[ We find Our Heroes gathered around the table for breakfast! ] [ Breakfast, today, consists of pancakes and saussages. The pancakes are unusually large, an the sausage plentiful. ] * Tia sits at the table with a heaping plate, grinning as she sinks her fork into a particularly fat piece of steaming sausage. [ Byron is still in bed. One of the Desmodu servants, one who was taught Common by Byron, explained that the priest is always very weak after recieving a vision, although he seemed to find this amusing for some reason. ] * Ariake is consuming a sausage and quite some quantity of pancakes with glee. [ Session Start! Not that you've waited on it. Such terrible table manners, I swear. ] * Vall eats silently, running the line of betrayal through his head over and over. He seems unusually quiet today. * HKenji thoughtfully consumes a pancake with no dressing of any sort, and no sausage. Just a pancake. I like it here! The food here's better than school food, isn't it? Oh, this is excellent... * Istvan eats. And is semi-anti-social. Yup, that's Isty for ya. * Seylin picks at her food. * Will yawns before putting some sausages on his plate. "So what did I miss while I was sleeping?" * Patrick eats, smiling and very calm about things. "Oh, you mean it's not customary to snore while meditating?" ^_^ Er, was I snoring that loudly? You missed nothing of importance, Priest. We are now free to leave as soon as the exit is cleared of rock. * Tia 's plate is already almost empty again. She giggles. "Um, you missed the 'shroom soup!" * Patrick is eating lots of meat, some pancakes, and tons of syrup. "What he said." Do we have to leave soon? I wanted to play with the cute bat-men some more! I would hardly call an omen that one of us will betray the rest 'nothing important'. * HKenji frowns at his plate as he attempts to properly cut the pancake with his fork. * Tia pats a Desmodu servant on the head and grins. * Istvan pokes Vall in the back with his butter knife. "There. I backstabbed you. Now stop moping." * HKenji gives up and stands, glaring at Vall. "Do you intend to betray us, Vall?" It's only important if you keep bringing it up. * Tia shrugs. "Nice old man just wasn't feeling well. I don't think anything's going to happen." She smiles. It was indigestion. I know it! * HKenji rests his right hand on the hilt of his katana. * Tia glances at Kenji's hand and blinks at him questioningly. * Ariake shrugs. "If it's incorrect, it's incorrect, and if it's correct, it's inevitable. So, in conclusion, I like syrup." * Ariake returns to her pancakes. I like syrup too! ... and Kenji, think about drinking less coffee. * Patrick smiles. "Good call." He stuffs another pancake in his mouth. * Tia grins and refills her plate with pancakes. * Seylin looks up. "Hmm. Pass me the syrup, please?" No. But it sounded like it wasn't going to be a planned event. * Tia passes the syrup to Seylin. Then there's jack we can do about it. * Istvan mutters something in Dwarven. * Seylin pours a heap of it onto her pancakes and begins eating with a bit more enthusiasm. And that's what scares me. If you want to kill me now, Kenji, do it. I won't stop you. * HKenji takes his hand away from his katana. "Then the matter is irrelevant. Your constant belabouring of the subject demeans this entire assembly." In other words... shut up about it and start eating, otherwise we'll take your portion. * Tia appears to be attempting to decipher what Kenji just said. * HKenji turns his back on Vall. "If you're so worried about betraying this little group, then do us all a favor and kill yourself now, while you still have some shred of honor." Aw, that's mean, Kenji. * Will nods. "Just an impending betrayal? We'll just let Kenji deal with it when it comes." * Tia pats Vall on the shoulder. "He was just joking, you know." * Istvan tosses a pancake at Kenji. * Seylin slows in her eating. * HKenji snaps the pancake out of the air with a pair of chopsticks, rolls it up, and begins eating it. "An excellent serve, Istvan. I should have you serve me breakfast more often." * Tia claps. "Wow, Kenji. That was cool!" * Seylin can't help but giggle at that. Catch mine! * Patrick glances at Kenji and grins. * Tia throws a pancake at Kenji too. You guys are great, you know that? ^_^ * Vall smiles slightly at Tia. * HKenji ducks and lets the pancake fly overhead. If it'll get you to stop egging Vall on into more moping sprees, then I will. * Ariake blinks. "Nicely done!" * Tia frowns. "My pancake!" * Tia gets up and runs over to reclaim the grounded pancake. She picks it up between two fingers and stuffs it into her mouth. "Heehee!" * HKenji shudders in disgust. * Istvan rubs his head. "We're doing the adventuring thing, which means that every minute of our lives is a constant state of impending death. What's a prophecy change anything?" * Vall takes one of the pancakes, one without any toppings on it yet, and starts twirling it around on his finger... * Seylin twitches her mouth slightly. "Well, I guess that was still under the five-second rule..." * Tia grins. She doesn't seem to think there's anything unusual about eating things off the ground. * Will finishes off the last sausage on his plate. Hey, it can't be that bad. Although I don't think we should tell her Arsenic is natural... Tia, catch! * Vall flicks his wrist, sending the spinning pancake flying across the room Besides, the prophecy has to be talking about me. So don't sweat it, Vall. * Seylin mops up the leftover syrup with a piece of pancake and munches. * Tia jumps up and catches the pancake in her mouth, grinning. * Tia lands with a thud. The pancake has already disappeared, somehow. Heehee. (and why am I getting the vision of her landing on the table in the process?) * Ariake is in front of an ever-lessening stack of pancakes, until finally they're gone. She leans back happily. Could we PLEASE stop arguing about who gets to be the first to betray the rest of us? * Tia nods and swallows her pancake. "Yeah, I don't like arguments." But it's fate, Kenji. Treachery has a 't'. Istvan has a 't'. *pauses dramatically* It's a sign. Don't make me throw this fork at you, Istvan! * Seylin waves her fork threateningly at him. ^_^ Yeah. It's giving me a headache. Come to think of it, I think the headache's been there ever since I checked the shrine. * Patrick leans back with his sausages rolled in a pancake. "Just drop the arguement, already." Well, that's what you get for meditating and sleeping at the same time. Fork has an r... so does treachery! A-HA! * Seylin throws her fork at Istvan. * Istvan blocks it with his forehead. "Ow." Yeah! ^_^_v * Tia laughs. ...except I don't have a fork anymore. Darn it! My cunning plan backfired! * Tia hands Seylin her fork. She hasn't been using it, anyway. * Vall tosses Sey his unused fork. Thanks, Tia! You're welcome! * Seylin tosses Vall his fork back. "And thanks, Vall!" ... point I'm makin' is that the our jobs are basically one death trap after another. What's another freakin' threat on the pile? * Ariake nods. "Exactly." Yeah, really. * Will rubs his temples. "Something seems wrong though." * HKenji looks for this Desmodu that speaks common. What seems wrong, Will? This whole place feels wrong, somehow. Huh? Was the shrine a legitimate one? But it has butterflies! Wow, you just realized that? Well, yeah, we've been over that already. What's wrong with it? It's legitimate. But something still doesn't seem right. And I'm afraid. Afraid? * Ariake raises an eyebrow. Yeah, afraid of the boogie man. ^_^ Afraid of what, Will? * Tia cleans whatever plates are left and sits back contentedly, a big grin on her face. * Will looks around to see if anybody else besides the party is near. * Patrick tosses a pair of sausage links into his mouth. * Vall finishes his last piece of sausage, and stands up. "We should get ready to leave, I think." I got this headache after checking out the shrine. That's not normal from praying to Bahamut. Leaving already? * Will nods. "I wish to leave too" * Tia stands too, hastily wiping her mouth with a napkin. Well, why do you think you got the headache? Oh, but I'll have to say goodbye to all the bat-men first. * Patrick finishes eating and wipes his mouth. * Seylin spears one last piece of pancake and eats it hastily. * Will shudders. "I don't know! That's what is scaring me." * Ariake gets up and stretches. "Yes, it would be good to move on..." * Tia grins at Will. "Maybe it was 'cause you missed dinner. I always feel weird if I miss dinner." * Will grins weakly at Tia. "I sure hope you are right." * Patrick smiles. "Well, no time like the present to get out of here. Who's with me?" * Tia nods. "Nice old man wouldn't do something to hurt us, right? He gave us a lot of food, so he can't be that bad..." * Tia hesitates. "Well, okay, but I can say 'bye to my bat-friends, right?" * Istvan wipes the sides of his mouth, and stands. "I'm gonna go on ahead, make sure the bat guys are clearing the rocks right. Last thing we need is them putting up crappy supports, and the whole thing collapsing again before we can come back." * Seylin stands up. "I'm ready to go!" * Will raises his hand. "I'm ready!" * Ariake nods. "I'm all set. I'll go on ahead, too." * Vall pulls out his bow and strings it. "I'm ready." * Istvan heads out. * Tia pads out of the house and starts making her circuit around the village, giving hugs and goodbyes to every Desmodu she sees. * Vall turns to his hawk. "Go with them, just to make sure." The hawk flies over and lands on Ist's shoulder. Think we should say goodbye to the old priest, or would that disturb his resting? * HKenji walks out and begins the journey towards the exit from this valley. * Ariake walks with Istvan, looking around. * Patrick rolls his shoulders and grins. "It wouldn't hurt." * Tia returns with a Desmodu hugged tightly in her arms. "Can I keep him?" * Istvan blinks at the hawk as it lands, then shrugs lightly, and continues walking. No, Tia. Please put him down. Best to leave him be, Tia * Tia looks crestfallen. "Aww, please?" Just put him down. They'll always be here. ^_^ * Seylin looks for the way to Byron's quarters. * Tia sniffs, but she puts him down. "Well, okay. I'll miss him, though... 'Bye, little bat-man! I'll miss you!" * Tia follows Seylin up the stairs to Byron's room. * Will walks towards Byron's room too. [ The Desmodu hurries off. ] * Patrick follows up to Byron's room as well. * Vall shrugs, and follows the group up to Byron's room Mr. Nice Old Man! * Tia knocks on his bedroom door. Shh, Tia! He might be sleeping! Oh! Sorry! [ There's loud snoring coming from the other side of the door. Yes, he just might be sleeping. ] Yeah, he's sleeping. We shouldn't disturb him. Oh, well. Goodbye, old man. Thanks for the hospitality. I just hope you were wrong about that prophecy... Oh, okay. 'Bye, nice old man! Thanks for the food! * Patrick pulls out some paper and writes him a quick thank you and farewell letter. "Care to sign?" * Vall signs it * Seylin signs it, in lovely flowing handwriting. * Tia signs it in her childish hand. * Patrick signs it in, well... Dr. writing. Meaning completly illegable. * Will mutters a Bahamut prayer under his breath. "I'm sure our paths will cross again soon." * Will signs the letter too. * Patrick folds it and places it inside of his room on whatever table he can find. * Vall heads downstairs and outside, blinking to get his eyes readjusted to the light * Patrick steps out of his room and walks down stairs, assuming there wasn't anything out-of-the-ordinary there. * Seylin follows. * Tia pads down the stairs and exits the house. She looks around hoping to see that Desmodu she released moments before. * Will follows the party out of the house. I think I changed my mind, Sey. I wanna bring him along. I promise I'll take really good care of him! Not a good idea, Tia No, Tia. We wouldn't have enough food for him, and I'll bet he'd get really homesick. * Patrick nods. And then you'd have to water him, and feed him, and take him for walks... * Tia looks at Vall. "Aww, why not? Really, I'll take care of him. He can have my food!" * Tia pleads. * Will smiles. "No Tia. I don't think the Dosmodu would like to come with us either." But, but, I think he likes me... * Tia picks up the nearest Desmodu and hugs him/her/it. Unless you ask him and he comes of his own free will, you cannot bring him along. And even then, there'd be problems. Can I? Pleeease? [ The Desmodu struggles to get free! o_O ] Tia, I don't think he's very happy with that. Please put him down? * Tia glances at the Desmodu and sniffles. She glances up, looks back down at the struggling Desmodu, and finally puts him back down. [ Despite their own great size, the desmodu are still small next to Tia, and are growing increasingly skittish around her. ] [ The one she just put down trots off, holding it's side gingerly. ] Aww, okay. I guess you're happier here, then. C'mon, let's go catch up with everyone else! You're scaring them, Tia. And I think you hurt that one. Oh...I'm sorry... Yeah, watch it, okay? ^_^; * Tia sniffles. They're not made like the furniture back home. * Tia nods. * Seylin flies up and patpats Tia on the shoulder. "C'mon, I'll race you!" * Patrick isn't there. Did he already run off? :P * Tia wipes her eyes and smiles. "Okay!" She lifts off into the air after Seylin. * Vall moves to the back of the party as we walk. * Seylin soars towards the exit. * Tia flies after Seylin. * Ariake is engaged in a conversation with Istvan. "But you see, Mylburn was assuming that the world is banana-shaped, which means that the estimates are no longer reliable..." * Will enjoys the walk in the sun. After all, it's going to be a long trip in the dark caverns after this. * HKenji stumbles and falls on his face as the massive wake from Tia's flying bulk hits him. * HKenji picks himself up slowly and brushes off the dust, then continues walking towards the exit tunnel. * Tia, unfortunately, didn't notice that Kenji was behind her. ... Ariake, as interesting as this is... what the hell does it have to do with the structural integrity of this tunnel? It doesn't. * Ariake pauses. "...I forget. Oh well." * Istvan chuckles. "And this is why elves don't mine. No offense." * Ariake grins. "None taken. It's true." * Patrick chuckles. * Tia lands with a thud, hindlegs first, by the exit cave. She giggles, having evidently forgotten about the earlier incident already. [ As you gradually near the exit, you see that it has been cleared a little up at the top. The mammoth cave-in can't all be cleared in a day, after all, although the room up there should be enough to get through. ] * Istvan continues looking around the tunnel, trying to remember what he learned while working in the dwarven mines about the danger signs for cave-ins. * Ariake waves to the others. * Tia waves back. * Seylin stays in the air longer, doing a few more acrobatics. She's gonna miss the sky. It'll be good to be on the move again. * Tia dances erratically on her four paws, proud that she won the race. * Patrick waves back at Seylin and Tia. "What took ya so long?" ^_^ * Vall avoids Tia's dancing * Patrick doesn't. But he jumps over the shockwaves, so it doesn't matter. I'm just enjoying myself! * Tia grins, raises both arms in the air, and waves madly to Seylin. "I won!" * Will falls. Top heavy armor. :( Yep, you did! * Seylin giggles. That was a close one! We should race again! * HKenji finally arrives after a minute or so of Tia's dancing. * Tia grins broadly. Hi, Kenji! We should! But probably later. I think everyone else wants to go now. * Istvan nearly loses his balance on the rock pile as Tia's landing jostles it slightly. He starts to turn back and yell at her, but stops himself and mutters. "Aw, what's the point?" *goes back to checking the tunnel walls* Oh, okay. [ The pile of rocks that blocked your way is at least two hundered feet high. But you can see some cave on the other side up at the top, so maybe you can get by with just a little cleared. ] Think you can sqeeze through that hole Tia? * Tia jumps up and down, trying to see over the pile of rocks. Unfortunately, her jumping also causes the ground to quake slightly. * Seylin stays aloft. She's not landing until she absolutely has to. [ Several Desmodu miners hurriedly try to get Tia to stop, lest another cave-in ensues. ] Best to keep to the air for now, Tia * Tia stops quickly as she notices the gesticulating Desmodu. She grins and sits by them instead. [ The Desmodu does not sweatdrop, since furred creatures tend not to have sweat glands. ] (That doesn't stop anime.) * Tia nods toward Vall and grins, patting one of the Desmodu gently on the head before skipping some feet away and launching into the air to join Seylin. * Istvan nearly falls again. This time, he *does* turn around. "Tia! Please don't jump up and down when I'm on top of two hundred feet of unstable rocks!" [ One of the miners comes forth and explains that yes, you can get through on the other side. Just step lightly. He explains all of this in halting Undercommon. ] * Tia looks apologetic. "Sorry, Istvan," she calls over. "I won't do it again!" * HKenji gazes up at the massive pile of rocks and then begins walking sedately up to the opening. * Will finally manages to stand up again. ;p * Istvan mutters something in Dwarven, then continues trying to figure out what the heck caused the cave in. Anything stand out, GM-san? * Patrick jumps up to the opening, enjoying the challenge of going up really quickly. * Vall thanks the miner. "It's open, gang. Tia, can you fit through there?" * Tia flies over and hovers by the entrance. Does she look like she'll fit? * Ariake walks on up, carefully. * Vall sets the bow in the quiver, and starts climbing to the hole [ It'll be a squeeze, but yes. ] I think so. Go ahead, then. Okay! * Tia lands as gingerly as she can on the unstable rocks and carefully starts stepping through the opening. [ On the other side is a three-hundered foot staircase of rock, some of it slippery with frost. It's cold in there. Brr! ] * Tia shivers. "It's cold in here!" Thanks for telling us! ^_^ * HKenji slings his cloak around his shoulders and pulls it mostly closed, then starts down the staircase. * Tia folds her wings tightly and squeezes through with some strain. * Tia pads down the stairs, glancing around curiously. * Vall gets to the hole, and easily slips through. He stays near the hole, in case anyone needs a hand. * Will climbs through the entrance as well. * Tia slips a little on one step and catches herself just in time. * Seylin lands just on the inside of the opening, taking one last longing look at the sky before descending (?) the staircase. * Ariake closes her cloak and follows. * Patrick puts down his backpack and pulls out a heavy jacket and puts it on. He also puts on some leather leg-protectors over his jeans, as is usual when he's actually adventuring. He slips in. "Com'on Sey! I know ya like flying, but we gotta get going!" I'm going, I'm going. * Patrick walks next to Sey and smiles, whispering into her ear. * Tia follows closely behind Kenji. * Seylin shrugs into her cloak as she goes along. She's got high dexterity; she can pull it off. ;p * Istvan takes one last look at the rubble pile, mutters, then walks down the stairs slowly. Cold doesn't seem to be bothering him too much. * Vall pulls out his heavy cloak and dons it, and pulls up the rear. * Seylin whispers back. * HKenji slips a brightly burning torch from the sleeve of his kimono and raises it as he descends. * Tia continues down the stairs, balancing carefully with outstretched wings. [ Kenji sheds enough light on the area for all to be clear; you're in a large cavern that winds down to a small passage leading roughly north further in. ] * Patrick walks casually down the steps. * Seylin has her wings folded closely against herself again. Hey, Kenji, where does this go? North. What's up north? We don't know yet... that's why we're exploring. Oh, right. * Patrick smirks. [ This part of the cave is quite pretty, with the sunlight playing off the glistening stalactites and stalagmites. ] * Seylin looks around the cave. "Well, this place is pretty, at least." * Patrick smiles. "Yeah. Reminds me of my house when my mom actually took the time to decorate. She can have... odd taste, sometimes." [ Seylin can see her breath! It's cold in here. The cieling is very high, too, until it closes up near the path out. ] * Ariake looks around. "Nice indeed..." ... never liked ceiling spikes. Just a skewering waiting to happen. Brings back memories... * Patrick chuckles. * Tia is mesmerized by the sparkling pretties. Just don't yell. * Seylin grins at Patrick. "Yeah, I remember when she went through that whole phase with the hanging moss. It was weird." Hanging moss? Ewwww. Look, I can breathe smoke! * Tia blows a puff of vapor into the air. * HKenji smiles a little as Tia's breath puffs past him. * Ariake smiles. * HKenji continues descending the stairs as quickly as is reasonable. Papa can do that all the time, but I never figured out how. Maybe I can still be like a real dragon! * Patrick smirks. "At least that wasn't considered a fire-hazard like the volcanoes..." * Seylin breathes back at Tia. "So can I! Rarr!" * Tia grins back at Seylin. "Hey, you can do it too!" Yep! 'Cause it's so cold here! Are you part dragon, Sey? * Vall foregoes the physics lesson for Tia.... * Seylin laughs. "Nope! Just part Celestial!" Your wings don't look like mine, but Papa always said there were all sorts of different-looking dragons... Is a Celestial like a dragon? Yes. * Seylin shakes her head. "No, not a dragon. They're from another plane, and they're champions of good and stuff!" Ooh, ooh! Are they from the Astral Plane? That's where Papa's from! I don't know. * Patrick smirks. * Vall smiles a little at the banter... You walk fast, Kenji. Aren't you afraid of slipping? Not particularly. * Seylin looks like she's thinking about something. * Ariake looks around, appreciating the scenery. Oh. You're brave, Kenji. Not brave. Just confident. Oh, I guess that's about the same. * Tia grins. Maybe I'll try to explain the difference someday. * Tia nods. "Okay. I like learning new things." ... question. Did we ever figure out what the hell we're planning to do when and if we ever stumble upon the drow city Vall ran away from? Are we even going that way? * Will grins. "Beat up on Drows until Vall feels satisfied?" * Patrick laughs. "That sounds like a good plan." I want to free my parents, if they're still alive. And find any siblings I left behind. ... yeah. Walk into a drow city, piss on the first statue of Lloth we find, and go from there. Not exactly my idea of a sound plan. What's Lloth? The spider god. Drow tend to worship her. Oh. Spiders don't taste so good. Why do drow like spiders? She's the Spider Queen, and their patron bitch goddess. Spiders are like their mascots. Couldn't have said it better myself. ^_^ There is nothing wrong with having spiders as a symbol. Oh. I wouldn't want a spider as a mascot. It sounds good...but I agree, it isn't quite a plan. Oh! We're making a plan? Well, I've been winging it, until we actually find the city. Can't hurt. To make a plan, I mean. Can I help plan? I like helping! Yeah. Until Vall throws it out the window. * Patrick smiles. Well, unless you've got a few spare batallions of paladins hidden in your pack, I dunno what we're gonna do even when we get to the city. I mean, I ain't exactly opposed to killing drow, but... Vall still has some time to think up a plan before we get to the city. Well, in this light, I can pass for a light-skinned drow, provided they don't look at my eyes. We could slip in, under the guise that you're my... * Istvan nods, then turns to Vall. "Then think. 'cause you may be a decent guy'n all, and I'd like to help ya free your family... but I ain't going on no damned suicide mission." * Patrick shrugs. "We're just explorin'." * Vall chokes on the next word... If we find his parents, yay. If not, no point in gettin' ourselves killed. * Vall mumbles something under his breath, something that sounds like, "posing as my slaves"... * Tia grins. "Friends?" she tries to fill in helpfully. "I'll help you, Vall!" But, we don't have to pretend to be friends, since we already are, so it'll be easy! If there's a way we can help, then we should. * Ariake nods. Really, I want to help! Buuut... I'm not into the whole slave bit. I'm not a real fan of that, ya know. Although I hear it's all the rage among elves. * Patrick grins. Slave? I'm not into it myself, Pat. I'd rather not go that route, having been a slave myself. * Tia looks at Patrick blankly. I'm confused again. But it might be the only way to get into the city with a minimum of hassle. * Seylin gives Patrick a very rare frown. [ Just to keep you up to date, this stretch of canyonway is very boring. You do see some light far up ahead, however. ] [ And by 'far' I mean, about a mile or so. ] * Patrick blinks, then nods to Sey in understanding. * HKenji picks up the pace a bit. * Tia notices Kenji speeding up, and she follows suit. (Are we still on stairs, or is this flat ground now?) (flat ground, methinks) * Patrick easily picks up the pace. * Istvan quickens a bit, to keep up. * Tia no longer seems to slide so much now that they're not on the stairs. Her claws grip the ground quite well. * Seylin keeps pace with the others. * Ariake follows along, looking ahead. Look! * Tia points toward the light ahead. The light? Yes, Tia, we can see. Does anyone have a better idea? I agree, it's not the best in the world. * Tia starts trotting forward in her excitement. Well, we have time to think, don't we? I'm sure we can come up with something. * Will starts panting, but he was able to prevent himself from being left behind. Hee! You go in, buy 'em, walk out, and we go home? * Tia has broken into a quick jog. Go in alone? Are you nuts? Look man. You're only, what, half drow? And you were a slave earlier? What's going to make them think you're not *still* a slave? * Tia turns her head to face the others and grins. "Come on, guys!" She gestures wildly, obviously eager to see what's at the end of the canyonway. We could maybe disguise you or something, if you think that would work. not even half drow, but I can pass for one. And I was only ten when I escaped, I doubt they know what I look like now. Coming, Tia! ... and last I checked, slaves don't carry weapons. * Tia wags her tail excitedly. You could possily make me look more like a drow. * Patrick chuckles. "Sorry, I'm no disguise master." * Tia stops for the others to catch up and dances in a circle. Tia, please sit still.... I'm not really, either. I've got something magical for it, but I'd bet they'd have someone there who could sense it. Oh, am I knocking things down again? * Tia calms down a little and looks around worriedly. Most likely, Sey. and not yet, Tia... 'Yet' being the operative word. Oh, good. Sometimes I don't feel it when I hit things. I don't see why you're having such trouble coming up with a plan. * Tia grins a little apologetically. * Seylin looks at Kenji. "Oh, sorry. What's your idea?" Well, I'm not a planner... at least, not in the large scheme of things. I want to help plan! * HKenji sighs. "What are our goals?" An important one would be to destroy all of the Drow that we can. Find my parents and any siblings left alive, and free them, if at all possible. The professors always say I'm good at destroying things. * Seylin stifles a giggle at Tia's statement. * Tia giggles too. Drow casualties aren't a priority. Goal number one, as always, is "try not to die." * Patrick chuckles. Killing drow would be nice, but isn't necessary. * Ariake nods. * Will nods. "Those are wise words Ariake." Exactly, Patrick. Especially when we're outnumbered ten thousand to one. Very well. The accepted goal is the recovery of Vall's parents. Your devotion to your parents is commendable, if a bit belated. There is a secondary goal of killing such drow as may become available. This is acceptable, as all goodly races may be considered at war with the drow. * Patrick nods. Okay, I'll agree with those. * Tia raises her hand solemnly. "I'll help!" Why do you think I have been at the Academy in the first place? I escaped with three older brothers; all three of them died at the hands of driders in these tunnels during the escape. I was only ten. The optimal course of action is to capture one or more drow to use as runners. * HKenji utterly ignores Vall's excuses. What are runners? Which, in human terms, is... three Runners are... messengers, Tia. Capture them, and use them to carry messages back to someone more powerful. I fear that something even more pressing than saving Vall's parents will appear soon though. Oh, okay. Why do we want bad people to be our messengers? Because they can tell their superiors we wish to purchase a pair of slaves. * HKenji pauses just a bit before the word "purchase" Oh. Um. We do? * Tia looks puzzled. Again. I thought only bad people purchased slaves... Well, your plan has more merrit than Vall's. And is considerably less risky, too. It's acceptable to purchase them, as we're actually going to free them. It's not as satisfying, but acceptable. Oh. Yeah, Tia. Once we get them, they won't be slaves anymore. And we won't have to put any of us at risk, hopefully. * Tia mulls over that for a moment. Oh, okay! That sounds good, then. I don't want to do what bad people do. It's bad. It's quite bad. * Patrick grins. [ You're very near to the light! It looks kind of like sunlight! But there's no warmth here. ] Once Vall's parents are freed or confirmed dead, we may commence assaults on such drow as become available. Assault means hit, right? * Seylin eyes the light. Yes Good! I can do that! * Ariake nods. * Tia dances. We found it! The bright place! * Tia trots up to the opening. ... just as long as we're clear that we're not doing anything dumb like sneaking into the main temple of Lloth and giving the priestesses wedgies. * Seylin laughs. "I don't think that's going to happen, Istvan." Not until we've got an army of our own, Ist. Darn. What's a wedgie? * Patrick grins. * Patrick is grinning a bit too much. Shouldn't have given him that idea, Istvan. Is that like a present? * Will grins. "Hmm. That sounds like a good idea Ist." [ You all emerge into a large open space! It looks like you've found another canyon already! This one seems off, somehow, tho. ] [ The sun's overhead, sure enough, but it seems off, too. Like it's been moving the wrong way while you were underground. ] * Ariake looks around cautiously. "Something's...odd." * Patrick shifts his gaze from left to right, then smiles. "Yup." * Seylin blinks. "This place feels weird. And a different kind of weird from the other canyon. Like... something's wrong with the sun." * Tia dashes past Kenji and runs onto the green. [ All in all, the area is quite large. There's a village far across on the far end of the canyon - you're high up, so you have a remarkable view. ] * Tia runs around for awhile. * HKenji looks around curiously, trying to figure out what's not quite right about this little valley. I think I like the previous canyon better. Agreed. Better pancakes. * Seylin stays on the ground. * Vall frowns, and lets his hawk fly, trying to get the hawk's mental and emotional impressions of the place. * Tia stops, returns to the group, looking confused. "Why is it still cold?" Because it's not warm. * Seylin giggles. * Will eyes Ariake. "I'm being serious here." * Patrick looks over the valley, trying to get a good view of everywhere. * Tia blinks at Patrick. "Oh, I guess you're right." Seriously, though... * Ariake nods. "I know what you mean." * Tia sniffs the air tentatively. It's cold, and the sun's all wrong. [ There are several more caves on the sides, one of this has a copper dragon sunning itself on an open ledge. A stream runs from one wall to a lake near the center. There is, along one wall, a beaten road from one end to the other. ] * HKenji STARES at the copper dragon. * Tia points. "Look, a dragon! I wonder if he's nice!" * Seylin sees the dragon. "Oh!" * Ariake blinks. Copper dragon... not likely, Tia. * Tia starts trotting toward the dragon. Hi! Tia! Stop! ... Oh, noo... * Tia halts sharpy at Vall's outburst. Is copper one of the evil dragons? Can't remember. * HKenji starts determinedly across the valley towards the dragon. * Tia turns and looks sheepish. "Did I do something wrong?" Metal good. Color generally bad. You're disturbing a sleeping dragon. ... damn. I *do* remember something from class. I'm gonna go check out what's wrong up there. * Seylin points straight above her. * Patrick whispers to Sey as he walks past, then pats her on the back. * Tia mpds/ * Will grins sheepishly, "Never paid much attention in class." * Tia nods, I mean. * Seylin takes off and starts heading up. * Tia flies off after Seylin. [ The dragon, mind, is quite a ways off. It doesn't mind Tia's approach, but it might be good to chat with it later. Copper dragons tend to like chat anyway. ] I'm gonna stand here. *stands* I hope I didn't wake him up. I didn't meant to bother him. It's best not to waken a dragon, any type of dragon. Best to wait until he wakes up. No shit. * Tia grins at Seylin as they fly. "Think he'll wake up soon? Maybe he'd want to be friends!" * Seylin stops and begins descending. She seems a bit distracted. * Tia takes a dive after Seylin. Wait for me! Huh? Oh, sorry, Tia. Did you feel that? * Patrick 's smiling, but not as much as he looks somewhat worried at Sey. Feel what? Hang on a sec, I'll explain to everybody once I land. * Ariake looks over at Seylin. "What's wrong?" Okay. * Vall calls the hawk back to him * Tia looks anxious now, too. * Seylin lands in front of the group. "Okay. Um. What's the best way to put this..." * Tia listens attentively, her tail wagging. * Patrick nods. Sey's got a good head for this kind of thing. Simply, we're screwed? What's wrong? Basically, this place has a ceiling, of sorts. When I got high up, I bumped into something that felt like very cold rock. An illusion? ... sunny ceiling. That's new. Interesting. You think we're in a large cavern still? * Tia blinks. "Oh...I didn't fly that high." Huh. * Seylin nods. "Probably an illusion, 'cause the sun was looking weird, too." * Tia looks up. "Doesn't look like a ceiling, either, though." It moved as I was flying. Illusions can mess with your mind. Looks like someone botched on the spell. And there was some wind moving at the top, too. Hrm. A work of that dragon over there? Possibly. He might have done the work, or knows who did. * Tia hadn't noticed. She scratches her head in bewilderment. "Um, maybe we can ask." Hm. Actually, now that I think about it... it wasn't so much like the sun was moving. More like I was moving around it. And that really shouldn't happen. ... * Ariake nods. Interesting. * Patrick smiles. * Tia is still confused, but she nods. She looks over at the dragon to check if he's opened his eyes yet. Hidden light source, maybe? [ The dragon still sleeps. ] * Tia starts walking toward the dragon again. A number of spells could replicate the effect. Couple with a permanency spell, and you'd have one you wouldn't need to maintain that often Perhaps we should head down to the village before we wake the dragon... * Tia is already well on her way toward the sleeping dragon. * Patrick sighs. "So, do you want to drag Tia back again, or just talk to the dragon?" * HKenji is still walking towards the dragon, and just assumes everybody is following him. I think dragging Tia is a losing battle. Let's go talk with the dragon. * Tia stops next to the sleeping dragon and whispers very quietly, "Mr. Dragon?" * Ariake nods, and follows. * Patrick jumps and runs to catch up, then walking the rest of the way alongside everyone else. * Will follows without thinking. * Vall rolls his eyes at Tia, and follows. [ The dragon stays asleep. ] * Seylin walks instead of flying. Creepy ceiling place. Mr. Dragon? ... oh yeah. Left the mines for this. Great plan, Istvan. *mutters; walks along* And to think, I had a career as a bowmaker with my adopted family... * Tia sighs. "I guess he's tired, so I won't bother him. Maybe I'll go sit in the water until he wakes up." I believe there was a rule for this. Something like... "Let sleeping dragons lie." Well, as I was saying when you wandered off, we could head down to the village. Oh. Right. The village! Maybe they have pancakes too! * Tia smiles suddenly. "Let's go!" * Tia grabs Vall's wrist and starts galloping toward the village gleefully. * Patrick grins. "Good job Vall." * Vall hops up behind Tia's torso, to ride on her back, if she doesn't mind * Seylin giggles and follows along. * Patrick follows. * Ariake shrugs, and follows along. * Will follows too. * Tia doesn't mind at all, though her back spines aren't entirely comfortable to sit on. Heehee! I like pancakes a lot! Don't you? I wonder if the village has bat-people. * HKenji begins walking swiftly for the village. Tia, remind me to get a saddle made for you. Riding you bareback hurts! Okay! Sorry about that. I know my back's a little pokey. I am certain you do not mean to imply you intend to ride Tia often, Vall. Right? -_- I really don't mind, if he wants to... * Vall does his best at imitating one of Patrick's smiles, and actually succeeds. ^_^ * Patrick snickers, then grins. Nope. Still not quite good enough. ... s'just downright ungentlemanly. * Seylin giggles, because it's funny. Any other thoughts do not even cross her mind. * Tia, naturally, is incapable of thinking anything like *that*. * Patrick is barely able to keep from commenting further. * Ariake stays very quiet. [ And so they, uh, rode off! For the town in the land of the fake sun! Session End. z_z ]