Chapter 5: Occupied
Thumek is silent for a moment, cold fire smoldering in the dark eyes shadowed beneath his cowl. His countenance softens when again he speaks.
"Such audacity. A quality the master appreciates in you, I suppose."
He looks sidelong at the meatball corpse at his feet, then back at Nicolai.
"But you do have a point. Rest assured that security will be much improved going forward. Now- this is Lovad Padín's private property and you are here uninvited, trespassing. Again. There. You've been informed. Now, if you have further business with the master, please call at the front door, like respectable folk. Is that clear enough? Yes? Good. You know the way out."
Thumek makes a subtle gesture with his fore and middle fingers and the rug leaps from Nic's shoulders back atop the pit opening, stretching taught and spanning it. The major domo's gaze remains fixed on the party, protective wards still glimmering; his mind remains closed to Corros' perception.
On the way out, the Five again pass their most recently vanquished foes. The flesh golem, brutishly powerful undead construct, two sets of magically animated ceremonial armor, and a creature that looks like a cross between a werewolf and some nightmare ape from the Dark Lands south of the Great Dune Sea. It's a strange menagerie, not the typical warehouse security force of some run-of-the-mill coastal merchant. Furthermore, Thumek is clearly much more than a glorified butler.
The Five encounter no more surprises during the slog from the secret door back to the surface-level sewer entrance. It's been over a month since Tagger and the Drowned Rats sent to find him disappeared. Shim insists that the boys could have dodged the carrion crawlers that are sometimes encountered in the sewer system, but the giant albino crocodile and gelatinous cube recently dispatched by the Five proved to be more formidable hunters- ambush predators not likely to leave much, if any, evidence of their prey's passing. And the party saw clear signs that the apelike creature encountered in Padin's subterranean hallway also spent time in the sewers, doing what one can only imagine.
It's possible that Shim will accept the hypothesis that Tagger and others fell victim to the croc and/or the cube at face value, although the Five secured no evidence to substantiate that claim. Whether the boy and his gang-mates will lower the price of entry to Firewatch Keep in return for that information remains to be seen. That meeting will have to wait.
One by one, the Five emerge from the open sewer grate, squinting against the hazy afternoon sun that greets them. The pale white orb is partially obscured by high grey clouds, but compared to the darkness below, its diffuse light is initially painfully bright.
"Drop your weapons!" a harsh voice shouts from a side alley.
As the last of the Five climbs into the cobbled street, eight armed men emerge from various nearby approaches to stand in a rough circle around the open sewer entrance. Six of them wear the red-lacquered armor of the Bloodforged, two the orange-faced black cloaks of the city watch collaborators. The mercenaries display the confidence of men who've wet their weapons with the blood of other men. The two watchmen's apparent bravado, on the other hand, is barely skin deep.
"Drop 'em or we drop you!" the mercenary in charge reiterates, his voice tense with anticipation.
Your Turn.
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This message was last edited by the GM at 02:07, Fri 08 July 2016.