Common Worlds

Senech has been in the tunnel longest. You find him back at the square lintel and post, having written the following on it with his finger dipped in ink:

there once was a lad named Cam
who got married in a bit of a jam
but his wife soon found out
that his SOCK had no clout
oh my! she says, what a scam!

Boomer presses ahead, perhaps unaware of the new length of his legs. His asbestos robe, once chin to ankle, now wraps around him as an ill-fitting loincloth. "Men ahead. More rock displacement evidence."

Moving quietly back toward the destroyed altar, the fire-blasted cavern seems as it was. A few moments reconnaissance by Boomer reveals:

* Ammuz, Togeth, and several trollhounds behind huge shields (called pavises) just inside the entrance to the inner cavern you first investigated. They bear crossbows, spears and axes, and have extra crossbows, all loaded. Their position blocks the entrance to the altar area closest to the bolt hole. One trollhound has padded quietly over to Ammuz as Boomer checks things out. Ammuz turns toward the lintel entrance as you approch, crossbow casually held across him.

* One of Barlo's Four Storms perched high up in the rough stone of the ceiling. He watches the other entrance to the altar area.

* Smell of a greasy fire.

* Many rocks piled up in the throat of the bolt hole, severely pinching off access.

To summarize the cavern, your various followers have been working for some time to prepare for, well, pretty much anything.

Ammuz explained briefly: "Paz searches for an entrance. Jar's at the manor. Digging noises continued all day, just stopped. You're a long time gone."

After discussion, it turned out the Rass had been down the hole for almost a day and a half. Now roughly sunset of the day after you went in, it seemed like about an hour to them. The Rass followers set a dual ambush, with men in the ceiling, at Ammuz's post, and in the bolt hole. Croly's curse stone remained undisturbed.

Boomer leaned in toward the rockfall, turning his head left, right, up and down. "Diggers complete soon." he whispers.

Barlo pressed his ear against the stones. "I hear voices. Male, speaking New Pelorian. Can't make it out."

Asher looked concerned. "Oh family and friends, I do not feel we should remain here if our traps remain in place for these presumedly Lunar diggers. They will hardly be likely to consider us friends after the traps are triggered. Either we should repair to another, safer location or we should remove the traps so that we may parley in peace with those whose digging brings us closer."

Gilli shook her head. "This shrine was not here by coincidence. I believe it served to prevent anyone from tampering with the Green Time. We risked enough going there ourselves. Can you imagine what Lunars might do?"

"If we could find a way to frighten them enough to drive them off..."

Asher stroked his beard. "Perhaps the All-Seeing Eye of my Lord Lhankor Mhy could gather more information for that purpose."

Gill replied "Undoubtedly he would have a solution, but this might fall into another's area of expertise."

She looked pointedly at Senech, and her brother's hand puppet replied: "heeeyyyy, don't look at me! I have no wish to mess with Lunars. I ain't...oh...you were talking about Senech? Never mind."

Senech looked back at Gilli with a devilish grin and motioned for her to continue.

Trying to keep a straight face, she went on. "Well... if these diggers believed they had disturbed something protecting Malia's shrine... I mean, if they were under the illusion that they had come face to face with a powerful disease spirit, then they must
retreat. Whether they return or not, and with whom, will reveal how important their task here may be..."