Abandoned By Time

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Carmen holds the sending stone close to her chest for a moment, cocking an eyebrow at the entranced Rhys. She briefly considers holding it above his head and making him jump, but she isn't sure if they're good enough friends for that just yet. Besides, she has a professional decorum to maintain.

"Well, go on then, if you're that interested," she laughs, passing him the stone without a fuss. "Just be good with it, okay? Let's not waste good equipment if we can help it." With that done, she glances back at the cave. After a bit she notices Nerirel moving towards it, and nods. "Yeah, I think X'or's had his two minutes," she says after a bit. She calls back over her shoulder as she strides after the wood elf towards the mouth of the mine: "Are we good to go, boss?" It's directed at Loyd.
 
“Thank yooouu” Rhys chimes when Carmen’s hands him the Sending Stone. “<Oh, aren’t you just beautiful?>” The eladrin slips into Sylvan without noticing as gently holds the thing to his eye for examining.

After a moment he becomes aware of his behavior, and he lowers the Sending Stone. Rhys scrapes his throat and smiles. “Sorry, where were we? I got distracted.” He holds the stone out to Carmen again. “I’ll take a better look later when we’ve got ten minutes to spare, if you don’t mind? Just fascinating, this kind of stuff.”
 
"Yeah, yeah." Loyd sighs as he follows the others. "Also id prefer foreman to boss. If you dont mind." Why, why did i have to do this. I couldve just let the prank go. He adjusts his traveling bag on his shoulder.
 
X'or took advantage of the quiet time to scope out the area, treating it to the way that he did back in HelmFirth. When he would have to scope out a job or providing cover for his Uncle. 'Taking the time to know the area, where one could hide, where is the best vantage point?' As he continued to examine the area and equipment that was in place, he wondered what was taking the others so long? He briefly remembered one of the jobs that he did for his Uncle that required as now, some very creative planning to watch the meeting between two different rival organizations that would have had dire consequences for a third. 'Good Times.' Shaking his head and rubbing a thumb against his temple, he thought, 'Focus, X'or. Mind and eyes on the here and now... and don't think about the..... Nope. not going there, Now is definitely not a time for being distracted.'
 
As the party descended into the mine, they passed through tunnels that began wide enough for them to walk side by side with some space between, however, as they continued descending, they get into tighter space and the air becomes mustier. As they travel, slowly the torches on the wall become dimmer and dimmer until they come to a space where they can just fit single file through a tunnel, that ends in a hole in the wall. There are four ropes connected to the stone there and the only other sign of sentient life there is a small, burnt out lantern, left there for an undisclosed amount of time.
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As the party gathers around the tunnel mouth, X’or picks up an empty and burned out lantern. Briefly thinking, or a trick he heard, he bounces a pebble in his hand a minute and cusses. “Um, anyone able to touch the ‘divine’ and cast ‘light’?” He says as the others spread out near the area where the tunnel sharply descends into the unknown. “I heard this trick of using ‘light’, instead of a lantern as you can control how much light is shown, and you don’t use up your oil.”
As Loyd starts to examine the composition of the rocks and checking the security and mounting of the ropes in the wall. “Greatly appreciate that Boss. Not when it’s my and Nerirel’s neck on the line on those ropes first.” Nerirel laughs, “Jokes on you, I can turn into a spider and just go down the wall.”
X’or stops, stunned and looking at the druid. His mind going back to the previous night and the table… “'Spider....is that where.....no.....it couldn't be could it....?'” ‘Yeah right, 6’1 Wood Elf isn’t going to be a tiny little spider…. Grinning…could it….? Naw… can’t be… Okay, FOCUS X’or. You have a job to do.’
 
Loyd looks up from his investigation of the tunnel, snapping his fingers a bright light appears on the pebble X'or is flipping. He looks down again, continuing his assessment.
 
"Boss, you are truly awesome." X'or then spends the next few minutes practicing manipulating the stone both in his hands to control the amount of light is revealed. He then pulls out his water flask and quickly rinses the rock and taking a swig, before popping the pebble into his mouth and doing the same tricks with controlling it with his teeth or tucking it into the space between his teeth and cheek. Determining how much light is revealed, and how much needs to work about controlling it.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. But it works." Looking at Rhys.
 
Rhys holds up his hands defensively. “I wasn’t laughing. I think it’s pretty ingenious.”

He wanders around the area, studying the ropes before following them a little. He kneels by the edge, frowning down at the steep drop. After a few moments he backs away again and starts furiously digging into his pack.

“Where is it? Fuckin’— ah, there.” He gets out a crystal, smooth on one side and rough on the other. Holding it between his fingers, he glances over his shoulder at the rest of the crew. “I’ve got a trick to get most of us down safely. Though I fear somebody might need to find a different way down. I can only perform so many miracles.”
 
Orthion stays silent near the back of the group as they start walking, mulling over assessments of the team in his head and working out potential strengths and weaknesses of people. When they get to the hole with the ropes he peers into the darkness, noticing the steep drop off. Happy that the team seemed to be working on a solution to figure everything out Orthion steps back a bit and doubled checked his bow, quivers and scabbard. It was a reasonable chance that there was something down there which wasn't friendly, like enemies or a guild ambassador. Orthion allows himself a small smile until he looks over and sees the Tiefling pup eating a rock. Pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose he sighs. "Wood elf, whelp, Mr Digger. If you please, attend me for a moment." This was too important a time to waste on trivial things like personal feelings, besides, at least the druid and the foreman were useful. He takes a minute to go into great detail about the best way to be looking for things and how not to be caught off guard, stay calm and train your eyes. Then he nods and steps back again.
 
Nerirel looked over the ropes, then looked at the hole they went into. Having everyone drop into this mysterious hole all at once didn't seem to be the smartest thing, so it looked like some scouting was in order. She glanced back at Orthion as he addressed her, and she turned around to listen to his words. She appreciated the fact that Orthion seemed to hold her in higher regard then others. She didn't want her information and ideas to be thrown out by a guy who didn't want to listen to her, and she was relieved that he was going to take her seriously. After he finished Nerirel turned back to the ropes and began her decent down them along with X'or. After some time climbing down the area opened up into a big cavern that they were in the middle of. This messed with her plans to turn into a spider if the ropes didn't work out, but luckily it looked like the ropes went all the way to the ground. There were also some mushrooms growing on the floor where the ropes dangled, which interested her. She had seen these mushrooms around in her explorations, as they were the food for some of the beasts that lived here. Seeing how plentiful the bigger type mushrooms were around this cavern though was unusual, but at least they were harmless. Once she saw that there wasn't any danger she made her way back up to the group to relay the information. "It opens up to a big cavern, and there are some harmless glowing mushrooms growing on the floor. They provide some light for those of us who cannot see." She glances at the people in the group who do not have darkvision as she says this. "No danger was seen, so it is safe for everyone to come down to the bottom."
 
Rhys watches as Orthion instructs some of the crew, rolling his eyes. Something about this spot makes him uncomfortable— perhaps it was the implication of the lantern. Nonetheless he tries to keep his head up. Maybe they’ll get a lucky break and find the other group. He doubted it though.

The eladrin takes a seat at the ledge, legs dangling into the abyss as he waits for Nerirel and X’oreen to come back. He glances over his shoulder once they do, watching as Nerirel gives her report. He shrugs with one shoulder. “My suggestion to get people down quick and easy still stands,” he offers as he stands up, dusting off his trousers. “I mean, presuming we do go forward instead of making our way back. Seems like a whole lot of effort for nothing.”
 
At Rhys's insistence, Carmen takes the sending stone back with a bemused smile. "Well, you know where to find it." What a strange chap.

From the moment the group steps inside the cave she struggles to contain her giddiness. Every few steps she looks up at the uneven ceiling or turns to watch the light of the entrance fade away. Even when they reach the forbidding shaft that leads down to the deeper layer, she itches to wrap a rope around herself and dive in. Still, she waits and jealously watches Nerirel and X'or descend into the darkness below, and pays good attention to the group chit-chat as she waits for them to return. Aside from a brief period of cooing over Rhys's crystal and wondering if she might be the "whelp" Orthion wants to speak to, she keeps close watch on the shaft entrance until Nerirel comes back to give her verdict. That's all the motivation she needs to grab one of the free ropes and tie the slack end in an intricate but firm knot around her waist. "I'm ready if you guys think we can go. Loyd? Orthion?" she asks, pausing right after swinging her leg into the gap. It clearly takes an effort of will to stop and wait for the group's permission.
 
Orthion walks forwards down the tunnel and stops at the edge by Rhys. He looks down at the impatient Eladrin and has to fight the urge to just kick him off the ledge. Instead he replies in a measured tone. "The scouts said that it was safe to climb with the rope, let's not waste resources on alternates that may be necessary later on. As two of this group that can see in the dark maybe we should lead the way." When Carmen comes and takes one of the ropes relief floods through him, thank every god that he won't be alone with Rhys. "Miss Sangiovanni, please be my guest. After you" He gestures to the drop before turning to Rhys. "Maybe you should accompany her. I will follow shortly behind."
 
"Be careful as you climb down." Loyd comments as she goes, concern in his voice. He starts securing his items onto himself, humming a small tune as he does so. He waits for everyone to get safely down, before he does so as well.
 
After hearing Nerirel give her report to Loyd, X'or pops back down the tunnel and descends into the cave. 'On the plus side, with the larger 'shrooms, it should mean nothing has been around to eat them.' he thinks. As he lowers himself to the ground, he pulls out his bow and strings an arrow to cover the descent of the others. His eyes scan throughout the cave, thankful for the light, but wondering what's hiding in the shadows? As his eyes scan the cavern, the analytical portion of his mind is already trying to catalog and map it.
 
As the company descends into the cave, they see a wide open space before them, both peaceful and menacing at the same time. As the final member of the group reaches the bottom, a sound that X'or either didn't notice or didn't pay attention to can be heard. What seems to be flowing water can be heard about two, maybe three hundred yards away, as if an underground river is echoing through the cave. It is most likely near noon at this point and all in all, good progress has been made. On the ground though, as the party is looking around an odd gurgling can be heard as an emaciated beaked creature with large hooked talons jumps from a large mushroom to the ground about twenty yards away. It's eyes are glazed over and it seems to be on the verge of starvation.
 
"No worries," Carmen cheerily replies, plucking a lantern from her bag and lighting it with a match from the attached tinderbox. As soon as it's hitched to her belt, she sets off down the tunnel with the confidence of one who's used to climbing with or without the aid of a rope. But cave-crawling is a new experience for her, so she obliges Loyd by taking it relatively slowly, finding good foot- and hand-holds before each little drop.

When she reaches the bottom and unties herself from the rope to drop the final few feet, she breathes out in astonishment at the vast cavern she's entered. The smell, the chill, the light-giving mushrooms... it all feels so surreal to be seeing in the flesh. "Y'know, I've never been underground before," she says to X'or. "It's better than I imagined." She smiled wryly. "Even if I didn't get to be the first down."

Unfortunately, the gurgling doesn't reach her ears until a few crucial moments later.
 
Rhys rolls his eyes as Orthion addresses him. “Let’s not waste resources blah blah blah,” he quietly mocks the other elf. Rhys crosses his arms, not bothering to hide his sulkiness. He’d been looking forward to it— a quick leap off into the dark, that snap second of weightlessness before the spell took hold.

Whatever. He’ll go down the boring if they’re so insistent.

Rhys ties a rope around his waist and climbs down. It feels mindnumbingly ordinary— where is the thrill, the magic? He’s contemplating just how he expected everyone to be more exciting when he reaches the bottom and something jumps out.

“Really?” he asks, more annoyed than afraid. Rhys reaches for the straight cylinder on his belt. “Alright, fine. Your doom, creepy crawly.”
 
Nerirel tenses up at the sight of the monster, and she quickly relays her knowledge to the group with a quiet and steady tone. "That is a hook horror, a beast of the underdark. They are strong but this once seems to be malnourished and weak. Must be why it's going straight for us, as they aren't usually the run up and attack type of predator." Nerirel tightens her grip on her quarterstaff. She had hoped that they wouldn't run into trouble so soon, and she was worried that an injury could derail this whole expedition.
 
Despite being on guard and trying to ensure a safe descent for the party, the sudden appearance of a Hook Horror caught the tiefling by surprise. As he tried to step back to get some more range to fire, the creature lunged at him, scoring a nasty strike into his right side. By luck and slipping back further, the second strike missed. He watched the first few members hit, as he threw his bow over his shoulder and drew his rapier, returning the hit to the gross monstrosity.
As he watched, Nerirel suddenly changed into a giant spider, his eyes growing larger and larger. As she plunged fangs into the creature, he suddenly remembered the other night..."Be nice to spiders always be nice to spiders...." he whispered. Then for some random reason, a fact he had read entered his mind, 'some female spider species kill their mate after...' The Tiefling turns a bit pale under his deep reddish skin. As Loyd finally kills the creature, the pain in his side flares up! Adrenaline fading....."Medic"
 
As the beast charged to the party, it picked out X'or as the closest and easiest target. It lets out no sound as it swipes its bladed pinschers at him, missing him with one but getting a clean slash across his chest with the other though. That would be the last wound it would ever inflict though, as Carmen pierced its hide with her rapier, Neri turned into a spider and biting it, tearing into it chest cavity, filling the monstrosity with venom. It looked to be on its death bed and as Loyd used his magical prowess to harm it, it ell dead with him uttering "This Grave shall be your new home" afterwards, the party explored around a bit with Loyd coming across a small brook from the wall wit ha nest near the edge. The nest was made of rocks but it had been scattered, there were eggs in it that were now crushed or broken open with humanoid bones littered around it
 
As the Hook Horror lunges for them, a wide-eyed Carmen slips her swords loose and rushes forwards. Thankfully the others do the same; immediately after it attacks X'or she sees Orthion fire an arrow at the creature, which she uses as a distraction to get close. First she jabs with her rapier and the thrust glances off one of the thing's vicious hooks, and the follow-up strike with her shortsword looks like it's about to suffer the same fate, gettIng trapped between the two curved weapons. But then...

Yes. Her uncannily good fortune kicks in, and the sword slips free of the obstacle to go thrusting into the fleshy part of the Horror's body. Carmen pulls it loose and ducks low, tumbling backwards and putting some meaningful distance between herself and the creature just in time to watch the quiet wood elf metamorphose into a giant spider and maul the thing, followed by Loyd touching it and using some powerful magic to finish it off. Carmen hasn't even had time to build up a sweat.

"Cor," she whispers, taking another look at the dead thing, then the arachnoid Nerirel. "That was something, wasn't it?" Suddenly her mind processes the events of the past twenty seconds and she hurries over to X'or, though she sees that Orthion is already seeing to his wound. "You all right, big guy?" she asks with a small smile. "Good job dodging that second strike. You didn't freeze up at all -- just give yourself some time to recover while we get the lay of the room, huh?" Giving him a sympathetic pat on his uninjured shoulder, she moves away from the tiefling and towards the sound of rushing water that she'd heard before. What she finds next to the brook elicits a small gasp from her.

A nest, filled with the shards of broken eggs and surrounded by humanoid bones. Carmen approaches carefully, eyes drawn to the one egg that seemed intact. "Orthion, what d'you know about this... or you, Nerirel?" she calls back over her shoulder, taking care not to disturb the bones as she crouches down at the nest's side. "I think one of the guys from the last expedition might have run into that creature," she says grimly. "And this egg..."
 
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After examining the nest, and unable to discern any clues there, he approached Loyd. "I swear, I wasn't daydreaming or slacking. I never heard a single sound or sign of movement. It was like he appeared out of mid-air." Pausing at that comment, 'I wasn't able to figure out much from the nest...but think like a thief X'or. How did it move and attack?' Almost distractedly, he adds to Loyd, "I'm going to have to learn some new skills and much about the nature of the world down here. I'll be right back. I need to check something before we go on." X'or goes over to the corpse and puts his thief's mind to work. 'How did he move? Why didn't he move faster or hit harder? Prying the creature's mouth open, he notices it geared for meat, not plants. The feet are pads and shaped in a way, that while the claws can climb and are exceptionally sharp, wouldn't scrape against the stones. Moving around the area where it first appeared, he notices claw marks in the mushroom that probably hid the resting place of the creature. Taking one of the claws, he wraps it up and places it in his pack. 'Eovard needs to know about these creatures. His other tunnels may come into contact as they come down further in the future.' Looking at the package as he closes his pack, he thinks that his uncle should be able to find a wizard in need of the claw as they always need supplies. 'Time to get ready to got out of here, but first, let me record the dimensions of this cave for the map when we get back up.' As that is completed, he then ensures that he relays the information that he figured out to the others. This place is not one where one hides information that can mean life or death.
 
"You did nothing wrong, X'or. I can not expect you to be on top of everything." Loyd nods. Looking around he allows the others to do as they please. "It is certainly sad, but since it looked starving that means its regular supply of food disappeared somehow." He waits for the others to finish their bussiness. "We should at least send a message up, if we wish to explore more."
 
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