NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1203751" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 68Dawn was just a faint promise on the jagged horizon formed by the line of peaks that overshadowed Cauldron to the east.  The rain had eased off sometime during the night, and a thick fog hung over the caldera, spilling out over the wall and spreading thick fingers down the outer slopes of the volcano.  The companions stood at the summit of the volcano, facing outward, the impassive thickness of the city wall behind them.  They were a good distance away from the nearest gate; no road or track led down from here, just a rough and uneven slope that promised little but broken bones and treacherous slides.  “Here we go,” Dannel said.  A few feet away, Mole yawned. Zenna felt tired as well.  She hadn’t slept much since their encounter at the Pavillion; none of them had, really, with the need to make preparations and knowing that once more they would be thrust into mortal danger.  It was a good thing that she’d already had a full complement of spells memorized; she doubted that she would have been able to get anything out of her spellbook after a night like this one.  She could feel the spells tingling in her mind, an odd mixture of the spells from her book and the ones that had appeared in her thoughts with the meditative exercises that Esbar had taught her.  She glanced over at Illewyn.  The young woman was resolute, her face tight in an expression that had not been part of her when Zenna had first met her, little more than a tenday ago.  There had been little time to give Jenya more than a sketchy briefing of what they’d learned, but Illewyn had been quick to volunteer to accompany them.  Admittedly the source and veracity of their information was still sketchy—Dannel hadn’t been able to tell more than that his informant had been human—but it was still all they had to go on.  And they had to assume that the information was good, that they would encounter Triel Eldurast and whatever allies she still possessed when they completed this trek. “Let’s get about this, then,” Arun growled. They’d already worked out their roles, already knew each other’s talents from their struggles together at the Lucky Monkey.  Dannel led them down, the nimble elf directing them along the safest and most direct path.  Behind him came Mole, hopping a bit with each step, and then Arun, the dwarf clanking slightly with the noise of his armor and weapons.  Then Zenna, a shade in her dark cloak, and Illewyn bringing up the rear.They made their way down the slope in silence, save for the noise of their gear and Arun’s perpetual clatter.  Only a few minutes after they’d started, Zenna looked back over her shoulder—the wall of the city was lost behind them, faded into the fog.  It was as if they were in a world where everything was just a ghostly shadow of reality, even their own forms dark and indistinct.  It was a morbid thought, especially given what she’d experienced with the Vanishing, so she pushed those thoughts aside with a shudder and forced herself to focus on the treacherous track.  Behind her she heard a slight clatter and a muffled curse.  Zenna belatedly realized that Illewyn had to be all but blind in these circumstances, so she quickly turned back to help the cleric.  It didn’t take them much longer before Dannel brought them to a halt with a raised hand.  The others gathered behind him.  Zenna, with her darkvision, could clearly see what the keen-eyed elf had spotted, a low mound formed by a dozen massive boulders that jutted from the mountainside like a pimple. “I’ll go check it out,” he said.  “Wait here.”Arun grumbled, but even he didn’t offer further complaint as the elf darted off into the shadowy mists.  He was only gone for a minute, Zenna thought, before he returned, the news of his success written clearly on his face. “There’s a shaft that leads deeper into the mountain,” he said.  “It would appear that our informant was correct, at least about that.”“Let’s hope that they aren’t expecting guests,” Mole said.  Dannel directed them to the entrance.  The shaft sloped steeply but appeared to be navigable; its walls were cylindrical and smooth.  The passage was utterly and purely black. “Lava tube, most like,” Arun said.  “Even you are going to need light down there, elf,” Illewyn said.  “I will call light to brighten our way.”“All right, but keep it shrouded,” Dannel said.  “I’ll go on a bit ahead, check for ambushes or guards.”“No offense, elf, but even with your vaunted eyes, you’re not going to be able to see nothing down there.  I should go in the lead; my dwarven senses are suited to such work.”  Arun started for the entrance, as if taking their assent for granted. “No offense taken, ser dwarf,” Dannel returned, moving quickly to block him without seeming to do so.  “But sound carries as well as light in the dark places under the earth, and you are rather... noisy... in that most impressive getup.”It looked like an argument might be brewing, but Zenna surprised them both—and perhaps herself—by stepping in between them.  “I’ll go ahead,” she said.  “I have the benefit of both darkvision and stealth, as I do not wear armor.”  Both the elf and the dwarf looked at her with obvious disapproval.  “If there is trouble down there...” Arun began.“I’ll come right back and get you,” she promised.  The two shared a look, and Zenna felt a combination of prickly anger at their presumption of control over her, and a brief hope that they would press her, force her to back down from this crazy plan.  She didn’t really want to be the first to go...Finally, Dannel nodded.  “Be careful,” he said.  They moved into the mouth of the tube.  Zenna looked down at her hand, white and slender against the dark colors of her clothing.  She concentrated for a moment, calling the power of her magical hat, and the hand darkened until it was nearly black in color.  She knew that her face would likewise be darkened, and wouldn’t give her away if a light appeared below.  “Oh, that’s a nice trick,” Mole said in approval. Zenna closed her eyes and called upon her magic.  The words and gestures flowed easily, and she felt the power surge through her momentarily.  Again she felt a brief confusion—this spell was scribed in her spellbook, but she had drawn upon it from some... outside source, had not committed it to memory the way she normally did.  She shook her head.  This was not the time for introspection.  She felt the familiar tingle as the invisible mage armor settled about her.  Then she took a deep breath, and started into the tunnel.</blockquote>

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