Move 437: Looking For RennTunnels--Very Early, Day 42 (Marpenoth 25)
As it became apparent that no one had heard from Renn in the last few minutes, people began looking for him earnestly. Jana called out for him, Blacky searched the cavern floor, and Aloysius and Azrun cast spells. When the spells were completed, a pack that was recognizable as Renn's appeared on the floor near the beak-like rock. There was no other sign of the elf.
Dalgaer said --
No, that wasn't right. It seemed for a moment as though the gnome seated against the wall (where he had a view of the exit tunnels) was speaking, but the voice coming from him was Arachne's and he wasn't actually talking.Arachne said, "The pack will make it easier to tell which way he's gone. We'll have to go after him, I suppose. I can make like a bloodhound and track him -- not an actual bloodhound, Aloysius. I just mean to be as sensitive to his smell." There was a pause while the invisible gnome most likely got to her feet. It didn't sound like this was entirely pleasant for her. "Dalgaer, can I use you to show everyone where I'm going?"
"Renn? Where are you?" Echo called, looking a little panicked. She took several steps back from the beak and the pack.
Azrun kneeled down next to Renn's pack, "Strange...typically when someone is invisible and they drop something, it becomes visible....but Renn's is still invisible." He looked to the rock formation, "Aloysius, Echo...the rock has divination and alteration magic cast upon it. Could it have done something to Renn possibly?"
"I think we all need to stay together while we look for Renn," Jana said warily. To thin air she said, "Arachne, I think you ought to become visible. We need to be able to see everyone and clearly, the things down here don't need eyes to know we're there."
"Of course." Dalgaer said at once, moving as Arachne indicated.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Dalgaer asks, " That seems unproven. I mean, they noted Echo, yes, but they didn't attack Arachne during the battle. I think it provides some protection."
"Uh, I keep saying that because those hook things attacked both her and Echo," Jana said. "It seems pretty damned proven to me." She turned to where she'd last heard Arachne. "Hey, Arachne, did or did not those hook things snap at you? I know I heard you say 'ow' and there was one attacking something over where I think you were. Could you tell if it knew you were there?" She glanced at the rock-thing then added, "And if we can see her, we can do something if she needs help. Unlike Renn."
Dalgaer frowned, "That's right, How could I forget about that?"
"It just seems," Jana said quietly, "that it'd be best if we could keep an eye on everyone, y'know?"
Kanon walked over to the beak-like rock and looked down where Azrun indicated his pack, "That is indeed curious." The priest looked up at the beak rock and then down the tunnels, "What should we do? He could have been carried off but we'd have seen it.. Mayhaps a secret door or some form of magic whisked him away." The priest just reached up and rubbed his chin, "So strange."
"Um ... -- that's why I'm keeping a hold on Dalgaer," Arachne's voice said. "So that someone knows where I am? Yes, the hook thing didn't care whether I was invisible or not. It swung at me until Dalgaer gave it a more dangerous target. But we don't know that the next bad thing we meet will be the hook horrors again. It might be something which would overlook me -- and I kind of need to be overlooked by the bad things now.
"Are you going to insist on me being visible now?" the gnome's voice asked.
"I think you'd be much, much safer if we could see you," Jana replied in the direction of the voice. "You can't hold onto Daelgar if he's fighting. What if something happened to you? I mean, we already can't find Invisi-Renn."
"All right..." Arachne said reluctantly. "Um, Dalgaer, this doesn't mean I don't like you -- and please don't hit me back..."
Aloysius searched frantically about, a helpless expression on his face. He seemed near tears. "This makes no sense," he said finally. "Azrun speaks truly. The invisibility spell works not as it did," he said. "Powerful magics are at work here," he said fearfully. He looked down at the pack. "I fear we may be hard-pressed to find Rennirolas."
Blacky continued "sweeping" the floor until he was sure every square foot of the cavern had been checked.
Echo didn't look much better than Aloysius. "Do you think the rock did something?" she asked taking a few more steps away. "Me and him are the ones who could feel it."
"Maybe we need to look for secret doors?"
"Next time we use invisibility," Echo said quietly, "maybe Kanon can use one of his spells on whoever has it. I don't remember what it does, but he put one of me today. You didn't have one on Renn now, did you?" she asked.
"Concealed exits," said Aloysius with a hint of enthusiasm. "Aye, that could be a possibility." He looked at the stone figure. "Methinks it would be useful if we took the time for Stargazer to properly examine the magics on this structure," he said. "If we know what it does, if anything, we may have a better idea as to Rennirolas' whereabouts."
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