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A Knife in the Dark

At the end of our battle with the guards or maybe it was the beginning, ( I do not now recall -- the heat of battle can cloud one’s memory, for details other than survival), – we encountered a new fellow named Alden who like us, had a score to settle with the Kraken. He joined us. He is another, like Theodred, who embraces nature but Alden eschews magic and brandishes a mighty hand and a half sword that he wields handily.

The questioned Kraken guards provided useful information: Kraken had expanded into slave trade. Alden asked if they had seen his brother Jamus. They knew nothing. We did learn that the Kraken kill their own if their cover is penetrated. We also learned that the hideout belonged to Hadar who is Kraken too. They did not know where Rellik was nor did they know when Hadar would show up again.

Though it was risky, we decided to wait in ambush. We rested but kept guard. We then positioned ourselves throughout the lair; some kept lookout to make sure no one surprised us by coming up through the sewer entrance and the rest poised to spring on Hadar when he returned – hopefully from the front entrance.

As the door opened and we saw a ranger that fit the description of Hadar we pounced. My arrows whistled past the shelves concealing me and into Hadar’s chest. Alden’s arrows did also. Our team swiftly brought down Hadar but several of his associates ran. Theodred captured them. Hadar, with a little coercing about leaving him with his Krake companions, revealed that Rellik was secured in the loading docks and that he had heard Aldens’ brother Jamus, had been in Waterdeep but his masters had taken him out after they could not break him.

One captured Kraken agreed to aid us. Caldair convinced him his life was forfeit anyway. He drew us a map of the sewers and we set out to find Rellik.

Ahead we saw light in the tunnels. A skiff approached our lead boat with Caldair and the captured Kraken. I was in the second with Alden. The others slowly glided behind us. As we neared, a gleam of silver flashed and a stab of pain cut through my shoulder. Jutting from my shoulder, was a dagger; one I had seen before but could not place. I canted a spell of fiery rays as I glimpsed with my acute vision the hurler of the blade ; a beastly Half Orc named Augmeth. Augmeth was one of the thugs who harassed my father from time to time. Augmeth is evil. Fury fills me. My rays scorch their boat and Augmeth recoils from the fiery flames that torch his smug countenance. He is clearly wounded and pretty badly. Still, he discharges and again strikes me. I slump over in the boat; a pin cushion pierced by his knives. I can feel blood drenching me and then I remember darkness falling.

When I awakened, Theodred was kneeling beside me in the skiff, attending my wounds. I am forever grateful to him. I would surely have died without his aid

Augmeth still had not been captured but we surrounded him. He had lept from his boat into the dank, diseased riddled waters. The party tried to tactically position its boats to prevent Augmeth’s s escape and I cast lights that danced at each corner of the area where we suspected he hid. Finally we subdued him and rendered him unconscious.

I do not hate. Hatred is evil and I will not sully myself with such vile thoughts, but Augmeth comes as close to warranting that emotion as any individual I can name. I cannot bring myself to kill him but we cannot let him go. We bound him instead. We intended to return that way and capture him on our way out. We urgently needed to find Rellik.

As we entered the loading docks, furnished our sewer pass and began to head in, all looked well. I thought “perhaps our stealth approach might work.”

Once the boats were in however, our ruse was detected.