Gang of Weirdos

twelve - no you're getting mugged

"Relax, I was just joking around," she said quickly. "Look- that twat soul, Nere, caused a cave in, and he's trapped tighter than a ring on a fat finger. He's got our gold on him. If he ain't settled up soon, there'll be hell to pay for the lot of you cult buggers."

"He's up that way," she gestured toward the stairs behind her, sheathing her dagger.

"Alright, I guess we'll be on our way, then," I said. As I made my way up the stairs, Astarion was the first to catch up with me.

"Are we really going to rescue this Nere?" he said with a brow raised. "I was under the impression we were to bring his head to the myconids."

"No," I whispered, glancing behind me to see if the two deurgar at the docks were listening. They were engrossed in a conversation about bets on some topic I couldn't quite hear anymore.

"Good, I didn't want to have to get my nails dirty digging," Astarion said with much relief. Shadowheart and Halsin were on our heels.

"Oh, we're still going to have to dig him out," I said.

"Really?" Shadowheart asked.

"Can't cut off his head if he's trapped in some rocks," I said with a shrug.

So we continued onward. I glanced around at the numbers of duergar as we did. I began to sweat a little, and grabbed hold of Astarion's arm- pulling him off to the side.

"What is it?" Halsin asked, following with Shadowheart in tow.

"Well- uh," I started quietly. I glanced around to make sure I wouldn't be overheard. No one was watching us. "I have this feeling that things are going to go really south if we free this Nere guy and then start swinging at him, and there are a lot of duergar here... I vote we thin the herd first."

"I like your thinking," Astarion said with a wide grin. Shadowheart sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "What do you suggest we do first?"

I grabbed onto Astarion's shoulder, making direct eye contact with him. His expression turned serious as we huddled together. Halsin and Shadowheart stepped in closer.

"You're going to slink into the shadows, and then start firing off arrows," I told him. Astarion nodded. I turned to Halsin then. "You're going to turn into a bear, and just start swinging and slashing with claws and teeth. It'll hopefully give Astarion the cover he needs to remain in the shadows and continue picking them off."

"And what of me?" Shadowheart asked with raised brows. I turned to her finally.

"You're going to hang back with me," I said. "We're spellcasters, after all. We've got the big cannons, and Halsin's got the bear strength to be our tank." Shadowheart grinned. "Besides, if any of them get too close, I know you'll be able to handle yourself."