After hearing what the orc kin just said Airion became a bit worried. There was no way they could take on elite guards. "This may require a change of plan. I think running may just be our best course of action now." Turning toward the orc kin, "Since you seem to know the layout were are going to rely on you to lead us through."

Airion grabs two sets of the manacles and trusses up the guard one manacle on each wrist and the other end attached to the opposite ankle. "That should hold him for a while."

Airion had seen the chests but at first was interested in a defense. He woudln't have time to pick the locks on every one. He was thinking that Heironymus was right in trying to break them open. "Kyara, orc kin, lets try to break theses chests open. Hopefully something useful is inside. Once Heironymus has Ele stable we will make our escape."

Ele agrees with a one word response. She grabbed up any piece of armor or weapons she can get her hands on quickly. Taking a sword if offered at well. They were at a great disadvantage here without their armor or own weapons in the dungeon of their enemy.

"Agreed."

She needed fighting room at the least and this place or times was not it. Actually shaking the dirt off this place suited her best. They had been tried to nothing but hostility since they arrived. Condemned without a trial

You quickly bash open the locks of the four chests and find all of your gear intact and conveniently placed in sacks for easy transport, though your money (whatever was left over) seems to missing. It's probably lining the pockets of your jailer right now.

With a quick prayer the cleric places his hands on the wound in Ele's leg. The wound closes, but as Heironymus helps her to her feet, he notices that she still favors that leg considerably.

With all speed you all grab your weapons and the sacks containing your gear. The warden's door bangs loudly and opens a hair before slamming solidly against the table. The whole mess of furniture you've placed in front of the door slides a few inches. It will not hold them for long. Seeing that you have no time to don your armor you simply through the sacks over your collective shoulders and flee through the door indicated by the half-orc.

You've only gone fifty feet or so down the passageway when a tremendous BANG reveberates through the halls. Even from here you can here the splintering of wood. The warden's guards must not be far behind.

The orc-kin leads you through a maze of cells and passages that would daunt any of you. All you know is you've climbed at least three sets of stairs since you left your cells. Then, a hundred feet ahead of you you see a door open, revealing a dozen of the prison guardsmen. Knowing that the exit is halfway down the hall to the left, the half-orc charges forward. The rest of the group can only follow... with Ele still limping slightly.

It takes only a moment for the guards to realize you are in sight, and they run with all haste to stop you.Only seconds before they reach you the half-orc darts to the side, followed by the party, with the frustrated guards right on their heels.

Fatigued by the run, and the use of muscles that haven't been strained in days the party runs on, urged by the drawn swords and angry shouts of the men so close behind them. A mere twenty feet before you lies the large window that will lead you out of the prison and on the streets. A place where you should be able to disappear and regroup. But Ele cries out behind you and stumbles, her weakened leg giving out.

She looks to the rest of you and sets her jaw. "Go." she whispers. With that she turns to face your pursuers issuing a stream of arcane sylables.

"Ursil rath iralian!"
Bolts of pure magical energy sarm up from her hands darting towards the nearest of the guards. They force of the bolts causes the leaders to stumble just a bit, slowing them down for almost a second. Ele does not attempt to rise.

Still seated on the floor she unleashes another spell. A soft mist rises from the ground, both in the prison and on the street below. The guards charge headlong into the mist and stumble a bit more, giving you a few more precious seconds. In mere moments Ele is lost in the mist. Before long the guards disappear as well, though you can here their frustrated shouts. Despite the magic, they are still coming.

(OOC: Due to previously stated wishes, I have NPC'd Ele for this sequence. If you choose to jump out the window, I will make the appropriate checks for everyone (Acrobatics skill checks). What you do from there is up to you.)

Gronz continued his mad dash down the hall toward the window, knowing they had a better chance of going undetected in the streets and alleyways below. He hollered back to the prisoners behind him, oblivious to the fact that the last member of their little prison break convey had stumbled and fell behind, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not going to hang around and find out what the angry men with swords intend to do if they catch us!"

Upon reaching the window Gronz vaulted himself over the edge toward the street below, trying his best to land on his feet for a quick get away, hoping the others were smart enough to follow in a timely manner. This had been one of the messiest jobs he had pulled off, and not one he wanted to repeat any time soon.

Heironymus hated the situation he was in. To abandon a group member was not something he wanted to do. Ever. But he also understood that getting everyone killed did not good either. Perhaps if they escaped there would be a chance to get Ele later. Staying, there would not. The dialogue took only a split second in his head, but the scars of leaving her behind would stay.

Heironymus followed the half-orc out the window. He loved jumping out windows into the unkown. But in some cases, it was better than the known . . .

The half-orc leaps from the window into the rising mist below. Though the mist conceals the ground his reflexes, rather quick for one of his size, compensate and he lands, rolling up to his feat. The others in the group follow him through their only escape rout, the armor and gear over their shoulders clanging loudly as they leap for their freedom.

The dark-skinned rogue looks back once as he regains his feet on the ground, swearing to himself. The last of his companions is now lost... for the time being at least.

Gronz leads the party through the alleys of Maruk. The mist seems to have slowed them down well enough. Once free of the prison, escape was relatively easy. Now, you find yourself in a safe house on the edge of the city, not three city blocks from the western gates. It is a simple three room building. The main room has a table surrounded by several chairs, a kitchen and a large fireplace which, for some reason, is already burning when you arrive.

The other two rooms seem to be furnished as bedrooms with enough sleeping space for the entire group. There are windows, but they are largely boarded up despite the fact that the glass seems intact. The boards leave only slivers of space through which to see the outside.

The door gets closed and locked once everyone is inside. For the moment, it seems you are safe to consider the events of the last few days. The guards do patrol the area, as you can see through the slits in the windows.

Without a word to the newly freed prisoners Gronz made his way to the bedroom where he had previously left his belongings and shut the door, eager to get out of the uniform he had been wearing to infiltrate the prison. After changing into his "civilian" clothes the half-orc rejoined the others and addressed them, "I know you want answers, I don't have all the answers, but I will answer what I can." He then took a seat at the table and kicked his feet up on the table, reclining in the simple wooden chair rather casually for someone who had just barely made it out with his life.

Kyara too hated not stopping to aid a fallen companion but ahe also knoe that if she stayed to help Ele, she too may be retaken and after aiding in killing the guards things would not go well for her. She followed Hieronymus and the half-orc with a unspoken but deeply felt promise to her friends old and new that someone would pay for all of this she would have retribution from all those involved,

Leaping out the window she cushioned her landing by absorbing the shock with her legs knees and ankle and was then able to sprint off after the others with no lasing injury though she had some bit of pain from the landing. She Would not let it slow her down though. She gritted her teeth and ran on as fast as she could.

Once in the bole hole Gronz turned gack to them and said he would answer questions, that he had the answers for.

"Who arrange our release and why?" she ask sharply

Gronz shook his head, "I do not know who hired me or why, all I know is my contact wore a lot of black and kept his face hidden. I can tell you that I am Gronz Blackblood, a hired hand asked to free you from your imprisonment, and I had hoped the task would have gone better than it did."

((Seriously, that is all I remember of what I was told about him, and for the life of me I cannot seem to find the message from Steel that had the details of my hiring.))

While the half-orc changed, Hieronymus took the time to go through his things, make sure everything was there, and get dressed appropriately.

When their benfactor returned and offered to answer questions, Heironymus wasn't excited to hear that he didn't know much.

"Before we get into the questions for our mysterious helper, did anyone else get hurt?"

(Assuming no)

Looking at their rescuer he continued after a brief pause, "Ok, so here we are. You have fulfilled your mission, so far, at least. If you don't know who it was who hired you, what can you tell us?"

"Did they tell you to bring us here?"
"What now? Were there any further instructions?"
"Are we merely to sit and wait for whoever or whatever comes next?"
"Where exactly are we?"
"Are you native to this city? Who owns this house?"
"Who are you? Why would a mysterious person that you don't know hire you to rescue us? Is your job complete?"
"Some might consider the question rude, but under the circumstances I think it is warranted. How much did someone think us worth? What are you getting paid?"

Looking around at his fellow jailbirds, Hieronymus added, "I guess we need answers. But we should also be ready to run again. I have no idea what is going on here, but I'd prefer not to be caught wearing just an iron bracelet again."

He laid somewhat relaxed in his room, though full relaxation in his current predicament was impossible. He looked over his arms at the golden sheen caused by what he figured was callousing of which the cause was unknown. The look of his skin wasn't repulsive, quite the contrary, though it did make him stand out a bit amongst his own people. His views also made him stand out too.
Now, he waits. He waits for a group of unknowns, more people he cannot afford to trust. Does he really have any choice? He was made to leave with the very little he possessed, and after resupplying himself, he has found himself broke again. He reconciles the commitment he made with one of his fellow Umbral heretics by telling himself that he is merely selling the misplacement of his distrust of almost everyone.
Suddenly he is jolted from his thoughts and sits upright as the cacophony of talking seeps and invades the cracks in the door to his room. Are these the people he's been hired to aid, or have the spies that have been sent to observe his spreading of heresy finally caught up with him.
He gets up to put an ear to the door to listen in. One of the voices doesn't sound anything like a Umbral. In fact, all those who have spoken so far have accents distinguishing themselves as not being Umbral. He cracks the door to peek in on the new arrivals, and when he was satisfied they weren't here to lynch him, he opens the door fully and without a word, walks into the room.
After a lengthy look over and measuring up of the group he finally says,"I am called Quarlin Mathers. I was hired to aid a group, and I assume you all are that group. Yes, No? If I am incorrect please tell me so and I will return to waiting in my room, but if I am correct, I know very little of you or what aid I am to provide, so if one of you would be so kind to fill me in."
Quarlin remained standing and facing the group, awaiting some kind of response from someone.

Airion sat in the corner of the small safe house. He had gone through his belongings and found everything to be in order. He donned his armor and placed his weapons in their proper places.

A routine scouting mission. Things gone horribly wrong. The last of my companions left to an unknown fate. My mission not yet complete.
His thoughts were racing and he wasn't sure where to turn. The look Ele had given them as tehy escaped was burned into his memory. He had lost so many others. Perhaps she would just be recaptured and he could rescue her later.

He had been vaguely listening to the conversation going on around him. He had finally caught the name of the orc kin. At least now he could try to work on trusting him.

A second man appeared out of one of the rooms. Was he really hired to help them? By who? Of course they didn't even know what their mission was now. Who was pulling all theses strings?
Airion resigned himself to just sit and listen for now. Somehow he was woven into all this intrigue. He would never make it back to Bevaris until this was over.

(OOC: I apologize for this being late, I was waiting...)

The questions spring from many mouths, the answers seem too few. A stranger enters from one of the bedrooms, making more queries that only add to the confusion of the group. The half-orc who has finally given his name only stutters a moment as the questions come at him in quick succession. Frustration and confusion grow in the silence that answers.

"Perhaps I can provide some semblance of truth in this web of deceit and confusion."

A figure, shrouded in black peels himself from the shadows in the corner of the room.

"I am he who had you freed. The money paid to these newcomers is not of your concern my lost little cleric. There are greater powers at work here. Powers well beyond all of you, and even beyond myself."

Despite your attempts to determine any defining feature, the shadows seem to writhe and dance around the figure as he stands, almost motionless. Even his voice seems to waver and dance despite its strength, concealing the exact tones.

"You are all servants here, and though I am stating what should be obvious, you have no concept of what you have been caught up in. It should also be obvious that you cannot stay in this city. Your former employer was paid to distort his story, and your nemesis still has his part to play. What you must do now is leave. You must leave this city and make your way into the forest to the west, back the way you came. Do not cross into Illurian lands, for your duties are such that they will find you. Should that happen, I can promise that they will not be merciful, nor will your death be painless."

His form begins to waver even more as he moves back into the shadows of the room.

"Find Shadethorn Mansion in the depths of the forest, four days west, southwest of here, along the river. There you will find more of the answers you seek, and a guide to show you the path you must follow."

His form fades completely into darkness. After a moment, you exhale, not even realizing you had been holding your breath. The power of this figure was incredible, and he speaks of something even stronger than he. It seems that someone in a high place has plans for you... all of you.

A piece of parchment now sits on the table in the kitchen. weighted down by a small silver symbol. It is a jawless skull encircled by glowing red runes. As the moments pass the glow fades, though the runes remain, etched into the face of the symbol.

The parchment reads as follows:

"All has been arranged for His glory. Rest this day and recover your strength. In one night's time, when Celine and Nalus (two of the moons) both set on the horizon you must leave through the city's south gate. Here is where your true journey begins.

May the Shadows protect you."

"I hate being somebodies pawn!"

Heironymus didn't yell it, he was too aware of their status as fugitives to do that, but his irritation came through.

"Ever since I showed up in the hellish place I have been dragged from one problem to another - and none of the problems rightly belonged to me! Now I am to follow some mysterious figure who tells meto go West into the woods to do whatever is being done for whoever is going to show up whenever they might showup!"

"Ok, likely we have no real choice. Am I right that this is probably the guy who got us out of prison? Well, I owe him that at least. But before we head off into the wilderness on some errand that will likelyland us in someone elses htowater again, I'd like to know as much as possible. Speak up people, what do you know? Who was that message for? Everyone in the room or just the jailbirds? Don't keep secrets at this point."

"Ive received very few answers myself, so don't feel all by yourself in this matter, sir. I have but clues, and an assignment myself. This is what I know: An Umbral hired me to aid a group that would show up here, I assume that group is you all. The Umbral that hired me had the same symbol on his tunic as the paper weight that held down our instructions, a skull encircles by runes."

He paused to let this sink in then said, "and if you are fugitives, waiting around here for solid answers will just get you all caught again. I suggest we do as the parchment instructs and rest our minds and bodies tonight then get on our way."