[Game Thread] A Change of Season - Part 3

[Admin Bhelogan]

Five figures, albeit one of them invisible and perched on Oren's shoulder, made their way to the edge of the forest. There, it was time to part. "Thank you again Oren and Gillindan. You have been kinder than I deserved." He gave a bow, a gesture uncustomary for these parts, and then turned to leave. Urthwin continued on, until he was no longer in sight, headed south and towards the main roads that would lead him to his destination. The ex-priests exit fulfilled Oren's contract he had with his faux-patron, the Demon Lord Fierna.

" It might be interesting to see what happens next. You know, Isabelle didn't really get the full 'training' most future Priestesses do." Lux commented, loud enough for the remaining trio to hear him. "If she makes a move to be the town's new spiritual leader, then you know something stuck. In any case, I'm sure there are more exciting things to find in that cave of yours Oren. What do you say, should we go do a little more spelunking?"

[mountainbound]

Good riddance, Oren thinks to himself. The gratitude of the abbot meant very little to him, after having turned almost the entire village against him and spreading rumors about Oren and Daybreak. Even if he was put up to it by the demon, the damage in the minds of the villagers was already done, and would take the warlock time to undo. He gives a stiff nod of his head at the abbot and watches him as he disappears down the path.

His pact complete, the question of what to do with Lux rears itself again. The warlock had hoped that the imp would simply go away when the Abbot was gone, but it didn't look that simple. Gallindan and I must consult on the matter.

For now, the imp might come in handy. "I have no doubt your Lady has given Isabella plenty of training and fully expect trouble to come. As I told Fierna, Isabella will need to win the hearts of the congregation on her own, I will not be a party to it." Looking to the warrior he says, "We have much to consider my friend. But I hope to spend a day of rest before checking in on the situation."

The imp's repeated mention of the cave finally stirs Oren. "Fine then, we'll return to Dragonhall, pack our gear and explore a bit. What is it about the place that so interests you?"

[zebedee]

Gallindan nods. "Agreed. Let's head back and spend some time thinking about how to proceed. The town will need a spiritual leader, but I don't know the citizens well enough to suggest an alternative to this Isabella."

He groans inwardly at the idea that they do what Lux suggests in investigating the cave, but even without the mindspeech, he can follow Oren's thinking.

OOC: MB - still Professing, but I changed schools/courses/textbooks/audiences. I spend ALL my time making lecture slides and homework assignments and exams. And I'm teaching a different class next semester, so it's not going to improve any time soon. Good thing I like it.

[Admin Bhelogan]

With Oren finally given in to let Lux explore the cave a little bit, the imp was in a clearly jolly mood. "What interests me? I mean, you had a Dragon living there, and clearly some Kobolds. They didn't just pop up out of the blue in some hole in the wall. I'm telling you, there has to be something more there. And, again, it's the stories I've heard about caves. People going there to do dark rituals. Horrific monsters and tombs created deep underground by a fantastical litch. Giant worms of various shades of purple." Every creature or horrific thing mentioned seemed to excite Lux even more. If it turned out that Dragonhall was, after all, just a normal boring cave. the little guy was going to be hugely disappointed.

The expected disappointment started to set in when the group returned to the Cave, and Lux immediately started investigating every nook and cranny of the place that Oren and Daybreak had previously explored. The only thing new he discovered was a nook in the ceiling of one of the barracks rooms where a Kobold had hidden some parchment with drawings of female kobolds in some compromising positions. The nature of such even disguised Lux. "I just don't get it. There has to be something more!" Lux insisted.

"There isn't," Daybreak responded, with an annoyance that mirrored Gallindan's own disdain for the small devil. "I've been over every inch of this cave as well. There is nothing more here."

"Did you follow the river?"

"As far as I could yes."

"Did you go through the river?"

"I hate swimming," was Daybreak's response.

"Well, then there you have it," Lux said with a bit of triumph returning to his stance. "We must have to swim through the river. Downriver, we know where the stream comes out of the mountain. But where does it come from? Oren, with your permission, I would like to try swimming through the river."

[mountainbound]

"You might find out where it comes from, but those of us with bigger bodies may find it gets tight very quickly. Still, I would like to know how far back the river goes, and whether there's an opening, or risk I'm not aware of."

The warlock smiles at Daybreak's ever direct manner. "No surprise that neither a tiefling or a dryad likes swimming. I would like to explore, and would prefer if you join us. Afterall, you excel at saving my life. But the choice is yours my dear."

To Gallindan he says, "If you are interested in exploring underground, and don't mind getting wet, I'd appreciate the company."

Finally, to Lux Oren asks, "I have rope and climbing gear. Would a canoe or raft benefit us? If not, then we may as well get started."

[zebedee]

Gallindan was surprised at the turn of conversation. Or maybe Zeb got buried in final examsMaybe this dialect was harder to understand than he had originally thought. "Swimming through an underground river sounds extraordinarily dangerous! I would imagine a raft would be essential. If we don't have magic to allow us to breathe?" He paused to look at Daybreak, completely unsure of her abilities. "Even then, we'd need to leave armor and weapons behind to make progress against the current. What did you have in mind, Lux?"

[Admin Bhelogan]

"Say no more, and wait right here. Of course, this is dangerous, but that is what makes it fun." Lux bent over, placing all four limbs on the ground, and suddenly his formed changed into that of a rat.

"Ick, I don't know which is uglier," Daybreak said, squirming at the mostly rat looking Lux. It still had shades of Lux's dark purple eyes, and the coloring was a little off to be a normal rat from the area.

"I still have ears dear," Lux squeaked back high pitched rodent voice. "I've shown you how. You could join me you know!"

Daybreak was not about to oblige. True, she had recently learned how to take the form of some simple beasts, but she wasn't about to go off on a rodent adventure with Lux.

"Ok, with any luck, I'll be back soon!" Rats could, in fact, swim fairly well, hold their breath for a very long time, and get into all kinds of places they really shouldn't be.

The trio watched as lux crawled along the edge of the cave to where the stream was spewing out from the rock, and then as he crawled his way into the water. Then, they waited. An hour had passed, and they had not seen or heard back from the small imp yet. "Do you think he drowned?" Daybreak asked, being more hopeful than concerned for the imp's welfare.

[mountainbound]

"I don't think we'd be that lucky," Oren says to Daybreak.

"But I don't trust him, and I don't like the idea of him somewhere where I don't know -- or uncovering secrets of the place that are better off not known to him or his queen."

Oren looks at Gallindan, "I think we need to follow. Can you swim?"

To Daybreak he says gently, "I'd feel better if you came with us, but I won't make you. You're new powers could come in handy. But the choice is yours my dear."

[zebedee]

Gallindan's jaw drops. "I can swim in lakes and ponds. I can't say I've ever tried to swim in an underground river. But if that's what we're doing next, I will need to get out of my armor!"

He begins unbuckling his splint mail as quickly as he can.

[Admin Bhelogan]

Daybreak gave a nod. She could swim. She thought at least. "I don't think swimming is the problem. It's going to be breathing long enough to swim however far that tunnel goes. Small rats might be able to find pockets of air along the way, but that won't help either of you too." She gave it a thought for a few moments, to see if she could think of another solution. "You don't have any airtight bags, or a canoe we could flip over, or something like that?"

OODM Not looking to make this too difficult. Any reasonable solution here could work.

[zebedee]

Gallindan, now standing in his undergarments, smiled. "Good idea, Daybreak! I have a wineskin and a waterskin. It's not MUCH air, but it might do. And I have rope... we could attach that here somewhere, and at least have a guide line. Do you have anything waterproof, Oren?"

[mountainbound]

Oren can't help but chuckle at his friend's quick disrobing, and Daybreak's reaction to it. "I can find some waxed bags and tie them off, but we have no canoe at the moment. It'll have to do."

It takes a few minutes for the warlock to return with two skins, which in addition to Gallndan's skins, would be the extent of their equipment. He had wrapped a few items of worth, such as his book of secrets and some food in wax as well. "I also have rope, and chalk for marking our passage in case there's much to explore on the other end. The rope we can tie off where the space gets tight as a lifeline and one of us can tie off and go through."

He doesn't like the prospect of adventuring underground, but it was more just a natural fear of the dark unknown than any real sense of foreboding. Plus, he had wanted to find out just what his home was connected to, and how vulnerable it might be to unwanted entry. Still wearing his leather armor -- much lighter than Gallidan's heavy mail, he steps intrepidly into the stream and let's his elven heritage, allowing him to see more or less in the dark, guide his steps. The water is cold and the stones beneath his boots are slick. Still, he feels a sense of excitement, daring the underground with his companions. "Coming?"

[zebedee]

Gallindan really hated this plan. Was there enough of it to be called a plan? It was unclear. And he was acutely aware that he was wearing his underpants, a belt with his sickle attached, his magical gauntlets, and nothing more. He sighed. "Yes. Here goes nothing." He, too, strode into the water.

[Admin Bhelogan]

Into the dark waters, the trio started to swim. They first held their breath and swam up-stream as far as they could go, but soon found themselves having to use their skins to breath some air. Eventually, with some struggle, they discovered a way to find pockets of air in the ceiling of the cavern, where they could catch their breath, and refill their water-turned-air-skins. The process was dangerous, and not something any sain person would willingly do. But, they had an imp to follow, so follow they did.

It was hard to tell how long it took before they found an exit to the underground flow of water, but eventually, they hit a bank similar to the one accessible in Oren's cave, where they hit sandy shores. There was no natural light in this cave, but all three of the trio had the ability to see in the dark. As such, no torches were needed. The sandy bank opened up to a cavern about forty feet long. In the center of it, a tunnel leads downward, away from the river, that was wide enough for two medium humanoids to walk side by side down. The one point of note, in the sand were the recently made, wet footsteps of a rat, headed towards the tunnel.

OODM In your next posts, please let me know what gear you brought with you. I know it was described in your narratives, but just want to have the mecahnics of it confirmed.

[zebedee]

OOC: Easy part first... Gallindan hasn't brought much. Belt, holy symbol belt buckle, empty waterskin, empty wineskin, sickle, 50' rope, gauntlets of ogre power, underclothes. The latter of which I seem to have left off his character sheet, but which it seems reasonable to assume.