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 Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:58 pm
Raelise shot him an irritated look. "I can see in the dark," she said tersely, "And a torch will cause more problems than it solves. Hope will simply have to do without." She raised her eyebrows at him; the eyes beneath them were cold. "Or do you not have enough of an imagination to picture what will happen if we alert enemies to our whereabouts?" She was being unnecessary harsh, and she knew it, but at that point she was too on-edge to care.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:14 pm
"Do not take your frustrations out on me. I am neither your enemy, your subordinate nor your dog." Zywynran replied, truly cold for the first time. His face was stony and without expression, the light in his eyes snuffed. "Do as you like, then. Stand there until your feet learn to move forward instead of back. I am going ahead. Or have you forgotten we have a task here?" He turned from Raelise and began walking forward. He normally would not allow himself such anger, but the woman truly rubbed him the wrong way. And as his consideration was obviously nothing she appreciated, he would see then how she liked his blunt honesty.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:00 pm
Raelise's eyes narrowed at the half elf's back, but she didn't respond. How could she? He was right, damn him. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to move forward. It would be fine if she didn't think about being under tons of rock... Away from the sky, and the trees, and... Oh, this was not good. Well, there was nothing for it but to get through the caves as quickly as possible. She was a professional, and she would act like one, whether it frayed her nerves or not. Maybe, now that she had officially pushed him past good humor, the bard would start taking things seriously.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:02 pm
Zywynran paused for only a few moments to remove his cloak and his shirt, revealing his heavily scarred backside to the women behind him. It was a sight that would shame him on any other day, something he showed to no one else. But he was too annoyed still to give it any thought just now. He remembered that he did have with him the very plain shirt he only wore to sleep in, though until now he had not thought to use it for any other purpose. Slipping the garment over his head, he rolled up his cloak gray lined side out and hid away his shirt in much the same manner he had hidden his ribbons. The cold ate right through the thin night shirt and made him shiver violently, but Zywynran ignored it. At least the cave provided some protection from wind, he thought gratefully as he rose to his feet, shouldered his pack and continued forward. He felt so utterly plain. So insignificant and drab. It suited his mood, and thus Zywynran liked it even less.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:01 pm
Hope hid a grin. She would have winked at Zywynran if he had been looking her way. She contented herself with saying, "I do believe it is said that these caves are haunted with SPIDERS in particular. Last I knew, spiders were fast and did their hunting at night if hunting was their nature. If at least some of our enemies can see in the dark, blinding me will put us at an unnecessary disadvantage. They will see us with or without the light. A torch would be an unnecessary beacon as well. At least, until we find out more about our 'other' enemies, assuming it wasn't just the spiders all along. Fortunately I do have a dark lamp. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is like any other oil lamp, but only one side is open so that the light shines in one direction. Also there is a flap that can be shut to dim the light instantly without putting it out. However, this can only be done for a few minutes.
Also, before we venture further, let's talk about how we will find our way back out again. My sense of direction is very good, but I doubt that I could work my way back through a maze. Which, I imagine this will be. If you say that elves can do this thing, I will believe you, though I have never heard of this."
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:31 pm
Raelise shook her head mutely. Her sense of direction was excellent, practically perfect when she was in open air, but caves were by no means a familiar environment for her, and... under tons of rock... No. She did not trust herself underground. "Do you have anything to suggest?" she asked quietly.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:39 pm
Zywynran stopped when Hope suggested they discuss a means to find their way out. He said nothing, only sat cross legged upon the floor of the cave to wait. He closed his eyes and took deep, slow and relaxing breaths. He allowed himself to fall into a light meditation; not the restful trance that substituted for sleep, but rather a minor distraction. He had no suggestion for them, or he would offer it up. Instead he remained silent.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:41 pm
Hope slid down the wall and sat next to Zywynran. "I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions. I really didn't think about it when we left or I would have made sure my kit contained some chalk. It can't be more than mid-afternoon, so we do have some time to figure this out."
She raised an eyebrow, "I noticed that we made excellent time getting here."
Turning to Zywynran, "You seem so glum. Look at it this way. These caves are not a field of flowers, so we are bound to get filthy and you won't ruin your colo...Hey! You wouldn't happen to have any face or body paints in your pack would you!?...I mean...I don't want to offend if you don't. You just seemed like ... I mean...Uh...er, do you?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:12 pm
Zywynran chuckled softly as Hope attempted to explain the reasoning behind her question. "I am not offended by the tools of my trade, my dear. I am fully aware of why you have asked me such." He replied after a few moments without opening his eyes. To the comment of him seeming glum, Zywynran made no response. He reached blindly for his pack and drew it to him before his eyes finally opened. "I originally came to Dargon with a thought to performing. And as I did not strictly know that I would not be when I packed my things this morning..."
He shuffled through the few powders and creams he had brought along before pulling out a white stick in a waxy wrapper. Not the chalk Hope lamented not having, but an oily make-up Zywynran used under his eyes to appear awake after a sleepless night. "The best friend of bards and courtesans everywhere. Will this do? It should not seep into the rock as it would skin, but we should still test it first."
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:25 pm
"Why that's wonderful! If it works, the oil should keep it from being easily washed away as well, if we encounter any damp."
As Hope watched Zywynran test it, she continued, "To use as little as possible, we can mark our trail only when we hit a cross point and assume we go straight if there is no mark. Now we don't want to attract anyone's attention with our marks, so I'd like to suggest that Zywynran put the marks on the wall close to where it meets the ground."
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:54 pm
A loud chittering noise suddenly resounded deep in the cave. Not the slight, high pitch, like squirrels would make, but rather a deeper noise, resounding through the rocks.
It was followed by a squelching noise, and the sound of metal striking stone.
It was suddenly as silent as it had been before.
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:09 pm
"Um... can I light the lamp now, Raelise?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:34 pm
Zywynran had just finished his test mark when he paused to listen to the chittering and the subsequent sounds. Interesting... it seemed the dog sized spiders had a predator of their own. "Wait... If something is coming our way, let us keep to the dark for now." He moved so he was closer to the back end of the cave than Hope. He put the make-up away in a pocket and quietly slid free his dagger. "But have your light at the ready. Anything here is likely accustomed to the dark; a sudden brightness directed at its eyes will have more effect than if it is already on." The half elf fell quiet, listening for any further sound.
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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:16 am
Everything was completely quiet now, down the hall. It seemed that it opened into a room sized chamber down the hall a ways.
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:32 am
Raelise cocked her head very slightly to one side, considering. Actually, there really wasn't anything to consider; they had to keep moving forward, period. Still, feeling as though they were being toyed with was not pleasant. Shaking her head slightly to clear it-- there was no point in dwelling on such things-- she moved forward down the hall, her feet making no sound on the stone. If the other two followed her, fine. If not, she was a scout. She just wanted to get this over with as quickly as was possible.
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