[SRP] Continuing Points of Interest (Adar & Satsu)

[Epine de Rose]

Roll #1 - Satsumaimo

 

[Epine de Rose]

Roll #2 - Adar'Malik (He'll ignore his better judgement in the next posts)

That paw was getting worse and despite the brave face Adar'Malik was trying to communicate, it definitely helped. The veteran within the group was in considerable pain and for the most part, those who had been educated in healing practices weren't entirely sure what they were facing. The health of the limb was degrading in a manner they had never seen before and while their ministrations wouldn't be denied, they weren't exactly helping either.

Nevertheless, at Adar'Malik's insistence they had continued with their research and they had eventually been led towards another 'source' of peculiar activity by a passing rogue. Satsumaimo found great relief in this as the more he'd remained near the lake, the more he had sworn he could hear voices of those he knew. It was nonsensical at best, but he didn't want to be around it for any longer than necessary... Moving towards a new location with minimal voices was more preferable and based on the remarks of the rogue, there weren't any voices here.

...There were just new caves.

Given this was the groups area of expertise this seemed more preferable than swimming and eventually they had reached the location that they needed to be in. Even before they had arrived it had been agreed that they would set up 'camp' outside the caves to minimise the risks, and then they would explore gradually. If the caves and the anomalies in the crater were linked, then it was inadvisable to be playing in the unknown depths. After all, no one knew what was in there and how many dangers lurked there.

Nevertheless when they arrived it was clear that this place exhibited much the same bizarre behaviour as the crater. Somehow there was light within the caverns and no lion could put their paw and where it was coming from or how it existed. Was there a set of pinpricked holes within it that allowed mere traces of light in?

As the group proceeded to set their camp up, it was once again Adar'Malik who observed what lay ahead with quiet contemplation... Satsumaimo soon joined him though.

"Thoughts?" The grey lion pressed.

"We are out of our league," Adar'Malik replied with a rare flicker of honesty.

Words: 373

 

[Epine de Rose]

Roll #3 - Adar'Malik (Checking his next one, Satsu next)

"An understatement in some respects, but that doesn't necessarily we don't have someone who will know what this is," Satsu pointed out as he regarded the entrance. Adar'Malik had chosen to remain silent in regards to that one, short of some form of Divine intervention he didn't anticipate they would get solid answers any time soon. Given that he was only aware of a single deity and she had long since disappeared (much to the distress of her mate), he wasn't confident that she'd be back any time soon.

"Nevertheless it seems that the majority of us are ready to go," Satsu glanced over his shoulder, the research party had set up a makeshift camp, which was an easy feat for lions. With the explorers ready to move out it seemed only fitting to go inside. Granted, they would only be going in to the mouth at the start to survey it and then after a time they would make a decision on how far to explore.

It was with this in mind that Adar gathered his strength and Satsu pulled the party around him before they began to make their way inside. To say that it was a tighter fit than expected was polite, they could scarcely breathe at certain points and a fair number sustained some bruises as they pushed through. Unsurprisingly several of the larger guards had elected to stay behind rather than to force their way through... they weren't entirely confident they'd be able to get out again.

Adar'Malik wasn't small in stature either, but he was more accustomed to slotting in to places that were uncomfortable to others. Unusually it wasn't him who took the lead on this occasion though, and instead, he allowed Satsu to lead as he picked his own way precariously forward on three paws.

Eventually they reached the mouth of the cave which opened up into a larger cavern. The brief glimpses of light they had seen outside were more apparent here and despite their best efforts, they couldn't find a source.

...Perhaps Adar hadn't been exagerating.

As it stood, the vast majority of the party were at a loss for words as they regarded the area they now found themselves in. It was only Adar who held his peace and continued to have considerable reservations. It was an unsual experience for the black lion who was rarely affected by anything, but in the moments they had entered something had touched him and he couldn't say he was feeling particularly comfortable. An unsettling fear had become to rise up within him and for him, this simply made no sense.

Satsu meanwhile, didn't appear to have escaped the whispers of the lake entirely as his ears perked and he took note of the faint sound from the darkness beyond. it had been brief, but enough forh im to look round.

Was there someone in here with them?

Words: 487

 

[Epine de Rose]

Roll #4 - Satsu

Get over it.

Adar'Malik was continuing to have several disgruntled internal disputes with himself as he tried his best to dispel the irrational fear within him. He'd been in the suffocating dark before, he'd experienced far more terrifying things, so why was this any different? He was utterly disgusted with himself and it was several long moments before he finally managed to bury the emotions that had risked bubbling to the surface and transforming him into something he simply wouldn't stand for.

It was in that time that their leader had decided to follow the sound that he had caught wind of. It had started with him approaching it and several of the group following behind cautiously, only to end in seeming misery. Just as Adar had howled in the crater, the same piercing and agonising cry escaped from his comrade's lips from just beyond where the light touched them. Something had gotten to him and whatever had done so, had done a considerable amount of damage.

A flurry of activity followed and before Satsu could so much as issue instructions, he was already beind hauled away from wherever they had wandered. Adar had strained to see them and it was to no avail, it was only when they dragged him back into view that Adar realised that just like him, something had gotten to his paw. Nevertheless, despite the rising infection in Adar's paw, it seemed that whatever had gotten Satsu had done significantly more damage.

"Get him into the light - as in the actual light," one of the group had declared as they continued to pull at Satsu, only to have Adar raise his paw.

"Let him walk on his own," Adar ordered and shook his head. "Give him a moment to recover," he added. Satsu had three other paws and given a moment to gather his composure it was likely that he'd be able to move on his own. Adar on the other hand, had long adjusted to accomodate his lack of a functioning paw, and now that he had shoved that fear back into the depths of the unknown he was in a position to take more of a lead.

...He still felt out of his depth though.

"Are you certain?" they pressed, there seemed to be some disagreement.

"You will do more damage to him by dragging him through the gaps," Adar stated.

"His right," Satsu spoke at last, considerably sobered as he battled with the pain in his paw. "I just need a minute, then we can check my paw," he murmured. "He will take the lead," he nodded towards Adar. "This is his domain, he knows these regions better than anyone, it would be unwise to ignore this."

Adar nodded, though he was careful to keep his expression unreadable, he knew all too well that he had the capacity to crack. It was rare that he considered himself out of his depth, but today was one of those days...

Words: 498

 

[Epine de Rose]

Several moments of rest later and Satsu had managed to make his own way out of the cave, closely followed by a small number of researchers to ensure he got out safely. This left Adar with a smaller contigent who were now more cautious than ever, and the vast majority had seemed even more apprehensive at the prospect of exploring when yet another of the team had been mysteriously injured. With all things considered, Adar couldn't blame them in the slightest and the longer he stared into the depths and what seemed to be endless darkness, the more he realised that it simply wasn't fair to keep them here.

Civilians were not designed to be tested in this way.

"You can leave," he said at last and motioned to the way they had all come in. "Perhaps it would be best to regroup," he continued. It was an invitiation he didn't need to make twice, no sooner had the words left his lips than they had taken their leave. He was left on his own at this point and while it would be appropriate to leave with them, he deemed it a necessity to explore. As Satsu had said, this was his domain and it needed to be explored.

He started of cautiously of course, carefully navigating the unseen reaches with every other sense available to him. Every now and then he would discover another passage that led deeper, yet with no indication of what lay beyond, he'd chosen to ignore it for the time being. Only when he was satisfied that he had explored every part of it that he took another seat within the dim light and considered his next move.

What happened yet really was against most's definition of 'better judgement' as the lion chose to take himself down one of the passages. Perhaps there would be another cave with more light in it, at the very least, he might be able to blind-map some of the other regions.

Unfortunately this was not to be and he soon went missing.

The black lion had become lost in the caves and as much as Satsu would have liked to recover him, the odds were against them; they would have no choice but to leave him behind. Thus it was with this in mind that the research party chose to return to the Al-Siq.

As Adar had said when they arrived at the caves they were out of their depth and short of finding an individual with knowledge they didn't possess themselves, it was unwise to poke at unspeakable and unseen dangers. They knew what played in the dark first hand, and this seemed so much worse than the scourge...

What would become of Adar would remain to be seen, but all the party could do was hope and pray to the divine that by some miracle he would be found safe and well. They weren't hopeful, but their prayers were the very least they could do.

Words: 500
Total Words: 1,858