Closed Flower Power

[Gruul]

81st, Spring, 513AV

Gruul was hunched with knocked knees his elbows bent diagonal over them like an old man might do when having lost his breath. Sat by a crackling camp fire the Jamoura smiled at how the blaze before him helped to first of all keep him warm against the cold air the vast Suvan sea brought, but also added a little bit of character to the bleak cavern him and his companion where taking shelter in. Conveniently for Gruul there was a small passage at the top of the little cavern which allowed the thick smoke of the Jamoura sized camp fire to waft through, almost like ghosts of charcoal black and various shades of grey escaping in to the sky to find rest. The sleepy ape was growing tired, the repetitive sound of the fire against woods crackling and snapping nearly sent Gruul in to a trance, and his large body was shifting from side to side as a tree might do when about to fall on to its side and give up it's once powerful stance. Gruul closed his calm maple eyes, and released a storm of breath from his monstrous lungs. It seemed that in that moment the gentle primate fell in to a slumber, his now dormant body slumping downwards yet still maintaining the position he was originally in apart from closer to the ground and much more relaxed. Gruul murmured in his sleep as he usually did, some words more clear than others and some just simple grunts, perhaps he was dreaming of the routes of his sentience and how they where beasts of the wild and perhaps even uncivilised before the great cataclysm that was the Valterrian ruptured the world and changed created what Mizahar now was. Gruul was crouched, left to be lost in his dreams. His respiring putting forth a cacophony so loud that it would have been enough to rival the sound of a asthmatic bear. The vast mind of Gruul was set like stone into a different state of reality refusing to let any distractions of the real world wake him up, at least that is how it seemed.

[Luradin]

Luradin felt this was a brilliant spot picked by his huge ape friend, it was both concealed warm for both of them and damp from the moisture that clung to the roof and walls and even the air so that he could stay out in here for a long time without submerging himself. Luradin was laying in one of the very narrow passages leading off from the main part of this cavern, it was full of condensation and was completely dark towards the back end. His legs were above his heart because of the way the tiny tunnel-like side-room slanted down into a pocket of water, half of his body was submerged and the other half was lapped against by water shallow enough for his body to still protrude at the knees and feet. With the darkness of the hole Luradin's always open eyes were a home enough for him to drift into a much heavier sleep. There was a flickering light at the entrance of the tunnel that reflected warmth across the blackness, most of the cave they had chosen to sit in was warm but the cool water around him was refreshing enough to steady his body temperature. With the peaceful circumstances Luradin had left his sai at the entrance to his little hole and fell into a much deeper sleep than he was used to, his head sunk underwater in his relaxation but of course this didn't matter. Luradin's mind was cured of it's usual curiosity and he was serene and quiet, it seemed to be a very lucky find that the unusual pair had made

[Gruul]

For the Jamoura and his companion it seemed resonably safe within the sanctity of the caverns, however Gruul could not help but feel a tad bit discomforted. Whilst sat in a state of utter tranquillity his head was rushing with thoughts and memories, far too fast for a simple human mind to comprehend.

Though to the naked eye he seemed asleep, perhaps even mistaken for lazy, Gruul was just as much awake as he was that afternoon, and simply waiting. Thinking through ideas in his head trying desperately to achieve exalted wisdom and inner peace.

Then a noise was heard. It was a sound so thunderous and loud Gruul could have easily mistaken it for a tree crashing down directly above them, Gruul however did not notice the sound even after it repeated its self one, two, three, four and five times. The giant stomping came to a abrupty stop and was followed by a heavy rustling sound, as if a large bush was being rummaged through.

Whatever was above the pair of miscrients, was large and stood near the hole where the smoke from the fire was being given freedom. The cave was near giving way it seemed, stones being sent crumbling from above them due to the sheer weight of this mysterious thing.

[Luradin]

Luradin's mind was lingering wildly from thought to thought as he slept half-submerged, he was thinking nothing and bits of everything at the same time and was completely absorbed in the rarely deep sleep. His breathing was steady, the rise and fall of his chest caused the water over him to rise and then wash down the slope in a sort of calming wave that swept his legs in refreshing water. With a deeper breath out of the blue the refreshing waves peaked over Luradin's thighs and he was knocked into a much lighter sleep by this, even becoming semi-conscious for a few moments before slipping away again. Luradin had always been used to sleeping light when he was travelling around on his own in little makeshift shelters underwater, he was not yet at the level where he could simply grow his own little house every day although he hoped that some day he probably could. Then again he also hoped he'd see everywhere in the world and finally be able to rest with every beautiful sight in Mizahar, which wasn't all that likely. In his slightly restless state Luradin rolled himself over in the water, his shoulder briefly brushed the floor before the buoyancy lifted him back up to cushion his flesh and skeleton whilst he slept. In his dream he heard the sound of falling rocks, which he thought was rather strange. Just before slipping into a deeper sleep again, Luradin flexed his toes - they'd become slightly cramped from his previous sleeping position.

[Gruul]

For a moment all sound was absent from the area, not even the sea was loud enough at this point for the two to hear, yet this silence was not one of peace of safety, but instead a deathly silence a sudden eerie chill winding through the caverns, and near blowing out the already dying embers of the camp fire. Slowly but surely the crack in the ceiling began to spread, more and more shards of rock crumbling down against the ice cold stone floor below. The pebbles skipped this way and that upon meeting their final destination and finally the precarious cracking came to a sudden climax. Within a couple of seconds the sand stone above the two ruptured, a huge majority of it rampaging ruthlessly down in front of Luradin, and there amidst the remnants a dark figure began to appear, vague at first and foreshadowed by the musty cloud of dust created by the submerging of this intruder. It seemed since all of this happened a cold and bitter wind flew through the cave, one so intense that it could chill the very souls of the dead. Yet there stood this new comer, its intent unknown and its identity equally enigmatic. Yet Gruul remained undisturbed from his trance-like slumber, dormant and peaceful as always, his mind blocking out all distractions even one such as this this.

[Luradin]

With the huge crashing noise, Luradin was brought quite abruptly to his senses, the water in his little cavern sloshed about in waves from the vibrations of the rocks slamming against an even harder rock floor. Removing his head from the water was not a good idea as Luradin was met with a lungful of dust, he coughed and spluttered a thick black liquid of dust mixed with water as he backed into a wall. His coughing eased a small time after as the dust mixed with the water, he was no longer finding it hard to breath through his lungs but with his skin coated in the thick liquid he found it harder to bring in the air through his skin - which was his largest way of breathing, Luradin batted his hands against the wall of loose rocks at the entrance which had blocked him in and heard a chinking noise. Kneeling down, he following the wall with his hands until he found his two sai, which had luckily been just inches away from being utterly crushed under the hundreds of kilograms of rocks that had fallen. Luradin lifted both sai from the floor and fitted them to his harness at either side. Luradin leaned himself against the wall, out of breath, and pondered about 1: what had caused this massive collapse and 2: how he was going to get out. He thought of calling for Gruul but mused he was probably dealing with his own problems and if not he would rescue him as soon as he could. The only other thing Luradin could think of was leverage and he pulled his trident from his back. Breathing deeply through his lungs for a few moments, Luradin brought up the energy to move and thrust the blunt end of his trident into a tiny gap in the rocks and collapsed his weight onto it, knowing there was no way his tiny frame could possibly snap the metal. Luradin was barely conscious in this state and was quite possibly, slowly suffocating.

[Gruul]

All these tumbling rocks and shifting winds inevitably reached Gruul's hulking mass and batted against him, a fairly round rock about the size of a new born baby tumbled from the chasm above him and crashed off his hunched silver back. Instantly Gruul awoke letting out a roar of intense pain as it caused him to stumble foward, already taken off balance by the sundering of the cavern around him. As Gruul took some time to recover, he snapped back into reality and looked around with his amber shaded eyes, darting his gaze this way and that to find his new friend Luradin. He looked to the pile of rocks that had collapsed around where his friend inevitably was and took barely any notice of the arcane creature rampaging down the chasm above him, in this struggle. With a grunt he looked up towards the mass of stoned and dirt above Luradin and placed his burly right hand on one of the outer stones, curling his fingers around it so as to get a good grip of it. He did the same with his left hand, accept placed it slightly more along side of the mound and clasped a pointed rock that was significantly lower than his right hand. With a grunt he attempted to pull his body up the mound, using the leverage he gained to place both his feet split evenly apart along the bottom of the stone mound, getting a vantage point above the cavernous ground below and the berserk being behind him. Curling his toes around the rocks, he started to use his massive strength to heave and clamber up the ruined array of collapsed cave which was about fifteen ft off the ground, being held up only by the ditch Luradin was laying in and the other rocks scattered around it. At this point, Gruul was about six ft above the ground, his large body and keen strength making it fairly simple for him to scale the mound, along with his skill in climbing, though climbing rocky formations was new to him, as he was only used to climbing trees from the spires, to get away from danger and when having fun with his friends back in the spires. Lucky for Gruul he was fairly well rested, and felt little fatigue at this point in time as he was trying to conquer this challenge, and was determined to both save his friend and get away from whatever had caused such sudden havok.

[Luradin]

Pushing his body down against the shaft of his trident, Luradin felt helplessness squeeze a breath of desperation out of him and he slumped down onto the ground in the darkness. He took deeper breath after deeper breath, focusing his effort onto this matter as his need to rose gradually. His panic grew every second that Luradin breathed outwards, threatening to overwhelm him - but with a clench of his jaw and a deep swallow to remove the lump in his throat a re-assure himself, he kept his wits. With focusing on his breathing, he found he could concentrate once more and had enough strength to rise to his feet in the murky liquid. He once more wrapped his hands around the trident and wrenched it free from the rock in a smooth, somewhat relaxed motion. The smooth metal pole felt refreshing in his grip and his consciousness was kept in piece as he focused on this feeling. Steadying himself and breathing slowly, he rose the trident in the murky, blackened air and plunged the blunt end into the rocks as hard as he could. The strike made a pathetic clanging noise and Luradin felt the pole slide to follow the little contours of the rock as it failed to make any sort of damage to the smooth, iron-hard surface of the ancient cavernous rock. He breathed again and stood back upright, rising it again, he struck at the rocks and felt the pole slide into a slight crevice in the rocks - perhaps a weakness? With some form of hope, Luradin continued to stab at this supposed weakness at timed intervals, breathing desperately in between.

[Gruul]

As Luradin performed his escape antiques, Gruul continued to climb. His giant arms hoisting him up, along with his powerful feet shoveling the rest of his muscular body upwards. He was growing tired now as he was about three quarters up the mound, letting out a exasperated huff as he started to cut short for breath, and his muscles started to tense up, due to the work load presented by Gruul's weight. Placing his right hand up on a specifically crystalline rock covered in dust the ape chose to pause his actions for a moment, turning his head round to see the ravenous beast behind him clouded in a mist of dust and rock. It seems in the confusion the creature attacking Gruul and Luradin managed to disorientate it's self, and at this point in time, the behemoth stumbled about the far end of the cavern aimlessly, letting out strange rustling and creaking noises as it moved in it's dazed state. "Luradin!" Gruul bellowed out, his voice contorted with desperation, shock and fear. "Luradin, if you can hear me, hold on I'm coming for you!" Upon saying this he turned his head away from the creature, a grimace spreading over his visage as the hard hitting fact suddenly befell his persona, for in that moment it dawned upon Gruul exactly what this creature was attacking him and his little friend. Gruul suddenly felt an even greater burst of adrenalin, letting out a yell as he started to slam his hands over every out-stretched rock he could find, using every thick branch or loosened root that fell down from the collapsed earth that was not too long ago above the duo. Grabbing onto a specifically thick root however, he found that his weight was too much for it and almost fell back, digging his feet painfully into the sharp rocks below. Gruul let out a growl of pain and used all his strength to grab onto a very narrow ledge, as he was at this point about ten ft from the ground and dreaded to think what fate awaited him if he descended back to the bottom of this craggy construct.

[Luradin]

Luradin leaned upon the solid metal trident that had become his walking stick in his weakened state, and breathed deeply. His breathing was so deep that he almost didn't notice the loud, reverberating voice of his huge gorilla companion from beyond the stone cage he was in. He felt renewed to make out the words 'I'm coming for you' and a grim smile crept across his face. However, why did the voice come from above? Thinking to himself for a moment, Luradin came to the conclusion that the mound of rubble blocking his path must truly be one of a monstrous size - not only was the incredibly loud voice of his partner nearly negated entirely, but the sound had come from some distance above the arch in the rock, meaning the debri was piled high. Since he thought this truly must be a situation of life or death, Luradin came to a decision to use one of his skills he had less experience and trust in. Magic. Placing his hands onto the small gap in the rocks he'd found, Luradin focused hard on his person and the life-force within, feeling it running through his body in a near shapeless form which made it hard to even comprehend never-mind manipulate. He focused on a more understandable medium - a gas - and began to have his Djed shape itself into this matter. After a few moments, Luradin had formed a sort of lingering mist of a Djed about his fore-arms and he drove it through the cracks in the rock with his willpower alone. The Djed followed the tiny rivets and gaps in the rock until it was nearing the end of Luradins control; at which point, Luradin drove the Djed forcefully to the left (away from where he heard his companions voice) to accelerate it and finally began it's attraction of the element earth. The Djed dropped to the floor with it's new added mass and loose rocks flew from the pile which was above Luradin - the foundation of the pile was somewhat damaged and Luradin felt and heard a loud rumbling noise as a decent chunk of rock was gathered away from him on the cavern's floor.