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The warriors paused at an extraordinary sight. A complete subterranean world stretched out before them for tens of miles. The floor in front of them sloped away towards a strange city which pulsed and beamed with lights of differing color as small rivers sprang from it center, gathering in pools at its edges before draining off into the opaque darkness at the city's borders. Stepping out of the opening, they heard a small shout of alarm and saw two small groups begin to run towards them.
The two groups each consisted of a large, gawky figure surrounded by three squid-like mollusks each about five feet in height. They immediately charged the young warriors, forgoing any pause for diplomacy. After mere moments of combat, the warriors realized that the mollusks moved as though extensions of the blue creatures' body, moving in tandem with the blue creatures as though they were not just the dancers, but the very keys played by these spidery organists.
The mollusks' patterns and colors shifted violently in reaction to their movements, forming stripes and explosions of color that seemed to ripple from one to another seamlessly. Not pausing for even a moment's thought, the warriors laid into the foremost mollusk, nearly killing it immediately. Shaken from the blows, its color shifted out of sync with its comrades and flashed violently. It staggered away from its allies and attempted to flee the combat under its own power. Not wanting to waste effort on noncombatants, the warriors committed their full attention to the closest shovel-faced, blue humanoid until its headless corpse lay twitching on the slick stone floor.
Instantly, his charges' colors strobed erratic patterns as they were released from his control. They confusedly scuttled away from the battle as arrows, axes, and blades soared over their enthralled brethren and into the spidery blue remnant. The puppets released, they made plaintive gestures to the warriors and began to draw several series of grouped, yet differing symbols in the dirt. Minas stepped forward and began writing in the dirt in his native language in an appeal for explanation.
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The warriors hid in a hut of a deeply red resin while the mute creatures used their own ink to scrye a brief history of the city into porous, washable stone. The city ran on spring-water which spouted from its center and was diverted throughout, using raised canals to travel into the homes of the blue creatures nearer to the center and collecting in large, communal facilities near its exterior for the mollusks. The squid-like mollusks showed absurd amounts of intelligence, owing --as they claimed-- to very large brains, through which they shared limited telepathy with one another. This, however, proved their downfall, as even their basic motor skills fell immediately prey to the blue creatures who only had the most rudimentary telepathic understanding. Their intelligence was as massive as their vulnerability.
Garnt, Krusk, and Tarkrim had preceeded the warriors' own arrival, slaying scores of the shovel-faced creatures and nearly two-hundred of the mollusks in their charge towards the city's center. The warriors took this as a fair explanation for why they had been immediately allayed once seen by the patrols. The warriors assured the mollusks that they were not there to harm them. They merely sought their former comrades. The mollusks relented that communication with the three had not even been attempted, and so many of their own had needlessly fallen before the three.
Seeing that the warriors provided new opportunities, and at the very least, a possible end to their comrades' rampage, they drew for the six a map of the city and its vast network of towering canals, along with entrances to the sewers. They gave the six what little they could in the way of trinkets and weapons and collectively shifted their colors sympathetically with their cause.
The warriors hid until the patrols passed them by and climbed the nearest canal wall.
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They traveled single-file up the narrow canals, trudging knee-deep through powerfully careening water. It became clear they were past the outer slums once the roofs of resin gave way to brightly filigreed awnings, twisting balconies of wrought metal, and dancing interior lights. The further they traveled, the more they ascended, and the taller the buildings became. After two hours, the warriors paused before they approached what they had been told were entire areas dedicated to government and commerce. Torym peered over the canal ridge to reconnoiter.
Undaunted by the height, the six spidered down the wall by rope moments before tearing down one of the nearby alleyways, ripping a sewer cover from its seating and descending into the darkness. The mollusks had told them that they could navigate the inner districts from below, but they had no idea where their comrades had gone. The warriors had to assume that this sprawling city state had some kind of jail. Being as they were so alien to this environment, the warriors assumed that if the three had actually been captured, they would be kept for questioning before any kind of execution.
The warriors ran to what they took to be the city's center, wherein a gargantuan tube of metal rose from below the ground at their feet and into what would be the palace, above them. They made note of their position and struck out from the center to view their position from street-level. Their first attempts netted a retinue of desperate guards who followed them into the darkened tunnels. After a couple of small struggles, they lost their pursuers easily before again ascending towards the street on yet another spiring ladder hewn from the living stone. Throwing a startled pedestrian from her feet as she walked across the sewer cover, Ashpaw yipped in delight upon seeing a large building with barred windows. He flung the massive cover into a group of startled civilians as he and his fellows poured out of the sewer as an unbroken column of howling, bladed beasts.
They tore the door from its hinges and split the gawking creatures like thin, blue fruits, carving a path towards the rear of the building. After breaking through a poor wall of enemies, they saw a broad stroke of the creatures' blood on the floor and walls that they hadn't yet caused. Further pursuit led them to three cells which had burst outwards from the inside, the metal bars laying in twisted ruin on the ground. Just beyond, a previously hidden door resembling a section of stone wall had been jammed open. As one, they tore down the hidden path, coming to a sharp right angle which led to a switch and a wall. Beyond this hidden door lay the sounds of combat.
The sliding door crunched on its hinges as it reluctantly opened for the six. What greeted them was the palace interior, one of its halls, and on its floors lay their lost three, surrounded by more than ten heavily armored warriors and dozens of dead. Tarkrim still held consciousness, though held in place by a spear which pierced his shoulder and foot. Ramfell lowered his shoulder and charged the spearman, knocking him from his feet just long enough to yank the pole from Tarkrim and lift him to his feet. Unquestioning of this assistance, Tarkrim clasped his hands together and unleashed a billowing word which roused his comrades and drained a small amount of their fatigue.
The guards made a movement to close again the circle around their enemies just as the six hit them as a broad hammer, driving them away from their comrades. They fought on the retreat, clearly outmanned as they shuffled the three towards the hidden passageway. Jeet-Fiske proved his usefulness as a harsh whisper exited his lips and slammed the foremost of his enemies backwards into the surging throng. Krusk and Minas stood at the entrance, waiting until the very latest moment to step through the door as it slammed quickly shut.
Ramfell ducked past the two, stealing a sword from one of the dead guards who had fallen through and jammed it into the door's opening mechanism. He shook Garnt who appeared cadaverously ill. "Can you walk, sorceror?"
Garnt nodded weakly. "The orb. Do you possess it?"
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