Move 292: Burning Webs
Grell Nest--Midday, Day 26 (Marpenoth 11)The dead giant grell remained on the pillar, looming over the people walking around the column's base now. The other grell bodies were scattered around, although most were concentrated in the area where the majority of the fighting had taken place. Hail stones were beginning to melt all over the places, making it necessary to watch one's step.
Renn gave Jana a bag to put things in while Aloysius produced another sack from his robe. The coins that were scattered around the circumference of the pillar had other things dispersed among them. There were several broken flasks with their liquid contents pooled around them and two unbroken flasks. There were also a couple of scroll cases and packs, weapons, and armor pieces of various shapes and sizes. These things seemed, in most cases, associated with piles of bones of various shapes and sizes, picked clean of any flesh that they once wore. In addition, many pieces of jewelry and gems were here and there among the coins. It was clear that even if they decided to only take coins, the two large sacks Aloysius and Jana had would be insufficient for the staggering amount of treasure that the grells had left in this chamber.
Meanwhile, Renn yelled a warning for Arachne and set the webs on fire. The thick sticky strands burned quickly. The smoke produced, while not an overwhelming amount, hung about in the tunnel where the webs had been as a thick haze, enough to obscure sight through the area.
"Hmm," Jana frowned, looking at the bulging sacks. "Got any more?" she asked Aloysius. "We'll have to store all of this stuff in that cottage. I'd hate to leave it." She smiled slightly and added, "I'm going to need money to retire on, after all."
"Here," Renn said as he tossed his backpack, and the rest of his gear save his medical kit to the floor. "There's another large sack, and two smaller ones in my backpack," he added and stooped down to avoid as much of the cloud of smoke as possible.
"I"m going to check on those in the other chamber," Renn added as he sighed and rubbed his back. "See if you can't recover those arrows I shot at the big brain if you would please Jana," Renn added, before he ducked through the passageway.
Renn's voice could be heard from the other chamber as raised his voice in prayer.
"I don't think it's a good idea to separate," Jana replied. "If you're feeling better, why don't you help us over here?"
"It won't take long, everyone save Echo has had healing magic to keep them from getting any worse. All I could do was quick battlefield bandaging for her," Renn shrugged. "I've but one spell to cast and then I'll be back here to help with the sorting and bagging of the loot."
"I think they're OK," Arachne's voice called from the smoky entry. "I didn't _undo_ anything that you did, Renn. I can stay with them while you continue to -- um -- do whatever needs to be done in there. Jana, I'm _sorry!_ I didn't mean to drop the door..."
"It's okay," Jana replied, pausing to smile in the direction of the gnome's voice. "You held it as long as you could. Just rest now; you sound tired and we'll need your spooky stuff later." She looked around for a moment. "Hey, think we can open that cottage thingie in here? Those grell sumbitches had a ton of money and stuff lying around in here. Too much to carry."
"I'm pretty sure that there'd be room somewhere out there," Arachne's voice replied. "I'll bring it out and you pick a location for it, all right?" A whistled tune began in the tunnel. It began getting louder, then broke off. "Can't think of anything to say, but I sort of wanted to mark my location," the gnome's voice said. The whistling resumed and the sound was soon out in the cavern. Then it stopped again. "Where shall we set up housekeeping?"
"Let us finish collecting all of this stuff," Jana replied, "then we can open it anywhere. I'd just as soon not hang out here, but I don't see how we can move right now. We'll take a look at the stuff, maybe sort it a little to pass the time, then open the cottage and dump it inside. Can anyone think of anything we need to get outta there while it's open?"
Aloysius's face brightened. "Arachne! 'Tis good to hear thy voice. Afraid was I that the sudden absence of the portal bode foul for thy wellbeing."
He turned to continue putting things into the bags Renn had provided, stopping to look over anything of particular interest.
"Suspect do I that these be the remnants of the group of which Carmeneren spoke," he said softly. He looked over at Jana. "Perhaps if Olaf or Rennirolas can
speak with the dead, as Oleanne did with good Pug, we could learn something more about that which we seek to accomplish." He looked down contemplatively at the skeletal remains."E'en though they fell, still heroes they be. Perhaps, once we have regained some strength, we should memorialize their passing somehow."
"That suggestion seems wise, Janathell," said Aloysius. "I will help you sort through these items. Once the cabin is opened, we should have care to replace our rations and water supply, as well as oil. Other than that, I can't think of anything in particular that we will need."
"All right. I'll wait," the gnome's voice said. "Guess I'll wait in the infirmary...just in case."
"My thanks Arachne, I'd feel much better if there were someone there to give an alarm should something happen upon the unconscious wounded," Renn smiled.
A few minutes later, Renn returned from the other chamber, and stopped by Jana's side, with a murmur for her to remain relatively stationary for a moment. He raised his voice in prayer, and then began to assist with sorting the various coins and baubles the grell had accumulated.
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