Chapter 2: The First Seal

Still shaking from his unexpected comatose episode, Laurent kept quiet and moved as swiftly as possible up the shaft, only to be confronted by this new difficulty. He had not spoken of his vision, and was not sure he ought to.

Laying low as the more experienced adventurers assessed the situation, Laurent quietly invoked his minor telekinetic operator, attempting to conclude the casting as silently and as out of sight as possible. Once the duo had decided their course of action, they were shockingly swift in execution, leaving Laurent to his own designs.

After but a brief moment of hesitation, the young scholar attempted to produce a distraction by making random objects fall at the opposite side of the warehouse, in relation to the staircase that was his companions' preferred escape route.

The thugs are too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice as you slip quietly up the stairs. When Laurent causes the crates to thud in the corner it draws the thugs in that direction, leading them to the corpses, which makes them even more agitated. But now their guard is really up. You'll have to take extra care if you want to get out of here unnoticed.

One of them starts hissing orders. "Shut up, you lot, and stay alert! Vinck, check those bodies. Thom and... what the fuck's your name? You two check every inch of the warehouse floor. Dubro, Arman, with me; we're checking upstairs."

What do you do?

Satisfied that the trio had stayed undetected this far, Laurent continued to crouch behind whatever cover he could find, while trying to make his way towards the front door, which he assumed would be the fastest way out. He did so without coordinating or speaking, concerned as he was that the mere whisper might attract undue attention.

Once more, Laurent hears the muffled voice coming from inside his pack.

"I don't know who you are but you are dead. You picked the wrong person to rob, you little shit! My men should be there shortly... you are about to wish you hadn't crawled out of your hole today!"

As you turn towards the entrance hall there's a heavy knocking at the front door! "Open up! Grimm! Bartoz said to check on you. You clowns sleeping on the job or what?"

What do you do?

The banging on the front door continues. From the direction of the detention room you hear muffled children's laughter. You know that room shares a wall with the orphanage next door. Wow, those walls are thin! Heavy footfalls tell you the thugs downstairs are heading up the stairs and will be on you in mere moments!

What do you do?!

In a near panic, Laurent grabbed Timbers by his shoulders, and prepared to hoist the gnome over his head, so that he could reach the skylight and hopefully make it out. As he did so, he whispered curtly "Up and out," and signaled for Tilma to follow. If she was willing, he would help her up as well, hoping that the duo could then help him up. If things went badly, he could still invoke Niveral's protective shroud, thugs being a notoriously unruly and undisciplined bunch.

Once up, Berry pulls his rope out and lowers it for Laurent to escape.

The thugs are close but it seems like you just might make it! The banging at the door might even be a boon, drowning out any noise of your escape.

Helping the lithe form of Tilma up through the skylight, Laurent was relieved to find Berry's rope being lowered down. His two associates would certainly be able to help him up. He tried to rush up the rope, hoping that his feet wouldn't be dangling down when the band of thugs reached this area. As soon as he made it through the skylight, he would lay down flatly on the roof, and concentrate on opening the deadbolt from above. He tried to do so discretely, and to roll out of view as soon as the task was completed, or proved too difficult to accomplish.

Tilma had initially planned to help Laurent up after Berry and then try to wall jump up herself. But the ment she noticed that Berry is taking out the rope she decided that his plan is better. She got up with Laurent's help and together they pulled the scrawny mage up.

She rolls to the side and raises her head to look around to see if there is any more danger incoming.

You roll out of sight and pull up your rope in the nick of time! The thugs round the corner and come running when they spot the corpse in the hall.

"What the fuck?! Somebody offed Grimm! Can't say I blame 'em."

"Shut up! Dubro, check the office. Arman, open the damn door and let that whoreson Laslo in!"

You hear the door being unlatched and swung open.

"Took you long enough!" Laslo snarls. "Rohnan? What're you—Hey, you bastards offed Grimm?!"

You hear weapons being drawn. Sounds like it'll take them a few moments and maybe a couple of knifings to sort themselves out.

Do you stay to listen? You might risk getting caught, but you might also learn more.

Seeing that their daring escape was going better than expected, Laurent searched the facial expressions of his comrades in flight He saw what seemed like a silent agreement for getting as far as possible from these ruffians as swiftly as possible. The cloistered young scholar signalled for Berry to lead the way: the gnome was certainly the most sure-footed and street savvy of the bunch. He did gesture towards the back end of the edifice, with a questioning look. Should they move through the orphanage, or try to leave through the back alleyway?

Tilma slowly gets up trying to not make any noise and whispers, "Lets leave through the orphanage. Seems like the safest option. Right, Berry?" after their companion agrees she leads the way towards the orphanage, trying to stay silent and out of the sight. She keeps her crossbow sheathed, not to startle occupants of the establishment and once inside the building tries to act naturally.

Laurent too, does his best to move silently away from the skylight and towards the orphanage. His heart beat wildly, and his skin was moist with perspiration. His vision became a tunnel focused on the backs of Berry and Tilma.

"Agreed, let's do this. They haven't seen us so have no reason to think we caused any of this. The Orphanage seems the safest way out, even if it is enemy territory."

The party makes their way from the rooftop back into the Harborside Orphanage without being detected. The earthquake has resulted in serious chaos within - the sound of children crying and adults yelling comes from every direction as you climb into the window and make your way down the stairwell. Fortunately the chaos provides excellent cover.

You find the chaos extends to the streets as well. As you exit the orphanage you see that the fissure continues through the orphanage and out into the street in more or less a straight line. It cleaves through a building on the other side of the street, which looks like it is about to collapse. A team of Harborside guards is pulling people out of the building while a wizard in white robes is reinforcing the building with a Wand of Web. Another building at the end of the street is catching fire, and a half giant is trying to down the flames by hurling rain barrels into it.

The street is full.of people as if every building in the district just divulged itself of all its occupants. They are speaking to each other, asking for information. There is a lot of fear and so many questions: are demons invading again? are wizards to blame? (they always are eventually) where is my daughter? are you hurt? have you seen ... ? and so on.

At least you'll be able to move anonymously in this chaos, barring magical means of detection.

Tilma tries to not look at the damages they caused and advances straight. Her hands behind her back, whistling in the air as if nothing had happened.

"This is bad...", Laurent mumbled under his breath, as he walked along his companions, an air of guilt and concern clearly stamped on his face. "Has the whole town been hit?" he wondered out loud, his mind naturally going to his scholarly brothers, most of them quite aged, and the massive piles of wood, parchment and leather that must have been thrown about in a chaotic wave as the earth trembled. "We have to get somewhere safe, decide what to do. Gotta get rid of the mirror... a half decent diviner might be able to find us. And yet I think we might need to send a message to Bartoz before he finds us." As soon as he said that, he cringed, thinking that one of Bartoz seers or diviners might be listening to him as he spoke. He looked around in fear, sweat once again beginning to pearl on his pale skin.

Lauren's watchful eye does not see anyone following them. It is easy to get lost in the bewildered, anxious crowd.

As far as lead boxes, a couple of options come to mind. Last week the party rescued a dwarf purveyor of weapons named Ulfgar Durthane, owner of Durthane's Cutlery. Although he's a weaponsmith he might have connections with metalworkers. Above all he is friendly to you, owes you a debt of gratitude, and hates Bartoz.

Another option might be to enquire at Lauren's temple. Those who delve for secrets need to keep them under wraps.

"You told me about this Ulfgar fellow, the one you guys rescued... maybe he could help us handling this thing," he gestured meaningfully towards his backpack. Laurent had been very careful to not use his companion's name. And despite all the suffering around them, he seemed particularly concerned with the more targeted kind of suffering that crime syndicates had a reputation for delving in. He considered bringing the item to Niveral's Temple, but was somewhat afraid of what his superiors might think or say, and also of what Bartoz might do to them because of the young scholar's extracurricular activities.