RP:No Bats Here

From HollowWiki

Part of the Hungry Like The Wolf Arc


Part of the Through The Looking-Glass: Return To Wonderland Arc


Part of the Magic, Madness, and Mayhem Arc


Summary: Bats would have been preferable. Instead our adventurer's found a creepy shrine not marked on the map that Lanara provided to them, guarded by a dragon that just won't seem to frakkin' die (possibly because it is undead). After finding a solution for dealing with their dragon friend, they come to learn that they are making progress on locating one half of the amulet they have been searching for. They just...might have to jump through a mystery portal to get there...


Jagged Shaft

It’s early in the morning, a few moments before the sun is scheduled to brighten the sky, and the caverns of Xalious are void of any miners or locals that often pass through the area. The air is crisp and every so often a bitter breeze bites as ones uncovered flesh, causing a chill to run down their spine. The conditions aren’t the greatest for venturing into the unknown and would likely be even more bothersome once inside the cavern and entering the jagged shaft. Hazards galore awaited the team of adventurer’s that dared to enter the confines of the cavern, complete with claustrophobia, falling debris, winding paths that could end in desertion, and of course, whatever the group seeks to possibly uncover. A large table has been set up before the entrance and a plethora of supplies are scattered upon it, as well as some heavy duty backpacks and utility belts. Those that would be on this scouting mission are encouraged to pack whatever they need; canteens filled with spring water, enchanted handheld orbs that emit a neon glow to provide light, hard hats, goggles, knee pads, elbow guards, compasses, bags of trail mix, notebooks with enchanted endless-ink quills, and miniature first aid kits. The adventurer’s would need all of these items and more, as they explored dangerous territory, varying climates every few yards, and encounters in both tight spaces and open places.


Lanara stands beside the table, poring over a hastily drawn map that she obtained from one of the miners that was leaving duty a few days prior. It’s not the greatest in detail, but hopefully it was accurate and could aide them in their venture. The witch also made certain to get an update from Khitti and Meri on the previous scouting mission which hadn’t turned up anything, and so they literally were searching for –any- clue that may point them in the right direction. The mysterious medallion bore some intricate symbols and the head of a wolf and upon gazing into the gem, a map had been discovered. Cenril and the mountain range of Xalious were the two areas that were marked, and that’s what urged Lana to sign up for a scouting mission as it’s her first grand adventure in quite some time. The witch originally planned to search with Aira, Khitti, and Meri, but in a strange turn of events she felt compelled to invite Tiberius to accompany them, as well. The lycan was a wildcard, and Lana had some doubts if he would actually show up, but she’s certain she had been persuasive enough in getting him to rejoin the ranks. A translator was often invaluable. Clad in formfitting cargo pants with deep pockets, a long sleeved shirt, and hiking boots, Lana looks as though she’s read to dive into the cavern at any given moment. She’s growing impatient as she waits for the others to join her and spends her time retying the laces on her boots, braiding her hair, and reviewing the map.


Khitti came alone to the meeting spot at Xalious’ famed mining cave. While this wasn’t typically out of the ordinary, it was for this particular day, as it had been planned even before her and Brand’s scouting mission that he’d join along with the rest. That… wasn’t happening unfortunately. As it turned out, Brand had a wee bit of PTSD regarding caves after his ordeal in the Shadow Plane and it was a hell of a lot worse than anything Khitti felt when it came to her claustrophobia. This led to difficulties and the difficulties lead to some lovely newlywed arguments. None of this was explained though. Brand’s lack of existing within the realm outside of the Tranquility was far and few between and had been for quite some time. Thankfully, no one would notice, and she would have to do no elaborating on the subject. She arrived with her tikifhlee in tow, but the beast was left to its own devices outside. For once, there didn’t seem to be an aura of rage around the redhead; instead, she was about as stoic and quiet as Krice. She wore no makeup--she hadn’t had the fraks for it today--and she was adorned in her usual all black everything, with a little bit of purple, and Tenbatsu Kaji and Embershard to accompany her. Greetings would be given out to those that want them, but otherwise, she was attempting to be how Meri was during these types of missions--that is to say, very much with her focus on the task at hand. She decided to forgo picking up any supplies beyond a canteen, assuming the rest of them would pack plenty, as there were several things she had no need for. As per usual, she’d rely heavily on her magic to see, to move down further into the cave, and to attack anything that seemed like a threat.


Aira arrives at the predetermined area within the caves to go on the scouting mission that Lanara had approached her about at the fight weeks prior. She's only expecting the witch to be there, so when she steps further into the cavern and spies the small crowd she scowls. Her metallic gaze looks over her shoulder back towards the exit and she wonders if she can leave before the others have a chance to lay eyes on her. She knows she's not that lucky though, the echoing of her booted footfalls would no doubt draw the attention of all those who lingered near the table of the supplies that had been set up. Running her tongue along her teeth in an agitated manner, Aira bites the inside of her cheek and approaches the table to survey the supplies. The only thing she grabs is the magical orb of light which she sees as both useful and intriguing. She had her own skin of water on her left hip and as for first aid? She had a bunch of moss and dirt to treat any wounds they might sustain. The huntress moves off to the side, securing the bow around her body and double checking the blade in the sheath at her right hip.


Zahrani silently towards the Jagged Shaft, the armored feline’s eyes glowing a slight cyan in the darkness. Her circular pupils dilate to allow more light in, her panther sight adjusting well to the caves and rocky nooks. The paladin is dressed for climbing, outfitted in well-adjusted armor plating and cloth padding to prevent the protection from making any disturbing noises. Her cowl is not as loosely fitted as a standard hood, the cloth bearing its own armor plating on the head and fasted off at a visor. With soft footfalls, Rani makes it to the rendezvous point for the scouting mission. Over her shoulder is a crossbow and a spear, and at her utility belt rests a mace with several hooked projections, as if it was also meant for climbing as well as smashing. She waved to Lana, gladly accepting an extra water canteen and a pair of goggles.


Tiber could not believe that he was going to even meet Lanara and join her friends for some adventure club—again. All he knew was that he needed to be equipped for anything that was bound to happen. Lanara had left before him. Like, why did she not wait for him? Was she embarrassed by him? Why was that thought even crossing his mind? Ew. The man reaches Xalious where he climbs the mountain. Is he really climbing a freaking mountain for Lanara’s games? He sports a pair of black pants and a dusty old, brown flannel with blue jean-like coat over it. His bow is wrapped around his body while arrows are placed neatly in their carrier on his back. The man has a compass that links onto a chain looped through his belt hoops. The whole time, the Catalian is grumbling as the path becomes steeper on the mountain. He looks like a crazy man talking to himself and while other people pass him to go down the mountain. The lycan then reaches before the cavern, thank the Gods. Lanara is in his view as well as others that he has briefly collided in in the past. “Hi, team,” he mocks and drags out ‘team’ as he approaches the table and people that surround the table. The man then moves next to Lanara, swoops up a bag of trailmix, tears the bag open and throws a peanut in his mouth in a dramatic crunch. “Thought you wouldn’t see me? Yeah, me either. Though, you do look good in cargo pants, I must say I’m glad I showed.” He puts on that dumb sly smile while he throws another piece of the mix in his mouth. He moves to grab a canteen and a utility belt. Well, surely he was going to make someone lose their mind today.


Meri is intentionally fashionably late to give the members of her guild time to gather. Well, one might first assume that Meri is fashionably late but as she makes herself known by emerging from the cave, one might come to realize that she has been here for a bit. She no doubt as been helping Lanara set up, how else would have all that gear gotten here? Needless to say that the blond has already equipped herself with the required items, though she has picked and chosen what she wants to bring. She has a light, a hard hat, no goggles, no knee pads or elbow guards...and the reason that she has opted to omit some of those items is that the psion has seen fit to done her armor for this adventure. Sure, it is just a scouting mission but if anything goes awry, as things often do in these lands, then it should go without saying that the werewolf would taken no issue in defending her guild mates...Not that many of them need it. About the only thing that Meri had around her neck that the others did not was the wolf medallion, the reason that they were on this search on this chilly day to begin with. While Khitti as working to channel some of Meri's usual stocism, the blonde was working hard to not fall into her silent and focused habits. Leaders are supposed to lead, no? That being said, Meri makes a point of making eye contact with each member and greeting them individually with a nod. Her gaze lingers longer on Tiber than the others, and he probably is aware why that might be, but she still nods to him regardless in acceptance of his presence. "I will keep this short and sweet. I just want to take a moment to say thanks for taking time out to assist with scouting than the area. If you have not already, grab some gear and let's head on in." With that said, Meri turns and begins to lead the way from the entrance of the cave to inside the cave itself. The first portion of the cave is well traveled and well known, but it would not take long for them to venture into less traveled parts. These mines have managed to remain popular so long because they are deep enough that its hidden wealth has not yet been fully carved from it's stone.


Lanara refuses to wear the goggles, as she’d rather tend to a scratched cornea than wear something the opposite of stylish, but she does fit a half-helmet over her head. It’s too large and literally crushes her chestnut locks, landing on the brim of her nose. The elf is scowling and adjusting the headgear when she spies Aira from the corner of her eye, and she gives her frenemy a wink. She –had- said it would be just the two of them, and nearly the entire guild was here and ready for an adventure. Khitti, Meri, and Zahrani are given excited waves, and it’s as she’s bending over to slap on the knee pads that Tiberius strolls by and comments on her attire. “Oh yeah? You should see me when I’m not-“ Her words trail off as the lycan already is delving into the rations she carefully designed for this trek through the cavern, but she holds her tongue for a moment. “Okay everyone! I have a map here; you all are welcome to take a gander before we head inside. Keep close and adjust your clothing to the climate… Parts of the cave will be freezing and other parts will be humid! There are rocks, everywhere, obviously… Some can be jagged or loose, and can cause injury. There may be water in some parts, I don’t advise you to drink any unless you wish to run for mayor.” She grins wickedly at her little joke, as she fixes a light, canteen, and first aid kit to her utility belt. “Like I said… I don’t know –what- we will discover, or if there are even any clues to be found in here. There could be other dangers too… Spiders, bats, who knows what lurks? About a half mile in we will enter the jagged shaft part of the tunnels… You will have to crawl on your bellies, so I advise strapping on some elbow and knee pads, unless you’re into bruises and pain.” Turning towards the cavern, Lanara pauses, thinking it best that she enter last. Aira may get some crazy ideas and flee the scene, plus she knew the map by heart, and was the least likely to get lost. Beckoning them all forth, she pats Khitti and Zahrani on the shoulder, pinches Aira’s cheek, salutes Meri, and tugs gently on Tiber’s flannel shirt, “Didn’t I sleep in this?” Once they were all in, they’d explore the area to the best of their abilities, looking for signs that could lead them to the mystery of the wolf amulet.


Khitti shifted her attention towards Tiber once he appeared, a brow raised in his direction. There’s clearly recognition regarding the Catalian, but she’s having enough goddamn trouble with Catalian’s lately (as if that truly ever stops) that she does not need to add another to the list. Lanara would probably not be happy if Khitti put a bounty out on her new boyfriend, though she perhaps might not do that on the first few offenses. She’d resort to that timeless and ever-reliable right hook of hers. Much like Brand had in the past, would Tiber be visited by the Ghosts of Right Hooks Past, Present, and Yet To Come? Stay tuned to the Khitti Punches Everything Show to find out. For now, there’s no turning yet another blonde Catalian into her person punching bag as Khitti took the lead when it was clear Lanara was perhaps too afraid to go in? “There are worse things than spiders and bats.” That was very ominous and very much not subtle. Maybe she’s spending too much time in Vailkrin again. An orb of purple shadowflames are summoned up and left to float in front of her as she started the trek into the cave, using her shadowstepping ability here and there, especially once they got to that rather narrow part.


Aira greets no one, and her lips remain pursed in a thin line of annoyance. Meri, as leader, is offered the stiffest of nods when she receives one in turn, but aside from that, only Lana receives anything of note and it's more of a snarl than anything else (especially after Tiber compliments her cargo pants). That's right, she hasn't forgotten Orikahn's linger eyes on the witch's rear. She keeps to the side as Lana begins to talk and explain what they're up against and the huntress continues to appear aloof and bored. She doesn't look at the map nor does she grab a pair of pads for her knees and elbows--she would stick with the leathers she's worn. She hangs back when they begin their trek further into the cave, fully intent on taking up the rear. Call it the huntress in her, but she was more comfortable protecting from behind just in case there was anyone (or any -thing) lurking ready to make a sneak attack. Unfortunately, Lanara seems to be thinking along the same lines which means they nearly knock into one another. Aira is too shocked at the witch's audacity to pinch her cheek so by the time she moves to swat it away, Lana's already turned her attention to Tiber. Speaking of him, hadn't they had a bit of an argument the last time they were at a meeting together? Were him and Lana a -thing- now? Either way, Aira doesn't verbalize her thoughts and merely shakes her head. If they were going to have to crawl on their bellies at some point, it would make navigating her bow and arrows more difficult, so her hand right hand lingers on the hilt of her knife while the left raises the orb of light towards the cavern walls to look for anything that might be a clue (although without knowing -exactly- what they were looking for, she's pretty clueless as to what might be considered out of the ordinary).


Zahrani offers a grin to Lanara, and a raised eyebrow at Tiber. She had run into the man at least once before at the tavern. The man's conduct with Lana is interesting, but the panther makes no comment on it. The paladin glances to Khitti, offering a nod to the leader of the Devout's Guild, before turning to Aira and offering the huntress a soft smile behind her visor. When Meri and Lana begin explaining what they would be facing in the caves, the feline looks over the roughly-drawn map. At the conclusion of the briefing, she takes the spear from her back, venturing into the cave with her newly acquired goggles. Her eyes scan for artificial markings on the cave walls, floors, and ceilings. The black tail swishing behind her is used to detect any unusual air currents in the caves; indicators or hidden passages, crevices, etc. The armored androgynous woman makes short work of the crawlspace, careful not to let anything catch on the jagged edges of rock. Rani has stopped letting her expectations get too high; this may not be the right place, after all.


Tiber catches Meri’s long gaze and he stares back at her while putting the belt on. He almost wanted to wiggle his fingers at her to disturb the other wolf, but he would keep tamed for the sake of Lanara. It was enough that he just party crashed the adventure. Dagger eyes were hitting him from left and right. He enjoyed every sweet moment of it. The man then grabs a hard hat and as Meri says her welcome and thanks, he follows suit and waits for the witch to trail in the caverns before he does. With a tug on his flannel shirt, he places the hat over his head. He had to protect his head. He didn’t want anything to fall where he would end up having to get stitches and him having to shave his hair. The hair was everything. “It’s a good flannel,” he says simply. The man matches the stoic gaze of the red-haired Catalian now when he is situated. The man does not feel like wearing the knee pads out of pure laziness. A little pain never hurt nobody. Well, it did, but whatever. He also does not need the light since his sight was fit from the venom that ran through his veins. He was set.


Meri makes a mental note as she hears bits and pieces of what Lanara said. Pointing out the map would have been smart. She can't help but smirk at the dangers that Lanara opts to point out. "Bats? C'mon now. Bats are so cute. Don't they eat like fruits and bugs?" She gives the members of this little search party an incredulous look, "If I catch any of you running from bats, I will never let you live the moment down. Especially you two." She points to Khitti and Aira. Why them? Well they are also in the Ranger's Guild. She was not entirely sure how Aira would respond to the joke, she could sense the vixen was rather agitated and Meri could speculate as to why. However, this was not exactly a good time to hash out any tensions created from the last meeting. Not that Meri was intent on policing Aira in a bid to force her to play nice with everyone, but she and Aira have usually gotten on. Meri pushes this to the back of her mind for now, forcing her thoughts back on their mission...and actually vocalizing those thoughts for the benefit of the search party, "I'm sorry that I don't have a better clue as to what we might be looking for." Meri would explain during the crawling portion of this venture. "But hopefully whatever we find will be worth it in the end." That was half the thrill of adventuring and relic hunting, the what if. "Hopefully there is like a hoard of gold too...that would be ideal." Ideal but probably wishful thinking. Look, a girl can dream, no?


“Bats are wonderful… Unless they carry rabies!” About a third of the way into the cavern the team would be relieved that the tunnels widen so that they can actually stands and freely stretch their limbs. Deciding this is a good place to stop for a breather, take a swig of water, or rub any tension from sore knees, everyone takes a few minutes to do their own thing. Khitti, Meri, and Zahrani were very much in the zone with searching for clues, and seemed to be interested in little else. Aira is in one of her moods, and oddly glanced at that legendary derriere more than once, which has the witch giving her a quizzical look. And poor Tiberius is getting the stink eye from all gathered, aside from cargo pants wearing woman! “I’ll make you a steak dinner tonight, okay?” He’d be complaining about this for days if she didn’t bribe him in some way! Lanara tightens the laces on her boots and removes the hard hat from her head, running her fingers through her damp hair as she catches her breath. It had been a while since she had put her body under this much exertion, and even though she was in excellent shape, her lungs feel as though they are on fire. Every so often she coughs, and wondering if it’s from the staleness of the air, she pushes herself to her feet and walks away from the group. The temperature plummets as the brunette steps into the darker and deeper area of the shaft, but it’s obviously easier to breathe as her coughing seems to subside. The sound of what she believes is trickling water reaches her tapered ears and she excitedly turns back towards the group, “This way, everyone! I think I hear a bubbling brook up ahead! Maybe we can see if there are any clues under the water!?” Perhaps curiosity would be the culprit of Lanara’s third death, as she eagerly steps deeper into the shaft, without her hard hat or the protection of her guild mates at her side. A pressure plate underfoot is stepped upon and all hell seems to break loose! A thunderous roar echoes against the walls, sending a torrent of loose rocks and pebbles to fall from the ceiling, one of which heavily strikes Lana just above her right eyebrow. “Ouch!” Falling to her knees, the witch waits for the rumbling to cease, before she reaches out to take hold of a rock and climb to her feet. However, it’s not a rock she latches onto, but the decaying scaled tail of an undead dragon. Lanara screams as the stench of the beast assaults her senses and the massive dragon lifts its tail and literally whips the woman back the way she had come; into a rock wall. The dragon angrily twists through the shaft with ease as he prepares to advance on the team, his lifeless gaze landing on each member as though they were soon to be devoured. Groaning, Lanara weakly lifts her head and holds the gaze of Khitti, “My powers won’t work on him… He is undead!” Should someone play the role of bait and lure the dragon elsewhere? Could he be temporarily slayed? Was it best to retreat and mark this mission as failed?


“Woman, I lived in Vailkrin. People in the Shadow Plane basically hero-worship me. I had a Halloween wedding. I’m the frakkin’ Queen of Spooky. If anything, those bats should be running from -me-.” Or, you know, flying. Her snarky words were for Meri, of course. There’d be no further snark as they traveled on, reaching the area where Lanara pulled a Khitti and stepped on the pressure plate. It’s nice to not be the one that frakked things up for once! Rubble started to fall atop them and Khitti was quicker to summon up a ceiling of shadow-ice above them all. Shadows swirled about within the ice, tinting it an odd sort of grey, the ice itself holding the ceiling at bay before they all got too seriously injured. “Fire. We need fire and lots of it. Meri, hold this!” Khitti motioned to the ice above them as she shadowstepped between the dragon and Lanara. Gods, she’d done this before. She’d done this before and gotten trapped in the dragon’s cave elsewhere in Xalious. She’d already been there for months. And then she was there for weeks after that escape attempt. Alone. Starving. Undead, like this dragon here. The memory caused the redhead to hesitate--so much so that it’s noticeable to all--but soon she was forgoing her shadow magic to call upon Cyris’ holy magic. Two huge orbs of fire are conjured up and thrown at the dragon, with hopes that Zahrani would join in with her own abilities, to take down the undead beast. More fire followed. As much as it needed. She wasn’t going to get trapped here. Not again. She’d take the risk and portal them all to the Shadow Plane if they needed to get away from it. Suddenly, she wished Brand were here. He’d helped save her, after all. He always had and now he wasn’t here, undone by his own trauma. Khitti obviously wasn’t alone now, but that vivid memory sure as hell made it feel like she was.


Meri's little joke succeeds in drawing out the smallest of smirks from Aira--or rather, her scowl becomes a little less pronounced. Either way, the tease is taken in stride and the huntress scoffs as if insulted at the insinuation. "I have slain great beasts, I am unafraid of...sky puppies." Secretly, Aira finds little critters adorable but she would never admit to it lest she ruin her rough image. Crawling through the narrow passage is uncomfortable but aside from a few scrapes on her knees, she's none worse the wear. Like the others, she takes a moment of reprieve, slipping her hand into a pocket for a flask of something much stronger than water. Crouching down, Aira shrugs off her quiver and begins to count her arrows, making sure she hadn't lost any while they were crawling. Lana's excited babbling about looking for clues underwater is met with a curious look--how were they supposed to do -that-? The goggles might help with looking under the water but how were they supposed to breathe? The sudden rumbling in the cavern, thanks to Lana's moving feet, cause the huntress to lose her balance and she falls sideway on her hip, quickly throwing her arm over her head to protect from any falling debris. She narrows her eyes throw the dust at the sound of Lanara's yell and tries to make the witch's hazy figure out. "Lana?" she calls out tentatively, asking if she's alright with her tone rather than the words themselves. Her scream has Aira moving into action as swiftly as she fox she is; the bow is tugged from her body and an arrow knocked into place before a few breaths can pass her lips. Aira hears the witch say the creature is undead and while she's slain dragon welps in the past, she has no idea how to handle an -undead- one. Without pausing to consider that an arrow might enrage the beast further, the huntress sights down the shaft and releases it, aiming the pointed tip into the underside of the dragon's neck. She's not like the others here, she's not magical. Khitti's call for fire gives the huntress an idea, though, and turning towards Zahrani, Khitti, -anyone- near her with magical abilities, she holds out another arrow. "Light it on fire!" she commands. Assuming someone obliges, Aira would shoot a flaming arrow towards the undead dragon.


Zahrani doesn't get the context of the joke, but she's not really focused on that. She hears the sound of water at around the same time as Lana, and before she can react, she hears the witch trigger a pressure plate. The scent of rotting flesh assaults her nostrils; not a lot of good memories associated with such a stench. Her eyes dart to Khitti as orbs of fire illuminate the cavern. The paladin offers the templar a nod of understanding, and upon hearing Aira's request for some fire, the panther extends a hand towards the arrow. A serpentine bolt of light, almost like sun plasma, snakes its way to the arrowhead, before it leaves a trail of light as it gets carried towards the dragon. Sunfire, the name for her divine form of pyromancy, is particularly useful against undead. The paladin's armored form takes on an amber glow as she extends her hands forward towards the dragon. With a crackling sound, beams of Sunfire emerge and connect with the great beast, their forms coiling and hissing as the energy targets the massive joints and bones. With any luck, and with the help of the others, the undead dragon would be disassembled by the overwhelming divine magic.


Tiber whispers in Lanara’s ear. “You bring a freaking bat into my apartment, I will make sure to find you a home sooner,” so, he was afraid of them too. Animals were just not his thing, although he was one. The man brushes a hand against the cavern walls out of the idle walk. They continue forward and he goes through the motions through the cavern as the others do. It was if he was on autopilot. The mention of gold ropes him back into the adventure conversation. He hollers from behind Lanara. “If there’s gold, I want at least five percent. I climbed a mountain for this,” he holds up a snarky finger. Smartass. Truly. As they come to the opening tunnels, he is really not sure what they are supposed to be searching for, so instead he sort of leans against a rock and takes in the others that surround him. “You better throw in a baked potato. With –all- the toppings. I’m talkin’ green onion, bacon, cheese,” he blabs on. He then moves off the rock as the witch disappears into the dark. Man, she sure did have a nice derriere. Aira would probably be too annoyed. As Lanara hollers, he moves forward to find out the new scoop of where to ‘look’. He was not looking. Not yet. He had to wait for interest to peak. As Lanara steps on the plate and the loud noise echoes through the tunnels, he wants to face palm himself. As the pebble hits her brow, he is about to inch towards her until she is thrown back by the undead dragon. “You’ve got to be sh*tting me.” Instead of attempting to take down the dragon, he is moving to Lanara and saying something foul in another language out of panicked habit. “I told you that this was a stupid club! Are you serious?” Quick pause. The woman is hurt and he is flooded with worry to get out, though he remains hardened for their sake. “Are you crying? Don’t you dare cry on me right now, Lanara. You cry later. You’re strong and okay. It aches now because you’re thinking about the pain. Focus on rising. Get up,” the Catalian talks fast and with a thicker accent. The man tries to assist the witch up. Right now was no time for the blame game. Instead, the man is pulling his bow out from over his body and loading up an arrow. This was ridiculous. He was no knight in shining armor. He told her. Instead of being stupid and hitting the dragon with a small little arrow in the chest. He would try to aim for one of the eyes of the undead dragon. Make it blinded. He would attempt this even if Khitti and Zahrani would be working their magic. Fire made it all the better to see his target clearer. He too, like Aira, has not even an ounce of magic. “Actually, if we find gold, make my share ten percent while you’re at it!” He yells at the group before launching an arrow. The man then pulls out another to aim for the other eye.


And there Lanara goes, racing ahead of the team. Before Meri can bark out any commands to stop, things have gone horribly awry. Meri can hear that click from the pressure plate as clear as day, despite all the rumbling the search party is making. Admittedly, she would not have been able to when she was still a human...but human she no longer is. She does not need her werewolf abilities to hear the thunderous roar that followed that soft click of the pressure plate. At first Meri is not entirely sure what manner of beast she should associate with that roar, but she was certain it was big. Everyone would quickly learn of the foe they are dealing with, a dragon. Not just any dragon, an undead dragon. The company that came along for this mission afforded Meri some comfort, surly Khitti and Zahrani would be able to take care of this beast with any of their holy powers, yes? If only that were so easy in this space. They have traveled fairly deep into the caves and the moment that Lanara stepped on that pressure plate, a dragon was not the only thing she awakened. A strange magic begins to fill the cavern, for those sensitive to these things this magic was chaotic and corrupting in nature, but it looked so harmlessly beautiful and colorful for those not in tune with the various forms of magic. It could potentially make a traveller feel dizzy and sick to their stomach, which could be enough to cause even the most seasoned of explorers to end up lost in the caverns. In most cases, Meri would be quicker on the draw and the psion would have never let Lanara collide with the stone wall...but she was having a moment of shock and sensory overload. Sorry Lanara. It's not until Khitti shouts for her to 'hold this' that Meri is back in the moment. Hold what? Khitti gestures to what. The ice on the cieling? Well it was not the first time Meri tried to keep a ceiling from falling...And Meri is content to do this, at first. Until she sees her team scrambling to try and destroy this undead dragon. Desperate times call for desperate measures and in this moment? Meri resolves to bring the ceiling down....in a controlled way. She. Hopes. The caves begin to rumble, seemingly from all around them but Meri was focusing and channeling telekinetic energy to roof of the cave. It might seem for a very intense moment that she was going to cause a full on cave in by accident with how loud that rumbling was getting, but she manages to cause a number of boulders to fall from above and pile on top of the undead dragon, trapping it. Between the weight of the boulders and the damage dealt by the fire or divine magic, the dragon did not seem like it would rise from that large pile of rubble. "Run!" Except Meri does not run toward the exit, she runs deeper into the cave. Was she turned around? Or was she intent on continuing the exploration? Or just trying to distance herself from the dragon so that they could regroup? It is hard to say, but if the search party follows after her...as they run they will start to notice markings on smoothed out cavern walls. These markings are identical to the markings found on the back of the wolf medallion. A clue they have finally found the right direction? The trick was staying on the right path now, and if they managed to not lose sight of the markings they would eventually end up outside of a shrine. A shrine...in a cave...DEEP in a cave. Even stranger was that there was definitely no indication of this shrine on the map. They would not be able to waltz right into this shrine, however. It was locked. But surely it was where they wanted to go? For decorating this mysterious building was faded depiction of werewolves in a similar artistic style as the medallion. Also etched into the stone of the shrine were the very same markings found on the back of the medallion, and more.


Lanara winces as blood trickles down the side of her face, but thankfully the wound isn’t deep enough to require stitches or leave an ugly scar. She’d be seriously pissed if anything permanently marred her pretty face. Every bone in her body feels as though it’s shattered and she helplessly whimpers as the dragon’s massive form angrily comes closer, desiring to finish her off. Adrenaline is in overload as Lana tries to move her fingers and toes, making certain that she’s not paralyzed as she was literally hurled into a rock wall with extreme force. So far, so good, as her limbs seem to be in working order. A sickeningly sweet smell is in the air as she weakly lifts her hand to wipe the crimson from her brow, and she seems to be momentarily confused. “Where did my-?” Khitti and Zahrani are using holy magic as Lanara begins to unleash words that would make a sailor blush, her angry curses echoing off the cavern walls, as she had just purchased her outfit hours before, and it was now tattered. Those fancy cargo pants with the extra pockets are covered in dust and dirt, and there’s an obvious tear that runs the length of her right leg. That long sleeved shirt is shredded beyond recognition, and Lana is left with only her left arm covered by the fabric, a strip of cloth around her neck like a collar, and a few threads hanging down her back. Lanara’s back took the brunt of the hit, and the jagged rock wall had made some pretty ugly gashes in her flesh, ones that would require a healer. Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to register the pain coursing through her body as she’s focused on having to look for clues in a black bra and pants that look as though they had seen better days. She looked like a bloody stripper living on the streets of the seediest parts of Cenril! Aira is calling for fire, and this should be Lana’s moment, but as she tries to call forth a spell, it’s –then- that she feels the violent spasming of her back. Tears spill onto her cheeks, mingling with blood, and tries to shake her head and apologize when Tiber yells about it being a ‘stupid’ club and how he told her she’d wind up injured. The tilting of her head makes her dizzy, and as he’s helping her up, she clenches her jaw and uses every ounce of energy to stand. It hurts like hell, and she’s full on sobbing as she wraps her arms around her slender frame to preserve some modesty, and mutters, “Stop it, Tiberius. I’m –hurt- and not in the mood for being kicked when I’m already down. If you keep this up… You will get a plain baked potato. No fixings.” Through her dazed state she hears music and sees pretty colors, making her think she has a concussion, but she still wants to press onward. The dragon is trapped for the moment and Meri is leading them deeper into the cavern, so the injured witch limps behind the group and admires the etching on the walls and studies the shrine with her wondrous gaze. “This. Is. Incredible. How do we get in?”


The party explored like good little adventurers on a quest in a dungeon and started to find what they were looking for! They’d slain the undead menace and got their treasure, right?! They get to celebrate because they’ve finally gotten further along on their mission to find the wolf amulet, right?! WRONG. Ya’ll are dead wrong. Undead wrong. Because that dragon has been resurrected. See, as it so happens, they’re all -really- close to a not-so-nice place. And whatever wanted people to stay away from this not-so-nice place, and likely that half of the amulet, put that dragon there to deter (read: eat everyone’s crunchy little bodies with some Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce) said people. It just wouldn’t do for a dragon to be so easily dealt with. And even then, dealing with a dragon was never truly easy. It took a lot of energy, whether magical or physical… and guess what happens when tired adventurer’s get ambushed? They die. Horribly. As everyone else was preoccupied with the runes, Khitti was preoccupied with being hella paranoid. Because dragon. Cave. PTSD. It was explained before.


The undead dragon let out a roar upon being magically reformed, the thing looking even more gruesome than before. The remnants of flesh and scales had been burned away with the previous encounter with the beast and now only charred bones remained. This hadn’t phased the dragon at all. It came barreling down the passage after the party, intent on doing as programmed to guard the shrine, all sides of the cave shaking along the way. “Oh shi--” Khitti doesn’t get out her lovely little curse word, because that dragon had found them. Its skeletal tail swung about, breaking stalagmites and stalactites and hopefully fragile mortal bodies as well, while its front half swiped and clawed where it may. They needed more fire and they needed it quick. “Make with the fire, people! I can’t help with it this time!” Why? Why couldn’t she help with it now? Because she needed to make a permanent adjustment to this dragon’s surroundings. Once there’s fire and plenty of it and the dragon was slain yet again, Khitti’s plan came into action. Shadows seeped into the lit area from the darkness further back in the cave, nearly enough to suffocate the lot of them. The dark magic swirled about Khitti’s hands and was then fueled into the floor beneath the several-times-dead beast. “Sorry, Meri,” Khitti muttered as a huge portal to the Shadow Plane opened up in the cave’s floor. It wasn’t -quite- big enough for the dragon and so she called upon more shadows to widen the portal. The dragon fell away elsewhere and suddenly the portal collapsed in on itself, disappearing, leaving naught but wisps of shadows in its wake. This… was not typically the way Khitti did things. She would’ve checked to make sure things were fine before closing it. But, that hadn’t happened. Instead, both alchemical symbols on her palms burned, sending searing pain up through her arms to her heart. Khitti might not have used both types of magic together at the same time, but the time in between uses were far too close together. The pain was immense. It felt like she was having a heart attack. There’d be no dramatic grasping at her chest as most tended to do during an episode like that, but her body froze where she stood, the redhead doing her best to stave off the pain. Eventually, it subsided and Khitti was free of the very thing she’d been warned about. Hoo boy. How was she going to tell Brand about this?


Aira would give her regards to Zahrani for providing some holy fire once they were free of this mess. Caves made her uncomfortable, being trapped reminded her of her time in a prison cell in Frostmaw and even worse being locked in a small room in the basement of her family's manor growing up. Why had she agreed to go on this bloody mission? Aira is loading up a third arrow when her metallic eyes are drawn to the ceiling where things seem to be going from bad to worse--boulders seemed to be falling in on them! So this was how she was going to die, in a freaking cave never having been able to secure a skull for her own belt. It soon becomes clear that this is a controlled collapse, though, and Meri is using her psionic abilities to bury the hopefully already hindered undead dragon beneath the rubble. With a huff, Aira slides the unshot arrow back into the quiver over her shoulder and gesticulates in an agitated manner at Meri who runs further -into- the cave instead of towards the exit. Like Tiber, she seems to be plagued by another language in highly emotional moments and those who speak sylvan might understand the string of expletives that the vixen is muttering under her breath as she moves to follow their leader and the rest of the team. When their steps begin to slow, Aira shifts her quiver of arrows, the huntress stepping deeper into the cavern with the markings on the wall; however, her focus is on her bag which she is rummaging through. She pulls out a spare cotton tunic and extends it in Lanara's direction. "It's not pretty or flattering but..." The huntress shrugs. It is only then that she realizes they have stumbled upon some type of shrine. "Whoa..." She barely has time to admire their surroundings and take it all in when a roar radiates down the passage and she knows that the dragon as come back to finish what he had started. "Mother fu..." Like Khitti, she doesn't have time to finish that expletive as that great dragony skeletal tail is swinging and a hunk of stalagmite falls on the huntress. She tries to dive out of the way but the rock manages to slice her thigh and she curses again. As Khitti calls for fire she hobbles towards Zahrani as she reaches for that arrow once more. "Fire!" she calls to the panther again, clenching her teeth as blood trickles from her leg. Aira has barely been able to get her bearings about her when Khitti summons up some shadow magic (although the huntress doesn't realize it at the time). She's scrambling for a fourth arrow, her head whipping around trying to figure out what's happening when it's suddenly...all over. Gasping, she looks around for at the others. "What the hell just happened?!" she calls, her fingers wrapped around the shaft of that unused arrow.


Zahrani gasps at the pieces of ceiling collapsing above them. Flashes of her family at the Isran Collective pass in front of her eyes, before she notices that their psionic leader had been controlling the collapse. She looks to Lana, wanting to assess her injuries, before she starts noticing the chaotic magic seeping into the cave. Upon hearing Meri tell them to run, the panther follows her deeper into the cavern. With the shrine in front of them behind a locked door, the panther thinks to herself, "That...seemed ea-" The sound of roaring cuts off what would be a very astute thought. Sighing, she turns around to face what was left of the undead beast, supplying Sunfire to Aira with a flick of her wrist while another beam of energy seems to wear down whatever power was holding the skeleton together. Rani notices strange movements in the shadows, her cyan eyes widening at the shadow portal opening beneath the behemoth. As it gets sucked in, the cold energy from the Shadow Plane receding, the paladin's gaze turns immediately upon Khitti. The glowing sigils and the wooden stance from the redhead make it clear that she's hiding intense pain; her older colony-mates do it all the time, which makes it hard to treat them when they needed. With a sigh, the feline scans for any additional threats before saying to Lana, "I can heal those injuries for you..." The feline isn't all that concerned about the item they're after; she's just their to support the friends she loves. She's wholesome like that.


Tiber wants to scoff in dramatic pout at Lanara’s backfire of not getting ingredients for a loaded baked potato, but instead, his lips are parted when she snaps at him. Backbone. Good. She makes him realize that he is being a true ass as normal, but he looks at her with a squint. How is he shooting and talking? “I’m sorry, Lanara, but why do you think I’m so upset? You’re hurt!” He launches the next arrow. “I’m just trying to get us out of this freaking cave that you were so happy to look through. Which, hey, I get it.” There was no telling Tiber twice about running, but for the moment he could not budge. Also, Meri was that strong? The lycan is impressed at the way she is trying to keep the ceiling. He takes a moment to admire that before pulling on Lanara’s arm to follow the rest of the crew. He continues their bicker. “I get the same way when I know I’m going to earn something. Look, babe, honey, sugar bug, I care about you. To the point where I get a little bitter when we make silly decisions, right? Wouldn’t you be upset with me?” His voice sort of plays innocence. Blame game here we come. He was awful. An awful man. He then holds up his hands. The dragon is out of the picture for the moment. “Look, I’ll draw you a bath tonight. You told me you like bubbles,” he remembers. This was no time to fight and he aims his bow and arrow again. They truly were fighting like a married couple. Already. This would truly tick off the witch more, surely. This was seriously just weird and not great timing. The deeper they go, the more strange it gets. The shrine. “Wow,” okay, his interest is now peaked. Though, that does not last long as he focuses on the monster again. What was going on? Something foreign spills out of his mouth. The movement was quick. Khitti was opening a portal of some sort? What was going on? Who were these people? Magical gurus? Holy Sven! He follows Lanara and he gingerly places an arm hopefully around her to pull her out of the way. “Whoa, whoa there.” He then raises the bow up and moves next to Aira like two range warriors. He is ready to release his arrow as well when the creature then falls through the magical looking portal. The foe beast was just gone? The man had been too busy arguing to even figure out what was going on in this trip. This whole venture was a blur to him. “What the hell just happened?” Though, he was just glad it was over with.


A fire-maker Meri was not. Well...not magically at least. She did have this sword and scabbard though, one that she has had for years. It was not a magical sword, instead some form of pitch or some other flammable material was used. The sword was coated in this substance prior to being sheathed in the metal scabbard, so that the friction of metal gliding upon metal as the weapon is drawn causes the blade to ignite. Except. Meri is not going to go stabbing the undead dragon, she instead stands near Lanara and offers her flaming weapon to the whim of the archers. Or that was her intention. In the end, Khitti over-exerts her abilities with her dark magic to solve this problem, and it is clearly not without cost to her. Between this and Lanara's current injuries, Meri was ready to call this adventure quits. Enough was enough, if they were not careful then one of them would end up dead. With the dragon taken care of, for good this time...What just happened? "Khitti happened." Meri's blue eyes are fixated on the red head for a moment, but Khitti recovers enough. Or at least it seems to Meri. Meri is able to finally circle back to Lanara's question. At first it seemed like Meri would have to answer with and I don't know, but it is not hard to piece together this portion of the puzzle. The shrine has a door, and it is locked clearly....A lock that does not take a traditional key. It seems the face of this 'lock' would be a perfect fit for the wolf-side of the medallion. And so despite the fact that this shrine is not marked on the map, and clearly guarded by an undead dragon to deter people from entering...Meri removes the medallion from her neck and slides the face of it into the lock. The door opens, only to reveal a gateway that shifts and distorts with the same color changing glow that also fills the cavern outside of the shrine. It leads to where though? Khitti might be able to explain that wherever this portal leads, it definitely is not going to the Shadow Planes. Surely she must be aware that this is racing through Meri's mind right now, even if the blonde is not outwardly saying it. "But I don't think we're going to find out where this leads today. I think we should leave, tend to our injuries and then regroup...I don't know if we should go recklessly diving through a portal to.....Question mark."


Lanara looks around the area for more clues, the excitement returning to her tear filled gaze as their adventure continues. Sure, being hurled through a jagged shaft and narrowly escaping with her life after being attacked by an undead dragon was a major setback, but she would heal. This was the sort of thing the witch craved, a life on the edge, and delving into the unknown. After being kept in isolation at the Academy, stored in a cage by witch hunters, and later on being in a padded cell at the asylum, she came to loathe the feeling of being trapped. Freedom had its perks, traveling was a necessity in the woman’s life, and there were still so many places left to explore! It’s as her bloody palm grazes one of the runes that Aira offers her a tunic, and Lana’s lips curve into a stiff smile, “Thanks…” Tiber is walking at her side and calling her pet names and she’s –trying- to remained agitated and give him the cold shoulder, but she finds herself unable to keep up the façade. They had advanced to pet names?! He –admitted- in front of all these people that he cared that she was hurting?! Wordlessly she turns and wraps her arms around him in a hug, the cotton tunic dangling from her hand, as she sees the undead dragon springing around the corner. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Lana’s arms drop to her sides and she takes a few steps back, her big brown eyes focused on the portal that Khitti opens with her shadow magic. Were it not at this moment that Tiber slid an arm around the witch to pull her back, she may have passed out, and she meets his gaze and gives a look that reserved solely for him. Lana’s nightmares began after her first journey into that abysmal plane, and being that she was there twice now, the fear was palpable by just meeting her dark gaze. As Meri turns the medallion in the keyhole, the group turns towards her to peer beyond, but the leader calls it quits on their adventure. Khitti was under great duress, Aira took a hit to the thigh, and Lana required healing in various areas of her body. “Are-Are you sure we need to turn back? We’ve already come so far, and this is all –my- fault… If I hadn’t stepped on that plate…” Wracked with guilt, she shrugs into the shirt and practically screams in pain as the cloth rubs against her wounds. Turning back was the only option, at least for the witch. “I’m sorry.” The panther approaches and extends her healing palms, filled with the holy powers necessary to seal her injuries, but Lana shakes her head and points to Aira. “No thank you, Zahrani. Please… Tend to Aira and make sure Khitti is alright.” Friends came first to the witch, and secretly she didn’t want anyone’s hands on her, after being held captive for weeks. Lanara turns back the way they had come, extending a hand to Tiber, as she wouldn’t be able to navigate on her own. “The pet names are cute, except for ‘sugar bug’ it’s… Awful. What does that even mean, Tiber? I’m an ant covered in candy? And… A bubble bath would be –amazing- along with a back rub and of course a fairytale before bed! Ooh! Did you say you wanted to adopt a bat, before? I can swear you said something about bringing one into your apartment… Or maybe you said another cat? A rat?” Her ceaseless teasing returns as the pair would stop at the healer for some supplies, and then back to Cenril, where they could rest up.


The bickering between Catalian and witch had not gone unnoticed all throughout this little adventure. But, Khitti had been too busy helping to prevent their deaths to really acknowledge it much. She did now, though she was breathless from that magical malady that had befallen her, her words meant for Lanara, “You… have a long road of confusing emotions, arguing, and sarcasm ahead of you… Just like I did with Brand...” These Catalians were just as feisty as their women and it wasn’t always a good thing. Khitti straightened herself once the majority of the pain had passed, a hand finally going to her heart. Frak… so that’s what Cirice meant. There’s a brief look down at both palms before she shifted her attention towards Meri. The psion’s explanation for the shadow magic and the portal would suffice: Khitti happened. She was not in the right frame of mind to be thinking about what Meri had meant by that. Well, she knew. She knew that her sister wasn’t going to say something to insult her or demean her or whatever, especially when the psion had her own strange abilities. But, those words were a sudden reminder, like the rest of this journey had been, that she was still not normal, even if she were human now. The types of things that happened to her as they had for years now would never allow her to be. ‘Khitti happened.’ She did her best to push the thought away, promising herself to push it even farther away with a bottle of whiskey when she got home, and went over to examine all the things that Meri had done since the dragon’s eviction from the cave. Crimson brows furrowed as she peered into the gateway, then looked to Meri with a shake of her head. Khitti didn’t know. And if Khitti didn’t know it, well… she sure as hell would find out. “I’ve got access to the big creepy library in Vailkrin again; I’ll find out what it is,” she said, trying to hide the remainder of her breathlessness as her body tried to recover. “I can’t go today… There’s… It’s…” Khitti could not find her words, her mind still reeling and trying to cope with that pain she’d suffered. “It’s not safe and we’re not prepared. It’s not the Shadow Plane, but it could be worse than that…” There’s a moment where it looked like Khitti would say something further, but changed her mind and shook her head. Brand had the right idea about caves lately, as it turned out, because Khitti was getting the hell out of there before it killed her. There’d be no allowing of people to help her get out of there though. Sorry, guys.


Aira blinks in Meri's direction when she answers her question with 'Khitti happened'. She opens her mouth to ask for a further explanation but decides now it not the best time. Letting the arrow flop back into the quiver with a quiet -thunk-, the huntress turns her attention to the rest of the team, her gaze lingering on Lana to make sure she's alright (or alright as she can be given the circumstances) and then Khitti who did -something- to that dragon. Pulling her bow back over her body she winces as she puts weight on her cut leg and looks at the sizable gash in her thigh. That was going to make crawling out of here a bitch. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Meri approach the door and for a moment, the vixen seems like she might call out to the psion to stop--the needn't call upon another beast to attack them now. Thankfully, no beast awaits on the other side, but rather some type of portal which honestly terrifies the huntress more than any undead dragon could. Thankfully, Meri suggests that they reserve -that- part of their adventure for another time and Aira nods in agreement. Once more, she is rummaging in her pack and pulls out a handful of moss. She quickly packs it into her wound and begins to tie it off to secure her makeshift bandage. At Lana's offer of Zahrani healing her, the huntress shakes her head. "I'm fine," but she inclines her head towards Khitti silently suggesting she check on the templar. As Lana and Tiber leave the cave, the vixen decides it's about time she take her leave as well. This is why she never liked leaving Frostmaw.


Zahrani sighs again. Her friends are bad at accepting help. With a chuffing noise, she agrees that now's not a good time to venture blithely into a portal to Gods-know-where. Upon checking for any movement, from either the shadows or the ceiling, the panther turns to Meri and says, "Keep me in the loop. And thanks for holding up the ceiling." She offers a warm smile to the psion, before accompanying the group out of the cave.


Tiber feels aggravated that he walked all the way from Cenril, up a mountain, and into a cavern where an undead dragon rested. As Lanara hugs him, he is sort of thrown off by the PDA, but he remains silent to not make her upset. The pet names were… natural, although unusual on where they came from when he spoke of them. Though, the fact that Khitti was able to get rid of the beast makes him… thankful. “Thank you,” he says to the red head with complete sincerity and he looks her up and down to observe her condition. Khitti, however, is acknowledging Lanara. A long road. What the hell did that mean? Who was she? Who was Brand? His brows are furrowed at the red-haired woman. He then looks at Zahrani. “We would appreci—“ though Lanara declines and he is muddled with confusion. Perhaps that was a conversation for later. “Thank you for the offer,” he says to the panther. As Meri begins to talk about getting out of the cavern, he sighs with a small tad of annoyance. “Peachy,” he says flatly and his scrunched eyes move to Lanara, though her state makes those harsh amber eyes soften. “Nothing is your fault, Lanara. My dumbness could have stepped on that plate. Anyone of us could have done that. You were just the ‘lucky’ one.” He then frowns. “Sugar bug, isn’t that a thing for people?” Pause. He shakes the names off. She then teases and mentions the bat “Do you want a freaking bath or not? Or a massage? Or a story? I swear, I’m telling you, you’ll be sleeping in the Cenril Inn tonight if you don’t shut it about the bat. You can get me a damn fish. I’ll meet you there. Now, let’s get you fixed up and back to the apartment. You deserve –me- making the steak dinner.” The man then grabs the woman’s hand to walk her out of the cavern.


Meri would definitely not demean her sister and certainly not in front of everyone. She obviously was referring to Khitti being a bad ass....but she was unaware of what her simple statement ended up meaning to Khitti. So Meri continues on, trying to encourage her guild members to leave. It took some more encouragement than others....Looking at you Lanara, because you know...You're bleeding. Frakkin' witch. "It's like Khitti said. We're not prepared." Zahrani is not wrong about this group being bad at accepting help. Literally every single person present is as a stubborn as a mule. All of them. Except maybe Zahrani. "Of course I will keep you in the loop." Before Tiber gets out of earshot, Meri hollers at him, "You come talk to me once you've rested. Museum." She didn't sound mad or anything, so there was that. Then again, maybe she was too worn out to really be mad? Uh oh.