Closed There Will Be Blood [Sanea Labyrinth] (Guest Storyteller)

[Asen]

Ah, yes. Asen was beginning to remember that there was another word for labyrinth, and that word was maze. Not only that, but another word for maze was holy mother of Siku we are going to petching die in here Sayana what the petch were you thinking.

Or something along those lines, anyways.

It wasn't as if the cool breeze helped the eerie atmosphere. If anything it only made it worse. A convenient breeze to soothe their nerves before they headed into certain death, and yet everyone seemed relatively calm about it.

The normally cocky and lighthearted half-Dhani had been temporarily stored away, replaced with a cautious and almost scared persona that rarely showed its face. Maybe it was just her. She hoped it was just her. It was a new place, but she was with friends (if she could really call them that; they were more like acquaintances, with the exception of Aren) and she figured that she was as safe as she could be.

With more than some effort she managed to force her anxiety down and looked upon the little clay creature perched on one of Sayana's hands. She couldn't recall its name specifically, though she did remember it from somewhere.

The blonde hefted her pack after making sure her horse was secured enough so that it wouldn't wander off, but that it could get away should danger make itself known. She followed Sayana and Aren into the first room, and while the scent that hung in the air was sweet it only put her further on edge as she cast nervous glances all around them.

The whole Labyrinth, even though they were only in the first room, felt wrong. That wasn't even mentioning the massive thorn stabbed into the center of the wooden door. Who had put it there? Why was it there? Her fingers tapped a staccato rhythm on the hilt of her dagger, the metal of her gauntlets making an unsettling tink, tink, tink noise. She'd almost failed to notice the almost-whispers of the Labyrinth, catching them at the edge of her hearing.

She found herself standing by Sayana and Garland, though she kept her distance from Aren. "Uh-huh," she murmured as she gazed about the room, "Thorns an' roses. What kinda rose 'as thorns that big? It'd sure be a big 'un."

Asen prayed to Siku despite knowing that the Alvina couldn't do much to keep them safe. She wondered if anything immortal could. Would they, though? A group of five, risking their pitifully short mortal lives to head into a dangerous place. The gods couldn't care less, so it was up to their ragtag little band of idiots to keep themselves alive.

OOCI try, Snivey And just for reference, Asen has a tattoo that covers her entire arm. I keep forgetting about it so I thought I'd mention it here since it's covered by her clothes and armor. More of a note for myself right now.

[Nivel]

There Will Be Blood

The cool breeze was about the only thing comforting about the situation. Nivel was certain she was feeling the unsettling whispers of over giving and it set her into an internal panic. It had been so long ago since she had experienced the seductive but dangerous whispers that nearly drove her mad. After talking deep breaths to calm herself, she realized these disembodies voices were not the same as the ones that plagued her before and it seemed like her companions heard them too. She didn’t dare make a comment in case her assumption was wrong, she still wasn’t an expert in reading the facial moment of tall folks and didn’t want them to question her sanity.

After Sayana tied her horses up, Nivel jumped on the offered arm of the Eypharian and thanked her for her assistance. Nivel was used to being carried on peoples shoulders but the new vantage point was a nice change. She let the dancer carry her and tried not to think of the fear rising up with in her.

Before progressing into the pitch darkness of the archway, Sayana rummaged through her bag and produced two sticks. She held them towards her giant blue companion and asked him to do the honours, Nivel didn’t know what this meant at first but when the Akalak started to produce Res Nivel clued in to what was happening.
“Oh Reimancy! “ Nivel blurted out, She was genuinely surprised that Aren of all people was a mage, he didn’t strike her as one based on what little she knew of the gruff man.
“Sorry… I thought I was the only mage in this group..” Nivel trailed off realizing she had just made a fool of herself during a very tense situation. He lit the torches and they proceeded into what could easily be their doom.

Before they even entered the place the presence of magic was overwhelming her with it’s intensity. It reminded her of her run in with a Qamur with her fellow squires in the bronze woods during the beginning of winter but she couldn’t be sure if that was what was making its presence here. The feeling only got more intense as she went further into the darkness, she could barely notice the sent that was also in the air until Sayana pointed it out to her.
“this…plant masks unpleasant smells you think?” Nivel said as casually as she could trying to hide all the uncomfortable sensations swirling around in her nexus.
Sayana held Nivel in front of some flowers on the ground, she didn’t say it out right but the pycon felt that the dancer must have wanted her to examine the flowers. Nivel did feel that the plant life was fairly suspicious especially the tusk like thorn that impaled the door at the farthest corner of the maze.
Nivel focused her Djed on the flowers to see if they were the source of the sent if they weren’t it was surely the vines. When she was done she shared her findings with Sayana and untethered her connection to the plant.

“Good idea Garland” Nivel agreed faintly with her fellow squires suggestion, This was a maze and while the pycon had never seen one she knew what the word meant and It was always a good idea to have an escape plan.


“I need to do a bit more investigation of this area” Nivel proclaimed as she jumped off Sayana’s hand and on to the damp ground. She scurried up to the doorway next to Garland and looked up at the massive thorn, It made her extremely uncomfortable but she wanted to know its origins. She opened her mind to read its aura only to find out what it was and what it was capable off, She would share any information she had gotten. If she found nothing useful about the thorn she would take her focus off of it and look at the aura of the door to see if there was any secrets it held. She was clutched her pypole tightly and was kept an active stance ready for anything to jump out at her.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Shakune

[Matthew]

Thoughts echoed within the consciousness of the Labyrinth, thoughts that the party would not be able to hear.

Eight Limb. Big Blue.

The horses all seemed quite content to stay where they were left, each of them bending down to begin gnawing on overgrown grass. They weren't worried about a thing. They weren't the ones going into the Labyrinth, something even the animals could sense was dangerous.

When Sayana reached out to pick a flower she would find that it was rather simple to pluck. It offered little resistance, easily tugged into her fingers and manipulated however she pleased. The source of the odd smell in the air could be pinpointed to the flowers, the unique scent seemingly rising from their beautiful petals.

Aren was quick to fulfill the wishes of his lover, the flaming torches soon casting bright flickering light upon the surrounding walls and ceiling. There were a variety of areas where the vines seemed to be more overgrown than elsewhere, though with no discernible pattern to it. It merely looked as if what had once been a plain room had at some point been overrun by the surrounding forest. For a moment the Akalak would become incredibly aware of something watching him. The feeling came from everywhere at once, as if somehow both walls and ceilings had suddenly found him interesting.

Eight Limb. Big Blue Wizard.

The odd feeling would pass from person to person, hundreds of unseen eyes passing over the small group of friends as they slowly studied the very first room. The door with the large thorn driven into it wouldn't have anything else of note upon it. It was simply a door that seemed to be rather damp to the touch and rather sturdy if any force was applied to test it. Interestingly enough, one of the most important components of any normal door would appear to be missing. There was no handle.

Eight Limb. Big Blue Wizard. Short Muscles. Weird Mouth. Magic Doll. Get out. This is all mine. Get out of me!

Nivel would find something else slightly odd about the doorway once it was examined with her Auristics. The thorn just seemed to be a normal thorn, as if there for no real purpose. The door itself was an extremely thick one, but otherwise had the same aura as every other door. What was out of place was the other aura, an aura that seemed to be dominating the door and thorn. It was an aura that spider-webbed throughout the entire door and thorn, as well as the rest of the room and everything else that it consisted of. That one single aura that dominated all others was the most complicated one, perhaps more complex than any other aura Nivel had seen before. The Pycon would need a bit of time and focus in order to begin trying to understand anything about it. Sadly, time was something that they would soon be in short supply of.

Behind the group, a section of the ceiling abruptly fell with a loud BANG, a single slab of stone coming down right in front of the entrance to seal it off. If the fact that the entrance was now gone wasn't alarming enough, the loud and piercing screech of stone grinding against stone would shriek out from above them. A single glance up would give an idea of their situation. The rest of the stone ceiling was dropping and it was dropping fast. It would be a little more than a dozen ticks before the stone connected with the floor and everyone was brutally crushed. The Labyrinth was wasting no time. It wanted them out, and if they wouldn't get out then it wanted them dead. Nivel might be able to find small gaps in the vine floor, but what about the others?

The small indention in the middle of the floor was enough to hold one person, seemingly the most immediate solution of avoiding approaching doom. Was there any other way? Would they even be able to come up with another solution with their impeding deaths looming mere ticks away? How did a mind change when faced with the possibility of everything being taken away within the blink of an eye?

Most importantly, who was the one person they would guarantee survival to?

[Sayana]

As Sayana picked up the exotic flower, it gave way easily and it was obvious that the fragrance came from it. The Eypharian held it out to her lover. “Aren, would you like to…” But she stopped as he suddenly looked distracted and the next moment she felt the creepiest sensation. Eyes. Everything was watching her. It wasn’t like a performance. Menacing, creeping along her skin. Was it the flowers? As she started to scrunch the one she held in her hand there was a bang. The impact sent quivers through ground and Sayana looked to see that the entrance was now blocked by a slab of rock and the settling rubble and dust. A screech from above of rock grinding against rock sent her into a panic. Sayana didn’t even think of the little indent in the ground as she ran for the door with the thorn.

Her mind was racing but not with coherent thoughts and when she realized there was no handle she screamed, “Petching petch!” She drew four daggers in a quick motion and tried to slam them into the door. Two were merely throwing daggers and probably wouldn’t do much damage but maybe they’d bust up the door enough for Aren or someone to break through. Then, thinking slightly more reasonably she attempted to yank them out and instead find hinges to batter up. If nothing else, maybe she could weaken the wood around said hinges if she managed to find something.

As time began to run out with the shrieking of stone on stone, the Eypharian grasped the thorn in attempt to lever the door open. In her panicked onslaught of daggers, she hadn’t realized she had mistakenly cut herself on her hand. The blood pooled upon the thorn as she wrestled with it. Finally there was only one last idea that came to her. “Someone, cut the thorn and use it to brace against the falling ceiling!” But even as she said it, it sounded futile. Something so easy to break would surely snap beneath the stone and if it was stronger, then it would be retrieved in time.

OOCNot sure how to get out of this one… Though I briefly considered there might be a trapdoor under the vines in the indent. I sort of doubt it though. Also, I fulfilled the prophecy… there will be blood.

[Aren]

Aren took a step back upon finding himself with the distinctly uncomfortable perception that he was being scrutinized by a demanding and jealous lover. Though he looked around in an effort to identify the origin of this sensation, he was unable to pinpoint just where it might be coming from. This was just another thing that could be added to his long list of concerns, and the Akalak had just had about enough of it. "Sayana. We'll find some other way to get what you want. We're leaving, now. Don't arg-" Before Aren could finish his sentence, however, the crashing of boulders drew his attention behind him. "...Great." At this point, the giant wasn't entirely surprised that the moment they even thought about leaving was the exact moment they became unable to, but he didn't have much time to ruminate on the eerie nature of this place. His attention once again drawn somewhere -this time to the grinding of stone against stone above his head- Aren's face suddenly adopted an expression of wide-eyed terror. His gaze immediately went towards the indentation on the floor, whose purpose he had been wondering about since they had arrived. He realized, unfortunately, that probably wasn't a safe place at all, but likely nothing more than a stay of execution. Whoever went in there would probably die of thirst, or starvation or asphyxiation shortly after their companions had been crushed to death. That thing wasn't a lifeline, it was a trap, the warrior suspected. Assessing the situation, and what little he knew about their collective abilities, Aren created a plan that he knew would have to be put into motion quickly if it had any chance of success. "Sayana! Cut that thing out of the way!" Gesturing towards the thorn that protruded out of the door, the Akalak seemed to agree with his lover's suggestion, but he didn't actually think, even for a moment, that it would be able to hold the weight of the massive slab coming down on top of them. "Garland, help her!" The mercenary did not shout or demand, but his voice had a distinct sense of urgency which he felt was more than appropriate, given the circumstances. Aren would have preferred to do it himself, but he had to focus all of his attention on the substance that was now quickly emerging out of his outstretched palm. The door looked thick and sturdy, so he was going to need a lot of Res if he hoped to weaken it sufficiently to allow them to batter it down. "Asen, get ready, 'cause as soon as they're done I'm hitting it with everything I've got and then we're going to ram that thing open." He didn't know if this plan of his was any good or just insane, yet Aren didn't have time to poll for opinions. If any of them had a better idea, he'd eagerly listen to it, but right now the experienced warrior knew he had to operate under the assumption that none of them did. Time was of the essence here, and there would be no room for second guessing or bickering. Hopefully, this would translate into a sense of solidarity between people who had not always seen eye to eye. Remembering that he had left one person out of his instructions, the Akalak couldn't help but offer Nivel a look of sympathy. "Save yourself, little Pycon, if you can." He knew, from experience, how hard it was to abandon your friends to die, but he didn't know what she might be able to do to help. She didn't seem big enough or strong enough to help with either removing the thorn or ramming the door, so it was probably better if she focused the short amount of time they had into finding an escape route for herself. This plan of Aren's was a long shot, after all, and Nivel was probably small enough and flexible enough to find a way out. She might even be able to survive for much longer than they could inside the indentation on the floor; perhaps long enough to be rescued, although with the mouth of the chamber sealed, that was probably unlikely. "Its a shame I never got to meet you..." The azure giant's golden eyes couldn't help but be drawn to Sayana for a instant, then down towards her belly. He felt a sudden and indescribable sadness at this thought, and it served to distract him from the task at hand. "He's only dead if you fail. Will you fail your family a second time? Probably, since you've always been an indefensible twat." Seros' voice felt like steel inside the Akalak's head, but the insult forced him to acknowledge that the idea of not giving his all to make sure they survived was simply unacceptable, for that would mean -at least in his own eyes- that he was responsible for the death of not just his child, but also the woman he loved. While Aren re-strapped his scythe, the mass of Res that now merely hovered in front of him continued to grow, the substance starting to emanate from multiple parts of the mage's body. Soon, both hands were free of any encumberments and the Reimancer began to shape the triple layered sphere into the projectile he was planning on firing at the door. "We're only going to have one shot at this, boys and girls, so lets try not to fuck it up, huh?" The Akalak smiled confidently, defiantly, seemingly absent fear, doubts, or even concern. The time for those, he felt, was past.

[Garland]

Garland felt an itch on the back of his neck, the same kind of itch that he would feel when his patron would spy on him, something was watching him, or maybe them? As far as he could see there was no way anyone could have followed them here and not be noticed, or find anywhere to hide.

He heard a few agreed to his rope idea, which really did seem quite good. "Right, I'll go find something to tie my rop-" He was interrupted by a sudden loud crash and bang coming from the entrance. The little light that came from the door was blocked completely by a giant stone slab, Aren and Garland could possibly push it out if they had the time, but he could hear the grinding of stone overhead.

"Shyke in a handbasket." He muttered and tried to kick down the door. It didn't seem to budge at all, almost like it was stuck to the wall. He looked over to Sayana, which looked like she was panicking quite a bit, he would be too if he didn't have to worry about the others here.

"Sayana! Cut that thing out of the way! Garland, help her!" Aren ordered him, he didn't even look at the blue giant and quickly pulled out his own dagger, and started cutting the thorn that was in the door.

He muttered a few curses and quickly cut through the thorn. The thorn oozed a bit, a moistness around the area where he and Sayana removed the obstruction. It didn't seem natural, almost magical, but Nivel had said that the thorn was just a thorn.

"Asen, get ready, 'cause as soon as they're done I'm hitting it with everything I've got and then we're going to ram that thing open."

"I'm joining in too!" Garland called out and sheathed his dagger and ran back to where Aren and Asen where to ram the thing together.

Save yourself, little Pycon, if you can." Aren said to their little clay companion, it may have been the best course of action for Nivel to try and find a way out herself, but she could still be useful.

He had remembered what Nivel had done during winter,"Nivel, help us with the door! Use your flux!" Garland yelled to the little Pycon. The stone above seemed a bit too close for comfort now. He looked at Aren and Asen. "I'm ready!"
With that, he waited for Aren's signal and would try to bash the wall in with Nivel and Asen.

[Asen]

Asen had been poking the thorn gently when the odd sensation of being watched crawled across her skin. A shiver passed through her and she turned to look behind them, but there was nothing and no one there. Just the entrance and the flowers and the vines.

She'd just begun to turn back around when part of the ceiling crashed down to cover the entrance. The sound made her nearly jump out of her skin and panic set in. The entrance is gone. We can't go back. There isn't any doorknob. We can't go forward. We're stuck here. We're gonna die.

And then, of course, the rest of the ceiling began its screeching descent. The half-Dhani covered her ears and swore loudly, rearing backwards and narrowly dodging Sayana's flailing daggers. She grabbed the Eypharian and pulled her away from the door, pushing her towards the dip in the floor.

Her head whipped around at her name. "We're gonna what!?" she screamed, eyes wide. What the petch was he thinking!? Not only that, but Garland had decided to cut through the thorn. She clutched her head in exasperation. What were they doing!?

The terrified squire darted around Aren and stood in front of him, hands up as if she was calming a scared animal. "What are you doin'!? You're just pissin' it off!"

How had she come to that conclusion? Ah, yes. The creepy-crawly feeling that made her shudder and the fact that they could go neither forwards nor back and that, in less than thirty ticks, the ceiling had begun to fall contributed to her thinking that maybe, just maybe the Labyrinth might be alive in some way. It could be a whole host of ghosts, but she preferred the living Labyrinth theory. She didn't have to deal with vengeful spirits. She liked things she could hit.

Should Garland and Aren (and Nivel, too) decide to ignore her and try and ram the door down anyways, the squire would dive out of the way and attempt to keep Sayana in the indentation in the floor. Knowing what she did, she figured the stubborn woman would try to help in some way.

[Nivel]

OocSorry this box code is just so much better for this thread
Nivel was so entranced by the interworking of the complex aura that seemed to spread throughout the cave. It was really like nothing else she had seen before and she wanted to learn as much as she could about it. The ominous cave had other plans, rocks crashed down in a loud boom that shook the ground and stirred Nivel from her concentration. Unlike the others she was more irked by they ordeal, even when the ceiling started to lower she didn’t panic. The pycon wasn’t a stranger to being crushed, she would just reform and slip out one of the holes in the rocks. It wasn’t until she took notice of the irrational behaviour of her comrades that she realized they were in trouble. Garland and Sayana went to work cutting at the thorn, Sayana was even planning to use it to prop up the falling ceiling which could only be the idea of someone truly desperate for ideas but to full of fear to think rationally.

Aren took control of the situation and issued out orders to everyone except Nivel, instead he told the pycon to just leave. It was an insulting suggestion to say the least, and while Nivel knew it came from a place of genuine concern she couldn’t help but be offended.
“Shut your stupid face!” Nivel snapped at Aren, her ears and tails stiffening in irritation. “I wouldn’t make a very good knight or even a squire if I let you all die here”
Garland thankfully made Nivel feel included with the suggestion to use her flux. If smiling was a thing the pycon could do naturally she certainly would at the gesture, instead her ears relaxed and fluttered a bit.
Nivel quickly shook her head in agreement since time was running out far to quickly to give out a proper thank you to her fellow squire.

Asen suddenly interrupted, with the declaration that they were angering the cave. Nivel knew she was probably right after taking a glance at its aura but there was no way they would have enough time to get rid of the rocks in order to avoid the plummeting ceiling And while Nivel normally sought out a peaceful solution it was clear negotiation wasn’t going to work. It was ether barge through and find another exit or get crushed.
“you're right Asen, it is alive and You’re welcome to try and make friends with it, but It won’t show you the same courtesy” The mage Squire shot back with a commanding tone that seemed odd coming from her “It may have wanted us gone before but it wants us smushed now, we need to find a new exit” She shot a look up at the blue giant “Aren do the honours, the rest of us will follow.”

After Aren had unleashed all he could with his magic Nivel began focusing just enough djed into her legs. Feeling she had a safe amount of power coursing through her desired limbs, she went into a full sprint and launched herself into the air with great force. She densified the clay in her legs to make them extra hard and aimed a hard drop kick into the centre of the wretched door. She made sure to have her legs flat and not pointy so she would hit like a hammer instead of nail, hopefully she would push the thick door in enough that the other three could push it the rest of the way open.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Matthew]

Sayana's daggers barely had any impact on the door, the sharp points only managing to bury themselves into the wood about a quarter of an inch. Perhaps sensing this, the woman was just as quick to yank them free, searching the door and finding absolutely nothing else to aid her in their plight. Next came the thorn, perhaps the most random object in the scenario. Even that idea seemed to be for nothing, the pregnant woman only managing to wound herself upon it.

Aren's wise decision to simply make his lover leave the Labyrinth came only a few ticks too late, the structure deciding that it was now time to be a little more direct with the invaders. What would he do, then? What plan would he come up with in the few short ticks that he had before friends, wife and unborn child were turned into a smear upon the floor? Magic was what he quickly decided upon, the powerful male also letting a small bit of kindness shine through as he ordered the Pycon to simply flee. He was managing to shape his spell rather quickly, but would it be quickly enough?

Garland sawed the thorn free, something like sap dripping from the wound he had inflicted upon the plant, a few drops of Sayana's blood also coating the outside of it. The thick tip of it could still be seen deeply imbedded within the door, still seeming to serve no real purpose. It was then that he joined in with Aren. They were to destroy the door, then? That seemed to be the plan so far.

Asen proved to be the wild card. Her concern for the safety of the child that Sayana carried was perhaps most impressive, or maybe it was concern for the woman herself? After all, the indentation upon the floor was one of the most logical choices. While there was a chance that the person within the indentation would be forever trapped, that would also mean that the ceiling trap would no longer work for any adventurers who soon followed. It would prove to be a bit of a struggle against the spirited woman, but Sayana would soon find herself shoved back. When it came to her valiant attempt to prevent Aren from what had the potential of only angering the presence that surrounded him, she would find that his determination could not be swayed. He was going to fire.

Nivel quickly showed that she had just as much fire as the rest of them, snapping back at the suggestion she save herself. Then, after a quick retort to Asen, Djed was focused and Flux was put to use.

The stress of the situation would provide a bit of a distraction for the two spellcasters, each of them finding that there would be moments that the control over their Djed would waver. Their magic would still be completed in the end, however. While some spell strength was lost, Nivel would still feel the power surging through her and Aren would still see the chirping sphere of power brilliantly form. Asen would be left with no choice but to dive out of the way, taking Sayana with her and trying desperately to get her into the indentation.

The moment of truth came faster than the group seemed to have anticipated. The ceiling was close. Aren's spell blurred forward, impacting the door so hard that it could visibly be seen buckling outwards as loud cracking noises echoed through the air. Garland and Nivel slammed against it moments later, the durability of the door proving mighty enough to practically splatter Nivel's dense feet. The force still transferred though. Their plan still brought them victory. The door snapped in two, revealing that it had been practically half a foot thick. Nivel and Garland stumbled through it, finally safe. They were going to survive.

But what would they feel when they glanced behind them to watch the ceiling impact with the top of Aren's skull?

Would the two of them feel relief that they had been the first ones out and would remain alive? Would they then immediately feel guilt at such a sensation? After all, the other three had no time left. How would the two survivors decide if they were going to watch as three- no, four bodies were ruthlessly crushed beneath the weight of thick stone. There might be the briefest flicker of hope that Asen would manage to get Sayana into the indentation before it was too late. Maybe it would only be two people that died today.

Perhaps most importantly though, what would everyone feel as they realized that the ceiling had suddenly come to a stop? While it would no doubt leave a bruise, it had not hit Aren's head hard enough to cause any real damage. It would simply linger there for a tick before slowly beginning to scrape back upwards. Around them, the wind suddenly seemed to howl through the Labyrinth with a sound that resembled laughter.

They had never been in danger. It had never planned to kill them. It hadn't designed that room to kill them. It had been designed to see how they would act when faced with death. It had been designed to see how Aren would react to the sight of his pregnant lover being kept from the door, or how Asen and Sayana would react to being left behind. It had been designed to see how Nivel and Garland would react when they realized in that single moment that they had just failed as members of the Order. They had protected no one.

Three tunnels made of trees and vines could be found beyond the broken door, which led to a small opening surrounded by more of the high walls that didn't appear to have a ceiling upon them this time. They were high enough and wide enough for the party to comfortably walk through in a single file line, but which tunnel would they choose? The entrance that was lined with more of those mysterious flowers? The tunnel that seemed to be dripping water from the ceiling? Or the tunnel that had a horribly bitter smell wafting from somewhere deep within it?

OOCIf there are any questions, feel free to PM me directly.

[Sayana]

Sayana’s efforts felt futile against the door but the others were working fast around her. Aren was preparing his magic and Garland and Asen were going to ram the door. But when Sayana moved to get out the way, it was Asen who was dragging her back into the room. Her arms flailed still wielding her daggers and a torch. “No, no, no! What are you doing Asen?!” Sayana cried out as she was pushed down into the indent with more strength than she thought capable of the half-dhani. As the Eypharian attempted to get up again Asen was still blocking her attempts and she could only watch as Aren’s magic hit the door followed by Garland and Nivel breaking it open with a loud crack.

Sayana was about to make yet another attempt to flee to the open door but that’s when the shrieking rock started to fall even faster. There wasn’t time. She wouldn’t be able to make it. She’d be trapped here with no one to help, no one to get her out, and utterly alone. Yet her survival instincts kicked in as she dropped everything in her hands and curled up in the indent in the ground. Her low and mid arms wrapped around her stomach while her highs protected her head. It suddenly went dark and Sayana closed her eyes trembling under the screeching sound of the rock.

And then it stopped. She wasn’t crushed. And the rock began to scrape again. The Eypharian was about to huddle up once more fearing that it was still coming down but suddenly a blaze of light appeared next to her. She opened her eyes and there was crackling, burning. The ceiling had not caved in yet, there was still a chance. Sayana leapt to her feet and in the light of the flame she saw that the rock was receding. Flame? Oh petch. The torch she had dropped had taken a while to light the vines on fire, but now they started to blaze.

“Out, out! Everybody out!” Sayana shouted as she danced around the flame to grab the handle of the torch and pick up her dropped daggers. She then dashed out of the room through the door and thanked all the goddesses above that she could see the sky. It was a little obscured by tree branches but it was sky and not a cursed stone ceiling.

Her first course of action was to set down the torch far more carefully along with her backpack and find Aren to embrace him deeply. Her small frame shuddered against him as the thought of death or true isolation still plagued her emotions. “I want to go home…” She spoke weakly. Only when she withdrew and saw the stain of red on his chest did she realize that her high right hand was bleeding.

“I want to go home. I don’t want to do this stupid thing. I want to get out of here. Two hundred petching mizas is not worth it.” Sayana began to rant angrily as she quickly opened her medical kit from her bag to attend to her wounds. “That petching bard should have his throat slit. And if I find him I might do it myself.” The Eypharian continued with her voice rising as she put some vyfox flowers on the cut on her palm and began bandaging it up. “I can petching earn our total mizas combined in a single season!” She raged after doing a quick check of her numbers to confirm it was true. She winced as she tied the bandage perhaps a little too tight from all the anger she was feeling.

“And you, Asen. Don’t you ever do that again.” Sayana said pointing a finger at the half-dhani. She had packed up her things by now since it didn’t look like anyone else was injured. She was the only one stupid enough to petching cut her own hand. “Now how do we get out of here? Cut through the vines? Squeeze between the trees?” The Eypharian approached the three tunnels suspiciously and tried searching for a way out between the trees by pushing vines aside. It was incredibly dense as though the ‘forest’ had intended to grow as walls. Walls that reached towards the sky. Had the events so far been ones she could handle physically or through some sort of negotiation she wouldn’t have been so demoralized but as it was all she could think of was to escape and be rid of the magic that infested this place.

Sayana glanced back at the room behind. If the fire had persisted, she would attempt to block it by the remains of the door. And if it still grew bigger to threaten the party then the obvious choice of paths would be the one with the dripping water.