On your way back to the inn, you noticed a small figure standing in an alleyway, covered by shadow and looking out into the street. A gnarled hand clutched the heavy black robe tight around the neck.

As the cowl was thrown back, the face was revealed. So worn by time and worry, it was almost impossible to determine if the human face was male or female. The hair was white and stringy and the eyes were equally white, making sure that the human couldn’t see anything of this world. And a stench of age and decay surrounded the form, that made most take the long way around, while a few donated copper pieces in the manner of giving to a beggar.

Suddenly the eyes fixated on you and a shriek, nigh unto the shriek of a banshee, left the figure’s lips. She threw herself toward you and collapsed at your feet. Slowly and painfully she started to rise, looking at you with her blind eyes. Ignoring the dust covered candied grasshopper snack that rested near Gina’s feet.

Her eyes opened disturbingly wide and her look almost bored through you, until they rolled back into her head, accompanied with a deep, low moan. She started to shake, as if in an epileptic fit. And in a low, whispering hiss, the following words left her lips:

“The stars are set in motion,
a plan both cunning and divine;
beware of specters in the night,
beware of unseen design;
the key you hold, others desire;
protect yourself from obsession’s FIRE!”

As the last word was torn from her lips, she threw herself backward. Her body suddenly covered in crackling, dancing, blue white flames. Until the flames exploded, covering all of you in the fleeing conflagration (2hp of fire damage each) and leaving nothing but dust left of the woman.

Julian was so surprised he pinwheeled backwards and fell over, picking himself up quickly in a clumsy and energetic manner.

"What?  What was th... what?"  He tried to make some sense out of what just happened but his the only conclusion he kept coming back to over and over again was that this was somehow Marcus' fault, seeing as how he was the one with all the weird visions and dreams and amazing predilection for having bizarre things happen to him.

He shook his head repeatedly and quickly while hastily gathering the woman's copper.

"Any idea what the hell that was all about?  Because it's gotta be about your mom or the elves and the key or whatever.  Damn lot of craziness for a music box though.  You still have it?  Or did I sell it already?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Mon 21 July 2008.

Marcus makes an attempt to assist the strange old beggar, until something supernatural seems to take hold of them. He listens to the prophecy, and a chill runs through his body. He murmers a horrified prayer to Paladine, and is about to look to the others to judge their reactions, when the woman detonates. He leaps back with an arm raised to shield his eyes, but is still burned down his arm and side.

Marcus steps back, face ashen, at the sight of the exploding beggar. "I still have the Key safely tucked away. But that warning has me deeply worried. It sounds like we can expect an attack during the night.  Possibly someone trying to burn the inn down. It would certainly create enough chaos that they may succeed. I think Lord Brightblade needs to be told everything we know. If we are to be attacked then the entire Solamnic party will be in danger as well," he says.

As you discussed this, a voice from the crowed that had gathered to see the spectacle said "They killed her! Call the watch!". And that cry was carried throughout the crowd and spread into nearby streets until you heard two long blasts from a horn. Likely at the lips of a watchman or a Knight of Takhisis. Lips that didn't sound too far away. Likely only moments to do something before they arrived.

"Run!" Marcus growls. Singed and surprised, he has the presence of mind to clear the area immediately. Although they have nothing to do with the beggar's explosion, any attention is to be avoided. He makes a mad dash through the crowd, forcing aside any who block the way, and turning corners at random to throw off pursuit.

Julian was without a doubt completely surprised at the crowd of folks milling around, who seemed to creep up on him while he was lost in her copper.  Even so he had thought that in a big city like this exploding beggars would be old hat by now, but he was wrong.

"She had it coming!  All of you do!  Repent your sins or burn!"

It was all Julian could think of as a way to scare the heebie jeebies into them.  If he was going to have to run through the streets avoiding the watch again, at least the crowd was going to pay him with their stares of shock and horror.  He burned their instant reactions into his memory - something to keep him warm at night - and followed Marcus, trying not to laugh.

While you were running past one of Pashin’s artesian wells, the ground erupted nearby, and a swarm of rats scurried out of the hole as fast as their short legs would carry them. And they ran in your direction.

Marcus calls back to Julian, "Remind me to kill you slowly if we get out of this alive. We want to try to keep a low profile. We watch a woman explode and you decide to scare the locals into remembering you. If they hang us I want them to get you first so I can enjoy my last moments," he says, halfway caught between amusement and outraged anger.

As the rats start to swarm up, Marcus immediately realises that they are after the group. He pulls his sword as he continues to run, trying to outpace the rats. Having to stop to fight the rats will increase the chances that the town watch or Knights of Takhisis will catch up with them.

Julian was running.

"Rats," he managed between breaths.

He continued running, stuffing copper into a pouch.

As you fled from the rats a shadowy figure appeared in one of the side alleyways. "This way," he said and beckoned you to follow him.

Marcus offers a quick prayer to Paladine. Chased by rats and dark Knights, sought for blowing up a peasant, and now an unknown person seeks to lead them down a dark alley. And the worst part is that it actually appears to be a good idea to follow them. He turns to the side and starts to follow the person down the alley, hoping sincerely that it is the elven resistance and not roughians or worse. If they head into a dead end, there could be serious bloodshed as the bandits, rats and Knights of Takhisis fight to see who gets to kill them.

As you entered the alley, the rats continued forward, seemingly not after you at all. The unknown individual led you back to where the rats had appeared. And when he saw the hole they had exited, he shook his head.

“We have to fix that soon,” he said and started moving again. The black robed, black cowled figure led you to one of the other artesian wells in Pashin and crouched down nearby, quietly indicating that you do the same. And as you did so, he pushed the cowl back, revealing a delicate elven face, as Marcus had hoped.

He had golden hair, cut ragged and short. And it would have been beautiful, if it hadn’t been for the intensity of the elf’s features. His pale blue eyes appraised you coldly for a few moments before he spoke.

“You have been granted an opportunity not offered to many. You have been summoned to see Shaylin. Head towards the southern area of the sewers. There is a hidden passage there, marked with this symbol.”

The elf sketched a symbol in the dirt and as soon as he believed you had it memorized, he swept his hand through the dirt and obliterated it. His hand continued to sweep through the dirt and he revealed a small iron ring, which he twisted and pulled upwards, sliding a hidden panel aside to reveal a hidden entrance to the sewers. He uncoiled a rope and let it down, before he secured it to the artesian well with a grappling hook.

“Quickly now,” he said. “I will go aid my brethren make sure that the foul knights don’t follow.”

As you entered the alley, the rats continued forward, seemingly not after you at all. The unknown individual led you back to where the rats had appeared. And when he saw the hole they had exited, he shook his head.

“We have to fix that soon,” he said and started moving again. The black robed, black cowled figure led you to one of the other artesian wells in Pashin and crouched down nearby, quietly indicating that you do the same. And as you did so, he pushed the cowl back, revealing a delicate elven face, as Marcus had hoped.

He had golden hair, cut ragged and short. And it would have been beautiful, if it hadn’t been for the intensity of the elf’s features. His pale blue eyes appraised you coldly for a few moments before he spoke.

“You have been granted an opportunity not offered to many. You have been summoned to see Shaylin. Head towards the southern area of the sewers. There is a hidden passage there, marked with this symbol.”

The elf sketched a symbol in the dirt and as soon as he believed you had it memorized, he swept his hand through the dirt and obliterated it. His hand continued to sweep through the dirt and he revealed a small iron ring, which he twisted and pulled upwards, sliding a hidden panel aside to reveal a hidden entrance to the sewers. He uncoiled a rope and let it down, before he secured it to the artesian well with a grappling hook.

“Quickly now,” he said. “I will go aid my brethren make sure that the foul knights don’t follow.”

Digorye, Gina, Julian, Marcus, Dove

[Private to Digorye Minaat: The drawn symbol means “the path is clear” in Silvanesti elven.]

[Private to Julian Uth Argus: The drawn symbol means “the path is clear” in Silvanesti elven.]

[Private to Marcus Valarian: The drawn symbol means “the path is clear” in Silvanesti elven.]

[Private to GM: For Gina and Dove. The drawn symbol means “the path is clear” in Silvanesti elven.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:02, Mon 28 July 2008.

"Hey, things are looking up!  We get a guided tour of the sewers of Pashin!"

The idea of traipsing through sewage to meet elves was nice but worrisome: he was going to be part of a diplomatic envoy half covered in excrement, which was bad, but the elves would probably all be soiled in the same way, which was worse.  Still, it did offer up something more palatable than simply being run through aboveground by a collection of nasty-spirited knights, which was a whole order of magnitude worse than attempting to have a serious conversation with one's boots full of some peasant's dinner from last night.

Julian went down the rope and wondered which way to go, considering both directions.  One seemed better than the other by virtue of less stench and so he assumed that was the wrong way, heading towards whatever vile putrescence the elves called home.

As Julian went down in the sewer, he could see that the only available light came from the open hole above. The chamber was fairly large, 60-90 feet wide in each direction. The center was dominated by a wide stone pillar, the artesian well.

Four tunnels left the chamber, one in each direction. In the center of each tunnel was a gully wider than two men needed to fight next to each other and about as deep as they were tall. The gully was half filled with water and waste that washed down the walls in narrow channels from the roads above. On each side of the gully was a walkway wide enough for one warrior. The ceiling curved up into an arch over the center of the gully and at the edges it was about twice your height and in the center about a half height higher.

In the intersection the walkways filled up the corners and provided more room than the walkways in the corridors and gave enough space to make it easier to jump the gully.

[OOC: Assuming that Julian pulled out his everburning torch before heading into the darkness.]

The rest of you followed Julian into the sewers and into what moments earlier had been the darkness, as Julian had brought out his enchanted torch to give them some light. Following one of the gullies, with the gully to your left, single file with Julian in the lead, you came to an intersection after a while.

In this intersection you could go either left or right. Though to go left you'd have to cross, enter, or jump over the gully. Fortunately the right tunnel was exactly where it needed to be to enable you to get a running start on the jump.

"Thank goodness the elves gave us such good directions.  Otherwise we could be lost forever!"

Julian pulled out a copper he'd stolen from the now-incinerated mad prophetess and flipped it, examining the result of his toss just long enough to get disgusted and throw it into the sewer sludge.

"Never trust a copper.  They're always setting their sights low, you know?"

He backed up and took a running jump to head left.

[Private to GM:

Julian will gauge the jump - if he thinks there's the slightest chance of failure, ie taking 10 won't cut it, he'll toss in a level 0 effect for enough of a Jump boost to make it.]

Marcus carefully examines the intersection, looking for any sign of the markings indicating the secret door.


[OOC: Which direction is south in regards to the intersection?]

With the aid of his magic, Julian jumped the gully still holding the only light source. While Marcus looked for the marker and the secret door, though it's difficult to be certain if any marker is on the other side of the gully.

[Private to Marcus Valarian: Marcus doesn't see any marking, nor does he find any secret passage. He doesn't know which direction is south.]

Marcus backs up, then makes a running leap to the other side of the gully. He is content to follow the quicker Julian through the tunnels. To ensure that they don't get lost though, he takes a piece of chalk from his pouch and starts to make obscure marks on each turn the make, showing which direction they have come from. That way they can find their way back to the exit if necessary.

Following Julian, Marcus jumped across the gully. Followed by Dove. Digorye and Gina used their magic to cross, leaving Gabriel for last. And he made it too.

Some time later the tunnel turned to the right. And after some more time you arrived in another chamber with an artesian well in the middle. Much like the one in which you entered the sewer. The only exception that the only exits were left and straight ahead.

Going straight ahead would require another jump across a gully, while the tunnel to the left quickly turned to the left and you couldn’t see beyond that.

Julian collapsed like a gnome observation tower.

"Did these elven geniuses tell us which way to go and I just missed it?  Are there signs that we should be reading?"

He looked accusingly at a passing lump of hairy sewage, assessing it, wondering if it were a guard in disguise.  He eventually decided that it was only... chicken, it seemed.  With peas.  And the aforementioned hair.

He turned back to the assembled heroes, wondering if he looked as bad as the rest of them did.

"If we're lost or have no idea where we're going, I suggest we split up.  Gina, you should come with me since you look the best.  We'll head that way, towards the dubious pile of animal rendering.  Marcus, you and Dove go towards that pile of rat carcasses and Digorye you can head back and to where we came from and take the branch towards that unidentifiable smell worse than the rest of this place."

"Yes. They told us to go south, but I guess you didn't notice that. Like you didn't notice that I'm still around." Gabriel said in a tone of good natured banter.

"Yeah, I caught that.  But south is... which way again?  I'm not good without some moss and a sunrise."

"Me too," Gabriel said.

"I am unsure of my directions down here as well. We need a dwarf for situations like this," Marcus says sourly. He starts towards the turn to the left,, still marking his way as he goes.