As the last of the goblins fell, Gelion grimaced at his wounds and moved forward to inspect the bodies. He was pleased to hear Nam praise their efforts, but he knew it had not been a perfect fight. Wounds had been taken. It certainly wasn't his first wound, but it was also clear there were probably more in their future.

He inspected the body closest to him - while he did look for valuables, he also wanted to get a better look at just what they were fighting. These things seemed to be goblins, yet not exactly goblins. And they cast spells. was there more that was odd about them than their colors? Were there obvious weakspots? Or strongspots? He quickly examined and searched all three bodies.

He listened to the others as he searched and examined the bodies, only speaking after the others. "Nice shooting. Lini, why don't you take a peak down some of the tunnels. I won't be able to see much. Also, if I'm unable to stand in those little things, I will also have trouble using my bow. But I have a blade for such quarters."

The hume, Gelion, true to the curious nature of his people, decides to take a moment to check the bodies of their fallen foes for anything of value, while also examining them as he found it especially curious that he had recognized some of their speech as an off-shoot of the tongue of his most-hated foes, the Goblins. Amongst the blood he found that the two that had not cast spells each carried simple flat stone clubs, which look almost as of they would break if you were to hit something the wrong way, and they each also carried 2 long, slender, pointed lengths of rock about 3 feet in length. It would seem these were stone javelins of a sort, which would likely explain how the injured miner had a piece of stone break off in his shoulder.

The last of the foes had a similar club, though his was ornately carved and seemed to be of sturdier construction than the other two. He carried no javelins like the other two had. In the dim light of the mining helmet the young archer almost missed a small satchel tied to the caster. The pouch appeared to be made of stretched skin much like the wing of a bat, and was dark in color, hard to spot in the shadows against the violet flesh of the foe. The pouch contained several rough samples of stone, ore, and unpolished gems, in total 6 "stones" of unknown worth or value.

A quick glance of the anatomy of the more intact one, the one with his arrow buried in its eye, revealed that they shared many common physical attributes with the surface goblins, but these appeared to have evolved even further for life deep under the surface where no natural light ever reached. Their eyes were small and beady, their pigmentation allowing them to blend seamlessly into the blackness, large ears which aided in hearing, and the flat, bat-like nose for smelling out sources of food or water. Like surface goblins they had long limbs, hunched posture, and a multitude of sharp teeth made for tearing and ripping. They likely shared a common ancestor with the surface goblins, but seemed to be different as well. It wasn't too much of a leap for the archer to assume with their reaction to the lights, and the structure of the one good eye that these foes were not fans of bright light.

((2 standard mere clubs, 4 stone javelins (improvised thrown weapon), a masterwork mere club, and the satchel of stones. The masterwork club and satchel contents are likely the only items of any real value found...))

Lini, eager to move on and put his precious pistol to another test, scoops up the sunrod nearest to him and strolls to the tunnel on the left wall. He doesn't even have to step into the mouth of this tunnel, as he could see the end from the opening, this tunnel had likely just been started just before the miners broke through.

Moving straight along that wall he heads into the tunnel in the upper-left corner, which does not appear to end in a few yards, as he cannot see beyond the range of the light he carried in his hands. The lights on the helmets of his comrades helped to light the tunnel even further as they crawled behind him. This tunnel went on for a while and then split into two branching tunnels. The tunnel to the right was just as dark as the tunnel they had been crawling through for a while, the tunnel to the left however seemed to be illuminated by a soft greenish pulsing glow. Lini's observant gaze counts at least 2, possibly more, shadows crossing the light. Something is walking between the source of the glow and where the Falcons are crawling.

((Obviously you can head any way you like, left toward the glow, right into the darkness, or even back track to another tunnel before heading further down the paths presented here... Up to you. Since there was no specific mention of which tunnel you would be heading down I simply went with the closest tunnel and went clock-wise from there.))

Lini took the lead as they entered the second tunnel that actually led somewhere. As Sukini crawled through the tunnel she hoped they would not have to fight like this as she would be at a disadvantage, although probably not as much of one as Gelion. After a few minutes of crawling in the cramped tunnels they came to a stop.

Ahead lied a fork in the path. The tunnel veering off to the right was as dark as the one they had been travelling through. It was the one to the left that caught Sukini's attention. She whispered to Lini as she pointed over his shoulder to the soft glow to the left.

"Did you see that, something is moving in there. Let's attempt to get the drop on it." Retracting her arm, Sukini put her hand to the mining helmet to cover the light source.

(I'll make a stealth check at +18 )

Gelion did a quick search of the goblins. In fact, they did apprear to be goblins, just deep goblins. This almost seemed odd to the archer, who has always assumed all goblins were naturally somewhat native to the deep anyway. But it seemed there were goblins and then there were goblins. And in the case of these three, "were" was the right word. ‘step one' he thought as he grabbed the bag of stones and tucked in pouch. He left the masterwork club, thinking perhaps they would pick it up on the way out.

Gelion then followed Lini's lead into the tunnels. He did not like the cramped quarters at all. He knew he would be at a severe disadvantage if forced to fight in these conditions. He couldn't see well, his enemy could blend into the dark, and his bow was worthless. Crawling around in small tunnels was not his idea of fun. But there didn't seem to be much choice. Although he wanted to prove his worth, he was not unhappy to have the Varg bringing up the rear.

As he crawled through the tunnels Gelion did everything he could to keep his eyes and ears open. The little purple things (and anything else down here!) would be hard to spot in the dark. Gelion crawled with his bow and a sunstick in his left hand. It wasn't the most effective way to hold a bow, but he wouldn't likely be using it in the tunnel anyway. His right hand was empty because he wanted to be able to quickly make use of his bow if the opportunity arrived. But it was usually just inches away from his dagger. Somehow the dagger seemed like a better option in close quarters than a mace.

After a short crawl Lini indicated a split and a light down one branch. Gelion agreed with his companions - head towards the light. He tucked away his sunstick where he hoped it wouldn't show. It probably wouldn't matter - they had made so noise earlier the chance of surprise was likely gone. But it didn't hurt to try. As they passed to fork in the road that they did not take, he moved cautiously while looking and listening carefully. They did not want to get attacked from the rear.

He moved on after the rabbits.

Lini had to stop himself from humming as the moved further into tunnels. He was quite enjoying being in the lead. He'd have to try it more often.

He placed his dominant hand on his gun when he spotted the glow. His teammates readied themselves for combat. Ooooh, they were going to try an ambush. Lini LOVED ambushing things.

Pulling his weapon, Lini aimed towards the glow and waited.

(((OOC: Readies action: attack on hostile target, if possible. +5 to hit, 2d4+1 damage)))

After a short conference in the cramped tunnels you come to a unanimous decision to head toward the light radiating from the depths of the left tunnel. Masking the various lights as best you can while crawling, you make as stealthy an approach as you can, ready for any signs of hostility that may be present.

As you finally reach the cavern containing the light source you find yourself in a large cavernous expanse of stone, luminescent crystals riddle the walls and ceiling, each glowing with the soft green light, which now seems almost parallel to sunlight after being in the darkness as you have been for this long. In the center of the chamber is a natural spring containing a particularly large example of the glowing crystals filling the room.

The source of the shadow you had seen was not another group of the goblinoids as expected, but instead a large, metal-clad Galka speaking to a female figure who appears to be made up entirely of the glow permeating from the crystals and the water of the spring, her hair is the deep brown of freshly tilled soil, streaks of precious metals can be seen beneath her "skin", and her eyes are brilliant emeralds. Upon your entrance into the chamber her attention breaks away from the Galka and she speaks aloud, her voice strangely melodic and gravelly at the same time, "It seems the rest of our champions have finally arrived, perhaps we will be able to halt the expanding darkness and put an end to the evils that threaten to consume the world."

Seeing the confused and lost expressions upon your faces she hovers closer, and speaks again, "The world is always in a constant flux, pulled between Light and Darkness, good and evil. Most of the time the elements are balanced and in perfect harmony, however the forces of Darkness can, and often do, pervert the elements with their foul taint. This Darkness has already permeated this mountain and threatens to corrupt the Earth itself if not halted." She motions her hands toward the wall and 4 crystals the size of a human fist break away from the stone, hover in front of her, and begin to glow brighter than the surrounding stones, as if being imbued with more of the light than the other formations. She points to each of you, starting with Lini, and a crystal floats toward each of you in turn, hovering there waiting for you to take it into your hands.

Once everyone has taken their crystal in hand she speaks again, "We avatars of the Elements have the ability to choose champions, granting them greater power in order to restore the balance if either side ever tips the scales too drastically. These crystals will grant you the blessings of the Earth, giving you access to powers you have before never experienced. Keep them with you, keep them safe, and know that you are fighting for the well being of this world. The Galka here, Solis he is called, has already made contact with my Sister of the Wind, and can guide you to her sanctum once you have managed to clear the taint in this mountain."

She pauses for a moment, giving you time to process all this information before continuing, "As you have already seen on your way to me, the Vrill that live in this mountain have become agitated, hostile, and dangerous. They were not always like this, and for generations have lived peacefully below the surface, some even traded with the surface-dwelling races before they ended up sealed away in these depths. Recently a great Darkness has entered the heart of one of the Vrill Elders, causing him to spread hate into the hearts of his kin, they have been working on exiting the mountain, intent on breaching the surface and bringing war to the races above. The Darkness in their hearts has now begun to taint the very Earth, and I fear if this Elder is not put down that his Darkness will continue to spread. Please Champions, go forth with my blessing and cleanse the corruption before I too fall to Evil."

((I'll breakdown the benefits of the crystals in a QA post, any other questions feel free to ask, either in game to the Avatar, or in QA if you prefer.))