Turn 11
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After a considerable stretch of time, with the sun close to the meridian, the ranger leads the cloaked cleric from the forest.  Ari, Kaceubel and Balron note the intertwined fingers of the two and the sober light in the eyes of both women.  Gwen looks almost subdued.  She nonetheless has a healthily arch look to throw Ari's way and seems to watch the Dungeon with vigilant suspicion.

Gwen unslings her bow from her shoulder as she and Nadia rejoin the group and says, quite simply, "Let's go."

The elf slumbers on, blissfully unaware of the events unfolding around him.

The half-elf pauses, takes in the sight of the sleeping mage and walks over.  A firm prod in the ribs with the toe of her boot definitely gets Kaceubel's attention.  Gwen smiles down, one capable hand on her hip.  "You can spy on us as thoroughly conscious as you do 'asleep', mage.  I suggest you get to your feet and shoulder your pack before the gods get sick of waiting and do the Apocalypse thing without our input."

With that, the ranger turns on her heel, beckons to Ari (hooking a finger on his shoulder just to make sure) and strolls up to the door.  "Any traps?  Check."

Ari does his thing, shakes his head, and Gwen smiles appreciatively.  "Excellent."  She looks over her shoulder at Balron, and satisfied that the muscle is close at hand, gives Ari a gentle but abrupt shove.  The Hobbit stumbles over the threshold with a squawk of protest, his boots kicking up dust.  The ranger watches calmly, rubs an eye, and then shrugs as Ari straightens and turns without being impaled on some hidden spikes.   

Gwen ignores the withering look cast her way by the thief, pausing to turn with a faintly troubled expression towards Nadia before visibly gathering her thoughts and getting back to business.  An arrow slides from the quiver and meets the string of her bow, Balron steps forward, axe in hand, and as they both advance through the doorway, sunlight slips like oil from the dwarf's armour and shadows darken Gwen's camouflaged clothing to a dull hue.  Feeling enveloped by the cool air within, the ranger presses forwards, senses straining for any hint of danger as she takes her first strides into Sephiroth.  Her eyes are bright with anticipation, but her lips are set in a grim line.

 The Hobbit > > stumbles over the threshold with a squawk of protest, his boots kicking up > > dust.  The ranger watches calmly, rubs an eye, and then shrugs as Ari > > straightens and turns without being impaled on some hidden spikes.

"It's completely safe in this bit!", Ari calls "Even monsters need to get outside now and then to pillage and stuff".

Balron reaches back with his left hand, a deft twist freeing his huge crossbow.  His axe resting against his thigh, he pulls back the string with his right with no apparent effort.  The metal arms creak as they settle into position.  A bolt is put in place and the axe recovered.  A shrug of his shoulder drops his shield to his left forearn, ready at hand.

Ari looks at Gwen, while pointing at the ceiling of the tunnel. "There's only that, for invasions, I guess". There are crevices in the ceiling, along each corner that connects to the wall.  As if a mighty stone block were chained up above your heads.  Perhaps it may even move from side to side if it were prodded with a staff.

Gwen ignores the withering look cast her way by the thief, pausing to turn with a faintly troubled expression towards Nadia before visibly gathering her thoughts and getting back to business.  An arrow slides from the quiver and meets the string of her bow, Balron steps forward, crossbow in hand, and as they both advance through the doorway, sunlight slips like oil from the dwarf's armour and shadows darken Gwen's camouflaged clothing to a dull hue. >  > Despite what must be considerable weight, his arm is rock steady as his advances into the dark behind his bow.  As the light leaves him there is an afterglow, faint and shimmering, which starts at the peak of his helm and spirals down, seeming to sweep the remnants of sunlight from him, making him all but invisible.  A low murmered voice is heard "Kragdin Battlemaster, join me in battle."   > >  Feeling enveloped by the cool air within, the ranger presses forwards, senses straining for any hint of danger as she takes her first strides into Sephiroth.  Her eyes are bright with anticipation, but her lips are set in a grim line.

Looking down Kaceubel notices that only one of the goblets has been drained.  Picking up on of the goblets he raises it in a silent toast, drains and then throws it into the dungeon just barely missing Ari, who squawks and ducks before turning towards the faint sound of breaking glass. The Elf stalks to the entrance pausing he stiffly bows to the rest of the party and waves them on.  "Well then, lets get on with it shall we."  There is a screech as metal-shod boots grind the remains of the wineglass into powder.

Gwen smirks into the darkness and wishes she had such a flair for the dramatic.  Instead, she reaches to the knotted sling against her pack, draws out a hefty stick bound with an oiled rag and passes it back to Kaceubel.  "If you'd be so kind, it'd be good if we could get some light to this torch.  Save you concentrating on a spell.  Then maybe Ari would do us a favour and carry it nice and high, eh?"  She doesn't take her eyes off the door ahead as the advance continues.  "You can multi-task, can't you, thief?"

"Multi?", mouths Ari silently in confusion.  Obviously some Elf-jargon.  He grabs a lantern from his pack and retreats up the tunnel, mumbling to himself.  Squating by the inner door, his dark form is illuminated briefly as the tinderbox sparks to life.  There is the soft metallic sound of the lantern glass being moved and the flame applied to the wick.  The little lantern lights up the end of the tunnel with it's spherical glow - Ari's shadow thrown around the wall and ceiling. The stone ceiling creaks slightly as the rock settles to one side momentarily.  It's a deep, soft, attention-getting grinding sound.

The half-elf pales, looking upwards.  "Squish.  Great."  She looks worriedly at Nadia then back at the 'ceiling'.  "I reckon we might just count as an invasion, Ari.  I suggest we get beyond this corridor - unless our expert can ensure we're not about to be mashed.  What's beyond this next door Ari?  Is it trapped?"

"It's perfectly safe", Ari grins. "Look".  He pick ups a large glass shard of one of the smashed goblets and hurls it against the ceiling. It tinkles as it smashes into smaller bits, the reflected light dancing of the particles as the fall back to the floor. "My previous party was REALLY cautious (not just paranoid..) We hit the ceiling lots before coming in.." "..as to traps, well, three weren't any last time I was here.  Past this RiddleDoor is a temple area.  Looked like it hadn't been used in years.  Apart from the Undead, of course..."

Giving a quick worried look to the hanging rock Kaceubel quickly Strides  past Gwen and Ari to follow Balron into the dungeon.  As he disappears into  the darkness Kaceubel can be heard faintly saying, "beside I don't need any  extra light in here."

 "Ah, well I rather do.  I see far better than most humans, but I am no dwarf to tread dungeons without clear light." Nadia quietly steps up beside the ranger and hobbit, cloaked, empty-handed and bearing a fair-sized pack.  She is wearing an open-face helm, wearing metal covered gauntlets and has the long bow case cleverly slung across her back, easily accessible should battle require it, but bound tightly so as to not get in the way of any movement. Her entrance is preceded by the sounds of her horse galloping away, lead by a small spell in the direction of the nearest safe place, and assuming all goes well, to be recalled from that place later. "I will have a hand free for much of the time, goddess willing, and can bear a torch from the rear of this rapidly expanding party."  She raises an eyebrow, only just visible in the gloom underneath the helms edge, as she glances down the corridor down which the others are no longer clearly visible to her human eyes. "And without open flame on this thing, I can always hold it in my teeth to fight."  Grins, the grin perhaps just a little too wide, as she rescues the magically lit torch from the ranger's offended grasp. The cleric bows deeply in the direction of the ranger, her free hand sweeping an invitation for the lady to precede her.

Gwen resettles her bow gratefully and smiles at Nadia.  The cleric sees a weary exasperation in the ranger's eyes which can only be associated with Kaceubel.  "I think you would be capable of just about anything," murmurs the half-elf and with a blown kiss, turns to consider the darkness ahead with tense shoulders.

Ari wanders over to the Ranger, taking the stick from her. "Thanks luv."

Gwen lets _this_ one go .... but next time ....

He smiles and draws a diagram on the sand.  It's clearly the same as that on the door. "These three doors lead to the bottom circle, here", he pokes it.  "Which is some sort of temple area". "To the left are giant bees, which lead up to the Gnome City, and above that, the Bone Well." "That's as far as we got.  Sorry.  Reckon there are prisons and mazes and stuff too.  The guy in charge should be in the topmost circle." "There's some traps, lots of monsters and lots of riddles, like this here one on the door."

Gwen looks pained. "Tie a bow on me and call me your Joy Day Maiden.  Pah."

He glances at his book again. "Our previous mage had researched it and reckoned it had something to do with Sage Wenisadore.  I just pointed out it's a writing mistake and a simple riddle for a Hobbit.", He grins smugly. Looping his thumbs into his belt once more he glances at Gwen.

"And?" she prompts - hoping someone else here can deal with riddles.

"And, Ma'am - it should read 'Say, When is a door...' sad but true. That's the problem when those high and mighty academic types..", Ari nods at Kaceubel.

"No offense."

"Translate writings of sounds - those phoney etick things".

"Won't say any more until we wants to go in - it listens to us and we don't want it opening just yet, eh?"

Balron squats next to him.  "Gnome city?  Bone well?  Names or descriptions, Ari?

 "Well, the Gnome city had Gnomes in it - true enough. So that's pretty straight forward. And the Bone Well..." Ari shudders slightly, glancing to one side.

 "Let's just say, it looked like a place to store experiments... We ran."

Gwen has wandered over to the door, unsatisfied with Ari's mumblings. She exhales a slow waft of smoke against the door.

"Vessel. Not door. Hmmmm. Great. So we have 'Derisnospewn' and Ari's mate - 'Wenisadore'. So when is a door, not a door? When it's a vessel? When it's a window? When it's fire-wood? Anyone here actually like riddles? Most of the time I hear riddles and decide to find a pub where folk are drunk enough to actaully be some fun. Riddles! Next we'll have morris dancing. How do we get in, Ari?"

She leans close and examines the door, becoming very still, then lets out an annoyed grunt - more self-chiding than anything else. "When is a door not a door? When it's ajar, dammit."

There is a muffled, deep, tomb-like thud of stone settlling on stone.

Gwen places her left palm against the stone surface of the centre door, her hand lying over the circle inscribed with "Fear" and pushes.

The mass of the door resists mightily. Several seconds of pressure go by as the inertia is overcome. There is a dusty scraping noise as the door gradually opens.

The dark crack that appears, seeming to swallow the morning sun as it widens. The overhanging rock of the mountain casts it's shadow into the revealed depths. A corridor, long, straight and clean continues deep into the mountain. At the far end is a dimply lit door. Another double door, closed.

The stirred dust of the entrance swirls in the shaft of light before finally settling on the ground. There is an echo. A deep, soft thud of the entrance door coming to rest against the solidity of the mountain. The weight of it pressing down on all sides.

The half-elf ranger steps backs, plucks the silver pipe from between her strong white teeth and smiles. Her left hand comes to rest easily on her curved hip, one finger looping fondly about the hilt of her hunting knife. "Well, a little premature, maybe," she says in a melodic tone, regarding the revealed corridor with a twinkling eye. "But I'm not about to say 'woops'. Let's get moving. Ari, fill in Balron and Kaceubel on anything they need to know about this here hallway, I'll go get Nadia."

With that, the ranger turns away and begins a light-footed lope towards the tree-line into which Nadia vanished some time ago. She quickly finds the marks of the human woman's progress, and with a widening grin of anticipation, slips soundlessly up to the edge of the tranquil grove of whispering firs selected by Nadia for her rituals.