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Post by greentongue on Jan 10, 2008 7:09:17 GMT -6
Imalcho
Imalcho looks surprised. "You think I have experience at sneaking around like a common thief? I think we should go right and then stay right at the first branch in the tunnel."
After considering how outnumbered he is, he volunteers, "I can try to get a look at how many are waiting at that exit for you." With that he quietly slips down the tunnel hugging the wall.
After a short time he returns.
"There are a couple of ruffians and a torchbearer inside the entry but, I heard the voices of several more above them. Can't say how many altogether." =
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Post by calithena on Jan 10, 2008 7:26:12 GMT -6
"Imalcho - do you mean 'left'? Qoyelmu thought we should go left, which would let us avoid these little Zrne. Is there a reason to go through these instead? If it is their time to depart to Teretane, we can help them along, but..."
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Post by Epengar on Jan 10, 2008 11:53:01 GMT -6
"Qolyemu said turning left would take us towards the bay and an exit, and right would take us further into the city and areas controlled by the Grey Gem clan, whoever they are. He didn't say for sure that either way would be guarded. Now we find that the way to the left is blocked by some unknown thugs, perhaps Gray Gem, we don't know. Imalcho, where would right and right again take us?"
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Post by greentongue on Jan 10, 2008 12:20:18 GMT -6
Imalcho
Reluctantly Imalcho admitted, "I've only been down this way once and then we went right."
"From what I heard, by taking the first right we avoid trespassing into Grey Gem territory. Not sure how serious that is, as I’ve never gone that way."
"Left from here leads to the closest exit, but clearly I'm not the only one who knows that."
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jan 10, 2008 19:40:29 GMT -6
'Who gives a d**n who the Grey Gems are,' hisses Gereshma under his breath. 'WE are the Silver Shells, and WE are going where we d**n well please! I say charge the scum and have done with 'em. Still there's a trick we might do...'
Suddenly Gereshma speaks loudly and gruffly.
'Reporting ambush Lord Hereksa sah!'
Then in a posher accent if he can manage it -
'Very good scout! Tirrikamu, have your men form phalanx three abreast, we'll sweep these cowardly wretches out into the river!'
Nudging the others to join in he beings rattling his wepaon against his shield and stomping in the stream.
OOC: This might get us all killed, OTOH it probably won't.
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Post by Epengar on Jan 10, 2008 20:52:37 GMT -6
Hrunal grins as he pulls a second torch out of his bag, lights it from the first one, and looks around to see if anyone wants to carry it (Imalcho?). If not, he'll hold two in one hand, his dagger in the other. Then he starts having a conversation with himself out loud, one voice a bit different from the other: "Hey you clumsy oaf, quit splashing the crap!" "Me? You're the one waving your halberd around like a syphilitic bull, I had to dance to keep clear." "You, dance? That's rich, everyone knows you've got the worst footwork in the kareng." "So says Private Slow-Cut" "I'll show you my slow-cut when we get back to the barracks, you futtering knob" "Oooh promises promises..." He'll keep up the banter of imaginary soldiers as we move in the tunnel. He's inspired by Imperial Marines he heard when one of their galleys beached at the clan's island.
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Post by thorswulf on Jan 14, 2008 17:35:43 GMT -6
Zharkan grins a very feral grin and begins marching in place, until the rest of the group catch on to what we are doing. He Jostles around a bit to make it seem like there are several warriors.
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jan 15, 2008 15:23:14 GMT -6
OOC: Any sign of the torchlight going? Well, who cares if it is or it isn't, lets have a fight!
'OK, first semetl, stay in reserve, second semetl CHARGE!'
Gereshma issues his best blood curdling yell and leads the Silver Shells towards the hopfully entirely demoralised-and-about to-away ambushers.
As he rounds the corner...
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Post by greentongue on Jan 15, 2008 18:34:25 GMT -6
Ahead and on the left hand side is the promised exit. The racket being made by the party covered any sound of the hasty retreat by the scouts. Reaching that intersection they can see only the terror stricken torchbearer slave remains at the bottom of the ladder 25 feet away. The shouting of, "There is a Naval patrol headed this way!" echoes down from above. A babble of voices asking questions and where someone named Horu hiRuvacho is at can be heard.
Ahead the tunnel continues into dimness and a slight smell of sea water can be detected mixed in with the normal stench. =
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jan 16, 2008 3:56:58 GMT -6
'Excellent!' says Gereshma, a broad grin on his face. 'Slave, you have just acquired some new masters, serve us well and you live, serve us ill and, well, we'll see what use Grugamu's demons can make of you.'
Gereshma moves forward to grab the slave if he makes a run for it, ready to conk him wth a club if he opens his mouth to yell.
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Post by greentongue on Jan 16, 2008 7:19:37 GMT -6
After glancing quickly between Gereshma's weapon and up at the exit a couple of times, the slave steps away from the ladder. The sounds of milling confusion from above is gradually subsiding. The indistinct sound of discussion with occasional interruptions can be heard. =
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Post by calithena on Jan 16, 2008 14:55:49 GMT -6
Kevuk speaks quietly and quickly.
"Looks like we scared those lurkers off, but not for long...ho, slave, maybe you know your way around here." Kevuk's sword is out and at the slave's throat in case he gets the idea of yelling.
To his comrades he continues:
"I know I'm just a poor stupid warrior but by Chegarra's smoking bunghole, I don't understand our plan. Which way are we trying to go down here? We might as well go past these folks quick, since we scared them out of our way, but I'm still not sure which way our goal lies."
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Post by greentongue on Jan 16, 2008 17:05:55 GMT -6
Imalcho
"Well we have an appointment with representivities of the Turning Wheel. I doubt they care how we get there, in fact they may find someone else if we don't show."
Pointing up he added, "I believe that the thugs from Raised Anchor are up there waiting to pluck us like fleas if we climb up."
"I know the general direction if we go the other way or we could keep going this way and try to get through the sea grating, then swim to a dock from there."
"If we can get through the grating and the things it keeps out don't catch me, I can swim that far." =
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Post by thorswulf on Jan 16, 2008 21:41:05 GMT -6
"I don't think swimming is such a good idea in a sewer, or in armor for that matter! And watch who's smoking bunghole you refer to cousin!" Zharkhan looks up into the ceiling to see if any of the others above are preparing to shoot arrows and the like.
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Post by Epengar on Jan 16, 2008 23:47:05 GMT -6
"Slave what clan do you serve?"
"My hope was that this exit would be something simple that we could climb out of, not a portal in a fortress. This is the exit to the left that Qolyemu told us of. Since it's defended, and the sea is impractical, it appears we need to take the righthand option that we turned away from -- back down the tunnel past the door we entered by. Imalcho said before that a second right might take us to another exit."
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Post by greentongue on Jan 17, 2008 7:06:23 GMT -6
slave
"I serve Raised ..." A brief pause as he quickly evaluated the situation and then he continued, "I serve your clan, master."
Zharkhan sees that the some of the crowd above are starting to glance back down. =
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Post by Epengar on Jan 17, 2008 14:47:51 GMT -6
Hrunal smiles at the slave. "Good. Now, what clan do those guys who just went up the ladder belong to, and who did you serve before the Silver Shell."
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jan 17, 2008 16:10:58 GMT -6
'Silver Sail, you now serve the Silver SAIL,' says Gereshma, winking and twitching and trying to get Hrunal to pay attention to what is happening above us. 'The great conquerors of the Seas and stalwarts of his Imperial majestys marine corps!'
Gereshma grabs the slave by the arm and hustles everyone back the way they came.
'Time to leave before the morons upstairs disentangle our skein of deceptions,' he hisses to his clan brothers, 'Well done lads, you bluffed fit to baffle Ksarul himself, now lets fade into the shadows like Wuru...'
Gereshma takes Imalcho's torch and gives it to the slave. 'Holding a torch is too demeaning a task for you friend Imalcho, let this vermin do it.'
OOC: It was Imalcho who had the torch wasn't it?
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Post by Epengar on Jan 17, 2008 20:03:38 GMT -6
"Bah, you Silver Sails are always trying the claim more than your share of the plunder!" says Hrunal, with a curt nod to Gereshma. "We'll see what the Tirrikamu says. This baggage should come to Silver Shield, and you know it."
He allows himself to be hustled back the way we came, handing his two torches to the slave, who now has three.
"Imalcho, you said that the only other time you were down here you went right from the entrance, and right again, and this led to an exit, yes? What kind of an exit? I think perhaps we should go there now."
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Post by greentongue on Jan 17, 2008 21:15:08 GMT -6
Imalcho
"The route we followed last time came out near the edge of the Foreign Quarter, just off The Plaza of the Bounty of the Empire. On the other side of the plaza is The Palace of War, the Military Offices."
"My traveling companions said that we were skirting the right side of the area claimed by the Grey Gems clan."
"There are most likely other, closer exits but I have not used them, so I am not sure where they are." =
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Post by Epengar on Jan 19, 2008 8:14:55 GMT -6
"That sounds like a suitable location. What of the exit itself? In someone's cellar again? Through a hole in the street?"
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Post by greentongue on Jan 19, 2008 9:09:36 GMT -6
Imalcho
It looked like it had been a cellar at one time. Now it seems to be a storeroom for things nobody will miss. Things even a Nakome (clanless) wouldn't want any more. Things they have scrounged from the stalls in the plaza and never returned for.
I doubt anyone will be there to greet us, it certainly will not be guarded. It would be demeaning to let people know you thought the stuff there was valuable. =
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Post by Epengar on Jan 19, 2008 14:24:33 GMT -6
"That sounds promising. Cousins, I think we should let Imalcho show us the way, now."
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Post by greentongue on Jan 20, 2008 11:03:37 GMT -6
The newly acquired slave struggled with three burning torches. He grasped the two newer torches in one hand while still holding his original in the other.
Meanwhile, the sounds from above have changed and the call for another torch can be heard.
While there is a requirement for one light source per each group of five beings (page 34), three torches do not give any mechanical advantage. =
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Post by calithena on Jan 20, 2008 13:32:45 GMT -6
Kevuk looks nervously about and nods. "Let's go, quickly!" he whispers to Imalcho and Hrunal.
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Post by greentongue on Jan 20, 2008 21:43:19 GMT -6
As the sound of the gang faded in the distance, the party moved deeper into the sewer system. Trudging though the noxious sludge and switching sides of the sluggish stream down the middle, the worst of the filth was avoided. The walls of the sewer are pierced by smaller opening and the overhead drains. From these come occasional cascades of runoff, waste water and gleams of light. After ten minutes of travel a larger opening is revealed on the right side of the tunnel. At the edge of the torchlight down this new tunnel, there is movement. A large curved shape fills the tunnel and reflects back an iridescent green glimmer. The main sewer tunnel continues ahead unchanging as far as the torchlight can penetrate. = Map: home.earthlink.net/~djackson24/EPT03.JPG
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jan 21, 2008 16:50:10 GMT -6
Gereshma squints at the irredescent green thing.
'Is that thing moving towards us?' he asks his clan cousins. 'I think I heard rumours about moving slime creatures down here... lets leave it and go straight on - that is the way isn't it Imalcho?'
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Post by greentongue on Jan 21, 2008 20:53:07 GMT -6
Imalcho
"Actually, that is the way I went last time," he said pointing towards whatever it was, "and it does look to be coming this way."
"Maybe there is a way around by taking another passage," he added. =
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Post by thorswulf on Jan 21, 2008 22:18:05 GMT -6
Zharkhan readies his spear to fend off whatever is coming towards the group. He makes sure he has very good support. he really doesn't fancy a dunking in this muck.
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Post by calithena on Jan 22, 2008 7:46:05 GMT -6
"Let it come!" whispers Kevuk. "Let's get to both sides of the passage so we can give it a flanking ambush, if we need to."
Looking behind him to make sure they were not followed, the warrior grips his blade and waits for the thing to arrive.
(Unless the rest of the party keeps going, in which case I'll of course go with. I recommend one mage and two fighters one one side, one and one on the other.)
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