Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 38 - Graveyard of the Bogatyrs

General Summary

Alden Gravenitch leaves Vladykino with this fellow wolves after they have chased away Misha. Grey Wolf, who has taken up residence in his old home - Malinka, apparently has something to show him - an image of how his new world will look. After traveling with the volkodlaki for half a day, Alden again has a change of heart - the new world was there for him to see amidst the slaughter in Vladykino. He tells his companions that need calls him deeper into the woods, and then takes the opportunity to slip away. Returning to the village, he picks up a familiar scent, and follows it downstream to a cave partially blocked by a boulder. Slinking inside, he makes his way to a three-way intersection, where his old companions are just nursing their wounds after a hard fight with a serpent.

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A woman walks along a stream a couple of versts outside the village of Vladykino. She has come from Ladeisk at the best of her prince, Trofim Andreevich , who charged her to bring the Serpent Slayers back to the capital. She has come here by wondrous means, witnessed the complete devastation of the settlement, and encountered a cryptic hermit named Nil, who asked her a lot of complicated questions, but also told her that the people she seeks are located in a cave downstream, near the waterfall. She now hears the waterfall, and sees a small girl picking flowers in front of a boulder. The young woman makes a bouquet in her hand, hands it to the girl, and asks her who the flowers are for. The girl - Mira, tells her that the flowers are for her parents, who are in the ground, and will never see them. But she tells her that she was rescued from the village by Misha, who is now inside the cave with the Serpent Slayers after having killed a monster the previous night.
Mira walks hand-in-hand with her new friend, until reaching the Doomstone, where the Serpent Slayers are waking from their repose. Horrified that Mira slipped out unseen, and has now brought back a stranger with them, they ask who she is and why she has come. The woman's name is Malina Petrovna, and she is here at the behest of the prince, summoning the Serpent Slayers back to Ladeisk, which is under siege by marauding wolves and other horrors. After ascertaining that she is likely not a spy, Yuri tells her that they will return, after completing their task here - waking the bogatyrs who lie beyond the pit of bones where only yesterday they slew a three-headed serpent. Alden hazes the new arrival by tossing a rock at her - perhaps he is having second thoughts about coming back here, rather than continuing to Malinka with the other wolves after all.
The Serpent Slayers, along with their new companion and their charges, begin to make their way back to the pit of bones. Slavomir begs to be left behind at the Doomstone - he is too old and hurt, and is only going to be a burden. Soon torches are lit, and they show that the pit is 10 feet deep near the ledge, and that the bones beneath the rickety rope bridge appear quite sharp. Yuri is injured, and decides not to risk his new horse in the pit, so he dismisses it. Misha then takes the lead in crossing the bridge, but it almost immediately collapses underneath his weight, and he tumbles down onto the sharp bones. Made of sterner stuff, he shakes off the pain, but the bridge is now gone, and there is no choice but to walk across the bones to the other side of the cave, which is so big as to be beyond the range of the torch. Alden holds the rope, and everyone climbs down into the pit - Svetlana and Mira are lowered by Yuri, who then hands the child off to Misha, and carries his bride himself, so their charges avoid damaging their feet (or worse) on the bones. The newcomer, Malina, is barefoot, but she appears to glide over the bones almost effortlessly, as does Zorina. The two of them reach the opposite side long before everyone else. Agapia does collect a few scrapes before she reaches the other side, but she does figure out to walk on the planks of the collapsed bridge to avoid further hurt to her feet. After reaching the other side with minor scrapes, the Serpent Slayers use the other part of the collapsed bridge as a rope ladder, and climb out without further incident.
The tunnel from the other side of the pit continues for just a short way - up ahead, there are sounds of rushing water. As the party approaches a 30-foot wide river, they notice an unmistakeable alcoholic smell - the river is made of mead! With Alden holding the rope once again, Misha gets into the river and almost immediately takes in some of the mead, and goes under. He drifts downstream, but is hauled out above the surface by Alden. Though he drifts downstream, he is soon able to grab hold of the opposite bank, and propels himself back to the tunnel on the opposite side. He then takes hold of the rope to allow the rest of his companions to cross by holding on to it. Rope loops are then made to allow each person crossing to remain fastened to the main rope, and Yuri guides Mira across. All are then able to get to the other side, and finally, Alden ties the rope around himself, and is hauled over. All emerge whole, though Misha and Zorina are a bit tipsy, and Svetlana is hiccuping and quite drunk.
The tunnel continues for another verst, and then comes to a shimmering curtain. The Serpent Slayers toss some rocks through, and stick a spear through the curtain, but it seems unaffected. Agapia tosses her die, and determines that continuing beyond the curtain is fraught with incredible danger, but possibly also great rewards. Yuri decides to march through with Svetlana, but she slips away, and does not follow him. The curtain shimmers, Yuri grows stiff, and though he is hauled back with Misha's glaive, he soon becomes stone, though his companions lay him down flat onto the stony floor before that happens. Svetlana is beside herself, and throws her arms around her petrified beloved in a drunken lament. But the rest of the group, besides Mira, are determined to get through to the other side. Alden walks through, and is nearly frozen, and pulls back. Zorina fares worse, and falls, covered with a hoary frost. Agapia falls as well, covered by acid burns. Malina is briefly blinded, but manages to emerge unharmed. Misha is also blasted with cold, but keeps to his feet. He revives Zorina and Agapia, and then the three of them and Malina minister to their companions' grave wounds. Alden changes into a wolf and runs through again, and although the blast of cold knocks him back into his original form, he survives. With Misha's help, he then uses his scythe to drag stone Yuri back across the curtain. Despondent Svetlana remains on the other side, along with Mira.
On the opposite side, the passage slopes down into a vast cave filled with statues of armed men, standing, crouching, with looks of horror registered on their faces. Zorina has a bad feeling - this whole place has the air of the grave about it. There is a tunnel leading right out of the cavern. Zorina transforms into a fox, and leads the rest of the group into a somewhat smaller, sculpted and vaulted chamber. A pile of coins and weapons lies in the middle of the room, but as the group reaches it, a frighful creature with eyelids hanging down to the floor emerges from the ground. "Where are you, my faithful servants?" it intones in a netherworldly voice.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Pit of Bones crossed
• River of Mead crossed
• Shimmering Curtain crossed (with losses)

Report Date

23 Oct 2020

Primary Location

Cave of the Sleeping Bogatyrs