:~::Rogue & Apollo::~: The Thief, the Satyr, and the Necklace of Uber-Awesome Power

As Terrowin walked back over, Myio kept her look cold. He could be let off after whatever he had to say- if he told the truth of course. Although, she didn’t think he would try and lie to her, they knew each other too well for her to know if he was. At least that was one good thing. She felt a twinge of irritation as she had to look up at him, stuck on the ground as she was, until he knelt by her side again, sitting back on his heels. She gave a “pouf!” of ridicule at the thought of giving him an apology. Yes, she had given him a black eye, but that had been his fault in the first place, he was the one stupid enough to think he could kiss her just like that. Nobody was allowed to just kiss her. Nobody was stupid enough to try that- or at least, nobody had been stupid enough- until now.

When he turned his face to one side, looking like he was resigned to being hit again, guilt swelled within her. She was still angry, but now it was more at herself than Terrowin. She looked away, tugging her fingers through the grass before giving the ground beside her a thump with both hands, looking for all the world like a petulant child.
“Why do you always have to be so nice?” She gave a little huff of frustration, showing him gently away. “Even when you’re just asking to be whacked again, you still… I dunno. How do you make me not want to hit you again?” She sighed, studying the ground for a moment, then looked up, blinking as water dripped from her hair into her eyes. She flicked it away, feeling more water run down her back.
“Fine, I believe you. I suppose… we just had too much to drink last night.” This time, she gave a slight smile, just the corners of her mouth. “I blame you for that too.”

“Off!” Lutis shoved Hone aside as she covered him in more lick-kisses, rubbing at his face with one sleeve. “Ugh, nice to see you too, but must you do that every time?” He laughed, pushing the overzealous dragon aside as she tried to lick him again, but he was pleased to see her all the same. As the boy addressed him, he ran a hand through his hair.
“Nice t’meetcha Bron. Yeah, I’m Lutis.” Huzzah, his real name, not that awful Errol of last night. He had left that little addition out of his retelling of the night before to Ardere, so hopefully she wouldn’t bring it up again… Hopefully Myio would be discreet enough to keep his real name under guard. He might actually be in the clear!

Hone worked her way under his other hand and he stroked her absentmindedly, turning to look up at Ardere and reassure her that it was fine, but his smile dropped as he saw fire licking at her fingertips. “Careful, she’s fireproof, but I’m not!”
The dragon mumbled an apology, her ears drooping under the satyr’s angry stare. “I dinae know, I’ve ne’er seen a satyr afore.” She ruffled her feathers apologetically, dropping her gaze to the floor, but the ensuing chaos made her look up again, suddenly confused. Was she missing something?

“Great, you trek all the way out here to the desert, and they still find you.” Lutis rolled his eyes, standing again and stepping away from Hone as she too clambered to her feet, immediately reaching a paw into her mouth to chew on it, nervous to see whether she had been let off. He resisted the urge to pull Ardere away from the confrontation and let the two dragons handle the arrogant little Bron, but didn’t want to get his hand burnt… His eyes flicked between the retreating knight and the satyr, unclear on who was about to cause more damage. Hone took a few steps towards Bron, thinking to protect him from the irate woman, but before she reached him, the whole world suddenly went dark.

Myio was completely perplexed by the unexpected darkness, not having kept up with the others’ conversation. She squinted through the blackness, trying to make out whether it was just her and Ardere, who was obvious to see, but made out the faint shapes of the others by the light of her fire, which was quite the relief. After having been the one who had drugged her the night before, and now in a sorry state herself, she didn’t really want to be stuck alone with her. She really would be in a vulnerable position then.
“What just happened? Where are we?” She peered around the heavy room, recoiling when she was met with the gaping white stare of an ancient skull lying forgotten a little way away. “Ter, tell me you drugged that water you gave me…”

The lash dragon halted in her tracks as they teleported, her eyes wide at the sudden display of magic. As the new room was lit gently she shrunk down into a crouch, her ears fluttering in distress, whimpering quietly. It was like the world was pressing down on them all of a sudden. She wrapped her wings tight against her sides, quivering as her claustrophobia threatened to overwhelm her; the ancientness of the place did little to settle her fears. She gave another sob, her eyes flicking to the ceiling that felt much too close for comfort.

“I think I believe you- magic necklace, right?” Lutis had seen Ardere’s hands move to the necklace at her throat before they had teleported- he had denied it before, but with such proof, he had to admit that it had to be magic. So Ink hadn’t been lying! He looked at Ardere in wonder for a moment before peering around the room- whatever magic she had used, it was certainly powerful. “You know, 12,000 gold doesn’t seem like such a bad price to pay any more.”

He caught sight of Hone in the dim light and hurried to her side, laying one hand on her neck. She trembled, flinching away before she realised it was only him and gulped, her eyes shining with fear.
“She gets claustrophobia.” he explained, stroking her scales in an attempt to calm her down. “Normally not in such a big room, but… I suppose the swap between the oasis and this place did it, right?” He looked at her and she nodded.
“Is there a way out of here?”

---

If the group thought they were the only ones in the tomb, they were sorely mistaken. In another chamber, a little closer to the surface, two dragons were just stirring from a rather unpleasant night’s sleep amongst the dead. One was a lash dragon, the other a desert chaser- Syntribos. He gave a yawn as he woke, stretching like a cat before licking at his mane with his rough tongue, smoothing some of the furs back into place. He gave a vain smile when he was finished then started on his tail, his ears flicking back momentarily as he saw it was dusty from the grime that lay over the floor from hundreds of years’ undisturbed gathering. Disgusting. It didn’t even taste of anything- although, in his opinion, not many things had much of a taste. The thought reminded him that he hadn’t eaten for a while, having pressed on the day before to reach the tomb for the night. As it was, they had reached it only late the night before, and with difficulty at that. The tomb had been well concealed, and Syn had had the devil of a time trying to locate it in the dark. The first task of the day was surely to find breakfast- maybe another of the tomb’s chambers held food? He gave a light growl to his acquaintance, announcing that he was awake and padded to the doorway to look down the long corridor for any signs of tracks in the dirt that lay along the ground. A faint light filtered around the corner that lead, eventually, outside, showing up their tracks from the night before. He had light footsteps, but even they had pressed into the dirt, giving away their presence. Well, he could always investigate the lower chambers anyway- yes, that was a good plan, take the lash dragon with him- he could get a kick out of watching the male squirm.

Guest

"Wot... the bloody.... 'ell..." Terrowin gaped, completely at a loss for words as the world went dark around them. He had been about to make some smart-alecky remark now that Myio seemed to at least maybe somewhat a little bit forgive him, but hadn't gotten the chance before the world was pulled out beneath him. "This ain't... Normal..." he breathed, teal eyes wide with a mixture of fear and shock. While he wasn't normally afraid of dark, tight spaces, the heavy feeling from above made him nervous, as though something was about to cave in. He turned to Myio in disbelief, and saw the reflected confusion in her own face. "Oi swear that water wasn't tainted, 'less the bloody lake was drugged or sommat..." He stood, hesitating a moment before deciding that Myio would probably be best left where she was, without his help, and stalked over to the larger group. "Oy, if this is yer idea of a damn joke, Oi ain't laughin'." There was no evidence to prove that it was their fault, but he could see no other explanation. He shifted himself until he was between a wall and the group, and glanced at the decorations on the wall. Unlike the others, he seemed unperturbed by the grinning skulls, ancient hieroglyphics, and tomb-like decor of the crypt. There was even a sort of sarcophagus nearby, and he wondered who it was that had been buried. But, after his many dealings with demons, he had learned to not fear death. He was simply freaked out by the extreme change of atmosphere. "Someone better start explainin' wot happened," he growled.

Ink, however, was most concerned for Hone, who seemed to be having a mini panic attack. She couldn't blame her. While she knew the necklace was capable of such things, and had seen Ardere press the button a moment before she was able to warn the satyr, she was still a bit spooked by the dramatic teleportation. She followed Lutis and hunkered down by Hone, wrapping a feathered wing around her protectively. "It's alright, Hone, we're fine. We've just teleported, that's all. I'm sure there's a way out. And if not, we can always try using the necklace again..." though only as a last resort, she finished silently to herself. The magic of the necklace was unpredictable, obviously, and they wouldn't want to end up somewhere worse, like in the middle of a battle or something. "Someone needs to scout around and find a way out," she said to everyone. "There could be traps, though..." If this really was a tomb, it was sure to have protective devices all around. She could only hope that, since they had already penetrated the inner rooms of the tomb, the traps wouldn't activate on the way out...

"No, we're not goin' anywhere until someone tells me wot is going on," Terrowin practically snarled. He hated being out of the loop. "Wot necklace? An' teleportation? That ain't possible, it's mythical. Magic. There's no such thing." Although he had met dragons today, so maybe he shouldn't be speaking...

Ardere finally spoke up. She gingerly took a step forward so that everyone could see her, and feel the warmth and light from the flames that licked her body. "Lutis an' I, well..." She cast an uncertain glance at Bron before going on. "Yesterday, we decided to do a little hit and run at one of the vendors in Kaionar. It was hardly worth stealing, we thought. A simple little trinket selling at a ridiculously high price." She motioned to the object, which was still draped innocently around her neck. "Turns out, stealing this thing got us chased out of Kaionar, for who-knows-how long before we can go back without being captured and imprisoned, or worse." She took an unsteady breath before launching into a recount of the strange behavior of the necklace, and the sort of 'time travel' that had happened when she pressed the button before. "So anyway, apparently this damn thing is worth more than we realized," she concluded, sighing. "I... I didn't realize that I was pressing it now until it was too late... And I guess we've been transported into some sort of crypt." Even though the words were her own, she had a hard time believing it, and was sure that the rest would feel the same.

"So.... Yer tellin' me that this magic voodoo necklace thing has incredible powers that can make people go back in time, an' teleport from place tae place. Oh, that's nothin' new, Oi have loads o' jewelry that does that..." Terrowin's words were dripping with sarcasm. "Well, if that's yer best excuse, then Oi suppose Oi have tae believe it. Let's just get the hell outta here." He turned and went back to Myio, concerned for her safety. Normally he wouldn't have been surprised for her to lead the way out, but in her weakened state, he wondered how she would do, especially if they came across traps. "Can ye make it alright?" he asked, carefully toning his voice so that he sounded vaguely concerned, and not extremely worried, which was how he really felt. Oh god, why had he had to make things so awkward last night...

"So you admit that you took the necklace..." Bron finally muttered, but it was more of a frightened whisper than an accusation. He was startled, to say the very least, at the transformation in scenery, but for the most part had managed to hold his own. His armor had been transported along with everything else, and he strapped it on, but with no intention to harm Lutis, or Ardere, now that circumstances had changed. He had decided amongst all the chatter that he didn't want to arrest the two, not after seeing that they weren't really bad people, just a little mischievous, maybe, and perhaps a bit daft. After all, who would be willing to try to sacrifice a necklace worth so much? Silly people. Well, he thought that they had been punished enough by being chased out of the city, dragged around through the desert, and beaten by bandits. Besides, it wasn't like he could really do much anyway... And to be honest, he didn't appreciate the way his fellow knights treated him, like an imbecile! He would should them. He would refuse orders, and see what they did about it. Or maybe, he mused, not even go back, if this odd but strangely... fun? ... group would take him. The sudden change in attitude felt odd, but energizing, and he stood taller than he had in a while. The feel of this tomb, the ancient relics and objects around him, felt familiar somehow, like he had seen them before... He shook his head, releasing the thoughts. It was absurd, he had no idea what any of it meant...
((Just a hint here, maybe something to do with Bron being the prince/knight/whatever of the necklace... Wink

))

Either way, he felt the sudden urge to go ahead and find the way. He almost felt like he knew the way out already. He would just have to keep an eye out for dangers... "I'll go ahead," he declared, in a voice louder and more certain than he knew he was capable of producing. "You guys can come along behind, I'll try to stay clear of anything that could trigger a reaction..." Before anyone could say otherwise, he turned towards the largest opening that lay to the right of the sarcophagus. It was adorned with red and gold, and seemed to be the exit. "Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath, and strode forward. Ardere kept close behind him, for a source of light, but otherwise.... He was alone. He walked along the dark corridor for what seemed like ages, but came across nothing of any danger. Not yet, at least...

-------

Isaiarasu was dreaming about food and a soft place to sleep and maybe even a pretty lash dragon when a low growl awakened him, and he woke with a start. "Oh, hai," he said, yawning once he realized it was only his jerkish companion. Had he known how rude and uncomfortable the desert chaser was going to be, he wouldn't have asked for his help finding his way through the desert. He was escaping from a rather boring job as the local palace musician in a nearby town, and had stumbled upon the dragon not too long ago. He promised to repay the chaser with food or something in turn for some direction to another town, but wasn't entirely sure how he was going to do that, as he had a rather strong longing for human meat. The thought of eating a human made Isaiarasu shudder. He would much rather have fruit or sweets. Being a lash dragon, his tastes were not the same as those of some of his brethren, apparently.
"Are we gonna go explorin' these nasty caves?" he asked as Syn stalked around. He hid a shudder at the thought. He wasn't too particularly interested in looking around at dead people's things, but Syn was, he supposed, the 'leader', and unless he did what the dragon asked, he would probably be beaten. Syn was mean. But I think we'd established this already...
The colorful dragon lifted his head and tilted his ears towards a doorway that led into the crypts. He could have swore that he had heard something withing the deep recesses of the corridors, but it was probably just a falling stone. No one in their right minds would come back in here.... No, he wanted to leave, but he waited to see what Syn decided to do.

Terrowin looked just as confused as Myio felt, which made her (strangely) feel a little better, not being the only one who didn’t have a clue about what was going on. First their crazy escape from the other bandits, then the arrival of another dragon (Ink was enough of a surprise on her own, but no, she had to find an even stranger looking friend) and the knight, then this, a crypt? If it weren’t for his disaffirming words, she would have thought it were all some very strange dream.
“Well, there goes that possibility…” she muttered as he stood again, her eyes flicking between the others. She felt a little sorry for the dragon, who was clearly suffering, but the others seemed to have it under control. “What’s this necklace?” It wasn’t the sort of thing Myio took much notice of any more, but she thought she would have noticed if one of the others had been carrying something that could have made them teleport to a completely different place.

“I’m with Ter, what’s all this magic and voodoo stuff?” She scowled, glaring daggers at Lutis as he glanced her way. She wished she could stand properly to join the rest of them, but had the nasty suspicion that if she tried, she might end up in an even more embarrassing position than she was in already- flat on her face again, or worse. Instead she put up with having to sit on the floor as Ardere recounted the events of the events of the day before.

Myio let out a snort of laughter when the satyr was finished, shaking her head wryly. “Looks like there are more of us that have been chased out of Kaionar here than not.” She certainly couldn’t go back to the city anytime soon, not with all her plundering as a bandit, and the same stood for Terrowin. She nodded towards Bron, a cold smile on her lips. “If we’re doing confessions, we better say now that me an’ Ter were desert bandits- and bloody good ones too- up ‘till last night.” It wasn’t quite as fantastic a tale as the others’ had, but in some ways, it made it seem all the more real. Well, there was no good in keeping the boy under some sort of pretence, and it might come in handy if he suddenly decided he was taking the other two into Kaionar… might put him off the idea.

“So that’s how you got hold of the necklace yesterday!” exclaimed Lutis, finally understanding. He had been a little worried that she was turning into a thief too… but no, he was still the best- as he should be! Terrowin didn’t sound convinced, but if he were to get the necklace back off Ardere later, he could probably get it to show off a magic trick or two- couldn’t be that hard to make it work, could it? He patted Hone’s side protectively as Ink covered her other, silently reassuring her that he was still there. He gave a quiet huff of laughter as he looked at Bron momentarily as he pulled his armour back on, quipping under his breath; “Would have got away with it too if it weren’t for that meddling kid…”

When Ink wrapped one wing around her, Hone huddled against her, sniffing as she tried to hold back her tears. “I… don’t like this… teleporty thing.” She gulped, her tail twitching unhappily. “An’ it’s scary in ‘ere.”
Taking one look at the frightening decorations that adorned the walls, she buried her face in her friend’s side, shuddering.

Lutis gave the lash dragon a pitying look before standing and catching hold of the donkey, deftly attaching it to the cart again. “Good plan. Ink, why don’t you and Hone go in the middle, and I can bring this cart behind?” He gave a smile, trying to keep the others’ spirits up, but the thought of setting off traps wasn’t a good one. “Keep a sharp eye, they can be well disguised.” He knew alright- the thieves guild back in Kaionar had quite the security system up for some of the more private areas of the city- not that they had ever posed him much of a problem, but Bron wouldn’t have the same experience as he did with them. He shot Terrowin and Myio a look to check if they were alright, but it seemed so, and hastily pulled the donkey after Bron as he started for a large opening in one corner of the room.

“I um… might need some help.” Myio admitted, rubbing the back of her head. Her headache wasn’t as back as it had been, but she could still feel it throbbing at the back of her neck. “I feel a bit dizzy.” she mumbled, scooping the blankets that she had made into a pillow into her arms and chucking them into the cart as it rolled past. She avoided his gaze for a moment, feeling for all the world like a damsel in distress (oh the horror of it all!) as she slung one arm around his shoulder and they stood. She tested her bad leg on the ground, then with a strange hopping walk started out of the crypt, leaning her weight on Terrowin, her face burning at the fact.

They made slow progress up the corridor, Lutis keeping a look out for anything that looked vaguely dangerous. Apart from the faint tracks of small desert animals marking the floor, and an obscene number of cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, nothing looked out of the ordinary, and he started to relax after a while, his eyes flicking between Ardere, the satyr bathed in the rosy glow of her flames, and Hone, who was keeping low and close to Ink, her ears drooping forlornly. The crypt was so quiet, it seemed like a conversation was forbidden.

“BRON STOP!”
He suddenly yelped and leapt forwards, letting go of the donkey and dragging the young knight to a halt. He pulled him back a couple of paces, making him stand still as he stepped cautiously forward. A razor sharp wire was strung across the width of the corridor at head height and he ducked under it, looking along its length.
“I take it you want to keep your head?” He looked behind him down the corridor they still had to traverse, his eyes narrowing when he spotted another thread running across. “Bet these aren’t just for one person…” For all they knew, trip the wire and the ceiling might just come down, or something even nastier… Like a bucket full of bugs. Or snakes. Or… tar. Ugh. “I think maybe I’ll go ahead from now on, yeah?”

Lutis’ shout may have saved Bron from setting off on trap, but it activated another. With an ominous clunk, three long spikes shot out of each wall further back, almost hitting Terrowin and Myio as they followed up. She pulled him away just in time, pushing Ter out of the way against the wall as a further five spikes shot down from the ceiling even closer. They hammered into the ground, the sharp wooden tips splintering under the impact. Myio staggered back a few paces, suddenly unbalanced without his support, and fell over with a squeak and a poof of dust.

Coughing as it stuck to her still-wet skin, she looked up at him, eyes wide at their close escape.
“Now we’re kak! even on the saving-each-other front.”

~~

“Depends, how much do you not want to explore the other crypts?” Syn grinned, looking back at Isaiarasu from the doorway. Whatever his answer, he was quite fascinated by what else was hidden down in the depths of the strange building… if you could call it that. “Personally, I think we might find something interesting down there.” Treasure, decorations, a few bones- what was there to be scared of? Of course, there was the little matter of life-threatening traps, but what was life without a little danger? Okay, maybe life-threatening traps weren’t so good in retrospect… But that was what the lash dragon was for, right?

“Come on, we’ll go a little way, then back out again. There might be food or water or something.” He gestured impatiently with his head, knowing the pathetic lash would follow his lead, even if he didn’t want to. He padded out of the doorway, glancing up the sloping corridor before heading down. He kept a lookout for traps, knowing there were sure to be some, in such a blatantly easy tomb to navigate. Sure enough, a couple of pitfall traps he easily navigated were set into the floor, but nothing too extreme.

He came to a sudden halt as he heard a noise around the next bend, glancing behind him and laying the end of his tail over his lips for quiet. His eyes glowed eagerly as he looked back down the corridor, then slinked around the corner, the flickers of fire lighting the walls, and the distinctly human figures in front of him. His lips stretched into a malicious smile, and with a growl of delight, he pounced on the first figure he saw.

Guest

Bronimir did all he could not to groan aloud at Myio's confession. He was literally surrounded by criminals. What on earth had he gotten himself into? "Thanks for telling me," he muttered. Even if he was a good, strong knight, he was far outnumbered. And besides, the dragons seemed to be in on it too, and he had no intention of going against them.... He was stuck, really. If he tried to escape and get help, they would certainly capture and possibly kill him. And he couldn't take them on by himself. He was just going to have to live it out until he could think of a plan. If he even decided to turn them in.... They weren't cruel criminals, so maybe he could 'accidentally' let them all get away. Perhaps....

"Magic an' mystics, my ass," Terrowin muttered as the group left the cavern. "Bloody idiots, trampin' off without knowin' what's going tae be around the corner..." He sighed. Well, there really was no other way of getting out. His gaze softened a bit at Myio's grudging answer, and he did as little as he could to help her get up, for her pride's sake. She was a tough one; any normal lass would probably be whining and whimpering at the state they were in, let alone wounded. It made his respect for her only grow, and he swore that he would do all he could to regain her trust. "There ye are, ye hardly need my help at all," he encouraged her, brightly but quietly, as they hobbled along at the rear. "Yer bloody strong, ye know that?" He hoped he wasn't going too far.

He wondered if they would even be able to find their way out. The ground pressed above them uncomfortably, as if it might fall in at any moment. For all he knew, it would. He didn't really have a lot of experience with tombs (yes, the bandits had occasionally thought about raiding them for treasure, but deemed the risk too much to take), and hoped that Lutis and that silly 'knight' would be able to lead them the right way, without any loss of life or limbs.

Ink also encouraged Hone along, staying practically glued to the lash dragon's side as they went along. "It's okay Hone, there's plenty of room," she murmured, but even as she said it the space became so small that she had to press her wings tightly against her back to fit the two of them through. Luckily the hall widened out a few moments later. She had to admit, even she was getting a bit uncomfortable in the cramped, stuffy tunnel. The hall was lit eerily by the light coming from their satyr friend, and every once in a while they would pass grim decor in the shapes of grinning skulls and other dead or scaled things. She shivered a bit as her tail accidentally hit a random ribcage, making the bones crack under the pressure. "S'all right..." she murmured again, but with less surety this time. A moment later, Lutis yelled to Bron, and Ink let out a muffled gasp. So, it was trapped. They would be lucky to get out alive now.... Maybe they should try to use the necklace again? If they used the necklace too much, they would become attached and obsessed, as she had told them earlier, but it might be worth the risk in this situation..... She was relieved when Lutis took the lead. He seemed to know what he was doing more than the knight. "Lutis will get us out," she told Hone, if only to keep her from completely panicking.

Bronimir yelped and took a step back, almost all of his previous boldness gone by the time he caught sight of the wire. He gulped, rubbing his throat at the thought. "Yehuh, thanks..." he fumbled. Why hadn't the thief just let him run into it, and be rid of the knight? He shot a curious and respectful look to the man, realizing that he had been right earlier. These weren't evil people, just a bit rebellious. For all he knew, this Lutis could be a loyal friend. He took a few steps back until he was just behind Lutis, then nodded forward. "Be my guest." The poor boy was only seventeen. This was all starting to be a little much for him.... His heart pounded wildly inside his chest as they continued on, wondering what they would run into next. At least he had armor, which would protect him from some things, maybe. He wished he still had his helm, though. And that weird burst of courage he had strangely gotten a few minutes ago...

Terrowin involuntarily flinched as Lutis cried out, and realized a moment later what he had seen. "Damn," he muttered. "If any of us had run into that...." he didn't want to think about it. He adjusted his posture with Myio halfway leaning on him when the spikes exploded from the ground. "HELL!" he screamed, but was saved just in time by none other than Myio, who pulled him out as the spikes came crashing up and down exactly where he had been a moment before. His bright eyes were wide with shock as the spikes came together with a loud crash, and he stood for a moment in stunned silence. After his wits caught up with him, he turned to Myio on the ground and, after staring at her for a moment, broke into manic laughter. "Yer sure right, we're even," he laughed, offering a hand to help her up. His adrenaline was spiked, leaving him breathless and bold. "Bring on them traps," he crowed. "Yer not livin' unless yer on the edge o' death, yeah? This is what Oi call an adventure!" Any stranger would think that Terrowin had gone mad; his friends would know that he had gone into dare devil mode. Fighting demons wasn't for the faint-hearted, and Terrowin was one of the best. He laughed death in the face, before attacking it head-on. Myio certainly knew from experience. "Let's keep goin'!"

"Well, I think we can truthfully say that that one has lost his mind," Ardere commented dryly after a long silence. "Yes, let's keep going, but carefully, mind you." She shot a concerned look at Lutis, and trotted up so she was nearly beside him. "You sure you know what you're doing?" she murmured. She trusted Lutis completely, but even he couldn't know every trap that would pop up. She kept special care to look out for any more sharp wires; the last thing she wanted was a headless lover. She even sent a few flames forward, which illuminated several holes in the floor that would have been nearly impossible to see otherwise.

Isaiarasu wanted to complain, but the desert dragon made it hard. Instead, he slumped and padded after Syn, squeaking at every little thing he saw, whether it was a bone or a rodent. "Food is good," he chirped, brightening slightly. He hadn't eaten in far too long; he was used to three full meals a day, not one meal every few days! Water would be nice too, of course. He padded along quietly, taking care to follow exactly in Syn's footsteps. "So many traps..." he muttered, shivering. He didn't like this place at all. "Can we leave yet?" His question went unanswered as the chaser paused, then crouched. Isaiarasu stiffened. What had he heard? Before he could ask, the dragon leapt, and he squealed. Humans! There were humans! "Syn, no!" he yelped, but it was too late. The bloodthirsty dragon had already tackled a young man dressed in what appeared to be a metal shell, and was doing its best to rip it off. He hesitated, then followed after, making a weak attempt to get him off by snapping at the dragon's tail, his pride and joy. "He didn't do anything to you! Let him go!" His entire attention was completely caught by a bright figure coming around the corner, and his jaw dropped. A lash dragon! A female lash dragon! In all his young life, he had never met a female of his kind before, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Slender yet strong, beautifully built, with bright, intelligent eyes... He stood there in a daze, attack forgotten. "H...hi," he managed.

"AYEEEEEEE!!!!" Bron shrieked as a large, four-legged creature attacked him out of nowhere. Without his armor he would probably already by dead, but luckily it was keeping him alive so far. "GETITOFFAME!!" He flailed uselessly under the dragon's weight. His sword was out of reach, as he was pinned to the ground, and he could only hope that someone would help him. Was this a tomb-protecting beast? Or just another creature that had stumbled upon the tomb? It didn't really matter either way, he just wanted to live!!

Everything about the crypt was creepy, from the grinning skulls leering down from the walls at the little group, to the eerie layer of dust that seemed determined to embed itself into every little dip in Hone’s scales and take a little journey of its own. This little discomfort was hardly at the top of the lash dragon’s list of things to fear though, the constricting tunnel putting her right on the edge of panic as they entered it, then walked through its length. Her ears drooped unhappily against her cheeks, twitching at every echo that was slightly louder than the gentle patter of their feet and the creak of the cart. When Lutis gave a yell and Ink gasped she flinched, waiting for the worst- was it a cave in? Were they all going to be stuck here forever? With the crushing black and the walls coming in and never being able to see the sun again? It was almost too much to bear, and she gave a little whimper, cowering away from the ceiling. Sure, Lutis would get them out, but would he get them out before everything fell to pieces on them? Or would he get out and leave her there, because he didn’t want to come back into the tunnel? She gulped, her eyes wide and frightened.

At Bron’s faltering bravery, now he saw the wire, Lutis couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face, turning to look down the corridor so he wouldn’t see. Wouldn’t do to upset the little knight now, would it? He peered down the corridor, looking out for the next challenge, but whipped around at Terrowin’s yell, grimacing as he saw the spikes crash together. From the sound of it, both Myio and Terrowin were alright though, so no damage done. So much for any raiding that he could have tried later on though…

The spikes looked no less deadly when they were revealed, and Myio looked at them with a mixture of curiosity- how had they suddenly shot out at such speed?- and fright. If they had been caught in them… Well, it didn’t bear thinking about. Not looking up at Terrowin, she mumbled to his previous unanswered compliment, “You try hiding who you are from a bunch of guys, you gotta be strong to get through the day, let alone keep up with all that raidin’ stuff.” But as strong as he thought she was, the fact that she was sitting on the ground, unable to get up without his help, made her doubt how strong she really was… Someone as strong as she normally was shouldn’t have to rely on someone else to get around.

Needless to say, his sudden burst of hilarity caught her off-guard, but it just made her (strangely) laugh too, grabbing his proffered hand with both of hers and dragging herself to her feet again. Her head spun with the sudden movement and she held onto him tightly for a moment until the feeling receded, then slung her arm nonchalantly around his shoulders again as though nothing had happened.
“Heh, whatta we get next, a rolling boulder?” She grinned, trying to cover up her dizziness, then looked behind at the spikes, giving an unimpressed snort. “Comeon, give us something a bit more inventive than that!”
Running around setting off traps and getting into danger had never been her thing before, but living with the desert bandits had spiked her taste for adventure, and the thought of a day going past without a bit of danger sounded like a boring prospect indeed. And, if there wasn’t the danger of being discovered any more, she would have to turn to something else to get her danger kicks- traps were a sweet alternative. Even if she might not be as agile as normal.

“Okay then…” Myio’s sudden fearlessness caught Lutis off guard- while she had never been the typical girl, she had only got fierier over the years. He shook his head, then seeing they were all ready to go again, carefully set off down the corridor once more. When Ardere caught up with him, her flames flickering around her form and lighting the walls well, he gave her a shameless, arrogant, smile, tapping her on the nose when her flames were otherwise distracted.
“’Course I know what I’m doing darlin’, I’ve designed more complicated traps myself than these little fleabitings.”
Even still, that was only what they had come across so far, and who knew, there might be more dangerous things lurking around the corner for them. And, well, strange to admit it, he didn’t want to scare Ardere. It wasn’t even the thought of her yelling at him afterwards that made him feel that way! The fire she sent forwards helped immensely, and they easily avoided the few holes in the floor. He peered over one in interest as he walked past, wondering what evil treasure it hid, recoiling for a moment as the empty shell of a snake was revealed, a nest of scorpions hissing venomously at him as they were lit, backing into a dangerous circle, tails outwards and ready to strike. Lutis sure was glad they were down the hole, and not up on the path with them.

The next hole hid an even nastier surprise- as he went to step close to it, the floor suddenly cracked, a couple of stones splitting as his weight activated some sort of trap that sent thin spikes shooting up towards him. He froze, waiting for more spikes to try and impale him, then slowly relaxed, looking at the closest one, only a few centimetres away from his foot.
“Okay, didn’t expect that one.” he squeaked, then recovered his composure and normal tone. “Hopefully no more of those around here… Watch where you’re putting your feet though. Wouldn’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

He stepped carefully out of the mess of spines, testing his feet on the ground before putting them down, then lead them further up the tunnel, giving the rest of the holes a wide berth. Who knew what horrid things they would set off?

Syn completely ignored Isa’s frightened squeak, completely focussed on the young human that he had just pinned under his paws. First time round! It was his lucky day. He gave a ferocious smile, sliding his sharp claws out of his pads as he pawed at the knight, trying to work out how to get his blasted metal shell off. He was like some sort of bizarre tortoise… As amusing as that thought was, and as amusing as it would have been to toy with the little morsel, there were other humans right in the vicinity (perfect, this one was just a starter, main course, chargrilled female, then maybe he could have a try at those two following behind, there was just the most delectable scent of blood surrounding one of them), and he needed to get this one down as fast as possible, before they tried something stupid- like attacking him. He gave a growl, his claws scratching across Bron’s armour and making a screeching, scraping sound.

His fierce concentration was suddenly broken as he fell something pull at his tail, and, furious, he turned, his golden eyes fixing on Isa, one paw still pressed against the little human’s front. “You insolent whelp!” He whipped his tail out of the way, snarling with disgust. “After leading you all the way through the desert, this is how you repay me?”

When the two new dragons leapt out of seemingly nowhere, Hone couldn’t help herself- she burst into immediate tears, giving a howl of fear before covering her face with her wings, great shudders running up and down her whole frame. This was too much to bear, even with Ink by her side… A ghost lash dragon and a monster?

The last “trap” that Lutis expected was a real, live one, so for a moment, when Syn attacked Bron, he just stood there incredulously. But at his frighten shout he was jerked from his daze, and without heed for whether the beast would turn on him next (let him sort that out in a minute), he shouldered it off the boy, shoving at the dragon in the side. Syn wasn’t knocked off (of course, he was too big), but he did lift his paw to steady himself, and that was all Lutis needed to drag Bron away by his armour, once again proving useful, although not quite for its original intended purpose. The desert chaser snarled as he lost his prey, whipping around to face the little band of humans again, his face contorted with obvious malice as he stalked forwards at a crouch, a growl rolling in his throat.

Guest

Terrowin let his laughter die off slowly, not really caring that the rest of the group was looking at him like he had gone mad. For all they knew, he had. The adrenaline rush was still pumping through his veins, giving everything he saw striking detail, down to the very specks of dust floating in the air. The arm that Myio wrapped over his shoulder was casual enough, but sent another jolt of pleasant energy coursing through his body. Had she forgiven him? It seemed too good to be true. He would have to talk to her again later, once they were out of this damned crypt.... But he was going to make it fun, dammit!

"Rollin' rocks, yeah," he echoed, making sure Myio's footing was solid before trudging along after the rest of the group. "Mayhaps some poison darts and demon holes in the floor, too!" He gripped the green-hued sword on his belt, which seemed to be thrumming with the same energy that he had in him now. He had never really figured out what the sword was or how it became the way it was, but being a gift from his father, he never questioned it. He considered taking it out in case the demon holes did, perhaps, show themselves, but the tunnel was getting small and curvy, and he decided against it.

Ardere wrinkled her nose as Lutis tapped it, sticking her tongue out (slightly sexily, she thought) in retaliation. "Yeah well, just get us out of here soon, all this dust is going to dry out my skin." She sniffed disdainfully as a rather large piece of fluff came too close to her flames, and were incinerated. "Serves you right," she muttered, as though the dust had caused her personal offense. Now that their journey was becoming a long one in the dark, dismal abyss, her mood was quickly souring. Not only that, but her stomach was gurgling, with what, she wasn't sure, but it wasn't hunger. "Lutey, how far underground do you suppose we are?" she asked, wrapping an arm around her slim stomach. "I could have sworn I heard something above us earlier...." Maybe they were closer to the surface than they thought. She huffed and kicked a stone into the pit that contained the scorpions, causing them to hiss angrily. One actually jumped up as though to attack them, but luckily the hole was too deep, and it only managed to stab air. Ardere shuddered, then shot a bright red flame down to burn the terrible creatures. At least that way they wouldn't bother anyone else.

She screamed as the ground beneath Lutis's feet suddenly crumbled a bit further on, but he managed to get out of the way before it collapsed completely. "Did... Did I do that?" she squeaked. She hadn't thought torching the disgusting bugs would have any consequence. Maybe it was just a coincidence. It had to be. She clutched at Lutis protectively, not really wanting him to continue. Truth be told, she was far more attached to him than she would ever admit, and she would be devastated if she lost him. The spikes were just an added horror. Even Lutis seemed shocked, which didn't help her confidence. She prayed to whatever god that might be listening that if they got out of here alive, she would never drug another man's drink again.... She scuttled fearfully after Lutis, her hooves making a soft clop, clop in the dirt as she walked.

Ink didn't share the others' confidence. The traps were beginning to scare her, not just because they were dangerous, but because they came out of nowhere with no warning. They startled her almost to the point of fainting. Hone was barely hanging in there, and it took all of Ink's strength to continue to comfort her when she herself was so terrified.

She gaped as two dragons appeared before them, one promptly tackling Bron without warning, the other apparently trying to stop it. She jumped as Hone burst into tears, and took a moment to comfort the poor thing before leaping into action. Lutis had managed to get Bronimir out of danger while she was distracted, so she took a chance and leaped directly at the vicious dragon, which, thankfully, wasn't much bigger than her. She plowed into its side, dealing a lot more damage than Lutis had managed. She tried to bite at it, but the fur around its neck stabbed at her mouth, so she dropped that idea and instead attempted to pin him to the ground. "HEY!" she yelled at the other dragon, which was now standing there in open-mouthed awe at... Hone? Whatever. "I could use some help here!" She snapped at the brown dragon whenever he tried to move. She hoped she was strong enough to hold him down, if this other lash dragon decided not to help. "No one messes with my friends," she growled menacingly.

Bronimir continued to scream quite unmanly as the dragon scrabbled at his armor, until Lutis managed to pull him away. His teeth were chattering as he stammered,"Th-thanks." He had never been more glad to have his armor on. Ink had seemed to take over the situation, and he took a few extra steps backward to get out of the way of the flailing dragons. What on earth was this crypt going to throw at them next? Dinosaurs? He shivered and shuffled uncomfortably. Apparently his fear of dragons eating him was not entirely pointless.... Man, would he have a story to tell the boys back at Kaionar. IF he went back to Kaionar...

Isaiarasu didn't know what to do. On the one hand, this dragon had led him through the desert for many days, and though there was no love lost between them, he still owed the dragon a debt. On the other, these poor, helpless humans didn't deserve to be eaten. And not only that, but the female lash had started crying, and he wanted nothing more than to make her stop. "Do not worry!" he cried dramatically (and unnecessarily). "I... Will do something!" Without further ado, he awkwardly leaped next to Ink and pinned down Syn's other side, muttering half-hearted apologies to the desert chaser as he did so. "There're ladies here!" he whispered, like it wasn't an obvious fact. "Show some manners!" He pressed only hard enough to keep Syn from escaping, but he still winced as he did so. It wasn't in his nature to attack others. He would rather be playing music or eating. Speaking of which, he was hungry... His gaze traveled back to the female lash dragon, and he grinned as though they weren't in this terrible predicament. "Don't you worry, we've got this under control!"

Terrowin uttered many less-than-polite curses as the dragons tumbled around. "Wot the bloody 'ell. First teleportation, then near death by spikes, now more dragons.... What have Oi been smokin'?" He led Myio back away from the brawl to a farther side of the cavern they were in, to watch the scuffle from a distance. "Are ye seein' this?" he asked her, after checking to make sure there were no traps in the vicinity. He leaned against the wall wearily. "Well, at least maybe they'll know the way outta this hellhole..." Even though he had been having fun, he was about ready to get out of the dark, damp, and dust.

Ardere had had just about enough of the god forsaken crypt. "ALL OF YOU, JUST SHUT UP!" she yelled, shooting flames to all open areas of the room. Once she was sure she had everyone's attention, she said,"I have a terrible stomach ache, throbbing head, I'm drenched in sweat and the dust is killing me. Can we please stop fighting one another?" With this, she fell tiredly against Lutis's solid form, spent.

“Oi, don’t you jinx it.” warned Myio as Terrowin wished all sorts of crazy traps and treasures on them. One or two traps were fine, but they could do without a complete set of them- it was one thing having a bit of fun avoiding a few spikes, but when you were constantly on the lookout for anything and everything that might try to kill you- well, it got a little hairy round the edges. Especially with an overwrought dragon, a much-too-young-for-his-post knight and an obviously lovestruck satyr. What was the world coming to? And she had thought the company before had been strange…

When the latest “trap”, otherwise known as Syntribos, leapt out of his hidden nook, Myio was really quite glad that Terrowin hadn’t volunteered the both of them to walk at the front of the group. As it was, they were stuck safely behind the cart, well out of the way of anything that could have attacked them- which she was grateful for, because she was starting to get tired, despite the fact that they had hardly walked a long way. Nevertheless, she hung on, putting a little more weight on Terrowin as madness ensued.

Ink’s attempts at comforting Hone hardly made much impact on the wrought young lash dragon, and she just cried as much as ever as the rest of the drama unfolded in front of her, completely oblivious to the crazy events that suddenly erupted. Even if she were in the right state of mind, or any less frightened, she would probably have still been in tears, and still no use at all. She stumbled backwards as Lutis dragged Bron almost to her feet, covering her face over so she couldn’t see Ink fighting with the new dragon. Oh, this was horrible…

“You okay?” checked Lutis as Bron found his feet again, giving the boy a pat on the shoulder to try and reassure him. That probably did nothing… he thought wryly to himself as he turned to look at the three dragons squabbling in the dust, looking slightly ridiculous, but also rather dangerous. Boy was he glad that Ink had taken over so fast; he wouldn’t like to be facing up against that monster for more than a moment. In fact, even a moment was too long- why the hell had he just shoved it out of the way? Sometimes the things he did himself confused him. At least Ink seemed to have the situation (sort of) under control, pinning the monster underneath her with the help of a new lash dragon. Oh heaven help them all, when they got back outside, one lash dragon was madness enough, but when they got together… Well, they were a force to be reckoned with, that was for sure.

Hone was in no state for fun at that moment though, and he dug in one of his coat pockets, sifting through the layers of random objects he had until he found what he was looking for. Not marbles, not feathers… Ah! He pulled a slab of somewhat warped chocolate out, bending down in front of Hone and waving it in front of her nose like he was trying to tempt a child. Which, in some ways, he was.
“Hey Bumblebee, stop your crying, I’ve got some chocolate here.” He unwrapped it, breaking off a piece. “We’ll be out of here in no time, just you see.”
She snuffled for a moment more before chomping it out of his fingers, momentarily distracted. Giving her a wink he straightened up again and turned to see whether the desert chaser was finally under control.

Now that his first choice of prey had suddenly been whipped from under his claws, Syn was none too happy. But, even before he had the chance to leap on his next target, that pesky human who had stolen the other, he himself was leapt upon! The magpie dragon managed to squash him to the ground, trying to bite at his mane. His precious ruff! How could she? Snarling angrily like a lion he squirmed under her grip, trying to knock her off with a well placed paw. His tail whipped from side to side, stirring dust up around them so it looked like something from the wildest edges of the earth.
“Friends? What poor company you do keep.” he growled, his ears pinned back against his head as he tried to escape. His eyes fixed on Isa as he too jumped atop him, blazing with fury. “How dare you? Mark my words Isaiarasu, you’ll rue the fact that you’re helping this one.” He tried to snap at the lash dragon, but his movement only served to make one of Ink’s paws slip onto his stomach, and all the air went whooshing out of him, leaving him blown and breathless.

Terrowin’s swearing made Myio smirk lightly as the dragons went about their fighting, pretty much ignoring how the fight was developing. Now they had come to another stop, flickering silver dots had decided to swim in her vision, and it was getting quite hard to concentrate. She kept a firm hold around his shoulders as he picked a trap-free spot, trying to ignore the fact that everything was swimming, and the dragon’s scuffling was giving her a splitting headache even worse than the one she had woken up with.
“Hard to see… too many sparkles…” she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment then blinking to see if they went away. It didn’t seem to do much. In fact, if she had to admit it, she was feeling quite wobby now…

Her knees suddenly buckled from underneath her, and before she could grab hold of Terrowin she crashed to her knees, crying out as pain seared up her leg. She gave a pained sob, biting at her tongue to stop herself, then sat back and curled up into a ball, head buried in her arms and wounded leg stretched out beside her. Oh god, oh god that hurt so much… And there was a buzzing in her ears and she felt sick, and Terrowin was sure to ask her what the matter was, and she was sure to tell him that everything was all blurry-looking, and then start bloody crying, and it was just all going downhill!

Once Syn had got his breath back again, his ears twitching in irritation at the fact he had been downed by a dragon smaller than him (and a girl no less!) he turned his lip up at the rest of who he had actually attacked. Who he had assumed to be just a normal human female to start with actually wasn’t, it was a satyr. Ugh, disgusting. No matter, he would take one of the others.
“Yeah, we can stop fighting, as soon as I get breakfast. Preferably that tasty morsel in the shell.” His eyes flicked to Bron, glowing with untendered menace. “I’ll be right on my way after that. Tell you what, you can have this useless tag-along of a lash as a bonus. Call it a swap- I get the boy, you get this idiot.” He gave a sly smile, following Isa’s gaze. “Looks like he’s taken quite the liking to your lash.”

Lutis listened to the desert chaser’s proposition with interest- actually, that might sort out a couple of their potential problems. He wrapped one arm around Ardere’s middle as she flumped against him, thinking. Sure, what he was about was going to make him the bad guy, but who cared? Not him!
“You need some breakfast ‘Dere.” he commented, then crouched in front of Syn, far enough away so that the dragon couldn’t wiggle free and chomp on him if he suddenly decided to. “Well now, I’ve got a proposition for you. Bron’s a knight of Kaionar. If he tries to turn us in, then you can eat him. If you try now though, I’ll get Ink to sit on you until you quit it. How’s that sound?” He gave a crafty smile, looking up at Bron. “That’ll stop any of your ideas of turning us in when we head back to Kaionar.”

Guest

"Whoa there, lassie," Terrowin yelped as Myio fell to the floor. He tried to soften her fall, but he was little help as she hit the ground hard. "Ah crap, yer leg... Oi haven't checked it in a while, Oi'm sure it needs tendin' to..." The scuffling in the background as the dragons fought seemed to fade away as he pulled up the hem of her pants, then, when the fabric stubbornly resisted, he tore them up to where the wound was on her calve. "Oops, sorry," he grimaced with a weak grin. "Oi hope these weren't yer best pair o' trousers." When he took a look at the wound, he let out a hissing breath. "Tsk tsk. Looks like it's opened up again." The bandages were red with fresh blood; he was surprised she had even made it this far. "We should've rested longer," he sighed, unwrapping the cloth. "It hasn't had enough time tae heal. Keep up this pace, an' it'll just keep gettin' worse." He clucked his tongue like a scolding mother, and washed the scratch with water. "Sorry, that prob'ly stings a bit," he apologized as he did so. He was tempted to comfort her, somehow, but he knew it would more than likely end with him getting a second black eye, or worse, even with her in this weakened condition. "Too bad Oi can't stitch it up," he mused. He let it bleed out before taking a fresh cloth from his pack, and wrapping it up again. "S'the best Oi can do... Just try tae keep yer weight offa that leg. The blood is clean, so it ain't infected, but we need tae keep a close eye on it in case it does." For all he knew, the blade could have been poisoned, and could even now be slowly making its way through her veins. He shook his head. He didn't want to think about that.

"Ye alright now?" he asked, still concerned. He didn't want her to think that he was trying to take advantage of her weakness to get close to her, but he was genuinely worried about her well-being. They needed to get out in the sunlight, breathe the fresh air again. "Is there anythin' else Oi can do tae help? Oi ain't been doin' much... An' those losers over there just keep gettin' themselves into messes." He motioned back towards the scuffle, sighing. "Even if we are bandits, Oi swear we're the most level-headed ones here." He settled next to her with the wall against his back, and proceeded to watch what happened next.

Ink sent a sympathetic look to Hone, but Lutis seemed to be on the job, offering her a piece of chocolate to keep her occupied. He knew that dragon well. She turned her attention back to the matter at hand, and growled straight into the desert chaser's face. "At least I have friends, Fluffy," she retorted angrily. She had never really met a dragon that she didn't like, but this one sure was an exception. She felt some satisfaction as the wind was knocked out of him, even if she hadn't really meant to do it. She followed his gaze to Bronimir, who was still staring at them with wide eyes. "What a horrible creature!" she spat at him. "Can't you see he's only a boy? You already scared him half to death already, snapping at him like that!" Her tail whipped around in rage, threatening to wipe out anyone that stood too near. "I say we knock the jerk out and get away while we can. I'd say kill him, but that would make us no better than him."

"Ye-yeah! What she said!" Isa gulped. He was a bit uncertain now, especially from Syn's threats. He didn't really want to hurt anyone, he just didn't want it to come down to a fight! "Sorry Syn, but I don't want anyone being killed while I'm around... Blood makes me nauseous!" He slackened his hold slightly as the desert chaser attempted to make a deal, but Isa knew the humans wouldn't go for it. The tall one in the ponytail had already risked getting hurt saving the odd turtle-boy. He wouldn't give him back that easily. "Let's just... Just all get along, okay?" He lowered his head and blushed (if dragons could blush) at Syn's last statement, and shot a timid look at Hone. "I've... Never seen another lash before," he admitted. "I've been a court dragon all of my life." Another reason why he didn't want to see them eaten - he wouldn't admit it, but he felt more human than dragon sometimes, as he had been practically raised by them since he was a hatchling. "And... I wouldn't mind tagging along with you." His gaze darted between Hone, Lutis, and Ardere, as he waited for their reaction.

All the color drained out of Bronimir's already pale face as Lutis gave his proposition. "That's cruel!" he cried, wondering what he had done to get Lutis to go from saving him to threatening him. "I haven't done anything to you.... Yet... Besides, haven't I already said that I hate those guys at Kaionar? You guys have already treated me better than they ever did... At least, you were..." He couldn't help it; his feelings were hurt. He let out a pathetic sniffle and turned, creating some distance between himself and Lutis. "I'm not even a man yet, and all of these bloody bad things are happening to me...." He slumped against the wall and sulked, his eyes suspiciously bright in the dim lighting. He wasn't going to cry. He wouldn't give them that satisfaction. "Well, go on then, let him go and see if he doesn't damn well eat you all," he muttered.

Even Ardere looked a bit shocked by Lutis's suggestion. "Well, here I was thinking you were a perfectly decent guy," she scolded. "Now look what you've done, you've hurt the silly boy's feelings." She sighed. "Not that it really matters. I suppose he deserves it, threatening to turn us in and all. If I had known that stupid necklace would have caused this much grief..." Her hand crept up to the piece of jewelry again, but she kept herself from pressing the button. For all she knew, it would make the entire cavern collapse on them, or something even more terrible.

She didn't miss the desert chaser's scowl in her direction. "That's right, beast, I'm a satyr," she said, attempting to stand straight, but she was still tired and weak. "And if you make me angry, I'll set that ridiculous mane of yours on fire with a flick of my wrist." To prove her point, she pointed a finger at the end of his whipping tail and set the very tip ablaze, before putting it out a moment later. "I won't hesitate to do it either, so if you even so much as look at one of us-" she made an effort to look specifically in both Lutis and Bron's directions-"the wrong way, you'll be sent to wherever these mummies went when they were killed as well." Most likely Hell, she thought to herself.

Ink was hesitant to let the desert chaser go. She and the male lash dragon could probably take him out again, especially with Ardere's help, but it was still no fun having a feral dragon around. "Well, should I let him go?" she asked, glancing at everyone. "I'm not accountable for any and all limbs lost by releasing this beast, so don't blame me if he bites off your arm." She prepared to jump off of the dragon.

Isaiarasu was already backing off. He lifted his paws from the dragon and scooted away in case he decided he did want to hurt someone, and found himself next to the sniffling female lash. "He-hello," he said, though he was certain he had already greeted her. She was too busy looking miserable, though, he realized. "Hey, it's okay, the exit is just around the corner!" He motioned back to where they had come from. "Unless that's not what you're upset about... If it's Syn, don't worry. He only eats humans. He's not a cannibal. Er, as far as I'm aware..." He continued to ramble on as the rest of the group decided what to do.

“Don’t fuss so much… It’s okay…” said Myio weakly as Terrowin bent down, keeping her face hidden in her arms. She looked up briefly at the sound of ripping fabric, returning his smile with a battered look and leaning back against the wall. The sight of more blood made her feel nauseous (strange, that had never happened before) and she closed her eyes, wincing as he poured water over her leg.
“Should probably start rationing that.” she mumbled, licking her lips- they tasted salty and dry. “Not by the oasis anymore.” Which was too bad; instead of being stuck in some tomb under who-knew how much sand and dirt, she could have been lying in the shade and eating fruit. Mmm, that sounded good. The image sustained her for a while, Terrowin appearing too to keep good company in the little daydream, then it was broken by the rogue himself as he spoke again.

“Hmm?” She opened her eyes again, blinking wearily, then rubbed one hand across her face. “Sorry… kinda headache-y. I don’t suppose there’s any breakfast?” Maybe that was why she was feeling so strange- she had been put on scouting duty the day before, so, obviously, nobody had saved lunch for her, and she had missed out on that meal. And with all the scuffle from the night before, she hadn’t eaten much then either, from all the adrenaline. It was evidently catching up on her now, because she couldn’t concentrate on anything. Least of all whatever was going on with the others- man eating dragons? What next. At least it wasn’t them being attacked, she told herself.

Syn curled one lip at Ink’s words, still staring down Bron as he retreated. Mmm, what a tasty morsel… “Good, if he’s half dead already, then it’s less work killing him from me.” He ran his tongue slowly across his lips, his grin widening as the young knight backed off at the suggestion of his acquaintance (he couldn’t be much more than that, from the proposition that had just come his way). He pouted at the magpie dragon’s next words, trying to sound sincere, but he could hardly keep the laugh out of his words. “Aw, now you just want to deprive me of my new friend the knight here? But we were getting along so well!”

His gaze suddenly flicked to Isa as the lash dragon spoke up, wrinkling his nose like he had just smelt something horrid. “Call yourself a dragon? Please…” He gave a derisive snort, muttering under his breath, “I think you’re more a mouse… But,” he now spoke up again, “I like the sound of this proposition you give, two-leg.”

Hearing a resounding negative response to his suggestion (except by the desert chaser, who, of course, would be game for such a trade), Lutis straightened up, shrugging. “Hey, when you’re in a profession like mine, you learn not to trust anyone. Just making sure, that’s all.” There was no use trying to excuse his action any further- for one, they would be wasted words, that was guaranteed. The desert chaser gave a growling laugh from the floor at Bron’s hurt expression.
“Aww, prey’s gonna cry?”

“Hey!” Lutis suddenly rounded on Syn, scowling. “He’s not prey. He’s only ‘prey’ if he betrays us. Which,” he turned to Bron, “He’s not going to, are you? Even then,” he turned back to the dragon again, “he’s still Bron. Got it?” The boy looked frankly, quite terrified, and he made a note to talk to him later and reassure him a little better that he wouldn’t just turn him over into Syn’s paws like that. It was obvious that the kid didn’t want to talk to him at that moment, and anyway, it wasn’t his place to fight the young knight’s battles for him. He needed to learn to do that himself- especially if he was thinking of returning to a place like Kaionar! No wonder he had been sent on a non-complete-able mission like coming after them- the other guards back in the city must still be laughing. He turned to Ardere, his eyes widening as he hurried over to her side and gently pulled her hand away from the necklace, not wanting them to suddenly… well, anything could happen- swap places with the desert chaser? Could it do that? He dearly hoped it couldn’t.

“Don’t need to end up anywhere worse than this Ardere.” he reminded her, folding her hand into his own so she wasn’t tempted by the necklace again. Hopefully her fire wouldn’t go astray… no, he trusted her enough not to do that. She sagged against the wall, and he had to restrain the urge to pick her up and put her in the cart, to give her a rest. Wow, that was surprisingly thoughtful… The thought caught him off guard, distracting him for a while.

Syn gave a disapproving sniff at Ardere. “Shan’t look at you, I don’t eat trash.” he said, his ears flicking back for the moment at the sight of her goat legs. He growled under his breath at her insult, but it suddenly turned to a squawk as she flicked one of her fingers at him and promptly set the tip of his tail on fire. He scrabbled to try and free himself of Ink’s grip, yelping and screeching even after Ardere had put the little fire out.
“Alright, alright, I won’t touch them!” he squealed, all the brashness of his harsh words suddenly gone. “Just don’t burn my tail!” He whipped it even more feverously, leaving a tiny trail of smoke behind him. Oh, she was sure to have wrecked it completely- what a wretched day it had turned into! He gave a pathetic whimper, trying not to lose face completely.

As soon as the two dragons set him free, he turned on his tail and shoved the end in his mouth, sucking on his burnt fur and eyeing Ardere haughtily. Even more reason to dislike satyrs! They really were the most foul of creatures. He took a look at his burnt tip, pulled an unhappy face and put it back in his mouth, yelping through his mouthful as he accidentally bit it. Ooh, someone was going to pay for this humiliation.

The piece of chocolate Lutis had given Hone came to an end much to quickly for the lash dragon, and, after she was finished licking the last few smears off her paws, she went back to her unhappy moping, sniffing as she wiped away her tears from before. She gulped as the new lash dragon shuffled over to her side, tucking her wings close to her sides as he spoke and looking up at him from her crouch.
“Ista… sure?” she mumbled, rubbing at one of her eyes. The thought of nearly being out of such a hell-hole was a small relief. And his incessant rambling was quite comforting, in a strange sort of way, even though the turn of conversation wasn’t quite so. As much as it was reassuring, the passageway was still crushingly close, and she shuffled closer to his side, giving the roof one long unhappy look before turning and hiding her face in the other lash’s feathers.
“Canst gar? I dinae like it here.”

Guest

Terrowin glanced down at the canteen of water. She was probably right - it already felt like at least a quarter of the precious liquid was gone. "Yeah, Oi suppose Oi better start bein' more careful," he agreed grudgingly. "Still, Oi'd rather be thirsty than have ye get an infection and die on us." He shuddered at the thought. "It looks clean though, so just keep yer weight offa it for a while. We can put ye in the cart again. Oi know how much ye loved that donkey." He winked, even though he knew she would more than likely scowl in return. He shifted a bit so he was more comfortable against the rough, craggy wall. "Besides, Oi think that black dragon gal knows 'er way around the desert. She was the one that found the first oasis, if Oi remember right. An' we survived long enough wi' the bandits. We'll be fine." He forced himself to sound more optimistic than he was. Truth be told, the darkness and dampness was even starting to get to him. Along with the raging dragons, things were starting to look bad. At least if they died, they would die together. And he wouldn't go down without a fight.

Her question brought him out of his musings. "Mm? Breakfast?" He hadn't thought about that. Though now that she mentioned it, he was hungry too. His stomach growled on cue. "Yeah, Oi'll see wot we, er, they have." Cautiously, he stood and crept over to the cart, keeping to the shadows so the dueling/arguing/whatever people wouldn't notice him. "Don't mind me, Oi'm just stealin' yer food," he muttered. Luckily, and maybe unfortunately, he was quite good at snatching food from under people's noses. He reached the cart and rummaged around quietly until he managed to snatch some fruit from the oasis, and an old loaf of some kind of hard bread from someone else's pack. The donkey began to shift nervously, so he fed it a few bites of apple to silence it before darting back over to Myio. "Breakfast is served," he smirked, handing her about half of what he had grabbed. "It ain't much, but Oi didn't want tae steal too much o' their food." He bit into the bread, wincing at how hard it was to chew. "Well, at least it ain't raw snake meat," he mumbled, speaking from experience.

After taking a few more bites of bread and some fruit, he motioned over to the rest of the group. "Think we should do somethin'?" he asked. "It looks like they're still havin' trouble gettin' along. Although Oi ain't too keen tae get any closer to that furry thing. He looks nasty."

Ink rolled her eyes at the desert chaser. "If you so much as look at Bron the wrong way, I won't hesitate to bite off six inches of your tail." She could already tell that appearance was important to the dragon, so she used that to her advantage. Her lip curled up disdainfully as he began to childishly whimper and suck on his burnt tail tip. "That's just pathetic," she sighed. At least he seemed preoccupied with it for the moment. She took the chance to go over to Hone and Bron to make sure they were both okay. They both appeared fine, just unsettled and scared. "Don't worry," she murmured to both of them. "He's all talk, no brawn. I think as long as we stick together, he won't try anything again." As she said it, she glanced back, but Syn was still whimpering and snuffling. "Yeah. We're fine." Stupid, furry thing. At least this other lash dragon seemed nice enough. She offered him a tentative smile as he attempted to make Hone feel better. "Look Hone, he's a lashy just like you!" She wanted to distract her from the scary situation as much as possible. "An' he's sweet. I think we can all be good friends." She was talking to her like a child, but at the moment, it seemed the best thing to do.

Isa nearly squeaked in surprise as Hone suddenly nuzzled her head into his side. "It's... It's okay!" he assured her. He glanced at Ink in disbelief as he turned so that Hone could feel even more secure and stretched his tiny, flightless wing over her. "As soon as these silly humans get over their issue, I'll get you out of here as soon as possible. I'm not fond of small places either." Not knowing what else to do, he started to hum, a soft, soothing sound that he made whenever he was scared or nervous. It always calmed him down and made him feel a bit happy, even in situations such as this. Ink blinked at him in wonder, then shook her head. Of course, they had run into the oddest pair possible in the tomb, a nearly cannibalistic dragon and a humming featherbag. At least one of them was harmless.

Bron watched the trio of dragons, and strangely, it made him feel better. At least, out of the four dragons now within their group, three of them weren't looking forward to eating him. Ink and Hone even seemed protective of him. It gave him some hope, but he was still angry with Lutis. "I don't turn in people who I become friends with," he muttered. "At least, I thought maybe we could be, until you offered me as food. Now I still won't, but only because I have no choice." And at least Ardere seemed to be on his side, which was surprising. His first impressions of her weren't that positive, but now he was starting to think differently. "Either way, can we please get out of here now? It's getting hard to breathe." He pulled at his suit, which was getting very hot, especially after Ardere set the dragon's tail on fire. "Although I suppose you don't care," he added, glaring at Lutis.

Ardere sighed. This entire situation was just ridiculous. "I'm so glad that I look unappealing to you. You don't look very appetizing to me either. Although I've never tried charred dragon. Might be tasty." She glanced up at Lutis. "I understand why you made that offer, Lutis. It's fine. I'm just hot and tired and I want to get the hell out of here." She hadn't realized she was playing with the necklace until Lutis grabbed her hand and moved it away from it. "I.... That's strange," she said, frowning. "I didn't think that my hand was anywhere near the necklace." What was it that Ink had said earlier? Something about the more a person used it, the more control it got over them? She shuddered, and, without hesitating, took it off and draped it over Lutis's neck. "I... I think it's starting to get to me," she said. "You've used it less. Maybe it won't be so weird for you." She didn't really want to put him in more danger, but she was now afraid that it wasn't even safe with her.

"Are we done arguing now? Good. Now, let's get out of here." Letting Syn walk in front of them so none of them had their backs turned to him, he began the slow ascent to the opening of the tomb, making sure the desert chaser wasn't leading them farther in. He could remember how to get out, at least. He stuck close to Hone's side, assuring her the entire way, and humming or warbling when necessary. She really was something, he thought. Even upset, there was something about her that made him want to get to know her more. Maybe it was because he had never known another lash before... Yes, that must be it.

A cynical smile passed Myio’s lips at Terrowin’s words. “You wouldn’t pick both of us dying over me, there’s no point.” Strangely chivalrous, but still pointless. She licked her lips and pulled the canteen he held out of his hands, taking a slug of the slightly warm water and almost choking at his remarks. Her face fell and she thumped the bottle onto the ground. It was a good thing that she had capped it again, or it would be been a real waste of water.
“Must I?” She slumped back against the wall, giving her characteristic scowl as she pondered the possibility of not having to get into the cart again. It wasn’t high. That was just great- Terrowin was sure to give her twice the stick today to make up for the lack of it yesterday.

Sunk into this frustrating thought, she only realised he had moved when his shadow fell across her as he crept towards the cart. Feeling rather useless, she had to sit still as he went about finding them some breakfast, wishing it was her practising her thievery skills. Although of course, they would never be as good as Lutis’- he had probably noticed Terrowin sneaking around, even if he didn’t remark on it. After all, they all had to eat, didn’t they?

Biting into the fruit that he brought back, she suddenly realised how ravenous she really was and attacked the food hungrily, having to slow herself down for fear of indigestion. Despite her hunger, she avoided the bread for as long as possible. She may have been hungry, but the unappetising chunk could have put off even the hungriest of people. Ripping it into pieces before eating it, she craned to look at the others around the other side of the cart, quickly coming to an opinion.
“Nah, let’s leave ‘em to it. I’m sure they can sort it out soon enough.”

Syn scowled at the stuck-up magpie dragon, pulling his tail haughtily out of his mouth and flicking the tip in annoyance from side to side.
“Do that, I’ll bite off seven inches of yours. And I’ll make sure to chew.” He narrowed his eyes as she mothered the boy he had tried to eat and another lash dragon. Oh, just what I need, three stuck up, hyperactive dragons and a bunch of two-legs I can’t eat. From what had looked like quite the promising situation, it had quickly gone downhill to one that he would never have thought would ever occur- it was so strange in fact, that he hadn’t even pondered what he would have done in such a situation. As it turned out, continue to nurse his burnt tail, which he carefully groomed the end of before he lithely stood, turning his back on the group without a word. Well, if they were going to treat him like dirt, then he was going to treat them like bugs.

Isa’s warm side was a little comfort to Hone in the dark space, and she was suddenly glad there was another lash dragon with her, even if she knew little more than his name. She looked at him in sudden surprise as he started to hum under his breath, then snuggled closer to his side, a faint smile on her face as she tried to ignore the close walls. They’re not there she told herself firmly, trying to concentrate on Isa’s humming.

“Wish I looked unappealing to him too.” mumbled Lutis, envying Ardere just a little. He didn’t envy her for her sudden unawareness for her actions, frowning slightly as she didn’t seem to know she was fingering the necklace. It was a nasty piece of work alright, and he suddenly decided that however much it could have made him on the black market, he wouldn’t want to see it in anyone else’s hands. Not when it did stuff like teleport you to a completely different (and slightly freaky) place. And whatever else Ardere and Ink had claimed it could do- he hadn’t paid much attention at the time, thinking it was all a bunch of made up hocus pocus. Its weight around his neck was quite light, but slightly eerie, now he knew what it could do. Well, he wouldn’t be using it anytime soon, unless another dire emergency came up. Which, from their luck so far with bandits kidnapping Ardere and a man-eating dragon, was probably waiting for them around the next corner. At least the dragon in question was leading them out of the tomb- maybe he would be the one to get stuck in the next problem, then they would be rid of two birds (big angry birds, probably vultures) with one rather large and accurately thrown stone.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as Bron muttered angrily behind him, trying to resist the temptation to turn around and shout at the boy. That, he told himself, would do nothing to help matters. It was just the heat getting to him. He waved the dragons past in front of him after the haughty desert chaser, waiting for the two lash dragons to get out close earshot before he turned to scowl at Bron, folding his arms. If he hadn’t such a good temper normally, he would have looked rather frightening, lit from behind by Ardere’s flickering flames, front half in shadow.
“Grow up. If I wanted you dead, I would have let that wire back there get you. Or him, for that matter.” He looked back momentarily to where Syn had stalked off around the corner. “You’re supposed to be a knight. No wonder you were sent on such a useless mission, because you’re a bit of a joke at the moment.” He paused, then the harsh edge that had crept into his voice left. “Is that who you want to be? Think about it. You can use this to your advantage.” With that, he turned after the others, catching up with Ardere and disappearing around the corner with a quick backwards look to make sure Terrowin and Myio had seen them moving off.

Syn stalked along at the front of the group, nose pointing snootily in the air. He deliberately walked close to the few traps that ran across the thin passageway, hoping the two-legs were stupid enough to follow him and activate them, saving him a sneaky job trying to kill them off later, but it seemed already that they didn’t trust him, and managed to stay safe all the way to the entrance. What a shame. They even managed to get the cart through, without spearing that snack of a two-leg inside it! At the back of his mind a little voice whispered You’re losing your touch, old boy, but he knew it couldn’t be true, because he was still a youngster. Maybe this was just a chance to expand his sneaking skills. Yes, that was it. With that, he padded onto the sand at the entrance to the tomb, turning to sit next to the thick stones that made up the opening arch like an ominous guardian, and waited for the rest of the group to emerge.

Guest

Terrowin made a point to give most of the best food he had found to Myio, hoping she wouldn't notice and think he was being soft on her. He consumed most of the bread himself, which resulted in a large lump in his stomach that was not entirely pleasant, but at least left him full. "Well lookee there, seems they've finally made amends," he commented as the larger group seemed to break up and become quieter. "An' we stayed perfectly well outta it," he grinned, looking at Myio. "An' it looks like we've got ourselves a free ride outta here. Can't beat that." He stood, brushing off his clothes (which was rather pointless, as he was practically drenched in sand), and offered a friendly (not flirty, he chided himself) hand to help her stand. It was only right - she was, after all, injured, and needed to keep the weight off of her leg if she could.

Once back in the group, Terrowin made sure Myio actually got in the cart, instead of being stubborn and walking, which probably would have resulted in more blood, and possibly an attack from the furry dragon. Did dragons get bloodlust like sharks? He didn't know, but he didn't want to find out. Nevertheless, it took a full three minutes of whispered arguments and a couple threats before she finally (and grumpily) clambered into the cart. The donkey didn't seem too pleased either, and flicked its ears nervously. Finally, they were off, and Terrowin kept close to the cart's side, lest Myio attempt anything unhealthy.

Ink didn't particularly like having to be led out by the stuck-up fuzz ball, but they didn't have a lot of choices. The lash dragon, which she now knew was named Isaiarasu (what a mouthful!), was too occupied with Hone to pay attention to where they were going, and she even had to step in to make sure he didn't trigger any traps in his preoccupation. She chuckled as they got closer to the exit. From the puppyish look on Isa's face, he was totally captivated by Hone. She didn't know why, but at least the female lash was starting to calm down a bit, especially now that they were almost out. "Look Hone, light!" she called to her friend as the first rays of sun began peeping through before them.

Isaiarasu hardly noticed as Ink prodded him along the right path. Even Syn's grumbling was ignored - this nice little lash needed comforting, and he was going to give it to her. "What's your name?" he asked, thinking of nothing else better to say. He didn't think she had introduced herself yet, being traumatized and all, but even if she did, he hadn't caught it. "I was named Isaiarasu by the king in a nearby city," he babbled on,"but I go by Isa. I didn't know my mum, but that's okay, 'cause I had a lot of humans to care for me. Good food, too. Better than what you find out here." He licked his dry mouth hungrily. If there was anything he missed about being the royal family's entertainer, it was the food. "Anyway, I didn't pick the name, but I guess it means musician. I like to make music, see?" He trilled again, a soft, sweet note that could bring out memories of quiet birdsong by a gurgling stream. He stopped, then shrugged. "I guess I was just born with it, but- Hey look! Sunlight!" Keeping Hone close, he jumped towards the entrance, breathing in relief when the hot air blasted against his feathers. "Now, this is much better," he sighed, flopping onto his side and rolling around in the sand. The particles felt good as they rubbed the dirt out of his feathers. "Ahhhh."

Bron blinked as he reached the sunlight. Was it really that bright? He had been in the cavern so long, it was hard to believe the land could be so bright. He had ignored Lutis, for the most part, though he had to admit that the thief's words stung. Was he really that weak? He was only a boy... He couldn't be expected to be extremely brave, especially against a dragon! It wasn't in his training... It was all a joke. He hadn't even known dragons really existed until the previous night. He kicked a rock in frustration just as the last stragglers left the tomb to the outside world. It was a good thing, too; the stone clunked heavily against the side of the entrance, and immediately a cascade of spears shot towards the ground from where they had been hiding in the ceiling. He was barely a foot away from the nearest ones. He gulped heavily, frozen, then took a few stumbling steps back. "Well, looks like we won't be going back in there," he laughed nervously.

Ardere flinched as the spears came down; she had been the last out of the tunnel, but fortunately was clear away from the entrance when they hit. Still, it didn't make the fact that she could have been shish-kebabed any less frightening. "Watch what you're doing next time," she grumbled at Bron, tagging along after Lutis as he got further away from the tomb. It was clear that's what it was now, with skeletons and old runes decorating the entrance. She shuddered. "Let's get away from that," she muttered, turning. She shaded her eyes, and noticed a dark spot a couple miles away. "Could that be another oasis?" she asked, only half-expecting an answer. Her stomach was churning uncomfortably; she wanted to rest.

Terrowin barely gave the spears a second look. He had seen worse from a small pack of demons; a few random spears was nothing. "Well, we didn't expect tae get out completely safe, now did we?" he chuckled. He glanced at Myio, making sure she was alright, before nodding in the direction of the dark spot. "Looks more promisin' than anywhere else. What say you, Fluffy?" He addressed Syn with this last question. His hand was near the hilt of his sword, in case the dragon took offense to his question. Not that he really cared. He just didn't want his hand bitten off.

Sorry, it's a bit blah :/

Myio half-heartedly returned Terrowin’s smile at the fact the others had finally gotten their differences sorted, not particularly interested either way. As long as they didn’t involve her in it, then they could bicker all they liked- it wasn’t like it had been much different in the bandit’s camp, when you discounted her friendship with Terrowin. Not that you would have guessed they were friends, when you looked at the man’s black eye, and the argument they had before he coerced her into the cart. She rolled her eyes and flumped back grumpily in the pile of blankets she found stashed at one end of the cart as he walked beside it, trying to hide that even with a short time of sitting she was feeling a bit better- still not great, but better. Oh, what a way to make Terrowin smug, if she told him that.

Isaiarasu’s chattering was, once Hone got over the confusing aspect of it, quite relaxing, and diverting enough for her to concentrate enough not to have another panic attack. She smiled lightly at the funny trilling noises he made, her ears twitching. It was quite a nice noise- not particularly common, for a desert dragon like herself, but kinda… familiar, somehow. It was like she was supposed to know it, like it was something lash dragons were accustomed to, but she just… wasn’t. Strange.
“I’m… I’m Hone,” she said quietly in one of his pauses, rubbing at her eyes with the tip of one slightly sandy wing. At his and Ink’s exclamation she took it away and looked up hopefully, her head fins twitching.
“It’s t’sunshine.” She couldn’t quite believe it. As Isa leapt away from her side for the sand she gave a frightened squeak and leapt after him, shuddering as they finally made it into the sunlight again. She turned and looked back at the gaping mouth of an entrance they had just emerged from, her ears twitching unhappily, and backed up a little more, almost falling over Isa from not looking where she was going.

She looked at him in astonishment as he rolled around in the bank of sand by the entrance to the tomb, turning her head to one side. “You… y’do that too?” she asked incredulously. She thought it was only her that took sandbaths! With a gleeful bugle she launched herself onto the sand like a penguin does on ice, stretching out her wings and immediately setting to turning up sand, scooping as much sand up as her feathers would hold with one wing and throwing it at her fellow lash dragon with a gleeful cry. She turned to look at Ink as she emerged too, grinning again. “Come on Inky, sandbathin’ time!”

The two lash dragon’s apparent pleasure at being free of the tomb was completely lost on Syntribos. As they fooled around in the sand he just sneered, rolling his eyes and looking back to where the rest of the train was following after the dragons. He tried to restrain the urge to label each snack that followed the last one- he should be chiding himself for calling them snacks at all, now they were supposedly forbidden. Well, he would have to see about that… The scrawny tortoise-snack looked particularly delicious, better that that rough one with the blonde hair, or the one he seemed so taken with- who cared what she was called, she smelt… Mmmmm, so good. Easy prey, if it weren’t for their swords.

He snarled as Bron activated the spears by the entranceway, leaping down off the convenient rock that looked over it and stalking towards the boy. He made sure to keep enough distance from the boy to stop the others drawing their swords on him, but it was difficult to keep his claws in his pads.
“Brilliant. Out of all the bloody traffic these tombs get, and of all the flipping traps inside them, you would activate the one trap that meant I couldn’t use this place again. Thank you ever so much.”

When he heard the spears clunk sharply against the ground Lutis turned, grimacing and hurrying over to Ardere’s side. He had walked near the front of the cart to make sure they didn’t activate any traps with it, but it had turned out that he would have been better off watching Bron instead- good thing they were out of the tomb now, the boy was getting a bit of a liability!
“You okay?” She certainly wasn’t looking her old self, and he didn’t want her conking out on them. The killer dragon might not have had his eye on her, but it might have been a ruse- and who was going to flame his tail off the next time if she fainted?
“I think you,” he said, bending over her shoulder to talk in her ear from behind, “Need to take a break.” He grinned and scooped her up in his arms, fitting them around her back and legs. Before she could escape him he carried her over to the cart and placed her firmly in it, rifling around next to her and coming up with a good handful of food. He took some bread for himself, leaving (as Terrowin had done) the good stuff for Ardere.
“Eat that, and I don’t want you complainin’ until you’re done, hear?” he said with a wink, leaning against the side of the cart next to Terrowin.
“Five star dining this, innit?” He tried to bite into the bread, making a face. “Mm, tastes great.”

Myio sat up again as Ardere was put in the cart too, turning to look at the dark spot that Terrowin and Ardere had seen. She caught his glance and frowned, diverted from the apparent oasis on the horizon.
“Oi, I saw you checkin’ on me then,” she said, leaning her arms along the edge of the cart. “Not even blinking at spears now eh?” She gave a snort of laughter, her eyes glinting. “I’m okay, you fuss more than a mother hen.”

Syntribos looked away from Bron as Terrowin hailed him, his ears flattening back against his head at the new nickname. “Don’t even think of using that name, ‘cos you’ll be regrettin’ it sooner or…” His words trailed off as he saw what they had spotted, his heart sinking.
“Oohhh crap,” he whispered, looking back at the tomb behind him. Blocked completely, there was no way of getting back in there in a hurry. Bugger, bugger bugger.

He turned back to the rest of the group, leaping up onto his rock from before. “Listen to me!” he said, trying to sound commanding, but not like he was about to eat them. “That ain’t an oasis. There’s no oases for leagues, in any direction, that’s why we kipped here last night. That’s a dust devil, and from the looks of it, a damn nasty one.” He looked up to the horizon to check, but it was still there. Not a mirage! “We seriously have to get outta here, now.”
Myio looked askance at Terrowin, a light frown on her face.
“I’m not kidding around!” urged Syntribos. Man, what was it going to take to persuade them?

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Isaiarasu chortled happily as the sand was tossed over him from the intensity of his rolling, until he could hardly be recognized under the layer of it on his skin. His feathers were full of the stuff, but he didn't care - he was out of that dark pit! He rolled over once more to see Hone gaping at him, then flinging herself at the ground to mimic his actions. "Sand baths are t'best!" he cried, surprised to see that she, too, enjoyed them. He squawked as she tossed the sticky particles at him, replying with a barrage of his own as he flapped his tiny, flightless wings in an attempt to not only get the sand off of him, but onto her. It was the most fun he had had in ages. Without thinking, he charged over and barreled into her, knocking them both into the sand in a flurry of tails, feathers, and limbs, laughing the entire time. He didn't realize he had also knocked Ink into the fray as well, until her surprised shrieks were heard.

Ink had heard Hone's invitation, but being covered entirely in feathers, and also being very meticulous about keeping them clean, she had silently but politely declined. She was just happy that she wasn't terrified any more, and had seemed to make a new friend out of this other Lash dragon. However, her decision was ruined when said Lash dragon plowed playfully into Hone, leading them to crash into her, standing only a short distance away. She shrieked as she was knocked to the ground, unharmed, but surprised. They hardly seemed to notice, though, and, relenting, she joined the scuffle, trying to ignore the itchy particles of sand that made their way into her feathers. "Okay, okay," she finally panted a few minutes later, struggling to stand. "That's enough for me." She couldn't help but laugh, though; the grins on the two dragons' faces were hilarious.

Bron took a few steps back, remembered what was behind him, and stopped as Syn took a few threatening steps towards him. He gripped the hilt of his sword, though he knew that even if he did get it out in time, he was no match if the dragon attacked him. "It wasn't my fault!" he complained. "I didn't know there'd be a... a bloody trap at the entrance!" He realized he was yelling, and gulped, dipping his head. He probably shouldn't talk to a dragon like that if he wanted to keep his head. "I mean... I'm sorry I blocked the entrance to your tomb. I didn't realize it was that important to you." He couldn't help the slight sarcastic tone to his voice, and hoped that it would be lost on the dragon.

"M'fine," Ardere grumbled half-heartedly, and her stomach twinged in reply. Truthfully, she was tired, hungry, thirsty, and frustrated with everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. And she had a right to be! They were in the middle of the desert, with bloodthirsty dragons, barely escaping from deadly tombs, and with hardly any food or water! No wonder she felt sick! She was used to having everything she needed only minutes away, and now she had to deal with having hardly anything. She sighed. If she had known stealing and sleeping with Lutis would have brought on this much trouble, she never would have done it, even if he was one of the few guys that actually looked (at least somewhat) deeper than her cleavage, almost as though he actually liked her for... Her.

She yelped as he suddenly picked her up. "What're you... Put me down!" She struggled weakly, but it was no use. Even if he wasn't the strongest of men, he was still strong enough to hold her in her weakened state, and she was too tired to use her flames. Not that she particularly wanted to burn him anyway. She glared at him as he set her down in the cart next to Myio, rolling her eyes as he handed her some food. "Yes, daddy," she grumbled, taking a bite of an overripe apple, which she had to admit tasted quite nice. As he turned away and ate his own ration, she looked back at Myio next to her. "Such gentlemen, aren't they?" she asked sarcastically, taking another bite of fruit. "Tell ya to shut up, sit down an' eat like we're children. I think they just get tired of us bein' right all the time." Satisfied that she had gotten in the last word, she continued to eat, until the grumbling in her stomach had stopped, at least for now.

Terrowin winked at Myio innocently. "Just checked tae make sure yer nails didn't get chipped, princess," he teased her, feeling cheeky. "Naw, spears ain't nothin' compared tae demons throwin' lightning and poisoned daggers at ya, that's fer sure. Could'a blocked 'em all if Oi had the chance, ya know. Nothin' like a good ol' game of dodge the spear tae get yer blood pumpin'." He reached out and ruffled her hair playfully, only later wondering if he had gone to far. "Ye need someone tae look after ya!" Even though Oi have trouble lookin' out fer myself, he chuckled inwardly.

He rolled his eyes at the desert chaser. "Oh, Oi'll call ye wot Oi want, ya overgrown squirrel." He stopped as the dragon's eyes widened in genuine alarm, and his mood sobered. "Wot is it?" he asked, looking to the dark spot on the horizon. "A dust devil?" Now that he looked again, it did indeed look like a storm, and he cursed out loud. "Bloody hell, Myio, ye know how nasty those things are," he said to her. While in the bandit crew, they had run into their share of the dusty storms, and they were never pleasant, and sometimes bordered on dangerous. In the past, they had just had to hunker down and let them pass; there wasn't a lot more you could do. But here, they had no wagons, no tents, nothing to keep them out of the wind and flying sand except for a donkey, a cart, some dragons, and a useless tomb entrance. "Wot do ye suggest we do?" he asked, directing the question at not only Syn, but also the other dragons. They had lived in the desert as well - maybe they had an idea.

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