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[Xenos]

Xenos - No danger room I'm afraid, a dangerous room bristling with spike traps is a bit hard to rationalize as something a group hiding would do.

ISGC - Interestingly, 'Os' means 'death' in goblin. So Reg worships a god which goblins call death. It's almost like the game wants him to be anti-goblin.

Fisher-Risen - On the contrary, feel free to use genesis materials, it won't be that ingame obviously, but it adds to the story, making the world a richer place.

OK, the final roster for the expedition is;
Derm
Fori
Muenster
Rion
Delta
Steve
Xenos
Bax
Tarran
Sandra


snip

Well, it could be a mechanics training area/study area (like to show the new guy "here you can see how to connect mechanisms.)  one day someone gets locked in and the fortress discovers that it is effective to train people in there

[MetalSlimeHunt]

*CRASH* _^Cave-in!

"Did...did anyone else hear somthing just then?"

[bayar]

Could I be kobolded ? Siege engineer please. Also would like to dig a hidden cave somewhere where a cobalt statue would stay. A symbol of the ascended ones.

[Fortis]

From the log of Fori

   Even as I overcame my terror of the defilers, the fates curse me with a new one. Even the forgotten beasts could not match this feeling. The thought of being trapped who knows how many miles beneath the surface is staggering. Me, an elf, isolated in the deepest recesses of the earth. And with Derm depending upon me as well. I don’t know what happened, but he passed out shortly after saving my life. I think one of the falling rocks hit him on the head.

I have no idea how many tons of rock block off the path back home. I only pray to the spirits that Muenster survived, and is able to get word back to the fortress. Hopefully, they’ll be able to dig us out. But for all I know, the good dwarf is dead beneath the piles of stone and boulders. I tried to shout for help, but I couldn’t hear anything in return through the blockage. Or maybe the other expedition members will find us.

But now, the responsibility for Derm’s life rests on my shoulders. For an elf, I’m very knowledgeable about caves and the underground, but it doesn’t compare to a dwarf’s innate knowledge. Still, I thought it best to carry Derm away from the weakened portion of the cavern, lest more rocks fell. I used my sword to etch an arrow in the wall, so if any rescuers do come through that way, they can find us. I did what I can to clean and treat his injuries, relying on the old dwarf trick of using a little wine to disinfect the wounds, and used strips torn from my clothes to bandage them. The bleeding is slowing down at least. And I don’t think any bones were broken.

At least starvation won’t be an issue. This area of the caverns is rich with life, no matter how strange it is. With my innate skill with plants, I’m sure I can find some that are good to eat. I’m pretty sure I can find water too. No, what worries me is encountering some strange and deadly creature. The forgotten beasts have always come from the depths of the earth. And there was the giant cave spider that killed my friend. It’s roaming around in the caverns as well. I only hope my skill with the sword is enough to keep whatever monsters that dwell down here at bay.

I’m as well prepared for such a trial as any elf can be. What can anyone do, but do what they can, and leave the rest to fate? But, Spirits grant me strength and luck. I just know I’m going to need it.

[ISGC]

Reg paced in his office, poised and ready for the group from the caverns to break into the halls and rush over to him with a dwarf for him to save.  He would try his best to keep them alive; he would do all within his power to help them, but as any doctor knew, some could not be helped.  For those he had a special batch of brew; a barrel so potent that it would leave the dwarf hospitalized for a week!  But these dwarves needn't worry about tomorrow's problems.  And while they sat in their beds, dazed and unaware, their caskets would be chosen and their tomb would be placed and, before the night was out, they would be gone from this world.  It was Reg's job to watch this; he'd seen it play out again and again, exactly the same each time.  Although he knew it was inevitable, for every fortress had its disasters, he was anxious to see if tonight would be the first.  So he ran the procedure in his head and went over his practice like he was an apprentice again.  Though weapons may fall in battle, at least he would not be caught unprepared.
~~~~
But he had no reason to worry!  Ten dwarves are more than capable of handling most of what you would find down there, and it's not like they would, oh maybe, split up or something.  Let alone put all the capable fighters in a single group and leave the rest to fend for themselves without weapons or armor.  That would be silly! 

[Xenos]

Could I be kobolded ? Siege engineer please. Also would like to dig a hidden cave somewhere where a cobalt statue would stay. A symbol of the ascended ones.

WOOOO!! Go CUTEBOLDS!

[ProZocK]

Thanks for including Bax on the expedition, I was traveling and had no internet connection for some time.
And I am ecstatic about how you are writing about Bax exactly like I imagined him. I am proud to be a little part of this Tale.

Nomekast rocks.

[Mangled]

Turnss out bringing one of the docs was an al right idea then?
As Prozock said, well done on the characters I'd imagined Steve to be fairly quiet but a right cheeky git when needs be.

[masam]

Oh of course.  We head off.  The only other dwarf in the whole damnable city with a thing for taller lasses picks me to join him.  I hope she got those gem flowers...ah well it'd take a blind old man to not see somethin the way they're standin so close...What was that?  Couldn't be nothin... where was I?  Ah right...well i'm not that old.  Hmmph don't see what she'd see in me anyway. Gods i need to focus.  we could be jumped by anything down here.  Ah there's that noise again....what's this hitting me, gravel?  Gravel...oh no...The scream that Derm let out only gave name to the danger they faced. 

Stumbling backward and rocking to his feet again as tunnel exploded into activity, Muenster looked as Derm dove in an attempt to get the elven woman out of the way.  Hesitation only lasted a few seconds before he turned and started calling for miners and a rescue team.  He may have been to old to start anew completely, but he'd be damned if he would allow those two to miss their chance...no one deserved to feel the sadness of what could have been.  Most o the fort had already felt that loss.  Not again.  They'd be safe or he'd die tryin...maybe the family'd be waitin with a mug o mead for him.

[Aequor]

Xenos - I suppose that would work. I'm not promising anything though.

bayar - Sure thing! I'll put you in the moment the expedition is wrapped up. Out of interest, what are the ascended ones?

ISGC - Actually the three most competent fighters are Rion, Tarran and Derm, and they each had a group, I figured it would be too dangerous to pull a Scooby-Doo and put all the competent people in one group.

ProZocK - I remember you mentioning you wanted to join the next expedition, so I decided to enroll you. And thanks!

Mangled - Thanks! 


15th Hematite 676 - Afternoon

For a long time the dust filled the air, and tumbling stones could still he heard, falling onto the already high pile. Stones tumbled down the slope where Fori and Derm had fallen.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Still on the other side and having called down for the others, Muenster took to his mace, pounding at the stone, making the cavern echo with the loud thumping of metal on rock.

"Derm? Fori? Can you hear me!?" he shouted through, stopping his attack on the rock wall as he realized how useless it was. A miner with a pick would need to clear this out, and Delta was off with Rion and Steve. He hesitated, he could go back, and follow and find Rion's group, but doing that would be leaving here, which felt like abandoning his two friends.

Were they even alive though? He didn't want to think about it.

He had no choice though, he needed to go find the others, there was no way they could have heard his shout, he had to go fetch them. He could do nothing here, the boulders were too heavy, his mace was useless at anything less than chipping the rock away flake by flake, and every second he wasted was a second that could bring Derm or Fori closer to death. He shook his head, and spun round, running haphazardly down the slope back to the agreed meeting-point.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fori sighed sadly as she sat besides the lake, a hand on the hilt of her sword, and another on the muddy ground below. Derm lay resting behind her, she had made a make-shift bed with some plants. It wasn't much, but it was the least she could do for him after he had saved her life.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As she sat there, she became aware of a strange noise, a sort of splashing, but not quite the same. She peered into the cavern gloom, but could see nothing. She instinctively grabbed ahold of the hilt of her sword, drawing the blade out a bit, ready to attack anything that might appear. For a few minutes there was nothing, then suddenly she saw them, blobs floating on the surface of the once-still lake. They were bobbing up and down, moving towards her. As they got closer, she could see they appeared to be moving by spinning on the surface of the lake, like a waterwheel but more circular in shape. She had to assume whatever these strange things were, that they were hostile.

She took a step back, moving away from the lip of the lake. The blobs bobbed up to the edge of the water, and then rolled onto the land. It was now she got a better look at them. They were formless, they just seemed to be sacks of orangey flesh that quivered and changed shape. They seemed to be covered in a oily substance that they left trails of, like a snail leaving a trail. One rolled right up to her, Fori whipped her sword out, pointing it down at the thing. It didn't attack however, it just moved away, and it and the three others disappeared away into the darkness. Fori sighed in relief, sitting down to breathe,

"Thank the spirits." she whispered. It was at that point that Derm stirred, she rushed to his side,

"Oooh, damn, what happened?" the Dwarf mumbled. He suddenly bolted upright, "The cave-in!" he began, Fori stopped him,

"It's alright, we're safe, a rock must have hit your head, it knocked you out."

"And you're fine?"

"Perfectly." The Dwarf felt his head, it still hurt, he felt the bandage that the Elf had wound around the wound, and saw her torn clothes,

"Fori, did you-"

"I couldn't leave it to bleed, I disinfected it with some wine too." Derm smiled at this,

"Thank you." he said sincerely. There was a brief silence, and then, "And Muenster, where's he?"

"Still on the other side I think he's safe, I heard some dull thunking from the other side of the fallen rocks, I imagine it was him. He'll warn the others and they'll dig us out."

"Hmm," Derm surveyed the cavern passages that led off into the darkness, "One of these might lead around the rockfall and back to the meeting area."

"That or we might get lost." Fori said grimly, "We'll have to mark our way. At any rate, I don't think you're in any shape to go anywhere, especially is there's life here." she told him about the shapeless blobs that had just visited her before leaving. Who knew what other deformed or monstrous creatures lay down here?

"Fori..." Derm said suddenly, recalling a memory, "the cave-in, I don't think- I- I saw someone, an eye, when the rocks were falling."

"An eye? But- but that would mean-"

"Yes, I don't think the cave-in was an accident."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"We've walked for more than half an hour and not seen any obsidian. Derm said the magma pools were only fifteen minutes apart or so. I don't think the magma pool is this way." Sandra remarked, as she, Tarran, Bax and Xenos stopped for a breather. Tarran nodded,

"Aye, we should probably make our way back." he said. Bax gave a short laugh,

"Really? And there I was about to suggest we keep walking in the wrong direction." he said.

"Shhhh!" Xenos said suddenly, cupping his Kobold ears. Bax bristled angrily, unhappy at being told to be silent by a skulking rodent, but before he could say anything he heard what had made Xenos silent.

Footsteps, many of them.

"Wha-" the Goblin began, before being stopped as the group caught sight of what had been making the noise. It was a small reddish creature - smaller even than Xenos. It had large claws, and two horns on its head, like some tiny demon. "That's all?" the greenskin scoffed.

That was when the rest appeared. There had to be more than two dozen of them, encircling the Dwarves, Kobold, Human and Goblin. Tarran drew his sword,

"Get ready." he warned the rest. Xenos readied his spear and Bax and Sandra their own swords. The creatures leapt at them, Xenos immediately speared one through the chest, and with a heave sent it flying into a wall. Tarran beheaded another with a single slice. Sandra however, stood there, not moving, eyes closed. One of the creatures came hurtling towards her, claws ready. Her eyes snapped open, and a feverish look lay in them. She spun, sending the sword slicing through the air, and opening the creature belly-up.

"Pathetic." Ryva spat, having retaken control of Sandra's body. She twirled round, cutting another of the creature's hand off, then the other hand, and then finally decapitating it. She gave her bloody blade a lick, and then grinned, jumping into the fray. Like a fury Ryva cut through the creatures, and under the combined assault of Tarran, Xenos, Bax and now Ryva one of the creatures - ostensibly the leader - gave a keening cry and the survivors fled into the darkness, abandoning their wounded and dead. For a few seconds no one moved, then Ryva started to move about the battle-site, finishing off the wounded with a savage pleasure. Only Bax seemed impressed.

"The hell is with that lass?" Tarran asked Xenos as the two watched her work. The Kobold gave a shrug, the motivations of Humans wasn't his concern. Having finished the wounded Ryva came back,

"I think we were going back?" she said, her voice without Sandra's softness, "Or have you all been terrified by these midget monsters?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Where the hell are the others?" Rion grumbled.

"Don't get yer beard in a knot." Steve said, sat down on a boulder, "You just want to brag 'cause we found the magma pool."

"Both groups are late." Rion said, "That doesn't bode well. They must have been attacked."

"Nothing proves that." Delta said quietly.

"It's too quiet. There must be something skulking around." Rion said, a hand on his axe.

It was at that point that Tarran and his group arrived. Steve sat up,

"About time. Any longer and Rion would have gotten neurotic." he smiled. Rion shot him a dirty look.

"Sorry, we were held up." Tarran explained, holding up his sword still dripping with blood.

"Obviously that's less important than you having to wait for a bit." Bax remarked. Any other words that could have been said were drowned out suddenly by Muenster's arrival,

"Delta! Delta, get your pick! TherewasacaveinandDermandForiarestuckand-"

"Calm down or shut up." Ryva piped in, earning her a grin from Bax. Muenster took a moment to catch his breath,

"There was a cave-in! Derm and Fori are stuck, I don't even know if they've survived! Delta, you're the miner, you need to dig them out!"

"A cave-in? The hell..." Delta mumbled, looking up at the ceiling, "Cave-ins are normally artificial, how could there have been..." he shook his head, grabbing his pick, "Whatever, lead the way!"

[MetalSlimeHunt]

"Told you all so."

[Mangled]

"Yeah you'll get a prize once we dig the poor sods out or scrape them off the floor, lets go."

[bayar]

The ascended ones are kobolds that gained considerable power through one way or the other. There's the legend of Kurtulmak, the one who first led his kin, and which got the powers of a diety to save his people after a deadly cave-in of their mine. Then there's Pun Pun, who used his knowledge to exploit the laws of the multiverse to become the most powerful entity ever. And then there was Meepo, who manipulated nature to duplicate himself, entangle victims in webs, travel quickly from one place to another and crush his enemies into the ground with his pick.

AKA kobold shamanistic legends.

[ISGC]

ISGC - Actually the three most competent fighters are Rion, Tarran and Derm, and they each had a group, I figured it would be too dangerous to pull a Scooby-Doo and put all the competent people in one group.

yea, I looked back after I made that comment and realized this
anyway, it's shaping up to be an awesome story!  don't know how much Reg can say this time, but keep up the good work

[Xenos]

The ascended ones are kobolds that gained considerable power through one way or the other. There's the legend of Kurtulmak, the one who first led his kin, and which got the powers of a diety to save his people after a deadly cave-in of their mine. Then there's Pun Pun, who used his knowledge to exploit the laws of the multiverse to become the most powerful entity ever. And then there was Meepo, who manipulated nature to duplicate himself, entangle victims in webs, travel quickly from one place to another and crush his enemies into the ground with his pick.

AKA kobold shamanistic legends.

And what did they ascend to?  Cobalt?  (I thought you were implying that Cobalt was the essence of the Kobold soul after death in a somewhat heroic way.  I.E.  Cobalt is the Kobold holy metal akin to cotton candy.  Mainly because of the name.  Anyway...)