Prelude to the Music [Ipos/The Main Hall]

'What is wrong with these people?' Menat found herself wondering as everyone reacted to the strange musician who had stumbled upon their small group. The older male of the group, with sausage stuffed in either ear for whatever reason, approached the mysterious stranger. His voice boomed within the caverns which the group stood, clearly unable to hear himself through the meat substances blocking his ears, as he questioned the bard about who he was and why he was here. The stranger's answer to the elderly man's question wasn't one that reassured Menat, at the very least, as his very first comment was that they likely wouldn't like his answer. Quite simply, he didn't know. It seemed the only thing he actually did know was his name, Lir, but anything beyond his awakening in one of the caverns was lost to him.

As he and the old man exchanged comments as, as best as they could with the elder of the two still holding back as much sound as possible from his ears with cured meats, Menat found her eyes shifting towards one spot along the smooth cavern walls in particular. Against it was the young man she had seen both dealing with the merchant on the steps prior to her arrival and entering into the dungeon just before she herself did. For whatever reason he seemed to have separated himself from the rest of their rag-tag group, roughly ten meters or so, and seemed to be inspecting his own physical person. Perhaps inspecting himself for injuries from his arrival? Menat wasn't certain for she herself arrived with nothing more than that horrible sensation of nausea and dizziness that had caused the loss of both her balance and the contents of her stomach.

The boy hadn't made any kind of hostile motions just yet but she sensed the fact that he was keeping that much space between himself and the rest of them could only mean he was biding his time for the right opportunity. Yet for now all she could do was keep an eye on him as the impromptu side show ramped up. Menat found herself overhearing as Noir asked her companion, Eight, if they should return to the room the lot of them had just been expelled from. Somewhere Menat herself was in no great rush to return to so quickly. Yet Eight seemed to agree to her suggestion and it was at that point the young princess found him stealing her attention once more as he made a declaration of sorts to the other participants in the dungeon. His offer was a simple one, abandon the quest for the djinn and he would offer his protection to any who chose to accompany him. Yet his proposal came with a warning that he didn't tolerate betrayal.

It was the final female of their group who was the first to respond to him, lecturing him on how the djinn would be the one to decide who would win and who would lose in this place. This was the djinn's game and their were simply the pieces for it to play with. Menat found herself admiring this woman for both her resolve and her beauty as she stated she would rather place her fears with the djinn over the man, Hyperion as she called him, as far as threats were concerned. Her attention shifted as she joined the elderly man, his companion and Lir before she began to turn philosophical once more while explaining the reasoning for entering a dungeon to the bard. But the conversation was halted with the sounds of the cavern rumbling and stones falling from the area the duo and their companions had passed through. To all who would look it appeared as if the cavern had been sealed off once the sub-group had entered.

Lir himself began to freak out a bit as he questioned about if that was the room they had all just come out from. Be it poor timing or something more believable than such an excuse the bard explained how he was but moments away from warning them about how the dungeon seemed to have been set with traps designed to trigger should one attempt to backtrack or go off down an incorrect path. It certainly wasn't something that made Menat want to trust the stranger enough to take him up on his offer to guide them through the maze as best he could with as much knowledge as he currently held. Still Menat couldn't help but admit the fact that their wouldn't be able to return to places they weren't wanted to be was clearly evident from the now smooth, seamless wall that had replaced the opening they had all been forced through. She did worry about Noir, and that beautiful white tiger that accompanied her, but felt herself not willing to attempt anything so foolish and stupid as to try and force an opening for them to escape.

From the corner of her eye she caught movement, the sounds of feet pressing against the stone floor of the area one after the next, as the youth had removed himself from the wall and made his way towards the bard and those still with him. Stopping around the midway point between Menat herself and the bard, each roughly three meters away from the odd youth on either side of him. For the first time since Menat had entered he had spoken, declaring to the bar which direction he would be heading in. Apparently he wasn't concerned with the fact a small battalion of people had just become entombed, and instead attempted to prompt Lir into giving him information on what type of djinn they would be encountering. Yet it seemed a rhetorical question as he himself went on to surmise it was likely either sound or wind before going off on some kind of tangent like he was some kind of "destined hero", yet coming across as a delusional loser, that would capture the djinn himself and use it to either "sing a melody of love" or "wash away the fires of hate".

Menat found herself wanting to physically vomit once more by listening to him. For a moment she almost thought she was going to, finding herself retching enough to double over while clutching her stomach. Somehow this ended up as a sort of saving grace as it both directed her gaze downwards and resulted in her closing her eyes just before a blinding flash of light washed over her and the others still in the current cavern. It had been bright enough to get through her eyelids yet only in a way that let her know it had happened and not to actually blind her. Specks of color danced across her field of vision as she would open her eyes once again, not unlike after having looked right at the sun for a second or two, and groaned. So far this dungeon was turning out to be nothing more than an assault on her senses which, given the fact she was a Fanalis, were actually already more efficient than the normal person's was a truly horrible experience.

"Solomon damnit." She muttered under her breath while the older man, Silva as she had heard him introduce himself to, who she had assumed was, Lir, began to complain about his own eyes before ending on a note of laughter. Claiming he had been falling victim to old age and his eyesight was already less than ideal as a result. Normally Menat would have found Silva's amusement infectious but his actions caused her to openly curse rather audibly. "SONOFA!" She cried as once more a blinding flash of light illuminated the cavern, this one centered on the old man and stronger than the first. She didn't understand much of it but apparently he seemed to feel as if he had to one-up whoever had cast the first attempt at blinding them all. Now the young princess was unhappy, rubbing her closed eyes as they stung from the sudden burst of illumination.

WC: 1,354
TWC: 2,247

The first peculiar note of the conversation was when the man, apparently called Hyperion, offered protection in the name of forfeiting the so-called "Djinn." Of course, Khalik merely shrugged off such absurd claims— had he wanted to be lead by the hand like a lost child, he'd do in the time to revive his real dad.

Not dad aside— literally— aside in a tomb of his own making— the elegant mistress continued to talk about this so-called "Djinn." Finally, there was the rather suspicious person monologuing about this so-called "Djinn," even more.

Now, Khalik being but a fletching to Dungeons, had simply taken all this talk as jargon. However, the words of Ghost were so scrupulously cliché, his brain had already garnered divine revelation via the listless tongue between his teeth.

"Ooooooooooh, you're crazy." So spoketh the enigmatic trickster. The same trickster who wandered into a life-threatening institution for entertainment.

It was at this approximate moment that Solomon's holy insight seared his vision and left him, temporarily, vision impaired due to the copius growth stimulants being hard injected, by the rukh, into each individual neuron of his brain...

Who am I kidding, he just got hit by Ghost's spell which did cause him a bit of a scare. After all, magician's still bore a special place in his heart— a fearful place, but a special and fearful place.  

On instinct, Khalik locked his eyes shut and opened his parasol wide. Its red canopy veiled his upper body from Ghost and all who'd look onto him from that direction... Assuming they could see after the second, larger blinding flash of light from his compatriot Silva. However, this is where the luck of being blinded by Ghost truly comes in, for as Silva screamed esoteric gibberish—that was all the details Khalik's sensors could muster— a senile fool yammering.

Truly lucky, if you take away the lost of vision.

"I swear," the trickster mumbled with a hint of agitation. "It ought to be crime to own a horse that high."

The one eyed man was too focused on staying on guard to the point he didn't notice that both Noir and Eight were gone.. Until there was a loud crash and the bard that he had given his attention to before seemed panicking. Tenma's eye widened as he heard what the bard was saying, everyone except Noir and that man was here, so it meant both of them went back. He would excuse himself from Zubaidah for a little bit, although he kept his calm expression, hiding his worried mind behind his smile.

The man would examine the debris which was blocking the way, wondering if he could destroy it open. But it would be hard to shatter all of those hard rocks without damaging his weapon. He was quite lucky actually, the light that someone was igniting in order to blind everyone in the area for a short time didn't really affect him. Not because he had an immunity to that, but because he had his back turned when that happened. Although… The second light casted by Silva did affect him because he was already facing towards the entire group. Lucky for him, his fully functioning other eye that he always kept hidden under an eye patch due to a personal reason was being properly covered. So he would take the chance to slip up his eyepatch, revealing his red colored eyes to see what was happening until his left eye recovered. Well, 3 minutes should be enough to see what was happening.

Ghost went to the right path, although Tenma didn't see it clearly, but he did see someone running there and judging from who was gone from the crowd implied that it was him who blinded them first. With a sigh, the one eyed man would adjust his eyepatch, covering his red eye again so no one can see it.

“Lir, I've heard that a dungeon always seemed so dangerous and deadly,, however it seemed like you were doing just fine exploring the dungeon alone... unscathed.” Tenma would beam the bard with a smile, he was suspicious towards the bard but he didn’t want to make an early assumption. So it would be better to just play along this time. “It would assure me if we can be guided as well, especially when it seems you are very strong.” The man would ask his companion for her opinion after this, “What do you think of Zubaidah? Should we follow him?”

There was a sudden scream again as soon as Noir, Eight and the rest of their companions entered the first area. Their path to the next area would be closed with all the rocks falling to block it, making the magician wonder if it was a bad decision. But she didn't regret it, she still didn't know the mechanism of this dungeon and even if this was a bad decision, then it was okay, the experience was all that matters.

“The crack from before was gone…” Shousui would be standing right in front of where the crack was before, remembering where it was located after she saw Eight examined it before. “I will check the paintings again, maybe there will be some clues on how to get out.” Noir would say before powering up her flying carpet. “Eight...Lady Shousui and Ms. Diana, could you please look around the area to find anything peculiar?” Noir would then begin to float high enough to reach the paintings.

“Don't use too much energy, Little Noir. This is an airtight room, we might be running out of air soon.” The former noblewoman would say as she motioned Haku to follow her as she explored the room to look for a way out or even a clue.

Magoi: 530/540
Stamina: 220

Items:

"Don't worry about air, I have something in case the oxygen in the air becomes insufficient, but lets see what we can do before that." The peace of mind would make it easier for all of them to stay calm and deplete the oxygen even slower, something that could be crucial. The slaver was relaxed as was his comrade. While Noir and Shousui would explore the paintings up above, Hyperion would search for the expended crack that had dissappeared. Either way this was valuable knowledge, this could have been a total mistake, which would mean he should not attempt to break the intentions of the dungeons or deal with the strength of the djinn or perhaps he was following the path perfectly and now everyone else had been excluded from the true path.

While Eight had his mind on the results of his actions, Diana would focus on using her senses to search for the source of the shriek that occured before the mechanism was unleashed.

---

Traits:
Trait Name: Exceptional Sight
Trait Tier: A
Trait Requirement: Must be Human
Trait Description: Through extensive training, the character has exceeded the traditional limits of strength for their race.
Trait Effect:The character can now see with perfect focus at ranges well past normal range.


Trait Name: Exceptional Hearing
Trait Tier: B
Trait Requirement: Must be Human
Trait Description: Through extensive training, the character has exceeded the traditional limits of strength for their race.
Trait Effect:The character can now hear at far ranges and very quiet noises.


Trait Name: Exceptional Smelling
Trait Tier: B
Trait Requirement: Must be Human
Trait Description: Through extensive training, the character has exceeded the traditional limits of strength for their race.
Trait Effect:The character can now distinguish people's general feelings from their scent and able to identify things via smell.

‘I may not know you, Lir, but I do know that I’d want companions if I were in your situation. As such, I agree with Tenma here. If you are fine with it,’ Zubaidah smiled warmly towards Silva and Khalik, ‘I would appreciate the company.’

    As she spoke, she would notice Ghost walk past her briskly. Noticing his odd actions, she would react quickly. She would pour magoi into her crystal heels, tapping them upon the stone floor. The rocks and pebbles would break apart as her [ Dance of the Crystal Field ] created a pink-hued dome, surrounding herself and Amnet. She would stare coldly at Ghost through the amethyst, but a smirk would tug at the corner of her lips. He had given her something interesting to work with, and she smiled at that.

    ‘Bitch, a third-rate villain like you can’t fool me.’

    ‘You gave too much away; lapsing into a coma, pointing out your path, spinning your staff? You’re not actually trying, are you? That level of reasoning is easy for the detective!’

    ‘What do you think, everyone?

Events:

Abilities:

As things started to increase in tension quickly enough Ghost was the first one to break through it as he quickly made action to separate himself from the rest of the contestants surrounding him. With a quick spell cast, he attempted to blind most of the others and dashed into the right cavern. As he did things would start to get dark for him very soon enough. This was the very same tunnel Lir had just come from and as Ghost would decide to travel furthermore light would disappear from the world around him.

If Ghost would continue down the path he would feel the path get a bit colder and even darker as he would travel further. It was silent almost too silent as one might even begin to wonder if they were even making any sound themselves. From here on Ghost would have to decide if he wanted to travel further, figure out what was going on around him, or risk turning back.

Back in the Cavern however Lir and the others were still dealing with the light as moments after the first light blast flared up another was fired off by Silva. As the light rays bounced they crossed and reflected off the crystal shield Zub had put up. As they were immune to light both instances were reflected as suddenly a multicolored series of flashes filled the cavern, creating a light show which shone on all the contestants there. Without intention, this created a sense of Awe in Lir as he saw them all bathed in the multi-colored light and smile and listen to their questions and statements.

"I'm quite good on food, I brought my own, I seemed to have been prepared to be here at least." He said with a puzzled look on his face as he turned towards the others on their thoughts of him guiding them. "I actually haven't been down either of these two paths, I came from  a room very much like this but there was one path that lead me hereafter some maze-like part." He paused once again for a moment like he was stuck in his own thoughts.

As he suddenly came back to himself he continued speaking. "I've been lucky, my music has helped me get past some of the beasts either by scaring the smaller things or through keeping the stronger things asleep, my only suggestion right now is that we examine the paths and once we decide we can all go." As he looked at all of them he turned his head back and forth. "Trust me, I saw a couple who split up get picked off by some scary looking bird-women."

---

Inside the cave would seem odd if they started to look closer, mostly everything was somewhat different from when they were last inside. The rocks looked sharper and less rounded, there were some more pieces of wood scattered about on the floor. While it was small changes the biggest giveaways were the pile of rubble near the left of the entrance and the paintings from before.

Once Noir was close enough to observe the paintings from before she was likely to be intrigued and disappointed all at the same time. The paintings were simple and nothing special, wrapped in a circle around the cave top was a mural depicting the daily rituals of some people. From the morning meal to fishing to midday naps, it detailed various daily activities with a pattern of singing and keening women who seemed to appear throughout the day and the rituals. It was not an artistic masterpiece but the humble nature of this depiction would surely make one wonder whatever happened to a people with such a peaceful life.

Inside they would begin to notice the oxygen drain as they slowly went about their activities. It was nothing dangerous yet, but the room would get warmer as their breath filled the cavern they were stuck inside. With the changes in scenery and little to go off, it could make one wonder how they were expected to escape from this cave. Their minds were soon left alone in silence as the room went silent, they could still speak, but if they listened they would no longer hear anything in the room or outside they mat have before

This dungeon only seemed to get odder by the second. It was almost as if they were being played with, for those who had come in considering it a game had they considered they were just volunteering to pieces for someone else's. Everything would be very unsure for the contestants and they would feel this unease as it set over all of them, the feeling as if something was watching them.

Has he was running soon enough he would be surrounded by the darkness amd boy was he not a happy camper. More or so a thrilled one. He knew what was going to happen to or did he. Ghost was all along and in the darkness. He knew what had to be done and what was going to be done. As he looked all around the only light came from behind him. Come to think about it. That Lir guy came from this way." Funny why would he come from this way amd what was he doing here? As I count my thoughts to make sense of things. It just does not add up at all. But still I feel he is hiding something. But just can not tell what it is. Oh well best put all this thinking upon the now and worry about the later later. Now how to go about the darkness." As he put his right hand up with his stave. He would feel air a cool breeze.

How odd that means there is some kind of exit up ahead. Or some kind of threat. The key here would be how to move around in the darkness. Ghost would be thinking this as he started to talk out loud." Ok I got it I will light up the darkness with my light. Hopefully I am not attacked. But now I must take my leave time is not on my side here." Next thing next Solar Law would be cast as he lit up some of the darkness to get a bigger view. What did he see remains to he known? Soon enough he start to walk at max speed yet was staying on his toes at to where he was going.

Spoiler:

The old man would not hear a single word that the strangers in the group or Lir were saying due to his ears being stuffed with sausage. Also since he was temporarily blinded he was unable to read lips as Lir spoke to him. Shou, who had adverted his gaze in time to avoid being blinded, was listening to the musician and would relay what he said to his teacher later.

Silva would grin and speak again "I will assume you agreed to help because i am unable to hear you. I hope you dont mind if my companion carries you" he would say before shouting to shou and Khalik "Operation dine and dash! Shou, boy lets go!" Shou would sigh and look at zub and tenma apologetically bowing, he would pick up Lir in his large arms following his teacher's command. The old man would begin running and moving quickly for his old age. However, after making it several meters he would trip , due to the fact he was blind still. and tumble down the path in the middle that contained the fountain with the large sumo following after his fallen and now rolling master.

Menat found herself utterly embarrassed as she blinked her eyes open to find there was absolutely no issues with her sight. Around one of the duo near Lir, the violet haired woman who Menat still found beautiful, a dome of pale purple crystals had formed. It seemed that had protected Menat from the flash of light and her loud reation had been in regards to no more than a single glint caught just at the right moment. She was only glad her mother wasn't around to see her behaving in such a manner. The girl would never live it down if her mother had gotten to see that spectcale. However the young princess would just count her blessings that her sight was still with her.

Yet as happy as she was to find that her eyes still functioned properly she found herself wincing as Silva began shouting at their bard friend about how he couldn't hear currently and that he assumed Lir had agreed with him. Clearly the part about the older man not being able to hear was accurate as his self control over his own vocal volume seemed diminished. Before she could make heads or tails of what was happening next the elderly man shouted to the larger male that had entered with him for something called "Operation Dine and Dash". That phrase was completely lost on the girl but the rounder man, Shou as Silva shouted at him, seemed to understand as he scooped up Lir and the duo attempted a sudden and dramatic dash.

It didn't do the old man much good however as, in his blind and deafened state, he tripped onver a loose stone that sent him tumbling off towards the large fountain. The princess didn't know what to make of the display if she was being honest. If she had to put the spectacle into terms it would simply be "pathetic". With a shake of her head the young redhead would turn her attention once again to the pretty lady who had shielded her from the blinding flashes of the others. "Pardon me miss." She addressed the woman as she approached her in the least threatening manner that she could muster. "I wanted to say thank you for protecting me from those two, even if you didn't initially mean to. You're Zubaidah right? That's what I heard your companion there call you. My name's Menat." The young Fanalis would extend her hand long enough to offer a handshake should Zubaidah wish to partake in one. "I'm personally not here to start picking fights with anyone else if I can avoid it." She'd offer a kind smile momentarily as she returned her hand to her side.

"For now that fountain the old man just rolled into feels like something worth taking a look at. Since you helped me out that means I owe you one so feel free to give me a shout if you need a hand." With that said the Princess of Meridia would take her leave from the small group remaining and make her way towards the fountain, and by extension Silva, in order to begin inspecting it.

WC: 527
TWC: 2,774

The assassin took a short reprieve in breath before folding his parasol closed. Outstandingly, his eyes maintained full functionality, a case he did not expect with the devil's magic at play. More so unexpectant was the devil's magic presented by the young woman, the seasoned dungeon runner — or so he reckoned by her talk. Unsure by what infernal means she conjured her crystal wall, but not willing to trade words— Khalik would find his thoughts crassly torn asunder by his partner's bold declaration.

Operation: Dine-and-Dash

More like Operation: Blind and Trashed; seriously, how many photons were released in this room to sear their eyeballs? Let's not speak of his dismal execution of said operation which befitted the latter half of Khalik's operation.

Nevertheless, Lir had been snatched by the magician and his assistant— an unfortunate event, for if Silva hadn't Khalik may have had a chance to hop the fence. Working with yet another magician? A chill crept up Khalik's spine. He would simply have to weather this storm.

With his parasol trapped on the inside of his arm; the brave trickster gave the crowd an apologetic bow apt for noble, not some cur. "Apologies, but follow if you like. I'm afraid my acquaintance can't see the difference between friend and foe, even if it slapped him in the face."

Afterwards, Khalik ran straight for Silva; and, unlike his acquaintance, did not lose his footing

Tenma would chuckle at Zub’s remark, loving her statement. The woman had always seemed like a daring lady and he was lucky to be able to witness her antique here. Not only that, she managed to create a pretty scenery with her shield, although he really wished that Noir was here to witness it because he knew she would love it.

“I see.” Tenma would beam Lir with a bright smile as he explained himself, so far the one eyed man thought it was a logical reasoning coming from the bard. “Well, that guy went to the path on the right. Should we follow him, Lir? Or do you think we should go to another path for now in group?”

However Silva decided to snatch Lir away only to be tripped on the ground and Tenma… could only cover his mouth with his gloved hand and tried his best to hold his laughter. That old man had been very funny since the day both of them met. “Rui Li, follow those guys. We’ll catch up to you.” He said to his companion and the girl would start using her speed trait to follow Lir and his kidnappers.

Using his exceptional speed trait, the swordsman would be heading towards Silva to offer him a hand to help him get up. Well, being polite to your elder was important. “You okay, Silva?” He would ask the old man with a small laugh. Tenma would also wait until Zubaidah finished speaking to the red haired girl before approaching all of them. “Shall we go?”

Trait:

The magician would be confused for a second, when she looked at the painting before, she saw women holding hands together as if they were dancing. But now, the painting changed, she would notice that it was a daily ritual of some people, possibly the past villagers on this dungeon that used to be their town… They looked very peaceful, seemed to be enjoying their life and their daily rituals.

The air began to drain slowly and it made Noir decide to fly down, approaching Eight while she was still floating on her magic carpet. She would tell him about the painting that she found and would wait for his thoughts and opinions about it. Meanwhile, using her eidetic memories, the magician would also notice the differences in the room compared to when they first got into this room, it was almost as if they went to an entirely different room.

Shousui and Haku would still continue exploring around, although they would soon come back if they feel it got difficult to breathe.

‘What was it that Lir described?’ The lavender-haired Amnet penned her experience within the leather-bound journal she always carried, turning actions into words, ‘Some sorta bird-like women, right? Gotta be a dungeon beast, yeah.'

‘As always, you’re full of insightful statements.’ Zubaidah rolled her amber eyes in mock exasperation, before looking down the passage they had followed Tenma down. ‘Oh, please, like you’ve got any better ideas about them.’ Amnet jokingly smirked before asking Zubaidah again, ‘So what do you think we’re dealing with?’ Zubaidah paused for a quick think, then rattled off the options, ‘Hmm, perhaps, could be harpies? No, they don’t seem to fit the dungeon’s theme… Maybe they were tengu? No, that's further off. Well, I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.'

Air was growing thinner with each passing moment, the effects of being trapped finally taking it's toll on him. Eachof his actions would grow more efficient with his life now at risk. Eight would nod to Noir,  listening to the change in the room snd now determined to possibly look for another change.

'The rubble...' Having taken another glance at the room, he would notice this pile out of place. Returning to the entrance from where they had arrived as a group, Eight would use his ten foot pole to chip away at the mound of rubble from a max distance to see if there was anything beneath it.

"If this doesn't work... I have a spell for oxygen, don't panic."

The darkness that surrounded Ghost would indeed be lit up within a moment, but however, he would find something he might not have expected. Within moments he would realize that he had suddenly run into another cave, how could it have been where Lir was from it seemed like a closed-off room. There he would see one thing that would likely cause him to pause, there was a giant egg sitting at the back of the wall in a large nest. The egg would just be about his size and looked a bit rocky in texture, but with reddish tones and blue markings along its side.

It would surely be an oddity for Ghost, but he would have to think whether or not this was a challenge or a trap. He would have to make a decision soon though as the egg seemed to nudge ever so slightly. What could be inside of it and why was it eager to get out?

---

In the moments that passed Lir suddenly found himself lifted from his feet as he was attempting to make friends with the others around. As he felt himself being lifted he looked around himself and at the sumo who was carrying him as he let out a loud gasp. "H-hey now shouldn't we stick together and figure this place out."

It was then that he saw Silva fall over as they were running and let out a small sigh to himself as he thought that things had suddenly taken a real odd turn, but he was still willing to give people a chance. He looked out at the others that would decide to follow and then the ones who decided to linger or maybe even stay behind in the room. He gave a sort of tired but soft smile as he tried to wave for them to follow despite the fact he was being "Kidnapped."

As people would start to trickle off into the room with the altar and the water they would truly see how prominent it was. There was a glowing gem in the middle surrounded by glass that made a remarkable prismatic effect that made the light dance around the altar in a way similar to the lights found near the north pole. The Altar unlike everything else was refined and beautifully carved with its detail intact unlike the other weathered ruins found along with the cave rubble. In front of the Altar was a stage with golden placemarks with just enough room between them that you'd be able to touch someone and there was about sixteen in total.

---

Inside the cave, Noir would notice that it was in fact a different cave than they were in before. It was similar enough, and maybe they held similar purposes but it was for sure a different one. If she looked around she would notice that there was really nothing of note other than the rubble that Hyperion was dealing with at the moment. She would have to decide whether or not the information of the paintings, and their peaceful repetition and resignation to their acts.

As Hyperion would chip away at the rubble it would seem like nothing was happening at first, but then he struck out a keystone holding it together. As it fell apart it was obvious that there was something underneath it. Whether he decided to push the rest of the rocks away or just waited a moment a few more rocks would tumble off to reveal what was hidden underneath. An Altar, with a dried corpse laying dressed in beautiful robes with a wreath of clover in her hair.

If they were to look closely upon her face they would see nothing more horrific than the dried skin. Her face all though a bit wore from the time on her corpse was peaceful and even held content with it. They were sealed within a cave depicting the lives of a people and now they were stuck with the corpse of a woman at peace.

One way or another he was going to leave this area. As he truly was not a fan of the darkness it was so scared of it. But only by walking thorough it will he find the light he so needed to see his way out of it. All was going well so far as nothing seemed to try to hurt him. However as he was walking he would see what looked like an egg. As he walked closer to it he would notice the egg locking rock. Which was in fact an egg starting to move. This would cause him to look around and see if he could see more of them. From his view point no there was not none. But he indeed wanted to know one thing no two maybe five things. " Ok this thing is clearly about to blow up if not hatch. But what could be in here. A insect maybe a reptile or even a bird like beast? Either way it is still a baby so that means the mother must not be far or the other group just might run into her. To say the least this is clearly a beast of the dungeon and well I was lucky enough to witness it come to be." Just then a bright idea would hit him and boy was it a good one. " If this is a beast of this hear dungeon. Then if I say this this thing will come out and see me. Maybe it will want to eat me or maybe it will imprint on me how odd."

Looking around he would see no water so this egg was no more then a new born ready to come to be and what does mothers do to mee borns? They sing to them and so he started to sing a song.?" A hunting we will go a hunting we will go pop goes the marry rose a hunting we will go."

The old man's vision would finally return as he tried to gather his current whereabouts. He would find himself currently next to the altar that was down the water oath that he had seen earlier. He would notice that the others had seemed to follow him and his companions, perhaps he should have tried to cave in the entrance for the passage. He would except Tenma's hand who he had seen before in kina. After  looking around and seeing the placemarks he would look at the others. "If you all plan on following me i suggest that you all stand on one of these place markings." He would say before standing on one of them to see if anything happens. Shou would follow suit, putting down lir and apologizing.

What had first appeared as an elegant fountain to Menat from afar took a slightly different visual as the young Princess closed in on the large pool. The whole thing was less of a fountain and more of an altar that had been meticulously cared for when compared to the rest of the caverns and ruins the group had seen thus far. In the center of the large pool that had initially drawn the young girl's attention was a bright glowing gem encased in clear glass. The light from within refracting through the glass in a way that caused a shimmering veil to dance in the air above the lot of them. Clearly she was more interested in the actual altar than in the aged Silva who was seeming to recover from his trip and tumble down towards the pool.

At least until he managed to notice something that, to him, seemed of importance. Several marks appeared to have been made in the floor before the altar on what appeared to be a stage of sorts. There was approximately sixteen spots in total with Silva making his way towards one random one. It was his suggestion that they all take a spot as well with his associate Shou being the first to blindly follow his lead once he had placed their mysterious bard "friend" down onto his feet once more. Menat herself wasn't such a blind follower however. If there was anything her mother or her big sister had taught her it was to always think for herself and never simply do something just because she was told to. Instead it was her choice to watch and see what would happen to those that stepped onto the positions on stage before she made the move to take a spot herself.

Slowly, Khalik moved onto the scene, his slow walking a deliberate caution, but not of traps poised for his spleen. No, he simply wished to hold some distance from Silva's wandering whimsies.

"A decent thought," he replied to the eldest in the room. "Merely one problem— There's 16 place markers—" his voice stalled as he eyed the other's in the room for a quick headcount. They might not be willing now; but, with little hand-wringing, Khalik was confident in his abilities to draw in the other actors. This stage was not meant for two or four, but all of them. "And we're but a merry band of 9. It seems like math may just be our greatest hindrance today."

Light flickers across the eye, as a steady inquiry begun to funnel into the cat-like mind of the trickster. Just where to does this train stop at? His finger's trace the curves and grooves of the place markers before he turned an attentive mind to the gem that stole center stage. His eyes combed, as best they could, the sealed vessel of their lighting spectacle. A smooth humming was his indication of more than just a passing interest.

"Break in case of emergencies..." He mumbled idly to himself before turning over to the altar. A careful gaze would dissect the ornate slab of craftsmanship segment by segment. Surely, something was to reveal itself with a little patience and perseverance. If not? Well, he knew how to break glass.

This place had been fascinating to Tenma's eyes so far, even though deep in his mind , he was still worried about Noir who went back to the first area only to be trapped. But he had to continue moving on, at least until he found the way to free her.

The one eyed man tilted his head upon seeing the 16 place markings, wondering if exact 16 people should be standing on top of it. But if he remembered correctly, they were less than sixteen. Even including Noir and Eight who got trapped along with their own companion, there were not enough people. Even Khalik mentioned the exact same worry, but the swordsman wondered if the number of people really mattered here.

However he would motion his hand to Rui Li to follow him walking towards the marking before standing on top of it. His companion would also stand next to Tenma, placing her feet on top of the marking.

"It gives me the feeling like we have to dance around in circle."

"Alright." Noir would say to Eight after he mentioned he would cast oxygen spell, so for now the magician wouldn't have to worry about the air for now and she would be able to keep looking around. While it was true that this was a really different cave from the one they were in before, the girl wondered about the painting she saw, although she couldn't find out what relation it had with the room. She would be standing still at the moment, spending her time thinking for some clues while Haku and Shousui would continue to look around.

Then the girl focus was shifted to what Eight had found, an altar with what seemed to look like a dried corpse with wreath on her head. "A clover wreath?" The golden eyed girl murmured, "Symbolling a good omen, hope and luck." But it was strange to her that the wreath wasn't dry like the corpse. Not only that, in the painting there were women doing their daily rituals. From morning meals, fishing and... "Hmm... Midday naps? Is she 'napping'...? Like the Lazarus Syndrome?" The magician wondered if the corpse was really related to the painting as she looked closer towards the woman's face. Noir would then turn her head to stare towards Eight, "Do you think we should undried her? Or maybe we can do something to revive her?"

Following the one-eyed Tenma, Zubaidah fell behind the rambunctious parade. With Silva at its head, she found her place at its tail.

    ‘You’re enjoying yourself,’ Amnet smirked at the stoic Zubaidah , ‘Ain’t you, missy?’ Zubaidah maintained her composure for mere moments, before laughing with Amnet, ‘Gods, yes! Why weren’t the last two Dungeons like this one! A story filled with interesting characters and set in the mystery genre! So classic!’ Amnet rolled her eyes with characteristic sass, ‘Such a goddamned bookworm...’

    Entering the cavernous altar-room, Zubaidah thanked her father for ensuring her love of the mystery genre. And why did she thank him? Well, it meant she never missed a clue. Her love had become her job, after all.

    ‘I agree with the dashing gentlem - I mean, Tenma. This is most definitely related to dance. Remember the cave-painting within the cavern from before? It depicted several women dancing in a circle, much like we have here.

    ‘So, what say you? Should we shake our hips to the rhythm of the Dungeon?’

Lungs struggling harder to remain filled with each breath in the collapsed sanctuary. After discovering the feminine body, he quickly prioritized their lives. Eight would use the natural magic in his body to form a bubble around his hands that would eventually envelop him and then surrounding his three allies and the corpse before them. The bacteria within the slime would produce helium as well as oxygen as byproducts of their metabolism, creating a hospitable environment.

Eight had no doubt that this woman had passed away, "If she's napping, how about I wake her up?" Drawing out the Demon Blade, he would infuse magoi into blade to Revive the woman with reanimation magic, knowing the body would not take any of their air. Eight tapped the womans head with the side of this blade, looking to his allies, making sure they were able to breathe.

---

Magoi: 370

Tier: B
Class: Race
Type: Supplementary
Range: Self
Requirements/Drawbacks: The bacteria within the Bell is highly susceptible to frigid environments and will die at freezing tempetures (0 degrees Celsius or below). Though the Bell's form will be left operational, all oxygen functions will halt.
Scaling: Duration
Sustain: 0
Cool Down: 3
Cost: 30 Magoi
Description:
A slime bubble floating via Magoi and Helium, forms a deep sea submersible shell around the user. A specialized colony of bacteria thrives in the Bell's gooey walls which reduces the process of Photosynthesis to a more efficient state. The Diving Bell has B-tier Durability, last for 3 posts and can provide Oxygen to its multi-celled inhabitants without fail, it surrounds the caster, with room for up to 3 others.

Demon's Eye - Upon applying magoi to the blade and stabbing a lifeless target either item or corpse, no larger of 10m meter, Demon's Blade applies its magic onto the target, animating it. The affected target will do the user's bidding and may travel up to 40m. It has A-Tier strength and basic human walking speed. The affected target lasts 4 posts. 10 Magoi to activate | 5 Magoi to sustain.

As Ghost sang the egg he would hear something soon enough once his voice lowered for even a second. From within the egg, there were twittering sounds of singing that were matching to the key of his song. It was a bit odd, but it seemed like whatever was inside was wanting to join in on the music. However, if Ghost paid close attention to the eggs and its cracks he would see a thin layer of the egg was stuck and the creature was having trouble hatching, it would need help if it were to break free.

His song was not the only thing that was making noise, however, as behind him in the tunnel there was a sudden sound screeching behind him the tunnel. It seemed that the mother or the father of whatever was inside of the egg was returning soon. What would he do to save himself from this one?

---

As the first person stepped onto one of the place markers it would start to glow and a soft sound would emanate from it, and as others made their ways to their spots other different tones would start to come from them. These sounds would mix together into a melody, no matter where they stood so long as someone stood on one it would sound like music was playing around them. However, if anyone would move from their spot the tone from that space would stop. If they all stepped away the music would stop entirely and leave them with nothing but a silent cave. It seemed like that there was something further her than they might've originally thought, though what wasn't so far.

"This sounds a bit like a song, but not one I've ever heard before." Lir would say to the group as he then gave a soft chuckle at what he had said himself. "I don't remember myself, but I find myself focusing on whether I can recall music, a bit foolish I suppose."

As Khalik would look closer at the glass he would start to feel his eyes hurt from the light, the glass seemed thick and perfectly crafted. It brightened the light which illuminated the cave but more seemingly kept the altar nice and bright for anyone who would be looking towards it.

There was nothing of real note around them as they would look out around the cave and if they looked around for a bit longer they would soon enough notice that their entire group was now in a closed cave, there was only the Altar in front of them with its radiant light. They hadn't done much so rather than being a trap it seemed more like a challenge to them, there was water around the altar and there seemed to be enough air. Just like the Altar in front of them, the room itself had become the mystery as they would have to find the path forward.

---

With their bubble, they would have the time to wait out a bit, but the oxygen around them would continue to drop and it seemed like the room was becoming more like a vacuum as time had passed by. Time slowly passed by towards what seemed to be an inevitable nature of the room they had been trapped inside.

As the blade was thrust into the corpse a few things would happen within a span of half a minute. The first thing that would happen was the face of the corpse had immediately shifted from peaceful to agony as if they were made to feel pain injected into every one of their cells. The second thing to happen was the mouth of the corpse opened and let out a long dying wail before finally stopping with its mouth left open. Finally, the corpse would sit up and turn to look at 8 as if waiting for him to give it command after reanimating it.

However, if 8 were to look into the eyes of the creature he would see nothing more than emptiness. The body was reanimated but the magoi and soul were long gone from this corpse as it stared into a lifeless void only it was aware of. It was just an empty shell that was now at his beck and call. With events leading as they had been up to this it could make one wonder what they were supposed to do, what could they do?