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From: [e-mail] (Lance Dooly)
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Subject: STORY: The Tales of Dark Haven (Chapter 17)
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Date: 20 Aug 1995 12:55:05 -0400
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------- The Tales of Dark Haven ---------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-                                                                            -
- These stories are from an on-going E-mail campaign, and are currently      -
- maintained by Lance Dooly ([e-mail]).  New stories will be  -
- posted in rec.games.frp.archives and are available for anonymous FTP       -
- at tfnet.ils.unc.edu in /pub/dark.                                         -
-                                                                            -
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------- Chapter 17: At Last, The Daemons Are Vanquished ---------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The party have finally finished the threat of the last daemon ....

(Falrun:)
After the daemon drops to the floor, Falrun will drop the staff to the
ground and pull out his long sword.  "Hit me, will you?" he screams as
he starts chopping off the head of the daemon.  (Assuming normal
weapons will damage the corpses, now that they are lifeless.)

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana's voice quavered as the creature slumped to the ground.  "Stab
it again to make sure it's dead!".

(Silver:)
The Silver Bear bellows in rage at the falling daemon, and continues
to do so for a moment after it falls and lies still. The bear then
shrinks down, and transforms back into the form of Silver.

OOC: Shapechange to bear form healed 8hp and back to human 5hp. Silver
     is still down 13hp.

The battle now has it's effect, and she sits on the ground, trembling
from the shock.  Looking at the blood/ichor on her arms, she then
looks blankly around at her friends, all busily involved in various
tasks.

(Shade:)
When the daemon falls dead, Shadowdancer stays still, weapons ready,
for a moment, almost dazed by the sudden end of the butchery.

Then, when the rush of adrenaline subsides, he collapses to the ground
in a sitting position, legs crossed, arms outstretched, weapons still
in hand and head reclined between his knees.

"Foul beasts they are" - he shivers deeply - "I have never understood
the passion of my kin in summoning daemons."

(Falrun:)
Falrun will continue his vengeful hacking until either he tires or
someone pulls him off.  Once the head has been separated, he will
continue chopping through the rest of the body.  "I said I'd have your
head!"

(Shade:)
In a flash of feline movement he gets up and sheathes his swords.

(Falrun:)
Falrun continues to hack at the lifeless body of the daemon when
suddenly a puzzled look comes over his face.  He moves his sword back
and forth a little in the stomach of the beast and then plunges his
hand into the corpse.

(Shade:)
"Stop this Falrun" - he quietly steps near his comrade and gently
pulls his shoulder (taking care not to touching his wounds) - "We need
your strength for better purposes than hacking dead daemons ...."

(Falrun:)
After feeling around for a minute, he pulls out a handful of gems and
yells, "Hey everybody, look what I found!"

(Shade:)
He casts a casual glance at the gems - "Hmmmm, maybe you're just doing
the right thing Falrun. Let's have a look of this beast's taste for
valuables."

(Falrun:)
It turns out that Falrun discovered about four or five gems in the
stomach of the beast.  "I don't know how valuable these gems are, but
they're almost as big as my fist.  They certainly should be worth
something decent.  Maybe one of you can tell their value."

After holding up the gems for Shade to see, Falrun takes a look at
himself.  His sleeves are sagging heavily from the blood and gore of
the daemon and he did a pretty good job of covering the rest of
himself with nondescript pieces of the dead daemon.

(Tatiana:)
"Arlon? What if anything is worth recovering from a daemon for magical
purposes?"

(Arlon:)
"There very well could be something, but I have not run across what
that is yet.  Shade will probably have a better understanding than
me."

(Dithion:)
Dithion immediately takes off his pack, and pours oil onto the
daemons.  He then proceeds to light them on fire.  "They may
regenerate."

(Shade:)
Shade interrupts what Dithion is doing, saying "Let me take out what
may be of any use before incinerating them, Dithion."

(Shade:)
The drow goes to the lobsters and begins opening their body with a
surgeon-like ability "I was trained as master torturer you know" - he
winks to his slightly disgusted friends and collects some of the dark
ichor flowing out of the gashes at the same time - "This may result in
something useful for the Alchemist, Daermon S'Zrida'hn."

(Arlon:)
"Shade, could you get some samples for me also, Daermon may be very
interested in them indeed."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana looked around the room, the two dead lobster daemon's blood
was dripping into the illuminated pool, dying it an eerie red color.

"So was that trident worth the trouble?" she said looking back to the
dead rotund daemon.

(Silver:)
Silver will recover the owl-headed staff from the floor near the
rotund daemon where Falrun dropped it.

(Falrun:)
He begins to walk towards the pool and says to Silver as she's picking
up her staff, "Sorry about not giving your staff back directly.  I got
kind of caught up in my emotions of the situation.  I hope you can
forgive me.  I'll have to make it up to you some time."

When he reaches the pool (assuming the water level has returned to
normal) he walks down the steps to a point where he is neck deep in
the water and begins to wash his clothes, hair, and anything else that
is contaminated with gore.

(Arlon:)
"Superb fighting, warriors!  That was one tough demon, I was ready to
try the trident on it.  Well, I guess this is an obvious point to stop
and heal ourselves.  Since I was only lightly bruised, I'll go out and
see how Keilan and Kaeyar are doing and calm things down if need be.
I better transform into myself before I go out.  Maybe we should torch
them as Dithion suggested."

(Tatiana:)
"I'd say we did all we can today.  If we get any more surprises like
that we won't be around to finish the job for Mindak."

(Arlon:)
"We may have to go on soon or risk losing the job altogether. We'll
just have to be more careful. Besides, once we get into the caves we
could probably rest awhile."  He says with a smile.

(Shade:)
Still opening the monster's belly the drow keeps talking "We need to
go on our previous mission as soon as possible, you know, we cannot
afford to stop now, or we will surely catch the name Keilan is so fond
of giving us: 'the fools'." - he strips a gland out of the body and
puts it aside - "We must complete our task or we may never find
another job.  We will be known as those that had been called to kill a
canary and were almost killed by the dragon they foolishly awakened."
- he turns and raises his ichor stained hand to prevent anyone from
objecting - "I know, I know" - he purposely looks at Dithion - this is
not the truth, we had to do what we have done, if this room had been
discovered by a casual miner instead of brave warriors as we are" - he
bows to himself smiling - "the daemons would have been unleashed in
the town" - he shivers at the thought and turns back to his anatomical
work - "nevertheless our fame and name is seriously endangered: we
need to go, almost immediately."

Then looking at how badly hurt some of his companions are "Uh, maybe
some of us had better go to the Commons anyway." - he sighs - "I'm not
so foolhardy as it may seem but I'm willing to try to complete this
task alone if necessary."  He turns to Dithion and smiles "But I'm
confident I won't need to go alone, am I wrong my oh so adventurous
friend?"

(DM:)
By the bye, Shade's autopsy on the Lobsters comes up with nothing but
gore and entrails and such fun stuff. It appears only the Reptilian
Daemon had the taste for gemstones...

(Shade:)
The drow finally emerges from his gruesome task "Yuk! Nothing of
immediate interest here - he goes to wash himself a little in the pool
- but I have found some interesting samples to show, and maybe sell,"
- he winks at Arlon and Kaeyar - "to Daermon and Wyvernspur."

OOC: I have taken samples of any tissue of possible interest and of
     the pseudo-blood from both the lobsters and the spider.

(Tatiana:)
"How about we take a break and find out how Kaeyar and Keilan are
doing?"

(Dithion:)
After burning the corpses of the daemons, he says, "Who needs
healing?"

(Shade:)
I'll be the last in the queue, I'm not so bad."

(Silver:)
*Good, I am not needed here for the moment* Silver thinks. She heads
out of the cavern, and as she passes by Tatiana, says "I am going up
to find Keilan now. I can't express how much I appreciated your song,
'Ana, it kept me going when I might have fled this dark place"

(Falrun:)
When he has finished washing, he will come out of the pool, clothes
dripping, and put the gems in his belt pouch.  "If nobody objects,
I'll hang on to these until we get back to town."

(Dithion:)
Dithion rinses in the pool, and shakes his head.  "This armor is
ruined!"

He curses under his breath and says, "Wait up Arlon ... before you go,
I will heal some of these people."

Dithion then starts administering to the injured...

(Falrun:)
He walks up to Dithion, "I have only suffered a relatively minor hit
(13 hp).  I will accept healing but please see to the more seriously
injured people first."

(Dithion:)
He chants several times. Silver 7 back; Falrun 3+7 back; Me! 16+5
back. Then he follows after Falrun in the hall....

(Silver:)
"Thank you, Dithion. I feel so much better now, thanks to your kind
prayer and healing touch." Silver smiles warmly.

(Shade:)
"Well Dithion" - interjects Shade - "if you have some healing power
left I'd like to give you the opportunity to use it" - a broad smile -
"after all I'm quite a bit battered."

OOC: About 25hp left out of 45.

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "I have one more healing left."  He chants for a moment
and lays hands on Shade.  (14 back)



While Arlon, Silver and Tatiana go out to see how their companions who
fled screaming are, the rest of the party go about various tasks ....

(Falrun:)
"Right now I'd like to check out the room down the hall and to the
right this time, however, I don't want to have anybody pick anything
up until we are all ready for what ever decides to come out.  I'm
hoping that it will be a pretty much deserted room with no more
surprises but I'd rather be sure."

(Shade:)
Before Falrun goes to the pedestal room Shade will catch his friend by
the arm "Wait a minute Falrun, some of us had never seen a daemon
before and this has been a _REAL_ shaking experience: we have to
reassert our unity as a group first of all, Silver was very frightened
but I do not doubt she will be back with us soon" - a warm smile
lightens his dark features at the thought of the nice kind lady, then
clouds of worry coagulate on his forehead - "But I have heard some
harshness in Keilan's voice during the fight. Our first task is to
have back the complete trust between each other: a group is not a
group otherwise."  He cross arms and waits from his friend reply a
serious expression depicted on his face.

(Falrun:)
Falrun will then look around, making sure the dead bodies don't move
on their own accord, put one of the lobster bodies in the door way of
the secret passage to make sure the door doesn't close before we're
ready for it to and other "tidying up" kinds of things. Next, Falrun
will check for traps at the door of the other room.

(DM:)
The room to the right is found to be an identical twin to the one on
the left as far as size etc is concerned, however, it is only filled
with racks half rotted away containing rows of badly preserved robes
and caps. All the garments are white in colour, and some still have
the remnants from what appear to have been gold-thread tridents on the
middle of their backs and smaller ones over the hearts. Any extensive
searches for secret doors fail to yield anything else.

The pearls are still in the basins, and the Daemon abominations are
rapidly decaying. From the rate you would say that in ten hours or so,
no one would see anything but blood stains that there had ever been
such a battle in these chambers...



Arlon, Tatiana and Silver arrive at the top of the stairs to find
Kaeyar, Keilan and Mindak ....

(Arlon:)
Arlon again morphs into himself and heads back out.

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana stepped out of the cave and took a deep breath of fresh air,
and released it with a slight tremble. "Whew!  That was hairy in
there!"

Tatiana stood near Mindak and the others that had exited the cavern.
She was still covered in gore, she hadn't thought to clean up before
coming out into the light of day.  Her wounded side was still bleeding
badly and her shoulder was cradled as if it was very sore.

OOC: down 14 out of 38

"I think we should get some people down in there to clean out the mess
we made.  It's gonna stink up the place pretty bad real soon if it's
not taken care of."

She tossed her blood smeared hair back.  "Eww, I need a bath as well!"

(Arlon:)
"You always take another plunge into the water filled corridor. :)"

Arlon turns to Mindak standing nearby and says "The creatures had us
off balance for a moment; but we soon rallied and made carrion feed of
them." Arlon tries to sound very confident, as if to say the fight
wasn't that difficult and that Mindak chose the right group for the
job.

"We should be able to move out in a little while."

(Silver:)
When Silver arrives upstairs, she will find Keilan, and hopefully
Kaeyar.

"Keilan, your arm !" and for the moment, she forgets her own troubles
and gently holds his arm. She will invoke two spells, concentrating
first on his battered shoulder, then on his gashed forearm.

    "Mielikki, I hold your child, as you hold all of us,
     Your child hurts, he needs your kindness,
     Allow him the ease from pain and anguish
     That comes from your loving embrace"

OOC: 2 Cure Lights, 4hp and 6hp cure

(Keilan:)
Keilan was outside and was visited by Arlon, Tatiana and Silver.
Silver laid some minor healing on Keilan's ravaged arm (not even close
to the full damage he's taken on that one arm).  Still, Keilan manages
to move it a bit more freely and seems satisfied for the moment.

(Arlon:)
When he sees Keilan and Kaeyar he says "The creatures have been
disposed of and we are in the process of cleaning up. Do you feel up
to returning to the temple, I know the screech of these creature can
be very disturbing."

(Silver:)
Turning her face to Keilan, Silver adds "Yes, Keil, I think even we
may be needed, even though our help is sorely limited down there."
She looks questioningly at Keilan.

(Tatiana:)
As the others talk about having to go back down into the cave to
finish the job, Tatiana grimaced and said "I don't really want to go
back down in there right now."

"Perhaps we could take a break for a little while first.  Then when we
do go back down we can just chart areas of interest first instead of
plunging into trouble right away!"

"Besides, since I'm not rich enough to buy a magical sword yet, and I
think that's a necessary piece of equipment for the cave, I think we
should take our time and get the job done right."

"I'll leave the decisions up to those who know best" she said with a
carefree smile

(Silver:)
When Keilan feels the wounds partially close and the pain ease
somewhat, leaving just an ache around his shoulder and a tenderness
down his arm, Silver will hold him close and say quietly "You were
right, Keil, we belong under the sky, in Her realm. I will need
courage to venture down there again. Will you tell me more of the
forests you traveled back home?  It is childlike, I know, to listen
to stories to shield your thoughts from fear, but it would make it a
little more bearable."

(Keilan:)
Keilan says, "I'm not moving until my arm is whole again.  Nor til I'm
convinced the beast you fools brought forth is gone."

(Tatiana:)
Arlon had made his appearance, reassuring all that everything was
fine.  Silver took Keilan's arm in an attempt to quell his temper
which was about to explode.  That much was evident on his face by his
furrowed brow.

Tatiana held her tongue, this needed to boil over and be set straight.
Tatiana knew woodsmen well for she had trained as one before opting
for the life as a bard instead.  She knew they were frank and didn't
hide their emotions.  Rangers, in her experience, always handled a
problem in a straightforward fashion.

She couldn't think of anything to stop what was about to occur, and so
shrugged her shoulders and watched the event unfold.

(Silver:)
"Keil, as I said before, your presence calms me greatly", and if he
does not object, Silver will walk with him, holding his (undamaged)
arm.

(Keilan:)
Keilan shrugs off Silver's arm, saying distractedly "Thank you Silver.
Your kind words are appreciated.  But I have something more important
to attend to than words of home right now."

(Arlon:)
"Keilan, let me tell you something, I may be arrogant and pompous, I
may have the pride of my race and be a snob at times; but I DO NOT LIE
- I may exaggerate though - and I DO NOT leave my friends in battle.
If you do not believe my words when I say that the creatures are dead,
then you would not believe me even if I had a piece of the beast with
me.  The only way to convince yourself is to go and look upon the
scene with your own eyes!"

(Silver:)
"Hush now, Arlon. No-one doubts your honour, nor your valour. But some
of us," she nods, indicating Keilan and herself, "have experienced
nothing like that before. Shaken badly, we say things in haste. But
you are right, Arlon, we must stay together, even if that means going
down again."

(Keilan:)
Keilan stands silently as he is spoken to by Arlon stepping close to
look Arlon straight in the eye.


Assuming whisper mediates this in my favor:

****  WHAM   ****

Arlon receives what is undoubtedly the hardest punch he has ever felt.
It slowly dawns on him that the potion Keilan drank is likely still in
effect.  It also dawns on him that the blow would have hurt a lot
worse if Keilan had hit him anywhere but the sternum, jolting his
bones more than anything else.

Keilan stands over Arlon in a greater rage than any he's had in
battle.  "YOU DARE!  I should tear you limb from limb for your
foolishness that has cost me much!"

With that Keilan turns and storms back down into the mine halting for
nothing, except to pause at the entrance for a moment before muttering
"It's worth the risk."

(Tatiana:)
Surprise took her face as Keilan hauled off and punched Arlon in the
stomach, and was too stunned to follow him into the mine shaft at
first.

(Arlon:)
Arlon gets up slowly, rubbing his stomach, his eyes will flare a
deeper blue and he gets some stuff out of his pouch and begins to make
hand motions.  He then stops (maybe due to divine intervention) and
says softly "No, I will not sink to his level.  Fool?! All he need do
is look into a mirror to see a true fool."  He then turns to look at
Silver.

(Silver:)
Silver just stands there, mouth wide open in astonishment. Like a fish
out of water, she looks at the back of Keilan, then over to Arlon
getting up, and back again. "Wha.. I..  Uhh.. Wuh.." and then she
gives up. Still astonished at what has happened, she will not be
collected enough to stop Arlon in his spellcasting motions.

"Arlon," she says after a while, "I just don't understand..."

OOC: This is *brilliant* roleplaying - I *love* it !!  Trouble is,
     Silver doesn't !!

(Arlon:)
To Silver alone, he says "He has no idea how close he came to dying, I
will not tolerate such actions again!"

OOC: You know, I used to like Rangers.

(Silver:)
"Now you show true nobility, Arlon. I am impressed by your restraint.
Keilan is not that different from some other Rangers I have known. He
is not easily distracted, that is for sure. I sense something in his
past which makes him so dark at times."

(Arlon:)
"I thank you for your kind words and I wish I were that noble; but I
believe that something higher held me back, as I'm sure you credit
Mielikki for some of your actions."

"Yes, I have sensed that darkness also. I have known people like him
and that's what worries me.  He has relied on himself to much, I feel,
and that is a trap into darker things."

(Tatiana:)
Silver comforted Arlon as she was so good at doing.  Keilan stormed
off into the caves.  Arlon and Silver soon followed. Tatiana shrugged
her shoulders and followed as well.

*You're not going back in there are you?* Tuft's flabbergasted
question came as she headed towards the cave.

Tatiana sighed heavily *They are my friends, and I must see this to
it's resolution*

*No you don't!  I saw what happened in there!  You were so scared it
woke me up from a sound sleep!*

*Sorry about that.  I'll be more careful in the future* she thought
back reassuringly *Try to go back to sleep.  The excitement should be
over.  And I'll try to keep my thoughts a little more controlled. *

*You shouldn't be down there without a magic sword!*

*The Eidolon provides.*



And back we go into the darkness once again ....

(Silver:)
Before we go back down, Silver will ask Arlon "What about that mother
of pearl stand in the room where the daemons appeared ? Should we
leave that near the altar - although I think the Gods had long since
departed that place. We need to stake a claim for the Eidolon, do we
not ?"

(Arlon:)
"I'm not even sure if we could even move the stand." - a look of
realization appears on his face - "I forgot all about the pearls
Mindak gave us, I wonder if they're still there.  You know, it may be
a good idea if we donate the stand to the work of the settlement."

(Silver:)
"Well said, Arlon. I wholeheartedly agree with this generous act. We
must all agree on this, though."

(DM:)
The mother-of-pearl stand is still there. It is finely crafted, and
not that large. If so wanted, one person could probably carry it
weight-wise, but two would be better to assure it remains whole and
intact. It stands about one meter tall, and half a meter wide, but is
not solid. Those are the outer dimensions only. It is a frilly thing,
a construct of interwoven mermaids and mermen.


When Silver and Arlon approach the rest of the party, with Tatiana
bringing up the rear, Keilan's voice carries back up the tunnel
towards them ....

(Keilan:)
Silently, Keilan pokes his head through the entrance to the temple for
a brief second and scans the room (whether anyone sees this is
questionable).  And then again for nearly a full second.  After a
third time he steps into the doorway, peering carefully at the
decaying bodies.  He gives a little shake and then his face twists and
darkens as he clutches his left arm with his right.  (I'm really not
sure where everyone would be by the time he arrives so ...)

Yelling, "Eidolon!," his voice cracking as he call for the group.
"Assemble!"  Keilan waits till whoever is present at least looks his
way.  "Who the hell is responsible for this?!  Who, in the name of all
the gods, brought these cursed creatures here?  Which of you is the
fool who goes forth where wise men fear to tread?  Who chose to let
loose the hounds of hell to rip my arm nearly from my body?"  Keilan
is nearly incoherent and very, very NOT calm.  "Someone better tell me
why I am following a group of fools who seem intent on getting me
killed!  I came to this cursed rock to escape death not be given to
her clutches because not a single one of you will listen to common
sense!"  Keilan plunges on holding up his hand to cut off anyone who
wants to get a word in.  "I voiced my knowledge of the underground:
Full of dangers and not fit for mortals, but gave in to the will of
the group.  THEN you people insisted on raiding this temple that has
remained intact for the last few millennia unconcerned why it has
stayed that way.  WILL someone please tell me WHY?!"  Keilan falls
silent, apparently waiting for someone to answer him, still giving
every sign of being rather hacked off.

(Dithion:)
Dithion smiles (I assume we all assemble) and bows to Keilan.  "Oh,
wise one, it was I who summoned the daemons forth by touching the
altar within the rooms.  However, we have ascertained that this area
was not safe...better us than someone else."

Then he crosses his arms over his chest and looks at Keilan, waiting
for the reaction....

(Silver:)
Presumably Arlon and Silver return down to the party, to arrive as
Keilan is asking for explanations of foolhardy actions, and Dithion
"owns up" 8-)

Silver will tighten her grip on Arlon's arm, and look up at him with a
worried expression as Keilan's words were carried down the passageway
to them.

(Arlon:)
"Don't worry Silver, I will not cast a spell at him today."



Silver and Arlon will then arrive at the entrance, with Tatiana not
far behind ....

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana continued on down into the cavern and heard shouting up ahead
she turned the corner into the temple to hear Dithion confess that he
had summoned the Demons by accident.

She was as surprised as much as Keilan was.  She too had thought Arlon
had blundered.  She would have to say her apologies to Arlon for her
lack of respect as well.

(Keilan:)
"Ascertained this area is not safe?  ASCERTAINED THIS AREA IS NOT
SAFE!?  What was your first damn clue?  DID I NOT SAY THAT BEFORE WE
CAME DOWN HERE?"

(Shade:)
Shade turns to the rest of the assembled party. "Let me give him
_MY_OWN_ reply" - resolutely states the bard - "then you can say what
you think fitting."

The drow turns to face Keilan and approaches him a 'til he is just a
couple of meters away.  "I understand pain, Keilan" - he opens his
shirt to show old scars and fresh wounds together - "but we need to
coldly analyze the situation not to be madly driven to fury by the
adrenaline still in our veins."

A split second pause, then, in a calm almost soothing voice.  "This
was considered a secure, not dangerous part of the mines: what if a
casual miner had set of this trap?  Those hounds from hell would have
torn him apart, wouldn't they? And then? They would have wreaked havoc
inside the mines and around the town."

A sigh. "We had the questionable luck of setting off the trap, taking
the fire on our own skin instead of letting it burn innocent people: I
consider this enough of a reason to justify this battle. Besides,
common sense stated this was an uninteresting and completely known
part of the caves: it showed to be neither."

The drow steps closer to the ranger and, looking him straight in the
eyes, puts a hand, as slightly as he can, on his uninjured shoulder "I
cannot force you to think what was done was the right thing, but it
will be very sad if the warm friendship that was born within us on the
ship will crumble to dust so soon."

(Keilan:)
Keilan knocks Shade's hand from his shoulder.  "If these creatures had
come forth to harm the innocents above, I would have given my life in
defense of my home and theirs.  I do not enjoy fighting the way you
seem to.  Killing and pain seem to be your pleasures, the way you talk
as you fight.  It makes me ill when it is a pointless and fruitless
battle such as this one.  And the most sad thing I can think of is
having one of *US* crumble to dust because some FOOL got us attacked
by demons."

(Shade:)
The drow eyes get icily cold at Keilan's words, and in a tone without
any clue of emotions he replies "If you were right I would be a master
torturer and a house prince in one of the most powerful families in
the underworld. Take your time to meditate about this Keilan."

The drow turns to the rest of the group "I have said what I think had
to be said, it's up to you all now, but try to let not harshness
embitter your words and thoughts."

(Tatiana:)
She listened to the conversation, but walked over to the pool of lit
water. She shed her pack of magical components and perishable
material, and took a step into the pool to clean her wounds more
thoroughly. She winced as the salt water burned her wounds but endured
the pain till her wounds were clean.

She finished cleaning herself off and started to clean her goods as
well as she listened to the argument in the center of the temple.

She took her time to make sure she was attractive again even in the
dungeon.

(Arlon:)
OOC: Arlon will be following a good distance behind Keilan, Silver
     will be with Arlon.  When Arlon gets back to the Temple he will
     just stand at the cave mouth, as Keilan interacts with the
     others. Arlon says in a deep booming voice - as much as an elf
     can

"Keilan, I did not appreciate your attack on me and I cannot tolerate
a similar action against me or any other in the group again. There is
good reason why I am called 'The Avenger'.  The fool is neither humble
or compassionate as neither you seem to be.  Take the log out of your
eye before you try to take a speck out of someone elses" - Arlon's
face saddens - "I must leave, your hypocrisy causes me pain."

(Keilan:)
Keilan spits toward Arlon.  "Attack?  If I had attacked you, you would
not stand here now.  I merely made my point clear, even clear enough
for a wax-eared elf."

(Arlon:)
Arlon will not really be listening to Keilan. He turns, and starts to
make gestures as if casting a spell. He seems to end his gestures in
front of his body - no one can see his hands as he slips a ring on his
finger and then disappears.  He will then move off silently down the
cave, as only an elf can, and wait for the group to come past.

(Shade:)
The drow collapses to the ground wailing in frustration "Why, why!
Lloth damn me, why we are fighting each other this way!" - he stares
at Keilan - "Was it really so sweet punching your friend, Ranger? What
was the need for violence between companions?" - and before Keilan,
and anyone else too, can interject he adds - "and try to chill out a
bit and be honest with yourself before spitting a venomous
retaliation!"

Shade crosses arms and waits.

(Falrun:)
Coming out of the secret passage Falrun watches as the scene plays out
before him.  First Keilan's ranting, then the party trying to placate
him, so on and so forth.  When all of the commotion has died down he
will approach the party and say, "Are we now ready to continue with
fulfilling our end of the contract?  If everyone has cooled down
enough and is rested enough, I think we should get on with exploring
these tunnels."

"If someone wants to donate the stand to something or other, the
dwarves can deliver it while we get our job done."  Falrun then
glances at the remains of the daemons and turns back to Keilan, "These
creatures may have been difficult to overcome but would you have
rather been in the 'outdoors' and run into one of the native's battle
dinosaurs?  I don't think they would have been such easy victims."

(Keilan:)
"I had no idea this was an easy battle.  I did not know I was in the
presence of so great a warrior.  A thousand pardons."  "As for the
lizards, what makes you think one could ever find me in the forest?  I
could disappear faster than Arlon out there.  And neither man nor
beast could find me."

Keilan listens quietly to the next few bits of conversation.

(Falrun:)
"Anyway, that's behind us now, I don't know what went on between you
and anybody else that has Silver so upset, but let's get this contract
completed and then we can settle our differences and be done with each
other if that is what you feel is the best course of action." "I'm for
continuing on, anybody have any objections?"

(Shade:)
The bard gets up "You know I'm with you, Falrun, I'd like to have back
the rest of our companions too."

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "I would like to have Arlon back at least."  His tone ,
as well as his glaring at Keilan, indicate who he wish were not back.

(Silver:)
"Falrun speaks with wisdom, as always. I think - or rather hope - that
Arlon will be keeping an eye on our progress, and will be able to join
us if he is needed. Lets try and keep ourselves together, friends"

(Shade:)
"Hope you are right, Silver" - sighs the bard, then, turning to Keilan
- "Will you come with us? I mean no taunt, I understand this is not
what you were born for, still, I will really appreciate your coming
with us friend, and I also appreciated the way you fought the daemon
before its magical influence made you and Kaeyar run away."

(Keilan:)
"And just what purpose will I serve underground and with only one hale
arm?  I can barely fight and it seems if I am to travel with the
mighty Eidolon that is all I can expect.  I don't even have an
enchanted weapon which seems to be an essential where this party
treads.  Until you return to the world above, I have no purpose with
you."

Keilan's fire has gone out and now he seems very tired rather than
full of the exhilaration of anger.

Keilan makes his way out of the caverns and returns to the surface
(after any further conversation).

(Shade:)
"Right," - sighs Shade - "you're tired, see you at the commons."

(Dithion:)
Dithion shrugs as Keilan goes.  He turns to the rest and says, "I am
not going to beg him to stay with us.  From the onstart he has only
been argumentative and insulting.  I plan on finishing this contract
with Mindak, I hope you will all do the same.  I do not know what his
problem is, but it certainly would seem that he does not want us
around.  Now maybe you have all known him longer than I, but I just
don't like to work that hard for such a knave."

(Shade:)
"Try not to be so conclusive with him, Dithion," - interjects the drow
- "he is a ranger, he has devoted his life to the wilderness. These
caves surely upset him. When this situation has sedimented a little we
will easily find a solution to our quarrel." "At least I hope." he
mutters to himself

(Dithion:)
Dithion nods to Shade, "Perhaps you are correct, I have always been
one to see things without shades of grey. "  He smiles and says,
"Perhaps he will join us later."

(Silver:)
As Keilan turns, his angry speech finished, Silver goes to him once
more. Those nearest can see she has tears in her eyes. "My dearest
Keil, I just don't understand what you want from me. I cannot beg you
to stay with us, but my heart grieves all the more for not knowing why
you pain so. Your arm can be healed, but your deeper pain is the one
which I do not comprehend."

"As a friend, I ask once more. I will not beg you, as begging for
compassion has never worked. But will you not stay with us ?" Silver
looks with anguish at Keilan.

(Keilan:)
Keilan looks thoughtful as Silver begs him to stay.  He reaches out
and wipes her tears with one hand.  "I will need my staff.  I dropped
it when we fought in the hidden chamber where the demons first
appeared.  You remind me of my little sister, Hope, and never could I
refuse her wishes."  Keilan walks with Silver back into the chamber to
retrieve his staff.

(Silver:)
Silver stops her silent tears, but still does not fully meet the eyes
of the other party members as she and Keilan return to the group.

(Keilan:)
To Silver: "You will have to teach me of Mielikki.  I do not know much
of the gods and goddesses, but she must be a gentle and loving goddess
to have one such as you in her service.  My mother always counseled
prayer and devotion to a holy order, but I was never convinced.
Perhaps she was right after all."

(Silver:)
Silver will take his undamaged arm, and walk with him back towards the
party. Her expression is one of worry and guilt, as if she is
extremely concerned that what she has done will cause more friction.
If possible she will stay next to Keilan, in silence (unless Keilan
wants to talk).

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana finished dressing again after cleaning up in the pool of
water. Tempers had flared and subsided, and she felt it was time for
her to speak before Keilan left the cavern. She cleared her throat to
get everyone attention.

Silence captured the temple as all attention focused on Tatiana.  She
smiled disarmingly as if she knew something important.  Her
attractiveness was still evident even in stressful situations as they
currently were in.

She let the silence hold a bit longer then spoke.  "I think I know
exactly how Keilan feels" she started softly.  "My arm is not as bad
as his, but it hurts terribly, My side is extremely tender as well.
And why I ask myself?"

"Tuft my dearest friend can't sleep during the day cause I'm
underground searching catacombs.  I've been born and raised to love
the outdoors and here we are searching the underground.  It's foreign
to me and more than a bit uncomfortable."

"I came to this new continent for reasons of my own, that will remain
private for the time being.  But I didn't came all the way across the
ocean to crawl through some cave.  There's a lush and beautiful world
out there to be explored and tamed.  That's one of the reason I choose
this place to come to."

"I think Keilan is fully justified in his frustration at what
happened."

(Silver:)
Silver nods slightly at this, but says nothing.

(Tatiana:)
She paused and looked at Keilan "I don't understand his crude behavior
though.  His actions have been rude and inexcusable.  Physical
violence was uncalled for!"

(Silver:)
Silver looks slightly guilty again at Tatiana's words. But still, she
says nothing.

(Tatiana:)
"All bickering aside. I'm in no condition to continue today.  I can
not hold a sword properly with this arm, and I am out of spells as
well." "All in all I think today is over for me."

"If the Eidolon needs me though I am here to help as best I can."

(Dithion:)
Dithion then shrugs again, he does not seem very happy about how this
whole situation is going.  He says, "I wish Arlon would come back...at
least he was someone you could trust to be at your side."

(Falrun:)
Falrun is interested in continuing with exploring the caves, but after
realizing the state that the party, as a whole is in, he will also be
willing to wait a day for the rest of the party to heal.

"I wish to get this contract out of the way, but if some of us are in
such poor condition, it may be wiser to take a day off and rest up.  I
think we should first confer with Mindak to find out how urgent the
need for the exploration of these tunnels is.  If the time be too
pressing then maybe those who feel up to it should continue on and
those who need rest should head back to the Commons and meet with us
when we get back from this days exploration."

If everyone is then agreed, Falrun will then lead the party out of the
temple area to find Mindak so that Mindak can tell them where to go
for the main tunnel area.

(Tatiana:)
Carefully Tatiana followed the rest up to the surface for the second
time and talked with Mindak.  Since she wasn't feeling so good in the
first place she kept quiet, and let the others talk with Mindak.

(Silver:)
Silver and Keilan were walking together near the back of the party as
they emerged from the tunnels to talk to Mindak.

(Arlon:)
Invisible, Arlon will follow about 20 meters behind the group as they
head toward the surface to talk to Mindak.
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------------------------------ End of Chapter 17 -----------------------------
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*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*
Lance Dooly
[e-mail]                         "Not I," said the cat.
Physics/Chemistry/Philosophy   (PCP?!)