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Tacitus the Multiloquent

Tacitus grumbles. "Well, you guys talked me into it, so let's make good on our word. Let's ride around that copse in a full circle and look at it from every side before we approach."

3rd Springmonth II, Morning
Circling the Copse

The adventurers ride towards the copse and circle it carefully with their horses. Nothing alarming presents itself, so they probe the thickly vegetated area by prodding with the flats of their swords or the like. There is a sudden flurry of activity, but it is only a bevy of quail bursting forth from the leaves.

Further investigation reveals that this grove would be a good area to conceal horses and secure them to prevent their wandering off. There is no sign of danger; the only indication of violence here is the discovery of a very old set of bones, apparently the remains of some sort of deer or elk. There are no readily apparent signs that indicate human lurkers have been using the screen of trees and bushes as a vantage point from which to spy or carry out any ambush or other amoral activity.

Cadmus the Confused

Cadmus proposes tying their mounts within the copse, gathering torches and rope and the like and moving to explore the abnormally large tree.

Decimus Numerous

Decimus agrees with Cadmus' suggestion and rides forward to dismount and equip for exploration.

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

Alfius concurs. He leaves his sword with the horses and takes his polearm with him.

Tacitus the Multiloquent

"Well, maybe if we don't try to cut it or burn it we won't get cursed too bad." He goes forth prepared to explore.

3rd Springmonth II, Morning
Hill underneath the Great Tree

The adventurers approach the hill. It is a hillock of substance, but rather dwarfed in significance by the great tree. Aside from a few branches which look dead or half-dead, the tree looks to be in good health. It branches are enormous---far larger than the branches of an ordinary evergreen, of course, and the space between the branches is correspondingly larger. A man who could climb the tree would have a commanding view for miles and miles, but such a feat of agility, strength, and endurance would be notable.

There are no signs of lurkers, man or beast or bird, in any of the branches, as far as the Durans Well youths can discern. The hill itself is covered in various grasses, along with a loose coating of pine needles. Many of the pine needles seem to have been blown away by the occasional scouring winds of the great grasslands, for the carpet of needles is not so thick as would be found in a pine-wood.

Careful analysis of the ground reveals the droppings of various rodents. Alfius, who little more than a month ago was a goatherd, swiftly sights the shit of some creature which is either a goat or brother or cousin said beast. The adventurers are distracted by a chattering noise, and look up to see a reddish squirrel deftly running up the bole of the great tree.

One of the adventurers find a small stone shaped like an arrowhead. Some tales tell that when the Golden Age came to a crashing end, men quickly sunk into a state of wretched and pitiable savagery, and were forced to hew at each other with primitive weapons of stone and bone as they struggled to claim limited resources. Other say that such stones are 'elf-shot,' left by slinking elves who ensorcel youths and maidens or cast darts at livestock, leaving them wasted and sick. The tales concerning elves are contradictory; some stories name them as creeping creatures lingering in isolated places, striking stealthily via archery or sorcery. Other tales have them lofty as lords, dressed in fine raiment and conducting themselves with exquisite hauteur.

Finding no pressing threats, the youths cast their mind back to the directions the old woman gave.

The old woman grabs a metal fire-stirrer and scratches a deft drawing in the dirt floor of the dingy dwelling. It depicts tangled, gnarled, thick roots, and a small, half-concealed door hidden among them.

Brushing aside a smattering of pine needles, the adventurers eventually find this half-concealed 'door,' which is truly more of a small tunnel with a thick wooden block or circular piece concealing it from random observation. Moving aside this wooden impediment to vision, the adventurers peer into the tunnel. They will likely have to crawl on their bellies to proceed into the hill through this weird passageway.

It does not smell exactly fair, by any means, but neither does it give off a foul stench or any sort of sense of corruption that an old grave washed open by a flood might. Mostly, it simply seems dark and narrow. From an examination of the tunnel-mouth, there are no signs of scat, nor any immediate indication of dwellers other than earthworms.

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"We have come this far, and have laid down our word to retrieve what lies within. I shall enter first, so that all may not fall to whatever traps the cunning elves or faeries who built this place may have set for intruders. The rest of you may follow, and pull me from mortal peril!"

Alfius lights a torch and shuffles forth cautiously, examining every step for danger.

Decimus Numerous

"I will enter third if it proves safe to move into this tunnel, but for now I will watch to see if you need to be pulled clear".

3rd Springmonth II, Morning
Hill underneath the Great Tree

The adventurers prepare to enter the tunnel. Alfius is in the forefront, followed by Cadmus, then Decimus, then Tacitus. Alfius swiftly determines that while he may be able to bring his halberd with him if the tunnel does not twist and turn too often, he will unable to use if effectively should some devious denizen set upon him as he crawls upon his belly.

Tacitus the Multiloquent

"My sword will be no use in here. I think I'd ought to carry a dagger."

Cadmus the Confused

"I will go first!" suggests Cadmus, "should something attack me I may be able to bring divine wrath upon it!"

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"I shall lay may polearm aside here and retrieve it on the way out. Fortunately, I did not forget my dagger!"

Tacitus the Multiloquent

"I'm going back to my horse to get mine. I don't mean to leave my two-hander behind, though, if I don't have to. Might open up once we get inside."

Tacitus returns to the horses and retrieves his knife. If he manages to survive the trip back to the party, he asks a few questions that have been bothering him. "Should someone stay outside, so that the entrance can't be sealed behind us? And will it be possible for any of you spell-slingers to use your arts while belly-crawling? I like this less and less the more I think about it."

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"That's a good idea; will you volunteer?"

3rd Springmonth II

Tacitus returns to the party with his dagger, having seen neither hide nor hair of any foe while walking to and from the grove where the horses are hidden.

Vektunaxa wrote:Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"That's a good idea; will you volunteer?"

Tacitus the Multiloquent

"I'll do it. Shout back ever ten yards or so, and let me know if the chamber opens up or not."

3rd Springmonth II, Morning
Hill underneath the Great Tree

As Tacitus remains outside to keep watch, Cadmus begins wriggling into the tunnel, followed by Alfius and then Decimus. The tunnel is nasty, dank, and dark. Worms and a few grubs crawl through most, dark soil.

Cadmus crawls on his belly, shoving himself forward and scrabbling with one hand while trying to keep his torch out of the dirt with the other. The flame comes perilously close to singing his brows and hair and face at some points, and he chokes, coughs, and splutters from breathing in smoke at other times. His clothes are soon begrimed with dirt, and the sweat trickling down his face and neck turns some of the dirt into nasty, salty mud.

The other adventurers fare little better, and are soon filthy to a nearly equal degree. The tunnel gradually winds downwards in a counterclockwise fashion, rather than going straight down in a northward-facing line. The going is slow indeed; the adventurers are progressing at a rate of sixty every ten minutes.
After twenty minutes of crawling, the adventurers have progressed one hundred twenty foul feet and called back thrice to Tacitus. The tunnel has not yet opened up into a wider chamber. Here and there, support beams of either wood or stone, as well as natural tree-roots, help support the tunnel. As far as the crawlers can tell, there is no danger of a cave-in, but then again, they are farmboys and not miners.

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"We may not be able to call back to Tacitus much longer and expect him to hear us. We must keep going, and hope Tacitus has patience."

Decimus Numerous

"Yes, let us press on a little and hope this opens up into a better space"