Aelih frowned at the girl, then looked through the rest of the clearing, noting the forest golems presence ”That again... why is it here? Of course, why are any of us here, for that matter...” Aelih chuckles softly, noting a man in a bush a second before the rude one called him out, and sighed.

“Lui, you can come out of the bush. Next time, don’t bring a giant flaming stick with you into hiding. Also... the Resurgence? Catacombs? Mind saying what’s going on here, Miss Nona? All I know is that a town was attacked by skeletons with damn siege weapons, and a giant boar of some kind. Oddly organized for a group of skeletons, What with the fact they have an entire damn siege weapon for raiding with” Aelih took a breath, eyes closing for the moment.

With that, Aelih glances at a man with stitches on his mouth, and raises an eyebrow as he quickly flashes hand symbols. Aelih remembered something about that being used as a form of communication, and frowned. Shame Aelih didn’t know it.

Lui pouted as she emerged from the bush, her hiding spot having been given away by Aelih. However, she was still scared of the creepy Skull-riding girl, so she decided to hide behind the next best thing: Aelih.

"Who's that?" Lui whispers, cautiously pointing at Nona. "Is she dangerous?"

Corc advanced towards the small building, looking at the gems. He seemed rather confused. "Corc drunk?! Corc see glowing rocks change colour!!" He whined, to nobody in particular. Corc had only seen this once before, and it was when he'd enhaled some strange fumes from a man who was smoking something in a bar once. But back then, everything around him was rainbowy for several hours. Still, that wasn't quite as trippy as what Foeldar had made him see not too long ago. The giant advanced towards the stone door, readying his mighty mace.

The orc grabbed it firmly with both hands, and swung it powerfully into the stone doors. "Corc SMASH door!" He cried, expecting them to shatter. He didn't pay any mind to the obelisks and the gems inside. He had an ominous feeling, but he did not see the point of hesitating now. Finding evil near this area was to be expected, if it were truly the source of all their trouble.

Fauve first had an Incline to steal herself one of them shiny gems, but the circumstances didn’t rightly boast a convincing measure of safety. Being honest with herself, stealing one would have been one of her dumbest moves in life. It wasn’t so much that Corc or Gabe or the others might be witnesses, she couldn’t have cared less if they saw her do it, although the unknown magic they were wielding was a definite put off. Beautiful shining gems exposed for any passer-by to the catacombs to see…. What’s wrong with this picture? Or should the question be; What’s not wrong with this picture?

Fair enough, there was very little right about any of the events taking place in Akripola lately, but gems set up in this fashion literally spelled the words SECURITY SYSTEM. Someone out there, and most likely that creepy presence watching them, didn’t want folks entering them there Catacombs, and hell only knows what these gems were capable of if anyone went ahead and tried to breach the threshold.

“Corc – Stop!” Fauve had her hand reaching out, grabbing the orc by his trouser pants as she spouted off these words, but she was just that split second too late to stop him - The mighty, sexy orc slammed his giant proverbial penis against the stone door.

As the sound of his weapon clashing with the door blasted out through the forest, Fauve gasped and prepared to dive for cover.

”Have to explore catacombs in order to learn anything..? Hmm...”

Aelih sighs, and then sits down next to a tree, having not noticed Lui hiding behind until then, spear propping up against it. Too tired for a dungeon crawl, and tired and dungeon crawls rarely mixed well. “Lui, her name is Nona, and I have no clue. Perhaps you should ask her absout it.”

”Damn it I want to nap, but I don’t trust that Nona enough to be alone with me, or Lui. Staying awake it is, but I’m sure as hell not going into those catacombs.”

Major Interaction/s: @Hokum & @Polaris North

Though the days that Ren spent with Devlin bordered on the level of strangers, the lad began to see the little quirks and actions that the woman did which gave away her otherwise unreadable façade. Slight twitches as well as dim eyes signaled the internal storm of hatred brewing within his companion, and while anger guided this woman's hand through victory a hundred times already, Ren believed that the cycle of hatred will never end. After all, as long as there were two people alive, hatred will always cause one to want the other dead. Vengeance and vendettas must all cease if one was to have a sliver of hope for peace, and Ren did not want her to be consumed by a rage that was not rightfully hers to bear. Ren had already forgiven the northern jarls for their venomous grip, and it was time to heal. Even for Devlin.

A calming hand rested on Devlin's shoulder as they walked on through the forest. Once Devlin would turn to face him, Ren crossed his arms over his chest, open palms tapping his shoulders. "Relax," Ren smiled softly at her, his serene purple orbs gazing at churning onyx in an attempt to calm the fury within her irises. "It is past. Cannot change it. They gave me cruelty, but I will not pay it forward. I pay kindness instead. I break cycle before it breaks others."

Just as they trudged on deeper into the embrace of the woods, the smell of cinders and ashen wood wafting in the air, Devlin stopped walking when they arrived at the entrance of the catacombs. Ren took this opportunity to stand in front of the woman, his hands resting on each of her shoulders before he placed his forehead on top of hers. He inhaled the scent of pine needles, blood, and ash on her hood-- a mixture of aromas so strangely Devlin.

"I will never break," Ren signed to her as he pulled back. "But, others can when faced with the things darker than them."

His thoughts were interrupted as a deafening crash sent a slight ripple through the air as the large orc pounded his fist against the stone door. His eyes quickly caught the startled reaction of the other individuals conglomerating in front of the entrance. With the rude woman desperately trying to reason with the orc, Ren shook his head as he left Devlin's side. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked towards the archer who busied himself with gazing at the gems of shifting hues within the pit. The lad looked at the archer with a confused expression.

Suddenly, Ren grinned at the man who didn't really differ much in age with him. He placed his hand on his lips before bringing it down on his raised left palm. "Thank you," Ren signed before continuing, accompanying his actions with mimicking lips. "For helping us at Nadska. You are a good man."

He pointed his finger at him, trying to form and mimic the words with his lips as he tapped his temple before motioning to the gems. "What do you think are those?"

Jack continued to watch the situation unfold as he tried to pick up on what he had missed. Something about some nearby ruins and catacombs, followed by chastizing the others for failing to introduce themselves, awakening her, and making accusations. Devlin had apparently taken notice of Jack's arrival, given the glance she gave him as well as the notification that fighting the robed girl would be futile - granted, Jack had no plans to do so. Not without a good reason to do so, in any case. Jack remained silent as she returned her attention to the robed girl, giving her own rebuttal to her remarks.

As things stood, Jack figured it was best not to try to wedge himself into whatever it was this conversation had become.

Corc had already begun to head off in another direction, presumably the one the catacombs the girl had mentioned were in. He guessed that meant that the ruins were what had been marked on the map rather than the clearing they now stood in, as the orc had gone in the same general direction that he and the others had been going in when they entered it. Gabriel and Fauve followed in suit, the latter giving the rest of them an inviting gesture with her head as she walked on limbs that had extended themselves enough to put her at the same height as Corc.

A strange ability. Jack surmised that it may have had something to do with Fauve replacing her earlier outfit, assuming it let her do more than just stretch her legs.

As they left, another arrived- the forest golem that had been present in Nadaska during the siege. Rather than the clear hostility it had displayed in the town - mostly directed at the undead, but hostility nonetheless - it now seemed to have lost whatever aggression it had previously had. Of course, it had also been at the gate, and it hadn't displayed aggression there either; perhaps the collision with the wall had some impact on its mood.

Jack watched as Devlin and Ren followed suit, glancing back at Aelih as she began conversing with the robed girl - Nona, as she called herself. As they finish their discussion, Jack states, "Well, nothing is being accomplished by standing here." He begins following in the same direction the others had gone in, stopping and turning to look at Nona as he passes her. "You mentioned introducing ourselves earlier. Name's Jack." He gives the unknown man that Fauve had revealed the presence of earlier a brief look before continuing towards the catacombs.

Jack picked up the scent of burning wood and the loud, heavy thud of iron striking stone as he neared the ruins, the gem-containing obelisks coming into sight. Corc stood before the sealed stone doors of a crypt-like building, wielding his mace - unsurprising, given the sound he had heard while he was approaching. Fauve stood nearby, looking ready to get out of the way of some kind of threat, presumably one that would be a product of Corc's assault on the building's entrance. Ren, Gabriel, and Devlin stood closer, the first two observing the gems within the obelisks and their constantly shifting colors.

Aelih almost glares at the girl, gaze softening to simply be a sort of blank look, with uncaring eyes. The elf stretched, shifting around to get comfortable against the tree.

"Well I'm hardly about to go exploring an unknown cavern with how I am right now. Besides, the others have it handled, that Orc doesn't seem like he'll go down easy. For that matter, what kind of child insults someone by trying to question my courage? Lack of fear is the mark of a simpleton, or a fool. It takes no courage to not be afraid, it simply takes stupidity or recklessness."

With that said, Aelih's gaze flicks to Lui, then flicks back to Nona, a small grin on the elf's face as Aelih watches Nona's face closely.

"Besides, I'm tired, and not in the mood to dungeon right now."

@Polaris North @Valkon @tex @Seraphin @Candy @Hokum

Corc let out a cheerful grunt as the doors crashed open. As the ground began to shake, the giant staggered back for a moment before regaining his composure. "Corc so strong...made ground shake?" He muttered, confused for a moment. "No...not Corc's doing.." He added, looking around. But nothing was in sight. He peered down into the darkness within the crypt, as the ice-cold winds brushed against his stone-hard skin. It caused even the giant to be startled ever so slightly, and he took a few steps back.

Corc was terrible at sensing magic, but he was no idiot. Whatever lurked down there was certainly evil in nature. And charging into darkness aimlessly was foolish. The giant nodded at Gabriel, and turned towards Fauve briefly. "Corc sorry...did not mean to scare Fran!" He apologised, hoping that his ally would relax somewhat. "Corc want to proceed...but can't see well in dark. Can anyone light Corc's way?" He asked to everyone in the general area.

Dannisus watched as the group slowly made their way towards the ruins, lagging only slightly behind his arrival. All seemed well. Well enough, anyways. They were just evicted from a city by an army of undead, 'the resurgence', and were stumbling towards the unknown without a single clue to keep them from taking a step towards their own deaths. He'd been struggling with his own actions profusely while watching the witch-like little girl. Even now, as he waited patiently for any opportunities that benefited his research safely, he'd second guessed his decision to even come this far.

Wham.

Oh dear. Corc had gone and busted his way into the ruins while Dannisus had he head turned. The Myti looked down, expecting to see an explosion of magic follow the orc's decision, but was surprised to see... Nothing. The foundation of his perch began to rumble with the ground, and he grasped the foothold with all four of his limbs tightly. What the hell just happened?

Jack stepped forward to get a closer look at the constantly changing gemstones, but stopped as the ground began to rumble, Corc's destruction of the stone crypt door apparently having triggered something. The gemstones ceased changing colors, having settled on the hues they had been when Corc smashed the door, and the end of the rumbling was soon followed by a blast of icy wind. As the chilled air made contact with Jack he grabbed the sides of his cloak, taking the the loose-hanging cloth and hastily wrapping it around himself in a quick attempt to create a barrier between himself and the cold.

Wrapped now in his crimson cloak, he takes a brief look at the gemstones before approaching Corc and Fauve as the former was apologizing to the latter before asking the others about a light source. "Don't worry, Corc." Reaching back into his pack, he removed an unlit torch from among the assortment of alcoholic beverages and other items it contained and held it out, arm slipping through the cloak wrapped around him. "I always keep a few of these on hand." He kneels, planting the torch into the ground in front of him. His hand retracts back into his cloak, briefly sifting through his pack again before both hands emerge, flint in one and a piece of steel in the other.

Lighting the torch, he returns the tools to his pack and pulls it from the ground as he turns back to Corc and the others. "So, who's ready to pillage some ruins?"

---

Major Interaction: @Hokum

Ren let a sad smile curve his lips, his head shaking in disappointment as the ragtag team they put together reared their heads into the chance to jump into the breach once more. Hadn't they just wrenched themselves from the jaws of the dead just a breaths ago? Hadn't they danced with death already? There were only so many times that Morrun allowed mortals to spit upon his sandals, and when the god of death swung his scythe on the defiant, he slashed hard. Death scared Ren, because his soul waltzed upon that thin line between here and the hereafter for times too many to count. His ability activated unconsciously when his body is brought to the brink of death. And, whenever he came close to that Blessed Sleep, miniscule stains of fear crept upon his heart as to what laid beyond his grasp. Slowly, these tiny flecks of terror coalesced into a trauma of dangling over the edge once more.

Heren knows how many straws Morrun was going to give him; although, Ren felt that with every escape from death, his rope grew shorter.

Ren stood up with a grunt, steadying himself as he observed the orc and another man take the lead as they stared down the abyss gaping back at them from the now open catacombs. The lad took in a deep breath as if to fill his lungs with whatever remaining cool air he believed he would experience. As he felt the air escape through his scarred lips, Ren glanced at the archer who now stepped forward to join the ensemble attempting to enter the darkness.

Back into the shadows, then.

In all fairness, this ragtag group of strangers, meshed together in an entangling mystery beyond life and death, were destined to the forks of doom if Ren would have to put it bluntly. However, the lad knew that Heren would not have intertwined their paths if they were not meant to achieve greater things... together. Ren believed that each of them clawed out from the dark tendrils in their own lives. Each of them had walked through the shadowy tunnels. If anything, they could have meant to be the light after the dark for each other-- os elk tarnen beoren.

A certain electric rogue came to mind, and at this thought, Ren faced Devlin whose fingers gripped expectantly at her blade. Perhaps... just maybe.

Ren returned to her side before placing a gentle hand on her blade, lifting it up slightly until the sword hovered between their eyes. Orbs of purple gazed into lilac once more before Ren, using his free hand, began to sign.

'You be the blade to cut the dark. I be the shield to cover the light,' He grinned at her before turning to the catacomb entrance and letting go of her hand. 'Let us bring every single one home.'

"Oh my, little chill." Fauve giggled and stretched out the waist of her trousers to let the cold breeze circulate down there.

Once Jack did his little caveman-discovers-fire routine, she gives him a slap on the butt to send him on his way. "After you then I'm guessing. Unless you're look'n to get a better view of my ass?"

She gives Corcy a little wink and takes a few steps for the entrance. "Well, boys and girls - as the old expression goes; Those who hesitate are lost." As she then passes through the threshold, she glances back at Jack, and asks; "How does it look from back there?" She gives her butt cheek a good, teasing slap.

Still a bit scared, Lui hides behind the tree, cautiously peeking out from behind it. "Are you really just going to take a nap here, within sight of her?"

Lui had little trust in the Witch. She lived inside a skull after all! And skulls are quite definitely quite scary and dangerous! And she just told everyone to enter a catacomb!

Truth be told, Lui didn't really know for sure what a catacomb is, but it sounded like an unpleasant place to be in.

Fauve's slap caught Jack off-guard, causing him to stumble forward a step or so, glancing at her as she passes and continues towards the shattered doorway. "That wasn't part of the plan, no." He looks back to the others, indicating to follow with a motion of his shoulders as he begins making his way to the catacombs himself.

As Fauve gave her second question, and another slap with it, Jack began, "Looks ab-," pausing as he realized the ground had begun to shake, picking up the sound of a rumbling he hadn't noticed before. Turning back to the forest, he peered at the tree line for a few moments before the source of the sound and the shaking came into view - another horde of what appeared to be undead, monstrous bears. If these beasts were anything like the one that had been in the siege...

"Time to go, everyone!" Jack shouted before turning and quickly making his way into the catacombs where the creatures wouldn't be able to follow, descending down into the desolate structure. He stopped at a point that allowed the borders of the torchlight and what sunlight reached into the catacombs to just mix, rendering the series of steps between him and the entrance visible as he waited for the others to enter.