The search for ancient goblin burrial grounds had led to this hole in the ground.  What exactly it was Kaeda wasn't sure nor was he entirely sure what the map of sorts that he held in his grubby hands was made of.  Skin of some kind he was positive but of some creature or of something sentient? The grizzly thought put a slight smile upon his face.  Whatever the case he'd paid everything he had for it in addition to making promises he was sure he couldn't keep.  Couldn't was a strong phrase, wouldn't might be better.

He turned his gaze to study his companion in this endeavor almost twice his size and with those cursed what did they call them? Loud and obnoxious was what he called them.  Small objects delivering death at a distance he could appreciate that about them but not the horrendous noise.  He studied the youth for a moment more before calling out the obvious.

"Fire we need fire.  You promised you'd bring fire.  Where is it?"

Without waiting for an answer Kaeda leaned down to grab small handfulls of dirt smearing them on his body as he chanted.  The dirt on his body reacted to the chanting hardening into a lightweight armor.  Satisfied with his armor Kaeda searched for a weapon to take into the depths with him.  A rock of just the right size caught his attention and he grinned a ferral smile.  he gripped the rock in ond hand and began chanting watching it adjust to his will.  Within minutes he had formed a razor sharp dagger to go along with his armor.  Best to be prepared after all.

Lineak wasn't entirely sure why he had taken on a mission with this strange creature.  The creature wasn't the friendliest he'd ever come upon.  Maybe it was the way that he'd approached offering him a chance to investigate ancient ruins.  He'd done some of that in the past and amidst the mysteries of the ancients he had found a small amount of success in finding answers to his own more recent questions.  If the strange creature was offering a chance to possibly find more answers who was he to turn that down? 

The call for fire was a bit of an irritant but Lineak shoved the thought to the side, Kaeda was an irritant.  He'd bought a good supply of cumbustable items to take with them into the depths and fashioned them into what resembled torches.  They would have to do.  The only thing now was to go ahead and get one lit.  Flint and steel was the obvious choice although he could have done it the old fashioned way.  He didn't relish the thought of burning all of his energy reserves just to light a torch though.

He was searching through his pockets for the flint when Kaeda began rubbing dirt on himself the little cretin.  It was only after the earth changed forms that Lineak looked at the goblin with a small amount of respect.  It was still dirt.  Dirt armor was still dirt. He found the flint and began striking it with his knife igniting one of the torches.  The chanting from the goblin distracting him as he watched a rock transform into a dagger.  Nice trick but a rock is still a rock. He kept the thouht to himself as he watched the fire playing in the slight breeze.

"Told you I had it under control.  I'll lead the way."

Humans were so infurriating.  This young lanky one was disrespectfull at best how could he not show some measure of respect to his elders?  But if he wanted to lead the way Kaeda had no regrets about letting him so long as he watched where he put his fat feet.  The last thing he wanted was goblin bodies being trod over as though they were trash.  The very thought put Kaeda in an even worse mood.

With Lineak walking in front and the firelight dancing along the wall of the tunnel Kaeda began taking stock of the surroundings.  Here at the entrance there weren't any timbers to shore it up but the soil held a large number of large stones helping to support the tunnel.  The earth underfoot was eroded by water but that wasn't all.  It was obvious that the traffic, if ever there was any, in and out happened well before the erosion from the rain waters.  That made the tunnel old, real old.  That was promising.

The grumpy goblin was quiet for once not one to question his good fortune Lineak kept moving forwardd.  The tunnel kept a gradual decline before reaching a pit in the floor and a solid rock wall.  The pit looked as if it held a ladder but as Lineak reached out his hand to touch it he watched in horror as it disentrgrated.  Looked like a ladder was out of the question rope, he always carried rope.  He'd be able to lower the goblin down pretty easily but then what? The problem remained how did he get down?  The solution was an easy one of course he could turn to werewolf form and his claws would sink fairly easily into the earth but they just as easily could sink into Kaeda.  There had to be another way to look at it.

The beginings of a plan began forming in Lineak's mind.  It was going to be dirty and painfull but he'd manage.  All he had to do was lower himself and then press his back against one side of the shaft he'd use his arms and legs to apply pressure to keep him from falling to fast.  Problem solved he hoped. 

"I can lower you down with a rope and then come down after you.  Will be pretty straightforward and shouldn't take too long."

"You humans and your silly ideas.  Stand aside.  I said MOVE." 

Stupid human just had to go and have that ladder crumble under his touch.  Kaeda idly wondered if he could have done anything about it.  Wood wasn't earth and would behave diferrently to his magic, perhaps violently.  He shrugged away the thought as he walked to the shaft.    It was impossible to see just how far into the depths the shaft plunged but it was of no concern.  All that was needed was some concentration.

"Quiet.  Go away."

He didn't even look to see if his orders were being followed.  Instead he put both hands on the rim of the shaft and began chanting.  He could feel the magic growing inside and only hoped that he was using it as he hoped.  It would be impossible to tell until the spell was complete.  He watched intentl as first one small rung was formed out of the earth and then another.  He hoped he had created enough rungs but one could never tell with these things.

"You first."

What was I thinking working with this insufferable little shit? Whatever the little beast was concocting he hoped it wouldn't work.  He hoped beyond hoping that it would go horribly wrong scarring the little bastard in innumerable places but most of all in the genitals so reproduction of the vile creature could never happen.  He breathed in a deep beath before blowing it out softly.  I'm not that person.  Why did the goblin get under his skin that way? He was so layed back in almost every other situation.  Kaeda seemed to bring out the worst in him though.  Funny how the worst wasn't the werewolf though.

Lineak ignored the goblin's demands to go away instead watching with interest as Kaeda began chanting staring down into the depths.  The quiet chanting seemed to echo in the stillness and the lack of noise was almost deafening when he stopped.

"You first."

Lineak was tempted to pick him up and throw him down the hole but walked forward to see exactly what Kaeda had accomplished.  Ladders formed out of the earth, impressive.  He swung his legs over the edge and began descending his mind changed drastically.  I hope his magic is all its cracked up to be....

The torch Lineak held was both a blessing and a curse.  Kaeda growled to himsel as once again his foot got too close to the open flame.  Lighting the shaft was one thing and a pleasant thing at that.  No telling what kind of monsters would come out of the woodwork without the flame to deter them.  It was slowing his descent though and for that he hated it.

The fact that his elemental magic coutered flame on all levels was not not lost on him either.  Water put out fire and earth smothered the oxygen the fire needed to breathe and grow thereby putting it out.  Funny how nescessary it was in the here and now.  Frustrating how he couldn't do a damned thing with it to the point he needed Lineak.

Descending the earthen ladder with the torch in one hand proved somewhat difficult but wasn't the most extreme challenge that Lineak had ever faced to say the least.  Rung after rung he worked his way down the ladder until he reached down with one foot expecting a foothold and found none.  With the anticipation of a ladder rung being there his weight had shifted to the point of no return.  He cursed violently as he began to slide down the wall of the shaft.

The change to werewolf came instinctually to Lineak.  As he changed he dropped the torch to the depths below and razor sharp claws dug into the wall searching, scrambling, for anything that he could grab hold of.  Claws sunk into earth slowing, but not stopping, his descent.  As he continued scrambling for a handhold or a foothold a stronger smell of smoke wafted up to him.  Risking a glimpse downward he noticed the torch had lit something into a much bigger fire. 

Once again Lineak cursed.  The fire while providing light was also burning valuable oxygen.  It was also going to make things very interesting as far as his landing place.  His thought went back to the brief conversation with the goblin before the descent and he chuckled.  Things weren't as bad as he had thought.  At least they weren't if he could just manuver his body into the correct position.  Throwing caution to the wind he launched himself off the wall bringing his knees in to his chest.  When his back impacted with the wall behind him he quickly through his legs forward.  The action halted his downward progress as planned.

The first sign that anything was wrong was the disappearance of the torch followed by strange scraping sounds coming from below.  Kaeda was unable to fathom what was gong on.  Continuing his descent he suffured the same fate as Lineak.  As he began falling he cast what he hoped was a simple enough spell that it could, and would, function quickly.

Small layers of earth began forming at close intervals accross the entire length of the shaft.  Each just thick enouch to cushion the goblin's fall without injury.  The spell was going perfectly well until Kaeda looked down and saw the bloody oaf Lineak stretched out accross the shaft.  Nothing he could do about it he was going to land right on the boy and that was it.  Think damnit.  Earth all around what kind of a simple spell can I use? His mind working in overtime he couldn't put together a single spell.  Oh shit....

The light from underneath reflected from something overhead that was weird.  Lineak looked up and saw the earth had filled the hole above him, just perfect.  A fire below and nowhere for the smoke to go but up into his face and lungs.  The day just kept getting better and better.  The damned goblin had to be involved in this whatever this was.

Putting aside his plan for using rope to help the goblin get down the rest of the shaft he started slowly working his way down the confines of the shaft.  Muscles straining and cramping as he did so.  It was getting increasingly difficult to maintain the position as the wall of the shaft were becoming more rock and less dirt.  In addition there was a certain slipperiness to them caused by moisture seeping in through the ground above.  He cocked his neck from one side to the other trying to pop it before trying to lean his head back.  Oh shit. 

That dumb little bundle of  trouble was flying towards him.  Where had that earth gone? The small shower of earth coming down with Kaeda that was it? A pretty flimsy layer of earth that was.  What to do? There was nothing he could do.  He tried to brace himself for the impact knowing that he was going to slide down the wall he only hoped he could control the descent in some kind of way that didn't make him die on impact.  Avoiding the fire below would be a good thing as well.

The combination of earth fragments and quick burning tinder on the fire caused the flame to extinguish mere moments before Kaeda impacted with Lineak.  The darkness and the impact of the two bodies enough to make Kaeda want to explode in anger.  How the hell were they supposed to deal with the situation now?

Kaeda reached out to touch the wall and shook his head.  They were descending.  He didn't know if it was intentional or not but they were still moving.  He kept his hand on the surface and a smile broke accross his face.  Water, there was water here.  Not a huge amount but maybe enough that it could be worked with.  He just needed Lineak to control the descent long enough for him to get a spell in place. 

"Keep us moving slow or we're going to die.  You want to die boy?"

With one warty hand on the wall Kaeda began chanting hoping what he had planned would work.  He knew it would for him, but for him and Lineak? That was a damn good question and with the torch out he still needed the boy.

The impact of the goblin's body on his own was anticipated the darkness was not.  The two happening so close together was something straight out of Murphy's Law.  Lineak's body already felt like it was on fire just keeping his position the way it was.  He figured a slow controlled descent was far better than just falling so he'd try and make it work.  The goblin was once again chanting and Lineak was unsure if that was a good thing or not.  So far it had had mixed results. 

His foot hit a slippery portion of rock and he fought to stay in the same position, catching himself just in time to avoid catostrophe.  With a sigh of relief he moved his foot down once more.  This time the rock was just as slippery if not more so.  Lineak fought once again to pull himself back, in doing so Kaeda was knocked from his resting place astride Lineak's chest.  The weight off of his chest was the only clue that something was wrong there.  Lineak's hands moved surprisingly quicly grabbing the goblin mid fall.  Whatever the goblin was cooking up he needed to move faster.

"You fool you realize what you nearly did? You almost killed us both.  Now quit moving, quit breathing, quit everything you hear me.  Don't do a thing until I tell you... and then drop."

Kaeda manuvered around Lineak's body until he was where he wanted to be before dropping into the darkness below.  The free fall was unlike anything he'd ever done but not something he'd choose to do again.  One second and then two and then splash.  His body smacked into a free standing pool of water almost gelatin like in nature.  He quickly swam up the top and over the side staring out into the darkness as he did so.

With the fire gone and the loud splash there was no telling what manner of beasts wold quickly be approaching expecting a fresh meal.  This goblin wasn't any beasts meal.  Kaeda gripped the stone dagger tightly in his hand struggling vainly to see in the darkness.

The splash from below gave Lineak all he needed to know about the situation.  It wasn't good.  They neded fire and that meant not getting stuff wet.  Score another one for the goblin.  Still a little over two seconds from the time the goblin had jumped to the time he had heard the splash.  That meant he could possibly throw the firemaking materials off to the side before hitting the water below, right?  He wasn't entirely sure that it would work but didn't have much of a choice in the matter. He fumbled with his gear grabbing it in both hands before once again pulling his legs in tight to his chest.
 
One second.  Throw.  Two seconds.  Splash.  Lineak worked his way to the top of the strange water a befor finding an edge and dropping down over it.  He scrambled over in what he thought was the correct direction searching for torch and flint and steel.  Luck was with him this once as he frantically began working on getting a torch lit.  The scraping of knife on flint and the wet slap of clothing was broken by grunts and growls in multiple directions.  Things were about to get ugly.

Kaeda felt the ground under his bare feet.  Dirt.  That would help things out a little.  He reached a hand out to touch the water and began chanting.  As he did water dissipated from the one location and disappeard into the surrounding ground.  What had once been solid footing around Lineak and Kaeda was quickly becoming a mud bog.  It wasn't much but it might help limit creature's movements just enough Kaeda thought.

He heard something large approaching from in front on him and slashed out with his blade.  Smiling when the creature cried out.  Off to his right sloshing noises as another creature tried its luck with the muddy mess. Kaeda moved to meet it as well.  He slashed wildly rewarded with the blade striking flesh.  More noises from the left.  He turned to face the new threat unmindfull that the previous threat hadn't been killed let alone made a noise to say it had been hurt.

Stab, slash, pause, listen and repeat the process Kaeda moved from sound to sound creature to creature.  As he worked he wondered what the hell Lineak was doing and why he wasn't helping.

While Kaeda fought off the beasts Lineak was hard at work trying to keep flint and steel free from getting wet.  In addition he'd been forced to slay two beasts by claw.  They had been too inquisitive for their own good.  As he continued striking all he could do was hope that a spark would take hold.  A spark did fall and Lineak took his time with the tiny ember watching it grow as the sound of Kaeda fighting did as well.  Funny he didn't picture the little goblin as a fighter.

The spark grew and as Lineak transfered it to a torch it became clear just how much danger the two were in.  They were in a large chamber filled with stalagmites and stalactites water dripping from both.  Surrounding them on all sides was a variety of beasts.  Large creatures a cross between moles and rats but bigger, much bigger scrambled in for the kill.  Along with them large scaly snakes Lineak couldn't tell if they were poisonous or not but they looked dangerous nontheless.  The fiercest looking of the creatures though was a creature that stood six feet tall when on four legs.  Huge shoulders and chest muscles put Lineak's to shame even while in werewolf form.  The face and body of the creature appeared somewhat rodent like and the claws on each foot reminded Lineak of those found on moles.  The creature gave an unrodent like roar and charged.

Lineak calmly lifted his shotgun to his shoulder waiting patiently for the beast to get closer.  When it was within twenty yards he loosed a single round before ejecting the spent round and pumping another into the chamber.  He didn't even look at the beast he'd just shot.  His familiartiy with the weapon giving him ample reason to belive it dead.  From one beast to the next shell after shell body after body creatures fell to the ground.

The flame bursting forth seemed to do little to deter the creatures from their meal.  It was strange really how many creatures there were and why they were all coming for them rather than eating one another.  Kaeda shrugged his shoulders and continued slogging through the creatures.  Before laughing at himself.  Big bad shaman and he hadn't even thought about the new elment around.  The place was behining to reak of death and death was one of his favorite playthings.

He stabbed yet another creature in the eye as he began chanting.  Another one dead and more chanting.  He wanted to curse at Lineak for all of the loud noise but it seemed to be effective.  More chanting and there it was.  One of the creatures rose from the ground a fist sized hole in its chest and began attacking the others.

It was strange the creatures ceaces their attack on kaeda and Lineak and as one attacked the undead.  Kaeda wasn't an expert on animal behaviour but he could see this was getting strange, real strange.  The spell with the undead caused a lightswitch to be flipped in his mind.  Somebody or something might be controlling the beasts that would account for the strange behaviour.  Who or what needed to be dealt with right away.

"Quit killing the beasts they're not the problem.  Something is controlling them.  We need to find out what, now."

Through the darkness surrounding him Kaeda could hear an ominous laugh. 

"Ready when you are.  Come play."

Seconds later the beasts drifted away into the darknes.  A cold chill washed over the goblin as he stared into the black.  What had he gotten himself into?

"Ready when you are come play."

They were being toyed with? That was new.  They had just set foot into the domain of whoever it was that lived here.  As the creatures vanished Lineak found himself faced with a familiar dilema where to go.  The voice had come from behind him, or it had sounded that way.  Caves though had a strange way of distorting sounds.  Looking at the stalactiite and stalagmite formations he assumed it was a cave system of some kind.  He took a moment to walk along a cave wall studying it. 

It looked like long, long ago this had been a popular route.  The cave floor had been worn down by innumerable persons and beasts.  Strange that it followd a cave wall instead of down the middle of the cave.  He shrugged before heading back towards Kaeda.

"Think we should go back that way.  Also think we should go along the side of the cave.  Not sure why but I think it might be safer that way."

Stupid stupid kids.  Why had he chosen to take such a young one with him? You never walked along the sides of a cave, never.  By doing so you put yourself in danger of trapping yourself.  Also those noisy weapons tended to follow along walls of any kind.  No thanks.  He'd stay where it was safe right down in the middle as long as the glow from the fire illuminated the way.

He began moving through the corpses attemtping to keep his feet gore free, well mostly gore free.  He was forced to hurry to catch up to Lineak.

"Safer up there? You're wrong boy.  As wrong as you could..."

The ground around Kaeda's feet suddenly dissapeared replaced with a huge open mouth.  Kaeda leapt backwards before running towards the cave wall.  Dancing firelight showed the mouth disappear back into the ground while a ripple traveled through the rocks.

"Not a word.  Shut your mouth boy."

Kaeda breathed heavily this little adventure was quickly becoming anything but little.  Then again anything worth achieving was going to be frought with danger.  With the current level of danger he hoped he'd be able to live through it.

Lineak watched the stubborn and opinionated goblin do his own thing even after he had told him not to.  It was the story of their time together it seemed.  He turned his attention back to the path in front of him just as a tremor in the ground underneath him caused him to stare about in confusion.  The light of the flame revealed a mammoth mouth sticking up from the earth directly in front of the goblin.  Who was now running for his life.  Before he get even get the I told you thought out of his mouth the goblin was screaming at him.

Maybe that little mishap would wake the goblin up to the fact that he was a valuable part of the team.  He was a hunter and tracker and even here on a path that possibly hadn't been followed in milenia his skills could be put to use.  He thought about slowing down to allow the goblin to catch up but instead lengthened his stride.  Let the little bastard catch up.

The cave opened up into a larger more grand chamber and Lineak whistled softy as the torchlight played accross the cavewall.  This place was old.  Pictographs lined the cave wall most depicting hunts of one strange beast or another.  Others showed a figure surrounded by animals with arm outstreched as if commanding them.  It looked like time may have stood still down here in the depths.  Lineak waited for Kaeda to reach him before pointing out the paintings on the cave wall.

The paintings touched him more than he wanted to let on.  The figures in the cave paintings were small in comparison to the game they were hunting.  Even the figures controlling the animals were small.  Was it possible that these were indeed ancient goblin art inscribed on the walls? Kaeda felt a wave of pride in his his ancestors well up inside of him.  He pushed it down as the thought of what he and Lineak had encountered came back to him.  There was still a civilization down here of some kind.  Well, maybe not a civilization but there was at least one person down here and he didn't want them down investigating.

The goblin continued walking the path that Lineak had chosen for them glancing around when they, and the light, disturbed bats overhead.  Guano lovely bat crap had its uses but right now Kaeda wanted no part of it.  He wanted deeper into the depths and into the mysteries of this cave.

Options three of them Lineak stared at the three passages ahead.  One looked as if it was going to be a bit of trouble for his almost six foot frame to get through.  That one cut through the side of the cave wall next to him and disappeared out of sight fairly quickly.  Must be a turn in there somewhere he thought.  The next passage to catch his attention started roughly three feet off the ground he brought the torch up to the entrance to investigate.  This one might be promising.  It looked like the tunnel went back for some distance, as far as the flame lit anyways.  The last looked like a continuation of the main chamber albeit at a slight descent.  It was larger and wider than the others Lineak looked the ground of this one over thoroughly searching for a reason not to take it.  It was damp that made sense as water ran downhill.  He could barely make out what might have once been grooves in the rock, tracks.  If they were looking for someplace old this might be it.  He wanted a look at that other one first though.

"These two look good I want to take a quick look up here though.  You going to come with or are you going to stay here?"

Lineak turned to the passage before getting a response not wanting his smirk to show.  He was either going to have to go hunched over  or on hands and knees to make it through.  This ought to be fun.  He pulled himself into the passageway and began slowly on hands and knees.

The prospect of staring at Lineak's posterior wasn't exactly a tempting one.  However the torch was going with him that left Kaeda no other options that he deemed worth a damn.  With his short stature he was forced to grab hold of one of Lineak's legs and be dragged upwards into the passageway.  Once inside of it he laughed at the predicament Lineak was in.  The poor boy had to navigate the passage on hands and knees while he himself could walk upright comfortably as long as the ceiling didn't dip down any farther.

With the slow forward progress that Lineak was making Kaeda began studying the walls of the passage.  These were not nomal cave walls he decided.  Their shaping was wrong too what? He couldn't come up with the correct word but they were too straight up and down.  In his time living in the tunnels he had found lines to be created not something found in nature.  These walls although weathered by time had obviously been straight at one time.  The question then became why had this passage been created?

It was slow going moving through the passage but Lineak found it fascinating.  Lineak was kept guessing about the nature of the tunnel until after a sharp right followed by a steep ascent followed by another sharp right turn.  At that point the passage opened into what may have at one point been an ancient inn.  Earth and stone walls seperated out individual sleeping areas.  Comfornt wasn't apparently a top priority as the beds were carved from stone.  Each bed was just large enough for somebody slightly larger than the goblin behind him.  The largest area held what had to be a stove of some kind it wasn't electric and there hadn't been any trees down beow ground.  He thought back to the guano he had walked through and grimmaced.  You did what you had to do to eat.

The lack of comfort and strange turns and climb gave Lineak something to think about as he allowed Kaeda to explore the area.  The more he thought about it the more he had to give the ancient goblins credit for a defensible position.  The small height of the tunnel would severly hamper an invading force that wasn't itself short.  Additionally most peoples were right handed.  By having the sharp right handed turns it would give an attacking enemy a disadvantage as they would have to shoot or swing in a direction contrary to what felt normal for them, the defenders wouldn't.  The steep climb was also a defensive tool buit in by the clever goblins.  The enemy could be picked off by the defenders above as they helplessly climbed.  Or they could use scalding hot water or oil... The thought made the werewolf cringe.  Best not to think of some old tacticts they were quite horrible.

Kaeda looked over area with delight it had to have been cunstructed by ancient goblins.  He could only guess that the goblins once lived deeper underground and used this place as some kind of a safehaven before continuing their travels.  Kaeda was unsure of what those travels would have been though.  Were they war parties or trade caravans?   Lineak had pointed out he thought large carts had made their way through the large cavern but they could have been carrying war materials or goods from the surface possibly both.

With a final look around Kaeda turned back to the passage and began his way out.  Halfway out a figure blocked the tunnel in front of him.  Short and green skinned with a shock of red hair the figure was clothed in rags with a skull hanging around his neck.  The two goblins stared at each other before closing the distance between each other.  Kaeda was soon to see the goblin was old, extremely old.  With a frail hand he removed the skull from his neck and handed it over to Kaeda.

"This is for you.  But only if you take me below and bury me with the rest of the ancients."

Kaeda took the skull placing it around his own neck feeling a newfound power coure through his veins.  The strange new power wasn't something he could tap into though he struggled with coming to grips with what exactly the power was as the elder goblin chuckled.

"Speak to it.  You need to speak to it.  Only then will you be unable to unlock its secrets."

The old fool had to be crazy.  He had been raised by the spirits of his dead ancestors but they were full bodies in a graveyard.  This was a skull on a chain.  Kaeda frowned but adressed the skull anyways, amazed to get a response.