[IC] Godless Ichor (Dark Fantasy/Action)

[CadenGallic]

At the end of the darkened corridor, they came upon a larger area with no clear enemies. It seemed they could finally catch their breath for a moment.
On the western wall was a heavy iron portcullis, currently down, barring an exit from the temple. It was linked by chain to a crank, which was currently locked in place by a heavy looking padlock. The exit led to what looked like a rocky canyon up ahead. He could spot the river outside too, running down a bit of the canyon and going under the temple itself. Inside the room itself, there was a small table in the middle and a door on the northern wall.
Vane took the moment to lean against the eastern wall and sigh in relief.

[Eklispe]

Eldarin let out an equal calming breath. The darkness was prevasive and he'd been battling nearly non-stop in this temple. Eldarin took a moment to rest next to Vane as he examined the area. Well it was obvious that in order to leave they would have to find a key, breaking through the padlock otherwise would ruin whatever weapon they used to do so and it might not work even then. The easiest thing to do was head on ward through the northern door and hope the key was somewhere past it, otherwise they would have to retrace their steps and search for the key in what would be a mind-numbing and difficult task. Eldarin fished out the last half of the red potion and offered it to Vane, "Here, you needn't use it now but this should help if you get wounded." Eldarin still had several drinks of the odd ichor he'd taken from the slain wolf, so he didn't need it.

[CadenGallic]

"Ah, thank you." Vane graciously took the potion and swilled it around slightly in front of his helmeted head, recognizing the substance quickly.
"So tell me, friend." Vane turned to look upon Eldarin, a curious hint in his tone. "What brings you to this accursed place? I do not wish to doubt your reasoning, I am simply curious."

[Eklispe]

"A little of that and a little of that." Eldarin thought back to the women whose pet he'd been forced to kill. Turning back now would just feel like a waste of that moment. "I've heard the tales of Ichor like everyone else. What can I say, the thought of becoming a demi-god was mildly appealing." He said with a confident grin at his temporary partner. It was mostly true, who wouldn't be tempted by a tale like that. Eldarin however, was sure there was much more to this place than a drink that made you strong. Mercenary work was tiring, especially when you were forced to take whatever jobs you could get. He could think of a few people the world would be better off with and if he had the power to do it himself . . . Well he would think about it when he got there.

[CadenGallic]

"Aye, I can safely see the appeal in that I suppose. If the tales are true, of course." Vane chuckled slightly, seemingly a little more skeptical of such ideas. After all, he was still new to these lands. "I do wonder though... the idea of becoming a being close to the gods we know of and worship... what would that be like?" he ruminated thoughtfully, placing a metal coated hand to his chin.

[Eklispe]

Eldarin shrugged, "A question that I'll save for when it actually happens." His friend's skepticism was not shared, Eldarin already knew well the healing powers of mere blood from one of those corrupted creatures. Perhaps becoming a demi-god was an exaggeration, but if the liquid could turn a fox that barely came up to his knee-caps into the monster he'd fought, the difference was marginal. Though he also didn't relish the thought of becoming a thoughtless monster, power was useless if you couldn't control it after all.

[CadenGallic]

"Well then... I suppose I am ready to continue whenever you are, my friend." Vane glanced at the door on the wall and then at the padlock. "I regret to say even my mighty blade could not shatter the lock..." He grumbled slightly at that fact. A slight chilled breeze blew in from the portcullis barred exit, a slightly orange light glowing from the other side. The sun would soon begin to set.

[Eklispe]

Eldarin nodded, "Best we get moving then, I'm not eager to stay in this temple once night falls, hopefully the key lies ahead and not behind." with that he pushed himself off the wall and pressed onward, opening the north door and looking around carefully for the key, it would be most unfortunate to miss it and be stuck in this temple. Who knows how many more things lurked here, worse yet what lurked here at night.

[CadenGallic]

"Good call." Vane joined him swiftly and prepared his blade as they entered the next room. This looked more akin to a barracks area with a small area for meals to be prepared, clear by the pots and pans and cutlery on the side. There were also stairs leading upward to a second floor. There were no signs of any enemies, no statues or skittering critters.

[Eklispe]

Eldarin glanced about, unlikely a key would be here and if it was they could thoroughly search on the way back. Haste was of the essence and Eldarin quickly made his way to the stairs, still leery of waiting enemies.

[CadenGallic]

In the above room he found bunks, unoccupied but showing signs they had once been inhabited. On the one end of the room was a large wooden chest, thankfully not locked. There was little else of interest, besides a red leather bound diary set on the bedside of one of the bunks.

[Eklispe]

Simultaneously suspicious and thankful that they hadn't encountared any enemies yet Eldarin started towards the red diary. "Go see if there's anything in that chest would you?" Eldarin asked and began flipping through it.

[CadenGallic]

"Alright." Vane went over to inspect the large chest. The diary had been written by a man named Jasper of Bellmoral. It told simple tales of the life of a guardsman, protecting this temple that served as a gateway into the kingdom of Galothiel properly. It started out nice enough, stories of simple rounds, but the further it goes, it mentions the guard captain becoming increasingly frustrated as the men began to slack off and lose morale with the ichor flowing through the kingdom. The diary ended on one page before the rest went blank.
"Why did the captain do this to us?"
Meanwhile, Vane hefted over a heavy looking set of armour, it was white and it looked to be made out of stone, matching the suits the statues were wearing perfectly. It'd be hard to move in, but a suit like that could give him some incredible defence.

[Eklispe]

Eldarin put the small diary down and pondered its contents for a moment. How annoying it must have been to watch your troops slowly slump into despair. Then there was that last line. What had the captain done? Perhaps he had used the ichor on his own men. Eldarin thought of the monster infested torso's and the living knights scattered throughout the temple. He shook his head free from such dark thoughts and glanced at Vane's prize. The armour looked quite pretty, as well as very heavy. If Eldarin had been a bigger man, more inclined to wear heavy armour and have the strength to function in them he would've taken it for his own. But Eldarin was not and felt that armour of that weight would make him a sitting duck and do him no good if he had to fight something like that monster wolf again. His own gear would suffice for now. "Nothing of note here, you can either leave the armour or use it, it matters not to me." Eldarin looked around for another exit, either they would keep moving forward or they would have to carefully retrace their steps for the missing key. Hopefully it wasn't stashed behind a secret door or something, or else they might be here for a while indeed. Now that the idea had come to mind he would be on the lookout for any signs of such, but there was no guarantee he would find them.

[CadenGallic]

"Well, if there's no key here, I found another door downstairs behind one of those table. I believe there's more to this temple." He let him know, leaving the armour in the chest and headed back down the stairs.

[Eklispe]

Eldarin nodded, "Best we keep going forward before we run into the troublesome business of going back." was all he said as followed Vane down the stairs towards the afore mentioned door.

[CadenGallic]

The door led them into a narrow corridor. At the end of it, they could see another larger room with another door beyond that. Standing in the middle was another statue knight, this one holding a tower shield and halberd, practically glaring at them as they entered the door. The corridor leading up to it denied much further look at the room ahead.

[Eklispe]

Eldarin frowned, well their luck couldn't have continued for long. "Just like last time." He said softly to Vane and began circling the stone knight to the right, light-footed as he waited for the knight to make a move that would allow either him or Vane to close in and strike a blow.

[CadenGallic]

As they stepped into the full room itself and began circling, they were both surprised as two more knight statues were hiding behind the corners, catching them both by surprise with a slash to the back each. Worse still, whilst they were recovering, the halberd knight caught them both in a wide swing of his weapon, knocking them both backward.

[Eklispe]

A curse he didn't have time to utter flitted through Eldarin's mind as he felt a sudden pushing pain from behind, causing him to stumble forward right into the following swing of the knight in front of him, barely able to bring his shield up in time to prevent the blow for bisecting him. But it still hurt and send his tripping backwards, though directed away from the knight that had initially attacked him. That heavy armour would've served him well here compared to the chainmail that had been forced to bear the brunt of the blow from behind, but there was no time for those thoughts. Now they were outnumbered and already wounded on top of it all.

This battle had to be ended quickly, else the blood loss and numerical difference would prove fatal. Eldarin decided it was best to take care of the side knights first as it seemed they served the middle one, so he turned to face the one that had stuck him. A low growl began in his throat and Eldarin pointed his sword at its head. Merely a moment later energy crackled along his arm and burst forth from the tip of his sword in the form of lightning at the knight's head. His sword was a poor catalyst and indeed quite diluted the effects of his spell, but it was better than the severe burns that would linger in his hand if he didn't use a catalyst when casting lightning. As it was his arm was stinging and he had lines of light burnt flesh along his arm, painful but not overly debilitating.