Swords and arrows

[Lion]

Dram kept his place where he was standing in the first place and watched Athran for a moment before turning his eyes upward toward the darkened ceiling.  Up above them, high beyond mortal reach, was a small hole carved away in the tip of the ruin's peak.  It was rimmed with what appeared to be a stained glass designed which had not failed over the years and he peered higher up and saw the sky slowly moving above them.

"I guess if we wanted to get out, this would be the only way to do it, if we could even reach this far," he said, pointing up to the antechamber ceiling.  "But I guess in a few hours, we will have to await the dawn."

[Anadwen]

"Guess we should sleep, then. It will do both of us good... I'll take the first watch, if you want." He stretched his arms, careful not to move the left one more than necessary, and sled down the wall a little further, nonchalantly crossing his legs.

He eyed the hole in the ceiling. It was high, too high for both of them to reach, but if one would stand on the other's shoulders, it could be reached. He delved into his long hair with one hand and carefully studied the door. It shouldn't be so difficult to set it on fire and keep it ablaze.

Now, they only had to wait.

[Lion]

With rest their only option, Dram sat down on the floor, careful to strewn himself beside a pillar that had nothing on it that made it obviously dangerous.  No pressure plates, points, or trap buttons that he could detect and he leaned against it.  He tried to close his eyes but sleep wouldn't come.  He opened his tired eyes to Athran and he blinked at him for a few moments.

"Athran," he muttered.  "Tell me a story."

[Anadwen]

"A story?" Athran raised a brow. "What kind of story would you like to hear?" He scratched his head. "One of my own, or those I've only heard? Mine aren't nice... I don't know if you'd like them."

After a short while, he spoke again. " I know a fair share of them... I don't think that speaking of bloodshed and battles would give you exactly sweet dreams."  He snapped his fingers, and a small, auburn fire danced above their tips. It had the color of a dragon's flame, and the same twinkling, warm quality...

[Lion]

Dram blinked and stared at the flame for a time.  "I don't buy heroic tales or legendary feats.  Life has enough mystery for us all," he murmured.  "You're old.  Tell me a story about yourself if you wish.  I don't mind what it might be about."

[Anadwen]

Athran let out a sigh. The flame bickered a little under his breath, casting dancing shadows on the walls around, and Athran begun speaking.

"I remember a tale that might not be as bad... A long time ago, when I was young, I knew a woman. She was a treasure hunter, or so she said, but I think she was just a thief... I didn't care, I was a mercenary since I was young, and it didn't matter. But she once saved me from getting arrested, and I crazily agreed to help her on what she was doing right then." For a moment there was silence. "She found out about a tower... An old watchtower where there was supposed to be a treasure, but something guarded it. In the forest. I was a young fool and I agreed without thinking... But as we found ourselves in the forest, once in a night, as she persisted on traveling till we drop, we were suddenly ambushed by trolls. We ran from them, but we got to a dead end, and the trolls knocked us out. We awoke roasting like boar-flanks above a campfire!"

He laughed shortly on the memories, and continued in the story. "But the trolls, they weren't too clever. The fire can't burn me unless I let it, so I made the flames burst so high that they burned the rope I was bound with, and the trolls ran scared when I chased them with a flaming sword... And then the dawn came, and they turned to stone! It was truly convenient - she was already beginning to grill. And we continued in the journey. Off course, with a bundle of bad luck as we had, we got lost in the forest, as she couldn't read her map, and neither could I. We were lost and hungry, till someone found us... He had a cabin in the forest, and helped us for a few days, as we were already fainting with hunger. That was the nice part of the little adventure, because afterwards, we got ambushed, and chased by wolves. It was sheer luck that we got to the tower with all limbs."

He took a long break, changing the color of the flame and letting it dance on his fingers, before he continued. "When we got there, it was already almost winter. The tower was very big and tall, surrounded by other ruins... We got almost lost in those. There were strange things in them... Eventually we found a way into the tower, but you would never have guessed what was inside. I sneaked in first, to check what's there, and all of a sudden, I get grabbed and pulled in by some screeching monster! A vampire, but one of those wild, winged ones. She got scared when I pulled fire at her, and I chased her to the peak of the tower, but I can't keep feeding the fire for all eternity. I had to fight her sword on claws. A vampire, however, isn't easy to kill, and she tossed me all around the tower till I couldn't even move, and then she tried to eat me. That was when my companion entered, shot her in the head from the doorway... And I was, fortunately, not dead. There really was a treasure, some strange, but prized relic, though we couldn't leave the tower, considering the little food we had, and how bad off I was. That was when the hunter that saved us for the first time appeared again. And got us out of trouble."

[Lion]

Dram's eyes flickered tiredly in his direction, eying at Athran as he spoke his story.  "Sounds rightfully dramatic.  Sounds kinda like our adventure.  What happened after that?"

[Anadwen]

"We took the relic, sold it, and shared the deal when we got back to Ketra. It was a nice load of money... I have only seen her once after that, and she was already old, very old." Athran shrugged. "Humans."

The flame in his hand grew dim as he laid down, using his backpack as a pillow, and yawned. "I'd go to sleep... But rather keep guard. You sleep first, then we switch, what about it?"

[Lion]

He wouldn't get an answer when it seemed Dram was already dozed off.  He leaned quietly against the pillar, breathing softly and soundly.  He had no dreaming, but he didn't need it.  He hadn't slept in two days, and dreamless sleep hit the spot.

[Anadwen]

Athran played with the flame for a long, long time, seemingly never running out of various colors and shapes he could give it, but it was merely to keep himself from falling asleep. He was yawning, and every time he closed his eyes, it was difficult to open them again, but he didn't want to wake Dram yet - there wasn't a reason.

Time flew by till the lights of morning colored the large hole in the roof dark, dusky blue. Only then he finally stood up and slowly walked over to his companion, poking him with the tip of his boot as he stretched. "It's already morning..." he muttered.

[Lion]

Dram stirred and blinked awake, noticing it was Athran in time to keep from reaching for his weapons as his instincts told him.  " Oh!  Good," he murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and cracking his neck and back.  "All right I'll keep watch now!"

[Anadwen]

"Wake me if something unusual happens." Athran noted before laying down where Dram first slept, and coiling up in the remains of his cape. He pulled his knees to his chest, and laying on the ground like this, he didn't seem half as tall as he really was - it was almost surprising to what a position he can curl up.

Within a few minutes, he fell into a deep, soundless, dreamless sleep of exhaustion, not moving once. After a few days of hardly any sleep, even he was tired, and he welcomed the rest about as gladly as the oblivion of sleep welcomed his mind.

[Lion]

What morning light bled through the top of the cavern stained glass window, Dram blinked at drearily the dawn and rubbed his eyes again.  He rummaged through the packs and began to eat quietly, or as quietly as he could as he scarfed down some jerky and bread and an apple that was a bit dusty but not rotten.

He took time enough to eat and when at last he saw the sky darkening, light gradually fading away.  "Athran..." Dram breathed.  "Athran!" he said, kicking his foot.  "It's time!"

[Anadwen]

Athran kicked back somewhere into the air, groaning, and rolled over onto his back. "What... Why the hell are you waking me up, it's still dark!" he moaned, climbing to his feet, and wiping the sleep out of his eyes. Only then he noticed that it was dark from the eclipse - a different kind of darkness than the night...

"Oh, it's... It's time? Grab the bags..." His eyes flashed with excitement, reflecting the flames that sprang at the bottom of the gate, auburn and twinkling with bright blazing orange flying out there and now like shooting stars. In a matter of few moments, the entire gate was coated in it, and Athran pushed Dram away a little, to avoid him getting singed by the fire.

[Lion]

He didn't have to push, Dram knew well enough to get out of harm's way himself.  He put his arms up in shielding his eyes from the fire, the brightness of it as it reflected off the golden door.  The shining metal stood strong against the flames, not even blinking at their ferocity, but then Dram began to notice the shapes and carvings along the gold began to droop and sag.

"Keep it up!" Dram howled.  "Fire it up like a kiln!"

[Anadwen]

Stepping somewhat closer to the fire-coated gate, Athran spread his arms, as if he wanted to reach after the door, and the fire grew stronger, brighter, until the whole door was like a blazing furnace, strands of gold flowing down in the intense heat as it melted.

[Lion]

The gold was holding up though it drooped and sagged in places and began to leak out in smaller etched sections.  Soon the designs were melding together until the gold began to burn away at last, the intensity of the heat becoming much too much.  But it seemed is if it were about to splash out at them and Dram quickly shouted.  "Athran!  MOVE!"

[Anadwen]

The gold was beginning to melt away, showing a different door underneath - one of stone, which the gold only seemed to cover. It was slowly moving forth, driving the melted mass of glittering gold before it, and Athran quickly jumped out of its way, pressing his back onto the wall of the chamber, while still keeping the fire burning.

Finally, the eclipse has ended. The sun came out again, and the flames eventually faded away, showing a massive block of stone in front of a large gap, behind which was most likely a tunnel or corridor.

That was when Athran stepped closer to it, and peered in. "It's dark in there!" he concluded, his voice echoing from the walls before him, as he stuck his head into the tunnel.

[Lion]

"Well of course the first thing you do when you step into someplace you've never been before is to call out nice and loud!" Dram hissed but scampered on after Athran, pulling his sword from his sheathe and holding it at the ready.  Just in case.

[Anadwen]

Athran rolled his eyes over at Dram's remark, but unsheathed the Black Sword, too, with a sigh escaping through his gritted teeth as he let a little too much of its weight rest on his left arm. He made a step into the dark tunnel before himself, letting a small flame appear at the tip of his sword, acting like a torch.

"Got all the bags?" he whispered, glancing over his shoulder. "I think we're gonna need them."