Kyara looked around as well, "Check him for keys "We need to hurry on and get deeper in this place He is probably going to warn someone." Kyara also visually to check out the room and any foors

A search of the corpse reveals 6 gold pieces and 12 silver. When you remove his mask (both guards were masked to hide their facial features) it reveals a dark-skinned elf, amidst the blood and carnage that remains of his head. You find no indication of an emblem like you found on the brigands that raided your caravan however. A search of the room in general reveals 6 silver and 24 copper pieces on the table amidst a scattered deck of cards. You find no secret doors nor any other exits from the room save the door you came in and the tunnel beyond.

(Note: These are not drow. Just a good piece of information for you to have.)

(I'm assuming you head in deeper via this passage.)

Using another charge from Heironymus' wand of light you continue deeper into the tunnels. The tunnels begin to branch off. Just as you consider which way to continue you hear a shout of alarm go up from a side tunnel.

(all I need here is which of the two tunnels do you choose: the one with the alarm and shouting or the one straight ahead that remains dark and silent.)

Dang! Thought Heironymus as the alarm went up.

He quickly moved past the side opening in the tunnel. (He wants to be in the tunnel the noise is NOT coming from, nor back down the tunnel they came from, which would be back towards the guard room.)

(Assuming Kyara will move with him, H would not pull her.) Heironymus quietly whispers, "Lets shut off the light and wait and see who arrives. Let them pass if we can."

His plan is to sit quietly in the dark, weapons at the ready. He is ready to use the wand if the on coming guards are in the dark. His first move, however, if conflict is unavoidale would be to use a sound burst spell. Secrecy seems to be a moot point now. But he would let them pass if they rush on towards the guard room. Kyara,of course, might not like this plan.

With no time to discuss options, Kyara pockets the coinage listens carefully to the echoing sounds and follows Hieronymus. Kyara combat drew two arrows, notched one and held the other ready to load and draw after her first lefft her bow. She took any cover she could find to Even if if meant using the good cleric, with much better armor than hers was, then that is what she did.. So unless there is some better cover in that tunnel she uses the cleric for half coverage.

As the last two of the group that had started, they were at a sever disadvantage in this place it was unknown to them, they had no idea of the number that stood against them and certainly no magic users or resources to draw on.

The sounds grow louder from the branch passage, and other sounds arise from the tunnel from which you came.

(Kyara Listen check 19)

It sounds like at least a dozen people moving, though in the darkness you get no sense of direction. It's also impossible to tell distance because of the echoes. The sounds of shouts and boots are growing ever louder. The only path that seems to remain open is the one before you (which you have already moved about 10 feet down from the intersection).

No light shines from the tunnels, and without any light of your own the darkness is very disorienting. You begin to feel the weight of the tons of earth above you crushing down on you, as though the tunnels where shrinking around you. The echoes make things even more disorienting. You feel as though your foes are almost on you. The time to act is now, if you will, or be taken.

Hearing the noise of the approaching groups, Heironymus muttered a religiously appropriate curse under his breath. So much for the easy way of doing things.

"Kyara, lets quietly slip down this hall and see if we can avoid the commotion. Go slow, we probably don't want to risk light. Your eyes are better to lead and I have the armor for the rear."

The idea is to slip slowly, quietly and in the dark down the passage they are currently headed down. This should be the one route that nobody else is currently in. I assume this will be very slow going because of the lack of light. Heironymus will keep one hand on Kyara's shoulder so that he doesn't lose track of her, if she doesn't object. Obviously he will be listening carefully. He will also have the wand at the ready to shine bright light into the eyes of any who approach. The spell sound blast is also on his lips. If a side tunnel appears Heironymus will want to take it to get out of the direct line of sight of those who presumably can see in the dark.

You move slowly forward in the darkness, the sounds behind you growing ever louder. After what seems like an eternity, the passageway branches off to the right (it also continues ahead).

(Heironymus Listen check 18 )
As you take another step forward a sound comes out of the area ahead of you. In the darkness you cannot see its source, and in the growing din of boots and metal coming from behind you you aren't even sure you heard the noise at all. Wait... there it is again! The soft brush of padded feet on the stone floor. Something awaits you in the passageway ahead. Only the branching path now seems clear.

As they move quietly and slowly forward in the dark, Hieronymus pauses periodically to listen. Footsteps. Very quietly, yet clearly, they are there. Footsteps in front of them. And a great deal of noise behind.

It was with a growing sense of being between a rock and a hard place (while under a great deal of rock!) that Heironymus first heard these sounds. But even as he heard them, a passage opened up to his right (I think it was right). Heironymus quietly and gently indicated to Kyara that he wanted to move that way. Let the padfoot and the crowd meet each other behind them.

He didn't like this. Since everyone else clearly could see in the dark, he wondered how much of their actions were already visible to whatever pursuers were out there?

**I assume I can't tell how far away the footsteps are?
Assuming Kyara is willing to move down the side tunnel, that is the direction they will go. Heironymus will remain at the back. He will also keep the wand out and ready. Should anyone, the loud guards or the padfoot seem to get too close he will utilize the wand to light everything up, and hopefully blind whoever is down here.

Kyara, as always, can veto these plans.

You move as quickly as you dare down the hall away from the sounds that now seem to be only instants behind you. Though you cannot see them, you can feel danger right at your back.

Then, as you turn a corner in the darkness you smack into a wooden object. After a moment of running your hands across the object it seems you have found an iron bound wodden door, much like the first door you encountered in these tunnels, save that this one actually has a handle! A quick glance behind you shows several pairs of eyes, glowing in the darkness with more arriving every moment. In only a few moment you count more than a dozen, and they are quickly approaching.

***Briana - I waited a few days to post in order to give you some time to jump in and say what you want to do. It is not my intent to take over the mission; feel free to express ideas/actions counter to those of Heironyumus. However, since you haven't posted in 10 days, I will continue to post to keep things moving. Jump in whenever you can.***

With the ever present eyes closing in from behind and an apparent portal in front of them, Heironymus quickly says, "Open the door, go through quickly."

(Assuming the door opens)

As the door opens the two will move hurriedly through into whatever space is beyond. Heironymus guards the rear, with his wand up and ready. He does not light it, not wanting to alert the loud marchers he heard earlier. (Can he still hear them at all?)

Once inside, he will pull the door shut and hold it shut. He will also light the wand - giving it to Kyara if the creatures on the other side attempt to pull the door open. With a lit wand the two will immediately survey their surroundings to attempt to figure out the next step.

Kyara did not like the darkness or the eyes staring ar them, She moved to the door and quickly check out the handle to see if it was opened on locks. Use you wand Hieronymus if it comes to a fight we need to see our opponents, and perhaps the light will daze them a bit first. If the door opens she takes her dagger in hand and pushes it wider with her left hand leaving her right hand to attack or defend against anything on the other side.

Gah! give her the open air and clear skies not this digging around under the earth.

The door is not locked and opens without any hesitation or resistance. Seeing only darkness beyond you both rush through the door, slamming it closed behind you.

Heironymus feels several pushes at the door, but manages to hold them at bay long enough to slid the door bar into place. Only then do you notice the darkness fading, as light begins to shine from some unknown source.

You find yourselves in a large and rather ornate room. About 30 feet ahead of you sits a dark-skinned elf on a throne of carved ebony, resting on a raised dais. In his hand he holds a black chain. Hesitantly your eyes follow the chain to the person at the other end. Jocelyn sits several steps below the elf with a choker around her neck, connected to the chain.

The ceiling rises into darkness, though you get the feeling that you are being watched by many pairs of eyes from its depths.

There are several other doors into the room, and at each of them stand a pair of guards clad in leather armor, short bladed weapons in hand.

"Greetings my friends." says the valshari on the throne. "I wondered how long it would take you to get here. I must admit, I had begun to wonder if you would make it here at all. I do hope my illusions didn't frighten you too greatly."

He pauses for a moment, allowing his last statement to settle in.

"I wonder what you hope to accomplish here. As you can see my new pet is quite happy. Smile for them dear."

Jocelyn shows a very hesitant smile, revealing two missing teeth and a previously unnoticed bruise on her jaw.

"I have some other friends I would like you to meet. I believe they will be here shortly. In fact, they have been sent specifically to sabotage Valin's trade ways. The very sabotage you were commissioned to prevent I believe."

A door to the right side of the room suddenly bursts open, barely missing one of the guards who, strangely, seemed to purposely be standing a bit further from the door than the other door guards in the room. Another pair of dark-sinned humanoids burst through the door, squinting momentarily at the sudden bright light. In there daze the guard silently closes the door behind them.

"And here they are now, our guests from the empire." He turns to the new entrants. "Welcome to my humble abode. I do hope you were not treated unfairly."

After a moments pause he motions to Kyara and Heironymus and speaks again. "Here are the people you sought, as I promised. They are the cause of all of this chaos. If they had simply guarded the caravan as they were paid to do we wouldn't all be in this situation. Instead they gave a wagon of goods and this precious girl over to my possession, at a wondrous price I might add. The merchant was ashamed and turned back towards home. It is a shame really. His goods would have been highly desired in your home city of Bevaris I'm sure."

(The new entrants are the characters of Dakarta and Dragon Mistress. Feel free to describe yourselves in this thread, as well as any actions you choose to take or words you choose to speak. Though I do ask that you not all speak at once. After all, the elf can only address one at a time anyway.)

Illusions again! Heironymus wasn't sure what to believe at this point. Except, perhaps, never trusts a dark skinned elf? Or at least these dark skinned elves.

He really had no idea what to do. He didn't know what was even real in front of him. Even the new arrivals - were they real? Probably. Maybe. Were they allies of the guy with the chain? From his comments it was unclear. But one thing Heironymus was sure of was that he could not trust whatever that guy said. Which left him at a loss.

What he needed was information. Two things occurred as possible options. He could try and test the illusions as he had heard that if you didn't believe in them and looked for flaws that you might discover the truth. He could also try and keep the bad guy talking.

So he asked a question. "Chaos? What chaos have we caused as we creeped through the dark hounded by your illusions?" As he asked these questions he also stared closely at the guards attempting to detect a hint of illusion. He suspected the guard that closed the door was real, but were they all? He attempted to disbelieve and look closely.

(Since nobody else has posted yet, Heironymus will ask. However, if others are also going to say something he will gladly allow them to ask first as he is feeling very uncertain about what to do. Listening to others questions might provide the information he needs.)

"Do you not realize that your failure to protect that which you were paid to has further widened the rift between your nation and the Illurian Empire? Every caravan that does not make the trip, every unsuccessful endeavor only leads to heighten the suspicions of both sides. I'm sure you are aware that the trade relations are already strained. So what effects, I wonder, will the sabotage of the latest caravan of valuable goods have on that relationship? Thee is one thing I am curious about. How much were you paid to let the caravan fall, and the raid of the brigands succeed?"

Your observations of the guards do not seem to go unnoticed by the elf on the throne, though by his smile you judge that he is supremely confident (Sense Motive check: 16). There are 12 guards in the room, all of which seem as solid as you are. Either they are not illusions, or they are very well performed illusions, beyond your perceptive abilities to penetrate. The two new comers also seem solid enough to be real.

"What fabric of lies are you trying to weave now as you wove when you attacked our wagon train, killed the guards including the one you had bribed to remove Jocelyn from her father's side.. You are the liar. We are hear to take back Jocelyn to her father where she rightly belongs. You are a murderer and a kidnapper. She smiles at your command but she would not if she was free of your chain and torture that is evident on her face and missing teeth, something new since she was taken."

Kyara looks around the room counting the guards and she could probable take one of two are range before they closed in and then she would have to fight hand to hand.