"This drow has a name,.... it's Vivian, besides that I hardly even know you. Don't really feel I have to divulge my whole life story to you." She said. She sighed and looked over at him. "If you must know, that very thing is the reason I am here of all places. Like most rogue drow in the world, yes I am not the only one, we often must run from our houses or else be destroyed by them. Therefore I chose the one place they wouldn't come looking for me." She ended it with that and said no more. She turned to look forward once more. She then leaned her head against the back of Alyssa's not too hard so it would be a discomfort though. She could smell the incense or whatever attraction Alyssa was using. It smelled good and she could tell a lot of men must have fell prey to it, perhaps a few women too.

"To think I thought surface life would be completely,... boring. I guess it depends on the company." She said. There was something about the presence of another female that always comforted her. This group had two,... each one capable of felling the toughest of foes. "To be honest,... I shouldn't be too surprised that my so called family betrayed me. I fail one mission and my head was chosen to roll for it. All of those that I thought I could trust or love for that matter turned their backs on me. I come to the surface and the greatest enemy to us drow besides our surface cousins treats me like a friend. Kind of funny if you ask me."

Jarvis turned his head over to the drow and shrugged. "Too old to give a shit really,... well not old, but well... like you said. It's not like your the first drow to run from home. A lot of them helped my kin out here and there. To be truthful,... of all the monsters I have seen humans can be the worse." He looked to Catarina and Alyssa. "No offense to you two. Not all humans are bad. Just saying I have found a few that were worse then a black dragon" He added. He then turned back around and heard a few noises from his hog. He looked to the barrel on his boar and grabbed it and opened a makeshift lid he carved and hung it below her head for her to drink from.

Alyssa shrugged at the comments about drow and their evil, soulsucking, and slave having society. "So long as Vivian's not here to collect my former mistress's spell book and me with it I'm fine." She sighed, the truth was that drow made her uncomfortable, she remembered lashes and...worse things.

Vivian had the reverse effect though, not all drow were cruel some, even those that lived underground, could be kind. Evil is taught, not bred. Vivian's eyes reminded her of younger drow, before the evil had taken them, maybe it was foolish to trust her, maybe not. Alyssa was keenly aware that everything worth having required risk, and Vivian had something she wanted, maybe Alyssa would figure out what that was later, no sense in doubting her instincts now.

"After all I'm sure she misses her pet, but revealing yourself to me is like the worst way to capture me." She leaned back into Vivian. "Thing is, not all rogue drow are actually rogue. I've learned that the hard way, but I'm not worried about Viv here, you know why? Because if you worry about everything you'll go crazy, so I've simply decided not to."

She chuckled. "Besides, living with the drow wasn't all bad. They did give me a cool tat."

Catarina ' face grew grew bit red hearing Vivian and Alyssa's flirtation. Alyssa'sShe didn't want to admit she was a bit jealous so Catarina stayed in the back as the rear guard. She did feel some... Physical attraction towards Alyssa. Vivian was alright too. Catarina then patted her cheeks feeling even more flustered. "What am I thinking of... They're both girls. No way they'd feel the same." This was of course ignoring the fact that both Alyssa and Vivian seemed quote attached to each other.

Catarina was fairly quite as they continued onwards. Xavio asked Vivian about what brought jer to the surface. They way he said it made him sound like he's had a low opinion about drow, or perhaps it was just paranoia? Catarina isn't innocent of minor bigotry herself. The only reason she would tolerate Graug is because she is only here for the money. And as long as she gets that money Graug's loyalty is assured. It was a mercenary way of thinking, just like Catarina. Vivian still explained that it was due to, basically, treachery. Catarina had heard of the way drow scheme and backstab, but up until now she never actually believed it herself. She always figured it was just a sterotype.

Jarvis then made a crack about how humans are often worse then some like the drow, but Catarina couldn't say she disagreed. "There are horrible people in all races. Most you've met just happen to be human. Not that your wrong. Often back when I was a mercenary, most of my enemies were human... occasionally we'd fight orcs or wild elves, but the humans always promoted and did some of the worse crimes." Catarina shivered as she remembered the times she once worked for those people. Sure she never took part of the atrocities, but she did let them happen.

"But it was also usually humans who go out of their way to do good and fight against the evil humans. Heh. Makes it kinda hard to judge what humans are like, Co sidering they all so... Unique." After Catarina's small rant, she resumed to staying quite. However she also took out her crossbow and loaded it getting ready for the next ambush.

Well I guess it's true, pretty girls always fall for the weird ones. We normal people can't seem to have a break he thought to himself.
Turning to Jarvis he said: It's "3" not "two", has the heat hindered your mental capabilities so much that you can't even count?. About the monstrosity part, if you take drows for example, they are raised to fight and serve their power hungry masters. They practically live in a battlefield. At least humans have freedom and a chance to follow their own path. And no one can top an orc in means of destruction and savagery"-he said while distancing himself from the orc woman.-"Besides, there are far worse things than what you have encountered..."-flashbacks of that demonic plushie replayed in his mind.

Malkai was too far away to hear the others banter. Something about drow or some other, so he could guess that Vivian was being spoken about. 「Falchion, search the area for our temple. And find any more enemies. Orcs, animals, anything. Come back and report to me when you're finished.」 Malkai spoke to his Falchion in orcish. He also took out a piece of jerky for Falchion to chew on as he flew off and scouted ahead. Malkai continued to lead the group toward the temple while quietly communing with nature. He needed to learn what was around the desert, plant and animals, so he could use them for later.

"No I still mean two, like I said I wasn't trying to offend them. You I don't care about,...." The dwarf just rolled his eyes as the man claimed to have seen things much more horrible then him. "Listen, fool... have you ever had to help your people evacuate their home cause the dug too deep and ripped open a doorway that in that instant seemed to release hidious creatures from the dark abyss? I don't think not.. you know nothing about horror worm. Everyone here has most likely seemed their fair share, a lot of them a lot worse then what you have ever faced." The dwarf barked back not really caring about the man's attitude. "Also,... talk to me like that again and I will knock your blood head off your shoulders." With that he tapped the head of Betsy and the hog pushed forward a lot harder. He was trying to catch up to Malkai and as he did saw the falcon fly off in some direction.

As he did so he swore he could see the sand moving to the far right. He narrowed his eyes at it to make sure that it was just the wind. Little did he knew two sets of rather large eyes were staring back at them. It's scales the same color as the sand pretty much camoflauged. Judging from the path of the sand it was huge whatever it was. It watched the group very cautiously. It wasn't sure if they were a threat or not.

Vivian rolled her eyes once more at the words chosen by the human male. She then chuckled a little at Jarvis's response. She then rose up so that she was sitting proper again and looked over at Catarina. She noticed that she was actually staring and her face had color changes. Perhaps it was just the heat...or not. She smirked and looked to Alyssa. "A threesome aint too bad either." She added and after hearing the dwarf threaten the mage and she leaned in and whispered. "Ten gold says the mage doesn't make it to the temple.... " She figured if the desert or the orcs within it don't kill him one of them will. He just made enemies with a dwarf and dwarves did hold grudges. She then recalled the mans words about her own race. "You don't know anything about drow do you?... only stuff you had read in books. Written by humans no doubt. We are not slaves,... none of us are. We serve our mothers with great loyalty, fear may take a part in it, but still we are not slaves. We are not taught to be slaves either. We are taught the quickest way to kill someone and the steps to do it. We are taught that it is every drow for themselves and that trust is something to avoid. The worse part is.... no one teaches you this. We have to teach it ourselves. I may not have much love for those that betrayed me but before the back stab, I cared deeply about them. You tarnish their memories by speaking ill of them."

Now she was angry and she couldn't stand it. "As soon as this mission is over I am so done with this little whelp." Graug laughed at the whole scene. Mostly at Xavio, "Wow,.... in one sentence you made enemies of the two people who you would want to have your back and I thought my brain was small." The orc chuckled again. She knew what she was. She was a fighter and that was that. It was all she knew, it meant her brain was not trained to handle much more and she knew there were things in this world she just simply didn't know about. What she did know was how to pick your allies. Right now she ruled him out as one of them. How did this man live so long without him causing his own death.

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What mission?.... what where these people after. His curiousity was getting the best of him. Besides that he was starting to get uncomfortable. The creature decided to rise up from the sands shaking the sand of like a dog would water. It's copper wings extending for only a second and then taking to the sides of his body once more. The copper dragon stared at the group for only a second. He wanted to follow them just to see what they were up to but he shrugged off the desire quickly. He could already smell the foul scent of the orc from here. It quickly took flight and took for the east.

-"Come on, no need to fight among ourselves. Earlier it was the heat talking. I apologize for any offense or memories I might have tarnished."- Dwarfs. Greedy bastards, the whole lot of them. Dug too deep? Their damn fault then. I wonder how old the dwarf was when the abyssal creatures attacked him or his people. If that happened to him while he was 7 or so, he might have had a point. Hell, if a dragon appeared now I would take him on without a glimpse of fear or hesitation, if taking him on was the only option left...
A figure could be seen moving in the distance, barely noticeable, until it spread it's majestic copper wings, quickly taking flight east of their location. Dragons, always thought of them as majestic creat...-wait, A DRAGON?
-Did..did anyone see that? Or is the heat playing tricks on my mind?-reaching behind for the water barrel, he untapped the part where he had stabbed it during his rage of thirst in the city, filling his water canister and splashing it on his face to be refreshed. Filling it up again, he drank until his thirst was sated then closed it and stuck it to his belt.

Alyssa shrugged. Xavio was young, and an idiot to be sure. She didn't exactly hate the kid, just thought he might need to grow a little in the head before he was really suitable to this whole group adventuring thing. Time will tell on that one. She remembered being younger, stubborn and a little greedy, and selfish as a cat. Someone else paid the price for that though, and she learned her lesson. Alyssa just wanted to make sure none of her little band had to pay the price for Xavio's greed.

Alyssa blushed under her hood at Vivian's bold offer for a threesome, not really her thing most of the time. It wasn't likely to happen. Not to say Cat wasn't easy on the eyes, or that her blushing and examination of her 'armor' had gone unnoticed, but she didn't seem the type. She seemed the honest and earnest type, maybe even a little inexperienced. Alyssa wasn't sure how someone stayed inexperienced in mercenary camps for long, but that alone was curious. Cat seemed like the kind of woman that would settle down one of these days with someone and live out old age peacefully. She sighed, that wouldn't be so bad. Alot of years between here and there though. As much as Cat's earnesty was attractive Alyssa had always wanted things she couldn't have, all the more because they remained out of reach.

"Holy shit is that a...Dragon!" She quickly scoured her brain for knowledge of dragons. "Metalic, so it's likely to talk to us at least before eating us, oh it's heading east."

"I don't suppose we had time to follow it?" Alyssa turned to face Vivian and Jarvis her face flushed with child-like wonder and excitement. "I've never actually talked to a dragon!"

The dwarf watched the dragon as it took off, as expected there were a few aws and oos. He saw a few in his time. Often involving him running his ass off or hiding. Then Alyssa asked if they had time to follow it. He chuckled. "We don't have the time, besides I doubt our rides will be good enough to keep up with it." He then looked over at her. "Don't worry we will see him again, this being his territory he most likely roams this area quite often. Then again it is most likely a large area."

"Perhaps after we do this mission we can go pay the dragon a visit, I am sure he wont mind a little gossiping." He added. He then looked to the skies and saw it was getting darker. He began to wonder if Malkai's bird had seen the the temple yet.

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The land may have been large but the pace did help, not too far away was indeed the temple. It would still take them approximately ten hours to get there. The temple was fairly large with a large dome that had pillars collapsed and large cracks in the marble, even a few holes where sand had leaked through.

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Vivian witnessed the dragon and smiled. "Dragons,... The only creatures in this world who don't need to speak to gain respect. Even the chromatic dragons are respectable,... Well mostly the Reds or the Greens. The way the sun catches their scales is just marvelous." She then smirked. "You know we could just bring the chalice to this copper dragon instead. Who knows maybe he would allow us to pick one thing from his treasure trove to keep."

She chuckled not at all serious with her offer. "Of course I am joking, the payment the guild might give us could be a good some. Although they never even mentioned the amount they were going to pay. On top of that,... They didn't even pay us for at least half." She added. The more she worded it the more it confused her.

Alyssa smiled at the idea of circling back for the dragon once their quest was finished. A dragon, a real dragon. Alyssa found them inspiring, a creature of true unbridled freedom, near limitless life, and great wisdom. She was hoping it would be friendly.

Vivian's comments about the way the guild had handled this echoed her own, from clear back in the tavern. There would be only two reasons for that. A: They didn't actually expect them to come back. This concerned her, what if instead of a chalice they discovered the guild was trying to feed them to something. Or B: They weren't going to pay them at all. This was perhaps more concerning. There was a small possibility, however faint, that whatever was in this temple was so terrible, that the Guild might kill them to keep it's secret.

"Don't worry about it too much." Alyssa reached back and patted Vivian's thigh comfortingly. "They either don't expect us to return, or they intend to murder us when we get back."

"Either way I'm pretty good at not getting murdered, and getting paid reguardless of whether anyone wanted to pay me or not. I'd be happy to employ those talents on behalf of our little band."

"Are we going to camp before we get there?" She yawned. "I could do to hit my spellbook again, I don't exactly have my temple raiding spells prepared."

The sight of the Dragon was startling to say the least. Malkai had not suspected the copper dragon to make an appearance and for once, actually worried about his life. Dragons were formidable foes, and even Malkai's magic may not do much more than annoy the beast. Fortunately the dragon flew off into the distance, but it only made him wonder where the dragon was going... and more importantly where he came from. A unprotected dragon's horde... a greater treasure than whatever this chalice is. But Malkai needs more information before he goes off hunting treasure. For now, it was back to the mission at hand.

Some of the others voiced their concerns about the guild not paying them. It 2as more likely then one would think: a large, somewhat powerful organization like the Mage Guild could screw them out of a deal and there'd be very little simple mercs like them can do about it. They'd need some leverage over the guild. This chalice of silence may be exactly what they need to secure payment, assuming they don't end up dead trying to get it. Sighing, Malkai simply continued riding. Eventually the temple came into sight, but it was still many miles off. Falchion returned to inform Malkai of what he saw and the rough estimate of how long it could take the party to reach the temple.

"The temple is ten hours away. Eight if we rush the camels. It'll get dark either way. I'd say we camp outside the temple and check around it for anything important."

Alyssa didn't like the idea of camping just outside a temple potentially filled with eldritch evils and a horde of undead. Many undead feared the sun, she'd prefer to make her approach with the sun blazing overhead.

On the other hand if they got the temple within sight she could take a cursory glance at the structure and perhaps gain some insight into what they might face inside. She at least be able to cast a divination or so into the nature of the most common threats. That would certainly allow her to make a more informed decision about what spells to memorize for the endeavor.

"I guess I can see pros and cons to either approach. I'll defer to the wisdom of the rest of you in this, but as a warning. I don't do my best work tired." She went through a mental check list of the spells left in her memory. "I do have quite a few invisibilities left, enough fire to get through a few more scrapes, and a magic circle or so just incase. I say if Jarvis has a consecrate available we go for it, otherwise it might be wiser to camp an hour or so out."

Jarvis looked over at the group and then towards the temple. All three of the magic users had used spells in that last fight. It would be unwise to go in now. There was no telling how much Vivian's disguise spell drained her either. "I think we should camp outside the temple. Besides my left ass cheek has fallen asleep." He said as he shifted in his seat. "To be safe we should all be well rested before we go in."

Vivian yawned and glanced off at the temple. "Sure looks like its seen better days don't it?" Then the idea of making camp came up. "Well I did hold that disguise spell for quite awhile and it is draining. But night time is where I am best I could scout a little or we can just have a watch. Mostly to make sure nothing comes out to devour our souls."

Graug shrugged feeling she could go another few hours but going in alone would be stupid.

As the group rode up to the temple Malkai had Falchion once more scout around. ”I do not mind camping, but we should put some distance between us and the temple. There’s no telling what’s waiting inside. But before we do start, let us find the entrance and secure it.” Of course Malkai wasn’t really expecting anyone to follow his order, so he went to look for the entrance himself. Thanks to Falchion malkai did find a sizable window of some sort some ways above him. There wasn’t any obvious entrance as far as Malkai could tell, but that much was expected since most of the temple is still buried in sand. So leaving his camel behind and taking out some rope and a grappling hook, Malkai tossed it up near this window entrance Falchion found.

Sure enough the window was large enough to fit Malkai, though it was fairly dark within, even for Malkai’s dark vision. Fortunately Malkai knew a few light spells, so all they would need is a few rocks and Malkai can set up lights throughout the temple. But not right now. Malkai fed his partner another piece of dried meat and some water straight from the wineskin, before speaking to him in druidic.「Stay and watch up here. Make sure no one goes in or out.」

Malkai climbed back down but left his rope there for tomorrow. He returned to the others and told them what he found so far. ”I found one entrance into the temple. Some sort of window high up, nothing but darkness within. Haven’t found any other entrance yet. Have we decided where to set up camp?”

Eventually the group reached the temple. "Finally. I was getting sore." Catarina got off her camel and stretched out her legs. While she'd admit using the camel allowed her to get here much faster than on foot, she wasn't meant to ride horses all day long. Everyone looked ready to set up camp, though it was still rather early. Catarina was still worried about sandstorms, but fortunately she had just enough gear to make a crude shelter for herself. It also doubles as a tent. "I don't mind taking a watch first." As she said that, Catarina was taking out some of her camping gear and getting ready to set up camp right where she was at.

Alyssa set about preparing her sleeping arrangements. She took a large drop cloth that was the same color as the sands and anchored it with pitons to the side of a small rock formation that jutted from the desert, next she stretched the cloth over a depression she'd dug in the sands and fixed the corners in place with spikes. Unfolding her bedroll she placed in under the improvised lean to.

She smiled. She'd jokingly told the merchant she purchased this from months ago that she'd need room for two. That had been unfortunately false since. Maybe tonight she'd make good on that lascivious claim.

Malkai had just returned from his scouting expedition by the time she finished. A window high up and darkness within huh?

"If you can fit through it then none of us will have any issue. Tomorrow I'll go in invisible with spiderclimb and darkvision and see what there is to see." She giggled. "Oh and best not forget the dancing illusion of me to bait any ambushes that might await us."

Jarvis slid off his battle boar, Betsy, and then directed her to his chosen spot. He then grabbed from off her back several bed rolls and tossed them on to the ground. He then pushed them away except for one. That one was going to be for him. As for the others,... those could be used by his companions if they so chose to. He then looked up at Cat and her choice to take first watch. He nodded allowing her to do so. As long as it wasn't anyone incompetent that would be much appreciated. Basically anyone but the orc. She might have the muscle but not the brain power. They never did. Well not from his experience, there were a few intelligent orcs he has come across. They were also the most dangerous and quite often chieftains. Once his bed roll was situated he began to fix up some sort of cover for it. In case it did storm tonight. He then looked to the center of what their camp would be and headed over to it. Once he was there he began to build a makeshift camp fire. Some would say it unwise but he was hungry and he doubt he was the only one. He had the whole kit right on his pig. The sticks and stones and some tinder. He then had the rods and the pots as well. He then pulled a sack off of her and opened it staring into it and sniffing. Pleased with the contents with in he looked to the pot and cast a simple low level create water spell. The spell filled the pot up almost to the brim. He took note of this and with his water skin made it a little less full. He then dumped the contents of the sack into the pot. It was bits of meat mostly pork. Betsy didn't mind, hell she would eat it her self even if she knew it was made from pig. He then pulled forth another sack from her bag and began to put it's contents into the pot as well. Various vegetables such as carrots, onions, and potatoes. He then lit the fire and pulled forth a good sized spoon and began to stir. "It's not much but ye can live on it,... don't know what ye all think of dwarf cooking. Doubt any of ye ever been inside a dwarven settlement anyways." He said.

Vivian slid off the camel and plopped onto the sand. She didn't know how tired her body was until she tried to stick the landing. That or the sand was very uneven, she wound up falling over onto her knees and saved her face just in time before it ate some. She then helped her self up and noticed that the sand was already beginning to cool. She sighed,.... "Only in a desert can it be roasting hot during the day and then below freezing during the night... or at least it feels like it's below freezing." She said. She then heard the dwarf's comment about neither one of them ever been in a dwarven settlement. she couldn't speak for the others but she sure knew she never had. Her missions never really demanded her to interact with the dwarves. Her kin at the time her mostly occupied with destroying each other most of the time. Maybe a few elven establishments where raided here and there but nothing too big. She walked over and noticed the bed rolls tossed about and picked up one dusting it off and then rolling it out. " Perhap's if we are close to the fire it wont get so cold."
"If it does let me know,... I can cast endure elements on ye." Jarvis said. She looked up and smiled nodding as she did. Funny,... the dwarf was actually tolerable. Unlike the human who thinks drow are nothing but slaves. I bet some damn elf made that lie if anything.

"Also the talk about who goes in first. I naturally have darkvision, and I cast invisibility as well, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is the unseen dangers.... it is a temple so it could be cursed and well I don't. Angry spirits or something.... but either way better safe then sorry." She honestly didn't care who entered first. She didn't think they would find much resistance unless something more fleshy decided to make its home here while the temple was on the surface again.

Graug swung her leg around and climbed off her horse and then moved to the fire refusing to grab a bed roll at the moment. Not sure if it was stupidity or pride, most likely both, but she refused to grab one right now. She would later though once her belly was full. She did not feel like hassling with the damn thing right now.

Alyssa made her way over to the small campfire Jarvis had created. "I love dwarven cooking. Everything's hot and hearty. Can't eat it too often though, gotta watch my firgure ya know?" She made a little show of highlighting her curves. "You brought extra bedrolls? You're a strange dwarf Jarvis. I like it, but you're strange anyway."

She layed her cloak out on the ground and flopped down near the fire. "I have a magical bedroll. Cost me the better portion of the haul from a 'job' I did a while back. My philosophy has always been that the most expensive things you own should be, and in this order, gear so you can stay alive, shoes because you spend all day on your feet and that might as well be comfortable, then your bed because you spend a third of your life sleeping."

"But that's me." She sighed happily her eyes closing as she relaxed until supper was prepared. "I suppose I'll take second shift, I usually have to get up to pee around that time anyway." She giggled.

Malkai looked towards Jarvis when he questioned if they ever been to a dwarven settlement. He would have made a quip, but thought against it. Just because the dwarf was ignorant doesn't mean Malkai was going to stoop to his level. That, and Malkai was going to be brutally honest when, if asked if he's ever been to a dwarven settlement, that the only time he's went was when he plundered their towns and raided their homes alongside orcish tribes. He even had some Dwarven slaves, but disliked their overall weakness and quickly sold them off to the highest bidder.

As for their cuisine, it was thick and hearty at the best of times. But otherwise most of the food made by dwarves seems to take into account simplicity and shelf-life over taste and flavor. It could look like a well-crafted steak or a pile of grey goo, and it'd taste all the same if it was made by a dwarf. That being said, he finds that dwarves make the best fruit preserves, besting even the elfs when it comes to natural ingredients. Though Malkai also finds their ales and lagers to be overly hyped. But then again Malkai also doesn't like alcohol, so he couldn't really judge that accurately.

As for Malkai's camping gear, while he'd appreciate the coverings of a tent, when it was time to sleep he intended to go somewhere where none of the others can see him, turn into a desert fox, and burrow underneath the sands. He could maintain that form long enough for him to get at least an 8 hour sleep, assuming he doesn't take a watch. Which he won't. As for dinner preparations Malkai at least had his own utensil: A mug, a pair of sticks, a spoon, and a bowl. The mug looked to be made of some sort of black metal, the sticks carved from wood, a spoon of dwarven design, and the bowl appears to be the scalp of some sort of large skull (It was a giant's). He waited quietly for Jarvis to finish cooking before he'd help himself.

As he waited, Malkai was mostly listening to Alyssa. Mostly cause she talked a lot. He found it rather annoying, but didn't mention anything about it. She wasn't the first person to blabber on and on about what he felt was meaningless words, but nature adapts. At the very least she gave fodder for conversation, which wasn't something that Malkai shied away from. "What enchantments does your bedroll have? I'd like to test them out myself."

Alyssa looked over to Malkai. "It mimics endure elements for one, so I don't have to worry about temperature. For two the fabric is sealed against moisture, so I needn't worry about raid or dew. The third and probably my favorite is the subtle camouflage, which is useful for obvious reasons."

Alyssa grinned. "Add that to the mundane properties of being oversized so I can toss and turn as much as I'd like, and incredibly soft and that makes me a happy girl." It may have been silly, but she was proud of her bedroll. It meant that she'd never be uncomfortable while sleeping, and that meant the world to a former slave.

Getting up she retrieved the article from her lean to. "You want to have a look?"