Residue of Sorrow

Bryn’s eyebrows arched just a fraction as the girl performed a polite curtsy. An inconsistency perhaps? A noble’s daughter, playing in the mud at night? Or a very well-taught plant? Either way, he inclines his head an equally polite response.

"Charmed, Miss Eva Whitecloud". He repeated the name, testing the weight of it as if checking a forged signature. He would have offered more, but there seemed little point at this moment with her attention fully restored onto Arren.

He turned his own attention to his companion, his expression shifting back to one of practiced ease. "It wouldn't be the first time we have walked into the unknown darkness with nought but our darkvision", he replies. "Or encountered a flood blocking our path, for that matter", he added with a rueful shake of his head.

He glanced back at Eva as they began to move, noting how she still seemed to tether herself to Arren's presence. "A wise suggestion", he added, as Arren mentioned keeping her distance.

"Teenager", he repeats curiously. "How old are you and Mukan? And what happened to these other friends of yours? I wonder if there aren't some parents out there wondering what has happened to their offspring", he asks, knowing his interruption would vex the girl, being so focussed on Arren. Is he the mark? Am I just collateral damage?

As they walked, he kept his senses sharp, not just for the sound of the rushing river or the 'voices' in the cave, but for the sound of any footsteps following too closely in the fog. He wasn't quite ready to close the book on Eva Whitecloud just yet. In his experience, a well-placed curtsy and abundant tears was often the best way to hide a deeper motive.

Eva's relief from hearing Arren's assurance is brief, quickly replaced by a look of determination. "We must hurry then!"

Eva leads the way, although Arren knows it too. She keeps a fast pace, just shy of running, pulling Arren along if he ever slows down. She doesn't seem entirely estranged from physical activity, but she's panting all the way and inevitably slows down a little when her legs can no longer support the forced increased pace. Normally, both Arren and Bryn could go much faster for longer, especially if they ran, but that would be uncomfortable with everything they now carry. They'll have to match her pace to listen to her answers, but if they decide to run ahead to get there faster, Eva will try running for a bit before falling behind and asking the two to go ahead, saying she'll catch up.

But as long as they match Eva's pace, it'll take a few minutes to get to the burrow, and during that time, between one heavy breath and the next one, Eva tries to answer Bryn and Arren's questions. "No light, no. But he's a Gnome, so, he should see just fine." (OOC: Not an Elf or a Human this time!)

"Right, I'll... I'll wait outside." It doesn't sound like she ever planned to go in herself, though.

Eva answers Bryn's questions, but keeps her attention on the soldier, as if he were the one to ask. "S-sixteen. Both of us. Mukan celebrated just recently. I did in the spring. The others went back earlier, I stayed for longer... I was running back home, to tell my parents, when I... found you."

After a few minutes, the three leave the city. They remain on a road, but the cobblestones were replaced by a slightly muddy road, and the city's buildings were first replaced by the suburbs' sparse houses, and finally by meadows. The river, meanwhile, remained by their side. The fog has started to clear, but it will be a while before it's completely gone. Eventually, Eva leads off the road, though down a path clearly traversed by many, towards the river. The road is a little elevated from the water, in that area, so the three need to descend a muddy slope. Many signs posted in this area notify of the danger that lies below, urging anyone in all common languages and in nonwritten symbols, to turn back. 

All while walking, neither Bryn nor Arren had heard nor seen anyone that would seem suspicious, who walked in the same direction for any longer than would seem reasonable, or that stared at them too long despite their somewhat unusual appearance of a teenage girl pulling along a soldier heavily armed and followed by another civilian who doesn't seem in any way related to the girl.

Eventually, the three stand before a cave. As a final warning, a wooden beam blocks the entrance, but it is old and weathered, and it serves more as a marker than as a means to block the entrance. Anyone can duck under it, and most adults can leap over it with ease. The river is a little narrow in this spot - although still wide enough for a large ship to pass through - and the water reaches just to the entrance of the cave. But the river isn't exactly calm, and an occasional current raises the waterline just enough to spill into the cave, whose entrance is sloped such that the water then flows deeper inside, rather than back out. There's gravel and sand by the entrance, but they're quickly replaced by slippery rocks.

"Here," Eva will say, if Bryn and Arren didn't leave her behind, panting heavily. "This is, the Bogey Burrow, though I'm certain you already know that." She ducks under the wooden beam and sits on a relatively dry-looking rock at the entrance. "I'll wait here. If... if something happens, call and I'll... I'll get help."

Arren lets out a slow breath—schooling his expression into one of patience—the moment he falls slightly behind to adjust his backpack and Eva tugs him forward by the arm. Fortunately they were no longer in the middle of Pyorre, where anyone could see the strange scene of a fully armed soldier being pulled by a girl half his age.

He notices, once again, how the teenager focuses almost entirely on him, barely sparing Bryn a glance. Arren throws his companion an apologetic look and a small shrug. It is strange, though, the way she clings to him in particular. Granted, the uniform might explain it, but she could at least spare a little gratitude for the civilian Elf who chose to help when he could have stayed out of the situation.

In any case, he decides not to say anything for the moment, focusing first on what Eva is telling them, and then on the cave itself once they arrive. When Eva sits, he tells her, "Fine. Keep your distance from the water. Don't wait longer than necessary. If we take too long ... go find help, yes."

Then he steps closer to the entrance, studying it for a moment. "A few hours," he mutters, frowning and shaking his head. Too much time for his liking. He hopes that a broken leg is the worst thing that has kept Mukan from leaving the cave.

Arren then unstraps the two javelins from his back, grabbing one and offering the other to Bryn. "We could use these as walking sticks," he says. "Test the ground ahead. If we're about to step into a hole, I'd rather the javelins find it before our legs do."

With that, and once Bryn is ready, he steps into the cave.

Bryn merely smiled as Arren shrugged apologetically, the expression more one of amusement than anything else. At the revelation that Mukan was a gnome, however, that amusement vanished.

"Mukan is a gnome", he repeated softly, more to himself than anyone else. "Well, that explains the lack of torches. Though if the water is knee-deep for us, your friend Mukan might be doing more swimming than walking by now", he said a little louder, a hint of genuine concern tightening his tone.

As Eva perched herself on the dry rock, her breathing heavy, he slowed to a stop. His own breathing remained as steady as if he were on a gentle afternoon stroll - the benefit of the enchanted trousers he wore. He noted how Eva's eyes remained fixed on Arren’s back, still struggling to fully justify her fascination with the soldier. Unless something waits for us inside!

He accepted the javelin from Arren, weighing it in his hand. It wasn't exactly what he would usually wield, but Arren was right that it would prove useful in a cave where the floor was likely as treacherous as the 'Bogey' itself. He gave the shaft a quick, testing tap against a stone. "I’ll be right behind you", he murmured to Arren.

Before stepping under the weathered beam, he threw one last look back at Miss Whitecloud sitting in the clearing fog.

"I hope your parents are more forgiving than this river, Miss Whitecloud", he said, his voice dropping the playful edge for something flatter and more sincere. "Because if we aren't back soon, you’ll have a much harder story to tell them than a night-time dare gone wrong", he added, before he turned his focus to the cave,

"I would be much more comfortable if we had a torch or two", he comments to Arren as the humid, echoey air of the Burrow swallowed them.

Yet, even as the words left his mouth and he entered the dark, it was not just his elven senses that helped reveal the landscape. His newfound sense sprang into life, highlighting the jagged contours of the stone and the rhythmic ripples of the water in close proximity with a clarity no flickering flame could provide.

Now inside, he reflected that he wasn't looking for the 'Bogey'; he was looking for the truth, and he had a feeling it was going to be much colder than a folk tale.

Eva seems to go a little pale when Bryn mentions her parents. She doesn't ignore him this time. "They... If you come back safely, with Mukan, it should be fine." She doesn't sound quite convinced in that herself, but it seems what her parents will think currently matters less to her. "I think he went straight," Eva offers a final direction, "but I couldn't see after that. Be careful."

While the air in the cave, much like the walls, remains damp, the fog strangely does not extend deep into the cave. It quickly fades with each step, and after just a few, it's practically gone. It is very dark inside, however, and cold and wet. The ground slopes deeper into the earth, and while it is not too steep under dry conditions, the bare rock wet from the river's water is very slippery. 

In front of Arren, just past the entrance, are several paths. Some are short, and he can immediately see they lead nowhere, but others are longer, and Arren cannot see an end in the range of his darkvision. Worse yet, some of these then split further. For now, Arren and Bryn are close to the real river, and the sound of the flowing water drowns any echoes from the cave walls.

Where the ground is darker (you can see a bit of a lighter area at the bottom right corner of the image, for contrast), the rocks are wet. Some areas might be completely flooded, while others are merely a little wet, but all these darker areas are slippery. Movement in these areas is difficult, and walking too fast can make one slip. While moving up to half their speed, walking carefully and using Arren's javelins for balance, the characters can walk safely. Above that and up to the maximal speed, they must make an Acrobatics check to avoid slipping. Dashing is possible, but the check is then made at a disadvantage.

Please, for this purpose, limit your posts to roughly a round as if in combat. 

"Same," Arren replies to Bryn's mention of torches. "I don't usually need them, so I never think to bring any. I should start changing that."

Once inside he keeps quiet, trying to make as little noise as possible in case they might hear Mukan. If not his voice, then laboured breathing, or even a pained groan. Though perhaps it is too soon for that, given the proximity of the river.

He studies the paths ahead, then points toward the middle one, glancing at Bryn for agreement. If Bryn doesn't object, Arren takes that path, moving slowly and carefully, testing each step with the javelin before committing his weight.

Movement: 15 feet forward along the middle path, moving at half speed. Staying cautious and using the javelin to test the terrain and to avoid slipping.

Bryn follows Arren’s lead, his steps light and measured as he adjusts to the slick, downward slope. Once the curve of the tunnel safely obscures them from Eva’s lingering gaze, he reaches back and unslings Emil’s shortbow. He doesn’t reach for an arrow; instead, his fingers trace the familiar, etched grooves of the glyphs on the shaft - find, track, guide, sense. In the dim light only afforded him due to his elven vision, and with his newfound sense springing into life, he maps the texture of the carvings with his thumb.

"Let me try something", he whispers to Arren, his voice barely audible against the roar of the river behind them.

He holds the bow before him, focusing his will on the glyphs. He isn't entirely sure how the magic prefers to be asked, but 'find' seems like the most logical place to start. Find Mukan the gnome, he thinks intensely. If the bow remains inert, he leans in and breathes the words directly against the wood, "Find Mukan the gnome".

He doesn't wait for a miraculous glow; he knows magic is rarely that polite. He simply keeps the bow ready, his senses flared. While both Arren's and his own javelins prod for physical hazards, his blindsight acts as a silent guide, highlighting the greasy sheen of the wet rocks and the treacherous dips in the path ahead with a clarity no flickering flame could provide. He moves in sync with Arren, keeping his centre of gravity low, his eyes scanning the middle path for any sign of a small, gnomish footprint in the silt.

Movement: 15 feet forward along the middle path, moving at half speed.
Action: Focusing on the magical glyphs of Emil's shortbow to attempt to locate Mukan, or perhaps the nearest gnome.

As Arren and Bryn delve deeper, though only a little so far, the clear sound of the flowing water outside quickly fades into the echoes inside. Most of it sounds like water flowing, just from different directions, but occasionally, briefly, it sounds a little different. A little like a voice, but not quite. It doesn't quite sound like words, more like humming. But it is faint, fragmentary, and even when one thinks they heard it, they can't be sure they didn't just imagine it.

Arren and Bryn reach another fork, and this time, Eva isn't there to suggest a path, nor would she know if Arren or Bryn tried calling to her. To Arren's left (OOC: I'm sorry if this gets confusing), after about five metres (the light-dark border in the map below), there's a small step, only about half a metre high. Nothing that would be difficult to climb over. To Arren's right, there's a somewhat spacious cavern that then splits into two narrower tunnels. This chamber is flatter than most areas, although still slippery, and is flooded with water that would reach Arren's ankle. 

((The characters don't really see that some areas are drier, and will only realise those areas aren't as slippery when they step on them, but you can see those on the map anyway.))

Thinking, however intensely as Bryn tries, achieves nothing. When Bryn speaks to the wood, nothing happens at first, but after a moment, he feels faintly... apologetic? And then, this feeling is replaced by... a sense of compromise? The feeling is soon gone, but Bryn feels like his senses are sharpened. Scent, sight, hearing... and whatever combination it is that allowed him to see through the fog. Taste, even, though he only senses the lack of any taste on his tongue. Perhaps he'll be able to find something he couldn't before?

Bryn is now under the effect of Guidance, adding 1d4 to any ability check he makes using the Survival skill, including but not limited to searching for tracks. Bryn is unfamiliar with the spell, however, and can deduce no further. He is therefore not aware that it is unusual that he needn't concentrate on the spell.

Arren turns to look at Bryn, one brow arching slightly as he notices him whispering to the bow. He doesn't quite understand how a bow is supposed to help in this situation, but having seen what magical items can do, he keeps an open mind and watches to see what comes of it.

As he waits, Arren focuses on the sounds around him, now that the murmur of the river has faded. The echoing hum explains the stories about this cave well enough. He considers calling out for Mukan, but not wanting to distract Bryn, he holds back for the moment.

Turning back to his companion, the Half-Elf points toward one of the tunnels, gesturing that he'll move ahead through one of the tunnels and take a quick look.

Movement: 15 feet toward the southeast, using the javelin to avoid slipping or stepping on a hole.
Action: Listening carefully, trying to distinguish natural echoes from breathing, movement, or signs of someone in pain. (Perception: 15+3 = 18)

Bryn feels the sharpening of his senses before he truly understands it, and certainly before he manages to process the feelings being projected by the bow. The faint wave of apology, followed by a settling sense of compromise, makes him tighten his grip on the shaft. There is some form of sentience within the bow. Intriguing. It can't do as I asked, but it can assist me in doing it myself.

"It didn't give me a direction", he whispers back to Arren. "But I believe it is guiding my own senses. It is quite an odd sensation", he adds, obviously intrigued.

As Arren moves off down one of the tunnels, he remains where he is, looking for any sign of Mukan's passing. Perhaps a footprint or scuff mark, or something dropped or left behind. Some snagged clothing, even. With all his senses heightened and his blindsight mapping the local vicinity, he searches for anything that doesn't belong in the cave.

The faint, fragmentary humming also becomes clearer to his ears, and he tilts his head, trying to catch any kind of rhythm.

Movement: Just moving enough to check the local vicinity, albeit carefully. 
Action: Survival check to search for signs of Mukan’s passage
Survival (with Guidance): 1+3+4=8 (Great first use of the magic of the bow :-) )

Arren delves deeper while Bryn lags behind for a moment, trying to search for clues. Neither spot anything that would reveal the right direction, however.

Arren, now closer to the small step, can see the water that has collected at its base, and while he sees no clues that would hint at Mukan's whereabouts, he notices that the top of the step forms a small platform of sorts, which is less reflective of what little light his Elven eyes can catch. It ends after a few metres ahead, though, and Arren can't see the ground beyond it. Must be a step down after that (the other side of the light-coloured patch in the direction Arren was heading. In other words, this light-coloured patch is elevated from its surroundings).

Bryn, overwhelmed by too many enhanced feelings he was unfamiliar with before, finds it too hard to focus on anything. He perceives too much, and as such, can't separate the wheat from the chaff. How can he focus on any one small hint, when he can feel each droplet that forms on the cave's walls and ceiling, how it drops, and the waves it forms in the puddle on the ground?

The hum-like sound continues indefinitely inside the cave. But now, Bryn and Arren can both occasionally hear sounds that are beyond mere noise. Perhaps it is their imagination, but does it sometimes sound like words?

"... have we..."
"..."
"... scared..."
"...you're... talkin'..."
*laughter*

Arren steps back a few feet so he can speak to Bryn without raising his voice. "There's a platform ahead," he whispers. "Not very high, should be easy enough to climb. I can't see where it ends from here, but I'd guess it drops again after a few paces."

He pauses briefly. "I can't say this is the right way for certain, but we'll have to choose a path anyway. We could start with this one."

He tilts his head slightly, giving a small nod at Bryn's explanation of the bow. "That does sound useful."

Arren's about to continue when the sounds around them catch his attention. "Did you hear that?" he murmurs. "I don't want to start believing the folktales… but that sounded like people talking."

Is Mukan not alone?

Movement: Step back 5 feet to speak to Bryn without raising his voice. 

Action: Arren will wait for Bryn's input. If he agrees, Arren will move 10 feet forward in the same direction as my previous post and climb onto the platform. (I hope this is possible as a turn!)

If not, he'll walk 10 feet to follow after Bryn.

Struggling to concentrate, Bryn is a little surprised by Arren's backtracking, such is the overwhelming noise of the effects of Emil's Bow combined with his new found senses.

"Sorry, what....oh a platform was it?", he answers, matching the pitch of Arren's voice. "Yes, one direction is as good another at the moment. I am not seeing anything relevant at the moment".

When the voices are mentioned, he can't help but inwardly shiver. "It certainly did sound like voices. But then it is not by accident this cave gets its name, I guess we should just press on", replies, trying to safely massage his temples with his thumbs whilst holding a bow in one hand and a javelin in the other. He eventually decides he needs a spare hand, and passes the javelin back to Arren.

Having agreed to the direction, he will follow slowly behind Arren, trying to attune his senses to the rhythm of the cave, in the hope he will then be able to filter out the distraction from the relevant.

Movement: Follows Arren
Action: If allowed will be actively trying to find tracks or clues again, if not he will listen to the noises of the cave to try and discern something more about them.
Survival (+3) or Perception (+5): D20 = 20, D4 (Survival only) = 2

((Generally, you can take the Ready to prepare some reaction for a trigger. This can also be used for movement, rather than an action. In any case, I'm asking you to play by initiative rules just to control the pace for now, so I'm lenient with the flow of a turn beyond that.))

Once he climbs over the platform, Arren finds that the rock there is relatively dry. It's not exactly levelled, though, and caution is still advised (can move up to max speed without making any checks, but dashing will require an Acrobatics check, no longer at a disadvantage). Furthermore, he can now see that the ground beyond the far edge of this elevated surface is much deeper than it is behind him. He'll have to get closer to be sure, but (I imagine he will, and he'll then notice that) it seems about a 10-foot drop to the surface of the water below. He can see that there's a small cavern there that is flooded with water, but he can't be sure how deep it is.

((From a nat1 to a nat20! But as you know, I don't like rolling for checks repeatedly until it finally lands high enough, without doing anything to really justify the attempt.  I'll consider this a Perception check then.))

The voice-like echoes of the river's sound from outside persist. However, Bryn notices that not all sounds are the same. Some are mere sounds, while others really do sound like words. But between those that sound like words, Bryn begins to make a distinction. Some are like whispers. Consonants and vowels, but no voice. Others, however, carry more with them. Faint as it may be, they carry tone and pitch, a voice. It is only a single voice, however, as far as he can tell. To Arren, however, they all sound the same.

Although I believe I was pretty clear with the edges of the elevated area in my descriptions, I decided to mark them with a red line, just in case.

Once he climbs up and takes a quick look at the platform, Arren turns back, reaching down to help Bryn up. As he straps the javelin the Elf had been using back onto his pack, he whispers, "Are you alright?" noticing that Bryn took a moment to respond.

"This platform goes on longer than I expected," he adds. 'We could follow it. At least it's drier." A faint smile touches his lips. "The cave to the right is flooded, so I think we can ignore that. I doubt Mukan went that way."

Arren stills again, listening to the sounds echoing through the cave. Sounds that keep resembling words more and more.

"Do you think the boy might be here with someone else?" he asks quietly, before shaking his head slightly. "I guess we'll see. Let's press on, yes."

Action: Arren readies his 30 feet of movement to wait for Bryn to climb, so they can advance together. 

Bryn grasps Arren's outstretched hand, allowing himself to be hoisted up onto the drier, uneven rock of the platform. "I am ok, just a little overwhelmed, and...", he whispers back, not finishing the thought as his gaze drifts towards the dark expanse ahead.

"Those sounds... they are not just the cave playing tricks on us. Some of the whispers are just echoes, empty vowels and consonants. But there is a distinct voice hidden amongst them. Just one, with real pitch and tone", he says, leaning a fraction closer to his companion.

He furrows his brow, a chill running down his spine as he recounts the fragmented phrases he managed to isolate from the rushing water. "Joking... I can't... eyes... me, you... be... can't be... guy... he's... short... no... worse... seam... die laughing", he says, with a grim, serious tone. "Whatever is speaking, I highly doubt it is Mukan. It may even be talking with, or about Mukan".

Keeping a close eye on the deep drop to their right, he falls into step beside Arren, moving carefully across the stone while keeping his senses sharp for the source of the voice or any movement ahead.

 Movement: Moves along with Arren.
Action: Ready a dash, in case he spots something that he wants follow or avoid.

The elevated area is a little narrow. Not enough to make it a difficult path, but Bryn and Arren cannot walk side by side. As they walk on it, they see many more chambers and caves branching from them. Both to their left, down where there's a lot of water, as well as in front of them, where, beyond the other edge of the elevated area, is another large chamber. The elevated area ends in a small 'cliff', some seven metres (~20 feet) down (this is the red line with light-coloured ground on both sides).

Stalagmites and stalactites could be seen near the walls of the cave so far, though they were all small and rather unimpressive. Here, right in the centre of the 'cliff', a large stalactite descends from above, almost all the way down to the ground below. It looks slippery and becomes only narrower as one goes down, and as such, it does not look like it could easily be climbed down. The edge of the elevated area is almost vertical and mostly smooth. Climbing down is possible, but it would be challenging and potentially dangerous.

All the while, the voices in the cave resume. They - both the echoes and the voice - get clearer as they delve deeper. ((Although Bryn and Arren both also hear the voiceless echoes, they can now distinguish them from the voice, and so, I'm not writing them.))

"... Bogie says"
"There's trouble close at hand"
"You'd better pay..."
"... man"
"And if you..."
"... wrong"
"... this may be the last time you hear..."

As the voice gets clearer, now able to make out some phrases whole, it also occurs to both Arren and Bryn that this voice isn't just talking. With rhythmic pronunciation and pitch that rises and falls, it sounds like singing, of sorts.

"Damn it," Arren curses, a bit too loudly, before remembering to lower his voice. "It's too high for us to climb down safely."

He looks around, searching for a place to secure his rope so they wouldn't have to retrace their steps, but finds none.

"I think we need to turn back. Try one of the other tunnels. Maybe one of them leads down."

He glances at Bryn as he explains he can make out a distinct voice among the echoes, impressed by the Elf's hearing. "Die laughing?" he repeats, not liking the sound of that at all. He listens again, frowning. "Am I imagining things, or is that voice actually singing?"

He shakes his head. Singing or not, that's beside the point. They need to reach that voice—or Mukan—as soon as possible.

"Head back, then?" he asks, gesturing toward a point to the southwest where the ground seems to slope down. "If we can reach that, we might be able to walk down instead of climbing and risking breaking our necks."

Movement: If Bryn agrees with going back, Arren will walk back using his whole movement until he can climb back down, and then keep walking at half speed (in subsequent turns, of course). Here's the map with the intended path. The cross marks the spot he's pointed to.