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Mikal

He nods. "Yes. I got that impression from you. That was why I was thinking if we simply toss some food off to one side it might just go there and eat it and let us by unmolested."

Cesare

"If we can avoid fighting giant lizards then I am all for it, had enough of the last lot we took on."

He is still concerned for the girl though.. and her anxious father.

"Let's give it a try. Others have obviously passed this way."

The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
Under the Docks
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

Cesare, Kadri, Mikal, Bekkah and Rory

“We are going back?”

Rory raised the question again, as the intrepid explorers once again turned around and headed back along that first underground street, returning north to the lighted corridor. This time it was spoken in a much more droll manner, as if he really didn’t expect an answer.

They had found some jerky, a rather floppy fish and an annoyed crab to serve as lizard temptation. While they lacked a wooden pole to test the water’s depth they could proceed carefully.

With Mikal still in the lead they proceeded down the worn stone stairs. In a bit of good luck it was quickly discovered that the water was not deep at all; it only covered the last two steps. Most wore tall boots of one manner or another – pragmatic boots from Highgaard, those meant for riding or soldiering – which meant the water didn’t even come to the tops.

Rory was the only one wearing something more sandal-like.

The lack of proper illumination, however, did make the surface seem impenetrable. The surface was like a black mirror or reflected their light back with a scattered glare. It also presented a second conundrum; moving through it was noisy enough that they would have no fear of being snuck up upon but in return they would be heard by anyone they tried to approach.

Such as the lizard.

Two things occurred at once.

First, Mikal’s foot felt the floor suddenly end. Sudden and sheer and completely hidden by the black water, he had come across a pit. How deep it was he didn’t know and it was only Cesare’s quick reflexes, catching him by the arm, which hauled him back from the edge.

And they were not alone.

It had been looking at its own tail suspiciously before it growled a bit, surprised, at the sudden nearby lamplight. One green scaly arm rose, to cover its scaly face, until its eyes became used to the light – fairly quickly – and it looked to the interlopers.

Now this thing was large, half again as tall as Mikal and substantially massive, almost to the level of plumpishness. It was covered in an odd patchwork of armor. A piece of plate here, a bit of leather there, all definitely ramshackle and jury rigged. It did seem to favor spikes, like those on its tail, which ended in a metal mace-like thing.



It also had a spear and once it regained its bearings it leapt forward and …

… and immediately scrambled back and came to a halt. It stopped about five feet from Mikal and brandished its spear, a loud growlf echoing up and down the hall. Where it stopped it was only standing in wading depth water and if that represented the other side of the pit it was something most folks could leap across.

Rory tossed the crab at it.

Surprisingly adroit, the lizard-thing caught it, looked at it, held it at arms length and then lifted it. It dropped the crab into his mouth and happily crunched it.

The lizard was a very sloppy eater.

It then turned, drew itself up, waved its spear in a distinctly threatening manner, holding out its freehand, open and waiting.

It growlfed once, sounding fierce and with authority. One did not need to understand lizard speak to infer its meaning.

Translating from lizard-ish, it had probably said something like, “More!”

This could be a problem.

Cesare

Well this is not just happenstance. This creature has been armed and armoured presumably to play the role of guard here. Now whether they can 'buy' their way past it remains to be seen.

"Give it the rest" he says to Rory.

He only hopes it will be enough. Presumably it has also been fed by whomever came before.

Mikal

He nods at Cesare's suggestion and slowly draws his darksteel weapons. While he doesn't make any immediate threat to the lizard, he makes it clear that it has a choice.

"Toss the food off to one side, there", he points with his sword. "Lets see if it will let us pass peacefully. If not, get your crossbow ready", he adds to Cesare.

Kadri loosened the bonds on her daggers, not drawing yet but being ready.

"Yes, please do."

She looks back to the lizard.

"Can you understand me?"

Cesare

He is carrying Mikal's crossbow already but in preparation he draws a bolt quietly but holds in ready. He too is making no overt threats. If they can pass peacefully, all the better.

Bekkah

She followed along silently, holding the lantern to shine around the darkened area. Once they'd found the lizard thing she shrank back a bit, before regaining herself to hold the lantern to illuminate it as well as possible.

She didn't like the idea of shooting it and she suspected it would take a lot to actually kill it, but on the other hand, she could only imagine the little girl's fear if she was down here. She wanted to see her safe.

The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
Under the Docks
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

Cesare, Kadri, Mikal, Bekkah and Rory

Despite slyness, shortness, bravado and general friendliness, Kadri’s question went unanswered save for a shake of he spear and a second sounding of that guttural, hungry growlf, this time even louder. Obviously casual conversation was beyond the lizard-thing’s simple comprehension.

When Bekkah and Rory tossed the rest of the food to the side – despite a valorous but in vain attempt of the floppy fish to escape via fin across Bekkah’s cheek – the lizard-thing did, quite aggressively, turn and jump. It pawed at the water to subdue the jerky, expertly slammed said rebellious fish with its tail mace and generally made a ruckus as it went after its unexpected feast.

Tracking down the last tidbits gave some members of the small group a chance to leap the concealed pit. This was especially important to Mikal, getting him on the same side as the lizard thing, if things took an unfortunate turn.

Which, of course, they did.

It did not take long for the lizard to finish his meal and start looking for more; it took exactly the same amount of time for Kadri and Mikal to make the crossing, leaving Bekkah, Rory and Cesare on the starting side. It brandished it’s spear, it growlfed, and its expression became certainly unruly, as if it knew exactly whose fault it was there was no more food.

It leapt.

Or at least it tried to.

At the first sign of overt aggression Cesare fired. And he struck home. Not that it could have been considered hard; the beast was large, it didn’t run very fast and the Rhoni had diligently prepared. The bolt slammed right into the beast’s side, through scales and into muscles, and stopped, half in and half with a spray of black blood. That certainly stopped it’s leap. The creature looked down, eyes wide at the quarrel and took a step towards Cesare with a roar.

Which, of course, left its flank open to Mikal.

Darksteel slashed through is jury rigged armor and deep into lizard blubber, a cut that would have disemboweled anything less …plump. Of course the lizard turned to its newest foe, shaking his spear at Mikal, its long snout reaching forward in an attempt to bite. The Jvrillian could feel the air move as the jaws snapped back down, with the fel realization that the lizard could probably swallow his head whole if given a chance.

Which was about the time that Cesare’s second crossbow bolt hit. A sound strike in the creatures back. It turned to face this renewed attack, jumping up and down once in frustration.

And that was the jist of it; the slash of Mikal’s blades versus the ranged attack from Cesare’s crossbow kept the lizard off balance. The downside was that Bekkah’s premonition was correct; the lizard appeared to be able to withstand a tremendous amount of hurt – if it was indeed smart enough to feel pain. It was also not good when, through misfortune or sheer brute force it managed to strike Mikal. The Jvrillian was literally tossed back like a leaf on the wind when – while turning to face Cesare – the lizard’s mace tail accidentally struck him across the side, most definitely breaking a few ribs in the process. Parrying a spear thrust was also a challenge – not that Mikal’s blades weren’t sturdy but the force of the blow was unexpectedly strong.

Until finally, like a giant tree in the forest, the lizard thing fell forward into the water, a large splash the last of its insults.

For a while all was silent. The lizard thing could be searched – all that would be found would be its large spear, bits of armor and a pouch with a few broken shells and odd stones carried within.

Then, two things happened. Further down the hall, more splashings could be heard. They were still quite a distance a way. There were also faint lizard growlings; and this time in different tones, as if some manner of conversation – no argument – was being held somewhere deeper in the subterranean town.

The second was more disturbing.

Slowly the lizard thing pushed himself up. Its eyes were empty, dark, and cold. It didn’t bleed, not from its many wounds. It more like oozed, like a corpse would, bleeding out its last. It lurched – and that was the best word – lurched towards Mikal.

It took two heartbeats to realize what was going on.

It was too dumb to realize it was dead.

Cesare

He is convinced foul magics are at play here and falls back on Rhoni superstitions for an answer, at the same time firing again in desperation. He really doesn't like big lizards.

"Behead it!"

Mikal

He grunts as he flies thru the air, landing, thankfully, into the water. Rising quickly, he grimaces as bones on his side grate against each other. Ha glances across where he knows the pit beneath the water is and sees Bekkah and Cesare still on the other side. **Healing will need to wait**, he thinks as he knows he needs to re-engage the lizard.

So, favoring his injured side he wades (literally ) back in and continues stabbing the lizard thing until it falls into the water face first.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, though shallowly, he focuses and casts a Healing spell upon his injured side, offering thanks to Jvrill for surviving the battle. He takes an experimental deeper breath, relieved to be able to do so, and then hears the voices from far off.

"Come across, quickly!" He calls to those on the other side. His thought being that if they can get past this flooded area perhaps they can escape any pursuit and continue looking for the girl.

As he watches the others cross, he sees the dead lizard thing rise and he takes a step back, though keeping between it and Kadri. At Cesare's call, he nods and sheathes his short sword and main gauche. Those weapons are meant for stabbing and would be less useful for what Cesare is suggesting.

He slides his shield around from his back onto his left arm and draws his far less frequently used broadsword, thankful for all the practice sessions he spent with Daxia on the road using it. Stepping forward, shield ready to block, he looks for an opening to slash at the things neck.

Kadri moves to draw her daggers, and in this case, moves in behind Mikal ready to move in if needed.

The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
Under the Docks
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

Cesare, Kadri, Mikal, Bekkah and Rory

There is a saying amongst wood and leatherworkers and crafters of all manner and sorts.

The right tool for the right job.

Changing from two sword to sword and shield was something practiced; something Daxia had taught well – it was also Dandelion Koromov’s favored style. It was the perfect foil for a lizard that refused to die. The larger shield made it easier to block the lurching thing’s awkward attacks and the broadsword cut huge butcher-like swaths through the too stupid creature’s flesh.

Knowing about the pit, it was easy for the others to join Mikal and Kadri on the other side. It was just a tug up of tunic skirts and a leap. Rory, Cesare and Bekkah successfully made the leap …

… just in time to see Mikal and Kadri re-engage the lizard-thing.

Sword and shield, however, make it hard for Cesare to shoot into the fray; there was too much of a chance of hitting Mikal.

This, however, was not a problem for Kadri, especially in these shadow shrouded halls. She could dart in and out, from one to another to harass the foul creature. She didn’t even need to do much damage; just enough to grab the stupid monster’s attention and make him pay attention to her and not the Jvrillian.

Cesare’s recommendation, however, proved vital.

The beast did not stop attacking until one arm was held on by but sinews, flopping around like a puppet on a string. It did not stop trying to overpower Mikal until its knee was shattered by a strong hit and its at leg went one direction and the body another.

Then it just twitched in the shallow water, flailing almost by reflex, without any rhyme or reason. Each twitch was smaller, slower, as if eventually it would lay still and final. But who knew how long that would take.

It was quicker and easier to just remove its head.

Their next challenge awaited.

Because the additional splashing and growling they heard, were not pursuing them.

They were ahead, in the direction they needed to go.

Cesare

He is not happy to hear more noise ahead.

"How many of these damned things are there?"

It is a grumbled but rhetorical question as his ears are at least as sharp as everyone else's.

"Mikal. maybe you should take point, Kadri and I flank you with Rory and Bekkah taking a more defensive rear postition?"

He is not really suggesting this for Mikal's ears, he knows that Mikal is a better tactician than he will ever be but Rory is new to this.

Bekkah

She made the jump and watched the second round of the fight with the creature. Some would look for defensive weaknesses, Bekkah's eyes were solely on her friends to see if any of them were hurt. A creature like this especially worried her because she had no idea if it carried poison.

When it was over the second time and they heard more noise, she looked at the group.

"Are any of you in need of healing? Even a scratch could prove to be a problem if untended." she said, clearly all business, nothing like her normal cheerful manner. She knew of course all too well the stubbornness of fighters to want healing. Especially men.

Mikal

He grunts in satisfaction once the beast is truly down. Glancing at Bekkah he nods. "I've got a broken rib or two from that mace. Many thanks."

Once the healing if done he turns and nods agreement to Cesare, pointing ahead. "Keep your crossbow ready. Let's see if we can catch them."

KAdri:

"... I can see some distance, perhaps, farther than you. I can also hear well - if others are not being too loud. And shoudl you want some scouting, I can disappear with the best. The only question is ..."

She taps her nose.

"If those things smell us coming."

Mikal

He glances into the water and points. "Seems to me we have a pretty good camouflage for smell right there." Reaching down, he pulls up the dead lizard's tail and hacks it off with his sword. He then smears the blood from the tail across his body and hands the tail to Kadri with a small grin. "Next?"

Cesare

He nods, looking ahead into the torchlit area hoping for a target.

"Any chance we could avoid them? Hiding under the water maybe? Could be too many for us."

He is standing his ground but clearly concerned.

Bekkah

She'd suspected Mikal had been hurt. Normally, she'd do a much more thorough inspection, but they didn't have the time.

"When we get back, I'm going to look at this more carefully." she said as she got a hand to his ribs. With a prayer to her Lady, she let Her power flow through her hands to Mikal's ribs. He'd feel the warmth course through him until she removed her hands.

"Try to dodge next time." she added offering him a beautiful smile.

Mikal

As the warmth of the healing flows into his side he gasps, then says, "Many thanks."

He pauses, considering all of the splashing both ahead of them and to the side and the noise they will make trying to catch up, then turns to Rory.

"I would ask you a favor, Rory. Would you stay here", he points, "cross back to the other side of the pit, and make as much noise as you possibly can? Splash, shout, scream, yell, whatever it takes. Hopefully it will be enough to cover us as we try not to make noise and will attract the lizards here rather than to us as we move deeper."

He looks at the man. "You will run back to the door and leave once you sight any lizards, right?"

KAdri:

She looks to Mikal

"I can teach you how to dodge you know."

She grins cheekily.

"Its one thing that I'm good at. Dodging big galoots."

She winks.

"Ready when you are."

The Heartwood
Talesan’s Village
Under the Docks
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Scholar

Cesare, Kadri, Mikal, Bekkah and Rory

Rory tilted his head, a bit confused, until he nodded, once, sure and understanding.

“Like rousting quail at the end of harvest season …”

The farmer simply had to see it in his own terms. Taking his lamp with him he carefully made his way back to the pit, finding its edge with his toe before leaping across. He landed with a loud splash and a slip, ending up on his knees but somehow keeping the lamp above the water. He stood and started stamping the shallow water, definitely splashing and calling out.

“Hey ugly lizards … Lizard! Lizard thing!”

It was very noisy, it roughly echoed up and down the stone halls, and it was certainly louder than if one moved slowly through the water – especially if one sloshed instead of stepped.

“Lizard … lizard … thing …”

The problem was thinking of something to say over and over again …

“Some friends and I in a public house
“Was playing a game of chance one night
“When into the pub a fireman ran …”

The word were sung out - it was a common tavern song - it was more than a little offkey and sometimes off rhythm. Rory was no Zach Kirillsoon and it was obvious he was only tolerated to carry a tune because he provided the evenings drink. But it was certainly attention grabbing.

“His face all a chalky white.
"’What's up’, says Brown, ‘Have you seen a ghost,
“’Or have you seen your Aunt Mariah?’
"’Me Aunt Mariah be buggered!’, says he,
"’The bleedin' pub's on fire!’”

And while this semi-musical cacophony occurred behind them, the remainder were able to move forward into the colonnaded hall. This was definitely some manner of ancient street or promenade; it was long and repetitive.

On the bright side all it took was a gentle Atteran touch and any hint of pain vanished. Mikal’s ribs were stitched by sparklings of white and diamond, returning him fresh to face the next lizard.

The use of Rory as a distraction – or rather an attraction – was a sound tactic.

A lizard-thing which lurched into view when they reached the next lamp. But it was alone- it was not a charge of lizard-things and nor did they stumble into a gang of them. It almost seemed that while they were coming down the hall too them, it was not in the most organized of fashion.

The lamp was the same; a tin pierced box tied to a length of rope that had been lashed to one of the columns.

The lizard-thing was the same too; big and green and wearing armor makeshift. It even carried a spear – or something spear like – his was a wooden pole with a very large and nasty looking knife lashed to its end. It actually stopped, as if it were surprised to see other creatures in the corridor.

This gave Cesare an opening, and it looked even more shocked when a crossbow bolt buried itself into is leg.

But that did not improve its disposition.

It roared, it limped, it lurched forward, in search of a Rhoni to impale. Which took him past Mikal, allowing the Jvrillian to slash open its side with a sure sweep of his sword. Turning it opened himself to Kadri’s daggers.

And then it became the chaos of melee.

Its attacks could not be called coordinated, but they were backed by a more than human strength. It struck at whoever hit it last. And sometimes twice – he had a second knife lashed to his tail, and between that and sheer strength he once knocked Mikal a few paces back. The shield took most of the blow – but his arm still stung and the shield would definitely need repair once they returned to the surface.

It was Kadri, however, that took the worst of its blows; ne managing to connect, the rusty blade slashing a ragged gash up her left leg. She could still stand, but a second lizard-thing success might change that.

“And there was Brown upside down
“Lappin’ up the whiskey on the floor.
“’Booze, booze!’ The firemen cried
“As they came knockin' on the door ..."

The creature was finally wobbling, bleeding from a handful of deep wounds, its black blood staining the water. Its blows were slowing, and its roars were even weaker but it certainly wasn’t smart enough to retreat,

And that was when Cesare saw the second Lizard thing step into the light.

“And we all got blue-blind paralytic drunk
“When the Old Dun Cow caught fire …”

Cesare

"Behead it Mikal, another coming!"

He is already firing at the second, concerned about Rory back there on his own, bravely singing away. If any get past them...

Mikal

Seeing Kadri slashed by the tail, and being knocked back himself is enough. This is the second lizard they've fought and the pattern is the same. Every time it is hit, it turns towards whoever hit it. So, stepping between Kadri and the Lizard he pauses for the next bolt from Cesare and as soon as the Lizard's head turns towards Cesare, he steps in and slashes as strongly as he can at it's neck.