Blai nods. So far Camellia at least isn't making them drag her! Though Wenduag wasn't either for most of the time they've been traveling together!

Then they can bring Wenduag and the kids back to camp, explain the situation, and inform Horgus Gwerm of the state of their progress.

Chief Sull tells Blai that it'll probably be about half a gong before he can finish gathering everyone and conferring; does he want to stick around, or would he rather head to the surface?

"There's two gongs in a day, unless someone decides to be 'funny.'" He lowers his voice. "Half a gong is really fast for him."

"I'm willing to leave the matter in his hands and head back up."

Back to the room they came from! Anevia stops to loot Hosilla's body, handing over the letter, key, and potion Blai noticed earlier. "Looks like they... wrote down their plans, or something they want us to think is their plans. And I think her glaive is magic, but I don't have any idea what."

"Do you have an idea if it's cursed or not?"

"I'd guess not, but that's a guess from reading her, not a guess about the glaive."

Well. It probably isn't, that's more expensive. He Guidances himself and picks it up.

It does not curse him!

Good. He has enough mysterious shit going on in his life right now.

Onward and upward.

Hallway up! The hallway turns out to lead into a basement, with stairs leading upwards. The clang of metal on metal can be heard upstairs.

Detect Fiendish getting anything?

No Fiendish Presences within sixty feet, but it sounds like the fighting might be farther than that.

He proceeds up slowly and as quietly as is feasible.

Just past the door to the ground floor, his spell reports that there are several Fiendish Presences through the open doorway directly in front of him. His eyes report that there are several dretches and schir, currently engaged in combat with a group of crusaders. Neither the demons nor the crusaders seem to have noticed his party yet.

...okay. They really do keep encountering demons today and they have cold iron arrows left so he doesn't spend his Weapons Against Evil but he's going to enter the fight with a Spear of Purity against the most targetable looking schir just to make it clear whose side they're on from the start.

Between Blai's party and the existing crusaders, they can finish off the demons pretty quickly. From the looks of how they're fighting, a lot of the crusaders are paladins.

As soon as the fight is finished, a half-orc paladin with Iomedae's longsword-and-sunburst etched into her armor, who'd obviously been one of the most competent warriors during the battle, turns to look them over. Her eyes widen when she sees Anevia. "Nevi! You're alive!"

"Beth!" Hug. "This here is Select Blai Artigas, third-circle cleric of Iomedae. Seelah, paladin, can Lay on Hands but doesn't have the aura yet. Lann, archer, from underground." She pauses for a second, and twitches her hand in an almost imperceptible way. "Camellia, shaman, first-circle. What's the situation?"

"We're in the Gray Garrison. After Deskari's attack, he threw the Wardstone halfway across the city, and now it's stuck in here. The building is currently held by a group of cultists. We're hoping to clear it out so that we can regain control of the Wardstone."

Was that twitch some kind of local code for 'and we've got to arrest her earliest convenience'. Or maybe just 'detect evil on this one'? "Good to meet you, ser. I've used most of my spells but I'm still up and have one channel left."

Nod. She takes another look around the room. "You're not under my command, so I can't order you to join us, but we would appreciate your help. I expect that this is where your help will do the most good at the moment."

"Understood, I'm willing to join you. I'm not in command of these people either."

"If this is where my sword is needed, of course I'll help! That's what paladins are for."

Nod nod.