The western slopes of Baile Ard give way to the northern ash pits - the wasted, dry earth of the pits stuffed with the ancient remains of a monstrous war.
Lethargic, your ashen guide crawls to the edge of the wide pits. With a small puff, it leaps in, joining countless other sad stories.
To your left, you see faint imprints in the ash. Someone--someone corporeal--has been here recently.
It takes some time for Phon to snap out of the reverie from the magic. While there wasn't anything wrong with it, her stomach retched.
I'm glad I have my helmet... She eventually came to.
"Maybe they aren't as equipped as we thought but with what is going on, they may not need a proper base." She worried for a moment before looking toward the floor, "Anywhere where an alchemy lab can be set up we can find our potential irregulars."
"There are some footprints here, but I don't know where they end and others begin..."
"Ash. I cannot say I care for the substance, much less tracking upon it. Phon Vos, I believe our best course it to follow these - see the ones that wander toward that ridge?"
"They may have more than one hide out. But we'll know when we see where they're holed up."
Osna look at the tracks with a puzzled eye. "You can follow these faint prints? Excellent! I'll keep an eye out while you lead us."
Osna keep looking around for movement or possible traps.
Unskilled at tracking, and not particularly observant, Samen instead takes to studying the remains of the age old conflict.
You make careful progress, making sure not to lose the pattern of footprints for even a moment. It takes about half a candle to traverse the ash to the far ridge. The footprints stop here, at a fissue in the stone. Osna can see the markings of tool use upon the rock, likely places for pitons and hooks to use with rope.
Osna closes on the fissure in the rock and peers down "It seems our quarry has burrowed down. Let's see where it goes", he mutters.
He kneels down and fishes out a climbing kit and sets a hook in the prepared nooks in the rock. Laying out 50' of silk rope, he gets ready to climb down.
"I propose to climb down first on my own and then message you back if it's safe. Use the rope after me but wait for the signal."
It's a little over forty feet down - you clamber down the rope as only a sylph can, and make the distance quickly. At the bottom, there is a single stone tunnel carved from the rock, small enough that you and your companions will have to crawl through on hands and knees.
This stone tunnel seems too perfect for elen hands - either magic or elemental-carven, perhaps.
Samen, as you are looking about some of the urn shards and broken pillars half-submerged in ash, you see a few striking symbols - all the markings in this part of the ashyard are protective in nature, specifically from efreeti and other creatures from the fire plan.
Osna climbs back up and emerges at the top of the fissure: "It's going down 40 feet then there's a tunnel we will have to crawl into. The tunnel looks too smooth to have been dug by elens. I think it was done by magic or by an elemental. I haven't been there yet but I'd prefer if we would all climb down first, then I'll scout the tunnel. What do you think?"
Wamblee shrugs. "It seems a sturdy plan. Do any of you have a spell to keep in communication even while Osna scouts? I've seen sylphs in the city that can do such things."
"No, but I figure a good solid scream will do the trick for most of our communication needs. You want to take up the rear, Wamblee?"
Wamblee nods. His eyes flick over to your distracted cousin Iniga, indicating he will also be watching out for her safety.
"I can use message, but I need to see you for that. Then we can whisper to each other. I'm afraid that's a poor second to what you are looking for."
Osna takes the lead down. Then when everyone is ready, he will crawl as stealthily as possible into the tunnel.
Phon worries about the tight tunnel and the darkness. It wasn't so much an issue with the earth around her, but she hated having to maneuver in her armour.
"I can prepare something but by the time They speak to me I doubt we will be in a need for it. Perhaps we should go with a yell." He fixes her helmet, "Osna, do not hesitate if it becomes too dire."
Crawling on hands and knees, you go about eighty feet down the tunnel and come to a split. Down the left path, you hear a hissing sound from far away, like steam escaping.
Iniga remarks absently, "The Lady seems very close, here."
Osna stops at the crossway and messages back to his companions: "About 100 feet in. Split tunnel. I hear steam to the left. I will move right. Can you come and check if you see tracks going to the left?"
Wamblee approaches, his tread light for a muscular oread. Rather than looking at the tunnel, he closes his eyes and listens with his feet, letting the stone speak to him instead.
He nods, and whispers. "Traces of ash still marking their bootprints. They came this way. Recently. And they have not come back yet."
Samen squeezes down the tunnel, not nearly as gracefully as Wamblee. There's no chance he could get a good swing of his staff down here, so strangely for an Oread, being surrounded in stone makes him feel vulnerable and weak.
"In that case, should we just collapse the tunnel and entomb them? Or do you suppose they've got another exit plan for that contingency?"
"I think that they would. We are attempting subtlety first."
"Let us follow them down." She knows that combat might be coming up and prays for divine favour as she waits on Osna, nodding as his reports come in and Samen and Wamblee head down.
"This place, it makes me uncomfortable." She could see in the dark, but not nearly as well as she could while in the water, and it made her feel inadequate. "I will keep an eye on the flank."
Osna doubles back from the right tunnel and starts his way down the left tunnel towards the hissing sound.
"Thanks for spotting the tracks. Let's keep the same mode of operation. And I agree they're likely to have another tunnel. Collapses could happen and trap them in if they don't."
You see no traps, but you catch a small, wiggling movement out of the corner of your vision - a tiny red snake no bigger than your pinky finger, with a single cyclopean eye.
"Small red worm, pinky sized, single eye in front."
With a flick of his wrist, Osna draw the dagger hidden in one of his sleeves in case he decides to skewer the worm.
Some kind of minor fire-related creature, obviously weak and not much of a threat. Could be surveillance of some kind, or an alarm?
Worm?
Phon had no idea what it was, if she was able to see it though she could ask for guidance about it.
"Be careful if you aren't sure what it is Osna..."
"Wait for me, I'll bypass it and look further down. It you think it's ok, take it down."
Osna suddenly disappear.
You see a few more worms, then you hear a bellow of anger (odd sounding, but could just be the reverbations of the tunnel) from down the tunnel, just around a bend. Maybe another thirty feet around the corner, judging from the sound.
Samen creeps forward, ready to do whatever he can to help in these cramped quarters.
Why couldn't their hideout have been in a nice mansion?
"More worms and a strange sound like a roar. Do you know what those worms are?"
Osna moves to the bend and peers around it.
"If there is yelling or roaring, something must be happening. Ee must act decisively. We cannot allow these dangerous elens to continue their plans."
Wamblee expresses his opinion, but does not make the final decision, as is his wont.
Your first glimpse is this: a terrified ifrit on his knees, hands held in supplication out to someone unseen (presumably the source of the bellowing sound) who is still blocked by the tunnel in your current position.
"Please my lord! We have more, I did not mean to insult you!"
A tense silence follows his words.
Osna moves forwards once more, timing his advance to cover the noise of his footsteps with the sound of the confrontation ahead.
You see a huge snake, larger than elen-sized, its bulk making the chamber seem cramped. Malevolent intelligence gleams in its yellow-amber eyes. The snake-thing speaks in garbled Common, hissing and yelling, "Only one white potion?! I will kill you for this insolence!" It makes ugly sounds of frustration.
Huge snake. It wants potion. One Ifrit kneeling. Come quickly.
Osna whispers and calls for reinforcemement, drawing his gladius in one hand and palming a scroll in the other hand
Phon Vos and Samen, you notice a few more of the tiny crawly snakes wriggling about your part of the tunnel, singular eyes watching stupidly.
At Osna's command, Samen jumps forward to come to his aid.
Phon stands back, her heavy armour was not good for keeping her presence unknown. "I will move in once you're both in position. I might be loud, but I am not slow."
Osna, you have a profile view of the snake, from the right side. Now from the creature's left, previously unseen, a second snake's head whips around and looks toward the tunnel, toward the sound of Samen's attempts at stealth.
"We heardsssomething."
Still invisible, Osna casts mirror image creating invisible images then steps 5 feet to be in contact with the snake.