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The two blessed women approach the house of Dr. Ling. The nagi priestess, Kalyani, wearing a leather jerkin and cloth shirt, and the undine champion, Maraja, clad in her armor, both carry the vertical eye icon of Vanessa; Kalyani's on a pendant and Maraja's on her shield.
"Are you sure this is the place?" asks Maraja at the sight of the windowless brick building, "And where is this hole?"
"Look at the ssign," says Kalyani as she points to the plaque by the door, "Food Wizzard; thhiss musst be herss."
Before they can knock, the door swings inward, "G'day, mates," says the gecko clad in dark leather armor and a new (equally ratty) wig, "Ready for the Hole?" She pats the small bag tied to the base of her tail. "Ya do have supplies, right?"
"Yess, dear," says Kalyani, who points to a large bag sitting on the floating disc behind her, "Tent, food, water, sspell sstavess, everythhing we'll need."
"Where's your's, wavey?" asks Ling, eyeing the champion.
"I'm so grateful that you are both taking this seriously," says Maraja, "But don't we have enough?"
L: Can you believe that? Sheila's on the quest unprepared, but the nun's ready in a day.
"Ya ever been to the Underdank?" asks Ling, "There's barely any water, the temperature alternates between extremes, and everything edible is poisonous, ravenous, and/or explosive."
"That-"
"And further on are the gravity waves and seismic shifts, so the whole thing can rearrange while you're down there."
"I unde-"
"And the b*****ds living there: orc barbarians, Vrow huntresses, dweorg slavers, kobold pranksters-"
"I GET IT!" shouts Maraja, "Everything is deadly and terrible, but I can make water." She raises her sword and says, "And I can handle monsters." She swings and points it. "If you can guide me through the caves."
L: I knew it was going to be a hard quest, this one.
"Sister," says Ling to Kalyani, "Anything to say?"
The priestess shakes her head and the two head toward a blue dome about fifty meters away. The champion races after them.
Stationed there stands a smallgoblin in blue leather. His gaze is unfocused as he chews on the end of a wooden stick, its tip alight. The sound of footsteps drags his attention back to reality. "'Ello, Ling," he says, dry.
J: Is that how Mr. Snarbly was back then? L: People tend to be happier not standing near a death pit for eight hours a day. J: I'm glad he quit then. You taking his job at least made someone's life better.
"G'day, Bob," says Ling, expectantly waiting for the guard to open the gate.
He grasps the twig between a pair of fingers. "Reason for leaving?" His voice remains unemotive.
"Right," says Ling, "Different today. On a rescue." She jerks her head toward Kalyani. "There with me."
"Morning, Bobbobo," says Kalyani, as Maraja catches up, "May we pass?"
"Time to return, Sister?" He returns the twig to his mouth.
"Dunno," says Ling, "Maybe days."
Bobbobo claps the fingers of his right hand against its palm, then slaps the dome. The magic barrier become translucent revealing a large hole in the ground with a twenty meter diameter. "Be careful down there."
D: Oh, that's the hole outside! L: Yeah, same one. D: What happened to the dome? L: No one's around to maintain it. J: No one's around to fall into it.
"That's the way in?" asks Maraja, "How far does that go?"
"Four hundred metres straight down," recites Bobbobo, "The Township of Rankedge 'olds no responsibility for your safety. It is advised not to enter the Underdank."
"How are we to go down that?" asks the woman in platemail.
Ling wiggles her exposed fingers and toes. "Well, I'm climbing," she says, "But you could ride that disc."
J: Please, tell me she tried that. L: Nah, smart enough to avoid it. J: Shame.
"I do have a few sspellss to sspare," says Kalyani, adjusting her gloves, "The shhrine had thesse sspider glovess in sstorage."
The smallgoblin blinks slowly. "When you return-"
"Ring the bell. I know," says Ling, "We do this every week, Bob."