Hearing Rayne refer to her "Dix", Sabrith's lips quivered, as though she was itching to say something, but ultimately she held her peace. "Of course you can borrow Drakula," she chimed in. "Just don't lose him, I had to go through a lot to get him."<br/><br/>Having already secured the use of their flying mounts Dixon and Drakula, Zombs was pleasantly surprised when Rayne volunteered herself as well. "Rayne... and Grogza, thank you. Rayne, you're an arcane archer so you can use arcane scrolls, right-"<br/><br/>"I'll go as well!" The girly voice that interrupted Zombs came from none other than Lizzy, who had her hand raised in a way that reminded Rayne of an over-eager know-it-all in the classroom.<br/><br/>"No, Lizzy, we've gone through this already, you're too young to-" Zombs began, but Lizzy cut him off.<br/><br/>"I'm not going to stay here and sit on my ass while everybody else risks their lives. Besides, you need someone who knows what they're looking for to go, and I'm the only person here who can do that. Anyone else here is a crafter? Or has a crafting alt?" She looked around at the others to prove her point. Before the change, there was a lively market in magic items and most of the commonly used magic items were available from NPC vendors, to spare the players from having to waste their feats on crafting feats. Only avid roleplayers or the most competitive guilds who needed every last edge they could get would invest the time into a crafting character. The other players shook their heads.<br/><br/>"Fine, you can go, but be careful and don't take any stupid risks," Zombs gave in. "That goes for you two, as well," he added to Rayne and Grogza. "Just the three of you, then. It'll keep the party level low and hopefully the system won't sic anything on you that you can't handle. As for the rest of us, we'll be doing our best to raise a ruckus and kill monsters, so hopefully that'll keep the heat off you."<br/><br/><hr/><br/>While Operation Clear-The-Streets-And-Conveniently-Distract-The-Monsters-From-The-Infiltration-Squad began with a volley of arrows and ranged attacks from the safety of the fort walls and nearby rooftops, Rayne, Grogza and Lizzy took to the skies to fly over to the market district without having to fight through monsters in the streets. Joining them for the journey was Sabrith, to fly Drakula on the way in and also to take Dixon and Drakula back to the fort after dropping the three-woman party off - she herself wasn't going to be joining them.<br/><br/>Their target was the Trader's Garden, which contrary to its name didn't have any plants - not growing in the ground, anyway. The covered market had among other shops a florist's and a herbalist's, both NPC-run, at least before the Change. The building itself was still standing, but looked damaged and crumbled in places, with its main entrances collapsed over, making it difficult for character and monster alike to gain entry from the outside - or to leave from the inside. There was not much monster activity in the immediate vicinity, the most noticeable being a gang of goblins rummaging through a nearby heap of refuse. Sabrith ordered Drakula to lose a fireball, roasting half of them and scattering the others. The low-level mobs didn't even register on their experience meters.<br/><br/>Rayne, Grogza and Lizzy were dropped off on the roof of the Trader's Garden. "Good luck, and remember to send up a flare when you need extraction," Sabrith said, referring to the arrow holding an alchemical mixture that Rayne and Grogza had each been given before setting off. Shot into the air, it would burn like a flare. Lizzy didn't need one as her own dancing lights spell would accomplish the same thing. Then she was off back to the fort, riding the drake while holding the griffon's reins.<br/><br/>The roof was still more or less in one piece, with only a few jagged holes that they wouldn't be able to fit their feet through, much less their whole bodies. "Aha! Here's a trapdoor, it should get us inside." Lizzy bent down and tried to pull it open, but it merely rattled in place. "Drat, locked. Do you want to pick the lock, or I can just open it with magic."<br/><br/>Inside, a ladder descended down to the ground level of the covered market. In better days it was well-lit with lanterns and torches and bustling with activity, its halls ringing with the programmed cries of NPCs hawking their wares, the calls of players looking to barter magic items, and even the shady advertisements of a gold seller or two. Now the place was deathly quiet and nearly pitch black inside, with only a few occasional shafts of sunlight coming in through the holes in the roof. "Thumbs up for darkvision," Grogza whispered, "can you two see?"<br/><br/>Only a few patches directly next to the sun's rays were illuminated well enough for even Rayne's low-light vision to see, and see dimly, at that. Mostly it was so dark that she couldn't see anything at all. Lizzy had it even worse, apparently. "I can't see anything," she whispered back. "How should we do this? Darkvision, or light?"<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Unlocking the trapdoor requires a Disable Device DC 25 check (no time pressure). Otherwise, Lizzy will get it open with a <em>knock</em> spell.<br/>Inside, it is too dark to see without either a source of light or obtaining darkvision somehow.<br/></div></div>