Residue of Sorrow

The Sergeant is not surprised in the slightest by Commandant Nattensbarn's reaction, having seen her lose her patience like this before. She is not one for wasting time. He follows after her immediately, as he doesn't truly believe there is nothing more to discuss.

Once outside, as he listens to her speak — starting confidently, only to lose confidence with every word — Arren can't help but smile a little. He finds this display of vulnerability, from someone so used to maintaining a strong composure, oddly endearing.

"It depends on what we find," he says. "If we encounter more of those plant-men, I think we could manage — provided we engage them one by one, and don't repeat the mistake we made before, fighting them in a narrow tunnel with no room to maneuver."

He pauses. "The problem is, we don't really know what else could be waiting there. Plant-men. Plant-fish. There may be more we haven't seen yet."

He is about to add something else, but stops, irritated with himself at the mere thought of considering it.

"What about the other one, ma'am?" he finally suggests. "I still bristle at the idea of working with him, but I won't deny he's good. Very good. And he's interested in finishing the investigation. If he's going to enter the caves either way, it would be better to do it as a group."

He glances toward Mydri's tent, where Walnuts is at the moment, and adds, "If we’re going to follow the Lieutenant’s suggestion, this would be as good a moment as any to start."

"A lodestone?" Nohem repeats. "Ah, I see. We sort of need them around. You know, things break occasionally. Depending on what you need to fix, we might just let you borrow them, though. I suppose you're not looking to fix a tear in your shirt, that it is pressing enough to ask around?"

Meanwhile, not too far from there, Commandant Nattensbarn finds Arren's response a little strange. "Mere moments ago, you couldn't stand his presence." She states, pointing out the change of heart, but not criticising it, it seems. "Up to you. You're the one putting yourself at risk. If you think you can trust him enough for that, ask him to join you. I think he'll be going in anyway, though. He asked about it several times.

"But! If at any point you realise you're in too deep, you take yourself and retreat immediately. Prioritise your safety over anything else inside. I don't care if it's literally a dragon's egg, or whatever else you can think of. You and the Lieutenant go out." 

While not shouting, the Commandant isn't quiet either, and this close to Mydri's tent, you can be sure the Lieutenant hears her. It doesn't take long before he's out of the tent, throwing a used wet cloth into the proper barrel. The clean barrel, Arren may notice, has been moved partially inside to protect it from the rain. "I believe I was gone for... five minutes? Maybe ten? I do hope Mydri got to eat, at least." Seems like he heard enough to know what the subject of the talk is. "I'll go call her, then catch up to you. No need to wait for me."

Bryn smiles at Nohem, "It is more of a long term requirement than an immediate fix, hence the request to purchase one. I wasn't aware there were those in camp able to make use of lodestones to fix things".

He thinks for a moment before saying, "I guess you did once tell me you were familiar with magic users, I guess I assumed it was from before your time as a bandit. Predak bemoaned the lack of a magic user capable of helping him excavate as well. It would be interesting to speak to whoever it is, if you can point me in the right direction and give me a name. Perhaps that Levickan High Elf lady?".

Arren exhales through his nose. "I haven't changed my mind," he says quietly. "But ignoring a useful blade when we're about to walk into those tunnels again would be stupid, wouldn't it?"

He nods to Walnuts, then waits for the black-haired Elf to step out of Nohem's tent. Arren keeps his expression as neutral as possible — even though inwardly he's far from comfortable — when he speaks.

"I assume you'll be heading to the excavation site right away. We'll do the same. It would be wise to enter together. If you wish."

He pauses.

"We're all going to be in there, either way."

"Oh, seems I've tipped my hand more than I intended, then. Sorry, no more hints from me. My lips are for now sealed in this matter." Nohem twists his fingers over his lips, as if turning a key in its lock, then tosses the imaginary key away. "Anything else I can help you with?"

Bryn doesn't detect anything different in Nohem when he mentions the Levickan Elf, one way or the other.

Bryn takes note of any reaction Lann might have had during this exchange as well, knowing he is less adept at covering himself than Nohem.

But ultimately he just smiles at Nohem. "No, that is all", he says, giving both of the senior bandits a nod before leaving the tent.

He is a little surprised to come face to face with the Sergeant on exiting, and there is a moment where he fears the soldier has got the drop on him. Fortunately, rather than becoming physical, only words are exchanged.

So we are allies again, of a sort. The enemy of my enemy, I suppose. Well, adversary if not enemy.

"I am inclined to agree", he says carefully, looking back to the tent with a meaningful glance.

Does we mean the three of them? Or just the Sergeant and the Lieutenant?

As they walk and get out of earshot of those in the tent, he elaborates on the look. "Nohem is prone to exaggeration and over promising, I am sure you have noticed. I cannot be certain, but I think that the bandits have a magic user of their own amongst their ranks, from what he just said", he warns.

"The High Elf woman we saw before, perhaps?" Arren asks. "Then why leave her unused until now? I imagine she could have expedited the excavation, one way or another. Unless she's been elsewhere until today. Who knows." He shrugs. "Either way, we'll stay alert."

"There's not much I know about fighting magic, though," he thinks, careful not to say that aloud in front of another magic user he doesn't fully trust.

Arren then turns to the Commandant. "Will you be joining us, ma’am? Or would you prefer to wait in Mydri's tent?"

Whatever her reply, Arren doesn't linger. He gives a brief nod to the black-haired Elf and heads toward the excavation site, assuming Walnuts will meet them there.

"I hope those two from before have dealt with the plant-fish issue."

"Potentially, but I think that might be too obvious", Bryn replies returning the shrug as they walk.

When the Sergeant asks the Commandant whether she will be accompanying them, he waits for her reply before interjecting.

"The Corporal's belongings are laid out in the big tent. I didn't have chance to lock them away in the carriage", he says quietly, expecting the Commandant to maybe ignore him and certainly not look directly at him. But at least he has told them.

When the Sergeant leaves for the excavation site, he will walk along with him, remaining silent now unless spoken to, not wishing to rock the boat.

Life is certainly strange. A common cause may have just saved me here.

Lann keeps a straight face during the interaction, revealing nothing.

"Normally," the Commandant answers, "you know one of you must be near me at almost all times. So if you both go in, so must I. But things are far from normal this time, so I think we can turn a blind eye to the matter. Where should I be that would put your mind at ease? In the cave with you, where there might be magical monsters, or outside with the bandits, where you can't hear me if anything happens?"

The Commandant will adhere to Arren's choice between the two, following behind him if he wants her nearby, or returning to the tents if not. Either way, Lieutenant Tireur catches up with Arren and Bryn before they reach the entrance to the crack, and from there, he'll take up the rear, keeping an eye over everyone. If the Commandant is with them, he brings a lantern with him. If not, she'll have met him midway and taken the lantern back.

Eventually, the group will reach the entrance to the ruins, where the cave forks, where previously Arren and Bryn fought off a plant-man. The dead roots that previously grasped their feet have by now shrivelled into nothing more than dead twigs lying on the ground. Good for a fire, maybe, but otherwise not of anyone's interest. Once inside, the Lieutenant (and the Commandant, if she's there) will follow Arren's lead. The Lieutenant seems impressed with everything he sees, but seems satisfied by just looking. The Commandant, if there, surely wishes to spend more time examining everything, but for now, she contains her curiosity and simply marvels at everything, although she makes sure to remain close by, and keeps looking around, looking for any walking plants and other otherworldly threats.

As a reminder, I'm adding a zoomed-out picture of the cave as you two saw it until this point. Remember that all wooden furniture that is shown on the map isn't present in the game.

"I don't think anyone will be interested in stealing them," Arren replies regarding Corporal Peite's belongings.

He isn't entirely comfortable with either option the Commandant presents, but says nonetheless, "I'd rather you stayed with us. It isn't without danger, but at least you'll be close. Just remember," he warns, "if we encounter more of those plant creatures, their vines can reach you even from ten feet away."

Arren makes sure to repeat the warning when Walnuts joins them.

Once they are all inside, Arren walks straight into the room containing the sarcophagus, waiting in case any of his superiors want to examine it. He gives it a quick look, checking if the gold is still there or if the two bandits they saw have taken anything noticeable.

He then points toward the room on the left. "That is where we saw the ancient bottles." Since Walnuts was not present when he mention them, he'll repeat what they saw.

Arren wants to reach the part of the caves they didn¡t explore as soon as possible, so unless anyone insists on checking if the bottles are still there, he'll head straight to the flooded room with the stairs, the stone doors… and the plant-fish creatures. Is everything still as they left it? Have the two bandits perhaps built any kind of raft to cross the water?

Bryn walks along with the three soldiers, noticing the Sergeant keeping a good pace in his eagerness to reach the flooded room with plant-fish.

He is a little more cautious, having heard from Nohem that the other bandits are pretty much able to act autonomously. He is also aware that Nafnlaus and Akvedinn were here when they left, as well as the Levickan and her companion.

They might not be pleased to see us return.

He listens for signs of the bandits as they approach the sarcophagus room, and chooses to take the path to the south-west to get there, rather than funnelling north with the others.

He is also keeping an eye out as they wander through the tunnels for signs that anything has been dragged through that might be used to make a bridge or raft.

Unless he notices something, he will stop only briefly in the room with the sarcophagus, checking as the Sergeant did if it had been emptied.

If there is no sign of the bandits, he will follow the Sergeant further in towards the double doors, but remains wary.

"That is... quite something," the Lieutenant says in amazement when he sees the large pile of gold and gems which looks the same as before. "The workers are going to be rich... richer than they ever dreamed, probably."

But neither the Commandant nor the Lieutenant wish to linger there any longer, and they show little interest in the bottles, too. Or, rather, the Lieutenant seems amazed by the ruins themselves enough, while the Commandant pushes her curiousity aside for the more pressing matter, which is salvaging anything with worth that cannot be measured in gold.

After traversing the root-infested tunnel, Arren, followed by everyone else, reaches the drowned room. Unlike before, the doors at the top of the stairs are now open. Behind it, all that can be seen is a man-made wall, hewn by an expert hand just like all other man-made surfaces around, that turns to the north immediately after the doors, thus showing very little.

In the pool itself, a large mass of wood floats on the water. Broken pieces of what looks like the roots that were on the pool's floor, that are missing from the dense underwater-root-forest in a strangely perfect square, about ten feet away from the edge of the pool. While it's possible that the plant-fish have also been broken in the process, it's impossible to tell one broken piece of wood from another, as it seems all in that particular area simply shattered to pieces. There's hardly any movement in the water, though.

Otherwise, no sign of the bandits.

Arren tilts his head slightly as he watches the pool. "Too perfect a square to have been made by ordinary means," he says. "So I suppose this confirms the presence of a magic user, as you suspected." He gives a brief glance and nod toward the Elf.

He looks back at the water. "I think it should be safe to cross. But first" He reaches back and pulls one of the javelins from its strap. "let me check, just in case."

He thrusts the javelin into the water, disturbing it as much as possible, testing whether anything is still alive down there that might cause them trouble while crossing. In doing so, he likely disrupts whatever neat arrangement the magic-wielding bandit created, which should make it easier to tell the state of the pool.

If nothing stirs, Arren turns back to the others.

"I'll cross first."

Unless someone objects, he moves forward towards the doors, keeping as close to the walls as possible.

"Agreed, if there was any doubt, it is gone now", Bryn replies to the Sergeant as he looks at the floating pieces of root and the missing roots on the floor of the pool in the perfect square.

He looks across to the steps leading up to the double doors for signs of water that would tell him the bandits had waded through, before turning back to see the impact of the Sergeant dipping his javelin in the water.

"Might I borrow the javelin for a moment?", he asks the Sergeant. "Don't worry, it's just because I have a bit more reach, I will give it straight back", he explains.

If the Sergeant agrees, he will take the javelin.

He looks at the Sergeant, Lieutenant and Commandant and explains what is about to happen.

"I am just going to perform some simple magic, there is nothing to be concerned about", he says, and unless someone stops him, he will speak a few arcane words and summon his invisible hand. As far as the others will see, the javelin starts to float across the water and start to perform a gentle stirring motion. Not enough to make the water too cloudy, but enough to disturb anything in the spread of broken roots.

All being well, the javelin will float back to the Sergeant vertically, so neither end directly points at him.

If the javelin causes no response from plant-fish, and he sees water on the steps, he will agree to the Sergeant's plan to cross. If there is no water on the other side, he will raise the fact that the bandits must not have gone in the water themselves.

Arren hesitates for a brief moment, then hands over the javelin.

He watches closely as their… associate .... murmurs words he doesn't understand, and when the javelin lifts from the Elf's grasp he can't help but be amazed, having had little contact with magic throughout his life — especially not this close. For a moment, he even forgets that he's supposed to be watching the water, his attention caught by the controlled, almost gentle way the weapon hovers and stirs the broken roots far beyond his own reach.

When the javelin returns and settles back into his hand, Arren takes it without comment.

After a pause, he says evenly, "Well. That's…," he struggles to find the word, his mind shifting from amazement to a pang of envy, "…useful."

((Just to clarify, Arren has seen magic before. Mostly cantrips, and mostly be street performers, but he's seen them before. Mage Hand in particular is probably among those most used in such performances, albeit it is then not invisible. As for stronger spells, those are probably less known to him, other than perhaps Cure Wounds and other divine magic he may have encountered during his service, and again, only rarely. I don't think this changes anything at the moment, but if ever relevant in the future...))

Probing the water with the javelin, Arren summons the plant-fish again. There are notably fewer of them now, not even a dozen. They swirl around the javelin's tip briefly before dispersing again. Bryn's probing at the centre of the pool achieves the same effect, except at a distance.

"Fish that are plants, you weren't kidding," the Lieutenant remarks in astonishment. 

"This raises so many questions," the Commandant states in awe. "They flocked towards the disturbance, rather than away. Are they carnivorous? But this place has been sealed. What do they eat then? Unless it isn't sealed, of course. Or are they like plants and require no food?" The Commandant pauses, perhaps considering those and other questions by herself.

"I wonder if they're edible then. What they taste like," The Lieutenant adds to the line of questions, partly in humour but also partly out of genuine curiosity.

Although both are more than aware of Bryn's magic, neither says anything about it for the moment.

Meanwhile, Bryn spots a few wet spots on the stairs leading up to the platform. They seem to have been there for a while, partly dried by now.

"Without meat to tempt them with, I am not sure we will get an answer to whether they are carnivorous without taking the plunge, literally", Bryn replies.

"It looks like the bandits waded across, judging by the water on the steps, so I guess the question becomes - do we cross quickly or do we cross very slowly, whilst trying to distract the plant-fish?", he says, pointing towards the water on the steps.

"In terms of the distraction, I might be able to do a bit more than a javelin stirrer", he suggests. "Just tell me when", he says to the Sergeant.

If agreed, he will look to cause vibrations across the pond towards the bottom where there might be looses pebbles, dirt or sand.

"I'll take the slow approach," Arren decides.

He takes a moment to adjust his weapons so they won't hinder him once he steps into the water, then gives a brief nod to the others. "Alright. I'm going in."  

I hope these creatures don't have a taste for Half-Elf flesh...

Arren enters the pool as slowly and quietly as possible. After taking a couple of careful steps, he makes a gesture to their unlikely ally, signalling him to begin the distraction. Provided it works, Arren continues toward the stairs.

If he makes it safely to the other side, he will unstrap a javelin, keeping it angled toward the water, ready in case something goes wrong — whether to strike at the plant-fish, or to haul someone out if needed.

((Causing vibrations in the ground that would eventually affect the water is a bit of a stretch for Mold Earth. The only effect that causes the earth to move clearly describes the movement is instananeous. I'll allow semi-constant movement this time, as Bryn can cause some loose earth and sand to rise in the water, causing a disturbance, and then cause movement again before it all settles, but for any future references, causing vibrations in the ground is out of the spell's scope.))

When Arren enters the pool, some of the plant-fish swim in his direction. They swirl around his leg briefly, perhaps one even tries to nibble on his boot? But when Bryn creates a stronger disturbance elsewhere the quickly rush in that direction, and Arren steps out of the water unharmed.

Following Arren, the Commandant waits at first for Bryn to cross, but if he instead waits for her, she'll cross second. The Lieutenant gestures for Bryn to cross before him, though, either way, saying: "You first. I meant what I said before, but I'm still keeping my eyes on you while I'm around."

But eventually, unless Bryn chooses not to cross, all will stand on the stairs, having crossed the pool unharmed, and can then proceed up to the platform and beyond the doors. The Katton military's boots are mostly waterproof, but they no longer help when fully submerged. If anything, although the water can flow out, it'll probably take some time to dry out. While not in any way dangerous, it is certainly a discomfort that all four will have to deal with in the following days.

A short corridor leads right to the north into an elongated room. Here, all walls are carved. On the north wall hangs a long stone slab that features a bas-relief depicting dragons bowing respectfully over a large dragon corpse. A large skull is mounted on the east wall. It is... about as long and as tall as a large dog, but three times as wide (or roughly 120x60x60 in cm). The western wall has another set of double doors, open, leading to another room. Voices talking can be heard from the other room, which Bryn and Arren can identify as belonging to the four bandits they met before.

As always, ignore all wooden furniture.

Bryn does indeed cross the water to the steps, after shrugging as the Lieutenant mentioned keeping an eye on him.

When they enter the room through the double doors, he briefly scans around, seeing the carvings and the dragon head statue. But it is the voices of the bandits he is most interested in right now.

He isn't sure how the Sergeant will play this, but strains to hear what is being said before moving forward himself.

Perception: 2+5=7