Of Getting Lost & Yetis [Take 2] [Wicked Basket]

[Ethereal-Star]

Adelaide didn't comment on this, just merely got up and started for the door. "Let's go find our stuff." She was quite anxious to get her things back, and no doubt Cryce was too. Plus the room they were in was becoming quite stifling to be in, and not because of the temperature.

Adelaide longed to be out amidst the tundra again, free among all the whiteness there and all the serenity it offered. Once they got their belongings, Adelaide would be gone from this place, as she never wanted to return to this cavern complex ever again.

[Wicked Basket]

"Perhaps we should have asked him where it was before we killed him," Cryce commented before leaving the room.

He had no idea where he put their things, but searching this place would take quite some time. There was no telling how large this complex truly was.

[Ethereal-Star]

Walking along the corridors, Adelaide's head began hammering a fierce rhythm again, in tune to each second that passed by. Black spots danced along the edges of her vision, but the ice mage struggled to remain conscious and not black out again. Even though the danger had passed, there was no telling what else could be lurking here in these tunnels and stone chambers.

Conjuring more ice, she put that on her throbbing temple and nearly sighed in relief as the coldness of it soothed her tormented head. Looking around, she tried to figure out where the crazy wannabe may have put their belongings. Perhaps it was nearer to the place where they had first entered. So with that, Adelaide began to head back that way, well, that is where she figured it to be. Being dumped into an earthy hole in the ground and all the chaos that had ensued afterwards, there was no telling whether they could be headed in the right direction or not. They could just as easily be going the opposite way. That is, if their stuff was indeed where she guessed it to be.

Stumbling more than a few times over some rock and dirt piles, Adelaide gripped the wall next to her to try and regain her sense of balance before continuing on. It was going to make for some slow maneuvering for sure.

[Wicked Basket]

Since Adelaide seemed to know where she was going, or at the very least made it look that way, Cryce followed her. That bump on her head really seemed to be bothering her, but he figured a broken arm was a bit more serious than a mere bump. She could at least use both of her arms. Once they finally got out of there he was going to head straight home, or at least what used to be his home.

[Ethereal-Star]

Finally they made it to the entrance hall where the two of them had first arrived. And was it ever a sight to see. The ice elementals which once covered every inch of the place were now nothing more than shattered piles of icy shards. The temperature was also much warmer now. Adelaide couldn't wait to get out of here.

Seeing a metal-clad door with a heavy lock on it, she made to head over there, still holding her head in the process. Perhaps this was where their stuff was. And she definitely hoped it was, as a scavenger hunt was not on her list of things to do here.

Trying the door, Adelaide discovered it was indeed locked. Figures. she thought irritably. Looking at Cryce now, she had little doubt he'd soon blast the door open to see what lay inside. She stepped out of the way so he could do that very thing.

[Wicked Basket]

Cryce simply employed that same trick that he has used many times now. He filled the lock with ice and expanded it until it broke, granting them access. He took a look around the room. Who knew that this guy was such a pack rat?

[Ethereal-Star]

There was no doubt about that. There was stuff everywhere they looked, whether it be books piled in corners, to bookcases stuffed with them, scrolls scattered here and there, paintings on the walls and other junk all placed here and there about the room. While some seemed to have an obvious placement, other things were just simply there to take up space. A four poster bed was also positioned in one corner too, near yet another painting and a dresser which contained some items on top of it, but nothing of real interest.

Two things however, caught her attention. A seeing orb on a large table, only partially covered up by a thick piece of cloth but not enough to hide what it was. The other thing was a huge wooden chest in the opposite corner, sealed with a lion's head lock. Immediately she headed over there, as there wasn't any sign of Adelaide's rod and pack anywhere else, nor Cryce's staff. If it was anywhere in here, it had to be in that chest. Failing that, Adelaide wasn't sure where else they could look.

Once again, she let Cryce break the lock as her head hurt way too much to attempt to use her magic now. Our stuff better be in there... she thought sourly.

[Wicked Basket]

Taking the hint, Cryce stepped forward and broke the lock off of the chest. He would let Adelaide check it though, he wanted to see what all was in this room. Perhaps there was something interesting that he wouldn't mind taking along. Surely Entreris wouldn't mind.

[Ethereal-Star]

Once the chest was open, Adelaide immediately leaned over to check its contents. Amidst some more vile ingredients, although not nearly as many as there had been in the storage room itself, there lay nestled amongst some soft fabrics and leathers, was her bag and ice rod.

Quickly, the ice mage reclaimed her stuff and checked the inside of her bag too. While the torch had been put back inside, there was no sign of the magic scroll she had acquired. Entreris no doubt had decided to put it away for safekeeping and if she couldn't find it in this room, she would have to forget about it. Her actual things were far more important to her. Crcye's staff also lay at the bottom but she didn't touch it. Adelaide would let Cryce grab it when he was ready.

Among the many scrolls just scattered haphazardly about the bed chamber, no doubt having been the evil man's bedroom, there were plenty of scrolls, many of them quite magical. Only a few of them were of icy nature, but none were of the ice dragon summoning scroll from before. Adelaide sighed in resignation, but was happy enough to pick up a few scrolls of interest, namely mana regeneration scrolls and summoning small, albeit weak ice elementals.

Stuffing those into her bag, she looked over at her companion as he too searched all the treasures of the once 'great', "Entreris the White." More like 'Entreris the Mad', she thought, her lip curling in disgust. Indeed the man hadn't been entirely all there in the head. There was no doubt about that. For all his intelligence and guile, he still lacked a sane mind, and that was what did him in in the end. And he completely deserved every last bit of pain too that they put him through.

Going over to the divination orb, Adelaide lifted the cloth and peered at the glass ball. Perhaps she could take it to the guild she belonged to, as some of the members there might have need of it, despite being solely a guild focused on elemental magics. And if not, it would serve as more than adequate guild dues, being a magical item and all. She stuffed that into her bag too, the base, cloth and all. None of the books present were of any interest or concern to her, yet she also bagged a couple as well for the guild, seeing as her bag could only hold so much. The books were of magical theory and the history of magic in general, also useful as ample guild payment. Now Adelaide was ready to move on, yet she waited for her companion to finish his search, although impatiently.

[Wicked Basket]

Cryce took his time with his search. With that bastard finally dead he had all the time in the world. There wasn't much that interested him. His only concern was ice magic, and three wasn't all that much of it here. He dug deeper and deeper into the pile to see if he could find a diamond in the rough of sorts.

[Ethereal-Star]

There was something that Adelaide had missed. Underneath a pile of books, inside a metal container could be found a pair of gauntlets. But not just any gauntlets, these were magical and of the icy magic variety. Pressing a small patch of metal near the edge of each one made multiple icy blades of coldness pop up from a hidden crevice, the sharp spikes themselves were clearly enchanted with the powers of frost and winter. They were the right size for a man, and could also fit a woman too, that is if she was the big and muscular kind. Which Adelaide was not, so they clearly wouldn't fit her. The gauntlets were excellent at providing that extra edge in any combat situation, especially if one could fight unarmed.

Adelaide stood off to the side, just watching as she hefted her ice rod in hand, checking it over for damage. There was none though and she sighed in relief at this. Sitting down in a corner, she touched her head again, the bump still there ugly and purple as ever, but the swelling had gone down a tad which she was grateful for. She continued to nurse it with conjured ice while waiting for Cryce to finish his search.

[Wicked Basket]

There was a twinkle in Cryce's eye when he found the gauntlets. He picked up the container and examined them, looking at their condition and experimenting with the blades.

"This trip just became slightly more worthwhile," he announced bringing the gauntlets to Adelaide so she could see them.

[Ethereal-Star]

Taking a look at what Cryce was showing her, Adelaide also showed interest. Examining the gauntlets further, she frowned as she realized these probably wouldn't fit her. "I suppose those are yours then." she stated, while getting up to see what else she may have missed. Although she wasn't sure what else she could fit into her pack, as the thing was pretty stuffed as it was.

Still, the white-haired woman didn't let that stop her and with a more keen eye, scrutinized every last thing around the room that she could see.

[Wicked Basket]

Cryce closed the metal box and then rifled through the chest that he had opened earlier. Sure enough, his staff was at the bottom. With his staff back in his possession, these gauntlets, and Entreris dead, Cryce was now satisfied with this small detour. He tucked the box under his arm and took up his staff. Adelaide seemed to have suddenly regained an interest in the pile of junk after his find, but he didn't blame her. He would wait until she was ready to leave. He was content with what he had.

[Ethereal-Star]

Searching around some more yielded no further finds, so Adelaide stood back up, clutching her rod implement tightly in hand, knapsack on her back. She nodded to Cryce then. "Let's get out of here."

It was high time this nightmare ended. Adelaide couldn't be more glad.

[Wicked Basket]

Cryce nodded and walked out of the room and into the hallway before stopping.

"Which way is out of here," he asked.

[Ethereal-Star]

Looking around, Adelaide spotted the gates which were still wide open. She wondered why Entreris hadn't bothered to close them, but then quickly decided she didn't care. The man was dead and none of her concern anymore. It was also much darker in here without all the orb lights floating around so Adelaide got out her torch, and struck it against some tinder she had in her bag that was inside a small metal box. Light flared up once more, enabling them to see much more clearly.

Now it was simply a matter of following the path they had first taken to get here. With torch in hand, it should be relatively easy now. She indicated her head towards the gates. "That way." And started walking over there.

[Wicked Basket]

Cryce followed behind Adelaide. He couldn't wait to get out of here. He would finally be able to visit his home and then maybe try to find out what other secrets these gauntlets were hiding. Of course, with a broken arm he could really only use one. He would have plenty of time to find out how exactly they worked while his arm healed.

[Ethereal-Star]

Following the path before them, Adelaide along with Cryce, made their way out of the large cavern complex. Whether or not these series of caverns met up with any other caves and tunnels elsewhere in the tundra was unknown, and also unimportant as it was to just simply escape from there. The torchlight bounced upon the stone walls as the two continued their hurried trek.

Finally, there ahead shone light as the rays of the sun began to glimmer towards them, the start of another day had begun. Breathing a sigh of relief, Adelaide quickened her steps that much faster, more than eager to get out of here and get to the village of Hyoite. She needed to restock up on supplies, namely food rations for the most part. After that, she would head on through one of the many entrances to The Meeting Place, in order to get to the guild in Darken Vei from there onward.

Her bag reminded her as to just how heavy it was as she maneuvered her way to the outside, having to yet again readjust the straps on it and shift the pack across her back. Whether or not Adelaide would ever see Cryce again after this was of little concern to the female ice mage, as she did not make a habit of getting close to anyone. The exit loomed in front of them, ever tantalizingly so as they got closer and closer...

[Wicked Basket]

Cryce fought the urge to run to the exit as soon as it came into view. It was all over. It was finally over. Entreris was dead, they were out of that cavern, and they could both continue on with their respective lives. As for Adelaide, he would perhaps never see her again once they parted ways, but he made a habit of not forming attachments. He wasn't even sure if she qualified as a friend, but the point was that they were finally out of that mess and with they didn't leave empty-handed either.