Darkwood--Into the blackness....

[Vynarkus]

Vynarkus descends to in front of Skyseeker, drops his invisibility, looks her in the eye, and says, "Calm Down. Whatever is going on needs explaining to the rest of us, and cannot be any worse than what we have already learned."

[Kalindriel Ec'urb]

"That Which Came Before" she says as her form seems to meld out of the shadows.

"I believe I mentioned this when the Assassin attacked. Though everyone was busy watching Led lose his composure. It is likely a reference to a Primordial Evil. Something ancient even by elven standards. Something responsible for the origins of depravity and corruption so far beyond your ken that could you understand it, you would despair for the remainder of your days."

"Something the Protector wants to infest these lands. Something which would likely drag them into the depths of the Abyss."

[Seven Words]

Eyes wide, tears of horror upon her face, SKsyeeker leaps to her feet..."The Dark Prince sought to restore that Evil. At the End, only he and his parents lived of the Blood Vital. They died in the Darkening...He consorted openly with servants and devotees of the Vile Lady. He could have survived these years with her unholy blessings as a LICH! WHAT IF HE STILL LIVES?!?!? Sure, millenia to break free of the wards of the End Of Light...but still, what has he become since?"

Collapsing again in gibbering terror at the though of a fabled warrior/mage, with possibly several tens of THOUSANDS of years experience....

[Laurel]

Squatting down so she is at eye level with the terrorized elf, the bard draws her close and tries to gently sooth her. "My talent is for healing rather than fascinating," she murmurs in an attempt to console, "but I am only able to cure wounds with my hymn and bolster our courage in battle with my songs. I would be happy to try to calm you now with one or the other, if you think it would help...

"From all we have learned, it seems we may be on a track towards learning who is behind all this. But for now, this is speculation, and the answer may yet be far off in the future. As we quest, we are all growing in our skills and knowledge, so that if this speculation is true, we may be better prepared to face whatever the challenge will be.

"Keep in mind we have more powerful friends who may come to our aid. Let us finish what we entered this place to do, and consult with the councils and elders regarding what we learn upon our exit."

Hugging the elf close, the bard gently sways back and forth until she feels Skyseeker regaining control of herself. Letting go of her embrace, Laurel rises and extends a hand to help the Scout back up, hoping her comfort was acceptable to her elven friend.

[Led Pighp]

Led listens to the new information, at first wishing to join Skyseeker in her dispair. Then he snaps out of it. With the flat of his blade, he raps the elf gently on the top of the head, though not too gently, to get her attention. "Your tears only give him strength. And, he is plenty strong enough already."

Then he turns towards the hallway and steps in, looking around to see what other dangers there are.

[Assume spot, listen, and search checks periodically. Toss some Knowledge (Dungeoneering) in there to help the above.]

[Laurel]

"Besides," Laurel muses to herself more than to Skyseeker, "even if he is a Lich he would then be an Undead. So any and all claim of his to being of the Blood Vital would be moot. He wouldn't have any blood.

" At least we need not worry if the eledhel will join with him should he come to make that claim..."

[Annalysei]

Anna sighs softly, realizing just how far from the world she had been kept in her father's house. As she passes by the terrified elf, she briefly places a hand on her shoulder in sympathy, and steps past to join Led in the hall.

[Seven Words]

Tremors subsiding to intermittent brief shivers, Skyseeker gathers herself, bolstered by everyone's support. "Yes, you're right....The deva said we lay at the heart of this....we can only persevere, and trust that as we do our best, the gods will aid us."

[Laurel]

Laurel's relief as the elf calms herself is expelled with the breath she was unconsciously holding. As Skyseeker stands, the bard again nocks an arrow (non=enhanced this time) to her longbow, and takes a position towards the center of the party. She hopes to remain within reach of the party's weapons, should the addition of Sonic damage via her spell prove beneficial at some point.

[Seven Words]

the tunnel narrows down to merely 5' wide, before trifurcating...the left hand way spirals downward, a ramp not steps....the center has no illumination, but stretches straight ahead as best you can tell. The right hand one spirals upwards, but it does have steps.

[Vynarkus]

Do the spiralling ways have enough room between the edges for me to fly straight up? Or do I have to follow the curve?

[Seven Words]

ceiling is only 10' here...can't fly over anybody.

[Vynarkus]

I meant was there a clear column of air in the middle of the spiral, like there is in traditional spiral staircases? Because I could go straight up (or down) that, cutting the distance traveled at least in half.

[Seven Words]

no clear central space, thanks for clarifying.

[Kalindriel Ec'urb]

Kali gives Skyseeker a friendly, if not a little potent, tap on the shoulder in support of getting herself together.

As they come to the split she points left. "I like that way."

[Laurel]

Drawing out a pair of worn wooden dice, the bard grins wryly and asks no one in particular, "What follower of Cerana would ever be without a pair of these?"

Squatting down to the floor of the tunnel near the wall, the bard brushes away some dirt, dust, and gravel, then looks up at the party members. "I do not ask that we hold ourselves to the results of my roll, but I would like to see if Cerana agrees with Kalindriel's instinct.

"Let us say if the results are odd, then the suggested left fork is the one Cerana wishes us to take; if the results are even, then she is guiding us to take the right. However, since there are three choices, if the results are divisible by three, regardless of whether they are odd or even, then the middle path is where The Wild Bitch would have us go."

Giving the pair of dice a good shake, the bard expertly tosses them towards the floor so they hit the wall before bouncing back for the entire party to see...

[ooc]just an idea I had for decision making, as I do not know if anyone here has a skill or anything which makes their suggestion more likely than anyone else to be a path to follow. if inappropriate I'll be happy to delete. if acceptable to all as a means of deciding, I suggest Seven rolls and lets us know what the results are.[/ooc]

[Kalindriel Ec'urb]

[Players can rarely force a choice on others, regardless of skill on a character sheet. Compulsive spells can, but are poor form. (Though sometimes poor form is in-character.) Appealing to a character's motivations so they want to follow one's suggestions, however, is good RP...]

Kalindriel laughs then scoffs, "Ha! Appealing to whimsy and chance to save the elves." She turns her head to the side, yet her eyes follow the dice intently.

[Seven Words]

The dice bounce and roll, finally coming to rest...showing three pips and two pips respectively.

[Laurel]

Shooting Kalindriel a glowing smile, Laurel scoops the dice back up and holds them out so all in the party could see they are not weighted in anyway, then safely pockets them again. Bowing towards her, the bard exults, "It seems Lady Luck agrees with you! Shall we descend to the left then?"

[Seven Words]

Marrik looks intently into the left hand tunnel..before turning his attention slowly to the darkened one, and then the right....after nearly a minute, he says, "I sense something evil...perhaps several somethings, approaching from the right-hand path."