[Seasonal Event] In The Dark

[Tribal]

E V E N T

Rain The 48th to the 51st finally brings some relief to the hot days with light rain. Water is still restricted and now policed by The Watch.

51 Summer 515 AV
Ninth Bell, Morning

The end of the rain brought some relief to the sweltering plains. The tide of the green sea had shifted and the once lush grass was morphing into a wash of browns, yellows, and gold. Well into summer, the city's trade was as busy as ever, even on a dreary day such as this, and whispers of an unusual discovery flooded the marketplace, echoed through the invisible web of spun djed for all of Endrykas to know. Ancient cave paintings had been discovered by members of the UnderWatch and Ankals from the city's clans were invited to look upon the pictures with their own eyes, while the rest of the public was forced to sit and wait for news on their findings.

Outside the main entrance Amunet stood among the crowd that had gathered to catch a glimpse of the heavily guarded tunnels. She had been waiting for a bell for news, keen to learn more about the mysteries of the caves. As the leaders from the city's clans finally reappeared, the Ankal of the Opal Clan spoke, "the findings you've heard of are false, the entrance to the caves will be guarded by The Watch until these dangerous tunnels can be safely closed. No one is to step foot underground; respect the traditions of the UnderWatch."

There was no more news and a song of sigh went through the group of people that had congregated as the seven leaders got on their Striders and made the trip back to the capital with a few of their loyal followers. Members of The Watch ushered the crowd away from the entrance and dragging her feet disappointedly, Amunet was herded away with the rest of the Drykas. Just as she made a start for home, she noticed a frail old man, older than any she had ever seen before, duck behind the trunk of a withered tree. When he did not reappear on the other side, the young woman was torn, should she wait a moment and sneak off to investigate, or return to Endrykas with the rest of her people?

On the southeast side of the Uvic Lake, Naiya Dawnwhisper sat washing her pavilions clothes. She had left Endrykas early that morning to make the journey to the lake and get a few chores done while light showers drifted over the grasslands, replenishing the water in the unusually low lake. Unlike the rest of Endrykas, she had not heard news of the cave paintings and without any skill in Webbing, was unable to tap into the secretive powers of the grasslands, where whispered rumours ran rife. The plain was quiet and save for the light howl of the wind every now and then, this day seemed like any other.

Still, something was bugging the animal handler, something she couldn't quite put her finger on until she realised that she could hear the sound of running water. Logic told her that this was a lake, one she had visited many times before for some reason or another, at which she had never noticed this sound before. Perhaps it is because the lake is low, she thought, her eyes scanning the water's surface for clues where she found that, indeed, the water was running towards the centre of the lake. She put her clothes down and stood up on tiptoes, trying to get a better look at where the water was racing too, only to see a structure of piled stones that looked as if they had been placed there a long time ago. Curious, Naiya searched for a way to get closer to the man-made structure though this meant she would probably have to swim or find something to help her get out into the great body of water.

Lian Windrunner was having a bad day. It started with a bee sting on the top of his right hand, which was puffy and itchy, and seemed to continue as he stalked the tall grass of the golden sea on foot in search of rabbits and other small game to take down with his bow. He had seen nothing in the last two bells and put it all down the miserable weather. He was just about to turn around and head for home when he became all too aware that he had no idea which way home was. He looked about the plain in search of some kind of landmark that might enable him to work out where he was, but other than spotting a small cluster of trees he didn't remember, the man was at a loss.

Unsurprisingly he had come well prepared and took forth from his pocket an old compass. He knew that he had ventured out west of the Uvic Lake and that Endrykas was currently located south of the lake. He recalled passing one side of the lake only twenty chimes prior and glanced at his compass to be sure of his position, but when he finally looked down at the helpful device, his heart sank. The small, silver hand that usually told him which way he was facing, spun around and around swiftly without pause. He matched back and forth trying to get a reading and shook the compass when it would not still, trying to make sense of it all. Great, just another inconvenience to add to the growing list today, Lian thought. Pocketing the compass, Lian decided that his best bet of finding home was to seek out the lake and he did this using his ability to tap into the power of the Drykas Web.

If he walked in a straight line for the next ten chimes he would come to stand on the west side of the lake. Putting it down to the rain Endrykas had seen in the last few days, Lian gave little thought to the soft, malleable earth underfoot and strode on ahead until it was too late. Quicksand! The thought registered as the hunter was swallowed bow and all. He took a deep breath, but terror-struck, was unable to relax until he felt himself falling, falling, falling, splash, into an underground pool! The body of water was a light blue in colour, almost fluorescent, providing enough light for him to look around the cave and realise he had dropped his bow which now lay at the bottom of the pool.

At the edge of the water Lian might notice a descending stairway carved into the rock. All around him vines and roots curled up towards the ceiling against the walls which were strong enough to climb or could even be used to fashion a makeshift rope, or torch from. The hunter might also notice that the bee sting on his hand was gone, as too were any scars he had acquired during his lifetime.

I N F O R M A T I O N

1: You decide what your character is carrying on them today [within reason and as long as they own it, that is fine]
2: Use the information provided to write your adventure and make decisions for your characters. At the end of each post I will present your character with two options; it is up to you to decide which path they take!
3: Have fun! If you have any questions or would like to write yourself out of the adventure, feel free to send me a PM.

Happy Writing!

[Amunet]

The young redhead tried looking around her father and older brothers. Pavilion status dictated they get front viewing but still she wanted to see. Amunet tried to worm her way as unobtrusive as possible. Sometimes if you give subtle gentle nudges, people move on instinct without knowing. One of her brothers shushed her and quietly warned her to keep still. Those sky blue eyes that captured the clear morning expanse of blue, drew the young lady to see the cave opening. Others saw it as a danger. Her youthful mind saw adventure and curious. That was what her brothers and father was afraid of that Amunet’s curiosity would land her in trouble with the watch. It was bad enough they had to send someone to get her now and again because she went too far out or was out too long for one reason or another. The girl had a knack of finding the most interesting situations. Too interesting.

When she was ushered with the rest of the crowd her sigh chimed in with the rest. Shetanae, her strider, was at her elbow soon enough as she gave way to the elders and others with status ahead of her as was proper. The girl took her time and moved slowly. The odd movement caught her eye of an elderly man moving behind a tree. At first she thought he was taking care of nature. The elderly became that old for a reason and had every right to be a bit eccentric. They sort of earned it by living that long. The girl sighed as she noted that he wasn’t standing too good and maybe he would need aid getting back to the city. Amunet craned her head around. Duty told her to follow her family back to the pavilion. Curiosity told her to hang back as she smelled interesting in the air. Her compassion spoke the loudest as her heart went out to the old man. Her big heart also gave her family and the Watch some concern.

‘Follow.’ The graceful signed command was issued the strider to heel at her elbow. The mare was about as fearless as her companion. The girl headed to the tree where the elderly man had went around. The finely chiseled face scrunched up a little as he just up and disappeared? What magic was this? She wasn’t a webber as she looked around area where she could see. The girl even went to the tree and looked at it from about three feet as if waiting for it to come alive. All she could hear was the morning breeze go through the leaves of the tree. Amunet stood up straight as she went closer to the tree and didn’t see the old man anywhere?

The herbalist took in a breath and exhaled as she was torn between duty and compassion. What if that old man was hurt or fallen? What if her family got really mad this time? That wasn’t really a thing. They had gotten mad at her before, but would she dare disobey the council of seven that determined they should stay away from this area. Still if the old man was in any danger, he would need to be extracted and brought to the city too. That was her duty, right? With that logic and a good dose of curiosity she followed her compassion more than her duty.

The strider had on her what she normally would take out while foraging which would include basic survival if she was out on the sea of grass for a night, along with various bundles of herbs. Amunet had her riding leathers on and her herb dagger sheathed at her belt. Amunet moved forward on the other side of the tree. Once past the threshold, she held her hand up to the strider to wait as she moved forward gingerly to see what was around the bend.

[Tribal]

Tangled within the maze of twisted tree-roots a white silhouette stood stark against the rich browns of the wood. On closer inspection Amunet might discover that the weathered shape is actually the remains of a human hand, stripped of the glove of flesh and muscle that once helped to form a hand, now only bare-bones that sat with one finger raised, pointing up into the treetops. Overhead and well out of sight to the untrained eye, someone, or something had etched a message into the bark of the tree.

At the foot of the Acklar tree,
Wait for me, wait for me,
The brave traverse the golden sea,
Count to three, wait for me.

Failing to notice this, Amunet might find that three perfect rings of dirt have been worn into the earth around the base of the tree, as if it's girth had been circled a thousand times before; no grass grows here. If she continued to follow her path around the tree she would suddenly realise that her Strider has disappeared. Panicked, she might run back to retrace her steps only to find that the mare is exactly where she left her.

[Amunet]

The white object that became a bone hand startled the young lady. This in turn caused her strider to spook and jump sideways. Amunet must have stared at it for several moments wondering if it was going to come alive as her imagination took a flight of fancy. Shetanae snorted noisily at the bone hand. The Drykas girl looked up where the bone was pointing to, her companion looked up as well as both horse and rider searched the withered limbs and dried branches for whatever it was it was pointing at. The dark wood seemed devoid of life and had a smell to it that was of rot.

The girl had to pull her cloak from the twisted roots as she stood up to continue around the tree. The trunk seemed bigger around than at first appeared. It was far older and still looked like it needed to be cut down so it wouldn’t fall over. Her feet made slow and careful steps around the trail that was of barren dirt. Nothing grew around this tree for at least the width of its branches.

It was getting creepy. As they rounded the large withered tree, it got even creepier. The odd circle trail or mounds of dirt that created a ring around the tree in a pattern was a very curious thing. The girl stopped to bend down to examine the worn trail around this tree. She moved further around following the circle a bit till she noticed her strider was not breathing on her elbow. The girl in her panic looked around like a nut for few minutes. ‘Wait a second.’ She told herself. She looked around very carefully as she looked at her surroundings really well and managed to retrace where she came from. ‘One step at a time.’ She told herself.

It seemed like an eternity when she crossed a certain threshold and suddenly her strider appeared. The girl was relieved and thanked Rak’keli and Zulrav both for her companion being safe and sound. Her curiosity found the phenomenon though perplexing. Tracing her steps again she went down the same trail again till she found that threshold. Though she was untrained, she does have an eye for detail and is perceptive as she paid close attention for any strange feeling and any distortion in her surroundings. When she located the spot where she had crossed before, Amunet tested it a couple of times as she crossed and recrossed it where she disappeared and reappeared at. ‘What is causing this?’ The girl pondered in the labyrinth of her mind.

The girl’s brow furrowed as she heard stories of strange magics and phenomenon’s that existed in the far reaches of Mizahar. The legends and sagas told of the Valterrian times some 250 years hence. The webbers and elderly speak a lot when you tend to them during the winter. Though she wasn’t permitted to know the deep mysteries of these legends, she did listen to the stories. This was feeling eerie as the prickle up her back ebbed ever more prevalent. The weight of ages was dawning on this young Drykas woman. With that in mind, the curious girl examined each of the three ruts in the circle carefully. This would cause her to walk the path three times.

[Tribal]

The magic of the grasslands has puzzled visitors for years. They have been called temperamental at best, for strangers to the area find that no two things are ever the same from day to day.One moment a compass will seem to work perfectly well, while the next it will spin and spin as if it had forgotten its own purpose in life. Trees seemed to come and go, lakes would rise and fall, and even the creatures that graced the plains would seem abundant one season and almost unheard of the next.

Amunet had circled the Acklar tree three times and unbeknown to her, discovered it's magic; a magic only she and one other in the whole of Mizahar was privy too, and that man now stood right in front of her. His name was Haku, a name so old that not even he could determine if it had ever been paired with a second, "Haku of the Opal Clan!" He greeted her in a high-pitched, excitable tone of voice.

His eyes were sunken and dark, limbs were long and narrow, and his skin looked as weathered as the bark of the old Acklar tree. "Wait for me," he chimed, "one, two, three," as he walked around the trunk of the tree to sneak up on her again, all of the trees magic undone as it had been circled thrice. Whether the woman continued on or ran back in a panic she would not be able to find her Strider, nor the world she had left behind. The Watchmen and women of Endrykas were gone and the entrance to the cave now stood unguarded.

"Wait for me, one, two, three," the crooked old timer sang again before pointing up the length of the tree to show Amunet his riddle.

"At the base of the Acklar tree,
Wait for me, wait for me,
The brave traverse the golden sea,
Count to three, wait for me,"

He smiled before continuing the riddle,

"Without a map she crossed the sea,
Beyond the burning Acklar tree,
To find her way she'll need a guide,
A service I will soon provide,
But payment of a fee will be,
Detailing in the numbers three."

Haku held his withered hand out to the young redhead with the sky blue eyes. If she ran from him the girl would only get so far before she found herself standing in the same place again. Her options were few, pay the ghostly guide or read the message engraved in the bark of the tree to undo its magic and return to the world she knew.

[Amunet]

Her strider disappeared again and now the girl cant get back. Not the way she came. She turned around this way or that only to find the old man staring at her. He looked like he had missed a lot of meals. For a few moments her heart swelled with needing to provide sustenance and comfort. Then the look in his eyes was what the webbers would call web addled. They say it happens when someone spends too long in the web. It was a danger and only the main Healers could attempt to treat with Rak’keli’s gift. That was what she heard anyway. She had heard stories of Haku and if anyone met the description this was surely it. Haku was dead. How could a dead person be talking to her? Was she dead? She didn’t recall even getting sick or falling.

That brings up a good question. What would Rak’keli do? The healing goddess has a love of knowledge and strength. The balance and keeping the balance required one to be knowledgeable and strong of body, mind, soul and heart. It didn’t take away that the young woman was utterly alone with this creepy old guy. Knowledge didn’t always come from a friendly face. It wasn’t that his was unfriendly just that there was this feel about him. Perhaps it was the feel of the unknown. Fear of the unknown. Yet of all the times she had ran the sea of grass on her own, she should find this intriguing. The sea of grass despite its changes and its magical draw to her, was a known quantity. This was not.

The girl turned and saw the cave with no one there. No Underwatch. Even the sky looked different, the surroundings looked different. What Djed caused this she wondered? The old man started to speak. He spoke in riddles and with him pointing up she saw the writing on the bark of the Acklar tree. She then recalled its bark was particularly medicinal but at this time picking bark was the least a bit down on the list of priorities at the moment. The magic of the area did cause the tiny hairs of her skin to rise a little lending a slight tingle as the man again uttered his riddles only now it was new words.

She didn’t run. “You are Haku of the Opal Clan? Haku died though according to legend. “ She furrowed her brow at the hand extended. “What payment would you need?” The girl asked. Now there are legends of gold needed for certain passages into the spirit world but those were just stories, right? Yet here was a figure before her. She dug into her pouch for three gold Mizas to pass off into the hand of the ghostly figure. There wasnt much to bargain with as there wasn't a lot of choices. He did say in threes. That was all she had in any amount of three. “Does that satisfy the payment, Haku?” A guide through this in between she was in was definitely a good idea. Her hand trembled as it was extended towards Haku with the three gold Mizas. She was crossing some threshold of some horrid initiation process. The girl told herself to be strong. Rak’keli requires strength and knowledge. By the goddess, she will be strong and embrace knowledge. The girl hoped it wasn’t going to get her killed. Girding her fortitude she stilled the shaking hand that was extended.

[Naiya]

Morning found Naiya sweating over the low water of the Uvic Lake, the respite of the light showers that drip dropped down over her as she worked was more than welcomed. The on and off rain was the only sound she really heard in the early morning, the splash of the lake covering most of the bird song and rustling grass. It didn't matter, she wasn't paying attention, in fact, there wasn't much heard over the sound of her scrubbing the clothing across the washboard anyway. The water heavy cloth made her arms hurt from the lifting, wringing, and scrubbing but she pushed through until all the laundry could be spread to dry.

The silence of being finished was profound, holding new importance as it called forward rest and relief for the sore muscles of her arms and shoulders. She always forgot what a big process doing laundry for everyone was. The Nightsong women would send three or four girls to do the wash, but Naiya was alone today doing all the washing for the Dawnwhispers. It wasn't troublesome, she was well aware it needed to be done, and Khida would just as soon go without clothing, so asking her to wash was a practice in futility.

So that was how she ended up alone on the side of the lake, her bow and daggers her companions in the wilds of the sea of grass, because water drew prey, and prey drew predators. Her real reason for the weapons was a hope for catching a deer or a rabbit to bring home with her, but so far it seemed that she was making too much noise with the washing.

She waited in the quiet for animals to appear, to peek out where she might catch them, but chimes passed, eventually a half bell was gone with not even a stirring.

That really ruined her plans. She was a rotten fisherwoman, but she had figured no sense coming to water without the set when she was going to be on the lake. If there was water, surely it had fish.

She removed the fine string, similar in appearance to a bow string, and the hooks from her bag, threading the string through the eye of the hook like an old pro. Sewing, it seemed, had some practical use outside of making clothing. It did not, however tell her the best was to tie a knot on the hook now.

She knew reasonably speaking, that the hook shouldn't be able to move around the string, so the first thing she did was loop the tie end around the longer end of string that would let her trail her hook in the water. She twisted the string under, and around the loop, up again, around, then pulled tight, only to find she had managed only to wrap the string around itself without producing a solid knot.

More careful this time to actually get the loop to form a knot, she wrapped, looped and pulled at the string until she believed she had a secure line. She knotted the other end the same way she would a sewing string, repeating the knot until it grew large. Then her stirring stick for the wash became useful once more, she pulled the narrow end of the long, whip-like stick to her, removing her dagger from the scabbard at her hip, she used the blade to cut a notch into the tip. Thin and about an inch long, the notch would hold her string on the stick so she could troll it about in the water. She slid the fishing line into the notch, the knot on the top holding the string in place.

She rooted around in the dirt looking for bugs or worms to bate her hook with, and after enough playing in the dirt found a worm that would suit her purpose.

She stuck the worm on the hook and dropped the entire thing in the water, keeping hold of the stick just enough to drag it back and forward in the shallows. If fishing turned up nothing, at least it was something quiet to do until the animals came out.

Time flitted by while she fished and clothing dried. It was peaceful, quiet, and if she admitted it to herself, boring. Soon an entire bell had passed, with only a bite and a lost worm to show for her fishing. She was digging for more bait when it hit her how oddly quiet it was.

Strangely so when, in fact, there still seemed to be too much noise, because even after she had fallen still, there were no fowl, no rodents, although what kept them away was a mystery. She had seen the cloven tracks of a deer in the mud as she approached the water, and even now as she glanced around she spotted the turned up ground from a boar and the tunnels through the brush that said rabbits were frequent visitors to the water.

So where were they now?

She scanned the grasses, brittle and yellowed for the most part, due to the harsh drought of the season. She caught nothing, no sight, no sound, no evidence at all of the life that should have appeared after she fell silent.

It wasn't silent though, she realized, the trickling burble that often marked her pavilion's camp had fallen into the recesses of her mind as more of the same, but was there usually running water at the lake? She couldn't recall the sound here, and if that was the case, it would explain the absence of creatures small and large.

Perhaps it was the level of the lake, the runs of water that filled it usually, sounding loudly because of the drop and dribble across the dry lake bed before it hit the water.

She cast her glance out across the lake this time, seeking the source of the running water sounds. The grew as tall as she could, tipping up on the balls of her feet, then up to her toes, so she could better see the surface of the water.

The sound was the lake, burbling gently as it reached toward the center. There was something there. Stones, piled atop one another until they formed a structure of some sort. How had it stayed beneath the lake unnoticed. Did no one swim out there and discover it? She recalled playing in the shallows of the lake as a child, elders even swam, even so no one had found this structure before?

She would be the first, then. She was no swimmer, and if the water was so deep in the center of the lake as to hide such a thing as this, she wouldn't risk wading out to the stones.

She turned new eyes to her surroundings, seeking the things that would be of use. No boats tied to the shore, no hollowed logs to float inside, she would have to craft something.

Or maybe she wouldn't have to even work that hard. The water was incredibly low, perhaps she could just wade out to her destination. Well, with a bit of help. She could use a log, something large enough to cling onto in case the water became too deep.

She had to hike a ways before finding any wood that would serve her purpose, and then she had to heft the log, nearly twice her size, to the water. She found purchase on the rough bark, one hand on a protruding limb, and she pulled, the soft mud proving less difficult to drag the log in than it may have otherwise been, although she had to carefully place her feet in order not to slip in the substance.

She stopped to rest, small bleeding cuts forming where wood splinters had scratched her palms, and embedded themselves in her skin. She plucked the wood free where she could while her body rested from her efforts. She couldn't decide what hurt more from the efforts, her arms, legs or back.

All the same, she would not be deterred, she wanted to know what that structure was, and perhaps even why it was there, what purpose did it serve if it was underwater?

Her hands screamed their displeasure as she took hold of the log once more, wrestling it through the mud and to the shore. The trail in her wake would confuse plenty of people, even she could hardly recognize her own footprints for what they were, wide and spread as her feet slid in the mud against the weight of the log. The overlap of the heel of her boot almost looked like claws. She had to wonder if there would be rumors of the strange tracks later.

She worked up a sweat dragging the log, and so the cool bite of the water was welcome relief as she pilled it into the lake, only just remembering to remove her boots before she submerged them completely.

Once the log was floating, it was mildly more manageable, pulling its own weight as she kept it close while delving into the cool water. The relief was instant, soothing the hot feeling of strain in her body from the work of dragging the wood. She found she made it quite a bit further into the lake than she thought before it became difficult to reach, not quite to the point where she saw the burbling water, and she was only just below her shoulders.

Her next step had her glad for all her efforts with the log, because the lake bed dropped out from beneath her feet, and the only thing that kept her above the surface was her hard earned float. It didn't work long, forward momentum pulling her and the log toward the gentle current, and when she hit that she discovered it was far less mild than it appeared, dragging her through the water much more quickly than she had any desire to move.

A rock hidden beneath the surface caught her in the gut, her entire lower body crashing into the rough stone knocking her breath from her chest and ripping her away from the log that floated along with deceptive peace. She clung to the rock, the current pushing her firm against it, she scrambled to find something to float her back to safety, but there was nothing, she would have to try and swim, the shore was too far now, the structure closest, but she wanted nothing more than to forget she had ever seen it. When she could finally breathe normally again, she clambered up the rock as best she could with the algae coated surface. She leapt as far as she could towards the piled stones, crashing into the water with a disorienting splash that knocked the wind out of her once more.

She scrambled, trying to find the surface, or the stones, something she could cling to or use to orient herself. Her clothing dragged her down, saturating with the water and making moving all the more difficult, bubbles escaped her mouth, floating downwards past the rest of her body.

Was she upside down? She could hardly tell in the darkness of the rough water. There was no clarity here, fear and surprise her only companions and she struggled to turn upright, to head for what looked like the glistening of the sun. She clawed at the water, her bare feet kicking behind her, no form, hardly functioning, but desperation makes a person strong, and she broke through the surface of the water for a scant moment, stealing a breath before she bobbed back beneath the water. She kicked, swung her arms, all of it happening in slow motion as her clothing dragged and the water fought her, trying to smother her with its false tranquility.

The current continued to toss her about, its grasp inescapable, she found the surface for another moment in time to catch sight of the piled stones rushing towards her before she fell back beneath the water.

[Lian Windrunner]

Timestamp: 51st Day of Summer, 515 AV Lian rubbed the back of his right hand as he stalked through the tall grass. It itched horribly, and was both a distraction, and an annoyance. An irritation that wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried to focus on his task. He wanted badly to scratch it, but he knew better than that. Scratching a bee sting would only make it worse. So he tried as best he could to ignore the nagging pain. It was only a bee sting, after all. A minor injury...no, not even that. It was an annoyance, nothing more. Like a mosquito bite, but more intense. He was an adult, not a child to run back home for a salve over such a minor thing. That it was on his hand, and would affect his ability to use his bow in a small way made it more annoying. Every time he moved the offending hand, he became more aware of the sting. But he was far too stubborn to allow something so insignificant to drive him out of the Sea of Grass before he made at least one kill. Even if it was miserable out. And yet...there wasn't a single rabbit in sight. Or anything else, for that matter. Checking the Web briefly only told Lian what he already knew; there wasn't anything worth hunting within several miles of his location. "Fine!" he snarled, in a truly foul mood. He might as well give it up as a wasted trip, and head home. Lian hated failure. His stubborn pride made him cling to even the slightest chance of success. But even that seemed to be lost now. If he had brought Talise with him as he usually did, he'd be able to make better time. It might make sense to stay out and search for prey then. But Talise was home with her foal. Having been born towards the end of spring, it was still too young to travel far. Not to mention the fact that it would be dangerous to take a young foal out on a hunting trip. And so Lian had left Talise back home to spend the day with her foal. Having made the decision to head back, Lian looked around to get his bearings. Then he frowned. Where, exactly was home? Lian quickly realized that he had no idea where he was. There were no familiar landmarks that would help him get his bearings. Nothing but a small cluster of trees that he didn't remember seeing when he entered the area. A stray thought passed through his mind briefly; would the wood from those trees be useful to Seirei? But he dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. Even if it was something she would want, Lian had no good way to cut any of the branches, and no way to bring them back even if he could cut them. He wasn't stupid enough to burden himself with something that would prevent him from shooting his bow if he was attacked, or was lucky enough to find a rabbit or two on the way back. His pride stung fiercely at the failure of the hunt. Lian knew that he could find Endrykas easily enough if he entered the Web again...and yet...hadn't he brought a compass out to test his skills with it? Using the Web instead would feel like yet another failure. So Lian pulled his compass out of his pocket. The city was currently camped south of Uvic Lake. Lian had used the lake as a starting point for his hunting trip, and headed west. That meant he had to travel southeast to get back home. And southeast was...Lian frowned at the compass in his hand. The silver hand spun around madly with no sign of stopping any time soon. Had he managed to break it somehow? How? Then again...what else could have caused it to stop working? "Well, that's just great! Now what am I supposed to do?" he growled in frustration. The option to use the Web to locate the city nagged at him, but Lian shoved the thought away. That would be taking the easy way out, and Lian was determined to stop relying on the Web as completely as he did. Doing so was dangerous. And yet...what other choice was there? After pacing back and forth for a while, and glancing at the compass several times to see if it would decide to work, Lian decided to compromise. He shoved the compass into his pocket, and slipped into the Web. But rather than search for the city, he looked for the members of the Watch who would be guarding the lake. Once he managed to get back to the lake, he would try to get back to the city in his own. It took him ten chimes to reach the lake. He knew he had been walking east since he had gone west when he'd started this pathetic excuse for a hunt. Using that, he was able to determine which direction south was, and he began heading that way at a brisk pace. Unfortunately, anger, and frustration made him less cautious than he should be. Lian didn't even notice the quicksand until he was firmly stuck in it. Panic set in, and he struggled desperately to escape. But his struggles were futile. If anything, they only made him sink even faster. Knowing he was as good as dead, his thoughts turned to his twins. He would never get a chance to see them grow up. Worse, he had failed them. With him dead, there would be no one to make sure they were raised properly, as Drykas. His captive would likely take them and run. At best, she would survive, and his children would grow up as strangers to their own people. It might be better if they perished out in the Sea of Grass before that happened. That way, at least, they would be reborn in the Sea of Grass one day, as he would. Maybe they would even meet again some day. Lian felt himself falling. That was strange. He was sinking into quicksand, so how could he be falling? Before he had a chance to think of any reason that would happen, he found himself flailing about in a pool of water. It had to be underground since he had just sunk into the quicksand, but he found that he could see somehow. Lian looked around, trying to find the source of light, only to realize that the light blue pool of water seemed to be glowing almost. It was the source of light allowing him to see. Looking around some more showed Lian that his bow was at the bottom of the pool. He had to get it. Lian flailed his way to the edge of the pool, and removed his quiver so he wouldn't lose his arrows when he tried to retrieve his bow. then he flailed his way back out into the pool so he was floating above his bow. Sinking would be far easier than floating since Lian had no idea how to swim. So he simply...stopped trying. As he began to sink, Lian somehow managed to get himself turned about so he was sinking head first. Moving his arms seemed to make him move faster. But his lungs began to burn, and he panicked once more. Instinct drove him to the surface, and he gasped for air as he flailed madly to keep his head above the surface. After a while, it became somewhat easier to do as he figured out a way to move his arms that seemed to help keep him afloat. Kicking his legs constantly seemed to help, too. Once Lian had recovered, he looked down at his bow once more. Leaving it simply wasn't an option. So he took several deep breaths, trying to build air up in his lungs. He took a final deep breath, and stopped trying to keep himself afloat. As he sunk, he flailed about until he got himself pointed towards the bottom of the pool once more. Then he moved his arms, stretching them out in front of himself, and pushing the water out of his way. The water seemed to push his fingers together, and he found that cupping his hands made it easier to propel himself forward. In this manner, he managed to reach the bottom of the pool. By then, his lungs were burning with the need for air. So he grabbed his bow, and pushed off from the bottom with his feet. That gave him a welcome burst of speed, but the water burned his eyes. Pushing the water out of his way with his arms was made more difficult with one hand holding his bow. Desperation made him try kicking his legs, and that seemed to help. Just as he thought he couldn't hold his breath any longer, his head broke the surface, and he gasped for air. With his bow clutched tightly in one hand, he made his way to the edge of the pool, and pulled himself out of the water. For several chimes, all he could do was lay on his back, gasping for air. His heart pounded in his chest adrenaline coursed through his system. But eventually, he calmed down, and once he did, he noticed that his hand no longer itched irritatingly. Startled, Lian stared at his hand, and saw that the bee sting was gone...completely. His eyes widened. What had healed him? Was it the quicksand? Or the water? Lian eyed the water intently. It certainly didn't look like normal water. Lian had brought one of his one gallon jugs with him when he went hunting since he hadn't collected his water ration for the day, and had planned to do so on his way home. But anger and frustration had made him forget all about it until now. After staring at the water for a few chimes more, Lian quickly filled his jug with it. If it was magic water that could heal people, it was priceless. The healers at the River Flower could use something like that to help them. Hunters could take a supply with them so they could heal themselves if they were injured while out hunting. There were any number of uses for magic healing water. And even if it was just normal water that had a strange color to it, there was no telling how long he was going to be underground. He might be there for a while, and if he was, he'd be very grateful for a source of water before long. Looking around some more showed Lian that steps had been carved into the rock, and were going further down. Lian frowned at the thought that someone had wounded the earth in such a fashion. And yet, it might be the only way out of this strange place. Strong looking vines grew up towards the ceiling all around him. He might be able to use them to climb out...but what then? What if there was more quicksand, and this time, he drowned in it? Heading down the steps, and looking for another way out seemed like the better option. Lian did have his hunting knife with him, so he began cutting several of the vines. They looked strong enough to be used to make a rope if need be. And being underground as he was, it seemed likely that he was going to need a rope at some point. So he cut enough to form a rope strong enough to support his weight. Then he tied one end into a knot, binding the vines together. When he finished with that, he twisted the vines together tightly. In doing so, he made them stronger than each vine would be on its own. When he reached the end, he tied a second knot so the rope wouldn't unravel. It was a crude rope, but Lian thought it would work in a pinch. He wrapped it around his waist, then began cutting some more vines. These were twisted into a second rope. After making five ropes, he reluctantly decided it was enough. He wrapped each rope around his waist tightly. He would need a source of light once he left the pool, so once Lian was finished making his ropes, he cut several more vines, and fashioned them into makeshift torches. Knowing that there was always a chance he might be caught out in the Sea of Grass after dark, Lian had brought his flint with him. But it was wet, and he didn't think it would be of any use in starting a fire until it had dried. After considering his options, Lian decided to soak some of his torches. The glowing water would hopefully make them glow as long as they were wet. And with any luck, the light would last until his flint dried, and he could light one of his other torches. Lian gathered as many roots as he could as well. They might be able to be made into torches if the ones he had were lost. They might also be edible. And if he was going to be stuck down here for any length of time, he would need food. Deciding that he had prepared himself as best he could to face the unknown, Lian steeled himself, and headed down the stairs cautiously.

[Tribal]

Amunet

Haku accepted the payment of three gold miza after testing the quality of the metal between the small, black stubs he had in place of teeth. He slipped the gold into an old, dilapidated coin pouch strung up to his belt. "You know the last one gave me three stones," he grinned crookedly, "they didn't get him too far."

With bandy little legs be hobbled towards the unguarded entrance to the cave and pointed inside with a long, narrow finger. "Let me tell you the three golden rules of surviving the caves. One, your right hand will always lead you home; two," he held up a second shaky finger, "don't drink the spring water no matter how thirsty you get, and three," Haku held up his thumb, his hands rattling as if he were walking a tightrope, "count to three, wait for me," he chimed.

Before Haku returned to his tree he presented the woman with three gifts; the first, a piece of parchment fit for writing on, "to do with as you please," he suggested before presenting her with the second gift of an ink stick. The third and final gift was a lit lantern with a light that shone a fiery blue.
"Wait for me, one, two, three," were his parting words before he hobbled back to the Acklar tree.

Upon entering the cave Amunet would pick up on a very damp, dense smell of rot and mildew that would take a few minutes to get used to and even then it would burn in her nostrils, reminding her that she was far away from home. The ground was littered with different types of fungi and moss that grew up the sides of the soggy walls. Amunet would have to walk for a good fifty feet before she came to the divide in the tunnel; one corridor veered off to the left while the second passage went to the right.

If she listened closely she might hear the drip, drip, drip, coming from the hallway of the first tunnel, while standing in the second, she would feel a light draft of air just strong enough to lift the loose tendrils of hair that curtained her face, flowing down, down, down, into the depths of the cave. Lifting the lantern would reveal small, intricate works of art dotted along the walls of the cave; though nothing that seemed of much importance. There were etchings of men and woman, animals and what looked like significant landmarks, though nothing Amunet could recognise at first glance. Linking the drawings was a single white or blue painted line, only just big enough against the earthy coloured walls to make out, as if a mouse had drawn them.

Naiya Dawnwhisper

The silent dangers of the lake were suddenly all too real and loud, overwhelming the submerged woman's senses. Naiya was pulled this way and that before finally she reached the man-made structure at the centre of the lake and was able to scramble out of the water, soaking wet, but alive. She coughed and spluttered as she crawled up unto the rocks and looked down into the dark tunnel which caused her to ask herself why she had gone to such trouble in the first place. She was just about to turn back, reach for the log that had become lodged against the cave entrance and head for shore when she scuffed her right knee on something sharp.

As she turned her attention to the rocks she noticed words scratched into the stone, all written in Pavi. Secret, forgotten, lost, found, hope, love, healing, family, magic; were just some of the words immortalised in the face of the grotto. Around the entrance to the cavern the rocks were smooth, leading into a tunnel the running water had carved over thousands of years; it must lead somewhere, Naiya thought to herself and as she contemplated whether or not to explore any further she lifted her hand away from a small stone that read; brave.

Lian Windrunner

With his bow, a jar of healing water, a glowing torch, and a rope fashioned from old vines, Lian was free to explore the caves. He had been clever and made the most of what he had to work with, but luck was not on Lian’s side today and part way into the caves, far beyond the glowing pools of the healing spring, Lian’s torch went dead.

He recalled passing a number of tunnels up until this point and wished in hindsight that he had stopped to count them; though the draw of the unknown had been all too tempting moments ago, now, it was starting to give him the willies. In the dark Lian suddenly realised how dense the air felt down here and the cold from the wet walls of the long narrow tunnels and winding staircases was starting to seep into his bones.

Strange noises cooed and echoed all around him. Bat scat lined the floor and the smell was insufferable. Everything seemed to be going wrong, and yet, with the lights out other senses were sharpened and soon Lian recognised the sound of running water. Should he push on blind, or try his flint and steel again? Perhaps, he thought, he could even use some more of the water from the jar he had collected, though it seemed wasteful.

[Lian Windrunner]

Lian froze when his torch went out, plunging him into a darkness more complete than he had ever experienced before. At night, the moon and stars shone bright to light one's way. Even when clouds covered their beauty, some dim light usually lessened the darkness. But there was none of that here. The complete and total darkness stirred a deep uneasiness in Lian. He didn't even know how far he had traveled. Although he had noticed passing several tunnel entrances as he descended the steps, he hadn't kept track of how many he had passed. Now he wished he had, even if he wasn't certain how knowing the number would help him when he couldn't see them to count them. The air was dense, almost hard to breathe, even. Lian couldn't help but wonder where it was coming from, and what would happen if it were to run out. The walls were wet, and cold. So were the stone stairs. Would they eventually leech all of the heat out of him if he remained down here for too long? But with the loss of his sight, other senses seemed to slowly increase to compensate for the loss. Lian heard the sound of running water. From the echoes it made, he thought the sound was coming from somewhere below him, but it was impossible to tell for certain. It seemed to him that moving towards the water was his best option. The water had to be coming from somewhere, and maybe he could follow it back to the surface, and the world he knew. Having the vaguest of plans was better than having nothing at all, so Lian decided he would do just that. But in order to do that, he needed light. Lian didn't like the idea of trying to stumble around in the dark. With the kind of luck he'd been having so far, he would fall off of the steps, and fall forever. At least it seemed like a possible outcome in this strange place. At the very least, it seemed likely he would fall to his death. Soaking his torch with the water from the pool had served him well until now, but Lian didn't want to waste the water he had brought with him. He didn't think that he would be able to find his way back to get more, and if it did have the ability to heal, then every single drop was precious. That left him with his flint and steel to light fire to his torch. It seemed unlikely that it would have dried out, given how wet it was down here, but it was his best option. Using his lengths of rope, Lian tied a few of them together to make a longer rope. Then he wrapped the rope around the jar in a way that would prevent the lid from coming off by accident. When he was satisfied that the water wouldn't spill out, he wrapped the rope around the jar several times, then wrapped the other end around his waist tightly, securing the precious jar safely to his waist. It was time to try and light his torch now. So he rummaged through his yvas bag until he found his flint and steel. Going purely by feel since he couldn't see anything, Lian found the top of the torch, and tried to light it with sparks made from striking flint and steel together. If successful, Lian would continue on his way, heading towards the sound of running water.