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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7482465" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 195“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get much closer than this,” Xeeta said.The four of them were crouched atop a ledge that overlooked a broad cavern below.  The ledge had a bit of a raised rim, offering them decent cover, but they still kept as low as they could.The disadvantage of darkvision was that its range was quite limited.  Most of the cavern was beyond that distance, but there were bits of light here and there, tiny gatherings of radiance from faintly phosphorescent growths that clung to the walls or the mineral-rich stalactites that dangled from the ceiling.  It was just enough to see the trolls that were moving busily across the cavern.  Some carried burdens, bulging sacks or baskets that might have be full of the tailings from a digging operation, or might have been anything at all.  Others just looked to be rushing about with no particular agenda.Most of the traffic seemed to be coming and going from a large tunnel on the far side of the cavern.  That was also the area that held the scouts’ interest, for the noises that had led there here were coming from there.  The din filled the cavern, and was more distinctive now that they were this close.“We’re not going to learn much if we aren’t willing to take a few risks,” Koron said.Xeeta shot the dwarf a dark look.  They’d already taken plenty of risks thus far, to her reckoning.  The magical disguises had held up, or at least they had been enough with the two groups of trolls they had encountered thus far.  In neither case did the creatures get close enough to really test them, however.“This is just a reconnaissance mission,” Bredan said.Darik stared out into the vast dark with a pensive look on his face.  “From the sounds I would say there are three giants at least, maybe four.”Koron grinned—as if he was eager to find those giants—but Darik quickly added, “I agree that this is as far as we’re going to get this way.  But there’s another option we can try before heading back.”“The Cavern of Stars?” Koron asked.  At Darik’s nod the dwarf turned to the others and said, “Yer in for a treat.  It’s a pretty place.”“I am sure the trolls won’t mind if we stop and enjoy the scenery,” Xeeta said.“How much more time do you think we have?” Bredan asked.“My time-sense is a bit off down here, but I’d say maybe half an hour,” Xeeta replied.  “Maybe a little less.”“You can refresh the spell, right?” Bredan said.“Yes.  But remember that we need to get back, as well.  And I can’t do anything about the enchantment that Akhenon placed on us.”“Let’s get moving, then,” Darik said.They retraced their steps and crossed a twisting cavern to another passage high along its wall.  The passage dumped them in still another subterranean chamber, this one crowded with pillars made from stalagmites that had gradually risen to meet up with their overhanging stalactites over years and years of patient dripping.  The air was thick with moisture, and they had to move cautiously to avoid slipping on the slick stone.They were halfway across the cavern when Bredan hissed a warning.  “Trolls!”He and Xeeta ducked into cover, while ten paces back the dwarves simply disappeared, their dark cloaks making them look almost like random rock formations themselves.  The trolls did not come their way, but merely emerged from one passage and vanished into another.  Bredan waited twenty full heartbeats before he reemerged from his hideaway, the others gathering around him.“Is that the way we’re headed?” Xeeta asked.“Fortunately, no,” Darik said.  “The tunnel we want is just around that big jut of rock.”“There was something odd about those trolls,” Bredan said.“Odd how?” Xeeta asked.“I’m not sure.  But I’d like to check it out really quick.”“We do not exactly have time to spare!” Xeeta hissed, but the young warrior was already shuffling forward across the cavern.  He had to circle around a broad gash in the cavern floor and crawl up a brief ascent that led to the spot where the trolls had been, but he reached it and had started back before the others had covered half of the distance.“I found this,” he said, holding up a hand.  It was covered in some sort of viscous goup.  Koron stuck a finger in it and sniffed it before sticking it in his mouth.“Gah, disgusting,” Xeeta said.“It’s mud,” Koron said.  “Nothing special.”“Is that common down here?” Bredan asked.  “Don’t you need topsoil to have mud?”“You do occasionally find dirt down here,” Darik said.  “The way they came, it leads away from where we want to go.  We don’t have time to check both ways.  Do you think it’s important?”“I don’t know,” Bredan said.  “I have a feeling.”“Uh oh,” Xeeta said.</blockquote>

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