03/08/998: Late Morning, Ender's Run; near the Kraken's Hole Tavern.

Ender's Run, rivaling only Blackbeam as the city's most dilapidated, crooked, and dangerous district, sits on a long finger of land just across the canal from the Armory District, home to the headquarters of the City Guard. Despite this proximity, the Guard seldom come here, and when they do, they come en masse, heavily armed, and with some express purpose in mind.

The buildings here, many wooden and sagging with rot, have a haphazard look about them, as if they'd just been dumped here by some petulant giant grown tired of playing with his toys.

You are following up on the claim that the shaman bag of the Greb goblins was tossed into the sewers in an alley near a tavern called the Kraken's Hole, one of the oldest and largest establishments in the district. It's a rough bar, but relatively friendly to non-humans, and Ender's Run itself is known as a place the less 'civilized' races go to seek employment and make their homes within the city.

Locating an alley near the tavern, you find a likely sewer grate, large enough to accommodate your not-insubstantial builds. Rok Freeman offers to stand guard in the alley as Tate and Krellish investigate the space below the streets.

Yesterday's rainstorms may have severely reduced your chances at finding anything, but this object is of considerable importance to the Greb, and, by extension, to Momma Toki, Krellish's employer and primary contact for the Crooked Stile in Fairhaven.

Krellish

Krellish reaches down and lifts the grate off the entrance to the sewers. No stranger to the sewer himself, he's more than prepares for the various smells that waft up from its depths, although the recent rains actually help in that department - rainwater washes away the more unseemly stuff.

He lowers himself down into the dark, his vision fading to black and white as his darkvison takes over. Stepping asside, he waits for Tate.

Fat black rats scurry out of the way as the half-scrag land deftly on the narrow walkway running the length of the sewer tunnel, which runs north to south to the extent of your vision.

Tate jumps down behind Krellish. Unfortunately, his eyes are not adapted to the dark as Krellish's are, perhaps an oversight on the part of his creators. He fires up a sunrod, throwing flickering light over the slimy rock walls.

Above, Rok Freeman gently replaces the grate so that it might easily be pushed open from the inside by climbing the iron rungs along the wall beside it, yet will not draw the suspicion of passers-by.

There is no pouch in sight along the walkway. If it has fallen in the water, it has likely washed downstream, to the south. With any luck, it will have caught against a grate covering one of the outlets into the canals, from here reached by heading south, then checking the eastern tunnels. With bad luck, recent storms have pushed it into the tunnels that handle the waste from indoor privies. In the worst case, it is sunk in the muck, and may be impossible to find.

This particular tunnel handles run-off from rains. Though garbage filled and filthy, it is relatively free of sewage, though it does connect to sewage tunnels, which use the storm drains to help push raw sewage out into the sea. Some backflow is inevitable.

Krellish

"Well," says the scrag, "If it's not here, it's going to be downstream...[/b]" Krellish searches the area, and upon finding nothing moves downstream slowly.

search:
Dice Roll: 1d20+5
d20 Results: 12 (Total = 17)

Tate a.k.a. "Brick"

Tate follows silently behind, one hand clenched on his maul, scanning the wallls from time to time. Not exactly cozy...but he couldn't really smell the horror either.

Moving southward down the tunnel, you spot a cross-tunnel about 30' ahead. The water flow indicates that the west tunnel probably outlets into the canal. The eastern branch would lead deeper under Ender's Run.

You hear voices and footsteps coming from the eastern tunnel. Probably about four people.

"Look, I don't care if there's more of them, I can't take the stench any more," says a masculine voice.

"But they had loot. Think of that. Not only do we get the clean-up bounty, there's treasure to be had as well," a woman answers.

Krellish

Krellish stops in an instant, not moving, not breathing. He listens to hear if the voices are coming towards him, or if they're moving the opposite direction.

listen:
Dice Roll: 1d20+4
d20 Results: 20 (Total = 24)

They are certainly approaching the intersection between your tunnel and their own.

Krellish

The half-scrag quickly gestures to the warforged to douse the light. He then slips back 10ft the way he came and hides.

I don't know if you want me to roll a hide check, but I will anyways.

hide:
Dice Roll: 1d20+6
d20 Results: 20 (Total = 26)

I will move the thread along tomorrow, regardless of whether Tate's player posts. If you have any suggestions of what you think the most useful course of action for him to take would be, please let me know.