[IC] Frozen Dungeons

[BayRat]

Lazarus, The Surviving Village Capitol

A capitol that has risen from Dwarves and humans alike after the first decade of eternal winter. The villagers keep warm with plenty of firewood and the Dwarves craft excellent metal tools and weapons to help the hunters bring in food, as the village is built over a vast and expanding mining shaft that was dug up soon after the village's start. Here the local tavern was the liveliest place of the apocalypse. Civilians drank their sorrows away, ladies of the night would come to flirt with the hardworking men after a long day's work, and beer has become a thriving luxary. It was a small settlement, but the stone walls built around it helps keep it secure despite being on the outskirts of the Ragadell, the Dwarven capitol kingdom. In the bar, various pelts and mounts of previous game such as the heads of bores and dears were plastered on the walls, bear rugs seated under every wooden table. Tonight the bar was a bit lonely due to their being an especially harsh snowstorm out. It was 12 in the morning now, three local drunks at the far corner and Miss Reina, a wood elf, which was a rarity to see in these parts, still held her occupation as a bartender.

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William Drakkenshire

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

William was seated at another corner, drinking a pint of water as he wasn't in the mood to drink. Volcanic earthquakes and marching through lava was never an issue for William, nor was it fatal, even the dragons weren't as bad in comparison to this. The bitter cold of what had became of most of the world was too much to bear for the heat-loving dragon worshiper. Besides, few dragons were acclimated to cold conditions, almost exclusively the obvious ice dragons that would perhaps thrive now.

His staff was at his side, and his brown cloak covered his body completely, his face obscured from view, not even his glowing brown eyes could be viable. Though when he would take sips his chin and lower lips were in view by the torch lights. He was contemplating on what to do now, perhaps he should just turn back, go to the one place that isn't a frozen wasteland and hope that the dragons there don't eventually eat him. He'd rather take his chances with the beasts he shares an ancestral link to then these bloody demons, especially the head of which, Faust, the very source of the winter plague.

[WolfieTheWolf]

Arelia sweeps through the door, her velvet cloak trailing behind her. She really hated 'house calls.' She had been sent to this... this place for a cleansing of some sort, only to find out that some other Sage had already finished the bloody job without her! She just wanted to go home. Cerberus trots in at her side. He scans the room and ruffs quiet enough to alert Arelia of an empty table for them to sit at. Brushing a strand of golden hair from her face, she begins to walk towards the table. At least the weather was to her liking. She hated the heat and all it brought with it.

Taking a seat at the table she removes her hood. Why bother hiding who you are, when you're dressed like this? She smirks at the thought. She runs her fingers through her hair again, then scratches Cerberus behind his ears. He licks her hand and sits at her feet.
Arelia then calls over the bartender, asking for a glass of wine and a warm meal.

[BayRat]

William Looked up at the presence of a stranger, a woman in such regal clothing was a rarity in these parts. She must have been from a kingdom. initially, he would have no interest in speaking to strangers, but the oddity of her appearance in these parts and in the dire situation that the world was in made him curious none the less, perhaps she was of some help. He would get up, walking over to the table, and eyeing the dog carefully, as his draconic blood has often triggered the warning growls of many companional beasts in the past. "Pardon me, miss." He spoke almost bluntly and in a casual matter despite her easily passing as a royal or noble. "Do you mind if I ask who you are and what your doing in a dying town such as this?" He didn't sit down to her table, he had limits to his rudeness and did not want to risk making her dog further upset. He wasn't here to make enemies after all, but friends weren't really his target either. Relationships in general was a chore to keep up with. "You wouldn't happen to be here to assist, would you?"

[WolfieTheWolf]

Arelia looks at the boy, startled. Cerberus gar-uffs lightly and she places her hand on his back. He sits back down.
She clears her throat, taking note of the person in front of her. Though she wasn't surprised someone had come up to her, she really wished he hadn't. She disliked company of anyone other than Cerberus. She forces herself to remain calm and poised.
"I am a simple Sage noblewoman, here on call to this town," She replies simply, thankful her eyes were green and not the telltale red of a vampire. This was an oddity to her vampirism, though she hardly minded.
"I am Ari and this is my companion Cer," Arelia answers, being careful to use nicknames instead of full. "And you are?" She asks.
Cerberus keeps a constant eye on the lad, unsure of how to feel about him. He did not like the way he smelled, but there was something about him that didn't seem particularly evil. Instead of growling, he simply stares him down with a warning glance.

[BayRat]

As she spoke, William noticed a smell of the undead, a smell that most could not pickup easily. The type of undead that weren't decaying zombies, was she a lich or vampire? Still, he saw no ill intention of her presence, and it is not like the undead are the biggest threat to this disastrous world, if she is a noble woman as she claims, she is certainly anything but evil. "On call eh?" Drake tilted his head, unsure of what to make of her exactly. "May I have a seat?" He asked, yet he rudely sat down at her table across from her anyway without waiting for a response. "I am William, William Drakkenshire." He said as he pulled down his hood to reveal his pale skin, soft features, and brown eyes that faintly glowed a crimson flame as well as the magic rune that was placed over his left eye. "I don't typically like talking to strangers but seeing you has gotten some hopes up, that is, are you another hero ready to attempt to slay the mighty Faust himself?" He again asked bluntly, it was clear he didn't have much manners. His dusty brown hair would blow in the faint breeze that swept in the bar from the storm outside, some of his hair came down as a bang on the right side of his face.

[WolfieTheWolf]

Arelia clears her throat as Cerberus jumps to his feet with another gar-uff! He scoots closer to Arelia, his tail placed on her foot as he sits. She brushes her hair back again. It had fallen out on her way here and was in a bit of a jumbled mess.
"I think not. I am not from these areas... My home resides in the mountains. I am rather far from it, in fact..." She says, sitting up straighter.
"And what of you, sir?" She says, refraining from calling him 'boy' as she would have liked to, based on his manners. Oddly enough, the breeze falls flat against Arelia, whom was not in the mood for a chilling breeze. She reaches up to her hair and begins to braid it out of nervous habit. Her meal and drink arrive and she sets half of it on the ground for Cerberus, whom does not even look at it. His full focus is on the room around him and on William.

[BayRat]

For a moment, Drake look disappointed, truly he was alone in this god forsaken task that he went out of his way to perform, he had a better chance finding and slaying that bloody sea serpent. With a sigh of breath he was already less interested in the stranger, though he had to admit that she must have been pretty far off to not have been affected by this plague. "I am from the volcanic paradise that is at the very southern peninsula of this continent, perhaps you have heard of it, Drake Valley?" He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, as if expecting, or more accurately, narcissistic-ally hoping that someone outside of this continent has heard of the dragon's territory and its druids.

[WolfieTheWolf]

Arelia's lip twitches slightly, "Yes, I have heard of the place. I am a scholar, so therefore I know of it. Very warm, or was, at least, since Faust showed up. My poor mountain grew colder, not that I mind much. As you probably could tell, I have a strange smell, do I not?" She says, taking a bite of her meal. As if on que, Cerberus begins eating as well.
Arelia takes a sip of her wine, "Now, this is purely assumption, but you are a Draconian Druid, are you not?" She muses, swirling her wine around in it's glass. She brings it to her lips and inhales it's scent before taking a drink.
She sighs, then pulls out a vial of red liquid and pours a few drops in before returning the vial to her pouch.
She swirls the wine and sips it again, this time smiling at the taste. She glances up at William, "Well?"

[BayRat]

There was some pleasure in speaking to someone of prestigious intelligence, a scholar. The druids of Drake valley were tribal at best, limited only by foreign trips to settlements nearby the hostile region. "It is still warm, even with a cloudy winter sun the volcanic rivers keep things...warm enough." He sighed. "But who knows what else will come of this tyranny, and how far it will go." He looked up, and placed a finger below the birthmark. "Yes, this mark proves it, I am of their lineage, and I have offered my tribe's unique magic to help the cause of ridding this infernal winter and the demon who will conquer all, unfortunately, to my knowledge all of the other heroes I have heard of are dead." He said flatly, simply drinking a glass of water. The sight of blood confirmed his suspicious, but seeing how she didn't seem to bother to hide it and being a scholar herself how bad could she be? He knew what it was like to be ridiculed as a monster anyway.

"If you are here to watching the town, I suppose you have come here instead for the problem with the mines, a rag tag group of goblins that had survived the decades have taken camp in the mines and kill any of our miners on sight." He took another sip of the glass of water. "I was about to do something about it in the morning. I'm sure I can handle it by myself, but it doesn't hurt to have company does it?" He looked back up to her curious for whatever response she gave. His smooth brown tunic barely covered his pale hands or sandal wearing feet.

[WolfieTheWolf]

Arelia crinkles her eyebrows in reply, swirling her wine a bit more as she glances into it. Cerberus looks up at her, nudging her hand a bit. She scratches his ear, but remains silent, thinking. "I originally came here for the issue with that so called 'haunted' graveyard here... Quite a joke if you ask me. It was merely some children causing a ruckus." Those 'children' had been a group of older men and women who had gone crazy from the cold.
"It was already taken care of when I arrived." She explains, "I suppose I do not have much of a choice. I travel light and the money earned from this quest was to be the money to get me home." Arelia sighs and places her hand on her forehead, then looks up at the ceiling, "Very well, Mr. Drakkenshire, I shall accept your offer." She takes a final bite of her food and stands, "Shall we be off, then?"

[BayRat]

He wasn't surprised about the incident she described, in fact that explained the strange noises he had heard earlier.
"Money? can't you just turn into a bat and fly?" He mocked as he finished his water. "Right now? The storm is furious, if I went out there I'd have to well..make myself comfortable. I'm not sure if you'd like to be near that." He said as he flicked his fingers and sparks of flames fluttered from them and sizzled away almost immediately. "If you insist thought, m'lady." The last word was stressed almost in a mocking tone. He sat up as well and offered his hand, awaiting her response.

[WolfieTheWolf]

"The storm will not be of a bother to us. Most of it is simply wind." She says, brushing out the kinks in her dress, "And as for the bat comment; no. I cannot turn into a bat and fly away. But what I can do is rip the air from your lungs before you can blink." She warns, her eyes flashing red, "So don't try anything funny, understood?" Cerberus nods with a small gar-uff in response.
"And you will refer to me as Sage Ari or Sage for the time being." She says, "Besides. I intended on visiting those mines anyway. I have need of several of the ores located there, as well as a plant.." She says, pulling her hood over her face, "Come along, now." She says, beginning to walk

[BayRat]

William would also pull his hood up, grumbling on a passive aggressive, off-hand comment about how a dragon should not be ordered around, let alone threatened, but he complied nonetheless. "Sure thing Ari." He responded more audibly has he followed. Once he exited the doors, the cold wind was extremely bitter. He would step a few meters away from Ari and her dog before his entire left hand would catch in flames, he had to pull down his sleeves so he didn't burn his own clothes, exposing more of his thin pale body. Despite the heavy winds he was able to control the flame's path through his own will of power enough that it wouldn't spread too far, let alone get on his clothes or tag a nearby object. He kept his spare hand in front of the flames to help block the wind as well.

Marching through knee deep snow they'd come across a torch lit entrance to the deep mines below. A makeshift mining shaft elevator was there to greet them, stepping onto the platform, William put out the flames and spoke. "Hope your not wearing heels miss Ari." He said coyly before pulling the lever, causing the elevator shaft to slowly drift downwards on a ramp by a rope into the mines.

[WolfieTheWolf]

As they walk, the wind completely avoids them. The snow still falls, but it falls gently to the ground, only to be whipped up again after Arelia is a short distance from it. At the mine, she stands in a corner of the elevator. Her eyes are closed and she breathes in and out. In and out. Her hand glows with a faint light that she holds up to her face. She then presses the light to her chest and mutters a few words. The light flickers out and Arelia opens her eyes.
Hearing the loud "clunk!" as the elevator grinds to a halt, she clears her throat, and removes her hood. She turns to the exit of the elevator and sucks in a gulp of air, then lets out a whistle so quiet it sounds like it were a rock tumbling from its nesting place.
"Nothing is ahead of us. At least until the next turn." She explains.
Arelia steps off of the elevator and onto the cold ground.

[BayRat]

Being so far down into the earth, the cave was at a steady temperature of 45 F*, though chilly, it would be far warmer in comparison to the frigid outside world. "How did you figure that?" I asked genuinely curious as I stepped off of the elevator shaft. It was dark was the torches were out, my brown eyes glowing a crimson glow bright enough to be a dim candle flame by itself. Being able to see in the darkness, and figuring she was a vampire, I didn't think the lack of lightning would bother us anyway. He would casually step further into the cavern, the thought of goblins being a walk through a park sang through his head as he walked seemingly without much care. "How many you think are down here?"

[WolfieTheWolf]

"A dozen at the least." Is her reply. Arelia sniffs the air, "And I used sound waves to figure it out. Besides, the stink of goblin dung is not yet very strong..." She huffs, her nose crinkling at the thought. She glances at William, Such immaturity... Arelia sighs. She walks forwards, Cerberus at her feet. She makes a small clicking noise once and the large dog trots silently ahead of them. He vanishes into the darkness, returning after a few short minutes. Cerberus scratches at the ground twice then yips softly.
"There is a fork in the path up ahead." Arelia explains to William.
She smiles at Cerberus, petting his head.

[BayRat]

"A dozen huh." He pondered a bit before noticing her glance, he couldn't read thoughts but he could tell that it wasn't a compliment, he scorned his eyes back at her briefly before continuing walking. Hearing her information, he would respond. "So what now, do we split up or take our chances with a singe path?" He was fine with either option. His hands were resting along his brown tunic that was waving a bit due to the cavern's breeze, he could smell the filth of goblins in the distance but couldn't pin it accurately.

[WolfieTheWolf]

Arelia sighs, contemplating their options, "Perhaps. First let us reach the fork, then I will use my whistle again..." She says, continuing to walk forward.
Once they reach the fork, it becomes apparent that there are five different paths, not just two.
Cerberus looks at Arelia and shrugs. Arelia rolls her eyes, but scratches his ears.
She whistles down each path, listening carefully to each response.
"Dead end..." She comments, pointing to the first one, "This one leads to a hole..." She says pointing to the next, "This one is rather long and could lead rather far into the mines.." Then the next, "There are a lot of obscurities down the fourth tunnel, and the fifth one is another dead end." She finishes.
"So, I say we head down the fourth tunnel first, and if that bares no fruit, then the third, and so on." Arelia directs.
"If there are goblins down this path, it might behoove us to approach quietly."

[BayRat]

William waited patiently for her analysis, after which he only nodded in agreement. "Right, silent."
He said it as if it was no trouble, but even William himself knew that dragons were not known for their subtlety. He casted his hood further over his face to hide his glowing eyes, and would silently walk beside her as they ventured down the fourth path. Despite in stealth, he was prepared for an unsuspecting ambush. His robes however would be dragging against the floor, impeding his movement and making it a bit more difficult not to trip.

[WolfieTheWolf]

Arelia rolls her eyes and walks swiftly ahead of him in silence. She sniffs the air, then covers her mouth, trying not to gag. Off to her side is a rather large pile of unmentionables. She chokes out another gag and hurries ahead. A light ahead of them grows brighter and brighter as they move. She crouches down a bit, moving slower now. She sips in a few gulps of air and whispers a few mean words at the goblins, her voice vanishing and reappearing at the other end of the cave. She turns to William, "If you have something to attack all of them at once, do it now." She says, a current of air floating in front of them.