The Quest Begins (Part 1) ~ Mur`Al`Din

[Ashari]

The adhiel nodded to Mur. "That makes sense, we shouldn't trudge around in the water with that vicious beast. No need to be hasty." He looked over to Armond, wondering if he agreed.

"You're right.." The human relented hesitantly. "We should try to find the others. We have better luck in numbers." Armond nodded.

Eridh licked his lips and swung his bow over his shoulder. "I suppose we should get moving then?" He asked, looking at Mur for guidance. Both of them were young in their respected races. They had been lead by older relatives through their entire lives, and here they were stranded and alone in a dark cave.

The three were a strange enough group under the best circumstances. Instead they were faced with a beast with a taste for blood and missing party members and here they were: A half-giant, a human and an adhiel.

[Mur'Ath]

Mur looked at his companions. Man was frighten, but willing to continue. And for elf if he was afraid half-giant couldn't read that on his calm pale face.

"O.K. then, we'll continue but carefully. We don't want to be surprised and ambushed. This is how we are going to continue..."he posed and looked at elf continuing :" ...my friend you'll go first again with lantern. Try to find any footprints or anything that can tell us what happened to our friends.
Armond you'll keep our back safe - you have my Kukri, use it if necessary. I'll be in middle, also pay attention on celling and potential danger from above not only in front and behind us."

Mur took lantern and gave it to the Eridh, with sword in his right hand, he wrapped his scarf around his face and nodded to adhiel giving him sign that he is ready to fallow.

[Ashari]

Eridh took the lantern from Mur and nodded in understanding before taking his position in the front of the line. Armond quickly stepped in behind Mur and then the three were set to move onward. Once moving it didn't take long before they reached the cave entrance again. "Maybe we should try to take the other path." Eridh said to Mur. "Remember there were two?" His bright eyes looked at Mur as they moved onward through the tunnels carefully checking their surroundings.

Once again all that could be seen on the dirt floor were the busy footprints of cave animals that used the dark place to hide from the heat outside. Immersed within the many prints were also those of Mur and Eridh from when they had first passed this way. Soon they found themselves at the two paths. One lead out of the cave and the other was the direction they had yet to try.

Armond looked down the other path. "What are the chances this leads somewhere other than the chasm?" He sighed.

"Who knows." Eridh repied. "It could even be a dead end, but it's worth checking out, what do you think Mur?"

[Mur'Ath]

"Yes, my friend you've got a point. It is defenitely worth to check it out." Mur said to his Elven friend.
Looking into darkness in front of them he thought for a moment and then turned toward his compenions:
"O.K. then we should check this passage, and be carefull - I expect that those cave people have to have their camp or any other form of comunity somewhere in thic cave. And there is high probability that we'll meet them this time.
So, be on alert and let's press on." Half giant finished letting the elf to lead the way through cave.

[Ashari]

The three continued on down the second tunnel and saw tall pointed stalactites and stalagmites, reaching from the ceiling and erupting from the floor. Water dripped from above to form puddles beneath their feet, but as Mur instructed, they pressed onward. It didn't take long until, almost as Eridh had predicted, they reached a dead end. "There's nothing here..." The adhiel said.

From behind there is the sound of movement, but it isn't Armond, because it is further on than that. "Mur?" A familiar voice, raspy and deep, fills the end of the corridor. Eridh spun on his heel to cast the light on the face of a handsome human, dark skinned and staring at the three with chocolate brown eyes. It was Ja`Kama, and he looked elated at seeing the tall half-giant. A bright suave smile lit his face. "And I see you've found another friend." His eyes glanced at Armond before turning back to Mur. "Are you alright?"

[Mur'Ath]

"My friend!" half giant almost yelled, "...I am all right of course, but what happened with you and rest of elves? Where were you, and how in mother's name you disappeared ??". Mur was firing one question after another, but then as he noticed that he didn't give man any chance to answer his questions, he paused looked at Ja'Kamas face wit huge grin on his on face.
"I am sorry my friend I forgot myself, this is Armond and let me tell you how we met him."
And Mur took couple minutes to tell everything what happened to him and adhiel, from moment they lost rest of their group. Telling everything, how they fallowed their footprints but lost them in cave's hall, how they found Armond and his companion, battle with beast. Everything 'till this moment when they reunited again.

"So my friend, now I have couple questions that are burning deep in my scull. First how did you all disappear. Then where have you been, did you meet any cave dwellers and of course on treasure did you find it or
not ???", Mur finished with his questions looking at Ja'Kama, but his attention still 'on high alert'.

[Ashari]

Ja`Kama grinned at Mur's warm welcome. He was a man of few words, but he was visibly relaxed at the presence of the half-giant. His smile wided as the questions were fired at him all the while he moved forward and shook his head. "There is much that happened, for us both." He glanced over to Eridh for a flicker, the slightest tinge of worry in his eyes. Quietly he listened as Mur recounted what had occured to the pair of them, and then how they had met up with Armond. "I am sorry for your loss, young man." He said and reached out his hand to Armond's shoulder. "Peace be with your brother." He looked at him. "Aside from that, however, please be welcomed into our party, though I'm sure Mur has already passed along such an invitation." Silently Armond nodded and replied a murmered thank you.

Sighing deeply Ja`Kama moved away from Armond toward Mur. "Truly I am glad to see you are alive. We suffered an ambush. I'm afraid the Cave Dwellers were more than we could handle. I.. I and one of the other elves." He looked over to Eridh. "We escaped, but he had been injured, more deeply than I realized." A deep pause followed. "I'm sorry." His head hung low as he delivered the news of the loss of the rest of their party to Eridh.

The proud young adhiel held his head high and did not let his emotions get the better of him. "They fought valiantly?" He asked.

"Yes." Ja`Kama replied quickly and nodded. "With everything in them. They lived up to their reputation as strong fighters. I fear, however, that we did not find the treasure. There is a small cave leading where our battle was, I crawled out here and have been in hiding waiting for the Cave people to come out, but they haven't. So you found the lake then, and the beast... We need to get the treasure or all of this will have been for nothing."

Armond then broke into the conversation. "The beast is horrible, we cannot return.. you should've seen what it did to Harrison!" His voice was strained, but he tried to keep from snapping. The young man's eyes turned to Mur, hoping the half-giant would talk some sense into Ja`Kama.

[Mur'Ath]

Mur looked at Armond with reasuring look, putting his big hand at human shoulder he told him: " Don't worry, we still don't know where treasure is. Ja'Kama has the map...". Half Giant glanced toward man and he countinued in calm hush voice: "...And we have one more member in our group since we met monster last time, and monster is hurt. I say our chances to kill it are far better then average." he finished with small smile on his lips.

Half giant took his hand off Armond's shoulder and went to Ja'Kama. He was troubled by some questions and he wanted to address them.
"So, tell me my friend, where the treasure is?? I heard story that it is in lake, but then you have map and you went in other direction. It is time for us to make plan how to get treasure. And first we have to be sure where is it.
That being said, why you guys went in opposite direction from lake, is it maybe possible that treasure is in cave-people camp? If that is case you should tell us details that you know - where are they, how many of them and everything else that we can use.
But if that is not case, we should see who among us knows how to swim. I've never had opportunity to learn how to do it, and I bet that someone will have to search for treasure when we deal with that monster if treasure is in that lake. So my friend talk to me what your map say, will it be cave people or monster and lake?", Mur finished with question, though he could guess an answer.

Trouble never travels alone, one or another posibility is bad enough, but I can bet it will be back to the lake with bunch of cave people behind our back. At that point Mur was certain more then ever that they have to act quickly and come up with a plan how to defeat monster. Time was not on their side, and he wanted them to act quickly - but there was no room for error.
They put themself in situation where they'll win or die.

[Ashari]

Armond nodded to Mur, what the half-giant said made sense, he knew that. He was all riled up and full of fear and anticipation. "You are right." He continued nodding even as he walked away from him over to Ja`Kama.

"My friend, you worry too much." The handsome mapper replied. "I know the treasure is here it isn't an exact science though. Up to here I was following a map, but then onward it is through a deciphered text in a foreign language. I would not be surprised I merely got left and right confused." He shrugged and grinned. "But if you've found the lake, then it is you who should be leading us there. The treasure is somewhere in the lake, I've heard many say it's in the center, but that can be translated one of two ways, either meaning the middle of the lake, or at the deepest part of the lake, so, we may need to split up."

Both Armond and Eridh spoke up to say they could swin. Armond could swim underwater even, for great distances. Ja`Kama, too, could swim, though not wonderfully, enough to get done what needed to get done. "It seems, you, my friend, will have to help us more at the shoreline. I've no idea how heavy this treasure is. It may be the best idea to get some rope and have one of us dive, or take turns, and make sure it is affixed, then tether out to the shore and drag it out."

[Mur'Ath]

Mur was thinking, while looking at his friends. All of them know how to swim. At last some good news. He broke silence addressing all of his friends: " So, this is what I'm thinking about this. We'll take rope and one of you guys will go with it underwater. If/when he finds treasure he'll tie the rope and give signal to me to start pulling.
If that person end up in any danger he'll give us the sing and we'll start pulling him, whit our help he should be able to outswim anything that might be behind him."

"Now on signs, one pull if he find treasure, two if there is danger. So, if you agree on this we can proceed to lake, as always our friend Eridh we'll lead the way." He finished looking at rest of group waiting ti see what they final decision will be.

[Ashari]

Ja`Kama spoke first. "That sounds like a good plan." He nodded. It was very much what he had already spelled out, and it seemed Mur had thought of a way of adding onto it.

Eridh and Armond nodded and each stepped forward. The adhiel took the lead and their new human companion took behind him, leaving Ja`Kama and Mur to take up the rear, giving him a chance to talk to him.

"Mur.." Ja`Kama began in a hushed tone as the other two walked forward. "There is the great creature to deal with, I know it to be a great swimmer, I'm willing to take such consequences, but can you live with yourself if someone is hurt, or worse, killed, by the beast?" He asked the half-giant.

[Mur'Ath]

Half Giant looked man right into his eyes. His was as mask made of stone, his eyes were piercing through Ja'Kama's eyes.
"I will not send anyone into death if that is what are you asking me. And now knowing this about monster - I will not send anyone in the water. Especially if they don't know the danger of it.
But if monster attack us and kill some of us or all of us, then that is our fate. But to let someone dive into lake not knowing that he has no chance to outswim monster. I will not do that, so once when we reach lake shore you'll tell them what you told me. After that if someone want to take chance, I'll respect that, but they have to know everything." Mur still looked at man for a moment trying to see any reaction on Kama's face, and then he turned toward Adhiel and speeded up to catch with them.

[Ashari]

"Sometimes there are casualties, Mur, you have to understand that. They know that, they wouldn't have come here if they weren't adventurers. We've somehow gotten the survivor of another group, so he must've been pretty strong to live through any sort of attack." Ja`Kama kept up with his companion, but his voice was still low.

"We cannot go in saying: 'Oh, doing this may cause you to die', or they will lose faith. They have a level of courage going on right now, you can't just destroy that or they'll be scared."

He paused a flicker in his speech.

"And that'll be the death of them. If the creature doesn't get them, then their own fear will consume them, and they will not succeed. This is an important treasure, think of all the money we could get, and the fame."

[Mur'Ath]

Mur was listening his friend while walking down the cave corridor - trying to keep up with Elf. On the other side being careful not to aproach them too close. After Ja'Kama finished half giant responded to him in low voice:
" I perfectly understeand what are you saying. Nor I'm trying to scare anyone - just it's that I would prefer that we first can deal with the beast. And then some of us may swim or dive in order to find treasure.
That is all what I'm saying. I see that you have some information on this beast. So let me ask you - this beast is wounded, how do you expect her/him to react ???
Do you have any ideo - will it most likely attack anyone who enters lake - or will it try to hide ??"

And with that question Mur remembered his firs encounter with beast.
We lost chance to strike final blow. Now it seams that someone will pay for that., he thought still walking through darkness. His fingers sqeezing sword in his arm.

[Ashari]

"I just don't know how it will react." Ja`Kama said soberly as he moved through the cave, giving it some thought. He knew more than he was letting on, but Mur couldn't really tell.

"The best I can figure, is like any wounded animal, it's gone off to lick it's wounds. You know? Hiding and what not. I don't think it will attack, but I just needed to warn you that it is a possibility. We just need to make sure the thing doesn't feel cornered, that's when any animal is the most dangerous."

Ja`Kama lifted his hand and rubbed his head, thinking. He really wanted this treasure, honestly, he was willing to put anyone's lives on the line if it meant riches, that sort of attitude had been what had lost his parties in the past. Though he wasn't proud of the deaths of men who had worked for him, he thought they were quite aware of the position they were putting themselves in.

The treasure hunter continued walking, keeping pace behind the adhiel, and within a short amount of time they had reached the wide entrance to the cave. "Alright, here we are." Eridh said. "Ready to go in?" He looked at Armond, then Mur and finally Ja`Kama waiting for the go-ahead.

"Yes. Let's go and scout around atleast. Be wary of blood, it will lead us toward the creature." Their leader said and then walked behind the elf and the other human once again.

Eridh was silent for a time before he announced: "Oh! Oh.. wow. That's a good bit of blood. It looks like a trail, and I can see the footprints from the beast as well, and the tail swish. It looks as if it headed right for the water."

[Mur'Ath]

Mur was trying to see all possible outcomes, but he couldn't waste time. Though they were not in immediate danger, nobody knew what might happen next. And he was especially worried about cave dwellers. What they are going to do if they show up and attack his party.
'There is no point in bashing my head over that. I'll deal with one problem at time.' he thought and at same time turned attention toward young elf and rest of his group.

" O.K. people let's move on, and see where this trail ends. There is no much we can do if monster is back into water. But let us inspect this track, and lake bank before we start retrieving treasure. And be aware we don't want to be surprised by anything. Or anyone." He finished for himself. And instinctually turned to look over his shoulder, despite the fact that he couldn't see anything in darkness behind him.

[Ashari]

It was true, Mur could see nothing behind him in the shadows of the cave, which in some cases might've been better, for it assured him that he didn't need to be afraid of anything, and yet it also allowed for his imagination to take over, and for his eyes to play tricks on him. As he stared into the blackness that seemed to never end, he could've sworn to have seen something, a flash, but then it was gone.

"You OK, Mur?" Ja`Kama asked as Armond and Eridh began to walk forward with their small lantern light, searching out the tracks of the feet of the great beast, as well as the long tail marks left as it swished from left to right. "C'mon, let's not let them get too far ahead."

Ja`Kama was actually thankful that Mur Al Din was taking over the actual leadership of the party, because it left him able to contemplate the treasure as they followed the tracks to the waters edge where they disappeared into the black pit full of liquid. "Ominous." Armond said as he looked at the water. "Looks more like tar... so dark."

"That's just because it is so dark in here." Eridh replied, and tried to move the lantern so that it cut through the water, but it didn't really do much for any of those present. "Seems the tracks end at the water, and I don't see the animal anywhere." The adhiel continued. "It must be hiding somewhere after getting hurt, this is our best chance, don't you think?" He said to Mur.

[Mur'Ath]

"Yes, my friend I agree with you. As soon as we react, we have bigger chance never again to see that beast. It probably licking wounds, so we have to work fast. Let us have best swimmer tied on one end of rope, I'll tie other end around my waist, on signal of trouble we'll start pulling rope.", Mur said in somewhat low voice to his friends. Then he paused for moment, looking back over his shoulder again.
Being not able to penetrate thick darkness he turned back toward his friends:
" I want us also protected from any surprises, and I mean any. So will set lite between us and enter in cave, far enough from us - so we are in shade. If anyone or anything want see that lite, it should not be able to see us.
Also it would help if we set that to look like camp - so that stranger might think that we are at sleep - we can use our sleeping bags for that.

So, my friends what are you thinking. Who will dive, and who will stand guard so we are not surprised??"
He looked at his friends ready to put his plan into the action.

[Ashari]

Armond reluctantly stepped forward to be tied onto the end of a rope. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of being tethered, especially if that was his only line of defense against the many toothed beast. Smiling as best he could he looked pale. What have I gotten myself into? What am I doing? How badly do I want this treasure? He decided he wanted it enough to put his life on the line the same way his now dead compatriots had.

A rope was pulled out of one of the accumulated packs, and Armond busily affixed himself to the hemp tether. He handed the rest of the coil over to Mur to do the same. "Alright. So you say it's in the water?"

Ja`Kama nodded. "Sure is." He replied. "In a box. I believe it's made of wood, so it should be easy to distinguish from the rock that surrounds it. Try to pull up the entire box. Don't open it under the water."

Armond nodded. "Ok." He replied quietly. The human had alread dropped some of his clothes on the ground, leaving him in only his breeches. "Here goes nothing." Slowly he walked to the water's edge while Eridh and Ja`Kama set up their lantern elsewhere to draw attention there. When they returned Armond was up to his hips in the dark water. "It's so cold!" He replied, his teeth were chattering.

Eridh and Ja`Kama stood a bit away from where the other two were at the water, so that they could watch everything, and make sure that no one tried to sneak up on them. Finally up to his shoulders in the water, Armond took a deep breath and dipped beneath the surface. He popped up a flicker later and took in a breath. "Oh, wow, there is a drop off right here. Hold on. If I tug twice start pulling me back!"

And then he dove again, leaving Mur with the rope to hold on to and try to judge whether it was being pulled on. There was no tug, and in another burn Armond came to the surface. "I found it. I'm going to tie the rope to it, then you can pull it out, it's too heavy for me to move. Ok?" He was about twenty feet out into the dark water, but Mur could see the barest indication that he was bobbing on the surface.

[Mur'Ath]

"I found it. I'm going to tie the rope to it, then you can pull it out, it's too heavy for me to move. Ok?"

That is great my friend, just work fast and come out as soon as possible." half giant told Armond, trying not to be to loud.

For some reason Mur had bad feeling, everything went perfect so far, and that was the thing he was concerned about. He heard many stories when he was chield, some of them had big treasure in it. And always, there was death in them too.

"Is everything O.K. over there?" he asked Ja'Kama and Eridh, glancing over his shoulder at their direction, his hands holding rope, and his sword planted in ground next to him.

[Ashari]

"Yeah -- Everything is fine." Ja`Kama volleyed back to Mur as the adhiel and human looked out through the cave watching for movement from the strange cave people that lived here.

Armond, on the other hand, was busy diving deep into the fridgid waters. His teeth chattered when he had been above the surface, but now his chest tightened with the cold pressure on his lungs. He wanted nothing more than to just take in a deep deadly breath of the freezing liquid, but he didn't. Instead he tied the rope around the chest that he had found beneath the surface.

Mur felt a few sharp tugs on the rope, the human was signaling that Mur could begin pulling on the rope and start hauling the thing toward the shore of the dark subterranean lake. Kicking feverishly with his hands moving in rhythm, Armond finally broke the surface of the water and took in a huge breath. "Ok." He reiterated, and then started swimming toward the edge of the water.

The thing that Armond had tied the rope onto was indeed heavy, and it would barely move as the half-giant tried to pull it. It wasn't stuck, since it did have some give, but it was not going to be easy to pull the thing from the water.

[Mur'Ath]

Half-giant was trying to use more of his legs while he was pulling the rope. He knew this will be hard work and he's going to need every last piece of his strenght.
He turned toward Ja'Kama and spoke to man: " My friend if you can, please give me a hand we'll finish this much sooner, and Adhiel will be enough to keep sentry. Anyhow he is only one who can see anything in this darn darkness, and Armond can help him and rest at same time."

Mur was breading heavy from load that he was pulling. His tie muscles as well as his back and arms muscles were tight and hard as rock. But he was determent to see this treasure, and his stubbornness gave him enough strenght to continue with his work.

[Ashari]

Ja`Kama nodded and moved over at once, quickly grabbing hold of the rope, standing infront of Mur, since the half-giant had tethered himself and was providing his weight as an anchor against the weight. "Ready?" He paused. "Pull -- Pull -- Pull." He kept it up until they got a rhythm going.

Eridh stood still, watching the darkness, and sighed feeling quite useless, though he knew what he was doing was quite important, because it wouldn't do to be ambushed right before they got the treasure. However, being young, and being full of spirit, it didn't make him feel any better as it seemed everyone else was doing something important for the entire opperation. As he stood, he reflected on the loss of his cousins. The adhiel were a people meant to live for yahren upon yahren longer than the young archers had.

Armond, on the other hand, in the cold water, was wishing that all he had to do was to stand guard or pull a rope. His chest was tightening with the exersion as well as with the oppresive chilled water. As he continued to paddle onward he could've sworn he heard something behind him, so he paused for a flicker, the echoed noise of Ja`Kama's instructions was all he could hear, however. Deciding it was nothing, he started swimming again.

On the shore, Mur could see that the human had stopped, but then he was going again. Beyond Armond, or rather, behind him, was something that Mur could see, and Ja`Kama would have if he had been looking, but he was far too concentrated on getting the treasure. Ominously, about 20 feet behind, and closing the gap quickly, was a long snout, and big round eyes poking up above the surface. They caught what little light there was as the beast swam toward Armond, it's tail swishing over the surface of the water.