The halfling cocks his masked head quizzically at Valen as you deliver your greeting in Elvish. His eyes do not appear to register the light of comprehension. He glances up at Bruja, who shrugs his mighty soldiers and ponderously moves his oar from one shoulder to the other, muscles rippling like pythons under silk. 

Erdan, you step forward and make your pitch, blessed by Dahme'dre's guidance. The halfling relaxes his stance slightly, rubbing his chin with two fingers as he contemplates your offer, right up until a thick crossbow quarrel suddenly explodes through the back of Dahme'dre's thigh, the powerful bolt passing clean through in an explosion of blood (Dahme'dre takes 4 piercing damage). 

"I am not accustomed to asking twice," that same haughty Elven voice calls out from behind you. "turn and parley with me, not this cretinous swamp filth." The owner of the voice remains out of sight, somewhere among the debris of the shadowed alley leading toward the pier. However, one after the other, three slavering wardogs emerge to stand, growling, about sixty feet away in that direction, their baleful gazes trained on the party. 

The halfling responds instantly, dropping into a crouch so that your larger forms are between him and the shooter. Bruja just stands there, staring in stupid incomprehension at the crossbow bolt which now lies at his feet, covered in Dahme'dre's blood.

Aio saw Dahme'dre grab her thigh in pain and almost swooped down to help the group, but then she saw the dogs. Three enormous war dogs. 

Where is the one who shot the crossbow? I can't see them anywhere!

Aio prepares to dive at the mystery shooter as soon as they appear, but remains circling above the group, hidden by the night sky.

((Perception check please Aio.)) 

(Perception:  8

"Are we meant to parlay with shadows?" Dahme'dre calls out into the night. "Come out from hiding if you wish to speak." 

To the halfling and Bruja, "My apologies, it appears we are being interrupted. Please give us a moment."

Erdan will slowly turn and look over the area. "Are you expecting us to parley with the dogs or the shadows? We do not bite, come out and speak to us face to face!" 

(Perception for the speaker and for the other 3 dogs that were following us. 15)

Edit: removing my bit, BDaddLy beat me to it. 

Aio, you circle the party using long, slow beats of your wings so as to remain hidden and silent, but though you strain your eyes until they water, a glimpse of the crossbowman eludes you. You do however ready yourself to backtrace any new quarrel or to zero in on the voice if it speaks again. 

Valen spins with shield raised and sword bared, "Damn this city of cowards, liars, and thieves! Show yourself if you wish to talk or I'll find you a different way." He holds his shield close to grasp the amulet around his neck.

(Guidance-enhanced Perception: 15. Just realized I only put +2 instead of +3. New total is 16)

(I always roll the guidance separate because its got a 50% chance to color the role, which can be confusing.)

(I figured at this point, I have a +3 WIS mod and untrained in Peeception, so a nat 1 would've been 4-7 since I only used a +2 mod by mistake)

Valen, you peer around the safety of your shield, scanning the darkness of the faintest hint of movement. Your vigilance is rewarded, as about 90 feet away you detect a shifting of shadow upon darkness in a balcony on the first floor of a comparatively intact dwelling. Considering the scene strategically, you now note the hounds you can see are effectively blocking the direct route to that building. 

Erdan, with your attention split between looking for the shooter and the hidden hounds, you are a hairsbreadth slower to detect the movement in the shadows, but detect it you do. Peering around the area, you are unable to find a location for the other hounds, but a faint scrabble, as if of claw on cobblestone, reaches your ears from the left. 

After a short pause, the crossbowman calls out again, "This need not end in bloodshed, simply give me the Salvadarian deed and be upon the rest of your miserable lives." 

From behind you, you hear a high pitched chuckle, the halfling giggling to himself at the request. "Friends, if that pointy eared lunatic wants nothing more than the deed to a Withering lost shanty town, I say let him have it and we can conduct business in peace, eh?"

Dahme'dre takes a sheet from her ledger and raises it up. "Very well!" her mage hand carries it aloft and it moves in the direction of the voice, before she produces an errant breeze and the sheet flutters, slips from her fingers, and blows in the direction from which the party came. (Deception: (3)16)

"Unfortunately, we" Erdan gestures to the group around him, "don't have any deed. More importantly, you just killed a friend of mine" Erdan growled

He's going to cast fire bolt at the elf in the shadows. 

Not sure if he has disadvantage, he has darkvision.

24 (if disadvantage 23) damage 8

Edit: Dahme'dre went before me, I won't say what I did. But I will hold the firebolt in case the elf doesn't believe her.

From behind his shield, Valen whispers to the others, "Hasaren, you take the the little one, I'll take the big one. Anyone able to make a screen so we can break for the boat?"

((Ok, Erdan, going to consider that firebolt a readied action against things going sideways and save the rolls. 24 and 8 damage. ))

No more crossbow bolts flash out of the night toward you as Dahme'dre, you perform your ruse. 

"You saw reason!" exclaims the voice from the darkness, "I never cease to be amazed at the illuminating effect a crossbow bolt through the leg has on the psyche." He gives a strange modulating whistle and a previously hidden hound darts out from the west, chasing down the fluttering piece of paper from your dossier and beginning to trot back to its master. At most, you have moments before it is delivered. 

Behind the party, the halfling hisses an order to Bruja and the two of them retreat a few steps back up the pier. Bruja reaches down and, dropping his ore for a moment, picks up an entire boat directly out of the water. With a heave, he slams it down onto the pier in a makeshift baricade. The two of them shelter behind it. "whatever insanity this is, we want no part of it, there's no profit in being ripped apart by wardogs!" the halfling shouts to you from behind this cover. 

((Reminder: If you decide to start swinging swords or throwing fireballs, please also roll initiative. ))

"Something's happening and it's not good," Valen whispers from behind his shield, "We need to take action now before were cut down here."

(Initiative: 14. Will turn and charge the barricade, aiming for the half-ogre if given the affirmative from the party. Also, there are more boats, right?)

((Yes, you can see at least four additional boats moored, though the quality varies. None are actively sinking though, so that's a start.

Valen, could you explain what you're planning to do if given the word? The half-ogre and the halfling are behind the baricade, which is basically blocking the entire pier. Are you going to try to swing a blow over it? Shoulder barge through it? Try to kind of jump around it?))

"Shiney, the best I can do is put some of them to sleep. I think we need to fight." Erdan will whisper. (Last 1st level spell for the day.)

Once the dog with the paper gets within 20 ft of the other 3 dogs, Erdan will cast sleep on the 4 dogs. [roll]5d8[/roll]

Edit: not sure why the first one didn't work 29.

Initiative 21
Edit: it rerolled my initiative, I had a 10. 

(OOC: sorry, the dice roller was giving me some trouble this morning. 

I thought we were going after the dogs and elf?)

(I'm good with dogs and archer or the ones on the pier. My idea was to try and leap over the boat and attack the half-ogre. I wasn't sure if this was just a relatively small canal boat or a broad raft, but I got the impression of the former.)