The Worldwound Incursion

Krystiel

With a mind full of calculations about how ready each member of the stranded survivors was to progress—herself, K’seri and Eshera, completely fine, Lord Gwerm also was in perfectly good condition, Aravashnial would need a minder, and Anevia…well, she was just about to check on her—Krystiel made her way to where her last patient sat.  With a soft, but decidedly less innocuous and mildly flirtatious, smile, Krystiel squatted down next to the where the other woman leaned against the wall of rubble.  “Lady Anevia, have I your permission to attend to your wounds?”

“My my, so formal,” Anevia said, the painful smile once again lurking around the corners of her lips.  “I’m just Anevia, and by all means, yes, of course you can look at this leg.  I floated down here easily enough, but these chunks of junk felt that they needed to land on me.  Ah well, at least they landed on the leg instead of my head.”

Krystiel smiled as a small bubble of sweet laughter escaped her lips.  “Yes, I’ll have to admit that you got the better of those two options, at least.  The bad news is that your leg looks to be broken rather badly.  I’ll heal you as much as I can, but I think it will be best if I can make a brace for you and find something that can serve as a crutch.  Not too dignified, I know, but like sir Aravashnial’s eyes, this is something I don’t think I can heal completely.  Let me see if I can’t make you at least a bit more comfortable.”  She whispered a brief prayer to the Eternal Rose, asking for Her assistance and blessing, then cast a spell to cure light wounds.

Some of the pain went out of Anevia’s eyes, and the lines of tension on her face relaxed.  “Thank you.  Thank you so much.”

“No, no,” Krystiel murmured, shooting another smile at the woman.  “Twas Shelyn who provided the healing.  I am only Her instrument.  Now, if you’ll allow me a few moments, I’ll go see what I can find to make that leg a little more useful.”  She rose to her feet, only to have Eshera join her.  “You’ll help?  You have my appreciation, for certain.  If you would, shift through one of these piles of junk and see if you can find anything that’s of an appropriate height to work as a crutch.  I’ll see what I can use to make a splint for her leg.”

It took a few minutes to requisition bits of debris that would suffice to construct the splint and crutch, but before too long, both Krystiel and Eshera were back to  Anevia’s position.  “That looks exactly right,” Krystiel said, appraising the sturdy, T-shaped chunk of metal bracing that Eshera had found.  “I think it’s even the right height.”  She looked down at her own collection of wreckage:  a pair of uneven planks and a surprisingly long tangle of rope that was actually not worn to fraying.  “Let me measure off these plank,” she murmured, laying each of them alongside Anevia’s injured leg, the shorter piece along the inside of the leg, with the longer piece to the outside.  “This thing is just too long.  I’ll need to cut it down a bit.”

She moved the long chunk of wood a safe distance away from Anevia and Eshera, then quickly strode to pick up her glaive.  “Swords on sticks have to be good for something other than hurting people.”  A grin lingered on her face as Krystiel smoothly chopped a length of material from one end of the wood, then carted it back over near the other two women.  It was now approximately the same length as the first piece, much to her satisfaction.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking towards the injured woman.  “This is going to hurt.  I should have brought more supplies, I now know, but this morning, only general first aid seemed all I’d need.  Eshera, would you be so kind as to brace this wounded leg at the knee, then lift it up a few inches off the ground when I ask it?”  It took only a moment to make sure that Eshera and her grip on Anevia’s leg were positioned properly.  “All right,” she said in a calm, steadying voice.  “Lift it up, please.”

Eshera did so, and Anevia’s pained wince was impossible to ignore, but Krystiel knew that the best way to stop the pain at this point was to simply get the brace into position.  She did so easily, winding the rope carefully around the pieces of wooden slatting and the leg quickly, but in a smooth manner that assured that the pieces would hold.  “And lower her.  I think that should feel a little bit better, and I’m fairly sure you’ll be able to move without too much pain.  You’ll not damage it any further by doing so either.”  Together, Krystiel and Eshera helped Anevia to her feet.  

“Ahh, praise the Inheritor!” Anevia said with a smile that now appeared without pain.  “This will work just fine.  Aravashnial,” she continued, looking toward where the elf still sat huddled on the floor of the cavern, “I’ll act as your attendant as we go about getting out of here.  I’m fairly sure Krystiel and Eshera both need some freedom of movement if they’re to protect us as we find a way out.  Also,” she added, glancing at the two women. “I can help you out a bit in combat.  I see my bow over there, and I still have some arrows here.  I only have 22 of them though, so I’ll try and be careful with them.”  She paused, shuffling a few carefully stoppered bottles and stick-like things out of her pockets.  “Here.  You two will be on the front lines.  These things may be of help.  Alchemist’s fire”—she pointed to the three small bottles—”and a couple of smokesticks.  Do you think we’re ready to go then?  I don’t think I can exactly run, but I think that Aravashnial and I will still be able to move around without much of a problem.”

“Almost ready,”  Krystiel said.  She walked over to where the fallen silver scale lay on the ground, and picked it up.  Sorrrow, such sorrow, and yet there was a final, desperate hope as well.  Terelendelev.  It was one of the ancient dragon’s scales.  She knew as soon as her fingers touched the object that it would allow her to walk the clouds three times each day.  A wonderful, though tragic, reminder of the sacrifice Kenabres’ strongest protector had made. She tucked it into the pouch tucked inside her belt.

“Now we’re ready.”

Spoiler:

Eshera

Anevia seemed to be doing better, at least in terms of actually being able to move around on her own. Spotting the indicated bow, she walked over to it and retrieved it for Anevia. While it was one thing to walk around and shooting the bow would likely be more complicated than it would normally be, bending over to pick things up from the ground was likely best to be avoided when possible. The bow didn’t seem to have suffered too much from the fall and the debris. “I’m certain your assistance will be appreciated, but let us hope it will not be required often enough for you to run out of arrows.” She handed the bow over with a faint smile, and gratefully accepted the offered bottles and smokesticks.

Krystiel had taken one of each, as well, which was good. Dividing the resources seemed like the smarter thing to do, especially since they didn’t know what they were going to encounter. She gave a small nod when she saw that Krystiel was walking towards where the scale had been. She would have reminded her if she hadn’t done so. Terendelev’s sacrifice deserved to be remembered and leaving behind a scale was wrong in far too many ways.

“Let us get moving, then,” she murmured. “Sir Aravashnial, do you need some assistance getting up?” She walked with Anevia towards the male, regardless if he expressed a desire to be helped or not. After all, while his pride might wish him to stand on his own, his injuries might cause him to lose balance. The last thing she wanted was for Anevia to have to catch his fall if that happened. She also glanced towards the nobleman, despite his injuries being the least concerning. “Lord Gwerm, are you ready to leave this place as well?”

Once the three other survivors were safely on their feet and everyone was ready to depart, she gave Krystiel a nod and moved onward. Her longsword was a comforting weight in her hand, and Krystiel provided the necessary light to see. Remaining alert, she quietly asked the Lady of Valor to protect them and moved towards what seemed to be an opening in the cavern. Hopefully, they would be able to use it to find their way back to the surface so the others could get more medical attention and they could find out what had happened in the city. For now, however, thoughts of that were not nearly as important as moving forward - slow for the sake of the injured - and keep everyone safe.

GM

As no one seemed to have any particular distinction about which way “onward” might be, the straggling group of survivors wandered without direction in the large cavern. Krystiel’s halo thankfully lit up the distance in front of the group well enough for them to easily avoid a pit that looked to descend forever. No one appeared to want to climb down into the crevice and take a closer look at the seemingly endless shaft, so the five people continued their exploration. In one direction, they were able to walk along for more than sixty feet without meeting the wall of the chamber, but when they did come across it, this particular wall had no passageways out as they walked along its steep curve. After another eighty feet of cautious walking, the group found a passage leading off somewhere. The narrow path was too dark to see much ahead of them.

The knot of survivors lingered in front of this passage for a moment. “We might want to keep checking along the wall to see if there are any other passages,” Anevia said. “I’d rather not get stuck in a place we can’t get out of.”

“Ehm, yes,” Lord Gwerm replied, though his face as he glanced toward Anevia was full of disdain. “Stuck is bad, yes. Even a thief knows that. Perhaps especially a thief would know that, wouldn’t she?” He sighed deeply, then looked to Eshera and Krystiel. “Listen,” he said, drawing out the word for just about as long as it could be drawn out without seeming too hesitant. “Listen. If you two girls…err, young ladies…can get me safely back into the city, I’ll…I’ll give each of you five hundred gold. One thousand in total. Do you think it’s even possible?”

Krystiel turned from looking at Lord Gwerm to glance at Eshera, trying to catch the other woman’s gaze. “I have to assume it is,” she said. “There must be a way out; why else would Terendelev have sacrificed herself to save us from the fall? No, there are things here that are relevant to use in some manner. The Eternal Rose will guide us on our way.” Her voice was brave, though she faltered a little when she mentioned the silver dragon’s death.

“What Anevia said has merit,” Aravashnial added, as always ready to direct the group even through his blindness. “We will need to fully explore each cavern that we come across. Come. We shall find any other exits that remain.” With no other warning, Aravashnial laid his hand against the wall of the cavern on the far side of the little passageway. Anevia hobbled a few quick steps to catch up to the old elf, taking his arm once more. She looked over her shoulder towards the other three. Krystiel stooped to place a particular chunk of rock at the left side of the passage’s entrance, then hastened off to skip ahead of where the injured pair walked, the light of her halo once more projecting into the darkness.

Approximately forty feet away from the first passageway that led out of the vast cavern, a second wandered forward. The angle of the passageways would seem to indicate that each led in an opposing direction, but with no way to find true north, labeling a direction was impossible. The second tunnel was shorter, and the light showed that this way led into another, much smaller cavern, though details were impossible to see in the darkness ahead.

“There is another…” Krystiel began, though Aravashnial’s voice interrupted her.

“Another passageway here, I see, or feel, I suppose. We must continue on our way.”

Continue they did, but a full circle of the cavern proved to show only the two exits that the group had found. “Which passage should we take?” Krystiel asked Eshera. “I could see the outline of another cave room in the other tunnel, but here, it’s just dark. I have no idea if there’s even anything beyond here.”

At this point, the choice lay upon Eshera’s shoulders.

Eshera

Despite their progress being slow, she couldn’t help but be quietly relieved about it. Nothing attacked them, there had been no further accidents and so far no one was becoming exhausted despite their injuries. She had quietly observed the two tunnels and pit as they came across it, but had refrained from giving her opinion until they were certain they had explored the cavern. Or, at least, the edges of it. She preferred being near the edge since that made it less likely they would be attacked from that one direction. As Krystiel spoke and looked at her, she nodded.

“With the lack of any indication that one of the tunnels might bring us closer to the surface, I would prefer the second tunnel that seems to lead to another cavern. Even if the cavern doesn’t lead to anything promising, it might contain something useful. If it doesn’t have either, then at least we’ll know for certain that there was nothing for us there and that the narrow tunnel is the one we need to take.”

Looking towards said narrow tunnel for a few moments, she continued a bit softer. “A narrow path also means less room for manoeuvring which can become troublesome if we are faced with an obstacle or fight, especially combined with the lack of vision ahead of us. Any enemy would have the same issue, of course, but I would prefer a path that’s a bit wider than this one.”

Giving a half shrug, she looked at the others in turn. “That’s my opinion, anyhow. Does anyone have objections with attempting the second tunnel with its cavern first?”

GM

The passage was indeed rather short, leading about twenty feet deeper into the cave system.  At first, it truly looked to be a rather uninteresting room:  just rocks and ledges.  No enemies obliged themselves to attack the group at first glance anyway.  The room is only about thirty feet in diameter, leaving all of it easily visible in the light. Across the room, a slightly wider passage leads onward.

The sole interesting thing in the small room is a stone ledge along the right wall about fourteen feet from the floor.  The wall there has at least some usable handholds from the looks of things, but the stone is also a little slick with moss. A sturdy-looking leather strap dangled from atop the ledge.

Eshera

The next cavern was much smaller than the first, which was a pleasant change. There seemed to be another passage leading out of it, but there was also a ledge in the cavern which seemed intriguing. Especially with that leather strap dangling from the top. “There could be something useful up there,” she said as she looked back to the others. “It looks like it might be possible to climb the wall towards it, although the moss will make it more difficult.” Studying the wall for another moment, she debated if the potential gain was worth the potential risk. Considering that she was still in good health and no one had been prepared for this situation, she decided it was worth it. Even if there was nothing useful up there, it was worth the try.

“Unless any of you think it’s a terribly idea, I think I want to risk it. The cavern seems safe enough for now.” Putting her sword away, she started removing her hide armour. She knew it well and it didn’t take all that long to accomplish - unlike with some of that heavy plate armour her father’s friends had favoured - and it also gave the others a chance to voice any strong objections to her plan. Since they didn’t, she moved closer to the wall and carefully started trying to get up the wall, using the handholds that were available and trying to avoid the slippery moss as best as she could.

Doing something potentially foolish, 1d20+4 =5. Oops.

Krystiel

“I say, girl!” Lord Gwerm’s voice was strident.  “Just what do you think you are doing? Falling, apparently,” he added as Eshera toppled to the ground.  

To Krystiel, it looked like the other woman had just let go of the wall with both hands at once.  She hurried to where the other woman had fallen, quickly kneeling beside her.  “No, no,” she said, pressing a hand against Eshera’s shoulder as if to keep her on the ground flat on her back.  “Let me see if you’ve hurt anything.  Head injuries can be pretty messy, and I’ll guess that you’ll have a swollen lump on the back of your head before long.”  Her careful fingers gently touched the back of Eshera’s skull , lifting it only slightly off the floor to feel for any real injuries.  Fortunately, it looked like she would be all right.

In the background, Anevia murmured “If only this leg wasn’t bothering me.  I dare say I could have reached that ledge.  You were right to try it though, Eshera,” she continued as Krystiel was helping the other to her feet.

“No, please.  I’d rather not have any more accidents here.  I think…I think I can get whatever is up there.  A moment.”  Krystiel slid her hand into her belt pouch, fingering the scale.  She wasn’t sure if she needed to have physical contact with it or not, but it wasn’t difficult to hold it anyway.  She willed the scale’s cloudwalking power to activate, and immediately, a column of mist formed under her feet until she was standing in the cloud’s embrace, wrapped by tendrils of mist.  Krystiel willed the column to grow higher and higher, until she could reach the leather strap.  Grabbing the haversack, she let the mists lower her back to the floor smoothly.

Krystiel started sorting through the backpack, assessing its contents.  “Well, we have enough rations here to keep us all fed for a couple of days.  This stuff,” she continued, holding up a fire making kit with flint and steel and a set of caltrops, “some oil, some arrows, and a couple of potions.   These would go to you, Anevia.”  She handed the bow-bearing woman the arrows, some twenty-five or so from a quick count.  “I’ll see if I can figure out what these potions are.”  

She reached into the magic that was woven into the very heart of who she was, the arcane power that would only increase with more training.  She murmured a few esoteric phrases, granting herself the ability to sense all nearby magic.  The potion vials might have just been water or something, after all.  It seemed, however, that they were indeed magical formulas, but their faint aura of divine magic was nothing besides the much stronger aura of alteration emanating from the backpack itself.  “Interesting.”  The word was quiet, a thing she wasn’t even aware she’d said aloud.

She concentrated on the one of the potions first.  Might as well try the easier things first, she figured.  Neither potion was difficult to identify. The first was one of cure light wounds, the other, lesser restoration. The haversack now…that was interesting. From what she could tell, the thing looked to function somewhat like a bag of holding, though there were some small differences in its aura and the tendrils of magic woven into the leather. She quickly tossed the supplies back into the pack, holding it aloft with a smile.

“I’m not completely sure what this thing is, but it looks like it will work in a manner similar to that of a bag of holding. It’s not quite one of those, but from my studies, its aura is very nearly the same. Anyone in particular feel like carrying a pack full of stuff? I can carry it easily, if no one in particular wants to lug it around.” Krystiel looked at the backpack and almost wanted to pat it fondly and tell it that it was a good…thing, and that they would be very glad to have its company. That might be a bit much, however. “Which way shall we go now?”

Spellcraft for potion A, then B, then the pack.
Respectively, that's 1d20+5=15, then 1d20+5=11, and 1d20+5=21

Eshera

Falling was, indeed, what she had been doing. Smirking a little, she patiently let Krystiel fuss over her. She didn’t think it was worse than some nasty bruises and maybe a cut here or there, but since they did have someone with healing skills present, it made sense to allow being checked by that person. Getting up gingerly after she was allowed to do so, she wiped her hands against her pants and started to put her armour back on, while curiously watching as Krystiel floated up to retrieve it. It looked like a pretty neat trick.

By the time Krystiel was back and going through the contents of the sack, she finished putting on her armour and checking if everything was just right. She raised an eyebrow when she heard that the sack itself was magical, even similar to a bag of holding, but shook her head when she heard the question. “It’s very useful, but I trust your ability to keep it safe and not drop it into the first pit we come across. Well, second pit considering we already saw one, but you know what I mean.” She gave Krystiel a smile and nodded in the direction of the slightly wider passage.

“That way, I would say. It’s wider than the first passage in the previous cavern, and as such less restrictive for manoeuvrability. We might as well go through it to see where it leads us.” Waiting a few moments to give everyone a chance to get ready to move out again, she moved towards the passage they had seen but not yet explored. She kept her longsword drawn just in case, while hoping they wouldn’t need to fight anytime soon.

GM

The tunnel which Eshera chose is quite a bit longer than the one that had led to the room with its interesting ledge.  After about five minutes of walking, the group came to yet another diversion of tunnels, one to the right, another to the left.

Surprisingly, Lord Gwerm looked keenly toward the left-hand tunnel.  “Yes,” he murmured.  “I am quite certain that this passageway will lead back towards the one we skipped previously.  I’m not sure where the right-hand passage will go, but it’s not in any direction we’ve really been going.  Well, I guess it’s the same direction as the tunnel we just came out of, but yes.  If you care, this way will curve back towards the other tunnel.  I do not know about the rest of you,” he added skeptically, “but I would prefer not to be met with an ambush of any sort from behind.  Who knows where this rat’s warren of tunnels might lead.”

Krystiel shrugged, a quiet smile glimmering on her lips.  “Who knows?  Might not hurt to get as much of a map as we can of this place.  I’ve a sketch of where we’ve been roughed out in my journal here.”  She gestured to the leather-bound book she carried.  “I’ll go where you’d prefer, Eshera.  It seems you’re our leader.  Do feel free to lead on.”  These last words definitely brought a smile, but it was a trusting one, seasoned with just a little joy of adventuring, of exploring.  Krystiel, it seemed, was not averse to exploration.

Dice:  1d20+12=16 for Knowledge: Geography on Lord Gwerm.
Yes, he IS useful!

Eshera, 11/12 hp, 18/14/14 AC, 1 CPT, 3 TS, 1 SE

Eshera gave a little smile in return, grateful for the trust, before looking towards Gwerm. “Thank you, Lord Gwerm, that is very useful to know. I agree that being ambushed is… less than desirable, just as staying underground for a long period of time. Since the left tunnel loops back and thus doesn’t bring us closer to finding our way to the surface, I suggest we take the right tunnel.”

With the unspoken thought being that if that first tunnel, and thus now the left tunnel, would lead them to the surface they could be here for a very long time, indeed. But since they had no way of knowing for certain, they had to take some chances and have faith.

“It also might be an idea if K’seri helps keep an eye on the path behind us, since she’ll probably be quicker and more agile in getting from the back of the group to the front and the other way around, in case we are attacked. Should we be attacked from behind, it might give us some more time. Of course, you would know that better since you’ve been her companion for much longer that I’ve been in her presence.” Although she personally preferred having the snow leopard nearby, so far she seemed quite capable of fighting and it was always nice to fight alongside a companion, even an animal companion.

“Either way, let’s keep going. Should anyone become tired or need a rest for another reason, do let us know.” Whether they could take a rest when it was desired would depend on the circumstances around them, of course. Still, there was little reason for anyone to suffer in silence.

Krystiel  10/10hp, 11/11/10 AC, 2TS, A:  5 L1; D:  1 L1

Krystiel took a long glance toward the route that they were apparently bypassing.  She had loved puzzles as a child, and truth be told, she still did.  Having a blank spot on her rough map was a bit irksome.  Still, she had said that she would go where Eshera led, and that, it seemed, was in the same general direction they’d originally taken out of the cavern into which they had fallen.  “I’ll tell her,” she said in response to Eshera’s comment on K’seri’s positioning.  

‘Oh!” Krystiel said.  “Sir Aravashnial, you are a renowned mage.  Is there any chance that you might be able to identify this pack we recovered in the last room?”

The injured elf’s smile looked a bit at odds with the bandage now covering his eyes, but a smile it was nevertheless.  “Of course, child.  I am always glad to help in guiding others’ actions.  Yes, a moderate aura of conjuration, with a bit of alteration.  What’s this along the sides, here?  A pair of side pouches, it seems?  Yes.  This is indeed very nearly a bag of holding.  It is a handy haversack, and both the main pack and each side pouch function as bags of holding with one special extra power.  Whatever item you need when you reach into your haversack will always be right on top.  I believe these small pockets should be able to hold about twenty pounds each, while the main sack would probably be, oh, seventy-five or eighty.  A very useful discovery, to say the least.”

“Thank you very kindly, Aravashnial,” Krystiel said, and caught herself bowing to the man whose eyes no longer functioned.  “Your assistance is greatly appreciated.  Krystiel took the pack back as Aravashnial handed it to her, slinging the light weight over one shoulder.  “I suppose it’s time to go then?  I can see the beginning of another room of this cavern system over to the left; it’s only twenty feet or so away from me.  Just tunnel to the right.  Following you, ge lvulder!”

Dice:  1d20+16=36. Yes. Yes, he can identify that backpack.

Eshera, 11/12 hp, 18/14/14 AC, 1 CPT, 3 TS, 1 SE

“Indeed. Thank you, sir Aravashnial.” Eshera echoed, before giving Krystiel a nod. “There’s no reason to linger here for any longer, no.” At least, none that she was aware of. And while that wasn’t always the same thing, at times it simply had to do. Moving ahead of the group once again, her weapon at the ready just in case, she moved further into the tunnel and towards the hint of the next cavern. One that hopefully wouldn’t include a dead-end, although then Krystiel would get her wish of seeing where the other tunnel was leading.