Up or Down?

----> Meggana looks at the items dipped in oil, and begins rummaging in her pack. After a moment, she produces some lamp oil. She carefully dips a few arrows into it, keeping them separate from the rest.
----> Tilwic, shining his torchlight up the eastern stairs, conducts a thorough investigation of the first few stairs before continuing onward. He stops and turns about midway up the stairwell and addresses the group behind him.
----> "The stairs are clear," Tilwic begins. Squeezing his staff, each end wrapped in oil soaked rags, he suggests splitting up again into two smaller groups. "Time is only precious when used wisely. If used unwisely, its worth is that of horse dung."
----> "I'm for going up the stairs first, too," Alasdair says, turning his back to the upper tier that lies at the top of his stairwell. "Those undead seem to prefer the darkest and deepest areas of the temple." Alasdair looks over his shoulder at Siggy, sitting on Tharg's back. "I think we don't have much to fear right now; Siggy's quite calm."
----> Tharg stands tall while petting and comforting Siggy, the small macaque monkey. As everyone looks around the staircases, the barbarian examines the crates against the northern wall. Apparently finding nothing exciting in the pile, he proceeds to break up the wooden crates and sets the splinters in the iron torch brackets on the walls. He lights these with the torch he carries.
----> Grant, stepping back from the dark, descending stairwell, reenters the inner chamber where the group has gathered. He wisely suggests clearing a room that can be easily defended and using it as a rest area. "We need to set up a base of operations. Somewhere defendable. Somewhere safe." He scratches his beard as he looks around him and adds, "Somewhere without so many frigging stairs."
----> "Yes," the bard agrees, "some place to retreat to in case we need to run from someone... or something."
----> "Where me go?" Tharg asks.
----> "Come with me up those other stairs, Big-Man," Cyrdan instructs, joining Alasdair's ascent.
----> Yohon finds the dripping noise intriguing and suggests it warrants further exploration. Grant agrees, but sets clearing the upper levels and gaining a base of operations as priority. "No sense digging down until we've dug in," he says.
----> Grant follows Yohon and Tilwic up a stairwell. Meggana joins Alasdair, Cyrdan, and Tharg on the other.
----> "Make sure we watch our backside," Cyrdan whispers to Meggana. Biting her lower lip, the young elven maiden nods. She keeps her ears and eyes wide open.
----> The group ascends.