#34: Beyond the Cellar

After patching our wounds at Orcdoom and settling affairs with Mycleth, the priest of Lathander and Serrus, captain of Post South, we make our way back to Mirabar to collect our hard-earned bounty.  Though the battles with orcs were exhilarating, the near-death experience has made me thankful to leave the plains and mountains full of orcs behind.  The fortress walls of Mirabar are a welcome sight.

We reconvene with Zargon at The Rusty Sword and recount our tale to the bard.  We have a few errands to finish before we depart for Dagger’s Deep—Audric pawns some of the captured orc weapons and gems collected from our previous endeavors, and I shop around for components needed to research a new spell.  We meet Corin Redbeard, emissary of the Mirabarran Undercity dwarves, as well as a pair of families referred to us by Daegahr, who the fisherman thinks will fare well in the settlement.  Finally, I am surprised to hear that Seirsha has decided to accompany Zargon, and when we are finally ready to depart, it is with a sizable party.

Our progress is slow due to the size of the group, but our journey during the day is not harassed and we find a place to settle in for the night not far from Minstrel’s Glade.  We divide the group into three watches, and I’m given the opportunity to observe some of our new comrades.  Seirsha keeps mostly to herself, eschewing even Zargon’s company.  Abram is quiet and thoughtful, though kind, and Corin is stoic, not the type to initiate conversations.  Seeing his dwarven-crafted axe and suit of chain is comforting, should anything decide to contest our travel.

Late in our second day of travel we reach Dagger’s Deep and are greeted by Perhegan, who is eager to meet those we have brought with us, and all are welcomed with open arms.  I give a cautious nod to Zeb as he approaches with Bonie, sensing something behind the priest’s dark eyes, but fortunately Audric steps in to share our tale before I am forced to, and I welcome the interruption. 

I don’t relish the thought of speaking alone with my master.  It’s difficult to tell if Zeb will approve of our decision to pursue the orc bounty in Orcdoom, and he will almost certainly hold Audric to task for taking such rash action without him.  Zeb is impossible to read as Audric recounts the tale of our deadly encounters, and when the story is finally finished, the group disperses to their tents.  I seek the solace of my own tent quickly, avoiding any direct encounter with Zeb.

* * *

I hold my breath as I watch Audric and his large party approach, uncharacteristically nervous, and I squeeze Bonie’s hand hard until I finally catch sight of Selben, who has taken on the affectation of a black mage’s robe.  She squeezes my hand back and smiles as I finally exhale, obviously relieved to see my young apprentice again.  Selben’s eyes are sunken and his skin pale, and he seems nervous at meeting my gaze—from what I can tell he and Audric are still recovering from wounds or bruises, though Zargon seems characteristically chipper and gregarious.  I am sure there is a story to be told.

Before I have a chance to talk with Selben about their journey, Audric speaks over the young mage and relates their tales of Mirabar, of their decision to hunt orcs at Orcdoom, and of the nearly deadly encounters that ensued.  I find myself excited by their recounting of the attack on the orc camp, proud at the efficacy of Selben’s use of his powers, and my heart nearly drops at hearing of Audric and Lom’s fall, and of Selben’s hard journey back to Post South with two unconscious warriors in tow.  Selben’s voice wavers as he finishes the story, and when the tale is finally done, the group erupts into claps on the back and congratulations on a successful hunt.  Once finished, Selben dismisses himself quietly and returns to his tents.

We show the acolyte of Gond, young Abram, to the shrine, inviting him to contribute his own addition to our construction or to build a shrine of his own.  I’m confident he’ll find a following among the various craftsmen and women of Dagger’s Deep.  Perhegan’s daughter, Edine, welcomes Seirsha and tries to befriend her, and I throw a questioning eyebrow to Zargon, who explains a little bit about the woman, though I can feel he’s barely scratching the surface.  Corin Redbeard is a welcome visitor, and I’m eager to show him the cellar of the river keep, as it has been difficult to restrain myself from investigating on my own in their absence.  Fortunately, Bonie has allowed for little idle time, and has made sure there were enough distractions to keep me from the cellar.

Excitement over the newcomers quickly returns to matters of business as the sun sets on the horizon, and tents are found for the newly arrived families.  The following morning, our first task is easing the dwarf Corin’s curiosity about the tunnels beneath Dagger’s Deep.  Bonie agrees to let me go as long as Audric promises to make responsible decisions, and slaps my rump playfully as she heads to Edine’s tent, leaving me, Zargon, Audric, and Corin to investigate on our own.

We escort Corin into the cellar, showing him the hidden door, and I watch as he examines the stonework carefully, ere we strike torches and crawl through the tunnel and into the room beyond.  The musty scent encountered before is gone, though the lingering odor of char or ash remains.

“This chamber was indeed constructed by dwarven hands, though it was not originally part of the main keep,” Corin imparts.  He knows that both the keep and cellar are centuries old, the former made by humans and the latter by dwarves, though he cannot determine which was built first.  As we continue forward, we investigate the collapsed catacomb entrance, relying on Corin’s knowledge to tell us more about it.

He explains that it was likely a cave-in, though cannot tell if it was done on purpose.  “The Undercity of Mirabar has no record of this,” he says with some surprise, explaining how rare it is for a construction so close to Mirabar to be unknown to the dwarven scholars.  Discussing options, to the best of or estimation, it would take hard day of work to unblock the entrance, though Audric questions whether it’s a good idea.

Corin intends to document the finding, having already started a crude map with dimensions that he intends to return to Mirabar to discuss with his kin.  His eagerness to learn what lies beyond the collapse is evident, and after some discussion, we decide to put the matter to Perhegan.

The nominal ruler of Dagger’s Deep trusts our judgment and agrees to assign Ailbeart Stonehand, the lead mason, to oversee the excavation, and once given leave to commence our work, we head back into the cellar to begin.  The labor is tedious and hard, and before breaching the opening, we decide to rest for the night and finish our excavation in the morning.

As we emerge from the cellar, we are confronted by Bonie who calls to us urgently.  “Come quickly!” she says, gesturing towards Odesia’s tent.  During the day she has given birth, and with a weary smile Odesia introduces us to her newborn boy, young Laerch.  There were no complications during delivery, and a small celebration breaks out, with Laerch being the first baby of Dagger’s Deep.  Audric holds the child, and I can see Zargon and Seirsha in hushed conversation nearby.  I withdraw one of my knives and gift it to Odesia, a present to be kept until the child is old enough to wield it.

On that glad note we retire for the evening and arise refreshed and ready to confront whatever waits in the catacomb.  On our request, Renwal agrees to bestow a magical light spell upon a small rock for us once we breach the opening so that we may potentially see what lies beyond before fully unearthing the entrance.  Corin agrees to enter first, gifted with the ability to see in the dark, and we hold our breaths and listen as he disappears into the black.  We hear the scuffle of rocks on the ground before he finally calls back.  “This is interesting indeed,” he says, and indicates that no immediate threat waits beyond.  One by one, we struggle through the hole.

As we step beyond the wreckage, our magic bauble illuminates the tunnel, which continues past the blockage.  The ceiling is low, somewhat confined for humans but perfectly suitable for Corin.
  

Searching around us, we see skeletons—dozens of skeletons—and Corin identifies them as goblins.  Scorch marks can be found on the tunnel walls, and one skull appears as if it may have been immolated.  We also find the remains of a larger skeleton, mostly intact, appearing to be that of a human.  Shards of broken javelins and spears, sharpened stone and fractured blades, litter the floor.  Near the human skeleton, we see shattered glass and a few unstopped, empty glass vials.  Covered in dust is a fully intact longsword, and not far removed is a similarly untouched footman’s pick, weapons surviving the ravages of time.  Audric takes both items.

We decide to continue, and Corin indicates that the tunnel descends slightly.  We pass for nearly a half hour before encountering a fork; to the right, the dwarven stonework continues, but to the left, the tunnel is earthen and unfinished.  Questioning Corin, the dwarf looks rather nervous about the discovery of the undocumented complex and offers no insight on the nature of either path.  Turning to Lom, I ask him to examine the dust on the tunnel floor to see if there is any sign of passage evident.  He investigates carefully and doesn’t note any footprints, but indicates a strange pattern of score marks at various points along the edges.  They are swept away easily if the debris is disturbed, but none of us can discern what may have caused them.  We make note of the curious marks and continue down the dwarven tunnel.

We advance for what seems to be another half mile before all of us stop at once, hearing a faint noise ahead, an erratic tapping that echoes through the catacomb.  The sound begins to grow louder, and we get the sensation that it is approaching, the tapping or scuttling noise increasing in volume and speed.  Finally, glittering in the darkness ahead, we see a brief reflection of our torchlight: two red slivers, on what appears to be a pair of eyes.  We brace for a confrontation.

The tunnel suddenly illuminates with a brilliant flash.  Everything goes white, and in the space where we saw the eyes, we see a long, serpentine body with several sets of legs and the head of what appears to be a dragon.  A current of electricity erupts from it, striking Corin, and the dwarf is instantly incinerated, his body crumpling to a heap.

Bonie looses an arrow from behind us which sails into the cavern beyond as Audric utters a conjuration, filling the tunnel ahead with glittering motes of light, illuminating the creature and revealing just how massive it is, easily 40 feet long from snout to tail.  I finish an evocation that summons the hazy form of a wyvern between us and the creature as Zargon fires an arrow that penetrates the creature’s hide.

Bonie and Lom unleash another volley, both striking the serpent.  Audric completes a second incantation, this time summoning a small, whirling tornado of dust and air in front of the beast, while I blind it with a blessing from Malar, its red eyes turning a glowing white.  It roars in defiance and charges forward, opening its great maw full of hundreds of sharp teeth, lunging towards me…and stops a mere handful of feet away.  The ephemeral wyvern springs to life, triggered by the beast’s charge, and its magical sting paralyzes our enemy.

Immediately, we rush forward and rain attacks onto the creature, Audric dropping his axe in lieu of the discovered footman’s pick, using it to strike deadly blows.  Lom, Bonie and I do the same, a final blow from Bonie cutting deep into the serpent’s neck and its writhing stills, having succumbed to our vicious onslaught.

I ask Audric take up his axe and sever the creature’s head, but he appears to have a moment of indecision before ignoring the request, instead beating on the dead creature with his pick, almost as in a berserk rage.

“Are you alright?” I ask the warrior, clearly concerned.

“I’m fine.  Everything’s fine.  We’re all fine.”  Audric briefly explains that he felt compelled to use the pick instead of his axe, a potentially troubling revelation given Audric’s history with items of magic.  I ask Bonie to complete the deed as I sever tendons to remove the creature’s stunted legs.  Meanwhile Audric loots Corin’s body, explaining his intention to return anything found to the dwarves in Mirabar.  Unfortunately, the notes being kept by Corin pertaining to the tunnel’s discovery were destroyed in the dwarf’s conflagration.  Zargon and Audric take scales from the serpent as trophies, and I nod at the with approval.

With the immediate threat gone, we scout ahead.  Slightly beyond the skirmish, the tunnel forks again, and once again the dwarven stonework continues to the right, though this time a pair of earthen tunnels branch off to the left.  We decide that any further investigation should wait, and after some discussion regarding harvesting the serpent’s hide, we determine the task too great for us now, and agree to return the next day.

I take the serpent’s head with us, dragging it and the brace of severed, clawed legs behind me as we turn back towards Dagger’s Deep.