Move 244: Exploring the Topknot Caves IV
Topknot Caves--Afternoon, Day 14The party decided to keep exploring with an idea of attempting to secure the area they were in as a base camp. Aloysius examined a scroll, which eventually made its way to Olaf's possession. Azrun determined that a dagger among the small collection of weapons they had found was magical and offered it up to the group.
Aloysius looked around sheepishly when Azrun asked if anyone wanted the dagger. "If no one else is interested, might Stargazer keep it?" he asked.
Echo agreed. "I have a magical dagger. Someone else should have this one. It's fine with me if you keep it, Aloysius."
Azrun handed the dagger to Aloysius, "Here you go, Aloyius." Before getting up to leave, Azrun's curiousity got the best of him as he reached over and looked into the little casket.
Aloysius slipped the magic dagger into his bandolier, placing it on top so he could remember which one it was.
He looked at the casket. "'Tis passing most strange," he said quietly. "How odd that subterranean trolls should have such a thing. Doubts have I that they ever venture above-ground given how far away it is. Someone had to have brought it to them, perhaps as payment for some type of service. Along with the clue of the fox pelt, methinks we can surmise who that person might be."
His expression darkened momentarily. "Damn his soul."
The chest was full of rings and various baubles. Some of the treasure was pretty, some tacky, but none of it looked like it might be particularly useful for the task immediately at hand. Aloysius was given the magical dagger. Olaf accepted the scroll.
The mage began to poke through the baubles in the casket to see if any looked noteworthy. "Perhaps after we have rested a bit, one of us can inspect these items for arcane auras. It seems odd that trolls would keep a casket full of such trinkets."
Azrun nodded, "Perhaps one or two of those rings hold enchantments. I don't have anymore detection spells this day. Do you Aloysius?"
Aloysius shook his head. "Nay, Stargazer prepared himself for fighting trolls. We should decide who will cast the spell on the 'morrow ahead of time so that we don't have more detection spells than we need. Suspect do I that we have a fair number of trolls yet to slay."
The group got organized and moved out again, going into the next tunnel. It opened into a cavern that Aloysius, Echo, Jana, and Olaf could attest was roughly the size of the fungus-filled cavern they had seen earlier. They moved into the quiet cave so that their lights illuminated the whole area. It was an unremarkable natural room, but, from the place they were standing, it looked like there was a wide hole near the southern wall.
As the group moved to the next chamber, Aloysius put his light stone back inside his robe so that his hands would be free for casting if the need should arise. Upon seeing the hole, he sighed. "So many leads," he mumbled. "We need to have care about remembering which way we go," he said. "Horrid would it be to lose our way."
"Damn straight," Jana agreed. "We ought to talk about how we're going to mark our path. Anyone got any ideas?"
"We could carve marks in the walls like we did for the pit. Failing that I suppose we could arrange stones in an arrow pattern but that seems too easy to tamper with."
"We should go check out the hole," Echo said. "Maybe just a couple of us though."
"Yeah," Jana agreed. "I'll go as guard, if you don't think I'll make too much noise."
"What hole?" asked Daelen.
Glancing into the hole, Aloysius gestured to Daelen. "Methinks they are refering to that," he said. "Who is going in there?" he asked. "Agree do I that at least one fighter should attend, yet we need to be wary of whatever Arachne heard in that other tunnel."
Jana and Echo walked over to the large hole in the cavern floor. The various light sources in other parts of the cave only provided enough light for them to see about 10 feet down into it, although it was clearly deeper than that. Now that they were closer to sinkhole, they could pick up the smell of rotting flesh coming from it.
Echo made a face. "Can someone bring a light over here? I think there's something dead down the hole."
Aloysius walked over to where Jana and Echo were and withdrew his light stone. "Will this help?" he asked, holding it out to try and illuminate the hole.
Arachne's voice also piped up close by: "I might be better," she suggested. "No direct glare from the light in the way. No obstructing gnome, either."
"Given that we haven't stepped in any small piles yet, I've got a pretty fair notion of what you're likely to find at the bottom of that pit." Daelen chuckled.
"I need to remember to ask Azrun if he can make me another one of those stones," Jana said. "Those trolls made mine go out." She peered over the edge of the pit, wrinkling her nose. "Gross."
"Oh, in that case, here you are Jana," Rennirolas said as he opened a small pouch on his belt and sifted through a number of nails, berries, and other assorted regeants for his spells until he found three cloth wrapped stones. He unrolled one of the stones and tossed it to the warrior. "Continually lit, until some bugger of a beastie dispels it," Renn chuckled as he gave the elvish equivalent of a shrug.
"Do we really want to know what's down there," Renn grinned as he glanced over to the pit.
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