Aaliyah's reaction to seeing the maggots is . . . well, to go fairly crazy. She starts babbling aloud even more in Celestial, borderline screaming as she charges in. Her scimitar lights with a strange blue flame, and she skips lightly on her feet while moving around the maggots as she swings her blade, not so much in mighty strokes as moving her body around it to generate power her body simply doesn't possess, and guiding it.
Jens fully expected to fight a large spider. The maggots were considerably more unexpected, but it doesn't take him long to overcome the surprise. Letting out a wordless, throaty roar, he charges alongside Michael, boots thundering against the rubble-strewn ground. His shield whips aside at the last moment, just in time for his sword to swing down in a swift, powerful arc.
The rise and fall of many blades makes short works of the maggots, their strange squelches and foul odors rising as Izah stands guard over the others. "I'm glad you're on our side." Anevia remarks easily, letting tension off the bow and replacing the arrow in her borrowed quiver. "Indeed." Comes Horgus' voice, sounding a bit shaken.
Beyond the spider's now burst open lies a sight that was hidden by it's bulk and the darkness, a burst of five scales, silvery white, their edges stained in blood, ranging between one the size of a finger and the largest the size of a buckler.
Wiping substances he'd prefer not to think about from his blade, Jens glances behind the spider's carcass. His brow furrows at the sight of the scales. He walks over to them, turning them over with the tip of his longsword, before picking up one of the larger ones and examining it, squinting in the dark. "What do you suppose these are?" he mutters to no-one in particular.
Michael bows his head in respect and grief as he realizes what they must be. "Terendelev," he replies simply. "Those scales are almost certainly hers..."
After a moment, he shakes his shoulders and focuses once again on the here and now. "We'll take them with us," he says. "They may very well be the only thing we'll ever be able to recover of her to give a respectful burial."
"The dragon?" Jen's tone drops noticably as he flips over the other scales, looking over the dull silver sheen. Stooping, he gathers them in one large hand, then approaches Michael, clapping his free hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Keep yourself together, son," he says gently. "There are people down here counting on us. When we get out of here, I'll personally help you bury these, if it is your wish. In the meantime," here he holds out the scales, "would you like to be the one to carry them?"
Michael nods, then takes the scales and puts them into a belt pouch. "And we will get out of here," he declares, then turns back to rejoin the group.
"Right, then. Unknown location, quite possibly not even Golarion anymore, probably limited supplies all around because I doubt any of us was carrying our travel gear to the feast, no idea where to head to find a way home, and almost certainly a large number of enemies who'll try to keep us from getting there..."
He looks around the group one more time, then chuckles. "I admit, when I asked the Inheritor last night for something, anything, a little more interesting than endless patrols this isn't quite what I had in mind... But She doesn't give Her servants a burden too heavy to bear. We can do this. We will do this, because we must."
His voice shifts gradually from humorous to deadly serious as he continues.
"We either get home or we die here, and I for one am not planning on dying before I've had the chance to carve Terendelev's name into that demon's forehead after we've separated it from the neck."
He finishes talking, then looks around the cave again. "Given that we've no idea where we are or where a possible exit might be, any direction'll do, as long as we get moving, so unless anyone has a better suggestion..." He picks a cavern tunnel at random. "Let's try that way."
Too long, I've asked Pharasma to guide me to my fate. If this be it, then so be it. If my purpose is to see these people to safety, then I'll do it, or die trying. The Ulfen man sheathes his sword and shoulders his shield before approaching the crippled girl and the blind elf again, offering his shoulder to the former and arm to the latter.
When Michael finishes speaking, he offers, "I may be an old dog, but I know a few tricks. And it so happens I have my pack with me - Alfsigr can't be trusted to look after anything." He gives a wry smile, attempting to keep his own mood positive. "And if there's food and shelter to be found down here, I'll likely find it. Both sound like a fine idea." He follows the paladin closely, attempting to keep his wards in the middle of the group, less susceptible to attacks.
Once combat has ended, Aaliyah freezes in place for a second, scimitar high and covered in substances best left unmentioned. For a moment she seems fine, and then suddenly the blade wavers and she has to place her other hand on it to steady it. She takes a few moments to clean it off before returning it to its' sheath.
The dragon's scales, however, immediately get a soft exclamation of delight from her in a rather different tongue.
After a moment's thought, Elsbeth replies to Michael.
"I think we are indeed still on Golarion," she explains. "Those things burst out of a spider. Now I'm no expert on extraplanar ecologies, but even with its monstrous size, that spider carcass seems far from otherworldly. So with that in mind, I think it's most likely that we simply fell down a hole and are directly below where we were when this happened."
Elsbeth puts away her combat gear and picks up her lantern, then approaches Jens to help guard the injured people.
"As for gear," she continues, "I was actually planning to leave straight from the speech, as there are fewer and fewer combat students as the week goes on, so I had another job lined up that I was headed for. Looks like I'm going to miss that appointment, but on the bright side I have all my gear with me. All I lack is food, as I was planning to pick some up on my way out."
Elsbeth surveys the cavern once more, then nods as Michael suggests a path. "You're right; we don't know which way to go to find a way up, but staying here's no good. I agree, we should get moving." Elsbeth moves to the other side of Anevia from Jens to help support her, preparing to depart.
"By the way," she adds as an afterthought, "My name's Elsbeth Tanner. I don't think I caught everyone else's names, so we should introduce ourselves again as we travel; we don't want unfamiliarity to hinder essential communication if we get into another emergency situation."
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Not bothering to stow his mace, Izah offers a look back to Anevia and Arvashnial then a fleeting glance to Horgus before advancing forward with the others. Izah offers no outward comment to the choice of keeping the scales of Terendelev, though he clearly was watching when the decision was made and seemed, internally, to support the decision. On reaching the others, Izah looks around the cave and then to Elsbeth.
"Armiger Izah of the Order of the Pyre," is given as reintroduction, per her request. "Witch hunters and fringe cultist slayers," he explains for the uninitiated. Looking back to the paladin, Izah's brows furrow for a moment, and his fiery stare shifts to Jens, then the dervish, then back to Elsbeth.
"Up may not be a wise decision," the ifrit offers thoughtfully. "If we all saw the same carnage before falling into that rift, I believe that on witnessing your prowess in battle and knowing my own we are not capable of lending useful resistance to a threat of that size." Shifting his weight to one foot with a jingle and creak of his armor, Izah looks to Michael.
"We may be best served by finding a means of egress from this cavern, then plot a course southwards to Nerosyan to alert Her Majesty the Queen of the events." A look at that suggestion is offered to Elsbeth, then Jens, and it is becoming increasingly clear that he is sequestering Aaliyah from any decision-making process. "As I stated earlier, we may be the only survivors. We have a portion of Terendelev's remains and the potential to return them to a location where they may yet be used to restore the dragon to life, while alerting the leadership of the crusaders as to Kenebres' fate."
Eyes like hot coals flick between members of the group, reluctantly including Elsbeth in them and disregarding Anevia along with Aaliyah. "It is the most logical course of action."
_________
Izah appears to be excluding most of the women from the decision-making process, save for Elsbeth whom he seems to be begrudgingly respecting in spite of his predispositions. He is likely guilty of male chauvinism, as is common among Asmodean worshippers.
"I agree with the goals you list, Izah," Elsbeth responds, "But I do think it would be wise to find the surface as soon as possible. At the very least, the world above will have a larger supply of oxygen. If we determine that it would be safe to do so—or at least as safe as this cave, in which we've already found two monsters—traveling above ground would also come with its own light. Therefore, we should prioritize finding access to the surface; if initial recon suggests traveling underground would be safer, so be it, but the advantages of surface travel warrant investigation."
"Even so," Elsbeth continues, "We should get moving, regardless." She produces a compass from her pack, then adds, "Most importantly, let's not get lost."
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"Geographically speaking," Izah notes to Elsbeth's assertion, "up is not the only out. I visited the docks of Kenebres on my first day in the city, over a hundred feet above the river. If we can find a westernly outlet that leads to the river, we could use cover of the cliffs to mask our flight." That said, Izah does concede a point to the lady tactician. "But you are correct, until we find out what our options are, we needn't discuss that matter further."
"A query, however..." Izah arches one brow, "Would you prefer I lead the way ahead of torchlight? While I may not be skilled at subterfuge and infiltration, I can see where light does not shine with ease. In the dark places, I could serve to give us advanced warning without giving away our position to anything that may be trapped down here with us."
___________
As Jens picks up the largest scale he feels a sudden flash of pain, and he sees for a moment from the eyes of the dragon as it was in her last moments, stretching a claw toward those who fell and saving as many as she could. Jens feels her cold resignation in the certainty of death, and a hard resolution that she did her duty. Left behind it is a fierce protectiveness, and the impression like a shield in his mind.
"Michael Carenae, sword-arm of the Inheritor," Michael replies to Elsbeth, nodding once.
"Given that we've no idea how far down we fell, I think it's probably wise to at least err in the direction of 'up' whenever we get the choice," he points out to Izah. "Besides, unless someone has a compass with them we'll be hard pressed to tell which direction is to the west..."
He trails off as another thought occurs to him. "That said, if someone does have a compass, that'd be highly welcome; without some way of determining our direction it'll likely be all too easy to get turned around in here..."
"You mean like this one?" Elsbeth says with a slight smile, displaying the compass she already has in her hand.
"While we're getting organized," Elsbeth says suddenly, as though the thought just occurred to her, "Let's establish a marching order while we're traveling. First, those who are injured should be near the center to shield them from potential threats. Second, I like Izah's idea of having darkness-piercing eyes at the front, but with respect I'm not ready for you to be out of our sight like that, not yet. Michael, you're an aasimar, yes? The two of you can take point together."
Elsbeth points at Jens and Aaliyah. "You two can help the injured ones. I'll take rear guard."
Elsbeth pauses for a moment, then addresses the paladin: "On the other hand, someone near the front should have the compass. Michael, can you make decent use of this?"
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"I hope you are prepared for the consequences of your decision, should they arise," Izah warns Elsbeth with a pinch of his brows together when Michael is volunteered to lead the group. "Very well, let us see the paladin's courage firsthand as he leads our way. I will remain at the rear, Elsbeth, your human eyes are not suited for the task as well. You can stay just ahead if me between the injured and myself. I will keep watch for threats from the opposite side of our light." Then, in partial jest Izah adds, "provided you trust me more at your backs."
With that, the ifrit turns to walk down the line and take up the rear, hanging back a few feet behind Anevia, Arvashnial and Horgus. Looking the merchant up and down as he walks by, Izah asks of Horgus, "Have you training with arms?" It's not that Izah has a spare shield or mace, but any bit of knowledge is useful at this point.
_________
"I am handy with a rapier, but never expected to need one today." Horgus says with a huff.
Two smaller openings in the rock beyond the spider lead forward, both inclined slightly upward. Both lead east according to the compass, one slightly more north, the other slightly southerly.
"...I can use one to tell which way is north, but that's as far as my understanding of them goes," Michael admits. "And it matters less than you'd think -- I'm not about to duck into a side tunnel without letting you know which direction I'm moving in..."
He chuckles briefly at Horgus' response. "Fair enough; I don't think any of us expected anything about today to have gone as it did."
Elsbeth eyes the two tunnels, holding her lantern high.
"Well," she says, "If these are our options, I suppose we take the slightly southerly tunnel. Any objections?"
As he hands the scales over to Michael, Jens hesitates. "On second thought... I'll hold onto this one," he mutters, holding back the largest, roughly buckler-sized, but seeming much smaller in his large hand. "Perhaps you'd like to see if anyone else wants one? I can't explain it, but... I think some of the dragon's power lingers in them."
Jens nods to Elsbeth. "Jens Varmodsson," he states simply, shifting slightly under Anevia's weight. "Mercenary and horse breeder. Though one's long gone, and the other nears its end." At Izah's jest, he mutters under his breath, "I don't trust you anywhere, truth be told."
Aaliyah swallows slightly and glances around. [b]"I'm Aaliyah," she says, simply enough. At Jens' prompting, she lifts up one of the scales, freezes in place, and then proceeds to rub out her eyes and look worried. But she tests the others, and (unless someone objects) takes the one that allows her to resist the elements.
"Hm, these could be useful, then," Elsbeth comments. Cringing a bit when she first holds it, she takes a scale and clutches it tightly for a moment before putting it into her pocket.
A stone ledge juts out at a right angle on the south wall of this cavern, fourteen feet off the ground. The leather strap of a backpack hangs from the edge of the ledge, while above, a narrow fissure yawns up into the dark.
The tunnel stretches on, curving toward the north.
Michael looks up at the ledge, and the fissure above it. "I've never been that good a climber," he admits. "But if anyone is, there might be something useful in that pack..."
"I'll check it out," Elsbeth announces, approaching the spot directly beneath the pack. When she gets there, she suddenly pauses, then looks around silently for a moment.
"That pack looks like it snagged as someone fell from above." Elsbeth thinks to herself. "Where's the body?"
After her brief pause, Elsbeth uses the power of the scale to levitate up and grab the pack, then drift back down. She rummages through the pack as she returns to the group.
"Let's see here..." she says, "Decent bit of food in here, thank the Dawnflower. More oil for the lantern, some caltrops... Oh, Anevia, here are some more arrows for you to use."
Elsbeth walks over and hands the arrows to the injured scout, then returns her attention to the pack.
"Oh, hello," she says, somewhat excitedly as she pulls out two vials. "What have we here?"
Elsbeth unstoppers one of the potions, dips in a finger and touches her tongue. "Ah, a cure light wounds potion! That should be helpful." Repeating the process with the second vial, Elsbeth now furrows her brow. "Not sure on this one; anyone else want to see if they can tell what it is?"
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Turning the scale of Terendelev he had taken in his shield-hand over to look at the inner curve, Izah waits patiently towards the rear of the group as Elsbeth performs her inspection of the pack and its contents. When she inquires about the contents of one of the enchanted flasks, Izah steps aside rather than volunteering. "Aravashnial," seems like an odd choice at first, "could you put your elven senses to use for us?" Izah motions with a nod of his head for Elsbeth to bring him the potion.
_________
Elsbeth sees no sign of a body or trail. Either just the pack fell or someone managed to make no impact on the ground and walk away without leaving a trail.
Aravashnial wafts the potion delicately toward his nose and takes a short, dignified sniff. "I smell ashwood, morning dew, perhaps a tad of rosewhistles..." He shakes the potion next to his ear and listens to it moving through the flask. "Slightly viscous... yes, I think I've got it." He flourishes the potion forward. "A potion for the restoration of strength or wits, or more permanent injuries. A shame it is the least refined spell of it's kind. A more powerful one might be able to restore my sight or Mrs. Tirabade's leg." The flourish is a bit off center, making a sight both comical and saddening.
"Nice to have, nonetheless," Elsbeth comments, nodding. "Now then, shall we continue?"
The tunnel reaches a fork, one path leading behind you (west) and a bit northward, the other continuing straight east. Both are dark and soundless.
"Glad to see your other senses are still sharp," Jens comments to Aravashnial as he identifies the potion. "So, who's carrying the load?"
As the party continues onward, Jens seems to have taken easily to his role of pretecting the others. Horgus gets little more than a glance rom him every now and again, but he seems to near-constantly be advising the blind elf on where to place his feet, or bearing more of Anevia's weight than usual when she stumbles. He resists the urge to check his back - to check on Izah.
At the fork, he frowns, squinting into the darkness. "Can't see a damned thing," he mutters. "Michael, what lies ahead?"
Michael pauses at the fork and holds up a hand for silence while he waits for the group to catch up. "Some sort of campsite in that direction," he murmurs. "Two things crawling over it, about dog sized... Can't make out more than that."
Aaliyah bites her lip, looking behind the group nervously as if half-expecting whoever made that campsite to be right behind them. Having satisfied her curiosity about whether or not they're living in a horror story, she turns back. "Maybe we should check the other branch first..."
"Bends to the north after a few more paces, can't make out much more than that," Michael replies.
"... And regardless of what we find there, we'd still need to secure the campsite if only to make sure we don't have something coming up behind us when we can least afford it..."
"I agree with Michael," Elsbeth comments. "Even if we take the empty path, unidentified creatures are a potential risk, especially if they get hungry. Besides that, there's the possibility of gaining allies and improving everyone's situation. We should approach, leading with someone good at dealing with potentially tense social situations."
Elsbeth looks at several people one by one, then adds, "If anyone's wondering, that's not me."
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"Seconded, we should not leave enemies behind us." Izah speaks forward towards the head of the group, motioning with the red hot head of his mace towards the camp that Michael indicated. "I can see the creatures, though I am uncertain of their nature. Given... predispositions towards the Hellknights, and that these may be survivors and their hounds," Izah's head inclines towards Michael, "I recommend we send our paladin representative ahead to make contact."
Even with that seemingly diplomatic sentiment, Izah begins moving from the back of the group. "We should be ready to move in and lend aid should this become a fracas." Izah moves to stand beside Aravashnial. "I will be your eyes for the time being," Izah notes, and at this proximity Aravashnial can feel the waves of heat radiating off of Izah's form. "I will call out potential targets to you."
Izah nods to Elsbeth, then holds his position in wait for Michael's potential parlay.
__________
>
>>
>>> (1 point is fire damage)
"Assuming they're sentient in the first place," Michael points out. "Still, you've got a point; feel free to come charging in when you hear screams or cursing."
Joke aside, he sheaths his sword -- although he doesn't let go of his shield, and drawing it again will take but a moment -- and cautiously but openly approaches the campsite. "Hello?" he calls out in his most non-threatening tone of voice.
As Michael leaves the group to step forward and Izah moves back to help guard the injured, Elsbeth takes a new position at the front of the waiting party so that she defend the others or move to assist Michael quickly if things go south. She still carries her lantern, but her sword and shield are both but away.
This smaller cavern appears to have once served as a campsite or temporary lair. A torn bedroll lies next to the cold remains of a fire. A pile of bones, broken equipment, and rubble lies just past the campsite. On it's other side the tunnel stretches to the southwest, likely the other tunnel you could have taken from the first room. Two giant cockroaches crawling over the refuse turn and hiss at the torchlight.
Michael:
Aaliyah:
Jens:
Izah:
Anevia:
Aravashnial:
Horgus:
Roaches:
"Eyagh!" Michael calls, both in revulsion and as a warning to his allies as he draws his sword. "Front line, to me!"
With that, he charges forward, trusting his allies to cover his flank
As Michael rushes forward and splits one of the roaches with a cry, Anevia snatches her bow from her back and fires quick as a flash, her arrow piercing the roaches marbleish eye deep into it, leaving it still.
"Gods! I hate roaches." She sneers, clearly shaken.
Around the camp is a bedroll, clearly torn in a couple places, but serviceable, three stubby candles and a puddle of wax from a fourth, a bent fishhook, 20 feet of hempen rope (badly frayed), and a copper broach depicting a bat perched atop a mushroom.
Michael nods in acknowledgement, then cleans his sword before resheathing it. "Well shot, nonetheless," he replies before waving everyone over to inspect the campsite.
He holds up the brooch in one hand for the others to see. "Does anyone recognize this sigil?"
"You did well, though," Jens mutters appreciatively to Anevia. "You've got a good aim on you." He helps her over to the campsite, watching as Michael holds up the brooch. He squints at it, shaking his head. "Can't say I've seen that symbol before." He turns his head to the elf, deciding it's worth a try. "Aravashnial, do you know anything about a particular sigil? A bat perched on a mushroom?"
Elsbeth looks to the elf, curious as anyone else.
Aravashnial shrugs. "I've not a clue. No sigil I've ever heard of. I do not pay much attention to noble families." He seems a tad apologetic. "Clearly." Muses Horgus loudly. "But to be fair, I run in noble circles and have never seen that. If it's a family crest, it's not for a family that matters."
Anevia rolls her eyes behind Horgus, but holds her tongue. After a short way beyond this chamber it connects to the first, making it obvious the path forks only to rejoin ahead.
You pass through another larger chamber before the tunnel tightens into a much smaller, twisting and winding for over two thousand feet. This takes about twenty five minutes due to Anevia's broken leg. It takes a saintly patience not to grow at least a bit annoyed at how slowly you must move in order for her to hobble along. Aravashnial hardly seems to pause for breath, "Most of these caverns were built in the First Crusade, they crisscross under the city in a hive. Many of them have collapsed, and some broke into Nar-Voth, the highest part of the Darklands, and had to be collapsed." The history lesson seems to calm him as he walks. "Aren't there supposed to be Mole People down here?" Anevia asks in concern. "Mole People? Ha! You mean the Mongrels girl. Those who fought in the First Crusade did not know the corruption of what they faced. So many of their children were born as pit-touched or deformed in some other way that some of the more overzealous and foolish inquisitors declared them to be a danger, and had them killed, or exiled. Some of the parents moved their children underground." His voice fell to almost a whisper, sorrow evident. "Some of them may have survived... many children were killed for no reason except fear."
Eventually you arrive at an open cavern, about thirty feet high and perhaps sixty feet from the opening you arrive at to the back. Within this cavern squats a sizable bunker-like building, about twenty feet high, with no windows and walls of smoothly worked stone. A ten foot high carving of a warhammer, head down, decorates the facade of the building.
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Remaining beside Aravashnial as they walk, Izah motions with the glowing head of his mace towards the others. "Irrelevant at the moment," he remarks, then gives the caveat of, "unless..." With that hesitation, Izah closes his eyes and furrows his brows. A sibilant series of forceful chanting words slip past his lips, and when his eyes open they shed a brief violet light.
"Let me do a more thorough search of the area," the ifrit states, as he begins to sweep the campsight, searching for magical auras around the shrine. "This place is a bastion of Torag, a dwarven god of family and the forge." Moving away from Aravashnial, Izah approaches the building to more closely examine it for an entrance.
"If the fearful ignorance of past crusaders drove those twisted by the Worldwound underground," Izah muses as he begins his sweep of the area, "that would sow Kenabres' underground with the seeds of allies for any demonic incursion. Who best to marshall against the crusaders than the descendants of those butchered by them and driven into exile?"
Glowing eyes narrowing, Izah seems offended by the notion. "Short-sighted fools."
____
After everyone else has had a look at the amulet, Aaliyah takes a moment herself to look it over, curiously.
The girl listens somewhat nervously to the story about the children of the first crusade. Strangely, she gives some regard to the beat-up scimitar she carries with her for a few moments.
"Ignorance is always dangerous, no matter who wields it," Elsbeth comments to no one in particular. Surveying the structure that Izah identifies as being connected to Torag, she raises an eyebrow.
"Okay, but what is this structure actually for?" Elsbeth asks, as much to herself as to anyone else. Moving forward, she begins to examine it more closely.