RP:Unblocking the Cave Exit
Part of the Liberation of Rynvale Arc
Synopsis: In the dead of night, using the portal opened in allied Alythria, Arien and a small party of Fold and allied Frostmaw giants unblock the cave entrance that opens to the heart of the Fog Forest. Illusion makes it seem untouched, and surprise access for the ground force of the invasion is prepared.
Characters: Arien, Reece, Keturah, Npc Naga, Npc Giant.
Location: Rynvale; Fog Forest, Blocked Cave Exit
Arien blinked in the pitch darkness. One moment ago they had been in the bustling heart of Alythria, entering the portal behind a stream of evening ‘commuters’ for lack of a better word-and the next, they were standing huddled in the dark, the sound of steady dripping and the impression of dampness being all that would reveal that they had made it safely to the other side, and evidently into the cave from which they intended to mount their ground offensive later. A sudden, clumsy movement behind her made the elf almost stumble forward into the solid wall. “For the love of the gods Svorn, be careful, you almost put me into the wall..” It was a quiet hiss. “Sorry Ari..” the reply was a low rumble. “It’s a tight fit in here..” The giant seemed almost apologetic for his size and clumsiness, and Arien felt a pang of regret for snapping. “No apology necessary..I’m just a little-high strung at the moment…We need light..” She turned her head in the dark, in the direction from which her compatriots should continue to appear-not that she would be able to se them until she lit things up..or one of them did.
Reece stumbles as his senses are momentarily assailed by a sense of disorientation. Swapping from brightly lit streets to pitch black caves had that effect... Steadying himself with a hand on the stone wall he holds one hand in the air, Arien's hissing words carrying back to him. With a sound not unlike the exhalation of breath his hand becomes wreathed in pale, flickering, blue flame which casts light onto his immediate surrounds, including the giants rather large posterior which, he discovered, was uncomfortably close to his face. Flicking his fingers the fire separates into a dozen little blue were-lights, some of which stay with him and others which dance around the giants form to hover around Arien. "Are we in the right place?"
Keturah ah-ed softly once the atmosphere about her had suddenly changed. Arms dropped to enfold about her stomach, moss colored eyes straining to see in the pitch darkness the group had found themselves in. Shifting to locate a wall for a guide, the druid's head swiveled in the direction of Arien's voice. When the light had appeared in front of her, Ket sighed and blinked as she readjusted to the lighting. "This place," she muttered, closing her eyes momentarily. "It feels odd, really." Gaze flitted toward the others, and about the cave. "The rocks, or something. Nevermind."
Arien flashed a grateful smile in Reece’s direction. “Thank you Reece, that will make things much easier..” For extra measure, the paladin charged her own mana, setting her flesh softly aglow and providing an extra supply of light that lit the cavern up with almost the golden light of day. “Yes..we are in the right place..” She indicated the strange etchings upon the interior walls, carvings that matched the symbols she had once seen on the outside of the cave. “I am glad that our suspicions were confirmed, it would have been most unfortunate to have popped up somewhere that was fortified by the knight and out in the open.” She glanced about. “Now the question becomes, how can we best clear this mess, and quietly enough not to draw attention to ourselves.” A ‘thunk’ in the shadows away from them drew her eyes to the entrance of the cave where her giant escort had bent over, and started to move boulders, which looked in his hands rather like pebbles, before they were crushed in fist, or between fingers into a fine powder that rained to the earth in a fine dust. His blonde hair shimmered in the glow of her light as he flashed a grin. “I’m figurin thas why you brought me along elf.” Arien chuckled softly. “Indeed, but we can help. Here, we will form a train to pass the stones to you-the ones we can lift on our own, anyways.”
Reece shields his eyes as Arien's own light begins to burn. With barely a thought the were-lights scatter to hollows, corners, cracks and any other little places where it is convenient to place lights. He nods in agreetment with Arien's words as an image of them all being arrested on the spot springs to mind. Approaching the pile of stones blocking the way he says to Arien, "You and Keturah can help the giant. I'm not one for lifting. I shall help in my own way though." Placing one hand on a medium sized rock he closes his eyes and mutters something. There is a brief tense feeling in the air and then the rock simply wavers out of existence. Releasing a held breath he turns a wan smile towards the high-elf.
Keturah seemed not at all bothered by the lights, though her gaze did turn downwards once Arien's light had become aglow. She followed along behind Reece toward the obstructing stones, though halted a few steps behind him, direction turned toward the giant and elf. "I will do my best, Lady Arien, but admittedly," here she held her own arm up, scrawny limb hidden beneath the silken sleeve. "Not very good lifting, yes?" Still the woman shrugged, hand ducking into her blouse to produce a small, earth-filled jar. The cap was unscrewed and dropped unceremoniously into her satchel. Now her hand dipped into the container, grabbed up a handful of the earth within and tossed it onto the boulders. The effects took a while to show, but soon writhing, infant vines began to peek through crevices throughout a section of the wall. These vines had already knocked a few stones out of place, one the druid found easiest for her to carry hefted from the ground. The growth of the plants was slow and the creepers seemed to avoid any of the places where Reece's flames had found home, but they served the purpose of dislodging a few stones, and with care as Keturah's next words would indicate. "Ah.. Perhaps caution should be taken as to which rocks we remove first, yes?" Ket commented, turning to hand the stone away. "A cave-in sounds most noisy.. and unpleasant for those among us who are squashable, chal?"
Arien couldn’t resist flashing a grin in both their directions as she continued the process of hoisting what stones she could lift into the hand of Svorn. “Really Reece, Keturah, I did not know just how useful you would prove to be when I extended you the hand of kinship, you are true assets to the Order..” She paused, a soft grunt of exertion escaping as she hoisted a particularly cumbersome stone the giant’s way. With its removal, came the first glimmering of moonlight though a crack in the pile, though it was faint. So too did a thick and curling wisp of fog, obviously magical in nature, snake its way into the caverns. It was surely a matter of the kindness of the gods, that they would be granted such excellent cover on the day of the assault. With none expecting them, and the fog for cover, they should be able to penetrate quite significant distance before risking discovery. Still, it would not do to alert others of their intentions. She glanced the illusionist’s way again. “When we are done Reece, do you think you can make it look as though the exit is still blocked, though we have cleared it?” She cast an assessing eye over the structure of the pile that yet remained. “And you speak wisdom Keturah, we must be careful in how we move them.” They were making progress though, already it seemed between the four of them, they were at least a third of a way through the barrier.
Reece smiles at Arien, chuckling lightly as he considers which rock he should next 'remove'. "Lady, you flatter me." Selecting a much larger rock rock, now that some smaller ones had been cleared, the avian stills shaking hands as he mutters again. The many silver items which adorn him seem to lose a little lustre, even under the glimmering lighting, as this boulder wavers away. Wiping sweat from his brow Reece turns to say something else but is interrupted by the sound which none of them wanted to hear, specifically that of grating stone. He turns toward the sound in time to open his mouth in a silent shout before a large, pillar-like, boulder dislodges itself and falls towards him. Stumbling backwards he holds both hands out before him, the twin rings that he wears bursting into brilliant light just as avian and rock tumble to the ground, the latter on top. At the very last possible instant a perfectly soundless explosion rips out from beneath the stone, deadening all other sound in the cave and shattering it into several hundreds fragments not unlike chunky gravel. A moment later all that can be heard is the rattle of small pebbles as they cascade down from other rock surfaces back to the cave floor. Reece remains lying on the floor apparently stunned, though one good thing has come of this. There's now a man-sized hole in the wall.
Keturah went about with her work, carefully lifting away stones she was able to carry and passing them off to the giant. It might have been obvious that the druid was cheating a bit in her task- a few inaudible words strung along before the lifting of each rock that appeared a tad too large for her. Her vines were meant as an aid as well, and fueled by Keturah's will only seemed to free rocks that would not cause incident. "Arey," she huffed as she handed away a rather large stone, hand then lifted to wipe away the thin mist of sweat that had formed along her brow. "Thank you, Lady Arien." It was the grating of stone against stone that caught the druid's attention, and jerking her head back to the direction of the wall, the woman's eyes widened as the rock fell toward the avian. There was little in the ways of what she could do, though before she'd made up her mind the brilliant flash was there. Her head ducked down to shield her eyes, and once the light had faded, she cautioned opening her eyes again. "..Ah. Everyone.. alright then?" Many of her vines had not survived; a discovery she would make later with a touch of remorse. For now however, the druid's eyes had readjusted to the light, landing 'pon Reece as he lay seemingly stunned against the floor. Diligent little healer that she was, the druid hurried over him to check for damage, though if anyone else appeared injuried, she'd probably run between them too.
Fate was a fickle mistress. It would seem that the moment they chose to acknowledge their danger, and attempt to be prepared for it, would be the very moment that they would be caught unawares by a potentially fatal incident. Arien heard the rumble that indicated the threatened collapse, and saw Reece fall below the large stone, but she had been helpless from her location to assist him, though Svorn had attempted to turn in his tight corner to bat the item away. He had been too big and slow to catch it in fall, and so it was with the greatest of relief that the elf noted the avian had been able to take care of the accident himself. “Reece.. “She called softly but urgently into the dust cloud that hovered where she had last seen him. “Are you ok?” She had noted that his magic seemed to be weakening as he exerted himself. “Don’t push yourself too hard, Svorn here is more than able to do the brunt of the work without breaking a sweat if need be.” She noted that Keturah had moved to the avian’s side and moved to do likewise. Two sets of healing hands were better than one should the need be present. To Svorn she indicated with a nod that he continue on their task-and he would; picking with extra care now, and with increasing speed as the pile was reduced, stones and boulders which were pulverized and brushed aside. The fog in the cave grew thicker, as did the impression of natural lighting from the dark night beyond. They were almost through.
Reece sits up blinking in the ever growing light-levels as Svorn's rock-removals create a second hole in the wall. Suddenly finding two seperate people leaning over him the avian lifts his hands in the air in an attempt to fend them off, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Seriously." Of course he was clearly not, his skin was pallid and he was bleeding from several small cuts, not to mention the fact that his hands were shaking. It had been his own stupid fault though for not paying enough attention to the rocks and trying to show off so he was very keen to downplay the situation.
Keturah knelt, idle by the avian's side sweeping away the lingering dust in the air with a harried wave of her hand. Another hand, waving her away had the druidess leaning back. "You are bleeding," she stated simply, after looking over the avian's more apparent minor injuries. Nothing unfixable if need be, but she did not move any further to aid him until asked to do so. "You also look ill, yes? Be still."
Arien snorted gently. “You are most definitely -not- ok. And so you shall sit here and rest a few moments while we make this last push through to the exit. We will need your strength to establish the illusion that the entrance is still blocked by the time we’re done, so conserve your strength.” So saying, the elf would complement and boost the druids own assessment of the avian’s condition with an infusion of healing life energies that flowed from the palm of her glowing hands, into the crown of his head to sweep through his body. Only when she was assured of his substantial restoration, would she return to the giant’s side, a sense of urgency adding focus and purpose to her work. As they broke through to the dangerous open forest beyond, first in small, and then greater measures, she had to still her heart from its racing. This was the first step in a long series that could see them -finally- strike the empire a crippling blow. “I believe we are through..certainly, it is clear enough to get a band out in single file if need be.” She turned to the giant. “Clear a space big enough that you can get through Svorn, then we can be assured that your brethren will likewise be able to pass, as should then, any warrior who may be smaller than you are..”
Reece merely sighs and allows Arien to fuss, she did have a point after all. As she returns to clearing the last rocks away with the giant he rises. As much as he would like to keep sitting there for hours yet his stubborn and woefully misdirected pride insisted that he should stand and join Keturah in looking out.
Keturah watched from her place alongside Reece as the giant went about his work. Dutifully, Svorn went about removing and crushing the boulders to swirling dust until at last the natural light shone through fully. From where he stood, it might have been obvious that at least two of his brethren could push through the gap, though it might have been quite the uncomfortable fit. Massive head turned toward the others, equally massive hand motioning toward the forest beyond. "How's it, Ari? Can't rightly clear away much more," he said, grinning toward the elf. Keturah stood then, dusting away the thick layer of dirt and debris from her clothing and shaking out short curls. "Astika," she called suddenly, flashing a grin toward the newfound opening. The aforementioned naga guard had waited a distance away from the blockade, along with two other males. "We made it through to the city then, yes? Ah.. Reece. Are you well enough to hide what we did?
Arien nodded. “That’ll do Svorn, that’ll do.” She murmured with a grin. For good measure Svorn finished the job, quite effectively by using his sheer size and strength to power though what rocky outcropping remained, ensuring that two giants could pass abreast with ease. His armor thankfully, protected his flesh from the worst of the damage the rock face might do on his push, and his own size would ensure that the entrance was blocked, preventing any further rock fall from harming any within and behind him. Such a forceful approach however, would inevitably draw the attention of the Naga guards posted on the exterior, and so, when Arien and Svorn would first step out into the foggy, moonlit forest, it would be to stare down the weapons of two rather startled, Naga, one of whom seemed to relax at the familiar call of the druid. “Ssss.. Keturah.. we were not told when to expect you..my apologiesssss for the lack of welcome or aid. We would have helped you if we had known.” Weapons are lowered as the pair eyed the new arrivals curiously. “The queen has ordered that we aid your cause in any way possssssible. We are at your sssssservice.” Astika sketched a bow in the direction of the party. Naga pride would not allow for much beyond that. Arien returned the bow. “We would appreciate your continued guard upon the entrance until the day of the assault, and your aid on that day when we march. The Naga are fearsome warriors.” A little flattery never hurt..and they could use all the help they could get.
Reece follows the others out, staying behind and to the right of Arien. He wasn't the most fond of Naga's but they were fearsome warriors. Among the few who garnered his respect. Upon emerging into the moonlight the illusionist spreads his wings part-way, the moonlight seeming to be absorbed into his being and to flow along the lines of feather and vein into his body. Breathing a welcome deep breath he smiled faintly, awaiting the moment when he would have to hide this new hole.
Keturah followed swiftly out of the cave, popping up alongside Svorn. She had taken only a moment to offer a fond farewell nod to the deceased vines that lay crushed or otherwise magically destroyed along the floor, though the sense of loss had not followed the smiling and weary druidess outside. Astika hardly took the time to offer another bow at the request, though some hint of swelling pride from Arien's comment appeared over reptilian facial features. "As you wisssh." The druid canted her head, waist folded into a short bow. "Thank you very much, Astika. You must have waited out here for a while then, yes? Most thoughtful, really." The naga looked as though he might have been about to disagree; his expression shifting to some regal indifference, though the druid quickly went on, direction her words toward the elf. "What a blessed place, yes? Everyone should be able to move in without raising alarm.. I'm assuming from the cover given by the area. It will be important come the day for fighting. Glad I could help."
“Yes Ketu, it will do the job..we are fortunate indeed.” Arien cast a quick look around what she could see of the forest, suddenly a little restless about their presence en mass at such a critical location. “I think Reece, that this is a classic scenario in which less is more, we do not all need to be here for your work. The Naga will be guard enough for your security.” She glanced back towards the cave entrance. “ I believe I will return to the city with Keturah and Svorn, and alert the team that preparations on this front are complete. Make it look as much as it did as you can. None who wander by must know that it has been breeched-everything depends upon it.” The elf was already heading back into the opening, indicating that Svorn and Keturah follow, which they did without need for a second urging. A final nod and a murmured, “Good luck..see you on the other side..” And the small band of warriors was swallowed up by the darkness of the cavern, leaving the illusionist to complete this night’s work.