Derrick tried to remain as still as he could, rather confused as to what was happening. He'd supposed that the only thing living in these ruins was the Wolfwing, although he wasn't entirely sure the word 'living' could be applied to this... thing. It called itself the jailor. Derrick was vaguely reminded of stories his mother had told him as a child, tales of magic which he had been assured had not actually happened. He wasn't even sure about what he was seeing, but he could only explain it with one word - magic.

Derrick glanced at Kenza. The dim light from the statue-creature was enough to ascertain her position, as well as the small obstacles between Derrick and the exit to the room. He only hoped that the light wasn't bright enough to reveal the group. Derrick may have not known many things about the situation at large, but he did know one thing: they didn't want to attract that thing's attention.

Derrick began inching slowly towards the rest of the group, making as little sound as he could. He used his short spear to sweep small objects out of his path, hoping that the stone creature wouldn't notice his presence.
@Dusksong@Hekazu@lchris314

The dragon statue began beating it's wings in an escalating pace, finally raising it's feet off the ground. It flew to the ceiling of the room, then spun to face the little gargoyles and slowed down the beating of it's wings, lowering itself almost to the floor. Still not yet paying enough attention to notice the adventurers, it followed as the small stone sculptures opened their wings and took unsteady steps as if they were baby birds hatching from an egg... a disproportionally cute sight for creatures as hideous as them.

However, something drew it's attention towards the people behind it. The creature spun around, it's eyes focused on Mistletoe, specifically the spot on her arm where the chain had been wrapped on. An ethereal aura began to form both around the creature and the target of it's gaze, forming shapes of a misty veil and grasping ghastly arms respectively. The creature opened it's mouth and seemingly roared, but no noise came out. It took a few wingbeats backwards and prepared to charge...

@Lord of Evil@LChris314@Dusksong

Kenza continued holding her breath as the creature flew up, sending a silent prayer to whatever god would hear her as it turned and focused its eyes on Mistletoe. No! she thought, horrified as it reeled back and prepared to charge. Yet, she remained still in her stop, stricken by the possibility of having to face the entire crowd. The horde had been prepared to leave, and something had clearly caught its attention -- something Mistletoe had done.

Her own blunders catch up to her, Kenza thought, a wrenching feeling in her gut as she remained still in her hiding place. But still, an arm less is a helpful hand less, so it'd be good to team up against the creatures.

Meeting Derrick's eyes from her hiding spot, she jerked her head towards the creature and lightly flicked the tip her weapon to get her point across.

---

@lord of evil@lchris314@hekazu

Derrick looked at the gargoyles and back at Kenza, before glancing back at the gargoyles, and then back to Kenza. He half-considered gesturing a question, but this probably wasn't the time for that. Her intentions were pretty clear; and more importantly, the gargoyle's target was pretty clear as well.

Derrick tightened his grip on his shortspear. This was something he'd done before, but he usually had some armour, a longer spear, and his older brother. Derrick had a spear, but it was rather short, and all he had for protection was the clothes on his back, with no brother to be found. Still, he couldn't exactly avoid this situation, and he did have something other than armour and a longer spear - one slightly dented lantern.

Derrick readjusted his grip on the lantern nervously. He only had the one lantern and considering how it was made out of stone, it probably wouldn't do awfully much. Derrick realised that he'd have to put his body on the line and felt a feeling of dread, followed by a sense of guilt as he berated himself for being selfish. He wanted to come out of this alive, but he wanted all of them to come out with him, so he steeled himself for the task ahead. He wound his arm back slowly and threw the lantern as hard as he could at the gargoyle's head.

Derrick broke out of the shadows and put himself between the rest of the group and the jailor. The lantern could take its attention, maybe stop it from whatever it was doing, or maybe it wouldn't. He couldn't be sure. Whatever the case, he would protect his friends. Derrick was sure they could all make it out alive.
@Dusksong@Hekazu@lchris314

Just as the Jailor began it's charge, the lantern thrown by Derrick impacted one of the floating pieces of rock next to it's head, which managed to slow the projectile before it struck the side of it's lower jaw. The intended charge was abandoned as the rock and the lantern clattered on the ground, illuminated in the light the Jailor's body radiated. It slowly turned it's flaming eyes towards the newfound assailant and had it's body follow suit. "None elude death for long...", it said, then continued the sentence in gibberish.

The little gargoyles that had only wobbled unsteadily before now also took to air, flying on both sides of the Jailor. They approached Derrick in a steady pace and as they were moving away from Mistletoe the ghastly hands retracted themselves, only to show up again near Derrick. With the hands came a feeling of cold and sluggishness of movement, while the Jailor seemed to be moving faster as the feeling grew stronger. The Jailor and it's birds stared Derrick right in the eyes from four metres away. "None elude death for long..." the Jailor repeated as something began to form from a blue flame within it's maw.

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil

"Derrick, get down!" Kenza hissed, grabbing the boy's arm and pulling him out of the way of the clearly forming blast. Gods, we should have just stayed still, she thought sharply, sparing a glance in Mistletoe's direction. What is she doing? Did she pass out?

Biting her lip, Kenza thought through the courses of action quickly. She could either stand her ground and fight, possibly losing her life in the process as the only weapons at the hunters' disposal were brittle spears and pieces of scrap ceramic from their cell. Or, she could make a run for the other door with Derrick and leave Mistletoe behind. While cruel, such was the life of hunters while not in civilization. It's every person for themselves, and if someone can't keep up... perhaps they shouldn't have come out anyway, she thought.

"Should we make a run for it?" she hissed to Derrick, not bothering to peek a look at the attackers. Whether or not they knew the hunters' current location was irrelevant -- they'd find the hunters soon enough, and their stone bodies looked sturdy enough to withstand anything Kenza had on hand.

---

@lord of evil@hekazu

As the gargoyle went to grab him, Derrick turned to run. He shivered from the jailor's touch; partially because of the cold, but more because of what followed. He felt as if his strength had been draining, and he would probably have fallen if not for Kenza's timely assistance. He hadn't been in contact with the thing for long, but he could tell that it was dangerous too dangerous to get close to.

"Yeah... We should run." Derrick said slowly.
He wasn't entirely sure why she'd even asked. Sure, there were 3 of them, but it was still made of stone and they practically didn't even have real weapons. Derrick was still slightly numb and his leg was throbbing a little bit but he could move. There was no way they could beat that thing right now, and if the gargoyle caught them, it would be over.

Derrick staggered to his feet and grabbed Mistletoe's arm, leading her towards the door. He hoped Kenza would follow suit quickly; there wasn't really time to explain himself. He started running back towards the hall, dragging Mistletoe with him as he did, hoping that it wouldn't lead to a dead end.
@Dusksong@Hekazu@lchris314

The Jailor had not been expecting their target to be pulled towards them, so as they let loose the ball of blue fire they had gathered into their mouth the shot went hopelessly wide. As the blast shattered harmlessly against the floor, the little gargoyles released a few orange pellets from their faces, those snapping against the wall leaving cracks behind. "I am inescapable!", the Jailor bellowed after the group as they began their escape to the other end of the hall. "Come, my friends! We shall hunt", it said to it's gargoyle companions and began beating it's stone wings in an accelerating pace as it flew behind out heroes within the hallways.

The hunter's path led them further in the hallway with only few doors on the sides, all of which seemed to either have a sturdy lock on them or be completely blocked off by rubble... rubble that had evidently been carried from somewhere else given the intact structure around those parts. Once past the first few corners, the ghastly hands and the chill they had brought finally let go of Derrick, letting him move faster again. Eventually, the path led them to a spiral staircase with only one direction to go: Up.

This sight seemed to finally awaken Mistletoe from her stupor as she shook her hand Derrick was dragging her from. "No other way to go!" she exclaimed the obvious and rushed towards the higher up floor as the Jailor appeared from behind the last corner they had turned. "My purpose is absolute! Flee not what cannot be fled from!" was its greeting. The staircase would not accommodate for the creature's wingspan though... Perhaps there was a chance?

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil

Kenza’s adrenaline was already at its peak when the forceful sluggishness hit, and she found herself moving much slower than she would on any other day, escaping any other beast. Gods above, move Kenza! she thought, forcing herself into a faster pace than what she had originally tried to escape in.

It worked — partially — sheer willpower propelling her forwards a few meters per second closer to her real pace but still far from full speed as the hunter fled after Derrick and Mistletoe. The hallway was void of any viable options of escape. Kenza’s mind was too preoccupied at the moment to stop and consider her surroundings, so everything was a fleeting blend of colors and useless backdrops as the hunter’s eyes darted around the dark and stoney landscape in search of an escape route.

The emergence of a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway was traced to a spiral staircase that ascended upwards in a tight coil. Immediately noticing that the upwards corridor appeared too small for the gargoyle-like creatures to ascend smoothly, Kenza swiveled and followed Mistletoe up without another thought. Derrick would follow, naturally, as would the creatures. But in the corridor where their wings were more of a hindrance than an advantage, the hunters stood a chance.

---

@hekazu@lord of evil

Derrick followed the rest; there was only one way to go anyway. It looked like the stairs would provide safety, a way to escape their pursuers, and that was something they could all use. But looks could be deceiving. You think you have a nice bountiful harvest of carrots and then BAM. You pick it out of the ground and it's half eaten. Still, you can't un-plant a field, and leaving it there would give you more rabbits. There was nowhere to go but forward.

So Derrick swallowed his misgivings and followed the group up the stairs. Surely this big magical stone gargoyle thing who's been in here for who knows how long wouldn't have some way of getting to the upper floors. Considering it called itself the jailor and the fact that it was by a jail actually made that sort of likely. Still, it could potentially follow them up, and if that happened, he hoped that there would be something up there thick enough to keep it away from them.
@Dusksong@Hekazu

Kenza pranced up the stairs two or three at a time, sometimes skipping over so many steps that she thought that -- for a moment -- she'd overestimated her range and would wind up tripping in her haste. This worry, however, proved unwarranted as both she and Mistletoe made it up two full flights without trouble. The sudden discontinuation of Mistletoe's feet hitting stone steps prompted Kenza to slow down as well, and her eyes caught on the rubble littering the way up to the next floor.

"Should we continue?" Mistletoe asked, looking at the other girl for guidance. It was both unwise and presumptuous to make a decision alone, but a two out of three majority would be enough in a trio, she figured.

"The farther we get from the fliers, the better," Kenza said, picking up her previous pace again as she skirted pieces of rubble on her way up. Mistletoe followed quickly, casting a glance back at Derrick to make sure he had seen the two continuing up.

---

@lord of evil @hekazu

Derrick was breathing hard by the time he caught up with the rest. He had faith in his ability to run long distances but he'd never been much of a sprinter, which was unfortunate because he figured they would do quite a bit of it. Nevertheless, they had more pressing concerns at the moment.

Derrick glanced at the floor they were on and the stairs leading higher. He couldn't see the gargoyle and its minions thus far, which was a good sign. But where would they go now? He figured that it would be easier to find an exit on the ground floor. He figured that the jail would be in the basement so that should be where they were now. But then again, it might've been better to escape the jailor by going higher. But then again, it could easily look for them by sending its minions out. So what would they do?

Derrick shrugged helplessly. It didn't seem to matter where they went, at least in his eyes. It would be easier to escape somewhat if they hid in the floor they were on, but presumeably they could get down to this floor again from the floor above. Maybe they couldn't if the passage was blocked off, but that would hamper their efforts on this floor too. Ultimately, he didn't see too many advantages either way, and he hoped that Kenza or Mistletoe would have some more insight.
@Dusksong

The way up was perilous at fast speeds due to the scattered rubble, but Kenza managed to outskirt each scattering of stone. Mistletoe did the same, proving herself just as agile as the other hunter on the way up. A glimpse of light glancing off the cobblestone walls of the stairwell caught Kenza's attention, causing her to move faster in excitement. Clearly there was a gap in the walls, and any glimpse of what lay outside the stone would be readily welcome. Noticing the light as well, Mistletoe followed suit, hope of escape blossoming.

It was a window, and it was too small. The observation caused Kenza's heart to sink, a quick, mental run-through of the hunters' tools confirming that this was not their escape route. Still, she bounded up the last few steps, coming to a panting stop by the opening and thrusting her arms out and around in an attempt to get a proper glimpse of the landscape. Mistletoe arrived as well, prioritizing catching her breath as she watched the other hunter struggle.

Kenza's pulling, bending, and cracking quickly gave way to frustration as realized that the spruce was too well-placed and well-grown to be beaten. giving the branches on more fierce pull -- the scratches on her hands finally breaking open -- she gave up the attempt, crashing her weight against the window's base as she finished her panting.

"Damn it," she said between pants. Mistletoe was silent at her side, reaching a comforting arm out to the other hunter.

---

@hekazu @lord of evil

Derrick followed the girls up and glanced around the room as Kenza attacked the window. He'd been hoping that they could get out that way, but alas, no dice. Still, that didn't mean there weren't alternate means out of here. Derrick searched for a door, or a trapdoor, anything they could use to move on.
"Hey, we should keep moving, shouldn't we?" Derrick said.

But then again, he couldn't hear the Jailor. Maybe their plan to lose him on the stairs had worked. He figured that they would've known if it didn't. Maybe they had some time to sit and plan. But then again, maybe not. Still, the team as a whole looked like they could maybe use a breather at least, but Derrick wanted to put more distance between them and the Jailor, but he didn't know what the rest would think.
"...Should we... stop for a minute?" He asked uncertainly.
@Dusksong@Hekazu

Kenza looked up at Derrick's prompt, realizing that -- frustration or not -- she'd held up the group, not living up to her part of the informal pseudo-leader. But, on the other hand, there was no sign of that the gargoyles in pursuit -- no noise at all echoing up from the stairwell, in fact. Have the given up chase? she wondered, relieved confusion relaxing her. If the immediate threat was gone, the group could afford to stop for a moment to rest. However, that time would be better utilized if put to keeping the hunters ahead. Luck was hard-found for prey, and Kenza knew they shouldn't waste it.

"Let's keep moving," she said, meeting the other hunters' eyes as to let them know that she was back to trying to be -- to being -- the leader they needed. "We need to stay ahead, but the route split a while back and I it's worth checking out the last floor. Or should we continue up?"

Relieved to see that Kenza wasn't struck with despair after her battle with the spruce -- she'd seen many a hunter fall into a pit, unable to climb back out after they see their chance at hope stolen away from them -- Mistletoe straightened back up, considering the other woman's question. "I'd say keep going up -- we can always go back down, but if that's a dead end, I don't want to be stuck fighting until my last breath while backed into a corner." Such circumstances were never favorable for the weaker pursuant, and Mistletoe had little confidence in the rubble -- flimsy shards and time-worn spears -- that the group had scavenged.

---

@hekazu@lord of evil

"That sounds good." Derrick remarked.
It was as good a route as any, which wasn't exactly saying much. Slightly better than going back down though.

Derrick walked up to the next set of steps and turned to face the others.
"Let's go then." He said.
He wanted to bring up the rear, just in case. He was already slower than the others anyway, but he also wanted to make sure that nothing was coming up after them. Well, he didn't really, he figured he could live just as easily if he didn't know, but it's the thought that counts. He wanted some peace of mind, at the very least.
@Dusksong@Hekazu

The prisoners of Wolfwing eventually reached consensus in their plan and headed for the next floor. The topmost stairs were a slight challenge to traverse as quite large pieces of rubble had fallen on top, but given our hunters were no amateurs in the department of physical prowess, their show of athleticism brought them to the other side of this obstacle. And getting back down would be much simpler, just a controlled drop with no climbing required. That, however would not be the focus of their attention for quite some time now: They had a whole floor to explore if they had to guess.

A quick look above their heads informed them of at least one more floor existing above them, but the stairs had collapsed almost entirely. The first step available in the roof wasn't too high up, so if anyone tried they might even reach up to it with some help. The central pillar had been entirely removed though... and seemingly by excessive force. Other ways forward would be the one wooden door that was slightly ajar and... now that they had the moment to look around, there was not much else to go on.

However, this room seemed to have something in it that they had lacked before: Two suits of heavy plate armour stood on their pedestals, their armoured gauntlets grasping a large halberd and an arming sword coupled with a shield respectively. Dust had accumulated on the armaments and even rust made it's presence clear. But they were still better than the brittle shortspears they had found.

Before touching anything, Mistletoe had crept to take a peek out of the door that provided a way onward, but was quick to pull her head back from the crack. "It's the Jailor", she whispered as quietly as she could. As far as she had seen, one could not mistake the draconic shape, the blue flames and the two smaller gargoyles flying along with it. How it had made it here was unclear, but there it was. "It was heading the other way though", she added, sharing the rest of her knowledge.

Nodding at Mistletoe, Kenza moved over to the suits of armour, hand grasping the handle of the sword and swinging it off its rack. Not light, she thought, twirling it around, but not heavy either. It's clearly lost some weight to rust.

Picking up the halberd, Kenza tossed it over to Derrick before sliding the shield off its rack. She made eye contact with Mistletoe, eyes holding a silent question: did she want the shield? It went without saying that Derrick was allotted the polearm and Kenza the sword since those were their weapons of choice anyway. There was no reason why the archer of the group would get the sword or halberd, but Kenza -- while she knew had carried shields before -- would have preferred another sword over a bulky shield any day. Besides, Mistletoe -- on part because her arm was injured -- lacked any real weapons, and Kenza felt that the shield would serve as some attempt at fairness if nothing else.

Meeting Kenza's eyes, Mistletoe shook her head. No, she said silently, you keep it. It'd be better in your hands, and there was no reason to split the tools between two people and weaken them both. The hunters were fighting for survival, and survival did not come with mercies and comforts.

Kenza nodded, understanding Mistletoe's unspoken message. Her eyes slid back to the suits of armor, a frown on her face. Considering the hunters' current situation -- trapped in an unknown structure and hunted by flying monsters -- Kenza didn't think it would be wise to suit up in clunky armor, however good of a barrier it'd be. Staying silent as to not stir up the gargoyle's attention, she looked over at Mistletoe and Derrick, nodding towards the gauntlets to make her question clear.

---

@hekazu@lord of evil

Derrick checked the heft of the halberd, turning it this way and that, feeling how it weighed in his hands. He'd never used one before, but from what he'd heard it was something of a spear combined with an axe. It was a lot longer than any axe he'd seen, but it had a sharp pointy end, so maybe it wouldn't make that much of a difference.

He practised a few stabs towards the wall a few times. The weight was quite different to a spear, but he could get used to it. He noticed that Kenza was by a suit of armour, gesturing towards it, and he considered it for a moment. A helmet was definitely a no go. He'd tried one on once and it was like wearing a bucket on his head. He just couldn't get used to it. A chest plate would've been nice, though. He was still feeling that wound he'd been given by the wolfwing, and it hadn't even been a particularly heavy one. But then again, maybe it wouldn't be good to have a cumbersome metal chestplate on. And besides, it looked like it was a bit big for him.

Lastly, he thought about the gauntlets and the shoes. The shoes wouldn't do any good - if the Wolfwing was anything like other dogs, it probably had a good sense of hearing as well as smell, so clunky metal shoes wouldn't do well. But the gauntlets would probably work, probably similarly to his working gloves. Derrick decided to pick them up and try them on. They went on fairly easily, although they were a bit large on him.
"It'll do." Derrick muttered.
This wasn't exactly the time to be picky.

Now Derrick had a halberd and a shortspear, although he figured he could only use one. He turned to mistletoe, one hand wrapped around a halberd, the other around a shortspear.
"Um..." Derrick said hesitantly.
He remembered that Mistletoe had favoured lighter weapons, but the halberd was clearly better than the shortspear, so he wasn't sure which one to give her.
"Do you want to...?" Derrick began awkwardly.
@Dusksong@Hekazu

Like the situation with Kenza offering the shield, Mistletoe was acutely aware of her status in the group: the injured packmate. As such, it was her job to step up to title and take the meager offerings so that her teammates would be better equipped to deal with threats she physically could not deal well with at the moment. On past hunts, there had been a few times she was injured -- some like the current, but most less severe -- and she'd met both cold pragmatists who didn't give her the benefit of the doubt as well as kind souls who attempted to arm her with weapons she couldn't use properly. Of these two, Mistletoe preferred the latter for company, but the former for the field. At least with the party members who were comfortable to leave her to rot if the situation called for it, she wouldn't have to decline their kindnesses and seem like she was looking for death.

Then there was the matter of herself and melee weapons. To say she was clumsy was putting it nicely -- compared to most hunters, she looked like a fish out of water most times, and a toddler learning to walk others. Of course she was better-versed than most common folk, but compared to the likes of Kenza or Derrick she might as well have just picked the weapon up. In her hands, a sword or a spear just felt wrong, like something vital was missing. Where was the elegance, the preciseness, the quiet decisiveness that came with using a bow? Melee weapons required her to stay close to the enemy, which was exactly what all of her instincts screamed at her not to. Her daggers, be as they may, were mostly just for show since she'd only rarely had to pull them out. They were her favored melee weapons of choice not because they brought her frighteningly close to the enemy but because, if the situation ever got out of control, she had the option of throwing them at her target and taking off.

Still, she saw the sense in arming herself with a blade, however useless it might be. The halberd was clearly heavier than the spear, making it the less desirable choice of the two weapons considering that Mistletoe was one hand short.

"The shortspear's fine," Mistletoe said, uninjured hand wrapping around it when Derrick passed it over. Testing its weight -- slightly lighter than her usual longbow, probably due to rust and age -- Mistletoe leaned the weapon against her shoulder and looked around at her companions. "Onwards we go then?" she asked, moving towards the stairwell back down. The stairwell up had been reduced to rubble, and Mistletoe didn't really want to chance getting stuck on the wrong side when the group had pursuers. Behind her, Kenza was in agreement, following closely as the girl opened the door and headed into the next room.

---

@hekazu@lord of evil