Saur
The group allowed him to stop by the baker's home. A brief conversation led to Saur's apology and an exchange of goods in order to show their amends. Once this was finished, he turned to the group and bowed a bit, thanking them for allowing him the time, and pushed onward back to the Magaambya. As the group made their way through, he turned the soiled bread over in his claws. It was dirty to be sure, but did that mean it was inedible? He considered it for a moment. He'd eaten worse than a little bit of dirt back home, surely. Perhaps if he washed it off and toasted it across an open flame....
Saur's attention was brought back to his surroundings once more as the group arrived at the Heron Archives. Saur walked near the front of the group, allowing his eyes to wander the area...only to find himself stopping short a few steps after rounding a corner. The door that led to Teacher Ot's office was down the hall. He could see it. But that was strange in and of itself. He could clearly see the door sticking out from the wall.
The door was ajar.
It was a strange sight; surely the door should either be completely closed or held wide open, right? That's the kind of thing he would expect, at least. Something was off....
Saur picked up the pace, rushing up toward the door. As the group drew closer, he began to hear a strange sound...and finally noticed water seeping out from below the door. But worse yet, drawing ever nearer, his gaze picked up on a crimson hue that matched his own scales. Blood.
There was no longer any time to waste. Instinctively, he reached for the shortbow that was strung around his body. But no. They were going into an office, which was no doubt going to be very cramped in a moment with all five of them going in together. So his claw instead reached across his body, gripping at the hilt one of the two sheathed blades at his waist.
"On me," Saur ordered quickly and succinctly, doubting that he had to explain the urgency in his tone. Without hesitation, he stepped into the room, everybody filing in behind him...and took in the scene before him.
Saur's power of perception went into overtime, scanning the room for every little detail he could to try to piece together what he needed to know as soon as possible. A flooded office, all of the signs of a struggle...and four decently sized bugs, snapping at them, clearly rearing back to strike! Saur instinctively moved to step forward and put himself between the threats and his companions; it was a role he was often tasked with in his clutch in a tight spot, and he was ready to draw some ire if necessary.
However, he paused for a moment as he realized something. He studied the bugs and realized...he knew what these were. He'd seen these before. In fact, he recognized that these creatures made excellent portable lights for those who couldn't see in the caverns of the Maw. And he smiled. He knew exactly how to handle these.
"Halt, don't hurt them," Saur said, raising his arm to the party as they all filtered in behind him. "I think they're Teacher Ot's. They're not monsters, they're just scared pets or the like. That violet stuff on the desk will be enough to settle their nerves. I'll try to draw their attention. The rest of you follow my lead if this works and cover me if it doesn't." Saur barked at the others like he were commanding a military unit. He didn't look back to see if they acknowledged his words or even cared about what he had to say. He could only hope they would follow him in this instance.
"Oh, and watch your eyes. When frightened, they're known to disorient and blind with a flash of light."
Of course, he had only saying what he had with so much certainty hoping it would be good enough. He had seen them before, but he had never utilized one himself. He could only hope he was remembering this correctly....
Well, there was only one way to find out. Saur moved toward the desk...and dropped down, sliding beneath the center of it and out on the opposite side...right in the middle of the four bugs! But rather than attack the creatures, he turned back toward the desk, hopping up to stand on Teacher Ot's seat and reached his claws out...and gathered some of the ichor for himself. He glanced over his shoulder toward the nearest beetle on the north end of the room. He gritted his teeth, knowing that turning his back on this one may lead to a problem in a moment. But he did it anyway.
Saur turned away from the northern beetles and hopped back down off of the seat, and around to its back. He then knelt down toward the southern beetles...and offered the ichor in his claws out toward the bug. With any luck, it would keep him pacified and he could focus on trying to protect himself from the other three....
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