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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 758809" data-attributes="member: 6294">"Good Friends & Fine Spirits" by Mystic Eye Games  - Part 5The cook rushes up to the adventurers, tears in her eyes,"Please!  They have my Dalia!  You have to help!"The group look at each other.  None of them want to refuse the woman, but there is also the matter of their responsibility to the church to consider.  They retreat into a huddle to discuss the woman's request."We should help." Anastria says firmly, "Your 'church' can wait.  These people need aid, now.""Can we afford the delay?" the Padre wonders, "Or the risk?  Some of us could be injured, and not be able to go on the church's mission.""Anyone who was injured could ride in the cart," Sirdros concedes, "The High Priest told me it would take four days to reach Duvik's Pass from here.  We'll have them back on their feet by then."The Padre nods his acknowledgement of the point."What do the rest of you think?"Macwood snorts,"Of course we're going in, you big fool." The halfling points at the hole in outrage, "They ruined the kitchen.""No doubt it will now be hours until we would be able to get dinner." Ming Li nods solemnly.  Macwood shoots her a suspicious look, but the monk's expression is impassive.Their course of action agreed, the group leaves Ming Li to stand guard over the hole, the rest of them scattering to don their armour and organise the rest of their equipment.  Then, bringing the monk's tiny sack of belongings with them, they return to the inn.Standing just back from the edge of the hole, they peer into the darkness below."Sewers, by the smell of them." Briar wrinkles his nose.  " I thought I'd seen the last of these." Catching sight of the curious glances sent his way, he stammers an explanation, "My father was ... um, in the, uh, Sanitation Guild.""I'm sure guild membership was involved." The Padre agrees sombrely.  Briar avoids meeting his eyes."Time's wasting." Macwood grumbles, lighting a lantern and then tying it to the end of some rope.  Inching to the edge of the hole, he lowers the light into the opening, revealing the sewer tunnel below.The group moves into action.  First, they put Sirdros in a makeshift rope sling and lower him into the tunnel, then they make a simple ladder with a knotted rope and the rest of them - more agile and far more lightly equipped than the elf - climb down after him.  The sewer proves to be a square tunnel, roughly eight feet across.  There are stone ledges on either side of tunnel, each measuring no more than twelve inches in width.  Between them runs a wide - but shallow, as Ming Li discerns with her staff - channel of sewage.  The tunnels runs straight in both directions from where they stand, with nothing to distinguish the darkness on their left from that on their right."Can anyone see any tracks?" the Padre peers vainly at the ledge beneath their feet.Sirdros shakes his head."I see nothing.  The cockroaches may not even have used the ledges.  Without a proper tracker, we will have to guess which way they went.""Amberdale is not a large settlement." Ming Li reminds them, "These tunnels should not be all that extensive.  Thus, it may be possible that we can simply explore them all, until we find the missing girl."The Padre nods his agreement,"We just have to pick a direction to start with.""When in doubt, go left." Macwood shrugs off the others' raised eyebrows, "It's an old explorers' trick.  Always pick one direction and stick with it.  That way, if you have to double back, you always know which way you went."Anastria frowns,"Why left?  Couldn't you always go right, just as easily.""No." Macwood answers shortly - and nonsensically.  "It has to be left.  Besides, left takes us downstream."The others shrug, and with the decision made, the group sets off.  Having all six of them on one ledge soon proves impossible to coordinate, particularly given the poor sense of balance some of them are exhibiting, and - with a grimace - the Padre is the first one to step into the ankle-high slurry that flows sluggishly down the middle of the tunnel."It's not too bad." He reports, his expression giving lie to his words, "A bit slippery, so put your feet down carefully, but as long as you're wearing boots you should be fine."Soon all of the adventurers except for Ming Li are walking in the channel, sliding their feet along the floor so as to minimise the chance of falling into the foul-smelling muck.  The monk - dressed in open sandals - sticks to the ledge, padding along it as easily as if it were a dozen feet wide, instead of a dozen inches."There's a room ahead." Sirdros reports as they press forward along the tunnel, "Looks like the sewage all empties into it.""Probably deeper in there, then." Macwood - already knee deep even in the 'shallow' channel - looks less than enthusiastic about progressing any further."We have to check it." Briar gives the halfling a resigned smile, "The cockroaches could have come this way.  Besides, it was your idea.""Thank you for reminding me."As Macwood grumbles, the group reaches the entrance to the chamber.  Sirdros and the Padre take the lead, edging carefully into the sewage."There's a ledge here." The human cleric reports, carefully stepping down into the deeper area.  The brown ooze climbs up to the height of his knees.  Macwood looks even less enthusiastic than he did before - something that hadn't seemed possible until that point."Stay there," the Padre calls back to the others, "there's no need for you to come any further in.  Sirdros and I can check it out, without any problems."This, of course, is the exact moment that the thing bursts out of the slime.</blockquote>

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