Fantasy The Order: Gods Within Us

[TheLightBreeze]

"Kobolds are small little dragon lizards they stand on 2 legs and around the size of a small human child, Yes you are right they seem too easy cause they are they can't take a sword hit for nothing, But their real strength comes from their affinity for traps we must tread carefully into their territory" she said as she fought kobolds before and figured out that they are cowards leading you into their infamous rope traps, rock slide, or breaking bridge.

She fidget her fingers and looked around and stared at Desmond wings, Then looked at Sole and smiled widely "Nice to meet you Sole I look forward to working with you" she said with sincerity looking into her eyes. She went silent and bursted out "are we gonna use a flashlight or magic" she hated silence she had to break it somehow, Being bored with her surroundings she carefully extended her left wing and caressed it softly. Her wings said a lot they were in perfect placement they were clean and holy white they were perfect looking angel wings.

After some bit of feeling her wings she put her wing back and started to rummage through her backpack of supplies, it having extra daggers, poisions, potions, and paints in the color black white and grey.

 

[First Rose]

Sage Xerion

It seemed the young sniper was talking to her, she gave a small glance toward the window, her eyes completely masked by the dark tint of her helm as she rode beside the van. As the terrain altered, Sage too increased her speed, occasionally making a few jumps over rocks, and ducking underneath trees. It seemed the different landscape didn't at all hinder her skills on the bike. Her comms that started to turn to static for a moment as they got out of the city, but soon they became back online and her voice was heard.

"Indeed, too many bodies to worry about not hitting. But neither did I even decide to do this. Cogaihn? You know him? Large tough guy, not very funny but laughs every five minutes?" Cogaihn was one of the elder guild members, he'd been around just a bit longer than Sage has. Some say he's been around long enough to even meet the original vassals. Cogaihn is a friend to everyone and doesn't falter in knowing nearly everything, he somehow always knows how to make people laugh. In fact, it's said that he succeeded in making Sage crack a smile once, a real one, but Sage would never admit to such a thing. The 57-year-old man was as large as a bull and claimed to be stronger, as he was usually found lifting waits or going drinking. He was someone Sage greatly appreciated but almost hated at the same time, though no matter how hard she tried, she always found herself around the old man.

"He's been trying to persuade me to work party mission for the last three weeks, his last resort was just putting me on the request list, so.... here I am. I would have just erased my name, but the reward for this task was larger than I usually get for my solos, I couldn't just object." She reasoned.

 

[Kapowne]

“Don’t shoot the messenger guys, we all get the same info from the quest details. if there isn’t enough here, blame the order...” Desmond mostly shrugged at everyone’s response to the lack of info, he really didn’t have what it took to lead the party. But the questions just kept coming, and they were all looking to him to answer.


“I doubt flying will be an option. And traps and numbers will probably be our biggest threat. And I don’t know if there will be anything other than kobolds.” He said answering them one by one.


Luckily they were starting to get close, he could tell since the van was turning onto a dirt road, leading up the side of a mountain. “When we get there, the notes say the mine workers have obviously already abandoned the mine. We will need to check in with the guild security when we get there though. But then it’s all us.” Desmond said starting to feel cramped in the seat. At least in the back novian must have been able to maneuver her wings a bit, but the passenger seat really hindered his ability to get comfortable.

 

[Ace Cream]

Ursula

"Cogaihn? Yeah, I know him. I mean, who don't?" The loud human was one of the few that laugh the loudest whenever Ursula tried a her party tricks, and she appreciate that. Also he said to know the previous Ursula pretty well, but she never bother to ask about it further.

"I'm actually surprised that you haven't tried to gouge his eye out for registering your name." A light chuckles escaped her lips. "Not that you will be able to, it is said that Cogaihn's eyes are as hard as his muscle- Oh, look, we have arrived."

There's no parking lot, so Ursula parked the van right in front of a frail-looking wooden hut. As Desmond said, the place was abandoned. Mining equipment was scattered randomly on the ground and a half-buried shovel was the first thing that got stepped on by the elf when she tried to get off from the van.

"It seems to be abandoned in a hurry, eh. I'm going to locate the power source and turn it on."

 

[TheLightBreeze]

Noivan felt the van stopped and she swung the door open and got a space away from the van, And she stressed her legs and arms and her wings spread out wide seeing the full wing span which was about as long as the van. Her wings retracted and she fell a little bit forward catching herself and giggling "that was a nice ride".


She flapped her wings and took flight for a second scanning the area seeing if she could find another entrance, And then she landed after finding nothing and she stretched "I saw nothing so guess one way in one way out" she said tiredly looking at the party sizing all of them up and paying close attention to how they move.


She paid attention on how Ursula ran and how she acted and whispered under her breath "Steadfast", Her eyes stared at the party hoping to more understand how they fight, move, and react to situations.

 

[First Rose]

With the lack of information, Sage almost wanted to call the Order themselves and demand they get their crap in check. But she didn't have enough patience to chew them out today, this mission by itself would leave her annoyed out of her mind by evening.

The rogue was riding carelessly on the side of the cycle, both her legs hanging off the right side as they approached their destination. "Oh I planned to beat his ass before I left, but...apparently, he's out on a trip a few countries away. Coincidence he left right after I found out." Sage said in a vexed manner. She didn't even have her hands on the steer. It seemed to drive by itself, and not only that but as she hopped off when they met the clearing....The bike slowed to a stop and the kickstand quickly popped out before it fell over. There was no telling how much that bike could've cost, and perhaps how much it meant to her.

The rogue was silent as she walked in a short semi-circle around the mines, her helm blocking the staleness and suspicion of her expression. Her stride was powerful, yet calm and controlled, occasionally inclining her head to observe more. After a couple minutes, she pressed a small button on the side of her helmet and it started to shrink and change into something different, an earpiece. In case of emergencies, she stuck the earpiece in her pocket and swept the loose curls of hair to the side, freeing her sight.

Sage tilted her head toward the incoming wind, the blowing breeze neatly pressing on her face as she closed her eyes for a moment. Some people thought the wind had something to do with her vassal, but it was uncertain since she rarely used the power of the Gods. After a quick moment passed, something seemed to strike her, and with a small snap of her neck, back to the forest, she was moving her feet. Quickly to abide time, yet calm, so she wouldn't stir a panic. Sage disappeared inside the trees within seconds, becoming one with the shadows. It couldn't be directly stated what she was doing, but it apparently took priority. It wasn't until a few long moments, that she returned, yet it seemed nothing had changed. But if there was something threatening out there, she would have given word. Sage was only making sure they weren't being followed.

 

[Aravini]

Sole

Sole got out of the van once it had stopped. They reached what seemed to be the mines where the Kobolds were. Noivan explained them earlier as she likely saw Sole's lack of knowledge. She seemed like a nice person, although Cheese still doesn't seem to like her for an odd reason.

He looked around the place, it was abandoned with the only remnants of life was the leftover tools that couldn't be brought with the civilians. He checked his purse and found Cheese curled up in a ball and sleeping.

Must have gotten tired during the drive.

The mean one left in a hurry out of the sudden then quickly returned back just as fast.

"Where the hell did you go?" He asked her.

 

[TheLightBreeze]

Noivan pointed at the sky in response to sole's question giving him the creepy smile, Then turned her head scanned the area looking for something remotely hostile, Being cautious of kobolds knowing how clever they can be. She took in the scenery real Rocky and looked into the tunnel and jokingly yelled "Hello!" Into the tunnel which her echo came bouncing off the walls.

She shifted her stance and shot a ball of light into the tunnel and saw nothing special just dirt and braces,"So who goes first Not it!" She gleefully shouted to the team trying to lighten the mood. She thought to herself for a bit then yelled "Oh Wait!" Then a sad tone came over her voice "oh..wait" but she dashed to the van and rummaged around her bag.

From inside her bag she produced a oval shaped device that had a ivory outside with a complex design of the moon's crater and a blue slide switch on it. "Sad I can't use this on this mission" she said looking at it and laughed at herself for overlooking a small detail.

 

[First Rose]

Her head turned to Sole as she was making her way back to the rest of them, her cold crystal blue eyes seeming to stare deep into his soul. Sage rose a brow in near disgust, it was one thing to be in existence, it was another to demand something from her as if they already had some kind of solidified relationship. Did he think they were friends, she'd pass on that quickly. Or perhaps, he just didn't trust her, she could understand that, completely understand, but there was no way she was going to give him the benefit of having a right to demand an explanation.

Approaching him, she replied in a quite bitter manner, "Making sure no one was following behind us," she calmly reasoned. "You'd be surprised by how many people pick the plain worse times to plan an ambush." With that, it seemed that's all she had to say to the lad, but really, it was only so she could appear unhostile to the other party members. When she started to pass by him, she came in close, letting her shoulders almost rub against his own. Sage didn't even look his way as she whispered to him at a volume he could barely hear, but he could undeniably understand.

"Whenever something in your feeble little mind tells you that I owe you something. Even something as simple as a statement....." She looked at him then, her eyes like daggers. "Kill it." She spat the final words as if that's all they were. Sure this man had only asked a simple question, but there was no way she was going to let this newcomer come in and expect to get respect from her in such a way. Sage had no intention of being nice to him anymore, the next time she'd have to show him where they respectively stood, she'd do it physically, and her demeanor let him know of that promise. This was her first experience on a party mission, hard to believe she'd never done one in the solid few centuries she'd been apart of the Order. Though now, she started to believe she had been making the right choice.

After giving him a long callous stare, she flashed him a fake, but pleasant smirk then continued on her way. Her gaiter only goes up to the basis of her chin, seeming as it had a purpose to just cover up something. On the side of her cheekbone, the start of a tattoo went down her face, going down and finally ending on her hip. If it were to be looked at closer, the image of her necklace was visible in the tattoo, though who knew what it meant.

Sage strode across the unkempt terrain, occasionally stepping over a pickaxe, hammer, or flashlight. Actually...a flashlight would be helpful. Retracing her steps, she picked it up off the ground and continued toward the entrance of the cave. She pounded the device against her fist prior to attempting the switch, to her avail, its light shone brightly into the cave. Good, it still worked, but she didn't know how long. Though it's life would still save a bit of mana so no one else would have to use their magic to light the way. Even if she could already see perfectly in the dark.

Crossing an arm across her chest, she waited for the rest of them in silence.

 

[Ace Cream]

Ursula

From the shed in the corner of the clearing, two kind of rough sounds could be heard. The first one was Ursula's groaning furiously as she tried to switch on a particular machine and the the second sound was coming from the machine. Each time the elf trying to pull the switch it made a defeated sounds, like a coughing old man on his death bed.

"What kind of ancient company still use a diesel generator as their main power source?!!" Ursula mumbled to herself.

At long last, Ursula was able to switch the machine on. The coughing sound turned into a continous roars as the machine announces its awakening to the whole clearing. One by one, small lightbulbs shone dimly upon the stale coal mine.

Ursula came back to the group still in heavy breathing after her rigorous labour. Though her face shows satisfaction at the now lit mine. She picked up her briefcase from the van and hung it over her back by attaching a pair of shoulder straps on it, guess it now became some kind of backpack. A short bow was ready to be used on her hand.

"Looks nice, ready to be explored. Oh, also. Guess what? I found some dynamites. They must be using these to soften the bedrocks, but the next things that would be destroyed by these birthday candle of doom are some kobold nests." She waved around three red cylinders with fuses on it. "I will hold onto these but just tell me if you want to try one."

 

[TheLightBreeze]

The women looked at the device she was holding dropping her hand to her side seeing the two talking. She was examining the appearance of them from afar taking in every little detail their clothes, jewelry, how they hold themselves, how they react in attempt to understand them when they are at their most blind. She saw Sage retreat into the cave seeing the interaction has ended Noivan turned away promptly withdrawing from the scene.

The more she patrolled she started to reflect on herself would she really trust them. She pondered quietly asking herself this question her hands behind her back clutching the device but stopped this notion as it was the first time they worked together. She discarded all doubts she had in her mind letting herself first size them up to see if they are trustworthy, To her they seem like a funny bunch she was looking forward to seem them fight.

She saw Ursala come back after his little trip she giggled and looked at the tunnel and a eerie grin ran across her face. Noivan pocketed the item and sprinted to the cave where she saw Sage set off. Once she got into earshot range she slipped up behind Sage and tapped her shoulder "could you see me coming" she whispered into Sage's ear and backed off knowing rouge tendency to slash and hop back, In attempt to gain distance Noivan experienced this in her year of fighting with rouges She just hope Sage wasn't too self-centered, But from what she witness Sage certainly has a fire inside her.

 

[Aravini]

Sole

Sole poked an eyebrow when Noivan responded instead of the moody woman, although Sole couldn't really get mad at her. She just seemed too nice and sweet. At least nicer than moody girl.

She responded to his question then immediatly slammed her arm against his, whispering what seemed to be a threat. Once she walked up to the cave, Sole couldn't help but be baffled by her. All he did was ask her question.

She has some issues.

The elf came back carrying a briefcase after fixing the generator and putting on lights for the cave. She then held three dynamited and asked if anyone wanted one.

"Give me one of them." Sole said. "This will be fun."

 

[First Rose]

As the lights finally turned on, she clicked her tongue in satisfaction, proceeding to switch the light of flashlight off and keeping a hold upon it. She didn't know how far the lights went within the caves, it would be smart to just hold on to it. Crossing her arms then over her chest, the hooded female then turned to the elf as she made her approach. It must have taken a bit of work to get the lights on because she came back panting. Amused, Sage gave a small silent huff as she rose her hands.

"As long as they look good to use. Go right ahead, they seem to useful." Sage replied benevolently, as benevolently as she could anyway. Her coldly toned voice often was suspected with sarcasm, though as it seemed to be a natural thing for her, people usually left it at that. Dynamite, bombs, anything that went boom, wasn't her forte anyway. She'd leave it to the nerd, besides, in her hands, she'd probably throw it at anything that moved. Turning back to the cave entrance, she remained still, patient, but eager to get her hands dirty.

In the line of her peripheral senses, something seemed to be closing in on her, with direct haste, her hand instinctively and quickly moved to her dagger. However, as soon as she came within arm's length, a loosening of breath escaped Sage, and there was no surprise when Noivan's voice was heard in her ear. With a cocky expression, Sage gave a candid retort, "see you coming...? I can recognize your scent of pigeon a mile away." It wasn't directly meant to be mean, but her tendency to use metaphors and figuratives was pretty consistent. Pigeon's have wings, Noivan had wings, simple. Not to mention, Sage just solemnly, had no sensor.

"But when we go into this cave, do refrain from that if you will." A request, or was it a warning? Either way, it would be smart to abide by her word.

Sage then craned her neck to see Sole reaching for one of the sticks of dynamite. She barely knew him, and honestly, didn't at all trust him. But, really, anyone but her would be licensed to hold dynamite.

 

[TheLightBreeze]

Noivan smiled sweetly but eerily at Sage "aww I don't smell like a pigeon but I will refrain from sneaking up on you" She stated, Then started to slowly approach her and put a hand on her shoulder. She muttered "Useless you find yourself in trouble" she channeled a bit of mana to pull of a little trick and made Sage see-through something to add to a rouges stealth factor. The angel quickly backed up if Sage were to be displeased with the result.

Noivan has unsettling happy but also a bit of darkness hid beneath her flesh but she seemed perfectly fine and willing to help even at dagger point. She spoke with such a sweet tone like candy but something was off about this candy like it didn't taste right, Her smile was cute and honest but the corners of her mouth curl straight into grin, she was sweet and bitter but her intentions were pure as white.

Noivan looked at the man giving out dynamite and had a small grin knowing the damage she could cause with one but didn't take one, She didn't trust herself enough to deal with dynamite. Her head shifted to the now almost invisible Sage "If they start chucking dynamite do you want a bubble shield?" she asked giggling a bit but was serious in her words.

 

[First Rose]

An expression of contempt slowly washed over her face as the uncanny smile of Noivan was followed by the stretch of her hand. Sage had met many strange people in her life, some were evil, some were just weird, and some just had an ominous demeanor on the outside, with the inside as bright as the sun. She wasn't one to judge, not to mention, she didn't exactly care. As long as one didn't get in her way or seem like a threat, they were all good in her book.

But, this one....

Fast as an Asp, as soon as she felt the slightest bit of magic come in contact with her shoulder, Sage's hand shot up and grabbed Noivan by her wrist, holding it there with a grasp as hard as steel, yet controlled. Sage didn't like magic, not even her own, and the last she going to do was let anyone else use it on her without her consent.

"What are you doing?" Her voice sharp and sore, but soft and crisp. She didn't show much hostility, but one could tell that she wouldn't hesitate to become aggresively. Sage knew she was in no real danger, however, she wasn't one to just trust anyone who gives a lovely smile. That was just plain foolish.

But as her hand slowly recoiled from Noivan's hand, she soon found herself partly transparent. She took a step backwards, assessing herself, thinking, surveying. She didn't look angry or scared, that only being because she hid her panic incredibly well. Looking over hands, she gave a displeased glare toward Noivan as she asked if Dave wanted....a bubble? That sounded like a horrible idea.

"No...I'll be alright..." Sage looked to her hands oncemore before replying. "This is enough." Sage obviously didn't have an affinity for magic, and with someone she barely knew just putting some kind of spell on her, it didn't make Noivan look any more appealing.

 

[TheLightBreeze]

Noivan started laughing and had a joyous smile and bursted out "So that's what makes you tick", She stopped her laughter and looked at her with a straight look "no more jokes I promise" she breifly stated she examine the structure, "How do you suppose we plan our attack, From what I saw it's one way in one way out definitely putting kobolds at a definite disadvantage here". She ran her hand along the wall "Tricky how kobolds work they aren't tough but they love traps, Do you think they already trapped the place" the women planned this out obviously having bad encounters with these guys.

She looked at the structure of the cave "we could always lure them out but that wouldn't work" she said mumbling to herself "Sage!" She exclaimed "what do you suggest we do" she bowed and said "I am deeply sorry for joking too harshly with you will you please accept my apologies till I can pay you back" she claimed and looked at her, Her ocean blue eyes still giving off a caring feeling like always.

 

[Ace Cream]

Ursula

"Here's one, punchy boy." Ursula handed Sole one of the dynamite. "Quick tutorial: first, make sure all allies have something between them and the explosion, and second, keep calm when using it. Now you're good to go!"

Patting the man on the shoulder, the elf shifted her focus back to the mission and walked pass the bickering Noivan and invisible Sage, "I suggest we look for their nest, as stealthy as possible. Smoke them out with the dynamites and start killing them as they flee in panic.", She suggested.

Walking cautiously along the edge of the tunnel. She pressed a small button on her briefcase and it dispensed a small arrow from a well-disguised hole. She found the beginning of a two way railtracks several meter ahead, one of them had a wooden cart on it. Ursula checked the content of the cart and found it was half-filled with coal.

 

[Aravini]

Sole

Sole took the dynamite from the elf then she gave him a small explanation of how to use. Sole didn't really need an explanation as it was pretty obvious how to use them but Sole appreciated it nonetheless.

"Thanks, elf girl." Sole said to her before she walked to the tunnel where the other girls were at. She explained her plan about smoking the monsters out then slaughtering them as they flee. The plan felt cheap and disrespectful. No proper fight, no honour, just the slaughter of the unprepared and weak. However, Sole wasn't here to find a good fight, he was here to get paid.

"Sounds like a good plan as any," Sole said. He turned to Desmond, seemingly the leader of the group. "What do you think boss? Sounds good?"

 

[Kapowne]

Desmond exited the van and surveyed the surroundings, much like everyone else. Though, he quickly noticed that something wasn’t quite right. While everyone went about their survey, and bickering, Desmond searched for something else, or rather someone else.


Where were the guild security that was supposed to meet them here....



It wasn’t uncommon for guild security to leave or take breaks while at the scene of a quest, but their notes specifically said they would be here... so where were they? Desmond flew upward into the sky, and surveyed. Novian had just come down from doing the same, and he assumed she would have said if she saw someone, but he preferred to see for himself. Of course he didn’t see anyone. So he decided to search for tracks, something he wasn’t overalls skilled at. It didn’t help that tracks were everywhere. Tools lay strewn about, and small bits of blood littered the dirt.



Hmmmmm... Desmond bummed as he thought to himself, it could be nothing, but something told him it didn’t mean nothing. Guild security were often comprised of at least rank C members or higher, Usually retired members who didn’t want the danger of actual quests but still manage to be useful.


As the group headed towards the entrance to the mine, Desmond was still searching for tracks, but sole finally brought his attentions back to the group. Which he supposed he should be thankful for, being a party leader was something quite new to him


Approaching the group he spoke seriously.


“I think we need to be more cautious. First off, has anyone noticed the guild security that was supposed to meet us here is no where to be found? If they left, we would have gotten an update from the order.... I have a bad feeling, i doubt kobolds could do anything against guild security, yet they still aren’t here.... also, stealth is probably out of the bag. Ursula turned on the lights. They know we are here now. So we might as well go in fast and hard, but cautious. Or we call the order. Up to you guys.” Desmond said, investigating the entrance to the mine, still looking for any sign of the absent security officers.

 

[TheLightBreeze]

She turned to Desmond and then to everyone then stated "Whatever you pick I will back you up it's my job after all". Noivan didn't care what was gonna happen but the thought of killing kobolds flooded her mind . She grinned menacingly and chuckled at herself softly. Her mind went to a horrid place imgining of all the ways to kill those kobolds.



Then she came back to realization "C rank you say? How would C rank get overwhelmed when the challenging part of kobolds is following them, But you won't do if your just checking for non-guild personal." She lost herself in thought and thinking of every way guild security wouldn't be at the entrance.



The more she muttered the more probable it seem something greater was leading the kobolds but she didn't know what exactly.

 

[First Rose]

Rubbing her eyes once more as she followed behind the rest of her party, it seemed Desmond had a point. The Guild Security was usually there to make sure the mission was to happen smoothly, bystander safety, all that. It was a bit, concerning that they were no where to be found.

If something actually took out the security, then there was no telling what laid waiting for them within. On the plus side, that made it all the more fun. But she wasn’t one to just go in guns blazing...most of the time.

“Why don’t we do both? Go in and take care of it, but call the Order prior to. That way, in the slim chance we bite off more than we can chew, we have aid on the way.” She made a small scan of the mines, taking a look at how much of a rush it had been to drop everything and get the hell out. Sage looked back to the party in disbelief.

"Not to mention the fact that about 5-4 C-ranks were supposed to be keeping guard." Her head went from side to side, "either they're fired for taking this long of a break...or their dead...." Obviously having no faith in their survival. Now that she thought about it, perhaps their bodies were still inside if that's where they were. She partially hoped so. "but uh..." Sage looked to Desmond with a challenging glare.

"Your call.....leader...." Her words laced with obvious sarcasm, because really, she was most likely going to call for back-up anyway. There was no way she was going back to hell with a conscience of knowing she died in a mine.

 

[TheLightBreeze]

Noivan imagined every possible path that led to this out come to them unsurfacing something to maybe a invasion. She started to think more and more holding a finger under and over her bottom lip thinking, Hoping to see a pattern something was too fishy about this she didn't like it one bit. It left a bad taste in her mouth she felt as this wasn't a mission but a lure a bait for random adventures. She landed on the floor thinking about how her allies have moved so far they were walking into a trap she needed to make sure they came back.

Her motions slowed as she hung her head unable to see her face like she was a puppet with no strings, But she gave off a cold feeling as she caculated and felt herself writing in the cave but nothing stuck. Then her head shot up looking at Sage's necklace then looking at her eyes, But it was so fast only Sage saw her eyes shift to everyone she looked at sage and looked back down with a cold look. Then she got up and smiled her same smile and murmured "Whatever is nessacery I will follow you leader".

 

[Aravini]

Sole

Sole looked at Desmond and he talked about the missing guild security.

Guild Security? Why would we need guild security? They'll just get in the way.

They started bringing up plans, Desmond saying sneaking in and drawing them out was out of the question. Sole was oddly glad about, this means they were giving the Kobolds a somewhat fair fight instead of just preparing them for slaughter.

Sage spoke up about her own plan, suggesting to call in for backup from the Order than go in. That way if they get into trouble, they'll have help coming.

"Sage is right," Sole said. "Going in after calling for back up might be the best safest plant here. Although, It's still your call boss."

 

[Ace Cream]

Ursula

"Guild security? Hm, subjugation quest get it easy, eh. Mobile quest like escort or hunt doesn't have one. But.. while we should keep up our guard let's not panic over this, allright? Allright? The security might just go to a toilet or play video game somewhere else, but sure go call backup if you want to." Ursula seemed unfazed by the news but she slows down her pace to stare at the bottom of other's legs, then she approached Desmond.

"Yo, Desmond. Your bottom part is larger than anyone else here. Let me borrow it, you shadow I mean. Hoppity hoppity, your shadow is now my property." Flashing a mischievous smile, the elf suddenly melted down into Desmond's shadow. At first glance there didn't seems to be any difference, but a closer inspection would reveal that Desmond's shadow was now moving with a slightly different tempo than the man himself, like a different person trying to imitate Desmond's movement rather than a real shadow.

"Don't worry about me. I can't physically interact while in this state but now that I'm literally crawling on the ground I can detect traps on the floor easier. Definitely not because I want to protect my own skin in case we get ambushed. Ahahaha." Desmond's shadow with Ursula's voice laughed at its own joke.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Desmond thought about the various suggestions the group had given. They all put a lot of trust into him, which he really didn’t understand. He hadn’t even been in the order a year yet, sure he had done a lot of quests for someone with his amount of time in the guild... but still....


As Ursula melted into his shadow, Desmond could help but feel a cold shiver down his spine. “Okay~, that feels weird.... alright. We go with sages idea. I’ll call the order and have them send some more security while we go in.” Desmond said as he walked back out of the entrance.


A few minutes later and he was walking back into the mine, “Alright, they said they will send a party of three B ranks just to be sure. It’s be a couple hours before they get here though. So let’s get this done, just in case it turned out to be nothing.”


Desmond took the lead, since Ursula was in his shadow, it made the most sense that he lead so she could get the earliest detection of any traps.


The mine itself was looking pretty ragged. Wooden beams that held the ceiling up appeared aged and worn. The lights were flickering as if they couldn’t wait to just go out. Desmond wasn’t entirely surprised that Ursula hadn’t found any traps right away, he figured the kobolds would put the traps further in, where we would more likely let our guard down our if either arrogance, or boredom.


However, Desmond was beyond shocked when he found a large pool of blood in the middle of the shaft. The overhead lights lightly reflecting in the wet surface. “This is fresh blood....” Desmond whispered as he unsheathed one of his short swords, and unfurled his tough iron-like wings into a defensive formation. “Ursula, can you tell if there is a body nearby?” He asked as he dipped a finger in the blood. It still had a bit of warmth to it. It must have been somewhat recent....