[center][b]Collab between Crescendo and Fox[/b][/center]

[center][IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/bi5k3m.png[/IMG][/center]

[u][b]Group Two - The Caves[/b][/u]

It was dark and damp, Harper fell flat on his face, listening to the sound of footsteps. Ace and Inadi had managed to make it inside with him, but he couldn't hear any of the others. His amulet began to glow and it served as a tiny lamp. He could see shadowy figures, there were five of them. "Polo?" He called out before hopping to his feet and dusting himself off. "Ace? Inadi?" The boy squinted at the two other figures. One of them looked like Leila? The other one wasn't as familiar.

"Polo? Who's Polo?" A voice piped up crossly, the owner picking herself off the floor and gingerly dusting herself off. Of all the beasts they could have encountered, they just had to run into those awful elemental wolves didn't they? It was unlike them to appear in the area and they had caught the guides completely be surprise, causing this whole mess. "I knew I should've gone to scout forward." Zephy mumbled, peering around at the figures in the cave as best as she could with the little light that shone through the cracks. A glint of blue flashed in the corners of her eyes and she blinked in recognition, a small smile forming on her lips. Looks like they weren't completely out of luck just yet. 

"I suggest you all close your eyes," she called out, before reaching down to grab a rock before smashing it in the direction of the blue sparkle. A brilliant flash lit up the cave, before gradually dimming down slightly into a soft but bright glow inside the blue crystal that Zephy had hit. The light revealed that they were in a sizeable cave, studded with similar crystals. The back of the cave stretched into darkness, the light of the one crystal not being enough to illuminate the place very far. After darting around and smashing a few more crystals into lighting up, she dusted her hands and looked around. 

Glasses man was here, and so was booby woman and the young pale looking boy and the other shy looking girl. None of them seemed to be too injured and she gave a thankful sigh. It looks like the healer had ended up elsewhere so they would have to be extra careful. Speaking of the others, she did hope they were alright. The guides could take care of themselves even against the elemental wolves with a bit of difficulty, but the humans were unaccustomed to the dangers of Sol's forests.

There was bright flash of light and Harper shielded his eyes. It took awhile to adjust to the sudden light but when he did, he noticed the others who were stuck in the cave with him. Seeing Zephy made a wave of relief shoot through him, with the guide they would be alright. They just had to listen to her, right? Ace and Inadi suggested they go deeper and Harper spun around to see the exit blocked by giant boulders. If they had been just a tad too late, they would have been turned into pancakes. The far end of the cave was shrouded in darkness but they had their amulets and it would serve as a sourch of light for all of them. "It's our only option," he responded. "We should be careful though, bears or wildcats could be living here." Little did they know, wild animals would be the least of their problems.

Inadi mentioned nasty goblins and Harper laughed nervously. "If they come at us, we'll just have to beat them like we did the slimes," he didn't sound confident at all, but he was trying. "We have a guide with us as well," he nodded at Zephy. Then offered Leila a hand, the girl hadn't spoken at all. In fact, he almost never heard her say anything and if she ever spoke she's usually only say a word. "Let's go Leila, it shouldn't be too bad we have Ace and Zephy." He smiled at the redhead then marched forward. They needed to find the others and regroup as soon as possible.

Zephy ran to catch up with the hummons, inwardly sighing at how willing they were to just march off into the darkness. Bears and wildcats and goblins? If only those were what they needed to watch out for. 

"I'll take the lead and scout ahead." She moved to the front of the group and turned backwards to face the small group, childish face unusually serious as she struck another crystal to light up their path. "To tell you the truth, if there was any other way out of the cave I would have suggested we try that first. Coming into the cave was a last resort- even the most experienced adventurers are hesitant to enter Sol's caves unprepared. When we encounter a monster, and there's no doubt we will, it's you people who'll have to do the fighting. I have no combat magic whatsoever, and my guard magic can't be used on other people." She took a deep breath. "The most I can do is try to choose a path that avoids monsters, lead them away if I have to, but whether we make it out or not will be up to you."

Harper froze. Experienced adventurers feared this cave and Zephy even said it was a last resort. They were going to die here, in the dark, where no one would hear their screams. Perhaps, there wouldn't even be bodies left to bury.