Move 386:  The Statue

Smooth Caverns--Day 38 (Marpenoth 21)

Everyone got tied together, and they waded into the water again. It was at least as unpleasant as it had been before. They sloshed down the tunnel they had yet to go down at all. It continued on for a distance of about 240 feet before it opened into another flooded chamber. This chamber, like the one where the roper that had befriended Blacky had resided, had a dry section in it. The stone floor sloped up; it was steep and slippery enough that climbing out of the water tied together was a challenge, but eventually, they made it up.

This dry area was different from the rest of the caverns. The walls were perfectly smooth in sections and faceted like finely worked gems in other sections. Near the back of the cavern, another unusual sight awaited them, an eight foot statue of an androgynous elfin creature. The image was perfectly formed; it looked more like a being that had been turned to stone than an artists' rendition. The waif-like creature looked grave, an expression of sadness bordering on resignation on its face. Its hands were outstretched in front of it, and its upturned palms held a single plain stone, perfectly smooth with blue striations that were visible even from a distance.

"Holy gods," Jana murmured. "Wonder why someone'd put something like that down here?"

Azrun looked at the statue in amazement, "That is so incredible. I wonder who could have...uhn," Azrun stopped suddenly and held his hands to his head.

After a moment, he seemed to be ok. His eyes closed, he smiled, "Arachne and Aloysius are back. They've brought our equipment and what looks to be some new friends....I'm seeing if they can meet us at the entrance of the caverns or if we need to go back to that sealed chamber where we all rested before we left. I'll let you know in a second."

Echo said, "I'm glad they're back." She waited to hear the rest of it.

"That's the magical presence," Echo said in awe. She untied herself from the rope and started casting a spell.

Jana untied herself and stood behind Echo as she cast her spell.

"Things just keep getting wierder and wierder." Blacky commented, keeping on his guard.

When Echo spoke again, she sounded closer to the statue. "It's the same magic as that pillar in the other cavern," she said. "The stone is different, it's strong necromantic magic. Watch out," she commented.

Jana drew her sword and looked around, walls and floors and ceilings.

"That's the stuff that priest of Cyric uses, right?" Blacky asked.

The stone disappeared from the statue's hands. Nothing else seemed to happen.

"That was easier than I thought," Echo said. "I'll hold onto it until we can study it. Unless someone else wants to hold onto it, I mean."

Azrun opened his eyes up and looked around, "I told Arachne we would meet up back at the entrance of the complex. I don't know how long it'll take for them to get there. Perhaps, we should get to heading back to meet up with them."

"If there isn't any reason to hang around here right now," Jana said, "I agree with Azrun. Let's git. And if you're good with holding that thingie, Echo, fine by me."

The soggy group took leave of the statue and went the relatively short distance to the entrance to this cavern complex. Once they were there, they waited and waited some more. After a couple of hours had passed, they saw lights moving down the tunnel.

---

Previous Move
Next Move
Back to Move Summaries
Back to Night Below Main Page