Aejossin could only chuckle. With the slightest speech, this group could debate for hours. "Yes, perhaps you should split up. One group check out the sewers, and the others patrol the wall, looking for a way in? Caution is wise, and planning is necessary. But Harpers can't afford to abandon a goal because they can't come to a concrete plan."

Falser raises his hand, “I volunteer for the sewer! Sir elf Aejossin sir.”

Arlanna can be heard muttering under her breath, “of course he would volunteer for the sewer, the little rat. Plus, he knows I have to follow him.”

Sionnan raises her hand just a little. “I volunteer for the wall,” she says quietly. “I... don’t want to deal with the sewers.”

“Getting in is the easy part it’s what we do once we’re inside is hard part.” Warryn says.

“Oppah, do you know anything about how to cure the Black Death?” Warryn wonders aloud, “Could the House of Knowledge have something?”

She thought for a moment. "The House of Knowledge is large, and I don't have full access to it. But I can search there while you try and get in."

Arlanna steps forward to address Oppah. “Do we have a way for you to communicate that to us while we are behind the wall? I would hate to get in and then have to come out for information, risking exposing the rest of the city to this plague.“

Warryn smiles,"Plants can't catch disease."

Hodgy shakes, "Oh no, I'm not going to sneak through tunnels alone."

Warryn laughs, "All you have to do is stand close enough to the wall for me to speak to you."

Hodgy grumbles slightly but doesn't say anything. "So it looks like I'm with the wall team." Warryn says with a grin.

"I'll go with the wall team as well. Not partial to slogging through sewage if I can help it." Rethan says.

"Because there's nine of us and if Oppah stays in the city, we should split in pairs of four. So wall team needs one more and the sewer team needs two more." Warryn figures.

Mal takes all this in, rolling his eyes at Falser's hot-headed outburst. Of course he wants to run right in, through the sewers no less, putting everyone at risk. "We are Harper's, indeed, not some hotheads from the Gauntlet. We gather information and put others to work, pull the strings from the shadows. Yes, we will risk ourselves where necessary, but that should be a last resort. There are still people in this city with money and power who aren't as corrupt as the Nine, and we should be working those angles as well, I'd think. We help no one if we creak into the Nest and die ourselves." 

Arlanna glances over at Malquis, a slight smile crossing her darkened features. She did not know him well, as Harpers generally kept to themselves, but she’d always admired his intelligence and logic. 

Falser nods, “Valid point. Anyone who plans on dying anytime soon should probably sit this one out.”

"Perhaps we should talk to some temples? They might be able to provide some information about how to care for the disease?" Warrn suggests, "They might not have the resources, neither do we, but we can at least start something."

Falser pulls the coin from his pocket and twirls it between his fingers. “That’s solid Warryn. Any little bit helps. Would it help setting up a safe place? Maybe we provide a room with healers and supplies that we can bring people to that are very badly off. Or is the point to learn about the disease so we can cure it?” 

"Excellent question, once we're in, what are we to do?" Warryn looks pointedly at Aejossin.

He shrugged. "I wish I knew. Honestly. We need eyes and ears on the inside to assess the situation and see what's behind it all. It's a risk I think we just have to take." He thought for a moment before adding, "I can provide some scrolls that'll cure someone afflicted with the disease... But it won't cure a thousand. More so as a precaution if any of you get infected."

"Excellent! Let's finish dividing into groups and we'll head in tonight or tomorrow?" Warryn is now bouncing in his seat. 

Falser sees Warryn bouncing in his seat and he understands. It’s going to take some understanding and active effort on his part to employ tactfulness. Hell, in mind and action, being somewhat impulsive had kept him alive and brought him here. Falser was ready to leave now. There are people in that part of the city that had lived a half life for far too long. It was time to bring a little of that life back to them.

Mal nods in acknowledgement of Aejossin's words. He knew they needed to help these poor people somehow, since no one else would or could. "There is only so much we can do directly. It will require more help and support within the city to combat the effects of the plague itself. OUR task should be to determine what's causing it, and eliminate that." 

Sionnan nods a little and settles back in her seat. "I am tired from my journey here, but I won't be opposed to heading out right away if need be. The longer we are sitting here trying to decide, the longer those who are afflicted are suffering and even longer for the bodies to start piling up." She says as she rises to her feet.

Trying to employ a little of that mindfulness, Falser pipes up. “Well said Mal.”

Finally Taliesin decides to pipe up after going over all his options, "There is no way, I am going onto the other side of that wall. I'll take border patrol. Any of you guys that decide to go on the other side better keep away from me. I do not want to become infected and die!"

Ell tucks a lock of white hair behind her ear, raising an eyebrow at Taliesin's outburst. "I guess that leaves the sewers for me and Malquis. I'd also like to wait until tomorrow if possible, but I'm all right with leaving tonight if necessary. It's good to keep one's options open, after all." As she says the last sentence, Ell's lips curve into a small smile, and she looks directly at Taliesin. 

“When tomorrow?” Warryn clarifies, “Morning, midday, midnight?”

"I'm fine with morning-I just want to rest before going through potentially deadly sewers." Ell shrugs. "Of course, others may have different opinions on the matter."

"With it evening right now, it'll take me the full day to scrounge up eight scrolls to heal you of any potential disease," Aejossin suggests. "I would avoid going into Beggar's Nest until then."

"Oh well if that's the case then I don't mind going into the Beggar's Nest so long as we don't go through the sewers." Taliesin says, relieved of Aejossin's news.

Sionnan counts the numbers in her head and sighs. "Sewer team still has too few people. I will take one of the open places there." She gives Taliesin a look, but says nothing more.

“Understood. Tomorrow it is then.” Falser looks around, “Are people allowed to sleep on the floor of this room? Or do we sleep in the chairs?” He walks over to Sionnan. “As far as I know the sewer team consists of myself, Arlanna, Ell, and Malquis. You, Taliesin, Warryn, and Rethan are on wall duty. So you don’t have to go in the sewers. It’s going to be okay.”

"Before we go to bed, whose all up for a good old game of gambling?" Taliesin says, hoping to attract the interest of some of the others. "The rules are simple, everyone places their bets and rolls one die but hides the result. Then, if you would like to continue you can throw in more money to the pot or back out. Those that stay in roll another die but this time show the result to everyone. Then you may throw in more or back out. Finally you all roll one last die and hide it. Those that want to stay in throw in more money, those that wish to back out can do so. Once final bets are placed everyone reveals their die and whoever has the highest combined number wins." "There is however one special role, if you get all your dice to show a 1 then you instantly win. They call that a trinity." Taliesin finishes.

Warryn shakes his head, "I believe at this point it's time for me and Hodgy to bow out. Where will we meet tomorrow?"

“I’m in for a dice game,” Falser says with a smile. “Night Warryn. Thank you for making me food earlier, it meant a lot. If everyone agrees, why don’t we meet right here tomorrow morning?”

"Tomorrow evening, I'm going to need a little bit more time." Warryn says.

Sionnan shakes her head a little as she realises her miscalculation. "Ah, I must have not heard  Ell and Malquis going with the sewer team. Thank you for the clarification, Falser." She gives him a smile and turns to address Aejosinn. "I suppose you don't know where I could find a place to stay near here? I'm still new to the area."

"Excellent!" Taliesin exclaims, "That's one person. Anyone else interested?"

Aejossin nodded. "You'll find free lodging above in the House. Just use the word "sparrow" in conversation with Embia, the proprietor."

“Tomorrow evening than Warryn.” Falser looks up at Aejossin’s words. “We get a bed? For free?”

He nodded again. "Compliments of the Harpers." He glanced around before addressing the room. "For too long we've stuck to our own cloak and daggery, moving as single organisms against a tide of evil. What comes will take our full collection, I fear and hope."

Arlanna looks at Taliesin with disdain. Gambling is certainly not something a noble of the line of Tylmarande would participate in. Those good looks were being wasted on childish pranks and coarse games. She shakes her head at the offer, but decides to remain in the room, studying those who choose to remain. Information could be useful, particularly with those you would be working closely with.

Falser shakes his head.  A grin forming at the edges of his mouth.“I don’t care if I die tomorrow, this is the greatest day of my life.”

Sionnan smiles a little to Aejossin. "Thank you, Aejossin. I appreciate the kindness." She looks around the room and gives a small sigh. "Right, well it's been a trying day. I'm going to bed. Good night all, rest well when you rest." She says as she moves to head up to the House.

Falser turns to Taliesin, “What’s the opening bet??”

Taliesin takes a quick peek in his coin purse. He then looks up slightly embarrassed. "Um, one silver?" He does this with a weak little smile.

Falser cocks his head, “Ummm sure one silver! Start small and then build! I like it!”

"Anyone else?" Taliesin looks around. "It'd be nice to have at least 4 people playing...."

Rethan draws a silver coin out of his own purse.   "Count me in." 

"Even better! Anyone else, we've still got room for at least one more!" Taliesin asks the rest of the group.

Ell raises an eyebrow. "Why not? Sounds fun." She produces a silver coin from her pocket and goes over to wherever the group is gathering with a coy smile. "Shall we see who has luck's favor tonight?"

Falser smiles, “Well done Ell! Happy to roll some dice with you and Rethan!”

The remaining Harpers gather and pull a table from one of the near rooms and sit down. Taliesin pulls out a set of six-sided die, placing twelve on the table and reserving the rest. 

"Sounds good, I guess we're ready to begin!"

Ell selects three dice, placing one in front of her and two to the side. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's begin."

Taliesin rolls his first die being sure to keep it hidden from the others. Taliesin looks up and smiles, "Well that's a wonderful start!"

Falser rolls his first die, keeping it hidden.

Ell rolls her first dice, keeping it hidden. She smiles. "What an...interesting beginning."

Rethan rolls his first die and covers it with his hand. His hand shifts, attempting to subtly roll his die to a new side, but fumbles it.

"Are you changing your role!" Taliesin asks Rethan quite upset. He already knows the answer since he saw him do it but he wants to confront him about it and see what he has to say first.

Falser’s eyes go wide. How in the world did he miss that?!

“What?  Of course not!” Rethan cried.

Ell sees the attempted switch, but says nothing...yet.

"I literally saw you try to change the roll...." responds Taliesin, now seeing Rethan is a cheater and a liar.

Rethan chuckles and shakes his head. “Worth a shot. Had to make sure people are paying attention.  Here, to make up for it,” he says, and tosses two more silver into the pot for the next two rounds before revealing and pushing away his die to indicate that he’s out of the round.

Arlanna observes the events silently, taking note of reactions of those in the room. Rethan’s actions are yet another example of one of their members displaying actions unbecoming of a Harper. With so few Harpers left, this is distressing. She is glad that he chose wall duty.

"Alright, I'm fine with that. What about the rest of you guys, care to continue?" Taliesin asks the rest as he adds another silver to the pot and rolls his 2nd dice for everyone to see.

 Falser smiles widely, “I’m great with that!” He adds one more silver to the pot. He blows on the die and rolls it in front of everyone.

Ell grins. "Why not?" She places another silver to the pot and rolls the dice, revealing the result. Ell raises an eyebrow at the results. "Well this is certainly turning into an interesting game, don't you think?"

"I think so." Taliesin says as he throws his last silver into the pot and looks to the others playing.

Falser says “ Whoah Whoah. I’m not done betting. I’ve got a lot going for me, let’s up the stakes.” Falser puts in 8 silver pieces. Falser looks around, “That is how it works right?”

"Alright, how about I meet you and add this." With that Taliesin sets a dagger on the table. "It's worth 2g but you can sell it in the markets for at least a gold piece..." "And yes friend, you are doing it right."

Falser picks up the dagger examining it. “Interesting...It does look like a fine dagger.” He holds it up, “Arlanna what do you think?”

Ell smiles at Falser's bid, and Taliesin's response. "Feeling lucky, are we?" She casts a critical eye over the dagger. "I'd say that would sell for a gold." A gold coin is placed in the pile, followed by a silver. "Shall we?"

Falser whistles, puts the dagger down. “I like you two. Let’s roll!”

Taliesin rolls his die and reveals all his rolls. "Well I'm not sure what you guys got but I've got 17." He says this beaming his well known smile to everyone at the table. "What do you guys have?"

Falser smiles, “I’ve got a seven. Two ones and a five. But I have a better understanding of who you both are and an appreciation for ya. Plus we’ve played games together. That counts for something!”

Ell reveals her rolls. "Nine, I'm afraid. Looks like you really did have luck on your side." She smiles at Falser. "Of course, the true treasure of the game was the wonderful relationships I'm sure we've begun." A particular emphasis is put on the word "relationships", making it seem like that word could mean a thousand things.

Falser smiles, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sleep in a bed for the first time. Nice gaming with you El. Look forward to any and all relationships.” He winks as he hops down. “And a good night to you too AssHat.” Falser makes a growling cat noise complete with a curved claw hand movement at Tal as he heads up stairs muttering “... I wonder if the bed comes with free blankets too.”

After Falser leaves, Ell turns to Taliesin. "A seventeen. You rolled a six on both of your hidden rolls. What are the odds?" She smiles and sits back, waiting for Taliesin's response.

Rethan chuckles at that.

"Well I believe it's less than a 3% chance..." Taliesin responds. "Anyways I guess that's enough gambling for one day. I better head upstairs, may I escort you madam?" Taliesin questions Ell.

"Of course." Ell smiles and tucks her hair behind her ear. "What a gentleman you are."

"Why thank you my lady. I do my best to keep people pleased and entertained." He throws out casually. Taliesin stands up and moves to the door, patiently waiting to escort the elf to her room.

Ell rises gracefully and heads for the door. "I am sure it's at the top of your priorities."

The group's entertainment and festivities slowly died down as Shar's dark embrace swept over the town, only to be thwarted by the Tears of Selune as they streaked across the sky, illuminating the city faintly. One by one, the late hour slowly forced them to retire to their various abodes for the evening. Aejossin, himself, stayed within the compound, disappearing into the maze of tunnels to somewhere more private as most of the Harpers retired upstairs in the House of a Thousand Faces. Moving upstairs, the manikins and long mirrors cast an eerie backdrop to the dimly lit room, making it appear as if many more people reside within the tavern. Embia smiled with a nod of her head, ushering those who needed refuge upstairs for a room.

The Tears slowly arced across the sky, eventually giving way for streaking beams of light to coalesce across the Great Sea, shimmering with the waves as they burst onto the high rises of Neverwinter's vertical topography. One by one, the Harpers made their way back down to the common room to recongregate, finding a note resting on the table where they gambled the night previous.

To the Watchers of the Harpers of Neverwinter,

That's a long title to write. I've gone out on errands for the day, specifically to see what I can do about aquiring scrolls that'll help cure the disease for when you venture out into the Beggar's Nest. Embia should have breakfast ready for you upstairs when you wish, compliments of the Harpers. The day is yours to do as you wish. I hope I can be back this evening with the supplies.

- Aejossin, Bright Owl of Neverwinter

P.S. Lady Hoffireathe is offering fifty platinum pieces to whomever can find the source of the plague as well as a cure. That should make your next dice game much more interesting if you can secure that reward.

Mal had slipped away while the others were engrossed in thier game the previous evening. A round of dragonchess against a worthy opponent had appeal, but he certainly wouldn't be dicing for coppers. Renthan's attempt at cheating was interesting, and Mal hoped the man was more subtle when it mattered. Perhaps he *had* fumbled it purposefully just to see how the others reacted. Perhaps.

Returning to the meeting chamber in the morning, he read the note. Good, things were moving along in preparation. He hoped Aejossin was successful, and assumed he would be to some degree. The eladrin waited as the others trickled in and read the note. "So. We shouldn't waste the day ourselves. After breakfast, we should make one last sweep of the city, check in with our contacts. Now that we have a specific goal, we can ask the right questions and gather some final information on the plague, perhaps some new resources, before we... go in." His face shows his distaste, but he hasn't objected to his role. That perhaps says something to his commitment to this cause, despite the haute noble bearing he shows.

A short, plump elf with chin-length black hair and dusky skin comes down, wearing a pale red tunic over brown leggings, with a white crystal at her throat. Her dark green eyes sweep the room, seeing nobody but Mal is down, and she nods. "Sounds like a good idea, but I don't really have any contacts in the city. Perhaps I should tag along with someone. I may not know anyone, but I'm *very* good at making friends."

A well rested smiling halfling with long unkept black hair and pale skin makes his way to the meeting room. There’s a pipe sticking out of one corner of his mouth with a  little stream of smoke billowing out. “Morning Mal and my lady,” he says with a nod to Mal and a bow complete with flourish to Ell. He reads the note then sinks a bit. “Whelp... that’s unfortunate. Was hoping to get started early.”

Sionann slowly makes her way to the meeting room. Unlike her fellow Harpers that have shown up, she looks even worse than she had been when she left to rest. Sionann must have only focused on keeping her hair and clothing mostly clean as if to cover the fact that she must have been crying late into the night. Perhaps that was how she fell asleep. She settles back into a seat in the corner and barely glances over the note.

Falser walks over to Sionann, “Ya alright there Sionann? Can I do anything?”

Sionann looks to Falser with a small, tired smile. "I'm fine,  Falser. Did you have fun with your dice game last night?"

Falser smiles broadly, “I did in fact. I lost... but I lost spectacularly. Which is the best way to do it. Now I’m contemplating what to do with my day. There’s half a  chance I may die in those sewers so I want a good day today before I venture forth,” he says without a hint of melancholy. Rather an air of acceptance or maybe optimism has settled over Falser that seems to radiate outward.

Sionann gives a pat to the empty seat next to her. "Would you like to spend some time with me this morning before heading out? Maybe I might join you."

Falser smiles. He hops on the seat that Sionann patted. “Sure. You never did tell me what the difference is between a book and a tome.”

Sionann laughs a little. "Well, a book is what you think a book is. Either full of one's own personal writing or a story, or full of maps or historical notes. A tome is something special for spell casters. Tomes are special books that hold spells. Wizards are the most common people who use tomes, but there are certain Warlocks like myself that use them."

Falser nods , “Right. I met a warlock once. Came into the inn where I worked. He had a little pet dragon. Nasty little thing. Kept feeling like it was watching me. This is going to sound odd but can you do some magic? Something little? Nothing destructive or anything? Always loved how it worked. Even thought I had a knack for it at one point. But I lost it.”

Sionann frowns a little. "Pseudodragons, if that little dragon actually was one, are usually nice creatures." At the request of her showing magic, Sionann gives Falser a gentle smile. "Of course, Falser. Let me see what I can do." She says as she pulls up her sleeves just a little past her elbows.

And Sionann places her hand against her own chest. She focuses for a moment, and a shimmering green set of armor appears over her clothes. She smiles a little as she looks at Falser. "There's some magic for you, friend."

Falser whistles, “Yeah that’s really impressive. Wow. You’ve got to save so much gold on buying armor and repairing it.” Falser examines the armor and tries to place a finger through it.

Sionann laughs a little as Falser ends up touching nothing but the armor. "This only lasts me for eight hours, and it's only protective against attacks. But, yes, it's nice to have and especially so for the civillians who do not have armor and need extra protection."

Falser nods reverently, “That is some amazing magic. This will keep ya safe while exploring the wall.”

"Perhaps, but I only can use it if I'm not wearing armor. The spell doesn't work over armor, I'm afraid." Sionann explains waving her hand over the armor as she dismisses the spell.

Rethan walls into the room, looking much the same as the night before. “Morning everyone.”  He notices the note on the table and wanders over to read it.

"Good morning." Ell loops her black hair behind her ear and waves at Rethan as she heads over to where Sionann and Falser are sitting. "Hi Falser. Sionann. What are you planning to do today?"

Sionann has to blink as she looks at Ell. Her face remains slightly shocked until she spies the white crystal and her stance relaxes a little. "I was mainly planning on accompanying Falser where he wanted to go today before the mission. I'm still very woefully ignorant of Neverwinter's layout."

"Hmm. And where are you going to go, Falser?"

Falser smiles, “I wanted to do something fun today. No real plans. I slept in a bed for the first time ever last night, I imagine the world is full of simple pleasures I have yet to indulge in. Any suggestions? Maybe the three of us hit the town. And whomever else we deem worthy can accompany us!” He pokes Sionann in the side. Turning back to Ell. “ What say you be-crystaled one. Delicious food? Some shopping? Back here by nightfall?”

Sionann squeaks and giggles as she's poked in the side by the halfling. "That sounds like a wonderful plan, Falser.  I don't mind it at all, if Ell doesn't."

“I bet if we wait Taliesin may join us...” Falser says with a grin and raise of his eyebrows at Ell.

Ell smiles and tosses her hair, meeting Falser's eyes. "Maybe he will. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."

Arlanna enters the room just in time to overhear Falser's comment. "You're not going out on any big-city excursions without me. You can't possibly have forgotten what you did the last time you went out unsupervised! You still have a lot to learn about subtlety in the city, if you're ever going to be a true Harper."

Ell looks up as Arlanna enters. "What if we supervise him? We can make sure he doesn't get into any trouble, give you a little time to yourself. Would that work?" She raises an eyebrow questioningly.

Arlanna hesitates a moment, wondering what Ell's motivations might be, then remembers the way that Ell was batting her eyes at Taliesin the previous evening. A rare glint of mischief twinkles in her eye. "I wouldn't want you to bear the burden of responsibility. Of course I'll come!"

Rethan shakes his head at his allies’ frivolous plans for the day. “You guys have fun. I’ll be busy seeing if I can learn anything to help us...”

“I don’t know this area, sir.” Sionann remarks to Rethan. “So I have no idea who or what would be useful to us within this city. This isn’t my cell.”

"Exactly. I'm brand new here too, I don't know anybody, so I can't be off 'seeing if I can learn anything to help us' until I know where I'm going." Ell shrugs, and an anticipatory smile appears on her face. "And this seems like a pretty good way to learn the city."

Falser says with a big grin, “I agree. This is an excellent way to learn about the city. Let’s go explore a bit. Plus you heard Rethan, he gives his blessing to go have fun. We can finally leave. Shall we ladies?” Falser holds out a hand to Sionann and Ell and nods at Arlanna. “Shall we leave a message for our Ass Hat for when he arrives?”

Rethan chuckles at Falsers comment and waves a hand at them to go on.

Sionann laughs a little and takes Falser’s hand. “We should definitely.”

"Sounds like a wonderful idea, Falser." Ell rises. "Where should we start?"

“Let’s find some food.” Falser takes Ella’s hand in his with a confidence that only comes with the very young and cocksure. “Arlanna come find us in the market district in the afternoon. Have I told you ladies about the time I stopped a bunch of orcs from destroying a tavern I worked at? Let’s start at the beginning... the building was on fire and it wasn’t my fault..” Falser’s  voice trails off as he leads Ell and Sionann up the stairs and into the bustling city streets.

Arlanna stares after them dumbfounded, not sure whether to be furious or impressed by the sheer brashness of her young appointed protégé. Deciding to follow them to the marketplace in due time, she seeks out anyone else who might be around in order to ascertain if any of her peers are spending their free hours in more productive endeavors.

Arlanna glances over at Rethan. She’d certainly rather spend her time more productively, but watching him cheat at dice last night did not reflect highly on his sense of ethics as a Harper. Cheating for information, on a mission, when it was necessary, was one thing, but cheating his fellow Harpers... and there were so few left.

All of the sudden Taliesin appears, still a little groggy after having just gotten up, "Sorry everyone, woke up a little late I suppose. I heard you guys wanted to head to the market. That sounds like a great idea, I'd love to join you if you'll let me."

Sionann laughs as Taliesin appears. "Speak of the devil and he appears!" She shakes her head. "Yes, you can, but that's mainly Falser's call as he's pulling this party together."

“Well, I guess I don’t need to stay to leave that note after all,” Arlanna says. She figures she might as well follow through with her duties and get to know some of her fellow Harpers in the process. She makes ready to leave.

Ell grins as Taliesin makes his appearance. "Feel free to come along, Taliesin. We're starting with food." She turns to Falser. "So, you were saying something about a tavern that was on fire, but it wasn't your fault?"

Embia, the old female bartender and tavernkeep, called out to the group before they leave, her grey hair nearly falling out of the loose ponytail. "Oi! Don't ye be fergettin' yer breakfast!" 

Falser skips over to Embia, “Actually Em, would it be possible to get that breakfast to go? Little bread and cheese in a sack. I think this group is anxious to do a bit of exploring. Maybe check out the market district.”

"Nope!" she responded, patting Falser on his head and rubbing it like a grandmother would. "Yer gonna sit down and be polite and enjoy what I made for ye! So sit down while I getcha food."

Sionann looks to Embia, a little surprised. However, she smiles and gives Falser's hand a gentle squeeze. "I think taking a bit of a break for breakfast would work better, Falser. I don't think I could go another day walking around on a near empty stomach."

Falser smiles and turns to the group. “Our good lady innkeeper has spoken. Quick breakfast sounds amazing. I’m ready to take on all sorts of nastys but I know better than to cross Em.”

Ell smiles at Embia's response. "Whatever the nice lady giving us free breakfast says, of course. This smells amazing, Embia, I can't wait to taste it."

Falser snags everyone a table. Muscle memory kicking in, he begins pulling out chairs for everyone. He even finds himself wiping the table before he catches himself, and sits down. 

Sionann smiles a little as Falser pulls out her chair for her. "Falser, that was incredibly kind, but don't feel like you have to for me. I'm no one special. I'm just one of you." She says as she sits down and scoots her chair in before he could do it for her.

Falser nods, “Nah you’re all pretty special. You’re the first group of people in my life  that have accepted me as an equal. The courtesy is noted and appreciated. Gods I almost had a breakdown yesterday when our gnomish co-patriot handed me food. It was a simple gesture with so much behind it.” 

Ell notes Falser's seemingly automatic actions around the table as she sits down and slides her chair in. "Of course you're an equal, Falser. Nobody should be minimized routinely for their entire life. Ever." Her crystal glows bright red, and there's clearly some very deep emotion behind the statement.

Sionann watches the interaction between Ell and Falser, a small smile working its way on her face. "We're all Harpers, one way or another. Don't think past lives should have any other bearing on that."

Falser gives Ell a friendly squeeze on the shoulder, noting her emotional response. He sits in the last chair hopping it forward.  “So a part of me wants to ask about the tiny crystal elephant in the room.” He lets his eyes drift to Ell’s necklace. “It’s a very nice piece.”

Ell goes a little pale at the question and bites her lip. "I...got it about five years ago in Calimport. It's kind of...attuned to my emotions. And occasionally my memories, depending on how strong they are." As she speaks, her hand closes over the crystal, as faint red glow escaping between her fingers. Her other hand closes into a tight fist.

Falser senses the tension and fear and tries to cut through it. “Oh I understand. My face does the same thing.” He holds his breath, puffing out his cheeks, and turns his face a bright cheery red. He looks like a tomato with a bit of scruff growing. After a second he takes a deep breath in.

While the group chatted and discussed, Embia came out of the kitchen with piping hot stacks of buttermilk pancakes, complete with maple syrup drizzled on top. Links of pork sausage were stacked neatly against each other on a separate plate, with a tall pitcher of freshly-squeezed orange juice placed at the center of the table. She smiled widely as she said, "See? And here ye thought ye wanted something quick ta go." She chuckled, shaking her head as she headed back to the kitchen. "When yer done, stack yer dishes on the bar and I'll come out and fetch 'em."

Sionann smiles warmly as she looks at the food that Embia brought to them. "Thank you very much, Embia." She says before she starts to pull together her portion of food.

Ell smiles weakly at Falser's antics. As Embia brings the food out, she takes a deep breath and reassembles her cheerful face. "This looks wonderful, Embia, I can't wait. Sorry Falser, but this is way better than some bread and cheese." Her crytal dims as she puts together her plate, but still glows faintly.

Falser’s eyes grow wide. “Em... I will never doubt you again. This is amazing.” Falser helps himself to a big stack of the pancakes.

Taliesin looks up after devouring all his food and looks to the group, "You guys ready to go? I'm finished."

Sionann wipes her mouth after finishing her food. "I'm done." She says while folding her hands in her lap. 

Ell stands with a satisfied smile, her spirits restored by the good food. "I'm done. That was amazing, Embia." She looks at Taliesin, Falser, and Arlanna. "So, residents of Neverwinter, where should we start our day?"

"I don't really care..." the half-elf responds nonchalantly, "I was thinking about maybe performing in the market and see if I could add to the wealth I've already acquired. If I get lucky I might be able to get myself something special." 

"Well, if you make a habit of the quality of music we heard last night, I'm sure you will have no problem getting yourself that...something special." Ell tucks her hair behind her ear and turns her attention to Falser and Arlanna. "What about you two? Know somewhere particularly good we should start at?"

Arlanna looks over at Taliesin. “It seems that our time might be better served seeing if we can find out anything about this plague. I’m not sure acquiring more wealth was the point of this excursion. Or, if it was, I may have accompanied the wrong group. What do you think, Falser?” She says this with carefully selected tone and inflection, almost like a teacher asking her pupil a question to which he should already know the answer.

Falser thinks. There are so many smart ass answers that finding the perfect one feels like trying to pinpoint a drop of rain in a torrential downpour. However, her inflection gives him pause. Her turns to the table, and pulls out his last 5 gold pieces. He slaps them on the table. “A game. Let’s go enjoy ourselves. Go to market and explore. Remember why we fight this fight. But let’s not forget there is indeed a fight to be won. 5 gold pieces of my own money to the person who gains the most useful bit of intel on the plague or traversing the wall by end of day. Shall we play?”

Arlanna pauses for a moment, a glimmer of respect dancing behind her eyes. She quickly suppresses it, glancing around to see how others will react.

Sionann looks at Falser and she looks at the gold on the table before her. She worries her lip a bit, but stops and smiles just a tiny bit. "Sounds like a harmless game. I'm in."

Ell grins. "Sounds fun, Falser. I'm in."

“I think we should leave in a calm orderly fash...”Falser grabs his dish puts it on the counter, and darts out of the inn. Toward the bustling market streets.

Ell raises her eyebrows at Falser's hasty exit. "Seems like he's pretty eager to win this." She glances quizzically at Arlanna. "Does he do that frequently, and do we need to follow him? For that matter, I thought we were going to do this as a group..."

Falser slinks back into the bar, “Yeah I realized something. I don’t know this city at all. I’ll follow you guys.”

"I'm definitely in, I'll have no problem getting that information." Taliesin responds confidently.

By the end of the afternoon, the Harpers rejoined beneath the House of a Thousand Faces, gathering in the meeting room to discuss how their day went and about any potential leads and information they found while waiting for Aejossin.

"I've gotten some news from the Beggar's Nest about what's been going on over there." Taliesin says to the group. "There are caravans of food being sent into the Nest, and people are ravenously fighting for any food that gets brought in. Some criminal gangs have focused on storing food and then "selling" it to the poor for high prices or other... means. What about you guys, what did you find out?"

"We found one of the sources of the food being sent in, House Hoffireathe. Might give us a way into the quarantine without going through the sewers..."

Ell's crystal flares red at Taliesin's mention of what criminal gangs are claiming in exchange for food. She glares at it, then tucks it out of sight into the neck of her tunic. "Nothing we didn't already know, I'm afraid." She shrugs. "Just that it's nearly impossible to get into the Beggar's Nest."

"If we don't have to go through the sewers I'll be happy to join the Beggar's Nest group. It'd probably be handy to have someone with skills and talents such as myself." Most of you by now can't help but sigh at another instance of Taliesin holding himself up so highly.

Ell raises an eyebrow at Taliesin's preening. "Yes, whatever would we do without you, Taliesin?"

"I think we're both going in, just through different methods?" Warryn asks.

"I can't imagine," murmurs Rethan.

"Well, it's like I said before, if we have to go through the sewers then I'm not going. I happen to hold myself to a higher standard you know." Taliesin responds haughtily.

"Whatever would we do without your vaunted 'skills and talents'," smirks Rethan.

"I'm not quite sure but you'd definitely be missing out," Taliesin responds in a vague tone.

"And I'm sure such high standards will serve you well on our trip." Ell laughs. "Enjoy them-some of us have no such luxury."

Warryn sighs, "Really, what's so bad about the sewers? Are you worried about getting dirty?"

"Yes, and it's smelly," Taliesin responds brusquely. Warryn could only roll his eyes.

"Get yourself a perfumed handkerchief. You'll be fine," says Rethan.

"The smell can be bad, but I think you'll be ok if you go down into the sewers." Warryn says, "but we've already split into two groups, we should stick to those arrangements."

Ell shakes her head, an amused smile on her face, before turning to the rest of the group. "Did anyone else find anything interesting?"

Sionann pipes up from where she stood. "Ah, I met someone... he said that they weren't all sick in Beggar's Nest. But we shouldn't let that fool us, as it seems that it springs up pretty quickly. I don't know how much to trust from this individual, they didn't tell me how they got out."

Warryn shifts. "Well, um, the plague may be airborne."

Mal stirs uncomfortably where he sits. "Hopefully Aejossin can procure the scrolls he went after, lest we all catch this plague ourselves as we try solve it." He shakes his head, as if denying the idea before continuing. "As Rentgan said, we discovered that House Hoffireathe is sending wagons in every day. A convenient arrangement with the guards, I imagine. Rather than wade through the sewers and risk even more disease, we could perhaps replace the drivers and guards on the wagons."

Arlanna speaks up from the back of the room. “I spoke to a friend of mine. She and her two siblings have been sending regular caravans of food into the Beggar’s Nest. Her mother, Lady Hoffireathe, refuses to lift a finger, but they have rebelled against her edicts and are working with the people of the Church of Ilmater to help in any way they can.”

As Arlanna explained the information she found, Aejossin walked into the room, his hands and arms full of scroll cases. Depositing them on the center table, he proclaimed, "Here. It burned a deep hole in my pocket, but here are the scrolls to use if you contract the disease."

He looked around as realization suddenly struck him. "Oh! But don't mind me. Uhh... carry on?" He smiled sheepishly as he moved to the corner of the room.

"So I guess our next task is to see if we can secure a goods caravan to let us ride into the Nest with them?" Taliesin asks the group.

"It sounds like we could all do that," Warryn says.

Ell tucks her hair behind her ear. "I believe the question is, are we willing to lose the additional day or more it will likely take to arrange the wagons? If we stick with our original plan, we can leave tonight. Otherwise we'll likely have to wait until tomorrow to start securing the caravan."

“And I’m sure Falser would be disappointed to skip the sewers,” Arlanna says wryly. “Do we have any leads on a cure?”

“I haven’t heard much on leads about the cure.” Sionann pipes up after a while. “Only a complaint about stale food that was given by Hoffrieathe.”

Mal grins. "Well, beggars can't be choosers." He clears his throat. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Maybe I should have been a bard."

"We could still have one group go through the sewers to get started while the other group works on a supply wagon. Another question though. Do we deal with the criminals hoarding the food while we're there? It's not part of our job, but I don't like people being gouged for food." Aejossin smiled in the background as if silently taking notes of the conversation.

“That’s a definite yes.” Warryn replies to Rethan, “It’s our job to help people, why shouldn’t we?”

“Oh I definitely agree. Just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page since it’s not what we’re being sent in to do and we don’t know what kind of numbers we’re dealing with,” Rethan says.

Sionann listens to the others, and she gives Rethan a small nod. "I agree, caution should be best excised with this turn of events. We are Harpers, but we shouldn't just rush in blind."

"In all seriousness, of course, we must help where we can. Why would we do otherwise?" Malquis spoke ponderously.

Ell nods. "I agree. Dealing with these criminals is absolutely something we should do."

"In a perfect world, we coukd solve the problems today, but the reality is that these things take time to come to fruition. I think myself and Arlanna, at least need to pursue the lead with House Hoffireathe and work out the wagon. Falser and anyone else eager to get started immediately can go through the sewers right away and see what we're facing on the inside," Malquis added, glancing to each of their faces.

"Sounds fine to me, but I feel that if we are cutting into the criminal business we should probably not do it for nothing. After all with the collapse of the Harpers we could use all the money we can get. It'd be for a good cause both ways, I doubt anyone would object..."

"We won't be doing it for nothing. We'll be doing it to help a bunch of starving sick people," says Rethan. "We're no better than the criminals if we take them down only to demand they give us money instead of said criminals.Who do you expect to pay for it?

"We can take down the criminals and instill a less corrupt group to sell the goods to the beggars for a more.... reasonable price." Says Taliesin carefully choosing his words.

"I'm not going to take down a criminal gang just to instill another one in it's place to keep exploiting people," Rethan responds with a scowl.

"Of course, we don't want to exploit people! We want to protect them! By doing this they'd have access to all the things they needed but at a cheaper price and we could also raise money for the Harpers to rebuild their operations!" Taliesin exclaims hoping his idea will catch on.

"The food is being sent in freely as relief for starving people. Charging ANYTHING for it is exploiting them," Rethan countered with fire in his voice.

"Alright alright..." responds Taliesin downtrodden, he had been hoping to fill his pockets a little more but now realizes that may not happen.

"There's other ways to get money without exploiting people that need food. I've said nothing about looting the gang itself for instance when we're done with them..."

"Ah perfect! Yes, let's rob the criminals! Oh the irony, first they rob the relief caravans, then the beggars, and then we'll rob them. That's the perfect plan, who else is up for it!?"

Sionann watches the exchange between Taliesin and Rethan for a while. Her hands rest lightly on the tome in her lap as she hums softly to herself as she waits for her chance to speak. "I'm up for it." She replies as she gives Taliesin a nod.

Falser who has remained oddly quiet, pipes up “I know the way in the sewers. Unfortunately, Arlanna HAS to stay close to me, for my training so the only thing I’m certain of is that the two of us will be traversing the sewers.” Falser walks over and snags a scroll. “Thank you Aejossin. This will get used.”

Ell watches Rethan and Taliesin's conversation, a faint frown growing on her face. At Taliesin's final comment, she smoothes her expression and nods. "Of course I'm up for looting the gang."

Arlanna glares at Falser and then glances over at Malquis. Although she acknowledges her responsibility to the young trainee, part of her is getting tired of him manipulating her into choices for his own entertainment. With a side glance at Falser, Arlanna moves over towards Marquis. “Do you think we can get enough information to make it worth delaying this process for an extra day? It’s not like I’m looking forward to a stroll in the sewers, but I’d like to avoid delaying this longer than we have to.”

"I'm sure you'll survive a day without her, Falser. You're a big boy, aren't you?" Returning his attention to Arlanna, he considers his words before responding. "We know the wagons are going in each day, and Hoffireathe must be paying off the guards to facilitate that. It sounds like you have a relationship with these women, so you woukd know better than I the chance of them aiding our cause in this. What do you think?"

Falser’s eyes rise at the big boy. A sparkle appears in his eyes, and he makes a mental note.

“The only explanation is that it’s Hoffireathe’s children,” Arlanna says to Malquis, ignoring Falser’s reaction for now. “She won’t lift a finger to help, and they seem to have genuinely good intentions. They may not know that the food is being confiscated and then sold. I suspect that they would be happy to aid our cause in order to make sure the food is actually helping those for whom it is intended.”

Falser listens intently. “You know, he’s right Arlanna. I’m a big boy. I got this. You can totally go talk to this group. That way we’re working towards a common goal”, Falser says with a sense of quiet desperation behind the words.

Ell looks directly at Mal for the first time since their conversation the previous evening. "Malquis...is right. Arlanna, you have a relationship with these siblings, you should be a part of the group that talks to them. And since Falser is the only one who knows the sewers, he needs to be with that group, which means you two need to split. Now, who wants to leave immediately?"

"I can help Arlanna talk with the sisters, I've been known to be a pretty persuasive business man. Once we settle that I guess we can take our group in with the next supply shipment and figure out what to do then." suggests Taliesin, completely open to suggestions the others may have.

Mal frowns, but nods in agreement. "You do seem to have gift in that tongue of yours. Though let's do try to avoid any more jokes for the time being. And no more talk of selling the food. Have a bit of decency, man, as befits a Harper."

Falser jumps up. “I’m ready to leave immediately!”

"Yeah, I've planted Hodgy along the wall already and Oppah's expecting us to leave, I'd hate to make them feel useless" Warryn worries.

Arlanna hesitates a moment, looking over at Falser and then Malquis. She doesn’t trust Falser to avoid making a mess she is going to later have to clean up, but it makes sense to pursue the caravan through her connections with Mara, Hoffireathe’s daughter. She’s not thrilled about the fact that Taliesin has decided to join, because thus far, he has come across as pompous, self-centered, and a bit of a cheat. She looks at Falser. “I’m not going to have to explain this to Pieter later, right? This is the best plan, but if you get yourself into trouble, I’m going to be the one that has to answer for it.... along with you, of course.”

“We are soldiers in arms, not parent and child. I won’t embarrass you. Now correct me if I’m wrong, with the way things have shaken up. Ell are you still good with a little adventure in the sewers? Two good friends on a stalwart adventure? Warryn is examining the wall with Sionnan to find a possible new entrance? Taliesin, Arlanna, Rethan, and Malquis are dealing with the trade caravan?” Falser made mention.

“Try not embarrassing me or acting distinctly un-Harper-like for 24 hours, and we can re-discuss how I view this relationship,” Arlanna says wryly to Falser. “Oh, and perhaps take a bath.”

Taliesin can't help but laugh as Arlanna begins making fun of Falser.

Ell shoots Taliesin a Look before turning to Falser. "Sounds like a plan, Falser. Unless, of course, someone else would like to join us down below?" She raises an amused eyebrow, then turns to Arlanna. "I'm sure we'll be fine. I've handled worse than an overeager halfling in my life."

Aejossin stepped into the circle with a smile. "Well then! Chop chop. Too much planning leads to inaction! You young Harpers better get started soon!"

Arlanna brings Taliesin and Malquis to a side door behind a church on the East side of the city. “Mara should be here orchestrating the loading of tonight’s wagons,” she says.

"Alright, are we supposed to wait here or meet her inside?" Taliesin inquires.

Arlanna finds a robed figure near the entrance and whispers quietly to him, asking for Mara. The figure shook his head. "We haven't seen her since this morning. Apologies, Your Grace."

Arlanna heads back over to her three companions. “She hasn’t been seen since this morning. We can check at the Manor, or we can try talking to the Ilmater here to see if we can arrange something. It’s early in the night; she may still show later.”

"I don't care, do we need her permission in order to ride in with the caravan? Ask that fellow over there if it'd be ok if she doesn't show by then."

“She and her two brothers have arranged for the wagons, with the help of the Ilmater. The only advantage to waiting is that she knows us and they don’t. How persuasive are you?,” she asks with a grin.

"You said her mother does not support these efforts," notes Mal. "It seems best to avoid the manor and drawing any attention to Mara's efforts. We should speak to the priests here first, I'd say."

"Pretty darn persuasive, let's go talk with them." says Taliesin, fired up to work his magic.

The group followed behind Taliesin into the Ilmatari temple, passing underneath His bloodied hands. Once inside, they saw the building to be quite simple: nothing near as gaudy and ornate as Tymora's temples were. Several priests pray in semi-private alcoves. The priest with whom Arlanna spoke approaches Taliesin and the group. "Is there something else you need?" he asked in a calm voice.

"We made arrangements with Mara to get us inside the Beggar's Nest, in exchange, my pals and I were ask to ensure its contents safely reach those that need it. Mara was supposed to be here by now to inform you of this but unfortunately she has not shown up yet. Are you ok with us still going with the supplies? We'd still be doing each other a favor..." The priest furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment. "I... believe you were misinformed then. We just supply the grain. House Hoffireathe handles the delivery."

Taliesin looks over to Arlanna confused. Arlanna looks confused as well. “You are supplying the wagons that are moving into Beggar’s Nest, correct? Or are the wagons coming from elsewhere?” He shook his head. "House Hoffireathe owns the wagons. Their mark is emblazoned on each one."

“Do you know where they are leaving from? Perhaps we can track down Mara there,” she replies. He shook his head again. "Perhaps from their manor? Or somewhere near the docks? A storage building? I don't know." Arlanna looks over at her companions. “I could always stop by the Manor on the pretense of other business and inquire as to her whereabouts. I’m not sure where else to find her.”

Rethan shrugs. "Sounds like as good a plan as any at this moment."

"We appreciate your time, Brother." Mal addresses the Ilmatari priest. "We merely wish to offer our aid to those afflicted inside the Nest ourselves, and sought passage past the guards by way of the caravan. As my companion knows Lady Mara, we were led to believe thus may be the best means of doing so. Can you at least tell us when the wagons usually arrive here to collect thier cargo from you? Does that happen every night?"

"Yes great idea! We could help deliver your grain to the caravan since we need to go to it anyways." Mal gives the bard a look as if he's slow. "Deliver it to the caravan? What, by the sack full? The wagons need to come pick it up, Taliesin."

"Oh... right." Taliesin says, quite embarrassed with himself. “I dunno, some manual labor carrying sacks might do Taliesin some good,” Rethan says with a grin.
M
As the group talked with the priest, a hooded figure wrapped in a deep cloak approached Arlanna within the temple. Drawing her hood down, Arlanna recognized the face of her childhood friend, Mara Hoffireathe. She looked around and smiled at the priest before saying, "Sorry I'm late, Arlanna. It's unbecoming of a noble with many suitors to leave them suddenly." She added, with a smile, "Not that I was against it, in either case. They were pompous and shallow." Arlanna smiles at Mara. “I suppose I should be grateful that my family’s focus was...elsewhere. I don’t have time for those games.” She gets more serious. “We’d like to arrange to be part of the wagon caravan. We think it might be the best way to get into Beggar’s Nest to help more directly. I know that you and your brothers have spearheaded getting food in. Do you have any leads on medicinal relief or even a cure?”

"Yes, be grateful," she nonchalantly said with a chuckle. "Being set up with suitors and courtship is awful." She looked to Arlanna and her companions. "But why are you interested in going into that plague-ridden place? I feel sorry for the poor and homeless there, but... there's other people who can go in there. I know we've grown distant in recent years, but this should still be beneath a Tylmarande."

“I know many that would say the work you’re doing here is beneath the House of Hoffireathe... your mother, for one,” Arlanna says, looking at Mara. “If we don’t step in to help, who will? My family is connected to those with skills, but it is the noble houses who have the resources to help.” She sighed. "Mother is mother. Deep down, I know she means well, despite how she presents herself. She is funding the caravans afterall and offering a reward to find a cure. Which we're no closer to discovering." Shaking her head, she continued with a shrug, "But, help is help. If you really want to risk your life and not the life of someone less important, I won't stop you. But you won't be allowed outside of the quarantine zone once you leave the caravan that heads out tomorrow morning."

"We appreciate anything you can do to help us," says Mal. "As to getting out again, well, we have some other avenues should it come to that." Despite his words, the eladrin's face betrays his thoughts on that option. "Still, we need to get inside and see what we're really up against on order to discover a cure. The risks must be taken." She nodded. "No, I understand. Pardon my language, but you all are insane. There's others more qualified, but it's your lives!"

“You have your duties and we have ours. The most important undertakings often come with innate risk. The reward is well-worth it if we can save these people.” Arlanna stops short and looks sharply at Mara. “Risk the life of someone less-important? You forget, my friend, that that type of ‘importance’ is just a name. It means nothing without the honor and duty attached to noble action. My name has brought me both honor and shame. My actions will determine which of those follow me.” Mara smiled and nodded. "My apologies. Offending wasn't my intention. Nevertheless, you and your," she notioned to Arlanna's companions, "friends are free to enter Beggar's District tomorrow with one of the caravans."

"Excellent thank you! Where and when should we meet?" Taliesin finally chides after having been quiet listening to the conversation for quite a while. "There's a warehouse my family owns by the docks." Mara turned to Arlanna. "It's where we used to play tag as kids. It also has my house symbol painted on the side of the building for easy marking. Be there before the sun rises and they'll allow you in." Arlanna smiles at Mara. “Thank you. If you learn anything else that may be useful to us, please send word. We will do the same.”

"I certainly will," she replied with a nod and courtesy. "If you'll excuse me, I probably should return to face the wrath of my mother now for ditching so many suitors." As the small group prepares to leave, Mal offers his thanks with a nod of his head. "You have my thanks as well, young Lady Hoffireathe. You do your house proud." Rethan nods as well. "The assistance is greatly appreciated."

Arlanna looks to the group. “Well, I guess we know what we need to do. Is there anything else anyone needs before sunrise? Should we check back in with the Hall before going?”

"There's nothing else really that I need to do. I guess we should head back and rest up." Taliesin relies plainly.

"Agreed. We have an early start tomorrow, with no knowing what we'll face inside. Best to get what rest we can before then."

Arlanna gives a nod of thanks to the priest, and heads back towards the Hall with the group.

A delightful stroll through the sewers brings unwanted consequences...
As they walk, Ell glances at Warryn. "Where exactly is Hodgy? As you said, we should pick him up before heading underground."

Falser starts checking his surroundings, making sure he knows the way. “This place has changed in the short amount of time I’ve been gone.”

"Yes, he's close to the wall nearest my shop." Warryn says.

“Lead the way Warryn. I trust you pal” Falser says as he scans the darkness. “Hey Ell, thanks for doing this. I’m sincerely grateful.”

Ell smiles. "No problem, Falser. At this point in my life, it's hard to be disgusted by much, and the prospect of your company was more than enough reason to come along." As they arrive at the wall, she scans for Hodgy. "Right, let's collect Hodgy and head for the sewer entrance, shall we?"

The group strolls to the eastern edge of the Protector's Enclave, north of Neverdeath. Planted near the entrance, Hodgy remains vigilant as he sits still as a bush. "Hodgy," Warrun whispers, "come here."

The bush sighs audibly and then uproots. "You plant me then you ask me to leave!"

Warryn grins, "Come on you lump."

Ell grins. "Hey, Hodgy." She turns to Falser. "All right Falser, lead the way to the sewer entrance."

Falser smiles, “Of course.” Falser stays quiet as he moves them to the sewer. It’s odd at times to be comforted by the cold stone walls covered in slime and plant life. The smells should not be a welcoming scent either. However, as he turns to Ell and sees her striding with confidence and beauty and sees Warryn followed by his leafy entourage, Falser’s soul is uplifted. He’s moved through these sewers countless time, but this is the first time he’s moved toward something. It’s a good feeling.

As the Harpers approach the sewer entrance under Falser's guidance, a pair of Neverwintan soldiers stand idle at the entrance, chatting between themselves while lazily looking around.

The Harpers quickly dipped behind a building into an alleyway nearby. "Um, well now what?" Warryn whispers.

“Hmm. We could talk our way through. Ell as our elven mistress looking for something in the sewers? Orrrr we could tell them the truth, we’re on an altruistic mission to save those people.“ Falser suggests, peering around the corner at the guards.

Ell raises an eyebrow. "Elven mistress?" Ignoring the jab, she continued, "At any rate, I'm not sure how interested the guards will be in the altruism of our mission. We could distract them perhaps, or attempt to bluff our way through. Or, depending on our level of patience, just knock them on the head." After a moment, Ell adds, almost as an afterthought "Gently."

Falser smiles. “Gently. Of course.”

Ell shrugs. "At any rate, the main question is: talking or force?"

"Talking." Warryn says with vigor, "I hear guards are bribable?"

Ell grins. "Everyone is bribable."

“Yeah but I’m not packing much gold. What could we bribe them with?“ Falser said regrettably.

"I have... 30 gold pieces?" Warryn says, rummaging through his pockets.

Ell nibbles her lip. "I would think that's far more than enough...but I don't know this city. Shall we give it a try?"

“Absolutely. I’ve got gold too that I can supplement with,” mentioned Falser.

Ell tucks her hair behind her ear and heads for the guards with a smile. As she approached the guards, they both glanced over to her with widened eyes. To see a creature as hauntingly beautiful and exotic as Ell seemed to put them off edge. Instead of telling her off, one spoke up, asking, "What can we do for you?"

Falser smiles. He thinks to himself, “This could work out extremely well.”

Ell gives them a wide, grateful smile. "Oh, there absolutely is. You see, I was swimming this morning when my wedding band slipped off my finger. and went down the drain." She touches her ring finger almost absently, where a band of paler skin can be seen. "I think it must have wound up in there, and it's so very special to me-my husband had it specially created for our wedding five years ago, and it's more precious to me than anything, and I just couldn't imagine losing it forever. Would it be terribly awful for me and my companions to go in, just for a little bit, to find it?" She gives them a hopeful look, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

He frowned slightly when she made mention of being married but chuckled when she finished, looking to his fellow guard. "Sweetie, you've got the body of Sune herself, but you weren't blessed with much intellect. The sewers are a big, dangerous place. You won't find a small ring in its smelly depths."

"Oh! I have a scroll from a friend, he said that I could use it to find the ring-" Ell starts rooting through her bag, and pulls out Aejossin's scroll. "Kieran said that if I have my bodyguard cast this spell, it will point us to the ring." She grins, looking quite proud of herself. "So you see, we'll be able to find it! I would be so, so grateful if we could go in. Please?" Her eyes are wide and pleading.

"Such a pretty thing about to drudge through the sewers and get dirty. But if that's what you want." He said with shallow frown.

The other guard piped up, adding, "And if you need some help getting cleaned up afterward, don't hesitate to ask us!" He smiled with a wild look Ell had seen a thousand times over.

Warryn gags in the background, causing Falser to chuckle.

"Oh, thank you so, so much! You're so kind, and good, thank you! I'm in your debt." As Ell enters the sewers, she blows the guards a small kiss before vanishing into the darkness.

Warryn descends into the sewer after her with Falser close behind. “That was brilliant. Well done you!”

Ell snickers quietly. "Thank you, I rather enjoyed it. Shall we?"

She replaces Aejossin's scroll into her bag and nods at Falser. "Lead the way, my friend."

Falser sets out down the darkened tunnel, which Warryn quickly illuminates with light. Ell follows behind both of them, looking about at the walls and floor.

Falser turns back, “Thanks Warryn. That helps a lot. Normally, I'm running this in the dark."

"As could I," Warryn reminded, "however, I understand that some of us have trouble in dark places."

Falser grins, “Oh I always have trouble in dark spaces. I’m just saying I still had to do it. Several runs I remember hearing a weird chittering noise, freezing, and letting it pass me by.”

The Harpers delve into the twisting and winding maze of sewer, their nearby surroundings illuminated by Warryn's light. The trip is short, only lasting a few minutes, until they're deposited into a familiar street in an abandoned section of the district on the west side near the Neverwinter River... conveniently near the old prison.

Ell grins. "Well, I think I know what this entrance was frequently used for. Shall we have a look around the area?"

“That is a great idea.” Falser takes a bit of a look around. Looking around the sewer entrance, the group found the area to be empty and in disrepair. Abandoned houses were riddled with rats, long looted from years of inactivity. The prison itself appeared unguarded, though multiple footprints, seemingly fresh, led into and out of the fortified compound, suggesting otherwise.

Ell gestures at the footprints. "That appears as good a place as any to start."

“Yes. Let’s be careful though. Should we tell Hodgy? Where we are headed?” Falser suggested.

Hodgy coughs, “Am I chopped liver?”

Falser jumps a bit, “Hodgy! Geez. No you’re not chopped liver you’re a plant. I’m wondering if you should wait here while we check out the prison?”

Ell shrugs. "I'm not sure how long it's going to take everyone else to get here." She grins. "We could at least take a peek so that we know what we'd be facing if we go in with everyone else."

Falser looks at her, “You know Ell, I like you more and more with each passing minute.”

The night was dark, obscuring their vision, but guided by Warryn's bright light, they discovered that the compound was surrounded by a stone wall, approximately ten feet high, with rusty barbed wire still wrapped around the top. Two separate parts of the wall had been broken down due to some forgotten struggle, but crates, rubble, and wood offered a plausible barricade to keep the common person out from whatever was in... leaving the main entrance as the easiest route of passage within.

Ell notes the possible entrances and glances back at her companions. "Do we want to go through the main entrance, or try climbing a barricade?"

Warryn looks at Ell quizzically, "I can't climb a wall!"

Ell smiles. "All right, main entrance it is then."

The group carefully proceeded through the main entrance into the old prison compound, their surroundings and themselves illuminated by Warryn's bright light. They only made it a couple of paces before a deep voice snickered behind them, saying, "Wow. Looks like you were right Eruk. I didn't think they'd be that dumb." Turning around, the group saw a large and burly half-orc wielding a wicked-looking spear and at least two more half-orcs standing just a few paces from him, their faces grinning with wicked satisfaction.

"And look at that, Krodence! They even have weapons," another half-orc said with a higher voice, a pair of daggers flashing in his hands as he twisted them around.

Falser’s eyes scan the room “ Huh this is not the back room of the inn. I knew we should have made a left and not a right. Our mistake. We’ll just leave you boys to your business and be on our way....”

Krodence and the others belted a laugh, adding two more figures from the darkness for a total of five. "I've used that trick before, kid. Now, drop your coins and your weapons, and we'll let you be on your way. All of you."

Another voice spoke up. "Groll would want them taken as prisoners. For the nekky fella's workers." Ell stayed silent, waiting to see if the half-orcs would inadvertently reveal any more information.

Falser takes his coin purse off his belt and his weapons and leaves them on the ground by his feet. “Thanks for the offer Mr. Krodence, I will gladly take it.”

Krodence, ignoring the other half-orf, grinned before pointing his spear at Warryn and Ell. "You two too, if you want to live."

The other half-orc spoke up again, "Groll made a deal. He won't be happy."

"Can it, Trusk! Another word and I'll gut ya." Krodence replied venomously.

Ell shoots Falser a slightly incredulous look, but remains silent and still, wanting to see what Warryn will do.

"Hey guys! You seem nice. Have you guys heard of a plague? Called the... um, hmm, I don't think we were given a name. Oh well. There's a plague and we're here to discover where it's coming from!" Warryn rambles on, "See, I don't have any weapons, and I do have some gold. Let's see... one, two, three, is that four? Well, I'm going to split into thirds because that's easier. Here's 10 gold pieces, here's 10 gold pieces, and last but certainly not least, here's 10 more gold pieces. Don't spend this all at once. You could probably buy a goat. You're probably wondering, how does having a goat improve yourself, well, it turns you into a business man. You can sell the goat's milk or turn it into cheese or yogurt. And once you're done with the goat you can get some meat. But you'll be your own entrepreneur. Or, you could go buy a shovel and start learning how to garden. I mean, look at me! Warryn Puenshot, at your service, but you can call me Corblin if it suits your tongue!"

The half-orcs are dumbfounded by the metaphorical wall of text. "Do you think his tongue is worth ten gold pieces too?" one of them asks.

"Oh no, from my experience tongue can fetch you a pretty penny in the richer parts of town, but I don't know how they feel about gnome tongue..." Warryn trails off.

Ell stares at Warryn for a long moment, rather overwhelmed by the flood of words exiting his mouth. "Is everything okay, Lady Ell?" Warryn asks.

She shakes her head. "Fine. Fine, thank you Warryn." A bright red glow is visible from beneath her tunic as she then eldritch blasts Krodence.

Falser watched Ell carefully. Seeing her amulet glow red, he conjured an illusory duplicate of himself, using the surprise to channel inflict wounds on Krodence while he was blasted in the front by Ell. She quickly follows it up with a second eldritch blast, crippling him before he can even let out a scream of anguish. Soemthing akin to a hellish scream pierced the darkness as Ell's fortitude was bolstered.

While Warryn stands there confused, Falser calls out, "Warryn!!!! These guys are bad news. And I’m worried they’re going to eat us!!! Don’t just stand there!!”

Ell goes for the simple way of convincing. "They wanted to rob us. Which probably included taking your plants."

Falser looks over at El, “God you’re beautiful.” He then fires a crossbow at another half-orc, piercing the creature's shoulder.

"What? Really?" Warryn says. Hodgy then runs by a half-orc and screams, "Hey look! I'm a walking talking plant!" in an effort to help Falser.

"Yes!" Ell nods at Warryn's question as she backs up and prepares to blast another orc.

"Don't hurt him!" Warryn shots at the bees come buzzing out of his apron and surround the other half-orc. The bees didn't seem to listen.

While they were able to do some impress damage, the Harper's luck was ill-founded as the half-orcs retaliated brutally. With an iron club, a half-orc rushed from the shadows on Warryn, knocking him twice across the face as he fell unconscious to the floor. A second attacked Ell, quickly bringing her nearly to the point of unconsciousness of death. The third half-orc focused his attacks on Falser, but the blows glanced off of his armor. With Warryn down, Falser placed a healing hand on him, restoring him to consciousness as many of his wounds sealed up and healed. "Ugh, what's going on?" Warryn asks as he stands up.

Ell's crystal came loose during the blows, and it now swings freely from her neck, pulsing red. She gestures at the four remaining orcs. "They're still trying to kill us and take your plants!"

Falser nods toward Ell, “What she said!”

"Oh, right!" Warryn scrambles to his feat, as Hodgy runs over and says, "Use the sickness ray!" Warryn disregarded the advice, opting to run away further into the prison. Seeing the action and knowing her own state of being, Ell opted to do the same, running in the opposite direction and splitting the group up in an effort to spread the half-orcs out.

Their plan didn't exactly work out. Warryn fell once again to another half-orc's, though Ell was able to dodge her attack gracefully. Falser's illusion was able to absorb the first blow, and Falser nimbly dodged the attack, taunting, "Not today, big guy!"

Ell grimaces, launching another eldritch blast at the orc engaged with her. Seeing the actions, the orc dodges the blast, to which Ell counters by vanishing into thin air and reappearing outside the main prison. She rushes over and hides behind a pillar, watching the battle proceed from the shadows. Falser launches another crossbow bolt, striking one of the orcs in the leg, just above the knee.

With Falser being the only Harper visible, the three half-orcs converge on his location, beating him with a flurry of maces. When finished, his body lays cumpled on the floor, his small chest faintly rising and falling. Ell remains behind the pillar, hoping for luck to shine her way. From behind the pillar, Ell hears a half-orc bark out orders to the others, "Tie these hobbits... er... small-folk up for Saruman... er... Groll. I'm going to find that tricky elf-wench." She recognizes the voice coming from the one she wounded.

As she listens, she hears the half-orcs feet move north and away from her southern position. Peeking around the corner, she sees her allies become tied up and tossed over the half-orcs shoulders where they're carried into the prison. The third half-orc soon returns, moving in her direction before grabbing Krodence's body and dragging it into the prison. Waiting till she's clear, she goes and scoops up Hodgy, who is a terrified mess, quivering beside some other bushes which have pushed through the cobblestone. She quickly navigates through the Beggar's Nest, into the sewer, flirts her way past the guards, and then rushes into the Harper compound.

Ell enters the Harpers compound rather disheveled, with Hodgy in tow and no one else. She sits in a chair and leans back while she waits for the rest of the Harpers to show up, exhausted by her tranceless night and the subsequent fight.

Arlanna walks in, followed by the rest of the group. She sees Ell, and immediately looks around for Falser and Warryn. “What happened? Where are they?”

Ell opens her eyes and see the group. "We got in great. Then we ran into five half-orcs in an abandoned prison by the entrance. They got captured."

“What were you doing in an abandoned prison? I thought you were just doing recon!,” Arlanna exclaims.

Grimacing, Rethan says, “Apparently we didn’t have enough else to do. Now it looks like we get to mount a rescue mission as well.”

"We were reconning the prison." Ell sits up, gritting her teeth as she does. "It was right next to the entrance. As in an easy spot to get ambushed from. We figured we should at least take a look, and then we ran into the half-orcs."

Sionann almost drops her tome when she hears Ell say they had some of their own captured. She stays quiet, but the fear is quite clear to read on her face as she hugs the book closer to her chest.

Ell ignores Rethan's comment when she notices Sionann's fear. "The half-orcs knocked them out, rather than killing them, and they said something about a 'nekky fellow's servants', so they should be fine for the immediate future. We killed the one who objected to capturing." 

“He had a plan for this. I told him to make a plan for this. But they’re not in town. He didn’t think about that. I told him that, I think he forgot,” Hodgy whispers, shaking.

“I’m still not sure why you would enter a prison without the rest of the group. It seems a recipe for disaster.” Arlanna looks pointedly at Ell. “I was responsible for him. YOU said you’d handled worse than an over-eager halfling. Now two of the three of you are captured...or worse!” She looks over at Hodgy. “Two of the four...sorry.”

Hodgy simply quivers.

Ell stands up and glares right back at Arlanna. "My apologies, I wasn't expecting to run into five half-orcs with three mages, an animated shrub, and no other backup! Last I checked, I got us into the sewers in the first place, held my own in a fight where I was seriously outmatched, and escaped when it went sour so that we have somewhere to start with our rescue mission other than 'the Beggar's Nest'! Perhaps we could focus on something like a rescue plan, rather than tossing blame around!"

“You wouldn’t have run into five orcs if you had assessed that you had three mages and a shrub and had simply waited for backup!” Arlanna glares right back. "Or reported back and entered with the group!"

"Tell me, what exactly is the point of a recon mission if we don't even recon the most obvious ambush site before leading everyone else in?" Ell crosses her arms. "Were we to just go in through the sewers and then wait for you all to show up? Or bring back the report 'there is a prison outside the sewers, but we don't know anything else and so spent hours in the sewer each way for a ten minute walk in the Nest'?"

Sionann shakes off the fear just a little as she listens to Ell and Arlanna. She curls her fingers around her tome for a bit before firmly stamping her foot on the ground. “Stop it! The both of you!” She shouts, tears at the corner of her eyes. “We are Harpers, and this yelling and finger pointing is not helping!!”

“You can recon around the prison. You can check the status of the people of Beggar’s Nest. You can avoid walking into the large reinforced building with unknown foes!” Arlanna looks over at Hodgy. “What happened in there? Whose idea was this?”

Rethan lays a hand on Arlanna's shoulder.  "Sionann is right.  Playing the blame game right now won't help anyway, we need to make plans on how to get them out. We can sort out the rest later."

Hodgy quivers, “There were gang members, they wanted our money. Falser gave his willingly, Warryn thought they were urchins, he always does, then Lady Ell threw something at the leader, then Warryn...” The shrub begins to make hiccuping sounds.

“Gang members inside the prison?” Arlanna says to Hodgy. “Blame aside, I think it might be best if we got the full story. We need to know what we’re getting into!”

Rethan nods at that.

Ell frowns. "We got past the two guards outside the sewers and saw the prison. We debated climbing a wall, but were informed by Warryn that be doesn't climb walls, which left us the main entrance. So we went in, where three half-orcs were clearly waiting for us. They told us to hand over weapons and coins, but two more showed up, and they had an argument. The leader, Krodence, wanted to kill is, but another one said someone named Groll would want us captured for a "nekky fellow". Falser surrendered his coins and weapons while he somehow duplicated himself and sent the duplicate behind the half-orcs. Warryn also surrendered his coins, but appeared confused about what was going on. He told them to buy some goats. Falser hit them with some spell, I blasted them, and Warryn sent some bees after one. Warryn went down seconds later, Falser healed him, then they both went down. It took every ability at my disposal to get away." Ell looks directly at Arlanna. "Had there been any chance of getting Falser and Warryn away, I would have done it, but they were unconscious and I was outnumbered three to one." 

"Please don't make me go down into the sewer." says Taliesin already knowing he probably won't have a choice. "What happens when the caravan is ready to go but none of us show up like we said we would."

“Depends. Do we all go in through the sewers now to mount the rescue right away, or stick to the original entry plans?”  Rethan looks to Ell. “Did they see you exit or enter the sewer?”

"We could modify the plans a bit. Have everyone but two people go back down to the sewers and the rest meet at the caravan rendezvous point." Taliesin says.

“Good idea,” Rethan says. “Arlanna definitely needs to go with the caravan.  Ell should be the second so she can rest and recover overnight before going back in.” 

Ell nods a silent thanks to Rethan.

Sionann holds up a hand. “I will go with Ell. I didn’t do as much talking with the noble. They won’t mind me being gone.”

"SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!" Taliesin says a little to excitedly. "I'll go with Arlanna to the caravans. I will be honest though, I thought she would've preferred to go into the sewers."

Ell turns to look at Taliesin for a long, long moment.

Arlanna looks at the group. “I don’t really see the point of going with the caravan if we can get in through the sewers. I’m not sure that there is extra information that can be acquired by going that way, and time is of the essence. I also think we need to send our strongest fighters for the rescue, and I’m one of the more experienced fighters here. The Hoffireathe Manor is not far away. I could notify Mara that there has been a change of plans, so they are not waiting for us, and we could all go in through the sewers together. Thoughts?”

"Drats" Taliesin mutters under his breath.

Arlanna looks towards Ell and then at the rest of the group. “If we give Ell a chance to rest and recuperate, we’ll be leaving at the same time as the caravan anyway. If we’re leaving now, I think I should go with the first group. Ell and another who was there when we spoke to Mara could come in with the caravan later. Its not ideal; I really think we should stick together, but I worry about delaying four hours. What do you think?”

Taliesin perks up, "I think that's perfect!"

Ell shrugs. "Give me an hour and I'll be ready to go. Warning, there are two guards posted outside the entrance. For that matter, do you have anybody who knows the way to the entrance, or through the sewers themselves?" 

“Do you know how to get back?” Arlanna says. “If not, we might have to take the caravan anyway. If you remember how to get through the sewers, I can run down during the hour and let Mara know what is happening. Then we can leave as soon as you’re ready.”

“I’d rather leave sooner, if possible. You went there and back. Surely you can find the way again!” Arlanna says to Ell.

Hodgy stops hiccuping, "I'd like to come too. Once I'm near Warryn I can talk to him."

Ell nods. "I'll do my best." She musters a smile. "Maybe Hodgy can help me!" Then she heads upstairs for her nap. 

Mal looks grim as the story of what transpired in the Nest is told to all. "As much as I hate to say it, i agree time is of the essence. We need to move to free our captured allies as soon as possible. Not only are thier lives at risk, but they could be forced to reveal other infirmation as well and compromise the Harpers." He looks as though he can smell the sewers already, but understands the gravity of the situation. As the others continue to discuss the options, Mal departs the room, returning shortly after. No longer dressed in his finery, he now looks much more ready for the task ahead, in nondescript garments of black and shades of greys more suitable to work in the shadows.

Arlanna watches Ell leave and heads out into the city to inform Mara of the change of plans. She returns less than an hour later, ready to leave as soon as the group has assembled.

With a simple note tacked on the old Hoffireathe's warehouse's door by Arlanna, the Harpers gear up and set out for the sewer entrance.

During the walk to the sewer entrance, Ell goes over to Arlanna. "I wanted to tell you that I understand your reaction to what happened on the recon mission. You were right-I told you I would keep an eye on Falser, and I messed up, and I'm sorry for that." She looks embarrassed for a moment. "I'd also like to apologize for the way I acted earlier. I-I don't like appearing weak in front of anyone, especially not people that I like." She gives a small, slightly sad smile, and turns to go.

Arlanna stops her. “Wait! Thank you. I get it. I’ve grown up in this world. Weakness really isn’t an option. And I never asked to have to protect Falser, and to be frank, he’s been a bit of a thorn in my side. He means well, but he just seems to go out if his way to make everything...harder. I feel like he takes  joy in it. But I don’t want to see him hurt. I’m worried about him.” She stops for a moment, realization dawning. I’m not even sure I even understood all of this until just now. I’m sorry I took it out on you.” She pauses. “For the record, I still think it was a poor choice to go into the prison, but I understand it was probably not solely your choice. If I had to guess, I would imagine that the little rascal had something to do with it. I’m not angry. I’m just worried about them.”

Ell's smile widens and becomes genuinely happy. "Honestly, upon further thought, I think you're right about the prison. But it's not fair for me to let Falser take the fall-I had a part in the choice to enter as well. And I'm worried too, especially because it kind of feels like I did get them in this mess." Ell tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and grins. "Now shall we go get them out? I spent my trance going over what happened directly before the fight, and I've got a lot of names and a few theories..."

Arlanna smiles back. “I think we all need to hear everything you’ve got. Any advantage we can have going into this will give us a better chance of rescuing them.”

Meanwhile for poor Falser and Warryn's current state-of-being...
Warryn and Falser wake up naked inside separate cells within a dimly lit room. The stench of blood and foul odor clings to the air as it forces its way up their nostrils, causing them to cough and nearly gag as their senses adjust. Glancing around, the situation seems dim: Stone walls surround each of them on three sides, and the four side is patterned with criss-cross iron bars. An iron bar door allows entry and exit into their cells.

“Baravar Cloakshadow! There was no reason for this!” Warryn exclaims as he surveys his surroundings.

Falser sits up, spitting a bit of blood onto the cold ground. “Whelp. I’m beaten, bloody, it smells like shit, and I can barely see. I think I’m home. Warryn, other than in a cell, are you okay?”

“Um, yeah? This is pretty bad.” Warryn says.

Falser stretches standing up. “Yes. It could be worse though. We could be dead. Also, I don’t see Ell or Hodgy so maybe they got away.”

Warryn is soon to work as his mind whirls with ideas of escape. He settles down near the iron-barred door and begins the long process of transmuting the iron bars into wood. With Warryn and Falser awake and talking, they hear something stir in one of the corners. A shallow moaning creeps out of a throat as a zombie lurches towards them. As it slowly moved forward, they hear the sound of chains clinging against metal, and a metal collar tightly fastened around the thing's neck.

“Warryn!!! Tell me you see and or hear this?!” Falser exclaims with a frantic voice.

"Yep, um, I don't think it's our most important problem." Warryn says, "Do you have any fire? Fire starters, fire magic, anything really."

“A lot of my stuff is of a spiritual nature. But I got one real good blast in me. Should be able to get you out,” Falser replies. As if rambling, he continues, "

[... And more to come!]

“Warryn, I can probably take out the shambley Guy. But getting out of your door is probably on you. I got you." Falser says, "Just run and don’t look back.”

"Actually, I'm pretty useless without my trowel, right now I should just stay put." Warryn says, knocking the now wooden bars of his cell.

“Hey Warryn. Why do your bars sound like that??” Falser asks.

"I turned it into wood for an hour." Warryn remarks nonchalantly.

Falser slaps his forehead, “Warryn!!! That’s amazing!!! We just got to figure out a way to break through the wood!!!” Falser is pacing his own cell. “Maybe check to see if there’s any bones or sticks or anything in the cell with you to start bending the wooden bars!!”

"Ooh! And I can make the sticks into iron! Good thinking!" Warryn begins to rummaging around his cell.

Falser jumps up and down. “You got this friend. One of us can get out of this.”

Warryn and Falser search frantically for bits of bone or sticks that they might fashion into weapons while the zombie mindlessly rotates between their two cells, banging against the bars and reaching in. Warryn's cell holds a full human skeleton that was once chained to the wall. In Falser's cell, he finds a full femur amidst other broken bones.

Falser holds up the femur bone. “Warryn! I found a leg bone thing.”

"That's great! I found two!" Warryn says looking at the skeleton.

Falser chuckles, “Show off!”

Warryn laughs, "We're both showing off a bit more than that."

Falser laughs then stifles the noise, “This is why we’re friends”

Falser, now focused on the zombie, blasts radiant energy at it. “That’s right! Ugly!! Keep looking at me!!” Falser shouts.

The zombie moans in a higher tone in response.

While Warryn works on turning his femur into iron, Falser slowly radiates the zombie into a seared mess that eventually bursts into bits which scatter across the dungeon as the energy becomes too much for its undead husk to handle.

“Yes!!” Falser starts bowing. “Thank you lords and ladies. Please hold your applause. Warryn!! How we coming on the strong stick! I don’t want to rush you. But I want to rush you!!!”

"Give it a few minutes..." Warryn mutters, deep in concentration.

With the Zombie vaporized, Falser waits patiently for a few minutes while Warryn's spell slowly ironizes the femur, turning it into a fearsome metal club. The spell completed, Warryn hefts a heavy metal femur in his hands.

Warryn lifts up the heavy metal femur and begins bashing at the wood. After a minute of struggle, he's able to break enough of the bars that he can squeeze his tiny gnome frame through the cage and into the hallway.

“Warryn. Make sure you see me before you make a break for it. There’s one more thing I can do for you before you make a break for it.” Falser comes up close to the bars of cell door.

Warryn looks up and down the hallway, “So I shouldn’t try to break you out? It’ll only take a few minutes and you’ve already dealt with our guard.”

“No! I mean break me out pal!" Falser hastily explains, "Break me out!”

Warryn transmutes the iron and proceeds to bash a halfling sized hole in the door.

Falser steps out. He hugs a naked Warryn. “I’m fully aware of how awkward this is. I’m just really grateful.” He pulls away. “Let’s get out of here!”

Warryn seizes up, "You're welcome."

Warryn hands Falser the iron femur, "You can probably make better use of this."

The hallway is 30 feet long, with three cells on either side. On one end, the hallway ends at a wall where the zombie's chain was looped around. The other end of the chain lies on the ground in a messy pile. The opposite end of the hallway ends at a wooden door with a 6 by 6 inch viewing portal with a metal grate over it.

Taking his mighty iron femur, Falser bashed against the iron lock. While his muscles were small, they were mighty, and after a tiring minute of bashing against the lock, he finally dismantled it enough that with one last, mighty heave, he tore it from the metal loop. With the door unlocked, Falser and Warryn were finally making progress on escaping from their dimly lit, iron-bound prison. Peeking out of a small crack, Falser surveyed the outside area. He saw a large room, very dark, whose shadows seemed to dance and move underneath the lone torch's light. Old stains of blood decorated the stone, as bits of bones, shackles chained to several pillars, and the smell of death swept across his senses. A lone creature, standing under the torchlight, stared at him ominously with a wicked smile splayed across its horrid face. Its eyes glowed a pale-blue light as an elongated tongue slipped through a part of its decayed face, lashing around the air, as if tasting the air's scent.

“Well Warryn. I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“The bad news is there’s a weird creature that looks undead and terrifying and it made eye contact with me with its glowing blue eyes. It’s also got a long tongue and looks like it’s decaying.”

"The good news?" Warryn asks.

“We have a lovely door to protect us from the weird creature!” Falser says injecting his voice with false hope, “I do have one spell left. We could hit it and make a run for it. Better to wait for a Calvary that may not come or take a chance for freedom?”

Warryn makes a face, "I've got nothing against the undead, and we're not exactly in the best of conditions..."

Falser sighs. “I understand. It just sucks to get this close. Why don’t we rest for a bit. See if things look better in a few.”

"Why not?" Warryn shrugs.

As the two discuss, they hear a horrid, sing-song voice coming from the other side of the door. "Come out and play! It's time to be gaaaaaay! It's time to go! It's time to knoooooow!"

“Warryn! Get back in your cell!” Falser cries.

Warryn dashes back to his cell, shrinking along the back wall. Falser starts backing up from door. Keeping his eye forward, as he backs toward his own cell. Making sure Warryn gets in. Falser crawls into Warryn’s cell through the tiny opening.

As Falser drew the iron door closed and backed up, the door flung open, revealing the ghoul once again. It sang, "It's time to gooooo! It's time to knoooow! Come with meeeee! Or I'll feeeeeeeeeee....ast on your flesh!"

"It sounds like you'll feast on our flesh either way." Warryn whispers.

"Maybe a nibble or twooooo! But master says neeeeeeeeeewww!" the ghoul replied in sing-song, advancing on the two shortfolk.

“If you take a nibble. We will tell Master. And you don’t want that.” Falser chides.

His eyes went wide as Falser mentioned his master. "You know maaaasssssteeeeerrr? This is a disaaasssssteeeeerrr!"

Falser nods his head. “We don’t want to upset Master do we?”

"Nooooo! Which is why we must gooooo! You must beeeeee! In our familyyyyyy!" he ushered with a sharpened claw for the shortfolk to follow him.

Warryn inches forward, waiting to see what Falser does.

Falser grabs Warryn’s hand, squeezes it, and gives him blessing of the trickster, giving him advantage on stealth checks for the next hour. “Just in case.” Falser takes some halting steps forward. “Why don’t you lead the way. I’ll bring up the rear. Make sure this little one doesn’t make a break for it. Master needs bodies.”

The ghoul nodded, almost appreciatively as he lead them through the maze of twisting rooms filled with decay. "Off we gooo! To the floooowww! To the River Styyyyyx! Hold onto your diiiiiicks!"

Eventually, the trio reached a break in the prison wall which reached into the sewers beneath Neverwinter.

As they travelled, Falser noticed that the ghoul rarely would look behind as he led them through the passageways.

With Falser's literal blessing, the two smallfolk slip away from the "watchful" ghoul's oversight as he continues to sing songs regarding death and the various ways to prepare humanoid flesh. A minute passes before both the ghoul and its wretched sing-song voice disappear from your senses, leaving the both of you alone in the foul blackness of the sewer.(edited)

"Stay behind me, I'll move slowly." Warryn whispers.

Under cover of blackness, Warryn guided Falser through the sewers, having no recollection of the passageways he moved through. It was hard to tell the passage of time in the darkness, and the sewers seemed to be like a maze. Just when he thought they might be lost in the black landscape forever, he saw a passageway, barely shining a reddish light, leading up to the surface. Moving up the twisting set of stairs, Warryn and Falser popped out just on the east side of Neverdeath within the Beggar's Nest.

Falser smiles. “ What did I tell you pal? Things have a way of working themselves out. Let’s make our way to the sewer entrance and see if we can catch up to everyone at the inn. I’m sure Arlanna has been perfectly pleasant that I haven’t returned.” Falser sets out for the sewer entrance above ground.

"How do we get out of the Beggar's Nest?" Warryn asks, "We're also naked and my- MY SPELLBOOK!"

“Whelp. Looks like I’m free balling it. We will get your book back Warryn. We just need to get some backup first.” Falser says after doing a cursory glance around looking for clothes.

"My spellbook! I can't do anything without my spellbook! I have my records in there! What if Hodgy dies while I don't have it! Oh, Oppah won't forgive me if I lose it!"

“Warryn buddy. You helped get us out of a locked prison with no spellbook and no clothes. All you had was your wits. We will get it back. Hodgy will be fine until then. And I don’t really know Oppah that well, but would she be more upset about losing you? Or losing a spellbook?” Falser looks at him. “I need you buddy. We have a ways to go, and when we get there we can both have a freak out. Until then, we have to focus and stay alive.”

While Falser and Warryn discuss, awful howling and screaming echoes through the sewers, rising up through the staircase of the sewer entrance. Warryn recognizes the sounds as a pack of ghouls.

Warryn’s eyes go wide, “Hide,” he whispers.

“Hide or run?” Falser whispers back.

"Either!" Warryn whispers.

Falser sets off running, grabbing Warryn’s hand as he does. The two adventurers dive in and out of alleyways as they make their way to the sewer entrance. Running through the streets naked, the cold temperature bit at their skin as they breeze by. Thankfully, with it barely becoming dawn, the streets were hardly filled with people, though those that did see them were given a wide range of expressions and cat-calls. Out of breath, the shortfolk duo arrived at the edge of the clearing surrounding the sewer entrance and the prison. They saw their companions just beginning to skulk towards the prison, navigating through the debris towards the wall.

Earlier that day...

Upon arrival, they see a change in guard as two new Neverwintan soldiers stand vigilant, the area around them illuminated by torches.

Arlanna looks at Ell. “How did you get through last time?”

Ell frowns at the changes around the entrance. "I pretended to be an idiotic noble who dropped her wedding ring in the pool and flirted my way in. But I don't think that'll work this time."

"I could pretend to be a ranking officer commanding them to let us pass. If they question us I can tell them it is a mission of secrecy and I am not allowed to tell them." Taliesin suggests, uncertain of what the others will think.

“There are also a lot more of us who have to pass this time,” Arlanna says.

"I'd just tell them you’re all specialized mercenaries hired by us." Taliesin says, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Ell glances at Taliesin. "Do you have a uniform or anything that would convince them you are a ranking officer?"

"Of course, how do you think I tricked you guys into thinking I was an all-powerful demon!" Taliesin says with a chuckle.

"So...an illusion. Got it." Ell smiles. "Anyway, what's your name, oh ranking officer? And rank, for that matter."

As Ell asks her question you hear Taliesin strum his lyre with a delicate splendor. Before your eyes where Taliesin once stood is now a gruff middle-aged human with salt and pepper speckled hair, "Captain Grundy. Now let's get a move on before my superiors get upset with our lack of progress."

Sionann just hangs back quietly. She keeps her eyes on Taliesin as she clutches her tome closer to her chest. She does keep close to Ell, as well.

Captain Grundy moves forward out from the alley leading the group to the guards. "Attention!"

Once Captain Grundy sees the two guards snap to attention he'll say, "At ease."

"I have been given special permission to guide these specialized mercenaries into the Beggar's Nest by orders of my superiors on a classified mission. You are to hold your post and carry out your duties as normal. These men and women as well as myself have been granted special, unrestricted access into the Beggar's Nest and are not to be hindered in any way. Do I make myself clear?" Captain Grundy responds with the voice of absolute authority.

Ell watches Taliesin carefully as he talks to the guards, curious to see how well he can use his abilities in situations other than pranks.

One of the guards scratched their head while the other put his hand on his sheathed blade. "I know all of Neverwinter's current militia and we don't have any Captain Grundy!" He looked to the five of them and then to his fellow guard, who instinctively began pulling out a horn.

Malquis smiled pleasantly as he stepped forward, holding out his hand. "Now, now! Gentlemen, no need to do that. While my friend lies, I assure you our mission is for Neverwinter's safety."

Sionann, not taking any chances, pointed to the air above the two guards. Sionann panics internally as she fears for the worst happening right now. She whispers, "dream sweet, rest well," as she focuses her energy to cast the sleep spell above both of them.

The horn fell out of one of the guard's hands as their heads sunk down, both of them falling into a deep stupor of sleep while still standing.

“Good work,” Rethan says

Malquis nodded his head in approval. "Yes, well done. I was hoping one of you could incapacitate them without harm."

Ell watches the two guards drop and grins at Sionann. "Great job, Sionann."

Sionann smiles a little as she relaxes her stance some, though she still cradles the tome to her chest. "I'm glad it worked, thank you." She replies as she motions with her head. "They should be out for a while, at least long enough for us to enter. We should hurry, though, just in case."

Ell nods and turns to the sewer entrance. "Now, let's see how well I remember our route, shall we?"

Rethan grimaces at the smell as they approach the entrance. “I sure hope you do. I don’t want to spend any longer in there than we have to.

Malquis speaks quietly as they make their way toward the entrance. "Nicely done, Sionann. No harm to these men simply doing their job, though I expect if we meet them again it won't go so smoothly." He, too, could smell the sewers ahead. "Lets just get this over with and find the others."

"I can cast that spell too you know...." you can't help but sense a little bit of jealousy in his voice. Taliesin drops his concentration and shifts back into his original form. As he approaches the entrance to the sewers with the others he can't help but pinch his nose, "Ugh, that stinks... Let's make this quick, I don't want to be in there any longer than I have to."

Arlanna follows, glad to see a spark of resourcefulness in Sionann, a clue that there is more to her than the mousey wallflower she has presented. She rushes past Taliesin, and moves up towards Ell, placing herself as close to the front of the group as possible. “How far is it?” she whispers to her companion.

Ell smiles reassuringly. "Thirty to forty five minutes, depending on our speed." She ignores most of the group's complaining and heads into the sewers.

Following behind Ell's guidance, the group descended into the dank, smelly, and dark sewers. Ell's path was filled with twists and turns, and more than once the group had to dredge through sewage to cross to the other side. At times, it really did seem like Ell was lost, but just before the frustration broke into verbiage, Ell brought the group to the sewer entrance adjacent to the old prison compound nearly an hour later.

Upon reaching the entrance Taliesin turns to the group, "Would you like Mal and I to scout ahead and see what we can find?"

“I could be of use for scouting as well,” Rethan adds.

"I agree, on second thought, maybe we should have Arlanna, Rethan, and Mal go instead. The rest of us can wait here until you return." Taliesin says, obviously uncomfortable in his surroundings.

“That works for me.” Arlanna says. “Besides,” she grins and crinkles her nose, “you positively stink Taliesin. What were you doing, walking through sewers? Whatever would’ve compelled you to do that?”

Rethan chuckles at the joke.

"You guys dragged me down here! Trust me, this is the last place I would've wanted to be!" Taliesin says, quite annoyed.

Sionann giggles just a little at Arlanna’s jab to Taliesin. “We all don’t smell much better than him, but putting that aside...”

Ell laughs softly. "Sounds like a plan. When we came out, the area was abandoned, but I'm not sure if that'll still be the case. Stay safe and all that."

Arlanna looks over at Elle. “I’m happy to scout ahead with the others. What can we expect when we get out of the tunnels? What did you encounter when you emerged last time?”

"I believe you're in the area of the Beggar's Nest near the river. I heard a lot of water, at least." Ell nibbles her lip. "The prison is pretty much right there. There are a few gaps in the wall that have been patched up with wood and such. I'm fairly sure the half-orcs didn't see me enter the sewers, but they may have seen the three of us exit, as I'm unsure how long they were watching us before they ambushed us. As I said, the area was abandoned last time, but that may no longer be the case."

“So how much scouting did you guys actually do before you went into the prison? How much did you learn about the surrounding area?” Arlanna says curiously.

Ell shakes her head. "Not much, and we didn't learn anything particularly useful. Lots of abandoned houses. The prison building is surrounded by a stone wall, topped with barbed wire. There are two broken down sections of the wall, each of which are filled with crates, rubble, wood, that sort of thing. Inside the prison, there's an antechamber-type area with several pillars, then another

“Did you talk to any citizens, or find out anything about efforts that have been put in towards finding a cure?” Arlanna cocks her head and looks at Ell with confusion. “How far did you search beyond the immediate vicinity of the sewer exit?”

"Our plan was to work our way our from the exit, and the area was abandoned, so we decided to take a quick look inside the prison before continuing. Then, we were ambushed, and you know the rest." Ell sighs. "So we didn't really get that far past the exit, which I find just as irritating as you do."

“Did you try to stop them?” Arlanna says? “I don’t know much about Warryn, but I know that Falser is young and inexperienced. He would want to run into the big shiny prison without thinking logically first. Did you explain to him that it would be better to scout the area and then go into the prison once the group got here?”

Ell frowns. "We looked around the area, and it was abandoned. We wanted to check the prison before moving on to the next area so that we would a) know what was in there, and b) not get attacked from it on our way back to the sewer entrance. We were going to climb one of the barricades to take a look that way, but apparently Warryn doesn't climb walls. Remember, we didn't know that it was full of half-orcs. And our plan wasn't to just run in; it was to quietly take a look. We didn't know we'd already been seen."

Arlanna looks suspicious. “Of course you didn’t know the prison was full of half-orcs. You didn’t know what it was full of. It could have been anything! Perhaps there was a reason that this entire area was abandoned. I’m sure your plan wasn’t to run into the prison...that would be idiotic. Sneaking into a fortified unknown stronghold is just as dangerous. If you hadn’t gotten out, we might never have found you. Any of you. Did you talk to one single person who lived in Beggar’s Nest before storming the prison?”

Ell grits her teeth. "We. Did. Not. Storm. The prison." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "The entire Beggar's Nest could be full of anything. The point of a recon mission is to find out what there actually is. No, we did not talk to anyone before entering the prison, because we expected to be able to do it after entering, because we thought it was abandoned, and therefore no more dangerous than any other building in the Beggar's Nest. I don't really see the point in rehashing this argument at the time, as it's not going to get us anywhere."

Arlanna’s eyes flash with anger. “I was trying repeatedly to get an answer to a very simple question that has now been answered. No, the three of you did not speak to anyone in Beggar’s Nest before deciding to go into the large, intimidating, fortified structure without backup. You assumed it was abandoned because the houses were abandoned, not thinking that they may have been abandoned because of what was in the prison. I agree that this argument isn’t getting us anywhere, but perhaps it will make us all aware that we need to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to strategy. I think hindsight has shown us that the strategy that the three of you employed the last time you were here was a poor one. Did any single member of the group argue against going into the prison? “

Ell's crystal glows a dark red, and she crosses her arms. "No. And I am perfectly happy to admit that it was a mistake for the three of us to enter alone. However, I still believe that there was some merit in looking, since it was a prime ambush site for when the whole group exited the sewers. Yes, in hindsight we did not make the best decision. But for us, in the moment the more logical assumption was that the area was abandoned due to the plague, and that the prison was just as abandoned. Had it been occupied, it would have been useful to know that. Had it not, it could have made a good base of operations for us. Either way, we wanted to look before moving on."

“In hindsight, I shouldn’t have assumed that age and experience automatically gave someone the necessary skills to make logical and rational decisions on a recon mission.” Arlanna looks pointedly at Ell. “I’m not saying that the other two are not at fault, but they are younger and less experienced.”

"Personally, I'm not sure that your logic is sound," Rethan says to Ell, joining the conversation. "We weren't coming into beggar's nest to looking for a fight, our goal was to find out what was going on with the plague and try to find a cure. I don't know that the status of the prison matters much at all for that goal. And if the entire group was going to get ambushed coming out of the sewers, it still probably wouldn't have gone any worse than the 'recon' attempt did..."

"More relevant to the current situation though, you said there were some holes in the wall of the prison that had been patched? Did they look like they could be used to access the prison without using the front entrance?”

Ell goes completely pale at Arlanna's comment, the lack of color very evident against her dark skin. Seeming to barely hear Rethan's comment, she explodes. "Just because I'm over two hundred does not mean I spent all my years gaining some sort of executive experience! The first century I was a child in the Feywild, and the next a sl-" She cuts herself off, tears glittering at the corner of her eyes, and her crystal pulsing bright red, then turns and storms several feet deeper into the sewers. The glow of her crystal is just visible through the darkness.

Arlanna stops, suddenly, anger dissipating as she sees the pain in Elle’s eyes. She runs towards the red glow, circling around to stop her retreat. “Wait, I’m sorry. That was harsh. I shouldn’t have assumed you were more experienced...you just came across as... well, not new to this. What were you starting to say?”

By the time Arlanna reaches her, Ell's tears have fallen, and she's crying quietly. At Arlanna's appearance, she starts, and wipes her eyes hurriedly, mustering a small smile. "It's all right, I do my best to seem as experienced as possible-I should be glad you assumed I was." At Arlanna's question, she pauses, seeming to weigh something in her mind. "I-I spent the second century of my life in Calimport." She hesitates, then forges ahead. "Against my will."

Arlanna puts her hand gently against Ell’s arm. “I know there’s far more to this story than you have time for know. I truly want to hear it, though I know most of it will have to wait. How did you go from Calimport to here? How long have you been a Harper? Who trained you?”

Ell swallows, her hand going to a second cord around her neck. "I got here over the course of five years, with a lot of traveling. I haven't been a Harper long-just a few years. And I wasn't trained, per se. Someone offered me a way out of a very bad situation, and I took it, but it has a price." As she speaks her last sentence, her crystal flickers red as if a mote of fire is trapped inside it.

Arlanna’s eyes flicker to the necklace. “Does that have something to do with it? The price?”

Ell looks down at her necklace, startled. "What? Oh, no. It's just a way for me to access and focus my power. It's attuned to my emotions, as well as certain memories, including the moment I got it."

Taliesin just stands and watches the group. Maybe he's distracted, maybe he's high on drugs, who knows....

“I’d love to hear more. I know this isn’t the time for this discussion, but I’m hoping we can talk further. Are you okay to join the group?” Arlanna says.

Ell takes a deep breath and nods. "Yeah. Thanks for listening. I-It meant a lot." She turns to head back towards the group, arranging her face into a smile as she tucks her hair behind her ear.

Arriving back at the group, El smiles. "Sorry about ignoring your question, Rethan. Yes, I do think the barricades could be used to access the prison without going through the main entrance, although it may be a difficult climb." Looking at her, you'd never guess she'd been in tears mere moments before.

Rethan nods. "That's probably our best way to catch them by surprise then."

Coming to a loose consensus, the group followed Ell's guidance through the last stretch of the sewer, arriving at the entrance which led up to the other side of the wall separating the Beggar's Nest from the rest of Neverwinter. Reaching the top, the group saw the sky painted in dark purples and crimson reds, hinting at dawn's inevitable rise in just an hour from then. Around the bend of the stairs, the northern flank of the prison's walls stood perhaps one-hundred paces away from them, a blank, open slate of broken cobblestone and debris standing between them and the wall.

Mal stayed quiet through the argument. It seemed to him the earlier group had made the right decision based on the information they had, but there was no reason to say that out loud. "We've wasted enough time. Who is scouting ahead? Arlanna, Renthan and I? It’s getting light, we need to go now."

"I think that was the plan," Rethan replies. "We should head out."

A bruised, beaten, bloody and very naked Falser comes running up behind the group before they traverse into the prison. Warryn is not too far behind him. “Hey gang. You may want to hold off on that. The whole walking into the prison thing. Does anyone have like a blanket or something?”

"Warryn!" Hodgy cries, "Oh my! They took everything." Hodgy waddles over and acts as cover for Warryn. "Thank you buddy," Warryn smiles, "But I would also like a blanket."

Warryn's bush concealed his other bush as they stood in the darkened opening amidst their Harper allies.

Sionann nods to Mal and Rethan. "Sounds better. I'll stay back here with the others." She pipes up just before Warryn and Falser appeared. Sionann blinks a little at Falser before reaching out to touch his shoulder. "I do have a blanket, hold on." She says as she reaches into her pack. She frowns a little as she reaches the bottom. "Well... I don't have a blanket, but I do have a costume. Unfortunately, it would be too big for you, Falser..."

Ell blinks in surprise as Falser runs up, then just shakes her head. "Hi, Falser. Warryn. I think I've got a blanket in here somewhere." She reaches into her backpack and pulls out a brown blanket that she hands to him.

Falser puts the blanket around Warryn and wraps the too large costume around himself, his fingers trembling. He smiles weakly at Sionann and Ell. He looks like a stiff breeze would knock him over. “Thank you both. Yeah we thought we’d save you all some time and just rescue ourselves. I’m really glad you’re okay Ell and you too Hodgy! Warryn was worried about you buddy. There’s something awful going on in that prison. Maybe we could find somewhere less out in the open. There’s got to be an inn or something."

Sionann smiles a little. "Glad to see you both safe. Yes, there should be someplace we can take this..." She looks to Rethan as she says this.

Arlanna looks at Falser, takes a deep breath prepared to launch into a tirade, and then stops herself. “I’d offer to scout ahead, but, at this point, it’s probably better for us to stay together. I say we bypass the prison for now and venture into a more populated area. Perhaps we can find an inn and speak to some of the citizens. Gather information before we determine what to do next.”

"Um, I could use a wand, or a crystal." Warryn pipes up.

Falser makes eye contact with Arlanna. He’s hoping beyond hope for praise or acknowledgement and expecting admonishment or scorn. When none are given, he wraps himself further in the costume and just concentrates on staying upright.

"I'm glad you guys made it out okay," Rethan says as he takes in the two former prisoners. "Do they know you escaped?"

"Yes, very much so." Warryn nods.

"Were they following you?" Rethan peers towards the prison.

Falser nods and looks up at Rethan. “They’re very much aware. There’s Dark magic taking place. Warryn and I were being led to someone to be used as a sacrifice or be used as soldiers when we made our break for it. Let’s get off the street.”

"Nekky I think?" Warryn shrugs, "Nothing good at the least."

Rethan nods and takes a tight grip on his javelin, keeping an eye out for anyone coming.

Rethan's eyes saw no enemies in the dark environment, slowly being illuminated by the dawn's light. Instead, he only saw two smallfolk on the brink of passing out from their poorly healing wounds.

Arlanna looks over at Falser, beaten and bruised. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she says gruffly. “Annoyed you almost died, but glad you’re alive. Can we help to quickly heal you up a bit before we venture further, just in case we run into trouble?” She takes a side glance at Taliesin, knowing he might be the only one that has the healing abilities to help them.

Falser smiles broadly, “Arlanna! I didn’t know you cared. That’s officially the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Falser claps Warryn on the back and casts cure wounds, using his last spell slot. “We’ll be good should a fight arise.”

Taliesin looks back at Arlanna, "I'm sorry, I'm not yet skilled enough with my magical abilities to do that yet. I could work on it though, it would definitely come in handy."

“Hey I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine. I do think I’m going to lie down for a second though. Because.... bacon bald eagle banana.” Falser words slur together and he passes out. With the adrenaline wearing off, he collapses in a heap on the ground in front of the group.

Warryn nods, “I understand this is less than ideal, but I can do zip without my trowel in a fight. I need a wand and Falser needs to sleep. We won’t find great accommodations here nor any arcane instruments. We have to go home.”

“Hang on,” Arlanna says. “Three of us decided to go into Beggar’s Nest, knowing we’d be exposed to this plague. Already, one of those three left and returned to the city, hopefully not bringing the sickness to the population outside. I understand that the rest of us haven’t yet encountered other people, but we have all interacted with each other. We know nothing of this disease. We could have already been exposed to it through the sewers, or anything else we’ve touched. Are you suggesting that we all go back into the city, potentially exposing this plague to everyone out there?”

“Oh. I didn’t think about that.” Warryn says quietly.

She looks down at Falser, and back up at the group. “Seriously, did not one of us come in here with a healing potion?”

Taliesin smiles embarrassingly, "Sorry, too poor to afford one..."

Ell smiles at Taliesin. "What, with your dice skills?" She switches her attention to Arlanna. "I agree that it would be extremely risky to exit into the city, but at the same time, we're a mess. Two members of our group have absolutely no equipment, and one of them is dead unconscious." She gestures at Falser. "We need somewhere safe to rest and resupply, and I'm not sure there is anywhere in the Nest we can do that."

"I don't care what we do. Quite frankly I feel like any place is better than here." says Taliesin offering his input.

Arlanna thinks for a moment. "I never really spent much time in Beggar's Nest, even prior to the plague, but I was required to know where Harper hideouts were as part of my training. My information may be out-of-date at this point, but I know there was an old hideout near hear. I could probably get us to it, assuming it still exists."

Ell nods. "Sounds like a plan. Everybody okay with that?"

"ABSOLUTELY!" Taliesin agrees a little too excitedly.

Ell rolls her eyes at Taliesin's enthusiastic response with an amused smile. "I think we all could have guessed that answer, Taliesin. Is everybody else good with that plan?"

“I agree that it would be irresponsible for us to leave the quarantined area again,” Rethan adds.

Mal looks around, sizing up the situation. "If you know of an old safe house, Arlanna, that does seem like the best first option. Otherwise, Ell mentioned that you'd found most of this area was deserted. If all else fails, we can hole up in an abandoned building. Someplace defensible, preferably."

Arlanna leads them towards the place she remembers from hours of maps and rote memorization. She tries as much as possible to stay towards the shadows, but stays observant of the condition and attitudes of those that they pass along the way.

The building Arlanna led the group to looked no more than a normal house situated in the Beggar's Nest: it was run down. Even opening the front door, it was clear that the house had seen usage from time to time. They discovered that the place was a mess since Mount Hotenow's eruption and Cymril's betrayal years later. One thing that all Harper hideouts shared in common though was a secret room hidden behind a bookshelf. The idea extended to the first Harper ideals: knowledge is power that anyone can acquire. Opening the bookshelf with a hidden lever, it swung open, revealing a room large enough to house them with basic supplies stored neatly in two different chests.

"Thank goodness we got out of there. Those sewers are disgusting and smelly." Taliesin says, obviously relived to be somewhere other than the sewers.

“I’m not sure you’re going to find a bath here,” Arlanna says wryly.

"It's better than sitting down there absorbing the aroma." Taliesin replies.

Arlanna walks over to the chest of supplies and looks through them, searching for anything that will help the group, particularly healing potions.

Ell shakes her head with amusement at Taliesin's relief and goes to search the other chest.

Sionann stands to the side and starts looking around. The history of the place seems to have caught her eye.

Arlanna rummages through the chest. She tosses a bundle of clothing, ragged and worn by time at Taliesin. “Here!” she says, “if you’re so worried about your smell, you can change!” She pulls out a healing kit and sets it aside for Falser, and a vial of shimmering red liquid. “Can anyone identify this?” she asks. “Hang on,” she says, suddenly remembering her naked friends. “Taliesin, you’re just gonna have to stink for a while longer. Please hand those clothes to Falser and Warryn. Nudity trumps smell.”

"Arlanna, these are poor people's clothes. I can't wear poor people's clothes, I'm not a poor person! I have a reputation to uphold!" says Taliesin haughtily.

"WHAT?" Warryn says, furrowing his brow.

“You’d rather smell like a sewer than wear poor people’s clothes?” Rethan asks. “Not that it matters since warryn and falser need the clothes more. “

"I happen to have a perfectly clean change of clothes thank you very much." with that Taliesin moves over to one of the cots on the other side of the room and begins to take off his clothes without a care. When finished he'll simply put on a fresh pair of underpants, climb in the cot, and fall asleep.

Warryn scowls, "Poverty is not something to be derogatory about."

Arlanna bites her tongue, secretly wishing Falser were awake. That scalliwag would’ve had Taliesin’s clothes, both stinky and spare, into a vermin-soiled corner of the room before Taliesin had slept for 5 minutes. He probably would’ve urinated on them for good measure. She picks up Falser and gently places him on one of the four cots to rest.

Falser sleeps hard. The sleep only interrupted by occasional dreams of a ghoulish visage and his sing song voice echoing like ripples in a pond.

Rethan, tired of Taliesin’s attitude, waits for him to fall asleep then rummages through the other mans pack and pulls out the clean change of clothes.

Rethan looks the clothes over, then looks around at the others still awake. “There’s no way these clothes will work. He’ll stick out like a sore thumb in Beggar’s Nest.”

Arlanna looks at Rethan, attempting to smother an inadvertent grin that begins to appear.

Ell glances over at Rethan with a small smile. "Yes, yes he will. However, he'll also likely insist on wearing them if possible, so..."

“Well, he should get his pants out of the knot they’re in and suck it up for the better of this mission.” Sionann pipes up after a bit.

Arlanna looks at Warryn and Ell. “You two should take the other cots. You need the quality rest the most.” She takes out her bedroll and sets it up close to Falser, tucking the vial of red liquid into her pack to identify later.

Sionann doesn't roll out a bedroll. She just clears a spot in the corner and sets her pack up where she could sleep on the floor. She only waves goodnight to those still up and promptly passes out, not covering herself with a blanket.

"So we agree we can't let him go out in these," Rethan says, hefting the clothes. "What do we do about it? Dirty them? Hide them? Rip em up?"

"What?" says Arlanna. "You don't think, given the choice, that Taliesin will willingly damage his ... fine clothing... she says this with careful emphasis, given the cheap, garish fabric meant to imitate noble finery in look but not quality.

Rethan chuckles. "Sure. That sounds JUST like something he would do..."

"Do you think dirt will help it to blend in, or is that fabric beyond all hope of subtlety?" Arlanna asks Rethan.

With a shrug, Rethan replies, "Hard to say. With enough dirt, maybe a couple tears...maybe? On the other hand, this was a rather poor part of town even before the plague, so it may stand out regardless."

"I'd certainly prefer to trust that he could make the right choice, but he hasn't exactly been the best at well-thought-out decisions," Arlanna replies. "I'd hate to destroy his clothes. Perhaps if we tuck them away somewhere that he can retrieve them from later." She pauses. "Then again, you have spent more time with him than I have. Perhaps he would appreciate your... help." She looks amused, her eyes sparkling and defenses dropping for a moment before she quickly gets herself back under control.

"Hiding them works for me," Rethan says with another shrug. He looks around the hideout for somewhere to hide the clothes.

Arlanna looks around, not seeing any place in the room where the bright clothes would not be instantly spotted. “This is the sort of thing that we need Falser for,” she says wryly to Rethan.

"Worst case we could always shove em in someone's pack..." Rethan muses.

Arlanna points to one of the chests. “You could always flatten them and put them under that,” she says to Rethan.

Rethan eyes the chest and shrugs. "Sure, worth a shot." He hides the clothes under the chest.

“We should really turn in. All of us.” Arlanna looks around at the group. “We have a big day tomorrow and rest is needed.”

Ell nods. "Sounds good. There're some weapons in here, if anybody needs some. Crossbows, swords, daggers, that kind of thing." She pulls a bedroll out of her bag and lays it out on the floor by the door.

“Does anyone want to keep watch? I’d prefer to stay here as little time as necessary, but some of us need more sleep than others.“ Arlanna looks at Rethan, Malquis, and Ell, wondering if a couple of them might volunteer to alternate watches.

Ell glances up. "I can take first watch, especially since I got a nap earlier." She sits down on her bedroll in front of the door.

Arlanna glances to Rethan and Mal, hoping that chivalry isn’t dead. Ell has been through a great deal more in the past day, and could use some extra recovery time.

"You get some more rest Ell," Rethan says. "I'll take first watch, I haven't been through the ordeal you were, I'll be fine. I don't need to sleep in the same way as most of you do anyway, as long as I get a few hours to meditate at some point."

Ell frowns. "There's no need to treat me like a fragile flower." She pauses, recognizing that Rethan is doing her a favor. "But thank you. I'll trance for a couple hours and take the next watch."

One by one, the group goes into their established method of sleep as the dawn's light rose. Thankfully, without a window, the secret room offered pitch blackness for the sleepers.

A few hours into Rethan's watch, Ell begins to make small, frightened noises. Her body tenses, and tears begin to run down her face. She's clearly locked in some kind of bad dream or memory. "No. Please." Ell flinches in her trance. "I-I won't. I'll be good. Please."

Rethan lays a hand on the other elf's shoulder and gives her a light shake.  "Ell," he says in a quiet voice, trying not to wake the others.  "You're dreaming."

Ell's eyes fly open at Rethan's touch, and her hand goes for a dagger beneath her bedroll before she sees him and relaxes. "Oh. Rethan. Sorry about that." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before turning over to continue her trance. 

Rethan moves back to his place to continue his watch, keeping an eye on Ell for a minute to make sure she doesn't drop right back into the dream.

Ell stays awake for a few more minutes, re-ordering her mind and banishing the memory back to the corner of her mind. When she returns to her trance, she remains calm until her watch.

When Ell's turn to take over the watch comes, Rethan gently shakes her shoulder again.  He looks her in the eyes, a concerned look on his face.  "Are you all right?"

Ell wakes up with a start, then smiles ruefully at Rethan's question. "Just...memories. They sneak up on me when I least expect it." 

Rethan nods at that.  "I have my share of bad memories."  A haunted look passes over his face.  "I've had plenty of similar experiences when trying to rest." 

Ell nods quietly, her eyes traveling back to some moment of pain. "Well, if you ever want to talk about it... Anyway, you should get your rest too." She smiles. "Promise I'll wake you up if you have a bad dream-I owe you now, after all." She settles down in front of the door, pulling a small silver ring from her pocket.

Falser rolls over in his sleep. Anguished with something. Then lets loose with the loudest flatulence. He laughs in his sleep. Some of the color immediately returns to his cheeks. He drifts off into soundless slumber once again. 

Rethan shakes his head at Falser then finds a spot for his own trance.

Sionann twists and turns in her own sleep. Something is mumbled from the sleeping dark haired child as she does so, but it’s unintelligable Celestial. She seems to be dealing with her own nightmares, as she doesn’t seem to settle and the poor child just keeps tossing and turning on the cold hard floor.

Ell gently touches Sionann's shoulder. "Sionann. You're not there, and it's a dream. You're here. Safe." 

Hodgy snores loudly from beside Warryn's bunk.

Sionann quiets as Ell speaks, settling a little. It seems she only needed a kind word.

Surprisingly Taliesin remains absolutely silent in his sleep.

Exhausted, the group slept and rested for as long as they needed, waking up one by one throughout the day. By the middle of the afternoon, they were awake, their stomachs grumbling from hunger and their thirst unsated from wanting to set out into Beggar's Nest. 

Ell watches the various members of the group wake up, speaking once they're all awake. "Right, shall we have a quick snack and then head out?"

"Sure." Taliesin responds feeling quite refreshed. "Hey! Where're my clothes!?" Taliesin looks around.

Sionann nods as she wakes up. "As my mothers used to say, a goodberry starts the day."

"Ok, who put my clothes under the chest!? Oooh a hand crossbow! I've been looking for one of those." He says this clearly aggravated but also happy with his find.

Ell pulls some dried fruit out of her bag. "Huh, what a weird place to put your clothes, Taliesin. I mean really, what were you thinking?"

"It wasn't me! You guys are jerks!" As he says this he tucks the hand crossbow along with 40 bolts away and gets dressed.

Ell sighs and shakes her head. "You know, Taliesin, a vital ability for a performer is to not take themselves too seriously. And be able to take a joke." She smiles and leans back against the wall as she starts on her fruit.

Sionann gives Taliesin a look. "I was asleep." She huffs as her mood sours a little.

Rethan watches Taliesin pull his clothes out from under the chest. “In all seriousness, you know you can’t wear those right?”

Malquis has remained silent and observant through the night, still taking the measure of this strange group. He'd found a spot along the wall opposite the hidden door, settling cross-legged on the floor, and alternately meditated and watched the door during his turn at watch. An amused smile ghosts across his face at the fuss over Taliesin's clothes. The bard was obviously playing at being of higher birth, but the eladrin didn't hold that against the man. Who didn't dream of bettering themselves? Mal's own "working" clothes still carried the robust odor of the sewers, but given the area, he knew he'd blend in better thus way. Even if the actual cut and quality of the outfit belied the rough look of it. He certainly wouldn't be changing back into his goner apparel here in the Nest. "Just get dressed, man, we have work to do."

"Why not?" Taliesin asks.

Ell sighs. "Because they're flashy and shiny and will make you stick out in Beggar's Nest, when the whole point of this trip is to be subtle."

Rethan nods at Ell. “It’s Beggar’s Nest. Those clothes are totally out of place.” 

"I sense that our companion lacks any subtlety in his life whatsoever," Mal interjects.

"You forget I can change my appearance...." Taliesin cuts back.

"Perhaps you could do that and eliminate the need for clothes altogether then." Mal responds.

"It doesn't hurt to keep them on just in case..."

“How long can you change it for?” Rethan asks. "We have no idea how long we’ll be in here, but I suspect it could easily be days.”

Sionann gets up and pulls her pack together after she had been sleeping on it. She winces a little as she feels a something like a knot in her back and she stretches trying to work it out.

"It's pretty powerful magic. I can hold it for 3 hours a day as long as I don't cast any of my other demanding spells." Taliesin replies.

Arlanna has been sitting quietly in the corner by Falser. “Oh, good,” she says sarcastically.  “So for three hours a day, you will blend in, while the rest of the time you’ll be in that flashy nonsense? Better to just wear your stinky sewer clothes.” 

Falser stretches and sits up in his cot. “Hello lovelies. Thanks again for the rescue.”

“Yah...3 hours a day and you’re useless for other spells. That sounds totally worth it,” Rethan says sarcastically. Rethan chuckles at Falser. “Well, ya know, it was a tough save, but we didn’t have anything else to do so we figured why not.” 

"Well unless someone has some way of cleaning my clothes.... it looks like this will be my option."

Falser smiles at Rethan and nods. “Did anyone by chance find clothes?” He cocks his head, “Who is the shrieking woman droning on about clothes... Oh hello Taliesin.”

"I'm sorry was someone talking? You're just so short I hardly even notice you're there." Taliesin retorts.

Rethan gives Taliesin a look. “‘Clean’ is part of the problem. The sewer stained clothes will fit in here far better than that outfit.”

Warryn bristles, "Taliesin, can I help you with anything?"

Falser nods, “I’m sure you’re used to someone saying something was so short they couldn’t notice it... so I don’t blame ya.”

"Yeah, it's my mini pocket flute. It's quite beautiful yet no one can see it." With this Taliesin holds his hands up. You don't see anything but you hear a beautiful song played by a flute. The group feels their emotions run wild much like they did the first time they heard him play. 

Falser is moved by the music. Visibly impressed. “You’ve learned to play your own instrument to perfection. And no one else is allowed to see it or hold it. Somehow, I’m not too surprised...” He hops down off cot. “It is good to see you Tal. All of you. Thank you for coming back.”

Taliesin, quite shocked, replies simply. "Thank you...?"

Arlanna looks at them, Taliesin still standing in his ridiculous getup. “Thank you, Falser. And if we’re all done arguing about Taliesin’s tiny... flute, could we get back to establishing that he cannot wear that garish outfit? Taleisin, please put on your clothes from yesterday.”

"Mini pocket flute? Is that what you call it? Thats adorable." Mal interjects.

With the afternoon beginning to grow on the Harpers, they ended the banter and geared up with what they could. Falser and Warryn were both dismayed that they had lost all of their equipment, and so took what meager items they could find within the secret Harper-room. Sufficiently geared up, the eight of them headed out into the streets of Beggar's Nest to find some answers.

With their adrenaline no longer rushing from chasing down the other Harpers and the afternoon sun bearing down on that cold day, Beggar's Nest true gown was revealed, the sun's light bringing into full view the squalor and ruin that was around them. This neck of the city had hardly changed since the Chasm burst open upon the populace, bringing with it the plaguechanged horrors from far beneath the Chasm's mouth. The Nest's air was thick with the stench of death and sickness; the walls of the building and muddied ground beneath them seemed to radiate with it. Beggars and cripples, wearing clothing torn down to its basic threads, slowly moved around the dirt and mud, begging for spare copper pieces and anything that might get them through the day.

In the more desolate parts of the Nest, the bodies lay stacked in loose piles. From one of the piles, a pushcart raddled by [Bring out yer dead!], piled high with corpses and pulled by a man wearing black leathers with a tree emblazoned across the back and front, marking him as a man of House Blackwood. His mouth and nose were covered with a strip of black cloth, as if in some attempt to keep the sickness and disease-riddled corpses he bore behind him at bay.

Ell frowns as the group makes their way through the Nest. "So, should we start with the beggars or the officials?"

Once the group approaches the handcart a barrel will suddenly appear out of thin air. Taliesin, disguised as a beggar, will walk... right inside it? "It's ok guys, this'll be my disguise for now. I'll have to keep recasting this spell every minute but that's ok."

Ell shakes her head with a smile. "A walking barrel. Subtle. Now, who would you like to start with?"

"What officials?" Rethan asks.  "I doubt there's many of those in here...better question seems to be whether to start with looking for a cure or dealing with the criminals taknig the food."

Ell shrugs. "I meant people like him." She jerks her head at the man pushing the cart. "Outsiders are more likely to have a wider view of when this plague started and what the situation with food is, while beggars will give a more honest view of their immediate situation." She tucks some hair behind her ear. "Personally, I'd like to start with the criminals."

"That's fine with me.  We don't know how long it will take to take care of the plague, these people will need that food." Rethan says.

"I think taking care of the criminals is the better idea as well." The barrel pipes up.

Ell nods. "Great. And, of course, we should probably look into whatever's going on at the prison at some point as well. But that can be saved for after-as you said Rethan, these people need food. So where would you all like to start?"

“Now I wish we’d come in with the food carts,” Arlanna says. “We’d be able to track the goods through delivery and distribution and see where they’re being lost.”

Ell shrugs. "Instead, we could go from the other end-find somewhere the food is being sold and track it from there."

"Makes sense," Rethan says.  "We should be able to find that much out from people around here.  Could probably start with him."  He nods at the man pulling the cart.

Ell nods. "All right. Would you like me to handle the talking, or someone else?"

While the group debated on their approach, the Blackwood man spotted them from across the road. "Aye!" he called out, "What're a bunch o' adventurers doing in the Nest? Ye get caught on the wrong side o' the wall?"

Ell turns around with a smile. "Hi! I'm Ell. And what's your name?"

He looked at Ell as her impressive looks seem to pass right through him. "I asked ye first! What're ye doing here?"

Ell smiles. "Okay, of course. Just trying to be friendly. We're here to look into the...redirecting of the House Hoffireathe food donations."

"It would seem that our disguises aren't as good as we'd hoped they would be," mutters Mal. "Yes," he directs to the man. "We understand the needy are not receiving the food being sent in. We've come to rectify that unfortunate situation."

"Our caravans come in every morning to the Pidgeon Market!" the Blackwood man retorted defensively. "We're givin' food alright. There's just too many o' them."

"Of course." Ell soothes. "We suspect that perhaps gangs are somehow intercepting the food either at the market or posing as beggars and getting the food that way. We just want to look into it-we promise not to interfere with the working operation."

He shrugged. "I don't care either way. I'm just deliverin' these bodies to be cremated. Best way I can curb this disease."

Ell nods. "And the entire city is thankful for that. Could you possibly give us directions to the Pidgeon Market?"'

"Uhhh..." he thought for several moments as his eyes flitted about, trying to visualize. "Ye go to the main gate. Then follow the road from the main gate that leads southeast. It'll wind a ways, but then ye'll be there." 

"Indeed, my good man. We don't hold you or your comrades to blame at all. It's someone in here, after you've done your part." Mal pats the fellow on the back. "Thank you for your help."

"Don't get too close!" he cautioned, motioning to the cloth over his mouth. "Ye might already be infected, but ye'll definitely get sick if ye stand around me. Best be off now."

Ell nods. "Thank you again for your help." She turns to go.

Mal backs away, hands up in acknowledgement. "Of course. We'll be on our way."

Ell smiles at the group. "And now we know where to go. Shall we?"

"Ha, he didn't even know I was here," Taliesin says smugly. "Looks like my disguise worked better than yours." It's obvious to tell he's pleased with himself.

Ell raises an eyebrow. "Yes, if only your disguise didn't vanish every minute." Her crystal pulses red as the air around her seems to shimmer with heat. When it clears, she looks completely different. Her black hair is long and tangled, she's thin to the point of starvation, and her clothes are practically rags. After a moment, the air around her shimmers again, and her appearance returns to normal. Ell grins and then heads for the main gate.

"Also, ya know, if it could actually move, for all the times you aren't just standing still," Rethan adds.

Following the corpsebearer's advice, they moved to the gate which connected the Beggar's Nest with the rest of Neverwinter. As they got closer to the wall, they noticed that the architecture and buildings were newer, suggesting that construction and remodeling had begun and was slowly moving east from the wall to the rest of the Nest. Reaching the wall, they saw how high it loomed and the fortifications and battlements atop of it. The walls themselves bent inward towards the gate, funneling an enemy force and maximizing the number of archers that can fire down on such a force. Throngs of people crowd are scattered about with the large opening around the gate as cautious militia watch from the top of the wall. Graffiti and other markings are painted along the wall and gate as people defecate on it in rebellion to the quarantine. Many people wore cloth masks around their faces, while some seemed consigned to their fate as black, veiny lines traced around their necks.

Heading southeast, the group eventually arrived at what they figured was the Pidgeon's Market. The sound of voices and the occasional wailing filled the air of the busy market. Street-merchants peddled their makeshift wares to those who still had coin, though most of the stalls were abandoned. An upturned wagon sat in the center of the market with kids climbing on top of it, wielding sticks and fighting make-believe monsters. Others picked up whatever crumbs they could find in the dirt and cobblestone as they kept their noses to the ground. A long line wrapped around a building on the north side, leading into an alleyway off to the side of the marketplace.