Voices from Afar

[Nathaniel Graham]

    Even though they were digging the pool for her, it would seem that the blue haired woman did not feel obligated to assist them in their efforts. Gram found that slightly irritating but he kept digging anyways. It wasn't like he could make the woman help and he didn't particularly care either way. The young man intended to finish the dirty peasant task that had been put before him and then maybe take a nap.

    Nate paused in his work to take a sip of water from the container he'd brought. They might have been underground but dehydration was still a danger. He resisted the urge to wipe away the sweat that was beginning to accumulate on his forehead, knowing that he would only succeed in smearing his face with dirt from the hole he'd been digging.

    A small thump could be heard from behind the rock Linette had gone behind, followed by an ouch. The young man briefly considered heading over to check on her but dismissed it almost immediately. She was fine or she wasn't. Not to mention the fact that nearly everyone seemed to drop everything almost immediately to go check on her.

    After a brief roll of the eyes, Gram continued working. By the time he'd finished, the section he'd been working on was as deep as he could make it, due to having struck stone at the bottom, and also fairly wide as well. The young man took a step back to examine his work. Crude, but it should do the trick, Nate thought. The pool would be plenty deep enough for the woman to completely submerge herself.

    Gram returned the shovel he'd been using and leaned against the wall to rest a bit, drinking a bit more water. So far, Stilia hadn't assigned a watch. The young man was prepared for his shift but he was also ready for a nap if that was to be the case.

[Linette Nerissa]

Linette looked up to badger Stilia with watery eyes "Yeah I'm fine Stil, just had a little fall" she attempted to sound cheerful while gesturing towards her tail. This was the first time a non merperson had seen her tail; it felt kind of embarrassing, but Linette felt that it would good for her "team" to know the real her. Linette was shocked as the naked red headed woman approached her; who was this stranger and where did she come from. She blinked rapidly trying to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, but the woman was still there and she appeared to be offering Linette help.



"Ummmm sure" she said hesitantly looking at Stilia for some explanation; The woman picked her up with ease. It was as if she were nothing more than a mere baby in her arms. Not to mention that her voluptuous assets made Linette feel slightly uncomfortable and jealous at the same time. As they approached the small pool that everyone had dug for her she couldn't help but smile. Taking a deep breath to calm her thoughts Linette filled the pool with water " You can put me down now" and she was lowerd into the water by the strange woman. She managed to squeak out "Thank you" and to her shock the woman turned into the small black cat that she'd seen earlier "Did anyone else see that?"

The pool of water came up just to her waist and it felt so refreshing on her skin and scales. It was comforting to know that she wouldn't die of dehydration in these dark tunnels. Looking around at the group " Well this is the "real" me everyone" she said splashing with her tail. "Does anyone need a refill, id be more than happy to help?"

[Stilia Medusa]

Linette had decided to become a mermaid, it seemed. The badger had made sure the mermaid was alright, and Linette explained things. She seemed a bit teary, and Stilia wondered if she had hurt herself. The dragon proceeded to change shape and carry the mermaid over, and Stilia made a few badger noises. If she had had human vocal cords, Stilia would have said ‘Overcompensator’.

But she didn’t, so she couldn’t.

The dragon was obviously prideful, and with the power to change forms she took on large bosoms, something her true form would never have. It was just a lie, so that the dragon could flaunt. Stilia’s, on the other hand, were simply a genetic gift. The Medusans were known for having an attractive upper half.

Since the hole was finished, the badger became a gorgon once again, and put her shirt back on. She then proceeded to rummage through her bag and pull out some bread, cheese, beef jerky, and more water for everyone. She divided up the food, and threw some of the beef jerky on the floor in front of Bayla the cat, as if feeding a stray.

“Yes, don’t mind Bayla,” Stilia told the startled Linette. “She’s merely a dragon who wishes she truly appeared as she did to you.”

Stilia then proceeded to take a bite from her bread. “Eat up, and then we set up a watch. Linette needs to remain completely submerged, so we will split things up. I’ll take the first watch, followed by Nathaniel, Pandora, Apollo then Bayla. And as for you, Apollo and Bayla, make sure you sleep while the other is on watch. You need the rest.”

When the meal was finished and the others laid down to rest, Stilia would turn off her flashlight, keeping a silent watch. A few hours later, she woke Nathaniel and went to sleep. However, it would be on Apollo’s watch that it happened.

Danger!

Stilia awoke with a yelp, the voice of Euryale having screamed in her head much louder than ever before. The gorgon was quick, waking everyone up. “They're here. Be ready to fight.”

She turned on the flashlight, briefly illuminating an approaching creature. It was terrifying to behold, its six beady eyes staring at them and a deflated red sack on its back. It was not alone, either. Stilia had never seen such a creature, but she’d heard of them during her time in Nysa. She had no idea how they could have possibly gotten here.

A heard of Silent Deaths.

[Apollo Lion]

Apollo was very used to Bayla wandering around in her human form naked; however, when Stilia morphed back to her regular self, Apollo nearly lost all of his cool. He turned his head away quickly, not even looking at Stilia when he knew that she was fully clothed again (He didn't want to take the chance). 

When Stilia spoke, though, was when Apollo finally looked at her. “Yes, don’t mind Bayla," she said, and Apollo was secretly begging her to not continue. "She’s merely a dragon who wishes she truly appeared as she did to you.”

Apollo nearly froze in fear of confrontation. Hmmm? Someone seems a bit jealous, Bayla chimed, not at all showing the deep anger that Apollo expected. Maybe the dragon was happy that Stilia thought of her the way she did?

Unfortunately, Apollo's relief that Bayla wasn't angry ended when Stilia tossed to Bayla jerky as though she was feeding an actual animal. His dragon hissed then, sending all sorts of threats through Apollo's mind, practically ordering him to tell Stilia all of them. He refused, though, and decided to sit in his corner of the caves, somewhere far away where no one would bother Bayla. 

Everyone ate, then headed off to sleep. Before going to bed, Apollo gave Nathaniel his  flashlight incase he needed it for his watch. The schedule was simple; Stilia would take first watch, followed by Nathaniel, then Pandora, then Apollo and Bayla, and finally Linette. Apollo figured that this would be a cycle, set to repeat until everyone had a good enough rest.

Hours past before Apollo was finally woken up. When it was his watch, he chose a nice spot on the wall near the path where they were going to adventure onto. He wasn't fully awaken yet, so he drunk some sizzling energy juice, hoping that this would wake him up. Bayla sat on his lap, still sleeping peacefully. It wasn't until a couple of more minutes that Bayla finally woke from her sleep; and she woke with a frightful stir. 

Apollo, get your guns and wake up the others... Quick, she said in his mind, as calmed as she could ever be. Not questioning her, Apollo assembled his sniper rifle, adding the silencer as a final touch. He didn't need to wake up the rest, though, as Stilia did it for him. She also woke with a frightful stir, the same as Bayla did, though she was much quicker in her movements. Adrenaline was probably rushing faster in her than in his dragon.

Bayla never took her eyes off of a certain direction, but when Stilia pointed her flashlight to where Bayla was looking, Apollo understood why. A never before seen monster was stalking up to their location, its six eyes focusing on each indiviual like a predator would a prey. Apollo kneeled to Bayla's side, pointing his sniper dead at the strange creature's head.

It's not alone, Bayla said to him. There is at least 10 of them. I can smell them all, gathering their stench to destroy my nose.

"There is ten of them," Apollo said to everyone, clam enough to not anger the heard of monsters readying to eat him. "It's your call Stilia, run or fight..."

[Nathaniel Graham]

    Nate ignored the drama. He was above such trivial peasant affairs. The young man took out some travel rations from his pack and, clutching each piece rather gingerly in his dirt covered hands, he proceeded to eat. To top it all off, Gram drank some more water. Apollo approached.

    "Thanks but I'll be alright." Was Nate's polite response when the other young man offered him a flashlight. He tapped the goggles that he'd pushed up over his messy hair earlier. "I've no need. Take these, though." The young man pulled a pair of electronic ear muffs from his bag and handed them to the boy. "Hearing protection."

    After his brief meal, Gram went around to everyone else and handed them some electronic ear muffs as well. "Just in case we need to start shooting. With these, you'll still be able to hear normally but any loud, potentially damaging noises will be blocked."

    Nate probably should've handed them out when they'd all met but he hadn't known they'd be running around in a cave like this. The last thing the young man needed to worry about was his companions going deaf when he blasted his shotgun full auto indoors.

    That done, he sat against a wall and began to wait for his turn at watch, dozing off as he did so. There was little for him to do until it was his turn but he kept his weapons close by and his goggles on his forehead so he could easily pull them down for use if needed.

    The young man did not dream, but he repeatedly found himself snapping awake, heart pounding loudly in his chest. Nate certainly wasn't comfortable and something about the cave set him on edge. Maybe it was the fact that it was a filthy peasant cave. Inevitably, he would allow himself to fall back into light slumber.

    For his watch, Nate woke, grabbed his shotgun, pulled down his goggles, and... Well, kept watch. Needless to say, it was super boring and completely uneventful. After a few hours and his watch was up, he woke Pandora for her watch and went back to his nap place.

    By the time of the attack, Gram was already awake again. After his nap during Stilia's watch and the several hours after his own watch, the young man was plenty rested. At the warning of his companions, he brought his shotgun to bear and stared down the tunnel. Gram, with the aid of his goggles, could see the creatures approaching and apple's estimate seemed close enough.

    The hairs on the back of Nate's neck were raised and he retreated until he had his back to a wall. The sight of the creatures did not bother him but he found their complete silence to be somewhat disconcerting. Living creatures did not move like that. Nothing natural was completely silent like that.

    They almost didn't seem real. As he aimed, the young man felt as if he was pointing his weapon at a picture. An ugly picture but a picture. Oh well. It was about to get a lot prettier.

    Whether to run or to fight had never seemed like much of a question to him. The little beasties were clearly too fast to outrun. His hand tightened on the grip of his weapon and he prepared to fire. A moment later, he would.

[Linette Nerissa]

Linette ate her small portion of the rations in silence. She really appreciated everyone digging the hole for her, but didn't say anything because it appeared that no one was to keen on working together. Linette took another swig from one of her many water bottles; she felt much better now that she was in water. It truly surprised her that no one thought it was weird for her to be a mermaid; perhaps they were all something to and just hadn't shared it yet.

Pulling her Ipod from her pack she unwound her tangled headphones, they kind of reminded her of Stilia's hair. The thought made her giggle and look to her from friend. She couldn't tell if Stil was asleep or not but she only smiled.

Linette lay there with one head phone in for what seemed like hours; she just couldn't sleep. Normally listening to Lindsey Stirling did the trick but not even that was helping. Tingles just get running up and down her spine; like something was coming for them. It was then that Linette heard a the dull thud of several foot steps approaching. They weren't moving in unison but there were several of them.

It was then that Stil shouted “They're here. Be ready to fight.” waking up everyone else up. Propping her self up she could finally she had heard coming their way and the sight was one straight from a young child's nightmare. The gruesome creatures that each had six eyes and there figures appeared grotesque and contorted.

The Boys were quick to grab their guns, both seemed ready to fire instantaneously. Linette willed the water in her pool to raise up into a small wave allowing her to be upright and face these nightmares head on. Unlike the rest of her group she had very little experience with weapons, but hopefully her magic would be enough to hold her own.  

[Stilia Medusa]

The others were quickly aroused, and began getting ready. Stilia took her sword out of its sheath, and unwound the whip from her belt. The sword looked as if it couldn’t even slice through butter, and seemed chipped and broken, but it had been a gift from the Goddess Varos Talantos herself, and Stilia knew it would not fail. The whip was the severed tail of a Gryphon, given to her by Kaarme, a fellow Medusan from her hive, who had also left the stifling caves of their home.

She’d had these for a while now, and had practiced extensively. Although not a master, she could easily hold her own. She used the whip in her right hand, the sword in her left.

"It's your call Stilia, run or fight.."

"Running would mean death."

Quickly, without a sound, the Silent Deaths began running towards them, eager for blood. A couple of the others had guns, and began trying to pick off the creatures. However, they were hardy, only a direct head shot would kill it instantly. Stilia wielded her whip, aiming for the legs of the beasts, slicing them to try and slow them down. Some of the creatures began climbing over the walls and ceilings. Within ten seconds, they were there. It was so sudden, they were so quick, but Stilia got right into the fray. There was little time to think, she hacked at any creature that came near her. Although only ten had been visible before, others must have been hiding, as there were about twenty of them.

With the sheer number of creatures, during the fight one managed to pin her down, and another joined in. Their long, red tubes began extending from their foreheads, but Stilia quickly mesmerized the one, and sent a haunting vision into the mind of the other. The terrified one leaped off, while Stilia quickly pushed off the other. Straightening up, she stabbed it and managed to slice the terrified one down with her whip.

[Apollo Lion]

"Running would mean death," Stilia answered Apollo.

"Yeah... I feared you would say that," Apollo said back.

Without awareness of any noise, the beasts came sprinting towards the group. In that moment, Bayla made a quick transformation from a little cat to a medium sized green dragon. She stood a couple of more feet taller than Apollo. Her muscles became bulkier, her tail longer, and mouth extended to form that of a snaked. Scaled as tough as rock became her skin, and her wings grew, as sharp as ever, and for a moment, Apollo thought Bayla looked frightening.

The first couple of creatures were slowed by a whip that Stilia held. Apollo aimed his sights on some of the monsters, but only one was actually killed. The others were injured and slowed. Eventually, they began climbing the walls. They moved fast, so much so that Apollo could barely see them through his scope. Deciding to revert to heavier tactics, Apollo dug through his bag for his shotgun, the AA12 that was given to him by his teacher.

As he pulled out his first drum magazine, a beast came rushing straight towards him. Luckily for Apollo, Bayla was watching him and slammed her giant fist straight on the monsters back. The little red pouch that it held exploded, and it was too bruised to move. Apollo assembled his gun together then fired at the creatures head. The sound roared throughout the cave like the other's guns, and Apollo felt that one bullet penetrate the monster's mind and borrow itself deep into the beings brain. This shotgun was powerful, and Apollo liked it. 

Another creature came from above both Bayla and Apollo. The giant dragon grabbed the creature that Apollo just killed by its leg and slammed it into the one from above. Both creatures, dead and living, pounded into the nearest wall, making the cave vibrate. Apollo burrowed a bullet into the beast's head just as two more climbed onto Bayla's back. Their fingers alerted Bayla to their presence, and took her by a great surprise. She yelled a little, alerting other creatures of her. More came, and soon she had four creatures on top of her, sticking out some type of red tube to her skin. It seemed that they were trying to penetrate her body. However, Bayla's skin could not be penetrated. She backed up into the nearest hard wall, squishy one of those frightening beasts with her back. She grabbed a hold of two more of those monsters that were still on her, and sent a mighty amount of acid into on of the monster's face. It yelled in shook in terrible pain as it's skin began to melt. The dragon wasn't done, however, as she made the other creature's face that she held touch the creature who she just spat acid at. Both monsters fidgeted in what Apollo could assume was torture, and stopped moving altogether when Bayla smashed their heads into each other. 

The fourth creature had found itself free of Bayla's grasp. Apollo assumed that it did not want to deal with her anymore, as it turned to him instead. He wasn't quick enough to ready his gun and kill it, as he found himself on the ground and the thing holding him down. Apollo kicked and screamed for this beast to let him go, but it did not listen. Slowly, a red tube began to fall from its forehead. Apollo squirmed more until the tube came closer; then, his only goal was to make sure that that tube did not touch him. He failed miserably, and creamed in horrible agony as the tube sunk deep into his arm. The pain wasn't quick, and he could feel the tube dig deeper inside of him, then he suddenly began to feel terribly weak. Something was happening with his body, making him grow frail and sleepy. Before whatever this monster was doing could be completed, Bayla sent another live creature smashing into it. Unlike the other two creatures Bayla threw into the wall, these creatures splattered upon contact like an exploding banana. Guts and blood was all over Apollo; though, he didn't care. At that time, what he was more focused on was staying alive.

His dragon took him into her arms and sniffed him. You're weak, she told him.

My blood has been taken, Apollo replied. I need to replenish it, pronto. Get me to my bag so that I can eat.

Bayla hurried to Apollo's bag as more creatures were trying to murder her. These beasts saw her as a threat, and all wanted to gang on her and take her down. It was a shame, though, for them that Bayla could not go down so easily. Apollo reloaded his shotgun and began chewing on an orange as his dragon protected him.

[Nathaniel Graham]

    The young man began firing. Thanks to the minimal recoil, Nate had little difficulty in aiming his shots, an endeavor that was also aided by fact that the silent deaths were running nearly straight towards the group and were relatively easy targets for the budding marksman Gram had steadily been becoming since he'd found the need to be able to defend himself as a mundane in a world full of supernaturals. He didn't rush his shots, shifting his aim and firing with surgical precision, tracking a beast with the trigger held down until a hit was confirmed..

    The little beasties that weren't put down immediately ended up crippled, with one or more of their limbs rendered useless. That slowed roughly four of the creatures down, making them easy pickings once they managed to reach melee range. Two were disabled and five were confirmed dead by Gram's shooting before the rest even reached their front lines.

    As for head shots, Gram did what he could but found them unnecessary. The silent deaths were roughly woman sized. Against the 12 gauge slugs his shotgun was firing out at some 300 a minute, even a chest or abdomen shot did more than enough tissue damage to kill. With many running on all fours, the shots would do a ridiculous amount of damage, passing through the length of their torso.

    Unfortunately, the others began to move into his line of fire so Nate had to stop shooting. The young man merely changed ammunition, switching from slugs to buckshot. Gram would wait patiently, watching to see if any of the creatures managed to break through the wall of unfortunate carnage his allies had formed with their bodies. Attempting to shoot past them would be foolish and he didn't want to risk the powerful gun sending a round straight through an oncoming enemy and possibly hitting an ally.

    Gram resisted the temptation to relax, even though it looked as if the pitiful remainder of monsters would all be finished very shortly. Idiots, the lot of them, but the young man had to admit they could kill. At least they were good for something.

[Linette Nerissa]

Linette urged the torrents keeping her afloat backs; to create more distance between her and the five attackers rushing her.

She formed two spheres and sent them flying towards the creature. They seemed unphased by the projectiles flying towards them and that'd exactly as she wanted it. Split seconds before impact Linette froze the streaming water into spears of ice which fond there mark and embedded themselves into two of rhe creature skulls.

She tried the same tactic again but the remaining three dodged quickly learning from their first mistake. The Creatures grew ever closer and Linette was getting frustrated that she couldn't hit them with her icicle spears; however she remained calm and focus waiting for the creatures to get just slightly closer.

Just as two of the gruesome beats leaped over her pool she caused it to geyser up trapping the beasts inside,but her third attacker was still closing fast. With one hand she froze the pillar just before the creature rammed into her.

Linette could barely breathe after the impact and stared dazed for a moment as a long tube like apendig extended from the beasts head and punctured her right shoulder. She let a shrill scream of pain that would shatter the souls of most who heard it. "Eat this" she said with fury punching towards the monsters head with her left hand while doing so forming an icicle around her fist. Her strike killed the beast leaving it a lifeless heap on top of her.

Try as she might she couldn't move it. " Help anyone?" she said through frustrated pain.

[Stilia Medusa]

They were lucky to be in a group. Any of them on their own would have fallen to these creatures. They were fast, agile, and surprisingly durable for their size. It was as if their skin was armored. Still, Stilia cut those she could with her whip, while Gram shot at them, until Bayla practically took up the whole tunnel. Not wanting to hurt the dragon, she put her whip away and helped clear off the wounded on this side of the tunnel.

Perhaps only a few seconds had passed, perhaps days had gone by, but the creatures were dead. Stilia poked at one of the dead Silent Deaths, examining it more closely and cleaning her blade on the body, when she realized Linette cried out in pain. Stilia put her sword in its sheath and rushed over.
“Shh, shh. Don’t panic Linette. You’ll be alright.” Stilia said, cupping her hands over the wound. It would hurt, but Stilia closed her eyes and worked her magic, sealing the veins and the wound, until Linette’skin looked good as new.

“Anyone else hurt?” She asked, and proceeded to tend to anyone who was injured. After a moment’s break, Stilia would insist they continue. They walked for several hours when Stilia suddenly stopped at a dead end. However, this wall was different, for if one looked closely there were inscriptions in the stone.

The Gorgon knew what to do. She cut her thumb and drew letters from the Ancient Greek alphabet. There was no way she’d be able to open the door without the guidance of Euryale in her head. Stilia mumbled a few words, and quickly lept backwards as the stone crumbled.

When the dust settled, Stilia would lead them over the rubble, into a dark room. It was empty, no carvings, no torches, and no golden decoration. Only three trees, growing from the ground. It was impossible for them to flourish here.

“Ieró déntro , afíste kratoúmenos sas.”

With those words, the tree retreated into the wall, disappearing and leaving three Gorgons behind. As the tree vanished, the largest of the Gorgons screamed “Oh no you don’t!” and somehow slashed off a vine of the tree with her fingernails, shocking Stilia. If she could do that, why were they needed to escape? But she banished the thoughts in her mind and stared at the Goddesses without blinking. Such a thing might seem rude, but it was a traditional Medusan practice.

Fire burst from nothing and hung around in the air, lighting the small cavern, showing off the three Gorgons. They were magnificent. In the light, the wall at the back of the cavern seemed to shimmer.
The largest of them was beautiful and frightening. Red eyes stared down at the mortal party, her hair a collection of red snakes. If the legends were true, a single bite would kill any of them. Her hands shone in the light, and Stilia realized they were not hand, but metal contraptions in the shape of hands. The fingers looked like daggers.

The smallest of them was beautiful, delicate looking. She wore a golden crown, and golden arm bands and bracelets. In her hand was a large staff, and her waist had golden armor plates.

The third was the strangest though. She wasn’t a Gorgon, for one, but rather some sort of reptilian human. She had two legs instead of a tail, but her body was covered in green scales. Instead of snakes, she had normal hair, which was very long and the darkest of blacks. She wore leather armor over her body, and smiled at Stilia. The mortal gorgon almost looked away, but managed to hold her gaze.

The smallest spoke, her voice so beautiful that Stilia felt her heart soar at the thought of hearing another word from her mouth.

“Thank you, all of you. You have freed us from our wretched prison. I am Echo Euryale, and these are my sisters Ischyri Stheno and Arketa Medusa.”
Stilia was once again caught by surprise. It was Medusa who had legs? It seemed wrong, blasphemous. Stilia felt like she was in the wrong, for not being in the shape of her Goddess. Stilia blinked, breaking the religious gaze, but none of the Goddesses seemed to mind.

Stheno took a step forward, ripping the root in her hands into five pieces. When she spoke, it was smooth as silk, but seemed to have a slight rasp to it, as if she’s smoked cigars. She handed each of them a piece of the root. “It is only appropriate to give you the shackles of which we were freed. This is a root from the Tree of Reclamation. It will trap whoever touches it when a spell is spoken, in any language, and release them upon a spell. It drains all power from its captive, and even if the prisoner knows the spell, he cannot release himself.”

“Sacred Tree, capture your prisoners.”

As each of them held the root, it began growing impossibly fast, trapping their bodies. Stilia felt panic in her heart, but Stheno spoke again before the tree engulfed them.

“Sacred Tree, release your prisoners.”

And like that, the tree was a root again. Stheno smiled, disturbingly, but slithered back to her sisters. Once again, Euryale spoke, washing the fear away from Stilia’s heart.

“Of course, it is not enough. If any of you follow in what we stand for, we’d be glad to bless you.”

The Gorgons would proceed to touch anyone who asked, giving them a blessing. Stilia said nothing, but Medusa stepped forward, placing a hand on Stilia’s forehead. However, as soon as she touched her, she let go as if burned. “You are already marked by the Traitor.”

And with that, the Gorgon Goddesses would vanish, leaving Stilia confused. The group still had their roots, but the fires were gone. Stilia turned on her flashlight and aimed it at the shimmering wall.
“I…” Her voice faltered. She felt so confused, thoughts whirling around in her head. The Traitor? Did they mean Erlang Shen? Had she disappointed her Goddesses? “I am going to find out what that is.”

[Pandora]

When the beasts came running, Pandora was ready for them.  A ferocious tiger was waiting for the right time to pounce. Pandora wasted no time as she rushed in and tore one apart with her teeth and claws. Perhaps her cat instinct to play with her prey caused her to take too much time on just one, toying with it's life before becoming bored and finishing it off.

When she was done, the rest were almost dead. She cursed herself that she wasn't able to kill more. But she did help by sending sharp pains into the minds of the remaining which distracted them and made them easier to finish off.

In the end the enemies were strong but no match for the group. Somehow they all came together and managed to destroy them without too much injury. Linette was healed by Stilia, and Pan looked around once again for danger before shifting herself back to her human body. She went to her backpack and brought out a new set of clothing since her original clothes were ripped up during her tiger transformation.

It wasn't long before the group was moving again to a strange dead end which Stilia opened with another spell. Pandora watched curiously as the trees released the goddesses from their prison. They were the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen.  Finally this whole journey was worth it. Each member received a piece of the root that imprisoned the goddesses and she was already thinking of ways to use it. The next gift was a blessing from one of the goddesses. Pandora thought about it for a moment before making her decision.  Every goddess was equally amazing but her instinct told her who she would be worshipping. It was the lovely Medusa.

[Apollo Lion]

There was something grand about oranges that made them taste so delicious. Maybe it was the juicey ripeness of it, or maybe it was the fact that Apollo was now being driven to insane weakness from the amount of lost blood in his system. It was never a good thing to loose so much blood, it made people dizzy and have a need to stay laying down. Apollo was no exception, though, he had to stay up or else he would miss a lot of beautiful action.

Once Apollo was finished with the delicious fruit, he took his shotgun and added a new magazine to it. Unfortunately, Apollo was too late to return to the battle field as Linnette was finishing the last of the monsters, whatever the hell they were. Apollo was impressed at her for being able to take care of the beasts the way she did, even if she had a less than subtle ending.

" Help anyone?" She meekly said in frustration after she was caught under a monster's body which she killed. Bayla was near close to laughing at her until Apollo gave her the suggestion to help Linnette up. Bayla looked back at Apollo and scoffed, spitting acid right near where he was sitting.

"Oh, just do it," Apollo told the dragon out loud, and she growled. Yet, she did as he asked and wobbled over to Linnette's side in her giant dragon form. Bayla wrapped one hand around the creature's leg, lifting it up as though it was holding a mere soulless bird, then flung it to the nearest wall like it was nothing. The monster was off of Linnette now, so Stilia ran to her quickly, performing some sort of magic which healed her.

When Stilia was done, she offered aid to the others. Apollo rose his hand to her in a very dizzy manner, and got as he asked. Still healed him next, and he seemed better than ever afterwards. When he, and all the other recovered form that random attack, Stilia pushed them onward.

We came so far already, Apollo told Bayla, Why not push any further?

Willingly, the draconian followed Stilia, and the giant dragon that was by his side reverted back into a black cat. Apollo shined light on the passage way, yet stuck to the back with Bayla to make sure no creepy monsters came at them from behind. After another long time of walking, the group came towards a dead end. Apollo sighed. "Wonderful..." He said under his breath, frustrated in that they may need to walk down that incredibly long corridor again. 

It was to Apollo's pleasant surprise, though, when Stilia cut her thumb and drew something into the rock, that the rocks actually crumbled to the ground. Dust picked up and Apollo had to wipe particles away from his face in order to breathe. 

The fallen rocky wall led to a room, completely giant and filled with tree life. Apollo stared at it all, truly amazed that tree life could actually grow this deep into the caves. There had to be a water supply down here somewhere; however, the water would not explain the three trees that grew out of... Nothing. Apollo stared and stared at the trees, curious about what trees they would be, then turned his attention to Stilia when she recited some words.

“Ieró déntro , afíste kratoúmenos sas,” Stilia said. She definitely spoke in some language that Apollo could not speak. He turned to Bayla looking for an answer, but she barely knew anything about any language that Apollo couldn't understand as well. As Stilia finished, the boy found himself in a state of amusement while the trees that were standing tall began to shrink into a wall. And from those trees came... Three snake women?!

There were three snake women... Three snake women standing right in front of them. There was no way that three snake women just came from a bunch of trees.

“Oh no you don’t!” Apollo heard the tallest snake woman yell, followed by a cutting noise that sounded like the ripping of leaves. When the tree was gone, fire began to roam throughout the room, and Apollo could see the three snake women perfectly.

One was small, had gold all over her body, held a golden staff, and looked incredibly beautiful; another was tall, had red snakes for hair and red eyes, and looked incredibly beautiful and deadly; the last, though, was the oddest Apollo would ever notice. The last bore no tail and had no snakes for hair. She stood proudly in human form, being just as beautiful as her other companions. Apollo recognized these women and gorgons, and thought the last one to be a hybrid of sorts.

“Thank you, all of you," the small golden female said. Her voice was as beautiful as her skin, and Apollo was instantly moved into fits of passion about her. Though he kept it secret, he began to slowly fall in love with that voice and that Gorgon. "You have freed us from our wretched prison." She gestured towards herself. "I am Echo Euryale, and these are my sisters," her hands flowed towards the giant snake woman. "Ischyri Stheno," then to the snake woman with legs "and Arketa Medusa.”

Apollo stared at each of the Gorgons with bewilderment and happiness. So these were the goddesses of legend, the ones that they came to save? Apollo just saved a goddess... He just saved a goddess! Which means he is a hero now. Apollo, hero of the Gorgon goddesses! Would this place him in a great position with the Gorgon tribes?

Apollo was lost in gleeful thought until Stheno slithered forward. She was a very giant Gorgon, and her red eyes and red snake hair was even more unsettling than her height. Stheno showed her palm, which was extremely solid, Apollo was confused if they were either gloves or actual hands. Stheno opened her palms to reveal a tree root. Slowly, she cut the root with her fingernails until it divided into five.

“It is only appropriate to give you the shackles of which we were freed," Stheno said in a smooth yet raspy voice. "This is a root from the Tree of Reclamation. It will trap whoever touches it when a spell is spoken, in any language, and release them upon a spell. It drains all power from its captive, and even if the prisoner knows the spell, he cannot release himself.” Apollo took the root and looked it over, not thinking it of much right now. It was just a small tree root, how could this possibly grow and contain someone?

She then spoke the spell.

“Sacred Tree, capture your prisoners.”

The roots began to grow around Apollo's arm. It was not slow, it was fast, and soon he was wrapped all around his waist and chest. His face was about to be covered by a growing tree, and his last face seen was going to be Stheno until she spoke again.

“Sacred Tree, release your prisoners.”

Like lightning to the ground, the growing tree was a root again, and Apollo was out of breath. When he looked at Stheno in surprise, she had a very wicked smile on her face, leading him to believe that she enjoyed doing that. She slithered back to the three, and Apollo suddenly found himself not terrified again.

“Of course, it is not enough," said Euryale, her voice once again moving Apollo, and placing him into a state of enchantment. "If any of you follow in what we stand for, we’d be glad to bless you.”

Apollo then moved up to the Goddess Euryale. Her voice was the most beautiful of them all, he couldn't help following her. She enchanted him with her voice, and now he contained a secret undying love for her that he dared not show. "A-and, what do you stand for?" He asked Euryale. However, she didn't answer. The moment she touched him, though, made a clear enough answer. 

His left chest began to burn, and Apollo almost thought he was going to die until it was finished. What it was, though, Apollo had no idea. He took off his shirt instantly to look at the marking which she gave him. He was very delighted with the sight of a harp tattoo, beautifully glistening on his left chest, right on his heart."The goddess of sound," Apollo finally understood, and was moved now with fits of delight. "Bayla look, I am the hero of the goddess of sound!"

“You are already marked by the Traitor.”

Apollo looked at the Goddess Medusa with confusion. This was the first time he heard her voice, and it was hinted with a scent of disgust. As soon as he got to hear her, she vanished, along with his patron Goddess. Stilia was even more confused than Apollo, and she stared upon the group with fear. “I…” Her voice quaked. “I am going to find out what that is.”

Bayla laughed inside her mind, her cat form slowly sitting next to Apollo. Her figure remained in the shadows until the goddesses disappeared. Apollo knew for what reason and that she would possibly never meet a goddess on her own free will. Ran away from her people, Bayla delightfully communicated to Apollo. And now rejected by her goddess. This is a sad day in the life of Stilia Medusa.

Apollo looked at Bayla with anger, then he walked to Stilia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "No need to do it alone," he smiled at her, leaving her to decide if she wanted his help or not. Then he walked to the entrance of the cave. "This way, right?" Apollo asked, grabbing his bag and looking at the exit. If the answer was yes, Apollo would walk through it and begin his very long journey to the surface. If the answer was no, then Apollo would follow the group to the best exit possible, his root firmly at hand.

[Nathaniel Graham]

    Nate watched with interest as Linette demonstrated considerable magical ability. Creation and control of water as well as being able to freeze the liquid and control it's ice? The young man was impressed though he struggled to keep the concern from his face when, moments later, she was injured and trapped underneath a dead creature, calling for help. Nate started, nearly heading over to help, but Bayla beat him to it. She was fine and Nate turned away, pretending to have lost interest.

    The battle wound down quickly enough but Gram remained vigilant, weapon at the ready, until the last of the creatures were dead. Most of the group members had acquitted themselves fairly well. No serious injuries though there had been some minor wounds. Stilia, to the young man's slight interest, had demonstrated magical healing capabilities, having healed Linette's wound. Skilled in combat and a healer. The gorgon was quite the versatile individual.

    Before he knew it, the group was moving again. Gram switched drums again, no longer needing shot. The rest of the walk was fairly uneventful until they came to a dead end. Stilia worked some mojo and the wall crumbled, leading them into a dark room. Nate said nothing during the entire encounter with the goddesses, expressing his gratitude when gifted the root and observing silently the rest of the time. He had no intention of worshiping any of them or receiving their blessing.

    Stilia seemed to have been left somewhat shaken by the encounter. Apollo said something to her but Nate wasn't paying them any attention. His eyes were on Linette. He was ready to leave but would like to talk to Linette first, since he hadn't spoken to her the entire quest or for quite some time before that.

    The young man nearly went over to her as they left. Nearly. A mocking voice in his head laughed at him. The great Nathaniel Gram III, brightest mind of the century, paralyzed with fear at the thought of talking to a pretty girl. It was pathetic and that knowledge angered him, wounding his pride. There was no one who could get to him quite like he could.

    What had he been thinking? He didn't need anyone. He didn't want anyone. He had no use for friends. They couldn't possibly understand a mind like his. Those thoughts rang false even to Gram but the alternative was... undesirable. That he was undesirable. The young man shouldered his pack, having resigned himself to the fate that was quickly becoming apparent. A life alone with science as his only companion. So be it.

    Gram knew the way. He would walk it alone if he had to.