Moss men, Upset artifacts, Tiny dragons, Oh my!

[LostSoul]

Godfrey was currently making brunch, having missed second breakfast (second most important meal of the day). He was roasting a duck he had caught today, and he was terrified. He spared nervous glances about, his face dead set in a serious task. He had read reports recently of a dragon, A DRAGON!? Flying about the place, a giant specimen big enough to eat ten people at once. He had only ran into one dragon thus far, but that was enough thank you, he had no intention of being trapped as some treasure.

He gasped as he almost burnt his well seasoned duck! He quickly pulled it off the flame, scowling that this was putting him in such a wreck, the poor village was offering all of its gold, he refused of course, he couldn't leave them starving...he said he would do it for free, poor people didn't have any money and they were so skinny. It was only right, not every time a hero is payed, sometimes, ya just have to man up and deal with out it.

He smiled, he was looking forward to seeing their smiles and to feel their peace, only then would he feel better about himself. He nodded getting into his lunch as he looked about. From what he gathered, this was some sort of magical forest, much like the one back at home, plenty of myths and legends about this place according to the locals. What led him here originally was that he heard there was old relics of the fae about in some ruins scattered about the forest. The problem is, according to the stories, there was always some sort of guard or something in the wood.

Who much that was legend and how much was reality he was unsure. He did come prepared best he could. He brought arrows with iron heads, had his shield reinforced to withstand at least one flame blast (Though he as pretty sure it would fall apart anyway if he was fighting a dragon...with out the flame blast, much less with). He even had his sword repaired and sharpened to a fine point. He wasn't sure if he could kill the beast...but he had to try for the village, no one else was sent here, so he had to at least try. He finished his meal of duck as he stamped out his fire, got his sack and shield on his shoulder and started to march.


His chain jingled as he went through the forest, he wish he had less noisy wear, but its all he could afford right now, he wasn't planning to hunt a dragon, he was planning for ruin exploring...he would have to invest in some solid hunter garb when he got the cash. He went through the forest with some ease. He spent his fair share in forests. He smiled at memories of his child hood, keeping an even pace and his eyes too the sky or about the shadows of the forest, it was dark here, but he would eventually spot something...he was simply worried that this 'enchanted forest' had more to meet the eye.

After some walking he crouched to a knee, spotting a crumbling tower in the distance, seemed to be in a valley a little ways from here...maybe the dragon was there? Maybe? He shrugged, worth a look, if it was, he best prepare to run and hide. He was about to pull his chain off and stopped...probably not fire...right? Forest would burn...maybe that was the enchantment! He got stuck in pondering thought before sighing and got moving, he was stalling, he really, really didn't want to deal with another dragon. His hands tightened angrily before puffing up his chest and started to walk up to the ruins from the distance. It was time to be a man and hero! Enough sulking! ONWARD! TO ADVENTURE!



This particular part of the forest was semi-dark, like a twilight, the trees were a light chocolate color, the leaves a beautiful gold color of fall, and thick enough to blot out most of the sun besides a few rays. Their roots dances about the place, the tree's thicker then three men, obviously ancient and very tall in height. Eyes in the darkness watched, sometimes one could swear that some leaves moved, all for it to be the wind. The wind howled as it passed through the narrow gaps. The only other source of light was lighting bugs, giving it a quite grove like magic too the place. The problem was no birds...in fact, there was barely a  sound in this part of the woods. Enough to put someone on edge with this eerie silence. On the bright side, there was the occasional frog croak or song.

[Bunbun]

As it turned out, the reports of a "giant dragon" being spotted flying around the area had been ever-so-slightly exaggerated. What was reportedly a massive beast was in actuality a much smaller creature flying closer to the ground, creating the illusion of greater size. Of course, the villagers reporting the presence of such a beast could hardly be blamed too much for their mistake- it wasn't as if they had gotten to see the dragon up close, after all, and it wasn't as if dragons were particularly well-known for being small. Combined with the already existing rumours of some other terrible beast prowling around the area, it was little wonder that one might get the two confused.

The dragon in question, however, remained blissfully unaware and and unconcerned with the newfound worries of the village she'd recently passed over. It wasn't as though she was purposely avoiding coming into contact with them- quite the opposite, in fact. The general acceptance of magical creatures within Serendipity meant that it was typically safe enough for her to walk among and interact with the locals, even if she earned herself quite a few strange looks while doing so. There was something about talking to people who were as curious about her as she was about them that she really appreciated. On most occasions, she'd be happy to drop by and explore the village.

Today, though, she had something else in mind. Instead of stopping at the village, she flew a bit further to reach the forest resting just beyond the reaches of civilization. She'd heard quite a few rumours about the place, and she was always willing to spend some time poking around if it meant she might learn something new. Unusual creatures, magical artifacts, ancient ruins? All of the above? She was absolutely ready to take on any of that, especially if it meant potentially being the first to discover something.

That being said, the long flight she had taken to arrive at the forest had taken quite a bit out of her, and it wasn't long after she landed when she started looking around for somewhere to take a quick rest. She wandered about the dimly lit forest for a few minutes before eventually settling under one of the rare beams of light, curling up in a manner not unlike a cat and promptly falling asleep.

---

Some time passed before the faint jingling of metal chain somewhere nearby woke Axia from her sleep. Feeling slightly annoyed at the disturbance but well-rested enough to continue exploring, the dragon let out a yawn (which could probably be mistaken for a growl in her current form) and set off in the direction of the metallic noises, eager to discover their origin. She didn't take any particular care to move quietly, figuring that her draconic form was probably tough enough to handle any creature that might otherwise pose a threat to her.

[LostSoul]

And so he kept walking, stopping to check out a tree, it always fascinated him how each wood was different within this land...did these woods also have their own gods? Or did Yalthnea rule all the woods? What a strange predicament that each section of villages had their own gods which were different then his, and the villages around. If so, does that mean that each section actually belongs to a different god? Like their domain? What a stran-

His head whipped around as he heard a growl, hand going to his bow and knocking an arrow, not today wild boar...not. Today. He squinted his eyes, it was dark down here. He stayed stock still, watching, then he saw it, something big, much taller then him...walking on four legs. It didn't look like a bear...it was like a liz-

ITS THE DRAGON! Why was it so tin-ITS THE SEA DRAGON! SHE'S COMING BACK FOR HIM! He panicked at that point and ran  in the opposite direction as fast as he could, his chain jingling ever louder. Sweat running down his face from pure fear of EVER having to go through a dragons nest and attempt escape by accidently reading books that no child should see. His face was pale, eyes wild as he kept running.


This was all a trap, the dragon was in fact gigantic, but shrunk its-self to explore its domain, IT WAS ALL A RUSE! He tripped over a root, he went into a roll, coming up roughly too his feet as he stumbled away. He was beginning to cry from the terror of having to face that sea dragon again. NEVER again, how did she even find him?! HOW! He stayed away from the shore, he even sought some sort of dragon protection!

Half of him told him he should charge the dragon, the other half said keep running. He chose ran, there was no way he was charging a dragon that could breath and kill him in an instant, He looked behind him, it was out of sight, then looked forward to run into a tree, creating a loud bang as he fell back, dazed, almost unconscious as he lay there, trying to recover. Totally ignorant that his running probably made him even more open to being spotted...and heard easily in his chain, not even counting the tree he just hit.

He put a hand to his head, still seeing stars, as he tried to turn over, which he did, with a groan. Hopefully he out ran the dragon at this point...right?

[Bunbun]

It didn't take long for Axia to arrive near the stranger's location, and her eyes lit up a bit with a mixture of excitement and curiosity as he came into view and she was able to get a brief look at him and his equipment. Weapons, armour, shield... probably an adventurer, right? She always enjoyed meeting a fellow adventurer- it was rare to meet one that wasn't interesting in some way or another. Her curiosity piqued, she set off to greet the human...

...Except she didn't get the chance, because he instantly bolted away as fast as his legs could carry him. Sigh. Why did it happen like this so often? Was it really so much to ask to be able to greet someone in her natural form without them immediately freaking out? It wasn't that she disliked using her human form, but it would certainly be nice if people didn't mistake her for some kind of merciless killing machine for just being, well, herself.

Oh well, she thought to herself, and she headed off in the direction that the adventurer had run off towards. It wasn't particularly difficult to follow the path he had taken- he wasn't exactly careful not to leave any tracks as he ran, and the constant stream of noises that accompanied him didn't help him either. Navigating through the forest was no issue for a dragon of Axia's size, and it wasn't long before she caught up with him.

She spotted the man lying on the ground and briefly considered approaching him, but stopped herself short momentarily as she reconsidered her strategy. It probably wasn't a good idea to go up to him when he was clearly terrified of her, right? Well, in this form, at least. But perhaps if she looked a little less threatening to him...

Coming to a decision, Axia stopped in her tracks for a moment and began to focus intensely on, well, something. The scales covering her body took on a brilliant shine as a rainbow of colours swirled and danced across them, culminating in a final dazzling flash of light that washed over the entirety of the immediate area. It took a moment for the light to die down afterwards, and by the time they did, Axia was standing over the man in her humanoid form. She stared down at him, her eyes gleaming with interest as she looked over him.

"Woah. Hey, you alright? You look like you hit your head pretty bad."

[LostSoul]

Godfrey was still blinking stars before he saw the dragon loom over him, it was over, the sea dragon found him, he could already feel the fresh water drops and the drowning to come...except it didn't.

As he reached for his sword, more willing to die then ever go through that again, his vision began to clear and...what? A different dragon? He blinked, laying there, now more confused then terrified. He stared for a moment, it did speak right? Yeah, yeah it spoke. He tilted his head in the ground before speaking.

"Uh, y-yeah...mistook ya for another dragon, have not had very good experiences mind ya." he says  wincing as he sat up, hand to his head, turning more towards her, oh god, his head as pounding, this is why one needed to invest in helps, tree's, dangerous things they were.

He blinked as he got a better look at her...yep, not the dragon he thought, and how did he know it was a dragon, cause there was no way, NO WAY, that anyone else was out here, he had seen one dragon turn into a humanoid form, why couldn't this one, anyhow, best to be polite, and more clear, with his speech then last time.

"And aye, aye I did, Godfrey, nice to meet ya." he said with a lop sided grin as he staggered too his feet, he was at least safe for now...and where those wings? Whatever, didn't matter...and she was thin-NOPE don't comment, never, ever again.

He did a once over before looking around hand still on head before offering his other to shake.

"Err, I hope I didn't wake ya or something, and I mean with all due respect miss dwa-DRAgon, excuse me, bit me tongue ya see, that ya be scaring a near by group of people, and uhhhhhhhhh." he just kept saying uh, how was he supposed to tell her that he had been sent to deal with the issue? How could he, think Godfrey, think.

The uhhh kept coming out of his mouth before the words finally clicked, like the gears finally getting unstuck

"Uhhh I've been sent to discuss it, and mayhaps convince ya to introduce yar self as too not scare them, or nay fly so close? People do be terrified of large flying dw-dragons, which ya are, very large." he said nodding, bam, diplomacy, much better then last time.

Unknowing, he seemed very nervous, cautious, and not out right scared, but obviously, he wasn't quite trusting, much like someone having a bad experience with something and was now trying a different approach. At least he didn't seem AS nervous and scared of her, and was even smiling...despite his hesitancy. It was other was calm for now, even the slight whistling of wind that added a cool breeze.

[Bunbun]

Axia seemed pleased enough to take Godfrey's hand when he offered it, grasping it using both of her hands and giving it an enthusiastic shake.

"Good to meet you too- as for me, you can call me Axia. And as far as the village is concerned, I'd be happy to speak with them personally, but I gotta ask..."

Her expression shifted suddenly from curious and excitable to deadly serious as she continued.

"...Why would the village send a fully-armed adventurer if all they're interested in is talking to me? Surely they could have tried to send a message or something beforehand. Don't you think a dragon might get a little jumpy when some guy with a sword shows up looking for her unannounced?"

She'd never been the best judge of character, but it was probably for the best for her to at least check for some of the most obvious signs that he might be planning on betraying her. Tightening her grip on the man's hand, she pulled him a bit closer as she observed his nervous stance, her eyes scanning his body for any subtle movements. A few tense moments passed with Axia remaining completely silent before finally letting him go, apparently satisfied with her findings.

Typical. Another wannabe hero getting himself in way over his head. She'd come across quite a few of his kind before, and they were far from the worst she'd had to fend off before. Not much reason for her to be afraid of him, she supposed, although she couldn't fault him much for being a dreamer- she had quite a few of optimistic hopes herself.

In what must have seemed like no time at all, Axia's temporary serious demeanour was replaced by one that was much more laid-back in nature. She shrunk back a bit, taking her gaze off him for the first time and beginning to rub the sleep out of her eyes now that she finally found it safe to do so.

"Mmm. Well. In any case, I think it might be for the best if you just tell them that you killed me or something. I dunno how safe it would be for me to show up at a village that clearly wants me 'taken care of' one way or the other."

She spoke very matter-of-factly, despite the sensitive nature of the subject matter. It was clear that the dragon quite used to dealing with people who weren't thrilled with her presence.

[LostSoul]

Would nod with a chuckle

"Aye?"

He asked before his smile fell, oh fuck, guess it was time to come clean, he was pulled closer.

"Errr, aye, they assumed ya were MUCH bigger then ya are, umm, and I assumed thats what was keeping them trapped in thar houses, many were starving so I assumed ya were at fault Miss Axia. I err, don't think ya were at fault, or I would be dead me thinks. Also aye, ya have every reason to be jumpy, though, nay lookin to fight ya now Miss Axia, nay the best judge of character, but I don't think its ya starving them silly." He said, coming clean on the whole deal with a frown.

He leaned back, smiling as she seemed to become less serious, he was still cautious, who knows what would happen. He did frown though, he shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Nay nay, nay going to lie that I killed ya, not fair too ya...hows about this, I'm going to some ruins, mayhaps ya help me and we bring some of whats in thar back for the towns folk? They'll have to acknowledge that ya ain't something ta fear Miss Axia, would feel wrong saying ya out and died when ya clearly are not how the village thinks of ya."

He said nodding sagely, of course the village may not accept that, and in return, means he was tricked by a bunch of scoundrels for trying to fight something out of his league (which he already knew) when they made it out that the dragon was the entirety of the issues...maybe, it was the ruins? He was pulling at strings, but it wasn't the dragon starving them, if so, what was? Stupidity, or something else.

His chain jingled as he pointed in the distance

"Ruin be just a little farther, nay sure if ya keep a horde, but I'm only looking for a few things, mostly tied too Yalthnea, I'll gladly give a part too ya, and the rest of the baubles to the village who may be able to see it or put it too good use, what say you?" he said turning back with a grin, how cool was this, going from attempted killing of the dragon (When he was just going to run away...a lot) to maybe, just maybe going on an ADVENTURE with a dragon like he was a dragon rider...with out riding the dragon! So cool, he was totally going to write this in his journal later.

[Bunbun]

Admittedly, Axia played up her moodiness a bit in response to hearing Godfrey coming clean about the reason he was sent out to "speak" with her. Sure, it was never particularly pleasant to hear that someone wanted you dead, especially when you haven't done anything to hurt them, but the dragon had been through that sort of thing enough to be used to it at this point. If she was the type to let other people's opinions of her keep her down then she would have given up travelling long ago.

Instead, what she was mainly hoping for in this instance was to gain the human's sympathy. He seemed like a nice enough guy from what she'd observed from him, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to make sure he felt especially guilty if he did decide to backstab her. She was actually pretty curious about what his whole deal was, after all, and it seemed to her that making him safer for her to be around was a good idea if she planned to stick with him for a bit.

What she couldn't fake, however, was her reaction to him mentioning the nearby ruins and the possibility of bringing back some bits and pieces from within back to the village. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to help improve the village people's opinion of her- being blacklisted from as few places as possible was probably ideal for someone who travelled as much as she did. The main prize for her, however, was definitely the possibility of discovering something she hadn't seen before.

There we go. She knew there was something to those rumours she'd heard floating around about this place. Well, assuming Godfrey wasn't lying to her, of course. But was he really going to lie to the face of someone he was clearly terrified of only moments ago?

Axia's mood visibly shifted once more, this time clearly more excited than anything. Her eyes lit up (quite literally- they emitted a subtle glow that contrasted quite well with the gloomy atmosphere of the forest) and she leaned in close, gazing out in the direction of his outstretched arm for a moment before latching on to his hand and shaking it in the same fashion as she'd done earlier.

"Now we're talking. You've got yourself a deal, mister. Although you'll have to give me the details on, er, 'Yalthnea', was it? Yeah, don't think I've ever heard of them before."

[LostSoul]

He inwardly winced at the moodiness, dragon moodiness was much different then other moodiness, mostly cause said dragon could kill you instanteously, not saying other could, but with a dragon, its much more obvious.

His grin did broaden at her own excitement about ruins, seems he hit an interest point. His eyes widening at the subtle glow, that was cool, what ever fear of dragons he may have, they were really, really cool.

He chuckled as he walked along, making his way before glancing over and beginning to explain.

"Yalthnea, Goddess of Battle, Fertility, and Growth, patron of me town and the surronding areas, she used to be more heavily worshipped, but such areas died out a wee bit ago, hence the ruins me thinks." he explains "Been looking for something related to her champions, as men invoked her aspect of battle, becoming champions of supernatural power, however, what lore on that has been lost, not even the priestesses know, hoping to find something of insight in the ruins, or an artifact of sorts, according to tales, there are many an enchanted item wielded by her champions, and her blessed, according to the priestess, the blessed were called Yalthnea's children, had some interesting magic, of growth I believe, heard there was some artifacts that could heal any wound, no matter how fatal, but thats just what I heard Miss Axia, who knows if the stories and legends are true." he said in excitement, like a geek gushing about his favorite anime or superhero (obviously batman).

He kept leading her on and chatting, mostly about stories of these champions, a lot of them seem to be heroes or doing some sort of gallant deeds, and revered in his society. He came to a stop, holding on to a branch as he pointed at a moss over grown temple

"Thar she his." he said, pointing towards some broken moss covered stones with a grin before glancing over "What ya think miss dragon, anything magical going on before we get closer? Heard them ruins have...magical defenses and what not." he said nodding as he stared at the ruins, like staring would reveal something of its nature.

[Bunbun]

Axia seemed content enough to listen in silence as he spoke and led her towards the ruins. She quickly found herself getting absorbed in his stories- perhaps a little too absorbed, as nearly walked straight into Godfrey when he stopped walking. She narrowly avoided colliding with him as she stumbled a few steps ahead, thankfully catching her balance using a nearby tree and preventing herself from crashing to the ground. She didn't seem to acknowledge her near misstep, though, instead opting to join him in gazing at the temple. A few moments passed in relative silence as the dragon tilted her head back and forth, seemingly considering something before eventually responding to his question.

"Hmm. Well... to be honest, there might be and there might not be. Magical defences could cover any number of things and could be triggered in plenty of different ways. Maybe there's a simple tripwire trap that can be avoided with careful steps. Maybe some terrible beast that attacks anyone it doesn't recognize. Maybe even some kinda invisible magical bubble that just instantly obliterates us the moment we make contact with it."

Okay, she was probably exaggerating a bit with that last one, but it was technically possible, wasn't it? She figured Godfrey deserved a fair warning before he stepped into something he might regret later. Searching around on the ground for something, she paused for a moment to pick up a small rock, turning it over in her hand thoughtfully before she continued.

"I'll be honest- I'm not really an expert in this kinda thing. Different people have different ways of working their magic, and I wouldn't be able to tell too much about it from a distance. You'd probably need trained professional for that. Depending on how fancy the defences are, though, there might be a way to trigger them from a distance. For example..."

With that, she drew back her arm and threw it forward, tossing the stone she held towards the ruins and watching intently to see if anything reacted.

[LostSoul]

Godfrey raised a brow as she stumbled into the open, on the other, she was a dragon so...probably safe.

His brow slowly raised even further at the mention of traps "Invisible magical bubbles?" he says ducking a little bit, he did not want to be killed by a magical bubble.

He glanced back "I thought ya dragons were good at magical whats its?" he said

Then his mouth dropping as she just tossed a rock, hands going to his head, what was she doing!? What if it triggered the magical obliterating bubbles of DOOM. The rock went flying, bouncing off of the ruin. Nothing seemed to happen, then the ground shook, like something taking big steps. From the ruins poured a mass of sticks, moss, leaves, and rocks, leaving the ruin like in a river and stream, floating into the air in the invisible current to take shape.

The shape of a gigantic dragon, just as described by the villagers. The moss dragon spread its wings, blotting out the sun and let out a roar, its breath some sort of fungal cloud into the air as it started to flap its wings, sending great bouts of air, strong enough to knock a man off its feet, which it did. It knocked Godfrey over as he was sent rolling backward as it began its take off.

Godfrey was on his back as he scrambled to his butt to watch in awe "Y-ya think fire will work?" he asked as he put his back down and began to search for something, hopefully in the safety of the forest...hope it didn't breath in there.

Said spores breathed out began to settle, like a shower of sparkles, it would hit the ground soon, or maybe they would breath it in soon. Who knew the affects?

[Bunbun]

Axia braced herself against the tree she'd caught her balance on just a moment earlier, preventing herself from being knocked down by the forceful winds stirred up by the mossy dragon. She gazed up at it, marvelling at the magical creature as she took careful steps backwards to rejoin Godfrey.

To put it simply, it was awesome. Really awesome. But also bad. Really bad. It would definitely be a shame to destroy such a wondrous creation, but at the same time, it was probably better than getting themselves killed.

"Fire? I mean, it looks like that'd work. Probably. Unless it's got some kind of anti-flame enchantment, of course. But hey, worth a shot! Here, I'll try to buy us some time..."

With that, the dragon closed her eyes and held her arms out in front of her in preparation for casting a spell. Her hands moved about in strange patterns as she worked her magic, fingers flexing and twitching about as if she was fiddling about with an invisible puzzle. Slowly but surely, the area immediately surrounding the two blurred and shimmered. It began to reflect and mimic the appearance of the multitude of plants in the vicinity. Eventually, they were covered in a magical illusory dome, giving them the disguise of... well, something vaguely plant-like. Probably enough to fool someone (or something) at a distance, anyway.

Having finished constructing their cover, Axia lessened her focus on the spell a bit and opened her eyes again, speaking in a hushed tone.

"There we go. This should be good enough to help us blend in to the surroundings. I dunno how long it'll work for, or if that thing even needs to see us in order to know where we are, so, uh... whatever it is you're digging around for in there, I suggest you find it quickly. I don't want to be face-to-face with that thing only to find out we've got nothing, alright?"

[LostSoul]

Godfrey kept digging, not really paying attention to what was going around him before pulling out a couple of prepared torches, which he was started to unwrap the cloth from to get to the goo like pitch as he glanced around, eyes wide at the magic, he spared but a second in marveling before getting back to work

"Pitch figured I would  dip some arrows into it and see if  we could light it on fire, if not, I suggest we run for it."

he said, mean while the moss dragon took to the air, letting out a roar, but it didn't sound like a roar, it sounded like a war cry channeled by a hundred souls.

The spores hit the ground, mushrooms quickly sprouting, the grass growing, even the tree's growing bigger with all it touched. The two just out of reach, but barely as new growth over took the entire area, creating giant tree's mushrooms and grass...but what was worse was the human sized spider that was coming out of it towards them to flee the moss dragon. Strange though was that the grass seemed to have some moss on it, along with the mushrooms and tree's, just a little bit, but it was still there.

The dragon hovered there after its cry looking about, floating as it searched, its eyes not there, but obviously searching from the moss shaped heap.

Godfrey got four arrows prepared, lighting one before getting ready to fire. The human sized spider approached quite by accident, trying to flee, it would quickly run into the two, and Godfrey was still aiming, which was harder now that the tree's were partially blocking the moss flying dragon who blended in with the tree cover!

What ever would the duo do!

[Bunbun]

"Oooh, good thinking! Light it up without the risk of getting crushed by it. Nice."

Axia gave him a nod of approval, but was soon forced to focus her attention elsewhere as the massive dragon let out another roar. She looked around in wonder as the plants around them grew to epic proportions, then shot Godfrey a brief look of concern after catching a glimpse of the overgrown spider through her shifting wall of illusions.

"Uhhh. Okay. Right. Look, you keep doing the fire-arrow-thing, I'm gonna try to keep the giant spider from trampling you. If you get in trouble, just start screaming as loud as you can. Got it? Great, I'll be back in a second."

With that, and without waiting for so much as an acknowledgement from Godfrey, Axia sprung into action. She dropped her concentration on the spell, exposing the two again as their temporary disguise vanished into nothingness in a matter of seconds. Then, in a move that would be considered insane by most standards, she took off running towards the rapidly-approaching spider.

Again, insane by most standards. But not hers.

Once more, a colourful display of dazzling lights enveloped the girl as the sound of two legs pounding against the ground suddenly morphed into four. The lights faded to reveal her once again transformed into her full draconic form, using her increased weight and strength to wrestle the spider away from Godfrey.

[LostSoul]

Torg the spider was having a FANTASTIC day. He had some excellent fresh captured flies, found a mate AND didn't get eaten...yet. Found a place for another stupendous place for a web, always with large juicy flies. Things were going great, then thing suddenly changed with that horrifyingly large bird! He went to run away, he would escape at any cost. Torg would live to see another day HA H- WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!

Torg, was sadly, charged by a dragon, trying to use its legs and hissing to fend it off as it was quite promptly pushed over by the charging dragon, rolling on to its back before being squished with a loud cracking sound as its exo-skeleton broke from the force.

This gave Godfrey enough time to fire the arrow that went sailing and caught the moss dragons wing. It screeched, lighting on fire, it seems there was no magical protection, just moss. But not before it blew a puff of spores at the two before breaking apart and retreating back inside the ruin to leave them alone for now.

Godfreys eyes went wide "RUN SPORES!" he said, grabbing his  remaining pitch covered arrows and making a hasty retreat to the side before the spores hit him, glancing over, eyes wide. Did she just tackle a giant spider?! Incredible, no time "RUN!" he shouted again before tripping over a root and proceeding to roll away instead before the spores hit them. Sometimes screaming a little high pitched.

[Bunbun]

Oops. She probably should have expected something like that to happen- Axia wasn't anywhere near the largest dragon in existence, but the spider still wasn't all that big in comparison to her. A human probably couldn't survive that kind of force coming from her, so in hindsight it wasn't too surprising that a human-sized bug couldn't either. Oh well. There was no use worrying about it now, and when she heard Godfrey's shouts nearby, she pushed off of the ground and took flight, quickly approaching his location.

It took her very little time at all to catch up with Godfrey, and as she caught a glimpse of him in front of her, she scooped up his tumbling body using her front legs before moving to land on the ground nearby. She pumped her wings forward in order to generate force pushing her in the opposite direction, reducing her forward momentum while her hind legs made contact with the ground, kicking up dirt and plant matter as she tore through it. It was enough to eventually bring her momentum to a halt, and after lowering the man down and releasing him from her grip, she turned around just in time to watch the spores settle to the ground nearby.

It seemed that they were safe, at least for the moment- the moss dragon had vanished from sight and they didn't appear to be in any immediate danger from the spores. Taking the opportunity to shift back into her humanoid form, she then trotted back over to Godfrey, seemingly unfazed by the recent turn of events. In fact, she looked more intrigued and excited than anything else, and this was reflected in her tone of voice as she began to speak.

"Well? Did it work? Did you hit it?!"

[LostSoul]

Godfrey tripped, then was lifted by the dragon, he grinned, reminded him a little of Lusca, but, you know, not drowning. Then put down, he blinked as he looked about, where they were previously now a massive jungle

He looked over with a grin

"Sure did! Thank ya for that! I suggest we head in while its gone...think I saw it flee inside, but I hit me mark I did." he said brushing himself off, glancing where she tore through, then at the spider, now impaled by multiple giant spikes of grass. He shuddered, thank goodness they moved in time...what a painful way to go.

He adjusted his bag before smiling at the dragon

"Best we get moving eh?" he says before trudging towards the ruins at an even jog, not wanting to be attacked by another growth blast or more moss.

Once making it there, there would be a long dark hallway leading down, no sign of the moss dragon, just darkness, where he awaited his dragon friend

"Say...how did ya do that magic barrier thingi?" he would ask once she got over.

[Bunbun]

Axia gave shot him a grin of her own and a nod of approval as Godfrey explained the events of the past few moments from his perspective. He seemed pretty eager to keep moving, though, and she couldn't blame him- she was certainly interested in seeing what sorts of oddities the ruins had to offer. As such, it didn't take long for her to catch up with him after he set off towards the ruins.

"Oh, you mean that dome of illusions? Hmm... honestly, I find it quite difficult to put how to use that kind of magic into words without going into too much detail. Not to mention that each mage tends to have their own quirks and unique touches when it comes to how they cast their magic and what they use it for. I don't think there's any one singular explanation that's gonna work for everyone. What I can say is that for me, personally, I find that a bit of imagination and creativity can go a long way when it comes to shaping magic once you have a grasp of that initial 'spark'."

She seemed cheery enough to be discussing the matter with him, regardless of whether or not her explanation was of any actual use to him. What she was decidedly less pleased by, however, was the sight of the shadowy hallway that lay before them.

Ugh. Why did it have to be so damn dark in there? No matter how many adventures Axia went on, this was the one thing that she could never get used to.

For the first time that day, the dragon was visibly hesitant to go rushing into a potentially perilous situation. She shuffled up close behind the human, peering around him and into the abyss before them, and if Godfrey was paying close attention he might notice the scales along her wings and dotting other parts of her body emit a soft glow in preparation for delving into the darkness.

"Um... you can go in first. I'll be right behind, I promise."

[LostSoul]

Godfrey raised a brow as he listened

"Huh...well, as far as me knows, in here be something about growth, Yalthnea's domain, per'chance why that moss dragon thing be breathing spore ya know?" he says shrugging before looking down then back as he reached into his bag to get his spare torch, a grin beginning to form.

"Nay like the dark thar? Aren't ya a dragon? Ferocious and stong?" he says chuckling as he lit it, pulled out his sword and started to make his way down. Torch light giving a dull orange light to guide them. On the walls were carvings of a great empire, ruled by very plump queens. However, it seems something happened to these rulers, half of them turning into some sort of demon during a war against another, and retreated, even possibly been annihilated completely.

Godfrey stopped to look it over  for sec, eyes squinting. "Huh...old legend that is, Yalthnea's had a big following back in the day, however, her blessed, her children fell into gluttony. No longer caring to giving to the people, Thar size no longer to represent the bounty, but taking it all for them selves." he explains as he turns away, frowning to walk further in "Strange that they have it here...I hope we nay run into them, from what I learnt of the outside, they refer those who fell as primal demons thar...best we think of running if one still lives."

He said, sounding grimly terrified as his descent slowed. Their foot steps echoing as they went deeper into the ruin. Eventually coming to the end of the stair case, moss covered in age. Ending in a dark hall way that seemed to stretch, light beams descending into the darkness to give scraps of light, in the distance was some sort of chamber, with rooms being promised off to the side. Godfrey stopped to look about before glancing at his dragon companion.

"Wot ya think Axia... forward, or to one of the sides?" he asks before looking ahead, gulping, he hoped there was only a moss dragon down here...those who fell were terrifyingly powerful, and huge.

[Bunbun]

Axia didn't offer any verbal response to Godfrey's comment about her reluctance to wander into the darkness, but it was clear from her pouting and giving him the silent treatment for a while after that she didn't appreciate it much. She didn't say a word to him as they made their way down the stairs, although she did take a minute to stop and ponder the carvings along the walls- only to let out a small squeak and scurry down the rest of the steps when she noticed the light of Godfrey's torch moving further away from her.

She did seem to be a bit less tense when they reached the bottom of the stairs, though. The beams of light scattered about weren't a massive improvement, but any amount of additional light she could get down here went a long way in making her more comfortable. It felt as if she was more in her element again, and it showed as she returned to her normal level of chatter once Godfrey asked which way she thought they should go.

"You're asking me? Hmm... well, if you're worried about us running into something that we need to run away from, then it's probably better if we follow one of the sides first. Depending on how big and complex this place ends up being, we might get lost if we don't have a way of remembering which way we came from. It would be less than ideal if we ran into a dead end with something chasing behind us, right? But if we follow one of the walls to our sides- let's say the right wall- then retracing our steps shouldn't be an issue."