Kenza nodded at Mistletoe's words, figuring that the girl was probably tired and sore from her injuries anyway. The headache from before is mostly gone, which is good, she thought, sitting down and leaning against the bars.

"Should we bother to lie down so it seems like we're injured? The Wolfwing would probably see Derrick's empty cage first anyway, so is there even a point?" Kenza asked, looking up so that the weight of her head was resting on the bars behind her. Although uncomfortable, the woman really didn't want to lie on the floor any longer than she had to. At least if she was sitting, she'd able to get up and attack quickly if needed.

---

@lord of evil @lchris314 @hekazu

@Hekazu@Lord of Evil@Dusksong

"There's no point in pretending to be injured, yeah. Just... take a break the way you like?" Mistletoe sat with her back to the wall. She could feel warmth being lost bit by bit through her clothes to the cold, damp wall, but she didn't bother moving. It was a prison cell, not a cosy tavern after all.

"Do you think we can get out of this alive?" She asked with a hazy voice that faintly suggests indifference.

Derrick left the dusty hall and reentered the prison block, greeted by the now somewhat comforting light of the torch and the ever-present scent of mold. His steps quickened as he emerged into the light and he soon arrived back at the cell block his teammates were in.
"I got the key!" He said to the girls. "Let's get out of here!"

Derrick was a little nervous. He felt like the Wolfwing could come out at any moment and make all of their efforts useless, as if by unlocking the cell he could summon the beast that kept them in here in the first place. He knew that wouldn't happen but he couldn't stop being at least a little worried.

He fumbled in the lock with the key to clear out the splinters, nearly dropping it once, before he managed to fully push it into the lock. Derrick turned the key and the cell door swung open with a slightly worrying creak.
"Let's go!" He said, gesturing down the hall with his lantern hand. "I found some kind of dusty watchroom or something, maybe we can get out through there."
@Dusksong@lchris314@Hekazu

“Frankly, I’m not sure,” Kenza said, frowning as she rolled the plate shard around in her hands. Perhaps today really was the day she’d meet the maker. At least then she could live in comfort knowing that her earnings over the years would all be transferred to her family. The friends she’d made over the years might not be the most trustworthy, but they were loyal and understood each other better than others who didn’t know what it was like to have to wipe blood off blistered hands to prevent frostbite in the biting winter airs.

A scrambling sound from the hallway put Kenza on alert, and she let out a relieved sigh when she saw that it was just Derrick. A broad smile broke across her face at news of a key, and Kenza was just about prepared to jump for joy when the door to the cell was unlocked. “Thank god. I thought I was going to have to die in there,” she admitted with a shudder, helping Mistletoe to her feet and exiting the cell quickly.

Bouncing on the tips of her feet, Kenza felt blood rush through her stiff muscles. It may have just been a little over half a day of inactivity, but even that was too much for someone who was always on the move, always counting on performing her best to survive.

“Lead the way,” she told Derrick, eyes set. Kenza saw a clear chance at survival now, and she’d be damned if anything took her eyes off it again.

---

@lord of evil@lchris314@hekazu

"I got the key! Let's get out of here!" Derrick came back with an encouraging news. The key unlocked the cell door without any trouble, making Kenza smile, perhaps for the first time Mistletoe had ever seen. She helped Mistletoe get up and follow Derrick out.

The gloomy and somewhat annoyed expression on Kenza's face was gone for good, and replaced with a pulsating will to survive. She wasn't alone, as Mistletoe also got into full survival mode the second they went out of the cell. Her breath became soft, steps were silent, eyes scanning as they went along the hallway.

"We should keep our volume down. We don't know how well the monster listens." Mistletoe whispered.

"Right. Sorry." Derrick said, lowering his volume down to an appropriate level.
He was sort of nervous about leading the way, as he had never been much of a leader. But he calmed himself by thinking that he was just guiding the group.

At the junction, he took a moment to decide where to go. He hadn't actually been to the left, and that was where the one solitary torch was. It was tempting to explore there, but he hadn't completely explored that room at the right. It may have been a dead end, it may have been a path forward, but it was probably worth checking out a little more. They probably didn't exactly want to split up at the moment so he decided to go right, because he hadn't seen any sign of the Wolfwing in it.
"This way." He whispered, gesturing for them to follow. "This room seems to be some kind of guard barracks. There might be something useful left inside."
With that, he walked back into the dusty room.
@Dusksong@Hekazu@lchris314

The door through which Derrick led his group opened into a dark room, in which seeing with ordinary eyes was rather difficult. He had noticed the keys in the dying light of the lantern before it had abandoned him, but now the darkness enveloped the room to a great degree. However, some light filtered in from under something that could only be presumed to be a curtain on the left side of the room. The light was blueish, as if daylight was shining through tinted glass.

Otherwise all they could see was what was illuminated by the light coming in from the doorway, two small gargoyle like sculptures laid on their side and face respectively on the floor at the back of the room and there was an old rug on the floor. Dust was nearly everywhere in sight, with the exception of a few large pawprints right next to the door: Wolfwing must have been using those keys recently. It only made sense, didn't it?

@Dusksong@LChris314@Lord of Evil

Kenza followed Derrick down the corridor, her senses alert and her breathing low. Even if the Wolfwing possessed keen senses, the radius of its awareness had limits, and Kenza wanted to stay on the safer side and not test those. Wonder if it can talk? she thought, figuring she'd pose the question to the group later.

When the room opened up, Kenza's eyes were immediately drawn towards the door and the light behind it. Her eyes then flowed down, following the structure's length to the great pawprints below. Wolfwing, she thought, a wave of anticipation flowing through her. After all the hunts she'd been on, Kenza had definitely been on a few where she found the tables turned on her -- the hunter hunted, stalked like prey. Still, none had been so treacherous, so full of risk and with such an intelligent creature on the other end. Keeping us prisoner -- is it of human intellect, or even greater? she thought, resisting a shiver.

Lifting her eyes from the pawprints, Kenza took in the rest of the room, her eyes ghosting over the design on the rug and towards the strange object behind which blue light washed out. A curtain? she wondered, simultaneously feeling her curiosity pique and her senses tingle in warning. Why is the light blue? she wondered, searching her experiences for blue light. Tinted glass was an option, which suggested a window, and also refracted light that shone off something of similar color. Either of those options suggested something akin to a glowing object or an opening, and neither seemed as dangerous as opening the door.

Looking to the other two in her group, Kenza nodded to the window, figuring that both of the hunters she was with would understand her views. Still, she wanted to check with them -- curiosity was a dangerous allure when trying to survive, and Kenza figured she may as well get input since she could.

---

@lord of evil@lchris314@hekazu

Derrick glanced around the dusty room, for the third time that day. It didn't seem like there was anything there at the moment, at least not as far as he'd seen. On closer inspection the Wolfwing had indeed been here, but he didn't think it had a reason to come back so he assumed they would be safe at the moment.

Derrick nodded his approval at Kenza's suggestion and moved walked out a little further into the room, watching out for any trouble. He specifically watched the door and the darkness at the end of the room, as he couldn't see see well in those areas.
@Dusksong@Hekazu@lchris314

Approval was given, the curtain both approached and moved aside. Behind it laid something they had partially expected: There was a window there. However, there was no light coming from it, the source of the blue tinted illumination instead being in front of it. It was a statue as far as naked eye could discern, made of some black rock that had vein-like markings on it's surface that reflected the blue light coming from the mouth of the statue. It depicted a dragon-like figure, wrapped in it's own wings. It was quite skinny in it's shape and did not exactly give a powerful or awe inspiring aura. It was... rather bad as far as sculptures go to be quite honest.

However, the blue tinted light did indeed come from the statue's mouth. One could not fit their head close enough to peek deeper in as the bony wings were in the way, leaving but a small gap between the tip of the upper jaw and the top of the sheltering wings. Whatever it was, it laid perfectly still. There were no particular changes to be noticed anywhere and Mistletoe gave no reports of activity from the hallway either.

Now that the blue light could spread a little, the rest of the room was somewhat better illuminated though. The appearance of an abandoned barrack was somewhat shaken by the fact the opposing wall had some sort of icons on it, although so time worn it was hard to tell what they might be. The weapon racks were clearly bolted to the floor though, so they had to belong here... An odd space indeed. And strangely void of furniture.

@Lord of Evil@Dusksong@LChris314

Kenza took in the statue with alarm, skating back quickly before stepping forwards slowly and carefully, steps measured with caution. A statue that glows? Sure there are strange things in the world, she thought, now close enough to reach an arm out and touch the statue, but none so strange as this. The shape -- although obscured by darkness and its own leathery wings -- immediately reminded the hunter of the Wolfwing, but at the same time it seemed rather wrong. It was too small, too frail, too inert to bear a total likeness to the beast that had crushed the cell door earlier that day. The glow seemed to emanate from the statue's mouth, a strange sight to say the least. Is it even a statue? Kenza wondered, simultaneously repulsed and enchanted by the idea of reaching out and touching the statue. Even if it is, there are rumours of statues cursing people who prove too curious for their own good, so I'd do well not to touch it.

Looking to Derrick, Kenza lowered her voice -- an action she was aware of and still chose to partake in since the statue was liable to send shivers down her spine. "I'll go take a look around the room first," she said, keeping the inanimate glow in the corner of her eye. "This place looks abandoned, but there might still be some useful items laying about. I'll take the side closest to the closed door."

With that Kenza walked off, steps light as she tread towards the other side of the room. Life in the woods had made her into a cautious person, willing to lie in wait rather than charge headfirst into battle. It might be called cowardice in some parts, but it had kept Kenza alive nonetheless. I'll check out the statue after I'm done searching the room. If Derrick doesn't check it out first, she thought, bending over to look behind an ancient-looking weapon rack.

---

@lord of evil@lchris314@hekazu

Derrick almost didn't hear Kenza as she spoke but soon nodded his affirmation. He looked at the statue and then looked back as the hunter began searching the room. It seemed that she didn't want to touch the weird statue, and Derrick didn't want to either. He supposed that they'd check it out later, so as Kenza went to work, Derrick headed to the other side of the room. His reasoning was that he'd look for something useful while she did as well, and since the room didn't seem that large, he could run to her if something happened.

Derrick regularly glanced backwards to confirm Kenza's position, partially because he wanted to watch for trouble and partially because he was somewhat afraid. He wanted to know that he could run that way and regroup at any time, whether or not they'd found something. Having another human presence was comforting, and he didn't want to stray too far from it.
@Dusksong@Hekazu

Despite their best searching efforts and the additional light provided by the statue, the hunters did not find much. The weapon racks showed signs of age in both the amount of accumulated dust and the occasional broken parts and while it came as quite a surprise to find two shortspears leaning in these abandoned storage implements, it quickly became evident why: Their handles were brittle. They would probably snap if too much force was used, but at the very least they were weapons.

In addition to these, a single book could be found open behind the assumed altar, although the open pages were pressed against the floor. It had no name on it's leather covers and the text inside was unintelligible. Well, the script was familiar as it was written in common alphabet. The problem being that none of the words made any sense. On further inspection, each "chapter" if one could call them so seemed to end in the words "Ekil Erif, Ekam Erif, Erif Erif", whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Let's split the shortspears. Mistletoe's injured, so she probably wouldn't be in the best shape to handle a weapon," Kenza said, hefting the spear. Remarkably light, the weapon seemed like it wouldn't last past a single blow before snapping.

Well, better make that one blow count, she thought, approaching the statue again. To Kenza, surviving meant living on the cautious side, and that meant trusting your gut to direct you. Whether it told you your worries were impossible or that there was imminent danger, Kenza had lived by this principle and kept her reasonable side -- which told her that curses were just the stuff of campfire tales -- silent. But, current circumstances considered, Kenza figured she may as well try trusting her intellect again. After all, the Wolfwing appeared to be much smarter than much of the game Kenza had originally hunted.

"Alright," she whispered to herself, planting both feet in front of the glowing statue. A rare ore or a sort of strange concoction were the first things that came to mind, and neither seemed totally useful in her current situation. However, its glowing properties may provide to be a distraction should Kenza ever need one, so they weren't completely useless either.

Reaching into the dragon's mouth, Kenza squeezed her hand into the tight space until her hand came into contact with something.

---

@lord of evil@lchris314@hekazu

Kenza's attempt to retrieve whatever it was that was glowing within the maw of the statue ended in her fingers touching the back of the thing's maw. Seems like it wasn't something added as an afterthought, but a part of the statue itself. With there seemingly being nothing to gain, probing further did not seem like anything but a waste of time. However, as soon as she retracted her hand, the statue rumbled on it's spot.

The blue light seemed to pulse once, for a moment becoming dim and then flashing brighter than before, returning to ordinary soon after. The wings of the statue slowly began to unfurl as the blue light travelled across the statue's "veins", slowly but surely. If the adventurers stayed to observe for a moment, they could notice the pace of the light accelerating and reaching further parts of the statue every passing moment... And then came the cracking sound as some pieces of the stone dragon were unceremoniously flung from their spot, only to slowly be dragged back towards the sculpture by unseen forces.

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil@LChris314

Derrick jumped back in surprise at the spectacle. He'd ditched the plate shard in favour of the short spear given to him by Kenza but even a proper weapon was small comfort for the statue's strange behaviour. He was suspicious of the statue from the start and had joined Kenza when she began investigating it, but now he wasn't sure it had been a good idea.

Derrick watched nervously for a moment as the blue light-thing dragged the pieces of the broken statue towards itself. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before, and he had no idea what it was doing.
"Kenza?" Derrick asked nervously. "What's going on?"
@Dusksong@lchris314@Hekazu

As slow as she was to approach the statue, Kenza didn't waste any time getting away from the statue. At the first sign of anything stranger than what she'd seen before she approached the statue the second time, Kenza had bolted for the door, pausing midstep when she realized that Derrick hadn't moved.

"Derrick, what are you doing?" she hissed, alarmed that the boy hadn't jumped back at the first sign of trouble. Is he daft? she wondered briefly before looking back to the statue. Seeing as Derrick was a little more than a third of the party's strength -- when factoring in Mistletoe's injuries -- Kenza knew it'd be prudent not to let him off himself just yet, so she stood her ground, waiting for whateer it was that was happening to the stone.

---

@lord of evil@lchris314@hekazu

Derrick heard Kenza before he felt it; the statue had begun pulling its pieces together. He turned and noticed that Kenza had already evacuated the area, realizing that it was probably a bad idea to be standing where he was right now. Just how bad he wasn't really sure, but he didn't think he wanted to stay there.

As the pull began, Derrick started backpedaling, going in the direction his teammates were. One step behind the other, he quickly moved away while focused on the statue's movements. All of a sudden, one of his feet slipped from under him and he fell onto his side. In panic he rolled away, managing to avoid going to the light, before stopping abruptly as he bumped into a wall.
"Ow." He spluttered, rising to a crouch.

At least he wasn't close to the statue anymore, but he wasn't that close to his teammates either.
"I'm okay..." Derrick said, slightly dazed.
He rose to his feet, using his shortspear as a crutch, eyeing the statue carefully to see what would happen.
@Dusksong@Hekazu@lchris314

The spreading of the light did not stop, instead merely picking up more and more speed as it spread outward from the statue's head. It's bony wings were now spread fully onto it's sides, the light rushing into the front part of them, although it seemed to not be fully visible all of the time. Then came the eyes: For once since the initial awakening something took the time to happen slowly. It was like someone was blowing life to embers, the eyes lit up with no rush to themselves as if allowing time for the rest of the statue to prepare.

Suddenly a loud cracking sound erupted from it's wings and several pieces of stone from them flew backwards, only to stop mid-air. They were attached to the wing with at first barely visible threads of blue light, which then seemed to catch similarly coloured blue fire... the fire spread to define the shape of the wings and accentuate the veins on the surface of the statue. It was now clear why it had been so ugly: It was never meant to be viewed in it's dormant state. The statue crouched down and procured a pair of arms formed of stone-flame combination like the rest of it's body, and grabbed a pair of iron shackles from beneath it's feet. Rising on it's unsteadily beating wings, it breathed a puff of the fire towards the small statuettes in the middle of the room.

As those began to similarly open up, becoming gargoyle-like unlike their... parent, said creature spoke for the first time. Although most of what it was saying could not be understood, it only lasted a little while and ended in an intelligible message: "The jailor awakens. May Necro'Lic rule eternal! Ekil Erif, Ekam Erif, Erif Erif!" It did not seem to have noticed any of the party yet.

Kenza held her breath as the statue completed its transformation, crouched and pressed up behind the nearest weapon rack so that only a sliver of her face was peeking around the corner. Gargoyles? she wondered, immediately recognizing the stone-like creatures. Impossible! They're just legends and folklore! But the unmistakably stone-skinned creatures gathering around their leader were the living portrait of what gargoyles of myth and stone depiction looked like, and Kenza couldn't shrug the idea off after everything that had happened so far.

Did sticking my hand into the statue's mouth trigger its transformation from stone? Kenza wondered, her lungs tight in her chest as she watched the creatures flap their wings and take flight around the original gargoyle. When the creatures started speaking, however, Kenza was shocked to hear that she could understand the monster's words. Human speech? But the second half of it... her thoughts trailed off but she continued staying still, acutely aware of the fact that the horde and its leader hadn't noticed her yet.

---

@lord of evil@lchris314@hekazu