dev 4 - the test of patience

Oh god oh fuck where were we again.

You're inside of a CAVE. There's some funky PLANT GROWTH. Adrian and Brynn decided to LOOK AROUND A BIT and you can see faint STRINGS? going across the walls.

There are two ways to go. FORWARD, into the unknown possibly icky cave. and BACKWARDS, to run away.

Declan would simply walk forward, anger was guiding him where he would rather be calm. They already came this far anyway, and his only intent was helping the children - or was it? Obviously he wasn't really in control of his emotions and he was rather quiet, yet something else was pushing him towards what might be the most dangerous thing here.
(Declan)

Well, not many options presented around them.

The light of holy magics lit up around the Shenlong Drakanite, and he gave a brief look towards Adrian; he had to know more about this place, certainly... or maybe not. In any case, to just get out of here empty handed would be pretty bad.

"Well... let's go forward, then?"

"Just be mindful of what you step into, I suppose."
(Keitaro)

Some funky PLANT GROWTH!?

Shuffling off to the side, the Dryad's interest was piqued, taking a moment to check it out and see what he can find.

"Don't rush now, hm?"
(Ilui Elisheva)

As she usually did in new and confusing situations, Lea closely followed behind whoever brought her here, nervous over what they could encounter. It was pretty obvious that she was (understandably) nervous, but she didn't let that stop her from coming here to begin with, nor would she let it stop her from moving forward.

No words were said either way.
(Lea Elisheva)

Declan drops NAMES.

Declan drops Mythril x1.

Since they were left with a binary decision, the choice was obvious. Before proceeding, however, Brynhild sunk her claws to the floor, channeling in a strange force she had never once tapped into before--in a practical scenario, at any rate.

It was a magic she frequently neglected, but nonetheless owned like a fifth limb:

Earth.

She probed through the earth, bypassing the thick growth of flora, to create a preliminary map of the tunnel system ahead. An engram of the cavern she could use to guide the party.

What would she find?
(Brynhild)

No, Adrian wasn't good with investigating the plant life. And Brynhild was probably a lot better than him at feeling out the potent magic in things.

Yet, he does turn to one person that could help. ''Well, Ilui?''

Gesturing his hand to the plant life, he expected some kind of results of what they may be dealing with inside these caves. If not, he wouldn't mind... But it was always worth a try.

And anyone else was welcomed to test the plants in their own special way.
(Adrian Rowan)

Same shit as last time, chief.

The Plantlife itself seemed sick, poisoned by the insect hive that had taken residence in the entire cavern.

As a Dryad, you can tell there's still some poison amongst the plants. But, you totally do suck. At like.... your literal birthright. Great job Illui.

Anyways, the way lies forward.

".. Something's wrong."

Sighing softly to himself, those arms of his moved to fold across his chest.

"They're poisoned, I can feel it. But there's nothing we can do here, so.."

Allowing for his words to trail off, his attention turned towards the only path available.
(Ilui Elisheva)


Adrian Rowan says, "I guess we move forward? I'll take the helm..."
"Keep moving forward, that's the only thing we can do," he said. His face was only looking at the road that was going forward. His eyes stayed low and his focus was on the ground. Not only was he just going forth, but he was also just minding his own business for the most part and telling them that it's the best options available. "Just watch out from all ends."
(Declan)

There wasn't much they could do, Illui was right. The entire mountain was sick, from years and years of this indisidous hive existing within it. And it became more and more clear the further in they went.

Webs would litter the cavern. Walls, floors, and even the ceilings would filled with.... things wrapped up in cocoons.


After a bit of travel they'd arrive at a three way split. West, North, and East.


It's too dark to clearly see what lies on the other side of these tunnels. But maybe they could figure it out some other way?


Declan says, "Well, Adrian."

Declan asks, "Where?"
This place didn't feel right at all.

If anything, he could already feel the chill in the air that stagnated throughout these caverns they were travelling. A shudder went on the back of the Shenlong, his eyes darting back and forth in the state of full alert - who knows what could possibly crawl out from here?

"Hm."

"I think north?"

This looked like the most obvious thing to him, and he just spoke of what he thought. Perhaps, others had better suggestions at hand.
(Keitaro)

WELL THEY'D KNOW NOW.

Brynhild, a wonderful and beautiful Magma Dragon, would use her earthen powers to map out the tunnels ahead. While she didn't have anything too concrete, she could see a dead end in the eastern tunnel.

To the West? She'd feel skittering across the ground, along with a long tunnel. Where and when it ended wasn't found, sadly.


The Northern Tunnel is noticeably smaller. Three rock formations can be divined, along with something blocking the way.



After finding surety in what she had felt out of the network, three options were presented to her. One would end in lost time, one assured certain peril, and one was simply unpredictable.

Brynhild, turned to Adrian and the others for their input. A younger her might have disregarded them entirely.

"The east yields nothing. To our west lies our enemy, likely in wait. I wager north is our best path. Keitaro has it right. When we've met a consesus, I'll lead the way."
(Brynhild)

"You must've learned from me doing similar on the last trip we went, go stuff, Brynhild," he said casually. Keitaro was right in all regards in simply going forth, and as such, he went. North was really the only option for the west was going to be -too- long for him to go on. Regardless, he would let the kids be kids and let them play off their journey, only this time, the Sarradian put on his Jacket.

Violence will be around the corner, he felt it.
(Declan)

''Nothing?''

He blinks, not needing to answer Declan since Brynhild already did. ''Not even any kind of items, just a complete dead end? I guess that makes sense if there's anything to claim from this it'll be at the source of these... Insects.''

They weren't here to venture through the mountain, but to exterminate the bugs that had taken control over it.

''Maybe we should head towards the enemy? We need to clear them out-- And if they are bunched together, they must be near something important or maybe a food source?''

Take out their harvest food, then that would slow them down.
(Adrian Rowan)

After the Hatchling was done explaining, the Dryad chimed in,

"Shouldn't we deal with our enemies first, y'know? Should be fun and fast, plus that means we might not have to deal with them later."

Shifting back and forth on his heels, his hands moved to rest behind his back. Glancing between the people who he decided to venture out with. And yet, despite his words, he shrugs,

".. But I'll follow with anything, I'm just here to have fun. Hm, hm."
(Ilui Elisheva)

The mention of the enemy being in the west tunnel drew Lea's attention to it. While she remained silent and didn't comment on which direction they should go, she nonetheless kept her gaze fixated on that tunnel in case someone came out of it, with maybe a bit of morbid curiosity mixed in for good measure.
(Lea Elisheva)

Oh. So his simplicity paid off.

He offered a shrug. Here he thought that he might appear fairly stupid with his immediate decision, but apparently it can be good sometimes- he glanced to the rest of the group, seeing if they actually agreed to this decision, and so far there were few that already did.

"So, north it is?"

"If that's where we're going, let's go."
(Keitaro)

They all weighed in on the matter. Of course, dissenting opinions were bound to occur--Brynhild had prepared for them. She wouldn't have asked for alternatives in the first place had she not wanted them.

"Yes, eliminating our threat is our priority. What you have to bear in mind is that these aren't your typical pest--they know we're here. I can sense them responding to our presence."

She levied her gaze on Adrian and Ilui.

"Do you wish to risk an ambush? That is what you will invite upon us by facing them directly. It's a trap, in shorter words."
(Brynhild)


Brynhild says, "We cannot be reckless or half-hearted about this."
"A trap or not, doesn't matter."

Giving a firm nod of his head, as if those were words of wisdom, his attention turned towards the north.

"Really, I don't even know what's waiting for us. If we go north, they might not ever come. So.." Once again, his shoulders rolled into a shrug,

"North could be fine."
(Ilui Elisheva)

Rubbing his jaw, he considered it. And if they found nothing ahead, they could always turn around and go towards the enemy too.

''Fine, you have a good point. And we can just turn around if we need to, so let's head north for now.''

There was no point arguing it, it was the sensible option anyway.
(Adrian Rowan)

Brynhild's gaze fixed on Ilui--and just Ilui.

"Do you recall the first time I confronted our problem through brute force? It was quite violent. I'm sure you remember."

She turned to face north, her body glowing quietly in the gloom to lead the way.

"Let's not repeat past mistakes now."
(Brynhild)

With that they'd head north. Brynhild leading the way.

A short trip through the dreary system. The impact of the Stinnox hive would be, overall, lessened. Disappearing as they entered the Northern chamber.


In front of them was a great stone gate, sprouting from the ground were three pillars. Each four feet tall, and containing two spherical slots on the sides. There'd also be writing on each pillar.

This entire chamber felt... foreign. Aided by the fact the gate was marked by a massive Claw Symbol. It might be a bit familiar.

Declan of course would look around these marks, noticing everything about it. It was evident that these marks of Claws were probably bigger than the average boar, bear, or dog. These claws, from his perspective were respectfully belonging to what might be a dragon of sorts. With his finger coming to his chin, he would continue to examine in silence, humming underneath his breath and trying to connect the dots.
(Declan)

This felt like some sort of welcoming chamber.

Something akin to a required passage. The Shenlong goes to inspect each and every pillar, carefully examining them; he can't help but notice the apparent spherical sections in each, scratching behind his head while he observes them.

"I'm pretty sure these spherical slots must have some spheres inserted in them. Then, the gate is probably going to open."

"Question is - where do we get them?"

But hey, that trick with simplicity worked once, and it might work again. Already Keitaro gets to work, and begins searching around the room.

Maybe he can find something here.
(Keitaro)

Slits gaze around as they move on, looking at pillars and the whole shaping of the area. Was it man made? Or maybe Drakanites? It was hard to tell since he was no builder himself.

The gate was sealed, while three pillars stood out with spherical slots on each side.

''Huh...'' It was... A little obvious? They needed these objects to open the gate, top ut them into each slot. But did that mean they had to turn back on themselves?

He waits for the input of the other first.
(Adrian Rowan)

".. You think we can just trick it?"

Canting his head ever so slightly to the side, the Dryad turned to look around. seeing if he could find any loose rocks around their feet.

And if not, well, he was going to make one.

Through a bit of tricky earth magic, a single glob of stone pulled from the ground. His hands pressing into it, compressing it, and trying to work it into a sphere shape.

"Hm..?"
(Ilui Elisheva)

Lea gazed around at the pillars with spherical slots, and blurted out the first idea that made sense to her.

"Let's try putting sphere-shaped rocks in the-."

Oh, Ilui got to it first.

Well then. Great minds think alike.
(Lea Elisheva)


Adrian Rowan says, "Haha... Wow."

Declan asks, "Without a doubt. Let's put it on?"



The make of the chamber was exotic, and for reasons unbeknownst to Brynhild, reminiscent of home. She couldn't exactly flag what it was about it that teased forgotten memories--perhaps she was imagining it. The claw symbol was what stuck in her mind the strongest.

She took a moment to assess the situation, once she broke out of her brief trance, and inspected the pillars in question.

"The writing on these pillars. They're the key to resolution." With a gentle puff of air, she cleared the dust from them, hoping to find something legible or intelligible--even remotely.
(Brynhild)

Keitaro and Illui couldn't find much, rocks laying around sure. But nothing that really screams "JAM ME INTO THE PILLARS".

With Brynhild dusting them off, a critical clue was found. Each containing two lines of some inscription.

The river flows.
in its bed of stone...

...The feather flies gently in the wind.
The tree's roots run deep...

...The eldritch force burns
all that lives.


Declan drops Coat.

Declan has enchanted the Coat!

Declan picks up Coat.

".. Oh, that doesn't sound too reassuring."

Still trying to form a round-ish, circular stone, his attention drifted towards the rest of the group.

"So no tricking? I'm honestly out of ideas here. And now that I think about it, things don't feel as.. Sick here. So I think those things we passed up might have something to do with that."

"And sick plants aren't something I can ignore."
(Ilui Elisheva)

''But you ignore yourself.''

Sharp. And directed towards Ilui, as Adrian moves to focus on the pillars with Brynhild. ''Good job.'' He praises her, looking over the inscriptions.

''River... Flows... Bed... Of... Stone.''

Of course, this one catches his eyes first, gazing over it for a few moments. Maybe one of the objects they needed was connected to water?

''Feathers...''

He looks towards everyone else, expecting others to offer their thoughts on it too.
(Adrian Rowan)

Lea remained silent for a while, lost in thought, but came up with an idea. She wasn't sure if she was on the right track, but...

"I think the inscriptions correspond to kinds of magic."

It couldn't hurt for her to say what was on her mind, right?
(Lea Elisheva)

When he approached to take a look at the inscriptions, they made no sense to Keitaro whatsoever.

The river flows in its bed of stone? That could refer to many things. One, in particular, being a simple river with its bottom being that of stone... or something akin to a sacrifice, with the blood spilled over the stone. It could be anything, ranging from something literal to metaphor.

As for the rest of lines? They sounded like either a description or a warning of something.

"Either I'm actually stupid or I don't understand any clue this inscription is trying to give."

"Maybe the necessary elements were in the western cavern, and we'd have to return here later on? I don't know."

He pauses. Then, he looks back at the spheres, and thinks of another metaphor this might be referring to - now, something sparking up in his mind.

"Hold on."

"Maybe this refers to different magics? Maybe these spherical slots is where you have to direct magic of a certain kind?"

"Like... the river one would be water magic, for example? The feather one referring to wind element, and so on?"
(Keitaro)

"The river flows inn it's bed of stone: Earth and water. The feather's flies gently in the wind. The tree's roots run deep: Wind and Nature. The Eldritch force burns all that lives: Fire." Declan gave a simple nod to Lea, who has figured it all out without thinking too hard about it. Clearly, the usage of such elements were the key to opening the door, perhaps. However, Declan wasn't going to try to do it, for such usage of his own energy would be a waste.

However, they had all that they needed. A Fire mage, a Nature mage, a Water mage, A wind mage, and an Earth mage. Adrian can fit the wind, fire, and water bit. Ilui could fulfil the Earth one.
(Declan)

Riddles were the true test of a dragon; there was no better way to stimulate a mind than the cryptic. Unlike most dragons, Brynhild had little penchant for cryptic, but she did enjoy a decent challenge. After considering the inscriptions, their meaning was obvious.

She faced the group, that had beaten her to the punch.

"This is simple enough. Declan has spoken for me. We're going to cooperate with one another. Each one of us will have to channel our respective element into its place."

She faced Ilui, firstmost.

"You're going to channel nature,"

Then to Lea,

"Lea, you're in charge of water."

Adrian was next,

"You're in charge of wind,"

Declan came after.

"We'll need you on earth. There's no one better suited, I'm afraid. Except myself."

And speaking of herself, she came last.

"I'm in charge of fire."

All that remained was 'all that lives'. Had she had to hazard a guess, that would have been holy magic.

"Keitaro, use your exorcism."
(Brynhild)

"I suppose I will help," he said with a simple, defeated smile. Without a single movement of his body, the Earth around him would slightly shake as a single piece of Earth came and raised from it in a perfect, giant sphere. "I prefer that you all wrap your energies around this, and at once we, throw it at the gate. Worse case scenario? It doesn't work."
(Declan)


Adrian Rowan says, "This is a long shot, but we can try. See if the magics on the right pillars work-- And if not, we'll have to backtrack."
Making sure to focus on the pillar that spoke of the wind, he takes his staff off his back and into his hands. The Arcanium tool spins rapidly around in his hands, over and over again.

Until he finally infused his magic into the movement, causing the speed tobe incredibly fast. The wind begins to pick up, a potent tornado of sorts emitting from the spinning of his staff.

Controlling its focus, the tornado aims towards the pillar's little slot. His magic was strong, but would these pillars accept the variety of different magics.

Or would they be doing this for no reason, and have to go back on themselves anyway.

Only one way to find out!
(Adrian Rowan)

Considering that the inscriptions related to fire were located right at the supposed saying of 'all that lives', he figures he should direct it to the nearest pillar, and follow that up with the fire mage. This may or may not be necessary, but... it would be worse to just stand idle while this thing happens.

As such, the holy magics flared up around Keitaro.

They were channelled into workings, made to start with a subtle glow at first, if only to grow it into something much brighter. He could only hope that he's making it right, and that he's capable of following along with the rest as they're about to do it.

"Let's not waste time, then."

"Provided this fails, we'll have plenty more to do."

He spoke, and continued to channel the said magic. Here's hoping it would work.
(Keitaro)

Lea made her way over to the pillar, and generated water within her hand, allowing it to flow into the hole it was supposed to. Lea didn't hesitate in this, but the thought that it could be this easy did bring her pause, something which she decided to vocalize.

"...I'm wondering if the eldritch aspect of this was supposed to refer to occultism. Maybe we have to try the opposite of what we think it says if this doesn't work."
(Lea Elisheva)

"Sure, sure.."

Slowly shaking his head, the boy glanced over his shoulder, staring down the path they came from. Something was still causing those plants to be sick back there, and it didn't sit right with him.

The Dryad's hand raises, channeling his magics through the ground beneath his feet. And yet this time, instead of green wriggling vines, a few thin vines sprouted out of the ground beside his feet. Thorny, blue roses blooming alongside it as the vines slinked towards the pillars.

Hopefully it was going to be enough..
(Ilui Elisheva)

Their magic would be channeled throughout each pillar, and it would seem all is well! The first two would lower into the ground, while the last one remained up. Seemingly its trigger was not fulfilled.



...The eldritch force burns all that lives.




Lea Elisheva says, "...It's occultism. Maybe shadowflame."

Declan says, "Or a life."

Adrian Rowan says, "Don't be stupid."

Adrian Rowan says, "No one here uses occult magic..."

Ilui Elisheva says, "A life might work. Hm, hm."

Declan says, "Well."

Declan asks, "Guess this is where I play my part?"
Adrian gives a VERY annoyed gaze at Declan, and an unamused one at Ilui.
(Adrian Rowan)


Declan says, "We used almost every element that's here. Earth, Fire, Water, Nature, Wind. Holy didn't work, and no one here is an occultist. There are many, -many- elements of magic."

Declan asks, "Maybe...Arcane?"

Declan asks, "Think about it: What have we -not- used yet?"

Lea Elisheva says, "There's always a chance the other people here have someone who can use it. Maybe we can..."

Lea Elisheva says, "..."

Lea Elisheva says, """persuade""""

Lea Elisheva says, "them to help."

Declan says, "I have an idea."

Ilui Elisheva says, "I'm very good at that."

Declan says, "Not needed at all."

Adrian Rowan says, "Maybe we cheated."

Declan says, "No we did not."

Adrian Rowan says, "And we actually did need items."
Lea had broached a point Brynhild did not wish to be true. They had all adhered to the dragon's path of resolution, succeeding with flying colours, except the dragon herself.

The pillar's failure to react confrimed Brynhild's greatest scruple about it.

The dark arts were required to progress further.

"We're going to need something tied to the occult. If we can find a crystal, a gem, a stone, anything connected to it, I might be able to improvise an answer to our problem."

She peered across the room.

"We should start searching."
(Brynhild)


Declan says, "No."

Declan says, "We don't need that."

Adrian Rowan says, "Because they clearly had places where things should've been placed."

Declan says, "Let me try something."

Adrian Rowan asks, "So maybe we need to go back-- Try what?"

Declan asks, "Ilui, you got any sharp objects on you?"

Ilui Elisheva says, "Always."

Adrian Rowan asks, "Are you really going to offer it blood?"

Declan says, "Let me borrow one."

Adrian Rowan says, "Nothing good comes out of this..."
Ilui reaches into one of his sleeves..!

After a bit of rummaging around, he manages to pull out a stone knife. One used in rituals, of course..

It's handed over with a smile, just wondering what crazy thing Declan will do next.
(Ilui Elisheva)


Ilui Elisheva asks, "This seems like it's going to be fun, right guys?"

Keitaro says, "Doubtful."

Brynhild says, "I'm curious to see what insanity Declan has in mind."
Declan takes the sharp object, a stone knife, perfect. "Many years ago, when Calael was on the verse of dying due to his over usage of cosmic magic in the blood, I did a simple ritual and a blood transfer," he said as he looks at them. The stone knife came to the center of his hand as he did a swift cut through it.

As he approached the Pillar, he hovers his hand over the pillar, and from his diluted-water blood, was very significant amounts of cosmic light coming amongst it. "We used every element so far, and we're not occultists, so maybe the help of Cosmic will suffice?" Let's all pray.

The Blood itself would slowly form into a small sphere. "Insane, but not crazy."
(Declan)


Brynhild says, "I do not agree with this. Lea was correct."

Declan says, "Some faith in me would be nice."

Declan asks, "I know, I can be an asshole. But I have done a lot of crazy shit that worked so far?"
Declan would sacrifice part of himself, a sphere of blood and the remnants of his cosmic cancer would form and descend upon the last pillar. Landing within the final crevice, it'd all pop!

The final pillar begins its descent.


The earthen gate in front of them begins to almost crumble as it turns. The Claw is split in two, and the gate begin to recede. Opening forth, and revealing something on the other side.


A research post, of sorts? Many things are scattered upon various tables. Odd machines look rusted, and almost destroyed. Medical beds are visible, with the skeletons of some unlucky individuals.


From Bug-Squashing to finding the ruins of... something.


Declan says, "Insane, but not crazy."

Brynhild says, "... I rest my case."

Ilui Elisheva says, "..."
Declan slowly summons a vine to wrap around the hand, adminstering aloe vera and acting as a tight bandage. He would simply let the children follow suit.
(Declan)

Annoying, but it worked.

Adrian didn't want any blood sacrifices, not here. And not while Ilui was around since he seemed so bent on weird things like that lately.

Now with the gate open, he moves inside. But... What they find is nothing like they expected. A research post? Equipment on tables, and beds with skeletons resting on them.

''Huh...'' Did the Dragon even know about this? Adrian doubted it, but if there was something more on this mountain, they would have to get rid of it.

''It looks like someone has been doing experiments, maybe that's why all the insects on this mountain were so poisonous? Maybe huge too...'' They had not encountered any of them yet, but it was safe to assume they weren't normal in the slightest.

Freaks of nature.

''Look around, before we move on. Might find something useful-- Even clues about what wemay be dealing with?''

A queen, a hive-- Anything! They needed to find the source, destroy it and watch as the insects either died or ran away from this place. Either one worked, as long as they cleared the mountain as promised.

Adrian investigates the area.
(Adrian Rowan)

At least the gates finally opened.

Before them? An oddity of the place, one that Keitaro could not really recognize or acknowledge properly - for a simple reason that he didn't know what it is. A research post of sort, or something alike, but unfortunately, he was no researcher of his own.

"Hm..."

"I think this was some sort of... engineering and medical bay? I could be wrong of course, but..."

He points to the machinery and the beds. Surely, they were here for a good reason, right? At least that's what made sense to the Shenlong.

"Or what Adrian said. It could also be that."

"What exactly are we looking for around here?"
(Keitaro)

Strange..

Stuff of this nature had always eluded him, research, medical, experiments. It's stuff he just didn't care about, stuff he didn't need to care about, in all honesty.

"You're right, we should at least try to find something in here.."

The Dryad nods his head, turning to make his way over towards some of the beds that held the skeletons. Glancing them over, and seeing if he can find anything around, or on them that might point to what was going on here..!
(Ilui Elisheva)

Illui would examine the beds. Various surgical tools and runic devices littered the sides. All in a great state of disrepair. There'd be some ores and elemental crystals scattered about too.

For Adrian, he'd search about and find another door.

Yet, sadly, there was something going on. A loud thumping and skittering could be heard on the other side of the door. Something thrashing about.

You're too far away. Get closer.

The sounds alerted Shenlong.

It could be the fact there was some critter just on the other side, but something suggested to him that's not the case; if anything, rats or any other small critters can't really do loud thump like that... can they?

"I think we've got trouble. It might be those insects or venomous creatures, or whatever."

"In any case, you should be ready."

His own staff was drawn. Who knows what sort of danger would be lurking there? Slowly and silently, he began to approach the source of sound, surely to reveal it soon.
(Keitaro)

"Good point," he said to Keitaro, his eyes closed and his skin went from a soft clay to a hard ass rock, which was layered by more rock. "I would recommend you all get ready for what may happen. If it's the poison insects that come, then get a protective layer or a stone skin to make it hard to infect you. Other wise..."

A sigh escaped from him, "Dodge."
(Declan)

"Just ore, nothing of use over here."

Sighing, the Dryad turned. Glancing over towards the door that the skittering sound was coming from, a faint smile finding its way onto his features.

"Oh..?"
(Ilui Elisheva)

Adrian had found a lead. Or rather, the lead had found Adrian, broadcasting itself plainly with its obscured ruckus. The dragon's sensitive hearing detected it as well, and Brynhild came closer to assay the situation. Whatever was generating the disturbance, it was alone, and had probably been alone for some time.

"This one is on its own. I hear no company. We stand a good chance of taking it on with our combined efforts."

Brynhild retreated slightly from the source, putting distance between herself and the door.

"We should all prepare. As soon as we're ready, Adrian will tear this door down. We'll attack it before it can attack us; that's our safest bet."
(Brynhild)

The door was a problem, but he wanted everyone to be ready before moving in. Slits turn to focus on Ilui for a moment, heading over in his direction.

An eyebrow is raised, as he takes a moment to scan over the Ores and elemental crystals. What color were the crystals, what elements did they represent? And what Ore was scattered around.

''Let's finish here before we go barging in that door.'' What Ilui considered useless, Adrian would find it probably wasn't as useless as he made it out to be.

Or maybe it was?
(Adrian Rowan)

Adrian wanted to continue searching!

Sadly, that wouldn't be an option. As the creature BURST through the twin doors. A Large Stinnox insect would make itself known. Carapace covered in stone and claws looking /extra/ sharp today. The creature would eye even more invaders, and charge forth at them.

No time to search, as the enemy seems to make itself known first. But he would make sure to come back to those after, as eyes turn to focus on the large creature.

''Tsk... What a nuisance.''

Holding his staff, icy wings stretch out behind his back. While the moisture in the air is turned into water, formed into poles that soon turn into ice.

''This doesn't look like some queen or something, try not to get hit-- As hard as that sounds.'' Weird though, it looked a lot bigger than the Stinnox inside the caves of Briar Locke.
(Adrian Rowan)

The maddened Stinnox would be defeated! A relatively clean sweep.

It'd summon earthen claws from the ground to grip those unlucky, following it up with a flurry of blows. This would, prove, to be worth NOTHING as the scorpion proceeded to have his ass royally kicked.

Well, he tried. Don't be too harsh to him.

As the fight raged on, the Dryad's vines began to bloom.

Beautiful blue roses sprouting out, completely contradicting their once thorn-covered look. Giving his wave of his hand towards the creature, those petals scattered.

The petals move, swarming around the beast as they began to carve through it. One cut after the other, a hellish rain of what seemed like a thousand blades.

"Hm..? Of course, unless you've got a problem with that?"

The Dryad cants his head to the side, smiling!
(Ilui Elisheva)

"Ilui, I would suggest one thing," he said, watching the young Dryad seemingly having fun with torturing it to death, and even having fun with just killing it as slowly as possible, "when you decide to kill something, say a prayer for it. Everything in this life goes back to nature, even you, one day."

His finger erected, pointing at the...scorpion? "Does it not deserve a prayer, even if it is an animal?"
(Declan)

At least none of them ended up severely injured.

In truth, Keitaro didn't get many scrapes on him either- whether it's because the beast never bothered to really focus on the Shenlong, or because he got lucky, but he had ample opportunity to smite him with all the lightning he wanted, with very little payback in return.

Teamwork surely does wonders.

And while the scorpion is wrapped up in countless vines, Keitaro takes this opportunity to attack the creature once more- this time, tapping into ancestral strength of his own lightning, all to make sure that it's something more at this point, something that would be a good supplement to the finishing blows at the end.

Something to fell the beast.

And it does just that. It becomes quickly evident that the scorpion is no longer capable of fighting at this point, and the Shenlong draws an inhale. Gazing at others, he exclaims.

"I suppose it's time we get a move on."
(Keitaro)

Adrian made sure to do his part in combat, even if it meant leading the Stinnox around the lab while it tried to slice him in half. But with each hit, he made sure to defend his flesh with scales hard enough to keep him from any deadly poison in its wake.

But finally, Ilui puts it to rest. The beautiful blue roses, as vines covered in thorns, seem to sprout upwards. The Drakanite only watches in amazement, as it was torn to shreds.

Taking a deep breath, he breathes out sharply.

''Wew! No problem with that.'' It was better than people. ''Good job...'' It seemed teamwork really did make the dream work, everyone played their part-- But this was just the icing on the cake. Sweet-- They had to dig deeper.

''Before we press on, let's see what's in here first.''

He goes back to check on that Ore and Crystals.

Even if he was here mostly to cleanse the place, and make it habitable for the Dragon he aided. He wished to find things he could give to his allies for their hard work and aid.
(Adrian Rowan)


Declan says, "I love flood."
The frenzied stinnox thrashed about the quarters with aimless abandon, making itself an easy target for the party to tackle. Everyone contributed their part in felling the massive beast, and thankfully, no one emerged injured from the ordeal.

Brynhild had overestimated the scope and magnitude of her hidden opponent.

The thing had effected substantial damage to the facilities in place, more than likely destroying something that could have been of value to the group.

It still served to look--now that any hindrances were gone. Brynhild felt a sensation of joy and pride for leading the group to triumph. Leading them one step closer to conquering the forsaken cave and ridding it of its stinnox menace.

She couldn't shrug off the feeling forces far more sinister than stinnox were at play here.

For the time being, she joined Adrian in his scavenge.

"Are you hurt?"
(Brynhild)


Adrian Rowan says, "Don't worry about me, Bryn. I can handle it..."
With some grazes and marks, he comes out with bruises more than anything. It took a toll on his body when magically formed scales took the brunt of most attacks.

Painful... But not enough to put him down.
(Adrian Rowan)


(Adrian Rowan)

"Mn.."

A bark covered hand rose, rubbing at his chin as his staff tapped on the ground. Allowing for the ground to split, his vines scurrying over, wrapping themselves around the body of the beast. And dragging it down below, sealing it after.

It leaves behind a spot of dirt within this laboratory. A few brambles growing on the spot, already staring to bloom with his signature blue flowers.

"Got any examples of prayers?"
(Ilui Elisheva)


Declan says, "When we get back, I can tell you some. You should know that Gehenna enjoys a good sacrifice, but a prayer with it makes them happy."

Declan says, "But we have a mission to do."
True to form Illui would eviscerate the bug. Leaving nothing!

Adrian would search about, and found something incredible! Back in a corner was a neatly deposited stash of Arcanium chunks. Yet nothing else that's truly useable.


The noise from before doesn't seem to stop, however. From the next room they hear a loud thud!!! Accompanied by something running there way!

Yet whatever tension was just built, if any, was surely lost when they saw it was another person. Exhausted, shaking, and really not having a good day. He'd be as shocked as them!

"O-Others? How'd you get in here?"

Clothed in a thick layer of clothes, topped up by a purple coat with a red claw insignia on it. His entire outfit seems to be worn and torn, leading those to wonder how long he might've been in here for.


"Where'd you come from?" He frantically asks.


Ilui Elisheva exclaims, "Hm, hm!"
Adrian Rowan drops Whitefur Cape.

Adrian Rowan picks up Arcanium.

Adrian Rowan picks up Arcanium.

As the eldest adult here, Declan steps forward from the destructive capabilities of nature, and simply waves at the man cloaked up to the key. How long they were here was a question for another time, but maybe they could give the group the insight needed to travel further. "Yes, hello. We traveled through here and fought that giant thing," he started. "How did you get here...how long have you been here?"
(Declan)

Taking the Arcanium, he would hold onto it for now. Mainly so no one would fight over it, while he honestly didn't seem too bothered by his findings. Such a rare and powerful ore, but more akin to rewards for his group.

Yet; did the Crystals serve no purpose? That was disappointing, but he was sure there would be other chances to find more things to hand out later on.

The thuds of steps rushing towards them makes him spin though, slits gazing at the sudden arrival of an actual person?

''What?''

No, no.

This made no sense, a mountain taken over by poisonous bugs and someone was here? Not dead, not undead-- Then why? His eyes seem to scrunch up before he blinks. Nose wrinkling, he was getting annoyed.

''What do you mean... How? I think you have some explaining to do.'' Despite how frantic and scruff he seemed, Adrian failed to believe someone lived up here with these insects around. There had to be more to it, there just had to.
(Adrian Rowan)

That red claw.

It held meaning lost to her. Brynhild could almost grasp the memory it belonged to--because it was undoubtedly a part of her--but the symbol eluded her again and again. Always in her mind, a needy reminder with its back to recollection.

She put herself between the man and Adrian, giving the boy a stern glance that told him to desist.

Then she turned her attention to the mystery figure.

"You've been here a long time, either trapped or biding your time." Judging from his tone and air of madness, she was inclined towards the former. Her eyes were set on his insignia.

"You can explain yourself calmly, so long as you don't attack. We won't fight unless you give us a reason."
(Brynhild)

"Course, don't have much of a reason."

The man eyes the crowd. A bit pushy but it's all he had.

"Me and a few others were sent here to do some... research. Of course you can tell it didn't work out, we dug into this hellish hive of Stinnox and they've managed to kill most of us."

He'd gesture around to the ruined labs.

"I was hiding from that big one, before you killed it. We, uh...

Well we dug straight into the Queen's chamber. Do what you want but I'd rather get out of here."

So someone could be saved.

And here's hoping Ilui doesn't pull the old self and kill the man for whatever reason- still, his gaze was turned to the newcomer, and he soon spoke out in that regard.

"Then you should head to the places where we came from. There might be dangers ahead, because there are creatures crawling all over, so in order to avoid them you'd have to try and be as silent as you can."

"But before you go..."

"Can you tell us where's the way to the Queen's chamber?" An oddity of a question, but the man could probably tell why Keitaro is asking this.
(Keitaro)

Slits gaze on Brynhild for a moment, wondering if she knew something? But he shrugged it off, expecting her to speak up if she had an issue.

''So you've been experimenting here, on the insects? That's probably why this mountain is infested, you must've done something and screwed yourselves over.''

And now, they had to pick up the pieces and clean up the mess. It actually makes him rub his head, grunting. The very thought of having to do someone else's job ticked him off.

''Point us in the direction and then leave before we change our minds. We will kill the Stinnox and get into their hive. And after that? The Queen itself will be exterminated, forcing them to clear off knowing this place wasn't safe for them to remain.''

He hoped that's how it would work.
(Adrian Rowan)

Softly humming to himself, the Dryad turned, his eyes coming to a close as he shifted back and forth on his heels.

"So he isn't part of the group responsible for those sick plants?"

It's the only question on his mind, one that he felt he needed to ask. As long as the man wasn't insulting him, or trying to attack him, then he was going to be docile.

.. Unless he was responsible for the sick plants.
(Ilui Elisheva)


Ilui Elisheva asks, ".. Or are these scorpions causing that?"
Brynhild looked at everyone in disbelief. She let them have their say, but it was now her time to do all the questioning. None of their questions are what they truly needed--save for the Queen's location. They needed direct inquiry, and until Brynhild's curiosity was sated, the man would stay where he was.

"He's not going anywhere," she said, addressing Keitaro--and Adrian by extension. She hovered closer to the back until they met a foot apart. "What I want to know is why you dug a hole into their home and unleashed this blight unto our land."

Brynhild had lost some of her composure. Something profound urged her on.

"Who sent you here? What is the nature of your experiments? I saw the remains of victims in these parts. Victims to humans."

Her snout was uncomfortably near his face.

"You're not leaving until you tell us everything."
(Brynhild)

Hey, just his luck.

"Far back in that room where the big one came from. There's a big hole in the wall and it leads into the center of the nest.

And yes, That's what we were doing. Along with... other unsavory things. There isn't a point to lie to any of you, but I did what I was told. I had no choice in it."

The man turns to Illui.

"Think it was that. We were working on a poison for reasons we weren't told."

But his luck ran out! The Dragon would grow a bit more bold.


"Who sent us doesn't matter. They never came for us they're long gone I'm sure.

Nature of our experiments? Like I said a poison. A weapon. I didn't want anything to do with it. And... pushing elemental powers into humans and beastkin. That's what those remains are.


Listen, I had no choice. Do this or die, you guys have to understand right?"

"I do, but in all honesty? I would've chose death," he said, not having remorse or sympathy for their situation. "If my job were to develop poisons instead of potions and ailments, I would've offed myself a long time ago." Declan raised his fingers to the closest exit, the Earth underneath him would shake as his anger started to rise. "Get out."
(Declan)

"Why are you trying to let him leave..?"

The Dryad reaches down, a few petals falling from his sleeve as he grabbed for something off the ground. Trying to occupy himself so that he could talk, and try to explain his thought process.

Just acting got him yelled at, or worse..

"Seems odd, is all. You know, back at the orphanage they used to do the same thing, hm? They'd feed us this food to try and awaken our magics, some of the kids didn't make it. They got mutated, warped; they cried and screamed day after day, begging for it to end."

Ilui's shoulders roll into a shrug,

"Wonder if it was the same here too.. It seems pretty cut and dry to me, Declan's right. Would any of you choose to do these things..? Or would you stand firm in your beliefs?"
(Ilui Elisheva)

"Because he isn't an irredeemable evil, Ilui."

The voice of the Shenlong is firmer this time around. Knowing that it's a matter of whether he lets him pass as intended or kicks up a fuss, he had to make a statement, one that has to be heard.

"I think you've killed enough already, nor we have time for your antics of blindly declaring vengeance against everything, just because you were hurt."

"Enough with the self-hurt Olympics."

Keitaro wasn't convinced by anything Ilui said. At this point, he already knew that the old Ilui is gone - now, this was just someone that enjoyed killing.

"Now, let him through."

"We have Queen to encounter."
(Keitaro)

''You should know the answer to that.''

Slits shift onto Keitaro for a moment, but he sighs.

''In the end, I have a selfish selfless desire. And that's in which I will help those I know and are in front of me, while not focusing on those all over and I do not know.''

Tapping his staff against the ground, he hums. ''But, if someone had harmed Dragons or threatened their existence. I would have to bury them, as I cannot stand for anything like that.'' Vicious. But he was being honest, he couldn't let people who hunted Dragons live.

Did that make him a hypocrite towards Ilui? Not at all, as the Dryad boy did his deeds out of pleasure... Not duty or reasoning. He killed with a smile, and they've witnessed it first hand.

''But some of us don't have belief or morals, do we... Ilui?'' Making his way around to Brynhild, his focus comes down onto the 'so-called' male that had been forced to do the bidding of others.

''He's no threat to us and he can be free, but if we find him doing anything else or something else comes to light. He will die.''

''Now get lost-- And let us save this mountain.''
(Adrian Rowan)

"I mean, yeah, guess I understand, but..."

Lea shrugged. Normally she preferred to take a less judgmental approach to these kinds of issues, but Lea felt it warranted to not do so in this situation. After all, given everything he did, the thought of some of which caused her stomach to turn...

"That doesn't really make it right. Some principles would've been nice. I hope you feel bad about what you've done forever."

That was all she had to say on that.
(Lea Elisheva)

The hooded man was instantly taken aback by the dragon's explosive actions. He could hardly handle the heat, even if it wasn't truly on him yet.

"N-NO. IT'S THE FUCKING DRAGON LORD. I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE PART OF THIS, I WAS BORN INTO IT."

Panic filled his voice and his body would begin shaking. Was this the end?

He'd fall straight on his ass and begin slowly working his way backwards. More fearful of Brynhild and the others than any insect that nests within the mountain.