The Order of the Dark Flame: Book 5. (story, no spam)

[Mysteria]

Once more, they were trudging through a dark corridor and Mysteria began to wonder if they were ever going to see the sun again. Perhaps they should have asked the mound if they could take one of his glowing globes with them, he hadn't seemed to like them and ... She grinned, amazed at herself, they were probably very lucky to get away from him, without a fight and now she envisioned taking one of his globes with them. Sometimes, she really was a hopeless optimist, but that, above all, had probably kept her going all these years... Hope.

Noticing the elven ranger falling back, she frowned as she saw his limp, then began to wonder what was his drive. Pride? Battle-lust? No, she didn't think so, maybe he wanted to prove his own worth? Whatever it was, she was afraid that it would yet drive him to death. Biting her lip, she raked her brain for a way to touch upon this subject, she couldn't just ask him out bluntly, but she wasn't such a skilled speaker as Gwally and therefore found herself at a loss for words.

Looking over at Aqua-chan, she found herself wondering what kept her going. Being what she was, Aqua-chan couldn't have made many friends. Somehow, Mysteria felt akin to her and she was all the more sorry for the 'greetings' she had given the cat-cr... She stopped her train of thought, Aqua-chan had nothing to do with those, or had she and was merely different? She had to ask her that at some time, but she'd better apologize first.

"Aqua-chan?", the fighter-druid seemed startled at being spoken to, and just a little bit wary too as she gazed over at the other woman. "I wanted to apologize again for being so hostile, I'm really sorry.", Mysteria offered.

"It's alright, I'm quite used to negative reactions..." a small smile crossed her face, but with the poor lighting Mysteria was quite unable to tell if it was cynical, sad or reassuring and kind. Also, as Aqua-chan seemed to be quite occupied with Gwally, or rather he with teasing her. Mysteria fell back a little once more, their strange companion would know where to find her if she wanted to talk.

Aegis was now walking close to her and Farscape. Seeing the ... well, was it now bravery or foolishness? ... he put into ignoring his limp, she sighed. He was just puzzling her too much, she just had to ask why he did this.

"Aegis, I meant to ask you why.. ." He looked at her and she hurriedly went on "I mean ... will you be alright?", she hoped he hadn't noticed her lapse.

"Sure", he replied and as if to emphasize this, his limp was gone for the next few steps.

[Yshania]

The two women edged tentatively out into the tunnel. Four trolls lay twisted and broken, three fire elementals were now unsummoned - their empty charcoal shells the only indication that they had existed at all. Yshania held up her hand and tipped her head to one side, listening. After a moment she picked up a low rumbling, but she could not determine its source or direction...could it be more movement of the rock? she shuddered, to die trapped in this hell by the very earth Mael had taught her to respect, the very earth she had come to know and rely upon...suddenly not so stable and predictable...suddenly menacing and threatening to crush. She closed her eyes and thought of Mael...

Despite the horrors of the world, despite the vengeance the Mother could exact, despite the cruelty, Mael had never lost his faith. He spoke of painful experiences, he spoke of his brotherhood, of their extreme worship and moonlit sacrificial ceremonies. Yshanias soul had screamed, still bleeding. But he spoke quietly, without hint of any lingering poison, and she started to draw strength from him. He had fled the brotherhood, believing the Mother would grace any love offered, and did not need the blood of man to feed her soil. The circle demanded patience, time and fulfilment…not the premature death of any innocent. Yet for her to give, so she must receive. And to each end, a return to the soil. Whether tended or neglected...

...could it be a slightly closer rumbling of hushed movement and conversation? She strained desperately to hear, but there was no ebb and flow...the sound had taken on a constant pitch that was becoming difficult to bear...

Could it be her ears playing tricks?...there was no sound at all!!...and the silence became louder...

She turned to Dragon Wench 'do you hear it?' she cried

'hear what?' her friend asked, her expression was intense as the torchlight danced with the flickering shadows in her eyes...

[dragon wench]

Dragon Wench found herself reaching inside....hearing a rumbling that seemed to reverberate as much within as it was a resonating echo in the twisting labyrinth surrounding them. Despite her efforts to remain strong, she shuddered convulsively....and looked at Yshania.

"Yes...I do hear it..... I hate this place....I hate the interminable darkness, the pervasive stench....the feeling of those walls crowding ever closer....as though they will crush us.....And sometimes....I feel something calling from inside...somehow offering escape.... I don't know what it is...."

Yshania's expression clouded at her friend's words...and she closed her eyes trying to fight off the encroaching sense of terror that bore down upon them..... tentacles extending endlessly outwards forever seeking prey.....

Then just as suddenly, the bleak horror lifted somewhat, and Dragon Wench spoke again, a small, wry grin lurking amongst the shadows of her expression.

"On the other hand.....it is some time since we have eaten....are you sure it wasn't your stomach generating that rumbling?"

[Yshania]

Yshanias expression darkened as her friend spoke of a yearning, and an offer of escape...neither did she know, but it's chaos did not promise respite...

Then she felt it, it rolled from within, an unmistakeable demand for nourishment...but not for the mind, not for the soul...but a very basic demand 'hold on'. She dropped her bag to the ground and started to root around, tossing the occasional item over her shoulder 'I should have taken the opportunity to clear this out when Pridwen scattered its contents' she rolled her eyes 'here it is!!'

Placing a peace of cloth upon the ground, she laid out some dried sausage, a drier chunk of bread, and after careful consideration to avoid the content of DWs bag of holding, a bottle of merlot. 'Now, cheese?'

[Gwalchmai]

Gwalchmai heard a low, rumbling sound, emanating just at the edge of his hearing. Perplexed, he wondered just what it might be. Was is the sound of an impending cave-in? Was it the sound of something evil calling to him? Was he simply hungry?

No.

The sound came from deep in Aqua-Chan’s throat, whose ear he had just flicked for the third time. A low growl, perhaps? Yet she made no effort to move away from the playful druid, despite his annoying behavior. Maybe she liked the attention? Ah, yes. Now he recognized the sound of her low purr.

He flicked her ear again and quickly looked away.

[Aqua-chan]

Aqua-chan did her best to stifle the grin that tried to creep on her face. Gwalchmai had flicked her ear time after time, and after each playful attempt he would look away from her quick sideways glare.

However, instead of being severely agitated as she was sure she was going to be, the Ishiatorian actually enjoyed the attention. She began to feel ...accepted. Not a feeling that she had recieved upon entrance with Mysteria. However, because the woman had already apologized for her actions more than once, Aqua-chan was willing to forgive and forget.

For the first time in many days she allowed herself to think of the past. For obvious reasons, Gwalchmai reminded the hybrid of a friend she once had. He was an elf by the name of Danti, and he picked on her in friendly ways such as this. He would nip her ears, pull her tail, paint her long claws pink while she slept...One time he even dared to pour warm water on a specific portion of her bed. Aqua-chan had awoken with a start and panicked when she realized her bed was soaked. Nevertheless, when she found out of Danti's trick, she employed every tooth and claw to punish him for his wrong-doings.

Those were the good ol' days.

Her concentration was broken when the other druid flicked at her ear once again. Deciding to make the better of her hood, she pulled it up over her head and ears.

He looked at her with a glint of dissapointment in his eyes, but he took a quick glance behind her back, grinned, and continued walking. Unsure of what he was thinking Aqua-chan stepped very lightly to make sure he wasn't going to pull any tricks on her.

But Gwally wasn't going to pull tricks, oh no. He was going to pull her tail.

"Ieeech!" she yelped in an odd way that Gwalchmai found very amusing. She settled herself down at least, but she wasn't going to let this go unpunished. "Bet you think you're pretty darn cute, huh?" she casually asked as she searched around the caverns. Thantor, Mysteria, Aegis and all the others came to a sudden hault to see how the woman would respond.

A squeek caught her ear, and the movement grabbed her sight. Her previous prey - the mouse - was crawling over in the corners again. She grinned as she went to pick up the tiny rodent before it could run away. With the mouse in her hand, she walked up to Gwally, pulled the clothing and armor away from his neck and simply dropped the tiny mammal into his clothes.

The looks about the room were priceless as the group watched Gwally in his attempts to remove the dirty rodent from his armor, and although she wanted to enjoy the entertainment a little longer, another noise grabbed Aqua's attention.

"Wait," she said quietly, unsure if her hearing was correct or not. "I think there's something down in that cavern."

[Aegis]

"Wait," she said quietly, unsure if her hearing was correct or not. "I think there's something down in that cavern."

Aegis stopped in his tracks upon hearing her words. As if on instinct, he began to creep forward. The others waited patiently, their hands clasping there hilts, ready for anything. Aqua-chan came up beside the elven ranger, motioning her head in the general idrection of the sounds she heard. Aegis nodded, and slipped forward, the feline woman staying close at hand. When the got about twenty metres away from the rest of the group, the elf stopped, and casually placed a hand on Aqua-chan's shoulder, pulling her to a gentle stop as well. He pointed towards the distance tunnels, then raised three fingers, and then all five. His keen elven vision had made out the heat signature's of fifteen forms up ahead.

"Drow for sure. Maybe a couple orcs" he whispered to Aqua-chan. "Let's go back, and tell the others."

His compatriote nodded in agreement, and the two began to slink back to the rest...

[Gwalchmai]

Normally, a mouse in his clothing wouldn’t bother Gwalchmai very much, but this mouse seemed different. It’s feet felt to be the size of hippo’s feet as it skittered around his back and chest, clawing and scratching. From the feel of things, Gwalchmai was quite sure that he was in danger of losing significant amounts of blood. Okay, so it was a giant mouse; this much was established. However, this didn’t explain its diminutive size and ability to get into some of the tighter spaces under his armor. This meant that it was obviously a miniature giant mouse. Gwalchmai danced a staccato dance, meant to dislodge the mouse without squishing the poor little big guy. Obviously, though, the mouse had an unusual intelligence that enabled it to maneuver in such a way as to avoid falling from Gwalchmai’s clothes. The thought occurred to him that the mouse’s intelligence may, in fact, be extraterrestrial in origin. So that was the answer. It was a Miniature Giant Space Mouse.

Gwalchmai began to wonder if he had recently received a head wound that he didn’t remember getting….

Standing still and extending an arm, the mouse wriggled down his arm and sat patiently on in his palm. Gwalchmai carefully set the mouse down and shouted, “Run! Run my friend! Escape while you can, lest you become Kitty’s next meal!” The mouse ran away.

Aegis soon returned with news of the Drow and Orcs. “Will we be able to avoid them?” Gwalchmai asked, “But more importantly, will they present a problem to our other friends, Vivien, Dragon Wench, Yshania, and Simbul?”

[Aqua-chan]

Aqua-chan's heart sank when she realized that Gwally was no longer wringling about to remove the mouse from his clothes. Figuring that all chances of her meeting up with her prey ever again, she decided to answer his questions.

"This path is our only way through," she crossed her arms uneasily, "Battle is inevitable. However, I don't think there are any other ways into the room, meaning the drow won't be able to flee and cause problems."

Aegis thought about this for a second, and intellegently pointed out a serious flaw. "Exactly. There's only one way in, so how are we to attack them without getting killed ourselves? They have the entire room to spread out in, and at the same time we're going to be bunched together and trapped in this hallway."

"Perhaps," Mysteria spoke up, "we can lead them back to the room with the Mound by using a decoy? This way, we can get the upperhand by using thier same trick."

"The drow are not that foolish," Aqua-chan said, sounding a little harsher than she had intended. Regretting her tone when she saw Mysteria's expression of embarassment, the cat-woman decided to apologize. "I'm sorry for that outburst. Your idea is a very good one when dealing with orcs, but I know well enough that the drow will not be defeated that easily."

"Then what should we do?"

The entire group quieted down for a moment. "Area spells," Gwally suggested, "I think I may have a few memorized, but it won't be enough to take them out on my own."

"That won't work," Thantor objected, "They'll have you spotted, attacked and dead before you can mutter the first incarnation."

"We're going to have to do something if we want to get by these humanoids," Aqua-chan muttered helplessly. The situation seemed so hopeless, no matter what plan anybody could think of. They had no invisability avaliable, and it would be a bad plan even if they did. Either way, sooner or later, they would end up fighting these creatures any way.

But a ferociously loud, if not tiny, squeeeeeeek echoed against the stone walls. Everyoe heard it, and all were completely stunned at what they saw.

It was the mouse, sitting on its hind legs with its front claws clasped together. The small animal gave a jerk of it's head to Gwally, almost signalling that it wanted to be held up.

Gwally opened his palm next to the animal, almost sure of what it wanted. Steadily, the 6-inch mammal climbed into the druid's hand and daringly jumped off one he saw an opening in Gwally's backpack.

Aegis and Gwally looked at each other in confusion. The mouse was inside of Gwally's backpack doing whatever it thought it should, and after a few minutes of scuttering about, the creature emerged to the surface, dragging the ribbon of a scroll behind him.

The scroll, was in fact, Gwally's Priest Scroll, where he wrote down the spells he knew by heart and the others that he hadn't learned the incarnations to. When the druid spread the piece of parchment out flat, the mouse quickly crawled up to one spell in particular that's symbol was crudely drawn onto the parchment.

The spell was Gate.

[Aegis]

"A Gate?" Aegis said softly. "Are you sure that is wise. We are in tight quaters, and a demon is a powerful creature."

Mysteria nodded in agreement, as did Aqua-chan.

"He's right, Gwally." piped in Mysteria. "Even though I'm used to my magic being potentially harmful to myself, I'm not sure this one is worth the risk. Too much is at stake."

"That, and do you even have the proper protection wards?" added Aqua-chan.

"I realize this is risky, even by our standerds," Gwally took a few steps forward, as if trying to see the group ahead of them, then turned his head to face the group. "But, we do not have many more options."

The Dark Flames went silent. Gwally was right, they were strapped of options, and they did need to get through that room.

"What about a charge?" said Farscape, cracking his knuckles in the process. "It is dangerous, but not as much as the demon." He took a few steps forward to join the group, standing next to Aegis. The large man then slaped the small elf on the back. "Besides, me and my elfie friend are more then willing!" He gave a hearty grin.

Aegis chuckled slightly, then shook his head. "No friend, we cannot do that. We must think of a plan."

Thantor, who had been quiet during the conversation, had taken a seat on a rock that was next to tunnel wall. His head was hung low, his mind deep in thought, trying to find an alternative to the Gate spell. Suddenly, a wry smirk appeared on his lips, and he raised his head. "What about we use projectiles? Aegis and Mysteria can cover use with their arrows, while Gwally prepares a few spells to use."

Aegis nodded, and looked to the rest.

[Gwalchmai]

“Wait a minute, now,” Gwalchmai said suddenly. He shook his head as if to clear cobwebs. “I don’t know what you guys thought I said, but this paper,” he shook the parchment in front of him, “is not some sort of Priestly Scroll! It just my grocery list for the Keep!” He punched his finger dramatically at the place on the paper where the mouse has indicated. “And this is not a Gate spell, this is just an Inventory of what Nippy Ate last time he went on one of his eating frenzies!” Gwalchmai carefully picked off a piece of dry cheese from the parchment and flicked it to the starving mouse, who scampered away.

He turned to Aqua-Chan and looked at her sadly. As much fun as it was to joke with her – and she was certainly a good sport about it – he was starting to realize just how strange and alien she must be, and how unfamiliar with the ways of the surface world. “You should know,” he said gently, “that I would not be able to cast a Gate spell. That is a Clerical Spell which Thantor or T’lainya here could cast with ease, but I, like you, practice the Druidical Arts.” To prove himself, he spoke a few words in the language known only to Druids, a language that is never taught outside the Grove. Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. She hung her head.

Gwalchmai understood her mistake. He was once young in the ways of the world as well, and some of his past mistakes had led to much greater problems than mere misunderstandings. He blinked away the images of dead Stone Giants and triumphant Ettins that came to mind. Now was not the time to wallow in the past, and unfortunately now was not the time to sooth Aqua-Chan’s bruised spirit.

He looked at Aegis and Aqua-Chan together. “Something else has me confused. You said that passing though the room with the Drow was our only route, and that there was no other entrance to the room put the path we are on. How can this be? How can this be our only path if there is no exit from the room? Why would the enemy permit themselves to be trapped in a cul-de-sac such as this?”

He paced a few steps, deep in thought. “Surely you are mistaken. If there is no exit from the room, then it cannot be our only path. We must back-track and find another way. Either that, or there is an exit that we have not yet seen.” He stopped pacing and turned to the group. “Regardless. We are underpowered without our only Mages. We should backtrack and try to meet up with our friends. Perhaps a few of us could remain here in hiding to monitor the activities of the enemy.”

[Aegis]

Aegis shookk his head at the misunderstanding that just took place, and listened to Gwally speak. "I don't believe there is only the one way in, but more a choke point in cases of a breach of defence." He turned around, and took a step towards the choke point. "I'll remain here, and wait for your return. Does anyone wish to keep me company?" He gave a wry grin, and sat down, leaning against the rock wall.

[Aqua-chan]

As Gwally began to point out her mistakes, Aqua-chan felt her heart freeze up like she was about to die. This is bad, she thought to herself. This one man was much more observant than the rest, and would be a bit harder to convince than the others.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thantor staring at her. He did not look happy in the least.

She was known for working with drow, and if Gwalchmai kept moving on like this, then eventually Thantor would soon figure out that not everything was what it seemed. This was bad.

"My apologies," she spoke with a hint of cracking in her voice, "It was...my error. I...I promise to be more careful about these situations in the future."

"Do try it," he said, though his tone was less playful then it had been a few moments before. She couldn't blame him; such errors were crucial and could be lethal mistakes. Hell, Aqua-chan was lucky that she had even heard the slurred speech of the drow when she did.

Another plan was concieved. The fighter/druid at one point wanted to offer the suggestion to send in an Insect Swarm, but thought that now would probably be the best time to keep her mouth shut.

The voice of her druidic leader suddenly repeated itself in her head:

The druids are here to keep perfect balance. I know this is hard for you to understand, young one, but it even means defending the evil side in some occasions. I'm sending you to the surface above Ched Nassad. There, you will slay many drow, while at the same time not completely destroying the plans of thier leader. Do what you must to keep the area even. Success means acceptance into our Grove; failure means death.

Strong words of the leader herself, but the orders were confusing to follow. Now that she had met with Thantor, she didn't know what to do.

"I was told not to destroy the entire encampment, but what of these people?" she silently growled to herself as everyone moved away, "If thier plans are to continue...how will I handle them without having to engage them in combat? Sylvanus, help me: I don't think I will live through this."

[Nippy]

"I will not permit the summoning of such a vile creature even if we could do it. They are meant to stay in the Abyss, and that is were they will stay." Nippy shakes his head at the thought of a summoning.

"What shall we do then? We need to make a choice, either we try to make our way through the Drow, or we go back. I will stay if Aegis needs aid, but we must make the choice quickly. We do not have time to tarry..."

[Mysteria]

Mysteria nodded at Nippy's outburst. "Summoning demons is just foolish, we have to do something else."

"I'm wondering ... If I were a Dark Overlord, where would I put the entrance to my lair? The mound said it was down there", Mysteria points down the corridor and towards the drow, "and I didn't get the impression that he was lying."

She frowns, then continues, "Aegis said he thought it were a dead end, what if it really is one?" As Gwally started to protest, that it couldn't be a dead end, she hastily continued. "Just imagine for a moment. If I were an evil master-planner, where would be a safer place to conceal the hidden entrance to my lair than in a heavily guarded, apparently dead-end corridor of my lair? No one in his right mind would like to attack a contigent of drow, just to get into a dead-end, and those who would be foolish enough to do it would probably not be able to pose any threat."

She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in. "Also, any who would come through would find themselves in a dead end, perfect for a trap, and would probably have a very hard time just finding the entrance to my lair. Does anybody have a 'find traps' memorized?"

"Oh well, it's just speculations, there's no telling if the Shadow Master did think this way or not. In any case, Gwally is right, if we attempt anything, and even if we don't, we have to meet up with our mages first."

"Maybe some of us could try to lure out just a single drow, for questioning. Do you think that would be possible? Any ideas?", she looked around.

[Nippy]

"Aye, if one of the Drow were isolated at the back I could stun it and bring it to us. It would be difficult and risky, but if it will benefit us I would be glad to do it. Mayhaps one or two of you could draw the drow away for a short time while I complete the mission?"

[Yshania]

As Yshania began to pack their picnic away she felt a soft draught. She turned slowly to look over her shoulder, then jumped up abruptly and stood to face Simbul who glowered down at the two women. The druid felt foolish and blushed as she quickly stuffed the remainder of their meal into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and pushing past the mage into the tunnel. Dragon Wench appeared by her side, equally embarassed, like two children caught red handed. Both, needless to say, were happier for the bottle of wine...

'Not that way' sighed Simbul, they could just picture the mage rolling her eyes disdainfully. Yshania's skin crawled angrily, before they turned to follow the disappearing Simbul down a previously unseen tunnel that had been concealed in the blackest shadows. This tunnel ran parallel to the one the troll had taken with his barrel of ale, but seemed to descend deeper into the belly of the earth. Eventually they moved into a small cavern, two other tunnels leading off. From the tunnel to their right, Yshania heard a strange noise. The three women dropped back into the shadows and waited. The clamour of conversation approached them, Yshania recognised one voice - it was Vivien!

'Now, Bony, you may not be my summoning but there is no need to speak to me that way! I only asked if you had seen the others!'

A rattle and a chattering reply 'that may be so, but I have no interest in the others...look! don't you see it?'

Vivien and a skeletal ranch hand walked into the cavern, the skeletal summoning pointing a bony digit towards a vapourous form that shimmered above their heads. Yshania stiffened, noticing Simbul had also become more interested in their unseen companion than in the sight of Vivien trying to reason with a skeleton. Yshania sensed the presence was the one who had previously communicated with them...

'No!! I don't see anything!' Vivien despaired. The skeleton drew on its cigarette, lamenting its inability to blow smoke rings

'Your loss' the skeleton replied as it adjusted its belt to sit more comfortably over its hips. Vivien sighed, she looked defeated for a moment...

'Viv!' Yshania smiled, moving out from the shadows

'Ysh!! DW!!' Vivien cried as Dragon Wench also stepped forward, the mage ran up to the druid and the fighter hugging them each in turn 'how do you put up with summoned ceatures' she asked Yshania, rolling her eyes 'and where are the others?' Yshania laughed

'Good to see you Vivien' she said, casting another glance towards the shadow that hung above them. 'you, and your...erm...friends...'

'Cut the platitude' yawned Simbul, 'we have all the DF mages here, wherever the rest of the DF are, they have the brawn and the healers. Not a wise move' she turned to Yshania 'not what I would call a balance would you?'...

Yshania stiffened 'Then how did you happen to be here?' she snarled. Simbul smiled condescendingly, before turning her attention back to the presence that lingered with them...

'oooh!' growled Yshania 'sometimes!!...' she wondered where her skills, or lack thereof, fitted into Simbuls rating...

More footsteps before 'I thought I recognised the voices!'

Vivien squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around Jennabard as she came into the cavern from the same direction Yshania and Dragon Wench had arrived 'I tried to follow the others...but the tunnel...it had collapsed' The party fell silent, looking to each of their friends for reassurance...

[Aqua-chan]

Mysteria began to ponder why there would be a dead-end when the Mound specifically said that the lair of thier true enemy was this way.

Just then, an idea smacked her right in the head.

"If you were an evil mastermind, you'd hide the entrance to your lair!" she bursted out anxiously, proud that she had thought of the possibility.

"A secret door, you mean?"

"Perhaps. Maybe the drow know for sure where it is and are working as a distraction, or it may be within the other side of that room."

"So we should lure one out and question it," Nippy confirmed, "This way, we'll know for sure. "

"It will be difficult," Aegis sighed heavily rubbed his hand gently over his wounds, "I saw many of the drow. They're clerics mostly, though the number of fighters they do have look vicious."

"Surely they all have summoning abilities," Aqua-chan muttered, "They will be able to duplicate thier numbers within a few seconds. I've seen drow bring forth mosters and undead...occasionally demons if they have the time to protect themselves from evil. Either way, I don't think this battle will end well if we go plundering in there with our weapons drawn and nothing else to go on."

Thantor glared down the direction of the room, then raised an eyebrow. "More than one of us can speak the underdark toung. Communicating with the creature will not be difficult, so I believe this is the best plan, as well."

"Now all that's left to figure out is how we're going to distract the drow while Nippy tries to stun one, all at the same time not giving away our presence so we don't have to go into combat."

[dragon wench]

Vaguely uncomfortable at Simbul's sudden appearance, Dragon Wench studied the woman before her. Her eyes seemed to pierce through each chink in her armour, and she had the acute sense that Simbul knew every thought and emotion that she had ever experienced. Simbul and Dragon Wench exchanged a long gaze mutually assessing and observing.

Dragon Wench shivered slightly at Simbul's appraisal, but she started at hearing the other woman's words. Simbul, rather than addressing her with the usual maddening sarcasm, spoke quietly.

"Don't fight it....but don't let it consume you...."

Unnerved, Dragon Wench replied, "It ?"

"Whatever it is that lurks just below the surface of your consciousness..... I'm not certain what it is.....but it is there...."

At a loss for a response, Dragon Wench only nodded and bowed her head, trying to evade the perceptive eyes of their companion. First glancing around at the others, she turned and followed Simbul. The passage twisted torturously....looping around itself several times.

Suddenly, Simbul stopped and raised her hand warningly......."Something awaits us....."

[Vivien]

Viv’s hand went reflexively to her abdomen, feeling the bruised skin and sore muscles tighten at just the hint of pressure. Next time she rode a cow on her stomach she’d have a pillow or something instead of just bare skin.

As they walked, she tried hard not to eavesdrop on what appeared a private conversation between Dragonwench and Simbul. With that in mind, she thought over what the skeleton had been trying to tell her about something being there. She had seen nothing but the mist of the cavern, felt no fear as to an aggressor, and was now a bit unnerved that there might be unseen ‘things’ around. Clearly if a thing was unseen it was hideous looking and had cruel, bunny eating intentions.

But no, there had only been shadows and mist, though, now that she thought about it…cave mist wasn’t supposed to move. Shaking her head she tried to ignore such silly thoughts, though she knew if the misty thing came near HER again she’d try to grab it to be able to study it.

That brought the troubling dilemma as to HOW one grabs mist, and she spent several minutes trying to fathom how or why someone would have invented devices like that.

Someone walking next to her brought her back to the situation at hand and she realized Yshania was muttering to herself about wine.

“I just wanted to thank you both for finding me, I was lonely and lost. Not to mention that stupid skeleton wasn’t very good company at all.”

She reached out and patted Yshania’s arm and felt the other woman give her hand a comforting squeeze. The two smiled at each other, unaware that Dragonwench and the Simbul had stopped moving in the dusky space before them. After getting a mouthful of blonde hair and apologizing profusely to Dragonwench she realized they’d stopped for a reason.