Fantasy Arian Silver Mines || Hunters Inn

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Genii
Siwai was about to answer Rika but stopped when the dwarf spoke to him. He lifted his neck up and looked both directions down the tunnel. "The wyrm? Is that what you mean?"
Siwai glanced back down at the dwarf, "What king?"

 

[Lost Echo]

Urzoth spun in their chair at the unexpected noise. They sighed heavily. Another set of locals that'll start off hating us. Though maybe they were desperate enough not to care about the property damage. The orc wheeled forward, letting Akela attend to Siwai and whoever was speaking down there. This place had been hit hard. Arian was much further from The Wall, but so much more affected. Dwarves weren't known to flee, so they must have hunkered down some place. But where if their foe came from the earth?

Akela leapt down gently, her large paws muffling the sound. She instead walked around the carriage, sniffing for clues.

 

[Gwenymoo]

Tobias straightened up...."guess he's dead" he shrugged and looked about for where Callan and Urzoth had got too.

 

[Astrophil]

Godefroi's eyes skim over the armor and weaponry scattered across the old battlefield. Her steps were cautious as she approached the lost equipment, wanting to further inspect the armor for clues as to what kind of danger they were facing and find any clues on who these people were. "Hmm, they arrived here with the expectation to fight something minor. I'm sure these poor blokes were unaware of what they were facing. Half of the weaponry isn't sharp enough to slice the scales of such a beast." She sighs, giving her a shake of her head before approaching the cave. With a slight tilt of her head, the woman's mind was lost in wonder. "A way to seal the other entrances and trap this entrance. If a situation occurs, chase it to the trapped opening." Shutting her eyes, imagining the possible events. "So many ways we can go about this. I guess it depends on which one would handle our situation better." With caution, Godefroi steps into the cave to check out the interior to see what she's working with cave structure-wise.

 

[Oli Beju]

“I want to say that I’m shocked, but… I can't, in earnest truth.” RIka stood completely still, examining the detritus of what was once a town. By most accounts, it still was; yet the carnage wrought by the Wyrm had taken a considerable, noticeable toll. After the pause, she resumed walking, taking great care not to step on any of the debris that may not have been picked up. Continuing through the streets, she examined the buildings, heading somewhat toward what should’ve been the town’s center, eyeing the building sizes, confident that the biggest would presumably constitute the rector or warden’s office.

—

Spoiler: Acknowledgements

I'm not really sure precisely who followed behind me, excluding Connor, so I guess to whomever the earlier commentary was directed is up in the air.

 

[Genii]

The tunnels were deep, the widest of them leading underneath the town of Arian.

“Rock Wurm.“ The dwarf corrected Siwai. “What King? King John of course. We sent out a rider when the town was attacked… four… four days ago...” the soldier was unsteady on his feet and almost fell over.
_________

The most prominent building, in the centre of town, would have been the Jarl’s house - a large meeting hall covered in shields. It too had bordered up windows, but it’s large ornate doors weren’t.

“… guessin’ the pub’s closed...” Callan said to Tobais as they passed through the eerily quiet streets. No guards, no locals, market stalls left abandoned and evidence of a battle… it didn’t bode well, but where were the bodies?

“So er… you smell anythin’?” He asked the rookie.

((They haven’t reached the mines yet, but Siwai and Akela have hopped down a hole. Maybe Godefroi jumped down to join them?))

 

[Oli Beju]

The layout of the town lended itself well to the notion of a centralized leadership, and its paramount building in the center of town, surrounded by shields, augured the notion further. The ring(s?) of shield walls that was made around the structure appeared to be its primary source of defense, and considering the evident height of casualties, it wouldn’t have been an aberration to say that the men inside were probably armed.† Standing a furtive distance from the Jarl’s House, RIka paused, looking back to her allies, listening for any hubbub going on inside the institution before her. Regardless of what she’d heard, she turned back to the group and nodded, then making her way to the entrance and… rather pensively, if not outright apprehensively knocking on the door before reaching for its handle and attempting to gently push it open.

Spoiler: †

I’m honestly just assuming upon the design of the shields based on typical depictions of Nordic culture with whom dwarves are usually affiliated.

—
(I'm guessing these are the people with me, but not entirely certain.)
Genii (Callan), Gwenymoo (Tobias), II-CinderRadcliff-II (Connor), Lost Echo (Urzoth(???))

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Genii Lost Echo
Hole
"Rock wurm..." Siwai mumbled, scratching his head. "Is it made outta rocks? If it is...I might be at an advantage!" He didn't seem to bat an eye at name of the King, but he did hop down to help the dwarf stand steady.
He blinked and peered over at Akela "Yo Akela. Find anythin'?"

Oli Beju Astrophil II-CinderRadcliff-II Gwenymoo
 Town
Pestle became confused at the variety of scents and tastes in the air, and missed Siwai's descent into the hole. The rotten serpent followed the other into the town, slithering past and through rubble effortlessly.

 

[Lost Echo]

Urzoth was solemn as they made their way around the debris. The dwarves were a sturdy sort. The destruction of this town was different than the human village overrun by goblins. Glancing at the boarded-up windows, and the lack of bodies in the streets, they noted, "The attacks must come with significant lulls. They brought their dead inside as well as the wounded. I do not know of dwarven rituals, but logistically, the dead are moved last." Well, before the debris, especially if you're not going anywhere--or you have nowhere else to go--but the group could tell that. They stared at the jarl's house and its well-shielded walls. Was that where the survivors were? It was a large building, but not large enough to fit a town of this size.

Feeling a mental brush from Akela, they paused in their movements, trusting they were safe enough to communicate. Returning their focus to their body, they spoke, "Siwai found a wounded dwarf in that hole. Said they sent a rider for the king four days ago. And confirmed it was a wyrm; a rock wyrm." Urzoth and Akela were unsure if there was only one attack four days ago, or if more had come intervening, so did not provide partial information.

---

---

Rocks do not have much of a smell to a wolf. They are not prey, and in normal circumstances, are unimportant. Akela knew that sound would likely be their alarm. Still, she looked up at the call of her name, then shook her head. She started looking for other survivors. Was the dwarf alone? She focused on the ground, sniffing. As she pawed at the dirt. Was it disturbed as if something had dug up through it? Or rubbed smooth by a large body?

 

[Genii]

“Might as well be.” The Dwarf answered Siwai. “Its hide is as thick as bleeding diamonds! … but no, we call it that ‘cause it cuts through the rock as if it were butter.”

“Thanks.” He said as the kobold helped him stand. He looked up through the large hole he’d fallen down a few days back. “It’s awfully quiet up there… I tried to get back up to help, but…” Obviously the man was too short, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

The tunnel walls were indeed smooth - not man-made with pick and axe. Akela would find blood, both animal and dwarf, as well as the odd chewed up corpse, but nothing living.

Her keen ears might have picked up the occasional rumble deeper within the darkened dripping tunnels, but there were no more cries for help coming from underground.



______



“Hm.” Callan agreed with Urzoth. All this destruction and no bodies, there were people hiding somewhere.

He followed Rika to the imposing Jarl’s house, and despite the lack of a wyrm, his hand instinctively went to his sword.

The heavy wooden door groaned as Rika opened it, eerily echoing into the meeting hall’s interior.

Inside it was dark and quiet. Stone floors and walls were decorated with animal skin rugs, tapestries, weapons and more shields. One might think it were abandoned, if it wasn’t for the rectangular fire pit burning away in the centre of the space.

“Ello!?” Callan cautiously called out when nobody came to greet them.

From above, on a veranda that encircled the hall, there was a creak of wood and a stretching sound as thirty or so bows were aimed down at the group’s heads.

 

[Gwenymoo]

Tobias' ears twitched and he tensed, "bows lots of em!" He fluffed his wings up making it harder to aim for his obscured vitals while drawing his own sword. "Oi! we're ere to deal wit a wyrm right?!? Not fight you folks eh? How bout we all put the bows down and av a drink?"

 

[Oli Beju]

Entry into the admittedly benighted, dilapidated, almost cellar silent institution was disconcertingly easy enough. Callan had taken to the deafening silence via his own characteristic methods: yelling at it; resulting in one of the most disturbingly familiar noises that Rika had heard in quite awhile: the sounds of arrows being nocked and bows drawn, only this time she was on the wrong side of what would surely be a precipitous barrage. Tobias, wings unfurled, responded first. Rika, however, was busy trying to catch a glimpse of even one of the arrow’s glints. Presumably, they were all on the upper level, not that it mattered because the second one of them (the dwarves) got too skittish and loosed an arrow, the rest would surely follow. RIka’s hands slowly lifted, shaking a bit, as she pensively stepped further into the room, trying mightily to concoct the words that might defuse and deescalate the current, heavily disadvantageous situation. “My friend is right…” She called out, stumbling a bit on the last, “We’re not here to fight. We would speak with the jarl!” It had suddenly occurred to Rika that this jarl likely had a name; one that, had she’d bothered to pay attention during her studies, she’d probably know. Unfortunately, even though the sorcerers of Ludera (a principality of the Joanneson family) had in fact been trustees to the mines' silver deposits when they were in operation, such contractual terms were dated to the point of irrelevancy, and so merited no multilateral course of discussion during her study days. The fact showed in the silence that befell RIka as she tried to recall the jarl's name in the middle of what could turn out to be a very dangerous discussion.

—
Genii , Gwenymoo

 

[Lost Echo]

Akela growled in frustration at the lack of life left behind. She sniffed a few corpses to see how they died, then searched for any remnant of the poisonous gas she'd heard the others worry over. Afterward, she returned to Siwai and the dwarf, coming up from behind the latter. Why was the dwarf even here? And the carriage? Did they simply not notice the hole? Two leggers were stupid enough Akela thought that may be the reason. It was better than the hole forming beneath them.

---

---

Urzoth allowed those who were more mobile to go into the Jarl's house first, with some regret. They did not want to enter and tip the balance, but they felt helpless staying outside. What could they do? The best way was to summon Marahute to block as many arrows, but that pain and extra magic could be needed against the wyrm. So they stood before the door, halfway turned to watch the street, prepared to summon her bonded to die to protect the others. Hopefully, they'll manage to talk their way out of this.

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Genii Lost Echo
Tunnels
Siwai gave the dwarf a compassionate look. "I can get you back up top. Won't take me long."
He noticed Akela coming and nodded at her. "I'm gonna hook a rope up to our carriage to haul this guy..." Siwai glanced at the dwarf "hey...what's your name?"

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

Connor Brazzinford - 'The Phantom Armory'

As the group around the hole began walking into the town through the now opened gates, Connor climbed atop of Deus and made herself comfortable on its saddle - her steed giving a ghostly huff before slowly walking in behind the group. The town within the walls was eerily quiet, to the point of where she could only hear three things: The footsteps of her comrades, her own quiet and steady breathing, and the gentle rumble that occasionally rolled though the down below. The plates of Deus armor vibrated with each passing rumble, with their consistency and relatively settle movements indicating that the source was either far away or deep underground. Her attention was brought away from Deus at the mention of no bodies being present within the town, looking around them cautiously to find empty houses that were boarded up or damaged. As they approached the Jarl's house Connor jumped off of Deus and entered the building behind Rika. Her gaze sweep the room over before hearing the subtle sound of crossbow strings being pulled back, too far into the building to completely avoid being caught in the volley - though she also found herself too far away from any furniture to use for cover. She glanced back to find that Tobias and Callan also followed Rika inside, silently mouthing a spell behind her visor calling for several suits of armor for reinforcements. However, it'd still take a few minutes at least for the summoned armor to each the house, meaning that they'd have to either resolve the misunderstanding peacefully - or stall long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
"Hold your fire!" Connor pleaded loudly after both Rika and Tobias spoke. "We have come on behalf of the Guild located in Colby to kill the Wyrms, nothing more and nothing less. However, to do so we require a map of the mines the wyrms are living in, which we believe is within these walls. We do not wish to fight or kill any of you, so if you'd be so kind..." Connor explained as she gestured for the dwarves to lower their crossbows, hoping to try and ease the tension in the air before things get messy.​

 

[Genii]

The dwarf sighed with relief at Siwali’s offer to help. “That’d be great, thanks. Herman Mudshield.” He introduced himself with a smile before giving the wolf a wary look.

_____

“Keep your voices down!” A woman’s voice hissed from the veranda. Its owner shouldered their way between dwarven archers to look down at the group below.

“Jarl’s dead… as is half the town - lower your bows.” She instructed the other dwarves before continuing. “I’m his daughter, Trish Silversmith.” Trish was pale and scuffed up from battle. Ebony haired and dressed in fine silver armour, fit for a woman of her stature and status.

“If you’re here to help, you’re more than welcome. We sent a request for aid almost a week ago. Either our messenger didn’t make it, or my father was right… the King really has abandoned us.” The dwarves grumbled amongst themselves until Trish shushed them all.

“The Wurm… it’s attracted to noise, vibrations, strong smells… I dare say, it won’t be long until it comes back.” Trish explained. She gestured to the staircase that led to the veranda and upper level of the building. “Please… come up. I’ll see about that map… and a drink.”

 

[Oli Beju]

The discussion turned out to bear fruit, as Trish, the late Jarl’s daughter, emerged from behind the warriors and their nocked bows. Rika watched as, through austere leadership, the dwarf woman convinced the warriors to lower their weapons, all the while informing the group of the town’s predicament. Rika then made for the stairs, and then stopped. If the wyrm was attracted to loud noises, so much so that the dwarven people felt a need to whisper in even so fortified a building as the present, then surely Deus’s “entrance” into the town was bound to attract the beast once more. She looked to Trish from the bottom of the stairs and then made her way up to the veranda, bowing in slight respect on approach, and speaking in a hushed tone. “I can’t speak for his highness, but we’re here to help you, in truth, if you’ll have us.” She spoke kindly, albeit seriously.
—
Genii

 

[Lost Echo]

The easing of tensions was a relief to Urzoth, even if the warning was not. Their eyes flicked over to Deus and the massive carriage. Yes, the wyrm would most likely have been tracking them as they came. Assuming Rika can get the map herself, and not wanting to waste time with more pleasantries, Urzoth called in a quiet for her voice, "Connor. The carriage is a target then. Wanna empty it out?" While they were sure each suit of armor weighed enough to vibrate the ground, perhaps they could soften the dirt around them to absorb the noise? As they made their way toward the carriage, they attempted to do the same, knowing they were likely as heavy as one of the suits. As long as they didn't have to even the path for themself, they could manage. Though how many at a time...

---

---

Akela nodded to the dwarf. She wasn't sure why Siwai would not just call for Callan, if he could not fly him out, but figured Urzoth and the rest could settle that above ground. Her greater concern was to listen to that rumbling she could in the distance. Was it nearing? She'd be an alarm when it inevitably did. Turning to head deeper into the tunnel, she lay down against the smooth surface, closing her eyes to listen more intently.

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

Connor Brazzinford - 'The Phantom Armory'

As Connor silently gave a breath of relief when tensions died down, her head turned to Urzoth upon her mentioning the safety of the wagon. It was a valid point given that it was their quickest way back to Colby, and spending another 500,000 gold coins wasn't going to be fun to replace the wagon should it me completely destroyed. With a quick glance to Rika and the others that went inside, she turned to the doorway and walked back outside - gesturing to the half-orc to follow her back to the wagon.
"Let's head back to the wagon for now and get ready for what's to come. Besides, probably for the best we check to see if the kobold needs our assistance." Connor briefly stated as Deus started to lead the way, the suits of armor she had requested for backup emerging from the shadows around the Jarl's House. While most of them followed the phantom horse one did stick around long enough to help Urzoth out by pushing the wheelchair, with the armorer herself walking back to the gates at a fairly brisk pace. Despite the noise their footsteps were making, the lack of chatter had her adjusting her armored leather gloves almost compulsively. Perhaps her perception was off from reality, but the half-orc seemed much less inclined for chatter beyond business. While she wasn't the most chatty herself normally, the lack of chatter around her left her to her thoughts and grief - both of which had a tendency to slowly eat away at her if given enough time to. As the gate came into view the wagon was in the same state as when they had entered the town, Deus running ahead in a seemingly excited manner.​

 

[Lost Echo]

"He's planning on using the wagon to get that survivor out." Urzoth indeed was not prone to chatter, unless it was bird puns for Callan, but would pass on information as needed. They ground their teeth in silence as they accepted Connor's help, knowing the wisdom in it, and not letting her pride harm the mission. Especially one as serious as this. They had the remnants of an entire town to protect, and a rock wyrm to kill before it moves on to another. Urzoth would not handle anyone joking on this mission well.

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Genii Lost Echo
Tunnels
"Alright Herman!" Siwai shouted and gathered ki beneath his feet to aid in a mighty leap. He sprung up to the top and ran over to the carriage. Rummaging through his pack, Siwai grabbed a rope and fastened it to the carriage, took the length of it to the edge of the hole and dropped it down. The rope landed at the feet of the Dwarf.

He crouched and held the rope gently. With an effort of will Siwai imbued the rope with ki. The strands fortified and glowed with a soft golden sheen of power.
"Tie it around yourself Herman!" Siwai called down. "Now it won't break no matter what!"

 

[Genii]

“Oooh, would you look at that…” Herman said as he approached the glowing rope. He tentatively grabbed it and knotted it around his middle. “Ready!” The dwarf called, giving the rope a tug.
____

Callan followed Rika upstairs, returning some of the frosty looks the dwarves gave him.

“We’ll take all the help we can get.” Trish said to Rika. “And as you’re all monster hunters, you’ll probably be more useful.”

The Jarl’s daughter led the group through a door into another meeting room. It contained a large rectangular table, with benches on either side. On the table were dying candles and a large map of the town and surrounding area. It had been marked with pins, possibly showing where their predator had attacked so far.

“You mentioned drinks?” Callan said as he got closer to look at the map.

Trish called one of her men over and sent them to bring refreshments. “There’s a map of the mine on the table somewhere - though you’d be mad to go down there.” She warned.

 

[Oli Beju]

RIka eyed the map, first inquisitively, and then exhaustively, poring over the cartographic contents, lining where the tunnels met and where they ebbed and flowed, and even deducing some of the height levels of the mines based on their proximity to the mountains nearby. Curiously, her gaze continued to find a particular area of interest: a sort of pseudo foyer where the upper and lower levels of the mines met, that was the perfect distance from most of the mine’s labyrinthine tunnels that it would make the perfect rendezvous point, she also focused intently on several intersections of the map. “I wonder, would you happen to have any explosives, and some type of flammable, miasmic material? I know that caving off intersections will only delay it’s progress, but if we light the miasma fires at the ends of these tunnels here…” she pointed to each consecutive location on the map, in about three areas, and then one roundabout region of which she was unsure of its altitude. “Here, here, and someplace there, we can exit the tunnels and then cave them in behind us as we leave. The smoke will spread faster than the wyrm can make tunnels to clear it out, and that way, once we start the fight, it won’t be able to use the tunnels to retreat. That being said… neither can we.”

—
Genii , Gwenymoo

 

[Lost Echo]

Urzoth, grateful for the clearer ground outside, wheeled themself around the carriage to Siwai's side. Not bothering with a greeting, they explained. "Akela's listening for disturbances. That should give us some warning, but we don't know how fast this thing moves." Glancing toward the hole, they continued, "We should get the dwarf's story too."

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

(aaaagh. Sorry I haven't posted in a while)

Genii Lost Echo
Above the Tunnels
Siwai planted his feet squarely and concentrated, hard. His little arms bulged with muscles, and his ki shimmered in the sunlight. Steadily, Siwai hauled the dwarf out of the hole, the rope coiling into a neat pile at his feet.