Midnight: A Lost Faith's Shadow. Book 1, The Awakening. Chapter 1, The Charge

[Hrothgar]

By the green light of the stone in Kaela's hands, Kaela begins her ministrations. Brian's wounds are grievous, but she stablizes the defender's condition, using her skills to staunch the heavy bleeding from his wounds. Slowly he comes around, slack-jawed and glassy-eyed. He can walk, but not much else.

Valurel has also suffered wounds from the Shadow-warriors, but contusions from rock and stone have stolen the Erunsil's vitality. Slowly the Erunsil opens his eyes; dazed and staring, he nods slowly at Kaela's questions. Like Brian he can move and only slowly at that.

The human stranger seems to be in the best shape; Kaela's work seems to bring him around, although he seems to be slightly delirious. Oh thalassa, I'm dying! he shouts as he sits up.

Starhl and Kaela realize that the Heroes of Caft need rest to recover their strength, but this mud-soaked cavern offers little in the way of comfort. The only succor must come from the winding passage leading into the blackness. However, the source of the fetid odor in the cavern must also lie in that direction as well.

 

[Krug]

"Into deeper darkness... and bad smell," says Starhl, without trace of irony.

 

[Toric_Arthendain]

Valurel's preference is to simply lie down on the mud and sleep but he tries to force his weariness aside. Many more steps will need to be taken before sleep can be allowed. Such is the price of living in this world and fighting against a foe that never seems to rest.

"My thanks," he says to Kaela and then turns to Jon. "And to you, for helping us." He then prepares to head deeper into the cave passage.

 

[Dirigible]

Jon Rane

Smiling weakly at the young woman, Jon rolls his tongue around his teeth, feeling the grit and tasting the soil. "Thank you, mistress," he wheezes as he pulls himself upright, using the roots that crawl through the earthen walls as leverage.

He studies the refugees as he hacks up the last of the dirt from his throat. Odd that they are so accepting and sanguine about his presence; ruefully, he doubts that he would be so kind if their positions were reversed. Am I so sure they're not reversed, or at least equivalent? The ghost, the brute with the axe, the half-dead fist-fighter and the dark one... I think I can see why they're on the run.

Jon Rane starts to head down the tunnel with the rest of the band. "So... would someone care to inform me about how you managed to get so many blackbloods quite so enraged at you?" he asks casually, brushing dirt from his coat.

 

[Bobitron]

"You are welcome, Valurel. And you too!" She turns to face Jon with a slight smile. "Thank you for taking our troubles upon yourself so bravely."

"So... would someone care to inform me about how you managed to get so many blackbloods quite so enraged at you?" he asks casually, brushing dirt from his coat.

"Well..." Kaela hesitates. "Caft has been besieged. That little girl's father was killed, and we feared for her. Her father charged us with her safety. We did the only thing we could. We ran." She starts walking toward Reznik and Aislinn. "Come, stranger. We must move."

 

[Ranger Rick]

Glassy eyed and cotton mouthed, Brian thanks all for their help. He tries to pat Kaela's arm as he thanks her to show his true gratitude. He than hobbles off, his muscles stiff and sore.

 

[Hrothgar]

The stone and earth passage winds and twists through the darkness, its rough floor and walls colored an eerie shade of green by the stone in Kaela's hand. The mud-slick from the cave-in ends within fifty feet of the collapse, making footing more secure in the shifting shadows. Small passages break off from the passage the Heroes follow, but all, except maybe the Erunsil, would risk being trapped in these narrow confines.

The Heroes begin to feel the effects of the flight from the Shadow. Legs feel leaden, minds seem clouded, and eyes tear blearily with fatigue. Aislinn hangs onto Kaela's arm for guidance, her hands brushing the stone. A gift from the goddess, Kaela? Looking down at the stone, Kaela notices faint, broken runes covering its uneven surface. Extremely weathered, the stone still bears the stylized design of a tree of some sort, possibly an oak.

How long do the Heroes walk? Time is unmeasurable in the darkness of the cave. From the weariness in their legs, the Heroes feel they have walked a considerable distance. Rounding a sharp turn, Kaela's stone reveals relics of a bygone age. Once elegant fluted columns, now weathered and crumbling, extend from the floor of the cave into the darkness surrounding the cave's ceiling were even the light of Kaela's stone cannot reach. Ancient, pitted stone surfaces layered with limestone covered runes lay around the chamber in ruin, forcing the Heroes to climb over small walls and piles of debris to continue on their path. Beyond the crumbling columns on the Heroes' right, the cave falls away into blackness. From this blackness, the fetid smell of rot and death permeate, its noisome waves making the Heroes retch.

Amidst the crumbled walls and columns lies a human skeleton, its pelvis and lower ribs crushed by a large stone. Rotten clothing and rusted armor hang from its frame and a limestone-covered greatsword lays across its chest.

 

[Krug]

"Can the smell get any worse? We be like walking into some giant hag's ... armpit!" says Starhl, growling. He retches, though there isn't much in his stomach to let out.

 

[Bobitron]

Aislinn hangs onto Kaela's arm for guidance, her hands brushing the stone. A gift from the goddess, Kaela? Looking down at the stone, Kaela notices faint, broken runes covering its uneven surface. Extremely weathered, the stone still bears the stylized design of a tree of some sort, possibly an oak.

Kaela smiles down at the young girl. "Perhaps, Aislinn. I think you would know better than I."

Once elegant fluted columns, now weathered and crumbling, extend from the floor of the cave into the darkness surrounding the cave's ceiling were even the light of Kaela's stone cannot reach.

She lifts the stone high after inspecting it, trying to give better light. "Does anybody have a clue as to where we are?" Then the smell hits her as she breaths in. "I hope we don't have to go that way," she says glumly. Kaela walks toward the skeleton, still holding onto Aislinn's hand. "This poor person. Where were they from?"

 

[Hrothgar]

The black pit and its horrific smell gaps forebodingly to the right of the cave's floor. What demons and horrors lurk in its black depths? Unsettling are the noises made by the Heroes as they move through the chamber, their footsteps and breathing echoes seemgly amplified by the dark hole.

Kaela notes the limestone-crusted skeletal remains are those of a tall human, most likely a Dorn. From the state of the remains, the deceased has been dead an extremely long time. Looking for some identifying mark on the remains, Kaela notes the limestone crusted greatsword has runes carved in the base of the blade, their exact shapes obscured by the calcified cave moisture.