"Please, walk with me back to Rae and the others now."
Sol smiles sweetly at Mort.
"Oh, I'm fine right here. And there is much to see," Sol says. "Rae, look! The green light comes from over here!"
Sol points to a doorway at the end of the hall.
"See that Mort? That's the door and green glow."
While the others rattle on about puppies and danger, the halfling will take a very careful, close look at the surroundings, trying not to let the prattle distract her.
"Folks. There seems to have been other visitors here. Look."
After gesturing to the whittle shavings over the bedroom, she moves to trace the names with her fingers. "'Bridgette', 'Mel', 'Tabitha', 'Stevie.' Perhaps they were halflings or gnomes, as they are not the right height for humans."
"See that Mort? That's the door and green glow."
"I see it Sol -- I'm wanting to go there too, but it sounds like Rae and the others found something interesting to look at over there. You want them to see it too, don't you? It won't be long, I hope. Then we'll all tackle this door together."
It's not as if the door with the green glow can walk away.
Leaning up against the wall with his arms folded over patiently, his casual posture does not reveal that he fully intends to back her up or defend her in the likely event that she opens the door, unleashing some terrible evil.
Seeing the others begin to head up the passage, Tynan walks back and picks up Pillette's torch, then move closer to where she is examining the wall.
"Pillette, I can carry this so you have both hands free for your crossbow." Looking at the carvings, he continues. "I suppose a druid could have been living here with the wolves, or maybe something else more nature attuned."
Tynan whispers to Pillette."We should probably catch up with the others before Solrisa brings down more trouble on us."
The name 'Tabitha', spoken aloud, resonates. Stories about a young girl, roughly the same age as Meghan, went missing 6 years ago from Diamond Lake.
Crossing the intersection, your eyes take in the western hall, extending perhaps forty feet, ending at a small marble platform raised about six inches off the floor. A strange, shattered apparatus rests upon this platform, its curved ovular frame giving the appearance of a noble’s dressing mirror. Only a third of this frame remains.
"Hold on... did you say Tabitha is one of the names on the wall? I seem to recall hearing about another girl going missing a few years ago by that name from Diamond Lake."
Tynan looks closer at the carved names, looking for any sign that they they were carved at different times, and that some of the names might be more worn than others.
"Tabitha? Hrm, I don't remember that, but I'll take your word for it. Pillette, do you think these might be all children's scratches on the wall? They're our height." Ascaria shudders at the thought of so many children trapped here.
"Let's check out the green door. That's unnatural, and I think we're looking for something unnatural."
"Alright then, let's do this. I agree with the little guy. That light's not natural."
Rae, sword in hand, moves to the front.
Tynan, it's difficult to tell age and wear on the carvings. The interior of the hallway has been kind to them, shielding them from the elements, and the names are spaced far enough apart that the act of carving likely didn't interfere with previous carvings.
...
Crossing the intersection, your eyes take in the western hall, extending perhaps forty feet, ending at a small marble platform raised about six inches off the floor. A strange, shattered apparatus rests upon this platform, its curved ovular frame giving the appearance of a noble’s dressing mirror. Only a third of this frame remains.
The light of Ascaria's hairpin helps you to study an unusual arcane glyph about the size of a man’s head, delicately carved into the baseplate of the support platform.
A few shards of an unidentifiable shiny black substance lie strewn about the base of the apparatus.
Numerous runes and glyphs carved into a slot on the inside of the frame.
The glyphs and symbols all relate to transportation.
Across the hallway, the east alcove appears caved in, rubble piled to the ceiling.
The hollow tubes cease their dirge for the moment.
Something is broken?
Mort tries to identify it if it is some kind of stone or glass.
Mort also notes the glyphs.
Tynan moves to join the others at the platform.
"There are some shards of something shiny and black, here under the apparatus." Looking closer, he points to a spot on the broken frame. "And there are some runes and glyphs carved inside this slot on the frame."
Tynan examines the carvings to piece together whether any of them have a non-magical meaning, by calling on his knowledge of languages.
Pillette pauses a moment in surprise at Tynana's offer, as it's her place to juggle whatever tasks need to be tackles. Still, she is grateful that Tynan takes the torch, allowing her to load and grip her crossbow firmly. Never thought I'd be seeking trouble in a place like this. Avoiding it, maybe, but purposely going deeper?
"Pillette, do you think these might be all children's scratches on the wall?"
"Yes, of course, human children make sense, too." Given Meghan's wanderings, too much sense, in a rather disturbing way.
Upon Tynan's reminder, she sees how far the others have moved ahead, realizing their loud voices carry well, perhaps too well, in this cavern. She movies quickly after the rest, grasping her cocked crossbow even tighter for a bit of reassurance.
As you touch one of the shards, you notice how cool it is to the touch. More than you'd expect for the climate in the hallway, at least. You suspect that the quality of the material alone would fetch 50gp from the right buyer.
It's a new language to you, that's certain. You almost see a pattern that repeats, bringing a little comprehension, then it's gone.
Rae gives a casual glance at all the scratching and stuff, but honestly, who cares?
"Yeah, there's some black stuff down here. I'm sure you all saw that, right? "
"It's unusually cool to the touch... fancy. Might be worth quite a bit to someone," said Mort, scooping some up for a closer look.
Do the pieces go together to form some sort of key maybe?
"Rae, look! Black stuff!" Sol says excitedly. "What do you think it is?"
"A key maybe? Can you see if they might go together somehow?"
Mort picks up various pieces, rotating them in space to see if they'll fit at all together.
As Mort fidgets with the shards, he occasionally succeeds in bringing contiguous pieces to fit flush. With the shards he has, he fails more than he succeeds. It seems apparent that were there enough, one might reassemble what would look like a more complete mirror surface. As he finishes his self-set task, he becomes aware of several small cuts along his fingertips.
As for the apparatus, there is nothing in the alcove that might be used to make it whole again.
Ugh. So much for that.
"This is unworkable. The door then?" He makes a mental note of where this is and starts heading for the door.
Ascaria edges toward the green door, it's shiny visage starting to enthrall him.
Seeing Mort's hands bleeding though, he gives them a quick look and dabs the blood dry with a towel (which he then cleans with Create Water).
"Just a scratch." he comments smiling up at the big man.
Sol moves up to peek around the corner, sure that there are wolf puppies nearby.
"Ascaria, I could use more light up here! I don't want to step on any puppies!"
Ascaria scurries to join Mort and Sol by the door/room/green light.
Tynan moves to catch up with the others near the green glowing door, but keeps a wary eye on Rae and Pillette, should something attack from behind.
Pillette encourages the angry human forward, and follows the others herself, bow knocked and in hand.
"What's with the green?" Green was not her family's color. Too rustic. Definitely not sophisticated enough for their refined tastes.
The central hallway opens into a large chamber with wings leading to the east and west. Across the chamber to the north yawns a twenty-foot-wide open arch draped from top to bottom in translucent cobwebs. An eerie green light flickers from beyond the webs, casting strange shadows about this room. The place smells of animal spoor and wet fur.
The hollow tubes begin to sound again, their volume quite full.
Faint sounds of unformed howls emanate from the east wing.
The big man's attention is mostly on the group. So much so in fact, he nearly face-plants looking over his left shoulder.
"Rae, over here!" he bellows.
Now it reeks. Great.
The strong animal smell of the room causes Tynan to look carefully for more wolves, but he notices nothing.
Rae's head cocks to the east for a moment, but she doesn't say a word. No reason to send Sol on a wild puppy hunt.
Ascaria, noticing nothing more unusual than the chamber itself moves up a little to try and see the far wall (single move). He cannot even see the webbing alas.
He waits for the taller folk to catch up.
Tynan moves further into the room, keeping Ascaria nearby. He puts himself between Ascaria and the webbing, should anything burst through.
I hope whatever made those isn't still nearby...
A closer look at the massive webbing reveals something rather fascinating. Hundreds of spiders, almost as translucent as their creation, scurry to and fro, mending here, and harvesting there. As the overwhelming source of light coming from the other side of the webbing is green, the spiders almost glow green themselves, like dew drops yet to find purchase. Aside from the movement of the spiders, the webbing itself seems undisturbed by any source of interior winds.
Tynan moves nearer to the webs, reaches forward with the torch he's carrying in his left hand, and lights the webs on fire.
Aghast, Rae shoves Tynan to the side, trying to put out any webs the idiot may have caught fire.
She swats at the webs delicately, growling beneath her breath. "Idiot! What did they ever do to you?!?!"
Ascaria supports Tynan, "Rae, they're just spiders, c'mon. We need to see what's on the other side!"
Tynan says quietly, to Raella: "Well, you WOULD know all about idiots, wouldn't you."
He calls back over his shoulder. "He Solrisa, there are some pretty spiders here... I wonder if they'd make nice pets... what do you think?" He looks back at Raella, and raises an eyebrow.
Seeing the angry human's typical reaction, the halfling looks closely at Rae, wondering what burr is in her britches this time, and pondering which of the nine is the best.
Mort watches, fascinated.
He checks Solrisa's and Pillette's reaction to Tynan's use of the torch.
If Tynan catches his eye, he shrugs at him helplessly.
"I wonder if they'd make nice pets."
"For some, they do. But possibly they are not ... your cup of tea." She looks thoughtfully at the man. No, webs and poison and venom aren't this one's style, I don't think. Although if the rumors are true, then they might fit his needs better than he realizes. Hmmmm... "Or maybe I'm wrong."
"He Solrisa, there are some pretty spiders here... I wonder if they'd make nice pets... what do you think?"
Sol smiles at Tynan.
"I think you're right, Tynan! They are pretty!" Sol goes to help Rae with the spiders. "Thanks for pointing them out!"
"Rae, look! Spiders! Just like Mum used to have!"
Ascaria supports Tynan, "Rae, they're just spiders, c'mon. We need to see what's on the other side!"
"You don't know *that*, Ascaria, and neither does he. In some cultures, they're considered sacred messengers from the gods. We can try to disturb them as little as possible as we pass."
Tynan says quietly, to Raella: "Well, you WOULD know all about idiots, wouldn't you."
Rae snarls as she looks him over from head to toe. She finally answers, "Learning more about them all the time!"
He calls back over his shoulder. "Hey Solrisa, there are some pretty spiders here... I wonder if they'd make nice pets... what do you think?" He looks back at Raella, and raises an eyebrow.
Rae checks the urge to take this further and turns to her sister with a smile, "I don't think these spiders are ready to leave their home webs, Sol. Mom's spiders were much bigger than these. Still, no reason to kill them out of hand."
Normally, a dusty cobweb would erupt in flame, consuming the entirety of the creation in seconds. This cobweb seems different, pristine. The lack of debris and dust seems to factor into the slightly less rapid combustion, and Raella manages to swath her arm in flaming webbing, replete with several dying translucent spiders, which ephemerally reflect the flames of destruction.
The burning of the web brings a myriad of colors. The glue-strewn web compartmentalizes the fire, and soon, you are witness more fully to the set of stairs the lies beyond, which descends beyond the arch. From the burning, you are aware of the scent of honeysuckle.
"And oh--! There's that pretty green light," sings Mort.
He looks at Rae and whispers to her with a compromised eyebrow: "Mum kept spiders?!"
He has every intention of escorting everyone through the remaining shroud of spider webs, redirecting attention to the "pretty green lights".
He has every expectation that he will utterly fail, and prepares to defend himself against some "Mum Spider" that might angerly show up to avenge the deaths of her spawn.
He really hopes that will not be a Thing that comes to Be.
"Mom does whatever the hell she wants." Rae answers, but her head tips up. Mom was mom. When she was growing up, it shocked her to realize other people's mothers were so....different.
She winces as she tries to minimize the burning from the webs, and moves through it.
Sol nods solemnly. "Mum does whatever Mum wants. Especially after the Thing," Solmagrees, her mind working.
"Hey Rae, remember those dead wolves? Would the spiders want to eat one of them? We should try, right? Mum would want that?"
If Rae agrees, Sol goes and gets a wolf corpse and places it near the remaining spiders.
Rae sighs. "Yeah, probably can't hurt, Sol. Give them one of the wolves." Just don't mention the Thing. Ever.
That's probably a good idea.
Mort checks himself.
No, yes. Good idea.
He waits for what he hopes is Rae's wisdom on this matter -- ready for anything.
Mort's racing mind eventually catches up with him.
"Mum does whatever Mum wants. Especially after the Thing,"
To Rae he says in his mind casually, but there's a definite hint of actual panic to his rasp:
"And what 'Thing' would that thing be?"
Solrisa manages to bring a wolf carcass to the base of the arch, but only dead spider husks are there to meet it.
A wide stairway descends into an immense domed chamber. Seven short tunnels branch from the room in all directions, extending some thirty feet before ending in rounded walls. At the terminus of each passage, a thick chain dangles from an unseen high ceiling. Five of the chains bear colorful lanterns, but two hold nothing at all.
Opposite the entry stairs, a bright green lantern containing what looks like a torch casts a weird, murky light about the room. Countless chips of glass and shiny metal inset into the chamber’s domed ceiling reflect this light, giving the impression of starlight and falling snow. The dome starts about ten feet off the ground and reaches an apex about thirty feet over the center of the room.
Below the dome’s peak, a long dais holds what appears to be a marble sarcophagus A milky white bas-relief figure, perhaps of a human, rests passively upon the sarcophagus lid.
Although not as frequent, the whispers heard in this chamber have a distinct, lingual feel.
"Hopeless... sacrilege... enemies..."
Tynan listens to the sisters talk about their mother and her oddities.
It's no wonder they're so... broken.
"I didn't realize your mother was fond of spiders. Just let me know what creatures you think should be left alone, and I'll leave them to you."
And after we take care of the threat against Meghan, we can all go our separate ways...
...
Reaching the chamber below, Tynan tries to make out the strange words whispering around them, while he takes in the sights of the chamber.
What have we gotten ourselves into...
"Would the spiders want to eat one of them?"
The halfling cocks an eyebrow. The "Puppies!" girl is much more practical than I would have expected. And apparently has an interesting mother.
As they proceed, she muses. "Rather intense place. Wolves. Spiders in their webs. Runes, glyphs, and a sort of apparatus, with a shattered... something. And summoning at least one young girl as she sleeps." Now just what kind of ritual would require pieces such as these... and who would want it performed? Hmmmm.
And then the stairway gives way to a rather spectacular domed chamber, with a sarcophagus in the middle. "O.k., this makes wolves, spiders, and even the apparatus look... normal."