Raban withdraws his hand from the pile as the roaches emerge and looks over at Khry.
He is significantly less familiar with vermin than Khry, but feels confident that he knows something.
"Khry'barakt!" he cries. "Would you like to to commune with these roaches, or shall I smash them?"
Raban takes a few steps back to give Khry some room, moving cautiously to hopefully avoid the further wrath of the cockroaches.
Khry, seeing the roaches acting somewhat hostile, decides she'll save the talking for another time.
"These are rather hostile, let's just kill them and move on. I'm sure there will be some more accepting vermin later if need be."
She picks up a piece of the wood laying neearby and launches it at the closest roach.
Gadlan grunted in agreement with Khry and rushed forward to slash the second vermin with the axe head of his weapon.
Khry and Gadlan make short work of the cockroaches and silence falls in the cave once more. "I was about warn you to watch for things like that," Horgus explains as he draws near with the wounded duo.
Raban frowns, feeling as though he had misunderstood Khry's intentions. It didn't bother him too much, but his jovialness is momentarily suspended. As Horgus speaks him, he turns and nods.
"My mistake. I thought to look for supplies."
He shrugs, and searches for the supplies he was trying to find.
Raban's search turns up a torn bedroll, three candle stubs , a bent fishhook, 10 feet of badly frayed hemp rope, and a copper brooch depicting a bat perched on a mushroom— both of the bat’s eyes are tiny amethysts.
Raban looks with a bit of disappointment at the (mostly) refuse that he finds. Unlike the reputation of some members of his race, he was not accustomed to appraising precious gems and metals.
He gives it his best look over, but other than recognizing the stones as amethysts can't say much of anything else about the brooch.
"With enough ingenuity, this trash could become useful." Raban stuffs the items into his backpack, reorganizing the items so that the refuse is mostly on the bottom.
”Not all of us can see in the dark, if nothing else, the candles can provide a bit of relief. The brooch might be worth something, maybe? But, the rest? Seems like the roaches did too much damage.”
Gadlan shrugged as Raban pocketed the objects.
Once the supplies are gathered , Raban urges the group forward through the tunnel at the far end of the cave. He hums a bit: a light, low-pitched song not quite in tune with itself.
Raban moves to the mouth of the next tunnel and, with his keen darkvision, sees right away that this passageway only extends about fifteen feet before it ends at a T-intersection. Based on the angle of the other tunnel, it seems like there's a good chance that if they followed it to their right it might connect back to the other passageway they didn't check in the chamber where they woke up (though its anyone's guess what chambers or other passageways might lie in between). Following the passageway left instead looks like it would lead them directly away from the first chamber.
Khry will take a jab at appraising it, but she isn't well trained in the value of material items.
The tunnel looks warm and inviting to Khry, and she'll move quickly with the group to get away from the rubble piles and dead bodies of the maggots.
"Yes, lets go. Quickly now." she says. pushing the group forward alongside Raban.
Raban stands in the middle of the T, looking left and right, before realizing the likely geography of the tunnels' connections. Getting fully out seems like the most prudent plan at the moment, instead of doubling back. The dwarf points left.
"This should lead us further. We could clear every possible passage, but I would like to breathe fresh air sooner and not spend our time spelunking while Kenabres crumbles above. Any objections?"
"No objections here, friend. I trust your judgement underground more than my own." Khry will confirm, moving behind Raban and preparing to move along down the chosen path.
Turning left, the survivors continue forward. This tunnel is longer than the previous ones and it's several minutes before they emerge into another chamber roughly the same size as the last one. Several mounds of rock lie in heaps in this cavern, recently fallen from the walls and ceiling. Now and then, bits of dust settle from cracks in the stone above. On the far side of the cave, the passage continues onward.
In one of the piles of rocks a coiled snake sits with its tail twitching back and forth.
Raban holds a hand out to pause the group when he sees the snake.
"Oh ho, what do we have here?" he says, studying the creature.
"A cave viper," he says after a moment. "Not particularly dangerous, but they are venomous. We could leave it be, unless we wish to leave no stone unturned." Raban chuckles lightly at his 'pun' and regards the small creature.
Raban casts a bit of guidance on himself and crouches down a safe distance away from the snake, trying to indicate to it that they mean no harm. The Magaambya had not particularly focused on teaching him--or if they had, the lessons hadn't taken--how to truly empathize with wild animals. That was not what Old Mage Jatembe had been known for. But perhaps with some help from his allies, they could convince this poor creature that they meant it no harm. He didn't want a repeat of the last room.
While they try to reason with the snake, which Raban estimates will take a moment, he leans back to Horgus. "Do you want to take a peek down the other passage? There could be something useful there."
"I...don't handle snakes." Khry says, looking a bit nervous at her lack of knowledge on anything that isn't a vermin.
"I also don't think there's any particular reason to mess with it, as it's not threatening to us, as long as we don't enter its house. Right, Raban?"
She says, looking over to the dwarf.
"I don't particularly think we should spend any more time down here than neccessary. No need to put ourselves into extra danger from any more collapses. But that's just me."
When he arrives, he kicks aside the rocks covering the snake and raises his sword to cut it down. Unfortunately, the snake is ready and in the brief moment it takes to bring his sword down it hurls itself forward and buries its fangs in his leg. His slash still cuts it in two but its immediately apparent that the bite is effecting him more than he expected. In seconds his whole thigh is swollen up in some kind of allergic reaction, and he's gasping to try to catch his breath. He falls backwards and before either druid can reach him begins convulsing violently. A moment later, he goes limp, all signs of life gone from his body.
You awoke an unknown amount of time later and pulled yourself from a pile of rubble in the opening between a tunnel and a large cave. Across the cave you could just make out what looked like a giant spider and, as there was no money to be made in fighting it, you headed into the tunnel. It meandered back and forth as it moved away from the cave and passed through one smaller cave before, and a tunnel branching off to the left, before hitting a "T" where a dull green light could be seen to the left.
You move left to investigate the strange light and find that the tunnel there quickly opens into another large cavern. In the center of this one stands a stone building shaped like a twenty foot cube with a ten foot cube attached to the front of it (centered from left to right, but also resting on the cave floor). The front of the smaller section bears a massive engraving of a warhammer, and there are no doors visible from the cave mouth.
Raban blinks as Gadlan strides forward, though most of the motion is hidden behind his mask. "Wait, no, there's no need for--"
The sudden flash of mutual violence is a shock, and Raban rushes forward as fast as his dwarven legs can carry him.
As Gadlan's body falls still and silent, the usual cheer in Raban's voice goes completely still. Had the snake been a demonic avatar, transmitting some abyssal plague? To think, they had survived the initial attack by the horde above, saved by the great dragon of the city, only to die in the undercity?
Raban sighs and reaches up to close Gadlan's eyes.
"This is senseless," he says, nodding sagely. "I don't even know that I know which god he followed, to provide an appropriate eulogy. Iomedae is as good a guess as any, I suppose."
Raban moves the originally-offending pile of rocks, putting them over Gadlan's body. He sticks the halberd in as a makeshift gravemarker, and provides a brief, generally Iomedae-themed eulogy, requesting that the Inheritor intercede with whomever Gadlan's god was, to see that he received his just reward in Heaven.
He then closes by making a bow to the Mother Moon, Father Sky, Shimye-Magalla, for courage in the journey forward.
"I did not know Gadlan O'Laughlin long or well, but he seemed like a good man. May he find his rest, and may we survive to tell his story." He looks at the surviving members of the ragtag underground bunch, variously injured, and takes the lead moving forward.
After scanning the cavern for threats, Durok approaches the structure, circling around it from a few feet away, looking for anything that might identify its origin or purpose.
Khry takes the death of her short-time companion significantly different from Raban. She seems unbothered, but does speak.
”And death claims one more on this dark day. Whichever god he followed, obviously they were not looking.”
And then, under her breath in Gnomish after Raban does his neat little speech, she says a brief prayer.
”Let’s get a move on, we don’t know how much time we have here, as you can see.”
Raban nods and makes sure that Olapa is still leading the blind elf forward. "Right. To the surface, then. Or at least closer towards it."
When the group stops moving to consider their options, Aravashnial cranes his neck and then whispers, "I think I heard something to the left..."
Not at all confident in his ability to bash the door down, and still a little rattled from the fall, Durok advances to the door and knocks loudly.
If that produces no satisfaction, he sets his shoulder into it for a modest shove.
"Well that doesn't look too normal, at least I don't think it is..."
Khry moves towards the left as well, carefully.
As Raban and Khry head toward the unusual light, they hear the noise of some kind of limb pounding on a stone. The short tunnel quickly opens into another cavern where they find a stone building shaped like a twenty foot cube with a ten foot cube attached to the front of it (centered from left to right, but also resting on the cave floor). The front of the smaller section bears a massive engraving of a warhammer. There are no doors visible on the structure from the cave mouth, but just as they enter they see a dusky-skinned human to the left of the smaller cube put his shoulder into what must have been a door (or very flimsy wall).
Durok calls out as soon as he spots the unlikely duo, shifting to the side a bit, in case someone or something comes out the now-open door.
"Hullo gents! I don't suppose you could point me to the way back up to the city? I seem to have acquired a knock to the head, and lost my bearings a bit."
Durok sees a dark-skinned, mask-wearing dwarf. The mask looks vaguely turtle-like, and the dwarf is well-armed (even if he has passed out some of his weapons to others in the ragtag group beyond).
"Aha, hello there!" he calls out, studying the man and trying to figure out whether he was more likely friend or foe. Especially if he might be a demon in disguise.
"We are also seeking the way up along with our traveling companions. My name is Raban Kwazeeli, a druid of the Magaambya. Who are you, lost friend?"
Khry is immediately suspicious of the newcomer, and he can likely tell in the way she doesn't hide her emotions.
"Why are you down here in this cutoff area?" she says, clearly not trusting his first words.
"Durok Greymane, at your service." he responds with a nod.
Turning to the gnome, he sizes her up for a moment before saying,
"At first I thought twas gravity that brought me here, but now I think perhaps fate." with a broader grin, the second nod becomes more of a bow.
"Well met, Durok Greymane," says the druid. He tilts his head uncertainly to the side at the other comment. "Fate? Aha, hmm... well that remains to be seen, I suppose. Do you... remember what was happening above?"
As Raban looks over the building, he notices the prominent holy symbol. "Though perhaps the Forgefather will bless us! I did not know that dwarvenkind had settlements near here!"
"I was enjoying a meal and a drink, contemplating my next course of employment. Upon leaving the establishment, it seems the earth itself swallowed me whole. I awoke down here and began to search for an exit back to the surface." Durok responds, rubbing the bump on his head.
Raban blinks several times, though his mask hides the quizzical look on his face. "Mmm, mhmm, yes. The earth opened up beneath us as well. Do you remember why, or how you survived?"
Durok hears Raban speaking in a language that he almost certainly doesn't recognize, though the voice remains cheerful.
Durok thinks for a moment about the question, trying to determine if the knock to his head rattled his brain.
"How I survived was by being far too sturdy for a mere fall to dispatch me. Why I survived, I imagine that is because none of the lovely afterlifey places religious folk talk about were willing to accept me?" he responds, making no attempt to hide a lack of understanding of the question.
"I..." Raban looks confused even with his mask on, incredulous even. "You don't remember the appearance of the balor Khorramzadeh, the Storm King? The demons that flooded Kenabres' streets? The defeat of the mighty Terendelev? Gods above and below, you must have hit your head very hard."
The dwarf pads cautiously over towards Durok. "Bend down, bend down to my level, tall man." He looks over Durok for any sign of grievous injury. If he sees any, he will try to help patch him up.
"I've no idea what you're on about....." Durok begins, before the mention of demons seems to jog his memory.
"Demons, yes! There was an attack. I fought against them..... but then...." the cloud over his mind seems to return for a moment and the masked dwarf is a little too close for comfort when Durok snaps out of it.
Flinching visibly at the approach, his hand goes to his sword, but when the newcomer offers to look at the gash, concern for himself wins out and he takes a knee.
"No need to wince there, less you're a demon in disguise. You're no demon, right?"
Satisfied looking over Durok, Raban calls out to the rest of the group. "Seems safe enough in here. Come on and join us. We've a new traveling companion, we do! Strength in numbers."
The dwarf looks at the modest temple. "Although Torag is not my patron, I revere the dwarven pantheon nonetheless. I'll stop in here for a brief prayer. If any wish to join me, you're welcome. Pray there are no more snakes waiting to strike us dead in here. Or worse."
Glad to hear that the wound is not serious from someone who can see it, Durok can't help but wonder what else he can't remember.
"Of course I'm no demon! What did you say happened on the surface?"
he asks, trying to piece together the clues.
When the dwarf moves toward the temple, He steps in behind with a warning.
"Say your prayers if you like, but if there's dangers inside, don't count on a God to save you. I've seen firsthand how they treat their own, I can promise they won't step up for one who's not"
Hand on his blade, he follows right behind.
"Interesting..." Khry says. "Seems as if we either have some memory problems...or a liar." her voice seems calm, as if she was contemplating.
"Either way, whatever help you can bring would be appreciated."
As the trio approaches the temple, she speaks again in Druidic.
Raban keeps his voice cheery as he responds to Khry.
Then he responds to Durok. "We're still trying to figure that out. I remember that the wardstone at the Kite was destroyed and Kenabres was attacked by the hordes of the Worldwound. This is the furthest they have expanded in many a year. Kenabres was supposed to be safe. I do not know how the battle fares above, whether the Crusaders have repelled the demons or whether the Abyss has claimed victory. We are trying to reach the surface and join our arms to the campaign. There is no time to train. We must fight to survive."
Pushing inside Torag's Temple, Raban wishes he had the mirth to chuckle. But he had already seen sufficient death already this day, which he had not anticipated on waking this morning. "And I won't ask you to pray to my gods. But I'll kindly ask that you not demean mine. Do you know how to use your blade, Durok Greymane, or is it all for show?"
Raban summons Shimye-Magalla's guidance in preparation for the Temple, just in case he finds something inside.
"I've told a tale or two in my day, but this isn't one of them."
He responds with a raised eyebrow.
Turning to the masked dwarf, he adds,
"As to my skill with a blade, I have scars that prove it hasn't always been enough, but I've learned from each of them. If I've failed, it hasn't been for lack of trying." Durok replies.
Tough sell, this little lass, but the interesting ones a always a little bit dangerous. Have to keep on my toes though, a knife from a pretty face is still a knife.
Through the door that Durok had shouldered open, the survivors see a small antechamber- five feet wide and ten feet deep. A stone bench lines the ten foot long wall to their right. At the far side of the room, a basin of water sits atop a stone pedestal. A stone door engraved with an image of a hammer is set into the wall on their left.
Raban calls on his god and detects magic as he enters the room, focusing first on the basin of water.
Seeing the small size of the room, Durok steps aside to let Khry in behind Raban.
Raban doesn't detect any magical auras in the small room, although there does seem to be something unusual about the water.
"Torag blesses us! This is holy water! If we can store any of it, it may be useful to us as we ascend!"
Raban retrieves his mostly empty waterskin, drinks the rest of its contents, and dips the skin into the basin.
"Come, one of the rest of you should take some as well. I'll push further in."
The dwarf ambles towards the inner door and pushes it open.