Dorian stands next to the door that the rogue is listening at, ready for whatever may occur.
"We're underground below a ravine," Jacq says to Nee. "Gonna be pockets of water underground and lots of moisture from the hole soakin' up rain. Grew up goin' into old caves and dungeons with my pa. Dampness is a pretty universal feature."
"Check the edges. If it looks sealed tight it might be holding back water.... Be an interesting trap that I never want to know to flood a corridor to drown invaders!"
Silvash crouches beside the wooden door to the right, hands running lightly over the swollen grain and corroded hinges. His sharp ears strain for any sign of movement or sound beyond - but there is nothing. He presses his fingers gently along the frame and latch. No tripwires. No seams of pressure. No hidden mechanisms. Just a door, damp and silent.
As he straightens, Nee shifts to let her lantern’s glow spill across the opposite wall, revealing more of the heavy stone door set directly across from them. The carved relief becomes clearer now: a creature, long and sinuous, its body scaled like a dragon’s, but with the unmistakable form of a fish. It swims through stylized waves, surrounded by curling aquatic plants and what might be shellfish or coral.
The artistry is old - worn, but masterfully done.
When tested, the stone door does not budge. The edges are sealed flush into the wall, and a faint greenish - blue patina coats the seams, almost like copper left long in the sea air. It’s clear this door is locked - and likely meant to stay that way.
Perhaps more unsettling is its craftsmanship: precise, deliberate, and far older than anything goblins would bother with.
Indicating the stone door, Lanliss asks Temerith if he can detect any magic from it.
As the light falls on the carving, Jacq adds, "Or, you know, the sealed stone door is holding back a river or something, and if we make a wrong move we drown. Normal stuff."
Temerith casts Detect Magic again and scans the whole area....
Content with now knowing at least what a shardle looks like (clearly an aquatic dragonny-thing) Nee nods as Jacq provides more context for the wet door, and then shrinks a little back from the stone door as Jacq provides even more….context. Nee shifts into a more active stance, and glances up the corridor to the far door pensively.
As Temerith finishes his incantation, his eyes shimmer faintly with arcane sight. He turns his attention toward the sealed stone door and begins to concentrate.
A flicker - a definite magical presence beyond the stone. Something active, not residual. Whatever lies behind that door still pulses with arcane energy.
He senses at least two distinct auras behind the door. One is stronger - moderate in strength - while the other is fainter, more diffuse. He can’t determine their exact nature or source through the barrier, but they’re not lingering effects. This is present, active magic.
The spell reveals the rough locations of the auras - both behind the door, one stronger and seemingly centralized, the other more ambient. The stone obscures further detail; without line of sight, he cannot identify the schools of magic or the exact nature of the sources.
Temerith stares at the door, squinting to try and understand the auras. The door blocks the details though and he shakes his head as the magic fades.
"There's a magic aura behind this door. Two actually. But I can't tell what it is. It's active magic, not residual. Possibly dangerous...."
Silvash nods at the knowledge of the magic and says "I think we leave that door alone for now and we open this one across from it. Ok?"
If Silvash gets no dissent he opens the door he checked out earlier.
Silvash opens the door, to find a ruined chamber - empty of all but a litter of rocky debris.
Jacq checks for signs of passage in the last couple weeks. "Wonder if they rested here..."
Nee nods, scrunching her lips.
”I reckon no-one’s opened that door for…years. ” She gives the room a good sniff.
”As for rest, that’s a good point Jacq - we can at least use it as a redoubt.”
Nee casts the lantern about and juts her chin at wall and roof as she addresses Dorian.
”Dorian - this ceiling gonna collapse on us? These walls ok?”
Dorian moved into the room and walked around the perimeter of it, examining the stonework...
Jacq scans the floor and rubble, but finds no sign of recent passage.
Dorian examines the stonework along the walls and ceiling. The masonry is aged but sound. He believes there is no risk of imminent collapse.
Temerith looks around the room as well. "Might be a little cramped, but it would serve as a fallback position if we need to recuperate and don't want to climb out of here."
"How about that door at the end of this passage?"
"No sign of the others, but we can still use it if Dorian says it's sound." Jacq nods at Temerith. "Door number three it is."
Silvash nods to the others and says "On it." He then moves to the door and examines it before opening it.
+1 for traps
Nee follows along ever dutifully, giving the shardle-inscribed door some serious side-eye. Once past the unobtainable trove obviously consisting of magic weapons, armor and gemstones, she taps the lantern while peering at it.
”And we keep finding *no* sign of the Hucreles….” she mutters, again to no-one in particular. ”Maybe we should have brought a dog. Anyone like dogs?”
Nee follows along ever dutifully, giving the shardle-inscribed door some serious side-eye. Once past the unobtainable trove obviously consisting of magic weapons, armor and gemstones, she taps the lantern while peering at it.
”And we keep finding *no* sign of the Hucreles….” she mutters, again to no-one in particular. ”Maybe we should have brought a dog. Anyone like dogs?”
The guide frowns at Nee. "That's just not true. I mean, no, we've not found evidence that specifically the Hucreles came down here. Unless any of you who are local to this town can recognize anything specific to the Hucreles on this spear." Jacq taps the spear she's strapped to her pack.
"But we know they disappeared a few weeks ago--long enough ago that finding specific evidence of their shape of foot or whatever is gonna be hard. But I've repeatedly seen signs human-shaped people came through here a few weeks ago. I found signs of their tracks up top, and in the ravine, and leading toward the room with the three doors, which is why we are here. They just didn't come into this one room. Otherwise, movements and timeline matches up. I also found goblin tracks, and we found the goblins. If the people who came through here weren't the Hucreles, who could they be and who killed the goblins?"
She shrugs. "As for dogs, I'm more of a cat person myself. And horses. And raptors."
Having found no traps, Silvash pushes the door open.
He can see crudely executed symbols and glyphs, scribed in bright green dye, decorating a large and irregularly shaped crumbling chamber.
A large pit in the chamber's center shows evidence of a recent bonfire. A metallic cage in the center of the southern wall contains a gaping hole and stands empty. A small wooden bench draped with green cloth stands before the cage, and upon it sit several small objects.
A bedroll lies near the wooden bench, from which the sound of whimpering is plainly audible.
Nee moves in to stand by the bench with the small objects on it, and holds the lantern high to let those coming in after see the room. Looking at the several small objects, Nee calls to the prostrate form.
”Hello? Who lies there?”
Dorian moves a few steps into the room looking at the cage and a glance at the crying figure in the blankets
Have a care. Somethin escaped here. It might still be here. He started glancing at the ceiling and around the room, hammer and shield at the ready.
As soon as Lanliss is aware of someone whimpering in the bedroll, he moves past the others and starts to approach.
"Hello? Do you need help? Are you injured?"
His bow and an arrow are still in hand, but they are not aimed at anything.
Silvash moves into the room and steps to the right so he can see down the "hall?" and the corners of the room.
Hearing the whimpering and the others calling out Temerith casts Dancing Lights and send them into the room to light it up.
As the group drifts into the chamber, they notice further details. Nee can see the objects on the bench more clearly - a small, cracked ceramic bowl streaked with dry red pigment; a figurine of a stylized white dragon, carved crudely from soft stone; a broken reed flute, snapped in two; a few scattered berries, dried but still faintly fragrant; a folded scrap of green cloth that smells faintly of lizard musk.
After Nee calls out, then Lanliss, the soft whimpering from the bedroll shifts, deepening into a ragged sniff. Then the figure stirs - a faint twitch beneath the thin blanket, followed by a sharp, sudden inhale.
With a wheezy gasp, the bundle lurches upright. From under the ratty wool emerges a scrawny kobold, blinking madly in the light. His scales are a dirty, off-white mottled with gray, and one horn is cracked halfway through. His face is all twitching nerves and wet eyes, and the ridge of scars down his arms and throat tells a story of repeated burns and bites.
He bares his tiny fangs, more reflexively than threateningly - "Y-you stay BACK!" - he hisses, voice wavering with fear but still sharp-edged with a natural snarl - "Meepo bites... Huh... Meepo shrieks... Meepo brings the guards and you regret..!" - as he speaks, Nee notices the creature glancing toward the northwesterly door.
Then his eyes dart from one of you to another, lingering especially on Dorian’s hammer and Nee’s soft expression, as if unsure which is more dangerous.
As Silvash breaks off to scout the nearby passage, he peers into the hall just beyond the arch. It's narrow and dark, walls slumped with age - but no movement stirs within. The corridor appears empty.
Lanliss puts his arrow back in its quiver.
"Hi Meepo, my name is Lanliss. If you don't attack us, or call anyone else to attack us, we're not going to attack you, okay? We didn't come here to attack or steal, all right?
"I asked earlier if you were hurt because maybe I can help you. Are you hurt?"
Dorian glowers at the quavering Kobold and grumbles Have a care. Kobolds are sneaky bastiches. His eyes darting around.
Nee drops the lantern low by her side, unsure whether kobolds dislike light, but thinking they likely do if they live in caves…
”Meepo…Lanliss speaks true. We are not here to harm you. We’re…looking for some young humans who may have passed this way, with a scout and a…knight.”
Nee thinks for a moment, and motions for Dorian to keep his weapon down.
”You hungry? We can share some food…”
Seeing the kobold eyeing the northwest door Silvash moves next to it and then waves Dorian to the other side of the door without speaking so they can ambush anyone who comes through it. He then points to Jacq and to to wall opposite the northwest door.
Temerith steps forward like the others, toward the kobold. "Little Meepo. I'm little Temerith. Little like you. My friends and I aren't here to hurt you. We'd rather be friends. Friends don't hurt friends. Friends help each other. You look hurt. Maybe you have enemies that hurt you? Like I said, friends help friends. Maybe we could hurt your enemies if you tell us about them. What do you say?"
Dorian scowls and proceeds to where Silvash is indicating, ever wary and ready for combat.
The kobold stiffens as Lanliss speaks, still hunched defensively in his bedroll, but his eyes flick uncertainly toward the elf.
"Meepo... Meepo not hurt" - he mutters, voice hoarse. His claws twitch anxiously in his lap, curling around the ratty blanket - "Just dreams. Dreams and bad smells. Hurts inside..." - he trails off, blinking rapidly, tail twitching behind him like a nervous cat.
His gaze flits to Dorian next, and his lips peel back in a sour grimace - "Big hammer dwarf mean. All dwarves mean. Smash first, talk later" - he hisses, with a sidelong glance at the weapon.
But when Nee steps forward and offers food, the shift is immediate. His nostrils flare at the scent, and his eyes widen - not with fear, but hunger - "Food? You bring food?"
He scrambles awkwardly to his feet - still only waist-height to most of you - and approaches Nee warily, hands outstretched - "You not trick, yes?" - then, emboldened by the sight of a dried fruit or crust of bread, he snatches it eagerly and retreats to a crouch near the bench, gnawing quickly.
After a few frantic bites, he glances up again as Temerith speaks - "Enemies? Oh, yes! The goblins! They are bad! They took Calcryx!" - he clutches at the threadbare green cloth, shaking his head - "Stupid guards. Let them take our dragon"
He glances around again, less suspicious now, more desperate.
"You say looking for humans. Meepo not see humans. But maybe Yusdrayl knows... She clever. Leader. Sits on dragon throne" - his voice drops reverently as he adds - "If you not hurt Meepo... if you promise... Meepo take you. Safe way. Maybe she help. Maybe you find your humans..."
Then, looking up sharply, clutching the scrap of cloth to his chest - "You promise?"
Jacq squeezes in, standing near the doorway, to listen to the conversation with Meepo. The other, more charming folk have things well in hand so she opts to stay quiet through most of the conversation, and just looks back behind them on occasion, to be sure no one's coming up behind them.
At his last offer, however, she has a question.
"We got no reason to hurt Meepo. He's in no shape to hurt us either. But, Meepo, it's true us surfacers and your folk don't get along much--not your fault or ours. Just... history. What's to keep your clever leader and her guards from deciding we're a problem rather than friends who can help with the goblins?"
Nee sets the lantern down, and adopts a crouched posture, sitting on her haunches. She smiles and winks at Meepo as they share sustenance. For the moment she is content, having seemingly secured more safety for more folk. Nee nods toward their scout, and indicates her party members in turn.
“That’s Jacq. She’s good people Meepo. I’m Nee. That’s Dorian with the hammer. He’s solid, just grumpy like all dwarves. Silvash there keeps us safe from tricks and traps, and if you’re hurt - happy Lanliss is our healer. Tem already introduced himself, he’s….a wizard. And we speak true - no tricks. But trust goes both ways, huh? And Jacq’s right - we’re far from home, and looking for lost folk, so we….need your help.”
Nee sniffs. Scans her allies.
”But we’re tough, and we don’t scare easy. So *you* need to make sure this… Yoostrayel…leader of yours can make good on *your* words. Does she like you? Seems you are all alone out here….why? You said the gobs “stole your dragon”. Was that in the cage?”
Dorian stands...glowering....'grumpy like all dwarves' he thinks and *harrumphs*
Temerith hears the comment about a dragon and is confused. Goblins steal a dragon? Dragon's are big and powerful! Maybe Meepo would talk about it so they would know what they were getting in to?
"Meepo? What was your dragon's name? And what did it look like?"
Meepo tilts his head at Jacq’s question, his eyes narrowing slightly - "Nothing keep her from it" - he admits, voice low but matter-of-fact - "If you problem... maybe she make you problem. But..." - he pauses, squinting at Jacq with an almost hopeful flick of his frills - "Are you problem? If you not problem, maybe she not problem. If you help... maybe friends. Probably. For sure!" - he nods once, as if that settles it.
He glances sideways at Nee, then around at the group as she names them one by one. He blinks at each face, committing names to memory. At the mention of Silvash, his tail gives a twitch. At “happy Lanliss” his eyes linger on the healer just a heartbeat longer. Then he nods solemnly - "Meepo likes Nee. You feed Meepo, you talk true. Not yell" - he gives Dorian a quick look.
But the warmth in his expression falters at her last question. He shifts uneasily on his feet, claws curling into his palms - "Calcryx was ours" - he says, with quiet conviction - "Gift to tribe. White dragon - small, but strong. Meepo's job to guard him. Goblins came, broke cage. Took Calcryx. Meepo failed..." - he trails off again, voice hitching.
A beat passes before he squares his thin shoulders - "Yusdrayl not like failure. Sent Meepo here. Alone. But maybe... maybe if bring helpers. Bring you" - he straightens, clutching his tattered blanket like a badge - "Maybe Yusdrayl listen again. You come?" - he looks up - "Meepo show safe way. Goblins not use that path. But you promise - no smash, no yell" - he eyes Dorian again - "Yes?"
Temerith moves between Meepo and Dorian. "Yes Meepo. Safe way is good. We promise. No smash and no yell. Meepo friend. We don't hurt friends."
"Can big ones get through the safe way?" He points at Dorian and the humans.
Nee moves aside a little, to let the halfling move to the fore and treat with their kobold “ally”. Nee’ eyebrows raise as Temerith talks, and she nods in approval.
”That’s a good point Tem. So far, this place isn’t cramped for Jacq and I. But goblins and kobolds aren’t….tall. So….they maybe didn’t *build* this place. But perhaps they dug…added tunnels us tallfolk might only squeeze in…”
Giving Meepo a little more food, Nee smiles.
”We’re here to find our missing people, not cause…trouble. I’m sorry the Goblins stole your Calcryx. Maybe we can find Calcryx too.”
"Can big ones get through the safe way?" He points at Dorian and the humans.
"They can" - Meepo seemed confident.
At “happy Lanliss” his eyes linger on the healer just a heartbeat longer.
Lanliss smiles and waves.
After introductions are made and further questions have been asked, Lanliss asks one of his own.
"Meepo, who gifted your tribe with the dragon Calcryx? That seems like a pretty big gift!"
If it's relevant to Meepo's answer, Lanliss will also ask if whomever gifted the dragon is still around.
"Yeah, I got no plans to be a problem. I don't think any of us do." She frowns. "How big is this dragon? Size of me? Smaller? Bigger? I mean, it might just attack the gobbos." Jacq doesn't like the idea of something as intelligent as a dragon caged. She also doesn't like the notion that it will likely be hostile no matter who it's with. "Anyway, I think we can help deal with the goblins, but let's be sure we don't lose sight of the rescue mission."
At an opportune moment, she also leans over to whisper in Dorian's ear: "Grin and bear it and I'll owe ya a bottle of Oldlaw once we get back to town."
She's ready to go when everyone else is.
Dorian hears Jacq's advice and a low grumble escapes his lips and he mutters after Aye, sounding more a swear word than an agreement.