With eyes cold as ice, Jacqueline watched Adwonus and his elven companion disappear into the fortress tower. Briefly, the party behind her debated whether to pursue him or not, but the consensus was clear - stick to the mission. Jacqueline could see the reason in this and her mind agreed, but her heart thought otherwise. Simply seeing that elven woman was enough to chill her thoughts and replace them with a vengeance that stirred deep. “
Someday. . .” she darkly whispered to herself. Even as the party broke cover and walked back into the street, Jacqueline’s eyes lingered on the fortress tower far ahead, having daydreams of things to come. Her hands mindlessly caressed the hilt of her blade.
“
This way,” Johannes motioned to the others, pointing to the highway south. Jacqueline seemed to snap out of a daze, and along with the others, followed Johannes. The fortress tower quickly vanished from sight. Walking at a slightly faster pace than before, intent a putting distance between themselves and whatever dangers lurked behind them, they passed through the remainder of
Middle Island. Blending in with the traffic, they traveled behind a convoy of wagons for a few minutes. Suddenly, Dwalin let out a slight groan. Johannes glanced behind, “
What is it?” Dwalin lifted his foot and shook something from the underside. “
Horse dung,” he replied, his face scowling. Mikael chuckled and smirked, “
That’s the city for ya.” Johannes lightly laughed as well and returned his attention to the fore while Dwalin scraped his boot against the ground.
Passing the wagons by, the party reached the south bridge ahead of them, and Lower Herrod was once again visible across the water. Buildings stretched across the horizon. Many more people lived in Lower Herrod than the Upper, for this side of the city was home to the
Slums and the poor, not to mention the merchants of the
Bazaar. The south bridge was identical in every way to its northern sibling; the name ‘Twin Bridges’ was well given. As they stepped onto the wide stone crossing, they received an even better view of Lower Herrod. The spires of a few churches and temples stood out from the mass of buildings. From here they could also clearly see the docks along the other coast, filled with ships come to port. The triple-masted brigantine the party had seen earlier was pulling into the pier ahead of them, just west of the bridge. Its decks were busy with sailors moving about like ants, climbing over the rigging and preparing to unload their cargo from foreign lands. Mikael watched them over the rail of the bridge as they walked, giving his eyes something to enjoy.
At last they stepped off the foot of the bridge and back down to the level of the city. And again, they were in Lower Herrod. It’d been some days since they’d been here, not since the fire. In between then and now, they’d experience the joy and tragedy of Larlben Manor and the battle for the guardpost. Although Lower Herrod was much the same since they’d left it, they themselves were quite different. The party had new faces, and some old faces were gone. And the others had grown - yes, they’ve grown. There was much to be done. Johannes then spoke, “
We’ll go for the X just west of us. We haven’t been to that part of the city yet.” Silent, watchful, and secretly curious of what they might find, the group followed Johannes through an alley and onto a smaller city road. Indeed they hadn’t explored this party of the city, but then, it didn’t seem like there was much to see. Buildings around them were mostly residential, middle class homes and apartments by their appearance. When the road brought them near the pier, the residences were replaced by a few shipping warehouses, and they could once again see that brigantine ship through a layer of buildings. The crew were carrying crates down a ramp. Sailors had a busy life.
Continuing down the road a little farther, Johannes suddenly held out his hand for them to stop. The party waited while he pulled out the map and took a closer look. “
It looks like. . .” Johannes said ponderously, “
the X is a bit off the road, down this alley to the left I think.” Indeed on the left hand side was a common alleyway between two bulky apartment buildings. Imbellem peered down it, but nothing about it seemed special. He shrugged, “
Let’s have a look.”
Warily, they crept into the alley, only wide enough for two people to stand side by side. Only a stone’s throw down, the alley stopped in a dead end with nothing there save a few piles of trash from the apartments and a circular sewer grate in the center. Imbellem threw his hands up and let them fall to his side. “
There’s nothing here!” he exclaimed. Jacqueline walked past him, her eyes scanning furiously across the ground. She smirked, “
Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Jacqueline crouched down by the sewer grate and traced her finger around what looked like a footprint. Slipping her fingers beneath a latch, she lifted out the sewer grate, revealing a metal ladder which headed down into the
Aqueducts. “
I think this is exactly where we’re supposed to go,” she said calmly. She waved toward the others to follow, keeping her gaze downward. “
Come on, let’s not waste any time.” Without another word, she hopped into the hole and slid down the ladder, disappearing from the surface. Johannes stepped beside the entrance and sniffed. “
Smells like victory,” he said, remembering something past. Johannes smiled and called out to the others, “
Come on guys. You’re not going to let a woman show up four men are you?” Then, he too climbed onto the ladder and lowered himself down.
It was dim inside the
Aqueducts. Light peaked in through grates and small gaps to the surface which ambiently illuminated the tunnels, but they only did so much. Listening to the others climb down behind, Johannes looked around, Jacqueline already a few feet ahead doing the same. They were in a tunnel that seemed to follow the road above, going west to east. Flowing down the middle of the tunnel, just beneath the level of their feet, ran a river of dark-greenish water. The Aqueduct river wasn’t very wide, five feet at the most, and drifted at a gentle pace eastward. Darkness hid the farther ends of the tunnel, but if what they say about the Aqueducts is true, it’s not a place they’d want to explore thoughtlessly without risking being lost. Imbellem, whose hair had become disheveled again from the climb down, stepped beside Johannes, “
So what are we looking for exactly?” Dwalin hopped off the ladder and turned. Immediately he answered for Johannes, “
I’m pretty sure we’re looking for that.” They looked at Dwalin who was pointing across the river; on the other side, almost the same color as the grime-covered walls, was a single metal door. It was hardly a wonder they didn’t notice it at first, for it was old, rusted, and covered with the same fungus that seemed to grow everywhere. And what’s more, it had no handle at all - just a metallic rectangle that seemed almost randomly placed. “
Jacqueline,” Johannes called to her. She looked back at the others. Johannes smiled a confident smile, “
I think we found it!”
{Hop over the River - Jump Check Required}.
Roleplaying Experience!
Dwalin: Gained 25 XP
Herr Johannes: Gained 70 XP
Lady Jacqueline: Gained 40 XP
Mikael: Gained 30 XP
Imbellem: Gained 62 XP
***
[
Private to Lady Jacqueline Raynelde:
Knowledge Nature ~ The reddish powder came from the Coer Tree, which only grows on he neighboring jungle Isle of Noanatu. The dried and ground sap from the Coer is sweeter than any maple and often bought and sold by Olseeni traders enroute to Perdane. Living in a trade center like Herrod has its perks!
Spot & Listen ~ Watching Adwonus and his elven companion, you could’ve sworn that you locked eye contact with the elf, just for a moment. She might’ve seen you too. . .]
[
Private to Imbellem Tueri:
Spot & Listen ~ Next to the wagons, you hear one of the traders talking a rock in his shoe that he can never seem to find! “Curse these cheap boots!”]
[
Private to Mikael Vaeltaja:
Spot & Listen ~ “Ahh, I’ve got dust in my eye!” Mikael cried. He went to the nearest well to wash it out!]
[
Private to Herr Johannes:
Spot & Listen ~ Looked clear.
Other ~ One roll in the stomach and another to spare! It’s going to be a delicious day.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:22, Sat 28 Feb 2015.