Jack calls back to the others
"I am going to see if I can climb down this pit...just to see how deep it might be. Also, I want to try and see if I can swing to the opposite side."
Acrobatics:
"Kraz doesn't like separating again. If Jack can get to the other side we could use the rope to get across.."
Sorin lets her weight off of the rope to confirm her assumption. ”Yep, not doing anything here, heh” She looks at the other two for permission to step away and the goes to see if she can figure out where Jack’s attacker scurried off to.
Jack climbs easily down the rough, rocky side of the void, and finds that it is a pit, only 20 feet deep. Feeling around in the darkness he can feel hard, four foot long iron spikes driven into the hard clay at the bottom. The spikes seem to be coated with some sticky substance at their points. In any case, the pit is only ten feet across, and the other side is just as easy to climb.
Sorin goes back to the wind-swept chamber, but can't find any trace of the badger's passage. Perhaps the constant currents have erased any markings it may have left.
Jack, the first one out of the pit, finds that the ceiling is much higher immediately after the pit, and what's more, he can see one of Nilelane's globes once he takes a few steps from the edge. The tunnel opens out into what looks to be a massive chamber only ten feet from the edge of the magical darkness. Eventually you are all across, thanks to the use of ropes and teamwork. The huge cavern before you beckons.
Beerg once out of the darkness sees the cavern and immediately starts to secure the surroundings to ensure the teams safety.
'We need to make sure there's not nasty surprises here. I'm beginning to very much not like this place!
Beergs eyes are glancing from wall to wall, ground to ceiling looking for anything that appears out of place or a danger.
Beerg moves to the end of the tunnel, peering into the extremely large cavern. It stretches out beyond the limits of Beerg's darkvision, and the current radius of Nilelane's globes of light, although the ceiling is visible some 40 feet above your heads. As the airflow is no longer funnelling through a small opening, the breeze here is noticeable, but not significant. The cavern floor that you can see has been cleared of loose rocks and the bears obvious signs of significant use, particularly in the abundance of tracks that crisscross each other, and there appears to be an aggregation of soot on the ceiling.
"Kraz thinks someone's been camping here. Perhaps the badger wizards that got Jack. Be cautious!"
He looks around for the freshest tracks.
The tracks are all jumbled, and what's more, it appears that some care has been taken to erase some of them. Still, Kraz is a good enough tracker to pick out small, lightly falling feet (drow?), large furry ones (obviously quaggoths), and some other misshapen booted foot that he's unfamiliar with. Some drow and quaggoth tracks head up the tunnel you've just exited, others go in various directions.
Sorin watches Nilelane’s play and the illusion spell. Nodding the whole time. It’s when she laughs that Sorin cringes ”Eeeesh, maybe you should be the mean “silent” type.”
Beerg will continue up the tunnel with shield and hammer drawn creeping forward while still keeping his wits about him.
Let me know if I'm about to walk into something Jack!
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Kraz stands there watching the show with amazement, similar to Shrek and Donkey when they first enter Duloc. His simple mind cannot help but enjoy the show.
"Oh! Oh! Do it again!" he then stops somehow remembering the parties location.
He ponders for a second before speaking.
"Kraz doesn't think this is the time or place for puppet shows Miss Elf.. That said I did enjoy it and when we get back to the surface I would be interested in watching it again. Kraz thinks we should get focused on finding them Badger Wizards now though.."
Sorin smiles and shakes her head at Nilelane's attempt to be cruel. "It's still not a bad idea. All it needs to do it give our enemies pause. Let us keep moving, these elves have to be here somewhere."
The party, herded along by your drow mistress, heads cautiously into the centre of the cavern. It seems be about 150 feet across in diameter, roughly ciruclar, with five exit tunnels spread around from the north-west to the east (you have entered from the south). The cave seems devoid of any items or features of interest.
"Kraz thinks we should make a mark on a tunnel to show we've been there and then search them all, one by one."
Nilelane takes out the little white handkerchief they found earlier and lights it on fire, promptly snuffing it out with her drow black leather high heel, kneeling down close to note which tunnel the smoke bends towards....
The smoke bends towards the tunnel you have just exited from. However, you note that the smoke bends most strongly away from the second tunnel from the left, which leads more or less due north as far as you can tell. It seems to be the source of the ventilation that causes the howling winds through the straw-like tunnel you crawled through to get to this section of the caves.
The middle (third) and northeast (fourth) tunnels seem to head somewhat upwards. The tunnel to the east appears to be sloping slightly downwards. The first and second tunnels seem more or less level.
Beerg watches with curiosity as Nilelane uses her ink to estimate the slopes and wind direction.
"Nilelane, you've done your research.I'll follow your decision."
Beerg turns toward tunnel 1? 'I'm happy to be upfront again with Kraz... Kraz, let's move. "
”Let us find a way out first, in the event that we need to escape. The wind tunnel seems like a bad choice for an escape route. Maybe where the source of the wind is coming from will lead us out. ” Sorin kneels to takes a look at each of the tunnel entrances to see if any of them are trafficked more or less than the others.
"Kraz is fine with whatever his good friends think. he is ready."
Still unsteady from his harrowing brush with death, Jack has been uncharacteristically quiet since you awoke. He follows the group but seems to be in a bit of a daze, but as Nilelane begins her investigations of the tunnels, a bit of the old gleam seems to come back into the rogue's eyes.
"Great ideas in discovering the paths ahead Nileland. Let's see where your choice leads us, shall we!?"
The party moves forward into the tunnel, with the half-orcs leading the way. After some 30 feet the tunnel bends sharply to the right, and as Kraz walks around the corner he almost trips over what seems to be a manacled foot poking out from behind a small boulder. Peering down, Kraz sees that there is an unconscious dwarf wedged behind the boulder, almost naked but for a few rags, a large stick on the ground beside his calloused, outstretched hand. The manacles around his feet, which end in short lengths of severed chain, are wrapped in dirty strips of cloth. He looks to be in terrible condition, ribs sticking out in his chest, his cheeks gaunt, and his unconscious breathing laboured. His beard has been roughly hacked off sometime recently from the chin down, though the moustache and long sideburns remain.
Seeing the poor dwarf, Jack removes his picks and goes to work on the shackles on the poor fellow's legs.
"Sorin, see if you can do anything for his wounds. Kraz and Beerg keep watch if you do not mind, and Nilelane look through our packs and see if we have something for this poor dwarf to eat and drink!"
As he is asking his friends to help, he examines the chains and manacles on the dwarf's legs.
The cloth strips around the manacles are stuck to chafing wounds on the dwarf's ankles, and the smell of infection wafts from them as you examine them. The manacles are well-made, quality items, although you're fairly sure you can crack them.
Sorin moves next to Jack, placing her hand on the rogues shoulder. "Torm's wisdom upon you." she says as divine energy drifts over Jack.
She kneels further and examines the dwarf, Hoping that she can find some way to help him.
Jack clicks open the manacles while Sorin looks over the dwarf. He is wounded, many small wounds, some of them older, but the worst injury is his throat - it has been cut, and poorly stitched back together, fairly recently. It has healed, but badly, and is now an angry red scar.
Skein looks at the other briefly and then places her hand on the dwarf’s chest. ” May the Trinity’s energies restore you. “
The dwarf starts awake with a splutter and a wheeze, then looks around at you in fear. His expression slowly softens as he realises you are tending to him rather than threatening him, and he closes his eyes for a moment in weariness. He then opens them again and looks around the party, nodding his thanks, his gratitude shining from his eyes. In the barest whisper, he croaks, "Thank you, my friends..." Even this amount of speech appears to cause him pain, although his eyes do crinkle in the tiniest smile as Nilelane hands him a potato. He takes it, nodding again.
"My name," he starts off in his hoarse, gurgling, raspy whisper that sounds painful enough to make you wince, "is Tirrendale Talltales... although I might need a new moniker. Who might all of you be?"
"I am Kraz and these are my good friends. Who put these manacles on you?"
"The... the drow. They manacled us all," he rasps . "We fought... we still fight. But they take the women, the children... they never come back. I... I need your help. We need to help them!"
"You need to rest a bit first and regain some of your strength. My friends and I will watch over you and when you are a little stronger we can talk. ok?"
Jack motions the rest of the group to one side away from the dwarf and speaks softly.
"Ok, so now what? Do we push forward and see what is happening, or try to return to the tower and inform them there?"
As Jack moves away and speaks to the rest of the group, the dwarf gurgles, painfully from the sound of it. "No, there's no time for rest! We must hurry!" he hisses in his scratchy whisper. "Before they take more away!" With that, Tirrendale reaches behind his head, shaking his hair loose, and pulling a small shining item from his tangled locks. It appears to be three entwined rings, set in silver and attached to a leather thong. "I can help! My goddess..." he hisses. He tries to stand, but falls forward as he does.
To Nilelane, he winces a little. "You may have to work on your acting a little... but that could work, if you get it right."
"Kraz likes Tater Tots!"
Sorin smiles at Kraz, to Jack ”We need to pursue this. If we can save more of the dwarves, perhaps they can help us route the dark elves. The tower has been warned of the dark elves and should already be making preparations.”