"He gets a bit enthusiastic an' hasty, but he wants it." Cosette nods to the nervous wererat. "He gave his consent." Raq was willing and provided permission, so she wasn't going to stop them against his will. Sure she wasn't the biggest fan of rats and wondered why not the classic wolf, or even some other jungle critter, but it wasn't her body in question. The only opinion she really had was she thought it could have been more effective to have performed the bite in front of the colony with everyone present. A 'ceremony' of sorts that they all could witness with their own eyes, since they claim they don't really have a single 'ruling king', making Cos cautious of there being a higher likelihood of rebellion groups pre/post their visit. After the ratman scampers off, she looks to Raqisat. "Ya coulda been King, jus sayin'." Rat King. While she said it quite nonchalantly, and a bit playfully, she indeed fully believed there was some opportunity there.

All-in-all it didn't change Cosette's overall stance on the situation. She still desired a mutual working relationship between the colony and the group without completely displacing them, or should they be committed to hostility, eraticate them.

Cos left the eavesdropping to those more actively perceptive. Instead she'd busy herself with her own investigations. From Grugga's thoughts and suggestions, she was all for back up plans. Brown hues capable of seeing comfortable in little to no light scan this area of tunnels from top to bottom. She reviews the ground for tracks and their patterns to see if she can support any suggestions on which direction to take to make an escape. Cosette would then scan the nearby walls/doorway/pathway openings/junctions, while also comparing them to her maps, in effort to determine weak points to trigger a collapse. This would be helpful if they had to trap the wererat's somewhere to buy them time to get out, or close off the route should they be pursued on a retreat. As she'd come up with theories, Grugga would feel a gentle tap on the arm or tug of his gear to get his attention. She'd quietly run thoughts by him for his insight and assistance.

Survival: 10 for tracks
     If help adv.: 14 

(Assuming our resident artificer Grugga's got the best investigation, Cos would really lean on him for that part.)
Should his/her passive investigation not apply, and we want a Cos investigation roll for tunnel weak spots: 24
     If help adv.: 7 

((Surely Raq's rage would have ended by the time of the bite so full 4 pts of HP deducted...))

     "Coulda?" Raqisat asks of Cosette and tosses her a wink.  "Day is young yet, still lots to sort out."

     Raqisat would take the moment (or minute or three) between the release of the prisoner and whatever happens next to catch his breath and a Second Wind to regain 9

     "Can you pull up another of those black areas again if need be?" Raqisat asks Aubrey.  "Throwing them into it was about the most effective thing I was able to do last time.  Hopefully we can avoid needing to do so but..." Raqisat finishes with a shrug.

     "If there is negotiating keep in mind:  I shared blood with them without a blink when asked.  I allowed that one to bite me as a show of good faith.  We don't want hostilities, we want to work with them.  If me becoming one of them is what it takes, so be it...  You know, so long as I don't have to live with them full time and all."

     Raqisat has no other preparations to make other than possibly discuss strategy with others.

Cosette:

You pour over the stone and passageways, seeing much but finding little to learn.  On the topic of collapse, these tunnels are built of stout stone and have been reinforced in places, likely by the wererats. While the heavy thieves tools your party carries could likely be used to compromise one of the narrower sections of tunnel, the time it would take and uncertainty of success does not make it feel like a strong option.

As for tracks, it looks like this area did not see much use for a long period of time.  Now, however, there are fresh tracks everywhere... from your own, the were rats and their giant rat companions heading to the racquetball courts, to the more recent tracks of your ambushers.  You do note that the western tunnels, leading to the wine cellars, haven't seen any renewed traffic today.

Leelan and Aubrey eavesdrop on the conversation.   Most of it they are able to make out, but certain bits of conversation are exchanged in quiet between Nicodemus and Elton.  Aubrey, you can see through Furvus that Nicodemus seems to be using the message cantrip to quietly communicate with Elton directly.

• Initially, there is disbelief that your party could have wiped out the guard force.  When asked how many of your party was slain in the process, the prisoners report that there were no casualties on your side, with no serious wounds, is met with a brief stunned silence.  The news that you all have magical weapons capable of wounding and killing wererats [the prisoner's interpretation] is likewise a shocking revelation to the sewerfolk.
• There is an initial surge of outrage, as many of the wererats want to fight - to avenge their fallen.
• Soon, with the initial anger wearing off, fear sets in.  Most seem afraid to face you, but are also afraid of the unknown... if they don't fight, what then?  If you escape, they will never be safe... you could betray their secrets to your emperor or any number of other threats, who could then come down with more magic and exterminate them.  They aren't even sure how to let you out, as they are afraid to even be close to you given your murderous powers.
• Through most of this, Elton and Nicodemus are silent, listening to the others, and then they have the aforementioned whispered exchange.  Then Elton removes a belt and hands a scimitar to Nicodemus.  He tells the others he will approach you to parley.  If he doesn't return, he orders them to hold this intersection at all costs and defend the warren.  He then departs down the tunnel toward you.

At 60 feet out, Elton spots you in the darkness, and likewise so do those of you with darkvision.  He lingers there, holding up his hands and revealing his waist to show he is unarmed.  He is still in his hybrid form, but you can recognize him from his attire.

"Hold your magics... I am here to negotiate.  Clearly you know we hold the passage ways ahead.  And we know you possess cruel blades capable of killing my brethren, and even worse magics.  I regret the poor decisions that have brought us to this point.  The only question is what happens next?"

"One of you has offered to accept the change.  I appreciate that olive branch.  I would like to avoid further loss of life to both our sides.  To that end, I propose the following:

Give us one hour to withdraw.  Nicodemus and I will lead our people out of the warren and you will have an unobstructed path back to the surface.  I presume you remember the way.  

You have my word you will be unmolested by us in any further endeavors within the city, though we must insist the sewers and undercity remain ours, without trespass.  I would propose the bridge over the Breitvasser where we first met be considered neutral ground, and if there is need to meet or communicate, it will be done there."

"What say you?"

     “We had a deal,” Raqisat whispers harshly to Aubrey, who he assumes will do the negotiating.  “Access to the tunnels for movement, retreat, safety.  He proposes we now have an uneasy truce instead… we should still want to be Allie’s.”

With his use of Furvus' sight and his superior darkvision, the young noble tells the others in the team they are about to recieve an envoy from the clan. As Elton steps into the light, Aubrey moves to greet him with a slight bow, but his face is stern, then listening to the traitorous hybrid's proposal. He then simply nods as Raqisat whispers something to him, showing no sign of emotion. "You are right in recognizing that we would easily defeat you if that was in our interest, in fact we would have no reason to realease the prisoner and offer to negotiate if we wanted you all dead, eventhough you have given us ample of reasons for that course of action by sending us to fight an aberration you expected to kill us all and then imprison us to starve and maybe be devoured by your rat allies. We are however professionals sent by the emperor and cannot afford to dwell on petty revenge for we have a more grand purpose in exploring these ruins. With sparing your lives and letting you keep all your treasures and your way of life we expect you to honour the agreement we made earlier, access for us to these tunnels and a safe refuge down here when needed. I can assure you that if you honour our agreement you have nothing to fear from us." Aubrey states coldly, awaiting the wererats response.

Intimidation/Persuasion: 13 Another roll if considered having advantage due to circumstances: 20

Grugga happily helps Cosette look for tracks and defects in the tunnel. Years of hammering away in Pentwater's greatest workshops have left him with weak hearing at a young age, and he'd be no use listening in on the conversation. Instead, he busies himself tracing cracks in the stone walls for Cosette as she draws the conclusions (advantage given).

As Elton approaches, Grugga remains at the back of the group. His party knows his preferences to resolve this peacefully, and he knows negotiations are Aubrey's forte - he lets the young noble and the newly-bitten archaeologist handle the diplomacy.

     “We had a deal,” Raqisat reminds Elton, emotion clear in his voice.  “We exchanged blood, you and I.  The whole time you…  All of you… we’re looking to get us killed or do it yourselves.”

     “You said the sharing of blood made me part of the group, right?  Well I’m bringing some damn honor to the group, my brother.  Like living up to promises and not betraying one another,” Raqisat insists.  “Tell the rest the original deal stands.  Stands as spoken between us, not like your dirty backstabbing plan.  In return we keep your secret, we do what we can to keep you safe and to keep your home yours.  Nobody will learn of you from us.”  

     Raqisat turns and looks at Aubrey to ensure he’s still on board.  “I’ll be part of both groups.  I’ll do my best to hold both groups to the deal.  Bring back to the others…  tell them they can come back with a reasonable counter or with weapons.  We’d rather work with you, my brother… But the choice is yours.”

A few times during Aubrey and Raqisat's speeches, Elton looks as though he wants to interrupt - it is difficult to gauge the facial expressions of a rat, but he bristles whenever there are comments about betrayal.

He looks at Raqisat and gives him a sniff.  

Then he lowers his shoulders in defeat.  "Very well."  He turns to leave.  "You may pass.  Give me a few moments to consult with the others."

"You do that Elton." The young noble calmly responds with a polite bow of his head. Aubrey would then again make use of his weird familiar's senses to make sure there are no more shenanigans from the sewerfolk this day. "I assume we all had enough excitement for one day, or would anyone prefer to continue exploring the ruins before we return to the empress for the night?" He calmly asks the team as Elton leaves.

Raqisat Insight check on Elton to see if he can determine what his intentions are:  7...  Nope.

     "I have no doubt they will let us pass... for now," Raqisat says.  "I'm not convinced we won't have them pestering us ever on though...  My guess is they'll be watching and waiting for a time when they think they have the upper hand and then try to eliminate us."

After having spent a thorough amount of time investigating the tunnels with Grugga, Cosette had propped herself up against a wall. She would weave and twirl her pen in her fingers, fidgeting as she waited patiently and listened intently to the negotiations. She'd have provided any assistance required during the negotiations, however between Aubrey and Raqisat, they had all the bases covered.

Insight: 17 on Elton

Cos peels herself against the wall. "Takes time teh build trust, teh right wrongs, fer parties teh come to a consensus, an' participate in reconciliation." She helps herself, taking hold of Raqisat's arm to inspect for herself where he was bit. "It'sa start." She admits. The anthropologist himself would be the one to know how successful that actually could have been through his studies. Cosette meets Raq's gaze. Though, as an archaeologist who often sifts the ruins of those civilizations, she knew what happens when things go awry, often by misunderstandings.

Cosette's eyes look from Raq then to Aubrey, "An' we're gunna haveta iron oot some details 'mongst ourselves when we get back." She believed she understood the core of the colony's concern. So once they had their terms confirmed/finalized, and safely made their way back to the ship to go over their next steps, Cos would look to see what she could sort out and pin down in ink.

As Elton slinks away, Grugga answers Aubrey's question to the group: "We ought to head back to the boat. It must be getting late... probably." Of course, they've been underground all day, so it's impossible to tell for sure.

Cosette:

     Raqisat nods in agreement with Cosette.  If, and it's a big if, they do work out an agreement with the pack down here Raqisat is pretty sure it'll require a promise to not tell the powers that be of the empire.  That's fine by Raqisat, he has no love for them anyway, but these others work for them...  

     "Return to the ship it is, I guess," Raqisat agrees.  "Though we'll need stay on guard.  Rats can swim..."

The young noble nods and smiles at the artificer. "Back to the empress then for some well-deserved rest and recuperation then." He confirms, then returning his attention to Furvus' senses, waiting for the sewerfolk to let them return to the surface now.

Elton and the wererats abide by their agreement and do not harass you any further.  Most of them have retreated to their dens when you make your way out of the tunnels.  Elton, one of the dwarf wererats, and a handful of giant rats escort you as far as the main entrance.  Once there, Elton takes his leave of you along with the rats.  The dwarf remains, guiding you along the dark underground passages and waterways until you reach the gaping entrance pipe that empties into the Breitvasser.

It is full dark outside.

[Timeline...

• Met with the wererats on the bridge in the late afternoon
• Met with the 'king' and played racquetball (15 min.)
• Discussed monster and agreed to hunt it (15 min.)
• Scouted monster tunnels and came up with plan to fight it (30 min.)
• Fought monster, dissected it and short rest (1hour)
• Broke into underground 'museum' with heavy thieves tools (2 hours - post 2917)
• Carefully explored underground 'museum' (15 min.) 
• Returned to wererat tunnels, entered storage room, another short rest (1 hour)
• Fought and negotiated with wererats, exited tunnels (15 min.)] 

Aubrey follows along in polite silence. "I'm sincerely pleased we could reach an agreement Elton, and again I'm sorry we couldn't reach it sooner. If all goes well with our exploration you might not have us disturb you again, let's hope for that shall we." The young noble says with a sincere smile and a polite bow to the sewerfolk as they part ways, then sending his weird familiar up into the sky to locate the Empress, hopefully nearby to collect them as it is past sunset.

Furvus perception: 4

"Be on your guard, we should expect aberrations at every turn." Aubrey says in a grim tone, using his superior darkvision to scan the surroundings, motioning for Rohuzar to lead them back to the pick up location at the bridge, following along with great caution.

Perception: 12

Grugga sighs at the darkness. "I hope that our crew is still looking for us... and that they're okay." Grugga will follow Rohuzar and the others back to the pickup spot. He will keep Zap active and at the ready for any potential threats. Grugga will have Zap (who has darkvision) alert Aubrey if it sees anything (giving Aubrey advantage).

( Thanks, another roll for Aubrey's perception then: 20 :-)

     "Not sure I like the way he... sniffed me," Raqisat says once they are on their own.  "Do I smell or something?  Like... worse than normal?"

     "But if it was a wererat thing, not sure if it was a good thing or bad how he reacted.  If it meant it worked or it didn't..." Raqisat ponders aloud.  Turning to Cosette he smirks a little and winks at her saying "Least you get to chain me up at the full moon, eh?"

     "Anyone know when the next full moon is??"