Life Stone

[Rosanna Foxfire]

Keio's ears twitched about as she listened to One-Arm's explanation, eyes closed for a brief moment.  She frowned, her question left unanswered.  Tail swished, and she followed close behind, her steps careful and quiet.  She took her time to step around items that might rattle and make noise.


Once she passed into the castle, she heeded One-Arm's warning against talking, her muzzle kept shut and silent, ears twitching to catch all the ambient noises.  The scent of the dragon and the rumble of her slow breath sent the fur on her back to stand at attention.  Over an hour gone.  They had very little time to actually search before they'd have to leave.


She watched as One-Arm glanced around the large room, her own ears twitching as she did the same.  She glanced across the room, taking stock of perches and grooves in the walls.  Places to climb, places to escape, places to hide.  All of them were marked in the foxkin's mind.


And then came the order to move on ahead.  With a quick glance to Leo, the foxkin started ahead, staying wide of the pile of coins and valuables.  Her paws found what few clear spots there were on the floor that weren't piled in coins.  She leant over to scoop one or two off the top to drop into her bag.  She'd taken the time to stuff a good deal of grass inside to lessen the noise that came from it on the hike up.


She led the foray into the room itself, taking a wide path towards the cells that were pointed out by One-Arm.  As she approached, she drew her smallest knife, kept tucked against her wrist for easy access, and prepared to use it's shining mirror-like surface to check around the corner before she'd attempt to pick the lock.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana followed along with the group toward the castle and listened carefully each time Korius spoke to them. While following Korius through the labyrinth of the servant halls, she did her best to memorize their route, subtracting the misleading paths they took. She wanted to make sure that she would know her way out in case she needed to leave in a hurry. She immediately felt it when the temperature dropped when they passed the opening in the wall and her body instantly shivered and tensed. She hated the cold with a passion. When they entered the area where the dragon and the treasure were, her eyes automatically stuck to the dragon. Scanning the beast, she resisted an urge to move closer to it. Yes, dragons were dangerous, but they fascinated her. It would especially be nice to use one for revenge against the Rhino-Kin who had killed her brother. A smirk played on her lips as she looked over the dragon again then swept the surrounding treasure pile with her eyes as well. The smirk left her face pretty quickly though as Korius instructed the thieves to find them a path through the cells and her along with the rest of the group followed behind the thieves. "It would be too simple for the Life Stone to be here." She thought to herself. "No way it'll be that easy." Just in case they ran into trouble, she pulled her bow off over her head and held it in her left hand, her right hand ready to act quickly to snatch an arrow from one of her quivers. She had major doubts about her arrows having any effect on the dragon if it came to that; she'd basically have to aim for the eyes. "Just don't wake up..." She thought as she glanced back at the dragon once more, not wanting to fight against her.

[tangletail]

Upon feeling the bizzare chill inside the castle, the feline slowly moved a hand to pinch on a bit of his shawl. Once he began to see his own breath, he'd slowly slide the cloth over his muzzle while his eyes took in the sight of the ruined civilization. The cloth worked well to hide his hot steamy breath. Though it was currently unneeded, it helped in the long run should the dragon wake up or another creature is lurking, the steam from his breathing would not be the first thing that they'd see. Nor would the muffled sound of his breathing be the first that they would hear.


His sight seeing was quite unlike the others. He was looking for area's to climb, but more than just exits. He was looking for pathways, foot prints, bodies, cracks, blood stains complete or not. Anything that could potentially tell the story of the dragon's carnage, and lead him to clues of anything that they could not find in the treasury that they are in now. After all, if something as valuable as a rock that could bring souls back from the dead, it would not be in plain sight, or at least not well guarded. In fact, Leo did his best to distract himself from the presence of the dragon. He was well aware of it's stance the moment he glanced at the pile of treasure, when he first entered, and dare not to look back to dissuade himself from the mound of treasure that it lied on, and to prevent himself from turning into a nervous reck from a fear he may or may not have.


Once his attention had been re-diverted by the group's leader, he'd look to the cells block that had snaked it's way around and underneath the dragon. He swallowed a bit but nodded other wise and carefully took step after Keio. Though much unlike her, he did not move as quickly. Instead he opted to take a bit of time, letting his eyes sift over the footing, and redirect himself to an area more desirable. His paws swiping through the air quietly to pluck up a small handful of gems from the stone of a pillar on his way. The gems were safely tucked away once he reached a cell door. Before doing anything else, his eyes quickly glanced over the condition of the hinges after remembering that they had existed eons before his birth. He of course was very surprised to find that they were in near perfect shape. The ice seemingly acting as a method of preserving the metal, even after the metal had shrunk from the cold.


The cat settled down into a crouch and pulled a tension wrench in one hand, slipped a lockpick in the other. The lockpick was the first to go in, his other hand settled just underneath so the pick would rest on it for stabilization. His left ear swiveled and his eyes narrowed to near slits as he honed in on the sound of the tumblers. His pick tickling each one as he slid it in. Once he was sure of their location, the cat would slip the tension wrench in and apply a little pressure. A few jiggles of the pick later, and only a few seconds, the door was opened successfully. And the cat slipped inside of the cell.


The first cell he had ventured into was empty. Almost featureless except for a hole in the wall.


The second cell had a little more that caused some worry to the feline the moment he slipped through and set foot inside. At the sight of an impaled frozen body next to one that had been torn completely in half, the cat retreated into a corner. A tinge of fear now emerging in his eyes. His back pressed roughly against it as a small gasp was cut short by the cat quickly clamping his jaws shut. His wide eyes stared down to what he had found. The legs were gone, and the organs hung, but everything was so well preserved it it's crystalline shell. Even the expression that the soul had left the world in remain. Even body parts of others was found, simply cast aside like refuge. The now jittery cat tried to repulse every thought in his head, shaking it clear as he crouched down once more to observe them. “I.... I got... what I was looking for... but this... this is... horrifying...” Leo thought to himself as he ran a hand across the icy frame. His eyes mostly focused on the one who's in two pieces. “Are... there more of them...” he thought as he slowly looked up to the few holes that he had left as options. “And... why are they in these cells.....”

[ShiroTenshiRyu]

Helios couldn't have cared less about temperature drop normally, he was from a colder part of the world, but this was unnatural. His breath froze nearly as soon as it left his mouth. The castle ruins held his attention almost completely as he followed the rest of the group. He tried to stay calm when they entered the treasury, but the wonderment over came him. This dragon was different from the one that had destroyed his life all those years ago. By comparison this one seemed almost tame. Helios knew he was supposed to be afraid of the beast, even hateful with his past encounters with dragons both of which had tried to kill him, then it hit him. To the best of his knowledge dragon's breathed fire and radiated heat, yet the dragon he'd fought not but a few days ago had breathed lightning, and now this dragon seemed to radiate an unnatural coldness.


Shaking off the thought Helios continued to look around as he followed the group. When Korius sent Leo and Kieo ahead to find a path Helios took it upon himself to stick near Anoi. Instinctively he drew his blade, ready to defend himself or any of the group. He could only hope that Leo and Kieo would be safe. And who knows maybe our luck will change and this mother won't wake up. Helios thought to himself optimistically.

[EllieDragon]

Anoi followed along quietly, choosing to pick her staff up instead of using it like a walking stick which she had been doing before.  As they moved into the castle she kept her eyes out for anything wrong or amiss though she trusted that her mate and the other thief would alert them first.  She also glanced around from time to time looking for any discarded scales from the dragon.  They would be very valuable to her and worth the risk.  She appreciated the one called Helios keeping close to her.  She assumed that it was because she was a soft mage who needed defending, which was true most of the time.


The entity that was attached to her kept close.  It was not stupid enough to cause any trouble at a time like this.  While moving through the castle Anoi searched her mind for a spell that might work against the dragon.  Unfortunately she specialized in water magic which would not be that great against the ice dragon. Maybe I can control whatever it does against us..  That was the most that she could hope for.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius kept up as best as he could, but his size and weapon wouldn't permit him to follow too closely without making noise. However, there were times when they caught up as the two thieves started paving the way. However, they entered one cell that had many dead bodies of frozen warriors before them. Quite a few had emblems that were the same as what was above them in what used to be the throne room. Leo's fear of the sudden exposure was no surprise to Korius. None of these people have ever known war, or even death of an actual person. He stood by Leo as the lynx shook, "It means we're going the right way. Look up. There's no ceiling and there are remnants of nests near here where treasure was moved from to make that larger pile when the last few months started coming around. The dragons claimed victims trying to get to the mother's pile. You can also see people who used to guard this castle. This means there IS something special underneath that mother pile that was worth losing their lives for instead of just taking treasure from the smaller nests. If we're not seeing them, we're probably not going down the right path. Just try looking for large slabs of ice if what's inside them is too much for you." Korius was more than certain now that the Life Stone could possibly be underneath the giant pile of gold in the far corner of the castle. It would be a full 30 minutes from when they entered to when they would finally get past the entire trail of bodies.

When they finally ran out of bodies to follow, they found a good cell broken open that led into an almost cavern-like opening. Korius stopped the group, signaling that he was going to go in first. He gripped his sword tightly as he walked in. There was some gold goblets and other platters scattered that had poured in from the hole in the roof that was currently plugged up with a chest. The wolf pointed at it to the others, signaling not to touch it as he was afraid it might cut off their potentially only exit. there were a few more of these holes as they progressed further, the light they had dimming despite all the reflective golden objects around them. However, after a few more minutes, he saw something glowing. At the end of the long tunnel was a wall of gold with a glowing stone. He couldn't tell what it was, but his heart skipped as he hoped it was what they were looking for. Korius picked it up and looked at it, but he didn't have even 1 second before there was the sound of sliding coins. In fact, that wall of gold was so tightly packed, that having picked up any of the coins or what he just pulled out, caused the wall to collapse. "Run!" He quickly turned and ushered the others forward. The stone walls around them started cracking and crumbling, gold items or coins shooting through holes that formed. While they ran, they could already hear the dragon roaring in anger as her slumber was being prematurely disturbed. "Just keep running! If you hear a high pitched whistling in the air, get against a wall or behind one of those bodies with shards sticking out of them!"

No sooner did he say that did they finally get out of the tunnel and the loud roar of the enormous dragon deafened them temporarily as its voice rang throughout the entire atrium of ice.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

When Kiana saw the bodies, it was a little disturbing but she wasn't bothered too much since it was no one she knew or cared for. She just kept her eyes away from them as Korius explained that the bodies meant they were on the right path, and she continued to avert her eyes from any bodies they passed. When they reached the cell that led to the cavern-like opening, she stepped aside for Korius to go first but kept a close eye on him as the rest of them slipped into the cavern. She surveyed all the golden items around them as Korius signaled for them not to touch the chest that was plugging a hole in the roof. After a few minutes, she noticed something glowing as she looked around Korius to see what might lay ahead. "No way that's it..." She thought as Korius grabbed the glowing item just for an avalanche of gold things to follow. "Run!" As soon as she heard Korius say the word, he didn't have to tell her twice, and she turned on her heels and ran back the way they had come with everyone else. The dragon's roar reached her ears as she ran and she cringed slightly. She made sure she listened to Korius advice before they exited the tunnel and she was temporarily deafened by the dragon's roar, resisting the urge to raise her hands to her ears.

[ShiroTenshiRyu]

The bodies here didn't bother him at first. Helios had grown desensitized to dead bodies in general, after the carnage he'd seen in his home village. Then he saw the faces, the looks of horror and terror on them. Suddenly these furs were made real. Helios nearly lost it right there. When he finally pried his eyes away from the bodies he noticed that even Anoi had left him behind. Quickly he regained his composure and caught up to the group at the back of a cave like area.


"Run!"

It was a simple command, but one that Helios would always follow. He hung back for just a moment allowing Anoi to escape in front of him. It was something of a personal philosophy he'd adopted over the years. He'd never fight alone if he could help it. Hall after hall, room after room, all Helios could hope was that Nyx or any of the gods would grant them this single reprieve and keep the mother dragon asleep. Helios ducked for cover. When he peeked around the corner of his cover he saw Karina fire off an arrow in the general direction of the dragon. Thinking fast he grabbed her and pulled her behind the wall he was hiding behind,

[tangletail]

Leo wasn’t exactly calmed down by the explanation he was given. If anything, it only made the feline more nervous. But he was quick to steel his nerves after glancing down to each torn and defiled body that he stepped past. Sparing a moment to glance down to them, looking to how they have died. He wasn’t sure though that what they were here for, is what the guards were trying to protect. Nothing seemed to add up to the thief. The bodies only helped to add into the confusion. But he decided not to dwell on the matter longer than he had to. Instead he distracted himself with remembering the pathway out.


When the cavern came into view, he was first amazed by the structure. But a suspicion drew into his body when he peered further in past the veil of shadows. Possibly further than what the others could see. He noticed the source of the cavern stability, and instinct told him that going in could easily be the death of anyone. A burial of gold and riches. By the time Korius had stepped in first, the feline slowly slinked back and out of the way to allow the rest of the group inside. His gaze turned to the exit, and began to make his way out through the cells once more. With each room he entered, he rearranged the coins quietly to make an arrow to point the group outside where he’d be waiting for the others.


Once he was outside, he was sitting on a marble mantle of a far off pillar. His eyes mostly settled on the slumbering dragon, but gave the occasional glance to the cell block. “They will be fine…” he thought to himself. But intuition told him differently. It constantly reminded him of what he saw and exactly who he was with. Only one other member had actually given him the confidence that the cave wouldn’t fall apart I she had went in on her own. The rest only caused worry. And with four people going into a narrow tunnel way with pillars made of coins and other goods, it was just a matter of time.


“They must have reached the end by now… I would have heard something if anything bad happened…” Leo thought to himself as his eyes now resettled back onto the cells. He was now expecting to see the group come out empty handed. However this wasn’t the case. Once the sound of pouring coins, and other trinkets filled his ears, his eyes quickly darted to the dragon in alarm.

“RUN!”

He could only see it stir, before his body soon kicked itself into the air and back down to the ground. He landed on all fours and quickly darted behind the pillar to retreat to the shadows.


Only a few seconds had passed when the cat was now climbing up the pillar to pull himself away from a predicted search area, and hide on the second floor behind a pile of rubble. He’d peak out to make sure that the group was alive. If anyone looked in his direction his eyes would be visible as emerald disk when he peaked out to check on them. Though the dragon’s roar had blown through the cat’s sensitive ears, and disorientated him, causing him to fall forward after nearly being knocked unconscious. He luckily caught himself with a hand before he hit the ground and blew his cover. When he was sure the group was able to get out, he'd make his way to the exit just down the walkway. Other wise, he'd have his grapple hook ready in case they need to fight and the archers needed higher ground.

[Vosur Aekira]

Karina was stepping as softly as she could while following Korius into the main room, not seeming as stunned as the others as she saw the bodies, but seeming more like she was remembering something. It took her a little while to snap out of it, which was right before Korius picked up an object from one of the treasure pile-nests, causing her eyes to widen with a child-like wonder in hopes that this was the item that she and possibly the others were looking for.

"Run!" was called out by Korius, to which she did not hesitate to turn-tail and run with the others, keeping a firm grip on her arrow fletching. Right after their exit, she had a moment to think before she quickly notched an arrow on her string, hearing a whistle-like sound that resembled a wheezing inhale. She took only a split-second to fire off the arrow in the general direction of the dragon's open maw before she was tugged to cover by one of the others.

[EllieDragon]

Anoi glanced at the bodies and then watched with amazement as the wolf person picked up the object from the gold pile without even examining it to prevent what just happened from well, happening.  If she had time to interject she would have attempted to stop him but it seemed that once his mind was decided there was nothing to be done to change it.  As the gold came crashing down and the dragon roared in response to it she shook her head. "This is..."  She didn't finish her sentence before turning and just flat out running for the exit of the tower. 


Glancing over at Keio she attempted to grab a hold of her paw and lead her with her toward the exit.  Once there she would just keep running, away from the group.  She did not like how she was forced into the group regardless of her mates crimes against them, well, specifically against the one person who had already left.  The only thing they had in common was a search for the Lifestone and she could do that with her mate without them. Looking back at her mate she tugged her along some more. "Come on Keio.  Lets just go..  They can deal with this themselves.  They don't need us and we can search for the Lifestone ourselves and potentially succeed."

[Rosanna Foxfire]

Keio had stopped at the sight of the bodies, ears pinning back, eyes going wide.  She'd never witnessed such horrible death before.  She shuddered, following behind silently.  The sleeping dragon was one thing, a challenge if that, but bodies?  Death was something else entirely.

And then the avalanche of gold coins.  She wasn't paying attention to the cause, but there it was.  Running from one of the objects of her desire.  Gold coins fell all around, in a rush just at their heels. 

And once they were out, Anoi grabbed her and kept running.  Keio didn't even realize what had happened, her mind still processing all the events.  She didn't hear Anoi's reasoning, she just ran.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius was surprised at seeing their two new additions bolt out faster than they did through an opening. However, the rest of the party wasn't as prepared for that. The dragon let out an angry roar as its tongue became pierced by Karina's arrow. It took in a deep breath, "Get behind something!" They were barely able to even get 1/2 way out of the maze, let alone even close to the way they had come in. Korius quickly backed up against one of the cell walls as a torrent of cold breath fired their way. Shit! It's abnormally large and it's keeping its distance from us. This is going to be difficult. The blast lasted a total of 5 seconds, in which the black wolf bolted, keeping an eye on his party to make sure everyone was going to make it out unharmed.

[ShiroTenshiRyu]

After the sub zero blast that was unleashed Helios saw Korius break for the door. Realizing they were retreating, Helios grabbed Karina's hand and hoped whe would feel his pull and follow. Helios continued to run keeping his shield arm towards the dragon at all times. He wasn't sure how much protection it would offer, but it was all he had. Watching it closely he noticed the dragon was keeping it's distance. Helios was a bit surprised by this since it could simply land and devour them all.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Kiana watched the two newest members completely bolt from the place without a second glance. It seemed their group wasn't going to be as crowded after all. "Less competition is alright with me, but right now I just want to get away from the incredible beast." She thought and shortly after she heard the intake of air from the dragon. "Shit..." She cursed under her breath as she swiftly dove behind a section of a cell wall that was still standing, making sure not to damage her bow in the process, then scrambled back to a standing position, ready to bolt again when the blast of cold air ended after 5 seconds.