Every breath out of Surgis's lips were raw fire. Heat coalesced in her chest, and she hissed and panted, hands clammy with sweat. Being so close to active lava was so, so warm.

And here was warm, too. That heat was clogging, suffocating her every breath; too much. Heaving for air, Surgis coughed, interrupting a pulse of magic she'd aimed to echo out. Too hot! Surgis wheezed as she tried to follow the closest footsteps blindly, stumbling and barely avoiding a few collisions from all the smoke in the air.

Playing with fire had tempered Fahl somewhat against heat. It helped as well that high temperatures loosened his joints rather than stiffened them in place as the cold reliably did. Repeated exposure to that dangerous element, however, had been in small bursts instead of the consistent roast his body at present was being subjected to. Even someone who had once considered himself a master of the flame struggled under these conditions, nearly stumbling along while the scorching air threatened to peel his scales away.

He had no easy solution, too, for the suffocating wall he plunged into. So thickly the smoke permeated the space, its awful influence impossible to fully escape. A stench wormed inside nostrils, the toxic promise it held tasting bitter upon reaching his tongue. Instinct drove him to pulse magic through forelimbs in response as he charged forward, nearly blind. Targeting a mass of shifting particles made for terrible aim; therefore the invisible force he summoned fizzled out barely past his toes. The remainder of the run down the sloping corridor was spent wheezing from a tightening chest while dodging silhouettes in the dimness.

The headache pounding at his temples ensured more often than not he bashed his shoulder against a jutting pillar of rock he sought to barge by. Safe to say, he'd be quite battered upon reaching the end of this area.

With the wind as you fly away
Give a smile from your lips and say
"I am free! Yes, I'm free!"

As soon as September stepped into the next room, his senses were assaulted by the thick smoke that wafted through every corner of the room. His nose turned and eyes shut against their stinging heat, pulling the winds forward again to at least clear them from his general area. "Ugh, this sucks," came a soft complaint as he stepped forward, mane whipping in the wind that swirled around him like a shield. At least he wasn't choking anymore.

september

A shoulder hunching cringe at the grinding of stone as it collapses into the lava below, and he shuffles only a step or two back to see if anyone got.... squished. Luckily, it seems not to be the case, and he sighs deeply before coughing - ah. Right. Sweltering heat. Ow.

A wave of his hand in front of his face, and he frowns deeper- seems no flailing is going to help clear the smoke here.

"Everyone is... safe, for now, right?" he rasps, voice crackling from disuse and the heat. "That was horrifying. "

Another shuffle, and then he tries to keep up with the group, starting a slow jog to get through the smoke, but knees bent so he at least won't go block over stones into one of the glowing cracks. Yikes.

It squinted all six of its eyes as it entered the smoke-filled room. It was blisteringly hot in a way it wasn't used to, and it didn't like the way the air stung its nostril as it took a breath- interrupted by a surprised, nearly offended cough.

It's genius solution? Close it's watery, irritated eyes and hold its breath to keep, and run as fast as it possible can.

If it runs into anyone? That's THEIR problem for not looking where they're going!

Somehow, The Agate manages to cross the room unscathed, although it's practically gasping for air like a dying fish by the time it reaches the other side. Its lungs feel like nearly-bursted balloons, and briefly it wonders if this was really better than just breathing in some spicy air.

Wyrm peered off ahead. This room sucked; it was black smoke, thick and choking. She grimaced, and focused on her magic again. Light, dim but enough to see by, flared enough that she could pick a quick path through. She took a breath, held it, and darted forward, bounding from clusters of stalagmites down the rocky slope toward the distant glow of a door.

"This way! she called, when the last of her breath ran out--the inhale of smoke was unpleasant, but by then she was most of the way clear.

Respite.

The gap ahead led into a far cleaner room, with clearer air. Smoke lingered but not enough to hurt the eyes or lungs; the stone path across a lava fall was wide and smooth enough to be perfectly safe. It was not a crumbling bridge or the like, and indeed it was a good place to stop and rest for a moment. It also sported a gorgeous view: a hissing, churning lava-fall to one side, something the Gembounds might never see the likes of again in their (hopefully) long lives.

In fact, a broad alcove to one side--smooth and well-lit--held a number of open treasure chests. Any magical or other checks would find that these weren't trapped; they seemed to be a reward, offered by the creators of this "training" dungeon, for having progressed this far at all. Gems, coins, armor, weapons and other fun things spilled forth from the ancient, ornate boxes: free for the taking.

---

IT'S LOOT TIME! While other treasure may be available later in the dungeon, for now, Gembounds have found themselves in a nice, safe, open area filled with treasure--or, at least, just enough for everyone to take a little something.

Gembounds should roll, and post a general concept of what they are looking for (ex. "a sharp weapon," "a living gemstone," etc.) and the next GM post will detail what they have received! They may also collect a number of coins equal to the number of their roll.

Small, convenient bags and boxes are available to carry loot and coins in; these have been protected by the magic of this room, and are not decayed.

Gembounds may then continue on to an ominously dark gap into the next room...

---

The next post will take place on June 25th in the evening GMT.

If Maw wishes to continue, she must be posted this round with additional posts to make up for those missed.

@Fahl @Thalassa @Bauxite-T-One @Rajani @Tourmaline @September @Surgis @Hargrave @V-Agate-One @Maw @Tyrin @Wyrm

Finally, it seemed they were at the end of the dungeon, or at least what he assumed was the end or close to it, and finally there was loot. This was the real reason he had even decided to come to this thing in the first place. He walked in quietly, not rushing and not bothering to freak out over the shiny items and object anyway.

Slowly be began to search, hiding a bit of a toothy smirk as he did so. He figured something sharp would be useful, even if he didn't use it himself, he figured a weapon would be valuable enough to likely sell later.

Thalassa took a moment to watch the roaring lava tumble downward by the side of the path, noting how the black of rock melted away into vivid, liquid flame. Her pause was brief, before she continued onward to examine the treasure chests. The lack of wear and soot-stains told her they were newly installed.

She waited for Rajani to find something of note, before taking her pick. She wasn't being polite. They could be trapped, for all they knew. Better let someone else find out before her.

She wanted... Something she could wear, maybe. Something that'd help her travel - whatever that looked like.

The Bauxite wheezed a little upon entering the safe room, only barely escaping the smoke unscathed. He'd gotten a little too excited for his own good. Oh well! There is money to steal.

He leapt to find a prize, eager to be the first rather than actually paying attention to what was in front of him. But he knew what he wanted - something shiny. Perhaps a matching set of armour for his new, pristine battle axe?