ADVENTURE 2: DOWNTOWN DELIVERIES
PC Roster:
Adrielle, human/merfolk scout 1
Brendan Conaill, human monk 1
Kruz Taszan, changeling rogue 1
Shiroko, snow fox hengeyokai wu jen 1
NPC Roster:
Hoppy, mongrelfolk adept 1
Game Session Date: 2 August 2025
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Kruz returned to the Geshuku guesthouse where the group had been staying. "We've got a job," he told Brendan. "They want us to bring along a few others as well." As the changeling rogue headed to the next door over to ask Adrielle and Shiroko to join them, Hoppy asked Brendan, "Who are 'they?'"
"The Silent Sodality," the monk enforcer replied. "Kruz works for them full-time, and they hire me on a mission-to-mission basis, as needed. Sounds like they got a job bigger than they expect the two of us can handle. C'mon, grab up your wand and let's go." The others had pooled their money and purchased Hoppy a
wand of cure light wounds and a single potion of the same spell, vastly increasing the amount of healing he could provide in one day.
Adrielle and Shiroko grabbed up their gear and followed Kruz as he led the group through the back alleys until they approached a small, one-story building with a single door and no windows. The rogue stepped boldly up to the door and knocked three times. A small viewport opened up and a pair of eyes looked out at Kruz, then examined the others standing behind him. "Yeah, they'll do," the man behind the door decided, and he unlocked the bolt from the inside. The five entered the building, passing the small security station holding a pair of armed and armored guards and through a second door that led into a small living room.
Caldone, a Silent Sodality functionary with a prominent beer gut, welcomed them in and indicated a small pile of four boxes sitting on an end table. "Got a few deliveries for you to make," he said.
"Who to?" Kruz asked, picking up the first of the boxes and examining it, then comparing it to the others. They were all the same size, about 4 inches long and half that size in width and depth, each with an address printed on it and the packages all tied down with sturdy twine. Kruz looked at the addresses and noted they were all downtown, in a fairly well-to-do neighborhood of manors and mansions. "Any idea what's in 'em?" he asked.
"Don't know, don't care," replied Caldone. "We're gettin' paid to deliver 'em by some folks who don't wanna be seen doin' the job themselves. They're to be delivered as soon as possible, but I don't care if you deliver 'em one at a time or split up and get 'em all done at once. In any case, you don't need to wait around for a response or nuthin' - the recipients'll know what to do once they open 'em, apparently. You just deliver 'em and come back when they're all delivered, and you'll get your pay then."
"How much?" Brendan asked.
"They're payin' ten gold each, so five each for you guys, five each to the Sodality. You know the drill."
Brendan distributed the boxes among the four heroes, and Kruz led the way towards the first address; they'd decided to start with the closest and work their way further downtown - and to stick together as a group, since Brendan and Kruz knew where they were going but Adrielle and Shiroko were both new to Port Duralia and didn't yet know their way around. Hoppy was glad they were sticking together - it made it easier for him to ensure all of their safety that way.
"We should decide on the split," suggested Brendan. "Me and Kruz are the primaries, so I figure 45/45/5/5."
"Figure again," replied Adrielle. "There are four of us" - she, like the others, had already gotten used to discounting Hoppy's presence, since he was adamant about not taking money for his "life-debt" (they'd only gotten him to agree to take the wand and potion after pointing out they would be used to heal them, not just him) - "so 25% each seems fair."
"Fair?" scoffed Brendan. "There wouldn't even
be a job if it weren't for me and Kruz."
"And you were specifically told to bring along others," Shiroko pointed out. "Sounds like you wouldn't be given the job without us coming along as well." Brendan grumbled, but it was difficult to overcome the hengeyokai's logic.
"Fine," he finally agreed - "but we're only agreeing to this because of our general good natures!"
"Fine," echoed Adrielle and Shiroko. They'd known each other for a grand total of two days now, but already the two women were good friends (and roommates in the Geshuku guesthouse). Adrielle had explained to Shiroko about her status as a mermaid and her "second body" (the men weren't aware - they thought Adrielle was the original "owner" of the body the mermaid currently wore, while her own was stashed in the extradimensional space inside her
amulet of kessaia), and Shiroko in turn was teaching Adrielle the Sokokuan language of her own distant homeland.
The group walked down a sidewalk when two young ruffians stepped out from between two buildings, blocking their way. "You folks seem to have gotten turned around," one of them declared. "This part of the city belongs to the Ragamuffins. You wanna enter our turf, you gotta pay your dues."
"One shiny piece of gold," added the other Ragamuffin. "Each."
The group came to a halt as they assessed this sudden threat. The youths looked to be about 18 or 19, wearing piecemeal leather armor and holding short swords, and as a result apparently thought they were invincible. Brendan smiled at them, pulled out a piece of gold from the coin purse at his belt and held it out for them to see. Then he said, "Nah, not worth it," dropped the coin back into his purse, and rapidly fired off a sling bullet at the head of the youth who had spoken first. Conking him on the head would have been a nice bit of punctuation to the monk's statement, but unfortunately the bullet went whooshing past the Ragamuffin's ear.
Adrielle stepped to the side and pulled the heavy crossbow from her back. She loaded a quarrel into its slot and cranked back on the mechanism to load it up. Kruz, in the meantime, had his light crossbow loaded and fired his first shot at the Ragamuffin leader, catching him in the shoulder. He howled in pain and yelled "Get 'em!" to his compatriot, yanking out the quarrel as they charged their foes. He swung his blade at Kruz, but the changeling easily dodged the blow. The other Ragamuffin had a better time attacking Brendan, although the blade hit the monk just enough to break the skin and draw a thin line of blood.
Shiroko took a step to the side and cast a
daze spell on the Ragamuffin henchman, but the spell failed to take effect. Brendan swung his staff at the youth who had cut him, smacking him alongside the head with one end of the wooden weapon and then swinging it around to slam him in the knee with the other end. And then Adrielle shot him with her crossbow, sending the shaft completely through his neck and out the back. He dropped instantly, quite obviously dead.
Kruz stepped to the side and shot another shaft at the Ragamuffin leader, whose attitude had just been severely adjusted upon seeing the death of his fellow rogue and discovering swagger and arrogance were not in fact a guarantee of success. He yelped as the quarrel pierced his upper arm, then turned about and started fleeing the way he'd come. But Shiroko, fearing he might be off to fetch reinforcements, shot him in the back with her
wand of magic missiles. He fell to the street in a heap, no longer moving.
"Are the people of this city always this violent?" she asked Kruz. Sokoku had its share of bandits and rogues, but they usually preyed upon travelers outside the city walls.
"Not all of them, no," assured Kruz. "But it's a self-adjusting problem: these two won't be attacking anyone else ever again. Come on, let's get out of here before any of their friends see what we did." And he led them hurriedly away, to the better neighborhoods where the addresses on their packages led. Arriving at the Wentworth Estate without further incident, they knocked on the door and delivered the first package to the elderly butler who answered the door. He tipped them each a copper penny and promised the package would be brought to
Master Wentworth at once.
"That's one down," pointed out Brendan. "Where next?"
"The Finch Manor," replied Kruz. "This way." He led them to the next estate, but Finch Manor was surrounded by a 10-foot-tall iron fence with sharp spikes at the top of each pole. There was a gate, but it was locked, and a vicious dog came running up to them from the front yard, snarling and barking furiously.
"There's no bell," Adrielle observed.
"Guy doesn't like visitors," guessed Brendan. "Here, let me try something." He picked up a pebble from the street and threw it at the front door of the house, some 20 feet away. Unfortunately, it hit the side of an iron fence post and was diverted. Adrielle and Krug each gave it a try, hitting the door twice in rapid succession. But Shiroko, not liking at all how the dog seemed to have focused its ire upon her in particular, had a solution: summoning an
unseen servant, she had it pick up the package addressed to the Finches and float it over to the door. A minute or so later, when
Elgar Finch opened the front door to see what the fuss was all about (and silencing the dog at once with a single snap of his fingers), he grabbed the floating package, growled at the odd-looking group on the other side of the gate, and returned inside, slamming the door behind him.
"I guess we're not getting a tip," observed Kruz.
The next stop along the way was Totterham Manor, and on the way there they ran across an odd sight: half a dozen children running up to a little gnome pedaling a wheeled cart. They each held a copper piece in their hands, with which they had chased down
Aenus Feysputter, "the Copper Penny Candy Man," and made their selections. He passed out candy to each child, taking their copper pieces as payment, and then looked up at the group as they approached. "Candy or gum, my good folks?" he asked. "I also have potions in liquid, candy, or gum form - your pick."
"I know this guy," Brendan confirmed. "He's legit." As a result, Adrielle purchased three
potions of cure light wounds from him, and Kruz picked up one of his own. Brendan purchased a vial of
oil of shillelagh, with which to anoint his quarterstaff. Then they made their way to Totterham Manor, where the maid who answered the door promised to give the package to
Lord and Lady Totterham when they returned from an engagement elsewhere in the city.
"Three down," observed Brendan. "Who's the last one for?"
Lord and Lady Hackleton," replied Kruz. "This way." But on the way to their final delivery destination, they were approached by a grubby-looking boy about seven or eight years old, wearing tattered and patched clothes but no shoes. "Excuse me, sirs, ladies," he said, "but could you spare any change? I haven't eaten since the day before yesterday."
Brendan pulled out the copper piece tip he'd gotten from the butler at the Wentworth Estate. Flipping it over to the young boy, he said, "Here you go, kid." The boy snatched it out of midair and grasped it closely to his chest, as if afraid it would try to wriggle free from him and escape before he could spend it.
But then, as if out of nowhere, three more beggar children appeared, all asking for spare coins and claiming hunger. Adrielle gave a copper coin to a little girl with hair that looked as if it hadn't seen a comb or brush in many months, but Kruz called out, "Wait a minute!" He'd recognized the oldest of the boys, a young lad almost in his teens. "I know you!" he challenged. "You work for
Jorbel Pockleitner - these are pickpockets, guys!" Indeed, one of the boys had been eyeing Shiroko, trying to figure out where her coin purse was kept, but he was unaware of Sokokuan customs, where one's change purse was normally stored in the deep sleeves of one's kimono.
"Go on, scram!" called out Kruz, tossing a handful of copper pieces away from the group. The beggar children scampered over, scooped up the coins, and ran away, happy to have at least made a few coppers out of the transaction. "Tell 'Grampy' I said 'Hello'!" he called after them.
"Who's Grampy?" asked Hoppy.
"Jorbel Pockleitner. He's the head of a rival thieves guild - uses kids as beggars, lookouts, and he even teaches the older ones thievery. They all call him 'Grampy.'"
"There's the estate up there," pointed out Brendan, eager to get the job over with and a little ticked he'd fallen for the beggar child's scam. He knocked on the door, and was met by Lord Hackleton himself.
"Eh? What's this?' he asked, ripping off the wrapping of the package, opening it, and scanning the folded parchment inside. Then his face darkened, and he tossed the paper and the package at their feet. "You can keep your useless threats!" he thundered. "Do with the boy what you will - you won't get a single copper penny from me! You go ahead and tell that to your masters, and don't bother me about his debts anymore!" And with that, Lord Hackleton slammed the door in their faces.
Shiroko bent down and recovered the opened package. "Oh, no!" she cried, seeing the severed finger sitting within. A quick perusal of the accompanying letter showed Lord Hackleton's son had run up considerable gambling debts at the Aerie, was unable to pay, and would be held as collateral until his debts had been paid off in full. As a form of encouragement, another package containing a body part would be delivered daily until the Aerie received what was owed them.
The hengeyokai's face drained of all color, until it was nearly as white as her hair. "This means," she reasoned, "we have been delivering severed fingers all morning - and there must be four captives at this Aerie!" She turned to Kruz. "What is the Aerie?"
"It's a gambling establishment," the changeling replied. "Caters to the well-to-do. You gotta know somebody to even get into the joint."
"We must go there at once!" demanded Adrielle. Kruz knew where the Aerie was located although he'd never been inside the place, so he led the group across town until they were in the street before the Aerie. It was a four-story building of solid stone, built somewhat like a mushroom with a wider top story than the floors below it. It stood only a bit over 40 feet tall, but it was the tallest building for a block or more in all directions.
"Okay, we're here," remarked Kruz. "But now what? We can't just waltz in there and demand they free the four captives." But Shiroko wouldn't be denied. She stormed to the front doors of the Aerie - and was stopped by a stern-faced but well-dressed bouncer holding a clipboard.
"Hold on there, miss," said
Mr. Balladine, grabbing her arm in an iron vise. "Members only."
The wu jen responded by casting a
hypnotism spell on the bouncer. Seeing from his expression that he had fallen under her sway, she said, "You will allow us to enter the building and see the lord of this place." Mr. Balladine, an unfamiliar smile on his weathered face, opened the door to usher the quintet inside, not at all concerned that bringing up the rear was a limping mongrelfolk in tattered robes - certainly not the type of clientele the Aerie normally saw.
Entering the Aerie, the group saw a coat check girl giving them a strange look, as did the tight-gowned, elven hostess who stood at the entrance of the first floor's gambling area and whose job it was to welcome all visitors. Her pretty face wore a puzzled frown as she asked, "Mr. Balladine let you five in?"
"We're here about the payments owed by four of your young clients," asserted Adrielle. Brendan, realizing none of them had really come up with much of a plan, jumped in. "We have an important message for the boss," he said. "He's going to want to hear this."
The hostess, a blond elf named
Amarantha, waved over one of the men who provided security on the first floor, which seemed to be taken up with various machines that were fed coins of various denominations. "They have a message for the boss," she told him.
"An important one," Brendan emphasized.
The security guard seemed unimpressed with the bunch. "It doesn't take five people to pass on a message," he asserted. "Who's going to see the boss?" Adrielle volunteered Brendan, and the guard nodded him forward towards the stairs curving up along the outer rim of the room, following him so he could keep an eye on him at all times. It was only as they walked up the stairs that Adrielle realized they probably should have chosen someone as their representative who at least wore shoes; Brendan's soles were as hard as leather and he claimed he fought better without footwear getting in the way.
They went up to the second floor, where games of blackjack involving Aerie dealers were held, and another greeter, this one a lovely human redhead with green eyes, gave Brendan a worried frown. She shrugged as the security guard took him up to the third floor. This one had high stakes poker games going on, and the guard steered Brendan to the back of the room, where he knocked on a door.
Brendan wasn't sure what he expected when the door opened, but having it answered by a humanoid bird with slick, black feathers wasn't very high up on his list of guesses. "He says he has a message for you,
Sinister," the guard said. The kenku stepped back into his room - a small suite, with simple but elegant furniture - and indicated they should both come in, closing the door behind them so they could speak in private without any of the card-playing clients overhearing their personal business.
"And what is this message?" asked Sinister, staring at the human monk with unblinking eyes.
"Uh, we delivered the packages as directed, but one of the parents - Lord Hackleton - said he's not going to pay his son's debts. He was pretty insistent about it." When the kenku made no comment, Brendan, feeling a need to fill in the silence, added, "I figured you should be made aware of the matter as soon as possible."
Sinister continued staring at the nervous monk for a moment before replying. "Well, we'll see if he changes his mind after he receives another package or two. Was that all?"
"Uh, yes sir," stammered Brendan. "That was it."
"Then you may leave."
The guard ushered Brendan out of the door and back down the way they came, the monk noting the curving stairs they had taken continued on up to the fourth floor. Hazarding a guess, he said, "There's no way the Hackleton kid can escape from up there, is there?"
"Don't worry about it," replied the guard. "He's not coming back down from there until his debt's been paid - one way or another, money or blood." Once they were back down on the first floor, where the others had been waiting in the entry foyer (Hoppy trying his very best to blend into the wall, not liking standing out like this), the guard said, "Next time you have a message, dress up a bit for the occasion - you look like a bunch of gutter trash." And with that, he scowled at them until they left.
"We really didn't plan that out very well," admitted Adrielle when they were back outside. "Will your spell still make the bouncer let us back in?"
"I'm afraid that magic has run its course," admitted Shiroko. "We'll need to find another way to get inside."
"Well, we at least learned they're being held on the top floor," pointed out Brendan. "Let's see if there's a back door." He angled around the building one block away to approach it from the rear, the others following in his wake. When they made their way to the back of the Aerie, he swore in disappointment. "How come there isn't a back door?" he complained. "How do they get their deliveries?"
"After hours, probably," guessed Kruz, while Shiroko suggested magic could allow any materials being sent over to be
teleported directly there. So they tried the next best thing: finding the next-tallest building in the area and climbing up to its rooftop to see what they could see of the Aerie from a higher vantage point. There were no windows in the gambling establishment - the interior had been lit with
everburning torches in sconces on the walls - but they could see a metal railing along the top of the curved roof, and what looked like it might be the top part of a skylight in the middle of the Aerie's roof. Brendan figured it was about 40 feet from the ground to the Aerie's rooftop.
"I have 50 feet of rope and a grappling hook," he said. "If we come back at night, we can probably climb up and enter from the top."
"What about potions?" suggested Shiroko. "Do you have
potions of spider climbing in Armaturia?"
"Yeah," replied Kruz, "but they're outside our price range - especially if we want all five of us walking up the walls."
"Is there a place that sells scrolls?" pressed the hengeyokai. Kruz said there was, but they'd be just as expensive as the potions. Still, Shiroko had him lead them to a local hedge wizard who sold scrolls and she purchased a scroll of
animate rope for 25 pieces of gold, which she paid for herself. "It will help us to climb," she promised them.
Thus it was that that night, when the sun had dropped below the horizon (and the Aerie did a brisk amount of business), the five returned to the mushroom-shaped building from the rear, well away from the bouncer at the front or any of the arriving and departing gambling aficianados. Brendan unpacked his coil of rope, Shiroko read the
animate rope spell from her scroll, and the rope, when tossed up in the air, slithered to the railing and attached itself firmly. One by one - Hoppy last, after the others had each climbed up, and then they'd had him tie the end of the rope around him so they could pull him up, not trusting the strength behind his mismatched limbs - they pulled themselves up to the top of the tower and scrambled over the low railing. From there, they could see the glass skylight at the tower's center didn't open, but it did provide a good view of the fourth floor below them - in which they could see four young men, each in his own small cell, and each with one hand wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. Four kenku roamed the area, but only the center of the fourth floor could be seen from the skylight; there was the possibility of even more security forces elsewhere on that level.
"How do we get down there?" asked Hoppy.
"Here," replied Shiroko, who had spotted a hatch built into the rooftop. It was close enough to the edge of the railing it would lead to a part of the floor below not visible from the skylight. Kruz lifted the hatch, which pivoted upwards on oiled hinges, and whispered, "I'll go first" to the others. Then, crossbow secured to his back, he stepped onto the metal ladder that led down 10 feet to the fourth floor of the Aerie, a level it seemed the gambling clientele never got to see - unless they'd gambled away more than they could pay.
Dropping silently to the floor, the changeling rogue found himself in a curving hallway leading counterclockwise along the outside edge of the building's highest level. He pulled his throwing dagger from the sheath in his boot and silently crept forward.
"I'll go next," whispered Brendan. Then, looking at Hoppy - specifically at the satyr's hoof at the end of the mongrelfolk's right leg - he suggested, "Maybe you should climb down last, and then only if we need you." Hoppy nodded his agreement and the monk lowered himself down the shaft. Then, on a sudden impulse, he downed one of his vials of antitoxin, not trusting the kenku to be above using poison on their weapons.
Shiroko climbed down next, removing her wooden sandals before she did so and readying a spell once she'd climbed to the bottom and stood behind Kruz and Brendan, who were both inching silently down the curved passageway. She could hear voices ahead, but couldn't make out what they were saying.
Up on the rooftop, Adrielle loaded her heavy crossbow. She was thinking she might stay up here on the roof, where she had a good view of the center of the level below and could keep an eye on the prisoners. The glass didn't look very thick; she was pretty sure one good blow from the stock of her weapon would shatter it, allowing her to snipe down at the kenku below.
Approaching the end of the curving hallway, Kruz saw a kenku standing with his back towards him and threw his dagger. But luck was not with him, for the birdman turned at the last moment to say something to a colleague and the blade went whizzing past his head, clattering against the curved wall and falling to the stone floor. The kenku spun to face the changeling and squawked out a warning to the rest of his crew. From her perch at the skylight, Adrielle could see two more kenku running by the cages, each loading an arrow into his shortbow, while the two closest to Kruz fired their own arrows at him. As he was still mostly in the hallway, she couldn't see him successfully dodge the incoming arrows - which struck the wall at his side and fell harmlessly to the ground at Brendan's feet - but she saw the monk step into view, firing a sling bullet as he approached. It also missed, but not by much.
Then Shiroko stepped forward, casting an
elemental burst spell on a section of floor midway between the four kenku archers. The stone floor erupted in a violent explosion of stone splinters, flying outwards in all directions, piercing the feathered bodies of the surprised kenku. Two dropped immediately, bleeding heavily, and the other two - while remaining standing - were obviously hurt by the unexpected (and unfamiliar) spell. This, it turned out, was their first experience with a wu jen from a faraway land.
Adrielle figured now was the time to act. Smashing the skylight with the butt of her weapon, she sent shards of glass cascading down to the floor at the center of the four cages, two on either side. The young noblemen started yelling for help, knowing there were enemies of their captors in the area. "Free us!" cried one, while another demanded, "Let us out of here!"
Kruz pulled his fighting dagger from his belt and slashed at the nearest kenku, but the nimble birdman leapt back away from the striking blade. Hoppy, seeing all pretense of silence was now gone, started climbing down the ladder in case his healing spells were needed. His hoof made a clomping sound on the metal ladder with every other rung.
The kenku not actively fighting Kruz backed away and started running along the curving wall, behind one set of cages. There, opposite the hallway from which the heroes had emerged, sat the opening to a slide leading down to the lower levels of the building. He slid down to the third floor and stopped himself long enough to pound on the secret panel leading to Sinister's quarters. Once the master of the Aerie let him in, he breathlessly informed the boss of the intruders above. Sinister stormed out of his quarters, calling for the security men on the third floor to come with him upstairs. The wounded kenku followed.
Meanwhile, the last remaining kenku on the fourth floor fired an arrow at Kruz and then hightailed it along the curved back wall, following in his comrade's path. Brendan gave chase, swatting at the fleeing avian with his quarterstaff to no effect. Shiroko fired a
daze spell at the kenku, extending its effect for longer than normal using a bit of arcane wu jen magic she knew. She was pleased to see it take effect, leaving the kenku standing at the top of the sliding passageway but not yet having entered.
Adrielle, unable to see any foes from her vantage point on the roof of the Aerie, dropped down to the floor below, her boots harmlessly crunching the shards of glass beneath her. Then she raced to the two dead kenku slain by Shiroko's
elemental burst spell, and rummaged through their pockets, looking for keys to the cells imprisoning the young noblemen. The first corpse had no keys upon him, but she found a key in the pocket of the second dead kenku. Pulling it out, it looked to be about the right size to open the cell doors; she just hoped all four cells would open with the same key.
Across the room from her, Kruz approached the first of the other two cells and quickly had the first one open by a practiced maneuver with his lockpicks. The grateful prisoner rushed out of his cell, eager to be free. But then the group could hear the pounding of running feet coming up the stairs from the lower level - reinforcements were on their way! Brendan started applying his newly-purchased
oil of shillelagh to his quarterstaff, eager to give it a test run against the second wave of foes fast approaching.
Shiroko used her
prestidigitation magic to sweep the shards of broken glass from the floor in front of the cages over to the top of the stairs leading down to the third floor, sprinkling them along the top few steps. The kenku, she had noted, wore no footgear on their birdlike feet; perhaps the broken glass would slow them down a bit.
Adrielle opened the two cages on her side of the room, and the two prisoners she released rushed over to the dead kenku, grabbing up the short swords from their slain captors' scabbards. Shiroko called for the prisoner Kruz had fled to escape through the sliding passageway the still-
dazed kenku had tried to use, figuring it was likely an easier way to escape than fighting off the reinforcements making their way up the stairs. He needed no further prompting, pushing the
dazed kenku out of the way and sliding down the ramp.
And not a moment too soon, for Sinister burst onto the scene, stepping over the broken glass and onto the fourth floor, where he slashed at the nearest nobleman - freed from his cage, the kenku leader noted with a scowl - slipping past the young man's feeble defenses and slicing him across his upper chest. Kruz had by this time successfully picked the final lock and freed the last of the prisoners. Hoppy clomped out of the passageway leading to the ladder from the rooftop and Shiroko called him away from the fighting, over by her. He limped along on his mismatched legs, avoiding the slashing blades and standing over by the pretty fox-woman with the white hair.
The kenku who had survived Shiroko's deadly
elemental burst spell and gone down to warn Sinister now stepped over the glass shards and re-entered the fray. Brendan, closer to the slide, bashed in the
dazed kenku's head with the head of his quarterstaff, saw two human guards run up into the room from the stairwell (their heavy boots crunching the glass shards beneath them without incident), didn't like the odds, and leaped down the slide himself.
Shiroko fired a
magic missile across the room at Sinister from her wand, calling for the prisoners to come flee down the slide. Adrielle, all but unnoticed over by the cages, pulled out her sword and went racing over to Sinister, surprising him with the speed of her attack. His jet-black feathers were immediately coated in his own red blood. He struck back at Adrielle with his own blade, hitting the scout but inflicting nowhere near as much damage as she'd just delivered to him. The three remaining noblemen took the opportunity to flee across the room to the slide, where Shiroko ushered them down to what she hoped was freedom at the bottom of the sloping escape route.
Kruz followed the fleeing noblemen to the slide, taking a moment to shoot Sinister with his crossbow before sliding down the ramp himself. One of the human guards slashed at Adrielle with his short sword, but missed. Hoppy, upon Shiroko's direction, sat down at the top of the slide, a look of concern on his patchwork face - part bugbear, part bullywug, and part lizardfolk - at not being around to heal those who might need it. But Adrielle, the one hero still in the midst of the fight, easily dodged an attack from the wounded kenku who'd warned Sinister of their intrusion, and she was making her way towards the slide herself. Satisfied that the women would be able to make it safely to the slide, he pushed himself down the sloping ramp, sliding in a wide corkscrew along the hidden passageway along the outer walls of the Aerie's structure.
At the bottom of the slide, Brendan - who had pulled the
skull mask down over his face, as the curving slideway was unlit - was initially concerned this was a dead end, but then he spotted a latch that opened a secret door out into the night air.
Here was the back door that had eluded him earlier than afternoon. He ushered those already down at the bottom of the slide outside into the alley, cautioning them to remain silent.
Shiroko fired off another
magic missile from her wand at Sinister, dropping the Aerie's lord, and then slid down the ramp. Adrielle raced across the room and followed in the hengeyokai's wake. The remaining kenku and the two human guards opted not to follow, instead looking after their fallen master, who was not dead, merely unconscious. They applied pressure against his wounds while one of them went to fetch bandages and Sinister's private stash of healing potions.
"Is that everybody?" Brendan asked, taking a quick head count as the two women came to the bottom of the escape slide and stepped out into the alleyway. Hoppy ran over to Adrielle and started casting curative spells, closing up the slight wound she had taken from Sinister's blade.
"That's all of us," replied Kruz, slamming the secret door back shut. "Let's get these boys home."
Three of the young noblemen,
Waylon Wentworth,
Erasmus Finch, and
Francis Totterham, were reunited with their grateful families, who insisted upon paying the heroes for their sons' rescue. The fourth,
Alexander Hackleton, was not the least bit surprised to hear his old man had refused to pay a single coin for his release; he thanked the five for his rescue and apologized he had no means of paying them for their efforts, having gambled away everything he had on him back in the Aerie (and then some, which had led to his dire predicament in the first place).
"Where will you go now?" asked Shiroko, fearing the young man had nowhere to go.
"I can stay with some friends," Alexander replied. "But I shan't be returning home, that is for certain."
"I'd advise against returning to the Aerie, either," suggested Kruz. "Like, ever."
"Agreed in full," promised Alexander, before giving the five a curt nod and walking off into the darkness.
- - -
The PCs earned a hefty 3,000 gp reward from the Finches, Totterhams, and Wentworth families. And they've earned the gratitude of three minor nobleman families, a situation rich in potential future plot hooks.
- - -
T-shirt worn: My wolf shirt, as it represented the feral dog at Finch Manor.
