Pax: Tunnels - Chyril 26 TT (Ulder and Elvin)

[Guido Cercatoro]

(OOC: Continued from here)

Geren readily agreed to remain at the tunnel entrance, looking a little relieved not to have to journey further into the cave complex. The muscular man and his more hesitant companion both accompanied Ulder across the crack to the entrance of the tunnel. A few minor hairline cracks stretched a few paces down the tunnel but there was no sign of any major disturbance.

Elvin’s revelation concerning the disturbances in the Aether increased the anxiety on Geren’s face but the man looked reassured by the mage’s statement concerning his capabilities of dealing with any threat. As the sorcerer prepared to send out his mental impression, he once again sensed the chittering echoing across the Aether. Perhaps it did, indeed, represent some pattern of communication for he sensed a web pattern of criss-crossing energies emanating form a number of small dark balls of energy.

Peaceful tranquilty. The wave of energy pulsed out from Elvin and reached and then disrupted the web pattern. For an instant the pattern was gone but was soon replaced by a more urgent, stronger and denser pattern. Some of the dark balls of energy moved towards the source of the energy that had disrupted their web….

As the party moved down the tunnel, the muscular man, who introduced himself as Urbit, stopped and stared admiringly at the walls. “These stones have the same look as the one’s that the walls of Pax are made from.” The stones were clearly of excellent quality and gave off a warm white glow as they reflected the lanterns.

After a burn’s walk, further progress was prevented by a large mound of debris – primarily a mixture of earth and timbers which had been brought down from the collapsed roof.

[Ulder]

Urbit seemed a amiable enough fellow, and when he spoke his observation about the stone of the walls, Ulder realized he was clever and perceptive as well.

"Indeed they are. Hopefully that's a sign that there are stronger walls around the collapsed area."

When they reached the collapsed area, Ulder surveyed the scene.

"If we shift some of those timbers vertically, we can use them to shore up the tunnel overhead. Then we might be able to dig a spot through to reach the others."

He set his lantern down and began to dig, trying to loosen the timbers enough to move them. Urbit was a hale and hearty townsman, so Ulder was hopeful that together they could shift the debris around to their favor.

[Guido Cercatoro]

With the willing assistance of Urbit, Ulder began to dig out some of the timbers from the rubble. The big man’s strength proved invaluable as some of the timbers were manoeuvred in an attempt to shore up the roof. A small amount of earth and dirt was brought down from the top of the tunnel but the tunnel roof appeared to be relatively stable.

Within a few burns, enough of the debris had been cleared for the party to crawl through to the other side. As Urbit was about to pull himself through the gap, a wail sounded from the other side of the debris. It appeared to be a human voice but one clearly in considerable pain. The wail built into a cry; the cry into a terror filled wail and the wail into a scream. And then all was silent, save a far off chittering noise which gradually faded away.

[Ulder]

Ulder worked with Urbit to clear a hole large enough to get to the other side of the blockage. He thought they made a good team as they shored up the sides with the fallen timbers and and cleared away a hole large enough for a man to crawl through. Ulder nodded to Urbit as the man seemed eager to get to his comrades and crawl through the opening to reach them.

The scream of pain and horror echoed in his head and memory as much as in his ears. The shouts of pain and disgust had rang in the narrow lighthouse tower when they had killed the Changer. Now the memories of that foul and dark creature still haunted him as he drew his sword and pointed at the lantern.

"Shine that through the opening!" He urgently requested of Urbit.

He wasn't sure if Urbit was even carrying a weapon. In the commotion and chaos, he had not bothered to look, but his sword might be the only weapon they had right now, and he needed to try and get the men out and away if he could.

With his blade held protectively in front of him, he began to crawl through the opening to fight off whatever it was. Perhaps it was already too late to save one, but if he tried, maybe he could save the other.

Once he could get to the other side, his focus was on getting his feet under him and battling whatever it was on the other side.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Urbit shone his lantern through the opening but the little distance that the light could illuminate beyond the small gap revealed nothing. However, Ulder could clearly see that the large man had a small dagger swaying form his belt. The other man appeared to have no weapon other than the pick he was carrying. Elvin remained silent.

Ulder crawled through the opening. He dislodged a little earth and debris as he did so but soon emerged on the other side. Urbit soon joined him, drawing his dagger.

The chittering began again and gradually moving towards the pair. At first nothing could be seen within the small area illuminated by the lanterns. However, after half a burn or so, the black body of a small creature scuttled into the light. It stayed in the light for only a flicker before chittering loudly and scurrying back into the dark. The brief glimpse suggested that it was a spider of some sort.

"They don't like the light," ventured Urbit grimly.

The spider was not on its own, for the sound of scampering and chittering grew in intensity.

[Elvin Motricé]

Elvin was so caught up in the emanations that reverbrated over the aether that he wasn't paying that much attention to his surroundings. He cursed silently when the attention of the creatures focussed on him. He focussed on the black energy, trying to discern if there was some Netheric taint to it.

The wail tore the Professor attention back to the Tether. Before he had fully recovered Ulder and Urbit had already crawled to the opening. The Adhiel followed quickly, his Aetheric senses reaching out seeking the strange unknown creatures.

The sorcerer cursed out loud when he saw the spider: "Not again," he muttered in Adhiel for his last encounter with spiders had not been a pleasant one. The gargantuan creature had slaughtered most of Pan's Temple before Elvin, Becca and Morgan put an end to its life.

He quickly surveyed his options. The cave was too confined for anything powerful, fire would consume the air and superheated air would be increasingly difficult as the temperature wasn't high enough. Urbit's mention of light offered a simple solution.

He quickly gathered a few strands of energy, a process that now seemed almost sluggish because of the chittering that resounded over the Aether. The Professor pushed through, focussing his mind entirely on the strands of energy, sinking deeper into a trance. He enacted a simple weave that was used often in the University and created globes of multi-colored light he threw into the darkness.

[Ulder]

The globes of light allowed Ulder to better see what task lay before him. He peered around as he squinted against the sudden lights, hoping to catch a glimpse of both the spidery things and the trapped men. He was confident Elvin's lights and power could keep them at bay while he and Urbit enacted pulling the others out, but first he needed to know if the light was going to stir these things up to the point of fighting or if they were going to scurry away from it.

He poised himself and held his sword ready, using his ears as he had been taught to listen for signs and sounds of attack, as well as his eyes. He stirred himself to his full awareness and examined the tunnels closely. If an attack came, he would be ready. If the opportunity to pull the trapped men out became available, he would be ready.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Elvin probed the black energy but the result was puzzling. There was, indeed, the sense of something akin to the Nether but it was different to any such taint he had ever perceived. It was as if the energy was tied to some place that was here and yet not here at one and the same time; and, it was old, ancient and festeringly dark…

Elvin crawled through the hole to join his companions and then sought to tap the aether to create mage globes of light. It was a simple weave but here, in the midst of darkness, far from the light and with the dark bundles of energy swarming in his senses, constructing the weave was like wading through a deep, dense swamp. The sorcerer expanded considerable energy in tapping the aether and he succeeded after a fashion. A few globes of dim light flew down the tunnel to illuminate a large cave into which the tunnel ran a few paces from the cave-in.

The floor of the cave was a seething mass of the small spider-like creatures. As the dim light reached them, they scuttled away into the far corners of the cave. The light also illuminated the sound of the wailing. Ulder saw that on the far wall two human bodies were entrapped in webbing. As the light reached the two figures they cried out in desperation. To one side of the men an opening led deeper into the cave system. A loud chittering came from down this passage.

Urbit stared in horror at the scene. The fourth member of the rescue party
had plucked up courage and crawled through the hole but appeared ready to bolt back through the gap.

[Ulder]

"Urbit! Pour the oil from the lantern over to them in a wall to one side. We'll light the oil and use the flames as a shield so we can free them!"

Ulder pointed at the trapped men as he spoke.

"Push them deeper into the tunnels!"

Using the surprise they seemed to succumb to from the light of Elvin's globes, Ulder quickly made his way over to the trapped men. He examined the webbing that entrapped the men as he tried to reassure them.

"We're going to get you out of here. Stay still for now, once you are free, make for the opening if you can!"

He slashed at the webbing with his sword, trying to free the trapped men. He hoped that Urbit was close with the trail of oil.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Recovering quickly from his horror of the spiders, Urbit did as he was bidden and began to pour oil over the floor ready to be lit according to Ulder’s plan. The light from the globes did, indeed, appear to keep the spiders at bay for they moved into the darkest recesses of the cave or down the far opening in the cave wall. The chittering now appeared agitated.

Protected by the mage globe Ulder and Urbit made their way over to the two trapped men whilst Elvin and the fourth man remained close to the exit also protected by the lantern. Ulder’s slash was only partly successful, for although his sword cut some of the webbing, the sticky strands adhered to the blade making progress slow and difficult. Urbit drew his dagger to assist. “Shall I light the oil,” said the muscular man as his dagger also became entangled in the webs.

From down the opening, the chittering suddenly grew still, to be replaced by a lower deeper sound as if something was making its way through the tunnel and the spiders were growing silent in respect…

[Ulder]

Ulder continued to saw at the strands, trying to get the men free enough that they could crawl out, but the process was difficult and frustratingly slow. He pulled his blade free and was searching for a better way when Urbit's voice sounded.

"Not yet. Wait until they start moving forward again."

The strange sound the spiders gave off tapered off and fell silent. This did little for Ulder's confidence that they would have the men free before what he assumed was the mother coming up the tunnel arrived.

He began to shovel handfuls of dirt onto the strands, hoping that the grit and dust would cause the web to be less clingy and sticky. His last hope would be the oil itself and burning one end off of them so that they might escape. Once he had thrown enough dirt on the webs to cover them completely, he began to cut and slash at them again with a few glances over his shoulder to be sure the things weren't advancing.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Following Ulder’s lead, Urbit also threw dirt onto the sticky strands. It only took a burn to cover the strands for the dirt struck firmly to the web. The spiders were now silent apart from the occasional chitter. They drew no nearer but the deeper sound continued to increase in intensity. The noise sounded akin to wheezing breath, as if whatever beast the sound emanated from was having difficulty making progress towards the room. Yet, it was clearly closing in on the cave.

The dirt made the cutting of the webs a simpler proposition, for the sword and dagger were much easier to extricate once a strike had been made. Within a few flickers one of the men had been released. He tumbled to the floor, moaning – he was clearly still alive. Although still partly covered in the web, there was no obvious sign of injury o but he appeared to be semi-conscious and unlikely to be able to walk. The second man was still caught in the web. He appeared to be more firmly fixed then the first man.

The rasping sound drew ever closer…..

[Elvin Motricé]

OOC: Upcoming finals keep me terribly busy, my apologies for all the delays. For the coming month my posting will be as erratic as the last month due to those RL thingies called exams

IC:
The strange emanations of the energies enforced Elvin's theories about what was happening in Pax. Elaine's observations, the appearance of the wall, it seemed as if time was distorted. Magics that dealt with Time were taught at the University but fell outside of the scope of the Professor's studies, a fact he now lamented.

The sorcerer had never believed that each energy was a separate thing, it was his firm belief that they were all one and the same, only in a different form. That fact did nothing to alleviate the strain such a weaving had on him in an environment where energy was scarce in the needed form.

Seeing the predicament of the two men the Adhiel put a step forward but stopped when he realized that his own role wouldn't involve any direct help. It were his own feeble lights that kept the spiders at bay for now. While Ulder and Urbit worked feverishly to free the trapped men, the mage weighed his options.

"Fire would suck away all the air... I could use knifes of air but to what extent? Something with the earth? Perhaps... Something small that enables everyone to fight more effectively... My magic is being damped. Light... It seems to be the most effective. Maybe..." the professor looked to the crystal band around his index finger. A ring forged of Throtgardian Crystal, given to him by the University after the defeat of the Changer. A ring that stored the energy of the sun as magical energy.

Elvin waited, his mind intent on the emanations of his ring, until the situation changed. He had a few ideas but he'ld have to adapt them according to the situation.

[Ulder]

It seemed the dirt seemed to at least quicken the process a bit. The strange sound coming from deeper within the tunnels was not something he cared to meet.

Likely the mother come to find out where her meal is...

With one of the men freed, he hoped that the combined efforts of Urbit and himself would free the other, more closely held man that much faster. The first trapped man seemed unable to walk, and was somewhat dazed and senseless. Either Urbit or himself would have to carry the man out.

"Keep going!" He urged.

"We'll get them out together!"

He continued to slash at the webbing, trying desperately to beat whatever was coming up the tunnel. He wanted to have the men in the light as soon as possible, and seal the whole damn thing up.

Whatever they disturbed down here, was better left untouched...

[Guido Cercatoro]

(OOC: good luck with the exams, Elvin)

Pondering the predicament that they were in, Elvin considered his options but stayed his hand awaiting the development of events. The light from the globes continued to illuminate the cavern and the small spiders remained in the darker recesses. As Urbit and Ulder worked to free the second man, the fourth member of the party who was still standing by Elvin appeared close to panic, his eyes darting wildly around the room.

Finally, a strike from Ulder’s sword freed the second man who fell to the floor next to his companion. Both were still alive but were in no condition to walk.

The time taken to free the second man had given time for whatever approached to close in on the cavern. Two large spiders entered the cave from the side tunnel, each moving to one side of the aperture as if they were some type of bodyguards. They appeared less disturbed by the light than their smaller companions.

The rasping sound increased in intensity and something squeezed through into the cavern. If the rescue party has expected a mother spider, then they would have been surprised by what they saw. Filling the tunnel entrance was a huge dark, bulbous body, more akin to a slug than a spider. Underneath the body were several legs, dwarfed and compressed by the huge load they were carrying. What was even stranger was the head and torso of the beast, for it bore no resemblance to a spider. This part of the creature had the appearance of a young female adhiel. Long, dark hair framed a taut, angular face decorated by full red lips. A pair of pale, slender arms protruded from a well-shaped and naked torso.

The creature panted. Clearly the exertion of dragging the huge body along the tunnels had tired it. A pair of deep, dark eyes fixed themselves on the companions in turn. Finally, the lips opened. “Visitors. It is so long since I had visitors.”

[Ulder]

When Ulder saw the strange and disgusting creature emerge from the tunnels he knew he had been right about not wanting to meet it.

"Light the oil! Let's get out of here!"

The woman's voice, for he had no other words to describe the thing, was alien and disconcerting to say the least, and he had no real desire to stay and chat. They had proven themselves dangerous to the people of Pax already, and he wasn't about to banter at this point.

He pointed for Urbit to carry one of the men, and he sheathed his sword and picked up the other and placed him over his shoulders. He tried to move as quickly as possible away from the oil line and put as much distance as he could between himself and the fire that he hoped would follow soon behind them, and block off any advance of the spiders or their mistress.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Urbit lit the oil and slung one of the men over his shoulder. The oil sparked into life casting an eeire glow over the cavern and illuminating a wider area. It was now apparent that there were hundreds of small spiders scuttling aorund the corners of the space, all trying to shelter in the dark recesses. Fortunately, they appeared to have a stong aversion to the fire.

The strange creature lifted a delicate arm and hand to shield her face. "You steal my dark," she cried with a wail that echoed off the walls of the cave.

Ulder and his companion made it safely back to Elvin and the fourth member of the party. The oil had provided at least a temporary barrier against the spiders. However, the two large "bodyguard" spiders were advancing slowly towards the burning oil. They both sported a pair sharply pointed pincers

[Ulder]

There were two forces at work in Ulder's brain as he labored to carry the miner to safety. The first was the curious, diplomatic part of him that wondered who or what these things were, and what they wanted. Perhaps they simply misunderstood the intent and purpose of the miners, and with some communication and effort, maybe a peaceful accord could be forged between the two very different groups.

"You steal my dark..."

The other part was the tactician. Fighting these thing down here in their element did not appeal to him at all. They had all the advantages, experience, numbers, familiarity with the surroundings, the motivation. To the former Captain, it was a no win situation, and he had not come down here to start some struggle or conflict with some unknown race of creatures that dwelt in the dark. He had come to rescue those who were trapped, and now he sat on the verge of completing that mission. There was a great deal to report back to the Provost, and he much preferred doing so with everyone alive. On the surface, in the light, better decisions could be made, and there were more soldiers and allies above than down here in the gloom.

"Keep moving! Out!"

His breath was coming in gasps from his exertion of freeing the trapped men and carrying one to safety.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Ulder's companion's needed little urging to follow his instructions. One by one they crawled back through the hole dragging the two wounded men with them. All made it through successfully, the light from the oil proving sufficient deterrent to the spiders. The larger pair of spiders had apparently moved forwards to protect their "Queen" rather than attack the party.

As he emerged from the crawlspace, Ulder heard a shrieking voice echo from the large cavern.

"Thieves. You steal my dark. I shall steal your light."

"Nags a bit, don't she," grinned Urbit, slinging one of the comatose men over his shoulder.

[Ulder]

Having sunlight on him was like greeting an old friend that had not been seen for yahren. It was wonderful to have it back and he hadn't realized how much he had missed it.

Ulder grinned at Urbit's words, and after easing the injured man down he reached to shake the burly man's hand.

"Aye. Stealing our light is a tall order. You did very well down there. These men have you to thank for being alive right now. Well done friend. If you ever need a place, you always have one with me."

He had seen enough in his life with the Changer to know that nothing was for certain, and soon enough night would fall again, so he did not and could not completely dismiss her claim. Yet for now, he smiled and allowed himself a moment's respite and to be at ease.

He looked at Elvin and the others once they were all out of the cave, just to be certain they were hale.

"Elvin, we'll need to collapse the cave. If that thing intends to get up here and steal our light, I want to make sure it has a very difficult time in doing so. What can we do to seal it?"

[Guido Cercatoro]

The group managed to reach the surface without any further incident. Willing hands took hold of the two injured men and spirited them away for the healer to look at.

Elvin's exertions in the cave had left him feeling tired and, at first, he gave no response to Ulder's request.

Shaking his head, Urbit moved close to Ulder. "The sooner we get this closed the better. I felt her voice in my head. It felt dark, so dark. I do not think her threats are idle. If the mage can't close it, there is a weak point a little way down the tunnel. It would be easy to use a couple of axes to fell the props to the roof. "

[Elvin Motricé]

The Adhiel needed a few moments to compose himself. "I am not sure what I can still do. Something down there is very, very wrong. My powers are almost as drained as they were while we fought the Changer. Let me see..."

Elvin knelt and placed a hand on the ground, sending his awares into the Earth, seeking a weak spot that would not compromise any surrounding buildings and that he could weaken with magic and the reserve of energy that was stored in his ring....

[Ulder]

"Aye, I felt her voice too." Ulder replied.

The fact that Elvin felt as drained as he had when they had fought the Changer surprised him. The lights and other energies that he had supplied had not seemed particularly difficult, but he had mentioned some sort of draining effect while they were down there. Perhaps whatever it was fed off such energy and that thought gave the former Captain a reason to pause.

He was about to say something to Elvin, when the mage knelt and felt the ground. He could see the magic, but Ulder assumed his good friend was using some sort of magic.

He waited for the outcome, but felt in his heart that he and Urbit would have to fell the props by hand.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Since leaving the tunnels, Elvin's energy had begun to return. It was as if something underground had acted to supress his abilities rather than completely drain them. As he recovered, the sorceror's senses soon reached the weak spot that Urbit had mentioned. The roof props were weak at this point and it took only a little effort to bring the supports down.

A deep tremor swept out of the tunnels as the roof collapsed and those standing at the exit felt a wave of air and dirt flow over their skin.

"Saved me a lot of effort," remarked Urbit ruefully. "I wonder how long it will seal them in down there." The stolid fellow extended his hand first to Ulder and then to Elvin in a gesture of friendhip. "I'd best be off but I thank you both for assisting the people of this town. If you ever need my assistance, you can usually find me at the gate tavern most nights."

(OOC: just about finished here methinks unless there is more you want to do?)

[Guido Cercatoro]

Locked for skilling