[ We find the protagonists of our tale sitting (or, perhaps, standing) in a forest clearing near a road that looks to be well-traveled. It is not long before the sun is due to set, although you can't tell with the cloud cover. It's been growing cooler since you left the Angry Porcupine this morning, so the clouds must be part of a weather front. ] [ Ethan went off to train some more, but the rest of you are more sane, and are likely pondering ways to stay warm and dry once those clouds start dropping water on you, which they appear to be doing in other nearby areas. ] [ Session start! ] Hmm, nice weather. ( Innit, tho? ) * Fyril looks at the clouds worriedly, then at Sei as he runs a hand through his hair. "Maybe for you, but I prefer mine without threat of rain." * Ada glances up at the sky. "Wonderful." [ Off to the northwest a bit is a jagged outcropping of rock known by various names by the people who live around them. The outcropping is part of a series of cliffs, and the face you're nearest has a waterfall tracing it's way down the side. ] * Nebrinel gazes at the clouds as well, and smiles faintly. "We had better start moving towards that rock formation." * Sei nods. It's better than standing here. * Ada brushes some hair from her face and flips her hood over her head. * Nebrinel mutters some insults Ethan's way. * Fyril squints at it, then grins at Neb. "Hey, if he wants to get soaked, let him deal with it. It's his own fault if he gets sick." * Ada nods. "If he gets pneumonia, Sei, don't treat him." Um...I'm afraid I'll have to. If it helps, I suppose I could be sarcastic about it. Oh, fine. * Nebrinel chuckles. "I think he'd learn something from it. We should get moving." * Fyril pouts slightly at Sei, then starts walking off towards the rocks. "Think he'll be able to find us?" * Sei shrugs and follows. "I'd think so." * Nebrinel walks alnog as well. "If he wasn't trained in basic tracking, I would question his military." * Ada tucks her hands in her pockets and glances back the way Ethan went, then heads towards the formation as well. * Fyril slows slightly to match up with Nebrinel's pace, and looks over towards the waterfall with wide eyes. "Seems like a nice enough place to wait." * Nebrinel mms, and glances at the clouds. "Perhaps." * Fyril shifts his satchel on his back, and looks over at Nebrinel. "Think there's anything living in there?" I would not be surprised. A better question is will it be elf or animal. (Pie monster...it eats mages...) (Pie.) (Mage Pie? Or Pie Mages?) * Ada just walks quietly. [ As you approach the rocks, you come over a ridge and can see that what seems to be a single river splits into several waterfalls as it makes it's way down the steplike cliffs. ] * Fyril looks down at the rocks, and marvels briefly. "Wow. That looks better close up." * Ada smiles a little. "It is." At least it increases our chances of finding a good cave. * Fyril crouches down and looks intently at the flashes of water. "Yeah. And they say fish that live by waterfalls taste even better." * Nebrinel walks closer to the waterfalls. "Perhaps we will find out." * Sei walks quietly, apparently thinking. * Fyril nods, and keeps his eyes mostly on the water as he walks along slightly behind Nebrinel. "Yeah. I wouldn't mind cooking something while we waited it out." He smiles at the thought. * Nebrinel chuckles. "Better than last time, then?" There is a bright flash to the north, followed five seconds later by thunder. * Fyril starts slightly, and looks at Neb with a slight blush. "Not better. Different." * Sei raises an eyebrow. * Nebrinel chuckles. "Different, then. The storms are coming, we'd best find that shelter." * Ada nods, looking over at the flash. * Fyril nods quickly, and scans the area in the rocks. You're about fifty meters from the nearest of the waterfalls, now; there are seventeen in a line here, all of which seem to gradually converge back into one river as they wind off into the distance to the west. Between the streams are teardrop-shaped islands with majestic trees and softly colored flowers on them, again seventeen in all, strangely enough. Between that and the small rainbows kicked up in the mist of the waterfalls, it's all quite lovely. * Ada tilts her head. "Something's odd about this." Yes. Pretty, though. * Ada nods and walks closer for a better look. "It feels... different." * Fyril halts for a moment, and looks over the whole scene again. "Yeah. Nature doesn't give this kind of number scheme." * Nebrinel mms. "I don't think it's a big problem." No, but it is odd. * Nebrinel is walking towards the falls, looking for signs of caving. * Fyril nods, and looks more towards the islands, then towards the outcroppings a bit further off. He falls in behind Nebrinel, scanning along the rock walls. Mind rolls with vision bonuses, please. (Heightened Awareness help?) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6) and gets 12, a CRITICAL FAILURE!!! "The gods giveth, and the gods taketh away. This time, they taketh away." (That's a no. Grr, Dicey.) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6) and gets 11. (Very nice, bot.) ( Awareness helps, yes. ) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sei (2d6-4) and gets 1. (^_^_v) (*eyes Sei*) 2d6-6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Fyril (2d6-6) and gets 1. (o_O) (Fyril wins! He has a better modifier. ^^) (He's a thief. What do you expect? =P) ( Sei and Fyril notice what appears to be the mouth of a cave behind the third waterfall in. There is a little path leading up to it, behind the first two waterfalls. ) * Sei points. "I believe there's a cave over there." ( Ada is distracted by something. Nebby just didn't notice it. ) * Ada ignores Sei. * Fyril gazes down at the path. "Yeah, and there's the way in." He furrows his brow. "Any path that solid's got to be made by something." * Nebrinel frowns, and nods. "Alright." Hm? Ada? We found a cave. * Fyril rolls his eyes, and points down towards it. "Yeah. It's over there." * Ada blinks. "A cave? Oh." * Ada looks thataway, then nods. There is another flash, and two seconds later, another rumble of thunder. Hmm, the storm's getting closer. Shall we? * Nebrinel starts going towards the entrances. "Yes." * Sei follows. * Fyril nods, and follows Nebrinels. "Travel's hard enough without getting soaked." * Ada winces at the thunder, then nods and goes that way. ( Nebrinels? There's more than one? x_x ) ( We're all doomed! Aiiie! ) (@_@) (We cloned her between sessions! It was very scientific. ^^) (It could be worse. It could be Invasion of the Chibi-Seis.) (Or worse yet, one chibi-Ethan.) * Nebrinel will assume she makes it to the entrance, and wanders in. ^_^; The path is made mostly of stones that are oddly shaped, in that they are all something approaching flat on top. The mouth of the cave, once you reach it, is shaped roughly like an oval, and the bottom is covered with some colorful varieties of algae. ( More vision rolls, please. This time at a +4 penalty. ) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sei (2d6) and gets 5. (Pass.) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Fyril (2d6-2) and gets 2. 2d6+4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6+4) and gets 11. (Har. ^_^) 2d6+4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6+4) and gets 12. (Hoo yeah!) (I beat Nebbie! Whoo!) The cave widens gradually futher in, and stalactites and stalgmites have formed along the walls over the eons. ( Aaaand Fyril and Sei apparently ignore what they noticed. Which is fine. Heh. Bweheheh. ) (meep.) * Fyril looks inside briefly, then up above the door. He furrows his brow, squints at it, then looks around for the others. * Nebrinel wanders in, and looks at the floor. "Huh." * Ada looks around. * Sei peers about, as well. * Fyril looks around the floor at the rocks, and around again. "This definitely isn't natural." No, it isn't. I wonder how far back this cave goes. * Ada brushes her hood off her head and smiles a little. "There's only one way to find out." * Sei nods. * Fyril looks back over his shoulder towards the exit, then peers down into the cave. * Nebrinel gazes at the cave impassively. She has her right hand resting lightly on her sword. * Ada glances at the enterance, then hmms. "Well, I'm going to take a look." * Sei shrugs. "I'll tag along." * Fyril takes another searching look around before resting his eyes on Nebrinel. He raises an eyebrow questioningly. * Nebrinel nods faintly. "Better than the rain, right?" * Fyril shrugs, and runs a hand through his hair absentmindedly. "Yeah. And someone obviously spent some time here." His eyes sparkle. * Ada notices Fyril's reaction and shakes her head. She starts heading farther into the cave. * Sei follows Ada. * Nebrinel shakes her head as well, with a wry smile on her face. She walks into the cave, hand still on her sword. * Fyril follows along behind the other three, turning every so often to scan behind him. The cave goes on for a while before narrowing considerably. Beyond the point where it narrows, it widens again. And beyond that? the cave runs on for another ten meters before ending. (How 'wide' are we talking here?) ( About a foot and a half. It's dark all over in here, BTW, but since light spells are so easy I assume that at least one of you has one going. ) * Ada reaches the end and blinks. "Huh. That answers that." * Sei nods. Well, that didn't work so well. * Fyril moves towards the end wall, and squints at it. He starts his own light spell, and looks it over again. Fyril sees nothing but a wall of smooth, slightly damp limestone. * Ada places her hand on the wall. "Ah well." Well, at least we didn't run into anything hostile. * Fyril pouts slightly, and holds his light up, looking around the end space. "There's got to be something other than a hollow, though. We have to be missing something." There can certaintly be more cave entrances. Oh, I agree. But it's not easy to spot, whatever it is. * Sei blinks. "Come to think of it, there was something written above the entrance. I couldn't make it out, though." * Ada blinks. "Oh?" * Fyril nods at Sei, and looks down at the floor with his light. "Yeah, I saw it too. It was all worn. Not natural, someone had to put it there, but I couldn't read it." * Ada rubs at one of her cheeks. "If Sei can't read it, I'm not going to claim I can, but..." We We'd best try anyway. * Sei smiles. "Thanks, but it's always worth a try." * Ada nods at Nebrinel. * Ada starts walking back to the enterance. * Nebrinel backtracks as well. Her hand is still on Plague Bringer. * Fyril follows along behind the others, looking over the area more thoroughly as he goes. * Sei follows. You all fail to find anything else unusual. ;_; (Yeah, we suck. :P) * Ada looks up, trying to see the writing at the enterance. ( ::whistles innocently:: ) Ada sees it, and while she can tell it was carved there by someone, she can't tell what it is. * Fyril stands just inside the entrance, and picks up a rock, looking it over. * Nebrinel looks at the saying on the off chance she'll have seen it before. It is now quite dark outside, either from the sun setting, or from the thick storm clouds that now dump rain on the area just outside the waterfall, or both. Lightning strikes *very* nearby -- say, half a mile away. * Ada frowns. "Puzzle or not, it looks like we're staying here." Fyril finds, to his surprise, a total lack of loose rocks around the mouth of the cave. * Fyril blinks a few times, then leans down and tries to pry at one. Fyril finds nothing to pry at, unless he were to attempt to lift one of the stones that compose the path you walked in on. This is both unlikely and inadviseable. (Back.) * Sei stares at the carving some more, and tries to identify the language. * Ada continues frowning as she carefully sets her instruments down. She follows this by removing her cloak and settling on it. * Fyril stops trying to pull at the floor, and looks at the others. "Hey, this is solid. None of these rocks comes free." * Sei blinks. If it's built by magic, that's not too surprising. That has to be some strong magic, though, considering the age of that carving. * Ada folds her legs and looks into the rain. What puzzles me is that this isn't the first time I've felt this sort of place. The last time I felt it was in human lands. * Ada blinks and turns to Nebrinel. "Really?" Do you remember where? * Fyril frowns, and looks at Nebrinel. "Humans? With magic this strong so long ago?" Well, it was a long time ago. A deep river canyon in the Kingdoms, I'm sure. * Nebrinel frowns. Mmm, you were in the Kingdoms? That must have been interesting. (Might be a good idea, yeah. ^^;) * Nebrinel quirks a smile, and pulls a black cloth from her pack. "I've been a lot of places, Ada." * Fyril blinks, and gazes wide-eyed at Nebrinel. "You've been that far?" * Ada laughs lightly. "I believe it." * Nebrinel spreads the cloth out on the ground, and sits down on it as herself. She chuckles slightly. "You bet." [ Game Paused. ] --Later...-- [ Last session, you all found a cave behind a waterfall right as a powerful rain started coming down. This session, Ethan finds the same cave behind the same waterfall after the powerful rain's been coming down for a while. ] [ It's a few minutes after we left off last time. Session start! ] * Ada stretches and leans against the wall, still sitting on her cloak. Hmm... * Nebrinel is sitting on her black cloak, and comments, "In the end, even with some things being different, the other side of the mountains isn't THAT interesting, Fyril." * Ethan idly strolls past the group, munching on a donut. "Nice cave. Wonder if the others have been here..." ...hi, Ethan. * Fyril sits crosslegged on the floor of the cave next to Nebrinel, and looks out towards the entrance. "Yeah. This cave doesn't even have interesting rocks or gems. You can't even move the ones that are here." * Ethan blinks. "... hey guys! Geez, don't sneak up on me like that!" * Ada rolls her eyes. * Ethan is rather thoroughly drenched. * Nebrinel says dryly, "We must be the most stealthy people ever to sit in the same place." ... okay, okay, I didn't notice you. So what's up? We're dry. You're not. Sit. Excellent idea. * Ethan puts his pack down, and works on removing his rather damp armor. * Fyril rolls his eyes, and looks out at the rain again. "This has got to be the most boring place to get stuck in a rainstorm." * Ada snickers. * Ethan finishes removing his armor, and eyes his clothes, which are rather thoroughly drenched as well. "I'm gonna duck around a corner and change into something dry." *grabs pack* There's no corners, Ethan. But you can go further in. ( Yes there are. Yu said so. =P ) (Yu's so mean! ;_;) (Oh, take all the fun out of it. :P) * Fyril nods sarcastically. "Don't get lost in the dark." Me? Get lost in the dark? I have the night vision of a ca- *walks into a wall* * Ethan rubs his shoulder. "Err... I'll be right back." *scoot* * Nebrinel comments sarcastically to herself, "And I'm the queen of the Eastern Kingdoms." She looks up at the entrance, and frowns. *clotheschange* * Ada drums her fingers against the floor. The rain keeps raining. * Fyril shakes his head at Ethan, and follows Nebrinel's gaze. * Sei is staring at the entrance, as well. * Ethan returns, wearing a rather nicely stitched dark green tunic and loose brown pants, and holding his wet clothes in one hand. "Ah, that's better." Good to be in dry clothes again. Nothing a soldier hates more than fighting in wet pants. ... well, maybe archers. But it's close. How about dying? Hmmm. Death stinks yeah, but not as much as soggy underwear. * Sei snaps his fingers. "That text above the entrance is in Jenoine." * Ada blinks. "Eh?" Wha? * Fyril rolls his eyes at Ethan, and turns to Sei. "What's that?" ( ** Ethan rolls 2dEyes for Fyril: Spleen - A CRITICAL SUCCESS! ) I'm not entirely sure, but I think this was once some sort of fort or armory. * Nebrinel mms. Hmm. Where to start... The Jenoine are fairly mythical. Nowadays, not everyone believes that they existed, but there are records of the language. They made the Great Sea of Amorphia, and disappeared fairly suddenly at one point. Just vanished? * Sei nods. Nothing ever 'just' vanishes. They disappeared right around the time that the Empire began. So, let's see...about 250,000 years ago. * Ethan eyes the cave... "Makes sense this would be a fort or some other kinda military installation. Only one entrance, and the entrance is behind a bigass waterfall. Provides both concealment and makes a frontal assault a suicide mission... * Ada considers. "Think the empire had somethin' to do with it, then?" Quite possibly. Does this mean you'll be able to translate it? The language? To some extent. It's hard to translate literally. * Ethan hrms. "250,000 years... well, that eliminates the chance of finding any useful equipment." * Nebrinel chuckles. "Depends if it was magically preserved, created or constructed or not." It keeps raining outside the caves. * Fyril straightens, and looks back into the caves. "There could be other stuff, though. Advanced and ancient civilization... who knows what could be here?" I got dibs on any catapaults. *big grin* ...no catapaults, Ethan. You'd have a hard time transporting it, for one. * Ethan raises an eyebrow. "I was joking. I'm not quite *that* dumb." ^_~ * Nebrinel deadpans, "You had me fooled. And we're not getting much of anything unless we can get past the apparent dead end." * Ethan just grins at Nebrinel, then starts munching on an apple * Ada considers. "If we knew which direction the rest of the cave went, then maybe we can try something. As is..." ( *shrug* You can guess. It's one of those spells you have to sit down and spend some time with, tho. ) (Bah. You just don't want to do any work. ^_~) ( Well, yeah. ^_^ ) ( Besides, s'not the only way to explore the caves, and that's not the only thing you can be doing now. ^_~ ) I don't know about it. We could hack away at it a while. But that's sortof besides what we're trying to do. * Fyril shrugs. "I looked over the end wall. There wasn't anything obvious there. We could go look again, though." Well, there's more than one cave. * Nebrinel mutters, "It's not like we know where to find anything anyway. Easy come, easy go." Hmm... Well, we could check out the other caves. Or we could stay here and let me practice a comedy routine I've been pondering... * Nebrinel looks into her pack. "I think talking to a staff would be much more sane." * Ada raises an eyebrow at that. "Talking to a staff?" Yes, but what if the staff talked back? * Fyril shudders, and looks out at the rain before running a hand through his hair. "Think the other caves would be any different? They all looked mostly the same." We could look and see if the others have different writing. * Ethan works on putting his armor back on. "Works for me. Unless y'all would rather hear my comic stylings..." * Sei picks up his bag, rather hurriedly. * Ada stands and grabs her cloak. She shakes it out, then puts it on. * Fyril nods multiple times quickly. "Yeah. Let's go check the writing. It's a much better choice." * Nebrinel mms, and shrugs slightly, standing and getting off her cloak. She gestures towards Fyril. "Up, Fyril." * Ethan walks by Ada. *under his breath* "Sometimes it's so easy..." *whistles* * Ada smiles ever so slightly and pulls her hood up. She walks after him. * Sei follows. * Fyril rises to his feet, and wipes off his pants. He stretches a bit, then heads out. It's still raining outside, plus the waterfall is coming along fairly strong, now that it's gradually becoming rain-gorged. A path of stones leads off to your right; they're slippery with moss and spaced far apart. You can just make out another cave about ten meters off in that direction. * Ethan eyes the stones. "Watch your step, people. Rather poor footing ahead." * Nebrinel pulls her cloak off the floor, stuffs it back in her pack, and mutters. Then she heads out as well. Gotcha. * Sei nods. The path's stones, mind, are located in a place where the waterfalls do not reach them. * Fyril looks back for Nebrinel, and waits for her to come out before he looks over the stones confidently. "Shouldn't be too hard." * Nebrinel says, "Well... what are we waiting for?" ( that's a very good question. ) * Sei shrugs and heads along the path. * Ada does, too. Yay? ( I assumed we were still walking. =P ) * Nebrinel picks her way along the path as well. ( Never assume. :P ) * Fyril shrugs, and surveys the stones carefully before following along behind Nebrinel. You get to the next cave without much incident, beyond an almost-slip or two. This cave doesn't go in very far, but does turn to the left abruptly at one point. * Sei looks around for any more writing. * Ethan continues on with the group. * Fyril stops outside the door and looks above it for the writing. There are actually many things scratched into the stone over this entrance. Reception or recreation... * Nebrinel shakes her head, and brushes her hair back. "Well?" * Fyril looks curiously at Sei. "What was this place? That doesn't sound like a fort." Well, a major military setup would need a place to receive things and people. Are you sure this is a military setup? The sigils on the other cave suggest that. * Nebrinel walks in towards the end, and feels around, with a frown on her face. * Ada hmms and nods. The wall at the end is solid. As previously mentioned, there is a path headded off to the left. It's fairly irregular. * Nebrinel mutters, "Worthless. This whole place feels off." * Fyril heads inside after Nebrinel, and holds a small globe of soft light. He looks around the walls. * Ethan starts to head down the left pathway... * Ada closes her eyes. The pathway heads straight for a while, then forks. One part of the fork leads to another cave opening onto the waterfall; the other ends in a stalagtite-choked dead end. * Ada opens them. "Nebrinel's right. This is some powerful magic." * Sei nods. Good or bad? * Fyril nods, and looks at Nebrinel. "Yeah. Is it just to hide stuff, or is it something else?" Neither. Just alien. ... alien? As in "Never seen this kind before"? Well, 250,000 years would do that. * Nebrinel says softly, "I think it's just there. I would liken it to a scent." * Fyril sniffs quietly at the air, and shivers. "So it's not anything to be afraid of." The feeling? No. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything else here. * Ada nods. * Sei nods... * Fyril nods, and scans the walls again with his eyes narrowed. * Nebrinel starts walking back to Sei. "Progress?" Not that I can see... * Fyril leans down and tries to pull at the rocks in this cave. The rocks are solid. Like a rock. * Fyril straightens, and sighs. "How did they even make these places? Nothing's loose, there's nothing to grab at." * Nebrinel says, "With difficulty?" Very carefully. * Fyril sighs. "If they hid anything in here, it's not through any means I've ever seen." * Ethan leans against the wall. "If one of the engineers from back home were here, they might be able to find a way through... maybe." * Sei nods. "It would be a bad idea to try a destructive spell, without at least knowing where to aim." Absolutely. I don't want this cave coming down on us. * Ethan knocks on the wall idly. The wall goes 'thud thud'. If there's something on the otherside, there's lots of wall between you and it, not to mention all the stagtites. * Nebrinel says, "Move on?" Sounds good. * Ada hmms and looks down at the passage with the stalagtites. "Sure." * Fyril nods mutely. "Yeah. Nothing more here that we can get to." (He was mute while he was nodding. =P) * Sei nods. (Riiiight. ;P) * Fyril starts to head back towards the entrance to this cave, keeping an eye on the walls and floor as he goes for anything out of place. Out the next cave, you see a short path running off to your right again. There's another cave at it's end, and up above a large oak overhangs the cliff. * Ada starts down that path. * Sei follows. * Fyril looks back for Nebrinel, then heads down the path. * Nebrinel comes out of the cave and goes down the path too, frowning to herself. The next cave has no writing above it; a large part of the stone there seems to have fallen off at some point in the distant past. The cave leads straight back a long way. * Fyril peers down the cave, and looks up over it before shaking his head and going inside warily, globe of light on. * Nebrinel follows. "We could probably be at this all day." * Ada walks in. "It's something to do," she says, almost flippantly. * Sei nods. Better than becoming one with the rain. (... I am becoming one with the planet.) ( If Ethan becomes one with the planet, we're all doomed. ) (Yes. x_x) (Bwahaha!) (Ugh. No thank you. @_@) * Nebrinel scoffs. "It's just rain. It doesn't hurt that much." * Fyril looks back over his shoulder to see if people are there, then back to the cave walls, muttering, "It doesn't hurt much, but it ruins my hair." It's not the rain that hurst. It's the week of sniffling afterwards I mind. (Poor, vain Fyril. ;P) The cave extends inward for a long ways, indeed. * Ada flips her hood off as she walks. (Fyril and vanity, perfect together. =P) * Fyril frowns at the walls as he walks. The walls in here, stragely enough, aren't layered with limestone deposits. The rock of the walls doesn't look local, and does looks like it was once smooth. It isn't anymore, of course. * Fyril slows, then stops, and examines the walls more closely. He tentatively pries at the rock. Since this rock has no handholds, prying doesn't do much good. * Nebrinel waits for Fyril, and raps the wall with her knuckles. "I do not think any of this will be conventional." ( Hey, if there're limestone deposits, where are the limestone withdrawls? ) ( They're held in a vault in case there's a quarry rush. ) ( Good idea. Can't take that limestone for granite. ) (You will all be destroyed when the revolution comes.) ( Ouch. ) (I didn't even say anything!) (...) (;_;) ( No I won't. If I'm in a good mood, I'll just survive. If I'm in a bad mood, I'll put down the revolution by myself, pile their corpses up, and point and laugh at them. ^_^ ) ( But nevermind. ) The cave sits there, doing what a cave does. Which is a short list. (I cast Magic Missile!) ( The cave takes 2 d4 damage! ) * Nebrinel gestures down the way, "Maybe we'll get lucky and find an entrance that is not so hard to see." * Ada grins. "Like I said, it's something to do." She keeps walking. * Ethan shrugs. *walkwalk* Mind rolls with vision stuff. 2d6-6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Fyril (2d6-6) and gets 0. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6) and gets 7. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6) and gets 6. (Yay. I are winner.) (Heightened Awareness help?) (Go you! Yes.) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sei (2d6-4) and gets 2. (Yeah. ^_^) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 7. ( Er, no. ) ( Anyone who made it barely notices light way up ahead. ) * Fyril squints down the length of the cave, and lets his light globe go out. "There's light down there." Oh my... * Ada mmms and nods. * Nebrinel nods once, and continues walking in the semidark. "Not _that_ much light, though." * Ethan moves behind Fyril. "Head towards the light, Fyril... towards the light..." * Ada 'accidentally' steps on Ethan's foot. ... ow. * Fyril groans audibly, and lets his own light rise slightly again. Fyril discovers that his light easily drowns out the light at the end of the hall, which means that it probably isn't very strong. * Fyril shrugs, and walks along, still scanning the walls and floor as he goes. ... you know, that really didn't hurt as much as it should've, now that I think about it. * Nebrinel says idly, "You need to start hitting him harder. I can make you a weapon if you need it." * Ada snickers. "It's all right, I have a few of my own." She eyes Ethan. * Ethan shrugs. "Maybe I'm tougher than I thought." * Nebrinel smiles faintly, and walks on. Walk walk walk... * Sei follows. * Fyril walks on down the cave, dimming his light as he gets closer. You're not close enough to the light that wou can tell that it's coming through a rectangular entrance; presumably the end of this hallway. ( We're not close enough to tell that? Aww... =P ) The hall itself, by the way, is fifteen feet tall and broad enough for you to walk side by side, if you cared to. (We're not? That's so sad. Taunting us with the information... =P) ( *harms you both* ^_^ ) * Ada keeps walking. She starts lightly humming to herself. Hey, Sei, can you do me a favor? Sure, what is it? Whack me in the back with your quarterstaff. I wanna test a theory I have... ... What? * Sei shrugs, and hits Ethan in the small of the back. Ethan is whacked. (We already KNEW that.) But you all knew this already. (Ha!) Out of my head, Nebby. NOW. * Fyril shakes his head and sighs, as he let his light go and examines the entryway wide-eyed. * Ethan blinks. "I barely felt that... even with this armor, that should've hurt some." Yes, it should have. * Nebrinel deadpans, "You could have at least asked me. I bet I could have made it hurt a lot more." * Ada chuckles. This conversation seems to have passed the time wonderfully. You're now about thirty meters from the source of the light, which you can now tell is a room thick with greenery. Or bluery. It's hard to tell. * Ethan turns to Nebrinel. "Good idea. We'll try that after we check out this... woah, neat room." Hmm... * Nebrinel chuckles. "You might not enjoy that as much as you think. I guess we did get lucky, though." She looks about. * Ada hms. It's not enjoyment... like I said, I have a theory. As you reach the doorway, you can see the room fully. It is very, very large and shaped roughly like the top three quarters of a sphere. In the top is another waterfall; this one roughly round. It spills water onto a very large boulder that may be sculpture; you're not sure. The boulder is forty feet tall, and as the water slides off it's top it falls down into gardens arrayed around the room. The gardens are populated with large blue mushrooms and larger blue- green trees reminiscent of willows. There are a few trees growing from the cieling where water runs along it; oddly, the water does not cling to the rock in the center. ... spiffy. * Sei looks around, impressed. The garden is deep with water, which the plants seem to like just fine. The overflow goes into a large circular hole that is apparently straddled by the monolithic rock in the middle. ("This is a great make-out spot!" ) (But what would Sei do? Seduce a mushroom?) (Or maybe a tree!) (Well, let's see...who are the female elves here...) ( Why hello there, Princess Toadstool... Hey! ) * Ada looks around and lets out a long whistle. (*facepalm*) The light is daylight let in through the top of the room. * Fyril looks around the room, his eyes very wide, and tries to take in everything at once rather unsuccessfully. His head keeps moving around to look at different things. "Wow." * Nebrinel mms. "This is an impressive little cave room. I wonder how it's stayed so intact." * Nebrinel looks over at Fyril, and smiles slightly. ... any of you mage types notice anything particularly freaky about this place? Not particularly...why? Everyone make a flat mind roll. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sei (2d6) and gets 5. * Nebrinel says offhandedly, "Besides the magic?" (Made it. ^_^) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6) and gets 5. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6) and gets 10. (Me too.) (Ha! No.) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Fyril (2d6) and gets 7. * Fyril looks back over at Nebrinel, and grins cutely as he keeps looking around. Those who made it notice that that one part of the rock looks like a leg. A real thick leg. ... Not a living leg, but scupture of a living leg. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6) and gets 8. ( No. =P ) * Sei points. "That rock..." * Nebrinel starts walking towards the rock. "There has to be something. Two- hundred and fifty thousand years is a long time to have water hitting a rock without it changing." Hrm? * Fyril looks at the rock, and squints at it. "Yeah... that looks sort of strange. Like some sort of... giant statue?" * Ethan eyes it. "Biiiiig statue." Nebrinel reaches the garden, which she quickly finds out is quite deep with water. She needs a body roll. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6) and gets 8. (Now you fail me. That 5 would have been nice on the body roll. ;_;) Nebby strides right into five feet of thick swamplike water. (Wow. I are the smart. @_@) ( You are. ) ... so much for keeping dry. * Nebrinel eloquently says, "Gurk!" ... It turns out that that brownish sludge about a foot from the surface of the water isn't the bottom after all, but a layer of... something. * Fyril rushes over towards the water worriedly. Nebrinel? * Ethan pulls out his glaive, and advances carefully towards Nebrinel. "Grab onto the end." *holds out the blunt end* 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-4) and gets 6. Nebrinel shoots out of the water and hovers there. Her wet clothes cling on, and are now covered in ten kinds of gunk. A fish of some sort falls out of her cloak. * Nebrinel floats herself onto more stable land, frowning. "What in the Paths is in this sludge?" ( water and more sludge, mostly. ) * Fyril looks over Nebrinel quickly, and then back down into the mud. "No idea. Looks really icky, though." He looks back to her. "You OK?" The more stable land is found in towards the statue anyway, and so Nebby soon finds stable footing there. * Ethan steps back out of the water. I can try and probe around down there with my glaive, see how deep it runs. Interesting... * Nebrinel sighs, and feels the bottom of her hair, which is also sludged. "Just wonderful. It's not deep enough to drown me." Better you than me, then. * Ethan shrugs. "Probably just silt, then." (Soylent sludge is people!) (I saw that coming.) (I didn't. ^_^;) * Ethan eyes the statue again. "Anything interesting about the statue?" * Fyril looks over Nebrinel again. "There's the waterfall outside. That would clean you off." * Nebrinel looks up at the clean water, and sighs. "There's water right here, Fyril." She hovers up. Nebby starts cleaning herself in the water, presumably. Anyone else care to look around? (...you may want to restate that. :P) ( ...why yes, I might. ^_^; ) * Sei hmms, and regards the statue. * Nebrinel mutters angrily as she washes her clothes clean. If you could see her face, it would look angry too. Grr, baby. Grr. The statue looks like a big rock with a leg, from here. Presumably, it looks like something else from another side. * Fyril looks up at Nebrinel and smiles softly, then looks over the statue. He walks around it slowly. * Ada glances around, then makes a short gesture and levitates off the ground. She starts to fly over to the other side of the statue. * Sei shrugs, and does the same as Ada. Ada sees that the statue is proped up by kneeling legs on the side near the entrance, and great big thick arms on the other side. A bald head droops down between the arms. The shape of the body in the sculpture is humanoid, but not human; it bends to form an almost perfect dome in a way a human (or elven) body couldn't. The head faces inward, towards what could be called the room's drain. * Ethan follows Fyril on the ground. "Wow again." * Ada blinks. "What in the world...?" Hmm, very unusual... The arms and legs prop the domelike statue up enough that you could prolly float inside it and look at the face, if you cared to. Meanwhile, Nebby manages to get most of the sludge out of her hair and off her clothes. * Nebrinel hmphs, and makes sure she's mostly clean. "Well, it's obvious nobody's actually taking care of this place. Filthy." * Fyril looks up at the statue, and gapes. "That's amazing. The biggest statue I've ever seen." Imagine the size of its spleen... * Ada calls over to Nebrinel, "Silt's good for plants, which would explain why you got so dirty." ( It's spleen would be quite a wonder to behold, indeed. ) * Nebrinel flies down from the top of the rock, soaking wet, but it's a CLEAN wet. I suppose. I'm not a gardener. * Fyril looks Nebrinel over, and blushes before he turns back to the statue. "Feeling better?" ( Nebby isn't quite zest-fully clean, but she's as close as she's going to get out here. ) * Nebrinel smiles faintly, and says, "Cleaner, at least. I'm glad my pack is so resillient." She starts drying herself off with some fairly obvious heat energy. [ SESSION END. ]