Admiral's Story

"It does Captain." Replies the goblin.

"Fantastic! I have a plan!" Admiral declares, proudly puffing up the fur on his chest a little. He gestures for emphasis with his sword as he excitedly describes his plan. "We’re going to deliberately draw the iron ring agents over this way. As soon as they all come running after us, we’ll go down this first tunnel and through the portal door back into the cell area. From there, we can sneak over to the door that leads to the harbour while the landlubbers are all busy searching for us over here." He pauses, seeking the approval of his crew. "Any objections?"

Taresh raises an eyebrow and nods in silent acknowledgment that your plan sounds feasible, while Skeev asks,

"How we gonna draw the agents this way without gettin'..."

Taresh interjects, "If it may help Captain, I can offer a minor illusion of sight or sound."

"Oh, I was just going to start yelling at the top of my lungs, but that sounds much better," Admiral says. "Perhaps you could even make it sound like we’re in one of the other tunnels to buy us a little extra time. And if it all goes to shit… well, violence is always an option, aye?"

Taresh elaborates,"Yes, engaging is an option, but hopefully it doesn't have to come to that. Skeev, could you yell down the that tunnel we came in on? You can say something like 'they are hear in the sewer.' Then we can hide, out of sight, in the 1st tunnel. When the agents enter this area and we remain hidden, I can invoke an illusion that will make it sound as if Skeev is calling from the last tunnel, saying 'they went this way, into the canals.' When the agents pass following the illusion, we can continue down our tunnel.' What do you think?"

"Brilliant!" declares Admiral. "Let’s do it."

"Okay Captain if you think it will work," says Skeev and with your approval Skeev snaps to action.

Apprehensively peering back into the tunnel through the portal door, Skeev takes a breath and then yells, "Help! They went this way into the sewer. Help me I can't catch them on my own. Watch out, The Hound was taken by the Nightmare. Hurry. Follow me! I'll try to stay on their trial!"

Upon that, the flickering torch lights down the hall begin to bounce more rapidly as they move forward. Judging from the lights, you would guess the search party is at least 5 agents, but maybe more if they all are not carrying torches.

Once Skeev makes his announcement the three of you leave the doorway and duck into the first tunnel in the main sewer connection.



There is plenty of debris for you to hide behind at the mouth of this connection, including a pile that includes some human bones. It is hard to tell how old the bones are and why they are there. Perhaps there's something else beside The Ring or goblins down here.

Skeev finds a spot near you to hide, while Taresh hides as close to the tunnel arch opening as he can, ready to create his illusion.

Some minutes later you hear the party of agents rush into the vaulted sewer connection area. An armored-masked warrior appears before the tunnel entrance you are hiding in. He carries a torch leading the way. He holds up his hand to those behind him and stops to investigate. This figure has a similar look as The Hound you tracked in the Nightmare lair.



This hound is followed by another masked figure of a more arcane look, who carries a staff with a large blade on one end.



Taresh goes to work from his hiding place and soon you hear Skeev's voice appearing to come from the end of the main vaulted sewer connection.

"Hurry, they went this way into the canals!" the voice exclaims.

The hound motions to move forward and the two agents move past the tunnel you are in toward the voice. After them, two goblins and a number of unarmored and less magical looking human figures continue to pass by. These humans have a uniform look:



You are not yet sure how many as they are still passing by...

Admiral crouches in the shadows behind one of the larger piles of debris. He is almost entirely obscured by the darkness, except for his eyes which gleam green, reflecting the torchlight as he watches the group of humans file by the opening of the tunnel. The tip of his tail twitches anxiously but he is otherwise still.

Skeev crouches near you. You can see that he is nervous and anxious that the Ring is passing so close to you. The fact that it is indeed his own voice--although an illusionary facsimile--that the agents are drawn too unnerves him. When goblins pass he shifts uncomfortably and his boot gets caught on a moldy plank decaying in the tunnel. He wrestles to free it.

This happens as you are keeping track of the number of agents passing. The hound, the mage, two goblins, and one...two...three...four foot soldiers...

Suddenly you hear a faint hum, almost like a voice singing a single, steady, perfect pitch. You realize that Skeev's crystal must have come un-lodged from his skin inside his boot. The sound gets slightly louder as the last foot soldier is passing. It is still faint, but the human seems to hear it and stops at the mouth of your tunnel and turns to peer in your direction...

"…Balls," says Admiral, with feeling. Making a snap decision, he seizes Skeev by the scruff of his armour and bolts down the tunnel, so quick that the human sees only a glimpse of ginger fur and the ragged tails of his lavender coat vanishing into the darkness. Admiral throws Skeev over his shoulder, carrying the little goblin with him as he races down the tunnel as fast as he can. Without stopping, he presses the key into Skeev’s hands and sets the goblin back on his feet. "Run ahead and open the door," he says, breathlessly, hoping that Skeev will be a little faster than him. He glances over his shoulder to make sure Taresh is following. Despite the dire situation, Admiral wears a wide, sharp-toothed grin. Stealth is out the window now, of course, but he has always loved a good game of chase.

You grab Skeev so quickly and begin running that he doesn't even know what happened until you put him down and speak to him.

"Hey. I think there's something down this tunnel." You hear in the distance the Ring foot soldier call out to his party ahead of him.

Meanwhile, Taresh much closer to the Ring agent--while the agent is gazing into the tunnel as if he can penetrate it's near darkness--also reacts quickly once he recognizes the sound of the crystal. You are not sure what actions he took when you look back to see if he is following, but when you do, you notice there is a thick darkness impenetrable to even your feline sight at the mouth of the tunnel where he once hid. You cannot see the agent or any torch light coming from the main sewer connection area. Then you realize with amazement as Taresh appears from a shadow that he is actually on the move already and is close behind you, only maybe 20ft or so, as if his steps take him from shadow to shadow.

When you set Skeev down he nods and and quickly dashes down the tunnel with the key in hand.

Taresh--Ki: 5

From the sounds of it, a number of the agents were ordered to examine the tunnel and you hear them on the move your way.

Admiral continues to race down the tunnel after Skeev, though he has slowed down a bit after his initial burst of speed.

You continue to race and eventually can see to the portal door right ahead, which is wide open. You don't see Skeev. You do think you hear Taresh on the move right behind you.

Admiral glances back over his shoulder to see how close their pursuers are, before darting through the doorway and into the cell area where he and Taresh were previously held.

You are not sure how far behind you your pursuers are, but you see that Taresh is about to make it through the door too. You do know you and Taresh got a decent lead on the agents.

When you dart through the open portal door, instead of seeing the tunnel you previously traversed, you find yourself darting into a somewhat larger storage room. To your right and to your left are two more closed portal doors. Skeev stands in the center of the room, breathing heavily, and appears to be relieved to see you.

The room itself holds a pile of items that were most likely taken from captured slaves brought to this holding cell network. The pile includes things like clothes, ear rings, belts, necklaces, tattered blankets, robes, boots, cloaks, but none of significant value.

Across the room, there are eight barrels against the wall. To the left of the barrels are shackles and chains as wells as spikes, hammers, and some hanging cages that are in disrepair. To the right of the barrels some whips and spiked chains line the wall.

There are unlit torches on the wall beside the three portal doors.

Admiral shuts the door behind Taresh, slumping against it as he fights to catch his breath. After a moment, he stands up straight and looks around the room in confusion. "Which way from here?" he asks Skeev, still a little out of breath.

Taresh bolts into the room and you close the door. He is winded and coughs slightly, subduing a greater coughing fit.

Still catching his breath himself, Skeev--hunched over with his hands on his knees--points to the door to the left. "That's back to the cells."

"Well, go ahead and open it then," Admiral says, impatiently. While Skeev unlocks the door, Admiral scans the room again and his eyes land on the row of barrels. He begins shifting a few of the barrels over to block the door they just came in through, hoping to buy them all a little extra time to escape.

You begin to shift the barrels to block the door you came through. It seems that the barrels are filled with liquid, perhaps lamp oil or drinking water. Taresh, quickly regains his composure, and realizing your train of thought joins you. As you two work on blocking the door, Skeev unlocks and opens the portal leading back toward the cells. He peers into the tunnel beyond and then reaches in his boot to adjusts the crystal that let loose and alerted your pursuers.

You and Taresh make quick work of blocking the barrels the other portal door with the barrels.