Night to Remember – Underside

[valsert]

The stench was bad but.... well, there were no buts... the stench was horrible.

Although Valsert tried to recall a more nauseating moment in his life, there was nothing to compare. Not even the putrid breath of a hell hound at extreamly close quarters came close...and he was one of the few would had lived to make such a comparison.

There would be no choice but to enter. That was a given. Yet nothing in his military training would serve him now.

It seemed the only thing left for him to do, was to simply still his mind and enter. Gathering his nerve and setting his mind to a stoic state, he moved forward for his turn to leave the confines of their prison and enter the sewer

[Corbin Dillon]

Corbin passed through the hole, following Ashtallion, but mindful of the need to maintain the strength of the tunnel they had bored. He kept himself focussed on the Aether, concentrating on the structure of the hole. Should the tunnel collapse he was ready to surge energy back in to hold it up whilst the others came through.

[Danomel]

It appeared to not be humanly possible to block out the odors of the sewer entirely, such was their strength. Danomel settled for not becoming sick or incapacitated as he keep up his efforts at ignoring what his nose was telling him.

As he followed the others into the sewer, he remembered that he had once had occasion to study some diagrams of the Citadel sewer system, though not for this areas specifically. As a mental exercise and a distraction from the odor, he tried comparing the information to what his eyes were showing him. It was possible, and even likely that the sewer system across the city was similar in design, and any similarities would hopefully lead to a quick exit.

However, an amusing thought did occur to Danomel. In some tales and stories, the hero or villain made use of sewers for hiding and sometimes getting from place to place. He had to wonder if any of the authors or tellers of such tales had ever had occasion to enter a cities sewer system, an dif they had, how that might have changed their stories.

[Grey Wolf]

It was not just the water that filled the sewers, the water actually the least of the quintet's problem. It was the refuse floating in the water that carried the most of the stench, a stream of rotten sauerkraut pieces floating past just as they entered the narrow and low passage. Rancid smell made their eyes water, their feet sloshing in Gods know what sort of foul things. Water, or rather some liquid dripped from the arched ceiling, even Ashatlion forced to stoop down in the passage, shouts and screams filtering from somewhere to the left. It was debatable whether the light helped the situation or made it worse. A rat scurried half-way up Corbin's leg, resting there for a flicker before letting out a squeak and leaping back down into the foul water. Of the direction in which the exit lay there was no indication, and the small passage quickly grew cramped as they crammed into it.

[Corbin Dillon]

This was not how a scion of the Dillons was supposed to spend his time, and certainly not how he was supposed to treat his clothes. Good heavens, it smelt.

"This is not how a night at a brothel is supposed to end." Corbin said with a frown as he recalled the delightful frame of Madam Tigre beneath her scant clothing.

A rat climbed up his leg, but it disappeared before he could summon the desire to roast it with a bit of magic fire. In truth his body was tired and it was that, more than any humane feeling, that kept him from killing the pestilent vermin.

He heard the shouts and screams and drew up for a moment.

"Where is that coming from?" He asked. "Is it from the Banner?" He hoped people had not become trapped - would they be able to make their way there in time to help people?

[valsert]

It took a bit of effort to ignore the chunky bits as Valsert took his first step into the sickening water. Although he assumed one could become accustomed to the situation, the experience in its self removed all thoughts of the underground network becoming a mode of travel for future 'jobs'.

"Well...this is certainly disgusting." he began, speaking to no one in particular.

"But I suppose we wont be rid of the place unless we move on, no?... Shall we go?"

[Ashtallion Urdil]

The wizard was far from impressed, however he kept his comments to himself. His light had revealed the source of the foul smell and even at the sight did Ashtallion had to force the bile back down. Asht moved moved once the others had entered the sewer, leading the way with the light.

Screams and shouts reached his ears and for a moment he paused and tilted his head in the direction the sounds were coming from. Making an assessment, the magus kept towards that direction, focusing on the noise rather than the smell and sights beneath him.

[Danomel]

Danomel watched as the adhiel mage turned in the direction of the shouting. Pausing a moment, Danomel glanced down at the direction in which the liquid flowed, to see if it was in the same direction.

Danomel wondered if heading down stream, so to speak, might not be the best way to proceed, as the sewer had to come out somewhere. Though as far as he could tell, the worst thing that could happen, going up stream, was coming to the end, other than spending more time in the sewer.

As it was unlikely to make much of a difference one way or the other, Danomel quietly turned to follow. Besides, it was probably better to keep focused on ignoring the odor, as he was not sure that he would not feel compelled to add to the filth if he did open his mouth. It was hard enough keeping his stomach under control.

[Grey Wolf]

Danomel's search showed that they were indeed moving upstream, as much as the liquid flowing under them could be called a stream, or even a liquid. Refuse pooled around their feet as they trudged towards the shouts and screams, each step bringing a new sensation around their toes. Even the dreadful smell filling the sewers changed as they trudged along, turning somewhat moldy, and with a strong scent of smoke and burning wood added in. The lighting in the tunnel grew better, flames from above flickering through the grates above. They were under the street in front of the banner and from what little they could see, dozens of men and women ran this way and that with buckets, trying to douse the flames, excess water flowing down the street and into the sewers, threatening to spill over their heads as it fell from the grates.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

Ashtallion paused for a moment as he heard the noise from above, looking through the grates as people ran and chaos reigned while the Banner burned. He wanted to help douse the fire, but from down in the sewer there was little he could do. The mage motioned the light closer to the grate and examined one of them. Were they big enough to allow them access to the street above? He was certain he could remove it with a big of magic if need be.

[Corbin Dillon]

Corbin, despite his fatigue, was moved in the same way that Ashtallion was. Despite the strain that his magic had put on him, the sight of the people desperately trying to douse the flames was sufficient to rekindle his humanity. What use saving The Citadel from a demon if you were just to watch it burn down and collapse?

He moved towards one of the grates, and despite the water that was pouring down he pushed at it, to see if he could release and move it out of the way to allow escape and the opportunity to assist those fighting the fire.

[Danomel]

Danomel also moved towards the grate and added his strength to Corbin’s to see if they could move it.

While pushing, he examined the edges. He suspected that they were probably attached in some fashion. He hoped they were hinged and not set in the stone. If hinged, there should be a latch or release of some sort.

[Grey Wolf]

Whomever it was that had been ordered to replace the cobble upon the street above had though it easier to simply place a new layer over the old one. They were not stingy with their bricks, as a good hand's width of grate was paved over on all sides making it near to impossible for the trapped men to raise it up. They could see and hear all that transpired above, but the opening, even were they to manage to remove the grating was too small for them to emerge up. Given time and some tools they might be able to loosen the mortar and widen the hole, but by the time they were done it would be day above. It was then that Ashtalion's keen sense of smell detected an odd odor amidst the smell of burning above. It was almost sickly sweet and it took a flicker or two before it became obvious what he smelled. There was a decomposing corpse nearby and by the sound and smell of it, it rested just round the corner, where rats squeaked most vigorously.

[Danomel]

Giving up on the grate above, Danomel glances around. “Well I guess we should push forward, and hopefully find another exit.”

Looking back the way they had come, Danomel considers the whether it would be better to head down stream, and how in tact the walls might be where the two mages had tunneled through. With a sigh, he figures it is probably better to continue upstream.

Danomel turns upstream again and trudges forward, looking for anything that might possibly resemble an exit.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

OOC: Woops, my bad for late reply! Sorry!

IC:

Ashtallion frown at the grate, tempted to simply blast a hole to the surface, but of course he knew many could be potentially injured as a result. He paused for a moment, his nose sniffing the air slightly, then wrinkling as a thought he knew what the odor was....aside from the surrounding stench.

" I smell something.... " the mage moved away from the others, cautiously, bracing himself for what he imagine lay around the bend.

[Corbin Dillon]

Nothing was ever easy, Corbin reflected as the grate failed to move. He supposed blasting it away would not be the most politic thing to do at the moment, and so he resigned himself to finding another way out.

From behind him he heard Ashtallion mention that he smelt something.

"You're not the only one." Corbin grumbled. "I didn't know that a single city could produce so much excrement. I'm going to be smelling faeces for days." He said with distaste, and turned round to follow Ashtallion, hoping that the elf knew where he was going.

[Grey Wolf]

As he moved, the smell became stronger, Ashtalion's eyes gazing first upon a severed foot, its skin white as a bleached fabric. Of the calf only bone remained, and the foot itself had a multitude of tiny bite marks upon it, though it seemed that whomever had feasted upon it, did not find it as tasty as the rest of the leg. Parts of the body were missing, and what was left of it lay scattered along several yards of the tunnel, the dead body obviously male and dead for a while, judging by the amount of flesh removed from it by the tiny teeth. His groin was a gaping hole, though his penis was still in his possession, the severed member stuck in the man's mouth. He lacked eyes, whomever had feasted upon it devouring them completely, his face, or what was left of it stretched into a permanent mask of horror. As the adhiel mage approached the body, a few rats scurried away, squeaking angrily at this interruption.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

Ashtallion grimaced immedately as he saw the corpse. Yet he kept his eyes on it, those golden robs glancing at the rats as they scurried away before returning to the half eaten dead man.

" It was not the putridness of the sewer I smelt, Corbin....it was this.... ", all of this was becoming too much for the mage, he wanted out of this sewer, he wanted away from the shit, the rats and the corpses. He'd had enough 'adventure' for one night. But, he knew his calling, to fight with his spirit and his sorcery....and this eveingtide tide had certainly been a battle with his spirit.

" Who knows how many corpses have found their way into this sewer. " he regarded the deada man closely, looking for any insignia on his clothing to suggest his profession, or anything that would perhaps identify him. He doubted he would find anything, the rats would have been attracted to anything shiney and have possibly taken it.

[Danomel]

Upon seeing the corpse, Danomel turns away for several flickers, giving himself a chance to still his stomach before he adds his last meal to the rest of the filth in the sewer.

Once he feels more in control of his rolling insides, he turns back and takes a step or two closer the corpse. After all, it was not as if he had not seen a corpse before. Looking it over carefully, he comments, “Obviously the victim of foul play, having his member stuffed in his mouth and all, I’m guessing while he was still alive. Nasty business that!”

Looking around the sewer again, Danomel continues, “Looks like he was dumped here, which means there has to be a man sized exit or opening somewhere close by.”

[Ashtallion Urdil]

Ashtallion looked at Danomel, " I hadn't even thought of that... " he laughed lightly, regretting it as soon as he did, inhaling a large gulp of the unmentionable stench. He coughed, clearing his throat, grimacing once more. Indeed though, he hadn't thought of how the man had came to be here, too preoccupied with looking for signs of who he was.

The sorcerer called the globe of light nearer him, and passed a hand over it, attempting to make it slighty brighter so that they would not miss any exit.

[Grey Wolf]

The light was hardly necessary, the casual observation revealing that the body had floated down the sewers for a while, before getting stuck against a piece of rock in the stream. Now that they looked at it, it was obvious the water flowed past the corpse and, before the brighter light obscured it, a speck of light some hundred or so paces away. The passage looked wider now, even Danomel and Barrett able to stand up straight in it, the walls moving farther apart with each side passage joining the one in which they stood.

The body wore no visible marks, an edge of a tattoo partially visible upon his gnawed forearm, flowing red mane and an eye of a woman the only thing visible. He had no trace of clothing or even jewelry upon him, and appeared to have been naked when whomever did it, tossed him into the sewer. Perhaps his back had more clues, but it would require someone to come closer and reach into the thick sludge of the sewer, touching the corpse and roll him over.

[Danomel]

Looking forward, Danomel grimaces. “We should move forward. There is really nothing we can do for this poor soul, other than report his location when we get out of here!”

Glancing back at the body, Danomel shudders. “Don’t think he is part of this whole Red Banner thing this evening, seems to have been down here a bit longer than a day.”

Turning, Danomel advances several paces further, keeping an eye out for an exit.

[Corbin Dillon]

A corpse in the sewer to complete the evening.

"Poor chap." Corbin remarked. "When I die I do not want to be dumped in a sewer." He added drily. "And I'd also like to have my parts attached correctly." He said as he saw the mans genitalia in his mouth.

"It strikes me that it could be connected to the Red Banner." Corbin suggested. "The act of sexual violence, cutting the man's penis off and placing it in his mouth would seem a punishment for some sort of sexual crime - perhaps attacking one of the girls?" He suggested.

He saw the tattoo, paused for a moment, then bent down to turn the body so he could see it.

"I'm covered in faeces already, this won't make me much worse." He grumbled. Besides, he loved a puzzle.

[Grey Wolf]

Submerged under water as it were, the man's back was safe from the rat's explorations, and relatively untouched by decay. Another tattoo covered the man's lower back, depicting a lighthouse atop a cliff. It was the only untouched part of his back, his skin covered in blisters and thin cuts, a several strips of it missing altogether. He had been tortured savagely before death, and by the looks of some of his wounds it had lasted a while, as they have managed to heal partially before he had been murdered.

While Corbin examined the body, Danomel advanced some ten of so paces ahead and, as the light from Ashtalions' magic dimmed managed to see the edge of the moon up ahead, shining through the opening straight forward. Distances were hard to discern in the darkness, but it could not have been that far, and certainly was less than hundred paces away.

[Danomel]

Staring towards the moon for a flicker, Danomel sighs a little and turns back towards the others and the dead body. It is not like I really have anything else to do, other than get clean. So A mystery it is then…

Steeping closer, Danomel takes another hard look at the body, now that Corbin has flipped it over, for several flickers. Additionally, he focuses on the aetheric energies around and within the body for another flicker, looking for anything unusual.

“Not being an expert in this sort of thing, I would hazard a few guesses about or departed companion here.” Danomel begins, as he considers the evidence before him.

“Initial impressions might lead one to conclude that this was sexual in nature, with the whole member in the mouth and being close to the Red Banner and all. However, I suspect that the torturers were after something he knew, especially considering the length of time it appears he was worked over. Something with a time limit possibly, from the sustained severity. Wonder if he gave it up in the end or not?”