The wolf sighs, "It's happened more than once. And I do know, but I can't speak of it... other than to say you won't enjoy learning for yourself."
"My My, How delightfully cryptic." Merlan observes aloud with a grin.
(It is getting really hard to tell if the little wizard is being sincere or sarcastic. They sound so similar.)
"One wonders WHY you can't speak of it. Is it a GEAS? Or another such powerful Charm?" Merlan asks the wolf.
"I mean, I for one LIKE learning about new things. Sure it's not always as much fun as it could be, but,..."
He seems to be winding up to another full-frontal-Merlan-diatribe-of-questions. (MAYBE not the best idea, since the wolf seems to be tired of chatting already?)
Sahar makes a moue of disappointment. "I, for one, don't want to go in without resting and recharging - if we even go in. For me, the immediate decision is easy. Rest for the night. We know where it is now. Can anybody set an alarm on this place, so we know if someone else tries to enter?"
Costin addresses the wolf. ”We will be making our camp nearby. If we do so at a suitable distance, will our truce endure? We don’t need to intrude upon your den.”
The wolf growls, "Approach no closer, and hunt no creatures here, and I will ensure that the beasts and trees watch over your sleep, so you're well rested to make your leave."
"Sounds fair to me!" Merlan chips in cheerfully.
"We uh, may need to rough it tonight. I don't think we wanna offend anyone with a fire." He advises the others 'Sotto Voice'.
Squeaks just rolls his reptilian eyes from his perch on the hat.
Costin nods with agreement as he helps look for a suitable site to camp.
The ground is flat, and so the biggest challenge is laying out your bedrolls without having a stone or root that you didn't notice in the grass underneath.
After eating cold rations, (And surprisingly providing no complaints about it), The halfling rolls out his bedroll, and leans up against his trusty riding steed, nice and snug and warm.
”I still think we should set watches. In case the wolf misses something, you know. Or needs a nap.”
Fiona nods in agreement with Costin, volunteering to take the midnight watch.
"MmmHmm,... Souns' guud. Wake me in ,... Zzzzzzz"
The party sets watches and sets up camp for a cold meal. The night is cool without a fire -- but not so much that a bedroll and cloak aren't enough to keep you comfortable.
Your volunteer sentries find themselves with gooseflesh for most of their shift -- though that has far less to do with the chill of the night air, and far more from the unnerving feeling of being watched constantly by dozens of eyes in the dark -- small animals in the grass or in trees, birds, and other creatures that you can feel but never quite see as they dwell in the shadows --- a bit of movement here, the reflection of moonlight in an eye there.
Worse, for the first two shifts of your watch, the awakened direwolf walks around -- and past your camp -- frequently, as if he's probing it --- or, at least, your limitations.
He returns just as the the slight violet-pink hue of sunrise begins at the horizon, blood matted in his fur, and his lips curled in a snarl, "Clumsy fools, leaving behind a trail even a noseless cub could follow... and someone has. We drove off the painful little monster, though as he sped away faster than the hawk could fly, he asked us to tell you to take as long as you need, and that he'd fix things in town while you were gone."
He growls, "We kept our deal, we kept you safe. It's time for you to keep yours, and begone."
Merlan stretches as he digests the wolfs' words.
"Huh. 'Painful little monster'? That's the NICEST thing that little <some word in a language most dont understand, but sounds naughty> has been called in a long time."
Merlan rises and obediently begins packing his bedroll.
"Swell. THAT little pain-in-the-posterior is getting too big for his britches. I guess we'll have to go back and fix whatever hornets' nest he stirs up. Again. Not that mr-grumpy-pants or his cronies will care." Merlan sounds positively grumpy himself. Although from his smiles at Squeaks and head-scratches for 'Tiny' you'd be hard-pressed to tell.
The Wizard mounts his mighty canine steed, and doffs his hat to the wolf, (after making sure that Squeaks has launched himself into the air, first!)
"Thank you for the restful reprise Master Wolf. May you and yours have a pleasant day. WE'RE off to tame a cave! If you'd like, we can tell you about it when we return?"
"We should leave for now. Half the town hates us, the orcs all hate us, we should not be making more enemies."
Merlan blinks, and looks at Eloen, slightly confused.
"Yes. But, If we solve the issue of the cave for Mr Wolf and his friends, who have already admitted they dont want to tangle with,... whatever is in there,... I would imagine they would be grateful? I mean, maybe not throw a party for us or anything. But I can hardly imagine that would make us their enemies?"
"That's up to our host. His territory."
The wolf laughs, "Oh, I know what's in the cave, and it's no enemy to me. So, your option is to leave, or go die in the cave. Either way, I have wounded and would rather deal with them than you."
Merlan perks up.
"Wait, wounded?! You never mentioned that. Perhaps we could help? We HAVE had rather a lot of practice dressing wounds recently."
"Was it that annoying Quickling? Or something more native to the area? Or one of the interminable bands of Orcs perhaps?"
The wolf growls, "We'll be fine. Better when you leave, especially since the little speedy monster is your problem and ceases to be mine."
"Ah. Yes. I understand. And I promise to add a good thrashing to the list of punishments that particular pest has coming to it, for your troubles."
Merlan nods respectfully to Mr Wolf, and nudges Tiny into motion. The riding pair slowly begins leaving the area. (Tiny noticeably relieved to be putting distance between his furry self and Mr Wolf.)
Moving More or less directly towards the cave,...
Merlan and the group start to move toward the cave, and the wolf makes a sound that can only be described as an exasperated sigh before lying on its paws.
Despite the fact you're moving toward a rock face, the vegetation actually thickens as you approach the cave -- grasses, small bushes and even a number of rather anemic-looking trees that are maybe as thick as your forearm and no taller than Fiona. The rock itself is covered with lichen, vines and mosses - many of which are flowering, giving you specs of blood-reds and violets against a grey and yellow-green background.
You all feel watched, and the rustling in the grasses only adds to that -- as if a host of tiny creatures are following just out of sight (reinforced by an occasional glimpse that you do get -- and the reaction of the mounts that can smell them). When you're about 50 feet from the cave, the sound in the grass seems to stop -- as if the creatures have come to a collective decision to stop following.
The opening of the cave is visible to you, but dark -- almost as if the sunlight can't penetrate the cave (though curtains of moss and vines are a likely culprit) -- and only here do you realize that the vines seem to be growing through, or out of, what appear to be orcish skulls -- with the flowers emerging from the open eye sockets and mouths.
Eloen holds up a hand before you get to the mouth of the cave, her trained eyes seeing a number of glyphs inscribed into stones that are all-but hidden in the grass.... and a pair on the cave mouth as well.
The three leading up to the cave are well-hidden glyphs of warding. They all seem to be blast runes - sonic, you think. The ones on the cave itself are a little harder to make out from the distance, but you don't think they're simple blasts.
The elf pauses, then scooches back slightly away from the entrance. In a low voice she says to the team, "Someone has festooned this place with magical traps. Merlan, do you have a spell that erases magical glyphs? Otherwise I have to figure out how to discharge them harmlessly, and erring on even one could be painful."
"Certainly looks like a druid's lair," Costin says, taking in the scene with awe.
"MAgical traps? COOL!" The short wizard stands up in his stirrups in order to get a better view.
Then, realizing the looks on his companions faces means they MIGHT not see how exciting that really is, he coughs lightly and slowly sits back down in his saddle.
"Ah, I mean, what a waste of magical resources. Yeah. That's it."
Merlan pulls back out his traveling tomes and begins flipping through them again.
"Let me see,... I was going to swap out a couple of spells anyway. I don't imagine Fiona'd thank me if I Enlarge'd her in the middle of a cave. Um,... No,... I don't think so. I never saw the need to scribe 'Erase' in my book. I prefer to write things down, not erase them. I MAY need to reconsider that opinion."
"Hmph. let me see if I can tell what we're dealing with here."
Merlan quickly whispers his Detection charm and waves a hand over his eyes. He then stares at the cave entrance with eyes comically wide.
Sahar frowns at the entryway. "Can we trigger them from a distance. Throw rocks, or alchemists fire, or... I don't know... arrows at them from a place of safety?"
She shrugs. Arcane magic. It's always trouble. Magic sanctioned by the gods, now, that's the thing.
Sahar frowns at the entryway. "Can we trigger them from a distance. Throw rocks, or alchemists fire, or... I don't know... arrows at them from a place of safety?"
She shrugs. Arcane magic. It's always trouble. Magic sanctioned by the gods, now, that's the thing.
"Hard to say," says Eloen. "I think they are glyph-traps, which means they can have magical trigger conditions and I have no way of knowing in advance what those are. Usually those traps are triggered when a creature touches them, but there can be other conditions. In a pinch maybe Merlan could magically summon some creatures and tell them to move into the cave entrance to make the glyphs fire, but if the glyph-creator was clever it might be something like 'Detonate when any creature that doesn't speak the password comes within range, not including magically summoned creatures.'"
The elf pauses to reflect for a moment, her eyes rolling upward as she thinks, and she adds, "I don't even know if that would work. Not sure how much sensory apparatus glyphs have."
Merlan steps forward and casts detect magic, and is quickly rewarded with a ping -- no, several. Taking a moment to focus, he is able to sense seven distinct patterns -- none of which seem terribly strong... not even moderately so.
The three Eloen indicated on the cave are all Abjuration, with an associated Evocation -- they're all identical.
The two Eloen noted on the mouth of the cave are the same abjuration, but these are linked to a conjuration (summoning) spell.
There is also an evocation spell just inside the cave, and a necromancy spell on the skull nearest to the cave.
Merlan lets loose a low whistle.
"Nice spellwork. You have to appreciate good Art." The halfling says with sincerity.
"I see seven auras. I think that they are all Abjurations, erm, Glyphs of Warding, Just as Eloen said. Not that strong really. Below average strength for even a moderately experienced caster. I see three Evocations, two Conjuration, another Evocation just inside the cave, and a necromantic spell on that skull nearest to the entrance." Merlan says, pointing them out as he names them.
Still staring wide-eyed at the cave with the focus of his detection charm, Merlan 'Hmmms' thoughtfully.
I could identify the exact spells if we want to spend the time. But a simple Erase spell should eradicate them. Or an area Dispel. Piece of cake!"
"If I only had either of those in my spellbooks,..."
"Seven? A nice arrangement to deplete the mage who comes with no scrolls or trigger words to disarm them."
”Without the magic to overcome these, we either set them off or come back later. I don’t particularly like either option,” Costin says, furrowing his brow.
"Well, we could always set them off deliberately. They may be sensitive enough to be triggered by nearby motion. Like a thrown boot. Or a tiny rodent. Which would explain the sudden absence of our minute escorts. Merely throwing things at them from a "Safe" distance may do the trick."
"Of course, it could also alert every unfriendly being within 10 miles that we have found and entered the protected cave, too."
"Might as well try. Sahar's suggestion of just throwing rocks at it has the virtue that rocks are cheap."
"Might as well try. Sahar's suggestion of just throwing rocks at it has the virtue that rocks are cheap."
"And fun!" Merlan adds cheerfully as he slides from Tiny's saddle.
Fiona listens to the back and forth quietly, but a thoughtful frown crosses her face as Merlan dismounts. "If we destroy the protections of this place, it could put the owner in danger. We're not enemies... do we really want to just barge in here?" She pauses a moment, pondering. "Maybe we leave a message that we'd like to talk, and come back?"
”That may be wise. We have made enough enemies,” Costin muses.
"Awww,..." Merlan actually kicks at a small stone.
"I mean, I don't wanna tick anyone off, more than we already have anyway, But,... I mean, it's a mysterious CAVE! Protected by magical defenses! How COOL is that?!? And magical defenses means something worth protecting! We aren't talking some simple 'Alarm' spell on your house to discourage random burglars! We're talking actual intricate if not all that high-powered mystical defenses! I don't only wanna see what they're protecting, Although I REELY do wanna see that! but I want to meet the being responsible! We have so much in common already! We could be spell-buddies!!"
Merlan looks around at his companions faces. He makes an actual attempt to contain himself. You can see the struggle.
"But, I mean,... You know,... Whatever you guys think is best. I guess. I mean, it isn't like Fiona saw the cave on a map or something, which means that the Orcs probably already know about it too,... or anything."
Sahar shoots a speculative look at the diminutive mage. "Can you put down a few more glyphs like that? Or anyone else?" Her gaze ranges to the ranger and witch. "If we're going to leave, maybe we could protect the place even more. With mundane traps, if no magic is available."
"Adding more hazards could endanger the occupant of this cave. That's not likely to endear us to them," Costin says. "I think Fiona has the right of it. Let's leave a note!"
"I have chalk. We just need to make sure it's written in a place that is clearly visible and not likely to be washed away by rain."
He looks to see if there is such a place near the cave entrance.
Eloen thinks for a moment, then says, "So once we leave the cave, what's our next goal? This was going to be our big attempt to find something to do to help us out, so I don't know what we're going to do next."
Merlan taps his chubby chin thoughtfully.
"Hm. Mr Wolf says he knows what is in there, and it is not a threat to him? SO maybe it is not a threat to us? I mean, if it kills orcs and such, it is obviously powerful. But it may have just been reacting to hostility, just like we would. Mayhap we can negotiate with it? As exciting as it is to charge into the unknown, blades swinging and spells blazing, there ARE alternatives to fighting. Just a sec."
Without warning, Merlan steps forward closer to the cave.
Not TOO close, he is well aware of what the spell traps range is, and what they might do to him.
(And while he didn't find their auras particularly powerful, he's not willing to risk his freshly-rested self's life on it!)
The halfling puts his hands up to his mouth like a megaphone,
Merlan approaches the cave, stopping about 30' away to avoid the glyphs and calls out. Nothing seems to happen in response, though the wolf's head is raised, and he looks at the cave mouth, and then back at the halfling, and then to the cave again, his tension clear.
A loud voice snarls, Then, a few heartbeat later, the same voice adds, "Unless you bring koláčiky."
Fiona raises an eyebrow at the response, then glances over at the wolf, the question in her eyes clear.
Sahar's jaw drops, and she gently prods the side of her head, to be sure it's fastened securely.
"A new era in adventuring. Talk everything to death," she remarks quietly to Sharisa.
She considers the loquacious halfling for a moment. "Could work."
Merlan almost jumps out of his shoes,
(Fortunately, as a Halfling, shoes are not a requirement. And indeed he is usually far more comfortable not wearing any, save in times of battle or rugged terrain.)
The wizard looks back to the others, and blinks owlishly.
"Well. THAT worked better than I expected!"