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Items of interest: Shadow Puppet Tome

After leaving Obsidian city and splitting from the Oblivionite patrol, Malta had kept to the coast for the most part. When the coastline became cliffs that she didn't trust her claws to cross safely, she moved to the sparse forest that loomed above them, dangerous and quiet. She felt different now, after her long stay in the city: a little more confident, a little braver.

An Oblivionite now bore a mark – a special mark that signified his growth as a person – because of her. He would wear it for the rest of his life.

She wore the mark in her soul, and the memory of her importance to someone made her feel...

Good.

She had learned a lot in the city, but she was happy to return home, though she didn't know when the tribe had become anything like the home she'd had back in the Terra Expanse.

That had, though, been a long time ago, a fading memory. Perhaps it was time to think of the tribe's lands as home; either way, she was going back there.

After some walking, the forest changed abruptly; no longer the hardy, glowing 'vibrance' of the fungus and resiliant trees but something stranger, more ominous. Gnarled stumps and dead saplings grasped from the ground like hands, and she could feel a strange malevolence hanging over the land, a feeling of redness like the blood moon itself.

Malta looked at it pensively. Dare she cross it? Dare she investigate? A cruel laugh behind her, and a burning sensation at her feet: she looked back to see a troupe of yvhazi grinning their nasty grins at her.

“Go away!” she yelped, as they cast another fire spell at her, howling with laughter as she danced at the pain, “Stop it!”

“Run.” one said in garbled Oblivionite, summoning a black-tinged fireball to its grasp.

Malta ran. It was only when their laugher died away into the distance, to be replaced with the screams of a Druagur, that she realized that she had been chased deeper into the area of malevolence. It was all around her now, hissing and laughing with the voice of the wind.

Malta adjusted her pack, not quite knowing what to do. She wasn't so confident, now.

Merikh stretched his wings out wide before giving them a little flutter, "So, you think that there is any actual truth to the story we heard?" He doubted it very highly, how often did ruins just vanish due to the time of year? It seemed fishy to him, a scary story that people told during the time of the 'Blood Moon' but as it stood there wasn't really much going on and not all that much to do. Yoyo had been called back to the city by his parents, it seemed that they had something to go over with her, and then the twins were with their families as well, leaving Merikh to travel with just Igone.

They wouldn't be going too far, despite really wanting to head out to do some good hunting, not until they could gather up the rest of the group at least. It was something that annoyed Merikh like nothing else, he wasn't the sort that like to sit around idle. He felt that everyone moment he just stood around doing nothing that he was wasting his time! It was time that could be best spent doing anything else, "How I wish we were going after the Diabi dragons that live in this area... but I know if I took them on without a bit more training that my mothers would have my hide." He muttered, glancing over at his fellow Oblivionite who seemed to be caught up in looking around the area, "Igone?"

The archer turned to glance over at Merikh, giving him a smile, his tail swishing from side to side, "Sorry, sorry! I know that it might just be rumors or scary stories but I think it will be fun. Even if we don't find anything like what the rumors are going on about maybe we can find some of the strange creatures that seem to only pop up only during the Blood Moon." He said, hoping to find ways to keep Merikh busy until the others were free to go on more hunts. Merikh didn't think that they were going to find anything, and Igone wasn't certain if they would either, but one never knew.

The information they had was hersey at best, information gathered by them overhearing the conversation between a wounded man and a woman. It might lead them to something special, it might lead them on a long, pointless walk, but at least it was a way to spend the afternoon, "Just think, even if nothing else comes of this at least we are burning the time between now and when the others come to join us." Igone said, patting Merikh on the shoulder.

"I suppose you're right." He said, flicking his tail for a moment in a thoughtful manner before finally giving a smile, "Better then sitting around being bored, come on, let's see if we can't find at least what tore that guy up. If nothing else at least there might be something to fight out here?" It might not be dragons but it had to be better then nothing.

Skorga wound her way through the foliage towards the smell of another Ysali khehora. This one smelled rather lost and confused; which meant that she was probably not here for the same reason Skorga was... but why not see if she'd accompany me into this crypt? Always good to have help....

She finally spotted the rather plump Khehora and snuck up behind her. "Why hello there~" She said in a soft hiss. "You here to go treasure hunting in old tombs too?"

At least things weren't boring was the thought that came to mind for Merikh as he and Igone found themselves facing off with some rather strange creatures as they made their way toward their destination. No dragons, but at least it was something that allowed Merikh to draw his sword and take a few swings. They were odd beasts, things that one only seen when the Blood Moon could be seen. Interesting, but still easy enough to deal with if you asked him. Easy or not though that didn't stop him from fighting with them when the creatures came at him, not about to retreat from a bunch of weakling enemies and especially not when he was with one of his followers. He wasn't so much of a coward as to retreat when Igone would see it.

"I wonder if we are almost there." Merikh mused to himself, cleaning off his sword, before he sheathed it again. Not that he exactly knew where 'there' was but he was hoping that the two of them were at least getting closer. The parting of the trees was something that Merikh hoped was a sign that they were nearly to... well, whatever it was that they were heading for. Looking from side to side he didn't realize that Igone had stopped, causing him to run into the archer, "Huh? Igone? What are you...?" He trailed off when he looked around him, spotting what it was that the archer was looking at and Merikh's lips twisted into a rather unamused look as he saw what was standing there, seemingly between them and what it was that they were after.

Igone looked at Merikh, then gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Let's at least try to remain civil, Merikh." He said, knowing full well that one of the two Khehora before them rubbed Merikh the wrong way, the two hadn't seen eye to eye a while back during the Mara incursion and Merikh wasn't exactly a person who so easily let things go. Giving him a smile he said, "We can just go around them and head inside, just look, that entrance there must lead to the ruins we are looking for."

Giving a grumbling sound Merikh looked at the entrance that Igone was pointing out, nodded, then said, "I suppose that you are right. No reason to get into a tussle with them." One annoying Khehora and one that looked a bit on the round side, he couldn't say that he was worried about either of them. They were just another obstacle in the way was all, they had to go around the pair of them and they could continue on their way. Straightening out, one hand lifting to rest on the hilt of his sword at the ready he said, "Come on, Igone, let's get going. We are going to find what is in that place no matter what." Now that they had competition it just made him want whatever was in the ruins all that much more. It was something obvious enough that it had Igone chuckling a bit before he fell into step with Merikh, the two of them heading forward toward the entrance of the ruins despite the Khehora that stood between them and said entrance.

“I'm Malta... Malta of Katangi, of the Shadow's Maw tribe...” she said, the introduction clearly practiced and slightly hollow. She was Malta, that was certain. There was no way she could have been anything other than what she was. She was Katangi's daughter – that was not something you chose, nor something that could be changed. But she felt no connection to her tribe, none at all, and saying she was of them sounded... false. But she was, she supposed.

Malta flinched as the Oblivionites approached – she was so unusually jumpy that everything was a threat... but that was normal for her. She watched them warily, but the one with the sword seemed slightly familiar – maybe she had seen him around the city. It seemed the younger khehora knew them, and that meant... well, it meant something.

“Hello...” she said to them, following Skorga and, thus, them out of a desire to be with the group. “Are you from... the city?”

Meanwhile, the entrance to the crypts loomed ahead... very close...