Face the ancient darkness deep,
Void of darkness devoid of light,
Come the dawn it crawls and creeps,
The shadows of day born from night,
Of blackened birth the shadow spawn,
from mother darkness and father dawn.

The grip loosened as the bladesinger's eye paralyzed the tentacular rival. Koan had felled the remaining templar, an ingenious use of spellcraft as she tempted and goaded her prey to strike her frozen blue body. And more so her rapier's attack which crackled of booming energy against the gripped squid, was she not a wonderful sadist? Octopii appeared to attack their distant brethren, all party members engaged against the colossal beast throwing everything they had to survive, despite the vantage of numbers now with the templars down. But survive they did, the limp noodle wrapt around Noriam's struggles the sign of the monstrosity's demise. Releasing him from his struggles, as the curious blonde handed him a strange potion from beneath her cloak. It was Jill who shone with the light that pierced the kraken's evil eye with her blade. Crying blood and ink as the cephalopod drowned in its death allowing the grappled warlock to remove the tentacle grapple and glide swimmingly towards the gathering group back into the looted treasure room. Now of all times perhaps it would be fitting to reveal his name to the group, as Jacob rechristened into Israel would too 'Sauron' be reintroduced as Noriam? The burden of thoughts, they had all known him by the former name...

A voice returning. A sweet music in the mind of a lost child. A calling, beckoning through the experience of being pulled by the darkness. Perhaps Jill's words rang truer still, something of an effect upon the harmony of tainted soul. There was still light, a divine spark held within, clinging on in the bastion as a single flame upon twined wick. This battle only made it grow, the tendrils making the fight more real, how he sought to the grasp the darkness had around him. The perfect allegory to tease out the rekindling of the light. There Noriam turned within, listening to the voice of Jill in his mind, I see the light is still inside you. Grasp it, and break free! No not break free, but Shine. Shine on release the inferno of holy light, return as Noriam and cease the game of shadows. But the shadows were born from darkness and light, the shadow exists as the light strikes as the darkness to balance out the radiance.

"I believe this is yours." A potion returned to its original owner. No longer slow of tongue it seemed, Jill's restorative magic having cooled his burning tongue. "While I appreciate the gesture... Taking drinks from nameless strangers you have only met is a good way to find yourself... Poisoned or worse..." It was true, a tactic employed by many in the professional circle. The scrapes and cut beneath his shadow armor would heal, Jill's spells already having done much of the work, but a brief respite should heal most of the injuries. Then again most of this was from Koan's kiss. Of which Noriam minded not another in the next hour, as Jill identified the tiger's necklace with her rites. She was a mystery, younger and far more chipper than the gloomy aasimar, but perhaps just as volatile in their vocations, for did Noriam not revel in the moment of agony minutes ago like a madman? And now he seemed far more relaxed as a new brightness danced in his watching eyes even as he made his way to Koan's side. Jill's healing light seemed to cling on and resonate within him, infectiously tainting his blackened soul with the blessings of the heavens.

"Koan, are you alright my sweet ebon fury?" A charming smile at the blue enigma serenading her in a lover's endearment. What would she do if she knew of his deception? Would she love Sauron? Or Noriam? was it love even? Or more so a dark lust that nibbled at the desires? Did not Jill banish Koan's darkness from his heart?

Dyn's many tentacles danced and whipped around as he worked on his spellbook and one of the scrolls he had found. While the fourth level magic in the third one called to him, he knew he did not have the eight hours to spare. That would take a day of his time later, but for now he would have to resort to the four he had available here. He isolated himself in a corner of the room, for both reasons of not allowing others to follow his work too closely and to make sure he did not harm them further. He needed them in good shape for the journey to come.

Of course, when scribing spells one had to also figure out the exact form of performing it. This scroll, too, had been written by a creature far more limited than him. It didn't take a pinnacle of creation such as himself long to figure out what these scribbles stood for, the words were as thus and it required a... huh, amusing. Yet the material components were largely irrelevant for Dyn, though he would still jot it down in his cipher. Truly, this caster had been of as dull a mind as their body had been flawed. Their scripture was like wax in the grasp of the superior mind, and all that took time in this was indeed translating the gestures for the body of the perfect being.

For a time as he tried to figure this out, the observant of the group could see the would-be captain exhaling breaths of different types of energy. Most amusing results had to be the stream of bubbles as well as the one time he vomited a rainbow, or maybe that one cloud of bubbling tar? But in the end, the relatively tame streams of acid, cold, fire, lightning and poison confirmed to him that he now had the spell down. And sure enough, as he closed his spellbook he found that the words had faded from the scroll. He would need to replace the spent ink in due time...

Returning to the rest of the group, he saw that they had already settled down to rest for the night. A sensible decision, considering the other option would have been to leave him behind. Something they definitely would not have wanted to do. After all, he was the greatest warrior in this troupe, his raw potential alone unmatched by any other. We needn't even get to the more refined parts. He found his spot near Jill and Adrevz and turned to see if the new guy was still awake. If so, he would return her greeting. Despite his work, he hadn't missed that. "Dyn'yer'zhead. I hope you know how to behave. There are many I've seen... and see", he added, few of his eyes darting around only to lock down on Koan and 'Sauron', thankful of the fact he couldn't see the kobold anywhere, "that fail at the concept."


@Guardian Angel Haruki - Spoke to you a bit.

Adrevz seemed rather tired, after fighting and the injuries she had obtained, and had healed, as well as some spell slinging and animal fenangling... speaking of which. "Off you go," she said to the octopi, "Thank you for your assistance, you both did amazingly well." With a wave of her hand, and finally releasing the concentration on her spell, the Octopi vanished and she was left feeling more tired than ever. Then there was the new girl, sure she had helped them get passed the constructs and the Kraken, sort of, but who was she exactly? Letting out a sigh, she swam up to Alexis and began to pointedly inspect the new addition to their team. "Thank you for inspecting that for me Jill, now that I know what it does, I'll be able to more comfortably use it should we need it." Her eyes not leaving Alexis, she reached out and tilted the new female's head up by her chin, eyes narrowed as she inspected before her hand dropped and she seemed to nod to herself before taking the necklace back from the woman and shaking out her hands. "In order to make use of it I will have to cast water breathing on myself though, easy enough, I still haven't found out how to grow gills as a Tiger."

She let out a small chuckle, as if it were something she had tried, and failed, on many occasions, before she went over to Cynthia to check on her long time friend. "How are you feeling?" the siren asked, checking over Cynthia with a keen eye and judging the severity of her wounds, "I can do a quick heal if you would like, try to ease some of the pain you may be experiencing?"

"Not good," Cynthia replied quietly, hoping the others wouldn't hear. "That kraken did a number on me. Swords and arrows, I can fend off... but his tentacles were of some darker power." The ranger shivered slightly at the memory of the tentacles slithering over her. "I would take any of your healing, if you can spare it."

A gentle smile crossed Adrevz features as she looked at Cynthia, "Of course I can spare it," she told her, "You know all you have to do is ask my Dear." Setting her Staff beside her, she muttered something under her breath before a soothing wave could be felt rolling over the Ranger, healing her wounds for 70 and dispelling anything the Kraken might have given her at the time that it had attacked. She had felt what Cynthia had mentioned when the creature had grabbed her, and she was not pleased that it had dared grab onto her friend. Just to ensure anything else that might have harmed her was healed, she cast one Cure Wounds using her staff for another 28.

With one last look around, Adrevz let out a small sigh when she saw Noriam. He wasn't completely out of sorts, but she figured making sure those she had to work with should be as healthy as possible, so she took a moment to heal him as much as he needed, casting Cure Wounds twice, the first healing him for 7 and the last healing him for 6. "There, everyone should be right as rain for now," she said with a crooked smile, "Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'm going to go get some sleep before I die of exhaustion." With that said, she swam a little ways away from everyone else, not really trusting everyone enough to stay as close as they may want.

Brooding over her innovative glacial brazier, the azure prankster hoped the consumption of these herbs, by magical fire, would satiate the fey to bring her a help-meet in this time of emotional need. Maybe a fairy or better yet, a pseudodragon? She then stood lingering, as her stare observed the man of her yearning, burning heart approach.

"Koan, are you alright my sweet ebon fury?"

Noriam’s subtle inquisition imbued a reactionary spirit of Eumenidean punishment, for torturing her lust with pangs of a scorned love. The guilt was frigid and conscious, as the Agathysian armor instantly pressed its forbidding and frosty helm upon the shadowy skin-tight panoply of the warlock, in the form of a platonic embrace, distancing their parade of partnership, until the marathon between Jill and her, culminated in the cursed subjugation of the more doted bard.

“Just a little cold, is all. Waiting to see if this works.”

Ugh.

Sudden groans and grunting, audibly discerned admist their hug oddly with both participants' mouths visibly closed, took the jester by surprise, as if her arm was attempting to scramble off her body in a mountainous ascent. Pushing off the star-crossed lover with the now flailing extremity, the crazed blue clown enquired furiously after clicking her boots once more.

“What in the hell is going on, Sauron?!?”

Abruptly, a sinister spider squeezed out of a tiny crevice within her left icy gauntlet, falling and floating onto the stalagmite riddled floor, before transforming back into an imp.

“Geez. Not what, but who, toots.” The demonic familiar dusted water off his attire and then ogled the hexblade, with a wink and a smirk. "Adorable, Norey-baby. Did you get'em at the Eldritch outlet? No, don't tell me. Or was it the Stygian flea market? Since youse a miser on the essentials. Like clothes."

The rarity of embarrassment on the joker’s visage impregnated the room and her trembling voice. “Dox?!? I thought you were on a decade long… What did you call it? And who’s Norey-baby?”

“A sabbatical.” The greenish gremlin was sharply dressed, in a violet suit, tie and vest, adorned with a silver undershirt, cane and pocket square. Finally, a purple top hat, crowned with an Amethyst, sat upon the writhing scalp. He cranked his neck, to look up at her proverbial lord but secured his trilby with his greyish wicker. “And it has, ya old blue bird. After I sprungs youse from that king’s harem, thrall and all awhiles back, I, the infamous Dox, has returned. Been spendings my eternity, workings my way down the infernal ladder. Youse know, promotions and such.”

The imp spat, reflexively to clear his throat, into the aquatic ambiance, uncaring of its dissolved destination.

“Let’s get to the knitty gritty, before everyone retires. How ‘bout youse and I cuts ourselves another contract, eh?” He gawked at the bladesinging Beholder and Noriam intently before continuing.

“What kind of deal?” Her entranced lips followed with the appropriate questioning.

"Youse beckons me and I do a thing or three to be, ah, useful to master folk like you." He jumped onto her shoulder. "In the meanwhiles, I gets to corrupt a few souls, kills a few goodie two-shoes, and sees a little action of those assets of yours."

His eyes greedily glanced at Jill, aware of the relational strain, the captain haphazardly placed between the dancing duo. She subtly felt the unconscious sway of his pervasive sight, and spontaneously agreed.

“Deal! So, what now?” She crossed her arms, after batting him away.

The fiendish con artist braced his impact with the shiny rattan, flipping forward in the style of an acrobat, hurriedly about-facing with another sharky smile. “Perfect, toots.” A mystical chain attached to a handcuff, jerkily jetted from the palm of Dox, nippily shackling the cerulean geisha. After a second or two, the fettering display vanished, leaving a broken pocket watch in the vise of the familiar.

“Done. So, the singing Dyn and the white haired masochist, I already know.” The devilish lawyer closed the gap once more with Koan. “First, throws in a good bad word of me with rest of your crew. Finder’s fee still applies, no matter the realm. And who knows maybe I do youse a favor, every now and then, especially since I now have high friends in low places."

The night passed slowly, as many of us were still unused to the sensations of sleeping underwater. Drifting in the current tended to feel quite cozy, up until one's head bonked along the rocky walls. However, our rest finally met its conclusion, and the new day begun... if day and night actually held any meaning on this plane. I sang a restful morning song as we broke our fast, and before long, we were led forward by Cynthia.

A few minutes passed with nothing of note as we wound our way through the sunken tunnels. But suddenly as she rounded a bend, our guide stopped short.
What appeared to be a shimmering barrier stood in our way. Magic? Dangerous? Perhaps deadly?

Cynthia gave a quiet gasp. "I never expected to see air in here!" she exclaimed as she pushed against the "barrier." Sure enough, the surface of the water rippled and splashed, and the merfolk smiled back at the group. "Air pockets are rare and quite valuable. We should note these on our map."

The group broke the surface and glanced around. By any account, this looked like a normal cave with an underground river passing through that the party was now exiting. But no, in this plane, the air was of greater note than the water. But the group felt refreshed and comforted by the sensation of warm air... even if they were still sopping wet from their swim.

To the east, the water continued on, beckoning for a continued swim. To the south, the air pocket led deeper into the caves. And to the West was the direction we came from. Which way should we choose?

Collaboration with @Guardian Angel Haruki

As everyone near Alexis started to rest, she noticed that the beholder decided to return her greeting. She nodded to him and answered after he gave her his name, “Nice to meet you,”

After he commented about her behaving and pointedly implied that two of them failed at it, Alexis chuckled “Well I’m not looking for romance like those two seem to be, so I think I’ll be okay on that end,”

Alexis then leaned against the wall with her hands behind her head and her elbows pointed upwards and she asked, “So...Can I ask how you became an adventurer of sorts? This is the first time I’ve actually met a Beholder,”

She wasn’t going to be rude in saying that beholders usually tried to kill people from what she heard.

"The worlds are vast. Many inferior beings that dare call themselves my kin make their lairs in one locale, thinking that brings them might. No. It is only when the whole world knows your name and either respects you like no other or fears your passing when you truly live the position of power and privilege", Dyn answered to the question regarding his reasons for becoming an adventurer of sorts. Was he being honest? Probably. Depends on how one looks at the subject. After all, he was telling the truth. Just not the whole truth.

"A question for a question. What brings you to the elemental plane of water? You do not have the looks of a local", the floaty would-be captain inquired in return, pleased to note that this one at least knew some manners. One more good head on the crew!

Alexis placed her hand on her chin, and she commented in thought, “Hmm...It’s a long story, but I guess the best way to sum it up would be that I was traveling when I met the ullathai and he asked me for help with the Marid. I couldn’t really say no. So, that’s why I’m here in the Water Plane,”

The left corner of Dyn's mout dipped slightly as he pondered the reply. Travelling. Met the theullai. Got asked for help. Hardly similar to the story of theirs, where the greeting was an attack in frost and salty waves, and the task of fighting the Marid was much less something asked, more demanded. Or that was his understanding anyhow. But now wasn't the time to churn over the detail of him not exactly knowing what their contract included, though he hated it. Thus, he found the answer unlikely, but plausible enough to not press on it. She probably knew better than to lie to him. Time would tell.

"At least our goals align for now. If you are smart, they may align for longer. Pick your sides carefully, including this 'group' of ours, despite her attempts to tell you there would be none to pick", Dyn finally replied, pointing briefly at Jill on the final words.

Alexis raised an eyebrow at the beholder. Was he trying to intimidate her? And why would there be sides to pick in this group? They were friends with each other, right?
Alexis answered the beholder with a shrug, “As for right now, I don’t see why our goals wouldn’t align for longer. But, I guess time will tell,”

That was enough of the newcomer, Dyn decided after hearing the last reply. He gave her a closed answer inviting no further discussion in the form of "We'll see", and floated onto his own. Or to his own, if one wanted to look at it like that. After all, the bundle of eyes, tentacles and other assorted fragments of perfection sought company among Jill and Adrevz, the two he knew for sure had some sense in their craniums. Adrevz more certainly, for he had raised her himself. Jill less so, but she was Jill. And that fact did weigh in on its own.

---

Come the end of their rest, the Beholder unwound his tentacles from his chosen support (that very likely being one of the aforementioned ladies) and prepared to head off. While some might still need to take a moment to gather themselves as sleeping near a Beholder was often a new experience, seeing all of those things just blinking in and out of experience around the dreamer, Dyn moved on to make rudimentary map markings on their progress so far. It would both help them remember where they had already been as well as net them the money they had been promised back in the coral city.

And when they finally were on the move, they soon ran into a pocket of air. Well, wouldn't it have been handy to rest here instead of back in the water of their actual chosen position. No use crying over spilled milk, but Dyn was quite mad nonetheless. He would have been fine to go on! The weakness of others had led to this once again! When could he trust in things to go well for him if he was beset by novices on all sides? Well, he had an air pocket to record on the map now. "Lets look into that air filled bit first. If it ends soon, all the better. If not, we shall head back into the water. We move faster below the surface", he stated his plan, expecting everyone to agree. He was, after all, the most intelligent one present, no doubt.

Most unfortunate. He was just getting to enjoy their post-battle afterglow, when something ugly decided to rear its ugly rear. Pushed away from what was unknown, something not of the warlock's design as the creeping sensation tingled up Koan's unilateral upper extremity. Flailing wildly like a lesion of the contralateral subthalamic nucleus, something shifted in the dancer's mind to think this was all the umbramancer's doing. But before he could rebuff the blame, the caused made itself clear. Crawling from the frozen gauntlet, the trickster, bade his way into their corner. With a burning despite those fiery eyes focused on the impling, procuring purplish powersuits portraying petty plebeian playing proper patronage poorly. How dare that little devil insult his shadow-woven armor while conjuring up his own cheap threads. The little runt, had let nearly slipped the shadowed one's true name to the group. Of which a dead-eyed stare filled to the brim with murder raged against the vexing Dox.

"The little gnat..." A grumble of disdain. It was clear 'Sauron' knew the imp, and vice-versa. Creatures of darkness and vile natures after all, seemed to be rather active in the underworlds, there was a history no doubt between them. One which the warlock seemed unwilling to divulge in, as he quietly doffed and re-donned his shadow armor beneath the cloak. The strengthening shadows extending the length and width of his sword as well into a greater inky mass. A two-handed blade which was sunk back into the shadows which surrounded his ivory flesh. Fortunately it seemed Koan was left in the dark about the truth, for as long as the pest did not reveal the ruse, Noriam would be able to masquerade as 'Sauron' as he pleased.

---

Air? In a vast desert, a oasis was rare, in a vast ocean, a breath of fresh air was just that. It was quite possibly a trap, although breaching the surface was refreshing. The land was far steadier than the endless water, although walking on land for the first time in days was a bit strange. Though they now numbered seven, they had barely scraped out of the last fight, and going into the den would not be any easier. For now they had to fight together, as one cohesive unit, despite the rift of mistrust between them. The arrogant little floating meatball could continue to believe he was the greatest thing since sliced lembas, but the warlock needed to play along to see where this journey takes them. Imbibed by the light once more, perhaps this was the first step in the right direction to regain his absolution and earn his soul back from the dark pact.

"I'm curious as to what we will find on land. And if it bleeds..."
A brief pause as the tendrils of shadows conferred up the once vanished edge.