Laying Low In Opava

28 DECEMBER 3460

Despite the small size of the beds, all slept well and decide to sleep in a little longer than usual. Faewen'il reads from her spellbook in the comfort of her room. Yaz attends to his devotions in his room also, although the fact that he must do so inside makes him feel rather uncomfortable.

All assemble for breakfast in the meeting room a little before 9.00. Once breakfast is finished, Faewen'il gets up to leave:

"If it's huntin Witchfinders that ye'd like to do taday, then I best be seein if I can be finding them. I shall be back in a couple of hours."

With that, she leaves the room, leaving Winnacer, Porter and Yaz to chat amongst themselves. Just under an hour later, Rockrender arrives, looking a little embarrassed:

"I'm sorry for being a little late," he says. "The meeting with the miners went on a little longer than I expected. They have all gone down to the lower levels now and so we should have their results ready for the Council Meeting later today."

He then turns to Porter:

"Right, let me see to your remaining injuries."

Porter eases himself onto the table once again, grimacing a little from the pain as he does so. The CornerStone rolls up Porter's trouser leg and takes a look at his shattered kneecap once again.

He mutters to himself a little and then lays his hands upon Porter's knee before starting the same chant that the Bastion used to heal his other kneecap the previous day. As the chanting continues, Porter receives the same healing sensation as before as he feels the shattered bone reforming itself. After ten minutes, the dwarf stops his chanting and smiles to the bounty hunter:

"I think that should have done the trick," he says. "Hop off the table now and let's see."

A little gingerly, Porter sits up and puts his feet on the ground. He feels no adverse effects whatsoever and so applies more weight to the knee. Still there is no pain and so he starts to walk around the room. He finds that his knee has been healed totally and there is nothing to remind him of the excruciating agony that he felt just 24 hours earlier.

"Good," Rockrender says. "Now let's take a look at your hand."

Rockrender takes Porter's fingernail-less left hand and holds it in his hands. He begins the hypnotic chanting once again, spending a full ten minutes with Porter's hand in his. As he stops the chanting, he lets go of Porter's hand.

Porter looks down and sees that his fingernails have grown once again, and there is no sign of his formerly terrible injuries. He flexes his fingers, but there is no sign of any lingering pain whatsoever.

Just then, the door opens and Faewen'il returns:

"I could nae find any signs o tha Witchfinders," the magess announces, shaking her head. "Tha goblins still be locked inside their barracks an I did nae fancy goin inside in case tha Witchfinders be inside an wary of the chance o us goin in usin invisibility or the form of a ghost."

Rockrender nods:

"I think that was the right thing to do," he comments. "The last thing that we need now is for another one of you to get yourself captured and to have to mount another rescue mission to save you. I am sure that the Nyemetz will have tightened security up immensely since you rescued Porter and so I don't believe another one would be quite so simple."

There is a pause and then Rockrender sighs:

"Well I'm sorry, but I really must be getting along now. The business of the Church never seems to stop and the miners should start coming back in the afternoon to report their findings."

"I shall see you all again this evening."

They bid the dwarf farewell as he leaves and then sit back down at the table:

"Well it seems as if hunting down the Witchfinders is not going to be an option and so we might as well attend to other business," Winnacer says as Rockrender departs.

"Let us retire to our rooms for a while and meet again for a late lunch at 2.00," he suggests.

Everyone agrees and heads off back to their rooms in order to attend to their personal matters. Faewen'il is quite glad of the hiatus in order to attend to her spellbooks and making an inventory of her fast diminishing supply of spell components. Winnacer takes some of the time to groom himself meticulously and make sundry repairs to his equipment. Porter does the same, cleaning his possessions of the Nyemetz filth. Yaz morphs into a dog and spends a couple of hours licking his testicles.

The morning drags on and so everyone is on time to meet back up again for lunch, which the innkeeper sends to the meeting room. As the innkeeper comes in order to takes the finished plates away, Winnacer speaks to the dwarf:

"Would you have a set of cards that we might borrow off you?"

"Sure," the dwarf replies. "Wouldn't be much of an inn if we didn't."

He returns a couple of minutes later with a dog-eared set of playing cards that he hands to the young Lord.

Winnacer takes the cards and looks to the others:

"Anyone want to play some cards?" he asks. "It looks like we have some time to kill and a good reason to lie low for today."

Porter nods:

"Yeah, I better keep myself out of trouble. Deal, paladin-boy."

Starting to get bored from the inactivity, Fae and Yaz also agree, up for anything that might pass the time.

Winnacer shuffles the deck:

"Do you guys know how to play Kings and Fools? Kings are highest trump. All jacks are fools, and are the lowest card in the deck. However, the fool always lays low the King, so Kings can only be trumped by Fools. Leads are by suit."

Yaz has never played before and so the first hour is spent trying to teach a few simple games to the simple druid. He manages to grasp the hang of it and the foursome play in earnest. Porter easily shows the others as to who is the card shark among the group as he wins game after game, showing that all of the time that he has spent in taverns has been good for something. They continue to while away the afternoon until the masked dwarves start arriving for the Council Meeting.

They take their places at the meeting and wait with the others until everyone has arrived. Surprisingly it is Rockrender that is the last to arrive this time, entering the room just after 6.15.

Panting, he sits down and takes papers from a scroll case:

"I'm sorry for the delay," he apologizes, "but I needed to wait until I received the last reports on the status of the tunnels before I came here to give the summary."

Calming down a little, he sits back in his chair:

"I'm glad to say that the miners have been successful in determining where the ratmen are likely to make their entrance into the city. It wasn't too difficult to find this out, as there is currently only five to ten feet of rock separating a number of tunnels from excavations coming towards the city."

"It seems as if they will be entering the city from a total of thirteen different tunnels."

He takes a scroll and places it in the center of the table. The parchment contains a diagram showing the locations of all of the tunnels that the ratmen are expected to enter through.

"As you can see, all of the entrances are coming in from the south and the west, as the Bohavians suggested that they would. Seven of the tunnels lead to the bottom level of the city, five lead to the 7th level and one leads to the 6th level."

He pauses for a moment in order that everyone can study the diagram carefully. After a short while, he speaks once again:

"So now we know that we have thirteen tunnels to guard, we need to decide exactly what resources are going to guard each. As we have several different factions agreeing to contribute assistance, I think it best if each group gets a tunnel, or tunnels, to guard. I think that, otherwise, there could be petty squabbling between factions which would get in the way of presenting a unified defense."

"To start the discussion off, I think that the city's miners and the priests of Zemnye can look after the defense of three of the thirteen tunnels."

"In that case," the other dwarven warrior from the combat at the warehouse adds, "the blacksmiths and the priests of Zeleznye will offer to take three as well."

"The Church of Ohen will take care of another one," the fire priest offers. "There's not so many of us, but we have Ohen's gifts at our disposal, which should even the odds."

"Me and my boys can take care of another one," Zbignor offers. "And I had a word with Gloisil. The Church of Seela will take care of one as well."

The CornerStone nods as each of the dwarves make their offers. As there is a pause in the proceedings, he tallies up the numbers:

"So that's nine out of thirteen taken care of at the moment."

Rockrender turns to Winnacer:

"Do you think that the 'Bloods' will agree to take care of another three?" he asks. "I'm sure that, when they hear that the miners and blacksmiths are taking a similar number, their pride should make them not want to handle anything less."

"We'll have to ask them," Winnacer replies, "but it makes sense to me that they would take up arms. We'll head down there later today to make sure."

"Good," the CornerStone replies. "Please let me know how you get on."

"That leaves just one tunnel left," the dwarf continues. "Do you think that the four of you can manage it on your own? From what we saw of your abilities back at the warehouse, you make a pretty good team. If you feel that you need some assistance, however, then perhaps we could pull some resource away from one of the other tunnels."

Winnacer thinks about it for a few seconds:

"Well, four may not be enough, but I think I may be able to round up a few more bodies."

Winnacer first turns to the magic-using 'dwarf':

"I was wondering if you were planning on aiding us at one of the entrances. If you were, we certainly could use your help."

Winnacer awaits politely for the gnome to speak.

The illusionist takes his time to respond:

"If you believe that my powers may be of assistance to you, then I will offer them, although I have little experience with combat."

"Your magicks certainly went a long way during the last battle," Winnacer replies. "I'm sure we can find a way to put them to good use without putting you directly into the fray. Especially considering that you can make them see what they expect, absolutely no resistance."

"Very well," the illusionist agrees. "In that case I am happy to provide you with my assistance."

"I'm sure we could convince Rowan and perhaps even his cousin Joy to help us out as well," Winnacer continues. "That would be another two able bodies at our side, if they are willing."

"Seven of us should be able to hold out against a number of the rats, as long as it is not a prolonged effort. Perhaps I can recruit some other eager dwarves to help us out as well. It probably would be unwise to draw resources off from any of the other factions, as we will all need whatever we can get."

The CornerStone nods:

"That sounds like an excellent idea if you are able to get the other Bohavians to assist you, but if you require additional resources, then we can discuss the matter further. There are still three days before the invasion is planned to begin and so please feel free to ask us for assistance if you need additional resource."

"Now we need to decide which groups get which of the tunnels each group should be responsible for."

With that, a long discussion ensues with the dwarves resorting to their native tongue and each of them prodding at the relevant areas on the map. The debate lasts around twenty minutes before there is a hiatus and the CornerStone speaks once more:

"So I think that is decided then," he summarizes.

He looks over to Winnacer:

"If it's acceptable to you, then we think it might be best if you were to take the one tunnel on the sixth level as your responsibility."

The dwarves spend a while barking to each other in dwarven for some time until quiet descends upon the room once more. The CornerStone looks around to see if anyone has anything to add. Winnacer again takes the floor:

"One last thing we need to discuss is the nature of our enemy. Any preparations we make need to be made with their strength and weaknesses in mind."

"From what we have observed, they seem to work in a type of caste system. The groups are organized by a clerical caste of sorts that act as their leaders. I assume that this Lord Skritchit must also be some High Priest of their depraved religion."

"Beneath them, they seem to have segregation by body types. One breed of the rats are large and black and are the heavy warriors of the group. They tend to look down upon the smaller brown caste, or so I assume in our limited conversation with one of that caste."

"The brown rat caste is smaller, but tend to be more industrious. They are often equipped with strange weapons that are quite devastating. They have used a flame cannon against us that can inflict severe damage within its forty-foot spray area. However, the machine themselves are prone to explosion, something we have used to our advantage in the past."

"They also use a gunne that requires two to load and shoot. The gunne is more akin to a portable cannon rather than the calivers that the dwarves of Opava are familiar with. The gunnes can blast through almost anything, so the best defense against them really is keeping them from firing."

"Another group wear protective masks and hurl globes filled with poison gas. Yaz has some samples with him. The clouds fill about a ten foot space, but the effects of the gas still are not known by us."

"They also have troops that wield smoking flails. The gas wafting from the flails is quite irritating and will cause intractable coughing. But as long as they keep their distance, they should be no threat."

"We have also seen an assassin caste, who works through the ranks of the enemy with poisoned swords and darts away. One of these rats disabled many of my companions in our last confrontation with the rats."

"They have also created some monstrous sized ratmen, mindless creations that are goaded into battle by some type of master. These monstrosities are very tough, surviving blasts with the ratmen's heavy gunnes. However, they seem to become quite confused once their trainers have been slain, as shown by Porter in our last outing with the rats."

"A slave caste has also been hinted at. But I would imagine that the rats may have more surprises in store for us."

Winnacer goes on to relate the battles and the tactics that have seemed to work well against them. The dwarves listen with interest as the young Lord talks about the battles that the party has had with the ratmen, both in the Nemotz Laboratory and at the entrance to their lair in Litultovitze. Some of the dwarves ask questions that the young Lord answers and others take notes in order to relay the information to the dwarves under their command later.

After an hour of discussing the ratmen and their tactics, the dwarves know as much about them and their methods as the party does. As the room goes silent, Rockrender brings the meeting to a close:

"I think that's as far as we can go for tonight," he says. "I think that we should concentrate on trying to get the dwarves as organized as possible over the next 48 hours as we have not got long to do so. I suggest that we meet here again at the end of that time in order to make our final preparations for the fight."

The other dwarves nod in agreement once again and then say their farewells as they head out of the room. As the others walk away, Rockrender speaks with the party members:

"I too am going to be fairly busy over the next couple of days," he says. "If you need to see me about anything though, then please don't hesitate to see me at the Cathedral."

"From what the others are saying, there are no patrols in the city any more and so I think you shouldn't have too many troubles walking around inside. I wouldn't tempt trying to get through the gates or the moment, however."

"While we are alone," Winnacer says, "I was wondering whether it might be possible to bless us with some of your long-lasting blessings in advance of the combat. I understand that you are going to need all of your powers on the night of the battle, which is why I wanted to ask you now."

The CornerStone nods his head in agreement:

"It's a good thing that you thought of this now. I believe that the only blessing that I can make this far in advance is to give you the spell that makes your skin as strong as stone until you take a significant amount of damage."

"I have already given the blessing to Faewen'il and Yaz. As they have taken no damage yet, the spell will still be in effect. As a result, it is just yourself and Porter that are in need of such protection. If you like, then I can come and see to you in the morning after I have made my devotions."

"Our illusion casting ally will also need such protections, if possible," Winnacer replies. "But we will appreciate any help you can give us."

The CornerStone nods:

"This I can arrange also," the dwarf replies. "Zemnye is able to bless me with the ability to grant two such gifts each day. I can see to you and Porter tomorrow and then the illusionist and one other person on Saturday."

"That would be very helpful," Winnacer replies. "I also have one more question for you:"

"Have you garnered any insight into the nature of that Warpstone we gave you?" Winnacer inquires. "Not sure how it will help, but you never know."

Rockrender shakes his head:

"I'm sorry to say that the investigation of Warpstone has not had our full attention, what with all of the other events that have taken place over the past few days. I have had one of my priests working on it, but he has yet been able to determine nothing about the substance other than the fact that it is unlike any other mineral substance that we have been aware of in the past."

"If we are able to determine some useful information about the substance, then I will, of course, let you know."

The CornerStone then bids them farewell as well and heads off after the others. Once all of the dwarves are gone, Winnacer turns to them all:

"We need to speak with Emsee Hammer and his cronies once again," he says. "I suppose that now is the best time to go, as he seems to be more active in the evening. Do any of you fancy coming with me?"

Faewen'il and Porter both nod in agreement, starting to tire of being cramped in the inn and wanting a change of scenery. Yaz reluctantly agrees to go too, even though he has no particular desire to descend to the depths of the city.

With that, they head up to their rooms in order to collect their gear and then reassemble in the entrance hall of the lobby before heading out into the gloom of Opava once more.

The 'Cask & Bottle' is located just a few hundred yards from one of the staircases heading down. For the first time in several days, they steel themselves as they descend the staircase towards the bottom layer of the city. All is as they remember it; the stench of urine and vomit, the dwarves rolling around high on 'Suck' and the shadowy figures that melt into the darkness as they see the party members coming.

As they descend, Winnacer speaks with Faewen'il:

"As I said during the meeting, it would be useful to have Rowan and Joy along with us for the fight against the ratmen as they have both faced them before and so should know what to expect."

"In order to do so, we need to speak to Rowan, obviously. As the CornerStone has warned us against going through the gate, I wonder whether you could have a word with him?"

The magess scowls at the question:

"I can be tryin ta speak to him if'n ye like," she replies. "But tha truth o tha matter be that Rowan nae be likin me so much an I nae be likin him."

"I'll go an see him an Zosia in tha morning though."

"Perhaps Zosia may be more persuasive than we could ever be in motivating him to fight," Winnacer replies.

"I think that be tha only chance," Faewen'il replies. "If we be wantin him with us, then tha only way I think he'll agree is if he'd be looking like a coward in front o tha lass. I shall try an use it ta get him to fight with us."

It takes just a few minutes to descend the staircase down to the bottom level. They then walk through the gloomy alleyways heading towards the 'Black Rock'. As they get to it, they see that there is no line waiting to get in, but from the noise coming from within, including the occasional scream and sound of gunfire, they can tell that the tavern is as lively as ever.

They check that their weapons are close to hand and enter the tavern. They see that it is fairly full and that all of the usual suspects are there. The noise level drops dramatically as they make their entry and the entire place looks towards the party members. It is quite obvious that the dwarves remember them all, however, as the dwarves soon resume their arguing and fighting.

The foursome see the familiar trio that are 'Diggerz Wiv Attitude' sitting in their usual table, each with a young female dwarf and saunter over to join them. Emsee sees them heading over and barks over to the women:

"Yo' bitches better get yo' fat asses outta here," he tells them.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," agrees Ice Pick.

The women obediently head over to the bar.

As the foursome get up close to the Diggerz, Emsee scowls at them:

"Well if it ain't tha lankee mutha-f***ers," he says to Ice Pick and Beatmaster B. "What tha f*** yo' be wantin' wiv us now?"

"Do you mind if we sit?" Winnacer asks.

Emsee shrugs:

"Not if it makes yo' hurry up and leave us the f*** alone afterwards, lankee."

Winnacer looks for an open seat and sits down. Faewen'il, Porter and Yaz do the same, seeing that there is less chance of getting hit by a stray bullet or chair if they assume a lower profile.

"The time has come to get your dwarves ready," Winnacer starts. "The ratmen will be upon Opava in less than 72 hours, and it looks like your turf they want to invade."

Winnacer pulls out a smaller copy of the map showing the entry points of the rats. Emsee tries to act cool as Winnacer unfurls the map and uses the dwarves' tankards to hold it down, but the party members can see that he is interested in what the LawBringer has to show him.

"The mining crews that you graciously allowed onto your turf have come up with the following findings," Winnacer explains. "All of these entry points are less than 10 feet of rock from breaking through. There are thirteen points to guard all together. We've managed to get enough support to cover ten of them adequately."

"Without your help, the rats are going to overrun the bottom levels of Opava. We need your help to keep this from happening."

Winnacer waits to see what his response is.

Emsee spends a moment talking with Ice Pick and Beatmaster B. in dwarven. Faewen'il can understand that Emsee is still none too keen on having the other dwarves come back down to the level again and isn't sure whether or not to believe whether or not the ratmen are for real.

Expecting resistance from the Diggerz, Porter replies to their reluctance with:

"Look, we arranged for you muthas to have the choice selection of tunnels to guard. You guys lay a good ambush for them, then hit those holes with a whole bunch of mutha-f***ers, and you'll be the first one to hit the gold at the end of the rainbow. You want the loot or not?"

Emsee's eyes light up at the mention of the word 'loot':

"Them sorry assed mutha-f***ers got themselves some loot?" he asks.

Porter just nods:

"Well in that case, all their shit is ours," Emsee replies. "If they're tunneling into our Hood ..."

"In the place to be," interjects Ice Pick.

"... then that makes their tunnels and shit part of our Hood an' so we gets to keep all that's found here," Emsee continues.

He pauses for a moment and then looks over at Winnacer:

"I agree to get my posse together to guard the tunnels and kill all those hairy mutha-f***ers an' we won't give no shit to the miners an' blacksmith an' other diggerz that be coming down here."

"But no 'Crips' though," he adds as a warning. "There ain't no way I'm allowing those cheatin' mutha-f**ers down here. I know that they'd just wait until the rat-'ho's had beaten my Posse up good an' then finish the job."

"So that's my first condition," Emsee says. "The next is that the other diggerz jus' kill off the rat-f***s and then get the f*** outta my Hood. As soon as the last of the hairy bastards are dead, then everyone gets the hell outta here."

"Next, whatever's in the ratmen's lair is ours to keep for all the trouble that they been causin' us."

"An' last of all, you lankees leave us the hell alone too," he adds. "After you been saving my ass, I gave you my word ..."

"Word," interjects Ice Pick.

"...that I be helpin' you with this shit," continues Emsee. "But once this shit is all over, then we's Paid in Full."

"Those are my conditions," Emsee finishes. "Take 'em or leave 'em."

He folds his arms in front of him and awaits a response from Winnacer.

"What you ask for is reasonable," the LawBringer responds. "Each group of dwarves will be entitled to what loot they salvage off the bodies of the ratmen immediately after the battle. However, we will leave the expedition to the ratmen's lair, and the rest of their valuables, to you."

Emsee nods, obviously not averse to the idea.

"All of the dwarves required to protect Opava that are not aligned with your group will leave as soon as it is reasonably possible for them to," Winnacer continues. "We will leave the responsibilities of monitoring the new shafts to you once the battles are complete. However, it may be in the interests of both Opava and your group to possibly allow the mining crews down here afterwards to close off some of the tunnels, especially if the battle goes wrong. Outside such possibilities, or your request for our continued aid, we will see to it that the dwarves leave you to your privacy afterwards."

The Digger continues to nod, obviously realizing the value of having the shafts sealed back up afterwards.

"Once this is done and all outstanding matters are completed, we will leave you to your own devices," the young Lord adds. "We will be 'Paid in Full.'"

"Is all said agreeable, Emsee?"

Emsee is silent for a moment, giving no indication as to what is going through his head. Finally he extends his open hand and says:

"Give me five."

Winnacer looks rather annoyed at this:

"Five what, exactly?" he replies sternly. "We have agreed to everything you have asked for and yet you want more?"

Emsee looks confused for a moment and then tries to suppress a smirk that threatens to spoil his tough-guy image and draws his hand away, waving Winnacer away:

"Yo' lankees don't know jack shit," he replies.

Winnacer shakes his head:

"No, I'm afraid that we don't know him. Is he another gang leader?"

Emsee can't keep the act up any longer and starts to laugh:

"Get the f*** outta here, man. Yo' guys is 'Paid in Full'."

The young Lord doesn't see the joke:

"We shall be 'outta here' soon, but firstly I think it would be useful to tell you a little about the enemies that we shall all be facing."

Porter can see that Winnacer is going to quickly use up the Diggerz' remaining patience with his ratmen stories if he doesn't hurry up and so interjects with his own agenda before the LawBringer has a chance to continue:

"Now that we've settled that, I've got another proposal for ya," the bounty hunter says. "I want some information out of the Beardy Boys, and you want the muthaf***ers dead. We need to make some sort of arrangement so the both of us get what we want."

Emsee is silent for a moment, looking towards Porter:

"Too damn right we want them mutha-f***ers taken out after what they did to me an' my diggerz," he replies. "Them f***ers killed DJ Dancin' D., so I ain't gonna rest until I see those f***ers die. An' die painfully as well."

"What yo' have in mind, lankee?"

Porter answers:

"I'd like to set up an ambush on the Beardy Boys by pretending to be selling you fellas out. I'll try to meet with the Beardy Boys and tell them I know when you'll be coming up to the fourth level to meet with some people at the Temple. They'll think they've got you outgunned and outnumbered. Except that a half dozen of your diggerz will be invisible, thanks to my bitch here. Not to mention she can light the sky up with some crazy shit. They think they're bushwackin' you, we end up whackin' them. But I need at least one of those muthas alive to get some information out them. You down wit dat? If so, I'll meet with the Boys tomorrow."

Emsee's eyes light up as he hears the mention of invisibility and he grins:

"Sure thing, lankee," he replies. "If yo' bitch can make my possee invisible and throw some more o' that funky spell throwing shit to fly those mutha-f***ers' asses, then we's wit' you all tha way."

Emsee throws Porter a high five.

Winnacer coughs:

"Do you think you guys can wait until after the ratmen menace is dealt with? We should save our strength for that and then worry about getting your precious information later. Let's try to focus on the immediate threat rather than money for a change."

Emsee is not too impressed with this:

"F*** them rat-muthas, lankee," he replies angrily. "This shit wit' tha Beard Boys is personal. Them rat-muthas ain't done nothin' to diss me or my posse yet. Them Beardy Bastard mutha-f***ers f***ed wit' me an' killed ma DJ."

Porter turns to Winnacer, clearly annoyed at having the paladin enter his conversation, and says only:

"Duh."

Winnacer shakes his head and looks at Porter with a look he normally saves for Milan's hare-brained thoughts. He leans forward and talks softly into Porter's ear:

"If you really just want information, then why don't you ask Faewen'il or Yaz to charm one of these 'Beardy Boys' instead? Worked well enough on you. Why waste your time with these guys? It will only cause more problems down the road, and you still may not get what you want. Unless you're hankering for a belly full of lead. And with things as they are, the rest of Opava is going to be too busy to put you back together this time."

Winnacer shakes his head some more as he waits for Porter's response:

Porter pulls Winnacer to the side to the moment and answers:

"Look, DAD, if I could get access to the Beardy Boys in order for Fae to charm one of them, I would. But we've already tried that route, and it hasn't worked. Let me handle this kind of business. I'm tracking someone, something I've done for years. I think I know what I'm doing."

Porter then sticks his finger in Winnacer's face, saying in a low voice:

"I'm doing this for the benefit of the Diggerz, not to antagonize you, but questioning my idea in front of them makes me look weak. You want to make them think we're a bunch of pussies they can turn on without fear of reprisal, keep questioning them in front of me."

Winnacer looms over Porter:

"I risked both my life and my God-given mission here to save your worthless hide. I'm not too keen on having to do it again. What you call 'typical business' for you seems like repeated suicide attempts to me. I would be happy to let you handle it, if you did not repeatedly require the intervention of the rest of us. If you want us to pull your fat out of the fire again, then you have to tell us what you are up to, because you can't handle things on your own, not when it has escalated this much."

"They know not to trifle with me. They know that they are over their head with this ratmen thing. They won't turn on me. But you'll be in a nice place after your ambush for them to knock you off and attempt to enslave Faewen'il. It will only be fear of my reprisal that may keep this fate from happening to you, again needing to save your hide, as I am sure that Faewen'il will manage to escape such a situation."

"I don't want to have any part in this, Porter. If you are going to recklessly proceed, then make sure that it does not interfere with my mission here. And don't count on my benevolence to come to your rescue, for Spravedelna cares not the revenge of spurned criminals."

Porter shrugs:

"Look you f***ing control freak, you can kiss my f***ing ass. I've certainly made attempts to try to work with you, but you're just a goddamn asshole. I've seen you f*** up plenty in the short time I've been with you, but you act like they never happen. Also, you continually harp on my mistakes and ignore the assistance I've given you. Frankly, I don't give a f*** what you think anymore. I sincerely thanked you for getting me out of the shithole, but you continue to be a f***ing prick. Oh, and by the way, everyone else thinks you're a f***ing prick as well, just ask 'em."

As Winnacer starts another one of his pompous, pulpit-pounding sermons, Porter holds up his hand and says:

"Shove it. I don't care."

He then turns back to the Diggerz, saying:

"I'll be in touch when I can set it up, but I can't guarantee when that'll be. I'll let you know. Anything else?"

Emsee just shrugs in response.

Ignoring Porter's comments, Winnacer points to the three remaining entrances on the map:

"So these are the tunnels that are remaining that are in need of guarding," he says.

Emsee shrugs:

"A hole's a f***ing hole to me," he replies. "Don't mind which ones we take."

Winnacer nods and then continues:

"I think that it is important that you know what it is that you will be up against. Let me tell you all that we know about the ratmen from our previous encounters."

With that, he starts to give Emsee the same information that he gave the Council members earlier. As the young Lord continues to speak, the dwarves' eyes start to glaze over as he rapidly tires of the information.

"OK, OK," he finally says. "We get the idea that these ratbastards are some mean mutha-f***ers. But my posse is meaner than they are, I can tell you. Ain't no one that knows the levels like we do an' we got shooters coming out our asses. We're gonna f*** them f***ers up good."

The young Lord nods:

"So you think that you will be able to manage to guard the tunnels without any additional assistance?" he asks.

"My posse knows how to look after themselves," Emsee replies.

"Then we will take our leave," Winnacer says politely. "If you have any need to communicate with us, send a message to the 'Cask and Bottle.'"

Emsee sneers a little at the mention of the name of the inn:

"The 'Cask & Bottle' be in the Crips' Hood," he replies.

"In the place to be," drones Ice Pick.

"No it f***in' ain't, digger," Emsee replies angrily. "It's the place NOT to be."

"Word," Ice Pick apologizes.

Emsee looks back to Winnacer:

"Don't yo' go shoutin' yo' big lankee mouths off about Emsee an' his possee while you's stayin' in the mutha-f***in' Crips's Hood, y'hear? I don't want them muthas knowing nuthin' 'bout what's goin' on down here."

"Mum's the word," Winnacer begins.

"Word," agrees Ice Pick.

"But let me leave you with a thought," the young Lord continues. "You may not want anything to do with the other dwarves of Opava. But one day the Nyemetz will be gone, and it will be the dwarf with the best allies that will rise to the top."

"You have the chance to meet some of the powerful dwarves of the city. Perhaps a few kind words can open up a relationship with some of them while you work towards a common goal. Perhaps those words may help you garner the support to put the Crips in their place once and for all."

"Think about taking this chance of leading your Diggerz to better things, of leading yourself to better things. For the Nyemetz are not long for Opava.....and the Lord Protektor and a third of his troops are now dead. It's your call."

Emsee ponders Winnacer's words for a while and then responds:

"Them greenskin mutha-f***ers don't be botherin' us none down here in any case," he replies. "We don't got nuthin' that they wants. We'll see what happens if tha other diggerz chase their green asses outta here an' get the best of us then."

Winnacer nods and, with that, he takes his leave. The others accompany him, having had enough of the less than pleasant environment of the 'Black Rock'.

They all head out of the tavern and retrace their steps through the foul-smelling and detritus filled streets of the bottom level as they make their way back towards the staircase. They reach it without incident and ascend the filthy staircase until they arrive back at the top level. Upon reaching the top, they walk the few steps that take them back to the 'Cask & Bottle'.

As it is just before 10.00p.m. and they don't have an early start in the morning, they head into the bar for a quick nightcap and then return to their rooms in order to try and get a good night's sleep despite the small size of the beds.

 

29 DECEMBER 3460

Once again they are in no hurry to get out of their beds, knowing that there is little that they can do today other than continue to wait for the ratmen's arrival. Faewen'il rises a little earlier than the others and reads from her spellbook in the quietness of her room. Yaz also makes his devotions in his room, starting to count the hours until his stay in the undercity is over and he can return to Prirodna's demesne.

They all assemble in the meeting room just after 9.00 and avail themselves of the large breakfast that the innkeeper has prepared. While they are in the process of eating, the door opens and the CornerStone arrives:

"Good morning, everyone," he says in welcome. "As promised, I have come to give you Zemnye's blessing in the form of his rocky protection."

He looks to Porter and Winnacer:

"It was you two that were due to receive the blessing, I believe?"

"That's right," Winnacer replies.

The CornerStone reaches into his pouch and brings forth a pinch of powdered granite and diamond dust, which he proceeds to sprinkle upon Winnacer while uttering a quick incantation, the whole process lasting just a few seconds. He then heads over to Porter and repeats the operation.

The dwarf stands back once he has finished:

"Very good," he says. "That should protect you from the first few blows that you might receive. I would be obliged if you could try and stay out of trouble before the time of the ratmen invasion, as I am not going to be able to cast another one before that time."

"So what are all of your plans for the day?"

Faewen'il is the first to reply:

"I be promisin to go an have a word with Zosia an Rowan to see if Rowan be prepared to help us fight tha ratmen," she says.

Winnacer is the next to speak:

"I thought that it would be a good idea for us to check out the tunnel where we shall be fighting the ratmen."

The young Lord looks at Porter and Yaz:

"Would either of you like to accompany me?"

Porter shakes his head:

"Not this morning," he replies. "I have some other unfinished business here that needs to be settled before we leave this city."

He glances over at Faewen'il as he says it.

Yaz sighs, toking on a Nemotz smoke as he does so:

"Yeah, I guess I might as well do so," he says to Winnacer. "I got nothing else better to do in this stinking hole."

The CornerStone nods:

"Very well, you seem to have your agendas set for the day and so I shall take my leave of you now," the dwarf says. "If any of you need me for anything, then you shall find me at the Cathedral."

With that, he heads out, leaving them alone once more. They don't hurry to finish thei breakfast, but are ready to go after half an hour.

Faewen'il takes another of her eyelashes encased in gum Arabic, utters the familiar incantation and promptly disappears. She then heads out of the inn, heading back towards Tall Town in order to meet with Zosia and Rowan back at Mrs. Veverka's Apothecary.

Winnacer and Yaz grab their coats and head off next, leaving Porter alone in the 'Cask & Bottle' where he waits for Faewen'il's return.

Winnacer and Yaz exit the inn, looking around them to ensure that there are no goblins in the vicinity. However, there are no signs that the greenskins are active at the moment. They head for the staircase once again and soon reach it and then descend down to the sixth level. Upon exiting the staircase, Winnacer takes the map that the CornerStone made and starts to set off towards the tunnel mouth with the druid sauntering along behind him.

At this time in the morning, there is little activity on the sixth and they see few dwarves, aside for a few sleeping in the gutters. The sixth is in slightly better condition than the bottom level of Opava, but not a lot and the short journey to the tunnel mouth is as depressing as every other journey that they have made in the city. After 20 minutes, they have crossed the level and arrive at the mouth of a tunnel:

"This looks like the one," Winnacer says to Yaz, studying the map once again.

They can see that the tunnel mouth is some 20' high and wide at this point. The area before it is clear of any buildings, with the nearest being some 50' feet from the tunnel mouth. It seems dark and rather uninviting. They can see that there are rails heading into the tunnel mouth. From the flaking timber beneath them and the thick layer of rust covering the rails, they can tell that this tunnel has not been used for a long time.

The young Lord reaches into his backpack and produces his lantern, which he lights. He looks towards the tunnel mouth and then at Yaz:

"Shall we?" he asks.

Yaz shrugs and crushes the butt of a Nemotz smoke beneath his boot.

The pair of them head into the tunnel. They can see that it stretches on for quite some way away from the city. They walk for more than ten minutes down the tunnel, seeing that the tunnel is narrowing the further they travel. The tunnel is propped up by wooden pit props, many of which seem to be in a state of some decay. In places, they have crumbled away and they have to climb over piles of rubble upon the ground. There are cobwebs in every nook and cranny of the tunnel and the occasional rat squeaks and runs away as they are illuminated by Winnacer's lantern.

Winnacer and Yaz continue to make their way down the tunnel for a further five minutes, during which time the tunnel continues to narrow until it is a little over 6' high and wide. They then see that the tunnel comes to an abrupt stop. They can see that the rock here is lighter in color than the rest of the tunnel and surmise that it is at this point that the stream of coal that the dwarves were mining ran out here, which is why the dwarves abandoned the tunnel.

Winnacer looks at Yaz:

"If they come in to the tunnel straight, it's going to be a clean shot with a lightning bolt. We should try to figure that out."

"How do you think you can help make this point more defensible for us? Any ideas?"

The druid lights another Nemotz smoke, lets out a slight cough and shrugs, obviously not terribly interested in the hole:

"I dunno," he replies, picking at a fingernail. "Y'know what shit I can do. I can shape the stone to make it narrower or wider if you like. Or I could use my gift to shape wood to loosen some of the pit props, may be. It would prob'ly be a bit risky though. I'm not engineer and so I might just end up bringing the whole lot down on our heads."

He shrugs again.

Winnacer takes one more lingering look at the tunnel and then turns his back on it:

"Well I suppose that there is nothing more for us to do here at the moment. I thought that we could perhaps ask around to see if we can obtain some assistance for the task."

"There is no way of knowing how many of the ratmen we shall have to face. The four of us plus the illusionist may have problems in dealing with them all on our own."

Yaz just sighs and shrugs once more.

"I think that we should start our search on the fifth," the young Lord continues. "That is where Zbignor said that we should search for him if ever we need him."

With that, the young Lord takes off, with the druid sauntering reluctantly behind him. It doesn't take long to find the staircase and they are soon up on the fifth level. They start looking around for a tavern, and find one within just a couple of minutes.

They head into the tavern and Winnacer speaks with the landlord. He finds that communicating with the landlord is not so easy, as the dwarves speak no Bohavian and Winnacer speaks no dwarven. The name 'Zbignor' leads to a nod of understanding from the landlord, but the shrug that follows it reveals that the landlord doesn't know where he is currently.

They try another three taverns, but in each case the results are the same, or worse in that the dwarves refuse to speak to them at all.

The morning turns into afternoon as they go from tavern to tavern. Early in the afternoon, after stopping at one of the tavern for a spot of lunch, they finally find a tavern where the innkeeper recognizes Zbignor's name and points towards the east. They thank the innkeeper for his help and head off in the direction that he indicated.

They carry on until they reach the wall of the level. Right before it, they see Zbignor barking out instructions to a large group of dwarves armed with picks, obviously in the middle of training them.

As they walk towards him, Zbignor barks for the dwarves to stand at ease and leans on his axe:

Winnacer shakes the dwarf's hand:

"How are they getting along?" he asks.

"Not so bad," Zbignor replies. "There isn't much time to get turn them into veterans, but I reckon that they'll make up in enthusiasm for what they lack in experience."

"Anyway, what brings you here?" the dwarf asks.

"We were looking for some allies to help us in the tunnel that we agreed to take," Winnacer replies. "Would you know of any other mercenary groups in town at the moment, or any other groups that are not already committed elsewhere?"

Zbignor shakes his head:

"I'm afraid not," he says. "Opava's no place for a holiday really, and so most of the other mercs from the city tend to go elsewhere when they have some time off."

"I don't know really what to suggest," he continues. "Most of the loyal dwarves are already taken for one tunnel or another."

Winnacer nods his head sadly:

"Well thanks for the information, anyway," he replies. "I had better let you get back to training the dwarves. There's only a little over 48 hours remaining."

Zbignor shakes Winnacer's hand once more and returns his attention to his troops.

As the pair of them wander away, Winnacer speaks to Yaz once more:

"I don't think it would be a good idea to try and recruit any Crips, which means that we should probably try looking around on the fifth and lower levels."

"Whatever," Yaz replies ambivalently.

For the next few hours, the pair of them have a frustrating time as they continue to trawl their way round the taverns and streets of the fifth and sixth looking for any dwarves that might be interested in joining the party to fight the ratmen threat. The vast majority of the dwarves don't understand a word that Winnacer is saying. Those that do are already committed to the city's defense, either with the miners, the blacksmiths, the Seelans or the Bloods.

As it gets to after 9.00p.m., Winnacer lets out a long sigh and turns to Yaz:

"I think that we're going to have to admit defeat on this one. Perhaps the CornerStone can point us in the right direction tomorrow."

Yaz shrugs:

"That's fine by me," the druid replies.

With that, the pair of them head up the stairs that lead back up to the 'Cask & Bottle' on the first. As they walk up, they see a familiar figure ahead of them on the stairs. They see that it is Porter. From the expression on his face, it appears that he has also had a fairly fruitless day as well.

Porter looks back at Winnacer and scowls. Winnacer does the same. Silently the threesome walk back into the inn and head into the meeting room to see if any of the dwarves are waiting for them.