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Silver stood there, at the mouth of the cave, for a moment, blinking with that look of annoyed confusion on his face as Athan began to walk away. His stance widened, and he raised his fists over his head in frustration.

"That's it?! Whatever?! Hey, where are you going?! Don't you even..."

Silver let out an exasperated sigh, arms dropping and shoulders slumping. He apparently hadn't heard Rage's complaining or Kael's musings. He straightened back up, scratching at the back of his now hood-free head with a smirk on his face.

Great. All that effort crossing this stupid desert, and he probably doesn't even remember what happened...

As one of the other traveling companions approached from behind, Silver turned to him with a grin on his face.

"Hey, Hell of--"

He stopped mid-sentence and his eyes widened the instant he got a better look the man. That green hair, those scars...

RAGE. But that means... if that other guy is...

Silver slowly turned his head and eyes to the only remaining member of the group. He'd already identified this one some ways out, catching glimpses of his face here and there. He didn't know him well, but they had at least seen one another before...

KAEL. Then that means...

Silver had started this journey knowing for certain that Athan lead it. It was the reason he had signed on, albeit anonymously to keep from alerting anyone of his presence. Not long after they'd set out, he'd learned of Kael's involvement. Encountering the two of them again together so soon was a little more than he had expected, but no big deal. But now, Rage, too?!

"You gotta be kidding me."

The words were spoken quite low, muttered by Silver to himself more than anyone. They might have been easy to miss, but one would have heard them had they been listening.

FRACTURE. He had somehow wound up traveling with the majority of the team that had been his own team's biggest rivals in the most recent Heaven or Hell tournament. Perhaps it was irony or a just cruel twist of fate that none of them were the single member of the team his was looking for. Still...

The smirk returned to Silver's face. He folded one arm under the other, the opposite hand wrapping around his own chin, and shut his eyes in quiet contemplation.

This may have actually worked out better than I could have hoped...

As he stood there, chuckling to himself, however, the other members of the expedition, the real reason they were here, had begun to venture into the cave without him. To make matters worse, Silver could almost feel his skin begin to sizzle in the hot sun, no longer protected under the cowl of the robes he had been given. The direct desert sunlight and his pale complexion just didn't mix. He took off after his companions, finally beginning their spelunking adventure.

"H-Hey! Wait for me!"

While it seemed that others were content to remove their robes within the cave to adapt to the temperature, Rage did no such thing.

No sun, plus sweat, plus cold air within the cave. He might as well have been sitting in a freezer compared to everyone else. He did do everyone the service of removing his hood, cracking his neck from one side to the next as he tended to do. In fact, it seemed he had come to the same realization that Silver had - finally taking the time to realize who else was here besides Athan, it was like an almost-team reunion - which was potentially more deadly than the desert and cave combined. "Ugh...."

His face and hair matted down with sweat, he pulled the robes around himself, seeming to actually shiver. "D-d-dammit, I knew I shouldn't have signed up for this...." He briefly considered his usual trick of heating the water enough to create steam, but he was pretty sure nobody wanted him to turn the place into a sweat-scented sauna. Besides, it's not like a little cold air ever hurt anyone.

... except him.

He shifted the pack on his back and foraged on.

There had been another among them that Athan hadn't noticed, and with good reason. The creepy monk hadn't said a single word the entire trip. For all Athan knew, the guy was just part of the guide's crew, hired to cart supplies and then leave with the rest of the group. Count him surprised when he turned back while inside the cave, now becoming fully aware of Ruby's presence.

He didn't really respond when he saw the pink-haired man, keeping his surprise masked by a stoic expression. He wasn't going to just kick the guy out for having an unfamiliar face, but he wasn't going to be overly welcoming, either. For a party leader, Athan was almost uncomfortably quiet. To him this was a business trip, not a team-building exercise.

The silence in the cave was hardly any different than that of the desert, but it weighed far more heavily on Athan the deeper they got in. Every successive step without a clue was met with a loss of hope. The darkness wasn't helping matters, either. To his credit, Athan managed to lead the party deep into the cave without falling into one bottomless pit or sharp ravine.

The hammering caught his attention, and Athan came to a sudden halt.

"Well..."

Athan put a hand on the cave wall and turned back towards his crew.

"Anyone have a good reason to not follow that noise?"

Kael eyed Rage levely while he rattled off his list of the possible video-game boss-monsters for this cave, rearranging the robes while he walked. It was all wrapped up about his stuff, and it would be useful on the way back, so instead of struggling out of it he was simply peeling it away from his torso and wrapping it about his waist, hanging down around him, parted for his hilt to poke through, like some kind of overlong cloth tasset. Not that a cloth tasset would be a great deal of help. But with that out of the way he tugged down the makeshift mask as the air became cooler and damper, letting the hat hang back behind his head. There was no way to miss who he was now, at least.

"...well. All we got, anyway."

It didn't really seem they had much choice but to go on- it wasn't as if they were in a labyrinth, there was just the path ahead so far. What he was concerned about though, wasn't following a hammering toward monsters, but unstable tunnels.

Because you know what happens if rocks fall.

Upon examination though, things did seem fairly sturdy, at least so far. It was lacking in stalactites and stalagmites, or other natural formations except a few loose stones and leaks where water came in. Considering someone was taking up residence and hammering deeper inside, he supposed it would make sense that the earlier tunnel be secured, but instead of putting in wooden beams someone had simply carved the tunnel out and fixed any imperfections there had been in the stone.

That, at least, seemed mildly strange. Then again, they were out in the middle of a desert pursuing someone from a dream. Strange had entered into it a long time ago. What bothered him was not so much the hammering, as a hum... it wasn't organic sounding, and that meant either electricity, or some kind of magic. And he didn't see lights and cables strung along the walls.

"So let's have a look."

Athan may have been the leader, but Kael stepped right on ahead, setting a leather gloved hand the the wall and marching slowly further in, watching his step and peering ahead as if he could pick out whatever was making the sound out sooner that way.

The sound would continue as they approached. However with the new light provided by Ruby everyone would be able to get a little better handle on their surroundings. As Kael had noticed the hallways were indeed free of stalagmites and all those things that are normally in natural caves. In fact the walls went beyond simply hollowed out in some places... Smoothed, though obviously quite some time ago. In fact it looked like someone had gone through the trouble to expose a few carvings. A language that nobody there would be able to speak or read, but perhaps Kael and Athan would find strangely familiar.



The sound was getting louder, the halls were becoming more uniform. More care had been taken to read what they said. This place was becoming less natural and more like some sort of lost ruins. But then there was another sound. A very loud, rhythmic thumping. Walking. Stomping maybe. Tha-thunk. Tha-thunk. Tha-thunk. Clearly something slightly larger. Worse still, something that had taken some other tunnel and now was echoing through the long hall right behind them.

In the distance behind them there was a faint purple glow. In front darkness.

Slowly it would come into focus. It seemed rather cramped in the cave, the almost humanoid silhouette seemed bulkier than normal, save for the part it looked like you could see through it in places. As it got closer it would look as if it was slightly shifting. Tha-thunk. Tha-thunk. Tha-thunk. Closer still, growing larger, obviously made of stone. A golem of sort. Floating rocks tethered together by dark chain, and soft purple energies supporting and animating the figure. It looked more loosely connected than the generic golem, as if without the chain the stones that made up it would fly in all sorts of directions, but without the energy it would fall to a pile of shapeless rocks. Strength wasn't an issue. It was carrying the crates left at the entrance, one over each shoulder.

Tha-thunk. Tha-thunk. Tha...

A stone head noticed something as it continued down the hall, five somethings. Two glowing purple "eyes" looked down on the adventures. It stood there. Ruby would be practically at the things feet how close it stopped. Stark and still behind them.

Ruby's body felt the tremor. His ears heard the thumping noise of something loud and sturdy making its way toward them. The fact that it was growing louder and louder in the direction behind him caused him to change his face some to that of worry, while still maintaining the cool look with his eyes. He turned his head, and would slowly see the monstrosity of rocks coming into visibility. He saw the animation of the rocks within the field of purplish magic, staring at the thing as it towered over him like the golem it was. He was facing it entirely now, hands in his pocket, and trying to stay as much as a badass as possible. Ruby was a guy who didn't want to show much weakness, while also having his laid-back personality keep him from showing too much emotion. In short, he cared somewhat about appearances to other people.

"Aren't you huge," Ruby said as he looked up at the thing. His left hand fidgeted with the beads in his pockets, awaiting for the chance to take action, should the need arise. Though the leader of the group spoke up, making Ruby just stand and wait to see what happens.

As the group had entered the cave, Silver pulled off the heavy, itchy cloak issued by their guide, and discarded it inside, not far from the entrance. A bit careless perhaps, as they probably were going to need them again should their adventure take them back out into the desert, sweltering day ore freezing night, and they wouldn't necessarily be leaving the cave the same way they had entered it. Maybe it was the crates that had been left there? Still, these weren't things Silver thought about, or seemed particularly concerned with. He was just happy to be out of the hot sun and in the cool cave.

The cool, wet air of the damp, dark cave was a welcome change of environs. Even being a fire-type and resistant to similar effects, Silver tended to prefer cooler locales to warmer ones. He "ran hot" as it were, after all, and found it easier to warm himself up than cool himself off.

Once the cloaks were off, the others would get the sense that adequately preparing for this sort of adventure or journey wasn't a concept Silver really got. Aside from the extra water he had brought in the form of a small, strawed-equipped barrel around his neck, and what extra rations (read: snacks) he had stuffed in his pockets, the young man was rather casually dressed, sporting a t-shirt, light, loose pants, and sneakers. He didn't carry and visible weapons or tools to speak of, and he certainly didn't wear any sort of armor. He looked more prepared for a day out hanging with friends than he did any sort of incredibly dangerous expedition.

As they began their short trek into the dark, Silver kept himself at about the middle of the group. Whether this was a tactical decision to keep himself protected on all sides, or that he just didn't want to be that far away from any of them should they become lost remained to be seen. As the walked, his gaze shifted about to each party member, front and behind, obviously more concerned about who he was with rather than where they were or where they were going. Besides, Athan had that covered right?

Silver almost brought himself to speak several times, opening his mouth and drawing breath, but in the end remaining silent. The antisocial atmosphere of the group was starting to bother him, and there were things he had wanted to ask each member of Fracture. Probably all on subjects they could have easily guessed. And now he was lucky enough to have encountered them all in one place. But given the circumstances, it probably wasn't a good time. There was stuff he wanted to know, but he also knew when to keep his trap shut. And there was another now... some sort of strange desert monk. Silver's eyes would occasionally shift to glance at him. He was as quiet as the rest of them, but was also leaving weird marks on the floor. Maybe he was with the guide's crew? Regardless, Silver decided to let him be.

The further they got in, the scarcer light got. It was a cave after all, and being unexpected company, it didn't look as if anyone had been kind enough to leave lighted torches to guide their path. Even as the monk came up with his own light trick, almost out of habit, Silver rose his left hand and ignited it, the whole of the appendage becoming enveloped in brilliant platinum flame. It gave off a little heat, sure, but not much more than that of a similar sized torch, and now at least they would probably be able to adequately see with two light sources. Like the monk's, Silver's light would emit in a small radius around the group, casting the walls and floor in a flickering pale white more like a flash light than the orange of a standard torch.

After walking a little further, Silver was almost startled when Athan stopped, and turned to speak to them. Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't really been paying attention, failing to even notice the steadily growing noises from the cave.



Silver just smirked. He was about to open his mouth with some smart alecky reply when:



"Tch."

A scoff was all Silver could manage as his brow furrowed and one eye began to twitch. Comic relief? Wasn't that his job? Rage was going to steal his bit now, too? The dynamics of this party were going to get real interesting real fast...

As Kael led them on and Athan moved to catch up to him amidst the ever increasing in volume and strangeness sounds, Silver just muttered to himself.

"I was going to say our imminent deaths... not that that would stop guys like us..."

Lost in his own annoyed little world, Silver probably would have been the last of them to realize they had company, only noticing after Athan shouted something, and seeing everyone else had stopped and turned around. As Silver slowly turned to face the same way as the rest of them, his eyes widened. Before them was what appeared to be a large, magically constructed and animated golem. He had never seen one face to face before, and it was actually kind of cool.

His amazement soon turned to alarm, however, when he noticed what it was carrying.

"Hey! "

He struck a dramatic pose and pointed his still burning finger at the creature, the silvery flames whipping about in the darkness and shifting the shadows around them.

"That thing's got our crates!"

Of course, what did that really mean? The guide had left the crates at the entrance, right? Was the thing sent to help them, or was it stealing them? Silver had really just hoped someone else knew after he pointed it out. Still, it seemed no one else felt the need to jump right into the action and attack the creature yet, so he, too, just stood his ground.