The Flameborn

"Still, I don't mind spending the extra time walking to not accidentally cause a stir," Orinda comments. "Make sure we start things off on the best foot with the owner as well. That should give things enough time for business to slow down too, so we can have a bit more of a private conversation. "

Mateo sighs. "Fine, whatever."

One hour long round trip later, you enter the Pickled Ear again, this time through the front door. It's a bit slower now, although there are still plenty of people here.

Orinda walks up to the counter where Roxie Denn is working "Hi Roxie," she says. "Can I get a moment of your time to talk to you about something? Shouldn't take too long,"

Roxie looks up but doesn't stop cleaning the glass in her hand. "Bathroom key's fer payin' customers only."

"Not that," Orinda says with a sigh. "We found something in Hellknight Hill that might be of interest to you, as the owner of the Pickled Ear."

Roxie's eyebrow raises. "Yeah? Never had much to do with the Hill, and I moved in a long while after the Hellknights moved out, so I can't imagine what they've got up there that I'd care about."

"Would you care to take this talk somewhere a little more private, or should I just tell you here?" Orinda asks.

Roxie takes a quick look around the tavern, then jerks her head towards a door behind the bar. She leads you into what appears to be her office and takes a seat. "A'right, what's this all about?"

"We found a tunnel in Hellknight Hill that leads right to the basement of your bar," Orinda explains.

"... can't say I was expecting that," Roxie says bluntly. "Thought there might be contested ownership or something. Who the hell built a tunnel into my basement?"

"Possibly the Hellknights themselves?" Orinda speculates. "It seems like it could've been an escape route from the fort."

"Could be," Roxie shrugs. "Well, thanks for telling me I guess."

"I can show you where it is, too," Orinda offers. "Probably be a good idea to board it up, make sure nothing from Hellknight Hill manages to pop out of your basement."

Roxie shrugs. "Sure. I'll warn ya though, if this is a scam ta get into my pickle supplies, I'll run ya out of town."

"I can promise you it's nothing of the sort," Orinda reassures Roxie.

Roxie follows you down to the basement and into the pickle cellar. The trapdoor is right where you left it. "Well I'll be damned."

Once everyone is together again, Mateo says "Well, I guess we're done with Hellknight Hill. Maybe we should see if the council has anything else for us?"

"Sounds fine by me." Telv stretches.

"We did clear out a lot of things there that could've caused trouble," Orinda points out. "Hopefully that will be enough to convince them to hire workers to unblock the sub-basement, so we can finish the job completely."

The council is as they have been, in the middle of a heated and involved discussion on increasing the sales tax on tomatoes from 5% to 6%, but they stop when you enter the council room.

"Adventurers," Greta Gardenia nods at you. Trini Sprizzlegig smiles widely and Posandi has a small scowl, while the other two look neutral. "How went your further explorations? Did you find anything of note?"

Greta shakes her head. "Not presently. You're welcome to wait for the next Call for Heroes."