Amathaon also shrugged and prepared to follow his friends and the orcs.

Sven stalks the corridor with Wonnillon in tow, alert to any sounds in front of Yew.
"You seen this before?" he asked the diminutive warrior.

Brother Yew lead the way down the narrow secret passage, opened the door at the end and peeked out into the corridor beyond. He nodded in acknowledgement of the orc's instruction.

If it is clear he will lead the way out of the secret passage and turn right into the corridor, which means they are still heading more-or-less south as previously instructed.

Iviana followed close to the orcs, her hand on her belt weapon and a spell ready on her lips. She was minded to trust what the Prince had said though. She wasn't quite as rabid as some of her friends 'the only good orc is a dead orc', but she really didn't trust them...

In reply to Sven Arnoff (msg # 159):

"I'm afraid not," he responded, clutching the blade borrowed from Sven.
"They had me blindfolded."

The door now facing Brother Yew, like all before it, is closed.

Yew looks back at their tour guide and quietly asks a couple of questions in orcish.

[Language unknown: "M om ugh nte?" en ne dinousati. "N arbesa ivwhncce ll derhouame no ameerskor ro mitewa ng?"]

The orcs response was brief.
[Language unknown: "Ckest, naivan roson. Wa erom intioutra as p oneeiewh."]

Yew nodded once, his face showing no expression at all.

He cautiously tried the door to see if it was locked.

• If locked he will attempt to unlock it.
• If unlocked, he will open it slightly so he can peek through to see what lies beyond.
• If the way ahead appears clear he will open the door fully and continue onwards.

Iviana checked that the Orcs felt that this was the way, and watched them carefully. Perhaps the Prince was right...

Amathaon kept his eyes on the Orcs. He sensed that his friends didn't trust them and neither did he. He was ready with his falchion just in case.

The door was unlocked and opened to another empty corridor. A scattering of lit torches (about 1 in 10 sconces) dimly illuminate the length of the passage.

See game map - scrolling probably required..

Yew looked back at their orc-guide and pointed down the long corridor toward the south.

"This way?" he asked, still keeping his voice low.

If the orc agrees that is the right path Yew will lead the way southwards again, quickly looking east and west down the side passages as they pass them.

The earlier man had said mostly 'just keep going South', so Iviana hoped that the instructions were correct. Messing up here was just going to be painful with so many people along...

One of the many prisoners nodded his agreement with Yews query.
Nearly thirty people made up the band now.

So Brother Yew leads the ever-growing flock of pilgrims southwards once again until he runs out of southwards. Then he looks east and west to see which appears to offer more of the southwardness they seek.

Yew doesn't quite make it all the way to the end when stairs up are spotted to the west. Another set of stairs can just be made out through the gloom a hundred yards or so to the east.
(see map)

"Up tha stairs then is i'?"
"We go'ta gi Kalador 'for we leave too."

"Who or what is Kalador and why should he be retrieved?" Wonnilon asked Sven, just loudly enough for those nearby to hear.

Brother Yew signals for the others to wait at the southern crossroads, allowing the rest of the group to catch up, while he quickly advances the last 10 or 20 feet to look down the southernmost corridors as well. But as soon as he has done that he returns to ask directions again.

"Which way is the exit?" he asks quietly then asks in Orcish as well [Language unknown: "Atevnc her ma ar un?"]. "We should get these people out while we can. Kalador was a good friend and died bravely but the safety of the living should be given greater priority than retrieving his body. Once they are safe we can return for Kalador if that is your wish, Master Arek."

Both orcs turned away from each other at the same time and pointed at a different set of stairs.
[Language unknown: "Be whi"], they said in unison.

Arek shuffled from one foot to the other sheepishly.
"Umm, 'bout tha'...."
Clearly Arek had a bit of a secret he'd been withholding.
"E kin walk ou' 'imself. Clanggedin Silverbeard saw fi' ta anima' 'im a' mah request."
He smiled proudly, "Ah call him "Kombie".
This message was last edited by the player at 14:48, Sat 28 Mar 2015.

Brother Yew made no further reply to Arek's latest revelation. His face was an inscrutable mask as he turned away toward the western corridor and led the way up the brown stone stairs. He still held his crossbow ready and loaded in case they met any trouble.

Yew pokes his head around the last corners before heading up the stairs.

"That way is only a pair of old guard rooms. They appear long abandoned," Yew reported.

He turned his attention to the western stairs and led the way up.