The Usher admonishes: Strap in, this chapter will be different from the first and you should find it moving more quickly!

The companions lay in a heap of bruised bodies, scattered weapons, stones, grit, mud and groans of discomfort. Their descent had come unexpectedly as the earth gave way beneath them at the Cursing of the small village of Gilgamar.

OOC: Each of you take 1d4 damage from the fall. Please roll it out. You were mostly sliding amidst the mud and debris, and the larger stones have lodged somewhere above you in the natural rock chute you seemed to have come down.

It is completely dark to those unable to see in the dark. To those who can see, it appears as if you are in a natural cavern at the bottom of a natural chimney going up. There are two passageways that exit the area you are in, one heads north, the other south. The body of the Rider lies mangled and half buried on one side of the cave.  You are cold, wet and very, very sore and tired.

It took a few moments for the dwarf's eyes to focus into the darkness, especially since the hammering of anvil and tongs inside his head was creating showers of bright sparks dancing around in his vision. He managed to roll upright and make an inventory of body parts. After he determined that most of everything was still attached where it was customarily found, he undertook getting to his feet. His eyes first fell on the body of the Rider, and then he scanned for the others. "Maksim!? Ye breathin' ya little weasel? Missy? How'bout you Princess?"

OOC:
Bodric Battlebelly rolled 3 using 1d4 ((3)).

Somewhere above, there came another tremor and then another. It seemed the confrontation far above them was not over yet. Bits of rubble and more dust and grit fell upon them. Bodric noticed then the limp form of his old friend, the gnome Maksim. On second glance he seemed to be moaning and coming around.  A swatch of gray in the dwarf's darkvision stood out from the rest of the rocks and dirt. It was Agelia's cloak!

"Maksim! Get up, get up. Ye've had worse tumbles than this gettin' out of that treehouse ye live in. Why can't ye live in a hole in the ground like respectable folks anyways? Come! There be Miss Redstart! Help me dig'er out!" Bodric scrambled across the cave-in to where he'd seen the bit of cloth. He began working to unearth the rest of the young lady. Rocks above continued to creak and moan, and the dwarf instinctively knew they didn't have much time before another cave-in might happen. "Ye al'right Missy? Can ye hear me?"

Maksim heard a gruff voice try to rouse him, why is he grumpy… falling out of a tree… just like with Bodric that time…Bodric! The gnomes eyes shot open, or at least he thought they did. It was just as dark as before. Maksim pushed himself upright and allowed his eyes to adjust to the new dark. He saw his broad friend clamor over to the far side of the cavern. With only minor aches as he moves Makism hurries across to help Bodric move rocks off of the female cleric.

Looking over his old friend and his wounds Maksim had to chuckle. "I don't think you can say living in a hole is proof against falling anymore! Give me my tree any day, Old Friend. The landings are much softer."

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OOC:
09:20, Today: Maksim Munzuk rolled 1 using 1d4 with rolls of 1. fall damage.

Agelia groaned.  That fall took a lot out of her.  A lot.  There were so many different sounds...running water, familiar voices, settling Earth...oh, ye gods.

Agelia shook herself, attempting to break loose of the Earth as best she could.  'I think I'm alive...' she found herself thinking.  'Well, I know I am.  I think?  Ugh, I have to try to do something, this isn't doing me any good.'

03:52, Wed 04 Dec 2013: Agelia Redstart rolled 3 using 1d4 ((3)).

"Aye, but we weren't livin' in this thing were we?" Bodric grumped as he and Maksim continued to work quickly. They soon had Agelia freed from the debris and rubble and she didn't look too good. Bodric looked to Maksim and shrugged, trying to decide whether to pat her cheeks or kick her in the ribs to wake her up. Luckily, just as he was warming up the wooden soles of his dwarf-boots, Agelia moaned and her eyes fluttered. She just stared around blankly as if she were blind.

It was then that Bodric realized she could not see in the dark like himself and his Gnome friend. "Ye got any torches left?" he asked, looking doubtfully at the smashed up pack Maksim had recovered from under a very large stone. He gently supported Agelia's neck and offered her a drink from his waterskin. His gruffness tempered by sympathy, "Ye all right Lass? Are ye hurt bad?"

After doing what he could for the young cleric, Bodric began to systematically crawl around the rubble, looking for any sign of their other companions, Durgon and the half-orc Korak.  He saw no sign of them at all, only the broken body of the dead rider.  Bodric walked to the solid stone wall of the cave and, closing his eyes, rested a hand upon the rock. The unique blessings granted by heritage to the Dwarven race belonged also to this broad-bellied dwarf and were possibly even enhanced by his girth. After a few quiet moments he lowered his hand and opened his eyes. "This be a maze down here. Echoes everywhere. Those two could be on the other side of this rubble in another passageway. No way to tell, and they couldn't be hearin' us if we tried. They're on their own."

"What do we do with him?" Bodric asked, pointing to the body of the dead rider.

Above them the world was still not at rest as whatever forces that had chosen the tiny village as a battleground were still at it.  Bodric, Agelia and the small gnome ranger, Maksim Munzuk supported each other as the cavern walls rolled in waves from the ongoing tremors and quakes.  Bodric tried to keep the concern off of his face so as not to alarm the lass, but Maksim could see it right away. This was not the place to be during a big shake.

OOC: I'm assuming Maksim lit a torch for Agelia, unless she has other means whereby she might see in the dark (perhaps put that on your wishlist? :-). The passage to the north looks to be the larger of the two, arching overhead and going relatively flat. The south passage is a bit more cramped and heads slightly downward.

BTW, I found my notes that I'd misplaced during the move. I now realize I left out an entire sequence of my narrative plan. [facepalm]