The Castle (IC) [M] {04}

[Stygian]

Down as ever. Through the floooooor~... was the almost immediate response from within Ketefe's head, uttered in a sing-song-ish manner and accompanied by a feeling of insane mirth that made her giggle crazily for a moment before she could stop herself. Even with the feeling of dread brought on by this, she had to restrain herself so as not to let a mischievous grin creep onto her features. Truthfully, this was not just because of the influence the possession had on her, but also the knowledge of what she had to do in order to make them move on. They would have to pass through the floor like quicksand and come out above themselves, then climb a number of stairs to go downward.

- -

It was a classic scene. The statue saw the attack coming, stony eyes widening. But weighing hundreds of kilos and being made out of stone really does not add to one's agility. The head of the thing flew off with the force of the blast, and its body froze almost instantly, skidded, then keeled over and smashed on the floor. Dust and silence filled the surroundings.

[Sunblink]

Keaton watched with a grotesque sense of satisfaction as the decomposing victim of her bone-shattering blow disintegrated and flowed away into acrimonious mist, a triumphant smirk coloring her bloodstained muzzle. That was perhaps the most rewarding event which ever occurred in her favor during this day, even if murdering wretched duplicates didn't provide the same adrenaline rush as killing their real-life counterparts. Withdrawing Catastrophe and spinning it grandiloquently behind her, Keaton lowered the mace to the ground, watching as the melanoid surface started to swallow up the ichorous blood-equivalent staining its spikes. Within seconds, the final dewdrop of blood shriveled into a microscopic speck and vanished altogether, an imperceptible ripple along Catastrophe's surface heralding its departure.

Ah, mother's mace. So useful.

Nobody else seemed to be as self-congratulatory as Keaton in the group after further inspection. On the contrary, in fact. Ketefe had been stained with the deluge of blood her victim released prior to its demise, and Cogidubnus appeared disoriented at the least. Ian... well, Keaton didn't give a rat's ass (no pun intended) about Ian so she diverted her attention. At least they were alive. Even in her state of annoyingly consistent self-depreciation Keaton could appreciate that. Running her hand through her hair, Keaton tried to wait for her heartbeat to die down and her exhilaration from her earlier kill to fade, while she listened for Ketefe's instructions.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Angel]

Ketefe listened to the creature's instructions, and their psychotic glee found its way out of her through a slip of laughter. She covered her mouth, willing herself not to grin. Somehow, that ambiguous little directive - which could've been interpreted so many ways - was perfectly clear. She looked back at Cog and the others with an odd expression, a strange mix of fear and suppressed amusement. This was all just too insane.

"We have to...phase through the floor, come out on the ceiling, and climb the stairs we'll find there to go down." She twisted her mouth in an attempt not to smile. "Either they need a psychiatrist, or I do."

[Cogidubnus]

Cogidubnus gave the feline a somewhat blank look, and then glanced quickly to the side. Ian and Keaton were both gathered around the small feline, seemingly in good health. It didn't look like the dopplegangers had caused any serious injuries.
Cogidubnus gave a tired sigh.

"And I suppose they didn't give any instructions? Well. Right then."

He felt like an idiot for even trying something like that, but the wolf let his sword hang lightly at his side, and exhaled lightly. Relaxation exercise seemed a futile gesture at this point, but he didn't know any other way he might go about it. He carefully didn't think about anything, and as an addendum tried to imagine himself floating downwards, or perhaps upwards. He wolf's brow furrowed for a moment.
He imagined himself going the right way.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

The ice disk worked better than Mel had expected, taking the head off and finally stopping the statue. She finally had a moment to look around and to heal her cracked ribs. Both Gareeku and Aisha seemed no worse off than they were before. The frog was nowhere to be seen. "Jeremiah? Where are you?" The way he had been screaming he could be badly hurt. "Are you okay?"

[Boog]

Jeremiah dispelled his illusions and stepped out from behind the column, visibly shaking. These few seconds of peace after the destruction of the last statue had reminded him of the shot to the ribs he'd received, and the bruises were pointing out that they remembered him too.
"Okay as I get, lately," he grimaced and stepped forward, on hand pressed to where he'd been hit. It didn't actually help, but he felt the need to do so anyway.
Drama queen.
Shut up, Bal.
No. You're so damn concerned with how PAINED you are, you're not thinking. Who's the blunt instrument again?
The fuck are you talking about you waste of furrae awareness?
Just this, you whiney little cockbite. Why did statues wait to show up until AFTER the spider had left?
It's hell. It does this.
Which do you think is really more likely; that it's just a coincidence, or that you've fucked up again?
...
Which happens more often, Jeremiah?
...
"Hey, guys?" Jeremiah winced as he made his way over to the rest of the group, "Anyone else find it weird that the statues showed up only after the spider had left? I mean, we were standing guard near them for kind of a while..."

[Aisha deCabre]

As the fight went on between Mel, Jeremiah, and the remaining statues, Aisha simply tried to keep herself on her feet as slight exhaustion took over, while shielding herself with her remaining arm when debris flew in their direction.  Eventually the dragon's impressive powers of ice had won through...with the shattering of the final possessed piece of marble, the place became once again silent; as the interior of a chapel should have been.

Staying next to Gareeku in case he would need assistance, Aisha wondered just what the attacks had meant...more than likely it was thought that whomever was the cause of the trouble also knew that they were there.  She wondered about the others...whether or not Sebastian had reached the place or not, and if her mentor was alright...

It's Rynkura, for gods' sakes...she has to be.

The panther looked up when Jeremiah spoke to them, eyes narrowing.  "I doubt the spider has anything to do with the statues," she hummed, looking between each of her friends.  "But I wonder what the one that does wants with us...if he is truly trying to kill us, or is trying to force us somewhere...either out of here, or down into that pit."

She let out a long sigh.  What was there to do?

[Gareeku]

Once the statue had been disposed of, Gareeku turned to see hwo the others were doing. Watching the others battle their stone enemies, the wolf was willing to jump right in and help them if they needed it. Though battling the statue that he and Aisha has just destroyed had left him feeling somewhat fatigued, though he didn't show it.

Putting this down to the lack of rest that he had been having recently, Gareeku continued to watch the others, looking on as Mel disposed of the statue which had been attacking her. Jeremiah had overcome his stone foe too thankfully, and was somewhat relieved to see him reappear from behind a pillar looking relatively unharmed, save for a few cuts and bruises.

Listening to what he and Aisha said about the statues coming to life after the spider had left, Gareeku shook his head slightly.
"I'm in agreement with Aisha." the wolf replied once he had though the situation through. "Whoever animated those statues is more likely to be from down below, where the others have gone. At least, that's my opinion anyway."

Checking that his items of clothing and equipment were intact, the wolf pondered over what they should do next. Should they continue to hold the fort above ground? Or what the best move be for them to descend into the depths below and try to look for the others? The answers to these questions was something that the white furred wolf did not know, and so he looked to the others to see what they thought they should do next.

[Stygian]

Perhaps it was the work of their imaginations, or perhaps that of some malicious will dominating the events going on in the castle, intent on tormenting its habitants for all the time they dared spend in it, some horrible, all-seeing evil watching and deriving a perverse joy from watching them all in pain as events unfolded... Either way, something seemed to lend strength to Gareeku's argument. It really did seem the best thing to do under the circumstances, to descend and to aid their friends.

- -

We don't need anybody else. When we think about it we... The voices in Ketefe's head were no less strange or irritating than before. Yet through the odd twists and turns of the Hell-warped place, they led her on steadily nevertheless, sometimes by talking to her, and other times she suspected simply by imparting their knowledge upon her, since not a few times did she move on in the right direction simply by going after what she felt. It was impossible to tell for how long this went on; they were all too excited and on edge to have any clear time perspective. What was clear though, and both fortunate and perhaps the opposite for them, was that they were beginning to hint more intense signs of corruption. Fissures in the ground, cracks behind which fiery light hinted. And far below, some far, dark light, coming from a stronger source of this Hellish fire that steamed them as if in a sauna and occasionally singed their fur. They were getting closer...

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha pondered things over while listening to Gareeku, noting his agreement with her statement.  The wolf was in the same mindset as her it seemed, though she wouldn't expect anything less from him.  From the other two however she sensed much hesitance.  It really was a question of just how much more they could take.  If it wasn't monsters sent to the ones trying to hold the fort at the door, then it was the anxiety torturing their minds and hearts for any single word at all from their comrades.

"Alright...let's go over what we know..." Aisha started.  Her voice was low at first, as if she were talking to herself, but then it elevated slightly so that the others could hear.  "We haven't the faintest idea what lies down there, other than our friends and the force behind all this, but we can assume that it's gotten pretty much the same stuff in it as the rest of the castle.  We can only guess if they stayed together, or became separated, captured, or killed.  And up here, we are getting no answers but a bunch of..." her hand swept over the rubble, "...things, thrown at us."

Her hand returned to her temple, and she started to pace nervously.  "If we go, that leaves us to the same dangers, and speculative chances that we'll find what we're looking for...same chances of ever coming back.   Those are the cons.  The pros: the exact same chance that we do find out what's going on, as well as seeing something done about it.  But Sebastian is also down there, and the spider...one we could theoretically trust, and one we are forced to trust.  Both know what's going on, at least.  Not to mention..."

Think...just think.  Your head recovered, didn't it?  "...Not to mention that if we do succeed, they know a way out.  If they can be found."

She stopped her pacing and turned back to the others, laying her arm thoughtfully at her side and her gaze to the floor.  Things were looking difficult.  All instinct told her to take the relatively safe route and stay upstairs.  But there were more possibilities to be seen in the other choice.  One thing was for sure...she was certain that the three before her (or at least Gareeku) were getting just as tired of standing around.

The panthress looked up again.  "Well.  Right now it's safe to say that nobody knows what the best choice is, sí?  I don't know if we should stay up here or not.  I don't know if we should even get any more split up than we are...I prefer we don't."

She sighed, laying a her hand on her waist.  Aisha didn't even look like she should be in any condition to consider trespassing past the gate to Hell.  The bracer of light on her wrist was what was keeping her energy alive.  Her stump of a right arm was still bonded tightly, perhaps with the blood only starting to think of sealing itself.  And yet, if she could fight...

"Wherever we decide to go...then I'm going along," she said with as much finality in her tone as she could muster.  What more could Hell take, that anyone couldn't help but lose?

She waited for their opinions.

[Boog]

"I don't think we're really accomplishing much here."
Jeremiah spoke up, still shaken from the earlier fight.
"I mean, think about it. Things have been coming out of the walls this whole time. Nothing HAS to go by us to get to the others." He winced and rubbed his ribs again, "Here we're just divided from the rest of the group and, lets face it," he looked down at himself, at Aisha's mutilated arm, at the scratches on Gareeku and Mel, "We probably aren't in the best of shape for another attack like that. We're safer and probably more useful with the rest of the group."
Little emphisis on safer in your case, coward.
Bal?
No Jeremiah, that was you again.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel was torn but decided rather quickly. They had been tasked with keeping the gate safe and she hated to abandon her post, but not knowing what was going on was painful and helpless feeling.  "How do we find them once we get inside? Do you have some way of contacting Madame Msh'taan, Aisha?" At the same time she was questioning she was fastening her long coat tightly and checking her charms against heat and flame. She strongly suspected that where they were going would test the workmanship of the charms.

[Angel]

Somehow, the voices guided Ketefe correctly. Even when the designated direction seemed impossible, the group managed to get through safely - to their own amazement and the demons' amusement. The voices were even silent on occasion, but during those times Ketefe's sense of direction seemed to sharpen; somehow the creatures could share knowledge with her quietly. They were still untrustworthy parasites, but at least they knew their way through Hell.

As time went on, Ketefe saw the cracks burning with light in the ground, and the air around them was getting hotter. The feline paused for a moment, withdrawing her foot from a small fissure upon which she'd almost stepped, then turned to look back at the others. "Everyone still okay?"

[Aisha deCabre]

As she listened to the opinions made by Jeremiah and then by Mel, Aisha's prediction was still on the edge.  Even when the dragon seemed quite hesitant, she was more than prepared to take the next step.  And the frog had a point...but was the safest place really with them?  It was hell, for crying out loud.

The panthress looked up as the dragon asked her question.  Her ears pinned against her head briefly, and she bit her lower lip.  "I...no," she confessed.  "I actually never saw Mistress Rynkura leave...I was still resting when she did, I believe."

There was a pause as her head inclined, gaze dropping to the floor, trying to hide the expression that had arisen; shame.  It was the fear that came again...the feeling of weakness that she had tried to banish with her training.  Would she even be of any help in the very heart of the danger?

Aisha tried to shove away the feeling and shook her head.  "I doubt she left any way to contact her.  Still, I'm fairly certain that she won't easily be overcome.  She's an angel, por amor de dioses (for the love of gods).  How could she be..."  Words failed to come to the huntress.  Now even her own mind was telling her not to be optimistic anymore.  She just sighed, narrowing her eyes.  "Without a way to contact them..."

Then she glanced to Gareeku; he hadn't yet given his opinion.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog wasn't quite sure what had happened, and he wasnt' quite sure where he was, either - but he seemed to still be in one piece. Tightening his grip on his sword, he nodded silently to the feline.

The landscape around them was more familiar territory than the endless gloom - hellish light was streaming out up from the rent stone floor, and in the distance, one could see a great, lurid glow peering up from the depths.
Cog spat to the side. The spit sizzled a moment in one of the numerous fissures.

"Let's go." he said, his sword and wolfstooth charm steaming in the hot atmosphere.

[Gareeku]

"Personally I don't think it's a good idea to leave and go after the others." Gareeku stated, giving his views on the situation. "For one, its Hell. It would be pretty damn stupid to leave the entrance unchecked. I'm not prepared to run the risk of going in after them, only to find that even if this situation was resolved, we wouldn't be able to get back out."

Running a hand through his hair, the wolf sighed somewhat.
"Look, if you guys want to go in after them, then go ahead." the white-furred warrior continued. "But I won't be joining you. Ii'm' going to stay here and keep guard on the entrance, as was the agreement in the first place."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha's reply to Gareeku's argument was an understanding nod, and a thoughtful look in her eyes.  While it was true that maybe earlier they would have taken the choice to take a fateful step beneath the altar in a second, things had happened during their rest that were to make the small group of guardians think seriously about their job.  What use would it be if, in fact, that small entrance was their only way out?  No matter what, the chance couldn't be taken that everyone would be killed.

As the huntress looked over the barren, broken and tainted chapel, her eyes fell upon the altar itself.  She was tempted to take a few steps over there, just to peer into the darkness.  Even just a futile attempt at sensing some familiar movement would make her feel better...but she was set against it.  Instead, Mel's point also struck itself into the core of their minds; they had no way to contact the others.  It could as well have become a futile effort.  Besides...they had with them a few of the best fighters, and Rynkura.  There was no reason to doubt them.

That seemed to be the assurance Aisha was searching for.  She hummed for a moment, and then turned around.  "I guess some of us are a little anxious to see where our friends have gone...but Gareeku has a point, as do all of us.  And anyway, I still don't want to have us split up...but if you think you're strong enough, yes, nobody's stopping you."

Her eyes met those of her comrades.  "To be honest, I don't want to lose anyone...not friends, not other lives, nadie...not anyone," she said just as she set her gaze on Gareeku last...the statement seemed to carry quite a bit of meaning.  To lose him...anyone she cared about again...she would have rather died.  And in her state, all she could do was the duty set for them.  "So...we're staying.  Or I'm staying, anyway."

It was then that the black jaguar turned herself away from the central path and leaned against the edge of one of the chapel seats, her own mind made up.  Far above their heads on a rafter, no doubt, the mysterious red-eyed raven was also watching them intently.

[Stygian]

The group below was making good progress. Down and down, deeper they went, the stench of fumes and their discomfort getting stronger. Every so often they saw something move in the shadows, beyond clear sight, but their path remained unobstructed for the most part. Whatever guided Ketefe was helping them avoid the dangers of the place they were in as well. There was no telling what might have happened had she not...
   Their relative success thus far was not to be untested though. It wasn't too long, before they came into a shadowed area right along the edge of a platform that led further down their path, and as things got out of view, Ketefe felt a sudden surge of alertness and caution, mixed with mad irritation.
   Not here! This is not supposed to be... What is? Careful! We don't have time... the voices in the feline's head bickered among each other, some sounding almost as if they were critical of her for something. This, and the imperative to keep on moving forward, strengthened by a feeling of danger, distracted her. And then, her arm snagged on something, sticking fast.

[Angel]

Ketefe was nowhere near happy about being stuck in Hell, but the fact that the group hadn't been attacked again yet helped to raise her spirits a little. So far, their path had been clear-set with the ambiguous, but seemingly correct help of her voices. Not so much as a rock blocked their way.

After so much success, though, a little difficulty was anticipated. Sure enough, when they reached a shadowy place on a platform in the middle of another route, her voices started to argue. The cat held a hand up to the others to stop them. "They can't decide on something...it's like I took the wrong way," she said hesitantly. "They sound mad." Somehow, pausing, even when nothing had happened yet, seemed dangerous. She wanted, more than anything, to keep going, but the irritation felt by her demons was spreading to Ketefe, along with some sort of heightened attention to her surroundings. Something here felt threatening...

Just then, her arm stuck to something. The vigilante snapped out of her head and looked at her arm with a growing sense of fear. She tugged once. No dice. She was trapped. And if she was...

"Guys?" she called to the others, her voice slightly panicked. "Something else is here!"

[Cogidubnus]

 As he walked quickly through the shadowy portion of the hellish path in front of him, Cog attempted to keep himself as focused as a razor, listening for any sound or any sign of some demonic creature. He nearly jumped when Ketefe yelled, the sound like a trumpet in his ears.

He cursed, and turned. The feline was caught on...something, but the wolf couldn't make it out. He didn't like thinking about what it might be, either. He fumbled in one torn pocket, and produced that same golden coin from before.
"Lux et veritas mundi... he murmured. The sun exploded in his hands.

[Stygian]

Light flared up, and blasted away the shadows for a few moments, allowing the alarmed adventurers a glimpse of the next danger they faced. Or, more accurately, the one they had walked right into. Because there was no other way to describe it. All around, gleaming and glistening, newly woven strands of thick, tight silk clung to the walls of the cave and the overhanging pathway. And Ketefe was stuck on one of the strands running from the roof to the side of the path they were walking on. The light was only to last for a short time though. Because when Keaton spotted the shape lowering itself down behind Cog's head, hanging upside down, she was already moving.
   The coin fell from Cog's hand and onto the rocky path, rolling a bit and stopping at Ketefe's feet with a clinking sound, as his arm was grabbed and twisted, and pulled right up, to the point where he was standing on the tips of his toes. At the same time, a hand placed itself on his other shoulder, and a voice murred into his ear. A slightly raspy, many-faceted, feminine and comely voice.
   'Yeah, yeah... Light may illuminate the truth, but sometimes it just stings the eyes', Sal said, and then squeezed the wolf's shoulder. Hard. 'Just take it easy. Don't try to draw and I'll put you down. Okay?' she continued, her tone one of clear and self-assured factuality, and also of honesty.

[Angel]

In spite of her best efforts, Ketefe was still wide-eyed and tugging at her arm fruitlessly when Cog turned to help. She watched closesly as he cast a spell - and then turned away, knowing better than to look directly into a spell that bright. What the light revealed was actually far worse than she'd anticipated.

Thick, shining strands of silk covered the walls of the path around them. Ketefe turned to to look at her arm, and with a fluttering heart, realized that this was spider's webbing, and she was stuck to it.

The light ended as quickly as it had come, though, and Ketefe went blind in the abrupt blackness. She heard a coin rolling and stopping somewhere hear her feet, the sounds of struggling in Cog's direction...and a new, quiet, feminine voice. The feline's head whipped around towards the wolf, her eyes focusing in the murk and shapes becoming clear again. Something had Cog...

"Who the hell is that?" she said aloud, not shouting, but her tone containing surprise and a threatening note.

[Cogidubnus]

It wasn't so much the hand on his shoulder that made the wolf breathe in sharply, and his unhidden eyes to gleam dangerously in the low light, as it was the voice right above him. Cog was not someone given to fits of rage, but the look in his eyes was murderous, and a low growl emanated from the wolf's throat.
He stood stock still. He stood still another second. The growling subsided, or simply grew too low to hear.

Like a chip of ice suddenly touching her neck, Sal felt the edge of Cog's sword just lightly touching her - the blade not there one moment, and quite suddenly there the next. Sal noticed that Cog wasn't wearing a sheath a few moments later.

"I'd like nothing more than to kill you. Your spiders don't work on me. You're clever and strong, but I'm faster, and pissed off." he said, looking forward. "And the only good reason I can think of to not kill you is that you caught up to us, and we went in first. You know how to get places here. So."
He kept staring forward. "I'm glad you're not going to hurt me. I'd truly hate to think of what might happen. Why don't you let go, and I won't stab you, and we'll both be very glad that we're getting closing to our goal."

[Sunblink]

For the rest of the journey, Keaton was quite silent, even during the group's steady descent into the arid and desolate chamber. Apparently, after the group's skirmish, she had garnered the courage to start wandering amidst the party as opposed to on its outskirts, since she was trudging closer to her companions and with an increased urgency to her pace. That, or Cog's charm had succeeded in restoring her stamina just enough to make her of some use. Looking somewhat disturbed, Keaton eyed her surroundings warily, becoming so engrossed in maintaining her countenance of security that she didn't realize when her foot was suspended over the groove lacerating the rocks before her until it unpredictably expelled a great gout of steam into her face. Just barely keeping herself from yelling out of surprise, Keaton yelped and leaped over the groove, skittering after Cogidubnus.

Keaton found it quite fortunate that there were no steam-emitting hellpits in the next obstacle; a web-laden chamber. In comparison to their earlier surroundings, Keaton found the exchange peaceful, or at least up until a certain point. Out of the corner of her eye, Keaton spied Sal's silhouette lowering itself behind Cog's head, the familiar shape and its sinuous, clever movements triggering a horrid reaction in the back of her mind. In an instant flicker of emotions, Keaton felt the root source of her current emotional turmoil propel itself back to the front of her memory.

She only was able to speak after the spider finished, and when she did, she sounded nothing short of enraged, livid. "YOU!" Keaton snarled, her ears flattening and her teeth baring viciously.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Boog]

Jeremiah rolled his eyes. Oh gods help me, will the man make up his mind? With little else to do, save for perpetuating an argument that was unlikely to go anywhere new, the frog took to pacing. And thinking. And more pacing. And more thinking.
Eventually, when he'd finally settled upon leaning on a large piece of masonry near the gate, he reached the conclusion that really, Gareeku was probably right. While there was little they could do if anything threatened to close the gate, they could still do SOMETHING. Better than if they got their wounded selves in the paths of any demons. It was for the best.
Dear readers, it's okay if you see what's coming. Really, at this point, not even he was THAT surprised when he slipped and fell into the gate.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

When Gareeku announced that they were staying put Mel set to the busywork of putting herself to rights. A small pulse of magic sent her cracked ribs into healing mode as she dusted marble shards out of the nap of her jacket and extended and refolded her wings a few times to make sure they hadn't been damaged. She was just digging the last of the bits of marble out of her boot tops when, with a rather resigned sounding shout, Jeremiah disappeared through the gate. Being closest Mel was the first to the gate. Peering into the shifting blackness she called, "Are you alright? Do you need help?"

[Gareeku]

After Gareeku had given his views on the matter at hand, he had looked to the others to see what they had to say about it. Instead, the wolf only received any kind of a response from Aisha, who also voiced her decision to stay. To this, Gareeku nodded his head in understanding. It wasn't as if he was stopping the others from going, they were fully free to do so. It was just that he didn't think it was a good idea to leave the gate completed unguarded, considering all the nasties that had been thrown at them outside of the underworld below.

It was then, however, that the white wolf watch with initial shock as Jeremiah tubled down into the gate, thanks to him slipped off of the surface that he was standing on. As he walked to the gate, however, when thinking about it, this was most likely to happen. After all, Murphy's law had an annoying habit on sneaking up on people when it could.

"Jeremiah! Can you hear me?" Gareeku called as he walked up next to Mel, peering below into the darkness as he tried to look for any sign of movement. As Mel called out, he waited for an answer.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha idly bit her lip as she watched the others, leaning against one of the seats while contemplating (though it was still hard to keep her mind off of the fact that she was crossing her chest with one arm and one phantom limb).  There wasn't much disagreement on the subject at hand; perhaps they had all kept to the fact that it was indeed a wise thing to do.

But when things were all turned around...when demons howled; when a building meant for great fortification was overrun by illusions; when the only sanctuary was in a desecrated chapel; when the gate to hell was right in front of them; it was hard to tell really what was wise anymore.  Did the others down in those depths know too?

Then suddenly, it was like something decided to jinx them.  Jeremiah, whom she hadn't noticed roaming around the gate itself, had taken a wrong slip right into the pit with but a quick yelp to signify the fact.

"Oh shit..." Aisha cursed and kicked away from her spot, rushing with Gareeku and Mel over to the edge.  The claws on her bare feet were engaged so that she wouldn't slip on the polished stone herself.  As they called, she strained her ears and sent a call down herself.  "Jeremiah, where are you!"  The darkness seemed difficult to penetrate even with those of good sight, but certainly the frog hadn't gone so far down to be out of hearing...

[Stygian]

And yet, out of earshot he seemed to be. The frog was laying badly bruised and feeling more than dizzy at the very bottom of the stairway. Were he not in such a bad condition for it at the time, he might have considered how he could have fallen all that way without breaking his neck, and even more strangely so quickly. He couldn't hear the others from up above in the least. There was no one and nothing to bring him out of his painful near-unconsciousness.
   Well, no one but those who were already with him, as always...

- -

Great. Just bloody great. Someone else had entered from upstairs. Stygian couldn't tell who, or why, or even how, but the shadow that he had cast over the entrance to the place had been triggered, and in no way so that it had been removed or destroyed. Well, that was good, at least. That meant that he knew where the new ones who had entered were, at least for a while. But if they went and got themselves into danger as well... He'd already had to ward off three attacks on the group which had gone down. Now, at least, he knew that Rynkura was safe. But he had to check on them again, as quickly as possible. Why the old man hadn't reacted to them, he had no idea. He should have been able to tell that they were getting closer, and making progress. So why didn't he try to get rid of them? Did he think that Rynkura was hostage enough? Was he doing something else?
   The bat berated himself for having done as he had from the very start, and hurried on. If the prey wouldn't come then it was just more of a waste using two pieces of bait instead of one.

- -

The spider made a sound much like a snort, and then Cog was pushed forward, hard, while the tip of his sword was flicked away by clicking claws. The spider turned quickly in the air, and grasping the line of silk between her fingers, slowly lowered herself to the cavern floor.
   'Yeah, very nice greeting. I thought mine was rude, but you somehow topped it...' Sal muttered, and then let her eyes shoot up at the wolf, scowling. 'Not to mention you're presuming things already. Do you even know if you really want to kill me? Or if you even want to reach the bottom? Do you think I really know my way here? I'd say that this place is simply more "kind" to me than you because of who I am.' She tilted her head at him and blinked, her eyes eerily desynchronized. 'By the way, how did you get down here so quickly?'

[Boog]

...
...
...
... Paaainnnnnnnnn...
This was pretty much the sum of what was on Jeremiah's mind for a considerable amount of time. It was all it needed to do. It was cool, quiet, and it wasn't entirely sure if the legs were working, so it was free to simply take its time on a simple task, for once. It put craftsmanship into its work, considering the nature and source of the pain from all angles. It went on to consider the pain's artistic implications and philosophical value before being interrupted by a new wave of searing agony when it tried to move Jeremiah's shoulder.
"Ahhhahah! Rrg!" the frog clamped down on what would have been a yelp. Through the red-hot haze of his damages the aforementioned mind was holding up signs to point out that, while it would be satisfying to scream his head off, things might hear that. Besides, it might hurt more to breathe that deep.
Get up.
Jeremiah blinked (Oh gods, even my EYELIDS hurt. What the hell, why not?). He knew that voice, but not in a sentence that wasn't simply one word, possibly rapidly repeated.
In?
Yes. Get up.
No, I'm tired. Let me alone.
A demonic bull with too many horns and made of red flame flashed into existence, and Jeremiah's mind went blank as lucidity was drained from him by the curses' power. In's power hoisted the frog to his feet with one swift and ungentle motion. The frog almost blacked out, and thought he might have screamed. Wasn't sure though. Wasn't sure of much at the time.
With further nudges and shoves, every so often provoking a whimpered yelp, In sent Jeremiah deeper into hell...