[Kathryn]

18+ to avoid possible issues in the future with ratings and goings ons and happenings.
Feel free to post to get involved! I'll update the list as people post/message me with interest!
All levels of literacy/length accepted.

Scenario:
          The deities have spoken. In Aggarae a new place has been discovered branching off from the dangerous labyrinth that
          many have already met an untimely death in. Deep in the underground, behind the crumbled wall, lies a second, untraveled
          maze that seems to constantly be shifting and changing... The unmistakeable rumble from deep within makes all around
          aware of the maze of tunnels leads to a dragon's den, and that means at least three things... treasure, honour, and danger
          of the highest degree.

Participants:

• Kathryn
• Obi
• Timbre
• Blaidrug
• Tokilin

[Kathryn]

This was certainly... an interesting development. For Kathryn, who was quite content to not be involved in conflict at all, it was an unusual place to be; after all, Aggarae had been known as a place filled with violence and bloodlust for quite some time now. But when Arbor gave her a job — whether it be through vision, dream, or any other means — not even her own comfort and personal beliefs could get in the way.

Sighing as she sat back against the cool stone stairs, shaded from the sun by an tree that hung overhead, Kathryn looked down to the book that was propped up in her hands. She scribbled away quickly, the quill scratching loudly against the smooth paper as she jotted down notes in a crazy scrawl of an old language. It was just wiser to take notes like this — such things falling into the wrong hands had caused trouble in the past.
"The others are late," she mumbled, black bangs hanging down in front of her as she leaned forwards — intent on her work. "But Arbor was right... I can hear the beast from within... I can only pray he was right about them, too... I don't want to wait here, alone, all day."

[Tslat]

The air began to cool. The usual glaring sunlight was starting to hide away to be replaced by the calm night air. A gentle breeze blew through the trees, taking with it the fallen leaves roughly scattered across the ground.

Under a tree not far behind the one which Kathryn sat scrawling, the leaves' usual rustling as they trailed along the ground was interrupted. One by one, they piled up in mid-air, as if being blocked by an invisible barrier. It wasn't long before another unseen force brushed the leaves aside, allowing them to continue their trail. A low tone emanated from the spot - an almost melodic sound.

As if out of nowhere, an Orc appeared just meters away from Kathryn, quickly making its way towards the oblivious Elf. Just as she turned around to locate the source of the footsteps, a single arrow collided with the Orc's skull, killing it instantly. As quickly as it had appeared, the arrow then disappeared with a puff of darkness, leaving a dead Orc laying in its own pool of blood.

There were few creatures that could pull this off with such finesse and stealth, and only one of those creatures would have acted without it also harming the Elf. Try as she might, the source of the arrow was not to be found. One thing was without doubt though;

Timbre was watching.

[Obi42]

Obi had arrived in the darkness, alone as usual.  Perched in the vines above the old doors into the mountain, shadowed beneath an overhang. Around midday, the Scribe arrived, taking shelter from the sun under a tree near the bottom of the stairs.

He was tempted to greet her, but thought better of it, as she wasn't the only one down that way, and there was no shelter from the burning orb across the bridge. He still did not fully understand his half-siblings... they also seemed so different, and distinct. When the Alfar arrived, he didn't know, but he could sense him when took the spot in the trees. He almost cried out when the orc appeared, but it died just as quick... Obi was grateful Timbre seemed to prefer an orc's blood to this particular pointy ear's.

While he didn't know why he was here, it didn't matter. When Lutum says to do something, it will be done.

[Kathryn]

Her eyes turned up from the page, blinking with confused discomfort as the arrow zipped past her face. By the time she'd turned her head around to try to spy the source of the disruption only to see the orc drop. Unsure of the cause and even more unsure of her own position she half jumped out of her skin. Slapping the book shut — using the quill to mark the page, feather sticking out from the top — Kathryn leapt to her feet and backed away from the corpse a little. A slight shiver ran through her as she regarded the body with clear disdain; as concerned as she was about what or who had slain her potential assaulter, she was just as confused about why. All the signs lead to one thing, after all, and that one thing was yet another question she never managed to get an answer to.

Succumbing to the knowledge that today would very likely be unlike any other day — and too busy trying to calm the rapid pounding in her chest to really care for questioning the invisible company — Kathryn opted to simply nod her head slightly while her eyes drifted down towards the ground.
"Thank you." It was almost inaudible over the wind, which had picked up in the open area, but it was said. For now, however, she decided to focus on getting away from the already smelly corpse and made her way up towards the opening of the dungeon. There was no way she was going in alone, but suddenly the idea of hanging out in the open seemed a lot less appealing. After finding a tree with a branch low enough to climb up onto (but high enough that any unexpected visitors wouldn't be able to easily sneak up on her) Kathryn settled herself again. Sitting cross-legged she balanced with ease on the branch; it was a position she was used to enough, considering where and how she lived, and she quickly transitioned back into a more comfortable state again. This time, however, she was more on guard — ready. She didn't want to get caught unaware again; no matter how odd her suspected 'hero' was, she certainly didn't trust the nature of his kind to rely on it a second time.

[Blaidrug]

In a tree close to the one Kathryn was perched upon, deep behind the leaves that rustled in the wind, a deep green aura emanated from the trunk. Part of the bark shifted, revealing what resembled glowing green eyes. They moved, looking over the Elf, then searching quickly over the entire area. It was the forest dwelling Golem, Blaid, called by the great Lutum, and enticed by his own curiosity.
He could sense his brothers' presence nearby, but could not see him. Though the sun was not quite gone, there was plenty of shade in this area; this must mean that there are others here besides the scribe. Keeping silent, invisible within the trees, he continued to search.
Seeing the Orc dead on the ground, and the fact that the arrow was dead between its eyes, the tree Golem had a sneaking suspicion he knew who the other creature nearby was.

He would stay in the trees until it was safe to venture out. But what could be within this cave that Lutum wants? Or, rather, wants us to endure...

[Tokilin]

He could see it, finally. That was the only place it could be...

Tokilin leapt from tree top to tree top, it seemed easier than running on the monster infested ground. Just a few more trees and he would be at the mouth of the cavern. "It was about time... for it to stop running..." he muttered as he leapt in front of the cave. Half stumbling, he landed toppling to one knee as he breathed heavily. It has been 4 and a half days since he last put an arrow into it, or perhaps he should call it a 'her'...

He had happened to be stopped at an oasis nearby drinking what little water he had found. It emerged out of the dune across from him, the sand drifted between its dark scales. It didn't seem like a large one, but every dragon is a problem. He grasped for his bow with practiced ease and had managed to fire an arrow off towards the dragon while it was emerging, snagging it directly in an eye. Then it came at him, bringing its whole body back and swinging it's right claw at him. Leaping over the claw he was hit by the tail soon after. The momentum gained by torqueing its body to swing the claw and follow through with the tail sent him flying. He was happy he had his armour. Arching his body in the air, he undid the tough material holding his chest piece in place, shedding it as he flew, and landed in the soft sand ready to fire another shot. The armour was dented and it would do nothing at that point but hinder him. He fired two shots at the dragon before it was close enough to leave it's shadow over him. They deflected helplessly off of it's armour like scales.

This time he wasn't flat footed.

The dragon swung it's claw downward in an attempt to flatten him, but he charged under the beast with elf like speed. Getting just below it's breast he leapt forward and rotated 180 degrees to fire 4 quick arrows into the beast, their direction sliding between the scales. Then he rolled from his back to his feet out from out behind the rear legs in time to avoid being landed on when the beast howled and landed on it's front from pain. Quickly he leapt onto the beasts tail and ran the length till just before the head were he drew back his bow ready for the final shot. He stopped short though. The dragon had small horns, nubs, and its scales were tinted purple over black. Couple that with its size and you could easily conceive this as a female dragon. Females meant eggs.

It was a quick change of plans, he fired 15 shots into the beast, all up scale. They weren't lethal, but the dragon was gravely injured. Tokilin then retreated a good distance firing useless shots that pinged against it's armour. The dragon reared back and drew out it's wings, and then beat them hard. A whole dune of sand vanished as it took off into the sky. Thankful he was an elf, he took after it with unnatural speed.

...He pushed himself to his feet and looked at the mouth of the cavern. He got the odd prickling of being watched, but he simply chocked it up to being exhausted and night time. He spotted the dead ogre bleeding onto the grass. With no arrow to prove it's death from a bow, Tokilin chuckled, "Hungry after your run? I know I am...". Promptly afterwards he sliced the ogres head off, making sure to splatter himself with its blood. Not only would he smell 'appetizing', it would mask his scent at the one who injured it so bad. All this happened in what seemed like 30 seconds, and Tokilin charged into the maw of the cavern.

He made his way into the Dungeon running swiftly, but not very stable. He was exhausted, but couldn't let up... until it was dead. Passing through a large room that until he entered appeared empty, but proved to be magically trapped spawning hundreds of monsters, he made his way to a large hallway. He couldn't stay and fight, it was almost suicide in his condition against that many.

At the end of the hallway a large room presented itself, a large face was present opposite from him. Perhaps part of an intricate riddle once upon at time, a recently made hole was smashed through it's mouth not leaving much for the mind to work with. "A hall this grand... perhaps it's Dwarven? Never the less... I am in luck she is in a hurry. I have no time for petty riddles...". He ran through the gaping mouth and down some stairs before stopping short of a long drop. He was dismayed.

What he saw before him was a labyrinth, and an extensive one at that. Just off at the far end of it there was a an old crumbled wall with a large break in it. The halls of the labyrinth where two small to shelter a beast of her size, it had to be there. "Just had to build it at the far end... couldn't have built it closer...". He sighed as he dropped into the maze below. He was in for a long walk if he couldn't find his way through.

( OOC: I'm right to assume it's taking refuge in the dungeon? I can re-write this if I got it wrong... )

[Obi42]

Obi watched the Dragon Hunter arrive as the moon set, clearly exhausted, and drench himself in Orc blood for some strange reason. He didn't even seem to notice his kin nearby, but ran across the bridge, and underneath the perched Golem into old Aggarae.

Obi called to his brother, "Keep an eye on the others and bring up the rear, I'll follow the hunter" as he slid down the vines.

The elf was already far ahead, but at least that meant he didn't have to move quietly in his pursuit. He juked around the monsters with ease, confident in The Lady's blessing, while they paid him no mind. It was when he got to the old riddle door that he began to slow. What was once an interesting lock for Golems to test their skill on, was now a gaping hole, with marks around it that could only be made by one beast he knew of...

...he began to understand why Lutum had sent him here.

[Kathryn]

Kathryn's eyes were drawn upwards, curiosity warping into concern as the crimson gaze fell on her battered acquaintance. Well, "acquaintance" probably wasn't the best word — they'd been very close, once upon a time another life ago, but when Tokilin had left to travel and search for dragons to slay and 'Faiyuki' had taken on the role of Scribe and become 'Kathryn' they lost touch with one another — but either way, she wasn't happy to see anybody parading about in such a condition. Twisting around so her legs hung over the edge of the branch Kathryn dropped to the ground with a soft grunt, crouching to take some of the force of the drop, before standing straight and trotting warily after the other elf; her book had been tucked away in the small pack that hung from her belt, along with the quill and ink, and her hands twitched nervously as she loosened the bow from the straps that held it on her back. She didn't want to use it, but she'd much rather be safe than sorry.

Her eyes swept the darkness of the caverns of Aggarae while she struggled to adjust to the darkness. By the time she had blinked the sun-spots from her eyes the loud groans of the long fallen filled her ears; she didn't need any further motivation to dart forwards in a sprint that surpassed speeds possible of the other races. Despite the fact that her soft soled boots made little to no sound on the smooth stone floors she could not hide from the long fallen dwarves that the dragon and it's pursuers had woken before she'd made her own way through. She pushed, shoved, ducked, and was struck several times; by the time Kathryn stumbled through the massive hole on the other side of the cavern she was breathless and wounded, and her ears buzzed with the adrenaline that pounded through her veins. Sometimes it really sucked to opt to avoid fighting...

She stumbled through the short hallway, nearly toppling right off the edge of the outcropping that dropped down into the labyrinth of Aggarae, dread flooding her face. She'd never actually come this far before — she'd never had a reason to. The blackness was not something she'd ever be able to see through, she knew, and the moans and clatter of bones was enough to leave her wary of continuing forwards — she wouldn't be able to see anything, let alone defend herself or find her way!
"Damn it," she mumbled under her breath, eyes sweeping the maze, "Now what?"

[Tokilin]

It was dark, wet, and every other corridor had a monster. Tokilin had been in the maze for only a few minutes, but he felt as though he'd been in there for hours. Perhaps it was his exhaustion that brought about the time lapse in his mind. Using a compass he had in his bag, he got the relative direction of the hole from north. His biggest problems at that point were the never ending walls between him and his goal. Twice already he'd run into dead ends and he was getting tired of them already. Thankfully the torches he'd brought made great drawing tools as he marked the ground and walls with the char at the tips of the extinguished sticks.

He had sat down after walking for a bit to rest his legs, assured not a creature was in sight for a length in both directions.

His eyes popped open at a faint mutter in the distance. It seemed as though his ten second rest had turned into a couple minutes. "Dozing off to long now would be a bad thing... especially in a god forsakened place such as this..."  He chuckled to himself as he stood up. Sleeping on the job aside, it was his reason for waking up again that piqued his curiosity. He was certain he heard someone's voice, faint and in between the sounds of the various creatures roaming the vast corridors. Surely there wasn't another person in this place? What goal would they have to be amongst these monsters and walls? He sighed and thought it over. It was probably just a creature making it's usual babbling and got lucky enough to make something sound somewhat human, or perhaps just after effects of a dream he was having in his short reprieve. There was a dragon here, surely other people would be smart enough to stay away. "Heh... and what would that show on my smarts for coming here then?" he muttered half jokingly to himself.

He picked up his belongings and set off down the corridor, checking his compass with his right hand against the wall. All the while marking intersections and listening carefully for a monster around a corner. It'd surely take days to find that hole at the pace he was going.

[Obi42]

  Obi had gotten to the lip of the Maze just in time to see the Dragon Hunter disappear into it, while the familiar clatter and groans of the former residents sounded up from below. From here he could see the large breach in the wall at the far end of the Labyrinth, but it was at the opposite corner from the way out that he knew so well. It seemed it had only been a moment of considering this when the quiet patter of the quickly moving Scribe carried down the hall, and he nearly reached out to stop her from stepping off into the Maze.

  "Now what?" she said, looking out over the maze.

  "I'm not sure, Scribe" Obi said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder...