Residue of Sorrow

"I guess so", 'Tace' replies as he follows Nafnlaus and the Sergeant into the north-eastern room. "But there is still one more room we haven't fully explored, to the north", he reminds the Sergeant.

He chuckles quietly as the Sergeant responds to Nafnlaus regarding drinking the liquid. Not clearly audible, but perhaps someone perceptive might see the tell-tale shake of the shoulders.

He will hold out a hand to the Sergeant once he has finished examining the bottle, interested to take a look as well. Could I get away with palming this? Perhaps it is too big to hide on my person.

He makes sure to do a circuit of the room himself, looking for anything the others might have missed.

"The vines in here do seem to have some sort of sentience. Unless they are being animated by something else", he responds when talk turns back to cutting through to the sarcophagus. "I agree we should be careful".

"It would be good to at least take a look through here", he then says as he walks up towards the northern room where the tunnel heads south-west out of view.

Investigation: 19+5=24 (Looking at the glass bottle and around the north-eastern room)

((To answer some of your questions: Yes, you can take a short rest, though Lann will, by the time you finish, send backup. Up to you whether you wish to wait for that or not. Also, regarding Bryn's roll, I'll consider it despite it not showing on the log.))

As far as Arren can tell, the glass shards look like they belong to now-shattered bottles, not unlike those on the shelf. Considering there are two still intact on the shelf, Arren believes there were four, maybe five, in total. The glass seems very simplistic, with no labels or markings imprinted on it or on the wax seals.

Meanwhile, Nafnlaus shrugs indifferently to Arren's response. "Perhaps, I don't know. I heard most of you soldiers drink every time you get a chance," he defends, then drops the subject, allowing Arren to examine the bottles while keeping an eye but also keeping quiet as long as the soldiers don't do anything suspicious. From Arren's experience of the average soldier, this is not too far from the truth, but to be fair to these soldiers, most also don't get chances often, except those stationed in larger cities, which are, while not a small group by any means, not exactly the majority of soldiers.

The bottles aren't exactly big, for what they are, but they aren't small enough to comfortably hide either. Possible, but risky (in other words, a roll is required). There's also a question of where to keep them, as holding onto them will be difficult for long without anyone noticing, and Tace's stolen uniforms aren't exactly meant for stashing bottles. Any other solution might be less discreet, while others are nearby.

When Bryn ventures farther into the northern tunnel, he can now look to the southwest and see a longer, natural tunnel, at the end of which Bryn can just barely see (due to the walls in the way) the edge of another pool, or puddle... He can see water, though he can't see how deep they are, yet.

But that is not all. In this tunnel, Bryn (and anyone who comes along to the northern area) can see plenty more roots that burrowed through the rocky walls. They seem stationary, and Bryn can't see anything he can identify as another plant-man between them, but he's far from certain there aren't any.  It's possible to pass through the tunnel without touching any, but as some of them reach far away from the walls, it might require some caution. Among some of those vines, roughly thirty feet away, Bryn sees a large fallen pillar, or perhaps some other kind of large, mostly cylindrical object, partially covered by roots. In the dark, Bryn cannot tell its colour, but it seems a brighter shade of grey than the walls and the roots around it.

Akvedinn, who tagged along with Bryn, looks from behind him into this root-infested corridor-like tunnel. "You're not thinking of... going in there, are you? With all those alcoves, this is the perfect spot for antoher one of them to hide."

Arren, who had definitely missed the northwestern tunnel before, follows a little behind Tace. He frowns at the mass of roots, which in his mind promise nothing good, then turns to Akvedinn.

"You're not wrong. But then again, we won't learn much if we just turn back."

He looks down the tunnel again, weighing their options. The idea of being stuck in a narrow corridor once again doesn't appeal to him, and he would much rather rest a bit before pressing on. At the same time, he fears that once Lann sends reinforcements, it might be the end of their investigation.

Deciding that a quieter approach might be better, he says to the Corporal, "Perhaps it's time for that stealthy approach you mentioned, if you feel up to it. We can wait here, and advance only once you've checked that room."

He pauses to let Tace consider, and if he agrees, Arren will wait at the entrance to the tunnel, weapons ready in case they are needed.

'Tace' nods and draws his shortsword, about to creep forward whilst being ready for anything, but keeping one hand free to help maintain his balance.

"Ok, sir. I will try and get close enough to see what that pillar is, but without light it will be difficult to truly see it", he says to the Sergeant. "But then you can bring the lantern if it appears safe", he says to the Sergeant and the two bandits.

With that said, he starts to move slowly down the tunnel, avoiding the roots as much as possible. He won't push his luck, he just wants to get close enough to get visibility of the water in the pool and also to see more details of the fallen pillar.

Stealth: 15+6=21

"Just don't venture too far, right?" Akvedinn asks of Bryn before the latter advances into the tunnel. "I'd prefer staying here and still have you in my line of sight." Nonetheless, he seems ready to follow Bryn should he go farther than the bandit can see.

As he advances through the tunnel, Bryn can gradually see more of the next room. It appears to be circular, and it is definitely flooded. Due to the tunnel's natural inclination, where the last flooded room was only partially flooded, here the water fills the room. On its other side, Bryn sees stairs rising up from the water.

But among all those roots, Bryn has to remain cautious... or so he thinks, at least. Even as he advances, he sees nothing that is immediately dangerous. They either hide very well or aren't there at all. But as Bryn moves slowly, cautiously, he also makes very little noise, such that, perhaps, anything there didn't even notice him.

Eventually, after a few tense seconds, Bryn reaches the lying pillar. There is still no movement around him. Up close, Bryn sees that this 'pillar' is no pillar at all. It is somewhat flat, an observation one couldn't make from the previous perspective. One end, the one facing the direction from which Bryn came, is wider, but this object gets thinner and thinner until eventually ending in a rather sharp tip. Finally, it's not straight, but rather slightly bent, like a flat crescent. 

In total, the object is probably a little over a metre long and at its widest, about as wide as a Human's head. It looks aged and fragile, with many large cracks running along it, and several areas of it have crumbled away.

'Tace' stares at the strange shaped object for a while, trying to determine what it might be. Is it stone or something else?

With all the dragon iconography perhaps it is a tooth or a horn?

He examines it as closely as possible without actually touching the object.

He is also interested in the stairs leading from the flooded room.

Investigation: 5+5=10

(OOC: Do the stairs lead up to something above, or do they come from an area below the pool and end in the room Bryn can see?) 

Arren waits on the other side of the passage, still ready to advance if anything goes wrong. When Akvedinn speaks, he tells him, "Don't rush in. Give him time. It's better that we advance only when he tells us to."

Other than that, he simply remains attentive to the tunnel, in case anything moves behind Tace's back. He has questions about the pillar, but bites his tongue for now as he doesn't want to disturb the Corporal's cautious advance.

A closer investigation reveals that Bryn's intuition was on point. Some kind of bone. But what could possibly be this big?

It's a little hard to see without getting even closer, but the bottom of the stairs are under the water while the top, clearly, is above the surface. Bryn cannot see the room's floor under the water from where he stands.

((And in case I misinterpreted your question, the stairs ascend as one moves south ('downwards') on the map. That means the point closest to Bryn is the lowest Bryn can see, and the stairs ascend as they lead farther away.))

'Tace' frowns as he realises that the object is actually a bone from some creature. Did those plant creatures take down whatever it was? Or did it die because it was trapped down here?

He looks back to the Sergeant and the two bandits, not wanting to delve further into the tunnel without back up. Probably best to report back, and possibly check the plant creature situation here.

His shortsword remains drawn as he makes his way back to the others, and although he stays quiet, he will prod at a few of the roots with his sword as he passes them. He makes sure the ones he prods are not between him and escape though. He is also ready to leg it if needed.

If he does make it back to the others uninterrupted, he will let them know what he saw.

"So, the object that looks like a pillar of sorts, is actually an old bone. A very big, very old, bone. And the room at the end is flooded, but I see there are steps that lead up from there. Fancy checking out where the stairs lead?", he says, if he makes it back ok.

The roots... behave like roots, even when the blade's tip pierces them slightly. Everything remains still, and Bryn makes it back safely.

Arren tenses when he sees Tace poking at the vines, but when nothing happens, he relaxes again and sheathes his weapons. "Looks like we were worrying over nothing. Maybe the ones around the sarcophagus are safe too."

Listening to his companion, his eyes widen. "A bone that size? By the gods..." he muses "...a dragon bone, then?" It was one thing to find murals, or coins—but a bone? The beings that were once the stuff of legend suddenly feel less so, and Arren feels compelled to see the thing for himself and to keep advancing up those stairs Tace has found. Still, his mind keeps returning to the sarcophagus.

"Let's check them, yes. But what about the sarcophagus? Perhaps it might tell us more about what we'll find upstairs. Why don't we test the vines there? We need to know whether they're safe or not, anyway."

'Tace' doesn't argue with the Sergeant's suggestion to check the sarcophagus first, in fact he nods and looks to Akvedinn and Nafnlaus.

"That sarcophagus might be where the plant creatures come from. We should check to make sure no more are being grown", he says a little dubiously, not quite believing he has to talk about such things.

With Tace's agreement, Arren strides back toward the room where the sarcophagus rests. He waits for the others to catch up before raising a hand and saying, "Stay back, and be ready. Just in case."

Once everyone is in position—with Arren being the only one close to anything resembling the vine creatures—he steps forward and carefully pokes one of the vines surrounding the sarcophagus. If nothing happens, he tests a couple more, pausing between each attempt. Throughout the tests, he keeps a defensive stance, shield raised and close, ready to react.

Finally, if the probing draws no response, he draws his blade and cuts through a single vine. Then he waits again, tense, watching for any sign of movement.

(ooc: Arren Dodges after every test)

"Surely you jest," Nafnlaus exclaims in disbelief, finally following the others and bringing the lantern with him. "I'll have you know, bones don't usually last that long. Although they take longer, like flesh, they eventually..." he trails off, now that the light enters the tunnel and he can see, as everyone else, the subject of the discussion. Now, under the light, everyone can see the yellowish-white colour hue, and unmistakably, it looks like a bone, even from a distance. "But it can't be," he insists once the initial shock passes. "Even if it is larger than anything I've ever seen. To think this is just one bone!"

The bandits follow Arren and Bryn back to the sarcophagus, and once Arren prepares to poke at them, Akvedinn raises his crossbow while Nafnlaus places the lantern on the ground and loads a bolt too. When Arren starts poking the plants, it seems all goes quiet for a moment. A poke, nothing happens. Another poke, and again nothing happens. And again. Finally, Arren musters enough courage to slash the vine entirely. The lower half of the vine falls to the ground, as any other vine would. The top half remains suspended from above.

After another tense moment, a chuckling sound comes from behind. Faint at first, but intensifying until it becomes a rolling laughter. "Normal plants!" Akvedinn exclaims. "We were worried for nothing!" After a few moments, he calms down. "But leave the coins and gems alone, for now," he turns serious again. Both he and Nafnlaus have lowered their crossbows by now, though.

'Tace' also switched to his crossbow as the Sergeant began to test the vines, watching closely to every poke and cut.

He felt the same relief as Akvedinn, although there was no laughter involved, just a long breath out.

"As you say", he replies to the bandit regarding the coins and gems, more interested in the contents of the sarcophagus at this moment. He moves forward to join the Sergeant so that they could both look in. "Shall we, sir?", he says waiting for his superiors agreement.

Still not totally confident it was safe, he switches his crossbow out for his shortsword for when they get in close.

Arren lets out a long breath as well, then turns back to look at the others. There is a smile on his face as he says, "How about we don't mention to anyone else how scared we were for no reason?"

He does take a quick look at the coins and gems, feeling in considerably higher spirits now that there's nothing dangerous in the immediate vicinity and also because this reminds him of the compensation for the workers that Lann mentioned.

He nods to Tace and finishes cutting away as many vines as necessary for them to inspect the sarcophagus up close, asking Nafnlaus to bring the light closer if needed to see better.

"I wouldn't exactly say 'no reason', considering these," Nafnlaus gestures broadly towards the mass of roots that was not too long ago a lethal guardian of the cave. He then picks up the lantern and approaches the sarcophagus to illuminate the area.

Arren doesn't need to work hard to create a comfortable passage. Once inside the building, he and anyone who followed him can peer into the sarcophagus and study its inner part. Apart from a bit of dust, the sarcophagus appears to be empty. It is deep, perhaps a little deeper than would be necessary, about knee-high for anyone if they were to stand inside.

"I don't know," Nafnlaus says once he's seen the sarcophagus' inner part up close. "I doubt they grow here. But had I not seen them myself, I'd not believe any of it if you told me, either."

"Cautious, for sure. Scared, ok I can admit to that too", 'Tace' says quietly as he waits whilst the Sergeant clears the vines, and then follows him inside the building and looks into the sarcophagus.

"Empty!", he says in a little surprise. "No vines, but no bones or remains either", he adds.

He studies the inside of the sarcophagus for a little bit once there is more light, wondering if there might be some sort of false bottom. He will look for signs but will not touch unless he is certain it is safe.

He is also interested in anything else to be found in the building, including pictures on the outside of the sarcophagus.

Investigation: 20+5=25 (crit!)

"This is strange," Arren says. "With all the gold and gems surrounding the sarcophagus, I would have expected whoever was inside to be dressed in rich clothing. Perhaps even armor or weapons." He looks around, finding nothing of the sort. "Nothing? No remains of any kind? And it's deeper than usual… perhaps it wasn't designed to hold a body at all."

As Tace studies the inside of the sarcophagus, Arren examines its lid, searching for any inscription—a name, a symbol, or an epitaph of some kind.

(Investigation: 11+1 = 12)

The sarcophagus is a little deep, sure, but its bottom seems very solid and matches the thickness of the sides such that Bryn is certain there couldn't be a false bottom there. As much as Bryn and Arren can tell, the sarcophagus, along with its lid, looks plain and simple. No inscriptions, markings, drawings, carvings, or other messages from a forgotten age of any kind. Bryn doesn't recall sensing anything magical about it during his first visit to the cave either.

"Perhaps they put the gold and gems inside, and someone later took them out?" Akvedinn offers. "Perhaps a thief who was later strangled to death by the vegetables. And then... then the vegetables collected the coins and scattered them outside the sarcophagus?"

"I've heard," Nafnlaus muses, "that there exist tiny creatures, so small we cannot see them with the naked eye, not even with a magnifying glass. But those creatures, however small, digest dead carcasses little by little, if no larger animal eats them first. Although it would take them time, they'll eventually eat all of the soft parts away, leaving only the bones. If all that is true, perhaps they could also eat away and digest, given enough time, any clothes and bones? Who knows how long they've been here undisturbed?"

"That's nonsense. One of the dumbest things I've heard you spout." Akvedinn delivers a decisive verdict in response. "Such creatures cannot exist. And even if they did," he makes sure to emphasise just how unlikely he believes that to be the case, "even if they did, then how come they didn't eat away that huge bone over there, huh? It looks weathered, sure, but you won't convince me it's been eaten away for so long and remains this size."

As for the surrounding structure, Bryn finds a few more murals, but he feels (thanks to his particularly high roll) that they were not made by the same hand, or even hands, that made the rest. They look like later additions, imitations of the former that can be found all around the cave, but not quite the same. The building itself also seems a little off. Not only because of its location inside the cave as some strange inner room, but also because it was built from bricks and cut stones that do not exactly match the quality of the craftsmanship that is evident in the man-made parts of the cave, which are almost perfectly smooth and straight.