She walks around, nudging her familiar to use its amazing ability to perceive scents to see if they missed anything on the place.
Squiggles' tongue flicks to and fro, tasting the air but finds nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary...for a cyclops cave.
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After tying a few lengths of rope together and securing it to a firm jut of stone, the barbarian began the initial descent into darkness. With the head of his enchanted earthbreaker glowing like a torch, he was able to see the stone walls of the chute clearly for the entire way down - a few more pieces of snakeskin are hanging from a rough patch of stone about thirty feet down, further indicating the snakes' recent presence here.
Roland soon reached a curve in the chute - the same area where his torch had previously collided with the slanting wall. The barbarian's feet connect with the stone but the rope helps to stabilize him as he guides along deeper. The chute very quickly evens out to a horizontal orientation and spills out into a another domed chamber, though not quite as big as the one where the cyclops slept. The previously-dropped still-lit torch lay on the ground, struggling to stay aflame against the cold stone floor. Its light combined with the glowing hammer reveal a clutch of melon-sized eggs in a dank corner, cradled together for warmth. Nearly intact twenty-feet-long snakeskins lay here and there, lifeless but unsettling in an odd sort of way, as if they were ready to pounce on those who draw near enough.
In addition to the chute that Roland just traversed, this snake-chamber had another exit opposite of the chute; a new dark cave leads off into the unknown. The torchlight spills out a bit into this cave, showing it to be rough-hewn with a mostly flat floor. The echoing sounds of multiple miners' picks were heard in the distance, coming from deep in the new cave.
Roland pays no heed to the snakes, but finds it very weird that there are mining sounds down there. He would like to move forward to investigate, but that could be far away and hey, if there was something there, they would like to know what it was, wouldn't they? As he thought before, underground things were always special to them, so it was worth a try. Instead of shouting what he heard to the others, he started climbing back the wall for a couple reasons. First, because he didn't wanna risk being overheard, and also because he wanted to try the climbing and check how hard it would be if someone cut the rope and they had to climb it bare-handed.
Up there (in case he managed to get all the way up) he mentions what he saw to the others. "Weird, only thing I can think of is dwarves. Ever heard of any near here Gromff? We're definitely going down there, right?" He looked at Aersensi and Walker, wondering if they would be fine up here of if they would go with them.
"The later'd be me guess," Gromff agrees. He didn't know any dwarves that had traveled this far their home mountain. "Or another group all together. Going to need that ring back or else I may squash someone."
Also, how big is the cave entrance that Roland sees? Bit enough for a Giant, or Hobbi... Halfling, or something in between?
The cave opening from the egg chamber is about five feet tall/wide.
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The friends used the tied rope to climb down into the depths below, each arriving safely at egg chamber that Roland described to them. The room has a strong stink of animal, though it was mild compared to the stink of rot that dominated the cave above.
If they were sending him forward, they were obviously forgoing stealth here. But Gromff could see in the dark and had the sturdiest defenses. So he confidently, and noisily marched forward, wondering what kind of miners they'd find in a snake nest.
The group took turns going down the rope, using the sheer wall for support as they descended over a hundred feet deeper into the stone cave below. Roland carried Walker while Aersensi clung tightly to Catcher, making it almost difficult to breath from the frightened embrace.
The elf-child was fascinated by the large snake eggs, which thankfully kept her attentions while the group discussed their next course of action. Telling Walker and Aersensi to stay put, the group sent Gromff and Veronica off first, hoping to put good use to their darkvision. The supernatural vision of the pair took in what is clearly a rough-hewn chamber, hewn out of a partially natural cave but made easier to traverse with tools. Some of these tools - hammers and picks - were leaning against the wall here and there, but were also clearly heard in use coming from the distance further down the cave.
Carefully they tread along, hoping to discover the source of these sounds, and it wasn't long before they did. The cave opened up into an intersection of caves at a large junction. It looked like six or more cave-corridors met here, with sounds seeming to echo out from many of them. A horse-sized hairless mole lay in the middle of the junction, apparently sleeping as shown by the gentle rise and fall of its pale chest. Strapped to its back was a harnessed pair of baskets, each resting over one flank. One of the baskets was filled with jagged chunks of rock and ore.
Suddenly a peculiar-looking humanoid walked into view from one of the caves, dragging a clacking, wheeled cart behind it. The creature was about Gromff's height, skinny but wiry, and had bulbous eyes that looked up and saw the approaching warpriest and paladin. He was clearly startled, causing him to drop the handle of his cart with a thud. He looked at the newcomers up and down, with a lingering gaze at the fine weapons and armor.
He spoke up in an odd tongue that sounded like he had stones crunching together in his mouth,
"Um...hi. You caught me by surprise. Who are you?"
Gromff knew they were walking towards possible danger. But he felt more comfortable at that moment than he had in a long time. To be back underground and hear the toil of stonework reminded him too much of home to feel apprehensive.
When they meet the mole and large-eyed humanoid, his reaction is much the same as Veronica's, confusion. He looks at her, shrugs, and looks back. It obviously wasn't a warrior so he didn't feel threatened by it. The mole seemed the bigger worry but it was asleep.
"Uh," Gromff says intelligently. He knew the language was Terran. Some of the stonesingers back home could speak it. He didn't know a lick of it though. "Ye speak common?" he tries, hands on his hips.
The humanoid is from an underground race called Pech. Pech are expert miners and stonemasons that are from some of the deepest caverns on the planet, though over the centuries some have scattered and made their way closer to the surface.
They're generally easy-going and rarely hostile unless provoked.
Veronica glanced at the creature, hoping for a glimmer of recognition but seeing none. She places her hands up and open before slowly reaching into her pack and retrieving a long metal tuning fork. She holds it before her and mutters a quiet prayer before flicking the fork and placing it next to each of her ears.
She then cups around her ear with one hand and waves for him to repeat his statement with the other.
Neither side getting a verbal, comprehended response from the other, Veronica opts for another route - the magical one. After casting the spell upon herself, one that would allow her to understand any spoken tongue, she listened once again to the words of the pech,
"You caught me by surprise. Who are you?"
Veronica smiled, nodded to convey understanding, then pointed to herself and said her name out loud. She then pointed to her magic wand, then to her ear to indicate it was the source of her comprehension. The pech seemed to understand and stood still while Veronica used the wand's magic upon the stranger.
"I am Murk. Did Krumlek send you? Please tell him to give us more time, we are still looking for more 'pretty rocks'!"
At the conclusion of his sentence he suddenly appeared to be terrified of how you might respond.
After repeating the question to Gromff, Veronica replies "Krumlek, is he the one eyed giant who lives in the cavern back that way?"
Roland walked as silently as he could, enjoying the moment of complete darkness behind them to attune his senses and practice the Hunter's game a little more. It was too easy to outstalk Gromff in his lousy armor, but the others were something else. Besides being lighter than Roland, women were usually more graceful than men. He watched Veronica's frame pacing ahead of them, analyzing how she moved. Not a bad sight indeed. In the darkness he heard Catcher's heavy breathing beside him, probably the result of having to carry Aersensi down there.
Suddenly he realized how weird that was, being alone in the darkness with the woman. He looked to his side but didn't quite see her, just heard her there moving her arms around. If he had a dark passenger she would be screwed now, but fortunately for her that is not the case.
Then situation suddenly got weirder, as they saw a giant mole in the middle of the corridor. Roland wondered how well could that thing fight, but it seemed they would not have that today, since he saw Veronica casting something at the newcomer to talk with it. So he just remained there in the darkness, far enough from Gromff and Veronica's vision, waiting to be the surprise element if anything went wrong.
Gromff holds up his hand for the second part of the translation. It wasn't necessary. He didn't know Terran but fer was universal. "Cyclops forced them inta digging for him? Sounds about right. Pech ain't fighters," he says nodding to the miner. He'd seen one before. Standing on the bridge of Moradin's Pass, they'd sometimes toss a light down the crevice to see how far it went. Never heard it hit the bottom. But it did pass by a few more outcroppings with figures walking along them. He'd asked about them and his commanding officer told him they were Pech. They mined deeper than dwarves usually went.
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She didn’t mind babysitting Walker and Aersensi, in fact, she quite liked it. The Elder was silently refreshing and the girl cute as a flower. Completely oblivious to dark thoughts directed on her way, she continues to walk, blindly into the darkness, trusting the noise ahead of her.
Then they stop. Then they start to talk something she doesn’t understand. But the voices didn’t seem to be anything combat related.
”So, what now? Should I conjure some light?” she whispers to no one in particular, assuming Roland is close enough to hear her.
"Cyclops forced them inta digging for him? Sounds about right. Pech ain't fighters,"
The pech understood the dwarf's words as he was still under the spell of language comprehension. He seemed to bristle at the notion that his people didn't make warriors of note, though the scandalized look passed quickly enough. Speaking in Terran, it continued,
"Yes, the cyclops! You don't work for him? How did you get past him and his awful snakes?! I am glad to hear that you are not friendly with him. We should go from here now - if he thinks we are conspiring, he will send his pet snakes to swallow us whole!"
He lifted several heavy-duty bags out of his cart and dumped the contents into the mole's baskets. He then mounted the beast and waked it by kicking inward at its sides. Its milky-white eyes open up and began to move toward one of the cave openings. The creature looked somewhat comical and benign with its lack of hair, blind-eyes, and lazy demeanor, though it did have a pair of long teeth jutting from its upper and lower jaw that looked formidable.
From atop the large burrowing mount, Murk asked,
"Why are you here in our mine?"
Roland saw the little creature mounting the giant mole, which woke up with incredible speed. The barbarian thought he was clever enough to fool Veronica and Gromff saying he for some reason needed to mount the creature. Or maybe it just wanted to escape, who knew?
Either way, he answered Catcher, keeping his voice as low as possible. "Shhh, let it be dark, cause the night is dark and full of terrors barbarians out of your darkvision." He winked at the wizard, although he was sure she couldn't see him at all, as he also couldn't see her.
"Did he hear that?" Gromff whispers to Veronica. He probably did. But that was what he heard. And seeing as they were beholden to the cyclops at one point, it was probably accurate. "Where's e goin?" Gromff asks as the pech and mount begin to amble off.
Vernoica gives Gromff a quick tight-lipped nod of her head before trying to catch up to the creature. "Wait, please! The cyclops is no more, and neither are the two serpents that he kept. What is left of his clan has scattered into the hills above. We have come here, to your mine, to see if it contained others in need of freeing."
"Krumlek is dead you say?! And his pet snakes? Oh joyous day!"
Murk jumped off his mount and ran toward Veronica in a rush. Stopping short of bowling her over, he wrapped his surprisingly-strong, spindly arms around her in a warm embrace. His over-large eyes closed tightly as he smiled, squeezing a small tear out from the side.
Pulling away from the hug after a long moment, he looked at Veronica...or rather past Veronica to something behind her. The pech apparently noticed Roland and Catcher hanging back, indicating that he enjoyed a remarkable distance of darkvision.
"I hope those are friends back there?"
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"Your good deeds will echo through the caverns and bring foundation to many of my people. Please come, you all can meet more pech. Maybe after, you could help us further? I will let the Solid One inform you of the details, if you're willing."
Murk once again mounted the mole and led the group down one of the caves. The sounds of mining grew louder as the walk went on. The cave led to more intersections, some that went down as well as left or right. One new cave was lined with working pech, picking away at the wall for ore. As Catcher's magical light approached these pech raised a hand to shield their eyes, then waved at Murk with a smile. Most of these pech stopped their work to stare at the newcomers, but as Murk's disposition was one of ease, they felt no threat and resumed their work.
The mounted pech continued leading the group through these underground corridors for what must have been half a mile or more. Arriving at a stables of sorts, he dismounted his mole and left it among a group of its kind that lay lazily on their backs, side by side in a group, huddling together for warmth and comfort.
"Follow me, this way."
He walked to a jagged rock wall that at first appeared as nothing more than just that - a wall. He then walked into an expertly-designed crevice that from most angles made the passage invisible. His small hand reached out from the passage and beckoned the group to follow.
This new secret entrance snaked into an 'S' shape, blocking direct line of sight from either side. The passage was relatively short, abruptly ending in a massive, ovular-shaped chamber about ten times the size of the cyclops' cavern. Lining nearly every inch of wall were dozens of cubicles made of rock, carved with intricate styles of stonework that tricked the eye into believing the domiciles could be natural extensions of the cave itself. Flowing lines of water poured along a series of gutters and runs that cleverly - and decoratively - adorned the walls and cubicles, finally running into the center of the cavern. Here in the center the waterways collided into a spectacular fountain that glowed softly from patches of luminescent fungi and moss. It was the only light source in the vicinity, with the exception of Catcher's Dancing Lights magic.
Murk held his hand up to block the magical light while approaching the young mage, then spoke once again in his native tongue,
"Please, you can douse the light?"
A few dozen pech walked here and there, going about their unknown business, most stopping to gaze upon the newcomers and the commotion that followed visits of this nature. Murk brought the companions for a walk around the perimeter of this underground village, confidently showing them the place that he and his people called home, pointing out the domiciles of several of his friends. After the basic tour he stopped in front of one of these stone-homes, one that appeared no different than most of the others.
"This is where the Solid One lays his head to sleep. He is our elder and he will want to speak with you."
Gromff, of course, has to stop at the near invisible path to admire it. "Clever," he says under his breath. Dwarves had plenty of hidden doors but not one hidden in plain sight. Excellent craftsmanship. That became an understatement, walking through the rest of the village. "Not bad," he muttered, which was tantamount to a gasp of awe by dwarven standards. Again he couldn't help but compare the styles. Pech seemed found of using the natural flow of the cavern as part of the design. Dwarves were aware of this flow but cut the rock to suit their needs anyway, making sure sturdy support was established first. He found he really wished he could speak Terran. Maybe he could convince some of the architects here to design some rest spots in KK. Assuming they freed it first.
Roland was worried, what was not common. Leaving Walker behind was probably not the best idea, after all. The man was visually cracking. Plus, there was a harbinger with it and several snake eggs that could hatch at any moment, which they didn't care to check. The barbarian wondered if they could have been any more stupid, but since they did not know what they would find here, it made at least some sense.
Either way, they were right in saying the underground always had good suprises in their way. Roland saw some details on the cave, and the general overall of the cave, but he couldn't see much in this freaking dim-light. He made a mental note to negotiate with his guardian angel to give him some light in moments like this. Since she was the responsible for the only light available, Roland walked next to the wizard, paying special attention to any footsteps or any other noise behind them. It was no use trying to listen to the other dwarf anyway, since the barbarian definitely didn't speak his language.
Thus, he was completely at a loss as to what was going on, but he still bore in mind that the guy could be pretending to be nice showing them around while gathering his other companions in one place to mess up with them. If he was doing that, he was clever.
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After introductions and promises of fame and friendship, Catcher makes sure they bring the Old and the Young with them when following the pech. If Aersensi seems to be afraid of the dark, she’ll carry the girl, telling silly jokes about barbarians and such.
Once they arrive at the ‘village’ she looks around and while impressed with the place, it doesn’t really register the amount of work needed to maintain or even create such place, nor the skill necessary to sculpt the stone as the pech have done. She doesn’t understand what Murk said, but she could, with some confidence, determine he was somehow, complaining about the light.
Since she could not tune down the light on her spell, she does different. Catcher takes from her pack candles, three of them, and gives one to Aersensi, one to Roland and keeps one to herself. After lighting the fire, she extinguishes the spell.
Veronica nods at the Pech, adding "Yes, they are indeed, and we wouldst be delighted to see thy people, and thy... solid one, and to see if we can aid thee."
Turning back to Roland and Catcher, Veronica waves and says "He wishes for us to meet his people and someone of importance to them. Apparently they also have another issue they wish to discuss with us."
- - - - -
Veronica looks out at the caverns as tours are given. She was not by any means an expert in stone or masonry, but it did seem likely that it was much harder to make stone look like natural stone than to make it look flat, smooth, and even.
And as they stop in front of the elder's home, Veronica does take a moment to ask "Are there any customs that we should observe? We would hate to cause offense. And will thou acteth as our translator?"
With the candles, Roland sees even less. He does not complain though, but gets a Sunrod from his backpack and leaves it in his belt, just in case.
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With nothing left but to wait, since she couldn’t understand what the creatures were saying, nor did they seem hostile, Catcher sits near the fountain and motions that Walker and Aersensi should join her. Taking care to keep both well cared, she offers them some remnants from breakfast at camp.
Then she turns to the other one holding the candle. ”So, disappointed you didn’t need to use your hammer on those poor sods? I get it, I know you don’t find your day to be a good one if you’ve not faced death, at least three times before lunch hour…” she mocks the barbarian.
When the spellsword's conjured light faded and was replaced by the soft light of a few candles, the nearest pech smiled appreciatively, though even this light seemed to cause their ultrasensitive eyes to squint a bit.
And as they stop in front of the elder's home, Veronica does take a moment to ask "Are there any customs that we should observe? We would hate to cause offense. And will thou acteth as our translator?"
Without answering Veronica, Murk and every pech nearby knelt and bent their faces to the ground, all facing the darkness within the Solid One's domicile. Though their eyes were averted, many of them hummed aloud as if in response to some unseen stimulus. Most of the pech tapped at the solid stone floor with hands and heads, pausing with each connection, often smiling as if receiving some positive feedback from the touch.
A figure appeared in the Solid One's open doorway, gliding straight up through the ground as if the stone floor were made of fog. After its steady ascension, it stood firmly on the ground. The figure was a venerable pech, wearing a gray robe interweaved with pebbles, sporting a silver beard that reached the floor and then some. He was hunched over from age, putting his height near to that of a halfling on the shorter side of things. He leaned on a twisted iron cane which he used to hobble forward a few feet, coming into the soft light emanating from the fountain moss.
In the common tongue of men, he spoke slowly and deliberately as if each and every word was worthy of its own glory,
"I sensed...the presence of...surface dwellers upon the floor...of Kurrackenkor. Murrrrk...has informed me...that your group has eliminated the cave giant and...its slithering pets. We pech are...a peaceful lot...perhaps your group...likes to fight? There are many enemies...below the surface...but one foe remains...one that was friend to the giant...and slavemaster to the pech. Perhaps...we can share a mutual assistance? Crafted metals and stonework...knowledge of pathways to...and from...the surface...these are commodities the pech have to barter. I ask you...place your hands upon the stone...it helps me to...see."
”So, disappointed you didn’t need to use your hammer on those poor sods? I get it, I know you don’t find your day to be a good one if you’ve not faced death, at least three times before lunch hour…” she mocks the barbarian.
Roland instead of being pissed off finds that a compliment and he thinks it's a point that should be discussed. "Well, it's not actually the purpose here. I've faced death so many times since I was a kid that it doesn't really matter how many times I do it. But there's one thing that I've always wondered, and that's the answer I seek every day. If I won against the odds so many times, if I escaped death when I should't have, if I kept getting faster and stronger while doing that, I must believe that is for a reason." He scratches the place where a spear once almost chopped his head off. "Death will find me, I have no doubt. But until then I'm gonna enjoy the ride."
When the venerable one approaches Roland tries to see it properly, but the fungi light was not strong enough to have all those details he wanted, so he put his hand on the rock below him to see what would happen. "A pathway to the spear would be nice." He knows he should let the talking to the others, but of course that was the reason they came there for, thus it would be just clever to remind the group not to commit to something which was not their business. "We are in the Untamed Lands for a reason, after all."
The request was reasonable and Gromff had an understanding of why. The Solid One was likely close to deaf but could feel the vibrations of speech through the stone. The better the contact, the better he could hear. So Gromff removes his glove and places his hand on the stone. "As the lad said, we be looking fer a legendary spear in the wilds above yer home. If ye know of it, that would help. If not, we could certainly use a guide ta git us deeper inta the lands above."
Veronica nods at the elder. Since having lost most of her sight she understood the need to find other forms of sensory input. Closing her yes, she kneels and places a hand upon the stone and adds "Please, tell us of the plight that thou arst under."
The old pech replies, just as slowly and deliberately,
"The Spear...I have not heard it...spoken of...for an age and more. Its location...is kept secret...hidden by the gods...though I do remember...where the last hero brought it...into the lands above. The way...is treacherous...above and below the surface, though...the way is less treacherous...with stone above your head. We pech will show you...the way...regardless of your decision...on whether to help."
"Many of our brethren...enchanted and stolen away...enslaved by the white tentacle beast. It comes and goes...but there is a lair it uses...while commanding our brethren. This...white beast is powerful...it confounds the mind of its enemies...and those it wishes to enslave. An alliance it had made...with the cave giant...one meant to enrich them both...with pech-labored treasures...like gems...and precious metals."
"We thank you...for slaying the cave giant. Shall I arrange for a guide...to bring you to the spear's previous location...or will you help us...defeat the white beast?"
Well it's not like they needed to ask Gromff's decision. He turns to Roland and Catcher, wondering if they were going to be stubborn again. Then he looks at the Walker and for a mount he doubts that course. He was getting worse. It was no longer a question of if, but when he'd lose the fight. Which was worse, a demon running lose in this peaceful town or leaving them to the deal with the aftermath of the giant's death?
After a moment of wrestling with the dilemma he come sup with a solution. Maybe. "With the giant dead, ain't no knowing what this...tentacle beast...will do. Might be ye have one less enemy or might be the white ones a lot madder now. I'm not fer knowin. We can't stay and fight," he says. It was tough to admit that but Catcher's words were finally starting get through. They couldn't stop to save everyone. They might be able to avoid the fight all together though. "Can ye leave this place? If ye make yer way through the deep roads ta Khaurak-Khozil I can guarantee yer safety and welcome. Ye craft stone like any o the best dwarves, they'll welcome that help. And I can send ye with a message. Hammerhand clan's in good standing and so am I. Just leave us a guide ta git us to the spear."
Roland thought it was an easy enough job to do. Find, kill a beast and get going. Perfect for him. But then the dwarf make it sound as if he didn't want to go and do that. He looked at what he just saw - Walker - and thought that maybe he was right. But something in the Old not-a-dwarf's comment made he rethink about it. So it was better to let the others think about it too, and maybe they could still fight this white tentacle beast. "If the gods keep the spear hidden, how worthy will we be if we let these folks suffer? If you were a god, would you show us to the most powerful spear in the planet, knowing we've turned our backs to the ones who pleaded for our help?"
At some point during Gromff and Roland's exchange, the friends realize that the pair are no longer conversing in the common tongue. There was no conscious realization while the words formed upon the tongue, and yet there they were, speaking the native language of earth - terran.
Taken aback at the realization, the pair stand up and looked closer at one another, as if they could determine what could've made this occur by staring back at one another. A few further words were exchanged -- this time back in the common tongue of men.
The Solid One's words seemed to ring clearer after your hands were placed upon the solid stone floor, as requested. In hindsight after realizing that Gromff and Roland were fluently and effortlessly speaking terran, it occurs to you that the Solid One was also speaking in terran ever since the friends all placed their hands to the floor. It was subtle and went unnoticed until this very moment. This venerable pech leader was apparently attuned with the stone itself in ways barely imaginable by humankind. (a little more by dwarfkind!)
Gromff opens his mouth to argue but stops. It was pointless anyway. He turns to the Solid One and opens his mouth to ask a question but stops again. Hold the stone. Something's difrent. "Where is this white monster?" The words didn't sound right. He heard the word's meaning in his head but they didn't start like that. "Am I...speaking the language of stone?"
Veronica glanced sideways at Gromff when he said that they could not help. She was surprised but she was trying to trust in Gromff's judgement. Still, it seemed an odd time to suddenly decide that time was running out. After all, we had just snuck past an army only to stop and help find missing hunters.
But she was broken out of her thoughts when Roland responded. Both because she agreed and because she realized that he probably shouldn't have been able to understand. Then when Gromff responded she wondered about the sounds coming out of them.
Hmm, I would not have used the wand if I knew that Brother Gromff spoke their language...
Roland was kinda slow to understand what was going on, but it seemed underground has once more given then some nice benefits, hasn't it? Undergrounded and War-thorn. He chewed at the flavor of his new ability, and then focused on more important things. A white beast. He touched the ground again, just in case, and added some more. "By where he mean, how far is this monster, and in what direction?"
"Am I...speaking the language of stone?"
Continuing speaking in the clunky, gritty language of stone, the Solid One stated,
"Your grasp...of our tongue...is impressive."A white beast. He touched the ground again, just in case, and added some more. "By where he mean, how far is this monster, and in what direction?"
"Multiple miles of caverns...lie between Kurrackenkor...and the white beast's domain...to the south. We pech can escort you...for the way can be...treacherous. What...is your decision?"
Roland finds it annoying to see the guy wanting a decision so fast. He really wanted to help them, but they weren't making it easier. Speaking in the crunchy tongue he ignores the question and states another one. "Is it at least in the direction of where we will go after? Will it at least take us closer to the spear point than we are now?" It didn't need to be much close, but at least a little would be nice.
What...is your decision?"[/b]
"Is it at least in the direction of where we will go after? Will it at least take us closer to the spear point than we are now?" It didn't need to be much close, but at least a little would be nice.
The ancient pech nodded.
"The spear's last known location...is also to the south. The caverns...lead in the same direction...for most of the way."
"Hmmm, so we're not gonna be that far from our journey, will we guys?" He smiles, happy that they will be able to face a tentacle beast, whatever that is, if the others agree.
"Aye," Gromff concedes. "But I still suggest ye start thinking about just leaving. In case we don't win." Gromff knew the others were looking at him oddly. He'd normally be all for going to defeat some beast that threatened innocent lives. So what was causing his hesitance? He couldn't voice his concerns here and now so he'd wait for a moment they were away from these peaceful folk.
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After placing the hands on the stone, Catcher notices the ability to understand the new language, and knows that’s a permanent effect.
Even then, she keeps quiet and silent.
For some reason she didn’t like how the Solid One talked with them. As if someone that needs help should continue to imagine himself important or superior. Anyway, she is surprised when Gromff decides not to help and she knew that Roland would want to help.
Finally, she adds ”If we are not going away from where we need to go, I see no problem on killing some strange monster causing problem for them.” Mostly she is thinking of any possible rewards to make them stronger, other than really helping.
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Veronica was conflicted with the new discussion. Brother Gromff seemed to always be correct, but Catcher and Roland were actually in agreement that helping was the right thing to do. After a brief prayer Veronica spoke up "Brother Gromff is right in that our mission should take precedence. But if this foe is on our path then it seems like it may be destined to stop it as well."
While Veronica did hope that the Pechs would listen to Gromff's suggestion, she still spoke up in case they did not. "I believe Brother Gromff's advice to be quite valid, I would be remiss if I did not warn thee that if you all should decide to stay, that the serpents seem to have lain a brood back within the tunnels."
For the first time since the elder pech began speaking, several other pech joined the conversation, speaking in their native language.
"Tell us more of your people, stone-sprung." Are they referring to Gromff??
"Yes, tell us more. How far is your...Khaurak-Khozil?"
"Can you truly guarantee our safety? Having new allies would be wonderful, especially if they're like you good folk."