Move 347: Mourning OlafSmooth Caverns--Early, Day 36 (Marpenoth 20)
The news of Olaf's death was met with different reactions from different people, crying and cursing being a big part of it. Aloysius struggled to climb up the small ledge, but he was weak enough that it was a problem for him. He was able to use his boots to float himself up, using the ledge itself to guide him. Once he had joined Blacky, Echo, Jana, and Renn on the ledge, he was able to rescue Olaf's sword fairly easily by levitating up to it.
Echo and Jana cut open the roper while Renn got Olaf's body free of it. With his grisly duty done, Renn pragmatically used a few prayers on a couple of the most injured group members, healing Azrun and Echo of the wounds they had taken. The flames surrounding the second roper had extinguished by then, so it was cut open too. In the two ropers, they found some platinum coins and gems.
With everything done that could immediately keep them busy and preoccupied, everyone reconvened at the cavern entrance. To some, it seemed that a lot of time had passed, but everything had only taken about fifteen minutes. No one who had been weakened by the ropers had recovered any strength.
"We need to get outta here," Jana said as she wiped the roper guts off of her knife and hands. "Arachne, can you take us outta here and up to the surface and then later bring us back in that little sealed room we stayed in earlier?" She looked over at Olaf's body and immediately looked away. We've either gotta leave pretty soon or we've gotta go ahead and, y'know, do something. With the b-body."
Arachne cried quietly against Azrun’s shoulder while other people were doing useful things.
"No," Arachne said to Azrun's shoulder. "I mean, yes but no." She pulled away from Azrun enough to look at Jana. "I mean yes but I know you won't like it. Not now. Not like we are now." She looked down, unseeing, at one of Renn's shinier bits of stuff. "I mean, I can't move everyone at once. I'm not good enough. And I have to rest too long in between trips. And everyone's too banged up from them --" She waved at the cavern. "I could do it in two trips, but it'd likely be nearly a day before I could take the second group ... well, half a day. Assuming I didn't make any big mistakes. And I'm pretty sure I could include --" She buried her face against Azrun again.
After retrieving Olaf's sword, Aloysius handed it to Renn and then went back and sat down to watch Jana and Echo cut open the ropers.
"Thanks Aloysius," Renn nodded as he placed the sword next to Olaf. "He wouldn't have wanted to leave Susk behind, I can't imagine," he said as he laid the sword by the fallen priest.
"Platinum coins. . . .?" he mused to hismelf upon seeing the contents of the ropers' innards. "Surely such things could not exist for long in a roper's gullet. Can anyone tell what mint these coins came from? It may give us some idea as to who may have been by here recently."
"How many people can you take?" Echo asked from behind her cowl. Her voice was muffled. "Olaf never asked us to take him out of here if he died," she said more quietly. "We can make a cairn here if we have to. I don't ever remember him mentioning any family. There's no one to tell but his church."
Arachne lifted her face from Azrun's shoulder and looked quickly at Echo. "Two, maybe three," she said promptly, sounding happy to change the subject. "Holding hands and, you know, sticking together. But I can also make that pocket -- the other thing besides the cottage that I can use to bring supplies down here. There's limited air in there and it's a small, tight place to crawl into so claustrophobic people would NOT be happy in there. But it's only for a minute or so, because the teleporting is -- well, it's instantaneous. And I doubt that anyone who could stand coming down here in the first place could be _that_ claustrophobic. But I also doubt that we could fit four people and a corpse in there -- to make it all work in one trip. Using the pocket though, I could do the thing in the two trips."
Echo examined the coins.
"Perhaps Arachne could find another of those sealed chambers," Aloysius suggested. "Or, suppose do I that we could say a few words and . . .well . . . drop him into the crevasse we saw earlier."
He glanced around at the others and shrugged. "At least if scavengers found his corpse we . . .uhh . . . wouldn't know about it," he concluded lamely.
Azrun held Arachne tight as she cried, "You do just fine, Arachne. You've been able to keep us fed and clothes while we've been down here. Being able to get us out of this dark place is more than any of the rest of us can do. We all have our parts down here, Arachne. We're a group that relies on all of our gifts to get us through the rough times." He stroked the little gnomes hair as he held her, "You're strong and brave, Arachne....probably more so than myself."
"Um..." The gnome continued clinging to Azrun.
Azrun looked up to Jana, "Jana, perhaps we should gather ourselves up and fall back to the place where we rested. There we can split into 2 groups, which Arachne can take to the surface. May I suggest, the first group be yourself,
Echo, Olaf and Aloysius, if there is room. Myself, Renn and Blacky could hole up, rest, and heal until Arachne can come to fetch us. Perhaps, Semheis can help with Olaf's burial.""Um..." repeated Arachne.
"We can't afford to fall apart right now," Jana said in an emotionless voice. "Renn, let's get Olaf's armor and gear off and divide it up. We'll carry Olaf. Arachne, Echo, find us a place to hole up. There's little enough life down here so I'm betting what's around is hungrier'n hell and the roper's bodies are gonna attract a nasty crowd. We need to not be here for that."
"Right," Renn nodded as he set his jaw and began to work at the straps to Olaf's backpack and swordbelt. He continued to utter soft prayers in elvish under his breath.
Looking guilty, the gnome started freeing herself from Azrun's embrace.
"Yes, ma'am," the gnome said meekly. Arachne started inspecting the tunnel, going back the way the group had come.
"Agree do I that we need rest," said Aloysius. After a hesitant clearing of his throat, he continued. "But why must the lot of us return to the surface? Not that such isn't an appealing notion, but we are somewhat pressed for time down here, and Arachne could transport Olaf for burial much as she did Daelen."
He looked over at Jana. "Stargazer has a suggestion that may enable us to complete multiple tasks at the same time. According to Carmeneren, this section of tunnels is inhabited by ropers. As we have seen, they are highly resistant to magic, rendering me practically useless in any encounter we are likely to have with them. Four spells I cast at the one roper we battled, and none of them had any effect whatsoever. No reason have I to think that such a result might differ in the future."
The mage walked over to the nearest wall and leaned up against it. "Howe'er, we still have the issue of the sword you spoke of, and doubts have I that we will be able to devote the entirety of our energies on the task at hand until that issue is resolved one way or another. Of all our number, Stargazer would seem best suited to travel quickly, and surrepticiously, to Kuiper's and try to determine what the situation is there. My absence for a short time from the group would not impair your ability to combat the ropers, and I may well be able to resolve the matter of the sword once and for all."
After taking a long breath, Aloysius continued explaining his plan. "As I am able to change my form into something rather small, Arachne should be able to easily transport me along with herself and another person for the purpose of attending to Olaf's burial. Stargazer could remain topside for a short time – long enow' to determine the nature of the sword and to procure additional supplies. At a predetermined time, Arachne could meet me on the surface and we could return together. By that time, mayhap the rest of thee will have vanquished the ropers."
He awaited comment.
"Let's discuss this after we get to someplace a little safer," Jana replied. "And figure out how to get everyone where they need to be. I'd want to know how Arachne would be planning on finding us again for one. For another, we're low on supplies. Maybe we can put Olaf's body in that cabin thingie, if Arachne can open it again. But then we'd have to stay above long enough to open it to take him out and re-stock it so many not. So let's think about it while we get outta here and make plans somewhere that looks less like a buffet."
"Contact one of you and ask, of course," Arachne muttered. "Of course, that would require that you _knew_ where you were --" She broke off, looking guiltily up at Jana. "Sorry. Think now. Talk later. Gather up stuff and get out immediately." She bent to gather up Renn's stuff. "Um, we _are_ going back the way we came, right?"
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