The streets are thick with the unwashed masses, both human and lizardfolk, gathering together for this moment to bask in the sheer awesomeness of their liege. The Dragon seems to be almost smiling, turning her neck slowly to observe her shepherded sheep.
The halfling nods fiercely to the barbarian, his mind spinning to the same tune. Miro tugs at the sleeves of his other three companions, urging them to come along towards the falls and the rock outcropping.
"I can move pretty stealthily when I need to, but I have invisibility spells I can cast, as well. Let's go in quickly, and if I need to burn them to proceed, I will."
"Right. Let's move. Try not to grab too much attention." The heavily armored dwarf tries to circle around the crowd and avoid the worst of it. He was unlikely to blend in so best to stay out of sight. Near the waterfall he takes stock of crowd.
If there are: "Can ye cover me while I give us a roof?"
|
Catcher moves with the party and enlist as well. After it, she don her new clothes and mostly tags along while the group decide what to do.
During the night she stays closed as possible from the rest of the group and one would says she is afraid.
-Posted with Wayfinder
So the party proceeds to the entrance of the cave, the waterfall, trying to go around the obvious path, not to call too much attention. They will wait for the proper moment to approach, and will do so without any light sources, using the dim moon light to find their path there.
Roland stands in the way to cover the dwarf, although they would not be calling attention since there would be no light sources.
Moving with the group, Adakos quietly follows behind the group, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone that might be following them or taking notice of their movements.
Gromff and his friends make their way toward the waterfall ravine, moving against a veritable tide of foot traffic in the opposite direction. Occasionally someone stops to say, "Where are you going!? The party is that way!" Before waiting for an answer they join the throng and are out of sight.
"Can ye cover me while I give us a roof?"
--------------------------
Moving with the group, Adakos quietly follows behind the group, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone that might be following them or taking notice of their movements.
As the party moves closer and closer to their night's goal, the half-elf's sharp eyes are on the lookout for danger. The fates are apparently with the group this night as there are virtually no signs of human, humanoid, or draconic life this far away from the celebrations.
With Adakos and Miro on watch, Catcher maintaining a spell to detect magic in the vicinity, Roland and Gromff go about the task of securing a rope to ensure everyone's safe descent into the ravine. With several firm tugs, the barbarian is satisfied that it will hold his weight. With a nod from the ranger noting the coast was clear, the party climbs down one by one to the rocky outcropping below.
This rocky ledge glistened in the moonlight, slick with ice cold water spray. Standing as a group looking forward, it occurs to the party that it surely got slicker as it drew nearer the falls and disappeared into the blackness beyond. It was then that Gromff pulled out and unfurled his scroll, reciting the final incantation to complete the magic. When the spell initiated, the scroll turned to dust and the dwarf went to his work. With a focused look of determination and gestures in midair, the warpriest caused the very stone itself to warp and stretch, finally thrusting outwards like an awning. When the stone shaping was complete the most dangerous portions of water were being diverted away from the outcropping and the party's path.
A clear, yet imperfect path was now in front of the heroes, leading into the dark recesses of the Dragon's lair and possibly to threats unknown. With cold spray getting wetting them more the second, everyone looked at each other in anticipation of the next move.
Seeing as this was one of those times that he needed to muster up some courage, Adakos carefully begins to make the crossing, playing out a rope behind him as he goes. He also leaves behind a pole and a harness of ropes, pitons, and climbing aids, secured to 50' of twine, the end of the rope ran between the kit.
Once on the other side, he loops his end of the rope around the nearest rock outcropping, giving it a firm tug and insuring the end is stable.
"Well done." With the rope secure, the barbarian will go next, to clear the path and guarantee no one is gonna bother them on the other side. His boots make it easier for him, stabilizing his footage, but still it was treacherous. "Common, we don't have much time."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Gromff edges out onto the slick ledge. When dwarves have good footing they are all but impossible to move. But when said footing is dangerous, it is even more so for them. They are not known to be light on their feet. And crossing under the waterfall, they are almost proven right. Even with the rope, no armor, and a harness, his wide foot hits a slick spot and slides out from under him. He sucks in a sharp breath as he goes down to one knee but thankfully no further. He expected to slip the whole way and, once proven right, he acts swiftly and accordingly. The gives a lot more than he thought but he trusts it to hold. And thankfully it does. Slowly he stands back up and makes his way across without mishap. The fall likely wouldn't have killed him but he still took a minute to get his hands to stop shaking. Shaking that had nothing to do with the cold. As the others come across he dons his armor. The familiar weight calms his nerves and he is back to himself by the time it is all strapped on. "We ain't leavin that way I hope."
The halfling nimbly follows the rope Adakos kindly fed out for them, quickly making it to the other side. "Perfect. Now let us see what mysteries lie behind the waterfall, shall we?"
Once everyone is safely across, Adakos pulls the rope and harness towards the group and stuffs everything back in his pack. "No sense leaving any obvious signs that something is afoot." he says, as he prepares the follow the party into the lair.
Here goes nothing...
Surefooted as a mountain goat, the half elf walks confidently over the treacherous rock way, safely entering a natural cave and flat landing. With his end of the rope secured, he gives it a shake to indicate it is anchored and ready for use. One by one the party makes their way through and to the landing, though the dwarf's stumble almost spelled disaster.
The mage looks at the magicked stone roof used to deflect the powerful downflow of water, lamenting that it was too obvious and would give them away. In truth it would be difficult to spot from either side of the falls because of its size relative to the surrounding rock formations.
Hiding the rope away to maintain their secret presence, the party moves deeper into the darkness.
Gromff raises a hand to prevent any light sources just yet. His eyes, accustomed to the dark depths of the mountains, peer into the gloom to make sure nothing is there that might get spooked by light.
If the coast is clear he taps Adakos on the shoulder to signal that they may light up.
When the all clear makes its way to him, the Halfling casts a light upon his shield. "Let us make haste while the rest are occupied."
His normally affable features are fixed in a grim countenance. It is obvious he expects to find something horrifying in this dismal place.
Roland follows in absolute silence for now, secretly hoping to find the blue dragon on the path.
Adakos produces a flickering torch from his back and holds it in his draw hand, his other wrapped tightly around the grip of his bow. Nodding to the others he readies himself to enter the last place in the world he'd want to be right now, swallowing his fear with an almost audible gulp. Speaking in a whispered voice he says, "I can scout ahead, or guard the rear. Your call."
The dwarf raises his hand to hold off his friends' use of light sources for a moment in order to use one of his gifts of birthright. Hearing nothing but the extreme roaring of the cascade, Gromff peers deeper into the cave utilizing his darkvision. This passage is a natural tunnel once carved by millennia of moving water flows. In the ceiling there are several natural chimneys that funnel off into the distance -- several of which are filled to brimming with tiny hanging bats. The creatures seem content to stay put for now and pose no apparent immediate threat.
This first cave is far too small for the Dragon to enter, thus reaffirming this as a well chosen entrance -- and possible exit. Nodding to his friends that the coast seems clear, the companions pull out magic stones, a torch and a light spell to ward off the darkness.
Moving deeper and deeper, the cave opens into a wide cavern supported by dozens of columns of tapered smooth stone, likely smoothed by the same ancient water flows that formed the previous tunnel. To one side you hear the renewed sounds of the waterfall where you assume the Dragon comes and goes. Gouges of frightening size mar the smoothed stone of the cavern floor, indicative of the presence of a monstrous clawed creature. A profound acrid stench fills the chamber making it difficult to breath. Miro and Catcher, you're sharply reminded of the smell you encountered at the southern gates of Sweetwaters after the Dragon breathed its death upon the soldiers and gate guards. The magic chainmail looted from them reeked of this smell.
The group happens a side chamber, a sort of a cubby off-shoot from the main cavern. With the roar of the falls fading behind them, the sound of buzzing flies can be heard within this new area. Adding to the acrid aroma, the party here finds the partially-eaten rotting corpses of cows, pigs, horses, lizardfolk, and a wyvern.
At the back of the large primary cavern is another cave, its entrance about 12' tall and 8' wide. Gromff, your Dwarven gut instinct tells you that unlike every other section in this complex, this cave is not natural. Carved into the cavern wall above this cave are words -- a strange series of rare intertwined letters glowing silver and blood red.
These letters overlapping one another create an eerie, unnatural feeling in the reader. The runes here are letters from the languages of both heaven and hell, celestial and infernal. They are separately distinct, and yet they seem to meld into one fluid series of words that say...
------------------------
This cave winds away into darkness.
Gromff waves Adakos forward to the front once the coast is clear. Likely his eyes were keener than anyone else's. Gromff looks upon the pile of bodies with disgust and a little bit of relief. At least there were no children in the mess.
Miro's sense of unease does not grow as they find the chamber containing the corpses, as there is still no telling what has happened to the children. He looks upon the runes, unable to understand them, but feeling a bit of menace from the characters all the same. He stays behind the party, keeping an eye both ahead and behind.
Roland is worried about the letters. There's something weird here. "Those letters are weird. I can't make out what's written. Can you?"
|
|
"I can" Catcher admits shyly "just wish I didn't." she looks around as if trying to find an escape from this whole madness ”The Strength of Youth, this is what it says.” She don’t says however, about how the celestial and infernal letters mesh together to create a ‘new’ language, and how she dreads the meaning of it, and what the dragon did. Suddenly she is wishing, really hard, that the children are just dead. It’s simpler and cleaner, just to be dead.
-----------
He stays behind the party, keeping an eye both ahead and behind.
The usually cheerful halfling maintains a sharp lookout and a thin-lipped look of determination.
Adakos takes a moment to help Miro carefully search through the remains in the pantry, looking for anything that might give them a clue. Barring finding anything there he makes his way to the writing, and the tunnel beyond. The fact that a giant river was running directly over their heads was not lost on him, and the thought of its crushing weight unsettled his nerves greatly.
Looking down into the yawning darkness, beyond the strange sigils, Adakos frowns. "If we want answers, that appears to be our only option" he says, as he prepares to make his way into the lightless tunnel.
"Just that? Why does it shine?" The barbarian is not satisfied with the wizard's answer, it seems. If she doesn't add anything else he's gonna follow Adakos' suggestion and move that way.
Miro glances up at the calcified deposits nervously, the thoughts of thousands of tons of water being held above his head by a hollow cavern unnerving. He shakes it off, the cavern had held this long, surely it wouldn't collapse because the five of them were in it.
He creeps along after Adakos and Roland, continuing to bring up the rear. He narrows his eyes as he spies the rats, and tries to note if any of the little cretins follow them.
"Bah. We ain't got time to ask questions. Lets move. Dragon might turn in early." Gromff finds the words just as unsettling, both their appearance and cryptic message. They hadn't been eaten. But maybe that wasn't a good thing. He shuddered at the possibilities. Better to know, in his mind, than avoid the truth.
Within seconds of entering this new cave, a portion of the stone wall to your immediate right morphs into the shape of a crude mouth, complete with rough stone teeth. It speaks to you in the common tongue of the realm,
"You've made it this far. You're sure you've come for the right reasons?" It paused as if waiting for an answer, then continued, "I am Ignatious. With whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
|
|
"Miro, can you pick some of the scales for me? They can be used for a variety of things..."
Catcher decides if she should says something, others always says to let Miro do the talking, but if just feels strange to depend on the little man. Almost if they were exploring children! "Hello Ignatious" why does it makes me think of fire? ”I must apologize for offering no name, but you made me curious. What are the right reasons? And how you do it?” she asks gesturing the the stone manipulation.
Gromff slides back from the wall, weapon at the ready. "Blast and boulders, what the devil is that."
Despite many years experience of the party and the vast array of knowledge obtained in those years, nothing about this name 'Ignatious' is ringing a bell.
Miro gathers up a few of the dragon scales as requested before continuing along. As the rats do not seem intelligent, he disregards them shortly after, keeping his eyes fixed more forward. He nearly jumps out of his boots as the voice sounds from the rocks. Seeing Catcher trying to converse with it, he remains silent, cocking his head in curiosity.
|
|
"I dont think it will say more than that. It is just a spell..." the mage says dropping her attempts to talk.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"What er the dragons names again? Maybe one o them is what it's lookin fer. Or maybe The Strength of Youth." Gromff scratches his beard confused. Best let the spelly ones handle this.
Catcher's supposition seems to be correct -- "Ignatious" doesn't seem to be up for any further conversation.
The tunnel continues on along a winding path, curving off out of sight.
Just as suddenly as before, the other side of the cave opens a weird mouth, speaking through rows of cracked stone teeth.
"Now Ignatious, that was very rude; You didn't tell them about the surprise. Do you like surprises?"
Miro looks around intently, his apprehension growing. Keeping his eyes open for any 'surprises', he urges the party forward.