Long Lost Leaves - part II

[feawen]

Nami had not been happy as she listened to Radagast. She had secretly thought that she would get away with not going underground with Ellysa. But now the mention of a group venture down there had killed them left hopes.
She could still say no but then she would have hurt Ellysa and that was something Nami was not ready to do to her young friend.

Nami caught the movement of Quickleaf out of the corner of her eye as he stood up and left the group. Would he be coming with them? She would feel better with him there. Wait no she wouldn't she was still mad at his foolishness. She couldn't stay mad at him forever. Forever was a long time for an elf!

Nami turned back to the group. Well at least Borin was excited about it. Who better to have down there with you then a dwarf!
Well no point thinking about it, thinking does not get done! Nami looked over Ellysa, catching her eye before she looked to Radagast.

"Ellysa and...i wish to go down soon too Master Radagast." There is was done, but she still didn't feel any better about it.

[Coffeehouse]

Quickleaf returned from the stream with a full water flask and ready to go. He would bring his bow & arrow and dagger, but his watered-steel broadsword would stay behind.

Seeing Nami talking to the wizard, Quickleaf walked up to them.
"Master Radaghast, I will go along down into the underground. I have a fairly good memory of the pathways that lead to the library. That is.." And he looked at Nami "if I'm welcome to join the rest of you."
Quickleaf's eyes fell upon Nami and he whispered "Forgive my foolishness, I wasn't acting by mind but my heart. You don't have to look or talk to me, but I can be of help down in the dark undergrounds beneath Dol Guldur. I have already seen it."

[Earniel]

Radagast nodded to Nami's volunteering. He could see she did not like the prospect of entering the dark underground, but dealing with one's fears is something everyone should decide for themselves on their own pace. He would not stop her, but he considered that perhaps someone else should accompany the two young women, just in case.

Quickleaf's volunteering troubled him more.

"Are you sure you are able to, Quickleaf?" the wizard asked. "I know that the wound you have received yesterday has been well tended to, but it was no mere scratch and it will hinder you for a long while yet."

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

"I'll look after him, Master Radagast" said Borin hefting his pack onto his back.

[Curufin]

Abasi frowned when Radagast spoke, hoping that the seth'enati would not speak at great detail about the contents of the document they had found. Such things were most certainly not for the m'haid to know, and he would much rather Radagast simply tell him what to do than to tell him why he must do it.

'Why' was not a question that concerned a m'had.

Closing his ears while the unwelcome information came, he came back to himself when Radagast spoke of going underground.

'I shall stay above ground,' Abasi said firmly. It was obvious that this was a place of mysteries, perhaps even of those holy things that a m'had should not even know about, let alone touch. His talents would be better served protecting those that went below, rather than going below himself.

[Mari]

With a feeling of apprehension and pending doom Ellysa got her bo, some food and water, the torches and a few of her things. She was ready to go down, on the one hand determined to prove she wasn't a traitor, but on the other almost certain that she would die and was now leading the others to their death.

She went to Nami to tell her she had changed her mind, but looking at the face of the elven girl she suddenly forgot her own fears and remembered Nami's.
She is going down for my sake. Even though she's afraid and knows she will die if my vision is right... I must go down too. I will prove I'm not a traitor!

Determined she gripped her bo a bit tighter and touched Nami's hand.
"Thank you. With you there, I'm sure it'll be fine." She tried to smile a reassuring smile.

[Midge]

Aerin yawned as she made her way through yet another corridor. The sun was rising and more light was slowly coming through the holes in the roof. Although she hadn't slept for almost two and a half days, Aerin was not ready to simply lie down and fall asleep in the middle of Dol Guldur. The last time she'd slept, it had been in a pit which had no ceiling and was brightly sunlit at noon, and she'd only slept for a few hours. She didn't know when she would find another pit like that one, which felt safe enough to let herself be vulnerable.

With that thought, she realized that she hadn't been doing anything to tell her where she'd already been looking for the way out, but immediately after that, she thought, "It's not as though I'd be able to find my sign to myself anyway." She went back to her slow wandering after yawning one more time.

[Willow Oran]

As the sun rose Haldis had packed a small bag to take into the tunnels with her and now as the company split once more into those who would explore and those who would watch the camp Haldis came to stand beside Tabrîl, looking expectantly up at the elf, "I must enter the tunnels today," she said, "It will be best if you come with me."

[feawen]

Quickleafs whispering brought Nami out of her thoughts of Ellysa's vision of them all dieing, making her half turned to face him. At first Nami was glad he would be coming with herself and Ellysa, the prospect of two terrorifed woman in the dark was not an comforting one and the thought of going down there to prove that the vision of death was a lie was worse. She smiled at the though of having some thing like a protector in the dark. But Radagast words reminded her not of Quickleafs previous actions but of his injures. If he went down there and something was to happen?

"Do as you wish." Was all she said as she turned to find her things and Ellysa. She had things to think about and Ellysa needed her to be brave for her. The young girl seemed as afraid of what she saw as Nami was of the dark. No time to worry about Quickleaf now. But as she passed Borin she leant down slightly to talk softly to him,
"Look after him Borin."
At first reaching for her bow Nami left it and decided that arrows in the dark was not a good idea, instead she took her dagger and tucked it in her belt before turning to find Ellysa beside her.
Nami smiled at the girl, "Of cause it will be fine, Radagast and Borin are with us, what can go wrong?"

Outwardly Nami smiled at Ellysa but inwardly she was screaming at her self.

[Coffeehouse]

Quickleaf was glad she at least wasn't going to resist him going down too. He found it hard not to let his eyes roam towards her, her keen eyes and friendly face. But turning his back to the group he looked down and lifted his shirt to see how the wound was healing.

The cut had turned a blueish shade of black and didn't look particularly healthy but Quickleaf had endure worse wounds in the war, and it hadn't stopped him then..

He let the shirt fall and spun on his heal and walked towards Borin. "Master Dwarf! Let us walk together on our way to Dol Guldur. And when we do you must teach me about the craft of building underground. I saw little light in the corridores the last time I travelled them. But the network of corridores is long and wide and criss-crossing I would presume. Do you think anything lives down there?"

[Aikanáro]

Tabrîl had listened to all that Radagast had said. He was seth'enati, and if he wished her to, that was reason enough. There was much in his words, however, that she wished she had not heard.

To enter the tunnels, it appeared, was not merely a foolish errand as she had thought, but one having to do with Mysteries. They were uwindi mysteries, but she did not know how much less important that made them, and she did not have anyone to ask. Such matters were not for the m'haid, and Tabrîl did not even know if she could trust her own judgement here.

It was a puzzled and concerned look, then, that she gave Haldis as the mortal woman suggested she go with her.

'I will not,' she answered quietly. 'I have no cause to, it is not a place fit for me to go. You may go if you wish, but find another to accompany you.' She did not think their binding was so limiting as to forbid even such a short distance being put between them.

[Willow Oran]

Haldis had expected such a response, "We do not know how far the tunnels stretch, Tabrîl," she said, hoping still to persuade the m'haid, "I have no wish to enter them more than once and if you insist on waiting here I will be forced to return to my starting point periodically. It will waste much time to explore in such a fashion. Besides..."

Haldis glanced uneasily towards the group of those who had already determined to go underground that day, they were merry companions, for the most part, but in the tunnels Haldis feared that their own concerns might overwhelm their sense should danger arise, "Even if I accompany them, we need another skilled warrior. Would you trust our well being in the underground passages of Dol Guldur to unwindi skills alone?"

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

"Aye laddie! If I'm to look after you I suppose I should tell you what your looking at" said Borin grabbing his axe. "What did you want to know first?"

[Curufin]

Abasi looked over at Haldis and Tabrîl and frowned. He still was unhappy with the strange mortal girl for binding Tabrîl to her against her will, but as Tabrîl seemed to have accepted it (as much as she could, of course), he saw no reason to speak of it.

Standing in a fluid motion, he crossed to join the two women.

'Do you not need someone to guard the entrance as well?' he said to Haldis in a calm tone. 'The mission will surely be compromised if the entrance is cut off by enemies while you are within. What is below is certainly not for the m'haid to know of, and I know that I would certainly be more comfortable guarding than following. Tabrîl, I would assume, feels the same.'

[Coffeehouse]

Quickleaf looked at Borin musingly, his eyes growing serious.
"Last time I was down there, with Hedrim, we think we went downwards into the base of the mountain. At least it was downhill towards the library. Dark and chilly, no sunlight whatsoever. The air was heavy too.
But the strange part of it, was that the air was moist.. And it made me wonder whether an underground water-tunnel might exist there, in which case it would have to come from somewhere, possibly the exterior of Dol Guldur. Or are there other explanations to this?"

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

"Well sometimes the goblins had what the dwarves used to call water cabinets. Which is basically an underground pools or lakes that they made for if they got caved in. But we only saw about one in ten goblin caves have water cabinets. So yes, it's very possible that there could be an underground lake in the tunnels." said Borin pulling out his pipe. "But then. how?" he said stroking his beard. "Naturally water wears down rocks right? Well, the same goes for supports. Did you see the water?"

[Acalewia]

"I'll go as well, Radagast," Aelfwine said. "How many do you wish to go down today?" She was afraid, of course, of the dark halls that evil had once dwelled in. She wouldn't go alone; Radagast would see to that.

[Willow Oran]

Haldis pursed her lips, mildly annoyed, though she supposed Abasi's assumption was not entirely incorrect. Lowering her voice and stepping in close she began to explain further,
"I have no more confidence in the safety of Dol Guldur than I think you do, Master Abasi, but neither can I be content with trusting the reports of others. I must take the risk of exploring those passages myself.
Our other companions will be preoccupied with facing their own fears, among other matters, so though I know them to be competent, I do not trust their reactions should we encounter danger. And you have noted well enough that I am no warrior."

Stepping back, she resumed a calm expression, raising her voice back to a normal tone, "It is, of course, Tabrîl's decision. If she would rather guard the entrance I will go. In such a case, losing my way will happily not be an issue."

[Coffeehouse]

"I did not Borin. Little sight was avail to me, the darkness was a veil on all things around. And neither did I hear water, but the moisture was.. heavy, present."

Quickleaf, hearing Aelfwine speak to the wizard, turned towards her "If you want to join us you are most welcome. We'll need many keen eyes and as many torches as we can bring along, as they seem to die out quick in that suffocating darkness."

[Curufin]

'If they are afraid, they should not go,' Abasi said simply with a dismissive wave of his hand. 'Those who are unable to control their fears should remain with the seth'en or the ka'maren where they shall be protected. I do not pity those who go beneath while knowing that their fears may disable them. It is a weakness not to know your limitations, and to assume you are capable of more than you are. If they are incapable of going, then they should not go - especially if it causes danger to the rest of the group.'

This to Abasi was common sense, and as he looked over the poor specimens of warriors who were going beneath, he felt a sudden surge of desire to help them, which faded as quickly as it had begun. They were uwindi, and entirely unpleasant, for the most part.

He crossed his arms and looked at Haldis for a long moment.

'I know not what lies below - nor do I wish to know - but it must be something very Holy for you to go to such trouble to retrieve it.'