Merixia has no idea what the dark elf just said, and frankly she doesn’t care. Millorn hurt her comrades even though they were trying to be merciful. Well, it’s time to emulate her patron and deliver some vengeance.
The cleric steps forward and brings her enlarged sword down on the dwarf!
As the small dart flies just past him and Verene inexplicably crumples to the ground, Thamyris bursts into terrified flight from her shoulder, voicing his piercing whistle of danger! over and over. Seeing the elf and, more importantly, the snake just ten feet away, his cries become even more frantic and he drops down to her on the ground, tugging at her hair with his beak, pecking her ear, and flying over her unresponsive head in small frenzied circles. "Wake up! Hungry-threat! 'REEN WAKE UP!"
If you guys want to have your characters know more, I'd ask for Knowledge (local) rolls.
With Verene now crumpled on the ground beside Thesius, Elyda heard but could not understand the words spoken by the dark-skinned elf woman. She bent down and picked up the dropped dagger Millorn had been wielding with her off hand, so the dwarf could not get his hands on it, again. Then taking a 5ft step down, the young inquisitor's eyes continued to contemplate the creature, attempting to determine what she knew of its abilities/strengths and weaknesses.
"Merixia! Wait, wait!" Elliot calls out to her, flinching when her enlarged broadsword cleaves far into the ground just inches from his face. "This elf says the dwarf belongs to them. If the plan is to kill him in revenge, I'd say we give him to her instead. Probably a much more painful death? We can't go and picking too many fights we don't have to do!"
He turns and talks to the woman in Elven.
"If we give him to you, will you tell us where to find 'them'? He motions to the statues of the crusaders. "Not the ones on the surface. The ones down here."
Elliot is given brief pause by the sudden change in the battlefield, which allows Elyda to snag Millorn's knife and study the woman.
Her presence here would imply that the group is far deeper underground than should be possible, or that the drow - infamous for demon worship, now that she thinks on it - are invested in the Worldwound.
Merixia slashes at the blurred dwarf, her blade coming crashing down on where she thinks his head should be, but despite both his blindness and his stillness, his spell distorts his outline just enough that the blade instead sparks off the ground.
At Elliot's question, she turns to face him. At her feet, a cave viper hisses, making its presence known for the first time.
From behind, the group hears Aravashnial's voice as Anevia helps him into the cavern. "No! Make no bargains with them!" He switches to Elven, and the two exchange words - taunts, clearly, though the mage seems more serene than the drow woman.
"Blind as well as cowardly. You shall be the first to die."
"No." Aravashnial says coldly.
"Be ready. She may have allies." He says, before beginning to draw symbols in the air with his staff, chanting.
"What, more?" Anevia staggers up into the cavern, her bow in one hand and her glowing crutch in the other. Letting the latter drop to the ground and casting dancing shadows across the area, she draws an arrow and fires it at the drow woman. Unfortunately, the white-haired elf dodges the shot, her expression hardening.
Millorn remains where he is, dizzied and unable to move, though there are hints he is recovering now as his fingers twitch and he begins to wave his hands blindly about. The dark elf woman is much more active, though, reloading her hand crossbow and firing it at Merixia. It soars through the air and strikes her in her neck. Fortunately, the relatively small dart doesn't lodge itself too deeply into her skin, but it does sting like Hell .
"Oh crap. Oh crap! What do I do!?" Elliot frantically thought, in what seemed like a good repeat of half a day or so ago. No spells he could use, a seemingly critical situation with two allies down, and his attempt to talk down the drow has just been thrown out the window.
He looks down at the prone dwarf and kneels, hoping this next action wouldn't accidentally get him cleaved in two by Merixia's massive sword...
Since the dagger seemed to be his main weapon and Elyda had it already, Elliot makes use of the chaos to quickly grab something else from the dwarf while he was both immobile and couldn't see. Preferably something valuable, preferably his spellbook if he had one.
"Okay, 'Millorn'. Listen to me, and listen *very* carefully..." He cracks his neck and knuckles for added dramatic effect. "As you can see, or well, no longer see, I am a g**!$*n magician , and I just borrowed this shiny thing from you to keep it safe! But if you keep fighting us instead of fending the drow that are here now to capture you , I'm gonna make it disappear so thoroughly up your ass that not even my master can magic it back out!"
...He also takes a few steps backward and to the right. Just in case. Tough guys also withdrew just after threatening someone, right?
Scowling at the drow, Merixia plucks the dart out of her neck and tosses it in the opposite direction. Tempting though it is to finish Millorn off before he regains his senses, if they're fighting the drow, it's more important to get Thesius back on his feet. Hopefully Elyda will take care of the insane dwarf. Merixia crouches down and reaches forward to touch the half-elf's arm, reciting the familiar spell of healing.
====
"Be ready. She may have allies." He says, before beginning to draw symbols in the air with his staff, chanting.
Summoned allies will be a boon, she mused inwardly.
With one last glance at the drow woman, Elyda took a 5ft step back and attacked the prone, demented dwarf for he appeared to be important to the drow woman and Aravashnial warned them to make no deals with her. Millorn was once an innocent, but now he appeared to be a present and future danger to them, and, it would not be wise to let him live and be taken by the drow.
===
Elliot (only just) manages to snatch a scroll from the dwarf's belt, then winces as the stench hits him. Getting close to the mad wizard may have been a mistake. Millorn, for his part, spits foully at the arcanist, presumably cursing him in Dwarven.
Fortunately, it is a mistake that is soon rendered void by Elyda, who slashes with her longsword, the fury of Iomedae filling her, and striking the dwarf down. Blood arcs away from his neck, glinting darkly in the magical light of Anevia's fallen crutch. Millorn's body crashes to the ground heavily, and the dark elf woman growls irritably.
Merixia reaches out, her arms stretching considerably farther than they otherwise would've, and she invokes the healing powers of Ragathiel to restore her fallen companion. Thesius is pulled back into the dark and the pain of the mortal world once more.
Meanwhile, Aravashnial's spell flares to life with a burst of song as an enormous bat that glows faintly with the power of Elysium bursts into life. "The drow woman. Strike her!" He growls, and the bat soars forwards to oblige. Its fangs blaze with holy power, and it snaps its wings, lunging at her. With a horrific shriek, it tears her throat out, blood spurting wildly and splattering all over its wings. She chokes for a few moments, before it bites her again, finishing her off.
Her serpentine pet (familiar?) blurs away into the shadows, apparently disinterested in pursuing the fight further.
In the sudden silence, Horgus steps into the room, looking around, his lips twisted in disgust, but before he can speak, Anevia grunts. She throws her bow across her back, grabbing her crutch again. "Is Verene alright?" She asks.
Merixia relaxes slightly as Elyda beheads their dwarven enemy. One less to worry about. Just as she's about to stand up, Aravashnial's giant bat soars over the cleric's head. She turns to look just in time to see it rip the drow's throat out! "Wow. That's one way to solve the problem. Nice spell, Aravashnial. Good work, Elyda."
Enemies are sorted out, now it's time to see to Verene. Merixia carefully removes the dart from her neck and gives her a thorough examination. She suspects poison, because that's why people usually use darts, but she has to make sure. A quick spell helps her focus on the task at hand.
Not only is Merixia positive that it is poison, she's certain that the poison isn't lethal - it seems more likely to be used for capturing prisoners. That said, she's fortunate to have gotten here so quickly, because otherwise it might not wear off for hours. As things stand, she can offer some treatment - which she promptly does, draining what poison she can with her mouth and spitting it out, and using what tools she has in her healing kit to do so.
Once she's removed what poison she can, the cleric sits back with a sigh. "Definitely poison, nonlethal though." Merixia lays a hand on Verene's chest and calls forth a fragment of Ragathiel's power, helping to bolster the woman's strength. "It's the sort that people use to capture prisoners. Hopefully I've removed enough of it that she'll wake up shortly, as opposed to in a few hours."
"So, Aravashnial!" She claps her hands together and looks over at the elf. "Talk to us. Who is- or was- Millorn? You reacted to his name. And what did the drow have to say? Any clue as to why she was here? I've never heard of drow being involved with the Worldwound."
Thamyris settles once Elyda and Aravashnial's summoned bat quickly deal with the threats, and he ceases his distressed cries entirely as Merixia attempts to treat Verene, instead landing near and watching her actions intently. The absence of his shrill echoes suddenly seems very loud. How can one small creature make so much noise?
A few breaths after Merixia pulls out the dart and does her best to extract the remaining poison, Verene's color improves, and a few moments after that, she stirs and begins to open her eyes and look around. Millorn - dead. Everyone else - alive. Wait, who is that dead elf woman? Thamyris barrels into her neck and huddles there, peeping softly. Automatically, one hand rises to comfort him and the other goes to the dart wound as she says hazily, "What on earth was that?"
The young inquisitor watched the blood pour forth from the severed neck of Millorn - the dwarf now lay still and silent and dead. Elyda wiped the blade on the dwarf's clothing - not in a show of disrespect to the dead; but simply for convenience sake. She whispered a prayer of gratitude to the Lady of Valour for guiding her hand so true in the final strike against the mad dwarf. It had not been a fair fight in the end, for he had been prone and injured; yet it was a clean kill in the name of good. She would leave Millorn's soul to be judged in the Boneyard.
Stowing her buckler and keeping her sword in hand in case any of the drow woman's allies happened upon them in the cavern, Elyda registered Merixia's praise, responding with "Thank you. And, good work to you and the others," and then watched as the cleric syphoned the poison from their companion's veins with her mouth and tended to the injury to bring Verene back to consciousness. "It is good to see you awake, Verene," Elyda cordially addressed the now alert wizard.
Automatically, one hand rises to comfort him and the other goes to the dart wound as she says hazily, "What on earth was that?"
A little perplexed by the question, Elyda considerately responded, "What are you referring to, Verene?"
As she waited for the lady wizard to reply, Elyda made her way over to the dead form of the drow woman, and, with care began to search her person, listening and casting a glance every now and again for any new threat lurking in the shadows or sound echoing against the rock walls.
"Good to be awake. Thank you, Merixia." Verene takes a closer look at the elf - no, drow - and her dropped hand crossbow, no doubt the source of the dart. "Oh. 'That' was that she poisoned me. Was she the dwarf's ally? Well, once again I am in all of your debt."
She glances at Millorn's bloodied body, shudders, and looks away. "I suppose I should feel sad that such a pitiful creature could not be saved, but in truth it is something of a relief. It probably would have been beyond our capabilities to help him, and it seemed clear he would rather have died than been captured."
Thesius' eyes flutter open in time to take in the sudden carnage. The dwarf cut down while a new enemy is felled by a new ally. Slowly he pushes himself up to a sitting position. Bile filling his throat at the sight of the dwarf. He sits there quietly fighting back the urge to empty the contents of his stomach.
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Merixia begins to shrink down to her normal size once more now that Verene's spell has ended, even as she treats the prone wizard. Fortunate, that, given that it was getting a little hard to work the more precise tasks.
"Millorn. His full name is Millorn Gronaksun, I think." Aravashnial muses. "He was a wizard that served the crusades, a decade or so ago. Five years ago, though, they discovered he was researching into fleshwarping, a very dark magical craft, and attempted to arrest him. He managed to escape, and evidently came down here. I never actually met him until now, but he was rather infamous in the arcane community for a time."
The celestial dire bat flutters its wings at the lawbringer's approach and shuffles forwards and rubs gently against her. Anevia giggles quietly. "Looks like you've found a new friend, Elyda."
On the drow woman, Elyda discovers a vial of dark liquid that she cannot immediately identify, but which she suspects is poison, eight gold pieces of an unfamiliar make, with foul runes engraved on their edges, the drow's rapier, light metal shield, and her leather armor - though the last is stained with blood. She also has a hand crossbow by her side, and a small quiver of bolts for the weapon.
The tunnel beyond seem to have no obvious noises or threats, but Elyda does see that it curves off to the left , and continues to slope upwards.
Meanwhile, on Millorn, the group finds another golden potion, a silvery one, a single scroll (for Elliot has the other), and a light crossbow and its accompanying bolts. Further, he has a handful of valuable platinum pieces as well as gold .
Upon detecting magic to examine the various objects, they also discover that his filthy, ratty cloak is enchanted.
Oddly, he doesn't seem to have his spellbook on his person.
"Is there something about Kenabres' tunnels that brings insane dwarves down here?" Horgus asks no one in particular, his lips twisted as he looks down at Millorn.
Thesius finally takes the time to get up and retrieve his sword. Still somewhat subdued, he'll take the time to look over any items he is asked about and offer up anything he can in regards to their abilities.
He'll also say a prayer to Desna for the fallen.
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No sooner does Elliot get cursed by the otherwise immobile dwarf than that Elyda nearly decapitates him with a vicious swing. Fortunately, the drow women gets eaten by his master's bat right afterwards and suddenly the fight was over.
He sighs in relief, nods to Merixia and Elyda and goes back into the darkness to lead the others into the room. "Yes, well-fought everyone. They were dangerous foes. We did a lot better than yesterday. ...If it is yesterday," he wonders, looking up at the untelling ceiling.
"Also... I apologize, master. I found myself without spells, with two of us down and my sis- um, I mean, 'Verene' dropped by the drow in one shot. I felt as if I didn't have an option other than to try and reason with her, and she only seemed to want to the dwarf we were then trying to kill anyway. But... perhaps I was hasty and misjudged the situation. For that, I apologize. Clearly I did not count on your magnificent bat to kill her instantly." he adds, watching the bat and how it seemed to play with Verene.
"For what it's worth, she said that the crusaders were 'up and beyond'. I guess that means we're on the right track, assuming we trust her. But at least the statues seem to indicate these tunnels were used by them once," he finally recounts, as he begins to help identifying the items...
He looks at the silver potion from multiple angles, eyes frowned but eventually gives up. "Not sure what this concoction is, though I feel like I've seen it before... the rest, this is a scroll that produces a small lightning effect named 'shocking grasp', the other protects against elemental damage. And the cloak is one that offers a small amount of protection against magic in general as well as various other forms of potential injury."
Rumor has it that there are drow paragons that have more advanced abilities and greater resistance to magic, and that these mighty champions often rise to the top of drow society as nobles, but it is impossible to tell from sight alone which is which.
Finally, she knows it's odd that the drow come this close to the surface - that said, it's easily explained by the Worldwound - some drow must be invested in an ongoing portal to the Abyss...
Aravashnial waves his hand mildly. "You did what you thought was right, Elliot, and no harm came of it. Remain mindful of your companions and their abilities, and you will do well." He turns towards Merixia's voice. "As my apprentice has said, she wished to take Millorn away - presumably to her compatriots, where they would likely torture him for information."
After a moment, he adds. "She was a servant of Abraxas, a demon lord associated with magic and forbidden secrets. It's possible she thought that Millorn was somehow useful to her own magical aims. Odd, though, that Abraxas is involved here. He's not especially invested in the Worldwound, from what I have heard."
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"Good to be awake. Thank you, Merixia." Verene takes a closer look at the elf - no, drow - and her dropped hand crossbow, no doubt the source of the dart. "Oh. 'That' was that she poisoned me. Was she the dwarf's ally? Well, once again I am in all of your debt."
She glances at Millorn's bloodied body, shudders, and looks away. "I suppose I should feel sad that such a pitiful creature could not be saved, but in truth it is something of a relief. It probably would have been beyond our capabilities to help him, and it seemed clear he would rather have died than been captured."
Merixia smiles at Verene, relieved to see her awake. "You're very welcome, Verene. I have a feeling that we'll all have saved each other's lives by the time we find our way back to the surface. I'm just relieved that my treatment actually worked, poison is tricky stuff. As for Millorn..." She sighs. "You can't save someone against their will. We gave him ample opportunity to surrender peacefully, he attacked anyway and refused to back down. There is no sin in defending oneself, and defending others is a virtue."
After a moment, he adds. "She was a servant of Abraxas, a demon lord associated with magic and forbidden secrets. It's possible she thought that Millorn was somehow useful to her own magical aims. Odd, though, that Abraxas is involved here. He's not especially invested in the Worldwound, from what I have heard."
"Magic and forbidden secrets? I wonder if that's how the demons managed to destroy the wardstone. Deskari's forces certainly haven't been able to do so for centuries. Maybe they recruited help." Merixia frowns, obviously disturbed by the possibility. Then she shrugs and gets to her feet. "Well, all we can do is press on and report this to whatever authorities might have survived in Kenabres."
In the meantime, she has a half-elf to finish treating. Thesius still looks badly wounded. Once he's done with his prayer, Merixia approaches him. "It's good to see you up and about again, Thesius, but I think you could use some more healing, and I'd like to take a closer look at your wounds. Is that all right?"
Aravashnial purses his lips. "Setting aside the exaggeration of how long the Worldwound has existed, let alone the wardstones, Khorramzadeh did attack only recently. I'm not sure that Deskari would need these drow." He scratches beneath his bandages.
"I think it more likely that the demons had help from within, in any case. Demon cults are endemic, especially near the Worldwound."
Horgus snorts, but the elf remains quiet.
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Verene listens to Aravashnial's explanation of Millorn's history. "Fleshwarping... That would indeed make him a hunted man, and it fits with what he implied about using us as experimental subjects. He seemed to have a particular interest in Thesius and Elyda, perhaps because of their ancestry. I believe he also said it had been a long time since those 'untainted with the Abyss' had visited. He might consider the children of the first crusaders who fled down here to already be tainted with the Abyss - and the drow might be too, in his eyes, if he was aware of their presence.
"Speaking of which, it's odd for them to come so close to the surface, but as a society, the dark elves are demon-worshippers, which seems like reason enough to explain their interest in an ongoing portal to the Abyss such as the Worldwound. I can also think of many reasons why followers of a demon lord of magic and knowledge specifically would want to capture a fleshwarping wizard alive, each less pleasant than the last. So, they might have been involved in the attack yesterday; they might not. It would certainly be important information to report to any remaining higher-ups in the Crusade, if Abraxas and his followers, as well as Deskari's, are now directing personal attention and effort toward expanding the Worldwound." She nods grimly at Merixia.
"If we run into any more drow, we should keep in mind that drow are generally resistant to magic, and can cast minor magics themselves: darkness, dancing lights, and faerie fire. A few have even more powerful abilities, but the difference is not obvious by sight alone."
Lastly, Verene examines the unidentified silver potion.
"This is a potion of invisibility."
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The celestial dire bat flutters its wings at the lawbringer's approach and shuffles forwards and rubs gently against her. Anevia giggles quietly. "Looks like you've found a new friend, Elyda."
At first a little taken aback by the attention, Elyda steadily reached out and gently scratched the summoned celestial creature's head. In the celestial tongue, the young inquisitor quietly spoke to it,
To Anevia's comment, Elyda smiled and responded in the Common tongue, "It is a fine warrior and served Master Aravashnial well."
Elyda collected the Drow's possessions and brought them to the group and laid them down for those who would wish to claim one of the items.
"Master Aravashnial, the drow had gold coins with foul runes engraved on their edges. Do you know what they could be?"
After the blind master's reply, Elyda moved toward Verene, asking the lady wizard, "I discovered this vial of dark liquid on the drow. I believe it to be the poison she used on her bolts, yet I do not possess the magical talent to discern its true contents. Can you do so?"
Elyda then listened to the conversation regarding Millorn, the drow Abraxus and the contents of each potion Millorn had on his person. When there was a lull in the exchange, the young inquisitor informed the group, "I could not discern any obvious noises or threats in the tunnel beyond this one. However, I noted that it curves off to the left north and continues to slope upward."
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The bat croons quietly to Elyda, though she feels a slight tug on her hair before it pulls away, its eyes twinkling with amusement. Unaware of the interplay, Aravashnial replies. "Hm... unless they're enchanted in some way, I would imagine that it's just their own coinage. They would put symbols of demonic reverence on their daily lives... though you may want to check to see that they aren't enchanted at all."
When the inquisitor does so, she discovers that there are, in fact, no enchantments on the currency. As she examines it, the celestial bat looks back to Aravashnial, before vanishing back to the Realm of Heroes with a burst of song and silvery light.
"Have you found any signs of his spellbook?" The elf asks. "It may prove useful to you, Elliot, and yourself, Verene. Most of his more vile experimental documents were burned, so it should be mostly, well, spells."
Upon further searching, they find that Millorn's campsite has a few more of his supplies. First and foremost is a battered, heavy book marked with a unique set of runes that the mages recognize as an arcane mark spell. There's also a somewhat chipped 6-inch-tall marble statuette of a humanoid of some sort preparing to throw a spear. Significantly less appealing than the first two are his ratty bedroll and a small pack of rations that include some sort of mysterious dried meat, preserved mushrooms, and old, moldy cheese.
"Up is the direction we want to go, right?" Anevia says with a smile in Elyda's general direction.
"Well, what are we waiting for? We've already slept long enough in these foul caverns." Horgus says irritably. "The longer we wait, the worse things will get down here."
"While I wouldn't say that I wholeheartedly agree with Lord Gwerm, it's true that the longer we wait, the more time the demons will have to ravage Kenabres. I know that we may not be the most pivotal of supporters of the Crusade, but I will fight the demons so long as I have breath in my body, and down here I am not useful for that. We should keep going." Aravashnial says.
After a few moments, Anevia approaches Thesius, her glowing crutch tapping lightly on the ground. "Are you alright, Thesius? You seem a little out of it."
Some additional medical attention would be appreciated. I certainly do not feel up to full strength.
Thesius gives Anevia a weak smile while explaining, "Fighting demons and humanoids are two different things. The loss of life saddens me and it's a moral dilemma I'll have to work through."
With that he works to distract himself, taking the time to look over the statue.
His attention however is pulled away by Horgus comments. His eyes falling upon the man, letting him know he heard the words.
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"I discovered this vial of dark liquid on the drow. I believe it to be the poison she used on her bolts, yet I do not possess the magical talent to discern its true contents. Can you do so?"
Verene casts around for the dart used to disable her and compares any remaining smear of poison on it to the color and smell of the contents of the vial Elyda found.
"It seems a very safe assumption, but one I cannot verify with magic until the next time I prepare spells. Perhaps Merixia or Thesius can confirm if it is the same knockout poison she used on me. Meanwhile, this book is almost certainly Millorn's spellbook, but again, I would have to prepare new spells or spend a significant amount of time to decipher the arcane writings and tell for sure what it contains. Even if it only held that electricity spell and the protective blurring effect, it would be extremely valuable both to Elliot and to me, just as Master Aravashnial said. But I suspect from the number of pages used that there is more to it."
Verene glances at Horgus but does not address his second remark right away. "I am out of combat-useful spells for today, but you are very right, Lord Horgus, that this cavern does not seem like a safe or comfortable place to rest. I am ready to move on as soon as I look for my bolt." She briefly ducks back into the previous cavern to see if her first-fired crossbow bolt is intact and can be retrieved from the dead darkmantle, and returns with it intact, cleaning it of darkmantle ichor with her hem.
Verene approaches Horgus in a quiet moment. "Perhaps you don't remember exactly what you said, Lord Horgus, but your warning when we reached the darkmantle cave was timely and vital to us. Thank you," she starts. "It also appears to have been entirely born out, though we didn't understand it at the time. I will be listening to you and relying on your words about what we face as we move forward. We truly do need you. And, as you witnessed, we need Master Aravashnial too. His summoned creatures helped take down the huecuva, and now this Abraxas-following dark elf. I know you may not like each other, you may think he sees demons and danger where there are none, but I believe in his good intentions and his desire to protect us all - including you. Please, for now, let us all let the past be in the past, so we can focus on defending each other and getting through this."
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"Some additional medical attention would be appreciated. I certainly do not feel up to full strength."
"All right then, I think another use of channeling is in order here. Gather round, everyone who wants healing!" Once all the wounded are within range, Merixia raises her holy symbol. "Ragathiel, grant me your healing light!" Fiery golden light fills the cavern once more.
That helped, but not enough. The cleric frowns and casts a quick orison. "I'll just clean and bandage the rest of your wounds. I'm sure there will be other enemies ahead, given our luck so far."
Verene casts around for the dart used to disable her and compares any remaining smear of poison on it to the color and smell of the contents of the vial Elyda found.
"It seems a very safe assumption, but one I cannot verify with magic until the next time I prepare spells. Perhaps Merixia or Thesius can confirm if it is the same knockout poison she used on me."
Once she's finished patching Thesius up, Merixia heads over to where Verene is puzzling over the vial. "I'll take a look at it. No guarantees though." She takes the vial and examines it carefully, opening it to waft the scent under her nose.
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When the inquisitor does so, she discovers that there are, in fact, no enchantments on the currency. As she examines it, the celestial bat looks back to Aravashnial, before vanishing back to the Realm of Heroes with a burst of song and silvery light.
"Have you found any signs of his spellbook?" The elf asks. "It may prove useful to you, Elliot, and yourself, Verene. Most of his more vile experimental documents were burned, so it should be mostly, well, spells."
As the silvery light disappeared with the celestial creature's departure and Verene and Merixia examined the vial of poison to identify it, Elyda turned her attention to Millorn's rune-marked book. Casting Read Magic upon the book, she began deciphering the magical inscriptions within.
After a little time, Elyda lifted her head and spoke to the arcane casters in the company,
"There is an assortment of cantrips contained within. There are also higher level spells such as color spray, hold portal, mage armor, magic missile, shocking grasp, sure casting, and thunderstomp. And then the spells for blur, fog cloud, invisibility, and levitate ."
Elyda handed the spell book back to Verene for safekeeping.
"Mm. Well, I understand that. It's not wrong to mourn them, but I think we'd better be focused on those we can save." Anevia says after a brief consideration. "Which right now, means us and those who survived above."
Aravashnial seems lost for a moment, before pulling out a pair of scrolls. He offers one in the general direction of Verene's voice before calling his apprentice over and giving him the second. "These scrolls have the spell grease on them. You can use them if we get into another battle down here. Hopefully, though, we'll manage without."
As they move forwards into the tunnel, they find their path begins to ascend much more steeply upwards towards the surface as it turns northwards. Fortunately, there are iron pitons, nooks, and handholds as far as Elyda's darkvision can see (and she's pretty sure she sees the cavern level out thereafter).
In a somewhat lowered voice, Elyda reassured the others, "From what I can see, this steep path will soon level out. Master Aravashnial, if you will allow, I would aid up you up. I will climb up now and then I will extend my arms/hands down to you, grasp your arms to steadily pull you upward. Merexia, can you help Anevia do the same? With her leg in a splint the climb could prove challenging."
Elyda cast a quiet spell to ask her Lady to guide her in the upcoming deed. Once, the young inquisitor climbed up, she bent down so she could help the blind Aravashnial up.
Once the man was safely situated beside her, Elyda raised herself and cast her eyes about, using her darkvision, and then her hearing to determine if there is a nearby threat,
Merixia grimaces at the sight of the climb. She's strong, but even so climbing in scale mail is no fun. But Thesius is still wounded himself, and she's not sure if either Elliot or Verene are good enough climbers to help another. "Okay, Anevia. This is going to be interesting, considering my armor and your leg, but if we take it slow hopefully we can get it done." Usually she saves guidance for important things like medicine, but considering how badly Anevia could hurt her leg if they fall, she decides to cast the spell here.
Elyda has only a little trouble guiding Aravashnial up the passage - once she manages to figure out how to point out the right places to put his hands and feet, he manages rather easily, though there are a few points where it's rather terrifying.
Once she is at the top of the shaft, Elyda looks around and sees no immediate threat - just another long stretch of passages that lead off to the northwest.
Merixia, however, has rather less success with Anevia, who needs more physical support than guidance. As such, when her grip slips from Anevia's wrist, the archer goes tumbling down the slope again, cursing in a language unfamiliar to the rest of the heroes.
As she tumbles down, however, Thesius' swiftly snatches her waist, catching her and stopping the fall.
"Thanks." She says, her face pale with pain and terror. "That was..." The half-elf notices she's shivering.
Earlier...
"Thank you for the aid Merixia. It's appreciated. I'm doing much better," he says as his gaze continues to wonder towards the deceased.
In response to Anexia he says, "I will continue forward in efforts to protect the group. I simply wish there was more we could have done here and was giving a prayer for those we could not help."
Now...
"No worries. I do believe it was you that said we should save those we can," he says with a soft playful smile as he attempts to help her ascent up the path.
The archer chuckles at Thesius' words. "Well, I'm grateful to be saved here, I have to say."
With Thesius' help, Anevia manages to arrive at the end of the slope with little difficulty. After a moment, Anevia curses. "Godsdammit, I dropped my crutch..." She half-turns, but then pauses. "Huh. I guess whatever you did with your magic, Merixia, strengthened my leg enough that I don't need it anymore. It still hurts to walk, a little, but it's not cripplingly painful."
"Hm... wonder who would want a statue like this? Doesn't seem like it holds a candle to the one from the Tiefling sculptress earlier." Elliot says, having no clue what this was worth. Plus, it stinked of damp Dwarf - a scent so strong he wasn't sure he could ever prestidigitation out of it. Still, he lowers it in the bag.
"Shame your zeal isn't matched by your discernment."
Hearing this, he frowns at the merchant lord. That seemed like an exceptionally low blow against his teacher for, as far as he knew, no reason whatsoever. "Come now. You don't really mean that, do you? He just saved us all from the drow even though he couldn't see. And it's not like he's blind by choice. If it'd happened to you, we wouldn't look down on you either."
"Good to hear that," Elliot responds to Anevia. "Seems your healing paid off, Merixia! Good job on helping the others climb up too, Thesius and Elyda. That was a great catch!" he continues, climbing after the others with some difficulty and having his new scroll tucked behind his belt for swift usage.
He purposefully not mentioned Merixia dropping Anevia since the point was to keep morale up. Focus on the positive first, and all! It was a tried and true method for feedback towards arcane students here in Kenabres and it made the arduous process of learning to master it slightly less daunting.
Aravashnial waves his hand to quiet Elliot. "Let it go. It's not important."
"ANEVIA!" Merixia can only watch in horror as she falls... and is caught by Thesius. "Oh, thank Ragathiel. Great catch, Thesius." The tiefling's cheeks burn with shame as she continues the climb upwards. Why can't she be stronger?
Once everyone is safely at the top, Merixia hurries over to Anevia. "Oh my gods, Anevia, I'm so sorry! I thought I had you, I really did. My hand, it just... I'm sorry." She hangs her head, obviously ashamed.
Verene gratefully takes the scroll Aravashnial offers. "Thank you, Master Aravashnial. I hope I can soon return it to you soon."
Hearing this, he frowns at the merchant lord. That seemed like an exceptionally low blow against his teacher for, as far as he knew, no reason whatsoever. "Come now. You don't really mean that, do you? He just saved us all from the drow even though he couldn't see. And it's not like he's blind by choice. If it'd happened to you, we wouldn't look down on you either."
Verene attempts to catch Elliot's eye and silently shake her head, but is preempted by Aravashnial himself. To her it seems clear that the nobleman's consistent sniping has far more to do with the two men's history than Aravashnial's blindness.
"As I said earlier. You'll need me. I know more than I know. Perhaps the others will be able to speak for themselves... we'll see." He does seem more appreciative, though.
When Horgus does not respond to her overture with hostility, Verene smiles at him in a friendly way. Now did he mean other Horguses, or other creatures we might meet in these tunnels? "I hope so." If it were anyone else, she would clap them on the shoulder companionably. But between his reputation for being a hermit, his clear distaste for all the soil and blood of their surroundings, and his complaining about the crowds to his servant yesterday - an encounter that already seems so distant in both time and space that it might as well have happened to someone else - it seems wisest not to touch him.
Verene has enough trouble managing the steep and narrow climb herself that she almost misses Anevia's sudden tumble and Thesius's timely catch. She sighs in relief when he sets all right and helps Anevia up the rest of the way. It's not the first time the dashing student of history has seemed to be guided by a lucky star. "Thank goodness. I would make a joke about even married ladies falling into your arms, but my heart wouldn't be in it."
Her small lopsided smile is the first that has felt real since the fall, but it's smothered quickly by the oppressive nature of their situation, and uncertainty over Anevia's wife's fate. And Thesius had seemed troubled by the death of Millorn in a way she could not find it in her heart to be, though she had done her best to show mercy once Elliot's spell had effectively taken the fight out of the crazed dwarf; she makes a mental note to ask her friend later if he wants to talk about it.
"Don't worry too much about it, Merixia. We're all kind of tired and beaten up to various degrees - you made a mistake, sure, but there's no harm done." Anevia smiles at the tiefling, before sighing and looking somewhat down. "Though it looks like we've still got a ways to go before we reach the surface."
Once she is at the top of the shaft, Elyda looks around and sees no immediate threat - just another long stretch of passages that lead off to the northwest.
There was a precarious moment when Anevia slipped from Merixia's grasp and fell; however all ended well with Thesius catching and guiding the archer up. Lady, watch over us all as we traverse these caverns. Guide our steps and spirits.
"If everyone is ready to move forward, there appears to be a long stretch of passage leading off to the northwest. I could not see an immediate threat, yet it would be wise for us to continue being vigilant as we travel."
Casting Guidance upon herself once again and returning her weapon to hand, when the party was ready to move again, Elyda began to lead them along the first? of the passages she could see.
"Don't worry too much about it, Merixia. We're all kind of tired and beaten up to various degrees - you made a mistake, sure, but there's no harm done." Anevia smiles at the tiefling, before sighing and looking somewhat down. "Though it looks like we've still got a ways to go before we reach the surface."
"Yes, it looks like it." Merixia sighs softly, then draws her sword and takes her place in the middle of the party.
The group moves out in their previous marching order, with Verene and Thesius providing light for those who needed it. As they go, Anevia offers to take on the task of guiding Aravashnial, so that Elliot can be more free to move about, an offer that the elf accepts.
After almost half-an-hour of travel, the tunnel opens into another 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.
A pair of bizarre-looking individuals stand nearby to the toppled tower, clubs held at the ready. One is a strange mix of goat, elf, and lizardman, with heavy-looking hands that end in oversized spadelike talons. The other is a woman with two human left eyes and one insectoid right-eye on a face twisted with tumors.
The man wears a frown, whilst the woman's face is so twisted that it's impossible to tell what she's feeling. The man speaks up first, in oddly archaic Common. "Upworlders. If your intentions be ill, we ask that you move on and leave us in peace. We've naught to steal save our lives, and even those are threatened at every moment. Should they be benevolent, however, perhaps you might yet render us some aid." His voice rasps through the cavern, a dissonantly rough sound for such eloquent words.
Aravashnial pauses, touching Anevia's shoulder to signal a request for information, but the woman is staring blankly at the strange figures before the group, who stand at the farthest reach of Verene's light.
Horgus snorts coldly. "Just what we needed. More monsters."
Thesius clears his throat at Horgus' words and explains the situation to Aravashnial in a clear tone in hopes of shedding a better light upon them. "I believe we have found our path crossed by some of the children of the past crusaders. They are requesting our aid, which I am sure we will be glad to offer them if it is within our abilities."
Verene takes in the strangers' odd appearances with barely a blink. Archaic speech, bestial features, and most important, not immediately hostile? Hope surges in her heart. Their beleaguered little group might make it out of here alive yet.
"Just what we needed. More monsters."
Thamyris pivots on her shoulder and says clearly in his peep of a voice to Horgus, his bright black eyes more bold than they yet have been in this terrifying place without the sun, "Not monsters. Friends." Then, anxiously, just for Verene, he mutters: "Friends?"
Taking her hands off her crossbow and holding them up in the universal gesture for peace, Verene steps forward slowly to a reasonable speaking distance. "Hello. I am Verene. We mean no harm and seek no conflict. We are only lost, and trying to reach the surface world again. We will help you, if we can. What may we call you? What aid do you seek?"
Merixia turns and gives Horgus a death glare at the word 'monsters'. It's particularly effective with her yellow slit-pupiled eyes. She leaves it at that, though, since the strangers in front of them are more important at the moment.
"I'm Merixia, pleased to meet you. It's a nice change of pace to encounter people who don't immediately attack us." She smiles at the being in the lead and bows.