[IC] To The Edge of the World...

[Garth]

@Lunar "June, I hate that pit. But if you want somebody to explore the pit with you, I will come too. Can you lift me back out too? Besides my lucky axe feel down there. I always like a nice axe."

He gave Eve's hand a slight squeeze before letting go.

[Kelewen]

When the others started pushing their way back out, Cedric exited the tunnel so that they didn't have to push past him. "Think we could cross that safely enough if we got some rope and maybe some light?" he contemplated out loud, half thinking of any clues they might find and half wondering if there were any valuable treasures to be found. "I mean, June and Eve might be able to get us across okay, but like Tarquin said earlier, if we gotta get out of there in a hurry..." he left the thought trail off.

Leofwine looked at Eve with some surprise and even some amusement. "Oh dear, do not let Father Beacom hear you ask that question lest you have a few spare days to listen to his lectures! Justicia is a goddess who values law and order, said to be locked forever in a battle against chaos."

[Wick]

Eve looked at him, "Is she real? Could she be the one who imprisoned the hound to begin with? I would think only a god or goddess would have that kind of power." Eve picked up a stone and enchanted it so that it would glow brightly and handed it to Cedric and another to Rockmar.

[Marcus XVI]

Tarquin actually laughed at Eve's words about only a god or a goddes being able to seal the kind of a beast they were most likely up against. He actually wiped the side of his eye and straightened up after a while. "A powerful enough priestess will do, or a priest if that is more your thing." He managed to keep himself from laughing more at the in his opinion quite naive girl. "You'd be surprised how many gods are real." The tall elf shook his head slightly and rolled his eyes. "Now, my dear brother could tell you a bit more about real gods, but sadly... Well, he isn't here."

[Kelewen]

@Wick "Ah! Thank you!" Cedric said to Eve as she handed him the glowing stone. "That is one problem solved! How long will it stay lit?"

Leofwine gave the elf a sideways glance, finding the comment about his brother a bit odd, then looked back at Eve. "I have witnessed her clerics perform great tasks. I can only take that as proof that she is real and grants power to her devotees."

[Lunar]

"I think I'll take you up on that offer Rockmar" she said looking at his empty axe holster "and your axe" making her way into the cave she stood by the chasm and told him "hold on to my hand" while holding her hand out to him "I could usually pick anything up easily within two feet of me but this chasm has strong gravitational interference, I wouldn't want to accidentally crush or break you by granitizing you to hard" "if I'm holding you you should be okay... I think" she said that last part a little quieter hoping he wouldn't hear it. @Garth

[Wick]

Eve looked at Cedric. "It should stay lit for several hours." She walked out of the cave quite upset at Tarquin and the Constable's laughter at her. She sat down outside and waited.

[Garth]

Rockmar took June's hand in his. His greataxe was hanging on his back by the axe's strap. he held the stone Eve gave him to light the way. "Alright, I am ready, June. Let us see what is below." @Lunar

[Marcus XVI]

Tarquin decided for the time being head back to the cave, but he stayed away from the hole in the floor. In his opinion the hole would only bring them more trouble than what it was worth. "If you folks need a hand just give me a shout."

[Kelewen]

The south entrance, narrow corridor with mural along the wall:



Low ceilinged chamber with slick stone slabs angled from all four sides.


Down the pit!


As Rockmar and June descend down into the dark pit, they find themselves hovering in a circular chamber with a tunnel exiting to the east. Directly beneath them is a score of hammered bronze longspears set into the floor and pointed upward, obviously intended to impale anyone falling through the hole above. Rockmar's axe is there, down in the center of the spears. There is also a pair of rusty daggers.

[Fubsy]

Wimena headed back in with the others. She moved as close she could to the edge of the pit without falling, too nervous about what lay in the dark to join her companions. "Be careful," she warned, flashing them an anxious smile.

[Lunar]

June made Rockmar levitate like she had been doing the whole time. "And we're off" she said as she dropped both her and rockmar straight down the whole. After a around ten seconds June made them stop falling and slowly floated down around three feet before they stopped over a room of spears. The light Rockmar was holding made enough light to show an opening in the wall that June flew to and set Rockmar down at.

She then floated to the middle of the room and made a Te shape with her body and made Rockmar's axe float up out of the dirt and spears and stopped it in front her. She closed her hands around the axe and floated back toward Rockmar and held the axe out to him and said "I believe this is yours" she said with composure in her voice. "Shall we continue to explore?" She asked gesturing towards the opening in the wall.

[Garth]

"Thank you for the axe. I've had it a long time. It has been lucky for me. Stay behind me as we explore, June." Rockmar heads down the tunnel to the east. He carries his newly found axe at the ready and his glowing stone above his head, lighting the way. @Lunar

[Kelewen]

Now armed with his lit stone, Cedric followed Tarquin and the halfling back inside. He'd been too far away the first time to get a good look at the chamber and the pit, plus his human eyes could see almost nothing in the dark compared with the elf and the half-orc. After examining it for a few moments and watching Rockmar and June disappear slowly down into the hole, he commented, "I'm not sure I wouldn't rather take my chances with the entrance in the ceiling we first found rather than try to cross this thing..."

Unwilling to leave a member of the party alone, Leofwine sat down next to Eve, not upset about an excuse to not be on his feet, even if only for a few minutes. "I'm not so sure that Justicia or possibly one of her clerics, did not have some hand in trapping the beast here. Did you know... when we discovered this island, the only structure upon it.. well, the only structure we knew was upon it... was the chapel, Justicia's symbol set into the keystone."

[Wick]

"Thank you constable, believe it or not that does help me feel a bit better. I wish I could be taken a little more seriously by some of our crew." She wiped something from her eye that looked suspiciously like a tear. "Tell me more about the island. There has to be a clue in it's past somewhere." She made certain to keep an ear out in case she heard screams from inside the cave.

[Kelewen]

@Garth & @Lunar

The corridor is made of stone, only wide enough to go single file comfortably, and the ceilings are 6' tall, making both of the tall adventurers stoop. It goes only about 10 feet before turning left. Then runs 30 feet and turns left again. Here, there are stairs leading up.

From somewhere behind June, she hears a slight scuff sound... as if something is creeping after them in the dark...



----

"I'm afraid there is not much more than that to tell," Constable Leofwine said, furrowing his brow in thought, trying to remember if there were any other details that might shed any light on the hound. "Avery's Isle has been settled now for over 20 years and this is the first we've had trouble of this kind. So much knowledge from the ancients has been lost, I fear." He shook his head, pausing for a long moment.

"When we first arrived, the chapel itself was in disrepair. Father Beacom took it upon himself to oversee its repairs and rededication into the service of Justicia. As we began constructing other buildings and gathering wood from the forest," he pointed westward, "sometimes an artifact was discovered that we assumed to be of the ancients. ... a few coins, sometimes the remnants of weapon... Ambitious folk even made their way into the swamp beyond looking for more treasures, but that is tricky terrain and some of those folks never returned."

[Lunar]

Once June heard the noise she spun around quickly eyeing the darkness like it had done something wrong. Then a what seemed like half a minute she terned back around to the pathway. They turned a corner and continued to move. Once at the next tern she stopped to make sure whatever that noise was wasn't following them. She saw stairs around the next corner. They looked old and made out of the dirt beneath them.

Staying close to Rockmar to better see in the darkness as they climbed the stairs. Step by step *tip* *tap* *tip* *tap* then the sound again. It made a grunting sound this time closer or at least she thought it was closer. It definitely seemed like it was following them. "We should get moving" she said quietly to Rockmar as they continued to climb. @Garth

[Garth]

Rockmar felt June's hand on his back slightly pushing him forward. He rushed up the stairs, his hand axe held low but ready. At the top of the stairs, when the tunnel widen into a larger room, he stepped to the side, allowing June to pass him. He shined the light back down the stairs. Between the light and his orcish eyes, he tried to see what was following them and making the noise. @lunar [Kelewen]

[Kelewen]

As Rockmar and June gain the top of the stairs (bottom right on the map) they find themselves in the hallway on the opposite side of the pit, the half-orc's light clearly visible to Tarquin, Cedric, and Wimena who are yet on the other side. Here the ceiling is high enough for both Rockmar and June to stand upright.



When Rockmar shines his light back down the narrow stairs, the sound of something following them pauses, as if whatever it is would much prefer to wait until they have their backs to it before striking. And while their attention is focused on the stairs, a vaguely humanoid shape drops from the ceiling above them with barely a sound, attempting to rake its long nails across June's back...

[Marcus XVI]

Tarquin could sense some kind of a danger, he tensed noticeably and glanced towards Rockmar and June. He moved swiftly towards the room with the hole in the middle and hoped the enchantments on his footwear would allow him not to slip on the slimy surface. To the tall elf's luck and surprise he wasn't slipping. The enchantment held and he paused at the edge of the hole. From the slightly lower angle he could see something in the ceiling. "Above you, danger." Was pretty much all he could think of to say.