Chapter 2c - Well, Well, Well

Chapter 2c – Well, Well, Well

After the enforced break and an assessment of their injuries, they decided to carry on.

Norm, Dexter & Leggyass - ready to go

The two fighters who'd stared death in the eye felt up for it, so no one else felt they could back out.

Their target was in the next room, so they didn't have far to travel.

And so, in a slightly rearranged order to protect the injured, they went into the statue room

Now a bit more cagey, they edged forward up the room to finish at a pair of statues in the south-east corner.

“Here we go” said Jade “our destination

Two statues, on short plinths, set against the wall. Both statues had their hands reaching out in frot of them, in a show of openness. A gap between them looked inviting.

“St A'Silvdh and his wife” said Jade “saviours of the wartorn poor”

“According to our map, I'll press on one of these statues hands and I'll need someone to press down on the other” she said, moving over to the far away one.

Just then, however, they heard a call from some aways back in the dungeon

“Hullo” called out a voice in the common human tongue, but with a Dwarf Accent.

“Yes?” said Thrilly, Sir Baltimore falling in behind him, ready to support him.

“Er.. we're lost” said the Dwarves “came in here earlier and we're struggling to find our way out”

Jade chuckled to herself, clutching her map in close.

“Well that happens” said Thrilly, noticeably less tense than he had been. Chopping Goblins was one thing, but his own kinfolk? A bit hard to take.

“ head on out that way in a straight line. Watch out for the Goblins”

“Thanks” said the Dwarves “We'll be ready”

“ready?” she said,, when she got into position.

But they weren't.

Volunteers were a bit in short supply.

“oh come on, don't let a bit of goblin aggression put you off” she said

“Right, Sir Baltimore” she teased “you're brave. Hands over that statue's hands and when I say so, press down”

Sir Baltimore - Brave

“Well, OK” said the recently traumatised fighter.

When Jade said “Three, two, one...go” and she pushed down, he pushed down too and although he felt nothing, a door between the two statues appeared in the wall.

“Ha” said Jade “Lets do it”

And she pushed ahead with her probing stick, leading the way into the now apparent corridor.

The rest of them were a bit less enthusiastic but they fell in behind anyway.

A short way up ahead, the corridor widened into a room.

In the room a square-sided well stood in the middle, a windlass straddling the top, the handle and rope still intact.

It looked old but it didn't look useless. But neither did it look used.

“Ah! This is the well we're looking for” said Jade and she took off her backpack and brought out her coil of rope.

“We''lll need this”

“I've got one as well”

“Yup, me too”she

Most of them had prepared for this climb down the well.

They could hear running water from the bottom of the well.

“must be a stream” said Norm, the spellcaster.

Jade threw a pebble down the well and listened, counting “One pussycat,, two pussycat...”

Sploosh.

“Maybe 60 feet down?”

Everyone nodded sagely, as if they were born to this sort of thing.

Planning was simple – Jade would go down on two joined ropes. Two more ropes would provide a safety line. They'd checked out the existing rope, but it didn't look in very good nick and no one seemed to trust it.

The heavier, stronger fighting types would provide the muscle for pulling the ropes lowering the lighter Jade up and down.

They knotted the ropes they needed and decided that they were ready to go.
Next - chapter-2d-unseasonable-wet