Move 304: North or South?
Grell Nest--Early, Day 29 (Marpenoth 14)After Olaf's hand was regenerated, nothing else of real note took place while the group rested. Everyone got as warm as they could after the freezing shower in the cool tunnels and went about their normal downtime business.
The watch order passed without event, allowing everyone to take his turn resting. They arose to pray, study spells, and eat before getting ready to move on. They moved back into the chamber with the pillar where the main fight with the grells had taken place; as far as they knew, this was the way out of the grell nest.
The scene in there was more gruesome than most of them recalled it to be; the grell bodies seemed to have been dissected to some degree. Luckily, the smell was not too bad, the cool temperatures in the caverns keeping the stench of decay down for the time being. There were two ways out of this cave, one to the north and one to the south. The northern passage, which was about 40 feet wide, was the way that the small grells had fled during the fight. The southern passage, which was about 10 feet wide, was more or less behind the pillar upon which the giant grell body still rested.
After he performed his morning devotions, Renn prayed over Blacky's wounds in an attempt to get the warrior back into top fighting shape.
Jana wrinkled her nose in the cavern. She looked from one exit to the otherand finally said, "I think that map says we should be going generally southeast, right? So I guess we need to decide if we want to risk something at our backs."
"Um, if anyone's feeling poorly from the chill...if you think you're coming down with something or have caught a fever -- or something like that," Arachne said, after she woke up, "please come see me? I can help. Really."
"And...um ..." Arachne still looked embarassed to be asking for this. "If we're going to be moving along now and um, looking for trouble? I wouldn't mind going back to being invisible. In fact," she admitted, "I think I'd sort of prefer it that way...?"
Before the group set off "looking for trouble," as Arachne so dubiously put it, she changed back from her sleeping shift into her usual dress, which was now only clammy, instead of sodden. (If she was able to cadge an invisibility spell from someone, she waited until that had been cast before changing clothes.) Before putting them on, she also asked Echo if she wanted her boots back.
Echo nodded and got the boots back from Arachne. "If you need them again later, let me know."
"Oops," the gnome murmured, looking (or at least sounding) as though she were taking personal responsibility for the mess. "Guess we should've tried to clean up somehow when we were finished. Sorry about that. Anyone know if grell care about desecrating their dead?"
"You're not suggesting we do some burial rites or something for these things, are you?" Jana replied incredulously. "I'll risk the wrath of the gods on this one," she laughed. "Count me out of any grell funerals."
"Me too," Arachne said, "since I was chief desecrator. No. I was just wondering if anyone knew whether I'd made the likely hostility worse by doing these um, autopsies. I guess I just worry how angry I make enemies get at me since ..." Her voice trailed off.
"Would you like me to go have a look in whatever direction you don't want everybody to go?" Arachne offered. "I know you don't like doing that," she sighed, "but I'd like to point out that I didn't get killed when I tried it before with the grells."
"No," Jana replied, "I don't like you going off alone. Moreover, it was just luck you weren't eaten last time. I think we ought to stick together, but I'm well aware some don't share my opinion on that issue."
"Luck?" Arachne's voice sounded a little strangled. "You call my managing to get back --?" There was a pause. "If you won't recognize planning..." There was another pause. "All right." Arachne's voice was even softer than usual. "I'll stop offering." The gnome's voice drifted away from Jana. "It just starts arguments..."
"Who's arguing?" Jana replied, starting to look annoyed. "I gave an opinion. And since you apparently think 'planning' makes you invulnerable, that opinion is all the stronger. Have you any idea how many people I've seen killed despite 'planning'?" Jana snorted. "You asked what I thought. I told you. 'Gee, I didn't get killed -- barely -- last time' just isn't in my opinion a compelling argument in favor of risking it this time, but that's your decision to make." She crossed her arms and waited for that decision.
Azrun stepped up quickly and spoke, "Hold on, ladies. We've gone a few days here without shouting at each other, let's try to keep it going. I think this all just a misunderstanding, ok?" He looked to Jana and Arachne, "We still have an area int he grell cave to check out. Why don't we all go together and check it out first? Assuming we all live through that then we can continue on down the tunnels....as a group for at least a while." He looked to Jana, "I know some of us don't like the idea of scouting, but I think we can do it in a way to minimize the risk to anyone." He looked back to Arachne, "I don't see a reason to go scout, though until we're closer to a known risk. I think having the invisibility spell on Arachne is a good thing even when not scouting in case we're ambushed. It lets one of our healers do her job without worrying about being attacked."
He took a breath, "Does that make sense to everyone?"
"Wisely put, Azrun," said Aloysius. "I suspect that there be nothing significant to the north anyway, or we would have already seen it. Let's all go up there to see what we can see. Then, once we are satisfied that no further threat exists, we can proceed south."
"I agree," Renn nodded. "Who knows how far those small grell went," he shrugged, "but I imagine it can't hurt to check the northern passage for a while at least."
"Yes, wisely put." Olaf said. "I agree."
Aloysius looked around at the corpses of the grell. "Did you all do this?" he asked Jana. "Recall do I someone mentioning a search for a spell component. What were you looking for?"
"Pineal gland," Arachne's voice answered. "I think we found it. I don't know -- or remember, anyway -- what we wanted it for."
Aloysius nodded matter-of-factly. "Interesting . . ." he mumbled as he stared ahead, distracted in thought.
"I've been working on a scrying spell," Echo added. "That's what I wanted it for. I still think scrying and divination could be good ways of getting information as we keep going." She sighed slightly and avoided looking at anyone as the discussion on which way to go next continued.
After giving someone a chance to reply, Aloysius added. "The south tunnel would be my choice. I doubt the young grell pose any threat, at least not until they reach maturity."
"If I were sure that's all that might be over there," Jana said as she pointed to the northern tunnel, "I wouldn't be worried about it. But I'm not sure."
"I agree, there might be something else up there and it shouldn't take long to check. Besides, I don't know how long it takes for grell to mature, but I don't want to be trouping back through here with a bunch of free prisoners and get surprised." Blacky added his two coppers.
"Sure," the gnome said. "I'm just glad that no-one's in a hurry to get anywhere in particular. It makes traveling so much easier." She went over to Aloysius to try to cadge a casting of invisibility.
"I'm sorry, Arachne," said Aloysius to the gnome, "but I've not that spell available today." His voice sounded most apologetic. "Perhaps Echo can help you," he suggested.
"'S all right," Arachne said morosely. "Not essential. I was just feeling a desire to get out of sight -- of friend _or_ foe." She went to Echo. "I don't suppose you've memorized the invisibility spell...?" she asked.
"I've got one," Echo said. "I should've offered before." Her voice had an odd tone to it.
"Thank you," Arachne said, dropping to her knees in front of the woman to rest while Echo cast. Then, as though belatedly aware of something, she looked up again. "Um -- is there something wrong?" she asked. "You were saving that spell for someone else, weren't you?"
Echo shook her head. "The spell's for you," her voice sounded more normal now. "I forgot to mention it before, and I should have."
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