Llamrei
I fear, I run, I fight

The mare screamed as she lost her footing, tumbling

down

down

down

before hitting the ground on her side with a wheeze. She caught her breath with a gasp, stretching out for a moment as her ribs twinged, thankfully not broken. Slowly, she rose to her knees, ears pinned against her skull, feeling the urge to run. But she couldn't, slowly getting to her hooves.

She reared, a panicked scream spilling from her throat at the sight of the spikes she had barely missed, balking and backing up, preparing to run, but there was nowhere to go. The sides of the ravine scratched at her sides, and she crowhopped, kicking up her hind hooves.

It took her a moment to process what Asimona said, her overactive prey instincts still screaming runpanicflee, but finally she managed to push herself forward enough to answer. "I'm... I'm alright. I think. There's... there's nowhere to climb out, no."

@Asimona

Unfortunately for the other party members, Howl didn't really have a sense of camaraderie. The Merrymen had disbanded long before he had the chance to even subliminally feel a sense of teamwork. Now, the sticky-fingered little bastard didn't even remember them outside of the pink diamond jingling against his ear. A memento of his mama, even if it actually wasn't.

Anyways, the hybrid galloped down the hall, toward the sounds ahead. If he screamed, the draggin would come, right?

Llamrei remains trapped in the deep dark of the ravine with no signs of an easy escape. Can the dragon figure out a way to save her, or will other emergencies demand Asimona's attention?

Meanwhile, Howl dives head-on into the black despite the ominous sounds echoing down the pathway. The scraping sound gets closer until it is too close, with Howl triggering a rusty blade to sweep down from the cave wall and slice his body. Thankfully, the blade seems old and more blunt than it might have been ages ago, but it is still sharp enough to rend flesh. (Howl may roll to determine how much damage is done.)

A grinding, churning sound rumbles up in the distance. The buzzing flutters from the ravine to the thick darkness of the pathway. "What treasures lie hidden beyond the throes of death?!" chimes a high-pitched voice. "Will you find them before you breathe your last breath?!" A manic giggling bursts around him before fading into echoes.

@Asimona @Llamrei @Howl @Felina

Asimona shifted with frustration. It was so dark in here and it seemed none of them knew any spells that could create light. She needed to get Llamrei out of there, though, and her own magic wasn't fit to lift her up. If only she could lift herself.

An idea popped into her head, a stupid idea, but there was no point in not trying. She closed her eyes and focused. She wanted this spell to work and she wanted it to be strong. She didn't open her jaws to breath ice this time, instead willing the molecules of water in the air to form a staircase, probably a spiraling one, that would give Llamrei a way to get out of the pit. It formed slowly and steadily, but, unable to see what she was doing, it was warped and uneven. Some of the stairs were bigger then the others and the whole thing was very narrow. It would not be easy to get up and Asimona also feared that it wouldn't be strong enough.

There was a sound behind her and she flinched, instinctively glancing to where the monkey hybrid had gone but it was no use - the place was pitch black. She couldn't help him right now, though, she needed to focus on getting the horse back up and out of there.

Holding onto the edge of the ravine carefully, she stretched out her neck as far as she could, just so that the coldness that always came from her body would help keep the ice cool while Llamrei tried to get up. "I made a staircase for you to get up. Be careful, though, I'm not sure how stable it is!"

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Llamrei
notes: (you should probably roll to see if she makes it)

Llamrei
I fear, I run, I fight

The mare tossed her head, muscles twitching beneath her flesh. She wanted to run, to flee, to get the hell away but she couldn't. Her hoof stamped, and she shook.

Her head snapped up, eyes widening as an ice-staircase began to form. It spiraled and circled, looking uneven and warped, and she worried at how slippery it would be. And the Dragon was looming over the side of it, far too serpentine for her to bomfortable, speaking with a mouthful of fangs that could tear her in half.

But the mare began to work her way up, walking very slowly, making sure the ice beneath her was sturdy before stepping, slipping several times, crashing to her knees more than once, splitting the skin there so that blood splattered on the ice. But finally, finally, she was on solid ground, tossing her head and stamping her hoof, wild-eyed as she turned to Asimona, gasping "Thank you."

@Asimona

Without the practiced ease of a sneak-thief, Howl careened down the dark passage--- and he'd live to regret it. "Ho' shee-it!" Some rusty thing swept out of the wall and jammed its curved, blunt edge beneath his body. A surprised shriek escaped him as he flew up into the air, followed by a winded gasp as he quite literally flew into the ceiling. Were he not in so much pain, the hybrid would've thought the scenario was comical. Maybe if it was someone else here... yeah, that'd be hilarious.

Tumbling head-over-heels and not knowing what was up or down, the hybrid landed in a crumpled heap stomach-first. The first thing he did? Curl up in the fetal position and sob, clutching at his cracked (probably broken) ribs.

The blades continue to swing in the darkness, unrelenting despite claiming one victim so far. If the gembounds were to be successful in passing the blades, ahead was a vast emptiness: an abandoned room with sparse, tiny glowing worms. There is a short pedestal in the middle of the room where most of the glowing worms accumulate. On the pedestal is an upturned stone with harsh, quick letters carved onto its surface. It is an unknown language.

Llamrei and Asimona must roll to avoid the swinging blades; if failure, the lower the number would be a higher amount of damage done. You are free to describe the injuries, if any.

Howl may advance into the empty room.

@Howl @Asimona @Llamrei

Llamrei
I fear, I run, I fight

CW: gore, graphic description of injury

There was a loud yell, and the mare looked up to see the monkey be thrown through the air, and she couldn't help but to whicker a laugh as he struck the ceiling. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be dead, seeing as she could hear him sobbing.

If they wanted to move forward, however, they would have to go through the blades. The mare grunted low, and trotted an uneasy circle, stamping a hoof when she came to a stand still. But she had to go forward, couldn't go back and, so, she began to trot forward, listening out for the blades.

She passed one, managing to pass it by a rather large margin. A few knicked her, digging into her flesh and sending her skittering, heart thundering at the scent of blood in the air. She wanted nothing more than to bold forward, gallop through the rest of the blades, but she fought down the instinct under the knowledge that it was incredibly dangerous.

A blade swung down, only an inch or so from her nose, and she panicked. Rearing up, she screamed and threw her head, flailing her hooves. Another blade swung down, and struck her neck. It tore through flesh and muscle, meat and tendons, before severing her spinal cord and shattering her vertebrae. She was only aware for a moment more, her head slumping forward on the last few inches of flesh that remained at the bottom of her neck before that, too, was severed, and it fell to the ground, shortly followed by the rest of her carcass.

Asimona turned and followed behind Llamrei as they approached the blades. She could barely see through the darkness, but she heard a shout followed by thumping noises and a small crying. Her nostrils flared with alarm, but there was no smell of blood in the air. He was probably fine.

As for Llamrei, Asimona waited patiently as the horse began to make her way through the blades as well. At first, she thought it was going to be okay. There was a clacking sound as hooves trembled on the ground when, suddenly, a screaming sound echoed through the chambers, quickly cut off by a horrible, horrible crunching noise that sent a wave of dread through the dragon. "Llamrei? LLAMREI!"

She didn't think. She lunged forward, trying to reach for the horse. A blade swung down from the wall and embedded itself in her shoulder. She cried out and, for a moment, forgot the horse. She slipped on something but finished sprinting through the tunnel, feeling a few more slices graze her wings and bounce off the plates on her back. Once she was in safety, she stopped, breathing heavily, pain shooting through her shoulder. She hadn't taken the steel with her, so the wound was bleeding freely. Llamrei wasn't anywhere to be seen. Was she still stuck somewhere, maybe cowering beneath the swinging blades?

Asimona suddenly realized that there was something on her claws. She lifted them up close to her face and tentatively licked on of them. She froze with horror. It was blood and certainly not her own.

"No..." She couldn't see the horse and she had a feeling that she didn't want to see it. She didn't know where Howl was, if he was still crying there or if he'd moved on. She was frozen with shock but forced herself to turn away. When this was over...whatever this was, she'd come back.

She turned and finished her way through the tunnel, barely feeling the pain in her shoulder and the rest of the cuts on her wings over the shock.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Howl
notes:

There wasn't much for him to do other than to simply lie there and weep. He reaped what he had sown, really. A hasty advance does not make a good thief. Howl's face contorted into a mask of pain: brows furrowed, eyes glassy and squinting, lips curled and teeth flashing in a deep grimace. His claws dug a little into his skin, just on the verge of drawing blood. It hurt so bad.

A sickening sound came from the distance, and a distressed call. The horse? Claws shuffled fearfully, and he distantly felt a cool presence pass by him. A surge of adrenaline filtered through him, manic in his desire to become the first to find whatever treasure awaited, to be the best thief there ever was, to plunder and be independent. He needed no one but himself.

But, could he even begin to rely on himself right now?

Howl struggled to his hands and feet, grimacing even harder than he was before and barely stifling a wince. His shoulderblade happened to move just so over his ribs, agitating the broken bone and eliciting a sharp wheeze.

"Agh, shee-it..."

Despite the pain threatening to overwhelm him, he pressed on after Asimona, rather pathetically.