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Flashlight?

Check.

Grappling hook?

Check.

Rope for attaching to said hook?

Check.

Multi-purpose miniature explosives?

Check.

Delicious snacks, bottled water, chalk, flint, batteries, bandages, and rifle?

“Check, check, check, and check!” Kursha gave his rifle a twirl before thrusting it into the holster over his shoulder. Tonight was the night! He had been over his list several times already, checking and rechecking for anything that he might have missed. Anything could be inside those ruins - traps, monsters, gaping chasms, rickety bridges, pools of hot, bubbling lava* - and Kursha was determined to be prepared. There would be no going back once inside. Anything worth doing was only worth doing if he could get it right.

He looked up to where the Colonel roosted. She had situated herself on an outcropping ledge that gave her a panoramic view of the landscape below. Her sharp eyes were likely already probing the forest canopy for potential signs of danger. Kursha threw a salute.

“Colonel!” he called. “I'm going in. I'll report back in one hour!”

The lusus turned her long, serpentine neck around to face him. She made no sound, but instead stared the young troll down, eyes unblinking. Kursha fought the urge to fidget under that critical gaze. The colonel would notice even the slightest of movements and reprimand him for it. After a moment, she gave what looked like a curt nod then turned away again. Kursha breathed a sigh of relief. Though tests like that were a normality in his daily life, he hated them fervently. Still, the punishment the Colonel dealt out was far worse, so for the most part Kursha kept his mouth shut and held his anger close to his heart.

Just before Kursha stepped inside, he witnessed the Colonel raise her wings and then glide silently into the night sky, presumably to go hunting. Spitefully, he made a rude gesture at her receding silhouette. It was a good thing the entrance to the ruins was too small for her to comfortably fit through, or she might have sucked all the fun out of the expedition.

Glad to finally get a move on, Kursha pulled his torch from his backpack and pointed it inside the narrow opening, where the moonlight could not penetrate. The beam of light revealed a row of pillars as well as a pile of rubble near the left wall. Kursha shouldered his bag. “Here goes,” he murmured, then ducked inside.

*It was highly improbably that there would be lava beneath Busthind's icy peaks, but it was exciting to think about regardless.

[+] Kursha Vidari

The gap in the mountainside was maybe twice his height but very slender. There was just barely enough room for him to walk without his shoulders brushing against the tapered walls. Loose gravel crunched beneath his sandals. About six meters deep, the hole suddenly opened up into a medium sized chamber with a high ceiling. It was not a natural cave formation; the walls had been carved out and the floor was smooth. On the right side of the chamber stood three unadorned stone pillars stood. On the left there was only one, and half on another. The third pillar lay across the floor along with the shattered remains of half the other. Straight ahead was a smaller passage with steps leading downward. Where they led to though, Kursha could not be sure. The moonlight only reached so far.

Creeping forward, he flicked on his flashlight and shone it down the stairs. There were only about ten steps before the landing. The rest of the flight continued to the left, down and out of sight. Kursha had placed a sandalled foot on the step when suddenly he heard voices. Or rather a single voice. Someone was coming.

He turned, eyes darting to the pillars behind him. Making an instantaneous decision, he killed the power on his light and dove for a pillar. His eyesight had not quite adjusted though. In his haste he kicked at a piece of rubble. The stone block went clattering towards the entrance. Kursha hissed and bit his tongue to keep from crying out. For all his preparation, he had forgotten that sandals made really impractical spelunking footwear.

He tucked himself behind the middle pillar on the right. As he watched the entrance, he rubbed at his sore toe with his other foot. Really! To forget something so vital was so stupid!

[+] Kursha Vidari

For a moment Kursha saw a silhouette in the cave mouth; it was another troll, one that was maybe smaller than himself. He could make out little else though as the figure quickly retreated into the cool shadows of the cave. He tried to still his fast beating blood pusher. It seemed likely that someone else had seen him enter and decided to follow. For what reason though, Kursha could not imagine. He forced himself to take deep, slow breaths. If he stayed calm, he could take his opponent by surprise. Sooner or later they would screw up...

Off to his right there was a sudden clattering sound.

Like that.

Kursha sprang into action. Pulling his rifle down from over his shoulder, he leapt towards the origin of the noise. “Ha!” he laughed triumphantly. “I've found you out, you... whoa!” Where he expected to crash into a person, he only met air. Losing his balance he pitched forward. Then he stepped on a pebble. His foot slipped. He was falling. In an attempt to save himself, he dropped his gun and flung his arm out to grab at... at anything. The weapon clattered somewhere nearby. Kursha meanwhile crashed to the ground in an undignified heap.

[+] Kursha Vidari

s**t s**t s**t s**t s**t s**t s**t s**t s**t!

That was so ******** stupid! He had made a buffoon of himself and lost his gun in the process. He could just die he was so embarrassed. And maybe he would depending on the type of company he had. Somehow that did not seem to make his situation any better though. Death in humiliation was not quite the way he expected to go.

Fortunately his opponent did not seem particularly interested in him yet. Instead she had located his rifle. Kursha tensed when he heard her speak. That gun belonged to him. The thought of someone else's grubby hands all over it... He swallowed his anger and his pride. Acting hastily could get him killed. He needed to play it cool.

Dusting himself down, Kursha got to his feet. “You bet...” he began and was promptly talked over. His opponent left no room for him to get in a word edgewise. Kursha was thankful that his scowl was hidden in the dark. “Provided you know how to use one,” he responded, tone irritable when she finished. Oops. He was supposed to be acting nice; not giving his opponent ammunition. Especially not when she had a gun and real ammunition.

He tried again. “There might be something in here. Or there might not,” he said. He sounded much more amicable. “Either way I like to be prepared. Now, if you don't mind? I'll get the light.” Kursha rummaged around his pack, and a moment later clicked on his flashlight. He shined it towards the other troll, appraising her.

[+] Kursha Vidari

Kursha made a disapproving sound in the back of his throat, as he swept his torch over her symbol. It was difficult to tell in the pale light light, but it almost looked like her blood colour was slightly greener than his own. He stared at it a moment longer, squinting. Without a direct comparison he could not be sure, but just the thought ticked him off. By such a marginal amount too! It was so unfair.

“Hm...” Shining the torch back on her face, Kursha considered the chatty troll before him. Whatever her blood colour was, he had lucked out in one regard: she was an idiot. Idiots were his favourite kind of person. Supposing there was some trap he could not bypass without assistance? Someone like her could prove useful. Someone... expendable. First though, he had to get his gun back.

Kursha grinned at the other troll. “Seems like fun. Why not? I'm Kursha.” He offered a hand—the one that was not holding the flashlight. “ Kursha Vidari, gunslinger, explorer and master of traps.” He paused for a moment to let that sink in. Even if she was an idiot, it was important to impress; maybe even more so.

With formalities complete, or at the very least their names traded, Kursha deposited his rucksack on the floor. Crouching down, he held the light so he could see inside. “Pass me back my rifle and I'll get you an flashlight. Promise I won't shoot.” He winked.

[+] Kursha Vidari

Kursha rolled his eyes. His new companion sure liked to talk; he was beginning to regret having invited her along. But maybe had he not, she might have tried to follow him anyway. Then where would he be? He supposed he could have disposed of her in a more dramatic fashion but that would be a waste of bullets. Besides, he had already decided that given the right circumstance she might be useful. Not to mention he had given his promise—why did he do that? And why did she have to be so damn chatty?!

Having located his spare flashlight, Kursha pulled the drawstring on his bag and slung it back over his shoulders. “Huh. Sounds like stealing to me,” he remarked, unimpressed. “Here.” He passed her the flashlight in exchange for his rifle. “Remember to watch your step. Although I guess if you're as good at avoiding traps as you say, you should have no problem, right~?” Flashing her a sharktooth grin, Kursha turned and started down the steps.

For over a minute, the only thing their lights illuminated were the walls of a lonely, stone corridor. Kursha did his best to tune out Luxara's idle chatter, eyes scanning the sides of the passageway for anything that looked out of place. So far he had seen nothing unusual. A little below eye level a repeating pattern of angular groves ran along the walls. Spaced intermittently above the groves were brackets for torches, but the torches themselves were long gone. Below their feet the floor was smooth and small clouds of dust fled out from under their every step.

At last they came to a place where the passageway split. Curiously, the walls did not reach the ceiling, which had opened up to the roof of what looked like an enormous cavern, complete with stalactites. Without any frame of reference, it was hard to tell but Kursha estimated that the ceiling was about sixty feet up. The walls only reached maybe a quarter of that. As he swept his flashlight from left to right, he noticed that the walls had depictions of various wild beasts on them. Scuff marks scratched the floor. Strange.

“Hm...” He considered the path before him. After a moment, he unhitched his rucksack and pulled out a piece of chalk. He drew an arrow on the wall. “We'll follow to the right,” he said, slipping the chalk in his pocket. Without waiting for a reply, he stared down to the right. It was a short passageway that quickly curved to the left. As Kursha peered cautiously around the corner he snorted.

“Amateur,” he remarked, shining his torch over a faintly glinting tripwire. He passed his light down the rest of the passage. It illuminated nothing more than tiled floor and a continuation of the animal murals along the walls. “Watch your step,” he advised, stepping over the wire and onto the tiled floor beyond.

[+] Kursha Vidari

“Maybe,” Kursha mumbled, swinging the light of his torch over the walls. His eyes darted from one image to another. Maybe there was some kind of pattern, a clue that once deciphered would reveal to them what secrets lie ahead. A moment later he seemed to register Luxara's words. He let out a short bark of laughter. “Why? You scared?” he asked, flashing her a grin. It would be fun he if could rattle her.

Still, there was something to be said for this greenblood. Avoiding a trip wire was easy, but she had taken care to make sure that her coat did not catch on it. That made him think that she had experience. Perhaps she was more than hot air.

“Oh please,” Kursha said, rolling his eyes. “This place is ancient. The traps can't be that sophisticated. Besides...” He thumbed back towards the wire trap. “What kind of trap master would open with something like that? It's like warning intruders to keep their lookstubs open. Come on.”

Careful to avoid the dummy tiles that Luxara had pointed out, Kursha continued down the hall. As he did, from somewhere there was a faint click, so quiet that it might have been a drop of falling water. He immediately froze, straining his sponge clots. Aside from the sound his breathing, it was silent. Everything was still. After a moment he shrugged it off as nothing. His thinkpan must have been playing tricks on him.

Up ahead, the path split into two again. Pulling out his chalk, Kursha drew another arrow and took them to the right. Aside from a pressure plate and a couple of thin slits in the walls, which the pair avoided with ease, there were no other traps. It was almost disappointing.

“So,” Kursha began, breaking the silence. “You said you've never been to the mountains before. It's kind of a weird place to vacation, don't you think? Cold, lonely, desolate... I guess if you're into skiing...” He rolled his eyes to emphasise his contempt for the sport. “But it's not all bad. There's a lot of excitement if you know where to look. Old ruins, bandits, wendigores, lost tombs like this... oh. Dead-end.”

They had indeed reached a dead end. There seemed to be no reason for it. The passage just suddenly stopped. On pure impulse, Kursha scratched an 'X' into the wall. While redundant, it did make it feel more official. Unperturbed by their lack of headway, Kursha turned to go back the way they came. When they reached where the path had initially split, he drew an 'X' over his previous arrow, and drew another arrow going the opposite way.

The second passage had no traps at all, though it wound back and forth in a tight zigzag. Kursha feigned a yawn. “This is sad. Do you think they expected the first few traps to take out any intruders?” If that was the case, then this was turning out to be a complete waste of his time. Any idiot could dodge traps of that low caliber. Any treasure this place held would be long gone.

“Oh! Over there!” Kursha skipped on ahead. They had reached another dead-end but at the base of the wall there was an object of interest. Or rather several objects; a skeleton to be exact. “Looks like you were right about there being something in here,” he sniggered. “Too bad it's already dead.” He picked up a snapped rib for examination. Though light, it was longer than his entire arm. Whatever creature had died here had been a monster. Secretly he was a little relieved not to face it. There was no way he would ever admit that though.

“Well, nothing for it but to retrace our steps and take the other way.” Chucking the bone behind him, Kursha started back down the winding passage. Aside from the occasional remark from Luxara, the trip was uneventful. Kursha drew another 'X' over his arrow when they reached it, and then lead the the way around the dummy tiles and back over the tripwire. As he turned the corner to the right though, he frowned. There was the first arrow he had drawn, and up ahead, the path continued like before but...

“There should be a passage to the left here—the way back towards the entrance.”