It felt their arrogant steps long before they came into view of the mouth of the cave, dark and low, blending into the uncertain terrain of the Midgewater Marsh. It felt their approach silently, curious as to their goals and already angered by their attitude. The pair did not think to be concerned that their passage through the Midgewater Marshes had been unmolested by any of the local goblin tribes. The Goblins and other beasts all knew well to stay well away from the cave and the secret paths that led to it, unless summoned.
As it stared at them, it whispered to itself in a croaking, rasping wheeze…”The witch…the witch has returned” and retreated below to watch, and wait…
Catalinna was about to ask her companion about her sister when she spotted the cave and she grinned. "Well... slap butter on my head and call me a biscuit... you did it. You found the cave after seein’ a map just the once…" She stepped forward and patted Rue on the head.
Ruevir grinned, not even swatting her hand off. "I -told- ye' I could find it. Have some faith."
Catalinna started to walk toward the cave without guidance now. "Faith... interestin' idea, hm?"
Ruevir shrugged, 'I don't got faith in much. But I got it in -me-.'
'Best person to place it in.' Cat grinned back at her friend and then shuddered, a wave of memory seeming to flow out of the dismal, moldering cave. This was it…this was definitely it. She felt the nodding inside her mind.
Catalinna stopped at the mouth of the cave. "Hm..." Her eyes narrowed for a moment and then she looked over to Rue. "Are you SURE that you wish to go inside?"
Ruevir 's gaze turned towards Cat, brows raised faintly. "Why wouldn't I?"
Cat looked away, her expression hidden by the gloom, 'I came here because I heard rumors of this place... Sometimes dark things lurk in the depths.'
Ruevir 's brows furrowed and her hand drifted to her pendant, holding it tightly. "...Like wha' rumors?"
Catalinna glanced over toward Rue's pendant. Her voice took on a strange tone, brighter, yet more solemn then the woman usually sounded…a scholar’s voice. "Things that even that could not protect you from." She leaned back into the light of the moon and flashed a wicked grin. "But.. if you want…..I can take that other pendant you are carrying and go in ta take care of matters."
Ruevir suddenly appeared quite anxious. Wordlessly, her hand drifted into her pocket to secure the newly aquired black jade pendant, pulling it out to offer towards Cat. The woman’s own jade green eyes kept to the black depths of the cave, attempting to pry within.
Catalinna holds her hand out for the pendant and her eyes narrow as she studies Rue very carefully. "I might be a while.. there is something else that I seek. You will be alright out here on your own?"
Ruevir's jaw tensed, and the woman shook her head then, seeming more and more anxious about the matter. "...I ain't waiting out here alone. I'll go in. It can't be nothin' -that- bad." She muttered to herself.
Catalinna's brow rose in amusement and she chuckled to herself as she walked into the darkness. "It all depends on how you define 'bad'." She chuckled even more as she disappeared from sight for the moment
Ruevir scurried behind, looking for her friend while Catalinna made some low 'wooing' sounds with her mouth as she searched along the wall. She remembered it was along here somewhere.
Ruevir's brows furrowed, and she muttered out harshly, yet as quietly as possible. "What are ye' -doing-?" She remained frozen in place towards the far wall, not wanting to plunge too far into the dark.
'Speakin' to the spirits... What else?' Catalinna tried not to laugh as she continued to search.
Ruevir frowned, 'Hilarious.'
'The voices think I am.' Cat grinned to herself. The only noises that could be heard were the sounds that Cat was making, both ghostly and from rummaging around, and there was also a distant, maddening dripping.
Ruevir kept one hand upon her pendant, the other upon the hilt of her axe, shivering in the musty cold of the darkness. She made no comment, only noting that Cat's voice went a step further away every moment. "...I could have brought my lantern..."
Cat’s voice drifted back to her again from the gloom, 'That might have been helpful, but I know there's a torch around here somewhere...'
Finally, Cat heard Sansanga’s soft voice in the back of her mind. “Ahhh…here it is, just where I left it dear…” and light flared as Cat uses her tinderbox to ignite a crude torch that appeared as though it had been on the ground for quite some time. She turned toward Rue and grinned. The light was a harsh contrast to the darkness and bounced off the cave walls to illuminate most of the place. It appeared to have been inhabited at various points in time, perhaps by goblins, or brigands, or worse,,,perhaps even landlocked corsairs…but any occupants seemed to have long ago moved on. Thick spider webs dangled from the broken, mismatched furniture and what was probably dirt almost completely covered a moldy bedroll on the cave floor. In the distance they could hear a steady dripping sound like a moist heartbeat.
Ruevir immediately darted towards Cat as the light burst to life, though there was the quick realization that the illuminated cave was no better than it was in the dark. Nonetheless, she kept close to the other woman, her only beacon of safety. "I think tha' coming here wit' you is payment enough fer havin’ that black jade trinket made..."
Catalinna chuckled and held the torch out toward the back of the cave to look around. "Is that so? And how are you aiding me here?" She began to move away and toward that dripping sound.
Ruevir scurried right beside her, knuckles turning white from her grips upon the pendant and axe hilt. "I'm..Protectin' ye', obviously."
“Ah, I didn't recognize the new “shivering” technique.. I don't guess that I have been trained in that.' Catalinna grinned over her shoulder and continued to move forward
Ruevir scowled, 'I'm jus' cold!' She tried to stop shivering, but she could not shake the feeling that something was watching them from the edge of the wet, humid darkness.
As they neared what looked to be the back of the cave, they noticed that a small pool of water had collected underneath a dripping stalactite. The water seemed to shimmer and ran along the border of the cave wall. "Mmhmm." She replied as she switched the torch to the other hand and motioned Rue forward with her left. "You might be afraid of water, but... water symbolizes a source of purity. Dip the pendant here."
Ruevir hesitated, not responding immediately. But her hands reacted before she could process her own thoughts, slowly tugging her pendant from her neck and over her head. Her gaze remained upon the pool, reflecting the flickering lights of the torch upon the surface a strange kaleidoscope of white and silver. "...I'm not afraid of it. I jus' know I can't challenge it." Rue murmured, shifting down to her knees. "What does dipping it do?..." But as she questioned, she shifted the pendant down, letting it carefully pierce the water and sink partially below the surface.
Catalinna's eyes gleamed as she held the torch steady and watched Rue. "If the stories are to be believed... this water is blessed... enchanted some might say, by an ancient holy woman." She pointed with her finger and let it follow the path of the water. Her voice took on a soft, mysterious quality. "It is said to be a ward or a boundary that the evil within can't cross."
Ruevir's eyes drifted up, following her pointing finger down the water in heavy thought. "...What happens when something evil tries ta' pass?" She questioned, uncertainly. She brought the pendant up now, a shudder running down her spine.
Catalinna stepped forward and slapped her free hand wetly against the wall. "It stops them just as this stone would keep me from getting to the other side. I guess you could think of it as a shield to keep you from harm."
Ruevir nodded slowly, bringing the pendant up over her head again, settling it back around herself. "...What makes somethin' 'evil' enough?" She questioned now, her hand drifting towards the water, hovering above it as if to dip her own hand.
Catalinna glanced back for a moment and hummed thoughtfully for a moment. When she spoke, her voice had that scholarly sing-song again. "From the tales I have been told... warding magic is usually very specific and is cast with the intention of targeting certain 'evils'...the strongest wards are by nature the most specific. If you are to believe that such evils exist of course..." As she speaks, she wandered around as though searching for something. "However, there are certain powerful warding spells that can cast a circle of primal light, a light so pure and ancient we cannot even see it properly. Shadow and its servants cannot exist in an area of such pure light."
Ruevir 's brows drew into a heavy furrow. She didn't reply for a longer stretch of time, finally speaking out in a rather uncertain tone. "How do ye' know all of this, Cat?"
Cat caught herself as she heard Sansanga’s voice in her mind. “Hist child, don’t scare the poor lassie…you have said too much as it is.” Cat turned to Rue, her voice taking on her familiar drawl again. 'I like listening to people over their cups. some of them have very interestin' stories when they are buyin’ me drinks.'
Ruevir said nothing to this, seeming to be digesting all of it still, one hand still upon the pendant, chilled by the cold water.
Catalinna finally seemed to find what she had been searching for in the crevice of a large rock. A light click was heard as she pulled an ancient hidden lever and the entire back wall of the cave rumbles and begins to slide open with the rasp of arcane machinery, the channel of gleaming water now making a tiny moat blocking the extended tunnel off from the surface. Cat quickly dipped the other pendant in the water and handed it back.
Ruevir blinked as the wall began to move, the woman quickly taking a step back. She'd only reach out to snatch the pendant back, placing it into her pocket. "...And ye' know that is there 'cause of tha' stories, too?" She huffed, seeming unnerved by the hidden passage.
A hideous scent of sulfur and decay wafted up from the exposed dark tunnel. It seemed to be roughly hewn and there were steps leading down. "Nah... the spirits I was speakin' to told me." Cat winked as the voice within her whispered. “Careful…if she panics, she could find herself in quite a pickle…god knows I did.”
Ruevir peered anxiously past her, as far as the light could shine, at the least. "What do ye' need that's in here?" She questioned her, sounding more uncertain now. The spirits comment, which she took as jest, didn't seem to help.
Catalinna started to step one foot over the water and looked back at Rue. "Unless a relic hunter has believed the tales and somehow found this place, there should be a nice little treasure down there. One that I wish to get my hands on."
Ruevir's eyes drifted down to the water, as Cat passed over it. "...I-...Don't know if I can pass." Rue admitted now, her lips thinning in consideration.
Catalinna stepped her other foot over and stood on the other side as she looked back at Rue. "There's only one way to find out, hm? And maybe this will even answer some of the questions that you have about yourself." Her eyes gleamed once more as she waited to see if Rue will take the leap of faith.
Ruevir took in a heavy breath, and after a moment, made to follow after Cat. She teased one foot forward...And it crossed, landing on the other side. She released a heavy breath she wasn't aware she had been holding, the second foot following over. Rue appeared...Confused, unsettled even, at her passage. But she said nothing.
Catalinna patted Rue on the head after she crossed and turned to walk down the blunt, brutal steps that seemed to descend into the very heart of the earth. Along the uneven path, they were soon stepping over corpses, most of them looking to be goblin and all of them missing their skulls. As they walked through the narrowing tunnel, it finally opened up into a large chamber deep beneath the marsh. The air was warm and foul and crude drawings on the walls seemed to be goblin make, all showing figures bowing down to honor what looked to be a being with no head. In the middle of the chamber was an altar surrounded by nothing but piles of skulls…hundreds of them, of all varieties.
Ruevir followed Cat down, making no comment of the corpses. Taking it in, not bothered by the gore, but certainly finding it all quite unexpected. Once they came upon the drawings her brows drew together. When the pile of skulls came into view. -This- brought Rue to a stop, staring at the altar, open-mouthed, in growing existential panic. "...What?" She questioned having difficulty processing how such a thing came to be in a cave in the Midgewater Marshes.
Cat gestured for Rue to move slowly and silently and they crept closer to the altar. It seemed out of place in the rough chamber, crafted of some kind of gleaming black stone, with delicate, alien lines and sturdy construction. Despite the filth around it, the stone was still polished to a gleaming, disturbing sheen, almost blacker then the darkness at the edges of the chamber and perfectly clean. In the torchlight, the very stone seemed to pulse. The top of the altar was decorated with a single perfect circle, without beginning or end, carved deep into the stone by an expert’s hand. The skulls around it each too had a single circle carved in the middle of the forehead. Placed in a position of honor on the top of the altar, at the center of the circle, was a skull that looked to be very human-like and encircled around it was what looked to be a pendant of some type
Catalinna paused and frowned as she saw the skull at the top. She seemed to tremble for a moment, as if walking over her own grave, then after taking in a deep breath she began to move toward it.
Ruevir remained exactly where she was, even as it cast her into darkness while Cat bore the torch forward. "...What is this? -Cat-?" Rue hissed out, her nerves thoroughly shot by the display. "Who did this?"
As Rue asked the question, a cough could be heard on the floor to her right. Lying in a pool of his own blood, an aged goblin was near death. His eyes watched as Cat moved forward with purpose to take the pendant. "No," the goblin choked out with his dying breath. "Not disturb his final pious gift to Nerquo.."
Ruevir startled at the voice, her gaze turning to the right, staring down at the pathetic dying creature. Her first instinct was to flee, but...It was hardly a threat in its state. "...Nerquo," she echoed the creature, gaze turning to watch as Cat moved up towards the skulls ignoring the old goblin. Rue was somehow not compelled to move away from the goblin, instead, keeping it some form of company as it moved closer to death.
Catalinna almost growled as she sees the state of the pendant and stared around her as though looking for something more. She called back to Rue, "Don't touch him...don't get any closer…and for god sake don’t say that name again."
Ruevir called back, remaining exactly where she was. "I ain't plannin' on doing any of those," she easily responded, not about to challenge Cat's words. She kept the corner of her gaze upon the goblin still.
The goblin convulsed and died, and for a moment the room remained silent as the tomb that it was. Then, the circle carved into the black stone alter began to glow with an unhealthy green fire and with a cracking sound, the old goblin’s neck break as if made of balsa wood and his head rolled slightly away from his body, eyes still open in death. With the sound of tearing leather, a horizontal slit slowly appear along the bare chest of his body and as Rue and Cat watched, slowly split wide to reveal razor sharp teeth.
The two stared in horrified silence until with the sudden, deft motions of a master thief Cat pocketing the part of the amulet she had found, grabbed the human skull and turned to make a quick exit. "Welp.. got what I came for.. time to go." She flashed Rue a quick grin as she darted past.
Ruevir deadpanned, her entire gaze focused upon the dead, now maimed goblin. "...What..." She mumbled, frozen in place as she watched the display, mesmerized by it. "How is it...?"
Catalinna turned back and grabbed Rue by the arm to drag her along. "And THAT is what that water protects against my girl... Now come on…"
Ruevir's breath caught as gazed upon the creature as long as she could before she allowed herself to stumble along with Cat. "Somethin' was -cutting- it!"
'Yup!' Catalinna didn’t let go of Rue until she had her back across the water and then she pulled the lever to close the wall
Ruevir staggered forward, stepping far away from the wall, turning to watch as the door shut, staring in awe. "...It's head..." She murmured, still seeming caught by what she witnessed.
Catalinna watched the wall carefully for a moment, her eyes flitting to the water from time to time as if herself uncertain. In her mind, Sansanga’s soothing voice whispered. “Don’t be such a worry wart….”
Ruevir lingered, still mesmerized by the images in her mind of the goblin. Her eyes shifted to the back of Cat's head, watching her. "...What did ye' grab from in there, anyway?"
Catalinna still had the human skull in her left hand and held that up as Rue asked the question; in the center of the forehead there would be a perfect circle carved into the bone. In her mind, Sansanga contemplated the circle. “Bah..I feel so desecrated…”
Ruevir frowned. " What's so valuable about a -skull-, though?"
Catalinna grinned and turned her body toward Rue a bit more. "Value is placed on objects by the ones desirin' them, hm? Sometimes people don't know that they really want somethin' until they're told." She winked.
Ruevir scoffed lightly, shaking her head, seeming unconvinced. "For'a skull, though? There are cheap ways of gettin' ahold of skulls," she murmured.
Catalinna nodded and turned to walk toward the decaying remains of the table. As the torch was brought closer to it, moldering bits if books and parchment could be seen along with broken chests of strange design. "That may be so, but... more risks often equals more rewards." She flashed a reassuring grin back over her shoulder.
Ruevir followed along, shaking her head in some disbelief. A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "...Ye' went through all of this effort for a -skull-, Cat? Tha' 'might' be worth something? Yer not this stupid."
Catalinna chuckled as she searched through the remains around the table. "I was curious if the tales were true... sometimes satisfying that curiosity is worth the effort, hm?" In her mind, Sansanga huffed proudly. “Are you inferring that you DOUBTED me, my dear? I ought to remember where I died, shouldn’t I?”
Ruevir 's eyes narrowed, and she followed close, attempting to peer over Cat's shoulder. "Maybe. Are ye' satisfied?"
Catalinna didn’t seem to mind how close Rue was stalking her, but the corners of her lips do twich downward at the question. "Hm... somewhat." The clanking of old bottles was heard as she moved things around in the muck, but she doesn't seem to find anything worth taking.
Ruevir lingered closely still as she watched Cat's snooping. Her eyes kept narrowed at the reply. "Why somewhat?"
Catalinna sighed as she didn’t seem to find what she was looking for in then stood to turn and face Rue again. "Because there's somethin' missing... She…I mean, the tales described the treasure and it wasn't there..."
Ruevir 's gaze flickered to the skull again, watching it. "What sorta treasure?"
Catalinna held the skull up for Rue to examine again. "Tell me.. what do you gather from this, hm?"
Ruevir 's head tilted. Her gaze followed it, silent for a stretch of moments as she considered it. "...Someone held in revere," she answered finally. "Tha' goblin said a name when ye' went for it."
Catalinna nodded, but her eyes narrowed slightly when the goblin's words were brought back up. "Nerquo... But, nah.. that wasn't this one's name; her name was Sansanga."
Ruevir reached out again, attempting to just touch the skull, if nothing else. "Sansanga," Rue repeated in a murmur. "Who was she? An' who is Nerquo, then?"
Catalinna looked at Rue closely as Sansanga spoke in her mind. “This will not do, not do at all. I feared this might happen.…she should not know that name, either of them really, or this place…weave a tale for her, a tale of terror much as one would tell a naughty child at bedtime. Dissuade her if you value her life, dear.”
And so, with Sansanga aiding her, Catalinna told a tale of horror, of a beautiful maiden named Sansanga and the obsessed sorcerer who sought to steal her virtue and her hand named Nerquo, and the tragic, horrific, gooey fate that befell her at the hand of Nerquo’s flesh eating worms the size of large dogs.
Ruevir 's eyes widened. "...Is tha' what happened to the goblin? The worms?"
Cat nodded mysteriously, 'Looked like it, hm?'
Ruevir shuddered, 'An' they would've gone for us, next?'
'If we hadn't gotten over the water... yeah.' Carefully placing the partial amulet and the skull in her bag, Cat prepared to go.
Ruevir smacked her in the arm, 'Why didn't ye' -warn- me beforehand!?' she huffed.
'Because it was just a story until we knew it wasn't, hm?' Catalinna winked as Sansanga praised her in the back of her mind. “Well done, the flesh eating worms is a lovely flourish…and not all that far from the truth.”
Ruevir scowled, '-Still-! A 'there -might- be flesh-eatin' crazy worms woulda' been a good heads up!'
Cat froze, her features locked in sudden fear, 'Ey.. guess what...'
'What?..What???' Ruevir looked around in a near panic.
Catalinna pointed toward the back cave wall. "There might be flesh-eatin' worms down there." 'Better?'
Ruevir deadpanned after a long, long silence. "...I ain't takin' you no-where again."
Catalinna chuckled. "Aw... You didn't have fun?"
Ruevir frowned, 'I mean-...sure, but yer an ARSE!'
Cat smirked, making her way back up into the Marsh, 'You mispronounced 'adorable''
Ruevir stomped, 'I'm never callin' you adorable!'
“That's alright.. I know you think it. Now.. how about some drinks, hm?' Catalinna continued out the exit
Ruevir pouted. "I ain't -thinking- it, either," she grumbled. "...But aye. I need a few drinks after this." She sighed and followed Cat out into the comparative safety and comfort of the fetid marsh.
--
It watched them start back across the waste and turned in a sort of resignation, moving with shocking speed back down into the depths. One twisted, misshapen hand reached out, tentacles wrapped around the lever and drawing it down to open the door. Stepping lightly over the water, it continued down, gently picking up the recently dead goblin’s skull and placing it lovingly upon the altar.
The witch and her servant would return…it knew this…but it would be ready.
Nerquo slowly melted back into the darkness, moving deeper and deeper into the earth.
Nerquo would be ready….and the Guild of the Unexpected would rule the surface once again.
