[Game Thread] V. The Darkening Dawn Part 2

[Krimchee]

"Thank the gods for that l-l-light, Dan! Silas whispered, shivering. This sucks! he thought, as his body convulsed with the cold. Gods, he hurt. His teeth started chattering, and though he tried to stop them, he couldn't. He wanted to curl up under his cloak and try to get warm, but he new they couldn't afford to do that. He also knew it wouldn't work, but it was just soooo tempting. They had to get warm. "This is bad, Dan. We've got to get moving and try to warm ourselves up. If we don't get out of here, we're effed." Silas began looking around, trying to find a way up or out. "Let's see what's back here," he said, gesturing to blackness of the cave. "How long can you keep up those lights?"

Perception Check Perception check Dice Roll: 1d20+11 (10)+11 Total = 21

[mountainbound]

As Dan shivers at the water-locked mouth of the cave, Silas rises and looks back into the dark cave. The dancing orbs give scant light, and Dan doesn't seem inclined to direct them anywhere. But Silas's sharp eyes notice something. It's a figure of sorts. It appears small and dim, as though deep in the cave. There is some kind of light with it, and then it goes away.

[Krimchee]

"Dan! Did you see that?" Silas began moving towards the dim figure, his heart racing. "Come on, this way! Can you bring that light with us?" Silas gestured to Dan, beckoning him to follow.

Silas didn't know what the H it was, but at the moment he didn't care. If there was light, that's where they'd bloody well better go. He could barely contain his excitement. They might get out of this yet. We might be leaping out of the pan and into the flaming fire, he thought with wry amusement. But he didn't care, they were going. It's got to be better than freezing my nads off and dying in a dank, dark, hole.

"Come on Dan!"

[mountainbound]

"Homie say wha--" Dan mutters, trying to overcome the pain associated with moving his battered, tired limbs; a pain that is compounded by wet clothes plastered to his skin. The chill was almost unbearable, to be drenched and freezing, with nothing to be done except shiver in place. "Sy, I don't want to f-ing move, ever. Hear me?"

But Sy was already walking down the oddly sloped throat of the cave, and would soon be out of sight. "F me," Dan mutters, feeling like his body was encased in ice. His friend was wandering into darkness though, and he couldn't let that happen. "Sy! What the F-ing F!?" With an effort of will, Dan sends two of the dancing lights down the corridor as he gathers his cloak to follow the ranger as best a wizard can.

Sy, trying to keep the ghostly figure in view, stumbles over the broken stone of the cave -- granite rocks that no mortal may have ever seen in the history of the world. Soon a blue light encompasses the ranger as Dan's spectral orbs catch up with him and he's able to avoid stepping into the gaping crevices that loom in his path. After all, the cracks beneath Archeebald Mountain were no place for a man without proper lighting. But the aided by Dan's magic, Sy is able to at least move at speed with the distant specter. All is bathed in an eerie, arcane blue as you move deeper into the cave.

Unfortunately, the cave is nothing more than an opening in the uncounted miles of solid stone -- an alien place with no concern for plumb or level. Sloping floor covered in calcified steeples and inverted icicles, the cave meanders at vertiginous angles this way and that, causing the ranger to sometimes run, sometimes climb, sometimes crawl to keep up.

DM's Note K (Dungeoneering) DC 11. If you pass, you keep pace with the ghostly figure. If you fail the first check, make another check, DC 15. If you fail the second, you loose the trail completely.

[Krimchee]

Silas divided his attention between watching his footing and trying to keep an eye on the ghostly figure that just wouldn't slow down for a flaming second so he could catch up. "Flaming Ichvalli..." he muttered as the cavern sloped in a particularly awkward way and Silas had to leap over a small crevasse swimming with inky blackness of unknown depths. Years of negotiating awkward terrain in the wilderness allowed the ranger to keep up without too much problem. Though with the odd lighting and his battered condition, it did take concentration. "Burn you Dan! Come on! It's getting away!"

Dungeoneering Check Dungeoneering Dice Roll: 1d20+4 (19)+4 Total = 23

[mountainbound]

Blue and purple were not the ideal colors for lighting an infinite blackness. Somehow Silas is able to find his way over and through the cracks of the earth though, always keeping half-an-eye on the ghostly figure far ahead.

Far behind, the sounds of sliding stones and curses erupt like little avalanches. Indeed, it's Dan that has far more difficulty than his ranger companion. The wizard kept the brightest dancing globe for himself, and his way was lit by an orange glow that was near to sunset. But the light couldn't keep his cloak from getting snagged on rocks, and his hands from getting bloodied from hidden corners and nasty slides. "Silas! Wait up!"

The figure seems to keep Silas just far enough behind that he needs to hasten on without thought for surroundings. Dark crevices yawn to either side, sometimes below, but always the ranger stays on course, dogging the ghost like a bloodhound. After the twentieth turn down seemingly random corridors of rock, Silas unexpectedly steps foot onto... cobblestone? Flat pavers twice as wide as what might be found in streets above ground line an avenue leading downward. Following much more easily now that the surface was sure, Silas catches up with the ghost just as it disappears into a solid wall at the end of the underground road.

Moments later, Dan puffs up from behind. "What?... What were you doing? How... how did you find this road?"

DM's Note Perception check.

[Krimchee]

Frantically, Silas searched the wall into which the "ghost" had just disappeared. "It....It was just here!" he sputtered, mildly winded. "It...It just went through the wall!" Distantly, his mind registered that it probably sounded to Dan that he was raving. He didn't care though.

"The ghost led us here Dan! Did it want us to go through here too? Is there a passage here? Come on Dan, we have to look!"

Perception Check Perception Dice Roll: 1d20+11 (1)+11 Total = 12

[mountainbound]

Dan's perceptive powers were better served eying up waitresses than searching a blank stone wall. But Silas's raving was a good show. Of crazy. "A ghost, huh? Please don't tell me you've gone mad Sy. I don't want to be stuck in the ass of the earth with a crazy person."

Silas is more concerned with searching the wall where his "ghost" penetrated through, and Dan takes a step forward to help out when... Qurzzzzsssssss... POP POP POP! The dancing globes suddenly fizzle out, leaving them in blackness again. It's then that Dan notices something. He's standing several feet behind Silas, looking at his friend's back when the lights go out.

"Uh... hey Sy. Did you know that the bow strapped to your back is glowing every time you step...right..." he pauses, waiting for Silas the stumble blindly back to the right spot. "...There?"

[Krimchee]

Silas ignored Dan. Maybe he was flipping crazy. The thought worried him, but he was sure of what he'd seen, and the pavers on the floor proved that they'd moved in a positive direction. At the moment, that seemed enough to him.

When the lights went out, Silas cursed. He looked around. Blackness surrounded him. He cursed again, with more intent this time. All at once, the impossibility of the situation slammed into him, and a blanket of despair washed over him. His wounds throbbed, his body ached, his leather armor chaffed uncomfortably in unmentionable places because it was still wet. And just as it seemed they might find a way out of this gods-forsaken mess, the lights went out. Again. He suddenly felt too tired to even curse. He wanted to just sit down on something soft and dry and not have to move for days. He wanted a drink. He wanted a seaof flaming drinks and a fire to sit by. He was about to flop his wet arse down right where he stood when Dan spoke.

"Uh... hey Sy. Did you know that the bow strapped to your back is glowing every time you step...right..."

Silas looked over his left shoulder at the top of the bow slung across his body. Nothing. He moved to the right."Son of a ...." Quickly he moved the bow to his hands. Surely as water was flaming wet....the blasted thing glowed. "Flaming Ichvaali..." he muttered. But as that glow ripped open the inky blackness with light, however dim, so too his despair lessened.

"I don't suppose you can get those lights working again?" Silas asked. He feared he already knew the answer. Experimentally, he moved the bow, back and forth to see how it responded. "Maybe we could use this thing to guide us. I don't know where, but as long as there's light, that's a good enough direction for me. What do you think?"

[mountainbound]

Frustrated, Dan snaps, "No, I can't just magic up more lights! I'd have to study my Ma's old Hymnal to relearn the spell... and I need light to read by!"

As Silas shifts back to a certain spot in front of the wall, his Ichvaali mindbow begins glowing again. Not enough to read by, just enough to make everybody's skin prickle.

CRACK!

Without warning the wall in front of Silas splits open, causing the ranger to jump backwards, knocking into Dan in the confusion. Naturally clumsy and blind in the dark, Dan trips on an unseen stone and the two companions fall over each other in a heap of packs, gear and flailing limbs. "Get off me!" Dan grunts, seriously hoping that was Silas's bow poking him in the back.

A rickety little voice cuts through the darkness, words laced with a strange accent that makes you both scramble to your feet in a hurry.
"What du flaming feck be this, eh?"

A tiny man, no taller than Silas's knee, glares at you from between what appears to be two large stone doors. White hair rings a bald spot on his tiny head, and his clothes, festooned with floral designs, and walking stick are diminutive to say the least. He steps forward, and behind him through the tall crack between the doors, you glimpse a lighted realm of crystal spires and moving things, blinking and whirling.

"Du prophecy say du Heroes come from other land. Not du fools! Who be you dat you come to yell at door of mine?"

[Krimchee]

"What du flaming feck be this, eh?"

Silas jumped at the words. Quickly he stumbled up to his feet, standing up straight next to Dan. Unconsciously he straightened his clothing and brushed a stray hair back behind his ear. He didn't know what to think about the wee-person chastising them. He'd never seen anything like him before. But the wee-man's tone made some part of him feel like he was back at school being scolded for horseplay. He felt sheepish and... nervous?

"Um...sorry...em, sir. We didn't mean to disturb you. My name is Silas." He gestured, " And this is Dan. " "We're from Lehman's Hollow Sir." He was about to extend a hand, looked at the size of the stranger and then quickly clasped his hands behind his back. He looked at Dan for help. Dan looked back at him. Silas figured Dan's confused look likely mirrored what his own stupid face looked like.

"Um..b-b-but..um...we don't know about...Did you say prophesy? Silently Silas cursed himself for his stuttering and his sudden nervousness. What is wrong with me? I could step on this dude if I had to.

[mountainbound]

The little man slaps his forehead in anger, "Course be du donno about du prophesy! I am de Prophet, how in du know my visions, eh?" He glares, little points of light shining out of otherwise completely black eyes. Everything is silent for a few moments.

"Ahh CHHOOO!" Dan sneezes. At once he begins to shiver from the wet and cold. "We d-don't know anything, we just want to get out of here and didn't mean to yell at your door. We were led here. Silas said he saw a..." he finishes in a lame whisper, "...ghost. Can you tell us how to get back up, above ground again?"

"A ghosty du an den?" At that, his face breaks into a laugh. "No such ting for du kind, only my kind. Bah! If you Heros, you must answer dis. Den I know for sure. What is it du carry dat wakey the sleepers? An how du get it? Eh?" He folds his arms, and somehow despite his tiny size, is able to block the way inside the bright insides of the whrring room beyond.

[Krimchee]

Silas tried his best to follow what the wee man was saying. Like seemingly everything else these days, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. But here he was, and there was nothing left to flaming do about it but deal with it. He was wet, he was tired, he was annoyed at himself for feeling like a nervous flaming school girl caught sneaking sweets in class. He was starting to shiver and his wet clothing chafed uncomfortably. The soles of his feet were were starting to itch from their undoubtedly prune-ish condition. If this little fellow can get us out of here to a warm, dry place, HE'LL be MY flaming hero!

"Um....S-s-s-ir?" Damn chattering teeth, stop it! "There really was a ghost....at least I think there was." Silas knew it had to sound crazy. "And when he came to the wall, these Ichvalli artifacts began glowing as we came near. Then...well, then, well h-h-h-ere we a-a-are." Silas brought the bow to hand in front of him to show it. "Dan, show him your staff as well."

[mountainbound]

"What!? What about du Horn? Or du forget? How du get dat ting? You steal it?" His little eyes narrow, waiting for an explanation.

[Krimchee]

For a moment Silas was confused by the the wee one's words. "The what....?" he began, and then his sluggish, exhausted brain finally kicked into gear. Oh, THAT horn.... Silently, Silas gestured to give him a minute and then unslung his damp pack and began digging around. Gently, he produced the horn for display. Everybody seems to go all goofy about the effing thing. Then he reminded himself how Olaf had used it to summon crawlers. No flaming wonder people are interested. Silently, he admonished himself to pay attention here. The last thing they wanted was to get jumped and have to fight yet again over the blasted thing. He was exhausted, and cold and wet. He wanted a bath, and a warm meal and a dry place to sleep. Another fight was the last thing he wanted. A fight will warm you up, he thought sarcastically.

"Umm...We didn't steal it exactly. But we....repossessed it from someone who would do great harm with it. What can you tell us about it?"