1x1 DragonDream & TrashCentral

[Trash Central]

"Yup. As long as we keep up our steady pace and don't run into any problems we'll be there in no time! Let's just hope there's no blockage in the tunnels near the city. It's rare but it happens, thanks to those rowdy mages. But there shouldn't be one. Somebody would've said something if there was."

With all her trips to Caram she could only recall a few times a tunnel had been blocked because of something going on on the surface. Inside Caramel was a different story. She could recall quite a few times that rocks had fallen while she was there. As a matter of fact, some of her scars were from falling debris. She wasn't the biggest fan of the place.

[DragonDream]

Leon Beldamere

"Well, that's goo-" he said, stopping short as the ground rumbled beneath their feet. At first it was a low vibration that soon grew to one that knocked Leon off his feet. "What is that?" he yelled as he tried to pick himself up. Gritting his teeth he pulled himself towards the wall, disoriented by the flickering flames that were going out all down the tunnel. Soon the pair were left in pitch darkness, a loud crack sounding before everything grew deathly silent.

Coughing the dust he couldn't see from his lungs, Leon reached into his bag and fumbled around until he felt the silken emblem on his artifact's bag. Sliding his hand into the bag he felt the warmth of the sphere and yanked it out. The tunnel was filled with a combination of smoke from the extinguished sconces and a thick layer of dust that swirled around. Blinking away the blinding rays of the artifact he tried to adjust to the light and steady himself.

The center of the tunnel had collapsed downward, creating a large gap in the road. A scraping noise began to sound, as if something were scrabbling upwards towards the top of the hole.

[Trash Central]

Ina Thovir

As soon as the ground started to shake Ina regretted bringing up cave-ins. As the vibrations in the ground grew stronger Ina crouched down, preparing herself for whatever was coming. She tried to get to Leon to help him crouch down but before she could he was knocked down. As the flames in the tunnel went out, Ina turned towards to Leon to check on him and was startled by the bliding light coming from whatever he held. She quickly went over to him but before she could ask if he was okay she heard scratching noises coming from the hole.

At that sound Ina pulled the daggers from the holster on her back and whispered to Leon: "Put that bright thing away. Whatever it is that's coming out of the hole is going to come straight for that light and we'll both be dead before we even see what it is."

[DragonDream]

Leon Beldamere

Leon fumbled with the artifact, jolted by Ina and the sound of scrabbling on the wall of the hole. Whatever was coming up was doing so quickly. Knowing he wasn't going to get it back in its bag fast enough he shoved the globe down his shirt collar and curled around it as he dug around for its proper holder. Back in the dark he felt his eyes straining to make out anything. He had little confidence that whatever was coming up to greet them would be impressed by the dwarf's daggers.

A low rumble followed by a hiss caused all the hair on his body to raise. Leon froze in place with blind eyes locked where he thought the hole was. Heart pounding in his chest he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from making any noise. Whatever was coming up was emitting a dull red light, the tunnel illuminated by the sanguine glow. A claw, then another, followed by the rest of a hulking mass rose from the floor. The ground rumbled once again with the creature's low growl, a short muzzle peeling back skin to reveal a wicked set of teeth.

The light swung back, a humanoid form perched on top of the creature. From behind, another one of the beasts was coming up and was similarly mounted. Finally taking notice of what the creatures were growling at, the pair lowered their redlamps towards the travelers.

"My, what a welcome party this is. I thought you knew where you were going," a female voice said in an accusatory tone.

"Its not like I've been this far before, and it was your dumb beast that decided this was the spot," the male answered back, seemingly annoyed. "You two, where are we?" he said, pointing his redlamp and Leon and Ina. The glow was finally low enough to show off the scowling man. The lighting made his features menacing, but couldn't have possibly exaggerated them to the fearsome degree that they already were.

Leon felt his stomach drop as he realized what they were. Vampires.

[Trash Central]

Ina tensed even more as the beast climbed its way out of the hole. Red light gave off an eerie glow that highlighted the form of a person on top and then the emergence of another beast and rider duo. Ina listened to the bickering of the two people before they addressed her and Leon.

Ina had realized soon enough that these were vampires. She had dealt with vampires before. Lost friends to vampires before. Rage was her first reaction before the fear began to settle in. She could lose herself and Leon to these vampires if she didn't handle this properly. She didn't know what they wanted or where they were trying to go and right now that was none of her or Leon's business. Her job was to keep Leon safe and get a package delivered. Anything else could be dealt dealt later. So, Ina lowered her daggers and cleared her throat before responding.

"In a tunnel headed for Caram."

[DragonDream]

Leon Beldamere

"We are still relatively close," the man said, receiving sharp glace from his companion.

"And I'm relatively close to abandoning you in these tunnels to fend for yourself," the woman hissed. "At least the detour was worth our time." Without warning, her mount surged forward at the pair. In a panic Leon dodged out of the way and straight into Ina. Hitting the ground hard he ripped his hand from his shirt, causing the tunnel to light up once more. A strained cross between a yelp and hiss sounded out of the blindness. Unsure whether it came from the vampires or the beats, Leon was inching himself backwards. His own eyes burned from the sudden brightness, but it seemed far more detrimental to their attackers.

"Kill them already!" The woman cried out. Leon could see that she was shielding her face from the light, but her mount was pawing wildly at the ground in search of them.

[Trash Central]

Ina Thovir

Things went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. Ina had been hoping her courtesy would've been enough to save her and Leon's lives, but she should've known better. Vampires were evil, ruthless creatures. Courtesy meant nothing to them. When the beast surged towards and Leon dodged into her, she lost her grip on her daggers and hit the ground hard. Her vision was already swimming when the blinding light from Leon filled the cavern, further blinding her. No vision meant no chance of recovering her lost daggers and fighting. Ina had but one option if they were going to make it out alive.

Ina fumbled to pull one of the rings off her fingers and hold it in her hands. She tried to focus on it, closing out the pain in her head and the screaming of the vampires. Her focus wasn't strong, but it was enough for her to grow until she was 6 feet tall and stronger. It wasn't the best she could be, but it would have to be enough. As she grew, the pain in her head subsided and her vision came back to her. She quickly recovered her daggers and threw one into the head of the beast that had surged towards Leon. It lodged itself deep in the beasts head. She hoped that would create enough of a hindrance for her and Leon to escape. She turned to find Leon, ready to pick him up and run.

[DragonDream]

Leon Beldamere

At first, Leon was unsure if he was seeing shadows, his own life flashing before his eyes, divine intervention, or if the dwarf was truly utilizing magic, but it was enough to stun him momentarily. The piercing screech that came from the creature she hit was enough to bring him out of a stupor and sent him scuttling back as it thrashed about wildly. Chaos had fully descended upon the tunnel. From further down he could hear voices yelling and the stomping of boots. It only added to the cacophony of screaming and fighting that all vanished when his hand slipped over the edge of the hole.

Leon fought to scream, but all the air in his lungs seemed to have been swept out of him as he plummeted downwards. When he hit the ground he was blinded by his own artifact and the wind was knocked out of him. Then everything seemed to hurt all at once. He couldn't tell how deep he had fallen, but it was enough to hurt, yet not enough to kill him. Dragging himself towards the wall he began pulling himself upwards, nails digging into the stone. His satchel had stayed over his shoulder, and he dug around until he found the bag for his artifact and quickly shoved it inside. Leaving the string untied he let a small amount of light pool out.

Finally able to breathe again he trained his eyes on the mouth of the hole, unsure of what to do. He had heard other people, so if the vampires knew they were going to be outnumbered they would probably run. That meant he would be directly in their path. Closing his artifact he pressed himself into the deepest recess on the wall and hoped for the best. Never in his life had he felt fear so strong. The inky darkness and sounds of fighting made his heart pound louder and louder. All he could think about was how much he didn't want to die alone in the dark.

[Trash Central]

Ina Thovir

Ina caught sight of Leon as he fell into the hole. Panicked, she looked quickly between the vampires and where he had fallen, making the fast decision to jump in after Leon after she sent her other dagger flying. This one grazed the neck of the male vampire, which she knew wouldn't do much more than anger him. She still had to hope it would be enough to slow him and his companion down until the people running down the tunnel could get there and properly deal with them. But Ina couldn't wait for those people to arrive- she had to make sure Leon was alive. If that hole was deep, Leon could have sustained fatal injuries if they weren't tended to immediately, and she doubted he would be able to do that. As Ina leapt into the hole, all she could do was hope it wasn't as deep as it and that Leon was alive at the bottom of it.

After falling for a few moments, Ina landed with a hard thud that caused her legs to give out from under her and send searing pain up her body. That pain was enough to send her last shred of focus running, and she shrank back down to her normal size. All the pain from when Leon knocked her down joined the new pain. Laying on the ground, Ina fumbled for her bag, searching for the flask she kept handy. She quickly downed half of its contents and slowly crawled to her knees. It would take at least an hour for the pain to really start fading, but Ina was determined to push through it and find her elf friend.

"Leon! Are you alright? I need you to help me find you. My head hurts- I can't see very well right now so you need to help me out here, okay?"

[DragonDream]

Leon Beldamere

The distant commotion fell down to him, and when something else hit the bottom of the tunnel he felt his guts twist. Eyes clenched shut he waited for the final blow. Instead he nearly jumped out of his skin with how close to him Ina's voice was. Clutching his chest with one hand, he reached out with the other. His palm smacked into her head causing him to jerk back a bit.

"I'm he-ere," he choked out, lowering his hand til he was touching what he guessed was her shoulder. Stones and debris cascaded downwards as something shifted closer to the edge of the hole. "I think we need to go. Now," he said in a audibly shaken tone.