Move 389: Itchy and Scratchy
Smooth Caverns--Midday, Day 38 (Marpenoth 21)
The party headed back into the caverns, although it was not completely decided who was going where. They immediately ran into a snag, however. Not only did Arachne start scratching as soon as she set foot in the first cave again, Dalgaer stopped before he got even as far as Arachne was able to go.
Dalgaer's face creased with pain as he scratched and tried again and again to step forward, but couldn't bring himself to actually do so. He finally collapsed where he stood and said softly, "I'm so sorry.... so sorry... never felt this before... it's horrible.... Urdlen's Teats! Arrrgggghhh!" He continued scratching all over.
Arachne had been hanging back as she approached the evil cavern. She hung back even farther as Dalgaer hit his limit. "So it's a gnomish thing," she muttered to herself, backing up. "And you're so much more perfectly gnomish than me..."
Dalgaer said, "More likely is that the mental powers that let you do such amazing feats aid you in resisting the magic."
"Shigand's bonez!" cursed Aloysius. "Did the rest of thee have this problem when you came earlier."
"Well, yes!" Arachne exclaimed. "I thought I mentioned it before," she added.
In a quieter voice, he added, "Mayhap this area is warded somehow against gnomes, to keep Carmeneren and her people out."
Azrun nodded, "I have a tendency to agree, Aloysius. I thought at first perhaps it might be because of Arachne's mind magic. Perhaps it was a ward against Illithids. Although now seeing it affect two gnomes, I can only come to the same conclusion as you. But why ward it against gnomes?"
"Perhaps -- though you'd never know it from me," Arachne suggested to the bard, "because someone appreciates that gnomes -- real gnomes – can be dangerous."
"Carmeneren and her people may be seen by the illithid as their greatest threat," replied Aloysius. "But I am speculating."
Azrun turned and came back to Arachne then Dalgaer. He did waht he could to aid them up and get them safely back out of range of whatever was affecting them. Once out of range he turned to the others, "You all go on. We'll stay here and try to figure out what is going on." Turning back to the two gnomes, "Are you two alright?"
"It's better here." Dalgaer answered.
"Well, that's just damned weird," Jana mused. "I don't feel a thing. 'Course," she added, "I didn't feel anything in that statue room either, not like Echo and Renn."]
"Perhaps because the statue room was an elven thing?" Arachne said. "In case of dark elves, maybe. I suppose that somebody figured out how to work race-specific magic, and having figured it out, went to town with it.
"I was expecting that I'd need to be carried through the itchy area," Arachne continued. "And that's still a possibility for me, I think. But Dalgaer might be too -- um -- too great -- no, too ... too substantial to be carried. Maybe Blacky could do it, if Dalgaer might condescend to let him. Or, if the effect only covers the one cavern and I got to the other side, I think I could put up my doors... "Or we could wait here, if Dalgaer prefers."
Aloysius studied Arachne for a moment. "You think whoever did this is in town?" he asked in a confused tone.
"The journal page that was found speculates about the presence of subterranean elves," he continued. "The presence of an apparently anti-elvish ward would support that conclusion."
Looking in the direction from where Renn's voice had last come, he asked, "Rennirolas, are you aware of any race of elves other than the drow who live underground?"
"Oh dear," he fretted, "as if we didn't already have enemies 'enow."
Azrun smiled, "Going to town was just an expression, Aloysius. She meant that once they figured out the enchantment, they started using it."
"Oh," said Aloysius, nodding slowly. "Then, why not say . . oh, nevermind."
Azrun shrugged his shoulders, "It's ok, Aloysius. I don't know where half the phrases we say come from either. For a language that's called common, it can be quite difficult to figure out at times. Guess you can't blame that on the language as much as the people who speak it though."
I suppose you are right,", agreed Aloysius. "Apparently all that time speaking only with Mas- . . .er, Moonspawn . . .and his hirelings didn't expose me much to figures of speech. They don't get much use in aged treatises on plants and constellations, either." His last comment was made with a perfectly straight face and in a serious tone.
"She meant," Arachne said flatly, "that once someone figured out a style of enchantment that produced racially focused results, they used it a lot, they used it with reckless abandon and applied it to purposes for which it may or may not have all that well suited -- much the way which it seems to some folks that other folks behave when they make a rare journey from their customary rural environment and visit a more urban and urbane environment. That's what she meant. Clearly, the shortcut she took on that particular occasion, though, got somebody lost in a nettle patch --" She stopped short, shook her head, then added, "Please don't parse that."
Kanon looked on with visible worry as the two gnomes were affected by the unseen force. He moved a few steps as if to help but stopped as Azrun moved to their side. He obediently nodded as the bard told the group to move on and turned to follow the others into the strange tunnels.
That comment caught Aloysius' attention. "Echo and Rennirolas experienced problems afore?" he asked. "Where did this happen?"
He turned towards where he though Renn and Echo were. "What was the nature of your discomfort?"
"It wasn't discomfort," Echo replied. "It was disconcerting, but not physical discomfort. It was a magical presence kind of calling me. It was coming from one of the pillars and the statue. I'm sure about that."
"I think I maybe mentioned it before you left," she added. "I can feel it way back in the tunnel coming here."
"Interesting . . . ." mused Aloysius. "Suspect do I that the creators of this statue and the creators of this gnome ward be not the same. Howe'er, I suppose that this 'calling' could be a lure of some sort that is part of a trap. But why would anything want to lure elves down here?"
Kanon stopped as the others continued to talk about the strange ward and stood there for a moment, "I know this will sound horrible but there is a stereotype of gnomes that they enjoy and work gems in an ability that excludes most other races. Most likely the ward against Arachne and Dalgaer was set up by the individuals that crafted that tree which you spoke of that is crafted out of gems. That tree is here isn't it? I didn't get turned around?" He looked mildly confused and looked up and down the tunnel once again.
"Yes, I guess lapilliphilia is supposed to be properly gnomish behavior," Arachne mused. "Cynthia was always very possessive of her little jewelry collection and never let me borrow any of it. She _said_ that she was simply being properly gnomish and that my asking her to share was just wrong. I thought that she was being selfish and that she couldn't wear _all_ of it -- though she did manage to put it all on one time, just to prove me wrong, I think. It wasn't that pretty a
collection, anyway –"But about gnomes and gems -- that has truth, I guess. Except that the gem-tree was what attracted elves and the cavern which repulses gnomes is here and ... I don't remember there being much here except a roper."
"The tree didn't attract anyone," Echo said. "That's not exactly true. It attracted all of us once we saw it, but I mean it didn't attract anyone magically like the pillar and the statue."
"I don't know if it was a trap," Echo replied. "It didn't seem like it. I mean, nothing happened. Maybe it's broken."
"What are we doing now?" she asked. "We have to split up, carry Arachne and Dalgaer, or just all leave."
"I don't think Arachne and Dalgaer are gonna be able to get down that tunnel to get to where either the tree or the flooded caverns are," Jana said with a disgruntled look. "So we gotta decide if we wanna leave that one flooded part unsecured or check it out and leave Arachne and Dalgaer and prob'ly at least another person or two back here."
"If Arachne wants to test her theory that it may only be confined to one cave, I could try to carry her through as fast as I can." Blacky offered.
"Whatever we decide to do is fine with me but let's do it soon," Echo said anxiously.
"Yeah," Jana agreed. "'Sides, I wanna get settled down and eat decent food." She rubbed her tummy and asked, "I don't guess you have nut paste and onions, do you? I've had the weirdest taste for them lately." She shrugged.
"All right." The smaller gnome got to her feet, then turned to Dalgaer. "One way or the other, we won't leave you alone for very long," she promised him, looking up at the glorious gnome. "Either a door will show up or he'll bring me back soon enough -- squirming."
"Perhaps we should be assured that there is nothing left to harry us from that cave area," suggested Aloysius. "There is one more section to check, correct? If that is the case, Stargazer will go with whomever else wants to look at that area. Perhaps, after that is done, I can see either the pillar or the tree."
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