Subject: Part 3: More mountain air 756 views

[Racer Xonclar]

Itrav's paranoia scans the room, then pauses. Pointing to the large logs near the entrance, then the long table with food, then the weapon racks in turn, "Barricade, provisions, and weapons. Normal for a temple hall?" Taking a glancing look at the floor around the table and racks to see if they had been dragged there, Itrav moves towards the screened in corner, investigating with dart in hand.

[Weasel]

"Must'a had time to prepare." Bnor responds to Itrav's question.

"Not enough, I suppose..." he adds under his breath. "Their eyes... most of their eyes have been taken... "

Bnor has to look away at some of the bodies finding them too gruesome to behold.

"Why would ye take the eyes? Lest they didn't take em and they simply bust... uh..."

Bnor has to close his eyes and shake his head to maintain his composure and resist the urge to puke.

[Black_Hawk]

Rashid follows the others into the room, nodding at their commets. He gives a glance around the room and draws a tessen. Using it closed he walks about the chamber. "The bodies... unless they were using swords hammers daggers and knives with their feet and bellybuttons as well as their hands the number of weapons here (at this he nudges one with his boot in passing) is not right." Picking up a sword of some description, and frowning a bit at the blood crusted on the blade, he gives it a look over, looking for design and to see if the blood is any different from that of the men he is used to hunting.

After he is satisfied at the gleaned knowledge (and that nothing else is happening/nothing important is gleaned), he casts light on it, pitches it down one of the holes in the floor whilst drawing his other tessen, and looks into the hole.

[Shiv]

Itrav dissapears in behind the screened area in the far corner of the room, while Rashid, having inspected one of the many blades, causes it to shine on its own accord with a quick prayer and drops it into one of the large holes.

The elves lower their weapons and move stealthilly into the room, closely followed by Glorgar, a baby chic following two hens.

"I not like....",Nu intones in his broken common, and is acquiesced with a silent nod from his partner.

"What's going on, what happened here?" Glorgar asks, his frightened voice echoing in the large hall.

Itrav:

SPOILER: Click to show

Behind the screen you find two large stone cabinets, securely locked with iron bars and padlocks. Most likely the temple relics or something of similar import are kept here. You also see a small table upon which lie a couple of inscence burners (with bags of inscence neatly arranged next to them) and three bags of small pebbles, each individually inscribed with a dwarven rune.

Rashid:

SPOILER: Click to show

The weapons all seem to be of dwarven make. Whoever attacked here did not leave any armaments from what you can see.

The glowing sword falls roughly ten feet straight down into the hole before landing, there seems to be a tunnel dug out at the bottom, at least five feet wide, heading off into the darkness.

[Racer Xonclar]

"Death," Itrav responded plainly to Glorgar as he stepped out from behind the screen. To Bnor, "Relics of the temple may be in these cabinets should you want to recover them. They seem untouched; whoever attack this cared little for their valuables."

"Did they only attack to kill? Whoever did this defeated likely a dozen fortified dwarves with provisions, yet did not take anything...except perhaps their bodies. There are more weapons then dwarves..."

"If we wish to spend the night, I will check the roof, but I do not recommend the idea. Six will not survive what killed over a dozen."

[Black_Hawk]

Clearing his throat and stepping back from the hole, he nods at Itrav's comment. "Agreed. I do not think this is safe." He gestures to the weapons, "All are dwarf made, so methinks the attackers were not human nor were they using weapons. All the blood seems to be the blood of the dwarves, and not of the... things that attacked them."

He takes another step back and gestures to the hole with his tessen. "A hole tall enough to go through uncomfortably goes off into the black after the hole bottoms out." He Shrugs, "The things could come back should they choose. I would not advise us going down the hole, as it would be... most cramped."

[Weasel]

Bnor listens closely to the others as his own mind races. His eyes scan the weapons, the bodies, the holes, and the others.

.oO(Can't jus move on an' not do a damnable thing about this. Gotta find out what happened. Hell some'a them priest's might still be livin'. Not damn likely! Look't this place. Think about Glorgar. Gotta job t'do.)

"Fuckin' hell." he exclaims, which probably isn't the best thing to do in this holy place. He walks over to the hole, Rashid has just looked down and has a look for himself.

He shakes his head and looks over to Glorgar. Shaking his head again, his eyes go to the floor.

"We gotta job t'do. Can't be climbin' through tunnels looking for dead dwarves, when we've got fare t'deliver."

He walks back over towards Itrav.

"And I agree. We need'ta be movin' on. Stayin' here's a bad idea." he looks around at the blood covered floors. "Very bad."

After saying his piece, Bnor looks at the stone cabinets. Looking around he sees the small bags sitting on the table. He walks over to see if he can tell what they might be.

"We should check the fallen fer any keys that might fit these cabinets. Their attackers didn't care for the valuables, but you can bet them greenskins will, and I'll be damned if I leave it for em. I plan to, at least, come back through here after we've delivered Glorgar."

[Shiv]

The elves murmur in agreement with the groups statements. "I and Nu think so too. Staying here is full of danger", Baeldyvanna intones gravely. The only one not immediately joining the bandwagons seems to be -surprisingly enough- Glorgar.

"Really?", he says, disbelief in his face. "Shouldn't we be looking for survivors? I mean this is desecration! I know it's not part of the plan and all, but Yrm will be angry if we let this slide. Especially with me and Bnor."

He turns to his kinsman. "You've all said it right? There's not enough bodies. Why would...whatever did this steal dead bodies? They might have taken prisoners!"

Glorgar licks his lips nervously. "I know it's beyond the call of duty here, but I'm pretty sure the temple would open its coffers if you found any survivors...and I'm pretty sure Yrm would punish us if we didn't try. So I at least say that we go down there. I mean you're no dime-a-dozen mercenaries either, at least not if what Zvordien said was true."

He shoots everyone an empathic look. "Right?", he finishes.

Bnor:

SPOILER: Click to show

The stones are obviously sprangur runestones used by priests when casting spells. Most priests carry their own personal pouch with them when ready for battle.

[Weasel]

With a suprised kind of look, Bnor looks at Glorgar and a smile starts to form on his face. By the end, Bnor nods in agreement.

I agree wit'ya, Glorgar. I really do. But we don't even know what we'd be facin' down there? Or how many. We'd be in their element and at a major disadvantage."

He looks over to the others and shrugs.

"With all that said, I'm not against going down there. He's right about it not seemin right at least trying to find the missin'."

[Racer Xonclar]

Itrav quietly looks between the two dwarves as they speak, his eyes jumping in their usual sudden and crisp fashion. As they finish, "As the one whom we are the escort of, if you accept the added risk to your escort that this delay will cause, Glorgar, and believe those at Valen's Haven will accept the delay as well, I will make the effort." The even, cool tone continues as he glances to the hall's entrance, "I shall take a few precautions should we attempt it."

[Weasel]

Bnor grins and gives Itrav a quick nod. Shifting his gaze now to the human, Bnor asks "What do you say, Rashid?"

[Black_Hawk]

Rashid turns to the group, frowning a bit at the discussion. At Bnor's question, he nods. "If our charge wishes to look about and see if there are survivors and such things I have not a problem." He gestures at the party. "As he said, we are not ill equipped. I am still... leery about entering the tunnels."

He gestures at the blood. "I have my doubts that any taken by the things which assaulted this place are still in possession of their lives, but i could be wrong." With that he snorts. "I am best at hunting humans, and this is not their work."

[Shiv]

Lan'Nuiatnal and Baelduvanna have a whispered conversation. There seems to be some dissent, both exchanging harsh words and gesturing to the other. Finally Baelevdulvanna turns towards the group.

"I and Nu do not agree on this corse of action, but we will follow. It is risky and silly to waste time we think", she states plainly. "It is also dangerous in the tunnels when we don't know what we face, and we can not use our bows."

As the Elf finishes, Glorgar lick his lips and look to the group. "So...what do you think? What now?", he asks.

[Racer Xonclar]

"Now I check the gate, to make sure we are not caught between orcs and whatever is below us," Itrav responded plainly, making his way for the door they came in. Pulling it open, he glanced out in his paranoid fashion, eyes jumping to each corner and ledge before venturing out and shutting the door behind him.

Shiv

SPOILER: Click to show

Once confident enough that the others are not following him or watching him, Itrav moves to pull the tent spikes out of the main gate's holes, slide the gate open as quietly as he can, and begin prying the rubies out of it with his dagger.

((No idea how long this would take, hence why I'm stopping there for the moment))

[Black_Hawk]

Rashid turns to the party. "I care not for the tunnels, but if it is the wish of our charge and others I will be willing to go. I like not confined spaces, but i can fight in them should the need arise."

He gestures toward the elves. "They have a point about the time, seeing as the snow waits for nobody."