Ryvauld game (Saphire)

[Arbuthnott]

Roughly 3 weeks since leaving Gralag-Shtuh, 1496 AF.

This tunnel is particularly bleak.

In the utter darkness that is the underdark, the colourless monotony of your current locale soon blends into obscurity. The soft, steady sound of dripping water has been your constant companion for the last few hours, a monotonous drip, drip, drip echoing down through the ceiling above you.

drip

The roughly hewn walls were initially of interest to you, splaying interesting patterns across your vision. Any enjoyment swiftly faded, however, as the minutes became first an hour, then two, and then more; one single tunnel without so much as a side passage, continuing endlessly with no end in sight and filled with the stench of bug.

drip

The claw scratches were carved by a grubber, the large caterpillar-like beast whose trail you follow. Apparently, they grow extremely large, feed almost exclusively on fungi, and wreak havoc on friendly stone formations; your travelling companion, Blottur, started talking several hours into the tunnel, seemingly out of boredom, and has only recently relapsed into silence. It was he, being a Pech, who spotted the magical radiation coruscating down this passage from whatever destination lies at its far side.

drip

Gradually you notice the gentle incline that your tunnel has taken. A soft light begins to irritate your eyes, not light enough to see normally, but just enough to blur the darkvision that you regularly employ. The welcome smell of… you’re not really sure, but it isn’t bug, and that’s welcome enough at this point. You intuitively sense that the tunnel opens up into a large space, wide enough to provide ventilation. You’re close.

drip

[Fallout_Monkey]

Excitement wells up in Saphire. She's almost to her destination.

"Look Blottur" She says pointing up ahead. "Is that sunlight?" She lights her lantern to brighten things up a bit.

[Arbuthnott]

Squinting, Blottur’s eyes lose the distinctive blur you’ve become familiar with. “I not sure, Miss Saphire. I’s not seen sunlight before; it feels like we still got plenty pressure above, though. It’s not magical light, that’s the truth.”

Your lantern is bright, causing the rough edges of the tunnel to cast deep shadows. A soft hissing sound startles you, but as you whip around all you see is the tip of a tail fleeing through a crack in the wall.

Barely a minute after you continue your journey, the light up ahead is obscured by a short, stout silhouette, the unmistakable outline of a maul held out as though to block passage. The figure must be standing at the end of your tunnel, perhaps 300 or so feet away. It calls out something to you, but you struggle to make out the words from this distance.

[Fallout_Monkey]

Given the shape of the silhouette, Saphire surmises that a dwarf is blocking the path.

"Hello friend," She calls out in dwarven.

[Arbuthnott]

Striding towards you, the dwarf lowers his weapon slightly. “Hello yourself, friend. Who are you… and what in Vergadain’s name is that?” he nods towards Blottur, who shies back at being addressed.

In your lantern light, you can easily make out the signs of a recent battle; the dwarf has obviously been wounded, and his maul has yet to dry. The odd shadow moves past the end of the tunnel, as though there are others moving about in the cavern beyond.

[Fallout_Monkey]

"I'm Saphire of the Citrine Carvers clan. This is Blottur my companion and friend. He's a bit shy like most Pechs. What happened here? Looks like you fought a battle."

[Arbuthnott]

His suspicious expression melts as you introduce yourself, and he grunts at the mention of the Pech. Bashing a fist to his chest plate in salute, he barks out “M’name’s Hortar, of the Gemlight clan.” He squints at you before adding, “You’re a long way from home, Deep One.”

“Ack, it’s nothing. Some big bug punched through the lower tunnels, made a right mess.” He gestures for you to walk with him as he turns back towards the cavern ahead. “So, what brings ye to Buruk-Dur?”

[Fallout_Monkey]

Saphire walks beside the dwarf to continue the conversation easier.

"I'm sort of a personal quest of self discovery. I'm heading to the surface. I've heard tales of the world above and I think there is knowledge and other things I might be able to bring home to my clan."

Stepping around a large bit of crushed chitin. See briefly looks at it to see if she can identify what kind of bug it was.

"Is this an isolated incident or is this happening often?"

[Arbuthnott]

“To the surface, eh? Aye, you’ll find plenty of weird stuff up there. Probably the best idea we ever had was to knock a hole in the top.”

Stepping around a chitinous leg the size of Blottur, you marvel at its bright colouration; it’s difficult to say if you’ve ever seen its like before, but you’ve certainly never seen it in the colour spectrum. A concentrated smell of bug fills your nose as you pass, but then the most curious thing happens: cold air washes over you, blowing the smell away and replacing it with something… fresh?

Looking away from the leg, you take in the wide room before you. Bisected widthways by an imposing set of steps spanning wall to wall, the chamber consists of two levels; your tunnel has opened out part way up on the right side of the steps, and judging by the rubble strewn everywhere this was not by dwarven design. In fact, there really is rubble strewn everywhere; several pillars have been smashed, some of the steps have been gouged, and there is a huge hole on the far side of the chamber, the source of the breeze and much of the light.

Intricate carvings splay across chiselled stone, the walls telling stories you’d need to properly investigate to understand. There are many tunnels leading off from this room on both levels. From where you stand, you can see that only one, on the top level, has a door with two large stone statues to either side.

There are dwarves everywhere, shifting rubble, barking orders, retrieving clumps of bug and throwing them clumsily out of the hole on the far side of the chamber. Although many of them seem wounded, there don’t appear to be any casualties.

"We get things coming up on us from time to time, aye. Never seen anything quite like this, but it's not so different."

[Fallout_Monkey]

"Well it looks like you all handled yourself well. Doesn't appear to be any casualties. If it's not too much trouble would you mind pointing me in the direction I need to go to continue to the surface?"