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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Olgar Shiverstone" data-source="post: 3883533" data-attributes="member: 5868">They met a night in a dark alley in the Sunrise district, behind the Taxidermist's Hall.  After a bit of discussion they had finally decided that it would be bext to attempt an infiltration of the Lotus Dragon hideout, so they had approached the building some two hours after midnight, when it was hoped that no one would be in the street to oberve them breaking and entering.Thalas, Arjan, Athal, and Rhiannon waited in a dark alley while Morderas and Quinn slipped around to the back of the Taxidermist's Hall, looking for a way in.  Time passed slowly.  The district was completely silent, with no pedestrians in the streets.  Dark clouds hid the moon, and the streetlamps had not been lit in that part of the district -- perfect for sneaking.Morderas returned after what felt like an hour, but had probably only been a fwe minutes."We're in," he said.  "Quinn is keeping watch.  We haven't found any way to a basement yet, but it is only a matter of time, and you can help us search."They followed the rogue to the back of the building, where Morderas had jimmied the lock on the back door.  They entered what looked like a storerrom, containing barrels and crates.  Morderas an Quinn disappeared up a darkened hallway, leavign the otehr to wait silently in the darkness.A short time later Quinn returned, motioning the other to follow and keep quiet.  He led the way down a darkened hallway, then through what was obviously a well-concelaed door on one wall.  Beyond, through a narrow crawlspace, was an open trap door with a ladder leading downward.  Torchlight was shining up from below the trapdoor, illuminating Morderas' outline."This looks like it," he said simply, pointing downward.  Athal led the way down the ladder.About ten feet down they reached a narrow worked stone hallway with a partly opened door at one end.  When the entire party had reached the bottom, Athal, Thalas, and Morderas listened at the doorway.  Hearing nothing, they proceeded behind Morderas and Quinn, taking pains to make as little noise as possible.  The passage split beyond the door, and Quinn went left while Morderas went right.  Thalas hesitated, then followed Morderas with the rest of the group.  They crept along slowly, passing through a narrow chamber and a series of arched doorways.  The entire area was well lit and carefully maintained, but was quiet.  They followed Morderas to the left around another corner, then halted at an intersection while he went forward to reconnoiter.Quinn soon returned from scouting the other passage.  "This is a big place.  I found a dining hall, and a large padded practice room.  There's more, but I figured I should come back before we run in to something.  Where's Morderas?"Thalas pointed down the hall.  "Scouting.""Let's hope he restrains his homicidal tendencies," Quinn said. "I had to stop him from killing a sleeping old man upstairs."Suddenly there was a sound of ringing bells, and a stream of curses came from the hall ahead.  Moderas came running back toward them."Alarm," he shouted needlessly,"they're after me!"  He contonued past, going down an intersecting corridor and out of sight.Athal stepped forward into the corridor intersection as Thalas unrolled the scroll he'd created.  He read the engraved runes, releasing the remainder of the spell he had begun casting the day before where he had prepared it.  When he was complete, Athal had grown to eight feet in height, filling the hallway.  Athal's arms and sword had lengthened, and he could reach from the intersection all the way to the distant door from which Morderas had come.  Thalas was just in time, because two armed and armored mercenaries came barrelling out of the doorway.  The enlarged Athal struck down the first one, and fenced with the second as Thalas released a second spell, spraying a thin slippery liquid on the floor in front  of the doorway.  The man standing there slipped and fell, and Athal skewered him as he attempted to rise from the evaporating substance.Quinn, Arjan, and Korlick pounded past, turning to follow Morderas down the unknown corridor.  Thalas could hear Arjan begin a magical spell of his own, but he soon became distracted by two more men rushing from the room.Athal whirled and swung, and with a thrust followed by an overhand chop he cut both men down.  Thalas and Athal then moved forward through the doorway, just as they heard growling and snarling coming from down the opposite arm of the corridor.Inside the room beyond the door, Quinn and Morderas were fighting two more armored men.  The room itself was a barrakcs, with two rows of bunks down either wall, perhaps twelve in all.  A chest stood at the foot of each bunk, and there were racks for arms and armor on the walls between torch sconces.Another man went down, and Arjan dodged past, shouting at the last man: "Drop you weapons and surrender!"  The man dropped his rapier and put his arms in the air, as Arjan began an impromptu interrogation."Where's Vathus!" he asked."I don't know what you're taking about.""He's in the lap pf the Lotus.  Where's that?" the green-faced druid asked."You're in it.  But I don't know any Vanthus."The interrogation was suddenly cut short by snarling as an enormous wolf bounded into the room from a door at the opposite end.  Athal and Thalas were just readying their weapons as Quinn and Morderas scrambled to get clear of the ravening beast.Korlick, however, had not been caught napping.  The dog bounded across a bunk, and entered a whirling, snarlign furball with the wolf.  Fur flew as the dog lunged and feinted.  Unable to get away, Morderas also fought like a demon, slicing the wolf across one shoulder, and distracting it just long enough for Korlick to dodge in and rip the wolf's throat out.  Thw creature collapsed with a final shudder."Well, that's that," Moderas said, panting.  "Learn anything useful from this one?"Arjan shook his head.  He turned to the prisoner.   "We'll set you free, but only if you tell us where ..."  He didn't finish, as Morderas ran the prisoner through."Boring conversation anyway," Moderas shrugged.  Arjan simply wagged his jaw silently, at a loss for words.His true colors coming out, Thalas though. We should not trust this one.  He's a loose catapult on deck.  He surveyed the room."Morderas," he asked and the others cleaned and sheathed their weapons, "how many of them were there?""Seven," Moderas replied curtly.Thalas counted only six bodies of black-armored men.</blockquote>

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