"Okay, I've got to agree, I think. Having a safe place to return to if we find ourselves at a dead end will be beneficial in the long run. We should probably take stock of the whole food and drink situation too," Sam mentions. "I've got some trail rations and a half full waterskin. It should probably last me four days - five to six if I eat meagerly. Don't suppose anyone here's good at scrounging up edibles?"
Valtyra moves into the room, excepting the potions that Haroon hands her. I agree that having a place to fall back too, if it becomes necessary would be wise for all of us. I only have about a weeks worth of food rations on me. I'm more than willing to look around to see if there is anything edible to be found. Valtyra then starts to look around the inside of the building before wandering just outside the entrance to see if there is anything to be had.
Ginger blinks as everything starts to pick up she agrees that praying over the dead would good and that having a safe haven is a great idea. She then accepts the hammer with a thanks before saying "if Torag as forsaken this place then if its turn into a different temple wouldn't get you guys cursed or the gods angered. I also have some dwarven rations I can share." She moves to follow Greylocke and help him with the dead.
"Hopefully we wont be down here that long," Oliver says while keeping an eye on the others if other threats raises.
After sending the soul on its way with prayer, Mordan nods his head at Ginger. "I'll do my best then, to rededicate this to Iomedae. Not sure who I can convince to come to night services, but we'll see how it goes."
Returning to the small chapel, he begins cleaning it out and reconsecrating it. He uses the other vial of holy water and prayer throughout in an attempt to allow the presence of Iomedae to protect the place.
Haroon helps to clear away the rubble and remains once it becomes obvious that the group means to set up a base of operations. He also offers his own prayers, uncertain of their efficacy, but willing to help nonetheless.
As the others take stock of the food and supplies, Haroon produces the masterwork backpack found before the fight with the giant roaches. There's about ten days of rations here, flint and steel, some caltrops, two flasks of oil, a dozen arrows... Well, that's enough food to feed us all for a few days at least. We still need to find a way back above ground though. He shoulders the pack unless someone else particularly wants it and scoops up the caltrops as well.
Ginger goes to the outside of the temple and stands there as guard, watching. And while she does this every once in awhile she would look down to examine her new hammer, wanting to know every all the detail work in it.
Mordan will try and make a comfortable place to sleep for the wounded, while checking their bandages and cleaning as needed. "While this place is certainly safer than outside the walls, a watch is still a good idea. I'll take a middle shift."
As the group settles for the night, Mordan will round with his kit offering to assist in tending wounds and cleaning bandages.
Sadly, his kit seems to have been caught in the landslide covering the majority of its bandages with dirt and roots leaving his well-meaning minstrations of minimum assistance.
Haroon waves away Mordan's offer of assistance. No really, I'm fine, hardly a scratch. Please, see to Aravashnial and Anevia instead.
It is clear that Haroon is more injured than he lets on.
Once the rubble has been cleared away and the temple sanctified, Haroon curls up against the wall with a hefty tome, reading, and making occasional notes.
It was a long 8 hours of work clearing out the debris and remains from the temple and the immediate grounds. Valtyra explores around the structure and finds little of interest. Though her exploration sheds some light upon the history of this building. A midst the rubble of one of the outbuildings she discovers a small leather bound journal.
This area was once a small shrine dedicated to Torag, tended by a hermetic priest who chose this location for a place of worship so as to be closer to "the Father of Creation's heart." Alas, after building the shrine and receiving no sign of gratitude from Torag, the priest lost his faith, cursed his god, and took his own life in spite.
You can safely assume that this act cursed him to unlife beyond death as a huecuva.
As the groups prayers come to an end a feeling of peace settles over the temple.
After her watch Ginger goes and sets up a place in the temple and goes to sleep feeling temporary peace at last.
Stretching Oliver says: "It was good resting, but should we move on?" Turning to Ginger he asks: "Do you have any idea what else we might face down here?" As a general inquiry he asks: "How much food do we have? I could use a bit if anyone has something to spare."
Ginger reaches up to the pack under her head and digs around for a moment before pulling out some dwarven rations and spilting it in half, "half for you half for me. All kinds of creatures can live under ground. Like the dead spider we ran in to and the cockroaches. We might come across goblins, orcs, trolls, dire rats are just a few I can think of. Do you have some water?"
Haroon eats a breakfast of the recovered rations, and holds onto the rest of the day's food while speaking in a low voice, out of earshot of the injured townsfolk.
What do you all think of leaving Aravashnial, Anevia, and Hargus here while the rest of us try to scout out a way back to the surface? Hopefully they can bar the door in case anything unfriendly comes calling, and we can probably move faster with them here. We've got enough food for everyone for the next two or three days, so the quicker we find a way out, the better.
"No." Sam says straight out to Haroon. "First, I don't trust Hargus not to run off on his own. Second, one's blind and the other has a busted leg, so how do you expect them to bar the door? We should not leave them alone, and you're a jerk for suggesting it. Between the rest of us we can protect them - unless you're looking after your own interests here before theirs. Culling the weak to survive like we're animals."
The gunslinger glares at them. "Don't ever suggest leaving a person behind again unless you're the one willing to be it."
Haroon's face goes dark, and his lips compress into a thin line.
They'll be safer in here than they will be running around in the caves with who knows what out there. Especially with you announcing our presence every time you fire that gun of yours. Call me names all you want. If you're too dense to see it yourself, I'll spell it out in small words.
He ticks his points off on his fingers, holding them up so that Sam is sure to see them.
One, it's smarter to find a way out and come back for them than to risk them injuring themselves further. Two, they can bar the door with that stone bench as soon as we leave, they'll have plenty of time to do it. And finally, if we come across a demon or something else down here we're going to have to run. They can't. Leaving them here is the safest way until we can escort them out. Now shut your mouth and don't talk to me again unless you mean to apologize. I'm sick of your lip.
"And what if we can't come back for them? What if there's a cave in or a demon cuts our path off? They would die a long death, from starvation and thirst. I'm telling you something right now, if you're willing to risk that exact scenario for yourself, trapped in here like that thing we found, to die in darkness and waste away in agony, then why don't you stay here with them," Sam glares at the man, getting up and walking away, leaning against a wall with their arms crossed.
Ginger stands up and basically shouts "ENOUGH! I am sick of the fighting around here, its bad enough that we are all stuck down underground and the fact we have injured folk here that need our protection. By the way if you all are so worried about them being injured then just give them one of the potions of healing. Second of all" Ginger points a finger at Sam "you need to learn to treat others with respect, specially your elders. We are under stress does not give you a good reason to give lip. Ginger takes a deep breath to calm down then turns to Haroon saying calmer "now Haroon Sam does have point we shouldn't leave them alone. As I suggested maybe giving them one of the healing potions we found might help. I'm happy we found this place and made it peaceful again, but we can't stay here, or let others stay here. If we do maybe something like what happen to the dead dwarf will happen to these people. Demons" she reaches up to touch the scar on her face "are mean creatures and any we met will meet the shard edge of my axe, or I could always try using the new hammer." Taking another dead breath Ginger kind of shakes her arms out to her side as if shaking out the stress.
"I'm baby-faced, all right? Over twenty, for Desna's sake," Sam grumbles, before looking up at Haroon. "...Sorry for being a jerk. But put yourself in their shoes for one moment. How scared they'll be left alone with no guarantee the strangers they have no choice but to rely on will come back for them. Believe me, we're all strangers right now, brought together by coincidence or fate or whatever. But we damn sure can't afford to be enemies, not when it's our survival at stake here. All of us, injured or not. So I'm asking kindly of you to please, please don't talk about leaving people behind anymore."
The gunslinger sighs, having said her piece. "Gonna go and get ready to leave. If we're lucky we might find an exit today. All of us."
"Thank you," he says accepting the gift of food before chewing into it. "I have no rations or water what so ever, didn't plan this," he smiles.
The argument doesn't move Oliver much. A decent idea, he thinks to himself. "It seems we aren't leaving anybody, so perhaps we should begin moving since it is going to be at a slower pace," he suggests.
Haroon has the good grace to look embarrassed when the others point out the problems with leaving the townsfolk behind. Sorry for being a condescending prat. His shoulders slump a bit and he nods to Ginger as well. I don't think the potions will regrow eyes or knit bone to true, but you're obviously thinking more of their well being than I am. I won't bring up leaving them behind again. Let's see if we can find an exit.
Valtyra gathers her things together and sling her pack on to her back, picking up her long spear she prepares to move out with the others. Standing next to the entrance she waits for the others to grab their things as well.
Taking Haroon's last words as confirmation, he gathers the last of his belonings and move to the door. Stopping there he peaks outside seeing if it is still safe and then turns, "Ready?" he asks.
Ginger nods and puts all of her stuff together then puts her pack on. She then slides her shield over the pack strapping in her weapons. "I'm ready to go, do you guys need any help?" she asks the last part to blind one and the one with the broken leg.
Mordan gathers his gear, strapping his massive shield to his arm once again. "Yes, let us continue. There must be some way to the surface, we just need to be diligent and find it. Though, I must admit, when things return to normal I'd be interested in returning. Maybe a bit of secluded meditation, a remote prayer site." He then checks on the wounded to make sure they're up for traveling before nodding his head to move forward.
Everyone is rested if not the most chipper. Exiting the cavern through the south returns you to the main passageway.
Trekking through the dark passages your noise of your footsteps and equipment echo as you walk but another sound catches your attention.
Sam glances back behind the group before drawing their pistol. "Something's following us - something that sounds pretty crawly, like a bug." They tell the others.
Hmmm, should we set an ambush? See if it's friendly or not? Haroon flexes the fingers of his left hand, making the now familiar gestures that precede his arcane acid.
Ginger reaches up and grabs her shield and slips it on then moves grab her war axe "I'm getting tired of bugs maybe its a rat, a really big rat. Rats I don't mind," she grips her axe tightly and keeps a look out for what maybe following them
Valtyra stops as she hears the other say that something is following them. She turns to see if she can see what is coming, whether it be friend or foe.
Valtyra readies her long spear to attack anything that may be the enemy while stepping in front of the wounded to shield them from harm if needed.
Mordan looks around, placing himself and his shield in front of the wounded.
"Well you said there where more creatures down here," Oliver says to Ginger while reading his sword and shield. Slowly he increase his speed bringing him to the centre of the group. "Should we get it over with?" he asks.
The chittering comes to an abrupt halt.... an ominous silence settles in.
"...What is everyone standing around for?" Sam asks. "The point is to move away from what's stalking us, not face it head on. Not unless we have to with the injured. Let's keep going, least until we come to a better place to take a rest."
Haroon casts dancing lights, conjuring up four, golden torches, then sends them racing back towards the ominous silence.
Ginger nods, then says in a normal tone of voice "aye I agree with the young one, Valtyra and I could take the front, Oliver and Elder Greylocke could take the middle and Haroon and Sam could take the back as we continue, would you guys agree to that?" She moves to front of the group and starts to lead again since she can see in the dark.
Wait, I thought you said something was following us. We should find out what it is. If it's friendly, well and good, if not, why should wait for it to choose an opportune time to attack us?
Haroon shakes his head at Ginger. No offense, but if something is coming up behind us, I'd rather someone a bit more heavily armored be there between me and it. If we're moving on, I'll be in the middle, thanks very much.
As the lights move back down the tunnel, the sounds return fainter as if it's moving away from the lights.
Haroon brings the lights back, disappointed that he failed to catch whatever creature is staling the party.
I'll try again in a bit. These lights can move very quickly, and should be able to catch most anything that walks, crawls, or even flies, he whispers as he takes his place in the middle of the group.
Oliver flinches a bit when Haroon performs his art, not saying anything, his face contorts in disapproval or disgust before returning to normal. "Perhaps not a bad suggestion on the formation Haroon," Oliver comments.
"Whatever is it, it'll make itself known when it makes itself known. Until it does, better to ignore it unless it attacks us. Come on, we're wasting time." Sam urges the others to keep moving.
The passageway leading south continues for about 3,000 feet (at a speed of 15 feet, this takes about 40 minutes to navigate) before ending here after a gradual rise in elevation of 30 feet.
Surprisingly, nothing accosted you on your trek. Perhaps your luck will continue to hold.
Stone figures are carved into the walls of this cavern. Each depicts a different crusader clad in armor and wielding weapons, but their carved stone features contain expressions of sadness.
"All right, is it just me, or are all of you as equally weirded out by all of these statues and structures we're finding in these caves?" Sam asks, peering at them. "Least we seem to be going up."
Someone obviously put them here, but why I wonder... Haroon sends his dancing lights ahead to illuminate the cavern and peers in without entering, hopeful to spot signs that the statues have been moved, or are more than they appear.
He finishes off by casting detect magic and sweeping the statues for magic auras.
"Seems an odd spot for statues, much less old crusaders. Can anyone recognize them?" Mordan watches the cavern warily, continuing his stoic defense of the wounded behind him.
Valytra peeks her head into the cavern to see if there is anything that stands out to her. Looking for danger or a way out, she'd rather know what she's getting into before walking into the room full of statues.
Turning around, Valtyra walks up to the elf. "Do you know anything about a legend or have any knowledge about a cavern filled with statues that wear armor and have mournful expressions on their faces?" She the turns and addresses the other people in the party, hopeful that since a few are from around the area. That they might be a little more knowledgeable about this then her.
"As long as they stay there mourning and doesn't hide more undead, I suggest we keep on walking," Oliver says while admiring the statues and keeping a watchfull eye on the shadows.
Ginger nods when she looks at the statues "such sadness in those stone eyes. I don't find it strange to find such things because we feel down from a ceiling in the this place. For all I know this is normal just like the small temple we came across back there. Creatures of some sort live down here, good or bad we don't know. They were once good, as the dead dwarf we saw but being alone for so long made him snap." She nods once more toward the statues then starts to lead the party to the next exit.