have some distant relatives in Sandpoint, if you've heard of it. I've always wanted to travel and visit them. You're so lucky to have been able to travel so much. What was it like?"
Even Larko has found a seat now, and the entire room turns to eating and friendly, relaxed talking. Morosino seems the most in awe of his company, but it is unlikely the young boy has ever been this close to a tiefling before, let alone two, and not to mention a group who so blatently defied the Hellknights. Vitti strikes up a quite conversation with Larko, but the details are hard to discern.
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When Yuki hears Prevara fall out of her chair, she turns her head to look at her. Seeing as she's okay, and even laughing, she lets out a small giggle, but quickly goes back into her conversation with the first Tian she has seen since she's left her home.
"Traveling a lot has it's good and bad points. In my opinion, the good ones outweigh the bad. It allows you to see and experience things you wouldn't have otherwise. One of the main things is that it can give you different perspectives of things. It can even change how you think completely. On the other hand, it can be dangerous, both physically and mentally. When I say mentally, I mean, home sick, culture shock, not being able to adapt, it can hurt relationships, etc. And all that I said for the good points can be turned around to be the bad. I'd say that I think I'm doing pretty good so far, and most of it has been fun," she says with a grin. "Why haven't you been able to travel?" she asks with almost a frown.