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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 1333924" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #254] Back to the Caves[/PLAIN]Windstryder scratched her head at and snorted derisively. "I'm beginning to agree with you, little one," she said."More riddles," Ledare grumbled. "And I certainly can't make heads or tales of it.""I don't know," Vade mused, adopting a thoughtful expression and rubbing his chin. "I think we may have gotten good information from this guy. But it'll just take some time to process.""We are at a crossroads, it is very plain," Feln offered. "Windstryder, my pledge to you has been fulfilled; we have found Ilea and although we did not get her to the king, I think she is where she belongs." Windstryder squinted at the half-orc for a moment and then nodded her head."Feln, you traveled with me when you did not need to.  You were part of my team as if you were a ranger.  Your team debt is now paid.  You performed well, and may travel as part of my team any time," she told him and reached into a pouch at her hip. "Here, if ever in need and a Ranger is near present this.  They will aid you." Feln took what she offered and looked at the acorn ensribed all about with tiny symbols."Thank you," he said and slipped it away."But for now, it seems my mission has been completed although I have not gone to the King," Windstryder said. Turning to Ledare she added, "As his direct emissary, I will follow your orders, Lord Janissary.""My first charge is also from the King," the half-elf answered. "However, since it appears we will not be taking Ilea to him, and we may be able to find some kind of cure in the caves, it makes sense to go there first.""Then how do you suggest we alert the King that we have found Ilea and still try to rid Barnacus of the Plague?" Windstryder countered. "I and Feln can travel to Barnacus if there is no other way." Feln shook his head at this."I agree that saving Barnacus is important, Windstryder," the martial artist said. "King and country and all. But I stand in Hillville Junction and these people have the taint of chaos stalking their fields at night and stealing sleeping babes from their windows. I will cleanse those caves and I ask that you join me in that. Once it is done I will accompany you to search for a cure for Barnacus.""Without Ilea to deliver in person, I believe your task now falls in step with mine, Windstryder," the Janissary told her. "We should do whatever is necessary to help cleanse the city of Barnacus, and its king, from this plague. Of that there is no question. But hopefully the answers lie in the caves. We will need to be rested and at full strength before we enter them again." "As you say," the ranger nodded. "We will to the caves tomorrow. In the meantime, I will follow your lead as to these prophecies the celestial spoke of. I have noticed the taint of Chaos on the winds and in the lands. I would like to see it rid of this evil.""What of you?" Ledare asked, looking at Morier, Ixin and Vade. "What are your thoughts on our next course of action?""I am in full agreement with Feln in this matter," the albino said. "We must clean things up here before we move onward." Ixin nodded."We must go first back to the caves, using all of our weapons and abilities," the sorcerer said. "Once the cave is cleared, we can decide on our next step.""We need to go and clean up the bug men," Vade said with what served him as a fierce scowl on his face. "It seems urgent to me."So it was agreed and they spent the remainder of the evening going over the details of the prophecies, debating their meanings and committing them to paper lest they be forgotten. Ledare shared what she had read in the "Trials of Decay" and Ixin told the group about ap-Llewellyn's willingness to buy some of their acquired goods. They concluded that it would be a good idea to use Hillville Junction as a "home base" for a few days after they cleared out the caves. That would give Morier a chance to scribe a few scrolls, Ledare and Ixin a chance to read more of their books, Feln a chance to do a little weaponsmithing, and Vade the opportunity to visit some local shops that had attracted his attention.Feln took the opportunity to approach Lord Arundel with a question that had been on his mind since first meeting the aristocrat. He held up the black dagger, displaying the eagle-shaped pommel for Arundel and asked, "Sir, I know your community has been through a great deal as of late but I beg you for a moment to tell me what you might know of the symbol on this dagger?"Lorde Arundel knew nothing, but sent for Geneviève the Fair, a travelling bard who was performing that week at the Greenbrier Inn. She studied the dirk with interest, but could offer Feln little beyond the vague notion that it resembled the heraldry of the fallen Black Eagle Kingdom. Disappointed once again, the half-orc retired to his room to meditate while the others sat up listening to Geneviève's singing and lute playing."Roland! Roland!! Roland!!! Dekonic and Roland! Roland! Roland!! Roland!!! Brynn-toth!!!!" Vade sang the chorus to 'The Ballad of Roland of Leer' in his vest off-key voice on the way out of town, but he didn't need to be silenced as they drew near the wood. He could easily appreciate the seriousness of their situation this time.The cave entrance was abandoned and Windstryder made a quick and silent pass through the surrounding woods, confirming the absence of any fresh tracks in the area other than their own. Once again, Feln went alone into the complex (although this time, paying closer attention for traps), and found no immediate signs that the caves were occupied. The others followed him inside.They found three chambers that seemed to serve as living chambers of some kind - there were bits of molted exoskeleton, gnawed bones, and silvery splatters that Windstryder identified as droppings. A fourth, larger chamber was piled with miscellaneous items apparently looted from the Junction - mainly ruptured sacks of grain, a barrel half-full of pork jerky, and the like."Gellir will want to bring some men up here to recover this once we're finished," Ledare commented. "Most of it's still good.""I'll say," Vade grinned with a strip of jerky clamped in his teeth like a cigar.In the end, they determined that they had searched the entire complex with the exception of the chamber where they had previously heard the clicking and clacking of giant insects. It was here that they finally gathered and listened to the sound again."We're clearly not alone," Ixin whispered out of the side of her mouth. Morier nodded and adjusted his grip on his greatsword."This is why we're here," the albino remarked. He lay a reassuring hand on Vade's slim shoulder. The halfling was holding his glowing dagger like a tiny torch. He gulped audibly as they moved forward.The narrow corridor opened suddenly into an enormous chamber. The floor was worked smooth and flat, the walls were tall and chiseled, the ceiling was some forty feet above. Heavy wooden counters skirted three walls, littered with bits of exoskeleton, metal and glass. A strange apparatus of steel and glass towered in the far corner, all rings and globes and twisted bits of wire. Ledare had seen something similar once before - in Andamacles' laboratory - but she didn't have time to remark on it before they heard the hissing and turned to see the aberration clinging to the wall above the door.It looked as if it might have been a lunatic's idea of a huge scorpion - 15 feet long, not counting its tail - but it clearly wasn't a natural creature. Its shell was an amalgam of different-colored exoskeletons; the black of scorpions along with the bristly brown of spiders and the striped of wasps and bees were all present, held together with angry metal staples and thick silvery thread. Half its limbs were made of jointed steel that oozed greenish-black fluid; its pincers looked like solid blocks of metal. Its segmented tail was draped with flexible tubes and ended in a massive, polished needle. A single eye glowed red in the darkness as a strange device not unlike a mounted crossbow swivelled about on its back to target these interlopers.</blockquote>

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