"Oof, just when you thought it'd be a pleasant day to wander the dunes in a whole Lotta armor, carrying a 20 lb scorpion tail. Turns out, it's bloody hot out here!"
Hektor drains his waterskin, then looks to one of the spellcasters with a shrug.
"Mind topping the old bag off?"
Happy for whatever shade the cliffs provided, Jenrick leaned against the cliffwall, and slide down to the ground.
"Even my lighter silmarian armor is no match for this heat", sighed Jenrick. "Although there could be some lingering effects from the scorpion poison that's making feel so off."
The young silmarian man also drains his waterskin.
Trathing refills Hektor's Waterskin for him...
We've had a long morning... why don't we stop and rest for a bit, now that we have found the shade of the mountains...
Trathing then refills Jenrick' water skin as well.
"Agreed, with the scorpion dead, an hour or so of rest shouldn't make much of a difference other than allowing you both to recover." Rhiastra adds.
Jenrick smiled as his waterskin was magically refilled with cool water.
Looking over to the nova roman, Jenrick called over, "Well, Hektor, looks like the Moldavi showed us 'sun-belters' who can thrive better in the desert. I guess Moldavians aren't so delicate as they seem", smiled the silmarian, as he raised his waterskin in toast to Trathing, Felicitia and Märche.
"Indeed! Believe me, I would much rather be lounging in a cool bath, snacking on dates and sipping iced wine."
Hektor grins and nods his thanks for the water.
"But these lovely people being able to create water on a whim makes our travels much less arduous. My thanks, again for that."
As they tracked the scorpion's trail back to it's apparent lair. the fact the creature had made a "door" of the boulder was a bit disturbing but Felitcia decided that she would over look that, for now, and enjoy the shade. When the toast was made she took a long drink of water after her waterskin was refilled and said, "Thank you, it's a relief to have a ready source of water." Her head turned slightly towards Jenrick under her deep hood and she said, "When you grow up in a country where monsters are everywhere and anyone nearby might look at you as food you learn to endure hardship quickly and be very wary."
Mordavia was a magical place filled with so many things both fanciful and horrible... Trathing trails off obviously thinking about something in particular... and becoming less communicative...
After a while when people start to look more recovered Trathing stands up and looks around.
Well the way I see it... if this scorpion had masters more akin to our dimensions, then they needed an entrance they could open on their own. Do we want to try and force our way through here... although I'm not sure how much success we'll have with a stone that massive, or maybe conduct a survey of the local topography in hopes of finding clues as to what we are dealing with or indications of others that may have been indigenous to the areas?
"Surely we can apply some knowledge and ingenuity towards getting this impediment out of our way. Perhaps digging beneath it while leveraging from above in the direction of the trench? There must be some way to move it."
Hektor checks out the large slab of stone, looking for weaknesses, places where it may pivot, or the like.
kn:engineering
"An entrance you can fit through might not work for me." Rhiastra points out.
"Once again, the desert proves it's reputation well warranted. Without some bracing timbers and plenty of muscle, we're not moving this thing. Not unless some of you have magic that can shrink the rock, or turn it into mud, or whatnot."
Getting up from the cliff face, Jenrick looks at the giant door. "Who knows? Maybe the Gods will shine down on us a secret way in." The young silmarian man begins to examine and feel the cliff wall and door, looking for a way in.
Jenrick points out the grasping points on the stone to those present, and tells them he can find no other door.
"I'm open to suggestions."
Trathing walks up to the door and kicks at the sand a bit trying to figure out how far down it is to bedrock.
I wonder if we could undermine this by washing away sand under the door...
The half-fae starts repeatedly casting create water to wash away as much sand as possible and perhaps create mud that will be easier to clear away then the loose sand.
"If we could get rope around the top of it, I vam try puling it down." Rhiastra conjectures.
The silmarian man takes off his backpack and rummages through it. "I got some rope", Jenrick chimes.
Looking at the large rock Felitcia was rather dumbfounded. It certainly seemed impassible but, then again, the same had been said about the overthrow of the Darkone. Rhiastra's suggestion seemed like the best one, especially if combined with using water to undermine the sand it rested upon. "I think a combination of the two might be worth while. My only suggestion would be to moisten only the sand on the side we want it to roll to so that it doesn't just become stuck."
Kn(engineering)
I have to admit I have never done this kind of thing before but it seems like maybe a rocking motion would be best. Especially if we can wash the sand away from this edge here.
Through Trathing's and Hektor's advice in rope placement, Jenrick and the other party members began work to move the huge rock door away. The silmarian man mainly stayed to the ropes, helping to rock the stone door free.
It is the work of hours. Sweating. Toiling. Digging. Conjuring. Tying. Hauling. Only the ability of the spellcasters to bring life quenching water from seemingly nothing keeps the group from working to death. In the end, however, as the sun begins to dip down below the desert floor, the task is done. The group hauls and strains and the giant rock comes crashing down to reveal a tunnel leading deep into the cliffside. Wide enough for even Rhiastra to trot through.
"Well, that was a lot of work. But we have a big old hole in the ground. Now what?"
Looking to the nova roman, Jenrick remarks, "Well, it seems a shame not to explore, and enjoy the fruits of our labor, but after a few cool drinks of water. If nothing else, it will provide some shelter from the cold desert winds that are sure to come."
It was rough work getting the boulder moved and a great relief that they would be able to rest inside the cave for the night. "We need to rest for the night anyway so we should take some time to explore, I think, and make sure it's safe to do so."
"Agreed. At least it is a good sign that nothing responded to all the noise over the last few hours." Rhiastra says conjuring more water for everyone.
Trathing looks at Felitcia....
Maybe those of us who are a little more accustomed to the dark, and don't need light sources, should go take s look around...
"A good idea. Now that you mention it, it would help to be more alert walking into the unknown." Rhiastra adds, closing her eyes for a moment as she utters a soft chant in Silmarian the air around her seeming to become somehow sharper. As she opens her eyes, the centaur shamaness seems to look at everything more piercingly than before.
With the sun setting, the moon rises and the stars begin to shine. Those of your party who can see in the darkness see it seems natural at first but further inspection shows the walls are simply overgrown with calcification. Elements of worked stone can be seen, here and there, under the creeping of perhaps centuries worth of rock.
The tunnel seems to go on for nearly one hundred feet before curving northward.
Jenrick moved to just inside the cavern, keeping guard at the entrance while those who could see in the dark explored the cavern more fully.
Trathing removes the cuffs he is wearing and his clothing changes to look like the colorful Gypsy winter garb he is truly wearing. He then places the cuffs back on and his clothing changes to loose fitting pants and shirt that have colors similar to the rocks around the group.
I will take my time and do this very carefully. There is no telling who or what is in there.
He starts moving forward down the tunnel stopping every 20 feet to take a couple minutes to search the passage in front of him for traps, tracks or anything of interest. After traveling 60 feet in this slow and plodding manner he turns to see if Felitia is coming.
Jenrick has his ioun torch in his hand, ready to put it to use.
With a small gesture and a whispered word in Silmarian, Rhiastra conjures a quartet of dancing lights, akin to will-o'-wisps, generating enough light to illuminate the immediate area.
"Well, we've got plenty of light. Shall we head on into the dark and see what's in there?"
Hektor readies his shield and sword, preparing to take his place near the front.
Felitcia nodded at Trathling and went to follow him, pulling her hood down in the darkness with some relief. She slips into the shadows as she goes, though with nowehre near the skill that Trathling showed. In fact, she realized, after a few seconds that she couldn't see him at all, the man was good at this. She knew that, ultimately, she'd find him if she was careful, and figured he would stop her if she was about to outpace him.
As you round the corner, you peer into a large cavern. Time has worn away at the walls but, again, you can see this was once crafted with evidence of stone work, carefully carved, here and there. It is empty except for the odd stalagtite or stalagmite. There are two tunnels away from the cavern, besides the one you stand in, both in the northern wall. Smoke billows out of the right one. Something down that tunnel is on fire...
Those who are currently near the mouth of the tunnel can feel the cold settling in as the sun finishes setting. Outside, the wind blows. Inside, you can smell the faint scent of smoke coming from further in the tunnels.
Trathing advances into the room in the same slow methodical manner taking what seems an eternity at times to make sure there are not traps, hidden creatures or other surprises every 20 feet. He then moves towards the passage on the left away from the smoke and barely sticks his head around the corner to peer down the passage taking his time to study it.
Glad for the size of the cave, Rhiastra begins to follow, making sure to leave some distance between herself and the scouts.
Upon seeing the centaur advance into the cave, Jenrick activates his ioun torch, and watches the shaman's back.