If I Had a Heart

Ainsley trailed behind Aumrauth. He considered turning back and finding the exit with the other group, but curiosity, as well as that odd longing feeling, got the better of him. Just in case, though, he armed himself. Who knew what could be lurking in the darkness ahead?

Aumrauth didn't really wait for the others to confirm whether they were staying or going before he snuck ahead. He slowed his pace and held his breath for a moment as he saw a single torch mounted on the cave wall, illuminating the space just enough to see a single chest.

Another chest! Of course. Of course, there were more chests.

He stepped into the light and looked up just in time to see a swarm of bats flutter their dozens of black little wings and come diving towards him. His eyes widened and he ducked into the light. And with the light came a brief idea - it would either be brilliant or the complete opposite. They would find out in less than a second.

His robes were loose, and there was a lot of draping fabric, so he untied the outer layer and lifted the blanket-like mass of material like a cape as the bats dove towards him. Then, as their skittering little claws and teeth and flapping little wings scratched up against him he closed his arms and the blanket, trying to use it like a net.

Suddenly, he was regretting this plan.

First, he didn't get all of the bats.

Second, they did get caught in all of the fabric, but there were caught between his clothes and his bare chest and arms.

Tiny, tiny little claws and everything was flapping and scratching under the blanket, but he tried to bunch up the fabric like a bundle, hoping they wouldn't burst through it.

And of course, all of this was on display for the others to see.

Fantastic.

Mel was more than happy to let Aumrauth go on ahead; this guy touted to be an immortal and clearly was highly skilled in fighting, so if anything were to go wrong, it would be a pretty low risk for him.

At least, that was Mel thought before she saw him getting swarmed by bats. This man took off his blanket-robe and used it to try to trap the bats... maybe. She actually had no idea what his plan was or what made him think this was a great idea, especially since he left his skin exposed and the bats were picking at him like a piece of fruit.

She found herself gawking at first by how ridiculous this looked while her image of Aumrauth slowly eroded away, but then she shook the thoughts away realizing that he needed help. Quick with her feet, she ran forward towards the light and pushed her arms forward, concentrating on the light around their wristbands and the light from the torch on the wall.

The light seemed to waft around them until it was concentrated in one spot, and at first it was a strange combination of the colors from the light sources which also happened to be the colors of the fire plus a mixture of green and black from Dr. Archer and Aumrauth's bands, but with a flick of her wrist, the ball of color mixed and turned into a vivid white.

Mel then flung the ball of light towards the bats that Aumrauth didn't manage to capture, sending them to flee down the tunnel. It was rather dark where the light wasn't around, so before it left her sight, she brought the light back and faced Aumrauth.

"Let go of the bats," she said to him, keeping the orb near him. A drop of sweat rolled off her face as she continued to concentrate on the orb, keeping her focus steady.

Aumrauth was about to release the bats, but in that moment, they released themselves.

The bats burst through the fabric like a bullet ripping through it.

The bats were released (or rather... escaped) from the robe and Mel immediately went to work, sending the orb and the bats down the tunnel. Darkness fell around them when she could no longer hear the bats flapping away, and then she sighed and closed her eyes, losing her concentration. The light seemed to return back to the torch and wristbands.

She took a few moments to take deep breaths, but then she reached in her bag and took out a purple robe that she had crumpled into her bag from the chest. "Here," she said, offering it to Aumrauth. "Another robe, if you want it."

It was probably best to not laugh at what happened to him...

Elias had watched all this from the outside of the little cavern, and he stifled a smile when Aumrauth got the bats caught in his cloak. The elf talked big, but in the end he was just as much of a fool as the rest of the world. The light, however, threw him for a curve.
How had Mel done that? Did she have some sort of torch on her? He hadn't seen any such thing in her hands.
Elias took a step forward, tilting his head to the side. "Begging your pardon, madam....where did that light cone from?'

Raptor raised an armored finger and pointed at the tunnel that Eira was already starting to head down.

"We'll start with this tunnel," he said - though he wasn't sure if there had been any thought process behind the choice. It looked like it was the closest one to them at the time of their decision; that was probably the only thing that factored into Eira's choice.

Struck by a good idea, he reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of chalk. He wasn't sure how well the chalk would stay on the cave walls, but he left a large "1" on the wall so they could keep track.

Then the chalk was slipped back into his bag.

He caught back up to Eira.

Aumrauth stood frozen for a moment, looking at the torn top half of his robe in a moment of grief. This one was his favorite. He practically lived in it.

And now he was in more pain, which was great. But good for him, the wine was really starting to kick in now.

He snatched the robe from Mel's hands and immediately started slipping it on, over his head. Nevermind if the ritual robes were cursed, it was better than having his dozens of shallow scratch wounds just catching air.

"Ah, yes, brilliant display of light magic," he said, as he popped his head through the head-hole and slid his arms into their respective holes. "You seem a tad more secure in your abilities than Eira. Fortuantely for us, you're with our group." He reached out and slapped Mel on the shoulder.

"Keep up the good work, mortal child."

He then proceeded to walk up to the chest and knelt down to inspect it. It didn't look like it could be much different than the others. He pulled out his dagger again.

He hated this. Not being able to use his magic. It made him look useless.

He looked back at the others and patted the top of the chest.

"This looks like it could hold a heart. Or a carcass with a heart. Opinions. Give them to me."

"Uhhh," Mel said to Aumrauth, frankly at a loss of words. "You're... welcome?" She had no idea if that was his way of saying thank you.

Also, Eira could also control lights? How did she miss this? She never met anyone else with her power and she had no many questions...

Mel turned to Dr. Archer. "I just..." she paused, not sure how to describe it. "It's just light. There's not a lot of it right now, but I can control it. It's not real, though."

She looked over at the lit torch on the wall, and suddenly the flame appeared to float down in front of her. "See?" she said, proceeding to put her hand in the floating flame. Her hand went through it like it was regular old air, and she didn't recoil like one would if they were actually getting burned. "Not real. You can't see it, but the fire is still on the torch."

Then the fire changed to a vibrant blue, and Mel played with different colors and patterns before dropping her concentration and having the illusion disappear and the torch returning to normal. "I usually do fun stuff like that instead. I've never had to scare bats or defend myself with my powers before."

She offered a smile, scratching the back of her neck. "Glad to help, though. Anyways..." She turned her attention back to Aumrauth who was already eyeing the chest. "If you want to open it and defeat another scorpion, that's fine with me," she said, stifling a laugh because that encounter seemed to be pure luck more than anything. But then she realized that Aumrauth would probably not realize that was sarcasm and actually impulsively open it, so she quickly added, "But we should check for traps or at least get ready for another monster to pop out."

"Extraordinary," Elias murmured, still gazing at Mel. "Truly extraordinary." He wondered what he could possibly do with a power like that; it would make his current line of work quite a bit easier.
But he wasn't working right now; he was trying to solve this intriguing puzzle.
The elven oaf was talking about opening another chest--unwise under the circumstances, but he kept quiet this time, choosing instead to inspect the bulky iron door at one end of the room. A rather large keyhole was set in the center, surrounded by ornate and macabre engravings of the same beast whose statue dominated the area cavern they had just left. It was depicted slaying all manner of beast and man, and tiny hooded figures groveled at its feet in most of the images.

Another chest. Just what they needed. "I don't know, guys. The last time we opened a chest things didn't exactly work in our favor." Ainsley thought of his near-death experience. He hoped he could avoid another one, at least for now.

Aumrauth hummed, and his attention drifted to the door the doctor was looking at.

Behind the door could be a few things: the monster depicted on the doors, some other monster, anything dangerous, a trap, or the exit. Only one of those things was non-violent in nature.

But sometimes - sometimes - monstrous creatures who were worshipped were actually sentient and could be reasoned with. Or spoken with, at least.

But good god, another lock.

He shambled over to the door with his dagger out and rested his head against the door.

"Okay, so no chests. Fine. Thought maybe we'd get lucky with more wine," he muttered, mostly to himself.

He just wanted answers. Maybe one of the controls for his anti-mage jewelry was in the chests, and they just had to open it. Then all the pain could be over, hm? Or maybe it was behind the door.

He started picking at the lock.

Eira looked back and forth between the two tunnels. A door, and a path that curved out of sight. If they were to place the exit, it wouldn't be right next to the ritual room, behind an iron door or not.

They headed down the other tunnel, hoping the others would follow.

Mel desperately wanted to know what was inside the chest, but she also didn't want anyone to get hurt, so it was understandable that Ainsley and the doctor were apprehensive about the idea. Too bad Aumrauth wasn't this all-powerful being she thought he was.

Although... he did say he was immortal...

Mel walked over to the door, giving it a quick glance as an "inspection" because she was really mostly eyeing Aumrauth. "So you're immortal, right?" she said. "Does that mean you live forever, or you can't die, or...?"

Aumrauth hummed.

He was having no luck with the lock, but he continued to fiddle it, pretending to be productive. No one wanted to open anything. They would never find the heart at this rate.

"Well -- I can die," he said, pretending to be very focused on not-succeeding at picking the lock. "I just won't stay dead. I'll just keep coming back. Might take a minute, but--"

He huffed, and pulled away from the lock, lifting up his arms and letting them slap down against his sides.

"I regenerate. So I heal a lot faster than normal."