The dwarf takes Benedic's hand, climbing to his feet before dusting himself off. "The tunnel your friends are looking in is the way to go. It's where I was planning to make my escape, before your friend Greta stopped me." A beat. "Name's Millorn."
Watching the byplay between the Dwarf and Benedic and Massielo, Caliban says nothing, although the look on his face says how impressed he is with Benedic's words. Grunting, he picks up his pack, and follows Greta, Well, at least we have an idea of the way to depart this place.
He catches up to Junior, Selann, and Greta, I am not certain we should trust this Dwarf, although our Iomedaean companions are extremely eloquent. I feel it would be wise to maintain our vigilance moving forward.
Selann watches and listens, waiting for the group to come to the tunnel up. "Mongrelmen?"
Hearing Caliban he nods, "I agree. He was acting particularly crazy...."
Millorn nods. "Mutants, driven underground by the Crusaders. They've been here even longer than I have."
Greta cautiously nods to Caliban, both uncertain about how to view the situation and wary of the dwarf overhearing them.
As her companions gather, she prepares to move forward but pauses. "Oh, uh, sorry about that..." she answers the dwarf, slightly embarrassed, "but the last dwarves we met were some kind of zombies, and then you started shooting at us, and, well... I was just trying to defend us... but, yeah, I am sorry about that."
Her smile weakly returning, she asks, "umm, if you're going to get us past the mongrelmen, do you want to be the one going first?"
Millorn stares blankly at Greta, before saying "No."
"Oh, I don't mind going first," Greta clarifies, "I just didn't know if Mister Millorn was going to be comfortable being surrounded by us... or if he needed to be first to stop the other people from attacking us before we had to defend ourselves..."
The matter apparently, more or less, settled, the petite warrior leads the way up the sloped passageway with her hammer at the ready.
"It's a long walk from the top of the climb, but they have a guard outpost at the end of the tunnel. Usually, I'd just turn invisible and sneak by them, but with this warband you have I don't think that's likely." Millorn gives a nonchalant shrug, before jerking his head around to look behind him. Seeing nothing, he tries to relax his shoulders.
Anevia grimaces as she contemplates the climb ahead of her, but with some help she is able to navigate it at a reasonable pace.
Caliban continues up the steep shaft, picking his way by the magical light of Selann's spell. Massielo is right, they could be helpful to us, especially if we do not provoke hostilities. Of course, we've been assaulted by everything we have encountered down here. So I am less than optimistic on that front; however an open mind may bear us fruit.
Benedic nods wordlessly, respectfully. "I have been staying back too. Perhaps it is best that we simply continue as we were. I believe you are still injured, Millorn? There are those among us who channel positive energy, which can mend wounds, but it might be best to conserve our power until after we encounter these mongrelmen, to see if any more of us are injured. If you feel you can proceed in your current condition...? I suggest you stay behind me and I will do my best to keep you safe."
Having readied to proceed, Tristan takes his usual position as rearguard.
What else can you tell us of these Mongrelmen. good Millorn? I have seen some short passages in my studies, but, never encounter any before.
The Inquisitor sounds eager.
Junior offers his hand to help Anevia or anyone else who looks like they're struggling as they climb.
Millorn waves off Benedic's healing, simply saying "I'm fine. Let's hurry."
Anevia gratefully accepts the help from Junior, and after a short climb you all proceed down the tunnel. You follow its gentle slopes and turns for nearly half an hour, until the opens into a large cavern, about seventy feet across. Cylindrical rock formations along the walls arch up to make a domelike chamber, but the walls and floor are riddled with cracks. At the center of the cave, a stone tower that may once have reached the fifty-foot-high ceiling has collapsed onto its side.
Tristan relays the information he knows about the Mongrelmen.
Being in the rearguard, the Inquisitor seems to be distracted by Junior's stride....
Junior calls out and rushes towards the tower, "Someone's trapped in the rubble! We need to hurry."
As Junior approaches, the two figures turn and drop into defensive stances, but make no aggressive movements. One of them, a hunchbacked woman, has a face so warped by tumors that you doubt she is physically capable of normal speech. The other is a tall, thin creature with a face that melds the features of an attractive elven man, a goat, and a lizardfolk. His oversized fingers end in dull, spadelike talons.
He greets you in strangely accented but quite eloquent Common, saying "If your intentions are ill, we ask you to move on and leave us in peace. If they are good, then perhaps you can help. As you can see, misfortune has befallen us."
Greta rushes forward with Junior. When the... person(?) speaks about intentions, she takes her right hand off her hammer and simply carries it in her left hand. "We want to help," she answers, "what can we do?"
Turning his gaze back forward once those that weren't daydreaming spots the folks digging in the rubble, the Inquisitor walks warily forward. Tristan seems as if he is trying to read the distressed strangers.
The man's posture relaxes and he nods. "Very well, your aid is appreciated. My name is Lann, this is Dyra, and our friend Crel is trapped inside."
He waves you over and shows you the work they have done so far. Most of the rubble has been cleared away, but there is still a large stone pinning Crel down. "Your timing is fortuitous. We are unable to lift the stone on our own, and while we may be able to dig out enough underneath it to pull Crel out, I fear it may destabilize the rubble above and crush him."
Seeing the.... men digging, and hearing them speaking to someone, Selann looks over the fallen structure. (and takes a glimpse into the future just in case)
"Is someone trapped under that? We can help but we need to be careful to not crush him!"
Caliban, seeing Junior and Greta rush forward to help, follows his companions to help lift the stones in whatever way possible. He pauses as he listens to Selann, and looks about for someone to make a knowledgeable plan of action. How can I be of assistance? the elf asks.
Greta sets down her hammer, grabs one corner of the large rock, and lifts with everything she’s got...
Junior almost immediately throws out his back as he in a hurry lifts with incredibly bad form.
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Benedic valiantly attempts to avoid staring at the strange-looking (to his eyes) man. He hangs back protectively in front of the injured members of the party.
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Tristan slings his shield across his back. The youth walks up to the rubble. He stretches a bit.
Greta smiles at the inquisitor as he calmly provides the last little bit of force she needs to lift the giant stone up out of the way.
While the rest of the party works to dig Crel out, Greta plants her feet next to the stone. With a nod from Tristan, Lann, and Dyra, she uses every bit of power available in her deceptively small frame and lifts it from the ground. As she holds it, Lann ducks underneath and pulls out his friend, bloodied and bruised but safe.
After a few moments celebrating Crel's rescue, Lann extracts himself from his friend's embrace and turns to you, wiping at one eye. "Thank you strangers. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully repay you for what you've done today. We're going to take Crel home to Neathholm to rest and heal up. If you like, we can escort you there."
"Glad to help! Lead the way. Are there very many of you at Neathholm? Has the demonic attack reached into it? Other than the earthquake."
Tristan smiles back at Greta. The Inquisitor repositions his shield.
Well, I have been working out.
Tristan returns to his rearguard position once the group is ready to continue.
Selann watches the new people for a few moments. When their gratitude seems real he relaxes. "So you have a home down here? Do your people roam the areas below often? Seems rather dangerous."
Lann shakes his head. "There's never very many of us, but it's our home. I worry about what damage this earthquake may have done, though, we haven't received word from town and the primary tunnel home has collapsed."
He thinks in silence for a few seconds, seeming to puzzle something out. "There's another route, but it'll take longer, and it's not scouted as often. We should get going."
They lead you off down another tunnel, but after about 15 minutes, you feel (and then hear) a low rumble pass through the earth beneath your feet, but the tunnel roof does not fall in on you. A short time after that, however, the tunnel opens up a bit and you can see that the earth has shifted again.
Ahead, a wide chasm splits the tunnel floor. The floating rock dust in the air and the groans as the tunnel walls settle indicate that the tunnel split recently. Lann and the others with you exclaim in dismay when they see it, worried that their home may have been destroyed along with the tunnel.
A quick examination of the chasm reveals it to be quite wide and deep (70 and 40 feet, respectively), but only about 10 feet across.
Anevia looks at the gap with a grim expression, while Aravashnial repeatedly asks what it is that's gotten everyone so worked up.
Caliban follows along the mongrelmen leading the group without comment, allowing the others to ask questions to their heart's content. When they reach the crevasse, he remarks, That is a long way to traverse, does anyone have any bright ideas other than one of us jumping across it? the looks grimly at the party, without any good ideas of his own.
Selann looks curiously at the crevasse. "Shouldn't be difficult to cross! Massielo, Just use your levitation scale. You should be able to levitate yourself and one or two people. We can push you across with a rope tied to you. Then hold the rope on this side while you pull yourself back and forth, carrying everyone."
"Wow, Selann, that's genius," Greta praises the halfling with a big smile, "I was trying to think about what we've seen down here and whether there was anything we could go back and grab to use for a bridge, but your plan is way better! Oh, hey, if we tie him in the middle of the rope one person or group will be here to pull him back, and then instead of having to try pushing him across again, the person or people on the other side could pull him too?"
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Massielo spends the time walking trying to understand the mutants. He asks some non invasive questions about who they are and how large the tunnels complex is. As the earthquakes start to be ever more present, Massielo comments "The pit has started another invasion on the surface. I doubt that is unrelated to these earthquakes."
Later, they come to the chasm and Selann comments on the scale. Massielo says "Good thinking, Selann. I guess mages do tend to think with magic, don't they? Let's put these scales to the test now, shall we?"
Selann grins at Massielo's reply, "Magic doesn't fix everything, but.... And since Greta's idea for the rope is even better than mine, maybe she and I can take the first ride across!?!"
Still grinning, Greta offers, "my mom is a sorceress, and she pretty much had to raise me alone, so I guess maybe I think a little bit like a mage. And I'd be glad to be a part of the first trip across, if you're sure it'll hold all three of? I can hold on to Massielo and to Selann to make sure nobody falls, and then when we get to the other side I'll have my hammer in case anything tries to attack us."
Benedic frowns, but he suggests: "Let us tie knots in the rope so that it will be easier for us to hold on while crossing. Then it should be possible for all of our party to traverse the divide."
Tristan walks up to the fissure. He looks down it. The Inquisitor says a quick prayer, focusing on rock from the ground. The mundane rock begins to glow with a pale light. The light fades from his shield. Tristan then kicks it over the edge.
While Massielo's passengers cling to him for dear life, he travels back and forth until everyone has made it across. What might have been a perilous climb down and back up is instead a series of short but uncomfortable embraces.
Safely across the chasm, the party continues its journey down the tunnel. After about 15 minutes, you can see the tunnel opening into another cavern. This time, Lann signals for you to wait. Whispering, he says "This cave ahead is one we try to avoid, but we don't have a choice. There's some kind of fungus monster in there, one we call a 'spore-cougher.' Normally, I don't think Dyra and I could take it on our own, especially with Crel hurt like he is. But with your group, I believe we would be able to defeat it and press on. If we're lucky, it is out hunting elsewhere and we won't have to deal with it at all. Let me know when you're ready."
"Oh I think I heard of this one! I was talking with this night hag in a," Junior pauses and considers his audience, "tavern in I think Katheer. Anyway she was talking about this fungus like the one you are describing and get this, there are people who harvest the spores. When you breathe it in you go on a magical adventure in your mind. Some people have a bad trip and go berserk though so I don't recommend going near it."
Junior scowls at the coin Fred, "She was too a night hag. She had the different colored eyes and everything."