Ryvauld game (Saphire)

[Arbuthnott]

“Course I can, lass. Well, your fastest route is out there.” He points to the hole opposite you. From here you can make out a deep green colour, but the bright light makes it difficult to see what it is you’re looking at.

“Otherin’wise, I could show you to the top? There’s a nearby human town that we often have dealings with; could point you in the right direction?”

[Fallout_Monkey]

"Ah well, the human town sounds interesting. I've never met one before. That should be fun. If you're not too busy I'd gladly accept your help finding my way there."

[Arbuthnott]

With an unconvinced look, Hortar nods his head. “Alright, lass, but know you can always come back if you decide to. There’s plenty to take up top, but they’re a right strange bunch if you ask me.”

Continuing past the chamber and through the door, you find yourself in a wide circular room; at a glance, it must be at least a mile wide, definitely one of the biggest caverns you’ve seen. Loud industrial sounds draw your attention upwards, the billowing of furnaces and the rattling of chains echoing down from a ceiling too high to see. Various bridges and platforms occupy the wide space, lit by familiar kiln-light.

Movement catches your eye, not from the many thousand tiny figures adorning the walkways like ants, but instead from the gigantic stone statues of dwarves moving vertically through the air, dangling from chains easily as wide as you. As you watch, a statue depicting a bearded dwarf with one arm and an eyepatch smoothly lowers into a hole in the ground, allowing a lone dwarven passenger to step from a platform atop the statue’s head.

With a cheerful wink, Hortar gestures you towards the now vacant platform.

[Arbuthnott]

You feel a soft tug on your cloak as Hortar precedes you towards the platform. Looking over, you see Blottur shyly trying to get your attention. Biting his lip, he whispers “I’s all magic, miss, all of it. More’n I ever seen.”

[Fallout_Monkey]

Saphire's eyes widen with surprise at Blottur's word, then she gives him an acknowledging nod and mouths the word thanks before joining Hortar on the platform.

"The craftsmanship on those... statues? Is that the right word for them?. Anyways phenomenal craftsmanship. Seems like they should be too heavy for those chains to move them quickly. Is it some form of runes that make their movement so easy?"

[Arbuthnott]

“Aye, the priests near’n stir up a frenzy trying to prepare them each inauguration. This one here is Hrondr, from a few generations back. We’ll have to make a couple of changes on the way up. So far, only Dramvor reaches up to the high door; it was his idea to knock it through at all, see?”

“I’ll be honest with ye, I’m not too sure about the ins an’ outs myself. I did my bit carving King Dramvor’s likeness, but that magical tripe is best left to those blessed with it, eh? Don’t be scared, though. These chains’ll hold even without the runes; probably.” And with that, he gives a second wink a gives one of the chains a rough tug, prompting your ascent through the complex.

Unless you wish to stop at any point, Hortar guides you along an interweaving route, stopping at various platforms and guiding you to different statues as you creep ever higher. Blottur sticks close to your side, refusing to open his eyes while on the lift, and staying far from the exposed edges of the walkways whenever possible. Soon, you lose sight of the cavern floor, the dark rock blurring until it resembles a dark void, lit occasionally by sputs of flame from torch or kiln.

Although there seems to be heavy industry upon the walkways themselves, you spot a large number of doors and caves leading off from the main cavern, with steady streams of dwarves bustling about. Merchants selling their wares are dotted sporadically around the chamber, with no obvious planning or city district. No doubt there is structure amidst the chaos, but the vertical nature of your journey makes it near impossible to discern such.

Should you continue, you eventually reach a large statue of a relatively young-looking dwarf, wild beard sticking out in all directions and a distinctive braid trailing down his back. Hortar pauses before stepping atop the statue’s platform. “You sure you want to go up? We go sometimes, so I can give you directions, but we don’t make the journey often.”

[Fallout_Monkey]

Of Course Saphire's thinks. The clergy hold all the magical secrets here. Just like at home. I must continue on. God bothering feels like cheating. I want to learn to do magic with my own power. Though maybe I will come back one day and see what I can learn.

She rides for the most part quietly with Hortar. She listens to him talk with pride about his home and people asking questions to keep him talking and following him whenever they change lifts.

"Yes I do." She says in response to his question about heading to the surface. "Directions would be wonderful."

[Arbuthnott]

“Suit yerself.” And so saying, he steps onto the final platform, and after a rough tug of the chain you find yourself moving upwards towards the vast ceiling. Vast stone beams are set at regular intervals from the perimeter of the circular chamber into its centre, from which dangles a mighty crystal chandelier, set aflame by a small trickle of liquid being fed to it from the ceiling above. The giant chains all feed through holes between the beams, suggesting the presence of a chamber above.

Your platform doesn’t slow as you come closer and closer to the ceiling, and you hear a frightened squeak from Blottur before coming to a stop barely 4 ft. from the chiselled stone. Right in front of you, cut so smoothly into the wall that you struggled to make it out until you were right beside it, is a smooth passageway, so cramped that you can feel your hood scraping against the top as Hortar leads you deeper. The tunnel has a slight upward gradient, and is wide enough for the three of you to walk side by side should you wish. The occasional sconce keeps the tunnel well lit, and for the first time since your travels in the underdark you begin to feel crunching dirt underfoot.

Barely a few minutes later, you come to a set of stone steps leading up into solid rock. Pictographs depicting heroic deeds of ancient dwarves, religious iconography and a recount of the initial excursion into the land above line the floor and walls in an impressive display of artistry.

From behind you hear a click, but before you turn to look at Hortar you are dazzled by a bright light as a crack in the ceiling begins to expand with the grating racket of stone scraping against stone. You are hit once again with that strange feeling of cold air on your face, accompanied by an unfamiliar fresh scent. As the door opens wider, you feel Blottur leave your side with a hiss, scampering back into the more familiar subterrain.

[Fallout_Monkey]

"I'll just be a moment." Saphire says to Hortar. She suspected something like this might happen. She walks to where Blottur is hiding from the light.

"I wasn't expecting that either." She says. "How are your eyes? They adjust yet? I heard tales of how bright up top is but didn't really get it until now."

[Arbuthnott]

You come upon Blottur sat against the hard wall, rubbing at streaming eyes the size of his fists. “I’ hurts, miss. I’s like fire, only… bigger. Faster. So much magic, too much…”

You notice Hortar avert his eyes before walking up the stairs into the beyond, leaving you both alone in the unfamiliar tunnel.