Surrechis was wandering the woodlands once again. Though her time in town was pleasant, she found the place to be somewhat stagnant. She felt exhausted dealing with the people there, perhaps it was just overexposure though. Regardless, she turned to the forest for inspiration, abandoning any sort of artificial path in exchange for exploring the thick greenwood. There was a risk of getting lost but she had packed a fair bit of supplies and wasn't that all worried, she was sure that it would be fairly easy to find a trail again. She knew that it should be time to move on to a different place, something about this region drew her in. The clean air, sounds of nature and general feel of the place made it a very soothing place to be. In the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of oddly shaped trees yet they didn't seem to be a different type than what was common in the area. While the many trees often concealed sight, this time a gap between two particularly twisted trees made a sort of focus. She caught a glimpse of a cave and while she would normally stay away from such places, the trees' curious shapes interested her. As she walked closer, stepping around various obstacles she could barely make out that there was something on the walls. Finally stepping past the mess of plaited branches and general roots, she could see that the something on the walls were engravings. Cracked, beautiful engravings that depicted a great battle. The carvings were made to last, created with deep grooves that had no discernible beginnings or endings. Though they lacked individual detail, the drawings conveyed ideas rather than solid objects. What was a warrior wielding a blade turned into a hurricane or collapsing building as her eyes swept back and forth upon the scene. Stepping into the cave proper, she could see that a chunk of the cave's ceiling had fallen onto the floor, letting sunlight illuminate the place. It was a rare treat to be in a place with this much ambiance and natural grace, she lamented that she would probably never be able to find this cave again. Ah well, might as well commit as much as she could to memory. Taking in the sights and sounds of the place, she sought to add to it with her voice. Unconsciously, her magic had started to permeate the song, making it much louder than she had intended it to. The sound rushed through the cave, moving and warping as it traveled. By the time it reached the cave entrance, the song was a far cry from its original state. The once beautiful tune had turned into a horrible, haunting wailing. The trees outside felt a harsh wind once more and any nearby animal would be scared off by the jarring noise. This fact was lost to Surrechis however, completely immersed in her own melodious world. To any nearby, it would sound like some sort of monster was claiming the cave as its own lair.
Aalam was practicing his bowmanship at a particular aggressive boar, he had already put two arrows into its side, but neater was a killing blow. Jumping out the way as it rushed towards him one of the tusks grazing his leg taking a bit out of his hp. Grabbing his leg as a reaction setting the pain setting to realistic had just proved to be a beautiful and terrible idea in that second. He was blinded by the pain for a few seconds that allowed to boar to realign itself and charge again. He was ready this time, however, turn away and running full sprint towards an oak tree. Making sure that the boar was still chasing him ensuring that the creature was closing enough to almost nip as his heels feeling its breath on his skin. Reaching the tree and using his momentum to carry himself up the trunk clearing over the boar feeling the tree shudder as the creature ran full force into the trunk. Kicking off the top inversing his body pulling back three arrows looking down at the boar’s back for a second lining up the shot for a second. Before releasing the draw sending the three arrows into the beast head, watching it shudder for a second before dying, each arrow hitting the mark one in the head and two in that back killing the monster. He was about to congratulate himself when he heard a song echoing throughout the woods a haunting roar that seemed to even frighten the trees, into shedding a few leaves. It sounded like something that was big and something that was dangerous. Pulling his arrows out of the boar and replacing them in his quiver. Turning in the direction that he believed the sound was coming from, breaking out into a sprint. Running through bushes and ducking under trees a making sure to keep up is momentum for gaining closer and closer to the sound. It was louder now a high sound wailing in rage and anger from a half a mile away. Whatever it was it seemed huge the sound exiting from the gaping maw of a cave. Stopping right at the entrance and equipping his bow knocking back an arrow stepping to the semi-darkness. The wailing was powerful now bouncing off the walls of the cave surrounding him. He could feel the song sink into his bones filling him with a type of dread that was unnatural. Taking in the depiction in the half-light; the groves seemed to be made by something sharp and powerful. The fact that all the walls were scared worried him slightly. How long did this creature have to make those marks he wonder drawing his arrow back further, if something wanted to kill him he was going to at least give it a run for their money. Sound down into the cave if there was someone and not something then he should at least give it a chance. Making his voice sound as gruff as possible and shouting down into the cave. “Come out with your hand in the air, and it won’t hurt.”
It seemed that @Aalam Abungu was not the only one wandering through the forest, nor was he the only one who heard the haunting song that @Surrechis had caused to emanate from the cave. A good distance away, Eleanor had been crouched, examining certain vegetation and plant life within the wooded area. With investigation mode, she carefully let a leaf rest upon her hand, like the tired head of an animal. She moved softly, as though not to irritate the green, living being that had roots embedded within the dirt below. With her other two fingers on her temple, her eyes glowed a slight blue, as she began to see more fascinating details within the design of the intricate leaf. Her vision focused, like a magnifying glass, and each edge and curve of it's face became sharper and more evident. Squinting slightly, she traced those lines with her eyes, wondering what use that the fern could be to her alchemically. While she could not test anything while she was in the forest, and she still had to obtain the supplies for such research, she could still gather the sample. As carefully as she could, she extracted a piece of the vegetation, and slipped it into her inventory. It would certainly be of use to her later. Idly, she pondered the possible uses. Perhaps it could be a remedy of sorts, used in the curing of poisons and toxins. There was a chance that it could be something more harmful, and allow her to concoct a drink of death. Who knew? Regardless, Eleanor would find out. The mystery intrigued her. Like a cat, raising her ears to a sudden noise, she peered over. Investigation mode sharpened her senses, allowing her to hear more closely at the incoming noises. A haunting wailing, though distant, she could not precisely put her finger on what sort of being it could originate from. Be it a player, or some sort of animal or monster, the sound could not be accurately analyzed from her distance, so she began to approach. Making her way carefully and quietly through the wooded cropping, she tried her best to walk lightly. The forest, complete with many branches and leaves, made this rather difficult, especially since Eleanor was not one too adept in stealth already, making her entrance quite obvious, and she was not really certain what it was that she was approaching. Something about the noise sounded oddly... Instrumental? As though it was being modified or mangled by the tone and shape of some sort of instrument. Just a thought though, as the detective continued. Suddenly, a loud voice cut through the air, sounding not to dissimilar to the phrasing that a police officer might use when tracking down a hiding perpetrator. Eleanor, carefully mentally separating this voice from the wailing she still heard, analyzed it separately, hoping that it had not been directed at her. Looking around she didn't seem to see anyone... Until she moved a bit further, and spotted him. Before she decided to say anything, she pulled from her inventory her red talismans. The three, thin, crimson charms slipped out of her hand and began to float, one in front of her, and one on each flank. Prepared for conflict, they danced slightly in the air, mimicking the rate of her heartbeat. "H-Hey!" Eleanor spoke up, in an attempt to get his attention. With her hands in the air, she was cautious and obviously in her attempt to reveal that she had not intention of harming him. Slowly, she approached, hoping that the notched arrow would not soon be flying at herself. "I am not hear to fight. I heard the noise as well." She kept her hands in the air, just in case. "Coming from in there, huh?" She nudged her head in the direction of the cave, as it became evident that was were the sounds were emanating from.
The tranquility and serenity of the forest provided a great avenue for Aden not just to sharpen his marksmanship with the bow, but bring inner piece to his mind, heart, and soul as well. The bustling noise of city crowds may bring comfort to most people as humans are indeed social animals, but for someone who had spent more time reading books than socializing with peers, interacting with too many people all at once still proved to be quite taxing for the red-haired archer. Humans may be inclined to bind to one another to defeat the monstrous ideal of isolation in the universe but spending too much time with the crowd and you lose track of who you are. Spend too much time adhering to the norm and you lose sight of individuality but spend too much time in isolation and you lose touch to your humanity. Ask anyone which is more important and no matter their response, the fact remains the same... Humans are selfish creatures and in their hearts, they would forfeit neither their needs to belong and their needs to be unique. Hence, a balance must be struck, which led to Aden traveling to the forestlands of Astorea to seek refuge from society for a short while. "I know I swore to myself that I'd get better at interacting with others... but expecting me to instantly get on friendly terms with anyone is just too much for me, even if I'm under the illusion of living in another world through another person's lens." The archer nodded in agreement to his reasoning, as if to further convince himself that he had made the correct decision. The trip wasn't made in any haste. Aden's cautious nature prevented any sort of untoward instances from occurring such as prematurely depleting his supplies, gathering information about the forestland itself both from written accounts and word of mouth from the many locals that depend on Astorea for livelihood, and even instructing one of the locals to alert anyone and send help should he not return within a week. By performing these seemingly ritualistic preparations, Aden had vastly decreased his chances of dying should an unforeseen event occur which would render him incapacitated, or seriously injured. His priority for caution become more apparent upon arriving at the forest and carefully looking for some game that would serve not only as adequate practice for his archery but a welcome addition to his rations as well. By now, the red-haired archer had spent two days in the forest, tracking and hunting game which were most rabbits and pheasants. By some stroke of luck, however, Aden would come across an elk, the finest, and perhaps the most challenging game he's found in the forest since he arrived two days ago. After spending hours stalking his prey, the elk had assumed its predator had been long gone and had significantly lowered its guard. In truth, Aden was only a few feet away from the unwary animal, as he managed to get close enough undetected with the help of his Rogue mastery. He was about to nock an arrow on his bow and prepare to aim and draw it towards the elk when it was suddenly spooked by a commotion nearby, causing it to run away in haste. "Guh..." with a defeated sigh, Aden would at least want to identify the perpetrator for his failed hunt. Upon focusing on his surroundings, the sound of a an eerie song echoing throughout the forest became apparent, followed by a haunting roar and... voices? So it would seem that he wasn't entirely alone in this forest after all. His natural curiosity would lead him to investigate the source of the song, the roar, and the voices further, leading him towards the source of it all, the gaping maw of a cave. In front of it was a blue haired girl dressed in an attire that would mistake her for a detective, and a blond guy that was unmistakably a fellow archer. From the looks of it, they had been both attracted to the eeri noise as well. "It looks like you guys heard it too, huh? If it were me alone, I wouldn't even dare set foot in that cave but seeing as there are three of us, should we choose to cooperate, it increases our chances of successfully taking on whatever's causing that noise and living to tell about it." Aden suggested as he addressed the duo. He surprisingly managed to say something decent to the two without even stuttering but perhaps that was due to the urgency of the situation that commanded their full attention. Whatever the case, Aden hoped that the archer and the detective would see reason in forming a party before investigating the cave and whatever lies within.
With @Aalam Abungu voice breaking through her song, Surrechis abruptly stopped singing. She didn't expect to be heard by anyone, the cave was fairly off the beaten path. She could hear a bit of chatter at the cave's mouth... she must have been a too loud and attracted some passing bandits. Scrambling to hide behind the rock she was sitting behind, Surrechis tried to calm her frantic heartbeats. She was not equipped for any sort of fight. Her more offensive powers tended to be quite draining if not prepared properly and even then, they weren't very strong. There was a possibility that the people outside were friendly but considering the man's wording... she wasn't counting on it. She would normally sing to cast her spells, finding it much more natural and faster. In this case, it would draw too much attention. She started to mutter an incantation, doing her best to keep her voice low. If they got too close, she would jump out, blast one with a bolt of dark magic and run. Hopefully, the shock of the assault would let her escape in the confusion, she was sure that the bolt wouldn't deal that much damage considering her inexperience. Leaving her traveling bag and all the possessions within would hurt but a small price to pay for her life. She couldn't risk grabbing it for fear of being seen. Incantation complete, she gathered the baleful energy in her hand and tried to listen for approaching footfalls.
Aalam turned away from the entrance of the cave looking at the two others who had heard the sound and had come to investigate. Looking each one up and down taking in their measure in stride one seemed to be competent in air magic. The floating charm she was controlling in the air was proof enough of that making the location of the charms in his head wondering how likely he would be able to hit them down before she would be able to stop him. The odds were against him it would not be wise to try especially since there was another archer here that might be able but a few arrows in him while he took care of her. No there was a little change that this was going to end in his favor. Lowering how bow was making sure the arrow was pointed at the ground instead of at one of their faces. When the sound just stops, the lack of sound was worse than the wailing for it just suddenly stopped, the thing that it brought to mind was unpleasant. It could mean that the beast had finished claiming that cave as its domain. ‘Ok then what do you suggest that we do? We all know there is something in the there and I believe that we all agree that it needs to be dealt with.” Turning back to the entrance stepping forward relocking an arrow if something were in there it would find an arrow in the dead center if he could find it, talking over his shoulder at the two others “so are you coming ?” Pausing for a second to see if any help would be coming making sure to keep his face turned towards the darkness so that no one could see the nervous on his face.
It seems Eleanor was not the only one attracted by the eerie whispering, as @Aden approached them as well. Taking a cautious step back, she moved her stance so that it pointed somewhere between the two. This allowed her to at least balance her vision, so while she peered towards one, the other was in her peripherals. With elbows at a slight angle, she kept her hands up, prepared if combat were to arise between them. She listened carefully to their words, analyzing how they spoke. Aden, wishing to make a trio of them to increase their chances of... 'taking on' whatever dwells within the cave. Then, her attention shifted towards Aalam, who had seemed to lower his bow so that there was a least a much less immediate danger of Eleanor being shot. She listened, and began to decide on her words as they moved forward toward the cave entrance. "Hey," She spoke first, to make sure she had their attention. "I agree that what is causing this should be dealt with, yes. But not necessarily dealt with... Like that." Eleanor squinted her eyes judgmentally towards the bow. "If you are so worried, then I shall lead. Please just," She reached a hand towards the raised bow, in an attempt to lower it, "Put that thing away for now." While Eleanor did not wish to be threatening, but it certainly might have come off that way. As a hesitant, arcane glow lingered upon her palm. She felt the tension swelling, and as much as she didn't want the situation to lead to conflict, she was prepared if it were to. "Let us approach this with reason." Carefully, she made an attempt to step in front of the party, leading ahead. Of course, if the archer was intent on leading with his bow, with would become rather difficult, as Eleanor attempted to place herself in front of him. "We are not the owners of this land. We are guests. We must be courteous. This is not our home, but it may be something else's." Customs and tradition told her to be respectful while in another's home. That did not matter if the other was a ghost or a dog, territory was not something to go stomping across. Such cations would certainly instigate a conflict, be it physical or verbal, between those who took claim upon the land. It was always best to lead with caution and reason. If potential conflicts could be avoided, it would certainly be the best case scenario. She hoped that her explanation of her approach to the situation would suffice, as she certainly did not want to make an attack upon anyone. She hadn't killed anyone. Yet, at least. But in a game driven upon combat and power, it was bound to happen at some point... Sometimes, Eleanor wondered if people just WANTED to start fights with everything they saw. Hostile or not.
Aden immediately sensed wariness from both the archer and the detective after he had made his presence known resulting in a silent standoff of sorts like in those old western movies. Fortunately, neither of them wanted any trouble and quickly made it clear that they were willing to cooperate. Still, a difference of opinions couldn't be avoided as the archer seemed to be eager of slaying whatever it is that resides in that ominous-looking cave, while the blue-haired detective wasn't too keen on violence. Clearing his throat, the red-haired archer began addressing his fellow players in a calm yet collected manner. "Relax both of you. I didn't mean to imply that we would resort to violence right away. Fighting would be our last resort in a situation like this where we don't even know what we're dealing with. Should it come to a point that fighting would be unavoidable, then it would be better if we face this enemy as a group, rather than as individuals. it increases our chances of survival exponentially in the event that whatever's in that cave is violent. " Pausing a bit as he analyzed the damage the mystery animal did to the surrounding area, all Aden could do was assume the worst case scenario in this situation. "That said, animals tend to be territorial, and territorial animals would more often than not resort to violence. So a fight may be unavoidable. In any case, before we enter that cave, we need to be in heightened alert for whatever dangers lie await for us in there. One wrong move could be the difference between life and death after all" He had read quite a sizable amount of reports of animal attacks on humans due to the latter trespassing in their territory, Thus, if the beast that let out that haunting roar a while ago is territorial, then it increases the likelihood of it attacking them on sight once they enter the cave. "Whether we resolve this peacefully or we would have to use force requires us to enter the cave first. And whether we come out of this unscathed, alive, or not at all also depends if we enter that cave as individuals or as a team. So what do you say about forming a party first? Whatever happens in that cave, whatever course of action we take, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there. Now I sincerely hope the three of us have come to an understanding." Suddenly, the red haired archer had come to a realization regarding the three of them. Ever since the three of them met, none of them bothered getting the other's names. If they were truly going to be a party, they'd at least need to get the least bit acquainted with one another, starting with learning each other's names. "It seems we all started off on the wrong foot so why don't we fix that first, starting with introductions, shall we? My name is Aden Ashburn. Mind giving me your names?" The archer said courteously, bowing respectfully to both of them as he introduced himself.
Hearing that the footsteps weren't getting closer and the conversation continuing, Surrechis slightly peered behind the rock she was hiding behind. She spotted 3 people outside the cave engaged in conversation, two men with bows and a woman in blue. Spotting her bag nearby, she tried to grab it as quietly as possible. If anyone was to look at the rock, they would only see a slender hand reaching around and dragging a traveling pack around the back. The spell contained in her other hand was starting to rapidly drain her energy. The longer she delayed tried delay the cast, the harder it got to control. Bag firmly secured to her back she continued to struggle against the spell. Unknown to her, the spell's passive sound started to reverb and amplify like her previous song. It grew louder and louder and with Surrechi's pounding heartbeats, she was unaware of the growing noise. The turbulent and dark nature of Malefimancy spells resulted in... disturbing noises. Squelching, growling, sloshing, groaning and all sorts of unpleasant noises. The kind of noises that promised the decay of the world and shattering of minds.
Both of them seemed to want to try the method of peacefulness to find out what was dwelling in the darkness and it appeared that the magician wanted to take the point. If it were the will of the group, then he would listen putting the arrow back into the quiver. Even though he felt that it was a terrible idea he took a step back letting the female player take the lead if she wanted she could go right ahead, pulling his bow back away from her hand. Looking at her incredulously as if she could not see how dangerous this situation had the possibility does become. There was something in the cave that could have to power to kill this group, and she wanted to try and make friends. Did no one know that a player could not get through this game unprepared having his bow at the ready was how we prepared? If something comes out the darkness, then it would find an arrow buried in its skull. Even the male seemed to want him to lower his bow...... a fellow archer wanted him to put it away. So he would comply reluctantly until the girl put her hand on his bow. She laid hands on his weapon even going as far to threaten him if he didn’t lower it. To physically stop him from being able to act as he saw fit in his situation, he had to remember that it wasn’t right to stab a person in the eye with an arrow, even if that person had put their hand on his bow. Lowering the bow out of her range and taking a further step to the side to give her clear path to the front, making sure that the bow was out of the reach of her hands and magic. “This might not be our home, but you heard that creature earlier whatever is in this cave need to assessed and then killed if it could pose a threat. Also you Ashburn was it….the name is Aalam” Turning back towards the girl he was about to say something smart when the noise started. It was low at first, but in the few second it gained strength. Aalam had spent most of his time in the game training in forest areas and spending as little as time as possible in town. He knew what the sounds of almost every living created sounded like, but this… this wasn’t a sound that came naturally in the game or otherwise. Whatever that was it wasn’t natural, pulling out an arrow and pointing at her then back into the darkness. “Does that sound right to you whatever in that darkness must be treated as dangerous if we find out otherwise then I shall be more reasonable.” Moving a step behind her replace that arrow back into the quiver but keeping his bow closes just in case. “Lead away, let’s see who ends up being right. And hope to the Gods that I'm proven wrong.”
"Nice to meet both of you." Eleanor was pleased to see that @Aalam Abungu had lowered his weapon. Her idealistic expectation that the situation would not lead to violence was met with agreement. She cared little for the pleasantries that sometimes came with agreements, such as handshakes and contracts, but at least the hostility and tension had been somewhat diminished. "I'm Eleanor." Giving a shimmer of a smile that faded in an instant, Eleanor's cautious gaze towards the once combat-ready archer was interrupted by the returning of the eerie, rather unnerving melody. With hands still prepared, one lingering just behind the charm that floated immediately ahead of her, she bit her lip, attempting to further analyze the noise. The sound... It was so broken and warped. It was true, the sound did not seem natural, but... There was something off. "Certainly, but..." Her curiosity occasionally played the role of making her quite the fool. A specimen killed too soon was an entity that could not be further studied. Something about the noise intrigued her, and she wanted to learn further about it. "Let us be a bit more optimistic, yes?" For once in her life, the often shy, clumsy girl gave a somewhat charismatic smirk towards the previously hostile archer. Eleanor turned and, with her back towards the two men, began to creep further towards the cave entrance, each foot carefully placed one after another. "There's a million things it could be." Her thoughts ran wild with ideas. Truly, she was speaking straight from her train of thought, without much of a filter. Like a cat, she placed one paw after another towards the unknown. Just in the entrance of the cave, she looked down to find a decently sized collapsed portion of the ceiling. Shifting her gaze upwards, she examined quite the lovely skylight. It was incredible, how even in the confines of a virtual existence, the wonders and beauties of nature could be admired and adored. Rays of sunlight poured in, illuminating parts of the less than welcoming maw of the cavern. The sunlight was powerful, but the dim shade farther within obscured many things from view. "Hello?" She spoke into the cave, an echo following her voice. Though she did not speak very loud, it was of significant enough volume that hopefully whatever lied within could hear her. "I do not mean you any harm, whatever you are. I just wish to know the origin of your... Sound." Staring into the shadows, her eyes stabbed like needles into a desk, barely scratching through the surface of the darkness. Still, ever vigilant, her eyes hoped to find an answer within the shaded emptiness. A hand remained behind herself, cautious towards the rest of the members of her rag-tag group. The gesture was similar to how an elder sibling might stand in front of their younger family member, protective, yet prepared. Another hand lingered in front of herself, close to her floating, red charm. As her heartbeat began to hasten once more, the minor, dancing tremors of the charms began to grow. With hands glowing, purple arcane sparks dancing between the length of her fingers, she prepared to teleport out of the way if need be.
An exasperated sigh escaped Aden's lips when it seemed apparent that Eleanor was being too optimistic about this situation. With the way she worded things, one could mistake the detective to be in a state of denial regarding how much of a threat the source of this mysterious sound is. Instead, she seemed steadfast in proving that the creature who made such an unsettling noise was in fact not hostile towards them. Perhaps he was just being too pessimistic, but he'd rather be a living pessimist than a dead optimist. Regardless, when the three of them were just about ready to venture into the cave, he could have sworn he saw a hand dragging a bag into the shadows. As if that was not creepy enough, the strange noises they were hearing not too long ago seemed to have amplified both in loudness and variety, producing squelching, growling, sloshing, groaning and all sorts of unpleasant noises. However you look at it, nothing good could have produced something like that. Despite his differences with the detective, he decided that he would be better suited to take point in this expedition. Since he had no way of knowing what sort of masteries the detective possessed, he'd have much more peace of mind if he lead the way knowing he had some means to dodge any oncoming attacks. Though hopefully this decision doesn't earn him his first death in the game. Each step was taken with caution, enabling the arcane archer to create as little noise as possible for any denizen of the forest to detect. Squinting his eyes, he was trying to take in as much of the cave's scenery as possible, despite the lack of any light source available, save for the one pouring into the cavern from a collapsed section of the ceiling above. In a situation like this, having tunnel vision could be a fatal mistake, specially since they had no way of knowing just exactly what they're dealing with. He figured it'd be better to hide from the others that he saw a hand that looked distinctly human reaching out for a bag earlier to keep the others as alert as well. If they were to find out that it's "just" a human they're dealing with here, they could potentially let their guard down too much. There's just little room for error here, and he couldn't afford any one of them getting overconfident over that discovery. This mystery person may not be the only one dwelling in this cave after all. Hearing the detective call out into the darkness has gotten Aden on edge. So much for hiding as much of their presence as possible. Now, if they are skilled enough, whatever is in this cave could already pinpoint where their party is now. From then, depending on how dangerous it is, their group could end up as easy picking for this mysterious creature. "Keep your head on a swivel and stay in full alert. If you see any movement at all, be sure to alert the rest of the group. Carefully place each step you make and take care not to succumb to tunnel vision. Also watch out for any sort of trip wires or traps. Whatever's inside here, beast or human, it's their territory we're heading into so an extra bit of caution could be the difference between life and death." said Aden in a hushed voices as he carefully lead the group further into the cave. "And by the Elysid Court, Eleanor. I hope you are right and this thing isn't hostile. Fighting in such a restrictive environment would be the death of us all."
Surrechis could hear more voices talking but the exact contents of the conversation were drowned out by the pounding pain in her head. The longer she delayed a spell, the more energy it took to maintain it and her current reserves of mana were not the greatest. She leaped out from behind to rock, sent the piercing ray of dark magic through the three of the bandits and ran out of the cave entrance, safe from any retaliation. At least, that's what she hoped would happen. Trying to steady herself for the coming assault, she took a deep breath and decided to act before she was surrounded. She sprinted out from her rock and glanced towards the entrance, seeing three humanoid shapes in the darkness. Though she couldn't see very well, it appeared that at least one of them was armed with a bow. Taking aim, she fired out the spell she had been building up. Her lack of expertise when it came to combat would not do favors for the offensive power or accuracy of the skill but it would hurt if it landed. Fade to Black If the spell hit, it would rapidly decay any matter it came into contact with and could pierce multiple targets if they lined up correctly. However, in her drained state and the cave's lighting or lack thereof, Surrechis' aim was incredibly suspect. After casting, she tried to initate the second part of her plan and run but found she didn't have the strength to continue onwards. She managed a single step before slumping over, dead to the world as the exhaustion caused by her actions caught up to her. It would take a fair bit of time or effort to wake her, if she was still in a state to be able to.
Now it seemed that Aden wanted to take the lead ..... this was quickly becoming tedious both Eleanor and Aden wanted to lead the party investigating whatever creature was dwelling him the cave. However, the fact that they were contesting for who went into the darkness first meant that he could renock his bow and make sure he would be ready in case anything came their way. Eleanor might want to investigate, and It seemed that Aden was in the same train of thought. But Aden went in first heading boldly into the darkness keeping his steps as quiet as possible leading the way. He wasn't bad at it either there was a bit of talent to him, or the man had been practising he was still a few shades shy of his ability, but with more practice, Aden would get there eventually. Angling his bow towards the general direction of the darker parts of the cave making sure to keep Aden marked in his sight, he wouldn't want to hit the boy with a stray arrow after all that could be quiet painful depending on what Aden had his pain settings too. Locking his sights on the space right over Aden left shoulder making sure to keep Eleanor on the right side of him that way if anything got past Aden and then the arrows he would be able to at least shove her out of the way. Whatever was in there would have a general direction of where to attack because of her that with the additional fact that he agreed to look into the creature that had decided to make its home in the cave with her meant that she needs to survive. A sigh escaped him at the thought..... he needed to make sure that he stopped agreeing to things so easily. A second one escaped him a few seconds later when Aden had the gall to give him advice on how to be stealthy; it seems that he thought that everyone else had little to no ability in the art. It would have been too much effort to correct him, however, so he just took his advice with a nod of his head. Pressing forwards into the darker regions of the cave a few paces behind him, doing his best to keep his bow ready for whatever might pop out of that blackness. As they inched closer, he was about to allow the idea the creature was not hostile when something sprung out from a rock some ways in front of him. Throwing what looked like darkness condensed towards the group, there was not much time to think so he drew his bow back to its full strength. It might not have been the greatest weapon that existed, but it was good enough to get the job done with about 95 pounds of force. Shouting out a quick warning to the other especially Aden who was in front of him, for he was in the most danger if things went wrong. "Get down now!" Letting the arrow fly directly in the direction of whatever that black thing was hoping that his aim was true and not off because of the dim light. Pulling the next arrow from his quiver in a quick session and readying the bow for a next shot waiting only to see if he was lucky with his first.
@Aden seemed well founded in his caution towards traps and resolve, and Eleanor certainly appreciated this. While she had already been taking quite precautions action, considering she nearly lived her life completely through a prudence, she did not dismiss the reminders. Eleanor had ignored the qualms the first archer has on the subject of determination of the unknown entity's hostility. In fact, for all she knew, the creature was nothing at all. A mere anomaly of the universe. What a thing to believe! A cave that sings an eerie tune. The myths and legends that could come out of such a mystery could shape future civilizations within the virtual world. Whatever it was, be it living or a mystery, it was better to go in with reason, than to end up killing an innocent. Though, of course, the argument on the subject had become void and meaningless, as the mystery assailant had appeared to release an attack of some kind. Squinting, tilting her head at first, she watched as a festering ball of blackness was sent their way. In a panic, Eleanor pointed a hand forward, with the palm facing outwards, commanding her trio of red talismans forwards. Guided by arcane radiance, they seemed to pass through the projectile, though not stopping it in the slightest. As she shifted the position of her palm downwards, the charms plummeted on the opposite side of the attack, and in an instant, Eleanor was among her charms once more. While her teleportation had maneuvered herself out of harms way, it had done nothing to prevent the harmful magic from assaulting the pair that she was with, as @Aalam Abungu fired arrows into the blackness. She nearly turned her head to give a cautious glance back, hoping to find the dark ball dismissed, and the pair alright, before realizing where her teleportation ability had landed herself. Swiveling her head, and swiftly raising her hand, a purple arcane glow radiating from her palm, Eleanor stared through the darkness to find... A female. A young girl, who appeared to be quite exhausted. Slumped over, certainly the young one could be of no harm. At least, not after the attack that she had released. Something was familiar about the girl's exhaustion, this being that it did not appear too dissimilar from the fatigue that had often ensued while Eleanor was beginning to learn her arcanamancy. While the perception of the white haired girl was one of innocence and helplessness, Eleanor did not completely dismiss the idea that this could all be some mystical rouse. Nevertheless, the young girl appeared scared, and regardless of her attack, Eleanor put out a hand to her, as if reaching towards a wild kitten. Her palm was open and vertical, as if asking for a handshake. "Hey... I'm Eleanor." She panted, still somewhat worn out from the sudden, unprepared usage of her teleportation spell. The function often left her energy reserves in shambles even when she spent moments preparing to use it, so the reactionary implementation had been quite draining. Still, she had the energy to cast an offensive spell if need be on the girl, if it turned out that she was still hostile. "I do not want to hurt you." Eleanor continued to breathe heavily, a drop of sweat running down her forehead. She certainly was not the greatest at talking to people, but she hoped that the sincerity of her words would come across. If things went right, her handshake would be accepted, and she would not be dead in mere moments! "I mean you no harm."
