While he thinks, Edeleth gives Gaston the deluxe boxed lunch and ale he bought for him in town.  "It would be a pity for you to be out here eating soldier's rations while everyone in town is celebrating," he says.  He goes over to say hello to Sarta, Mellon and Buttercup.

"I took a Bag of Holding from the Krampus last night, but I don't think it would be big enough to carry all this powder, and certainly not the animals" he says after a few minutes. "Maybe some of the smaller items.  Rosri was a bit upset that he had left the poison behind, and I really ought to try to get that back to him, he makes very good use of it."

"As for what to do...there is a stone shaping spell I know that can seal the entrance permanently.  That leaves the question of how we get out.  Giant badgers are amazing tunnelers, and I could summon a team of eight, if there's anywhere good to break through the walls.  I suppose we need to consider where we would tunnel to.  If this Wrathmaw Keep is nearby and we have all this black powder, it would seem like an unsurpassed opportunity to commit an amazing degree of mayhem. If not, it might be better to simply leave the place sealed and attempt to escape to the garrison at Pinekeep."

Upon seing all of his gipsy friends Rosri brights up considerably, although he is a ghost he is not scary.

As Rosri walks up to the gipsy camp, he is struck by how awful their situation is. This is not right..

“Not yet grams! Or at least I don’t think so. We have found some treasures but non of them on an island! Uhm, why are you calling me boss?” 

“Anyway, I met Florence this morning. He told me to come find you, that you might need my help. And seeing your situation” he gestures around “ I can see he was not lying. The least I can do for you is to return the favor for helping us out earlier on the road. The Jarl owes me a favor for saving his life. I’ll talk to him about improving your living situation and help you with whatever you might need! ” He pauses, embarrassed to ask a favor of the old woman after seeing their situation. “Also.. he said that you might be able to help me as well.” 

“Last night we fought against a devil called Krampus. My mother use to tell me stories about him, but I always thought they were just that.. stories.. I managed to get these parts from him" He take out the horn and the pierced eye  "as he tried to steal some children in his magical bag. Can you help me make weapons out of them?” 

Roscoe enjoys the excitement of his travels. He accepts the muffin and takes a bite out of it. He'd never had food named after him. This fame was starting to make the halfling known much more than he'd ever experienced. He can't help but to return the smiles at the chambermaid that passed him by. Everyone here was so nice. When the noblewoman behaves similarly to the maids, Roscoe smiles thinking of what people would think of a Noble Roscoe. "Yous don't have to run away," he mutters as possible suitors seem to shy to talk to the halfling.

When the sweeper approaches and stars adoring him with praise, Roscoe tells them all the details of the attempted assassination. "Yous can be anything yous want to be. Yous just need to believe in youself and train yous craft. Practice will make yous better. We's can tell you've been training. Yous will be battle ready if yous keep this up!"

Gaston raises his eyebrows at Edeleth..."You can do all of that? Wow...I guess I'll let you decide what's best. As for Pinekeep, I heard its still under Gornar Blackhorn's control....stack full of Ennemies..."

Meanwhile, back in the City slums, the old gypsie Lady stares Rosri up and down...."Yes...Florence said you would show up, eventually. A Halfling scoundrel with a Heart of Gold. You have slain the Christmas Devil...very impressive..."

She examines the Krampus parts carefully..."My magic craft is frowned upon by most, but yes...I could help you make these into weapons, to use against our ennemies...what did you have in mind, my son?"

Rosri blushes from the praise.

”Magic is seldom evil from my experience, but the practitioner.” 

“I was thinking of working the horn into my crossbow and making some sort of protective ring or amulet of the eye. It is for my best friend, Roscoe.” 

He thought that Roscoe would really benefit from such a an item and that he would really appreciate it. 

“If there is anyone with a heart of gold, it is him.”  

"Hmmm," says Edeleth, with some consternation. "My mistake, I assumed that the battle victory yesterday meant that Pinekeep had been retaken."

"It seems to me that the best thing we can do for now is to try to find Wrathmaw Keep.  Chernobog ought to be good at that, if he is willing to try following the enemy troops.  Once it is located, we can return to the Jarl's council of war with the information.  I suppose it's not a good idea to blow it up before ascertaining whether there are important prisoners inside, and in any case, I would prefer my companions with me before any serious action is taken."

"Chernobog, would you be interested in scouting out the enemy stronghold for us?"

Chernobog gives another peck before taking to the skies and flying over to the Keep. 

Perception: 12

While Chernobog is gone, Edeleth asks Gaston about what safe places are nearby, that would make a good hidden exit for an escape tunnel. Once a location is determined, Edeleth summons the  eight giant badgers and sets them to digging.

OOC: Badgers are extremely fast diggers (American badgers are the fastest-digging animals on earth and can even dig through asphalt) and Edeleth can summon them three times for an hour each, just using his 3rd-level spell slots. If more is necessary, he can use his two 4th-level spell slots for two more hours, and can recover enough spells slots during a short rest to still be able to cast Stone Shape on the door.

So, not sure how many hours and castings it will take to put the tunnel wherever Gaston would like it to go.

After a few hours of flying around, Chernobog sees Pinekeep. It is indeed still crawling with red AND black Dragonborns, and Kobolds. The black Dragonborn soldiers seem to clearly be in charge down there, and the small fortified Keep's walls display two heavy Catapults. And there seems to be at least three or four hundred Ennemies stationned there...

Meanwhile, the old Gypsie Lady takes the Krampus relics from Rosri..."I shall do what I can....I will let you know when I'm done. This might take a few days... One of the 5 Family members approaches Rosri. "So, what now, Boss?"

“Thank you so much seer of the chariot. This means so much to me. When I’m with you I feel so free, like as if I have found where I belong. If I ever have the chance in the future I think I will come and live with you for a while. If that is okey of course..” he pauses. “You spoke of the reading you gave to Edeleth earlier” he hesitated for a short second “would you do one for me as well?” 

 Rosri looks at the man confused. “Ehm.. why do you keep calling me boss?”

The Gypsie smiles. "You're a Made Man, now. A shot caller. Florence's spirit said so. You point, we do...the Old Charriot's got no direction right now, and the Thieve's Guild's been wiped out from the face of the Earth....its anarchy out here in the slums...maybe we should do something about it. And these days, you never know who's working for that damn' Mind Flayer. We need a new Guild, that can bring back honor amongst Thieves! Otherwise the streets will run red with the blood of countless Innocents."

Meanwhile, the old Gypsie Lady ponders over her Tarot Cards and Crystal ball..."Lets see what the Gods have in stock for you..."

Rosri may roll 2d10 separately, without adding the results...

Chernobog will fly back to Edeleth and Gaston. At the same time Elixisys's eyes flick back to normal and he fishes around in his pouch for a second before pulling out a piece of copper wire, casting sending to Edeleth. 

"About 400 soldiers at Pinekeep. Kobolds, dragonborn, and catapults. Chernobog coming back. Would you like some backup? You may reply."

 Rosri is in chock as he draw 2 cards. 
“But, but I’m.. I’m not a leader! How can I be? I’m not worthy and I don’t have the qualifications! I would have understood if you nominated Edeleth or maybe even Ozymandiaz, they are a lot more adapt at these thing than I am!” He looks at the man horrified! 

They want me to be the leader of the new.. thieves guild? Can I do it? Do I want to do it? What should I tell them? 

Edeleth is startled by the magical message, but responds. "No backup is needed at the moment.  If I don't make it back in time, please give the Jarl all the information Chernobog has collected at the council of war tonight.  I have badgers digging out an exit tunnel for Gaston and the beasts, away from the local gnoll patrol paths. Afterward, I will seal the stone door at the entrance that the enemy knows."

"Is there any chance Chernobog can scout around and look for Wrathmaw Keep? Some of the enemy are likely to be traveling to and from it."

OOC: Grotex, wondering if you missed my last post because we posted at almost the same minute...asking Gaston where he'd like to have an exit tunnel lead, and wondering how far and fast the giant badgers can tunnel. I'm thinking that if there's still a friendly army camp in the area, that might be the best place for the tunnel to lead: the animals can be evacuated (most of them are army sheep anyway) and Gaston can either rejoin the army or stay out as a spy, and Edeleth could dig him another tunnel or two wherever he wants it.

High above him Edeleth hears the screech of a hawk as Chernobog passes over, heading in the direction he thinks the patrols Gaston talked about were going. 

Chernobog perception:  16

Gaston thinks..."Giant Badgers...it's brilliant...we could tunnel all the way back to Hunar Shatterstone and his troops."

OOC: A Giant Badger has a burrow speed of 10 feet. That's 10 feet every 6 seconds technically, and they're medium sized, so yes, Giant Badgers are AWESOME at tunneling! That's building 60 feet of tunnels every minute. Or 3600 feet every hour! FOR EACH BADGER! OMG...

https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/giant-badger

(OOC: Oh, wow, didn't notice it was actually part of their stats. :D  'Kay, let's dig back to to the army camp!)

How many Giant Badgers can Edeleth summon? With 1, he and Gaston could make it back to Hunar's troops in a day. Divide that time by 2 for each additional Badger summoned to dig. OOC: I think you may have found one of the dirtiest instant dungeon building combo I've ever seen. Genius...

Meanwhile, back in the City slums, the old Gypsie Lady flips over the first card. Her gaze turns somber and worried.

"The Devil...you have powerful ennemies, my son, and they are watching you. The Krampus weapons will help you defeat them, but they will attempt to corrupt you...it is up to you to resist them, and like your Warlock friend, channel the power of Darkness for the Greater Good..."

She flips the second card, and seems to lighten up a bit. "The Dog....you have a friend that needs help right now. If rescued, your friendship shall be a shield against the Devil, for the Dog's loyalty is unwavering..."

 (Giant Badgers are 1/4 CR. With Conjure Animals, Edeleth can summon up to eight at a time, for one hour.  If I am doing the math correctly, eight badgers should be able to dig out the tunnel in an hour and a half, so two castings would cover it...but that would probably be for a basic crawl-through tunnel, I think, and we want it big enough to be able to lead the animals out....sooo maybe three hours? He has enough spell slots for that, no problem.

....and now, when I think of the fact that Edeleth is going to be looking for a house, I am suddenly thinking of Invader Zim's underground base.....)

"Well I don't know about the 'Boss' business, but I think I know what I have to do.. First I'll speak with the Jarl at the banquette tonight about helping you out a little, then I need to go and find Pebbles... When I've done that I will have an answer for you about creating a new guild."