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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carnifex" data-source="post: 627722" data-attributes="member: 227">Trin gave Sebastion a toothy and humourless grin, his tail lashing agitatedly behind him. "This is hardly a densely populated place, unfurred; it is under your city, not part of it. It is sheltered and I am quite out of the way here, with abundant supplies of what I want on hand. And you think some hamlet or village of your unfurred type would accept me? I think not. Besides, I have little taste for wandering wildernesses without the luxuries I prefer."He nodded slightly more mollified to Melisande. "Fifty gold and I take you where you want to go, but I don't get involved. It's not worth my skin."Wolf nodded, and reached into a pouch, handing over a handful of coins. "Twenty-five now, twenty-five once you've got us there, alright?"The verman's clawed hand snatched out and took the gold from the mercenary, quickly depositing it into a bag on his belt. "Alright," he muttered, then waved for the rest to follow him. "Come on, keep close. And keep your eyes out; where we're going, nasty things live."As they filed out he swing the rickety door closed, closing a large metal lock that clicked loudly and rustily. The verman waved at them to follow him, taking a sniff of some powder he had in a small bag and shaking his head as if waking up properly.* * *They wandered what must have been ancient sewage channels, constructions deep in the embrace of the earth filled with debris that they had to clamber and climb over. The floors were often covered in a layer of water, moisture dripping from the ceiling as the storm above ground continued. It was almost hypnotic, wandering these winding passageways with such a sense of pressure above, just a single guiding torch held high by Trin the marker for them to follow as he wandered the maze-like underways of the capital as if out for a casual stroll. He didn't need the torch himself, his eyes keen in pitch dark, but even for those who did need light it just served to make the contrasting dark around them even more ominously pitch black.Here through a collapsed wall; there along another passage; on and on for a long time. Oddly, they seemed to be going up a little; still well beneath the lowest cellars of the city above but higher than the natural cavern in which Trin made his home."We're on your ground now," Kale murmored to Cord as the crew made their way through the gloom. Trin seemed an honest enough scout-for-hire... which meant the mercenary could trust him as far as his pursestrings could reach. Careful not to touch the carvern walls but for their slimy-wet slick, Kale regarded his encroaching surroundings with a detached air, wondering how anyone could bear to live down there.Yet, there was a certain appeal, a certain honesty to Trin. He's my kind of scum... he thought before mentioning to Cord- "You may be leading us out of here.” The smells alone can guide him, Kale hoped.To Kale, Cord said, "The route is memorized, my friend. Much of my life has been spent in tunnels not unlike these; I will lead us out, if our guide should desert us in our time of need."* * *"There," Trin whispered.They wandered a shambles of old semi-collapsed cellars, sewers and natural holes in the rock, myriad obsolete wooden and stone supports randomly rearing out of the ground. There, up ahead, the cave they were currently traversing came to the corner of an old cellar or somesuch room of which the corner had collapsed into the wider open space. The forest of wooden struts made approaching it perhaps a little more difficult but at least there was cover.The room ahead was aglow with light from the lanterns within, and Rat Trin's eyes glinted in the fitful illumination. "There are your slavers. Quite ironic really, when you consider that we're pretty much underneath the temple of Naskha right now." He gave another humourless grin."For them, with their light in there, out here will be almost pitch darkness. Easy for you to approach, and easy for me to stay out of sight. I will wait here for you to lead you back out, but I'm not coming in. Now, my money.""You'll get it when we're done, to make sure you hang around for us.""That was not the deal! Do you question my honour? I will wait for you if you pay me; if you go back on our deal I leave now!"Wolf reluctantly handed over the other twenty five gold pieces, and the verman hunkered down in the darkness by a rotten wooden support, producing some sort of root from a pouch and chewing rigorously on it. "Good. Now I wait here for you."They could move fairly close to the exposed room in the darkness without fear of being spotted. The chamber was large within, even with one corner collapsed out into the void of the cave; Wolf and Kale scouting ahead brought back many details of what lay within. On the left wall from the collapsed corner was a section where the wall gave way to bars; beyond that, presumably, the slaves were kept. On the opposite wall of the long, spacious room, wooden stairs led up to a platform and a door set up in the wall; it was slightly open. On the wall between those two walls, on the far side of the room, a single wooden door was currently closed.Within the room were numerous tables and chairs, a number of men in various states around them. Large casks sat in various places; one clearly of a beverage from the way one of the slavers poured liquid from its tap into his tankard. Other chests, boxes and suchlike were also scattered around, some with a distinctly exotic look about them from their construction and decoration; one man seemed to be taking a detailed inventory of the contents of some of the containers.There were seven men in there, in all. Some of them were round a table playing dice and cards or otherwise attending to various duties, one wandering over to the bars and pushing a bowl of food through with a disdainful look at the occupants of the cells; Kale could recognise the two men who had been with the wizard amongst the people here, Kaelos and Garus. Kaelos, the man they had encountered in the tavern, was stalking anxiously back and forth at the bottom of the stairs, his hand reached up to fiddle nervously witha small ruby amulet that had been concealed from the trio's sight in the tavern; it looked like he was waiting for something. Garus had his feet up on the table where they threw bone knuckle dice, but he shared a worried look as well. The two seemed to have some sort of superiority to the other cultists around them. One of the men at the table had laid down a pistol near to his hand; another needed only to lean back and he'd have a short bow ready, which currently rested on a nearby low, long crate.Sitting apart from the others was a big man, heavily built in loose, red cloth garments, tattooes running along his arms - bare apart from silver bracers - and across his neck. Apart from straps over his fists he didn't seem armed but with the confident air he had and his physical stature most people probably wouldn't mess with him anyway. He sat facing out towards the darkness, apparently just gazing off into the gloom with a stern look on his face. Occasionally one of the cultists would throw him a worried glance.Burl used a wood support standing in the darkness for cover while Wolf and Kale scouted. As a battle seemed in the offing, Burl spent the time arranging the spell components he would be using so that they would be easily grasped. His plan was to bring up a magical force field to give him added protection as soon as they returned and gave the word that they would be attacking. Until they returned with a plan, he would wait and watch, quietly watching the others.Kale hadn't been surprised when the ratling demanded the remainder of his payment as soon as they arrived at the strange temple. Surely, the man would bolt as soon as trouble arose. Kale, on the other hand, sought out trouble like it was some sort of ancient delicacy. And I am the expert, he determined as Wolf and he returned from their short scouting runs.Now was the chance to see how the group performed as a team. Reports of large quantities of classy meats? Fairy tales of ancient dragons danced through the mercenary’s head as he considered the specifics of the situation. Kaelos seemed rather nervous- was he waiting for his employer to arrive, or to emerge from an audience with his superior? Kale hoped the merchant-mage was being dressed down, for events directly connected to a certain ‘young whelp’ and his refusal to die simply."So, what do people propose as a plan then? I reckon we'd do well to open up with whatever ranged weapons we have and then quickly charge in to finish them off while they're still confused, otherwise they'll get into cover - which there's a lot of in there - and might eb able to fight us off if they get organised since they'll know where we'll have to come from. Anyone got any other ideas?" Wolf asked.There were two ideas Burl wanted to share. “First, there has been no mention of the leader being there. With his magic, we need to be prepared to act quickly against him. Second, I think you should try to take out the large man with the tattoos quickly. He sounds particularly nasty and besides if he would fall early, it may panic the others. I have several ranged magics that I can use, but I wonder if I should wait, not showing myself at first and wait until the leader shows then attack him immediately. I doubt that I could take him out, but maybe I can keep him from bringing his magic to bear on the entire group. From the description, there seems to be two obvious places for the leader to be hiding, the two rooms with doors. If it wasn’t for the slaves, I would say just heave in some alchemist fire bombs, but it could bring the whole place down, but remembering Kale’s singed eyebrows from his last confrontation with him, I don’t believe he would hesitate with firebombing us for even a moment.” Burl finished and waited for imput.Burl made his analysis, and Kale was pleased. The mage may actually have an eye for tactics. Whispering, he spoke. ”Yes, the magic should be reserved for the mage, should he show up. And that big man, he needs to come down, too. I would like to sneak close with someone for support- Cord, you’re with me? Wolf, Mister Cornell and Wyshira can shoot, then close in quick to keep us from getting ganged.” Kale felt odd calling the blue priestess into the fight, but she had certainly proven her mettle several times over. ”The rest hold back at the room opening, watch our backs, and blast that mage when he comes calling.” Thinking back to the upper doorway and its unknown contents… ”Let’s not worry about my eyebrows…” he said with a smirk, wondering what sort of luck he must have.Ready to depart with Cord, he concluded. ”We’re underground, it could go dark. Don’t go anywhere alone- if we need, we can rally just down the tunnel we came.””Anyone’s free to take a few plucks with my bow,” he said as he produced the ranged weapon, ”Though I’d be careful of the shiny tips,” he carefully revealed the silvery points, shielded in the shadow of his hand.Sebastion had been surveying the territory, carefully, half-listening to the conversation, and moved back to confer... and disagree."The darkness gives us cover here, why waste it. Fire from the darkness, do some damage with surprise and missile weapons." he began, laying out the plan in his mind as he went along. "When the try to retaliate, logic dictates they'll take up weapons as well. That's when we advance, strike with melee, then fall back, drawing them into the lit backdrop of the opening.Another volley of missile fire, and those that are left then can be attacked from the flank by the rest of us who can wait over there, out of sight, alongside the entrance. They'll stop to combat that danger, and turn, which is when we double back and come at them from the other side..." he looked around, wondering if they were following the idea. It all seemed so clear in his head, so obvious, yet he had had trouble explaining so many of the things that, to him, had been clear lately."What do you think?"Sebastion painted a picture of the upcoming engagement, and Kale listened carefully, pondering the words and plan in parts, and whole. The swordsman had his mind in the right place... It just might take a little work to get the hay out of his head.Really, the man's plan was sound, though there was one point of contention. "The dark is of great advanage," Kale agreed carefully. "But there's no way those yoyos are walking through that hole. In a few breaths, they'll be behind cover, and we'd have to push through that doorway to dig 'em out. We'll manage a few volleys in surprise, but we'll have to bring the fight if we want any hope of eliminating the blokes before... nastier things arrive." Nodding to the Huron man for his input, Kale then inclined his eyes toward Wolf, seeking comment, or maybe validation.Though Melisande was by no means stupid, she really couldn't be bothered to make much sense of all this strategizing. It would all be chaos once battle broke out anyway she figured, working from experience. As long as things remained ranged--and thus out of disembowelment reach--she was fine. She had a couple new tricks up her sleeve, anyway..."Just tell me where to stand and what to shoot," she whispered impatiently. She wanted to be done with Kale's business and back to Lord Ecurius' for supper, and Pierre's right head's nervousness was beginning to get to her. Mel wanted to tell him to go up and visit Sandslipper in the temple of Naskha above, but the toad kept squirming and would not come out as long as Rat Trin was anywhere in the vicinity. Wyshira nodded in agreement at Melisande's comment. "Stand behind me--" Ebri murmured from the depths of her wrap-turned-cowl, placid, taking a firm grasp on Melisande's elbow and stepping in front of her in a protective stance.  "I am short, I will not impede your aim."It seemed that there was some disagreement about the right way to proceed. She waited till they had it all sorted out, and then spoke to Kale right before he set out."I know you've got something up your sleeve; some new way to go off on your own and risk your neck. Take this first." She reached out and touched his cheek with one cool hand, closed her eyes and chanted a prayer under her breath. "There. That should protect you from any fire attack, at least somewhat. I've been saving that for you all day.""Waitbut," Kale protested lamely. Feeling the cool rush through his cheek, the priestess surely had a good bearing on where Kale and combat would often lead. The woman had him nailed. The young mercenary didn't know if it was portent good or bad.She smiled, then turned to Cord and went on softly:"Can you do this? I know you've been.... disoriented. Will you be able to help Kale?" She wanted assurance from the dwarf that he was up to the task. When she was sure they were both ready, she gave them each an ecnouraging smile and said, "Both of you, go with the Lady's blessing."Cord nodded in response, even as he listened closely to the crackling of torch flames, mercenary banter, and the regular thumping of a man pacing within the small cavern. The rain had disorientated him, with nothing so protect his head except open air, but the familiar presence of stone above his head and winding passageways restored his confidence. He felt more prepared, now, beneath the city, than he ever might have above it. "I will remain with Kale," he voiced, believing the challenge of keeping his words truthful would be more difficult than defeating the slavers. "Back to back, we will prove successful."  He gave a quick jab into Kale's side, a reminder that the blind dwarf would be in nearly constant contact for that point, forward. Kale was slippery, but few can refuse a dwarf with his mind set.To Burl she said, "Stay by me. We'll watch out for each other. And watch out for them."Looking around, Burl pointed to a spot a bit closer, one which he hoped would give him a chance to keep watch on both doors. “I will go with Wyshira over to that debris. I will stay hidden, either until the mage raises his head or until the second attack. I will try to disrupt him from attacking if possible. This isn’t written in stone. If things change, I will help, but I think it will be better for me to surprise him. If you have a better idea tell me.” "Far be it from me to strategize," Mel interjected, "But maybe we should try drawing them out with some sort of bait, if you think our best chance is out here." She glanced at Wyshira, getting an idea, and gestured to the priestess."Wyshira, Ebri and I could hide outside and talk as if we were some female slaves who escaped but can't find our way out. They'll come out to investigate and they'll be on their guard, but at least they won't be behind barrels in there."Mel shrugged, expecting the more seasoned veterans to shoot this down, but wanting to make herself useful.Wolf peered out through the gloom towards the suffusing light of the chamber absent-mindedly. "I doubt they'll come out here after us unless it's on their own terms. They've got plenty of cover in there once they hunker down, and we don't know what other resources. Giving them time to bring in any reinforcements they might have isn't good, and by all accounts this wizard of theirs is a canny conjurer if he can summon daedroth hounds and the kinds of monstrosities Myrley told us about. And those can probably see in the dark better than we can. We could end up being the hunted, which is not a concept I like. No, we can use the darkness to our advantage but we can't rely on it, I don't think. Melisande's idea is interesting but a bit too risky since we don't know how many slaves they have or how well they keep a check on them. That ruse might well alert them immediately, if they know for sure they haven't lost any slaves, and we'd lose the element of surprise then.""I think for most of us our best chance is to attack from out here but to actually take the battle to them in there. Most of us can't see well in this gloom, fighting melee in the dark isn't my idea of fun."Mel had given a rather intriguing suggestion, and Kale had waited for Wolf's input interestedly. Alas, the man was right, and the escaped-blue-girly-slaves plan would have to be sidelined. The young mercenary was visibly disappointed. Oh well, we haven't got any leather collars or bustles, anyway...Sebastion hunkered down a little, keeping his voice soft, worried that the longer they debated the more chance they'd be discovered - however, the plan was sound, and he needed to get them to realise that."We go in and meet them face to face... if we're doing well we stay there. All I'm saying is that if we have to pull back, we can. In the entryway there we'll have the benefit of darkness, but they'll be outlined in the entrance - easy targets." he clarified. It was one of the classic maneouvres, really, drawing the enemy into a position where your secondary force could flank him, then wheeling about to surround them and finish them off. Why couldn't they see that?Sebastion made sense, and Cord noticed his tension with the company's whispers just outside the hearing range of the slavers. He could hear the grumblings of the fighters within the cave all too easily."I am ready," Cord said. "Let us meet them now. May we live to see another day, without regret of this one."Cord readied his stance, and prepared to accompany Kale into the flickering cave.Wolf gave the young warrior a bemused look. "Of course we can pull back if we need to, that goes without saying, but you're completely ignoring several points; firstly is that if the battle's going badly enough then they'll be able to move with us, not giving us any time to take advantage of people being outlined against the light before we're all in pitch-dark melee. You're making an incredible assumption that your enemy is going to do what you want them to do, lad.""We're facing a wizard who likes to summon things and a lot of the kinds of horrors that arcanists conjure up really couldn't care less about whether it's light or dark. If we back out into the darkness and something like that follows us, it'll be able to see okay, but most of us'll be blind as bats. But why the hell would the rest of them charge out after us anywayif we do manage to pull back? They can comfortably sit in there for as long as they need to once they get into good cover."Sebastion sighed and shrugged, wondering why everyone as always ready to listen to a wizard about magic, but not to a soldier about swordplay...We're planning for a battle without the wizard here, at least that's what you said. he thought, matching stares with the older man. We don't take advantage of them coming through the gap, our companions who waited behind in here do.I'm assuming they'll do exactly what any normal fighter would do. Press and press until the enemy goes down - exactly what you're planning to do, in fact.He thought it all, his gaze never flinching, but he knew they were short of time, and the stubborn old man thought he knew best."Fine, we'll do it your way. We don't have time for me to explain it all..." Rising up, turning away, he slipped the covers from his sword, tucking them into his belt, and rested it against the wall as he took out his shortbow and nocked the first arrow, facing the hole in the wall and settling his breath ready for his first shot.Wolf gave a helpless snort at the words of Sebastion, shrugging. "You're trying to lure them into an ambush for which they have no reason to take the bait, and leaving the primary attack possibly lethally undersupported by a number of attackers being placed completely out of position for anything than your ambush. In my seven wars I've seen plenty of casualties due to plans like that. Now lets get moving."While the others bickered, Ebri stood observing the enemy, silently counting steps between points with her eyes, and hooked the edges of a row of shuriken into a fold of draped cloth for quick access. On her back, the kama felt light, expectant, covered as it was by her cowl. It would be wrong to welcome conflict, however, she was curious to test how she would maneuver with the new weapon. She remembered her training with it well, but she had been used to fist and foot for some time now. She turned, checking again on the location and status of her ward, and nodded at Sebastion.  'If we live we will debate the matter. But even the best tactics may be undone by poor coordination'  she whispered, trying another technique long out of practice, throwing her voice to the place just over Seb's shoulder. The comment was of little consequence, if she failed, but it was good to stretch one's abilities, she was reminded. Stagnation was a constant danger when one played a role for life.</blockquote>

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