A cloud of darkness plumes in the air almost instantly, as dark and thick as ink. Within, a determined Rajan puts a shoulder down and charges toward the dwarf, sight unhindered. On-target, he slams into Yorvik, sending him reeling toward the edge. The unbalanced dwarf makes a startled cry as he collides with another prisoner, and the two disappear over the lip of the switchback.
As Yorvik goes over, Rajan uses the last of the shadow magic to slide over back to where he had been, even a step further away, to look as though he had stumbled away from Yorvik when the darkness plunged.
A pair of screams echo up for several seconds, easily audible over the silence that has emerged from the hundreds of prisoners walking down the slopes. The bloodcurdling cries of the two men are cut short by what you can only assume is their bodies being broken asunder by the mining plaza's stone floor.
Within seconds, the silence has given way to a chaotic mess of voices -- the prisoners yelling, shouting, some even laughing. You can see the strings of Watchers struggling to keep order, their faces a mixture of anger and confusion.
In front of you, a few men who were enveloped in Rajan's darkness helplessly look between the faces of those around them, gripped by fear. One of them has broken into tears, and is on his knees in a low sob. Two Watchers approach from behind, and one from the front.
One of them, a human woman, steps forward to the crying man. "What did you see? What the hell was this?" She looks around at everyone nearby, expecting an answer.
Josie's attempts to watch Rajan's every move are immediately interrupted by a sudden, unnatural darkness surrounding a small area in front of her and the others. She worries for the man, especially when she hears the sounds of screaming as someone tumbles over the edge, but sighs a bit in relief when he stumbles back out of the darkened area.
What was that? A ghost? She is not really sure to make of what happened when the Watchers approach, inquiring about what just happened. "I... don't know," the woman responds, honestly, not really sure what just happened. Could it really have been a coincidence? Was that part of his plan all along?
Alerio looks in bewilderment as darkness envelops the tunnel, having never seem something like that. This bewilderment turns to shock as he hears the screams of peril as a pair meets their doom. Two screams? Let one of them not be Rajan. His worries are put to rest, however, as the man seems to reappear near them.
As the darkness clears and the panic begins, Alerio looks to see the missing Yorvik, astonished but relieved that the bargain has been held up. As the Watcher begins interrogating the prisoners, the Talon remarks, "I am not sure. It's as if all the light was just stolen for a moment."
"Dark magic is afoot," the crying man says to the Watcher, stepping toward her.
"Shut up and quit your sniveling." The Watcher shoves him back a step. She turns to another Watcher near her. "Board Wing, now. Tell them we need an artificer." The other man nods and takes off behind you, headed up the incline you came from. "We're going to find you, you little rat. Best give yourself up now and spare yourself the pain." The woman looks between the few dozen prisoners around her.
From behind, Durnom approaches -- likely having made his way into your group during the chaos. "That sure was something, hm? This place is getting more and more dangerous each year."
Rajan slips closer to Durnam. "Another one? Friends best stick together, things are looking rough today."
Who has friends in a place like this? Josie is intrigued by the Watcher's mention of an artificer, something she'd only heard about but never witnessed directly. I wonder what they are going to do? Some sort of ritual? "It does appear that way," she responds half-heartedly to the dwarf and Rajan, more focused on watching the goings-on than the conversation.
Shakumon watches the entire scene play out before him, careful to not appear too close to the events. Although he is briefly shocked at the darkness and confusion, he's seen mystical arts before and doesn't panic. He does wonder, however, what else his companion is capable of.
When the Watchers arrive, he merely shrugs at their inquisitions, not volunteering any information. He waits, half-anxious, for the artificer to arrive. He glances around, trying to discern how others are reacting.
The Watchers have halted the march, and the throngs of prisoners stand idle, mulling around anxiously. It is a short time before a pair of Watchers come jogging through the crowds, with another man in tow. He wears garb similarly to the Watchers, but with a dark grey sarong hanging from his waist-armor.
The man approaches the female Watcher who had questioned you briefly, and they speak for a moment before he breaks away. Slowly and with an intimidating look upon his face, he strides along the clusters of prisoners in your group. The man's head held high, he inspects every one of you one at a time. When he finally makes it to the other layer of Watchers, he turns back and does so once more in reverse order.
Unspeaking, he turns to the cliff edge where the other Watchers point out the inky black cloud was formed and where the victims fell. He stands motionless for a time, his arms behind his back as he calmly looks around. After a moment, the man speaks, seemingly to himself. "Shadow magic. No surprise. But the point of origin... From here? From above?"
"You can't tell?" the female Watcher asks, her brow furrowed. "Just look for who caused it."
The artificer giggles. "It's probably best if you keep to your own duties and let me do mine." The Watcher stays silent, though with a sour face.
After a moment more, the artificer turns to a few prisoners individually, speaking quietly to them. You recognize they are those who were within the cloud of shadow. Receiving only mumbles and shaking of heads, he goes by a handful one-by-one until he steps to Rajan with a bored look upon his face. "You were enveloped too, as I am told. What did it feel like? Are you injured?"
As Rajan watches the artificer out of the corner of his eye, he shifts his body language to look appropriately frightened. Enough to be noticeable when interacting directly, but not enough to draw attention. "I'm not hurt, sir. And it didn't really feel like anything. Just went dark. Sir."
The artificer gives Rajan a severe look for a moment, watching him very closely as he speaks. "Very well," he offers in turn, before moving on to the crying man who has calmed down a bit by now.
Now finished with his investigations, the artificer steps back to the Watcher, speaking in a hushed tone with her. After a short exchange, he steps off behind you, going into the next group over. The man begins the same process as he did with you.
The Watcher approaches again. "We are to continue the march down, you lot. Don't bunch up, and don't try nothing. Just cause the Watchers won't be right on your back, doesn't mean we won't have eyes on you."
On the way down, Yldaren steps closer to you all, a bit wide-eyed. "We good?" he asks Durnom. The dwarf simply smiles. "We're good."
Minutes later, you finally reach the bottom, where a grisly sight awaits. The two men fell straight down, their bodies meeting the flattened stone floor of the mining plaza. Yorvik's golden hair is matted with a spatter of blood, and there is puddle beneath his head. The other man is belly-down, several feet away. His legs appear bent at unnatural angles. Several Watchers stand around or kneel, ignoring you as you pass.
"This isn't right," Bazros says, shaking his head. "This isn't right."
Alerio breathes a sigh of relief as the artificer leaves them be and the march continues, hopeful that such luck will continue. That we're so close now... I don't want to lose this chance. It may be the only one we get. As they approach the plaza, the Talon grimaces at the grisly sight. It's as if El-unod himself plucked them from the ground and dropped them from the sky. Hearing Bazros' mutterings, he finds himself surprised at the usually-silent orc's words. A lump developing in his throat, Alerio thinks, Are we any better than these Watchers if we allow this to happen?
Josie follows the others down the path towards the plaza, quiet as usual, her thoughts on the recent events and their unusual luck. The reality of the situation does not fully hit her until they reach the bottom, though. There before her she sees the bodies of the recently-deceased, and it is a gruesome sight to behold. Though well-accustomed to death and corpses, she had never seen something quite like what happened to these men after such a long fall.
Seeing that some of the others are also uneasy at the sight, she steps forward a bit. She places a hand on Bazros' shoulder and just gives him a nod. He is so weak-willed, it is a wonder how he ended up in this place.
Rajan looks dispassionately at the two corpses as they pass. It wasn't right, but right had been increasingly less of an option as his imprisonment went on. They're out of this Hell now. Desram whispered in his head. If such as we could escape so easily, there would be no need for Durnam's tunnels.
Leaving the grisly sight behind, the group of you make your way to the center of the plaza, where the gear stations are. The usually efficient and organized process has become a loose and confusing event now, with Watchers shouting orders to try and get groups through.
Yldaren meets up with one of the Watchers, informing them that the mining group is ready to proceed. He comes back within a few moments. "This way. We're cleared to go."
You all crowd into the gear station, a tent-like structure that holds the pickaxes, torches, and waterskins used for the shifts. Within, two Watchers silently hand over your equipment.
While this is happening, a third Watcher steps in, leading a young human woman alongside an older human man. The new Watcher whispers something to the other two, before turning to face Yldaren and the rest of you.
"Change of plans. A mining crew's been dissolved on account of those two takin' a fall. These two are with you today," the man says, shoving the woman and man forward. "And don't get too friendly. The mining crews are getting swapped around tomorrow."
Quickly, you finish gearing up and within a few minutes you are headed down to the tunnels, Durnom leading the way with Yldaren beside him. Brelnia turns to the newcomers. "So who the hell are you two?"
As she dons her gear for today's shift and follows the group towards the tunnels, Cassandra doesn't bother to hide her stares, or the twist to her mouth as she considers each of her new companions. These were all pretty close by. Not all of them have the look, but one of them could have been the caster..."
Hearing the question from the shortest member of the group, Cassandra turns her gaze to the female dwarf. "Cassandra," she says after a few moments of consideration. Though the Artificers and Watchers use another word... Brushing a few stray hairs from in front of her face, she continues with a smirk, "What about you and the rest of this motley crew, half-pint?"
Lucky for them. Rajan thought, looking over the two newcomers. "I am Rajanikant." He seems to cut off, remembering how little of who anyone is is relevant down here.
"Zhou Si," the Ghian responds, which would sound like a weird pronunciation of 'Josie' to the newcomers. She watches curiously as the Watchers add two new members to their group, glad that they had not also decided to remove Durnom's presence. It is nice to not be the only human woman among so many men. Perhaps now Korgul will turn his attentions elsewhere.
She marches on with the others, now a small bit worried at the words of the Watcher who'd brought the new members to them. If we do not get out now our small group will be split and the plan all for nothing. I suppose it is now or never. "And who might you be?" she asks to the other of the two who'd joined with Cassandra, who'd yet to speak.
At Cassandra's insult, Brelnia laughs. "Half-pint? Hah. The balls on this one. I like you," the dwarf says, clamping a paw on the human's shoulder. "Name's Brelnia. Only name you need to know is Yldaren. That's the foreman." She points to the grizzled elf, who looks back and nods.
Josie prods the other newcomer with her question. He spins, meeting eyes with her. "Doesn't matter. Mining crews swap tomorrow, you heard the Watcher." The older man sighs, facing ahead as they walk. He grumbles to himself something that you can't hear.
"Baz," the quiet orc offers, standing near him.
Durnom says nothing, sticking to the shadows in front near Yldaren. They discuss quietly as they lead the way.
"I am Alerio," the Talon remarks as the new introductions begin. She is a brash one. I would not be surprised if the Watchers visit her often. However with the newcomers aboard, Alerio grows slightly concerned. Though their chances of succeeding in their escape attempt were so slim before, now it seems to Alerio that things got more difficult. How are we going to manage to get a dozen of us out of here without getting killed first?
Flashing a mischievous grin at Brelnia, Cassandra is almost surprised to find that she doesn't immediately shake off the dwarf's hand. She reminds me of Duraina, the girl realizes, thinking briefly of her hardworking friend. Might be a while before I see her again. Getting out of here isn't going to be easy...
After sizing up the others, she lets another smile cross her face for a moment before jerking her thumb towards her former crew mate, "Scruffy over here's called Vanthar. Doesn't talk much, but he'll bring in more than his share of ore. Good sort to have around for shit work like this."
"Well," Rajan says, somewhere between smugly and charmingly, "Today your luck is running high. You get to walk around this shithole with the best and the brightest. We only got ten lashes in the last few days. Might not get any today, unless you ask nice."
"Better that than talking too much," Josie responds to Cassandra, flashing a look towards Korgul as she does so. The look turns to a frown at Rajan's mention of their recent lashes, the woman still bitter about the orc's big mouth.
Vanthar grimaces at their discussion of him, his pick held over his shoulder. "Not lookin' to make friends. I'm sure you follow. I just want to do my duty and be done with today."
Durnom and Yldaren step alongside Zhou Si, Alerio, and Rajanikant. The grizzled elf looks you over with a curious look. Durnom clears his throat. "Figured I'd talk to you three, since you seem to be making a lot of the hard choices around here," the dwarf explains quietly out of earshot of the newcomers. "You gonna fill them in? Or are we dealing with them ourselves?"
Rajan shoots a glance at the new pair and leans in toward Durnom and Yldaren. "One way or another I'm taking a long walk today. I don't mind a tagalong or two, but the footing around here isn't so good for troublemakers."
"They deserve to know what they're getting into," Alerio replies as the dwarf pulls the trio aside. "We should not risk their lives on something they didn't sign up for," the Talon says firmly, hoping the others see that it's the right thing to do. I couldn't bear to put them in such danger without telling them.
Scoffing at Vanthar's comments, Cassandra rolls her eyes. "Duty? Pssshhh. All we're stuck with in here is grunt work and that's made you quite the dull boy, V. What about passing the time? I refuse to believe that all you do is just stand there and think about the rocks you're breaking every day. All we've really got is talking to each other."
As she turns back to speak with Josie and Raja...something, she notices that they've been drawn into a hushed discussion with Alerio, Yldaren the fore-elf, and the dwarf who, rudely, hadn't introduced himself to her. If he doesn't by the end of the day, maybe I could try discretely setting his beard on fire, she thinks to herself with a smirk. None of them know about my abilities yet, after all. Her expression twists into a frown as she notices one of her temporary teammates speaking to the dwarf, the man whose name she'll probably never be able to pronounce. I wonder what they're talking about...?
Rajan turns to Alerio. "Feel free to fill them in, then. Maybe you can work it into a sermon." he says, just a hair too loudly.
Staring blankly at the hushed discussion occurring in front of her, Cassandra strains to listen for a few moments before giving up. She smirks as the elf Yldaren catches her eye and looks away. I suppose I could try getting him alone and seeing if he cracks...or just play the good girl for now....NAH
Turning her head as if she had been talking to Vanthar the whole time, Cassandra begins speaking in a loud mockery of a whisper, "I dunno, V. It was probably real tough lifting that stash of whiskey off the Watchers and hiding it out here. Can't say I blame them for not telling the new kids where it's hidden right off..."
"I do not speak sermons," Alerio replies sharply to Rajan. "I simply bring judgment on those who disobey them," he adds, referring to his profession prior to his imprisonment.
The Talon rolls his eyes at Cassandra, turning her way. "Hush that fiery tongue of yours, and come," Alerio remarks, gesturing the pair of newcomers towards their huddle. "We've important things to discuss."
Josie weighs the options, unsure of her position on the matter. Unfair, perhaps, but better we succeed than risk them knowing our plan and going behind our backs to warn someone. As she considers the prospects of telling versus keeping silent, she notices that Alerio has already called the newcomers over to speak.
Once they're within earshot, the woman sighs and looks between the two. Matter-of-factly, she says, "we're getting out of this place. Thought you should know." I guess the Serran has decided for the lot of us.
"Only way out of here is at the mercy of the Watchers' batons," Vanthar says, his eyes narrowed at Josie. "But that's not what you mean."
At Alerio's chiding, Cassandra sticks her aforementioned tongue out at him, but approaches anyway. She cocks her head at Josie's comments and looks around at each of the others in turn. Surely they can't...no, they're serious. Well, it might be easier to sneak around alone, but something big like breaking out of this place would require help.
Swallowing, she asks, "If you're saying what I think you are...I assume there's some sort of plan in place?"
Alerio feels dumbfounded at Cassandra's question, his face much like an antelope caught in torchlight. Looking between his companions and then back to the fiery woman, he replies, "Well we sort of have a plan." Unsure of how else to proceed, the Talon matter-of-factly says, "Durnom knows a way out."
The dwarf sighs, looking between the two newcomers. "Suppose I do," he says, nodding. "It's an old passage that leads to the underground stream -- the same one that feeds into the Gryst. Found it years back, but I was in a different state of mind then. Didn't have the means to do much about it."
You reach a crossroads as the dwarf is talking and Yldaren's ears perk up. He spins toward the right-most path, before putting a finger to his lips. The group of you quiet down immediately. Yldaren's eyes are wide as he whispers: "Barrow patrol. Far as I suspect, just a few Watchers and the barrowpushers. What's the go-ahead here?"
"Which path are we supposed to be taking?" Josie says, inching close enough to Durnom that she can whisper to the man. "If not the one the noise is coming from then we should just try to move that way before they catch up to us. Otherwise I think it best to hide down a side path until they pass." Why would a barrow crew be down here so early in the day? Is there even ore ready yet?
"Let's keep moving then." Rajan whispers. He rolls forward onto the balls of his feet, ready to move silently.
Cassandra skitters after Rajan, but stubs her toe on a rock and curses aloud. Pausing momentarily, her eyes widen with realization at the error before she tries hurrying across the intersection as quickly as her feet can carry her.
Alerio sighs as Rajan commits the group to a stealthy approach, never having been one for stealth and preferring to rush into combat headlong. Having little choice, he follows behind the others.
Josie nods to Rajan when he speaks, and follows after the others. Much like the others, she finds it a bit difficult to progress quietly down the tunnel.
A few of you crunch along the cave floor, unable to make a silent escape down the passage Durnom has guided you to. From your side, you hear some low voices as you move, and eventually one culminates in a call of "Identify yourselves!"
You hear movement toward your position.
