Expedition Log

[Raevyx_Araya]

Expedition Log – Day 1

The “workers” quickly moved out of my way as I approached the cavern entrance with their weapons held firmly in their rotting hands, as if expecting something to charge forth from the cavern entrance at any moment. A skeletal warrior stepped from the small horde of undead and fell into place behind me. I stopped to examine the undead servant and found it suitable, then turned and stepped across the threshold of the cavern. A fetid aroma assailed my nostrils and for a brief moment, I was taken aback by its horrid stench. Something definitely took up residence in this cavern. I took unbuckled a small satchel at my waist and retrieved an ever-full quill and a good size piece of parchment. As my servant and I continued into the cavern and I set my eyes to scanning for any signs of subterranean life forms while I mapped out the entrance cavern. Time seemed to stand still as I mapped out and searched for any signs of life within this dank and fetid cavern.

After several more hours, the entire entrance cavern had been mapped out and had been found lacking any forms of life. However, death it seemed was abundant here. Most of the cavern floor was littered with what resembled bones, only that that all of them had been broken with an extreme amount of force. There were several piles of broken bones that smelled and felt like the flames that once scorched them, had been extinguished only a few days before he arrived in the cavern. Surprisingly enough, with the grotesque amount of bone litter in the cavern, you would think that at least a small amount of flesh would remain, but no, the bones were stripped bare probably before they were snapped into several pieces. Behind each massive pile was a small alcove that appeared to have been hewn from the cavern by dwarven stonecutting tools. The largest pile of mangled bones hid a tunnel that seems to veer downward and deeper into the earth; we would stop here and I would rest for the night. I could tell that this was going to be a very long expedition.

[Raevyx_Araya]

Expedition Log – Day 2

I awoke from my rest at what seemed to be an early hour of the morning. Time of day means nothing when billions of tons of rock loom menacingly directly above you. Time down here is merely a novelty. I rose to my feet, scanning the room instinctively looking for the massive skeletal army from my dreams but, there was no great army, just one simple skeletal warrior. Perhaps it was a vision, like the ones I received before I found my Lord or perhaps it was just a dream.

My servant and I headed down into the depths of the mountain via the larger tunnel at the back of the cavern. The tunnel took an entire day to map out with all of the side tunnels and dead ends that we encountered. Although we have gone deeper into the mountain there still seems to be no sign of life in this cavern, just the scattered remains of something that used to be living. I decided to stop and rest in one of the many dead ends that we passed. Today was boring and very uneventful. I hope tomorrow makes up for the previous two days.

((The dream is posted here: http://www.ringsofhonor.org/forums/view ... hp?t=19127 ))

[Raevyx_Araya]

Expedition Log – Day 3

Today began much as the past day did. I woke, rose, surveyed the dead end, and ordered my minion to follow me rather than guard me. I continued down the tunnel with my minion in tow for several hours before I stopped to add some details to the newest section of the map. I ordered my servant to move to secure a small alcove to my left and it promptly obeyed. I finished adding the details of the previous section and nodded at the progress that I had made. As I retrieved another blank piece of parchment, a hollow sounding thud started to come from the alcove that I sent my minion into to secure. “Figures; it encounters life before I do” I though to myself as I moved down into the alcove to find it empty, save for my mindless minion. It was just walking into the back wall, its knees and feet were making the thudding sounds. I placed my hand on it shoulder and told it to stand behind me and as usual, it obeyed. I took a good long look at the wall.

All of the alcoves and tunnels that I had been through had been of dwarven craftsmanship. Nicely hewn walls, that were smooth to the touch, yet still retaining an edge of roughness from there use of tools to shape the cool stone. I spent about an hour studying the wall before I noticed a small indention on the floor that I was forced to get and hands and knees to examine further. The indention look like it was just big enough for a thumb to fit into it, so I took a few more steps back and ordered my minion to put its skeletal big toe into the indention. It promptly pressed its toe into the indention and then withdrew its foot. Nothing happened. Disappointment coursed through my veins as I pondered the reasoning for my minion to just keep walking into the wall. Finally, I ordered the minion to set aside but to take on a guarded stance. I knelt down and pressed my thumb into the indention; what resulted would truly make my day.

The wall was a secret door and my mindless minion had enough of a mind to realize this but not to stop trying to go forward and into the well hidden room. As the door slowly grated free from many years of not being used the air within began to rush out. My minion just stood there but I quickly turned and covered my nose and mouth. Nothing wreaks havoc on the lungs than century old, stale and stagnant air. What remaining dried and decayed flesh that still clung to my minion was blown off by the gust of ancient air that continued to escape from the once sealed room. After the air stopped, I ordered my minion into the room and I followed behind it shortly there after. It was another cavern, although not as big as the main entrance and I set about mapping it out as soon as I entered. Massive stone coffins lined the walls and much to my surprise the back of the room gave off a rather unusual heat signature. I mapped the rest of the room out first, saving the back part for my full attention. At last, I turned back to the odd heat, or lack thereof as a dark grin crept across my face.

Not only did I find an ancient dwarven crypt but, I found their Hall of Kings; the burial chamber for the Kings of whatever dwarven clan that once inhabited this mountain. The floor at the back of the room was littered with a variety of coinage as well as mithril, platinum, and gold bars. Behind all of the piles of coins were a plethora of armor and weapon racks. I decided that I needed to bring a different light source to the room to be able to inventory it properly. I returned to the secret door and saw a lever to which I carefully pulled. The door grated closed and proceeded to illuminate the ancient vault.
It took a total of ten torches to line the walls and reveal the five braziers in the room; those were lit as well.

The walls have twelve armor stands intermingled with twelve weapon racks. All of the armors and weapons were obviously made from the finest materials or they would not have made it into this ancient crypt. There is a large obsidian sarcophagus set on a raised dais behind the armor, weapons, and coinage. Behind this grand tomb sits a two weapon racks and two armor stands. The items show no signs of age or use, at least here in this lifetime. Each stone hewn tomb contained dwarven remains, a mithril crown encrusted with diamonds and rubies, a large black diamond, and a large black sapphire, of which were held, one in each hand. The task of inventorying this entire room has left me with a rather eventful day, yet not much ground was covered do to the discovery itself. I have extinguished the braziers as well as the torches. Tonight’s rest is well earned, if I do say so myself.

Inventory List:

Coinage: (multiple chests)
787,342,219 silver pieces
598,257,076 gold pieces
331,378,229 platinum pieces
109,478,234 mithril pieces

Armor:
12 suits full plate mail
3 half plates
5 breastplates
2 suits of scale mail
7 suits of chain mail

Weapons:
12 dwarven war-axes
12 dwarven urgroshes
5 war-hammers
3 great-axes
3 heavy maces

Metals:
12 mithril bars
3 platinum bars
5 gold bars
7 silver bars

Gems: (ranging in size from large, medium, small)
55 rubies
33 sapphires
41 emeralds
67 diamonds
23 topazes
17 amethysts

Dais Items:
1 rune etched full plate mail
1 rune etched tower shield
1 rune etched dwarven war-axe
1 rune etched dwarven urgrosh
1 bejeweled crown
1 huge black diamond
1 huge black sapphire
1 dwarven skeleton
1 obsidian sarcophagus

[Raevyx_Araya]

Expedition Log – Day 4

I awoke rather promptly from the previous day of inventorying and decided to place a Drow ward on the room to ensure that what I had just spent an entire day logging, would not be disturbed. About an hour passed as I placed my ward and closed the heavy stone door behind me and my skeletal minion. As I stepped from the dead end and back into the main tunnel, a rather unpleasant aroma wafted up and into my nostrils. A cold smirk crossed my features as I the stench took shape, Duergar. Greedy and twisted cousins to the Dwarves, these grey dwarves toil constantly in the name of their God, Laduguer. Knowing that they are a violent bunch, I ducked back into the dead end tunnel and dropped darkness. I stood just on the edge of the surreal blackness to see if the group of three was heading towards me or if they were just checking the tunnels. As my luck would have it, the trio stopped and turned to directly face the darkness in the dead end tunnel. I began to mentally communicate with my minion, ordering it to stand its ground until my command. My minion creaked and their attention was immediately drawn to it. Now would begin the process of ridding this dead end of three putrid Duergar scouts.

With silent precision, I quickly made my way out and behind the furthest one. The ichor infused kris quickly found its way deep into the Duergars neck; a simple flick of the wrist, caused the blade to twist, severing the spinal cord. I slide it to the floor as quietly as I could, then drew the bastard sword, not so quietly. The two remaining Duergar did about faces and gasped before growling and starting their charge against me. I signaled my minion and braced for a rather unpleasant impact. The two barreled on forward as my minion began hacking at their backs. I dispelled the darkness and surveyed their armor seeking out their weaknesses. The lack of metal armor notified me that these were indeed scouts. The two stopped and turned to regard my minion, which gave me a most opportune advantage. I swung the bastard sword and connected with their necks as the two attempted to relieve me of my undead ally. Two disgusting heads fell from their perch a few moments later. The rest of the day would be filled with Death and with the stealing of souls for Him.I was extremely pleased at the carnage that I wrought to the slightly unsuspecting Duergar. However, we would need these deep miners, so killing them all would not be appropriate, for now.

[Raevyx_Araya]

Expedition Log – Day 5

The deeper I delve, the more abundant the Duergar have become. Stealth and silence have become second nature to my minion, as I have had to pad just about ever joint as well as its feet as a whole, to keep my position concealed from the miners. The Duergar toil endlessly as I watch from my various positions; from one furnace to another they feed, stoke, and pound molten metal into various items. They only stop to pray to their God, Laduguer; the Dwarven deity of toil. All work and no play makes you rude, repugnant, and one ugly creature.

The better part of the day was spent sneaking around the bustling deep miners as they did their duties, but it seems that their presence here is just a mining colony. I never came across any form of permanent housing or other such buildings. While this discovery is very important, it still raises flags in my mind. Why are they mining here and not living here? This question will have to be answered later; the mining caravans delve deeper into the mountain. My job here is to follow these tunnels to their terminus, where ever it may be. I have noticed that the caravan leaders carry magical sources of bioluminescence. For a Duergar to need a form of light is unheard of; It must be very dark where they mine.

[Raevyx_Araya]

Expedition Log – Day 6

Oh the places I go. The Duergar may not be able to see very well down here, but it is clear as crystal to me. Brilliant hues of red, orange, yellow, white, green, blue, and purple bedazzle my eyes and my thoughts return to my days in Brimlan. The infrared spectrum allows for such a colorful journey here and seeing as I am not slowed by the darkness, I am able to keep a close pace with the caravans. The leaders only bring the bioluminescent light sources out when they come to tunnel crossings. These crossings seems to bother them, one could assume that they have learned from past mistakes because they send the caravan guards to scout the correct tunnel before moving on.

After several hours, the caravan stops and every one of the deep miners scramble deeper into the tunnel and into an enormous cavern where thousands of Duergar are busy hammering at the walls for their precious ore or pushing and dragging carts of the said ore back to the awaiting caravans to be taken to the forges for others to smelt.

I am able make my way around the outskirts of the cavern rather effortlessly due to the almost deafening noise that the miners are making. At the back of the cave, there is a set of steep stairs that makes its way up to another large tunnel. The tunnel is definitely my next objective. Hopefully, I can rest somewhere inside of it without having to deal with the Duergar.

[Raevyx_Araya]

Expedition Log – Day 7

The stairs were easy and the entrance was impressive to say the least. A plethora of Duergar runes were chiseled into the stone from left to right; they were runes of protection. I quietly passed through the entrance and made my way deeper into the heavily warded tunnel with my minion padding along behind me. Here, in this tunnel, my vision began to fail me. The beautiful hues of my infrared vision began to darken and blur until I was walking in complete darkness. I could tell that this was not my kind of darkness but one conjured by someone or something of far greater power. I still continued on, my minion and I walking deeper into the unknown and probably closer to whatever conjured this darkness. The tunnel continued on for miles with no side tunnels, just straight and roughly hewn. The tunnel began to slope upward, gradually at first but then turning to a very steep grade at was forced to do a bit of bouldering to get to the top. Once there, I felt the closeness of the tunnel fade away and grinned. I had entered another large cavern. My mind immediately began to mentally search out for sounds in an attempt to place myself in the cavern. I believe that this ‘hole’ in, is to the left of the rest of the cavern. I decided to stop just outside of the hole to do a bit of recording and to continue my journal. I cannot sense anything in the immediate area and do believe that I can …

::: The entry stops abruptly and assume ably against the authors will :::