As Felina continued to follow the other Gembounds, she heard terrifying noises. The loudest were screams of pain. With eyes perfect for seeing in the dark, as most felines have, she saw the plummeting form of Llamrei. She also heard Howl's muffled exclamation. She couldn't see *him*, though.

"Asimona! You can fly! Would you be able to save poor Llamrei and find Howl?" Even as she asked this question, blades came raining down!

There wasn't time for earth majick. Instead, she relied on feline instinct. Dodge! Run! Quick-quick-quick!

Felina wasn't a geomanceress now. She was all cat! It was all she could do to not simply give in to the thrill of being a wild savage.

She attempted to outrun the falling blades. What little intellect she had---at that moment---kept telling her to be quick and crafty. Just wildly charging onward was risky and potentially fatal.

So tried she did. Like a cat. She was so overwhelmed by the conflict between intellect and instinct, that there was no guarantee she'd make it to the strange platform several feet ahead of her.

@Asimona

(I know SilverWinter wants Llamrei's stone so I'm bringing it forward as part of the dungeon so she can collect it after!)

One down! There was a triumphant chorus of "Yay!" echoing down the hallway, as if a hundred happy voices cheered for the death. Glittering pieces of glowing confetti sparkled down over Llamrei's corpse, which was quickly dissolving into a pile of goo and bones. When Asimona and Howl made it into the next room, there was one left—Feilna!

...Felina!

A frantic buzzing erupted in the hallway, the sound of claws bouncing off of metal until a groaning and a churning slowed the blades to a stop. That was close!! But Felina was not without injury. There were a few cuts and scratches on her back but nothing fatal. A shadow swooped down and collected Llamrei's stone before fluttering after Felina.

The buzzing followed Felina into the chamber, settling over the area where the glow worms were collected at the pedestal. A faint, tiny figure could be seen hovering in place. A boulder fell from the ceiling and blocked the exit down the original tunnel.

"Welcome!! Congratulations on making it this far!" boomed a squeaky voice, and suddenly the figure was illuminated by several spotlights. It was Nemean. What a surprise. She was holding Llamrei's stone in one hand, and waving to the Gembounds with the other.

She snapped her fingers and pointed toward the three remaining contestants. "Allow me to translate the dangerous warning carved here!" she continued, dramatically dragging her finger from the Gembounds to the carved letters. "Ahem, 'DEATH COMES ON SILENT WINGS.'" A distant applause filled the room.

Turning back to the Gembounds a final time, she smiled from behind Llamrei's stone. "Well, GOOD LUCK!" With a final snap, the spotlights turned off. As the eyesight of the Gembounds slowly adjusted back to the darkness and subtle blue glow of the strange worms, the sound of pebbles clattering down a wall shifted from the left side of the room to the right. It was unclear what direction it was coming from.

"Get out there you big ugly animal," grunted Nemean's voice quietly as a startled yelp cut the air, and the sound of heavy wingbeats filled the room.

Your characters have earned a free round to catch their breath and regroup.

This quest is now closed to new participants.

@Howl @Asimona @Felina

Asimona stared rather blankly at the room before her. She could still hear the horse's screams ringing through her ears and her eyes blankly watched as a weird fairy-creature appeared in front of them. She blinked rather pathetically, but the booming voice snapped her out of her trance. She shifted and shook her head, trying to focus on what was happening now. She still...she couldn't believe...it was so sudden, so fast...

Her eyes caught on the purple gemstone that the fairy clutched in her hand and cold filled her stomach. That was Llamrei's, no doubt. She took a step forward, growling low. Why was she acting so happy? Why was she cheering? Was it her blades that had killed the horse? "Give that to me," she snarled. "It doesn't belong to you."

It didn't really belong to her either, but she would value it a lot more then her, to be sure. She opened her mouth to say something else, probably something about the warning, but then she was gone and so were the lights, leaving them in darkness, with nothing but the glowing worms again. Desperate to see again, she tried to conjure up some kind of spell to light up at least a bit of the room but her shock was still overwhelming. She couldn't do it.

It was then that the pain in her shoulder really hit her. Blood was still running down her arm and she staggered forward. "Shit," she groaned, shakily getting back to her feet. "Are you guys okay? Are you hurt?" She looked back towards the tunnel, now blocked off from them. Nobody else was going to die.

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

tags: @Howl
notes:

He was, for lack of a better phrase, hauling ass to get himself out of the actual knife zone. The shriek of metal in dire need of grease was giving him a headache on top of the tension headache he already had --- from the pain blossoming across his chest, of course. Mismatched eyes paid little mind to the shrill voice and the fairy dancing above, gemstone in hand.

Howl was far more focused on the tunnel behind him that had miraculously sealed itself. His desperation was voiced as a hooting cry, whirling around and whining pathetically, "n-ooo!" It was followed with a brief curse and grasping at his chest.

Hell, if he wanted to cry...

He glanced meekly at the dragon, sinking to the floor without mania to keep him standing upright. "Ah'm hurtin' priddy shittin' bad, yanno? 'cuz someone didn't list'n in on me deal, Miss Draggin," he grumbled sourly, before groaning and curling back up in the fetal position. Let Death-On-Silent-Wings come after him. It'd be nicer than this.

@Felina

In the dark, it was barely visible: a black shape against shadows, with only the faintest glint of emerald at its chest. As it crossed the space before the pedestal, its silhouette was visible against the faint blue glow.

The heavy thump of wingbeats now filled the space. It was hard to tell how large the creature was: larger than Howl, most likely, but nowhere near Asimona's bulk.

It circled, wary, large ears twitching this way and that--as if to figure out just what was in the room with it. Those present had, perhaps, a moment to act before it decided what to do, itself.

@Asimona @Howl

She tried to get some kind of rational thought to her head as she stood there, wingbeats taking up the silence in the room. At first, she tensed, ready to fight back whatever it was going to do to them: the sprite had said "Death comes on silent wings" but after that stunt she pulled, Asimona did not really feel like believing her.

She tried to understand what the hybrid was trying to say to her, but his accent was so heavy and his speech so different from hers that she could barely comprehend a single thing. "Sorry," was all she offered in response, but it wasn't sincere and she didn't even try to make it anything more then a passing word.

Instead, she focused on conjuring some kind of light. She only know how to make a little bit, and tried to focus on bringing up the image of a bird. It was a white swan that appeared in front of her, glowing faintly, but glowing nonetheless. She directed it towards the ceiling and it lifted its wings, taking off without stirring the air and beginning to circle the creature in the air, shedding enough light for Asimona to see.

She narrowed her eyes and tensed again. She'd never seen anything like it before and waited, watching carefully in case it decided to attack.

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

tags: @Howl
notes:

Howl rolled this way and that, before finally settling on lying supine as the most comfortable position. Those of a fetal sort were excellent for crying, but definitely not a likely-cracked rib and hurt pride. He grumbled half-heartedly as Missus Draggin completely ignored every bit of his fantastic deal-offering again, instead simply sitting there with lidded eyes. Some creature sat in the dark, illuminated by the light of some suddenly-arriving bird.

He sighed heavily, hands feeling around his chest and wincing. Mah-bye Ah've got a leetle fight left in mah yeht! There was always the possibility of treasure at the end of this long, dark tunnel of nightmares. Treasures as sparkly as that swan and that one dragon's hoard - oh, that draggin's hoard was of an enviable sorts, yeah!

Willpower restored, Howl wheeled himself onto his stomach and fumbled to his hands and feet. He failed at the latter, and fell with a rather disappointed hoop! Alas, he was not deterred. "Ah'll give yah a new deal, Missus - if yah'll list'n! Help a gah-up 'n to sum goodies 'n Ah'll do anyting yah need here'er there. Sticky fingahs fer thieve-ah-ree 'n more!"

Asimona's light flared through the chamber, illuminating the pedestal more brightly and the stone laid atop it. Behind it, the floor dropped away, another narrow walkway beyond: and it was near the end of this that the bat-cat creature crouched, waiting, half-facing them warily.

Just behind it was the only exit from this room: a door that Asimona might find difficult to squeeze through.

@Asimona @Howl

They both seemed too damn indecisive to act. Nemean snorted, eventually losing patience with their whining and whatever, and reappeared with a flail of her arms.

"PSSHHT, you losers are no fun. YOU GET NOTHING!" she added, and tittered. A wave of her arms, and the black beast behind her in the dark fled; glitter began to pour down from the ceiling, shifting spotlights sweeping back and forth to illuminate it. A sad trombone began to hoot. "YOU HEAR THAT? That's a song for LOSERS. You're LOSERS," she howled, laughing mockingly.

"If you decide you want your DEAD FRIEND'S STUPID ROCK BACK let me know and you can do this again. Oh, only HARDER!" The glitter-fall became a downpour, filling the enclosed space. It was all sad trombones, flashing lights, and Nemean's mocking laughter; and then the floor gave way.

Asimona and Howl would be dumped out into Tunnel J, the rock sealing neatly and completely behind them. The fall would be too short to really spread wings, but conveniently just far enough to shatter limbs.

Nemean remained behind, eyeing Llamrei's gemstone thoughtfully. It'd make a kickass necklace, even with the blood still on. No, especially with the blood still on.

The sprite's tinkling laughter filled the tunnel for a time before fading.

The quest Dungeons & Dragons has been failed. Howl, Asimona or other Gembound may attempt to contact Nemean to make another attempt at a similar, but possibly more difficult, challenge for the same reward, whatever that would have been... oh, and the dumb dead horse's stone.

@Asimona @Howl