Tide of Shadows

[rhoenix]

Though the look on Fehl's face hadn't altered since Volemack had...changed, he did blink once. "Ok, yeah, you can go first then, Volemack. And yeah, " he said, nodding to Bartel," it does explain a couple of things."

The soft, sourceless light around his left hand went out without ceremony.

[SirNitram]

"Thank you!" Volemack preened at the ghost's comment about looking scary, but hurried over to the well. "I will be really, really careful, and tell you guys what's here." He promised, scrambling up, over, and beginning to clamber down as only something with claws made for gripping rock surfaces and lots of practice clambering up to high perches can.

[Charon]

Eight watched the young dragon go down by himself then looked to the others, sighed, and walked over to the well. "I go down next, you'll probably all need to support the rope."

[Academia Nut]

Descending the hole, Volemack exitted into a large chamber. The whole thing was a massive chamber, obviously artificial in construction as the giant, uncut stones that made up the walls were assembled with careful, cyclopean care. The structure was tilted to one side, the foundation having been eaten away in one area and the ceiling caved in. Water had seeped in, and covered the floor of the chamber, although the side that had sloped up was mostly dry at the wall. The walls themselves had a series of pillars holding up the outer edges, although it seemed that they were either decorative before or they were no longer necessary as the earth surrounding this long buried structure was now acting as a support mechanism.

There were a few things of note. For one, there was a bloating halfling corpse lying in the still water, her neck broken from the impact of the fall. Having floated in the opposite direction was a masterfully crafted, if now somewhat waterlogged, halfling sized bow. It was next to a path out of the large chamber.

Curiously enough the column next to that path appeared intact yet not connected to the ceiling and had the vaguest impressions of being a humanoid sculpture. Perhaps at one point it had been a decorative statue-column but the elements had eroded it away.

[Rogue 9]

"All right," Bartel said, grasping the rope. "We'd best find somewhere to tie it off to, though. We'll want to get back up, after all." He looked to Ceridwen. "Unless your, err, squire can just climb back up the shaft. Then it might be safer to take it with us and have him tie it off again when we want to leave."

[LadyTevar]

"He probably could," Ceridwen agreed, taking hold of the rope beside him. "However, we should still tie it off. Otherwise who would hold the rope for the last person down?"

[Rogue 9]

"Of course, but he could come back up and untie it. Still, it doesn't really matter. We can always get more rope if we end up coming out somewhere else. The only real concern is that it makes it obvious where we've gone."

[SirNitram]

The bow! He was sent to get that, better get that. Volemack alighted gently on the floor of.. What was it? A ruined Human temple? It looked it. The bow went in the haversack, though not without some effort. Silly magic bag, this should fit! Once the bow was secure, the little dragon let his ability to feel through the ground tell him more about the place as he looked around. This was so cool!

[Academia Nut]

One moment Volemack had been stuffing the bow into his magical bag, the next he discovered quite uncomfortably a sword parting his scales to cut deep into his flesh.

Where an instant before there had been a simple, if somewhat odd looking, column, there now stood a human woman made of stone clothed in brightly dyed silks of an archaic cut and make, wielding a bastard sword in both grey granite hands, her face expressionless and serene.

[Charon]

Eight perked up at the sound of steel hitting flesh, then turned to the hole as the draconic scream of shock and pain filtered up out of the hole. "No let's let the tiny dragon go first. What was I thinking listening to you fleshbags."

Eight threw the rope to Bartel. "Either all of you hold on or tie that down to something quick. I'm going down."

[SirNitram]

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Volemack yelped as the blade hit muscle. He then blinked away, his boots carrying him a good sixty feet, before he started trying to get into the air and some altitude. "That hurt, you big dumb statue!" The insult was hurled in Draconic, as he began swinging around for his first attack run. He'd seen Mom do this a thousand times..

[Academia Nut]

The strange statue thing noted Volemack fly away and regarded him unblinkingly for a moment before it suddenly transformed and became an unassuming pillar once more.

[Charon]

As the others grabbed the rope Eight went up and over the well. He misjudged where the rope was and fell for a ways before he both managed to get his hands on the rope again and to get crammed in against the softer earthen walls. It took some careful pushing and shoving but soon Eight was free again, cursing several deities, and free to continue his descent.

[LadyTevar]

Ceridwen was silently praying that Volemack would be able to protect himself. Right now, all she could do was hold the rope.

[rhoenix]

Yelling in incoherent panic, Fehl grabbed the rope and held it as strongly as he could, causing him to be forcibly yanked toward the well just after he'd grabbed ahold. Skidding against the ground with the heels of both boots, Fehl landed perpendicular to the well itself, managing to hold the rope still, though the tension was obvious.

Growling with the strain and looking rather annoyed, he yelled loud enough for Eight to easily hear him. "Your big heavy ass had better do some decent golem on golem crime down there!"


(EDIT: clean up & clarity: go!)

[SirNitram]

The statue.. Became a pillar again? Wierd! But best to stay out of range. Volemack kept airborne, away from anything that looked like it could, maybe, turn into something else and bat him from the sky. The lack of light told him someone was descending, so he couldn't very well clamber up.

[Charon]

After several more curses towards the collective gods and a few scrapes, the giant frame of Eight came into view and then dropped down into the cavern, drawing his axe up almost immediately and looking around for targets.

[SirNitram]

"Watch out for the pillar! It's really a golem!" Volemack called as he circled, keeping out of range for now. Think think think. How would Mom deal with this? ...Actually, blasting it with ancient sorcery isn't an option..

[Charon]

Eight glanced at Volemack incredulously for a few moments, then looked back towards the pillar that the young dragon had indicated. The construct stood stock still for a few moments, apparently weighing its options before the giant drove his axehead into the ground so he could easily reach it again and then drew out his crossbow, watching the pillar carefully as he knocked a bolt, aimed, and fired.

[Academia Nut]

The bolt flew straight and true straight into the column, where upon it promptly shattered on impact. The column neither stirred nor reacted in any way to the fact that it had just been shot, although not even a single flake had been taken off of its stone surface.

[rhoenix]

After Eight had made it all the way down, the sudden lack of tension made Fehl fall flat on his back with a noticeable drop. Getting up and dusting himself off, he then re-tied the rope to be more secure, and then climbed down himself. Looking around after hearing...Volemack's warning earlier in Draconic and now again in Common, he looked critically at the pillar.

Walking up to the pillar with his greatsword loose and sitting easily on his right shoulder, he looked at it critically for a moment before speaking to the statue directly. When he did, he intoned as if a great wizard speaking a spell. "Your mother was a floor tile."

[Academia Nut]

One second the column was a column, the next it was a woman carved out of solid stone dressed in silks swinging a bastard sword in a two handed grip at Fehl, the tip just sparking across his armour as it sought to seperate his upper torso from his lower body.

[LadyTevar]

"You next, Father."

[Charon]

Eight watched as Fehl made his attack and shook his head in disdain. The thing on the construct's shoulder suddenly turned to face the still moving golem and fired.

[LadyTevar]

"Hellfire!" Ceridwen swore, watching the statue suddenly transform. She had been smart enough to stay away from the statue, and thus was too far away to aid for the moment.