"Not what you expected, Lenny!?"

Sil'qian checks his shield and draws his sword. "Will you continue to lead, Walker?"

Looking back at the spiral staircase, he asks Lenny, "Do you have any idea how far from the surface we are?"

Walker motioned for Silk to take the lead with himself right behind with arrow nocked and ready. The elf's ancestral blessing of vision in the dark would be of benefit with their torchbearer behind them.

"Quite strange," he said with regards to this illusion. "Though I wonder who would descend this deeply without wondering to what end they had come and not testing the walls... The same tactic might have been employed upon the floor, so take caution for pits."

"It may have been employed to hide the stairwell from whatever is on the other side of the wall" said Qadar, descending down the rest of the stairs and taking up the rear.  How far down did they go, and how much of the structure did they bypass?

Lenny beams when Mr. Q presents the twelve stones to him, "I shall treasure them." He asks if he's already named them, and if he hasn't, whether he'd like to participate in the naming ceremony when they return to the inn.

He recalls the number of steps he took descending the stairwell and performs some dwarven calculations to estimate their depth. When he arrives at a result, his hand tightens around his war hammer. The deeper you go, the greater the peril. All dwarves know that.

OOC I guess Sil is leading the way down the corridor now. Fine deduction about the wall, Q.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Sat 06 Mar 2021.

Your group passes through the illusiory wall into... another small room.

Sil'qian steps cautiously through the illusionary wall, finding it a bit disconcerting.

"Two doors...I will choose that one," he says, proceeding to the door facing "south" on the map. The elf checks for traps before trying to open the door.

Beyond the door is... a hallway.

"Shall we proceed this way?

Those with a free hand might want to keep it on the wall, we may discover another illusion!"

If there are no objections, Sil'qian will move down the corridor, to the first turn, and will peer down, before continuing...but he will do so if nothing is seen.

The hallway zig-zags a bit more before straightening out and ending in another door.

Walker patted Silk on the should when the elf led them forward, as if to say "Lead on, we will follow unless danger is discovered!"

“I find this passage disconcerting,” Ati says.  “I’m a spearman.  I like straight lines.”

He stands ready close to the front.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:41, Mon 08 Mar 2021.

Sil'qian walks slowly down the hall in silence, sword in hand.

As he peers past the third angled corner, he is surprised to see a door ahead. He hold his hand up to signal the group to stop.

He then moves to the door and listens carefully for sounds on the other side. If he hears none, he will undertake his usual routine for checking for traps before opening the door (picking the lock in necessary.

---

We need another thief!

The door opens into another small room, this one with three more exits.  A thick layer of trash covers the ground.  Standing just inside the south door is a female dwarf, dressed in scale armor and carrying a war hammer.  She appears a bit haggard, but uninjured.

 This dwarven woman hears movement coming from nearby and swears a guttural oath beneath her breath.  In her left hand she hefts the leather thong suspending her wooden holy symbol, while in her right she readies her war hammer for a two-handed grip.  But, she does not see more undead monstrosities... no, she sees something.  Living and breathing.  Warm flesh and blood.  "By the chisel and the hammer, I never thought I'd see a living face again!"  As she speaks, she slowly lowers her hammer until both holy symbol and hammer occupy separate hands again.  Her gaze meets that of any before her, her expression one of interest and caution.  Finally, the head of her hammer makes a gentle "Tnk." on the ground as she lowers it all the way.  While this dwarf was armed, she did not mean anyone harm.

Walker peeked from his place behind Sil'qian, "Are we to conclude that you've seen faces which are not living?" This was a disturbing thought after they'd encountered the strange, collared zombie on the floor above.

"Well met, I am called Walker by those who know me. Who might you be and how is it you've come to be here. I've been told by many dwarven folk that your kind possess a natural sense of the underground... surely you're not lost?"

While the others greet the dwarven female, Ati keeps an eye on the pile of trash.  He wants to be ready in case something unpleasant is lurking under there.

Perhaps, Lenny hadn't been paying close attention to the comings and goings of others.

When he hears Mr. Walker introduce himself to the priest priestess, he turns to do the same. He thought he had already done so; he'd thought that he'd already met Brian Brianna.

He completes his turn and beholds the one true issue from the forge of beauty.

He drops to one knee and proclaims, "Mr. Lenny Aurelious, the Lapis Amare, of Clan Onyxmane, at your service."

A smile is apparent in Sil'qian's eyes, when Lenny introduces himself to the cleric.

The elf's sword mimics the dwarf's hammer, as its point rests on the ground.

"Greetings. I am Sil'qian Nightwind."

 The dwarven woman seems to relax more, to the point of sighing audibly.  "Well met, strangers, I am Thertryd, faithful acolyte of Zodarrim." She nodded to Walker when he introduced himself, but snorted when he asked if she was lost.  A dwarf getting lost underground!  Silly.  Her greeting to Lenny is in Dwarven, a warm "Well met, brother.".  She regarded the elf curiously but warmly enough as well, eventually giving him a cordial nod.

 "To answer your question, I have indeed seen unliving faces..." Thertryd informs the others of her journey with another party of adventurers.  They entered Arden Vul through a pyramid in a ruined city.  But, they made some sort of a grave error that caused them to be beset by undead and cost everyone but herself their lives.  She seems to place the blame for the dead rising on a "dim-witted warrior" and "brazen vagabond".  "I would not say that I am lost, however." She sounds a little defensive and cool, as if her pride was at stake.  "I made a fighting retreat, smashing with my hammer what dead would not flee before the might of Zodarrim." She places her holy symbol back on her hip.  "Their deaths, though caused by their own carelessness, weigh heavily on my heart."

 As Thertryd speaks, one can not help but notice by her face and voice that she might seem emotionless or even uncaring, until they look into her eyes.  Those express everything for her.

"We entered these halls by a very long staircase.

We plan to explore this area," he looks to his companions, "you are welcome to join us."

"We've lost companions as well, one before we ever once delved below. Condolences. Join us, there is strength in numbers."

"Why don't you fall in with Lenny, and keep your eyes open for anything unusual?"

Walker nodded to Silk to proceed.

 Thertryd seems relieved when she is offered a spot among these adventurers.  "Then join you I shall." She steps in with Lenny, hammer and symbol at the ready.  She gives the dwarf a polite nod.

"Shall we continue our exploration?" Sil'qian asks, somewhat rhetorically, as he moves to the door facing east.

The elf examines the door methodically for traps, before setting his shield and drawing his sword, and moving forward.

What lies beyond the door truly defies imagination.

Sil'qian pulls the door open, and as the light from Nob's lantern pushes back the darkness, everyone can see a short corridor ending in another door.

"Forward?" the elf asks, even as he steps into the short hallway, and then follows the same routine on the next door.