Expedition to the Old Dwarven Settlements

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Andreas the Wise
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Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:40 pm

Expedition to the Old Dwarven Settlements

Post by Andreas the Wise »

"Hello and welcome today where I, Nick Norralotanews, greet you outside Arcness' Reach on this exciting day. This hole in the ground I'm standing by is part of THE Novatainian Tunnel Defence system which MANA has been working on for some time. During the war, by a complicated manipulation of the illusion spell, Andreas managed to extend and improve it, and now, with this final link up of the northern tunnel system with the tunnel system by Helenax, it will be complete. I have with me Andreas the Wise, Lord of Magic, wearing a stunning Tunnel Cloak. Andreas, how do you feel about this achievement?"
"Well Nick, I'm very glad to be able to announce it's completed. MANA will of course continue extending it, for defence, and because of the occasional gems found down there, but this day marks the completion of the basic system. If Novatainia's in war, our troops can now travel underground no problem."
"So it's big enough even for dragons then?"
"Even for dragons Nick ... in most places anyway. That's one of our plans for future expansion."
"And tell me about what you're wearing ..."
"Well, this cloak is just perfect for tunnel wear this season, Nick. It's thick and dark on the outside, keeps you warm in the tunnels, and dirt doesn't show. On the inside (it's reversible, by the way) its woven with glow worm silk, and guaranteed to be a light in dark places."
"And you're going to show us through the tunnels in that?"
"Well, a bit of the tunnels, Nick, it is a secret defence system, after all ..."
"And wait, yes ... I see a dwarf coming out now, and ... yes, it's Chief Engineer Harg, and ... what's this he's carrying, looks like bones ..."
"Out of my way ..."
Andreas the Wise pushes forward to see the concerned expression on the Chief Engineer's face, and that he is, yes, carrying small white bones - dwarf, by the look of it.
"We were digging, m'Lord, and we found .... another cavern. Not just that .... another tunnel system, an ancient one, but abandoned, we know that, because of ..." He begins crying on Andreas' back, being unable to reach his shoulder. Andreas the Wise sweeps the bones under his cloak, and turns to the camera. "That's all the news for today ... Alright, pack that in sonny! I mean it ..... " *crackle* *blur* *fade to black*
"We apologise for technical difficulties, we will not be bringing you any more of that broadcast ....

---
Andreas sent an explanatory note around.
"Well, there was I thinking I'd have a happy announcement that I'd finished our tunnels, and Harg finds ... this. Obviously it's not classified for AQ or Toki Mages, so I'll tell you guys what we know, because I plan to investigate, and any of you who want to come with me on this expedition are welcome. We didn't just find another tunnel system, I believe we found THE tunnel system - the lost stronghold of the dwarves! Historical records are scarce, but we know sometime in the second age a great calamity befell them, the Low Council disappeared from records, and the dwarves fled to other mines, far shallower than any in ancient times. The Low Council, remember, was made up of Dwarves, Krynii and Meremen, and the council room might still exist, deep underground, near a subterranean pool, by all accounts. Needless to say a detachment of MANA dwarfs are coming with is, they want to get to the bottom of it. Me? I'm just delighted that we might finally solve the history of what happened here, because I looked at the bones ... they're mixed up Dwarf and Krynii, many are blackened, and some ... are gnawed.

The Krynii Leader is also sending a score of Krynii, and the Meremen King is very sorry he can't send more than one ... Q's rigged up a bubble charm filled with water sort of thing for him ..."

Soon Longbow, Matt and Bayen would join him, to investigate the tunnels.

---

As everyone seemed ready, they descended into the tunnel. It had been widened, so even Longbow's dragon could fit in, but when they reached the bottom and hit the ancient dwarf chamber ... they were all amazed. Andreas (wearing his tunnel cloak), turned his cloak around to provide a dull glow as they went, but as they started, let his staff blaze brightly, once, to illuminate the cavern. It was massive, pillars supporting the ceiling. The dwarfs and Krynii split up and began working along each outer wall, looking for passages, as Andreas and the other mages inspected the entrance. The bones had been removed, but it was still a depressing sight.

"Notice these rocks the dwarfs moved to get in?" Bayen pointed out. "It looks to me like someone was really trying to block this entry."
"Block the entry, or block the exit?" Matt asked.
"Those bones could be mages who closed it off to stop ... whatever .... escaping," Longbow suggested. "I wonder what the dwarfs think ..."
Andreas stopped him. "Just be careful about the bones," he said in an undertone. "I sent the others off so I could talk to you guys briefly first. Three things - the first Longbow already brought up - the bones. There's likely to be more around - be considerate of the Dwarfs and Krynii. I know you're all lovely people so I doubt this'll be a problem.
Two - whatever did this is almost certainly still here. I have great doubts it has anything to do with the demons, by all accounts this had been closed well after they were driven out by the Etruri, but it may be something we've never dealt with before. However, I'm sure it's not anything we can't handle ...
Three - By all accounts, whatever is here should be what toppled the Low Council. If you don't remember, they met in a secret location deep underground, but in a cavern with a pool and a tunnel to the ocean, so Mermen could enter. There was a maze between the main entrance and the room, so it won't be easy to find. But I expect if we find the problem anywhere - it'll be there. And there may also be the three orbs of the three races there. If there are, can I ask you guys let me take them - you know I've got this thing with collecting orbs, ever since I read about how Nova used them ...
That's all. Shall we go then?" They began to walk along a wall, when Andreas turned back to Bayen. "There could be some interesting glowing fungi here ... let's get some for the gardens, shall we?"
Bayen smiled and nodded.

But as they continued to search the area for passages, Bayen smile slowly dissipated. He hadn't had much time to sit and think for a while, with the mage war, but now with the mindless chore of walking, he had plenty of time. He tried not to think, to put it out of his mind. With renewed vigor, Bayen strode quickly across the room, looking for anything, just to give his mind something else to think about.

He noticed a strange engraving on a pillar. It was the classic dwarven battle scene carved into the rock pillar, with an elaborate border around it all. It was about seven feet high and three feet wide, and essentially rectangular. Curious, Bayen reached out and traced his finger around the figure of a dwarf warrior. As he finished, the image suddenly began to glow orange. The glow intensified until it was almost blinding, and slowly, the image began to rotate, revealing a hole in the pillar.

As the orange glow faded, Bayen saw a spiral staircase leading down from the door-sized hole in the pillar. Andreas, Matt, said Bayen telepathically. Come check this out...

When Matt and Andreas caught up to him, they found Bayen staring in wonder around him. It was a huge cave, filled with what seemed to be huge crystals, like diamonds, emitting a brilliant light. Bayen stared at the one hanging down in front of him. He reached out his hand only to find Matt clasping his wrist.

"Don't touch anything" Matt whispered "These are engorged mana crystals. Touch one, and the only thing inside your coffin will be air."

"Huh?" said Bayen, entranced.

Matt sighed and dragged Bayen out of the cave, to Andreas, who was standing at the bottom of the staircase. Matt turned to both of them.

"Mana crystals are naturally forming crystals infused with magic. They are a great aid in casting any kind of spell. Those in there are engorged mana crystals. They're formed when a large number of people in a small area burn out regular mana crystals. The crystals explode, usually killing anyone near them. Engorged mana crystals feed off the mana that remains, becoming so filled with magical energy that if someone touches them, much less cast a spell around them, the person will literally burst from being filled with magical energy. Watch."

Matt stretched out his hand towards on of the crystals. As he got closer the crystal responded by glowing brighter as his hand got nearer.

"Well at least we don't have to worry about anything using them" murmured Andreas as Matt pulled back his hand.

"Oh, you can use them" said Matt, beginning to walk back to the others. "You just have to be far enough away so as not to receive the crystal's ill effects. Come on, we'd better get back to the others."

"Wait." The voice came from the staircase.

"Who is it?" asked Matt cautiously.

"It's me, Jayon," said the man, stepping into view. "Remember? Bayen's right-hand man in nonmagical warfare?"

"Yeah, I invited him along," said Bayen. "So Jayon, what is it?"

"I have an idea," said Jayon. He reached out towards an engorged mana crystal.

"WAIT!" shouted Bayen. "Do you know what those are? One touch could destroy you."

"Yes, I know what they are," stated Jayon calmly. Again, he reached out, and this time he touched the crystal. Nothing happened.

"That one must just be a regular mana crystal," reasoned Andreas.

"No, I can assure you, these are all engorged," said Matt. "I can sense it. But I think Jayon is onto something. Someone who isn't associated with any magic at all, that is, a human that does not practice magic, can hold the crystal without the magical energies overwhelming them. It's a close fit, and if anyone were to cast a spell, Jayon might be killed, but it does give us an option for transporting them out of here for use."

Jayon released his hold on the crystal. "For now, though, let's leave the crystals here. I don't want to be holding that when you guys need to cast. Anyways, we can always come back for them."

"Good point," said Andreas. "Now, let's see how everyone else is doing... Besides," Andreas added, "these are near enough the entrance we should be able to get them on the way back. Though I do wonder how they formed, it amuses me Dwarfs would have them, since they don't use much magic ..."
"Maybe they needed the extra support," Bayen said, smiling. They walked downstairs and back out, to find a dwarf who'd run back to report.
"There are many tunnels off this cavern," he told them, "but most lead only to simple rooms. However, there's one ... I think you should see this, m'Lord." He began to hurry off, but Andreas lifted him up magically and had him zoom along so he could keep up with Andreas' brisk strides. The others hurried after. After walking for about ten minutes, they reached the end of the cavern, and found a faint, glowing tunnel. The walls were covered in a fungi, and the Krynii, Dwarves and the Mereman were gathered around.
"This is the start of the tunnel to the maze," the Cheif Engineer said.
"Are you certain?" Matt asked.
"I'm a dwarf, believe me, we can tell these things," the Chief Engineer replied. "However, a little way down it branches into three ... it's a maze of course ... and none have lighting. We dwarves were quite experienced when it came to practically impossible mazes, and finding your way about in the dark .."
"We expected that," Andreas said. "We'll work out a way to find the way ..."
"It's not ... just that," the Chief Engineer said. "One of the ways, a little way down, we heard ... breathing ..."
"Ahh," Andreas said. "That could be a little more difficult ..."

"I sense you could use some help," came an amused voice from behind the group. Andreas smiled silently as the rest of the group spun around to see who it was that had arrived so silently...

"You know what DH," Andreas said cryptically, "If you stopped sneaking up on people like that, you might just be welcomed a little more in places like the Mercury Karaoke Bar. It really makes people feel much happier if they know you're coming up behind them once you've arrived..."

DH chuckled, "Maybe so, but where is the fun in it? But back to the problem we're facing here. How can I be of service?"

By now, everyone else had finished, or given up, trying to bludgeon DH, who had easily outmanoeuvred them all while conversing with Andreas....

"Well, DH, think you can go down there and report to us what's hiding without being noticed?" Andreas asked.
"Is the Pope Catholic?" DH replied, and disappeared into the dark. Jayon looked like he appreciated DH's minimal magic approach.

As the other's waited, Longbow had an idea. "Why not send scouts down the other tunnels as we go? I notice that one DH went down is big, but my dragon couldn't fit down the other one. How about I and the dragon go down that one with some dwarfs and Krynii, and the rest of you split up and explore the other two."
The Cheif Engineer looked thoughtful. "I don't know how the maze would have worked, but I do know dwarfs don't waste passages ... chances are, even if people go down the wrong one, they may still find something worthwhile down there."
"Andreas, do you have another Phoenix Wormhole TM on you?" Bayen asked. Andreas nodded. "If we set up a three way link between us, then we can split up, and whoever does find the right way can get the others to join. As long as someone stays, the wormhole can stay open, right?" Andreas nodded again.
"Well," said Matt, "lets wait until DH reports back, so we know what that group is up against, and then ...." but he stopped. "Did you hear that?"
They all listened, and could hear a faint boom, then another one. The dwarves began to look frightened.
"Drums," Andreas said, ominously. "Drums - in the deep."

---

Huntsman bolted out of the tunnel out of breath, surprising them all. No-one had heard him coming. Jayon looked at him admiringly. "You really have to teach me how to do that..."

While Huntsman normally revelled in such praise and compliments, it was brushed hastily aside. "You're not going to believe this...' he gasped, trying to get his breath back. "An army of Balrogs. And the Commander, let's just say that was the snoring/breathing the Chief Engineer heard earlier... and no, I did not wake him up. He woke up a few seconds before I went round the bend in front of his nose... even Balrogs can tell an intruder at that distance..."

"Obviously not Novatainian ones," Andreas said.
"What is it with you and defending evil creatures?" Bayen asked.
"Not evil ones ... I just know my history. Novatainian Balrog, Kraken, Vampire etc all swore allegiance to humans. To be good. Must be demon ones ..." Andreas replied.
"Of course, we aren't human," one dwarf muttered.
"There could be more to this than Balrogs," Andreas said. "They could just be servants of a greater problem ..."
"Um, could we discuss this AFTER we stop them?" Matt said. "Good." He rushed off down the passage, gathering magic as he went, and the others followed after them. Andreas flicked a mind message back to MANA. I want fire shields down here pronto. And if this goes bad ... be prepared to close the wormhole.

"Wait," said Jayon, suddenly struck by an idea. "No one use magic. Now, I want all you dwarf warriors to come with me. None of you use magic, right?" The dwarves nodded affirmatively. "Good. Come with me." Jayon and the dwarves ran off back down the passage.

"No magic?" yelled Andreas incredulously after them? "What are we supposed to do if the Balrogs come?"

"Trust Jayon," said Bayen. "If I know him, he has a plan..."

"That's right," said a voice behind the two mages. They spun around. It was Jayon, with DH standing by him nodding slightly.

"Your approach was fair enough, but work on your opening line," said DH critically. Then the first Balrog appeared. Andreas immediately moved to cast, but Bayen stopped him.

"No magic, remember?" Bayen reminded Andreas.

"Then how do we fight the Balrogs?" asked Andreas.

"Like this," said Jayon, and held up an engorged mana crystal. Each of the dwarves with him also had several. "Dwarves don't use much magic, right? So they can handle these crystals without dying. But most attackers, including Balrogs, can't resist the energy. So..." Jayon lobbed the crystal at the Balrog. The crystal hit the Balrog square in the chest, and they both exploded in a poof of magical energy. "That explains why the dwarves had them in the first place."

"So you guys can hold off the Balrogs?" asked Matt.

"Yes," replied Jayon. "There are plenty of engorged mana crystals down there. We can keep this up indefinitely against however many Balrogs come through this passage."

"Good," said Matt. He leaned against a wall, relaxing.

"Then what are us mages supposed to do?" asked Andreas.

"Nothing," said Matt.

"We're just supposed to sit here calmly and watch them fight Balrogs?" said Andreas.

"Yes," replied Matt calmly, sitting down cross-legged. "Get some meditation in, this might take a while..."

"You can meditate, if you want," Andreas told Matt. "But I'm going to start exploring the other passages. Anyone with me?"
Bayen and Matt opted to stay there, Longbow to wait with his dragon because he couldn't use any other passages, and the dwarves were occupied. However, ten Krynii and the Meremen went with Andreas. The others could reach him through the spare wormholes if they needed ...

Andreas reversed his cloak so the glow worm light shone out, and that easily provided enough to see down the passageway. "Watch for traps or snares," he said. "You never know with dwarves ..."
However, after going for ten minutes and finding nothing more than many threatening than the odd branching passageway, a Krynii yelled to say she'd found something. Andreas and the others walked up to find an empty stretch of wall. But, when the Krynii tapped it, it sounded hollow. Lighting his staff, Andreas noticed the burn marks on the ground near it. "Somebody or something flaming tried to get in here ... look around for a switch." But the single merman tapped him on his shoulder. He couldn't speak with the bubble charm, but he could write ... and quickly he showed Andreas a calculation based on the sound of tapping and the strength of the wall, that if Andreas were to press lightly here and hold for seven seconds...
The wall shimmered and disappeared. "Lack of force," the merman wrote. "Anybody trying to get in or running past would not press lightly, or hold, to open it."
"Lucky we had you," Andreas told him. They went in, and looked around. Inside was a large mural, and, to Andreas' delight, a pile of scrolls. He unfurled one a couple to see some where in the Middle Tongue, and others in a dwarfish dialect. "I'll look at these later," he said, teleporting them back to MANA. "But this mural ..."

It depicted a strange scene. It seemed to depict something falling from the heavens ... a shadow or something ... and in another spot, the demon attack at the end of the first age ... and some fireballs going right into the ground. "Hmm, it seems the demons injected the Balrogs into the mine ... probably long before the dwarfs found them. They always dig too deep ..." But further on the mural there was something he couldn't make out. Something worse ... and somehow, the mural gave the impression of ... hunger ...

Suddenly, Andreas heard a sound. He turned around to find ...

...Bayen, eating a sandwich. "Wow, I'm famished," said Bayen. "This gnawing hunger is really getting to me."

Andreas simply stared.

"Come on, it's just me," said Bayen. "Oh, wait... ...there's something behind me isn't there." He jumped up and spun around wildly, looking for danger. There was none. At this point, Andreas stopped staring and burst into laughter.

"Oh, I guess you were just a bit surprised to see me," said Bayen reasonably. "But I wanted to come and see you. On the way, I got a bit hungry, so I pulled out this sandwich. It's actually made of squirrel meat - that stuff is really good, you know?"

Andreas was instantly on the alert. Everyone who had known Bayen for more than five seconds knew about him and squirrels. How could he be eating them? Something was wrong.

Bayen - or this person who seemed to be Bayen - gave Andreas a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Let's head back - hopefully the Balrogs have given up by now."

"Okay," said Andreas cautiously. He moved forward, but Bayen's hand continued to hold onto his shoulder. "Come on, let go," said Andreas, but Bayen's hand stayed stuck to him. Andreas grabbed Bayen's hand to take it off, but suddenly his hand stuck to Bayen's arm. He couldn't get it off! And his shoulder was stuck to Bayen's hand!

Bayen's face slowly melded together into a featureless gray plane, and the rest of his skin tinted with silver. His hands became long, thin, and sticky. Andreas recognised it at last - it was a doppelganger, an magical beast that could change form at will. They tended to be great infiltrators and were also powerful hunters, since anything that touched them would be stuck to them. Many doppelgangers were heads of powerful empires, having long since assassinated and replaced their leaders.

"So we finally meet, Andreas the Wise," said the doppelganger, its voice silky and dark, "I have been waiting a long time for this..."

Andreas the Wise smiled. It wasn't that he wasn't afraid - anyone would be, but he knew the last thing he wanted to do was reveal his fear. "I'm impressed you've even heard of me," he said, still smiling.
"Oh, I know all about you, Andreas," the Doppleganger replied. "I may have been underground, but even these ancient tunnels echo with rumours of your deeds."
"I seem to be at a loss," Andreas said.
"Your hand?" the Doppleganger asked, and released it. "I'll just keep your shoulder, if you don't mind ...."
"Actually," Andreas said, "I was thinking that I know your name, but you do not know mine ..."
"Call me ... a servant of the whisper ..."

"What is this whisper?" asked Andreas.

"I'm sorry, Whisperer," the servant replied.
"Ahh," Andreas said. He knew well of The Whisperer from his studies of the History of Gralus. The Whisperer kept cropping up during the history, always in the ear of rulers, always promoting disunity and corruption. But Andreas had always wondered if it was more a temptation of the Devil than an actual person.
"Andreas, Andreas, Andreas," the servant said. "Always thinking of the history ..."
He can read my thoughts, Andreas thought, alarmed.
"Not thoughts, but faces ... and people," the servant replied. "Oh yes, I can read people ... and you, I can read like a book."
"Tell me about your master, then," Andreas said.
"No!," the servant replied angrily. "I will not gloat and reveal secret plots, as so many evil villains do."
"He trapped you down hear, did he, angry with you? The brothers don't like you?" Andreas said, a stab in the dark. The servant smiled - Andreas had obviously shot far from the dark. "He did not trap me here," the servant replied. "And those demons? They are laughable, though they have their uses. The demons are not the only force in Gralus, fool. They took advantage of my master's efforts to separate the orbs. So he dealt with them ... he had such high hopes of the Axilroth. Pity they failed ... My master and I returned here to complete it. We found the demon servants ... quite suitable."
"And what will your master do, when the orbs are apart?" Andreas asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know ..." the servant replied. "But you will not catch me that easily. Let us draw our conversation to the present ..." As he was speaking, Andreas looked around, and realised the room was deserted.
"Where are they?" he demanded.
"The real question is where are we," the servant replied. "They are still here, but we are in a moment frozen in time, and no one else can enter. And now, let us discuss the present." Andreas listened carefully, making sure his face did not betray anything, while thinking, Hey, Matt knows a thing or two, bet he can get in .... and, all the time, gripping his staff tighter.

"We have been indeed ... trapped here, by those ... dwarves," the servant spat the word. "Their efforts, while amusing, were unfortunately effective. But we have still been hearing of the outside world, and, for watching the rise of Toketi, wondering if they would enter here and release us. And then, just recently, all the reports have been of you ..." The servant began to inspect Andreas head, not touching it. "What is so special about this mind, that it can assemble a Lord-dom at will. Maybe if I look inside ..."
At that moment, Andreas knew it was about to go too far, and so activated his staff. At once a flash of light shot out, and the servant screamed. Andreas shot a beam at his shoulder, and the hand disappeared. "This being of shadows does not like the light," Andreas thought. " I wonder ...."

"Hello?" The voice echoed down the corridor. "Andreas, is that you? Is there someone with you?" The doppelganger hissed angrily, then slipped off into the darkness before Andreas could stop him. The dark servant was gone.

"Hello?" called the voice again, and seconds later, Bayen turned the last corner and found Andreas. "Ah, here you are. We've been looking for you. The Balrogs have been defeated. Now, come on, let's get back."

Andreas eyed Bayen suspiciously. Could this be another trick? He'd better find out. "Bayen, would you like a squirrel meat sandwich? I know they're your favourite!"

Bayen looked at Andreas in genuine horror. It was him, alright. "Okay," said Andreas. "Let's get back." As they left the dark corridor, though, Andreas still glanced over his shoulder, wondering what The Whisperer was up to...

---

Andreas and Bayen returned to the others. "Time to split up properly, guys? Longbow and Dragon down the ex-Balrog tunnel, then split the mages between the other two? Maybe if you go down one, Matt, and me the other ...."
Matt looked slightly hurt. "Just so we have a Lord in two groups - just in case of trouble ..."
Matt nodded. He knew all about trouble.
Balrogs the least of our worries? he thought to Andreas.
Yup Andreas replied. Now they just had to decide groups ...

"C'mon Bayen" Matt said "There's some things I need to discuss with you, no the least of which is that miserable mess we call a bestiary" With that, he promptly dragged Bayen off down a side tunnel. "Keep in touch with the crystals" he called back over his shoulder as he and Bayen disappeared into the darkness.

"You and me then, DH?" Andreas suggested?
"Ahh, what about us m'lud?" a Krynii asked.
"Longbow, you don't mind support do you?" Andreas asked. Longbow didn't.
"How 'bout you take a dozen dwarves and our Merish friend (No Krynii, since dragons don't really like them). Me and DH'll take seven dwarves and seven Krynii, and the rest of you, off with Matt and Bayen," Andreas suggested. Longbow nodded, and they all set off their separate ways.

Andreas and DH went down a different tunnel to the first one Andreas had ventured down. Like the other one, this one got dark very quickly, but unlike the other it didn't seem to branch off as much. "Is that a good thing?" he asked the Chief Engineer.
"We're not fools, the right way won't be a single passage, if that's what you mean," he replied.
"I worried as much," Andreas said. Suddenly DH stopped. "I heard something," he said. They all went silent, and Andreas turned his cloak around so it was dark again. Completely hidden now, they waited ...

---

Sorongath was out hiking.
Phoenix was back in town, and he needed the break.
He had started from his house in Fall, and was now miles away from anywhere.
The terrain under his feet became increasingly hilly, until he reached a small crest.
He paused for a moment and looked out behind him.
The forest stretched out for miles. In the distance he could see Forest heart, and Fall clustered on its far shore. He had wandered all the way to the foothills of the barrier.
He sighed, and readjusted his pack before turning to continue his march.
When the ground gave way beneath him.
It was a small slide.
But to Soro, in its midst, it seemed as if the earth had simply opened his huge maw and swallowed him.
Darkness.

He awoke a few minutes later, and sat up. His back hurt, but he'd felt worse.
He was in a cavern. Looking up, he could see the hole he'd fallen through a good fifteen metres above him.
The only source of light.
To far for him to climb.
He reached around and rummaged through his pack, and retrieved his flashlight.
It wasn't damaged by the fall.
Soro suddenly wished he'd brought a radio, which would be more useful in this situation than the packed lunch of squirrel sandwiches he'd brought instead.
As he flicked the light on, he could have sworn he heard a low moan from somewhere in the darkness.
He jumped to his feet, swinging the beam around him in circles.
There was nothing there.
With the aid the light, he could now see his prison in detail. A carved hall of some some sort. Low stone tables in rows, and empty hearths at regular intervals along the pitted and scarred walls. Probably dwarven made.
"Bloody magic critters," he muttered, listening to his echo.
The echo was cut off on the fifth repeat by another low moan from somewhere behind him.
He jumped onto on of the stone tables and frantically shone his torch around.
The feeble light made the surrounding darkness even blacker.
He reached for his .44 and drew it in one swift movement.
As far as he could tell, the cavern was empty. But up the far end, there was an archway leading into another room or corridor of some sort.
"Where the hell am I?"
He thought this, not game to say anything aloud.
He shined his light up the rows of bare tables. The room was clear. He mentally told himself to get a grip.
He made to move up the room, stepping down off the table, and making to step upon the next one down the line.
As he was jumping the foot or so required, his accidentally flicked his light off.
No problem.
He turned it on again. And stumbled backwards.

Two tables up the row, dead ahead of him, where nothing had been the second before the light flicked off, there was something.
It was on all fours, but it looked human.
He didn't have time to analyse it further, at the light being turned on it, it emitted a loud moan before scuttling directly towards him.
It moved fast, leaping from table to table, alternating from hands to feet, its panting head fixed on Soro.
He was paralysed. Horrified.
The thing launched itself across the last table towards Soro, and finally his arm unfroze.
His gun came up, and as the thing let out a scream which sounded...hungry... he fired quick four bullets at the thing.
Aim was bad, but given the situation, understandable.
The first two missed, but the next two caught it in the throat and chest, flinging it on its back, mid leap, to the floor between tables.
"Fu-" He started, but his wildly swinging light picked out another scuttling form coming from his left.
He turned and fired the last three in the clip at him, only one bullet hitting it in the chest.
He quickly dropped to a shooter's crouch and reloaded.
There were no more moans, no sounds to speak of.
Still, he looked around, terrified. He was out of his depth.
Then he heard a gurgle. He flicked his light at the sound.
It was the second thing he had shot.
It was still crawling slowly towards him, leaving a smear of blood on the ground.
And moaning, always moaning...
He looked around again before stepping off the table and towards the thing.
But not too close. It stopped crawling, and snarled, waving its arms feebly in his direction.
It was human, as far as he could tell.
That is too say, it had been human.
It's mouth was crusted in blood and it snapped open and shut, looking for something to bite down on. The movement slowly faded as the thing died.
Its body was covered in lacerations, in feet and hands bare and bloodied from crawling everywhere.
It was wearing tatters of clothes, and what looked like the tatters of an old gas mask.
It looked... primal...
He quickly returned to the tabletop, standing alone in the darkness.
The thing's efforts to reach him faded, and it finally died and was still.
He needed help.
A cold, monotone moan rolled out from the corridor at the end of the hall.
It sounded... hungry...

---

Andreas and DH weaved a simple charm over their eyes, so they could see in the dark. Something scuttled out. It appeared to be human ... ish, but clearly so long trapped underground it had lost all humanity. It did, however, stink, and pervade a terrible feeling of ... hunger. DH flicked Andreas a mental ?
No idea, Andreas replied, again mentally. The Whisperer wouldn't have human servants ... however, wouldn't put it past him to corrupt creatures ... Suddenly the creature cricked up its head and began to run towards them.
It's like it knows we're here, we haven't moved a muscle or made a sound ... Andreas began, but DH, better trained in this, grabbed his gun and shot it. Thrice. The thing stopped still, howled horribly, then died.

DH, shooting is not always the best option ... we can't question it now, Andreas began, but DH stopped him.
In this case, it was ...
Then, both went silent as they noticed the mental change in their surrounding. That howl had set off something. There was a feeling of there being a lot more ... presence ... in the tunnel. A lot of hungry presence.
"I think we have a problem," the Cheif Engineer said, pointing ahead in the tunnel. Things were beginning to pour in. However, in the distance, they heard a couple gunshots.
"Another shot? Bayen maybe?" DH asked.
"Only one way to find out ..." Andreas replied. "We just have to deal with these things first."

---

Soro stood alone in the darkness. His torch cutting a pitifully small section of the blackness.
He was at a loss.
Where was he?
How could he could out?
And most of all: Where was his rocket launcher and fusion pistol when he needed them?

A collective moan.
He snapped his gaze and his light up to the archway.
More of the things.
About seven or eight, all bloody and ragged, scuttled in their disturbing fashion through the doorway.
Soro backed up.
But they were gone.
Disappeared into the darkness.
The moaning rolled around him in waves, from every direction.
They lived in these caves, whatever they were, they were suited to the darkness.
They were hungry.
A scuffling behind him.
He spun and fired blindly.
The flashes lit up the cavern, and he saw several of the feeders crawling towards him from all directions.
One appeared from beneath his table, it clawed at his feet, slavering, desperate.
He fell on his back, flat on the table, and another of the things leapt upon him, spittle and blood dripping from its all too human mouth.
It too had the top half of a ruined gas mask on its face, it looked to have torn the bottom half away to better use its teeth.
Its hands gripped desperately at Soro's forearms, digging into his exposed flesh, as it tried to snap at his face.
Soro desperately held off above him.

Suddenly he felt an ethereal force on his body. He was picked up bodily and hurled away into the darkness, the thing clutching desperately at him thrown the other way.
He was lifted up, up to the roof.
And suddenly inverted. His pack fell off. He heard the moans and snarls, scuttling, milling around beneath him.
His feet touched the roof.
And standing on the roof with him, was, of all people, Bayen.
Smiling in that nonchalant way of his.
"Hello there Soro" he said, as if they weren't standing upside down on the roof of some ancient cavern, surrounded by ravenous freaks.
"uh.... Hey there Bayen... Uh.... you do this often?"
"Not really, I just thought you wouldn't want to stick around down there with those hungry chaps."
As if on cue, there was a triumphant and excited snarl from below, and several nasty tearing, slobbering sounds.
"I think they found my pack and the squirrel sandwhiches there..."
Soro glanced up...well...down... trying to see through the darkness.
"The WHAT sandwhiches?!"
Soro felt the force holding him in place suddenly slacken a bit.

"Chicken! It's chicken I swear!"

---

Meanwhile, Andreas, DH and the dwarves, Krynii and the Merman were preparing to fight. Dwarves pulled out axes, the Krynii summoned magic and DH began firing shots off. Andreas activated his staff and began shooting beams of light at the creatures as they ran towards him. However, in the magical light, their features oddly changed ... they seemed smaller, far less human, almost as if they were just huge mouths of nothingness ....
"Dopplegangers," Andreas yelled out. "Nothing like The Servant, certainly a lesser variety, but .... a huge amount of them. Perhaps this army toppled to Dwarves ... and I can certainly say dopplegangers like consuming ..."
"Fight now, define later," DH yelled.
"Fine," Andreas said, firing at another one by his ear. "But I think they're only looking human to make us let our guard down, pity them ... don't. They are not your friends."
"Later!" DH said more forcefully. Andreas returned to fighting until the merman sent him a message.
"Computing relative numbers, and physical strength of combatants, we're going to fall under the horde in 12 minutes," Andreas was told.
"Matt, Frump, Bayen, I need you fast," Andreas thought ...

---

Phoenix was walking through the caves, looking for the expedition groups. She could have teleported, but that would take all the fun out of walking through the caves. She walked into a cavern that had a hole in the top of it. Strangely enough there seemed to be two human figures hanging upside-down from the ceiling. Even stranger was all the creatures crawling about on the floor, scrabbling around, seemingly excited about something. They hadn't yet noticed her, although she didn't know how long that would last.
Then Phoenix had the peculiar sensation of being lifted into the air by an invisible force. She prepared magical defences and then realised that it was only Bayen and Soro.
"Nice party," she commented dryly, "all you need is some music and a few more guests. By the way, any idea what those creatures down there are?"
"No more than you do," replied Bayen, "but I thought you might like to stay clear of them."
"How shall we get rid of them?" Phoenix asked pleasantly.
"Blow them to bits!" exclaims Soro.
"Besides the point that it would seriously damage the cavern... could we leave them be for a while, until they attack us?" Bayen said. "Or we find the others and help them out? I get the feeling they're in need of it... quickly."

"Right," said Phoenix, and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, she, Bayen, and Sorongath were standing by DH and Andreas.

"Hello!" said Bayen cheerfully, waving. Then a dwarven throwing axe almost chopped off his hand from behind.

"Sorry, didn't expect you to appear there," muttered the dwarf standing behind him.

"No problem," replied Bayen. "Happens a lot when dealing with crazy mages."

"Where's Matt and Longbow?" asked DH. "We might need some support."

"I can't tell you much about Frump, but I was just with Matt before I went off to help Soro. He took all the people with him except me down a different path, telling me not to expect them back for a couple of months. I don't know what that was about, but..."

"Not much time to think about it!" shouted Andreas as the sounds of battle began to get closer.

"Let's get started, then," said Sorongath, calmly pulling a large gun out from seemingly nowhere and firing off a shot into the air.

There was a menacing rumble as several rocks fell from the spot Soro shot.

"Just try not to collapse this place," said Andreas, chuckling.

"I'm here," came a whispery voice from the shadows. A tall, lean figure stepped out from the shadows. "I've been following you for a while now."

"Hm?" Andreas asked.

"I-" Frumpmaster couldn't complete his sentence as he noticed the rocks falling towards him. As he leapt towards the side, his arm dashed out, grabbing a small bag from the shadows where he came from. As the rocks smashed into the spot where his body was before, Frumpmaster turned to look at Sorongath. "Nice."

"Hey, it seemed like-"

He couldn't finish his sentence before Frumpmaster cut him off with a wave of his arm. He extended his finger to point up at where the rocks came from. There was a hole.

In all the falling rocks, the creatures had scattered, and all that was left in the cavern was the hint of a whisper ...
"Where are the blighters?" Soro asked, waving his gun, but the passage was deserted.
"DH, Frump, Soro, you're all good soldiering types - you keep an eye, and an ear, open at all times. The rest of us deal with finding the way we want to go ..." Andreas began, when Bayen held up his hand.
"Look," he said, pointing through the hole. It had broken into another passage, a passage which now sloped straight downwards, and, from below, had the faint sound of water, and a faint glow. Andreas sent a magic probe down the other direction to check ...
"Doesn't turn off for ages," he concluded. "I think this is the right one. Besides, according the legend, the chamber had access to the ocean there, and was lit by glowing fungi ..."
They began to walk down it. "What chamber is this?" Soro asked as they went.
"Chamber of the Low Council, of the Dwarves, Krynii and Meremen," Phoenix explained as they went. "These are Krynii," she added, pointing to some of their companions. "I trust you know what Mermen and Dwarves are ..."
"Yes, yes," Soro said dismissively. "Why are we looking for their council chamber?"
"The council suddenly disappears from the records quite a few centuries ago," Andreas answered. "We think they were attacked by something ... and from what we've found down here ..."
"Them hunger things did it?" Soro suggested.
"Yup," Andreas replied. "With their Master and his Servant ..." He drew silent as they reached the bottom of the passage. They all looked out to see a chamber, chairs set up, skeletons still sitting in them, in the centre, a table, with three orbs, and besides it ....

... A large book, lying open in front of a skeleton.
It seemed as though they were looking at a scene frozen in time, the skeleton with the book seemed to still be writing.

No one seemed willing to go into the chamber, in case of ancient magical protections.
Finally Phoenix said, "The longer we stand here, the longer we are a target for anything in these caves. Let's go in there and get it over with. What's the chance that any magical protections have faded with time?" And before anyone could say anything she stepped into the chamber.

Nothing happened.

Phoenix surveyed the chamber, waiting for everyone else to come in.

"How horrible," Andreas said, as he walked in. "Those eating things must have just eaten the flesh and left the bones exactly as they were ..." He laid a hand on the orbs. "How odd the Whisperer left these here though ..."
Bayen, meanwhile, went over to inspect a skeleton.
"Perhaps he knew he wouldn't need to," a whisper came. Bayen found his hand stuck to the skeleton he had touched. One crumbled into a pile of bones, probably the only real skeleton there, and the rest of them stood up ... and transformed back into eater things. One, however, returned to a human form. It was The Servant.
As soon as they began moving Andreas flicked his hand and teleported to the back of the room, the orbs teleporting with him safely to his pocket. But turning to face the foes, he could feel the extra power in the room.

"Yes, my master is around," the Servant said ominously. "Shall I whisper for him?"

DH swallowed as he somersaulted over to Andreas. "This is not seeming good..."

Andreas' nodded grimly, and sent a mental thought. I think we need some extra help...

DH grinned his grin (you know, the one where his lips barely move?) and sent another thought back, It's on its way... but the SAS aren't really trained for this kind of thing... They should at least be able to hold off the doppelganger thingamabobs...

Then I'll deal with the battle of wits, Andreas thought back, and turned to the Servant.

"Whisper for him? Surely a being as powerful as he already knows we're here?" Andreas said slyly. The Servant was taken aback, but recovered.
"Of ... of course he does, but he will come when called," he replied.
"Who's servants to who, if he comes when you call?" Andreas joked.
"He ... he ..."
"Is here ..." came the whisper. There was nobody to see, there was barely even a voice ... it was like the whisper went straight into your subconscious, as if you had thought it.
"I'm glad you came, Andreas," the voice continued. Andreas was sure only he could hear this bit. "Why did I leave the orbs out for you? Because I knew someone would come to claim them ... and I have heard about you. Powerful things about you. With your strength, my knowledge, and the power of those orbs, we could do great things, Andreas. You deserve more than being running in Toketi's footsteps, magically speaking. Together, we could bring magic to the world. You could be Lord of Magic, of Micras ..." Andreas, though sorely tempted, knew about temptation, being a Christian, and how to deal with this. "Begone from my mind," he said. "You tell nothing but lies, and I will not do wrong for you." Then he strengthened his mental barriers until the voice disappeared ...

As one, the eater things screamed. And in their scream, could almost be detected the phrase "So be it ..."

At that point in time, the Royal SAS burst through some side doors into the room...

Andreas looked through them ... and saw the MANA grounds just outside...

He frowned, and looked at DH for an explanation...

DH shrugged... "Not now... later, right now we have to save ourselves from getting magically mashed to a pulp..."

The Servant stood up, and advanced towards the mages. Andreas held his staff and began firing light at The Servant. He snarled, and leaped at Andreas' neck, but Andreas shot him in mid air, and he fell back. Then Andreas remembered ... "They can't stand light," he yelled at the others. The other mages began summoning light beams and using them, while the SAS shot the eater things full of bullets. Unfortunately, more and more were pouring in. Andreas grabbed out one of the orbs, which he instinctively knew was the orb of Mind Magic, and willed it to give him an insight ....

"Oh no you don't..." came the subconscious voice ... and the orb started to teeter out of Andreas' hand...

Andreas could tell a mental battle coming on ... but he, after all, had the orb. Grabbing it, he held it tightly, and dispelled the whispers around him. "Your powers are nothing but whispers and temptation, and I have learnt to resist both," Andreas declared. "You hide in the darkness because you cannot face the light. Now do so, and tremble."
The answer that came back was not a whisper, but a shout. "No mere mortal can defeat me!"
"True," Andreas replied calmly, and knelt down and prayed. "God, give me your strength to resist temptation, and be a light in darkness." Then, with complete faith, Andreas stood up, readied his staff, and a burst of light erupted so strongly that everyone was completely blinded, it raced through every passage in the dwarven mine (later reports stated the hills erupted with light, and MANA mages marked the locations to investigate possible tunnel exits. A light also burst up out of the ocean, surprising the military ship on guard there, and noted again by MANA mages as the lost ocean entrance to the dwarven mines.) When their eyes adjusted, the Servant was gone, his lesser brethren obliterated by the light, and the presence felt in the room had disappeared. The earth of the mine, though, had come alive, gems glowing in the walls and gold shining like the sun.
"I know you said that you had a connection with the land, Andreas, but I didn't know it could work like that!" Bayen said, amazed. DH and Phoenix, both Christians, merely nodded. They knew what God could do.

And, above the Spire, the briefest hint of a whisper occurred - "Defeated ... but free at last."

"Look around, it may not all be cleared up," Andreas warned.

DH tilted his head on the side, as if listening to something... his fellow Novatainians knew he was indeed listening, so froze (almost literally... even the smallest movements make a lot of noise when you're listening intently.)

Andreas, not wanting to distract him, merely flashed him a glance which said 'What is it, DH?'

DH might have interpreted it as 'Watch out, there's a giant rattlesnake behind you.' 'You have a huge nose' or even 'Why are you singing Mozart in pubic?' but Andreas hoped he get the right message. You could communicate a lot with a look.

DH looked back at Andreas. At first it seemed like a "How dare you comment at the size of my nose?" look, but on closer inspection, it was a "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!" look. It was always hard to tell with these things. Then Andreas realised - there was something behind him! He spun around to see...

The Servant, standing there, panting, but largely unharmed. "You have killed my brethren, and I will not forget this," he said. "However, it is convenient for my master and I to be released from this tomb. Have your dwarven den. You shall hear of us again. My master is already whispering among the warlords to the east - there is mischief to be done in this world. But for now - something to remember me by." His body went silvery, just as it had when he transformed from Bayen into The Servant - but this time a drop split off, grew into an eater thing, and spat something at Andreas' face. Andreas raised his hand up to block it, and a silver drop hit his forearm. Before anyone could react, The Servant had turned into a cloud of darkness and disappeared, and the eater thing had fled after him. Only the cackling laughter remained.

"Are you alright, Andreas?" Bayen asked, concerned. Andreas held up his hand to look at it - a single drop of silver had hit him, and had burned the scar of a drop on his forearm.
"Are you marked now?" DH asked.
"I don't know," Andreas said. "Matt knows more about these sort of things, we'll have to ask him when he returns. But I have no doubt The Whisperer will not show his face for a while now. So no worries. Now, just check their are no Balrogs left, and we can declare the mine open again for the dwarves!"

As the group finished the clean-up and left, Andreas felt a sharp pain in his arm. He glanced down, and it was coming from the scar. And looking closer, the scar had just gotten a little bit bigger.

---

Returning to MANA, Andreas gave the dwarves permission to explore the rest of the caverns "as long as you take a guard with you. Frederick needs something to do ..." and travelled off for a bit on his own. Some say he visited the Elven King, others the Dragon King, and still others, that he visited the wizards in Anqh-Morham. Whatever it was, when he returned, ready for the Hamuji war, he made no mention of the scar, and those who watched carefully for these things could see it had almost entirely faded.

Meanwhile, the dwarves set about expanding the tunnels, putting in lights, and finding more scrolls and other things which they happily donated to MANA. The remaining gorged mana crystals they voted to leave there, in case of emergency, as if taken to MANA, they'd just explode. The dwarves aimed to be ready to open the mine network soon after the Hamuji war was finished.
All done. Some fine expeditioning there.
The character Andreas the Wise is on indefinite leave. But he does deserve a cool war ribbon.
Image
However, this account still manages:
Vincent Waldgrave - Lord General of Gralus
Manuel - CEO of VBNC. For all you'll ever need.
Q - Director of SAMIN
Duke Mel'Kat - Air Pirate, Melangian, and Duke of the Flying Duchy of Glanurchy
Cla'Udi - Count of Melangia
Vur'Alm Xei'Bôn - Speaker of Nelaga, Minister of Interior Affairs, and a Micron

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