Akasha takes a moment to smooth her hair and make sure she is atleast mildly presentable after all the dust, soot, and sewage. The effect of her primping is far less than she wished for but its better than nothing. She heads around the barrel and starts looking for something worth lightening her pockets. A staff or a good cloak would all be welcome additions to her at the moment.

Stepping out from the narrow dead end alleyway Akasha glances around at her surroundings.  Blackbird McAllister is taken aback at the bustle of the crowded marketplace. Certainly he expected some rabble of cart keepers and their patrons - but never had he imagined such a gathering.

Blackbird McAllister and Akasha wander off toward the east and find few passages that don't end in iron bars, shrinking tunnel pipes, or steep drops into cesspools of waste.

The party backtracks to the point they entered the sewer tunnels and trek west. After some time the solitary tunnel they travel opens into a large room. Not cavernous, but tall enough that they cannot reach the ceiling.

Some searching soon reveals a set of iron rungs set into the side of the stone wall. As they climb, Blackbird McAllister takes note of the particularly pungent odors rising from the water to the top of the room. It almost chokes the breath out of him. Akasha too it would seem as she is scurrying to the top of the iron ladder quickly.

Akasha finds the top of the ladder first, and presses up on the hatch she finds there. The door gives way easily, and bright light pierces the darkness of the sewer passage.

Akasha looks out from hole while most of her body is below the line of the floor. She notices the new predicament that Blackbird McAllister has managed to get himself into. "I really wish I had a squeeky toy right now." she thinks as she muddles over the unwelcome mutt's presence.

"Leave it to a man to always end up getting in trouble," she whispers. Akasha begins to ready a small ball of flames, "I hope Blackbird is quicker with his feet than he is with his wit," she whispers, knowing she can't take the beast down, but slowing it down is all she really has to do.

Blackbird catches the glint of a flame out of the corner of one eye. He knows what's coming next and takes cover. Lifting the pair of tomes to his face, Blackbird McAllister braces for the sudden whoosh and explosion to follow.

Akasha inches slowly towards the books, ensuring with every small step to be as quiet as possible. After what seems like hours she locks eyes with Blackbird McAllister. A silent message passes from her eyes to his drowned in urgency and intention.

"Go!" Akasha whispers to herself and takes of running toward the table. She closes the short distance in a matter of seconds. Throwing three of the books in her bag she whirls and springs for the open floor grate.

As she takes her first step she hears Blackbird grabbing the remaining books. "Well we haven't screwed up yet," she thinks as she swiftly approaches the opening.

While searching for an exit Blackbird McAllister swipes his foot across a grate hear one corner of the room. He can hardly make out the dimensions due to lack of light, but he is able to open the entire mesh of metal bars.

"Akasha! Over here..." Blackbird coarsely shouts under his breath. The echo of his small bark moves through the chamber. He can only hope it doesn't alert the creatures roughly sorting the Hall's collection of books.

"Now I know you men just love your brute force and all, but perhaps we should go the brains route for once," Akasha says, patting dust off of what seams like every inch of her body.

Akasha steps around the corner of a pile of books, tugging Blackbird McAllister behind her like an unwilling child. The moment she is out of sight of those towering beasts she drops onto the floor leaning heavily against a wall of books.

"Any great ideas on this one?" She whispers quizically. "Why don't you have a seat for a minute, let's figure this out before we go charging in there like a couple lumbering ent wives." Akasha wryly armed from her uncerimoniously crotch level position.

"There is no way we stand a chance. We are so poorly equipped! I wish we had taken some time to prepare before charging in here. And now half the party is gone or cut off from us." Blackbird curses under his breath.

He begins to look to both sides, above and behind trying to locate any exit that might afford them safe passage back to town.

Akasha comes to as she is being dragged towards the fire. "Never took you for the frisky type" she mumbles. Her mouth felt like a sandpaper covered desert but her few minutes of unconsciousness had apparently done a lot of good and she slowly rose to her feet.

"My hero," she wryly grinned as she leaned on Blackbird McAllister's shoulder for stability. "How about we not do that again." Akasha glances up and looks across the room to a very unwelcome sight.

The adventurers settle below a ring of flames, into a dark chamber filled with still more books.

Akasha wearily looks around, "I think I may have gone a little overboard on that one" she wearily says, not even turning to look at Blackbird. Akasha falls in a pile - weary in both mind and body. "Just give me a minute" she whispers as her eyes flutter shut. They are stinging a bit from the smoke still clinging to her clothes and hair.

Blackbird McAllister coughs against the cloud of smoke filling the lower chamber. He wraps his arms around Akasha's chest, and drags her over to the outline of a doorway.

Now that some damage is done to the Shadow Guard Akasha leaps back.  Just in time it seems as the Shadow Guard she was attacking begins to free one of his four thick muscular arms from the bonds of mold spores.

Akasha yells at Blackbird McAllister to get clear of the moss mat as she summons the hottest burning fireball she can muster. Akasha hurles the fireball at the base of the moss.

Instantly the mold is dried and begins to catch fire, as does the dry floor boards beneath. The two Shadow Gaurd are trapped between two intense and growing infernoes.

Blackbird McAllister manages to move out of range just as Akasha's flames ignite around the Shadow Guard. He is still close enough to look into what should be the face of the Shadow Guard he was fighting. The thrashing and agony one would expect is missing, the ceature makes no movement at all.

Lunging forward Akasha begin furiously slashing at the Shadow Guard closest to her. She attempts to avoid the mold pinning it down but can already see it beginning to pull apart. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the Shadow Guard are free she tries to make every blow count!

AKASHA (40 761 300) 53 Defense - Dagger, Silver Dagger 14 XP
SHADOW GUARD (27 335 0) 39 Defense - Broadsword 14 XP
Shadow Guard loses 14 defense points in the fight.

Blackbird McAllister takes advantage of the opportunity to dispatch some pain into the other Shadow Guard while it is pinned to the floor. He advances to the moss mat and squeezes in between two tall mold spores. Blackbird wields his daggers tightly, and thrusts the tips directly into the empty hooded face of the creature.