Immersive Ink

Walfried moves forward with Chiron, peering about and listening for suspicious noises.

I suspect one of Bogg's mercenaries will be last in line.

Morin assumes his position near the rear of the marching order.

The last one through should presumably close the "door" back into the cellar behind them.

Orim will wait until everyone is through, then go through himself and close the door behind him. He will fall-in in the middle of the marching order.

Boggs would instruct his men to move 50' right and secure the intersection.

There was a thread where we worked up a draft marching order, but I can't find it now? Boggs remains safely shielded behind his troops.

Nice. Great to see what looks like a pretty formidable company at arms...

Mero picks up a few pieces of rubble and tosses them gently (underhand) at the dead end wall, testing for ???

If nothing extraordinary happens, he'll abandon the idea and assume his place in the marching order. Once the company is assembled, the party will proceed down the corridor away from the dead end.

While his men are occupied, Boggs will scan his surroundings for signs or marks of vermin activity.

Standard operating procedure shall be: Boggs' men-at-arms will delay their action until PCs have had a chance to act. So in this case, they would wait for Mero to complete his rubble-tossing experiment.

Morin takes this opportunity to formally make the acquaintance of the two mercenary footmen guarding the rear flank, and to quietly impress upon them the great honor and responsibility of their role, and to warn them that if they falter through cowardice or faithlessness, he will have their heads first, for their necks are but reeds to his scimitar.

Mero's pebbles bounce off the wall in an perfectly mundane fashion. Boggs observes the tell-tale signs of rat movements. Its nothing atypical; just a few strays looking for food or tiny crevices to explore...

Once everyone is finally thru the tunnel, with the barrel-gate latched behind them, the double file marching order is assumed. It occupied about 40ft of the corridor length, so it is not big deal for Werner, Klaus, Schlags, and Anton to advance a dozen cautious strides to occupy the corner, while Morin uses his great height and silver tongue to intimidate Erbert and Rudler at the rear.

"Well?" calls out Boggs .

"All's well!" calls back Klaus after a moment.

"What do you see, idiots!" retorts Boggs with all the decorum of an anti-social rat catcher.

There is a bit of muttering and neck-craning before Schlags replies "It's another passage. Can't see too far, but I think we got a door up here..."

The referee notes the poor red shirts are being asked to lead this company into the mysterious Underworld... a duty well beyond their pay grade.

Nothing scary has happened yet, but when things go pear-shaped their willingness to continue up front will be tested...