Move 374: RemainsSmooth Caverns--Afternoon, Day 37 (Marpenoth 20)
There was a body, or what was left of one, inside the roper. It was recognizable as having once been a person, or something person shaped, but now, it was just grisly bits. While the body would have been almost impossible to identify in and of itself, some of the more sturdy personal effects had survived a stay in the monster's gullet. Some digging around produced a platinum dagger, two very nicely cut blue gems, and a slim platinum tube.
Blacky worked on pulling himself free from the tentacles that were stuck to him still. With people hurt and healing running low, talk turned to where to rest.
"Gugh," Jana gagged. She rinsed off the loot in the water and handed it to Echo, keeper of the roper loot. "Okay, since the barf factor right here is kinda high, does everything think we oughta slosh outta here back towards where we're to meet Arachne and Aloysius? I'm really not feelin' very good," she added apologetically.
"That's fine, as soon as I can get these things off of me." Blacky said in a quiet voice.
Azrun turned two or three shades of green before turning his back, "Ummmm...I'm all for getting back that way. Let's discuss it on the way out of here though....The last thing we need is all of emptying our stomachs in the same place...." With that he started moving back the way they came, away from the putrid smell.
"I like Renn's idea of resting in one of these caves, the one with that pillar or another one," Echo interjected. She took the loot from Jana. "I'm worried about staying in the tunnels," she explained. "There are five of us now. We can't double up all the watches. There's no where to stay out in the tunnels with only one entrance like here."
"Do you really think Arachne can't contact you here?" she asked Azrun as she sloshed into the water after the others. "This is where she's expecting us to be, I thought, so wouldn't she have mentioned if it'd be a problem? I'm not trying to argue," she said quickly. "If the tunnels are the best cause of that, that's fine with me, but I want to make sure we're doing the safest thing."
Azrun shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure, guys. I'm making a guess on this. It might be another day before we here from them anyway. Renn's idea is just as sound as any other. Perhaps spending some time around that pillar will give us some clues as to what it is."
Once Blacky was freed from the roper's tentacles and everyone had reclaimed dropped weapons and equipment, the group waded back through the water past the tunnels leading to both the explored and unexplored flooded tunnels. Before they had decided where they were going, they were out of the wet area. Everyone was soaked and cold, and some people were in pain.
"G-g-gods," Jana stammered, "it's freakin' cold." She rubs her ands together and blows on them. Now out of the water, bloodstains began to reappear on her soaked clothing. "Let's get back somewhere defensible where we're sure Azrun'll be able to 'hear' Arachne, okay?"
"What's considered defensible?" Echo asked. "If we don't stay in here somewhere, we're going to have to sleep in that tunnel since there's no side caves we can get to without Arachne. We'd probably be safe with enough warding spells but it's not what I think of as defensible. I'd feel better in one of these caves we cleared, but like I told Azrun not _so_ much better to want to argue for it. There's no good choice," she sighed. "We're going to be in the open or we're going to be where Arachne may not be able to contact us. I think she could contact Azrun here, but I can't be sure. It seemed like a physical problem when she came in the caves."
"Oh," Echo exclaimed suddenly. "I have a scrying spell. I could try to look in on them. Maybe I could tell if they are close to coming back. If they aren't, we don't have to worry about it, right?" she looked uncertain.
"Yeah," Jana agreed wearily, "may's well find out if they're even close to coming back before we get all excited. If not, then one of those caves would be best."
Azrun nodded in agreement, "Works for me, too."
"That sounds like a good idea," Renn nodded as well. He leaned back against one of the tunnel walls and pulled off one boot, and then the second. Renn turned them upside down and emptied them of water before he pulled his boots back on and stomped down to settle his feet in.
"Whatever you guys think is best." Blacky shrugged and shivered noncommitally.
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