[IC] Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

[POOHEAD189]

The forge wasn't too vast, but nor was it anywhere near as small in scope as one would think of a smithy on the surface. It looked as large as a great hall, only made of natural stone carved meticulously to create a utilitarian structure, made for efficiency and purpose. Geradin scowled at the team who sought to steal anything, as he had recognized the architecture at once, and he spoke up to Alice. "Aye, tis a Dwarven Forge. Ironskin work it looks like. Only...something is off..."

Beren enjoyed the heat, hands on his hips and closing his eyes as the warm air billowing off the liquid magma enveloped him. He had often enjoyed forges when he had grown up among the Dwarves, giving him the heat of the sun even underground. The caramel skinned warrior monk was fine with cold, but warmth he quite enjoyed. He only opened his eyes when Geradin warned the group of something not being quite right with the chamber.

Argon seemed to enjoy the heat as much as Beren, crouching low near the magma, closer than any dared. He flicked out his tongue, blinking lazily as he enjoyed the feeling. Calanon strode into the room, cloth-wrapped arm covering the Elf's lower mouth as he did so, scrutinizing the room with a suspicious eye. "Dorcha..." Calanon breathed, and his hands reached for his shield and sword. Most would know this as the alternative word for Dark Elf.

If the group looked closer, they would see the anvils and work benches were covered in slimmer swords and indigo armor and chainmail, with chaotic spider motifs upon them in the typical Dark Elven fashion. The Dwarf tapestries had been torn down, and the wooden doors across the lava had been ripped open and hacked to bits by slender bladed strikes. But so far, no Dark Elf was in sight. Beren and Geradin bristled, and Calanon seemed far less calm than he ever had in the group's midst.
@Banana@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Fetzen

[Gardevoiran]

"Damn dark-elves," Ursaren muttered as he fixed his outfit, rolling his sleeves up while he did so and revealing multiple scars on his arms, born long ago from his best years. "I've met a few good ones, but the ones that did this are only a bit higher than my worst enemy." Ursaren stepped forward into the forge, continuing his chronicling of the entire place, but he closed his book as he walked into the halls, leaving the rest of the page not detailed. He didn't want to show this forge in the condition it was in to anyone who'd stumble upon his journal in the future... although, maybe one workbench wouldn't be so bad.

Ursaren walked over to one of the benches and began to detail it, closing the journal truly afterwards as he put it back in his bag. He looked to the rest of the group, a question placed on his mind. "Do you guys think this place is reparable? It's a shame to see it how it looks right now," Ursaren looked towards the anvil beside him as he spoke again. "... it reminds me too much of when I spent time at one of these things in my youth. I can't bear to see this place like it."

Ursaren lifted one of the items he found on the workbench beside him, a rather hastily-made short-sword. It was full of imperfections, but it felt right in his hand. Nobody would mind if he just borrowed it for a bit, would they? This place did seem abandoned after all.

[Fetzen]

Rogs behind of them, a mystery forge in front of them, dark elves possibly around them waiting or coming. Stood there looting, looking at decrepit stuff, until there were bowmen shooting and warriors on the rush. Killed the fools who turned the world over to its fate.

While the Skayleigh was thinking about the situation unfolding in front of him in an almost poetic manner, the urge of tossing all those items of dark-elvish origin into the molten lava around them was increasing. With a tone usually harsh even for him, he directed his words at Ursaren: "Yes, I'm sure it can! Feel free to send in a team of dwarven chisellers and blacksmiths to get this place back in shape! But don't forget to tell them about our mummified bodies beforehand or they might get angry! Frankly are you interested in taking anything from this pile of dubious quality with you ?" At least the bear-man was holding one of the swords in his hand.

An-Hasst let go of a sigh, but only to make room for a fresh intake of air which he could use for grumbling. "I know I'm putting my self at an insanely high risk of repetition, but I think we shouldn't stand around here!" Of course the proud Skayleigh didn't consider himself to be a coward in any way, but also he didn't consider himself to be an idiot. He actually was convinced that a prolonged stay here could turn out to have been a very high risk strategy sooner than they'd think.

At least Geradin appeared to be a little bit on his side. An-Hasst hadn't failed to notice that their dwarven companion was apparently opposed to any looting activity. Also he had been the first to notice that something was wrong here. The giant elf stepped over towards him and bent down in order to reduce the distance between mouth and ear. "Can you sense if there are any other tunnels around here ?"

@Banana@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@POOHEAD189

[BCTheEntity]

Well, great. First the Rogs, and now Dark Elves? This certainly wasn't what Settionne had signed up for... well, it was, at least as far as the Dark Elves went, but he still had his reasons to be scared out of his wits! And worst of all, nothing here was anything like as valuable as it ought to be! He was under the impression Dwarven craftsmanship was meant to be very good, and yet the weapons here were so poorly made as to be nigh-worthless compared to a true blade. Unless the forge had been abandoned long ago, and the withering of these weapons was time's fault... or of Dark Elven make? That would be the far worse option, because it'd mean they were still there.

But either way, if there was a threat of lingering Dark Elves to consider, then there was no point sticking around. For once, he found himself agreeing with the tall half-elf; 'I believe the Skay-lay may have the right idea in this case, folks,' he confirmed, whilst managing to keep all but the slightest edge of panic out of his voice. It wouldn't do for a priest to worry in front of his flock, not least because that might give them reason to suspect which deity he was following. 'Madame Alice,' he asked the mage politely, 'might I suggest using your magical abilities to divine for us a route out of this place? I would do so myself, of course, but I do not wish to tax the gods for their favour all too harshly...'

And as far as praying for spells went, not to mention surviving another pitched combat, he made no bones about reiterating to himself that his daily supply of luck was probably already running thin... and one makes their own luck, as they say, by not acting the fool, which meant escaping to greener pastures quickly. Doing his bit, he began to look around for... he didn't know, other exits. Doorways deeper into the stone, hidden trapdoors, anything to get him out of this mess!

@POOHEAD189@Banana@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen

[The Fated Fallen]

Alice quickly made her way over to Ursaren as she noticed him pick up a dark elf weapon. "If you spent a lot of time in a Dwarven forge I'm sure you'd know how much they value smithing." she hissed out of earshot of Geradin. "Dwarves see someone using human smithing as contemptible, but they'd probably see someone using dark elf smithing as absolute degeneracy and would act accordingly." she shot a pointed glance at Geradin, who seemed already in poor humour. "Geradin won't attack you, I'm sure, but he's already distraught enough at the sight of this place. Please don't make this any worse for my friend." Dwarves as a race had suffered looting and desecration far too much over the centuries, she didn't know whether any human alive knew that as much as her

Settionne spoke to her, and she moved away from the much larger adventurer. 'Madame Alice,' he asked too politely for her to be comfortable in a place like this 'Might I suggest using your magical abilities to divine for us a route out of this place? I would do so myself, of course, but I do not wish to tax the gods for their favour all too harshly...'

Had the atmosphere not turned overly dour she probably would have laughed. Honestly she knew very little divination, it wasn't really practised much in the Vrettonian high circles, and doubted any spell in her repertoire would really help as much as a quick prayer for guidance from him. She nodded to the priest in recognition though, and did what she could. She held her left hand outstretched and imagined herself falling from the world, reaching as she did into the power beneath the physical. She felt the bite of magic entering her frame and quickly uttered three clicks vocally before whispering the ancient word and rushing her hand to the sense she would use to detect magic, her eyes.

When she re-opened them everyone else would see her eyes had become two glowing orbs that changed colour every few seconds, though she found it hard to see anyone else now. In their place were amorphous and dark shapes, though Ursaren was still obvious since his entire being was still infused by magic after him so recently transforming. She could see now that the smithy was built on the connection of ley lines, which was typical of Dwarven armouries and it's great smithies as the natural aura would help infuse and empower enchantments. It was more than likely how the dark elves had found the place to begin with.

She trusted Geradin or Calanon to be able to find a way out first, their races having a natural knack for this kind of thing, but she focused her efforts into finding some kind of magical mechanism to let them free or somewhere where magic coalesced that often signified an exit or doorway.

@POOHEAD189@Banana@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen

[POOHEAD189]

As the others spoke among themselves, Beren had used his powerful legs to leap across the magma like a pouncing wolf, landing right enough with the barest scuff of his stout boots. He seemed to be preoccupied with something in his thoughts, glancing around as if he could smell or hear something faint. "Yeah it sucks," he said absent mindedly to Ursaren, not voicing his thoughts on the man-bear having known any Dark Elves in his life. That was nearly impossible without them trying to kill you.

Beren found a few small boulders near the back end of the room, where an archway had been collapsed upon itself. Beren squinted at it suspiciously, then called back for Ursaren to help him move some of the debris.

Meanwhile, as Calanon smoothed Brogach's snout, Geradin raised an eyebrow and gave An-Hasst the old Dwarven stink eye. He huffed, puffed, and befuffled! "Course I can!" He announced, smacking his chest. "But be patient. Foul magics have been wrought in this place, soiling the very stone!" The Dwarf marched past the Skayleigh over to the far right wall, where the lava entered into a tunnel and disappeared from the chamber. The Dwarf began to dust off parts of the wall, and knocked his knuckles against the stone, before sniffing it. He nodded thoughtfully, and continued to check.

Settionne and Alice would notice something to the far left wall, where across the lava there looked to be a side passage. Granted there were many passages, but as it was stated, they would notice something. Something the others wouldn't. For Alice, a myriad of magical energies whispered to her, bringing her a somewhat bitter taste to her mouth and dulling her senses, and not in a pleasant way. For Settionne however, he was having a much better time of it. He felt a presence, something intriguing and oddly amusing from the energies he sensed. The Fineki pendant he wore would throb lightly. Some sort of mystical runoff or residue led to that tunnel, that much was certain.

Brogach began to neigh and knicker, and Calanon tilted his head in confusion before he gave a start, realizing what his companion was sensing. Argon felt it too, flicking his tongue and gazing into the lava. An-Hasst would feel it after them, his shamanistic culture and their communal with the elements of nature giving him some sense of this new phenomenon.

Namely, the lava had a spirit within it. Something faint, but it was there.
@Banana@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Fetzen

[Gardevoiran]

"Oh, it's awful craftsmanship, but if it works, it's fine. Odds are, I'm not going to use it anyway." Ursaren moved to the back of the room, dropping his trident and sword down onto the ground as he cracked his knuckles. The old man began to heave boulders away, placing them aside as he continued to burrow his way through the collapsed tunnel, not bothering to switch into his werebear form. Old Ursa needed a break right now, and besides, there's no telling how easily a bear could fit in this passage with several other people... or expect them to all stay in without overheating.

Ursaren spoke as he slowly made progress towards the clearing of the path. "Guess I should probably explain myself, huh?" The explanation of his physique was long overdue, and while everyone seemed okay with it, Ursaren was a bit afraid that as soon as he got into the specifics of his powers, he'd be fed to the lava. There didn't seem to be any Dark Elves here, anyhow, considering the forges looked like they were abandoned in a rush, so if there was any immediate danger, it'd likely show itself soon, and if it did.

Well, Old Ursa would be glad to help out.

[Fetzen]

Internally, An-Hasst let go of a large sigh of relief. Ahhh, finally a hotspot of competence inside of this overcrowded mess of utter ignorance. Not exactly generous, charming or maybe just even not providing him with that certain impression of repudiation, Geradin at least appeared to know what he was doing. Only a few moments of self-praise later there was a bit of information that the Skayleigh considered vital: Foul magic ? Infused into the rock itself ? Now the original constructors of this dwarven forge wouldn't have done that to their sacred environment, would they ? So the answer was clear

"Thank you." he told the dwarf, before noticing that progress appeared to be made on the other side. It was obvious that it would take a while to clear that passage, but it would be a second way out. An especially good second way, since a passage which had been blocked previously probably would not be used by any dark elves as a second way of ambush vice versa.

The Skayleigh found it wise to stop wasting time and help Ursaren -- after all he was a damn large heap of proud half-giant muscle who could help move at least a few of the smaller rocks until his wounds would have healed completely. However there was something else... Something... ugly and very uncomforting. Why had he not felt it earlier ? Maybe because it was too faint and he had been distracted, but there also was the possibility that it had just started now.

The idea of that made him thud over towards the excavation site and try and help digging. The earlier this passageway would be free to use, the better!

@Banana@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@POOHEAD189

[BCTheEntity]

Admittedly, the mage's eyes changing colour to monochromatic orbs were not exactly a comforting sight. Still, he trusted that Alice knew what she was doing, and likewise that the Dwarf Geradin would be able to find an escape route before whatever taint in the stone roused itself to strike their party dead.

Speaking of extranatural presences, what in the world was that feeling? It certainly wasn't something he'd have expected to sense in a place like this, but from how it felt, and the sensation of his amulet pulsating against his chest... and he knew Alice could feel it too from her body language, though it seemed what she was sensing was... less intriguing, and more concerning. So, either her magic was muddling the sensation she was receiving... or he was being duped. Or maybe it was a test? Damn, there were always so many variables to consider with a deity such as Fineki, gracious and callous as he could be at any given moment.

...still, it wouldn't be particularly wise of him to ignore the tunnel's call. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, after all. Everyone else seemed distracted by either trying to dig a new way out, or by the lava for some reason, meaning the priest would be free to act so long as he didn't draw too much attention.

'We are, of course, going to have to investigate whatever's in that tunnel, my lady,' Sett whispered in Alice's ear solemnly. 'It is only right that we take on this burden for the good of the team, after all.' A sideways grin inadvertently plastered itself on his face for a moment; he promptly began to stroll toward the side tunnel in question, partially to hide his glee at the potential the near future held. He ought to be a bit more cautious about this, shouldn't he? Wasn't he nearing panic a few moments ago? And yet now, all he wanted was to see what the god of chance had in mind for him, with no thought to possible consequences beyond gripping the handle of his sword, just in case it needed drawing... though for some reason, he doubted he'd need it.

@POOHEAD189@Banana@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen

[The Fated Fallen]

Something about this tunnel was off. Alice paused before it and took in the sights. Physically nothing was special, it was just like any other exit to the room, but magically it was powerful and grating. She moved to the door's mouth and was surprised to hear a dulling rush in her ears as she did, she hissed lightly in irritation. She had only encountered something like this before a few times before and all of those instances seemed unrelated. She knew that this was highly unlikely to be of Dwarven origin, and her mind jumped to the conclusion that it must be Dark Elf! She chastised herself, there was no proof of that, and yet there were the Elven artefacts around...

Surprisingly Settionne had also detected this oddity, though she wouldn't have known it if he hadn't talked to her. "We are, of course, going to have to investigate whatever's in that tunnel my lady." the wispy silhouette said, the tone distorted by the aura but still recognisable. "It is only right that we take on this burden for the good of the team, after all." Once again distorted, it wasn't hard for Alice to imagine malice behind it. However he knew about this tunnel's awfulness must leave him in a much less uncomfortable state than her, and that left her at a disadvantage. She considered her options, and did what she probably would have done anyways. To start with she pulled Settionne away from the entrance, and quickly said to him "Do not speak near the entry, your voice will travel down it's entire length." Once again calling on her experience of underground expeditions she definitely thought that whatever was down there was something she did not want to notify they were there just yet. She moved away herself before calling out to her comrade

"Geradin!" she shouted, hoping she had got his attention, "This tunnel feels... Bad news. Want to aid in reconnaissance?" She knew that the experienced cleric of Ragnarok would be very helpful in either identifying the aura or helping to explore it, being a dwarf as well. And if they found trouble she trusted his martial prowess much more than the priests or her own.

@POOHEAD189@Banana@BCTheEntity@Fetzen

[POOHEAD189]

Beren and Ursaren were making good on their labor, the two combining their great strength to haul the larger stones back. Once An-Hasst joined them, the stronger members of the group (bar Geradin and Argon) made fast work of the rubble over the span of a few minutes. The Rocks they tossed behind them cracked and tumbled from their offhand drops and tosses, rolling away from them to splash into the magma, slowly sinking into the super-heated liquid.

Argon blinked, tongue flicking out as he examined the boiling river along with Calanon. The Elf leaned in next to the edge of the flowing magma, placing a hand over it, the heat almost too unbearable even feet away from it. He closed his eyes, the Elf whispering in his native tongue, invoking clarity from Cendarius and Falethorwen. Even as he did so, Geradin heard Alice call to him from across the chamber, her echo carrying a bit too far for Beren's senses despite her words to Settionne, but as they were about to clear the archway in front of them soon, he supposed it was just incentive to work faster.

Geradin seemed a bit too engrossed within the rock to pay too much heed, simply grumbling a reply back to her. "Hold, lass. I've..." He started to mumble again, knocking the stone with his knuckles. And then, as if the knock did something he wasn't expecting, something changed in his demeanor. "Aaaah, seems the elemental spirit here still thrives." He muttered. "And...there is another chamber across the stone," he breathed, though he could tell it was also not deserted. They wouldn't be Dwarves either, or he would have gained an answer from a reply knock! There were also chambers along the fore where the others were digging across, and the winding but short tunnel Alice and Settionne.

Geradin's eyes widened a bit, and he turned when he heard another crack from one of the rocks hitting the ground, rolling into the magma. "Oi!" He called as loud as he dared, waving about his stubby arms to the three that dug. "Oi ye dolts! Don't be disturbing the magma!" Argon and Calanon both leaped back as Geradin approached, though not because of the Dwarf Cleric. It was because the magma had begun to pop and flow quicker, seeming almost angry or energetic at the rocks it had consumed, and the presence of the folk within the chamber.

"Blast it." Geradin whispered. Beren turned around, incredulous. "What?" He asked, and Geradin began to warn them. "The Dorcha are using the spirit of the magma tae forge weapons ye idiots! If we rile up the spirit, and they're in other chambers this river flows through, they'll notice and come bleedin' investigating. Hurry with that door!"

Calanon volunteered to watch the passageways to the right, opposite of Settionne and Alice. Geradin began to cast spells to calm the spirit of the magma, being needed here instead of in the hall with Settionne and Alice, the Priest having gone a short distance down the dark hall. Due to his moonlit sight from the pendant he wore, he would see a curve in the passageway, where the enticing magics called ever stronger. They would call to Alice too, and though there was an obvious chaotic feel, she would feel the alluring tug of the magic as well.

Argon walked up to Alice, head snaking around her shoulder to see what she looked at. "Friend Alice, where do you go?"
@Banana@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Fetzen

[Gardevoiran]

"We're trying to get this done quickly!" Ursaren asserted as he continued moving the rubble out of the way. It wasn't long now, and yet the old man felt... unease. He didn't feel right with this, it was like something was telling him that what he was doing wasn't a good idea. It felt like something was telling him to go primal and start fighting. Let Old Ursa go to town on all of these people, maybe just to go and fight the dark elves himself. What could they do when they had terribly made weapons?

The old man moved another rock before he felt that same feeling pound at him again, punching him in the gut with his instincts again. "Nrgh..." Ursaren took a few steps back, sitting down on a nearby rock, sturdy in the ground. "I... I need to sit for a minute... I'm feeling unwell at the moment." Ursaren looked actively dazed, unable to look straight or think straight due to his clouded thoughts. It was like Old Ursa wanted to escape. To get out. Unfortunately for the bear, Ursaren wasn't willing to let him run free so easily. He'd been through this before, and this was no different.

His best guess? Something didn't feel right in this forge, and whatever it was could be found behind that collapsed passage.

[BCTheEntity]

What a pity. It seemed the dwarf couldn't help them after all. And actually, his help might have been desirable. Even so, Sett nodded at Alice's instruction not to speak near the entrance of the corridor. Now more than ever, stealth was of the utmost importance - and though he missed precisely what Geradin had just said, he imagined it was probably important to keeping their tracks hidden for the time being.

Still, it wasn't all bad. As he moved forward into the tunnel, he could see that it curved round to the right, the feeling of that magic growing rather stronger as he did; and if he looked back, he could see that Argon had come up behind Alice as well, seemingly inquiring about what she was doing. Once one or both of them had his attention, he silently swung his hand toward them to suggest that they hurry up and come along, before turning back to continue walking down that corridor. If Fineki was going to be that insistent about Settionne finding this source of magic, he certainly wasn't going to disappoint him.

@POOHEAD189@Banana@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen

[Fetzen]

Dumping the rubble into the magma had been a very convenient and even somewhat funny way to dispose of it, however if a dwarf came to the conclusion that this could invoke the anger of those they were trying to escape from maybe it indeed was the better option to turn around for each and every rock and pile them up neatly along the way, leaving enough empty space for everyone to get along without tripping. Who else knew so much about stones, even though the theory was weird ?

The only problem was that there some wounds along An-Hasst's flank whose complete healing was still pending and which did respond to some of the moves required in the process with surges of pain. A good opportunity for everyone in the vicinity to learn something about the Skayleigh language, even though the vocabulary mainly revolved around curses and other things one could consider to be despicable expressions. It just was the half-elf, half-giant's way of compensation for unfortunate personal circumstances.

Then Ursaren dropped out. With a what's wrong with you ?-expression on his face, the Skayleigh turned arounds towards the man. If it hadn't been for the recent demonstration of his true capabilities An-Hasst would simply have suspected that this was a case of an old man having over-exerted himself, but that was somewhat out of the question. Unable to feel the same intensity the bear-man did, already having experienced the much more mild level of it and last but not least with the strict order to get this passageway open, the Skayleigh continued to work. By now it would already have been possible for the smaller members of their group to sneak through, but not for everyone.

@POOHEAD189@Banana@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity

[POOHEAD189]

The rocks began to tumble.

Beren and An-Hasst had delved more and more into the pile. Even with Ursaren taking a time out, his help earlier had been enough to open up the passageway for a more diminutive member of the party to fit through. But one single, misplaced rock sent the rest falling, causing the three strong companions to evade and dodge or their knees and feet might be crushed or broken under the weight of a falling stone. Beren for his part leaped like a hunting cat trying to evade pursuit, landing a few paces out of range of the rocks.

Meanwhile, Argon tilted his head, snaking his gaze back and forth between Alice who was reluctant to enter the cavernous route, or a creeping Settionne. Blinking lazily, his tongue flicking out of his mouth, he decided on what to do. "I shall follow friend Settione to make sure he is of the non-hurt sort, yes yessss?" The Saurian stalked off into the cavern, though he was far behind. Settionne himself would now see where the curve of the cavern led to.

Within the next cavern, Settione saw a melodramatic sight from the tales. Within the small room wrought of stone, he could see 6 stone steps carved into a rising stone platform. Atop it was a scepter imbued with a pure obsidian crystal that glowed indigo. Beneath it, a beautiful dark elven matron lay dead, her side pierced by the sword of an also dead male Dark Elf, probably murdered through mystical means. The blood was caked and dried along the stone. It seemed they had murdered one another to attempt in an attempt to grab the scepter.

It seemed just as the passageway opened, Geradin's spells of calming the magma were nullified. The river began to buck and crash against the edges of the stone 'shore' as if angered, and Geradin was nearly splashed with the stuff. Luckily it seemed he shimmered with an aura of holiness that blocked the drops of lava. Calanon and Brogach were too nimble and attuned to the spirit's feelings, having already deemed it too volatile.

"Blast it, we have tae get the fook out of here!" Geradin called.

Beren rolled to avoid a splash of magma. Something seared his cheek, a drop of magma flying by him and scraping off skin by its sheer heated proximity. It gave him a new, cauterized scar in less than an instant.

"Get in the passageway!" He roared.
@Banana@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Fetzen

[BCTheEntity]

Looks a lordy. What a sight... dreadful or otherwise. On the one hand, two Dark Elves had found themselves slain, apparently by one another's own means. And on the other... that stave, surely, was what Fineki had intended him to discover, a curious sight that drew him closer until he stood at the base of the platform it rested upon. A magical weapon of surely substantial power.

And perhaps substantial risk. Two people had died trying to reach it, two Dark Elves at that, and that could mean any manner of things. Perhaps it was an artifact great enough to turn the tides of whatever looming death the Dark Elves had planned - or perhaps it would kill him the moment he touched it, or worse. And Fineki was occasionally fickle, after all... Sett so desperately wanted to take the staff, but he also didn't want to die horribly. He needed more guidance, and he knew his chances of receiving such were perhaps quite low, especially if he sounded as if he were questioning his god's desires... but he also knew a lot about unnecessary risk, and it had always been true that dying in your god's service meant you couldn't serve them even more later on.

Glancing behind him (and seeing that neither Alice nor Argon had followed after him yet, despite what sounded like a lot of noise in the cave he'd left), he bent to one knee, and began rapidly muttering under his breath 'My lord god Fineki, please hear your servant's request; I beseech thee, tell me, show me, what it is you intend for me to do, for I as a mere mortal could never truly know your will so deeply; if it be your favour that I am to take this stave 'fore my allies show, then let such be made clear to me, in your name and infinite fortune.' If he was given an appropriate sign, he'd take the staff and stuff it in his bag of Elven silk before the rest of the party showed; if not, he'd let it be until his allies could offer their own advice. He figured Alice in particular might be good to query on the matter... if it mattered, that was.

@POOHEAD189@Banana@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen

[Gardevoiran]

In a swift motion the old man lifted his things up and ran into the passage, his arm being burned on his way as a small bit of lava splashed up onto him, causing him to roar with pain with an actual bear roar. He pat out the fire on his arm as he ran in and began to cast a healing spell on it as he thought about any good ideas. The rest of the party was making their way in, but this passage HAD to have another exit. It made sense, considering the abundance of Dark Elves in the area. They were rather cowardly by nature, if Ursaren's memory served him correctly, so them having another exit wasn't the worst idea.

"Can we wall them off once everyone gets in?" the bear man asked to nobody in particular, more as an overall question.

@BCTheEntity@The Fated Fallen@POOHEAD189@Fetzen

[Fetzen]

An-Hasst had performed nothing less than a backwards sumersault through the air in order to escape the little mishap. Had it been him who had relocated that last, wrongly situated rock ? The Skayleigh wasn't sure, but right now his thoughts were more focused on physical pain anyway. While his sudden and instictively executed maneuver had probably an astonishing demonstration of how quickly he could move his giant bulk around in full armor, it had also certainly had a disruptive effect on his healing.

Still there was no time. Even without thinking about lava spirit's and all that other fancy, 'extraordinary' stuff those dwarves were talking about so often, one couldn't deny that the molten minerals around them sounded rather... angry, to put it in a personalized sense. An-Hasst didn't look forward to be fried alive, so he got himself moving again through the opening which luckely had become large enough. It wasn't until he was on the other side and halfway stopped that he recognized the strange, particular and yet very intriguing picture in the next chamber.

A stairway. Given that they had travelled over a somewhat dilapidated looking bridge that could very well have offered all of them a quick death by gravity-induced high-speed impact and had just witnessed the glory of a dwarven smithy surrounded by angry lava this almost human-made looking commodity was nothing the Skayleigh would have had expected. The question was... where did it go ? In an act of selfish curiosity, An-Hasst didn't hesitate to try and find out how well the stairs could handle his giant feet and got going, not delivering any explicit callout to his comrades about what he was doing.

@BCTheEntity@The Fated Fallen@POOHEAD189[@Banana]

_{edited 12-03-2017 to fix errors}

[The Fated Fallen]

Alice was once again struck by how quickly things could go from bad to worse. She had no idea if the creature that seemed to rise out of the lava was by dark elf machinations but she cursed them all the same as she dived down the tunnel nearest to her, following Argon and Settionne and praying that the monster didn't try to follow them down.

The party was in dilemma, not only had they separated but their main guides had gone the other way. And none of that would matter if this tunnel was a dead end or the monster decided to follow them. She was fairly certain none of her spells would have any real effect, but hers combined with Secretion's divine casting might just be able to make Argon, who's scales no doubt made him resistant to heat, strong enough to at least fight the foe and provide the others a window of opportunity. She had no idea if something like this would work, she couldn't remember learning about a creature as that in all of her lifetime. Alice quickly caught up with Argon, who had turned towards the sounds of commotion and the sounds of her running.

"Where's Settionne?" she paused briefly to look behind her for any signs of pursuit, "There's some kind of Lava monster in the main cavern, so we all fled in different directions." and with the Lizard up to speed she started off down the tunnel that she had seemed so reticent to head down before.

@BCTheEntity@Fetzen@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran

[POOHEAD189]

Settionne knelt down in prayer, his muttering not carrying through into the cavern (fortunately for him). Within the greater chamber, rocks began to fall and the lava grew steadily more fierce, causing the areas close-by to jutter and shift almost imperceptively. Be it by fate or the Gods, as Settione finished his prayer, the staff toppled forward and fell onto his shoulder, the indigo crystal atop the staff glowing faintly in the dark. It was good he chose to hide it, though even in his bag of Elven silk, there would be an odd pole-like bulge to be noticed if he brought attention to it.

Argon blinked his otherworldly eyes, pausing from her question as Settione hustled passed both Argon and Alice. "Why, Settione is there, friend Alice." The Lizardman declared, pointing Sett's way. Moments later, all three of the companions made it into a room that had small rocks crumbling around them, and lava spittle flying every which way. It was fortunate for them they saw a close exit, the one the others took. Inside they would hear Ursaren's suggestion.

"There's no time." Beren replied, running a thumb wet with his saliva over his cut cheek. Brogach gave off a bray of distress while Calanon did his best to calm his companion down. The Dwarf priest Geradin hustled past the rest of them towards the stairs. "Make way!" He called, stepping passed An-Hasst and waddling up the stairs as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. "Only one way to go and that's forward. Best get to it!" He declared, his hammer aglow once more from a spell so he could lead the way.

The companions hurried forward, climbing the cramped stairway until they made it to a similarly cramped tunnel-hall, wrought as intricately as the room they have found themselves in earlier. Dwarf statues of old were arrayed at the sides, standing tall and proud like solemn, bearded guardians of justice and wisdom. At the end of the short hall, they would find themselves in a greater cavern. Relatively round except the (mostly) flat ground, with cave entrances leading left, right, and forward. Geradin skidded to a stop, and sniffed the air.

"We cannae go right. The lava was flowing that wey. If anyone go' wind of us. They'd be comin' from there."

"Left, right? I mean uh left, yes?" Beren said, looking to Geradin. The Dwarf strode forward and looked between the center one and the left one. "Probably the safest, let's go."

"I wish to eat soon!" Argon declared, his hissing voice echoing down the corridor. "Shut it ye dolt." Geradin cursed him, and off they ran further, their footsteps echoing almost as loudly as Argon, but run they needed to. It would be a hard jog later that the group entered a very strange area, where the smaller cavern gave way to a room with a looming ceiling, that gave off its own light. For large mushrooms glowed in the dark. To their left was a small path to a raised platform above this small forest of mushrooms, and Beren breathed a sigh of relief as Calanon stepped forward, arrow at the ready.

"I think we can rest for a moment."

@BCTheEntity@Gardevoiran@Fetzen@The Fated Fallen