The Ancient Paths - Path I

[hippocrachus]

~ Dowkan ~

"Ack!" Dowkan can hear the burly old dwarf spit. "There ain't a bloody thing in these bloody caves but rat turds and kobold stink!" Sunder comes waddling out of the gated chamber shaking his head in disgust.
"Whoever was here afore us musta cleaned it out good," he says to nobody, eyeing Dowkan as if he were surprised the younger dwarf did what he told him to. He takes a seat near the burned-out fire pit and grumbles something about "bloody tyrants."
Dowkan hears something like a faint yell coming up the tunnel leading to the southeast. Sunder doesn't seem to have noticed.

 

[Legildur]

"There ain't a bloody thing in these bloody caves but rat turds and kobold stink!" Sunder comes waddling out of the gated chamber shaking his head in disgust.

"Humph, and you smell better for it," Dowkan adds with a grin.

"Whoever was here afore us musta cleaned it out good," he says to nobody, eyeing Dowkan as if he were surprised the younger dwarf did what he told him to. He takes a seat near the burned-out fire pit and grumbles something about "bloody tyrants."
Dowkan hears something like a faint yell coming up the tunnel leading to the southeast. Sunder doesn't seem to have noticed.

"And I'm glad th' did!" Dowkan exclaims quietly. Suddenly his head tilts to one side, and without waiting, he immediately hustles towards the other tunnel leaving this cavern. "Come on ya old goat! The cleaners sound like they're down here and I want to see them in action!"

 

[hippocrachus]

~ Dowkan ~

"What're you goin' on about..." Sunder says, making to get to his feet, then coming to a decision mid-rise and sitting himself down more firmly. "Just you get back over here, ya durned gnome-brained fool. There ain't no one here."

 

[ae1vart0n]

Nae'talls' sharp response had been unexpected. It happened faster than Hildor could react. He had no intention of keeping the axe, though he found the materialism almost cruel.

But still he had no use for it, and it's owner being... missing... there was no point in arguing. Arguments only lead to fights.

it would perhaps have better use in Hrolf's hands, but that was for the cleric to decide. Hilder proceeded to search the room, particularly the pile of weopons, and to look for exits. Was this the caves end?

The end would be a problem. How am I to follow that mage if this task is finished? he thought. Hopefully the mage would want to retain his company for a while. Maybe Belgal's death had served a purpose, as cold it may be.

Hildor also hadn't forgotten his agreement... he should have checked in with Mars this morning, but he hadn't expected the cleric or mage to rise so quickly.

"You'll excuse me for a moment. I think I left something in the last room," he said, leaving Nae'talis to mourn, and Hrolf to console him. It wasn't that Hildor felt nothing for the loss of their companion, but he had lost many closer to him than that dwarf, and he had other things to focus on.

 

[Legildur]

"What're you goin' on about..." Sunder says, making to get to his feet, then coming to a decision mid-rise and sitting himself down more firmly. "Just you get back over here, ya durned gnome-brained fool. There ain't no one here."

"I hears 'em I tell you! My hearin's a little better than yours," Dowkan responds over his shoulder as he keeps moving.

 

[Majin]

Nae'talis lowered his hand as the elf relaxed his hold on the axe, then used it to support the incredible weight of the thing. He knew it was foolish for him to carry around the bloody thing, but he did not care. It was out of the dirty elf's hands that's all that mattered...

He watched, eyes still dark as the elf excused himself from the chamber and slinked off into the shadows.

 

[hippocrachus]

~ Dowkan ~

"Ya hear a landslide ya durned fool an' tha's a foretellin' o' me boot meetin' yer backside!" he calls after Dowkan as he continues down the tunnel toward the sound. The older dwarf just rolls his eyes and digs himself into his seated position.

~ Hildor ~

Some of the weapons are in crude stacks. All of them look shoddy and probably worthless. Certainly not worth carrying all the way back to Silverymoon.
Hildor turns and walks back towards the room the three adventurers stayed in last night. As he comes closer to the tunnel, he swears he can hear loud footsteps coming towards him. Only a dwarf could be that loud in their native environment. He glances over his shoulder to see if Nae'talis and Hrolf were following with an unlikely companion back from the dead.
He doesn't see the dwarf doing likewise come barreling into him from the opposite direction.

~ Hildor & Dowkan ~

The dwarf and elf end up in a crumpled heap in the middle of the corridor.

~ Hrolf & Nae'talis ~

The cleric and wizard hear what sounds like a struggle in the direction Hildor went off in.

 

[Legildur]

The dwarf and elf end up in a crumpled heap in the middle of the corridor.

"Ooof!" exclaims Dowkan as he runs into the elf and stumbles to the ground. Scrambling to his feet, Dowkan makes sure his throwing axe is ready, but doesn't raise it threatingly. "Well ya pansy, whadaya lookin' at!" he demands of the elf.

 

[Majin]

Nae'talis blew air from his nose haughtily as he imagined finding the elf impaled by a spike trap. Nevertheless he follows after Hrolf as the cleric no doubt goes to check on the noise. Picking up his quarterstaff from the floor where it consequently dropped from grabbing the axe he let the axe lower almost to the floor in his right hand, hunched over slightly from the weight of the thing. He was ready to drop the staff at any moment, should the need for a spell become immediate. He would not let go of the axe though, that he assured himself of.

On closing the distance between him and the elf, Nae'talis' eyes sparked as he noticed a dwarven form on the ground near Hildor. It was too much to hope for it seemed as he quickly realized that it was not Belgal. He quickly composed himself and he was once more his reticent old self but eyed the new arrival suspiciously, the incantations of a spell already in his mind, ready to trigger...

 

[Legildur]

The dwarf sees the movement over the elf's shoulder and he wonders if the pig-headed Sunder is still sitting on his butt back in the last cavern. Licking his lips, Dowkan doesn't even let the elf answer as he adds "And who's ya friend?" as the unarmored person comes into view.

The dwarf's eyes freeze for a moment on the axe the newcomer carries awkwardly, 'obviously not a trained warrior' he thinks to himself. He sucks his breath in hard enough for the elf and the newcomer to clearly hear, as the axe comes into full view - a dwarven waraxe of exquisite craftsmanship. He finds it difficult to take his eyes from the weapon, but keeps regripping his throwing axe a little nervously now that there are two of them before him, even if lightly armored.