Ever since the arrival of the shadowy Gembound, the stag had been on guard. He didn't know what the shadow creature was here for - what his true intentions were. All he had been told was that the creature was looking for someone, someone long dead. The stag did not know of them. He had warned the creature that he wasn't to endanger the new Gembounds that roamed these caves. As much as the cave had once been the shadow creature's home, it was now host to a new realm of life, and it was the stag's job to watch them. The beast had shown no signs of hostility, so for now, the stag was content to let him share their quarters.

His visits to Polaris had become more frequent since the awakening of the golems. He felt he had known this would happen. Obviously, there had to be some consequences to turning the lights back on. He just wished that there was something he could have done to prevent the golems from awakening. They endangered the little lives that grew here. The lives he was responsible for. If anything, he would try his best to ward off the golems.

As the lights flickered above, the stag gently wandered the perimeter of the shattered dam. The golems lumbered heavily around one another; in the absence of foreign magic, they became attracted to themselves, forever chasing one another for the magic imbued shards lodged in their bodies. They didn't react to the stag's approach, nary shedding a second thought to his presence. He would walk among them, whispering quietly to them, asking them where their homes were and what they wanted, how could he help them? Was he bound to protect them, too, as he was all life in the cave?

A distant voice had both distracted him and attracted the attention of the golems. They slowed their paces, their boulders slowly grinding as they each turned to face the origin of the noise. But it had bounced off of walls, traveled great distances to reach the dam. They were unable to locate its source. So, they carried on. But the stag was not content to ignore the cry for help. He turned and began to jog towards the helpless Gembound calling into the nether. Before long, the lamb came into view; bathed in the glowing lights of the cave, the stag approached, long legs carrying him slowly and gracefully towards the babe. "Shh. Do not fret." He spoke gently, and fell still a few feet away from Wynry. "Are you lost?" The stag asked, lowering his head to probe for the lamb's gaze.

The stag had not expected the little lamb to react so to his approach; when he came running up, the deer froze, anchoring his legs for when the creature had tumbled and rolled into his limbs. The stag tipped his nose down and uttered a humble chuckle. As the lamb shoved his head into the deer's leg, he tilted his own heavy skull and implored some kind of answer. Of course the little lamb was lost, but the stag didn't know what he could do for him unless the lamb gave him some more information. Sure enough, it came. He must have been looking for his friend. "Is Vazi a deer too?" He asked gently, patiently. "We can look for him together, if you like." He would help the little lamb find his friend, surely.

When Wynry asked him to promise if he would help the little lamb find his friend, the stag's lips curled into a small smile. He dipped his head in a slow nod. "I promise." He answered, and looked ahead. Now, where would they start? The stag had never met this Vazi before; he had no idea where to start looking. Briefly he wondered if he could send out the mycelia he'd tapped into to search for the little deer, but in what direction? Was he even here in Polaris?

Wynry bolted off towards the river, pausing only to wait for the stag to join him. The deer followed suite, jogging primly after the lamb. As he did so, he cast off his magic. The stag was leery of nearby golems, but there weren't any within sight, for now. They were still all gathered around the dam.

Post Roll Edit:
Once he had come to a halt behind the lamb, the stag closed his eyes and projected himself into the fungal growth that sprawled through the cave. In his mind's eye, he could see everything. Distorted visions of himself and the lamb, inching further and further away as his senses moved outward. He surveyed the entire room, and felt lingering presences, but he was unsure of whether or not any of them were Vazi. There was one - perhaps that was it. The stag cut off his magic, not wanting to alert the golems. "Let's follow the river." He said down to the lamb and began to walk, pointing his head in the direction he'd sensed the other presence. Maybe it was Vazi, or maybe it was some one else all together.

The stag walked gracefully alongside the lamb, his own soft sunset eyes fixed on the winding riverbed ahead. His ears would twitch every now and then, gaze flicking down to the lamb as he asked a question. The stag couldn't help the small smile that rose to his lips. "No, I am not." He answered. He didn't believe he was anybody's father. He had come here the same as they, hadn't he? Would he not know if he was somebody's father? Perhaps not... his brow knitted slightly, but the deer turned his head back up to the river. As soon as Wynry had felt the shaking of the ground, the stag did, too. He hesitated. There was a great disturbance, somewhere up ahead - they couldn't see, but the ground, and something came near them.

The great deer stepped ahead of the lamb, lowering his head and pointing his pointed antlers towards the coming threat. Before long, it showed its face. The massive white-haired yeti, pink skin glowing and bloodied, had come running along the river's edge to meet the two Gembounds. In his arms, two more Gembounds, still unconscious. The sight of the great stag had caused Svarog to slow, the snarl imprinted on his visage seeming to slowly edge away.

The stag walked slowly; his head was still lowered in defense, but his eyes were stuck on the two Gembounds in the yeti's grip. His heart jumped. Where had he stolen them from? Why were they injured? The stag raised his head now, daring to tear his eyes away from the two youths. He met the gaze of the yeti, imploring for some kind of answer.

Svarog rumbled, slowly stepping closer. He hadn't even cast a glance at the lamb. His eyes were on the stag. The yeti lingered, and then he slowly lowered Arkrael and Vazi to the ground, gently placing them before the stag.

The great deer watched. He made no move towards the Gembounds or the monster, careful to keep his distance. Once they had been placed on the ground, he looked back up to Svarog. There was something in the look they exchanged, solemn, knowing... accepting. "Thank you." The stag spoke quietly.

The ice monster wrinkled his nose, baring his upper fangs. A growl rippled up from his throat before he abruptly turned away, hastily knuckle-walking back in the direction he had come.

The stag knew naught what Svarog's next course of action would be. All he knew was that he had delivered the Gembounds to him, out of danger, and that much was to be appreciated. Once Svarog had disappeared from sight, the deer slowly walked towards Arkrael and Vazi, looking them over for signs of life. Sure enough, they were still alive, but badly wounded. What had transpired, what caused this to happen? The deer turned his head back to Wynry, silently asking if this was the deer he was looking for.