Secrets- part 5 of 6
They entered the open maw only to find themselves in what looked like a natural cave, even though it was highly unlikely that a natural cave would survive the millenia in the foot of a volcanoe. It was huge, and the walls and the ceiling were lost in darkness far beyond where the light of their lanterns went.
In it's middle, there was a pedestal with what looked like several strange runes next to each other. The runes looked a little bit like the orcish ones they had seen in Hor' Kung but made no sense. Torn copied the runes and after exploring the cave a little, they discovered a huge tunnel, which was as wide as the Kodrada corridor and at least thirty feet high. The floor here was smooth, giving the tunnel the look and feel of a big subterrean highway.
The road went on for several miles in a straight line until it eventually opened up again to another vast cave. It was even bigger than the previous one, and there was an entire town spread out in it! Small one storey flatroofed houses made of grey metal stood in a neat pattern everywhere they looked. However, all of the houses were completely empty, and no furniture, clothing or any other indication of a habitation could be found.
As they walked through the deserted streets, the friends became more and more aware of the total silence around them. The only thing they heard where their own steps, their breath and an occasional hushed words. They even whispered themselves, somehow sensing that booming talk would be innapropriate.
They went further ahead, and soon they reached another big tunnel. As they went on exploring, they discovered further vast caves. In one, there were hundreds of solid towers standing in irregular intervals. They were crowned with housesized pearly orbs, and lightning bolts were constantly and randomly jumping from one orb to another, occasionaly flooding the entire cave with bluish light. Sometimes the bolts of lightning were merely jumping the few dozen yards between two towers which were standing next to each other, but sometimes, without any apparent reason, the lightning would arc through the entirecave from one tower at one far end to another one at the other end, spanning almost 600 yards.
The next giant cave had collapsed. Whatever wonders had been there once were gone now, but the friends found that there still way that lead past the boulders and debris until they found themselves in yet another giant tunnel. This one lead to the next cave, filled with livesized statues of all sorts of beasts.
There were statues of such mundane threats, such as lions and wolves, but also more sinister predators, like bladebeasts and Vengauraks, among others. As the friends crossed the cave, they couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched, and Niklas even thought he heard a barely audible grawl when he examined the statue of one especially vicious looking wolf.
This time, they didn’t stay for long and quickly made for the exit on the opposite side of the cave. Again, a tunnel, but the cave behind this one looked distinctively different than the ones they had been in before.
For once, it was much smaller than the previous ones: merely twenty yards in diameter and about as high. Along it’s wall, there was a walkway spiralling up to right under the ceiling, and in regular intervalls, there were mansized crystal-mirrors standing there. The friends looked at them: Some of them were simply dark, other glowed with crimson fire and yet others were merely glowing faintly, as if filtering light that had made a long journey. But most astonishingly, some of the crystals seemed to show parts of Ghelspad as they were now.
Through one crystal, they saw a plateau in the mountains, another one showed what appeared to be a scorched looking hill, and there was the ocean side and a forest as well. Through one, however, they saw a market place on which healthy and industrous people where just closing up their stalls. Even though the friends couldn’t hear the voices, since the crystals only seemed to transport pictures and no sounds, they soon realized from the fashion and the architecture of the buildings, that they were looking at the marketplace of Lave.
„Interesting“, Trepat said. „Probably the other crystals were showing other places of Ghelspad as well, but ever since the era of the ancients, time and the titanswar had probably changed the face of the country so much that places which had been once on the surface are now covered by earth, oceans or even lava...“.
„That sounds about right“, Niklas said who was just looking through the final „active“ crystal. This one seemed to show what looked like a mountain pass, and just as the monk started to continue talking, two figures walked into the visible picture. They were both soldiers, and on their shields, they bore the dragon of the Calastian empire. „Wow!“, he shouted out: „this one is even showing some part of Calastia!“.
His friends walked up in order to take a good look as well, and Niklas said, half to himself:“ I wonder if those crystals are maybe more than just scrying devices... Maybe they are portals as well...“.
„It could be“, Trepat said:“ That would definetly have been a nice and fast way of moving around in the land... But I would like to look around a little more before we try that“.
Niklas nodded:“ Sure.“.
Apart from the exit through which they had come, there were two more, one leading west and the other south. The friends decided to take the southern one, and again they crossed deserted caves of giant proportions. One was entirely empty, except for the moonlight which was seemingly coming from nowwhere and everywhere at once, and the other cave was full of spires, arches and towers which were making eerie noises in the winds which were constantly blowing in this one.
By now, they were certain, that they wouldn’t find any sign of life in the caves, but then, even though they were still within the caves, they were in a dense forest. There was solid rock above them, yet the entire cave was flooded in sunlight, and they walked on moss and grass. In the trees, there were squirrels scurrying around and they heard the tock-tock-tock of woodchippers and the singing of more musical birds.
Surprised by the abundance of life around them, the friends walked into the forest. Trepat saw signs of all kinds of animals, even wolves, and they soon found that the forest looked stronger and healthier than many they had seen on the surface. There was definetly no sign of the scars of the divine war here.
Just as they were about to relax, they heard a deep voice from behind and above them, speaking to them in a strange language, which only Ben understood: „ Hurr-humm, welcome, orcs!“
They turned around, and there was a walking and talking tree, or rather, a tree-ent, as Ben would correct them later. He was surprised. Not only did the ent use the secret language of the druids, but he also adressed them as orcs. But then he realized, that since they had all joined in the ritual of association after having helped the Gravelfist Orcs, they were technically orcs, as well!
„Greetings, keeper of the forest“, he said, bowing respectfully. „I hope you don’t mind orcs passing peacefully through your ward“.
„No, not at all“; the ent answered, speaking slow enough to give Ben the chance to translate for his friends. But then he said something which made Ben too surprised to continue right away.
„What did he say?“, Torn prodded.
„He said,“ Ben said, swallowing down his surprise,“ that it was good that we were orcs, since he would have had to kill us if we weren’t!“.
Sounds like a fun NPC to play.