Gofran accepts his badge and holds the pouch of coins, counting them not because he is suspicious of anything, but because he wants to confirm that everything was done as agreed. He offers his hand to the councilmembers. "It vas a pleasurre vorrkin' forr Brreachill. Ye verre trrue to yerr vorrd and so verre ve, so I believe many otherr contrracts could be made betveen us."
He looks towards the others. "I can not speak forr all of us, but I'm interrested in this other contrract."
Karana smiles at the prospect of another job.
“I do not have other plans. I will gladly accept this next assignment.”
She is attempting to subdue her giddiness as she looks for just the right place to affix her hero medal.
"I Agree." Bea says too quickly. The curiosity about the portal is too delicious to not explore, and she could never do so on her own, so it quite delighted the others are agreeing as well.
Amaya accepts the badge, a little wide-eyed as she examines it, but she turns her attention back to the conversation. "I believe that this is where I'm to be, so if I can be of use to Breachill, and those with me, I will continue to do so."
In Bea's eagerness about the portal, she had forgotten about what she had just accomplished. Her eyes look up at the medal, Her Medal. Making her as Hero! She reverently runs her fingers across the copper, with almost a childlike smile of awe. "Thank you" she says softly to the elders, slipping it into her pocket.
Sharing Bea's excitement, Beau too quickly agrees with the proposition that their group return to the citadel and continue their investigations. "But of course!" And like the gnome, he too spends a moment worshipping the coin before slipping it into one of his coat's many pockets.
"Maybe we should invest some of our well-earned into some proper tools and equipment. That, and bear food."
"…and bear food."
“We bring ourselves,” Karana says with a smile.
"For equipment, Quarters and Bits should have what you're looking for, and any of our taverns can put together some provisions for you," offers Quentino Posandi, one of the councillors.
Beau chuckles and flashes Karana a cheeky grin. "Unless you're an odd variant on a root, you won't do, Karana. You'd be surprised how little meat they eat - they mostly eat plants!"
"It is agreed, then." Greta Gardania makes a note in a ledger. "The five... six?" she gives Kyrie a questioning look, "of you will investigate the lower level of Citadel Altaerein, neutralizing any threats to Breachill that you might find therein, with the purpose of uncovering the source of the dragon-like creatures. For this, the payment shall be thirty gold coins."
If no-one raises any objections or has questions, Greta Gardania shakes everyone's hand and wishes the freshly minted Heroes of Breachill good fortune in their new adventure.
The warm, sunny morning heralds another scorching day, so re-provisioning and additional purchases are made in a hurry before heading towards the north gate again, and the road to the former Hellknight fortress.
Kyrie nods. She took for granted her participation was assumed. ”I will be going back, yes. I do not consider my contract fulfilled, so my previous commitment still stands.”
After the group splits up the earnings and loot, Amaya will see if anyone would like to make use of the bottled lightning that they received before selling it to Quarters and Bits.
She is happy to be back on the road again, despite the destination, and hums a pleasant little tune to herself while walking.
Karana does not think she would be a decisive shopper, so she will gladly put that off until next pay day.
As for the bear, she says, “I will gladly forage on the way. Perhaps fresh berries will help me take Big Bumble.”
Karana finds a whole bramble of blackberries growing in a shaded crevasse in the cliff face.
The journey is a little faster than yesterday as it isn't as hot yet, and soon the group finds themselves in front of the hidden entrance that Helba had shown them.
"Come Beau, lets check this place beforre the otherrs come." Gofran asks.
Kyrie moves near the front, behind Gofran. ”I must be near the front to help protect all of you. ‘I am first into battle and the last to leave it’ is a tenet of Iomedae’s paladin code. I think I do not need to be literally first. I do not think I should be in the rear, though.”
"I, eh, oh, never mind!", Beau responds to Gofran as Kyrie answers the call of duty. "I'll be in the back, holding a torch and making sure we don't miss any secret doors, Gofran!"
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Karana gives Beau a guilty blackberry grin as he moves to the back of the line, catching her in the act of secret eating.
“I had to make sure they were fresh before offering these to a strange bear. The dozen and a half I sampled are deemed safe. And delicious!” She offers to Beau, “Um… fresh blackberry? Be warned; you cannot stop at just one. It is impossible.”
She blushes, knowing full well she herself could have stopped at ten.
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Kyrie takes one and eats it. ”I am stopping now. I have made the impossible possible.” She smiles but keeps her tone deadpan. ”I would have eaten more if you had not said anything. I think this means you made the impossible possible, by logical extension.”
"I'll take the rear as well, as much as I'd like to be the first through, your plan has wisdom." The armiger has been unusually quiet during the trek to the citadel, and this is the first time he's spoken since joining the group outside the town hall earlier this morning.
The hidden door opens onto a narrow, twisted stairway that descends into darkness. The coolness is welcome at first, but the temperature drops to downright chilly by the time the bottom is reached. The rough stone walls, stained with lichen and moss, weep with moisture in places. The steps are uneven, but the torch carried by Beau provides sufficient illumination that no-one trips or slips, fortunately.
At the bottom of the stairs there is a narrow passage that ends into solid-looking wooden door reinforced with strips of iron, the metal pitted with rust in places.
Karana looks even more guilty. She says to Kyrie, “My words could be a trick so all of you prove me wrong, and as a result, there are more berries for me. I am no trickster, but I do love fresh fruit. Maybe on a subconscious level, I…”
To stop her own babbling, Karana eats two more blackberries.
“Twenty. Nice round number.”
"I hope you do know that this mean that if the bear happens to be grumpy at the lack of berries, you'll be the one having to explain it to him, right?", Bojas says with a deadpan voice. A second later he bursts into a smile and seizes the moment to steal a berry, somehow, with both hands occupied with sword and torch.
"Ok, let's make sure we have enough light. Gofran, you can see in the dark, right? If so, let's try and make sure our light doesn't interfere with his scouting ... unless ...", and he eyes Kyrie, weighing his words before continuing on. "Unless we trust in Iomedae's protection and steadily march on?"
Kyrie steps back from the front temporarily to let Beau search for traps easier. She thoughtfully considers Karana and whether there could be any truth to her statement. She finally shakes her head. ”I do not think you would use such underhanded tactics.” She smiles again as a rather corny thought occurs to her. ”I think that if you like them that much, you must think they taste berry good.” She knows that the pun is just silly and a little childish, but she does not care. An earnest pun always amuses her, a joke that everyone can feel in on and that hurts nobody.
She glances towards Beau at his mention of the Inheritor. ”I trust in The Inheritor. She says we should trust in our allies. I do not wish to cause any issues with the light for anyone.”
Amaya was enjoying the trek back to the citadel, and the company of friends. Once they get down into the underground, in the dark and cold basement, her countenance is less cheery. She does take at least a little bit of solace from the moisture on the walls; a small comfort of familiarity.
She steals one of the blackberries on their way by and a look of pure bliss washes over her face, gloomy basement forgotten for a moment.
Bea sighs as she is assigned to the middle of the group. No, she doesn't want to be in front, soft and squishy is she, but with everyone so much taller all she ends up seeing is Them.
On the topic of light, she thinks "Hmmm.... I can cast light on something you can hold, maybe in your shield hand, Kyrie, that way Gofran won't be hampered and you'd have it ready in case things 'Happen'." she stresses Happen, in a way that she knows that they all know that something will of course Happen.
She slips a berry into the satchel so Matilda can try one, an unpleasant wiggling is seen shaking the bag a moment later, signalling that it is not to her liking. Bea disagrees as she pops another in her mouth.
Karana giggles at the pun, and assures Beau she will stop at two dozen. Though 25 is a nice round number, and only one more.
Once Beau has checked the door, Gofran opens it and peeks inside, trying to do so as quietly as possible.
Bea shifts her senses to the arcane and keeps a Feeling out for anything dangerous (and interesting) in that realm.
The door opens with a soft scrape, revealing a wide stone hallway shrouded in darkness. Three corridors branch off at an angle to the north, and three to the south. In the middle of the hallway Gofran spots two huge birds with long tails, who seem not to have noticed the intrusion just yet as they peck disconsolately at the walls.
Gofran gestures for the others to wait as he tries to discover what creatures these birds are "Some big birrds ahead... strrange." he whispers to them.
Bera cannot see a thing, through legs and torsos so stands patiently, rocking from heel to toe.
Gofran cannot recall what kind of birds these are, but they certainly look out of place in the dark stone corridors of a Hellknight citadel.
Gofran frowns. "This is not rright. Vhy vould birrds this big be herre underrgrround? This looks a trrap, orr somethin' like that" He turns to Karana. "Can ye talk to 'em?"
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“I will need a minute, if you please.” Karana steps up and tries to calm the birds.
Seeing Karana step forward without fear in an attempt to pacify the creatures causes Beau's breath to get stuck in his throat. For now, he waits, but he's ready to shoot forward and come to Karana's aid if it goes south.
Amaya places a comforting hand on Bea's head, and gives the halfling a warm smile when she looks up.
As Karana steps into the hallway and approaches the birds, their heads whip up and they begin to spread their wings in a threatening display. It quickly becomes clear to the druid that, unlike herself, these birds cannot see in the dark and they are quite on edge.
Still, with soothing sounds, she manages to pacify them to a degree - which is good, given their sharp-looking beaks. As she moves closer, she notices a curious thing - their very long tail feathers make a scraping sound as they drag along the floor - certainly not a sound that feathers should make.
The birds are now merely cranky, rather than outright hostile.
Bea looks up a little startled but calm as the warm smile, and nods, settling down.
Karana reports her findings and says, “I will get a better look at the tails. I do not need a light spell. I do not recommend one, as it may startle the birds.”
She tries to get a better look at the tails, hoping to understand the odd scraping sound.
The two birds fluff up their feathers threateningly when Karana approaches to inspect their tails, and they snatch them out of the way, but the druid still manages to get a glimpse of what is hiding among the luxuriant plumes - long, whiplike blades of serrated bone.
Karana can see she is barely able to keep these dangerous creatures from attacking.
She says to the others, “I suggest we try to slip by. If you must cast a light spell, please cast it outside so the change in light is gradual. I will attempt to keep the birds calm as you pass, and though I invite you to exit alongside me, Kyrie… I must be the last to leave.”
Let my friends pass, she thinks as she tried to keep the birds calm.
As the group prepares to descend, Warbal and Helba approach, the former clutching something.
"We are very happy that you are helping us get back our home. We don't know everything that is there, but we will share what we know. To the left is our home, and Big Bumble. To the right are dead things. Ahead are monsters." Helba motions to Warbal, who offers the thing they are clutching - a crudely drawn map.
"Dead things... those must be the crypts," muses Alak.
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There is much posturing, clicking of beaks and flapping of wings as the rest of the party files into the hallway, but the birds do not attack.
Bea casts light on a piece of chalk, wiggles her way through to the steel knight, and hands it to Kyrie "You can hold it in your shield hand, pointed down so you can see your steps but not mess with the ones who can see in the dark. And if we get into a fight you can throw it in the room so we can all see!" the gnome says enthusiastically. Bea loves magic, even the little things.
"Delaying more just makes the bear more hungry, right? So we go left here?" Bea points at the map the goblins gave them, to the first door to the north, tracing her finger from that room to the next to the east, then north to the bear.
The gold-hungry hunter in Beau clamors for him to take out the exotic beasts. The tales he could spin at the tables of Breachill's taverns and inns to get free drinks! Oh, the gold he'd get for the feathers to buy drinks! And some books, right, and some books. But perhaps Karana is right. Isn't there value to be found in harmony? Even if it means bowing your head, doing everything to avoid provoking the birds, and moving on past them, knowing well that if they have to run, they'll eh, yeah - about that ...
"Other than the bear, our first focus should be to find another way out. After all, we can't run past these birds when we find ourselves outmatched and outnumbered by whatever might lurk these corridors."
The first northern passageway goes on for about fifteen feet, after which it angles northward for another fifteen, terminating in a closed door.
Bea will focus her energy on detecting magic on the door.
Amaya tries her best to only glance at the birds from her peripheral vision, but it's hard. Despite their aggression, the birds' plumage looks absolutely stunning.
"What would such creatures even be doing down here? They certainly don't look like any bird that I've ever seen."
Gofran points to the tails. "I bet they verre placed herre as some sorrt o' alarrm. Imagine the sound o' those tails strrikin' against stone and the shrrieks o' attack they might make..."
Gofran opens the door, once it is clear it is neither trapped, nor locked.
Kyrie nods at Gofran’s logic. ”I think it is also possible that these creatures wandered in. I think there may be some connection to another climate down here. I noticed we have seen multiple types of creatures not native to here.” She follows right after Gofran.