Complete - Finweald: Familiar Unfamiliars (18+) | Page 2

Vivian's magic sparked to life with a snap of her fingers, the sheer power of her spells causing her hair to stand on end. Jomei's eyes locked on the woman for a moment. Growing up, he found himself casting spells in plenty of the video games he would play. However, this was completely different. This magic looked and felt real, being right next to him, all of his senses acting off of the spells, not just his sight and sound. He could feel just how powerful the spell was.

From what it seemed, the woman was casting multiple spells at once, her chanting continuing as various occurrences happened in succession. First, a sort of fog rose up from the murk, encasing the diseased looking rats. Suddenly, their charge ceased, as they screeched out in fear of the woman, scattering away to opposite sides of the room. Jomei took this opportunity to quickly draw an arrow from his quiver, aiming one of the small beasts down. Releasing his finger, the wooden arrow, with Vivian's cursed tip, cut through the air, piercing through the ribs of the small beast, leaving its body floating in the feces-filled water.

Another arrow nocked, Jomei sniped down another of the rats as it found itself trying to climb the wet wall with no luck, its body hanging lifeless, the arrow piercing it to the wall. As Jomei shot down his two targets, Vivian had cast another spell in the form of a ball of energy. As it hit the ground near the vermin, their already rotting skin seemed to decay even more, boils growing with puss pouring out. Jomei frowned at the disgusting sight before pulling out another arrow and shooting it forward, piercing a third rat right through the eyes.

 

"Good job, Sharp Shooter." The woman said to the ginger haired player. Her power seemed to evaporate from her hands and fingers as the spell circle beneath her feet faded away. Her eyes of that vehement purple, now a more gentle and sharp azure. Soft smiling lips curved as she tapped the younger player on the shoulder, "That should do it for them. Though we might have more coming our way later on. Keep your eyes peeled."

Vivian had not forgotten she was still knee deep in shit water, but her mood relaxed only giving off minimal disgruntled moments as they continued to slosh their way through the waters. She stopped to examine her map again, clicking her tongue within her mouth as she examined the layout. Moments seemed to pass before she made her decision on the next few turns.

Taking the lead once more but gracefully demanding Jomei to keep his Observation Mode up, the malefimancer followed the unguided path. Her sapphire eyes looked left and right within the disgusting corridor, but she felt steps leading out of the waste water and was happy she was no longer waddling through that mess. With a flick of her wrist, her purple hair was tossed off her shoulder as the pair of adventurers came up to a door.

"Peculiar. This isn't on the map, in any part whatsoever. Hmmm..." the woman placed a hand on the door. It felt like it was made of metal and that it had not been budged in a long, long time. But her curiosity compelled her to know what was behind the door. She was no rogue, but she knew a certain long eared individual who was.

Smiling as she turned to face the player she shook her head and shrugged, "Looks like this more up your alley than mine. Check it for traps and what have you and disarm it if you can." The woman sidestepped Jomei, only to have her breath and body in close proximity of the player before teasing him lightly with a hooded gaze as her body moved away and behind him. She would stand still with her arms folded over before looking over her shoulder. Some kind of weird muck was forming from the grey water they had just trudged through.

She sighed and flicked her wrist, "I'll keep it busy. You get started on disarming any traps and unlocking that door." Once more azure gave way to purple as energy seemed to lick over her body as the familiar spell circled twisted around her till it form at her feet. A small smile cracked before she would begin her spell casting. Although this was bit of a chore, she was not one for defending other people. Not her job.

 

Hazel eyes scanned the murk they stood in, looking for any more signs of life. When he saw nothing but the floating bodies of the dead, sickly looking rats, Jomei let out a breath of air before standing up straight. Jomei turned to Vivian, who also sensed that all of the rats had been defeated, and that the two were safe for now. After telling Jomei to keep his eyes peeled, and to enter Investigation Mode once again, the ginger nodded, placing his fingers on his temple once again, his eyes lighting up in a gold color.

As the two continued to wade their way through shit and god-knows what else, Jomei made sure to keep Vivian away from any small traps. The murk did not hide much, aside from a simple bear trap or spiked rod here or there.. All easy to avoid without having to actually disarm anything. Their feet eventually found themselves stepping up and out of the disgusting pool, though the smell and feeling of the shit being everywhere still remained.

In front of them was a metal door that, to the quick eye, would seem to have been sealed shut to never be opened. However, upon closer inspection, Jomei found that the door could be opened, yet was simply bolted shut. Was it a tough lock to crack? Or had no one with the correct skill found this door before them. Vivian's mind was in the same boat as Jomei's, asking him to check the door for traps and to try and unlock it. With a nod, the man placed his bow on his back yet again while dropping to a knee in front of the door's key slot.

Vivian gave Jomei space to work, though not much space at first. She kept her body close to his side, her chest nearly grazing Jomei's arm as she teased him with her seductive bedroom eyes. His own hazel eyes shifted to look at Vivian, a single brow cocking before chuckling. "Where I appreciate the warmth.. I'm gonna need a bit more space." he slightly teased her back, obviously not as good as the malefimancer.

Jomei took the lock pick kit he had purchased earlier out of his inventory and placed it on the ground aside of him. Placing his finger back on his temple yet again, Jomei entered his Observation Mode and took a careful look at the door. He scanned every portion he could; the frame, the hinges, the key hole.. all trying to see if the door was rigged with any traps. It was when he noticed that there was some sort of wire attached to the opposite side of the keyhole, he suspected it would pull on some sort of obstacle that would swing down at the open doorway. "Looks like there is a trap set up on the other side.. Its tough to get to, but give me a bit of time and I'll get it. Unlocking the door itself.. shouldn't be too much of a problem." The man opened the kit beside him, inside was a set of picks of various sized. First, he took the longest in his hand, hoping to be able to take care of the trap with it. The lock itself was older, meaning that there were not as many teeth he would need to pry through to get to the other side. Using the pick, as well as a small screwdriver-like tool, Jomei slowly pushed his way through the lock, eventually being able to take hold of the thin wire on the opposite side.

"Shit.." he cursed under his breath, realizing the long pick was now stuck in the lock. After jerking the tool, trying to free it, Jomei felt a bit of resistance let up, followed by the sound of a loud crash on the opposite side of the door. "Guess.. that was the trap.." Jomei said, before realizing his pick had broken inside of the door. "Fucking.." he said with a sigh before grabbing another and working on the lock. After a couple of moments, working around the broken pick and trying to ignore Vivian fighting the unknown monster behind him, Jomei heard the lock click open. "Got it!"

 

The squelching moans of the unknown muck seemed to echo in the enclosed corridor. Her eyes shifted to the form, a violet storm in her eyes as her hands lifted and squeezed the air. The very sound it made was that of a gurgling mess as it's misshapen form seemed to roll from the left and right.

Her vicious assault pained it, or so she thought. But the ball of mucus only absorbed whatever her magic could throw at it. She groaned releasing the exotic blade from her sheath. With a small cling, the blade spun in her free hand as she called upon another spell. Violet seeped into the blade like a poison, the blade dripping with the same violet as her eyes.

Her spell circle soon dissipated as she moved forward for an attack, a heavy upwards slash with one hand to attempt to cut the blob. The blade made contact and attempted to sear it down the middle, yet it was stuck. Vivian grunted to attempt to pull the blade from the blob as it slowly started to attempt to eat it and her arm.

"What the hell?!" With her leg propped up against it to retrieve her blade, the woman pulled with all her might. It was like her foot had stepped into a fresh pile of shit. She could feel the warmth tingle through her armor as she scrunched her nose and squinted her eyes. Both hands on the hilt as she pulled as hard as she could. The blade came free, even with its magical effects she could not slice it in half.

"Got it!"

The woman looked over her shoulder and it was in the nick of time. Because she had no idea how to kill this slime creature. Taking a step back, she took Jomei by the shoulder and told him to move to get inside the room. Forcing her way back with her companion, the woman slammed the door with her foot to stop the squelching muck from entering. The door banged once or twice from the blob, but then there was silence. The woman took a breath while sheathing her weapon, she flicked the purple strands of hair from her face and cleared her throat.

"Well, that was an adventure. Ever fought a slime before? They are not as easy as they look. Almost lost my weapon to it as well. Now...where the hell are we?"

 

As the door opened, Jomei got a glimpse at the trap planned for any unsuspecting visitors; a log about the size of Jomei with spikes jutting out in every direction. If he had not disarmed the simple trap, they would have been in for a world of pain. However, that was not Jomei's concern now, as Vivian grabbed Jomei's shoulder and ran with him into the room, quickly shutting the door behind them. Jomei stumbled forward, hearing the sounds of whatever Vivian was attacking slamming against the door to try and get to the two, before retreating back to its murky home.

The archer let out a sigh of relief before standing up straight again. Vivian's question caused the man to look around to see just where they had ended up. The room they now stood in was small, yet warmer than the previous maze they ventured through thanks to a lit fire in the center of the room, a small structure of bricks keeping the bonfire contained. On the opposite sides of the wall were two simple beds, the wooden frame seemed to be barely held together, with an old, moldy looking mattress on top of each, covered with bed rolls made of thin leathers and furs.

"Looks like some sort of quarters..." he walked over to one of the old beds, pressing the palm of his hand against the decomposing mattress. "Though.. who ever called this their bedroom definitely didn't live the life of luxury." he said with a chuckle. Across from the door that kept that separate from the slime Vivian struggled to escape from, was another door that seemed securely locked, luckily from their side. "It seems safe though." The man took a couple of steps back towards Vivian, stopping near the fire and enjoying the warmth it gave off. "We can keep pushing forward to see whats on the other side of that door.. try to find this ring. Or we can take a quick break." Jomei walked past Vivian to the door they had entered from, taking a look at the lock. From this side of the door, he would be able to remove the broken pick and securely lock the door, to avoid anyone following them without going through the same trouble he went through. Then, looking down at the trap that was set for them, he decided he should also set the log back into place as well, as an extra precaution. "You probably used up a bit of your energy casting all of those spells, why don't you relax for a minute. I'm going to reset this trap in case anyone tried to follow us through this door." Jomei would be lying if he said that his own energy was not lowered through using all of his Masteries in a matter of an hour or so, however the man wanted to make sure Vivian was rested first, as he made sure the two were a bit safer.

 

Intermission​

The woman walked around the room, arms over her chest with an odd expression. She only nodded to the Hunter when he spoke of not living in the life of luxury. It was too dusty and probably had not seen much use in a long time.

"I think they put this room here as a sort of buffer for players to rest until they continued through the Old Pool. Although it's starting to feel more like a catacomb than an underground tunnel system." The woman stood by the fire and held her hand out towards it. The flame was no more wild than a normal camp fire set up, she sat down on one of the stone blocks that was close as she warmed her body up.

Jomei had been tracing the room looking for any other odds and ends, even going so far as resetting the room trap just in case. The woman turned her head towards her, her azure cold eyes looked in his direction and she nodded softly, "Well, Malefimancy is not an energy heavy Mastery. It's the long winded chants and spell time that is annoying. But the rest is welcome. I am not entirely sure how much The Old Pool stretches, end from end. So we might as well recover where we can." The woman once more set her gaze back at the flickering flame ahead of her as she rubbed her hands.

The air was still and it was almost stale to the taste as she breathed it in. The shabby and run down cots seemed to lack any sort of comfort and were just there for a quick rest. She laughed to herself over a thought, even if the beds had look clean and welcoming, Jomei would probably disapprove of her sexual advancements in such a place. To be fair, she probably wouldn't mind too much. But on these so called beds, her perfect flesh would not even touch upon it. Maybe the floor? Too cold. She would rummage through her gutter mind.

Stretching her legs out, the woman yawned and lifted one leg over the other. She leaned over only to do some minor upkeep with her hair and her nails, looking them over as if to make sure nothing had been cracked or dirty. Her chin was cast into the palm of her hand as she sat there staring into the flame her thoughts were random as she looked into the dancing fire.

 

After fidgeting with the broken pick in the door for a short moment, Jomei removed the small piece of metal, the few mechanisms inside of the lock falling back into their usual place. With the door back to its original state, he turned the small latch above the knob of the door to lock it. The sound that accompanied the latched hooking themselves to the door frame were louder than expected, the sound bouncing from wall to wall in the nearly silent room. With that finished, Jomei used a bit more of the rope he had with his other traps to pull the spiked-log back into place high up near the ceiling, and reattaching the wire he had 'activated' earlier.

With the doors securely locked and the trap reset, Jomei felt a small bit of security, despite being in the room with someone whom he had just met. Vivian seemed trust worthy though, and he was enjoying her company, in more reasons than one. With a sigh of relief, the crimson haired archer turned around and stepped towards one of the beds and sat down on the edge so he could feel the heat jumping off of the flames to warm his weary muscles. "That's good to hear at least." Jomei said with a small chuckle. The man lifted removed the bow and quiver from his back, placing them at the foot of his bed. With his back now free of the weighted weapons, he pinched at the fingers of his glove before removing it, and doing the same with the second, placing them in the same spot he did the other two items.

Bringing his right hand up, Jomei balled his fingers into a fist and then opened them swiftly, revealing his palm menu. Most of his needs were satisfied, his health, sleep, food and water were all high enough to last him a bit longer. His energy, however, was running a bit low. "Well, being I'm not that experienced yet.. all those arrows I shot, traps I set, and the observation mode drained me a bit." He closed the menu and sat upwards, reaching to his opposite shoulder and gently massaging the muscle.

As he tried to release the tension in his shoulders, the elf's hazel eyes shifted up to meet Vivian across the room, a small smile forming on his lips. "Thank you, by the way.. for keeping that slime off of me while I opened the door. Probably would have gotten real ugly if you hadn't."

 

She spun around in place to look towards the Hunter. A soft smile on her red lips as she pushed off her mount and moved towards him. She nodded towards his comment and walked in his direction. Her right arm out and slipping over his shoulder as her fingers curled and twisted into the meat of his flesh.

Behind him, she rested both hands tenderly at first before massaging his shoulders. Her nails digging deep into the root of his flesh to satisfy the tension he might have been feeling. "It's fine if you want to rest up. I don't have any plans except for just scoping this place out. You would have done the same for me. But don't get the wrong idea about me. I kept you alive, because I need you alive. I don't know my way around here and another body just helps to keep the boredom away." The woman said, though he probably couldn't see it, she was smiling at the thought of just throwing his body under a bus if any situation got too out of hand and she had to make a quick escape.

Her fingers moved over his shoulders, kneading the meat of his shoulders as she used her supple strength to bare down on him. Then her fingers moved more close to the flesh of his exposed neck. Her nails could be felt along his throat, but she felt him tense up again and she laughed.

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you. I actually have decent massaging skills. But the other reason is...Well, you know earlier how I thought you looked familiar to someone in my past? That's kinda been stuck with me. Perhaps in a past life or something I knew you. We just have a sort of chemistry. It kinda feels like friendship, but there is also a feeling of lust and hate that I can't quite describe either."

The woman rested her hands on his shoulders as they slinked back towards his back and began to do small circles over the tension between his shoulder blades. The woman was not often so giving, but there was this odd relationship about them. She had no idea if she wanted to just jump his bones for whatever reason, or put out her blade and stick it through his back just to see what would happen.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" she said leaning down towards his ear, almost giving it a small tickle with the tip of her tongue.

 

Jomei's eyes followed Vivian as she stood up, her full red lips smirking at the man as she slowly made her way to the bed that Jomei sat on. His own fingers that worked to ease the tender flesh of his shoulders slowed, as she placed herself on the bed that he sat on, the feeling of her nails gently scratching against the fabric of his shirt on his shoulder as she began to work out the knots in his back. The man's cheeks flushed pink as his eyes closed, audibly exhaling at the feeling of the woman's massaging touch.

As she worked on the muscles of his shoulders, she replied to Jomei's thankful comment, stating that she merely needed him around to help her out with this quest and nothing more. Jomei's eyes opened back up, turning his chin slightly towards her and giving her a sidelong glance. "Great to know that's what you think." his voice was soft as he spoke and laughed lightly.

The man could immediately tell that Vivian knew what she was doing, judging by the pleased breaths and grunts that expelled from his mouth each time she seemed to work out one of the knots. He never would have thought that a game would incorporate muscle tension like this, let alone how much work on the shoulders it was to fire an arrow. Jomei felt the skin of Vivian's warm hands brush against the skin of his neck, causing him to tense up slightly, yet only for a moment. Hearing her voice telling him to relax immediately caused the tension to decrease, allowing the woman to properly massage his neck.

His ears perked as he listened to Vivian's words, going more into detail about the small fact she mentioned when she first ran into him. She felt as though the two had known each other before, either in a past life or a meeting. Jomei closed his eyes and tried to imagine her voice on another person, trying to see if it was someone he had met. Possibly in the city even? Or from school? No.. she was right, there was something different than that. And Jomei could not shake the thought either. Their companionship in the past few hours had grown too smoothly, as if there was something driving them to be closer.

Her hands slowly slipped down his spine to the space between his shoulders, making small circles that sent a chill down Jomei's spine as he drew a shaky breath. His eyes closed yet again, he soon felt the heat of her breath on his ear, as she whispered to him if she was making him uncomfortable. Exhaling with another shaky breath, the man gently shook his head. "No. Not at all." He replied in a soft tone before turning his chin yet again, his hazel eyes looking back to the woman, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

 

The woman scrunched her nose and playfully winked at him, "Good." She said, than gave him a slap on the back. The power was enough to send a soundwave through the silent room as she stood in front of him with a smile.

"I think you are good to go, but we can continue resting. I wouldn't mind a small rest myself." The woman traced her steps back to the opposite cot. She looked at it with a look of simple disgust and ran her hand over it. There was dust, and it felt moist and it looked like someone had used it for their personal toilet. She then looked at the ground, it looked even cleaner than those so called shamble of a bed.

Her eyes rolled and sighed, "I am not lying on that." her tone was that of a spoiled girl. Clearly she had never had to get dirty on a camping trip or anything, she was fed with a silver spoon for a good portion of her life being a bit of a snob in real life. She had been very good though as Vivian of Terrasphere, not acting out so much on her wants and desires as a spoiled brat. However, she was not about to force herself into such a situation where she had to roll around in filth.

The woman turned back to Jomei, a soft smile on her red lips. She moved towards him again, right in front of him. She placed both hands on his shoulders and started to push him down into the cot as she began to work her body on top of him before they were both laying on the cot, but she had her body pressed into him so only her feet were barely touching the surface.

"This is better. I'll just use you as a buffer so I don't get any of that piss on me." She didn't bother to ask if it was ok to lay on top of him like that, nor did she ask to use him as a pillow. But her head had laid gently over his torso, her eyes closing softly as her strong perfume mixed into his clothing. The close proximity between the two was as close as someone could get to another body.

Her hands didn't move much, just enough to keep herself steady over his body. Her long purple hair fell off her body and spilled towards the ground as she mentally sighed then felt something poke her thigh. Her eyes looked up at him, soft shimmering azure color with a bit of tease in the look, "Tell me that was an arrow or the pointed end of your bow." She laughed looking down and noticed it was indeed just his bow. She had pat him on the chest with her hand, "Good, if you get a boner just for spooning with a woman, you got some tolerance to build up. Give me just a few minutes here and we can get going..." The woman yawned and rested her eyes. She would just take a few moments to rest, but she had fallen asleep on him.

 

The man winced a bit when Vivian's open palm smacked the already tender skin that she had been massaging for the past few minutes. Though the tingle did not last long, soon shifting his gaze to look up at the woman who was standing over him with a smile. His shoulders rotated in small circles, his back and shoulders feeling much looser after Vivian did her work. "Yeah, I feel a lot better now. Thanks.. You really didn't have to do that.. Though, I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy that." he said with a chuckle.

He watched for a moment as Vivian retreated to the other bed, "Yeah.. you deserve some rest. I may do the same and rest my eyes a bit. I have a bad feeling we haven't even seen half of this place." Taking a small loose stone that he found aside the bed, Jomei scraped at the gunk that was caked onto his boots from walking through the fecal matter outside of the room, a grimace on his face as he did so. Despite the beds already being dirty, he would prefer not to get any more shit where he would be resting. He could have done without the stench either, though the burning wood in the center of the room did a nice enough job of mostly covering the smell.

Jomei continued his work, but scoffed when Vivian complained about their sleeping arrangements. "Yeah, I'd prefer not to either.. but its what we have to deal with.. unless you just want to continu-" His words were cut short when he felt Vivian's hands press into his shoulders, those same seductive lips smiling down at him. She let her body weight press into Jomei, pushing him farther down into the mattress until his head his the furs of the bedroll, Vivian's body laying on top of him. He looked down at the woman who rested her head on his chest, before chuckling and letting his own head hit the bed, accepting his fate. "So then you're just going to make me touch the dirty bed instead? How thoughtful.." he said, sarcastically teasing the woman.

After there was a moment of silence shared between the two, Vivian's head curiously poked up and looked up to Jomei. Apparently there was something poking Vivian in the thigh, something she hoped wasn't Jomei. Despite it not being awhile since a girl had lain on him like this, he had enough control to keep that from happening unless it was welcome. Knowing that it definitely was him, he struggled to hold back a bit of laughter, as Vivian searched to find it was merely his bow. Letting the laughter die with a simple chuckle, he pushed the bow out of Vivian's way. He had to admit however, with a girl like Vivian laying on top of him, especially after taking notice of her breasts pouring on top of his chest, pressed into him, he would find it rather difficult to not let the blood flow to his nether regions.

Vivian seemed to fall asleep sooner than Jomei had expected, leaving him to smile down at the head of violet hair that rested on his chest. He could not deny that he was somewhat.. enjoying this small exchange between the two. Letting his own head fall back again, he stared at the light of the fire that danced on the moldy stone ceiling above him. As his eyelids began to fall, his hand slowly made it way to Vivian's upper back, trailing to the base of her neck. His bare fingers intertwined with the purple locks, while the tips of his fingers gently scratched at the skin hidden under the hair. As his hand slowly played with the violet hair, he drifted into slumber himself.

 

Her nails raked against the surface of his shirt, absent minded to the physical world around her while she slept, a long leg started to curve and bend over his. The full weight of the woman was steady upon his frame as their breathing seemed to sync up while they had napped. In her dream state, the woman's hand made course over the tunic the boy wore. Her lips had parted open, soft noises emitting from her mouth as she breathed openly. The small breathings turned into low moans as her body felt captured by the essence of the male.

Even has she not been aware of it, she could feel his hand on the back of her neck. The long tresses of purple hair tangled up in his fingers. She could feel the warmth of his finger tips on the nap of her neck where she snuggled her head briefly into his shoulder. It was an odd feeling to be sleeping in game, she had felt a buzzing in her head causing her eyes to slowly drift open.

Azure irises peaked through the blurriness of her sleep. She yawned quietly and found that her partner had too fallen into slumber. She smiled, feeling his hand still resting over her. The woman leaned gently and scooted up to his face. He slept peacefully while she stared into his closed eyes. She started to speak slowly, a chant as it were. Was she cursing him? Or maybe it was a hexx, or maybe they were just sweet words of nothing fluttering to his ear. She moved her face down, her lips pressed against his flesh. A simple kiss for not taking advantage of her while she slept. That was a thank you, others in this position would have perhaps done more than just make her comfortable. She got up, sliding her feet over the edge.

According to the in game clock, only thirty minutes had passed by. She would let him sleep a little longer as she stood up, placing his arm on his stomach. She had half the mind to undress herself and wake him up and tell him that he had done a good job. But she would not tease him so bad. Lifting off the cot, the woman shifted her hands and combed through the tangles of her hair. She went back to the flame and sat there patiently while he would wake. They would continue as soon as he got up.

 

Jomei merely wanted to rest his eyes and let Vivian get the most out of her sleep, keeping his senses alert in case they were met with any surprises meant to harm them. The man was not expecting the fall asleep himself, but the warmth that he felt from Vivian's body on top of his, and the gently paths she drew on his chest with her nails lulled him to sleep, along with the dim light cast within the room, and the peaceful sound of the fire crackling next to him. This would be a much more enjoyable experience, given they were in a more comfortable situation, and not this world's equivalent of a sewer.

As time passed, Jomei could feel Vivian's body move as she began to stir awake, though her movements did not initially take him out of his rested state. His body decided it needed a few more minutes before joining Vivian. A couple of seconds passed, and he felt the woman on his chest slowly move upwards, so her face floated closer to his. Though his eyes were closed, he could feel her presence, and the heat of her breath as she moved towards Jomei's ear. She whispered words to him, though even at this close proximity, he still could not hear what she said, it all being a murmur as he laid there sleeping. Once finished, he could feel the warm, soft kiss of Vivian's lips on the side of his jawline, before she retreated from the bed.

It was the unexpected kiss itself that truly brought Jomei out of his slumber as he slowly began to awaken. Hazel eyes fluttered open, before using his hands to prop himself up into a sitting position. His hand led to the back of his head, where he tried to spread out some of the hair that tangled atop the dirty mattress. Then, turning his chin to his shoulder, Jomei inhaled, getting the fresh scent of piss and dust that once lingered on the bed, but now covered the back of his shirt. "I can't wait to get out of here and take a shower." he said with a chuckle. "You look like you slept well" he said with a smile as he rose to his feet, stretching his back. Opening a balled fist, Jomei checked his energy meters yet again. His needs for both energy and sleep had gone down, meaning he should hopefully be able to get through the rest of the Old Pool without needing to rest yet again.

 

Moving On: The Wedding Ring
​

Vivian looked over her shoulder, a soft smile on her curved red lips as she found Jomei awake and standing. "It could have been better," she said flatly to his response. She would not let the thought of his crotch mess with her mind as they had more important matters to attend to. The woman stretched her limbs and waited for a brief moment for the Hunter to gather his things. She swept a through her hair once more and leaned on one side of her body, pushing the weight to one side and leaning as she sauntered off towards the next door.

"Alright. We should start looking for that wedding ring. Remember what the old lady said? It was stolen by another player, but we don't know how long ago that was. He could be miles away for all we know. But we are still here for some treasure and loot. We'll find what we can and get out."

The woman placed a hand on the door. The creaky sound of metal against the cold floor causing a screech to be drawn out. She grunted lightly from the sound hitting her ears. She shook her head, ahead of them was more darkness and yet the foul stench seemed to only come from within their previous room. The air and the scent that followed seemed somewhat more fresh in this location. Breathing in deeply, but blind as a bat, she took her first steps forward.

"We'll need to keep our eyes peeled. A wedding ring is gonna be hard as hell to find in all this darkness. Look for the glinting item, I suppose?" The malefimancer shrugged. If not the glinting item, then the glinting would be stalker if that rogue was still alive. The woman lifted her hand, her dark magic barely illuminating the area. It was for reasons like these when she wished she had some pyromancy magic. But it was what it was.

The dark magic bubbled around her hand as she sought out corners as they walked. Nothing showing up on the ground or around it, but strange marks were on the walls. She attempted to make it out by holding her illuminated hand to the surface.

"Looks like a warning from something. Doesn't look like it's fashioned out of blood through. More like it's carved into the walls. Well, if there is a warning then that means we are on the right track." The woman was not a clever girl, but she had some sense about her. She continued to walk quietly in the shadows, her hand upraised to make sure they could at least see a foot in front of the other.

 

Jomei turned back to the bed that they slept on, and looked at his bow, quiver, and gloves that the two ended up pushing into the corner of the bed next to the wall at some point during their nap. Taking the quiver first, he slipped the strap across his body, securing the container in place. His fingers then found their way into their place on his leather gloves, pulling them up his exposed forearm, just below his elbow. His bow, he would hold in his hand, not sure what this second door kept from them on the opposite side.

Before making her way over to the door, Vivian went over the plan one last time. Their original mission was to find the wedding ring, however it could have been long gone. Any treasure and loot they could find was fair game. Jomei was still not entirely sure if he agreed to just get the ring or any treasure for themselves, and forget about the woman who so kindly had given them a map.. But he was not going to argue it now. "Right." he said with a nod of his head, before stepping forward as Vivian pushed the door open.

The door opened with a loud creak, the bottom of the door scraping along the stone floor, the shrieking sound echoing all the way down the next hallway. Jomei winced at the noise, his long pointed ears twitching from the pain. Lovely, he thought to himself. The next hallway was much unlike the last, there did not seem to be any pools of fecal matter, and there was a freshness to the breeze that flowed past them. However, the room was pitch black, aside from the bit of light cast into the room from the fire behind them.

Their mission was to find any glistening object that could have been the ring, Jomei shook his head, "Like a needle in a haystack." Thinking it could prove handy in this darkness, Jomei rose his finger up to his temple yet again, activating his Investigation Mode. He hoped that it would not be hindered by the darkness of the room. Vivian, on the other hand, held a ball of dark magic in her hand, giving her a very small circle of illumination. They walked on opposite sides of the room, trying to make sure not to miss a single inch of the room in search of this ring. Vivian, however, found something else; deep etches on the wall that seemed to serve as a warning of something ahead. "Of course." Jomei said with a chuckle, taking his hand away and pulling an arrow from his quiver, nocking it against the string and readying it in case they were attacked.