Chapter 27: Isekai Life & The Descent

Enna was already waiting for us by the time Ashryn and I got back to the dining room. Everyone but Katriana stared at us when we entered the room, Voss and Enna having near-identical wry smiles.

“Did you have fun, kids?” Voss asked. I must have blushed, because Calliope huffed.

“Anyway,” Enna remarked, “I found what I was lookin’ for. We can get into the catacombs ‘bout five blocks from the manor, and it shouldn’t take long to figure out if the catacombs meet up with the manor’s cellar.”

“Wait, there are catacombs?” Voss asked, sounding surprised.

Enna grinned. “Aye. The whole of the old city is shot through with ‘em, put ‘ere by the folks who first built th’ city. They pop up in all kinds of odd places, and a big fancy buildin’ like yonder manor probably ‘as a hidden entrance in th’ basement. We skip the guards, jus’ ‘ave to worry about the servants and folks on the inside.”

I thought about her proposed plan. It sounded like a good way to get around the guarded entrance and keep the city watch out of it, except...

“We’re going to have to lure the guards into the basement and take care of them there, one at a time,” I said, “We can’t afford to fight all of them in close quarters, or for any of them to run and get help.”

I tried to recall the Monstrous Manual. This Lord Gauthi, whoever he is, is probably a “gentry” class Human, meaning that he’s accompanied by up to three Human Fighters as personal bodyguards, which could be anywhere from level 1 to level 6- potentially very dangerous opponents that would require a all-on-one beatdown from all of us in order to overcome. If we had to fight them all at once and they were all the maximum possible level, it would be safe to assume we’d take casualties, at least.

There were also the hobgoblins to consider. The carnivorous apes were a little bit of a surprise- they’re usually found only with hobgoblin tribes who have managed to build an underground fortress. While it might be possible that these catacombs lead to a massive subterranean community of hundreds of hobgoblins, there would be more evidence of that in the local population because of how much food they’d eat and all, so I think it’s more likely that Lord Gauthi hired a small warband as mercenaries. Which would mean, with numbers generated by a 2d10, we have at most 10 more hobgoblins to deal with, if we account for the ones who have already been killed.

Up to fourteen more opponents, three of them being very dangerous, none of them being stupid and all of them having the potential for magical arms and armour. Yes, we had to take them out one at a time, if possible.

“I know it doesn’t sound like the most honourable way of fighting,” I continued, “But we’ll be outnumbered and out-resourced. That means we have to fight smart.”

Enna laughed, “I hope none of you mind playin’ a bit dirty, ‘cause those catacombs, they ain’t been cleaned.”

Voss snorted. “Yeah I’d rather be smart and alive than honourable and dead.”

Calliope shrugged. “They’ve tried to ambush and trap us, so I have no problem giving as good as we got.”

“Good, it’s decided,” Katriana nodded, “Let’s figure out our plans, then.”

Voss, of course, wanted to wear his new plate- which I deemed a sound plan. It was odd to see him excited by something he was so sour over just a few days ago, but I supposed he was excited at the possibility of getting out of a battle unscathed for once. We could have Voss lead the way through early encounters, tanking out damage for the rest of the party. I didn’t say as much out loud, of course, but nonetheless.

Katriana would be our primary damage-dealer, and so had to be kept in the second line until we needed her to move forward. In practice, I could only tell Voss to take the vanguard and couldn’t with a clear conscience prevent Katriana from helping him out. Hopefully Voss would keep enemy focus on him.

Enna would be our scout and specialist. I hope she would backstab and fight sparingly- we needed her to open locks, lead the way and keep us all out of trouble. For that reason, I encouraged her to travel light, and she agreed. She would be going without armour and only her tools and a shortsword.

Calliope and I consulted over our spells, and it was decided I would bring Sleep and Reduce, and she would bring Shield and Wall of Fog. She fussed a little over not bringing a “real spell”, but I had convinced her that the strategic value of Wall of Fog over the meagre damage provided by Magic Missile or Burning Hands.

Taking up as our rear guard would be Ashryn. Again, I had to convince her to take useful spells over her tendency to take every divination spells possible regardless of it’s use. She was invested enough in everyone’s good health that I was able to convince her to memorize two healing spells, but it took a little more argument to get her to agree to Protection from Evil. With that spell buffing him, Voss might be able to tank out the entirety of the remaining hobgoblins, so I wanted to make sure we had it on hand.

Our eventual sleep was restful- or as restful as we could be. The room we had was intended to be luxurious for two, and comfortable for three if they had a footman or handmaid. For six, it was just a hair ahead of intolerable. Because of our fighters needing to be limber, I offered up my spot on the big bed. This lead to a small argument, as Katriana and Ashryn both worried for my health, and then there was a brief debate over who would sleep where, but it was eventually allowed that Enna (who, apparently, hates featherbeds anyway, saying “they make you soft”) and I camped out on the floor, Voss on the couch, and Calliope taking my spot on the big bed.

My sleep on the floor, on a pile of cloaks, was fitful. I kept waking up now and then, shifting and regretting my choices. I eventually drifted off, but woke drowsy and sore enough that Katriana bundled me back into bed with promises that she would oversee the preparations and provisioning for the adventure.

I awoke probably well past noon to an empty room. That suited me well- it gave me time to open up my spellbook in peace and re-memorize the Formula of Zer-ah.

I moved downstairs after, seeking breakfast and my party and found that it was later than I realized and everyone was waiting for me.

Katriana smiles when she saw me and gave my nose a playful poke. “Good afternoon, sleepy. Feel a little better now?”

“Yeah,” I said, embarrassed, “Sorry, everyone, but thanks for holding off for me.”

Ashryn pushed a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. “Well, come on then, there’s no use waiting further.”

Soon enough, we were ready, armed and rested, and headed out to where Enna said we could access the catacombs.

It was a filthy grating set into the ground in an unassuming alleyway, somewhere between the manor and the jousting arena, locked only with an iron peg. Enna got to work pulling out the stubborn peg while Voss handed out torches to Calliope and I. The grate eventually opened, after a liberal application of oil, with a grinding shriek. Enna tied off a rope on the hinges of the grill, drew her short sword to hold into her teeth, and descended into the fetid darkness of the catacomb.

After a moment, her voice could be heard, “Hey, it’s clear! Toss me down that spear!” Voss shouted back, “Get clear!” before lowering his spear shaft-first into the hole, then let go. Then, he took my torch, seated it firmly in his teeth, and descended himself, the knot creaking with his weight.

Katriana descended next, then Calliope, gripping her torch in her teeth as she halting descended, hand under hand.

I clambered down fairly easily myself, although it was really just a controlled fall- I didn’t seem to have the strength to grip the rope but I managed to keep my hands moving fast enough to slow my decent enough that I didn’t land too roughly.