[h1][center][u]Behind Curtain Number One: 
Mat And Coraline [/u][/center][/h1]

Coraline  held her longsword at the ready. She gritted her teeth, "Come out and  fight me honorably." Coraline called to the voice.

That's  when she felt the presence of another. She turned to face him and was  about to swing her weapon at him. She gave him a look over, "You're no  necromancer."

Mat stood dumbfounded as everything had gone black then he was suddenly in  the room.  He could see someone else there, but didn't even bother to  raise his spear in defense.  Luckily, she stopped before she hit him and  said something that he didn't even pay attention to.  Mat finally  turned to look at the other person in the room, seeing a woman standing  there with a longsword.  At first he didn't react until he saw the witch  markings on her face, then his eyes widened.  Did that thing give him a  chance to kill [i]her[/i] now?  [color=ed1c24][i]She's here, I can do it now.  No,  wait, no Mat.  It might not be her...[/i][/color]

Mat tossed his spear slightly up and got into an attacking position.  [color=ed1c24]"Let me ask you something.  Was it you?"[/color]

Coraline  raised a brow, "Was what me? Bringing us to this room?" she shook her  head as she held her stance, "No. Seems I fell into the same trap as you  did. You're one of hunters that came to kill the necromancer, yes?"

Mat  shook his head.  [color=ed1c24]"No, I already know who did that,"[/color] he muttered.  [color=ed1c24]"I  came here to kill a necromancer and found something much worse.   Fortunately, he brought me to you."[/color]  His mouth almost twitched into a  crazed smile then he stabbed right at her chest with his spear.

Coraline  flinched as he lunged his spear out at her. At times like that, she was  really glad that she wore armor. With her flinch, the spear glanced  across her armor, creating sparks. She knew the marks on her face were  what led to the attack. Coraline tried to reach out and grab at the  shaft of the spear to try and stop him from making another attack,  "Perhaps you should talk more before trying to pierce my heart,"  Coraline snapped at him, "I'm a huntress, you fool."

Mat  twisted away before she could grab the spear and stepped near a wall,  looking at her for a moment.  [color=ed1c24]"Huntress.  A witch huntress.  Sure,"[/color] he  muttered, visibly shaking now.  [color=ed1c24]"I-I can't take any chances, not after  what just happened."[/color]  Mat pulled his flintlock pistol from his belt and  aimed it.  [color=ed1c24]"I ask again, was it you?"[/color]

The  red haired warrior rolled her eyes when he shrugged off her comment,  "I'm also an annointed knight. I wont fight you." Coraline turned her  back to him and looked around the room some more.
"Clearly  our real adversary knew you'd recognize the witch marks. We're being  pitted against one another. It doesn't matter who dies, they win."

Once  again, she was asked a question she didn't understand, "What are you on  about?" she looked back over her shoulder and saw that he had his  flintlock pistol trained on her. "I came here with Flint Digard."

Mat  paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and lowered the pistol, but  then glared and pointed it again.  [color=ed1c24]"I can't take any chances, how do I  know if you are or if you're not the one I've been searching for?  I  just, need to make sure."[/color]  Mat was shaking even more now, his head  flooding with conflicting thoughts.

"Am  I supposed to know the answers to these questions? Because I don't."  Coraline shook her head in frustration with the man and approached the  curtains. She studied them, "Come to your senses, hunter, and help me  find a way out of this place. We can spar in Seren's Folly after if you  really feel the need to fight me."

Coraline  ran her hand along one of the curtains. The curtain waved gently to her  touch and revealed a path behind it. "Here." she said and looked back  to the disgruntled hunter, "A corridor. Join me if you want but don't  try and stab me again."

Mat  was tempted to just fire right then and there at the huntress witch,  but he relented and put it away.  Emiliah was still out there, he needed  to find her.  [color=ed1c24]"Very well, you have a deal.  I can go in front if you wish,"[/color] he said, stepping out.  [color=ed1c24]"Just please be honest to your word.  It's  very hard for many to do that these days."[/color]

Coraline  shook her head, "If you don't trust me, then stay behind me. You wont  need to worry about me stabbing you in the back." Coraline didn't wait  as she passed through the curtain and into the hallway. She kept her  sword up as she slowly advanced down the corridor.

"I'm Caroline Toph. If we're going to be working together then I'd appreciate a name to call you." she said.

Mat  followed behind with his spear in hands, his eyes looking over  everything they past.  When he asked for a name he simply said, [color=ed1c24]"Mat."[/color]   Everything here felt...wrong, like it wasn't supposed to be here, or  maybe because they weren't supposed to be there.

The  knight nodded slowly, "Alright, Mat," she paused, "What are your  talents? It's good for a team to know one another's strengths and  weaknesses. How long have you hunted?"

Coraline heard some movement up ahead and slowed her pace, "Hold that thought."

She  crept up to the wall and advanced forward quietly. Her light plate  armor clanked but her slow movements dropped the volume significantly.  There was a corner up ahead. She appraoched it and peaked her head  around the corner. She spotted a figure in priory robes, likely a man  who had lived in the church before it was tainted. Coraline didn't say a  word, she knew what necromancers were capable of and the entire nature  of the place she and Mat were dragged to told her that he wasn't simply a  priest.

Coraline  looked back to Mat and gestured around the corner. She whispered, "I'm  going to get his attention. Stay in the shadows and wait until you're  behind him. If he's aggressive, take no chances."

She  was about to step out but she remembered something. Coraline looked  back to Mat again, "Keep it clean and make it quick. Nobody deserves to  suffer."

Mat  followed along quietly, his footsteps quietly tapping against the stone  floor.  Upon seeing the undead Mat gave a simple nod to what she said  and slipped next to the wall.  Upon her comment of keeping it clean and  quick Mat made a slight chuckle.  [color=ed1c24][i]Oh if only you heard what I just  admitted to Emiliah and that...thing,[/i][/color] he thought.

She shrugged, "None of my concern."

Coraline stepped out into the open and lowered her sword, "Prior," she called out, "Are you alright?"

The  figure began to turn slowly. As it's face became visible from the  shadow of the corner, Coraline saw that it was indeed an undead. The  creature's jaw was handing from one side of his face. There was a  massive cleave taken out of his forehead and his eyes were simply to  empty pits of darkness. It gurgled and began shuffling toward Coraline's  voice. She glanced over to Mat and nodded once before speaking again,  "I'm over here. Can you see me?"

The  creature diverted its course slightly to come at her more directly. It  was blind, so she wasn't too concerned about dispatching it. At least,  not until the prior robes fell from its body. As the robes hit the  floor, Coraline could see that there wasn't any man left save for its  head. Coraline had seen these before, Bone Takers. Dark creatures that  stole the bones of their victims and added it to their amalgamous forms.  The body was almost arachnid in appearance with several legs and a  thorax made of ribe cages. The head of the priest was simply a lure, the  read face of the creature was low to the ground. It had four eyes that  glowed a color that shouldn't exist. Looking into the eyes to try and  discern the color was how it entranced its prey.

Coraline  looked at the more manageable, albeit deformed, head of the priest.  Bone Takers were challenging creatures, and Coraline hoped then that her  new companion was a skilled fighter.

Mat  kept quiet as Coraline attracted the bone taker to her, slowly stepping  around to behind.  The hunter kept quiet and watched Coraline as she  nodded to him.  Nodding back he made a small step forward towards it.   Bone takers seemed quite annoying to take down, and his spear wasn't  ideal for fighting one.  Tearing it apart was ideal, or killing the  right head.  Keeping quiet Mat strode right behind the creature before stabbing right at its chest.  Right before the spear hit the Bone Taker though Mat suddenly disappeared.