Back in the Day (Chapter I) — Legacy Forums

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#161

OOC: And why didn't you buy these two poor slobs a drink as well?

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#162

"Youse just stay back, Brotha," Aerex ordered, pointing at the priest. "I'll handle this arrest." He turned back to the guards and Moruz. "Now don't play dumb, youse eight-fingered foreigner. Youse and Keykold are up to somethin'." The guards exchanged a glance. Before one of them could speak up, Aerex kept talking. "Oh yeah, youse heard me right. That thief is up to no good. Wh- what is this? A gem shop? In the middle o' the night? I mean, c'mon!!" He gestured wildly before him. "I'll bet youse my hat the lock was picked." He glared back at Moruz and stepped forward, slightly more menacingly than awkwardly. "An- an' here I thought youse was a good guy, y'know? With the honor and the killing and the glass... stuff. But breaking and entering? That, that ain't youse, Moruz." He stepped forward again, only a couple feet from the warrior. "Now just tell me where he is an, an' we can put this whole thing behind us, y'know?"

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#163

Moruz was silent for a moment - he didn't need any acting to curl his nose up at the smell of alcohol off Aerex's breath, "And with the aid of booze the true colours come out... You know, Aerex, I never pegged you as a racist!" The glass warrior stepped back and gripped the handle of his Ouzala threateningly, "Accusing me of thievery just because I am foreign; unbelievable! You've insulted my honor - do you want to settle this here and now!?"
By Axtrami's nosehairs, he hoped Vee would find a way out of that building fast: Moruz couldn't keep this farce up for very long!

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#164

“Ah, well met, my fellows! See Aerax, we have found Moruz hale and with little ado. You need not have stirred yourself after all. And two worthies of the Watch! An my eyes mistake not, are you not two of the heroes that dids’t save us so nobly when those dire earthen beasts did burst forth into that ‘Kettle” place but the other day? Twas well and nobly done!” Aethelstan declared obliviously.

“Goodmen of the Watch, I am Brother Aethelstan of the Most Holy Order of Saint Senren and I am eternally in your debt for your service on that dark day! Furthermore, I commend you for your good service in helping my friend, Investigator Matare, find this valiant warrior,” he said, gesturing toward Moruz. “We had been celebrating our good fortune in defeating Red hatchet and his vile minion in yon low tavern, but Matare here grew concerned over our friends and went forth to seek them. Mayhap you have seen our friend Vee? He is a stalwart fellow, but I fear that wandering alone and in his cups as he was he may fall afoul of brigands or other such miscreants.

“My friends, I bid you both a good night! Moruz, if you have done with that strange ritual you are practicing, Matare and I could use your help looking for Vee. He is unwise to wander a strange town in the night! We had hoped to find the two of you together, and save ourselves a tiring search in the dark of night!” the naive cleric continued.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#165

"Wha- now- ya- ha-" Aerex stuttered at Moruz's remark. "Now, now I don't blame youse, y'see. Youse ain't from around here. But that Keykold guy prolly corrupted youse." The constable tugged at his belt and began to walk around. "Youse don't worry yourself, priest, I'magonna find that thug." He began to closely examine the building as best he could.

(ooc: Search check to find the hidden passageway.)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#166

--"You mean that fellow with the whip? he's in there?" one of the guards asked Aerex perplexed, as the diminutive man focused on the storefront's door and lock. Aerex then noticed something, opened his mouth to speak and instead belched.

--Just then Aethelstan stormed in with his greetings and salutations and back slapping and for a brief moment Aerex was drowned out.

--"Well, hehe..ye know, we do what we can do..uphold the law and all--wait..do ye not know as well as we do priest? you were there when we entered the fracas. Or was that the other priest?" the smarter guard said, sounding not so smart. It was then Aethelstan and Moruz both realized something. Though they were not as inebriated as Aerex was, the guards were drunk! Aethelstan was tipsy himself he thought, but not this bad.

--The other guard was looking at Aethelstan and grinning, the priest wasnt sure why. "You speak like ma' priest back home" he was saying, as he continued grinning good-naturedly like an idiot.

--Moruz nearly leapt toward Aethesltan like a moth to light. "Yes, let us be off! Let us find....Vee, and put this drunkard some distance away from us." he glared toward Matare, with only half-disguised disgust. Moruz looked angry.

--Matare was having none of it. That half-demon Vee had them all fooled..or worse...had them all magically charmed, the drunken investigater thought as he approached the door.

--waiting on Mr. Keykold

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#167

Talia contemplated her drink for a bit after the others left. "Beni mere. They'll get themselves into trouble, like as not." She sighed, then stood up. "I suppose I'd best go make sure they don't hurt themselves," she said to no one in particular. She'd had the least to drink, but it seemed to her that the others wouldn't hold their liquor nearly so well. She wandered outside, looking for her wayward companions. Surely, in a town this size, they couldn't do much.

(looking for the others and/or anything out of the ordinary)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#168

"What is going on here?" it was the shrill voice of the shop owner. He was dressed in his nightclothes and carrying a lantern.

"Thats MY shop!!...What happened?", he approached, all chin hairs and sideburns supported by two stilt-like legs.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#169

There was a commotion going on near one of the shops. And it looked terribly like some of the others were involved. Talia shook her head, then joined the group standing outside. Aerex, Moruz, and Aeth were all standing around, some more drunk than others. "What in blazes is going on? Are you planning a party or some such?"

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#170

“Friends, if I had but known how my good friend Inshpec... Inspector Matare would be so losht...lost in hish drink. Certes, he ish a steady hand when we were hunting for brigandsh! He sheems quite madcap, now… losht in hish cupsh!”

Aethelstan wondered why he felt so much more awkward than usual. It wasn’t as if there were any beautiful women around… Well, there was Talia, but she hardly counted.

He hadn’t had that much to drink, had he? Only three or four glasses of that Medichin… Methyglyn… and that tankard of fiery stuff he’d quaffed down just before leaving to follow Matare… Why, back at the monastery, he would drink half a dozen glasses of the watered wine and harldy fell it…(hic!)

The storekeeper was trying to get the Guardsmen to do something, Aethelstan really couldn’t follow what, when it occurred to him that this man was responsible in part for their desperate financial straits. “By Shenren’sh Blade, art thou the shcare crow jackanapesh that hash been telling folksh that the trophy of our triumph hash been accurshed? (Hic!) Doth thy greed know no boundsh! Glash gashing Gek! Telling liesh jusht to forsh us to shell the chewel for a few meashly shilvers lesh! It’s a codde of sholid gold!”

Doubtless he shouldn’t have grabbed the tightfisted merchant by his flannel nightshirt, but he somehow found himself shaking the elderly miser by the neck, incoherently yelling as the confused guardsmen tried to pry him off.

As the aggravated guardsmen pulled the two apart, Aethelstan realized that he felt a bit ill. “Doubtlesh the exershens uf the lasht few days, hath weakened meself,” he mumbled. He could hardly understand the enraged yelling of the furious miser as the man demanded charges be brought and floggings be administered.

“Coshtable, Certesh, I’ll not… I’m not feeling too good after all,” concluded the cleric helpfully.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#171

Twenty Minutes Ago...

"Get revenge for us all Talia!! I will pray for your justice to be swift and terrible!" The snake charmer spoke to Talia before she had followed her companions out the door.

"May the hare and the hawk be with you! As Master Konos used to say, do you remember?" Loiha now smiled as she stuffed something into Talia’s palm.

“Remember the Krait Talia?”

Talia remembered. When she was younger she had been bitten by a Krait snake, but survived, despite the serpents virulent venom. It was well known as one of the most poisonous snakes in the lands, and few survived its bite without immediate assistance.

It was later that Loiha cast her fortunes and determined that Talia was destined for greatness. Talia paid little heed to the snake charmers ramblings, now as before, when they were both younger, the woman was always exaggerating and embellishing her own knowledge of the arcane arts.

“Remember the Krait Talia? Take this with you”, the woman almost hissed, insistently.

Talia glanced at what was now in her hand. It was a molted, snakeskin charm on a string. Loiha had often made these for special occasions. The snake charmer, to offer them up as gifts, quite rarely to her fellow caravan members, used different snakeskins for different occasions. To get a snakeskin bauble from Loiha meant good fortune, the Gypsies saw them as protective wards.

Talia recognized the skin by the coloring...Krait. She thanked the woman and hurried out of the tavern.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#172

It sounded like there was a merry romp going on outside, and Vee could hear the inspector quite well. He cursed to himself, he had hoped the lawman had been too deep in his cups to notice him leave, let alone follow him. He cursed silently again. He overheard some of Moruz' plan to gather everyone to go and find him, and then he heard the squeal of the wiry old shopkeeper. Loki for mischief, Pan for fun, he whispered, a bit of an old folk prayer he had heard...somewhere. He packed several of the dollor powders and two random vials into the hollow stock of his crossbow and deposited the small stronbox just under the eave of one of the alleyway buildings. Hop, quick like a bunny. He ruffled his hair quickly, pulled his shirt out into a hanging tail and rubbed several handfuls of dirt upon his person. He took a deep breath, and prepared himself to play this little act to the hilt.

"MORUZ!" he shouted, wincing at how loud his voice was. "AETHELSTAN! ANYBODY!" he made an effort to throw his shoulder into a stack of crates sending them spilling across the alleyway. He uncorked the bottle of the red wine that no one had taken earlier at the cave and took a long drink, had to have it raw on his breath. A few generous drops splattered the front of his shirt, making him look all the more like a half blind drunk. "Hatchet's Coddes, this place is laid out bass ackwards..." He swore as he stumbled into the sight of the inebriated Inspector. "Aerex, praise the gods, where in the hell am I, I just want to find my bed...I I can't find the inn, or Moruz...I think he was jogging..." Vee rambled and slurred, pausing to take another drink from the bottle of red rotgut.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#173

"I'll tell youse whatz goings on!" Aerex declared to the merchant, pointing his finger defiantly into the air. "You're being- robbed?!" His sentence was puncutated by Vee's shouting and stumbling out of the building.

"Aerex, praise the gods, where in the hell am I, I just want to find my bed...I I can't find the inn, or Moruz...I think he was jogging..." Keykold exclaimed in a stuttered panic.

The constable scowled and stepped forward, inspecting him. He leaned in close, sniffed loudly, then recoiled. "You're... drunk!" he accused, jabbing a finger into Vee's chest. "An' I don't think it needs to be said that--" He stopped suddenly. Something lurched within. "Ooh." he finished, stepping back slightly. He opened his mouth again slightly, as if to say something, but he froze again, a gurgle sounding from his gut. Something sounding like "Hrshth" escaped his mouth before he stumbled backwards a couple paces. The drunken inspector swayed slightly, then leaned over and expelled his stomach's contents violently. He continued for a couple minutes or so before leaning to his left and falling onto his back in the dust-filled street.

Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#174

"Ye Gods" thought Kadarin as he regained consciousness. His last memory was being thrown rather unceremoniously into an earthen pit. Given how far the drop was, it was good the bottom was soft earth. Especially being trussed like a pig.

Even so, the landing was very hard, hard enough to knock him out.

Unable to see anything in the dim light, he was conscious first of the smell. Sweat, fear and worse combined into an awful cocktail that assaulted his senses. Tentatively he tried to move his hands and found that they were still held tight, tied by someone who knew and loved their work. His ankles had received a similar treatment. Fortunately, it seemed that they neglected to gag him, which means that either they did not know he was magi, or did not think being bound he was much of a threat.

They're probably right he thought, Without a free hand, spells were impossible. Or were they?...

His thoughts were roughly interrupted by a harshly shouted voice from above.

"Hey S%itheads, here's some grub for ya!"

Kadarin could see a bucket being lowered a rope - obviously through some opening above he couldn't see from his current position.

d**nit! he thought, if I try and free my hands, I won't be able to tell if the guards can see me. I'll have to wait until dark to try anything.

Being tightly bound, Kadarin let his fellow prisoners help themselves to gods knows what in the bucket. His stomach was still addled from his harsh treatment, and he'd rather not try eating whatever was in there.

"One of these days, my Uncle is going to get me killed", he said, to no-one in particular.

It was his uncle that got him into this predicament. If he had left well enough alone, Kadarin would probably be a reasonably competent cut-purse by now, living off the fat of the land. But no, he paid his way to mage college and now a rather large debt remained to be settled.

Looking for money prompted Kadarin to sign on to the stinking caravan coming north out of Ssembra as an assistant guard. Though a neophyte, his sleep spells would have worked well on goblins or bandits, given the chance. However, the attack was well organized and came while Kadarin was deep in sleep. Before he knew it, he was grabbed and bound. Seeing what happened to others convinced him he was lucky, or so he hoped.

Some luck.

Now, need to wait for it to get darker....

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#175

Talia shook her head. "You're all drunk. Come on, let's get some sleep so we can get out of here in the morning. You'll have it bad enough with the hangover." She glanced at the irate shopkeeper. "This has all been one big misunderstanding. I don't know if you've been robber or not, but I'd say that these people are falling down too much to have even contemplated it."

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#176

Vee unceremoniously deposited his now half empty bottle of red wine on the ground and stumbled to help lift the unconscious inspector off of the gounnd. It took some effort, pretending to be drunk, to get Aerex to his unsteady feet, though thankfully he was able to get one of the town guards to help him. This was the inspector who had been such a masterful shot with the bow that he had skewered a full grown flind through the skull. It was a grueling trek back to the inn with Vee occasionally trying to go the wrong way, only to be corrected by the guard that the inn was in the other direction. Vee would then smile ruefully and follow the guard's lead until they reached the inn.

He had never felt so relieved to find a moth eaten blanket as he was when he finally found his resting place. He cursed himself several times for underestimating the wiry old gem buyer, it was stupid to think that he would just lock up and leave his belongings behind to be pilfered. He sighed, the road of the adventurer-upon-return was going to be far more difficult than he expected but now that it seemed it was over for the moment he began to feel a growing sense of elation. He had picked a lock in the dark, under the threat of danger, and he had done it, he had picked the lock!

Maybe tomorrow would hold better promise, and he vowed that he would pass one of the pilfered dollar powders on to Matare in the morn, and hope between good will and a hang-over, the inspector wouldn't be keen on following up what he had been doing. He would have to be certainly more careful next time.

(OOC - Moved us back to the Inn, lets FF through sleeping and get on to the cave again, I wants me more XP and gold!)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#177

The Cave

--Everyone’s ones thoughts were their own, as the group made their way east from Ganse once more. The events of the prior evening were indeed chaotic, and after all were said and done, the shopkeeper, Galivus Skreep, failed to press charges, though he railed long into the night that some vials and powders were stolen from him. The guards eventually dispersed, but not before conducting truly maddening and confusing question and answer sessions, which were forced upon the companions. At the end of the day, it took a few coins, and the matter was settled, though no one involved, besides Vee and Moruz still knew exactly what had happened. Not even the shopkeeper was sure what exactly “went down”, the following morning.

>

--Aerex couldn’t remember much of anything, and that the group was thankful for. The investigator led the way, some distance from the others, but that was more due to his profound headache, rather than it being a case of him “scouting ahead”. However, now sober, Aerex began to concoct plans on dealing with the rest of the bandits.

--The others, as mentioned all had thoughts of their own.

--Dujek coaxed the lizard many different ways, as he skipped along, but the maddening creature would not give him the time of day. It sat on his shoulder and occasionally opened and closed its mouth, as if anticipating fingers coming close to its toothless maw.

--By late afternoon that day, at the same time the group had arrived at the off-road, hidden cave-site the first time, they arrived once more. The sun was setting. The chirping of birds, was slowly replaced by the sounds of insects.

--The cave stood as before, but a nagging thought crossed a few minds as the group gazed upon the scene of the bloody battle. By now, Red Hatchet’s “friends”, if he had any, must have been aware of his demise.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#178

As his eyes became more used to the low light levels, he surveyed his surroundings. The pit was easily 50' wide and the roof disappeared into
the darkness well over 10' above. There were other prisoners, with one young, scrawny boy nearby.

Looking over at the gaunt boy - easily 5 years Kadarin's junior, he noted that either he had been here a long time, or was in pretty bad shape before being put in this pit.

"Do you have a name?"

Silence. The boy looked at him, but said nothing.

"We don't have much to do here - we could at least talk about something?"

"SHUT UP DOWN THERE YOU b@stards!"

Crap, the guards can hear us too well!

More quietly, Kadarin repeated his question. This time the boy shook his head sadly, and pointed to his mouth.

Just my luck, the guys a mute. The other prisoners were all too far away to talk to without shouting, and Kadarin was not going to give the guards an excuse to beat him (or worse).

More out of boredom then any other reason, Kadarin tried to contort himself and bring his bound wrists to his mouth.

He wished he hadn't. At some point the sadistic brigands had smeared the bindings with something dreadfully hot. Spitting madly he actually took a mouthful of the dirt floor in an effort to quench it.

His distress was enough that the guards heard him, and he could hear their mean-spirited laughs echo out.

When he finally was able to think coherently, he looked over at the mute boy. No tongue eh?......

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#179

Talia pulled out a torch and lit it, then followed Aerex into the cave. She didn't know what would be in there, maybe nothing, but at least it would keep that close call from the night before out of everyone's minds. Privately, she suspected that Aerex was more right than he knew, and that Vee had been up to something. Fortunately, she didn't really care. As long as he didn't bring trouble on the rest of them, he could do as he pleased. Hell, the rest of them might profit from his misbehavior too. She looked at the cave again. Better safe than sorry. She pulled out one fan to have it ready.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#180

Moruz's expression was grim. He had only managed four hours of sleep last night, the rest of the night was used to run laps about the town. Deciet was actually considered worse than the thievery he had participated in, in his society, and to make things right, he did what he told the guards he was going to do.
Dispite his effort, he was not too worn out, however he had lapsed back into his reserved silence once more. During the journey to the cave, Moruz had managed to whittle out enough enough notches in the grooves of his weapon-to-be to hold a dozen barbs and to place the spearhead of his old Ouzala onto the new - halfway done. He had also smoothed out two layers worth of a treating wax derived from a native cactus of his desert, made to keep the wood from absorbing excess liquid and to strengthen it some. He had left his old, empty Ouzala back at the tavern and was now wielding the half-finished new one. It felt good - lightweight and balanced - in his hands. Perhaps the Laurel wood is a good variety for these weapons.
Ah... the cave stood before them just as night had fallen once more - no rain this time, though. He paused for a moment at the entrance before nodding forth, not willing to dawdle, "Lets move in."

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#181

Fire, it's a baby dragon and it's gonna start breathing fire... No, it doesn't have any wings. Mmm, maybe it's bite's poisonous and it made me immune? Hmm, I'm gonna have to get it to bite Aeth now, maybe I'll wait til the next time he tries to stop my help.
Hearing Muroz talk he started out of his thoughts, "Wha-, Oh. Aye, let's explore this hole in the ground. Maybe we'll find the rest of the codpiece of doom set."
Loosening his bag, he got it ready to drop in case if the plan fell too far apart. Stupid Lizard. Can't do any tricks. WHY NOT THE GRASSHOPPER!!!

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#182

a voice came unbidden to Dujek. It was somewhere inside his head. A slow, methodical baritone.

"Dujek, ye have summoned the mighty Plumed Basislisk, why do ye forskae me, and leave me in this cold drafty room? I came as quickly as I could, but you were gone master."

Dujek looked at his lizard. It didnt seem to be taking the credit for the mental communique. It yawned instead.

--As the previous day, the cave now stretched out lazily before them. A fifty foot antechamber of smoothed limestone and beaten down earthen ground. This cave looked almost as if it was often travelled, or at least often used. But as before, so now..it was empty.

Two tunnels led off, one toward the south, one to the north, on opposite sides of the cave. It was warm, as caves go...and dark.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#183

Aerex peered down one tunnel, then the next. Neither seemed more interesting than the other. He winced slightly as another wave of ache struck his head. Seven hells, what did I do last night? he thought ruefully. But his hangover would have to wait; far more important events were about to take place. "So," he said in a low voice, "which way?"

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#184

As he stepped into the cave Dujek stopped and looked over at the lizard on his shoulder, his look slowly turning from one of thoughtfulness to confusion then to rage. Glaring at the lizard on his shoulder he turned around, only saying over his shoulder at the group, "There's something I REALLY need to take care of. I'll meet up with you guys best as I can."

As he got to the entrance of the cave he found a nice crevasse, off of the main trail and hid his gear as best as he could. Grabbing his knife he left his cane behind. He started to throw his lizard, but thought about it and just pocketed the blighter. Jogging out of the gully he hit the road and took off as fast as he could.

OOC: I'm off to see the wizard lizard of familiar-ness people. Catch up in a bit.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#185

Talia looked around. "We'll get it done faster if we split up. How about Aerex and me take the north passage, and you can take the south passage. If we get into trouble... well, then we won't have to worry about hiding, and I bet sound carries well here."

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#186

--Each tunnel wound into darkness...beckoning. Darkness flickered as it fought with the light of Talia's lone torch. A peel of thunder could be heard outside.

--"you dont look like much." the familiar thought to Dujek, as the necromancer hesitated in the road, spying an identical aquamarine lizard to the one he had squirming in his pouch. "Neither do you" Dujek thought back.

The master and familiar were reunited. Dujek felt a surge of...something, coursing through his veins. Why did it have to be obnoxious though, he thought as it began gently crawling up his leg, pausing briefly near his pouch, to eye the competiton.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#187

Aethelstan reflected on the events of the previous evening. T’would be wise not to again believe the tales of tavern wenches that claimed that a brew hight “Thanatosian Firewater” was a mild drink suited to women and clergy. Fortune had favored him indeed that he had not found himself passed out in some alley or in the gaol. T’was apparent that the wench’s claim that t’would not affect him if he did gulp it quick enow was also a mere jape at his expense.

At least he felt no discomfort or hangover. It was clear that the blessed Saint Senren did favor their enterprise and had blessed him with restored health after he was ill in the night. Apparently he had purged the ill humours from the cleric's system and given him new energy. Aethelstan couldn't understand why everyone else seemed to be dragging along; he felt fine! Unfortunately, Aerax looked ready to punch him when he tried to whistle earlier, so he contented himself to humming quietly to himself.

Lighting a torch and following the others into the cave, he overheard their scheme to explore both branches simultaneously, and only grudgingly agreed. “It would be best that we bide close each upon the others, for it was written by the blessed Saint Senren himself that ‘Bare is the back with no brother to watch over it.’ If we were to encounter more of those highwaymen, your idea could court defeat in detail.”

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#188

--The southern tunnel wound lazily. Torch light showed the ground to be as the antechamber was, smooth, worn, dirt-packed, featureless. The walls were a bit rougher, but not jagged. The ceiling was approximately ten feet above their heads. The tunnel went sixty feet or so, before it took a horseshoe turn, heading back south. Empty torch sconces could be made out sporadically along the walls. The turn in the tunnel was ten feet ahead. An ever-so-slight susurrus could be heard, the whisper of a draft. The ceiling here was cluttered with taproots from the laurel and cypress trees above ground.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

--The northern tunnel went back in the direction of the road. In fact, after a hundred or so feet of packed earth, and damp limestone, it seemed to cross under it, then bending and heading east, parallel to the road.. Here and there on the walls could be seen lantern hooks or studs which would hold lanterns or oil lamps in place. The duo was far along the contours of the tunnel now, and yet it continued on, slightly narrowing, then expanding, to the point where three people could have walked side by side. A weird smell was in the air here, almost like spoiled wine or some other alcohol, and quite strong.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#189

Talia wrinkled her nose at the sour smell in the cave. The sooner they were out of here, the better. She listened for a moment. It could just be the wind echoing through the tunnel, or it could be something else. "Hold up for a moment," she whispered. She stopped, trying to satisfy herself that it was just the wind.

(Listen check, please.)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#190

Vee waved for his two companions to draw in closer for a moment, his voice a thin whisper. "I heard some of the locals mention that Jervoe's bandits would just pop up all over the place, no one knew how. I bet this tunnel leads out somewhere, and it is how they have been moving around 'as if by magic'. He paused and craned his neck to listen (Listen check please)

"I bet the others are finding the same thing, there is no telling how far these caves wind. They are occupied too." He whispered, gesturing to the wall mounts for torches and lanterns. Vee looked back towards the tunnel they were exploring, and it was beginning to remind him of the smell of a half rotten taproom in the back allies of Nimz. There could be some definate trouble ahead. He checked his crossbow to make sure the bolt was in place. He thought for a second about a modification to allow the crossbow to find more than one bolt at a time...it would reduce the range, but being hit with two or three bolts at close range should make up for the increased weight on the string. Armed and his whip in easy reach he once again advanced up the tunnel taking care to move in a stealthy manner.

(OOC - Hide in Shadow checks, Vee suspects to find drunken bandits...or dead bodies up ahead, also move silently checks too!)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#191

Moruz was walking some half a dozen steps behind Vee, listening intently and trying to walk as silently as possible. He knew Vee should take the forefront - it was obvious the man was far better at this stealth thing than he, and if there's trouble, Vee could fall back and Moruz could take over. He nodded faintly at Vee's words, not bothering to voice his own thoughts on the subject, and gave a quick glance to Aethelstan to see how he was faring in this dank hole.
All along their travels in this cavern, Moruz was listening and looking for trouble, but also making sure to study the walls and floors for both traps and possible treasures that might be hidden in the walls and moist earth above and below. Two pairs of eyes and ears were better than one! (Listen/spot/silent movement checks and so forth :p)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#192

Aethelstan held the torch high above his head, carefully picking his steps in the desolate tunnel. A dark sense of foreboding oppressed his earlier high spirits. When he agreed to split up the party, he didn’t realize just how long these tunnels were. “Tis no use fretting o’er what cannot be mended, thus we must needs press onward,” he thought, as the winding tunnel led them deeper into the earth.

If only he could shake that ominous sense of impending doom that stalked him! The unsettling noise that haunted this stretch of tunnel seemed to be getting louder as his imagination preyed upon him. He kept an iron spike in his free hand, just to have something with which to poke at things as they walked along: Roots, interesting rocks, the ceiling.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#193

Southern Tunnel

For a moment, Vee could swear he heard snippets of muted, indecipherable conversation, as he paused before following the tunnels turn. In fact all three companions could hear, feint, unrecognizable noises coming from an indeterminable direction. Then just as quickly the noises faded. Turning the corner they came upon a surprise dead end. The tunnel simply stopped ten feet ahead, a rough, off-colored wall ahead of them. A pile of boulders was leaning against one of the walls, haphazardly clustered together, near the dead end. Several nooks and crannies dotted the walls here as well. Directly ahead…nothing but earth and rock, nowhere to go. A gentle draft could be felt on the companions exposed skin. Several broken cross bow bolts lined the floor. The three cast their eyes from wall to wall, peering, listening. Something didn’t feel right.

Now it was deathly quiet.

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Northern Tunnel

Talia paused and Aerex likewise froze. She could hear footsteps far ahead, and spotted the faintest of flickering light. Her torch was still lit as well. She wondered if whoever was coming towards them, could also see the flicker from the other direction. For a moment Talia and Aerex stood motionless, silent. Suddenly they could hear conversation up ahead. Whoever was nearing must have been about sixty yards away.

“Why are we going?”

“Because we were told to, idiot. Ya think these tunnels are hard to find? Jervoe likes them checked daily. And I don’t have to tell you about what happened to Red Hatchet do I? Jervoe loved that murderous dwarf. Besides, we need to spell the other two, guarding the prisoners ”

“Did you just see a light up ahead?”

“Hmm? No, did you?”

Suddenly the pair stopped talking. They were still farther away around a bend, but drawing closer.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#194

Aerex turned quickly to Talia, putting a finger over his lips. He motioned at her torch and clapped his hand over his fist, hoping she understood what he meant. He strapped his buckler to his left arm and slowly drew his rapier. Aerex leaned close against the wall and slowly crept forward.

(OOC: Attempt to Hide In Shadows, then Move Silently.)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#195

Aethelstan whispered “shhhh” to his associates, and gestured for them to hold still. Holding his torch before him, concentrating on the flickering movement of the flame, he slowly moved it to find where that draft was coming from.

He whispered, "Mayhap that pile of stuffs is our door beyond, but I mislike it. Our hosts may well have hidden a doorway nearby and have left those stones as a lure for the unwary."

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#196

The broken crossbow bolts were not a good sign, but not all of them looked to be shattered from being fired into the naked stone. He looked up from some of the broken shafts towards the off-colored stones. This felt like a trap, a shooting gallery like back in nimz when the artificers would try out the newer weapons they wee scavenging from the ruins. He thought that one of those 12 shot volley-arbalests would have been very useful when fighting Red Hatchet, but he would have likely shot half of theparty as well.

He looked closer at the floor, no obvious trip wires, but there were some discolorations on the floor, and something told him that they were blood. If that was true or not, he didn't know but he was starting to feel paranoid now. The memory of the throwing ax buried in his shoulder haunted him for a moment. The thought of that kind of pain again made him feel queasy.

The movement of air was obvious to him, air flow was a big thing in Nimz. Some of the deeper digs wove into strange contraptions that emited odd vapors, and if not ventilated, the vapors cold overcome and kill the unwary, and on occasion explode with some force. They needed a plan before they all ended up dead...

(OOC - going to try to stay hidden in shadows as long as possible)

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#197

"Friend Moruz," whispered Aethelstan, "Whilst I check for passageways secretly dugge afore the passage's bend, t'would be a kindness most undeserved if you would take these spikes of mine and my rope and lash together a grapnel of sorts that we may throw to trigger yon obvious trap."

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#198

Meanwhile, In the northern tunnel

Silence, except for the sound of pesky flies, hung in the tunnel. Aerex prowled forward, every nerve ending tingling. He was now some fifteen feet ahead of Talia, hugging the damp, and somewhat warm wall of the corridor.

Simply put, Aerex saw the pair before they spotted him. He was only six yards away from them, as he turned with the corner of the tunnel, low to the ground, sabre brandished! The two bandits stood silent, torches lit, peering ahead and listening. Aerex realized that part of his success had to do with their torches, casting and flickering shadows along the gloom-filled tunnel. He was right on them, he thought, they don’t see me. One lunge!

The two looked like rather ordinary young men, typical brigands. Both were clad in poorly stitched boiled leather. The taller one, a wickedly obnoxious mustache, swirling from his upper lip, was holding a short sword. Aerex noticed a whistle hanging from his neck as well. The shorter one, who had seen no more than sixteen summers by the looks of it, was holding two torches. Apparently the taller one, had passed his on to his companion. A short sword as well, hung at the youth's side. A small crossbow, slung to his back. Interestingly, Aerex noted, through the gloom, twenty feet or so beyond the pair, there seemed to be a dead end of sorts, though he couldnt be sure in th elimted light. Odd, Aerex thought. It felt warm in this part of the tunnel.

Aerex knew that he had perfect moment now to strike from the shadows. In a few seconds they would see him. In a few more Talia would be in plain view.

--waiting on Talia.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#199

Once he finally recovered from the wicked spice, he gestured to the Mute to come over.

It took a few tries, but the similarly bound boy managed to discern Kadarin's intentions and inchwormed his way over.

With some more pantomiming he made his intent clear enough and the young boy began to chew at Kadarin's bindings with his teeth.
The spices, though very hot, were not hot enough to hurt the boy's lips as he chewed.

The going was long, and a few breaks needed to be taken, but eventually the bonds were weakened just enough.

Calling upon some of the nimbleness which earned him bread on the street, Kadarin managed to slip his hands out of the bonds and quickly loosened his ankles. He quietly, trying not to attract the notice of the other prisoners, said " Leave them bound for now, but follow my lead when the time comes..." whereupon he loosened the Mute's bonds, hoping he had the brains not to do anything rash.

Into the lining of his robes, he retrieved a pinch of rose-petals and held it in his hands.

He then re-tied his hands (with difficulty), incorporating a little loop which would cause the entire knot to collapse when needed.

Then he waited.

Re: Back in the Day (Chapter I)

#200

Elsewhere, in the southern tunnel

Aethelstan took in the contours of the tunnel. He stood and allowed himself to feel the negligible draft. Disturbingly, he determined it came from the direction of the dead end. Aethelstan felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristling. Something was wrong here. The small pile of boulders seemed out of place, as if they served no purpose, other than merely “indicating” or implying, the end of the tunnel. He was young, aye, he thought, but not unwise. Aethelstan seemed focused on the wall now.

Vee was taking in the niche as well, frozen in shadow. He could hear something muffled. A tiny clang, some hushed movement, but he could not determine from whence it came. Then silence again. Perhaps the acoustics of this place were meant to be just so.

Moruz tensed his muscles, and flexed his left hand, gasping his laurel ouzala, attempting to find the right three-fingered grip. It was then Moruz thought he heard a sound, but a second later he was unsure of its direction. He glanced above. Though the ceiling could not be seen in the torchlight, chokers, creepers, and roots, twisted and hanging, could be seen, indicating the ceiling’s height.