Like taking candy from a...corpse. [Cambie!]

[Rhindeer]

Briar realized her mistake too late.

Blinding light flashed, replacing the darkness, and Briar let out a shriek of surprise. Something struck her hard in the chest and knocked her backwards, clear off her feet, and she landed on her bottom with a grunt, the breath driven from her lungs as an icy feeling settled within her. For a moment she stayed where she was, disoriented, her vision white with huge sunspots blanking out her sight. It was during that moment that she felt a swell of panic, thinking that she had been blinded--until she realized she could see around the edges of the flashing spots in her vision.

Cursing loudly, she rubbed at her eyes. "Wow. Way to go, blindie," she growled, and sorely rolled onto her hands and knees. "Coulda given me that warning like a lot sooner. Like before I went and pried the goddamn gem off. Flashing explodey lights woulda been a fantastic thing to know about in advance! Just sayin'! Fuckin' useless know-it-all, argh! I need you to pay attention to what I'm doing next time! That's more important than your dumb dead people pictures that you can't even see."

On her knees, she felt around on the ground and hissed when she found her knife--because the sharp tip jabbed her finger through the glove. Sheathing the knife at her belt, she continued her blind search. The gem had to be close by!

"The hell was that, anyway?" she asked as she crawled about. Her chest still felt strange, like a chill had seeped into her. But it had to be her imagination. Some leftover superstitious inclinations, probably. She grabbed onto his boot and scowled. "Ugh. Don't just stand there looking dumb! Help me find that gem!"

[Cambie]

While the flash of light didn't affect Jocelyn the way it affected Briar, he was still taken aback by the eruption of magical energies that emanated from hole in the altar. What looked like a blinding beam of light to her, appeared as a jumble of arcane threads shooting off into the distance. It hit a wall and began expanding like a spiderweb, its threads overlapping over one another and shooting around the enormous cavern like climbing ivy. Eventually, the whole room seemed to be doused in a magical energy.

"How is this MY fault?" he said, though his voice was less scathing than it was in awe, as his jaw dropped at the magical aura pervading the room. Slowly, he looked around at the intricate patterns as they seemed to form an invisible tapestry over every inch of every wall. And especially up the stairs to the entrance in which they'd walked, the magic was especially strong.

And then, as he suddenly felt a chill wash over him, he realized what magic they'd unwittingly unleashed.

They were memories. Remnants of the long-extinct civilization that built this temple. And now, ghostly figures began to form in the doorway high above them. A procession began marching down the steps, replaying their ritual as if they were regular normal people.

Without hesitating, Jocelyn quickly jumped down from the platform and grabbed Briar's wrist. "Forget the gem," he hissed, frantically tugging. "Let's hide!"

[Rhindeer]

"It just IS!" Briar said as she crawled about, trying to find the jewel. It had to be here somewhere! It couldn't have rolled that far, for goddess's sake!

And she was so busy scrambling around on her hands and knees, nose toward the ground, that she didn't notice what was happening around her.

Didn't realize it until Jocelyn grabbed her wrist, the contact making her hair stand on end--not because her ability worked that way, but because she was afraid it might, and he was touching the skin that her glove didn't cover. A jolt of panic went through her; she wasn't used to being touched, and the combination of not being used to it, and being afraid of what might happen, made her freak.

"LET GO!" She swung around without thinking, about ready to belt him one in the face with her other hand--and then froze, her fist only a few inches from his nose.

Because that was when she saw the ghostly, ethereal procession.

Her face paled and she tugged her wrist free, then grabbed his wrist with her gloved hand. "Oh shit, what are--never mind! I don't want a history lesson! Where do we go?!"

There were several huge pillars around the room, though, to support the massive ceiling, so she pulled at Jocelyn's arm abruptly as she bolted toward one of them, heading away from the procession. She pulled him behind it with her, breathing heavily. "What the shit's happening? Talk!"

[Cambie]

Jocelyn didn't hesitate for one moment when Briar tugged him behind a pillar. His own heart was pounding in his chest, and his breath came out in rapid bursts. The ancient magical energies pervaded the entire room around him and he sensed every tiny thread of it. It was like being trapped in a giant cube of pure light.

Of course, she must've seen things a bit differently than he, for the room was still dark save for the eerie glow of the ghostly procession as they marched their way down the stairs, a high priest followed by a dozen acolytes.

"You must've stirred them awake when you dislodged that gem," he hissed through clenched teeth, shaking his head. The truth was, he didn't know what she'd done either. But he could sense the magic in the air, and sense that those souls were somehow reliving their lives. On impulse, he stuck his head out from behind the pillar to watch in awe.

[Rhindeer]

Briar rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. "Yeah, thanks, smartie-britches, I got that much. And?"

Curious, she poked her head out to see what he was seeing, heart in her throat. The one who must be a priest had reached the altar, and the acolyte began to take up their positions around him. For a moment, Briar thought that was the last of them, but then down the stairs came two men who must have been soldiers--and between them they were hauling what appeared to be a young man, who was struggling fiercely in their grip, his mouth forming the shape of words she couldn't hear.

The soldiers hauled him onto the altar and held him down. And then Briar watched, transfixed, as the priest drew a knife, just as ethereal as the rest of the procession.

"Wow..." Briar breathed. "These people didn't fuck around. Human sacrifice? Really? That's just twisted."

[Cambie]

"They did a lot of that back in the day," Jocelyn whispered to her before shushing her with a wave of his hand. He was still mesmerized by the scene unfolding before them. The ghostly procession played out their eerie scene as though nothing was amiss.

The young man, still struggling in the grips of the two soldiers, mouthed something with a twisted grin on his face, though there was nothing audible to be heard. Whatever was said though, clearly irked the high priest for he immediately withdrew a dagger and motioned for the man to be splayed out on the stone table. The man struggled all the while, but he was no match for the strength of his captors, and soon his bare chest was exposed for all to see. Mouthing several more inaudible words, the high priest raised his dagger and plunged it directly into the man's chest.

Jocelyn felt a sickening feeling roll around in his stomach and had to look away briefly, lest he lose his lunch. Meanwhile, the ghostly replay of the sacrifice continued: the priest sawed away at the man's twitching body and then withdrew the human heart from that stilled chest. He held it high for all his ghostly compatriots to see.

With a shiver, Jocelyn turned away fully now, and froze.

A line of ghostly soldiers stood right behind them, staring straight ahead. They weren't more than ten feet away from the two.

[Rhindeer]

"Oh...gods," Briar murmured, paling at the grisly murder. She may have killed a man or two in her time, for various reasons, but like that? Fuck that! That was slow, painful, and needlessly gory! And she had never killed someone who hadn't given her a fight. She swallowed hard, feeling a little ill--hypocritical, perhaps, but whatever!

She shuddered, and when she spoke, she kept her voice low. "Ugh. Well, I dunno about you, blindie, but I've had enough of this shit. Let's go--eh?"

She noticed he was staring at something, and she turned to look, too, and froze. Soldiers?! What? Where had they come from?

She stiffened for a moment in surprise, the hair rising on her arms and the back of her neck, and then let out a slow breath and adjusted her gloves. Jeez, this place was giving her the willies! Placing a hand on Jocelyn's shoulder and inching closer to him, she tried to pump up her own bravado even as her heart raced from that little surprise.

"Heh. Lookit them all. Being all dead and dumb," she said, and shrugged. "You scared, blindie? Don't be. They're just ghosts, right? They're not even looking at us. Probably can't even see us. They're just...spirits replaying old scenes, right? It's not like they can do anything to us. Who's ever heard of a ghost actually hurting someone, I mean, come on. Let's just get outta this damned place."

She started to take a step, but then paused. Something caught her eye, something glinting in the ghostly light.

Her gem! It had rolled several feet away from the altar, closer to them. Briar eyed Jocelyn, and then eyed the gem, and shook her head. "Gimme one sec," she said, and bolted out toward it.

[Cambie]

Jocelyn was completely frozen in place as he stared at the ghostly soldiers, silent and unmoving. Well, he didn't see them in the conventional sense, but sensed the tendrils of magic that made up their frames. Regardless, his heart was still pounding in his chest as he waited for the inevitable slaughter.

After a moment, though, his logical reasoning overcame the fear-induced irrationality of his thoughts and he realized - these were just memories. The soldiers weren't really there, and the two of them weren't really in a sacrificial chamber watching a live killing. He released soft exhale of relief, momentarily seized again when Briar put her hand on his shoulder and spoke in a clearly-forced show of bravery and nonchalance.

"No," he said softly as he turned to regard her, "there's no harm here for us. But still, at least now we know - or sort of know - what these people did here all those years ago. That's some valuable knowledge! To me, at least... I don't think you're much interested in any of that."

And of course, as she leaped out from behind the pillar and dashed toward the raised dais, where the ghostly sacrifice was in full swing, he immediately caught sight of her prize. THAT was why she was here, after all. Money.

Before she reached it though, he called out behind her quickly, "Wait! Don't pick it up yet! You already awakened something once by messing around with the objects in here. Let's just... wait for a moment, eh?"

[Rhindeer]

Briar laughed and rolled her eyes, tossing Jocelyn a dry look from over her shoulder. "Yeah, I awakened a bunch of old, dead guys doing their old, dead, creepy stuff. C'mon, man. Where's your balls? Lookit 'em! What are they gonna do, be spooky at us? Oooo! So scary!"

Turning to the ghosts, she waved her arms. "Hi, dead guys! You don't even see me, do ya? That's 'cause you're not real! You're dead! Stupid dead murderous blokes. See? Gods, Blindie, you're such a pansy, I swear."

With a shake of her head, she plucked the gem from the ground, turned around, and started to head back over to Jocelyn.

She was completely unaware that the moment she'd scooped it up, all those ghostly faces had swung around to face her--and now Jocelyn.

[Cambie]

Jocelyn scowled beneath his veil at that accusation, and he stood up fully before stepping out from behind the pillar.

"Are you calling me a coward? Because there's a difference between that, and thinking things through. Which clearly you don't. What else can you expect from a thief? No direction, no plan, no common sense. I'm surprised one of these traps hasn't crushed you by now, you must be the luckiest idiot in the realm."

With a gesture of his hand, he muttered, "Take the stupid gem, maybe you'll try to eat it and choke on it..."

Of course, the moment she touched it, the magic that had pervaded the room suddenly drifted toward the gem and engulfed it in a wave of arcane energy. He felt the magic engulf her as well, and then slowly him. And then every ghostly face turned their way. The High Priest, heart still clutched in his upraised hand, stared down at Briar.

"OH SHIT," was all Jocelyn could say before he darted forward and grabbed Briar roughly by the wrist. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH IT!" he shouted desperately as he tugged at her, practically dragging her along as he bolted for the nearest dark exit. Behind them, the ghosts all began to move toward them.

[Rhindeer]

"And I thought I told you not to touch me!" Briar growled, trying to pull back against him as she was dragged along. "Gods! What the hell's wrong with--oh."

It was at that moment that she glanced over her shoulder and saw exactly what had gotten Jocelyn all in a knot, and what she saw made her own heart stop. Those ghosts were no longer trapped in their ritual; they were coming for them now, and to her horror, she saw the priest toss aside the very ghost-heart he'd pulled from the sacrifice's chest.

"Oh. Never mind. I'll give you this one, blindie! Run!"

She ran with him then, through the exit, and as she did she tucked the gem away into a pouch at her belt. After all the hassle to get into this damned tomb, and then get trapped and chased by ghosts, there was no way she was getting out empty handed! As they ran, she let out a harsh laugh.

"Hey, man, maybe you oughta go back there and chat with them, eh?" she said. "Might be able to learn all sorts of things about dead guys! That's what you came here for, right?"

[Cambie]

"Yeah, I came here to explore carefully, not to get murdered by a bunch of ghosts!" he panted as they ran through the path that led deeper into the temple complex. For her it must've been pitch black, but he could see the path just fine. Problem was, every turn looked the same as the last. Nothing but sand, dirt, rocks -- and old bones.

And upon glancing over his shoulder, his rapidly beating heart sank. The ghosts were nowhere in sight, but he could sense them. And they were on the move, following the two humans down their corridors of old.

He also felt an energy emanating from somewhere else.

"BY the Gods, get rid of that damn gem!" he cried even as they stumbled their way away. "It's what woke them up! It's probably why they're following us! GET RID OF IT!"

[Rhindeer]

"Fuck that, man!" Briar said, and put her free hand over the pouch as though afraid Jocelyn would try to snatch it away.

"This thing's leaving with me! I didn't go through all this trouble and almost get murdered by ghosts to leave empty handed, and those dead bastards can just deal with it! I mean come on, seriously? It's one fucking gem! That altar was filled with gems! And they're dead! What the hell they even need gems for?! I'm alive, I need it!"

Well, her ego needed it, at least.

"They'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. Which, by the way, ain't gonna happen because ahaha, ghosts can't kill people!" Which, of course, was exactly why she was running blindly with him, and letting him lead.

And it was in that moment that the ground began to shake, pebbles raining down on them from the ceiling. Briar raised her free hand to shield her eyes. "The fuck's that?"

[Cambie]

Jocelyn slowed down a step as the corridor began to rumble, but only because he stumbled over his own feet. A shower of dust and rock descended upon him, leaving him in a coughing fit as he slowed to a halt.

"Like hell I know!" he shouted back at her, grabbing her wrist and giving it a shake. "I'm telling you, get rid of the gem before you get us both killed!"

The rumble tremored through the ground again and a loud creaking came from behind them. As Jocelyn turned, he sensed the same ghostly magical aura as before, but this time... this time it was condensed into something larger, more solid.

And just as that realization dawned on him, a giant stone golem stepped around the corner of the hallway behind them, each ponderous footstep shaking the ground. The thing turned to regard them with its eerily glowing blue eyes.

And then it began approaching.

"Nooooope, not staying for this one!" he exclaimed before dashing off, dragging the girl in tow.

[Rhindeer]

At this point, it wasn't so much about keeping the gem as it was about being just plain stubborn. Briar wasn't about to let Jocelyn boss her around! And it wasn't even so much about not wanting to be told what to do as it was about not wanting to admit he was right.

Shaking her head free of the dirt and debris that had fallen on her, she glared at him. "You may as well save your breath and shut up about that 'cause I'm not gonna--"

The ground rumbled ominously, and the anger drained from Briar's face, replaced with wide-eyed, genuine terror and wonder as a motherfucking stone giant monster came ambling out. And then started right toward them.

"Well, fuck me sideways," she muttered, staring, and it was lucky Jocelyn dragged her along, because for a costly second there she froze up. She ran with him, conscious of the gem-filled pouch bouncing against her hip, but grit her teeth. Nope. Not getting rid of it. Jocelyn could suck it!

The golem was gaining on them, though, and gaining fast. Briar chanced a look over her shoulder and saw its glowing eyes growing bigger as it fast approached, and her heart leaped. It wouldn't be long before it overtook them and, more than likely, crushed them.

Like hell it would!

Which was why Briar suddenly rammed her shoulder into Jocelyn to knock him into the wall, then kicked his legs out from under him while he was off balance. "Sorry, Blindie! Nothing personal!" she said, and raced past him.

[Cambie]

Jocelyn panted heavily as they ran, until suddenly the wind was driven right out of his lungs as Briar's ambush knocked him to the ground. And then she was gone down the hall, too far for him to catch up.

The golem was steps away from him.

With a frantic shout of "SHIT!" he scrambled backwards along the sand-covered floor as fast as he could away from the lumbering stone monster, feeling the vibration of each ponderous footstep as they sent showers of dust down from the roof. Somewhere in his mad scramble he managed to make it back to his knees, just in time for his eyes to spot a small hole in the base of the wall.

Without thinking he dove headfirst into the hole -- and found himself sliding down a stone chute. His cry of alarm echoed up as it faded into the distance.

The stone monster stopped for a moment, staring its 'head' perplexedly down at where the blind man just disappeared. Then it continued on its way, after Briar.

[Rhindeer]

Briar felt a momentary pang of guilt as she left the man in the dust, but it faded about as fast as it came. He was getting in her way, after all, and if it was a choice between her and him, she came first! Besides, maybe he wouldn't get crushed to a pulp, and then they'd both escape! Win-win! Either way, his sacrifice bought her some time.

...Except, as it turned out, it didn't buy much time.

She heard Jocelyn cry out in alarm, the sound fading off oddly, and then after a perplexed pause, the monster was after her again.

Sweat beading on her face, Briar poured on the speed to try to keep the distance she'd gained, but the creature had a longer stride, and it wasn't long before it advanced on her--

And it wasn't long before she saw that her route was a dead end.

She skidded to a stop and spun on her heel, ready to bolt forward and hope for an alternate path, but it was too late; the creature already blocked her path, and Briar's breath caught in her throat as she stared up at it, shadowy and menacing in the light of her stone and its own glowing eyes. It lifted its fist with a bone-shaking roar, and with a yelp, Briar threw herself to the ground to avoid getting pummeled by a rocky fist. She turned her fall into a practiced tumble and felt wind rush past her as its fist missed her by inches, and when she popped back up, it was with her back against the wall. Well, shit. This plan had gone terribly wrong. Where was her human sacrifice when she needed him?!

"Hey, buddy," she said with a nervous grin as the creature raised its huge fist again. She pressed back against the wall and stared down between its legs, considering her options. Do the crazy thing and try to bolt between them? Stay here and get smashed? Fantastic options, both of them! She was bracing herself to run when the monster took a lumbering step forward, and the block it stepped onto sank into the ground.

Clearly, it could only be activated by something as heavy as it.

The wall opened up behind Briar and, with a yell, she fell backwards and went tumbling head over heels until she landed upside down on her back and went sliding down a chute that made a sharp turn at the end.

Which sent her crashing straight into a familiar, squishy body at the end.

"Ow!" she yelped, winding up half on top of him. She pushed herself up and stared down at him, then grinned broadly and ruffled his hair. "Aww, hey look! Blindie, you're alive! Fabulous! See, I knew it'd all work out. Everything's going perfectly according to plan."

[Cambie]

The chute deposited Jocelyn on a pile of packed sand, the force of which easily knocked the wind out of his lungs. He lay there for a long while staring up into the ceiling, stunned and fighting to catch his breath and collect his wits. The entire world was spinning around him.

Finally, he found the strength to roll over onto his belly and try to climb back to his feet. He had managed to get onto one knee when the force of a screaming girl bowled him over again.

It took a moment for him to realize just what had knocked him over, and that smug nonchalant voice brought an angry scowl to his face. "You... YOU LEFT ME THERE TO DIE!" As if he expected her to do anything else.

With a forceful shove and an irate, "Get the hell off of me!" he pushed her off his chest and proceeded to roll over again.

This time, he came face to face with a skull half buried in the sand. The outline of its cracked edges shone clearly in his magical veil, unhindered by the pitch black room that would've obscured it for anyone else. With a yelp he scurried backwards right into Briar.

[Rhindeer]

Shoved aside, Briar rolled off of Jocelyn and scowled right back at him.

"Wow, jeez, what are you so upset about?" she said, sitting back on her heels. "It's not like--erk!"

She jumped at his yelp and latched onto him reflexively when he bumped her, heart leaping into her throat, but could see nothing but vague shapes and shadows. Certainly nothing so minute as a half-buried skull! She squeezed his arm tightly where she clutched him and fumbled with her free hand for her light stone. "Whatcha see, Blindie? Uh. Sense? Whatever it is you do! Ah, damn it all, illus!"

The light stone flickered to life in her palm, and Briar thrust it out into the dark void around them. A circle of light surrounded them--just enough to make out the bones, scattered, broken, and half-buried in the sand.

Lots of dead stuff, but no living.

It was the living she cared about.

Unless they were ghosts.

With a light laugh, Briar relaxed and let go of Jocelyn.

"Aww, Blindie, that what got you all scared? It's just a dead person!"

[Cambie]

"Just a dead person? Yeah, that could be us!" he exclaimed frantically as he tried to calm himself. He could still feel his heart pounding in his chest. He'd seen corpses and skeletons before, but this one had come out of nowhere.

As his heart rate decreased though, his mind had enough sense to look around. Though Briar's little light orb illuminated much of the chamber, its light didn't reach the far walls. He, however, could see all of it clearly. And from where he sat with his back pressed up against her, all he saw were walls. No openings.

"We... might be stuck here."