"Nor will we ever care," Jaheira added, for the spirits of the departed were of no concern to her. "It is enough to know it is unnatural and pulls against the balance. I would send it to its hell, had I the power."
Okay. Well, you can camp in the tall(ish) grass if you want. But if you don't want to check out the crack in the mountain wall, you'll have to backtrack quite a bit and circle the lake to get anywhere else.
"Anomen, you do realise that I was only joking when I said we'll do what you want? Obviously I didn't mean it. I'm the leader and I say we are going to check out the cave. Follow me everyone!"
I'm thought Lady Aerie was leading this group girl. Lets ask her if she wants to go underground again.
Aerie hated the underground, but that didn't stop the dark voices from slithering in her head. The ones that insisted a wingless avariel wasn't worth the beauty and warmth of sunlight, and an underground cavern better suited her.
"We both know Alora will lead us wherever she wants, Anomen, no matter my say," Aerie said. "Though we should return to the druid as soon as possible. We owe her the spring water."
That, and what she didn't mention: her deepest wish to be rid of the wilderness that ripped open her old wounds.
Alora whispers to Anomen. "Aerie isn't the leader. We were just pretending she was to try to cheer her up. But I don't think it is working. Do you think I should give her a tickle instead? Everyone likes a tickle."
"Alora, No Tickling is one of the most important rules of paladinhood. It's right there in the handbook. Unless, of course, one is facing a ticklish dragon. In that extreme circumstance the use of tickling is entirely acceptable," Ajantis explains soberly, offering a surreptitious wink to Aerie.
Ajantis grins. "Have you never noticed the feathered plumage heroes attach to their great helms? There's a reason for that beyond simple ornamentation. When darting bravely beneath a great wyrm for a deadly strike the feathers will brush against the dragon's belly. At the first sign of draconic giggling the hero knows exactly how to defeat his foe."
Alora looks dubiously at Anomen and Ajantis. She has got the feeling that they are laughing at her but she is not totally sure. She does however decide that at the first opportunity she will attach some feathers to her cockatrice hat, just to be on the safe side.
Jaheira simply shook her head at the fallacy of the would-be paladinials. "Next time, we should leave them to their own devices," she muttered, as she didn't find them worth the effort.
The stairs lead upwards for hundreds of feet. Obviously, the stairs and tunnel are of good, solid Dwarven construction. Finally, at the top, you can see sunlight, and hear the cawing of crows.
You look onto a windswept platform on the eastern side of the mountains. A bleak, squat tower, crafted from the stark rock of the mountain, looms at one end, its dark windows staring out over the jagged gray peaks and ridges which drop away to the south-east. Perched on the battlements, a flock of sinister crows regard you with bright, malicious eyes.
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We are not spelunking in any cave girl. We are going to find that settlement that the creature mentioned and rest there.
She skips along humming a familiar ditty to herself that ends in the line . . .
Alora charges up the stairs without bothering to check for traps or anything sensible like that.
I'm thought Lady Aerie was leading this group girl. Lets ask her if she wants to go underground again.
"We both know Alora will lead us wherever she wants, Anomen, no matter my say," Aerie said. "Though we should return to the druid as soon as possible. We owe her the spring water."
That, and what she didn't mention: her deepest wish to be rid of the wilderness that ripped open her old wounds.
Alora continues on her way but stops when a thought occurs to her. "Ajantis, how do you know which dragons are ticklish and which ones aren't?"