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: 1205529" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 69The darkness swallowed up Zenna before she’d taken a few paces.  With her darkvision she could see quite clearly, of course, but there was still an oppressive sense to the tunnel, as though the surrounding rock were eager to crush her for her insolence at penetrating its fastness.She made her way swiftly, the soft soles of her boots whisking faintly on the smooth floor of the tube.  She touched the wall, and her fingers came away damp with condensation.  The air from below was damp and stale, but she thought she could detect the faintest hint of a breeze.  Behind her she could hear the sounds of the others as they started into the tube after her.  Glancing back, she could see the faint glow that had to be Illewyn’s magical light. She hastened her pace.  The shaft apparently led deep into the mountain, for she progressed for some time without any break or other variation in the tunnel.  Finally, however, different sounds began to intrude upon her senses, sounds of air and water that hinted at a larger space up ahead.  Warily, she pressed on. The shaft finally emerged onto a broad shelf that overlooked a larger cavern, its borders far beyond the capabilities of her darkvision to measure.  But directly in front of her was an incongruous sight that took a few moments for her to identify.  It was a lift, a metal cage attached to cables that ran from somewhere below in the cavern into a plain structure of rough-worked stone that perched on the far side of the ledge to her left.  A door provided access to the building.  After glancing around to make sure that she was alone on the ledge, she crept forward and looked out over the lip of the ledge.  She could not see the bottom of the cavern below, but from the sounds and smells she guessed that there was a body of water beneath.  Not surprising, given that Cauldron stood on the shores of a lake.  From closer up she could see that the cage was designed to hold a number of passengers, and had a small gate in one side to allow access.  There was no apparent way to move it from within, however; the mechanism had to be inside the building.  She wasn’t about to press on further without the others, however. They arrived just a few minutes later, the clank of Arun’s movements announcing them even before Illewyn’s light spilled out over the ledge.  The cleric held the light under her cloak, letting out just enough of a glow for her to see the ground ahead of her.  To Zenna’s eyes, adjusted to the darkness, that glow shone like a beacon.  If there was anyone out and about in the cavern below...Well.  There was no helping that now, she thought.   Zenna gestured toward the door, and the companions gathered before the portal.  Weapons were readied and everyone took up a position to give them a good vantage; having worked together before, the adventurers needed no discussion to prepare themselves.  Dannel held an arrow to his bowstring with his left hand, and reached over the push open the portal with his right. The door opened easily, despite its considerable appearance.  Beyond was a compact chamber, maybe twenty feet square, dominated by the winch mechanism for the cage outside.  Thick cables penetrated the wall overlooking the chasm, connected by an intricate gear mechanism to the heavy wheel that operated the system.  There were a few long, flat boards piled up against one wall, and a door similar to the one through which they'd entered on the opposite wall.  The companions moved quickly into the chamber.  Arun took a quick look at the winch mechanism, while Mole moved swiftly to the far door.  Illewyn walked over to the far side of the winch mechanism, careful not to shine her light directly on the cable openings, and as she was looking around saw something on the wall that drew her attention.  Moving closer, she saw that it was a flat stone of some sort, sticking to the wall at about chest-height as if fixed with glue.  Curious, she reached out to touch it...“I wouldn't do that, if I were you,” Dannel said from behind her, interrupting her with her hand just a scant foot from the stone.  “What?” she said, turning around, drawing her hand back hastily. “I wouldn’t touch that,” he repeated.  “I’ve seen devices like that one before... ordinary objects sticking to a flat surface like a lodestone on a metal sheet.  Sometimes such things are enchanted with a spell that gives an alarm when someone touches them... or even moves by, in some cases.”“Well, we’re lucky it’s not the latter, this time,” Zenna said.  She cautiously approached the stone, and summoned a cantrip.  Sure enough, the oblong rock began to glow, indicating that a magical aura was in fact placed upon it.“Shhh,” Mole said, directing their attention to the door.  As they moved to join her, she whispered, “I think I hear voices.”“Now you’re talking,” Arun growled.</blockquote>

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