"Full moon? Let me see... Anyway, it's much more likely to be some kind of shapeshifting demon or vampire. I hear they prefer the form of a wolf. And more likely to be in league with the orcs that kidnapped her..."
His voice trailed off into the background as he rehashed his conspiracy theory about their quest.

It was a puzzle. The last full moon had been eight days ago.


Mirth was following the tracks. Moving roughly in a northwest to southeast direction. Silogui did the same on tracks moving from a bit south to a a bit northwest. The two trackers met and were about to step around each other when it hit them.

Backing up to the beginning of the tracks in the damp soil, at the base of a rocky outcrop, they followed the tracks, careful to match the steps appropriately. Three! It was three animals bounding from the rocks, converging on where the Halfling had been standing.

The tracks moved on to a patch of rough ground, rocky and covered in scrub brush, and put the image together in their minds. Three dire wolves, serving as mounts, had came bolting across the little glen. The two largest, in the lead had passed to so close together that tall person would not have fit between them.

But, a diminutive Halfling would have. That is, right up to the moment when they would have been snatched off the ground by on of the riders. The young Halfling maiden hadn't been attacked and eaten by dire wolves. She had been abducted very skillfully.

Now the question was who had done this. A further, expanded search of the area was called for.

Siloqui's eyes go wide and she points at Mirth almost accusatorily, "She was kidnapped! Possibly by orcs, we should look further outwards. Do orcs usually ride dire wolves? I have heard of goblins and worgs before so maybe it is not so strange, but goblins are a lot smaller in relative size," she is practically rambling at this point, perhaps in her excitement that the child may not in fact be dead.

"Yes, five days is a long head start, we should get going. But which way..." she trails off as she looks around and tries to put herself in the place of a dire-wolf riding, possibly orcish, halfling snatcher and determine which way she might go if she were they.

Mirth broke off from his muttering, "Really? You think so?"
He sounded genuinely shocked that Sil was agreeing with anything he said.

Mirth strolled to the rough patch of ground where the tracks vanished and lifted his eyes to peer around, "I doubt I can track them, can you? We may have to take a stab blindly... Maybe we can get a better view of the area, though."

With a murmured incantation and a few gestures, Mirth rose into the air. He flew upward above the treetops and high enough to get a view of the surrounding area. Any clearings, gaps, tracks, or whatever might break up the trees.

Mirth gained altitude, slowly gaining a larger and larger view of the area. Along a steep embankment, not far from where the tracks became confusing, was a cave. It was out of sight, hard to reach, and generally a good hide out. Signs that were always foreboding under such circumstances.

Swooping in low, Mirth came to stop above the cave. The tracks were obvious. And there were a lot of them. He sighed. Why couldn't these places ever be more convenient to get to?

Siloqui watches as Mirth alights and swoops off in one direction.

She whistles a tune for about a minute but when it becomes clear that he isn't immediately coming back she sighs and starts trudging off towards where she last saw him heading.

"Flying must be pretty nice, maybe I should have studied harder like Master Evelious said," she says aloud to herself as she trudges along. She looks up periodically in case Mirth floats on past her and she needs to call out to him to get his attention.

Mirth took a hard look at the cave, then swooped back toward where he left Sil, looking for her below him. He landed close and fell into step.
"Cave up ahead. Lots of tracks. Looks like the place. Lots of tracks. Lots."

It took a little snooping, and more climbing than she would have liked, but Siloqui found the trail used by the big wolves. And she was sure that is what they were, very large and very strong wolves. But, not dire wolves. The tracks were just somehow different. And that bothered her too. How did such an animal wind up being bred, and why? Much less, who was riding them?

Sharing her thoughts on the tracks with Mirth she crosses her arms and puffs her cheeks, blowing air out slowly between her lips.

"I think there is nothing for it but to investigate inside the cave. We will want to be pretty quiet, a pack of regular sized wolves would already be pretty dangerous. What do you think?"

Mirth wrinkled his nose and peered into the cave, "I don't like it but I think you're right. Want to lead the way?"

The entrance to the cave was nearing six feet in height, but was only half as wide with the top half being slightly offset to the lower half. Squarish in shape, the whole opening had the appeared and a squared off, offset, keyhole. The tracks pooled at the entrance and turned into a muddied lane where in the pack formed a single file. There was a pale, yellowish light from deeper within cave. There was also a prominent smell. The scent of animals; primal and raw, filtered out of the cave.

That this was some sort of layer was obvious. But who they would encounter inside was uncertain.

"Alright then, we should try to stay as quiet as we can for now," she replies as she busies herself readying her shield and loosening her rapier in it's scabbard.

Once prepared she looks up to Mirth, "I can see reasonably well in the dark but if you need some sort of light you should have one handy."

Tracing a symbol with her right hand on his forearm and muttering "gresta," she then draws her weapon and heads silently into the cave's entrance.

OOC: Cast Guidance on Mirth, +1d4 to ability check made in the next minute.
14:22, Today: Siloqui Galenodel rolled 16 using 1d20+7.  Stealth.

The scent grew stronger in the cave mouth, which quickly drew tight. It occurred to Silogui that there wasn't room to properly use a sword, even a short sword. A space this tight would mean a face to face fight with knives, fists, and teeth.

Noting the closing in of the walls she stows the rapier and instead withdraws the fine dagger she had picked up from Gaioden the day before.

Mirth picked up a pebble and made a face at it. The stone lit, shedding light. He cupped his hand to shield it partially and followed Sil into the cave muttering quietly to himself.

OOC: Casting light and sneaking stumbling in.
11:34, Today: Mirth rolled 9 using 1d20+1d4+1.  Stealth.

The path wound on and on, working slowly downhill. After a while they cam across a large cavern, the size of a cathedral easily, and holding plenty a dark and foreboding places. There were many, many side tunnels coming from this massive cavern. It seemed as those every twenty or thirty paces along they lost sight of old tunnels and came across a new one. It was like the hub of a giant wheel with tunnel radiating out like uncountable spokes.

As they crossed the great dark expanse in the mountain the scent became stronger until it occurred to them that they where at its source.

"If this is the lair of whatever we're looking for, where is it?", Mirth muttered under his breath. He let a little more light out of his palm from the stone and turned slowly, taking in the tunnel-spokes of the cavern-wheel.

"Maybe it is not a lair, just a network of tunnels for getting from one place to another? See if you can spot any recent tracks, that might help us find where they went."

"That just sounds like part of a lair to me", Mirth grumbled. But he did what he could to check the area for tracks, finding little to nothing.

17:38, Today: Mirth rolled 6 using 1d20+1.  Survival (Wis).

Wondering about watching the floor Mirth was taken aback when he stood upright to speak to Siloqui and saw a yellow points of light in the shadows about thirty yards away. He had no doubt the the points of light, in pairs close together about four feet off the floor of the cavern, were in fact eyes staring right him.

Mirth jerked his thumb in the direction of the eyes and muttered to Sil, "Told ya."

Looking in the direction Mirth indicates, Siloqui's eyes widen a little and she moves to place herself between her companion and the points of light.

"Hello? We are looking for the girl, Luella, is she here? Her mother and grandfather worry that she is dead." she calls out into the shadows.

In reply to Mirth (msg # 71):

OOC: classic!

There is a skittering of paws on rocky soil as the eyes separate into ghostly forms moving through the shadows.

Add deep, guttural voice calls out, "Leave now. This is not your domain."

From well of to Siloqui's right a primal snarl is followed by, "Pretty, pretty meat. Such a tasty morsel, where to start?"

Mirth faded into the shadows, disappearing from sight as he spoke, "We know it's not our domain. Don't want it to be. Just trying to find the girl - and we think she was brought here."



OOC: Using the invocation One With Shadows to become invisible in darkness until I take an action or reaction.