-----Ten feet from the door, the passage descends down some stairs although the way is lighted with torches mounted in sconces along the wall.
-----Sol growls and almost looks like he's going to charge down the stairs. He refrains however and says, "Someone down there about forty feet trying t'hide. Take care o' yerselves." Sol spins on his heel, leans over and kisses Sarah's cheek then leaves the room quickly and is soon heard heading back up the stairs.
-----As Sol heads off, Romney quickly races after him. The others stand around the opening looking down into the dimly lit stairway.
-----Lovan hefts his warhammer and grunts. "Bring the storm down on 'em," the storm priest says before he follows after Sol and Romney.
-----Garrison slightly chuckles at Lovan's remark although a frown stays on his face. "Easy for him to say," the woodsman quips before he looks over at Raven. "If there's someone down there like Sol said, they're going to know we're coming. How do you want to do this?"
-----"The final prey . . ." Rinda whispers as she looks toward the opening in the wall.
-----Sarah surveys the people that she is left with after Sol, Romney and Lovan depart. "Okay, Raven you go first, Garrison you follow, I'll go after Garrison, Rinda bring up the rear. Do you have any healing magic left for today?" Sarah says quickly and calmly, trying to assess what the party can do. "Also, a word of warning, once we get to the bottom of the staircase and confront whatever waits us, nobody charge into the fight. I have a very powerful spell that I want to use, but I can't if I think it will catch you in the blast." Sarah glances at Raven and Garrison. "Any questions?"
-----Raven looks at Sarah for a moment and then says, "Blast?" Raven turns to Rinda, "Did she say blast?" Raven grips his swords a little tighter, "Well, this should be fun."
-----Raven looks into the dark opening and then turns to Sarah, "Got anything that would help us here?" Raven fishes a vial out of his pack and hands it to Sarah, "I found this, any ideas on what it does?"
-----"Oh right, you guys can't see that well...." Sarah says, having forgotten for a second that not everyone can see as well as she can in the dark. She shrugs. "Not really, just do the best you can. Let's go." She glances briefly at the vial. "Any idea what this is?"
-----Raven says, "No idea. That's why I asked you to help identify it." Raven takes the vial back and places back in his pouch. Raven motions towards the stairs going down, "Let's do this first, then we'll talk about what it is."
-----Raven heads down the stairs.
-----Sarah bites her tongue to stop herself from lecturing Raven about the impossibility of identifying a magic potion just by looking at it, but she decides the time for talking is over and follows Garrison down the stairs.
-----Rinda quickly says to Sarah, "We'll have enough to heal if we need it. I think our prey will need it more than us." Rinda's voice suddenly sounds darker, deeper and primal. The huntress's eyes narrow and her body almost seems to glisten; her form tense. "I can almost smell the prey," she growls as she descends with the others.
-----Very quickly, the party moves down the stairs. Raven slows a bit as they reach the bottom, his twin swords gripped tightly in both hands. He motions for everyone to pause as he peers around the passage that angles to the right.
-----With an almost disappointed look, he turns and indicates the way is clear. The party then continues along the wide passage, the way dimly illuminated by torches. The tunnel seems to continue at an angle and then at about thirty feet it then angles back to the left. They follow the passage on for a few feet before it turns sharply to the right and then back to the left.
-----It is at this point sound is heard coming from somewhere ahead of them. It is hard to make out details as the echoes carry human like voices shouting.
-----Two more turns are found in the tunnel before everyone enters a much larger chamber. As everyone follows Raven, they enter an underground area at least fifty feet across and that same distance wide. Before them, the party can see they stand on a wide ledge that leads down to three small docks that moor boats that enter from and exit to the river outside. The water that fills the lower chamber looks choppy and black.
-----One of the docks stands empty while two small keelboats are moored to the other two. In the torchlight that seems to fully illuminate this place, about a half-dozen guards are seen standing on the dock perhaps no more than twenty feet from Raven.
-----A chopping sound is heard as three guards stand inside one of the watercraft. Strangely, they seem to be destroying the boat.