POVERO Chapter Ten

[alhoon]

"Sure fat guy! I'll love to reduce the number of your puppies more. You should have heeded my advice but you had to play cocky with the puppies. Careful to not trip on their corpses." Fild shouts a final taunt. Quite unneeded tactically, but his bleeding jaw and the excitement make him do it anyway.
Looking to defend his allies from any other threat, he looks up at Alfonse and says in a carrying, but low whisper "I'll leave last, don't forget me! Throw me the rope and carry me over like before"

[VAN]

Seeing Gertie fleeing Tom heads towards the wall as well.

[ewancummins]

Seeing Gertie fleeing Tom heads towards the wall as well.

Tom reaches the wall and scrambles up it, reaching the top without much difficulty.
But then his sister slips from the top of the wall!
He catches her by one hand, but she slips from his grip and falls a few feet to the hard pavement.

Titus dashes over and tries to lift her up to Tom, but the priest gasps as he hefts the injured girl.
"Gah, I pulled something!"



Fild falls back to protect his friends who are climbing , or trying to climb, the wall.



Meanwhile, Alfonse untangles himself and-- with help from Damien and the Builder-- gets up and over the wall and safely down again on the far side. The Builder and Damien cast their loose rope ends over for the others and then drop down beside Alfonse.


And Sixt?

[ewancummins]

SIXT

SIXT heaves Gertie up onto his back and starts up the rope, clambering like an ape, up and over the wall.

As he reaches the top, he sees more men--and horses, too--streaming in toward the estate. Sixt can quickly pick out what might be a safe route through the oncoming bands. Maybe.
He drops down to join Alfonse and the others in the outer gardens.

Gertie slips down from his back. She mumbles,''My brother...''

[ewancummins]

SIXT

SIXT heaves Gertie up onto his back and starts up the rope, clambering like an ape, up and over the wall.

As he reaches the top, he sees more men--and horses, too--streaming in toward the estate. Sixt can quickly pick out what might be a safe route through the oncoming bands. Maybe.
He drops down to join Alfonse and the others in the outer gardens.

Gertie slips down from his back. She mumbles,''My brother...''

THE PARTY, DIVIDED BY A WALL, CLOSE TO DEATH OR CAPTIVITY...


Alfonse and the others who made it over the wall cannot see their friends. But they can hear Fild's taunts, the dogs' howling, the clash of blades, boots thudding on pavement and hard earth.

Titus yells, ''Pull us over!"

Damien and the Builder grab the ropes and haul.

One the inner side of the wall--

Titus tries pulling himself up the rope, but between his strained muscle and the weight of his armor, the priest has a hard time of it. At last he hauls himself up and over.

Fild grabs a rope with his free hand and lifts his shield to block any missiles hidden enemies might fire at him.

Two soldiers burst from the thinning cloud of smoke that covers the rear of Folbre House. They draw their swords and charge across the level ground, headed straight for Titus and Fild. More figures emerge from the haze, brandishing their weapons and shouting at the gnome.
One of the two Folbre men running ahead trips on something, crashing into his fellow. Both goes down hard.

An instant later, something small strikes Fild in his neck.
The gnome hasn't got time to puzzle out what just hit him; up he flies as his comrades on the far side of the wall really start hauling.


A moment later, the whole party stands, sits, or sprawls on the far side of the wall, reunited.
They've just a short while to catch their breath and get their bearings, and then they must flee again unless they wish to be caught in the stream of men and horses headed toward Folbre House from multiple directions...

[Lord Skybolt]

Sixt Leads the reunited group towards the possible safe route he spotted while atop the wall ."Come on lets go !!" He says to his comrades .

[Adam]

Alfonse does not hesitate to beat feet in the direction indicated.

[alhoon]

Fild follows, itching his neck, feeling around for any dart or other possible thing that could deliver poison. He remembers the description of the poisoned blades and he doesn't put it above the assassins to use poison even against rookies like themselves.

[VAN]

Tom follows Sixt and helps Gertie, he even carries her if needed.

[ewancummins]

Tom follows Sixt and helps Gertie, he even carries her if needed.

Gertie , having caught her breath, can walk or run as needed.
"It's not that bad, Thom. A lot of cuts and bruises. I don't think all the blood is mine."

She hastens along with the party...


TOM spots something the others seem not to have noticed, a low, round stone structure in the lawns not far southeast of the walled compound, partly obscured by shrubs.
As he passes near the thing, his elvensight reveals a hint of cool air in motion near the structure (it looks like a thin blue haze against the warmer air of the summer night).

[VAN]

Tom points the round stone at the others.

"Look here, I think is a secret entrance."

[ewancummins]

Tom points the round stone at the others.

"Look here, I think is a secret entrance."

The Builder stares into the night.
''Eh? I can't see it very well, but you might be right."

The man goes to investigate, along with Damien.

They hasten back across the open ground, crouching low, after only a brief inspection.

The Builder says, "It's a hatch leading down into one of the city's underground irrigation canals. Smugglers and robbers have used these tunnels and canals to move around the city before, but I do not know this particular one. They all flow south in the end, though,because water runs downhill, from the highlands up north toward the sea. If we don't mind getting wet up to our hips or knees, I think we can wade out of the estate, covered by stone and unseen. At least out of this area. There will be other hatches further down the line, for sure."

[Lord Skybolt]

"Sounds good to me !!"Sixt says and goes down the hatch . When he gets down to the bottom he pulls a torch out and lights it unless there is some other light source down there that is .

[ewancummins]

"Sounds good to me !!"Sixt says and goes down the hatch . When he gets down to the bottom he pulls a torch out and lights it unless there is some other light source down there that is .

The wooden hatch atop the low well-like stone structure opens to reveal a bronze grate about two feet further down.
Sixt has no trouble undoing the latch and pulling the grate open, despite some verdigris clinging to the hinge.

Down below, he finds no other light source than the stars and moon once he steps away from the circle.

The hip deep current runs gently southward. Darkness covers the tunnel in either direction.

With the torch lit, Sixt sees that the tunnel of dressed limestone spans wide enough for him to hold out his arms and rest palms on either side with his elbows slightly bent. The celling hangs low enough that his head nearly brushes the stone.
If he gets closer to either edge, he finds a step under the water, a long and narrow ledge running along the length of the gallery. A short person like the gnome could creep along that to keep clear of the main stream, which runs deeper.

[Lord Skybolt]

Sixt Says to those up top:"Come on down, its only hip deep . There is a place where Fild can walk to stay above the water down here as well ."