Move 143:  Hazy

The Garlstone Mines--afternoon, 2 Eleint 1374 DR

Various people in the group looked at the haze ahead of them.  The thin foggy patch covered the entire width of the tunnel in front of them.

Aloysius fidgeted nervously in the passage.  "Well?" he asked no one in particular.  "'Twould seem we have three choices.  We can leave.  We can walk through yon haze.  Or Arachne could use her transport talents to get us around it."

"I can't do anything about it if it's a warding spell," Echo said.  "Other than set it off, I mean.  Can anyone else do anything?"

"Other than walk through it, no." Ceth replied. "Well, perhaps this is my destiny." She walks to the front of the group, careful to avoid touching anyone more than necessary, and walks into the haze.

Aloysius watched, wide-eyed as Ceth walked forward into the haze.  "B-but . . . .", he began, but he
didn't complete his statement as he saw the resolve on her face.

Blacky hefted his axe and followed a few paces behind the elf.

While Arachne contemplated a way to get the group safely around the haze, Cethyran decided to render the point moot by walking into it.  The haze swirled, took a vague unrecognizable shape, and dissipated, leaving the woman frozen where she stood.

The now-cleared passage ahead of them opened into a wide chamber.  Another passage lead off to the right, to the Dream Cave, if one chose to trust the dwarf's map.

Arachne swore momentarily, tugged on Daelen's sleeve once, then ran forward (assuming Echo, Jana and Blacky allow it) to see what, if anything, she could do for the motionless elf.  Not that she had much idea of anything to try, but she was feeling awfully _responsible_.

Aloysius tapped Etienne on the shoulder.  "'Twould seem that yon mist was a ward of some sort after all,"
he said, stating the obvious.  "I hope that Cethyran has sustained no serious injury."

He paused in thought for a moment.  "We can't just leave her here, but we can't really proceed with her as she is.   Whatever are we supposed to do now?"

Jana watched Cethyran with interest.  "We've seen that before," she said.  "Back in Thurmaster, when that bitch bespelled Lytern.  Remember?" Jana asked, glancing at Echo.  "It zapped Will the Smith.  It wore off after a couple'a minutes."  Jana walked toward Ceth.  "Question is," she muttered, "does it do anything besides freeze you for a bit?  Not all that useful unless it also tells someone it went off."  She stood next to the elf, sword drawn, peering into the darkness.

"An excellent inquiry," said Aloysius.  "Let us stand watch down these passages for a few moments and see if Cethyran recovers.  If she does not, we shall likely have to abandon this place."

Arachne glanced up, looking relieved.  "I don't remember that," she admitted.  "Must've happened while I was hiding in the basement."  More hopeful, she inspected the elf for signs of life.

"Cethyran shall be aright in a few minutes Arachne," Rennirolas said as he let fall his hand to the hilt of his longsword.  "It is as you said, a warding spell, the Wyvern Watch.  I have cast it once or twice."

"That is it's only function," Renn replied.  "Of course, that does not mean that there wasn't a second spell linked to the first, or that there wasn't a watcher to see for the spell's being tripped.

"One thing to note, this spell does not create a permanent guardian," Renn continued as he watched for trouble.  "Even if it is not triggered, the wyvern will disperse after eight hours."

Aloysius listened intently as Renn explained the ward.  "Wonder do I how long it shall be until Cethyran
regains her mobility?" he mused to no one in particular.

"Perhaps it would be best if we went down yon passage," he said, pointing to the opening on the
right.  "We can't just stand here near the entrance for too long or we'll shall be discovered - if we have
not already.  Since the lower level is our goal, and the map seems not to depict where this level and the
one we seek are connected, that passage seems as good as any."

"So what," Jana said, glancing over her shoulder at Aloysius, "d'you wanna wait 'til she's better or d'you wanna go now and carry her with us?"

Daelen followed Arachne after a moment's hesitation and put himself and his shield between the elf and the tunnel. Seeing as he was both much taller and much wider than Ceth, the task was fairly easy.

He glanced back with a frown as someone mentioned a wyvern. "What, she's been poisoned?" he said and flinched at the unexpected volume of his voice.

"Damn echo - sorry, not you..." he muttered before going back to 'guard duty' and waiting for the others to decide what to do.

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