How Deep Goes the Forest Floor

[Lion]

[ @kleineklementine !]

Gods above!  What was that awful racket!?

Crowe sat up with an irritated groan.  Only to discover that terrible sound was the ringing in his ears.  For a moment he could hardly hear himself think, until the din subsided and soon ebbed away.  Fuck, did his head hurt.  Yeah someone definitely took a hammer to his skull.  Or something equally blunt and hard.  Dirty joke alert. 

"Don't be stupid," he heard a voice echoing out to him.  But upon opening his eyes, he saw no one around him, nothing but darkness as he sat within his circular cage, the metal bars glinting very little with the lone torch that flickered to the left of him.

"Huh?"

"I said, don't be stupid."  A soft chuckle.  "I didn't hit you with any sort of instrument.  You fell.  You should really watch your step.  I was under the assumption all thieves were light of foot.  I'm can't say I'm not pleasantly surprised."

"What?" he griped, scowling into the darkness and staring into the gloom surrounding that one lone torch.

"Hm, stupid too.  That's a shame.  But I'm sure you'll have your uses, nonetheless.  Don't go anywhere, darl'.  Oh wait.  You can't!"  Another laugh, well, more like a cackle.  One that shot down Crowe's spine and he jerked into alarm.  "Get comfortable.  When I decide what to do with you, then we'll talk."  And with that the voice was gone.  He could just feel her leave and he felt a chill down his spine.

He remembered crawling into a few broken slats covering a ruined window.  He remembered grabbing the stuff and heading for the exit.  Or would have done that if he hadn't been trying to explore the place a little more.  The more knowledge about a location the better after all.  He'd been in a higher tower, and had thought he'd mapped his steps carefully when he heard a click underneath his feet and the floor opened up, plunging him into a darkened pit.

Shit!  He cursed at himself, at his situation, and at that stupid woman that wasn't even supposed to be home anyway!  This was a routine job, boring at best!  Get in, get the stuff, get out.  Enchanted stuff went for a heavy load, especially the creepy shit.  Skulls, bones, feathers, and fragments of something that was once a living thing.  People would pay for anything interesting, and the take would be well worth the risk. 

The tip he'd gotten had promised more than a decent score.  Better yet the owner wasn't supposed to be home.  It was a piece of cake.  With something so easy, Crowe had planned to take as much as he could carry.  The only thing that sucked was that the castle – of course it had to be a castle – was buried deep in the wilderness.  Several miles away from the home base.  So far in fact...it was in another province entirely.  Crowe didn't normally go so far for a hit. Staying close to home was safer, just as lucrative, but the bigger the risk the higher the reward right?

He'd been lucky though, that he'd managed to convince Flitch to tag along with his scheme.  With more than a decent cut of course.  But now that he had time to consider it, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. 

Wait, Flitch!  Shit!

He was supposed to meet her at the rendezvous point.  Maybe he'd be lucky, maybe she'd figure he stiffed her and turned back and went home.  Maybe she gave a damn about her cut and would come looking for him.  He would never accuse her of having sympathy, after all.

[kleineklementine]

What was Crowe doing? Sure, he'd said it would be a big payload. But did it really take this long to collect? High up in the bows of an old oak tree, the yellow-and-black furred marten peered down the old, disused forest track where the Mountain Cat was supposed to return down. Not that she'd been really keeping track, but Flitch would guess it was a few hours past when Crowe was supposed to show up with his loot. The thought occurred to her that Crowe had just stiffed her. But why drag her all the way out here just to leave her behind? She hadn't done much to get him in, really, so it didn't seem like too likely a scenario. Of course, it was no skin off her back if Crowe'd gotten himself in trouble, but...

Unlike a lot of the Mountain Cats, Flitch hadn't spent her whole life scrapping and fighting for coin and just surviving. And it left her with something less of a 'me first' attitude than a lot of the rogues and ruffians in the gang. She wasn't even that worried about her cut. Amongst the many mysteries of her exiled life, the lust for money was one she still hadn't entirely figured out. After all, a good thief could always just take what they needed. Of course, she went after big and profitable jobs, but it was more a matter of professional pride. This was all to say that, when she finally dropped from the tree limb onto the ground, it was because she knew her in gut that she couldn't just leave Crowe in the lurch with a clear conscious.

This was why she preferred to work alone.

With a resigned sigh, Flitch headed down the gloomy forest track. As a marten, it was easy enough to follow Crowe's tracks. It was another half hour or so before she arrived at her destination and it stopped her in her tracks for a moment.

Well, shit. What, Crowe couldn't find somewhere creepier? The dark grey stone of the old castle was half covered in lichen and moss and who knew what else. The tall dark trees of the forest grew close around it, and Flitch couldn't help but think that it seemed like it came out of some scary story for children. The place gave her the chills. But it also left her with an even worse feeling about Crowe. Still in her marten form, she slipped undetected into the castle. It took her some time to follow Crowe's scent, but finally she found herself crawling into a dark, damp room in the bowels of the building. It was empty, save for a lone cage - a cage - in its center. And in the cage, her animal eyes could just make out the form of the Mountain Cat.

"Aw shit, Crowe," she complained, changing into her human form and keeping her voice low. "Seriously?"

[Lion]

[That marten is seriously adorable.  Even with the disemboweled mouse.]

Crowe wasn't one to just lie down and die.  And he would have picked his way out of this cage long ago seeing as he still had his gear on him.  The fall had knocked him out, and as far as he knew no one had taken anything from him, save maybe his dignity and the items he stole.  But he couldn't find the typical block in the door that would hold a lock, where he might reach-around and pick it.

He pulled at the door, and it refused to budge, and when held on for too long, he felt his palms burning with a electric shock.  He hissed, soothing his palms along his trousers, until he heard the pitter patter of paws on stony ground.

He turned quickly, seeing Flitch suddenly appearing, as if she'd been there all the time.  He'd forgotten that she wandered around as a little critter from time to time.   Her complaint however was met with a stony-eyed glare.

"I didn't do it on purpose," he hissed back.  "I was scoping out more of the place.  Something's wrong with the door!  There's no lock!  Not even a latch!  But it won't fucking budge."

[kleineklementine]

[[Especially with the disembowled mouse!]]

"This place is creepy as fuck," Flitch complained. "I ain't surprised you found yourself all caged up without a door to break out of. Don't ya know that casin' a place is for before you do a job? 'Specially a weird-ass place like this."

Flitch circled the cage. For a moment, she ran her fingertips along the smooth, cold metal, feeling for a latch. But after a moment, she pulled her hand back, shaking it. Something was odd there, too.

Hm. Flitch glanced around the damp, dark room, hoping to find some clue. After all, Whoever got him in there somehow. Crouching down, she inspected where the metal bars met the stone floor. As she suspected, the bars weren't welded or bolted there. They slipped into the stone. Which meant they ought to slip out of the stone.

But what triggered it?

[Lion]

[I was going to write 'especially' but I didn't want to seem like a creep.  I appreciate how casual the marten is about dinner.  Seems like a really down to earth critter.]

He rolled his eyes from behind the bars.  "I was casing the place.  You gotta walk around to case anything.  I...I fucking fell from, up there!"  He pointed up to the darkened ceiling above him.  "Must've triggered some clearly ready made trap.  Just get me the fuck out of here!"

He observed where she was looking, and he saw the spaces in the floor where the bars gouged in.  "Find a switch.  Take that torch over there.  It's the only fucking light in this place.  Hurry!  I think that creepy lady is coming back soon."

[kleineklementine]

[Tiny post!]

"Wait," Flitch paused, looking up at Crowe with narrowed eyes. "What 'creepy lady?'"

[Lion]

[|8]

Crowe looked out to the darkness again, as if his eyes were trying to hone in on something that was not readily seen.  He let out a slow steady breath and shook his head.  "I don't know.  I didn't see a face or a person, but a voice spoke to me when I woke up.  A woman's voice.  I knew that rat bastard that told me about this place, said something about some magical items that were inside."

He sighed and smacked the bars in frustration of his own stupidity.  "But he never mentioned anything about traps, or that the owner had any magical talent.  Unless she just has a talent for throwing voices, I'd wager she was an enchantress."  And he rolled his eyes again.  Just his luck.

[kleineklementine]

"Hey, knock off that racket, Crowe," Flitch hissed at him when he slammed the bars in his frustration.

His words gave her pause, though, and Flitch stopped for half a moment to frown at him. Enchantress? Somewhere deep in her gut she felt a pang of something like panic. An enchantress. Being caged. A flashback to a past life.  But it was just for half a moment, then Flitch snorted in distaste.

"Sounds like you weren't friends with this fella after all," she observed, running her hand along the smooth stone of the wall, feeling for a groove or a hitch that might trigger the cage. "I dunno, but I'm tellin' you, Crowe. This is the last job you snare me into."

And, just then, her fingers caught on something. Flitch stopped, eying it carefully. It was nothing more than a little break in the stone wall; one stone that looked slightly looser. Experimentally, she pushed it, and the stone gave, sliding smoothly into the wall. At first nothing happened, but then with a loud lurch that made Flitch jump, the bars heaved upwards, freeing Crowe.

[Lion]

Crowe stopped beating himself up for his stupidity.  There was plenty of time for that later, and for whatever mistakes would compound from here on out.  He wasn't going to lie, the uncertainty of his captor unnerved him.  It went beyond the mere presence of magic - he could handle a few spells slung at him, provided he knew of the person before hand.

So in response to Flitch's observation: No, the fellow that pointed him in this direction was not a friend of his.  And in fact, the next time he saw him, if ever, would result in clear facial disfiguration on the fellow's part.  Crowe set that in stone and then waited for the click in the stone.

This entire place was rigged, one wrong move and who knew how many more cages would surround them.  Crowe looked around, stepping out when he was sure of his footing.  He listened hard in the dark, ear twitching as it would an animal's when straining to hear the sound of a predator.  The quiet was too much, and he could hear the sound of his breathing.  Crowe stalked toward Flitch and gestured to follow him.

He couldn't remember being on this lower level before, but he was certain this had to be the bottom.  Where else to go but up?  He thought of taking the torch, but the darkness was better in situations like these.  He was used to working with limited lighting.  "Careful," he whispered.  "Watch your step.  This whole fucking place is probably rigged to the teeth."  And he felt along the wall until he felt a hollow in it, and stairs, leading, conveniently, up.

[kleineklementine]

"You should know if somewhere's "rigged t'the teeth' before yeh get in," Flitch hissed through gritted teeth as she followed Crowe. She wasn't normally so critical, but then again, she normally worked alone. And the fact that she was still here with him, in her human form, trying to find human-sized ways out spoke volumes. Flitch could transform back into a marten and go out the way she came in. But what would have been the point of coming here at all? Just to let stupid-headed Crowe get himself recaptured?

Didn't mean she wouldn't resort to it in a pinch, though.

She followed him into the stairway, following close behind him. "Yeah," she said quietly, "I came from up. No way you could fit through, though. May as well see where this goes."

She gave him a bit of a nudge to get him going, then started following him up the stairwell. The spooky feeling in this place was growing the longer she stayed, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She glanced briefly back down into the chamber, which she could swear now had the faintest green glow about it. Or was that only her eyes playing tricks on her?

Best to keep moving, either way!

[Lion]

As if she was telling him stuff he didn't already know.  Crowe was glad, however, he had managed to talk Flitch into coming along, even at her own disagreement.  Not having done so would likely have resulted in his capture and not being able to escape.  Her little form was more than useful, and if he wasn't wary of getting caught again, he'd suggest she turn into that little raccoon-thing, and scamper off, while he made an exit elsewhere.  Splitting up usually decreased chances of getting caught.

Usually.

For now, however, he was content to just rush up these stairs as carefully as he could.  He did not bear any magical sense that Flitch seemed to.  Maybe she was just more sensitive to that junk.  But he wasn't going to take anything for granted.  He stayed focused, and carefully stepped over a trip wire that was placed expertly on the step before them, and feeling for drafts in the stone.

As they crested the stairwell, Crowe felt something hard crack beneath the bottom of his shoe and he silently cursed.  "Stupid snail."  The room was moist, and smelled rank.  The sight of embalmed corpses gave him a moment's pause.  Faint candle light illuminated sunken eye sockets and gaunt expressions.  Better they then him.

He spotted a few items of interest.  Perhaps as consolation prizes and maybe not make this trip a complete waste of time.  He snagged onto a ring on one of the bodies that laid over a table, various embalming tools beside it.  The thinness of the finger allowed the gold ring to slip off with ease, and when he spotted a gold tooth, he cracked it off quickly and tucked them into his pockets.

And then bounded for the door at the end of the chamber, avoiding looking upon any one body in particular for any long period of time.  Crowe bumped into something hard in front of him, and heard a grunt.  It didn't feel like a wall.  In fact, it felt like flesh.  Cold clammy flesh.  He looked up and saw the dark desiccated form turning around, and the eye sockets illuminated with a piercing green glow.  The groan of the corpse as it started to move toward the pair only seemed to have awakened the others on the table.  And the body that was missing its tooth, reached up to feel it was gone.

"Oh this has got to be some fucked up joke!" Crowe hissed, backing away only a moment as the corpse guard reached up to swipe at him.  He rushed forward, crunching his shoulder into the beast's ribs, knocking it aside, and moving to leap around it.