Alaris chews on the inside of their cheek as they ponder the implications of Shiva's question. The more they ponder, the angrier they get, and tiny flickers of radiance prickle around their features.

"The devil you know's better than the devil you don't... until he isn't. Whoever has developed a way to make infants into baby fleder needs to be brought to a slow and painful end."

Nikolai takes a moment from his grisly task to rejoin the others before approaching the secondary hatchery as examines the tunnel leading upward. He takes a hesitant step forward into the darkness and examines the other side, quickly finding a stone in the floor much like the one Ling had previously discovered. When the door reopens he winks at the others as he steps out. "Makes sense how they were able to move throughout the area. I think there is much more going on here. This feels like the daemon was put here as an overseer of this operation. I do not think they are smart enough to figure out how to artificially create a breeding pit. We should try to capture if we can, put it to the torch so to speak until it tells us everything we want to know; who is really behind this. Keep an eye on this entryway. I'm going to gather one of those sacks we located and some of the tissue it is growing from. Maybe I can learn more about this after we have handle our job."

Unless there are any objections, Nikolai will head over towards the second...thing... and draw out a dagger and steels his stomach against the utterly disgusting job that is about to follow...

With a steady hand and a keen eye, Nikolai carefully scoops one pouch off of the main body of its 'host' by slicing between the layers of fat. The sample comes away completely whole. A second pouch he scores straight down the front with his knife. The opening tears asunder, spilling a thick, translucent fluid across the floor. The substance is speckled with dark clots of blood, and a fleshy tube of some kind dangles from the inner wall.

     Astrid peers up at Ling and back through the dark, rising staircase. "As I said eariler, I can't help much there, I'm afraid. I didn't spend time down in our mines except to help clear out the kobold invasions." She leans through the threshold a bit and sticks an ear out. "I guess that fiend took off since we haven't seen it come back this way. The thing could be running loose out in the streets now. They don't have the same hate for sunlight that those bat-creatures seem to have." She glances about nervously to the others in the tomb and then towards the entry into the room hoping Nikolai quickly finishes with his extermination. 

       The dwarf brings a finger to her lips. "Lots of scratching around up there.," she whispers. "Something has got them agitated, but doesn't sound like they're coming this way... yet."

"Hm. What good is a dwarf that doesn't even know the underground?" Ling huffs, but her jabs sound more teasing now than they did before. "I'm glad if the thing is gone, not our problem. Seeing a real monster for once would teach those people up there," she adds with a laugh, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Let me go see where this passage leads, just to be sure we've got the right one." With Nikolai still busy burning the fleder pouches, Ling quietly sneaks off into the dark passage. She treads careful, not wanting to set off any pressure plates. When she comes to the top of the staircase, she finds one and steps around it, listening out for sounds from behind the door. She hears scratching and heavy breathing, there are beasts somewhere on the other side of this door. Silently, she tiptoes back downstairs and relays this information to the others.

"They're definitely up there, I'd say right through that second door. Shiva, pulverise this staircase? Imagine it's your ex-boyfriend!" 

Nikolai slips the unbroken sac into his pack for further examination later and examines the foul substance that oozes from the sliced sac. He takes notes and quickly sketches the strange tube he spots before incinerating the foul substance on the wall with celestial fire. After completing his terrible job, Nikolai rejoins the others, looking paler than usual. "I'm ready to be done with this place. It is possible the church will want it purged anyway once we have finished. More fleder just beyond the door?" Nikolai looks around and spends sometime trying to judge just how far up they have come when recalling how far down they had gone. After a moment he rubs his head as he turns to Astrid. "Astrid, how far up would you say we have come? I feel like there might be another floor or two above us before we come to the ground floor? Although, I cannot for the life of me figuring out how deep we are."

     "Next time we're in the Hells I can be expecting a personal tour, hmm?" Astrid pokes back as Ling disappears through the door. "No... wait..." she tries to get the impatient tiefling to remain but let's the protest fade away with a sigh, already understanding that such effort is useless. 

     Astrid turns her attention to Nikolai as he enters. She ponders his question a moment. Her head bounces as if counting the ascending steps since coming through the well. "You're guess isn't far off. I would say we're three levels below the surface.... Though you wouldn't know it by the stench in this place." Her nose wrinkles trying to push out the oppressive odor of these catacombs. "And I agree. The quicker we can get back up there the better."

Ling's giggling stops and the smile slips right off her face. She turns around and icily replies: "Yeah, why would that be? Because we're all going to hell, us half-demons? Is that what you want to say? Back where we belong?" Monster. Nightmare. Hell spawn. You should never have been born! This is the only thing you're good for! Her posture is tense, her fingers twitching at her thigh. 

Shiva is smiling as Ling and Astrid share banter, till the word "Hells"  is uttered from Astrid, causing the smile to fall from her face as well. As Ling becomes sincerely upset, Shiva appears by her side, putting a hand on her shoulder and stepping in close to speak gently at a low volume. 

"It's ok honey. You're ok, you're safe. You're safe. She was just having fun, she didn't know."

Shiva then turns to Astrid "Ling, Nik, and I have endured that kind of talk for all of our lives from those who despised us, we're sensitive to it. I know you didn't mean any harm, it's just a sore spot for us."

Caio’s eyes flit between the tieflings and the dwarf with indifference. “Don’t dish it if you can’t take it, Ling.” Though his tone might come off as callous, he extends a hand to the girl’s shoulder, like an older brother lovingly scolding a younger sibling. “Ok. So this plate here controls the door, correct? We could probably just disable-“ he stops as he realized the others are still focused on their bickering. With an annoyed sigh he turns to Alaris. “Would you help me with this?” Within a couple minutes, the pair work to jam the mechanism and render the door useless.

Ling keeps staring at Astrid with narrowed eyes, it seems like she didn't even register Shiva or Caio. However, her hand stills when she repeats her question: "Go on then, what did you mean?"

       Astrid's eyes roll so hard they almost leave their sockets. She wanders a few steps and with a thud she leans up against the sarcophagus of Adrian Petrowsky, smoothing back her thick, black braids to try to keep her emotions at bay. "Hmph... So then, I guess by your thinking all us dwarves belong underground then? Listen to your friends, hon. Don't be twisting my words. I meant no offense, just as I took your jab to mean none. Now," she arches an eyebrow, "was I thinking wrong about you?"

For a moment, Ling just blinks rapidly - then she bursts into laughter. "Ha, that's right, I guess that's all the same! Hell at least would be an interesting place compared to mines." With a big grin and a glance back at Shiva, she adds: "You're not entirely wrong Shorty, if someone is good personal tours that would be me. Let's go watch the boys work on that door!" 

"Hurry, when do we get to see all three bent over like that?" Ling whispers to Shiva and giggles as she hurries off into the corridor after the others.

WIth the lower level cleared of the monstrous fleder, and all traces of them reduced to ash by Nikolai, the Trio Infernale & co. retrace their steps back through the catacombs and up the well to the surface, where it looks like it is beginning to rain. Dark clouds rumble threateningly overhead.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Alaris murmurs. "Is it getting too dark for the light to affect these monsters? And I wish we knew where that daemon is lurking..."

Nikolai sighs deeply as he stares up at the brewing storm clouds. "I agree, Alaris. I do not think our plan will be nearly as successful. I get the feeling this may cause them some slight discomfort, but it will not be as good as normal sunlight in overcoming some of their strengths..." He looks around at the others. "What shall we do? Continue on? Or perhaps just set this place alight?"

Alaris listens, frowning, then replies, "If you think they'll avoid the light even at this level, then perhaps a modified version of our previous tactics up here... blast some holes in the roof and then let Ling zoom inside and bait a couple of them towards the door? They seem stupid enough to let us grind them down that way..."

The paladin opens their mouth to continue, but Ling is already flashing towards the doorway! Alaris throws out an arm and catches the tiefling around her supple midsection, slowing her. The momentum of the broom pushes them both another several feet towards the entryway, and the warrior's boots slide in the damp earth before they stop with a groan.

"Wait wait wait! I'm going to try and creep in there and see if I can sense the presence of the daemon. If not, then we'll perforate that ceiling and get down to business."

The paladin releases the lovely girl and, after pausing for a moment to confer with Nikolai, eases forward down the path towards the chapel. With one last glance back over their shoulder, they slip through the entryway into the chapel. After several long, tense moments, they reappear. "Really dark in there, but my heart tells me the daemon is either still below or in a different hiding place. Either way, not here, unless it has some ability to disguise its fiendish nature."

Ling is off towards the door, but suddenly Alaris jumps into action and slings an arm around her chest. After catching her breath from the impact and pulling them both along a few feet, she whips her broom around to yell after Alaris: "At least buy me dinner first! No manners, you religious lot!" She moves back up to the group and watches with the others as the paladin sneaks off into the church. "Stopping me and then going yourself, hogging all the fun," she grumbles, but continues with a smile, "I'm itching to burn some bats. Who wants a ride first?" 

Nikolai smirks as you looks at Ling. "I thought I always got the first ride?"

Ling's grin widens and she swings around to hover next to Nikolai, rubbing her head against his arm like a cat. "Of course you do. Come on then, let's fly." Once Nik has wrapped his arms around her waist, she flies up over the roof, watching her friends get smaller and smaller below. "Is this good? Do you want me to move?" She pushes back into Nik for a second, then pointedly looks down at the roof to search for any weak spots, whistling an innocent tune with a naughty expression on her face.