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[Ash]

"These memories..." she said, "they're not mine." Clearly, she was becoming very agitated, her eyes glazed over as she began to swat at apparitions apparent only to her. "It's not fair! The memory isn't mine! I shouldn't have to carry it!"
Surprised by her lashings-out, Crow was forced to take flight, hovering close as he tried to understand what was going on.

Her near-catatonia was disrupted by a lantern nearby spontaneously exploding in a gout of flame. Objects and chips of rock began to shake and shudder ominously as Anduriel almost blindly opened the door into the next room. Worryingly, this room was a gigantic banquet hall. So many knives, forks and other related cutlery and crockery. And all of it was shaking as if there was an earthquake.

All of a sudden, the lights mysteriously dimmed save for a single candle on the mantelpiece. Above it, the words 'YOU WILL DIE' bled themselves onto the wall. When the words had been constructed, the lights returned to normal, and the sound of clattering plates and cutlery went from a minor jingle to a dull cacophony of noise that filled the ears completely.

Anduriel was, by now, curled up like a fetus on the floor in a state of utter terror, covering her head as if to ward off blows as she lay there. Her voice echoed a scream that could chill to the bone, and one could only wonder as to what could scare her so completely. Though the idea of being bombarded by plates and spoons was hardly a comforting one, it was clear that Anduriel was seeing something beyond the physical.

[Ash]

BUMP.

[Ash]

Bump again.

[Athena]

(OOC: Do you want to continue this?)

[Ash]

OOC: It's months old since you replied, and it was a month of bumping before you replied. But if you want to continue it, feel free to do so. I need to get my writer's head on. I have some plans to be seeing a lot more of him.

[Athena]

Neelahn wondered what Anduriel was thinking. What kind of memories? What did she see? When the lantern exploded Neelahn's mouth fell open but she didn't scream. She watched the following up events in a paralysed state, not being able to move anywhere. What..? How..? What was the meaning of all this? Then she saw Anduriel. We shouldn't have stolen that crown, she thought. Quietly she rushed over to Anduriel, lying on the floor. Neelahn bend her knees and lay a hand on Anduriel's shoulder. What was she seeing? Was it possible that Anduriel saw something Neelahn couldn't see, that this crown enabled her to see it? Or did the crown make Anduriel believe she saw something that wasn't actually there?

So much questions flying around in Neelahn's mind but Anduriel didn't seem in any kind of state for answers or even conversation. I hope she's allright, Neelahn thought. I wish I could do more for her. "Anduriel?" she whispered. For a moment she wondered if she should try to take the crown off Anduriel, if it was at all possible. Will we die here and now, in this place, she thought. There was something really strange going on here but she couldn't explain it or understand it just yet. I'm not a great heroine or protecter, am I. Neelahn's mind was trying to make sense of the situation but it seemed to fail. Her hand still resting on Anduriel's shoulder, Neelahn whispered again, a little louder this time. "Anduriel?"

[Ash]

At the touch, Anduriel rang out some ancient expletive, leaping up with a start away from her friend. She wrenched the crown from her head, and the world seemed to return to a normalcy.

Ragged breaths accompanied her adrenaline level falling. She dropped the crown to the floor, where it bounced and pinged a couple of times.

"We should find the way out," she stated the obvious, before drawing her blade. "This place is cursed. The souls of all those who lived under that queen...they converge here. Can you not feel the cold?"

Although she could not see the writings on the wall, nor feel that unending sense of dread, she knew it was a bad idea to linger here too long.

Scuttling could be heard all around them, as if a thousand terrible insects moved as a single great mass. But the light hail of dust and debris falling from the ceiling left no illusion as to the nature of this threat. The thunderous footsteps booming down the corridor only affirmed it.

"Ha...do you want to stand and fight whatever that is, or does that staircase look as appealing to you as it does me?"

[Athena]

It scared Neelahn a little that her friend turned away from her. She saw her taking off the crown and returning into a state more like her. Anduriel was right, it was cold here. Neelahn hadn't really noticed it upto now because she had been busy worrying about Anduriel. Those noises.. she wondered what they were but she felt for certain that it wouldn't be a good idea to find out.

When the ceiling started to fell down and Anduriel made the remark about leaving, Neelahn didn't think twice. "Excellent idea, let's go!"

[Ash]

The creature's head was the first Anduriel saw of it. One eye bled ferociously, but it didn't seem to affect its sight too much with the other eye. At any rate, the princess knew it saw her, and she quickly sheathed her sword and drew her bow. Without bothering to find out what the rest of the creature looked like, she loosed an arrow which slammed deep into its good eye, blinding it completely. It let out an almighty bellow in agony as she followed her friend towards the stairwell towards outside daylight.

"Let us make ourselves scarce, that thing won't be happy in a good moment or two."

[Athena]

Neelahn ran as fast as she could and when she was outside she became slightly invisible. All elves possess this ability, it did not offer full protection but it would make the creature spot her less easily.

She looked behind her, gesturing Anduriel to use her ability as well. She then looked forward and around her, trying to find a place to hide.

[Ash]

OOC: Wasn't aware they'd have a chameleon skill

IC:

While she did use her chameleonic ability, she wasn't about to slow down just yet. It was only moments later that the beast smashed its way out of the tomb's rearsection.

A bipedal behemoth with horns that could have staked a horse like a shish-kebab, standing a good twelve feet tall and three wide. No wonder it had had to bust its way out of the tomb with every ounce of its ridiculous strength. With it it seemed to carry the weight of the despair of thousands upon thousands of souls, and glyphs written in the ancient tongue were burned into its flesh across its entire body. Its bellow was as much one of pain as it was of anger. No wonder, considering that about its great neck hung the burden of a long chain attached to a collar, as if it had been tethered to a wall in the tomb's sanctum. One side of its face was covered in blood, the bare bone of its eyesocket exposed and forever bleeding. At first, it looked as if Anduriel's arrow had done some serious damage, until one realised that that wasn't the eye she'd hit.

She squinted, trying to see the arrow. It was a fortunate thing that she'd managed to hit it square in the eye. But that didn't forbid its other senses from finding them.

"By the gods, what is that?"

She allowed herself to come out of her camouflage state. "It cannot see us," she said, "Its eyes are out."

It let out another great roar, before smashing its huge fists into the ground in frustration at being robbed of its sight, and perhaps to scare the intruders. Then it began to lumber right in their direction. Though it couldn't see them, it knew where they were.

"Oh, fie."