Scylax will relate what he may in Greek to Arni Miklos has found a larger cave! He asks for the climbing gear. Scylax will attempt to carry some of the equipment to the S section, although he will leave technical matters and heavy lifting to Alexios. As he does generally, he will not chance a fall, and use Wizard's Leap to negotiate climbing/leaping/contortions. If he may use Perdo to again alleviate conditions (the S section), he will do so, but perhaps it's now not necessary? He is loathe to possibly destroy parts of the cave that may keep other parts standing.
As Alexios and Scylax move back to pack up the ropes, Arni uses Unseen Arm to move the lantern from the cave below and forward to the S bend. Then he wiggles past them, to give them space and part skips and part flies through the S bend. He is sooo looking forward to entering the larger cave.
Any more rolls?
(botch roll)
botch die(06a not failure! One confidence spent getting up.
Alexios is much happier once the way through is widened magically. He will haul any gear needed so the magi can explore the wider cave.
Recap
[tab][/tab] Everyone including the scout are up. Alexios and the scout are hauling any equipment up and into the fissure, pushing them till the S bend. Miklos has faintly yelled back about another room (he sounds far off). Arni as an eagle hopped along, did a short fly to by pass the bend and then trails along the long, small tunnel to reach Miklos, leaving everyone behind. Scylax is in front of the bend and he needs to navigate it. He can't use teleportation because a) he cant see the top of the bend and b) this is a very confined space, any bad placement could prove fatal. He could use Perdo magics to again make the passage easier to traverse if he chances it, and it will make things easier for other as well.
<OOC I am not picturing the S intersection, sorry! Is it like this: over here Scylax |[sup]--[/sup] over here tunnel to bigger cave? Scylax can Spont another identical PeTe to create another furrow in the floor and running up the vertical wall to provide space to turn freely and to keep crawling up the hump. Again careful to not "shave" too much and certainly not affect walls.
PeTe 10
Base 4 R:Touch D: Mom. T:Part, destroy Stone up to a pace across in volume. Creating a furrow in the front of the obstacle and as far as Scylax can perceive up the hump 8" deep x 18" wide x 8' long, extra magnitudes attained if any, go to carving steps/handholds in the stone furrow created, and then to area affected.
(16 PeTe + 2 Sta + 2 Vigorous words and gestures + [url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=205445]: 1D10 = [6] = 6[/url])/2 = 13, success, just enough, no extra magnitudes! Rest to recover OOC >
[ Think of the S bend like a Tetris reverse Z tile. A short tunnel reaches a wall, continues straight up for some paces then goes straight again. Clear?]
[tab][/tab] Despite the closeness of space, Scylax manages to cast his spell again, making crude steps that may help climb up the bend. Just as he finishes, a slight tremor if felt across the cave. You can feel the vibration traveling through the cave walls and floor, dust and particles falling from the ceiling. The scout looks alarmed.
Once the cave starts to widen, Arni the eagle looks around to assess the situation. Where is Miklos? Should he change back to human, or is it better to fly down the 20 feet? Presumably, he has some time to think matters through while Alexios and Scylax struggle through. Gently he inspects the cowl. Did he manage to carry it through (with or without magic) without tearing it?
If necessary, he will try to pass a pebble from the large cave back to Scylax as arcane connection. He can use CrIm to project a voice to ask if he needs it, and Unseen Arm to move it, though I am not sure how long the narrow tunnel is.
Roll made. He has the sense of smell for vis until sunset.
(ST EDIT) No scent of vis yet (hur hur, wait till Scylax comes). Your eagle is behind Miklos, who is literally jammed in front of you and cannot move forward. Your eagle cant squeeze through to get ahead, its a very tight fit.
[tab][/tab] After dealing with the obstacle in their way, all the people of your party have finally crawled into the end of the tunnel, where Miklos has called for you, with none of the walls caving in on you despite earlier tremors. The fissure abruptly ends, exiting on a cliff. The cave floor is barely visible twenty feet or more below and there are no handholds visible. The new cave is cavernous (pun intended) and while there are many more sparkling stalactites and stalagmites in this part, the feeble light fails to penetrate the gloom and reveal the full extend of the room. A hastily lit torch handed forward reveals a huge chamber that extends ahead and curbs to the left, like a rounded pipe corner. Massive stone formations glitter with iridescence, the same glitter that the walls on the left and right have in green/red hues. The torchlight also reveals slim lines of metal deposits on the walls of the same color, embedded in the limestone.
[tab][/tab] From your perch you can see that the cave continues on, taking a slow turn towards the left. On the right curving wall there are two more features discernible; around 40 paces closest to you, another fissure smaller than a man seems to start from the ceiling near the right wall and going straight up. Further on the wall has a small ledge going around it for some paces, filled with a shale and rocks avalanche, some of the debris having spilled on the cave floor below.
[tab][/tab] While admiring the beautiful vista, you need to find a way to climb down. Miklos is in front, followed by Arni in eagle form, then Scylax, Alexios and the scout. There is little room to maneuver, let alone to change positions....
Alexios looks up at the streaks of metal ores and says "do you think these are the resources we've been hoping for?"
[Can Alexios' philosophiae (natural philosophy) let him know what the minerals are?]
Miklos will look for a way to attach a rope to the rock (pitons?) so he can descend to the cave floor. Do we have enough rope?
The eagle is tripping impatiently waiting for Miklos to find a way to move on, or possibly let him past. There is little he can contribute in this situation, and even less in eagle form. Squeezed between Miklos and Alexios(?) the situation is uncomfortable, and he does not dare shapechange, in fear of pushing Miklos over the edge when he grows to human size. He is stuck. And he does not like it.
Scylax is the last in line, most probably, he is suddenly very alert. To Arni, "Up front, do you feel it? A special place." Scylax has Folk Ken, but Arni's in eagle form, so he's unable to distinguish his sodales's agitation from a natural eagle's behavior.
<OOC from the back Scylax can't do much, however, Arni has enchanted several pebbles with Lamp W/o Flame, so Scylax should be able to scope the full extent of the cave with his Eyes of the Cat, and Wizard's Leap to a safe spot within 50 paces. Also, did the tremor affect the new cave, is there dust in the air? OOC >
[As stated you are one after the other inside that small tunnel. Scylax cannot see properly past two people and an eagle to teleport with precision, though he could do it blind (with appropriate risks). There is indeed dust in the air from the recent shaking, floating serenely until your magically made draft blows it away. Mikos needs either a Dex+Athletics vs 9 to climb down with someone holding the rope or vs 12 to just make a tumble unassisted. Note, getting back up will be more of a problem as there is nowhere to tie the rope to. You could fix one of those long nails on the wall and make a knot with some rope if you want to think ahead for the return trip]
"I think the copper veins are too thin to exploit, even if we could widen the cave. Maybe this mountain would be a good place to start prospecting?" Alexios says. "I'll hammer one of these nails in, or we'll never get back out again. Don't worry Mikos, I'll belay you down."
The eagle calms down a little and watches Alexios and Miklos preparing the ropes. Once Miklos is off, he moves to edge and glides over to the ledge, to get a better view while still giving Alexios and Scylax space.
Is the ledge is wide enough to sit comfortably in human form? If it is, he will shapechange, just to be able to converse with Scylax.Miklos will climb down the secured rope,
Dex 2 + Athletics (Climb) 4, Perfect Balance +6 Roll 7 = 19 vs 12 Success.
Once down he will scan for any problems and relay them back to the people on the ledge.
[tab][/tab]Miklos expertly climbs down the rope and immediately the eagle flies into the darkness to perch on the debris filled ledge. As he checks around, the slav sees that above him he has just exited a fissure hole high up on a wall of two different types of stone divided by a large crack, there is no ledge to stand on. The eagle surveys the small ledge its on, it's a small feature filled with loose shale and rocks, as is something drilled or mined the area and threw off shattered particles all around. There is no space for a man to sit on, let alone walk. Alexios on the other hand is more practical, making sure there is a way for the party to return. He fixes the nail into the rock with some ease, then attaches a loop of rope to make a way up and down.
[tab][/tab]Soon you have the rest of your equipment and people down. Torches illuminate the area further, the beauty of the stalagmite formations is apparent. Dust finer than silt stirs under your fresh air spell, making patterns on the cave floor. This place seems to have never been disturbed by living creatures. The complex continues turning to the left, there is some moisture in the air.
While the rope users take their time to descend, Arni looks the cave over. It is cavernous so presumable there is space to fly and inspect whatever may be of interest. That crack, for instance. Vertical or horizontal? How wide is it? Should we send a grog in to see if anything is hidden there, he ponders. There was a hole in the ceiling. How wide is it? Is there anything up there?
When all the others have safely (?) descended, he flies down and shapechanges behind a stalagmite. Emerging again in his brown cowl, he approaches Scylax. «Sorry, Scylax, eagle speak is tricky.» he says, «Yes, cavern is grande indeed. But cannot sense nature of it. Tell me please, what do you see?»
Alexios looks around, seeing if there is any further way ahead or other exits they might be missing. As he treads in the dust, he will look around these stalagmites.
Once Scylax has some space to maneuver in, and can see that the floor the others are standing on is solid, he will Wizard's Leap down (regular, no fast casting!):
Wizard's Leap ReCo 15 Mastery 1 Fast Casting/+9 _: 1D10 = [1] = 1 , _: 1D10 = [7] = 7 = 23, success.
He will again focus and concentrate on the "smell the magic aura" spell he has ongoing.
To Arni (in way more broken language, as is their current communication): "I sense a place of power for such as we, up ahead."
<OOC In exactly what direction, towards where the cave curves? OOC >