Sigurd and Grigs take a boulder each, starting the somewhat slow process of pushing it off the dragon. Dabshabah face irks in some pain but she tries not to show it. "You all may. And you'll be ever so grateful to find this act of service to put you all in my good graces. If you are seeking that woman knight then she did proceed...I did not hail her because she held a fearsome look...is it common for humans to be covered in blood? And my tale is a indeed a sad one. My brood and I were chased out of our mother territory by a white savage of a dragon...I had flown into a cave to...recover for a moment. Then that blasted earthquake had caused a cave in on me." Once the boulders were off her wings, she stands up to her full height, stretching her limbs. "There we are. Now then, I shall let you all guide me out of these caves, post haste please." 

But as she speaks about following you all, reminds you about the safety measures of Waterdeep. They have the guards for bandits and monsters that try to enter the city. The navy to protect their vassals in the water. And the lords had manage to materialize a barrier that bars dragons from entering the city.

Grigor sags and scratches the back of his head, looking at the growing collection of individuals trying to find their way out of the cave. "Uh well, maybe that knight could give you permission to enter the city if we can find her. But wouldn't you rather get home?"

"I would love to...but as I said, the white dragon is currently there." 

(Up to you all how you want to proceed, the dragon is too big to follow into where she said the guard woman went. You can try to have her leave the way she came.)

"Anyone need a break here for a while?" Asking the group as a whole. To the dragon Grigor adds,"We need to try to find that woman before we leave. I guess you voukd wait here for us."

He scratches behind one of his ears awkwardly, "I'm not sure we can help with your rival dragon problem...."

((Checking to see if we need a short rest.))

K hesitates for a moment before speaking up. "Great Dabshabah," she addresses the dragon politely, her voice gentle. "We would be honored to guide you out of these caves, but...the tunnels ahead are too small for you to safely pass through. The city above us also has a barrier that bars dragons from entering the city. It is the most cruel, and we are saddened that we must part, but maybe it would be best for you to leave the way you came, Great Dabshabah." When she finishes speaking, K anxiously waits for the young dragon's response, hoping that she didn't say anything wrong. It is a bad idea to get on the bad side of any dragons, young or not. She knows this much.

Dabshabah opens her maw for a moment before closing it. She look about the cave, noting its passages then looking to herself. "It...does seem to be a a very compact cave...And you all have done well to aid me so graciously...Fine, I shall depart from where I arrived. But I ask that you all make sure to see me when you can. I am sure to settle somewhere near, merely follow the talk of a beautiful dragon taking shelter somewhere." She turns around and goes back the passage she was just pinned under.

"How the rest of ye be doing? " asks the former pirate.  "We've been fighting and searching for a bit now. We could take a short break to get our wind back."

OOC: good time for rest to spend HD to heal and recharge powers thart renew on short rest.

Pushover waves to Dabshabah as she departs, then nods fervently to Sigurd when he raises the idea of a rest. 'My mana definitely needs replenishing, and that time will allow me to summon my familiar too. If the rest of the party is happy, I would be more than happy to take a break.'

Grigs immediately unloads his gear, uses his pack to lean on and stretches out with his hands behind his head and closes his eyes. He's not truly sleeping, but definitely resting as he focuses on the sounds of the cavern and tries to make sense of these strange caverns.

K is relieved when the young dragon agrees to her suggestion, also waving as Dabshabah departs.

Upon hearing Sigurd's suggestion to take a short rest, she nods, agreeing. "I think that a short rest will do us good." She plops down next to Grigor, leaning against her bag as well.

He cracks an eye open and flashes her a toothy, beastman grin before closing once more. "So how'd you get stuck down here anyway? Are you with Aquisitions Inc?"

K shakes her head even though Grigor won't be able to see her. "Nope, not with Acquisitions Inc. You guys are with them, though, right? I was exploring, I guess. My patron had directed me to travel to this city, around this area. Their messages aren't exactly...exact, so I usually end up in weird places, haha..." She trails off.

"Patron? Like you benefactor or whatever? I kind of had a deal like that with someone sketchy. Didn't like being clear about what the job was or how much it paid.... oof. Not in a much better situation now I guess. But at least I'm in the city. Like probably be home by dinner most nights. Maybe get me one of those whatchacall'ems... Girlfriend.

He laughs. "No but, like it'll be nice to have a little stability."

"Ah, I guess you can say that my patron is my benefactor as well. I'm able to use the magic I can now because of them. And no need to worry about me, I trust them." There is conviction in K's voice. Though she does not know at this time who her patron is, their guidance so far has not brought her harm. "Stability is nice, though. Hope you didn't lose out too much in that sketchy deal."

"Nah. Just rubbed my fur the wrong way, you know? I'm a simple man. I like things simple and straight forward. Rescue the princess, get paid. Not a big fan of chasing insane princesses through rooms that drop severed feet on you or tentacles from other dimensions. If she's too dumb to run OUT of the tunnels instead of deeper in, I have a feeling she's gonna get herself killed before we find her."

Pushover spends the rest squirreled away in a corner, and instead of engaging with the party, she feels she must follow a long awaited instruction from Aebelskink. She crouches wide-eyed and eager over a brazier full of demonic incense she had on her, lighting each stick with murmurs of a spell on her lips. She flicks through her spellbook, and finds the page for find familiar, and analyses the diagram of a devil heart scrawled onto the page, surrounded Infernal writing describing the ritual. She gently tears the paper out, and folds it into an origami beetle, with the illustrated devil heart facing upwards. She then places this atop the small pyre she had constructed from the ashy, sulphurous incense and began to chant. Almost immediately, the paper beetle burns black, but does not turn to ash. Instead, it starts to swell, the charred paper stretching agonisingly slowly into skin and filling out with muscle. After half an hour, the beetle has a visible, pulsing orange glow emanating from the centre of its stomach, and its veiny form, its veiny form beating slowly like a heartbeat. By an hour, the incense has burnt out, and the familiar spills out of the brazier, shaking off the last of the ash left on its complete form. The giant fire beetle scuttles towards Pushover, bowing its head in thanks. To most, it would appear just as like any other of the beetle's kin, but under further analysis, the heart shape becomes clear. It isn't just a beetle; it is the archdevil's heart, brought back to physical form, and the first step in Aebelskink's progression to rebirth. 

(Feel free to apply short rest to character sheets, I will advance on the party's say.)

Sigurd stands, stretches and asks "We ready to move on?"

Pushover nods, her familiar scuttling across her outstretched arm and then pawing her spellbook with curiosity, unaware of how interlinked they really are. 'Absolutely. My recently summoned familiar will come in handy for further exploration; I can see through its eyes whilst it crawls through tight spaces for reconnaissance, and its natural glow will help save on torches. And it can also help with my spell casting, of course.'