[Chapter 7] The Deep Throne

[Every]

It worked, but she didn't disarm a bomb.

It became clear to her as she escaped from her own mind and glared in the direction in what appeared to be a dud. Any other day, Every would have stabbed the ******** without hesitation. But today? She didn't want to fight. She really didn't want to fight. She got along with Freyja, Ariadne and Amalea. They were people who Every considered friends and she didn't see the need to get between them. They could solve everything without fighting, she was almost sure of it. It would be a tedious task trying to figure out something that everyone would be happy with, yes, but it could be done. Her dark hair fell over her face as she tried to think of her best course of action.

Her mind drifted back to Locryn's, connecting as the human woman's emotions rolled over her. Confusion, interest. "Every, what are you up to? Who was that to spoke to me?" Locryn voiced to which the shadow replied, "Don't worry about it. You'll be okay." There was skepticism in the human's mind just before Every slipped back out of it. After a moment's pause, she said to Amalea, "Locryn is on her way." As her attention turned to the fight, her lips fell out of the small frown into a deeper one as her hand returned to her holster and drew her firearm.

"Freyja!" One hit turned into two as Every moved. Close range would have typically been preferred, it always was. She still wasn't fond of firearms - not after the one Micah gave her once blew up in her face. Point and aim, pull the trigger. It was always the same. There was skill to it, but she preferred to apply strength. To apply speed. Every could only hope that Ariadne would know it wasn't personal. Freyja was her family, she'd always been one to protect her own. She'd have done it regardless, even if it were Amalea.

Her shots were careful not to kill. This would become obvious as she sought to cripple the mystic - firing more to injure rather than kill. She'd always respected her, appreciated her insight on things. When Freyja fell, a glint of surprise appeared. Every stumbled, her steps faultering before she regained her composure and fired another shot off.

She didn't expect to fail. She didn't expect to find herself in the shadow realm again, not this soon. Irritation flickered through her as she felt minor relief. If she died, then they all would end up there. Well, minus Amalea. Her mind reached out to the blood thief, "I'm in the shadow realm. Locryn will listen to you when she gets there. Please be safe."

[Ariadne]

It had been many years since Ari had gone head to head with another of her kind. Endless nights of fighting various terrors in the city haunts had provided her with a large skill set, but she still felt uneasy going into the fight against Freyja. She knew nothing about the blonde woman. Her normal tract would have been to Appraise, to collect data, review any tapes or records that were available before making a decision. This situation had provided her with no such luxury. Freyja was, if nothing else, extremely determined, which made Ari equally determined and possibly twice as aggressive with her actions.

A battle that probably took mere minutes felt like it took days as bullets continued to slam into Ari's body. She did her best to use what cover was available, but Freyja's bullets had a habit of wandering south and she soon found that her legs were riddled with holes that began to prevent her from crouching for cover. She managed to get a headshot on the blonde before ducking behind a column of some kind and reloading. Her return to battle was stalled somewhat when a bullet ripped through her throat from one of her blind spots. Every. Ari moved out from her cover and took two more shots at Freyja as the other woman moved, the second bullet finding home and causing Freyja to go down for good as Ari began to exchange fire with Every.

A feeling of dread settled over her at the same time as a bullet shattered her skull. She was wounded, unable to heal, losing blood, and on a fight against a second opponent without backup. Red clouded her vision as she fired and missed, followed by firing and hitting the other woman in the side, Terrible shots. Little change of survival. Ari cast a quick glance at the door to the room before locking away any thoughts of fleeing to save her life and took a final shot at her opponent. The bullet hit Every square in the heart.

She stood alone, most of her weight resting on her left leg due to the multiple wounds on her right, and reholstered the gun in her left hand, leaving the gun in her right out in the event that it would be needed again. Her now free hand brushed a few strands of blood soaked hair out of her eyes before moving to cover the open gashes that crossed her throat. Thankfully, the head wound she was sporting was mostly covered by her hair, but it did nothing to stop the massive amount of blood that was working its way out of her body.

Noting that Llangort could not been seen anywhere in the room, Ari made her way over to Amalea and stood a few feet away from the human as she directed her attention to the other end of the room where Theodosia sat, her guards slowly gathering around her. During the battle, Ari had felt the cloud of the Mindblock beginning to wear off, which was a boon now considering her throats wounds prevented her from speaking. Two things came to mind immediately, the first of which was to Appraise Theodosia's guards for threat assessment. The second.... Ari closed her eyes, reaching out to Amalea and attempting to reach Llangort with a telepathic communication, private to the three of them. "Given my current state, I may be willing to reconsider my position. I know that neither of you are in favor of killing the mummy, and I don't believe that I could manage all of that at this time, so I'd like to propose that we leave. If Llangort did indeed set up explosives, let us get out of this room and use said explosives to trap Theodosia and her minions here. Opening the rift is, hopefully, no longer an option."

[Llangort (DELETED 6420)]

Reappearing five or so feet away from Amalea & Ariadne, hands held at shoulder height palms outwards Llangort speaks softly and quickly “No tricks. Sorry but I can't do much about any of that”, he says, looking at Ari, “apart from maybe later getting you more blood to bleed out.”

“To be honest, at the start when I saw the four of you kinda chummy I expected it to be me that looks like that now". He clears his throat and continues, "Since I kinda have to do my thinking aloud and well, vague and indirect I need be on the immediate concerns. I've not actually expressed an opinion either way on that first matter, and though I haven't had the time to prepare an argument regarding the second with any definiteness, I can certainly put something together that forms what I hope is an appropriate resolution, and shake things up to be sure”.

“I've tried to express a preference for a minimum of change, and probably due to a lack of conversation, kinda messed up the delivery”, rolling his eyes at himself as he shrugs, “trying to grab immediate attention away from the inevitable gunfight. Enough of that for now. I am confused about the expressed risks for plan A and hence vote for plan B. Thoughts you two?” glancing back and forth between the two of them and Theo and her knights.

[Amalea]

The red-head’s eyes had been constantly scanning the area as she remained rooted to one spot. In one spot, she had an unmoving Theodosia, whom she wasn’t overly concerned with physically. Mentally was another story; while the woman couldn’t move, she was still pretty powerful in the mind magics. She was also currently the least of her concerns. The knights were still approaching at a steady, albeit slow, pace. It was kind of hard to predict how fast they’d surround them given the variables. The hidden but supposedly retreating male was concerning given his pattern of unpredictability thus far.

It was the fight between the two females that really had her attention. Why on earth would people want to be fighting at this point? Why did it always seem like things had to be resolved with violence? It wasn’t like she was a pacifist, far from it, but fighting had a time and a place. God knew how many miles underground with an ancient vampire and her protectors didn’t precisely seem like a good time. Yes, even with the monumental decision that faced them, she still didn’t think it wise. It was one to be talked over not fought over in her mind; a hopeful change from past instances.

That fighting had broken out wasn’t surprising; she had just had been rooting for a peaceful resolution method. Was it part of the vampires’ curse to be prone to violence? That was a question she was going to have her research department look into as soon as she returned to work. Perhaps while not inherent to the species as a whole, she suspected there was something special to them that caused it. At the very least, it was worth a look.

The shadow slipping into her head refocused her attention, in part, onto the woman. She wasn’t about to ignore the room as a whole, but she could multitask, thankfully. A frown flitted across her lips as she tried to place the name. It must be Every’s thrall given the context; the blood thief really wouldn’t have wanted anyone else down here aside from that. There were already too many proverbial cooks in the kitchen. Hopefully the creatures extend her the same courtesy they showed us even though she isn’t a key bearer.

The thought had barely been sent to the other when the red-head heard her yell the blond’s name. That alongside the increased rate of gunshot drew her attention to the fight which had gained another player. A string of colorful curses was let loose from her lips as she surveyed the situation. An ancient mummy. Her gaining protectors. A hidden male. All topped off with two women she considered friends fighting.

It’d been enough to give the human a headache if she wasn’t still nursing the one she had courtesy of their hostess. Each shot earned a wince from the red-head despite her attention not fully being on the fight. Her nose twitched as she surveyed the scene before her trying to decide the best way to help the situation. There was no way she was jumping into the battle on one side or the other; that would require picking one friend over the other which wasn’t something she was willing to do.

Placing a shield between them was also a consideration but she dismissed it as being far too temporary a solution. It would potentially stop a round of bullets before dropping which really wasn’t long enough to cause a real break in the action. That was assuming that she didn’t end up getting shot for her troubles. Her other option was to use her animal form to physically break up the fight, but again, she risked being shot. She didn’t really care about the injuries, but she didn’t want one of the ladies to feel bad about accidently causing them, particularly after trying to protect her.

The cloud of ash that resulted from Freyja’s demise barely registered in the red-head’s mind as she watched the remaining pair trade bullets. The black splashes of blood hanging in midair were oddly mesmerizing until one realized they were the product of a life or death battle current raging on. Every’s bullet impacting Ariadne’s skull was a tad unexpected at first; it has been clear the shadow was shooting to incapacitate, not kill. After a moment’s reflection though, it made sense; had she not used the same tactic against Azraeth when he refused to stay down?

Watching the bullet speeding towards Every was like watching train wreck from which she couldn’t tear herself away. The impact of the shot resulting in the dark, smoky cloud where the woman once stood had the red-head rooted in place. Moments passed around her as time seemed to stand still. A million questions and thoughts flooding her brain. Why? Where? So preoccupied and lost in her thoughts was the blood thief that she didn’t sense Ariadne approach. She barely registered the voice inside her head, at least consciously.

There was a slight sigh of relief as the red-head was dragged from her foggy thoughts by the familiar voice in her head; more so when she had processed the words that had been offered to her. The Shadow Realm did reach here so the ladies were safe, for the lack of a better term, there now instead of whatever fate would have occurred had it not. It also meant that killing Theodosia was to be be avoided at all costs as she would be able to return like the others. A pissed off ancient was not high on her bucket list currently. ”I was worried. While I’m not glad you ended up there, I’m happy you’re there and not just dust in the proverbial wind for eternity. I will stay as safe as possible.” A quick reminder was set on her calendar for seven days hence; she had somewhere to be.

The reappearance of the wayward male startled Amalea. Instinctively, as if on auto-pilot, her power lashed out to block his access to his own. Enough was enough; she’d reached her limit of surprises for one day and this was her way of ensuring he didn’t disappear only to pop up with yet another. ”No… no more tricks or surprises,” she replied, growling ever softly. She slowly. mentally, counted to ten as she tried to regain control of her emotions. Ten turned to twenty as he mentioned the four ladies had looked close.

”This is why the city is so messed up. There’s far too much of this concept of ‘us vs them.’ Vampires vs humans. Sirens vs vampires. So on and so forth. The concept of ‘if they’re not my friend or don’t benefit me in some way, they’re against me’ hurts the community far more than any external threat.” Her red tresses shook violently, ”Take, for instance, the Sirens. Someone tells vampires that they’re a threat and they’re believed at face value. No research done; no attempt to try to talk to them. Never mind that the one who spoke of the threat is faceless and refuses to be straightforward.” She blew out a sharp breath, ”Granted not all vampires or humans are like that, but there are enough that it’s a major issue. An issue that is going to get people or species killed.”

Glaring at Ariadne, she continued her tirade, ”One of the others is that people are too quick to resort to violence to solve things. Something that is not always needed and almost should never be the first thing to turn to when presented with an issue. Aiming to kill rather than disable will nearly always compound the issue. There was no reason to kill those two, particularly when we had no idea if the Shadow Realm reaches this place.”

Getting back to the rest of his monologue, she ignored the commentary about his lack of telepathic abilities. Not all vampires had them nor did most humans. In reality, if Theodosia was as strong as she seemed, the entire point of a telepathic conversation was moot anyway given the likelihood that she could ‘listen’ in; a theory she wasn’t about to point out. Her eyes rolled as she growled lightly at his reference to his ‘distraction.’ A strange look was given to Llangort as he gave his vote for what she assumed was a quick exit sans the ancient. Didn’t he just stage a bomb threat to try to get his questions answered?

Staring at him, she commented, a bit snarkily, ”I’m surprised you’re willing to take such action without the answers you sought. Personally, I’m still interested in them myself.” She turned back towards Theodosia slightly, one eye still on her companions. ”My lady, is what he asked possible? Or is it perhaps possible to halt the opening when it is deemed wide enough or the creatures that emerge are too dangerous?” She wasn’t sure the ancient would answer at this late hour, but she had to try.

Powers Used:
Sensory Overload (RP Curse)
Mindblock 2

[Locryn (DELETED 9799)]

"She's dead again."

Locryn didn't know how she knew it, but she could feel that her master was dead for the second time that month. It was almost a ridiculous notion, really, given the fact the woman was technically dead already, but she'd stopped caring about the technicalities. They'd stopped being of need upon meeting the shadow. They'd stopped being of concern once she'd been enthralled, really. The human brunette said nothing to the presence to her head as she walked into the labyrinth, deep into the tunnels.

The monsters mildly unnerved her, but moreso the way that they ignored her. "Something powerful is down here, isn't it?" She finally asked to her mistress, to which Every responded, "Uncomfortably powerful." through the link that they shared. When Every didn't care to elaborate, Locryn closed her eyes and adjusted her hold on her gun. She'd been told to listen to Amalea, if it came down to it. Not to trust the others. Her blue eyes focused on her surroundings, listening and looking for other vampires.

It took her a while to make it down to the throne room. And when she had... Locryn's lips fell in awe. "Do not touch a single thing in there." Every warned, making Locryn forget that she was not in her head alone, "And step away from the heavily bleeding vampiress. Stay close to the red head. Protect her, if needed." The human thrall considered rolling her eyes but heard the growl inside her head as she followed instructions. Locryn was just inside when she saw it - the sensor turret. The gunshot went off, a bullet sinking into the flesh of her upper thigh as she let out a noise of pain. She stumbled in her footing, her hand grasping the door as she watched the turret fall back to it's previous setting. She knew she wouldn't be able to disable it and didn't bother to try.

"Loc, are you alright?" The concern in Every's voice had her ignoring the vampire before she straightened up, applying pressure. Upon further inspection, she found it was a deep graze, her hand pressing against it as she appraoched and stopped beside the red head. She didn't draw her weapons just yet, but they were within reach - visible on her slender form. "I was summoned?" She inquired through clenched teeth, her gaze falling upon the ancient vampiress sitting on the throne.

A chill ran through Locryn's spine as she wagered that this was the discomfort that Every had mentioned. "And you couldn't give me any warning, why?" Locryn questioned to the shadow inside her head, sharing her sight as Every listened in. She had to applaud the non-bewitched human. She'd learned about the majority of what happened in the city through the shadow that looked after her, treating her as an equal rather than a pet. As she listened to Amalea's words, Locryn wondered why she was brought there. The question didn't go unanswered long as she heard, "If your blood is needed, give it to the ancient vampire. Enough for her to move." She could hear the minor annoyance in regards to her death.

Powers used: Masters Gaze

[Game Master]

When Ariadne appraises the Theodosian Knights, she cannot assess their power level, as it seems to be obscured by the very same aura which emanates from the ancient vampire herself. All that can be determined is their obvious slow pace, and that they are very strong. In fact, it would be fair to say that she can sense it would be best not to get tangled up in a fight with so many of them drawing near. It looks like the window for action is growing smaller with every passing moment.

"I cannot say for sure how quickly the crack would widen, just that it would take continuous effort to ensure it grows."

Though at this point Theodosia is entirely perplexed. The human is the one asking questions. A vampire is attempting to murder her. It is as if the world has been turned on its head while she has been in the darkness. Have her kind really become so cavalier about protecting their own interests?

Ah well. Eternity is a long time.

[As a reminder, this closes over the next 2 or so days, meaning that a unanimous decision (through persuasion, coercion, or by eliminating opposing views) must be reached by March 1st. If there are additional posts in need of being made after that point, that is totally fine, but the set up for the very end of the thread must be in place by that time.]

[Ariadne]

Focus was in short supply as Ari tried to listen attentively to both Llangort and Amalea. She had been surprised, but internally relieved when the male reappeared and voiced that he too would be willing to leave the chamber and the mummy without further attempts to open the rift. Amalea on the other hand seemed to have become agitated over the course of Ari’s fight with the other women. Understandable, given that from their positioning eartiler it could have been assumed that Every and Amalea were at least acquainted, if not on friendly terms. She was unsure of Amalea’s relationship with Freyja. It perplexed her further that the redhead was so heated over the killing of the others when they “had no idea if the Shadow Realm reached this place.” If that was the case, why disagree with her over killing the mummy? If the concern was that one would be unable to return, dispatching the mummy here would be an excellent solution to the problem.

Reaching down into what was close to the end of her reserve, Ari reached out and cut off Amalea’s access to whatever stolen powers she may have had. She knew that the human was a Blood Thief, what she didn’t know was who she may have fed on prior to entering the Labyrinth, and dealing with that unknown element was not a risk that Ari was willing to take with the other woman becoming as irritated as she was. She was determined to maintain some kind of control over the current situation, even if it meant handicapping someone who could have helped them out in a tight spot. At this point, she was past caring if the human forgave her for her actions, mostly because she was immediately startled and distracted by the sound of gunfire from the doorway. A human. Someone had summoned her a little post battle snack. How terribly thoughtful.

Most of the blood exiting her body was in a trickle now, but she kept her left hand over the wounds on her throat out of politeness to the others present. The brunette pressed her gun to her right temple and squinted her eyes shut, twisting the gun in her hand and pressing the barrel into her bruised and bloodied flesh. Words. Words, frustration, and another human who was now bleeding. Ari focused her mental energy and again reached out directly to Llangort and Amalea’s minds. “Each time that rift has opened wider, it has in general soured the relationship that humans have with vampire kind. You personally may have some good relationships, Amalea, but overall the humans view of us is only slightly favorable, and that barely positive opinion is very hard to maintain.” Ari gestured to where Every and Freyja had fallen. “Vampires need to have consequences for our actions. You may not know this, or remember this, Amalea, but every time the rift has opened wider, there has been some loss of accountability. What if the rift opens and vampires become unkillable? Unstoppable? Immortal in every sense? What is to stop us from killing the humans, the Fae, and the Sirens? You speak of us against them, of putting personal benefit above those of society… “ Ari gestured to herself this time. “Do I look like I have put myself first? You talk grandly of how people resort too quickly to violence, but when faced with a complete loss of accountability for a population of individuals who may never die and feed on human blood, is that not worth fighting over? If Freyja had actually been willing to talk, maybe it would have been different. She had her mind made up before she got here though, so there was no other end.”

Ari pointed her gun at Theodosia now, her eyes still on Amalea. “I collect data. I collect data on literally everything. It is how I make decisions in most cases. I have been saying from the beginning that we do not have enough information to make an informed decision, and people decided to ignore me. That… thing, is clearly dangerous. She doesn't know how fast the rift would open, but that it would require continued work. What if what she requires are daily blood sacrifices to keep opening the rift? Monthly human sacrifices of an unknown number? What if she tires of adults and demands children? The destruction of humanity is not her goal, but we have no other information about her other aims. What we do know is tantamount to nothing, and allowing Freyja to allow the mummy to open the rift is too dangerous for every living thing above our heads because we do not fully understand the consequences. Maybe, if we had more time. If she were more cooperative. If those guards weren’t shambling up on us… I could spend a week playing the “if” game and still not be satisfied.”

With her gun still pointed at Theodosia, Ari shook her head. "We do not have much time. Those guards are getting closer and I get the sense that none of us will survive if they are able to get within striking distance. I recommend again that we exit." Ari switched quickly and sent a message to Llanggort alone without moving her gaze from Amalea and the other human, or her gun from Theodosia. "Do you think you could restrain the human in order to keep her away from the mummy, if needed?"

Powers used: Mindblock 2

[Llangort (DELETED 6420)]

"I'm sorry, but if she can get in here so quick, then so can others, but more importantly, there is a way for me to get out, cos I ain't fighting those things", head flick towards the advancing knights as he takes a few steps, "yet alone you two. Oh and don't try and fight them direct, loss play that, shoot their boss, she's the weak link".

Llangort heads towards the the door, stopping briefly to take out the turret and clearly defective sensor alarm with a couple of quick bursts from his gun. A quick sidestep to no effect, a moment of bewilderment thinking he hadn't done that much tricky stuff to be running on empty, before trotting out of the room to find a way back to the town.

[Amalea]

The gunshot behind them was an interesting development; she assumed that it heralded the arrival of Locryn. It also meant that it had been placed by Lllangort since he was the only one who hadn’t been in the immediate area the entire time. Another strike against him for setting it and failing to alert the others to its presence given it would go off even if one was departing. So had it been set to ensure no one could leave since it was fairly obvious that without help no one would be approaching from the outside? Sure, Theodosia’s minions, but a little shotgun wasn’t about to stop them if they were all like the Knights. Then again, he had threatened to blow the place and told her she should get clear without knowing what methods of escape she had access to, if any; which meant she was expected to use the door and get shot in the process. Awesome.

She waited till Locryn had drawn closer, stopping beside her, before addressing the thrall, mindful that this was one close to Every. ”You were.” She gave the woman a gentle smile, one eye never leaving the others as she switched to telepathy to finish her comment, I assume you were told why you were by Every. Watch yourself. I suspect things are about to get very ugly, very quickly.

Nodding her head in acknowledgement to Theodosia, she was grateful for the ancient’s reply. Both for what was said what was implied. In reality, it was the past couple questions that had provided the most relevant information. That the woman was willing to admit she didn’t know certain things, spoke volumes. The red-head would rather that than be fed a pack of lies. Still it was a lot to digest. ”Thank you, my Lady. If I may? Would the effort be on your part or ours? It would not seem fair to you to be tied to such an endeavor for the needed duration.” Yes, she was fishing for further information, but it was a genuine question and concern. She just wasn’t sure the ancient would be willing to answer with the state of things. Not that she could blame her.

The fog descending to cut the red-head off of her powerbase elicited a growl in Ariadne’s direction given she was the most likely culprit. Amalea was fairly sure it hadn’t been the ancient and neither Locryn nor Llangort were the other two capable of such a feat. Her nose twitched in anger as she wondered what the hell the woman was playing at by doing such a thing. Her hands hadn’t even gone anywhere near her weapons and yet she was being put into a time out like a wayward child. How lovely especially since she had advocated ensuring she stayed out of harm’s way. As if in response, the white fog mixed with the red mist already floating though her mind, expanding and growing.

What the hell kind of tainted blood had Ariadne been drinking lately? She’d chalk it to the lead from the bullets or the hole in her head affecting her, but her earlier comments on returning from the Shadow Realm were before the fighting had started. ”If anything the rift has expanded once, maybe twice. The real effect on the vampire-human relationships have been vampires and their actions. Longslade did more damage to that than any other recent event. The fact that most vampires still act as though they’re far superior to humans and/or that humans are nothing more than walking blood bags is another major issue. Despite being known to vampires for several years now, I even see it from the community. If vampires want respect and better relationships, they have to show respect and work for them. I’ve said that since early on. I’ve given suggestions on improving things. But I’m just a little lowly human so what could I possibly know?”

”As far as I’m aware there’s been no loss of accountability, just a lack of a policing unit. Which really comes down to the community never agreeing on things, honestly. Vampires are already immortal. I doubt the rift shrinking will affect that.” Her red tresses shook towards Theodosia. ”She’s already showed us the rift can never be fully closed, that it will always have cracks. That might mean it’d be harder to return, but I doubt it means there’s no chance to return. “ Her tresses shook in time with her head. ”There’s nothing to stop vampires from killing everyone already, in truth. Though I doubt that the Fae are killable by vampires without some heavy casualties. Too much remains unknown about the Sirens besides what propaganda the Administrator fed people.

The red-head growled again at the mention of violence, not wanting to bother to grace the comment with a reply. Well, mostly, ”So say you. There were plenty of other non-lethal, non-violent ways she could have been halted. But you chose violence. You say had she been willing to talk it would be different, yet you’re the one who had attempted to shoot our hostess without much discussion. Hell as soon as you heard the amount of blood she was needing, you were willing to shoot. So let’s dispense with the pot calling the kettle black, shall we?”

There was that gun pointed at Theodosia again. Didn’t she ever learn? The woman had a shield and they now knew the Shadow Realm was accessible from here and yet she persisted. ”For someone who collects data and uses logic, you’re acting rather unintelligibly. Either that or you’re ignoring the facts that don’t suit you. The last time you shot her we established she had a shield. We also established in the conversation following that killing her was a very bad idea given we had no idea if when someone died here they ended up in the Shadow Realm or not. Something that you chose to ignore when you killed the pair. Were you so certain that they’d end up in the realm or were you hoping to permanently eliminate them? “ A low growl found its way past her lips at the thought, ”Even with an answer to that, you’re willing to shoot an ancient being, send her to the Shadow Realm and see her released in a week? If you think she’s dangerous, why the **** would you want to do that?”

A single hand raised to rub her temple as her mind worked though remainder of the verbal spewage. Yes, there were quite a few unknowns, but they weren’t going to get answers by leaving. Hell, they hadn’t even determined what she needed to open the rift; for all they knew, it could involve sacrificing a fae or two. Ariadne talked of needing more information yet hadn’t even attempted to ask further questions. ”Despite not having enough data, you haven’t made further queries of our hostess, so I have to wonder if you really don’t want it enough to take a chance at trying?”

Red tresses shook as she surveyed the scene, ”They are and I’m sure they are not to be trifled with I’m sure, but they’re only protecting their mistress.” She glanced at the woman, ”Had you not shot at her, I doubt they would have bothered with us. Food for thought and yet another reason not to be pointing your gun at her.”

She had no answer for the call to leave again given she was hoping the ancient would be willing to answer her latest round of questions, first. She wanted to be able to say she had given it her best guess no matter what decision she ultimately decided upon. A decision she suspected would be public knowledge by this time tomorrow which made matters even worse.

An eyebrow rose at the retreating male as she wondered at his logic. She didn’t plan on fighting the guards either, but she also wasn’t concerned about others finding their way through that maze especially given the creatures would make their journey hell even if they tried. Her full attention turned back to Ariadne after she had witnessed Llangort step through the door after destroying a couple traps. ”Looks like it’s just us now.”

Ongoing – Sensory Overload (RP Curse)

[Ariadne]

Ari clicked her tongue against her top teeth in a sound of mild annoyance and frustration. Holstering her gun, her folded her blood sticky hands gently in front of her abdomen, leaving her gaping throat wounds on full display, since it was no longer distressingly spurting gore all over her person. Her posture was similar to that of when she entered the room, relaxed, with the expedition of how her weight was balanced due to the wounds. She smiled a little, the caked blood on her cheek cracking just slightly as she sent her voice into Amalea's mind. "You and your two companions many have discussed that between yourselves, but determining if the Shadow Realm reached this place or not was not a conversation I was privy too. I myself am perfectly convinced that the two I dispatched are snuggled safe in that accursed hellscape that many of us are at least passingly familiar with. As for trying to shoot the mummy first off..." Ari spared a glance for the object of her ire, still safe and immobile on her throne, before turning her gaze back to Amalea. "I had hoped by dispatching her it would have somehow protected you. Clearly my interests should have been focused elsewhere."

A whiff of fresh blood caught Ari's attention. Tilting her head, she stared at the human thrall that had joined them just prior to the male's departure. The desire to feed and to heal was overwhelming in her current state, saturated as she was with her own internal fluids. Ari took a deep and completely unnecessary breath before blowing all of the air out of her nose in an abrupt huff, along with an accompanying spray of stolen hemoglobin. "Yes, you are human, so here is what I will do. Clearly I have my mind made up, and either you have as well, or you haven't and are proving quite intractable in terms on conversation. I will leave you, Blood Thief, with this thrall, the mummy, her guards, and this decision. Do you sacrifice the thrall or yourself to open the rift? Do you leave it as it is? You alone will take the information we have gathered and debated and make the decision that will impact the entire city above. You. Alone. Will do this. I can only hope that you make the best decision for all of the lives that you hold in your very breakable hands."

Ari reached into her backpack, which had thankfully not been harmed during her battles, and removed several high quality explosives. Placing them on the floor to her right, she indicated the pile with her hand as she stood up straight. "These are for your use, should you choose to leave."

Nodding quickly to the two humans, Ari secured her belongings and made her way to the exit, pausing at the doorway to turn and look back at the dwindling crowd and the carnage left behind... and to plant a very small wireless camera on the doorway to record all further events.