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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EternalNewbie" data-source="post: 4678763" data-attributes="member: 6489">Formulae burned in Khalid's mind, flaring into clarity as options swirled through his head.  Several of his most powerful spells had been expended attempting to subdue Gorak and the rest were either irrelevant or unsuitable for the tight confines of the cave.  Gorak was slightly ahead of him but all four of them were easily within striking distance for the wolf.    Ruwayd's hand rested on the pommel of his scimitar but caught off guard, he hadn't drawn it.  Shayla edged back, trying to get behind him, instantly drawing the wolf's attention.  Its huge head swung around and it bored into her with hate filled eyes.  Khalid clenched his teeth, almost frantic now, as the low growl rumbling deep in the beast's chest became a snarl.  If it went for her first, he couldn't see how they would rescue her before she was torn apart.  If it chose another, there was a chance Shayla's devastating power would destroy it.    The snarl hung heavy in the air and Khalid prepared to defend himself from the flurry of violence that was about to descend.  Abruptly, the wolf turned its gaze past them to stare at the eggs.  The rage flowed out of the great wolf as it assessed its chances of surviving the battle.  It didn't look at them again; it just stepped aside from its position in front of the tunnel.  Khalid could hear the profound sorrow in its voice, when it spoke again.  “You do not even understand the tragedy you have committed here today.  Leave now and never again return to this place.”They edged past the wolf, slowly and carefully, not willing to risk provoking it.  Khalid was certain the wolf would change its mind at any second, tearing the flesh from his bones, but his fears proved unfounded.  They stepped into the narrow cave and Khalid worked up the courage to look back, before walking into the darkness. Over his shoulder, he saw the great wolf pad softly over to the ruined eggs and drop to its haunches.  His final image of the beast was of it sitting there, head hung low, silently mourning.It took him some time to put the events of the morning behind him, a task made more difficult by the surprisingly easy and monotonous journey down through the heart of the mountain.  While the path was narrow in spots, the floor of the cave was, for the most part, smooth and the spiraling decline, gentle.  They passed the first day and most of the second, before arriving at a deep fissure in the cave wall, that bisected another passage below.  Squeezing through the cramped opening, they dropped down into the tunnel below.  Glancing in both directions, Ruwayd nodded to himself and motioned for them to follow.  “This way, leads under the mountains.  That way, leads back, out into the valley,” he said in a hushed tone.The journey continued in much the same way for several more days.   A brief run-in with some over-sized cave spiders was easily handled, due in large part to Gorak's unrivaled instincts.  Thankful as he was for the ease of passage, that very same fact constantly gnawed at Khalid.  There seemed to be no further signs of recent use as far as he could tell which, considering his skills, wasn't very far at all.  Gorak seemed unconcerned, but then again, he looked that way when in life threatening peril sometimes too, so on the whole, Khalid wasn't particularly reassured.  There were enough side passages and fractures in the cave wall to lend weight to his wild imaginings and he hoped dearly that the Janni knew where he was taking them.At some point on what Khalid guessed was about their sixth day underground, the Janni called a halt.  Gorak cursed mightily and stared out out into the blackness beyond their sheltered light.   Shayla, turned her palm up and uncovered the small glowing stone in her hand, shining it across a huge wall of fallen stone blocking their way.  They all looked up nervously at the ceiling overhead, and backed carefully away from the cave in.  Stepping back a fair distance, they knelt down into a tight huddle, leaning in close.“Now what?” Shayla whispered, barely more than mouthing the words.“If you think, yes,” Khalid paused, took a deep breath and spoke directly into the ground. “Think we can risk the sound of my chanting, I will open a place where we can speak, freely, yes, quite.”“Do it,” Gorak grunted, drawing out the tiny fetish that hung around his neck and placing on hand on the stone floor.Taking a steadying breath, Khalid unwound the length of soft silk rope wrapped around his waist.  He spoke the words clearly and carefully, not willing to risk ruining the spell for the sake of his nerves.  Practically leaping into the gate as it opened, Khalid helped Shayla and Ruwayd in, before Gorak pushed past him, sealing the entrance.“Alright, now what” Shayla repeated.  She seemed a trifle paler than usual but then again, Khalid felt a  few shades whiter himself at the moment.  Being underground would never agree with either of them.“Is this the only way?” Gorak rumbled, looking to Ruwayd.  “We passed another tunnel, bout a day and a half ago, where's it go?”“Long have these mountains and their inhabitants held a fascination for me, but there are still many places that I can not, or dare not tread.”  Ruwayd replied.  “That tunnel is one of them.  All the legends of this place speak of a place of great evil, festering deep at the roots of these mountains.  It has been suggested that the very presence of this place poisons the very mountains, driving many of those that dwell here to ruin.  Down that tunnel, lies death made manifest.”“Right,” Gorak grunted, giving the Janni a sour look.  “Death.  Lots of it.  Very helpful, thanks for that.  Or I could just burrow through this rock tomorrow, say about thirty feet that way, and then up along the wall until its safe to crawl out the other side.”Since there was no real decision to be made, they lounged around in the security of Khalid's magic, passing the time with idle chatter while Gorak gathered his strength.  In the morning, they dropped out of the shelter and crept as close as they dared to the sight of the cave in.  Gorak knelt down, facing the stone wall of the passage.  Taking a slow, deep breath, the words of the spell rumbled out of him, like the sound of grinding stone.  Reaching out, Gorak placed his hand on the stone wall of the passage.  At his touch, it swirled and dissolved, forming a perfectly smooth tube a little over three  feet in diameter.  Tying his pack to his ankle, he climbed in head first, and vanished into the darkness.  “Ah, yes, quite,” Khalid muttered, eyeing the small tunnel with trepidation.  “I had hoped it would be a bit, ah, larger, yes, quite.”“The larger it is, the longer it ain't.  Let's go,” Gorak growled impatiently, his voice echoing oddly in the cramped space.The Janni shrugged and raised himself into the air, rotated parallel to the ground and floated into the tunnel.  Shayla bit her lower lip, as much from irritation as fear, and finally stepped forward and wriggled into the tunnel after Ruwayd.  Tightening the numerous buckles and straps on his belt, Khalid sighed and crawled into the tunnel, clipping both his head and knee painfully on the edge on his way in.  Focusing on a getting through the ordeal as quickly as possible, he almost immediately bumped into Shayla, who had stopped.“Ah, what's the matter,” he asked, a note of panic creeping into his voice despite his best efforts.“Nothing,” Gorak growled, “Just hold up a bit.”The sound of chanting rolled through the tunnel, and for an instant, the stone beneath Khalid's hands seemed to rippled and flow.   The back wall slowly sealed up behind him, doing little to ease Khalid's mind, even as he recognized the value.  They crawled on their hands and knees for what seemed like hours, but couldn't have been nearly that long.  At one point, Gorak called back,  “We're gonna hafta keep going.  I didn't smooth over a patch here, and there's way too many cracks to make me want to head out there and take a stroll around.”Khalid tried not to look as he crawled past the rough spot.  What he did see out of the corner of his eye, made his breath quicken.  He immediately fought down the urge, concerned as he was about the amount of air for them in the small enclosure.Gorak continued to burrow through the mountain, stopping once more to extend the tunnel.  Khalid could barely contain his joy when the tunnel turned sharply and he stumbled out the last few feet onto the rough floor of the main cave.  He'd never have imagined at feeling relief at being in a cave, but given that ordeal, he was grateful for the opportunity to stretch, if nothing else.  Picking up the light and focusing it down the tunnel behind, Khalid couldn't see any sign of debris.  Gorak had led them well past the point of danger but they pushed on and headed further down the tunnel, eager to put the cave in as far behind them as possible.There was little to distinguish this part of the journey from the path before.  They had been under the mountains for the better part of five days and from what Ruwayd offered, they had at least a few more before reaching the other side.  Only the belief that should they need it, Gorak could carve a hole out of the side of the mountain, kept Khalid functioning clearly.  They moved quickly, trying to shield the light as much as possible, as they passed numerous fissures and caverns branching from the main tunnel.  There was little they could do to hide evidence of their passage and even their best attempts sent echoes up and down the caves.  Nervous as he was, Khalid was still taken by surprise when the native inhabitants discovered them.  The creatures came swarming out of the darkness soundlessly, half running, half loping towards them.  Their skin was the colour of uncooked dough, and hung off their slight frames in folds.  Reptilian tongues slavered and twined around a circular maw of fangs, beneath a smooth expanse of skin.  Khalid's recoiled as he realized the beasts had no visible eyes, and must have hunted them by smell, touch or some other preternatural sense.  Wicked flint axes, chipped and jagged, were clutched in meaty fists, while the beasts used the other to race low along the ground, like the gorillas Khalid had seen in the arenas of Gem-Sharad.What the creatures had in ferocity, they unfortunately lacked in judgement.  Overcome with lust for the kill, they rushed headlong at Ruwayd, in the lead.  Unaware of the Janni's unique heritage, the two charging beasts in front vanished with a shriek into a wicked pit trap, obviously meant to ensnare their prey.  Ruwayd dipped in the air slightly as the thin sheet of slate, carved to fit perfectly into the stone floor, shattered beneath their weight.  Howls of pain echoed gruesomely off the walls, as the  beasts were impaled on the sharp spikes lining the bottom of the pit.It only took a second for Shayla to react.  She spun on her heel, facing back down the tunnel and was ready even before another half dozen of the creatures appeared behind them.  The four in the lead vanished in a burst of flame, their bodies almost completely vaporized by the incredible heat.  Scorching smoke washed back over Khalid, burning his eyes as he hastily dug spell components out of a pouch at his waist.  Forcing the irritation out of his thoughts, he started the droning incantation of a summoning spell.Ruwayd's flashing scimitar kept the other beasts from leaping across the pit and assaulting them from behind.  Weaving and thrusting while he hovered in mid air over the pit, he repeatedly foiled their attempts to reach him.  Enraged, one of the creatures hurled its axe at him, but a deft flick of his blade sent it smashing harmlessly into the cave wall.  Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, another beast leapt across the chasm, only to be intercepted by Gorak.  With a contemptuous shove from the tip of his cudgel, Gorak sent the hapless attacker tumbling backwards to join its companions on the spikes below.Devastated in the open moments of the attack, the remaining creatures broke and fled, their howls of rage turned to fear at the viciousness of their defeat.  Ensnared within the complex ritual of summoning, Khalid wrenched forth a monstrous spider, laced with fell energies, only to open his eyes and discover the battle was over.   Khalid frowned at the glittering black arachnid, half relieved that the battle was over and half disappointed at the wasted spell.  With the wave of his hand, he sent it scuttling down into the pit, where the feeble cries of their wounded assailants were quickly silenced.  As they steadied their nerves and crossed the simple but flawlessly crafted trap, Khalid hoped that whatever those things were, that they were the dominant creatures in the area.  He was satisfied, at least, that word of their strength, assuming those things had the capability of speech, would dissuade any further attacks.For a change, his hopes were rewarded and two days later the first whiff of fresh, frigid air reached them.  Even Gorak was invigorated and picked up his pace.  The cave lightened somewhat but to Khalid's disappointment, it was almost dusk when they finally reached the exit.  Even though the deepening darkness shrouded  the terrain below, Khalid felt a sense of significance as he stepped out into the high foothills of the Eastern Kingdom.  Patches of snow still lurked in the long shadows cast by the jumbled rocks and boulders that dotted the rugged hills, and from what Khalid could see, the terrain looked fairly similar to what they had encountered on the other side.  They dropped their gear on the ground and stretched, trying to relax cramped muscles.  Fortified from the cold by Gorak, they relished the open air, gathered around a sheltered fire, nestled in the crags of the barren hills.  Inhospitable as their surroundings were, they enjoyed themselves as though it were one of Arbaq's finest dining halls.   Although in a foreign land, in a wild and untamed region and surrounded by war, the tension of the long hard journey through the mountains fell away easily.  For a change, the conversation didn't focus on how to survive the coming day.   They talked long into the night, sharing those few stories they hadn't already told the Janni and being regaled with tales of Ruwayd's more scandalous adventures.  Before they realized it, the sky began to lighten, and the morning was upon them.  Stifling a yawn with the back of his hand, Khalid was somewhat dismayed at the prospect of crawling into the magical shelter but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise.  The Janni, however,  seemed invigorated, and grabbed his meager possessions as the others began tossing gear up through the portal.“Alas my friends, although my debt will never truly be repaid, please let me take my leave of you now, having fulfilled what I pledged to do.” Ruwayd bowed low at the waist, not looking up as he continued.  “Long years have I been absent from my tribe, with no word.  It is not right that they should grieve for me, any longer than is necessary.”“No need to be so damn formal,” Gorak grunted.  “You did us one helluva good turn getting us through those mountains, and that bastard holding you up there was overdue for a little spiritual recycling.  So everybody's a winner.”“Yeah,” Shayla added, “thanks for getting us through the mountains.”  Khalid thought that Shayla sounded maybe a little less than sincere and he suspected that she still held a grudge against the Janni, in particular, for attacking her.  Still, she was making the effort at least.  “Ah, thank you my friends, I am truly blessed.  Should ever you need my help, seek out Ruwayd of the Seven Hills tribe, and I will place my sword at your service.”Khalid  reached out, and shook the Janni's hand vigorously.  “Ah, it was a honor to have met you, yes, quite.”  A thought occurred to him.  “Ah, you aren't planned on returning through the tunnels are you?  The path, yes, path is blocked.”“No, my friend, I do not think that will be necessary,” he replied with a hint of a smirk.“Ah, but the griffins?” Khalid asked.“Yes, well the griffins, Khalid, the griffins were never a concern for me, exactly.” The sound of his laughter drifted down from above as he shot in the the air, quickly vanishing into the clouds.Somewhat more sombre, they set off the next morning, having slept almost straight through the previous day.  Horses were useless in the steep and rocky terrain, forcing them to pick their way down carefully on foot.  Khalid's elation at being outside was quickly dampened by a chill sleet that hung in the air like a mist, obscuring their vision, and coating everything with a thin layer of slush.  Gorak's spell could ward off the worst of the cold, but it did nothing for the wet and before long, they were all soaked.  Gorak took the opportunity to suggest that maybe summoning up a few mountain goats would be helpful to which Khalid responded with a suggestion of a few things Gorak could summon up, and where exactly he could pull them out of.  This set Shayla to laughing, until she remembered that she was still somewhat annoyed at Khalid and three of them dropped into a sullen silence as they trudged down out of the foothills.  Their progress was slow, but for the most part, Gorak kept them on a fairly decent path, clear of any significant obstacles.  Somewhat miserable and focused on the task at hand, Khalid was jerked out of his internal musing as a gravelly voice cut through the gloom.  “I seek the one known as Khalid ibn Bahir!”  The words were heavy and guttural, laced with a strange foreign accent.“Sh*t!” Gorak growled.  “Dwerro by the sounds of it.”It took Khalid a moment to recognize the strange inflections.  “Ah, no, that's not a Dwerro” Khalid muttered, his stomach clenching into a tight knot as he guessed at the speaker's native dialect.  “That's something much, yes, much worse.”</blockquote>

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