(((OOC is here:The Deep Realms)))
"C'mon," an elderly voice said, "Just one more climb down here. If an old man like me can do it, you lot should be able to make it."
Descending into the depth was a bearded man. He was in his sixties, probably, as his hair was grey and his face wrinkled. He wore a brown cloak with simple garments. He had a harness tied about him, with a relatively taut rope attached. A lantern clung to his waste. As he reached the bottom, he called back up, "That wasn't so bad, eh? I'll try the rope off, make a belay system, and you can climb down here."
"You lot!" came a scruffy voice from above, "Prepare to rappel down the cliff once the scholar ties everything off. Get on with it!"
The last leg of the journey was made unceremoniously, and by the end of the hour, the entire company was taking a rest at the bottom.
"I'm not looking forward to climbing up that on the way back," one of them commented, " 'specially not with all our treasure."
"It's not so bad," Naaman Bravmire said as he took a bite of his lunch, "I've seen much worse climbs before. Plenty of level plateaus to rest at, none of the walls are more than fifty feet high, and there are plenty of handholds."
"Yeah, well," the other said, "I know you don't hold much for earthly possessions, but I plan on havin' sacks of gold to haul back with me. Dwarves are known for their love of gold; I wager these halls are loaded with the stuff."
"If they really love gold so much, I suspect they would have taken it all with them."
"It is as your healer suggests," the scholar interjected, "There were few artifacts to find in the city. However, we might find other settlements deeper down and they might have wealth left in them."
After lunch, it was a short hike to the city proper, and the massive gates of the once great city stood before them. They were at least ten stories tall, but they were wide open. "And a good thing, too," the scholar said as they passed through them, "If we had found them shut, I don't suppose anyone could have opened them. But then, they dwarves were leaving en mass, and who was there left to shut the gate, eh?"
The city itself was immense. In the small lights of the lanterns and torches, the walls and buildings stretched into the darkness about them. Having reigned so long over this domain, the darkness was loathe to surrender its hold on the city.
"Behold Bharhoomm!" the scholar declared, "Once the capitol of the world."
"Indeed," the captain's scruffy voice added, "Naaman, think you can give us some light?"
Naaman cupped his hands, and a bright ball of light appeared in them. This he cast gently into the darkness above them, where it rose high into what we must call a sky for lack of a better word. There it burst open like a miniature sun, casting a pale light over the dusty ruins. Even so, with the added light, the roof of that cavern still could not be seen through the gloom.
They walked down the main highway of the city, as the scholar explained what they saw. "As you can see," he was saying, "Many of these buildings were wrecked by the earthquakes suffered in this region. But, through all that, you can still see there have been damage to these building, like something large crawling, rolling, or whatever, moving through the streets. Also, there are weapons strewn about in various places; swords and pikes, mostly. It almost seems like there was a war here at some point. The inscription was found was at the end of town, this way. Notice the great palace of the kings. See how it is built right into that column? Yet, even so, it is possible that the column was an artificial creation. But, as you can see, it stretches off into the distance high above the rest of the city. We were unable to determine how high though, the last time we were here."
It was at this point, as they were passing the palace, that there was a rumbling in the city.
"What is that?" one cried, and, "Earthquake!" from another. And it was. Like a sudden rainstorm, the quake swept across the city. From the dimming light of the artificial sun, one could see a few buildings in the distance disappear into a cloud of dust, and then one of the buildings broke and collapsed to the ground. Then, the shaking was upon them.
"Everyone stay calm!" the commander shouted.
"To the Palace!" the scholar shouted, "It's the most stable building!"
They made their way shakily to the palace, but it proved to be a fatal mistake. That structure, after so many shakings, finally gave way, and the great column began to fall.
"Back! Everyone away from it!"
It was almost as if time slowed down as the great palace plunged itself to earth. Everyone ran from it, but gravity, having savoured the triumph long enough, brought the pillar to the ground with a resounding force. It threw all but the most skilled off their feet. Great crevices opened up, parts of the floor broke, creating great sinkholes. Most of the company was swallowed up by the void.
Naaman was quick to act. As he fell, plunging through the depths, he began weaving protection around himself. Flesh strengthening, bone strengthening, anything that might help him survive the fall. He doubted that any of them would, but if they did, he would be the one who could get them back on their feet. It was more than just self-preservation; if he survived the fall, so would his injured colleagues.
Soon the blackness swallowed them all as the lights failed them; still they fell. Then there was the shock.
"Hey, c'mon, Gabe, you lazy bum! Open those eyes. You're the last one."
As Gabriel opened his eyes, perhaps reluctantly, he would see Naaman kneeling over him, his hands glowing with a pale light. He would also notice that his breastplate had been removed, and that a number of gashes on his bare chest were rapidly shrinking.
He would also see that they were in a sort of forest, and that there was a pale bluish sort of light coming from... from... well, from somewhere. The trees, which must be called trees for lack of a better word, were a strange sort of plant, the leaves were papery thin, and had a deep emerald green colour to them. The branches were gnarled things, with any number of bends and hooks. They were not very tall, either, maybe ten feet on average. There was a sort of carpet moss where you might find grass in a normal forest.
"C'mon," an elderly voice said, "Just one more climb down here. If an old man like me can do it, you lot should be able to make it."
Descending into the depth was a bearded man. He was in his sixties, probably, as his hair was grey and his face wrinkled. He wore a brown cloak with simple garments. He had a harness tied about him, with a relatively taut rope attached. A lantern clung to his waste. As he reached the bottom, he called back up, "That wasn't so bad, eh? I'll try the rope off, make a belay system, and you can climb down here."
"You lot!" came a scruffy voice from above, "Prepare to rappel down the cliff once the scholar ties everything off. Get on with it!"
The last leg of the journey was made unceremoniously, and by the end of the hour, the entire company was taking a rest at the bottom.
"I'm not looking forward to climbing up that on the way back," one of them commented, " 'specially not with all our treasure."
"It's not so bad," Naaman Bravmire said as he took a bite of his lunch, "I've seen much worse climbs before. Plenty of level plateaus to rest at, none of the walls are more than fifty feet high, and there are plenty of handholds."
"Yeah, well," the other said, "I know you don't hold much for earthly possessions, but I plan on havin' sacks of gold to haul back with me. Dwarves are known for their love of gold; I wager these halls are loaded with the stuff."
"If they really love gold so much, I suspect they would have taken it all with them."
"It is as your healer suggests," the scholar interjected, "There were few artifacts to find in the city. However, we might find other settlements deeper down and they might have wealth left in them."
After lunch, it was a short hike to the city proper, and the massive gates of the once great city stood before them. They were at least ten stories tall, but they were wide open. "And a good thing, too," the scholar said as they passed through them, "If we had found them shut, I don't suppose anyone could have opened them. But then, they dwarves were leaving en mass, and who was there left to shut the gate, eh?"
The city itself was immense. In the small lights of the lanterns and torches, the walls and buildings stretched into the darkness about them. Having reigned so long over this domain, the darkness was loathe to surrender its hold on the city.
"Behold Bharhoomm!" the scholar declared, "Once the capitol of the world."
"Indeed," the captain's scruffy voice added, "Naaman, think you can give us some light?"
Naaman cupped his hands, and a bright ball of light appeared in them. This he cast gently into the darkness above them, where it rose high into what we must call a sky for lack of a better word. There it burst open like a miniature sun, casting a pale light over the dusty ruins. Even so, with the added light, the roof of that cavern still could not be seen through the gloom.
They walked down the main highway of the city, as the scholar explained what they saw. "As you can see," he was saying, "Many of these buildings were wrecked by the earthquakes suffered in this region. But, through all that, you can still see there have been damage to these building, like something large crawling, rolling, or whatever, moving through the streets. Also, there are weapons strewn about in various places; swords and pikes, mostly. It almost seems like there was a war here at some point. The inscription was found was at the end of town, this way. Notice the great palace of the kings. See how it is built right into that column? Yet, even so, it is possible that the column was an artificial creation. But, as you can see, it stretches off into the distance high above the rest of the city. We were unable to determine how high though, the last time we were here."
It was at this point, as they were passing the palace, that there was a rumbling in the city.
"What is that?" one cried, and, "Earthquake!" from another. And it was. Like a sudden rainstorm, the quake swept across the city. From the dimming light of the artificial sun, one could see a few buildings in the distance disappear into a cloud of dust, and then one of the buildings broke and collapsed to the ground. Then, the shaking was upon them.
"Everyone stay calm!" the commander shouted.
"To the Palace!" the scholar shouted, "It's the most stable building!"
They made their way shakily to the palace, but it proved to be a fatal mistake. That structure, after so many shakings, finally gave way, and the great column began to fall.
"Back! Everyone away from it!"
It was almost as if time slowed down as the great palace plunged itself to earth. Everyone ran from it, but gravity, having savoured the triumph long enough, brought the pillar to the ground with a resounding force. It threw all but the most skilled off their feet. Great crevices opened up, parts of the floor broke, creating great sinkholes. Most of the company was swallowed up by the void.
Naaman was quick to act. As he fell, plunging through the depths, he began weaving protection around himself. Flesh strengthening, bone strengthening, anything that might help him survive the fall. He doubted that any of them would, but if they did, he would be the one who could get them back on their feet. It was more than just self-preservation; if he survived the fall, so would his injured colleagues.
Soon the blackness swallowed them all as the lights failed them; still they fell. Then there was the shock.
"Hey, c'mon, Gabe, you lazy bum! Open those eyes. You're the last one."
As Gabriel opened his eyes, perhaps reluctantly, he would see Naaman kneeling over him, his hands glowing with a pale light. He would also notice that his breastplate had been removed, and that a number of gashes on his bare chest were rapidly shrinking.
He would also see that they were in a sort of forest, and that there was a pale bluish sort of light coming from... from... well, from somewhere. The trees, which must be called trees for lack of a better word, were a strange sort of plant, the leaves were papery thin, and had a deep emerald green colour to them. The branches were gnarled things, with any number of bends and hooks. They were not very tall, either, maybe ten feet on average. There was a sort of carpet moss where you might find grass in a normal forest.
