[Faldrass] The Heart Burns

[Balthazar Black]

12 Ymiden 720

As what seemed to have withered into a duo moved into the cave, Balthazar found his vision far less impaired than Darius. The mage's glowing blue eyes allowed him to see better in the darkness than in the light and in a cave without a torch in his hand, it was a fairly useful mutation to have. In the middle of the trial on the beach it was much less pleasant. He was certain, when the reached the chamber that they'd been into free the induk, that someone had disturbed it. At first he only had his suspicions but the more he looked around the more he remembered the way that it had been and the ways things had changed. If not for his ability to see in the dark he would certainly have missed most of what he saw that he considered strange, regardless of the elements telling him something was wrong. The earth felt... traumatized... if it could be described in such human terms. The whole cave felt like something bad had happened to it but the signs were still falling together.

Darius said it seemed peaceful and serene to him but Balthazar couldn't disagree more due to the call of the elements unnerving him. Without Nir'wei beside them to tell them what his wolves found, the duo were left on their own to figure out what had happened using the clues they- or well... Balthazar, could see. Darius asked what Balthazar had found and where Nir'wei had gone but the mage didn't have clear answers for either question. "Something... bad happened to the earth here." He began with a gesture around before realizing Darius probably couldn't see. "Do you have a torch? I can see in the dark, but it won't help you." Should Darius have one, Balthazar would have been able to conjure a small flame to ignite the torch for him. If not, they'd have to rely on Darius's eyes adjusting.

In the meanwhile Balthazar responded to the question about Nir'wei, "I'm not sure but I doubt he's in danger- with our luck he found a much better tunnel and is drinking with Faldrass right now." That would be quite the sight but it was also unlikely, "It's a big cave, he's probably exploring it."

[Darius Baer]

Darius' eyes were adjusting, but it was taking so long that hexrisked becoming a hazard to himself while he waited. And besides, the deeper the pair delved into the caves, the darker the environment became, and he wouod only end up repeating this cycle of temporary blindness until there was no more light reaching them from the entrance.

So when it became clear that Balthazar was not hindered visually, and the suggestion of a torch was mentioned, Darius only needed one word to answer: "Aye."

The blond mariner rummaged in his pack, his hand feeling its way until he felt the familiar touch of a wooden stave, and he pulled it out, then held one end - which was wrapped in material - towards Balthazar. Having a mage who could set it alight was particularly useful, he thought, as he contemplated the time and effort he no longer had to put into using a striking a flint with a blade.

As the fire took hold, Darius held the torch aloft and began to properly take in his surroundings for the first time. The walls glowed from the orange light, and shadows danced in unison with the flames, and the fleeting pockets of darkness occasionally teased that there might be other passageways, only to reveal themselves, for the most part, as nothing more than alcoves.

The bearded human got down on his haunches to get a closer look at the cave wall. The surface was smooth and black, and as he reached out to run his gloved hand over it, he could feel its warmth. He could only imagine how terrifyingly hot it must have been when the volcano had erupted and - he assumed - created the passageway he now found himself in.

"Nothing could have survived the lava flow," he spoke, half to himself.

Standing once more and casting his gaze around the cave, he looked across to where Balthazar stood. There, he saw some of the disorder the mage had spoken of. Chunks of rock appeared to have broken off and littered some of the cave floor, in stark contrast to the smooth cave wall that he had just touched.

"Do you think someone has been here before us?" he asked, nodding towards the debris.

[Balthazar Black]

12 Ymiden 720

Lighting the torch for Darius was trivial and that was what had drawn Balthazar to magic when he was younger. It was a way to make things simpler in all regards. Becoming his master's apprentice allowed him to escape the mundane life of a farmhand and introduced him to a world of intrigue and mysticism. No more spending breaks trying to build a good fire- now it took trills. Blue flames sparks forth from Balthazar's hand and when the torch was lit, the blue fire slowly began to give way to the usual orange flames. The fire leaned towards the mage, even after he left it with Darius, but Balthazar didn't seem to pay it much mind once the torch was ready.

"That's not necessarily true," Balthazar pointed out when Darius said nothing could have survived the lava flow, "we did." Though one could argue they hadn't survived the flow as much as they had avoided it. Balthazar swam straight through a wall so flowing earth was a nebulous concept to him. Darius had asked another question and Balthazar spent a little longer thinking about that. Someone there before them? Possibly. Probably. It was not as he remembered it in the cave and unless Faldrass had done some remodeling, someone had to have come through to cause the damage they saw. Unfortunately Balthazar wasn't quite certain what or who it could have been so he gave Darius what he did know. "I'm certain someone was here after we discovered it but I don't know what would have caused the destruction I feel. Like I said, the earth here seems violated but I don't know how it happened. On the surface it looks like rocks were crushed and broken but... it's hard to explain. Magic."

[Darius Baer]

Darius gratefully took hold of the torch, his eyes studying the curious nature of the flames. Firstly, they were burning a bright blue, and then, even when they had changed to a 'normal' orange, they were leaning towards Balthazar, as if he was attempting to lure them away from the stave itself. It was a marvellous sight, and for a few trills, it was enough to catch Darius breathless.

Lifting the torch and waving it gently in front of him, the Scalvorian was able to get a better look at the curious nature of the destruction around them. The desolation seemed like nothing could survive it, and he nodded at Balthazar's reminder that that was precisely what they had done.

It still felt odd to return and listen to the silence, after the chaos they had witnessed when they had first ventured inside the mountain. The Scalvorian cast a thought towards Storm's Edge, but he told himself not to fret - the besieged were surely getting assistance from others than just him, and his first delivery would provide them with some assistance for the time being.

Darius listened to Balthazar and nodded, though he didn't have any salient points to contribute to the topic. Magic was not something he was overly familiar with, and while he was certainly fascinated by the concepts, he was sure that any insights he might provide would not be anything the mage didn't already know.

He was about to say as much, but Katara saved his blushes when she let out a screech somewhere deeper in the darkness beyond. The echo made its way to the pair, alongside a scrabbling noise and the sound of small pieces of detritus tumbling to the cave floor.

"Sounds like she's found something," Darius pointed out the obvious - so perhaps his blushes weren't entirely saved, after all.

With no sign of Nir'wei or his wolves, the bearded blond decided it made sense to attempt to catch up with his Diri, and hopefully Balthazar would be able to provide some insight into what they discovered when they got there.

[Balthazar Black]

12 Ymiden 720

"Then we had best not keep her waiting." Balthazar said when Darius indicated that his diri had found something. Fuego returned quickly to Balthazar's side and the two of them followed Darius to where his diri had gone. The trio found Katara not very far away from where they had been but to reach her they had to pass from the larger chamber into a smaller tunnel. The tunnel grew so narrow, in fact, that they would have to turn side face and shimmy their way through at one point to reach where the smaller diri had gone easily. However when they did pass through the most narrow portion of the tunnel the screech lead them down, it opened up just a little bit more and lead out to the the other side of the volcano.

In the relatively fresh air again, Balthazar turned to Darius and gave him a small nod. "It seems your diri found a way out for us." He looked towards Katara for a moment and then back in towards the cave they'd just come out from. He wondered just how many exits and entrances into the cave there were and given the eruption- he wondered how long they'd last where they were. Balthazar couldn't help but think they wouldn't find much more that trial. There was something about the elements there that troubled him but they didn't have the means to investigate it further on their own. "We should regroup with Nir'wei and call it. I think I've seen enough of this place for now. What do you think?"

[Darius Baer]

Darius led Balthazar and Fuego towards the scrabbling sound that Katara was making. He stumbled more than once, as the loose stones beneath his feet threatened to give way, and the shadows caused by the flickering flames of the torch deceived his eyes. The squeeze through the narrowing cave was tight, too, and he envied his Diri's ability to work her way through the smallest of gaps.

At one point, he thought they wouldn't get through, and it took a few trills of wedging the torch into the gap to navigate his way through. He was relieved that Balthazar was of a comparable size to him, or they might have become separated.

Katara let out a squawk as the trio caught up with her, and the cave walls opened up to grant them passage. The brightness of the sky outside, contrasting the lack of natural light in the cave, caused Darius to squint his eyes. He passed the torch back to Balthazar - assuming that as the mage had a unique way of starting the fire, he likely had a unique way of putting it out - and stepped outside.

He stared up at the mountain, and marvelled at the way the flow of lava has created an unknowable cave network. Given the many new tunnels and caves that had likely yet to be discovered, was it any wonder that they had lost contact with Nir'wei?

"Aye, I think you might be right," he nodded as he turned to face Balthazar, and then back to the cave that had until recently held their attention. "We should get back to him."

Darius didn't particularly want to go back the way they'd come, so he had Katara take flight. The hawk Diri circled overhead, a thin trail of smoke drifting from her tail feathers, and then, after a shriek, she set off, guiding the others back to the start point of their miniature expedition.

[Doran]

Nir'wei:

Knowledge:
Mount (Air) x2
Socialisation x 2

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Darius:

Knowledge:
Detection: Noticing someone's absence.
Detection: Noticing when a flame exhibits unusual behaviour.
Detection: In the dark, your sense of hearing may be more useful than usual.
Investigation: What lies beneath.
Investigation: Studying unusual behaviour.
Investigation: Some investigations lead to dead ends.
Field Craft: Caves can hide the unknown.
Field Craft: Sound echoes in caves.
Field Craft: The floor of a cave is not always smooth.
Tactics: Never split the party!
Navigation: A flaming torch helps to navigate a dark cave.
Navigation: Finding an unexpected exit.

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Balthazar:

Knowledge: -
Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: This was an interesting little expedition to the Heart of Scalvoris between the eruption of Faldrass and the Forging. Balthazar’s thoughts about returning there were described very well in my opinion. I like his attitude. Rather than continuing to shed tears, he decides to be active and do something!

Everyone of the three PCs in this thread seems to deal with what has happened differently. Darius seems to be guilty more than anything else, while Nir’wei gives me the impression of being rather angry (I thought that the interaction with his various companions was well-written, by the way!).

It was interesting to read a thread where Darius didn’t have a settlement and wasn’t a Baron yet. His wondering who he was compared to Nir’wei and Balthazar was described well!

I was quite amused when Balthazar asked Nir’wei and Darius if anyone knew how to get there, and Nir’wei’s wolves just materialized in a shimmer of color and charged ahead. Unfortunately, we’ll never find out what happened when the ran through the tunnels!

It surprised me that the cave appeared to be so peaceful to Darius while Balthazar had a different impression.

My curiosity was piqued when Balthazar mentioned that someone had been there. In the review request, you mentioned that they found evidence of the Diri of Destruction. I wonder if they ever found out about that IC – and returned to the caves before the Forging!

I also like that you didn’t ignore Nirwei’s abandoning (?) the thread, by the way, but actually addressed his disappearance IC!

Nir’wei you requested two “Mount: Sohr Kahl” knowledges. There are three different Mount Specializations nowadays – Land, Sea and Air. Since your PC flew, I decided to give you “Mount (Air)” knowledges.

Darius, you requested the following knowledge: “Navigation: Never split the party!”. Not splitting the party seems more like an aspect of Tactics than an aspect of Navigation to me which is why I’ve decided to reassign that knowledge to the Tactics skill.

With that being said, enjoy your rewards, and let me know if you have any questions, please!

P.S.: I wasn’t sure if I should give you Renown. You didn’t mention if you talked to anybody about your little expedition. If you think you deserve Renown, let me know, please!