And with that visit to the museum ended our last day in Hearth Forge. The night that followed was the last we spent in our quarters there. I very much wished I had not seen some of the things I had seen in the museum of existential terrors though. The name really was no joke. Well, at least I could now wholeheartedly understand the reaction of Gib and his companions as he mentioned it for the first time. Some of the exhibits there really were nightmare fuel. As a result I ended up getting up a little early. If I couldn't get in any more sleep I might at least enjoy our bath for one last time after all.
After one last goo soak I joined Gash'zur for the morning meal. She looked like she had suffered through her own share of nightmares as well. She didn't dwell on it though, digging in instead. I in turn poured myself a cup of that strong tea I had been prescribed and heaped some of the sweet treats we had received on my own plate as well. Things like those probably would be rare in the days to come. Trail rations designed to keep forever and a day usually were not known for their exceptional taste after all.
Nice as it was that couldn't last either. In the end we geared up. To my surprise my glaive must have been delivered some time during the night. It hadn't been in the armory here in our quarters when we returned from the museum last evening. I didn't mind, except I hadn't noticed. Not in the slightest. Someone must have moved very light footed just past the rooms we had been sleeping in and that sleep hadn't even been very deep. That was a little scary.
Packing didn't take us long. We hadn't brought much after all. As we headed for the front gate we were met with a slight surprise though. Waiting there for us were Gib and his squad. The sight of the goblins and forgeborn chattering, not too loud though, immediately brightened my day. Even more important were the packs they had prepared for me and Gash'zur. They were some very well organized and tightly packed packs. A cursory glance reveled a proper bedroll as well as two decent length ropes as well as picks and other climbing tools, not to forget plenty of provisions and other consumables.
Gib bowed with a sly smile on his lips while his squad mates quieted down a little. “Ladies! I hope yer visit to the museum hasn't left ye entirely deprived of sleep.” Some of his comrades chuckled nervously but he kept going. “Anyway, we have been tasked to see ye back to the surface. We are all bringing a little extra gear as well to make sure ye won't be left wanting for anything once we get there.” Some of the assembled squad looked downright giddy as he mentioned the surface.
I kept an eye on them as I weighed my pack. “Could it be that some of ye have never been to the surface?”
Gib looked over his men and women, goblins and forgeborn, as well, as he answered. “I have had the good fortune to have been up there but yes, actually most of the squad have never had the chance. We usually keep closer to the city. Trips like this one are rare.”
I kept checking the pack as he spoke and as I did so I noticed something most curious. There, under the bedroll something else was strapped to the back of the pack, rolled up in a similar way. I hadn't noticed it at first though, as its colors kept shifting, adapting, mimicking the rest of the pack as I kept looking at it from one side or another. I knew the effect, I knew the spell myself after all, but it still made for a curious sight whenever I saw it.
Gib must have noticed as well what drew my attention. He grinned from one ear to the other. “Chameleon cloaks. We each have one for this trip. They are only of moderate use down here but we really prefer to stay unseen when we get closer to the surface.”
Camouflage cloaks were not unfamiliar. I had made use of something similar before as well, when skulking about with Tortho and his scouts. Seeing one that did not simply rely on mundane means though was something else altogether. They really weren't skimping on gear if everyone had an actually enchanted cloak. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised though. The way Gib spoke of them made it sound as if some were kept in reserve at all times. Well, hopefully we could return them all in due time.
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As we all shouldered our packs we set out at last. We didn't head for the gate through which we had entered the city though. Instead we headed down to the lake where we boarded some boats. These carried us not quite halfway around the city to another landing that was cut into the side of the cavern replacing part of the terraced fields. We got curious looks from a few farmers but none of them came any closer. They probably had better things to do anyway. Fields needed tending and we didn't linger anyway.
As soon as all of us had disembarked Gib led the group to the far end of the landing where the familiar sight of a gate greeted us. This one was a smaller than the gate through which we had entered the city though. It was fortified no less heavy or guarded any less thoroughly though. I joined Gib at the head of the column under the watchful eyes of the gate guards. “This one looks smaller. Can we pass through in one go or will we have to split up?”
He shook his head. “Ye needn't not worry. The chambers in between gates are the same size. It is just the gates themselves that are smaller.” Even as he spoke Gib passed an ornate letter to the officer on duty who studied its contents before signaling for the first gate to be opened.
Leaving the city was as time consuming as entering had been. Three gates with two chambers in between. And none of the outer gates opened before the one behind us was completely shut and properly locked again. There was another complement of guards outside as I had expected. That though was where the similarities ended. The open space outside the gate was much wider here, providing more room and time to deal with anything approaching.
My eyebrows rose a little as I noticed that there were actual scorch marks on the floor and the far walls of the cavern. The guards seemed to be more on edge as well. I turned to Gib. “Duty here seems a tad more exciting then at the other gate. Or am I mistaken.”
It wasn't Gib who answered though. Instead the sergeant command the squad on guard duty out here answered. “Not usually. Not most of the time anyway. The scouts do their best to lure anything nasty that makes it this far up into a proper ambush well before it comes within sight of us. If one of the ancients' beasts shows its face, or anything else for that matter, to us though we don't waste time asking questions.”
After satisfying my curiosity he turned to Gib. “Heading out again so soon, and not on a regular patrol either by the looks of it? I expected ye to have some more downtime this time around.”
I felt a little pang of guilt at that comment. Were Gib and his squad loosing some of their well earned rest because of us?
The scouts in question didn't seem to be bothered by it though. Some laughed. Gib just waved the concerns off. “We aren't on patrol, ye got that right. We are heading to the surface this time, escorting the two ladies.”
The other goblin looked over at Gash'zur and me briefly, inclining his head slightly. “Well, enjoy the sights while you are at it and don't bring back any souvenirs you wouldn't want to receive yourself.”
Now that prompted some laughs from our escort and I couldn't hold back either although I had some suspicions what he might have meant with unwelcome souvenirs. Finally, after one last exchange of handshakes we were off and back out in the Deep Dark again.