Elia had awoke last of the three pulling herself from a shallow pool of water and wrapping her scarf around her face once more. She sighed, hoping that the chain shirt underneath her clothes wouldn't stick to her body and ruin her attempt at keeping her form anonymous. She could feel herself turning red as she walked towards the group, knowing that the armor she wore started to cling to her skin."Why, why of all the things I could have picked did I pick the chain?" she asked herself growing to concerned about her appearance to listen to what the prince was saying.

"I - uhh - I'll help," she said glad that her scarf was covering her red cheeks, "We should get out of here as soon as possible, so you can do whatever you just said," she finished with a whimper looking over her wet clothes again, hoping no one would notice or be rude enough to stare.

_________________

Adeon began visibly twitching as the servant began berating him for his behavior. "How dare I speak up against an unjust nobility? I do not care for my kinsmen, or my country? My kinsman are the farmers of this country, the people who are starving due to the corrupt nobles taxing away too much of our food to support that ridiculous military, that they then use to terrorize the people who do nothing but work to provide for their families! Those are the people who hold my loyalty! And if you think that means I don't care about my country, then you must have no idea what Leona is like outside of your precious castle walls! And if wanting to protect the people from idiots like you is treason, then I admit to it! I will fight to the death to protect the regular people, to protect my family from the disaster that is our government!" He turned to the prince again, his face turning red from anger. "And you! You're perfectly content to just sit here and allow people to use you, instead of doing you damndest to get out so you can do some good for your countrymen! You don't have weapons? Then fight with your fists! Slog your way through until you can't take another step, and then keep going anyways! You're pathetic! Nothing more than a pampered little pet!"

He shouted at the prince's back until the man disappeared. It was only then that he turned to the two girls who fell down the hole with him, and his anger faded immediately as he realized he had other issues facing him. He turned a little red as he saw how Elia's clothes were sticking to her, revealing the girl's ample frame. After a moment he glanced away, unbuckling his thick leather belt. He was just as wet as she was, but he recognized that the girl was uncomfortable with other people seeing her frame, much like he was. The slender boy slipped out from underneath his thick white tabard, revealing a frame so small that he looked like a prepubescent girl. He nudged Elia's shoulder and held out his tabard to her, pointedly staring at his feet. "It's not much, but if it helps you feel comfortable, then you're welcome to borrow it. And I'm sorry for before. I get rather testy when I'm not doing well in a fight.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Elia's attention was grabbed when Adeon began to shout. She stared at him, utterly bewildered that he was standing up to royalty for someone else. Maybe I had him wrong, she thought smiling meekly underneath her scarf. He reminds me of father, she thought, almost immediately attaching a fond feeling to the boy. She cursed herself quickly but was unable to remove that warm feeling from her heart. She shrugged, it'd vanish with time, or maybe it wouldn't. Who knows? She continued to listen to his speech, growing more enamored with each word he said, sure he was a little young and sure he did some stupid things but his heart was in the right place. She smiled softly at his back as he finished. To speak in such a way to those who could have you killed was brave, to say the least.

Once more she was dumbstruck when Adeon offered his tabard to her. Standing quietly for a moment unmoving before what he was doing finally sunk in."Thank you, but it looks like you'd be uncomfortable without it," she said pulling her scarf down and smiled at him, "I appreciate the gesture. I'll be fine." Elia left her scarf down as she spoke to the boy, a soft smile remaining on her face. "I know what its like to get frustrated. I'm sorry for slapping you," she said, "Maybe I can help you a little with your knives when we get out of here."

_________________

Eli kept looking dead ahead as he raised his hand to the party, seemingly bidding them farewell. What he was actually doing was extending them the middle finger, mostly for Cyrus' comment. "I'm a damn pirate!! I don't pay extra! I take extra!" the young captain announced to everyone in ear shot as he made his way further in to town. Once he'd gotten out of sight of the group though, Eli dropped his egotistical facade and turned his attention towards the people injured in the streets. So many bodies, so little time. Most of the stores that were still left standing were closed, making shopping impossible, not that he'd really expected to be able to purchase anything from the get-go.

Nevertheless, Eli made his way through the streets, helping in whatever way he could. Whether it was carrying someone out of the middle of the road, or helping someone up the steps to their house, every little thing helped in some way. Where Eli had learned to be so courteous did raise some interesting questions though. When the young pirate finally finished his community service, he made his way further into the city. The destruction was less obvious there and some of the shops seemed to still be operating. "Let's see...."

Eli poked in and out of the shops, moving up and down the street like a mouse caught in a maze. "A few of those brats are probably mages.....should pick up some orange gels. Definitely going to need some apple gels too. Oh! Life bottles of course. One of them's bound to get killed sooner or later." he stated, non-chalantly. At that moment, Eli paused for a moment. If he'd been carrying a life bottle with him before, Daniel might still be alive. ".....Damn it....." he sighed, finishing up his shopping. It soon dawned on him that he didn't have a clue where the others had gone off to. "Boy they really thought this out didn't they." Eli growled with a tone of annoyed sarcasm. With nowhere else to go, Eli made his way back to the entrance. Maybe someone would take enough interest in him to come back and get him.

Paulina couldn't help but gape as the small boy shouted at Prince Greene and his entourage. She held her hands up to her temples, and felt her shoulders begin to convulse. Shit. Since the boy and the warrior girl were the only other ones with combat skills, the young woman had counted on their help in this situation.

Paulina broke off from the group, walking to the edge of the underground pool. The torches lining the cavern cast light on the water's black, murky surface. Okay, Paulina – relax. Just think. The silver-haired boy seemed mentally unstable, but what about the other girl? The warrior from Nippon? She seems reasonable...dangerous, too. She looks like an expert. The sharp-shooter let out a sigh, praying they all wouldn't have to rely on her pistoleer skills alone to get out of this mess.

At length, she turned back to the others. The lad had stopped shouting, and was making awkward conversation with the girl. The prince and his entourage were back on the other side of the cavern. Paulina walked uncertainly toward the former pair; at length, she spoke up. "Well, uh...hi. Nice to meet you." Is this really the time for formalities? She glanced towards the entryway uneasily. "My name's Paulina."

_________________

Adeon looked back at Elia, making a point of looking at her face. "Go ahead and take it. I'll be fine without it until you're dry." He scratched at the back of his head for a moment, unsure of what to say in response to Elia's apology. He did however, know exactly what to say when she offered to help him learn to fight better ith his knife. "Sure. I've never had anyone to practice with or teach me anything, so it'd probably be really useful for me to learn how to fight with a weapon properly." Unfortunately, it was true. For all the years Adeon had been harassing the unjust government of Leona, the knife he carried was pretty much useless. Not to say that he couldn't fight, he was the number one brawler in the outlying farms, which was surprising for his small frame. But in the scraps he had been in, his small size had been an advantage. It gave him a speed that few others had, combined with the hardened muscles that only years of repetitive manual labor could give. But he never stuck around to fight the knights in town, they had the bad habit of calling in backup. Adeon turned as Paulina introduced herself, his face pretty much blank. "I'm Adeon."

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

~Leona Topside~

Fang was a little shocked not much as the home but to see his companion without his armor on since that’s how he always saw him. As a country bumpkin he didn’t really care for the rich since they don’t really value family or money as much as the type of people that are born in a poor town. To find out that Gran’s family was well off was kind of surprising. Seeing Gran back at his home made Fang start to miss his own home and family. It’s been about a couple weeks since he left to help provide money for his poor family and he wondered if they were alright without him around.

Then Fang realized that they didn’t have much time for such leisure activities, if this country was on the verge of collapse then his family was in grave danger. The walk through the city had given him a really bad feeling. He wondered if it was his family that died during this tragedy and how it would feel. Shaking his head to stave off the depression thoughts that were going through his head he started to refocus on the task at hand. The fist fighter was starting to get impatient and he said, “Uh…why did you change your clothes? We have to hurry and get this information and get a move on! There isn’t enough time for costume changes! Also I’m sure Eli has finished gathering the supplies by now. So where is your father?”

Meanwhile…

In a close proximity to Eli, there were two Knights discussing some recent gossip about the current situation. “Hey did you hear? Apparently not even our general Durant has been allowed back inside the castle.” One knight said.

The other responded, “Yea, he was really worried about the king…and I haven’t seen Durant around town lately. I’m pretty sure I saw him in the area behind the castle…I hope he found a way inside. With all the people without homes we should relocate them inside the castle. It’s not like the king to lock himself away like this…”

_________________

Elia stared at Adeon for a moment, unsure what to do. She smiled at him and shrugged, "Thank you," she said quietly taking the tabard and fitting it over her body. She leaned down and gave Adeon a peck on the cheek before straightening up and wrapping her scarf around her face covering everything below her eyes. She looked at Adeon for a moment longer before turning towards the gunslinger.

"I am Elia, a ninja from Nippon," she looked around the cave for a moment and sighed, "Originally I came to find the spirits to bind but I seem to be caught up in this." She folded her arms looking at the gunslinger, "We shouldn't linger here, getting back to the surface, with or without the prince. Although I'd rather not get involved with this whole conflict." She drew her two swords and gave them a twirl before stepping towards the door, waiting for the other two to get ready.

_________________

Paulina sighed. It was such a relief to meet a sensible person. Thank Astra. "Nice to meet you, Elia," the young woman smiled as the ninja listed her credentials. "I have some experience with a pistol myself," Paulina lifted the hem of her damp pink coat, revealing her weapon. "I admit, I'm not the most skilled person in the world. But I think I can take them on together," she motioned to the girl and Adeon.

Paulina nodded when Elia stepped towards the door. "Okay, I agree." She grasped her pistol, and silently steadied her nervous trembling. Easy, Paulina. Just do it a clear head. She turned towards Prince Greene. "Your highness, we're going to attempt to fight the way out of here," the brunette gazed at the beleaguered royal, noting the irony of the situation. What an un-heroic prince. She silenced a titter. "Can you open the door?"

_________________

"Eh?" blurted out Cyrus, visibly surprised by the question. "Oh, you saw that huh?" he said with a hint of bashfulness as he stared at the rubbled field ground. "Hehehe. It's nothing really, I guess it all finally hit me last night in bed," he paused for a it looking at what was left of the Leonian scenery. "I mean. just this morning my biggest worry was to get to my first day on the job on time; and within a few hours my priorities went from pay my rent this month, to save the world. It's a lot toke in I guess, but hey, better to deal with your worries before a fight than during it right?" he said with what looked like a forced smile.

Cyrus hoped that his answer would satisfy his comrades curiosity; after all, it was mostly true. He had just left out some rather important bits. This isn't the time to talk about it; we've got a lot of work a head and who knows I might actually be wrong about this one he thought to himself as he looked at Leona's castle with a look of worry before turning his gaze unto the road ahead.

____________________________________________________

"Not to shabby," stated Cyrus upon seeing the grand home in which Gran's family lived. "The again, I wouldn't expect anything less from the captain of the guard," he added just before the front door was opened and they were greeted by whom he guessed was Gran's father. The man seemed warm and well mannered; just how you'd expect a good old man-of-the-court to be. Though the man visibly unnerved Cyrus; his presence combining with everything going on were picking on old wounds better left forgotten.

Upon hearing Fang's exasperated comment Cyrus jumped at the chance to get out of the house "NO worries friend!! I'll go and bring Eli, k?Bye!" he said in a flurry of action, before bolting out the door and heading towards where they had split ways before. The run back, did a lot to clear the young boys head from the troubling matters that were starting to fill it.

After several minutes he managed to make it back to the entrance; fatigued, though undeterred. Cyrus looked around a bit for their lost ally, finally spotting the salty pirate. "There... you are!" exclaimed Cyrus between gasps for breath. He brushed some sweat from his brow and took a moment to compose himself be fore continuing. "I had...a feeling you might be done;.. the others are at Gran's place. So, we'd best hurry back there," he said motioning Eli to follow as he started walking back. "So, how'd shopping go?"

Will of the Prince-

The prince looked at Paulina warily, remembering that one person among her group held an extreme hatred for him, enough to pull a knife on him. His two bodyguards were keeping a close eye on her to make sure she didn’t do anything funny. They were wearing traditional knight uniforms with some gold around their shoulder plates to show that they are, or rather once were the prince’s royal guard, and were holding spears as weapons. Softly he spoke, “If I grant you this key would you guarantee the safety of myself and the rest of the nobles and servants that are hiding out here? Once that door is opened it can’t be closed, we’d be good as dead with the doors open and only my two guards to protect everyone here. I can’t risk even one life being compromised by opening the door. You understand this don’t you my young girl? It’s for the safety of the people after all…” Deep down the prince was afraid of being betrayed by these three strangers, and secretly valued his life more than everyone else in this dank rat hole. He was starting to look nervous as he awaited the response that would either spark a conflict or calm his mind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clue to the Castle-

((Sorry Brad, I got to move on, catch up later))

Fang was getting restless, since he didn’t care much for high society. He couldn’t even say a word when Cyrus busted out the door. It reminded him of when they first met when he burst into Vaccine headquarters because he was late. “Sorry Gran I’m so fidgety in here that I might kick or break something. I need some fresh air!” he said nervously.

Outside, Fang felt calmer; there was just something about high society that put him on the edge. He heard people yelling nearby “This way men! The general had found a way inside! We must protect the king!” as he saw some knights running towards the backside of the castle. Fang felt that this was too suspicious so he followed the knights staying far behind them to avoid suspicion. As he turned the corner to find the back end of the castle he saw the knights go inside a gate in a shallow end of the castle moat but they locked it from the inside to prevent anyone from following them. “This must be the secret way into the castle I better tell everyone!” Fang thought as he ran back to the meeting place. On the way back he wondered what the knights were up to and why they weren’t opening this gate or the main gate for anyone else.

Catching Eli and Cyrus on their way back to Gran’s place, a slightly sweating and out of breath Fang shouted, “Hey guys I think I just found our way inside! Hurry guys! Follow me!” The young boy guided them to the locked gate inside a shallower part of the moat behind the castle. The water was about ten inches high and looked unclean from the debris of the aftermath of the attack. Then he turned towards Eli and said, “Captain! You’re a pirate right? Can you pick or break this lock? If you can then we can head inside no problem!”

_________________

Adeon glanced over at Prince Greene, grinding his teeth as the coward spoke, feeling his cheeks heat up as his face flushed with anger. Having been between Elia and Paulina, he was able to hear the Prine's words easily. It wasn't surprising, Greene was everything Adeon had accused him of being. From how nervous the man was, it was obvious to Adeon that Prince Greene was more worried about himself than the people down here with him. "So the coward Prince cannot protect his own people, nor will he dirty his hands to save them. How unsurprising." Adeon smirked as he spoke, his voice thick with the contempt he felt for the other Leonan. This was how he treated all nobles, especially the ones who saw him stealing from them. He was looking forward to angering the Prince, there was no way that any outcome could be bad for him.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Madness of the Royal Blood

The prince was unsurprised that the unruly girlish boy who pulled a knife on him had a complaint about his demands. Sighing heavily he spoke to Adeon and said, “You do not understand a country is nothing without its ruler. Chaos will erupt on the streets without someone to lead people into the future. You must be jealous that you have gotten a bad draw from the lottery of life and forced yourself to become a insignificant and envious little boy.” The prince’s true colors were being shown as a spoiled brat through his harsh words. He didn’t want such a person to continue to exist as it could cause unrest among the other nobles and cause the peasants to revolt. “My dad says that scum like you need to be put down. If you want, my blood, the key to the door’s seal so badly you little boy shall have your mouth and hands cut off so that you can’t speak or do anything wrong for the rest of your life.” The prince said in a moment of furious passion while inadvertently revealing something important. “Guards seize them! If I can’t get out no one will!” he commanded and the two bodyguards next to him start to run up to grab the three youths. Being trapped underground so long was one of the reasons that the prince was driven to madness. Now he wants to justify his existence by erasing Adeon and his companions’ from history.

_________________

Adeon grinned as the prince rose to the bait. "How wrong you are. A country is nothing without it's people! You nobles would have nothing without the hardworking people of Leona to support you." And Adeon outright laughed when Greene accused him of being jealous. "Why would I be jealous of what I hate? Though I'm certain I'd be far better to the people than the likes of you were our roles reversed." The brat was doing exactly what he wanted, proving how corrupt and selfish the nobles were. Certainly some of the others would see that this was not the way a leader should behave. His grin returned to a smirk as Greene revealed that the way out was through royal blood, and threatened to remove Adeon's hands and mouth if he tried to take it, and sending his two goons at them. Adeon grabbed his knife from the back of his belt and looked back at Elia, still smirking. "Looks like those lessons are starting earlier than expected, huh?"

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Eli stared at the lock for a moment, poking at it with the end of his sheath. When asked if he could break the lock, the young Captain turned a tired eye towards Fang. "Oh I get it. So just because I'm a pirate I must know how to pick locks. For the love of Undine that is so stereotypical." As he spoke, Eli effortlessly smashed the rusty lock with the tip of his sword, still ranting throughout the process. "I swear it's people like you that make it difficult for pirates to get a fair shot in this world." Eli sighed as he opened the gate and slipped down into the tunnel. "But to answer your question, yes, yes I can."

Paulina looked on in horror as Prince Greene ordered the guards to attack them. "What the...?! Hey, stop!" she reached for her pistol. I can't really shoot them, can I...? The lass had never killed a human before. She fingered the trigger, glancing over at Adeon and Elia in desperation. Adeon looked like he was readying himself to fight the men off. I'm not strong enough to get physical with them. Paulina backed away from the others; she held her gun up and cocked the trigger. "Let's talk about this, calmly," she looked at Greene, her face incredulous. "We can't get you lunatics out of here if you kill us."

_________________

Cyrus just smiled with a wry grin, "You know Capt'n them stereotypes are made for a reason; and I don't know I about you, but I'm pretty glad that part of it was right. Otherwise I would have had to blow the whole gate straight to hell!" he replied patting the captian's back fro a job well done. All things considered, Cyrus like Eli. He was like a breathe fresh air after having to deal with with snot nosed scholars most of his life. Maybe it was his snark or his charisma, but the young warlock just like the guy.

"Well lead the way captain," he he added gleefully as he followed Eli down the tunnel, an inexplicable sense of dread starting to build in him.

((Let’s move things along a bit.))

Underlying Darkness-

Fang was in agreement with Cyrus. He sighed then asked, “Was it really necessary to say all of that? Do you like to be the center of attention or something?” Fang was almost sorry he said what he did until the pirate started to act like a drama queen and complain. Inside the tunnel the light quickly faded as the group marched through the knee high water. In the pitch black darkness which blinded their sight, the three started to fall into a hole they would have seen with some light. The hole was the only thing at the end of the tunnel but nonetheless they weren’t ready to jump in. It wasn’t a long fall but they landed in a pool of cold water about three feet high. When Fang went down the hole, he fell in head first and then he started to flail and shout thinking he was drowning. Opening his eyes he realized the water was shallow enough to stand on. The fighter never really liked the water ever since he was a little kid.

Climbing out of the pool onto a nearby ledge it seemed they were in a dungeon of some kind. Torches lit the area nicely and the room had the typical décor of a dungeon with chains and bones scattered here and there. Up ahead there were three dead soldiers on the ground. “Hey these were the soldiers that I saw enter earlier. How did they die?” Fang wasn’t an expert and didn’t want to touch them but if someone did examine the bodies it would have sword and spear wounds on it. Whatever killed them must have been up ahead and preparation and planning were required. Fang and Cyrus fought together before but they had no idea how Eli fought in battle, but if his personality was any indication Fang was starting to get worried.



A Servant’s Duty-

Hearing Paulina’s words only served to infuriate him more. “Argh! Shut yer damn mouth bitch! I haven’t seen the sun in so long, there is barely enough food and water left and now that a chance to escape has arrived I’m not going to let someone backstab me!” The servants were shocked to hear his speech. The prince truly was falling into madness as he continued his emotional breakdown. “Kill them all! I don’t know them they will betray and kill me! I don’t want to die! To preserve my life you three must die!” Just as he finished his rant one of his personal guards ran up to the prince and gave him a swift blow to the head knocking him out.

One of his personal guards approached the three and said, “We apologize for the prince’s behavior watching his father, mother, and sister die before he eyes by his own servants turning against him has left him vulnerable. I was there when it happened their eyes were so cold and lifeless like they were possessed by some maddening demon. Then they locked us away in this secret shelter underneath the castle. To show our apologizes please take this…” he said walking near the prince and sticking a sharp pointy object in his arm and filled a little pouch with blood. He gave the blood to Paulina who wanted to talk things out rationally. He also gave one healing type item to everyone. “Despite going insane we still love our prince, you can go on ahead. we will try to protect everyone here the best we can while you can escape. “

The sealed door had a magical glyph around it that causes anyone to bounce back if they touched it. Even though the door was sealed loud roars were easily heard on the other side. It would be wise to be fully prepared for what is on the other side of the door. The three who just met had to fight like a team and thus discussing some tactics wouldn’t be a bad idea.

_________________

Eli ignored Cyrus' congratulations on a job well done the same way he ignored Fang's complaint about his behavior. Had they been on the Gull's Cry, the young captain's reaction would have been quite different. Nevertheless, the land was not his domain so he'd let it slide for now. Cold water soaked into his boots as the three sloshed down the dark tunnel, looking for some vague form of light to guide them in the right direction. Unfortunately, no such light befell the them. Just as Eli was about to turn back, the sound of crumbling earth and the sudden pull of gravity jolted Eli to his senses.

A bit quicker to react than his companions, Eli pulled his sword out and dug it into the muddy walls of their one way tunnel, slowing his descent in the process. Fang and Cyrus were left to fall into whatever hellish doom awaited them at the bottom of this rather unexpected hole. A pool of water from the sounds of it. After some careful foot work and a few key sword placements, Eli eventually made it to the point where the hole exited into the cavern, dangling from the ceiling by the hilt of his sword until he could get a lay of the land. "You idiots alright down there?" he called out to the two younger boys in the pool. "Next time worry less about me and more about saving your own skin."

The young pirate swung down into the cavern, landing hard on the side of the pool. The sudden impact forced Eli to catch himself with his palms, wincing as the scattered pebbles dug into his soft flesh. "Oh hey I've got an idea. Let's break open this fancy lock and go snooping around the city's sewers. What could possibly go wrong?" Eli mocked Fang, finding serious annoyance with their present state of affairs. Not one to spend too much time on one subject though, Eli turned his attention to the dead bodies on the far side of the pool. "..." The young captain remained silent as he brushed past Fang and Cyrus, kneeling down to the dead bodies. Without so much as a second thought, Eli lifted one of the corpses away from the wall, dragging it into the light where he could get a better view. What followed was rather disturbing to say the least. After removing the guards sword and strapping it to himself, Eli dug through the man's pockets, pulling out a rather small bag of coins which he pocketed for himself. Without so much as a glance in their direction, Eli spoke up before Fang and Cyrus could say a word about his behavior. "They're dead. Money and weapons aren't needed in the afterlife." Eli repeated the process with the second guard, this time giving the stolen weapon to Cyrus to hold on to. "Carry that for now. It'll be worth something later I imagine."

Once Eli was satisfied with his pillaging, he turned to Fang with a response to his question. "Swords, spears, and other sharp pointy object could have done this. Whatever did it probably isn't too far from here. Judging by the state of them though I think we can rule out viruses. Whatever did this was human. A virus wouldn't leave a corpse in this good of shape." Eli continued pondering to himself about the matter for awhile before giving up on deducing anything more. "Whatever the case it's of no concern to us right? Let's just assume anyone we meet down here is a hostile for now and take care of them accordingly."

Cyrus kept a careful eye out for viruses as they walked down the pitch black corridor; the sound of the running water relaxed him. His thoughts drifted back to his home for the slightest moment before the realization struck him almost as hard as the pool would. Running water?! The warlock came to a sudden stop. "Eli be careful," he blurted out just as the pirate fell below. If had gotten a chance he might have been able to figure a way down safely, but alas fate had conspired against him once again. Their blinded leader bumping into him from behind causing the two to plummet down the shaft.

"You idiots alright down there?" called out Eli from above, leaving Cyrus to wonder just how he'd managed to escape falling with them. "Yeah we're cool," yelled back Cyrus as he helped Fang realize that he could stand in the pool.

"Next time worry less about me and more about saving your own skin." he added in his usual callous tone. Cyrus just rolled his and waited for the teen to drop down before helping them find the ledge and climb out. The small group eventually reached a rather well lit dungeon, from a far he could make out the figures of two men.

It took him a few moments to realize that the soldiers in question were dead and not sleeping on the job, having been slightly blinded by the bright torches. He might've moved in to check the bodies, but Eli eat him to it; brushing past him and fang. He was starting to get the feeling that Eli was not pleased with the last few turn of events.

Cyrus grabbed the blade that Eli had handed to him, taking a deep breath. He was a spell caster, he had no business with swords, and if he ever had to go into melee range it meant that things had already gone horribly wrong. So, with a slight shrug he sent the blade away; he still preferred his rod over a sword.

Cyrus shrugged after Eli's explenation "Well, paranoia's always something nice to start a dungeon search with." he paused as he took a few steps forwards and squinted his eyes a bit. They were finally getting used to the light. "So, let's keep moving fellas. No point in giving the enemy time to find whatever it's looking for," he added motioning to one of the two boys to lead the way.

Adeon stood his ground as the guards continued to come after them, just as crazy as their master. So he was a little disappointed when another of the Prince's attendants whacked Greene over the head and into unconsciousness, but it was still very satisfying to see as well. He just sighed as the attendant immediately apologized for their Prince's behavior, claiming it was from the loss of his family. Adeon walked over to the door after Paulina was given the blood needed to open it, and turned back to the attendant. "If you cherish him so much, then keep him off the throne. I will do whatever it takes to protect the common people of Leona. Next time, I won't stay my blade."

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Paulina rubbed her temples; although she felt for the guards, she was still keyed up by Greene's odd outburst. She flinched when an attendant stuck the prince's arm and drew his blood. The gunslinger tried to hide her unease as she was given the pouch. "Uh, erm, thanks."

Paulina noticed Adeon advancing toward the door. "Okay..." she let out a sigh. The monsters on the other side were loud, making their presence known. "You ready, Adeon? Let's try to stick together." The lass unfastened the pouch, and splashed the passageway with the royal's blood.

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((I apologize for the long delay stupid school work. Since now everyone is in the same dungeon. I shall set the stage and the objective is to escape to the castle’s first floor. All monsters must be defeated before you can move on to the next area.))

Adeon’s Group Starting Point: Leona Castle: B3: Torture Chamber

The blood splashed on the door and a white light that beckoned them to enter. The other side of the door was what looked like the bottom of a well. In truth this was part of a special type of torture device. The water would flood into the well and as the water rises the steel bars overhead would prevent the victim from escaping and drown them if they don’t provide the information. It was originally filled ¾ of the way with water but it was completely drained and something more sinister than water was inside. Large hexagonal shaped nodes lined the wall of the well. There were virus nodes, a special containment that incubates viruses until they are fully grown. They were in various colors from blue to yellow, to red, and some of them were open already. The open ones had some sticky green residue that poured out of them. Virus nodes hatched faster when they were closer to their prey but they are big enough to use as platforms to jump on to and to use to scale the slippery well walls. The metal grate at the top of the well had the lock sticking out which would be easy for someone to pick at. Above the well were several roaming viruses as well as several more nodes as well as some stairs leading upward. Scaly in nature with the red core on its tail the viruses were lizard-like about 3 feet tall and had large fangs. The creatures were called Lizardbits and they attack using their long tails as whips from a distance. As the three youths walked into the well a viral node fell and blocked the passage they just exited. It was time to take action before the viral creatures overran them.

Fang’s Group Starting Point: Leona Castle B2: Jail Cells

Fang was a little upset with Eli’s comments; Fang couldn’t help it that he had a one-track mind. When Eli throw them the dead soldier’s stuff Fang felt bad for taking them, and asked, “Don’t you feel bad for taking their stuff?” but hearing Cyrus say that they should get a move on made him decide to just agree with taking it and just head on into the next room.

Inside the next room were a bunch of jail cells. All of the prisoners were dead inside of them while their cells were still locked tightly. This was because inside there were open viral nodes and by seeing this one can infer what happened to the prisoners. The stench of the dead bodies permeated the area. Further ahead there were more dead guards at a three way intersection. North led to more jail cells and the stairs upward and the south path had more cells and stairs downward. As they approached the three dead guards they rose up as if from the dead. Their faces were blue as if they were suffocated. A closer look at their necks revealed a black ring. The black ring was a type of virus that takes over dead bodies. If one looked behind the guards there was a large yellow eye that was connected to the black ring. The guards started to charge and Fang charged as well. He targeted the one on the right. Avoiding the upward swing of its sword Fang closed in and shouted “Shadow Rush!” His fists started to get covered in dark shadows as he did a three punch combination on the guard pushing him back and knocking him on the ground. But the knight groaned and got up again. “What they heck are they zombies?” Fang shouted jumping back to get back into formation.

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Gran had been silent most of the way after Saying bye to his father. He hadnt been paying attention because of what he saw. He dropped the things given to him bt Eli back on the soldiers. When the group entered the room with the decaying bodies, he pulled out his scarf and wrapped it around his head to try to filter the smell. "Ugh." He said trying not to upchuck. When the Zombie creatures attacked he backed away. "This isn't right, it's the bodies of the deceased. But if this is the only way," he said, "then... Sonic Thrust!" He said as he sped forward and stabbed one through the stomach. He then pushed it off with his foot and jumped back. "At least I'm quicker now." Gran said as he stood with his sword ready to fend off any other virus possessed bodies.

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Hey everybody, PandaBrady here, with more roleplaying!

Also, please support Monty Oum, his work is amazing, especially RWBY. I wish I was that good.

Adeon stepped carefully into the well, looking up at the virus nodes with wide eyes. Thankfully the well was dry, so his boots did not cause any splashing that might draw attention to the little group. He had never seen virus nodes before, but it didn't surprise him that the monsters were born in the same way that some insects were. After all, they were called viruses. This was a bad place for them to be, trapped in a small room where the only way out is up through the nesting ground of their enemies. He looked back at the girls behind them and put a finger to his lips, indicating for them to be quiet. The lanky, girlish boy stepped up to the first node and gingerly grabbed on, pulling himself up on top of it. Luckily it was already empty, though he had to pull himself through the sticky green ooze in order to get up. And he had quite a few more in order to get up and unlock the grate. Hopefully he could do it quietly enough to not cause any of the incubating viruses to drop down on the waiting girls below. The climb was going to take time for that end, so he cracked his knuckles and reached out for the next node. He didn't want to jump if he could avoid it, since that would cause too much noise.

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Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.