Chapter 3-14 - Jailbreak
General Summary
The corridor beyond the guardpost forked just beyond the room. Ahead, it began to slope upwards, while to the left it opened into a cavern. Cautiously, the group crept along the wall and slipped through the portal. The abrupt transition from smoothly cut walls, to rough and unworked raw stone was almost reassuring. The cavern was dark, the air damp. Squinting through the darkness, Clootie could make out four large freestanding iron pens. She waved her hands, the gesture pulling energy from the aether around her and manifesting three small balls of flickering silver light. The orbs whirled around her head for a moment, then spread out to illuminate the chamber.
Inside each of the cages, figures raised themselves to their feet. In the nearest cage on the right, a female human and female Tabaxi eyed the group hopefully. In the corner of their cell, another humanoid figure lay prone. In the cage to the left, a large dark feline shape prowled back and forth restlessly, snarling desperately. The far away cage to the left held a stocky female dwarf and an athletic looking male half-elf; while the furthest cage on the right contained a short human male, kneeling beside the prone form of a massive half-orc. An unspoken agreement passed between the party members, and they each moved silently towards the different cages.
Miaug slid over to the cage containing the Urkhan Vhar. The caged beast let out a low growl at her approach, and leapt forwards, dissipating into a cloud of darkness as it moved. The cloud hit the bars of the cage, erupting in a cloud of shimmering blue energy and the creature coalesced, looking confused and hurt. Miaug locked eyes with the beast, attempting to reassure it as she carefully lifted the cage latch. The door swung open and the Tabaxi stepped back slowly. The Urkhan Vhar stalked forward, eyes locked on Miaug. Badger let out a low growl, but Miaug placed a hand on his head to silence him. The Urkhan Vhar walked past her, Miaug fancied she caught a momentary flash of gratitude in it’s intense violet eyes, before it loped off down the passageway.
Aetilius and Ramas opened the cage containing the Tabaxi and human females. The Tabaxi grasped Aetilius’s hand,
“Thank you my friend. I thought we would all die in here. I am Aurora in Winter, and this is Juliana.”
Ryoko swung open the door to the cage containing the dwarf and the half-elf, throwing it open with a clang that caused everyone in the room to immediately stop and stare at her.
“Good arm there” the half-elf grinned at her, “I’m Letho, and this is Arina”
Aurora in Winter growled softly,
“Be careful with the noise - there’s something living in those holes” she gestured at the back of the cave. Looking over, Ryoko noticed a handful of small circular tunnels burrowing into the far wall, each between 3ft and 5ft across, sloping steeply downwards.
Clootie moved over to the human and the half-orc. She swung open the cage door, and the human looked up at her desperately, cradling the half-orc’s head, slick with sweat and delerium,
“Can you help Oghar? He was wounded when we were captured, and I think it’s infected.”
Arina responded, “I’m a healer - let me take a look”
The little dwarf slipped into the cage and hunched down next to Oghar, lifting the half-orc’s blood encrusted shirt to reveal an angry looking wound in his side. She pressed the swollen flesh around the wound, and Oghar whimpered in pain,
“Has anyone got a small blade? There’s something lodged in the wound”
Miaug ran across, unsheathing her curved dagger,
“That’s perfect” Arina murmured approvingly, “I’m going to press down here and try to manipulate the object, I’ll need you to make a small incision right here, quick and careful. Don’t worry - if we can get whatever it is out, I can heal him”
Miaug swallowed hard, “I’m not really good at this sort of thing, can you not do it”
“No - I’m going to need to channel healing magics while you get the object out, otherwise he will probably go into shock and die. Can you do this?”
Miaug steeled herself, “Ok - let's do it”
Arina began to mutter under her breath, and warm golden light started to radiate from her palms. Miaug pressed the tip of the blade into the half-orc’s swollen abdomen. Thick, dark blood welled up out of the cut like sludge and she drew the blade through flesh. Oghar grunted in pain, his eyes rolling back in his head,
“There!” Arina hissed as something glinted amidst the gore. Miaug reached in with her claws, and clamped around the foreign object. Oghar bellowed in pain, then became limp. With a grunt of exertion, she pulled it out of the wound - a rusty arrowhead. Arina muttered more loudly, the golden light intensifying. She passed her hands across the wound, and Miaug watched in astonishment as the flesh knitted itself back together, and the swelling receded in front of her,
“Some powerful healing magic you have there. What’s your story?” Miaug remarked,
“I’m a Sister of Silvanus. I was travelling to a town in the Issati Peaks to help with a disease outbreak, when we were attacked and captured by the Verani”
“Ah. Was Letho your bodyguard?”
“No, no. They both died in the attack. Letho is a monster slayer we ran across in the mountains just before we were ambushed. I didn’t know him at all, until we were imprisoned in here together”
Oghar’s eyes fluttered open, focusing on Arina’s face,
“My thanks, Sister” he spoke in a deep, rumbling tone, “I know Raymond here was terribly worried” he grinned.
Ryoko looked up to see Aurora in Winter pacing along the back wall of the cave. The Tabaxi locked eyes with her, her expression one of concern,
“Do you have any spare weapons? I think we’re about to need them”
A high pitched keening sound echoed out of the tunnels in the wall, growing louder. Ryoko reached over her shoulder and loosened her scimitar, throwing at Aurora who snatched it out of the air and gave it a couple of practice swings. With Arina and Miaug’s help, Oghar pulled himself to his feet, cracking his knuckles,
“Get behind us Raymond”
Juliana and Raymond stepped back towards the entrance to the cavern, accompanied by Miaug and Badger; while the rest of the party lined up in front of the wall, weapons ready; joined by Oghar, Aurora, Letho and Arina. The high pitched screeching grew in intensity, accompanied now by a furious scrabbling sound. Aetilius and Ramas slipped Letho and Arina a dagger each. Then with a furious snarl, something burst out of the topmost tunnel. A screeching whirlwind of fur and fang exploded out of the darkness and fell upon Oghar. Within a second, five more of the creatures had erupted into the stillness of the cavern. Aurora buried Ryoko’s scimitar in the side of the creature furiously clawing at Oghar’s face, distracting it enough for the big half-orc to grab it by the throat and hurl it against the wall. Aetilius whirled his Mythal axe around his head and decapitated another. As the cleaved head hung in the air for a moment, he recognised what they were fighting. Quaggoth.
Clootie and Ramas dodged the wild swings of one of the creatures, she thudded Kulog into it’s chest as she slipped under it’s arm; while he spun past it’s swipe and buried his dark dagger in between it’s shoulder blades. Ryoko swung her staff down hard on one creature’s skull. Letho deftly sidestepped an attack and slashed at the Quaggoth’s forearm with a dagger; but Arina wasn’t so lucky and claws raked down her chest, leaving a streak of bright crimson blood. Oghar barrelled over, shouldering the Quaggoth backwards and opening it for Aurora to impale the creature.
The first wave repelled, the group caught their breath for a moment. More screeching and scrabbling echoed up from the tunnels,
"I don’t know how many are down there, but we can’t last forever” Aetilius muttered,
“The sounds of the fighting will draw guards as well” Aurora agreed,
“Let me try something” Juliana offered as she slipped past the group, and placed her hand on the wall beside the first tunnel. Concentration knitted her brow, and the stone around the hole seemed to become like liquid, flowing over the tunnel then recrystallizing. Juliana let out a long, shaky breath as her hand slipped from the wall.
Ryoko looked at her amazed. Suddenly another Quaggoth burst from one of the remaining tunnels, claws flailing wildly. The creature’s talons failed to find purchase in her stonelike scales, and she was able to throw it off and strike it across the side of the head with her staff. As more of the creatures emerged and fell up on the group, the battle was joined.
“Form up around Juliana. Try and keep her safe” Ryoko called out.
Blood and chunks of fur flew as the group desperately tried to protect an increasingly exhausted Juliana, as she methodically worked her way along the wall, closing each of the holes. The whole fight lasted no more than ten minutes. As the last tunnel sealed, Juliana smiled weakly, then pitched forward. Aurora quickly grabbed her and propped her up,
“Well done” she whispered to her, then the Tabaxi surveyed the room, her face serious,
“That should buy us time, but there’ll be other tunnels up from their nest, and they have our scent now. We need to get out of here before any more Quaggoths or guards turn up. I still don't know who you are, but thank you for freeing us. Juliana, we need to find Bram and get back to the city”
Juliana nodded, holding herself up against the wall,
"What about Dorn?"
"There's nothing we can do for him now. Don't let his death be in vain"
Aurora looked around the rest of the group,
"You lot are pretty handy in a fight. How would you feel about coming with us back to Verani? Juliana and I need to get back quickly, but we can't do that if we're constantly avoiding patrols. I could make it worth your while?"
The big half-orc grinned, "Fighting and money. Two of my favourite things. And I suspect I'm not getting paid for my last job, aye Raymond?"
"I would Oghar, but I'm afraid I lost everything when we were ambushed."
“We’re in”
Aurora eyed the party hopefully, “And you?”
Clootie shrugged, “Why not? We’re big damn heroes. So who’s Bram?”
"They brought four of us in together, all resistance members. Myself, Juliana, Dorn over there in the cell and Bram"
"They came and took him away a couple of days ago, headed out that way" Juliana spoke up, pointing over towards the guard post, "He's just a kid, we can't leave him here to die."
Clootie nodded; and the party, alongside their newfound allies, made their way back through the complex.
When Aurora first stepped into the guard post, she looked around at the bloody scene in surprise. Then she looked at the group and nodded appreciatively. She spotted the torso of the guard Aetilius had killed lying on the floor in the middle of the room, and she reached down to grab his bow, tossing it to Juliana,
"Grab yourself some armour too."
The Tabaxi then stalked over to the two dead guards at the desk. She started stripping his armour off one and strapping it on over her own frame. It didn’t fit perfectly, but seemed fairly close. She looked up at Letho,
"You look about the same size as this other one. I'd suggest you grab some protection" she tossed him a chest plate which he strapped on over his ragged clothing.
To finish, she grabbed the two scimitars and their sheathes from one of the corpses and strapped them on over her shoulders. She handed Ryoko back her scimitar,
"Thank you my friend"
Oghar eyed one of the massive statues in the guardhouse curiously. He reached up and grabbed the statue's arm, and with a mighty wrench he tore it free of the body. He tried a couple of practice swings, testing the weight, and grinned quietly to himself.
Juliana and Arina both eyed up the corpses of the dead guards, looking for ones about their size. Then Arina spotted the doorway to the mezzanine. A few moments later they both walked back down wearing nearly complete suits of crystal armour and wrapping red headscarf around their heads.
Juliana let out a choked sob as she looked down at Bram’s body where it lay on the vivisection table. She turned and buried her head into Aurora in Winter's shoulder as the Tabaxi looked on with an icy glint in her eyes,
“Thank you for avenging him” she nodded towards the dead mage, slumped against the wall with Miaug’s arrow still protruding from his eye socket,
“There is nothing more we can do for him now. We need to finish this fight, to stop this from happening to anyone else”
As the party slipped back through the corridor, they heard a ruckus echoing from the entrance hall. From the noise, it sounded like the guards upstairs had managed to get past the gate, but had run into the Urkhan Vhar the party had released from the cells. Fighting a creature like that in the close quarters of the corridor would be a bloodbath. That should buy them some time to escape.
As the group rounded the corner quietly, they were surprise to see a small, black feathered head peering out from the partially opened wooden double door. The creature spotted the group and it's eyes widened in shock. Ramas darted forward, but the creature let out a strangled squawk and ducked back inside, slamming the door. The corridor echoed to the sound of a bolt being hastily drawn. Ramas pulled on the handle anyway, swearing at the futility. Juliana placed a hand on his shoulder, gently drawing him back,
“Hold on. Let me try something” Juliana said. She placed her palm flat on the wall beside the door and closed her eyes. After a pause she opened her eyes and smiled slightly, then cracked her knuckles,
"Ok. It's not too thick. Stand back..." Juliana returned her hand to the wall and closed her eyes. A dull groan emanated from the stone of the wall, and the surface beside Juliana’s hand warped and bulged outwards, before seeming to melt away like a burst blister. Over the course of mere moments, the wall had dissolved away, leaving an oval opening just a little shorter than the door. Juliana let out a ragged gasp and Aurora grabbed her shoulders to steady her,
"Sorry. I'm used to working in a gestalt. It takes a lot out of me trying to do that myself”
Ramas and Ryoko took the lead, both stooping slightly to step through the rough portal, and found themselves in a large, ornate library. The walls were trimmed with deep mahogany, and three rows of half-height bookshelves ran along the middle of the room, forming narrow corridors. On either side of the room, sat four squat stone desks, covered with various papers and inks. The centre of either wall between the desks was dominated by large full height mahogany bookshelves, filled with scrolls and leather bound tomes. Long ladders rested against each of these bookshelves.
Two doors led out of the room at the back, one large and intricately carved double door on the left hand side, and one small half-height door on the right. Between these two doors hung a large red banner embossed with the same Hammer and Sword sigil as the ones upstairs.
Ryoko’s eyes were suddenly drawn to movement, and she spotted four black feathered heads clustered together behind the bookshelves in the middle of the room. She stepped to the side to get a better view, and saw four little bipedal crow-like figures clinging to each other in fear.
Juliana let out a little gasp, “Oh my! They’re Kenku… Don’t worry little ones, we’re not here to hurt you” she reached out a hand, and cautiously began to approach the clustered creatures. Aurora in Winter noticed the party’s confused glances, and began to quietly explain,
“Kenku are one of the races created by the Verani’s experimentation - much like Tabaxi, like myself and Miaug; and also the Quaggoth. Although while those brutes seem to revel in their tasks, most Tabaxi and Kenku find far less comfort in our assigned roles. Tabaxi are used as scouts and spies; but the Kenku are bred for their skills as mimics. They’re usually used as scribes or bookkeepers, as they have eidetic memories”
Aetilius chuckled slightly, “Yes, we’ve met a kenku before. He’s the Captain of an ex-pirate ship”
Now it was Aurora’s turn to look confused,
“Well… That’s different. Certainly never heard of that before”
By this point, Juliana had reached the group of kenku, and her calm demeanour and obvious concern seemed to have relaxed them slightly. One of the kenku stood up and looked at Ryoko. It spoke in a strangely stilted manner, uttering each word in a different voice, as though piecing together a message from hundreds of snippets of overheard conversations,
“Hello. My brothers and I are the librarians here in the Kanaalden Mort. My name is”
Ryoko was astounded when the creature opened it’s beak and the sound that emanated was a perfect replication of the sound of a quill scraping across parchment
“My brothers and I are not fighters. We will not attempt to interfere in any way with what you are doing. Just please do not hurt us” [brJuliana looked aghast, “We have no intention of hurting you”
“I don’t know, I could go some roast chicken” Ramas muttered quietly at the back, before flinching at a sharp elbow in the ribs from Clootie
“We are simply looking to escape from this place. What did you call it again?”
“This is the Kanaalden Mort. It is a fortress at the edge of the Issati Peaks, where the alchemists of the Republic conduct experiments on the wildlife brought in from Quan. My brother and I record the details of their studies. If you are looking to leave, then continue through the doorway at the back of the room here, it will take you past a guardpost and into the Kanaalden”
Juliana nodded, “Thank you little ones. We promise, we will not harm you”
As she stood to try and leave, one of the other kenku stood up and fixed her with a beady black eye,
“Take us with you”
The kenku who had spoken to the group earlier let out a surprised squawk, but this little one continued,
“Please, take us with you. We hate it here. The sounds of the screams, the beatings from the alchemists, they threaten us, tell us we’ll eventually end up on their tables. We need to leave, but we’ll never make it out by ourselves. We could help guide you out”
“What’s your name little one” Ryoko asked
The kenku opened it’s beak and hissed like an angry snake,
“I like you Snakey” Ryoko murmured approvingly, “Alright then - let’s get going. Company can’t be far behind.”
Aurora nodded in agreement, “Yes. Did you say this was the Kanaalden Mort?”
“I did”
“Then we need to get out of here right now. This is one of the largest and most well protected fortifications in the entire republic, not to mention the primary training ground of the army. Once the alarm is fully raised, we’ll have three whole battalions on our heads, not to mention the Magi.”
The Kenku led the party through a warren of winding corridors. As the group passed another large red banner hanging on the wall, Clootie nudged Aurora,
“What does that banner mean?”
“That is the colours of the Quicksilver Alliance - it's one of the two main political parties in Verani. I'm surprised to see them flown so brazenly. Everybody knows that the Alliance effectively runs the military, but normally they maintain at least a pretense of political impartiality. Tensions must be pretty high back home”
The group passed some unfamiliar runes carved into the wall. Aurora stopped suddenly, and turned to address the group,
“This says that there's a checkpoint just ahead. Most of you are wearing Verani colours, so hopefully they’ll work as disguises. Stay close and keep quiet. Let me do the talking. Keep your weapons loose just in case. If you see me reach for my blades, we're going to need to fight our way out.”
The group rounded the corner into a large open chamber lit by a dozen burning braziers. At the far end stood a huge iron gate. Letho glanced around. The rest of the chamber appeared to be a training ground or barracks. He recognised the layout from his own time in the military. He counted ten Verani soldiers, mostly blue headbands, a single yellow and two red, all clustered around a table playing cards. Aurora seized the opportunity, striding forward into the courtyard with an imperious air, and barking out instructions in Verani. The soldiers quickly scrambled to their feet, drawing themselves to alert and snapping off crisp salutes at the Tabaxi. Letho was impressed, she effortlessly projected the bearing of a high ranking military officer. Letho eyed the group of soldiers warily, and one of them locked eyes with him. He saw a flash of confusion cross the soldier’s face,
“They’re on to us” he thought, his hand dropping to the hilt of his scimitar. At about the same moment, he noticed Aurora whip one of her blades out and slam it through the chest of one of the soldiers,
“Somebody figure out how to get that gate open! The rest of you, help me hold them off. There'll be reinforcements coming any second.” the Tabaxi yelled as she slipped her other blade out of it’s sheath and attacked another guard. The rest of the soldiers scattered. The one in the yellow headband reached out with his arms. Silt and dirt began to rise up from ground and swirl around him, encasing him inside a humanoid mound of rock. The golem began to run forwards, straight at Aurora. Ryoko and Aetilius both dashed ahead an intercepted it before it could reach the Tabaxi. The cavern echoed to the sounds of staff and axe striking stone as the fight began in earnest. Miaug raised her Stormbow, loosing a quick succession of shots that felled two of the Verani. One of the soldiers in a red headband disappeared in a swirl of silvery light, reappearing next to Miaug with both scimitars raised. Before he could attack, Badger fell upon him like a bolt of argent lightning, tearing at his face and throat. Oghar ran past the fighting, tossing his club aside and grabbing a hold of the heavy iron gate with both hands. Massive muscles in his arms strained and thick veins on his neck stood out as he tried to lift it. He let out a loud growl, and the gate began to budge slightly.
The Verani in the courtyard shifted focus, and arrows began to rain down on the big half-orc. Letho darted forward, his scimitar flashing in the flickering firelight as he passed like a whirlwind of death among the archers. Ryoko shattered the stone armour around the golem’s head, and Aetilius buried his mythal axe in the soldier’s exposed head. The two then rushed forward to help Oghar with the gate. Together they managed to force it up enough that Aetilius was able to jam his mythal axe underneath. Purple energy crackled as the gate bore down on the weapon,
“Quick - everyone out now!”
Juliana, Raymond and the kenku all raced across the courtyard, Arina urging them onward. Just before they reached the gate, a second Verani appeared in a spiral of silver light. Clootie appeared out of nowhere, leaping up and grabbing the soldier’s head and dropping him face first into the ground in a Gun Stun. She quickly rolled to her feet, and together they slipped under the gate. Miaug and Badger ran across the open ground, Miaug peppering the remaining Verani with arrows; and as they passed under the portcullis, Letho left the carnage and rolled under to join them. Aurora and Ryoko both slipped through effortlessly. Then Aetilius and Oghar nodded to one another, letting go together and throwing themselves under just as Aetilius’s axe disappeared and the gate slammed down into the rock.
“Quick. This way” Aurora hissed and set off down the darkened corridor
The corridor twisted and forked. Within minutes, even Ryoko had lost her bearings. But Aurora led the group confidently through the labyrinth. Eventually, the corridor opened out into a vast underground highway. A massive tunnel, at least forty feet wide, it’s walls perfectly smooth and polished; and sixty feet tall under a gargantuan arched ceiling of glittering crystal. Suspended at intervals, balls of shimmering yellow light hung beneath the vaulted arch, the reflected light seeming almost to swirl like tiny galaxies in the twinkling crystal. The road was perfectly straight; to the right, miles into the distance, the illumination dwindled into a pinprick. To the left, the tunnel continued for another few hundred feet before abruptly ending in a massive gate archway. Presumably the main entrance to the Kanaalden Mort.
Aurora waved the party back into the shadows of the tunnel as she pressed herself against the wall,
"We can't travel the main road. There's no cover and we'll invariably be spotted. There are maintenance tunnels which run parallel to the Kanaalden. See that little archway over there? That's the entrance to one. Stick to the wall, and do your best to keep low. Ramas - you seem pretty stealthy. Do you want to take point?"
Ramas’s eyes followed the Tabaxi’s outstretched hand, squinting he could make out a small archway carved into the side wall of the tunnel. He nodded confidently,
“Good. Juliana, lead the group to the second pitch site and wait for me there. I’m going to cover our tracks.”
Clootie looked concerned, “You’re going to go alone? One of us should come with you. What if they notice you? Or you get lost?”
“Don’t worry” the Tabaxi grinned before she loped off into the shadows, “I used to work here”
Next: Chapter 3-15 - Kanaalden Mort
Previous: Chapter 3-13 - Breaching the Kanaalden Mort
Inside each of the cages, figures raised themselves to their feet. In the nearest cage on the right, a female human and female Tabaxi eyed the group hopefully. In the corner of their cell, another humanoid figure lay prone. In the cage to the left, a large dark feline shape prowled back and forth restlessly, snarling desperately. The far away cage to the left held a stocky female dwarf and an athletic looking male half-elf; while the furthest cage on the right contained a short human male, kneeling beside the prone form of a massive half-orc. An unspoken agreement passed between the party members, and they each moved silently towards the different cages.
Miaug slid over to the cage containing the Urkhan Vhar. The caged beast let out a low growl at her approach, and leapt forwards, dissipating into a cloud of darkness as it moved. The cloud hit the bars of the cage, erupting in a cloud of shimmering blue energy and the creature coalesced, looking confused and hurt. Miaug locked eyes with the beast, attempting to reassure it as she carefully lifted the cage latch. The door swung open and the Tabaxi stepped back slowly. The Urkhan Vhar stalked forward, eyes locked on Miaug. Badger let out a low growl, but Miaug placed a hand on his head to silence him. The Urkhan Vhar walked past her, Miaug fancied she caught a momentary flash of gratitude in it’s intense violet eyes, before it loped off down the passageway.
Aetilius and Ramas opened the cage containing the Tabaxi and human females. The Tabaxi grasped Aetilius’s hand,
“Thank you my friend. I thought we would all die in here. I am Aurora in Winter, and this is Juliana.”
Ryoko swung open the door to the cage containing the dwarf and the half-elf, throwing it open with a clang that caused everyone in the room to immediately stop and stare at her.
“Good arm there” the half-elf grinned at her, “I’m Letho, and this is Arina”
Aurora in Winter growled softly,
“Be careful with the noise - there’s something living in those holes” she gestured at the back of the cave. Looking over, Ryoko noticed a handful of small circular tunnels burrowing into the far wall, each between 3ft and 5ft across, sloping steeply downwards.
Clootie moved over to the human and the half-orc. She swung open the cage door, and the human looked up at her desperately, cradling the half-orc’s head, slick with sweat and delerium,
“Can you help Oghar? He was wounded when we were captured, and I think it’s infected.”
Arina responded, “I’m a healer - let me take a look”
The little dwarf slipped into the cage and hunched down next to Oghar, lifting the half-orc’s blood encrusted shirt to reveal an angry looking wound in his side. She pressed the swollen flesh around the wound, and Oghar whimpered in pain,
“Has anyone got a small blade? There’s something lodged in the wound”
Miaug ran across, unsheathing her curved dagger,
“That’s perfect” Arina murmured approvingly, “I’m going to press down here and try to manipulate the object, I’ll need you to make a small incision right here, quick and careful. Don’t worry - if we can get whatever it is out, I can heal him”
Miaug swallowed hard, “I’m not really good at this sort of thing, can you not do it”
“No - I’m going to need to channel healing magics while you get the object out, otherwise he will probably go into shock and die. Can you do this?”
Miaug steeled herself, “Ok - let's do it”
Arina began to mutter under her breath, and warm golden light started to radiate from her palms. Miaug pressed the tip of the blade into the half-orc’s swollen abdomen. Thick, dark blood welled up out of the cut like sludge and she drew the blade through flesh. Oghar grunted in pain, his eyes rolling back in his head,
“There!” Arina hissed as something glinted amidst the gore. Miaug reached in with her claws, and clamped around the foreign object. Oghar bellowed in pain, then became limp. With a grunt of exertion, she pulled it out of the wound - a rusty arrowhead. Arina muttered more loudly, the golden light intensifying. She passed her hands across the wound, and Miaug watched in astonishment as the flesh knitted itself back together, and the swelling receded in front of her,
“Some powerful healing magic you have there. What’s your story?” Miaug remarked,
“I’m a Sister of Silvanus. I was travelling to a town in the Issati Peaks to help with a disease outbreak, when we were attacked and captured by the Verani”
“Ah. Was Letho your bodyguard?”
“No, no. They both died in the attack. Letho is a monster slayer we ran across in the mountains just before we were ambushed. I didn’t know him at all, until we were imprisoned in here together”
Oghar’s eyes fluttered open, focusing on Arina’s face,
“My thanks, Sister” he spoke in a deep, rumbling tone, “I know Raymond here was terribly worried” he grinned.
Ryoko looked up to see Aurora in Winter pacing along the back wall of the cave. The Tabaxi locked eyes with her, her expression one of concern,
“Do you have any spare weapons? I think we’re about to need them”
A high pitched keening sound echoed out of the tunnels in the wall, growing louder. Ryoko reached over her shoulder and loosened her scimitar, throwing at Aurora who snatched it out of the air and gave it a couple of practice swings. With Arina and Miaug’s help, Oghar pulled himself to his feet, cracking his knuckles,
“Get behind us Raymond”
Juliana and Raymond stepped back towards the entrance to the cavern, accompanied by Miaug and Badger; while the rest of the party lined up in front of the wall, weapons ready; joined by Oghar, Aurora, Letho and Arina. The high pitched screeching grew in intensity, accompanied now by a furious scrabbling sound. Aetilius and Ramas slipped Letho and Arina a dagger each. Then with a furious snarl, something burst out of the topmost tunnel. A screeching whirlwind of fur and fang exploded out of the darkness and fell upon Oghar. Within a second, five more of the creatures had erupted into the stillness of the cavern. Aurora buried Ryoko’s scimitar in the side of the creature furiously clawing at Oghar’s face, distracting it enough for the big half-orc to grab it by the throat and hurl it against the wall. Aetilius whirled his Mythal axe around his head and decapitated another. As the cleaved head hung in the air for a moment, he recognised what they were fighting. Quaggoth.
Clootie and Ramas dodged the wild swings of one of the creatures, she thudded Kulog into it’s chest as she slipped under it’s arm; while he spun past it’s swipe and buried his dark dagger in between it’s shoulder blades. Ryoko swung her staff down hard on one creature’s skull. Letho deftly sidestepped an attack and slashed at the Quaggoth’s forearm with a dagger; but Arina wasn’t so lucky and claws raked down her chest, leaving a streak of bright crimson blood. Oghar barrelled over, shouldering the Quaggoth backwards and opening it for Aurora to impale the creature.
The first wave repelled, the group caught their breath for a moment. More screeching and scrabbling echoed up from the tunnels,
"I don’t know how many are down there, but we can’t last forever” Aetilius muttered,
“The sounds of the fighting will draw guards as well” Aurora agreed,
“Let me try something” Juliana offered as she slipped past the group, and placed her hand on the wall beside the first tunnel. Concentration knitted her brow, and the stone around the hole seemed to become like liquid, flowing over the tunnel then recrystallizing. Juliana let out a long, shaky breath as her hand slipped from the wall.
Ryoko looked at her amazed. Suddenly another Quaggoth burst from one of the remaining tunnels, claws flailing wildly. The creature’s talons failed to find purchase in her stonelike scales, and she was able to throw it off and strike it across the side of the head with her staff. As more of the creatures emerged and fell up on the group, the battle was joined.
“Form up around Juliana. Try and keep her safe” Ryoko called out.
Blood and chunks of fur flew as the group desperately tried to protect an increasingly exhausted Juliana, as she methodically worked her way along the wall, closing each of the holes. The whole fight lasted no more than ten minutes. As the last tunnel sealed, Juliana smiled weakly, then pitched forward. Aurora quickly grabbed her and propped her up,
“Well done” she whispered to her, then the Tabaxi surveyed the room, her face serious,
“That should buy us time, but there’ll be other tunnels up from their nest, and they have our scent now. We need to get out of here before any more Quaggoths or guards turn up. I still don't know who you are, but thank you for freeing us. Juliana, we need to find Bram and get back to the city”
Juliana nodded, holding herself up against the wall,
"What about Dorn?"
"There's nothing we can do for him now. Don't let his death be in vain"
Aurora looked around the rest of the group,
"You lot are pretty handy in a fight. How would you feel about coming with us back to Verani? Juliana and I need to get back quickly, but we can't do that if we're constantly avoiding patrols. I could make it worth your while?"
The big half-orc grinned, "Fighting and money. Two of my favourite things. And I suspect I'm not getting paid for my last job, aye Raymond?"
"I would Oghar, but I'm afraid I lost everything when we were ambushed."
“We’re in”
Aurora eyed the party hopefully, “And you?”
Clootie shrugged, “Why not? We’re big damn heroes. So who’s Bram?”
"They brought four of us in together, all resistance members. Myself, Juliana, Dorn over there in the cell and Bram"
"They came and took him away a couple of days ago, headed out that way" Juliana spoke up, pointing over towards the guard post, "He's just a kid, we can't leave him here to die."
Clootie nodded; and the party, alongside their newfound allies, made their way back through the complex.
When Aurora first stepped into the guard post, she looked around at the bloody scene in surprise. Then she looked at the group and nodded appreciatively. She spotted the torso of the guard Aetilius had killed lying on the floor in the middle of the room, and she reached down to grab his bow, tossing it to Juliana,
"Grab yourself some armour too."
The Tabaxi then stalked over to the two dead guards at the desk. She started stripping his armour off one and strapping it on over her own frame. It didn’t fit perfectly, but seemed fairly close. She looked up at Letho,
"You look about the same size as this other one. I'd suggest you grab some protection" she tossed him a chest plate which he strapped on over his ragged clothing.
To finish, she grabbed the two scimitars and their sheathes from one of the corpses and strapped them on over her shoulders. She handed Ryoko back her scimitar,
"Thank you my friend"
Oghar eyed one of the massive statues in the guardhouse curiously. He reached up and grabbed the statue's arm, and with a mighty wrench he tore it free of the body. He tried a couple of practice swings, testing the weight, and grinned quietly to himself.
Juliana and Arina both eyed up the corpses of the dead guards, looking for ones about their size. Then Arina spotted the doorway to the mezzanine. A few moments later they both walked back down wearing nearly complete suits of crystal armour and wrapping red headscarf around their heads.
Juliana let out a choked sob as she looked down at Bram’s body where it lay on the vivisection table. She turned and buried her head into Aurora in Winter's shoulder as the Tabaxi looked on with an icy glint in her eyes,
“Thank you for avenging him” she nodded towards the dead mage, slumped against the wall with Miaug’s arrow still protruding from his eye socket,
“There is nothing more we can do for him now. We need to finish this fight, to stop this from happening to anyone else”
As the party slipped back through the corridor, they heard a ruckus echoing from the entrance hall. From the noise, it sounded like the guards upstairs had managed to get past the gate, but had run into the Urkhan Vhar the party had released from the cells. Fighting a creature like that in the close quarters of the corridor would be a bloodbath. That should buy them some time to escape.
As the group rounded the corner quietly, they were surprise to see a small, black feathered head peering out from the partially opened wooden double door. The creature spotted the group and it's eyes widened in shock. Ramas darted forward, but the creature let out a strangled squawk and ducked back inside, slamming the door. The corridor echoed to the sound of a bolt being hastily drawn. Ramas pulled on the handle anyway, swearing at the futility. Juliana placed a hand on his shoulder, gently drawing him back,
“Hold on. Let me try something” Juliana said. She placed her palm flat on the wall beside the door and closed her eyes. After a pause she opened her eyes and smiled slightly, then cracked her knuckles,
"Ok. It's not too thick. Stand back..." Juliana returned her hand to the wall and closed her eyes. A dull groan emanated from the stone of the wall, and the surface beside Juliana’s hand warped and bulged outwards, before seeming to melt away like a burst blister. Over the course of mere moments, the wall had dissolved away, leaving an oval opening just a little shorter than the door. Juliana let out a ragged gasp and Aurora grabbed her shoulders to steady her,
"Sorry. I'm used to working in a gestalt. It takes a lot out of me trying to do that myself”
Ramas and Ryoko took the lead, both stooping slightly to step through the rough portal, and found themselves in a large, ornate library. The walls were trimmed with deep mahogany, and three rows of half-height bookshelves ran along the middle of the room, forming narrow corridors. On either side of the room, sat four squat stone desks, covered with various papers and inks. The centre of either wall between the desks was dominated by large full height mahogany bookshelves, filled with scrolls and leather bound tomes. Long ladders rested against each of these bookshelves.
Two doors led out of the room at the back, one large and intricately carved double door on the left hand side, and one small half-height door on the right. Between these two doors hung a large red banner embossed with the same Hammer and Sword sigil as the ones upstairs.
Ryoko’s eyes were suddenly drawn to movement, and she spotted four black feathered heads clustered together behind the bookshelves in the middle of the room. She stepped to the side to get a better view, and saw four little bipedal crow-like figures clinging to each other in fear.
Juliana let out a little gasp, “Oh my! They’re Kenku… Don’t worry little ones, we’re not here to hurt you” she reached out a hand, and cautiously began to approach the clustered creatures. Aurora in Winter noticed the party’s confused glances, and began to quietly explain,
“Kenku are one of the races created by the Verani’s experimentation - much like Tabaxi, like myself and Miaug; and also the Quaggoth. Although while those brutes seem to revel in their tasks, most Tabaxi and Kenku find far less comfort in our assigned roles. Tabaxi are used as scouts and spies; but the Kenku are bred for their skills as mimics. They’re usually used as scribes or bookkeepers, as they have eidetic memories”
Aetilius chuckled slightly, “Yes, we’ve met a kenku before. He’s the Captain of an ex-pirate ship”
Now it was Aurora’s turn to look confused,
“Well… That’s different. Certainly never heard of that before”
By this point, Juliana had reached the group of kenku, and her calm demeanour and obvious concern seemed to have relaxed them slightly. One of the kenku stood up and looked at Ryoko. It spoke in a strangely stilted manner, uttering each word in a different voice, as though piecing together a message from hundreds of snippets of overheard conversations,
“Hello. My brothers and I are the librarians here in the Kanaalden Mort. My name is”
Ryoko was astounded when the creature opened it’s beak and the sound that emanated was a perfect replication of the sound of a quill scraping across parchment
“My brothers and I are not fighters. We will not attempt to interfere in any way with what you are doing. Just please do not hurt us” [brJuliana looked aghast, “We have no intention of hurting you”
“I don’t know, I could go some roast chicken” Ramas muttered quietly at the back, before flinching at a sharp elbow in the ribs from Clootie
“We are simply looking to escape from this place. What did you call it again?”
“This is the Kanaalden Mort. It is a fortress at the edge of the Issati Peaks, where the alchemists of the Republic conduct experiments on the wildlife brought in from Quan. My brother and I record the details of their studies. If you are looking to leave, then continue through the doorway at the back of the room here, it will take you past a guardpost and into the Kanaalden”
Juliana nodded, “Thank you little ones. We promise, we will not harm you”
As she stood to try and leave, one of the other kenku stood up and fixed her with a beady black eye,
“Take us with you”
The kenku who had spoken to the group earlier let out a surprised squawk, but this little one continued,
“Please, take us with you. We hate it here. The sounds of the screams, the beatings from the alchemists, they threaten us, tell us we’ll eventually end up on their tables. We need to leave, but we’ll never make it out by ourselves. We could help guide you out”
“What’s your name little one” Ryoko asked
The kenku opened it’s beak and hissed like an angry snake,
“I like you Snakey” Ryoko murmured approvingly, “Alright then - let’s get going. Company can’t be far behind.”
Aurora nodded in agreement, “Yes. Did you say this was the Kanaalden Mort?”
“I did”
“Then we need to get out of here right now. This is one of the largest and most well protected fortifications in the entire republic, not to mention the primary training ground of the army. Once the alarm is fully raised, we’ll have three whole battalions on our heads, not to mention the Magi.”
The Kenku led the party through a warren of winding corridors. As the group passed another large red banner hanging on the wall, Clootie nudged Aurora,
“What does that banner mean?”
“That is the colours of the Quicksilver Alliance - it's one of the two main political parties in Verani. I'm surprised to see them flown so brazenly. Everybody knows that the Alliance effectively runs the military, but normally they maintain at least a pretense of political impartiality. Tensions must be pretty high back home”
The group passed some unfamiliar runes carved into the wall. Aurora stopped suddenly, and turned to address the group,
“This says that there's a checkpoint just ahead. Most of you are wearing Verani colours, so hopefully they’ll work as disguises. Stay close and keep quiet. Let me do the talking. Keep your weapons loose just in case. If you see me reach for my blades, we're going to need to fight our way out.”
The group rounded the corner into a large open chamber lit by a dozen burning braziers. At the far end stood a huge iron gate. Letho glanced around. The rest of the chamber appeared to be a training ground or barracks. He recognised the layout from his own time in the military. He counted ten Verani soldiers, mostly blue headbands, a single yellow and two red, all clustered around a table playing cards. Aurora seized the opportunity, striding forward into the courtyard with an imperious air, and barking out instructions in Verani. The soldiers quickly scrambled to their feet, drawing themselves to alert and snapping off crisp salutes at the Tabaxi. Letho was impressed, she effortlessly projected the bearing of a high ranking military officer. Letho eyed the group of soldiers warily, and one of them locked eyes with him. He saw a flash of confusion cross the soldier’s face,
“They’re on to us” he thought, his hand dropping to the hilt of his scimitar. At about the same moment, he noticed Aurora whip one of her blades out and slam it through the chest of one of the soldiers,
“Somebody figure out how to get that gate open! The rest of you, help me hold them off. There'll be reinforcements coming any second.” the Tabaxi yelled as she slipped her other blade out of it’s sheath and attacked another guard. The rest of the soldiers scattered. The one in the yellow headband reached out with his arms. Silt and dirt began to rise up from ground and swirl around him, encasing him inside a humanoid mound of rock. The golem began to run forwards, straight at Aurora. Ryoko and Aetilius both dashed ahead an intercepted it before it could reach the Tabaxi. The cavern echoed to the sounds of staff and axe striking stone as the fight began in earnest. Miaug raised her Stormbow, loosing a quick succession of shots that felled two of the Verani. One of the soldiers in a red headband disappeared in a swirl of silvery light, reappearing next to Miaug with both scimitars raised. Before he could attack, Badger fell upon him like a bolt of argent lightning, tearing at his face and throat. Oghar ran past the fighting, tossing his club aside and grabbing a hold of the heavy iron gate with both hands. Massive muscles in his arms strained and thick veins on his neck stood out as he tried to lift it. He let out a loud growl, and the gate began to budge slightly.
The Verani in the courtyard shifted focus, and arrows began to rain down on the big half-orc. Letho darted forward, his scimitar flashing in the flickering firelight as he passed like a whirlwind of death among the archers. Ryoko shattered the stone armour around the golem’s head, and Aetilius buried his mythal axe in the soldier’s exposed head. The two then rushed forward to help Oghar with the gate. Together they managed to force it up enough that Aetilius was able to jam his mythal axe underneath. Purple energy crackled as the gate bore down on the weapon,
“Quick - everyone out now!”
Juliana, Raymond and the kenku all raced across the courtyard, Arina urging them onward. Just before they reached the gate, a second Verani appeared in a spiral of silver light. Clootie appeared out of nowhere, leaping up and grabbing the soldier’s head and dropping him face first into the ground in a Gun Stun. She quickly rolled to her feet, and together they slipped under the gate. Miaug and Badger ran across the open ground, Miaug peppering the remaining Verani with arrows; and as they passed under the portcullis, Letho left the carnage and rolled under to join them. Aurora and Ryoko both slipped through effortlessly. Then Aetilius and Oghar nodded to one another, letting go together and throwing themselves under just as Aetilius’s axe disappeared and the gate slammed down into the rock.
“Quick. This way” Aurora hissed and set off down the darkened corridor
The corridor twisted and forked. Within minutes, even Ryoko had lost her bearings. But Aurora led the group confidently through the labyrinth. Eventually, the corridor opened out into a vast underground highway. A massive tunnel, at least forty feet wide, it’s walls perfectly smooth and polished; and sixty feet tall under a gargantuan arched ceiling of glittering crystal. Suspended at intervals, balls of shimmering yellow light hung beneath the vaulted arch, the reflected light seeming almost to swirl like tiny galaxies in the twinkling crystal. The road was perfectly straight; to the right, miles into the distance, the illumination dwindled into a pinprick. To the left, the tunnel continued for another few hundred feet before abruptly ending in a massive gate archway. Presumably the main entrance to the Kanaalden Mort.
Aurora waved the party back into the shadows of the tunnel as she pressed herself against the wall,
"We can't travel the main road. There's no cover and we'll invariably be spotted. There are maintenance tunnels which run parallel to the Kanaalden. See that little archway over there? That's the entrance to one. Stick to the wall, and do your best to keep low. Ramas - you seem pretty stealthy. Do you want to take point?"
Ramas’s eyes followed the Tabaxi’s outstretched hand, squinting he could make out a small archway carved into the side wall of the tunnel. He nodded confidently,
“Good. Juliana, lead the group to the second pitch site and wait for me there. I’m going to cover our tracks.”
Clootie looked concerned, “You’re going to go alone? One of us should come with you. What if they notice you? Or you get lost?”
“Don’t worry” the Tabaxi grinned before she loped off into the shadows, “I used to work here”
Next: Chapter 3-15 - Kanaalden Mort
Previous: Chapter 3-13 - Breaching the Kanaalden Mort
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