Ryvauld game (Saphire)

[Fallout_Monkey]

Saphire sits down next to Blottur and takes out her waterskin. After having a sip she touches it to the back of his hand.

"Thirsty?" She asks. "I understand if this is where you need to leave me. I don't have any..." She trials of for a moment. "Hold on, I have an idea." She calls out to their guide. "Hey Hortar? My friend's eye can't adjust to brightness. I assume you have craftsmen that need to protect their eyes from blinding light as well. Do you know where I can get some googles for him?"

[Arbuthnott]

Taking your waterskin with shaking hands, Blottur takes a large gulp, and then another before handing it back. “I’s not leaving you, miss. I’s just… it hurts.” He whimpers.

Hortar trudges back down the stairs at your call, a grim look on his face. “Should’a seen this coming. Aye, we keep a stash of work clothes above the chamber; reckon we should have some goggles there for your friend. I have to warn you though, you’ll have to trade for ‘em.”

“Look, he’s your friend and he’s in pain, I get that, and I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but Vergadain’s priests are clear as crystal. You get the goggles if I get something of value, anything, or else I’m forfeit.”

[Fallout_Monkey]

"Would 4 gold pieces suffice?" She asks. "I know it's not much but it's all the gold I have. I also have a small steel mirror that's worth a little bit."

[Arbuthnott]

With a sneaking look around, Hortar leans in close. "Honestly, one gold piece or the mirror will suffice, as long as something is exchanged. I'd just give 'em to you for nothing, you see, but them damn clerics always know."

Stepping back, he awkwardly pats Blottur on the head like he might a xotzcoyotl before leading the way back down the comfortingly familiar stone passages, taking the time to twist a golden capstone set into the wall to seal the tunnel entrance once more.

As you follow Hortar down the perfectly straight corridor, you come to a side tunnel not 30 ft. from the lift platform you arrived here on. The side passage slopes up at a somewhat steep gradient, curving to the left as it leads you to a second vast chamber. While this room is barely 10 ft. high, it must stretch the entire length of the cavern below; you struggle to see straight across the chamber, however, as it is littered with strange circular contraptions spanning floor to ceiling, gently feeding or retracting the massive chains you observed earlier. There is a hush to this chamber that the previous one lacked, despite the chains that ought to rattle and shake loudly when they move. Despite being lit in a similar manner, the lighting feels subdued somehow. Your boot crunches on a bit of loose gristle, and the resulting crunch echoes through the chamber unnaturally.

Hortar leads you to a stone chest set into the wall itself; you notice that it is full to the brim, and he spends a good few minutes shoulder-deep in the chests contents before he pulls out a pair of goggles; distinctly dwarven, they are of beautiful craftmanship, although it seems heavier than any you might have seen from your hometown.

Before offering them to you, Hortar looks around again and spots another dwarf, perhaps 400 ft. away inspecting something. With a cough, Hortar stands straight and offers you his empty hand. "I do offer you these goggle as an act of trade, for the betterment of both, so mote it be." He gives you an expectant look.

[Fallout_Monkey]

"And here is the gold we agreed upon" Saphire dropping two gold coins into his palm.

[Arbuthnott]

The moment the gold pieces touch his palm, a light tinkling sound fills the air, and the first coin phases through his hand and disappears. With a sigh, he hands you the goggles, slipping the second coin back as he does so with a wink.

“Bloody priests, eh? Right, let’s get you up and out, shall we? Them’ll do your friend just fine so long as he wears them. An’ remember, you’re always welcome back should the surface be… not what you’re hoping.”

Leading you back to the topdoor, you find Blottur sat where you left him, looking curiously at the walls with red-rimmed eyes. He perks up as you approach, offering a little wave and a small smile.

[Fallout_Monkey]

"Here,my friend" Saphire says offering Blottur the googles "try these on and see if it helps with the brightness"

[Arbuthnott]

Blottur carefully accepts the proffered goggles, securing them around his head tightly. He looks around the tunnel vaguely, hiccups, and says “I can’t see nothing, Miss.”

With a gruff chuckle, Hortar twists the gold capstone, lighting up the tunnel once more. Expecting it this time, you shield your face to avoid being dazzled by the radiance. Curiously, the light has a pink tinge to it, a detail you’re sure was absent the last time.

Blottur slowly stands from his crouch and looks up into the light with a face of wonder, before quickly spinning and catching you in a hug, a large grin on his oversized face. “I’ works, miss Saphire, miss. I’ doesn’t hurt!” With a giddy chuckle, he lets go and runs up the stairs, into the wide world beyond.

Shielding your eyes slightly, you calmly ascend the steps after your excited companion. The light isn’t too bad if you squint, only slightly worse than the hottest of kiln fires, and you’re sure you’ll acclimate to it eventually. More unsettling than the light is the feeling of openness. The gigantic chamber below felt open, but you knew there was a ceiling above your head and the air felt comfortably contained, a familiar pressure rooting you to the ground. Here, though, you are uncomfortably aware that there is nothing above you; no familiar pressure, no protection from an anti-gravity mist, nowhere to climb. You feel exposed in a way you had never dreamed of before.

Looking around, you find yourself in the biggest space you have ever seen. The floor, despite the odd boulder or hillock, is flat as far as the eye can see in every direction. The sky is a deep purple, lit with countless glittering gems. The source of the pink light comes from a patch of sky near the ground in one direction, directly ahead as you take your first steps upon the spongy ground. Although you can feel reassuring rock beneath the unfamiliar moss-like growth, the green floor is utterly alien to you. That unfamiliar cold sensation on your face is stronger here, raising bumps along your arms.

Blottur is dancing to himself off to one side, laughing up at the sky like an excitable child. You feel Hortar walk up beside you, but he seems content to wait in silence, giving you time to adjust to the dramatic change in conditions.

[Arbuthnott]

With a gruff cough, Hortar points somewhere to your right towards a large construction in the distance. It is too far away to make out what it is, but it must be truly enormous to see it from so far away. “That there is Seraphim Bridge; that’ll take you deeper into Ryvauld towards the human folk. Apparently there’s something weird about the bridge itself, but humans are weird people, so it’s probably nothing. And that way,” he points behind you into the flat savannah, “is Oaken Mawr. That’ll be the closest place, and it’s where we usually have dealings with.”

He vaguely gestures from Oaken Mawr clockwise for a half turn. “Don’t bother going any of those ways, that’s the north cliff, no easy way down. If you ever want to come back, just head to Oaken Mawr and walk directly east; we’ve put down pumice deposits for half a mile radius, so you’ll feel when you’re nearby. Otherinwise, keep an ear out for Gorag-Bol. The human’s call it Podgewall Basin, I think. That’ll be your other way down if you need an out.”

[For reaching Ryvauld and getting Blottur some goggles, have yourself 50 xp]

[Fallout_Monkey]

"Thank you" Saphire says to Hortar "Seraphim bridge sounds interesting but how far away form here is it? and also Oaken Mawr for that matter? That'll help me decide which way to go. Oh and I've heard the sun rises and sets which is it doing right now?"