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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3187169" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 45A MESSAGE FROM THE GODSThey cleaned out the small dead-end room as best they could, and hunkered down to rest.  Dar and Talen took turns keeping watch while the spellcasters slept.  The fighters could hear squeaks through the thin wooden doors, suggesting that the rats had returned to devour their slain fellows, but nothing came forward to threaten them.  The “night” passed slowly for those on watch, swiftly for those asleep, and soon they were all awake, save for Dar who continued to snore in a back corner.  “Ugh,” Allera said, combing bugs out of her hair.  “This entire place is a sty.”“Our faith keeps us clean where it matters, child,” Aelos said. “Are you ready to conduct your divination?” Talen asked.  The cleric nodded.  “I will need a little time alone,” he said, with a pointed look at Varo.  “Fine,” Talen said.  “But don’t leave the room; I heard those rats out there again earlier.”  As the priest moved off a short distance, the captain ran a dirty hand over his face, rubbing at the dark circles under his eyes.“You look like crap, captain,” Varo said. The officer looked at the cleric in surprise, then finally laughed.  “Yeah, I guess I can’t dispute that,” he said, settling back against the wall. “We’ll get out of here,” Allera said.  They ate some trail rations, which thankfully had been wrapped tightly in oilskin wraps, and had thus survived their misadventure in the underground river.  Even so, there were only a few scraps left when they’d finished, barely enough for a single additional meal. “Save them for the mercenary,” Talen said.  “When we next rest, I—or your most sacred representative of the Shining Father over there—can pray for divine foodstuffs,” Varo said.  “I would create them now, but I suspect that an additional cure serious wounds might come in exceptionally handy in the next twelve hours.”Talen waved a hand idly, too tired to argue. “I too can create food and water,” Allera said.“Good for you, priestess,” Dar said, coming over and joining them.  The fighter poked at the remaining food.   “This all there is?”“Eat up,” Talen said, looking over at Aelos.  Dar did as he was bidden, quickly devouring what was left of their supplies. “Gods, I wish I had some more of that brandy,” he said.  “This is not a time to get intoxicated,” Talen said.  “You sound a lot like the marshal,” Dar said, scraping some crumbs out of one of the food wrappers with a greasy finger, before stuffing it into his mouth.  Allera looked at him in disgust, and turned away. “I take that as high praise,” the captain said.  “Marshal Tiros was willing to give his life to save the people of Camar.  He was the heart and soul of our movement.”“If your cause is truly just, another will rise up to take his place,” Varo said.  Talen looked at the cleric in surprise. “I don’t understand this revolution, anyway,” Dar said.  “Sure, the Duke’s a bastard, but Camar’s had a good spell of peace, and most of the common people have food in their bellies.”“The Duke’s reign is a corruption in the heart of a dying state,” Talen said.  “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, mercenary.”“You’d be surprised, captain; I know a fair bit about being a malcontent.”Their conversation was interrupted as Aelos came back over to them.  The cleric looked a bit haggard, but there was a strange glow in his eyes, as though he’d looked through a door into a place where no mortals were meant to tread. “What did the Big Boss Daddy have to say?” Dar asked. Aelos accepted Allera’s help to sit down between her and Talen.  “The Shining Father revealed his will to me,” the cleric said.  “But as with many divinations, the message is cryptic.”“Such is the nature of the beast,” Varo said, but his tone wasn’t scathing, and after a moment Aelos continued.  “I received insight in the form of several verses that crept into my head,” the priest said.  “I asked for guidance on how we should proceed from here.  This is what I was told:””Follow the path of the wayward giants,Through the lair of benevolent squalor,In the temple of the master of graves,Shall you find the answers you seek.”“Cryptic,” Varo said.  “Well, we have a clue, at least,” Allera said.  “We already found the trail left by the giants, the footsteps out in the cavern.”“Nothing about Shay?” Talen asked. “You’ll find the answers you seek in the temple,” Dar said, as he stood and walked over to gather his gear.  “The only answer I want, is how in the hells do I get out of this damned place.”  He kicked his pack.  “I’ve got more money than I’ve ever had in my life, and all I need is someplace I can spend it.  Maybe take ship to Drusia... I have heard that the wine is as sweet as the women, there.”“Don’t you care about anything besides yourself?” Allera asked. Dar’s grin was response enough.  The healer clenched her fists, but didn’t say anything more as she gathered up her pack.  “We should be careful,” Varo said.  “The rats are not a serious threat, but there may be more spiders out in the main cavern.  Check the ceilings and any niches in the walls carefully for signs of movement.”“Sending him up ahead worked well last time,” Dar said, with a nod to where Talen was strapping his swordbelt around his waist.  The captain glanced at him, but said nothing, having apparently learned that it was better not to rise to the bait. “Let’s get moving,” he said, once they were ready. They unsecured the doors and went back into the outer room.  The bodies of the rats were gone, leaving only some blood and scraps of fur as markers of their existence. “Well, let’s—” Talen began, starting toward the low tunnel in the opposite wall.  He never got a chance to finish, as a segment of stone wall on the side of the room to their left creaked open, and a goblin stepped through. The creature seemed as surprised as they did, and for a single heartbeat the goblin and the companions shared a startled stare.  But it recovered swiftly, falling into a crouch, and hissing something in a strange language.  Behind it, a small horde of goblins poured out into the chamber.</blockquote>

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