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Cat-like, Jenga landed hard on her hind paws, crouched and ready. That is, until someone landed on her. She tumbled to the rocky floor, rolling to cushion and catch whomever had tumbled onto her. Her attention was distracted from the rescue, though, by coming whiskers-to-feelers with one of the glowbugs. Her pupils widened until her eyes were nearly totally black, and for a moment it seemed as if her tail might actually fluff out in startlement.

With a yowl she scrambled up onto her feet, peering down at the little wormy that was so much smaller than herself. Her sensibilities returned swiftly, and her tail remained its normal size. Ears swiveling in interest, she hunkered back down to whiskers-to-feelers level with it, nose quivering. With one slender hand, she reached to poke the rather inane looking little thing gently. Honestly, she wanted to see if it was as wiggly and soft as it appeared. It almost looked like something she could squish into a new form if she so chose, though upon touching it, that idea rather fled her mind. It seemed unlikely that a creature would care for being reformed in such an uncouth manner.

Arthas moved, skirting the edge of the rather large hole he found in front of himself. Vague voices rose upwards to him and a smirk settled across his face. They had fallen in which gave him the opportunity to get ahead of the group he had seen from a distance. Helping them was the last thing that would have occurred to him.

Stepping back, the ghostling moved along the edge until he felt the ground was solid enough. Then he began moving northwards again. He came out of the trees noting a small open space ahead. For an instant, Arthas hesitated focusing on the things around him before stepping forwards.

The ground suddenly crumbled beneath his feet. Attempting to prevent himself falling, the ghostling tried to shove his blade into the side to prevent falling. The soil collapsed as soon as the weapon touched it and Arthas found himself falling intot he depths below and his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

The fall was not too bad. His father's tail cushioned most of the landing. Rolling to his feet, Hawke glanced around at the walls. Strange shadows were everywhere and a slight grin crossed his expression. He liked this place.

"I'm fine, Dad." he stated moving forwards to stare at the worms. Reaching out he held his finger in front of one's face. Its tentacles seemed to stretch slightly as they then wrapped around the appendage. "It's almost like its measuring my finger." He grinned as it crawled into his hand and traveled up his arm.

"It tickles." he giggled as it climbed higher. Hawke suddenly gasped as he watched it. "It has no eyes and it's changing colors. It looks more like me." He tried to coax another to see if it too would change, but they all refused as the first settled onto his shoulder. "Hm... the others won't let me touch them."

"Strange... " Hawke shrugged, petting the one he had. Corviy and his dad's crows dropped down into the darkness, Clipper landing beside the worm on Valkon's shoulder. The rest landed on the ground but stared into the darkness ahead. They were unaccustomed to such. Corviy gave a nervous shuffle as Hawke coaxed him onto his arm.

Touma frowned but then laughed softly. "I knew you would when you were ready." He watched the other two ghostlings. The worms were changing color. At least the ones they held. "We will most likely remain this way for awhile. That purple one is the only one I've seen that is larger than this."

He turned to stare upwards a few moments. Thankfully he had left Priscilla and Ember in the attic where it was safe. He would not have wanted to risk their safety in this dark place. And Priscilla liked to remain clean and unmussed anyhow.

His gaze was caught by the worms as he turned to face the only way forwards. It changed to match him more. Now it was greens and pale grey. He smiled slightly as it crawled up his sleeve more. "I suppose I should pick a name for it, but I don't really suppose it matters yet."

Turning to watch the movement on the walls by the other worms, Touma said, I wonder if they can show us the way out. Too much to hope for I guess."


(( OOC.... You should each now have a worm of your own. Enjoy. Here is some basic information about the worms. You will not automatically know this but need to figure it out in some way by observing their actions. Remember all other ghostworms will look as the first image and be all blue. The cavern and tunnels will all glow this blue though the bonded alphas will be different.

They have no visible eyes, but are able to sense the things around them based on the energy they give off because it is different than the crystal energy around them.

They do NOT speak. Ever. Their language is a series of high pitched squeaks that noone can understand, with the exception of two ghostlings who can possibly figure such out.

To protect themselves, their homes, and each other, they look over intruders, assess the threat, and react. To do this, only the alpha worms are able to call all those within a ten foot radius around them to merge together to form a much larger worm. This huge worm will squeak much louder which is painful to those who can hear and it causes fear for 15 seconds sometimes even causing the enemy to turn and run.

To show a bond to a ghostling, the alpha worms will change slightly in color. ONLY the alphas can bond and only ONE will bond to a ghostling.

They are neither male nor female, but began as bits of discarded ghostling essence to small and inert to do much with.

They are immune to the crystal in the tunnel from being around it who knows how long.



There will be more details but they are for later so as not to spoil the rest of the plot. Take good care of your worm. No others will have them unless there is a specific reason for such. Enjoy and take good care of them. ))

Zion
Wudeia
Valkon
Jenga
Hawke
Chai-Lyn
Fosull
Arthas
Touma

Zion shook his head as if to shake off the impact of the fall. He was very greatfull of Valkon for saving their lives... If the clock maker knew him, and he thought so good of the clock maker, than the clockmaker -had- to be good.

The fea moved along side of Hawke to inspect the glowing creatures. His eyes widened with delight as he looked at them.

One in particular caught his eye. The colors it had, it was amazing! And even more so when Zion let it crawl to his own finger. PURPLE! The incredible thing turned his favorite color! Zion laughed as he turned to Hawke.

"Look! Look, mine is different!" He chuckled and inspected the one crawling over Hawke.

Azshara headed toward the light taking a water route, she kept close enough to the shore that the little ghostling that had found it's way to her would be able to travel in haste as well. Soon the two found themselves moving away from the lights and sounds of the city, rolling hills and open countryside laid before them.

"Lets keep on this way, it looks as if the river leads to where the light landed," Azshara didn't bother to pause knowing Gossa would follow along with her. They hadn't been traveling all that much longer when the river split, one leading to a pool beneath a waterfall while the other meandered off away on it's own.

For a time the oversoul considered which way to continue when lights from beneath the fall caught her attention, frowning some Azshara moved forward. "There seems to be something this way...do you see the lights?"

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The others had not caught up with her as she assumed they would, turning Loa looked back to where she had seen Valkon in the distance with their children and random others.

"Well Vincent, lets see what the others have found." Loa might have left Valkon on his own but if there were troubles her children were involved as well, and well others might not believe it Loa did have maternal instincts, they just had to do with making bloody messes out of anything that threatened her young.

Heading back Loa noted the sound of water nearby she stepps over to explore the sound only to find that the ground was crumbling beneath her feet, "hold on Vincent..." gripping her skull so it would be mostly protected with the fall she tumbled down controlling the fall with a touch of power. Landing Loa's gaze went over the cave structure, "it seems I will need to locate the others..."

Valkon stopped at the top of the opening, glancing at the cavern before him. His eyes studied the place in a practiced way as if he had been there before. He had not, but he was intrigued and the gleam of interest sparkled in the gaze he gave the temple and area.

"I'm going inside." he smirked. "You can remain outside if you want or come in with me. I'll worry about a way out after I look around in there."

Swiftly he moved towards the doorway, gazing upwards at the feline carving the entire time. It was almost as if he could hear someone or something whispering to him. A feeling of being on the edge of his seat just when something rare was going to happen slipped down over him. It brought out a need in him that made him rather single-minded in purpose. Something awaited for him and he planned to find out what it was.

"Just be careful." he murmurred softly as he vanished beneath the door and into the dark opening. The worms moved inside as he did causing a scurrying of sound from other sources. Some things did not take well to their darkness being disturbed.

Valkon barely glanced at them as he continued going from room to room. The first room was large, spacious and perhaps once used as an audience room. Briefly he imagined various priests and people standing around praying or waiting to be heard by whatever king had once been here. His gaze took in the things lying about in the rubble, but nothing seemed to interest him. Moving towards the next door, the ghostling continued looking about.

Skeletons lay here and there, disjointed and incomplete. Marks of being chewed upon as well as simply decaying as time passed were upon them. He reached down to touch one only to have it crumble in his grasp. With a sigh, he dusted his hands off as he moved towards the next doorway. Perhaps some of the things in the other rooms would interest Hawke or even Fosull, but they held none for him. He had seen enough bones to know that most of those around him were nothing he was interested in. They were human. And not his.

As he stepped into the central room, Valkon looked about. The room itself was circular, a dais in the center. Rubble and broken pillars lay scattered about as if there had been a great battle here. An epic battle he decided as he looked around at the inside of the temple so smashed and in disarray. His foot scuffed against the broken pottery moving it out of place. The mark in the dust revealed such as he stirred up the air with the twitching of his tails.

It was then he saw the massive pile of bones in the center of the stone dais. A crumbling portion of throne lay sprawled backwards as if this royalty whomever he was had been attacked while sitting. A thought of betrayal slipped across Valkon as he approached it. For a moment he stared as if something were calling to him. For a moment it was all he could see. The great skull gazed back sightlessly at him, great dark holes for eyes drawing him in. The entity reached outwards, his hand wanting to touch whatever this was. He almost felt like he could see the betrayer, but it remained only a shadowy shape as his fingers glided across the bone gently.

A flash of dark power burst free, serpentine as it spiraled around his hand and up his arm. Valkon gasped as the enchantment rose upwards. A shiver ran through him as such power made itself known. What is this? A complete skeleton?! But of what? he managed to think before it held him still while reaching inside him to what it knew was there. Soon he was glowing entirely as the heated emotions of those bones touched him. The fierceness of a large predator slammed into him leaving him breathless as he tried to garner control over this influx of feeling. The death of the wolf at the hands of the hunters had been only a tickle in comparison to what he was beginning to understand now. Valkon was fully glowing now, lighting up the space afire with the magic he had been caught by.

Hawke glanced over at his father as he vanished inside. He looked back at Zion and the others. "I'm going in, Tai." he said as he shrugged. "Might find something good in there. You never know."

Moving forwards, he began to look around in one of the side rooms his father had bypassed. A crooked set of shelves stood haphazardly against the wall. Deciding to investigate it, he found a broken chest and would have simply pushed it aside to look at the other things there. Noting a faint gleam in the bottom, he shoved the dust away, causing himself to sneeze at its presence in the air.

"Achoo!" the echo resounded through the room and for a moment he blinked at the loudness in surprise. His hand caught on the metal, cold and smooth. His eyes focused on the shape of the bracelet, its dark violet and black gem gleaming in the reflection cast by the worms around him. An enchantment touched him as he studied the bit of jewelry and a faint smirk appeared on his face as he stood once more, the bangle in his hand. Slipping it on, he fixed the clasp tight. It was now his, but as he turned away, Hawke never noticed the shadows coming from the surface of the stone. He needed to find his father and there was nothing else of interest in the room for him.

Arthas walked quickly down the tunnel, noting that the worms on the wall were keeping pace with him. They could come in useful for this purpose he supposed as he thought about what he would find ahead. He needed a way out to get to his goal. For a brief moment he wondered if any of the others were here. Jaina and Kael'thas were two that he thought of before he shoved the idea of them away. He had better things to do than think of them. His bid had always been for power and to rule everything. And he still could, but first he needed to find his army of undead again. The fact that he was one did not even cross his mind as he moved forwards.

When he stepped into the larger cavern, the ghostling glanced over to see the violet yokai entering the building. This was not where they had all meant to go, but he could sense power within. Perhaps there was something useful for him there. Arthas silently calculated what he needed to do as he began moving forwards. Striding down the hallway from the side facing him, Arthas barely noted the feline shape above the door as he entered the darkness within. Indeed he had noted the other doors and the same image was displayed above them all.

It was then he saw him and scowled slightly. Magic surrounded the yokai as if he had been caught by some trap and yet as he watched, he saw the feline shape within the fell enchantment. A faint smirk curved his lips upwards. A fool to be caught so. Arthas simply watched.

Touma glanced towards the temple itself and then at the tunnels indicated. "It might be prudent to check this place out. If there is something there, we do not want it surprising us later." But then he understood that Chai was afraid. "Don't worry. I think the three of us can handle whatever comes our way. And I think our worm friends might help. They have been so far.

He glanced at the temple again and noted the garden courtyard just behind a couple broken archwayrs. "Instead of going in, let's see what is in that garden. Well, the remains of one anyhow. We might find a window where we can look inside. It would be a bit safer than going straight inside." It seemed a good compromise for them. And perhaps there would be something of interest in the glowing plants he could just see within the area.

Valkon was ensnared as he stared at the image before him and he barely heard the voice nearby. There was no reply from him. Not yet as he could not speak. He was feeling too much as the magic wrapped around both of them and he understood as the primal urges for revenge and retribution settled into him. Eyes almost feline watched him for a long moment, then it wrapped entirely around him, almost overwhelming and sinking him inside its thoughts. Then as if he had suddenly been found worthy, Valkon blinked gasping as it sank into him instead. For a long moment he continued to glow, dropping to his knees amidst the bones still there.

Then he changed, tails lashing as he became a large feline. A snarl ripped free of his jaws as his eyes flashed in fury and teeth gnashed in his jaws. He understood that this one had been betrayed by those he had loved. A large paw whipped outwards hitting the ground. The bones suddenly crumbled to dust as the feline snarled again.

At the sound of the voice asking him who he was, Valkon turned his eyes towards the ghostling. He could play with this one, but instead it might amuse him more to reply. Focusing, he released the shape of the feline he had become as the bones and spirit had been absorbed. Soon all that was left was a white powder that seemed to sink into the very earth disappearing within seconds. He had not expected such and he laughed as he reshaped into himself, but then he was not entirely himself as he had been. The yokai noted changes in himself. He was far larger than he had been and there was a power coursing through him such that he had never felt before. It was comparable to what Az had marked him with, but still, it was different.

A wicked laugh echoed through the hall. "Perhaps I should be asking you that." Valkon smirked. "Did you get trapped here like everyone else has?" He flexed his fingers. He felt so much stronger. So much.

Valkon was sure he had been waiting on him, sitting in that throne alone for centuries perhaps longer. The yokai could almost see the place as it had once been, the glowing gardens and burnished marble when it had all been new. He would come back to this place. Perhaps even live here.

(( OOC Valkon is now legend. I just could not resist doing it this way. Afterall it's not everyday one can find a dead demigod although he does not know he is one yet. ))

Kai

Kai floated up and blinked his eyes. He wasn't sure what was going on or where he was. He floated around when he was distracted by a light blue glow. It was in the river. He floated over to it and was swept up and away with the light that he now saw belonged to a lantern with a whispling like him holding it.