<div></div><br> <br>The cave in is fairly deep into the tunnels, but the Lost seem curiously absent today, allowing easy access to it to anyone who would come to explore. Some of the ruble has been cleared, so that it is possible to easily step into the narrow cave behind it. The cave itself is only about four feet wide, with slight deviations and cast is total darkness.<br> <br>Fenris saunters along with his hands jammed deep in the pockets of his long coat while his little otter golem scampers along by his feet, letting off a gentle white glow that pushes back the darkness. While the big tiger certainly seems to be relaxed, his eyes are constantly scanning the darkness. He has had more than his fair share of run ins with the Lost and does not want any surprises.<br> <br>&quot;It has been so long,&quot; Cassidy murmurs, making her way through the tunnels with Natska. &quot;But it&#39;s so nice to have some adventure again. Don&#39;t  you agree?&quot; she asks, stopping at the entrance to await anyone else  that might be coming.<br> <br>Natska quietly chuckles, one gauntleted hand in the pommel of her sword as she paused at the collapsed wall, then steps through. &quot;It&#39;s been a while since I&#39;ve been anywhere new, yes. Hopefully this turns out to be more exciting than morning drills. And it is good to have you here to, Fenris.&quot;<br> <br>The tunnels are quiet, as is the cave, the words of the adventurers are the only thing that can be heard right now. The tunnel like cave lies before the group and curves slightly to the left after a few meters, just barely visible in the darkness.<br> <br>Fenris smiles at the couple and raises a hand in greeting. &quot;It -has- been too long, Cassidy,&quot; he agrees amiably before waving to the tunnel ahead, &quot;Shall we see what we shall see?&quot; He lets his little golem lead the way, shedding light on things as they go.<br> <br>&quot;I suppose we should!&quot; Cassidy says, pulling a lantern gem from her satchel and mounting it at the head of her staff to help provide further light. &quot;It&#39;s hard to imagine it being less interesting, that&#39;s for sure! Even if nothing at all happens! At least it&#39;s someplace new.&quot;<br> <br>Natska smiles at that and inclines her head, then continues into the tunnel, ears perked for other noises as her tail curls back and forth behind her.<br> <br>The air in the tunnel is stuffy and old and even with the lights it is hard to see far into it. The groups follows it for about 200 meters, before it significantly widens and terminates in a dome like area. The silence of the tunnels is still as heavy as before, although Natska could have sworn she felt something on her neck for a moment.<br> <br>Fenris saunter into the great domed  space and looks around with interest. The tiger produces a small device and holds it aloft, casting gentle blie light.<br> <br>Cassidy adjusts her hat, glancing over her shoulder, letting Fenris take the lead to be the first to blunder into any traps while she hangs back with Natska. &quot;Always odd how we keep finding new places to explore down here. I wonder just how far they go. What is down here. What were they for? So many questions.&quot;<br> <br>Natska comes to a stop, feet in a wary stance as she looks around. &quot;I think all our ancestors lived down here, while the surface was being prepared. As for what, who knows. I do not feel like we are alone, however.&quot;<br> <br>If there are any traps, the group has not tripped them yet. The light provided by Fenris reveals the dome to be mostly empty, even curiously so. No stalagmites and stalactites or even lose rocks are to be found. What is revealed by the light however is a small pond, not more than a big puddle really, in the center of the room and next to it a large jug, the only thing in sight that would indicated anyone having been here in a long time. It also reveals a second tunnel that connects to the dome on the opposite site of where the group came in.<br> <br>&quot;Look at that,&quot; Fenris says, meandering toward the water and basin, &quot;Not a natural cave, I think.&quot; The tiger leans down to examine the jug.<br> <br>&quot;No?&quot; Cassidy asks, looking at Natska. &quot;Did you see something?&quot; She casts her gaze around, pausing as she does, looking over the pond. &quot;I do not see anything. What do you think, Natska? Wind elementals? Something else? There usually aren&#39;t many foes that we cannot see...&quot;<br> <br>Natska growls softly and rolls her shoulders, pressing her back against the back plate of her armor. &quot;Something trying to get under my armor, hun, can you help?&quot;<br> <br>Whatever is under the feline&#39;s armor does not like the idea of being squished and scatters lower to the small of her back, where she suddenly feels a painful pinching.<br> <br>Fenris stands from examining the jug. &quot;Predecessor, I think,&quot; he says, then his attention is drawn to Natska&#39;s distress. &quot;What is it?&quot; he asks.<br> <br>Cassidy turns her attention fully towards Natska, moving around behind the jaguar. &quot;I don&#39;t see anything,&quot; she says after a brief examination. &quot;Do you need me to help get this off so we can look? If something comes to bother us, I&#39;d rather you not have something tickling your neck in the middle of battle.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;It bit me!&quot; Natska hisses, giving Cass a quick nod before she begins undoing the buckles along the side of her plate. As she works at it her fur smoulders, licks of fire sprouting as she mentally reaches for her divine math.<br> <br>As soon as the armor comes off, a small creatures scatters away from Natska, looking much like a scorpion, if scorpions had a tail like the one of a dragonfly and huge eyes. The arachnid is quick to make its way into the shadows, into the direction of the tunnel the group discovered earlier.<br> <br>&quot;Down,&quot; Fenris commands, Natska, quickly stepping up and summoning his otter golem to his side for the light. Without ceremony he helps Cassidy strip away the armor and clothing to find the wound, holding that strange box of his close. &quot;Is it numb?&quot; he asks, &quot;Does it hurt?&quot; He waves his hand in a complex gesture over his box and it emits a blue glowing grid onto the jaguar&#39;s back.<br> <br>Cassidy frowns a little, looking over Natska&#39;s back. &quot;It doesn&#39;t look too bad, thankfully. Everything feel alright?&quot; She asks, turning her eyes to the darkness where the thing skittered off, eyeing from under the brim of her pointy hat. Then, she looks up and, just to be sure nothing else is about to get the drop on them, throws up a ball of flame to find and impact against the ceiling. At least it&#39;d provide more light for a brief moment before extinguishing against the stone if it caught nothing.<br> <br>Natska lets out a long, slow sigh as she holds herself in check and the flames subside. &quot;No pain any more,&quot; she answers, cooperating with Cassidy and Fenris until she&#39;s given the clear. Then she pulls her heavy, quilted gambeson-dress closed again and laces it back up, double checks the collar, and starts getting her plate back in place and resecured. &quot;Should have worn a hat today after all. Did anyone get a good look at it?&quot;<br> <br>Fenris shakes his head at Natska&#39;s question. &quot;Not a good one,&quot; he confesses, &quot;Some sort of scorpion or something like.&quot; He waves toward the pool and the jug. &quot;If I had to guess I would say that this was some sort of shrine to Ser&#39;Ther,&quot; he says, &quot;It is smaller than most I have seen to the water serpent, but not completely out of character.&quot; He looks to the two women, &quot;Are you good to move on?&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Yes,&quot; Cassidy replies, still eyeing the dark corners. &quot;I&#39;ll walk behind you this time. Hopefully I can keep anything else from slipping down your collar. It did look like some kind of scorpion, though, yes. But it didn&#39;t have a stinger on its tail that I could see.&quot;<br> <br>Natska makes a small noise, then nods her head. &quot;I was not expecting something so small or I&#39;d have reacted sooner. Let&#39;s move on and see what else is down here.&quot;<br> <br>Before moving on, Fenris returns to examine the jug again, and peers at the dark water. The big tiger shrugs. &quot;Why not,&quot; he says aloud, then gently picks up the jug and, assuming the old thing does not shatter, dips it into the water before replacing it on its stand. &quot;For Ser&#39;Ther, I suppose,&quot; he says thoughtfully, &quot;Assuming that this is his place.&quot; Then he turns and leads the way toward the dark passage, his golem scampering ahead. He turns up his collar to protect his neck, just in case.<br> <br>Cassidy isn&#39;t terribly worried about her own neck, between her high collar and her hat. She watches Fenris fill the jug before giving a gentle nod and setting off again, following the others down the tunnels. &quot;Well, I doubt that&#39;s the worst we have to deal with. But maybe if we&#39;re lucky.&quot;<br> <br>Natska says, &quot;Mmmhm,&quot; Natska agrees, quietly, taking a breath then following after.&quot;<br> <br>The new tunnel is as dark as the old one, but quite a bit shorter, it is only a couple dozens of meters in before it splints into two. The left path seems to lead downwards, at least as far as the light allows to tell, while the right one appears to stay at the same level as before, Otherwise they seem to be very much alike.<br> <br>Fenris does not hesitate and turns toward the downward tunnel. &quot;I like down,&quot; he says pleasantly, &quot;It is sort of exciting.&quot; The tiger&#39;s eyes gleam with interest as he looks over the hallways and floor. &quot;What do you suppose was down here?&quot; he asks as he walks.<br> <br>&quot;Down is fine,&quot; Cassidy says, glancing down the passage. &quot;Usually interesting things to be found in the &#39;down&#39; area. Lead on!&quot; she chimes, nodding towards Fenris.<br> <br>Natska considers the other tunnel, then nods at Fenris and Cass. &quot;Down it is. And I really have no idea, Fenris - but with a shrine, it had to have been before the landing.&quot;<br> <br>The tunnel is dark and getting increasingly more steep as the group presses onwards, eventually turning from a slope into primitive, uneven steps. Just after Fenris and Natska made their way around a corner, a click can be heard and the ground below Cassidy gives in and she falls, barely hanging onto the edge with one hand.<br> <br>Fenris spins on his heel, but relaxes when he sees Cassidy&#39;s hand still gripping the edge. &quot;Well,&quot; he grins, &quot;That was exciting!&quot; He quickly gets down on the ground and grasps the vixen&#39;s wrist, helping to haul her up. He looks around thoughtfully. &quot;What do you suppose we are not supposed to get to, do you think?&quot; he asks pleasantly.<br> <br>Cassidy grunts a little as the floor gives way, though she doesn&#39;t seem particularly worried. You don&#39;t worry about falling when you can fly. All the same, she&#39;s thankful for Fenris&#39; help pulling herself up, dusting her hands off afterwards. Saves her the energy expenditure. &quot;Thanks. And who knows. We&#39;ll find out, though.&quot;<br> <br>Natska turns at the sound of the click, ready to help. She relaxes as Cass gets back into solid footing, then grins. &quot;Whatever we&#39;re not supposed to find has to be interesting! Let&#39;s go find it.&quot;<br> <br>The three explorers marsh onwards down the steps and soon find themselves in front of a heavy looking door, which is soon pushed open with some combined effort. The room behind the door is the by far least natural looking in the whole cave system. The walls have been reinforced and torch holders have been worked into them, obviously they are all long burned out. The wall to the left of the door is lined with broken and moldy weapon racks and a few spears and rusty swords. The opposing side has yet another door like the one the group entered through and the right wall has several inlays, about half a third of a meter above the ground, two long and two thirds of a meter high each. There is some more ruined furniture in the room, mostly wooden chairs and a few tables.<br> <br>Now THIS was interesting! Fenris steps up to the inlayed walls and studies them intently, holding up his sacred doctor for the sake of the light it gives off. &quot;This place must have been sealed up well,&quot; he says, &quot;If wooden furniture is more than just dust.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;So it would seem...&quot; Cassidy muses, running a gloved hand along one of the tables. &quot;I don&#39;t think we&#39;re the only ones here. These might not have been as old as it would appear! I mean, they are certainly old. But an open door, tables, and still rusting swords? Could only have been a decade or so ago.&quot;<br> <br>Natska slowly nods her head, her ear flicking as she looks around again. &quot;Mmmmhm. Maybe the Lost got in here. Maybe refugees of some sort. Perhaps the tunnels lead back out to the surface somewhere and we just found a new back entrance.&quot; She slowly moves around the room, looking at the debris and watching the floor.<br> <br>:looks around and shakes his head. &quot;Nothing especially interesting here,&quot; he says, &quot;Looks like people might have slept here once. Might have been part of a barracks or garrison, looking at the weapons and the rest areas.&quot; He shrugs, adjusting the sleeve of his coat over the silvery harness beneath. &quot;I suggest be press on.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Barracks? Maybe. We should go, though, yes. I don&#39;t think we&#39;ll uncover much loitering around here,&quot; Cassidy says, before lifting her hand to gesture onward. &quot;Shall we, then?&quot;<br> <br>Natska gives Cassidy a short nod, then takes the lead, opening the far door and continuing on with the exploration.<br> <br>The tunnel is once more mostly natural looking and leads deeper into the ground. It has seems to have a light curve that, while breaking into mostly straight parts, always leans towards the left side. The air in the tunnel is getting more and more damp the further the group presses on and the silence hangs heavy in the air.<br> <br>Remembering the trap from earlier, with the false floor, Fenris keeps a careful eye out for catches and switches. The big tiger trails a finger along the wall, keeping a lookout for anymore carvings as they go. &quot;I am starting to wonder how much of this is actually from the Ancients,&quot; he says, &quot;With how wet it seems to be down here, how could anything made of wood still be intact?&quot; He is also wishing he had spent a little more time studying that jar earlier.<br> <br>Cassidy looks down towards the ground as something crunches, frowning. &quot;Looks like there are more scorpions in here. Be careful, Natsa? Don&#39;t want any more friends from above,&quot; she says, waving her staff around to better shed light in the area.<br> <br>Natska snerks quietly and nods at Cassidy. &quot;Yea. I know.&quot; She eyes the thickening webs, her ear flicking. &quot;As much as I would hate to be known as a genocidal tyrant... any objections to just burning all of these out of the way? Our little visitor earlier left a very bad first impression.&quot;<br> <br>Climbing deeper and deeper down into the mysterious tunnel, the group is once more face with a decision. The path forks out, but not into two, but three paths. Thankfully the right one is collapsed so they decision is between the left and middle one of the tunnels. Both seem to be straight as far as any of the beings can see, but the middle one&#39;s walls are decorated richly in white webbing.<br> <br>Fenris looks at the two tunnels. &quot;My aversion to bugs says we take the left hand tunnel,&quot; he says, &quot;But I can&#39;t say I am against letting you burn your way through. The last thing we want is an infestation of these things.&quot; He turns to the two ladies with him. &quot;I will follow your lead this time, since you followed mine at the last intersection,&quot; he says with a smile.<br> <br>&quot;I would be fine with burning them out of the way, sure,&quot; Cassidy says, giving a little shake of her head. &quot;I don&#39;t care much for these kinds of things, anyway. And I&#39;m sure there are untold numbers of them creeping around down here to replace the losses with once we leave.&quot;<br> <br>Natska nods at Cassidy, then grins. &quot;Please, love. Although we could take the left hand of the two paths, as well; clearly if there are beings down here, they do not take the middle tunnel.&quot;<br> <br>The adventures decide to play it safe and head left, following the tunnel for a while, until it opens into another dome, similar to the first one. This one however has a much larger pool of water in its middle, and a broken statue behind it. The floor of the room is covered in ashes in places and the walls seem blackened here and there.<br> <br>Fenris paces around the pool, his little otter golem glowing brightly and scampering about near his feet. The tiger looks thoughtfully at the statue for a moment, before turning to the water. &quot;I wonder,&quot; he mutters, and dips a hand into the pool, lifting it up to sniff at it, and if it does not smell amiss, to tast it.<br> <br>&quot;Very true, Natska,&quot; Cassidy says, nodding before pausing to watch Fenris messing with the water. &quot;That seems like a poor idea. Interesting ashes, though. Wonder if someone else had the same idea we had.&quot;<br> <br>Natska tilts her head as she watches Fenris, fully expecting the tiger to turn green. Or fall over, or something. She nods her head at Cass&#39; comment, circling the room so that she can peer at the statue. &quot;Perhaps.&quot;<br> <br>The tiger does not turn green, nor does he fall over yet. His stomach certainly does not agree with the water though, rumbling at him angrily, quickly after his sip.<br> <br>Fenris shakes his head. &quot;Water is no good,&quot; he say, letting the rest of the liquid in his hand splash back into the pool, &quot;Probably fouled by whatever is all burnt up in here.&quot; The tiger straightens up and walks over to where Natska is examining the statue, adding a bit more light to the scene. &quot;Is it Ser&#39;Ther again?&quot; he asks.<br> <br>Cassidy closes her eyes, humming to herself. &quot;I&#39;m not sure... If I had to make a wild guess, I&#39;d say it&#39;s Hephestia&#39;s brother. But I suppose we&#39;ll find out, huh! If we find any clues anyway.&quot;<br> <br>Natska eyes the statue for a few moments, then shrugs her shoudlers. She turns and looks around the room again, looking to see if the path continues on, or if they must double back, and if there are any signs of passing from before they arrived.<br> <br>Fenris sighs, kicking a bit at the broken bits of statue. &quot;Looks like it&#39;s the bug tunnel,&quot; he says without enthusiasm, kicking some ashes about gently before heading toward the tunnel once more.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Guess so!&quot; Cassidy says, giving a little sigh before adjusting her hat and making her way back down the tunnel. &quot;We&#39;ll just have to keep the bugs away with fire. Plenty of it if needed.&quot;<br> <br>Natska inclines her head in agreement, then rolls her shoulders before she turns and heads back up the way the came, ready to face the most horrific foe on Promise, icky spider things. &quot;Plenty of it, yes.&quot;<br> <br>The group leaves the dome behind them and heads back up the tunnels, taking a turn at the crossroad to head into the webbed tunnel they saw before. It is moist, the floor is sticky and the walls cover in both fresh and old, moldy webs. It is a truely unpleasant environment.<br> <br>&quot;Burn away, ladies,&quot; Fenris says with a smile, producing a little white box from his coat, &quot;And stick close. I can give us a bit of cover, just in case.&quot; He lays his hand on the box and a bubble of cool, blue light surrounds the trio.<br> <br>Cassidy nods and looks down the tunnel, bringing a little orb of fire into being. A bit of focusing and some math and it grows larger and larger before she sends it off down the passage at a lazy pace, bringing with it the fire to burn away obstructions and the light to scare away the living.<br> <br>Natska crosses her arms as she waits for Cassidy&#39;s fire to do its work; her foot taps on the ground and her tail lashes back and forth with barely contained agitation as she imagines what might happen next. Still, she holds her ground, ready to step in should anything seem amiss.<br> <br>A foul stench fills the noses of the adventurers as the webs, mold and small animals of the tunnel burn and fill the air. The noxious spores and remains fill the damp air, making it even more unpleasant.<br> <br>Fenris waits patiently for the dust and ash and spores to settle, keeping the divine shield up as long as possible. It was a shame that it had such limited power. And while it kept out the dust and toxins, the smell of burning webs and creatures could certainly filter in. The tiger pulls a long, white kerchief from his coat and ties it around his face. &quot;Shall we?&quot; he asks, gesturing toward the tunnel.<br> <br>Cassidy brings her hands around to conjure a breeze to try and send as much of the spore and dust as she can down the previously explored tunnel. Even with the tunnel, the less they had to be exposed to, the better.<br> <br>Natska frowns, her ears pinning back as she watches the smoke billowing out of the tunnel. She remains quiet, though, letting Cassidy o her work.<br> <br>The smoke clears through the air magic, allowing the group to press onwards. The being pass many scorched remains of the big spider-scorpion-things on their way, eventually reaching the end of the scorched area, near a small room, completely coated in the webbing. Luckily the creatures seem to have fled the scene, leaving the abandoned nest free to explore. Most everything is covered in webbing, but under it there are clear shapes of the remains of furniture.<br> <br>&quot;Furniture,&quot; Fenris says, stalking along the hall, &quot;This wasn&#39;t a temple like most of the other ruins. Especially not if all of this stuff is intact.&quot; The tiger stoops to examine a bit of the debris. &quot;Still, it is sturdy stuff if it could stand up to time, spiders and Cassidy&#39;s fire.&quot;<br> <br>&quot;Hmmm. It&#39;s very odd,&quot; Cassidy says, settling her hands on her hips. &quot;I am still not convinced that this place wasn&#39;t recently in use. Well, recently meaning anywhere in the last few decades.&quot;<br> <br>Natska frowns. She slips her sword from her scabbard and carefully pokes through some of the webs, then shakes her head. &quot;Spiders work fast, but yes... a long time at least.&quot; Her ear twitches. &quot;Maybe that collapsed tunnel used to lead in here from somewhere else? And when it went, this area fell out of use?&quot;