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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7596662" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 285</p><p></p><p>Dawn found them marching through the jungle once more. Progress was again slow. A thin fog hung over the landscape well into the morning, giving the place a sort of ethereal presence. The companions were more alert to potential hazards lurking in the mists, especially after Rodan pointed out a serpent that was thick around as the tiefling’s torso dangling across the branches of a tree. The creature didn’t move toward them, but they gave it a wide berth and continued on.</p><p></p><p>The fog dissolved as midday approached, but even so the ruins managed to sneak up on them. It seemed like one moment the jungle was the same as it had been since they’d made their way down from the mountain pass, and the next there were crumbling blocks of stone visible among the growth. What had seemed like a narrow trail cutting through the forest became the remains of a road, with ancient cobbles overgrown with tall grasses and creeping vines.</p><p></p><p>“I’d say we’re getting closer,” Rodan said. The jungle remained thick enough ahead that they couldn’t see any sign of the huge structures they had spotted from the mountains, but the road at least seemed to continue on for quite some distance.</p><p></p><p>“Looks like we’ll make better time, anyway,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“Just stay alert,” Bredan said.</p><p></p><p>It was an unnecessary warning; they were all on edge as they continued forward, with Rodan taking the lead about twenty feet ahead of the others. The armored clank of Quellan and Bredan made stealth almost impossible, but they’d agreed to stay relatively close together, at least for their initial survey. They had already learned that one could be standing just a few feet away from a creature in the jungle and not see them; the encounter with the giant dinosaur last night had only confirmed the lesson.</p><p></p><p>The trees thinned out as they made their way into the outskirts of the city, but they were replaced by the overgrown bulk of ruined buildings. There was little left, just masses of crumbling stone that were not substantial enough to offer clues to what purpose they might have served. There was nothing else left of whatever civilization had once existed here, the jungle having reclaimed everything except for the bare stone. Occasionally they saw something that might have been a carved pillar or part of a statue, but what remained were just hints that invited speculation but offered no answers.</p><p></p><p>Quellan would have welcomed a chance to study the ruins further, but Bredan urged them to keep moving after just a brief break for lunch. The warrior’s mood became contagious, and all of them began to feel a growing sense of expectation, that the end of their quest was growing near. It was becoming clear that the city was huge, and that they could spend days searching it for the book, but they kept pressing forward, seeking the center they had seen from the pass.</p><p></p><p>“How could they have sustained this place?” Xeeta asked as they continued down the street. Occasionally the collapsed remnants of an adjacent building spilled out into their path, but thus far they hadn’t encountered anything substantial enough to block them. “We saw no fields, and there’s no way that caravans could have come over those mountains.”</p><p></p><p>“We’re talking thousands of years ago, potentially,” Quellan said. “This valley could have contained an entirely different landscape back then.”</p><p></p><p>“Still, why would they have picked such an inaccessible place to build?” Glori chimed in.</p><p></p><p>“Who knows?” Kosk said. “If the Mai’i built this place, we already know they were kind of nuts.”</p><p></p><p>“This place seems older than even the Mai’i ruins we’ve explored back in Voralis,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“It’s creepy,” Malik said. “I feel like there’s someone watching me, but every time I turn around there’s nothing there.”</p><p></p><p>“That is a common psychological phenomenon in situations where there is great stress or uncertainty,” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>“For all we know there could be a hundred creatures watching us from these ruined buildings,” Kosk said.</p><p></p><p>“Great, now I’m feeling it too,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“Quiet,” Bredan said. “Rodan’s seen something.”</p><p></p><p>They looked ahead to where the tiefling had raised an arm in warning. They slowly moved ahead but could already see what had alerted him. The street ahead of them was blocked by a collapse that had left a mound of rubble a good eight or nine feet high extending between the two ruined structures to each side. The ruins looked as though they had been quite substantial at some point, with a few partial walls suggesting that they’d once had multiple stories. All that was left now were heaps of rubble that formed a cul-de-sac ahead of them.</p><p></p><p>“Go over, or around?” Glori asked.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s try moving one street over,” Bredan suggested. “It seems like we’re making progress, the buildings have been getting more intact as we get closer to the center.”</p><p></p><p>“Assuming we’re heading in the right direction,” Kosk noted.</p><p></p><p>“Eventually we should be able to see something,” Quellan said. “Those buildings we saw from the mountains should be hard to miss.”</p><p></p><p>“Over here,” Rodan said. “It looks like there’s a route through this ruin.”</p><p></p><p>They followed the tiefling through a breached wall, the uneven blocks that remained rising to only four or five feet in height, into what might have once been some kind of courtyard. There was a round depression filled with rubble that might have once been a fountain or other decorative structure. The house behind it was completely collapsed, with bushes and tangles of weeds jutting up from crevices in the mounded stone.</p><p></p><p>The wall on the other side of the courtyard was more intact, though Rodan found a spot where a few blocks had tumbled free to leave a niche wide enough for a man to fit through. He peered carefully beyond the opening and then slipped through, pausing to check the area more thoroughly before signaling for the others to follow. Only Quellan had difficulty, his bulky armor scraping on the stones before he was able to squeeze through.</p><p></p><p>They found themselves on another street that continued on a more or less parallel route to the one they had just left. But they’d only covered about fifty yards before they saw another blockage up ahead.</p><p></p><p>“Are you starting to feel like we’re being channeled?” Glori asked.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s take a closer look,” Bredan suggested.</p><p></p><p>They continued forward, scanning the ruins to either side for any threats. Malik’s earlier presentiment was felt by all of them, now, even though they had seen nothing that suggested that this place hadn’t been utterly deserted for thousands of years.</p><p></p><p>The barrier blocking the street was much like the first, the remnants of the buildings to either side forming a loose wall of rubble about nine feet tall. Rodan clambered up a slanted but still intact fragment of wall to get a look at what waited beyond. “The street continues past the obstacle,” he reported.</p><p></p><p>“Any sign of anything promising ahead?” Glori asked.</p><p></p><p>The tiefling ascended carefully, placing his feet with care until he had reached the crest of the mound of rubble. “Actually, I can see a bit of something through the trees ahead of us,” he said. “It could be one of those large buildings we saw earlier.”</p><p></p><p>“Any monsters?” Malik called up.</p><p></p><p>“I assure you, you will be the first to know if I see any,” Rodan said.</p><p></p><p>“How’s the footing?” Kosk asked.</p><p></p><p>“Treacherous. But manageable, I think.”</p><p></p><p>The others made their way up, following Rodan’s example of using the collapsed wall as a staircase. Bits of rock shifted as they moved, but they were able to help each other over the more difficult parts. They each paused at the top to peer into the distance. There was definitely something there, but it was impossible to be sure what it was through the obscuring trees. More of the rubble cascaded down as they made their way down the far side of the barrier, but they all made it down more or less intact.</p><p></p><p>At least they did until it was Quellan’s turn. As he started down from the crest his foot landed on a bit of rock that collapsed under his weight. He tried to recover his balance, but only managed to start a general slide that had him falling hard onto his back. The others quickly got out of the way as he slid down all the way to the street below, bits of rock pinging off his armor.</p><p></p><p>“Oops,” he said.</p><p></p><p>“Are you all right?” Glori asked.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, just a bit bludgeoned,” he said. He accepted the hands that she and Bredan offered and pulled himself to his feet. “For once I am glad for all this weight of metal I’ve been lugging around.”</p><p></p><p>Sandros and Kosk, who had been bringing up the rear, appeared at the top of the mound. “Is it safe?” the sailor asked, scanning the channel that Quellan had created through the loose rock dubiously.</p><p></p><p>“If you slip, just drop to your rear and slide down,” Rodan suggested. He started forward to help him, but was interrupted by a sound of shifting rocks that <em>hadn’t</em> come from them.</p><p></p><p>“That sounded close,” Xeeta said.</p><p></p><p>“Come on, get down!” Rodan said. But before Sandros could attempt the descent they were startled by another sound, this one an echoing animal roar that seemed to come from all around them.</p><p></p><p>The companions that were gathered in the street all came together instinctively, their weapons in their hands as they scanned their surroundings for the source of the cry. “There!” Glori shouted, pointing.</p><p></p><p>They all turned as something shifted in the ruins of the collapsed building to their left. None of them had time to react before a creature suddenly appeared, vaulting atop the even larger heap of rubble there in a single agile bound.</p><p></p><p>The creature was an ape, a muscled hulk that stood a head taller than Quellan and had to be at least twice his weight, if not more. Its body was covered in a thick hide of pale fur, with powerful jaws that opened to reveal ugly, protruding yellow teeth.</p><p></p><p>But more notable was the fact that the creature had an extra set of arms that jutted from its torso. All four of those arms spread wide as it regarded the intruders into its demesne, then it pounded its chest as it let out another ear-splitting roar.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7596662, member: 143"] Chapter 285 Dawn found them marching through the jungle once more. Progress was again slow. A thin fog hung over the landscape well into the morning, giving the place a sort of ethereal presence. The companions were more alert to potential hazards lurking in the mists, especially after Rodan pointed out a serpent that was thick around as the tiefling’s torso dangling across the branches of a tree. The creature didn’t move toward them, but they gave it a wide berth and continued on. The fog dissolved as midday approached, but even so the ruins managed to sneak up on them. It seemed like one moment the jungle was the same as it had been since they’d made their way down from the mountain pass, and the next there were crumbling blocks of stone visible among the growth. What had seemed like a narrow trail cutting through the forest became the remains of a road, with ancient cobbles overgrown with tall grasses and creeping vines. “I’d say we’re getting closer,” Rodan said. The jungle remained thick enough ahead that they couldn’t see any sign of the huge structures they had spotted from the mountains, but the road at least seemed to continue on for quite some distance. “Looks like we’ll make better time, anyway,” Glori said. “Just stay alert,” Bredan said. It was an unnecessary warning; they were all on edge as they continued forward, with Rodan taking the lead about twenty feet ahead of the others. The armored clank of Quellan and Bredan made stealth almost impossible, but they’d agreed to stay relatively close together, at least for their initial survey. They had already learned that one could be standing just a few feet away from a creature in the jungle and not see them; the encounter with the giant dinosaur last night had only confirmed the lesson. The trees thinned out as they made their way into the outskirts of the city, but they were replaced by the overgrown bulk of ruined buildings. There was little left, just masses of crumbling stone that were not substantial enough to offer clues to what purpose they might have served. There was nothing else left of whatever civilization had once existed here, the jungle having reclaimed everything except for the bare stone. Occasionally they saw something that might have been a carved pillar or part of a statue, but what remained were just hints that invited speculation but offered no answers. Quellan would have welcomed a chance to study the ruins further, but Bredan urged them to keep moving after just a brief break for lunch. The warrior’s mood became contagious, and all of them began to feel a growing sense of expectation, that the end of their quest was growing near. It was becoming clear that the city was huge, and that they could spend days searching it for the book, but they kept pressing forward, seeking the center they had seen from the pass. “How could they have sustained this place?” Xeeta asked as they continued down the street. Occasionally the collapsed remnants of an adjacent building spilled out into their path, but thus far they hadn’t encountered anything substantial enough to block them. “We saw no fields, and there’s no way that caravans could have come over those mountains.” “We’re talking thousands of years ago, potentially,” Quellan said. “This valley could have contained an entirely different landscape back then.” “Still, why would they have picked such an inaccessible place to build?” Glori chimed in. “Who knows?” Kosk said. “If the Mai’i built this place, we already know they were kind of nuts.” “This place seems older than even the Mai’i ruins we’ve explored back in Voralis,” Glori said. “It’s creepy,” Malik said. “I feel like there’s someone watching me, but every time I turn around there’s nothing there.” “That is a common psychological phenomenon in situations where there is great stress or uncertainty,” Quellan said. “For all we know there could be a hundred creatures watching us from these ruined buildings,” Kosk said. “Great, now I’m feeling it too,” Glori said. “Quiet,” Bredan said. “Rodan’s seen something.” They looked ahead to where the tiefling had raised an arm in warning. They slowly moved ahead but could already see what had alerted him. The street ahead of them was blocked by a collapse that had left a mound of rubble a good eight or nine feet high extending between the two ruined structures to each side. The ruins looked as though they had been quite substantial at some point, with a few partial walls suggesting that they’d once had multiple stories. All that was left now were heaps of rubble that formed a cul-de-sac ahead of them. “Go over, or around?” Glori asked. “Let’s try moving one street over,” Bredan suggested. “It seems like we’re making progress, the buildings have been getting more intact as we get closer to the center.” “Assuming we’re heading in the right direction,” Kosk noted. “Eventually we should be able to see something,” Quellan said. “Those buildings we saw from the mountains should be hard to miss.” “Over here,” Rodan said. “It looks like there’s a route through this ruin.” They followed the tiefling through a breached wall, the uneven blocks that remained rising to only four or five feet in height, into what might have once been some kind of courtyard. There was a round depression filled with rubble that might have once been a fountain or other decorative structure. The house behind it was completely collapsed, with bushes and tangles of weeds jutting up from crevices in the mounded stone. The wall on the other side of the courtyard was more intact, though Rodan found a spot where a few blocks had tumbled free to leave a niche wide enough for a man to fit through. He peered carefully beyond the opening and then slipped through, pausing to check the area more thoroughly before signaling for the others to follow. Only Quellan had difficulty, his bulky armor scraping on the stones before he was able to squeeze through. They found themselves on another street that continued on a more or less parallel route to the one they had just left. But they’d only covered about fifty yards before they saw another blockage up ahead. “Are you starting to feel like we’re being channeled?” Glori asked. “Let’s take a closer look,” Bredan suggested. They continued forward, scanning the ruins to either side for any threats. Malik’s earlier presentiment was felt by all of them, now, even though they had seen nothing that suggested that this place hadn’t been utterly deserted for thousands of years. The barrier blocking the street was much like the first, the remnants of the buildings to either side forming a loose wall of rubble about nine feet tall. Rodan clambered up a slanted but still intact fragment of wall to get a look at what waited beyond. “The street continues past the obstacle,” he reported. “Any sign of anything promising ahead?” Glori asked. The tiefling ascended carefully, placing his feet with care until he had reached the crest of the mound of rubble. “Actually, I can see a bit of something through the trees ahead of us,” he said. “It could be one of those large buildings we saw earlier.” “Any monsters?” Malik called up. “I assure you, you will be the first to know if I see any,” Rodan said. “How’s the footing?” Kosk asked. “Treacherous. But manageable, I think.” The others made their way up, following Rodan’s example of using the collapsed wall as a staircase. Bits of rock shifted as they moved, but they were able to help each other over the more difficult parts. They each paused at the top to peer into the distance. There was definitely something there, but it was impossible to be sure what it was through the obscuring trees. More of the rubble cascaded down as they made their way down the far side of the barrier, but they all made it down more or less intact. At least they did until it was Quellan’s turn. As he started down from the crest his foot landed on a bit of rock that collapsed under his weight. He tried to recover his balance, but only managed to start a general slide that had him falling hard onto his back. The others quickly got out of the way as he slid down all the way to the street below, bits of rock pinging off his armor. “Oops,” he said. “Are you all right?” Glori asked. “Yes, just a bit bludgeoned,” he said. He accepted the hands that she and Bredan offered and pulled himself to his feet. “For once I am glad for all this weight of metal I’ve been lugging around.” Sandros and Kosk, who had been bringing up the rear, appeared at the top of the mound. “Is it safe?” the sailor asked, scanning the channel that Quellan had created through the loose rock dubiously. “If you slip, just drop to your rear and slide down,” Rodan suggested. He started forward to help him, but was interrupted by a sound of shifting rocks that [i]hadn’t[/i] come from them. “That sounded close,” Xeeta said. “Come on, get down!” Rodan said. But before Sandros could attempt the descent they were startled by another sound, this one an echoing animal roar that seemed to come from all around them. The companions that were gathered in the street all came together instinctively, their weapons in their hands as they scanned their surroundings for the source of the cry. “There!” Glori shouted, pointing. They all turned as something shifted in the ruins of the collapsed building to their left. None of them had time to react before a creature suddenly appeared, vaulting atop the even larger heap of rubble there in a single agile bound. The creature was an ape, a muscled hulk that stood a head taller than Quellan and had to be at least twice his weight, if not more. Its body was covered in a thick hide of pale fur, with powerful jaws that opened to reveal ugly, protruding yellow teeth. But more notable was the fact that the creature had an extra set of arms that jutted from its torso. All four of those arms spread wide as it regarded the intruders into its demesne, then it pounded its chest as it let out another ear-splitting roar. [/QUOTE]
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