Tuesday, February 20, 2007

To the Cave

Leee Za (quietly humming to herself) guides the group through the backwoods, avoiding the clearing entirely, until meeting up with the western road again. This road appears to be less travelled, though still a main route into the mountains. After some amount of hiking, the party comes to a large rock, about twice the height of Omar, jutting out of the south side of the road.

The oddly shaped rock has the appearance of a buxom woman standing at attention. Shrubs growing around the base of the rock are thick, but Leee Za notices a place where the bushes have been regularly pushed aside to reveal a hidden footpath around the backside of the rock.

The footpath meanders erratically through the thick shrubbery for nearly half a mile, before arriving at one side of a steep slope littered with rocks. After carefully picking their way across the slope (and nearly losing Flen in a small landslide), the party arrives at the opposite side. Rounding the bend of the slope, a small cave makes a sudden appearance in the side of the mountain.



Though there is no evidence of recent mining, it is clear that this is the cave that Falster drew on his map (DM: trust me on that one), and the last place his son ever visited. As the party stands and stares at the cave opening, Falster's words echo eerily: "When I got to his work area, I could tell there was something wrong."