I gasp as I notice the bunny girl hit something that vanishes on sight... was that what Okaa-san was warning me about when she said we were being spied on? "A familiar? Why didn't you just point it out to me? I wasn't sure what you were referring to when you said we were being watched!" Pfft. No matter. If anything, at least no one's watching us anymore... I hope. *He whips his eyes in all directions* Okaa-san's target had been shot down. I really hope that's all she saw.

I watch with a scoff as those idiots take off. That stupid changeling... I didn't say much even as she reveals that she took the form of someone who died years ago. The Lamb is also a changeling who has literally done the same thing as she did. Not the first time I've heard of that. Saving the planet? I don't believe that at all. Not with your berserk leader committing atrocities behind our backs. And also not that it matters to me as much as stopping Stupid Rixi but, at least that' been dealt with. I then turn towards the others, impatience fuelling my current soul that lays deep within my body. "Forget about them. They weren't even our targets in the first place. Unless we somehow cross paths with them again as soon as we arrive there." I was preparing to take off either way, whether or not we- *All of a sudden as marches forward, he hears Maya get bitten by the bat and the kitsune boy turns wide eyed in horror*

O... kaa-san...?! Did she just... let the bat... bite her?! That was extreme, even by my standards! I turn back to the rest of the group and... they're just standing there?! Okaa-san's bleeding like heck! And she looks like she's about to faint! I can't heal her but... can't you guys do something about it?! Or is she out of spell slots? Is that why she's not doing anything?! I can't tell as usual! What if the bat also turns out to be a traitor?! What is she-?! "Uh... Hey... Oka- uh... lady... don't you think that's a bit too far...? Guys?!"

Alex very nearly gives chase, but pulls up short when he realizes that no one else is following. Those jerks, they act like they are somehow in the right when they are doing so much wrong. Sure, they have their reasons apparently, some are better than others, but that doesn't make them good guys. They belong in prison for what they've done. Lost in thought, he flinches when Maya screams, and very nearly rushes at the vampire with his sword before realizing that she'd allowed the bat to bite her. 

He shifts uncomfortably. As much as he would be uncomfortable with it, he wishes he'd been paying attention. As an aasimar, he is resistant to the necrotic damage that is dealt by such creatures. Oh well... too late now. 

Sheathing his sword, he quickly steps over to Maya, pushing the vampire away (gently) if he doesn't let go by himself, "That's enough. I can heal her." A soft white glow pulses around his hands as he gently touches Maya's neck (Lay on Hands: 7hp). 

Once that is done, he sighs and looks out in the direction the others had fled, "Yeah. There isn't much we can do about them right now. At least we know what they are up to though. Maybe we can make it to Paulis in time... and hopefully we can avoid further trouble for a little while." He looks to Simo's group, "I'm really sorry if you get dragged into this. I..." He shakes his head, not knowing what else to say. 

Then he turns to Mira, "Are you alright? Do you need any healing?" He lifts a hand and gives a weak smile, "I'd like to save what little healing powers I have left, but if you could use some now I will do whatever I can for you." 

Shugo somewhat ignores the changeling's info dump as he doesn't particularly care about her. Especially when Maya seems to be seeing some invisible creature flying around. He's slightly shocked when Laine suddenly accuses him of wanting to take them prisoner. How the heck did she get that out of what he said? He just told them he was keeping his end of the deal. He's also slightly confused when she says something about strength in numbers. He's pretty sure the last he checked his group outnumbered hers...well, so long as he's counting Simo's group as well. Oh well whatever. At least they got them out of the way for now. Though by the sounds of it they will have to deal with them again later. Ugh. On top of that now Adelaide knows who they are. Great. He sighs not wanting to think about it right now, all this sounds like a future Shugo problem....

Then he jumps slightly when Renar starts yelling about Maya bleeding. Spinning around, he gives them a flat look. Seriously? She let the vampire bite her? Couldn't they have just cut a finger and given him a cup of blood or something? He crosses his arms and squints at the others as all of them but Venet start huddling around the kitsune. Well at least Alex can help her.

Mira follows Maya to the bat and watches in horror as she is fed upon. She is fidgety and uncomfortable now. She clenches her tiny fists the whole time.

Then, as Alex addresses her she twirls to face him and bounces a little as she speaks up "I'm going to be okay, mister. Thanks to her." She nods and smiles as she looks over to Maya. "I think I worked myself into a panic, I don't do well in restraints."

She paces a bit while talking. "I'm Mira, thank you for rescuing me from their clutches." She curtsies. Then a scowl crosses her face and she switches subjects. "Were they serious about their plans? It seems so outlandish! But, but, if, if they're genuine, it, it can't be allowed, right? How do we stop them?"

Upon suffering from a really woozy gaze after being bitten by the pesky bat, Maya wobbles unstably until her senses are brought back to reality by Alex. Whilst her eyes still remain shut even she feels the young boy's soft hands, her heart thumps and her smile instantly comes back to let him know that it worked. "Arigato... (ありがと, Thank you)" She whispers to him before she stumbles over to Renar and leans on his left shoulder and behind his back for support, unaware she was making him blush. 

When Mira speaks, she unfortunately couldn't understand what she said again even as she meets her cute eyes, at least until Renar translates for her much to his own disgust. to be frank, neither kitsune would do well in restraints either... but also... this also reminded her of a tragedy of a similar scenario too, but only for a brief moment. That aside, she was half expecting him to rant about what to do next and how to prepare for this joint battle now that the two groups have apparently seemed to have meshed together to tear down the future enemy that lays before them. Even so, she repeatedly points to the exit of the Ice Cave as she continues to shiver; What her son would have probably pointed out a million times to the two groups before she did so.

Though, there was something she could maybe, just maybe, comprehend from the bunny girl herself...

"Mi-ra? (ミラ)" She softly speaks, upon hearing her name. 

"Oh, Maya, no- I was going to-" But it's too late, she's already offered her neck to the vampire. She was going to just cut her palm or something, a neck bite is just.. a lot. She is just a bit too stunned at the development on top of everything else. After a few moments Alex has already healed her anyway. 

"If that's it then.. we should get out of this cave."

"Thanks Alex. I don't even know what she was thinking there when she let him bite her..." I whisper to the young boy as soon as he heals her. Sheesh. What if the bat had a poisonous bite that could instantly kill her in a few minutes? On the (somewhat) bright side, I noticed her lack of hesitation to get bitten just so he could recover. She hardly flinched or shivered until the main event came. Kudos to her for this but, if the bat ends up turning against us, it's all on you.

"Anyways, once we head out of this chilly cavern,  I suggest that-" *But then Maya clings onto him from behind, causing him to blush in shock; She's pressing on his most sensitive part too, which is his tail* "M-M-Maya-s-s-san?! Um... psst!" She's squishing my tail...! AAH! NO! Not in front of everyone else! *He shoves her off his back* "I-I know you're feeling faint all but that doesn't mean, y-y-you can go and...!"

I squint with a massive blush alongside Shugo as I cover my face and prepared to walk off, though I did stop to face them one last time, during which I hear some of them wanting to move on. Come on, seriously? How useless can you guys be?! That's what I've been saying ever since we got into this scuffle with Stupid Rixi's goons! One day, I need to ensure that Alex is ready to take charge and lead this disorganized squad seeing that his potential has yet to blossom. This leadership thing isn't the same without Rixi and Ethan supporting me to no end even when I'm alone. Urgh... "So... uh... are... are we done? Are we ready to join forces and... and get out of here?" As this unnecessary drama plays out I took this opportunity to come up with a formation should we encounter Stupid Rixi, let alone what that glitched thing is. Most importantly, the damaged, glass cannon girls should stay in the backlines whilst me, Alex, his supposed second squad and Shugo all protect them on the frontlines after we've finished setting up our defences should the rest have any. Thing is... I'm too embarrassed right now to say it... I blame you for this Okaa-san...

After the vampire drinks Maya's blood, his wound begins to heal rapidly. Soon enough, he's back in his top shape, there are still a few scratches and loose fur, but he's mostly fine. 

"T-thank you, kind lady." The vampire says, he gets up and brushes himself off. "Excuse me, but... what year is it?"

Silence... Simo's party's optimism seems to vanish in an instant... not in an instant, really, but they're still shaken and unsure of what to do with their targets, now that they know he is connected with one of the most deranged women on this entire planet. Normally, they would reply immediately, but all of them are just staring at the ground.

A while later, Liega walks over to the bat and hands him her pocket calendar. He takes a quick glance at it and gasps, "WHAT!? -1C?" He covers his face, sighing and muttering to himself. "Shouldn't have fallen asleep first at the sleepover..."

He turns towards you, "Again... thank you for your kindness, and the fact that you didn't slay me right here and then shows that you are much more open-minded than people in my time." He holds out his claw for a shake, "I'm Kazimieras Stankevicius, you can call me Kaz." A first name that ends with -as and a last name that ends with -ius means he's from Hlotis. It's a country Northeast of Kerwos and east of Arusa.

"As you can tell by my name, I'm not from around here. Hlotis' cave system isn't as... extensive as this." He looks at the ceiling. "I'd appreciate it if you could guide me to the surface, I think I'll be able to figure my way home from there. It will be tougher without my ring of invisibility, but I'll manage." He shakes his head, "I owe you too much favour already; so... you don't have to find it for me."

Then, out of nowhere, Simo mutters the courage to speak up. "We can take you to the surface, Kaz... actually, please let us take you to the surface." He nods, then looks at you all.

"You don't have any idea who Adelaide is, do you? She isn't just some random duchess, she has more money than the GDP of some small nation, she can bribe anyone who gets in her way and hire enough mercenaries to fill up a small village. If she's after Paulis, then he's a goner, you must find someone else who knows about the artefact, and she'll likely be after them too." He places himself in front of Elsa protectively, "I'm not risking my teammate's wellbeing, but it seems you don't care much about yours, Alex. Adelaide doesn't just keep her prisoners in cages, she tortures them and then lobotomises them, putting them in a vegetive state—where they cannot move, cannot speak, cannot see, but still feel everything around them—for the rest of their lives."

He sighs, shaking his head. He grabs Kaz's claws and begins walking away.

"W-wait! I can fight too! I just need a weapon—" Kazimieras speaks, but Simo puts his hand over the bat's mouth.

 "This is your last chance, walk away now before you enter the path of no return." He glances back.

Whilst she smiles at the vampire after he means no harm, Maya, still huddled over Renar's back despite his protests, is already becoming infuriated by the lack of progress. Trying to persuade Renar to finally move and forget about whatever stuff she cannot understand, she tries to drag him along... only to collapse, partially from faintness and the fact that she clumsily tripped on one of his boots. She does get up swiftly though. "Ka-ji... (カジ)" She mutters, assuming that was the bat's name... before she impatiently pulls Renar and gestures the others to keep going for the last time as-

Eh? Renar said... What? Lobotomy? That sounds familiar, if not, appalling to her, having barely escaped from this fate a few centuries back unlike others of her kind... The thought of remembering this only fuels her anger more as she is reminded of her sorrowful past. And... what? Alex's group wants to leave. Well... in a way she was hoping that the two force would combine to tear down the boss. She stares nervously at the boy who helped heal her, hoping he could at least convince them to fight...

Mira chuckles as Maya makes Renar blush in front of everyone else. "What's wrong, hoodie boy? Too scared to face with a pretty lady like her?" She teases with a grin on her face. Thing is though, she has never heard an accent that distinct from the two of them. And she's also wondering: How long has that boy been wearing his hood? Is he hiding something from the rest of the group? Eh. Whatever. She won't push him for the time being considering his state and all. Maybe later, when the group is finally at peace for a short while...

After hearing Simo's intent to withdraw though, the tiny rabbit girl is stunned. "Oi! What do you mean that after all of this effort you're gonna simply run away from the scene of action? That's sounds cowardly coming from a pack of warriors like you all!" 

Even though what Adelaide did to her subject was indeed cruel and merciless, Mira wasn't fazed by the danger. She wants to prevent future disaster as much as her new group wants to. They saved her, so the least she could do is repay them in someway wherever they go. "I don't know about you all but if it's to warn Paulis, I will stay, regardless of the dangers you all face in the future."

She then hops to Alex and pulls his ear down to her height. "Hey, holy boy." She whispers. "You know these guys right? Is there by any chance, you'd be able to, you know, persuade them to stay?"

Renar

This stupid vampire... I just can't help but give off yet another irritated look at him . So he's not from here? Big deal. If you're talking about being a fish out of water, just so you know I'm not from here either, neither is Okaa-san. And we're more lost than you are. But still... I then gasp in panic as Okaa-san not only lays her chest on my tail, but also tries to drag me along after that... and then faceplant directly on my boot. "Are you kidding me, lady?! Now's not the time to humiliate ourselves in front of everyone!" I groan as I watch the vampire interact with everyone else too. Great. More time wastage. Just what we needed. 

That Adelaide must be a complete mess. Lobotomy? I'm not a stranger to that. Money? Pfft. Rich people cliques. I'm just scared that if we're too late, Paulis may have end up dead by the time we've arrived at his place to warn him. And- WHAT?! YOU GUYS WANNA TURN TAIL AND LET THIS DISASTER BLOW OUT ON ITSELF?! ARE YOU- OH MY... Alex... they know you more than they know us. I hope you can at least bring some sense back into them...

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 "W-wait! I can fight too! I just need a weapon—" Kazimieras speaks, but Simo puts his hand over the bat's mouth.

 "This is your last chance, walk away now before you enter the path of no return." He glances back.

"We've already entered the path of no return long before we met you guys. And that was the encounter with that stupid group!" I snarl back with almost no sympathy. Seems like they need a shower of discipline. "I honestly thought that you'd at least have guts just like your old friend here, but seeing your attitude turn 180 degrees, I'm already reconsidering our future plan for when we meet Stupid Rixi because I thought we'd hopefully work well as two groups. Take that bat if you want too. I'm not gonna manipulate you guys but if Alex has anything to say about you, you better take his word before he leaves you in the dust too. Last chance: If you don't intend on helping us, don't ever get in our way again!" 

Mira

After hearing Renar's harsh words though, she was already reconsidering her doubts. Yikes. Whatever he said stung her fluffy ears too. "What the-Hey! Can't you tone it down a little, hoodie man? I get you're furious to move and all but that was a tad too hurtful even for their standards!" She protests as she hops up and down in disgust. 

Alex gives Mira a quick glance, only to have his attention drawn by Renar next. It seems everyone is expecting him to say something... but right now, he feels... well, he really doesn't know how to feel. He's used to Simo being well, Simo. But those last words struck differently than usual. Alexander isn't really a sensitive person. He doesn't really care what others think about him, so long as he knows he's doing what he believes is right. Yet... 

"How could you say I don't care about my team?" he says, his voice slightly shaky. He looks up, eyes filled with what appears to be a mixture of anger and sadness, "You of all people, Simo, should know that there isn't a single person I don't care about. You don't know my team, so don't make assumptions. You might be the smart one, but that doesn't mean you know everything." He shakes his head, "I already apologized in case you and your team go wrapped up in this mess. I know it might not matter, but my actions would have been the same regardless of whether or not you and your group had been here."

He clenches his fists, "If you had known ahead of time who was responsible for what has happened to Kaz and this noblewoman, would you have simply turned a blind eye? Good Lord..." He throws his hands out to his sides, longsword still in his right hand, "So apparently Paulis is as good as dead, but you are just willing to walk away? If Adelaide was holding your sister hostage, would you turn a blind eye then? What about any of your team members? Would you leave them for dead? Or, let's look at it this way. If you had the option to kill Adelaide, to make her stop all of her madness, would you do that? No! Because killing is wrong, right? And yet you are willing to let Paulis die because it isn't your problem? If all of us together could prevent his death, but you choose not to help, how is that any different than killing him yourself?"

He pauses, "So, in my mind you are the one about to cross the line and enter the point of no return. I've already made my choice, and I know my team well enough to know what their choice was before this whole thing started. And in case it isn't already clear, they want to see justice as much as I do." He gives his comrades a nod, specifically Renar, who was the first to speak up. ...though part of him hopes he isn't making too many assumptions about them all agreeing to this. Still, after what happened with Cezars, and him offering them an out but them refusing, he has a hard time believing any of them would turn their backs on this problem. 

Sighing, he says, "If Kaz wants to help us, let him. Maybe he can recover his ring while he's at it. Or if he would prefer to go to the surface, that's fine too. As much as I would like for us to all fight together... to have that team-up I've been hoping for..." he gives Elsa a quick smile, which fades quickly as he says, "I don't want any of you to do something you don't want to do. If you change your mind and decide this is a fight worth fighting, I would be more than happy to fight alongside you. But, I know that not everyone has the conviction that I do. Still, I can't just let you think that I don't care about my team. You don't know them, or what they are willing to risk in the name of what is right. Maybe I follow faith blindly, but that's who I am, and these people chose to stick with me regardless."

He turns his back on the group, then looks at his friends saying, "Come on guys. We have a tortle to save."

Persuasion: 14 (this was: 23 in case this changes...saw a spelling mistake I couldn't let slip by lol) 

Shugo watches this entire thing play out in silence. In most circumstances, he may have found the exchange quite entertaining. However, with the current stakes....well he's mostly just trying to wrap his head around it. Adelaide is about as rich as a small nation? Hmmm....how does that compare to his father? Uhhhhhh. Math. Well not thinking about that right now. He cringes when hearing what Adelaide does to her victims. Geeze that's worse than just killing someone. How can she legally get away with that? Ugh. Money obviously. He doesn't really care that the other group wants to dip. Though it would be nice to have more hands to help so to speak. Oh well, he doesn't particularly like Simo anyways.

He's not really sure what to make of Alex's speech. Though it does make him feel a little guilty since he has a pretty strong tendency to turn a blind eye to things....though if someone is in real danger he would help out...probably. Like right now! Paulis needs to be warned of his situation, and they also need to get some information from him. Well what do you know. Sounds like a pretty good info exchange.

"Well, if we are going to save Mr. Tortle, we better get a move on. Hot Head could be halfway there already for all we know."

"We can't just do nothing. Going up against Adelaide is... more than difficult, but if we do nothing we're complacent, which is just as bad as helping her." 

She heaves out a breath, and crosses her arms. The audacity of these people to see what they're up against and choose to do nothing. While also trying to force Kas to do nothing as well.

--------------
Bardic to Alex: 1d6

Persuasion check Succeed (Refund Bardic Inspiration; initial check passes the DC)

Simo bites his lips, his ears flicking. These people, they are very brave, especially Alex. Besides, if he runs away now, it'd be even more embarassing, he's no coward, he will not be mocked by anyone in that matter.

With a sigh, he turns back again and faces Alex. "Tch... Fine, then. We'll follow you." He walks after the party, with the rest of his teammates trailing behind.

A few hours later...

Total silence, that's how this journey goes. Everyone just quietly glances to the side, no words spoken, just moving forward.

Danils looks like he's about to say something, probably trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood, but no words leave his beak. He looks down and keeps moving.

Eventually, you come across a cave opening, you enter it, walk for a while, and then arrive at the amethyst cave. Like its namesake, there are giant amethyst crystals growing everywhere, some as large as an entire castle, stretching from the floor all the way to the ceiling. There are troglodytes and a three-head hydra peacefully wandering about, but no time to waste, you find the nearest wall and walk along it until you see an entrance.

A few minutes of walking later, you've finally found it, the entrance to... whatever the glitched area is.

This section of the cave looks like someone just blew it open, chunks of rock scatter across the area, and the cave wall has a man-sized hole in it. Peering inside the hole, you see a vertical shaft with a rusty metal platform and even more rusty cable. The platform is levelled with the floor, so you can just walk to it and descend... to your doom.

"Here we are... I guess." Liega says tiredly, "That platform doesn't look very stable, thankfully, though, a few of us can fly—"

"I'll go first." Danils raises his claws, he motions for his friend to step aside and takes a step on the metal platform. He takes another step and another, and soon, he's in the middle of the platform now.

He turns back to the party, "Ha! Told you, it's going—"

The cable snaps.

When you stretch a rubberband and give it a sniff, you'll notice that it has a burning smell to it. Stretching gives friction, friction creates energy, and energy creates heat. Imagine that but on a scale of eleven.

Anyways, the cable explodes right into Danils' back, sending him flying back to where you are all standing right now, and the platform behind him falls to the depths below

"Owww..." He groans, lying on his belly. His back is bloodied, but his other vital parts are fine.

"Danils!" Liega and Elsa cries, both of them quickly rushing to the Owlin's side. Well... he took one for the team, if Alex hadn't persuade Simo's party to join (And if the air-headed Danils didn't come with you), one of you might unknowingly step on that metal platform and take the world's quickest lift ride to Hell

While the girls console Danils, Kazimieras peeks into the vertical shaft. "There is a wooden lid above, and there is a stone lining on the side, must be a well." He looks down, "There is a weird marble floor thing down there, I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's definitely not natural." He turns toward the party, "How should we proceed?"

It's a very deep hole, about 300 ft to the top and 310 ft to the bottom, all of your ropes combined isn't long enough to go both ways, it's either up or down.

Mira

"Thank you, young holy one. May the light bless you." Mira whispers with a distinct, nordic accent. In fact, as the group finally prepares to leave, Mira takes this chance to stay in between Alex and Venet, hoping to maybe lighten their moods a little. Or not... especially when everyone is so uncomfortably quiet, with faces wracked with apprehension, anger or... something else she cannot understand herself. She does make attempts to keep the spark alight  especially with the two she's next two, but neither of those conversations didn't even last for a full minute. Eventually she gave up and just hopped in silence.

She remains so until Danils triggers a bomb of some sort and nearly causes her beating heart to suffer from a massive stroke, up to the point where she couldn't move a muscle. "HOLY- ARE YOU OK?!" She yells in horror. She was about to tend to his wounds when the Tiefling and Fox girls rush over before her, so instead, she hops to the edge where the platforms once were. Her bunny eyes briefly morph into a squint as she eyes the chasm. The bat's right. If there's a marble floor down at the bottom, someone must have been here. And why the fancy pavement? She then hops back to the two groups.

"It's either we all combine our ropes and anchor it to a very sturdy anchor or some sort. Other than that I don't see how we're supposed to find a safe route." She says, only to realize that she doesn't have any on her. Then again, the others would have decent sized one to make up for it. "Oh crap. Well uh, I don't have any rope with me but..., hm? Yes? Go on." She then looks at the hoodie boy as he explains how they might be able to descend to the bottom safely...

Renar

So Alex's team is actually gonna stay with us? That's a relief. I couldn't help but breathe a massive sigh behind everyone's backs. "Let's move." I command in a very cold voice as I stay in the middle of the pack. Seems like no one is keen to hear my battle strategy right now even as we're moving... Whatever. Unless if they need it, I won't say it. So be it.

Unironically, I wasn't bothered by the awkward silence that radiated within the two groups. My grip on my katana sheath also loosened slightly, seeing that there wasn't much to be offered even in the purple cave. My goodness the amethyst crystals in there... they're amethyst right? I mean... they're purple...? I need to clarify later; My gem knowledge is super rusty. Even as we reach the seemingly blown up section I felt a bit confused. Well... at least there's a platform we can... *He lets out a fox yelp as soon as Danils triggers an explosion*

I instantly wince as the Owl boy takes a massive hit and causes the platform to collapse. Yikes. That was lucky. I can't imagine losing Okaa-san to something like this for a second time. Thing is, *He glances down at the bottomless pit* this pit is massive. There's no way I'd be willing to just jump down and fracture my legs. No way in hell. And I don't see a safe descent either. Other than our ropes...

"Seems like... um" I could hear the bunny girl interrupting me as I spoke. What does she want from me?! "I mean... s-s-seems like... we don't have a choice. Uh... um... A-a-and don't worry about having no ropes, madam." *He takes out his own rope and gestures to Maya to do the same* "If I'm correct, each rope is about 50 feet long unless you say otherwise. So... about 6-7 ropes tied tightly would be sufficient to make a somewhat decent method of descent. Only thing to find in here is something durable and sturdy enough to hold the weight of everyone climbing down this ravine. Maybe the stone lining would be the most suitable if there even is a place to hook; I doubt the wooden door would be able to hold even one of us." I take a moment to scan this place. This must an abandoned mine of some sort, so I doubt there'd be anything for us to tether on. "Those who don't know how to fly, we'll climb down the rock face in either pairs or trios. If I find that our tied ropes can hold more than that, I could probably increase the limit to four. I'm saying this because I'm also not sure if there is a weight strong enough to hold the rope down. If we all go down at once, the force we'd enact on whatever we can find would either cause it to slip or break. And if that happens whilst any of us are halfway down, well... you already know what might happen right? So I'd rather we'd prevent this disaster from happening... *He stares at an injured Danils with a squint* again. And make sure the knots are tight." I hope everyone knows what I explained. All we need to do is tie the ropes together, anchor it to somewhere sturdy enough on the stone lining and then climb down carefully in groups of two to three to prevent any major slippage or accidents. At least, the latter stuff that I know of. I'm not sure if there's anything else we need to be careful about.

DEX to tie his end of the rope: 12

"I hope everyone has what they need. Because once we're at the bottom of this pit, it's go hard or go to hell. Not go home, sorry. We're all far from that already."

Mira

There's a lot of sense into what this hoodie boy said. What was his name again? She never found out. And, whilst his attitude is way too negative for her, he does have decent points to make. Mira isn't much of a critical thinker herself, so it's nice to have someone who can think this way and help reduce the chances of potential disasters from occurring. She nods as Renar pulls out his own rope. She then hold on the rope of whoever else has taken out theirs next and hop around looking for a safe point to firmly keep it in place once the extension has been finished.

"Maybe we can use a sturdy crack in the stone lining to hold the ropes whilst you guys tie them? Or the edge of the well. Should be strong enough to hold it? Maybe?" She asks before turning to the well. "Maybe we could use it for something else? But it seems that people have entered this makeshift mine before, if there's a marble floor on the other side... Weird. Marble in a cavern floor? Might be a pavement for something. Anyway, does anyone need help with putting the knots in place? Also, you forgot bombs. You saw what happened to that birdbrain?" She calls out. If anyone does need assistance with tying the rope knots, once she's done putting the main end onto the anchor point, she will go over to help them. Even so she does stare at Renar irritatingly for calling her madam but stops to take a breather. "By the way... hoodie guy, my name is Mira. I'd rather you call me that in the future rather than just a plain, ol' madam. Since I addressed my name to this ragtag group that I'll probably tag with for a while, would all of you kindly return the favour, if I ask?"

Perception: 21, Dex to tie the end of the combined rope if needed: 8

Renar

Sigh... what does this bunny girl want from me now? My name? Whatever. I hope this ends here. "Renar. That's my name. That lady with the fox ears that saved you, her name is Maya. Be thankful she doesn't think of you as her prey. What else do you want?"

Maya, being the naturally quiet kitsune she always has been, remains totally silent even when the group huddles into a single cluster along the way. When they stop at what looks like a massive cave-in mine of some sort, her blindsight doesn't really pick up much other than the unusual surface that lays at the ottom of the pit. She does witness Danils stepping onto the rusty platforms but then immediately lets out a fox yelp in horror as it explodes on him. As much as she wants to help him recover, she first needs to see if the group has any suggestions on how to proceed safely, and that's when she notices Renar, latching onto his own rope, gesturing her to pull out a similar rope so that either of them can tie it to create an extension long enough to climb down safely.

Trusting her son's gesture, she takes out her own rope from her bag before she unwinds it using only her tail and prepares to tie it to the end of the next rope... at least until she notices several knots slipping out from them and decides to fix them first.

DEX if needed: 18

Alex can't help but grin when Simo actually agrees to come with them. Admittedly.... he wasn't expecting that at all. Usually Simo just blows him off or ignores him completely---or tells him why he's wrong, or.... Well regardless, there's a first for everything right! 

Then the rabbit lady addresses him and he gives her a smile as well. It seems his mood was lightened just by the fact that the others decided to join them.... and she gets the impression that it doesn't take much to make Alex feel better. "I'm just glad they are coming. But... uh, may God bless you as well." He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry you wound up in this mess. I'm just glad we were able to get here before those people did anything else to you."

He lets out a gasp when Danlis steps onto the platform only to be flung out and bloodied. "Are you alright?" He says, rushing over alongside the girls. "I... I have some healing left if you need it." 

Whenever that is seen to, he turns to Renar, Mira, and Maya as they discuss how to get down. "Here," he says, adding his rope to their collection. "I... well, I can fly down if needed, but I'd rather not if that's possible. I can only fly for a short time, and that's limited to once a day..." He chuckles, "Hence why I don't know how to fly very well."

He looks down the 'well', "I guess going down first would be best, as that looks more promising. Plus, if the ropes hold up we could always climb back out, pull them back up and then see about going up instead. ...unless going down gets us where we need to go. Then we don't have to worry about it." He pauses, "We could also see if Danlis would be willing to fly back up and untie the ropes once we are down... if it's possible to fly back up through this space." He glances back at the wounded Owlin... perhaps a more talented flyer will be able to make that decision (even though from what they've seen, Danlis might try it even if it isn't possible). 

Shugo doesn't give much of a reaction when the other group changes their minds. He also stays rather quiet when the group moves forward. Outwardly, he looks like his usual smiling, carefree self. However, inwardly he's contemplating exactly how much of a mess he's gotten himself into. First he'd basically made an enemy of one of this countries more powerful individuals and has to go to court, now he's gotten tied into this whole thing with Adelaide, and on top of that apparently the world could be attacked by another planet! And what are they after? The same artifact that he had planned on retrieving for his father. Fantastic. It's not like he could just grab this artifact and bring it home now, especially not with Adelaide and an entire other planet's worth of killers after it. If a war of worlds starts, he definitely doesn't want his home to be the first to fall under fire. Maybe there are other artifacts laying around? UUUUUUuuugh.

He pauses when the two parties approach the lift. The elf is very thankful that the owlin takes initiative to be the guinea pig and test it out. Randomly, this situation makes him think about how old everyone here is. All of them are pretty young. Heck, Alex looks like he's barely a teenager. Shugo himself is likely the oldest of the group at the age of 25...which he's not sure how he feels about since he's practically an infant by elf standards...Maybe Venet is around his age? She certainly acts like an adult. He's tempted to ask her, but it's supposed to be rude to ask women their age... Anyways, it's just odd thinking about how young they all are and how much is at stake right now. He never expected to end up in a situation like this. He never even expected to end up in a situation ten times less serious than this. Why has fate brought him here?! All he wanted to do was find a stupid piece of knowledge to give his sister to present to his father!

The shadow elf's thoughts snap at the sound of the cable exploding. He listens to the lift crash into the sides of the shaft and onto the ground. That's the sound of his little out of country vacation continuing it's downward spiral. Can things get much worse at this point?

As some folks check on the owlin, Shugo half listens to Renar and Mira's plans on descending the shaft. Sounds like they want to go down. He glances down at the marble floor, then looks back at Renar. "Wait, I know that we have an injured birdfolk here, but why are we going down? I don't think Paulis lives down here right? Shouldn't we be going up? Towards the surface?" He glances up the shoot. 

Mira

Wait... is this where Paulis actually lives? She's confused. She thought his place would be in somewhere more on an isolated hillside and not a cavern. Is anyone even holding a map? Cause that would come in handy. "Uh. I mean, sure we can but what if that fire guy that held me captive previously is lurking around somewhere, especially below? What if... what if he's already amassed more of his own goons of some sort? You know what I mean? Surely the extended ropes should be large enough to help us get to both places, like what the holy boy said... right?" Besides, whatever artefact their trying to seek, maybe her adopted mother would benefit from this in a way. Unless if these guys are planning to start a civil war amongst themselves or something...? No... can't be. Everyone except the hoodie boy isn't really much of a suspect to her. Well at least that's what she thinks, because right now her tiny paws are also becoming sweaty from this excessive tie-ups, hence why she's also struggling to get the knots in place.

"Also... uh... We're in a bit of a pickle with the ropes... A little help? We could benefit from extra hands here...!" Mira calls out as her notices Renar and Maya also struggling to do the tying, judging by the knots quickly loosening up in just three seconds.