Chapter 3 - HQ Interlude

After Phina leaves Nix wonders if he still has time to grab a second breakfast before she has to meet the others at the Sub Way. Skipping along, she heads for the mess hall, and nearly runs into the water genasi. "Hey Firn! You wanna grab a bite before we head to the Sub Way?"

I stare at myself in the mirror. I can't remember the last time I saw my reflection. I look myself, but different. I stand a little straighter. Yes, this will do. "Thank you, Vasalis. I don't know what to say. Which is unlike me, I assure you. It's perfect. I do hope I have enough to cover the cost of this exquisite garment. If not, I will have to place a deposit now and return at a later date with the remaining balance." Perhaps I'll have enough then to buy another robe, perhaps in fuchsia...

Firn looks over the bubbly gnome for a bit. "Didn't you already eat?" he sincerely asks.

Xadira
Vasalis looks you over, impressed even with his own work. Oh, there is no way I could possibly charge for this. You have no idea how long it has been since I've gotten to create something truly beautiful such as this. You see a genuine smile across his face as he admires his own handywork.

The only thing I ask is you come back safely from whatever mission you are headed off too so I may design for you again. If I have to design another plain brown robe I will go absolutely crazy.

Nix looks up at Firn. "But that was almost two hours ago!" she adjusts her new star-patterned cloak. "FINE...I've packed some pies for the road anyway. I guess you're excited to get going. Well so am I, to be honest. Let's go to the Sub Way then!" Nix leads the way, talking animatedly the whole way. "Is it true you can breathe underwater like a fish? I hear fish scales look different and shiny-like underwater...does your skin shine like that too? Do you have scales? Do you swim underwater or do you just walk like you were on land? Do you ever get thirsty?..."

"Yes," answers Firn, though truth be told, the genasi found it difficult to follow along and only caught the last question.

"Thank you! It seems you are correct- your gifts are wasted here! This will need to be remedied. I will tell everyone I come across of your skills. Members, of course. Surely, there are others who appreciate form, function, and style in equal measure! Perhaps there are covert reconnaissance missions that will require custom-tailored articles? Well, in any case, I thank you again and look forward to seeing more of your creations!" I give him a curtsy before heading out in search of the others.

Tilting her head towards the direction of the sound Ütés motions to Green to continue on. Despite the smell she crouches down and does her best to move quietly towards the sound, occasionally looking back to make sure Green is with her.

Utes
You make your way, quite loudly, towards the sounds further down the tunnel. Green follows close behind, giving up any semblance of stealth since you are making enough noise for the both of you. As you follow the tunnel you can catch snippets of the voices. There is at least two.

Gork, we should go...

GO! GORK NEVER RUN! We kill people who invade our sewers. These Gork's sewers now!

We no here to take seweres...

You want give up sewer...shhh...you hear that?

The voices hush as you draw nearer and soon find yourself on the edge of another tunnel intersection. The voices seemed to come from inside, but you can't see who is speaking without entering the area.

"Eagin, wait up, I'll walk with you," Aelar says when he sees his mentor. Once he's caught up he slows his pace to match the shorter stride of his halfling friend, "You ready for this? I understand its been a while since you've been on a mission like this?"

Curiousity piqued, I follow after Green and Ütés.

Aye, I'm ready. No offense but the troupe can be kind of boring sometimes. You know there were times when we were performing I would sneak out in the night to take out a local bandit lord. Made it back before any of you even woke up. Went on to perform the next day, he says as he straightens up and walks with a confident stride.

Are you ready? You know, there's no shame in backing out, he says with a sudden serious tone, You have to remember, every mission has a possibility of not coming home. Not coming back...to her. Are you sure you're ready for that chance?, he says as he looks up at you, deadly serious.

Aelar nods grimly, "I owe Utes this much, at least. Without her help I never would have gotten you all back. I made a vow to her that I would save her prince, and I will not fail."

Nix and Firn
As the first two to arrive you see Samel is in the large chamber that has large rounded tunnels cut on either end of it, and a set of strange metal rails runs from tunnel to tunnel. On the tracks you see something quite unusual. It is a gigantic cart of sorts, or a series of them. There are 5 carts in all attached to a large metal cart. Each one looks to be 40 feet long and 15 feet high. The first one, the metal one, is releasing large puffs of steam from the sides. It's a monstrosity of metal and machinery that you don't quite understand.

The next 4 carts have glass windows along side and doors that slide open along the side. The last one looks similar, only all of the windows have been blacked out, this is the one Phina had mentioned being her lab car.Samuel is currently near the metal car talking to what appears to be a large ratman. Waiting in this large chamber is also a small grouping of armed soldiers who are currently at ease playing some card games and awaiting the arrival of the rest of the group.

Phina is nearby helping the gnomes put the device she received into her lab car.

I continue forward, looking for the source of the spellcasting as well as the nature of the spells being cast. Perhaps we are in some kind of training area?

Aelar
And I have made a vow of my own, she is like a sister to me. I have already told her I will do all in my power to bring you back safely. So let's go, get the job done, and come back alive, alright?, he says as he keeps walking with you.

Soon you find yourself arriving at the Sub Way station and seeing the same scene that Nix and Firn have just discovered.

I continue a few steps towards the left tunnel, then stop for a moment and attempt to fill the area closest to the tunnel with the smell of my favorite type of lemon tea. It doesn't remove the horrible smell completely, but it's better than nothing. I then pick up my pace down the tunnel.