The old bones shatter with the force of Alazandaru's blows. Tsutamu disintegrates into dust, his armor and weapons falling to the cave floor in a clatter. The other skeletons surrounding you turn to dust as well. For a brief moment, you are aware of ghostly spirits all around you.
One of them is a handsome Tian man clad in fine armor. You take this to be the image of Tsutamu in life. He speaks a strange language.
And then, the apparitions are gone. The cave is silent once more.
Uninjured, Lisabett begins moving towards the cavern the most recent skeletons exited, looking for sign of Mother Koya and the tracker.
He... The skeleton... he thanked us for releasing them... Alazandaru says, a little stunned but realising many in his group would not have understood the Tien words.
"Well done! Let's see if their chief has something hinting to what happened here..."
Almar moves to search the body of the dead warrior.
Perception check:
"Who is still wounded? I would tend to your wounds before we press on much further."
The leader got me good just before I smashed his skull apart... Thanks Raziel.
"Thanks Raziel but I'll heal myself. Your healing is superior and I have an uncomfortable feeling that we're still going to need it."
Sorin looks around the cavern bewildered. "The spirit in that undead spoke Tien. How would such a person's spirit end up being trapped here?"
Lisabett does not look up from the ground that she is examining .
"Hear you any alternative cries of victory, or for help?" she asks. "It is the missing and still living that concerns me, not the dead. Possible motives can be discussed at length in a more comfortable venue."
Perhaps most interesting is the short, curved sword. Unlike the other, rusted weaponry, it is in pristine condition and feels perfectly balanced. As you examine it, you realize that the pommel contains a hidden compartment, activated by a tiny switch under the guard.
"Koya!" Sandru calls into the cavern. His voice echoes back. "Mother Koya!". He pauses to listen, but after a moment, he begins slowly walking towards the tunnel at the back of the cave.
Lisabett winces at the desperation in Sandru's voice to find his mother. For Lisabett, discovering her own had become something that only existed in the realm of fantasy when she achieved the age of reason. Desna had never sent Lisabett visions of her mother.
Lisabett rises and peers after the captain's exit. Having fallen earlier, she is more than aware of her inability to successfully combat threats in this terrain.
"Someone please accompany the captain," she asks softly. "Please."
While Almar notes the good quality of the armor ad checks the hidden compartment (perception check: ) he hears Sandru and Lisabett's words.
Koya! I wonder if she's still alive... better hope she never was here, those undeads didn't seem of the merciful sort
Raziel moves to Alazandaru and murmurs a short prayer to Sarenrae. His hand full of light, he heals Alazandaru.
"Sorin, can you keep up with Sandru? We should not split up in here, particuarly in this poor light."
Lisabett remains crouched on the ground, dripping wet, trying to recall the battle. Before Alamar began shooting, there was a sound, but the echo of the shot off the cavern walls had drowned out most others.
"What of the drums?" Lisabett inquires, rising finally, and looks to the party. "Before Alamar shot, there was some manner of drumming. The shot of the pistol could not be mistaken for anything other than what it is," she continues and shakes her head. "If the Mother is conscious, it may be that she is withheld by some other force. Assuming that she is here, and that the trail leading away was not a diversion."
Sandru turns back to the group as he reaches the tunnel. The frustration on his face is evident. "Bring a torch! Bring a light!"
Without speaking an unnecessary word, Lisabett eases a javelin from her quiver and casts upon it, and moves closer but remains a few paces behind Sandru.
"Interesting... but this will have to wait"
Almar tucks the scroll and the strange sword away and follows Sandru
Lisabett, the drumming was coming from the leading skeleton. There may be other creatures, but I doubt that they would be capable of holding Koya. Still, we must check to be sure."
'Koya, where have you gone? I doubt you are here, so where has Desna guided you? Is Lisabett's witch your captor?' Raziel frets as he keeps up with the group.
"Koya!" Sandru calls into the darkness loudly. His voice returns in echo. "Why does she not answer? She might be hurt."
Sandru moves quickly over the slick rock, but you are able to keep up with him. The tunnel opens into a larger cavern, though not so large as the one in which you just fought. There are pools of water in corners of this chamber, just as in the rest of the cave. A sizable jade and cherry wood chest with an ornate lock sits against the back wall.
What is the obsession with gaudy ornamentation? Lisabett wonders.
"Please do not insult my intelligence by arguing that the key to finding Mother Koya and the tracker is in that locked chest," Lisabett warns in a growl.
Raziel lets out a quiet sigh of relief at the empty cavern.
"Koya isn't here, which means she could be elsewhere, still alive," he comments.
"And as for the chest, it may have to do with the undead and their reason for being here, Lisabett."
"Almar, you examined the leader undead. Did he have any key upon him? If not, let us leave this until later, and return to our hunt for Koya."
Lisabett curses in Skald and tosses her lit javelin so it stands in the rocks of the earth.
"Pillage then," she growls, and turns and begins walking away.
Almar gives Lisabett an hard look the he turns to face Raziel: "Aye, Raziel, that he had" he says as he hands the priest the key he took from the skeletron chief's corpse.
Then, seemingly speaking to no one in particular, but in a loud and clear tone he adds:"Sometimes you have to forage for later, it's not always possible to get what you want at once and you need to have the means to accomplish your goal... even "pillaging" may be justified, then. And I'm now beginning to suspect Koya might have played a little jest on our expense... maybe these undeads were a greater danger than we surmised and she wanted us to deal with them, although I can't claim to know why she didn't just ask"
Lisabett does not even pause to acknowledge Alamar's speech, plunging head first into the darkness. They could excuse it however they wished, loot weighed upon a man more surely than an injured mate. Lisabett had watched dozens of men part with brothers for the allure of shiny trinkets. And none seemed to remember or care at all that it was not only Koya in danger, but a second party as well.
If the tracker had been skilled enough to find Koya, it might also have been able to identify the undead and avoided the cavern on principle. An individual might have come and gone with no notice, but the tracker had simply turned and gone another way. Was it drawn by my Lady's butterflies, as we were? Lisabett wonders, struggling to keep her feet with the unruly terrain.
"There's yet another tunnel." He says, not meeting your eyes. "Let's make haste."
As Sandru departs with the light, Raziel comments, "This looks to be a puzzle for yet another time, Almar. Let us follow Sandru for now."
Raziel hurries after Sandru, trying not to fall in the dimming light.
Lisabett's answer is automatic, and it pains her to hear it uttered from her lips so easily in the southern lands. "Yes, Captain."
"Agreed"
So saying Almar follows Sandru and his light.
Acrobatics check:
Sorin does not like the cavern. He can barely shift his weight without his feet betraying him. When Sandru and Lisabett come back from down the first tunnel Sandru's expression answers Sorin's first question.
"Sandru, what's going on? We're up against an enemy that I don't even know. Undead attack the goblin village but we don't why. And now, undead try to bar our passage here; that can hardly be a coincidence."
"Our ignorance has made us like children flailing around in a storm waiting for lightning to strike. Acting in such a way gives little benefit to anyone; least of all to Mother Koya. How did you end up on that hillside? What are we we up against?"
"Anything of note back there?"
Sandru stops for a moment and looks at Sorin with tired eyes.
"He is right." A lyrical voice comes from the darkened tunnel you have yet to explore.
Sandru raises the glowing javelin in alarm and steps forward, his scimitar in front of him. "Who's there?"
"I am glad to see that you are still in good health, Sandru Vhiski" Sandru's light reveals an elven woman with golden hair and blue eyes leaning against the cave wall. She is slender but clearly well-muscled. "I am glad to see that all of you are in good health."
"Deceitful witch!" Sandru spits.
"A man proved a fool but still alive should be thankful." she replies coolly. "I acted only to keep you from flailing around, Sorin might say."
Lisabett looks between the Captain and the Elven woman. Tall, with blond hair... Drugged, we might appear similar, Lisabett realizes, and steps further away from the Captain on impulse. She frowns and then shakes her head, but manages to speak despite the tightness in her chest.
"Your track was difficult to find, but my eyes are sharper than most," she says to the woman. "I would sooner have found you than these creatures, but feared for the Mother. If yours are sharper, would you know where Koya is? I can find track in sediment, but she has left none that I have seen."
"You found my tracks? Well done." The elven woman turns to Lisabett. Though her words might indicate that she is impressed, her face remains impassive. "I have searched the whole of the swamp, and the road up on the bluff as well. I have seen no sign of Koya Mvashti."
Then she could not have avoided seeing the track of the dead men Lisabett realizes.
"You lead us here," Lisabett seethes. "Why!? This myrr dreyrugr has claimed lives and you would have us dance for your amusement?!"
Lisabett's accent and breath are heavy and frost begins creeping up the wet sleeves of her dress as her control of her temper and her innate magic is becoming less.
"Caution, Lisabett. Shalelu Andosa has been known to Sandpoint for many years, and has always been a friend."
"Our dreams lead us to this cavern, not your tracking skill, I would remind you. And, unless she has learned new skills, Shalelu was not the sender of that dream."
Raziel steps forward towards Shalelu. "You say that Koya isn't in the swamp? Then we must redirect our efforts to find her elsewhere."
'Koya, where are you? What was the meaning of that dream sending?' Raziel ponders, trying to make sense of the matter.
"Their er allr vinrer," Lisabett spits in Skald. "I will recall your distinction when next we are floundering in the dark for sign, Brother Holheim," she hisses and brushes passed the priest as she exits.
Lisabett moves to the limit of the dim light cast by her javelin and awaits the conclusion of the party's business so that they can continue. The frost that threatened Lisabett's sleeves spreads across her chest and down her back as she cannot help but feel despair that had she pressed the issue harder the man they discovered at the side of the road might have been buried properly, and not now sinking in a dank mire.
Shalelu watches Lisabett walk away.
"Youth." She seems to speak to nobody in particular.
"Bravery." Sandru answers as he follows after Lisabett. "I'm not yet finished here. We've yet to search every corner."
Shalelu pulls a sunrod from her satchel and activates it. She turns to Raziel. "I have not found any trace of Koya, but that does not mean she is not here. Sandru seems convinced she came this way. Perhaps you will prove more articulate than he was last night. Why do you search for her in Brinestump? And what is this dream of which you speak?"
Ah, that is a bit of a story, Shalelu. When we were returning to Sandpoint yesterday after dealing with the goblins here, we encountered Ameiko. She said that Koya had spoke to her, and said that Koya had a vision, and would meet us in a cavern in the swamp. Sandru had rode out to the swamp that morning, looking for Koya."
"After taking quick care of our business in Sandpoint, we returned to the swamp, where Lisabett tracked Sandru. We found him drugged, safely in a tree. Then like an omen from Desna, a swarm of butterflies pointed us in the direction of Master Proudstump's place, where we spent the night resting and regaining out strength."
"This morning, I think we all had a dark dream of Koya in danger, and hints that it was in a cavern. Master Proudstump lead us to this cavern, and Lisabett found signs of undead about it. We charged in, thinking that Koya was in danger here, but have found no sign of her yet."
Raziel pauses for a breath, then continues on, his face thoughtful. "Lisabett has tracked Sandru, found the tracks of the undead, and even found your trail, but she has not found any trace of Koya's feet. I am now beginning to wonder if we are not looking for Koya in the wrong place. And you say there is no sign of Koya in the swamp? What is the truth of this?"
Lisabett's embrace of her power does not falter, but the advance of the frost is halted.
"There was," she answers, "but if the terrain is as difficult there, I will be of little use to you alone. My footing is not sure, and my magics far from lethal. It is best we wait for the others," she concludes apologetically.
Almar says nothing as he considers Shelulu:
So this is the elven woman I heard so much about... she certainly seems self confident, and if half the stories they tell about her are true she should also be formidable. So Koya might never have entered the swamp at all... a trick to steer usin the right direction? But then what was so important about this cavern? The skeletrons? Something we have missed? Or something inside that chest we had no time to check properly? Food for tought but better to go back with those two, the girl is quite the hothead despite her frosty appearance and Sandru doesn't seem like he's thinking straight
And so, without a word, Almar follows Sandru and Lisabett back into the cavern.
Shalelu laughs lightly. "Dear to me though they are, Koya is a mystic, Ameiko is a poet and Sandru is a bravo. I would have thought you wiser than to trust their words and deeds so precisely, Holhiem. Your bravery and skill should be commended nevertheless. You and your companions have dealt with the goblins, the wandering sinspawn, and the wretched faceless stalker, all in the course of a day. You have silenced the restless dead this morning. What will you have done by evenfall?"
Sorin's relief at seeing Shalelu is evident.
"It's good to see you again Shalelu. I was disappointed the other day when the Sheriff said he had not seen or heard of you. I would play a song but this is not the time nor place."
"As for Ameiko and the others, we have had no cause to distrust either their words or deeds. But even if we did so, we could hardly sit idly by when each of us had the same ill-omened dream at the same time; especially with the townsfolk as frightened and edgy as they are."
"By evenfall, I would consider it a great victory if we are able to make some sense of this whole business. To me, it seems quite the confusing jumble." Sorin considers a moment, "And playing at least one good song, of course. That's always better than a day without."
"Well met, Sorin." Shalelu answers. She tosses the lit sunrod to Sorin's feet. She shifts her weight slowly as she activates another. "The dream was in a cave? This cave?"
Almar catches up to Lisabett and Sandru.
"I did not mean to hinder your search before, Almar. I only wish to find Mother Koya. Ameiko relayed her words to me: she said that she would 'cross paths' with you at 'the cave'." Sandru's voice wavers with emotion. "It must be this one, but she has not come."
Lisabett sighs, the coolness of her breath creating a visible exhale in from the difference in temperatures between the ambient and her power. That woman is a failure of a peacekeeper. What attributes has she of note other than beauty and a voice?
"As you say, we have not searched every part of the cave. There was cavern near the entrance that we discounted in our haste. The... chest," Lisabett fights to make her tone neutral, "will keep, but if we should find the Mother, she would have priority."
Almar answers waving Sandru's apology away:
"Not a problem Sandru. I'm worried about Koya too, but now I'm starting to think she might have orchestrated all this in order to get us in this cave. There must be something important here, maybe if we check this place again we'll find it."
After a while the gunslinger adds:
"There's another a thing that puzzles me though... who exactly did hang you to that tree?"
"It is hard for me to believe that Mother Koya would orchestrate a hoax that would cause so many who care about her such grief," Lisabett argues. "It... I do not know how familiar you are with Desna, but it is not often that She manipulates our dreams. And five at once?"
Lisabett shakes her head. "Might we confirm that the Mother is not here before we exclude that it is even a possibility?"
Lets find the others.
"I can't say I know much about Desna, but that seems the most likely option. Doesn't mean it's the right option though, maybe Koya went another way entirely. Anyway we are here now, so let's try to understand why this place was significant"
Sorin ponders Shalelu's question. "I don't know. My eye for stone is not keen enough for me to really judge one cave from another. So it may not have been this cave; but this is the cave we knew about so here we came."
"Another disturbing thing. Raziel and Almar mentioned an ornate chest of unusual design down one of the other passageways. And this cavern was guarded by undead. The goblin camp also had an ornate chest of unusual design and they were attacked by undead before we even arrived. That greatly strains the definition of coincidence to me."
"You seem to have a good knowledge of what's been transpiring in the swamp." Sorin tries to keep the weary desperation out of his voice. "Do you know what it is we're up against or why these strange events seem to all be happening at once?"
"The business with Koya and your dreams is a mystery to me, I'm afraid. It is strange for her to be so rash. I do know that the goblins in the swamp have been relatively inert until recently. Goblins are never harmless, but I have been content to let the so called Warden of Brinestump Marsh keep an eye on them." The disdain in Shalelu's voice is apparent. "By all reports and my own observance, the undead have not come forth from their cave until shortly after the goblins became a problem. I had guessed the connection, certainly, but your findings all but prove it. Let us have a look at that chest."
"Five, Lisabett?" Sandru looks at the young Ulfen. "If you account for your comrades in that, make it six. I experienced the dream as well."
He turns to Almar "Shalelu. She encountered me in the swamp yesterday evening, and bid me follow her to discuss our approach to the cave. She then...she shared a drink with me. It was sleeping draught..."