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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pogre" data-source="post: 1086844" data-attributes="member: 6588">LuYangShih - you made my day!Episode 18A What?!Gerhardt complained bitterly about the adventurers’ lack of progress on the way back to the druidic circle. When Hilde again suggested they had enough to go back to Lord Noble Helmall the fighter exploded. “No! Let us die in that place before we let some other sots steal our treasure and glory. I will not return to a major player in Norgate with the news that I have been defeated by a magical door. Forget it!”Hilde chuckled and nodded her head in bemused appreciation of Gerhardt’s stubbornness. She chatted quietly with Inga while Gerhardt stormed ahead still bitter at the delay. When the group reached the canyon of the circle he quickly went to work making a fire.“Something is approaching,” Quarion called out to the rest of the group.Gjord emerged from the shadows of the rocky landscape. “You are good Quarion. I thought I would work on some of the things Vostark is teaching me.”“Gjord, welcome!” Hilde cried out warmly. “Does Vostark accompany you?”“No, sister he remains with Viziona and Ranin. He told me I would find you here and gave me permission to help. He wants Ranin to remain with him and the dark elf. Apparently, it is some sort of training for Ranin.”“Sounds like torture to me,” E’lissar stated.Gjord smiled ahead of his next comment. “Aye, and it is your turn E’lissar. Vostark has asked me to summon you to his camp.”“Me! Why?”“He wants you to spend some time with Viziona as well.” Gjord sat down by the fire.“I will not,” E’lissar spat.“I knew I liked this druid,” Gerhardt interjected. “Anybody that is into torturing elves is my kind of guy.”“It would be most foolish to raise the ire of our best ally at this point,” Inga offered.“What of Quarion?” E’lissar whined.Quarion raised an eyebrow. “Leave me out of it E’lissar. Perhaps the druid knows I am beyond redemption.”“Perhaps you were less vitriolic in your criticisms of the drow,” Hilde suggested.E’lissar was pouting. “I’m not going.”“Fine,” Gjord replied. “I guess we will just report to Lord Helmall that your refusal to cooperate endangered the entire mission.”“You would say no such thing,” E’lissar challenged.“He wouldn’t, but I sure as hell would,” Gerhardt grinned madly at the elf’s discomfort.“What is he making Ranin do?” E’lissar was deflated.Gjord hesitated and then grinned slightly, “Not much. A couple of days ago he made Ranin give her a bath.”E’lissar hissed with a clicking noise expressing his utter distaste for such an assignment.“Why didn’t you say so!” Gerhardt roared. “Sign me up.”Hilde approached E’lissar, “My friend we all have burdens to bear. Your burden in this case is to go to Vostark. Look upon it as an opportunity to learn, or as a necessary hardship for the success of our mission. In either case – you must go to him.”E’lissar looked down. His face was dark and brooding. A resigned sigh rose from his lips. “Gjord, how do I get to his camp?”“Hey pointy-ears,” Gerhardt called. “Give Viziona a big kiss for me and tell Vostark I’m next.”E’lissar received quick directions from Gjord and melted into the darkness. Gjord then was updated on the group’s progress in his absence. The night passed peacefully and following the sisters’ prayers the group headed back to Griffon Rock.…..The group descended the stairs.“To the door?” Gjord asked.“No way, not yet. There is a lot of areas we have not been in yet,” Gerhardt reminded the rest.Quarion moved down an unexplored hallway ahead of the group.<a href="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0701_exploring_new_corridor.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0701_exploring_new_corridor_th.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>Gerhardt rushed to catch up to Quarion’s position. The rogue shuddered at the amount of racket the armored fighter made clunking up to him.“What do you see?” Gerhardt asked in hushed whisper.Gerhardt’s whispering amused Quarion to no end, especially in light of the cacophony he had just created. “The corridor to the left here opens up into a chamber. The room appears to be covered in black sand.”The rest of the group caught up to the leading two. Quarion moved cautiously towards the chamber with black sand. He stuck his sword into the granular surface. “It’s about a foot and a half deep.” He whispered back to the group.Gerhardt moved up some and flung five silver coins into the sand. He held a torch high watching for reaction across the floor. None happened. “What are the white things in the sand?”<a href="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0702_black_sand_egg_shells.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0702_black_sand_egg_shells_th.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>“They look like egg shells,” Quarion replied. Quarion stepped lightly into the room and picked up one of the objects and held it towards the group.“Well?” Inga asked.“Definitely an egg shell fragment,” Quarion confirmed.“That is one big egg,” Gjord commented.“Yes, and there are thousands of fragments like that one in here,” Quarion replied. He took another step and realized the fragments were a real hazard that might even cut through his soft boots. He gingerly tip-toed back to the adventurers.The group moved up the corridor and found themselves in an unusual chamber. The floor and walls were black as coal, but the ceilings were painted with white glowing dots. Hilde quickly recognized them as stars and constellations, although not from their own night sky.<a href="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0703_astronomy_room.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0703_astronomy_room_th.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>“Are these constellations from the north?” Hilde asked Inga.“No sister. I do not recognize them.”“Look what I found,” Quarion interrupted the sisters.<a href="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0704_secret_door.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0704_secret_door_th.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>“Do you think our friends upstairs are aware of this secret door?” Hilde asked.Gjord inspected the portal. “Not likely. No one has been through here in years.”“It can wait then,” Hilde suggested.“No,” Inga and Gerhardt replied simultaneously. They looked at each other for a moment and then Inga said, “This may be the break we need to find a new area to surprise them from – it is an opportunity we must explore.”“I had not thought of that,” Hilde admitted. “I agree.”The group worked its way down a very long hallway beyond the secret door. <a href="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0705_long_corridor_to_cavern.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0705_long_corridor_to_cavern_th.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>Quarion raised his hand to halt the adventurers. He stopped and listened. In the distance he heard an odd rasping noise. It sounded like a great blast furnace with bellows shooting air intermittently to feed the fire. He described the sound to the group.“A forge?” Gjord questioned.“This could be an entrance to a whole new area – an underworld ruin of the Odysseans,” Inga guessed.“The volcanoes that roared and covered much of that ancient civilization did not reach this far north that I am aware of,” Hilde commented.Gerhardt scowled, “Hey, I got a theory for ya’: Let’s keep moving our feet and find out what it really is.”…..Quarion led the group on down the dark corridor. In the distance he spotted a dim blue light and the group allowed him to move ahead quietly. Quarion crept softly on the stone surface and found the tunnel opened up into a chamber. The group followed at a respectful distance watching the rogue for signals. Quarion peered into the chamber; he jumped back from the sight. Scrambling on all fours and obviously in a panic he returned to the group.“What is it?” Gerhardt asked.It was as if something was choking Quarion, he could not speak. Quarion trembled and sweat dotted his brow. He was clearly terrified.Hilde and Inga tried to calm him down and he was able to take a couple of deep breaths, but still he could not vocalize what he had witnessed.“Fine, I’ll see what this is about,” Gerhardt stated. Quarion grabbed Gerhardt’s arm and shook his head from side-to-side wildly.“I can handle it,” Gerhardt said throwing Quarion’s grip off of him.Gerhardt made his way up to the end of the corridor. When he reached the opening he quickly motioned to the group to come up.“What?” Gjord asked impatiently.Gerhardt put his index finger to his lips to quiet the ranger. He then whispered in Gjord’s ear.Gjord snapped back from the fighter, “It’s a what!?”Together the adventurers peered into the chamber beyond.<a href="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0706_sleeping_dragon.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.compet-edge.com/story_hour_2/0706_sleeping_dragon_th.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a></blockquote>

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