Play@YSDC

What was that?! A pistol shot?!

Alex runs forward, concern erasing any desire for stealth.

1d100

Alex is glad at this moment that his fondness for doughnuts has been kept manageable. But really, knowing Ivy's in danger compels him to move fast, especially because he partly blames himself for her being in peril.

Though the floor was slippery and his feet threatened to slip at any moment, Alex managed to keep his balance as he ran down the tunnel. In the swaying lantern light there was a flash of white in the dark, a creature down on all fours! As he skidded to a halt, poker raised, Alex realised this wasn’t the same as the other one he had seen - this was altogether more human! In fact, it was a familiar human - beneath the grime and streaks of dirt was Ivy!

It was Ivy shouting at him and aiming his own gun directly at him!

I’ll take a Listen roll so Alex can tell what she shouted.

1d100

"Ivy, it's me!" The detective says quickly, relief flooding through him. He wasn't too late! His excitement prevents him from registering whatever she said, however.

“Oh thank the Lord!”

Muddy and bedraggled, Ivy staggers forward to embrace her rescuer. However, the few seconds it takes to reach him are enough to rebuild her brittle defences. She stops short and raps Alex in the shoulder.

“You certainly took your time,” she snaps; making a visible effort to control the terror and relief still evident in her wavering voice.

“Still, you are here now. Thank you. Being kidnapped by albino ape creatures, dragged through the pitch darkness, stalked by strange creatures and blindly having to find my way out was no picnic, I assure you.”

Perhaps this babbling is another way of dealing with her ordeal.

From somewhere deep in the cave system a distant pistol shot could be heard.

As soon as he hears the shot Alex shifts into action.

"Ivy, listen to me. I've alerted the police to those bones down here-- that's why it took so long for me to return. I need you to retrace your steps and wait outside for them. It's safe there, and you can tell them where I am. I need to go ahead; someone sounds like they could still be in danger, or be a danger. Can I please have my gun back?"

"Also, did you say apes?"

"I will not retreat and cower like an old maid," sniffs Ivy, handing Alex his pistol. "We shall face this peril together."

"As for the apes... strange, pale things. They grabbed me while I was studying those books in the dining room and carried me down here. I fired your pistol, which scared them off, leaving me to grope my way around."

"I heard other human voices earlier on - I assume they're the ones doing the shooting."

OOC:   It's worked so well so far!

Alex frowns. "I've seen one of those creatures as well.It hissed at me before retreating further down the tunnel.At least they may be scared of firearms.

"I'd really rather you wait for help to arrive, you're unarmed. But if you insist on coming please at least take this." he hands his poker to her. "And stay behind me."

Ivy agrees and takes the poker.

“There are some interesting carvings up ahead, made by pre-human hands. A most disconcerting concept,” she recalls.

With Alex’s lantern to light the way, Ivy was able to retrace her steps into the cavern she had visited before. The eerie light from the lichen illuminated the stone pillars, still wet in places with water running down their length, that ran from the floor to the ceiling, some hundred feet or so above their heads.

On the walls, interspersed with patches of the glowing lichen, were the carvings of which she had spoken.

A successful history or archeology roll here would be useful.

"Really? This sounds rather fascinating." Alex says. He would have scoffed at such things before, but he had seen enough to keep an open mind.

He moves forward-- lamp in one hand with his gun in the other-- looking for any signs of other people, and eventually encounters the drawings.

1d100

Ivy keeps watch, poker at the ready, while Alex studies the carvings.

"We could single-handedly rewrite the history of the Earth by making this known," she whispers. "But perhaps there are more urgent matters to attend do..."

Alex could see that serpent motifs predominated in the carvings, some of which were enormous with white crescents engraved on the forehead. The designs were repeated, possibly having symbolic meaning, accompanied by abstract and geometric designs, zigzags, and spirals. Below some of the images appeared to be some form of script, consisting of curves, curls, and more spirals. Alex was certainly no expert but they struck him as being very, very old, possibly older than known human history itself…

As Ivy kept watch, she could size up the cavern. It extended for almost 30 yards; it was damp and stalactites and stalagmites, slick with water, predominated. The whole area was illuminated with glowing lichen and she could see the unnatural-looking fungi on the walls, floors and on the roof overhead.

She could see the short corridor that lead off to the right before its roof had caved in, and at the far end of the cavern, she could see a tunnel that lead further downwards…

"You're correct, Ivy. This is quite a find." Alex offers, uncertain how he feels about that. Having learned a bit of what was out there, he's unsure just how much man would truly want to know. But that was for academics to figure out, not him.

"How much further down did you get from here?"

“I went not much further than here,” Ivy replies. “I had no flashlight and figured it’d be prudent to find my way back, rather than grope my way downwards in the dark.”

"Let's head on down, then." Alex says, with more confidence than he feels. He starts down the tunnel.