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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 1545553" data-attributes="member: 2323">No one took the dwarf up on the offer to be healed, choosing to conserve their resources until they were truly needed. Instead, Karak and Ledare tended to everybody's wounds using what little first aid they remembered from their warrior training. Karak's application of healing salve from a small flask that his brother had given to him seemed to work wonders on the relatively minor injuries."A night's rest'll do everyone a dragon's hoard o' good," Karak announced as he carefully wiped the metal flask dry and returned it to his pack. Before it disappeared, however, the dwarf planted a kiss on its side and muttered, "Thank ye, chalak. Seems yer Queenies' holy water's good fer somethin' after all.""I agree," Morier admitted. "Without some uninterrupted rest, I won't be able to regain my spells."Karak harrumphed. "Can't ye jus' read em outta yer fancy wizardin' book, come morning?""It doesn't work like that," Morier said, shaking his head. He pressed his lithe hand against his chest. "The magic comes from in here, not from a book. But I still need to rest or the spells don't... recharge, I guess is the best word for it."Ixin, who's magic was also inherent to her very nature, had always assumed that her draconis fundamentum was the source of her own spell-casting abilities. It was the gland responsible for elemental resistance and the wellspring of a dragon's breath weapon, so it made sense that it would also allow her to channel arcane energies. That had been Dwardolin's assertion, at any rate. The Hibernian had spent a man's lifetime studying draconic lore, and he gave a great deal more thought to the whys of a dragon's abilities than a true dragon ever did.Ixin was quite certain that Morier possessed no draconis fundamentum, but she supposed he might have some other organ in his chest that gave him magical powers."I could use some more rest too," she said. "Especially if we're sticking with the same watch rotations.""Fine," Feln huffed and stalked off into the shadows. "We'll go in the morning.""I hope the goblins don't come back," Vade said before activating the Ring of Invisibility. What he did after that was anyone's guess.Waterday the 20th of Wealsun, 1269 AEThe day dawned gray and damp. It didn't actually rain on the group as they went about their routine, but the humidity in the air soon made it a hot, sweaty morning."Oi, Morier!" Karak called after he and Ledare had finished strapping on his full plate armor. "I'm gonna venture down that secret tunnel a bit an' I want ye at the tunnel entrance for backup. Ye can see in the dark, can ye nae?""I can," Morier replied. "But I-""Good lad!" Karak cut him off thumping the albino solidly on the back. "So I'll head out the standard tactical distance - about ten paces, that be - so's to keep ye in range o' me darkvision and me in range o' yers. From there I'll see what me dwarven eyes can see about the tunnel."The dwarf started to head for the hole with his waraxe ready, but Morier grabbed a hold of his gorget as he went and drew him up short. (No pun intended.) "I still think that we should not be distracted by this tunnel. Our goal is to get to Myth Drannor, and a spelunking mission to search for treasure only sidetracks us from that."Karak harrumphed. "He who fears death invites it to visit," he grumbled meaningfully."What are you-" Morier started to ask, his face knotted with confusion."It means: don't worry too much. The worrying is usually worse than what you're worrying about," Vade answered. When everyone looked at him, including Karak, Vade shrugged. "My Papa used to say that all the time."Karak gave a belly laugh that sent birds flying up from the trees nearby. "Yer dad be a wise one, fer a halfling!" he roared and Morier threw up his hands."Fine," the eldritch warrior sighed. "But mark my words: nothing good ever lived in a cave.""My grandmother lives in a cave," Ixin muttered as Karak climbed into the tunnel.He returned a few minutes later with a report."The tunnel only goes in one direction - into the hills that way," he said, pointing off away from the ruins. "Runs pretty straight, too. It slopes down some as it goes, but nothing too severe. Seems stable enough, but the air's pretty stale in there.""Any sign of monsters?" Vade gulped and Karak shook his head."Just empty tunnel as far as the eye can see," the dwarf reassured. "We can walk two abreast. Me an' Vade in front. Then Morier 'n' Ixin. Ledare and Feln bring up the rear.""Karak, you want me to wait outside the tunnel for a few minutes so you can try and get some extra kills?" Feln asked with a wry tone. "I mean, you already have me at the back of the line. I don't know what else to do; should I go blind-folded.""Oi, Feln. That be funny," the dwarf said sarcastically. "O' course, ye could always take the front, so ye disappear down a hole or become a pin cushion for an arrow trap. Then I get all the kills.""I think we'll stick with the current marching order," Ledare interceded. She gestured for Karak to re-enter the tunnel."Remember that we keep goin' to the right," Karak reminded tapping his finger to the right side of his helm. "So when presented with an option, we go to the right. That be the dwarven way. In a maze if ye always go right then eventually ye explore the whole place."Unfortunately, they never got a chance to explore in the dwarven style.The tunnel ran unwaveringly in one direction. The walls and ceiling and floor were always a constant distance from one another and despite seemingly interminable stops to search for any further hidden passages, they found nothing to break up the monotony of the tunnel. This particularly chafed on Feln, who was frustrated being at the rear anyway; if there had been an option to do so, he would surely have slipped off down a side passage to explore on his own.They marched on, stopping at one point to eat a desolute meal in the wan glow of Vade's magical dagger before Karak announced a change. "We're slopin' up down, lads," he said excitedly. No one else noticed any change, but they were all thrilled when they finally noticed pale, gray light filtering down to them from somewhere ahead. Vade wanted to dash toward it, but Karak reminded him of their methodical plan and the halfling stayed on task as trap-spotter.Eventually, they reached the end of the line; the tunnel opened into a slightly wider natural cave that had been carved everywhere with symbols of acorns and intertwining vines. The stonework was intricate and very old. One side of the cave was open to the outside, but overgrown with thick roots and brambles. Karak quickly cleared them with a few swings of his axe.They stepped out onto a grass-covered ledge on the side of a steep hill. A huge briar bush claimed the side of the hill around and below the ledge apart from a narrow set of stone steps that led upward to the hill's top. It was darkening toward evening, and the sky above looked ready to shed rain at any moment."Well," Feln sneered. "That was both enlightening and exciting, Karak." The dwarf harrumphed and began stomping up the  narrow steps.At the top of the steep hill was a natural bower of oak trees surrounded by a verdant carpet of lush grass that seemed both wild and carefully manicured at the same time. Five cairns of piled stones were just visible nestled amidst the intergrown oaks."Oh ho!" Karak announced, pointing to the cairns with his axe. "The trip may yet be worth our trouble." He started forward and then stopped dead in his tracks.The top of the hill presented a commanding view of the surrounding forest and the dwarf could clearly see the overgrown gleam of white stonework in the trees to the left of where he stood. It was miles away, to be sure, but the distance only reinforced the enormity of the ruin. An entire city, partially reclaimed by the forest, lay in ruins there. And in the center, surrounded by what appeared to be a hedgelike ring of thorns, was an unnaturally vivid tree with leaves so green that it made the surrounding plantlife seem drab by comparison.</blockquote>

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