Despair could not have been thicker in the air as the townspeople of Clover walked back from the Dark Cave, some dragging their axes and pitchforks on the ground as all of their faces had not one smile on them. The searching party that was quickly assembled by Clover soon had their tiny little hamlet in view; the entire village will be devastated when they have learned that the children won't be coming back tonight. There was no rejoicing or dancing in the streets this night in Clover; most of the folks were either weeping in the streets or drinking their sorrows away in the only tavern Clover possessed.

Most of the men that was apart of the searching party made a slow, steady line ended inside of the tavern, The Full Moon. As the entire town came quickly to the tavern when they heard the search party had returned, many alcoholic beverages were consumed by mostly all; to some it was an escape from the pain and for others they simply didn't know what else to do.

Dirk, the town drunk, already had three drinks of his own that night. He didn't drink that much because of the missing children though he did share sympathy, but because that is what he always did each night. As the search party entered the tavern with frowns instead of celebrating smiles, though drunk Dirk could sum up that they didn't find the children.

Outside, Kara walked down the main street hastily. She carried some small bags tied to her belt and a cloak wrapped around her, the hood hiding her face. As she neared the tavern, she stopped by the door and hesitated for a moment. She eyed the drunken crowd inside, seeing how they wasted themselves in despair. A drink wouldn't be so bad before heading to whatever might be awaiting in the Dark Cave, she thought. But she was afraid she would be recognized, since the whole town was there. Finally she turned around slowly, and decided to keep walking.

Rozalynn wanted earnestly to accompany the group in the first rescue effort, but, persuaded to stay and keep to her store, she had not done so. Now eager for some news, she headed to The Full Moon. Once inside, grim faces took the place of words. She needed a drink.

Weylin pulled away from the grimy tavern window and sank into shadow, gazing out into the deserted street.  Was it deserted? He thought curiously – subconsciously aware of another presence. He stared more intently toward the dim light issuing from cracks under the tavern door. It was Kara. Weylin watched her next moves cautiously, now strangely aware of his beating heart. He always had trouble reading Kara, but he was desperate for answers, and even if she was dangerous at least he wouldn’t have to deal with the nonsensical mutterings of the intoxicated fools inside. He silently groaned, and resigned to following Kara. He caught up to her easily and reached his hand out for her shoulder. 

Terick tromps into the tavern, leaving a trail of mud as he goes. He'd been asked to not accompany the search party - he wasn't exactly known for being a particularly helpful person - but had trekked out after the group on his own anyways. He grabs a stool at the bar and orders the cheapest ale available, a clear sign that he hadn't found anything more out by the cave than the search party. He nods at Dirk, recognizing the man as a regular at the bar.

Aderyn's eyes flicked over to the well lit tavern, she longed to once more be kept awake by the shouts and laughter of drunken townsmen; rather than by the ache in her heart. She was sat in Kes' favourite spot - beneath the apple tree at the front of their house, half concealed by the shadows as she watched the deathly still town. The aborted rescue attempt weighed heavily on her mind, and she swore to herself that come the morning she would go out again, and if needs be, enter the Dark Cave. For what kind of life did she have without Kes?

Kara gave a startled jump as a hand touched her shoulder. Quickly she turned around, prepared to scream, but she found herself recognizing the young features of Weylin in front of her. "Heavens, you scared me" she said, feeling a little foolish about it. "Er... you needed anything?" she asked the man.

Weylin stared briefly into Kara’s startled eyes, forgetting for a moment what he had planned to say. This was the woman he had been wary to approach; the woman the townspeople believed had part in the kidnappings. Yet, in the middle of the darkened street, he felt strangely comfortable in her presence. “You don’t look like a kidnapper.” Weylin thought aloud. “I mean, what do you know about the kids?” he said more awkwardly than would be normal. In a more serious tone; “I must search the cave, but can’t do it alone. Will you come with me?” He gazed hopefully into her blue eyes.

"What?" said Kara as she digested Weylin's words. "I don't look like a kidnapper, great, I'm flattered now", she said bitterly, but his words actually made her feel less nervous. Here was one of the few who didn't think she was a wicked witch, and that was strangely comforting. She looked at his young features, and answered with a more calmed voice. "I don't know anything about the children. I wish I knew something, but I don't. And I... I'd rather be in that cave than here in Clover with people looking at me as if I was some baby-eating monster", she said softly. "So yes, I'll go with you... Weylin, right?" she asked.

Dirk nodded back to Terick and while his eyes were turning back to his drink Dirk asked out loudly with a hint of how drunk he was. "So you guys didn't find the little children huh? I'm sorry about that Ter, I'll drink to their memories."

Another drunk down the bar awoke from his shock and with the anger of a mean drunk and vented his anger towards both Dirk and Terick. "Why on earth did you guys stop, the children might still be alive. For the love of god we should still be out there!"

Another man, this one leaning against the wall holding a drink with his farmer hat pulled low out of shame, replied to the drunken man's questions. "Listen, I was on the searching party. We followed their tracks all the way to the Dark Cave. I love our children just as much as any but don't you guys remember the screams we hear sometimes from that place? God only knows what's really residing in those areas."

Aderyn slipped into the tavern just in time to hear then end of the man's speech, "And those screams are the reason we should continue into the Dark Cave to search," She announced, her voice shaking slightly as she felt people's eyes turn to her, "The tracks lead to the cave, and so into the cave I, for one, am willing to go to find the children," Her pale cheeks gathered a hint of a blush as she tried to look confident, painfully aware she'd barely spoken to any of the townsfolk in the tavern, "We can't abandon them to whatever it is that lurks in the shadows,"

Eliza pushed herself off from the side of the tavern. Her blue eyes were steely hard as she failed to listen to any more conversation. They'd be at arguing a while longer in that stupid tavern, rather than doing what they should. What she should. Instead, she headed back to her workplace, where she had been confined all day to prevent her from going along with the rescue party. Eliza only needed a minute or two inside, and she was quiet enough to not wake her employer from his slumber in the back room. She saw the figure of Kara and Weylin and lowered her head, continuing to walk down the street and hopefully slip past them without notice.

Terick stands after Aderyn's speech. "You do realize what going into that cave could mean, right?" There is a slight smile on his face, the only hint that he's not entirely against this plan.

Aderyn nods slowly, "I know the risks, I know the dangers. But those are risks and dangers the children are going through alone. We can't just abandon them to their fate."

Terick nods. "Perfect. I'll go with you." He turns and addresses the rest of the tavern. "Anyone else willing to get up off your lazy asses and do something about this?"

Dirk was inspired by what Adern and Terick were saying and decided to finally get off his stool by the bar. "Hell, I'm willing to get off my lazy a...opps," Dirk exclaimed but while doing so fell off the stool and onto the dusty wooden floor. He finished with a drunken thought, "Ow, my lazy ass." Getting up the drunk slammed his mug on the bar top and stumbled towards where Aderyn and Terick were.

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly less heavy as the three soon to be adventurers stood up to race after the children. It was the kind of mood that a drunk could permanently feel happy and have not a care in the world. All of that changed when Dirk stated, a bit too loudly due to the ale, to the crowd. "Alright buggers, let's all go after the kids!" With that he fell into the doors of the tavern and into the dark night. Everyone else though stood or remained seated; the smiles wiped from their faces. They were certainly happy when someone offered to rescue the kids but when asked to go along everyone crept back into fear. 

An older man sitting alone at a table in the corner with only a single candle to illuminate his face started to talk as he was looking to all of the townspeople. "You're all a bunch of sissies, you know that! Hell, if my leg was like it used to be and I could run again I'd be right beside these heroes. What's your excuse?"

One brave sould from the other side of the now deathly quiet tavern replied back. "Look Tom, no one whose entered the cave ever came out again. Besides, we've all heard the screams come from that place on dark nights no matter how hard we try to forget. Never should anyone willingly go into that god forsaken cave."

The old man started to laugh with just a hint of consuming too much alcohol, then all of the sudden he turned around and look right into the eyes of the soon to be adventurers. "Never say never!" The old man walked right up to the parting group with his back turned to everyone else. "I've been in that cave when I was young and foolish. So cocky about my strength back then that I even brought my best friend. Two of us went in, only one of us came out."

The other patron of the tavern, the one that was speaking to the old man in the beginning had nothing else to say except, "You're a damn fool." Had it been on a happier occasion he would have laughed but now the younger man simply sat down and started to drink again.

Kara felt a little uneasy with the conmotion happening inside the tavern. "Maybe we should just get going" she said to Weilyn. "Why do you want to go in there anyway? Do you have any children?" she asked, as she started walking again. Just then she saw a feminine figure pass by them. She didn't recognice who it was in the darkness, but it came to her attention because she wasn't in the tavern, with the rest of the town, and her eyes followed the woman's movements in silence.

“No more than you do.” He said a little defensively. “I have my reasons for doing what I do, if you have a problem with that you can go join the others and see if they give you the same welcome I did.” Weylin gazed dreamily off in the direction of the cave. “If not, I suggest you mind your own business and help me gather supplies.” He looked at Kara, “Are you even listening?”

"Hey, hey, it was just question, no need to get so picky", said Kara with a frown. She had to admit she was better off with him than alone, so she tried to be nice. "I'm sorry. I am listening. I was just... she looks like she's heading to the cave too, doesn't she?" Kara whispered, as she pointed to Eliza's figure that advanced at a steady pace down the street.

Eliza reached into her robe to adjust the position of a knife, hoping three was enough. She had slowed her walk as she passed the two, hearing a few words about the cave... But who wasn't talking about that place, now? She dared a glance over her shoulder out of a passing curiosity and saw that she was being watched, Kara looking in her direction. Her eyes narrowed and she faced front, pace quickening.

Rozalynn slammed her half-drank mug on the bar, making a thud that seemed to echo throughout the tense air. "I'm with you too" she spoke to the three standing up suddenly, then glanced around at the cowering faces, "I can't believe the rest of you, and I should never have let you keep me back." she started for the door with a look of angry determination. "For all of you who are afraid of dying, my child was my life; without him, I may as well already be dead." She reached Dirk at the door in his slightly pitiful state. "Before we do this, we'll need supplies. C'mon." she beckoned to Terick, Dirk, and Aderyn, then headed in the direction of her shop.

The old man sat himself back down in the dimly lit corner, though his voice was quiet, due to the silence of the tavern, everyone could hear him mutter. "Never say never, never say never..." His eyes seemed distant and his face looked blank as though he was visiting past memories that haunted him his entire life due to the cave.

Dirk rubbed the dirt off of himself from the fall through the tavern door and started to rise to follow Rozalynn. As he looked down to make sure his feet were firmly planted on the ground he noticed his silver flask on the ground. "Oh man, couldn't lose this," Dirk stated out loud as he carefully bent over to pick up his family's only heirloom. After the head rush went away he looked over to Rozalynn. "Right, so where are we off to again?," he asked, having a small hiccup as he finished.

"We're going to the cave, dumbass," Terick replies as he follows Rozalynn out the door. As he steps outside, he nearly walks into the group lurking by the tavern's entrance. "Whoa," he says, narrowly avoiding Weylin.

The group exiting was loud enough so that Eliza could easily overhear them, their voices carrying over the cool night air. She froze down the street, leaning up against a wall and crossing her arms over her stomach, frowning as she studied the group gathering. Maybe he was right, she thought wryly, trying to figure out if she should just go on ahead and join. Maybe I do have problems asking for help. She knew a lot of the people in the crowd, many by reputation only, and figured that quite a few also had something important to get back from the cave.

"Watch out!" ...You drunken idiot, almost escaped Kara's lips as Terick almost bumped into them on his way out of the tavern. She shut her mouth regretting having said anything, and pulled the hood of her robe closer, but she knew she had been noticed. She should never had stopped by the tavern in the first place, she thought.

Aderyn followed the others out of the tavern, noticing the tense atmosphere immediately. She recognised Kara and Weylin vaguely by sight and nodded in acknowledgement, somewhat wary of their reputations.

At first, Rozalynn had not noticed those lurking outside. She recognized Kara's voice almost instantly, turning toward its source. In the dim light she could just make out Weylin standing near her. Their straight faces and Kara's tone gave her the impression that they'd been interrupted. She stood there a moment looking from Weylin to Kara, to the drunken scene of Dirk and the others at the tavern's entrance and back. "Will you help us?" she asked with what she thought was slightly too much desperation in her voice.

Weylin looked around at the drunk, scared, and determined. He didn’t want to say anything; to sound stupid in front of people asking for help, but the desperation in Rozalynn’s voice struck a chord in his heart. “I would like nothing more than to come face to face with those villainous kidnappers. The cowards will piss themselves when they see us coming.” He said with a sadistic grin. “So, of course I will help you. Though, we should probably ask that Eliza girl to join us before she goes off and gets herself killed.” He looked amusedly in the direction Kara had indicated.

Rozalyn's ask for help wasn't exactly what Kara had been expecting her to say, so it took her rather by surprise. "Uh - right. We have to at least try, don't we?" Kara agreed with Weylin. She eyed the rest of the people that had just left the tavern and wondered if they were just doing this because of the courage alcohol had given them. Either way, she still wanted to know what was that mysterious thing in that cave. "Eliza!" she called then, after Weylin spoke. "Will you come with us?"

Eliza still had a rather bemused expression as she approached the group. "Gets herself killed?" she asked Weylin, her voice barely muttering. Then her face became serious and she stood at the edge of the group, her only indication that she would indeed join.

“Errr, sorry.” Weylin said reluctantly. “I didn’t think you could hear me.” He looked away from Eliza. “Uh, anyways, shall we get ready then?”

Dirk looked to the newcomers with a puzzled face. "Whoa, where did you guys come from? You guys going to the cave as well? Well, if you're going with us or not, we should probably get going." Having a bit to much to drink Dirk had to lean against Terick for support.

Terick puts a hand on Dirk's shoulder, supporting the drunk man from a much more comfortable distance. "Slow your roll, kid. I think our first stop should be Rozalynn's shop. Even though we don't know what we're gonna run into, we need to be prepared."

Biting her lip, Eliza regarded Dirk, who was obviously drunk. This was the rescue party? "We have to hurry," Eliza forced out, now not willing to go alone. "We're wasting time." The tone of her words seemed to summarize the gravity of the situation quite well.

Rozalynn nodded to Eliza in agreement and resumed toward her shop.

Kara followed Rozalynn without commenting, though she wondered what useful things they would find in the shop. At least it should be better than going empty handed.

Rozalynn gave a faint sigh as she arrived at the very doors she locked not two hours ago. She's stood there thousands of times, but tonight, in this air, they looked.. eerie. The lock slid back and the door jingled as it opened. She walked instinctively to the lamp on the counter and lit it, then to another on the wall, giving the place a soft glow. It was a rather large store and well stocked. A small mountain of grain and feed bags sat to the right of the door. Two aisles ran straight down the middle, the right contained mostly dry goods such as flower, spices of all kind, jam, canned fruits, vegetables, and the like. The left aisle contained lamps, candles, lamp oil, fishing supplies, leather or iron canteens, soap, a few ropes of different thicknesses. The back wall contained mostly leather goods, new and used: bags, purses, belts, saddles, horse equipment, with a few brooms shovels, axes, and handles in the corner. A small rack held leather vests, chaps and a few shirts. Behind the counter were the kitchen and hunting knives that sat on a shelf under some hats, a well-used sword of medium weight and length hung above a painting of Rozalynn, her husband and his parents. Next to all that were buckets, a couple of chests, string and a few pieces of luggage. She walked to a pair of saddle bags on the back wall, "does anyone have a horse?"

Terick shakes his head at the question. His eyes go directly to the sword hanging above the painting. He sizes up the other members of the party before looking back at the sword. "I'm pretty sure I'm the only one here who could handle that thing, so I'll take it," he says with a cocky smile.

Eliza snorted, then walked over to the leather bags to find a treated, hard one. She then began taking her knives from her pocket, including a cleaver as long as her forearm, to put in the bag. She wore the bag on her hip for easy access to the knives, then snagged an iron canteen and began perusing the non-perishable food items and other goods. "Are we going to take a horse into the cave?" Eliza pointed out to Rozalynn, managing to grab a cloth sack to put various supplies into.

Rozalynn was just thinking of the horse carrying things up to the cave, "can we?" She removed a bag from the wall and begin filling it with supplies.

"I wouldn't think so," Eliza said. "No use wasting a good horse, and it's not too far away anyway." Eliza grabbed enough food for a good four days and shoved it in her pack and shouldering her load, waiting for the others.

Dirk immediately went to the iron canteens, believing that they had more alcohol in them but only to find the one he was holding empty. "Aw man, that's one less drink I'll have tonight." Moving away from the liquid free canteen as though it were a huge spider Dirk found himself against a hanger that had copious amounts of rope. "Oh hey guys, how about rope, do you think we'll need rope?"

"Sure, it could be useful. Can you take some?", said Kara to Dirk in a neutral voice, standing by him in the left aisle. He was still drunk, she thought, and according to his reputation he would do his best to remain in that state. It was strange how some people liked to intoxicate themselves on purpose, she thought, while her eyes kept fixed on him. As she noticed she had been staring, she hurriedly picked some candles, soap, lamp oil and a lamp in her arms and moved to the back wall to put them into a bag.

Since no one has protested his claim on the sword, Terick takes it down from its mount. He does a few practice swings with it, nearly knocking down a few glass jars. Not bad. He finds a sheath for the sword and attatches it to his belt, and then begins to fill a bag with a few essentials for the trip.

Aderyn's eyes roved over the shelves before her, hesitantly she picked up a long knife and attatched it to her belt. She felt the comforting heaviness of the blade against her right hip and inwardly questioned whether she would dare use it. Shaking herself from her reverie she began filling her pack with essential food items, remaining silent lest she reveal the fear she felt.

Weylin stood framed in the doorway, silently watching as the others rummaged for provisions. His mind wandered, and as the thought of never returning played across his mind he couldn’t help but grin. He shook his head and stepped inside. To the left he saw a staff; if nothing else, it’d be good for balance or poking things in the dark. He grabbed it and moved on to gather food, a canteen, and a blanket, stuffing them untidily into a leather rucksack. A moment latter Weylin paused, looked up, and glanced curiously at his canteen. “You think there’s water in the cave?” he said to no one in particular.

"Is it safe to drink?" Eliza replied, leaning up against the doorway Weylin had just occupied. She watched the group, taking note of the supplies each was taking in case things got hairy. Rather, when things got hairy.

"We should carry some water", said Kara, picking a canteen to fill. She hung the bag in one of her shoulders and putted some food into it, then approached the shelf where the knives were, and observed them. So far she had used knives only to cook and similar activities, and wouldn't really know how to deal with them in a different situation, but she took a couple anyway.

Rozalynn's bags filled with basically the same things: lamp and oil, canteen of water, dry food. She put one of the remaining knives in as well. When her bag was almost full, she set it on the counter, grabbed a lit candle and went upstairs, returning momentarily wearing a green cloak and holding a mostly-concealed small sack which she tossed in the top of the bag. She stood there a brief moment observing the others rummaging through the store.

"Alrighest." Weylin cleared his throat. "Alright. Shall we head out?"

"Sounds good," Terick says. He heads out the door, and takes a final look around the village. Hopefully, he'll see it again real soon, but if not... He sighs and makes his way to the mouth of the cave, presumably with the rest of the group following him.

Eliza was right on Terick's heels. The only reason she didn't lead was because although she had heard of the cave, she had only been when she was quite little, and had forgotten exactly where it was.

As the rest of the group followed Eliza and Terick the night grew darker, as if it the knew the party was closing in to the Dark Cave. The entrance was on the side of a slight hill and it was surrounded by thick bushes of thorns. Crows and ravens cawed in the distance but dared not go any closer to the mouth of darkness. The mud right outside still had the imagery of several people dragging small forms on the ground and if one stood perfectly still without a sound it could hear the echoes of drops of liquid hitting the cold floor.

Dirk looked inside the cave, holding on the opening as to not fall in; he was somewhat sober now but better be safe than sorry. "Wow, holy hell. that place is dark!" he exclaimed to the rest of the group.

Terick pulls out his sword and begins hacking at the thorny bushes that are blocking the entrance to the cave. "Candles would be good right about now," he not-so-subtly hints to the group behind him.

Eliza pursed her lips, digging into her sack for her singular candle and flint. She didn't know how to work the flint, though, so looked around at the others with it in her hand. "Couldn't we just set the bush on fire?" she wondered aloud, not really meaning it but almost semi-serious.

Kara followed the group in silence. Every step took them closer to the cave, and it made her feel funny in her stomach, a nervous feeling creeping up, mixed with a little bit of exitement. As they reached the entrance, she observed their surroundings, but it was so dark she could barely figure the cave itself. "How did the children go in if it's all full of thorns...?" she asked to no one in particular. Things were strange enough when the kids went missing, but her mind tried to find logical answers. She ignored Eliza's question about setting the bush on fire, instead, she picked the flint and hit the stones trying to light the candle.

Kara's first try at lighting the candle was rewarded with a flame, but not five seconds had gone by when a wind that seemed to come out of the cave blew the candle out.

Weylin smiled furtively and pulled a match from a box in his back pocket. He struck the match and lit his lantern while trying, but failing, to keep his smugness from showing through to his face. “I never did like flint.” 

Weylin ducked into the cave, lantern held out in front of him and staff keeping the thorns from attacking his sides.

Eliza held back until Terick has cleared the way completely and followed Weylin inside, acting fearless, with one hand on her hip near her knives. "How do we know where the children went?" she asked.

Once Weylin lit up the lantern the mysterious wind picked up again and was driving full force again Welin as if trying to snuff out the flame. Since light was protected by the lantern it was as though the wind knew it couldn't blow the light out so it stopped all together. 

"Wow, that's some pretty weird wind in that tunnel," Dirk stated to no one, ending with a slight hiccup. "Well, no time like the present to go inside." As he was feeling his way to the entrance some thorns nicked his hand and caused it to start bleeding.

Kara put the flint back in Eliza's hands, considering the candle wouldn't be so useful right now. Then she followed the group into the cave, still with a strange feeling in her stomach. She told herself to stop that hint of fear she felt, and forced her legs to keep walking. "That's a good question... hopefully we'll find tracks or something", she said to Eliza, keeping her eyes open in the hope of seeing something in the dim light of the latern.

Inside the cave, now that they could see what was around them, the group could notice that there were several tunnels that they could follow. The walls and ceiling were jutting out at some places and opening up in other areas; this clearly was a natural cave. If any of the group was paying attention to detail they would see mud from the outside trailing down to one path and if followed all the way it would lead straight to a dead end.

Eliza had been staring at the ground when she noticed the discoloration of the mud against the rock. She frowned, following the path with her eyes. "That doesn't make any sense," she muttered, noting the dead end. "Where the hell did they all go?"























Terick follows Eliza to the dead end. "Do you think there might be a secret door?" He puts a hand on the wall, trying to feel for... he's not sure what, but something that might open or reveal a door.

Terick doesn't find anything, the wall is smooth and there are no handles or cracks in the wall.

Moving to stand behind Terick, Eliza looked back at the group, down, and then finally up towards the roof of the cave, wondering how this trail was formed. "We'll have to get further into the cave anyway," she said. "Taking the other paths is our only option."

Aderyn had lapsed into her customary silence, not because of fear, but because of the sheer determination coursing through her. All she could think of was the fact they were finally getting somewhere with the search - after all, they'd dared enter the cave. After the trail of mud had led to a dead end she didn't lose hope, instead she felt a rush of adrenalin heighten her senses. Logically she surveyed the other tunnels "Alright then," She announced breaking her silence "Whilst this wind has died down let's try and light a candle and see if there's any sign that another tunnel has been used recently," she doubted somehow that it had, and the completely illogical thought came to her that perhaps some magic had been used to drive the children through the dead end.

Kara looked at the muddy path just as puzzled as everybody else, unable to figure out an answer for them ending in a dead end. After listening to Aderyn's suggestion, she pointed at Weylin, who was holding the light. "He's got a lantern", she said. "Maybe you could raise it a little bit to see better?" she asked him. "Or maybe we should just take another tunnel..."

The tunnel became a bit brighter as Rozalynn finally got her lantern lit. She dropped the small, empty can of lamp oil, and adjusted the flame. "Well, that's better."

Eliza came out of her own tunnel, eyes peeled to the other entrances to see if the other tunnels had been used recently. "Should we split up?" she voiced aloud.

Terick leans against the wall he's closest to, down the first tunnel. "I hate to sound pessimistic, but... well, it's pretty clear that we've never had to be involved in a rescue mission before, and..."

Suddenly without warning when Terick was half way through his unfinished statement, the wall where the muddy tracks had stopped at moved just an inch. There was dim light coming through cracks that appeared, vaguely resembling a hidden door. Though the door had moved an inch it was made of solid rock and looked as if though it wouldn't move at all. Faint music could be heard through the dimly lit outlines of the hidden door, music that resembles celebration but sounded like a horribly written waltz number.

Dirk gasped out of shock and fell over on the ground, breathing heavily. "Umm guys, I'm sobering up, but did anyone else just see that happen?"

"...that was definitely not anything to do with alcohol," Eliza said, freezing at the entrance of the tunnel, her eyes wide and staring at the door. "We have to try and move that." Without another word she practically ran to the door and placed her hands against it, pushing hard.

Rozalynn swiftly set down her bag and threw her weight along with Eliza.

The hidden door did not move even a centimeter, mainly due to the fact that it's of pure solid rock and not likely to move at all, at least by force.

Kara watched the door move a little perplexed. Terick had just leaned against a wall and the hidden door had moved - now the girls were pushing against it and nothing happened. "Maybe you pressed a hidden button somewhere there?", she wondered, walking where the man was standing to examine if there was anything of the sort there.

"I don't think so," Terick responds. "I already checked for hidden switches. Besides, if this really is a 'magic' door, the secret to open it would never be that simple."

Eliza stepped back and glowered at the door. She hadn't been expecting much, seeing as how the door's shadow probably weighed more than her, but it was worth a try. "So, blood sacrifice next?" she asked half-heartedly, wondering if any clues to how the door would open would appear before her eyes.

"Something we did had to make it move", said Kara. "It can't just have done it on its 'own will'", she added. Maybe it was the light, or the sound of someone's voice... something, she tried to figure out.

The hidden door creaked for another second, as if though wanting to move but can't yet at the end of Terick's response.

Dirk looked around and finally had a clean sober thought, his first of the day even though its night time. After taking a second to compose his words he stated, "Hey, it creaked and moved whenever you said something Terick, maybe the door likes ya." He ended with a smile and a small laugh and rewarded his soberness with a drink from his flask.

"Please talk at the door," Eliza said to Terick, grabbing his shoulders to push him closer to the door. Dirk may be drunk, but she had come to the same conclusion, so it might not be totally wrong... Although she made a mental note to attempt to confiscate his alcohol sometime in the near future.

"Talk to the door?" Terick repeats. "Uh... what am I supposed to say?" He faces the wall, scratching his head. "Erm... hello, Door. Lovely evening, isn't it? Yeah, so it'd be great if you could just open up and let us get to our kids..."

This time the door does not respond. No creaks can be heard and no movement can be seen. 

Dirk looked from the door to Terick. "Say something else, who knows what though." 

Just then, as Dirk started that sentence the door creaked a bit more; slightly trembling but by the time he finished his statement it went back to being perfectly still.

Weylin watched the door without realizing he was holding his breath. He breathed out, looking around to see if anyone had noticed and leaned against the damp wall. Should we be ready to attack whatever is on the other side? Weylin reaffirmed his grip on his staff, eyes locked upon the door.

Dirk sat down on the floor, not really caring if it was dirty or not, and leaned against the cave wall. After thinking for a second to make sure he got the words in the right order he finally spoke. "Hey, didn't that one old man from the tavern say he came into these caves? I wonder if he ever experienced this while he was here."

"Who knows?" Eliza said, glowering at the door like the sheer force of her stare would cause it to back down. Her voice, however, was mostly calm. "The cave is already proving to be something from the odd side of things. Magic doors might have been the least of his problems."

Terick shakes his head. "I'm not sure I believe that guy ever came here. He has been known to be a little crazy. Heh, what's that thing he was muttering at us before we left?" He does his best impression on the old guy's voice, hunching over to emphasize the... oldness. "Never say never! Never say never!"

"Never say never?" said Kara, who had been listening to the conversation. She hadn't entered the tavern, so she didn't know what old man they were talking about. She remembered a story about a door that opened when the right words were spoken to it, but that seemed to her like total nonsense. Yet, something they had done made the door move. First it was Terick, then Dirk, but she couldn't figure out if it was voices or something entirely different.

As soon as Terick spoke the phrase, "Never say never," there was a huge blast of air through the tunnel coming from the door and the cave suddenly became much brighter, relatively, from the dim light from the other side. Right on the other side of the door it was as though the heavens opened up to greet the strangers still inside the cave. Stars can be seen from above and below as the door was on the verge of a massive lake that had an island in the middle and on that island there lay a huge circular castle. In the center of the castle stood tall a tower that shot up five hundred feet in the air. The walls of stone around the tower were forty feet and though the stone looked dirty and dusty in some places it still appeared as strong as ever. There was only one entrance to the island, a single bridge that spanned from the island to the adjourning shore. Even though there were dark clouds in the night's sky there could be heard sounds of celebration like a twisted waltz coming from within the bridge and the gigantic city, and every now and then thunder could be heard from the distance.

Eliza's mouth fell open at the sight, her eyes widening in-fear? Shock? Several unkind words fell from her mouth in an awed manner. "What magic is this," she finally murmured, stepping forward to see if the illusion would vanish, or if she could actually step into this miniature world within the cave. She had already thought the most logical place to go to to find the children was the castle. At the very least, there might be people-things?-there that could want to help them. Or could be persuaded to help them.

Aderyn's eyes widened, their violet filled with wonder and confusion. For the first time that night a bolt of fear ran through her as she watched Eliza move forward. She swallowed before speaking, "This is beyond strange," she mumbled, gearing herself to take a step forward, her eyes were drawn to the castle and she felt a strange feeling as she continued to gaze on it. How could such a thing exist so close and yet so far from their village? "We continue?" She asked.

Kara was rendered speechless by the sight. She gulped, swallowing her own disbeliving thoughts, as she witnessed something supposed to be impossible. With a little of hesitation, she started walking through the 'door' or whatever the moving wall was supposed to be, in answer to Aderyn's question. They had gotten this far, why would they stop advancing now? She looked around in amazement, trying to figure out this new and strange place.

Terick also mutters a curse word as the wall moves. "So I guess this sort of thing is what's gonna be in store for us... great." With that he follows Eliza into the strange new world.

Steeling herself Aderyn stepped through, taking a deep breath as she did so, her eyes too were drawn to the castle and she watched it hovering there in the dark, seemingingly observing the group.

Eliza looked down at the ground, then around her at the fellow group members, then up at the castle. Visibly stiffening her spine, Eliza's stride becomes wide as she heads towards the castle.

Everyone could hear sounds of celebration coming from inside the walled city as well as the bridge but the clapping and cheering increased tenfold when something that resembled a parade slowly rolled onto the bridge from the shore heading towards the city. In the middle of the procession seemed to be a large moving cage with small moving forms inside. Before anyone could react to this sight though, a man of average height walked along the shore line.

Even though he looked like a human, it was clear there were some major differences from what the party was used to see. The man had a hint of a greenish and bluish tint of his skin, his ears stretched out incredibly long, arcing behind his head and his teeth looked very sharp whenever the man yawned. All thoughts of trying to not be seen or heard vanished when it turned it's head and saw the rescue party. "Hey, who are you guys? Why aren't you at the party yet?" it asked after taking a moment to get over the shock of several people nearby.

Eliza backed up a step, then forced herself to relax. "We... were just on our way," she said, hoping it was the right answer. She didn't want any trouble with the locals. And maybe this guy could answer questions about any missing children.

Why aren't you at the party? Rozalynn hid a glare at the man.

The being that looked similar to a man smiled, showing his razor sharp set of teeth. "Well, if we are both going to Castle Crumbling why not go together." As he started walking again, he asked this question while looking down to make sure he won't trip on any rocks. "So what part of Mystica are you all from?"

"The... uh... northern part?" Terick replies, unsure if this is a good answer.

The man/creature looked at Terick and laughed, ending with, "Haha, good one. You don't have any fangs in your mouth so you can't be from the North." As he was saying this he looked at Terick and everyone else, especially around their mouths. It took him a second to process the information but finally suspicion entered his thinking process. "Wait a minute, no fangs, no long ears, fair skin...who did you guys say you were?" Throughout all of this his hand slowly reached for his dagger that was sheathed by his waist.

"We're just visiting," Eliza said with what she hoped was a disarming, small smile. "Wandering travelers, from a place not well known here. We're not looking for any trouble." She glanced at his hand, trying to make her whole body seem relaxed. In reality, she was wondering just how long it'd take for her to get a cleaver in her hand to defend if this guy decided they were trying to start something.

"I'm not buying that, no one just visits here; Mystica is surrounded by mountains on all sides. It's just about impossible to pass through them, so for you guys to just visit can't be true." The green-skinned, razor teeth, long eared man unsheathed his dagger and pointed it at the party. It wasn't subtle by how he was handling the blade that he wasn't the best swordsman, but at the end of the day he still had a weapon. The man turned his head towards the castle and then back before anyone could move. "Are you here for the human children," he asked looking dangerously into everyone's eyes.

"Why would you ask that?" Eliza asked, her voice level as she looked back, her own hand snaking into the leather pouch at her side. She still didn't know if the situation called for taking a knife out on the man, but she felt better with the handle in her grip.

"What is more pressing," Rozalynn starts, "is how you plan on winning with such a small dagger when the odds are seven-to-one." She takes a step forward, her palms sweaty inside her cloak. "Now, as we said, we intend no harm, and I think it about time you answered a question or two of ours, friend."

"First of all, I'm not your friend. Secondly, a bit hypocritical of you to say you intend no harm when you make threats with your very next breath." The grip on the man's dagger tightened when he was slowly building up his statements. "And third of all, to counter with you seven-to-one phrase..." Before he finished his last statement the man/creature was already in a full sprint to the castle bridge, yelling for help.

"Graceful," Eliza growled, already sprinting after the man. She planned on tackling him once she caught up with him. Once the castle was informed of their presence their chances of finding the children were incredibly limited. But then again, this stupid dress wasn't exactly helping her movement any.

Terick unsheaths his sword and sprints off after Eliza toward the strange, cowardly man-creature. It figured - the first person they'd met in this new world was already going to ruin everything for them. He made a mental note to start having less faith in humanity as a whole.

Aderyn cursed under her breath and started after Eliza, Terick and the shouting man-creature. As she ran she put her hand against her dagger, the cold metal against her skin filled her mind with doubt - would she actually be able to use it against another living creature? As soon as she mentally asked the question a shot of adrenalin pumped from her racing heart and she knew the answer - yes. For Kes she would.

As the man creature was running, it turned its head back to see how far ahead it was with the chasing party. For that split second that he was looking back, he stumbled on a rock and fell face forward onto the shore. Having been disoriented, he tried to climb back up to his feet but simply fell over again.

---

Back to Mystica