“Mmmmmm~” Elle purred half asleep as Alexander was leaving the bed. This was the best sleep she's had in a good long while. Having another person next to her, feeling their warmth and holding them in your arms truly changed the experienced from a lonely sleep. This felt so much more relaxing, satisfying... It felt good even though nothing more than sleep had happened. She felt her body relaxed a lot already.

“Is that all you have to say, really~?” She purred another reply when the warrior was waking her up. She yawned and looked at him before stretching her arms.” You find a naked woman in your bed and the first thing you say is wake up and then urge me for work? Not even a wake up kiss?” She asked with a smirk and rolled in the bed, before sitting. The blanket, softly slipping off her form, revealing her naked skin.” Still this felt nice~ we should sleep together more often.” She added, walking over to where her linen dress was, quickly slipping it on. She still had to go over to her room though, change into her traveling clothes and the armor.” Next time I'm not letting you just sleep it over though. You'd better be prepared.”

Malkai

Malkai was up bright and early, as he often was. He had no night life to speak of if he wasn't working on a quest, and safe sleep was rare for the vagrant. He got as much of it as he could. While still in the safety of his warded room Malkai also began to prep his spells for the day. He still had his Shillelagh spell stored in his staff, so he prepared Longstrider, Produce Flame, and Delay Poison. Knowing that they may be dealing with more drow, the last spell would be most useful. His goodberries were also good for the day, so if needed he had healing he could access on the fly. Once everything was ready Malkai undid the fire runes and walked out of his room to meet with the others.

---

Veridis Quo

Veridis had spent the night in the company of wrenches. After the little bar brawl and a lot of alcohol he was much more flirtatious, and had found himself in the bed of the innkeeper's daughter. Not wanting to incite a rage from the father Veridis quietly slipped out when he awoke, dressing himself as he left the room. He wanted to make sure everyone else was waking up from their slumber so he headed up to their rooms to check on them. Along the way he saw Malkai, but Veridis wasn't even able to give a greeting before the quiet brute just walked pass him, bird flying right over Veridis's head. "Good morning to you too..."

Going over to everyone's doors Veridis knocked loudly, imitating the sound of song birds to lull his party members awake. It was a trick he learned at the bard's college to awaken others without too violent a reprisal; to awaken them with pleasant music tends to lift their spirits. If nothing else they'll hear him and try and shut him up, but as long as Veridis was on the move they shouldn't be able to catch him. Though he did stop by Kalista in particular, having not seen her at all last night. He would have tried to go inside, but he dare not disturb a lady unannounced. "Kalista? Are you awake?"

After the not really best timed appearance of a female voice asking questions, Kalista had a rather unpleasant night. She barely got any sleep, her whole head hurt and her chest hurt even more when she was breathing. With each breath sharp pain would cut through her mind and body. It wasn't a great way to spend hte night, hunched first by the door, then curled up in a ball in one of hte room's corners, shivering and letting painful gasps every now and then.

Finaly come morning her condition had gotten better. She had it wrong till now, the attacks were getting more frequent and longer. This was bad. She barely had the time to struggingly perpare her spells for the day when she heard a familiar voice by her door. It was Veridis..."Aghh..." She groaned, managing to sit up and with shacky unstable steps she walked over to the door, opening it. She looked different from the usual. Gone were her calm, collected and relaxed expressions. Her face looked somewhat sunked, she had big dark circles under her eyes and not to mention, the fact her eyes were reddened and her lower lip was somewhat hurt from bitting it whole night in attempt to dull the pain.

"Yes..." She replied, having to lean on the doorframe for stability." Had ... a ...bad... night..." She added, barely keeping standing.

Last night was a good night. Catarina got to drink, chat, and had a friendly brawl. She didn't particularly like the dwarf mouthing off about Vivian, but Catarina couldn't bring herself to hate her. Of course if that dwarf Shayle didn't know how to mind her manners, things might get more intense. Still, after their fight Catarina went to retire to her room. Or rather, to Vivian's room; There were only so many rooms available now, and Parum suggested that Catarina watch over the dark elf. She had some mixed feelings about it, as Catarina was certain she was developing "feelings" for Vivian, though for what reasons she wasn't certain. Was this love, or merely lust? Was Vivian Catarina's damsel in distress, or was the drow just capitalizing on Catarina's honorable personality? It was hard for the merc to say. Still... For everyone's sake, it was best if Catarina guarded Vivian that night.

Slipping into the drow's room after the brawl, Catarina made herself comfortable at the foot of Vivian's bed. As tempting as it would be to slip under the sheets with her, Catarina did actually intend to protect Vivian should assassins come in the night. Besides, Catarina was no stranger to such rough accommodations. Sometimes bed was where you could sit down comfortably, and Catarina was comfortable anywhere. One hand holding onto her sword Domina, the warrior would fall in and out of sleep, keeping a wary ear open for anything suspicious until morning came.

Despite trying to be on watch, Catarina had a decent sleep. Her bruises and sores from the fight before were healed up and gone. Strethcing her body, soon she heard a rustle and noticed that Vivian was up. "Ah, good morning Vivian. Just woke up too did you?" As the merc turned to face Vivian, it wasn't until the light shone off Vivian's body that the mercenary realized that Vivian was naked. Catarina's face grew a bit red, but she couldn't say she didn't like what she saw. "Eh heh... I ah... I'll get us some breakfast."

---

Parum slept as snug as a bug last night. It helped that she managed to get some coin out of the little fight between Catarina and Shayle. Warriors were all the same: they let their fists and emotions do the talking for them, and would be fooled with simply deceit and insults. The fight would have been over shortly after it started if Parum didn't goad them on until the village militia showed up, and even then with a way with words and a bit of coin on the line, she was able to get the militia from trying to stop the fight to encourage it. Sure they lost, but they couldn't say they were cheated. Such risks were a given in a gamble.

Soon morning came and Parum was awake before sunrise. She spent the better part of the morning washing up, using a bucket and cloth to clean her body and equipment. Her daggers still had a bit of sand and blood from last night. She also used the time to go into the village and sell some of the equipment they had taken from the gnolls. Many men traded their simple wooden spears for swords and scimitars, and she managed to sell the somewhat damaged breastplate to the village smith for scrap metal. It was still just a pittance of gold, but Parum was always glad to have some. She also used the early morning to scout around to see if anyone had been snooping through the village. She was no stranger to spies and assassins, so Parum would have followed their route and see if anyone had come before her. The last thing she'd want is for her group to get jumped by more gnolls or drow assassins while en route to the temple.

After her search Parum returned to the tavern and brought breakfast for herself. Toast, eggs, nutty jam, and water. Precious water; worth more than gold in some parts. The desert wasn't known for it's fresh supply of water. It wasn't known for it's dirty water either. Truly, the town was wise to protect their oasis so greatly. She kept a mental note about it in case they need somewhere extra protective to hide out at; the oasis seemed more heavily guarded then the inn, that was for certain.

Alex smiled as he was squeezing on his gauntlets. That was a challenge he did not mind facing later. Especially after this whole adventure. He wouldn't mind sharing a bed again with Elleonara. At least next time he would expect it and further more welcome it as well. "Well heres to hoping this part of the quest goes smoothly.... " He responded. Perhaps he would invite her to ride ontop of Fordes with him. Would be kinda fun just the two of them. Come to think of it,.... tell now Fordes and himself have always traveled alone. They never really traveled with anyone else not sense the wars his family fought. At least this time it was different. There was no war to be fought. Just a chalice....

.... The chalice. Something like that could go for a good price. Problem was,... with that damned contract if any of us took it and tried to sell it for a higher price or god forbid keep it for ourselves they would hunt us down. Then again..... Parum wasn't there at the meeting. They could use her as a way of securing it. Hell with Malkai's early dismissal he wasn't bound either. That would be two people that could take it and hide it. Something so dark shouldn't belong to the mages guild anyways. I mean it is a artifact of Nerul after all. Dark magic most likely surrounds it and controls it. Such power in the hands of a guild might not be the best thing. He shrugged off the thoughts and lifted up his sword and placed it at his hip. Best not to think such things now,... lets wait tell we have the thing. Then decide what to do with it.
Either way,... he decided he just might stick by Elleonara's side from now on. No matter which direction she went after this.

Once everything was where it should be he exited the room. He decided to go and check up on Fordes and get him ready for the journey to the temple. Maybe even grab some breakfast too.


Vivian smiled at the sound of a voice. Looks like the merc joined her as suggested by Parum. Judging from the sound of her voice it didn't take much pressure to get her to enter this room last night. Vivian picked up her necklace and then moved to Catarina. She bent down. "Breakfast would be nice." She was rather tempted to kiss the red cheeks of the onion knight. The forehead would just have to do for now as she leaned in to place her lips on Catarina's forehead. She rose back up and looked back out the window. "The person that visited me last night that I mentioned. That was someone we do not have to worry about. My sister is no ally of these kinsmen that hunt me. From what she told me.... it looks as if my kin are going to try and take whatever valuables from the temple they can find. Hopefully we can get the chalice before they do." She continued.

Her body must be rather enticing to the warrior. Drow maybe different in skin color compared to their surface cousins but they still had one thing in common. The elven beauty they all had. It made most lust over them and thus why the females lead the society not men. For beauty was power. She looked back to Catarina and sighed. "Maybe after all of this,... well I would like to travel with you some more. I feel safe around you." She said. She decided it was time to finally put her clothes on. It wouldn't take long seeing as it was not fancy armor or anything. Just a simple two piece. She wondered how the dwarf would react to the fact that the elf he insulted was no ordinary elf but a drow.... oh right 'she' insulted. So hard to tell with dwarves sometimes....

...... In perfect timing as soon as her clothes where on the door opened and Alexander poked in. Vivian looked to him and then to Fordes. Alexander walked over to the large dire wolf and moved a hand down to wake him. "Come on Fordes,... with Catarina here Vivian is safe. Lets go grab some breakfast and prepare for the journey." He said. The animal stretched and yawned as it rose up. The two began to exit and Alex looked over at them. "Well see you two ladies later. Hope you had a good rest."

With that he left and Vivian sighed. Speaking of breakfast it was about time they went down to. Vivian looked to her onion knight companion. "Well lets get down there..."

"Rise and shine Shayle, we've got a bid day ahead of us!" The gnome kicked her dwarven friend in the chest to awaken her. She didn't care that Shayle had gotten into a brawl last night; part of their contract was that any injuries sustained off the job was to be accounted for themselves. If Shayle was stupid enough to get into a fight even though they had a job to do the next day, it was up to her to get that patched up. "Go get ready while I'll attend to Rusty. If that group from before is heading the same place as we are, we might need to get there before they do. Otherwise who knows what they'll end up doing there!" Slapping Shayle a few times in the face, Kessel left the room with her stuff, heading outside to the stables. Among the various mounts there was Rusty, the largish gear golem. "Morning Rusty. Let's get you kitted out, eh?"

Kessel loaded her bags and belongings on the back of Rusty. Once she was finished and everything was set she climbed on Rusty's back and rode him out of the stables. She liked to think she looked rather impressive on the back of her mighty gear golem, even though right now it wasn't ready for any combat scenarios. It was pretty strong through. "Shayle! Hurry up, we're burning daylight!"



"Urge..." A swift kick woke Shayle up. Kessel wasn't the toughest little thing in the world, but even her tiny feet could stir the dwarven berserker up. "Five more minutes..." Shayle was still sore from last night. She and that merc had punched each other's lights out, and it got so intense that Shayle even got a bit angry. Fortunately no one died and the damage was limited to each other and a table. But while Shayle wanted a few more minutes to rest her wounds, Kessel just wasn't having any of it. She kept kicking and shouting at Shayle until eventually she just had to wake up. "Fine, fine! Cripes, just lemme get something ta drink at least..."

Grabbing all their gear Shayle stumbled her way down into the tavern. She yawned loudly to announce her presence, ignoring everyone as she went up to the tavern keeper. "Aaaaaah... I'll have an ale, two loafs, and whatever ya got on the split." Tossing some silver on the counter Shayle looked around to see what everyone else was up to. She vaguely remembered the party here last night, but she wasn't sure if they were gone already or not.

The cleric took her time putting on her linen dress before she was finally done and exited Alexander's room, grabbing her warhammer on the way, picking it up as it was quite the easy thing to do. She had gotten used to the weight of her weapon and frankly she preferred this heavy metal instrument of destruction over the lighter swords or maces. This thing was just perfect for her, though she did know at narrow spaces it was impossible to use.

Once she was in her room, Elleonora quickly took off the linen dress and changed into her usual traveling attire. After putting on the undergarments, she quickly put on the chainmail she wore as a shirt more or less, then the metal greaves, followed by the plate chestplate and then the gauntlets. Finally she pulled the cheap mirror that the room had and she made up her hair, before grabbing her bags, throwing the hammer on her back and left the room, headed towards the main part of the tavern to grab a quick meal for breakfast. On the way there, she took a moment to cast Endure Elements so she can walk under the blazing sun with no difficulty. She had to cast it on Alexander too... Fordes will have to pass without it for today the poor thing.

Many of the others appeared to be down already.” Hey, good morning everybody.” She greeted them with a huge grin, walking over to the barkeep.” Some cold water, dried fruits and meat if you please.” She asked for her meal of choice for the morning before throwing a look at Alexander with a smile. Once her meal was at her hands and she had paid for it, she quickly walked over to the knight and placed a hand on his armored chest.” Endure Elements.” She stated, allowing her magic to take hold on the man. Walking about in that armor in the desert... he'd be dead within the hour, heatstroke... Him being blessed for this was pretty much obligatory. That said she also had to bless Catarina, but that could wait for a moment, thus Elleonora quickly sat down to have her breakfast.

Malkai

Malkai sat quietly by himself, eating a rather hearty looking meal of eggs, fruit, and bread. Notably he ate with his mask on; he tore his foot into small bite-sized pieces and put them underneath his mask. He was also feeding Falchion as well, giving him bits of eggs and fruit every now and again. Falchion waited patiently for his food, and didn't peck at Malkai's plate. More people joined which he only gave them a cursory amount of attention. If he had to guess, the dwarf and gnome would soon be joining them. It was just a hunch, but he doubts they were just passing by. It's too much of a coincidence that they stopped here of all places, which was within walking distance of the temple they were investigating. But then again maybe it just wasn't his business to figure them out; if they were going to help then so be it. he already had plans anyways, so the more bodies he could put between himself and the rest of the party, the better.

---

Veridis Quo

This didn't sound good at all. It'd be one thing if Kalista was moaning and groaning from drinking, but if he remembered correctly she hadn't been downstairs at all last night. What happened to her since they showed up at the village? "Kalista, I'm coming in." Veridis opened the door, using a bit of Grease to get through the locks, if they were set. Once inside Veridis could plainly see that Kalista was in a bad shape. "Kalista! What happened? Was... Did you get hit by the gnolls during yesterday's battle? Are you poisoned?" Veridis wished her actually knew how to preform medicine. He had a wand of cure light wounds for minor injuries, but this seemed worse then just a cut or bruise. Still, Veridis did know some basic first aid. He could at least try to make things less painful, and then maybe look for Eleanora or anyone else for a remedy. Setting his bag down Veridis took out his healer's kit and tried to be useful. "Tell me what's wrong Kalista, and I'll do my best to help."

Vivian

Vivian headed down the hall with Catarina not to far behind. She had to stop at the door of Kalista though and turned her head. The commotion was just to distracting to ignore. She saw a heavily breathing and in obvious pain Kalista with Veridis sitting in front of her trying to help her. She would add in her help but she was merely a sorceress, her abilities where not in the healing field. Besides Veridis was a step ahead of them. She sighed and looked to Catarina and then back to the two. She wanted to help but again there was nothing she could do. She continued her pace towards the stairs right behind Elleonara. Now unlike the past few days she spent in the guise of the surface elf. Today she decided to be brave and show her true features. She was herself with her necklace in her pocket. She would use it at the temple but to only fool her brothers and sisters there. She placed a hand on the northerner's shoulder and smiled. As she did this, surprisingly none of the residents really took too much of a surprise.

"Ah she must have come from Saphire to disguise her self as a pale elf, smart." Was one comment she heard from one person. They seemed very understanding and it made her wonder just how many drow visited this place in the past to have them so.... relaxed. She just shrugged it off and looked to Elle as she cast endure elements on Alex. She raised a brow and then thought of something. She wondered if such a spell would help a drow elf on the surface. "Elleonara, you wouldn't mind casting that on say me would you. The suns rays and my drow skin dont quite go together to well?" She asked. She felt she could trust the women in this party... well most of them. The dwarf struck a cord with her last night and it would take a could while for the dwarf to even begin to heal that wound. She always hated dwarves. It did not matter how many she meet or spoke with they were always so rude to her. Again she shook of the negative thoughts and continued to stare into Elleonara's eyes. She could smell the cooking of food and she was very eager to join in.



The knight and his mount had come down from the rooms and into the lobby. A lot of his group had already woken up and was eating. Malkai sat alone eating with his eagle.... he didn't care what the orc said. That bird was too big to be a falcon. Unless the orc bred it with a eagle but even that seemed a bit unbelievable. He turned around to see if Elleonara followed after him only to see her with her hand on his chest casting the very helpful spell she cast earlier. Immediately he began to feel the results of it. He smiled and took up the hand to kiss it. "Why thank you,... we must certainly up this relationship with the way you've been taking care of me." He said. The smell of food got his attention and soon Vivian came down. She was not the surface elf she was earlier and was herself. A bold move, but it did not have any bad reactions from the people so he just left that as it was. Vivian then proceeded to ask Elle about the spell and if she could cast it on her as well. He was a little confused tell she explained it. It made sense now that he thought of it. A race of people who spend their lives deep underground would feel a bit under the weather up on the surface.

As Vivian took Elle away Alex decided it was best if he got their breakfast all on the way. He was going to order something for him and Elle and perhaps maybe something hearty for Fordes as well. The dire would have to settle for a small helping because well... his bill would be a bit too much to handle.



With breakfast out of the way and done and the morning spent with friends it was finally time to leave the shelter of the tavern and into the heat of the desert once more. The Oasis was still heavily guarded. Maybe not by the same guards as the ones during the night but still they stood. Heavily armed and armored. A lot more well equipped then the guards they would see around the town. As they were told by the locals the temple was only five miles away from the village. It would not take long for them to reach it. What was likely on their minds now... well Vivian and Alex's minds anyways was what kind of dangers they would face.

“Careful, I might just take you on that offer sooner than you think.” The cleric replied with a pleased smile when the knight took her hand to kiss, like a proper nobleman. It was rare for her to enjoy such manners from others, mostly because nobles tended to dislike the fact she could break most of them in two with a swing of her hammer. It was good to know people like the knight existed still. Or to be more precise this knight existed right now.

“Hmmm...?” Elleonora made a curios sound as she turned to see Vivian in her natural look. She actually looked better with her real skin color! Very exotic, very attractive and that's coming from a woman. She smiled and nodded.” Alright, this be the last one for the day though.” She smiled, quickly reaching and placing a hand on the drow's shoulder, allowing the blessing to take effect.” It should help you with the heat and not to get sunburned!”




“I... wasn't poisoned.” Kalista replied in struggles, now that the bard was with her. Maybe it was the whole night of pain that made it feel like eternity of solitude, maybe it was her confused mind at the moment, but she was actually glad to see Veridis right now. His presence made her feel somewhat better, moodwise at least. She still felt like she was thrown off a cliff and fell on her back from way too high... Perhaps she wouldn't survive another two of those attacks if they continued to increase in duration and strength. This one continued for a whole night and the pain was... almost deadly to feel. Would she be able to survive anything worse than last night for long?

“Listen... just don't tell anyone...” She groaned, reaching a hand for him to help her move over to the bed again.” Help me change into my spare coat... the one with the hood, yes.” She stated, planning to use to big hood to cover her face. Granted she'd look suspicious and her companions would wonder about it, but it was better than look like she did right now. The shades under her eyes were so dark blue they could be mistaken as if someone had punched her... repeatedly.” You can't do anything to help me with this... no one of you can...” She stated, trying to focus her thoughts.” I cannot allow the rest to slow down on my behalf... I need the money for this job as fast as possible otherwise... Just help me get down and then on the carriage... please...”

Malkai

It wasn't long before Malkai finished his modest meal. He didn't eat just fruits and bread because of any religious reasons; he was just frugal. Hunting was easy when your ally is a natural predator. As he stood up to get ready to leave he noticed that Vivian had decided to show herself in her true form. A drow. He's only heard about their treachery and nature, as well as rumors of their crazed libido. While a normal man may be eager to be in the company of such a seductress Malkai was largely turned off from such women. For the same reasons he has very little respect about raging berserkers, Malkai doesn't like those who flaunt how little control they have over their inhibitions. But as long as Vivian doesn't decide to have sex in the middle of their quest, she can be however she likes.

"Kalistra and Veridis aren't here yet. Did something happen?" It was just then that Veridis called down the stairs saying he was helping Kalistra get her things together. Malkai made a silent sigh. He wasn't sure if he should be annoyed or jealous at how quick these random adventurers were starting to form sexual relationships. This entire trip was going to reek of poontang. "Then let's get the wagon ready." Walking out of the inn, Malkai went to the stables to get the horses and wagon ready for the journey ahead.

---

Veridis Quo

Biting his lip, Veridis knew that he couldn't pry. As a bard he was familiar with these tales; Kalistra was stricken by some sort of illness or poison that is beyond Veridis's skills to handle, or if he knows what is the cause he'd only suffer from the same effects soon enough. Still if he had to keep a secret, then Kalista could try to hide it better. "Alright, just... Let me do this for you, at least." As Veridis helped Kalista change into some clothes, he reached into his back for his disguise kit. Inside was a variety of props and tools to help him hide his true identity, and thanks to his fairly androgynous features he could easily pull off a male or female look. But for what he needed to do right now, he needed to help hide Kalistra's mysterious wounds. They wouldn't do anything to help her fatigue or offset her injuries, but at least she looks okay. "I know I can't ask you more details, but... I can't let you die either. So until I know what's doing this to you I'll have to stay by your side." While this could come across as a flirt, the look in Veridis's eyes showed that this wasn't him trying to woo Kalista. He was genuinely concerned about what was happening to her. And once Veridis finds a problem, he won't stop until it's solved.

Down below he head someone asking about him and the mage, to which Veridis made a quick white lie. "Sorry, just helping Kalista get her things. They a bit scattered around the room. We'll be down soon so you should go and get the wagon ready." Hopefully while the others do that he could sneak Kalista out of here without any further suspicion. But he did worry about how Kalista would be able to take care of herself in the ruins. Hopefully her injuries, or whatever is happening to her, won't impede her abilities. Yet at the same time Veridis didn't want to risk the chance that they might.

Vivian enjoyed what breakfast she could at the moment. For once it was all done and gone it would be time to enter the wagon again. She had to prepare herself mentally for what was to come. She had no doubt that members of her family where likely in that temple. Stripping it of whatever they may see fit as value to their house. She just hoped that they hadn't already gotten to the chalice and that it was much more protected and guarded by the temples defenses then the rest of the place. Then again,... her kin would not do the dirty work. They would leave that to the Gnolls. Until the Gnolls where all but spent. Then they would con some other poor race to do the digging. She sighed as she walked outside. The endure elements sure was a blessing to her. The suns rays hardly effected her. She still felt a little dazed from the sun light but that would be a okay sacrifice from having to deal with the heat as well. She closed her eyes and opened them again until they adjusted. She then proceeded to the wagon. The others had it already prepared it seemed. The halfling Parum sure was fast on her feet. With help from Malkai they could be moving in no time. She climbed within and picked a spot to sit. She tapped the Jewel on her staff. "Well old friend we are almost there. Hope you had a better sleep then I did."



Alex had gotten his breakfast as well as Elleonara's. He had them bring out a whole chicken for Fordes. He could eat so much more but he would have to settle for the chicken. Once they had their fill it was time to go. Malkai had left before all of them to prepare the wagons and horses for travel. They had about five miles of this. Maybe even less if they consider the outside of the temple might be guarded by more gnolls. Just the thought of them started to make his face sore again. It was to be expected though that they would come across them again.

As he left the tavern he noticed most of the horses and wagon was already prepared. That gave home some time to prepare Fordes with his own saddle. Once it was all set he climbed aboard ready to get moving. He watched as his companions moved about doing the same. It felt good to be a part of a company for once. Fighting for the lords and their wars was taxing on him. Here, he fought for himself and in some cases like this for those who would fight beside him. Like Elleonara or the others. Of course he could not say the same for the others and how they felt. He had a feeling that a few of them would rather have soloed this mission then work with a team.

He then recalled their last incident with the Gnolls and their potions. He looked around the party and wondered how it would be if the tables were turned. Vivian was a spellcaster,... perhaps she could enlarge one or two of them. Some of them, specifically the two handed weapon users like Malkai and Elleonora would be fierce if they were enlarged. He motioned for Fordes to move up a bit and looked into the wagon. "Hey, Vivian.
You being a sorceress you must know a lot of spells right? Well I wondering if by chance we could turn the tables on these Gnolls. Like maybe use a enlarge spell on say Elle or Malkai."

Vivian looked up at him and then towards Malkai's location and then towards Elle and shrugged. Yeah it could work. Elle was destructive with that hammer of hers. If she was increased in size she would be invincible. The same with Malkai and that axe. "You got a point,... I could use some enhancement spells. Come to think of it,... I got several spells that we could take advantage of. Just remember,.... I might not have a limited supply of spells like Elleonara or those who have to prepare a head of time, but it does drain energy out of me." She did feel she could have used more of her spells in the last battle so perhaps she could... with Blink as a asset she could teleport all about the field giving enhancements or distracting a enemy.

As Kessel waited for her partner to finish breakfast, she couldn't help but overhear the other party speaking. Kessel had learned from her time in in Luskan that one ought to mind their own business, but always be aware of potential prospects. The night before Kessel had largely ignored the group since she was tired and wanted to go to bed, but hearing what they were saying she was almost certain they had similar goals. Or at least were going to the same place. Kessel looked at the party and tried to size them up. One thing was for certain, they outnumbered her and Shayle four-to-one. Kessel was confident in her skills, but even she wouldn't test those odds on the best of days. But the fact they were in such a large group would only make things easier for Kessel if she could play her words right.

Rolling up next to the cart while riding on top of Rusty, Kessel tried to get the attention of whoever led this group. She guessed it was the man riding the wolf. He seemed the authoritative type. She hoped that riding on top of her own golem would make the deminative woman seem more impressive and worthy of an alliance. "Yo!" Kessel raised her hand up as she yelled out loudly to get their attention. "Sounds to me that you're going to head into that dungeon nearby! I've heard that gnolls stalked these sands, had a run in with a few scouts a few days ago. Nothing that me, my partner, and Rusty here couldn't handle though. Still, if my hunch is right, I'm sure there's a whole nest of them near by. And chances are if you're going where I think you're going, you're going to be seeing a lot of gnolls. Why don't we team up? I don't know what you're all looking for, but I'm just investigating the ruins for some info that might help make Rusty here shine a bit better. What do ya say?"



Shayle ate her breakfast quickly. It was still mediocre to her, even with all the fancy little fruits and nuts. That might be a nice snack, but that's no meal. But she took what she could get, and once she had enough she paid her tab and left the tavern. It was a bright sunny day, the air was hot, and the road ahead of them was wrought with danger. Just the way Shayle liked it. As she went to find Kessel, she saw the gnome talking up that group from last night. Shayle narrowed her eyes and wondered what Kessel was up to. On one hand, Shayle had always told Kessel if they want to do more dungeon delving, they'll need a bigger group. But on the other hand, this group had eight people, and at least two of them didn't like Shayle. And maybe Shayle didn't like them either; so some elf didn't take kindly to her humor and one lass felt like defending her honor. That wasn't her problem. But Shayle was also quick to forgive; they had their brawl to work their their differences, and while Shayle might not like some of those people, she can at least respect their honor for each other.

The dwarf warrior approached quietly. Or at least she didn't say anything; her armor and footsteps, even in the sand, was loud enough for just about everyone to hear. She rested her massive dwarven greataxe upon her shoulder, the black metal absorbing the light, giving it an eerie glow. "A bit bigger than I expected. But I don't mind if we gotta work together. Just lemme be clear about one thing: I don't like some of ya. But as of yesterday, I respect at least one of ya fer yer honor. Not many actually willin' to back up their friends inna fight. Most try to settle it with words or trickery. Only a real warrior's willin to throw down fer her friends, and I can respect that. As for the others... Meh."

After the meal was over with, Elleonora was also ready to get going so she grabbed her bags and moved to the horses and the wagon where she started to attach her luggage to the saddles of the horse in a way it's evenly distributed so it doesn't tax the horse too much. Things were arranging fine enough, except with their bard and the wizard. There was something going on here and she wasn't sure what it was. Kalista didn't appear as a person who'd scattered her things in a room for just one night. Something else was going and she wasn't sure it was the casual sexual night between adventurers. She'd have to ask the half elf about what's happening later.

Hmmm a golem and it's rider appeared and chatted up Alexander to join hands with dealing with the gnolls at the temple. Even more people were heading to that damned place! Was this the curse of treasure? The lure of gold? The siren song of booty? She smiled and hopped on her horse for the moment, not interested in the fact or not that the new 2 would join their group. There was a good chance more hands would be better, but also that such a big group won't be able to enter all at once.

“Quite the statement there, warrior.” Elleonora said when the dwarven woman started spouting some pretty curious words about how Catarina earned her respect while the others were nothing special for not getting involved.” Two people in a brawl, especially for a honor of one's friend is honorable. 2 people teaming up on another one no matter the reason is dishonorable.” The cleric stated and adjusted the huge battlehammer on her back.



“Thank you.” She replied quietly as Veridis had the great idea to apply some make up to her face and mask out the sunken cheeks, huge blue circles under her eyes and the general state of her visage. She looked like a mess and if someone saw her like she was right now, they'd know something had happened. With Veridis's skills application, she should be fine as long as she gets on the wagon and pretends to sleep at one of the sides.

“Great job... you made it sound like we've spend the night together... Still thank you. I really mean it.” She groaned when Viridis started informing the others about their delay. Now this was something she didn't want all the tavern to hear, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

“Alright, this should be enough, help me get down the stairs. I can (probably) walk to the wagon by myself.” She said, putting huge efforts to stand up.” Don't make that face, my powers aren't waning because of this. I still wield my magic. It's already prepared and ready.” She stated." Once I'm in the wagon, I will curl up in one corner and get a nap. I will both feel better and look better afterwards."

Catarina followed with Vivian to the wagon, strapping on her armor and equipment. As they were getting to move a gnome greeted them, followed by that dwarf Shayle. Underneath her helmet Catarina narrowed her eyes at the dwarf, but listened to them. Ellenora shared Catarina's feeling that these two might try to backstab them in the ruins, though admittedly Catarina also felt a certain sort of camaraderie with the dwarf. Her words struck a cord with Catarina that she could agree with, but after their fight yesterday Cataraina's feelings about the dwarf was less than neutral at best. That being said, Catarina had no problems if these people wanted to join them. However, she had something herself to say.

"I don't care if you want to join. Don't slow us down and help us out and you're gold. But know this, dwarf; we have two elves in our company. I don't care what your opinions about them are. If you want to join us, they're your allies, and you will treat them with respect. I won't tolerate bigotry while we're out in the ruins."

---

Parum, always the sneaky one, went completely unnoticed by the others as she got her things together, ate breakfast, and hopped into the wagon. It seemed like Malkai was going to take the lead this time, so Parum let him do his thing. Veridis was helping Kalista, which made Parum wonder if something developed between the two. For a bard Veridis had been awfully reserved and half expected that he would have hit on all these women by the time they met. Catarina and Vivian also seem rather close, classic lady and knight. Though Vivian was more a dark sorceress, and Catarina was a mere mercenary. But the archetype fits nonetheless. Parum also sensed something between Alexander and Ellenora, perhaps the two gruff warriors had something in common that they liked about each other. It was funny seeing these relationships bloom so suddenly. It made Parum wonder how quickly they'll come apart.

As Parum quietly waited for the adventure to begin they were met up by two more strangers. A gnome and a dwarf that Catarina fought yesterday. Seeing an opportunity to gain a few more allies Parum chimed in. "Our group is getting pretty big. Perhaps we should consider splitting into teams? While splitting the party is usually a bad idea, I think with a group this huge, we can afford some degree of separation."

Malkai

"Save your magic. I have no need for it." Malkai said gruffly. For some, it might give the impression that he doesn't trust magic. Of course the truth is that he could take care of himself just fine. Besides that, the less the enemy is attacking him, the better. Leave it to the ones in armor to take the hits. Once everyone was on board Malkai was ready to take the group when a gnome on a golem arrived. Now this piqued his interest, if only slightly. Golems were strange constructs, but not entirely unknown to the druids. They too employ golems but using natural materials, making them something of a cross between elementals and constructs. But Malkai knew of their power nonetheless, and a golem could be useful in their venture. The more bodies between them and danger, the better. "I don't see a problem. But keep up. Our resources will be stretched thin among all of us. You'd had better be able to carry your own weight."

---

Veridis Quo

After helping Kalista into the wagon Veridis smiled as she warned him that she wasn't entirely useless. If she could get some proper rest, she'd feel and look better. "I'll let you rest then. I want to see you at your best." Once Kalista was settled in Veridis left her alone and mounted on his horse. They were about ready to leave when a gnome and Shayle arrived. Seemed like they wanted to come and just about everyone had no real problems with it, though Veridis had his doubts. As much as he enjoyed the company of women and in such large groups, their party was getting rather huge. Four people were enough for a band of adventurer, six was usually his max. But with Kessel and Shayle, they'll have at least ten people, not including Kessel's golem and everyone else animal companions. Less of a group and more of a band at this point. "It looks like some of us have already agreed to take you two along. I don't have much to say myself, only that if you need help feel free to ask. All I ask is that you return the favor, should we need it." With his thoughts spoken Veridis faced forward and readied himself for their next adventure.

With introductions done and out of the way with their two new comers the crew was once more off towards the temple. Not everyone was too eager with the new recruits. Not so much the Gnome and her golem but that of the dwarf. Vivian was still a bit irritated by the dwarf's outburst about her.

It did not take long for the crew to reach the ruins and with talk of the group splitting it would not be too hard for that to be implemented. However before the temple could even be scoped out by Malkai's falcon it could already be told that something happened upon the surface. It smelled of death and decay as if a battle had occurred only this battle was not of a natural one. It wasn't some bandits fighting with another group for territory but one of Gnolls and the undead.... the interesting part was that the gnolls on the surface had lost with very few of the undead joining their corpses. These undead were not something you normally saw from a zombie flick. They where mostly all wrapped up in cloth. Even the ones who where skeletal had some sort of wrappings around them. Alex saw the what had occurred and was trailing off looking to the bodies to see if any of them had anything of worth.

What happened next he was not prepared for. Something from beneath the sands grabbed a hold of Fordes ankle and began to pull him beneath the sand and immediatly him and any close by him would be sucked through a large hole in the ground with a sizable amount of sand. He tried to grab a hold of something but there was nothing to grab but more sand and before he and Fordes knew it they were sucked into the pit and into the darkness below. The remaining crew above would have to meet up with those who fell below later down the line.....



Vivian nodded acceptingly at Malkai's response to her idea of casting the spell on him. He wanted to rely on his own strength and not that of a spell to fell his foes. It was a honorable response by his kin indeed. She looked to the others and figured if they were willing to take her enhancement she would cast it. She figured once inside she would be staying close to Cat anyways. So perhaps all her enhancement spells would be used on her. It wasn't long before the smell of the temple drew near her nose and she wasn't all too happy with it. She could smell the blood of Gnolls and rotten corpses.... She eventually peaked out the side to see the battle that had occurred. Apparently the Gnolls had unleashed Nerul's unliving guardians upon them and where slaughtered by them. A few mumified corpses laid among them but so few. Which was not surprising. The undead where very hard to kill. He kin could match them no sweat but the Gnolls.... unless they knew had to deal with such a foe they where no match.

She noticed Alex was starting to survey and she was just about to warn him to be careful when the unthinkable happened. She hopped out of the wagon as he began to plummet due to the hold of one of the undead wretches and she moved to try and aid but before she could do anything he was gone. In fact she had to cast blink to make sure she did not get sucked down... a few of the others where also taken under from the cave in of some sort. It was only her and those that remained now. They would have to traverse through the dungeons from the above entrance while those below,... hopefully they survived the fall, would have to take on the darkness within from below. She made a silent pray to Nerul that he would spare them of his judgement. Such a prayer might have been ignored by others but she being a member of Lolth's cult maybe he might listen. Then again who knows....



..... Alex had fell and fell hard against the rocks below. He could feel that a few bones had broke under it and grimaced as he tried to move. Luckily the fall was not too far down to cause him to black out even though the pain alone almost made him pass out. What caused him to sturr was he could hear the yelping of his comrade. Who was not so lucky in his fall. He quickly discovered from just feel alone that the dire wolf's journey would stop here. Not all the ground was flat but it was bumpy in some areas and Fordes had to pick the one spot with a jagged tip big enough to scewer him. This pained Alex to a large degree. This was not just some animal companion but a member of his family and he was undone by a fall. Alex closed his eyes and removed his bastard sword and slid it into the wolf's chest to end his suffering. Alex then looked around to see if anyone had fallen with him. Strangely there was some light form torches placed along the stone walls that led into the bricked walls of what he believed to be the temple.

The brick wall seemed to have been broken into from something on their side. Likely Vivian's kin for it would be a easier route then on the surface for them. Right now that was not his concern. He had to see if any of his allies followed after him with a fall of their own and if they were okay.

Malkai

Malkai drove the caravan forward in stoic quiet, half driving the horses, half meditating. He needed to keep his senses sharp even in these vast deserts. He did not want to get ambushed again. Falchion had been sent out to scout ahead as usual, though they didn't go so far that Flachion would spot anything before the group arrived. Malkai smelled it before they saw; the stench of death and decay. It was fresh too, not the same stale smell from mummified corpses. Sure enough once they arrived to the temple there were the corpses of gnolls spread around the place. The corpses were wrapped in thick cloth, not unusual for mummification but also bound in such a way that it would even keep rotting bones and flesh together. Obviously guardians of this temple, even after death.

Everyone began to spread out and search. That was their first mistake. In his greed Malkai had hoped that perhaps one of the gnoll leaders had left weapons or equipment, but before the half-orc could react he fell into a deep dark chasm. Malkai had barely enough time to brace himself before he fell into a pile of skeletal corpses. He should count his luck; Malkai was only a few feet away from Forbes, who was impaled on large rocks. He could hear the wolf's sad whimpers before he was put out of his misery by Alexander. Malkai wasn't going to pretend that he sympathized with Alexander, but Malkai would pay his respects to the noble beast and leave his body alone. As tempting as harvesting it for ingredients would be.

"Ach... That was rather painful. Anyone else alive?"

---

Veridis Quo

Once everyone got on the road Veridis allowed himself to calm down about Kalista. He could worry as much as he'd want, but there was nothing he could do but make sure he didn't end up dead weight. He tuned his lute, cleaned his sword, and organized his tombs. As he waited in the back, holding the lute in his hands, Veridis's mind went back to a time before. An exciting time, to get his body pumped and ready for the wicked adventure he'll no doubt see soon. And accompanying this memory was a song. He could remember it as if he was witnessing it himself first hand: A round table.

Veridis sat across a mountain of a man. A rogue, a bandit, a villain. Veridis had come straight to him to offer him a choice: surrender peacefully, or face swift justice. Outnumbered by ten and the shortest of the bunch Veridis was certain that he would have lost. But perhaps that would have been the case if he faced them with only his blade. But he had wits on his side. Wits, and magic. Veridis could see it again. Swashbuckling against these vile foes, parrying and riposting their strikes before adding a dash of magic to befuddle and take away their advantages. Simple things; a spill of grease here, uncontrollable laughter there, and shattered glass everywhere. It wasn't just a fight, but a dance with the accompany music of battle. Veridis relied on these memories to keep him alive; these expereinces which he could apply to battles in the future. No doubt he'll be seeing more soon.

Eventually the group stopped after they arrived to the temple. When they did however, a foul stench assaulted Veridis's nose. "Eug, disgusting. Smells like death." Veridis took a moment to prepare himself a makeshift mask to cover his mouth. he supposed it made sense; this was the temple to a dead god. Plenty of rotting corpses within, riddle with diseases and sickness. He hoped the party had brought anti-plagues. But as Veridis got out of the cart and got ready to look around, a large pit opened up. Many of the others were swallowed up by the sand and sent into an abyss. Veridis took a step forward, but when the sands started shifting underneath his feet he took retreated before he was sent plummeting into the darkness. By the time the hole stopped expanding, nearly half their party was consumed. It was far too deep for even the sunlight above to illuminating the darkness below. Veridis wished the best for the others, but he was almost certain that they may not have made it.

"Looks like we found an entrance. Should we try going down or taking the regular way instead?"

The travel to the temple was good enough. There were no dangers that met them until the time they reached it. Though the problems started when they did reach it. From the distance it could be seen that the struggle for the temple had already started. When they approached it became even clearer. Gnolls had attempted to raid the temple and the guards had decimated them. Mummies, why did it have to be mummies? Annoying enemies to deal with. Good to turn into moving torches though, but to light them on fire required a way to make sure they don't reach you in the meantime and set you on fire too.

Well that was at least her first concern before the cave in happened. People were swallowed underground and everything happened so bloody fast. Before she knew what happened Alex and his trusty companion were underground. Malkai also ended there and she heard a female scream, by the sound of it it must have been Kalista. The wagon was tilted slightly so she must have rolled off the side caught by surprise and fell. This was concerning, their group was practically divided into two. She looked about to see who else was left above.” Who's still above?” She called quite strongly to make a check on who was where.” Hey you, down, are any of you hurt?” She also called down the hole, wondering if they could hear. Well she was about to find out.

"Going through that hole would lead us to our companions, but it could very well completely cave in if we try to slide down, also we don't know where it leads." Elleonora said to Veridis." It may be a good idea to go through the main entrance... if for nothing else, but to at least secure a possible way out."



Kalista was caught by purse surprise when the pit started opening! She had just tried to stand up or at least sit when it started and before she could react, she fell by the side of the wagon and rolled down with the opening pit.' I'm going to die...' She thought as she was going down and down into the darkness. Until she finally hit the bottom.

“Ugh...” She made a painful sound as her body hit something brittle. It still hurt like hell and it took the air out of her lungs. She started coughing, feeling her body hurt again.” Damn...” She groaned, trying to look around.” Help...” She called, weakly, feeling herself caught in something. What turned out to be another pile of bones. She must have fallen on them and got herself covered in them. She was already weak since last night she so she didn't really have the strength to pull away free. Especially after this fall.

Sure enough to answer his thoughts he saw so far two members of his team with him in the hole. Malkai and Kalista had fallen with him. He felt a little guilty for it. He might have caused the cave in or it was caused all on its own. Malkai was recovering much better then Kalista, one of their female companions. She was worse for wear it would seem. He approached her after her call for help. Her, like Malkai had the luck of having a pile of bones breaking her fall. Not that it helped any in her case. She looked a lot more frail then when they first meet. He raised a brow at her and shook his head to clear any ill thoughts. "Kalista right? Here let me help you up." He said as he reached for arms to see if he could get her out of the pile of bones. "Can you stand on your own?
" He asked. He was not too sure of her condition and was afraid he might have to carry her. Which would in turn slow him down. He would have to carry his shield along his arm and let her ride on his back if it comes to that. She seemed light enough. Most certainly not as heavy looking as Elle or even Vivian.

Luckily for them Kalista was just a magic user. She could very well cast from the safety of his back with that book. Apparently there was a difference between Sorcerers and Wizards. Vivian was a sorceress and did not require a tomb to cast her spells, her arcane magic was in her blood from the start and she could cast solely on memory. Wizards like Kalista here though... they required such objects. He was just glad he stick'd to the sword for these very reasons. It was much simpler to cut down your foes then to read words in order to cast a thunderbolt.

Vivian

It would look from their current situation and her understanding that the pit consumed half their group in one go. Was this just a trap of the temple or was it more natural then she thought. Cave ins happen all the time in ancient places like this and with the weight of sand and those above.... no telling when a collapse might happen. She looked to Elle who was asking for those who where still here. "I am still here but I think we are down two warriors...." She most certainly spotted Malkai and Alex taking a tumble down into the abyss but it happened so fast that she did even spot the rest including Kalista. For now there was only one option... to take the long way down. No way was she taking the easy route. They could just make things worse. She looked to the main entrance and sighed. Her scorpion ally will be useless here..... the halls and chambers will likely be too small to fit a creature of his size. Hopefully she would not have to rely on such a brute creature to survive. Hopefully Cat was not swallowed by the hole and was here with her. Elle was here though for certain so perhaps she would have to stay by her. Not too close though... that swing can hurt those in its path if not careful.
"From here on out we are in hostile territory. It's no mystery that the Gnolls and my kin have awakened the temples immortal guardians. So we have the undead to take care of as well." She had spells against the undead... she could even turn them against each other if needed. She looked to Elle's hammer. "Is that blessed in anyway?..."