Posted on: Sunday, 06 December 2009
Darkness. The stale scent of dust and cold stone walls, undercut by the subtle rankness of age-old death. Rats chittered in the blackness, scurrying away from the intruders in their quiet domain. The rasping click of tiny claws echoed through the tombs. It was exactly as she remembered it, down to the decaying brickwork and silent spiders watching them suspiciously from the safety of their webs.
Cassandra held up her hand, motioning the group to stop. Imoen's stoneskins-grey form hovered in the edge of her peripheral vision as the sorceress crept silently forward. The rest of the group lingered a meter behind: the four paladins, now outfitted with platemail and holy symbols, and the solitary cleric in their midst. The Dawnseeker's body glowed with a faint light: a gift from Lathlander, and the sole source of illumination to ward off the dark.
"Here," Cassie whispered, pointing to a section of the floor. Nalia's ghost rose out of her memory, mouthing the words even as Cassie spoke them. The noble was smiling; a bloody necklace of severed flesh ringed her neck. "Pressure plate. Don't step on this row of stones."
Scattered nods. The group advanced again, passing one by one over the section as Cassie knelt before it. Imoen, leading the point beyond the light's range, using her darkvision to pierce the blackness; the two older paladins, Firecam and Wildorn; Dawnseeker Messanai. The two younger paladins brought up the rear. Cassie took up the vanguard position once more after all six had cleared the trapped stone. Like Imoen, she worked beyond the range of the light. Unlike Imoen, she needed no magic to do it.
"The hallway should be clear after this," she said softly. "Up ahead there's a large chamber with no floor. There's a path of magic stones leading upwards. Last time they were safe, but be careful: if I were going to set an ambush, I'd set it there."
More nods. Cassandra adjusted her grip on her sword as she advanced. Buying new gear had required money – money that she didn't have. Fortunately her previous business with Ribald had been profitable, and he knew a good business risk when he saw one. If she lost, he'd lose perhaps a thousand gold. If she won, he'd recoup his loss. Either way, he'd have secured the patronage of a powerful warrior: word of mouth alone would be enough to draw in customers from every corner of Amn.
The hallway remained clear, and soon the cavern blossomed open into a black, bottomless pit. Cassandra positioned herself to one side of the door; Imoen went automatically to the other. After traveling together so long, their coordinated movements had become second nature: an ingrained, subconscious reflex. Their eyes scanned the darkness. The path of floating stones stood surreal and silent over the drop-away, winding up to the chambers above.
Their eyes locked, and Imoen gave a small nod. Cassie returned it, then turned to the paladins and motioned them forward. They moved with a fair degree of silence, especially considering the four score pounds of metal strapped to their bodies. The armor could have been specially crafted, but she'd considered and quickly dismissed the possibility. Holy warriors rarely deigned to sneak around in the shadows, and would have little need or desire for armor designed to do so. More likely the cleric had enchanted it somehow to quell the clang of metal.
