"Over the last six months we've had six people go missing, not counting the four kids last night. But I haven't recognized all of these people, just a couple of them. The rest must be from other tribes."

The Church can only afford resurrections for great heroes who'll go on to save many more lives. Costs as much as outfitting a whole patrol with magic weapons so they don't die in the first place.

About how many other tribes are there - if we guess your tribe lost a normal number -

"Four tribes I've heard of."

So, you lost ten, we've seen nearly that many, there are probably ballpark forty total but we might not run into every bunch of them and we might run into some of them only after enough tromping around that I can put down one or two... Seelah, will you be more able to avoid killing them if there are fewer in a group?

"I'd expect so, yeah."

Okay. So as long as they don't come too thick and fast I'll try to thin out the group and let you focus on taking down the rest. Probably the best we're going to do unless Camellia has a useful spell she's willing to lend.

Camellia is pouting. "I have spells for grace and strength for warriors, not for getting mongrels their beauty sleep."

Okay, so nothing from Camellia. And maybe the layout is such that we can avoid some groups altogether, I'll keep a mind out.

Onward.

They can get a long way without killing people. Seelah is not very experienced at using her sword without intent to kill someone but if it's one on one she can generally manage it, and if they're careful about their positioning and Bella's using her magic to thin the enemies out it's usually one on one. Camellia takes up the rear. There is definitely no way to nonlethally shoot someone full of arrows, so Lann preserves his fire for -

- the demons, because yes, there are also demons. Dretches are supposed to be the weakest kind of demon, but they're fast moving, can make the air sickening and hard to see through, and take less damage. Seelah has to smite the second one because it's clawed her half to death, and after that heals herself but with a grimace. "I wanted to save the smite for something worse than a dretch."

Well, maybe that'll be the worst thing we run into today, says Bella with a feigned optimism that is not well supported by the way she's rearranging a scarf to filter the air for her. She does NOT know what she's doing with the sword but can at least hold it and stand in front of the people with range in case something gets past Seelah to take a swipe at the rest of them.

Humans up ahead.

Humans, Bella reports. If they are super lucky that means it's the surface!

No, it just means these humans are demon-summoners in the middle of a demon summoning ritual!

Well, fuck that. She can't knock them unconscious but she can make them all smell sights and hear proprioception, that's cheap. Quick, don't know how long that'll confuse them -

Seelah kills them. 

Camellia helps!!!! 

There's a locked door at the end of the room. Seelah turns back to the humans to search them for a key or something. "We've got to be close to the surface, if there's cultists down here -"

Bella can search dead cultists for keys.

Key. 

And does it go to the door? (And is anyone behind the door?)

Big demon!! Some smaller demons! Some neathers!

There are demons through this door, FYI, and a handful of neathers. Is there like anywhere else they could go from here.

The basement?

Well, that doesn't sound likely to be better. She'll give Seelah the key and take up her position holding a sword in front of the ranged and vulnerable.