Chapter 7: Raiding the Ruins Thread

The exploration team departs from the camp soon after the scouting expedition leaves. It's early afternoon now, but it's less than an hour's walk back to Hara, especially considering the team is taking the closest gate. The trip back to the ruins of the city is uneventful. A few birds, the rustle of a few small animals in the bushes, but no other creatures accost them or even come into sight.

The gate itself lies open, long forgotten in the abandonment of the districts on this side of the river. Going by Coreene's recon report, the main thoroughfare that goes from this gate to the center of the city should both pass through the university as well as lead to the elemental crater and the possible whitestone building near it. As the group enters the city, a familiar sight greets them: abandoned buildings, long since left to weather and fall down, like the skeleton of a once thriving city that laid down and died. Eanala turns to the others and says, "These are my old haunts from when I was a girl," she says, gesturing toward the nearby spires of the university, which even from here show distinct signs of crumbling. "I'll scout ahead. Listen for the call of a heron," she says, and demonstrates. "You hear that, take shelter off the road and I'll meet up with you as soon as I can. Make the same call if you need me. Otherwise, I'd recommend we meet up again at the Earth Gate; it's the first official entrance into the university you'll come to. You can't miss it."

She gives everyone a wink, though it lacks the easy grin that used to accompany it. Not waiting for a reply, she moves quickly ahead on quiet feet and melts into the city.

Ember watches wide-eyed as Eanala leaves them unattended.

Well, uh, scenic route, then? Maybe there'll be some potions or something lying around in one of these buildings.

Yelnar puts a hand on Ember’s shoulder.

"It’ll be alright Em." He keeps a wary eye out, but doesn’t feel the need to disturb things till they get closer to the University.

"Ghost town..." Elora whispers, noting how the quiet everything is. "We probably shouldn't delay, I don't wanna find any wild animals, or bandits too. That would be awful." Feeling Elora's unease Pip springs into the air, using his literal birds eye view to look for danger.

Pip, as flighty and contrary as ever, flits away merrily down the street, pausing here and there to peek in busted-out windows, soaring high overhead for that bird's-eye view, but also stopping to preen a feather here and there, or nibble at a stray bit of seed.

As Ember, Elora and Yelnar move cautiously down the street, they see no particular signs of humanoid habitation. Stopping to look in doorways or windows yields nothing of either interest or concern. It's a figurative ghost town.

After a few minutes of Pip being out of sight and out of Elora's range, he comes racing back, jabbering excitedly about something as he lights on the brim of Elora's hat.

Elora swears she heard him almost say something tangible, but his fluttering and positive emotions are good enough. "Pip found something, we could check it out? If you guys want, I mean."

If we have to wait for Eanala, why not? Will it take us far off the path?

Yelnar says "Sure, I'll take point."

"Umm..." Elora grabs Pip, jumpy as can be. "Maybe? I can't really talk to him."

Ember smirks. Hey, you can understand him more than we can. She takes the back of the party. Yelnar is right to take point, and she can't let Elora get hurt again. He's a squirmy, excited little guy. I think we'd get along, she adds with a chuckle.

Pip free's himself from Elora's clutches, only to land on her arm with a triumphant chirp. "I just hope he doesn't pick up any bad habits, like smoking. That would be awful." Despite the ridiculousness of such a notion Elora sounds very serious.

"I'm sure it's something interesting, or large seeing as he didn't return with whatever it is."

A careful look about the street suggests that there are still no signs of pursuit or other dangers.

Pip chitters indignantly at Elora, then flits off down the street a little ways. He alights on the edge of a roof and waits for them to catch up before he darts off again. This pattern continues until he's led the group a few blocks off the main road, and he zips into a stoutly built building of stone. Its tight construction, lack of mortar between stones, and generally intact construction suggests that it was not built by hand, like so many of the other buildings in the area. The front door lies open, and a look around the interior from where you stand reveals no signs of life, other than the impatient Pip, who hops excitedly on a tipped-over table near another door that presumably leads deeper into the building.

Ember scoots in front of Yelnar.

Hang on! I've got this. Gonna see what's up. She holds her hand out in front of her and closes her eyes to concentrate. You'd think she was asleep if not for the little wisps of light curling around her hand, and the soft humming she makes.

Ember sighs and brings her hand down. It's stiff, like she's forgotten how to use it, and she presses at it with her other hand to get the feeling back.

It's an enchantment. A strong one. I...I recognize it, but I can't place it yet. I mean, if the building is made with magic, it could just be that, but........ Her voice trails off and she grimaces a bit. I really hope it's not a hunter.

She shakes her head.

No. We'd be dead already if it was another hunter. And it's not the building. She rests her hand on the doorjamb, thinking intensely for a moment before grinning.

Let's go check it out.

Yelnar growls in frustration.

"If we come across a hunter, I’ll cut it to pieces like I did the last one. That’s why I’m here. I’ve trained to protect magic users for most of my life, let me do my job. You can detect magic just as well from behind me as in front, but I can’t get between you and whatever thing is trying to kill you if you push ahead."

Yelnar visibly takes a deep breath to calm down. "Stop, if we’re going to go any further you need to know how I’m going to do that." He pulls his Bardiche free to demonstrate. "Say a threat engages us just ahead up there", he says, gesturing to an abandoned cart just up ahead. "I would look to engage it with the reach of my weapon. That way, if it wants to attack me, it’s gotta move, which means its not attacking you two. If it tries to get through to you, I’ll get to attack it multiple times." As he says this last, he spins the bardiche swiftly, making multiple strikes as though tracking a target while backing up.

"Last time we had everyone running in close and it was a shit show with everyone getting in each other’s way. We find something, you pick it off at range while I keep it distracted."

Yes, Sir! Ember smiles. Glad to see you’re still in there, Big Guy.

"Okay, I can...affect it somewhat with some of my magic if it is a hunter. Me-" Pip flutters from his spot to Elora's hat in a 'tough guy' pose, feeling her will steel itself. "-And Pip will follow your lead."

"Chirp!" Says Pip.

Beyond the doorframe is a stone staircase that grows wider as it descends to a basement, eventually wide enough for four people to walk side by side. It opens onto a square room, with a high ceiling held up by delicate stone arches clearly the product of careful magic. Nothing so fanciful, worked from stone, should be strong enough to hold up much of anything. The walls to the left and right are painted in ethereal, surreal murals depicting creatures that none of you have ever seen, though they have characteristics of more familiar animals: something with the tentacles of a squid where its head would be, and the tail of a dolphin. Elsewhere, abnormally delicate, long-limbed humanoids with the teeth of a shark and the tail of a silver-scaled fish. Many others, too many to take in all at once. This is obviously a depiction of an underwater scene. In the Wall opposite the stairwell you came down, though, is a familiar sight.

A heavy silvered door with no apparent means of opening it. Just like the one that led to the Guardian back in the Viamard tunnels.

Pip flits over to it and lands on the floor in front of it, chirping proudly.