Stumbling about for a temple.(Xierra,open)

[Anonymous]

Ric's shadowy aura flashed again as they touched each others but it didn't hurt Rath as much as it had used to. This sickly green color that had replaced most of the darkness didn't harm Rath instead it felt slimy to the touch along with the feeling that he wasn't holding one woman's tail. A thousand souls were observing him from the green goo their shapes could be seen if you focused your eyes enough or had a general affinity with darkness.

The wolf woman's fists clenched and she was cold sweating, as if her she had or was still struggling with something.

" I... Where's your sense of adventure young man? with us two here, they are safer than if they had an army of humans to protect them. A short visit at the temple wouldn't harm anyone. It would be fun. COMON!" Urging him to come with her, the thick attracting scent had increased its effectiveness again. Grinning in the sickly green and black color of her aura. Everything seemed to stem from the seal stamped in her forehead. It made her look like some sort of wicked yet oddly attractive wolf monster.

"The compass is working thanks to the kid. He wants to find the temple and the compass can sense his desire for adventure. HOW ABOUT IT KID! want to lead the way?" Tossing Jonny the compass, a heavy burden for such a small thing, still emniting some of that sickly green aura. The arrow pointing where Ric had first set off too before Rath had stopped her.

Finally the dark passenger let her go, aura retracting back inside the seal. Everything dark and green had vanished, leaving a rather plain looking woman with a wolfs tail and ears. Panting heavily and rather dazed as if she had been working out.

[Anonymous]

Johnny shrunk back when the man who named himself Rath looked down at him. Was the creepy smiling man going to eat him? Apparently not, as the caped man turned off to go after the scary lady with the tail. Johnny was curious about that tail. He had never seen anybody who had non-human parts. He had seen Fae people, and people with Fae in their family history, of course, but a person with animal parts? That was a new sight to the child.

His eyes were drawn to the other lady as she started talking. Adventure? That sounded exciting! But with the wolf lady there, it probably wouldn't be as fun. Johnny didn't really like being around her. Plus, she smelled. He had been able to smell it since he had first got there but it wasn't until now that Johnny figured out where it was coming from. Did her mommy not bathe her? He was brought out of his thoughts when she shouted at him. Something about leading the-Ah! The compass was flying right at him but Meri caught it before it was able to strike the child.

"Really now. Johnny shouldn't be standing out front." Meri said. Johnny was still watching the other two people when the furry lady...changed. Johnny felt a stab of worry about her. Sure she scared him but she hadn't done anything bad to him, yet, so he didn't want anything bad to happen to her. "And I don't think you want to lead, Sir Knight." Meri said in a flat voice. "Unless you want to see to her and lead the way at the same time." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Come on Johnny, let's go see that temple." The woman took hold of Johnny's hand, the other holding the compass, and set off in the direction of the temple without waiting to see if the other two would follow.

[Anonymous]

Eyes wide and panting with exhaustion Ric had somehow managed to catch up to Jonny, several minutes had passed and it felt like a decade since she had run this good. "Wait up.." Then she finally fell over, and a ghastly smell followed with the wind. "Oh gods." She exclaimed before croaking down again.

Using her sleeve as some sort drying cloth the woman rose up on two legs. Carefully inspecting what her bad habits had birthed. "Well, that's that." Her face had started to grow paler than most vampires.

Acting more like a ballet dancer or professional balance artist the way she tiptoed around. "DO you have anything to eat? I haven't eaten properly in weeks so just about anything will do." Wagging the tail like a lost but tame puppy especially keeping close to Jonny, like some stray, foul smelling pet from the pits of the underworld.

Jonny was bright, sort off. She couldn't keep her eyes off him. Like a plant turning its leaves against the sun to soak of more rays.

[Anonymous]

The two travelers came to a stop at Ric's call. Well, Meri stopped and Johnny wasn't about to go off with out her. The boy looked back to see how far back the wolf-lady was before quickly averting his eyes. He couldn't stop the smell from reaching him though. Ew. He felt a stab of sympathy for the lady. She obviously needed to be tucked into bed with some warm soup so she'd get all better. Johnny just hoped he wouldn't catch whatever she had as he really did hate throwing up.

Meri watched the proceedings passively, waiting for the other woman to finish. Johnny had no idea what she thought about Ric but it couldn't have been too bad as she didn't try to drive the, now-pale, woman off. The black-robed figure cocked an eyebrow at Ric's question. "Food? None with us at the moment. Our belongings are secure back in Zantric." Meri kept a close eye on Ric as the other woman seemed to latch onto Johnny. "If you're able to wait until after we visit the temple, I'll let you have some of our food and we can...talk about a few things."

Great. Not only would Ms. Smelly be coming along with them to the temple but Johnny had the feeling she'd be sticking to his side the whole way. Ric's earlier comment about 'loving children' floated into his head and he stared at her like she was a poisonous snake. He really hoped she wouldn't try to eat him. Johnny pulled on Meri's hand to get them going again. The sooner they visited the temple, the sooner they could leave this awful place and be away from the wolf-lady. The sooner he could do that, the sooner he wouldn't have to worry about her nibbling on him.

[Anonymous]

"So you just set out for the temple without something to eat. Did you expect to be back before supper or something?" Ric asked rather suspiciously, sniffing the air to get a hint to further her cause but the wind was not in her favour now, a slight breeze to cool her skin, leading her smell away from her recently acquired companions.


Ric chuckled at the notion. "safe in Zantaric" eyeing the more adult female companion, having forgotten her name already. "You mean the city that reeks of outcasts and filth? You actually expect your belongings to stay where you put it?". She had enough with the task of walking straight, yet managed even so to talk with her dry mouth and slight headache only making it worse on her own situation.

"Ah," she exclaimed with a look on the skies, as if suddenly she had suddenly discovered that the sun was shining against them. Smiling dumbfounded she kept that slight distance from them as if to shield them from the brunt of the smell. "Wish it would rain soon."

[Anonymous]

Meri didn't reply to Wolfy's questions and Johnny could see why. She smelled. The boy crinkled his nose as he did his best to keep Meri between him and Wolfy, her comment about loving children still fresh on his mind. He peered over at the wolf-lady. "Why would you want it to rain?" He asked in a quiet voice. "Then you'd be wet and smelly." He skipped off ahead of the other two to an almost indistinct blob of shadow in the mist..

"You'll have to forgive him." Meri said to the other woman. "He hasn't lived long enough yet to learn tact." She glanced sideways at the other woman while still keeping an eye on the blob that was Johnny. "So why do you seek the temple? You said so yourself that it is a dangerous place and even one with your...talents could run into trouble if caught unaware."

While the two were talking, Johnny was playing amongst the grasses and trees ahead. He'd made it into a game in his head, ducking and weaving amongst the foliage though he never stayed out of Meri's sight for more than a moment. It was during his game that a very large shadow started to form ahead of him. Curiosity won out over fear and he went ahead to take a look. It was a building! Could this be the one that Meri had told him about? He turned and ran back to his two companions. "Hey! I think I found it!"

[Anonymous]

The child was simply too much of a child to ever say anything remotely considered offensive. A child seeks to know and he had that innocent naivety about himself but she did not reply simply observing him run a head fearlessly or in blissful ignorance.
 
"I just recently found out it was the temple I was seeking; I simply followed my hearts compass. Don't really know what is there, but I would love for it to catch me unaware." Ric replied cheerfully with a slight musical tone.

A fake smile to complete the whole ordeal before she returned to mind her own business, luckily the darkness had swept away any attempt at giving her headace.

The woman was nice, nicer than her old mentor anyhow. Probably as nice as one could expect given the circumstances as she tried to contemplate this peculiar situation and keep whatever was left within her stomach contained the child exclaimed that he had found it.  "Oh."

Eyes wide in a slight tinge of hope but quickly returned to that realistic and sullen outlook, calmly accepting that her hopes might be for naught at an early phase rather than run the risk of having her optimism thrown to the wayside again.

Why wasn't her dark passenger speaking anymore? Questions would be solved here, apparently. Her compass had told her so.

(ooc: you get first pick at doing the temple grounds.)

[Anonymous]

Meri raised an eyebrow at her companion. Ric was an odd one, that was for sure. Of course, Meri wasn't too normal herself either. Johnny's call brought Meri's attention back to the boy as he came running back towards them. "I found it! I found it!" He called in a sing-song voice. He really could be quite charming at times.

When he wasn't being difficult.

"Well go on ahead then." The woman encouraged the boy. "Show us the way." Johnny grinned and scampered back the way he had come, stopping every few feet to turn back and make sure the grownups were staying close. He didn't want them to wander off and get lost, after all. As the party got nearer to the building, the mist gave way to reveal that it truly was a temple, albeit the backside of it. "Very good Johnny." She patted him on the head. "Shall we take a look at the front side, then?"

Meri set off without waiting for a word from the others. Johnny ran to catch up to her and acted like a boomerang, running a little ways ahead before coming back then repeating the process. He'd finally be able to see what all the excitement was about! The boy could hardly wait.

It was a large building that stood tall, dark, and ominous with an air about it that spoke of having seen centuries, if not millennia, pass. It was a dark place that had looked like nightmares regularly stayed within its walls. Long years of forbidden magics had twisted the ancient stonework into ghastly shapes that almost begged to be released. It had a faded coppery smell to it that Meri recognized as long-dried blood mixed with some not so dried. Johnny's excitement and energy faded quickly just being near the unholy place and, soon enough, he was clutching Meri's hand and trying to hide in her robes.

When they reached the front, Johnny really wanted to go back to the relative safety of the village. He knew that it wasn't a very good place to be but he preferred it over the building that stood in front of them now. He stared at the entrance from his spot behind Meri's legs with large, unblinking eyes.

"Yep. This is the place, all right. What we need is inside there." Johnny looked up at Meri in a very alarmed fashion. Inside? There? Johnny went back to staring at the gaping maw that was the entrance to the temple. There weren't words to describe how much he really, really, really did not want to go inside but he knew he would have to. Meri was going inside and the wolf-lady was probably going to do the same. That would leave him outside.

Alone.

He swallowed hard. Well, there was nothing else he could do except go inside. He missed the days of when all he had to worry about was wolf-ladies wanting to eat him, never mind that that was only an hour ago.

[Anonymous]

Ric's stomach growled at the sight of this large ominous building. A sure sign that she would have to exert herself beyond normal once more, and on an empty stomach at that, suffering from a water deficiency a wonder she didn't have headache or any of the usual symptoms, but that was probably the dark and shrivelled up entity inside her helping a little.

The boy had as normal reaction as one could have the temple looked as if pulled out of a horror story. She found herself smiling at that thought, reminded her of the time she aimed for immortality while she dragged a shadow critter out of its hiding place. They sought her out often and loved nether energies like the ones emanating from within the structure. Its shapeless form and yellow begging and beady eyes basking in the sunlight while wriggling to get out of her hold.

It hissed and wormed while she drew upon its essence to gain arcane sight, the ability to delve into the past to see the structure rise upwards in its days of glory only to be whittled down by death and decay for a few moments before it finally was released back into the shadows.

"What exactly are you in need off?" Ric asked humbly and silently from behind Meri`s back, having snuck up as they observed the scenery and sat herself down on a rock her tail swaying happily in the wind.

She could sense it, something dark was awaiting them hungrily. A pair of Crows screamed, teasing them while picking on invisible scraps hidden in the mist. Not a good sign.

[Anonymous]

Meri smiled slightly but otherwise didn't respond to Ric's question. Johnny looked up into his guardian's face to see if he could guess what she was thinking but her small smile kept her thoughts closed. "Come Johnny." She reached down and took one of the boy's hands. "There's a treat waiting for you inside, we mustn't keep it waiting lest it be taken." She said it quietly which made Johnny feel both relieved and perturbed him. He trusted Meri, though, and he knew that nothing would harm him as long as he was with her.

Johnny looked back at the wolf-lady. He hoped she would come with them. After all, it would be pretty scary to be left alone out in that mist. His head stayed turned around, eyes glued to the entrance, as the mist slowly crept inside the temple. He couldn't take his eyes off the mist. It...called to him. Johnny distantly felt panic rise inside him as the mist reached for and surrounded him.

What was it doing? It just sat there. Waiting. Waiting for something and he had no idea what it was. Was it something he was suppose to do? He felt butterflies flutter in his stomach. He turned to ask Meri what was going on but she had vanished. The wolf-lady wasn't anywhere around either. What was happening? What was this place?

When Johnny had stopped walking, Meri picked him up and started carrying him. His irises were a complete, pure white. The process was beginning. It was just the first step in a long series of events but it was beginning. "Ric. You asked me what I was in need of. I will tell you, in a way." The woman continued her walk deeper into the temple. "A delicate process is starting and I need to acquire a certain piece of jewelry before little Johnny here wakes up."

He was lost. He was alone. He was...growing bored actually. Johnny stood in white mistiness that didn't so much as move or do much of anything except just sit there. There was no way to tell how long he'd been there and standing wasn't getting anything done, so Johnny picked a direction and started off that way.

"If you would like to help, I'm looking for a ring." She came to a stop in the middle of a large, open, empty area. Kicking the ground a few times with the toe of her boot reveled a trap door that had stairs leading away from it. "It's a simple ring. The band is made of silver and has a moderately sized stone the color of snow." She descended into the blackness. Her voice floated up from where she disappeared. "If you would help me look for it, I would be most grateful."

[Anonymous]

Ric followed Meri rather religiously at this point her silence rather suspicious. Who was she working was but one question arising to the surface and tinting her usually naïve thought processes. Usually people had rather simple goals in life, and for the most part they never affected the grander scheme of things.

"I will aid you."  As soon as she had said that, her stomach twisted twofold and something akin to iron swelled within her, almost as if the entity hiding inside her had urged forward such a response, her voice had felt twofold but she never backed out on her words even if they had been urged on by such a potent servant of chaos.

Her yellow eyes flickered, as the she wolf followed suit like a silent shadow, observing and obediently awaiting a command while she chewed on her urges. The darkness she had initially sensed stirring resonated inside of her. She had longed for something and it beckoned her into the darkness along with Meri.

The darkness was comforting, she could feel her nose and throat itching with ancient dust, this place was old.

[Anonymous]

((Please forgive my lag in posting. :3 I had the hardest time with this post.))

"Thank you."

Meri carried Johnny down the stairs and down into the blackness. Their steps echoed off the walls. She could tell that there was little enough space as it was for her to carry the boy without his head or feet bumping against the walls and, though she was a little worried about the condition of the stairs as the trio made their way down, each of her steps was sure that a stair, whole and undamaged, would meet it. If she didn't already know the general layout of this underground passage, the closeness might have pressed in on her a little.

Soon enough, the stairs ended. She sensed a leveling off more than she felt or saw it. "Let's bring a little light down here, shall we?" She said. Torches flickered to life as her magic gave them the spark that was needed. A hallway trailed off into points of light ahead. No doors into rooms forgotten by time. No side passages trailing off into the blackness. Just one, long, straight hallway.

She didn't like it.

The information she had been given had not said anything about this. True, it was just a hallway. There was little enough to comment about it save for its length but it didn't sit right with her. She treaded ahead slowly but surely, her eyes scanning the walls for a trap of any sort.

Her fears were unfounded though as the passage way lead into a large, circular room. Doors and passageways branched off at various points. Some of the doors and passageways had runes marked on or above them while others simply had symbols around them. A large altar stood in the middle of the room, candles in stands at either side lit and waiting.

She placed Johnny in the middle of the altar. "Ric." She called to her companion as she stood up. "Here is where I would ask for your help. The object I seek is behind one of these doors. I warn you though. The spirits of this temple may prefer to keep the ring." She smiled slightly. "Anything that comes at us will most likely go for the boy so I will stay here and protect him. Would you mind looking for the ring for me, please?"

"Be careful and be quick."

[Anonymous]

Rics heart felt the weight of the darkness in full, as if deep within there was a well founded regret over helping this person accomplish whatever task it had set fourth to do. she followed the pair closely, those yellow eyes of hers able to observe the construction they where walking down, even in the darkness that such a set of well constructed stairs would still exist was a bad sign overall.

Then there were light many torches at once ablaze with the spark of magic, yet shimmering in an unrealistic tone. The air was thick with the scent of death and decay as if the air around them had been frozen in time, not allowed to leave.

Having wandered about for a year's time, this was unlike anything she had seen in this realm. Then they came to a large room, obviously intended to be impressive on sight for anyone that may have decided to enter, a circular chamber with an oval roof, no paintings, just the gray rock and dusty corners. As if a wind had tried to clean the place before they had entered.

"Our presence where predicted ahead in time." She grumbled that otherwise happily wagging tail on aggressive alert like a watchdog of some kind.

Meri placed the boy on the altar of all things. An altar could mean many so things, god worship, human sacrifice or some just used them preach from. It was very simplistic in design just like the woman's request find a ring.

The hair on her back rose, as her fingers touched briefly at a door as if the door itself had grown a consciousness. Taking deep and vocal breaths as her mind reached towards the entities inside and the symbols and signs started to make sense. "There is much death in this place, the spirits present so far have invited us inside rather than attack us outright."

The afterlife did not amuse Ric more than it would most magi, she longed for immortality in the flesh not in spirit. Two sides of the same coin only related to how ethical the approach to the same question was. "Useless." A grown of anger as she moved on to the next door, and the door after that, a minor annoyance that she was to be careful but also quick.

They are two vastly different concepts where you just had to go by rule of thumb, gradually hastening your pace and testing the boarders.

Finally she pushed herself against the door; it did not resonate well with her touch like the others. Groaning as she used what little muscle she had, tilting it. The rock smashed towards the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces before spreading a cloud of dust. A howl came from the dark insides of another passageway while hurricane winds swept the dust inwards and away from her.

What light there was ended up flickering, creating large shades on the walls that she saw all to well as she turned around looking back at Meri and the boy before she vanished into the darkness?

The dark passenger was humming a tune in her head, walking with her now proving once again that more than just two people where at stake here. Finally as she saw the end of the darkness, a room so plain and dustfull it was hard not to choke and in the middle lay a ring, she picked it up casually and began her journey back towards her friends.

 

(ooc: NP i take my time aswell)

[Anonymous]

Meri watched Ric as the canine-like woman made her way around the room, testing the doors. The blue-haired woman had a calm look on her face. Contrary to her earlier words, she could wait for Ric to find exactly what she was looking for. It was a delicate process and there was really no reason to rush things.

Okay, that was a lie.

This was clearly illustrated when the door Ric had chosen fell in. A small smile appeared on Meri's face at the reaction the intrusion had produced and, after Ric had vanished into the passageway, the Guardian turned around to come face-to-face with the ghostly visage of a noble looking man. A noble looking man with a none pleasant look on his face. Meri stood there, her smile on her face, keeping her eyes locked on the once-man.

"This was not how it was agreed." Meri's smile grew. She broke eye contact to sweep her head around the room. More spirits were floating indistinctly. Their shimmering was enough to convey their emotions. Anger. Frustration. She brought her attention back to the more distinct spirit. "A third party was not forbidden." The ghost's visage never changed, forever frozen in the same pose as its corpse, but anger still seemed to flash across it.

She stalled whatever it was about to say with a raised hand. "You know very well what will happen if you do anything while I guard this child." Howls rang out from the surrounding spirits. Meri gave them a side glance and took a quick look at the door Ric had disappeared down before returning to the spirit. A few seconds passed before silence returned.

The spirit's echoey voice took a hint of sadness as it started to fade. "You mortals have no idea what you risk nor what the stakes are in this." Meri crossed her arms and rested them on her chest. "I know exactly what the risks and stakes are." The ghost chuckled. It was little more than an outline at this point. "Be that as it may, I can no longer restrain the Lost Ones. Pray that your companion returns swiftly."

With the main spirit's disappearance, the outlaying spirits seemed to gain more substance, more energy. They began dropping to the floor, pooling into a large ring of ectoplasm. Meri took a step back as the pool began to bubble, swiveling her head around to get a look at the whole room. She glanced to the corridor down which she was expecting Ric from. "Watch your step on your way out." She called to the other woman. "It's gotten a little stickier in here."

[Anonymous]

It was hard to walk forward, the ring already weighed heavily in her hand, a desperate clinch to keep it in her hand. What was this feeling? This intense pressure that made the room sway as if she was drunk except instead of enjoying herself blissfully there was this intense sensation of dread.

The effort needed to move forward increasing with every step sweat oozing from her already dehydrated body as this icy chill ran across her back. <Do not look behind you.> The dark passenger hinted, as if she needed more incentive to hasten her already sluggish pace. <This is all you can amount too on your own? Weakling? All you do is borrow strength from me like a common leech. A beggar for power that is what you are. >

Her body and soul responded to the taunts in unison. Growling angrily as black fur began growing, muscles and green intricate stripes rippling trough a tired body as she grew.
The change washing away all worry, all side effects of alcohol, removing doubt, worry and brimming with energy.

Ripping trough her ragged outfit as she walked further towards the exit, no longer stumbling about but observing the ring as it was mysteriously resonating with her touch. <How far along this random path will you go? You owe this woman nothing.> It was a silent voice in the back of her head, but it didn't matter anymore.

The unleashed beast stiffened its ears to the sound of Meri chattering with something the scent of spirits lingering heavily in the air as her feet touched with the stone slab knocked down earlier. "I hrrave your grrring." Ric growled as she entered the large chamber. Her shimmering dark fur was like a black void surrounded in a set of lime green tribal tattoos all leading into the eyes reflecting in this light like a black lantern of power.

For every second she moved it was as if the already magnificent body gained further power, manifesting itself into the realm of possibility. She growled once more, shrugging the pressure off her shoulders before tossing the ring towards Meri. Every breath looked like one of exhaustion.

Heaving as she turned towards the pool of ectoplasm, curiously observing it. To her eyes and scent it was a delicious threat. It looked like candy, but candy does not appear out of no where and ectoplasm does not bubble nor is it visible to the naked eye.

[Anonymous]

Ric's entrance dramatically changed the scene. The ring of ectoplasm took on a luminous effect; a sickly yellow light radiated out from it, the...bubbling grew more intense. Both the torches on the walls and the candles on both sides of the alter, smoking only slightly, started pumping out heavy trails of smoke.

At the jewelry's departure from Ric's hand, a tendril shot out of the glowing ooze and intercepted the ring mid-air. Meri reacted quickly, sending a blade of ice a few feet down the tendril to cut ring free. "There's something different about you, Ric. Did you clip your hair? You look stunning. Be careful, now, we seem to have guests." Blobs of slime started crawling out of the ring; doors fell in to quickly be filled with armed, walking skeletons; sounds echoed from the open hallways, warning that more guests would be arriving shortly.

Things were going downhill quick and more tendrils were popping up to make matters even more difficult. "Ric, if you'd be so kind, hold the creepers off as much as you can. This will be sorted out shortly." She hesitated a minute before going after the dropped ring. Leaving her spot defending Johnny was a very large risk - leaving him open to the various creatures that were appearing wasn't something she wanted to do - but it was needed.

Meri settled into a dance of magic, keeping as many tendrils in view as possible, fire and ice flying through the air as she cut the otherworldly arms as fast as she was able. A frown crossed the mage's face as she danced towards the ring. There were easier ways to retrieve the fallen good, magic for one, but she dared not risk using magic too close to it, fearing that doing so would the ritual start early. It was rather annoying.

Suddenly she was skidding along the ground. One of the tendrils had smacked her in the side when she wasn't looking. She pushed herself up. No time to rest, the goo was already trying to take the ring. That was soon fixed and the piece of jewelry was left unclaimed yet again, albeit farther away. She snorted. Annoying.

[Anonymous]

She stared at the situation unfolding, panting heavily as muscles still rippled and grew at her very beastly frame sucking up the soul power emanating from the very room itself. It felt invigorating. Barking randomly as she flexed and shrugged finally unleashed and free from the restriction imposed upon her more mortal shell.

The sound of bones and doors slamming open, with armed undead creatures pouring out where loud enough to give her trouble hearing just exactly what Meri wanted Ric to do it just sort off faded into the background noise. It was beyond caring about she saw Meri`s eyes try to calculate risk and reward, the human jumping for the ring that had been haphazardly thrown towards its goal.  A mad laughter, as if the struggle amused her before turning to face a sea of enemies.
 
A soul shattering long drawn out howl soon filled the room as Ric seemed to grow taller and letting out a dark green twisted steam of chaotic energies. The skeleton warriors couldn't even get close enough to fight anyone as the magical energies keeping their limbs functioning were greedily being gobbled up by this black cloud of death.

<It seems whatever commands this place is frantically trying to stop you from whatever you intend to accomplish, or its testing our combined strength by sending a vanguard of weaklings.> her passenger spoke as Ric walked towards the altar. Ric had limited time, considering her previous state if they didn't bring out some sort of boss creature or their most potent enemies soon she might loose herself here.

Midway she turned towards the pond, already this dark chaotic mist steaming from her as horns where growing. Most sounds had died out except that furious growling and barking like a thousand hungry wild dogs. Drool was foaming from her mouth, as was her desire to feast upon meat growing.

[Anonymous]

"Definitely the first." Meri made her way towards the ring. "I just hope it's not the second. I'm having enough problems as it is." Or, rather, she had been having problems. Her attackers had backed off. The tentacles were just...well, just sitting there, for lack of a better word. They were twisting about towards the roof, wiggling around to stay upright, but were doing little else.

Meri didn't like it.

She moved towards the ring, keeping an eye on the twisting ecto-appendages. Why were they just allowing her a free pass? Was it because of Ric? Or were they waiting for something? The mage didn't like the idea of what they could be waiting for. Though her nerves were on edge, she didn't encounter any resistance to the ring.

Collection, however, was a whole different ballgame.

As soon as she touched the ring, a loud roar ripped through the air followed closely by another. She paused. It sounded like one of them had come from the hallway her and Ric and come down. "Ric. Would you mind holding those off for a while? They should be cleared away one I'm done." Hopefully the wolf-woman would be able to keep the things at bay long enough for the ritual to remove the threat.

She quickly walked towards the alter where Johnny was laying. She would have to work fast but a little time was spared for a quick shield of magic. It probably wouldn't buy much time but her hope was that it would buy enough. Crashes echoed down the hallways as she started the words of the ritual.

[Anonymous]

A dark green fog was spreading inside the room and the very foundations of the floor began trembling, the walls appeared to come alive with a thousand of slain vengeful souls

Expecting a fiend of epic proportions, Ric looked towards Meri, drawing a black circle on the floor with her inner eye and boxing the woman inside with a containment spell.

Rising from the blackness of the drawn circle was a dark wild growth in full bloom, creating a beautiful protective overgrowth as several bright sparks filled the air. Tasting the electrified air as creatures of the darkness popped out of the very walls. The first wave where easily incinerated but they where persistent critters easily filling the air with the scent of boiled blood, roasted flesh and burnt bone.

Then there where larger enemies, scorched but still alive, she dealt them swift blows, easily sidestepping wide haymakers before separating heads from body like a machine and expending energy her body did not really have.

[Anonymous]

She was glad that Ric was here. She would not have had a chance to beat back these creatures and complete the ritual. Meri shot a quick glance at the wolf-woman. Or was Ric's presence provoking a larger resistance? It mattered little. With her's and Ric's protections, not to mention Ric herself, nothing would be interrupting what she had come here to do.

She had to focus. The spell required all of her concentration and she was letting idle thoughts distract her. The runes surrounding the alter glowed impatiently at her. Meri's voice echoed off the walls as she started reciting the words. "By my House and honor do I pledge this boy...."

Johnny didn't know how long he'd been sitting or even how long he'd been walking before that. He had decided to sit not from tiredness - his legs didn't hurt in the least, though he knew they should have - but because walking didn't seem to do much good. His surroundings were the same since he'd started moving.

The boy rested his head in his hand and his arm on his knee. He wanted to get back to Meri, he just didn't know how. It didn't help that this place was starting to scare him a bit. Well, not scare exactly - he wasn't afraid of anything! No, sir! - but he didn't like being here. It was just...creepy. It didn't help that he was alone in this unending mist.

Meri drew a small, ornate dagger out from beneath her robes. She made three quick cuts on her wrist, letting the blood fall to the rune at her feet. As she made her way up to where Johnny was laying, the runes were slowly changing color from a bright blue to a dull red. She raised the boy's limp wrist and made similar cuts, letting a little of his blood flow to the ground where it broke into multiple flows to snake around the alter and touch the runes closest to the boy. The runes started glowing brighter until they were nearly blinding.

"...I offer our blood to seal the boy to the ancient pact..."

Something was wrong. Johnny idly scratched his wrist as he looked around at the fog. Nothing had changed that he could tell but he felt that it had grown more menacing. It called to him. It was like an itch at the edge of his thoughts. He felt that, if only he could concentrate hard enough, he'd could barely hear it.

Even if he couldn't hear it clearly, Johnny knew what it wanted. Blood. Johnny could feel the fog's craving for blood. It was pressing on his mind; he could feel the need echo in his chest. The boy's breath quickened. What was going on? He looked all around him. What. Is. Going. On? Meri was nowhere around to comfort him, to calm him down.

Still holding his wrist, Meri placed the ring on Johnny's third finger. "...and I give the souls of the damned as an offering to bind this boy to his path."

Johnny was curled on his side, sobbing from fear. He could feel it pulling at him from the inside. It seemed like he would explode at any moment. Why wasn't Meri here to help him, to protect him? The fact that he was here alone with this thing scared him more than anything he could think that could be done to him.

Then it stopped. The pressure was gone. He could hear it at the edge of his thoughts; he could feel it, albeit distantly, but it wasn't threatening to tear him apart anymore. Johnny opened his eyes and lifted his head, aftershock-sobs hitting him every now and again, to see an older man in fancy clothes kneeling over him, smiling. "You poor boy." Johnny jumped up to hug the man, grateful that he wasn't alone here anymore. The man returned the hug and whispered in the boy's ear. "Please forgive me, this is going to hurt."

Johnny screamed.

Meri's part was done and she sagged a little. Johnny's eyes were open, completely overtaken by a sickly white color with just a hint of red, as was his mouth, ripped open in a scream of agony though he remained silent. Now that Meri wasn't concentrating so much on the ritual, her brain registered the sounds of battle that had been going on. She watched Johnny as he started flowing a few inches where he had lay. Things would be over soon.