bell and i went to the local office of the sharn watch to report what'd happened to transom but wthout an eyewitness they couldn't do anything for a full day
we weren't about to wait even longer to rescue them so it'd have to be us
on our way to prepare rakela showed up and insisted on joining our effort so we filled her in on the details and she told us to meet her at the "sewer reclamation project" office in a few hours
back at the heart and hammer we found that spark and relic had recruited two others
barrer wanted to come with to help rescue her special one
ploughshare joined in also! it turns out crucible knows them (but didn't know we knew each other!) and was able to get a message through to ask them to assist
we gathered some supplies including a couple potions to cure petrification in case of basilisk and headed to meet rakela
the sewer reclamation project folks provided the rest of what we'd need in the form of maps and headlamps and protective boots for all
until they warmed up the boots felt stiff and weird but i was not about to wade around without them
especially after reading the pamphlet warning about fungal growths that could cause "feverdance" which had a short list of unpleasant symptoms
i'm pretty certain i never want to experience "salty bile"
i'm not going to bother describing what i smelled because i believe in the power of imagination and i don't want to imagine those odors again
between that and the close walls neither medya nor i were very comfortable but i think she had it worse
despite this we pushed ahead and after a short time we came across a group of goblins who'd taken up residence
in exchange for a couple small favors they directed us to the "temple of the dark six"
here are the two favors for later reference:
they used to live outside near the water but they were chased away by "dream-eaters" and anyone who attempted to go back there for anything would return "empty" so they wanted us to help them reclaim their original home
also there was something about needing to destroy some strange black cubes that sit in an alchemist's shop in khyber's gate which is awfully vague and in an inconvenient place but what else is new?
we continued on
at one point spark found a trapdoor and punched her way through into a barrel of nasty beer in the storeroom of a tavern so we had an ever-so-brief chat about impulse control
then we spotted a trail through the muck which seemed likely to be from dragging transom's unconscious body
the trail took us past a cesspool which turned out to be full of corrosive living slimes and we did not escape from that nasty fight unscathed but we did get through it
this is a good time to mention just how inspiring ploughshare is and not just because i see my own work on their outer plating
they turned away from a life of enacting violence and they learned to shield those around them from harm
in the fight they somehow called our foes to focus almost solely on them and then deflected nearly every attack
seeing them filled with hope and determination ... let's just say it's a good look for them and a big morale boost for all of us
after a short break to recover from the fight we returned to the search
at this point we were in uncharted territory so zer' drew as we went
this would include a secret door leading to house cannith which we did not explore further
and a large cavern which had been carved into an theater-style arrangement – the temple of the dark six right where the goblins said it would be
we found the upper alcoves but before we could search for transom we stumbled across zhakil
oddly enough all she did was point us to the correct door and ask us to be quiet
i was surprised that she'd help us like that but on later reflection it's more likely she just didn't want to be interrupted and figured the basilisk would deal with us
because we did go to the right door and there was a basilisk in there
along with several other basilisks
good thing it was dark because if they can see you they can turn you to stone
and not in a fun way
transom's unconscious body had been stuffed into a crate with a basilisk in the way
medya sang to it and it fell asleep ... right up against the crate
relic and zer' had to ease it out of there somewhat carefully but they managed
rather than try to wake transom we just scooted out of there with the whole crate
and amazingly enough we didn't encounter anything else on the way back out of the temple or the sewers so we can call that rescue a total success
once back at the h&h bell and i helped transom back to consciousness
they're a little roughed up but they'll be just fine with a little time and care so barrer is happily seeing to that
similarly medya and i are about to take several baths and then some much-needed time and care for each other
that'll involve incense and glitterreed and whispers about future days when we'll gift each other with scented surface polish
i love her