Completed Fog on the Barrow-downs.

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh gingerly picked her way through, following Esmeralda's footsteps to the last. She made sure there was no repeat of the swinging blades. "Why do you want to know?" she asked, not risking turning her head like the blonde did. "Some I might keep, some I might sell. But it depends on what we find isn't it? Do your job right and I might even allow you keep some".

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda grinned a little, unable to help herself. "So... Grave robbing then," she leveled, pausing just enough to give the woman a chance to respond to the jaunt.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

A snort left the other woman. "Oh you are a paragon of virtue then? How desperate do you have to be to be in this venture with me?" her voice held a hint of a challenge. She grumbled. "A robber sounds like some toothless peasant. I am neither".

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda laughed, her reserved nature lightening up. "Aye. I can confirm. You have all your teeth. Well. So long as you don't step riiiight there." She pointed about a foot in front of the woman, a mischievous sparkle to her eyes.

She winked then carried forward, growing serious as her concentration resumed. "We're clear until the door right there. But I can't feel beyond it. The door itself seems to be unmolested, but we should be braced for whatever may lie before it. Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked for the last time, eyes boring into Dian's as she held her hand hovering over the door handle to.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh froze before she realised that the other woman was joking. She didn't seem to be too tense now, with no immediate danger near them. She relaxed a little and moved closer to study the door. "So do we just push it open or?"

She grimaced, "Of course. We didn't come all this way to turn back now" she said, trying to hide her fear. She relaxed her hands, flickers of light showing around her fingers. "Lets get this over with. We can argue after".

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda rolled her eyes lightly, drawing her sword. "Alright. Three. Two. One." She blew it open with a telekinetic blast.

And nothing was awaiting them. The hall was long and empty, dark and ill lit. It seemed to go on forever. Esmeralda let out a breath she had been holding, her brows furrowing.

"...I-..." She scanned the ceilings, feeling something there, but not being able to identify it. She looked to Dian questionably, then back to the hall. "... Watch the ceiling," she warned, stepping in carefully. ....Nothing happened. She hesitated, then moved deeper in.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh cringed as the door was blasted open but it was almost a let down to be met by.....nothing. The hallway was long and foreboding with nothing of note, just blackness stretching on and on. She mimicked her guide, letting out her breath. She kept quiet while Esmeralda scanned around, frowning that she wasn't able to pinpoint it.

She shook her head, "I can't feel anything" she admitted, her senses weren't as sharp as the other mage. She kept her head looking up as she stepped in. Esmeralda's steps gradually picked up, the wary Dian trailing behind her. "You're sure?" she said, casting a flame in her hand to light the way. It was a lot tighter and closed in here.

 

[Esme]

"Nope," Esmeralda answered with more honesty than she might appreciate. "But we're doing it." She glanced warily over her shoulder, then pushed on.

It happened when they hit the quarter point of the room-- the dreaded trap they were waiting for. The doors jumped to life, slamming closed. Esmeralda tension, whipping about wildly and narrowing her eyes at the blocked exit.

What?

Something clicked in the ceiling. A soft hissing began to fill the air. Esmeralda blink, looking up in slowly building horror.

"... Run," she breathed, taking off.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh jumped as the doors slammed shut behind them. Her ears twitched at the sound of hissing. Esmeralda clicked first, she barely said the word before she was tearing forward. Dianaimh hitched up her robe and ran with flat footed determination towards the other end of the seemingly endless corridor.

"Go faster you dumb cunt!" she barked, fear making her voice rise an octave. She didn't even know if the doors were open at the other end.

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda was fast, but it did her nothing for a hall as long as this. Green gas began to drift in, falling downwards like mist. It also didn't help if her companion was a slow cunt, which in her mind, she was.

She gritted her teeth and sent up a force field, but strangely enough it only slowed the gas from descending to them, sending it drifting in swirls before wisps escaped through and drifted onto their skin. It hissed and burned. Acid. Esmeralda sent out another pulse to clear the air, actual fear spiking through her as she held her breathe and resorted to something desperate.

With no warning she turned on her employer, reaching out and firmly grabbing the back of her arm. She clogged the woman's mouth and nose with her other hand. And then they went flying forward with a wretched jerk. And the jerking didn't stop, the sharp force hitting them from all sides. Behind, underneath, left, right. They were rag dolls, a wavering shield the only thing keeping the majority of the gas off their skin as they slammed into the door on the other end of the long hall.

Esmeralda gave the woman no time to recuperate, not even releasing her mouth to breath as she stood up and dragged her body out of the room. Thankfully, the door was unlocked

Dian was left on the cold floor, Esmeralda's hand slipping off her as she scrambled to blockade the gas from reaching them by closing off that dreadful hall again.

Only then did Esmeralda allow herself to shudder against the pain, sliding down the door and glancing to make sure her charge had was no less off.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh felt a whirr of warm energy as Esmeralda activated a shield. But it seemed useless against the trap. She shrieked as a wisp touched off her arm, burning through the material and singeing her skin. She didn't want to die here. Panic flowed through her as the blonde woman rounded on her and blocked her mouth and nose. Dian struggled but her grip was too strong.

All struggle left her as they were propelled violently forward. Her body was hit all sides, pummelled and beaten. She screwed her eyes shut while pain coursed through her. The aged door at the far end shattered as the two of them hit it with the velocity of a catapult. Dian's struggles renewed but Esmeralda's magic lent her strength as she bodily hauled her into the next room, sealing the door after them.

The brunette was on hands and knees, coughing and spitting. Her stomach felt in flux from the sudden propulsion and her body ached all over. "What" she spat "the fuck was that?"

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda turned to her side, coughing up a round of blood. She groaned, holding a healing hand over her throat as she sought out the burns there and healed it. Stinging tears streamed down her face, beyond her control as she managed the acid burns inside her air track.

"Poisonious gas," she croaked, coughing and spitting up mucus. "Did you breath it in?" Her voice grew clearer, less husky though still rough when she released the energy and left her body to do the rest. She turned with some panic towards her charge, placing a hand on the woman's back and striving to sense the injuries on her body. It didn't work, so she shot the woman with the blast of strength instead, trying to keep them steady.

They were both speckled with blisters and burns across their body and face. She couldn't extend the energy to fix that, but she would heal the woman's lungs if she needed to.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh's throat and stomach burned. She could hear Esmeralda's rasping voice slowly improve as she worked her healing magic on her wounds. Dian's limbs felt shaky but they went limp when a blast of energy went through her, sending her into a spasm as the magic worked to repair her lungs and cleanse the internal damage.

She was still trembling as she sat up, looking at the blonde with horror. Her face was marred by blisters and burns from the acidic gas. A quivering Dian screamed as she felt the same marks on herself. "I'm hideous!" she wailed, looking like she was about to bawl her eyes out. It was simple enough for a mage to fix but not energy they wanted to waste this deep into ruins. Her clothes were shredded too, glimpses of pale skin visible where the gas had burnt it away.

Her throat was still sore but it wasn't aflame like it had been. She could speak, a bit hoarse but not croaking. "We-we can't go back that way".

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda grimaced, unconsciously touching at a pendent tucked into her neck line. She had had managed to store quite a bit of energy away during a fight with a witch in a bandit raid, but that store was quickly showing a dent, the woman relying on it to fuel her spells and forgoing her own mana and strength. It seemed foolish to weaken herself in such a dangerous situation, but perhaps now was the time for her to start tapping into the resources in the room. Dear god she hope none of it back lashed at her.

"I don't know, I think it's a bit of an improvement," she told the woman dryly, reaching out to potential energy in the room and hesitantly using that to give them both one last round of healing again. None of the old magic in the room seemed triggered by it, neither girl exploding as the worst of the worst was healed over on the top. Both would feel a little better for their circumstances. But still horrifically burned.

"We will find another way out," she promised. She didn't want to go through there again either. "At least we know what kinda traps we are up against now." She relentlessly pulled herself up and offered the woman her hand, already ready to push in deeper.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"Unlike you, I value appearance" Dianaimh retorted, whining again as she felt the blisters on her cheek. "It's one of the perks of magic. I'm content not to look like some disease ridden peasant". And now they both looked like they'd barely escaped a house fire. Her skin prickled all over from the mild burns and the bruises she had from the pummeling effects of the magic.

"Your hair could look nice if you took better care of it" she allowed grudgingly. She winced as pain moved through her body. She reluctantly took the other's hand, surprised at her strength as the smaller woman helped her up. She reluctantly stooped and tore the bottom of her robe. It was tattered and holed already. "I might need to run again" she explained to Esmeralda. At least she had a change of clothes up above.

"Your magic...it's unlike anything I have seen before. You react so fast". It was the only reason they'd survived this far.

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda looked on with amusement as the woman fussed over her appearance and made digs at her own. Esmeralda didn't ruffle to it. She knew full well what she looked like and could look like if she gave it an effort. Frankly, she didn't care. There was a time and place to give a flying flip about appearance and this was not it.

Perhaps she could have spared the energy for the girl's face, but she didn't.

If Dian wanted to do a risky mission like this, Esmeralda wouldn't shield her from the grittiness of it. Best to make her think twice before the next one.

Still, she couldn't help but to crack a grim smile at Dian's last comment. "I had faster teachers." She considered the woman for a moment before asking tactfully. "You have magic in you, why don't you use it more?"

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"Because it's not the same bloody thing now is it?" Dianaimh said, her tone cross. "I specialise in controlling and summoning. I know some battle magic but I never bothered learning things like you did back there". She gave up trying to smooth her face and let her hands drop with a shudder. "It's like I'm a craftswoman and you're....a labourer? I have my own focus to worry about".

She rose and brushed dirt off her torn robes, more out of habit than anything else. "Maybe when I'm a withered old hag I'll bother to learn it. What was I going to do against that trap? Blast fire at it?"

 

[Esme]

"Really?" Esmeralda challenged softly. "Cause you look more like a hapless peasant to me. Nobles don't let their gifts wither. At least not where I come from." She shrugged, as if saying 'Im not really judging you that much.' But she totally was.

She glanced around them, searching for traps but finding this room blissfully clear. "And yes," she answered belatedly, glancing over her shoulder. "That's exactly what you should do. Fire. A lot of it. It sends you propelling forward, you know." And right into safety. Esmeralda would have done it herself, but it used far much less of her type of magic to send telekinetic bursts off for propulsion instead.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"Well we'll see who looks better in a century's time. I know I'll still look perfect" Dianaimh declared, "Your efforts to the contrary". She felt like she'd had the shit kicked out of her. The telekinetic bursts hadn't been gentle about getting them out of the danger zone.

She put her hands on her hips, glaring at her companion. "O splendid that you inform me of that now. Hindsight is wonderful, isn't it?". She gave another shuddering moan as she looked at her fingers, lamenting the state of her nails. "The things we do for knowledge" she muttered.

"Right" her voice was stronger now, "If you're finished with the backchat girl, would you mind inspecting the next room?"

 

[Esme]

"I wouldn't have to give you that information if you had given your powers any bit of experimentation yourself. I mean really, do you rile on your skeleton people to do everything for you?" She quipped dismissively.

She walked forward confidently, gesturing that Dian could comfortably doing the same. "At least we know what to expect now. You woulda thought they'd be worried about these going off on their own people..." She mused and then shook her head.


"Either way, you're right," she stated vaguely.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"I'm sorry but I can't recall asking for a lecture. Did I by chance hire the Archmage of Elbion? O forgive me madam" Dianaimh said with a mocking bow. "I'm a lady, others do things for me so I don't have to. To control something beyond the point of death is...indescribable. I could slit your throat here and watch you bleed out. Your corpse would still rise at my command to do as I bid".

She gave a laugh, "Not that I would considering I still have this nightmare to travel through. Those dead I raised were the ones who dug us in here". She seemed uncomfortable now as Esmeralda confessed her own misgivings. "Well perhaps I wasn't as open on that front as I should have been. That ward that Ragna smashed....well this ruin was sealed from the outside. These traps are as much to keep something in as it is to keep us....out".

It was a bit much to spring on someone after they'd already travelled into its depths but she'd been afraid her companion would flat out refuse to go in if she'd been told the truth at the start.

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda stopped short, her head slowly turning to glare down Dian with nothing short of rippling tension.

"What?"

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh was suddenly aware of what a dangerous situation she was in. She was alone underground in a room with an angry mage. The only known way to the surface was blocked with poisonous magic and she was sore and bruised. She took a deep breath to stay calm but she let her hands drop, fingers flexing. Words of power lingered in her mind, waiting for the other to make her move. She wasn't sure she'd be fast enough if the blonde decided to blast her with more of her force magic.

"This isn't just an ordinary ruin. The elves sealed something away here, centuries ago. The wards and traps are to keep it here and us out".

She tried to laugh it off, "But I mean we have a reason to press on. There's bound to be another way out of here".

 

[Esme]

"And. We're. Letting. It. Out. Why?" She asked through gritted teeth, the seething tension in her barely contained.

For the moment.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"I didn't say we would!" Dianaimh protested, "We are just here to take what's valuable and then we can leave without disturbing anything else".

She shrugged, "And besides...if something does awaken...well you'll be able to take care of it, won't you?"