[Open] Through the Valley and into the Mountains

[Dust]

Crysiss let out an audible gasp as they cleared most of the town and saw the smoke's sources of fire, ashes, and cinders hovered in the air like leaves in fall. Smoke climbed high and higher into the sky like a ballerina whose's dance partner was the swollen full moon. It was spreading to the edges of the town and licked the forest perversely. She moved to help the many humans that were trying to douse the fire, only to be snagged by her more serious companion. "Let them deal with the trivial things."

"If the fire gets out of ha-"

"We have more important things to deal with than some flames," Odessa said sternly. She pointed to the human who'd retrieved the fey creatures in his humble town. "You, get the people handling those, we'll take care of what's coming out of those mines."

The man had no reason to argue with her, so he nodded and went to work on his new task.

"Odessa.."

"Don't give me that look, Crysiss. We need to take care of the task at hand. I'll need you in there." She pointed to the mines, inside were flames still flickering on the wall, and then they could see the erratic movement of one trying to hold back something. Crysiss' worries were turned finally to this site, and she silently nodded in agreement. Odessa unsheathed her weapon once more. It glowed against the darkness that has become predominant.

Odessa was first, always first in battle, last in social situations but first to draw blood. The lanterns flickered across the cold metal of her pole and parts of her leathers. In the large cuffs of her companion, they were shooting stars across the curved surface. No amount of wishing on them would effect anything ahead, but it didn't stop the Elf woman from doing so. She had her hands together and was hoping for the best with her face and her fidgeting hands.

When they found the first opening, they found a terrible site. The number was only in the single digits, but there were bodies - or rather what's left of them - lying across the mine's flat surfaced floor. They were all missing some part of the body, one's arms had been ripped off, another's leg, one's chest had been cracked open at the ribs and the insides presumable scooped out. The collection was a small mound between them all.

"Gah!! Sto-!!"

Odessa's foot slide across the floor, rocks skittering across the ground as her focus quickly found the shadowed hulking figure that had a man pinned. Or.. What used to be a man. The broken oil lamp bleeds its insides out, the oil catching fire and lighting the scene up enough to show off the gruesome image.

The figure that had just silenced the man with death now turned to look over its shoulder. Hunched back, quadruped, and the withering locks of a cephalopod. Or.. Several of them as it looked at them with dozens of eyes. Like a frog or a clownfish had laid their eggs straight on the face of this creature. Dark things that were presumed to be its pupils dilate even further to see the hidden figures that lurk in the dark. They narrow in on the glowing tip of a blade, travel down the shaft to the welder.

Odessa was prepared, Crysiss alarmed. "Shh.." Odessa hushed her companion, then began to circle the creature as loudly as she could as to not let them seek out her healer. It worked, the creature was more focused on the one that it had in his sites instead of the one dressed in red and black. Despite Crysiss flawless pale skin the shadows hugged her gorgeous body and hid her from the dangerous thing.

Its movements were even creepy.

Its upper body twisted around as if it were at least partly mechanical or rubber, so that the frontward hind legs were facing the opposite way as its nightmarish face and bulky misshapen front legs - which find the floor of the cave so that it can lower like it would pounce. One 'paw' was very clearly a hand and dug its ruined fingers into the hardened rocky dirty, the other looked something between paw and fingers.

However, Odessa was waiting for its attack, not looking at its toes. She took a few steps to the left more and found her sandal-like shoes in the hollowed out chest cavity of the dude she'd seen before. It was slick and still warm. A face of disgust twisted her features, but she remained with her eyes on the monster. You didn't live this long without being able to ignore distractions such as this...

There was a sound of laughter that gurgled out of the body of this being, then a sound of bones cracking. Its back legs break then realine in the most unpleasant way. Visually it was abhorring and even Odessa's stomach lurched once. Then when it was done, its legs have twisted to face her, properly in the direction that it aimed to attach. She readied her spear and did her best to respectfully step out of the body she'd stepped in. "Bring it, big guy.."

From her standing point, Crysiss was able to make out the differnet colors of the creatuers skin, all differnet shades of green, grey, or purple. She recognized them as all different kinds of stages of decay. Even parts of its body looked bloated and deformed. That's when she saw the large stitches across various parts. Like someone had ripped pieces off cotton dolls and stitched them together to make a new one. She had to hold her mouth with both small hands to keep from making any noise. When Odessa told her to be quiet she would do so. As not to repeat the last time she hadn't..