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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3303299" data-attributes="member: 143">It was Shaylara. When the scout returned to Camar (carrying the dead marshal in her bag of holding), she couldn't find out where Talen had relocated the conspirators (i.e. she wasn't in on Tiros's contingency plan), so she tracked down Varo instead. Of course, it would have taken an incredible streak of luck to find Varo (Shay is a very good tracker, but has no ranks in Gather Information), so one must wonder if some other agency was at work...  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Glad to see that the new characters are stimulating so much discussion. * * * * * Chapter 90FLIGHT TO THE RIVERZosimos did not scream or cry out.  As the dung monster pulled him in, he crossed his hands over his chest, and closed his eyes.  He smacked into its body, its acidic secretions already sizzling against his clothes as it began to envelop him.  As the others watched in horror, the wizard maintained a perfect concentration, and uttered words of magic that they could not hear through the wall. The evoker’s body shimmered, and vanished from the dung monster’s grasp, to reappear on their side of the wall of force.  He materialized in the same pose he’d been in, nearly flat on his back, and he fell to the ground hard, grimacing.  Talen and Shay were there in a moment to help him up.  His magical robe had resisted being burned away by the creature’s acid, but it was threadbare in a few places, and his flesh was red where it had touched him.   “That was... uncomfortable,” he said, as Valus cast a healing spell on him. “We must hasten,” Varo said.  “He speaks truly; the spell will not keep it long, less than a minute,” Zosimos said.  The dung monster had already moved to the barrier, and spread out along it, looking for a way through. “Shay, take us out,” Talen said.  With more than one look back over their shoulders, the companions left the dung monster behind, temporarily trapped. “Too bad you couldn’t make one of those permanent,” Dar said.  “It is possible, but it is not a trivial undertaking,” Zosimos replied. “I imagine we’re not the first to consider how to defeat the monster in a lasting fashion,” Varo said.  “I suspect that the creature is almost immortal; certainly nothing I have seen has suggested that it can be ‘killed’ as we understand the term.”“The perfect guardian,” Zosimos said.  “Just remember that we’ll need to face it again on our way back,” Valus reminded them, putting an edge on their victory—and the wizard’s narrow escape.  The scout led them quickly back the way they had come, until they once again reached the stairs leading down.  She checked carefully for traps, but found nothing new.  The board over the false step had not been replaced, or perhaps it had, but the dung monster’s secretions had absorbed it.  The cover on the pit on the far side of the room below was in place, but with Varo’s prompting, Shay easily marked its edges, allowing them to continue past without incident. All too aware that the dung monster was now free again behind them, they continued down the south passage at a steady pace.  Shay slowed and lifted a hand as they reached the large cavern at the corridor’s end.  Varo and Dar had warned the others about the wererats that had battled them last time, so they were prepared for another ambush. But this time, the tunnels high along the cavern wall remained dark and silent.  The seven companions made their way across the chamber to the underground river.  This way, according to Varo, was where they would find the second temple... and, if his information was correct, the missing healer. “It looks passable,” Talen said, probing the swift-moving river with his blade.  “The clearance even seems somewhat higher than the connecting tunnel between the Well and the worm cavern.”“Less crawling this time, I hope,” Dar said.  “It’s no good walking on water, if you have to get down into it to get under an overhang.”“The current is moving in our favor, at least,” Shay said.  “If we do have to get wet, it will push us along in the direction we have to go.”“Only on the way in,” Valus pointed out. “You’ve got a real way of pointing out the down side to everything, priest,” Dar said.  “Look at it this way... you get to smite some bad guys at the end.  That’ll make your god happy, right?”The cleric’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t reply. Dar turned to Talen and Varo.  “So, are we going to sit around here and wait for the ol’ crap-crawler to catch up to us, or are we going to do this?”  “My spell will enable us to walk upon the surface for about an hour and a half,” Varo said, as he took up his divine focus.  “It will be enough time, but we should not dally.”“More information from your unholy master?” Valus said.  “Even you cannot afford to turn away his help,” Varo said, turning to him with his sigil in hand.  “I will not suffer the aid of the Creeper,” the priest responded.  “Keep your spell; I will use the blessing of the Father.”“Suit yourself,” Varo said.  Zosimos joined Valus as the priest cast his own spell, but the others let Varo touch them one by one, infusing them with the potency of his water walk spell.  At once, Talen stepped out over the water, the soles of his boots hovering a scant inch above the surface of the water.  “What can we expect to find at the other end?” Talen asked Varo. “Traps.  Monsters.  Cultists of the Demon Prince.  Beyond that, I do not know.”Talen nodded.  “Let’s get going,” he said.  Shay started after him, but paused as the elf suddenly took her arm. “This may help you,” Malerase said, swirling a hand before her eyes.  Shay blinked, surprised.  “What did you do?” Talen asked. “I have empowered her to see in the dark,” the elf replied.  “It was a spell from one of the transmuter’s books.  It may take a slight adjustment, as you cannot see colors with the darkvision.”“That will be helpful.  Thank you,” Shay said.  With a final nod to Talen, she turned and ducked under the entry to the river passage, treading lightly atop the swiftly moving current.  The others followed, vanishing into the low passage until their lights faded, leaving the darkened and empty cavern behind them.</blockquote>

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