Bronwyn was still walking across the bailey from her evening stroll when a rather large figure in gleaming plate mail entered the gate and rode over to where Xaris was working with the new recruits. She paused to watch him as he dismounting and went over to Xaris. She could not exactly hear what was being said but she watch him clasp Xaris’s hand if a firm grasp as the two seemed to be introduced themselves to the other. Well she thought that was what they were doing. She began to move that direction just wanting to know what was going on. Okay, she was curious she would admit that at least to herself.

Bronwyn hears Xaris say, “But you probably should go see Lord Bart, tell him that you are here and I'm sure a proper position will be picked out for you. Lord Bart can be found further in the keep, I'm not sure where he is right now though. My name is Xaris by the way. "

The steel plated warrior begins to turn back to the keep.

“Perhaps, I can be of assistance to you, good sir, ” came the clearly spoken, well educated and definitely a feminine voice

When he turns around there is a rather diminutive human woman, youngish, wearing soft pants and tunic of a country lass with sturdy walking shoes though she wears a a long sleeveless vest that hung nearly to her ankle, open in the front, with many pockets over it all. A strange mixture and with the manners and speck of one well educated, it was totally at odds with her attire. She may be just 5 feet tall or a bit but not by much.

“How do you do, I am Bronwyn Lynnebrooke. May I assist you in locating Lord Bartholomew. The dinner bell has just sounded, but he is punctual and is probably already waiting in the hall.” .

She kept an eye on Xaris, who had turned back to his recruits, she sighed softly. Ever dedicated to his self-appointed task was Xaris. “Good Evening, Xaris.” She adds not wanting to be remiss in acknowledging the gnome’s presence, “And you Captain Thomas. May I remind you the dinner bell has been rung. Your recruits need to clean up before their meal.” She gently hinted that, hoping that Xaris and Captain Thomas might realize they need to do the same as well, though she would not say that out loud. Men put up their acks sometimes when reminded of such ordinary things. So she hinting at what should be is the best way to get men-folk to do what is right. Her Grandmother had told her that many times.

She turns back to the warrior, “This way if you please.”

The Helmite released the gnome's hand, returning it to his other behind his back. He listened to the gnome speak of the fort, learning where everything is should the need arise. He nodded along. Hearing the gnome mention recruits, and the need for them to be trained, Rodderick replied:

"I would see what my duties in this keep our before I agree to such, sir gnome. But If I am able, it would be wise to get these men into shape and in fighting condition."

His eyes wandered over to the untrained soldiers once more, the gnome recapturing his attention when he spoke of lord Bart.

"Lord Bart? Very well. I'll make way to visit him immediately, then. Thank you for your time." He turned, letting the gnome get back to his duties. He went to walk past Bronwyn, who looked to be a commoner in her garb. "Excuse me," he turned, arching a lofty brow at the woman who spoke. He waited for her to continue.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance to you." He turned around fully, hearing the intelligence in her voice, knowing full well her garb did not give her credit. "And how is that, miss?" She replied with a greeting and an offer to find Lord Bart. He pulled his lips taut in a half-hearted attempt at an appreciative smile.

"It would be most appreciated, miss Bronwyn. I am Rodderick Hughes, one of Helm's faithful warriors. Please, lead the way."

He followed the woman through the keep, his heavy armor grinding against its self, clanking and clacking in a rhythmic pattern. His foot steps clobbered the stone, the metallic sound ringing out as he went to introduce himself of the Lord of the estate and ask him about his duties, and things he could do to help.

[slight backpost, sorry for being late!]

Linnix nodded grimly to herself. While it made sense that they would need light... there was also a problem with that...

"Sarnor lu' venorik, ke." She murmured, more to herself than to any of the others, before speaking louder, "It'll probably be more difficult, but we might have to try to avoid using light, or at least avoid letting others see it. Light will spread fairly easily down there, and will let us be spotted more easily."

She thought for a moment, before continuing, "Are any of us good at drawing maps? It might be handy to make one as we go, especially if the goblins have made their own additions to the mine, so that we don't get lost. I'm not sure how likely that is, but it'd probably be better not to risk it."

I don't want anyone to get lost... either physically or through an ambush. Linnix resolved. She walked over to Aelistae's side, looking down the entrance of the mine, and into the darkness.

"Usstan daewl Usstan gumash kyorl wun l'olath." Linnix said, her voice giving away a hint of irritation, "Usstan xun inbal folbol nindel orn'la ori'gato uns'aa, jhal Usstan xuat ssinssrin ulu kl'ae ol ditronw tarthe..."

[I wish I could see in the dark. I do have something that would let me, but I don't want to use it right away...]

It wasn't that Linnix wanted to keep the others out of her conversation, but it was more to make sure that she did know the language, and could be understood with it. After all, the only way one can keep a language memorized is if they keep using it.

[caught up now]

Linnix entered after Talus, walking alongside Dylan, her longbow held in front of her.

"Mind your sheath." She murmured to Dylan, "I know a couple of thieves that ended up in a pretty sorry state, simply because they gave themselves away by letting their dagger sheaths at their ankles hit the furniture they were sneaking by."

Linnix giggled. It wasn't quite true, but it was still good advice.

“I am glad to be of assistance to you, Sir Roddrick Hughes,” Bronwyn replies softly as she turns to lead the way back to the keep. It was a odd twosome that made its way across the baily and into the keep. Bronwyn looking like a child next to the huge knight.

Bronwyn had been surprised but how much noise the clanking armor-clad knight made while outside the keep and once inside it was even worse. The sound reverberated off of stone walls not yet decorated with any softening tapestries or wall hangings. His armored-clad feet clattered loudly against the stone floor.. Her errant thought was that there would be no creeping around in the dark staying hidden with such a one.

“You know a silence spell just might help you if you ever needed to move about in the forest.” Bronwyn remembered how quietly Elendil has moved in the forest that night. If I can learn that spell I can make a scroll.”

“A map of the mine would be useful, and it’ll let me put something we found a while ago to good use,” Aelistae responded with half a smile to Linnix’s suggestion, before reaching into her backpack and produced a dusty, leather-bound book marked ‘Adventure Log’.

She was still smoothing a crumpled page from the tome, when Linnix approached her and whispered quietly in Drow.

“Gaer zhah naubol ulu treemma dal l' olath, vel'drav dalninin z'hin ul'naus suul a suul,” Aelistae replied, laying a comforting hand upon the woman’s shoulder. “I can see well enough to guide you. And if you have to strike a torch don’t be shy in doing so.”


[OOC: “There is nothing to fear from the dark, when sisters walk together side by side.”

I think it would be best for Aelistae to take up any map-drawing duties simply because she can drop the book and draw her sword as a free action if needs be. If someone else wants to do it, though, then feel free to volunteer.]

The looming darkness of the mine hung ahead like a blanket of night over an endless tunnel into the void. Even in the middle of the day, the sun seemed to cower before the shadows of the mine, for it did not take long for the darkness to overpower the reaching rays of day, and drive them back near the opening. The party deliberated over lighting for the venture, with Dylan casting “Light”, and remaining at the rear of the party. The glow of his spell cast a gentle illumination along the tunnel walls. Talus walked in front of Dylan, adventure log and writing implement in hand. He may not have been a skilled cartographer, but he hoped to be able to save them from getting lost in the recesses of the earth.

Ahead of him, Aelistae and Linnix walked side by side, Aelistae’s keen dark vision leading the foray into the gloom, while Linnix did her best with the assistance of Dylan’s spell cutting into the darkness ahead until it too seemed overwhelmed and consumed by the darkness. The first few footfalls into this unfamiliar territory soon attested to Willie’s mentioning of just how deep this mine could run, for forty feet in, the grade of the tunnel descended sharply, cutting at almost a forty-five degree angle with little gradual change. Like missing that last step when you thought you were already at the bottom, one could easily stumble and find themselves going for a tumble. Thankfully none of the four did such, but it certainly made traversing the path slow going, for the decline was steep to a ridiculous level.

Taking in their surroundings., it was noted that many of the wooden supports still remained, though years of neglect were evident as mould and rotting had begun to wear away at the thick beams. The tunnel was roughly twelve feet wide, and ten feet tall. Deep ruts from where numerous carts or trolleys had been used cut into the cold earth, but no rail system or method to easily extract the ore seemed evident.
The air was a mixture of stale underground remnants tainted with a slightly unpleasant aroma. Like someone had burned an entire tinderbox and thrown in some garlic to burn to a crisp.

As the four moved steadily down the tunnel, some 60’ down the incline. As Linnix and and Aelistae lead the descent, the sound of scratching, and low pitched squeaking could be heard. Gazing around, nothing could be immediately seen, though the sound became sounds, and whatever they were that were making them were growing steadily closer.

Not taking any chances, the party prepared themselves for confrontation, expecting the worst, but as soon as the sounds started they faded away. It was like they were in the very walls around the party… Not wanting to just stick around and find out what it may have been, they continued. Another 60’ down the decline the ground leveled off in a square chamber roughly 40’ by 40’. This seemed to be the main lobby for the mine. Thick layers of dust lay in some places, while piles of refuse and garbage were stacked in three groups. Cobwebs clung to almost every surface, and it surprisingly looked as though not a soul had crossed through here in ages. Even though knowledge would indicate that simply wasn’t possible. The room had three exits, two large tunnels branching out to the left and right, and a single door sat at the far wall opposite the entrance. The ceiling stood again 10’ from the floor, and a small desk area sat off in the left corner between the entrance wall and the tunnel leading out the left. A mining cart lay tipped near the middle of the room, it’s wheeled base facing the entrance, but otherwise the entire room seemed deathly still.

Silvery hair flickered dimly in the gloom of the underground passage. Violet eyes widened slightly as they fell upon the empty room ahead. And a breath of air hissed from between ruby lips.

::No danger see I:: Aelistae communicated to Talus with silent, curving fingers and dancing thumbs. ::Trap? Ambush? Stay behind until clear or danger appears::

Like a small hunting cat on the prowl, Aelistae stepped carefully into the open chamber, her gloved hands so low they almost brushed the top of her dark boots. She raised one briefly to beckon Linnix on, before letting it fall again, and scampering quickly to the desk on the left corner the room.


OOC: There could be a trap or an ambush here, but Aelistae will take the bait. She’ll scamper quickly over to the desk. If nothing exciting happens she’ll search through it for anything of interest. After that’s done she’ll take a look at the piles of refuse. Although we probably know from our experience at the keep what goblin poo looks like.

Talus finished scratching the last few notes into the logbook: Exit to surface; 40 x 40' room; two hallways and one door; desk. He found himself wanting to look more at the map than the actual location. This room didn't feel right. Hopefully the entire crawl through this mine wasn't as creepy as the main hub. What was all that scratching and squeaking; rats maybe?

::No danger see I. Trap? Ambush? Stay behind until clear or danger appears::

Aelistae signed to the warlock using the drow system of hand signals and body language she had taught him. He was still far from being able to carry on full conversations, but he had progressed enough to follow what she wanted of him. This room was rife with possibilities for ambush. The desk most likely had some trap rigged to it, but that would be a passive thing, only going off when we got to it. That overturned mining cart, on the other hand, probably sheltered a waiting kobold or similar threat that would "go off" on its own.

::Will wait. Be careful::

Talus dropped the inkpen into the crease between pages and signed back to the priestess, then, closing the adventure log, Talus refreshed his defenses. He called upon his innate magical powers, forcing them to the surface and then out past the confines of his body to recreate the protective barrier he had conjured just before entering the mine. He was finding his abilities easier to access; the powers were staying close to the skin, not buried deep like they had been a month ago. He could do the simple hand motions to focus his powers now without the need to close his eyes and concentrate. It was comfortable now.

The warlock looked back to Dylan and signed the plan over to the bard. It wasn't until Talus saw the look of confusion on the other man's face that he realized Dylan didn't understand the hand-code. With a sheepish shrug, Talus waved for Dylan to come wait with him while Aelistae and Linnix searched the room.


((Casting Entropic Warding to refresh the Entropic Shield component of the invocation))

"Mind your sheath." She murmured to Dylan, "I know a couple of thieves that ended up in a pretty sorry state, simply because they gave themselves away by letting their dagger sheaths at their ankles hit the furniture they were sneaking by."
Dylan looked conspicuously at the offending sheath which was partially covered by the peculiar arrangement of his cloak. With his free hand he grabbed his belt and tried to adjust it to little effect. “I’ll have you know I once killed a thief because of this errant article you now see secured to my belt. I was at a party, and I decided to venture upstairs to enjoy the view of the sea from an upper level window. I must have kept the burglar waiting a good ten minutes, but as I looked out into the moonlit night, I had the idea to compose a song, and so I went for my bow, but as I drew it, the tail end dislodged a vase from the table next to me. The combination of the tension of hanging for so long with the calamitous crash must have been too much for his poor nerves. If you think about it, I probably saved that broken vase from the greedy fingers of that kleptomaniac, but I doubted the owner of the manor would see it that way, so while the would-be thief interrupted the party with his cry, I left for home early.”

(I suppose somewhere between here and actually starting into the mines full force, Linnix moves up to be with Aelistae. Probably just after the sudden slope in tunnel.)

The expedition was very softly accompanied by cheerful curses from Dylan about the mental state of a person who digs such tunnels and the pleasant aroma they left behind while he kept a casual watch on the tunnel behind him. When the scratching and squeaking erupted, Dylan whirled around to point the light back up the tunnel, his immediate instinct screaming for him to hastily return to the world of the sane above. Whether due to the strength of his will or paralyzing fear, he remained frozen until the sound finally died away.

“You know,” Dylan whispered, “another term for Kobolds is ‘knockers’. I heard it comes from their tendency to tunnel parallel to a mine and scare religion into the poor workers by making all kinds of sounds from the other side. Is it just me, or weren’t the kobolds supposed to be the other way from the keep?” The procession slowly continued down to the lobby, hoping to pretend that such sounds never occurred.

As they entered the main lobby, Aelistae made some signal and Talus stopped in the doorway and refreshed his magical barrier. The warlock come cartographer turned to Dylan and began to sign to him in turn. Replying with a quick signal himself—that of his eyebrow ascending on his forehead—Dylan conveyed his confusion to the man, who adjusted to plainer hand-signs telling him to wait.

Aelistae journeyed into the room alone while Talus remained vigilant for the possibility of ambush. Dylan offered his contribution by watching for a rear-attack, as it was the direction from which he was personally most concerned about an attack coming. As he alternately watched for a sneak attack and checked the near side of the room, Dylan contemplated the possibility that there were indeed ‘knockers’ shuffling through these tunnels as well as trogs and gobs. “Ariwuxghorospetisse kosj ternesj nurh*” He spoke under his breath so as not to actually attract the attention of any draconic speakers.

*A disparaging comment about kobold ancestors translating roughly to: ‘your before-kobolds were tiny ugly stones.’

It was difficult for Linnix, to say the least. Even in the descent, she had to learn not to use her vision as her primary sense. Her vision was lacking, and so she had to look to her hearing and touch to make up for it. However, she still could use her sight, since the light provided by Dylan's spell did light her way.

Upon reaching the vacant room, something was gnawing at the back of Linnix's mind. Something seemed... off. Unfortunately, there was little else to do but to investigate; to hesitate would probably not be the wisest of actions. They had time, true enough, but in these circumstances, the only thing that could be done was to move forward.

Linnix saw Aelistae move forward, and her beckoning to Linnix. Linnix nodded to herself. Not that I'd let you go alone anyway. She added internally, as she almost mirrored Aelistae in following, staying low to the ground.

Bronwyn walked alongside Rodderick through the bailey, and into the southern portion of the keep, which had been serving as a combined dining hall and reception area for those seeking audience with Lord Bartholomew. The stronghold was bustling with masons and civilian laborers doing their part in preparing the space for active duty. Being a border keep, days from any reinforcements put a lot of pressure on being able to survive and withstand any and all threat or danger, as well as serve as an early warning sign to the populous further into the country.

As Brownyn and Rodderick entered the dining hall, Bartholomew sat at the head of the long table where he and his council, advisors, and family sat during mealtime. Now however, the Lord sat alone, with but a solitary boy, no older than 10 summers by his side. As the two entered the room he looked up and smiled, shuffling some papers.

“Miss Bronwyn, a pleasure as always, and I see you’ve brought a guest. I’m just going over some proposals for the upkeep, upgrade, and expansion of the keep.. What can I do for you?”

4:40pm
Xaris and Thomas, along with the sparse military presence continued training into the afternoon. Basic swordplay, stance, and technique were focused on, and would be repeatedly focused on until Xaris was satisfied that they were ready for whatever he deemed the next step of training. He had pushed them hard, even against their complaints for breaks or lunch. Far from a military leader, Xaris’ approach to combat was not as linear, not as conformed or classroom instilled as one might expect, but for all his likely unorthodox methods, the forest-gnome still stood, still breathed, and had a considerable number of enemy kills to his name. So none would doubt the merit of his skill.

After a few more hours of training, Thomas suggested breaking for a meal. Xaris had pushed them through lunch, and it was now nearing dinner time. The men had worked hard, sweat dripped from their brows, and a couple complained openly about how sore they felt. One, a stocky man with a face that could only be described as having a weasel’s features flat threw his short sword to the earth, refusing to partake any longer.

“It’s getting late, I’m tired, I’m hungry, and frankly not all of us are hopped up on whatever it is you’ve got running through your veins.. We’re human beings, not animals to be worked like dogs. I don’t know about you lot but I’m going to get some grub.” With that he turned to walk away.

“Thomas raised a hand, and called to the man. “Private Rook stand and face forward!”
The man known as Rook stopped for a moment, then shook his head and just kept walking.
Thomas turned and looked towards Xaris for some suggestion as to how to proceed. These were militia, men who had volunteered and enlisted into the King’s army. They were not Knights or warriors of experience, but at the same time they had taken an oath to the crown, and now one was openly defying his superiors..

Aelistae scampered to the left trying to stick as close to the wall as she could, with Linnix practically crawling on hands and knees behind her, trying to feel what her eyes could not see. Leaving Dylan’s projected light source as she rounded the corner into the larger room it was really tough for Linnix to make out anything. She could hear Aelistae’s soft footfalls ahead of her, and her own breathing in her chest as she exhaled slowly. But to her eyes, all she found ahead of her was darkness growing gradually darker the farther from Dylan’s light source she went.

Aelistae quickly made it over to the desk area. Sitting atop the desk itself were torn and moldy stacks of parchment pieces, destroyed over years of moisture damage and neglect. The desk itself suffered from rot in numerous places, and held plenty of gouges in its surface where a sharp object had been jabbed into it. An empty inkwell lay overturned by one corner of the desk, the liquid within long congealed and hardened with exposure to air, and the quill itself was nowhere to be found.

Behind the desk, a few mining picks lay scattered on the floor, as well as a coil of hemp rope that had seen better days. A small wooden box (about the size and shape of a microwave) sat opened against the wall, and peering inside revealed a pair of candles, a tinderbox, and a half empty flask of oil. Within the box too was a lantern, but it’s glass sides had long been shattered into little shards littering the bottom of the box.

As Linnix moved forward, her hands scouring the floor before her, she was the first to catch the familiar scratching sound that seemed to come from the walls on their descent. As it grew closer and the other’s caught wind of the presence again Aelistae turned to face the larger room and as her eyes passed over the overturned mining cart, her angle of vision allowed her to see a single pair of short legs sticking out from around the corner of the cart. The leg’s were unmoving, deathly still, and as the drow priestess took measures to approach the nearest pile of refuse that would also give her a better view of the partially hidden occupant of the cart, that’s when the scratching turned into a scraping, a digging, a clawing and a chewing as the room started to fill with the growing crescendo of these strange noises.
Then just as the sound became so loud one would think they were surrounded by a maelstrom of frenzied beasts, it stopped once more. The only remnants of the sound, a small amount of dust falling from the ceiling, caught by Talus and Aelistae’s enhanced vision.

Moving even slower, with Linnix doing her best to try and keep close, using the fading light of Dylan’s spell as a guide, she approached Aelistae, almost bumping into her as the drow ran her hands over the piles of refuse. From broken pieces of furniture and materials, to fecal matter and rotten food, the piles of waste were as revolting, if not unsurprising as Aelistae had imagined them to be. As the drow woman searched for any sort of clue, some sign of the occupants of this mine, or who took the time to pile this filth.. A flash of movement caught her eye, and suddenly a tiny head popped out of the pile, whiskers twitching and beady black eyes staring curiously at the woman before it.
“Squeek?”

That was all it took. one simple sound, and the roar of a million gnawing teeth and claws took action again. The ceiling shook, the walls ached, and then suddenly from the walls, around them, the ceiling above them, and the earth beneath them came surging into the room swarms of rats, scores and scores of the vile vermin poured into the room, raining from the ceiling and flooding through the walls and floor. Dust was tossed up into the air, and webbing clung to their tiny bodies as they fell through it, quickly amassing into a formidable wave of rodents.

(dozens of rat swarms are filing into the main room)

7:45pm
Elendil rode on through the Wealdath, anxious to get home. At this rate she’d reach it early tomorrow morning. She pushed her new horse at a modest pace, knowing the urgency of her mission but not wanting to overexert her steed. She would ride for an hour, before stopping and letting the mare walk and graze alongside her, while she readjusted packs and snacked on rations or the natural bounty a forest could provide. She continued this way for some time, until the sun began to set overhead and the sounds of night life began to stir. As Elendil proceeded into the night, she entered a small clearing, nothing sizable enough to consider a grove or the like, however it would be large enough to set up camp in for the night. With plenty of vegetation for her companion, and trees to provide cover, it was about as safe a spot as she could hope to find right now.

Would she stop? Or would she continue on..

Elendil decided to stop, not knowing just how far she could push the mare. It seemed as safe as possible, and she would make preparations to sleep in a tree if she could find one close enough. She untacks the horse and rigs a running line. An rope from tree to tree and then tied the mare to it, giving her enough rope to reach areas of good grass.