This is fantastic.  Thank you, Erindor.  I'm going to edit names and stuff right in (if I can) so it is easy to find.

Chapter 2: Party Crashers
 
After defeating the guards, we found a suit of leather armor and a shortsword on each, but no keys. A search of the room, however, revealed another door in the back of the room and also a gnome who was hiding in one corner.  The gnome was dressed in leather armor, similar to the other guards, and on being discovered he surrendered, declaring that he was a non-combatant healer named Stitch.
 
Goodnick asked Stitch where his bell (and the rest of or equipment) was located, and the gnome said that it was with the stuff that was ready to be shipped out, over by Kramm’s chamber to the North.  He also revealed that this Kramm was a hill giant (yikes!).  The area where Kramm was located was called the front staging room, and it apparently also contained a portal that could be used to leave this place, but Stitch said that a portal key was required to open it.
 
Snitch mused that Captain Garsus hadn’t warned that we were going to be “hard cases.”  This Captain Garsus was the leader of this mercenary band, which was called the Gilded Chain. Apparently Garsus was the dragonborn we had seen come into our cell earlier, and I accidentally misheard his name as “Caplan” when they were referring to him as Captain. This Captain Garsus had taken over the Gilded Chain after their last leader, Captain Goldfinch, was killed about 6 months ago. Since then they had hired a bunch of new guys and started taking on new sorts of jobs that Stitch didn’t seem to be overly fond of.
 
One of those jobs was working for an organization called the Orzhov Syndicate, which had put out a collection list which had included all our names. Snitch said the Orzhov syndicate was like a church combined with a bank, and they were behind a lot of seedy undertakings.
 
Besides Captain Garsus, some of the other people in the Gilded Chain were Otho (the creepy elf with the living tattoos) and Joy (the even creepier guy in the alabaster mask).  Stitch referred to Joy as a “nightmare” and said none of the mercs had seen under his mask. Otho was also apparently pretty tough, because Snitch said that he was probably the only one of the mercs who could fight Kramm and have a chance of winning. He said that Joy and Otho were probably the guys who had been sent to collect all of us. As bad as those guys were, however, Stitch confirmed that Captain Garsus was the guy in charge.
 
Stitch also revealed that behind the other door in the guardroom we were in there were about 10 other guards that were currently drinking, playing cards, and generally partying. The door to that room was barred from the other side, but Stitch told us the password needed to open the door was “cutlass.” He also confirmed that some of the other prisoner gear was in that room, so that was likely where we would find Rush’s copper wire, or barring that the coins the guards were gambling with would likely include at least 1 copper piece that Rush could use to fashion a new one.
 
Aleseus picked up Stitch and carried him back into our former cell, and since he had declared himself to be a healer he set the gnome down in front of the wounded celestial elves and ordered him to heal them.  Stitch took out a holy symbol that appeared to be a stylized sunburst and started doing exactly that.
 
Aleseus asked Rush to keep an eye on Stitch to make sure he didn’t make a run for it, and while telling him this both Aleseus and Rush noticed that the not-a-kenku birdman that Rush had warned us not to trust was now missing. At this point Rush and Aleseus had a bit of a difference of opinion on whose fault this was, with Rush saying that no one warned him to keep an eye on the person who he himself had warned was someone we should not trust.  In counterpoint, Aleseus pointed out that Rush was a gods-damned idiot who apparently needed to be reminded to wipe his own ass.
 
This, unfortunately, put some urgency on our plans, because if the birdman was a turncoat he could be at the very moment warning our captors of our escape. Aleseus warned the rest of the group of this, and also made a foray into the region of the caverns to the south where we had been digging earlier in order to arm himself with a dull mining pick. He also found an iron spike, which he tucked in his belt, and a hammer which he gave to Rush so that he might used it to fashion a wire if we found some copper.
 
The group discussed our options, and while Goodnick argued in favor of going after his bell immediately, the rest of the group was a little reluctant to face down a hill giant, so we ultimately decided to try to take down the guards in the party room to get Rush the copper he needed to call for rescue.
 
Saara listened at the door and was able to hear the sounds of revelry, and also snoring from some guards who were apparently partied out.  We asked Snitch for the name of one of the guards we killed, and he gave us the name Stan. With this information, Aleseus banged on the door and said he was Stan.  A very intoxicated-sounding guard asked him for the password, and with the response “cutlass” he opened the door. Aleseus and Saara, who were standing at the door, cut the man down and rushed in.
 
The room contained a long table on which were scattered cards and coins, against the far wall were 3 crates, and there was a closed door on the wall to our right. Around the table were a number of men playing cards, including one man in robes to the right of us and one very large man with an axe to the left.  Several men on the far side of the room were passed out unconscious and snoring.
 
Aleseus ran up to the man in robes and smacked him with the dull pickaxe, wounding but not killing him.
 
 Kanithar charged across the room to engage the large human in combat, but had to double-move to get there so he could not attack.
 
Goodnick stayed in the last room, waved one hand above his head amid the sound of tinkling bells to summon a blast of golden light that zig-zagged around several people in the way to strike the mage Aleseus had wounded and kill the man. As he died, one of the other mercenaries shouted a curse at us for killing his friend “Fireball” McClanson.
 
The large mercenary stood up and swung his axe at Kanithar, striking him for 4 hp, Another mercenary on the far side of the table pulled out a crossbow and took a shot at Aleseus but missed.
 
As the large mercenary pulled back from the blow he landed on Kanithar, Zekrum charged him, striking with a sword he had taken from one of the guards for 8 damage, and then following up with a kick for an additional 6 damage.
 
Ogylo stepped to the room and recited a poem, “Roses are red, these guards be violet, if you’re all dead, it will at least stop the violence.” At the completion of this performance, the big guy with the axe and one of the sleeping guards, in addition to all the furniture around them, started glowing with violet Faerie Fire. The other merc that had fired his crossbow manage to shake off the power of the spell and remained un-glowy.
 
At this point Goodnick and Ogylo also noticed the door on the right side of the room crack open and someone peeking out.
 
Saara charged one of the mercs in the back-right corner of the room and skewered him with her swords, killing the man, and Aleseus charged another right next to him by missed with his pickaxe and just took out a chunk of the wall behind him.
 
In return for the axe wound he suffered, Kanithar shoved his sword right through the neck of the large merc, killing him to completely to death.
 
With the large merc down, Zekrum vaulted the table and stabbed the crossbowman with his sword and followed up by headbutting the man to death.
 
Goodnick stepped forward into the room and started gathering the power to summon one of his exalted blasts, but held the energy of the attack to unleash it against anyone coming through the door that he has seen crack open. He didn’t have to wait long, because almost immediately another mercenary in leather armor and one in robes charged through the door and into the room. Goodnick recited “Just as the butterfly was about to die, she became a caterpillar,” and blasted the first mercenary. Unfortunately, his unfamiliarity with insect biology seemed to have an effect on the potency of the blast, because he only scored a glancing hit for 1 hp of damage.
 
In response, the merc who Goodnick tried to blast charged up to the modron and stabbed out with his shortsword, but Goodnick dodged the attack.
 
The robed mercenary who came second through the door cast a magic missile at Goodnick and scored a solid hit for 5 hp of damage, which set the poor little guy screaming.
 
The screams woke up another drunk mercenary in the back of the room, who spent his turn just staggering to his feet.
 
The mercenary who Aleseus had previously struck at and missed swung his sword at Saara, but she gracefully ducked the blow, and then she stabbed him twice with the swords in both her hands, dealing 5 hp with the first attack and 4 with the second.  These attacks left the man barely standing, and so it was an easy matter for Aleseus to bring his pickaxe down on the man’s head and finish him off.  
 
Although Ogylo seemed very uncomfortable holding a weapon, since he and Goodnick both suddenly found themselves engaged in hand to hand combat he took a wild swing with a shortsword and hit the merc who had just charged them for 2 hp of damage.
 
Kanithar moved up to engage the drunk at the back of the room who was still glowing with violet fay fire, hitting with the sword in his primary hand for 5 hp, and then he struck again with the sword in his other hand for 6 hp and killed the man.
 
Zekrum charged at the wizard who had just cast magic missile, and even though the wizard’s skin sparkled with the arcane force of mage armor, it didn’t stop the robo-monk from stabbing him with his sword for 4 damage, and then punching him in his “nerd belly” for an additional 5 hp that send him to his grave.
 
The mercenary that was standing over Goodnick and Ogylo swung at Goodnick again, ant this time manage to hit for 3 hp of damage.
 
The final drunk that was left at the back of the room fired a crossbow bolt at Kanithar but the undead warrior dodged the attack. While the drunk frantically tried to reload his crossbow, Saara charged him and sank both her blades into his chest for 9 hp and 4 hp, killing him.
 
Aleseus yelled at the last mercenary who had just struck Goodnick, “You leave my friend alone!” The minotaur then charged the man and brought his pickaxe squarely down on the man’s skull with a critical hit that killed him outright.
 
With the last opponent slain, Saara searched through the crates in the back of the room, while Aleseus scooped a copper coin off the table and ran it back to Rush so he could start fashioning it into a copper wire.  Goodnick used healing magic on himself to repair some of the damage the mercenaries had inflicted on him.
 
In one of the crates, Saara found a book, a bronze amulet, a shortsword with a silver hilt and the grip bound in green leather. When she picked up the sword, she heard a voice inside her mind ask her, in elvish, “What do you think you are doing?  Put me down.” The sword then inflicted 5 hp in psychic damage on her.   The sword said it belonged to Reinael and demanded that both it and the book from the crate be returned to him.
 
Goodnick inspected the book and found it was written in celestial, and it appeared to contain a list of Ildarin’s appointments, as recorded by her aide Reinael.  These items were duly returned to Reinael, and he seemed thankful of this.
 
In the 2nd crate, Saara found a leather necklace with a rodent skull on it, a worn bag, and a bone handled dagger.
 
The 3rd crate held a leather satchel with the word Xarushule etched on it, and 2 wrapped up scrolls. In the satchel was a copper wire, a fine silver wire, and a tiny bell. Goodnick was disappointed that this was not his bell. So, given the contents, it seemed like this bag belonged to Rush.  Was Rush’s real name Xarushule?
 
In a hidden side pocket of the satchel, Saara also found a note secreted away that said:
 
“X,
                Pull this off and we’re even. Find out what they know about J. No fights. Will look for you after 3 cycles.
-A”
 
Saara hid the note back in its original pocket before taking the satchel to return it to Rush, who was still banging away with a hammer at the copper piece Aleseus had given him.  After delivering that copper piece, Aleseus himself had returned to the gambling room and swapped out the dull pickaxe he was wielding for the battle axe that the large human had been wielding.
 

Here is most of whom you have met so far:
Andra- Human, Female.  A magic user responsible for your escape from Phlegethon, the third layer of Pandemonium.  Responded to Rush’s sending spell for help. Helped you fend off the hill giant Kraam, and took you through a portal to Sigil via a safe house on the Astral Plane, since plane shifting directly into Sigil is forbidden.  Had no patience for the difficulty some of you had in moving on the Astral, and soon rendered you unconscious. Some of her spells cause strange manifestations.     

Prince Gelfo- Grung, Male.  One of your fellow prisoners.  Rude and cowardly, but quick to take advantage of your escape plan.  Gelfo’s current whereabouts are unknown- you remember him being with your group during the plane shift, but not after.   

Ambassador Ildarin and Reinael, her retainer- two Eladrin on their way to visit the Queen of Air and Darkness in the Unseelie Court on Pandemonium.  Waylaid by the Gilded Chain for an unknown reason. Joy executed their bodyguard by tossing him outside of the prison camp’s ward without protection, where he was quickly slain and devoured by the creatures below.  Reinael’s sword, a sentient blade bestowed by Queen Morwen of the Court of Stars, was returned to him, allowing he and Lady Ildarin to pass through the ward without fear of the other denizens of the plane. 

Xarushule, “Rush”- Elf, Male.  Acted as agent for Andra with an unknown purpose, but part of it seemed to involve getting captured by the Guilded Chain to find out what they know about a mysterious person/being named J.  Rush pretended to be unconscious while he observed the party, and later proposed an escape plan, allowing Andra to locate the party and stage a rescue. 

Zoso- a Kenku Male.  Introduced himself shortly after the party members found themselves imprisoned, and gave them some information about their captors and fellow prisoners.  Zoso disappeared soon after the party escaped their cell, but not before Rush alerted them that Kenku can only speak common in repeated parrot phrases.    

Laru and her son Amin- the innkeeper of the Venture Forth, an establishment in a part of Sigil popular with adventurers which now lies in disrepair and low in supplies due to a dispute with the bank, run by the Orzhov Syndicate.  Andra and Rush had brought the party to the Venture Forth after their escape, and Andra asked Laru to look after them while they recovered.    

The Guilded Chain- a mercenary band that, according to Stitch, has turned more cutthroat and murderous since its former captain Goldfinch had been lost in battle. 

Captain Gharsis- Draconic Male.  The new leader of the Guilded Chain, responsible for its more bloodthirsty direction. 

Kraam- Hill Giant, Male.  Former member of the Guilded Chain.  Kraam was left to guard the camp. Despite your best efforts, you roused him from his drunken sleep in your escape, but Andra arrived before he could squash you, disintegrating much of Kraam’s head. 

Otho- Elf, Male.  Member of the Guilded Chain.  A vicious fighter, covered in shifting tattoos of a magical nature.  He manifested a swarm of stirges to waylay your escape, but was held back by Andra’s wall of force.  

Joy- Unknown.  Member of the Guilded Chain.  A billowing black cloak hides his form from head to toe.  An alabaster white mask, a grinning demon, covers his face.  When Stitch saw Zekrum speed across a guard station and eliminate two thugs, he later remarked that Zekrum moves ‘like Joy’. 

Stitch- Deep Gnome, Male.  Cleric of Calladuran Smoothhands.  A combat medic that belonged to the Guilded Chain back when Captain Goldfinch was in charge and most members were professional soldiers.  Stitch had grown increasingly uneasy about the new regime under Captain Gharsis, which had hired dozens of thugs to bolster its numbers. Stitch cared for the party and shared what he knew about the prison camp, including the password to the guard barracks. 

Jesker Jornson- Bariaur, Male.  A jovial, adventurous Horizon Walker, a type of ranger that patrols the Outer Planes.  Jesker arrived at the Venture Forth soon after the party roused itself at Andra’s request.  Jesker told the party that they may be able to get some leads on the Guilded Chain at a cutter dive he knows called the Way Down.  He told them that he’d show them the way, if they didn’t mind stopping off to deliver an item of value to one of his employers first.  Along the way, Jesker shows capable skill with javelin and spear.   

Sever Blackash- Duergar, Male.  Forgemaster and proprietor of the Blackash Forge.  The Forge deals in custom planar weapons and high quality crafts, many of which are magic.  Sever often employs agents to retrieve rare and exotic materials, and quickly cuts a deal with the party to obtain a special reagent. 

Sherm- Half-Elf, Male.  A nature enthusiast, and one of Sever’s contacts.  After satisfying himself that the party wasn’t acting on behalf of any legal authorities, Sherm rendered two druid guards unconscious for about half a day, allowing the party access to a cave they were guarding.