Sometime in the near past...
Sedoc felt uneasy, that sickening feeling one gets when they finally confront a friend or ally about something they'd rather not, but it had been a long time coming. It's hard enough to preform well in a world of evil, but when your own so-called friends don't even care, and frequently even seem to take the side of the very forces of evil one wishes to oppose, one can only wonder. His stomach hurt. "Too much stress, too much acid," he thought. At least it was over, and in the fallout he remained with his virtue and honor intact and took comfort in that, as well as the fact that Janjit Rook (a bit of a rogue of all things!) had sided with him. He was not alone, and he would not forget this.
Janjit was gathering up his belongings and preparing to move out. It had been a profitable fellowship while it lasted, but even he felt Dara's lack of concern or lack of compassion to be difficult to take, and he quietly wondered how long it would have been before he was coldly and logically classified as "in the way" of her plans. Perhaps the others that went with her would be all right, but he doubted it. Dara would sacrifice them as soon as it became convenient or profitable to do so; he felt sure of that. Better to get out now. He looked up from his efforts of packing his gear and saw Sedoc watching him.
"What?" he asked. The ranger threw his pack over his shoulder and made his way to the door, stopping there and looking out into the harbor, thinking about the vast sea beyond the Asian Gulf. "Where will you go now?" he asked, looking back at Janjit. Though the unusually moral rogue had sided with him in this clash of party ethics, nothing was said to indicate they would stay together now that the fellowship had been dissolved.
Janjit smiled at him, sheathing his freshly sharpened dagger and slinking past him out the door. If he hadn't been looking right at him, Sedoc never would have known Janjit passed him; the rogue slid by without touching the ranger, despite Sedoc nearly blocking the doorway. "I guess that depends on where you're going," said the rogue. "There's bound to be something interesting we can find to do, and perhaps some people of higher character to do it with." The feeling of unease at the pit of the ranger's stomach began to subside as it dawned on him that Janjit actually felt as he did, and didn't leave Dara and company behind just because he saw the writing on the wall. A common bond, then? Yes, a common bond, he decided.
Sedoc tapped the rogue on the shoulder and headed down the coast, walking with his friend. "There are rumors of trouble in the Scorpion Hills. Not scorpions, mind you, but some mention of concern. I know it isn't much, but there are a few villages between here and there, and a few days' journey will give us time to think." "Not to mention putting some distance between them and Dara," he thought. Janjit just walked along with his friend. Not everything had to be well thought out. Sometimes, just the journey was worth the effort. "To the Scorpion Hills, then."
As so it went, for two days. About the third day, still quite a distance away from the Scorpion Hills, a sudden storm whipped up and the pair took shelter along an open ravine. It happened so fast, it was not to be believed. A twister, a funnel of air moving at such a terrific velocity that it could rip tree roots from their ancient homes, appeared and touched down right next to them. They gripped at the grass and clawed at the dirt, but to no avail, and both were quickly swept up into the blue funnel. Blue? No good deed goes unpunished, of course, and these two were certainly paying the price now. Sedoc thought of his life as he flew through the air, losing a lot of his equipment as he grasped at nothing in particular. Janjit tumbled and maneuvered, keeping what he believed to be a "good" orientation within his surroundings so when he would hit something, he might not meet instant death. He kept his fear in check, however, knowing that if a chance presented itself, he must be ready or all would be lost. The leather flap of his pack blew open while he did this, but before he could close it, he, too, had lost much. Their struggles continued.
An eternity, a struggle just to breath air in a whirlwind of air, it seemed to last for hours even if it was less than a minute. Then something happened. Something odd. Unlike the many bits of debris that had randomly been hitting them, something else engulfed the duo, a sudden change in temperature, noise, a blue light enveloping them, then a lack of stinging debris, and finally absolute darkness, like passing from the storm without to an inner clam within. It was as if they passed a gate, an unseen door, this mysterious nexus. Sedoc hit with a jarring thud, and though a bit unceremonious, it was not the deathblow he had been expecting as his reward. Janjit, also falling, oriented himself quickly to what he felt was up and down in the dark, tumbling into a good landing position the instant he felt a surface beneath him. Though he could see nothing in the pitch-black darkness, he felt himself falling and his sense of direction did the rest. His landing was somewhat softer, landing on the ranger. Their sudden introduction to the floor echoed off nearby but unseen walls, and the dampness of moisture-laden sand and the smell of earth convinced both of them they might be underground somewhere in total darkness. Only the steady wind and the noise of that constant gale made it seem otherwise.
Janjit arose, dusting off the unseen but felt dirt on his pants. "Gah, and I thought you were so great at predicting the weather too..."
Sedoc faced the voice's origin. "Not like I saw it coming, you know." Janjit looked around, but even his Half Elven Infravision revealed no heat sources other than his own and Sedoc's. "Thud!" "What was that?" asked the rogue. "I walked into a wall," Sedoc said rubbing his nose, "We seem to be in a cavern or something. Wait a minute, maybe I can light my lamp, if I still have it." Fumbling in the dark, he finally found it, but the wind was too strong to light it. Following the cavern wall he found it curved away from the direct wind, and in a more sheltered spot, he eventually managed to light his lantern.
The pair found themselves in a large cavern, where an unnatural wind, a swirling vortex, was inside a southern nook. There, it seemed to be blowing a steady wind toward the north, filling the chamber with a fair breeze everywhere, but an especially strong wind opposed any attempt to walk directly toward it. They simply weren't strong enough to fight such direct wind, so had to find other optional directions to go. Exploring the nearby darkness, soon Sedoc could hear running water from somewhere up ahead. Further investigation revealed an underground waterfall, a small stream running from the north and draining into a circular pit, perhaps 30 feet in diameter, cascading to the depths below. Picking up one of the many rocks, Janjit flipped it into the pit and heard a faint splash nearly 2 seconds later. Farther north they proceeded, coming to a cliff-like face. The origin of the stream was from the north, a large pond, itself filled from a waterfall cascading down this northern cliff. The origin of that, who could say? Several hours were spent gingerly looking around in the darkness, poorly illuminated by one feeble lantern, but they eventually came to the conclusion they were in a chamber roughly 60 feet wide and maybe 200 feet long, banked by sheer, smooth, cliff-like surfaces. Janjit looked at them, thinking he could climb them despite their apparent smoothness, but to where? Spilling a little oil on a bandage, now tied to a rock, he lit it and tossed it upwards. It landed on a ledge or something, perhaps 80 feet up along the western wall. The illumination flickered and died. All right then, there's a place to climb to.
Janjit makes the daring ascent, taking perhaps 20 minutes as he feels his way up the rock face. Looking around, he sees a narrow ledge continues to the north, but a large, slanting tunnel goes upwards to the southwest. "Up," he thought. "That's the way out."
"THIS IS A NICE LEDGE, AND LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A TUNNEL HERE, TOO, GOING UP! WE CAN TIE OUR ROPES TOGETHER AND YOU CAN CLIMB UP TOO." So he did, Sedoc making his way up to his friend.
They followed the tunnel upwards until they arrived at another cavernous chamber, this time filled with many glowing pools of liquid light. Rook walks over to the first one, but is suddenly hit with a falling "stalactite," seriously being injured. Shouting in the distance can be heard, and unlike the stationary illumination of many different colors coming from the pools, a more mobile sun-like illumination from the direction of the noise could be seen in the southeast corner of the chamber. Putting pressure on the large, bleeding gash, Janjit Rook hops back to the safety of the tunnel. "Hey," Sedoc said, pointing at the stalactite. "That thing is moving. It's alive!" Janjit just keeps his eyes glued to the damned ceiling while he bandages himself.
Venturing a chance, and with safety of distance, Janjit looked at the noise and the source of cursing from the opposite end of the room. "YOU OVER THERE! YOU SOUND RATHER HUMAN! AND IF YOU DON'T PLAN ON DROPPING ON US FROM THJE CEILING, I THINK WE SHOULD MEET," he shouted as loudly as he could.
Gillmesh and Garren, with the others at their backs, talk back and forth for a time with these two human types, shouting, and eventually decide the new guys should hug the walls of the cavern and slowly make their way toward the others. This is done, and luckily, nothing untoward happens. Soon, they are all together. Gillmesh shoots a "stalactite" (which I will call a Piecer from now on) with an arrow, but the shaft bounces right off its stony hide. Gillmesh curses and puts his bow away.
Introductions occur, and they have a non-hostile feeling from each other. Information is exchanged and given, and a picture of the new situation begins to emerge. How the new pair got there, however, remains a total mystery - and where they are, an entirely different continent, completely astonishes the new arrivals.
What their next move will be? Who can say? Perhaps the next chapter?
SESSION ENDS:
© November of 1999
by
James L.R. Beach
Waterville, MN 56096