Tales of Neutral Ground IC

[(Un)Inspired]

Truly a symphony of humanity’s worst smells tonight, Gryphon thinks to himself and he casts Prestidigitation to conjure a Bouquet Garni of Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, and Crushed Garlic; bringing it up to his face and inhales deeply before it disappears and readjusts his keffiyeh so it covers his mouth and nose like a face mask.

Much better. How’re you holding up Spritz? He mentally addresses his familiar.

Spritz brings his head out from under Gryphons scarf, flicks his tongue and responds telepathically, I feel so blessed to serve a wizard investigating this dungeon I’m assuming is built of rotting fruit and unwashed feet.

It’s not exactly like I’m going to commission a summer home here. See if you can smell any humans down one of these paths. The sooner we find that old man the sooner we can taste fresh air again.

You owe me a rabbit for this one.

Spritz holds his head out and tastes the air and reports what he senses to Gryphon who tries to focus his hearing down each pathway for the sounds of life coming from farther down one of the tunnels.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spritz takes the help action.
Gryphon’s Perception Check W/Advantage:
First Roll: (1d20+3)[23]
Second Roll: (1d20+3)[9]

[3SecondCultist]

Proceeding deeper into the sewer, the first of you eventually come to the intersection. Here, you get a much clearer idea of your choices in tunnel branches. To the west, the tunnel seems to continue for an exceptionally long while, much longer than even Raz' ability to see. Judging by your map, that passage would eventually lead you out from underneath Scuttle entirely and into different quarters of the city. If you look eastward, you note that the tunnel is partially collapsed on both sides, creating a narrow egress which ends abruptly. However, the more keen-eyed among your troupe note that the tunnel splits and runs back northward before it ends. Finally, the passage that you have traversed down continues southward for about thirty feet before curving to the west.

There are a few other sights worth noticing: in more than one location, you spy what appear to be rickety bridges made of wood planks and held in place through mortar and rope crossing the miniature canals of refuse. These constructions don't seem to be a part of the original sewer design, as they look like they've been thrown together haphazardly. The first is on the far side of the semi-caved in portion of hallway and runs north-south, while the second lies further south and runs east-west. What's more, Kett spies more than one muddy print against the stone work down here that seems to run towards the first of the bridges.

Spoiler: Gryphon, Raz

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Thanks to your heightened senses - one from your racial heritage, the other from an empathic animal connection - both of you pick up on the presence of something around the corner from the tunnel to the east (on your right on the map). There is the sound of gently sloshing water, a thick-set shuffling, and a sickly-sweet odor that you can barely pick up on but is getting stronger.

[Amnestic]

"Tracks to the left." Kett confirms. "Unless someone has any better ideas?"

[Niobaran]

Raz

The shifter stops dead in his tracks and holds up a hand, signaling the others to wait for a moment. He sticks his head towards the tunnel from the east. "Something's coming. I can smell it." He whispers.

Raz focuses for a moment, trying to identify the smell.

(Edit) "Smells like rotting garbage, but I can hear it coming." He adds, lowly.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Int - (1d20)[10] ?

[(Un)Inspired]

I can hear it too. If we drop back around the corner a bit we can try to hide from whatever it is. Mr. Raz I can Conjure an Illusion of something for you to be able to hide within that will keep you out of sight and able to keep eyes on the situation if you want to keep scouting while we hide.

As if to demonstrate what he means Gryphon draws his hand, like a paintbrush, through the air in the area he is standing in and what appears to be fallen stone, rubble, and boulders are painted into existence. The boulders appear to completely block off the path on this side of the water but Gryphon demonstrates that they are illusory and can be easily walked through if you understand their true nature. To complete the illusion Gryphon squeezes his hand as if he were spraying a perfume bottle and the scent of freshly broken up stone disseminates through the small area.

This way, if whatever it is perceives by sight it won’t be able to detect us and if it hunts by smell it will be equally baffled.

Gryphon waits to hear how others react to his plan and if they agree to it he takes a few steps back and presses himself again the wall attempting to be at stealthy as possible in the dark.

Spoiler: OOC

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Gryphon casts Minor Illusion and creates a visual illusion of broken stonework pulled up one space north of the north-eastern corner. He then casts Prestidigitation using the first power of the spell to create a “harmless sensory effect” of the smell of stone and granite dust.

[Niobaran]

Raz

Getting his bow ready while Gryphon casts the illusion nods to the others. "I'll see what I can find out." Raz focuses for a moment to shift to a more lynx-like state: fur sprouts from his skin, his ears become longer, slightly bend and grow tufts on their upper ends. His eyes become more cat-like, his teeth elongate to fangs. His movement becomes a bit more hunched, but he stays on two legs, as he starts to sneak towards the source of the sound.

Spoiler: OOC

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Shift to gain advantage on all wisdom checks (cancels out with dim light from dark vision)
Stealth - (1d20+16)[25] (includes pass without trace)
Perception - (1d20+6)[15] or Passive Perception 21, whatever is more appropriate.

[Amnestic]

Kett slips back with the torch, rounding the corner back to where they'd come from. "Torch'll give us away, I'll jump out of we're discovered." She says to Kleris in a hushed whisper. Putting it out would rob them of their sight entirely, and throwing it further back would do much the same if they did end up in a fight. She at the very least holds it towards the entrance they came from, hoping that the corner angles and illusions would be enough to cover it up.

[GameOfChampions]

Kleris whispers over to Gryphon, "Works for me, I can make a larger illusion if you wish? It can cover a 15ft cube and i can do it as much as needed. Just give a signal if that works."

He nods to Kett "Just a second. If Gryphon doesn't need the illusion I can cast one on thentorch to block the light and drop it when needed."

[(Un)Inspired]

Gryphon nods to Kleris with a slight smile, appreciating his fellow magician’s greater skill with illusions.

If you can give us more cover that would be perfect. He whispers to his fellow “Khorovar”.

[GameOfChampions]

Kleris nods then whispers under his breath "The hunt for vengence is done best in the shadows.

Then he winks at Gryphon and snaps his fingers. The boulders he had illusioned into being extend slightly higher up and across the entire tunnel on our side from the corner they were at across the water and to the other corner.

[3SecondCultist]

After a few minutes, you have a semblance of a plan. Four of you fall back up the northern cistern with your weapons out, Kett taking up the rear with only her torch. At Gryphon's insistence, Kleris begins his incantation, magically filling the sewer corridor with the illusion of fallen rubble and collapsed stonework. There are no gaps in the wall, testament to the warlock's skill with magic. From your side, the barrier looks largely real, although your knowing the nature of the glamer allows you to catch the odd streak of translucence here and there. Thankfully, your barrier prevents light from escaping, so anything that might have relied on seeing in the dark cannot catch the fifth member of your team.


Raz

While the spell is being cast, you begin to transform. Your features elongate and grow more bestial, rougher in nature. The wild side of the shifter has emerged in you, as you fall into a hunched position with your bow and begins to stalk forward. Here, bereft of light, you are more predator than prey. Edging past the partially closed off tunnel, the smell grows stronger even as you can hear the movement grow closer around the corner. As you begin to clear the corner, you see the source of the noise at last: a hulking mass of what looks like thick vegetation bunched into a monstrous shape at least ten feet from end to end. It seems to be made up largely of vines and knotted fungi, but bits of rotten fruit and other trash have gotten caught up in its brambles. There are no eyes or other features that you can spot, but it seems to have a cavernous mouth.

By the looks of it, the creature hasn't yet noticed any other presences in the tunnel. Its movements are slow and steady, and there is no indication of urgency in its wake. Every gradual surge forward causes sewer water to leak and drip out from the huge plant's various openings.

Spoiler: OOC

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So there is a monster here, but it hasn't seen you (even blindsense doesn't beat a Stealth roll of 25) It's up to Raz how to handle this, whether to attack it, bypass it, or try to let it be.

[Niobaran]

Raz

Seeing that the ... creature has not detected him yet, he takes the chance to retreat to the others. Having caught up with them, he shortly describes the monster, and then adds: "The way to the [east] is ending up in another grate. But shortly before that, there is another tunnel going [north], that's where that thing is coming from, slowly, currently. If we wanted to follow the tunnel [to the south] we could just proceed quickly and bypass it, hopefully. If we'd want to follow the one [to the north], we could try to stay hidden, let it pass." He pauses shortly. "Or we could right out seek a fight against it -- on it's home turf however."

[Amnestic]

Listening to the description of the monster, it sounds distinctly dumb - like most sewer dwellers, if she's honest. Not many smart people live in a place that stinks this bad. "The tracks head in that direction but if we've got alternate pathways we should try those first. We're not pressed for time and conserving strength is the better play. I don't see any profit in fighting a wandering bag of sewage and plants." She pauses, before continuing her her hushed whisper. "Also I don't know how effective punching one would be."

[(Un)Inspired]

Madam Kett is right. Gryphon whispers, Lets move quietly and try to push onward down the southern path.

[GameOfChampions]

Kleris shrugs, and whispers back "Works for me."

[CozJa]

As Raz gives his description and the others make their choices, Arimart concurs with them. "Good. Let's stay focused on our task."

[3SecondCultist]

With a quick consensus struck among your number, you gather and wait for a few more moments behind Kleris' illusory wall. Eventually, the sound made from whatever entity Raz encountered further in the tunnels begins to slow, and then recede; it seems to be retreating back the way it came, coming no further to your position than perhaps twenty feet before changing course. It doesn't seem to have sensed any of you, and after it leaves, you are free to move further along your intended course. Both bridges are intact enough for you to cross, though they creak slightly underfoot and are more than a little slippery. All the same, you avoid the more rotten boards and carry on your way in the same order, with Raz taking the lead and Kett in the very back with her lonesome torch.

You aren't traveling for very long when the southward tunnel turns and begins to run east. The shifter is the first to round the corner, as you keep your only light source hidden. Scanning the darkness, you spy what seems to be a long passage that runs due east, likely out to a larger drainage that would take the water here to Scions Sound. Several ancillary corridors run off of it further south, with closed off grates to the north from which flow more cast-off. Those of you with the ability to see in darkness also note a second gated exit chamber, with a ladder that presumably leads up to the surface.

But all of that isn't half as intriguing as the distant sounds of voices that come from the southern corridors.

Spoiler: Perception DC 22

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There are at least three different voices talking, a mix of male and female but all in low registers. The same voices seem to be coming out of both passages at roughly the same time. It's really hard to make out anything that's being said, but a few snippets can be made out across the distance and the flow of water: "believe he took the job"... "kid's not mine, I swear"... "gonna go to Arcanix one day"...

[(Un)Inspired]

Gryphon strains his ears to listen down the tunnels while Spritz tries to feel for sound vibrations running down the tunnels.

There’s people farther down there. I can hear them prattling about meaningless human nonsense.

Do any of you hear that? Gryphon asks the party in a whisper. These paths both lead to the same chamber. The voices of people having a conversation are drifting down them both.

[Amnestic]

"So, are we going to go to them or bait them back here?" Kett bounces a dagger in her free hand. "Can play a convincing damsel, though if we get too loud here we could attract the sewer monster. Might be safer to take the fight to them, put some distance between us and it." It doesn't even cross her mind that they won't be killing whoever the voices might belong to. To Kett, they're already dead - just a matter of whether it's 30 or 300 seconds from now.

[Niobaran]

Raz

"I think, I hear something, but can't get the meaning of it." Raz admits. "I could scout ahead again. Remember what he said." nodding towards Arimart. "He must be taken alive, and any further casualties should be prevented if possible."

[GameOfChampions]

"Works for me, let the scout che k it out and come back." Kleris nods at the shifter and eyes the distance.

[(Un)Inspired]

I agree with Mr. Kleris. Gryphon continues to whisper to the group. If you’re up for it, Mr. Raz then it’s seems we once again have need of your particular expertise.

[3SecondCultist]

Raz

The rest of the group is in agreement: they plan on relying on your services for the third time this evening. The four of them hang back at the corner while you move ahead to investigate the source of the voices. It isn't far to travel, less than fifty feet further down the tunnel. You do have to jump over the gap in the floor where the water flow through at one point, but for someone of your physique that's hardly a great feat. Within a minute, you've arrived at the last corner. Firelight dances across the corridor beyond, and shadows move.

This close, the voices are unmistakable. They drift in and out, echoing off of the damp stones, the subject of the conversations as inane as Gryphon made them out to be: debts owed, past scores, and the odd ribald joke. There is no change in demeanor, so nobody has heard you approach, so you dare to stick your head out and get a better look. You see a straight sewer that just ends, the source of its water blocked off at the base of a series of spikes and stakes pointing outward that rise to roughly half the height of the tunnel. You can also make out sharp shadows on the walkways leading up to the palisade - you recognize the telltale silhouette of caltrops. Several figures stand behind, as the tunnel opens up into a larger room beyond lit by torches.

You don't get much of a chance to scout the area further though, because you find the edge of your cloak catching one of the caltrops, which creates a metallic clink as it gets dragged across the rock. Looking up, you meet the eyes of a dwarf on the other side of the fortification, who suddenly breathes in. It's at that moment that you realize you've strayed into the realm of the torches, and are visible to their sight.

"You! Show yourself!" There is a pause, and the same voice calls behind him, "friends, we've got some company out there!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll20 Map

We're not in combat yet - I haven't rolled Initiative - but the camp is now on alert and getting themselves ready for a fight. I've revealed the entrances to the Midnighter base on the Roll20 map (the link is here as well). The shouting is loud enough that all of you would have heard it, so you would all be aware of what's going on. I've moved Raz up on the map as well, but you can all feel free to move when you get the chance.

[CozJa]

As the shouting is heard, Arimart understands that a silent approach isn't an option anymore, but is still unwilling to resort to violence. He turns to the others and whispers "I'll reach Raz, you may still stay hidden and prepare to advance."

The Paladin walks to reach Raz, stoppin right at the side of the sewer duct next to the entrance scouted by Raz. He raise his right hand as a friendly gesture, trying to look as unthreatening as possible.

"Hail to the two of you behind the barricade, and to all your other companions, my name is Arimart, and my companion here" he gestures at Raz, at the same time letting the symbol of the tribunal show, "is called Raz, You have to excuse us for our wary approach, but the reputation of the Midnighters precedes you. I am quite sure you already knew someone was coming, and I bet that you know why we are here. We're looking for a man who is with you and, believe it or not, we may be the only ones actually interested in helping him see the light of day. I require to speak to him."

Spoiler: Persuasion Roll

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(1d20+6)[24]

[Amnestic]

"So much for surprise." Kett thinks to herself - tactfully deciding not to voice the idea. Arimart's introduction doesn't lend much to further reveals, so as much as she'd like to get a better vantage on the situation, she opts to stay put for now. Maybe they're right and they can talk their way through this, though she quietly doubts it - they're going to have to fight at some point if these are the Midnighters. She briefly considers sneaking round the side, but the torch in her hand holds her back. A lighting shift like that would be immediately noticeable.

[GameOfChampions]

Kleris snorts as they call out. 'So much for stealthily. I hope they arent murdery thugs who shoot the heavy crossbow first and ask later.'

He watches Arimart walk out and hesitates. He could change form and shiftweave to match the dirty leathers and thuggish men. However he would be giving up a rather large advantage to these people if they knew he was a changeling.

So instead he adjusts his breastplate pulls his shirt down to make it seem a little less wrinkled, and runs a hand through his hair to get any loose ones. Then he walks out casual as can be behind Arimart. "Hey there gentlemen, no harm done. As my friend says we are just looking for the midnighters. Let's make this a profitable exchange rather then something messy, I don't want to be stabbed by you strapping gentlement

Spoiler

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Assist for Arimarts persuasion check.

[Niobaran]

Raz

Very discontent with the outcome of his efforts, does not show himself, as Arimart steps up himself, followed by Kleris. At this point, either the Midnighters are open for talking or they are preferring a fight. If it's the first, Raz doesn't feel like the person who should speak up, and if it's the second, he'd rather stay in a more advantageous position.

He slightly winces when Arimart tells those strangers his name, but that is what you get for working with official law enforcement.

[3SecondCultist]

As Arimart moves up and reveals his presence, there is a stir from the other side of the barricade. Several figures move closer into range, and in the radius of the torches the half elf and anyone else looking can see their appearances. The Midnighters, such as they are, appear to be a group as varied in garb and dress as they are all universally rather dirty. There's a dwarf and a halfling, and what looks like a male half-elf in armor that might have once been a tanner's pride. All of them have seen better days, but they seem wary enough and the way they've gone for their weapons tells you that they know how to fight. However, the words offered by Arimart and Kleris seem to give them pause, and after a moment one of them speaks up.

"I think they might be telling the truth, Clervec. Let's hear them out." The half elf turns towards another figure who approaches, revealing a poor leather patch over one eye as he does so. The figure in question becomes clearer as he approaches the wooden spikes, close enough for those of you standing at the entrance to get a better look at him. Right away, you notice that he carries no weapons and eschews armor for a set of burgundy and orange robes that might have once been very fine. His skin is a deep chestnut color, and pupils of intense gold reflect off of the torchlight.

"If you know who we are," Clervec begins in a voice that sounds like honey, "and you know who our guest is, then should also be aware that we were promised a rather large sum for his passage into Throneport. You both seem like upstanding fellows - you're certainly brave enough to wander down here with the symbol of the law on your shield - and my lieutenant Fallerian thinks you are worth listening to, but in order for me to let you in, you will need to promise us something in exchange." He gives Arimart and Kleris a winning smile.

[CozJa]

As the man called Clervec speaks, Arimart evaluates the situation: "Enough people, to strike us down, but the palisade is a cover both for them and for us. I could try to charge in and take them by surprise, if their chief goes down they'll probably disperse. Raz could be able to shoot at them from the shadows, and..."

He glances at Kleris, then looks at Clervec again. "... But he is unharmed, and nobody wants to die... usually."

The half-elf polish his shield, as if to show the symbol he brings with him, whispers to Kleris: "Follow my lead, please." and advances slowly toward the palisade and answers to the one-eyed man.

"Well... that seems fair. I'm sure that one such as you knows everything that happens around here. Therefore, you surely know that the Speckled Hen has been recently... disturbed, and I have very good reasons to believe that it's property, or at least its usufruct is going to change quickly... at the advantage of my friend. By the look of your 'base' here..."

The paladin stops briefly, looking around with a grimace, "You may need some other places to do your business, at least the less... lawbreaking parts of it.
So, here's my offer. If you let us in and speak with your guest We will guarantee you hospitality in the Inn for you and your men. And if things this night go really well, I may even be able to convince some of my colleagues in this sector of the city to turn a blind eye on some of your 'work'."

[(Un)Inspired]

Gryphon holds his position and listens to the conversation between the Prosecutor and the Midnighters. Wait, so is Kaessel offering clemency to old Nameless? Hmmmm what angle are you working? Well, better make myself useful. Stay back so as not to overwhelm them or move up to support the paladins?

Gryphon sighs lightly and gives Kett a shrug and leaves their hiding position to join the ranger and paladins. He walks forward with his hands out wide to show that not only is he not holding a weapon but the closest thing to an armament on his person is the dagger at his waist; hoping he looks no more threatening that a well dressed young man.

We stand by what our armored friend here says. We would just like the opportunity to talk.