[Respite] - Factions

1. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #841

   Jhoric blinked a few times and pondered what he just did.
   
   "I'm not sure what just happened. Either it is now unlocked, and we can move it. Or I totally broke it and we can progress no further. I suggest you strong folk give it some more pushing."
   
   He closed his eyes and gently reached out with his magical senses, trying to determine if the magic was still there. Or if he had dismissed it.

2. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #842

   Fafnir frowned on the stone he had been trying to maneuver. Maybe it was just his eyes playing tricks on him? "No matter. This doorway will not stop us for long. Gideon, let us move this useless stone out of our path!"

3. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #843

   "Ah, the method of fail-and-error, very scholarly!"
   Content, he again pushed against the stone, tried to roll it around, musing meanwhile:
   "Perhaps it needs magic to move it, and that stone is just a trigger. Jhoric, could you toast it with your magic continuosly? ... but after we step away if it does not move now!" he added with haste.

4. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #844

   Wether it was the added strength of the Lizardman, or Jhorics magic, the door began to yield to the force being placed against it.  Through immense effort, a finger-sized gap appeared and with care let the three apply greater leverage to the massive door.  Had it not been round,  they would have had no hope of moving it, for its thickness was far greater then would have been guessed.
   
   Nontheless, the door, once started, continued to roll of its own accord and rolled out of view into a space prepared for it.  It slid home with a massive dull thud that shook the floor.
   
   Beyond was yawning blackness.
   

5. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #845

   "Looks like that did it." Balin noted.
   
   "Onward?"

6. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #846

   "Some of us don't see well in the dark. Someone with a torch must go first or those of you with better sight. I will follow." With that Fafnir pulled out his sword and fell in rank with the party, following anybody who decided to go first. His enchanted scimitar was hardly enough light to make a dent in the darkness.

7. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #847

   "Out of the light, into the dark..." Gideon hummed an old song, and stomped on. "I shall lead with blade and boot. You take care of the details."

8. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #848

   "And I shall follow next," Balin said as he stepped into line.

9. Re: [Respite] - Factions

   #849

   They passed through the circular portal into a room so vast that nothing returned the light of their torches save a thin strip of stone before them.
   
   About ten feet past the portal the stone stopped at what seemed a deep drop-off.  It appeared to continue both left and right.
   
   Above, faint green glowing rectangles began to become visible as their eyes adjusted to the light. Below what appeared to be vague silhouettes of buildings showed as absolute darkness against near darkness, and all about was the smell of stale air and the faint stink of death.

10. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #850

    "Looks like the dwarves' drillings were quite. . . extensive", Toboran commented, peering over the edge, straining to see anything in the blackness.

11. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #851

    "Extensive... Yeah. How do you think we get down there?" Jhoric looked left, then right, hoping for some sign of stairs or a ladder.
    
    "I see three obvious options: Left, Right, or Down. Left or right could go on for a very long time. Down seems to have an end, though how far that is... I do not know. How much rope do we have? I have 100 feet of strong silk cord in my pack, the rest of you?"

12. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #852

    Fafnir was deliberating which party member to push off and test the drop-offs distance. Gideon might fall too fast because he is larger, so that wouldn't work. Then an epiphany struck him, a wise man wouldn't waste a meatshield on a cliff. So he gathered the moisture in his mouth and spit a giant reptillian loogie off the edge. "I cannot tell if we have enough rope to possibly get us down there"

13. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #853

    "I'm afraid that rope is not one of the articles which I considered useful when I left my world, and have not thought of it since. There is surely a way down in either the left or right directions, but perhaps there is way to see if your rope is long enough with ease, Gideon. Tie your rope to ta stone or dagger and toss that off, then we'll know if it's one-hundred feet or less," Balin suggested.

14. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #854

    The answer to the question came slowly as they debated their next action.  The outline of objects below began to come into shape, suggesting the ground was not terribly far below.  A nasty fall to be sure, but looking to be no more then a couple of stories.
    
    At this point the sound of distant running water could be heard above their voices and breathing.
    
    

15. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #855

    "Well it looks like we need not try my idea then, this does not look all that far down. So will we leave someone up here to hold the rope, or will we tie it to something?"

16. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #856

    Fafnir glanced at Gideon and then at the rocks scattered on the ground. He said "I would feel safer if we had someone up above to hold us. Also we can be pulled back up if the need becomes apparent. I think Gideon and I can hold the rope, at least until the rest of you reach the bottom."

17. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #857

    "Your life and death will be in my hands? Fun - let's do this!"
    He braced himself, tied one end of the rope around his waist, and proceeded to lower the merry bunch into the depths.

18. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #858

    Toboran gritted his teeth as he was lowered down. A tall tree was one thing, but this didn't seem quite as safe as thick branches. As soon as he reached the bottom, Toboran stepped to the side and pulled his spear up in case of unpleasantness.

19. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #859

    Balin was...unfamiliar with this mode of transportation. He had tried several including a portal which teleported his body a league away as part of his training but never this. It was unpleasant at best to feel as though you were falling slowly down, and a surprise when your feet at last touched the bottom. Once there he stepped away and looked around as he regained the stability in his legs.

20. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #860

    The decent was uneventful, and the ground. Well, the ground felt soft.  It looked like some form of moss or lichen carpeting the ground, though with only the flickering light still up on the ledge, Balin and Toboran could not make out more.
    
    The smell of must and worse was stronger down here.
    
    
    

21. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #861

    Jhoric came down next. His landing was somewhat awkward due to the unexpectedly soft ground. "I can't see very far down here. Do either of you have a torch?" He whispered to Toboran and Balin. "I have stood side-by-side with the horrors of The Abyss, but nothing has been quite as unsettling as this soft ground where solid stone was expected."
    
    He strained his eyes against the darkness, hoping someone would light a torch soon.

22. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #862

    "Swing, swing, swing, the warlock on the string, he won't do a thing no moooore..." Gideon hummed an old children's tune while lowering Jhoric down.
    
    "You all okay? Yell or scream if you need me!"
    
    His task done, all that was left was to wait. Settling into a guardsman's serene yet watchful mindset, he looked around, his eyes unimpressed by the darkness. Then, he wandered a little to the right, a little to the left, to get a better idea of his surroundings.

23. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #863

    "Is there another way down? Are you guys alright?" Fafnir yelled into the darkness. He tried to get a better look at the cliff face they were on top of. Perhaps there was a safe way to climb down?

24. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #864

    Again, the faint green light filtering from above began to seem still brighter as their eyes continued to adjust.  Fine detail was impossible, but the outlines of many squat buildings were plainly visible, perhaps more then a hundred yards in any direction.
    
    Gideon, with his vantage point noticed that the cliff-side seemed to slope downward on either side and looked to be slowly curving down, following the side of the massive cavern.  Perhaps one could simply walk down.
    
    Strangely, Fafnir's yelling did not echo as much as one would think - his words fell dead the moment after he spoke them.  Nonetheless, his voice was loud in the otherwise quiet cavern...
    
    

25. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #865

    "Well, I cannot see an easy way downward. There are no ledges or handholds for us to scale downwards, so another route is a good idea. I don't trust my fate to the chance a rock would hold us and I think we better hang onto the rope. We should try one of the sides and see if we can get down that way. Would you like to lead?" With that Fafnir smiled slightly and waited for a response.

26. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #866

    "I love to lead, actually. There's usually more fun at the front of an unit than at the back." He stomped towards one side, to discover whether it was safe to descend there. "Also, the young lordling always said, 'unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes.' I don't know about that, I always have a good view."

27. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #867

    "We seem to be fine, for now. Though the sooner we can get yours and Gideon's broad shoulders down here and between us and anything that might be lurking, the safer I'll feel." Toboran called back up to Fafnir.
    Trusting Balin and Jhoric to keep a sharp lookout, Toboran knelt down to investigate the strange softness of the ground. This was a new world, but there is only so much variation in the way fungi and moss can grow.

28. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #868

    Whatever it was, it did seem mossy. And dusty - Toboran's probing kicked up a small cloud of dust. 
    
    Gideon found that the ledge was descending quickly towards the bottom of the chamber, and after a few dozen feet several vaguely humanoid shape lay sprawled across the  pathway.  The dim light made it difficult to make out more then shapes here.
    
    Estwick suddenly spoke, "If y'all hold up, I got a torch in me gear.  Take me a minute or so to get er lite.. Ya good with that?"
    

29. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #869

    "No, I'm afraid that I do not carry a torch with me, let alone a way to light on save by magic." Balin peered into the darkness, trying to see if these stone buildings were enough like his own to determine the way to any important ones.

30. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #870

    Fafnir followed quickly behind Gideon. He wasn't going to be caught alone in the darkness. Peering through the shadows he noticed the shape on the ground. He whispered to Gideon "Oh, please let that not be a corpsssse"

31. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #871

    Estwick began fishing out his flint and steel, not an easy task for it was buried under prospecting equipment and scattered rations. 
    
    He then began striking the flint onto the tinder, the sound seeming unusually loud in the vast chamber.

32. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #872

    A few more strikes and the tinder caught.  Working quickly he transferred the embers to the torch and it flared up.
    
    "Gideon, Fafnir, hold a minute! Or better yet, come get me."

33. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #873

    "Come, Estwick, on your porch you go! There's enough headroom here that you don't end up as a thick-skull like me."
    Gideon lifted the old prospector onto his back; he actually liked carrying people, it was most often fun - except when his sister had scampered there and was using his braids to steer him.

34. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #874

    "Balin, Toboran, I think we should be moving. Let's meet the other group at their descent." Jhoric said, leading in the same direction the top group was traveling.

35. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #875

    "Then lead the way." Balin kept an eye on the surrounding buildings as he walked with Jhoric towards the other group.

36. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #876

    Toboran nodded and followed behind Balin in a hunter's stance.
    "I have a bad feeling about this..."

37. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #877

    The light, once present, seemed to intensify the darkness. Nearly blinding at first, it stole away some of the acquired night site and deepened the shadows.
    
    It revealed that the cliff-side did eventually reach the floor, perhaps 100' from the entryway in a long curve. It also showed that the ground was covered in a grey-green substance similar to moss or fungi.
    
    The once shadowy buildings were revealed to be what once perhaps were beautiful stone structures, but their fine stonework was marred by apparent vandalism.  Cornices were smashed, runes chipped out, and foul stains coated the few walls that could be seen.
    
    The architecture was oddly similar to what Balin was familiar with, yet different.
    
    The party is now within 10' of each other.
    
    

38. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #878

    "Hooray, reunited once more!" Gideon laughed. "Let's fan out, and explore; anything tries to eat you, scream nice and loud!"

39. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #879

    Is anyone fanning out?

40. Re: [Respite] - Factions

    #880

    Toboran, despite his fears, began to move slowly away from the rest, keeping looking and listening. He knew how to handle himself, and he could always yell fairly loudly.

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