howandwhy99
Adventurer
New Art
Ben sat dazed. In his mind he believed he had just encountered an evil god. Later his thoughts would drift back on the event as a turning point in his mind. He felt like something had invaded his soul and was destroyed before it could destroy him. But the old door it opened was now ripped off. Ben felt as if he was no longer safe from the evil in the world. He felt as if he had no protection for his soul.
As to what happened to Darius only the Gods know for sure. He reported prodding the space the red hangnail and been in. It was soft and he felt the sensation of being pulled inward. A used torch then fell out of the space as if from nowhere. Darius had picked it up and pushed it into the opening again and was pulled headlong inside. Was he in another plane? Darius said his surroundings looked like the pool room and he was aside the frightful pool of darkness. Kayla and the others went into the room behind the throne looking for Darius in the interim. They saw a gold coin fall from nowhere onto the floor. Darius confirmed it was his doing as seconds later he too fell into the room as if from nowhere. Darius had jumped into the pool. Kayla told the group there was something called a "portal" between the two rooms though it could not be seen. Uncomfortable about what just happened the group crawled out into the throne room. Kayla made sure she was the last out and hurriedly scooped up all the pieces of the red chalky material that was leftover from the glow stone.
After chewing on a midday snack the group felt ready to keep exploring the caverns. Seeing as the right tunnel was rather short, they chose to head back down the left one. Mirel's hand drawn map came in useful as it pointed out one path not yet explored. Bypassing the sandtrap and double-checking the wax statue cave to see if the barkers had returned, the group decided to turn right at the second fork this time. The path curved to the right here and then straightened out. Those in the rear kept a good watch behind them lest the barkers snuck up. Ahead was a crossway with paths leading forward, left and right. The path to the left was blocked by a another boulder. The cavern forward shortly came to a dead end. And the path to the right traveled on a little ways before sloping down gradually becoming a vertical shaft.
Intrigued by what might be further below, Darius was tied up and climbed and then was lowered into the pit below. Seeing better without a torch he looked out from the wall as he slid down against it. This room was rather large, perhaps 40' across. It was a vertical shaft which looked to have water completely filling the space below. Like a cistern Darius could not see the bottom of the water so he yanked on the rope to be let back up. The short hallway ahead was searched for secret entranced but without luck. Faced with another apparent dead end the party decided to verify the second boulder room across from the cistern room was also an entrance to the bat cave. After some exertion the group’s expectations proved true. It was the second exit Darius had previously spotted. They then traveled back to the wax statue room and slowly entered the bat cave individually via the first boulder entrance. They hoped the tracks of the barkers were still visible to follow.
Ben thought about their original plan to not fight the barkers in the bat room, but chose to keep quiet. With most of the party entered Darius walked into the middle of the bat guano. Dalin used care to keep his torch from the floor. Once the whole group entered Dalin lead everyone forward through the guano. The room was exceptionally large and everyone was silent hoping not to wake the bats above. There were tens of thousands of them. The room's shape seemed rectangular with the left and right walls being about 100' feet apart or more. The far wall was not in view. The message was passed along to give a low shout, if anyone spotted the barkers. After mucking through guano for over 100' Darius said he saw the far wall. It had a single, large, circular cave exit in the center of it. Thankfully no boulder was blocking it.
Ben sat dazed. In his mind he believed he had just encountered an evil god. Later his thoughts would drift back on the event as a turning point in his mind. He felt like something had invaded his soul and was destroyed before it could destroy him. But the old door it opened was now ripped off. Ben felt as if he was no longer safe from the evil in the world. He felt as if he had no protection for his soul.
As to what happened to Darius only the Gods know for sure. He reported prodding the space the red hangnail and been in. It was soft and he felt the sensation of being pulled inward. A used torch then fell out of the space as if from nowhere. Darius had picked it up and pushed it into the opening again and was pulled headlong inside. Was he in another plane? Darius said his surroundings looked like the pool room and he was aside the frightful pool of darkness. Kayla and the others went into the room behind the throne looking for Darius in the interim. They saw a gold coin fall from nowhere onto the floor. Darius confirmed it was his doing as seconds later he too fell into the room as if from nowhere. Darius had jumped into the pool. Kayla told the group there was something called a "portal" between the two rooms though it could not be seen. Uncomfortable about what just happened the group crawled out into the throne room. Kayla made sure she was the last out and hurriedly scooped up all the pieces of the red chalky material that was leftover from the glow stone.
After chewing on a midday snack the group felt ready to keep exploring the caverns. Seeing as the right tunnel was rather short, they chose to head back down the left one. Mirel's hand drawn map came in useful as it pointed out one path not yet explored. Bypassing the sandtrap and double-checking the wax statue cave to see if the barkers had returned, the group decided to turn right at the second fork this time. The path curved to the right here and then straightened out. Those in the rear kept a good watch behind them lest the barkers snuck up. Ahead was a crossway with paths leading forward, left and right. The path to the left was blocked by a another boulder. The cavern forward shortly came to a dead end. And the path to the right traveled on a little ways before sloping down gradually becoming a vertical shaft.
Intrigued by what might be further below, Darius was tied up and climbed and then was lowered into the pit below. Seeing better without a torch he looked out from the wall as he slid down against it. This room was rather large, perhaps 40' across. It was a vertical shaft which looked to have water completely filling the space below. Like a cistern Darius could not see the bottom of the water so he yanked on the rope to be let back up. The short hallway ahead was searched for secret entranced but without luck. Faced with another apparent dead end the party decided to verify the second boulder room across from the cistern room was also an entrance to the bat cave. After some exertion the group’s expectations proved true. It was the second exit Darius had previously spotted. They then traveled back to the wax statue room and slowly entered the bat cave individually via the first boulder entrance. They hoped the tracks of the barkers were still visible to follow.
Ben thought about their original plan to not fight the barkers in the bat room, but chose to keep quiet. With most of the party entered Darius walked into the middle of the bat guano. Dalin used care to keep his torch from the floor. Once the whole group entered Dalin lead everyone forward through the guano. The room was exceptionally large and everyone was silent hoping not to wake the bats above. There were tens of thousands of them. The room's shape seemed rectangular with the left and right walls being about 100' feet apart or more. The far wall was not in view. The message was passed along to give a low shout, if anyone spotted the barkers. After mucking through guano for over 100' Darius said he saw the far wall. It had a single, large, circular cave exit in the center of it. Thankfully no boulder was blocking it.
