Fantasy Cursed Island

[Fangs9090]

The chimera was alive but still asleep as it recovered.

Emil nodded in agreement. "Being alone down here is never a good. Let's get back to her quickly."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Indeed," Joanne, having gone down that stairwell before, managed to lead the group back to where the hole was, thanks to the line of glowing dust, although there were comments about how dark it was. "I know, it is dark, let us focus on the task at hand."

 

[Fangs9090]

Emil and Fia made sure to walk carefully, knowing there was a hole somewhere in the dark. As they got back to where the hole was, there was no sign of Shuffle, implying she hadn't managed to climb back up.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Adran didn't have much difficulty navigating, thanks to Devil's Sight, but it took some time to reach the hole. "Shuffle!", the group called. "We've got the kit!"

 

[Fangs9090]

There was no reply from the other end of the hole. Emil was first to break the silence. “That’s not a good sign...”

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"No that is not," Adran agreed, peering down the hole. "I don't see any struggle marks, maybe she went looking for another way out?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Jerry replied, unwinding her climbing cord and finding something to anchor it to and dropping the cord down the hole. "Paladin first, if you fall on us we're doomed."

Joanne hmphed but went down the line as instructed. "Fia, Emil, do you two think you can carry Beri?", she asked the two fliers as Adran went down next.

 

[Fangs9090]

Emil shook his head. “Theoretically, yes. But this hole isn’t quite wide enough for either of our wingspans, so neither of us will be able to fly through it. In fact, Fia may need to ride down on someone’s shoulders.”

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"And we just put the muscle down the hole," Jerry added, thinking. Hmm." In the dark, with almost no light, with the one person capable of supporting the weight of a leopard or the harpy without issue down the hole and too heavy to pull bakc up. "I think some of us are going to have to stay up here," she said aftet some thought. I'm not strong enough to climb down with... I'm gonna say seventy-ish pounds, on my shoulder, Adran?"

"I'm not a climber, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to support my own weight."

"Huh. This is gonna be rough."

 

[Fangs9090]

Fia spoke up. “If Shuffle managed to get down without climbing a rope then I can too. I’m not that fragile.”

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"By all means, go ahead and jump, then," Jerry replied. "I've seen the critters native to this hellhole be ripped apart and still fight. The rest of us, we're not that durable."

 

[Fangs9090]

Fia nodded. "I'll let the rest of you go first then."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

jerry shook her head and continued with the others. "That still leaves how to get the leopard, down there, Shuffle had the bag with the rest of the rope, so we can't MacGyver a harness..."

"Well, we can't leave Beri alone up here, I'm the only one can see in here, and we don't know when the chimera is gonna wake up," Adran pointed out.

"I am not a kit," Beri argued, "I can handle myself."

"It's a lion twenty five times your size," was Adran's reply, "That likes Jerry and I can but a barrier around. What can you do? Run?"

 

[Fangs9090]

Emil spoke up. "This hallway continues further. If Shuffle moved away from the other end of this hole that means there's more down there, so there's a chance that this path will lead there eventually. I could use echolocation to get a general sense of what's up ahead, but if there's anything hostile, it will hear me."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Adran chuckled a bit at the bat. "I'll do you one better. I have an invocation that allows me to see in darkness, any darkness, natural or magical, like it's broad daylight. My patron calls it Devil's Sight. It's why I don't have one of those light things." He stood up and stretched in the dark. "This isn't even dim for me, those bracelets are actually almost blinding right now. I can go ahead with Beri, if scouting's what you wanna do. I can see and he can smell better than any of you."

 

[Fangs9090]

Emil nodded. "Jerry's the only one who can keep the chimera in check, so he and Fia can stay here to mind the hole. I can accompany Joanne to track down Shuffle. Unless someone has a better idea?"

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"That'll work," Jerry replied.

"If you all are finished discussing, the creature has vanished!", Joanne called from the bottom of the hole.

"Are we in agreement?", Beri asked. The group nodded. "Very well. Adran and I shall scout ahead, Emil, go down with Joanne, Fia and Jerry, don't kill each other."

 

[Fangs9090]

Fia nodded with a smile. "I can only vouch for myself."

Emil started making his way down the rope after Joanne.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

With that, the party split again, Adran and Beri going on, Jerry fiddling with her maps by the light of the crystal, and Joanne accomanying Emil down the hole and onward.

 

[Fangs9090]

The hallway above the hole continue on a ways before it turned, descending a flight of stairs. It brought them to a room with cobwebs in every corner, more webs than the rest of the ruins had.

----------

Fia sat down and watched Jerry, staying quiet for the moment.

----------

Emil and Joanne found themselves in another hallway leading off in two directions. Emil flicked an ear as he looked to one of the choices. "I hear running water down that way. Another waterway, perhaps. Shuffle likes water, doesn't she?"

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Well, that's not a good sign," Adran noted, "Think it's just old?"

"I doubt it," was Beri's reply, "You have fire magic, correct?"

"I can probably drop one before I'm down to my bow," Adran reasoned as the two walked into the room and looked for anything odd. Well, Adran looked, Beri sniffed.
---------
"She does have a tendency to dive into water," Joann agreed, starting in that direction, leaving a glowin handprint on the side of the passage.

 

[Fangs9090]

The current room seemed clear save for the cobwebs. Another doorway led to an adjacent room, but there was webbing all over it. It wasn't thick enough that one couldn't just push through, but they'd be covered with webs on the other side.

----------

Emil walked along next to her. They soon came to another waterway, but this one was shallow. The water could be easily walked through. Even Emil could keep his knees dry. No sign of Shuffle just yet.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"I'm thinking I should have brought a torch," Adran muttered. Beri cleared his throat, and Adran remembered he had a demon horse in his pocket. "Never said I was smart," he grumbled as he flipped to the page and pulled out Amdis. "Do me a favor and poke that, sweetheart," he ordered the nightmare, which obliged, and set the webbing on fire before jumping back into the book.
--------
"It is odd how much water is in this place," Joanne commented as she pushed on through the waterway to the other side. "SHUFFLE!", she called.

 

[Fangs9090]

The webbing burned away with ease, though even the fire didn't do much to push away the dark. The room beyond was larger and still covered with webs, but these were different. It's simply a surplus of cobwebs, these were giant webs, with large sticky strands that could trap more than just insects. Across from the doorway they entered through was another door, but the biggest of the webs completely divided the room.

----------

"We must be below the seabed. I think the waterways channel the water that leaks in to prevent flooding." There was no reply to Joanne's shout besides an echo. Emil paid attention to it to get some sense of what was ahead. "Hm... Judging by how that bounced back, she might be up ahead, around another bend, or else some other person. If it is her, it's odd that she doesn't answer."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

"Huh..." This was a new situation. "Spiders?"

"It would seem so."

"Oh, boy. Alright, let's get this over with," Adran picked up a loose stone and tossed it at the large web in the center of the room.
--------------
"Jerry did say we were below sea-level," Joanne commented, before pushing across the water and feeling or the entrance to the bend Emil described. "Shuffle! We are on our way!"

 

[Fangs9090]

The stone stuck to the webbing, make nearly the whole thing shudder from the impact. After that, nothing happened. At least, nothing that was right in front of them.

----------

The passage soon curved to the side, and there beyond was Shuffle. She stood staring into a lantern than glowed with some white light, too consistent to be from a flame. Holding the lantern was a figure, but it was impossible to make out any details about them. They just seemed to be a shadow, floating there as it held the lantern where Shuffle could see it.