Liviol By Moonlight (Open)

[sweet_oblivion]

It seemed that this place had a good amount to offer him. Scara Brae seemed to mean of intriguing areas just waiting for Dino to explore, but the Liviol Sanctum seemed to draw the majority of his attention. He has spread word of his venture around the city and quite a bit around the docks as less experienced adventurers were probably a bit more prone to explore the unknown, but who came mattered little.

After a gathering some knowledge, Dino had learned that the Liviol Trees grow around high levels of magic, feeding off of it for long periods of time. Rumors of a tower which the trees surround would only be strengthened by the extensive growth of the trees. Even though more then likely many had gone searching for this source of magical energy, it was highly unlikely they had found the source of it. There were many possibilities of what could be the cause, but he would be able to prove his theories once he found and explored this hidden architecture if it existed.

The sun was already starting to set as night began to settle in, the moon illuminating the darkened sky along with the cascade of stars shining along side it. Dino was starting to wonder if anyone would show up. He had also heard rumors along side that of the tower that a feline beast roamed the small island, but he had not believed such a tale to scare off to many would be explorers. He would wait a bit longer to see if any would appear, before setting off on his own. Dino was not going to allow others cowardice to halt his search for knowledge.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

A particularly strange scent hit Lorenor's sensory grid as he walked through the Liviol Sanctum, staying somewhat close in proximity to the Dajas Pagoda area. The area had caused him great misfortune, but it wasn't anybody's fault. He'd developed a frustration thanks to the judgments of the powers that be. His war on the Thaynes would have to wait. He looked upon the strange, glowing blue trees their archaic properties greatly interested the ghoul. The Liviol Sanctum had a mysterious aura to it. He could feel crackling energy in the air even as he observed the strange plants and fungi growing in this forest.

Lorenor left the troubles of the Dajas Pagoda behind to pursue the mysterious scent. There were many things in the forest that interested the ghoul. He knew many strange beasts lurked out there in the dark, but the important thing was the scent. The scent that didn't belong. It traveled through the wind, calling him like a siren's song. I recognize this sort of scent. Typheus had such scent. It's the scent of an Off Worlder. One who doesn't necessarily belong but who is here anyway. Lorenor allowed his curiosity to get the better of him and grip his heart.

He walked towards Dino's general direction. Once he covered the yards between himself and Dino, he found the lad standing there nearby to one of Scara Brae's single port city. He observed the individual from the darkness noticing the strange way that Dino dressed. The ghoul kept himself hidden amongst the trees deciding that he wasn't going to reveal himself just yet.

Scara Brae had its own set of problems. The Scara Brae Knights were busy trying to keep the Inquisition at bay. They'd come into the island months earlier to conduct an investigation of alleged terrorism on the island. The war in Corone was slowly corrupting everything like a cancer. Lorenor thought about this for a moment. Dino's strange appearance attracted the ghoul but he was more careful these days. His training in the Pagoda made him more cautious, or, was it more paranoid? Lorenor hid in the shrubbery and observed his new target cautiously. He would reveal himself only when there was a need to...

[Typheus]

"Failure! FAILURE!" the ghost behind Typheus yelled over and over again. It was trying to demoralize Typheus by recounting parts of his past. "You won and lost! You won only to lose EVERYTHING!" The ghost seemed to be able to take a peak into Typheus's past, and being able to become invisible at whim, it was safe from a direct attack.

"You saved everyone just to be whisked away and forgotten! Boohoo!" the jeering ghost yelled. It was a dark grey in color and lit up momentarily before it disappeared as if quickly gathering up energy. "You know, they probably destroyed each other anyways after you left! You couldn't save them! You couldn't even save the one who was supposed to save you! The bitch, Ra-"

Typheus found himself fueled by a sudden hatred. The ghost had only been a nuisance until it mentioned such a current event. The ramblings about his past universe had been a bit darkening on his heart, but it wasn't until the ghost mentioned Ramia, a bird spirit sent to guide Typheus through some kind of ordeal, that he felt rage build up inside him. He moved without thinking and found his hand around the throat of the ghost.

Normally, this would have been impossible less Typheus had been using his light powers to create a small barrier on the surface of his palm. It wasn't too hard because it was similar to what he used to do when he had his full power. The ghost, while it didn't necessarily need to breath, found itself unable to speak. This did not concern Typheus as he took out his sword and released the ghost just as his sword kissed its neck. The ghost's head went rolling onto the ground before dissolving into smoke with the rest of its body following closely behind.

"For a mind reader, you really let your guard down," Typheus said to himself as he sheathed his sword and continued walking through the forest. He knew the only reason he was able to do that was because the ghost could only read minds as fast as it could think, and Typheus's action had been very sporadic indeed.

He decided to try and step out of the forest for a bit. The air was wearing on him, and the ghost had darkened his heart to a large extent. Before he left, he noticed something. An odd feeling in the air, that something familiar was close by. A slight touch of darkness that reminded him of Lorenor. Typheus put his hands in front of him and created an energy ball. Perhaps the darkness would dissipate or it would confront him. Either way, it was better than waiting.

[sweet_oblivion]

It seemed that none were going to come, or make themselves known if they had, and Dino was not going to waste time playing childish games if in fact it was the later. He had waited long enough for any would be stragglers and decided it was time to head out in search of this tower. Their was a slight whistle as the wind slowly picked up, Dino chiming in with a tune of his own as a large creature lumbered from behind the trees. "It seems to be just us Genbu, so let’s get going." The Tortoise nodded in reply as Dino jumped on to its shell and took a seat.

"The tree growth seems to get thicker the farther in, so I might not be able to take you the entire way." Genbu said, turning his lengthy neck back toward Dino. The ability to talk to animals had been a blessing for Dino, and had come in handy many times, but he found it most useful during his time traveling, as he grew quite bored walking in the silence and Genbu gave him a companion to discuss his research with, even if he did not fully understand it. "That's fine, it would probably be better if you didn't come any ways, wouldn't be smart to put both of us in the position for an ambush."

If the tower was in the dead center of the island, then that would leave them little place to run if he was surrounded. If Genbu stayed behind, then at least there was a chance he could catch the attackers by surprise and give Dino some time to escape. The only draw back to this plan was that Dino would have to lug anything he found all the way back to Genbu, so nothing to extreme. They had already started their trek into the forest, as Dino looked around at the Liviol trees. "Trees that grow around a powerful source of magic energy, that could be kind of useful don't you think?" Dino jumped off Genbu's back, picking a few leaves from the Liviol and placing them in his left side pouch before returning to Genbu.

"How do they taste? Maybe you can grow a small one in a few minutes so I could get something to eat while we travel." It was like Genbu to think of food, but at least he was not trying to go to sleep. The night was usually when Genbu stayed inactive, so Dino had wanted him to get plenty of rest during the day, but that had not worked out so well and Genbu had been rather restless. Even so, he seemed fine for the time being, and would get plenty of time to relax while Dino explored, hopefully. It had been some time since they had ventured into the wood, but they seemed to be making little progress so far. Despite the island being very small, the trees were very tricky to navigate through, almost like a maze and Genbu often hand to find a way around after being blocked. Knocking the trees over would have been a lot faster, but disturbing the wild life of the area would more then likely bring them even worse troubles.

"Lets see if we can get you a little bit farther, then I'll head out on my own." Dino said to Genbu as he stood a top his shell, stretching a bit before he went off on his own. Genbu's only reply was a slight grunt and nod before he felt something cover his face. He tried rubbing it off against a tree or two before Dino pulled the substance away from his face. It was a long dark grey string that seemed to stick to Dino's hands. Rolling it around his fingers and into a ball, he placed it into another one of his pockets before looking up to see a whole sea of the substance. "Kind of looks like a spider’s web doesn't it." Dino thought aloud, realizing that it would probably take a very big spider to spin that much silk.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor followed the warrior Dino a few feet away from the lad. Until he smelled another familiar scent. Typheus! The small warrior thought to himself as the scent passed across his sensory grid. Seeing that this matter was a strange turn of events, the ghoul stared off in Typheus' general direction, observing it for a moment. He then returned his gaze towards Dino's person who seemed to be riding a...giant tortoise. The ghoul sighed. How come all these people are getting such cool things except for me?

He let the thoughts pass and petted the single Endless that accompanied him at all times. The creature nodded and rolled off several paces ahead of Lorenor to serve as an impromptu scout. Lorenor didn't sense any other movement against his sensory array except for the local animals and monsters stalking off in the distance. There seemed to be a thick network of caves some distance beneath them as well, so the ghoul would have to be careful of sudden pitfalls into the underground nether regions of the island.

He hated to think what manner of beasts lurked there, waiting in the
shadows. As they walked forward, Lorenor noticed that the air got thick with the scent of death. Something dark was amiss. It was much darker than he was. Lorenor saw things rubbing against his sensory array from many different angles. He cursed in silence. He knew all too well what these things were, spider cables. The boy had blindly lead them all into a trap from a vicious sort of enemy.

Whistling to his familiar, The Endless returned to his side after a few moments with some prey in its mouth. A creature from the native forest that it had captured. Lorenor smiled at its pet and rubbed it again alongside the creature's flank. We have to keep moving. I don't know why but I feel that we have to help that kid. The thought of assisting a total stranger seemed like an entirely new concept to The Endless as it was a creature bred for destruction. Still, it decided to obey Lorenor for the time being. The ghoul moved through the thick shrubbery, hacking at whatever he could to clear his path. He was making noise deliberately.

Once he was close enough to Dino's position he yelled.

"Get away from this area stranger, you put us all in serious danger!"

He only hoped that the Spider Magi wasn't drawn to their person. Lorenor would try to talk his way through the situation since he was a fledge-ling Spider Magi himself...he prayed to N'Jal for guidance...

[Typheus]

The darkness started to fade and then grew tremendously as some kind of substance was lit up by Typheus's ball of light. Whatever it was, it was hung like a curtain in the trees above. As Typheus moved the ball of light around, he saw that the substance disappeared and moved with the light. It was similar to a spider's web, and Typheus feared that's just what it was. Nothing would be worse now than some kind of monstrous spider to have to fight. Perhaps it was a bad turn of luck, or perhaps the forest didn't like intruders. Both options were highly possible at this point.

Keeping his head down, Typheus moved as quietly as he could through the trees, trying to find his way out of the area, but he soon realized that he was going in entirely the wrong direction, because the webs were getting thicker. It wasn't until he saw, through the trees, a man riding a turtle did he finally stop to take a breather. "The hell kind of man rides a turtle through a place like this?" Typheus quietly said to himself.

Another man ran towards the turtle and rider shouting something about putting them in danger. Typheus was about to turn and head into the other direction until he saw the second one's face. "Lorenor! You son of a bitch!" Typheus yelled out without thinking about it as he stepped into the same clearing as Lorenor. "Where the hell have you been!?" he said stepping closer, until he was within normal talking distance. "Haven't seen you in awhile...and what danger are you talking about? Some kind of giant spider? I'm just going to assume that from the obvious decor."

Typheus drew his sword, gripping it tightly and getting ready for a fight. "Come on, we fought bandits, a Faceless, and even survived an encounter with the crazy bitch, Y'edda, herself," Typheus then remembered where he was. "This isn't some kind of god spider is it? I've had about as much divine BS as I can handle."

He looked up at the stranger on the turtle. "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

[sweet_oblivion]

As Dino pondered if he should try and study this spider or just keep himself from being side tracked from his intended goal, a blob of ooze rolled into his peripheral vision. Dino turned as he noticed the thing, but it had already left the area shortly after Dino heard a sharp whistle. This place truly was an amazing find, and he was rather joyous that he had chosen to come here first, there were so many interesting things to be studied. Face with yet a third option in whether or not to follow the slime ball, his one man conversation was cut short as something began to draw near.

"Well, looks like trouble has found us for once, eh Genbu?" Dino smiled at the tortoise who paid little attention to the cause of the disturbance.

"Get away from this area stranger, you put us all in serious danger!"

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but I'll take it." Dino said to himself as he jumped down from Genbu's back eying the creature that stood before him. It seemed friendly enough though its appearance did not exactly appeal to this. "Sorry friend, but I don't think that will be happen." By what he had said, the creature had more then likely been following Dino, and was not to happy to see that spiders were probably in the area. The fact he had refereed to more then just the two of them made Dino wonder exactly how many people had been watching him with out his knowledge, but that could also just be a misunderstanding.

Dino's conversation with the creature before him was interrupted by yet another, this one seeming slightly more human that kept an orb of light with his hand. It seemed this one knew the other creature and refereed to him as Lorenor. Dino paid little attention to the conversation as he noticed the blob creature from earlier sitting or maybe standing, it was hard to be sure, next to the one named Lorenor. The other man seemed rather eager to fight, pulling out his sword as he continued to blabber on about matters that Dino was not in the slightest bit interested in.

Dino had had enough of these two if they were just going to talk and waste his time, and was getting ready to mount Genbu and head off again when the other man asked who he was, and not to politely either. "In all honesty that is none of your concern." He had little patience for some random person who happened to stumble upon him in the woods, but he was rather interested in this other creature and its pet. "Now, Lorenor i believe this one refereed to you as, why in hell were you following us, and make it good because I have lost to much time to deal with the both of you.

Dino was irritable at the moment, but one could not blame him as hunger had already began to settle in. "Damn my metabolism. Genbu, if these two give us any trouble, prepare to move on ahead, I'll hold them off for a bit and then meet up with you." He said to the turtle, hoping that neither of these newcomers could understand the tongue of the animals. Genbu was not to fond of the plan, but he eventually agreed to follow along with it.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor was one to always come prepared for any situation if possible. History had taught him that much at the very least. He'd expected many things from his excursion into the Liviol Sanctum, but bumping into the Light-Wielder known as Typheus was not one of them. Seeing the bright light hurt his eyes and sent his skin ablaze. The ghoul took several steps away from Typheus and instinctively covered his eyes. He wore the UASU but that couldn't protect him from a genetic weakness.

"Will you put that out, Typheus. Please, you know that hurts me." Lorenor asked in a rather polite sort of way. He'd forgotten how much pain it was to be around his strange friend. He turned his gaze back towards Dino for a moment and then eyed the Endless standing nearby to him. It was ever ready, ever on guard for the slightest hint of battle. It seemed to detect the danger about them just as he had. Lorenor fully expected a group of well trained Spider Magi to jump them at any moment. He would never have thought mutant spiders might be the answer...

Sometimes the simplest threats were the most dangerous. Lorenor took a swipe at some nearby cobwebs that were rubbing up against his person. A long, uncomfortable silence filled the air after Lorenor addressed Typheus to disable his light powers. He looked at Dino. "I was sent by someone to protect you." Lorenor quickly lied. When one lived by the code of the Thaynes one learned to think quickly on their feet. "I saw something about a job someone matching your description was offering in one of the taverns."

Lorenor had come across the job application in one of the taverns. That much was at least true. He pulled out the document and handed it to Dino after a brief moment. "You fit the description of the employee for this mission. So if you need a sword, you got one. I don't know why HE'S here though." He said grinning towards Typheus. "My guess is that he's lost."

The ghoul thought that the whole speech came out fairly well. He'd thought the lie up fairly quickly but was able to back it up with proof. He'd gone into town several times after his fights in the Pagoda Arena. Seeing the job application all over town, the ghoul took advantage and decided to look into Dino's offer. "It's going to cost you though." Lorenor finally said. "How do you intend to pay for this job?" The ghoul asked.

[Typheus]

((I was hoping emo would know I had enough common sense to put the ball of light out before I came running up towards you, but anyways :P))

Typheus quickly extinguished his orb, forgetting that Lorenor was of the opposite element and light burnt him like a hot flame. It was a wonder that Lorenor managed to walk outside without suffering the same fate as a clichéd vampire.

"In all honesty that is none of your concern," the stranger replied to him, apparently either very shady or very annoying.

"In all honesty, I could give a shit less,” Typheus said in response, turning to Lorenor.

"Lost? More like looking for more power so that I can defeat certain...enemies." Typheus suggested, hoping Lorenor would know what enemy he had in mind. With both of them almost being killed in a skirmish with the bitch, it would be a wonder if they forgot.

"I need to get enough power to at least fly if I want to stand a chance. And don't say it's impossible to fight her because there's no way in hell I’m going to give up after what happened. You saw her try to take Ramia away from me and then force her to sacrifice herself to save me. There’s no way in hell I can let that go without some kind of retribution. I may not be able to kill her, but I’ll definitely make her regret being immortal.”

Typheus looked at the air around him. It was littered with remnants of web particles. The sun wasn’t too present here, due to the dense tree growth, but what little sunlight that came through managed to hit the web that swayed high above in the tree branches casting a scene of unique light shows, including some intricate patterns.

“Lorenor, what do you know about these spiders? SHOULD we be afraid of them? You have any experience with them before?”

[sweet_oblivion]

(Sorry for the wait guys, internet went on the fritz again.)

It seemed Lorenor had a weakness to light, something Dino made sure to keep note of just in case. Typheus, as Lorenor had refereed to the other was able to control light, so the two would not be able to fight to their full extent together if they did decide to attack him. Even so, Typheus had a weapon, which put Dino at a disadvantage. If a fight really did break out, Dino would have to use some quick thinking to win, to bad for them that was exactly what he was good at.

Dino was not to sure about Lorenor's story. It was believable, but why would someone worry about a job offer if they was sent to protect him. Greed was the most likely answer, but Dino was still curious as to the odds he would run into a friend of his out here, and that they would both find him at nearly the same time. Dino's better nature of course wanted to believe the story, but his brain told him to be a little more cautious this time around.

"To tell you the truth, I don't have much on me at the moment, but if the stories of this place are true I'll let you get first grabs on any choice items. We can split the bounty eighty to twenty, I'm not a greedy man after all." Dino was certain this would give him the information on if he should trust Lorenor, at least for the time being any ways. Not caring much about Typheus personal vendettas. He turned away from the two and jumped on top of Genbu, not planning on wasting any more time dealing with these two if they just planned to stand here.

"If you want to come along too, then I wont try stopping you, just try not to cut it up to badly if we do run into our eight legged friend, I would prefer some of it still intact for my studies." Dino said to Typheus, acknowledging his presence once more. He would ask Lorenor about his slime ball later, as standing in the lions den, or to be more literal the spiders web, was not exactly the smartest move for the group. For the moment he would have to tune any said to him out as he began to focus. He did not want to show these two what he was capable of, but this would leave them with little to go on, and Dino defiantly needed food, and now.

His alchemic skills with plants were much worse then he would like to admit, so it took him some time to adjust to different forms of plant life, and these liviol trees were far different from the plant life Dino was used to seeing. It was another couple of minutes before Dino snapped back into reality, and it did not look like they had been attacked, so everything was probably fine. He placed a palm against the nearest tree, using it to snare a small forest dwelling critter with in its branches. At this point Dino did not care what it was, as the branches had already done their job in killing it. Any minor poison would be easy enough for him to fight off, though his hunger made this bit of knowledge almost irrelevant as he had already began to eat the creature. Nothing was wasted, and though it was not a true meal, it would keep him going for a while.

"Well, I suggest we get going." He said, tapping on Genbu's shell, signaling him to move forward. He felt a bit safer with these two in the forest, even if they were not going to follow him, they might divert some attention from the more territorial beasts, that and the fact that he did not entirely trust these two, though he did not show it. With this in mind, he felt it would be in his best interest to have Genbu press on a bit farther, and keep him closer the originally planned, just in case.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

"Eighty-twenty? Plus whatever interests me that we find at this place you're heading to? That seems like a fair deal to me. You have yourself a sword. As was revealed earlier, my name is V'halkulus. Lorenor V'halkulus. Typheus. I'll split any monetary reward we find with you okay?"

Two's company but three was a crowd. Tendrils of cobwebs hung from various portions of the trees and at distinctive levels. Some areas had more cobwebs than other, and they reflected the moonlight. Lorenor was worried that they had unwittingly been lead into Spider-Magi territory. So far, he hadn't sensed any such creatures around but there was movement all around him. It wasn't their own. Lorenor felt things creeping along his sensory array and it made his spine crawl.

Lorenor caught up to Dino and the turtle, keeping a close vigil on the duo. He looked down at the curious tortoise for a long moment and then up towards Dino's face. He decided that the lad was a handsome one, despite the fact that he smelled like an Off-Worlder. Stars shown overhead adding their distinct glow to the moonlight's own touch. The world appeared twisted to Lorenor's eyes but it made sense to him. Seeing things slightly off tee, his pin-point accuracy would be the stuff of legend.

He saw the creature almost before Dino had claimed a meal of it. I respect him, he is a predatory one after all. Typheus didn't like it when he saw me feed against those bandits. Lorenor kept his hand on his sword handle, ever ready for a battle to take place. With his newly acquired Ring of All Shadows, the basic foundation for Lorenor's castle was completed. In time he would once again regain the former truths of the Dark Hero.

Walking just quickly enough to keep up with the tortoise and stay at Dino's side, the ghoul virtually ignored Typheus' comments. He was all business now that he was hired. His hide boots silently crushed the underbrush beneath him. He could sense the spider webs all over the floor as well. He knew that a battle could erupt at any moment and he was ready. I won't be caught off guard...

[Typheus]

"Fine, Lorenor, just as long as I get anything that can increase my light abilities, you'll hear no complaints from me."

As they walked, Typheus found it uneasy treading on the spider webs below. His feet sunk into them as if they were a very dense liquid, and he couldn't help but shake the feeling that every time he touched it, something far off in the distance could feel the vibrations.

A few faint noises from the trees were making him a bit wary. He hated being watched from a distance, whether it be sniper or spider. There was definitely something up there watching them. Something that could fight and kill. This was further emphasized by a rather large ball of well that could have, at one time, been a human or something roughly as large.

"Hey, Turtle Boy. You have arachnophobia by any chance?"

[sweet_oblivion]

Lorenor was obviously happy about Dino's deal, which he should have been. Eighty percent was a generous amount to give, but for Dino, knowledge was the greatest reward, and that was something that could not be divided up between them. Not only did he get two birds for the price of one, but they seemed to work well enough together so that would be an added bonus. Two warriors who could get the job done were much better then a band of thugs who would turn on each other for a single gold coin, but the later would have left Dino with more profits. There was always next time for this however, plus it gave him the opportunity to learn about the slime ball and what exactly its master was.

Typheus seemed concerned about how Dino would react if they were attacked by their web laying friend. "Oh yes, they give me the creeps, the way they talk just sends shivers up my spine." Dino whispered adding more the unsettling atmosphere as he was sure they were being tracked. "But seriously, giant spiders seem wonderful, a truly amazing creature to study, especially their habits." Dino's tone had changed from eerie to highly intellectual, sounding much like and older teacher then a young man.

"For example, many spiders capture their pray using invisible nets. A broken net like the one we saw before could mean a fight over territory or a predator, so something that the spider itself would fear, or it could just be natural and that the spider had moved on to a different territory, assuming these things don't just roam around for food. The matter of one large, or many smaller spiders could also be an issue, but the fact is that it probably feeds on big food." Of course this was something they could have probably figured out on their own, but it helped Dino to recap on everything when thinking up a strategy.

"Now to us, due maybe to our size or vision, their webbing was visible, and I am sure any creatures large enough for it to not be seen would stick out, so it makes you wonder why a net would be left hanging around warning pray to stay away, unless....." Dino smiled looking at the two allowing for a few moments of silence to see if either would catch on. "Wonderful! They scare us away from one area so we try taking another route where they probably have webbing across the ground to track out movements waiting for a moment to strike. If there is more then just one, then I'm sure that our safest exit route, the route we came from had already been secured just in case we tried to escape."

This was turning out to be very exciting after all. Not only were the spiders intelligent, they worked together to catch their prey, and used their natural abilities not only to trap, but to trick, deceive and track them. "Ooh yes, this will be an interesting chase indeed." Dino gave Genbu the order to stop and motioned the two to jump on. "Don't make any movements, just jump right on top, and hold on." If they were only being tracked through webs on the floor, then a sudden change from three to one would more then likely shock the pursuers. They would either follow after thinking one had attacked to soon, or fear that another creature was out there, untraceable to their tracking system. If it was just a single spider, or a very small group, the later was the likely probability.

The plan was to have Genbu dash off, and pretty much ram anything that got in the way they could not avoid. If they were followed, Typheus light abilities would come in hand for their multi-eyed friends, and Dino's mantle would probably be enough to shield Lorenor from his comrades attacks. Dino still did not know the full extent of their abilities, so his plan could work out even better then he planned, or it could turn out horribly terrible, but he always had the opportunity to ditch them. The extra weight was a minor factor, as Dino knew Genbu could haul ass if it really came down to it, and tossing his mantle for the time being was not a problem to lighten the load, as long as he recovered it later on.The plan had been thought out, checked and rechecked through Dino's mind number of times, and now he was certain that it would work. "FOOD!" or not.

His mantle hit with a loud clunk, a small spider slammed against the metal plates, obviously not expecting Dino to be armored as it fell to the ground. "Not tonight little fella." He said in the spiders own tongue as he placed his foot against its body and watched its innards burst from its sides. "Well, were boned, oh and my whole plan was ruined.... not to happy about that one." Which was pretty obvious as his grey eyes were much harsher then usual, scanning the top of the trees first and then working his way down to the forest floor. "It a dummy, bad move on their part because now we know they are here, but also tells us we are surrounded, I guess they want us to panic."

Numbers, size, scenery, these all played a part in the battle that was about to take place, hell these things could even have venom, which would not be to good for the group if one were to get bit in the middle of a fight. "Don't stand to close but try to keep the same distance apart form each other, also try to stay as far away from them as possible after you attack, in and out; If they bite you retreat to the center, we will wait for an opening and get out of here." He hoped they would listen to his command, though he could not force them to, and would only put his and Genbu's safety at top priority if they did not. He could hear the spider all around, a few realizing that he had spoken their language, but only dismissing it shortly after it was mentioned. The party was getting ready to start, and everything was turning out just perfect.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

"Like hell! Attack!"

Lorenor suddenly yelled. The forest became thick with a noticeable layer of warm mist generated by the horde of spiders. Lorenor didn't like Dino's plan at at all there was one crucial evidence; lack of real combat experience. Lorenor had fought in several large battles before and understood basic skirmish tactics much more than the intellectual findings of their companion there. The spiders had them surrounded from every angle, not only that, if they were all squished into one tiny space, the spiders would swarm down upon them. It would be a slaughter. This I cannot allow. Lorenor retained his position on the ground, even as his Endless wrapped itself around his person.

And so, Lorenor prepared for battle. The swarm of spiders prepared to claim their meal, but Lorenor was going to have none of that. The small warrior turned into an ass-kicking beast as he drew both of the swords in his possession. Destruction, and Chaos. A green colored longsword and a grey colored metal coated each of the blades. Lorenor knew that both of the longswords were at diffferent lengths from one another.

The weapons reflected the moonlight, as his bio-organic armor surrounded him completely. His tiny pet, Figment, suddenly shrieked as it became eager to join the battle. Lorenor grinned at its warrior friend and the duo prepared themselves for imminent combat. "Get going Dino! I'll distract them while you get ahead. Typheus! Stick with him until its your turn!"

Swarms of the spiders moved against them now. Hundreds. No. Thousands of them came like a cloud of tiny death on eight legs moving through the Liviol Sanctum. Lorenor's grinned widened as he understood his odds. He knew what had to be done, they all had to die. His predatory instincts took over as he prepared to face the incoming horde. His companion hissed at the first wave of incoming spiders. Moving with supernatural speed and agility, The Endless tore through the first set of spiders with its horrible teeth. The spiders tried to keep up with The Endless, but the agile creature held them at bay. One by one, the spiders began to fall.

Lorenor stomped the smaller insects as they came close to him and sent his blade crashing against the nearest of his foes. The ones that attempted to leap upon his body were met with his living armor. Tendrils of organic darkness leaped up around the spiders and crushed them with deadly precision. Lorenor fought against the horde. After a few moments, the really BIG spiders started to come. Lorenor eyed his little companion as Figment destroyed spider after horrible spider. "Figment! Over there!"

The tiny creature understood Lorenor's command. The ghoul moved against the nearest of the spiders and swung his two swords around with a certain level of skill. They didn't moved as skillfully as he would have liked, but they moved nonetheless. He took down whatever arachnids came his way. The bigger ones proved to be more agile than their smaller counterparts and much more dangerous. And that's how the battle began...

[Typheus]

Typheus stood near to Dino and kept his blade up in front of him in a defensive stance, hoping to ward off any small critter that would try to bite him and drain him of his fluids. He really didn't like spiders. They were too small, too fast, too nimble, and too godamned aggressive.

Typheus side-stepped to the left and cut through a small group of them that were approaching, and then brought his sword back to destroy another group that was coming from the right. He and Dino were back to back and he could do nothing more than fight in this situation.

At one point, Typheus heard Lorenor shout "Figment! Over there!" and he was completely caught off guard.

"Lorenor, what the hell? You name your little shadow of destruction 'Figment' of all things? Last I checked, 'Figment' was not a badass name!" He shouted at as he dodged a small group of spiders descending from above and cut them loose so that he could fight them without worrying about them flailing about in the air and trying to stick to his face.

They were disposed of quickly, but more and bigger ones were coming. They were faster than the smaller ones, and logically stronger. Typheus swung at a few of them, but they managed to dodge his blows. He finally caught a few of them off guard and split them right in half. The others were beaten to death by the flat part of his blade.

This neck of the woods was quickly becoming drenched in spider blood and entrails, and would soon be attracting the scent of bigger creatures that might feed on such things, or maybe spiders coming to see what is slaughtering their young in such a fashion. These things just couldn't have been the bigger ones. There was no way that it could be this easy to simply keep swinging his sword and manage to take out an arachnid army...

[sweet_oblivion]

"Well, they certainly seem hungry." Dino had been surprised by the number of spiders that had arrived. Sure their first few waves were smaller, but now bigger and older spiders were appearing, and to in the thousands. Five meals, four if they couldn't sense the slime blob named figment, were not enough to draw this much attention, at least not all at once. Something was defiantly wrong in this ecosystem, and Dino intended to find out what.

Lorenor had come in hand after all, able to sense how many spiders had surrounded them, and was more then a match for the armada swarming down on them. Typheus proved to be a help as well as he did his job to dispatch the eight legged attackers. He was actually glad that Lorenor had not paid attention to his idea, though in the long run it would have mattered little, especially for what he was planning.

The smaller spiders were not much of a problem, even for an inexperienced fighter like Dino, he was able to easily knock them away with a quick kick or punch thanks to his increased speed and agility, that and his armored mantle kept him pretty safe, the hard part came when the large enemies came, and Dino found himself being out maneuvered, and that was just not going to happen. Dino placed a hand on the closest thing to him, which just so happened to be one of the bigger spiders, pushing off of it and jumping into the air, as he removed his protective garment right above the creature. It probably wouldn't die from the impact, but it would be crippled and unable to dodge the charging tortoise. As another of the smaller creatures lunged at him, Dino was able to dodge, and take hold of his mantle before Genbu could trample it, swinging it around and bashing the hidden iron plates into anything that came to close. Crude yet effective.

"Genbu, clear the way." He shouted to his companion as the tortoise nodded and began to charge the way they had been headed before they had been drawn into this battle. Five feet and two hundred and forty pounds was nothing to laugh at when it came charging at speeds faster then most humans could reach, and with a harden shell to protect it body and head visible only to the point where Genbu could see himself, Dino felt sorry for anything that got in his way. Needless to say, Genbu was able to bring down a few trees as he dozed through the forest, his sleek shell allowing him to roll off of anything that he was not able to instantly bring down as he continued to plow through trees and the unfortunate spiders that feel from them.


"We should probably get going now, if were lucky we might make it to an area where they are afraid to go." Of course that was not exactly an improvement, but their only other choice was to keep with the current pointless battle. Dino ran after Genbu, who had begun to slow down, dodging any spiders he could and taking care of any he could not. The mantle slowed him down enough, and swinging it would only add to his drop in speed. Thankfully, Dino had a little trick he had been saving for such an occasion. By increasing the density of the bones in certain parts of his body and decreasing muscle mass, his arm was now a club, with the ability to pierce if he reached fast enough speeds, which proved hard with the extra weight.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

A multitude of bodies appeared before the ghoul now. He'd managed to take care a large portion of the spider population by himself with his two swords swinging around. These were easy opponents to deal with. It seemed that they only were acting out of intense hunger. Lorenor had the sneaking thought that it was possible a more dangerous predator lurked somewhere in the shadows, but the ghoul didn't want to think too much on that thought. Stepping on the corpses of fallen arachnid warriors, the ghoul stabbed at any of the ones he hadn't completely finished off yet. Trees danced in the breeze carrying with it the stench of insect death.

Lorenor was pleased. He pondered biting a few of the remaining spiders for a quick meal, the larger ones seemed like they could hold vital proteins. He didn't want to risk the chance that their venom could do more harm than good so he waited. Suddenly, a big spider came at him from the side. Lorenor reacted a the last possible moment but was grabbed by powerful mandibles. He felt his ribs being crushed from the weight of the appendages now gripping at his person. Lorenor attempted to stab in a downwards motion against the big spider but the creature kept moving quickly. Its many eyes provided an advantage for the spider. Lorenor hissed and had no idea what to do, he'd been caught completely off guard.

Lorenor's swords caused minor scrapes and cuts against the hide of the stronger opponent. The ghoul cried out in agony and only one heard his calling. Figment instantly reacted to its master and moved quickly along the ground. The spider saw the creature coming in at only the last second. It tried to evade what was about to happen but couldn't. Figment leaped suddenly upwards from underneath Lorenor's form jumping towards the open maw of the spider beast. The creature reacted by tossing his head violently from side to side and releasing Lorenor to the laws of gravity.

A tree met with Lorenor's back side and knocked the wind out of his lungs. The ghoul slid down the side of the tree as he watched what was happening next. The spider convulsed with agony as Figment worked to overtake the creature it was now bonded to. A few moments later, the Spider fell down to the ground and was taken by Figment. Its eyes darkened over as a black liquid haze took them over. Figment had won. The spider was now his host and moved over to Lorenor's person. The spider's face touched Lorenor's side and the ghoul moaned in agony. "I'm hurt Figment but not bad. It'll heal." The ghoul said as his own V'halkulus tightened itself around the injuries he'd just recieved. "We'd better catch up to the others." The ghoul stood up and clutched at his side. The Spider was big enough for him to ride upon. He sat upon the spider's back and moved quickly with the Arachnid's speed as he held on to the furry hide of the creautre. Soon he'd caught up to Dino and Typheus...on his new ride.

[Typheus]

Typheus ran right behind Dino as he chased the giant tortoise known as Genbu, who was busy running down any spiders that got in the way. He was hoping to hell that the tortoise wouldn't run out of energy before they got out of spider country, but what REALLY bugged him was the fact that he was chasing down a giant TORTOISE of all things. He could just imagine telling this tale to some soldiers back home. "Yeah, guys, that turtle was fast as hell, and I had a hard time keeping up with it."

God, what was he even doing here. He needed power to make himself strong enough to fight Y'edda, the Thayne bitch. That's what he needed to focus on if he wanted to make it out of this crap alive. The trees growing here were growing from an energy source. This energy source would possibly give Typheus an advantage. He HAD to obtain it!

As Typheus looked behind him, he saw the oddest sight ever. Lorenor was holding on for dear life from a spider that was quickly gaining on them. Lorenor was quickly right behind them and Typheus was about to cut down the spider when he saw that it was willingly carrying Lorenor. The fact that the spider's eyes weren't too different from Lorenor's kind of helped. The absence of that damned Figment thing suggested that it was the spider...or was controlling it somehow.

"Alright, you've officially freaked me right the hell out," he said, looking back at the weird spider, his lungs going at top speed. He suddenly turned to Dino, getting ready to state the obvious about his turtle. "Dino...nah screw it. Lorenor, you have any idea how far we are from getting out of this godamned area?"

[sweet_oblivion]

Dino smiled as Typheus and Lorenor were catching up to him. They had yet to realize in their battle against the spiders, hell Dino was just as guilty, and if it had not been for Genbu's warning he would still be clueless. He saw the spider Lorenor was now riding on. It was a bigger one, but not to big and would easily fit on Genbu's back. The spiders were gaining on them now, rushing forward to try and get the small group knowing what was soon to arrive.

Typheus seemed to want to ask him a question, but quickly took it back, deciding to question Lorenor about their position. "Yes, Genbu is really damn fast, and don't worry, soon enough we wont have to worry about them for much longer." He said, looking back as a wave moved in closer. Dino concentrated, eventually reaching his hand out to the side and tapping a tree just as he passed, its roots shooting out and piercing through the spiders under belly. He really liked these Liviol trees, the fact they fed off of magical energies made them a lot easier for him to control then most other plants. If the plants here were such perfect specimens for he research, Dino couldn't wait to head out to the cursed Red Forest and gaze upon its many vicious plants.

"Alright, end of the line! Everyone on top of the tortoise back!" Dino jumped into the trees and then lunged for Genbu as the Tortoise began to slow down, hearing the command. They were now coming upon a cliff, one that held a large body of water at the bottom. The only problem was that Dino had no clue exactly how deep down this source of water was, only that the spider would not follow. At least he hoped.

Genbu leaped off the edge, with Dino on his back. He hoped the others would be able to make it, now that he was able to see the fall that awaited them. Dino could sense something from down their, obviously a strong presence of energy if it reached out to him by itself. "Jackpot!" He yelled as they fell through the air. Dino looked back up at the cliff to see that the spiders had stopped, a few falling off the edge as it broke from Genbu jumping off. Even if they survived the fall, they would be little danger once Dino and the others made it to the bottom.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

About to answer Typheus' question, the ghoul decided against it. He kept slashing at any of the spiders that came close enough for him to catch with his sword. Deciding it was best to ignore Typheus for the time being, he noticed that the road was taking a sharp uphill turn. Where in the red Hell are they leading us? Then he suddenly saw it. Aww crap, Dino, you're one crazy son of a bitch! Dino's order came entirely too late.

It was at the last possible moment that Lorenor finally caught up with the rest of the group. Lorenor tried to see if Typheus could make the jump okay. There wasn't enough time! "Typheus! Jump on the spider with me if you got enough leg room over there!" Lorenor commanded Figment to take them forward and go careening off the side of the cliff.

With a sudden leap of powerful arachnid legs, the spider jumped skillfully off over the cliff's edge. Several spiders immediately followed, leaping off the cliff, but those that could stop, stopped. Many spiders fell off the cliff skidding off in a slide. Those that did fall, fell to their deaths as they weren't voluntarily moving. The ones that came in close enough for an attack met with Lorenor's sword. Even whilst he was falling in the middle of the leap, Lorenor continued his attacks against the spiders. By now, his muscles were burning with tension and stress.

Regardless, the small warrior knew he needed to continue fighting. The spiders that met with his Plynt blade were hacked to pieces within seconds of their initial contact. Lorenor was grateful for the woman. With the Endless wrapped around his person, Lorenor quickly turned to face the incoming body of water. Bracing himself for impact, the ghoul yelled loudly as the ice-cold water came up around them with a loud splash.

The crashing motion of the waves momentarily pulled him and the Figment/Spider beneath the surface of the water. Figment thrust his arachnid legs powerfully and soon found himself swimming carefully along the surface. Lorenor was not so lucky. He'd gotten separated from the spider companion in the midsts of the impact and his sword had left his hand. He swam after the sword trying to move his body as skillfully as the light man could muster.

He saw the sword just ahead, and just managed to grab the handle of the blade when a single spider came up behind him. It was one of the bigger ones! Lorenor used all the might he could muster to swing around in the water against the spider. A set of powerful jaws came up and attempted to crush the ghoul with their might. In turn, Lorenor reacted by slashing at the arachnid with skill. The thing was cleanly sliced in half. After his kill, the ghoul quickly swam upward feeling the strain of his tired muscles. He sheathed his weapon in its scabbard and broke the surface of the water with a loud gasp.

"Figment!"

He called out to the Endless. He couldn't see with the waves breaking everywhere. The waters were attempting to swallow the ghoul up for good.

Lorenor kept trying to break water as he was going under every so often, and trying to pull himself back up. Lorenor wasn't a great swimmer but he wasn't bad at it either, his profession forced him to learn how to swim a long time ago. But these waters were moving and extremely cold at that. He couldn't see Dino anywhere, or Typheus. How far away are we from one another? Lorenor thought, and just when he was about to give up hope, a pair of hairy legs grabbed him. It was Figment. Lorenor rubbed his pet along the forehead region and quickly mounted the beast.

Shivering with cold, the biting wind was made even colder. He wished he had some Salvarn hides with him. Lorenor huddled against the furry hides of the creature beneath him. He knew that the arachnid wasn't feeling a damned thing cause of the Endless. Figment commanded the creature to swim, and so it swim. Soon, Lorenor saw something in the distance. It was Dino! Catching up to the speedy moving tortoise was a chore, but he managed to do it somehow.

"Dino are you all right!?" Lorenor called out to his employer.

[Typheus]

Typheus saw Dino and his turtle hurl themselves off of a cliff directly ahead of him, disappearing below its rim. A large body of water was visible over the cliff's edge and a small blur that was Genbu and Dino was heading straight for it.

He didn't have time to think about it, because half of the entire forest was chasing after him, and he would either have a slim chance from jumping off of a cliff, or no chance with an angry horde of giant spiders. He quickly chose the cliff.

As he jumped, he went into a swan dive position and felt his white coat flapping about behind him, creating a little wind resistance. He felt a presence behind him and a spider was closing in on him quickly in midair, using a large strand of web as a lifeline. Typheus drew his sword, while shifting his weight enough to spin himself around, and cut the brute's head clean off. It went spiraling away from him, spewing blood in all directions, and the body hung limply from its web as it died.

Typheus sheathed his sword JUST as he hit the water and then quickly swam for the surface. The torrents tugged him this way and that, but he had knowledge of how to swim thanks to his years in his old military. Arriving at the surface, he looked around and managed to spot the tortoise not too far away and made for it at a steady pace.

"Guys, this place suc-" Typheus started to say but then felt himself being dragged underneath the water by something. It wasn’t exactly something physical, but it was pulling him down and he didn’t like it. The water itself seemed to be against him and after looking closely, he could see that it was. The water was actually flowing down past him, faster towards the bottom of the lake to God knows where. He couldn’t tell what was happening until he looked up and saw a swirling motion.

That’s when he realized what happened. They were all in the middle of some kind of freak whirlpool. It was either some kind of magical trap set for anyone out on the lake, or it was just a special freak of nature. Either ways, everyone’s lives were in danger, yet again. He looked around to see if he could spot Dino, Genbu, or Lorenor, but everything was swirling way too fast and he was going around with it. He could see a large hole in the bottom of the lake that he was being drug towards and was afraid that it would be hours before the current reversed and the whirlpool did the same and shot everyone back up. He hoped that there was something he could do to prevent from drowning. The worst part was that the hole was dark and he couldn’t see if any strange creatures were inside…or worse yet, it WAS some strange creature.

He focused his powers and lit himself up as bright as he could, and saw that it was just a large underground cave. The water was apparently pouring into it for some reason and Typheus was heading down with it. As he entered the cavern, he came dangerously close to bashing his skull on a few rocks that were in the walls. Fortunately, the cave had been worn down to a very smooth surface because of the water, and the protruding rocks were few in number. The cave itself started to level out, or at least that’s what Typheus figured because of the turn it was taking.

He was running out of air as he continued along the path of the cave, hoping that something crazy would happen that would let him leave this event alive. Fortunately, his prayers were answered as the cave started to level out and then finally bend upwards. The water took him up and the cave suddenly ended and now he was in another body of water. He was forced up to the surface violently and was shot out of the water before coming back down. He was pushed away from the center of the lake towards a small underground beach. He clambered onto it, and then fell over gasping for air. He was finally on dry ground, and there was plenty of air to boot.

Turning around, Typheus saw that he was in some enormous underground lake, illuminated only by his inner light. The cavern above was dotted with stalagmites and various other rocky formations. The lake itself was moving a bit violently and at the center was a large jet of water, apparently the reverse whirlpool on this side of the tunnel. This all seemed a little too convenient, but Typheus wasn’t going to complain. Not after he made it through such an experience with his skin intact.

[sweet_oblivion]

It seemed that everyone had made it alright, even though a few spiders had continued pursuit, Lorenor and Typheus were easily able to dispatch of the threats as they all crashed into the water. "You alright Genbu?" Dino asked his companion as he leaned over the front of his shell to look the tortoise in the face. "Listening to you is going to get me killed one of these days." Genbu responded popping out of his shell. "I'll take that as a yes. So where are the others?"

It was then Dino could hear Lorenor calling out to him. He looked around, finally seeing him atop his spider. "Don't worry about me, we need to find Typheus and get moving, I have a feeling we are getting close." It was then Typheus popped out of the water just next to Genbu. He began to complain about their current predicament when the flow of water began to change rapidly. The tranquil lake had now become a swirling vortex, with the intent of pulling them in. There was no point fighting it, hell it was more then likely going to take them were they needed to go.

They had been lucky this occurred when it did, a little while later and they could have been falling down into a barren pit. Typheus began to brighten up, revealing a hole at the center of the whirlpool, leading down to what was probably a network of tunnels. "Alright Genbu, once we end up topside, or what where ever this thing is taking us, be on guard, who knows what we might run into." The Tortoise simply nodded before disappearing into its shell as they were pulled to the bottom of the whirlpool.

Dino took in a long breath of air before being fully submerged. He did his best to hold onto Genbu's shell as they were swirled, tossed, and churned in every direction. They were still under water, but Dino could feel himself being forced up. They had probably entered a tunnel like he had predicted and the water pressure was sending them the one route possible which just so happened to lead up. The ride finally ended, Dino coughing up a big of water he had taken in just before breaking the surface. It seemed they had arrived in an underground lake. Typheus' glowing helped Dino to spot him on a bed of sand.

A little shaken but for the most part alright, Dino began to stand on Genbu's shell the tortoise sticking its head out and looking around for any threats before moving closer to the beach. "Hey Typheus!" He called out, Genbu making it to the beach before collapsing on the sand to rest. "We should probably hurry and get out of this place, who knows how long it will take for this place to fill up with more water. By the way, have you seen Lorenor any where?"

[Mutant_Lorenor]

And he was the only one who managed to break free of the whirlpool's grip.

The spider's eight powerful legs helped the ghoul break free from the influencing of the swirling water. It was a difficult journey, but the ghoul managed to get out of harm's way once again thanks to the endless. Lorenor knew that the Endless increased the speed and strength output of its host drastically. The spider became exponentially stronger and faster, capable of breaking past the pull of even one of nature's ferocious whirlpools. Swimming to a safe distance, the spider guided Lorenor away from the aquatic trap.

He lost sight of Dino and Typheus as they went presumably below the surface.

A part of him intended to go back and help Dino, but the thought was quickly erased from his mind. If they were still alive, Dino and Typheus would soon break the water's surface once again. With his pet swimming across the water like if it were flying, the spider swam without complaint of any sort whatsoever. Seeing the shoreline up ahead, Lorenor realized that they were in some lower region of Scara Brae. Some sort of inland sea was surrounded by a beach front on all sides. Lorenor's spider finally broke the crashing surface of the waves and skidded gently upon the beach afore him. It moved forward and away from the water.

Waves created a gentle crashing sound periodically as he looked back. He could just barely make out the whirlpool on the horizon. His friends still hadn't surfaced again yet. Where ever you guys are, I hope you're damned safe. Get your asses over here soon. Lorenor decided he wanted to get out of his wet clothing and was glad that his travel packs were made Bazaar tough and water proof. He got off the back of his spider and allowed the creature to dry itself off by shaking its body wildly. The thing followed Lorenor about like a confused child.

Starting the process of setting up camp was the only thing he could do. He soon found some firewood on the beach and decided that it would do. In a matter of moments he'd set up a fire pit for himself, and placed the wood logs within the pit. He soon set the wood ablaze. A well formed fire provided warmth and light. Afterwards, Lorenor began to set up the tent and wait for the others, they would be tired after their ordeal...

[Typheus]

Typheus looked around and noticed that the room was starting to fill up with water, and unless they managed to do something soon, they would either drown, or would be flung against the rocky walls of the chamber due to the force coming from the center of the underground lake. Thankfully, this place was not isolated, as it seemed there was a single cave leading out and into God knows what.

"Hey, Dino, there's a cave over here!" Typheus shouted as he approached it. The darkness within seemed like liquid as he walked and forced it to part ways for his inner light, which was starting to fade now that he had used it so much. At least it wasn't burning Lorenor like it had in the time that he had first used it. Typheus foolishly fired off round after round of energy balls without realizing how much his mere aura was hurting Lorenor.

Typheus felt his legs getting heavier as he entered the cave, which seemed supernatural at first, but then he remembered that he had been kicking against the whirlpool's current and had worn himself out. The darkness had probably just hindered his spirits more than anything else as he entered into the cave, mesmorized by the darkness inside, but there was something else. It was...familiar.

Wherever this tunnel lead, Typheus was going to find out.

"Come on, Dino! I think I found us a way out!"

[sweet_oblivion]

Typheus was not very worried considering Lorenor's where abouts, and since the two seemed to have a past he decided to do the same. Lorenor was fully capable of taking care of himself, and if Typheus had no worries about the warriors safety then their was little reason for him to ponder on the matter. Dino still atop Genbu's shell, the tortoise followed behind Typheus as he lead the way deeper into the underbelly of Liviol Sanctum.

Typheus brightened the path as they continued on, leaving the underground beach and the cavern in which is lay as it began to fill with water. Lucky the way they were headed continued to move toward higher ground as excess water slowly began to follow before reaching a line of crevices and creating an underground river. The flow of water was tempting Dino to follow as he knew some form of wildlife must have been present at the end. Never the less, he decided to continue on the path he and Typheus were already on.

"I sense something... we are getting close." To what exactly he was not sure, but he could feel the pull of a strong spiritual aura, possibly more than one. "You think Lorenor got pulled down here as well, maybe just swept away through a separate passage?" There was always the possibility he had escaped the whirlpool, but if he was down here he could have already found something.

They finally came to a stop. Dino jumped off Genbu to a pair of large double doors in their path. "Well, looks like we found something, but what do you suppose it would be?" Dino asked the light wielder as he placed his hand against the ancient liviol wood, wiping away dust and moss that had accumulated for who knew how long.

"What ever it is I felt earlier it behind this door." He couldn't tell if it was a living entity or just some form of magical gathering. That was always the hardest thing with spiritual sensing though certain things had a feeling about them. Necromancers were always easy to tell because they were usually powerful but their aura always felt distant and as if they were just slightly torn. Typheus was a peculiar one once Dino decided to poke around, nothing surprising for a light user at first, but after breaking the surface the man became much more interesting.

"What ever it is, I didn't feel anything evil." Though he could sense some darkness which furthered his belief that there were multiple sources. Dino slowly backed away from the door, looking it up and down a couple of times. "Well Typheus, would you like to do the honors?" He bowed, holding his hands out and motioning to the doors.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Someplace nearby a grasshopper jumped off a blade of grass and captured an aphid with its powerful weapon like limbs. Creatures stirred within the region of Scara Brae following their natural cyclical patterns of the hunt. Animals made their cries in the distance some of them sounding a lot closer than could possibly provide comfort. A large spider warrior snatched up an fawn with its many powerful limbs and encased it in a paralyzing grip of webbing. Shortly thereafter, the spider dragged the fawn's body to an underground trap lair.

Water broke on the surface of the beach as waves crashed upon the earth and receded a few moments later. The moon shone brightly overhead as the realm of the dark mother continued to linger on indulging in its seductive dance. The beach stretched onward in a curve for a couple of miles in every direction, a hard to miss section of the island. With the water providing an eternal sonata, it was easy to fall into a trance like state.

Stars shone brightly overhead adding a canopy of luminescence to the world of Althanas that face the shadowy side of its sun. Things were slightly cooler as a breeze came in from the Northwest at about twenty five miles per hour adding its chilling touch to everything it came across. A slight hint of Salvar's endless winter touched the breeze. Creatures huddled against the liviol trees of Scara Brae and other trees that grew in the region for warmth against the sudden evening chill.

On the beach sat a lone denizen. Lorenor. His long dreadlocks lay lazily upon his well formed back. He sat upon a rock that was located nearby to the camp he'd set up for himself. For a long time, he took to observing the waters in the general direction of the whirlpool but finally gave up when he saw no sign of Typheus or Dino. Since he was still under contract, the ghoul decided to wait for the duo assuming that they were still alive. That's what The Endless continued to tell him.

Aside from the protective UASU outfit that he wore, the ghoul was perpetually naked. He allowed the wind to caress his damp skin as he extended his hands towards the fire. Lorenor knew he had many weaknesses, but thankfully, fire was not one of them. Sitting on the rock allowed Lorenor time to really get a handle on everything that had gone on in the past few hours. He'd ventured into Scara Brae for the umpteenth time after resigning his position as a Dajas Pagoda Warrior, in order to actually explore the island. He'd heard many interesting legends in regards to the region of Scara Brae itself.

The fire before him danced like an organic beast, hungry for destruction as the wind gave it life. It was a fair sized flame and provided much comforting heat to the otherwise cold existence of the ghoul. Many thoughts made their way into the ghoul's mind. He stole a glance to the spider familiar that lurked about a few paces towards his left. It stayed near the fire out of necessity in order to dry up its thick and wet hide.

Lorenor's dreams were disturbing lately. Looking up at the night sky, his purple gaze didn't locate a single source of comfort anymore. The stars and their myriad constellations provided very few points of recognition. Scara Brae's constellations were unfamiliar to the ghoul but he saw one or two that he recognized that seemed to encompass the night sky. A few clouds decorated the sky providing a mysterious outfit to the stars. The ghoul sat alone in a state of pondering.

Pondering many things, eternally alone. That is until he heard the approaching footsteps and smelled the scent of a complete stranger...

[Typheus]

Typheus put his hands on the door in front of him. It was sturdy wooden door and he knew it had been constructed with great care. After removing some more moss, he discovered that the door had been polished with something that withstood the test of time. It would be a sin to damage something so valuable.

"KIYAAA!" he shouted as he quickly kicked in the wooden door in front of them without even checking to see if it was locked first. The interior quickly lit up with his light and all that could be seen was a large stone room, completely smooth and white, except for the black spiral staircase going up its walls. The staircase itself was black polished metal with little designs on the railing posts. It had not been touched by nature and, already, at the doorway, chunks of moss had begun to seep in through the open hole.

A large crystal stretching up from the ground up into the white abyss created its own light for them. Typheus turned off his illumination and gave his light powers a rest for the time being. If there was a ceiling, it was so high up that he couldn't tell where it was.

A voice, but not really as such, seemed to beckon from above. Typheus was about to ask Dino if he heard it, but something kept his mouth shut as he stared up into the darkness high above their heads. Yelling out towards the voice seemed as if it would spell his death, so he kept quiet and started heading towards it.

The staircase seemed to draw Typheus towards it, along with the voice. After placing one foot on it, he looked up and wished he could tell how far of a climb this would be. This was going to be a long climb indeed, but it seemed to be the only way to go now as the path behind them would have been all but flooded by now.

As they climbed, the crystal kept on its soft glow, lighting up the entire chamber. It was octagonal and perfectly cut on all sides, adding up to a clear, glowing pillar that seemed to stretch up and down into infinity.

Finaly, a ceiling approached them from above, and the staircase ended at a jutted out wall with a door just about a few dozens steps higher. It obviously led into a room right above them within the same confines as this.

Typheus was starting to get fatigued and he wondered if his legs would take him the rest of the way, but he knew that he couldn't stop to rest when he was so close to the finish.

When he finally got to the last step, he reached his hand out and grabbed the door handle, threw it open--he didn't have the strength to kick it in like the last one--and saw a another room, just like the one below them, except much wider and brightly lit by the same crystal, except it was glowing more brightly here.

The key feature of this room was a little kid standing in the middle, smiling at them as if he had been expecting them this whole time. Typheus shot a glance at Dino and put his hand just a little closer to his sword hilt. Something...something familiar emanated from this kid...but Typheus couldn't put his finger on it.

[sweet_oblivion]

They had made it to the end of the stairwell, but were only led to another room, with a child instead of the exit they had been hoping for. This was a surprising turn of events, but the fact that it was only a child here made Dino wonder who or what this person was. "Greetings, I was starting to wonder if you two would make it here before your friend did." The child spoke and conducted himself in a manor of an aristocrat, though he seemed to have a jestful air about him. His appearance was that of maybe a nine year old boy, fair skin and bright eyed with short brown hair. He certainly looked like royalty, but the piercing eyes and that unsettling smile left Dino fearing that they were dealing with something much worse.

"Are you what they call a Thayne?" Dino looked to see how Typheus had reacted to the child in front of them as Genbu continued to walk into the room and rested against a wall. The boy nodded, his facial expressions unchanged as Dino slid off of Genbu's back. He had never dealt with a Thayne before, but from what he had heard it was best to stay away from them if one could help it.

"You catch on quick. It seems the rest of our party may be a little late, but I guess I can start. The whirlpool was my doing as I'm sure you are wondering, I needed to get you here for you see I am in need of your help." Dino was not sure what kind of 'help' a Thayne would need from a group of adventurers but it was probably better then getting chased by hungry spiders.

"The details are really none of your concern, but I need you to get a particular item for me. Normally I would do it myself, but I don't want to be seen as connected to this little fiasco which is where you all come in. I'll reward you for your efforts of course." Plucking unlucky travelers and then getting them to do your dirty work, Dino was not to fond of this guys style, mostly because he himself had been plucked. "I don't like him. What do you think?" Dino spoke to Typheus not trying in the least bit to lower the volume of his voice. Typheus opinion, nor his for that matter would really matter as long as the outcome of this alternate route in their adventure worked in his favor.

"How about this, anything you find while doing this little job for me you get to keep, aside from the requested item of course. I'll even grant you safe passage through the thicker parts of the forest." This kid really knew how to bargain. What ever this item was he must have really wanted it, but then again if what he had heard about the Thayne were true, then this could mean nothing to him. "So what boys, what do you say?"

[Lord zin]

“I’m still wondering how I ended up running though the forest being chased by a large beast, but there I was running for my life. Jumping over logs, dodging trees, and every now and then throwing a fire behind me hoping to hit the beast I made my way though the forest. Just as the monster was on my heels, I found myself falling. Just as I though my day could not get any worse I fall in a hole. Not a shallow hole, no because the gods forbid something goes good today. So after falling a good ten to fifth teen feet I laid on my back looking up at the spot of light that was the hole I had just fell from. “Ow” I let out slowly, and in a low tone. After laying there for a short time not really thinking about what happened, then the thought ran though my mind that maybe it would a good idea if I got up…so I did. I could see nothing beyond the small amount of light that came from above. Because I could see nothing I was forced with two choices. Ether walk around in the dark, or just make a fire ball. As a fire mage the choice was simple.

The fire ball provided a little more light. I could not see any walls from where I was so I decided to chunk the small ball of fire in the hope of finding a wall to fallow. I pulled back my arm and then pushed it forward letting that ball go, only to watch it disappear as it started to fall. “Well shit” I yelled now being back in small amount of light provided by the hole above me. The ball had to go somewhere, so after making another one I stared to walk slowly in the direction I had thrown it.

As I walked on I saw a large spot on the floor that was darker then the rest. When I got closer to it I could see that it was yet another hole in the ground. This one how ever was at a slant. “wow would you look at that….a slid” I said with heavy sarcasm. “wonder where it goes” I muttered looking down it. Which was useless, because it like the rest of the area out side of my fires light rang, and the hole’s light was pitch black. So I dropped the fire ball in the hole, and watched as it rolled out of my site. “well, something tells me not to…”I heard a cracking noise under my feet “…..shit” and no sooner had the word left my mouth the ground let loose and I was sliding down the hole.

“AHHHHHHH” I screamed all the way up to the point that I shot out of the hole, and into what I later found out was a wall. I bounced off the wall, and onto the ground instantly grabbing my face. I yelled the words “son of a bitch” But because my hands were partly over my mouth, all one would hear was muttered words. I slightly rocked side to side still holding my face until the pain went away a little. I picked myself up looking around which was stupid because I had no light, so after making another fire ball, I took another look around. I was standing in a small hallway, buts big enough for me to lay down in with out hitting my head. I looked behind me to see wall. “well does not look like I’m going that way.” with that I turned and walked the other way. It was quite along hallway, but at last I reached the end. From what I could see this was ether a large room or a larger hallway, because I could not see a wall in front of me. I was just about to walk forward, but something made me look to my right. As I did I saw a faint light. “should I?” I asked myself. “yes, yes I think is should” I said happily walking towards it.”

“and that ladies and gentlemen is how I ended up standing in front of this door way, with the door laying on the inside part of the room.” Damen looked around , then bent his head down looking the floor. “I really need to stop talking to myself” he said to himself. He looked up at the room. Inside was a large glowing stair case. He stepped on the door as he made his way in the room. He looked up the stairs, and slowly made his way up to another door. He raised his fist up like he was about to knock. “What, why do I need to knock?” he said lowing his hand down to the handle and rushed in.

He stopped still holding the handle. He looked at the two men, and the small boy. With his other hand he scratched at the back of his head that was not covered with his hood. “ummm, I think…I might be in the wrong place.” he said looking at the two men. “ah, damn what did you get your self into now?”

[Mutant_Lorenor]

With an immediate reaction, Lorenor reached for his weapon. It was situated on the ground nearby to his feet. Looking at the stranger, Lorenor ascertained a threat level. His senses played tricks on him and seemed to suggest that this individual was a Thayne of some sort. Lorenor had never heard of Thaynes in Scara Brae, but he knew that the tricky bastards were all over the place. He looked up at the sky and observed the stars for a long moment, returning his gaze towards the stranger. He seemed to give off a powerful glow which backed up the theory that the man was a Thayne. Indeed, the stranger wore clothing that a Thayne might.

Suggesting royal heritage, the individual wore elegant robes and a cloak made out of otherworldly materials even finger than Vlince. Lorenor spied intricate embroidered patterns upon the man's clothing. He stood at a stature that was roughly six or seven heads, with all that clothing it was difficult to ascertain an exact measurement of height. Lorenor saw square shoulders that denoted an adventurer of some sort, though it could be clear that it was the Thayne's attempt at impersonating what it thought to be as stereotypical humanoid characteristics. Lorenor found himself grabbing the handle of his weapon and pulling out of the scabbard. The familiar sound that plynt made when he grabbed John Mattis' longsword filled the air. At that moment, Lorenor immediately went into a fluid combat stance. His skill visible with the movement. His spider stirred at Lorenor's desire for conflict. It was an automatic sort of reaction as he looked upon the stranger and assessed that the Thayne could potentially be a threat to him. Lorenor knew that there was not he could do against from past experience with the bastards.

Thinking for a moment, he waited to see the stranger's reaction. A laughter suddenly filled the air between the two would be duelists. "Lower thy sword Lorenor. If I meant to destroy thee, I would have done so already." The Thayne said and Lorenor pondered that for a second. Still, he wanted to be certain that the stranger was actually a Thayne and not a would-be bandit of any sort. So, he moved to put his sword down. In a moment, he burst forward in a sword attack towards the stranger. With his sword pointing down to the ground at a forty-five degree angle, Lorenor thrust the weapon forward. He swung his weight to match the movement so that he aimed the weapon directly at the man's chest. Or what he assumed was a man. It could've easily been a woman with a deep voice. "Sorry. But it seems clear to me that you're a Thayne, and I'm not into the problems of Thaynes, so I'll just deal with you right now instead!" Before Lorenor's sword ever made any sort of contact with the stranger, the stranger moved his hand in a mysterious gesture.

Lorenor felt as though a giant wall were erected afore the stranger's person and the impact was severe. There was a tremendous flash of light which created force and friction that propelled Lorenor backwards and nonchalantly onto the ground. The ghoul rolled several times and dropped his sword along the way landing in a crouching position. The battle was over before it could have ever really began. The man was a Thayne, or at least an extremely skilled Magus. Lorenor hissed. "What do you want? You would've killed me already if you wanted to, I see that now!" Lorenor's words "State your business and make it quick." Lorenor said, anger was in his voice as he spoke. "Even in the face of the Thaynes thou maintains thy arrogance. That is an admirable trait. Very well, straight to business it seems. I need thy help Lorenor." The Thayne said. "Mine name is not to be known to mortals. So instead thou may call me Cool." So now, Lorenor had an identity to give to the Thayne. He was a Thayne much different than the Thaynes he'd encountered so far, probably one of the many Lesser Thaynes.

"I have to admit, I am impressed with thy skill and resolve Lorenor. You handled the dangers of the Liviol Sanctum well. I have been keeping an eye on thee the entire time. And thy companions, but the other got to him first."

"The other huh? So that whirlpool wasn't your doing?" Lorenor asked, knowing that whirlpools were oft freaks of nature, or the supernatural. The ghoul wondered what caused the whirlpool in the first place. "Naye, it was the other. There are many Thaynes throughout the land. Some known and many, like myself, opt to remain anonymous. We care little for the tribulations of what thou calls the Greater Thaynes. We tend to our own affairs."

"All right then Cool. What do you want from me?"

"The Other seeks an item from one of my personal stores. He will attempt to convince thy friends to take this item and raid my precious storehouse. In exchange, he would allow them to keep any of the items that they find rendering my storehouse obsolete. I cannot allow this to happen. That is where you come in."

"You want me to protect your storehouse from my friends? Forget it. I'm not into helping the Thaynes out. You can go plead to some other ruffian." Lorenor said, his loyalty was after all, to N'Jal.

"I know of your loyalty to the one they call N'Jal. I had nothing to do with the Greater Thaynes' imprisonment of your precious Dark Mother. I am simply seeking thy employ. Thou will be rewarded. If thou succeeds in stopping The Other I will give you a considerable power."

And that was what drew Lorenor in. Hook, line, and sinker. The promise of reward awakened the ghoul's inherent levels of greed. Lorenor sighed and decided it was probably best to help this Thayne out, even though he would be working against his friend, they didn't know the Thaynehood like Typheus and himself knew them. "All right. But you better be right about this power you shall grant me when I succeed." Cool nodded. "I am a Thayne of my honor." An honorable Thayne? That was a first. And so, the game started. "Very well then. We are bound by contract then." The ghoul reached forward, after standing up and extended his hand to finalize the deal. Cool shook his hand in return. Lorenor nodded afterwards. "So what do we do now?" The ghoul asked. Cool responded. "Go to thy friends and behave as thou would normally. Thou must prevent thy friends from getting their hands on the object that the other seeks. Understood? Thou whilst only be rewarded if thou succeeds." Lorenor understood. "All right then, lets get going."

"Gather thy belongings."

And Lorenor did so.

************************************

A short while later, a brilliant flash of light monetarily tore across the space/time continuity of Althanas. For a moment, many realities were one as a sub-molecular doorway ripped open the make-up reality's fabric. The doorway was a glowing despot of energy flowing into the room for a brief moment, spitting Lorenor out onto the ground. There, he growled in agony for approximately ten minutes. Having taken his side in the sordid affairs, the ghoul finally stood up and examined the room quite carefully.

Ascertaining the details of the room, Lorenor found himself in a well lit chamber that glowed with the energies of some sort of giant crystal. The doorway quickly vanished and sent reality tumbling back on itself where the doorway was previously in existence seconds prior. Rubbing his stomach due to the pain that he'd just undergone, the ghoul finally stood up and took his moment to examine the environs. The glowing crystal was a brilliant source of light that hurt the ghoul's supernatural eyes. Instinctively, Lorenor raised his hood to cover his head with a blanket of shadows. Despite that effort to ward off the light of the crystal, the light still shone brightly. Lorenor drew his sword for a moment and pondered destroying the crystal all together. A moment later, he quickly decided against such a notion, noticing strange archaic symbols floating around the crystal. To test his theory, Lorenor slammed his sword against the crystal once. Approximately a second later, he was knocked back several feet and landed with a harsh thud against the ground nearby. A single staircase spiraled upward. Lorenor saw that as his next goal.

Standing up and cleaning the dust off his person, Lorenor sheathed his weapon and eyed the crystal once more. "You win for now." The ghoul said out loud to nobody in particular. In due time, Lorenor would have enough power to either corrupt the crystal's energies, or destroy it all together. For now though, he would have to wait. Climbing the staircase took a lengthy process. But when he finally made it to the top, he saw another chamber with an open double door. Inside the chamber he saw a group of familiar persons speaking to a short individual. That must be the other that Cool spoke of. And with that, Lorenor saw Damen and noticed that the man was talking to himself, mumbling a lot of nonsense. Lorenor entered the room and made his presence known.

"Sorry I'm late guys. I had to find another way in." The ghoul said and got a chance to look at the child before them with greater attention. This one was a Thayne indeed, he had the same energetic aura about him that the other Thaynes all seemed to possess. It clearly denoted some sort of elemental relationship. His hand went to his weapon. The child turned to face Lorenor.

"Ah, Lorenor. We've been expecting you. I'm so glad you could finally join us." There was a spark in that young aristocrat's eyes. He was opting to reveal himself, it was clear that this Thayne wanted followers. The ghoul kept his hand on his weapon's hilt even though he knew it was a useless gesture against the power of the Thaynes. He looked over to Typheus. "So what did I miss?"

[Typheus]

"You didn't miss anything, Lorenor. I haven't tried to kill him yet. I don't want trinkets. I do want power, but if I could get information instead, it would prove useful to me."

"I know what you seek, but it is impossible. You can't kill a greater thayne."

"Immortality...doesn't exist. It's an illogical term used to describe something extremely hard to kill. So what makes her hard to kill? Regeneration? Power? Her abilities to hide? Perhaps the fact that she rode on Lorenor's energy to save herself from the collapse of a pocket dimension? WHAT IS IT!?"

"They...can't...die." The kid repeated, trying to drive the message into Typheus's thick skull.

"BULLSHIT! I'm sure some would have said the same of Ramia!" Typheus spoke out in angst and rage. His guide, Ramia, who he had only known for less than an hour, seemed to have stirred something in him. He felt as if he had known her his whole life and then Y'edda forced Ramia to collapse the pocket dimension, sacrificing herself to save Typheus.

"Don't believe me? I can see why not, but you're only wasting your time. They CAN'T be killed." The kid said, sounding a bit agitated by Typheus's persistence.

"Neither could I at one point...things change." Typheus stated, turning on a heel and preparing to leave, but then a thought hit him. More power...he needed it. He didn't know where this thought arose, but he knew it was right. He needed more power if he wanted to beat Y'edda. He turned back around and addressed the kid. "Give me power...and I'll help you steal this item..."

[sweet_oblivion]

"Nothing much Lorenor, just a little heist thats all." Dino told him not to surprised he had shown up. Typheus was now arguing with the kid Thayne about immortality. "Come on Typheus, the kids already explained it to you and I'm sure you have heard it before." Dino sighed as if he were getting ready to do something really stupid, which trying to change Typheus opinion was, something he had learned during his short time on this adventure.

"The greater Thayne can not be killed, they are immortal, it is impossible to kill them...... so, with that being said find a better way." It was like he had said, he himself supposedly had been spoken of as if he were immortal, would which explain his attitude, anyone would be pissed if you lost that much strength. "Tell you what, I'm not to fond of the Thayne myself. A group of assholes who didn't have to work to gain their power it pisses me off a bit..... present party excluded. Any ways, with that all said I'll help you in your quest to take down one of the all mighty Thayne."

He actually liked the fact that a Thayne was asking for his help. If they had refused, they probably would have gone through hell or been forced to do so, but still it showed not all of them were as he believed, and taking the form of a little kid was just hilarious. Helping Typheus was just another form of helping himself. Going against the Thaye was not a very smart idea, and trying to find a way to destroy them would not put you in their good grace, but even coming close would be something worthy of researching, and if Typheus would be risking his neck, what was a few resources now and then.

"You really are a foolish group of beings, but your quarrels with Y'edda are none of my concern." the kid Thayne spoke before turning around and touching the crystal behind him. "But fine.... I'll humor you and grant you what you wish, if you get what I want. Just make sure you grab the right item, or else you don't get anything. That little bits to humor myself."

"Great, I just love a game of life or death. So whats next Mr. Kid Thayne?" Dino asked looking to Genbu, telling him to stay here for now. "Just step through and give me a performance I will not soon forget." And with that Dino was the first to plunge himself through the crystal. After long, yet very short trip he found himself just in front of a waterfall, standing just above the water, and a large and dark passage awaiting just behind the flowing water.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

What had I just walked into? The Thaynes were busy toying with one another and the group didn't see it at all. On a much grander scale; Lorenor found the unfolding events to be quite silly. The Thaynes toyed with one another and humanity suffered because of it. Also; Lorenor accepted a truth that none of the others had from first hand experience. There were more pantheons on Althanas than just the Thaynehood. Not all of the Gods treated their subjects equally. Lorenor eyed the Thayne in his child-like form for a moment. The kid; Dino, wasn't asking the right question.

How would they know what to steal? Lorenor stepped forward and took command of that situation. He wasn't one to be duped so easily. Also; the ghoul had an ulterior motive. Ignoring the others; Typheus and that guy talking to himself for a quite a while, Lorenor approached the child-like Thayne. He could see the cosmic energy that surrounded the Thayne. The signature was always the same; Cool had that signature also. Energy streamed up into the room allowing the ghoul to see the true nature of the Thayne in all its awesome light. Lorenor wondered if the others saw what he saw? "Is there something you want?"

The Thayne asked of Lorenor. "I've heard of you. You're the one they call Lorenor. Most interesting. You are bonded to a creation of the one they call N'Jal." Lorenor could see a flowing energy of some sort of strange pattern repeating itself over and over in the Thaynes' eyes. Lorenor clenched his fists tightly as he felt mesmerized by the kid's eyes. They were otherworldly and stared into his own eyes without fear. "I-I am merely wondering if you even told them what they had to steal?"

With that; the Thayne-child started to laugh in a pleasant sort of way. "You are most observant Lorenor. You caught on very quickly. No, I didn't tell them. But none of them asked. Will you ask what if is that I want?" Lorenor nodded. "Aye Sir. I don't want them jumping through a loop of fire for you without them knowing what it is they are after for you." The kid nodded. "You care deeply for your friends Lorenor. That is an admirable trait for a Child of N'Jal to possess. A most rare quality indeed. The Spider Magi are oft a cold and uncaring lot. But you possess almost human emotions. You are a unique one. In any event this is what I seek." The kid waved his hand and a spark of archaic energies touched the center of the room.

A blue field of energy flowed from the center of time and space. It crackled with an almost living quality to it. Lorenor stepped back and placed a hand over his eyes to shield himself from the archaic light. The kid had an amused expression on his face. Forming within the room was a perfect replica like image of a well formed scepter. It was a purple colored scepter shaped much like a dragon. "The Scepter of Urh'Khaan. It contains a power much too great for mortals. It was stolen from by the servants of a Thayne that does not reveal his name to his servants. He simply calls himself Cool. However; unlike him I do reward my servants with knowledge. You; child of N'Jal, will be greatly rewarded if you help retrieve this Scepter for me." The child said casually towards Lorenor and already; he felt himself tempted by the offer placed on the table.

It became difficult to concentrate. Lorenor felt himself pulled from his previous engagement to Cool and now the new offer made. The ghoul wondered if the kid was able to see deeply into his soul? Lorenor studied the scepter that his team was after knowing that Typheus and the loud stranger would be able to see the Scepter as well. "Might I know your name?" The ghoul asked. It was a simple request to ask someone their name; but a much deeper inclination lurked there when asking a Thayne there name. It was a matter of respect and following. The ghoul hungered for the power that the Thayne possessed. "Lord Khahaan. Be sure to tell that to your companion. The one who already left." Lorenor stared at the portal that still shimmered behind Khahaan. Now he had a name. Lorenor admitted that it was the name of a Thayne he did not know. The pantheon of the Thaynes was vast and filled with many in their numbers. It was possible that Cool and Khahaan were lost Thaynes that weren't written into any available Codex of Knowledge. Stricken out of the pages of history by the Greater Thayne.

"I shall do well to tell stories about you." Lorenor said and deeply meant that. Despite the game that Cool and Khahaan played with one another; the ghoul understood what was going on here. He was talking to a Thayne! And one that didn't hold back information either. "I would like that Lorenor." Khahaan said. The ghoul nodded towards the Thayne. Was there something else that needed to be addressed? Lorenor wasn't sure. If he'd forgotten anything; oh well. The ghoul stepped into the portal and felt himself become one for a split second with eternity...

[Typheus]

Typheus looked at the Thayne. He would never trust them. Never...but he had to make sacrifices to get more power. This Thayne may have the upper hand for now...but Typheus would soon be back to his original self.

"If you go back on your word..." Typheus said, putting out as much malice as possible. "I'll make you wish you could die." And then he stepped through the portal and joined Lorenor and Dino.

When Typheus looked around, he noticed that he was standing on a small pool of water being fed by a large waterfall. Looking down at his feet, he realized that he hadn't broken the surface tension. Lorenor and Dino were doing the same thing.

"Reminds me of when I was still back in my old universe," he said. "Should have seen Faria. Completely covered in water, and the only reason anyone occupied it was for the Dimentium Metal that collected on the underwater mountains. The naval battles were so common that someone went ahead and invented battle suits that let infantry just fight on the water. Course...SOME asshole went and invented some kind of underwater bomb that lowered the water density, so every just sank like a stone."

Typheus walked up close to Lorenor and started walking beside him. He lowered his voice really low because he knew without a doubt that he could trust him. "Do you honestly think that little Thayne bastard will keep his word? Or do you think he's going to try and pull a double cross on us?"

[sweet_oblivion]

"An entire world covered in water, I am sure some amazing creatures sprouted from such a place. Any way, I don't feel anything in the immediate area, but that cave is giving off some weird vibes." He decided not to wait for the others and began to walk into the waterfall. He could feel the water pounding down on his body, and the cold sting as his cloths were drenched, but as he passed through the other side he found himself in the same state as he was entering, as if he had been miles away from any desert. "Powerful illusions, a cave that seems to block my spiritual sense, this guy must have all sorts of tricks up his sleeve, especially if the Kid doesn't want anyone to know he was involved in this fiasco."

He didn't like going into any place blind, but his spiritual power was not being suppressed to much, probably a sign that whatever spell or item that was causing it was not intended for such a purpose and that this was only a side effect, still it was quite annoying. Walking into the entrance, he seemed to either trigger something or alert someone of his presence as small flames ignited against the walls giving off a faint light.

"Hey guys!" Dino called back to the others before continuing on. If he had really alerted the Thayne of his presence then he did not want to send himself to an early grave. "We have some light down here, but we should probably stay close, but I started thinking, even if this Thayne isn't home do you think he would leave this place unguarded, I mean its not exactly expertly hidden." The statement was not exactly true, for he had no clue where in Liviol Sanctum they were and if traveling to this place on foot would be difficult or not.

There was the possibility that the spiders were controlled by the Thayne, or maybe even the Kid, but what reason was there to worry now? He was here, he was contracted for a job with as much reward as he could carry, and if things got sticky he had two body guards to take care of everything. Of course he had not forgotten about the deal he had made with Lorenor and Typheus about their first dibs pay cut, but he doubted either of them would have any use for items he would be interested, but just in case he would have to hide anything that held much value toward his research.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

The place was very picturesque. He found himself floating on a pool of water through some other means that he couldn't even begin to fathom. Knowing full well the power of the Thayne, Lorenor took a look back to the portal. No, the trials had already begun. Closing in on itself, the portal was now blinked out of existence. Looking up, the ghoul noticed that the roof of this place seemed to stretch out forever. He could see a layer of mist over everything that flowed from the water. He turned his attention back down to the pool of water.

As he walked forward and followed Dino, his boots caused ripples to flow from the impact points where they touched the water's surface. He could see straight through to the bottom of the lake. His arachnid companion was moving casually behind him, trying to take in the environment around them. There were pillars holding up the cave wall, and moisture droplets dripping from stalactites on the ceiling of the cavernous room. Lorenor guessed that the cave must've went on for miles in every direction, but thankfully, their objective was someplace nearby.

He could clearly see the waterfall's massive structure even from their position outside of his normal sensory grid. The world was fogged outside of the grid, but he could tell what he was looking at. The water flowed from the cataracts creating a constant streaming sound of the substance. Lorenor heard the noise and could tell what he was looking at. The loud noise, doubled with the factor of the flowing water, created a semi accurate image of the waterfall in his head. Though he couldn't actually see it, he felt it nearby and heard it nearby.

Lorenor walked tested the surface of the water by touching the tip of his boot against it. He saw that the water would not break no matter how many times he attempted to hit the surface. Satisfied that it was safe to proceed, the cautious ghoul would not be tricked by a Thayne at this juncture in the game. Lorenor would do the tricking. After Typheus' long story about his home world, Lorenor proceeded, taking the rear guard of the group. He was followed by the spider creature. They lost that fire guy in the process of the adventure.

Shrugging as he moved, he decided the safest bet would be to mount his spider companion. He walked over to the arachnid and stepped atop the thorax of the beast, in rider's position. He sat in a loose position with his arms folded across his chest. Placing his hood up above the top of his head, the ghoul moved forward with mount and all. Water from the cataracts pounded his body heavily. The ghoul felt a temporary disruptions of his senses and felt the world go black. There was too much sensory stimulation for his own tastes. Hearing the noise and feeling the water was a great burden to the ghoul.

When he came too, he was on the other side of the wall of water. He followed behind Typheus and Dino.

[Typheus]

"So...I'm just going to follow you, Dino," he said as he kept up the pace, but slowly fell behind to talk with Lorenor. He didn't mind if Dino noticed as long as he didn't fall behind as well. The cave they were in didn't echo too much and if Typheus didn't make a big fuss out of falling behind, it shouldn't attract any unwanted attention.

It wasn't that Typheus necessarily disliked or mistrusted Dino. He was actually alright with the guy, but Typheus happened to trust Lorenor a lot more than he trusted Dino, because Lorenor apparently disliked Y'edda as well, and that was at least one thing they had in common. The other thing they had in common was that Lorenor had saved his life once, and was then saved with the help of Typheus's guardian bird, Ramia.

"Lorenor...should we just screw both of the Thaynes and simply take everything for ourselves? I mean what's the worst that can happen? They get pissed? I'm already fighting one that could probably whip both of their asses."

It was true as far as he could tell from the power he experienced when he fought Y'edda in the pocket dimension. He was just unfortunate that his full power wasn't unleashed, or else he would have turned her immortal frame into a clump of immortal dust. It was too unfair for him to even begin to describe.

"I want to get my hands on as much power as possible so I can do something against that bitch...and if you wouldn't mind, I would like to get these two Thaynes to kill each other off if possible, oh wait, some BS force decided to make them immortal. I swear if I find a way into my own universe, I'm dragging one of them with me and they can live our their immortal years in the center of a black hole!"

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting for a full year. Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another staff member and they will be able to move it for you back to Scara Brae.