Caverns of Nevermore: A Game of Prophecy

[Zero_Point]

Caverns of Nevermore
A Game of Prophecy

http://img15.deviantart.net/7e59/i/2013/188/1/0/otherworld___crystal_cave_by_firedudewraith-d6chey7.jpg

As the confusion of your journey fades and your eyes begin to focus in the darkness of the cavern, you slowly become aware that it is not as empty, lifeless or devoid of light as it had first seemed. Faintly glowing lichen and moss glow a vibrant, bio-luminescent green along the edges of a chamber that is not the rough stone of a natural cavern, but finely carved by skilled hands. Here and there stalagmites and stalactites of fine quartz break from the stonework floor and ceiling, reflecting the dim light and amplifying it into a cool glow that illuminates the artistic designs and patterns etched on the walls around you. They appear to be a mixture of stylized designs and runic scripts both ancient and unknown to you.

The air is warm and smells of damp earth, and a layer of moisture covers the stone around you, making it glisten in the dim light provided by the plants and quartz. A steady drip comes from somewhere overhead, hitting the rocks in a constant drone. A light breeze comes from somewhere far off in the dark, accompanied by the gentle sounds of waves on rock. It is apparent there is some large body of water not too far off. The tranquil quiet of the cave is broken only by the distant squeak of a bat, and the confused mutterings of the four other people who stand just within sight in the darkness of the chamber.

Like you, they stand on small, raised dais above the main floor of the chamber, with sets of narrow stairs leading down. At your back is a tall arch of similarly etched stone holding a smooth mirror that reflects only a swirling, dense and all too familiar mist. Though you are sure the others in the room are strangers, and their clothes are foreign to you, you still feel a certain mysterious kinship with them. Its almost as though you know them, perhaps from a dream, or a barely tangible memory of another life. Regardless, they seem just as lost as you, and perhaps together you can discover what strange land you have been brought to.

The main floor of the chamber is shrouded in shadows, and more light or a closer inspection is required to see more.

[astragalos]

Camilla stares wide-eyed at the wondrous crystals and carvings and the glowing lichens around her, then turns her head first towards the sound of water and then towards the other people standing on the dais looking just as confused as her. She can feel her heart thudding rapidly in her chest, and wonders to herself Do the souls of the dead have heartbeats down in Hades? Does this mean I'm still alive? She glances at the mirror behind her, then looks more closely through the dim lighting at each of the other four.

The utter strangeness of the situation, coupled by the paradoxically odd feeling of familiarity that she feels towards these people, leads Camilla to do something she wouldn't normally do and break the silence by speaking first: "H-hello? Do any of you know where...we are? Her voice trails upwards, seemingly unsure of the propriety of her question. The others see a short halfling dressed in simple tan and brown linens, one hand subconsciously fiddling with a small bronze vial hanging at the end of a leather necklace.

[CleverCricket]

Opal is moving when she arrives, taking a stuttering step as if trying to stop after running as she realizes she is no longer in the rural fields that surround Garborough. Confused, she turns around and sees the mirror behind her, but only a reflection of mist. She reaches out with one gloved hand to touch the smooth surface, already knowing somehow that she couldn't simply walk back through. The solid surface confirms this, and she turns her gaze to the chamber she now finds herself in. It was truly a wonder the way the luminescent lichen interacted with the crystals to throw glowing light around the cavern. The place looked ancient and ethereal, like something out of a story or legend. She wanted to see more of it, so she holds up the heavy walking cane clutched in her hands and speaks the command word of the first spell she ever learned to cast. Instantly the cane begins to glow with pale white light, and she holds it up to get a better look around.

The other people in the chamber would not see a half-elf woman, however. Only a figure in a formless, heavy black coat and hood, with a bird-like plague mask covering her face. The glass eye lenses glinting in the light of her glowing cane. She regards them with a confused curiosity, knowing that they are strangers, but knowing that they are familiar. It was an odd, unnerving sensation to be sure. When the halfling speaks, Opal is even more puzzled. It was the common tongue, but not the one she was familiar with. Yet she understood it as though she had been hearing it her entire life, and when she replies it is in the same common tongue she has always spoken, and yet not, "I'm sorry but no."

[Extrail]

The first emotion he felt when he arrived was the basic emotions of surprise, and fear. He had entered someplace truly strange, from the one he came from. He was in the forest for Pete's sake. He hoped the adventurer he hired would start looking for him, but he knew he wouldn't. The reward was only for an escort mission, and he had already given the money to the man before he had disappeared.

So, with that depressing thought he looked around the room. Seeing 4 strangers that weren't quite strangers, and he as he had heard the words of a woman. He remembered the one woman he had truly moved, and cared for. He felt heartsick for her already. Would he ever get back there to see her beautiful face once more? Afterwards when he regained composure he spoke. "I believe not. I don't recognize this place. "

[Slingsby]

Raam takes a minute to adjust to his new surroundings, his legs unsteady on the ground and his ears still ringing from the force of the magic that transported him to this unknown place. In the gloom of the cavern, the first thing that the others would notice about him is the horns on his head, curled like a goats and nestled within his dark, untidy hair. His clothes are those of a simple commoner, and he wears a large lopsided rucksack upon his back. In his hand, he holds a hooded lantern - which is noticeably not lit. Behind him, his tail twitches nervously.

At first, his eyes are transfixed on the swirling mists of the mirror, as if hoping in vain to see how he had arrived. Then, as he slowly comes to his senses he becomes aware that he is not alone in the strange cavern - even in the darkness his eyes make out the forms of four others. He listens to their voices echo across the chamber - he can understand them, but their accents are strange and unfamiliar.

"Um... hello?" Raam calls out uncertainly in his soft rural voice. Strangely, he does not feel afraid to speak to the others, almost as if he already knows them. "This might be erm... I mean I was wondering... that is..."

He pauses, trying to muster up the courage for what he knows he must ask.

"Am I dead?

[Awful]

The dwarf was silent as she stared around the cavern and at the strangers. The cave was filled with a soft light from the moss, reflecting softly off the stone. The air was uncomfortably warm and humid for Nasslyn, considering her recent exertion, and she wiped sweat-soaked hair from her forehead. It didn't seem to be the chilly halls of Hel, so perhaps she wasn't dead and accursed quite yet, but that arose the question: where was she?

"Well, if it's th' afterlife, it ain't like how they described."

She looked again at the strangers - they seemed distantly familiar, somehow, as if she'd passed them in the tunnels, before she cast an uneasy gaze back at the mist-filled mirror behind her. It didn't seem likely that the horrors that had brought her ranger team to ruin would follow her here - hell, she wasn't sure the monsters would even fit through the mirror - but all the same the eerie sight made her skin crawl. She stepped down, spear held cautiously. They didn't seem to have any more clue than she did, but even so...

"Well, this seems a mighty fine mess, strangers. An' I feel I 'ave to mention, I 'aven't met enough 'alflings, devil-bloods, 'alf-elves an'-" she looked at the ambigiously-gendered and mysteriously-speciesed plague doctor, "-whatever ye be for yer all to be seemin' familiar, and yet there it is."

For the others, Nasslyn was a sturdy-framed dwarf, her bright red hair in disarray from running - a heavy pelt over her shoulders, a red apron over a brown and white tunic, heavy bronze bangles on her arms.

[Extrail]

"Well wherever we are. The best thing to do here is investigate where here is. After all, I highly doubt it's going to be that easy to figure out if it is The Traveller's workings. Though I doubt I'd have as much certainty as the dwarf since he'd probably do this at least once in his long life. " Wilbur replied. He knew that if he wasn't dead then it didn't look to pretty his odds here. Perhaps the ranger, the caster, and the cleric in the draub decor could help him. Perhaps the tiefling was a rogue, or another caster like the others, but he doubted it. "Of course, I'm glad if it is The Travellers workings he had chosen to have sent some adventurers to help the couple of commoners here. " He clearly indicates through turning his head which ones he believes are adventurers, the one in the plague mask, the dwarf, and the halfing. "So, would one of you brave adventurers guys like to lead? There are probably dangers we aren't aware of here. " he did think of it. An adventure he was the innocuous npc on a newfound adventuring groups first mission. That would surely be an interesting tale to tell the lady, and their kids when they had them. Course it didn't always turn out great for the commoner who helped out the adventuring party, so her need to be on his feet, so he could help protect his life, and the other commoners. Though being a tieflings he was definitely more suited to combat then he was.

[CleverCricket]

Opal holds up her glowing cane, looking around the room as she makes her way down the stairs from her dais to the main floor. She pauses on the last step as first the dwarf calls her a "whatever" and then the rambling man calls her an adventurer. Sighing, Opal reaches up and pulls off her mask, revealing a face that is attractive but not beautiful, with sharp teal colored eyes. She pulls back her hood to release the raven hair hidden beneath, the long curls barely concealing the slightly pointed ears that betray her half-elven heritage, "I'm not an adventurer, and certainly not a guy" she corrects, "My name is Opal Yung'e, and I'm just a healer. A member of The Shepherds," she says this as though it should mean something. After all, in her world everyone knows who The Shepherds are.

With that said, she begins to search around for more information about where she is.

Perception: [roll0]

[Extrail]

She said the shepherds, as if they meant something. Could they be an adventuring group? No, it couldn't be, she had responded with the fact she wasn't an adventurer, which was strange. I mean, surely The Traveler, wouldn't of sent him on a dangerous quest with only two adventurers to ally himself with, it would be dangerous, and that worried him. He was the last one you would consider an adventurer, sure he traveled, but he wasn't the one to face deadly beasts. He was the one to rely on others to take care of the rats in the cellar. He knew that shortchanging an adventurer was a bad idea, but the new ones who recently got on there feet, were the ones he only really needed to call up on, and they weren't nearly as expensive, as some might imagine. They tended to raid the cellar when he was a kid though, but his father had explained it was 'Treasure' and that was the real reward for them, and so long as they didn't leave any precious family heirlooms down there it would be fine. It would just be a bit of ale, for their work. As he thinks of his past, and the danger, Wilbur climbs down the stairs, as well, and goes to examine the lichen. Figure out if it was safe to handle, and move to create a light source, albeit temporarily, as the lichen would probably dry out in time.

[roll0]

[Zero_Point]

The light from Opal's cane casts long shadows around the chamber as she descends to the main floor. With the added illumination, she can see the cavern chamber is expansive, with a high vaulted ceiling, and roughly circular in shape. There are a total of eight raised dais around the edges of the room, each with it's own mirror, but only the five occupied by the group show reflections of swirling mist, the others are dark and show only normal reflections of the room.

At the center of the room is a pedestal that stands waist high to a human. It is wide, easily large enough for two grown humans to lay side by side on it's flat top, but the space is occupied by a number of bronze tiles. Each tile is hexagonal in shape and marked with a different rune or glyph, and have been arranged in an unknown pattern. Slumped across the pedestal is the body of an elderly man with a bald head and long grey beard. He is dressed in a rough, green leather jerkin and trousers with heavy boots. Around his shoulders is a messenger bag, and a dark lantern rests near his hand. By all appearances he is dead, but doesn't look like he has been there very long given the color of his skin.

The only exit from the room is an arched doorway that leads into darkness, toward the sound of the waves.

Extrail I don't know what skill you are rolling.

[Awful]

Nasslyn gave Wilbur an irritated look.
"An adventurer. Do I look like one o' them vagabonds? No, lad, I'm a ranger of Gaz-Garal, the greatest Mountainhome in the Dragon's Spine Mountains. If this is yer Traveller's work, I 'ope he don't mind me breakin' 'is nose for 'im."
Her gaze continued on to Opal as she unmasked, and she gave a grunt.
"I ain't never heard of the Shepards, either, unless ye be meanin' the kind that raise sheep."

She stepped down to the plinth and the body on it.She levelled her spear, then gave the corpse a solid couple of prods with the butt of it.

[astragalos]

Camilla flinches as a white light flares from the cane of one of the previously silhouetted figures, revealing its holder to have a terrifying raven-like face, but then she realizes it is a mask of some sort. She stares briefly too at the tall man with goat's horns--and is that a tail?--before turning her gaze towards the half-elf and the spear-wielding dwarf. The horned man asks the question that she'd just been wondering about, and she smiles slightly at the dwarf's response, though she has always heard that Hades is dark and gloomy.

Camilla frowns in confusion when the half-elf seems to include her among the "adventurers," a strange label that neither the irritated dwarf nor the half-elf who pulls off the bird-mask and introduces herself as Opal seem to identify with either. "I'm Camilla," she says to Opal, the only one who has introduced themselves so far. Given that the talk of adventurers, travellers, shepherds, and the Dragon's Spine Mountains is all unfamiliar to her, she doubts that any of them have heard of the small halfling village of Laurel Hill.

When Opal descends the stairs and her glowing cane reveals a dead man upon a platform, Camilla audibly gasps in horror. She stays up on the dais as the dwarf walks down the stairs and jabs the body with the butt of her spear.

[Slingsby]

Nasslyn's blunt answer reassures Raam a little - enough to put the awful question aside for a time, if not to entirely put it to bed. He listens to the others introduce themselves - Why, they've no more idea than I do why we're all here - and wonders at the strange names and places they invoke. Raam's never been much of a traveller though, so he doesn't realise that they're not from the same world as him.

"I'm called Raam. I'm ah... not really an adventurer or anything. I'm from Estoke village... near the Torian Forest?" It's clear from his tone of voice that he's hoping one of the others recognises the places he's talking about. As he speaks, he holds up his lantern to show himself more clearly, and clocks for the first time that it is unlit. Strange... it was definitely burning when I was back in Estoke - how long did it take for me to get here?

Raam takes a sharp intake of breath when the dead man's body is revealed by the light from Opal's cane. "Oh Gods..." he utters in a hushed voice, before hurrying down the stairs to the centre of the pedestal. He looks over the body once the dwarf has done prodding it - are there any clues as to who this man was or how he died?

Perception (wisdom) to see if the body gives any clues as to who the man was or how he died: [roll0]

[CleverCricket]

Opal notices the body laying across the runic puzzle altar and frowns, making her way over to it. She watches the yet unnamed dwarf woman poke it with her spear and shakes her head, "Very respectful Ranger," she pulls her gloves tight and gently rolls the body over to inspect it for the cause of death. She then carefully inspects his clothing for clue before finally opening his bag to check the contents for clues or information that could aid them. She was used to seeing and handling dead bodies. In fact compared to the plague victims, this corpse was nothing.

She quirks an eye at the dwarven ranger when she mentions not knowing of The Shepherds, "No, not the kind of shepherds that tend sheep. THE Shepherds are a branch of the church of St. Zygal," she looks around at the others, seeing no recognition in any of their eyes, "My order is responsible for the care and protection of the populace. But I am beginning to suspect I am much further from home than I first thought."

[CleverCricket]

Sorry forgot to include my rolls

Medicine to determine cause of death - [roll0]
Perception to inspect the body for clues - [roll1]

[Awful]

Nasslyn straightened up as Opal wandered up and started moving the body, her brow furrowed. The ranger snorted at the rebuke.
"He don't mind none, hálf-álfur, he's dead. Respect can come second, until we work out what's goin' on."
The butt of her spear clacked against the stone as she leaned on it.
"For all we know, 'e's the skod 'o brought us 'ere in th' first place."

[astragalos]

Camilla overcomes her initial hesitation and fear at seeing the dead body and joins the others who are examining the corpse. Someone must ensure that the proper rites are done. Camilla does not argue with the dwarf, but she pulls a small flint and steel from a box at her belt, lights a small strip of oiled cloth, and sprinkles some sweet-smeeling powdered incense upon the brief flash of flame. "Guide of Souls, lead him to his ancestors," she prays. Without his name or any more information about him, there is little more she can do or say. And she can barely see over the edge of the platform where the body lies.

That done, she considers her companions. Opal had said she was part of a church of a saint that Camilla had never heard of. Laurel Hill has no churches that are separate from household and village worship, but Camilla has heard of larger settlements with temples and organized cults. Opal can clearly call upon her saint to summon magical light, something Camilla has learned to do recently but doesn't do often. The other half-elf seems to have relationship with a being called the Traveller, perhaps a similar type of spirit or god to the Guide or Souls whom she had just prayed to. She still shoots the occasional curious glance at the goat-horned man Raam, wondering at his appearance. The spear-carrying dwarf has expressed rather dismissive and even aggressive sentiments towards the dead man and towards the half-elf's Traveller, an attitude that the pious Camilla is somewhat shocked by, but she also seems to know what to do in this situation, which Camilla does not.

[Zero_Point]

The body shows no obvious signs of injury, so a violent death seems unlikely. However, his skin is waxy and tight against his bones, and his eyes appear sunken and grey. It's as if the very life energy were pulled out of him.

Inspecting his body, Opal finds a small tattoo on his inner wrist that resembles a burning candle within a lantern. There is nothing else remarkable on his person. Opening the bag she finds a flint striker, a bottle of ink and ink pen, a jeweler's loupe, a rolled up sheet of vellum, a compass, a small pouch, and a leather bound journal.

The pouch contains thirty thumb sized coins cut in a hexagonal shape with jade stones set in their centers.

Unrolling the vellum scroll reveals a detailed map of tunnels and caverns sprawled out like an endless labyrinth and all connecting to a central, enormous cavern marked Shimmergloom Ocean. There are a number of other markings on the map as well denoting what appear to be port cities or towns along the edges of the ocean, rivers that branch off into tunnels of their own and lead to lakes, islands scattered across the vast expanse of the open water, and places of interest with names like The Boiler Yards, Sterling Palisade, and Pipe Jungle.

The journal is written in a scratchy, hurried handwriting and proves to mostly contain the day to day activities of the man. It reveals that his name was Jeremiah Tottle, and he was a researcher in the Order of Candles. The early part of the journal describes his life combing through dusty libraries in search of ancient knowledge and wisdom, and transcribing it into new volumes for the current generation. However, as the journal continues, the writings become more and more distraught as Jeremiah seemed to stumble across something that terrified him in his research. He writes of a forgotten prophecy, of a repeating pattern and a story left unfinished that must come to pass and will come again,

"Why has this not been recorded? The ritual. The prophecy. It came before and it will come again. Over and over until the end of all things, and then it will begin again when the world is born anew! How was this forgotten? I must find more information. If I could only find the prophecy!"

His writing becomes more sparse and panicked as his research continues,

"So many pieces. So many people. Everyone playing a part, moving in patterns. Have to map out the whole story, find the weak points, break the cycle."

Then, suddenly, there is a gap of several months where nothing was written, before a new entry appears, the shaking penmanship betraying his excitment,

I found it! The prophecy in full! The ritual! The story! I know how to stop it now! I know who I need to find. I'll copy it below for future reference, but I need to get to The Pitt before it's too late!

and below is written,


When the choirs sing of war, the path to the end has begun.
The king shall rise in shadow and rule in light, and he shall be the harbinger
Heed not the bishop, for he is false. But know his antipode is true
If the pawns fall behind bars, the path to the end shall become clear and hope shall die
The knight shall be born among a thousand stars that shine without a sky, and slumber till the final hour
The king shall seek his second and form unwilling hearth
Should the circle of iron be rent asunder, further down the path has time gone
What was forgotten must be found but never freed lest darkness fall
The pawns must take the rook to quell the rise of faith, or the choirs shall grow silent and the world with them
The knight shall stand with iron circle against the crown, but should the queen stand opposed, all shall fall

There is another long gap between entries, then it continues,

I was too late...
The pawns are dead. I couldn't save them.
Those idiots! I tried to warn them! Tried to explain that we needed those five alive!
But...but there may still be a chance. The roles can be reset, I think. But not with anyone from this world.
I need....I need new pawns, from a different world. The roles are always reincarnated. So I just have to find them again and bring them here.
I learned of a place. One of the...the ancient shrines. The Chamber of Lost Reflections. I think I can do it there.
Have to hurry though. I'll send Ollmia to make sure the knight is born. Have to hurry

After that the entries end and the rest of the pages are blank.

[Slingsby]

Raam's eyes are immediately drawn to the vellum map as it is unfurled - This is no mere cave... these tunnels must go on forever! And look, an ocean - an underground ocean! Just what is this place? To Raam's own surprise, he finds that in spite of everything he is actually a little excited by the discovery that he is in a strange new land, the spirit of adventure starting to work its magic on him.

"Look at this", he says to the others, "There's a whole world of caves and tunnels down here - and more besides. Cities and rivers, all based around-" he squints to read the writing clearly "the Shimmergloom Ocean...?"

"Huh, I don't suppose there's anything in that book that might tell us where we are on this?" he continues, indicating to the journal.

[astragalos]

"Opal, may I see the book, please?" asks Camilla, reaching her hand up. She proceeds to skim the journal of Jeremiah Tottle, summarizing the earlier sections and reading the entries towards the end aloud for everyone else to hear. "...Raam, I think this might be the Chamber of Lost Reflections? Is that on the map?" Camilla combs her memory for any stories she may have heard around the fire at night about the religious significance of mirrors, the nature of prophecy, multiple worlds, cosmic cycles requiring breaking, or reincarnation.

[roll0]

[Slingsby]

"Chamber of Lost Reflections? Well, I guess that'd explain the mirrors... let's see if it's on here..."

Raam studies the map for any location marked as the chamber, beginning with the parts of the map near the Shimmergloom Ocean - those distant wave noises echoing through the Cavern had to be coming from somewhere after all.

Raam will inspect the map (I'm guessing no roll needed?), also keeping an eye out for any symbols (mirrors, hexagons etc.) that might indicate the room if there is no written label. If he is able to locate the chamber, he will also look to see what locations are nearby.

[Extrail]

As The other nonadventurers adventurers had taken up the task of examining the book, and map. The only thing Wilbur could think of doing was looking around the room, and see if it hid any other secrets. He was on the ground floor was there something, anything that was yet to be discovered by the group? He didn't know, and his lack of knowledge was what made him press on in this instance. He doubted there would be anything, but possibly, maybe there was.


Perception
[roll0]

[Awful]

"I'm guessin' it's talkin' 'bout us when it's sayin' pawns. Not from this world? Skod!" The dwarf cursed. Nesslyn kicked at the ground as she took a few angry steps away.
She ran a hand through her fire-red hait before she sighed and turned back to the others.
"If what that dagbók says is true, looks like we're in a right ol' mess. I'd recommend us stickin' together then, till we can get this sorted out some. So to that end... I'm Nesslyn Orerock. Once we find where we are, we should prob'ly 'ead for the nearest town."

[Zero_Point]

Camilla is unable to call to mind anything from memory that matches what is written in the journal.

Looking over the map, Raam can't find any area marked as the Chamber of Lost Reflections, either by name or symbol. There are dozens of small caverns marked along the edges of the Shimmergloom Ocean, as well as dozens more on the coasts of many of the smaller lakes on the map, but there is no way of knowing which, if any, might be the groups current location.

Searching around the cavern Wilbur doesn't find much of real interest. There are signs in a corner near the exit that Jeremiah had built a fire at one point, but it's nothing but a smudge of ashes on the floor now.

[astragalos]

"The prophecy...the five of...us? Camilla asks in disbelief, looking around at the others. "I know little of oracles except that that they are often cryptic and mysterious."

She shakes her head a bit, then responds to Nesslyn's introduction warmly, "Nesslyn, I know none of us wanted to be here, but I'm still glad to meet you. Sticking together seems like a good idea, and I'd be glad to have your company. If Raam can't find where we are on the map...maybe we should head for the water? The...Shimmergloom Ocean?"

Zero_Point, did you see in the OOC thread that since Camilla is a halfling, she gets to reroll the natural 1? And got a total of 20. Not sure if that changes anything.

[CleverCricket]

Opal re-reads the journal entries several times, remaining quiet while the others discuss the situation. Finally, she closes the journal and slips it into her pocket along with the pouch of coins, "It certainly seems as though we were summoned here for a purpose," she looks to the exit of the chamber, "Finding the nearest civilization is our best bet. Then I suggest we try to track down this Ollmia that is mentioned in the journal. They may be able to give us more information of just what we have been dragged into."

[Extrail]

I Hate Prophecies. Wilbur mutters to himself as he listened to the others speak. There wasn't anything of interest here, so he needed to act in another manner. The idea behind prophecies was that there was that people didn't have a choice, or no choice that really mattered at any rate. It restricted people's freedom just by existing, but it was an evil he had to get used to, and besides If he broke the prophecy, perhaps he could get the freedom he desired, easier than others. I agree, none of are adventurers, so the next best thing we have is each other. So, let's go down the tunnel, and perhaps find something valuable on our journey like food.

[Awful]

If none other had, Nesslyn picked up the pouch of coins and tucked it away inside her clothes.
"I'll keep 'old o' these till we find somethin' to spend 'em on."
She plucked out one of the coins and studied it, looking for any writing or symbols on the faces of the jade-studded metal.

"That said, the hálf-álfur's right. I don't 'ave much in the way of supplies wi' me, and I doubt any o' ye are much diff'rent. So keep yer eyes peeled: for signs o' civilisation, and for things we migh' be able to eat, like beasties an' plants - an' most o' all, clean water. Ain't lastin' long withou' that, let me tell ye."

[Zero_Point]

Moving out of the chamber, Opal's light shines into an open space and the group soon realizes that they are exiting a structure built into the living stone of the world and into a semi-circular courtyard surrounded by crumbling stone pillars. The floor of the courtyard appears to have once been a magnificent mosaic of dark and light tiles, but time has faded them and caused many to crack and break allowing the growth of moss and fungi. The pillars that ring the courtyard are ancient and broken, with few of them still standing in one piece. At the top of each one was once a sphere of marble, but most now lie on the tiles of the courtyard or have shattered completely. At the center of the courtyard stands the basin of a once grand fountain, its ornate spout having long ago crumbled into ruin. Perhaps once this fountain spilled clear water into it's basin, but it now stands empty and covered in moss.

Looking back the group sees they have exited through a set of great stone doors that guard the entrance to an ancient temple. The temple edifice has been carved into the cavern wall. It towers above you, reaching far up toward a ceiling you can not make out in the gloom. You can tell that once the entire edifice was a masterwork of carved stone. Soaring spires, intricate and abstract murals and dozens of elegant, narrow windows cover the cavern wall. However, time has left much of the detailed stone work worn and faded. Details have become indistinct, murals have crumbled and cracked, spires have fallen into the courtyard, and some of the windows have become overgrown with yellowish lichen and moss.

On the far side of the courtyard you can see a flat landing ringed by a metal railing that marks the top of a set of narrow stone stairs leading down a cliff face.

[Slingsby]

Raam frowns as he fails to find any sign of the chamber on the map. Giving up, he stows the parchment away in his rucksack, ready to pull it out again later should they come across any further clues as to their location. He also takes the flint striker - the old man was unlikely to need it now, after all.

As the party enters the courtyard, Raam looks around in amazement - "This place must be ancient..." he says aloud, somewhat stating the obvious.

Raam crosses the courtyard to the landing and, proceeding carefully, peers over the edge of the cliff face to see what lies below.

[astragalos]

Camilla doesn't object as the others bring the journal, coins, map, and flint-striker along with them, since those objects will likely be useful as they wander through an entirely unknown realm. She does turn to the body and addresses it in a whisper, "Blessings on your journey, Jeremiah. I'll try to find your family and let them know where you are, if I can."

As they enter the atrium of the temple, Camilla feels a strange sense of familiarity, just as she did initially with the four strangers. There's something about the mirrors, the black-and-white checkered floor, the spheres...they speak to her, they call her...perhaps they even trigger some ancient memory within her soul. "Hail to the spirits of this place," she says under her breath. She picks up a fragment of one of the shattered spheres and holds it in her hand, feeling its weight and its history for a moment, and places it in her pocket. Then she joins Raam at the railing at the edge of the cliff and looks down.

[Zero_Point]

Peering over the edge of the cliff reveals that the landing is attached to a set of stone stairs that snake down. The steps are narrow and drop off on either side with no railings or barriers to prevent a long fall. The stone drops away fifteen feet into glimmering black-green water. Ahead of you, the steps descend into the black-green waters of an underground ocean that stretches off into the darkness further than any of you can see. At the base of the stairs, where they disappear beneath the water, floats an elegant long boat crafted of wood and black iron anchored firmly to an outcropping of rock.

[Extrail]

"I Believe, the Sturdier people. With greater balance, should Head on first. They could help guide the others who aren't as quick on their feet, or stable of foot as we walk down the stairs." Wilbur suggested. He felt nervous about the entire thing, but he figured that this was only the beginning to the long rung of danger he had caught caught himself in. He doubted he'd have a choice in this matter one way or another either way.

[astragalos]

Camilla looks at the railing-less stairs and takes a deep breath to steady her nerves. "That's a good suggestion. I'll do what I can to help, though I'm smaller than the rest of you," she says to the half-elf man. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name?" She heads down the stairs carefully towards the boat, turning back to lend a hand if necessary.

It's a 15 foot drop into water? Do you need us to make any skill or ability checks?

[Extrail]

"Thank you. Name's Wilbur Manli, Brewster. Brewery has run in my family for quite a while, so when we get the proper supplies, and time I'll treat you to a glass of alcohol. I believe the head group, should consist of you, and Nasslyn. If you're fine with that Nasslyn? You seem to be the most surest of foot that we have. I'll follow behind you two, since I'm a bit more se,terous than the average person. Not a lot, but it might be all that matters down there." He said cordially. He didn't want to anger anyone that would take the plunge to be the lead. If Nasslyn wasn't up for it he had volunteered himself, so hed keep to it.

[Awful]

"Boats," Nassyln said, the distaste clear in her tone. "Of course it'd be boats."
She huffed out an annoyed breath.
"Aye, I might as well. Ain't no helpin' it..."
She carefully made her way into the boat, looking around for what contents it had - from oars to watertight cabinets.