Quest Gilded Truths

[Colt]

Colt had learned long ago that an unfortunate side effect of being naturally quiet was how readily he seemed to attract loud people. People who talked a lot just seemed to assume that quiet people were listening to them, and Coran appeared to be one such person.

Colt and Snow both tensed up when Coran made his way towards them. Neither were exactly threatened, but both were somewhat uneasy––especially when Coran reached out for Snow.

The dog whined, pinning her ears and tucking her tail nervously; she knew it was wrong to attack someone non-threatening, but she didn’t know who this stranger was and certainly didn’t want him touching her. She danced out of his reach and left Colt to his own fate of endless chatter.

Although the Common words were not easy for him, Colt could read the general flow of conversation through the voices and postures of the two women. They were both hesitant, but the pale woman seemed to at least be willing to offer the benefit of the doubt. Both she and the dark-haired one displayed vast amounts of cautiousness––a trait that made Colt much more trusting of their judgement.

When Coran stood back up and clapped for attention, Colt didn’t need words to see that they were getting ready to move. In answer, the Drykas stood with him and summoned Snow to my side. The three others seemed totally at ease in the environment, but Colt couldn’t help automatic defensiveness. He had been born in the Sea of Grass, after all, and therefore simply assumed that the Lhavit wilderness was inherently dangerous.

Colt let Coran lead the way, but once again settled into position as vanguard; close enough to still be attached to the group, but distant enough to draw the attention of any creature that might decide to stalk them.

oocSo sorry for the delay!

[Kaleidoscope]

They made their way to the source. The stream was only small, barely wider than an armslength, and it quickly disappeared into thickets. But Coran was prepared with a machete, and with grit and determination he cleared a way through the worse of it until they reached less-overgrown ground. The stream ran fast and brightly over pale stone, and the slope of the mountain was steep, making it hard going in places as stones threatened the step and the gradient made walking difficult. Coran was red in the face from climbing after a while, and his conversation soon died down to nothing as he concentrated on not falling down. The solitude of the mountainside washed over the group, although whether it gave an atmosphere of tranquillity, or suspicion, or hope was up to each individual. On Coran's part at least, he was smiling as the slope levelled down a little and the stream appeared to issue from a cave mouth.

"I believe the source is inside, friends!" He rummaged in his pack, and withdrew two lanterns. He handed one to the group and took the other for himself, quickly lighting the oil lamp with his flint and tinder. The flame looked weak in the light of outside, but as he beckoned the group into the mouth of the cave the light took on a brighter insistence, casting flickering, confident shadows on the walls of the cave.

Here, the noise of the stream grew louder as they echoed on the walls of the stone mouth. Coran lead the way, his back to the group as they filed in one by one. He didn't give much chance for discussion, but in his mind it wasn't needed. They were near to their destination. After all, it seemed likely that if gold were to be found, it would come from the rocks. As such, he inspected the walls of the cavern as they drew deeper into the cave. Yet, despite the occasional glitter of quartz, not one vein of gold could be seen in the walls.

They had been walking for five chimes. The cave was cold now, and the stream deeper and more silent. Coran's footsteps trod alongside the stream, with barely enough space. The roof grew low in places, and the occasional curse that issued from the man's lips at least gave some kind of warning to the rest of the group that there was a rocky outcrop coming up. Then, Coran stopped suddenly, just on a corner. The faint sounds of water could be heard again.

He spoke, without turning around, as the ground was narrow and treacherous, and the water surely very cold. "The stream stops ahead. Goes into the rock. If there is anywhere to find gold, it'll be around this corner. The cave stops here too, there's..-" He stopped, and walked forwards again, with hesitant steps. Above the sound of the water, a faint ticking could be heard, if one listened close enough.

The view that opened out as they turned the corner was nothing that could have been guessed. Coran was right, the stream disappeared into a cleft in the rock, a hole both dark, mysterious, and minuscule. A patch of ground, trampled and scattered with pebbles much like a riverside beach lay to the right, the foreground to a boulder-strewn wall. And in the front of the boulders- a golem. Coran stood with a strange expression of vacancy on his face as the golem, barely above the size of a small dog, consistently nudged against the man's leg as it tried to continue it's circular pattern of movement carved out as a circle in the gravel in front of the boulders. As the others came into view from around the corner however, the golem would speak in a jerky, non-human voice.

"INTRUDERS. LEAVE OR DIE, LEAVE OR DIE, LEAVE OR DIE. INTRUDERS. LEAVE OR DIE, LEAVE OR..-" It was an unending stream of words, issued without pause or break whilst all the while, Coran stood with growing confusion in the golem's path. If anyone was to draw close, the golem would initiate it's first line of defence: a glyph placed on the floor causing a burst of wind gusting to knock the unexpected onto their backs.

[Estrellir Konrath]

OOCSorry for the delay. Had to concentrate on exams!


As they walked, then hiked through the wilderness, Estrellir tried to keep towards the middle of the group. Despite her pride, she knew when to admit a weakness and act accordingly. Naked survival wasn’t her strong suit at all, so she was glad that Coran forged ahead and Colt stayed back. Truth be told, she was calm at least in part because of what she had seen on him. The quiet human moved with a sort of careful grace that suggested familiarity with wilderness. He seemed more at home out here than in the city. That, and the dog at his side, possibly trained for hunting, reassured her significantly.

When they came to the cave, Estrellir was less than impressed. Caves meant limited space, dubious escape routes and always the risk of falling rocks. Still Coran seemed enthusiastic and she’d already agreed to the operation, so she took the second lantern. She wasn’t much good at any kind of physical work, but she could take care of casting light on whatever they found inside.

They walked in single file which was alarming in itself. Estrellir pushed down adrenalin and kept all senses wide open. Obviously Coran was inspecting the walls, so she focused on the path ahead. When the roof lowered, the Konti hardly needed to stoop down, being shorter than her companions.

She was just about to wonder (again) how Coran was so certain that his gold vein existed when they came to a dead end. The stream sprung from the rock ahead, boulders were heaped on a pile towards the wall. And in front, something that looked like a dog, possibly a large squirrel, but was in fact… an artificially made thing. That talked.

The message was clear. Cursing, Estrellir bit down her instinct to bolt and lurched forward to grab Coran’s arm. She’d drag him back before an unnatural gust of wind did the job for her and knocked them off their feet. Stumbling against whoever had come behind her, Estrellir landed on hard rock with her behind and right shoulder. Her lantern clanged on the ground, its light flickering madly for a few ticks. Carefully, carefully she pushed herself up, felt for injuries. It seemed like she hadn’t fallen too hard. If anyone hadn’t gotten the message yet, she’d speak up just to be sure. “Stay back. We don’t know if there are other traps.”

On second glance, she could make out the circle carved into the ground (more durable than chalk or paint would’ve been, her mind supplied). “That thing is obviously here to protect something. With magic. So if you see symbols on the ground, try to stay away. Maybe the wind we just felt comes back every time we touch it, maybe not. I think if we knocked the dog thing out or destroyed that carved circle, we could get past safely. Then again…” Where would they go? The pile of boulders against the back wall seemed worth investigating. With narrowed eyes, she tried to see if it gave anything away. Patterns, hints. After looking with ordinary eyes, she took a deep breath and lowered herself into the calm state of mind needed for Auristics. With no distractions, she’d be able to see auras around the place. As soon as they sprung up, she glanced at the boulders, the wall, even the small hole spitting out water and of course the golem on its circle. As she could only risk a short glance, she tried to take in as much as possible before (reluctantly) blinking all the colors away. Suddenly the cave felt stuffy, she still didn’t have much experience.