Asfeltas cave

---

Aj'ale reentered and walked slowly forward, looking around him and waiting for the two others to come as well.

Shivering, Zahra entered after him, peering into the darkness.

Al'tul was slow at pace, never taking a direct interest in running given his heavy build. He was thinking that it was great luck that one of the catfolk had joined them, otherwise the darkness would not be easy to pierce given his eyesight limitations.

Immediately, the three noticed the exhorian soldier Aj'ale had left here before, it was peacefully eating lichen from the rocks, crushing the smaller ones with its jaws.


Battle has started!
Aj'ale (H5)
Exhorian Soldier (I6)(-11/34 HP) (afraid of Aj'ale, 1 turn left) (Entangled, 6 turns left) (Poisoned, 6 turns left)
Zahra (H6)
Al'tul (H8)

Aj'ale's turn! -

Aj'ale started running, but halfway he realized he just wouldn't be able to get in range to cast a spell on the Exhorian in time, so he stopped at F5.

The Soldier, apparently still oblivious to Aj'ale's presence, continued crushing rocks.

Zahra's turn! -

Treading as softly as possible, Zahra moved to F12 and took hold of one of her daggers.

Al'tul's turn! -

Al'tul moved to D11, with his typical face of apathy. The exhorian ahead was not too great a threat, but it might not be alone in this region of the cave.

Aj'ale's turn! -

Aj'ale went on and stepped to H5, where he attempted casting Curse on the Exhorian's constitution.

Aj'ale raised his hand and cast a cloud of black smoke at the Exhorian, but the creature was undisturbed by the noxious gas. Instead, the Exhorian turned towards Aj'ale and charged the necromancer, trying to slice him with one of its claws!

Aj'ale's eyes widened a bit and he muttered a slightly surprised "Oh" as he prepared to block the incoming claw with his pick.

Aj'ale lifted the pick and tried to defend himself, but the exhorian's claw was too much for the nimble necromancer. Aj'ale was tossed to the side, spinning and with a large gash on his arm and back which dealt 7 damage!

Zahra's turn! -

Yelping faintly, Zahra almost rushed to the side, but after a second thought only glanced worriedly at the wounded Aj'ale and then began to cast Wind Slash.

Zahra lifted her hand and then swiped at the Exhorian Soldier, producing a powerful razor wind that cut through the soldier's caparace, dealing 6 damage!

Al'tul's turn! -

Al'tul ran his heavy bulk over towards the Exhorian and swung his heavy flail at the creature with all the might he could muster, keeping in mind to make the diagonal strike favorably away from Aj'ale. Killing the Dah'kin as part of collateral damage would make his trip overall rather pointless.

Al'tul's massive flail struck the Exhorian on the side, crushing the armor on its left side and dealing 6 damage!

Aj'ale's turn! -

Aj'ale backed to F5, looking somewhat disgruntled at the pain, even though it wasn't exactly anything new to him. He then used his Cause fear skill to inspire some fear in the Exhorian.

The Exhorian clearly startled as it thought Aj'ale started looking completely horrifying in its little mind. However, that didn't prevent it from attacking Al'tul with its claw.

Letting out a brief grunt and cold scowl, Al'tul lifted his armguard to defend against the Exhorian's claw. It would be better than trying to outrun such a pesky creature, since it took the corrupt Terran so long to reach it in the first place.

The Exhorian's claw wasn't all that good aimed, but it was powerful and cut Al'tul's shoulder for a whole of 3 damage.

Zahra's turn!

Weighing her options, Zahra moved a few paces forward to H12 and casted another Wind Slash, figuring she'd use magic as long as she could, that being her more effective way of battle.

Zahra's Wind slash went through once again, hitting the Exhorian. However, it only dealt 2 damage this time.

Al'tul's turn!

Al'tul raised a brow as a gust of wind flaked off pieces of the Exhorian's carapace. Taking the moment to appreciate how well Aj'ale sent a hideous bug towards him, he shook it off in favor of a spinning golf swing towards the Exhorian with his heavy flail.

The exhorian turned its head at Al'tul and blocked the flail almost mockingly with its pincers, of all things.

Aj'ale's turn!

Aj'ale was slightly shocked to find that he was out of magic power and therefore could do nothing but sprint at the exhorian and whack it with his pick.

Aj'ale failed to do anything to the exhorian – in fact, had the exhorian not been afraid of him, it might not have even noticed him. The exhorian continued its efforts in trying to make more holes into Al'tul with its claw.

Al'tul raised an eyebrow again, this time more in respect for the nearly rock-like critter. Perhaps it warranted the use of some magic, but for now getting his arm guard ready was more important to block the oncoming claw.

This time the exhorian took all advantage it could from Al'tul's total fumbling of his blocking and stabbed him right through the shoulder, dealing 11 damage.

Zahra's turn!

Knowing she wouldn't be of much use in melee, but probably would be forced to it sooner or later, Zahra tried to play time by moving back to F8. She grabbed one of her daggers, prayed to whatever god of chance might have been listening, and threw it with all the force and precision she could muster at the Exhorian.

Zahra's dirk found its way right into a weak spot in the exhorian's neck and dealt 11 damage!

Al'tul's turn!

This creature was obviously stubborn, and Al'tul's Flail seemed to be utterly useless at the moment. Backing away from the creature's reach but staying just in range with his flail, "Where might fails..." the corrupted Terran said and cast Entangle on the Exhorian to hold it in place.

The weeds Al'tul conjured up from the ground took hold of the exhorian, trapping it firmly in place as it tried to futilely bite and tear at the roots.

Aj'ale's turn!

Seeing the exhorian get stuck with the roots, Aj'ale felt hopeful and tried to whack the thing again with his pick.

Once again, Aj'ale failed to pierce the exhorian's carapace. The exhorian tried to get free of the roots, but failed as well.

Zahra's turn!

Encouraged by the success of her previous throw and the fact the exhorian was now entangled, Zahra went forward to G6. Feeling she was still far enough in case the exhorian broke free, the lynx girl then threw another dirk at it.

Unfortunately for Zahra, this time her throw lacked the precision of the last one, and the dirk ricochetted from the exhorian's shell.

Al'tul's turn!

Noting an obvious advantage now, Al'tul whacked at the exhorian with his heavy flail and cast poison in the same midst. It was indeed a rock in terms of its durability, but even rocks are eroded away if the wind bites hard enough and long enough.

The exhorian screeched as Al'tul's poison settled into its system. It seemed also disturbed at being whacked with a flail, but Al'tul hit it right in a hard spot of its shell and failed to do any damage.

Aj'ale's turn!

Not having any magic power left, Aj'ale could do little else than continue whacking the exhorian with his pick, so he did just that.

This time, Aj'ale failed to even scratch the exhorian – he missed the effectively paralyzed creature fair and square. The exhorian again tried to break free of the roots, being very unsuccessful. It did take one damage from Al'tul's poison, however.

Zahra's turn!

Cursing slightly, Zahra drew her kukri from her belt and sized up the exhorian, trying to spot a weak point in its shell. Then, shrugging, and muttering some choice words, she plunged forward and slashed with the knife, hoping to hit the exhorian.

Zahra managed to hit the exhorian, but could barely draw any blood as she just missed a good spot. The attack dealt just 1 damage.

Al'tul's turn!

Al'tul was not amused, and the scowl on his face expressed this. The obstinate creature refused to die, despite the corrupt Terran's obvious superiority over it. He slung his heavy flail's head at it once again, hoping to teach it submissive defeat.

Finally, as the exhorian was firmly trapped in place, Al'tul found the perfect spot to strike and brought the flail down on the wriggling creature, killing it instantly with a whopping 18 damage. The exhorian literally broke into pieces as the soft things under its shell splattered in the immediate vicinity. Aj'ale and Zahra got their share of innards as well.

Battle ended! Everyone got 353 XP! Aj'ale, Zahra and Al'tul leveled up!

---

Aj'ale stared briefly at the mess Al'tul had made and felt very amused at the expression he had seen on Al'tul's face just before he killed the thing. "Well, finally that's done and over with!" Having said that, he tried to wipe some exhorian entrails off his body.

Al'tul let off a grunt, and returned his heavy flail to its rightful place. "Indeed." the Terran replied, taking a breath afterwards to calm down. His wounds were a bit irritating, but Al'tul knew that he came here a little underarmed. Checking his allies, it was a bit reassuring that no one died this time.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Zahra put her kukri back on her belt, muttered agreeingly at her companions' words, and spent a moment trying to locate her dirks.

The other dirk lied comfortably in the goo that used to be inside the exhorian and was easy to locate, while the other had bounced off somewhere. However, Zahra easily noticed it glimmer nearby.

"Let us continue, sir Aj'ale." Al'tul said, with the everpresent patience of a Terran on his gloomy face. He then scratched his antlers, shaking some of the excess splatterings of the exhorian. Though he did not get the full blast the others had, they were still not welcomed pieces to his body.

"Right on then", said Aj'ale and adjusted himself a bit before looking around. "Though... I hear those exhorian shells are pretty tough, you could make armor out of it. Anyone need any? We can pick it up on the way out, though. This way", he said and walked off into Asfeltas Deeps.

Al'tul looked over himself, and he knew that he was nearly nude as far as armor was concerned but it did not trouble him greatly. Having an Exhorian shell might not be so bad for a covering, but Al'tul went onwards to the Asfeltas Deeps without a word spoken about it.

Zahra quickly picked up her dirks, placing them on her belt, and, trying to wipe some of the exhorian entrails off her, trailed behind the two to Asfeltas Deeps.

Aj'ale came back and walked up to the dead exhorian which was still there. He poked its legs a bit with his foot.

Al'tul followed behind Aj'ale, and looked down at the smashed Exhorian. There was no way the creature could still be alive, and so the corrupted Terran had no qualms about ripping off the pieces of its carapace for the smith to create something with that would be useful for armor. If anything, they would be good shoes for his hooves, and Al'tul had not be shod in a long time. "Do you mind if I take them all?" he asked Aj'ale, who likely would not be bothered by it having a sack of gems across his back.

Emerging behind them, Zahra grimaced at the dead Exhorian on the cave floor, and glanced up when she heard Al'tul's question. Shrugging, she said, "I can carry something as well, if needed. Not that I doubt you can carry that."

If not for the caves total and utter darkness, Al'tul's face might have seemed something other than expressionless for a moment after hearing Zahra's comment. "Do not bother." he replied, and continued the attempt to gather all the useful fragments of Exhorian Carapace.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Zahra squatted down to wait until the corrupted Terran was done. The lynx girl then idly pondered what her next activity might possibly be.

"Oh, nope." Aj'ale had been a little absentminded while prodding the torn exhorian, so it took him a moment to answer Al'tul. "I like the gore. I wonder how exhorian would taste like..."

It took some time for Al'tul to peel off the useful armor bits, but in the end he was successful.

"I see you're done with that. Let's depart, then." Having spoken, Aj'ale turned and walked out.

Al'tul left the cave as well. Lingering about in his condition was not something he could afford.

Still with her thoughts on what to do next, Zahra followed.

Aura entered the caves, and after looking around a bit and getting used to the darkness, continued on her way.

"Sean be damned." Dankei muttered under his breath, looking into the dark cave. "I knew I should've learned that 'light' spell..."
He called out for Aura. "Mistress, if you would wait a few moments, I could make a torch out of the tree branches. I know your Dah'kin eyes allow you to see in the dark, but I am not blessed with such eyesight."
Quickly, Dankei chopped off a large treebranch with his Naginata, and used his Red Magic to light it up.

Aura smirked to herself and continued snooping around. Once Dankei had lit the torch, she said: "Pitch demon nests shouldn't be in too deep, so we will check just a few caves." She moved on and then stopped. "Actually, with that torch, you really shouldn't go in front. Stay back and keep watch. And don't mess around."

"I figured as much. It'll only attract attention." Dankei conceided with Aura. He held the torch in his left hand, and his Naginata in his right, letting the end rest on the ground. He looked around the cave, mentally noting where the entrances and exits where. Having checked the perimeter, he kept an eye on Aura, but made sure not to make any noise or sudden movements.

After an hour or so, Aura still hadn't located a nest. Fortunately, they hadn't run into any exhorians either.

Aura was still determined though, and just decided to change places. "Apparently the pitch demons haven't liked the exhorians around here. Let's go to a different place." With that, she exited the caves.

"Yes, m'lady." Dankei said, and quietly followed her.

Ke'rehl entered the area and immediately took stock of his surroundings, he never turned his back to the cave entrance. He still held his sword at the ready, and waited for the others to come from behind him.

Tylien entered as well, and though it had always relied more on its sight, it knew that wasn't much use now, so it kept quiet and listened instead, though it of course kept its eyes open now that there still was some little light around.

Al'tul entered, aware of the blinding darkness from past experience. "The stones be my guide, though darkness and light." he whispered, but hoped that this quest would not be so simple as to just collect shard of black ore among other components.

The last to enter was Su'mayi. She didn't like blinding lights, but she almost hated this as soon as the darkness engulfed her. She now had to rely on her other senses not to get lost in the mass of darkness around.

Ke'rehl caught a glimpse of an exhorian at the back of the cave, as did Tylien and Su'mayi, though only barely. Al'tul, then again, saw nothing, but heard the exhorian moving a bit. He couldn't tell where exactly it was. The exhorian noticed that it had been spotted and let out a screech, probably as a warning, since it didn't start charging right at them yet.

Ke'rehl raised his sword in a battle stance, and tried to recall all the information he could on Exhorian's. (knowledge)

Ke'rehl knew that exhorians have plenty of sharp natural weapons, which he could now see first-hand: blades on its hands and big pinzers. They also have strong exoskeletons. He also knew that exhorians come in different shapes, such as larva, soldiers, workers and even some higher ranks. This one looked like a soldier.

Tylien stopped on its tracks and looked at the exhorian carefully, ready to start casting.

"Yes." Al'tul said after hearing the screech and closed his eyes, "Call your brothers." The terran lifted the handle of his flail and dropped the weight to the floor with a heavy thump, "I have a terrible yearning to fill."

Su'mayi drew out her dragon fan and as her sight didn't allow her to distinguish the exhorian plainly, she decided to stay close.

Ke'rehl gave a slight smile at the caution of the others in the group. He raised his sword and charged at the creature. As he came closer Ke'rehl moved his flamberge for a thrust and lunged his mighty blade at the exhorian.

---

Combat started!

First round: http://elftown.eu/stuff/a_asfeltascave_002_01c.png
Second round: http://elftown.eu/stuff/a_asfeltascave_002_02a.png
Third round: http://elftown.eu/stuff/a_asfeltascave_002_03a.png
Fourth round: http://elftown.eu/stuff/a_asfeltascave_002_04c.png
Fifth round: http://elftown.eu/stuff/a_asfeltascave_002_05c.png
Sixth round:

Tylien        L6
Exhorian      J6   (-2/34)
Exhorian 1    J5   (-7/34)
Exhorian 2    K5   (x_x)
Su'mayi Qing  J5
Ke'rehl       J6
Al'tul        K7

Round 1!

Tylien's turn!
Seeing Ke'rehl charge at the exhorian, Tylien didn't spend any time pondering what spell to cast. It raised its hands in the air, clenched its fingers and then brought its hands down, clasping them together and thrusting them at the exhorian while a swirl of light channeled through them and then shot toward the exhorian in a straight line.
Tylien's laser beam hit the exhorian squarely and dealt 7 damage, scorching its flesh!

The exhorian, as it had awaited the warriors to attack sooner or later, ran at Ke'rehl before he could attack and tried to bite him.
Ke'rehl saw the creature coming and slid to a halt infront of it. Ke'rehl dropped to a crouch, and brought his flamberge up braced by both hands to block the attack.
The exhorian plunged at Ke'rehl and using its teeth, managed to snap at the air just above Ke'rehl's head, the place where his face had been.

Su'mayi's turn!
Still deciding how to attack the exhorian, Su'mayi decided her best chance was if she got closer first, and then attached if she could.
Su'mayi made it to I6 but could not attack yet.

Ke'rehl's turn!
Ke'rehl dashed forward and brought his sword into a thrusting position. He got in close hoping to prevent the exhorian form having any form of defense measure, and drove his flamberge up towards the creature's chest.
Ke'rehl swung his weapon at the exhorian and managed to draw a little blood, dealing 4 damage!

Al'tul's turn!
Al'tul thought that one wayward exhorian warrior was barely worth the effort of spellcasting, unlike Tylien. He listened his way to set in footing behind Ke'rehl (H8), dragging his heavy flail along the cave floor. As he closed in on the Exhorian, the corrupted terran swung his flail around and shouted out to Ke'rehl, "Lower your head, penitent soul!" Al'tul then lashed the heavy flail across the Exhorian's body.
Ke'rehl just managed to dodge Al'tul's flail which he had just flung at the exhorian. However, Al'tul had miscalculated the distance a bit and the flail bounced harmlessly off the exhorian's armor!

Round 2!

Tylien's turn!
Tylien saw its direct path to the exhorian was blocked, so it moved to G4 and casted Wind slash at the exhorian.
The exhorian tried to not be hit by the ripping winds but was too slow and received 12 damage!

Su'mayi's turn!
Seizing the moment, Su'mayi directed a horizontal slash at the exhorian with her dragon fan.
The exhorian stumbled after Tylien's spell, but still Su'mayi's fan just bounced off its carapace!

The exhorian wanted to get rid of what it considered to be insects at its skin, so it continued attack Ke'rehl, trying to bite him again.
Ke'rehl shifted his sword up into the way of the attack, hoping to block the creatures bite.
Ke'rehl's block was in vain, for the exhorian firmly gripped his arm and bit him for 3 damage! It tried to hold onto him as well, but didn't succeed.

Al'tul's turn!
Al'tul was annoyed by this exhorian and it's resilience. The corrupted terran wanted also to test his newfound talent with blue magic, and cast a frost beam at the exhorian.
The exhorian had no chance at all at trying to dodge the chilling beam. Its joints froze as it took 12 damage and fell down unconscious.

Round 3!

Tylien's turn!
Tylien managed to start relaxing already and moved to H5 to peer at the creature.

Suddenly, two more exhorian soldiers ran to the battlefield, though only one of them got close enough to attack. One of them ran to J5 and tried to stab Su'mayi with its handblade!
In order to dodge the blade, Su'mayi swiftly jumped aside and out of its way, trying her best not to fall down in the process.
Su'mayi moved swiftly aside from the blade, but it managed to cut her arm for 2 damage!

Su'mayi's turn!
Although the cut on her arm challenged her concentration, still Su'mayi held her fan with both hands and brought it down strong on the exhorian's still out stretched arm.
Su'mayi's fan hit a sensitive joint and slashed the soft tissues there for 3 damage!

Ke'rehl's turn!
Ke'rehl took after the one currently engaged by Su'mayi, and brought his flamberge up in a vertical slice at the exhorian.
Ke'rehl's powerful slash struck the exhorian in the side, cracked its shell a little and dealt 4 damage!

Al'tul's turn!
"Ridiculous." Al'tul mumbled, and concentrated on the further exhorian from the group. He cast an Acid spell on it, thinking that any splashing from the powerful acids would not harm any in his group.
The exhorian screeched in pain as it failed to evade the acid that splashed on its body. The acid obviously ate at its tissues, dealing 6 damage, but didn't seem to melt its carapace yet.

Round 4!

Tylien's turn!
Tylien wasn't too surprised when two more exhorians ran to the battle. It felt like trying all its offensive spells and started casting them as it recalled them, first Heat beam at the exhorian attacking Su'mayi and then Screech.
Amazingly enough, the exhorian in K2 managed to dodge Tylien's ill-aimed heat beam, though only barely, but neither of them could stand the screech that started ringing in their ears, dealing 1 damage to both of them.

The second exhorian ran straight at Tylien and tried to impale it with its blade.
Tylien seemed a little scared and did its best to sidestep.
Tylien's dodge seemed fairly superfluous since the exhorian seemed to only vaguely poke in Tylien's direction and not have even a chance at hitting.

The first exhorian tried to bite and snatch Su'mayi's arm!
Su'mayi quickly drew back, pulling her arm out of the exhorian's bite, and tried to block its attack with her fan.
The exhorian came right through Su'mayi's defense, sunk its teeth deep into her flesh and nearly bit her arm off, dealing 11 damage! Su'mayi fainted right away, and noticing that, the exhorian didn't attempt to hold onto her anymore.

Ke'rehl's turn!
Ke'rehl went after the same exhorian, and went for a thrusting attack with his sword.
Ke'rehl plunged his sword powerfully at the exhorian, but the creature bashed at the weapon nearly as powerfully with its pincers, managing to deflect most of the blow and taking only 4 damage.

Al'tul's turn!
Al'tul stepped in behind Su'mayi Qing and flung the weight of his heavy flail at the exhorian that dropped her. The terran then commanded Ke'rehl, "Use a potion on her, we cannot afford the lost time to return to the arena." Waiting for the dust to clear, Al'tul was ready to fight off the exhorian if it survived.
Al'tul's massive flail smacked right into the exhorian's shoulder, crushing some of its innards and joints and dealing 12 damage! The exhorian swayed and screeched in pain. The other exhorian was burned by the acids from Al'tul's spell and received 10 damage!

Round 5!

Tylien's turn!
Tylien didn't feel particularly comfortable right next to the exhorian, so it quickly ran to L6, and seeing that the other exhorian was badly wounded by now, casted another Wind slash on it.
Once again, the exhorian had nearly no chance to evade Tylien's spells, and this time the ripping winds struck it very badly, ripping its soft tissues apart and spilling some on Su'mayi and Ke'rehl. It took 12 damage and fell to the ground. The other exhorian took 1 damage from the previous Sonic Blast.

The remaining exhorian seemed aggressively vengeful and went to K5, from where it attempted to impale Ke'rehl with its handblade.
Ke'rehl saw the incoming attack and placed his flamberge between him and the attack.
Ke'rehl had no trouble deflecting the attack.

Al'tul's turn!
Al'tul swung the heavy flail around in the air, gaining momentum while walking past Ke'rehl. Once in range of the second Exhorian, the corrupted terran let the spiked weight hammer down upon the creature.
Again, the exhorian could not block the blow, but handled it better than last time. The hit smashed some of its arm and dealt 5 damage. In addition, it took 7 damage from the acids that only now stopped burning through its body.

Ke'rehl's turn!
Ke'rehl moved over to the proned form of the female Planetarii, and removed one of the healing potions from his belongings. He picked up her head and gently began pouring the healing liquid down her throat.
Su'mayi healed 5 HP! She woke up, quite disoriented and lying on the ground with Ke'rehl looming over her.

Round 6!

Tylien's turn!
Being out of magic, Tylien seemed quite annoyed and seeing that the exhorian was already badly wounded, wondered whether it would be worth it to drink a mana potion and decided that it wasn't. Therefore, it took out the epee it couldn't use yet and tried to stab the exhorian.
Even though Tylien's strike seemed proper and powerful, the exhorian easily swatted it off. It still took damage from its ringing ears, though.

The exhorian then decided that Tylien had been a major pain in its hide and tried to bite it on the shoulder.
Tylien startled and tried to evade the attack.
Even though Tylien was fast, it couldn't predict the exhorian's intentions in time and the creature managed to tear some of its shoulder, dealing 3 damage. The exhorian also tried to hold Tylien down with its pinzers and seemed to have quite a steady hold, but something came over Tylien and it shoved the large creature off itself in a surprisingly violent burst.

Su'mayi's turn!
It only took Su'mayi a few seconds to remember where she was and the situation they were in. She blinked a few times and looked at Ke'rehl. "Thanks!", she said quietly before getting up, ignoring the dizziness. She still had her dragon fan clutched in her hand. Even angrier than before, she she rushed to the exhorian's side, and took the opportunity while the exhorian's attention was on Tylien, to point and bring down a powerful but well aimed hit on to its body.
Seeing the wobbly attack Su'mayi was making with a nearly broken arm, the exhorian only mildly swung its blade-hand at her fan, as if slapping it with the back of its hand, and the weapon nearly flew off of the hydran's hand!

Ke'rehl's turn!
Ke'rehl shook his head at the attempt of the Hydran, and raised his sword. He charged the exhorian bringing his sword up in a massive arch.
The exhorian moved its other arm and tried to shove away Ke'rehl's weapon as well, and though it was very successful, Ke'rehl swung the sword with enough force that it made cracks in the creature's exoskeleton and dealt 1 damage!

Al'tul's turn!
"Such an insolent pest." Al'tul groaned, and swung about for a final hammering down of his heavy flail upon the exhorian.
Even though the exhorian was badly wounded, it defended to the last and Al'tul's attack only dealt 4 damage. Nevertheless, the creature was finally rendered unconscious!

Battle ended! Everyone received 795 XP! Su'mayi leveled up! Ke'rehl leveled up!

---

Tylien was still a bit wary; when it last tried to relax, two exhorians had nearly ran at it. It looked into the darkness carefully.

Al'tul walked up to the unconscious exhorian and placed his stone hands around it's head. Without the slightest change of expression beyond a few pulling tendons as he flexed, the corrupted terran crushed the creature's head in order to full kill it. "No followers." he whispered, but the bass of his voice easily echoing though the cave to the point that it was heard in the silence. "Excellent work, Tylien. I knew your skills would be of great use to us in this mission." he complimented.

Tylien looked at Al'tul and went slightly confusedly embarrassed. Smiling behind its veil, it said: "Thank you." It then held its shoulder a bit and figured that the bleeding wasn't serious and it could just get healed in the temple. They shouldn't stay here long either way.

"Let us move deeper into the cave, the ore cannot be too far ahead of us." Al'tul said, trying to shy away as much from a command as possible.

"Yes," agreed Tylien and proceeded to look at Ke'rehl. Since the dah'kin could actually see in the dark, it thought he should go first.

Ke'rehl advanced to the Deeps like the little obedient pet he was.

Tylien followed carefully, making sure to step in safe places and listen to any disturbances in the surroundings.

Frowning at the sting of her wounds, Su'mayi followed behind the rest of the group.

Al'tul followed behind, moving into the Deeps as well.