Catch a Falling Star

V08 - Mikin Road - 


 * ''The smooth cobblestone of Mikin Road cuts through the lands held by House Valoria, and has been designed as a near immaculate straight line that runs from Light's Reach in the rest to the Imperial Thoroughfare in the east, cutting through hills and forests alike heedless of geographical limitations.


 * ''The depths of the Dawnstar Forest roll away from the road towards the north and south, offering a panorama of trees that grant little insight as to what rests upon the horizon beyond them. A well-worn road leads south towards a crag upon which the ancestral Valorian fortress of Shadowcull Castle stands against the Southern Aegis, while Mikin Road itself continues east and west.

This dark night, Gefrey is riding down Mikin road alone, his charger moving at an easy trot. He appears to be rather confident, despite all the troubles, and carries with him only his staff. And a lance, but then, it's always on his horse.

Wildfire is not so carefree. She steers her horse with one hand, the other holding her longbow at her side as she rides. the blonde also keeps her eyes on her surroundings, paying more attention to the forest than her direction.

Gefrey Driscol does slow down as he hears hoofs on the road, however, and looks over his shoulder to see who approaches.

Noticing that the Duke has slowed, Wildfire looks his way and offers a small smile. "Evening," she calls lightly, although the state of her nerves does come through in her tone a little. Her eyes return to their scan of the woods on either side of the road.

Gefrey Driscol's horse comes to a complete stop as he looks to Wildfire, raising an eyebrow. "Worried are we, Mistress?" he asks, shifting his cloak on his shoulders. "You should be safe enough." The two are stopped in the road, heading to the east.

From the woods to the north, riding with the ease of someone who knows them fairly well, comes the cloaked figure of...well, a Zahir is the first obvious point. As he rides out onto the road, moonlight catches in his face; the young Baron, Esvan, rides tonight. And by the way he reins in, is evidently surprised to find company.

"I was attacked last time I traveled the roads this late," the girl replies lightly, "Which was not too long ago. So I'll stick with being on the cautious side." She reins in her horse near Gefrey, "You're not worried?"

"Not too much," Gefrey says, lookint to the woods as Esvan comes riding in. "I can defend myself, and Whitehaven can run fast. The roads are patrolled." He narrows his eyes as he tries to discern the rider, then raises a hand. "Good evening, Lord Esvan."

Esvan grins and waves back. "I didn't think you were a fan of night hunting, your grace!" he calls.

"Doesn't seem to stop bandits from trying anyway," Wildfire remarks, smirking. She glances over Esvan's way and looks him over passively before nodding a greeting and looking back to the Duke, "And that we can defend ourselves is a bit comofrting, yes, but wouldn't you rather you didn't have to?"

"Sometimes, one must travel Mistress, even if it is late," Gefrey says, before urging his horse forward, toward the young Baron. "I'm no hunter, merely a traveler at times. This is what brings you so far out at night, Baron?"

Esvan slants a Look at Wildfire. "Uncle has stooped to having his *servants* snub me, now?" he asks her. "Very rude." Gefrey gets a pleasant shrug. "I like hunting at night, your grace. The woods change when creatures think you can't see them."

The night is clear tonight, almost incredibly so, the view of the sky broad and panoramic between the treetops of the Dawnstar Forest leaning over the road. No wind whispers through those limbs today, but a slight, biting chill nips at the air anyway. This night is a herald of approaching autumn, after all.

Those who look to the sky now may see a broad expanse of stars, pinpoints on a navy quilt embroidered with a quartet of multicoloured moons. Beautiful, perhaps, but hardly unusual.

Wildfire's eyes narrow slightly in irritation, before she catches herself and bows in her saddle (which is a rather uncomfortable motion), "I apologize - I wasn't intending to 'snub' you, my Lord."

Horses? Peh. Horses are for Vozhd-Kahars and Seamels, and neither of them are around anymore. Duhnen treads down the road on foot from the direction of Light's Reach, seeming reasonably pleased to have such a place at his back.

Gefrey Driscol's lips thin as he looks at the two teenagers. What he says, however, is, "I imagine the woods can change quite a bit, though I would not know, to be entirel honest." A glance to Wildfire, and then to Esvan. "You are returning home?"

Gefrey Driscol's lips thin as he looks at the two teenagers. What he says, however, is, "I imagine the woods can change quite a bit, though I would not know, to be entirel honest." A glance to Wildfire, and then to Esvan. "You are returning home?" 

Esvan shakes his head. "I wasn't planning on it for several more hours yet, your grace," he says. "I probably would have turned west and kept going, but I saw you all on the road."

Seeming pleased that the nobles are talking to each other and ignoring her, Wildfire maneuvers her horse to back up a bit, staying out of the way but not leaving yet. She looks to the woods again, resuming her earlier watch.

Duhnen wanders further along the road, crunching it under his feet. He's doing the typical glowy eye thing. Assuredly quite spooky and all that. The trio of mounted figures comes into view further down the way, but that doesn't daunt him, nor slow his pace.

Nihanin is coming from along the road as well, thumbs hooked in the straps of his pack.

It starts out as a few scattered points of light which shoot across the sky in quick succession, stars that appear from nowhere, headed nowhere, vanishing again an instant later over the opposite horizon from which they appeared. And as it continues, it grows quicker, and the number of fleeing stars increase as, like a flock of impossibly quick flaming birds, they dart across the firmament.

Nearer at hand, there is the faintest rustle in the bushes alongside the road before the night once again falls into silence.

Gefrey Driscol smiles slightly and nods to Esvan. "It would be good to get back their swiftly," he cautions the boy, hypocritically adding, "the roads are not always safe at night, Baron." It is then that he turns at the sight of glowing eyes. He's about to call to Duhnen before his attention is distracted to a greater spectacle overhead. "By... What?"

Esvan grins at Gefrey, and it's the cheerful grin of a young predator. "Of course they're not, your grace. *I'm* on them." But his own attention turns to the bushes alongside the road, not the heavens above, and that bow is raised with an arrow nocked. "Small, or large?" he wonders, cheerfully curious.

The blonde's attention is split, frowning lightly at the sound in the bushes yet truly astonished by the display overhead. Noting that Esvan, at least, has his attention on the bushes, Isa lets her attention wander more fully to the sky. Her mouth opens slightly as she watches. "Light... that's...," she trails off, unable to find a suitable word.

Not looking skyward, Duhnen misses the impressive skyshow. In addition, he isn't close enough to hear the rustling bush. He does spot the lifted bow and nocked arrow, however, the archer illuminated faintly in the moonlight. The man slows some.

Nihanin pauses, catching the flickering beams flashing across the sky, head tilting back to watch their arc. He seems.... surprised.

Gefrey Driscol watches the disappearing stars with wide eyes, before looking down and over to the boy. "Baron," he says, voice surprisingly firm. "Do not shoot your bow unless it becomes necessary. We do not know what happens here." A hand goes up, is held out to Duhnen, and beckons the knight over.

The rustling fades after a moment--likely little more than some wild animal passing through, although briefly, there might be something that sounds a bit like the snort of a horse...

The spectacle overhead isn't done speeding up, though the number of shooting stars is already fairly impressive. An instant later, it is *alarmingly* so, and a few fly by noticeably lower than the others.

"If I was going to fire without seeing what I was shooting, your grace, I already would have," says Esvan pleasantly. That arrow's still aimed...more or less at the bushes. "I would send the wildlander to see what the tracks are, but she'd only run away."

"What's occuring?" Duhnen calls out quietly to Gefrey as he picks up the pace once invited over, glancing to the Zahir baron and Wildlander with some mild disinterest. He's not all that slow, thankfully, and it only takes another moment before he looks upwards as well, staring at happenings up above.

"That was uncalled for," Wildfire states, looking down sharply at the Baron. Her horse starts to stir, then, startled a bit at the growing spectacle in the sky. "Easy, Val," she says, putting away her own bow to free her hand and pet at the beast's neck. Her eyes return to the sky, and her awe from before becomes wary.

Nihanin watches the low-hanging lights, frown darkening. Still though, he doesn't seem so upset by them just yet. Perhaps a costly mistake?

"Damned if I know," Gefrey says, looking up to the lights a moment before down at everyone else. "Ride or run," he orders everyone. "We are not sitting still while waiting for those to land on us." He pauses a moment, before nodding to Duhnen, and then Wildfire. "You two, with me. We're finding whatever it is in the woods. The rest of you, find your way to Light's Reach." And then, without waiting to see if anyone has listened or not, the Duke is riding offroad toward where the rustling came from, readying his pike.

Esvan tilts his head at this, then shrugs and lowers his arrow, replacing it in the quiver as he watches them go.

There's a cry in the woods--and it's no squirrel yelling that, either. No, this is a distinctly human voice, sounding rather like a frightened girl. The words are clearly audible, too: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" There's a sound, distinctly like that of shifting timbers, and then another frightened yell. This time, it sounds like a boy's voice.

"Your Grace," Duhnen answers in confirmation as the Duke rides off to the woods, turning and moving to one of the numerous tall trees lining the road, and into the shade out of the moonlight. He's swallowed up by the shadow, emerging further up alongside of Gefrey, before passing through yet another, keeping pace as needed.

Nihanin stays on the road, but is smart to move along to the side, and continue walking, gaze still tilted toward the night's sky. The cries of the girl and boy do not reach his ears.

Without so much as 'Why me?', Wildfire urges Valencia to follow after the Duke. She frowns at those cries, but still says nothing. right now she's only worried about keeping up.

U08 - Dawnstar Forest - 


 * ''The Dawnstar Forest rises up on all sides here, towering pines mingling with hemlock and cedar, shutting out nearly all light and closing the sky off with a low, dark canopy of needles. Sticky pine sap drips in slow-moving streams down the trunks of some of the trees, pooling in the crevices of roots and branches. Captured light dances in those pools.


 * ''The forest floor is padded with fallen pine needles, long and slender in groups of three or four, interspersed with the shorter, sharper hemlock versions. Inches deep and soft, they make little to no sound when tread upon, save for a soft, gentle rustle. What little light manages to filter through that thick canopy so far above dapples the forest floor in uneven shards that allow none but the hardiest ground-dwelling shrub and a few rare saplings to grow.


 * ''Here and there creeks can be seen meandering between the ancient trees, and the sound of water falling over rounded stones is a constant backdrop to the scenery. Yet somehow, it manages not to lighten the mood of the wood, but rather deepen it, giving it a nearly ethereal feeling of seclusion. Perhaps it is the sharp contrast it brings to the surrounding silence - Dawnstar Forest is quiet, save for that endless lullaby of falling water and the occasional bird cry.


 * ''The forest is uninterrupted, save for one thing--a rise in the ground, surrounded by a ring of trees. From the back, that rise may look like little more than a hill--grassy, covered in emerald moss. Yet on the north side, ancient, half-rotted timbers and failing supports reveal the entrance to a mine shaft which looks like it's remained unused for a good couple of decades.


 * ''To the south, the trees thin and clear away to make way for the thin ribbon of Mikin Road, only growing deeper to the north and west. To the east, rays of stronger light indicate another thinning of the trees, this time to give way to open grasslands.

There's still a couple shouting--names, this time, all but indecipherable, but distinctly coming from the direction of the hill. Any who look up at this minute will see a enough of a sight to make anyone cringe. It's a sight soon followed by a tremendous crash, the ground itself shaking under the weight of the impact as a white-hot rock hurtles into the ground. Somebody screams--one of the youths--and there's a sound of buckling wood from the direction of that little mound.

Esvan ...isn't riding with the others at all, really, save by coincidence. Not bothering with 'keeping up' so much as keeping quiet, it would seem the Zahir finds the idea of returning to his own lands far more wise than riding deeper into Valoria's. But his compatriots do a fine job of clearing a path through the woods.

Nihanin is much, much slower then the others. In fact, he is even trailing Esvan. The bearded Wildlander's brow furrows as he picks his way to the north, wary and concerned, yes, concerned, now.

Gefrey Driscol rides in first, then pulls his horse to a halt. Even this trained charger appears to be rather startled by what is going on. "Boy!" he calls out to the youths. "Girl! Come this way, to the south!" Even so, he doesn't wait for their response, strapping his pike backonto his horse's side before hopping down and slowly walking toward the mound.

Duhnen is there, dutifully at Gefrey's side as he dismounts, considering the mess of the fallen star with a grimace. "They may be trapped," he states to Duke Driscol, following him forward, only glancing briefly behind him to see who else may be following.

Wildfire lets out a startled curse at the impact, tightening her legs around her horse and ducking down some as she brings him to an unsteady halt. Not bothering to calm the horse more than enough to ensure she won't get trampled, the blonde grabs a few things from her bags quickly and hastily dismounts to join the men.

Yes, the cries are distinctly muffled now, and what can be seen of the hill to those behind it actually looks like it might be *sagging* a little bit. As to the sky? The lights tearing through the heavens are still going, but they seem to have stopped speeding up. Maybe, if one were really optimistic, they might even look like slowing down a little.

Gefrey Driscol mutters something considerably un-dukely under his breath, before nodding to Duhnen and starting to walk for the mound. "We'll find out. Do you believe you can do something, Duhnen?"

Nihanin looks to the distant cries, quiet. Then he begans to run, comfortable and at ease in the forest, lips forming a thin grim line. Even with the newfound burst of speed, he is far behind the others.

"Perhaps," Duhnen answers Gefrey at that, not sounding too sure of his answer. "Why's it look like it's caving in on itself? Think it had a bunch of underground tunnels?" He looks to Wildfire as she joins them, nodding in brief aknowledgement.

Nihanin continues to run, pounding feet, slapping brush, scattering bugs and small animals.

"Caves, tunnels, burrows," Wildfire remarks, "Any number of things could be the case. We're not going to find out by just standing here." She makes to stride around the mound, looking for anything that might be used as a point of entry.

The slowing of the skies is definite now, the shooting stars coming only occasionally. Still, there are a few low enough to bring a faint, momentary brightness to the ground not provided by the moons.

Reaching the northern side of the mound, Wildfire and Nihanin can see the damage. The Stone from the Sky has pelted right into the earth above the entrance to an old mine shaft, and the force of it has caused most of the entire doorframe to collapse, leaving only a small opening at the top. Inside, there can be seen only darkness, though the sound of sobbing is clearly audible. And whispers--one of the youths seems to be trying to comfort the other.

Gefrey Driscol nods, and starts walking off after Wildfire and Nihanin both, holding his quarterstaff carefully. "What do we see?" he asks them.

"Ah," Duhnen grunts as he rounds the mound with the others, recognizing it for what it is after seeing the once entrance. "I can check inside," he states to Gefrey, considering the rubble blocked entrance, moving up to the edge to lift his voice. "Are you hurt?" he calls.

"Maybe I should be the one to look," Wildfire suggests, "I'm smaller, and likely the most expendable person here." Regardless of responses or lack thereof, she makes towards the wreckage carefully, avoiding the Sky Rock as she picks her footing.

Nihanin stumbles to a halt, breathing hard, looking toward the man that speaks with him. "M... m'lord, I know not." Wildfire's suggestion is taken in, as well as Duhnen's exotic looks, and he wilts. "Sounds as if someone... someone is trapped."

Indeed, someone *does* seem to be trapped in there. The problem would be getting *in*. The damage the Skystone seems to have done is extensive, and those timbers look quite heavy. The hole in the blockage is high--Wildfire would need something to stand on in order to reach it--but it *is* big enough to allow the little Wildlander passage. Barely.

"A-aye," a voice calls from within, sounding frantic. "Milana's all bloody-like, an... I think she's burnt, or somethin'." As for the Skystone itself? It's still easily hot enough to burn any who touch it, and its heat can be felt by anyone with their hand near.

"Stay back," Gefrey orders Wildfire. "We don't want to do anything that will cause it to collapse." He then calls to the children inside the mound, "We'll find a way to get you out of there." That said, the Duke himself looks to Duhnen, raising an eyebrow. "Can you, or do we need to get inventive?"

"How much room do you have inside?" Duhnen calls in to the trapped pair, glancing to Gefrey for a moment, before staring at the stone radiating heat. "A moment," he mutters aside, falling rather still and rather quiet.

Wildfire looks back to Gefrey and lets out a sigh, but nods as she steps back and away from the wreckage.

Nihanin frowns as Gefrey calls for a moment, but doesn't respond, at least not initially. He waits to see just what they have in mind.

"Er..." There's a long pause, and the rustling sound of movement coming from within. "Lots o' room," the boy calls out. "But I dinnae wanna move Milana. She be not lookin' good..."

Gefrey Driscol watches Duhnen curiously, then nods, calling to the youths in a calm voice, "I see. Stay still, Master. We'll have the both of you out shortly. Just be certain you stay away from the entrance, just in case."

The sound of approaching hooves heralds a new arrival, as Thayndor Zahir -- a slim cloaked figure on a brilliant white horse -- trots into the clearing. He pulls Sundust up short, and the paso fino hops to one side, bouncing from foot to foot as he's brought to such a sudden stop. Thayndor peers at faces in the moonlight, seeming surprised to have encountered people.

The Knight's face, should anyone be looking, seems to have gradually taken on an almost feverish flush. "Lots of room," he mutters to himself, staring at that burning stone, before reaching out to grab at it and lift it away, stepping to the side. With the threat of burning gone, he looks back to Wildfire, nodding his head. "You know any medicine? Or how to treat injuries?"

"No," Wildfire shakes her head, "I lived in a group, we had someone else who took care of that sort of thing." The sound of hooves catches her attention and she looks over Thayndor's way. "My lord," she greets, seeming surprised to see him out there.

Nihanin turns to the sound of horse hooves as well, biting on his lower lip. He doesn't greet the man, but doesn't slight him. Instead, he does his best to remain quiet and out of the way. He does... a decent job of it.

"A-aye," comes the nervous reply from the mine's interior. The rustling of movement stops, and there's more whispering that cannot quite be made out clearly.

"Then if we have no healer, we must find a way to just get them out, and swiftly," Gefrey says with a frown. Thayndor gets the briefest of nods, before he gestures to Wildfire. "On my shoulders," he says, crouching. "I'll lift you so you can get in, and tell us what it is like in there."

Duhnen turns about to begin kicking at the ground to knock up clods of dirt, fixing a suitable spot to deposit the burning hot stone without inadvertantly starting any fires. Once he's fixed a suitable pit of dirt, he drops it in, before turning back about. "We can either try knocking down the wall once we're sure they're alright inside. Or we could try to pull them out. Either way, it could be dangerous for them. The latter more likely so."

"Hold but a moment, your Grace," Thayndor says, dismounting. "The only thing worse than one man overboard is two men overboard." He walks over to the shaft, though as he does so his eyes are drawn to the curious stone Duhnen has set aside. The Zahir eyes the mine warily, then looks back to the Duke. "The structure itself ..." he squints at the frame in the moonlight, runs a hand carefully along the old wood. "If it's unsturdy ... perhaps we should test the entrance first to see if it will give open. Otherwise we'll have three people trapped down a mineshaft instead of two and one less pair of hands to get them out."

"From inside I can give a better idea of how stable everything is," Wildfire points out to the Zahir, "And at the very least I can help comfort them, possibly move the injured girl in there to a safer position. Could even give the boy a boost so he can get out the way I'm going in. Now am I going in or not?" If Gefrey ignores Thayndor, the blonde will continue with the original plan.

Nihanin is... wow, get this, still silent. He doesn't particularly show much signs of wishing to lead. As he watches them discuss who will do what, he moves to the barricade, and in a low rumbling tone, begans to sing a song without word. Perhaps it is supposed to be comforting, but it is so somber, it could almost be a dirge.

The little group is clustered about the entrance to the mine, through which an errant Skystone seems to have plummeted. On its way down, it has managed to collapse the doorframe, trapping two Freelander youths behind it. From the sounds of things, at least one is injured.

There's a moment of silence as Nihanin's singing starts, followed by a quiet, pleading, "*Please* get us out o' here? We's never gonna climb aroun' in the mines again, honest."

"If you are willing to take the risk, you are going in," Gefrey says firmly, ignoring Thayndor for now. "Get inside, see how bad the situation is, and guide us as we try to unblock it." He is crouching before the entrance, offering his shoulders for Wildfire to climb on. "We will not be losing anyone in there."

"I can rip this entrance apart, if she deems it safe. From the inside or outside," Duhnen states as he moves back to Gefrey, nodding his head to Thayndor. The flush has vanished from the Knight's cheeks, but he seems to still be in deep concentration. He's tense, as if waiting for something specific.

"So long as you aware of the risk," Thayndor says simply, though he's clearly not a fan of the idea. He turns to Duhnen. "Can you drum us up some light, sir knight, so we can see what we are doing at the very least?" The Zahir holds on to his horse's reins still, as if not sure if he will remain.

A low white glow is visible well before Griedan's features can actually come into focus in the night, heralding his arrival in advance. The Freelander, dressed in a workingman's greys looks rather surprised at what he finds.

"Oye, 's a strange time t' b' out sp'lunkin'." he comments, offering a bow first to Gefrey, then to Duhnen and finally Thayndor. "Stopped th' carriage so I could see th' fallin' stars an' saw one what seemed t' fall int' th' forest. 'Eard voices this way an' d'ci'ed t' s' what was goin' on 'ere." A pause.

"S' what /is/ goin' on 'ere ifn I may?"

Wildfire climbs up into the Duke's shoulders, careful to keep from hurting the man more than is unavoidable. "One of those falling stars landed on this mine and trapped a couple kids inside," she explains shortly to Griedan.

Nihanin's slow song falters as the kids speak, "We are working on it, cubs. Do you have a favorite song? Sing. I will do so with you. We won't leave you to die."

There's another pause. The girl's quiet sobbing seems to have fallen silent--perhaps she is asleep. Perhaps she merely has no strength left to sob. Or perhaps the explanation is more dire. The boy, however, begins to sing softly--a little ditty that's a favorite in many taverns. Though normally bawdy in melody, it sounds fragile, almost melancholy in this situation.

I'm my own grandpa. I'm my own grandpa. It sounds funny, I know, But it really is so, Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

Now many, many years ago, when I was twenty-three, I was married to a widow who was pretty as could be. This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red. My father fell in love with her, and soon they, too, were wed.

Gefrey Driscol lets out a grunt as he stands, lifting Wildfire to the hole. "Can you get inside?" he asks, holding up the girl's weight.

Duhnen is silent, the man trembling slightly as he stares at the blockade and the wildlander woman climbing through. His fists clench, the man seeming to be struggling to hold something in check, and just barely succeeding.

"Suppose not," Thayndor says, frowning. "Griedan. You have your carriage waiting, still?" He asks. "Run and tell the driver to go to town and come back with a healer." He starts to fumble at his waist. "I have the gold to pay."

Griedan shakes his head at Thaydor and looks rather sheepish. "Beggin' yer pardons, Lord Za'ir, but N', I dunna anamere. I done told th' driver what that I would walk back an' 'e could go 'ead an' go 'ome fer th' night." the big glowing man replies, squinting at the collapse as he aproaches the mine. "Yeh know... ifn w' start pickin' 'em from th' top, Migh' b' able t' dig 'em out." he suggests.

"Yeah, I can do it," Wildfire replies, and sets about to do just that. She wiggles and squirms through the hole, avoiding kicking so she doesn't accidentally biff the duke in the face or something. She recognized the boy's song, though, and procedes to sing along for the sheer sake of singing along, albeit a bit out-of-tune and strained. Once she's inside, there's a thud of boots meeting stone. Inside, the girl offers a smile to the kids and examines both the kids and the area, trying to determine the best course of action as quickly as possible. "These supports don't look all that stable," she calls out to the others, "This damn place looks like it would collapse without help, let alone after being hit with that rock."

Nihanin smiles, and sings back, having heard this very song in a tavern in Light's Reach. "This made my dad my son-in-law, and changed my very life.... For, you see, my daughter was my mother, cause she was my father's wife...."

Inside the mine shaft, the boy looks up at Wildfire with round, frightened eyes, one hand absently stroking the blood-dampened hair back from the girl's forehead. She breathes yet, but appears to have fallen unconscious. Though there's a silent plea there, he continues to sing.

To complicate the matter, even though it brought me joy, I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.

My little baby then became a brother-in-law to Dad, And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad. For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother Of the widow's grown-up daughter, who, of course, was my stepmother.

Gefrey Driscol nods, despite Wildfire being unable to see him. "Good, look for a place we might be more likely to get through." He turns then to Griedan and Duhnen. "Master Stonehammer, if you have any expertise with this, we would desire your help. If you could help Sir Duhnen."

"That's good, cub. Say hello to the nice woman, she's one of us, she's going to help you as much as she can." Nihanin responds, "Keep singing." He turns back to the others, speaking softly. "Do you need me to do anything...?"

Duhnen doubles over some with a choked sound, then, releasing whatever it was he was holding. The man's form bulges oddly, twisting and awkwardly shifting, changing about in an unnatural and grotestque fashion, before he only vaguely resembles the person he once was. Fixing his attention on the blocked entrance, he steps forward and begins to tear at it, tossing out clods of earth and rock behind him in a rather haphazard fashion, not so much seeking to remove all the rubble, but just enough to tunnel through so that someone inside could get out.

Thayndor Zahir blinks, and suddenly Duhnen is a creature of earth. "I suppose that's one way to go about this," he mutters, finding himself useless for the moment.

"I'm a mason, not a miner." Griedan tells Gefrey. "But I'll 'elp 'owe'er I can, aye." Though it's dark, he stumbles and scrambles up the fallen stones a bit, and looks like he's ready to start heaving rocks away until Duhnen makes his sudden transformation. Falling back, the stonemason's eyes go wide and his jaw clenches. Whatever internal strugge he's dealing with, he comes out on the losing end, it seems, and a sudden gush of divine power seeks to rebuff the mage's.

The /noise/ that Duhnen's tearing causes makes Wildfire almost jump. She barks, "WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, STOP IT, WE'RE STILL BY THE ENTRANCE!" and crouches down to try and move the girl, "Help me move her, quickly, further away."

"That's good, cub. Say hello to the nice woman, she's one of us, she's going to help you as much as she can." Nihanin responds, "Keep singing." He turns back to the others, speaking softly. "Do you need me to do anything...?" Of course, Duhnen's explosive sudden change is worth turning back too, gawking.

Duhnen's rock-moving does have an effect, shifting rocks aside. Timbers move, bowing inward and away as the rock-man pulls at the debris. Inside, the boy moves a little to help Wildfire shift the girl, but he's going slowly, doing his best to move her as little as possible. Isa can see now that the wound looks pretty bad--it appears as if a rock might have fallen on her when the entrance caved in.

But something else is happening as Duhnen scrapes away at the rubble. Rocks and dirt released from their binding supports tumble inward, and in a great rush, the entire northern half of the hill falls inwards, blocking off the entrance completely. Even that hole is plugged, now. On the other side, Isa, the boy, and the injured girl are left in near-complete darkness. The new barrier is shallow enough to shout through, but quite obviously solid.

Gefrey Driscol growls as the hill caves in, stepping forward to try and get a better look. "Master, Mistress," he calls. "Are you alright?"

"The only thing worse than one man overboard," Thayndor grumbles under his breath, folding one arm across his chest and resting his opposite elbow against it. That hand supports his chin.

Duhnen is pummeled with collapsing dirt and earth as the entrance caves more, the creature drawing back some to stare at the mess. With an angry sound, it rises to full height, beginning to work from the top, roots from it's form grasping at the collapse lightly for support.

"Duhnen, stop!" Thayndor cries, as the form moves towards the top. "You risk bringing it down atop them. We have to find another way."

The earth creature does stop somewhat at the call, instead feeling over the barrier with stubby hands, pressing it's head to it.

Wildfire lets out a sigh. "WE'RE /FINE/!" she bellows, "COULDN'T HAVE RUN THAT BY ME FIRST!?!" She offers the boy a strained smile before again examining the area. "The ceiling looks really weak in a spot in here - ff we get out of the way, you think you can cave it in and we could get out that way?!"

Griedan falls back from Duhnen's rampage, shaking his head as the hillside caves in further. "Meh Lord, wait, yeh're makin' it worse!" he calls out, getting a handle on his power after the initial outburst. A sigh of relief comes as the former duke takes a more tactful approach.

"Need t' figger out a way t' s'port an' brace th' 'illside t' keep it from comin' down werse, though I dunna know 'ow 's pos'ble." he comments, frowning in concentration. Suddenly, he snaps his fingers. "Lord Dr'scol, try goin' in a' it from th' side where 's still solid. I dunna think what that w' can free this op'nin', s' w' need t' make a new 'un."

Nihanin winces as the cavein is complete, then lets loose a strangled noise when Duhnen simply intensifies his efforts. Of course, that shaky sigh can be nothing other then relief. He looks between all the faces, expression tight and tense.

The boy makes a sound when Wildfire points out the weak place in the ceiling, a little yelp which might be taken for affirmation. Beyond this, however, he is silent. He and Wildfire have managed to move the girl a few feet back, but not far.

Gefrey Driscol frowns. "Keep moving back," he calls the boy and Wildfire. "Away from there." He turns to look at Griedan and Duhnen, then. "Do we try to cave it in?"

Duhnen tilts his misshapen head at that, sliding along the cavein to the side of the mound, before crawling a bit up on it. Collecting himself somewhat, he grates out, "Tell me when."

"If there are still timbers above those inside, caving the rest might not hurt them. Might," Thayndor says. "It's a fairly unpleasant supposition." He calls inside. "Can you shore up what's directly above you, or find some remnant of the shaft that's got timbers holding it up? Maybe deeper inside?"

"Aye, get righ' nex' t' 'un o' th' vert'cal beams ifn yeh can." Griedan calls through the barrier. "Yeh said what that a section o' th' ceilin' seems weak? 'Ow far back, aye?"

"We need to move her again," the blonde says to the boy, pale green eyes examining the shaft before calling out, "It's caved in about three hundred feet in, and the weak spot's about halfway down! We're going to find the sturdiest supports in the place and camp out there!" She bends down and looks the giirl over again, before taking the girl's upper half and holding her gently, "Get her legs, I'll make sure we don't make the wound worse."

Nihanin stays out of the way, as has been his pattern for this late night stroke of madness. He bites down hard on his cheek.

Duhnen waits, still, pressing his face against the mound while people move, and talk, and all other sorts of things.

All hesitation and uncertainty, the boy rises to his feet and grasps the girls legs--as gently as he possibly can--and moves her with Wildfire to a (relatively) safe place, beneath one of the vertical supports, and more or less as far from the weak spot in the ceiling as they can get.

Once they've gotten to the safest unsafe spot in the mine, Wildfire takes a breath, ushering the boy into a kneeling position and wrapping and arm each around him and the unconscious girl. "We're ready!" she calls out, before closing her eyes and speaking a prayer to the Light. Typical contents - keep us safe, let this work, etc.

Duhnen hears that goahead from within, and clambers up higher. He lifts his arms, his hands elongating into something resembling trowels, and begins to tear away once again at the ground, working to break through it.

Gefrey Driscol just stands back for now, watching carefully.

Nihanin, too, is passive in his watching. Tense, though.

Those elongated hands dig away at the dirt that makes up a portion of the ceiling, lifting it away and allowing a pale stream of moonlight to fill the shaft below. The roots of surrounding trees steady this part, and soon there is a hole wide enough for a person to wriggle through. Albeit, it being the ceiling, said persons will need help from above.

"That's good!" Wildfire calls up, "Now help me get these kids out of here!" She stands and pulls the boy up with her gently, "We'll move her one more time, okay? then the people outside can get some help to her." Again, the girl is to be moved, this time towards the new gap. "The injured girl is coming first!" she calls out, "Be careful with her!"

As soon as the ceiling has caved in, Gefrey starts clambering up the side of the hill, towards Duhnen, and looking in. "We'll get you out," he says, before looking to Duhnen, and taking off his cloak. "Sir Duhnen, you can prevent us from falling in ourselves?"

Nihanin looks toward Wildfire's voice, then assuming that it is safe, he will show REAL motion and urgency to assist with the effort.

With a shudder, Duhnen's bulk melts away, the man returning to a more natural state. He's slightly sweaty, but he nods his head. "I'll hold your legs, or however you need me to do this," he offers.

The boy nods, rising once more to take the girl's legs while Wildfire gets her upper half. Together, they move her towards the new opening, lifting her up. The boy grimaces a little, shutting his eyes tight with the effort of holding her up that high.

Wildfire holds the girl up as well, gritting her teeth as they offer the unconscious form up to those reaching to get her. When she's taken care of, the wildlander will crouch down to offer her shoulders to boost the boy up within reach.

Gefrey Driscol nods to DUhnen. "Do that," is all he says before he starts half-clambering into the hole, and reaching out for the girl.

Nihanin watches as Gefrey half climbs into the hole, watching intently.

Duhnen reaches to grab Gefrey's legs to support him as the Duke dangles down. It'd probably look amusing if the situation wasn't so serious. "Got you," he promises.

With the Duke of House Driscol dangling half upside down through a hole into an old mine shaft and his chief knight clinging to his legs to keep him from toppling head-over-teakettle right down inside, the girl is within Gefrey's reach. Once she is safely lifted out, the boy will pause, eyeing Wildfire's slight shoulder uncertainly before entrusting his weight to them and reaching up towards the opening.

Gefrey Driscol grabs for the boy, grasping him by the hands after he sees the girl set safely aside to Nihanin's care. "We're almost out, Master," he says before pulling back, using Duhnen's weight as leverage.

"Been hitting the pastries a bit hard, lately?" Duhnen grunts out as he helps to heave Gefrey back up with the rescued boy, scrabbling against the dirt with his feet.

Wildfire is small, but she supports the boy's weight well enough. Once he's out, she looks around and smirks. "Well... now how am /I/ getting out of this damned place...?" She looks around for something to climb on, but stays near the hole in case the people outside come up with a bright idea.

Nihanin looks down, lips twisting in a frown, and echoes Wildfire's concerns. "How is she supposed to get out?" He kneels down, looking into the hole where the Duke dangles.

"It is muscle," Gefrey says a bit defensively once the boy is safely out, before reaching for his quarter staff. When he goes down again, this is dangled as well, increasing the reach of the rescue operation. "Grab hold."

With the boy and girl safely out of the way, huddled not too far off on stable ground, Wildfire is indeed the only one left in the shaft. Still, though though it's some short distance to the ceiling, Wildfire has a fair chance of catching hold of Gefrey's hands if she jumps.

"I can always go down there if we need, and help hold her up," Duhnen offers, before he's holding tight as Gefrey leans back down.

"Well, there's an idea," Wildfire remarks with a grin. She reaches up, getting a firm grip on the weapon with both hands and hoping that the men can hold the extra weight.

Nihanin watches the interaction closely, willing to help if it needed, but hanging back if it wasn't.

Gefrey Driscol grunts as he pulls back, dragging staff and girl up, before reaching out to grab her hand when possible. "Up," he says, scooting back from the hole as best he can with Duhnen on his legs as he finally gets the last one out.

Heave. Ho. Heave. Ho. "Up," grunts Duhnen, leaning and pulling back once more to haul the pair out as best he can, heels dug rather deeply into the dirt at this point from the strain.

Boy, girl, and Wildlander are now safely removed from the shaft. The boy sits on the ground not so far, stroking the girl's forehead once more. He looks to Gefrey as he succeeds in retrieving Wildfire. "Thankee... M'lord." It's obvious from the look on his face that he didn't realize he was dealing with nobles--much less a Duke. "Thankee very much. I... could you... Milana needs a healer, y'see. If'n I coul' get t' Light's Reach..."

Wildfire takes the offered hand and as soon as she can, scrambles on ground to get away from that hole before it caves in any more. "Light," she remarks slowly, "Never... ever... go climbing around in a rickety old anything again."

Gefrey Driscol pulls his own legs out, stands up, then nods to Duhnen. "Thank you, Duhnen," he says softly, starting to walk down the hill. "We'll see her safely to the hall of healing, young Master." He reaches the bottom of the hill and looks around a moment, before he walks to the sky stone. He taps it with his staff once, leans down and holds his hand out to make sure it isn't too warm to touch, then picks it up. "Let's be on our way."

Duhnen rises to his feet, brushing at his pants and sighing. "Yeah...just glad they got out," he responds, watching the children be taken off. "Hopefully they'll be alright." He moves after Gefrey after another moment of recovering.

The boy takes the girl in his arms, holding her as best he can as he follows after the nobleman and Wildlander, towards the promise of a Hall of Healing someplace safe, where the stars do not fall from the skies.

Return to Season 7 (2008)