Metropolis (Slaves to the City) - Chapter Two

[Phoenix]

Ru raised an eyebrow. Since when did undead have offspring? Was this another side-effect of whatever was happening with Zsath? Whatever it was, it stunk more than the putrid muck he was standing in. Of course, the options were trying to fight past one or more of them, all the while not knowing how many more might be slogging around just out of sight. Ru squared his shoulders.

"No greater bond than parents to their children, is there? Provided we've agreed you won't be trying to kill or eat me now and in the future, why don't you lead the way to your boy and I'll see if I can't be helpful with whatever trouble he's gotten himself in?"

"Ghood, ghooood. We chan show you where he is, bhut not come with you, else the Deathbringer will chlaim us. You whill fhollow me."

The hunched creature moved away into the darkness, forcing Ru to push his way through the rising sewage 'waters' without assistance. In less than a minute though, the creature had turned into a tunnel more accomidating for his living companion. The creature shambled like he knew these tunnels backwards, and eventually stopped in the archway of another tunnel.

"Through here." It pointed along a tunnel that led into the darkness. "Yhou must fhollow this to the end, there is a dhock there that rhests upon an unliving lhake, he is in the fortrhess on the hother shide."

 

[jkason]

"Ghood, ghooood. We chan show you where he is, bhut not come with you, else the Deathbringer will chlaim us. You whill fhollow me."

The hunched creature moved away into the darkness, forcing Ru to push his way through the rising sewage 'waters' without assistance. In less than a minute though, the creature had turned into a tunnel more accomidating for his living companion. The creature shambled like he knew these tunnels backwards, and eventually stopped in the archway of another tunnel.

"Through here." It pointed along a tunnel that led into the darkness. "Yhou must fhollow this to the end, there is a dhock there that rhests upon an unliving lhake, he is in the fortrhess on the hother shide."

Ru pulled his quarterstaff out of the magical rucksack and took a step forward, then hesitated. 'Deathbringer' sounded awfully ... godlike, and he'd just learned, after all, that there might be something Not Quite Right with Metropolis' own god of death. Best to find out if he was walking into some divine smiting sooner rather than later.

Turning back to the undead creature, he asked, "Intelligence is the best weapon, so how about you share a little with me. What, exactly, does this Deathbringer look like, and do you know what sort of weapons or powers he has at his disposal?"

 

[Phoenix]

Ru pulled his quarterstaff out of the magical rucksack and took a step forward, then hesitated. 'Deathbringer' sounded awfully ... godlike, and he'd just learned, after all, that there might be something Not Quite Right with Metropolis' own god of death. Best to find out if he was walking into some divine smiting sooner rather than later.

Turning back to the undead creature, he asked, "Intelligence is the best weapon, so how about you share a little with me. What, exactly, does this Deathbringer look like, and do you know what sort of weapons or powers he has at his disposal?"

"We have nhot seen him prohperly, bhut we have felt the phower that he possesshes, and it is grheat. He will bring an end to our khind, that I know. Bewhare he who may conqhuer death, bewhare the destruhction that he whill bring our chity...."

The creature lurches off into the darkness, but his final words echo into Ru's ears.

"Find our Ghost, and brhing him home..."

 

[jkason]

Ru stands alone in the glow of the sunrod a moment, a chill going up his spine. 'Conquer death' sure sounded exactly like the Zsath problem that has been plaguing him. Who would have thought all this would result from wanting a better rate for a brothel's protection money? Gods, but Ru's life had a way of getting complicated.

Then he was done with the pondering. Ru always felt better when he was doing something. Checking that his kama was in easy reach and keeping a ready grip on his quartestaff, Ru trotted down the path, hoping that tracking one Ghost didn't leave Ru himself as one.

 

[Phoenix]

Ru stands alone in the glow of the sunrod a moment, a chill going up his spine. 'Conquer death' sure sounded exactly like the Zsath problem that has been plaguing him. Who would have thought all this would result from wanting a better rate for a brothel's protection money? Gods, but Ru's life had a way of getting complicated.

Then he was done with the pondering. Ru always felt better when he was doing something. Checking that his kama was in easy reach and keeping a ready grip on his quartestaff, Ru trotted down the path, hoping that tracking one Ghost didn't leave Ru himself as one.

The tunnel ahead lead onwards into darkness and...stench. Ru was still not used to the filthy smell that the sewers produced, and several times he had to catch himself before he lost whatever was left of his lunch, but this stench was different, worse.

The tunnel opened up into another sewer canal, but this one was filled not with sewerage but something else. Severed limbs, rotted organs, filthy ichor-like liquid flowed downstream as if a thousand men were minced into pieces and poured into this river.

Ru stood for a moment, staring. Then the sound reached his ears, though it took him precious moments to figure out what he was hearing.

Children? There was the sound of children crying coming from downstream, as well as talking and...metal? Soldiers?

Someone was coming his way that was for sure...

 

[jkason]

Ru swore under his breath. He'd been so busy looking for a double-cross attempt to kill him from the undead, then worrying about what the hells a deathbringer might be, he'd glossed right over the "party" talk. Of course Ghost wasn't alone. He'd written the article to gather a force, hadn't he? And something about children was in that article, too. Apparently, he'd succeeded.

Still, Ru had been stung in the butt enough the last few days by assuming. Whatever was coming this way, his best bet of surviving it was not giving away his presence until he really knew what it was. He hunkered down near the opening to the canal so that the wall would conceal him while he could peek around the corner. Then he shoved the sunrod back in his rucksack, plunging himself into darkness, looking for the tell-tale glow of oncoming torches and sunrods.

Let's see what kind of army a deathbringer has he thought, blind and stinking, the odd echoes of water and children and metal the only proof he hadn't slipped through to the other side already.

 

[Phoenix]

Let's see what kind of army a deathbringer has he thought, blind and stinking, the odd echoes of water and children and metal the only proof he hadn't slipped through to the other side already.

[sblock]Listen check (DC 12) +9 - Failure
Intelligence check (DC 5) +2 - Failure[/sblock]

The noise of the large group and the light that they are shedding up the corridor is easy to track, a large beacon to determine how close that they are coming to Ru's hiding place. The last thing that he was expecting was a smaller group, their dimmer light source disguised by the larger group's, sneaking ahead to scout the area.

It was a simple mistake, but one that had allowed a large half-orc, a halfling and a human, all covered in gore and filth, to sneak up on him...

[sblock]Please feel free to move to Chapter One for the moment. [/sblock]

 

[Fenris]

Bump for reference