The shadows descended upon the group, bringing them into the
party's light. They were three feet monstrosities of brown fur with grey
gemlike growths on their upper torso, shoulders, arms and head. Thick, almost
tendril like whiskers flanked the folds of skin that comprised their necks, with
bright blue bioluminescent orbs at the tip. The pointed ears were in fact the wing
and wrist bones of the creatures. They were chatting to each other in high
pitched screeches that was just different enough from the buzzing noise to be
interpreted as intelligent chatter. They too, like Jarvi, were suffering from
the effects of the alarm and had turned violent.
Xera reacted as quickly as possible, revealing a device he
had been long since working on before he had met Eryn. He had named it the
Shatter Stone after the fragment of rock from which it was created from. It was
essentially a rough pebble with a pointed end covered with wires and sockets
and a singular tiny black button. He fired into the air above him hoping to hit
one of enraged creatures with almost unnatural accuracy. The bolt of shattering
light fired from the tip of the stone and clipped the creature's wings
instantly turning them stone. And with that the creature dropped to a platform
below the group. The other two were circling each other with Jarvi's bird
flitting in-between but unable to land an attack, much like the rest of the
group.
Danton quickly acquired
a small vial from his butler and tipped his darts in the substance. There was
something familiar about the liquid to Eryn but he just couldn't place his
finger on it. With a well timed blow, the dark penetrated the leathery hide of
one of the remaining two. It's body started to drop in the air and its eyes
started to close before it started foaming at the mouth, it's eyes brightening
and widening, a piercing white circle around a deep pit of black. It dove for its
incapacitated comrade and tore into its flesh with its teeth and claws,
devouring it in a torrent or ripped skin and purple blood. As the creature
finished it's meal the other looked on almost frightened now, the grey hues of
the crystals on the cannibal creature were now as purple as its own blood.
The last creature dived for Jarvi in an attempt to grapple
him off the cliff face but mistook the light to be just that. As it made
contact with the light, it's neck instantly snapped as it's body crumpled into
a broken and bleeding mess. The creature howled and screeched as it died before
it slowly fell through the block of light and thudded with an echo onto the
cavern floor. Eryn now realising these creatures liked to dive bomb their
victims he readied his flaming hand to bat away the crazed monstrosity. It did
as was predicted and the hand swiped it away, forcing it onto the wall while
singing it at the same time.
Gur, who had been keeping by Eryn's side found an opportunity
to move around over to where the creature had been forced to without being
seen. He unfurled his whip and with a solemn breath, let forth his whip. It
snatched at the monsters wings, pulling them behind the creature. With one
heavy tug the whip had dug into the wings themselves, slashing them to ribbons
and drawing fourth more of the thick purple liquid. The hawk soon dove in for
the kill on the creature, tearing its own claws into the flesh of the deranged
predator and then letting it bleed out before tearing beak sized chunks out of
it.
All three were now dead but the group were still apprehensive,
not only for what would wait for them in the dark, but also for each other.
Apart from Eryn and Xera, and Danton and his servant, the group were strangers
to each other and neither really knew how to help one another. Danton took it
upon himself to try and instruct the rest on how to climb down, as the group
had deemed the scaffolding far too dangerous. and had ignored the possibilities
that the light had presented.
The bottom of the cavern lead to a few thinly carved ladders
that lead up to the walkway with the torch and cave. They all approached with
caution. The pillars were down here two, the light and the noise flooding the
air. At the end of the shaft there was a cave entrance. It was angled at around
sixty degrees to the floor, with dark metallic crystal stalagmites and stalactites
adoring the opening, crowning it with teeth. There were clothes discarded here,
along with many robes from the Purple Order. There were also more grisly human
remains as well as offerings and trinkets, flowers and incense. Danton remembered a
file which he had read when he bluffed his way in to his families offices in
Darkperch. Not only did it provide him information on the families activities
in the city but also details of the mining operation they had run before
abandoning it for the sake of image and legality. This is what the miners and
the local Purple Order referred to as the Feldspar Maw which had only recently
been discovered only eight days ago.
There had been loud buzzing noise and the gush of stale wind
that followed the discovery that went away after the first twenty-eight hours.
However the oscillating golden light in the dark down in the tunnel beyond the
mouth was far too tempting to the Order. They had claimed it as an escape from being
eaten by the Great Devourer. They would throw themselves willingly into its
mouth as supplication. There was also a
side note to the document, about how there were many incidents of the Purple
Order taking up these actions in different parts of the Steadfast for hundreds
of years. Valma jumped from Eryn's belt and reformed herself to its original
size. The buzzing that was infecting the ear of everyone down here was
intoxicating to it. Valma span in dizzying circles, squealing in joy before
tipping over and tumbling into the void towards the light. Eryn on instinct
followed suit with Gur in toe.
For Danton, his butler, Xera and Jarvi, they witnessed Valma
disappear into the light but not fall beyond it, the same was said for Eryn.
For Gur however, he had hit the side of the walls of the decent and only a
portion of himself from his hips downwards had disappeared into the light.
Danton held his hand to his mouth and turned away to compose himself. From a
pocket he brought out a pot of green paint and emptied it into the void. A barley
visible green outline was left around the edges of the light. Jarvan remained
out of the next conversation as each man tried to convince the other to jump
first. Danton mentioned that Valma, who Jarvi had interpreted as a little girl
inside his mind's eye, had disappeared down where they needed to go and his slowly
sobering sense of purpose kicked in and leapt through the light. Xera followed
suit while Danton turned to his butler, handed over his most expensive items,
bowed, and jumped.
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