"Looks like the Duke may not need much convincing that the powers of evil are upon us."  Ano states as he looks on at the massive army.

"There is a hidden entrance to the South of the city's walls. If we ride quickly and avoid line of sight, we may get there undetected by any of the invader's scouts. Once there, I can get us inside."

Toben nods. "Perhaps you're right Ano, but we've seen what the Duke's defenses can do to an army." He pauses for a moment. "If these were mere men. It's impossible to tell from here though."

He pulls out his book and flips through numerous pages. Smiling, he snaps his book shut and whispers, "Jillepse di wer iblink". His eyes glimmer for a moment and he stares intently at the army.

He rubs the glimmer from his eyes and sighs. "Well Ourn, at least you don't have to worry about whether your Duke will believe all that you've seen so far on your journey. Not with an army of valarakaur at his doorstep."

Toben falls in line behind Ourn. "Ready when you are."

Toben casts Eyes of the Avoral to get a better look at the attacking army.
Toben will also cast Longstrider to quicken their horses pace to the south side of the city.

Quicker than feels real, the group is at the door Ourn directs them to.  He does something to the wall and a section just big enough to admit a horse slides open.  There is a ramp down into darkness.  Ourn reassures that the path is free of obstruction and will not cause the horses trouble, but that everyone should dismount and lead them.  Ourn goes last and closes the door behind, leaving the group in pitch blackness.

In the darkness, a low whisper can be heard. "Kontzu'kre"

The end of Toben's staff begins to glow softly, and lights the way for the group.

Toben casts Glowstone.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:56, Fri 22 Apr 2016.

With light enough to see, Ourn directs you the rest of you down a winding, easy incline that should easily put you in the center of the city.  Instead, you must be right below.  However, the winding path is meant to confuse and for all you know, you could be underneath the open plains beneath the attacking army.

At the end of the tunnel there is another door.  It is heavily reinforced with a small, barred slot for viewing guests.  It slides open before Ourn can squeeze to the front then slams closed when the person on the other side sees him.

Ourn goes up to the door and raps the slot with his knuckles five times, on a cadence that has an odd rhythm. He speaks loud enough to be heard through to the other side.

"I am Ourn Garamune, sworn Avenger of Therion, and of his excellency's River. My party and I bring news to Duke Therion of the invaders at our doorstep, among other troubles. If you need further verification, fetch Haethar, the gardener"

After a very long silence, Saris shuffles up to Ourn.  "D'ya think they knew it was you, lad, an' that's why they won't open up?"  The ribbing in her tone is evident.

"That's always a possibility. Then again, seeing my present company may be equally alarming"

Ourn winks as Saris.

Saris chuckles.  "Nay lad, they cannae see Xar and I behind Klale's mountainous form.  'Sides, th' lights not so good in 'ere.  It was undoubtedly yer smell they caught.  You've not bathed since we left Vanter's farm.  Now we'll ne'er get through tha' door."

"Hmm. And here I thought that was the horses in this cramped space."

Toben grins at the exchange between Saris and Ourn. "There are other ways to get in, but I figured it best to let Ourn drop a few more names before pulling out those tricks. Is there cause for concern here, Ourn?"

"On our end? No. On their end, of course. There are few who know of this path, and even fewer permitted to use it. I've only been through a handful of times. The gaurds rotate out like any other shift. The only real problem is that it could be a bit before they can confirm my identity. I haven't been through here in months after all. If they fetch the man I referred them to, we shouldn't have issue. Though with the way problems seem to follow us..."

Ourn moves to Toben and leans in to whisper to him.

Toben nods and pats his travel pack, as he whispers back to Ourn.

The plate slams open for a moment and two old eyes peek out for just a second before the plate slams closed.

"It's him.  Let through."

Following those muffled words are a long series of clanks, bangs, and screeches, loud enough to alert the army above certainly.  At last the door opens and swings by counter-weight out into the hallway.

"It's good to see you, boy.  You vouch for all of these...people?"

"With my very life. I owe it to several of them a few times over. Its good to see you again Haethar. We must speak with Duke Therion immediately."

"He's a bit busy at the moment, but I'm sure he'd make time to see you.  Come on, then."

Haethar leads the group through a cavern so vast the city above could fit within it ten times over.  Muffled clangs and wooshes like a hundred forges or more echo throughout.  Castle-sized pillars block the view of most of the goings on leaving only shadows and flickering reflections to guess at.  Closer to the pathway Haethar leads you across, some sort of metallic catwalk, are suits of armor, weapons, and an assortment of strange equipment for which there is no discernible purpose.  It takes a full fifteen minutes at least to walk the horses across the catwalk.  Below are only ten men visible, but doubtless there are hundreds more out of sight.

Klale looks down to left and right, and sometimes pauses long enough to hae to hurry to catch up.

Toben takes in his surroundings as best as possible, not quite sure how all this have been here and no one ever known about it. "Ourn, what is all this? I can't say this bests the mines of Moria, but it is still quite impressive."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:35, Sat 23 Apr 2016.

"This my friend, is where the "magic" of Therion happens. Below us and around us is known as the Blackworks. Here only the best and brightest smiths, engineers, and apprentices are hand picked to come and work for the good duke. In secret of course. The very cannons you hear thundering above were created, forged, and tested in these caverns."

At that moment, a large gout of flame around 20 feet long and the diameter of a horse's trunk streaks across a pocket of the caverns below and shoots out between two of the pillars, briefly illuminating several men wearing leather aprons and goggles. The floors of that section of cavern looks to be lined with the same uniformly bolted together metal as the catwalk. The display is over just as quickly as it began, and the men are again shrouded in shadows.

"Ah, I see the Dragon's Maw is functioning finally. Oh, nevermind that though. I'm not exactly permitted to speak on matters of the Blackworks. In fact, you should all probably forget you ever saw that or heard me say anything, less The River comes to quiet you". Ourn chuckles and runs a finger across his throat in a cutting motion.

Despite the war going on above, and the events that have unfolded and are to come, Ourn seems almost jovial strolling through the dim lit caverns beneath his home.

"A secret workshop. Nice. If only I could build a lab as comprehensive." His eyes widen as the giant gout of flame erupts. "Nonetheless, it still gives me a few ideas. These cannons you speak of, what sort of projectiles to they fire?"

"Well, thats... proprietary, to sum things up."

Ourn coughs loudly barely covering up a gruff "iron orbs", or something like that.

"The River"? What or who is that. And, please, what other cautions should we know about?

Toben smiles. "Well, we certainly wouldn't want that kind of information getting out, would we?"

He keeps his mouth shut and eyes open as they walk through the Blackworks.

In reply to Klale Tsolo (msg # 44):

"The River is what we call my order. The eyes and ears of Therion. Spies. Sneaks. If need be... assassins. Though it rarely comes to that, and certainly not against our own. The dutchy of Therion has been made prosperous by a number of its people, and the River are no exception. Each member, each citizen, is like a tooth on a cog wheel, and that cog ties into the other cogs and makes the great Therion machine go round. Each cog represent a guild, an order, a social class."