Chapter 3 - Into the Lair
"Looks like the seer was right," said Sparrow, looking out the window
of the room. Dawn had just broken, though the party had been awake for
about an hour waiting for the light. The rain still pattered down, but
it was not heavy, and the strong winds of the past few days had receded
to a light breeze, at most. "It's still not very good weather for
scouting, though," she added."Well, today our best chance at becoming local heroes," said Graeme, "So let's give it our all."
"After breakfast," said Annette, standing and walking for the door. "I only feel up to giving eating something my all right now."
The party left town shortly after breakfasting, and headed more or less straight north, where the greatest concentration of creatures was. The area had quite a few craggy, tall outcrops that made it hard to navigate, and made the land mostly worthless for anything but hunting (which was, of course, one of the main sources of Two Crags' relative wealth - the rather large areas of mostly untouched woodland).
After reaching the edge of the crags (through about two hours of moderate forest), the party stopped. Sparrow took off alone, leaving behind Annette and Graeme to watch over the pack horses. She quickly reached a considerable height, and then started gliding, checking out the crags in the light rain. They stretched over an area of a few miles, varying widely in shape.
Sparrow flew over them, spotting those that seemed most inaccessible or tall (in line with what the seer had said). After an hour or so getting a feel for the area, she began to land upon them, one by one. Most had no caves, merely being solid rock. A few had holes she doubted anyone could fit through - and she also suspected many might be dead ends.
Eventually, however, she found herself upon a crag that was unusual. It seemed almost completely impossible to climb - the faces were sheer, or even inclined over any potential climber - but the top had a strange symbol carved into it. It was obviously made by intelligent hands, not nature, as the symbol was detailed beautifully and cleanly.
There was also what looked like the beginnings of a tunnel atop the crag. It was definitely unnatural, but Sparrow could not tell how it had been dug - there were no marks from pickaxes, nor any animals. It was either the work of a great artisan, who had worked on smoothing the tunnel and shaping it just so, or some kind of magic.
Sparrow brushed her hand across the symbol. It, too, could be a product of either, though Sparrow hoped someone capable of creating such a magnificent carving had once lived. It seemed to be writing, perhaps, next to a carved image of a strange, in human face. The face had a single centrally placed eye, and a broad, slightly open mouth, but no nose, or hair. What looked like a collar was placed where the creature's neck would be.
Some sort of instruction, maybe? Or a greeting? wondered Sparrow. Out of the way places in the world frequently had evidence of strange civilisations, or creatures, in them, and Sparrow had seen a few in her travels. I wonder, thought Sparrow, I wonder if this has anything to do with the creatures, or if there are other traces of these people around here. Or, even better, artifacts of some kind. Sparrow smiled to herself with greed, and took off.
Sparrow travelled back to Annette and Graeme, who were still busy keeping lookout. She related her findings, and the party ate a quick lunch, before Sparrow took to the air again.
She landed on crag after crag, but found nothig strange. She found two small cave entrances, but quick expeditions inside (using the ordinary torches she carried) found only dead ends. Almost ready to give up, as she turned around from the fartherst reaches of the crags, she spotted a cave in a very unusual place.
It sat on an almost vertical cliff face, far above the ground. The opposite side of the crag wasn't too steep, but it also appeared to be almost completely unstable; the damage from mudslides and other collapses was obvious. It also looked as if, from the ground, it would be impossible to see the cave entrance - Sparrow had barely managed to spot it from the air.
She carefully circled down, and landed on the entrance. Just like the partial tunnel she had spotted earlier, the path ahead seemed to be a work of master craftmanship. She walked in a little, and lit one of the (ordinary) torches she carried. The flickering light illuminated a tunnel stretching into the cliff, a delicate pattern carved into the walls. Sparrow looked down the cliff face, and into the smooth walled cave. There's no way I'm getting Annette and Graeme up here, she thought, there's nothing to tie the rope onto!
Sparrow moved into the tunnel a little to get out of the rain. I guess I'll have a look around, she thought. She took a look at the ground, and noticed that the rain that was dripping in from outside was cunningly draining into a small holl in the tunnels floor. The tunnel was about two and a half metres tall, and about the same width. The corners were all curved, but the tunnel was almost square apart from that. The pattern in the walls seemed to be decorative, although Sparrow guessed that it might indicate some kind of zoning.
Gently, she stepped along the passage, wary for some kind of trap. There did not seem to be any kinds of triggers present, but it paid to be careful. Nothing sprang out suddenly, covered in spikes, so Sparrow began to move a little faster. The tunnel went into the cliff for about twenty metres, before turning to the left and beginning a downwards spiral. Sparrow went followed it down for about fifteen minutes before it stopped descending.
A sharp turn lead to the entrance to an incredible chamber - ten metres tall, and thirty metres long and wide. The walls were covered in a similar pattern, and there were several archways indicating doors leading to other areas.
The room itself, however, was bare. That's kind of weird, she thought. All this space, and nothing done with it. She walked out into the room. The floor, walls and roof were all tiled - the pattern seemed to be engraved into the tiles in the same way it had been into the walls of the tunnel. Near the centre of the room, a circle of tiles were stained, deeply in the centre and less so radially.
Sparrow poked, then sniffed the stain. It had no odour, but her deliberate sniff did give her a waft of something foul. Something's rotten, or maybe the creature's lair, she thought. I should have remembered to get a whiff of them before I came down here. Next up, oh, the furthest left path.
Walking towards her choice, Sparrow spent some time admiring the ceiling. it arched upwards to the full ten metre height over a metre along the edges, and the tile appeared to have been crafted to give it a perfectly smooth curve. I hope that someone, or something, that can tell the tale of this place survives, she thought.
Sparrow quickly discovered a few staircases, but stayed on the first level until she had explored it all. There were quite a few chambers, but all were bare. She guessed that most were either dormitories or laboratories, with occasional eating halls, due to the sizes and placings of the rooms. Some areas reminded her strongly of barracks she had seen in castles (sometimes part of the lord's tour given to tournament winners on occasion).
As she explored the second level, she discovered that the layout was quite different. There were many medium sized rooms, and a second large room with a stained floor. Once again, however, they were all empty. I wonder if these rooms were even used? They seem perfectly clean, barely even any dust, she thought.
The third floor, however, was a mess. It seemed to have been vacated in a hurry, with some objects apparently dropped and left behind as the owner ran to the centre of one of a third large room, this one with a far larger (and darker) stain than the rest. Some kind of portal room, then, with a portal of variable size, Sparrow thought to herself, satisfied that she had figured it out.
The objects seemed to have rotted almost completely away in the intervening years. Sparrow suspected that most of the rotten smears and piles might have been paper, once, or clothing. It was hard to tell; all that really remained was outlines and indeterminate stains (or rust) where anything that could rot or breakdown had been. Some items, however, remained. Small metal clips, made of an alloy that did not rust; some sort of glove device (the fingers ends and joining components remained, but the glove itself seemed to have rotted); a pile of tiles that lay spilled, half broken, as they must have for millenia.
Sparrow put the glove device in a sack she had brought for just such a purpose, and set about looting the entire level. This level had a mix of the rooms found on the other two, and there were other signs of a quick evacuation - plates in some sort of cafeteria covered in mess, sometimes shoved aside, knocked over chairs, sleeping quarters in complete disarray (many of the chairs, cabinets and other pieces of furniture seemed to be made of similar ceramics to the tiles; although the plates were just piles of rusted metal). Sparrow found a couple of other artifacts while she searched; a pair of metal belts in what seemed to be a store room, quite a few small bits of metal that had seemingly once been part of larger objects, and a small ceramic chest full of jewels and completely blank coins of various metals (she suspected these were for trade, as there was rust indicating iron, and other, coins).
After finishing her visit to each room, Sparrow gloated over her haul. Many of the objects would hold little value to any except a historian, but the coins and jewels were probably worth a small fortune. Certainly enough, when split, to get Graeme and Annette out of the near trouble they were in, financially. Sparrow was, admittedly, mostly pleased because she would not have to lend them money to continue her adventuring.
Sparrow tied the sack to herself, and continued down the stairs.
The fourth level was different again. The staircase terminated on this level, and a tunnel led straight for a little bit before opening up into a small room.The ceramic benches on this level had been smashed - quite obviously deliberately - and seemed to be made up of a large number of (mostly rotted) components inside. There was also a doorway (the first Sparrow had seen in the ruins) at the far side of the room.
After inspecting (and looting) the benches, Sparrow wandered up to the door. It opened after she gave it a gentle push, and as it swung open, she was half blinded by the bright light shining from the other side.
It only took her a few moments to adjust (and to stop staring at the source of the light directly) but Sparrow was amazed. The room was circular, with an internal second circle of windows pointing into what seemed to be another room. In the centre of this room, about level with the middle of the windows, was some kind of orb. This orb shone brightly - very, very brightly - despite the fact that the windows seemed to be made of a heavily tinted glass.
The room was also very warm, in comparison to the relative cool Sparrow had been walking through. Sparrow walked up to the glass carefully, and peered around. Above the device, there was only a simple rock ceiling, but down below the device was a large pool of water that was crawling with a mass of the creatures; and seemingly coated completely with their muck. Well, that solves everything neatly, she thought.
Sparrow sat down in front of one of the windows, and stared at the orb. I want it, if I can grab it, she thought. I probably won't be able to keep it, or sell it, but it looks like just the way to ingratiate myself with the nobility. Sparrow grinned. Worst case, I smash it and we're still the heroes.
Sparrow tapped the glass. Seems thin enough to smash, although it might not be safe to be this close to the device with it on. I wonder if it can even be turned off? One would expect it to have been turned off, or taken, when the owners of this place left. Perhaps... Perhaps the counters in the previous room were constructions that controlled it, and without them it can't be controlled? That would be unfortunate.
I'll smash the glass and see what happens, she decided. Sparrow walked back to the smaller room, and grabbed a piece of heavy junk from inside one of the counters. Returning to the orb room, she moved around to a window that did not face the entrance, and threw the object at the window. The piece of junk shattered the glass easily, and noisily, before plummeting alongside the shards into the water below.
The light was brighter, without the window, but the heat did not seem to have increased. In truth, it was perhaps not much warmer than outside would be - Sparrow wondered if the heat was even related to the orb, as she drew closer to it. More importantly, though, should I just shoot it and hope it stops working? Or perhaps go grab it? She held her hand in front of her face, blocking the light from the orb.
A small rope seemed to be attaching the orb to the ceiling - it looked like some kind of rope to Sparrow, anyway. That might be a better choice to shoot, she thought. Perhaps it pipes in the orb's power? Seems likely... She notched her bow, and sent an arrow flying at the cord. At such close range her aim was perfect, the arrow slicing through the cord and sending the orb plummeting down, still lit.
Shit, thought Sparrow.
Far down below, where the orb had landed with a splash, the creatures swarmed. Sparrow looked down from high above, trying to figure out her next move. The orb was under the water, although she had waited a short time, just in case, it had not dimmed. I should have checked if it was hot, flown close, and cut the cord with my knife, she thought. Now my only real choice is to scare the creatures of and try to steal it quickly, before they decide to move it.
Forty-nine arrows, and an awful lot of those creatures, she thought to herself. Good luck, Sparrow. She the first arrow to her bow, and let it fly. With expert precision it slammed into one of the creatures, piercing its heart and killing it instantly. She leapt from the room, and began spiralling down, arrows flying again and again into the creatures.
At first, they responded by screeching at her, but unable to reach her they soon decided to rush for cover, leaving the orb behind. Sparrow picked off several of them on her way down, and injured quite a few. When only ten metres remained, she fired one last arrow and pulled in her wings, diving directly towards the orb; swapping her bow for a sack as she rapidly descended.
Her wings spread to their full extent right before she landed, and gigantic shadow cast upon the walls of the pit where they blocked the light of the orb. Up close, she could finally tell that it was roughly half a metre in diameter. Her sack open and ready, she grabbed it. As soon as she touched the orb, however, it went dark. Fuck, thought Sparrow. She dumped the orb - which was surprisingly light - into the sack and looped the sack on her shoulder before launching herself upwards, completely blind.
Fumbling in her pocket, she found one of Rassette's sticks and pulled it out. Holding it in her teeth, she struck a flint on it. The light it cast seemed dull, compared to the orb, but it was enough to light the walls and show her the creatures below. They had come out from cover and, now that she had lit up the area around her, they were staring upwards. They seemed... Defeated, some how. They were not hissing, or screeching, nor even hiding.
It was almost as if something unthinkable had happened, something impossible. Like the sun not rising when it should.
Back up in the observation room, Sparrow rolled the orb from her sack. Without light shining from it, she could see that it was silvery, and - as with pretty much everything in the ruin - intricately, beautifully carved. The cord seemed to contain metal, rather than being some kind of pipe as she had guessed. It also seemed to have been shoved into the orb, and Sparrow went to pull it out.
As soon as she touched the orb, it relit itself, startling her. She fell backwards, surprised, but quickly recovered and grabbed it. It, once more, went dark. This is a strange device, she thought. She pulled the cord from the orb, making sure to keep a hand on the orb at all times. It came out easily, and she tossed it into her sack of junk. And, once again, an easier way of doing things has presented itself, she thought, sarcastically. This has not been an adventure that highlights how clever and resourceful I am.
Sparrow returned the orb to the sack, and stood up. Time to head back.
Leaving the ruin was uneventful. Outside, rain still fell, though only lightly. Sparrow launched herself from the entrance, and set off to meet back up with Annette and Graeme. She guessed she had been gone for three or four hours, which was pretty good for looting an entire ruin.
"There she is!" said Annette, pointing at the sky. Graeme and Annette had had an uneventful afternoon - a solitary creature had come across them, but its screeching had brought no reinforcements; Annette had dispatched it with a single swing.
Grame stared up at the small dot. Far larger than a bird, and shaped like a winged one. "Looks like her," he said. "Or another winged one, though I doubt any others are about." He stretched, and rose to his feet.
Annette busied herself packing up gear - the pair had set up a small tarp to keep the rain off - as Graeme kept a watchful eye out. It only took a few minutes for Sparrow to reach them, and she landed gracefully.
"Check this out," she said excitedly, and pulled the orb from the sack. Startled grunts came from Annette and Graeme, and Sparrow tossed the orb slightly up and easily caught it, extinguishing its light.
Grame slowly lowered his arms from where he had thrown them to cover his eyes. "What, in the all of the world, is that?" he asked.
"Some kind of lighting device," Sparrow replied. "I found it in a ruin high up one of the sheerest cliff faces."
"Really," said Graeme thoughtfully.
"Yep," said Sparrow, before launching into an excited description of her adventure.
After Sparrow had finished telling her tale, Graeme sat down, deep in thought. Annette, however, said, "Well done! I wish I could see the ruin, an untouched ruin! We should organise a proper expedition with enough rope to get others up and down.!"
Sparrow grinned at the idea, but before she could speak, Graeme interrupted. "There's something else we'll need to do first, which is get all of Two Crags up in arms," he said grimly.
"Huh?" said Annette, as Sparrow said, "Why?"
"Do you realise what the creatures are going to do without their light source?" asked Graeme.
"Oh," said Sparrow. "Shit."
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