From Life into Legend }{ open

[deraj]

Deraj sensed the presence of Raine’s body as she backed up to him. It is good to have a companion again. His stance did not weaken for an instant. They waited in the silence for a response. Nothing came. “Have you no honor?! Show yourself!” He shouted again into the eternal night of the underground tomb.

His eyes narrowed with rage and in a whisper he said, "So be it." He lifted his right hand high into the air and drew to it a smokeless red flame. It grew to a size that Deraj began to question if it would not fit through the doorway and with a mere flick of his wrist, he sent it surging through the hallway beyond.

[laraine]

Raine saw the flame as it formed, the light brightened the room for a second before Deraj sent it hurtling through the doorway where the being was. She looked behind herself at his face, then turned back to where she was looking before. She grasped her wand tightly in her hands and they both waited. But there was no sound, nothing.

She let out a breath and relaxed a bit. "That's odd, I'm sure there was something there.." she said as she turned to her companion. She looked at the doorway intently.

[deraj]

There was nothing; no scream of pain, no cry to relent, nothing. After another spell of silence there was sound of something very large and very heavy being moved. Deraj eyes shot open in alarm. “We’re being sealed in!”

[laraine]

"What?!" Raine ran towards the doorway, becoming frantic. She pointed her wand at the doorway and started to say some words in another language. Her wand glowed red and a burst of energy blasted from her wand and headed towards the opening.

Her eyes widened and she halted as the large wall of stone closed before her. "Oh no! It didn't work!" She grit her teeth and turned back to Deraj.

[deraj]

As soon as he spoke, he knew it was too late. He watched as Raine desperately ran to the doorway and attacked it. He kept his cool and looked about the room to see what they could do next. There is no blasting through this stone and even if it could break apart, I don’t think that any of these columns or arches are purely for aesthetics. He looked to Raine as she turned to face him. After a moment of stillness and silence he noticed something strange. Her shadow twitched on the ground. The flame in the brazier next to her was moving as if blown. All others in the room remained still. “Do you feel a breeze?” Damn this dead skin of mine. He walked over to where she stood.

[laraine]

She blinked as he spoke and stood perfectly still.
A breeze? she thought, concentrating.

She closed her eyes and let her senses go. A whisp of air rushed through her hair and across her neck. She opened her eyes and turned to the left. "There." Raine said, pointing. "I feel a breeze coming from that direction." she pointed down another hallway. "Do you think that's another way out?"

[deraj]

"I think it is our only option at this point." He walked closer to the hallway and, without noticing, stepped on a pressure switch. The turning of gears could be heard. Realizing what he had done, he stepped back. Then, all at once, the hallway was illuminated by torches.

[laraine]

Raine followed Deraj down the hallway as it suddenly illuminated by the nearby torches. "Wow this place is amazing." She stepped down the passageway carefully. She wanted to make sure she didn't trigger any more traps.

" I hope this is another way out. I would rather not be trapped underground here for the rest of eternity." She grinned. "Although I am relieved I'm not alone in a situation like this. I think if I was, I wouldn't be this calm."

Her footsteps echoed down the hall as they walked.

[deraj]

"Although I am relieved I'm not alone in a situation like this. I think if I was, I wouldn't be this calm."

Deraj smirked. So being locked away in this place of ancient evil with one you know nothing of is preferable to solitude? He thought it over and then shrugged. Probably, much more interesting. I probably owe her some kind of explanation but I'm not going to say anything unless she brings it up. It will keep things simpler that way. She might not take too well to the realization that she may be stuck down here in this awful place with an ancient lich.

The stonework seemed to become more crude as the corridor progressed. Must be moving to an earlier part of this funerary complex. Eventually they came to a section where a great wall fresco began.

[laraine]

She noticed his silence and looked back at him. The look on his face made her slightly smirk, then it vanished as she continued down the path. It was true she was curious about him. But to ask him about his past would equal to him asking about hers. As much that was revealed to him, he still didn't know some things. Some dark things she wanted to keep hidden at all costs.

All too well, each person has something within them they'd rather keep hidden from others. Since he's not volunteering this info I figure its better to keep silent. He's already saved me despite knowing I'm a half demon. I suppose that's good enough for me. For now anyway....

She turned back to him. "Anyway, what's the plan when we get out of here anyway? You were about to say something when we were interrupted."

[deraj]

He was drawn away from the horrific scenes depicted on the wall by Raine’s question. “I was hoping you might have an idea, actually. We can run away till the end of days but is there nothing we can do to end this? Forgive me if I speak too boldly. I forget that it is your family that hunts you.”

[laraine]

Raine was silent for a bit. She looked at the scenes on the walls almost dispassionately.

A normal human girl would have been terrified at the drawings. But Raine knew death all too well. She studied the wall paintings as they walked, trying to find a answer to what he said.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, forming a frown on her face. After another sigh, she finally spoke.

"I don't know about you, but I don't believe we can take all of them alone. I know at least I would die before I even got through half of them. Not to mention they aren't alone." She closed her eyes. "Facing them head on isn't a option. Also, they will not listen to any reason." She looked angry as she said this. "All I can do is run until....." she didn't finish the sentence.

"But enough about me,..." She turned back to him, her face neutral again. "I would hate to burden you with my problems. You seem like a decent enough guy. You probably have family or a girlfriend or someone important to you...I'm afraid that getting involved with me might endanger them as well..."

[deraj]

He could not hold his laughter back when she mentioned the prospect of death.

“You seem like a decent enough guy. You probably have family or a girlfriend or someone important to you...I'm afraid that getting involved with me might endanger them as well..."


This brought back memories that he’d rather not relive. He gave out a sigh and in a somber voice he said, “You don’t need to worry about that Raine.” With reluctance he continued to fill the uncomfortable silence, “I am what they call a lone wolf. There is a lot more open to a person when they have nothing holding to hold them down. We are born alone and we go alone into the hereafter. In a way, it makes the process ultimately smoother if one doesn’t get too close in the meantime. It comes at a high price though; why be free when prison is so nice? My way of … life isn’t for everyone but it is something I know I must do.” He disliked that he had rambled on for so long and realized that he hadn’t said the most encouraging of things. He hoped this would suffice until they were out of these forsaken sands.

[laraine]

Raine listened to him, her face hidden by her long pink hair. As they traveled farther, they reached a fork in the pathway. She brushed away the hair and turned to him. "Hmm, well it looks like we either have to split up or take one way and hope that its the way out of this place."

She hadn't said a word about what they were talking about, but inside she was a complex mixture of emotions. But she mostly felt sad. She tried to hide the emotion by looking thoughtful, trying to find a way out of this place as soon as possible. "What do you think we should do?"

[deraj]

Deraj had not expected a fork in the path, especially this far away from the main chamber. He looked to Raine when she asked for his opinion and noticed something about her mannerisms seemed a bit exaggerated. Deraj took note of this but didn’t think too hard on it. This place alone is enough to warrant strange behavior. We are only faced with the prospect of being trapped down here for all time.


He looked down both hallways. Each were identical and stretched on as far as the eye could see. He tried to think of the landscape of the surface that was now thousands of feet above them. “I don’t like the idea of becoming separated. We don’t know what may be lurking about in these tunnels. I know that I appreciate having you to watch my back. I’m afraid I don’t have a clue as to what we should do.” He began to lean on the tunnel wall. The section he leant against fell backwards to reveal a smaller tunnel that lead to a raging underground river. He stood up and brushed the dust off himself.