Shadows

[Belade]

"Being defensive is a sign of guilt, of burden on the soul. Rationalize it all you want, it doesn't make it go away." The priest looked at her with an almost uninterested look, she probably desired some kind of answer from him but she would find no solace here. Instead he turned his head to look to the distance, to the south where he was told that the hunter gotten off too. "Then again I suppose it's only natural for you to be so bothered by this story, it's not too different from yours." He added, not even looking at her as he spoke. He knew she heard every word he said, but he made no effort to explain them.


-----

"They absolutely adore it..." She muttered as she poked her head inside the tomb. From the outside, it was no bigger then a small house. One large room, about two men in height with a flattened roof that has held out remarkably despite the years of use and abuse. Just looking at the tomb itself, it was almost fascinating, while everything else in the cemetery was decrepit and completely abandoned, the crypt itself seemed to be as well maintained as the day it was carved from the precious green stone of which it was designed. The engravings were deep and easily readable, though it lacked language and instead appeared to be some kind of strange motif. She was not one for art, and couldn't understand it much, perhaps if Angela was here, she'd be able to make sense of it... She was almost tempted to take a sketching for her in the future, but while Belade was a woman of many talents, art was not among them. She could not tell if it was simply embellishing created by humankin for their graves, of which she has seen often, or something more important and useful to know.

In the end however, it meant little. She entered the crypt all the same, the insides also made of the glossy stone and even in the dark that filtered in it was still noticeable. There was a torch, but it was not lit. She withdrew from her person a pair of flint, striking it for a few moments before a small spark ignited and brought the torch to life. Retrieving it from it's sconce, she held it into the air to get a better look at the inside of the darkened room. It was a smallish room, around the size of a large living den, but what instantly caught her attention was what looked like a single coffin in the center of the room. It's cover was still atop the grave, but from her gaze that was all she could glance from the room. A single grave, hardly what she had been expecting.

She did the most obvious thing, setting the torch back where it had lain before, she reached over to the grave and with a hefty groan removed the cover that kept it sealed. It came off surprisingly easily, it was obvious this was not the first time it's been moved, and it had been done so recently. The coffin had no dust, no cobwebs, nothing, it was moved often. For good reason too, instead of a corpse looking back at them instead it was a hole and ladder. Descending ever more into the darkness, it was... unnerving to say the least. Not to mention a bit confusing, a single ladder. If this was a crypt, how would the humankin carry about the bodies in and out? Maybe there was another entrance somewhere they missed... but now would not be the time.

"Come on Manis, there's a ladder leading down." She said without a single moment of hesitation, some would say it bravery, but the wise would say it was foolish.

---


"The crypt..." He muttered quietly, letting out a small chuckle. "Of course, that makes sense..." He took his staff and tapped it on the ground a few times, his eyes closed as he thought it over. He turned back to his dragon companion, frowning. "That crypt is dangerous for many reasons, it's not wise for someone to go..." He shook his head with a small laugh. "Of course that's not really the point here. Still of all times..." He tapped his staff again, using his spare hand to tap the side of his head. Grinning with his eyes closed.

"So, Dragon. I must say that it's probably a good thing that you've arrived. You say you're here to guard this place, correct?" He looked around into the air with a calm smile. "I have a feeling you might get your wish."

[Manis]

Manis followed her in, hand ready in case he needed to drawl his sword. He didn't take too much time to study the art. He knew that generally speaking it was decoration, though he doubted that's what it was in this case. It was most likely the story of what was in there or a warning of some sort. Either way it didn't matter much to them, they were going in no matter what it said. Besides, some times it was best not to know what to expect, lest your anticipation get the best of you.

Just as Manis' eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness Belade lit a torch, immediately causing his free had to shade them. He didn't bother gasping or grumbling, there wasn't any point. What he hadn't expected was the one and only coffin in the center of the room. He rolled his eyes and let go of his sword. He had seen similar things in some bandit hideouts and smuggler dens. The side of his coat moved as he swung his bag from his shoulder.

All the set up and this is what we get... Manis thought as he bent to open the bag. He stopped at the thought, shaking his head. He hadn't realized how much he had missed team efforts like this. Since going solo he hadn't had chances to storm forts and sneak into camps; one of the reason's he had even bothered staying in the business. He undid the bag and began digging around for something. He soon produced two gloves, finger-less with a solid metal plate on the back of each.

There we are, the weary merc thought with a smile. He slipped them on before double checking to see what else was in the bag. He grabbed a few things and then tossed it to the side. A part of him was fighting his relaxed state but he shrugged it off. He wanted to enjoy this while it lasted, he knew after this he'd go back to how it was. He took something from his hand and tied it to his sheath; six little amulets, all stamped with a shield, sword running down the middle of it. He slipped his keys into a pouch hiding under his father's sash.

"Got it," Manis said when Belade spoke of the ladder. He walked up and looked at the hole. It didn't seem very big, at least not big enough to do what you'd expect it was originally made for. "I'll go first." He crawled into the coffin began slowly making his way down. It was a lot cleaner than he had expected, he might not of even needed the gloves.

It took Manis about a minute to get to the bottom. He looked up for a second before jumping down from the ladder. He could just barely make out Belade's face. Water splashed as he landed on a flat surface, perhaps a stone slab or what the entrance had been made of. His left hand gripped his sheath as he peered into the darkness. He listened for a moment before calling up to her.

"It's not too far, I don't see or hear anything either," he called up as quietly as possible.

[Yukaida]

Yukaida had been enjoying this little conversation, at least he was more polite then the others.  But he put her off when he started making judgments upon her, that her views only came from her own feelings on...wait...what had he just said?

She finished processing what he'd said, and narrowed her draconic eyes at him.  She was no longer laying down, now she stood up to her full height, the fading sun adding an almost glow about her purple wings.  "And what would you know of me, human?"  She asked, quick and to the point.  She didn't like the idea of some human knowing so much about her that he could just spit out his view of her inner thoughts like a piece of trivia.  Her eyes bore into the man, uncertain of if she should recognize him or not.  He continued talking, almost heedless of her obvious annoyance, when something crashed into her mind.  A sudden spike of magic forming up...close, and drawing closer.

"I do not know who or what you are, though I will place faith in 'Human' still being an acceptable term.  Something vile stirs, and comes this way.  I would suggest you warn the humans to take to their homes in case some mongrel may slip past."  She stated, turning her gaze from the man and turning it south.  She listened, and was sure she could hear the guttural growl of some beast...but there was magic, this was not a natural creature.  Some of those blighted hounds.

"These lands are vast, and I cannot be everywhere at once.  The town must make ready to aide in defense, and perhaps they will listen to you."  She decided against adding that she did not trust the man at all to fight along side her.

[Khasar]

Khasar had another odd dream, as he'd been having the past week and half. A green haired boy about his age, standing in a field of white grass. For what seemed to be the longest time, that was all the dream was, until a crow flew in, and landed on the boy's shoulder. The boy unsheathed a blade, a slim one, made of iron, and in turning, the crow flew into the sky, only to be cut in twine in the same motion the sword left the scabbard on the boy's hip. As the crow was killed, Khasar woke up.

He jolted up with a start. He felt more rested, but still unsatisfied, sensing he hadn't slept as long as he should. As he lay his head back on the pillow, he knew he wouldn't get anymore sleep. The jolt had made him far too awake now. He smiled, and rolled onto his chest, then pushed himself to his knees and hopped off the bed. Cu padded up beside him. Khasar retrieved his sword once more, and slid it onto his back. He stretched his arms to the side, bending his hips in an attempt to pop his back. As he placed his hand on the door knob, he felt something odd. He looked back at Cu, and saw that there was a line of hair standing up on the wolf's back, and he was silently baring his teeth. Khasar didn't know the problem the wolf sensed, but he went down on one knee next to him. Khasar placed a hand on the beasts neck, and said, "Stay boy. I don't want you in harm's way just yet." The wolf put a solemn chin on the swordsman's knee, and Khasar scratched his friend's neck with a smile. He stood and left the house, closing the door behind him.

He saw the dragon from before, chatting with some old man with a staff. Great they were back, they knew what was going on. Khasar didn't walk to a spot directly close to them, but he could see them, and he wanted to be as close to whatever threats... threatened the town. Yet, as he drew closer to the outskirts of the town, he began to believe the threat Cu seemed to be telling him of was close. He placed a hand on his hilt, and darted over to the dragon, stopping himself a few feet from her. "Hey, how ya' doin'? I sense an ill will blowing. Or something like that. Something's wrong. Where's the Taguel maiden and swordsman? There it is again that feeling." Khasar looked out at the edges of the town. Unsettling.

[Belade]

The priest shook his head at the dragon, the beast was obviously irritated but it didn't phase him in the lightest. He looked at the man who decided to come running up as though he could feel the shadows writhing underneath their feet, he rose a brow but didn't saw a single word as he turned and walked away. The staff in his hand shedding a subtle light as he moved, tapping it on the ground with every step. A calm smile on his face all the while as he headed into the village, allowing the Dragon and the man to deal with whatever may come. "Oh violent dragon of misfortune..." He said quietly to his self, followed by a chuckle. "It looks like trouble really does follow you wherever you go."

In the distance a single gargoyle fled from a mob of creatures, desperate to strike it down and slay it. The wolves chased it upon the ground while creatures of bones threw spears and fired arrows to strike it from the air. Whatever this gargoyle was, it was skilled. Speedy, it dodged all the blows that came towards it as it made a straight line for the village, dragging the mob along with it. Then, suddenly as quickly as it came it vanished right into thin air. Far from the sight of the dragon or the man, but the monsters could see them. They could see a peaceful little village, just ready to be destroyed. So they moved, they ran, they flew, all their simple minds could think of is to destroy.


----

Manis went first, putting on a pair of gloves before descending below into the dark. Belade taking the torch with her as she followed, a long way down. Taking a full minute or two to reach the bottom, they must have been several yards below the earth. It was cramped at first, but eventually the carving in the earth widened and became much less clustered then it had been before. Though she wasn't sure what this crypt would be like when she descended, the light the torch provided shown it was far grander below then the small monument that remained above the earth. While Manis let get and fell the rest of the way, she let go and hovered lightly in the air until she gently met the earth. Standing next to him with a torch in hand she craned her neck up to look at the ceiling above her. Far far above she could see a small light in the pitch blackness, where they had come from.

The Avian tribe held poor sight in the darkness, and the T'rani tribe were no great exception. Many of her kind relied of some sort of... awareness of the area around them, like they could simply feel things even if they could not see it. Still, she was far more fortunate then many of the bird tribes, for she was raised on fighting Gargoyle and the night posed little obstacle to her. Her eyes may not have been the best, but her ears could pick out even small sounds and she could almost feel them around her. An intuition, instinct that she had learned to trust with her life. Still she carried the torch in hand, holding it up high so she could get a better look at the area they found themselves in. There was a sconce on the side of the room, holding a torch which she took the liberty to light. A few other and the room was mostly lit by the flickering flame provided by the torchfire.

It was what looked like a... room. A stone room. She looked around, the wall behind them had a ladder engraved into the stone itself. It was all a white looking stone, sandstone perhaps, but not the rough and decrepit look she had expected. The stone was still smooth, and a gentle touch only confirmed her observation. It wasn't that old, perhaps a few hundred years at most. This crypt seemed way too... recent to just have been forgotten in the way it was. Odd. It wasn't a small room either, at least twice as large as the room they just came from, the walls lined with strange indents where coffins lay. One above the other, two in each alcove before a few feet later and another pair stood. The room itself seemed to have no starting point, or ending point. It looked like a... middle room. Like they just dropped into the middle of the tomb, this wasn't the entrance, nor the exit. A shortcut, maybe. It seemed a bit odd, it wasn't particularly hidden in any way, very conspicuous, but somehow this wasn't the entrance.

"Hrm..." She muttered quietly, looking about. It wasn't just weird because of the general location and make, there was also pillars of sandstone in the room. At least four, all smooth and having grand designs engraved into the stone, this wasn't some random crypt. The sheer amount of bodies in it seemed to attest to that. There was at least thirty coffins in this room alone, and it was by no means the only room like this. The coffins all looked somewhat similar as well, meaning they were likely from about the same point in time. A large amount of people died some time ago, all at once, and this is where they lay...

It wasn't just this though, she lacked that feeling in the pit of her stomach. That... vile poison that churned from withing when she approached monsters. There was something else here though, it felt... very odd. Like a strange sort of deja vu, and it reminded her of something fluffy and white. She couldn't put it into words. "This is strange..." She answered as she walked slowly forward, her ears open to any sort of noise.

"Are you ready Manis? I don't know what we might encounter her on out."

[Yukaida]

In this form, Yukaida's ears were much more sensitive then a human's. She heard the human from before coming upon them, though she did not recall his name. She was sure that he had said it, but it escaped her. As it was, her attention was stolen by the other man's mutterings as he slipped off. The spines on the base of her neck slipped up, a low growl forming from the back of her throat. She was staying to help these people, and some pathetic little human was throwing around some title like that to her? Yukaida actually found that if he were a dragon himself she'd have had no reservations about attacking him. But what would that accomplish? She could leave this place, allow the hordes of monsters to wipe them from these lands. After all, if they would spit in the face of their protectors, then perhaps they should see what life is like without them...

But she shook her head in annoyance. She had promised, to Belade, that she would stay here and protect the town. Dragons were many things, but never oath breakers. She would do this one promise, but for whatever future beyond today, this land could burn for all she cared. She glanced down at the human, about to speak, when she heard the rustling caused by a large amount of creatures moving through the forest. She looked up instantly, seeing the gargoyle fly away...clever vermin! It had lured the creatures here, unwilling to do battle itself! Was Belade all right? There was no way to tell, there was too much fluctuation in the magic of the area to know what her condition was.

"Beware human, there are many foes. Hounds and bones. More then enough to slay a man." She spoke, more as a warning then anything else. Her hide wasn't invincible, but she had faith in her own ability to strike down such creatures. Yukaida flapped her wings once, taking off, the continual beat keeping her levitated off the ground. As she did, her wings began to glow with their ancient runes once again. She gathered her magic, focusing on her desired result. She couldn't breathe ice like her siblings, but she had a whole new bag of tricks available to her. Words were not even needed, she'd grown beyond that in her last century, but she did like being a bit showy. "Abominations of magic, return to the leylines that spawned you." She called, her voice booming over the area. A final flap of her wings shot a wave of magic over the area, cascading around her and Khasar. The wave would do no harm to him, but to the Bonewalkers the effect was obvious. It did not effect all of them, but a large portion of them had the magic animating them sucked right out of the bones they walked upon. It would look, to an outsider, as if they simply disintegrated into dust. The dogs, however, were flesh and blood. Altered by magic, certainly, but not living by it. As such, the wave passed over them with almost no effect.

Yukaida landed with a huff of breath, the glow of her wings fading as the swarm of monsters lost little speed, they would be upon them in moments. "Prepare yourself!"

[Manis]

Manis shaded his eyes once again as light filled the room. Belade had been closer than he had thought, though it was probably better that way. As he continued to survey the room his eyes began to adjust, taking in the strange sight. Sure enough the ground and walls were made of stone, though not the kind one would expect to stay smooth for long. It was either magic or the tomb was younger than he had thought. Maybe even both.

The room was fairly large and lined in coffins, each alcove holding two bodies. Towering pillars engraved with similar patterns as before seemed to hold the ceiling up. The room certainly wasn't an entrance, but neither was the way the had came. Perhaps many had died at once causing them to take short cuts. Though that still didn't explain why they would bury a few in the ground before taking the time to dig such a deep tomb. Especially with the engravings. It was all just strange and there was too much unknown.

"Right," Manis whispered, hands moving back to his sword. It made a little click as he loosened it once again. He then followed after Belade, eyes still searching the room.

[Khasar]

Khasar turned to the forest, and saw it thousands upon thousands of skeletal warriors and hell-hounds, racing through the forest towards the little town. Well, in all fairness, not thousands upon thousands... just more than he was comfortable with. Khasar began to unsheathe his sword as a blinding light filled his eyes. Although he wasn't sure if it was a light, it was more like something he'd never felt, as if he'd touched the sun, and knew all of its heat, but he did not burn. Then before his eyes, the young man witnessed the skeletons rushing towards him seem to crumble, as if all they were was dust in the wind. The dragon landed next to him, as he pulled his long blade from the case that held it. There were many of them, too many for a sane man to face. Of course most sane men don't think everything in life's hunky dory, sleep for only three hours at a time, or have honor complexes. So Khasar set a foot back, and placed both hands on the hilt of the sword, holding it in front of him with his arms fully stretched and locked. It wasn't his style particularly, it favored speed over strength, but with a horde of dogs racing towards him, with ferocity in their eyes, speed was good.

The first leaped at him, below where his sword could cut it with full force. He couldn't let any of the beasts get behind him, so he stepped to the side and plunged the sword into the beasts chest, as it attempted to turn in mid-air. The beasts momentum tore the metal through the beasts innards. As Khasar brought the sword out a few others had begun to slow to fight him. Even though they were mainly wild beasts with no ability to reason or feel fear. He grinned, hoping to intimidate them. One of them leaped at him, and he slashed one of its claws as it tore towards his face. Another came at him and he dodged its teeth, and chopped off one of its front paws. A third came at him while he was turned, and raked its claws across his shoulders. Khasar shouted in pain, and turned stabbing the wolf through the chest.