Telrenya

They walked for a short while, Telrenya doing her best to avoid any of the half-turned beasts that she would have run into along her path. Though she had the firepower to take down most of the beasts on this floor, facing even one of the monsters at a time wouldn't be a quick battle, and she didn't have the time to waste while they were trying to reunite. Adere let out a short hoot, catching Telrenya's attention as the tawny owl picked up speed. Across the plains, she squinted and could make out another figure. Judging by the familiar's reaction, it was none other than Jomei. She beamed, picking up her own pace and hurrying to close the distance between them.

"Niiick!" She called, waving her arm above her head when she was a bit closer. When they reached one another, Telrenya threw her arms around the man with a wide grin on her face. "Oh, I'm so glad you got out of there okay! Is Vaughn still down there?" She pulled halfway out of the embrace to look up and address him.

And on that note, let's throw another power couple into the big kids' pool. @Jomei

"What? Really?" She couldn't help but laugh. Her wide smile stuck as they reminisced, and she took a moment to think about how strange and wonderful it all was. "I'm glad." It was a blanket statement, but a truthful one nonetheless. She would have never expected a journey like the one she found herself on now, but it was moments like this that she decided she wouldn't trade it for the world. If being stuck in virtual space was the only way she would have met Jomei, not to mention all the friends and experiences she'd garnered up until now, then maybe it didn't have to be all that bad after all.

Her eyes widened in slight amazement when the small pink lights drew closer, and she grinned when they danced around the couple, their tiny translucent wings visible for just a second as they beat at the air. "It's really cute, and really cheesy," She chuckled as she was pulled into Jomei's embrace beside her. "but to be honest, I kind of like it." She admitted, her cheeks glowing a soft pink from their trip down memory lane. It was far from over, however, and another image flickered to life before them, her own voice prefacing the scene.

"Jomei? Jomei, is that you?"

A flood of memories hit her as she watched herself, soaked with water, rush to a door inside of a musty-looking bedroom, only to freeze before her fingers reached the handle. A second later, they saw Jomei's shoulders drop with relief as his temple pressed against the other side of the same door.

Keeping light on her feet, Telrenya felt a tiny rush of excitement as the second to last of the elves fell. The sooner they were finished here, the sooner the rest of the frontliners could yell at each other to their hearts' content. Not to mention she and Jomei would be allowed a reprieve, which she was desperately looking forward to while the other players would surely be arguing amongst themselves. She only hoped that Jomei wouldn't want to place himself in the middle of any of that. Keeping out of the spotlight as well as far away from any crosshairs of agitated raiders, she rotated her wrist and renewed her grip on Celestial Dawn.

Mouth shut, head down, Telrenya pushed herself forward in a straight shot to the armored woman. She pulled back and thrust forward, driving the tip of her rapier straight through the thick metal breastplate that was growing to be covered in gashes and other wounds from each player that came before her. A quick swell of pride with each clean hit, and Telrenya backed away when the light of her empowered attack faded. 'That leather armor wasn't bad, but this is so easy to move in.' She thought of the white-and-gold battle regalia that she sported while the much newer golden blade whipped through the air to rest at her side.

Telrenya's Action

Player Stats

It was overwhelming. The bosses were quirky, surpassing any amount of interaction that she had seen before, leaving Telrenya to wonder just how many scripted responses these programs were stuffed with. It was impressive, but the level of complexity in their words, their expressions, their very existence seemed to cross a line somewhere. To Telrenya, everything had just been a part of the game until players started drawing weapons against each other. Her eyes had widened and she felt herself freeze in place when the tips of more than one weapon jammed into another frontliner's side. Jomei's voice had brought her back to the heat of battle only briefly, and when she had tried to move forward to follow him into the fray against the commander, she flinched. Now there was more crossfire that they could find themselves caught in.

Her fiance must have noticed her lapse in resolve, and her startled eyes met his soft olive when he brought himself to her level with hands gently placed on her shoulders. His words got through to her, and that familiar smirk of his had the corners of her own mouth curling slightly upwards. "Right, yeah." She agreed in a small voice, focusing on his instruction. She nodded, and renewed her combative stance as Jomei broke away from her to dart back into the fray. She waited for only a second, leaning forward to break into a run once the Irishman's rapier ripped into Isaxi, and followed up on his attack with a straight shot to stab and slice into the Tactician.

She broke away the second the power of her sword art faded, and she backpedaled just enough to keep her out of harm's way while the rest of her party made their moves. She glanced quickly over to Jomei to give the man a thankful smile for his encouragement and show him her valor, but another figure beside him caught her attention. She only caught the tail end of Itzal's warning, but the few words that reached her ears caused Telrenya's brows to narrow. Her initial thought was of how rude he was being, but it was a quick shift to a defensive concern when she couldn't shake how whatever he said might have resembled a threat. A quick glance upwards to her HUD allowed her to run through the names of her party members before they shot back to the man that ran forward to deliver his own string of attacks to Isaxi now. 'Itzal?' By process of elimination, she assumed the man's name.

Telrenya's Action

Player Stats

A few paces out, Telrenya could spot the tawny owl bringing herself up to perch atop a high section of stone. She moved a bit faster to circle around the outside of the worn structure, eyes widening slightly when they'd finally fallen on the form she could make out. A statue that stood fifteen, maybe twenty feet taller than her, covered in patches of moss and some of its features smoothed over from years and years of weathering. Telrenya stared for a while, making out not only a person, but a face very similar to the one in the mural they had found before delving underground. Carvings that resembled leaves and vine wrapped over the woman's shoulder, and though her eyes were closed she got the strange impression that the tall figure was a watcher of sorts. "Is this a shrine?" She whispered aloud. The blonde almost jumped in place when Adere let out another soft hoot, grabbing her attention to where she was perched off to one side. The owl's head cocked to the side, and she turned to face the statue first, then back to Telrenya a second later.

Her lips pursed in slight confusion. "What are you getting at?" She asked, taking careful steps closer to the base of the statue. "Oh," She breathed out, spotted a simple plaque standing at the woman's feet.

'One of pure intent shall be blessed by Her light
Those who have been judged, might still be saved
If one seeks redemption, he must find Her'

It was straight-forward, but it wasn't. Telrenya's brows narrowed in puzzled skepticism, and she cast another glance up to Adere. "So, is this what we're looking for?" Her expression changed while her head was busy running over a couple of different scenarios. She tried to prevent too much blind optimism from seeping in, but a bit of hope still bubbled inside of her. "You don't think... Can we actually lift the curse? Okay, uhm," Her feet moved again and she began to pace from one end of the small shrine to the other. "So does that mean we need to bring Vaughn here? Or is this just some kind of clue? Either way, he said something about sunlight, do we have to do this at night? Or..." She was muttering to herself, trying to piece together some kind of a plan. With so many variables, however, she was hardly getting anywhere by the time another, much closer coo from Adere snapped her out of her thoughts. She stopped and looked over to see the familiar perched atop the inscribed plaque this time, frowning slightly and stepping up to the base of the very simple altar.

After a minute of uncertainty and a bit of an awkward start, she took a knee in front of the Goddess. She laced her fingers together in front of her chest, pressing her nose and mouth lightly against them as her hands held in front of her face. "Uhm... Goddess..." She felt silly, but with only Adere's onyx eyes on her she forced herself to continue. "I don't know why this curse was brought upon the people here. But, there's someone we want to save. If there's a way to stop it, if we can help him get his humanity back, please, would you help us?" Her head picked up and she met the lightly-carved lids of the Goddess' calm expression. A moment passed in silence, then another. Telrenya's shoulders dropped, but just before she'd picked herself back up, a small sound reached her ears. At the statue's feet, a single vine sprouted from the cracks in the stone. It grew rapidly, thickening and curling over the ground until a sprig of leaves poked out. As if she was watching its bloom in fast-motion, a small bundle of fruit appeared on the vine, practically sparkling once the movement had slowed and its growth had come to a stop. She paused, recognized the berries that Vaughn had consumed in the caves below. These bunch, however, looked so much more enticing. More perfect.

With eyes wide, Telrenya rose to her feet, staring in awe until she finally brought herself to cautiously pluck them free. She dropped the fruit into a plain pouch, cinching the top and quickly securing it to her belt. "Thank you!" She smiled up to the Goddess, her face full of hope and gratitude before she would turn away. "Now we just need to find Nick and Vaughn again." She pulled open her menus, glancing at Jomei's full health bar again and navigating the floating screen to compose a quick message.

Quote

'I got out of the tunnels just fine ^-^ I think I might have found a clue or something about the curse. I'm going to try to find you guys, have you made it back to the surface?'

Just after sending off the message, she spotted the virtual sun breaking through the clouds. It was well past midday now, and she began to wonder how much more dangerous the floor might be after sunset. Then again, if they needed to persuade Vaughn to leave the catacombs to help him, the dark of night would be their most important tool. She glanced over her shoulder, hearing the beating of Adere's wings, and perked up. "Oh! Think you guys can help?" She smiled, the top of Willow's head beginning to poke out from the center of her chest.

Adere blinked, understanding her words but unsure of how to act on them. "Hmm..." Telrenya mused, tapping her chin while she tried to formulate a plan. "Could there be any rope, or..." She mumbled, thinking aloud with what little she knew about the environment above. Adere cooed, almost in response, and her body crouched while she spread her wings to take flight again. The movement caught Telrenya's attention and she perked up, hurriedly stepping back onto her makeshift stone steps to bring herself a little bit closer to the gap. "Oh, wait, where are you--" But the owl was already out of sight. She frowned. Without an idea of what Adere was running off for, she was back to square one. But in a moment of curiosity, idling wondering if she flew off for her player's sake, chocolate eyes flickered up to the corner of her vision to inspect the health bar that rested beneath hers.

The level of color that remained left room for empty space to indicate missing health points, and that small void caused Telrenya's eyes to widen slightly. She stared at it, the air still as she watched with bated breath for any signs of movement. A few more seconds passed, and she exhaled with relief when whatever it was that had hurt Jomei had stopped, and the bar naturally began to replenish itself with a slow crawl of healthy green. "Be careful, love." She said softly, brows turned up with concern before she turned her attention back to the task at hand.

Several minutes later, Telrenya had dismantled and rebuilt her her stone step-ladder, gathering the sturdiest pieces of earth she could find and pull apart from the earlier rockslide to give her a bigger boost towards the floor's surface. After a while, she had managed to get enough of a hold onto a solid edge of the hole in the ground she'd earlier made, and after a lot of nervous caution and plenty of effort and persistence, the blonde had finally pulled herself up and out of the caverns below. She rolled to the side after pulling her last knee over the edge, and panted softly while she sprawled out over a grassy field to catch her breath from the tiring task. "It's a shame, I'm not actually getting real workouts like this." She said to herself between breaths. Picking her head up to quickly check for any aggressive monster or nearby Forsaken, Telrenya's gaze snapped to the side when she heard a loud hoot calling in the distance. "Huh?" She propped herself up on her elbows and squinted towards a large, moss-covered stone structure a short distance away. "Adere, was that you?" She asked herself, dusting herself off and picking back up to her feet.

Telrenya's cheeks turned pink, her expression blank for a moment when Embers' first reaction was to question her fiance's level of attractiveness. "W-wha-- Before she could laugh and ask the redhead what kind of question that was as a response, she was pulled into a tight embrace. And once again, she was taken aback. The older woman was protective and passionate when it came to anything she bothered to care about, but affectionate or physically expressive were not ways that Telrenya would describe her in the slightest. Even so, after the shock wore off Telreyna was able to chuckle and bring her arms around to Embers' back. She returned the hug, giving her an excited squeeze before they'd part and she'd continue to wear a bashful smile. "Well, if that's what you're so concerned about... I think he's quite handsome, yes." Her mouth twisted into something akin to a pout as she muttered the words. While it must have been a girlish past-time, gushing about a crush, partner, or apparently even fiance wasn't something that Telrenya was used to.

Her right hand picked up, and she navigated her menus until she picked something out of her inventory. She and Jomei had taken plenty of 'pictures' together, using the game's screenshot feature on those occasions when they'd stumbled upon something particularly interesting, or even just when the thought struck them. Her finger stopped, hovering over one item that was dated December 25th. Her smile widened, turning into one of nostalgia, and she selected the item to allow the picture to generate between her fingers. She turned, bringing herself behind Embers to show her an image of herself and several other players, as if she had been holding a camera out in front of her to capture all of their images. A red-and-white Santa's hat sat atop her blonde head, and Jomei stood beside her in a forest-green sweater, his messy ginger hair obscuring his right eye as it always did. Telrenya would pass her index finger over the different faces, listing off the members of her guild that had gotten together for their little Christmas party. "Spencer saved my life when we first met." She chuckled, pointing out the tall, sandy blonde, "And Hestia and Kimi are super sweet. They're Performers like Jomei, and they all make such beautiful music. Ahh, y'know, Ruby kind of reminds me of you." She explained with a grin as she turned her eyes back to the redhead. "She's not afraid to speak her mind, but she's a sweetheart when you dig reeeeaal deep."

"Ah!" Telrenya gave a small start when the Elf took her hand in his, making a face that showed just how uncomfortable she was as she was spun around in place. Her white skirt and cloak flared with the quick turn, and her blonde hair fell back to her shoulders when she stopped, but she found herself leaning away from him as he started yelling at another player who had taken a stab at him in the chaos.

Suddenly there was a more gentle tug on her other hand, and she was rescued from Rori's grasp when Jomei pulled her away. Her eyes on the ginger's face caused Telrenya to smile, and she took a couple of long steps to join him while giving a quick, voluntary spin as if Jomei had really cut in for a dance of their own. She chuckled, relieved as soon as she was back at his side. It grew into a proper laugh at her fiance's playful banter, and her smile persisted with a sidelong glance of understanding while they readied their rapiers. "Oh, I'd be delighted."

As Jomei shot forward, Telrenya broke out into a run, circling around the flirtatious Elf. She got herself into position at his back while Jomei covered him in stab wounds at his front. Recalling how they'd make quick work of the Dragon Knight called Varalys, tossing him back and forth with each consecutive attack between the two of them, Telrenya dashed forward with new speed just before Jomei's attack finished. Rori would stumble backwards from the attack, and right into her golden blade as it pierced from his back through his chest. She pulled her shoulder back, mimicking Jomei's assault with thirteen strikes of her own. Lunging forward, her last thrust would volley him right back forward. Telrenya's spine straightened with a satisfied smirk, shining a glance back to Jomei opposite her.

Telrenya's Action

Player Stats

"Ugh... What...?" Telrenya groaned as her eyes fluttered open. They hardly had to strain against the dim lighting anymore, and she could hardly begin to wonder how long she had been unconscious before memories flooded her. A sense of panic filled her as she remembered everything: their journey to the mansion, the attacks against Spencer, Jomei, and Hestia, and finally the terror that ran through her before she blacked out. "Nick, where...?" She trailed as her palms pressed against the dusty floorboards to push herself up. She coughed as the stale air slipped into her lungs, and she hadn't even noticed that Jomei's health bar no longer rested beneath hers as it always did.

A familiar voice called out to her again, and for a split second Telrenya's blood ran cold. Her breath caught in her throat, and wide eyes picked up from the ground until they ran over the man sitting in the chair in front of her. She met the bright blue eyes of her brother, and her heart skipped a beat. Or at least, they might have been bright if they weren't drained; pale like his face, and a mixture of emotions that she never wanted to see residing in his eyes. "James..." She whispered his name, frozen in shock for a long second. "Is... Is it really--" She hadn't finished her question before he shook his head. The smile he wore was one she didn't think she'd ever seen before. A pitiful, mocking smile as he criticized her, both past and present. She had pushed herself to her knees now, staring at him in disbelief. "Wh-what? No, I..." She couldn't bring herself to speak properly. There weren't enough coherent thoughts in her head for her to get anything meaningful out. Quickly, she shook her head, as if trying to desperately cling to a reality that she wasn't sure of. "No, but, I don't understand. Everyone--everyone said you, you died. Aereth, he knew everything, and even that girl--"

He laughed. With only the flicker of candle flames and the gentle whirring of machinery, his haunted laughter echoed against the walls. It was a sound that she had longed to hear again, but one that now only filled her with dread. "Yeah, you'd think I left behind enough evidence, huh?" His head fell back in his chair, pale blonde bangs that had been drenched with sweat clinging to his forehead as he stared at the dim light that danced across the ceiling. Trails of inhuman blood trickled from the side of his mouth and his temple, falling to hit the floor behind him. "But you still don't get it. Idiot sister." He sneered, chuckling again.

"What...?" The word was weak. Her brows turned up, the ghost of a smile she wore was only for show, as if she was waiting--hoping--that he was going to continue to say this was all a joke. "I don't get it, what do you--"

"GOD, you're dense! I wanted to die, don't you get it?!" He shouted, his head snapping back forward to look at her with a new sense of loathing and spite. "How long did you sit around waiting for me to come find you, while I worked my ass off to get stronger, huh?" He spat. "You were a chore from the very beginning, always asking everyone else for help. Just like old times, huh?" Telrenya felt the sting of hot tears beginning to pool at the corners of her eyes. She was at a loss, words escaped her, and she could only stare back at the image of her brother as he tore her down. "And now that I'm here, you still can't do anything." He glared. "What, am I supposed to get myself out of here while you sit there and cry?" His volume picked up until he was shouting at her again, jerking against the restraints on his wrists and ankles, the wooden chair he was fixed to lurching slightly with the force he exerted. "I'd rather die!! Just kill me already, I don't want this anymore! I hate this place, I hate our parents, I hate--!" His words were replaced by a scream of pain as the tip of a large needle sunk into the skin of his neck. His body contorted, his face twisting as he writhed against whatever sinister injection was being forced into him. Telrenya could only gasp, staring in horror while hot tears ran down her cheeks. She shook her head, hands holding themselves in front of her open mouth as she wanted so desperately to deny the scene that was playing out before her.

The group's agreement with her plan kept Telrenya's confidence afloat, and she smiled lightly before the group would head up the stairs together. She gave Jomei's hand a squeeze, thankful for his support. She was able to remind herself that she was stronger than the last time they had gotten stuck in this kind of trap-infested mansion, in every sense of the word. She swallowed, nodding. "Right, let's go."

At the top of the stairs, Jomei's embrace was sudden and unexpected, causing a light pink to dust the blonde's cheeks. "N-Nick..." She mumbled his name before he released her, as if trying to weakly convey her confusion. His hand wrapped around hers and he pulled her forward down the long hallway, the dynamic between them shifting slightly and it caused her brows to furrow slightly. "Don't forget we have to make sure Spencer is okay--" Her sentence ended abruptly as she looked around her. The carpet-lined hall with ornate light fixtures gave way to a large, half-finished space. Loose boards rested in stacks against the walls, and tools could be seen left laying about. It looked as though they had moved from a rich, decorated passage to a haphazard construction zone in a matter of seconds. Jomei continued pulling her along until they reached a door at the back wall, well into the mess of a space, but just when Telrenya had stopped to open her mouth with a question, her eyes widened in shock at a voice that called out to her from the other side.

It was a trap. It had to have been a trap. There was no way she could hear that voice again, not for real. But logic was lost to the little sister, and she stepped forward to hurriedly open the door that stood in front of the couple. On the other side, it was dark. Darker than the dim, candle-lit area around them, and her chocolate eyes squinted as she hesitated, straining against the lack of light to see inside. She took a small step forward, and then another. Suddenly, a palm pressed against her back between her shoulders, and she stumbled inside while the door slammed shut behind her. "Ahh! N-Nick? Where--" She turned, blinking against an inky darkness, when a force crashed into the back of the blonde's head, her body hitting the wooden floorboards with a thud a second later.

"Spencer!" Telrenya shouted her friend's name when she caught sight of the shadowy monstrosity wrapping its claws around his neck to throw him across the room. After the bookcase slammed into place against the wall she moved without thinking, joining Hestia in unfruitful attempts to move the blockade. She let out a grunt of effort before a heavy exhale. "Shoot, Spencer..." She mumbled in frustration. Jomei's clash with their mysterious opponent came moments later, followed by Hestia's armored back hitting the ground of the first floor after her attempt to climb the stairs was rudely denied. Her friends were being thrown around like ragdolls, and Telrenya's chest puffed with a sense of determination before she hurried to their sides. She ran to cross the foyer and knelt at Jomei's side, looking between the two fallen players. "Are you guys okay?" The health bar that rested below hers told her that the Irishman hadn't taken any damage, but it hardly quelled her worry for them.

As they all stood back up, Telrenya swallowed. She wasn't the same timid, helpless girl that she was when they first entered this haunted mansion, and she knew that. "We should split up." She started, turning to address the group. "Jomei, Hestia, Ruby and I can take a look at the second floor." Her suggestions were one of an individual who thought to take charge, but still lacked all of the confidence necessary to do so. Her hand reached out to her side and found her fiance's, grasping it for a sense of security as well as keeping her spirits as high as she could muster. "The three of us have some experience with the last place, and since we're all frontliners we should be fine sticking together in a small group. We just need to make sure anyone who's a lower level can stay safe until we figure out how to beat this thing again."

"Thank goodness you found me in that place, Spencer." Telrenya chuckled while she returned the gentle squeeze of Jomei's hand. She remember her first meeting with Spencer well--one of the few times her life had truly been threatened in this death game thus far. She let the others do most of the talking on their way through the woods outside of Floor 2, nearly all of their guild gathered for an occasion on reminiscing and friendly conversation. The smile that she'd worn since that morning had hardly left her features as she now found herself surrounded by friends and loved ones. She nodded along with the stories, and then perked up when she remembered something. "Wait, Spencer! Didn't you say you still had that...?" She flashed the man a knowing smile, referring to the trinket that he had made mention of during their last gathering around Christmas.

It wasn't until they reached what they had expected to be piles of ash, or perhaps just an empty clearing, that the cheerful expression faded from Telrenya's face. Her head tilted back in order to take in the sight of the massive building that stood before them, eyes wide. "What...? Is this the same place?" She spoke quietly, trying to make sense of the situation. "It doesn't even look like the same mansion, does it? Do you think the game just built a new one, to start it over again?" Whether her words were directed to her fiance, or simply anyone who might want to speculate the how's and why's alongside her, Telrenya tensed up when Hestia took it upon herself to march into the unknown without fear. Matching Jomei's concern, Telrenya moved forward, keeping a firm hold on his hand as the memories of their separation in the past were all too clear. "Hestia, hold on! This place is probably covered in traps, we should be careful!" She tried further to reason with the woman, bringing herself to stand in the mansion's entryway.

Curling her fingers around the hilt of her golden rapier, Telrenya drew her weapon with nerves running wild as they entered the room. She swallowed, allowing Jomei's presence at her side to keep her steady while her chocolate-brown eyes ran over everything that stood before them. Five monsters, all Dark Elves whose pointed ears reminded her of the fair-skinned villagers of Delilah. Only seconds past the doors, the fight erupted and the first team went to work with some trial-and-error while the second seemed to settle on an initial target. One of the Elf's HP was dropping rapidly from the string of attacks focused on him, and so Telrenya's confidence swelled slightly as she decided on the best course of action.

While she expected her fiance to dash into the fray with her, she paused when she noticed Jomei pull open his menus. A look of concern hinted on her features, before they settled into a soft smile. "Right." She accepted his instruction, knowing they had no time to fuss. She dropped her blade to her right side, giving Jomei a nod and meeting his smirk with a wider smile stretching between her cheeks. "Don't keep me waiting, darling." She gently teased the man, turning and pointing herself back towards the battlefield. Her eyes locked onto the damaged Ratar and she ran forward, picking up her pace as her Charge skill kicked in. With his mind clearly frazzled, Telernya held her rapier at her side before pulling her shoulder back. Her opposite arm crossed in front of her in the wind-up, and her avatar stopped only when Celestial Dawn had first pierced through the monster's body. She didn't stop for a second, continuing with another fluid thirteen strikes to riddle Ratar with puncture wounds from each thrust.

Telrenya's Action

Players' Stats

Walking side-by-side with her fiance, Telrenya gave his hand a small squeeze in anticipation. She was finally starting to feel that she was standing not only on her own two feet, but her chin was held a bit higher with Jomei at her side. She was stuck in her own mind for a bit, trying desperately to psyche herself up despite the nervous energy in the air.

Pulling herself back to the world around her, however, Telrenya couldn't help but let out a chuckle while she nudged at the man's arm. "Hey!" She shot back, unable to refute his implication that it was taking them forever to go through with their wedding. It had been a while since Jomei's proposal, and her lips pursed as she felt a touch of guilt for not putting more time into the actual event.

With the feeling of his hand upon her should, a soft smile was brought back to her face while she followed suit in retrieving her mask from her inventory. "Definitely." She nodded in agreement, reaching up to give his arm a quick, loving squeeze. "After this one."

Stats

Several minutes later, Telrenya stood on the balls of her feet, balancing precariously on a stack of rubble she had fashioned to serve as a platform of sorts. Having pulled the sturdiest and most level sections of rock and stone that she could manage to find and dislodge from the cave-in, the blonde had boosted her height just enough by standing atop the makeshift steps in order to reach the ceiling of the catacombs by the tips of her fingers. Focusing on the small cracks that allowed the tiny streams of light to slip through, she struggled to find a hold in order to push away the loose dirt. Just as she was thinking of dropping back down to find another slab of rock to add to her pile, Telrenya pushed up on her feet one more time, curling her fingers around an edging of packed earth. She leaned forward, and the force proved just enough to break off a solid chuck of dirt. Just as the woman's avatar lurched forward while her balance was thrown, it was as if she'd dislodged a support beam of sorts. More light streamed in, and the area above her began to crumble and fall away. Bits of dirt began to fall and coat both Telrenya and the cavern floor, turning into larger pieces of earth and rubble until an awkwardly-shaped hole had been left in the ceiling above. The blonde, trying and failing to regain her balance atop her perch, had tumbled forward as she fell back to the cavern floor, letting out a grunt of discomfort when her shoulder made contact with the hard surface.

When she pulled her eyes open, she immediately noticed the soft blue glow coming off of her arm. Filling her with a bit of relief, she smiled softly. "Thanks, Willow." She said in a small voice, assuming that the wisp had managed to protect her from whatever small ticks of damage she might have taken from either her fall, or the debris coming down around her. Pushing herself up, Telrenya's chocolate eyes traveled back up to the empty space she'd created, squinting past the contrast of the dark cave and the bright light spilling through past it. Her eyes were just working to adjust and make out some shapes in the distance when she let out a short gasp of surprise, stepping backwards with a start. A pair of tawny wings beat the air with Adere's descent, jostling some more loose dirt and grass to fall into the catacombs below. The owl familiar landed at the edge of the opening, talons curling into the ground to make for a more stable perch as she looked to Telrenya with expectant onyx eyes. The woman's expression shifted to display the new relief that she felt as she exclaimed the owl's name. "Adere! Oh god, am I glad to see you." She admitted with a smile, cocking her head to the side with hopeful curiosity. "Think you can help me? Is there anything up there that can help me get out of here?"

With each second of stillness that passed by after the cave's crumbling, Telrenya's heartbeat slowed back to a normal pace, and she placed a hand over her chest while she took in a deep breath of musty air to calm herself further. The relief that washed over her just the same when Jomei responded that both of them were fine was welcome, and allowed her to pull her attention away from the obvious blockade that now stood between them. His kind warning brought an automatic smile to her lips, feeling the warmth behind his words. Though he couldn't see the gesture, she gave a nod of her head. "Right, I will. You, too."

Time passed, and Telrenya was forced to focus on the predicament she had been left in. Standing alone among the same catacombs they'd been wandering aimlessly in for some time before running into Vaughn to guide them, she frowned and began to wrack her brain for a plan of action. She could stay where she was, hoping that Vaughn knew the terrain well enough that he could lead Jomei back around to this same cave; that would be the safest option, but just the thought of it left her feeling nervous and antsy, the unknown factors in that scenario being the only thing to occupy her mind for however long she might have to wait. She could go back the way they came, but it was even harder to reason with herself that it wasn't an awful idea. If she got herself more lost and wasn't able to find an exit on her own, or get lucky enough to run into the other two by chance, Jomei and Vaughn wouldn't even have a way to track her down.

She placed her hands on her hips, letting out a huff of air. She couldn't hear anything on the other side of the fallen rubble, and so she only assumed that by now the other two had moved on down the other passageway. She began to pace, if for no other reason than to keep her limbs busy while her mind continued to work. "Hm?" Thus far, only the softly-glowing crystals had been left to illuminate the space around her, but the blonde's eyes curiously fell on a patch of light that fell on the edge of the cavern's floor. She blinked, gaze shifting as she followed the thin rays that cast down from the ceiling, leading her to spot a section of cracked earth where a bright light peeked through. She frowned for a moment, thinking what she could possibly do with this development, bringing a hand to her chin as she began to concoct a new plan in what remained of the small cave.

Telrenya's initial assault had been smooth and effective, and the trend that seemed to have persisted since teaming up with the other Holy Dragon Alliance members had caused her pride to swell a bit. Next to Jomei she still had plenty of room to grow, with her boyfriend still holding at least twenty levels over her. 'I'm still far from being able to fight with him and Ruby...' She reminded herself, her lips pursing slightly behind the thin steel of her mask. 'but at least I know I'm getting better!' Working to keep her focus on her progress rather than what felt like a far-off goal, Telrenya flourished her rapier as she prepared another empowered attack, the glinting metal of St. Andrew's Bane whipping through the air at her right side.

But with her attention pulled farther into her thoughts than her actions, the masked woman's footwork grew sloppy. She leaned forward to break into another run at the Advisor's flank, pulling her shoulder back along with the hilt of her weapon. With another thrust forward to try and pierce through the massive insect's exoskeleton, the tip of her blade instead scraped along its side and a flash of a spark bounced from the point of contact. "What?" Before Telrenya could attempt to continue her string of rapid strikes, the Advisor turned towards her while a steady chittering escaped it. Raising a massive hooked limb, Telrenya froze for a crucial second, spared only by the jolt yellow light that crackled and webbed across its frame. Kimi's paralyzing attack had rendered the beast frozen for just enough time that Telrenya's flight response could kick in, allowing her to disengage and flee back to a safe distance. Thankfully hidden from view, the woman's cheeks burned a bright crimson with embarrassment from the whole display.

ID#: 101746 | BD: 1 - Critical Fail | MD: 9 - Critical Hit (Paralyzed)

[H: 3] Hestia | 876/950 | 82/92 | 3 DMG | 1 ACC | -1 EVA | 131 MIT | 24 Bleed (8+) l 28 Thorns | 12 Burn (8+) | Paralyze (8+) | 1 Regen | 1 Recovery
[H: 2] Kimi | 420/420 | 33/42 | 14 DMG | 3 ACC | 0 MIT | 7 Thorns | 12 Burn (8+) | Paralyze (8+) | 2 LD  
[H: 0] Itzal | 1,490/1,490 | 142/146 | 17 DMG | 3 ACC | 3 EVA | 12 MIT | 24 Bleed (8+) | Paralyze (8+)
[H: 2] Ryo | 500/500 | 27/50 | 16 DMG | EVA 2 | ACC 3 | Mit 7

Group 2~
[H: 1] Telrenya | 522/680 HP | 43/68 EN | 15 DMG | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 86 MIT | 
[H: 0] Spencer | 228/320 | 24/32 | 5 DMG | 0 ACC | 0 EVA | 29 MIT | 1 Regen | 1 Recovery | 14 Thorns

Mobs~
The Queen's Advisor | 487/825 HP | 220 DMG | 55 MIT | 2 ACC | 2 EVA Burn 1/2

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (242) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (121) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (264) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (132) DMG to every other player.

Telrenya continued to sit around the lightly-crackling fire as the two players accepted the quest. As Jomei broke off from the trio to inspect the mysterious plant that might hold the answers to some of their unresolved questions, she tapped a knuckle against her chin while she wracked her own brain for ideas. "Maybe if we head back to the surface, we can find out more about this Goddess, and get some more clues about the curse? Or... If there are any other hidden places in the catacombs that Vaughn knows about..." Her chocolate eyes were fixated on the dancing flames as she mumbled her thoughts aloud, more to herself than those in her company. The half-transformed man's stumbling didn't catch her attention at first, but when his broken speech reached her ears and soon registered, she picked up her gaze to fill with concern at the state of the NPC. She pushed herself up from the ground, standing slowly before she would flinch at Vaughn's outburst.

"Nick!" Telrenya had called her lover's name just the same after the hunks of rock and rubble descended. The dust that kicked up caused her to wrench her eyes shut, holding her arms in front of her face to shield her until the cave-in settled. The sound of Jomei's distressed voice had her hurrying the couple of steps forward to the new wall of rock and packed dirt that stood between them, her fingers gingerly pressing against the uneven surfaces. "I-I'm fine!" The rate of her heartbeat and the adrenaline pumping through her made a falter in her speech nearly impossible, but she was quick to recover as she gave her surroundings a brief survey. Her head turned, and she spun slowly in a circle before calling back to the man on the other side of the barrier. "It... It looks like the room got cut in half, more or less." She surmised, spotting the tunnel that led back the way the came from following Vaughn after their initial meeting, and assuming that the other end that they had yet to traverse still lay accessible on Jomei's side. "What about you?" Just the same, she voiced her concern despite the full health bar that sat nestled in the top corner of her vision. And, as the memory of their company's condition sprang back to mind, the worry in her voice only increased. "A-and Vaughn? Is he with you, is he...okay?" She struggled for the right choice of words in a hurry, brows narrowed as she recalled the clear expression on the man's face as he was fighting back the curse.

On the other side of the wall, Vaughn continued to clutch the side of his head with his human-most hand, eyes held tightly shut as he breathed heavily. He seemed more in pain than aggressive in that moment, and at the sound of his name his eyes blinked open. His state had clearly reverted to resemble the half-man they had first encountered in the catacombs, and it would have been hard to tell just how much worse the horns protruding from his forehead or the rocky complexion of his skin had become. "Sorr--ry." He choked out as he seemed to realize the damage that his lashing out had caused. His eyes met Jomei, and despite the strain in his expression, he pulled his hand away with a shake of his head. "Fine. I'm, fine." He seemed impatient all of a sudden, turning his head until he spotted the only passageway left available to them. "Come, we must get you...to the surface." He managed, his hand shifting to the cavernous wall beside him as a kind of support as he began to carry himself forward.

Telrenya's cheeks burned pink as she watched just how awkward and silly the two had been, and namely when she saw Jomei steal a glance back at the girl after their parting. She chuckled, silently agreeing with his comment beside her, and when she felt his olive eyes on her she shifted her gaze to meet them. If one of her hands hadn't still been clasped with his, she might have started fidgeting with them in her lap as she gave a small nod, still wearing a smile. "Mm, looks like it... But, I think I like home movie night." She jested at the odd set-up of the attraction, left to wonder just how much the slow-moving boat ride had in store for them. 

She wasn't left wondering for long, for just moments after the light of the first screen dimmed and disappeared, another came to life on the opposite side, preparing another scene for them to watch as the boat gently inched along. She immediately recognized the stone walkways with sparse, tiny flowers peeking through their cracks and the cottage-styled buildings. The pointed ears that townsfolk sported were a rarity on many others of Aincrad's unlocked floors, but with Delilah being a town the Elves called home, Telrenya was used to seeing them around. Once again, a previous version of Jomei stepped into frame, an expression of uncertainty painted on his face until his vision seemed to settle on something, or someone, and his features took on a bright smile. It cut to Telrenya, mid-conversation with an elven woman when the Irishman's hand came to rest on her bare shoulder.

The blonde in the boat laughed, quickly remembering the quest that Cardinal would go on to show them pieces of, focusing more on the direct exchanges between the two. "You really saved me there. If I'd gone on that quest alone at that level..." She exaggerated a light shudder, making light of the danger that she would have been left in alone with the treants. One snippet of their memories in particular caught her attention as she watched the two of them holding conversation, sitting at the edge of the small waterfall in the middle of the forest. He looked shy, getting only a couple of words out before Adere calling out to the man interrupted his thought, and Telrenya frowned. Her head tilted slightly to one side, "Ahh, now I'm curious all over again, what it was you were going to say." She remarked.

"Just a by-product of what started this whole mess." Vaughn growled, another hint of bitterness in his voice after Jomei suggested using the mysterious plant's fruit to cure him. He shook his head at the idea that he had been healed, continuing to clarify. "No, it's just temporary. I'd give it... I don't know, probably less than an hour, and I'll be back to tripping over my own feet and croaking out my words." He seemed both annoyed and dismayed at the prospect of reverting back to the state the players had found him in, but only lingered after the topic for a second or two, crossing his arms over his chest. "Regardless, you'd be damned to try and find any more of those plants actually alive down here. As far as I know, this is the last one left. As far as what lies on the surface... Well, you'd have a much better idea than me at this point." He admitted with a shake of his head, not bothering to delve into his recollection of the land above from so many years ago. "I can get you out of these catacombs, if you need, but that is all I can do for you."

While Telrenya's expression seemed to be cemented in one of sympathy and disheartenment, she was surprised to see a menu appear in front of her and Jomei alike. Cardinal's familiar font informed her that the prompt was for the acceptance or denial of a quest, which further surprised her as she had all but counted out the possibility of Vaughn as a quest-giver. At most, she was beginning to think he was simply designed for the purposes of story-telling; some little easter egg chock full of lore in the event that a player stumbled upon these catacombs as they had. The main section of the semi-transparent screen held only two words, which Telrenya stared at for several long seconds before her hopeful gaze turned up to meet Jomei's.

"Help Vaughn."

She stopped herself from blindly accepting the oddly vague quest, wordlessly expressing her desire to give it a shot despite their lack of information. Although confident that Jomei was of the same mind, she still waited for his confirmation before she would pull an index finger towards the circular blue button.

The man smirked slightly, as if any question that Jomei might have asked him would have been one that he expected, and already knew how to answer. "You've seen the ones up there, yes?" He asked, pointing an index finger up to the cave's ceiling as he referred to the Forgotten that roamed the remnants of the city, to which Telrenya gave a small nod of confirmation aside Jomei. After his prompt was responded to, he continued. "It's sunlight that progresses the curse. Or at least, that's the only thing I can believe without testing it out myself." He grimaced at the thought, weaving his fingers back together in front of his chin. He frowned, letting out a small sigh and shaking his head side to side. "You've heard it all before; men that are greedy and always wanting for more, overstepping the boundaries of those that provide for them. Our Goddess cursed us all with the very 'drug' that we longed for." He explained vaguely. "I fled into these catacombs with a handful of others before it had fully taken us, and the caves seemed to stop the process, or at least delay it. But, we were still human...mostly. Still growing tired, and hungry. Eventually they left to find food, or grew mad from the underground, or simply gave up. And, well... I haven't seen them since, so you can put the pieces together." The attitude of a bitter old man seemed to slip from him as he scoffed at his own predicament.

Across from him, with the dim light of the fire dancing across her cheeks, Telrenya's brows knit together in concern, a mixture of sympathy and pity written clearly on the woman's face. "That's...terrible." She forced the words out, unable to bring any others forward that might lessen the bleakness of his story. With Jomei's palm once again resting against hers, Telrenya gave his hand a small squeeze as she perked to attention, a new expectation in her voice. "Is there anything we can do? Is there a way to break the curse, that you need help with?" An odd sort of rationality had kicked in within the girl's mind. As they were the players, and he an NPC, surely his sad story was the set-up for some kind of hidden quest. If they could simply complete some sort of task, they could cure the man's curse.

But her naivete was only met with a dry chuckle. "Ah, if there was any kind of salvation from this Hell that the Goddess cast us into, it'd be the first I've heard about it."

A chuckle bubbled up from Telrenya's chest when she was met with Embers' enthusiastic greeting. She was a touch surprised to hear a familiar name brought up so quickly, but her chocolate eyes drifted upwards as a thoughtful expression took over. She had few experiences with Hestia, despite the woman being one of her guildmates. In fact, most of her encounters with the raven-haired tank had been while Telrenya wasn't necessarily considered 'herself'. Bringing her hand to the nape of her neck, her lips curled into a pursed smile. "Hmm, yeah, I suppose I can see that." She mused with another half-chuckle.

The tall redhead soon turned the question back to her, and while Telrenya had a slew of questions she wanted to ask in the thought of catching up with the woman, she simply couldn't suppress one topic that that seemed to be burning up inside of her. Her cheeks burned a faint pink as her eyes darted to one side, bashfulness taking over her for a moment as she tried to figure out a way to broach the topic that she wanted to rush into. "O-oh, well, you know..." She caught herself stammering, and a small laugh of tangled nerves spilled out of her. The blonde gave a quick clear of her throat before trying again. "Uhm... I've told you about my guild leader, right?" She recalled the few messages she'd exchanged with Embers in the past when her guild was first created, and it wasn't until just now that Telrenya hoped that she didn't sound too suspicious when describing her encounters with the Irishman so many months ago. "Well, we've, kind of been seeing each other for a while now." The realization that she was revealing the beginning of the relationship between herself and Jomei all the way up to the point they had reached now in a single exchange finally hit her, and she felt an odd twinge of guilt and embarrassment at the reveal that she had been so excited for moments ago. Even so, the girlish enthusiasm inside of her was enough to overpower any second thoughts, and she impatiently skipped ahead in her story, picking up her other hand to show Embers where she was going with the topic.

With her fingers lightly curled, she held out her hand to display the rose gold piece of jewelry that sat on her left ring finger. Her eyes finally landed back on Embers' face, watching her features to gauge what sort of reaction her friend might have to the news while she unwittingly held her breath in a moment of anticipation.

Between Jomei's act of enthusiasm, and the NPCs clear lack of any such emotion, Telrenya was holding her hand in front of her mouth, stifling laughter. The amusement of the whole set-up was already worth the trip, and so her curiosity piqued at the consideration of what actually lay waiting for them in the over-the-top carnival attraction. Her eyes ran over the various decorations that hung around the cobblestone bricks of the darkened tunnel, the small boat that bobbed atop the water, even the few small water lillies that sat on the shallow surface.

She followed Jomei's lead, taking his hand to keep her balance while she placed the ball of her foot at the lightly-swaying floor of the boat. Once they were both seated, the simple vehicle seemed to come to life as Cardinal nudged them forward. Telrenya finally allowed a small chuckle to escape her, keeping her hold on Jomei's hand as she gazed ahead to try and see what lay in store for them, nodding. "It is kind of nice." She agreed, a calmness settling over them as they left the city of Taft behind for the moment.

With only the fading light of the reaching sun illuminating their way, Telrenya's eyes were starting to adjust when a screen flickered to life. Off-center from the path their boat crawled along, her attention was drawn to it instantly. Just as she was beginning to make out the familiarity of the plain stone-paved streets and unimpressive buildings that made up the landscape of Urbus they were shown, Telrenya blinked in surprise when she spotted her own likeness displayed before them. The blonde was dressed in her typical white-and-gold combat attire, though her face wore an expression of anxiety and worry. She paced, arms crossed, until a familiar voice broke the silence. A small chuckle prompted a shift in what felt like camera work, and Jomei was shown stepping towards her.

"Excuse me miss, everything alright? You look troubled."

A wave of nostalgia hit her as she watched their first meeting play back in front of them. She was practically stunned, mouth hanging just slightly as the scene surpassed any suspicions she might have had about the deceptively simple boat ride.

Just as Jomei lowered his tightened fist, Telrenya's rapier dropped as well. She held the blade loosely at her side, its tip now pointing toward the dark cavern floor as she wore an expression of mixed confusion and concern. Chocolate eyes shifted between the man at her side and the half-human that stood before them as the former was the first to start asking questions. A moment of silence allowed the tension in the air to begin to settle, each passing second indicating that the players had less and less intention of slaughtering him. The figure straightened up, pushing against the cave wall to help stabilize himself, and appeared more calm before forcing a voice past his altered throat again.

"...Come. I wo--n't, hurt you." He managed, giving the players a short wave as he beckoned them along. The man had turned back the way he came, hobbling down the path with clumsy but practiced steps, as if he was used to the inconvenience of his staggered walk and half-stone limbs. With a sideways glance to Jomei, Telrenya exchanged a look with him that said she didn't mind to follow after him as she brought the tip of her rapier back to its sheathe at her hip. Concealing her blade, the two would follow after the strange NPC down more winding tunnels filled with just as much death and decay as every path they'd taken thus far. A few haggard paces ahead of them, the man didn't seem bothered that the light from their torch stretched barely a few feet ahead of them, leaving Telrenya to wonder if his sight in the dark tunnels were better than theirs, or he was simply programmed to follow a specific route regardless of having a light source.

After a few minutes, they were led to a clearing of sorts--the mouth of a small cave that broke the repetitive cycle of one narrow passageway after another. This one was devoid of corpses, skeletons, and occupied coffers. Whether the area was generated without them, or the 'decor' had simply been moved away, Telrenya couldn't tell. Along the walls, clusters of softly-glowing crystals served as a new light, and a single withering plant caught the woman's attention in the corner of the room, clinging to the wall and floor of the cave just as tightly as it clung to the last of its life. The man continued moving, working to revive a small campfire in the center of the space. Finally, he knelt down beside the wilted plant and hesitated a second before plucking one of two sizeable fruits from its vine. He held the object, with swirls of green and yellow hues coating its skin, above his nose before giving it a quick squeeze. Its outer layer broke, and he brought the brightly-colored juices that flowed to his lips.

Seconds later, he would discard the dried remains to the edge of the cave's floor and bring himself over to the campfire, lowering down and crossing his legs. He carried himself a bit differently, Telreyna could see. His balance was more stable, and even his half-turned skin looked a bit healthier in the dim light of the crystals. As he faced the two players, she could see the haze of his right eye lessened, though it still lacked the brown color of his left. The corners of his mouth picked up into an obviously-forced smile, and the voice that left him sounded much less strained, as he no longer croaked out his words. "I used to be called a 'Saint', hundreds of years ago now. But, you can just call me Vaughn." He took in a sharp inhale, leaning forward as he propped his elbows onto his knees, and laced his fingers together in front of his face. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I have nothing better to do. So, go ahead. But be specific." He tacked on.