Chapter Two: In An Elven Way

Sigurd smiled at the children and had an idea, he walked over to Zane and took the bag of holding from him. Reaching into the bag he pulled out a wheel of cheese and began to tear small chunks from it. From one of the pouches on his hip he pulled a fist sized loaf of bread and did the same. Carefully he walked with the items to the edge of the hallway of flame and placed the cheese on the bread and the combined items on his armored arm before kicking a stone just in front of him causing the jets to ignite.

Standing against the inferno Sigurd smirked as he squinted. In a moment he turned around and knelt to the children, holding his arm out to them like a butler with a silver platter. Sitting on his arm were 4 chunks of bread now golden brown (and black in some spots...) with melted cheese steaming on top. "Hopefully this will help quiet those bellies, we'll have something more substantial when we get out of here, I promise." he said with a smile and a wink.

The children smiled happily at Sigurd when he handed them the treat. They eagerly took the warm food and began to eat.

Ashwyn chuckled softly as she watched him interact with the kids. Once they were settled in the corner and eating happily, she moved over to his side. "Well aren't you just a big softy." She winked playfully.

Ishal and Zane both took some of the cheese as well and nibbled on it while sitting with their backs against the wall.

Swallowing her knee-jerk reaction (I am not a child!!!) ...to all of them, she is, and she'd better accept that...Lopiena watches wide-eyed as the small stone is engulfed in flames. Can't go back, no idea what the way forward might hold...but Sigurd's use of the flames to toast bread makes her giggle along with the children.  "That is by far the most useful thing I have ever seen.  Too bad we can't harness some of those flames for winter's night."  Laughing, she also accepts some of the cheese and sits next to Zane and Ishal. Watching the kids eat, she turns to Ishal. "Is it appropriate to ask their names?"

Ishal glanced sideways over to Lopeina. "If you'd like, though it serves little purpose." She said, going back to eating.

Zane chuckled, patting Lopiena's head. "Human sentiment." He turned to Ishal. "Don't you just adore humans?" He chuckled fondly before turning back to Lopeina, completely oblivious to Ishal's annoyed glare.

"Yes yes, we can ask their names." He turned to where the children were sitting. Children, might we ask your names?"

The children looked up from their snack. The oldest one spoke for the rest. "I'm Cailu. This," he pointed to the girl, "is Keya. They're named Aire and Theoden." He pointed to the two smallest boys.

"Ahh!" Zane said happily. "So, Caliu, Keya, Aire and Theoden." He said, pointing to each one in turn. "Well, I am Zane. This is Ishal, and Sigurd, Ashwyn and Lopeina." He said, pointing out each of their companions. He smiled at them as they turned back to their food. He turned back to Lopeina with a wide grin.

Flinching out from under Zane's patting...annoyance meter rising...Lopiena mentally envisions a still pool of water, one of the oldest tricks for maintaining self control. This is not the time to lose your temper. Get a hold of yourself. Equilibrium restored, she smiles warmly at the kids.  "Cailu, Keya, Aire, Theoden," she repeats, indicating each child as she repeats his or her name. "Thank you."  Standing (more to get away from Zane than anything else), she stretches and looks down the next hallway. "What do you think is down there?  I'm still a little nervous about being funneled through that last hallway like that."

Sigurd didn't eat, he just stood with his arms crossed leaning against the archway. He glared at Zane about sentiment, mostly because he himself was basically human but he did agree it served little purpose, there was no sense in getting attached, with little to no idea as to what awaited them down these ever expanding hallways the mortality of these children could come into play. Sigurd wasn't about to let that happen but he wasn't a god.

Looking down to Lopiena he sighed "Nothing we want to run into... but we will." he growled "At this point I think it may be better to stay on the offensive rather than anticipate an attack. We know that there's some sort of beast that hunts in these areas so I say we hunt it first."

At first alarmed at the idea of actually hunting whatever lives down here, Lopiena considers Sigurd's words and nods.  "You do make a point.  We're bound to run into whatever it is, and we might as well be prepared."  Looking back at him, she grins.  "Or rather, you'll be prepared.  I'll be in the back with the kids."  Walking to the back of the group, she leans against the wall and folds her arms.  Closing her eyes just for a bit, she mutters almost to herself. "Once all this is over, I'm going to learn how to fight."

Ashwyn pulled the dagger from her boot and looked it over a bit. She'd much rather have her bow or at least her Falcata's but the dagger was still perfectly useable. She listened idly to the conversation happening around her and finally made a decision. She stuck the dagger into her belt for easier access and pushed off from the wall.

"Right. Everyone rest here. I'll scout ahead." She said, already walking forward.

Zane sputtered. "Wait what?"

Ishal raised a brow. "You have a suicide wish?"

Ashwyn spoke without stopping her stride. "No one can walk quieter than me." She glanced at Sigurd over her shoulder. "Not even you." She winked before turning back to face forward. "If there's a creature in these halls I'll find it before it finds us."

Sigurd smirked "Well you better stop talking then, you're you're going to make yourself a liar." he watched her walk, he wasn't sure if he noticed it before or if it was a more recent discovery due to their... coupling but Ashwyn, even though she was a very capable warrior walked with a very feminine sway to her hips. Maybe it was his imagination but watching her walk made his heart skip a beat. Never had something so simple put butterflies in his stomach before. He shook his head clear and focused ahead, there was no time for fantasy in their current situation.

The children watched Ashwyn walk away, all exchanging nervous glances. Once she was out of site,  Aire stood and walked over to Sigurd. He tugged on a peice of loose clothing to get his attention. Once he had it, he looked up at him.

"The  fain lavan will get her." He said, his eyes were filled with worry."

Zane leaned in. "Oh, now don't you worry, dear boy." He glanced over to Lopiena. "He's worried that Ashwyn is in danger from the beast." He explained. "Ashwyn is a capable fighter. She will be just fine."

Cailu shook his head. "No...no one can escape the  fain lavan once it decides it wants you." He said sadly.

Ishal frowned. "When it decides it wants you?" She repeated. "What does that mean?"

Caliu looked over at her. "The Fain Lavan chooses its prey. If it chooses you...then you don't survive long....."

---

Ashwyn walked slowly and quietly down the hallway. Once she turned the corner and could no longer see her companions she lowered her stance and walked with such delicate footfalls that not even Sigurd's practiced ears could hear her. He'd only know she was still there by her scent.

She chose to turn down the first of the two passageways in her search. The passage was much the same as the one where her party sat waiting and she moved swiftly through it until she came to another curve.

[Sigurd would loose her scent at this point]

Eyes flying open at Ashwyn's determination to scout ahead alone, Lopiena looks between her and Sigurd with surprise.  He's not trying to stop her, not even arguing about who can be more stealthy (or anything else for that matter)?  They must have really worked out their differences over that information gathering walk. The kids now...while Lo doesn't understand a word they're saying, their nervousness is all too clear, and Zane's explanation of 'the beast' explains why.  Whatever is down there can't be good...keeping her voice low to not alarm the children more, she addresses the group in general.  "Should we go after her, or wait here for...something? How will we know if she needs help?"

Zane looked over at Lopeina when she spoke. "I...don't know." He said, for once at a loss for words.

Ishal frowned. "If she doesn't come back within an hour then I'll go after her. I assume she's not stupid enough to volunteer for this unless she was capable."

---

Ashwyn turned, and then turned again to find a cross section. To her right is an large iron door. To her left is another 20ft of corridor then a turn to the right. Slowly approaching the door she looked it over.

[Perception Check: 26]

She spotted a mechanism on the door that would cause the door to only open from the inside of the room. She frowned and then turned, heading down the short hallway. Immediately it turned right away and after another 20ft there was another door. This door was stone and looked much older.

[Perception check: 15]

This door appeared normal, no traps visible. She carefully approached it and placed her hand on the cool stone. It didn't move. She pushed harder, but it wouldn't budge.

Then she noticed on the bottom was a hole. She knelt down next to it. The stone had been old and cracked and it looked like something...something large...had burrowed a passageway in the door. She looked into the hole and saw a room beyond it, but couldn't make out many details from this angle. She was pretty sure that she could squeeze through the door herself, but Sigurd and his armor would have trouble.

She contemplated going through the hole herself to get a lay of the land, but wondered if she would be able to get back should she run into trouble. Instead she decided to turn back and perhaps check the other passage.

"An hour...an hour is a long time..." Looking at the dark hallway where Ashwyn went into, Lo sighs. "You're right, she is very capable. She will be fine." Slowly sitting back down with her back to the wall, Lopiena closes her eyes. Although she is fully rested and the adrenaline rush from everything that happened has kept her sustained up to this point, her human body still remembers that this is supposed to be the time for sleeping...and not having anything to do only emphasizes that fact. Not entirely asleep but not entirely awake, Lo listens to the conversations around her, waiting for a chance to do something.

Sigurd stood at the head of the group waiting for Ashwyn to return, losing her scent bothered him the most, the residual was still there but he couldn't actively track her anymore. "She'll be fine..." he said mostly to himself but loud enough to the others. The thought of completely losing her scent crept further into his mind and his anxiety started to ramp up. He scolded himself for doing the exact thing he knew taking a significant other would do to him and the same thing his father always warned against. "She'll be fine...."

Zane nodded to Lopiena's words. "Yes. I'm sure you're right." He said, though his eyes were flitting to the hallway every now and then.

Ishal, meanwhile, was watching each of the party members individually. They were all worried but something about Sigurd's reaction was curious to her. She didn't have time to ponder it further as Ashwyn came back around the corner.

Zane's head wiped around when he saw her and he jumped to his feet. "Good gods, woman...I didn't hear a thing! Amazing!"

She smirked at him. "Glad to impress." She answered. "Nothing living yet. Found two doors but neither are going to be easy to get through." She detailed her findings to them. "I'm going to search the other passage. Maybe I'll have more luck." She turned and headed further down the passage and turned to look down the second passage...and froze.

Ishal tensed when she saw Ashwyn stop moving. "What is it?" She called to her.

"Well....I found it....but it also found us...." She said, taking a slow step backwards.

[Sigurd would be able to catch the fresh scent of a large animal as well as the scent of animal blood.]

Ashwyn was backing up slowly back down the hall towards her companions. Ahead of her they'd see a large paw touch the ground.

Coming slowly around the corner is a very large white fox. The creature is the size of a small horse and mostly white except for the pale blue tips on the end of the tail, ears, snout and paws. It had blood around it's mouth and it was holding a large lump of bloody meat in its jaws. It was walking cautiously, sniffing them out but also emitting a low growl.

Ashwyn slowly moved one of her hands behind her, holding her palm flat in a 'stop' motion to the others. She stopped walking backwards and slowly knelt down, holding her other hand out to the creature. "Shhh....." She said softly. "We are no threat to you." Her voice was soft as she slipped back into elven.

[Map as described by Ashwyn...]

At Ashwyn's voice, Lopiena immediately looks up, surprised that she's back so soon.  Or maybe she really did fall asleep...but listening to her description of the hallway, Lo shakes her head and closes her eyes again.  This place is a maze...with more passages for Ashwyn to explore, more sitting and waiting for everyone else.  Except...at Ishal's question, she looks back up and slowly starts to stand.  Whatever it is, it has Ashwyn backing up...

At the sight of the giant fox, Lopiena's first thought is pure awe...the sight of such a fantastic creature is incredibly rare, and to see it with her own eyes!!...but right now there are children to protect, and their fear seems to radiate out from them as the giant fox comes closer.  Standing in front of the children protectively, she gently takes the hands of whoever is nearest.  "Don't worry kids, everything will be fine."

Sigurd was clenching and unclenching his toes while they waited, it wasn't long before Ashwyn's scent came back to him, but there was something else.. something big.. and blood. Instinctively he reached for his sword, which wasn't there so the next thing to do was shift into his hybrid form. when Ashwyn came in to view He started walking towards her but saw her hand fly up, he stopped dead in his tracks only to see a large white paw appear from the corner.

Bending at the knees slightly he readied himself. It wasn't often you told a beast with a fresh kill in it's mouth that you meant no harm that it actually listened.

The children screamed when Sigurd shifted, and when the creature came around the corner they screamed again, curling themselves as far as they could into the corner.

[Animal Handling Check 14 = fail]

The fox opened it's jaws and dropped the meat to the ground and begin to growl unencumbered as it continued it's advance slowly towards Ashwyn.

Zane shivered. "Ashwyn!" He whispered harshly but loud enough she could hear. "It's not worth it! Stand up!"

Ashwyn shook her head. "No, It's only defending its turf. There's no reason to harm it."

Ashwyn remained knelt where she was, attempting to appear as non-threatening as possible. Her first attempt had failed but she couldn't give up just yet. She pulled the dagger from her belt and held it away from her body, all of her movements desperately slow. She carefully placed the dagger on the stone floor and pushed it away from herself. "We are no threat to you." She said again, using common this time.

[Animal Handling Check: 16 = Success]

The fox slowed, looking into Ashwyn's eyes. It tilted its large head to the side, considering her.

Seeing it's response, Ashwyn continued. "We're trapped here. We only want to find a way out. Do you know the way?"

The fox looked at her, then its eyes moved to the party behind them. It seemed to lock eyes with each one of them, then stuck on the children. It watched them carefully before turning its gaze back on Ashwyn. It would seem long minutes, when really it was only seconds that it stared at her. Then, as though deciding something, it reached back and picked up the meat in its mouth again. It turned to face Ashwyn again, eyes locking for a moment, then it turned and began heading down the tunnel that Ashwyn had just walked down.

Ashwyn remained still for a moment, watching the creature go. Then she turned her head to the side so she could mostly face her companions while still keeping her eyes on the creature as it walked down the hall. "I think it wants us to follow." She glanced at her friends, her eyes locking on Sigurds without meaning to. She smiled fondly at him for a moment. It was still strange to her that she found herself in this position with him. She hoped that they'd have a moment to actually talk about what happened and where to go from here. But now was absolutely not the time. She turned back to the creature. It was about to turn the corner.

"Follow behind me. But keep your distance. We don't want to frighten it." She said, her voice calm and steady, as she slowly began to follow the creature.

When Sigurd shifts at the approach of the creature, fuelling the fears of the already frightened children, Lopiena turns toward them (never turn your back on a strange animal, especially a predator) and holds out her hands.  "It's ok, he's a friend." (They have no idea what you're saying). Smiling encouragingly, she reaches for the smallest child and takes his hand. "It's going to be ok." Sitting in the corner with the children, she tries to calm their fears just by being near them.

Listening to Ashwyn coaxing the fox...and feeling its eyes on her back makes her want to turn, or run...she nods at the direction to follow behind Ashwyn. "Ok kids, you're with me. Zane, would you translate for them please? I think it will help a lot." Gently picking up Aire and taking Theoden's hand in her own, she smiles again in the hopes that the other two will come willingly.

(If this requires a persuasion roll I got a 14).

Exhaling slowly Sigurd reverted back to his human form and walked ahead of the others but behind Ashwyn "we don't want to frighten IT she says...." He grumbled under his breath.

His instincts in situations with giant beasts has always been to assess the threat and deal with it accordingly, he had let his emotions cloud his judgment of the situation and he almost attacked blindly. He walked carefully but was still anticipating the fox to turn and attack.

Ashwyn's sensitive ears heard Sigurds words and she sighed. She knew this was dangerous, but she had a feeling deep down that it would work out well for them. She continued to follow the creature but slowed a bit so Sigurd could catch up. She reached back and held her hand out to him, hoping he'd take it. If only for a moment.

"I know what you must be thinking. But I have a sense that this creature will help us." She glanced back at him for a second. "Please trust me. I do not believe we have anything to fear from it."

---

Zane watched with wide eyes as Ashwyn began to follow the creature. "Oh sure... let's follow the giant scary animal into the unknown." He grumbled, his voice wavering. But he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. As Lopiena hearded the children, he followed closly behind them to keep them from straying too far behind.

"Come now children, don't stray. You'll be quite safe." He said in elven. He looked up at Lopeina. "We are sure that was our Ashwyn, right? Not some...specter controlling her body?" He asked. He was mostly kidding, but his eyes flitted towards her.

Ishal followed behind Sigurd wordlessly. Her glaive was held at the ready, unsure how this would play out.

Flitting her gaze from the kids to Zane to Ashwyn, Sigurd, and Ishal...and back again...Lopiena at first is concerned about Zane's half - joking speculation but shakes her head. "Sigurd trusts her or he wouldn't have shifted back. And I've heard stories about fey creatures leading people to safety. I've never heard of this one, but I still have a lot to learn." She smiles, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes...no sense saying that half the stories she'd heard about fey creatures also led to imprisonment or worse. "I trust Ashwyn, and if she trusts...whatever that is...then I'll follow." Looking back at the kids, she lowers her voice. "That said...these kids are afraid for a reason. Keep your guard up."

Sigurd forced himself to relax. "Everything about this feels off..." he growled "take it from someone who turns into an animal... the only thing we have going for us right now is that it has a dead something in it's mouth already."

Every impulse was crying to at the very least, to put himself between her and the fox but he wanted to trust her judgement, he knew he could. "If you say so..."

The creature led them back down the hall that Ashwyn had explored. It bypassed the heavy iron door and walked around to the stone door where Ashwyn had discovered the large hole. It paused at the hole and turned to look at her. They locked eyes for a long while.

[WIS check for Ashwyn: 22 (rolled a nat 20! wootwoot!)]

Ashwyn felt a voice in her head. She felt it, rather than heard it, because it wasn't speaking any known language. But some how she also knew exactly what it was saying.

"Be on your guard." She warned her companions. "Something evil rests in the room beyond."

Zane glanced from Ashwyn to the fox and back. "How do you know?" He whispered.

Ashwyn was still staring into the eyes of the large fox. "I...don't know. It's hard to explain. It's like the creature is...speaking to me. Warning me."

Ashwyn turned to her companions. "We'll have to go in one at a time. No other choice. I'm not sure what's in there...the creature had no knowledge of it...only that it's evil. I...I think it's asking for our help in defeating it."

The fox exhaled once, as though in answer, and then turned back to the hole. It lowered it's great body to the ground and pushed its way through the seemingly too small hole.

Ishal frowned. "And how do we know that it's not waiting to have us come in one at a time so it can easily dispatch us?"

Ashwyn shook her head. "No. It's not. It wants our help. I'm sure of it." She turned back to the hole. "I'll go first to prove it." She said and without a second glance back she crawled into the hole.

Ishal frowned, gripping her glaive tighter, but decided there was nothing to do but continue. So she also crawled into the hole.

Zane swallowed the lump in his throat. "So....onward....I suppose..." He smiled in what he hoped was a warming fashion to the children. "Alright now, I'll go first, then you all follow me. Lopiena will come up behind. Okay?" He asked them.

They all nodded, but seemed very frightened.

Once they nodded, he turned to Lopiena. "Okay, they've agreed. I'll go first, then you can help them through the hole and come up behind." He nodded, swallowed once again, and then dove through the hole.

The children very nervously followed.

Looking nervously between the hole and Sigurd...it would have made more sense to let him go in before the kids...Lopiena sizes him up. "I don't know if you'll be able to fit through there with your armor, but you mentioned that it takes a while to put it back together so it would probably be best to keep it on. Do you think you would be able to open the door fully if someone pushes it from the other side?" Sighing and trying to push her fears back down, she walks over to the hole. "If you struggle with getting through, I'll be right on the other side. Don't know if I can help much, but if there's something down there...the others will need you." Turning, she crawls through the hole. Upon reaching the other side, she checks the room quickly for potential danger. If nothing is immediately apparent, she turns to the door to look for a latch or something that might open itfrom this side.

(Perception check....uhhhhhhh...nothing good. Rolled 4 )