Trinity

Her blade came up, swinging around full circle as it went through another creatures arm. Her body had given her blade the momentum needed and each swing continued into the next. Keyra's entire frame moved with her blade. She was, essentially, one with the weapon. The Val's wings tilted every so often to change her direction or to help with executing one of the moves that she fell into.

Coming back around on a full pivot on one foot, she dropped low to avoid the swing of yet another massive arm and lunged forward, hardly stopping at all. She ran her blade through it completely and withdrew with a hard pump of her wings. Unfortunately she's missed it's heart, having dropped down low before lunging at it. Keyra had been so caught up in the fight that she hardly noticed that she'd been left behind by Elruin.

Twisting around for a brief moment, she noted that he'd moved back to the stairs. As she was about to follow him back, she felt a strange pull all around her body. The magic wrapped around her entire lithe frame and she was suddenly dropped right next to the stairwell with him. Unused to such methods, the Val's heart pumped hard as she gasped from the rather sudden relocation.

“You should have ignored me, Val.”

Glancing up at him, she frowned, "Get used to it, Ash Fiend," she responded heavily, eyes narrowed as she watched him. Though for a brief moment she almost regretted her decision of helping him to retreat. Shrugging it off, she watched in awe as Dravon then executed a mass barrage of gun fire and spears into the advancing group of enemies. It was seemingly working rather well, but Keyra was unsure as to how long they would last.

Even so, she was glad to be out of the line of fire. Had Elruin not brought her back as he did, she was sure to have ruined their plan of scattering the large group. Now it looked far easier to deal with than it had a moment before. Keyra waited though as she was behind the firing line. The Val's fingers tightened around the hilt of her large weapon, wings twitching ever so slightly as she watched the fight with dilated eyes.

The moment Dravon drew his sword from it's sheath, Keyra knew they were finishing this fight. The group of soldiers opened up for her and she burst forward once again. Her wings brought her up to the first unfortunate creature rather quickly. Raising up her weapon, she crouched down before she leapt up off the ground, gaining height as her wings helped with the leap. Shoving her blade forth, it went straight through the things chest and into what could have been considered the heart. Together, they tumbled down to the floor.

Standing up, she wrenched her sword free and turned to the next one.

Enuren wasted no time as Dravon called out for her to kill what she could. He told her to aim well and she merely smiled to herself. Her aim would never be in question.

Her bow was raised and she let fly arrow after arrow. She watched as creature after creature fell, an arrow buried in their chest. Her eyes focused on each chest as if she could see the pulsating thing inside and knew where to hit.

Around her there was noise, things died, guns went off and yells of battle rang clear. None of this phased Enuren. Dravon told her to thin their numbers and that was what she would do. The rifles sounded like thunder and only at the call of fire had she paused in her shooting.

Enuren stood tall, her hair seeming to blow in an invisible wind as she fired. She was calm, the air around her still.

The things kept coming. She found herself pondering the possibility that they might never stop. That they might be overrun by these things and that this was their fate. The thought didn’t bother her though nor did it give her pause. Her bow twanged over and over again as the creatures fell to the ground.

Dravon and others were wielding spears. Enruen picked off those they drove back giving everyone more space. They pushed the things back and she carefully aimed for those that look ready to rush. Each arrow soared, each thing fell.

She could see the Val in the fight, great wings moving as she cut down the creatures. The Ash Fiend had taken out a sword as well and he was cutting off limbs and keeping the enemy at bay as well.

Amber eyes surveyed the scene. They were outnumbered and limited by each other when it came to space. For everyone that fell two climbed over it to get at their foe.

“There are too many Dravon. We need a plan to get out of here...” Despite her words Enuren kept firing.

“There are too many Dravon. We need a plan to get out of here...” Enuren voiced from her spot where she was firing off arrow after arrow into the growing mass.

Despite their earlier accomplishment of breaking up the mass, they were still coming through the broken doorway. Keyra had to wonder exactly how many of these abominations there were. It didn't match up with the account of missing crew workers that they'd been told about before hand. The Val ground her teeth as she batted aside one that swung at her and then turned to slice her blade through the shoulder, detaching the arm completely. Ducking another swing, her wings tilted to adjust for the movement and she turned the blade around to slice upwards through the arm, just above the elbow.

Pulling back, Keyra lunged forward to drive the weapon through it's chest in a killing attempt. She didn't have as much power as before though, and the thick mass of pulsating flesh stopped her blade from going straight through the heart. Wrenching the weapon free, she quickly distanced herself from it only to halt in her steps as she felt there was something behind her. Ducking yet again, she narrowly missed a swing to her head by another creature.

The Val had perhaps gone too far ahead and though she wasn't right at the door, she'd managed to accumulate several of the monsters around her. Glancing over to the others, she knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before they were in her predicament too. Keyra moved forward again, her wings giving a hard pump against the stale air to help her. Crashing into one on her right, she knocked it backwards into another one. With a sharp flap of her wings, she reeled backwards as the two horrors crashed into another pair. They fell over each other in a mass of arms and legs that couldn't quite coordinate properly.

"Montague.. We need that exit now."

Keyra looked back to where Dravon was and noted that the doorway that had been collapsed in was now opened, albeit a very small opening. At least it was something though, that much she could be thankful for. Keyra returned her attention to the growing numbers and tried to figure a way to return to the line.

"Head for the passage Elruin and be ready to shut it as well."

Her blade flew upwards to sever the hand of yet another that reached out for her. She retaliated again with a quick slash across the things overly broad chest and then once again to cut off the arm at the shoulder. Her blade, by this time, was covered in the black colored liquid that seemed to stick to the steel greedily. As she'd been moving, working her way through the crowded mass of abominations, she found a large enough stone to use to launch herself upwards. Though she could by no means fly, she could certainly use the propulsion of jumping in such a way as to glide back over to the others. Her only obstacle was the ceiling.

It was going to be tricky, but she was willing to try anything. It was certainly better than trying to fight her way through the crowded mass. A brilliant light flickered and flashed from where Dravon was standing and Keyra found herself in awe at the mans display of power. She was only briefly allowed to admire the strength in such an attack as she was forced to defend herself once more. Using her weapon as a shield, Keyra streaked under the arm of the horror that tried to smash into her. Quickly she shot towards the large rock and leapt up at it.

In two steps, she twisted around and propelled herself off of it. Her wings gave her more lift and she used the momentum to direct herself towards the others. A guttural growl followed her and with a quick glance she noted that one of the had launched it's overly thick arm at her just as she bypassed it. Keyra turned her sword just enough to keep it from hitting her straight on, but the impact of it threw her upwards, a sharp cry of shock coming from her as she went.

Twisting around in a sort of corkscrew style, she hit the rocky ceiling, feeling her feathers tear from the membrane of her wings. The left wing bent backwards upon impact, causing her to hiss in pain, the other tore across the ceiling, flattened the moment she hit. The Val came tumbling back down behind Dravon, her once pristine white feathers a bloody mess. She hit the floor with a heavy thud, dust floating up around her the moment she hit.

Keyra pushed herself upwards, dizzy from the impact and grinding her teeth from the pulsing pain both wings gave her. Each one burned and she was fearful that one may be broken. She didn't dare move them as she regained her footing again, swaying slightly. Both wings hung pitifully from her shoulder blades. Keyra moved next to Dravon and touched his arm. She motioned for the exit behind them.

"Let's go," she said, urging him to fall back with her. Any longer and they were all going to be killed, not just injured.

Enuren did a quick count of her arrows and frowned. She would need to retrieve some from the creatures. She heard Dravon call out to Elruin to be ready and she knew there was little time. With speed and light feet she darted forward and into the thick of things. She weaved and danced about, pulling arrows where she saw them.

She paused, her eyes drawn upward at the sound of Keyra’s cry of surprise. Enuren winced at the thud the woman made as well as the feathers that were damaged. She lunged forward as the Val came down, hitting the floor.

Enuren moved quickly to Keyra’s side but the woman was already standing. She was clearly in pain. Enuren stood nearby, moving backwards with her. Elruin came forward. Sevral joined them. Just like that they regrouped.

Sevral urged Keyra to move and Enuren followed her attention moving from the creatures behind her to the injured woman.
She turned, readying her bow once more to help should Dravon or Elruin need assistance.

“We are ready Dravon!”

She worried about Keyra's injured wings, she worried about the throng of creatures. She worried about the how few survivors there were and what might happen as they moved further in. Enuren licked her lips and waited for Dravon to give the word and for Elruin to seal off the passage.

She looked over her shoulder. "Keyra are you alright?" She kept her bow at the ready.

Dravon pulled himself back towards the stairs when enough of the creatures had fallen and it did seem that the number was thinning, even for the ones coming through the broken doorway. They still posed a great threat, because he could feel his shoulders begin to burn and the familiar heavy feeling of fog in his chest. His arm was throbbing as well from its repeated use in blocking attacks. The monsters were not using a single tactic at all, except the effect of follow and bludgeon. The small cut across the top of his eye was now starting to impede his view too, only every few seconds he would use his free hand to wipe the small stream of blood away.

He lunges a impales an attacker to quickly save the life of a guardsman, only to see two of them perish from the other side of the room. Those men had fought hard and in the end this was their reward, to die a horrible death in the depths of the world at the hands of their twisted brothers. Montague comes running by with one of his companions with a shoulder for support.

He waves on for Dravon to follow as the monsters begin to right themselves and redouble the attack.
Dravon picks up the man he just saved, a deep bleeding gash from his leg torn by an arrant claw at some point during the charge.

With his limping form adding some weight to their retreat he watches the last of the group, Montague included, climb through their only means of escape. He drops the soldier with a heavy thud in front of the small opening and takes a knee with his spear held fast in front. Allowing for one of the others to help the wounded man as Dravon jabs from body to body in an effort to by more time. This did buy them precious moments, up until the moment he struck into the mass of gathering bodies and was unable to pull the weapon free. In that moment he could not find a better mental word to describe the fact of yelling feces from the top of his throat.

Dravon found himself diving into the narrow gap in the rubble, his only way to see was the small gleam of light from whatever room was ahead and the swirling shadows of creatures in pursuit of him. It was if he were being chased by a dark nightmare, as all the scratching and growling was being amplified by the tight spacing. He then felt a hand clasp upon the back of his shoulder and a strong wince of pain crossed his eyes, as claws dug deep into his flesh. A fire began to build in him as he increased his tempo of movement as to get this nightmare over with.

The new light blares across his face and this he uses as a signal to jump. The large swollen form that follows him out has no say in the matter. Its vice like grip keeping it latched firmly onto Dravon's shoulder and as they hit the floor he forces its grip loose. Several strikes to its chest with closed first, obviously in the form of some martial prowess. Two of the wounded guardsmen help by securing its arms and Dravon takes this opportunity to strike again. Only this time it has more purchase and stance, the impact resounds with a shattering crack of the monsters sternum and in the next moment its body goes limp.

Dravon lays back with his mouth wide, catching his breath and rightly so. He looks up to see Montague with another soldier, both bearing torches and it was from these sources of light that he guided himself. Taking a quick moment to gauge the room he could see nothing, no walls, nor pillars and only dim glimmers returned with the vague light of the torches.

In that moment his mind shot back to reality, as the narrow passage began to echo loudly with the approaching abominations. He breaths once more before turning his head back some more to see Elruin not far off from his position and speaks with an under toned calm. "Elruin would you mind shutting the door?..." He says as he wipes the small stream from his forehead once more.

He slashed a creature in two equal halves from head to toe with a ferocious magical strike. The creatures never stopped coming not even when so many lay dead, they were the purest form of a mindless drone. Elruin glanced back at his companions and he noticed that they were in position to leave the doomed battle behind. Elruin closed the distance between him and the opening. He quickly jumped through it checking if every one was there. Dravon jumped inside the hallway struggling with a beast that had attached itself to him. Finally after dispatching the latest pus bag Dravon ordered him to close their retreat. The sounds the creatures produced reminded Elruin of the importance of his task and strengthened his determination. “Stand back.” The mage raised his hands breathing in and closing his eyes to focus on the spell. It wasn’t a complex task but a hard one because the stone around the pathway was solid and stubborn. Elruin let out a slight groan from the exertion and lowered his now glowing hands slowly pulling a thick layer of stone from the roof of the hallway downwards. It hit the ground without a sound sealing the abominations behind a thick layer of solid bedrock strong enough to stand the test of time. The Ash fiend wanted to gasp but he didn’t allow himself the luxury and turned towards the rest of the group. Some soldiers were wounded and would probably die if no one tended to their wounds sadly Elruin knew he was a terrible healer and it would likely cost him more energy than he liked. “What now?” He looked around the group everyone looked tired and they still had quite the journey ahead of them.

As Keyra had told Dravon to fall back, Elruin came up to them from the fight. He was bloodied and looked a little worse for wear. The Val frowned a bit at the sight. Obviously they were starting to get worn down by the ever encroaching group of monstrosities.

“Give the sign and I will obey.”

A hand gripped her wrist slightly, drawing her from Dravon's side. She turned to see that the hand belonged to Sevral who had eyed her wings with a frown on his lips.

“Come on. He won’t follow until we go first.”

Slowly she nodded, "Yes," she agreed with him softly. Allowing Sevral to take her into the escape route, she tried her best to ignore the pain in her back and shoulders that was coming from her broken wings. She was almost entirely certain that one was broken and the other fractured. Gritting her teeth she allowed herself to use Sevral as her anchor, keeping herself steady on her feet as they slowly edged through the opening. Her wings brushed the edges of the small tunnel as they were only allowed one at a time through.

Wincing, she hissed sharply between her teeth. She worked her way through the opening until she was freed onto the other side. Panting slightly, she reached out and braced herself against the wall as the other followed through. Sevral was right behind her as he'd been the one to get her through to safety. Enuren was after them and following her was Elruin.

“We are ready Dravon!” the mage woman called out.

Turning over her shoulder, she glanced back to Keyra though she still had her bow drawn and aimed back at the enemies that clambered around outside the opening.

"Keyra are you alright?"

"Fine," she answered shortly though she was far from it.

A few seconds afterwards and Dravon came falling into the area they'd cleared out. He was panting heavily as he had desperately fought to help keep the monsters at bay while some of the soldiers had come through with a few injured men. Laying back he seemed to take a moment to catch his breath.

"Elruin would you mind shutting the door?..."

“Stand back,” Elruin called out and lifted his hands.

The pure flood of energy coursed through the room, making the Val shiver slightly. The power he exuberated was intense to say the least. She looked over just in time to see the rock wall literally detach and crumble down into the opening they'd opened up not but a little while ago. Behind it, the bumbling mass of horrors were left to fight amongst themselves.

“What now?”

The Val rested her head against her arm that she raised up against the wall she leaned on. Having never once broken her wings, the pain was a new experience and something she was having a rather difficult time dealing with. Keyra had been stabbed, run through, slashed and broken and arm and leg once. All of which she'd endured and gotten through rather well. However, her wings had never once been injured. It seemed they were far more fragile and sensitive than she'd originally thought.

It was giving her a headache.

At about that time, she zoned out of the conversation as she was concentrating on controlling the desire to sink down and sleep to get away from the pulsing, burning of her broken wings.

Enuren watched as Keyra leaned heavily on Sevral. Clearly the woman was in pain and Enuren was disheartened at being underground where plants and herbs would not be available to make into any sort of medicine. Every breath the Vall took was laced with agony. Her movements were slow and Enuren’s mind worked frantically to come up with a suggestion of how best to help her.

As Keyra stated she was fine, Enuren nodded. She knew she wasn’t but she also knew the warrior woman was not about to give in. Has to be a way to help her... Enuren had no experience with wings, at least not those of anything bigger than a small bird.

There was chaos and her attention snapped back to where Dravon appeared. Enuren couldn’t help but smile as Dravon so casually asked Elruin to close the door. As if there was not a horde of creatures coming for them.

Her bow lowered and Enuren held very still as the energy the Ash Fiend produced filled the air. The hair stood up on the back of her neck and had she breathed like a normal person, Enuren would have held her breath.

The wall crumbled closing them off from the things that pressed forward. She couldn’t help but hope many were crushed.
Her attention turned back to Keyra, her eyes focused on the woman’s form as she leaned heavily on her arm. “Perhaps if we have a moment we can rest, take stock of injuries and weaponry?”

Enuren looked around. Keyra was not the only one injured. For the moment the crumbled rock would hold back their enemy giving them time to assess their present situation.

Kneeling, Enuren began to look over her arrows. She rubbed many of them in dirt to clean off what gore she could. Never had she seen such disgusting splatter from hitting a living thing. Not really living though are they? She shook her head and continued her work.

"Do you wish some assistance in cleaning your blade or cleaning up the blood from your injury?" Enuren spoke softly as she once again addressed Keyra. "Anyone else need help?"

Dravon lays there for a few moments to catch his breath and let the pain in his shoulder subside before sitting up slowly. He can hear several of the others getting the pains out of their bodies as well and his eyes fall on the group of soldiers with them. With the dim light of the torches being all that he could use to see, it was evident that they were in a bad way as well.

What started as a group of twelve was now whittled down to half, with Montague tending to his comrades and the five of them in no real shape to fight anymore. Dravon let his mind wander for a few moments and then a hand was placed in front of him in a offer to help stand. "That was quite the show you put on there." It was Montague as he just made his way over to Dravon and the others.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you reminded me of.." Dravon was quick to wave of the rest of his statement and get to his feat by his own accord. It was obvious that he didn't want Montague to continue with that line of thought with the way he dismissed the conversation. "Take count of your men and supplies, we have to suspect that this wall will not hold them forever." A little taken aback by the dismissal, Montague sternly gives a nod despite what just happened and returns to his men. Dravon in the meanwhile helps himself to one of their torches and holds it over his position, taking in the stonework beneath his feet.

The floor was dark and smooth as if made form a completely different material then the other rooms. Only small pebbles littered the floor due to the recent movements of the earth, Dravon kicking them aside as he felt his way along the wall. It was a far larger room then he thought and the space of dead air in front of him was a testament to that. The air was stale as well, letting him know that the room had been closed off from the world for quite some time.

At that moment his hand felt a strange sensation, like running a finger over the wax of a warm candle. After retracting his hand in the beginning he returned it to investigate object some more. It did have a waxy texture and whatever it was ran inside a groove along the wall and upon further inspection smelt like a kind of lacquer. He understood now this was the same kind of fire light source seen throughout the rest of the temple and with little thought given after set the torch to the substance. With that a puff of flame shot out from the groove in the wall and began to race along its confines. An audible hiss could be heard as the flame traveled sucking on the dry air to fuel itself.

The room seemed to grow in size as it was being revealed by the rushing flame, that somehow lit a large brazier hanging from the center of the ceiling of the room. It was a large and circular in build with four stout pillars supporting four imaginary corners, all equally spaced from one another. The opposite end of the crumbled door they entered was dominated by a singular great door and what caught his attention was the site of battle that had gone unnoticed due to the darkness before.

There were bodies from ages past strewn on the floor, several worn armor and weapons that belied their age. Aside from the scant cobwebs that occupied them, the material itself was untouched by time. If only the bodies still wrapped in the armor could make such a claim as well. For all that was left of them were bones and dust, scattered by the blank eyeless stairs and the open mouthed screams that riddled their faces before the final moment. There had to be over twenty of them, all pressed and clamoring together in what seemed to be a large brawl to the very bitter end.

Dravon knelt and took another look at the floor.

The pebble were in fact scattered fragments of bone that were knocked loose during the shacking of the temple. His eyes were drawn to a large blade protruding from the back of body and he reached to claim it. Not surprising after all these years that the body was more then willing to part with such an item and he took a moment to eye the weapon. Its blade glinting in his hand, a large unforgiving scythe like tool protruding from a long thin handle not much shorter then his arm. On further inspection he could see that the handle was not metal with a lashing of leather, but in fact large length of bone with strips of flesh sewn into it for use as a grip and at that realization he dropped the weapon. Ensuring himself he would never touch such a grizzly thing again.

"Dravon.. you and your men may want to see this." It was Montague and he had found something. But this revaluation came from the body that Dravon brought with him on the trip in. As Dravon marched back and motioned for the others to follow he came at a stop with Montague holding a strip of cloth retrieved from the creatures corpse. "This man is from the Blue Dagger guild..." He said with a cross look on his face. "And that has meaning to us how? The guilds must all have stake in this site shouldn't they?" Dravon asked.

Montague gave a stern shake of his head.
"Not all of them; the Blue Daggers are banned from many different sites around the city and have a bad reputation of stealing from the sites of other guilds." Dravon have a knowing "Ahhh" of realization as the thought struck him. "I guess we know why there are more then we expected now." Montague gave a nod to this but then spoke again.

"It also means that there is another way into the dig from down here, so the way home is not lost to us.

"Do you wish some assistance in cleaning your blade or cleaning up the blood from your injury?"

Keyra hadn't heard much from the others as she was too busy calming her own mind to force herself to continue on despite the injury and loss of her most valued part of fighting. The young Val depended far too much on the pristine white wings that hung on her shoulders. With them broken and unable to use, she was starting to doubt how useful she was going to be to the others. If anything she was going to slow them down. Grinding her teeth, she glowered at the wall from where she rested her head.

"It's fine," she mumbled to the other, only barely registering the words from the woman.

Forcing herself to pay attention to the conversation, she only followed bits and pieces. Dravon was worried that the wall wasn't going to hold the creatures for very long. This alarmed Keyra. She turned slightly to see the dark outline of the rocks that Elruin had created with his power. She huffed slightly. If stone cannot hold them back, what will? she thought to herself.

The conversation continued, something about a guild, or a group that had been banned from many places. She forced herself to listen, trying to focus. Blue Daggers... I've heard of them, what was said was true, they were bandits of a sort. Probably one of the nastier kind that didn't belong to any noble or honorable guild on the planets. The sounds of the monsters beginning to scratch at the rock was a dull reminder that they didn't have long. Keyra agreed with Dravon silently. The Blue Daggers were probably no more, that or far less than they used to be.

She would have spoken her mind, but the conversation moved on quickly without her really noticing and then of course, a voice distracted her as a pair of hands descended upon her shoulders. Had she been in a better condition she would have lashed out, but as it was, Keyra could hardly move without pain following her every step.

“Hold still, this is going to hurt.”

Keyra startled slightly, then tensed up. The muscles in her shoulders and back tightening as she waited for what he said to expect. His voice was soft as he mumbled something over and over in a language she couldn't quite make out. A sort of shock pulsed through her shoulders, then pain. Intolerable pain. A sharp gasp filled her lungs as her fingers dug into the rock, scrapping her skin. It took quite a lot of energy and control to keep from screaming in pain, but even so her voice cracked a few times as the bones in her wings pulled together.

The sensation of having every torn muscle and destroyed bone slowly mend themselves was something she had never felt before. Nor did she want to feel it ever again. She would have crumpled to the ground if it weren't for his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. When it was over and he released her, however, Keyra did drop. Panting heavily she knelt there with her stomach twisting, a vile, bitter taste in her mouth. A cough seemed to loosen her lungs and the Val remembered how to breath again.

“Don’t try to use your wings they are going to be frail for at least an hour.”

Elruin turned on his heel and left her without pause. She didn't have time to thank him, although she wasn't sure if he'd done her a service or not. Keyra supposed that she could think of it as his way of helping her since now her wings were no longer broken, though the dull thrum of pain still lingered. After a moment, she finally settled enough to ignore the pulsing in her newly mended limbs.

It was about then that the conversation touched on the fact that there was a way out of the labyrinth they found themselves in. Keyra looked over to the Ash Fiend who mentioned that finding a way out may lead the creatures to the surface where they would indeed have a frenzy. She looked back to the rock wall.

"Perhaps..." she started slowly, "The way out can be sealed or better yet, if the path allows, destroyed so they cannot follow," her voice sounded strange to her but she shook it off. Taking a breath, Keyra used the wall to stand again, "Either way, we should go."

Dravon nodded with each word that passed, he was rather anxious to be rid of this place and be to be back in the sun was a growing need for him. Being in dark crypt like places never held his fancy, even during the crusades. He had already made his way back to the scattered torrent of bodies and inspected more to his ire.

Even though the dust of ages had consumed them long ago, it was easy to tell that several of them were in fact afflicted by the same pox that now mires the newer inhabitants of this temple. But there was something in his sight that caught his attention, a glimmer reflecting off of some untarnished surface. This belonged to one of those dead and buried under the mound near the center of the room. A person that died in the throws of combat and was nearly smothered to death by the weight of his adversary.

As Dravon pulled the last husk from the top his body tensed for a moment as a tinge of realization struck him.

The glimmer was not from any form of arms or armor, but instead from the deceased's body. Small amber strands of metal lay frayed from what remained of the hair and small protruding ridges coming from the front of the skull made ever more mindful of his own. This body belonged to a Volkari like Dravon, however it was easy to see that there were small differences here and there. He had died with his sword, a peculiar weapon of stone thrust into the chest of the last adversary to face him, firmly locked in his grip.

Upon retrieving the weapon and further inspection he found a small leather bound satchel with what appeared to be a book. He gives a cursory glance at the pages within and to his surprise they are still rather legible. However they are written in a script that he cannot recognize. Only able to make out several characters and phrases on his part. He keeps flipping pages until he finds that there are also strange sketches in the book as well and he finds a picture that causes him to look up at the door located at the center of the opposite wall.

It was a curiously large door made of an non reflective metal, dark and ominous to look at for long periods. It looked just the same in the book as it did in reality, a massive figure of a woman with her eyes close and hands clasped in from of her breast, as if she were praying. Long strands of hair swept from the sides of her body and rapped her form save for her shoulders and arms. But in the center of her forehead sat one vertical eye that was open and stout in its appearance. If not for the metal being so dark and lifeless, one would be pressed to say that the figure engraved in this door could move.

The rest of the image revealed there was a slit in between her palms and that this was a void for some object, as he turned the page to look on there was an image of a sword there and a most peculiar thing it was. It was colored just as dark as the door and was for most parts the same shape as a sword, save for the fact its blade was half the length with a flat tip. With several strange shapes bore into the blade and grooves as well.

Almost like a large key.

The thought hit him then that they would need such an item if they were to proceed. Least they wished to face what was behind them..

Dravon walked back to the bulk of the group and held the book out for them to see. "It appears this is what we need to go with that.." He says as he gestures back towards the door. "Besides I think we should rather go forward then backwards at this point." Folding the book closed he places it in the cuff of his sash and begins to overturn one body after another.

"Start searching.. maybe we can find something of use as well?"

Keyra took a good look at the picture that was drawn in the book. A key she thought to herself, arching an eyebrow. It wasn't just any kind of key either. It looked to be like a sword, but nothing she'd ever seen before. Dravon closed the book as she turned her attention to the door that he'd been examining just a moment before. The opening that was there was certainly large enough for some sort of sword to be shoved through it.

The Val started her search on the farther end of the room they'd found themselves in. Moving bodies and stone, she looked for anything that may resemble such a strange contraption. A few times she thought she'd found it, only to pull out the thing she'd set eyes upon to find either a normal sword or metal that didn't even resemble what she'd been after. Keyra wasn't sure how long she and the group shifted around in the dust and rubble.

The constant scratching against rock behind them was an unpleasant reminder that they didn't have all the time in the world to find the key to their only way out. The Val, in all honesty, was starting to dislike being closed in by all the rock around her. A bit of an itch was beginning to edge it's way across her small, slender frame. She wanted to see open sky again. Who knew how long it had been since they'd descended. It was so easy to lose track of time underground.

Keyra moved as quickly as she could, throwing aside old armor, dusty bones and rocks as she dug. Dirt was coating her face as well as her hands and arms. Her once golden pieces of armor were now lightly coated in dust, as well as the black blood from the creatures. The Val woman was starting to give up hope on finding the damned key and was going to suggest Elruin utterly destroy the door for them when her foot kicked something hard and metallic under some rocks.

Pulling back, she knelt down and looked under the two large pieces of stone that she knew she couldn't lift up on her own. Getting down further on her hands and knees, she reached under the rocks for the metal that she'd kicked. It had only moved a little bit further into the rubble underneath. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt and she pulled only to find that it was stuck on something that she couldn't see. Putting a little more weight into her tugging, she fought with whatever it was stuck on.

After several minutes of struggling with it, wiggling it around and still not freeing whatever it was she had, she sat up and glanced over to the group, "I found something," she called, "It's stuck though."

Enuren focused on her arrows rather than her surroundings. It was bad enough that she was underground not high in the mountains where the wind could brush her face but now she was in a dark room that felt as if it had no way out. She stifled her slight panic as she finished cleaning her arrows.

Her eyes raised as Dravon retrieved what appeared to be a book. She stood, shouldering her quiver once more. Her eyes followed Dravon as he looked from the book towards the door on the opposite side of the room. Enuren had been paying too much attention to Keyra and her arrows, she had not looked around the room as a whole.

Enuren moved towards the portal. It was dark and felt as if it absorbed any light that dared be cast on it. The figure of the woman was a bit unsettling. The eye in the centre of her forehead drew Enuren’s eyes and she frowned before forcing herself to turn away.

She jumped slightly at the sound of Dravon’s voice. He called for them to search for...something. A frown formed once more as she watched him begin to shift bodies and search for some item that was the key to them getting out of the tomb-like room. He was right though. Enuren would much rather go forward than face what was waiting for them behind the crumbled wall.

Like the others, Enuren began to search the bodies for anything out of the ordinary. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for, she hadn’t looked at the book before Dravon put it away but she was sure she would know it if she saw it.

Something unusual...something to go with the dark woman...

She avoided looking too closely at any of the bodies as she searched. She didn’t need anymore reminders that death was so nearby. The noise at the rock pile that held the creatures at bay was more than enough for that.

Nearby the Val was moving with haste as she searched the piles. Enuren hoped that Elruin’s work had helped Keyra’s wings. She could not imagine the pain the woman had suffered. As she watched Keyra, the woman began to struggle with yanking and pulling on something.

She darted over and with a look at Keyra, “Ready? 1, 2, 3...pull.”

Enuren yanked, lending her strength to the Val’s to free the item. The thing slipped a little and then gave way under both women's grip. Enuren slipped backwards as it came loose and landed lightly on her backside.

After several minutes of digging and scraping at the bodies in each of their own separate piles. He paused whenever an item of interest came by his sight. First it was some small trinkets here and there that told him about those entombed in this room for all these years. Jewelry from what seemed to be people of his own empire. Weapons and tools that he could recall from Val historical sects, as well as tools from early Creed society.

"I'm not liking any of this" He says out of frustration.
He stands and pulls the book once more only to thumb through the pages, albeit more slowly this time. "I can see indications of almost every recognized civilization here. Volkari.. Vall.. Human and several others." He leans over to lift up a quiver that was half buried in the grime of years past. Pulling several of the arrows free and examining the shafts of what seemed to polished ivory.

"This is bone crafting; Its a wonder I didn't realize it earlier." Montague looks over his way and questions. "I take it that's old?" Dravon nods for a few moments as he returns to the book. "Pre-civilized era.. that makes it about two thousand years before Creed even began recording its history. Not long before my own people as well.." Montague continues to have a wry look on his face as he speaks again. "And I take it that your a historian in your spare time?" Dravon absentmindedly runs his fingers across the image of the door as he looks it over. "No.. But my mother was rather adamant that I learn local and extrinsic history"

His attention is grabbed when Keyra and Enuren come flopping back into the edge of his vision and a glinting metallic is now securely held in the archers slender fingers. He almost runs over to her if it weren't for the size of the room attributing to such a need, but he gives a quick pause when he reaches her. It was easy enough to see why she and Keyra had to pull the item free.

Because they were not the only ones grabbing for it; As Dravon looked the weapon over, it was indeed the sword in question. But right below the edge of her hand was a clinched boney fist attached at the very end of the hilt and two others snapped off at the forearms were clenched for the blade. It appears that the swords importance was not in doubt in their final moments and that even the wretched animations were eager to claim it.

Dravon places an arm under hers, helping Enuren get to her feet.
"Quite the prize you both found.. I just hope its for the better that we open that door." He plucks the two hands from the blade and lets her heft its weight for a moment. It is a rather interesting weapon, the blade is obviously sharp and its apparent that it was in fact made to be a weapon. He looks over his shoulder to see what is left of the Captains men piling rocks against the solid rock, as if in some futile way to halt the tide behind. Or only just to ease their own minds about what was coming for them from the other side.

He gently slides the sword from her hand and slides the quiver from over his shoulder, holding it out for her to take. "Here, their not going to be using these anytime soon." He looks over to Keyra as she sits herself up and offers her the same hand after sliding the sword through his sash. "I suggest everyone gets ready.. we don't know whats beyond that door, but it might just be more trouble." He gives Elruin and Sevral and knowing look of anxiousness, as if to lend more foreboding to what is soon to come.

Enuren grimaced at the sight of the bones on the hilt of the sword. The previous owner appeared to have held onto the thing with their last bit of strength. Dravon was beside her now, one hand under her arm as he helped her up.

“Much thanks.”

She stood, brushing her dress off. “Aye, a prize alright and one which was not given up easily.” Her eyes moved once more to the boney grip on the hilt. Whoever that was they had known that it was important. They had died with it in hand and Enuren couldn't help but wonder what they battled. Was it the same creatures as hounded them or was there something else waiting for them?

“Old you say?” Enuren looked over at Dravon as he took the sword and handed her a quiver of arrows. She had been concentrating on helping Keyra with the sword that she was only half listening to his talk of old civilizations.

She took the quiver from his offered hand as Dravon turned to offer Keyra a hand up as well. Her eyes moved over the item.
Enuren pulled an arrow out and her eyes widened with shock. Ivory...bone... She was unsure where they had originated but
one look told her the craftsmanship was excellent.

She looked up at Dravon told them to get ready. He seemed prepared to open the door. There was no time at the moment to inspect all of the arrows or marvel too long in the craftsmanship. She shouldered the new quiver and then notched one of her own arrows. Enuren resolved to save the ivory shafted arrows for later. She wanted to see if they had brittled with time though the primary glance told her they were still perfect, still strong.

Raising her bow, Enuren took a position that would allow her to see through the opened door and fire off her arrow should anything try and enter immediately. Her eyes flickered to Dravon and she gave him a nod to indicate her readiness.

Keyra took the hand that was offered and allowed Dravon to pull her up. Brushing herself off she eyed the sword-key that they had pulled from under the rubble. It was indeed something that was valuable. The bony fingers that still clung to the steel were testimony enough to that.

"Quite the prize you both found.. I just hope its for the better that we open that door." Dravon commented.

Keyra lifted an eyebrow as she regarded him and the weapon, "Going back isn't an option," the Val stated softly. As Dravon turned towards the door and prepared to put the 'key' into it, he told them to get ready for whatever may be on the other side. Though Keyra didn't like the implications, she reached back and drew her sword. Her wings twitched, unconsciously she tried to spread them in preparation for whatever was on the other side of the strange door. The white wings gave a slight popping noise as they unfolded.

It stung a little bit, but the movement was not marred too much. She probably couldn't hold up her weight like normal, but the movement was enough to help settle her body into a fighting stance. Her gaze flicked over to Enuren who had her bow drawn and an arrow at the ready. After her was Elruin. Taking a few steps back from the door he also announced that he was ready. Keyra's body shifted, her blade making a soft sound as she readied it and her wings tensed.

With a light nod of her head, she motioned for the door, "Open it," she said softly and slowly lifted her weapon upwards, the tip of it leveled with her chest.

Sevral wasn’t entirely sure what to think of the Ash Fiend’s actions. Was it kindness, or was the man perpetuating his own existence through others? Cynicism was never a virtue Sevral cared to even consider, and he certainly wasn’t one to pander to pessimistic viewpoints, but the man couldn’t help but sense a certain vanity in Elruin’s motives. Of course, Sevral would’ve healed Keyra too if he would, a Val whose wings were decommissioned more than by the fact that they were underground could prove substantially debilitating, however it was the way the Ash Fiend conducted himself that merited Sevral’s scrutiny. Sevral worked to see the benevolence underlying the shady Mage’s disdainful personality, but even so he found himself gritting his teeth as Keyra endured the healing processes, his eyes watching every action the Ash Fiend took to its completion. While Sevral was grateful despite whatever this gesture may or may not mean, the man was content in Elruin’s quick departure afterwards. Sevral left the Val’s side to explore the cave only after he realized how defensive he’d gotten and how awkward he now felt watching the woman’s wings, contributing little more than taking up space.

Sevral moved away after a second or two, feigning interest in some section of the wall. He had actually only now taken notice to the treasure-trove of archaic wonderment that surrounded him. Save for the unfortunate souls still armorclad, Sevral was standing in a tomb of a myriad of weapons and armor that patiently awaited his inspection, patiently awaited another soul to bear them and to know their secrets. Sevral’s mind was immediately captivated as he produced his notepad and began scribbling notes; speculations, observations, generalizations, dates, materials, anything. Dravon had mentioned a key for the ornate door, but Sevral was certain that if he were to find it, he would find it in his preoccupation.

By the time Dravon had begun speaking about having located indications of various civilizations and given his personal historic opinion, Sevral had reached about the same conclusion. The man was entirely immersed in a euphoria that only a crafter of such fine arts could understand. Craftsmanship from generations past, Sevral could nearly trace the lineage of each and the development and general characteristics and discoveries as weapons and armor matured. Some groups progressed faster and would advance in one field, and eventually the others would catch up and forge ahead. Sevral would almost be content to remain here if not for the impending death that battered at the far wall of rubble the Ash Fiend had constructed in his demolition purposes.

It was only after Keyra and Enuren had come stumbling backwards with some object in-hand that Sevral allowed himself give pause. The man meandered over with Dravon to inspect their discovery, already flipping to a fresh page in his little notepad.
It was a strange creature in deed, a rarity that Sevral would expect be ornate and for no other purposes than that, not even opening a door, and yet, looking at it, it was apparently made for combat. Sevral was not surprised to see that history would not relinquish the strange relic, because he certainly wouldn’t have, and some comically childish part of the man forced him to pick up the dismembered hand and thank it with firm shake for having kept their escape feasible. With that, he allowed the arm to rest from its attentive dutifulness in protecting the artifact, and then dropped it dismissively on the floor. His next target were the arrows Enuren had just received. But that was for another day.

"I suggest everyone gets ready.. we don't know whats beyond that door, but it might just be more trouble."

Sevral turned then to Dravon as the Captain spoke. Content for now in what he’d gathered. He would inspect his notes later, make amendments and see what other conclusions he could draw. His mind wandered momentarily to his forge and what he could produce with this new insight, but the swordsman steadied himself easily, focusing once more on the task at hand.

Dravon had glanced back, and Sevral nodded in return. The Ash Fiend had conceded to his usual unexplained actions, having put something on the door, while Enuren had notched an arrow. Sevral was glad to see that she would not waste her new ordinance just yet. Glancing moreover, he saw Keyra, inspecting her wings again as she flexed them into a ready stance, then he turned ahead once more.

“Ready,” Elruin reported.

"Open it," Keyra said simply.

Sevral shifted his left side forward and gripped the hilt of his sword apprehensively.

“Ready.” Sevral spoke firmly.

Dravon kept a stern eye to the ominous door, the figure on its surface was strangely apparent as some sort of holy symbol to him. Like this place was intended as some tomb to contain something that the people before thought would remain buried. The sound of the room began to lull over him as he looked on and only the constant scratching could be heard behind them.

It was then that one of Montague's men spoke up.
"Why don't we just let him wade into them." He pointed at Dravon. "Captain says your this White Knight from the crusades.. so you should just do what it was you did to win the war." A sour look runs across Dravon's face as he looks amiably at his feet.

"Such power does not come easily and without price and in doing that I would be killing you myself. No matter how much your armor could protect you.." A somber mood overtakes him for the moment as he looks back at the soldier. "The only reason your captain knows of me is because he was there all those years ago." Montague perks in his stance with a look of surprise towards Dravon and he returns with his own expression. "Names are one thing Montague, but I never forget a face.. only a child and already a soldier. You were born into a pitiful world and I don't think I could ever apologize enough for that."

Montague grimaces for a moment as Dravon bends down and retakes the sickle once more gripping it tightly in his right and the key in the other. He turns back and walks several feet leaving the others to their station before placing the tip of the key to the door. He can feel a deep pit well up in his chest, as if he wishes that such power like before came so easily and without price. He can already feel a tightness in his chest from his earlier exertion and his only comfort was that it was well worth the time it bought.

The soldiers behind them, thought few in number, had reserved themselves to praying. Montague holding firm with a tight expression, gripping his sword and shield.

Dravon takes a long breath as he slides the key into place and he can feel the metal sliding across something inside the door. Then as if to break the silence; a vast seem opens in the middle of the door, splitting it to the top. The quick pop and release of air it make shot dust everywhere. Dravon on the end of the blades hilt could feel his body tense and harden instantly. Then an intense flow of air rushed through the small gap, showing signs that their was a way further on behind it.

The room went quiet again as the massive door split and slid to both sides, running along an invisible seam along the walls. But there was an odd not then, because the room was in honesty totally quiet. Dravon could only hear a slight grinding noise made by the movement of the door and nothing else. Even as he caught the weight of the sword when the splitting door released it he turned around and realized something was wrong.

Montague's head was already against the stone and listening only to turn back and speak. "Their gone..."

Dravon nodded as he slid the key into his sash along with his own scabbard taking one of the lit torches in hand illuminating the now open path before them. It was a hallway nearly twenty feet in length that opened into a larger area ahead and with a deep sigh of relief that nothing was upon them in this moment. He trudged on with them all in tow, Montague and his men were going to bring up the rear of the column and for now Dravon was fine with that. He could only think about how much they had already sacrificed to be down here and loose so many of their brothers in combat.

The group can feel the tension rising as they all made their way towards the other end and even Dravon could feel a sense of anxiety building. As they broke the threshold of the open space they could see that it was somewhat of a mirror of the first room. However it was massive in scope, at least ten times larger and more dominated by desolation. The pillars and writing on the walls had fallen to ruin as well as whole sections of the walls were falling away. One of the soldier does as Dravon did before, placing his torch into the walls reservoir. This started the chain reaction of sending the racing flame around the room, slowly bringing light to the room as they took their bearings.

Dravon looked around letting his eyes adjust to the changing light and only then did he feel his feet touch against something. It was heavy and splayed upon the floor when he investigated with the tip of his shoe.
Upon looking down he could see it was a body and in fact it was a nearly fresh kill; she was a young woman not much older in appearance to Keyra but her life was dreadfully cut short. The moment became more vile as he looked up and around them all, as he could see that there were corpses everywhere. All woman and not one was left without one obviously tell of how they died. Their throats hand been gouged open and left to bleed, pouring their lives out amongst this tomb.

A strange realization hit upon him at that instance, even as his voice caught in his throat, he recalled one simple fact about the last few hours. Not one of the creatures from before were woman, upon any kind of examination. They were all still in their clothes and uniforms, showing that whatever it was that changed the others was not in their fate. With the last of the light spreading to the massive room he looked around once more, bodies scattered around and no real reason why.

He looked up expecting to see the brazier from before, or maybe a larger one to burst to life above them, but nothing happened. All he could see was a pitch, wavering, darkness that sat above them as he gazed on with a with question in his eyes.

As the door opened and sent out a gush of air, Keyra felt a slight chill run down her spine. The Val shifted ever so slightly, her wings lifting up just a bit higher as she eyed the darkness beyond the door that slid opened by some unknown mechanism. Her golden gaze shifted over to Dravon where she watched him for a while first before her attention was diverted to the Captain who spoke up from behind them.

Turning a bit she looked at him as he said that the creatures were gone from behind them. Her eyes narrowed. Gone? Where did they go? Why? She wasn't entirely sure she liked that news. Keyra supposed that on the other hand they were now safe for the moment without having those strange abominations crawling through the wall behind them. With one last, long lingering look at the destroyed wall that Elruin had caused, she returned her attention to the room before them.

Stepping inside, she followed after Dravon, her weapon still at the ready as she moved down the dark hall with him. Her golden gaze was wide, the fire light of the torch only offering her so much as they walked. Looking around, she tried to see if there was anything else around them aside from the rock wall, but it didn't seem that way. It wasn't until they got to the room at the end of the hallway that Keyra found out the reason for her earlier chill.

As Dravon and one of the soldiers put their torches up, and the fires spread around the room, Keyra was slightly blinded by the sudden change in light. She had slowed as she entered the room behind their leader. As he stopped and looked down at something, her gaze had widened as she was looking at another part of the room. Shifting slightly, her eyes shot from one side to the other as she took in the gruesome scene. Her lips parted just slightly as she took in a sharp breath. With the sight of all the woman having been killed horrendously, her heart seemed to stop briefly.

Adrenaline kicked in and the Val felt as if her senses had grown. The slightest move and breath tickled across her skin as she stood there, hands gripping her large weapon tightly. It took her a moment, but she finally managed to pull herself from the spot that she had been rooted to. Her gaze lifted to look up into the darkness above them, her heart pounding heavily in her ears. Keyra took in a slow, shaking breath.

Stepping near Dravon, she lowered her weapon slightly so that it was at her other side as she reached out and took hold of his arm lightly. Looking quickly up to him before her gaze went back to the dead women scattered around, she spoke softly, "Let us not linger here. Find an exit."

Her voice, though soft, had sounded far to loud and she cringed slightly. Releasing him, the Val stepped gingerly over the woman at Dravon's feet and slowly moved forward to try to do as she had suggested. Finding an exit was her first priority as she walked softly through the room, stepping over the corpses and trying her best to be gentle and not disturb them. She had half a mind to try to find if any of them were alive, but she knew better than that. None moved, and there was no sound from anyone else other than those of the living that had just stepped into the room.

Keyra worked her way across the room, keeping her weapon lifted slightly. Her golden eyes shifted around as she looked, keeping an eye out for anything that may not be so welcoming.

Enuren kept her eyes on the door as Dravon approached.

From behind her she heard the man comment about Dravon. Enuren turned her head a little, glancing back before looking to Dravon. She did not know what the man referred to, her home in the mountains meant a great deal of what went on below its peaks never reached her. White Knight? Her eyes scanned over Dravon. He did not seem to enjoy the title. He also surprised her as well as the Captain by stating he remembered his face.

A man with a history, a legend and a good memory. She gave her head a little shake. Enuren could tell that this legacy that followed him as well as Dravon’s good memory were not always a blessing.

Dravon approached the door and as he began to slip the key into its position, Enuren readied herself once more. She looked down the shaft of her arrow. A silent prayer was on her lips asking the winds to guide her arrow true should something moving be on the other side.

Dust billowed as a doors parted. Enuren was once again glad that she did not breathe and did not have to suffer that cloud bothering her airways. She noted immediately that there was no noise. The doors themselves only made the smallest sound of friction as they opened. On the other side there came no sound at all.

A frown formed on her face though she did not take her eyes off the now open door. Gone? A knot formed in her stomach as she tried to contemplate what that could mean for them. The creatures, once so eager to tear into them simply gave up because they opened this door. This does not bode well at all.

Enuren kept her thoughts to herself as she began to follow Dravon. The air felt thicker now, the anticipation of something...anything happening was at the surface and made everyone on edge. Her eyes raked over the new room.

As it illuminated and her eyes took in the horror she could not stop the string of curses that burst forth. Her bow lowered slightly as her mind tried to rationalize the death that surrounded them.

“They are all women...”

Bile rose in her throat at the sight of their open throats. They had been left there to die, their lifeblood bathing the stone under them.

Enuren looked at Keyra. “Yes an exit. I do not wish to remain here any longer.” They were not like the things that had attacked them but it did not make her feel any better. This place held evil in every corner and she wanted to be free of it.

She could not help the fear that took hold at the base of her spine. All women here and... Once more the woman frowned as her mind processed that none of the lumbering things, the warped creatures that tried to claw at them earlier were women. They were only men, soldiers, miners and those sent down to help.

Enuren looked at Keyra wondering if the Val had come to the same conclusion and if she too now felt somehow exposed or vulnerable with the realization.

Raising her bow once more she moved swiftly to Keyra. Her voice was a rough and low sound. “Women...all women here. No men. What do you think that means?"

Dravon had knelt down at the edge of the rooms inner circle eying the dead around them. Not really able to find the words that he needed for that moment, all of this seemed so pointless if this was the end of their journey. But what came next was beyond what either of them expected to happen at that time.

"They.. were.. not.. worthy.."

A voice calls out to them from above, strong and defiant. The very call of the voice could be felt at the back on ones spine and caused a draw of pressure across ones brow. As if it were affecting them on more then just a physical level. Dravon could feel a section of his stomach buckle before his instincts drove him to roll back from his position. This was right before the darkness of the ceiling parts and a large figure falls, landing with an unsettling crash as it drops on malformed legs. Sending cracks through the floor and knocking up waves of dust through the air. Dravon and the others can feel the air waft past them, throwing hair and cloth aside. A true testament to its sheer size and weight.

It was a vastly sized and disturbing beast, if not a mirror then a patriarch to what they have encountered today.

As the creature stood and the flickering of the passing flames subsided its full form came to light. Its figure tall and bulky with misshapen angles and corners. Its skin; the same charred, lacquered dark sheen of the others before and even now in some sections its body carries the same tepid shade of moisture. But its left arm is covered in a long dark muscular structure and where the "infection" sits. It appears to have hardened into a thick chitinous outer layer. In fact its whole body is a vast mystery of curiosity to behold. Missing a majority of its right arm and leg, ending in a wet stump after its elbow and knee.

Whatever it was; it seemed to be far from complete and only only capable of certain strains of moment. Where its body was solid however did not lack for mass, its chest and forearms were stocking and wide. Its chest revealing the images of faces, frozen in terror and pain writhing under its corpulent form. It was obvious now what the end result was for those that became one of those wretched things. Atop its shoulders sat a head that barely resembled any that Dravon had seen. In fact the head and neck were fuzed together and instead it was a large wide lump stretching from atop the shoulders. From the middle of what this creature had for a face, there sprouted a large section of hazy yellow gems. Like a strangely morbid crown, that glowed with a sickly yellow aura.

The front of its chest bore the same crystal as well and two vestigial arms that sat crossed under the crystals edge. As if the creature stood there in patience waiting for an answer of some sort, only for it to speak once more.
"Gaze upon me... mortal.."

Dravon looked on as he could feel the tension build behind his teeth as the monstrosity before them spoke. It had no mouth nor any eyes for that matter, but he could tell it was staring down upon him and his companions. As if one would be standing in a crowded room and feel all the eyes upon them in turn.

Many thanks to Centi for the collaboration ^.^

“Women...all women here. No men. What do you think that means?" Enuren's voice came to Keyra from her left side. Slowly the Val turned to look at the woman and then down at the bodies that were on the floor. Her white wings twitched slightly as she eyed the corpses, feeling a stirring in her stomach that may have made her sick if she were anyone else. Even so, Keyra grit her teeth as she eyed the group of women on the floor. She turned to Enuren after a moment and answered her simply.

"It means that we are the creatures targets," she responded, her voice heavy as she glanced around the room. The urge to get out was even more apparent than before. Keyra shifted her hold on her weapon and worked her way forward even more, towards the back side of the center dais. Her gaze shifted back and forth as she moved. Her wings shifted, lifting upwards just a bit as she looked from one side to the other.

The Val didn't get very far though when the entire area shuddered and there was an inhuman sound from above them. Her body froze and her blood ran cold as she whirled around, her wings snapping just enough to help her motion to turn around swiftly and quickly. Her eyes grew wide as she watched the thing drop down from the darkness above and address them. It was horrible sight to lay eyes upon as it stood up slightly and spoke. The deep, guttural voice shocked her and she felt a slight tremor pass through her body.

The Ash Fiend said something in return and Keyra grit her teeth. Oh yes. Let's insult the thing to top it all off she thought angrily. Her blade lifted upwards as she sized up the thing and tried to figure a way to kill it. It was large, its mere presence was suffocating enough. For a moment, the Val thought the worst. They were going to be utterly destroyed by this thing. She shook her head and sought out the swordsman.

"Sevral!" she cried out, her voice carrying easily enough, "Help me," she said, her intention was for him to throw her upwards towards what she presumed to be it's face. A weakness in most creatures if anything else, "Up there," she continued motioning her head up to its ugly, malformed face. Or what she presumed to be its head. Her wings pumped again lifting her weight as she prepared to run at Sevral and have him throw her up.

Sevral knelt by one of the bodies to examine it, prodding at the flesh curiously with one finger as if the woman might very well wake up and roll over. Glancing back over his shoulder, he offered a consoling glance to Enuren and Keyra as he overheard their little exchange. Standing and looking towards the two, Sevral shrugged as if there were nothing to worry about.

"Difference is," he said, trying to lighten the mood, "I doubt they were as competent with their weapons as you..." Sevral smiled to Keyra, then glanced to Enuren again, remembering she was next to him as well. "Er. You.... too.. you two.." He stumbled, rubbing his head now.

With that the man paused, not entirely sure if that was a complete thought but unsure of how to make it so. He was attempting to be reassuring, at least he thought he was, but he wasn't sure exactly how well that had worked. Clearing his throat, he looked between them and turned away again, content to prod another body with his boot. It wasn't a disrespect for the dead, more so an awkward conversation filler and a need to be distracted. Reaching up, the man adjusted his headband and moved some of his loose hair, staring off into one of the dark corners of the room and tapping one finger on the pommel of his sword. Even if he believed his own words, it was stil concerning to think that for whatever reason all these women had been hoarded to die. Sevral wasn't sure now if the concern he felt was simply his humanity or something else, but just as the man turned to say something to Keyra, something else caught his attention.

Looking up, Sevral was forced to take a step back just so he could properly look up and fully encompass the looming hell-spawn that was perched overhead. The voice resonated from somewhere deep within the creature's mass and dominated the space around it, and Sevral could feel it through his spine. A sudden paralysis overtook the man from the sheer presence that the creature exuded, breaking only as Sevral backpedaled in order to remain out of the way of the creature's path of descent as it came careening down to the floor, landing with enough force that Sevral thought it might just bring the ceiling down with it.

Shaking the initial shock, Sevral regained himself in order to observe the creature, his brows furrowing as he traced the rough contours and various malformations in his mind. It was no doubt the Champion over all other creatures the group had encountered thus far, and the man could only nod at it in slight admiration of its bulk. It was necessary to respect it simply because of its current position, and even so, it was no reverence earned that wasn't through its overpowering fear-factor. In its own way it was magnificent, and Sevral cursed Elruin's gal considering the circumstances. Sevral was only disheartened by the fact that he didn't have the time he wished he did to simply take in the creature fully in its demonic glory and might.

Sevral! Keyra shouted, Help me!

Looking to Keyra, the man blinked for a moment, as if just realizing the perilous situation once more and the danger that the monster presented. Following the woman's gaze as she gestured up with a nod, Sevral took a moment to process the request before he returned the nod in understanding. Holding his hands out in front of himself, Sevral locked his fingers and braced.

Once he acknowledged her, Keyra rushed the swordsman. Moving her blade so as not to hurt him in her advance, her wings pumped once to bring her up to his waiting hands and she placed her boot there as she lunged forward and straight up. With his help, she felt herself careen up into the air, her wings pulled back to decrease the drag on her body and gain as much height as she could after giving one good pump to help with the altitude and the toss. As she twisted slightly in the air, she pulled her blade around to face the creature, her wings snapping open so that she did not just plummet to the ground.

Gliding forward, she came in close to the things face. Once she deemed herself close enough, she pulled her wings in and allowed her blade to do the rest. The heavy weapon pulled her down, the tip of it reflecting the fire light briefly before it was buried into the things mass. When the weapon caught and was lodged in it's thick body, her wings snapped open and she used her blade to angle herself towards its body. The creature hissed at the attack and started to move, thrashing backwards. Keyra struggled with the blade for a moment before it finally came free and she shoved off the thing. As she shot out away from the thing, it's limbs sliced through the air, forcing her to pump her wings to get out of the way.

Keyra lifted up over the stump of an arm as it came back at her. Once free of that limb, she felt the crushing weight of the second one that was far more intact than the other. As she'd been gliding down she wasn't too far from the ground, but the impact sped up her fall and threw her of balance. A slight grunt escaped her as she took the hit and was flung forward, her blade falling first to the ground and sliding across the floor as she came tumbling down towards Sevral. Keyra desperately tried to straighten herself but it was too quick of an impact and too forceful to gain any semblance of control.

Sevral was actually surprised in how little effort it took to launch Keyra up into the air. Idly, the man wondered if perhaps a Val's bone structure, even if they couldn't fly, still mimicked that of a bird's. Stepping back again, Sevral was tempted to set his own attack on the creature's lower half while Keyra struck from above, but he doubted he could escape its crushing weight should it decide to collapse in her wake. Even if he could, Sevral was captivated by Keyra's battle prowess and did not want to interfere with the intricate dance. The man had often wondered of the graces of a bird, and he could only imagine how spectacular it was to maintain such a gift in conjunction with such skill as that which was displayed here. The woman's wings were a beautiful sight most of all, having been mended not a short while ago and still just as powerful as they flexed with each beat. There was a magic in that which not even the Ash Fiend, who held himself in such high esteem, could match.

Even so, the man felt he should be doing something, but he wasn't entirely sure what to do. Sevral forced himself to focus and consider the situation, thinking quickly and trying to assess what stood before the group. No doubt the creature's hide would be the same as those which the group had encountered earlier, if not thicker, and so Sevral had to wonder how effective his swords would be. As it was, Keyra's blade found areas where it would cease cutting and become wedged, and seeing as how one side of the creature's limbs terminated at puss-filled stubs, that meant that the other, the only other support, would have to have a substantial muscular composition in order to support and move such a heavy load. That being said, Sevral was also afraid that he might not be able to escape the crushing weight should he or Keyra succeed in toppling the monster and he find himself trying to hack away at its leg.

Additionally, there was the dilemma of a falling angel careening down to earth... Sevral took a moment to process and internalize this information before realization struck him.

"Keyra!" Sevral shouted suddenly. Moving quickly, probably quick enough to have moved out of the way of the creature should it have been the creature which was falling, Sevral relocated, extending out his arms as he placed himself in Keyra's path. The man could tell she was attempting to regain herself, but the hit had been fairly substantial. Her blade clattered to the floor somewhere off to the side, the man just registering the sound of steel scraping off wood as he braced to catch Keyra. Her bone density had to be lighter than normal, but at the same time Sevral would be more than proud to say he was truly that strong. After all, he did work in a forge, right?

Taking her momentum, Sevral came to one knee to try to better distribute it so that she simply didn't come to a dead halt or end up knocking the man entirely backwards. Looking over her wings, he gave an amused smile as he looked up at the creature. "Well that was fun!" he said. "What's your next plan?"

Standing again, the man let the Val out of his grip and offered his help to steady her, glancing off to locate her weapon. The creature didn't seem to want to follow, but instead stood firm as if daring someone else to try their luck. Sevral glanced between the other three now and the soldiers, curious as to just how their Captain would go about combating this new development. Certainly it was going to take a better choreographed effort than previously. But at least there was only one...

"Are you okay?" Sevral asked, putting a hand on Keyra's shoulder and leading her a step back. Purely out of instinct and a need to protect, he replaced her in the front, glancing at her wings to ensure that the healing processes hadn't been damaged.

She slammed into something warm, arms wrapped around her to stop the fall and she felt the ground beneath her legs as she was lowered down slightly. Once she was oriented from the insane fall, she noted that it was Sevral that had caught her. Keyra let out a breath as he released her gently and they stood up, his hand offering to steady her as she got to her feet. The Val took it gratefully as she situated herself on her feet. She registered his earlier words when he'd caught her. Releasing a heavy breath she turned to look over her shoulder at the creature.

"The skin is thick. I almost couldn't break through with my blade," she said, slightly winded from the impact and fall. His hand fell on her shoulder and she found herself moved to behind him. Her golden gaze widened slightly at this. It was a first. To have someone put themselves before her. It threw her off just a bit as she stood there. It took a moment before she could answer Sevral properly.

"I... am fine," she a replied, testing her wings as she said it. There was a slight bit of pain, but nothing she couldn't bear now. At least they weren't broken, that was enough for her. Her gaze shifted from Sevral's back to the ground where she spotted her weapon lying amongst the corpses. The creature lumbered before them, looming in the room as it swayed gently from side to side. Keyra narrowed her eyes at it. With a click of her tongue, she sighed heavily.

"I hope Dravon has a plan, otherwise our best bet will be to attack until it falls," her eyes shifted around the thing as she examined it, "Do you think you could launch me up high enough to get to it's shoulder?"

Sevral turned to Keyra, a look of surprise on his face. "You want to be... you want to try that. again?" She'd just broken her wings, gotten them healed, attempted a jump once and gotten swatted down like a fly, and she thought a second try was in their best interests? Sevral wasn't quite sure if he respected and admired this, or found it foolish. "I-I'm sure I could," Sevral said, glancing back towards the grotesque beast, "but .."

Shaking his head, the man dismissed it. This wasn't necessarily the time to be indecisive or to bicker over who was getting flung where or even who was being flung in the first place. Sevral made up his mind quickly.

"No," Sevral said simply, "You've already broken your wings once and that was too close a call just now. If we do, we need to be cohesive in our attacks." Pausing, Sevral looked over Keyra again, as if making up his mind about something. Blinking once, he nodded to Keyra's sword. "Go grab your sword. We'll let the Captain try his hand..."

Looking to Dravon now, Sevral drew his left sword, nodding to the man. "Alright, Captain!" the man called, "Lend us your wisdom and battle expertise!"

Enuren wasn’t surprised at Keyra response. What it did was serve to solidify her own worries and assumption. They would indeed be targets.

She looked at Sevral as he commented that the previous women, those that lay about them were likely not as proficient with weapons as either herself or the Val and while she understood he was trying to reassure them, more importantly he was trying to reassure Keyra. Enuren nodded to him, noting his now nervousness.

Turning she began to look around for a way out.

“I feel it would be...”

Words died on her tongue as the thing appeared. Enuren really didn’t know what else to call it. The very sound of its voice was enough to make one’s heart stop, for even just a moment.

It was like the very shadows solidified and landed before them. The floor trembled as it landed. Enuren backed up and slowly readied an arrow. She had no doubt this thing wished them ill will and would not be caught off guard.

It looked like the others only bigger and more grotesque. It was as if it was not entirely done forming. Pieces were missing and Enuren hoped that meant there were areas of vulnerability.

She stared for a moment and realized with a rise of bile in her throat that it was not its size or girth that was the worst of it but the faces that screamed in frozen terror that littered its body.

“By the gods...” Enuren whispered as she took in the sight completely.

A voice, cold and hard caused Enuren to turn her head just a little. Elruin challenged the thing. While she had been busy with the faces in the things flesh the Ash Fiend with his sword in hand, readied for a fight. Enuren once again centred herself. She moved to stand at Elruin’s shoulder.

There was a flash of white wings as Sevral boosted Keyra into the air. The woman swung at the creature. Enuren followed the moments, her arrow trained on the creature so that if he came at Keyra she could fire. The thing thrashed but Keyra cleared its movements though with some effort.

Enuren waited readying for the right moment. When the thing made contact she let her arrow fly. It sailed through the air and plunged into the side of the thing’s ‘face’. With great speed she notched another arrow. Her eyes were on the falling woman but she knew there was nothing she could do for her. Her only chance to help was to keep her bow at the ready.

There was a slight thud as Sevral broke Keyra’s fall. The sword clattered but there was no screams of pain so Enuren knew everything was likely alright.

“What is the plan?” Enuren asked, keeping her voice calm and level.

The thing was rocking but seemed barely affected by the attack.

“We need a strong attack and a place for it to go down without collateral damage.”

Dravon stood with his hand on the handle of the bone sickle and the other on the pommel of his sword, being able to do little in the way of interfere as Keyra launched herself at the abomination that stood before them. Despite her attack however, its body seemed too thick and resilient to be toppled with a single swipe of her blade. The creature did reel from the impact somewhat, showing that it was subject to its own set of frail constitution.

He was forced to slide away as it stepped forward, swinging its arms in great arches through the air. His reaction was to duck the limb and attack as it finished its pass. Doing so left it several digits less on the attacking arm, but Keyra was still struck by the palm and sent careening back. Luckily enough Several was there to catch her in time and ensure that she was no more worse for wear.

Rolling away once again to dodge the large stump of an arm was his next move, but the creature was more capable then others of its size, because he could feel as though the aim was getting tighter and the waft of the air was considerably closer then its first attempt.

"Such.. insolence.." It shouted, kicking up dust and debris in the uproar.

Only to have an arrow plunge into the fleshy side of its head.
The attack landed just an inch or so shy of the crystal mass and caused a sizable stream of dark liquid to pour from the new opening Enuren supplied. It gave a passive wave of its arm, snapping the shaft of the arrow and leaving its head lodge inside. The flesh around Keyra's strike began to move, as if its form was being molded from the inside by invisible hands and its wound pulled shut. More black liquid seeped out from around the fresh cut and in moments it hardened to a thick shining plate that mirrored the injury nearly to a perfect fit.

But when he heard Elruin's proclamation and noticed the reaction of the bodies around, Dravon took that moment to duck. He had seen more then enough magic to know just how a spell might end upon seeing it being cast. Even being able to weave magic himself gave him more insight, but nowhere near the level that a dedicated mage could accomplish.

The ensuing eruption was more then enough to kick the air of the room into disarray and shower the group with remnants of what the creature was made of. Unlike the others though; when separated from the body smaller pieces turned to ash and scattered to what little flow of air that was present.

"Everyone alright?.." Dravon questioned as he stood, his ears still wringing due to his proximity from the creature.

He can see the white of Keyra's wings from the corner of his eye and the form of Sevral near her, his blade held tightly. Montague in the back was still tending to his last remaining soldiers, the explosion only exasperating one or more conditions. Finding himself trying not to breath in the now growing cloud of ash and smoke that was prevailing the center of the room. He looked again above them and found that Elruin's sword had been lodged into the wall of the room above them.

Everyone could feel now that there was an eerie stillness to the room settling in and it was as if the world had gone silent. Then the silence began to grow with a more familiar noise as scratching and clawing began to ring out from all corners of the room. This caused Dravon to cast his eyes up as he caught sight of large cracks and gaping holes strewn across the surface of the walls upper portions. The same grotesque faces popped out and stayed down at the party with their blank empty eyes and though the fall from such a height would most assuredly leave them useless.

They still stared on despite the fact.

"Impressive.. such power in such a weak age.." Dravon's blood was in the act of trying to run cold, as though he had shook hands with a taut effigy of death and the party looked on as a powerful glow of sickly yellow light poured from the smoke, clearing it and revealing the aftermath.

Elruin's spell had done much in the way of damage.
The creatures body was blown almost entirely in half and only several portions of the left shoulder remained of its upper body. Most likely saved only by the hard shell that was formed before. However what caught everyone's attention now was the source of the powerful glow. A large mass that now sat were the creatures sternum once lay and it was in the shape of a crystal orb, more so in fact an eye would be a better description.

The organ in this clear crystal shell was pulsing and twisting, shifting its gaze upon the group, as if appraising them for some reason. "I see now.. that this land possesses much promise." dark yellow tendrils of energy seeped from its shell and then the body lurched back to life. Its flesh closing and shifting and limbs twitching and then snapping back into place. The eye shifted slightly as a dark shell of armor formed over it and then the flesh closed around after that.

It raised its stump to the air and a foul shreek echoed through the air as bodies began to fall from the ceiling, the wretched had obeyed their masters call and took to falling to their fate. In the fall their bodies turned to a bile like liquid and began to gravitate towards the center of the room, colliding with the body of their master. Soon wet stumps erupted into new fleshy limbs and and singed, charred flesh pulsed with new life. Its body surged to life once and stood now on new legs as the chest reformed and it stretched the new limbs into life.

The growth was rapid and nearly seamless as the new head formed and another slab of crystal formed. This time however there was a face on the center of its mass. That of a stern and aged man, powerful and domineering in stare all at the same time. Another roar erupted from the body as the whole mass of shadow like mist fell from the ceiling and drew deep into the monsters form, filling it with new vigor and life as it stood with a renewed stature.

A dim light was gathering and taking form, hovering over its head. The shape was akin to that of a crown, though it still bore the sickly yellow glow like the crystals before. It was a brazen thing, bearing five large spiked points on the front. With the center being the highest of them all and its form solidified into a solid crystal state.

"Countless millennia I have waited.. and now with all your power added to mine, I shall be free of this prison.."

As the last of the mist was vanishing, Dravon saw some chance for preparation. Though he did not know how much such would fair in the scope of an opponent. He looked over his shoulder and spoke "We have to strike hard and deep.. we know its weak spot now and I will give you all the opening that I can. He knelt and pulled his own sword, laying a palm on the flat of its blade. He began to draw as much energy as he could from the aether. An act that he found rather taxing considering the circumstances and even as much in a more lax time.

The blade began to glow a pale blue and the light slowly began to cover his own body as he pulled the blade to his side and prepared himself as the creature lurched forward, raising an arm high.

"Now.. join me.. IN RETAKING WHAT IS MINE.."

Dravon raised to his feet and pointed his blade upwards to the incoming attack, planting his stance like that of a statue.

The impact was that of a crashing wreck as his blade made contact with the palm of his hand and split its flesh with a thundering snap. Dravon's body did not move however; the field of light holding him in place, but his face told the story that he could feel the impact and his body was indeed telling him that he was now hurt.

The face of the creature contorted into a strange smile as the crystal crackled with movement.

"Utterly useless.. now.. prepare.. to.." It stopped in its words when it tried to pull away, but the hand was now held fast to Dravon's blade and as it gave an even greater heave, the floor beneath Dravon's feet started to crack. Proving that the two of them were in fact rooted to the spot. The creature did not lose a moment though as it pulled back with the other arm and slammed it into the side of Dravon's body. Causing the spells frame to shudder and crack, a small stream of blood issuing from his lips to show that some damaged had been done.

But before it could strike again; Dravon's body began to glow with the same brilliant light as before and a large bolt of white lightning shot through the monsters hand, racing and arching up its arm, hunting for the next place to go. This caused it to thrash wildly as it attempted to pull away.

Though he could not turn his head, Dravon called out to the others "Now.. Take your chance." The last thrash of its great body, causing a crack to spread across the front of his pale blue shell.

Enuren cared little for the thing’s anger. She watched as it snapped her arrow and waited for her next opening. Her lip curled in disgust as the wound Keyra made began to mold itself back together.

“Aye I am fine” Enuren gritted her teeth and tried to remain standing, at the ready. Ash rained down lightly. She was glad she did not need to breathe. The creature suffered damage but it was in no way defeated.

She was on edge now, the room oddly quiet until the sound of scratching began to permeate. Enuren clenched her jaw. This is very bad.

Dravon looked up, a motion that Enuren caught in her peripheral vision. She mimicked him. The sight caused her to shake her head slightly. The faces were peering down at them.

It didn’t take much to draw her attention back to the creature. It’s sternum glowed almost sickly. It spoke and Enuren refocused her arrow. She couldn’t break the crystal, she knew that but she wanted to find a weakness, any weakness.

“Well that is unfortunate.” Enuren watched the creature meld with the others. The roar it released shook the walls. She didn’t waiver.

It stood before them like some king; some regent falsely imprisoned in this place. Enuren snarled.

Dravon began to cast a spell. He unleashed his attack and in the blink of an eye it felt like it had begun.

Enuren raised her bow but Elruin fell to knees and that took her attention. She could not attack it the way the others could so she turned her attention on Elruin.

The Ash Fiend looked terrible and Enuren lowered her bow and moved to him. She put one of his arms around her neck.

“Come. We need to move you until you have regained yourself.”

She tried to help him up, encouraging him to put his weight on her. "I look small but trust me. Let me help you."