Beauty & The Beast

[Carthrat]

"I see," replies Rick. "Well, I'll take you there now."

That said, he heads back to his car and quickly gets in...

<->

Shortly after, Rick pull the car up outside the same three dusty stones that N'Dovu saw within his spirit-vision.

"And here we are," he says, eyeing the stones with a hint of wariness.

[Brian]

N'dovu climbs out of the car, stick in hand, and approaches the boulders warily.  "This is the site I was shown in the vision," he explains as he uses his stick to  prod the earth, trying to feel for a hidden cavern, or a soft spot he could find a way down through.

[Carthrat]

The ground is fairly strong around these parts, but wait- there's a small, softer patch in the centre of the three stones. A little excavation work reveals a few dust-worn marble blocks underneath the loose dirt. They're all quite loose and seperate from each other, and look as though they can be pulled out.

"Should I wait here for you?" asks Rick, looking around. There's nothing else of note in sight in this area.

[Brian]

"I think it would be best," N'dovu replies, nodding.  After a moment of hesitation, N'dovu pulls the remaining money still on him from his shirt, and passes Rick the envelope.  "You should take this for now -- it won't help where I'm going, not for a while, at least.  Also, I do not wish to endanger the medicine man of a tribe I would call a friend."

With that, N'dovu begins prying up the blocks, looking for the way down again.

[Carthrat]

It'd be a tight fit, but N'Dovu guesses that he could fit through the dark hole he's made. As far as he can tell, the marble bricks reveal a small passageway, barely big enough for his frame. He'd need to jump down a ways to get there- only a few metres. Nonetheless, getting out looks like it would take some work.

[Brian]

N'dovu stares into the depths of the earth, taken aback momentarily.  No flashlight.  No rope.

Smiling, he glances back at Rick.  "Spirits willing, my friend, we will meet again soon."

Then, before he can think better of it, he drops his weapon in the hole, and jumps after it.

[Carthrat]

The first thing that hits N'Dovu is that it's dark.

Very dark. There is, in fact, no light at all, except from the hole that he just came through- and part of that is obscured by Rick's worried face. There's a vauge passageway in N'Dovu's vision, and it looks like the only way to go.

[Brian]

N'dovu feels around for his stick until he finds it, and then uses it to help him feel his way forward through the passage, walking with one hand at the level of his eyes held in front of him.

[Carthrat]

Near me, Spirit-Seeker. Come nearer, and I shall gave you light.

It's startling to hear the voice in his head, but N'Dovu recognizes the voice of the fire-spirit in his mind.

As things stand, he's progressing down a dark tunnel, to which he can see no end. The ground beneath his feet is smooth and easy to walk on; the walls nearby he has discovered hold strange protusions- perhaps the remains of burnt-out torches, or some such. The cavern is slowly getting wider as he moves forward.

[Brian]

N'dovu listens with his hidden senses (well, tries to, anyway; his teachers always told him he was very bad at it, without using drugs), and follows the cavern deeper, relying less on his hand and stick to guide him, and more on the pull he feels from the spirit.

"Soon," he mutters to himself, hoping he will bring only good things back to Rick and the Cahuilla.

[Carthrat]

As N'Dovu continues to plunge through the depths, he notices something that's a welcome relief from the dark. The tip off his staff is beginning to glow, faintly; a slight light that illuminates the marble walls of the corridor. As N'Dovu progresses further, the light becomes stronger, and he can see that the walls are in amazingly good condition. They're laced with strange runes that he cannot identify.

[Brian]

N'dovu pauses, momentary curiosity getting the better of him, and looks at one of the runes more closely.  As soon as he stops, he catches himself, and shakes his head in admonishment, turning his footsteps to the path again.  Curiosity is one thing, but there are more urgent tasks to attend.  A quiet prayer is uttered to the spirits of this place ... not just the great spirit, but the smaller spirits that surely surround and serve it.

And for that, N'dovu now carries his staff like a flaming brand to light the way before him.

[Carthrat]

N'Dovu can see the that the corridor rounds a corner soon, but from behind it, he can also hear sounds. People walking, people talking, and people working. It's very faint, however- and coming from above him.

After he rounds the corner, the marble corridor expands out into a large room. What appears to be a fountain stands in the middle, but it is completely dry. The light from the staff is getting notably brighter.

As N'Dovu enters the room, he sees a slight bit of rock crumbling down from the roof, and a repetitive 'chit-chit-chit' sound from above.

[Brian]

Grunting, N'dovu rushes forward, leaping up onto the rim of the fountain and stopping there to look around the area quickly, scanning for a clue to where the spirit of Fire was.

[Carthrat]

Another unprecedented whisper flitters through N'Dovu's mind, but it is not the voice of the spirit of Fire. Strangely familiar, yet garbled and unplacable, it speaks..

..wary, be wary!

From the fountain, N'Dovu can see that there are four openings from the room, one for each point of the compass. One of them is where he came through, which leaves three doors to choose from.. each one looking like the last; an opening in the marble walls.