Chapter 1: Sellendelline's Secret

Following Talon out into the rain, Theorid scans about likewise.

(Perception 20.)

Talon- The ground is turning into a sort of muddy goo in the rain. Later, it will dry into a sort of grey clay, which will be covered by fresh falls of ash. There are some tracks. They're very indistinct, but they're there. They lead away from the door and into the rain, but beyond that it's hard to say where they go, as your visibility is very limited.

Theorid- You see Pharra's back vanish into the darkness. You're only vaguely aware of the walls of the pit as darker areas around you, but the devil seems to be moving with purpose.

Talons crouches low and attempts to follow the tracks, keeping and eye on Pharra too.

Talon- As you follow the tracks you loose track of where you are. Pharra has well and truley vanished. The wind is buffeting you about, but you can just about see the tracks at your feet.

She calls out, not really expecting a reply, and decides to carry on a little further.

Talon- You can now see nothining and hear nothing but the rain, wind and ash. The tracks seem to vanish in a big smear here, as though she has fallen over.

"So, we having fun yet?" Fynn attempts to pick his ass back up, and squelch off towards where the group is looking.

Fynn- Oh god. That just feels wrong You've gone all stretchy and all you've accomplished is making yourself jiggle in a particularly revolting way. Your insides do not thank you.

Pharra call out: "This way! She's run of this way!" His voice isn't too loud over the storm, but it sounds like he's bellowing as loud as he can.

"Coming!" Theo calls to Pharra, likewise as loud as he can, and looks to Fynn, unable to keep from wincing at the sight of the kobold, looking around cautiously.

"Talon!?" He yells, realising he's lost sight of her, shielding his eyes from the ashen rains. "Talon!" He grimaces, looking in the approximate direction of Pharra's voice, and makes a decision.

Heading over to Fynn, he does his best to pick the elasticated kobold up since he seems unable to walk under his own power, and starts after Pharra, continuing to call after Talon.

Fynn- You seem to be getting a little less stretchy now maybe. Perhaps you're setting. Either way, your whole body is aching a little as the numbing effect wears off. He carries you to Pharra, who is looking at the ground.

Theorid- You can lift him. He sags down almost to the ground and his flesh moulds to the shape of your fingers. You walk a little way to where Pharra is standing, examining a trail of running footprints that comes toward you and curves away. They are filled with grey water and will not last long.

Talon- You hear Theorid yelling for you off to your left and then somewhere ahead.

Talon runs back toward Theorid's voice and makes a little squeak of shock and disgust at the gelatinous Fynn sliding from his hands.

With a sucking noise, the saggy meat around Fynn's left leg tightens and retracts, pulling the leg almost out of sight behind his hanging belly. His eyes open wide in shock as it happens, which causes his remaining eye to dangle out of its socket. All this ash blowing around cannot be good for those eyes.

Fynn- Ow.

Pharra looks at Fynn in a sort of worried way and shakes his head. "Reminds me of something they did to people back home. Used to be funny, but now... Anyway, we're going to have to carry you. These tracks won't last long and we have to get to Secret before she falls in a hole or gets buried or something. I'll help. Lets go." He takes some of Fynn's weight.

(This is a skill challenge. You have to find secret before it's too late. You do this by using any skill you can think of to help in the effort and explaining how you're using it. You can all go in any order you like, just don't fail too many checks!)

Talon uses her Wild Senses once more to follow the tracks;

Perception: 17 + 13 = 30

Talon leads the group through the roaring darkness. The tracks don't follow a straight line until the reach what seems to be the slope leading up from the pit, where they start to follow the wall.

Fynn- Your legs are now tightening a lot. They still feel wrong, but maybe they'll work. Hopefully your ass will stay up now.

(ok, guys, somebody do something. you could try going all over the place for an extended period, relying on your toughness to see you through, systematically searching while calling her name and holding a light, looking for new tracks and probably several other things. Go.)

Theorid frowns, trying to think like Secret might, in an attempt to emulate her movements after reaching the wall and following the path.

(Insight: 8 + 14 = 22.)

Theorid leads the group on a seemingly senseless path through the muck, but eventually, you come across some churned up ground. Either secret trudged through here, or there's something else around too.

Fynn's stomach suddenly pulls itself inward with a sickening crack.

Fynn- Wow. That hurt. Doesn't seem to be an injury though. It might be back to normal, or something close. Probably you could walk now, although it might not be easy for such a little fellow in this worsening weather.

Fynn is perfectly happy to let himself continue to be carried as long as his chauffeur is willing. What, you're not going to leave the odd misshapen fellow out here on his own, would you? That's just cruel, and totally not something Fynn would do were the situation reversed.

Fynn- Your face feels all bad. Like it's crawling around.

Talon looks about warily, sniffing at the air. Her bear emits a low growl. 'Perhaps we should split up and search this area in a pattern of some kind. If no one has any magic, we'll have to do this the old fashioned way'.