Old Ironfin snarls, his shark-like dorsal fin raised straight up and rigid while the heroes approach. But as Isilme and Hinagiku call out to their respective gods, the cavern is filled with pulses of healing energies. The bulette wavers, flattening its fin flush against its back. Grila seizes the opportunity to press forwards, cautiously, until slowly she is able to come close enough to press a hand against its shoulder. Chanting softly in druidic, she supplements her own healing into the scarred creature.
Old Ironfin bows before Grila, who traces her hand across its many wounds and scars. "Is dòcha aon latha gum bi earbsa agad annam gu leòr gus leigeil leam na rudan sin fhaighinn bhuat, hmm?" she says with a smile.
"Perhaps one day you'll trust me enough to let me get these things out of you, hmm?"
Grila turns to Valaria and Lann and raises a palm - a universal gesture of 'stop'. She doesn't want anyone else other than Ary to try to come any closer. "Xun naut doer ichl veir. Usstan shlubnaut nindel uk zhah sreen'aur ulu tlu au whol jal d'dos. Udos xun naut daewl whol ukta ulu satiir."
"Do not come too close. I cannot guarantee that he is safe to be near for all of you. I do not wish for him to feel cornered."
The druid then slowly retreats from Old Ironfin's cave, never showing her back to the old bulette. Once they are a safe distance away, and it is obvious that the bulette is content merely resting for now, she faces Valaria.
"Qualla, tesso l'glenn, bel'la dos whol suxxizz uns'aa nindol aterruce khaless," she says, gesturing towards Ary.
"Please, tell the soldier, thank you for helping me gain this creature's trust."
She then pulls two wands out of her pack, pressing them into Valaria's hands. "Qualla, ja'hai nindolen belbolil." One is made of wood, and is of primitive design. "Nindol uss, Usstan beldrous. Ol orn quanth l'cuass'ili xuil zolarix ssussun." The other is made of polished black stone, and is deceptively heavy. "Nindol byr uss, udos. Ol morfethe uss feldin ulu l'sol...jhal er'griff whol natha stath munat."
"Please, accept these gifts."
"This one, I created. It will fill the room with painful light."
"This other one, we recovered from another. It makes one invisible to the eye...but only for a few moments."
Grila then takes a step back, looking between Valaria and Lann. "Dos orn ssrig'luin ulu elendar rath xuileb uns'aa. Ussta nesstren orn kr'athin ussta sargtlinen, rena Usstan mrigg Zhuanth Ironfin vel'klar udos orn ssrig'luin ukta wun l'doerin xonathulls. Dos z'klaen alu, lu'queelas. Ka dos flohlu udossta szeous, lu'mumbaro qee, xal udos shlu'ta inbau ulu l'outpost fridj 'zil nind ph'wun, lu'udos shlu'ta inth udossta d'thrityh."
She beckons her two bodyguards over closer, to include them as she continues to go over her plan. "L'duergar ulu mumbaro l'khel d'nind pholor ur'ac, rena nind doeb ur'thalrss zahanzon haggan lu'ulu. Xal ka udos ha'vvin xor l'doeb ur'thalrss, lu'brorn l'fashka, udos orn inbal z'lonzic draeval ulu duul'sso l'rothen lu'da're mina p'los l'doeb ur'thalrss yutsu. Wun jala p'totis udos z'klaen tlu kyone, 'zil l'duergar orn talinth naubol d'nind ehmtu rothen ka nind talinth ol orn inbau mina biu boron. Wun jala p'totis, udos zhal'la tlu zha'rior ulu rahss draa quhiran xonathulls wun qee'lak ...d'elezz l'mzild n'hai, l'alur."
The chieftain wipes dust off from her clawed hand onto her robes. "Ditronwal, nindel kluthak saph z'lonzic d'natha inth whol uns'aa. Jala mizil'ros? Ph'dos kr'athin ulu alu?" She grins.
"You will need to continue back without me. My men will ready my warriors, while I guide Old Ironfin towards where we will need him in the coming battles. You must go, and quickly. If you follow our secret routes, and move fast, perhaps we can get to the outpost just as they are settling in, and we can plan our method of attack."
"The duergar tend to move the main body of their caravans on foot, while their outriders scout ahead and to the rear. Perhaps if we evade or distract the outriders, and surprise the main force, we will have enough time to free the slaves and arm them before the outriders return. In any case we must be careful, as the duergar will think nothing of executing their own slaves if they think it will get them an advantage. In any case, we should be prepared to handle two major battles in relatively quick succession....though the more delay between them, the better."
"Right, well, this seems like enough of a plan for me. Any questions? Are you ready to go?"
Lann tries his best to translate as she talks - though she does speak very, very fast. "She says she needs to stay here, to work with the bulette. She wants us to move out with her warriors to their outpost. She thinks if we move fast, we'd arrive at the same time as the duergar," he explains. "She says the duergar have a mix of infantry and cavalry units. She thinks ideally we can try to separate them - deal with the infantry first, so we have time to free slaves to assist with fighting their mounted warriors."
Before he has a chance to try and translate his friend's responses, Grila has already pressed forwards. "She wants to know if we're ready to move, or if we have any questions for her."
"Before we proceed," Isilme says, looking at the poor creature, "I think I can aid him some more"
Tracing glowing lines in the air before her, Isilme focuses on drawing upon her own power to ease the creature's suffering. Before her she puts together the divine runes for pain and void, symbolizing the absence thereof. She unleashes the spell, and the runes vanish in a brief flash of light, which rushes forward and envelops Old Ironfin, freeing him from the burden of his pains completely for the time being.
"That sounds like a reasonable plan," Isilme responds after listening to Lann's explanation of what Grila says. "No sense waiting any longer then."
As they prepare to leave, Isilme draws upon the power of her cloak to speed her travel.
Ehren kept his distance from Old Ironfin, not wanting to disturb Grila and Ary from their cautious efforts to tame the temperamental bulette. In watching them succeed, he could not help but feel a pang of envy. Beyond his ability to speak to animals as though they were people, he had no affinity for beasts, magical or otherwise. It was a skill most druids possessed - many of them among his own family - but it was one he never sought to learn, in favor of pursuing the deeper secrets of the ley.
Putting his petty jealousy aside, Ehren smiles when the bulette submits to Grila, his pain lessened for the time being. Perhaps in time, he would be freed from the burden of his namesake. But for the time being, they would need to put his hatred to use. Knowing better than to approach, he waits for Ary and Grila to return to the group as a whole. He nods to Ary approvingly, grateful that she was able to help the chieftain in a way he could not.
"Right, those beetle mounts of theirs," Ehren says, recalling what Kaptra told him, as well as what they saw when they scryed on Javyn. "I believe it is a sound plan. We should make haste, then."
Looking to Grila, he adds, "Feicfimid tú féin agus Old Ironfin i gcath, ansin. Tabhair aire."
Xanderghul stands peaceably as Ary, Grila, and Isilme work together to heal and calm the gigantic creature before them. Then, they converse with one another in not one, but two languages that Xanderghul does not know. It was slightly frustrating to not be able to understand anything, but it also seemed like Ary and Grila had the situation well-in-hand. It did not really seem like anything was really required of him, so he continues to rest.
What's more, he is close enough to benefit from the healing of the group's two clerics. His wounds from the first encounter with the bulettes were severe, and he relishes the opportunity to heal his body further.
Then it comes time for the group to get going again. He shrugs nonchalantly. "I can definitely contribute to separating different groups of duergar using walls of flame and ice," he adds. "And I'm ready to go now. Perhaps Valaria and Isilme can communicate with and free the slaves while Hinagiku and Ary fight the enemy soldiers. The more mobility the victims have, the less chance there will be that they can be used against us as hostages or other leverage."
"I can also shield a group from view by using invisibility sphere, to enhance an ambush. Let me know if any of those strategies appeal."
"If you're going to create real walls of fire and ice, I'd suggest warning the underfolk. They... might try to bust through thinking they're enemy tricks. We can also use it as a way to isolate one set of riders while we fight the other. Remember that fast creatures can be goaded into impressive leaps as well... and those beetles may even be capable of flight."
Anevia passes Ehren an uneasy look, and whispers "Yeah... might be able to do that."
It seems feasible, though the process would be very painful, and it would take a very long time if done humanely. Some way of sedating the creature would make it easier.
Grila nods at Ehren. "Chì mi a dh ’aithghearr thu,‘ druiachdar'!" she says with a grin.
"I will see you soon, 'surface druid'! "
Grila leaves the heroes with two burly tribesmen. "Yallt udos shlu'ta Milith ulu l'duergar udossta xal. Jhal xun naut izin vlos ssinssrigg ulu naut'kyn dos. Ke'shaa ka dos z'klaen," she says to them.
"Today we can prove to the duergar our might. But do not allow bloodlust to blind you. Retreat if you must."
"Nindol uss zhah Khaliizi," she says, gesturing to one of the Underfolk. He is enormous and furred, and mostly resembles a minotaur - though his snout is half draconic, cut in half from forehead to chin. He wears armor that is ill-fitted to his large frame, and his legs are reptillian and clawed.
"Nindol uss zhah Bertio," she says, gesturing to another. His head is entirely insectoid - similar to that of a cockroach. The rest of his body is more or less humanoid, though he is large and muscular, and his skin a patchwork of brown and grey hues.
"This is Khalizi. This is Bertio."
"Nind orn alu xuil dos. Nin huertar!" she says. The two tribesmen gesture their hands outwards, then upwards, in response, before turning and leading the heroes off and down the tunnels.
"They will go with you. Now hurry!"
After less than an hour of moving quickly, but far more confidently, down many twisting tunnels, they come to a bend. Khalizi raises a massive hand to his lips, gesturing for quiet. "Haggan zhah vel'klar nind kyorl. Nind vrine'winith helothannen vel'uss z'hin ulu l'Verve Z'hin. Mzild taga quen xor huela a natha draeval. Zhal'la Usstan kus ussta nesstren doeb ulu xo'al lu'korishi mina doeb?"
"Ahead is where they guard. They stop travelers who walk to the Long Walk. Rarely more than four or five at a time. Should I send my men out to try and knock them out?"
Lann relays back into message, "He says the duergar checkpoint is up ahead. Expect four to five guards. Khalizi wants to know if he should try to disable them, quickly and stealthily," He looks to Ary, then to Ehren and the others. "What should I say? Do we have a better idea?"
Xander crouches near the front of the group and mutters his suggestions, "I can render an entire group invisible, if we want to creep forward and deal with the guards quickly and quietly. Valaria, Isilme, Anevia, Hinagiku: What do you say to coming with me? You're all pretty quiet."
Anevia glances at Ary. "Sounds like a plan to me. What do you think, boss?"
"Perhaps silence would be more effective here," Isilme suggests quietly as a counter to Xander's idea, "We want to avoid the guards warning anyone, after all. Better to save the invisibility for moving past one of the scout groups or into the middle of the slaves before putting up walls. We would have one minute, and need to keep the guards within twenty feet or so of me."
Lann tilts his head. "Yes, perhaps powerful magic is unnecessary - what do you think, Ehren?" he asks of the Archdruid.
"Hm. Invisibility would be more difficult to foil, but silence would allow us all to approach at once. All the better to overwhelm them," Ehren says after giving it some thought.
Lann indicates to the Gunduara tribesmen that the heroes wished to take the lead at the duergar checkpoint, which prompts them to step aside. They watch, curious as to how a group of mostly surface-dwellers were to handle the situation. Those who wished to press forwards had to pause and wait for Isilme to cast silence before pressing on to their next destination.
Ahead are a set of dark, dark twisting tunnels, that are only a few feet across in width. They come out to exit into a larger tunnel that has been completely walled off with stone and black iron. At least two duergar guards are visible at the entrance. Their armaments are not too different from the dwarven arms the heroes are used to; though they are strictly pragmatic, and devoid of embellishment, they are still of far higher quality than what the Underfolk tribesmen carried.
"I can accompany you, but I am not the most silent or best at hiding in the shadows. I could follow from some distance and close in once you surprise them though. But, before making a decision, it would be wise to know more. Mr. Lann can you ask the underfolk how the duergar raise their alarm?" Hinagiku whispers back.
"When would we use the invisibility if not now? To set an ambush for the riders? If not, why not use both?" Ary suggests, not quite ready to press forward until everything was settled. "Ask if they use any light?"
Lann quickly converses with Khalizi to answer Hinagiku and Ary's questions. "Lu'oh orn nind y'teni?" (Bertio was seemingly mute - only speaking to Khalizi in a series of chitters and clicking sounds with his mandibles that the others were unable to understand).
"How will they raise the alarm?"
"L'syahal i'dol, d'heen, xuil Canto," the bull-like man responds.
"The usual way, of course, with Canto."
"Vel'bol zhah Canto?" asks Lann.
"What is Canto?"
"L'xanalress," says Khalizi simply.
"The 'tunnel-language'
Lann frowns, but decides not to ask again. "Orn nind inbal ssussun?" he asks, next.
"Will they have light?"
This brings a laugh from Khalizi. "Ele orn'la nind inbal ssussun? Nindel orn'la tlu amnell!" He turns and glances at Ary, who had to use Radiance at this point to see - they were a long ways from the dimly lit tunnels of the Gunduara tribe. He shakes his head. "Ah, usstan kampi'un. Al, dos xal ssrig'luin ulu tesso l'isto rosin ulu zexen'uma rath rena udos rahss l'malarin. Il orn inbau udossa jal elggen pholor l'Verve Revis."
"Why would they have light? That would be ridiculous!"
"Ah, I understand. Well, you may need to tell the night born to stay back while we handle the fighting. Otherwise she will get us all killed on the Long Walk."
While not thoroughly satisfied with the answers given, Lann turns to the heroes to translate. "He says they use something called 'Canto' - a "tunnel language" to perform the alarms. He says they don't need light, so they don't use it."
"Canto" was referenced in a Primer to Nar'Voth. It is a primitive non-verbal language used in the Darklands that involves ululations, percussive instruments, and other noises given at a certain beat and rhythm. It is mostly used to convey messages down long distances by echoing down cavern walls - Canto is mostly performed by beating on drums, walls, or even body parts. Messages in Canto can travel miles down the right tunnel networks.
Canto is secondarily used in performances and other Darklands rituals.
"Perhaps the best bet is to enchant one of Valaria's starknives with silence and allow her to throw it at one of them from range, then we can rush in and it will not matter if they see us coming."
"If we wish to use invisiblity besides, feel free to, though it will only be active on us for a few moments as we close."
Thinking better of offending their allies a second time, Isilme this time assumes the form of a dhampir, to provide her with darkvision. She then waits for a signal from the others to cast silence, either on a stone to take with her and throw, or on one of Val's starknives for 'express delivery'.
With a subtle blur, Ehren shifts into his favorite combat form, a humanoid earth elemental. Between its ability to earth glide and see in the dark without light, it is ideal for their current environment; the extra muscle would not hurt, either. Just for good measure, he then casts a minor divination that would heighten his awareness of their surroundings.
"Either way sounds fine to me," Ehren says in a low, rumbling voice.
"I can work with either, as long as it helps keep me out of sight. This sort of thing is kind of my specialty at this point." Val draws her dagger and prepares to creep ahead to make the surprise attack with the rest of the team.
"Are you gonna stick with the group, or should I, Isilme?" Anevia whispers, pointing down to her boots. Ary, does her best to sneak forward, while simultaneously blind. These dwarves were foolish for not using light at all. If they had lights out further down their roads, they could see much further. It didn't matter that they didn't need light to see. Light simply was the better choice.
"I can stay behind, I will cast on Val's starknife as Xanderghul begins to cast, then you should all move quickly. The silence will last for just over a minute. Explain that they will not hear anything until Val throws her knife, Lann."
Isilme activates the power on her slippers, aiding in muffling the sounds of footsteps of those who don't move up with Val and Anevia.
"Please guide me with a sound when the battle begins, and I will join you." Hinagiku says, trusting in her developing sense to guide her when both light and sound are amiss.
"Better hold hands," he says. "If we can't see or hear one another, we'll need another way to navigate as a group."
Xanderghul weaves a spell - invisibility sphere. Glamers work by changing the appearance of a thing. In this case, the spell makes a group of people who are there appear to be... not there. Xanderghul retrieves a lump of gum from his spell component pouch. He crushes it in his hand and throws a handful of rust-colored dust and an eyelash into the air while chanting, and the ambush group vanishes from sight.
Then he casts another spell on himself - overland flight. He wasn't sure if he would need it, but if he did, he would be glad he cast it now.
Then, as soon as the sound dampens, he surges forward, pulling his compatriots along with him.
Xanderghul, Ary, Anevia, and Valaria move ahead invisibly towards the duergar checkpoint. The Gunduara tribesmen stay back with the others - while they were eager to help fight back against the grey dwarven slavers, they were also risk-averse, and if others were willing to risk their necks for the mission they were not going to argue.
While Ary moves with the group, she effectively can't see anything, and so isn't able to contribute to disabling the guards or aiding the other heroes. She hangs back while the others get to work, sticking close to Xanderghul so that his magic can shield her from view from unseeable enemies.
Within the spheres of invisibility and silence, the duergar do not sense the heroes coming. Valaria tosses her starknife into the fray first, tossing it straight into the first duergar's face. His partner turns and apparently screams, but no sound comes out. Before he can really react any further, Anevia has already put him down with a shot from her bow. Valaria and Anevia then sneak into the complex, leaving Ary and Xanderghul behind within the invisibility sphere for her safety (it was way too slow to try and guide Ary into the complex - and time was of the essence if they actually wanted to stop an alarm from being raised.
Valaria and Anevia carefully push open the gate only wide enough for them to squeeze through. Valaria grabs her starknife as she passes by, and the two are no longer in sight of Xanderghul.
Anevia and Valaria quickly and easily move through the rather small, ill-maintained stone structure. There are only a few rooms - a larder, a communal room, a small barracks. Valaria slits the throat of a duergar sleeping in the bunks, while Anevia finds two other duergar within the complex. They are put down swiftly, and silently, just like the others. Afterwards, they each check each room twice for stragglers or people hiding. The outpost is small, and can only bunk a dozen duergar, so it doesn't take long.
Once Anevia and Valaria have determined that, to their satisfaction, the checkpoint is empty, they open the gates and gesture for Xanderghul and Ary to move forwards.
After a few moments of tense waiting in the silence and in the dark, Anevia emerges from the twisting tunnels to beckon the larger group of Gunduara tribesmen and the remaining heroes into the small military fortification. The outpost is small, and it has certainly seen better days, but then again it wasn't fair to expect the heights of civilization so deep in the Nar-Voth wilderness. On the other side of the small outpost was the infamous Long Walk - duergar territory.
Before they can move forwards, Khalizi stops Lann and Valaria inside of the checkpoint. "Tu'jol ghil zhah l'Verve Revis. Udos xun naut ssinssrin ulu quengen ghil. Udos zhal'la mumbaro queelas. Natha lotha felah phor reztorm l'Verve Revis, lu'gaer zhah natha izznarg. L'duergar saph ulu v'dre nind rothen lu'vediren gaer. Usstan z'reninth udos zhal'la zotreth queelas, duul'sso l'rothen wun, lu't'yin dofith wund l'suul har'olcolbauth."
"Beyond here is the Long Walk. We do not want to linger here. We should move quickly. A little further up along the Long Walk, the tunnel narrows, and there is a large outpost. The duergar like to rest their slaves and mounts there. I believe we should strike quickly, free the slaves in the confusion, and then flee into the side tunnels."
Lann shakes his head. "Usstan kyorl. Nindel kluthak bekea. Inbal dos xunor nindol p'los?"
"I see. That seems wise. Have you done this before?"
The bull-like Underfolk shakes his enormous, furred head. "Siyo. Duergar foldraevals brorn lu'ply'uss udossta silinrai xor. Udos z'klaen malar ulu inbau mina rath." He turns to face Ary and Hinagiku, then sticks his tongue out at them - a gesture that they probably cannot even see if they did not take the time to create magical or mundane light after entering the outpost. "Usstan z'klaen nindel dosst naut'kyn abbanen zexen'uma rathrea. Ssussun pholor l'Verve Revis orn inbau udossa elggen. Xal nind shlu'ta zexen'uma rathrea lu'kyorl nindol beldraein?"
"Yes. Duergar raiders sometimes surprise and capture our hunters or gatherers. We must fight to get them back."
"I must insist that your blind allies stay behind. Light on the Long Walk will get us killed. Perhaps they can stay behind and guard this building?"
As you read in a Primer to Nar'Voth, primitive Nar'Voth residents use their tongues to point at things or people. Pointing with one's fingers is considered rude. The practice was likely adopted from troglodyte culture - whose forked tongues are capable of smelling the air.
"Hmmm," Lann says, brow furrowed. "Natha klew'ar, qualla."
"A moment, please."
Lann turns to the heroes to try and explain what is going on. "The Gunduara wish to charge in immediately, free the slaves, and in the chaos, double back and flee into the side-tunnels," he explains. "They intend to move quickly. They also say that Ary and Hinagiku are too risky to bring along - they don't want us to bring any lights onto the Long Walk - so they ask that we leave them behind to guard this outpost." He frowns. He saw their logic - but he also definitely wasn't going to tell his commanding officer what to do. "What should I tell them?" he asks.
If you have your bearings right - moving at this current pace you'll be arriving at the outpost at the same time as the duergar, before they have time to settle in.
From your reading in Xanderghul's library, typically the leader of a duergar caravan will be in the rear of the group, among the mounted warriors. The center of the group will be infantry and slaves, and the forward guard will be another mounted contingent (usually armed with crossbows).
Val falls into the role of slip through the enemy lines without a hint of reserve, moving quickly and efficiently and showing no mercy to the tyrannical slavers. They didn't deserve it, not from her. She absently cleans the grey dwarf blood from her knife as she rejoins the rest of the team. "Calling this place lightly guarded might have been an understatement considering what kind of trouble you can run into down here. I guess they're used to everyone being too afraid of them to make trouble." Val stops to consider the strategy as Lann translates for them. "The slaves will probably be right in the middle of the column with all the foot guards. A fast, hard strike to break through and get out before their heavier guards can organize may be best. If we can hit them from the side while they're not expecting it, we should be able to avoid dealing with their commander. I would prefer to place a darkvision enchantment on Ary and Daisy than to leave any of our combat strength behind though. If anything goes wrong, we're going to get swarmed."
Isilme is unsurprised when Anevia returns to beckon them in after a brief delay. Clearly the Duergar had been unprepared for invisible intruders, and the silence kept any alarm from being raised.
"Nice work," she says as she rejoins the group. "Ehren, could I borrow one of your pearls? A second silence spell might come in useful for the next portion of the assault as well."
When Lann relays the suggestions of the underfolk, Isilme nods in agreement. "We should move quickly, though I agree with Val that we need to provide Ary and Hinagiku with darkvision. We cannot afford to leave the two most capable in close combat back here on guard duty. Nevertheless, the sooner we strike, the less possibility that other Duergar will come along and intervene or raise an alarm."
"Of course," Ehren replies, reaching into the leather satchel hanging at his side. After a moment of digging through its contents, he withdraws the pearl of power and presents it to Isilme. Evidently, being a rock monster did little to impede his manual dexterity.
Looking to Ary and Hinagiku, he nods in agreement - they could scarcely afford to leave anyone behind. Turning to the party wizard, he asks, "Can you do it, Xanderghul?"
Ary quietly stands in the dark, eyes closed, listening to people converse mostly in a language she doesn't speak, and being utterly senseless as a result. Everytime someone starts speaking in a language she understands, her face turns mostly towards them to listen.
"We should be cautious about hitting immediately... and we should probably clean up this entire group, if we can. Ambushing the middle or the front, then whichever side returns first would be best, I think. Xanderghul's walls will allow us to split off reinforcements, and wiping out their entire caravan prevents us from being followed for days... and if they have tracking, days will prevent animals from tracking properly, and allow trails to be covered. If we leave their riders, they may be able to follow the underfolk home, which risks their civilians, or at the very least, their food sources. Sieges down here are much easier, unless their leader is capable of digging new tunnels for them to reach to safe areas, I would think. There are a huge number of walls everywhere, here."
She pauses, "We may also want to be ready to cast darkness to blind any light the enemy tries to ready, possibly even preemptively. If I were setting up a way to signal for help down here, I'd make it 'use light', since they're so averse to using it as a standard. It's strange how little they value seeing far away when it's possible." she says, before pausing and leaning back... before discovering there was no wall there, and pursing her lips.
Xanderghul nods. "I can," he says. "When will you learn that I can do anything?" he asks, chuckling.
He asks Ary and Hinagiku to stand next to one another and lays a hand on each of their shoulders. He casts his mind into the realm of magic itself, searching for the correct spell... when he finds it, he uses tendrils of his own magical strength to latch on and brings the spell back into his body. Channeling magic itself, he casts a spell upon his two allies. Their eyes subtly change, growing slightly larger and changing color to grey. Suddenly they find seeing in complete darkness just as easy as seeing in light.
"There," he says, whooshing out some air. "Are we ready?"
"Probably when you prove it," Isilme helpfully interjects, grinning. "Let us get on with this then."
Once Ary and Hinagiku join the others in the strange, black and white world that was the Darklands, the heroes embark. The checkpoint exits out straight into the Long Walk, a large, forty-feet wide tunnel that continues on in either direction further than the eye could see. The road here was paved, and worn decorations on the sides are clearly of dwarven make - it wasn't too different from the styles used back in Drezen. However the road is incredibly ill-maintained, and as such is full of holes and rubble. The beautiful carvings and statues that once lined the roads have been vandalized or otherwise inadvertently destroyed - scorch marks and blast craters reveal that many great battles have been waged here across the years. The road is also lined with what appear to be street lamps, forged of stone or iron, but none of them are lit.
The heroes lead the dozens of Gunduara tribesmen down the Long Walk, which was gratefully devoid of any other travelers, at least as far as they could see. They travel down the long, bumpy road for some time, before finally coming to a decrepit outpost. The tunnel narrows somewhat, and the outpost itself has been built into the tunnel walls along the side. Along the sides of the tunnel are an upper levl, with many raised platforms. They are 20 feet higher than the lower level, and the stairs leading up to them are enormous and steep, as though built for giants.
At the center of the outpost and at each corner is a large tower, with 15 feet tall observation platforms at the top of each. There are no doors that open into the towers from the ground floor. The central tower is connected to the walkways along the sides of the tunnels with large, stone platforms.
The entire tunnel is 40 feet tall from ground floor to ceiling, and is completely dark. In the ground floor there are two large pits, their entrance blocked off with a rough lattice of thick chains, presumably for the storage of slaves.
As they come nearer, they start to hear the distant foot steps - many, many feet, some clad in metal boots, are coming their way from the opposite end...
With the duergar likely coming on the other side of the outpost, there was little time to get prepared. There didn't seem to be anyone already in it yet, so taking control of it would give them the upper hand in the coming battle. Moving over quickly to Val, she whispers, "Get up to the central tower and get ready to attack,"
Drawing upon the Song of Spheres' power, Isilme burns one of her spells and converts it into a fly spell, making use of her goddess's dominion over travel. She imbues Valaria with the power of the spell as quietly as she can, hoping to not alert the Duergar to their presence.
"Xanderghul, can you get the others up to the platform near you? We need ropes down quickly for the underfolk to get into the outpost too. Lann, can you let them know what we are doing? They need to be ready to climb up into the outpost."
The heroes can hear voices echoing down the tunnels. They are speaking in dwarven. They aren't bothering to keep down their voices, which are all male. "Tar linn. Breathnaíonn áit tréigthe,"
"Tá sé thar am againn na sclábhaithe a chur ar ais, ar aon chuma."
"Ba cheart do na daoine amadán sin ó Fellstrok criú deisiúcháin a chur suas. Tá an chuma ar an áit seo go bhfuil sé ar tí titim as a chéile."
"Come along. Place looks deserted."
"We are long overdue to rest the slaves, in any case."
"Those fools from Fellstrok ought to send up a repair crew. This place looks like it's about to fall apart."
"So, what's the play here?" Ary whispers to the others, unable to really do anything at all until the way forward is cleared in some way. Well, unless they planned for her to bust their way in, which seemed... counterproductive for the purposes of an ambush.
"If you're going to go up there, take me with you," Ehren says to Xanderghul while eyeing the tower. "I can mold the stone into hand and footholds. That should make climbing up fairly easy."
"Ready to go when you are Xan."
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"The play is, we go in." mutters Xanderghul. "Try to keep up." He steps forward towards his allies: He touches Ehren with one hand, Ary with the other hand, and Hinagiku with his foot. Then he pulls them all forward just a fraction of a step. Together, they step into the Shadow Plane, and for a second all of them are surrounded by whirling, chaotic shadows and smoke. The world around the four of them warps and changes to a dark reflection of itself... and then, suddenly, the group is on the Material Plane again.
On the other side of the step, the four of them are standing in the closest tower in the fort. The group is scattered about in a different configuration than they were when they were standing, and all are wreathed in an opaque cloak of shadow for a few moments.
Xanderghul raises a finger to his mouth. "Shhhhh," he says. "Find somewhere to be."
Xanderghul pulls Ehren, Hinagiku, and Ary through the Shadow Plane and into one of the closer towers.
Ehren/Lann, Hinagiku, Ary/Anevia, and Valaria are up!
Ehren blinks, momentarily disoriented by their sudden transition through the Plane of Shadow. It was no Heaven, but he could technically add it to the list of planes of existence he has visited. After quickly glancing around to figure out exactly where he landed, he steps over to the ledge and kneels down, placing a palm against the stone surface. Numerous crenulations split open along the surface of the wall leading up to the platform, creating an adequate number of footholds for the others to use.
"Nind ph'aluin ulu ugulur fol chanash'gi whol udossa," Lann translates for Khalizi and Bertio, as Xanderghul teleports half the group onto the platform. He hurries over to the wall and waits for someone to lower a rope so that he can start climbing.
[spoiler=Undercommon]"They are going to lower some rope for us."
Heeding Xanderghul's words, Hinagiku tries to keep up. Settling into an alert mindset as soon as Xanderghul touches her, she is able to quickly recuperate once they appear on the tower.
Still, it takes her a moment to reorient herself. But, as soon as she does, she reaches quickly into Xanderghul's haversack to pull out his silk rope. How close the group had become she ponders, thinking about how strange it was to reach into other's belongings without shame.
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As he emerges from shadow and darkness back into the real world (which was also in complete pitch blackness) he finds Hinagiku with her hand in his bag. He eyes her carefully, considering the belongings he had in his central pocket and weighing whether or not she was likely trying to steal.
He is satisfied that she is not (she would just ask if she needed something important, anyway) when he sees her withdraw the silk rope from his bag. Ah! Of course, she was simply taking advantage of the fact that while she was a penniless monk who carried no possessions, he carried an extradimensional space on his shoulders.
At least one person who was here today had prepared adequately.
"You're a strapping young man." Anevia whispers as she sidles up to Lann, pulling the round of rope off of her shoulder. "Throw this up there for me, or toss it down once you're up?"
Ary reaches to the bundle of... rope that isn't there. How could she be so forgetful for months. She shakes her head and simply moves to the doorway to stand guard, all the better to ambush someone if they try to move into the room.
As the first group flickers up to the top of the tower, Val nods to Isilme and lifts herself off the ground, enjoying the sheer freedom of movement that being able to levitate herself brings. She alights next to Ehren on the edge of the tower. "I have another line if we need it," she adds Xanderghul and Hinagiku prepare the rope to bring the others up.
The Gunduara tribesmen quickly understand the heroes' plan, even if they don't understand their whispered words. They start to climb up the wall and onto the tower, the tower wall made trivial to climb on thanks to the Archdruid's magic.
"Téigh ar aghaidh leis, téigh ag seiceáil na beairice," calls out a voice. They're very close, now.
"Get on with it, go check the barracks."
Their accent is completely different from how you are accustomed to hearing dwarven. It's harsher, more guttural, and with some other unique oddities like certain vowel sounds being interchanged.
Isilme is up!
Seeing an opportunity to possibly delay the Duergar, Isilme shifts forms into one herself and begins heading in the direction of the enemies. Hopefully she could begin a dialogue long enough to let the others ambush them, and with a bit of silence could keep them from raising an alarm as they had in the other outpost.
"Heading for Mantarin," she whispers through her spell, before heading towards the incoming dwarves. Impersonating them would be slightly more difficult, but her ability to change shape along with her skill in deception made her confident she'd xucceed.
Isilme moves over to directly behind the central tower. From there, she can see that one of the opposite towers along the tunnel walls appears to have been completely destroyed. But then she hears a voice cry out...
"Cad sa Ifreann?"
"What in the Hell?"
From your vantage, you can barely glimpse an enormous beetle coming up the opposite stairs.
Ary, Ehren, and Valaria are up!
"Beetle and possibly a rider at our twelve." Ary whispers via the message spell as Anevia quickly clambers to the top of the wall, shrugging as the others prepare the way forward with no need for her rope.