[pnpgm] Update #105, File 779 - Raddok

[Bessie Hadley]

As he hands the healing knife back to Kiet, Raddok feels a slight stretching pain around his shoulder blade on his back, & figures that his wound is still a bit raw, although it certainly was greatly improved, and he had no trouble rearranging his pack on his back again for travel, or carrying his shield and mace, ready for use. As he shifts a shoulder strap to place a small pad over the sore area under his tunic, he is suddenly aware of some gusty breezes and Kiet faintly murmuring near him. He looks over, realizes Kiet is casting a spell, and carrying the arrows Kiet had handed to him, he backs carefully away, so as not to disturb the magician, and looks around for Arawn. He heads over to the elf, and hands over the arrows, explaining where Kiet got them from, and wonders where Barbosa is. He suddenly remembers the talk, and feels embarrassed - of course, Barbosa was not life-size as a stone, but small enough to easily carry! He blushes silently in the dark and moves off after Dorhak, who is calling quietly, but urgently, to everyone to get moving after the folk who took the book. 

As they begin to move off into the dark night, Raddok takes up a position about halfway back in the rather loosely-clustered group, feeling his way carefully. He was used to mountain terrain, which was steeper & often of bare rock, and slippery underfoot. This slope was much gentler, and there was grass underfoot at times, and lots of scattered shrubbery and trees at intervals. There was mud here and there, following the rain, however, so he was careful not to slip on the unfamiliar ground. 

After 15 minutes or so, there was a very faint murmuring & signaling from the leaders - evidently, there was something ahead, and Raddok became aware of a faint light through the night-darkened bushes ahead. He realized he could see a long slope heading off to the left, but there was a sense of a rocky mass, maybe a cliff rising on their right, and there seemed to be a light coming from near its base - firelight. Raddok's attention is caught, and he listens carefully for any noises coming from the surrounding area or the cave itself.

[OOC: How much can Raddok tell (with his miner's background), in the dark, about how natural or worked the cave entrance is? It makes a difference to any advice he might have to offer - for example how big the cave might be, if horses are there, what the ground, or kind of stone, outside indicates about what might be inside (wagon ruts, hoofmarks, etc of draft animals, signs of cleared land for storage, shipping areas, etc; is there any sign of it being worked as a mine or a shelter, or is it a hidden spot used only for shelter or to hide?)]


Bess L. Hadley