Deimos arrived first, because the gods of Caido could be capricious. Jigano subconsciously straightened as well, tense but knowing the General well enough to expect a nod, perhaps a single word of greeting at most. They had constructed the Spark Bird perch and prepared the Monster Hunter’s Guild for LongNight together, working in tandem as he had told Amalia they could, but it didn’t undo the mistrust and anger, harsh words and winter’s chill between them. Much of that was his own fault, and he would need to have a reckoning with the Sword eventually… but this was neither the time nor the place. He made Amalia happy, and that was enough for Jigano to extend a tacit invitation to him until time and space could be found for the words that needed to be said between. Private words, however, and so for today he simply nodded in return, tense but composed, his manner solemn but not combative. ”Good morning Deimos,” he said quietly, and offered Zuriel a small bow.
Kiada arrived on Deimos’s heels, thank all the fortunate gods, and Jigano’s solemn manner warmed and softened, his sober lips quirking into a grin for the Harpy as Isuma abandoned his shoulder to circle Auni with happy chirps, taking her accustomed spot on the luxere’s antlers. ”‘Hey’ to you, too,” he greeted her. ”Did you get a good breakfast?” Teasing with genuine affection, he welcomed her to the ranks of the trouble-seekers as he had once before, extending his trust to her and hoping that this time he wouldn’t fail the trust she was putting in him.
His grin transferred toAmalia as he pretended to yawn – an act that turned real in the middle of it and he gave her a sheepish smile when it was done. ”I’m getting used to early mornings at the farm, but hopefully this will be worth it!” And even if they found nothing but dust and the footprints turned out to be the Prince’s? As long as no on was hurt he was hoping it would still be a good day exploring with his found family; one day without the feverish preparations for LongNight or shadow of the blight haunting them.
”If everyone’s ready?” The question was mostly rhetorical; Deimos and Kiada were accomplished warriors in their own right, and Amalia had been on no few adventures for the Loreseekers and her own reasons by now. They each knew their strengths, and would have compensated for their weaknesses before arriving, so Jigano turned and led the way down, down, into the tunnels of the Underground and the darkness that awaited them there, far from the clear air and clean sunlight just rising over the world above.
He had his Lantern and his notes, and he looked to Amalia for confirmation of their path as they started out through dampened stone and shadowed corridors. Paradoxically the temperature seemed to rise the deeper they went, the chill becoming clammy with moisture as they walked through the dark, lit only by their collective lanterns. Jigano held his aloft, preferring Deimos and Kiada to keep hands free and ready to draw weapons in case of trouble, but aside from the distant echo of dripping water they noticed little at first.
At one point the path narrowed until it would be difficult for the unicorn’s muscle and luxere’s antlers to pass, a squeeze that might have been possible but would not allow for swift retreat should it become necessary. Isuma opted to stay with Auni, whatever the luxere’s decision, and the humans would continue on with only a little scraped skin to show for it.
It was shortly after that, however, that the skittering began.
Jigano had stopped to peer at the wall, finger not-quite-touching the strange words written there as he compared them to his notes of their previous run, when the scratching first echoed through the tunnel. Roughly five feet wide where they had paused, the sound was quiet at first, but was quickly joined by a plethora of echoes. Jigano glanced grimly to Deimos, remembering their trip down into the Underground with Ronin, and set a quicker pace, trying to find a more defensible section of the tunnel to wait in.
They were not so lucky. The tunnel continued unbroken by intersections large enough to permit a human to pass (though several rock falls and intersecting tunnels were definitely large enough for the rodent denizens to use) until a hissing chitter behind them caused the bard to turn, raising the lantern high enough to illuminate a little ways back down the tunnel. The first ROUS entered the light not on the ground but the ceiling, as Deimos would remember them doing before. Right behind it came a second, while the third raced along the floor of the tunnel in the humans’s footprints. Eight of the giant mutated rodents in total were visible as they attacked, the rats ranging from the size of small cats to the size of large raccoons as they leapt after their prey.
Deimos is IGNORED as the rats try to go around him
- Zuriel is ATTACKED by ONE ROUS with a deathwish
Kiada is ATTACKED by TWO ROUSes
- Auni DODGES ONE ROUS, taking Isuma with him
Amalia is ATTACKED by ONE ROUS
- JYOTI is IGNORED as the ROUSes are confused by a flying whale and don’t know if it’s food or not
Jigano is IGNORED, being farthest from the rats
The rest of the pack is right on the heels of the frontrunners, eager for blood! Do you run or do you fight?
No posting order!
PQ will continue in 48 hours or less if everyone posts before.
Kiada arrived on Deimos’s heels, thank all the fortunate gods, and Jigano’s solemn manner warmed and softened, his sober lips quirking into a grin for the Harpy as Isuma abandoned his shoulder to circle Auni with happy chirps, taking her accustomed spot on the luxere’s antlers. ”‘Hey’ to you, too,” he greeted her. ”Did you get a good breakfast?” Teasing with genuine affection, he welcomed her to the ranks of the trouble-seekers as he had once before, extending his trust to her and hoping that this time he wouldn’t fail the trust she was putting in him.
His grin transferred to
”If everyone’s ready?” The question was mostly rhetorical; Deimos and Kiada were accomplished warriors in their own right, and Amalia had been on no few adventures for the Loreseekers and her own reasons by now. They each knew their strengths, and would have compensated for their weaknesses before arriving, so Jigano turned and led the way down, down, into the tunnels of the Underground and the darkness that awaited them there, far from the clear air and clean sunlight just rising over the world above.
He had his Lantern and his notes, and he looked to Amalia for confirmation of their path as they started out through dampened stone and shadowed corridors. Paradoxically the temperature seemed to rise the deeper they went, the chill becoming clammy with moisture as they walked through the dark, lit only by their collective lanterns. Jigano held his aloft, preferring Deimos and Kiada to keep hands free and ready to draw weapons in case of trouble, but aside from the distant echo of dripping water they noticed little at first.
At one point the path narrowed until it would be difficult for the unicorn’s muscle and luxere’s antlers to pass, a squeeze that might have been possible but would not allow for swift retreat should it become necessary. Isuma opted to stay with Auni, whatever the luxere’s decision, and the humans would continue on with only a little scraped skin to show for it.
It was shortly after that, however, that the skittering began.
Jigano had stopped to peer at the wall, finger not-quite-touching the strange words written there as he compared them to his notes of their previous run, when the scratching first echoed through the tunnel. Roughly five feet wide where they had paused, the sound was quiet at first, but was quickly joined by a plethora of echoes. Jigano glanced grimly to Deimos, remembering their trip down into the Underground with Ronin, and set a quicker pace, trying to find a more defensible section of the tunnel to wait in.
They were not so lucky. The tunnel continued unbroken by intersections large enough to permit a human to pass (though several rock falls and intersecting tunnels were definitely large enough for the rodent denizens to use) until a hissing chitter behind them caused the bard to turn, raising the lantern high enough to illuminate a little ways back down the tunnel. The first ROUS entered the light not on the ground but the ceiling, as Deimos would remember them doing before. Right behind it came a second, while the third raced along the floor of the tunnel in the humans’s footprints. Eight of the giant mutated rodents in total were visible as they attacked, the rats ranging from the size of small cats to the size of large raccoons as they leapt after their prey.
Deimos is IGNORED as the rats try to go around him
- Zuriel is ATTACKED by ONE ROUS with a deathwish
Kiada is ATTACKED by TWO ROUSes
- Auni DODGES ONE ROUS, taking Isuma with him
- JYOTI is IGNORED as the ROUSes are confused by a flying whale and don’t know if it’s food or not
The rest of the pack is right on the heels of the frontrunners, eager for blood! Do you run or do you fight?
No posting order!
PQ will continue in 48 hours or less if everyone posts before.
