And then there was the looting...

Something was nagging at the back of the youth's brain, words he'd heard once upon a time on a planet that probably looked a lot like this one. He was hard pressed to remember what exactly those words were, per se, but he did remember something about not splitting up your group. Meh, in life people made mistakes, as long as they all lived there'd be a chance to worry about it later. Gun in hand he followed the lot, quite aware that if he was forced into a situation where he had to use the thing that the echo would alert pretty much everyone in the cave that there was some kind of problem.

But then again, he'd been wrong before. Perhaps he'd be lucky and was wrong now, too. He could hope. What was really bothering him was that the lighting was pretty regular. Torches here and there and everywhere. Alright, so they were spread a little thin for the most part, but the lighting was never quite so bad that he couldn't see without a flashlight. Nothing about this place was meeting his expectations! 'If I see a talking Lion, by the gods, I will skin him alive!'

Ian shook his head, bringing his attention back to the present. This wasn't the place to daydream. He wasn't an idiot, that slimy fellow from before wasn't something he'd ever seen before, save maybe in a monster manual. Well, maybe it could have been a human with a serious skin condition... and maybe the dwarves were just a colony of little people. Well, the youth would find out soon enough. He had a number of questions to ask when they were somewhere safe to talk about such things.

In the meantime, he was lost. Well, not just emotionally, but physically. He didn't know how the stout-folk could lead with such certainty considering he'd lost his way four intersections back. To be honest, he was half afraid of asking if they could get back. If they were fine, then he'd look kind of like he didn't trust them. If they couldn't he'd spend all of his time panicking about being lost in the dark tunnels of... whatever this place was.

Time passed. First it was ten minutes, then twenty... thirty minutes in and he was growing restless. Such questions as 'Where are all the guards?' and 'What's with this place, anyway?' passed through his brain, yet still the youth stubbornly clung to his silence. Well... it was more he was intimidated by his companions and didn't want to get caught. 'There is nothing wrong with my priorities.' Nodding to himself, he made the firm decision to... Wait, they were stopping. Why were they stopping? Were they lost after all? No, Sunny was warning him to be quiet. He frowned, nodding.

Tilting his head to the side, the confused boy listened... In the far distance was the sound of metal on metal and... Oh, screaming? It could have been a fight, but in this place it might also be some kind of weird mating ritual between the various people. Sunny took his hand, pulling him to the side... There was a doorway just ahead of them, conspicuous in that it was ajar. There was nobody guarding it? Really? He frowned, looking to the dwarves, then Sunny. Was this just another passage?

Before he might have asked, the dwarf leader motioned them to stay put and proceeded to sneak forward, looking left and right down the adjacent corridor. Ian waited with baited breath as the dwarf inched his way to the door, then carefully opened it. He jumped when he heard a shrill noise, the rusty hinges creaking, but was quickly reassured by the lack of a response. What was going on... Where were the guards? He shrugged, moving forward as the dwarf finally signaled for the party to advance.

Just inside was well lit, though most of the items seemed to be missing. You could easily see emptied weapon racks and chests along the walls. It looks like the armory had been cleaned out... No, wait! "What's this?" he asked, indicating a section of wall that looked far too smooth. "Is it just my imagination, or is there something here?"

"Hey, Rokal," Sunny said quietly, nodding at the wall in question. "I don't suppose that's what I think it is?"

The first dwarf, Rokal, grinned at the boy. "Good eye," he said lightly, "That should be the old armory, it was expanded in recent times but... Well, our Clan Leader of the time was a bit too fond of human dramas. Hidden rooms and secret passages. The closer we get to the old city, the more secrets we can still uncover. Shall we take a little look inside? No matter how old it might be, it's got to be better than the scraps that got left behind, not so?"

Ian nodded, watching closely as another of the dwarves pushed part of the wall. It looked like a natural outcropping, honestly if the wall itself hadn't been so smooth Ian didn't think he'd ever have looked twice at it. While the one did that, Rokal pushed another stone on the far side. There was a click and then the wall seemed to split, a seam appearing as the wall moved back. Then the stout dwarf pushed it in a little more, then sideways, clearing a path to a dusty looking room.

"I take it there aren't hidden passageways through here?" the young man asked, even while walking toward the far wall. Finally... finally it was dark enough to impress the savages with modern technology. He retrieved his cell once more, turning on the flash light and taking a good look around. He kept sneaking glances at his allies who were so impressed that... wait, they didn't even give it a second glance! What was wrong with these people! No... no, be at peace, find that zen moment, nothing but good vibrations... and another peak.

"Ian, could you bring your torch closer? Ah, thanks. I can't believe all this stuff is still here... OH! This dagger is lovely... Is it really alright for us to take whatever we want?"

"Within reason, Sunny," Rokal replied magnanimously. "You'll need to be free enough to fight and we should bring enough with us for the others. Ah... Hey, this sword... Ian, isn't this yours?"

Frowning, the boy approached, looking at the sheathed blade. There was no way it could be his, considering he'd never owned a live-steel sword in his life, and if it was that blunt blade he used for practice it would be next to worthless. Still, he reached out and grasped the pommel, drawing it. The metal was of a type he'd never seen before... it wasn't even the same as these 'mithril' blades the dwarves had. What's more, he could sense... something from the blade itself. Oddly, the symbol of Maris was on the rain guard.

"It... seems to be. Is there a shield, as well? Perhaps a pair of long baselards... ah longish daggers, good for cutting?"

"There's a shield here, as well as some travelling clothes. It's strange, while this all looks like it could fit you, it shouldn't be here. Ah, by chance... You went missing just before the goblin-kin hit us, is it possible you took shelter here?"

"I dunno, Master Rokal... My memory is a little hazy to be honest. While it is possible, the truth is... I remember talking to a friend who was going to... erm... escort me home, right, an elder. Then, while carrying some of the supplies to our ah... transportation, there was a flash of light... and I was standing at the entrance to the cave that led me to you all."

"Interesting... Well, how about you have you take all of this here, wear what you can, and go through it when we have a bit more time, hmm?"

"Ah... certainly," he agreed, reluctantly. He ended up stripping off his trench coat and passing it on to Sunny, admonishing her not to lose it, before donning the surcoat and weapons belt 'he' had left behind. If there was another Ian of Maris running around, his life was going to get interesting in the Chinese Curse sense of the word, and sooner rather than later he was sure. His new sword was added to this belt, the revolver would end up being carried... How annoying. Oh, and now he had two backpacks. He tried consolidating them, but in the end he ended up having Sunny care the half-empty one 'he' had left behind.

"Don't lose this, hey? I've got some food, maybe a few meals, packed away... and a little water. I went ahead and moved all of that to your pack. Guess you're on kitchen duty in the short term. Got a problem with that?"

Sunny snorted, "Oi, you know who I am! I'll carry them for you, but I'm not your maid."

"Yeah, yeah. We've been lucky so far, but the odds are good those goblins aren't here because they're either looking for something or being attacked. Well, both are guesses of course, it could be something else... but the armory is rather empty, the public one rather. Any chance we might try for the other prisoners?"

"Me and mine might go back, but it'd be too dangerous for the pair of you to get caught up in our mess. How about we get you home first, hmm? My reward will be borrowing part of your father's army to deal with the mess we have here afterwards."

"If that's what you like..."

"It is. Hold business remains hold business and, for all your help, you're both still outsiders. We appreciate it, don't get me wrong, but if you volunteer on your own that creates a problem for us... and that's if we win. If we lose, well, what a waste, right? But if your father's army comes to our aid in exchange for saving you, well, that's a different tale."

"Ah... I understand," he said, nodding. This was about saving face... He could understand the idea. "Well then, if we're ready, shall we close this place up and go meet the others?"