RP:Back To The Den

Part of the Hungry Like The Wolf Arc

Summary: Khitti and Alvina are on a mission!

To Start: Crystal Clear Moat

The story thus far is this: Khitti would have sent word to Alvina, requesting her help with something related to the amulet that Meri has been trying to piece back together. The letter explains that this could be a particularly dangerous mission that will involve them entering an unfamiliar werewolf den, aka the location that Meri found the odd medallion with the depiction of a wolf on one side of this. This medallion, as Khitti knows, has revealed that it serves not only as a map but also a key, though it has been no easy feat to uncover any of it's mysteries. Why would Khitti want to return to the den? Out of concern that Meri perhaps missed something important, the redhead is no doubt aware that her adopted sister really did not have a chance to look in depth around the suspected den. A lot of things were happening in that exact moment for Meri! Without Meri here, Khitti would ultimately be the one in charge of the navigation. No doubt Khitti has carefully considered the gear to bring along for this mission. She is undoubtedly keenly aware that in order to retrace Meri’s adventure with the Queen of Larket, Khitti and Alvina will have to dive into the moat. Many are aware that if they dive deep enough into the moat, they will end up in a cave system….that is inhabited by dragons. Sorry Khitti, you just do not seem to be able to avoid caves and potential dragon encounters these days. Hopefully if Alvina and Khitti are sneaky enough as they travel through these caves, they will not pull the attention of any of the dragons onto themselves. They are at least off to a promising start, for when they do make it into the caves, there will be no dragons nor any signs of cave monsters insight. Just be very quiet ladies. Alvina may find her heightened sense of smell quite useful in this exact moment.

Khitti unfortunately had a bad habit of returning to dens (werewolf and otherwise) that she should not be going to. At all. Today was no different. She’d meet Alvina at the moat as stated, the redheaded leader of this little two-person expedition having dressed light in her soft black leather outfit, hood and all--Alvina would be very familiar with this outfit; it was the one Khitti had hunted her in, after all--and had packed very few things that would be alright if it got wet, ie: her swords, a canteen of water, and a waterproofed, somewhat crudely drawn map of where Meri had gone in this cave system. She’d managed to get the details from her dear sister on the pretense of it was for more research having to do with the medallion! Which… she’s not entirely lying. She just left out the fact that she was having a weird feeling about this whole thing. Hopefully Meri does not think about it too much. She could very well put two and two together. This -is- Khitti after all. No thinking, Meri. Just… do… other things. Other Meri things. Once Alvina arrived, Khitti would offer the other redhead a faint smile, a bit of shadowfire light up on her palm to light their way through the moat, which was then coated in a bit of shadow-ice to keep the flames from going out. The dark purple flames still clearly burned within, albeit a little more dimly. “This is going to be a little difficult, if only because I did not go with Meri on this little trip. It had been her and Josleen, I guess.” There was a slight smirk, but Khitti kept her mouth shut on the subject of the Larket Monarchy. It was for the best.

Alvina wasn’t sure what to expect in regards to the cave system. Meri had been sparse on the details, considering their last visit resulted in a very unexpected turn of events. She too has a bad habit of going places she shouldn’t: another thing that binds the women besides Meri and their red hair. Alvina lets Khitti lead the way, offering her own tired smile in return. She hadn’t brought anything special but she’s a werewolf so that's basically all she brought: Herself. Her hair’s pulled back in a tight braid, to stay out of her face, and her outfit includes a black underwhelming romper. It was light to move and swim in and she wouldn’t miss it too much if she shifted and tore it to a thousand pieces. For now, though, Alvina’s ears are perked listening to Khitt’s explanation. Josleen had been down here? What in the world….You think you know a gal. To be honest, Alvina didn’t know Josleen anymore but she kept the image of the woman she had known framed neatly with blind optimism that she still existed somewhere in the Queen.) But that’s another thought process for another time. Right now, Khitti is guiding them and Alvina has literally no idea how she can help navigate the space. It does bother her, though. “Why was Josleen -here-?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking, following close behind the other bard so as to not be absorbed by the dark. Why was Josleen down here? Did she bring Meri down here or was it the other way around? She had so many questions about this amulet but in all honesty they could really wait.

Why was Josleen down here, Khitti knew, but would she answer…? Or would she have the chance to answer? Our two adventurer’s for the day would have be able to travel a considerable distance through the cave before an angry roar can be heard somewhere from behind the two women. How close is the creature who made that noise? Well that is hard to say, sounds echo so easily in any cave. After what sounded like the stirrings of a very angry dragon, nothing but silence fills the cave. Maybe said dragon just had a bad dream during a nappy-time and has gone back to sleep? Both Khitti and Alvina may or may not feel some amount of relief as they make it through the caves without encountering any dragon. They will get a small break in any overly strenuous traveling, the next portion of their trip will be nothing but flatlands. At least until those flatlands come to a very abrupt end and Khitti and Alvina find themselves standing in front of a cliff. This cliff drops for about one hundred feet, it’ll be a bunch of fun to climb down, no? The upside is that once the two ladies manage to get to the bottom, the forest that Meri and company had found the werewolf den begins about fifty feet away from the base of the cliff. The catch is, they first have to make it safely down the cliff. Didn’t Meri maybe mention that she might have had a run in with some sort of critter? Meri did it and lived! You two have got this! Standing at the edge of the cliff, the sounds of wolves can be heard within the forest below. It was faint because of the distance, but the howl was strong enough that both Khitti and Alvina should be able to hear it. Certainly this is what gave Meri the impression that she had entered a werewolf den. I mean it takes one to one one, right?

“She asked Meri to go down here, along with some other person. Because she’s insane and has no idea what sort of things lurk in dens and that death usually has a decent chance of happening,” Khitti said with a heavy sigh. It was typical of rich people like Josleen to get others into situations they do not want to be in, all for fame and fortune. Khitti had not been pleased with that expedition and she still wasn’t. The fact that that yew wand had been found around the same place as the medallion felt off too. Had it been connected somehow? Even if it wasn’t, the thought of it was enough to make her suspicious. They’d get through that moat with Khitti’s magic lighting the way--mainly for Khitti though because not a werewolf--and made it onto land. “Gods I hate caves. It’s been nothing but caves lately for me and there seems to be no end of it.” Not long after she said this, that dragon roared. “And dragons. Frakking hate them too.” There’s another sigh, but she pressed on. And thankfully there had been no dragons! Yet. Yet, Khitti. She’s careful about climbing down the cliffside, a few near-death experiences happening in the form of rocks that looked sturdy being anything but. But, she did make it down! But now there’s wolves. Sigh. Her swords are left where she had equipped them on her person for now, an extra fireball summoned up instead to aid the first… just in case. Despite the wolves, Khitti would lead on into the forest.

I mean, fair point Khitti. Alvina can’t argue that logic nor does she try. She’d like to offer a helpful “Ah I see” or even “Yes that makes perfect sense” but as Khitti’d said none of it did. So Alvina nods, to show she understood and is listening, though her commentary is withheld. What was Josleen doing bringing Meri into underwater caves filled with dragons and werewolves? What kind of holy hell of a place was this? “Caves are right up there with heights, I agree.” You’re trapped, suffocatingly trapped with nowhere to run. It’s then that Alvina freezes in response to the dragon’s roar. It ripples through the stuffy cave air like an ominous shriek. She looks at Khitti to see if she’s grabbing for any weaponry, a bit panicked, as if to say ‘Now? Should I shift now?’ but all was still soon afterwards. Her muscles may never release from this tensed state. “I’m not growing any fonder of either of them, frankly.” Caves or Dragons.The flatlands come and go in a daze, all of which Alvina spent thinking about what Meri and Josleen must have seen the first time they travelled through her. As an afterthought, she does wonder if Khitti is prepared for more than werewolves. At the cliff, she shutters and looks over the edge. I mean...Meri and Jos had done it so why couldn’t Alvina and Khitti? This is where Alvina sort of wished she could turn into something that flew or landed lightly on it’s feet. She could probably jump and crazy werewolf magic would mend anything broken but that’s...that’s insane. It feeds the fear of being afraid of heights?! What good was that idea Alvina?! She follows Khitti down, holding her breath as long and as often as she can. It proves blessedly uneventful so far. The howl of the wolves draws her attention. She turns her eyes, which suddenly look so serious, to Khitti. All of Alvina’s looks are basically question marks right now. “Did she have to fight any? Last time?” Alvina thinks she remembers Meri saying she hadn’t seen any wolves but after hearing a dragon roar when you’re trapping in a cave, her nerves are getting fried.

It’s not the wolves to worry about, Khitti, at least nor right now. Our two travelers would make it about two-thirds of the way down the cliff when one of those elusive cliff salamanders decides to reveal itself. Alvina’s question about if Meri fought anything must have surely jinxed them! Now, lizard-nerds might understand that salamanders come in a variety of colors and sizes and the one that is currently making itself known to Alvina and Khitti is definitely large enough to eat either one of them. Probably not in one bite, but it has some tough chompers. This creature is happy to take more than one bite to indulge in a meal. This one is a sandy brown color, which allows it to almost blend in with the cliffs. Unsurprising. Currently the salamander is at the very, very top of the cliff. It has about sixty-five feet to travel before it will reach Khitti and Alvina. There are definitely some upsides and downsides to the situation. Upsides: the creature was probably not smart enough to actively think about chomping down on either Khitti or Alvina’s rope line. It’d be in for a potentially easy meal if it is. And this creature still had a fair amount of distance to travel before it was a real threat to Alvina and Khitti, right? They just needed to beat it to the ground and then run into the forest. They’d have an easier time hiding in there, maybe? The downsides: the salamander was definitely more surefooted on the face of the cliff than Alvina and Khitti could ever hope to be. It was definitely clinging to the side of the cliff via sticky toe-pads. So who knew how fast this beasty could really travel sixty-five feet. What choice did Khitti and Alvina have but to find out though, eh? Khitti would make it to the solid earth though, it would seem. Would Alvina? Would both actually make it into the forest? And if they did, would that be enough to escape the hungry salamander?

Khitti peered up to make sure that Alvina was fine… only to spot that salamander coming after the two of them. Frakking great. There’s a slew of curses before Khitti called up to Alvina, “Do not look up!” But, honestly, it wouldn’t matter. It’s not like looking up or not looking up was going to keep that damned lizard from trying to eat them both. They did not have time for this and they both needed to be on stable ground--not the side of a cliff. Whatever’s left of Alvina’s journey would be much different than what it would’ve been. Khitti quickly shadowstepped up to the werewolf, hung onto her and the rope long enough to sear the rope in two. There was no time for Khitti to ask if Alvina was fine with this, but they’d soon shadowstep back down to the bottom. Or, near the bottom anyway. Shadowstepping does not have an infinite distance after all. There’s still a bit of a drop, but likely not one that hurt Alvina, once they exited one of Khitti’s dark portals. Khitti on the other hand? Well. She’s a squishy human. And this squishy human landed on her shoulder. It hurt. A lot. Probably not dislocated, but it’s enough for Khitti to start swearing again in like three separate languages (Common, Dhavislavvian, and Catalian). Khitti’d not have the chance to respond to Alvina’s question of whether or not Meri had fought werewolves, because despite the hurt shoulder, Khitti was pulling out both swords and getting ready for this stupid lizard to finish making its way down. Both katana and gladius erupted into flames, one holy, the other shadowfire, respectively.

Boots braced on the cliff side, still suspended by rope, Alvina looks down to query Khitti with concern. It’s then that Khitti shouts not to look up and of course Alvina immediately looks up because that’s what you do when someone tells you not to do something. She manages a few not-motherly phrases. Should she let go and just fall? They were close enough. Probably. Before she comes to a decision, Khitti’s there, and the rope is breaking. “Uhh…” Alvina manages before they fall. She can hear the crack of Khitti’s shoulder and flinches, scrambling to her feet to try and help her while she curses with expletives or is actually whispering curses in these languages she doesn’t know. If that salamander had a mother, she was doomed. Lycan that she is, the bard is still a healer and since Khitti is a squishy human, her hand can hover over her shoulder while her swords are out. A quick anesthesia to dull (not completely numb) the pain. In the meantime, she reaches for a dagger she had tucked inside her romper because, well, one never knows do they? She looks at her sad excuse for a blade, then at Khitti’s literal flaming swords and feels phallic envy before they confront the Salamander.

The lizard did not make it’s way down though. It saw Khitti down there with her flaming swords and thought twice about the situation it was putting itself in. It may not be smart enough to understand that chomping on rope would been a great plan of action! But it is smart enough to know that fire hurts. The salamander disappears somewhere up the cliff. How very anti-climatic.It was not far into the forest before the two would uncover this “werewolf” den. It’s possible that it could have taken the two women hours to accomplish this, they could have traveled completely the wrong direction. But Khitti is a ranger and Alvina does have that sense of smell to her benefit, doesn’t she? They also have a map to help them. There is an opening in a thicket of brambles that leads deep into the earth. At first one does not have the ability to stand to their full height in this tunnelway, but eventually more room is given until they enter what presumably the living space for this werewolf den. It’s a sizable space, but there are no off-shooting tunnels. Just this room, a room that is full of a variety of items that Meri certainly did not have the chance to look through, she reported to Khitti that she was forced to be fairly in and out of this location. Neither of the women would be afforded the chance to rummage through anything in this space either, because also within this room is a man. He’s middle-aged, at least one can presume such by the way his long and dark hair is beginning to silver in strands. Yet he is not so old that he could be considered harmless. Both Khitti and Alvina are greeted with a deep and threatening growl, like one might expect from a werewolf who feels like his territory has just been invaded. The words ‘get out’ are uttered somewhere in the middle of this growl, as the presumptive werewolf reaches for a sword that is resting against a wall. It’s a coupe of feet from him. Once he has his weapon in hand, he makes no move to attack. He waits to see if either Khitti or Alvina will heed his command. It is probably Alvina who would be able to clarify that the man that is standing before them is definitely not a werewolf. Which means either this is not the den that Meri found? Which is unlikely. More likely, is that Meri did not find what she believed to have found. Khitti and Alvina can waste time trying to get answers out of a man who could be entirely dishonest with them...Or...maybe a certain skull would be helpful in getting this hostile (okay, they are trespassing, and he has been robbed of a couple of items he finds valuable) stranger to speak the truth.

“What the actual hell,” Khitti said as the salamander quickly noped the hell out of that almost-fight. It’s then that she noticed the pain in her shoulder having dissipated for now, and the reason being because of Alvina. “Thanks…” There’s a slight amount of awkwardness, if only because of Khitti’s hesitation towards healers in general--healers that were not the Tranquility’s healer, Lennier, that is. But, being the fact that Alvina is Alvina, she got a pass for this help! Most other people would probably just get punched. Or an attitude at least. The other redhead doesn’t get any of this though. Both swords were extinguished and resheathed and the quickly-drawn map pulled from within the pocket of her leather pants. It’s unfolded, eyed carefully, and the way pointed out towards the forest, “It -should- be this way.” They’d head through it, as well as the brambled opening, and Khitti’d just stop for a moment in front of the hut. Things were completely uncertain and the continued weirdness of this entire place was off-putting. After a much needed moment’s breath, she headed inside. The man would do his thing and get his weapon and give that threat, but Khitti wouldn’t budge. “Sorry. Not gonna happen. We need information. -Now-.” Khitti no longer had that whole threatening demeanor that vampires have, but she had her own sort nevertheless. The shadows in the man’s home gathered around them, almost stifling for anyone that wasn’t used to Khitti’s brand of magic. “What do you know of a wolf medallion?” Luckily for the stranger, Khitti wasn’t going to bring out the swords again! For now, anyway.

Khitti’s ‘fight me bro’ stance scares off the lizard and Alvina again wonders if she should get a bigger sword. Maybe no but damn she looks cool with those. At Khitti’s thanks, she offers an easy smile. She wouldn’t randomly heal just anyone (especially without asking) but it seemed a very specific situation that let her get away with it. The continue on, questions still swirling in her mind, when they move into the room. The first thing Alvina notices in the tunnel, besides the older man, was the sword. His growled words are lost to the thud of her heartbeat in her ears. He wasn’t attacking, so there must be a reason. Is it because she’s a werewolf and he wants to hear them out? She takes a minute to consider this, staring at the man, before realizing no no he is not a werewolf at all. Khitti’s pressing the man for answers and Alvina stands there with dead legs looking at the man. She wants to know too. But oh, would he tell them the truth. ACK! She almost forgot!! Inside her romper pocket is a small bag. She reaches into it, much too small to hold anything, and the Rose Quartz skull appears in her hands. Green eyes flicker to Khitti, a warning that she meant to use it before she did. “Give us the truth about the wolf medallion.” She says as the skull glows in her arms. Her lungs burn, zapped of sound by the skull’s magic. Khitti would have to ask the questions from here.

The first answer that comes in response to Khitti’s question is a lie, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Now get out.” Why wouldn’t he lie? Why would he make this easy? They never do. Alvina makes her crystal skull known and while the priest may not have ever encountered this magical object first hand until now, he has heard whispers of them. Their power. Each one unique. He was about to learn quickly what the power behind this skull, for Alvina repeats the inquiry that Khitti just voiced moments ago. The one that he just answered with a lie, except this time the answer that he gives is different. Through gritted teeth, the man manages to fight the will of the skull, but more on a technicality than the ability to resist the urge to answer honestly. What he was giving them was an honest answer, there was just much more to the truth than he was admitting. “I know that it is mine and I want it back. I will get it back.” Rather than be forced to continue to answer the questions of the two women, the man takes his sword up but it is not either of them that the priest intends to harm. It is himself. The blade of his own weapon cuts into the palm of his own hand and as soon as blood begins to spill forth from the wound, his magics are activated. It’s only a matter of seconds afterwards that a vortex of multicolored light consumes the man’s form and lingers in the room. It proves unwise to get near whatever this thing is, for it does seem to be trying to devour all of the objects that it can within the room. That could potentially mean Alvina and Khitti if they are not quick to make their escape. Said vortex would not exist permanently within this space. It would disappear within about thirty seconds. Even if Alvina and Khitti did linger within this confined space, they would not find much of note afterward. Neither women would get any sort of verbal answers to their questions, but this man did leave some very subtle clues. The vortex of light, for example? Khitti had seen something similar while exploring the mines in the Xalious Mountains with Meri and company. And where does Meri believe that they would be traveling to were they to enter this very colorful vortex? Why, the Chaos Realm. Hm.

Khitti eyed the skull warily. She was about as keen on those things as Meri was--which was to say, not at all. Look at all the trouble it’d brought everyone, including her own damned family. The fact that Alvina had been given the skull and had the ability to wield it was somewhat unnerving, if only because of the dozen questions that ran through Khitti’s mind. Did that make her a witch? Or do the skulls answer to anyone they’d like, whether they’re a witch or not? The use of magical implements sometimes did not sit well with the templar. Hell, she was even wary of her own weapons at times. But… perhaps she’d talk to Alvina about this later. She’d not been privy to any of this information beyond ‘Alvina is the keeper of the rose quartz skull now’. For now, however, the skull worked its magic and compelled the man to spill even the slightest secret, against his will. “You… what?” It takes a moment for Khitti to process this and it’s all the time the man needed to cut his hand and work his own strange magic. “You’re the one that put that frakking dragon in that cave!” Violet flames flickered into view again, both palms full of the unnatural magic. But, alas, it was much too late. Angrily, as the man took his leave, Khitti threw her fireballs into the vortex, hoping to those three gods that held her in their favor listened to her prayers that the fire would hit that guy. They likely wouldn’t, however. Just before it closed, Khitti took a couple steps back, just in case that maybe that vortex wouldn’t go away. “Goddamned portal magic,” she said, a punch given to the nearby wall of the hut. “He put that goddamned undead dragon and that shrine in there. Meri was right--it’s the Chaos Realm. It’s the same sort of magic portal we found underneath the shrine.” You’d think -Khitti- was the werewolf of the two with as angry as she was right now--perhaps the vampire frame of mind truly never went away, even though the curse did. “And it looks like I get to go to yet another plane of existence.” This was not good. Not good at all.

Alvina tilts her head at the man’s second answer. It wasn’t...really an answer skull. Lana am I doing it wrong? There’s no time to consider it as the man’s slicing open his hand and the smell of blood soaks into her skin. The vortex appears, whipping her hair wildly as she struggles against the pull of it. Little Miss is making rumblings, the ferality of the wolf triggered by the blood. Alvina’s too busy fighting the portal’s pull to deal with her wolfish instincts. Khitti’s anger flares in place of the portal, leaving Alvina to stand there, mute and holding the skull with tingling fingertips. She’d never considered if she was a witch, honestly. It never occurred to her that she might be. Khitti connects dots outloud that make Alvina frown. So the amulet wasn’t werewolf related. That made her more nervous about being here. Other werewolves she could handle. People? People were dangerous and unpredictable. At least wolves have a pattern of behavior. The magic fire swirls away and the air is hot with heat and the metallic twang of blood. Frown still holding strong on her face, Alvina wiggles the skull back into the impossibly small bag in her pocket and turns to Khitti. They’d gained more questions than answers but...thank the gods Khitti knew what she saw. It had to be enough to get somewhere, right? Alvina dips her head, suggesting they leave. If Khitti looks resistant or too lost in thought, Alvina will try to approach her to gently touch her to get her attention. Meri needed to know what they found and they need to get the heck out of there.