~bellatrix~ (reboot)

OOT: Noted. In which case, I will move our group to the prison entrance, and tomorrow we can sink our teeth into the adventure for real.

There was a roar of assent, and the crew surged off the boat, dragging the prisoner with them, and sweeping the group along as well.
They swarmed over the beach like ants, looking back at the ship. "Someone do the honours," Hexy said. "I'd do it, but too many fireballs chap my hands."
Tyrcestus blinked, and Martyris was there. "Allow me," he said, grinning, and placed a hand on Vixey's shoulder. His grin faded, his eyes closed, and a little live current of power flowed out from Vixey, along Tyrcestus's arm across his body and into his other hand.
He opened his eyes, and they were glowing with light that could only be described as divine.
"Been a while... let... it...go."
He flicked his hand as if shooing away a fly, and the ship buckled as the front half of it simply ceased to exist in a surge of heat. The blaze was nothing like mortal fire, an alive hungry thing eating the vessel in seconds. In less than eight seconds there was no evidence there had ever been there.
The fire suddenly looped, soaring back at them, and Martyris sighed. "I apologize for this, in advance. Ladies of a delicate disposition, look away now."
The flames consumed Martyris completely, and his flesh melted clean off his body. Instantly, only a skeleton, flailing and falling, fallen, dead.
Before anyone could react, a new fire suddenly lit up the bones, and flesh started to regrow. In the most visceral, disgusting, graphic way imaginable, Tyrcestus's body sprouted guts, organs, veins, ligaments, tendons, nerves, muscles, then skin and finally hair. In about thirty seconds, Tyrcestus sat up, and his eyes were wide.
"Oh. Oh dear gods. Ow. OW. OW!" He looked down at himself checking he was all there - and he was. The fact his clothes had been incinerated didn't cross his mind as he sprang to his feet, patting himself down.
"That hurt. Oh gods and goddesses, that really REALLY HURT!" He glowered at nothing in particular. "Hey! Mind telling us what that was all about?"
"I assume you're talking to me?" his own mouth replied seconds later.
"YES."
"Fine..." Martyris pouted, which was weird because Tyrcestus tried to look angry and pouting at the same time. "Basically, as the god of martyrdom, my powers only work when righting a wrong. In that regard, I can do things that make blowing up that boat look like child's play."
"But...?"
"But... doing so will always result in the death of whoever I'm possessing - except of course..."
"I heal," Tyrcestus said numbly. "I heal from everything..."
"EXACTLY!" Martyris beamed using Tyrcestus's mouth. "As the Wingmender, you're functionally immortal! And that means that, host-wise, you are the most perfect host for my power! See, it's all so beautifully sensible, really - glurk!"
The "glurk" was because Tyrcestus was trying to strangle himself. "YOU NEVER MENTIONED THAT LITTLE TWIST!" he managed to choke out before Clun bopped him on the head to return him to his senses. "Thank you," he managed.
Fweep suddenly flew up, a bunch of spare robes draped over it. Tyrcestus stared at it, then looked down. "Oh... right."
Hexy looked away politely as he got dressed. Vizard and Gizzard were still throwing up. "Is he done?" Gizzard moaned. "I'm certain that's not right. That's just not RIGHT!"
That completed, the group headed to the entrance of the prison - a foreboding huge pair of gates with skulls and gargoyles and generally looked like the gateway to hell itself. As everyone chatted excitedly, Tyrcestus leaned aside to Hexy.
"Do me a favour - find Trinity for me. She's been gone this whole time and I'd like to keep her with us. I'd know if she'd been captured."
"How?" Hexy asked quizzically. Tyrcestus shrugged. "I just... would. Don't ask, just do, please."
Hexy huffed, but off Fweep went. About five minutes later, it returned and Hexy cocked her head. "She's with some stranger... evil sword, but she's not being held prisoner."
"Then she's safe," Tyrcestus said, "and that's all I need to know." Hexy looked at him curiously. "You're a strange one, Ty."
"Says the girl who has the hots for a lightning rod. If you know what I -"
THUCK.
"Oh god why..."
Hexy looked at Leon. "We ready?" she shouted as Tyrcestus sank to his knees, whimpering as his legs crossed involuntarily to protect the already-crushed weakness therein.

 

Mordred soon fell asleep, hardly even noticing that Trinity has curled up next to him. He slept for a while, but his sleep was uneasy and he soon felt himself drift into an all too familiar nightmare. Fragments of a memory from four years ago, a time before he became the man he is today, came back to his mind.

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A young man, no older than sixteen years, sat on his knees all alone in the rain. His eyes were wide open in utter shock, his whole body was trembling and he couldn't bring himself to move in the slightest. If it weren't for the downpour, it would be obvious that tears were streaming down his face. His mind went completely blank; he was so horrified that he couldn't sob as loudly as he wanted, scream at the top of his lungs, pound his fist on the ground in frustration or even drag himself out of the rain. He wanted to do all of those things, but he simply sat there in the rain in silent agony.

A casual glance would make it easy to tell why. He was surrounded by the bodies of his friends, family and even his own parents, all of whom had been slaughtered by various weapons of war. He once lived in a town of no more than two hundred people. That number was reduced to thirty in a single night. Most of the people in this small town were very close, treating each other like neighbors; that was why the boy knew the names of all the townspeople who now laid dead in the street. The lucky ones were killed instantly, with only a few sword wounds, spear wounds or arrows to show for it. Some of them fared much worse, being butchered like livestock for the amusement of the invaders. Unfortunately, the boy's parents who now laid beside him were part of the latter. Most likely because they refused to tell them what they wanted to know.

But the townsfolk were not the only ones who laid dead around him.

The invaders, too, were slaughtered and their blood ran in the streets just like the very people they murdered. It was easy to tell them apart from the locals by their pointed ears. However, although their kind is supposedly immune to death itself, these elves would never rise again. But that gave little comfort to the boy who had just lost everything. Everyone he ever loved, everything he ever knew, his entire life up until now...it all disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was too much for him to handle. The shock has left him completely paralyzed. He couldn't even turn away from the very sight that caused him unimaginable suffering.

So he did the only thing he could do; he sat on his knees and silently cried in the rain. He cried until there were no tears left and when that happened, he wept tears of blood. Hopelessness. Despair. Loneliness. Fury. Hatred. Sadness. He felt all of these emotions so intensely that he couldn't even begin express a single one of them. But the one that hurt the most was loneliness.

He felt completely and utterly alone for the first time in his life and it terrified him to the core. In his mind, he might as well have been the only person left in the entire world. How could he go on living? Was there even anything worth living for anymore? Why did everyone have to die? Why couldn't he die along with them? How could he possibly be happy again after this? These thoughts rushed through his mind, tearing away at him, breaking down his very soul.

After some time, his body finally gave in to exhaustion and he collapsed to the ground. His eyes, looking empty and utterly devoid of life, slowly closed as he faded into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was a familiar longsword, almost completely covered from hilt to tip in blood.

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Mordred sat up suddenly, gasping for air. He looked like he was in a panic and his face was completely pale. It was obvious that tears had been streaming down his face just a moment ago. His breathing slowed as he realized where he was and what had happened.
"Why...why now, after all this time...?"
His voice was shaking as a few more tears fell down his cheeks.

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I smile and shout back to Hexy.
"I'm ready whenever my crew's ready!"
I draw my signature cutlass and turn to the crew, raising it high like a banner!
"Are you ready, crew of the Dragon?! The real fight begins now! If you're ready for battle then I WANT TO HEAR IT!! Give 'em a battle cry that'll shake their bones and make 'em regret ever coming to Levia Infernis!"
I turn back to the gate, sword raised high.
"LET'S HEAR IT, YA MONGREL SEA DOGS! FOR VICTORY!!"

 

Mordred fully came back to his senses when Trinity nuzzled against his hand, his face looking solemn as his breathing slowed back down to normal.
"Trinity...my apologies. You've seen me in quite a pathetic state."
He let out a sigh.
"I thought those nightmares had long since passed. Why would they come back now...?"
He wiped away the tears with his sleeve and slowly got to his feet.
"It's nothing to be concerned about. We should be going. We can't afford to lose any more time."
He gathered his things and led the way out of the cave.

They left and made their way to the elven camp. Much to Mordred's surprise and concern, it was quite uneventful.
"Where are they? We have yet to see a single scout, patrol or anything of the like. How can that be when we are so close to their main encampment?"
He soon realized the reason. As they cautiously approached the entrance to where the elven camp should be, the answer became quite obvious.
"Deserted..."
There wasn't a single sentry to be found. As they casually walked inside, Mordred's suspicions were proven true. The camp was completely abandoned, albeit rather sloppily as there were still various supplies scattered around.
"Unfortunately, they seem to be moving faster than I expected. I would say they're most likely in the prison already. Hmm...we might as well see if we can find anything useful here before making our way to the prison. The elves were apparently quite lazy when it came to leaving the camp. Typical behavior, though I would venture a guess and say that they meant to come back here at some point."
He spent some time looking around. He took a few things here and there but nothing really stood out to him as being particularly important, though he did find something of interest in a pile of clothes. When he found it, he called Trinity over.

"I thought you might be interested in this."
He held out a nicely decorated, regal robe that seemed to be made for an elven mage. It looked to be about Trinity's size.
"The elves left some clothes behind, apparently. If you'd like, you could turn back to your human form and put them on. It's your choice; I'll be waiting outside, so feel free to come out in whichever form suits you."
He put the robe back down and stepped outside, leaning on a nearby wall as he waited for Trinity to make her decision.

 

Vixie's expression fell from her face upon seeing the gates to...what only could be described as Hell. She clutched her bow, holding it close to her. Her fox-like ears drooped slightly. She suddenly felt more secure in a group, than if the elves had dragged her in.

Arisa followed the group, her face still a little red, and a bit green from what happened before. She looked up at the gates and raised her brow slightly. "A warning for people like us? Or a look of what's to come if you're to be a 'resident'?"

 

"Hmm..."
I fold my arms and take a second to think about Arisa's question. Ah, there it is! I smile widely and turn to her.
"I'd like to think of it as a challenge! If we were scared off by something like this, we wouldn't be worthy to enter this prison in the first place!"
Then I notice the look on her face.
"You're still looking a little pale. That...was pretty weird, wasn't it?"

 

When asked for his opinion, Mordred turned and took a good look at Trinity. Even he had to admit that she looked very nice in her new outfit. He was surprised that he even noticed. He usually didn't think about or care about things like that; normally he would dismiss anything related to appearances as a waste of time. For reasons he couldn't figure out, he noticed this time and responded accordingly with an approving nod.
"It's a good look on you."

He started to lead the way out of the elven camp, but stopped after a few steps. He spoke up, still facing away from Trinity.
"About what happened in the cave...when I first woke up. Even in your cat form, I could tell what you were trying to do. And...I appreciated it."
He continued walking and quickly changed the subject, hoping she wouldn't say anything about it.
"The entrance to the prison is fairly close to this camp. Without a doubt, the elves have made their way inside."

 

There was a roar of heroism so loud and mighty that the gates themselves trembled. Then when the shout died down, they thought they could hear the echo of it, bellowing back at them, so they roared even more loudly. The gates shook in their posts.
Another echo roared back, louder, so the crew started yelling themselves hoarse to try and outdo themselves.
"We could be here for hours," Hexy sighed, and Tyrcestus shoved his way through to the front and as the echo came back again, he heaved the door open.
A long, dark, wet tunnel awaited them. Vizard and Gizzard peeked inside. "Hello? Ladies?" Vizard said hopefully.
Something moved in the dark, and suddenly - spiders. Huge, horrible, disgusting spiky spiders that suddenly swarmed towards what they could tell was fresh meat.
Vizard and Gizzard announced their presence to the group by quite nobly screaming like little girls at the top of their lungs.
"Well, I can't exactly say they haven't got legs to die for," Martyris quipped, before Tyrcestus punched himself in the face. "Hexy," he said softly as the spiders rushed towards them, "if I ever make a pun that bad again, kill me until I stop moving."
"Always," Hexy said firmly, and then the creatures were upon them.

 

I stand firm, ready to face the incoming swarm of spiders! With sword raised high, I let out a mighty battle cry to sound our advance on the enemy.
"Let's show them that you never mess with a Dragon if you can't take the claws!"
Unfortunately, my voice is still hoarse from all of the yelling. Well...this sucks. But they'll get the idea soon enough! Thinking fast, I summon a shield to my left hand and take a fighting stance. They're getting close now..,time to make my move!
"Charge!"
I let the charge, dashing right into the fray like a captain should! I jump and bring my sword down on the first few spiders in front of me, crushing them. One tries to jump me from the right, so I spin around and slam it into the wall with my shield. I quickly cut down a few more in front of me. Not a bad start...but there's a lot more to go!

Still looking forward, Mordred's only reply was a nod and a quiet "Hmm."

"Without a doubt. The prison should be fortified and we may have lost the element of surprise as the elves will be on alert, actively searching for the princess and the sword. Also, there is something else that you should know..."
He turned his head towards her as they walked together.
"At some point, we are sure to encounter your old companions in the prison. They may even be there already depending on fast they've traveled. We need to cooperate with them if we want to make it out of here alive. I know that it might make you a little uncomfortable but we really have no other options."
He was expecting a somewhat...awkward reunion, but it was definitely the safer route to go. He had no idea how many elves there were but they were almost certainly outnumbered by a large margin. Even with a sword like Apocrypha, two people can only do so much against overwhelming odds.

As they approached the entrance, Mordred signaled for Trinity to duck down under cover. He saw a group of people fighting against a rather large horde of spiders some distance ahead. To avoid detection, he grasped the hilt of his sword and cast an arcane shroud over them to help conceal their presence, both from prying eyes and magic-based detection. He slowly moved up on them and signaled for her to do the same. When they were at a fairly close vantage point, he whispered to her.
"Is that the group you were traveling with before? The king's expeditionary force?"
He couldn't tell from a glance and it was much more difficult to distinguish them since they were engaged in combat and moving quickly.

 

Vizard and Gizzard seemed to be taking the unorthodox route of trying to exhaust the spiders to death by running about, shrieking in such a high-pitched tone it could almost be assumed that they were trying to deafen the arachnids. Clun was venting on them as only a troll with a club can, and even though he was a very squat troll, every swing squished an attacker. Tyrcestus was skittering from injured pirate to wounded actor, and was restoring them back to fighting fettle. Hexy was hurling lightning about at everything on eight legs while Fweep was swinging wildly at any of them that came close. The actors were fighting through them, but a few would have perished if not for some timely healing. The captain was hacking away with his sabre.
Together, the horde of spiders slowly diminished. But this was only the first trial, in many to come.

 

"No, I doubt that will be necessary. They seem to have the situation well in hand and I would like to observe their combat abilities for the time being."
He watched the group as they fought and the results were...interesting, to say the least. It soon became clear that this was not a proper army or even a well-trained fighting force. It was a ragtag group at best. Their level of skill varied far too widely from one member to another. Some of them were highly-skilled warriors who seemed to have years of experience while some of them looked like they were swinging a sword for the first time.

However, there was one redeeming factor that he could not deny.

Every single one of them fought ferociously, with a level of passion and courage that was truly a rare sight to behold. Mordred mused that among the weaker fighters, their sheer tenacity almost made up for their glaring lack of skill. He continued to observe as they struck down the last of the spiders.

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As we strike down the last of the spiders, I raise my sword for a cry of victory!
"And with that, the day is ours! If this first battle was anything to go by, the rest of the quest should go along without a hitch!"
With a triumphant laugh, I sheathe my sword and return my shield to mana. All things considered, that wasn't too bad! I turn around to see how the crew's doing and since I was now one of the few people facing away from the cave, I catch something out of the corner of my eye.
"Huh?"
A man in a dark cloak is walking towards us. It looks like someone is with him, following behind at a distance. Wait, is that...Trinity?!

After the battle was over, Mordred got up from cover, dispelled his shroud and motioned for Trinity to come with him as he walked over to the group. He looked at the man who was shouting like an idiot and assumed that he was the leader of the group.
"Are you the one in charge of the king's expeditionary force?"

His sudden question catches me off-guard. Whoever this guy is, he gets right to the point, doesn't he? I smile back at him.
"It's a little more complicated than that, friend. You see, I'm the captain of the ship that brought us here and a lot of the brave warriors you're looking at are my crew. But I started out working under Tyrcestus along with a lot of the others, so I guess you could say he's the leader, too."

Mordred quietly wondered to himself how they managed with this rather bizarre chain of command, but he let the thought go.

"Now I think it's only fair that I ask a question, and the one I'm thinking is..."
I look over to Trinity.
"Hey, Trinity, long time no see! What are you doing all the way out here and how'd you end up tagging along with this guy?"

Thinking that Trinity might not want to talk to her old companions yet, Mordred stepped in and answered the man's question.
"Trinity and I came to an agreement recently. She will be traveling with me from now on."

Wait...what?! Is he serious? I'm too stunned to even respond right away...

OOT: I don't want to do too much by myself in one post, so I'll cut it off here for now.

 

Tyrcestus moved his way to the front, looking at the man up and down.
"You've been taking care of her and pushing her to her limits. Good." He turned his gaze to Trinity. "You don't have to say anything. I can probably guess you're mad at us for seemingly abandoning you." He tilted his head. "But in truth, you needed this. You needed a chance to show yourself what you could do, as opposed to hiding behind us. Tough love, but true I'm afraid."
He turned to the prison. "You could have just snuck back on the ship, but instead you're finally ready, I think. Feel free to hate us if you like, but we're still your friends. We'll have your back. Just take care of yourself." His eyes moved back to her new partner. "You take care of her too. If you don't, I personally guarantee that if you fall behind, you stay behind." It wasn't a threat. There was no malice or anger in the statement. It was simply a promise.

 

When the man whom he assumed was Tyrcestus stepped out in front of the group, Mordred studied him as he spoke, trying to gauge what kind of man he was. He saw a level of maturity and levelheadedness that the other man he talked to seemed to completely lack. He wondered how someone who seemed as-- for lack of a better word-- competent as he was ended up with this rather strange group of people. Although it did explain how they survived so long. Mordred took his words at face value, not in a threatening or intimidating way, and replied.
"I take it you are Tyrcestus. Fair enough. I had already planned to do so from the start regardless, so it seems our intentions have coincided."

Wow...I still can't believe what I'm hearing, but I guess it's true. Tyr seems alright with this and obviously Trinity does too, so I guess it all works out. I walk up to the man and smile at him.
"Well, anyone who's okay by Trinity is okay by me! So, how about we start with some introductions? Captain Leon Dragonfang at your service! And you are?"

"Mordred."

...
A silence hangs in the air as I wait for him to say something else, but...it looks like that was it. Pretty short introduction, if you ask me. This guy's not really one for small talk, is he?
"It's a pleasure, Mordred. You'll have to excuse my bragging, but you happen to be looking at the finest pirate crew to ever sail the seas! We're getting the princess and the sword back no matter what happens, but it'd be great to have another blade on our side just in case."
I reach out my hand for a handshake.

Pirate crew...? Mordred simply gave Leon a blank, unblinking stare. "This man is an imbecile," he thought to himself...and you could almost see it in his face.
"I would much rather dispense with the pleasantries and move on to more important matters."

I pull my hand back. He's...not gonna be a fun person to work with, is he?
"Alright...I'm listening."
"Specifically, if you truly wish to have another "blade on your side" as you put it then I would like to discuss our hiring fee. No doubt you will be receiving a large sum of gold upon completing this mission, which should make payment relatively easy."

Hey, wait a second...I turn back to Tyr before Mordred can say anything else.
"You know, I didn't think about that. Are we getting some kind of reward for this quest? It never even crossed my mind until now."

Mordred eyes widened slightly in utter disbelief.
"You...never even considered any form of payment for your services?"
"Nope, it just never came up."
"Even though you run a ship? Surely you asked for compensation, at least for food and supplies."
"Well, the whole 'captain' thing only started a few days back, so..."
Mordred looked at Leon like he might actually be insane. "How...? How did someone like this become the captain of his own vessel?" No matter how desperately he tried to figure it out, nothing came to mind. He decided that he would have to ask Trinity about this at some point. For now, he continued on with the matter at hand.

"As I was saying, I am an assassin by trade and I would like to be compensated for my service to the king."
"Fair enough, how much are you asking?"
"Five hundred gold pieces should suffice--"
"Whoa! You drive a hard bargain, don't you? I could hire four or five regular mercenaries for that price. Well...I guess you get what you pay for, but you better be worth every last gold piece!"
Mordred cleared his throat.
"As I was saying. Five hundred should suffice for each of us. Therefore, one thousand in total."
"Each...?"

It takes a moment to sink in. I look over to Trinity then back to Mordred.
"Five hundred for both of you?!"
Mordred nods.
"Perfectly reasonable, if you ask me. She is my traveling companion, after all and she should be compensated for her time and effort."
"But...she was already with us..."
"Circumstances have changed since then. Although, since you are her former companions, I suppose I could lower the cost to nine hundred gold pieces."
I hang my head and let out a heavy, defeated sigh.
"Alright, fine...I'll make sure you get your gold."

Mordred turned to Trinity and whispered to her.
"Let this be another lesson. If you excel at a task, you should never do it without pay."
He then looked back to Tyrcestus.
"Very well, then. Shall we continue on?"

With a slight groan and gritted teeth, I look back up at Mordred.
"I just agreed to pay your hiring fee...shouldn't you ask me for orders...?"

 

Tyrcestus could practically see Trinity's resentment for them in the way that she avoided looking at them completely. He hadn't meant to hurt her, and inside his stomach wrenched at the thought of it.
But, that doesn't stop my words from being true, he thought to himself. She always tried to avoid battle, she would never acknowledge the need to fight once in a while. And in this place, those kinds of flaws can get her killed.
A little barbaric, but in truth not far wrong, Martyris's voice bounced back at him from the other side of his own mind. And don't even get me started on how you've been keeping track of her.
You can hijack my abilities?
Of course I can. I have to admit, I never thought that particular trait of the Wingmender would come in useful. Detecting injuries always seemed like a troublesome power, especially to a healer - how are you meant to get any rest?
Then you know that I knew Trinity was alright.
Are you trying to seek approval from me?
...No.
Look, if we're going to get along, you're going to need to man up a tad. Believe in yourself more. She'll see the value in it one day, and hey - she needed to grow up.

Tyrcestus put a hand on Leon's shoulder. "I'll handle them," he said gently. "It's my fault they're here in the first place. You handle your men, they're your responsibility."
He turned, the air thick with the stench of spider-blood. "I suppose the next step is the only one we can take. Forward."
And they entered Levia Inferis, good and proper.

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The first thing they did was consult the map.
"There seem to be six levels. The princess will be on the lowest level - hopefully the elves have cleared a few out and made it easy for us." The captain looked up at Tyrcestus, who appeared to have somehow magically gained leadership of the main group. The fact they'd just seen him blow up half a ship with a flick of the wrist may have helped.
Well, I did that if we're being technical - Shut it.
"Only one way to see. On we march, but keep your eyes peeled."

They moved down a long stone staircase. The air was thick with must, and dread, and despair and gloom. The pirates huddled close together, their weapons drawn, lunging at any shadow that seemed to twitch in the light of blazing torches that hung from the walls.
Tyrcestus stood at the head of the group, leading the way - seemingly to spare any other from the same duty.
Leon was to his left, Mordred to his right, which meant Trinity was the bottom of the V-shape between Mordred and Tyrcestus.
The captain stood behind Leon and Tyrcestus, hand on his sabre, eyes darting here and there.
Behind them, Hexy followed closely with Sean on her left, Zerron on her right, with Vixie and Clun between them.
Vizard and Gizzard brought up the rear with Arisa as the rear guard, while the pirates moved in a gaggle behind.
The staircase seemed to last for eternity, but it eventually opened out onto a large desolate plain, underground - by now they were deep inside the island.

The plain was weathered, and clearly many battles had been fought on its scarred surface. Scuffs and pockmarks littered the land. The area had the feel of a graveyard to it. But by far the most horrifying and intimidating part was the ceiling - a huge arching spinal column, bent from the entrance to another pair of great doors that were distantly visible at the far end of the plain. What looked like castle-sized pillars but were actually ribs came down on both sides of the room - the creature this skeleton belonged to would have been able to flatten the Golden Dragon with the bat of an eyelash.
Tyrcestus felt the cold gnawing bitterness of fear, but knew that if he showed it the others would lose heart. "Come on. This is only the first level. Stay on your guard - if something moves, better safe than sorry."
And he started to walk towards the doors on the far side of the plain, knowing the others would follow.

 

Vixie held her bow close to her in one hand, and an arrow in her other. She lifted her ears up, and 'scanned' the area for any threatening sounds...though the heavy, labored breathing of the prisoners held inside this prison seemed threatening enough. Upon reaching the area of many battles, a sudden chill flew down her spine, and she almost 'yelped' in surprise.

Arisa reached forward and placed her hand on Vixie's shoulder. "Don't worry." She whispered to Vixie. "We have your back."