[Cherry Heart] Cave of Lost Treasures

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

Gabriel's eye twitched as the wolf smashed the mirror into pieces right before his eyes. There was a flash of intense anger on his face for a brief moment, but, after taking a deep breath, it faded. He looked her up and down and said, flatly. "You're not very bright, are you?"

He glanced over at the undead man who seemed to be having some kind of trouble with his head. "I could shove my sword through it, but something tells me that won't do any good." He glanced once more at the wall where the mirror once more and shrugged. "Well let's get going shall we? Nothing more to do here."

He sped off along the path for quite some time, noting how the cave seemed decidedly less eerie than before. Eventually he came to a crossroad...which split off in four directions. "funk's sake..." He muttered. The path to the direct north seemed to lead into some kind of room, but the others continued on farther.
Without waiting for anyone else Gabriel took off towards the upper left path, noticing that it seemed to lead back to the surface. "Another entrance, guess that'd come in handy if we had to get out quickly." He noted with a shrug before returning to the crossroads. "Probably should go left or right." He said, pointing at the path directly north, and south, respectively. "Course you don't have to take my opinion but..." he grinned "That'd be dumb."

 

[spoiler=Map and OOC]

Okay so decided to post so we can get moving. You've got a few directions to go. Gabriel rushed ahead of everyone and discovered a second exit, and seemed to think that that path was pointless, but feel free to go whichever direction you wish. I'll try and post as soon as you all post and the paths get picked so I can give more information.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

 

With the mirror demon slain, it would seem that the quest was almost at an end.  Leo's hands trembled.  He had used his magic in such a way that he never realized how violent he could really bee.  That's why he hadn't participated much further.  He had traumatized himself by the sheer amount of violence he was able to dispense.  

 

"Well let's get going shall we? Nothing more to do here."

 

Leo silently nodded.  He followed slowly behind Gabriel, and held his arms as he shivered.  Was it the cold of the cave getting to him.  They soon came to what seemed like another crossroads in the cave.  Leo watched as Gabriel went by himself down the path behind them.  He came back shortly, telling them that there was another entrance down that pathway.  

 

"Probably should go left or right.  Course you don't have to take my opinion but...That'd be dumb."

 

Leo brushed off the comment, and started marching aimlessly into the left path.  Not a word was shared with the others.  

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Somewhat satisfied about the destruction of the suspicious shard of mirror, Basia stood back up to full height, sniffing around for more enemies to kill. No-one else seemed to care all that much about the shard being completely torn asunder... except one.

"You're not very bright, are you?" Basia was very tempted to bite this fool's head off, but ultimately decided on an infinitely less hostile response.

"Precautions necessary," she replied, "You, not very bright for not taking them,"

And then the arrogant fool wandered off without allowing anyone else to accompany him, only serving to prove Basia's point. If only there were monsters right thereto punish him for his foolish decision. In any case, whilst the arrogant fool was gone, the familiar face had walked over to examine the katana that was still stuck in the wall, though he'd had to have pulled it out for a closer look. He seemed to admire the craftsmanship of the katana, before suddenly...

"So are you going to need this back or are you just going to keep clawing things?" he asked out of the blue.
 
"Keep it for now," Basia answered reluctantly, "Cannot wield in this form."

As little as she liked anyone using her stuff, there was nothing for it. Basia would have to trust that the familiar face would look after Starshatterer for the time being; although she was going to want it back the moment she could revert back to her first form, and from that moment on, the sooner she got it, the better she'd feel. It was around this point that the arrogant fool came back unscathed, annoyingly, and Leo opted to take the leftmost path out of the three that presented themselves. Basia could either follow Leo, go straight ahead or take the right path but, rather than take another step, she waited for the familiar face to pick a direction first. Although she was incapable of handling the Starshatterer itself, the least she could do was keep as close proximity to it as was remotely possible...

[Alaina]

Shrugging at the wolf girl's comment about not being able to wield her blade at the moment, Neru simply left the curved blade in his hand as he sheathed his own sword. Resting the weapon on his shoulder, as he had no where else to put it, Neru continued to walk onward through the cavern, seeing what other kind of horrors lived in this place. As the group had continued to travel, it had seemed that, quite like at the beginning of this cavern, they were at a crossroads. So, the only thing to do now was to pick a direction and walk. 

 

While everyone here was fairly competent at what their own brand of fighting, the bee surprisingly so, they had already run into a good deal of things and were now injured, one such injury being someone barely having a head on their shoulders. As such, Neru flatly stated, "well, last time we split up, we," he gestured to himself and the other two he had traveled with at the beginning, "ran into some kind of hallucinogenic parasite mushroom thing. And you three," motioning to the others, "managed to piss off and start fighting some kind of mirror demon. So, I think it's in all of our best interests to not split up at the moment." As he was saying this, the bee boy had already decided on his path and, wordlessly, started walking down one of them. Shrugging at the decision Neru stated, "and there we have our choice."

[cardgameking]

---

Solomon, to be honest, wasn't exactly surprised at his comrades' behaviour. After a fight, especially one that had begun and ended so suddenly, tensions were bound to run high. Basia's anger, Leo's shell shocked face were familiar scenes to Solomon. Gabriel seemed to be able to brush it off but his look of anger when Basia smashed the shard had not gone unnoticed by Solomon. The kid probably wouldn't take much pushing to get mad. 

It was Neru who Solomon was secretly impressed with. Neru hadn't shied away from trying to raise Solomon's own moral, despite his ghoulish looks, and had just made the most sensible point Solomon had heard all day. He was certainly someone Solomon would like at his side in future. 

Looking down the path Leo had chosen, one hand clutching his spear while the other held his head to stop is dropping to one side, Solomon pondered his options. Leo looked like he could certainly use some reassurances about what had happened but he would like to talk to Neru, perhaps forming a plan in time for the next attack. Plus, Basia seemed to staying near the man and she seemed as if anything would make her go feral. Despite this, Solomon concluded, Leo would need support. The insectoid was at the front of their little regiment and was the most vulnerable to attacks. Neru could handle himself and, if the demon was an indicator, nothing in this cave would require complex tactics to kill.

Walking quickly to where Leo was heading down the path in a purposeless manner, Solomon caught up with him, and tried to talk to him. The first step, in Solomon's opinion, to getting someone out of despair was to remind them of their duty.

"Leo, you need to focus. There could easily be more enemies to kill further down this path."

With a grim smile, Solomon decided to try and pep Leo up by increasing his confidence in his own abilities. It was probably the root cause of the problem anyway.

"Of course, we needn't get too worried. You seem to be a powerful mage, capable of subduing by yourself anything this measly hole shelters."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"Well aren't you a smart one." Gabriel said, in a low, flirtatious tone, towards Neru. This one is one of the few that actually seemed worth a damn so far, though that Solomon was certainly useful in his own way. "Glad to know someone is." He said, glancing at Basia. "Hey wolfie, just try and stay out of my way. You already ticked me off once today, try your best to not make it twice." With a laugh, he followed the bee boy into the upper path. "Gonna go with the kid anyway, vicious little guy ain't he? Unexpectedly so, I'm almost impressed."

 

As the group made their way into the room they'd find that it was a relatively small, almost rectangular, room. There were bodies, and some kind of animal droppings, laying around the floor and, once any of them looked up, they could see why.

The ceiling was only about 10-12 feet high, and attached to the ceiling were three large, 3 foot tall, Dire Bats. They seemed to not have been disturbed by their entrance, but Gabriel put his finger to his lips as a sign to everyone to be quiet.

The only other thing in the room seemed to be a two-foot tall stone pedestal in the middle, with something on top of it that couldn't quite be made out from the entrance.

 

[spoiler=Map and Info]Whoever first goes up to the pedestal let me know so I can give you information about what happens.

Again, whoever first goes up to the pedestal let me know so I can give you information about what happens.

 

[Alaina]

Neru didn't really pay much heed to what Gabriel had said, and instead just continued walking through the cavern. As they continued, much to Neru's satisfaction, they had all managed to stay together as one large unit rather than splitting themselves apart to hunt through the cavern more, and eventually stumbled upon another area. Looking around, the man noticed that the room was far more dug out, almost as if purposefully made this way, than the rest of the cave that they had been through so far. Though why this might have been the case was immediately superseded by the corpses that littered the ground. Obviously, where there were corpses, there was a killer, and the killer of these bodies was very easily identifiable as the large bats that hung on the cavern ceiling. Thankfully, though, they weren't noticed yet, and so the group continued on their way. 

 

In the center of the room was simply a pedestal with something on top that would only be seen once someone went close enough. And so, Neru decided to walk up to it to check out just what was with it. As he approached it, he noticed a slab, made of some kind of stone, with something like a chisel on it. Neru couldn't immediately make out the writing that was on this slab, as the chisel was blocking it, and so taking it off the rest of the writing was revealed to him. The writing seemed to be some kind of riddle that went as follows: "What is it that the rich man wants, the poor man has, that you die if you eat, and that we all take to our graves?" While the man tried to think of the answer, he then noticed that underneath the riddle was a blank space, likely for the answer, and a warning. "Beware, one chance, and punishment waits for those who guess wrong."

 

Seeing the problem be presented to itself, Neru went back down the pedestal, in order to inform the group of what was going on. As he got them, he pointed back to where he came from, whispering to them, "anyone good at solving riddles?"

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Leo kept up his slumping pace, keeping his head down, and buzzing to himself.  The bee boy hadn't noticed, but he had stumbled into an oddly shaped room in the cave.  A voice, old and creaky, could be heard behind him, and he jumped at the sound.  

 

"Leo, you need to focus. There could easily be more enemies to kill further down this path.  Of course, we needn't get too worried. You seem to be a powerful mage, capable of subduing by yourself anything this measly hole shelters."

 

Leo looked to his hands.  They were still shaking from all this adrenaline pumping through his tiny veins.  He didn't want to kill anymore...he didn't want to kill in the first place.  If killing was all a mage was good for, than the thought of being a good one terrified him.  

 

"This...just feels so wrong...I didn't sign up for a murdering spree." he said under his breath.  He also hadn't noticed that he now walked up to the pedestal alongside Neru.  He actually bumped into it since he hadn't been looking straight forward.  When he knocked his head into the stone, his eyes were forced up.  That's when he saw the Dire Bats.  He forced his trembling hands over his mouth, as to not scream.  Was everything in this cave designed to murder?!  He wondered why villagers would ever go near such a damned accursed cave!  Luckily, the bats hadn't noticed the group that entered the cave.  His eyes now lowered back to the pedestal.  Upon further inspection, he read the text that was engraved on the stone.  In a space below, they would put the answer.

 

 "anyone good at solving riddles?"

 

Leo thought about it...there were no rich or poor bees in his society.  The concept befuddled him.  But if he had to guess...

 

"A heart?" he mumbled aloud.  It was a shot in the dark...and he didn't expect to be right.    

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Gabriel's head tilted as he just barely overheard the bee's words about how wrong this fighting felt. Well that was a disappointment, though perhaps...Well whatever, Neru had been the first to step up and learned there was a riddle to solve.

Leo gave the first answer, heart, which made Gabriel curious as to what the riddle is. He walked up to the pedestal and glanced at the words there. Huh, this riddle was familiar to him. He picked up the chisel and the first thing he noticed was that it was oddly heavy for its intended purpose.
Checking over the riddle he noticed that the blank space, for the answer, was softer than the rest, almost clay like. Soft enough that he could probably write an answer with his finger, which he found odd. Who made this anyway?

A thought occurred to him. "Well it's certainly not heart, but I think I got it. Though I'm sure you all figured it out anyway, it's not too tough. Only thing is there's two ways to answer here. Don't know which one is right, though."

He looked back at the pedestal and frowned. He wasn't about to dive in and take the risk himself, he'll let one of these others put in the answer instead.

 

[spoiler=OOC]Starting to wonder if I should've put more straight up encounters instead seeing as how two people posted when I put up a non-encounter event. >.>

I will give 24 hours or so until posting again. Meaning there's 24 hours left for people to post before I have Gabriel input the wrong answer. It would imply there was at least five minutes between this post and the next. Also Gabriel legitimately thinks that you all should know the answer and thus doesn't feel the need to say what he thinks he is. He's kinda an jabroni like that if you haven't noticed. Whoever is going to put up the answer can ask me for the result. However if you ask for this it's a declaration that it's the choice you make and that's what you must post.

 

[Yui]

---

Well, that was one less demon that would be plaguing this cave. Added to having dealt with that mushroom from before, Reshifu would say she'd been doing a pretty good job so far. Gabriel had seemed to discover an exit from the cave as well, and for a little bit there Reshifu was seriously considering leaving. After all, the mushroom and demon were dealt with; what more could possibly be in store here? However, judging by the fact that there was still more cave, Reshifu knew that there was still more to be done here. The Soul of the North must not run away, and so she opted to join the boys in their trek further into the cave. Where they were met with a most peculiar riddle.

 

"What is it that the rich man wants, the poor man has, that you die if you eat, and that we all take to our graves? Beware, one chance, and punishment waits for those who guess wrong."

 

"A heart?"

 

"Well it's certainly not heart, but I think I got it. Though I'm sure you all figured it out anyway, it's not too tough. Only thing is there's two ways to answer here. Don't know which one is right, though."

 

"Eating a heart doesn't kill you," Reshifu commented. "I'm not very good at riddles, so don't take my word for it, but...perhaps a soul?"

[cardgameking]

---

Solomon's eyes narrowed as Leo suddenly clamped his hands over his mouth. Looking up, he saw why. 

​Dire bats. Oh, how nostalgic.

Shaking his head, Solomon refocused himself. Now was not the time to be distracted. He watched as Neru went forward and read a stone tablet on a podium. Upon his return, it seemed that there was some riddle they were supposed to solve.  

"What is it that the rich man wants, the poor man has, that you die if you eat, and that we all take to our graves? Beware, one chance, and punishment waits for those who guess wrong."

The riddle seemed like nonsense to Solomon. What could a poor man possibly have that a rich man didn't, and especially something that the rich man would take to his grave? Solomon knew he was no great riddle solver, but one that made sense would at least help! Despite this, his fellow quest members seemed to have some ideas.

"A heart?"

"Well it's certainly not heart, but I think I got it. Though I'm sure you all figured it out anyway, it's not too tough. Only thing is there's two ways to answer here. Don't know which one is right, though."

"I'm not very good at riddles, so don't take my word for it, but...perhaps a soul?"

Would be nice if you told us the two possible answers. Solomon thought. He considered asking Gabriel, but dismissed it. He disliked the idea of having to ask that arrogant guttersnipe for help, and would avoid doing so. Eyeing the dire bats once more, Solomon reflected that there was perhaps some things that should take prerogative over the riddle.

"I doubt it is a soul. Souls don't go into your grave with your body. Anyway, I feel we should kill those bats first. Waking them is probably the punishment the riddle refers to, and I would like to avoid taking chances."

[Alaina]

As the group attempted to try and solve the riddle that was presented before them, only two seemed to really come up with any kind of idea. While the bee had brought up the idea of the "heart" there were a few things that didn't seem to fit with it. As Reshifu had pointed out, eating a heart didn't kill someone, literally or metaphorically. and it wasn't as if it fit the other things either. Then there was Reshifu, whose answer was pretty similar to what Leo said, and could only make Neru disagree with it again. Which left him to thinking on it. There wasn't exactly anything in specific that he could think of that the rich wanted, nor was there anything particular that he could think of that the poor had. Then there was the food, which sure it could be unhealthy to cut something out of one's diet completely, but there wasn't anything in particular he could think of that would kill you from not eating. And aside from clothing, which people didn't eat, there wasn't anything people really took to the grave either. 

 

As he thought of all of these four parts, there was absolutely nothing that he could think of that fit one of them, let alone all four of them. His eyes suddenly went wide at the realization of what the answer was, and he looked to Gabriel, figuring that the two conclusions that he reached were the same one's that Neru did as well. Looking towards Solomon, he said, "we can't really hit these things to begin with," gesturing at the fact that they were higher than most could reach even with the aid of their weapons, "outside of our bee companion, who I think would like to keep killing to a minimum. It doesn't matter anyway, since I think I got it." Walking over to the stone tablet,  Neru picked up the chisel, and was about to etch in the answer when he realized something.

 

With any number of ways to actually write the answer, and with an answer like this tending to lean more towards the symbolic side then anything, Neru looked at the weighty chisel. Taking a deep breath before doing his next move, Neru simply put the chisel down in the clay like surface, writing nothing and simply leaving it there. With that, a clicking noise could be heard from elsewhere in the cave, as the pedestal seemed to have a segment open up underneath it. Walking over towards it, Neru saw a small chest, roughly a foot tall, in the hidden capartment of the pedestal. Within the chest was nothing other than silver coins, and a good amount at that. Picking up the chest, Neru simply said, "well that's solved. Guess we'll get moving on elsewhere now then, hm?"

 

[spoiler=OOC]

All run by and approved by the Cow himself. Room done.

 

 

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Leo flinched when Solomon talked about killing the bats.  He had enough blood on his hands...these animals were just protecting their home. What if these wizards were sent to his home...would they kill his people without hesitation as well?  Without realizing what the answer was, the one called Neru had already answered.  He must've been really smart for a human.  Looking at the box that appeared from within the pedestal, his compound eyes reflected the sheen of the silver coins that lay within.  He was slightly impressed...wondering why such a contraption lay dormant in a cave like this in the first place.  Were these someones lost treasures?  Would they have to return them if they were to complete the quest.  Leo shrugged.  He was tired from thinking hard about the riddle.  

 

"Y-yes...let's bee off now, shall we?"  Leo buzzed softly.  He fluttered his wings to turn a one-eighty and hovered out of the square room.  

 

Leo looked to the left...it was only natural that this was their next destination, down this hallway.  Again, he silently wandered into the darkness.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

It had taken every ounce of Basia's mental strength not to bite the arrogant fool's head off right then and there. He may have talked big, but all he had ever proven was that he was nothing more than a liability. That much was evident right back when the entire party was battling the mirror demon. And he had the audacity to tell Basia to get out of his way? That was more than enough to get under her skin, but apparently Basia managed to piss the arrogant fool off too. So by that logic they were even. But sheet was bound to hit the fan if this exchange of verbal hostility were to continue for much longer.
 
So Basia did the sensible thing and hung back, while the rest of the party was trying to solve a riddle that had befallen them. Basia's mind had more of an instinct for battle over puzzle solving anyway, and this was especially true for this second form that she had taken. She growled softly at the three bats that she had found in one corner of the room, but they hadn't moved from their perch, so all was good. The party had even found some silver coins for their troubles.
 
...
 
However, Leo once again tried to wander off, and this was starting to become a bad habit. Unlike the arrogant fool, who should've up and die on everyone a long time ago for all Basia cared, Leo was too much of a valuable member to allow anything bad to happen to him. As such, Basia raced towards where the young Insectoid was headed (she wouldn't hesitate to shove the arrogant fool out the way if she had to) and stopped right in front of Leo.
 
"What are you doing?" she asked in a frustrated tone, her eyes gesturing towards the arrogant fool, "He is liability, not you,"

[Alaina]

With the whole riddle room having been solved without much incident, the group was now back to choosing which path they would go down once again. Of course, before any kind of group consensus could be met before choosing the next direction, the bee boy had gone walking off on his own again. Shrugging at the turn of events, Neru simply followed the bee, motioning to the rest of the group to follow along. As the still wolf girl seemed to voice some kind of complaint, Neru simply said, "all he's doing is picking one of our two blind choices for us. And giving that he lead us to this," Neru motioned the chest of silver that he was lugging around, "I'm fine with trusting the little man's instincts in these matters." With that, Neru continued to walk alongside his guildmates down the tunnel of the cave. 

[Yui]

---

Well, that went smootly. As Reshifu began shrinking back down and reverting to a human form (Clothes included; I need to maintain my dignity after all.) she couldn't help but wonder how he figured that one out. Not much time to consider it though, as the little bee-man took off down another path. Didn't even stick around to get a group consensus, either. Keeping a hand on the hilt of her sword, Reshifu followed Neru down the path, and was honestly a bit irritated as the hulking wolf jumped in their way, right in front of the bee.

 

"What are you doing? He is liability, not you."

 

"All he's doing is picking one of our two blind choices for us. And giving that he lead us to this, I'm fine with trusting the little man's instincts in these matters."

 

"A liability can't last forever," Reshifu added. "Step aside, please. I think our little treasure hunter has a good feeling about this path." Neru was right. If the bee had led them to the chest of treasure, surely he would know the good paths to head down. And if not, well, it had been pretty easy to deal with the enemies thus far. What was a few more?

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

Was this girl for real? Gabriel couldn't help but grin savagely, as his eyes flashed with a brief anger, at her words. She hadn't hidden her distaste for Gabriel and this was not the first snide comment the wolf had made towards him. "sheet man," Gabriel said to Neru in a cheerfully sarcastic tone, "when the least useful group member calls you a liability you know you've funked up."

The group had decided to go down the right path. Well the group besides Solomon who hasn't weighed in yet. Though that could be just because he still seemed to be having some difficulty with his head. "Don't you have some little pigs to terrorize?" He said to Basia as they continued their nice little stroll down the path that had started to go towards the north.

 

Gabriel frowned as they continued on without much resistance. He wondered why there weren't any more traps beyond the one he had encountered at the start. He had started to think this cave was home to someone of human intelligence but then why would this path be free from danger?

The answer came to them quickly as they found themselves at a dead-end. There was a path to the left but, from the direction, Gabriel figured out that it led to the exit that he had found earlier.

 

However at second glance Gabriel realized there was a slight breeze coming from the dead end. Looking closer he noticed... "Seems to be some kinda crack in this wall." Sure enough at about five feet high there was a small crack in the wall where some wind was coming from. It would appear the crack wasn't a natural formation, rather something built into the wall. In fact, the entire wall seemed somewhat artificial. The crack was just large enough for someone human-sized to stick their arm into, if they wanted to take the risk.

 

[spoiler=OOC][spoiler=Map]

 

Alright so if anyone wants to reach into the crack, or do anything to the wall, let me know first and I'll tell the results.

No strike despite not everyone having posted cause unsure if I was clear enough about that.

Next post should be Thursday or Friday at latest.

 

[cardgameking]

---

Solomon watched Gabriel approached the crack, deep in thought. He had been surprised at the riddle's answer, and the few moments he had spent pondering the answer had been rather action packed. Not to mention his head was now beginning to tilt backwards, meaning he had to keep at a careful angle to avoid something he was sure he didn't want to experience.

First, Leo had once again simply wandered off as if they weren't in a cave with a recent history of being demonic territory. While Solomon certainly didn't approve, Basia's rash reaction only made things worse, in Solomon's eyes. Her insult showed, in the opinion of Solomon, an ill temper that would never be helpful. Of course, Gabriel looked like he may justify the insults, but he settled for words- the coward's choice, Solomon felt.

Luckily, the situation was defused by Neru and Reshifu without the need for Solomon to come between them, and they went down the path chosen by Leo.

Still, if we're here much longer, they'll almost certainly come to blows.

Even as he thought this, Gabriel made a comment.

"Don't you have some little pigs to terrorize?"

Solomon wasn't sure what he was referring to, except perhaps Basia's lupine appearance, but he wordlessly positioned himself between the two in case a physical assault was attempted. Fortunately enough, the walk wasn't too long and they soon arrived at a dead end. At least, it appeared like one. On a closer look, Gabriel noticed a crack. It was probably nothing special, but...

"I'll take a look."

Without waiting for a reply, Solomon went up to the crack. Taking a risk, Solomon stuck his arm in. He could easily lose his arm if this was some sort of booby trap, but he had faith in his armor. In addition to that, judging by the fact he occasionally had to lift his arm to keep his head falling off, an average trap probably wouldn't be lethal. The reasoning behind him taking this risk was to avoid one he judged to be bigger, namely Basia and Gabriel being together for much longer. Despite what both had said about the other, they seemed skilled fighters and a fight between them, especially in the rather narrow cave passage, would be something to avoid. 

Feeling around a bit, he felt something. Leaning forward slightly, and putting down his spear so he had an arm to hold his head up with, he could now tell it was an indent of some kind.

"There's something there. A kind of an indent- with a switch actually."

Solomon hesitated a little before continuing. 

"I would like if you could all stand back while I flick it, in case of a trap."

Giving his companions several moments to back away, Solomon flicked the switch. There was a massive rumbling noise, and Solomon began to pull back his arm instinctively, in case the walls closed in. In fact, the opposite happened. The walls made a grinding sound as they pulled back to show a winding corridor. 

With some trepidation, Solomon stepped into the corridor. Looking round, he noticed nothing obviously wrong. He did, however, have a feeling of pressure and he glanced at the walls to make sure they weren't moving.

There was something else wrong here, he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"The ground," he realised, "it is cleaner here."

This was true. The assorted trinkets on the ground, the markings on the wall- none of them were here. Frowning, Solomon turned to the others.

"I dislike this. This place seems different to the rest of the cave." Eyeing the walls, he continued. "Still, we can hardly turn back now."

---

[Mr. Hyde]

 

The cave walls pulled apart from each other, after Solomon had tweaked around the inside of the small crack.  It was a cleaner hallway than the rest of the dirt encrusted floor of the cave.  This surely was man, or magic, made.  

 

"I dislike this. This place seems different to the rest of the cave.  Still, we can hardly turn back now."

 

Leo nodded.  His antennae flicked from the sensory overload, every fiber of his exoskeleton was telling him to turn back...but he couldn't leave the team down another person...he felt obligated to see this to the end.  

 

"I agree...let's proceed."  

[Alaina]

After following the bee man's instincts to a dead end, it appeared that it was actually some kind of secret hole in the wall. While Neru might have volunteered to go see what it was about, his hands were full at the moment and he hardly wanted to rush ahead of the rest of the group's decision on this matter. Nevertheless, the undead man of their group had walked over to the hole in the wall and seemed to fiddle around with it. After a moment of waiting around, it seemed that the wall itself split apart opened up, revealing something that seemed clearly man made in origin. Neru briefly wondered if this passage opening had anything to do with the clicking noise he had heard earlier, when solving the riddle, but decided it didn't quite matter now. With two opinions weighing in yes for exploring Neru simply nodded at the two saying, "agreed," as well.

[Yui]

---

The path had led to a dead end...or so one would think. There was a crack in the wall, which the...er..."pulse-challenged" man had volunteered to inspect. He had located a switch, which led deeper into the cave still. Just how big was this place? Reshifu already knew what to do, and it sounded like she wasn't alone.

 

"I dislike this. This place seems different to the rest of the cave.  Still, we can hardly turn back now."

 

"I agree...let's proceed." 

 

"Agreed."

 

"I also agree," Reshifu added. If there was something in here, it was most likely either treasure to be found or enemies to deal with as per the job description of this quest. Treasure was good for adventurers to collect, and dealing with monsters was kind of the point of the job. Besides, turning tail was honorless and wouldn't be an act Reshifu would want to be caught doing. For better or worse, she was in this until the end, and savored the challenge the place had presented thus far.

 

Honestly, she really hoped most quests in Arbolia were this challenging. She wouldn't get anywhere rounding up pigs or exterminating mice, would she?

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

Gabriel grinned as the undead man took the risk. He tilted his head as he watched the man root around in the wall. "Wonder if his arm's gonna be crunched, that'd sure be something wouldn't it? Bets anyone?" It seemed that the man had found some sort of switch which opened the wall into a jagged tunnel that seemed...peculiar.

 

Gabriel looked about as he stepped inside. It was certainly man-made, and had an eerie feeling about it. He kept feeling as though the walls were going to close in on them. Gabriel wondered if they'd be able to get out if they started to do so. He almost wished it would happen just to see who, besides himself, would survive. However after a while, where Gabriel refrained from speaking so that he could observed the other's reactions for once, they found themselves at another wall. This one, however, had a visible switch.

Gabriel strode confidently forward and grabbed onto it. "I'll take this one Solomon, pal." He said with a laugh, before pushing on the switch. The wall opened up, much the same as the previous one, and revealed a large cavern on the other side.
 

It was larger than any of the areas that they had been in yet, with a high ceiling filled with dripping stalactites. There were bones laying all over the floor, especially around the small pond that lay at the far end of the cavern. The water was quite murky and it was difficult to see past the surface. However that wasn't what caught Gabriel's attention. That honor belonged to two other things.

One was the massive, eight feet high, pile of junk. Perfume bottles, toys, clothing, weapons, and many other things lay in the huge pile that was below the pond.

The other was a much more pressing issue. It had perked up from its position laying on the floor merely a dozen feet in front of them, between the pond and the entrance. A several foot long dog-like creature was now standing before them. It had in its mouth a wooden toy and seemed to be holding it almost gently. In fact the creature's entire demeanor seemed tame until it noticed the group. Though it seemed to have moreso noticed the sound given their milky white eyes. Whatever the case, the dog dropped the toy and let out a growl.

Once it did two more of the creatures began to approach them. One from what seemed like a second entrance to the room, and the other from behind the pile of junk.

 

Gabriel grimaced as the first dog took several steps forward. He, as well as the rest besides the undead, would feel suddenly weaker, sick, as the dog neared them. "Plague Dogs, nasty bastards. Stronger than they look too, best be careful wolfie, they might look like your cousins but they're eat you just as happily as me."

 

The name Plague Dog is one that more knowledgeable adventurers would know. Thick hide that resists piercing and slashing, surprising strength that can drag down a bear, and an aura of sickness that radiated off of them and weakened its prey. These creatures seemed small, compared to other beasts, but they were certainly a threat to the unprepared. And they were readying themselves to attack the group.

 

[spoiler=OOC]BOSS FIGHT EVERYONE! Three Plague Dogs, which I detailed above, wanting to munch on your asses. The closer you are to them the more the "sick" feeling will catch hold, and the more of them nearby the stronger it gets. As mentioned their hide naturally resists piercing and slashing. Not to say they don't work, just that they aren't so easy to get through.

Strikes: 1

[spoiler=Map]

 

 

[Mr. Hyde]

 

As the approached a room of sorts, they would be greeted by a large, hound-like creature.  This must have surely been the culprit of the thieving, as they caught it red-handed...or mouthed..as the beast dropped a wooden toy from its maw.  The beast growled...of course it would be hostile.  Leo let out a small noise of fright, but gulped the fear down his throat.  He looked to the others, preparing to attack.  Two more of the beasts joined their supposed companion, and inched ever so closer towards the group.

 

"Plague Dogs, nasty bastards. Stronger than they look too, best be careful wolfie, they might look like your cousins but they're eat you just as happily as me."

 

Leo shook his head.

 

"If these guys are the ones taking all the things...I don't think they're particularly harmful.  That little girl from the beginning didn't have a scratch on her...if we don't have to, I don't want to kill them."  Leo started feeling queasy all of a sudden, a strange new sensation that he hadn't felt in quite some time.  He gripped his head.  Plague hounds were a particularly good name for these beasts.  "Let's see if we can get through this without bloodshed..."  Leo picked his hands up, and green magic circles began to encircle the ground beneath the hounds.  Large, multiple roots sprouted from the ground, and started weaving themselves together.

"Ironbark Prison!"  Leo buzzed, as the roots would hopefully trap the hounds from within.  

[Alaina]

As the group continued to walk down the corridor, it eventually seemed to open up into a room that was filled with quite the treasure horde. If treasure horde meant a large assortment of junk and other usually discarded things, that is. However, while that was the largest and most prominent thing that was visible in the room, it was by no means the most important thing. That was the dog, or dogs, that seemed to inhabit and call that horde their own. While Neru was perfectly ready and willing to fight against them, he had a slight problem in that manner. While Neru was a fully capable fighter, these dogs had hides that both of the weapons he had, his own and Basia's, would deal none too significant damage on. But that was only a minor setback that, with enough effort, could be overcome. The more pressing issue for the man was that with the chest in tow, he was encumbered and couldn't quite fight at the best of his own capabilities. 

 

The other issue was that the one combatant they had that would have the best effect against them, that being the bee man Leo, was none too willing to fight these creatures. While he didn't quite agree with the idea that these creatures were all that innocent, trying to force Leo into combat at this very moment would probably make everything less than ideal, and so instead of fighting them, Neru was going to just aid in making sure the others didn't get killed. As such, he awaited to see where the dogs would go, and attempt to cast a barrier to defend against any that he could. 

[cardgameking]

---

After progressing down the corridor Solomon had found for a while, they'd come across another switch. This time, Gabriel had activated it. Once more, the walls ground open to reveal the biggest cavern they had discovered yet.

This cave seems endless, Solomon thought.

Inside the cavern, was a gruesome array. Dripping rock formations, a murky pond, bones everywhere. Not to mention a huge mound of items and a monstrous dog. The thing that struck Solomon the most, however, was the fantily tantalising smell this cavern had- one similar to scent that had attracted him from the rotten wolf cub. The smell only grew stronger when two more of the foul creatures arrived.

"Plague Dogs, nasty bastards. Stronger than they look too, best be careful wolfie, they might look like your cousins but they're eat you just as happily as me."

So... Plague Dogs. Going by that name, their presence caused those cubs to die. And now, that smell is back. What the hell is wrong with me?

"If these guys are the ones taking all the things...I don't think they're particularly harmful.  That little girl from the beginning didn't have a scratch on her...if we don't have to, I don't want to kill them. Let's see if we can get through this without bloodshed... Ironbark Prison!" 

Noticing how Leo was taking action, Solomon shook himself out of his thoughts. If the gentle Leo could work up enough courage to attack them through his fear, Solomon would be dammed if he couldn't ignore the smell to kill them. Looking round, he took stock of the situation.

The plague dogs weren't attacking straight off, though they would change their tune once Leo's spell hit them. The thing that stood out most was their milky eyes, signalling blindness. The group probably wouldn't be able to take advantage of it, considering an average hound's sense of smell and hearing. Still, it was worth noting for the fight.

His allies certainly looked ready. Leo had taken the initiative but he alone probably couldn't hold these dogs down. Neru was weighed down by the chest, and probably wouldn't be too useful due to that. That left Reshifu, Basia, Gabriel and Solomon himself. Solomon wasn't sure how useful he'd be, with his head tilting alarmingly at times, but he refused to back down.

From their fight with the demon, he could say  all his companions were good fighters, but with Basia and Gabriel at such odds with each other, splitting the party might for once make sense. The question was how to split it. Basia and Reshifu wielded similar weapons, and probably had a better idea of how each other fought as a result. Them pairing up seemed a sound plan... Though it left Solomon with the uncomfortable option of working with Gabriel. Sighing inwardly, he addressed his companions.

"Neru, Leo, stay back. Use your powers to stop us getting overwhelmed. Gabriel, you and I will take the lead monster. I dare say it'll die swiftly. Basia, Reshifu, you two should be able to kill at least one of the others by working together. The third dog will go down quickly after that."

Tightly gripping his spear, and adjusting his shield, Solomon waited for combat to begin.

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