Chapter 5: Pleased to Meet You

Elora jumps back at this, her nerves practically shot. She doesn't dare make a peep, but in her mind she's trying her hardest to somehow communicate for Pip to rendezvous immediately.

Kill it with fire!
I'd like to...
And bring those bigots down here with it. If the Hunter wants to feed, they can oblige. Two birds with one stone.
It seems to want magic users.... though that's not a horrible idea.......two birds......

Pip!

In a split second, Ember's horror is replaced by violence, then the voice she considers most sane wins out.

You'd know if he wasn't okay, she reassures Elora, hoping that's how familiars work. Talk to me. What can we do once we meet the guards?

Oh, great. Is she on the friend list now, too?
Shut up.

A scream rips from Eanala's throat, raw, unbridled anguish. She rushes to Erannik's side, falling to her knees without so much as a thought for herself. As she reaches for his lifeless body, her wordless cries come to a sudden halt. Her head twitches, as though there were a buzzing fly at her ear. Livia, the broad-shouldered woman, comes running up behind her, putting her hands on Eanala's shoulders and speaking softly in her ear.

"We have to go, Eanala. Let me carry him," says the larger woman. Eanala starts to shake Livia's hands from her, but then hangs her head in a limp nod. The elven woman climbs stiffly to her feet, face pale and streaked with tears. "We do have to go. We're being tracked by too many things to stand still and wait for them to find us. Let's go," says Eanala, her voice empty of emotion.

She puts a hand lightly on Livia's arm, swallows heavily, and starts for the stairs back up and out of the tunnels. As she passes Coreene, Eanala stops to squeeze the Naucan's hand tightly for a moment. "Would that our meeting was in happier circumstances, old friend," she says.

Livia, in an impressive show of strength, scoops up Erannik's body and carries him across her shoulders. She follows Eanala out of the tunnels.

Giran, the other resistance member, is staring at Verrian in a mixture of awe and fear and curiosity, but he says nothing, instead turning to follow his leader out.

Up in the tavern that houses this entrance to the tunnels, it feels remarkably quiet after the violence and terror below. It is getting late at night, approaching a respectable bedtime at the very least. A quiet breeze blows through the street, seeping in through the cracks in the walls and broken windows to lend a tangible chill to the common room of the abandoned tavern.

Coreene finds herself speechless, sharing in her friend's sorrow at Erannik's passing. She follows silently, keeping an eye on Eanala to see of she needs any words of comfort to keep her moving, and keeping her keen eyes alert to any hidden dangers. And hidden dangers she finds. Her eyes shoot open as they climb the stairs. Without bothering to warn the newcomers of her abilities, she shares, @Everyone including the revolutionaries: "Danger up ahead. I hear an ambush being prepared."

Upon receiving Coreene's warning, Verrian whispers to Giran, "Is there another way out of this building? Other than the tunnel?"

As everyone goes tense at Coreene’s silent warning, Giran is looking around in bewilderment. Ambushes and telepathic voice and his friend and mentor murdered and... the whole situation seems to have him one step away from a complete breakdown. To his credit, he doesn’t say anything in response, just nods and points toward the back room, gesturing for everyone to follow him.

Swan reaches out as if to lay a hand on the dwarf, but the suddenness and the certainty of his demise still the spell on his lips. He closes his eyes briefly, committing this memories of the dwarf to his mind. When the term ambush is used by Coreene, he snaps back to attention, and begins following quietly, listening for these hidden cues that his friend picked up.

Don't worry, buddy, Ember smiles at Giran as she passes. None of us got this from a Magic Storm. We'll share some wild stories later, eh?

Verrian follows close behind Giran and shares: @Giran: It's Talva. I'm a Naucan, Giran. So is Coreene. Don't be alarmed by our telepathy. She puts a hand on his arm to add some warmth to the words he's hearing in his head.

She follows him as quietly as possible, keeping her eyes and ears trained on the sights and sounds as they move through the darkened building.

Yelnar again takes up the rearguard position in case their ambushers realise they won't be obliging it any time soon.

He stubs his toe on an unseen obstacle, and is unable to stop himself from cursing.

He listens to hear if thats provoked any movement.

Coreene keeps her eyes peeled for other signs of movement or a change of tactics that implies that they have caught wind of their change of course.

Elora stops breathing for a second, adjusting her walking speed and making every step light as can be.

Most of the group is through the back room and out the door Giran holds open leading to the back alley by the time that Yelnar's misstep and resulting curse breaks the silence.

"Hey! They're getting away!" comes a voice from the outside of the tavern.

"After them, after them! It's our heads if they escape again!" responds another voice.

Yelnar can see six shadowy figures emerge from their hiding spots out in the street. One swings his elbow at the remains of the large front window, which crashes inward in a shower of tinkling glass and should make an easy way in for him and one compatriot waiting behind him. Two others are headed in through the front door. The other two split off from the others and disappear in the darkness.

Yelnar is the closest to the ambushers, about 40 feet away from the closest potential enemy. He stands in the doorway to the back room of the tavern, which has swinging doors that don't appear like they could be blocked. However, there is time to run, if you act quickly.

Verrian shares, @Everyone: Follow Giran! Run as fast as you can!

She sees Yelnar standing in the doorway and waits briefly to see if he starts running.

Yelnar starts running, but tries to check if he can see what sort of armour, if any, the pursuers are wearing, as he knows his own will slow him down.

Satisfied that Yelnar won't be making a stand by himself, Verrian begins running alongside of him, following the rest of the group.

"Stop, in the name of the City Guard!" comes a shout as the rear guard of the party ducks into the back room and goes to follow Giran as Verrian suggested. As they have no intention of stopping, the shout falls on effectively deaf ears. Crashing can be heard in the common room as the guards push their way in pursuit.

There's a sudden thud of a heavy door opening, and another guard's voice can be heard. "Stars and stones, what is THAT?" he says, voice rising in panic.

Everyone feels a disorienting rush of distorted sound in their heads, and an uncomfortably familiar voice sounds once again. "I'm not interested in you," it says with exaggerated patience. "So get. Out. Of. My. Way." Each word is punctuated with something heavy crashing about in the common room. The accompanying screams and cries give you a pretty good idea of what -- or who -- is being tossed about like so many rag dolls.

The hunter is coming.

Everyone runs out into the alley way and heads in the direction of the main street. Just as you're about to exit the alleyway, two guards appear. Dressed in chain shirts with swords out, they set themselves to prevent your advance. One shouts, "Stop in the name of the City Guard, or we will cut you down!"

In a voice infused with absolute terror, Verrian squeals, "Look out! It's coming! The monster is coming!"

Figuring that she's already crossed into iffy ethical territory once so far, she pushes the guards. @Guards: Something horrible is coming. You can feel the chill down your spine. Can't you hear the cries of the guards inside the building? They see it! It's terrifying!

"Not again!" Elora was just beginning to focus on the current ordeal of escaping, and feelings of fear manifest once again. She doesn't say anything else, letting someone a bit more convincing do the talking.