The north gate of the sewer was unguarded and the late afternoon sun was high as we ventured back up to the city surface. As with most of the sewer entrance buildings the gate faced away from the main thoroughfare. Very few people were around and those that were went about their business without paying any attention to the sewer.
The trouble was, we were in a terrible position for opening the gate. I could reach through to the chain and winch but couldn’t get a decent angle to put my full strength into hoisting the gate. “Damn it,” I muttered, straining a few minutes before tossing the chain away (Strength check: 4+1=5).
Cambrin was already searching the street (Perception: 19+0=19) and when he spoted a likely candidate he lifted a hand to stroke a copper wire on his googles then whispered, “Excuse me, could you give us a hand by the sewer? We can pay you.”
A hefty dwarven man blinked, shook his head, and then looked toward the sewer gate. Cambrin waved at him and he excused himself from his companions to come over.
“You do the talking in me ‘ead?” he asked, gesturing to Cambrin.
“Indeed,” Cambrin said, “I apologise for intruding on your thoughts but as you can see, we are in need of assistance. Is there any chance you could help open the gate for us? We would pay you for the service.”
The dwarf looked us over. We were, undoubtedly a right mess of blood and sewer filth.
“I know,” Ceylas said to him with a long enduring sigh, “We are well overdue a bath. Can you believe there are rats down there? It’s absolutely filthy.” She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it away from the grime on her face. “Of course, there are fewer of them now,” she added with a grin.
The dwarf gave her an unblinking stare. While the bulk of his muscles shouted strength I’m not so sure there was much in the way of intelligence between his ears. He rubbed the scruff of his beard. “Uh, right,” he said.
Ceylas leaned in, speaking to him in a hushed but throaty tone. “Please, kind sir. You’re so strong,” she continued, “a gold coin to open the gate for us?” (Persuasion: 18+5=23)
His eyes widened at the coin but he gazed at Ceylas a moment longer before nodding. Then he looked at the mechanism. The winch was designed to be lifted from that side and although the dwarf was fairly short he could still get a good angle on the mechanism. He hauled it open and the gate ground upward before locking into place with plenty of room for us to pass under.
“My deepest thanks,” Ceylas said, palming a gold coin into the dwarf’s hand and dropping a kiss on his cheek.
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He flushed, dipping his head. “Pleasure ma’am. Any time.”
He glanced back at his companions, some of whom were giving him a thumbs up, a wink, or a cat call. Ceylas ignored them, and turned her back on the dwarf without giving him another thought. “Now what?” she asked us.
“Let’s start walking,” I said, glancing at the dwarf who was still gazing after us as if hoping Ceylas would ask him on a date.
“That way,” Cambrin said, gesturing to the road that ran along the north wall. After we’d walked for a few minutes he added, “We need to make our way to the Temple of the Gods, it is to the south of here.”
I glanced around, uneasy as we passed other pedestrians on the streets. This area was fairly upscale and we were attracting a bit of attention with our unkempt appearance. “I think we need to get off the street. Probably clean up a bit. It won’t take long for word to reach the Rise if we keep drawing attention like this.”
Cambrin and Ceylas both nodded. We all ducked into an alley behind a row of apartment-style housing. Although balconies had risen up each floor from the front, the back of the building was flush with the alley. A stray dog slinked through between garbage cans. It snarled at us as we passed. Ceylas crossed to my other side, putting me between herself and the mangy mutt. We passed by without issue and it went back to raiding the bins once we’d travelled far enough away.
“What is the plan, by the way?” I asked, glancing between Cambrin and Ceylas. “It’s not like we can walk up to the temple in this state.”
“Well, I could,” Ceylas said, gesturing to her hat. “But I don’t know that we would get what we need that way.”
“What is it we need?”
“We need Fenlyn,” Cambrin said, with a sigh.
“I mean, do we really? We could just go.”
Cambrin shook his head. “I believe she is vital to our mission.”
My brow furrowed. It’s not like we really had a mission. We had some vague ideas about things we could try. We had a sense of this whole being called to some great thing or other by the gods. None of it made much sense. There had been nothing to indicate some great evil. Hell, the gods hadn’t even deigned to talk to us, instead dropping worthless hints and half nothings on other people.
Cambrin paused and turned to me, clearly sensing my frustration. “I know the path is not clear, but we have been set in motion. We can no longer stay in Talazen, and I believe Fenlyn is one of us. We cannot leave her behind.”
Ceylas gripped the sleeve of my robe as she looked up at me. “Our friend is trapped inside her, Nik.”
And that was really the crux of it, wasn’t it? Because if Erica or Akimi were here, they were with Fenlyn, and we couldn’t leave our friend behind.
“Okay, so what exactly is the plan?” I asked as the temple rose up ahead of us. We were still a few streets away and despite the residential buildings around us rising multiple stories each, the temple loomed above them all. Its Grecian columns towered up to blue-gray domed rooves. Ornate stained glass windows sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.
“If Fenlyn is within, then I can send her a message,” Cambrin said, tapping his goggles.
Given the size of the temple I wasn’t sure that was true. She could be anywhere inside and the temple itself looked as if it must span several hundred feet. “I hope we have a plan b,” I muttered as we crossed between two backstreets to come out on the promenade that fronted Talazen’s Temple of the Gods.
Temple of the Gods - Talazen [http://www.rebeccalaffarsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Temple-of-the-Gods-Talazen.png]