Ardil ends up next to Crystal at the last pillars before the glowing ones.
"Bronn, could you take a look at these? They have more writing of some sort, and I bet it's distinct from the last ones!"
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Ardil listens briefly to Bronn's story but wanders off when it seems like it's not relevant to the situation. Drawn by Crystal's question, he makes his way to the other end of the room and peers towards the source of the red light.
Ardil walks into the room slowly, swinging his staff from side to side to light up the tapestry. He looks to Avala. "You've always been better than I at maps with these things... do these drawing tell you anything?"
Ardil still has his staff with a stone tied to it. He recasts light on it when the last casting runs out every 10 minutes.
Ardil curses his poor eyes under his breath and motions forward towards the big room, trying to feel his way through the dimly lit hallways without stumbling and making too much noise.
"Bah, these weak-willed brutes aren't going to cause us much trouble. I would expect that those in charge of them are going to be much harder to deal with... I'm not sure how much use my glorified parlor tricks will be. We should prepare for the worst and keep moving I think... they're going to notice this many missing soon!"
Ardil casts his sleep spell again, placing the center of it just behind the orcs, or in the middle of them if they are more spread out.
Ardil stays still and keeps quiet. He readies himself for whatever may come from the central corridor.
"Good idea Master Bronn! I don't hear anything at these doors, and I doubt these orcs are much for stealth. Maybe further down the hall..." He follows Bronn towards the far right of the passage.
Quickly losing interest in another identical room, Ardil listens at each of the two doors across the hall from the one that was just opened.
Ardil returns to the hall as well, following Crystal in seeking a similar room on the other side in hopes that it may contain something more valuable than a few arrows.
Peeking into the room and stepping in when his turn comes, Ardil looks around, shielding his eyes from the suddenly bright illumination. "Looks like we're in luck... had the brutes across the hall found this place, we likely would not have had a very good time getting in! I think everyone who needs arrows should take their fill, then we should destroy the rest."
Ardil nudges Udaya towards the door. "You look eager for adventure, why don't you try this one! The last one I tried didn't work out too well."
Ardil will take his position in the middle of the pack, staying closer to Avala if possible.
Ardil moves farther down the left hallway. (I don't think he was aware of Avala's scouting)
"Bronn! Looks like your judgment of the situation was correct. Have your way with this one and let's keep moving, I guess. This place makes my skin crawl and I don't want to stay here any longer than we need to!" He exits the room and starts looking further down the hallways with his light.
"I say we let Bronn have his way with it! If he won't talk, we might be able to find more who will. Orcs don't learn devilish tongues for the fun of it... their clan is probably summoning demons! We should find the priests or the chief or whatever it is they have. They'll have answers for us!"
Ardil, who's been standing back and watching the proceedings, burst out in a flare of anger. "Tell us why you are here! Why are you sitting in this room? Tell us who led you here! You didn't get here yourself, you worthless sack of guts! Tell us or we'll bleed you slow!" Shaking in anger, he backs down to rejoin his sister.
"We should wake him now and ask our questions. We can't leave him as is... he could wake up and warn his brethren. Sir Caresti - you look like you could spook him enough to talk... I doubt these beasts understand much other than threats. Perhaps you should be the one to do the talking!"
"Well our... 'guest' will wake up soon. My apprentice's magic lasts for but a minute or two. I can't help but feel that it's being hindered somewhat in these halls as well. Something isn't right here. We need to find out what he knows best we can and then move on. I just hope that Bronn is wrong and this beast can tell us something useful."
Ardil moves out of the way as Bronn leaves to allow the orc to be bound. "I never learned the language of the foul creatures either. Never thought I would need it!"
"These are orcs of the same clan that attacked our father! They may know more... Set aside your hatred for a few minutes. We can always kill them later if that would please you." Ardil moves to stand over the second orcs, knowing he can't protect him by force from Bronn, but hoping to convince him otherwise.
Ardil curses the orcs under his breath. He steps 5 feet back and casts and casts the lullaby again!
Seeing the orcs advance, Ardil closes his eyes and starts muttering words that come to him without knowing what he is saying. He casts a spell of sleep at the orcs!
"Orcs! In dwarven halls!? Out vile beasts!"
Not much for stealth, Ardil readies himself a few feet from the door.
Arbil mumbles a little but continues on as long as nothing happens when he tries the door. "Wonder if there are any artifacts left around this place... those might be worth a pretty penny! After all, it doesn't look like anything is getting much use sitting here!"
With the others passing by, Ardil puts his ear to the door in the middle of the left passage and listens carefully.
As long as the door isn't locked and he doesn't hear anything disturbing, he pushes (or pulls) it open quietly and takes a peek inside, lighting up the room with his stone.
"Perhaps we could just tie them up here and leave them with some food? This area doesn't look like it's been traveled much... I would think they should be safe here for the day or even two if we end up being that long."
Ardil follows Crystal into the doors, swinging his light around to illuminate shadowy corners. "I also thought that this is dwarven stonework... Are we not looking for a lost dwarven clan? I would agree that I did not expect to find these halls empty also."
Assuming there is no sources of light inside the tunnel, Ardil produces a fist-sized rock he's picked up along the way and tied to a small length of rope. With a flourish and a few arcane words he evokes a glimmer of light within the stone. He ties the stone loosely to his staff to help guide him through the darkness. "I do believe we're finally getting somewhere! These long travels do tend to dampen my spirits. I rather expected a welcoming party however... it's not like the dwarves to leave their halls untended from what the songs would tell me." He turns back to his companions. "Perhaps someone with sharper eyes would like to go ahead? I'm likely to miss an important clue and stumble into something I shouldn't like to have any part of. I would be happy to offer my stone if you would like it."
If there's room to help, Ardil will attempt to help also.
"Oof! I apologize, pushing heavy things around isn't exactly my specialty."
Ardil waits for the elvish lord to cross and continues his efforts to outline the bridge.
Watching Avala's careful steps and the hesitation of the animals, Ardil takes some time to gather up some dirt and rocks from the stone walkway and spread it across the invisible bridge, creating some steadier footing for himself and perhaps for the animals.
"Oy, I thought you dwarves liked to build things underground, not paths on soaring heights... Let's hope the dwarven craftsmanship is as sturdy as rumored. I don't want to be in for a nasty fall."
Grumbling about the lack of firewood, Adril pitches his tent and prepares the little caravan area for the night. "Hopefully we'll be there on the morrow. T'was meant to be a five-day voyage, was it not? I'm getting nervous traveling through these barren parts. The rocks aren't exactly friendly.:
Ardil puts his hand on Avala's shoulder. "I know we'll need your eyes and ears out here but you better promise me to be careful. Father would never have forgiven me if anything happened to you. He turns to the rest of the group, looking at the horse. "I guess this is the way we go. What should we do with the animal?"
Ardil turns to their new dwarven companion. "Does this look to be dwarven handywork to you? We were told there would be a secret passage and this seems to fit the description. I wouldn't want to be too hasty and fall into some sort of trap though. If you think it looks like the passage we are looking for, I will follow you."
sorry for late roll
"This isn't good..."
Ardil will insist on a fire to warm up and cook any food, but as he is not standing watch tonight he doesn't have a preference whether the fire is put out or not after he goes to sleep... "These mountains make me feel cold... I guess I wasn't made for living here. I always miss the forests and the plains any time I'm in the mountains... or out to sea I guess. Home always seems to be a little more comfortable, even after years on the road."
Ardil will volunteer to relieve his sister if she wants to have a full night of sleep this night instead of having to worry about a watch. He knows his eyes aren't as sharp as hers though, so he'll let her make the decision!
Having arrived via caravan, Ardil has no livestock to house, so he begrudgingly loads up his affairs into a large sack and slings it over his shoulder. 20' is a fine movement rate, Ardil will be encumbered with his wares anyway. He knowns he's no scout anyway... ever since they were kids, Avala's always teased him about winning at hide and seek every single time. He has yet to win a game of it with her to this day...
About an hour before sunset, Ardil puts his pack down. "I don't think we should go any further. Let's pitch camp here... it'll give us a chance to have everything set up before darkfall. I know I'm no good at putting up a tent in pitch black. It'll give any of our travel-wise members a chance to forage for food and water so we can conserve our rations."
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