Fire Dreams (Leo Varniak)

[Taln]

Taln grabbed a large handful of the mushrooms and crushed them as he dropped them into one of the empty skins. Most Dek were terrified of the darkness down here but he'd always found solace in its quiet solitude. His lack of sight was probably more of a help than a hindrance in these caves. The mismatched pair walked in silence for a few bells, neither of the men being of a gregarious nature. Using the brightly smeared mushrooms, he marked the left wall with a sideways eight every fifty paces. When the red haired man heard Leo, he answered, "These are glow mushroom spores. They're great for lighting the way without using smokey fuel and marking the walls so we don't get lost. They don't taste very good so don't eat them. I mean, glows aren't deadly or anything, but they're not for eating either." He handed over a half filled skin to Leo, showing the phosphorescent mushrooms within. The tall man took a handful of mushrooms, crushed them in his hand and put some more into the skin. "The glows have two purposes. You crush them and rub them on your arms and chest to light the way. Also--" Taln paused to point out the marker he'd made along the wall before he continued explaining. "You can use them as accurate markers as along as you and your partner stay in the same position to each other. I'm on the left and you've been walking on the right. As long as we maintain these positions, we can guess our direction pretty well." The Dek watched Leo's scrutiny of the map and heard the distress in the pitch of his voice. For some reason the cave's name bothered him and Taln didn't know what to say. He shrugged and nodded at the man's suggestion to start deep in the heart of the Underground Forest. "As far as I know, each one is named for its traits. Lina cave is one of the most difficult and women are difficult so I guess it stands to reason they picked a woman's name for that reason. Maybe? I'm not sure really about why they call it that." Taln grabbed a few more handfuls of mushrooms and gestured for his companion to do the same and put them in each bag. "When we go through the water parts we'll have to reapply things 'cause it will get washed off. These skins are waterproof so whatever we put in them should stay safe enough." Hopefully Leo wasn't an overly fastidious man. Although Taln wasn't fond of stinking and being filthy, he'd have to let his partner know that rubbing themselves in bat shit would keep away -most- of the insects and other foul creatures down here. Of course they'd have to get to the bat sections first for that. He shuddered, thinking of the shrieking, smelly things. Bats definitely weren't his favorite animals.

[Gossamer]

Lina Cave was one of the midway transitional caves that bypassed the Vaulted Cave on the way to Deep Lake Cave which was said to be the most breathtaking of the two lake cave caverns. Deep Lake was unique because it had ancient writing on its walls that was only visible at certain times of the season mostly having to do with water flow above ground. Taln would know that the passage between Deep Lake and Kicker Cave was blocked and had been for years because of a land slide that no one had bothered to clean up. Crystal cave was pretty and nice baubles could be found there, but Kicker had nothing really to offer and was rumored to have gotten its name because by the time you traversed the other caverns in the Forest and managed to make it to Kicker Cave you wanted to kick yourself because there was nothing there that was worth the trip through to it. They had two choices from the entrance where they stood to get to Lina. They could move through the throat of the forest, pass by Drop Off which had a dangerous downward shaft that looked like a vertical lava tube or walk by Clear View that was fairly sweeping and open. From there they could pass a narrow side tunnel and walk by the Green Tree Cave which was named for a larger group of petrified trees reminiscent of the ones around The Spires. One of which still stood upright, its wood replaced by a green mineral. That would lead them to the Vaulted Cave which was a substantial hike down a narrow corridor either bypassing Green Tree or going through Green Tree to get to an even more narrow passageway where they’d have to do some climbing to hit vaulted. There was an alternative pathway headed west from Clear View or Drop off that lead to Gold Cave which wasn’t actually named for real gold, but for the Iron Pyrite that lined its walls. Once past gold cave they would move through another cave that was unnamed as far as Taln knew and into Lina. The Dek was fully aware of all this information and could plainly pass it on to Leo if he so desired. As for Leo, the Lina Cave had a noticeable draw, but it seemed to ‘obvious’ to be really what he was actually needing. Leo was smart. He knew Ivak or Ivak’s supporters would place road maps to his prison. These maps had to be something someone who came looking could recognize. There was no coincidence, statistically, that Lina Cave wasn’t one of those.

[Leo Varniak]

Leo listened to Taln's advice with undivided attention. He didn't seem the type who could do anything half-heartedly. When he listened, he did so with his eyes fixed on the speaker, eyes barely blinking more than strictly necessary. He also wasn't one for doing more than one thing at a time. Even walking and speaking didn't come naturally to him; if left to his discretion, he would do one and then the other. The instructions on how to handle glow mushrooms weren't overly exciting or difficult to comprehend, but he gave a solemn nod at Taln as he finished educating him on the topic. "I see," he said, and began to rub the things all over his arms, with the exception of his gloved hands. He had no wish to waste time on lengthy explanations on why his hands were pitch black. Besides, it was a form of corruption he didn't like to gaze upon, even though it was also the trophy of a great victory. He could, however, roll up his sleeves and rub the mushroom all over. "That is no problem. I'll smoke them if I have to." He meant it, as long as it helped. Taln's description of the various caves left Leo more confused and less certain than before. There was little openly reminding of Ivak in any of them. To expect otherwise would have been foolish. The Azenth could only surmise that there were more signs... but only the Lina reference stood out clearly enough for him to recognize right away. Maybe there was some of path to be followed. A path with waypoints. He almost folded his arms across his chest, but stopped at the last moment, remembering the mushroom dust. Instead, he placed the remaining mushrooms in his bag, as the Dek had instructed him to. "I think I'd like to pick this route," he said at least, "Drop Off first, then onward to Gold Cave, Lina and finally Deep Lake. I'm trying to pick any references to Ivak and fire as we go. If Drop Off has any connections to the volcano then I'd like to pass though there, even though it's probably the more difficult hike. Gold Cave... that mineral, pyrite, can be used to kindle a fire. It is a 'fire stone' of sorts, and I think that's what the name means. I should know... I was in charge of the kiln at my family's pottery business when I was little." His gloved finger slid down the inches of the map. "From there it's Lina, and then Deep Lake for the inscriptions. I don't know if they're visible or if we can even read them, but it seems too important to ignore. With that, the only interesting place we're missing is Green Tree, which we can visit on the way back through Vaulted if we haven't found anything by then... maybe with a trip to Crystal and Needle first, just in case there's actually something to be found. That should have the entire place covered." A part of him called himself foolish, to be honest. Some of these 'hints' were so thin that he felt like he was grasping at straws, but there was nothing better to go by. Leo waited for any open objections on Taln's part before starting, somewhat gingerly, deeper into the caverns.

OOCI'm assuming Taln told Leo about the various caves so he doesn't have to repeat Goss' post verbatim. Let me know if it's a problem.

[Taln]

"The gold stones start fires? I didn't know that. We've just been calling it fool's gold and considered it useless." Taln listened as Leo spoke, watching the gloves on the man's hands. He knew it wasn't his place to ask what happened or why. Fortunately the kiln story seemed some what of a valid explanation for Leo's strange preference for wearing gloves in the first place. The Dek mirrored the guy's footsteps on his own side and pondered for a moment. He wasn't one to risk pissing off someone by talking too much but they were supposed to be working together on this journey. "I'm willing to follow but you should know there's a cave between Gold and Lina that doesn't have a name. Drop Off is literally a place you feel like dropping off the end of the world. It's a slide, so there won't be any walking. The best way to handle it is to sit at the edge, shove off and hope you don't land with too many broken bones..." The tall redhead knew he couldn't read but he had the materials at hand to help out Leo with his plan for the inscriptions. Place the thinnest of the useless maps that he had grabbed over the symbols and just rub a bit of the mushrooms across it. "Then that's the path we'll look to follow. In this place, just take things one bite at a time and don't try to plan too far ahead. There's insects, injuries, cold, bad footing and each cave has it's own problems. When in doubt remember 'North South East West.' It will remind you to watch your head and where you step because of stalagmites and stalactites, minor flooding, slippery moss and these passages are rarely smooth or wide enough on both sides equally." He felt really stupid for running off at the mouth when this man seemed more than competent enough for the job at hand. Besides, Leo had an enormous destiny to fulfill, while Taln was merely the Dek sent to carry things for him if he needed it. Once returned to his 'proper' mind set, he continued by his companion's side, ready to help in any way he could.

OOC :

Not a problem. Sorry it took so long to respond but my notifications aren't working. I'll just check in a few times a day to make sure I don't miss it again when you post.

[Gossamer]

The walk from the entrance to Drop Off was an easy hike. Mushrooms rose around them and the 'sky' was an endless vaulted ceiling of toothed stalagmites that loomed ominously and threateningly from the above. There were actual places that these things had fallen, though when they passed by them it was rare. Mold grew everywhere and mosses that were luminous without having any light. Strange creatures scurried out of Leo and Taln's view. Some had a strange aura of intelligence about them as they stood, observed, and then retreated at the last minute. Bats flew overhead, but none so far that were the huge ones reported to hunt down here. There were paths as well in this part of the Underground Forest. Moving was easy and there were signs of plant harvest and places where mushrooms had been cut down, obviously harvested. Moss was stripped from the 'trees' here and there, a form Taln would recognize as used for tea throughout Wind Reach. Flowers bloomed, sometimes instantly in response to the light Leo and Taln provided. Othertimes flowers withdrew in response to the light. There were small scurrying lizards everywhere which either had large eyes or no eyes at all. It was almost as if Leo and Taln had stepped outside of Mizahar and straight into another world. When the path forked to Drop Off, Taln lead the way confidently and indeed knew what to do to traverse Drop off which turned out to be a giant natural slide. The cave itself looked more recreational than anything, for gunny sacks had been left at the top which they could spread out, sit down upon, and pushed off to drop down further into the bowels of the forest. The slide itself was a rush, dropping almost five hundred feet down in a series of curves that circled the length of the cave before exiting at the unknown passage that opened up into Gold cave. The passage was another expanse of very similar forest, though the mushrooms here were not dark but rather pale as well. It had pathways that lead onwards towards Gold Cave which refracted the lights from the two men's bodies before they even got there. Their arrival was an expanse of luminous gold reflected back at them, Iron Pyrite glittering off the walls, ceilings, and even powdered on the path. There were no mushrooms here, but more stone and tall knee-high grass that Taln would know was good for weaving and in fact often made up cloth that some of the Wind Reacher's used when they had no leather to work. The paths here were more sparse, overgrown, as if the trail was not used. Another side passage, according to the map, lead back towards Clear View Cave in a series of stairways leading upwards. The air was warmer here, harder to breath, but not 'unclean' tasting on their tongues and in their lungs. It was just the heat, being so close to the bowels of the volcano, that made it slightly uncomfortable but not unbearable. The gold on the walls and ceiling seemed to radiate the heat and insulate it, keeping it captured. The tall grass glittered, lightly dusted with the flaked off iron pyrite giving it an otherworldly glow. Gold Cave lived up to its name and more, though the wildlife really wasn't there like it was in the entrance and upper levels. As they traversed it, things grew damper and the scurrying insect type things grew in number, revealing centipedes that glittered with stolen pyrite and spiders that seemed to build enthusiastically anywhere that would hold their webs. Taln knew they weren't dangerous though, so there was no need to warn unless he felt like it. The main path, the one Leo had not chosen, was fraught with far more danger than this one, since the vegetation here was so different, so much more reserved. After two hours the passage to Gold Cave and the cave itself receded into another unnamed space that lead to Lina which was their first destination. Taln paused at the entrance, for there was a noted lack of information he had about this section. The cave itself was empty, vast, and devoid of any vegetation at all. It had a rough exterior, though in the very center of the cave there was a smooth as glass section of black floor that was exactly the shape of a fifty foot circle. When Leo joined Taln at the entrance, fire flared, and the circle erupted into a full fledged magic circle. The four quarters were marked, so were the halfway points, with swirls of powerful symbols that blended into one another. The boarder of the circle was that of a winding body of a serpent that swallowed its own tail writing in the fire that ignited it. In the center of the circle, past two outer rings, was a wooden box sat on a piece of chiseled pyrite. The contents, of course, were hidden from view. Off to the side was a secondary symbol outside the circle. A stylized word was written there, built into the symbol, but so artistic and so aflame it was hard to make out its actual origin. The two men could not pass the burning circle. But they could go back or bypass the unnamed cave on the way to Lina.

[Leo Varniak]

"But you could say, just as easily, that gold is fool's pyrite," Leo answered, "Just a matter of viewpoints." He listened intently as Taln explained the nature of the next passage and the presence of an unnamed cavern ahead of them. There was a certain awkwardness to the Dek that probably came with his low status. The Azenth tilted his head slightly. What a pity. Here was someone with definite potential, yet crushed by the unforgiving system that turned the wheels of Wind Reach. What ambition he had was being slowly ground into the dust of memory. He began to wonder if there wasn't anything he could do for the man, plunged down the strata of life for no fault of his own. He narrowed his eyes at the mention of a number of dangers. "Charming." He was reminded of Sondra the very moment he said that - if the Konti lady had been there, Leo was pretty sure that might have been her very choice of words. At least the polite one. There was no telling whether Sondra and Terminus had stayed in Syliras, or even if they were still alive. Leo made it a point to look for them once business here was over. His sudden decision had, at least, proven the right one. It had been no wild goose hunt for Ivak's sepulcher. This was the real thing. A big slide, Drop Off was. Leo had to wonder at the Inarta and their peculiar taste in fun. They didn't seem to enjoy themselves if they weren't risking limb and life. He helped Taln arrange the sacks for their own descent. Then, once pushed down, he slid down the cavern with stale wind in his face. Once of twice he thought he was going to just snowball his way to the bottom, but he caught himself at the very last moment. What an idiotic idea of fun! By the time his makeshift sleigh stopped, Leo's stomach was in about twelve different places, and reminded him of the feeling of being on a ship with deadly disease spreading all around him. The memory was all too real. He straightened and managed to leave Drop Off in good shape, if a little dizzy and with ears ringing from the sudden change in height. "Have you ever considered leaving Wind Reach, Taln?" he asked as they entered Gold cave. "You seem bright. Someone like you could easily make a living as a free man elsewhere in Mizahar. Here though, you'll never be anything but a Dek." Unless some Endal woman took him as a bed slave, but Leo somehow doubted that would be the case. Leo liked the feel of pyrite cushioning the walls of the cave. He felt strangely at home, as if fire itself had made its house in the ore. He caught glimpses of strange wildlife, but these creatures seemed to fear him more than the other way around, which suited Leo just fine. Before long they were leaving Gold cave behind, and Taln was leading him to the entrance of the unnamed cave. And then something big went off. Even Leo was taken aback, his body jerking into familiar defensive instinct, hands out in front of him ready to channel Res at anything approaching. But there was no enemy here, only what one might expect to find if the gods themselves decided to play with Glyphing and Shielding. "I... I take it this isn't commonplace here." He licked his lips and moved closer. He knew enough about Glyphing to recognize the setup, with a trigger word in flaming characters off to the side. He couldn't make out what the word was, though. The circles seemed to reject him, probably requiring the password before they'd let him through. They needed to get to the box. He circled around the array, taking in the splendor of the snake eating its own tail. Here was the handiwork of gods. "Be assured, no Endal has ever seen the likes of this." Leo tapped the bridge of his nose, pondering, despite the mushroom dust. "But we're missing something here. Perhaps it will be made clear later. This place feels like the endgame. We probably need an activation word to get through. Let's go. Maybe Lina has the answers we seek." He tried his best not to think of it. The very idea was laughable. To actually find his mother here was nothing short of impossible. Yet even Leo Zaital couldn't deny an irrational hope surging for some reason from an unnamed corner of his soul. Had not the Konti seer said that she was too great a soul to have fallen to something as trivial as Allistir Varniak's murderous hands?

[Taln]

"I guess I'm the fool for not knowing it makes fire huh?" He answered, slightly embarrassed. "It could be point of view, I guess. If we look past the glittering surface, then we find it's valuable for itself, not for just looks." Against his natural mistrust of strangers, he was starting to really enjoy talking with Leo. He treated him like a human, not just an extra body to find a use for. Taln was a curious guy and simply not accustomed to others asking his opinion or purposely having an equal conversation with him. The tall man nudged the toe of his boot near one of the spiders. "These guys are the harmless ones so no need to worry about them. The more plants there are, the more dangerous bugs come with it. There's not much here so it's all good. We'll need to get some bat guano later against their more dangerous cousins though. Insects and bats always go together down here because they're predators versus, well smaller predators. If you rub on some bat guano it scares away the larger, poisonous insects that would go after us." After only a few chimes they arrived at the Drop off and Taln smiled. Once settled on the well used skins, he curled the sides under his fingers and let out a shout. His enthusiastic yell echoed off the walls, reverberating and bouncing with as much fun as the Inarta had. The tunnel seemed to race faster than his heartbeat and the wind stung his face at the sheer speed he was going. Taln reached the bottom with a heavy thud, a bouncing skip and a huge boyish grin on his face. "I love that ride!" The smile froze in place at Leo's question and Taln wasn't even sure how to answer it. Leaving was never something he'd considered before, even when things were at there worst. He blinked once and then blinked again at the enormity of it. Taln searched Leo's face, trying to decide if the man was only joking with him. No. He didn't seem the type to make jokes. "No. It never crossed my mind to leave what's been home all my life." His green eyes darkened as he really thought about it. He shook his head in firm denial at the other comment. "Bright? I can't even read or write. But I do have Wind Reach memorized by how many steps to take from here to there and what's where in the Warrens so much that I never get lost." The pair walked side by side for a solid bell, with the Dek thinking harder than he ever had in his life. After an interminable silence, he continued. Taln looked Leo directly in the eyes to show his own. "I don't see things good like most people do so I notch things or memorize placement instead. It took me a long time to do it, but I can literally find my way blindfolded. I don't know if I could survive outside of Wind Reach. Maybe if--" The man's introspection was cut short at the sudden fiery burst and he stumbled backwards hard against the wall. "Holy shyke!" he gasped, staring at the flaming spectacle. "No that's definitely not normal! What -is- that?" His normally green eyes appeared solid white in the brightly blazing glyphs as Taln stared in wonder at it. This was strong magic and there had to be a way to get to the writing. Leo definitely seemed the highly educated type and not unfamiliar or even phased in the slightest by the fearsome display of magic. If anything he was very curious. He glanced at Leo for a moment, taking pride in the fact that he'd witnessed something no mighty Endal ever had. Pensive, he considered how many times he'd been down here and never seen the cave act like this before. There was something not just different about the guy next to him, but rather something.. important. Taln couldn't quite put a name to it, but implicitly, he trusted Leo to know the right answers to the mysterious things. He might know about some mushrooms or insect protection, but Leo knew magic and knew it well. The red haired man nodded and agreed. "Looks like there's a mystery to solve here and we'll have to find the right steps to get the answer. Lina Cave is as good a place to start as any."

[Gossamer]

If Leo and Taln thought they were alone now, they'd be distinctly mistaken. A single watcher, invisible to their mortal eyes, stood alone observing. A second one soon joined her, their forms inhuman and undulating in shadows that burned with a cold blue fire. "An Endgame? He really thinks only the beginning is the end? This is what the Zaital line has come too? Their blood must have been horribly thinned. A fancy burning circle feels like an end game when he's actually trying to free the Fireking? They might as well have sent us a toddler. All because a trigger might be too stylized or unreadable? A bit of common sense would make all the difference in the world. If he moves on, he leaves the gifts, and if he leaves the gifts, he'll die in his decent. The Fireking isn't held in a place Mortals and even Gods can tread easily. The trigger is childs play. It's the one word no one here could remember even if they wrote it down." The first figure said, her voice fraught with worry. "The mortals here can read? Startling." The second added, surprised, then shrugged as he reached down and picked up a loose piece of pyrite most likely tracked in by animals or the two feet of the bumbling humans. He grinned mischievously and hurled the pebble at Leo, bouncing it off his right cheek. He breathed deeply, gathered his energy and hurled a single word with enough force and djed to breach the barrier between the world Leo and Taln stood in and the ones the Watchers existed in. "Coward." Leo and Taln might hear an echo of it, just barely, and if they too were concentrating, they could hear the barest whispers of a conversation though one held time and space away. Because the two men could not go past the burning glyph of fire, they could not proceed easily to Lina Cave. They'd have to back track through the Gold Cave, past the entrance to Green Tree Cave, and into the Vaulted Cave. The whole trek, if Taln could calculate correctly, would take them an entire day if not more. And Vaulted Cave was thick with underground predators and danger. Groups harvesting food came in large numbers with Avora to guard them. Two men would be easy pickings in the eyes of a predator.

[Taln]

Fine hairs lifted on his arms and the back of his neck as he heard, no, sensed someone talking. Less than a chime later he felt the passing of an object near their faces and his automatic flinch had Taln almost topple over to the side to avoid it. "Coward." The single word brought him to an instant boil and fury rose as he turned toward the faint sound. Taln scowled hard into the unnatural fire, his eyes glazed a pure white. Sweat gleamed off his lean, muscled six foot frame. The flames only made his already red hair match the inferno before him. The Dek stood immobile but more than ready to charge should he see the speaker. He spoke softly, barely audible above the roaring flames. "You are the cowards to speak within hidden words! Show yourselves. Who would speak to Leo Zaital that way? I don't know why but he's important here. His name -means- something." Taln's voice was deep and edged with a quiet but angry threat that someone would call out this man who knew so much. His large hands clenched as he continued glaring around, trying to find the source of the nebulous voices. He may not be able to see much, but very little got past his almost supernatural hearing. Foolish as it was, the Dek wanted to protect Leo against this unseen accusation. He didn't stop to think it ridiculous that a mere Dek could protect anyone against powerful magic. However he still couldn't dismiss the urge to guard Leo with own life if called for. "There's no way just the two of us could go through Vaulted cave alone and remain alive. We need to start here sir--Leo. I don't think we're going anywhere just yet..."

[Leo Varniak]

Leo recoiled as the piece of pyrite hit his cheek. He turned sharply, his eyes failing to see the source of the threat. A part of him screamed to unleash his powers, to summon Ivlir into his grasp and somehow fight back; the man he'd been one year before would have done so beyond a doubt - losing over and over again. Instead, he did his best to get his breathing under control, figure out what was going on. The word 'Coward', disembodied but still heavy as an anvil, struck him squarely between the shoulder-blades. He bit on his lip, almost to the point of drawing blood, before he managed to relax. Do they think I'm running? Taln's speech surprised Leo more than the initial onslaught. He'd never have expected such vehement words in his defense, especially coming from someone who had so little to gain from this entire endeavor. In fact, he couldn't remember anyone ever speaking up for him. He was, after all, the scary man who burned all the evil people - only, his definition of evil had always been pretty broad. He didn't know whether to be flattered or humiliated by what he was hearing, but he decided Taln wasn't to blame. "I agree it is an odd statement coming from someone cloaked in shadows, but they had plenty of opportunity to do harm if they'd wanted to. This is a pretty juvenile way to convey a message, but not necessarily ill-intentioned." Leo stepped in the direction the pyrite had come from. He picked up the offending piece and clenched it tight in his right fist, where he produced a little Res. Soon a wisp of smoke was rising from his fingers. He began. "This man's eyes are hurt, yet he sees more truth than I. My name is Leo Zaital and it does mean something. I don't care if you insult me. Maybe I deserve it. But I am of the blood of gods and kings, and if you mean offense to me, you mean offense to everything I stand for. I will not allow that. The end of this day will tell if I really am a coward. I get that I'm not supposed to leave this place. Now, in Ivak's name, either show yourself or petch off and let us do our thing." It had never occurred to Leo that the solution could be so simple. It was in plain sight to the point of being easily overlooked. He always tended to overthink things anyways. He'd believed to find the word among the submerged inscriptions deeper into the caves. Even now, he spoke Ivak's name quite randomly, in a spur of the moment thing, without really hoping it would do anything. Then again, a little luck was also an important part of greatness. Leo felt that such a commodity was long overdue in his case.