The animals told Goldy that the previous tunnel was completely closed off and only bugs could crawl through. Over 500 feet off it had collapsed and been filled with rubble on top of that it had been slowly compressed by the mountains weight making it immovable. So this definitely was a no go for it would take at least a month or more to get out this way.
On her way to meet up with Eric and the rest she came upon a water snake sneakily snatching a bug that was eating scrapes from refuge. She asked for its help and it agreed so Goldy put it into her pocket as she hurried along. The sounds of the beasts continued attacks was very clear to hear and she noticed the Royal mages were placing marks upon the floor.
Dam bastards were definitely going to get them all killed at this rate. Nothing but a bunch of cowards that had stayed hiding safe in the back avoiding all previous battles. Now all they could think about was killing everyone in some vain attempt at final glory. Knee jerk asses and the dam Prince just bent over to please them without a thought of his own.
This whole situation was insane, no way was Goldy going to give up so easily, her and Eric definitely were not going down with the ship if she had any say in it. Turning the last corner she came to where they were to meet and saw she was the first to arrive. The stream poured in from the top then collected in a shallow pool then continued back into a large hole in the stone bed.
Eric showed up with Crow but no Melissa and it made Goldy mentally sigh. It was a vague hope she guess, to expect her to come when she called. Crow hopefully would have just enough power to trace her little friend and give them some hopeful news. Arch appeared next with two other scouts one who I knew would probably be too big for this job. The others she had seen before and he was a true acrobat that seemed to be able to sneak past the most alert of beasts.
Goldy remembered the rest of the scouts called him Thief because he was always stealing food from their plates. However it was always said respectfully and playfully he had earned their respect by being there to protect their backs. He was probably close to forty but looked more like he was in his twenties and always carried a smile on his face.
Arch introduced the other gentleman as Rock and said he was the strongest swimmer they had but then explained that Thief could hold his breath the longest and knew swimming skills as well. In addition Arch said his swimming skills were fairly advanced as well and he could also handle cramped dark places as well.
Well let my friend check it out then we can talk about other options, Crow can you cast a trace and seek and peek spell on this water snake and report what you discover. Remember to keep track of how long till you spot air pocket to When he encounters open cave areas. When Goldy looked up all of them had back as far from her as possible.
Crow trembling voice barely reached her ears, "Goldy please place that snake slowly on the ground it is extremely poisonous. One bite will inject enough poisons to kill even the beast upon our doorstep. It's why our parties sometimes came across rotting corpses that even bugs won't eat. If it was aggressive none of us would have lived this long, good thing they are so rare. Please put it down."
Goldy's laughed as she causally placed it to her face and rubbed heads with the small snake. "Wow wish I had know that sooner we could have borrowed some of your poison for our arrows and thinned these cursed beasts down in numbers." Goldy did a number of strange inhuman like gestures and tongue like. sounds including pants then strokes the snakes head.
Every one shuddered except for Eric he had grown up with these kinds of strange occurrence and knew she would be fine. Moving away had been instinctual as even his father was scared to death of this snake. His father had told horror stories of about how gruesome ones death would be if bitten. He even had nightmares about them each time his dad brought them up.
Eric took a step closer, showing not just his courage but his faith in Goldy and her unique abilities. The others moved slightly behind his massive shape believing in both but still scared thoughtless. " Crow please cast your spell and keep it as long as you can, our very life's could depend on this, please," asked Goldy.
Crow even in his sixties couldn't be out done by a mere girl and slowly stepped up. Placing his staff over the small snake he very quietly recited the intricate spells so he could observe the snakes actions. He asked the if to help him with the time saying he would tap per second and hum when a air pocket was found.
If a cave opening was discovered he would hum twice and keep this up until he lost contact with his little host. Or until the snake exited the cave entirely. Goldy placed a tracker on the snake as well and would be able to tell when it exited. She asked Eric and the others to guard their bodies and stay quiet so they would not interfere with their concentration.
The difference in their spells was she could only sense the snakes progress not see its actual journey. Crow's spell would allow him to actually see through the animals eyes, seeing obstacle's that she would not be able to sense. This kind of spell would be very useful in the future she would have to learn it, when they got out of here.
Crow and Goldy locked on as the snake turned and twisted along its path, often so dark nothing was noticeable. Only when the snake came up for breath was he able to note it. Two slightly larger opening that seemed to be just pockets didn't stop the little snake as he kept swimming finally just as he was losing contact the snake swam out onto a brighter lite cave floor.
Crow's gem burnt out just as the small animal moved to dry land and he collapsed due to exertion. The whole trip had taken a little over a hour. Goldy felt the snake exit the cave less than a half hour later. Goldy was tired as well because this skill was tiring because of having to focus everything else out of her attention.
Finally after having some water and dried meat they begin to compile what was discovered. There was several splits but mostly these were to small to enter however the whole trip took a bit of time. Even though it had a number of small pockets of air and two larger areas to breath in. The whole trip would be almost impossible for the wounded or those with claustrophobia.
The longest stretch was right at the beginning and required holding your breath for about three minutes. A small spell could extend ones ability to hold their breath but mentally one could still easily panic. Thief insisted that he was willing to give it a try but Rock had doubts about fitting through the switch back. So after a bit of discussion and The if getting mentally ready we decided to send him through with a long rope to help others pull them selves through.
In addition it would make sure no one got lost and guide them on their way as well as allow them to pull themselves through faster along the journey. We definitely needed Thief to go through because he could allow us to gauge the size of the openings with much more accurately.