Session 75

Oscar

We put together a small group to explore the sewers, looking for the missing children. I engaged two bodyguards, Stria brought herself and her two favorite daggers as usual, and u-Heury recruited the young Thomas, a street urchin and apparently the first member of the Ice Skulls, a new tribe of urban barbarians. I’m looking forward to watching u-Huery explain this to his ancestors or shamans or foster fathers or whoever is theoretically in charge of him.

By Denara’s Scales! That might be me! I’m the closest thing he’s known to a father figure for most of his adolescence.

u-Heury bought an extra canoe, I got mine repaired, and we set off to explore. The hirelings nearly ran off when I pulled out the new shield; apparently no one mentioned it makes my eyes glow. I meant to test whether I can see in the dark, but didn’t get the chance.

There was a porticullis lowered over the entrance. Normally it’s raised up. We raised it and nailed it in place; next time bring a hammer and spikes.

We turned south at the first water-filled passage after that, just to fill out our map and perhaps locate another entrance. We found a large pool with at least two raised areas on the east and west (the former one we had explored before). The platform to the east had a door, but before we could probably investigate, we were accosted by a telepathic dungheap demanding we leave the area immediately. I stalled for time, hoping to open the door and leave that way, but it attacked. The monster is quite fierce and it’s sucker-like arms have an acidic component to them that poses a severe threat. We should prepare for thwt next time, if we can think of a way. It is also quite difficult to land a solid blow on the viscuious form. I managed to hit it once, and I think one of Stria’s bolts stuck. Another note for next time: I shall petition my goddess to bless our enterprise before we enter the dungeons. Waiting for combat to begin is too late. Such a blessing would perhaps have guided our blows.

The men-at-arms acquitted themselves well and did not flee, despite not landiung any blows.

Being the only one to damage it, I took the brunt of the creature’s retaliation and had to call for a retreat since none of us could reliably strike the creature. However, with our canoes up on the landing and the creature eager to crush then as much as us, the only way was through the door. Luckily it wsas unlocked, though we discovered another of those bell traps the hard way. We had the hirelings pull the canoes into the next room while u-Huery and I kept the creature’s attention, then we both slipped away and closed the door. We rested, and I invoked Denara’s blessings to heal our wounds. We were not back up to full strength, and resolved to find another exit if possible.

I did attempt to negotiate safe passage with the creature, a very difficult natter. We might be able to trade a cow or a giant rat the size of a cow for safe passage.

The room we found ourselves in connected to another, with staircases leading up. Thomas reported he heard surface noises from above, so we had found our exit, and perhaps a secure base to store equipment between delves. The romm held tools and construction materials sufficient to seal off at least two passageways. We could potentially use this to trap the creature and starve it, or to our advantage in some other way. Another possibility would be to fed the wererats or their minions the giant rats to the dungheap.

We left through the newly discovered exit and retrieved our stashed gear from u-Huery’s burgeoning tribe of urban barbarians, resolving to heal and ponder our next move.

Stria

Ygnas buggered off again, and I was getting nowhere coming up with a catchy name for myself in order to set up shop here in Threshold, so when Oscar said he was putting together a crew to go back into the sewers, I went along. Rescuing children does nothing for my reputation, but there’s a bounty for every kid we drag out of there. Did it say dead or alive? I didn’t read the paper Oscar waved around to find out if the kids have to be alive for us to get paid. I haven’t blooded my magic blades in a while. Still don’t actually know what either of them does. I should probably find that out. Rats are a menace to society, and were rats are ten times the menace. I may need the sewers as a way to get around the city unnoticed. Or stash bodies. It’s just good business to clear them out.

Oscar hired two men to come along. One is twitchy. We hired some of Thomas’ friends to watch the wagon. I warned them what would happen if the wagon and our stuff wasn’t there when we got back. We dropped the canoes in the hole and climbed down the rope. The portcullis that had been up was now down. The men made me get out in the muck and lift it up. We wedged it up so we could get back out. Before we went to the last place they saw were rats, we decided to explore south. South led to a deep pool which was full of shit. This must be the intake area. For the whole city. It reeked. There was a walkway and a door on the other side.

We rowed over to investigate, and were accosted by a voice in our minds telling us to leave. When we didn’t immediately leave, a monster attacked from underneath a giant pile of shit in the corner of the pool. A mouth with rows of teeth, and tentacles. I shot at it with my crossbow, but only hit it with a glancing blow. Oscar managed to hit it once, but didn’t do much damage. No one else landed a blow. It however, hit Oscar and u-Heury several times. Thomas was whining, so I told him to check the door. Instead of checking, he barged right in, setting off one of those bells. Nothing untoward happened, so we all fled into the room beyond the door.

Oscar said that it wanted a cow or something big to eat, and maybe it would leave us alone. I wonder if he knows that his eyes have turned black. The room turned out to be a storage area of some kind. Lots of tools. The room beyond that had stairs that were partially covered by debris. We cleared enough to get out. A second way in and out of the sewers will come in handy.