#odyssey

"Did you see something?" Art licks his rocket pop, but notices Thistle squinting in one direction.

Did she?

Ah, she must have missed it! But earlier...

"Thistle knows Citrine better than any and sees the trailing glow of her flight path going that very way, must be fresh!"

In the direction that the ice cream vendor had pointed. 🙂

"I see her sparkles." Rainbow sherbet in hand, she starts stalking off that-a-way.

Art notices that her ice cream is rainbow, and grins a little.

Gwen savors her own treat and follows after with long legs

Chime? "CHIME!?

and there is the klang of metal hitting concrete

A chimerical rat hisses as they pass an alleyway, worried that they might be after it's slice of pizza.

"Citrine!?" Alarm, and she speeds up!

She arrives just in time to see the man hole cover settling like a tiddly wink. A few sparks on a slow fade.

Art heads over there and tries to pull up the cover, peering in through the vent holes. "Citrine! Here, Citrine! Uh. Oh! We have ice cream!"

An oddly desperate "Chime!!" in a tone they're not used to.. and sploshy footsteps running down there

Thistle flares, eyes full of fire. "Don't you DARE, you lily-gibboned dill-pated THIEF! LET HER GO!"

She looks for something to use as a lever to pry open the cover.

Art’s ice cream pop is discarded half eaten without care, and he tries to jam his fingers in around the edges to help pry.

And then, Gwen snarls, grabs the manhole cover, and LIFTS!

Her ice cream also abandoned

And just like that, that cover is gone, thrown to the side , and a set of rungs used by service workers can be seen leading into ... the dark

“Can you make light, Thistle? With your Art?” He whispers, aware that a few of looks are already coming their direction. “Or we can use a phone flashlight, but that’s not as good if we have to climb..”

"Will you, won't you, will you show, the path of my little friend we want to follow..." She cups her hands, summoning a wisp for Citrine.

The wisp flickers to life, providing a prismatic light that moves as if trying to pull its creator along after. More than light, it provides direction, the guess of going this way or that is no longer needed. South. They're heading south, that's where Citrine is.. and who ever the Nevernapper is. But the quarry is on the move too

"You first. I'll follow. Gwen, can you put the cover back, so no one falls in?"

Thistle is already climbing down!

"Yeah yeah, you guys go. I'll catch up" Gwen says "Just move"

Thistl drops down , and if she's careful, can avoid the worst of the muck. It's a light flow today, at least until everyone gets the same office break at the same time and flushes

Art is very glad he doesn't still have ice cream with him as he splashes down.

He reaches for Thistle's hand - so they don't get seperated!

The Nocker's eyes gleam a bit in the darkness - Art might remember old stories of goblins and dwarves seeing in the dark. Do nockers?

Art certainly does not, and even with the pale light of the wisp, might stumble in the dark.

And the wisp picks up speed as thistle does. Her direction pre set for her...

She steadies her friend, but doesn't want to slow too much.

there's a clang, as the manhole cover goes back down with Gwen joing them and the wisp is now the ONLY source of light

"HEY, ASSHOLE, WHEN I FIND YOU I'M GONNA..."

Oh, that doesn't sound pleasant.

Or necessarily biologically probable.

"AND IF YOU HURT HER, I'LL..."

Somewhere, Rethe, the very lady like Chimerical Alligator gasps, and clutches her pearls as that echoes down the tunnels

With Thistle steadying his one hand, he holds up his phone for light with the other. It's a scattered and flickering thing, bouncing as he steps, but it's something.

Enough to light up shapes that slither out of the way, and to shine off eyes that gleam for a moment then disappear.

Gwen is grateful for that, she can chase after now and see

The surfaces they go trhough get slimmier and worse, a bit of an under tow threatens their legs

as the water gets higher here

(Dex or str plus athletics)

/roll 4

Art isn't high on strength, but he is fairly quick, and manages to adjust his footing when he slips without falling.

/roll 4