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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Softwind" data-source="post: 1289005" data-attributes="member: 13893">Twentieth Session (part 2) Tired, but not yet weary, traveling as cautiously as they can, they continue to search for more of the strange creatures, looking for a cause or a reason for these unheard-of insectoids to be within the mine.  The further they travel into the depths of the abandoned mine, the more they believe that there is some kind of intelligence that guides these creatures, and perhaps allowing them to communicate to each other.  Rudimentary tactics are appearing in their encounters, and strategies to try to weaken or separate the group members become common.  It is thus, in this near-paranoid state that the party comes to an elevator suspended halfway in a shaft leading downward, with someone or something occupying the cage.  Harsh mutterings can be heard, interspersed with soft words in Common, too quiet to be understood.  Genoa shifts form with her cloak of the bat, and flies down to investigate.  With her ultrasound, she determines that the being in the cage is bipedal, about the size of an elf or human.  Not willing to risk herself in her current form, she returns to the party and shifts back to her normal dwarven physique.  She relays her information, and Brynn takes the initiative to learn more by repelling down the sides of the shaft, and entering the elevator cage.  At first, the occupant is just as wary as Brynn, but once they determine that the other means them no harm, they both grab the winch and take the elevator up to where the rest of the group awaits.In the light of the lantern Genoa holds up to his face, they determine that the figure is male, of elven blood, and wearing kit appropriate to a melee fighter.  He introduces himself as Qonos Hulabalong, fighter and dabbler in the arcane.  His companion is a black raven, perched upon his shoulder, under his hood, who grumbles and chuckles in a harsh language.  When asked, Qonos reveals that he is the last know survivor of a band of adventurers, much like the Companions, hired by the Guild to investigate.  It has been near a month since he has seen the surface, being trapped below by lack of light (showing his lantern’s depleted oil chamber) and the constant movement of the insectile creatures that now inhabit the mines.  He had tried to leave many times, but found his courage failing at the last minute. At the party’s invitation, he agrees to join with them, to finish the task he was paid for, and perhaps for a chance at revenge.With Qonos’s help, the party quickly finds their way to the third level, and secures the area around the elevator, in order to rest and recover from many long hours of exploration and combat.  Having been assured by Qonos that this area is safe enough for the time being, most of the Companions drift of into troubled sleep.  They awaken hours later, mostly refreshed despite the cold, damp stone floor they rested upon, and ready themselves for another day’s journey.Qonos leads the party through the areas he had been able to explore before his lantern became empty, and they are able to dispatch several roaming insects before their presence is detected.  Evidence of a growing intelligence is found in the creatures becomes apparent, as the party find themselves suddenly in the pincers of a trap.  Lured by an odd glowing stone in the depths of a pool, the party works to retrieve the item, only to discover many of the creatures lying in wait.  And this time, Grimnyr is not so easily able to shrug off the effects of the venom found within the tail stingers of the bugs.  Others in his party fall victim to it as well, as their muscles lock, denying them mobility.  Only Brynn and Qonos are able to avoid being paralyzed, and they finish the battle alone.  Wickedly tired, they nonetheless remain awake, watchful of threats, as they wait for the venom’s effects to fade.  When they spot movement in the group, they give into their bodies’ needs, and fall asleep.  Hours later, they awaken in chagrin to find out a full two hours passed between the first movements and the complete restoration of freedom.  The Companions do not hold it against the two, as they themselves suffer from sleep depredation.  They all decide to find an area to hole up in while they continue to recover.After, they satisfy themselves that the third level is reasonably cleared, and they descend again into unknown territory, Qonos’s knowledge not extending to the lower levels.  The ever-present sound of water dripping is only occasionally masked by rumbles around them, as if the whole mine is settling into a new position.  This resurgence of the tremors worries the dwarves in the party – should a large enough quake hit, they would be buried under thousands of tons of mountain granite.  Repressing a shiver, they hurry the party up, continuing the search for the source of what they now called the infestation.</blockquote>

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