[IC] || The Endless Halls | A Dark Fantasy World | Accepting Characters||

[twave]

The spider woman visibly relaxed and appeared more than willing to hold to her word. Extending her legs out she hoped to get them back in working order. Even if Mathias meant her no harm there was no telling what else might happen by. Being prone would not do either of them well. Keeping an eye out she did not pay a terrible amount of attention to what the man was doing but she did listen. "I am slightly peckish but while I was in the water I did not expend very much energy." Her gaze was drawn downward at the sound of something dropping beside her.

Taking the small portion of food she pulled a small bit off and sampled it. Human food was not something she ever had much of, preferring meals that were fresh and liquified. The staleness of the biscuit was irrelevant to her, entirely unsure what the taste and texture should be. Still she could eat such food most of the time. "Thank you." Finding the taste tolerable she ate it while Mathias spoke.

Her attention returned as introductions were made. By the tone though she could tell that he was ill or the like. She showed some concern as she replied. "It is a pleasure, Mathias. You can call me Lila... Are you injured?" Making an effort she got up off the ground on her eight legs. Her movements were surprisingly silent given her size. Moving over to Mathias she tried to identify any wounds.

[agentmanatee]

The whole group introducing themselves after him was certainly useful... though it was obvious to him that Rose knew of his true 'nature'. He gripped Luciel's shoulder a bit tighter as she had winked at him... though it seemed she was in no hurry to reveal what he was to the others which was certainly good. The group went about introducing themselves, Rose went first clearly being a witch, but trying tokemnly to hide that fact. Next was his chosen prey, the little rabbit eared boy introduced himself as Luciel 'The Lost' in his rather strange accent. After him the sqat woman from behind approached and revealed her name was gish, the strange little human like creature with a fittingly strange name. Well, he supposed it was his turn.

Although I have already said it, no reason not to again. I, am Ser Victor Guttman, no title to my name but hopefully one may be forthcoming.", he smiled at the little group, all was going quite well... and he liked the sound of this 'Endless caverns' full of riches and power. "Well, now thhat we are all aquainted I believe we should press on no? If these 'Endless caverns' are full of treasure and power I see no reason for us not to seek it, eh Luciel?", he smiled as he tussled the boys hair, attempting to manufacture a relationship between himself and the prey so that when he seperated from the group to feed it would be less suspicious. He turned to Rose, the other important member of the group seeing as she clearly knew what he was, "How much do you know of these caverns Madame Rose? Shall we simply amble in the first direction we can think of, or do you have more of aa path in mind?"

Honestly Victor hardly cared, he was certain there were riches to be found and a fight to be had no matter what way they went, be it Drow or other subterranean beasts... possibly even deeper more dangerous and mysterious things may lurk... well, they would never know if all they did was sit around this damnnable fire all day long would they?

[Hawlin]

The grip on Luciel's shoulder worked a wince from the chimera as the armored fingers kneaded at one of his bruises. It was funny...no, it wasn't funny...how the sting of a thrown shoe could be invoked so simply by a heavy hand. The way Victor reacted to the woman's looks struck Luciel as being a bit odd as her smile seemed enviously genuine on top of a playful wink. Where anyone else, even the antisocial creature in Victor's grip, would feel even the slightest bit of reassurance, the knight appeared uneasy.
It was more aristocratic tact, she knew something and knew Victor knew what she knew, that much was obvious. However, it was his behavior in response and the dull ache resonating from Luciel's shoulder that gave cause to worry what kind of information it could be.
Regardless of the context of their exchange, Luciel had no intention of being further harmed by humans caught in the emotional heat of conversation. A casualty of lingering passions, he was free from such pointless exertions and was not about to let himself be dragged back.

"Zeht hurts, you know" They grumbled, reaching to pull the hand off before it lifted to tussle his hair. The shift was a bit surprising as he froze, the gauntlet scratching at the base of his ears as hair fell down his face. Quickly recovering, Luciel swatted at the hand with his own two in a flustered manner before going to work finger-combing the wavy mess back to the way he liked it. In the effort, he almost dropped the cloak which didn't have any means to be fastened as to hold itself up. "P-please do not do zeht, Sir Guttman" he growled, the shake still in his voice and a light blush slightly obscured by the tapestry.

Their ears stood up with a small jingle of the chain at the mention of adventuring deeper into the cave. Luciel's plan had been to rest a day before moving on, but the logic of remaining in the cave began to settle in. Outside, the world might swallow him up at any moment, a single human with the notion of greed could have him back in irons, but this small group didn't seem to have such intentions. On top of this, the idea of power was tempting as the strength to protect himself was worth more than his preference of being alone. Sir Victor and Rose appeared to be accomplished in their craft, and the opportunity to claim treasures for himself would almost certainly present itself.

"If zee halls are endless, zehn vould it matter?" Luciel asked in response to Victor's question regarding which way they should go, a bit more energy in his tone as he started to warm up to the idea of being a part of the group. He then suggested, mostly out of the anxiety of standing around in the light, "Vee need only take zeh first steps"

[rechonq]

Echo turned to face the newcomer. He was certainly strange, but at least he introduced himself and didn't appear hostile. He was rambling rather randomly. He wondered if the little creatures were Gish and the other one. It seemed this guy thought they were the better choice, but what that choice was, baffled Echo.

He quickly erased his previous writing and began again while facing Cyrano. "That's true. I'm Echo." He wrote in the air this time. He was getting rather proficient at air writing at this point. Hopefully Cyrano could help him explain things to others. It was always a bother trying to introduce himself without being able to speak.

[Necrophage]

Mathias responded with enthusiasm. "You are most welcome!" He grinned warmly. Though he seemed cheery there was a certain emptiness in his eyes like he'd lost a part of himself and was forcing it.

The spider-woman presented her name, Lila. "A pretty name. My wife has such a beautiful name too." That smile suddenly vanished. Mathias grunted painfully as he forced himself to stand. It was very clear he was sore and tired. The bags under his eyes didn't help to alleviate how exhausted he looked. There seemed to be no clear injury from looking over him but something about the haunted look in his eyes when he no longer smiled was worrisome.

"I'm going home to her after all of this. Alana is waiting for me. That's my wife. We have two amazing children, Titus and.." Mathias trailed off, staring into the dark beyond the fire's light. A dragging sound carried across the passageway. The metallic grinding noise echoed through the cavern before abruptly halting. He turned his attention back to Lila. Enthusiastic resolve lit in his eyes at that moment like a sun. It was contagious. "Well Lila, I don't know if we're the only two in here. In fact I'm fairly certain we're not. Right now I'd rather not be lost in a dark cave with mystery noises all around."

Mathias took the heater shield strapped to his travelling pack in his left hand, threw the pack over a shoulder and took the torch that had been nestled amongst the rocks. "I don't how you fare in the dark, but so far I've learned five new ways to get lost so I figure you have the better odds." He scanned the dark corridor ahead. "Besides. I'd rather not find out what that noise is."

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Sir Guttman didn't seem to bear Rose any ill will. In fact there was something almost playful in their interactions, like two children sharing a secret from their parents. That should be reassuring. That should mean that the woman wasn't a horrible witch like she thought.

So why was she still so uneasy?

"I don't anything about treasure or power, but...but..." Gish started. If she had been brought here for a purpose then she should try to seek it out, shouldn't she? "If god brought us here it shouldn't matter which way we go. We'll end up where we're supposed to be anyway, right?" She paused. She hadn't meant to voice doubt like that, but it had crept in all the same. In her head she saw the scene the Leech thing had show her, the massive god of her mother rising from the sea and reaching out to drag her down into the depths. She shook her head to try and dislodge it, but it just wouldn't go away. "Yes." She assured herself under her breath. "Whatever happens, it's fate. It's fate."

[Bubsy 2]

"The Lost!" Rose exclaimed. The witch cackled in agreement with Luciel's chuckle. The joke, in truth, wasn't particularly funny but Rose seemed to find absolutely hilarious. "How funny! There is no need to be embarrassed Little Luciel. Hmmmm, I do like you, you're quite the cute one, aren't you?" Of course that wasn't really a question, more Rose's unsolicited observation. "And young Miss Gish... I suspect we'll be great friends. I can feel it." The witch tip toed slowly towards the fish-girl. "You'll find that I'm a very valuable friend to have. Allow me to give you a piece of advice, as a friend," The witch's face hovered closer to the girl as she squatted down to whisper in her ear so the others would not hear. Her previously chipper tone turned serious and her grin faded, "Stay away from Mr. Guttman. Definitely do not go somewhere alone with him. He is more dangerous then he appears. Tell Little Luciel as well, will you? Make sure Victor doesn't hear you, of course." Rose moved away, giving the girl a small wink as she turned towards Victor, who was ready to move on.

"Yes! We must blaze onward, and uncover our lost memories!" The witch said, extending her finger to point down the hall, her voice oozing with exaggerated gusto. The fangy grin had returned to her face. As she began to move down the hall Victor probed her for additional information, "Hmmm... well, I know a few landmarks and many legends, but I can tell you little of the path ahead. The halls are... well, they're tricky, to say the least. I've heard rumors that the halls path's have a tendency to change... roads disappear, places move, likely by the work of some magic... very powerful magic, no doubt. Of course it goes without saying that this is rumor, and rumors have a tendency of being exaggerated. In this case I think I must agree with Little Luciel, we only need to take the first step!" Rose trotted down one of the cavern's many offshoots with little reason evident to her choice.

---

The cavern proved to be a bad choice, or at least it seemed to be at first. The group pushed onward through it for what seemed to be several minutes, the cave slowly beginning to narrow inward until Rose had to stoop to continue. In truth she may have considered turning around, but she urged the group onward, the sound of cascading water promising something was ahead. A strange breeze flowed down the tunnel, an odd occurrence beneath the surface of the Earth to say the least. The air was cool and carried a strange scent, the smell of perfumes but also a hint of something else... rot? As the group pushed on Rose seemed to chatter ceaselessly, switching subject with little care for finishing her thought and saying few things that mattered and more things that were prone to annoy.

"You know, they say there's a road that connects many of the important places in these halls, The Bright Road, they call it. We need a team name, y'know? Something cool and catchy. Did you know root of mandrake is a purgative?" She continued speaking in this manner, caring little for the other's input, until the dark tunnel slowly began to widen again and the sound of water grew closer and the smell grew stronger, until suddenly the group emerged into a large cavern. Rose estimated it to be about a few miles to the opposite wall, where another cavern snaked towards destinations unknown. Far above at the top of the ceiling was a large hole, letting in sunlight and providing the cool breeze. However of far more interest was the strange lights display that played across the ceiling- points of light of just about every color imaginable rapidly sputtered in and out of existence rapidly, like multi-colored twinkling stars. Rose gazed up, taken in by the light show, but what lay below was of far more interest to the group.

They stood on a raised platform, able to overlook the floor of the cavern with a path ahead spiraling down towards it. The cavern looked more like a field then a cave- tall grass coated the floor, speckled with a large variety of flowers that came in many shapes and colors. What also dotted the field were strange looking scarecrows that were likely like nothing any of the group had seen before. In the distance they would've passed for humans but up close they were clearly anything but. Their skin was jet black, and they had no discernible eyes of nose. They possessed mouths, lined with a sharp row of fangs, matching the deadliness of their claws, which were long and ebony in color. They were muscular and lean, and stood with an oddly perfect posture. They were not moving in any discernible manner, not even breathing, standing perfectly straight with no indication that something was holding them up. There was also no indication that they were alive.

In the center of the cavern was a small picturesque cottage which seemed to radiate a sense of peace. It looked like a very pleasant place to be, the light emanating from the windows promising warmth and comfort. To the right of it a waterfall came from a hole in the cavern's wall, water falling into a lake below. The water didn't seem to be going anywhere, but the lake was not filling. Overall the cavern was beautiful, the lights above creating a spectacular skyline which paired well with the field below. Sunlight filled the room, something that would likely be a rarity in the Endless Halls. There were only two things that detracted from the cavern's beauty- the strange scarecrows below, and the smell. It was pleasant, like lilac, but there was a stench beneath it, like rot and decay. The smell was strong and permeated the room.

"What a beautiful vista!" Rose exclaimed, deciding she would let someone else lead the way.

[BayRat]

Awakening from what seemed of nothing but a dream that I could not remember, yet could feel its frigid horror pull at my subconscious, I sprang up with a terrified expression and heavy breathing. The fear diminishing as I was now faced with a labyrinth of an area before me. A massive hallway with doors that seemed to have no end, however curved and darted this way and that. As I came to I could hear the talking of perhaps a girl nearby. It dawned on me that I had no idea who I was or what I was doing, but I remembered one thing, my name was William. Blinking as I examined my body, bare feet yet sporting fresh clothes of simple black pants and white shirt with a solid dark cape and hood draping over me. Moving my pale hands in my vision for a bit before I realized how thirsty I was. I felt as though I was in the middle of the desert as dehydration tugged at my throat.

I didnt want to interact with others, but I needed something to drink to quench the urge, I didnt want to die after all. Navigating through the walls and pinpointing the sounds of footsteps and speech I'd eventually come across a strange group. I could make out several human-looking people, except one had a coned hat upon her head. I then noticed more strange features of the group like a person who resembled a fish and an unidentifiable monstrosity. It was bad enough to socialize but these oddities made the situation send me more red flags about these strangers. However I could hear the rushing of water and one of the first things I noticed past them was running water.

I gulped and kept mostly hidden by a wall, creeping a peek and watching them. Essentially, I could just wait for them to leave and take the water, though I'm not sure how long I can last without it. Furthermore they might know who I am. Debating my options for a while, social anxiety held its sway and I remained somewhat hidden, albeit I was not good at sneaking or hiding, I could probably stick out like a sore thumb if any of, whatever these people are, looked my way. My eyes showed nothing but the expression of a scared and weak child.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

All thoughts of providence and god vanishes as Gish felt Rose's attention on her again. As the witch tiptoed forward Gish stiffened visibly, like a mouse caught in the eye of a predator. She didn't move as the woman bent down and whispered in her ear, only slowly nodding at her as she gave her advice. Then she led the group off down the nearest passage.

Gish entertained the idea of just ditching them, fading into the background like she was used to and slipping off in the dark, through another passage. But then there was Luciel stuck between the witch and Sir Guttman. Not that she doubted Sir Guttman, of course! It was just a little strange that the knight hadn't seen the witch for what she was. Or had seen her and decided not to do anything about it? And also, why had the man come to her and Luciel, who were small and alone and pattering around in the dark, when he should have gone to the fire like everyone else had? even the witch had come up to the fire. It was just strange, was all.

Again she tried to shake doubt from her mind and failed horribly. Whatever secret the knight had, which she was sure the witch knew because witches were very powerful, was enough to wedge doubt in its place. So she followed behind, trying to decide what to do about this situation and hoping for providence to provide a proper path.

As they walked the witch talked, and as the witch talked she started to feel better. She enjoyed the sound of people taking. She did it herself when she was alone and when she was caught skulking it bought her a few seconds while the listener with the nasty looking stick realized exactly what was talking. Words, proper words, made something more of a person. It was only a little later that the passage began to narrow, forcing the large members of the group to duck down and allow her to overtake them. Then she heard the waterfall, and smelled the nostalgic smell of decay. All this combined she was convinced they were on the proper path and in her excitement picked up the pace.

She burst out of the cave and onto the platform overlooking the queer, breathtaking scene. "Wow! Oh wow! A waterfall." She said excitedly, quite literally bouncing. "I've never seen a waterfall before." She took a big whiff of the air. "Smell like home, sort of. Maybe. Look at the house! I always wanted a house like that. It's like something out of a fairy tale." She began to bounce off down the path, then stopped when she noticed the scarecrows. She slowed, calming herself down. It was never this easy in a fairy tale, and she backed back up the path toward the rest of the group. "What do you suppose those are?" she asked she had her suspicions. "There's always some sort of dragon, isn't there?"

[Sophrus]

Unyat

Unyat slithered through the thick grass of the field well below the entrance to the cave where the voice of some woman was echoing out. He was weaving his way through the scarecrow statues. As he did, curiosity got the better of him and he stopped face to face with one of the black scarecrows. The Nglui crawling on him slid down and off slithering through the grass trying to eat any small creatures that where unlucky enough to be near by. Unyat studied the black statue very closely, withdrawing his Black Lexicon and started sketching in exacting detail with a thin tentacle and a sharp lump of charcoal. He began to lightly touch the scarecrow and simultaneously began to take notes and draw, jotting down ideas of what the statues are made of or what their purpose might be.

Unyat withdrew his knife and dug it into the earth drawing several arcane circles and preformed several simplistic rituals that where supposed to reveal its secrets. "Urah Ithasa Gatrag" As he breathed the words vile black magic welled up through him but the rituals where not strong enough to give Unyat any kind of information. he cursed in annoyance but did not feel the statues where important enough to warrant more complex rituals.

After several minutes of study he believed that he knew all he would about the statue unless he smashed it or something interesting happened with it. He tucked the tome of knowledge away and called for the Nglui with an inaudible command passed through their minds, as they returned their bellies full of insects and rodents that could not escape. As he made his final preparations he heard something above and behind him, the voice of a female exclaiming at the view. He looked up studying her with a mild curiosity as he could feel bit of magical sense from her and her compatriots. "Interesting" he mutters to himself.

[agentmanatee]

Victor wathhed Rose Closely as she seemingly flitted about talking about nothing at all really. As Luciel protested Victor laughed, attempting to make it sound more lighthearted than cruel... it sort of worked. "Oh Luciel, I apologize if I gripped to hard, sometimes I don't know my own strength. As for your hair, well every growing boy needs a good firm toussel every now and again eh?", he chuckled. He also listened to Luciel's idea, and resolved that it really didn't matter at all which way the little group went. So long as Luciel was close, and there was treasure to be found and violence to be carried out.

Gish's shpeel about fate and God seemed... odd to Victor, but they may have simply been due to the fact he was far from a godly person. He simply shrugged and nodded making sure Luciel was never out of his reach and if possible, without appearing to strange he'd have his hand back on the boys shoulder. That was wehn Rose made her little 'move' with Gish, whispering some sort of 'advice' in the girls ear... Victor had no clue what it was but Rose was clearly a witch... and a whispering witch was never a good sign for anyone... all the same when the time came He followed the witch closely, never letting Luciel out of his reach.

The small cavern was quite hard on the heavily armored Victor, he had to crawl on his knees due to an inability to bend down properly in his full plate mail. Rose rambling on about seemingly nothing didn't help, and had he been able he may have tried to shut her up but that was rather impossible in his condition. He cursed as they finally got out of that god forsaken little passage, and came out to see a Grand Vista. It truly was beautiful in almost every way... but Victor had little time for beauty. His eyes were fixed on the cottage at the bottom of the cavern, and the possibility of sustenance and violence the building subconciously carried. He smiled as Rose and the others marveled at it before peering over the edge at the cottage, mock curiosity in his voice, "Is that a cottage? I believe it is... we should head down there! Even if its empty it's good shelter, or maybe some supplies. What do you think?", he posed seemingly to the group, but looked at Luciel with hungry eyes.

[Hawlin]

Victor's warmhearted apology and laugh did little to ease the chimera's ache he now had in his shoulder. He imagined a conversation about age would prove to be fairly interesting since the comment about 'a growing boy' was the type of reminder he offered his last master while they were growing up. Luciel simply was and had been since he started...being. How long had it been? Four...five years? It was difficult to tell through brief glimpses of the outside world through tall windows.
Regardless, Victor's statement was met with little more than a wary glance as to imply that Luciel expected him to mind his manners.

As Rose made to continue down a path, Luciel followed in tow. As much as he distrusted everyone he'd come to know the names of in such a short span of time, the only individual who actually seemed inviting seemed to assert themselves as the unofficial leader. At the very least, they had the nerve to take the first step that he was so forward to suggest.

The whispers between Rose and Gish invoked a strange sensation within the chimera who observed out of the corner of an eye and an ear tilting to grasp what little he could. All he could pick out was his name and that of Victor's through his cynicism. Was it a plan to lure him deeper into the cave before a plan could be unveiled to capture him? Luciel was almost certain the humans were conspiring against him and that the whispers between the woman with the funny hat and Gish were simply to relay whatever had been observed between Victor and funny-hat Rose.

He didn't like it, left out of the loop and being the odd-man out to a quartet of death's instrument that called themselves a group. However long he intended to stay and avail his usefulness, Luciel was now more than ever ready to slash those who threatened him...'friend' or foe.

It didn't help how he could swear he heard the sound of someone following them as they walked, occasionally glancing over his shoulder into the darkness and pulling his cloak up while keeping the shortsword half drawn.

~~~~~~~

By the end of their trek, Luciel's expression was grim and disinterested with Rose in spite of his light hearted tone in remarking on her statements with everything from curios speculation that went unanswered to a few rather tasteful puns, if you could call any pun tasteful. Chalk it up to inexperience, but he seemed to enjoy his jokes with a few soft chuckles as the rest of the group was far less sociable. He secretly began to take a bit of a liking to this 'Madam Rose' in spite of how he resented being called 'little' or 'cute'.

To this extent, emerging from the caverns to the 'beautiful vista' was met with a genuine glance of intrigue to entertain the woman's fond expression of wonder before a skeptical frown took its place. It all seemed gaudy to the chimera who'd certainly seen such things on the surface back in his origin lands in the books he was given to read in his cage. Seeing it all underground filled him with nothing but dread after having gotten so used to caves in the short time away from such sights...it all made him bitter.

"Excuse...if vill you may du..." he grumbled, giving up on coherent speech in an annoyed tone as he eased himself to a knee and threw his arms to the side to cast off the tapestry and revealing his attire. On top of this, the strap of a crossbow became apparent as he swung it in front of himself along with a long leather pouch which he popped the button on to reveal a fine set of maybe twenty to twenty five bolts. Each one seemed carved from a material resembling either dark wood or bone, though viciously pointed and wrapped with a grayish blue cloth resembling his tattered cloak. Jingling from his side was a bandolier of about five throwing knives as well as two flasks by his hip for weight. A second belt pouch sat below them, its contents unknown. To his other side hung a game bag that seemed to already have contents, likely a squirrel or two from its size, that he'd intended on cooking back at the fire if he hadn't become distracted and recruited into the group.

"Dragons?" Luciel curiously asked as he took hold of a leaver on the otherwise oversized crossbow with a tone hinting to uncertainty what a 'dragon' even was. Oversized for his stature, it was fixed with half of a winch system found in heavier crossbows along with a few hinges that fixed to the handle along with a ratcheting system which took two good pulls to cock the device. Scrapes and gouges into the wood hinted to it being a bit of a slap-dash job likely done by the chimera in his attempts to combine a light and heavy crossbow into something devastatingly practical for his size.

Luciel failed to meet Victor's eyes as he worked at setting up, intending on testing what the strange figures were by putting a round into one. "Mmph...jeh, shelter...maybe food" he agreed, his thoughts going to his original intention of just camping at the main chamber of the cave before moving on. The thought reminded him of how tired he was from all of the walking he'd already done this day, and the idea of having somewhere to rest that wasn't in a box or bush was enticing enough.

A transformation of Luciel's demeanor could be noticed as he fitted it with the crafted bolt after clicking the string into place. Dark familiarity and almost pride in his work on the mechanism which he hoisted to stand with. "Vaht do you suppose zehy are made from?" he mused, ears standing up and tilting to feel at the cool breeze eminating from the opening to the cave as he took aim with the armament. Pausing for a moment, he took another bolt and held it up to his head for their ears to fold back and hold.
"Zehy certainly are disgistink...even from here~" he almost playfully chuckled while taking aim, making his intentions clear as he loosed the bolt at one of the scarecrows. The height advantage certainly helped, as the round seemed directed to strike one of the figures in the chest.

[Gisk]

The masked creature drew more words in the air.

"Im mutt-ee. Moot. No, Mute. And not "im" but I am. You are Eh-Cho and you do not speak because you are mute. I understand." Fazra hefted the hammer back over her shoulder and lifted the goggles once again so she could look at the two properly. The other was taller than her, and looked to be made of moving stone. A gargoyle? She had seen one once, but half of his head had been crumbled away and he was unintelligible. The gargoyle posited that Eh-Cho was communicating by the light, and seemed to have come upon the realization a little faster. This did not bother Fazra, some people were smarter than her. Few were stronger, though, that was her pride.

"Apologies. I am Ser Fazra Roadborn, Knight Errant from Sungrave. Cyrano, Eh-Cho, you are both well met." She used the courtesy speak that she had learned to represent her station as an anointed knight, as well as the nickname that other knights had saddled her with in place of a surname.

[rechonq]

Echo turned back to Fazra as she figured out his status. It wasn't the slowest process he had seen to figuring out he was mute. Especially if the other party was overly cautious, his strange movements could be very intimidating. With great relief he found these two very large people to be friendly in a sense. At least not immediately hostile.

It was nice to have Fazra put the light hammer behind her again. As fascinating as it was to him, it was rather blinding. Perhaps the amount of light it gave off was what fascinated him. He began to wonder how many wisps it would take to equal it's brightness. The wisps were rather awkward too. They still feared him, but were content in the lantern. Perhaps he would be able to make peace with them, he was only their summoner. He found that there was a slight difference between some of them. Most looked pure white in the light that they shone, but a few that he summoned had a yellowish tint to them. He was still trying to figure out how their power worked though. He found that sometimes while a wisp was inside the lantern and he used it as a weapon, great deals of damage would be done, and possibly lighting things on fire or the like, and other times, absolutely nothing but a whack with a lantern. Wisps were curious things.

Echo bowed in response to Fazra's introduction. At least that's what he thought he should call her. She had quite a title composed with several names. Echo the mute, was probably all the title he would get. Occasionally the nickname of the masked man circulated, but nothing really grand. It wouldn't matter much, he wouldn't have much time to write all of that grand name anyways. Hopefully a bow would portray the respect evidently deserving. Although he had met others with grand names that didn't stand up in a deserving manner to them. Hopefully, she would though. The meager and selfish were quite annoying. She seemed far from either of those things. In fact both Fazra and Cyrano seemed far from it. He felt the most meager at the moment.

Cyrano was quite a character as well. He seemed sharp, but very disconnected. Like he was living in his own world, while the current passed by him. Echo was slightly jealous as he remembered our own worlds are always the best. Spending too much time there doesn't always end up well though. Echo's gaze turned towards the trinkets that were even odder than his own. The glass orb was quite spectaular and looked like it should have been more roughed up. For glass to stay so pristine was almost as unnatural as the glow the orb almost had. The little statue person he held under his right arm was odd too. He didn't think much of it though.

Echo was getting a little restless standing around in the Bright Road. He had already been there before. It seemed to connect to quite a few places in the halls actually, and something about it seemed different this time. Of course he probably couldn't put his finger on anything if it wasn't different, but oddly enough his instincts to the direction of the halls were mostly correct, or at least good enough to make people happy. He wondered if these two had any mission or particular destination, so once again he began to write. He wanted to try something and test the limits of his new ability. With his lantern cane he began to draw on the groundd with the same intent as writing in the air and sure enough, light glew on the ground. It felt more natural to have a canvas to write on than to just throw it in the air. He tried to write a quick statement that would still convey his curiosity. "Are you doing anything particular?" With that, he would have to see what answers he got.

[twave]

Despite Mathias' enthusiastic response Lila still studied for any visible injuries. Perhaps the man was merely fatigued as he made no reply to her question nor showed any signs of actually having been harmed. But there was always the chance that he did not wish to actually tell her to avoid appearing weak. Despite stating that she was indebted to him she was still a creature not often trusted. He did act and sound quite tired at least.

Lila listened intently as the knight began to speak of his family. While she was not completely unlearned about such things it was a foreign concept to her. Being as independent and sparse as her race was there was no real concept of family. Unfortunately the story was interrupted by sounds echoing through the cavern. No they most certainly were not alone. And judging by the sound it was not something they wanted to cross paths with. Raising herself up she looked about carefully.

Glancing at her companion she saw a glint in his eyes that had not been there before. It was oddly empowering "I should be able to guide us well enough. I cannot say I know where we will be going but I can see and can be sure should we go in a circle." She watched as he gathered his pack and shield together and was ready to move. Unsure as to what to say Lila simply started forward through the darkness. The first task was to be sure to avoid wherever thing that had heard moments ago. To their advantage the spider woman lived by avoiding such dangers, most of the time anyhow.

Moving did not directly mean progress though. Everything was uncharted territory which meant that they could be walking endlessly without knowing was was next. On the occasions when they came to a fork Lila would take a few steps down one and feel if there was any air current that she could make out. No current often meant a dead end which was no good for them. Eventually she stopped and stared ahead, gesturing for Mathias to stop as well. She could faintly see the light cast by Fazra's hammer. There was far too little for her human companion to see. "I see light, but I cannot tell its source." She glanced back to see what the man wanted to do.

@Gisk@Necrophage@rechonq

[Necrophage]

Mathias stopped on Lila's cue. Torch still in hand, he squinted ahead.

"I see light, but I cannot tell its source." Lila described. Despite his time down here Mathias still couldn't see what she was describing. No matter. Another light meant creatures who didn't dwell in the dark or a camp of some type. Even if neither were the case they would be on the right track.

"Let's keep going, then. I could welcome a change of scenery right about now." Mathias suggested. He stayed close behind her as they went.

Suddenly the sound of metal dragging across the cave floor resumed and it was close behind them. It was wavered in and out as whatever creature just out of sight dragged their instrument. The torn metal that adorned the battered creature glinted in the light of Mathias' torch. "The torch.." He lamented, "It's following the light." He raised it, illuminating the tunnel more clearly and consequently the horror as well.

There was no longer any reason to discard the torch. This clearly unliving thing was shuffling at them at a surprising pace. It was clad in fur and bits of iron. Blood covered it from several wounds that must have proved fatal when it lived. It dragged an axe behind it that seemed almost too big for this now dilapidated creature. Every step it gasped through its torn throat, an action that was no more than muscle memory.

Mathias warned Lila. "That thing is right behind us! We shouldn't fight it in these spaces. Hurry to the light and pray we don't run into more." He picked up the pace.

[squints]

Cyrano watched interested as the masked man gestured yet again in the air, this time in his direction, seemingly without any comprehension of the intent behind him. He was relieved when fazra was able to interpret the sign language for the both of them.
Cyrano grinned widely, tounge nearly lolling out, both at knowing better what was going on, as well as at fazra the large grey knights fine manner of speaking.
@rechonq@Gisk "Masked man eh-cho the mute, and fazra the grey knight errant. Well met as you say. I am cyrano." He repeated himself. As he introduced himself again, he briefly scowled as if trying to remember something, and then ruffled his mane-thing in a shrug as if it didn't matter anyway.

"Ah! Letters!" He said in delight as he saw eh-cho began to write lights into the dirt, as if having a medium other than air allowed for Cyrano to actually understand eh-chos intent and means of communication.
Cyrano began follow eh-chos writings, but then got distracted by a sound.
"Hold fellows." He said quietly, and scented the air. There was a growl now to his already low gravelly voice, that bespoke a willingness to impart violence. "Something comes this way that I do not think I like..."

[Bubsy 2]

Rose merely watched as the others went about looking over the area. She nodded enthusiastically as Victor suggested they visit the cottage, taking note of his not-so-friendly glare towards Luciel. Rose also took note of the fact that Gish did not pass on her warning to the boy who might have needed it the most, perhaps because the fish girl mistrusted her or perhaps because she didn't like Luciel. Rose shrugged to herself- if Gish wouldn't tell him, well, Rose would not either. Luciel, the forward thinker he was, elected to use his crossbow on the strange scarecrows in the feel. Rose would've advised against it but she quite frankly did not particularly care to. The bolt flew towards it, piercing it in the chest, but if it was alive it gave no indication. There was no visible reaction and it remained standing. "Well, perhaps they are just decorations? Maybe the owner of that cottage has a unique taste for lawn ornaments. Well, let's take a look." She suggested, trotting down the path, caring little for if the rest would follow.

She caught a whiff of something strange as she reached the base of the cavern. The statues, or something else? She wondered to herself. She moved to examine the scarecrow that was now pierced by Luciel's bolt. She raised her staff and gave it an exploratory prod. When it remained unmoving she approached it for a closer examination. What she first noticed was there was still no visible mechanism to explain how it was standing. She attempted to push it but it remained firm, even when she put all her strength against it. She pulled the bolt out of it next. A black liquid gushed from the wound, a foul smell emanating within. She collected a small amount of the liquid on her fingers- it was warm to the touch. She moved it to her nose, taking a whiff. It didn't smell evil per se, but it did smell disgusting. It was evidently the source of the cavern's smell. She shook the liquid off. What was more surprising was the fact that a small amount of straw soaked in the black liquid poked out from the wound. She plucked at it, and it became evident that under the statue's shell it was made of straw. She turned to the rest of the group, "They're scarecrows! I think... very strange scarecrows." She then noted to herself, Their composition is strange. They're made of straw but it's soaked in gunk... and their sturdiness is unexplainable. She shrugged. She wouldn't find her answers for now. She smelled something else, however...

It was then that the witch noticed the eldritch abomination that inhabited the field.

The creature slither along the ground, small fanged beasts skittering over its body. It was not the first of its kind Rose had seen, but it was certainly unexpected. Rose gave a cautious wave. "Uh, hi?" She said, not sure if the creature would be friendly- their like was fickle, sometimes they would tolerate humans, sometimes they wouldn't. Rose hoped it was the former but cautiously raised her staff, prepared for the latter.

[BayRat]

I watched the group of strangers enter the room one by one. Damnit I thought to myself, this was the last thing I wanted. I was left with limited options now, I needed the water within the room now occupied by a group of intimidating strangers. Silently I would begin to tip toe down the wall until I approached the door they entered. I took a peak through the door to better weigh my options. My heart sank when I saw another stranger with them. No stranger wasn't the right word, this thing, an utter monstrosity, something that shouldn't exist, slithered below. By its behavior it appeared to be sentient. I recoiled, retreated behind the wall and eesisted the urge to vomit. I was certain that at least one of them would kill me on sight. I looked back again, the next thing I took notice to was the abundance of strange scarecrows. I watched the lot of strangers move and explore, the cave like system was somewhat flat, but there appeared to be a few paths I could hide through to the water. At this point I was desperate for water.

I'd get low to the ground, crawling over stone with a slow and silent motion. Constantly checking each of the strangers to make sure I wasn't notices, and took advantage of any large rock or patches of grass to conceal me. Approaching the water my thirst has made me desperate, i didnt pay attention if there was anyone near me and I dunked my head into the stream with a somewhat loud splash as I swallowed as much water as physically possible.

[Gisk]

Fazra grunted in response, her head was already tilted as she tried to triangulate the sound she had picked up on.

"You saw nothing coming this way? Whatever I hear is from the direction you came."

When she walked down the tunnel a short ways, she found that the sound echoed from a smaller offshoot tunnel from the Road. Down it, she could see a light, small but quickly growing as it approached. It had the flickering quality of a flame, so she took it for a torch.

Fazra lifted her hammer so that the light from it shone brightly down the tunnel, and called "Who goes there?"