Levelle takes up Goron's new found hammer and casts an eye at it while slowly intoning arcane words, attempting to glean if the hammer has an magical properties.
As the group moves on Levelle pauses at the carvings and for a moment her face mirrors their sadness, A monument to greatness, hidden beneath the city? How long have these things been here, unknown and unattended?
As Sana asks her question Levelle responds sheepishly, My knowledge is lacking, even in mine own arts...I have not been one for book learning, something I hope to change in time.
"I too am not familiar with the local history. My time was taken studying the creatures of the rift and magic."
"What is it? What do you see?" asks Aravashnial
A great many statues, sir. They appear to be of warriors? Crusader perhaps? There is a forlorn...sadness, perhaps? Do these sound familiar?
Aravashnial becomes ecstatic at the mention of possible statues depicting the crusaders, "There is a story of mutated children being born to the first crusaders due to the abyssal energies their bodies absorbed battling the demons. It is just a rumor but I always believed that they may have fled to the caves under Mendev to raise their children. These statues could be depicting those crusaders!" - Aravashnial continues his speech by talking about what this means for his reputation and how if those who laughed in his face when he presented this idea to them will be sorry when he shows them this discovery.
Goron perks up at that.
"Then good elf, could you tell us more about these statues and what else is related to them, it might help us find our way out easier since we now have a point of reference."
Beneath her hood, Sana perked up at the mention of the story. That actually sounded very interesting to her, and she shuffled a little closer to listen to the story - though she did start to lose interest when he started talking about fame and fortune. Of course, some people needed the distractions, so maybe it would be best to not point out the possibility that many of the people he wanted to laugh at had come down with a serious case of dead as a result of what had happened up above...
She was about to ask about what else the stories might be able to teach them when Goron jumped right onto that and started taking care of it. She closed her mouth and nodded vigorously instead, hoping they could hear something about how the crusaders had entered the caves.
"It would most likely mean that we are either close to the surface, but well it most likely means that we are close to one of the settlements of the descendants," Aravashnial replies.
"That means we can find food and shelter and a way out." Goron exclaims with some gladness in his voice.
It'll boost all their spirits to know such a thing was nearby.
Assuming the people there were still alive and didn't have a burning hatred for everything outside of their communities... On the other hand, she might be able to talk fast enough to convince them not to harm the group. Best to be prepared for that - after all, it wasn't like they could stay down here forever, and the only way out was forward. "I-I think getting news about what's going on up above will be the most important thing." the girl said meekly. "Shelter isn't going to be much use if we're overrun by demons in our sleep."
Hopefully they will view outsiders with something passing interest or civility...
Levelle pets Cao absently as she furrows her brow.
Goron nods at Sana.
"Wise words. Indeed. Hopefully we will not meet such."
Turning on his heels, the dwarf once more leads the way.
Gripping her bag tightly, Sana fell into step a little ways behind Goron, ready to get out of the way if any other trouble arose... or, if necessary, cast her divine magic. She'd been very nervous back there, but it all seemed to have worked out nicely, and nobody had asked any awkward questions about how she was able to use such magic. But then, people usually believed what they thought they saw, a fact she'd used to her advantage countless times over the decades...
For now, though, she mostly just wanted to get out from underground.
Goron leads the group forward into another part of the cavern. Right through the passage from the room filled with statues a small campfire and a well-used bedroll, along with a few utensils and tools, sits near another cave opening in the far wall of this cavern.
A crazed looking dwarf stands next to the campsite. He has just finished casting a spell on himself as you enter the room and begins to cast another when he sees you.
Everyone but Goron may go before the dwarf, sorry Goron.
In the few moments she had available, Sana tried to get a sense of whether the other dwarf was surprised or actually evil or possessed somehow... but things seemed to be moving too quickly for that, and her instincts told her nothing. She still wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but... "Stop that at once!" she shouted as she stepped forward, drawing upon every bit of her natural speaking ability and decades of practice. If this poor dwarf was just frightened about what was happening up above and reacting on instinct (a perfectly reasonable reaction, when you thought about it - he probably hadn't known they were coming, and why cast a spell on himself that would trouble them if he didn't know?), then that ought to help snap him back to his senses... and if he wasn't somebody in the wrong place at the wrong time, well, maybe he'd be shocked by her commanding tone for just long enough to let their Paladin move and take their foe down.
While not taking any obvious hostile actions towards the dwarf, Tomas still readies a bolt of force, just in case the dwarf is unstable and attempts to attack the group.
On seeing the other dwarf, Goron raises his shield in saluatation.
"Hail and we-" only to be interupted as Sana barks put a command to stop.
Levelle holds and directs Cao to hold, shocked by the forceful command from the previously demure Sana.
The dwarf stops his chanting in mid sentence, cowering back from Sana "I won't go back to Mendev," he stammers. "You won't let you arrest me!"
She could deal with crazy.
"Don't worry, we're not here to bring you back to Mendev." Sana said soothingly, carefully continuing to keep her distance from the crazy dwarf and working to be as non-threatening as possible now. "We're just passing through. To prove that, my friends and I are going to walk around that way." she pointed to the wall on the other side of the fire from the crazy dwarf. "You can just stay where you are and we'll be gone soon. We'll also be together, so you can keep an eye on us the whole time and see that we're not approaching you. You can't be arrested if we don't approach you, right? When we're gone, you can stay here where it's safe." The whole time, she was drawing upon all the charm she'd learned and working to help the crazy dwarf feel better about his own position. For most crazy people, it helped to approach them on their level and deal with the things they thought were most important. "I'm going to move to the side now." she stepped a little to her left, carefully watching the dwarf's reactions to see how he responded to her words.
Goron watches. Waiting. His weapons held in a non threatening way but ready to bring them up at a moment notice.
She could deal with crazy.[
Levelle scrunches up her face as the dwarf prattles on about "arrest"...She worryingly looks to the others but sees that Sana is continuing to talk so she continues to wait.
The dwarf eyes you, "All right," he aims a crossbow at you "No sudden moves or your dead."
The dwarf keeps the crossbow aimed at you steadily, but manages not to pull the trigger on you.
A steeply inclined tunnel leads upward to the north, its walls lined with numerous nooks, handholds and dozens of iron pitons that have been driven into the walls long ago. After climbing for 60 feet and walking for about thirty more minutes, you come across another a series of guard towers, all collapsed. More strange bodies lie in the rubble.
"what do you think happened here?" asks Anevia.
"Who cares, lets just move on through quikly!" snaps Horgus back at Anevia.
Sana quietly whispered under her breath in response to Anevia's question, relying on the spark of inspiration from her gods to help her learn anything she really needed to know.
"Um, y-you should probably keep it down. We're not alone." Sana said timidly, raising her hands towards her hood as her gaze was drawn to the creatures. She stopped herself, though, then quietly moved over to Goron, who'd probably noticed them by now. "I c-can raise a barrier around you that should help. It's not much, but..." Those creatures weren't exactly bugs. If they needed to fight, then going all-out was probably the best idea, and she'd be using her most powerful supporting magic.
Tomas stops walking when he hears the warning about not being alone from Sana. He looks around, but is not able to see what prompted her response. None the less, he still readies himself for whatever might come.
Patting Sana's shoulder.
"The offer is appreciated lassie but It should be used for those who can't defend themselves."
Turning to the others.
"Stay here. I'll check to see if they're hostile."
Walking forward, the tough dwarf moves up and greets the two in a loud voice.
"Well met, May I inquire as to where we are and what are you?"
Cao shuffles with the group unobservant...
Levelle pauses as Goron moves ahead to speak to the creatures. As an after thought, Levelle urges Cao to follow close behind the dwarf.
The two creatures drop into defensive positions when they see Goron. They eye him for a moment, and then in broken common the elfish ones speaks "If you mean ill harm please, pass on and leave us. If you are friendly, i will answer your question, but first," he motions to the rocks they were digging at, {b]" as you can see ill fortune has befallen us."[/b] The two of them have dug down to a single boulder.
Sana glanced up slightly as she whispered under her breath, looking to her gods for guidance on what these beings were like and whether they could be trusted... or if it would be best to alert her friends to danger before they themselves could come to harm. Considering all that had happened, it was probably best to play it safe, but she certainly didn't want to try and fight anybody unless it was truly necessary.
"What help do you require? I am a Paladin of Torag and by the stones I'll do you no harm unless you mean ill towards me first."
Goron shows empty hands leaving only his shield strapped onto his arms and hammer still hooked in his belt.
"The tremors trapped one of our own. We have dug down to her, but we cannot lift out this last boulder."
"There's no need to be afraid of us. We're mostly just passing through." Sana explained calmly, though she was staying behind Goron instead of boldly moving forward. She looked (as best she could from her position) down into the place that the two creatures were digging into; manual labor really wasn't her thing, and she'd probably be getting in the way if she tried to help, but she could at least stay on the lookout for anything she would be able to help with. Like, say, healing their companion once the rock was free.
Goron unstraps his shield.
"Say no more, you requested aid and thus I, Goron will answer your call."
Using his sturdy self, he helps the weird looking men clear the remaining rocks.
Levell offers a pitiful shrug, I will aid in whatever way I can but I am not strong and Cao...well perhaps he can dig if that would help?
Goron brings his own strength to bear as his sinews strain as he helps them to lift the rock up.
The eidolon moves forward to help push the rock up or dig under it as the dward needs...
The creature struggles to find a good place to put itself to help...
Seeing the struggle to move the rock Levelle rushes forward to lend what little strength she has to the action
There was only so much room around the boulder; rather than forcing her way in, Sana quietly waited a few steps back, ready to dart in if they needed some help. However, most of her attention was on the area around them, watching to be sure that nothing dangerous was approaching while they were most vulnerable.
The group manages to get the lifted enough that Tomas can cast a spell to lift it the rest of the way. Another alien creature emerges from behind the rock, and the two mongrel, who came to help but their aid was unneeded, give her big hugs and begin to ask if shes okay.
After their joyous reunion the elf/lizard turns to you, "That you for your help strangers. My name is Lann and these are Crel and Dyra. Tell us, where are you from and what brought you here to help us?"
Sana perked up slightly. They... they didn't know, did they? "We're from the city." she said quietly. "There was a bit of an accident, and we ended up trapped underground. If it isn't too much trouble, could you tell us how to get towards the surface, or at least where we could rest for the night?" Either one would work, really - a lot of things had already happened, and some rest really would be important. Maybe. If nothing else, though, knowing where they could rest if they wanted to would help them make a better decision.
Lann is obviously the leader of these three, and he begins nodding his head, "Yes we can help with both. Our chief will want to thank you personally for helping us to save Crel, and once we arrive at your village, we can show you how to get back to the surface. You will have to deal with a traitor tribe but our chief will be able to provide insight in how to deal with them"
"Traitor tribe? No matter, we'll deal with it as we go along. I am Goron a Paladin of Torag and we were from the city above until demons started wrecking havoc and we fell into the city depths. Thus here we are. Lead us to your village then." Goron once more shoulders his equipment and waits for them to lead.
Lann remarks, "Before we head to the village, can I have your names? Sir Goron the Paladin has given his, but what of the rest of you? In regards to the traitor tribe, yes there are several tribes of us, while we have little contact with the uplands, most of us view your kind with fear, but a desire for reconciliation. A few tribes however want dominance and assault upon the uploads."
"Why did we stop to help these disgusting things, how can you even trust them! Look at them, they're probably in league with the demons!"
"My name is Tomas von Achiel, a wizard and crusader. This unpleasant person is Horgus, some kind of merchant I gather, and soon to be muzzled if he cannot learn to keep quiet!"