Tales of the Old World 26

<Tales_GM> The year is 2512 on the Imperial Calendar...
<Seig> "Grunni, you got some more of that sedative stuff you were using?"
<Tales_GM> "Doc don't like me rummagin' in his effects," he says with some reticence.
<Tales_GM> "But aye..." he finally says. "He has more."
<Shivva> "We are gonna need some to capture this beast."
<Tales_GM> "I don't have the keys to get into his stash, but I can show you the way."
<Afrock> "Elf?"
<Far_Foririan> "Yes I could get it open."
<Far_Foririan> "Also doesn't Thorek have something to capture the creature?"
<Tales_GM> "An elgi? At the Schaffenfest?" Grunni croaks, raising an inquisitive eyebrow as he eyes Farforian up and down.
<Seig> "How about you don't question it since you got an escaped whatever it was."
<Tales_GM> "Doc won't like this one bit..." he says to himself as he turns to lead the way. "Not one bit..."
<Seig> "What was that Afrock, eh can't be important."
<Far_Foririan> "I think he said he needs a new straw?"
* Afrock glares and squints his eyes at Far.
<Tales_GM> "Right, she's it," Grunni says patting the side of a large coach used by Malthusius as his personal study.
<Roderick> "The doctor will be fortunate if he can even return to his menagerie."
* Far_Foririan looks at Afrock with a small smile.
<Tales_GM> "The cabinet on the back end... and don't break nuthin' while you're in there..." he finishes off grunting to himself.
* Roderick jerks a thumb at the coach. "Far go ahead and take care of it."
<Seig> "While he does that, Shivva what hole did you see it disappear down again I wanna take a peak."
* Far_Foririan makes his way in and finds the Cabinet to open it with his magic.
<Roderick> "While we handle this, Dietrich if you'd take the handcart to the inn the Magistrate is providing lodging at and watch over our gear."
<Tales_GM> "Journey's End, was it? I'll find my way," he nods.
* Far_Foririan placing his hand on the lock and then begins to cast his lock picking spell.
* Roderick nods. "Appreciated."
<Tales_GM> A click from within the cabinet indicates the Elf's success.
* Far_Foririan hearing the sound of the cabinet opens then calls for Roderick.
* Roderick steps up into the coach to join Far. "Any luck?"
<Far_Foririan> "Yep the cabinet is unlocked now." as he opens on of the doors and backs up for Roderick to take a look for the item they need.
<Roderick> "Hmmmmm, I was expecting the Doctor to be more organized and label these...we could use Shivva's expertise. Shivva! Get in here!"
<Shivva> "Be right there, Boss."
* Shivva makes his way to the cart.
* Thorek mutters to himself as he snores in bouts of blacked out napping, slumped against a barrel nearby the party.
* Shivva browses thru the bottles. "Hmm... I think I found it."
* Roderick returns outside of the coach and turns to Afrock. "You'll have ta carry Thorek, I think you're the only one you can shift his bulk. If ya need help we'll have him help." Roderick nods towards the man he tortured on the barge.
* Shivva also grabs the largest bottle in the cart.
* Far_Foririan see Shivva grab a separate bottle, "So what's in that second bottle then?"
<Tales_GM> "I'm sworn to carry your burdens," Gurt mutters, annoyed.
<Shivva> "Something that could be useful for later."
<Far_Foririan> "Ok I'll believe you."
* Far_Foririan makes a mental note to find out what he actually got later.
* Shivva grabs a syringe as well.
* Shivva leaves the cart.
* Far_Foririan closes the cabinet doors and makes his way out behind Shivva.
<Seig> "Okay now you've sorted that fancy answering my question I know your prone to zoning out."
<Shivva> "Hmm? Oh. Right!"
* Shivva points to the grate.
<Shivva> "I believe it was that one. Far? You saw the same thing right?"
* Far_Foririan looks at the one Shivva points to, "Yea I am sure it was that one."
<Seig> Starts heading towards the grate "Lets take a peak at what we a dealing with then."
<Roderick> "Everyone have what they need?"
<Shivva> "I think so"
* Afrock nods in agreement.
<Seig> Seig crouches down at the grate, the wind blowing unfavourably gives him a blast of the smell. "Lets get some of those rat catcher masks."
<Thorek> With a hiccup and a shout Thorek finally recovers proper consciousness, and just in time too, the smell is awful. "Grimnir's balls." He says, noting his face is masked. "Why." He coughs before continuing. "Why are we in the sewers? I'm a bounty hunter not a sewer-jack drengbarazi."
<Tales_GM> The stench hits as soon as the cover is removed, and grows progressively worse as you descend. A vertical shaft leads downwards into blackness, and although there are conveniently placed footholds, the slime-coated shaft does not inspire confidence.
<Roderick> "Hunting a mutant goblin-like creature. The Magistrate has hired us. They want the creature alive."
* Afrock put's on his mask trying to not aggravate his injury.
* Far_Foririan makes sure his mask is on well.
<Thorek> "Aye....a gobbo eh? And how much is this creature worth to him?"
<Roderick> "Lanterns at the front and back."
* Seig takes up position at the front with his Lantern.
* Roderick takes up position behind Seig with his shield unlimbered.
* Afrock takes his axe out.
* Shivva gets the syringe ready.
* Far_Foririan has his staff at the ready.
* Thorek moves up and with Seig's help attempts to find the Gobbo's trail...despite being pissed-out drunk.
<Seig> "If we can pick up the trail now it'll be easier when we hit as junction..."
* Roderick nods. "Good thinking Seig. You and Thorek lead us to the beast."
<Tales_GM> There are two walkways, each 3fr wide, on either side of a 5ft wide effluent channel, filled with the worst Bögenhafen has to offer.
<Tales_GM> The ceiling reaches 10ft above the walkways at its highest point. The walkways are only wide enough to allow you to proceed in a single file.
<Roderick> "Watch your feet boys, this is no time for a swim."
<Roderick> "Let's get it going, don't want it to get away from us."
<Tales_GM> Ahead, you see the signs of splashing, followed by the muck-prints of a small pair of deformed child's feet.
<Thorek> "Aye, we have the gobbo's..." he belches, "trail."
<Tales_GM> You make your way, following its trail, to an intersection along the sewers. Here, the channel widens, with an increased flow in the city's sewage.
<Tales_GM> Thorek leads the group around the corner, where the footing becomes slanted, and slippery. Unable to spot it in time, he kicks his shin into a small iron rod sticking out of the side of the tunnel just off the floor. Nearly loosing his footing, Thorek manages to find firm ground not a second before falling into the flow of filth below.
* Thorek curses under his breath in dwarfish, rubbing his shin with his free hand. "Umgak manling sewers."
<Roderick> "Alright up there Thorek?"
<Tales_GM> Following the path further, you make a turn into a broad curving in the sewage system, the dreadful flow of filth causing droplets to splash around, sometimes as high as your elbows.
<Thorek> "Just cracked my shin against some iron, careful as you come around. It's quite slippery, and I wouldn't want to go into that bubbling sludge."
<Roderick> "Appreciate the words of warning mate." Roderick is careful to avoid the iron rod.
<Tales_GM> The path takes you on a tricky upward slope, finding traction requires concentration, and some luck... you notice the air begins to smell even fouler than usual as you make your way up.
<Tales_GM> For a brief moment, Thorek's lantern appears to breathe. Then, in a split-second, a blinding light overtakes the entirety of the tunnels around you. The accompanying pressure wave deafens you, leaving you utterly disoriented in the critical seconds to come...
<Tales_GM> The flames threaten to engulf everyone, and succeeds in so-doing as Shivva's robes catch fire. In the deafened, half-blinded state that everyone is in, you shuffle awkwardly to empty your waterskins to help him out. You succeed, but not before Shivva suffers burns, and finds his robes badly tattered.
<Tales_GM> As you regain your bearings, you find yourselves down one man. Gurt, the lowly, servile creature, has vanished.
<Thorek> "Grimnir's beard!" He slurs.
* Far_Foririan looks around to find Gurt but sees nothing.
* Afrock taps on Far's shoulder and points to a spot of disturbed water.
* Far_Foririan looks to the spot Afrock pointed to.
* Afrock claps at the group and points at the spot.
<Seig> "Ummmmm...."
<Far_Foririan> "I think our friends fell into the water."
* Afrock nods quickly.
<Roderick> "Is someone volunteering to take a dip and find out?"
* Afrock shrugs after a brief moment.
<Thorek> "Rotten way to go."
* Roderick glances around. "Right then we keep moving."
* Afrock nods slowly.
<Thorek> "Right..." Thorek resumes his trudging, hoping there isn't another pocket of gasses.
<Tales_GM> Having decided that Gurt's disappearance merits no further investigation, you press on up until you reach a level section of sewer tunnels, able to hear the way the refuse flows into the smaller canals feeding into the larger curving section on which you walk. After the explosion, the track left behind by the goblin-like oddity is lost, yet you press on.
<Thorek> "Umgak! Afrock! I need your lantern. mine's......gone."
* Afrock passes on the lantern to the front.
<Tales_GM> As the light is passed forward, you see the intersection ahead. And along the walls and up on the ceiling, you see strange yellow growths of mould.
<Seig> "Anyone wanna claim it drowned in the sewers and call it a day?"
* Afrock grunts.
<Roderick> "We keep moving until we know for sure."
<Thorek> "With caution..." he pauses to belch. "More caution."
<Far_Foririan> "Could shoot a arrow by it to see if the mold reacts?"
<Seig> "Shiv, pass me a bandage I can soak it in some oil see if it burns the mould."
<Shivva> "You want me to waste pricey bandages?"
<Thorek> "Use fabric...or something dawri."
<Seig> "Figured you'd have some loose fabric too."
* Shivva rips a piece of the coat. He hands it to the elf.
* Far_Foririan takes the piece from Shiv and hands it to Seig to have it soaked in lamp oil.
* Seig adds some and passes it back.
* Far_Foririan takes out a arrow and raps it around right behind the arrow head.
<Seig> The lantern is placed next to Farforian so he can use it to light the arrow.
* Far_Foririan grabs his bow and readies the arrow on it and dips the arrow into the lantern to light it.
* Far_Foririan launches the arrow.
<Tales_GM> Far'Forian looses the arrow, but it falls just short of the patch of mould.
<Tales_GM> However, as the flames burn further, they begin to lick at the bottom of the mould growth.
<Seig> "Hnnng...."
* Afrock grumbles.
<Thorek> Thorek makes a low grunting sigh.
<Tales_GM> In a few moments, a release all along the yellow patch fills the intersection with a cloud of milky spores.
* Far_Foririan begins to back up
* Roderick quickly backs away
* Afrock moves back.
* Seig once Roderick has made space backs up.
* Shivva scoots back.
* Thorek turns and follows the others backwards
<Far_Foririan> "Could try firing one more fire arrow?"
<Seig> Seig gets another scrap of fabric from Shivva soaks it in more oil and passes it to Far Foririan "You can't miss that cloud right?"
* Far_Foririan lights the arrow and fires another flaming arrow.
* Thorek braces himself.
<Tales_GM> The passing flame catches the center of the thick, stale spore cloud. With a roar, the chain reaction of spore igniting spore, causes a wide blast that completely destroys any remaining mould.
* Afrock raises his hands in hapiness.
<Far_Foririan> "Well that saves us a lot of trouble."
<Thorek> "Now that's a proper explosion." He laughs and wobbles a bit before shaking his head.
<Thorek> The dwarf continues forward, one cautious step at a time.
<Tales_GM> Miraculously, Thorek does pick up the tracks once more.
<Thorek> "Hah! I've...found the bugger's tracks."
* Roderick claps Thorek on the back. "Well done!"
<Thorek> "Aye, let's find the bugger and leave this place....that was a decent lamp for manling design." He sniffs. "Damned sewers."
<Tales_GM> As you make it further, the creature's trail ends at a stout wooden door set into the wall of the sewer.
<Thorek> "Huh, ends here." He lightly taps the door with his finger.
* Far_Foririan takes a look at the door visually inspecting it.
<Tales_GM> There is a small opening with iron bars at about eye height, through which can be seen a large cellar. A smoky torch burns in a wall bracket, casting flickering shadows around the room. Traces of green-black splatter are found on the iron bars. As you look closely, you find a bare footprint halfway up the door.
<Roderick> "I can't place my finger on it...but I feel like it might be a bad idea to go through that door...though that seems to be where the goblin went.."
<Far_Foririan> "Yea I'm not sure about this, just a feeling but its not a good one, I can sense traces of Dhar in there."
<Thorek> "What strange word is that, Far? Some elgi term?"
* Afrock tilts his head at the word."
<Tales_GM> Kruger makes a silent prayer to Sigmar at its mention.
* Roderick shakes off his unease and takes a steadying breath once hearing that word from Far. "Foul witchcraft. Alright, I don't expect any of you to follow me in but I will see this through."
<Roderick> "This goes far beyond a wayward mutant goblin at this point."
* Afrock taps his axe in response.
<Far_Foririan> "I am not sure what the sources is in there or why it is there just to let you know."
<Thorek> "Hah! As if foul magicks would keep a dwarf from going forward!" He boasts drunkenly.
<Roderick> "Can you open this Far?"
<Seig> "I didn't get exploded just to lose my cut of the bounty"
* Roderick taps the door with his knuckle.
<Far_Foririan> "I might be able to, just not sure if what is in there will react to my spell, it is very... um, unrefined magic from what I'm sensing, almost amateur."
<Roderick> "I'll put my faith in you Far. Open it up." Roderick steps away from the door to allow him room to work his magic.
* Afrock backs away from the door.
* Thorek forward so he is not near the door.
* Far_Foririan moves into position so he is off to the sides of the door so that he can touch the door and unlock it but also back away once he does so.
<Tales_GM> Far'Forian says the words, and the bolt slides open with a heavy metallic click.
* Far_Foririan chants the unlocking spell as he touches the door and once cast backs off.
<Tales_GM> The door, on its own weight, begins to slowly open.
<Tales_GM> Lying right by the frame is a pile of broken and chewed bones, the only identifiable one being a two-socketed shoulder...
<Roderick> "I'll take the front." Roderick raises his shield and draws a pistol before advancing into the room."