The Wrong Guys IC II

[Jallorn]

Antal struggles for the words for a moment, Nothing real, he finally says to Ylminri, Just unnecessary fears.

[Strawberries]

Audric takes a deep breath "Believe me, this isn't something I signed up for either.". He looks at the gnome almost sympathetically, opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by Ylminri speaking in some language he doesn't undertsand, and then in broken Common.

"Nothing. Nothing wrong" he answers. Now that he knows he is a child, his tone is much softer. "We'll get you home soon, okay?" He turns to Kerj again "We are all stuck in this situation, and this is not going to change. Only thing that matters, now is what we are going to do about it. We have to escort Ylminri home, and I am not giving up in finding Paral yet. Are you going to help?"

[Ajadea]

"If you need me too. I'm sure you don't think much of me, but I didn't come all the way to the bowels of the capital city of genocidal maniacs-no offense meant-on a whim. I came here to do something real, something that might be remembered. Something good, you know?" Kerj sighs. "A'course, everyone else is probably packing up and running away like rabbits right now, so I doubt that you'll be able to get much more help."

[Strawberries]

"Honestly? I do not know what I need." among a lot of other things he is not sure about anymore "But if you want to do something good, I won't deny you the chance. What is this about a boat?"

[Ajadea]

"There's a bit of a natural harbor area down thataways. We made some boats. Three, actually. Of those, I think Iil'ssaran has one, one is stuck between a rock and the other bank, and the third is gone, probably cut loose like the second."

[Jallorn]

She doesn't want anyone following her. Which we have to. How much weight can one of those boats hold?

[Ajadea]

Kerj tilts his head, apparently recalling some memory. "Most I've ever seen one hold is six elves, their things, and a basket of the poisonous-plant crap that apparently loves it down here. Real cramped looking, but it did work. Should work for the four of you and a wolf. Though I've never seen a dog, wolf, or any other animal get on one a those boat willingly."

[Jallorn]

Which way do you think she'd be likely to go?

[Strawberries]

He nods "Let's go see if we can get the boat back, first.", then he remembers Ylminri. "Ah...do you know how far his home is? I don't want him to go back alone if I can avoid it."

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Ops... ninja'd. Oh, well.

[Ajadea]

"She'd probably go downriver. The Iraness moves pretty fast, and if she's wiped enough to take a boat she probably can't fight the current." Kerj pauses and closes his eyes, then nods. "Yeah, I think I know where to go. Up one level, buncha little tunnels. You want me to take the kid back?"

[Jallorn]

Sounds like a good idea to me, you don't want to go up against her. Mind if we take that last boat after her?

[Ajadea]

"As far as I'm concerned, if you can get that boat, you can keep it." Kerj says, shaking his head. "Good luck with that, then. C'mon, kid. I need to take you back to your parents. And probably get yelled at."

"Kebai sei! Kebai!" Yilminri chirps rather enthusiastically, waving at you. He/she turns and follows Kerj into the darkness.

[Strawberries]

"Kerj" Audric calls him back "Ah... tell the kid he shouldn't be so trusting of humans. Paladins expecially" he says, tapping his holy symbol. "He was about to bring me right to his home. That...wouldn't have gone over well, was it anyone else but me". He looks at the gnome. "And thank you. May Aldar...may the gods keep you safe."

[Savannah]

Rana nods to Kerj and Yilminri as they leave.

Then turning back to the group, "So, we're taking a possibly overloaded boat after a homicidal witch who nearly killed you," she nods towards Audric, "last time you met. Does this strike anyone else as an incredibly bad idea? I mean, we don't even know if Paral - you know, the reason we're down here - is with her!"

[Jallorn]

Do you have a better idea?

OOC

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Sorry this is so short, but I'm leaving town for a couple days this evening, and I need to get ready. I'll be back mid-afternoon sunday.

[Strawberries]

Audric is silent for a moment, then shakes his head "I think we are reasonably sure that they are together" he says "Shadow tracked Paral all the way to the first hole, and Iil'ssaran's magical aura is all over this place. If it is just a coincidence, it'sa pretty big one,don't you think?"

[Savannah]

Rana sighs. "I suppose. And it's not like there's anything we can do to tell. Just....we need to be careful."

[Strawberries]

He nods "Of course. We are dealing with a powerful sorcerer. First,though, we have to get to that boat. Antal, can you show us where it is?" As he says so he gets near the rope that is still hanging from the hole above them, trying to see if it can be retrieved.

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((Should I roll something?))

[Ajadea]

You're trying to remove the rope from the hook sixty feet up, right?-
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Thank you for answering.
--
All 90 feet of joined rope comes loose very easily, falling to the ground with a dull thump. It must not have been wedged in very well.

[Savannah]

"Uh...Glad as I am that we didn't discover the rope was that loose while climbing back up it, might it not have been a good idea to leave us with a way to get out of here?"

[Strawberries]

"Somehow, it struck me as more useful to have a rope when retrieving that boat" he answers "Besides, even if we did manage to get back up without falling we would have still been stranded on a lower layer. We had no way of going back to that first hole. And if there is the Iraness down here...well, getting out is easy. We wpuld just have to follow the river out of the sewers."

[Jallorn]

Well, theoretically, Antal says, referring to the river, but yeah, this way.

[Ajadea]

Antal leads you to a cramped series of little tunnels, following the sound of rushing water. You are now standing on a wet, slippery, rock ledge. The much cleaner air cleans your senses and relieves your mild nausea. If you are sickened, you no longer suffer that condition. The river, presumably the Iraness, is wide, brown, and rather slow-moving. Behind you, there are three pitons jammed into the rock wall, with the slashed ends of a hemp rope attached to each one.

On the other side of the river and about a hundred feet downstream, there is a rowboat, about big enough to fit half a dozen humans and not much else, jammed between the wall and a rock.

[Savannah]

Rana sighs and runs her hands through her hair in frustration. "It can never be easy, can it?" she mutters.

Then, speaking more loudly, "Alright, we need to come up with a plan, before anyone rushes off and does something stupid." She glances meaningfully at Antal and Audric.

[Jallorn]

Hey, I may be impulsive, but I'm not stupid, I'm not about to jump into water higher than me, and probably stronger.

[Strawberries]

"No, you're right" he looks carefully around "If someone has to go through that river, it has to be one of us tall folks. But I'd like to try to avoid that. Can we hook something to the rope and try to get the boat that way?"

((Ajadea: how far is it from us in a beeline from the nearest point we can get to?))

[Ajadea]

Somewhere between 30.5 to 36.5 meters/100 to 120 feet away from you.

[Jallorn]

Ooh, sweet, finally this has come in handy! Antal pulls out a grappling hook from one of his many pockets. Think we could get that hooked onto the boat?

[Strawberries]

He gauges the boat and the rope they have "It's too far, I think. We have what, 90 feet of rope? The boat seem a bit further than that. Unless...wait a minute." He goes to examine the pitons in the wall, trying to see if the bits of rope there can be salvaged.

[Ajadea]

Not really. Three half-foot lengths of rope aren't going to do much for length.