Navarro smiles. "Good! ...and there's no need to call me 'sir'. Detective will do."

He leads her out of his office and down the hall. "For as long as we're down there, I am your commanding officer. If I am ever indisposed, Garril will assume command. You will meet him soon. We also have a cleric named Shadi. The Pharasmins are quite upset about Urgathoa returning to the city."

"That sound good! A cleric especially, I've gone down without them and it's never fun. Infernal Healing really isn't as good. I'm a sorcerer, mostly illusions. If I say... uhh..." She pinches her lips and frowns momentarily, her eyes flickering back and forth. "Nothing too obvious... If I say 'heads up', what I'm about to cast is an illusion!" Nod. "That makes sense whatever I'm casting. ...or if you have a better idea, that also works."

"Illusions are useful, but 'heads up' is a little obvious. How about 'spell six'. It's more ambiguous and we're not using it for anything else."

"Okay, that also works!" Zombies aren't the most intelligent, this is supposed to be her first time making up code words like this. Good to know it's working.

The planning room is very much like she remembers. There's a large rectangular table, covered in documentation and paper and maps. Two people are already seated.

A tall man wearing metal breastplate and a helmet looks over as they enter. "Detective."

"Garril, Shadi, this is Tencednil. Sorcerer and illusionist. She'll be working with us today."

He nods. "Good to meet you."

Shadi waves but otherwise does not speak.

"Good to meet you as well! I have Color Spray and Silent Image, as well as Ray of Enfeeblement and a fourth spell I don't know the name for." She pulls out a copper pinch. "It makes metal glow, and I can break it to try to blind something next to me for a moment. I can it Moon's Reflection. If we see zombies... or other undead... I'll mostly be using Silent Image, and you can see if I cast a spell that isn't any of those it's an illusion. But just in case, if I say spell six, I'm casting Silent Image!"

...she trails off a little awkwardly. "So what about you?"

"At first circle I have two bless, one protection from evil, and one obscuring mist. I have two bursts of radiance and one detect thoughts at second. You can expect five channels, if we need them."

"Okay! I also have a friend, she's sort of like a familiar I think. She can fly and see things close to her, even if they're in the dark or in fog or underwater. Also I can see in the dark, about sixty feet."

"That will be quite useful. If we're all ready, I think we best get going."

Their squad leaves Citadel Volshyenek and travels up through Midland. They cut across North Point and over the bridge into Old Korvosa. It's east from there into Bridgefront.

"Now, this is... not the best area of town, but I don't expect anyone to bother us. Garril tends to intimidate."

Garril chuckles.

Soon after they enter Bridgefront, they reach a sewer entrance. It's different than either of the two Tencednil remembers using.

"Here we go. Masks up, everyone!" Navarro pulls open an old wooden door and walks into a tunnel.

Mask! Into the tunnel! This is a new place, so she has no idea what to expect. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

Navarro leads them into the dark tunnels. This section of the sewers is unfamiliar. Less open and more cramped. Instead of descending a ladder in one of the otyugh chutes, they slowly make their way through a winding maze of utility tunnels. It doesn't smell quite as bad as being next to open sewer water. They're deep within this place when a man in tattered robes rounds a corner around twenty feet ahead of them.

He holds his lantern forward. "Hello! We're with the Guard. Who are you?"

The man growls at Navarro and gives him a baleful glare. His body shifts unnaturally into the form of a humanoid rat.

Behind him, a group of four dire rats crawl along the walls and ceiling.

That is an atypical response for a human! As she gives him a disarming smile, Tencednil is already starting to move. By the time he's fully ratted, she's in his face throwing a Color Spray. She can't get all of the rats, but three is still a lot.

One wererat and three dire rats are stunned and blinded and unconscious!