Searching for Clues. [Quest] {Sya/Maddy/Kassie]

[The Martyr]

It was a cave mouth of impenetrable blackness, if they step inside their shoulders would dissolve into the surrounding darkness. It's dank and the only sound was the dripping water in the distance. It's general shape was ovoid, the walls below the ridge smoothly curved to the floor, the walls above arched another hundred feet up to giant stalactites and the bat roosts. The group is going to need to provide their own source of light if they want to get far into this cave, unless they want to enter completely blind?

[Rii <3]

"We should probably wait for him before entering the tunnel. Are you doing ok? That avalanche was really strong. I tried to hold back its full power with my magic, but I'm not as strong as you are." Kasumi sat next to Syana and as she spoke, Syana just nodded her head slowly, but she began to realise that Maddox had not yet shown up. She tried to melt the snow as much as she could. Seconds seemed to pass but finally Maddox appeared and Syana exhaled with relief as she watched him arrive with a warm smile on her face.
"The papers say that there might be clues regarding the virus inside of this cave. Are either of you injured? Wet? Chilled? Hungry?" Maddox's voice was filled with worry and Syana shook her head with the smile on her face, looking towards the darkness of the cave. Slowly hoisting herself  up with her hands clutched around the staff; she turned to walk into the darkness, her boots clicked against the floor and she gazed back at the two. She wasn't really going to say anything otherwise the strain in her voice would be pointed out.

She took a slow, deep breath and looked up at the mouth of the cave.
She needed to light up the area with her magic so with every ounce of strength she had, she bit down onto her lower lip and just summoned a small ball of light in her palm. Sure it was a little piece of her magic that she had mustered and concentrated it in the ball of her hand. As she walked carefully on ahead, her eyes looked back to her companions. 

[Jimmydalad]

Kasumi jumped up as soon as Maddox arrived, hearing the news that a clue to the disease could possibly be found in the cave. That information alone was enough for her to get excited. It would help her and the guild find a possible way to deal with the disease. It probably would even be able to help out Onibas, her old home. The thought of Onibas made her suddenly realize that Riley was probably still there.

"Oh man, I hope Riley is ok." Kasumi mumbled to herself, looking towards the cave. There wasn't much she could do for her from here except go into the cave. She shook her head after Maddox had finished speaking, her mind more focused on what they would find inside.

Once inside, Kasumi stuck close to Syana, doing her best to stay within the light due to how dark the rest of her surroundings were. If this cave had anything to do with the virus, there was a high likelihood of either one of them being infected with the disease. That thought alone frightened Kasumi. Her eyes flitted about the cave, trying to catch any incoming threats or clues.

[Maddox Aquila]

Maddox felt as though a weight was lifted from his shoulders when the girls confirmed that they were alright. Exhaling softly, he flicked some snow off of his shoulder and patted some more off of his clothes before turning his attention to the cave again. It was dark and possibly infected with the disease, so he really wasn't looking forwards to taking the two of them in there, to say the least of it.

"Do not touch anything." He warned them, which he found himself saying quite a bit since this whole Deadly Crows business began. Still, he felt it necessary to repeat himself, particularly around Syana. Her own kindheartedness was going to be her undoing, that much he was certain of - but it wasn't going to be while he was alive.

Following them into the cave, guided by Syana's light, he peered around them, his green eye taking in all of the details that he could see. "I wonder how deep this goes..." He absently remarked, rubbing at the side of his face.

[The Martyr]

The stalagmites of the cave are a rather unusual variety - they appear to be made of rounded, irregular, hollow cones, which are concave upwards. In the cave, the only sound that met their straining ears was their own echoing footsteps. Without Syana light, it be impossible to keep going forward. As Kasumi walks, she suddenly finds her foot caught onto something and ended up falling over. If Syana hovers her light over Kasumi foot, she will see that it's trapped in the stalagmite with some sort of mold that feels wet and sticky. If they keep looking around their area, they'll find empty clothing and blood splatter.

[Rii <3]

As the orb floated lightly in her hand, her body trembled with each step along the cave's floor; her green eyes focused on ahead as the dim light lit up the area around them. She was focusing so hard on sporting this tiny little ball of light to show a dim ball that staggered slightly to the side. Her breath was shallow, but she forced it to stay shallow. Her magic was trying to gather up but with each spell she began to feel more and more lethargic. 
""Do not touch anything." Maddox's reassuring voice filled the air and Syana's gaze moved towards him for a few seconds as she walked; her head spinning.

Syana's eyes moved ahead and she pressed on with careful steps. The sound of someone falling over caused her to whip her head in the direction of the thud and she caught sight of Kasumi on the floor. With a swift motion, she moved around the girl while inspecting her carefully. Kneeling down, she caught sight of the stalactites around the girls ankle. With a slow, deep breath Syana began to pry at the mound with her staff, jamming it between the girls foot and the rock formation before pushing with one hand in a leverage motion; questioning the sticky sensation silently. 


Her eyes moved around the room once Kasumi's foot was assumed free and the sight that caught her eyes made her stomach sink and a lump catch on in her throat but as usual her expression bore no form of cringing at the sight. As she stared at the blood and clothing, Syana's eyes moved down to the ground and around. What had caused such a horrid sight? She moved the staff swiftly around and pressed at the clothing with the tip. 

[Jimmydalad]

"Judging by the lack of light, I would assume pretty deep." Kasumi answered, looking down, noticing the odd shape of the stalagmites. "Have you guys noticed the shape of the stalagmites? Maybe it's something to do with the disease."

Kasumi let out a short yell as something clasped onto her foot, causing her to trip and fall on the ground. Trying to twist her body, Kasumi was able to see a sticky mould that was in a stalagmite. Instant panic rushed through Kasumi and though she tried to pull against the stalagmite, it didn't seem to budge. Stuck facing the ground, she tried to look around. The sight did little to ease her fears.

"What happened here?" Kasumi uttered, voice trembling. Kasumi started rushing through possible scenarios in her mind. Her first thought was that there was some sort of creature in the cave that caught the victims. Alternatively, it could be the stalagmites, though she had to wonder how that would happen.

"Be careful Syana." Kasumi warned, trying to stay brave. "Don't want to get caught in it as well. Do you think slicing it off would be possible?"

[Maddox Aquila]

Maddox's eyes traveled around the cave, trailing across the shadows that Syana's light cast through the space. There could be any manner of creature hiding deeper in the cave, or even behind the jagged rocks that protruded from the floors and ceiling. He was wondering if any sort of bat could survive in the cold and at this altitude when Kasumi suddenly tripped over something and ended up face down on the ground. She was rather lucky, actually, to have not landed on the sharp rocks and ended up impaled.

He decided it best not to say that aloud though, since she already seemed to be in a bit of a panic. Crouching beside her, he examined where her foot ad wedged itself and also took note of the strange looking fungus that had transferred onto her clothes during the fall. He wasn't sure what it was, in all of his travels he had never seen anything quite like it, so he regarded it carefully.

Carefully grasping the back of her boot with his mitten covered hand, Maddox attempted to wedge her foot free as gently as he possibly could. "Tell me if it hurts, Miss Ito." Throwing off the mitt of his free hand, he pulled out his dagger. "Are you able to slide your foot out of your boot? If you can, I will see if the boot is salvageable." Bringing the dagger up, he rested it between his teeth, blade facing out, as he leaned a bit closer to observe the fungus - before habitually raising is head to make sure Syana was nearby and not in any danger.

[The Martyr]

Maddox successfully gets Kasumi foot out, but her boot is unable to be taken out. Luckily, among the clothes there are shoes laying around. A cold wind chill breeze through the tunnel. Stinging any skin that is bare as it passes through. With the darkness, it's impossible to say how long is the tunnel and not enough information to say happen among the people who were here previously. The cave floor will become rougher and sharper as they go in deeper. The adventures can go back to ditch the quest and leave, or they make keep moving forward.

[Rii <3]

Glad that Kasumi had been freed from the clutches of the wet mound, Syana forced herself to stay focused while she explored and approached closer to the corpses. Now, Syana wasn't stupid. Softly prodding the bloodstained cloth, she felt the light get dimmer and dimmer but soon enough she was just focusing on it, watching it flicking and her body heating up as he bit down on her lower lip.

She looked behind her quickly, barely noticing how the one bumpy pathway beneath them had grown sharp and crumbly. She paused at the sudden sharp yet quick pain in her foot. Looking down, she looked back towards Maddox and Kasumi; her eyes moving up and down the girls entity before turning around and with her eyes focused on the orb straight after, Syana staggered before balancing herself.
The amount of magic that was escaping her body was enough to cause her to faint, but she kept her head high and looked on ahead.
"It gets bumpy..." Unsure what else to say, her eyes moved ahead and she looked curiously over at the rocky, sharp flooring. It would cause a lot of issues for Kasumi if they were to carry on. 


Syana's eyes honed in on Maddox. Maybe, just maybe he could use his magic somehow to help them get over it. Just as well too, the second Syana thought that; her eyes dimmed slightly and suddenly darkness enveloped them. The orb had vanished. 

[Jimmydalad]

Kasumi grunted slightly as Maddox pried her foot out of her trapped boot. She felt the cold air hit her foot as soon as it was free, making it a less than pleasurable experience while she looked around quickly for something to wear on her shoe. Spotting a discarded shoe, she hopped over towards it, sliding it on her foot. It was a bit big, but it was manageable.

At that moment though, the lights went out and the group was plunged into darkness. While she was only a short distance away from the other two, Kasumi still had little way of knowing which was she was supposed to go. Trying to scan the area, it was becoming quickly apparent that trying to use vision was ultimately useless.

"Hey! You guys ok?" Kasumi called out, hoping to use their voices as a way to guide herself back towards the group. For the moment, she stayed still. It could be possible that the darkness of the cave was a cause for the untimely demise of the other group. With that in mind, Kasumi held her chakrams at the ready, preparing herself for a possible attack.

[Maddox Aquila]

After managing to free Kasumi's foot, Maddox tried using his knife to pry her boot free, but the only thing he really managed to do was mangle it all the more. Sheathing his dagger with a sigh, he had just enough time to stand to his full height before the cave was swallowed in darkness, leaving them stranded.

Well, shit.

"I am fine." He answered, fumbling around in his pockets in the darkness. Syana was the one that had been creating the light, so had something happened to her to make the light suddenly vanish. "Syana?" He asked, trying to remember where in hell's gates he had put his matches.

Deciding they were probably in his backpack with most of his other stuff, he slid one arm out of the strap and brought it around in front of him, riffling around in the outer pockets, since he was sure that was where he kept them - somewhere that he could get at them easily.

As he felt a small box against his fingertips, he smirked to himself and hurriedly pulled it free, situating his backpack once more before carefully opening the box to make sure it was the right side up and removing a match. Striking it against the side of matchbox, a small flame lit at his finger tips, and he moved it around, trying to see the other two in the darkness of the cave.

[The Martyr]

the area she's not able to find anything that's related to what happen by them alone. There's no more clues left on them. However, the walls and ground speaks something else. Before the Syana light goes out, she'll find a blood splatter on the wall. Thankfully, Maddox has a small box to light the area just a tad bit, if he takes the light to the wall he will see a small switch nearby. However, this could be danger or it could be a blessing. There's no way to tell without flipping it. Of course, everyone can try to move on.

[Rii <3]

The light Syana had kept close was faltering and flickering within the girls grips, her green eyes focused up and she couldn't help but look around at the layout ahead of her. The blood splatter everywhere; what did it mean? Looking towards the entrance of the cave, she heard the faint rumbling sound of the wind blowing against the structure. Her green eyes honed back around as she listened to her friends footsteps, feeling nervous - she stared at the stains and things in front of her. 


Syana knew that they'd be in some trouble the second her magic just vanished. Forcing herself to stay balanced, she kept her eyes on the splash of blood she saw over the wall just before darkness devoured the three of them. Her breath was silent, her lips parted and she was quiet.
Everyone's voices broke the silence, Maddox worrying about Syana and not bringing up about Kasumi.
"Don't worry about me. Kasumi's of importance too." Syana stated bluntly, her eyes looking in the direction of her friends before moving closer towards the blood.

Suddenly a small light flickered behind her and Syana's eyes moved towards Maddox - relieved to see the light and the two unscathed. 

[Jimmydalad]

It seemed that Maddox had the foresight to bring matches with him on the expedition. As soon as the lights came on, Kasumi shielded her eyes, giving them time to adjust to the sudden increase in brightness. She tried not to look at either of them when Syana mentioned her name. She had to keep her eyes on the prize and focus on the mission.

She tried her best to ignore the bloodstains on the wall, instead focusing her attention on a switch that appeared in the light in front of them. Apprehensive about flipping it, Kasumi moved towards the group.

"You guys." Kasumi muttered, trying to get their attention. "It could be possible that the switch was the cause of this. You think we should just try and move on?" Her eyes couldn't leave the switch though.

Clenching onto her chakram, Kasumi bit her lip. Her feet were telling her to move, but her eyes found it hard to wander away from that mysterious switch. Could it be a trap? Maybe it was best to stay safe. Kasumi was paralysed, her mind whirring with situations and plans.