[IC] The Narrow Path

[Gardevoiran]

The bear roared as Maggy climbed onto his back, desperately trying to wrap something around her to stop the bleeding. Another wall crumbled in front of you as a familiar voice rings through the area.

"Tobias?! Are you in there?!" Jen, no doubt alerted by the smoke, came to your aid as she called out for your name. The walls where her voice was coming from crumbled down and blocked your path as the only way you could see out of here was deeper within the place. The same place where the bear emerged from in the first place.

You have to go inside to get out, it would seem.

[Skinner35]

"Jen!! Stay where you are, if Brock is around, tell him to try to make a passage." He yelled to her as he looked at Maggie. "Maggie, hold in there, we'll be out soon." Then, he nodded at the bear and began to work his way farther into the stronghold.

[Gardevoiran]

You enter the stronghold to find it... well... abandoned. Everyone inside it vanished when you arrived, likely to fight you off, but now it was barren and empty save for the occasional mouse and... well... your group.

You clearly see Maggy unmoving on the bear's back as you hear the entrance crumble down behind you, trapping you in the room for right now. There's likely a back door you can take, but right now, the only exit you have has been blocked off.

The bear is a bit worried, but keeps his calm as he lowers Maggy onto her back with a slide, pacing around the small girl with a bit of a protective tone. At least, you think it's protective. He's not mad at you, for sure.

[Skinner35]

As he takes in the sense of emptiness around them, he looked at Maggie. "Magg, are you well enough to heal?" He asked while keeping his distance. Then he looked at the bear and nodded in respect.

[Gardevoiran]

Maggy doesn't respond, but you can still see her chest moving, albeit barely. She's alive, and the thing she used as a makeshift bandage stopped her bleeding, so she likely just fainted from blood loss. She'll be fine in a while given she sees a healer.

The bear nods back as he roars at you, but not a normal roar. A roar trying to make a foreign noise. Incredibly so. Like he was trying to speak to you. "RRrrhhwwhhoooooor.... rrrryryoooooooouuuuu?"

[Skinner35]

"Who am I? I'm Tobias Skinner. I'm guessing that you're Athe?" He said, looking at the bear. He then sat on the ground to rest for a little while.

[Gardevoiran]

The bear nods back, his paw patting his chest as he sat as well. "Spprrrrroooorrrrccciiooooorrr... Wrrrrooooaarrr..." He was trying to get one more word out, but it was really tough for him to say it. Probably because his vocal cords weren't accustomed to human speech, as he was indeed a bear.

[Skinner35]

Having no idea what Athe said, he could see the confirmation and looked towards the walls and roof to see if there were any holes or cracks.

[Gardevoiran]

Through the very small window in the room, you can see the moon's silver light shining through it and onto the ground in front of you. Aithwale roars as he raises his paw up to the window, as if trying to use the moon's light as a symbol.

Maggy is still k.o.'ed. Not even a stir from her yet besides the occasional snore of her adorable voice. It's rather cute, to tell you the truth.

You can hear the muffled shouts of a paladin desperately trying to bust through the rubble to get to you, however, you cannot hear her make any actual progress. Seems like you're stuck here for a few.

[Skinner35]

He saw the window and began to formulate a plan of sorts. "Athe, could you boost me up to the window?" He said in hopeful anticipation.

[Gardevoiran]

Aithwale growls like he isn't fond of that plan. Not that it would really work anyway, considering the only person that would be able to fit out that window would likely by Maggy. She looks like an even shorter elf coupled with a petite frame, making her likely able to fit in a 2'x2' space. Maybe a little bigger. It's weird.

Regardless, Aithwale keeps pointing to the moon through the growls and through Maggy's snore.

[Skinner35]

"Okay so that's a no. Why do you keep pointing at the moon?" He said in pure confusion. He wasn't the smartest person ever.

[Gardevoiran]

Aith pats his chest before pointing at the moon one more time, following up by patting his chest once more.

You hear Maggy groan as she seemingly wakes up, her breathing light but present and her eye opening up. "... w-wuh... what happened?"

[Skinner35]

He couldn't follow what Aith was trying to say, then he heard Magg. "Maggie! Finally!."

[Gardevoiran]

"Skinner calm the hell down, would you? I'm barely seeing straight..." Maggy says a bit aggressively as she hugs the bear over her, patting him on the side. "I'm glad you're okay, dad."

You feel the ground shake slightly as something hits the wall of the stronghold, but you don't know what and you can't tell what it is. You can hear Jen on the outside screaming something, but again, you don't know what she's screaming.

Aithwale looks at you before doing a series of charades. He points to Maggy at first with a roar vaguely along the lines of the word "Person". Then he points to the moon. Lastly, he pats his chest once more. Toby is not good at charades, apparently.

[Skinner35]

He doesn't hear Maggie over the rumble and crash. Then he looks at Aith and tries to follow the charades. "Person... Moon...?" He attempted to understand. "You're a person... What's with the moon?"

[Gardevoiran]

"... werebear." Maggy filled in the right word for you as you feel the ground rumble yet again, more intensely this time. You can hear Jen shouting even louder, followed by Brock's faint voice as he shouts back angrily. Those two argue like a married couple.

[Skinner35]

"Oh, well that was obvious when you called him your father." He said as he heard Jen and Brock. "JEN, WHAT"S GOING ON OUT THERE?!" He shouted, hoping that they'd hear him.

[Gardevoiran]

A few seconds of silence pass as you wait for an answer before a large plant snake bursts through the side of the wall near you, Brock climbing out of it's mouth, clearly with alcohol-soaked clothes. "YEAH CHARLIE!"

Jen squeezes through the gap between the tunnel and the snake as she runs into the room, grabbing Maggy and lifting her up off the ground and into her arms. Aithwale is a bit apprehensive at first, but backs down when he sees that it's a paladin.

Gobbo runs in afterwards too, sprinting over to you and hugging your leg. "Hello again Tobiash! Are you hurt?"

[Skinner35]

He stumbled back when the snake plowed through. Then became excited when the gang slipped through. He then lifted Gobbo onto his back, then the goblin latched on. "Hello everyone! Now, let's get out of here before we get stuck again." He said, looking around at everyone, joyful.