Story II: City of Shadow

Devanis nods soberly. "Blessings be upon you, my friend"

Ameera, silent through breakfast, seems to awaken at this announcement. "No! You can't abandon m.., us here. Evendur was tying to get out of here anyway, he can tell the guild." She grabs Erran's arm while gesturing to the half-elf. "Besides, who am I going to make blush if you leave?"

Pyrrah stays silent throughout the morning, avoiding the rest of the group as often as she can and keeping some distance when she can't. At Erran's announcement, she speaks for the first time in hours and nods slowly, looking him in the eye with hard focus from the back of the group. "Its a wise choice. If any one of us can make it back safely, it's someone who is strong enough to maneuver the climbing and terrain,
level headed enough to remain sound in the darkness, and skilled enough to defeat anything that dares to cross blades. You'll do fine, Erran. I don't doubt it. "

"I know you've the best chance of making it back alone, Erran of clan Escolant" Ameera gets up and circles to Erran, she stands on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. She quickly turns away before Erran can say anything and begins to leave the group. As Ameera passes by Pyrrha, she makes an effort avoids eye contact but maneuvers so that she can hand a small leather pouch of tea to her companion, if she will accept it. If refused, Ameera will leave it next Pyrrah.
She heads towards the tunnel and says to Devanis "When your ready old man, I think you need to look at the barrier" before continuing alone.

Devanis follows Ameera. "What did the chief say about repairing it?"

Evendur seems to be in much better sorts after food, water, and some undisturbed rest. The bags under his eyes much less pronounced then before, and his skin does not seem to be nearly as gaunt, and looks to be a healthier tone, especially since a lot of the dirt, grime and blood has been cleaned off. He spends much of his time eating, drinking, and trying to hear if he can hear people being referred to by name, so he can tell who is who.

A minute or two after the old man, the girl, and Erran depart, Evendur finishes his water and food. Goes to pick up his pack, and is instead met with the sound of the leather strap snapping, and the head of the maul secured to it clanking as it hits the stone floor. Evendur scowls at the pack for a few seconds, before muttering, "Stupid thing..", and kneeling down to examine the pack. taking the two sides of the strap, he presses the 2 ends where the strap split together, and gently rubs his fingers along the break. Anyone near by would notice a few seconds later as he picks up the pack by the strap, which is no longer broken, and puts it on like nothing has happened.

As Ameera passes by and pushes something into her hand, Pyrrah takes it simply by reaction and doesn't register the act until the girl has passed her by. She quickly looks down, but is very confused regarding the implications. Was it some kind of truce? A warning, a message? She'd need to figure it out, and figure out how she was going to survive this trek. At this point, she might be in more danger from catastrophically messing things up with her fellow party members than from actual monsters of the deep.
Pyrrah departs soon after the others, but doesn't veer to follow them. Instead, for one last word she goes to Eahldun.
"Before I go, I made a promise. Though the others are seeking treasure and adventure, I'm looking for answers.
You make the shadowin sound like fearsome monstrosities, and perhaps they are, but are they the worst thing down here? The town above was ransacked by dark, shadowy beasts. Is it among the shadowkin that we will find our answers? "

Pyrrah watches the group recede out of the corner of her eye as she listens, knowing that time is ticking away. She nods. "Thank you for all of your hospitality, headsman. If ever your people need anything, there are some above who would probably be open to helping. Devanis lives in the town on the surface, and there is a small woman named Callie who has a good heart. The surface may not be quite as far away as you might imagine. Good luck to you and your people! "

Pyrrah turns and jogs towards the rest of the group, perhaps different, but not wanting to be left behind either.

"I didn't hear you following me Devanis, where is our drum banging bard?" Ameera rubs her shoulder as she think on the question "Maybe we didn't ask Neph's father enough questions, but he seemed to think we would be of help seeking the Shadowkin directly. Maybe they hold something that is suppressing the protection spell, something we can destroy." Ameera's focus drifts away from Devanis again, snaps back momentarily "Take a look and see what you think about the barrier spell and who had visited from the Shadowkin side of the barrier. You seem to be in tune with this place, maybe you will see, or feel, something we missed........Devanis, I want to go back with to the surface with Erran, but somehow I feel the need to help Neph and her people.... do you think her father cast a spell on us? I like Neph, but... she loses focus again and doesn't give any indication that she will complete the sentence.

Devanis scratches his beard. "It's true, I can sense certain creatures. A gift --or a curse, I'm unsure-- from Cenerine. But it doesn't seem to work on these shadowkin. I can track well enough if that will help. As for the barrier spell, you seem to understand that kind of wyrd better than me, but I'll try to take a look."

"Eahdlun, cast a spell on us? I can't imagine why he's do that. Yes, I'd like to help them too. The guild is about helping people too, you know? Not just finding loot."

"I'd be sad if you or any of the others left with Erran, Ameera. I wouldn't be angry with you but I'd be sad for sure."

Devanis almost seems a different person. He's neither the non-nonsense, somewhat grim professional the others met on Grey Mountain, nor the strangely flippant, naive stranger that came out of the manta lake. This new Devanis feels more like a gentle, caring uncle than anything else.

Once Evendur's pack has been mended he will head off in the direction that the Girl, Devanis, and then Flare had headed down. As the path gets darker, he slows and then mutters to himself, "I think I really hate the dark..."

Evendur sighs, then picks up his pace to catch up with the others. No sense wandering around down here alone, after all, if anyone knows that doing so is a bad idea, Evendur probably would.

Devanis admires the rope setup, then turns his attention to the barrier.