The faces do and say nothing. Any sensations you feel and hear are tricks your imagination plays on you. The faces are certainly weird enough to make the imagination work overtime.

If they have a purpose or function it is not apparent at the moment.

You update your map.

OOC> There will be battles enough, CM. Enjoy your holiday!

"Let's have a look at that box," Lurel suggests, once he tears his gaze away from the faces. Their eyes seem to follow him.... and he does not like having the faces at his back.

"Midge, let us know the moment your spoon tells of danger - we were too careless last time."

He looks at the others.

"We don't know how many other attackers their are. We've driven off the first lot, but there may be more. We must be on our guard."

He draws his sword, hoping that he will not have to assume the wolf-shape again too soon, and proceeds towards the box.

As you move owards the box the spoon flares brightly!

OOC>I'm off now until Monday.

Ford looks at the spoon.

"Whoa, Lurel! I wouldn't go any closer. The spoon doesn't like it..."

"Lurel.. would you be able to do a partial change again to see if you can hear anything coming.. perhaps more of those creatures?"

Lurel grimaces. "No. Not yet. I can't. I... I need to keep this ability as a last resort - for times when there's nothing else I can do." He cannot bring himself to tell Midge the real reason, that he is afraid that the wolf within will take over again.

He turns towards the princess. "Princess, can you see or hear anything that might warn us of this danger?"

He knows that he has to make a decision - go towards the danger, or try to avoid it for now, and he is not sure what the right thing to do is.

Gnawing his lip, he decides:

"We're still all shaken up from the last attack. Let's not go looking for danger - the box can wait for now. We know which way the last attackers ran - let's try going the other way. Back to the crossroad with those strange faces, and turn right... unless the spoon doesn't like that direction either."

He looks to the others for some sign of approval of his decision.

"Yeah... I think we could do with a break from all this danger. Let's try heading to that fountain thing you were talking about earlier. Or we could always stop and rest for a bit..."

Ford looks around the cave.

"Though I don't think I'd fancy sitting still for long in this place."

You return to the faces and turn right (north). You come to another crossroads. Midge's spoon shows no specific danger. The passages to the right and left lead to new glows, bluish and greenish respectively. The passageways do not continue straight on. They could be dead ends. If the spoon is to be believed you will not be in danger if you check them out. Ahead the passage does a right-angled turn to the right.

You update the map.

"Let's go right - that blueish light looks a bit less unwholesome than that greeen glow," Lurel suggests. "The spoon seems to be happy with this way, so far."

You find yourselves in a very small chamber. The light comes from a series of faces in the same way as it had at the earlier crossroads. These are carved into the wall. Seven faces peer at you.

As before they do and say nothing.

"Well... that's strange" says Midge as he taps the head of the closest one with his spoon


"where's the glow coming from?"

The sound made by the spoon hitting the statue seems very loud in the confined space. Fortunately, if the spoon can be trusted, it has not alerted anything unfriendly to your presence.

Midge seems to hear the words 'I am seven' in his head.

Lurel starts at the sudden noise.

"What the....?! We must have alerted everyone within earshot to our presence now!"

He stares at the heads angrily.

"I suppose we'd better get out of here - unless those heads have decided to communicate with us after all.... Let's have a look at the 'greenish' passage - though I expect we'll just find some green heads there."

He sighs. "Princess, is there anything you can tell us about these strange heads?"

Lurel guesses correctly. The greenish light comes from faces. The room is also a dead end. It is square with two faces on the three walls without the passage, making six in total.

These heads appear to have been painted onto the wall then covered by a hard transparent material.

"There's something about those faces," Lurel speculates. "At the first junction, there were 8 red faces. Then 7 blue ones in the other room. Now 6 green ones here. And they all seem to have been created differently - some painted, some carved. I have a feeling that this might be one of our clues - but I just can't put it together."


He shrugs, and reaches out to touch one of the faces. "If only you would talk, and tell us what we need to know."

The number six resonates in Lurel's head but the statues say nothing.

OOC>I'm assuming you now take the northern passage.

You arrive at the right-angled turn. At the regular distance along the passage you can see a passage leading off to the left, the passage you are on continues. When you reach the junction you see that it continues as far again and does another right angled turn. The passage to the left is pitch black. You can hear sounds but cannot establish what they are. They do not sound entirely human.

You update your map.

"We need some light," Lurel mumbles, and attempts to cast a light spell to illuminate the dark passage.

"Midge, what does your spoon have to tell us about this passage? Is it safe?"

He wonders what significance this passage holds. Perhaps his wolf senses would tell him more, but he is afraid to change.

'Not unless I have to. Not after what happened last time.'

OOC> I thought I had said but it was a while ago now, no one knows what the necropolis of Xetchernin comprises, or who built it, not even Strigid who sort of controls it. If this was not clear before I apologise.

Anything that moves towards the dark tunnel disappears into inky blackness. Not even Midge's spoon is visible. He cannot see his own hand. Some very arcane and powerful magic is being used. You have no clue as to whether it is part of the tunnel design or being cast by something that has taken over the tunnels.

"Uhh, I don't like this Lurel, I can't even see an inch in front of my face!"

Ford keeps to the left wall of the tunnel, feeling his way forward, hoping he won't find his hand going across something nasty.

"Wait!" Lurel calls out. "Don't go in there just yet - we don't know what might be lurking in there! There such strong magic in there, I don't know if we can even rely on Midge's spoon here! Unless we can find something to light our way, I'd say we leave this passage alone."

Sadly the magic is so strong neither Ford nor Midge hear Lurel and continue walking in the pitch darkness.

As Ford reaches out to touch the walls he can feel nothing. His feet move but he can feel no ground beneath him yet he does not fall. Midge has noticed it too.

The sounds are beginning to resolve themselves. Panting, scuffling, the odd yip - it sounds very much like an ordinary dog.

If only you could see!

"Wait!" Lurel shouts again, but since neither Ford not Midge re-appear out of the darkness, Lurel makes up his mind quickly.

"I'm going in after them," he announces to Lisette and the Princess. He rummages in his backpack in feverish haste, pulls out the rope, and ties it around his waist.

"Here," he says to Lisette. "That will guide us out again, at least. If there's danger, I'll tug 3 times. If I tug 5 times, let go of the rope. If there's danger here, use 3 tugs on the rope to alert me. If you run out of rope, tug 5 times."

He practically throws the coiled up rope at Lisette, and runs into the darkness without waiting to see if she takes hold of it.

"Ford! Midge! Wait!!!"

"Whoa... I don't feel right... in fact, I can't feel anything! I've gone numb!"

Ford starts to panic.

"Lurel?? Anyone? Midge you still here?!"

As Ford shouts the darkness clears from him. He can make out Midge and Lurel as shapes in the gloom. In front the scene clears more quickly. You seem to be looking at the outside of a house. A large black healthy dog is resting with head on paws. To the left is a dirty bowl with a scrap of bone and a chain attached to the wall. The chain has a muzzle too but if the muzzle was put on the dog its front paws would be lifted of the ground. To the right is a bright well-filled dish of scraps and toys such as a dog might play with.

It sees Midge first, springs to its feet, hackles rising and letting out a warning growl. As Ford comes into view, it stares at him intently and then sits relaxed.

Ford suddenly realises he can just about make out the wall of the house through the dog!

When Lurel arrives, the dog eyes him curiously but without concern.

All three are affected by being unable to touch anything.

"Er... what is this? What's a house doing in here?"

Ford looks around.

"Um... what's with this dog? I can see through it?"

"An illusion maybe? Or perhaps the ghost of a dog?" Lurel speculates. He approaches the dog cautiously, ready to leap back should it attack him.

"There, there," he murmurs soothingly as he takes a few slow steps towards the dog. "I don't know what's going on here, or where we are, but we don't mean any harm."

The dog seems less interested now. It still keeps alert but Ford's presence seems to satisfy it.

You hear a voice. Perhaps it is the dog, or perhaps not. It naggingly reminds you of a voice you heard in a cave before where there was another animal involved.

"A fox took the chickens but Laca was imprisoned for it. Mara could not bear to see such inhuman treatment. She rescued him. Remember that when you meet him again."

There is a silence then the voice says. "I am very curious about you. It is a pity we can never meet face to face. You may meet my illusion in this maze, or you may not. Should you find this, I will answer a question from each of you. But not here."

There is another pause and the voice adds. "You can go no further north, the exit is to the far south."

She adds to Midge "You remember things, don't you? You will need to."

The voice is gone. You are all back with Lisette and Princess Siffli. The dark passage remains but the sounds no longer come from it.

"Well... that was strange."

Ford looks around.

"At least we're out of there. Make sure to remember what he... or she... or it, said."

"That," Lurel says, shaking his head in disbelief, "was strange. This must have been a clue. Laca - I wonder when we'll meet him again. The voice said we would."

Lurel bites his lip. "It reminds me of something. That kind of compassion...."

He snaps his fingers. "Do you remember the bear on Levdia? I wonder if there's a connection.... " He tells the princess about the episode with the injured bear. "Can you tell us anything more about Mara which might help us in our quest?"


While he is talking he unties the rope from his waist, and coils it up again. Once he has finished his story, he asks:

"We need to head south, and we know that there's danger there - those attackers we drove off, for one. Should we have a rest and something to eat first?"

As you consider your options you move away from the unnerving passage following the passage round to the right, now facing south. The next juction is a turning off to the left only. Ahead the path reaches a crossroads. The equality of all distances between junctions indicates that a right turn at the crossroads will take you toward the second box, the one you turned back from before. But first you have to decide about the existing junction. The usual tunnel noises can be heard but nothing new.

There is enough space here to rest.

You update your map.

"Oh geez... I don't want to have to fight them again..."

Ford looks uneasy and sits down on the floor.

"Maybe we should rest before we continue... this hasn't exactly been stress-free. Can't say I'm hungry, though."

OOC: I'm back! Skin tanned a shade darker and with a case full of souvenirs and things for friends. Here, i got you guys all a ninja, a nazgul or a pumpkin----->

IC:

Lisette looks down at Ford. She had used the time to harden her feelings once more. "Come on, get up" she barks, "we've got to keep going. We'll never get anywhere if all we do is sit about, and I certainly don't want to be sitting about when those...things...come back again" she stops but hastily adds, "if they do that is."

"Well sooorry if I want to rest for a few minutes."

Ford sighs.

You rest. All of you need to recoup from the earlier ordeal. Lurel has to use a little magic to help you but that's the way of things. Nothing attacks you, this time.
You eat a little and are ready to proceed.

Siffli looks at the others, still feeling guilty about the fact that she had gotten these people into this. Perhaps this was why she hadn't been able to focus and help out as much as she would like.

"No. I'm afraid I can't." she says dejectedly. She had always been proud, now, here she was in a situation where she had to depend on the others. Not just that, but actually she had to admit she was much less use than they were. "Did you find out anything that might help?"

Siffli tries to use whatever magic she has to help out at least find out the way to go. She pushes outward with her mind, trying to sense what might be down each of the corridors, or if there is a way that may not be so readily apparent.

The passage to the left has something moving but no mind attached to it. The passage ahead is clear as far as she can sense.

She cannot sense what may or may not be in other passages off to the side.

"Well," Lurel sighs, "so far the side passages have provided us with clues. Let's try the passage on the left, unless the spoon indicates danger. Everyone ready to proceed?"

As you move into the passage you sense another kind of magic at work. Midge's spoon flares silver but suddenly goes black as if 'turned off'.

Siffli can sense several things moving - at least half a dozen. The temperature is dropping.

The clicking and clacking reminds you of wooden percussion blocks.

"What's this?" Lurel asks, alarmed. "What happened to your spoon? Midge, are you all right?"

He draws his dagger, and wishes that he had spent more time practising with it, aware that he is no match for any even halfway skilled opponent.

"Lisette! he says urgently. "There is strong magic here - does your fire magic still work? Princess Siffli - do you have any idea what those sounds might be?"

He proceeds cautiously along the passage.

Almost as soon as you ask the question, you see the answer. The passage is all but blocked by a large circular boulder. It is emitting a strong bluish green light further into the passage. The light is magical and it is the reverberation of some of the magic from the passageway walls that is affecting you.

The boulder is too big for anyone but Midge or Lurel in wolf form to pass on the side but there is space between it and the celing. As you touch it, you find it moves too easily to climb, though Siffli could cross.

Beyond the boulder the tunnel widens. The edge of the light is a barrier beyond which skeletons are moving about, picking their teeth, scratching their skulls and doing various other acts you associate with the living.

As the ball moves slightly they spring to attention grabbing lances and getting into formation. Although the tunnel widens further back they stand four in the front, three behind, then two and finally one.

Right at the back is what appears to be a cauldron, glowing a flourescent green.

Hmmmm!

Ford looks through the gaps into the room.

"WHOA!!"

He jumps back in fear.

"Umm... maybe we'd be better leaving the boulder where it is, eh?"

He forces a grin and steps back.

"Mayhaps I can go up, find what's on the other side, then, if it is safe, ferry those across who cannot get through on their own?" Siffli asks quietly, perhaps somewhat glad of the opportunity to help.

Lisette steps forwards and peers through. The skeletal phalanx peers back at her. Their skulls, although incapable of changing their expression, all grin insanely at Lisette. She steps back and smiles shyly at Ford - a thought shared. "Those skeletons look pretty tough" she says grinning and feeling acutely the brusing on her leg.

Then, remembering a vow she made to herself earlier, wills her dagger into a battleaxe. "But then again..."

"Oh great... fine. Let's head on and get slaughtered by a bunch of re-animated dust and bones."

Ford draws his sword.

"Maybe if we all push the boulder forward together we could bowl down some of them? Might even the odds a bit."

"We don't know if they are hostile," Lurel reminds the others. "After all, we are the intruders here - and they haven't attacked us. They may just be trying to defend this cauldron - perhaps they think we are hostile. It would be wrong just to attack them, I think."

He peers around the edge of the boulder, and calls out: "We mean no harm - we are just looking for information. Would you tell us who you are?"

Siffli pushes out with her mind, trying to determine the intent of those beings she felt earlier.

Lurel gets no reply. Siffli can sense that the skeletons are quite mindless.

As she floats over the boulder she notes how, oddly, they have not spread out across the whole passage but have their very odd formation tightly packed.

Further, they don't even seem to notice her. They are 'looking' forward expectantly.

Lisette looked at Siffli concentrating hard. She turned away and paced around slowly. She gripped the battleaxe tightly and she wore an expression of impatience on her face.
"Well, the Undead aren't usually known for their hospitality, especially undead that form up against us with their weapons."

Perhaps Lisette had something to prove after her last embarassing fight but she did not feel that way herself, she just felt a kind of vague anger at the skeletons for...well...for something or the other.

Lurel frowns. "This reminds me of a game we used to play, sometimes - when we had time to play. It was called ninepins: we were lining up wooden cylinders - in a triangle formation, just like that - then we tried to knock them over with a wooden ball."

He shrugs. "I wonder what would happen if we all pushed at that stone ball at the same time?"

Suddenly he grins. "Ford, maybe you weren't so far off when you suggested bowling them over. Well, how about it - shall we try?"

"Heheh. Sure."

Ford grins slightly at Lurel and sheaths his sword, then stands in front of the boulder.

"Ready when you are."