Move 185:  Conversations with a Gnome

Orc Caverns--Afternoon, 7 Eleint 1374 DR

At Aloysius' and Arachne's urging, the group relocated from the cavern where the fight had taken place with the wounded and the still very hostile captive orcs.  The cavern they moved to was a clean, apparently well-cared-for place, with a few sleeping furs, pots of fresh water, clean clothing, and a fair supply of food around.  In an alcove on the right, there was a pile of equipment, which probably belonged to Olaf, Semheis, and Gerrd according to Snagger, and two wooden chests, one with a lock and one without.  A tunnel about 20' wide led out of the rear of the cavern on the left.

Echo and Jana were waiting there for the others.  A perfunctory investigation of the tunnel, which had been suggested earlier, revealed no immediate danger to the group's resting here.  The normal wards and like precautions were performed, and the group settled in to recover.

Before going to sleep for the night, Aloysius looked through some of the food the group had found to see if it looked edible. He looked at some of the clothes to see what kind of condition they were in and whether
any might fit him. After writing in abook for a bit, he settled in, taking his watch when the time came.

At various times throughout the night, Arachne pulled herself out of sleep or some similiar reverie to work on some of the wounded, specifically Aloysius and Blacky.  Daelen regained consciousness sometime during the last watch, still in a great deal of pain.

Orc Caverns--Morning, 8 Eleint 1374 DR

The next morning, everyone awoke in varying degrees of discomfort.
As thoughts began to turn to studying and praying, as well as to what to do next, a group of a dozen creatures, gray in color and about three feet tall, seemed to melt out of the rock around the mouth of the tunnel.  They were dressed in browns and grays and carried short swords.  Most of them were completely hairless, but other than that and their color, they resembled Arachne to some degree.  The one among them who was obviously the leader was a very old female with thin stringy hair.  Around her neck, she wore a symbol of a ring emblazoned with a star.  Everyone in the cavern was too shocked by their unexpected appearance to do anything other than hold their places and their tongues as she crossed her arms across her chest and spoke in halting common, "I think we should have a little talk about what you're planning to do, don't you?"

"We should," Arachne agreed coming toward the woman a couple of steps, "since we don't know what -- I beg your pardon:"  She curtsied, a picture of bedragglement in a patched dress that had struggled through weeks of hard use.   "I am Arachne Convola of Furthinghome," she offered, speaking Common, but slowly.  "It's on the surface, far to the east of here.  These are my friends," she added.  "They're from the surface also, but mostly nearer to here than me.  Would you like to know all their names, or does a little talk mean you have no time for so much detail?  We're here hoping to rescue prisoners from the orcs, but now we're not sure what to do next about such a quest."

Aloysius' eyes widened at the appearance of the gnomes. After the elder gnome spoke, he simply stayed
seated where he was, kept his mouth shut, and waited to see what would happen.

Jana stood gaping for a moment.  "Holy crap!" she squeaked, then backed up against the cavern wall .  As her shoulders touched the stone, her eyes widened and she spun around, grabbing for her sword.  When that wall didn't seem to generate any additional people, she turned back around, sword in her hands, looking very, very nervous.  She eyed the walls around her distrustfully.

Echo hurriedly closed her spellbook she had just opened to start studying. She stood up and looked at
the newcomers warily as Arachne stepped up to do the talking.

The old gnome nodded at Arachne and waited as the introductions were made, studying each person in turn with a serious expression.

When Arachne had finished, the woman introduced herself, "I am Carmeneren, priestess of Callarduran Smoothhands and leader of the svirfneblin city of Kalingri." She paused for a moment to make a gesture to put the other svirfnebli with her at ease before continuing, "Clearly, you are powerful enough to have taken these caverns from the Bloodskulls. We saw their women and children flee into the depths. Would you tell me of the events that have led you here?" she asked in a tone that left little doubt that she was accustomed to having her queries answered to her satisfaction.

"Oh, shit," Jana muttered.  "They'll be sending reinforcements any time now."

"I'm not powerful," Arachne said simply.  "My friends are.  And, as for events that brought us here, there are rather a lot of them and I'm sure that I don't know what they all mean.  I'll try to keep to what's most likely to be important.  Azrun, I'll appreciate any help you can give." The gnome knelt in front of the Carmeneren, leaving it ambiguous whether this was an indication of respect or an expectation that the conversation might be a long one -- or both.

"There is an evil man on the surface who appears to have been working in league with the Bloodskulls," Arachne said.  "The man is named Ranchefus.  Their malicious business was taking slaves.  We think they had a special interest in enslaving users of magic -- or perhaps a distinctive customer for such slaves.  Ranchefus had a lair in an abandoned keep in the forest; we managed to rout him out of that.  He had another lair in an abandoned mine.  We managed to dislodge him from there, also.  There was also a house in one of the towns where prisoners could be hidden during transport to the Bloodskulls.  In every case, however, we were able to find and free almost no prisoners.  We weren't quite able to keep Ranchefus from withdrawing before our attacks – and he apparently considered the slaves he'd taken to be his most valuable treasure.  And compared to a couple of inert treasure chests, I suppose that slaves are comparatively easier to transport.

"I'm digressing.  In the abandoned mine, we found a tunnel and followed it for -- several days, I think.  We persuaded some goblins to show us the way to the Bloodskulls.  We didn't know them by that name, but we did have their emblem and that was enough for the goblins to know what we were talking about.  We came here, into this Bloodskull lair and fought them.  Once again," Arachne sighed, "while we were defeating the Bloodskulls, the majority of any prisoners or slaves was taken away.  So we still need to pursue them.  Azrun, what did I miss -- I don't think I made it clear how much peril for their lives my friends have faced.  Ranchefus had organized a lot of other, as-morally-impaired agents who joined in his slave-taking enterprise.  They were dangerous foes against my friends, though many of them are dead now.  But there are some half-dozen former companions of ours  who've died while we were coming this far.  Cethyran and Etienne and Lasiar and Rumer and Torro and Pug.  They were brave and good.  So are my surviving friends.  Brave and good and  tough."  Arachne nodded.  "I admire them all."  She looked at the bard.  "Azrun, what else?"

Azrun walked over to the gnomes and knelt with Arachne.
Azrun smiled, "As usual, you've just about covered it, little gnome. Ranchefus is a powerful priest of Cyric with a love for undead. I cannot think of anything else that needs to be said to stress the danger he poses to our world. With him working with the Bloodskulls, he may be a danger to you also, ma’am." He watched the gnome for her reply.
Olaf, the old man, shook his head, "I feel I should be able to help put this together, but I'm afraid I'm just not feeling well. I was searching for a lost paladin of Tyr, Falgout, who had disappeared. His trail led to the town of Milborne. I was enjoying the hospitality of this young priest's shrine," Olaf pointed to Samheis, "When the damned Cyricist snatched us."  Olaf looked rather embaressed at being captured. "I feel I know more, but will need to rest. My old bones are pretty tired. "The bruised and battered one-handed man looked very weary.

With much effort and a groan of pain, Daelen pushed himself up to a sitting  position. At over 6 feet and well over 200lbs in armor, moving him had  probably been uncomfortable for everyone involved. His blond hair was unkempt and his youthful face had obviously not seen anything resembling a razor in weeks. He took a moment to make sure his helm, sword and shield were in reach before clearing his throat.
Azrun turned and shot Daelen a wicked glare before turning back to the gnome, "I apologize for him, maam. His injuries have taken a great toll on him."
Aloysius stood up, walked over to where Daelen was, and handed him a waterskin.  "Here, Daelen, take of this what thou wouldst need.  There is food here, as well, if thou art in need of sustenance."

The mage paid no particular attention to the group of gnomes.

Carmeneren listened to the recount of events carefully, while seeming to watch everything going on around her without losing focus on what was being said. The serious expression she wore changed briefly to a sad smile as she said, "You will not like to hear what I have to say then." The smile faded back into a look of extreme gravity as she began.

"I am sorry to hear of your losses at the hands of this Cyricist," the old gnome began. "I must tell you, though, these orcs and even your nemesis Ranchefus serve another evil. The name Ranchefus means nothing to me, but perhaps we have seen him. We have seen the slaves being taken below, and he may have been among their captors. Sadly, he is not the main problem. If you find and destroy him, there will be others to take his place. Even now, we know of other groups who are moving slaves, and we too believe the slaves to be spellcasters, working for the same ones Ranchefus and the Bloodskulls served.  There will always be others working on the surface, until the ones they serve are stopped."

Carmeneren paused and looked again at the members of the group. "We do not know all the lies below, but we know much. Others have been before you, and failed to deal with the deeper evils. We are afraid that you, too, will fail and that those below us will be moved to strike upwards, and find us, and kill us all. If you are not clever and wise, in addition to being good and brave, you could bring destruction on my people as well as losing your own lives."

Carmeneren smiled sadly again, "Perhaps here I will offend, but I will not tell you what I know without some evidence you are worthy of it. I will tell you now, though, the accursed illithids are among those behind the bringing of surface spellcasters into the depths.  Behind them stand enemies yet more powerful and dangerous. Do you understand why I must wonder about your strength and fitness to face such enemies and not bring destruction on yourselves and upon us?"

After a short pause, the priestess offered a suggestion, "You should return to the surface and reflect on my words. If you decide you will try to face this evil, come back rested and equipped for a stay in a world hostile and foreign to you. Learn what you can of the dangers you may face. We have watched the movements of those below carefully, and I believe that you have 12 days before you will be in danger of them learning of the destruction of the Bloodskulls and possibly setting an ambush for you here. If you will return, do not wait longer than that. We will watch for you further down in the tunnels until that time has passed and speak with you again then."

Having said her piece, Carmeneren looked around to see if anyone had anything to say.

"Illithids? I have not heard the name before." Blacky shrugged "If we are to mount a long term delve into the depths of the earth, we better take full advantage of those twelve days. Unfortunately, we have no idea where we are in relation to the surface, or even where the nearest exit lies."

"Ranchefus is not behind this?" Echo squeaked as the color drained out of her face.  "He's SERVING someone else?  Oh gods," she moaned.  "I thought he might be working with someone, not serving them."

"Oh, fuck," Jana muttered.  "He's a lackey."  She took a few deep breaths, then, rather self-consciously sheathing her sword, asked, "Uhm, excuse me, but are they still alive?  The people they've taken?"

---

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