Where the Serpent Sleeps

Where the Serpent Sleeps
Date of Scene:	27 March 2014
Location:	Serpent's Trench
Synopsis:	Skoll joins Zia in the Serpent's Trench and the two search for the Cloister of Midgarsrmr.
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Zia
Tinyplot:	A_Summoner's_Journey

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Zia has posed:
Her alter-ego aside, lately Zia has been more archeologist and pest control than any measure of an actual hero. That could, of course, be because her masked persona tends to take on that role more naturally. What free time she has is spent down in the tunnels, searching through both dry and waterlogged aprts of the Serpent's Trench, looking for any signs of a new way through to Atlantis.

At the moment, she's up on a rickety looking rock pile, examining a set of carvings near the top of a mostly dry chamber. Her hair is completely sodden and clings around her face, and there are smudges of dirt across her pale skin. One talon holds up a lantern as she copies symbols from the wall onto a notebook.

It's clear that this room, like many parts of the Trench, was once under water. There are dried out barnacles and bits of washed up ocean debris making the waterline a dangerous place to tread. Not to mention that there are a line of fiend-fish currently hanging around, waiting for another chance to chomp on an adventurer. They are drawn by the light, and probably don't expect someone to come up from behind.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Finding someone in the Serpent's Trench is something that requires no small amounts of patience. It's a big place after all. And all this water is not making it easy on Skoll's nose to pinpoint Zia's scent. But patient, the werewolf is. Trotting around the waters and the dry platforms in the Serpent's Trench, Skoll eventually finds a cave that is being lit by light.

"Excuse me, mister and miss's fish. Coming through."

The violent light of lightning suddenly ZAP the two fiends, soon leaving little but the smell of fried fish behind. Skoll enters the chamber not moments later. Shaking his tail and feet out to get rid of some of the water that has soaked in, and then wanders over in an attempt to 'sneak' a hug with Zia from behind. Not that he really expects her to be surprised or not to have looked - he did make a tiny scene entering the place.

Zia has posed:
The nice thing about the Serpent's Trench is that you rarely run into people. There is only the sound of the water through the tunnels and the occassional sound of fiends. It makes it all too easy to figure out if you're being 'snuck' up on. Then again, casting lightning spells and excusing yourself to fish probably would have given Skoll away, regardless. Her nose twitches at the scent, which is one part appetizing and one part eww-gross.

She glances up over the edge of her glasses, half expecting the wolf to shake off in his usual humorous fashion, and then puff up. The little leg twitches are still enough to bring a small smile to her face. Then, it's back to copying one of the symbols, giving him his chance to attempt being stealthy, even as he goes sloshing water across the room. A ninja - Skoll most certainly is not.

Normally, the gargoyle might complain over a soaking wet hug, but she's pretty much sodden herself at the moment, so instead, she just leans back into it, shifting her notepad so that he doesn't drip on the pages. "Ye know, Ah wouldnae have thought that ye'd come all the way down here te visit. Too many cold, dark tunnels 'n bad smells." She pauses then, turning a little bit to look at him in the lantern light. "So Ah'm guessin' there's somethin tha's got yer nose pokin aboot other than m'amazin' company."

Though there is a smile on her features, it's not quite as bright as it used to be. The messy business with the Golden Wolf has put a bit of a shadow over things. Still, she has taken it about as well as one could expect.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Oy - wouldn't believe I was just here to enjoy your company?" Skoll replies as he nudges his head over her shoulder and glances at the pages. He's at least trying to put in the effort of not dripping on them himself. Still, he takes his time to look at the symbols - which are most likely just gobbly-gook to him.

"But now that you mention it..." The werewolf keeps holding her, rather than pulling back and taking out the item he brought. No, he simply enjoys the moment for a bit. Besides, he feels that he's made things worse between the two of them thanks to Aura showing up from out of nowhere. And giving the gargess some well deserved attention is the least he can do.

"I did bring something that might be up your alley. Aura brought me something some guy found on a boat. Some kind of serpenty-statuette that looks like it might be Midgardsormr." It might tell her something that he came to her - and didn't ask Aura to come along with him on the search for it. Or that he didn't go off by himself like he used to do in the past.

Zia has posed:
"Well, Ah think if ye just wanted m'company ye'd wait until Ah come back te the watchtower in the mornin. It'd be a bit warmer, and far less wet." The girl has a point, there. Then again, living two lives means that she isn't at home as much as she used to be. Even her favorite MMO is starting to send her e-mails, reminding her that she hasn't logged in for a while. This whole Atlantis thing must really be bothering her if it's stealing that much of her time.

"It's alright, though. Ah dinnae mind if ye have alterior motives. It's nice te have company down here every now 'n again. Other than the fish." There isn't any sign of the two fish-fiends he so neatly dispatched, but there will be more eventually. In such dark tunnels, the monsters are always drawn to any sign of light.

"Ah've been tryin te find any sign of Atlantean culture down here, but the most Ah've found is a few crumbling bits of ruin 'n more Heartless than Ah'd like. Seems we're searchin for the same thing." She sighs to herself, glancing at the symbols written there in the swirling patterns of Atlantean writing.

Her ears twitch, "Show me?" So far, the locations of the remaining Cloisters have eluded them, despite searching for months. It seems that the more powerful an Esper, the more difficult it sometimes is to find their temple within this strange, combined world. Either that, or they've just been having terrible luck.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I don't mind getting wet fur if it means hanging with you." The human werewolf sweetly whispers and finally stops hanging off of her, giving the Gargoyle some space to herself.

"And I'm pretty sure that I'm better company than the fish." He is quick to add and begins procuring the little statuette. It takes him a moment to go through his pockets, before he finally finds the thing. It's been rolled up in some bubble-wrap and newspaper.

"I wanted to make sure it wouldn't get damaged in transit." As in, while he was kicking monster butt or the like. "Here." He hands it to her. Or 'back' to her...

"And if you can't find a way in, I bet those heartless aren't doing much of a better job. So that's good news."

Zia has posed:
As he shifts back, Zia sets down the lantern on one of the nearby rocks. It leaves them lit by a strange mixture of warmth from the firelight and cool blue from the glow of her crystal. His comment draws a smile from her, and a playful reach of her one wing-talon which bats at his damp hair. "Well, that's good. Ah wouldnae wante inconvience ye too terribly." Even now, it's easy for that happier expression to form on her features.

Her tail curls around his side as he starts to pull out the small piece of statue. "Figurin' tha the fish wante eat me, Ah'd say tha isnae too hard a task." She teases, but as he hands over the item, she takes to examining it in the dim light. "Ah've seen somethin' like this before. There's a passageway a ways east of here, but it's mostly flooded out. We could go take a look."

With a sigh, the gargoyle shakes her head, "That doesnae come as much of a comfort, Ah'm afraid." Carefully, she hands the bit of statue back to Skoll, running a hand through her wet hair with some measure of exasperation. "Ah keep dreamin' of these doors. It's this thin line of defense between them 'n the Heartless. What's worse, is there's a ton of solid rock or twistin tunnels between us 'n that group tryin te get in."

Maybe her travels had all been in her own mind, but some parts of it felt far too real. If there is even a chance that the danger to Atlantis is as great as she'd seen... then they need to get there and clear the Heartless out - and soon.

"Anyways, let's go see if we can find yer statue." Zia switches off the lantern, leaving just the glow from her crystal before getting up. The notebook is left behind - she probably has every intention of coming back later to continue her studies of the ruins.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"No inconvenience to be had. I promise. Werewolf's honor." Skoll raises his hand dutily as he swears on his honor, touching his clothed werewolfy-human chest. He is quick to try and sweep Zia into a better mood with him, leaning to make it easier to bat at his hair. He even sticks his tongue out at her. When her tail curls around his side, he moves in next to her.

"A passageway to the east you say? We should be careful though. If this is Midgardsormr's Cloister... if that kind of thing even exists... well..." Midgardsormr had always been somewhat of a dark Summon. It loved destruction. Keeping it reigned in was always something he had to put effort into. Truly a beast of destruction. It's likely that Leviathan is not too unlike that - were he to have mistaken the Esper.

He reaches his arm around Zia and takes the statuette back and pockets it. "It'll be okay Zia. We'll make it somehow. Maybe we should try reaching out to some of those other guys out there to help us further?" He rubs the side of her arm. "Come on. Things will be okay." A firm smile and a lot of positive attitude. That's Skoll in a doggybag.

"Let's. You guide the way." Skoll doesn't release her. They can walk side by side at least a little ways! Right?

Zia has posed:
"Mmm." Zia nods her head, tucking her glasses away into one of the pouches at her waist. It's a miracle those things don't end up broken with how much she ends up getting into trouble. Then again, some people have cursed glasses - always doomed to fall appart. The gargoyle seems to have the opposite. "Ah spotted it when Ah was comin through this section, lookin for ruins from Atlantis. The writin on it wasn't Atlantean, so..." She shrugs.

At the time, she had thought it needed a second look, which is why she'd nabbed the bit of stone showing the serpent. For all she knew of Espers, it could just have been some marker for the Serpent's Trench and nothing more. Still, worth a shot.

"If Ah'd have seen doors, Ah certainly wouldave told ye." Her tail twitches as she hops down across the rocks, taking her time as they head towards the water. "It was mostly just rubble. There's so many places down here tha seem te be bits and pieces of other worlds. Ah could've sworn Ah even saw some Egyptian heiroglyphs." There are still wonders in this wide world that she doesn't understand.

"Aye. Ah'm thinkin of maybe seein if tha ol' loon we ran inte before has any ideas. He seemed to have the funds and the knowledge aboot Atlantis te be of help. If nothin else, we'll probably need some of the others te help repell the Heartless. Jus' wish Ah knew wha they were after." The connection between 'Princesses of Heart' and the Atlantean royalty is lost on her.

"It's a bit of a swim. This way." With that, Zia dives into the water, wings caped back to keep them from dragging. She pops up a moment later, waiting for Skoll to join her. From one of her bags, she's pulled out one of those items from the magic shops which allows the users to breathe underwater. A small blue glow surrounds both of them briefly before she heads under again, swimming for a break in the passageway.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
It's also a miracle that Skoll's hair - for as much of a mess as it is - generally looks pretty clean! Fuzzy, but clean! Things like glasses remaining in tact is something that Skoll doesn't even notice anymore.

The fact that she's wearing glasses on the otherhand, has been noticed.

"Those glances look kind of cute on you." The werewolf notes, before patting her shoulder. "In the intelligent kind of cute way, of course."

He carries along with her, looking around as they wade through the Serpent's Trench. "No door huh? Well that sucks. Not even any platforms, like at Carbuncle's place?"

Round a corner they go. "Maybe. If we can avoid getting shot." He remembers their last encounter. "God, I remember how skitish you used to be." This werewolf has noticed that she's changed.

And then Zia is down in the water. Ugh. Water. He stands there, seemingly none too happy to get /entirely/ wet. But nothing to do about it. Diving straight on in, he follows her - enjoying the effects of the breathing potion.

Zia has posed:
The compliment about the glasses leaves Zia with a bit of a flush on her features, one bare shoulder shrugging slightly. "Gargoyles are just as prone as humans te eyesight issues. Some even go blind in their old age." She taps the little bag her glasses were tucked into. "Ah've just got a wee bit'o farsightedness. Can see distances great, but my eyes go fuzzy when ye ask me te look at things too up close." Though she's worn them before - usually when reading or on the computer, Zia hasn't really bothered explaining the reason for it.

His voice sounds a bit strange underwater, with the magic allowing them to breathe and speak. It still has a dull sound, though, as if it doesn't carry very well, despite the spell. "Like Ah said, it's just a pile of rubble. Ah dinnae know if there's even a Cloister there at all."

The currents in the tunnels are quite strong, pushing them both closer to the walls. There are even times where fiends go rushing by, and you can almost imagine the start of combat music before they end up swept away. Better luck next time, fish-fiends!

"Bein around people like ye, the Shard Seekers, 'n VALKYRIE started te rub off on me." She admits with a faint laugh. "It's good, though. Ah needed a kick in the tail te get me movin. Cannae live yer life afraid all the time."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"No clue if the same goes for me." Skoll water-mumbles at Zia, sticking close to the wall with her. He takes out one of his larger chains, and stabs one end into the wall as the water begins to push against them.

This way, he can more easily move forwards by getting the magical chains to stab into the wall and form a sort of 'banister'. "Nothing tried, nothing gained." Or however that saying goes.

The werewolf stabs into the wall with another piece of chain, and begins to move fowards. He'd stick his tongue out at the fiends, but he isn't sure just how long this magical breathing thing will work.

"It's good though." Skoll points out. "Being out and about like that. Being alone sucks."

Zia has posed:
"Ah'd wager if ye dinnae remember any of yer werewolf brethren goin fuzzy eyed, then yer probably safe." Zia replies, pulling herself past spot where the cave wall has collapsed and into a calmer section of the tunnels. This seems to be off the beaten path, so far as exploration goes. It means a few tight spaces to squeeze through. Often times it leaves Skoll in nearly complete darkness as Zia moves ahead, bobbing her crystal back so he can have some idea of where he's going.

After a time of weaving through tiny places, the corridor seems to widen again into a flooded chamber. There are a few places here and there where bubbles seem to be sneaking out, as if there were leaks into some open space, but the chamber looks empty for the most part.

"Aye. Sometimes peace 'n quiet is nice, but Ah'm gettin too fond of ye folks te ever go back te sittin on a pedestal like a real statue." With one hand, Zia takes off her crystal and holds it up so he can see where one whole wall of the room is mostly rubble. As the light passes, there are bits and pieces that look like the one Skoll has, as if they were once part of a far larger carving.

"See what Ah mean? Anythin' that's here is probably hidden under tons of fallen rock." Her ears tuck backwards, trying to follow his form in the dim light.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Hrrm - actually, we do. I just mean... y'know... being Unlimited and all. I don't really get sick. And with that whole rapid healing thing..." Skoll mumbles. He doens't like bringing it up often.

Still, had future Skoll not at least seemed a /little/ older in her 'dream'? Or...

Skoll keeps clawing around in the darkness, using the chains whenever he can to leave a track back - so he can find his way back easily, or use them for a quick escape if it's needed.

But it would appear the latter was needless worrying. They arrive finally, the werewolf still squinting, at the open chamber. He spots the bubbles of course, as well as some of the pieces of rock.

"Man... what a waste. The formation of the World of Ruin really did a number on things, didn't it?" He mumbles, coming to float next to Zia - touching the small of her back.

"Aye, I see what you mean. 'y think it would be a bad idea to try and remove some of this rubble with violence?"

They probably would have to find another way in otherwise... if there even is one.

"Or I guess we could tell the Yevonites about this place. Bet they'd love to excavate this place /real fast/."

Zia has posed:
"Oh." Sometimes, Zia actually manages to forget about the fact that Skoll may very well live forever. For a split second, the image of a more careworn Skoll with a scarred eye overlays itself as she looks at him, and it takes a quick shake of her head to clear the thought. That's a future that will never happen, she'll make sure of that. "Ah forget sometimes that yer damn near indestructable. Guess it's no somethin ye'd need te worry about."

Her feet move slightly in the water, even if the magic surrounding them means that she doesn't have to really do much to stay hovering. "Ah think it's worse in the World of Ruin than in the outer realms. Everythin' here seems te have gotten squished together." There was that strange tower in Fluorgis where he had gone with Aura - it seemed to be twisted from the convergence of the worlds.

As he begins to look over the rubble, Zia seems to consider this section of the tunnels, raising her crystal so that they can see the supporting walls. "If ye target the rubble, itself, ye should be alright. Ah think. Worst case senario, we get stuck down here forever 'n drown." She shrugs, as if she thinks the possibility isn't likely. "Well, Ah would drown, anyways." She adds on. "Ye'd just go crazy 'n start talkin te the fish."

She doesn't even comment on the idea of the Yevonites. Somehow, the idea of them trying to make this a religious site doesn't sit well with her. The ruins of the Trench are a lot like the older places she used to dwell in, and making them into tourist attractions for passing summoners is not her idea of fun. "If there is a Cloister under all that, then we should prooobably keep it to ourselves. Ah dinnae need a billion people gettin' themselves killed down in these tunnels."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Who knows." Skoll answers Zia. "I still don't /know/ if I'll live forever. Though my father seemed to know of the Unlimited, he's never presented me with one." In fact, it raises the question on how his father could possibly have known about them? Who would they have fallen to? Great foes like Chaos? It's certainly an intrigueing question.

But one that of course, fails to come to Skoll's mind. Instead, he continues to paddle in the water, still looking at that wall of rubble. "Aye. It truly is a World of Ruin when you look at some of those places." One might wonder who coined the term World of Ruin anyhow. Plothole? On a Kingdomhearts based games? No way!

Sink a little towards the bottom of the room, Skoll tries to get his feet on the ground. "Well, I wouldn't want either of those to happen. But I think I can be at least a little careful. I'm not exactly prepared to go meeting with the next Esper. I feel we need more people. But I can at least open up the way." He points out, and brings out two of his other chains.

"You may want to move back a little though. Maybe get behind me, in case any rocks go flying." Not that he is planning on exploding things. The chains that are moving around in his hands are more likely to be used in the way he usually would use them to clear through rock.

Zia has posed:
"Aye. It's a strange thing. Ye've certainly aged in her lifetime, otherwise ye'd still be a wee one 'n our relationship would be a bit more on the creepy side." Zia can't help but smile at that, her humor sneaking through. "Ah know the crystal doesn't last forever, either. Even the people of Atlantis grow old 'n die. It just takes a wee bit longer." That 'wee bit' being somewhere in the range of thousands of years longer.

She doesn't bother considering potential plot-holes. Someone had called it the World of Ruin at some point, and she'd picked up on it. That's just the way things work out.

"Ah wouldnae think this Esper is one te go trapsin inte wi' just the two of us, anyways. He doesn't seem cute 'n fluffy like our friend Carbuncle." The World Serpent seems more likely to make them into a snack then to get snuggly. Then, she has a thought. "It seems like some of the Espers are mean spirited te begin wi'. Do ye think tha maybe some have darker natures even before the darkness got in te tamper wi' things?"

Following him down to the floor of the chamber, Zia raises a hand as he suggests getting behind her. There's a slight crackling sound. Between them and the wall, a sheet of ice forms, leaving neat little spots for Skoll to stick his hands/chains through and a viewing window. "We are surrounded by water, afterall. This should help."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Right. But you don't really look a day over twenty." Skoll 'flatters' Zia. He knows the Gargoyle is quite a bit older than that though. And because of the way time runs out in Gummispace compared to a planet, the werewolf is also older than he looks. Perhaps still not as old as Zia though. But he's seen a lot more in all of that time.

"But indeed. I don't think Midgardsormr is that snuggle of a person. And more of a squeezy-crush-your-bones kind of guy." He pauses as the ice forms into a 'riot shield' before them, and the chains move through the cracks towards the rubble, forming sharp edges at their ends. "As for the Ancestors. They all have a personality. Though only 'some' of that really comes out when I summon them." He points out. "I've seen other people summon the Ancestors as well, though in those cases they barely seem to have a personality at all anymore. It's more like... it's just that person in the form of a big cloud of magic."

There is a difference between summoners and methods of summoning?

"Anyhow. Let's start this..." Making a quick flurry of motions, the chains dig into the rubble and expand and extend, quickly carving through the stone and grinding them into dust. Violence at its best - like thrashing snakes they dig through the stone.

Zia has posed:
"Is that so?" Zia asks, head tilting slightly, her expression showing bemusement. "Ye know... A twenty year old gargoyle would be aboot, this tall." She measures up height on herself to about what you would expect from a child of maybe ten or eleven. "Gargoyles age half the speed of humans, remember? Humans born around the time Ah was hatched are old 'n gray now."

It's a thought that makes her pause briefly. Many of those years had been in captivity under Valen. The crystal meant that some of those years don't show on her, but there are others she left behind who may not have been so lucky. Her brother would have been in his sixties by now...

Her eyes show that moment of distraction, but Skoll's voice talking about crushing bones snaps her back to reality. "Ah wouldnae know. Yer the only summoner Ah've had the graces te see do that sorta magic."

As his chains begin to etch away at the stone, outline of an archway becomes visible. There are no doors, but it appears that there is an open space beyond it. The stone rubble around it must have once been statues curled around the outside of the archway, only to fall into disrepair after the world merged with this one.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I aged up to my late teens... and then I kinda just got 'stuck'." Skoll explains, "We seem to age at roughly the human rates. We live a tad longer if we don't die from other influences - like monsters." Thing she might not have known about his culture so far.

"But man, you're the prettiest 'any year old' I've ever seen." Skoll continues to declares, while continueing to roto-root the debris with his chains, until the open space lies entirely exposed to them, before retrieving his chains and turning his gaze back to Zia. "You should meet some of the Yevon summoners. Most of them are pretty nice."

Zia has posed:
"Well, better than bein stuck as a toddler. Ah dinnae think ye could whip those chains around if ye were." Zia teases, the image of baby-Skoll appearing like a cartoon thought bubble in her mind. Cute. "Ah dinnae know exactly how long Gargoyles live. Ah'd imagine about twice human age, but Ah've never really met an old Gargoyle. M'brother 'n Ah were the first hatchlings m'parents had, so they were still relatively young..." She trails off then. Her parents are a touchy subject.

"Any year old?" The white gargoyle shakes her head, "Well, at least yer not tryin te guess." It seems that Zia is one of those sorts who would prefer not to discuss her actual age. The fact that she's as old as some of her human friend's grandparents prooobably would be a bit of an uncomfortable discussion.

With a small nudge to his side, Zia stands up on tip-toes to peek through at his progress. "Looks like there /is/ somethin' back there." Just then, a bit of stone clangs off of the ice, knocking off a chunk that goes floating away. The temprature of the water seems to be getting colder, too. "Ah'm no so sure aboot the religious types. Ah'm quite found of the mouse, but there are times Ah wante beat him wi' his own holy book." She murmurs with the utmost of fondness.

It doesn't take too much longer for a good chunk of rubble to be cleared away. There's enough room for one or two people to pass through the upper part of the archway and into whatever lies behind. Taking her hand away from the ice, Zia shivers just once. "Come on, let's go check it out before we turn inte popcicles." Now if only she had fire magic to warm them up. Hard-de har. Sigh.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Aye. Better than that, for certain." Skoll agrees with Zia, having cleared the debris far enough for them to get through. He won't further touch the topic of age. He's a gentleman wolf after all! Such questions are not asked of a lady!

"Indeed there appears to be something back there."

Replying to her touch, the werewolf lays his hand to her back. "It /is/ getting rather cold here." He heads ahead into the open space in front of them, holding a hand out to Zia in trying to help her though. "The Yevon folk aren't as bad as the Glabadosians."

Zia has posed:
The moment that Zia leaves the ice-wall behind, it begins to break into smaller pieces. The water around them had been warm coming in, but it's cooled down significantly from the magic and the ice-cubes now floating in it. Heroes on the rocks. Sounds like a perfect drink to accompany a meal for a giant serpent. Let's just hope Midgardsormr isn't hungry.

Through the archway, things are dark. Very dark. Like the tunnels before, it takes the light from Zia's crystal to brighten the place up a bit. There, under the water, is a set of stairs which lead upwards. She greatfully takes his hand, using it for balance in order to wiggle through to join him. A few bits of rock tumble over the side as she moves through. It's a tight fit, but they should be able to bring their friends and allies in so long as they go through one by one.

She points upwards, and then kicks off, following the stairs. It isn't long before her head breaks the surface, allowing her to take her first real breath in quite a while. The air is damp and has the smell of a place that is growing algea and moss. Just across from where the water receeds, the stairs lead to a platform of stone and a doorway etched into the rock. At first, it seems as if it might be just another ruin, but the moment Skoll surfaces, the Cloister seems to react to his presense.

Slowly, yellow lines of energy creep along the doorway. Something has been awakened.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Don't go too far ahead." Skoll grabs for Zia's hand as she moves her head out of the water. With the Cloister reacting to his presence, and knowing the potential dangers of Midgardsormr. "I don't think we should go in much deeper. I don't remember everything of my meeting with Midgardsormr. But I remember his anger. And I remember how enormous he was."

The werewolf surfaces a little further, and looks around the platform - until his gaze stalls on the doorway.

Zia has posed:
"Then let's head back." Zia advises, watching him closely when he starts to stare towards the door to the Cloister. She swims a bit closer, reaching a hand out for his shoulder. "Come on, Ah think we've had enough adventure for one day. Ah've got a boat te pick us up. We could head te Costa del Sol, dry off, spend the night wi' good food 'n a warm bed, then head back to the Seekers tomorrow."

She glances once at the doors to the Cloister, and then reaches down to give his tail a tug. "Come on, wolf. Ah'm done wi' skulkin around wet, dank tunnels. Time te see the sky for a change."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
The wolf stalls when the gargoyle tugs on his tail. "Yeah... let's do that. Maybe two days... give us a nice vacation or something." Skoll answers her. In a ways, he wants to put off this Cloister meeting. Somehow, he has a bad feeling about it. But at the same time, he knows he can't put this off for long. There's a dark shadow following him after all.

"Let's go." The werewolf retreats back into the water and takes Zia's hand off of his tail and into his own hand.

"Let's go."