Pranis silently followed the Trolls through the alleys of the city, trying to look casual in case they glanced back. He recognized the approximate direction as one that would lead them back to the ministry.
As they moved through the narrow passages, the group was joined by others, stepping out from hidden doorways and from behind debris piles, bringing their total number to twelve and all carrying packs on their backs bulging with unknown contents.
Outnumbered and having no way to contact the Doctor, Pranis had no resources available to him except for his stealth and his acumen.
The group stopped when they came to a crossroads in the maze of alleys.
The apparent leader of the group spoke. "Everyone knows what to do. 8:00." And friends" – here he paused, making sure that he had eveyone's attention. "Try not to gas yourselves. We're not coming back for your body." There were a couple of chortles at this, and they split into smaller groups and headed out in different directions.
Pranis decided to follow the group with the leader. There were 3 of them, moving quickly through the darkening passageway. They moved in silence, intent on their deadly mission, Pranis following behind determined not to lose them.
The trolls disappeared from his view without any warning, causing him to quicken his steps to keep up.
He spotted them again between two doorways, just barely getting a glimpse of a hairy hand as it drew a metal grate over the sewage entrance that he had just vanished into.
Approaching it cautiously, Pranis paused with his head cocked to the side, listening for any sounds that may be originating from below the grate.
Not hearing anything, he repeated their actions of pulling the grate up and kneeling on the ground, quickly darting his head into the opening to do a visual inspection of the immediate area. It appeared clear, so Pranis jumped down into the sewer and quietly closed the grate above his head.
There was a surprising amount of light in the damp tunnel, coming from the grates that were overhead at regular intervals throughout. He could see the back of the trolls up ahead as they made their way to their destination.
Working very hard to ignore the squishy sound that his boots were making in the muck below his feet, Pranis kept to the shadows in between the grates and concentrated on his footing.
The group traveled in the sewage tunnel below the street for well over an hour before the trolls stopped. Hissing quietly to each other, they emptied their backpacks and began setting up their deadly equipment. He watched as a tripod was set up and a series of canisters were produced from the different backpacks and attached to it.
"Careful with those, don't let them tap each other" was heard from one of the trolls.
"We won't tell you how to set the timer – you shut up about our jobs" was hissed back.
When the canisters were set, two of them stood by and watched the third as he set what looked to Pranis like an alarm clock. Realizing that they were finishing, Pranis looked at the grate closest to his head and jumped up, knocking it off and swinging his tall body up at the same time. He heard cries of alarm from the tunnel, but was out of sight before the trolls could investigate the noise.
Pranis found himself crouched on a walkway that skirted a garden. The sun was beginning to set, and the flowers offered a perfume that was all the more sweet after the time he just spent in the sewage. He didn't have time to stop and gather any bouquets, though – he realized he was at the outer wall of the ministry, and he had to get help….fast!