~ The Quest for the Ring of Fire
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Turn 144.0: The Bridge
Posted: 2/22/01
"Time is of the
essence," Emma says, agreeing with Canter, "But with no knowledge of
where Killner's Vault lies, we're all stumbling around blind. And we have no way of knowing how far ahead
of us the Caerloon force might be..."
The Shield Maiden squints in the dim light of Crayne's stone and puts
away her sword for the moment.
"It seems clear to me
that the soldiers must have battled the creature in an effort to explore every
possible nook and cranny in this place," she continues, "They're
using brute force in a methodical search.
We might fare better...and actually make up our lost time...if we use
our heads and do a more focused search."
Feeling a little more at
ease, now that he knows the beast is dead, El breathes a sigh of relief. "I say that we should keep something of
a map in our minds. Maybe even copy
something down so that we know exactly where we are, and how to get back. I think I have some paper, though I'm not
sure about ink. As far as mapping this
place out. Let's find out what's on the
other side of the beast and then decide.
I suggest that we figure out what that handle on the side does
first. Or at least make note of it on
the map. I forgot to check where the
foot prints lead, but I would guess the mage and soldiers probably went down
the passageway."
Crayne nods in approval at
Elloharin, "I was just thinking the same thing Elloharin the Dimmed. Emma maybe you could take a closer look at
the handle just to make sure that it isn't any sort of trap. Also, where the handle is located perhaps we
could look for grooves to see whether there is an indication of a door being
nearby. If there isn't then I'm not
sure it would be wise to pull it as we don't want another of these creatures
unleashed upon us.
"As to sketching out a
map that is a fine idea." Crayne pulls his backpack off his shoulder,
"Here!" Crayne says as he hands Elloharin a vial of ink. "Perhaps it would be worth searching
the bodies too!" Crayne offers as a last suggestion.
Emma shrugs, caring little
about searching the bodies of a few Caerloon soldiers...but Crayne's idea might
uncover something...a clue perhaps?
Maybe something that would indicate their strategy in searching for the
Hathean play? "Let's go ahead and
take a look at this monster...and check the soldiers' bodies, just in
case," she agrees.
El smiles in the dim light
of the lightstone. The tension of
crawling about in the darkness underground has put deep creases under his eyes,
which his smile does little to illuminate.
"Nice to know the good Baron is clearing our way for us. By the time we get to the bottom of this
damn temple, I doubt if there be a single one left alive." He does not add however, the obvious, that
there might not be anyone left alive.
Crayne realises he can't
see the creature as closely as he wishes and so makes his way over to El and
Storm. He takes his lightstone back and
then heads off for the dead creature.
Once there Crayne smiles in approval as this time he looks at the dead
creature before him and says in a loud voice, "Arhh! I think we should drink to the good health
of the Red Dragon mage and his soldiers!"
"We shouldn't be
drinking to the Baron General or Red Dragon mage's good health any longer than
it takes for a path to be cleared for us," Emma half-smiles at the mage
and elf, "After all, we'll have to face them sooner or later and at that
point, I won't be so eager to drink to their good health anymore. We'd better work our way around in front of
this group eventually, too...or they'll come upon the Hathean play before we
do."
The soft words echo a
around the tunnel behind the monster's corpse, serving as a reminder that
although it's fortunate the Caerloon force fought with the scorpion-like beast
instead of Rinder's Six, they're still behind in the race. "Crayne? Did you find anything on the soldiers?" she asks.
Crayne straightens up,
having for the moment been kneeling over the two Caerloon soldiers by the
unmoving giant scorpion. "They're
the same as the ones we fought this morning...anything valuable's been taken by
the Red Dragon mage when he moved on!"
"Not surprising,"
Canter responds, standing near Crayne.
Just then, he manages to light his hooded lantern, which begins low and
dim but soon grows, projecting a circle of warm illumination around the
area. The giant scorpion can now be
examined more closely, complete with its sharp claws and pointed piercer. In addition, the general shape of the large
cavern can also be more easily perceived by the others.
Hannibal waits patiently,
his face devoid of emotion as he takes in the strange contours of the
cavern. It would be assumed that a
thief would know how to handle himself in such a place but in fact Hannibal had
never been below ground. No, his skills
had been limited to street jobs in big cities, not creeping around in some
subterranean abyss. Shrugging slightly,
he dismissed the thoughts and concluded that he should just stick close to
Storm.
"I'd like to go back
and check the stone handle that Hannibal and Storm found," Emma suggests,
"If it was hidden carefully enough, the others might have passed it
by. And if the temple was constructed
with such secrets, at least some of them might lead to the Hathean play...or
provide us with the means to pass by some of the more dangerous traps and
guardians in the ancient chambers.
"What do the rest of
you think?" she asks, clearly looking for everyone's advice rather than
simply leaning upon her own understanding, "I could cast an augury if
anyone thinks it might help? Just to
see if what lies on the other side of the handle will aid us in our
search..."
Elloharin, hearing the
mage's wise words, kneels and takes off his pack. Taking out his lantern and a vial of oil. He places the oil in the lamp and strikes it
a ablaze with his flint. Then seeing
Emma's receptive hand, he gives it to her gingerly, making sure the flame has
caught. Then he takes the vial of ink
from Crayne and takes out one of his last remaining sheafs of paper. Grabbing an arrow from the dead scorpion's
carcass, he skillfully whittles one end into a makeshift quill. Then, raising his head about the cavern, he
begins to draw the map. (OOC: The DM
will keep a map of the party's travel in the dungeon, based upon what Elloharin
draws. It is available in the “Maps”
section of the web site.)
Hannibal nods his approval,
looking to the area containing the dead creature. "I think it would be best to at least check to see what that
handle does. I highly doubt it was used
by the creature based on the size of it's claws. More likely some kind of secret door left here by the
Hatheans."
Storm turns to Emma. "Save yer spells. They might be comin' in handy later. I's be wantin' ta see what that there switch
be doin'. Far as I be tellin' there
ain't no trap on it, but I be wantin' ta check again. An' Hannibal can check, too, if we get some light over
there." A few seconds later, he
adds "Arrr! Wait a sec! Emma, don't ye be havin' some spell goin'
that be findin' traps? Ye wanna take a
look at that switch?" Storm
realizes he just used Emma's name for the first time in a really long while,
and that fact makes him twitch slightly, though in the dark it's most certainly
unnoticeable.
The dwarf crosses his arms,
changing the subject. "The rest of
the room be okay, probably. There's be
lots o' footprints under ye, an' they go all over." He looks over his shoulder toward the right
wall, toward the switch, his curiousity most certainly peaked. Ever since he was an unbearded dwarfling
he'd always liked creeping around subterranean tunnels, looking for wonders
left by civilizations--dwarven or otherwise--of long ago. More than once had he encountered secret
passages in the stone, though they had always been looted long ago. But this wasn't the Raimeads, and the
Hatheans were sure no one had been here for centuries. That meant something worth having was
down here...somewhere...and a mysterious switch in the wall was certainly a
good place to start.
He taps his foot
impatiently, waiting for a decision to be made.
Skandor squints hard, his
eyes trying to make out the details of the cavern in the light of the two lit
lanterns. His eyes settle on the giant
scorpion's dead body, and the bodies of the two dead soldiers, and for a moment
he pauses. He had never seen such a
beast before, and seeing it there now amazed him. He ponders the dead soldiers, their bodies left to rot in the
pitch-black of some long-forgotten chamber.
Their loyalty to their masters may have been firm, but their master's
loyalty to them apparently was not.
Listening to the others
speak, gladius in one hand and shield in the other, Skandor strides over to the
fallen soldiers. Kneeling before them,
careful lest the beast might still have life left in it, he places one hand on
the throats of either man. Their bodies
are cool and lifeless. Exhaling slowly,
Skandor recites the Ritual of Final Breaths.
He then slowly rises from the fallen soldiers and takes up a protective
position near Emma.
"The switch that was
discovered might yet be a secret way to the area we seek," the paladin
says. "It might give us a
short-cut of some kind to the area we need to descend to. And, it's likely that the Caerloon
contingent, being in a hurry, might have overlooked it. Whatever we decide to do, I would suggest
that we stick together."
Perceiving the dead beast
in the lantern-light, El is reminded of a tiny little critter he once came upon
in his travels beyond the Sinele. 'They
grow 'em big down here,' he thinks grimly.
Suddenly a thought occurs to him.
"Hey Emma, what exactly did these men die of? Was it blood loss from rends and
punctures? Or was it poison? Do any of us have the resources to deal with
poison? Cause if we don't it might be
worthwhile to send at least one of us back up--while we're so close to the
surface, and beg the Hatheans for any poison antidote."
Emma shakes her head. "I have within my power the ability to
deal with paralysis, but not poison...though I could pray to Anhur to deal with
poison. Still, I think it best we
follow Skandor's suggestion and stay together.
We'll stand a much better chance of surviving down here, I
suspect."
Moving toward the left
wall, Emma takes a close look at the mysterious handle. After a moment, she reports, "It's
certain that scorpion couldn't use this.
Its claws are just too big and cumbersome, and I doubt it has the
intellect or agility to operate a handle like this. Still..." she concentrates for a moment more, "Anhur's
insight does tell me something, here..."
She stops for a moment,
looking around the party as they await the results of her inspection. "...if you will accept my discovery as
aided by the power of Anhur." She
pauses for a moment, taking a gulp. But
she then continues, not wanting to press the issue too forcefully. "Turning this handle begins a magical
mechanism. The exact nature of the
mechanism, I can't say. But I am sure
there is priestly magic at work here...probably ancient priestly magic."
"Then I be sayin' we
do it," Storm says, impatient for some kind of action and imagining a
chamber full of riches on the other side.
Canter says, "We can
be pretty sure the Caerloon party didn't spot this magical device--whatever it
may do--since the only tracks near this wall are ours. If we want to continue following them, we
should head down the passageway," he motions straight across the cavern to
the passageway El discovered.
"Then there's the passageway on the back wall, behind the scorpion. I took a quick look over there and didn't
see any tracks. Or we can activate this
device. We have no way of knowing that
the Caerloon party are on the right track, leading to Killner's Vault. They are probably just as lost as we
are."
"And," Skandor
adds, "who's to say there's only one way to the vault? We might be safer if we follow a different
route, even though that means we won't have them to clear the way for us, like
they did here."
Crayne scratches his
chin. "Let us try this device--but
carefully! And we'll see what it
does."
"If I may," El
says, clearing his throat, "we ought not stand right in front of it. In case something unwanted emerges."
"A good point,
El," Emma replies, nodding to the elf.
"Hannibal, you discovered this device, do you want to be the one to
activate it?"
Hannibal's eyebrows shoot
up. Were they not attached to his
forehead they might have hit the cavern's ceiling. "Me?" he asks.
For someone who'd never been in a dungeon like this before, he was
surely getting a trial by fire! With a
gulp he replies, his voice shaking, "Alright..."
Hannibal then positions
himself directly in front of the wall, facing it, his hand just in front of the
mysterious handle. Canter (holding one
lantern), Crayne, and El stand to the side to Hannibal's left, while Emma
(holding the second lantern), Skandor, and Storm stand aside to Hannibal's
right. With a look to either group and
a nod, Hannibal slowly reaches for the indentation in the wall. His fingers slide into the position,
brushing away hundreds of years' worth of dust. The wall and handle are cold but smooth. The thief exhales slowly, closing his
eyes. If he were a religious man, now
would be the time to pray!
Then, opening his eyes, he
flexes his arm muscles, tightening his grip on the handle. First he tries to pull it, but to no
avail. Then he pushes. No luck.
Finally he twists it to the left, and ever so slowly, it begins to turn,
the sound of stone upon stone echoing through the cavern. It moves about half a rotation and then
stops. Hannibal cannot move it any
further.
And nothing seems to have happened.
"That was a
disappointment," Hannibal says, breathing a sigh of relief.
Just then the floor shakes,
and Canter, who had been leaning against the wall, jumps away from it. Dust flies into the air and the stone walls
rumble loudly as a large section of the wall directly in front of Hannibal
begins to move of its own accord. It
moves directly back, away from Hannibal, and then appears to part in the
middle, each side sliding behind the wall, like a double door.
Then the loud rumbling and
the shaking stop, and all is quiet once again.
Hannibal stands motionless, his eyes wide, not a muscle moving. His hand is still outstretched before him,
just barely trembling.
Emma peeks around the
corner and through the opening Hannibal has accessed. She holds her lantern before her, allowing its light to cast
itself beyond and into the next chamber.
"Anhur's glory..." she whispers. "Take a look at this..."
Crowding around her, but
not stepping through the gateway, the others view what the priestess sees. Before them, stretching directly ahead, is a
narrow bridge through the chamber beyond, which is easily as big (if not
bigger) than the one they're currently in.
The difference is that the drop from the bridge to the floor of the
cavern is easily fifty feet. The stone
bridge itself is actually very close to the ceiling. Close enough, in fact, that the painting along the ceiling of the
new cavern can easily be perceived in the lantern-light.
"Now that is
beautiful," Canter whispers, stepping a little bit forward to crane his
head for a better view. There appear to
be men, clothed in robes, riding large animals, their hands reaching for the
sky. The swirl of colors is
magnificent, and miraculous, considering how long it has probably been here.
Crayne steps forward,
looking down over the edge of the stone bridge (which is about six feet
wide). He whistles, noting,
"that's quite a drop!" He
then looks straight ahead, noting that the bridge is probably about fifty yards
long, arching slightly in the middle.
At the far end it appears to meet with another stone wall.
"This chamber itself
is a work of art," Skandor comments.
"No, that is a
work of art," Elloharin says, pointing over the edge of the bridge into
the chamber. Standing on the floor of
the cavern are four large statues, each probably taller than even Edryd
was. They stand in the dead center of
the cavern, as if at the four corners of a small square, each facing inward
toward the others. They resemble men,
with strong shoulders, arms, legs, and even faces. And they appear to wear long robes, made of the same material
from which they were carved (clay? stone? it's hard to tell from this height
and distance).
Emma peers at these
statues, trying to examine them as best she can from her vantage point. "Now what do you suppose--"
She is cut off as Skandor
grabs her by the shoulders from behind, yanking her from the gateway. "Get back!" he whispers. The others jump aside, arraying themselves along
the walls on either side of the gateway, still inside the cavern with the dead
scorpion. Skandor is closest to the
gateway on one side (the right, if you're facing it), and Crayne is the closest
to the gateway on the left.
"What is it?!"
Emma demands.
"Shh!!!" Crayne
replies.
"Another
light..." Skandor whispers to Emma and the others. "I saw another light, a torch, I think,
entering that cavern from our very position, but below, on that cavern's
floor."
"The Red Dragon mage
and his soldiers?" Crayne asks, trying his best to peek around the corner
and look down. "I can't see them,
they must be directly below!"
Skandor breathes deeply,
gladius in hand once again. He looks to
El, and he flicks his eyes toward El's short bow, strung over the elf's
back. Getting the message, El reaches
for the bow, reading it just in case.
"Where be they?!"
Storm asks, whispering as best he can in his oh-so-subtle dwarven voice.
Skandor peeks around the
corner once again. "I'm not
sure...wait...yes, I see. They're
emerging from under the bridge, directly below us! One...two...three torches, but I can't be sure how many
men."
"Ouch!!" the cry
comes ringing up from inside the cavern below and through the gateway. "Will you'n stop that?! I'n am moving as fast as I'n can!"
Hannibal's eyes meet with Canter's. "Amos," the thief says.
Canter nods, looking also
to the others. "And where Director
Amos goes, we know who else we'll find..."
The map of the Ancient Chambers as El is drawing it is available in the “Maps”
section of the web site. Here is a
direct link: Elloharin’s
Map of the Ancient Chambers.
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