Skye gated to where Cherry and a friend of hers, the Heavy Axemen Kouji,
had been waiting impatiently.
"Finally!" Kouji growled, "We've been waiting for almost half an hour! What kept you, anyway?"
"Er, I'm sorry," Skye apologized with embarrassment, fighting the blush that began to vibrantly tint her cheeks, "I had a run-in with another Wavemaster, so I was already behind on time, and then I couldn't find a babysitter for Tei at the Grunty Barn. I'm really sorry."
She fixed her eyes on Cherry, who simply shrugged it off.
"Don't mind Kouji - he's just eager to see some bloodshed," she teased as she elbowed him in the ribs.
"You did get the Sprite Ocarina, right?" Skye asked uncertainly.
"Of course I did!" Cherry grinned as she produced the item from her cloak and twirled it lightheartedly between her fingers, and reddened at the thought of Crim, but no one seemed to notice.
"And you're sure this'll work, right?" Skye questioned worriedly, "I mean, Kouji and I have only been playing for about two months."
Cherry carelessly tossed her lustrous hair behind her shoulders.
"But you guys are pretty good stat-wise, and I've been playing in 'The World' for over two years. We've got nothing to worry about! I'll watch your back, okay?"
Kouji grinned in spite of himself and exclaimed, "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"
Cherry and Skye couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm as they turned to face the dungeon.
"This area is for intermediate players, so you guys should have no problem. I promise," Cherry guaranteed reassuringly as she held up the sign that Crim had so happily displayed to her.
Kouji raised an eyebrow apprehensively as the three of them commenced in heading into the dungeon's dark entrance chamber.
"Are you okay, Cher?" he asked her suspiciously, "You're acting really. different."
Cherry smiled as she closed her eyes, "I've never felt better!"
Now Kouji's other eyebrow shot up; Cherry was often overexcited, but not in the goofy sort of manner as she was behaving now.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in love or something," Kouji commented skeptically.
"Who, me?" Cherry snorted, "Nah, I'm not the fall-in-love type."
Skye rolled her eyes at both of them, then stopped suddenly, causing her companions to halt behind her. Ahead of them, the main tunnel forked into three smaller passages. She sighed as she shifted her weight onto one foot and propped herself upon her staff.
"Great. What now?" she whined with irritation, anxious to come across a monster in order to gain some much-needed experience points.
Kouji surveyed the corridors broodingly as he suggested, "It would be safer to explore them together, but it would also be much more time consuming."
Cherry nodded sternly as she took a confident step forward. "Well, they can't all be dead ends," she concluded, despite the fact that the contents of the mysterious passageways were swallowed by darkness, "So Kouji, you go to the right one, I'll check out the center one, and Skye can look at tunnel on the left. If you meet up with a monster or something, send me a message, or, better yet, scream at the top of your lungs and I'll help you out. Meet back here in five minutes if you don't find anything. Any questions? Too bad, time to go."
Skye, admirable of Cherry's consistent leadership, watched her as hurried off into the middle channel. When she had submerged herself into shadow, Kouji flashed Skye a disturbed stare and then sprinted down the tunnel assigned to him. She sighed and began to travel through the remaining left one, wondering fearfully how she'd be able to make her way around in the gloom that lied ahead.
She sauntered onward for what seemed like centuries, until finally she stumbled upon a chamber illuminated by blazing torches lining the walls. In the dead center of the room sat a treasure chest; she gaped moon-eyed with marvel and disbelief, curious as to why it had been so simple to locate it. She kneeled tentatively beside the golden-lined trunk and unfastened it slowly, revealing its emptiness.
"Ugh, I knew this was too good to be true," she mumbled angrily. With a hint of disappointment, she increased her voice to a holler, "Hey guys, somebody's just come through here. Treasure's gone." She rose clumsily, her eyes darting throughout the chamber.
Suddenly she came to realize that all but one of the torches were extinguished, merely enormous lumpy clubs protruding from the mossy stone walls; half of the chamber was bathing in the dancing fiery glow of the single flaming torch, while the remaining half concealed the exit.
Skye released another broken sigh, then immersed herself into the blackness, carefully groping for the smooth wooden surface of the door that would lead her out of the room. But before she could scour any longer, a silky voice shattered the silence, "What's this? A Wavemaster traveling alone?" She whirled around, nearly trembling with the dread slithering up her spine.
"W - who's there?" she stammered, firming her grip on her staff, readying for battle.
"Aww, are you scared, little girl?" the voice cooed with an obvious sarcastic tone.
"Show yourself!" Skye ordered, glaring into the shadows.
An amused laughter rang through her ears as she snapped her head around, only to witness the flaring sparks of sword slicing stone. The colossal torch had been chopped in half, toppling to the ground with a thundering, deafening thud, plunging the entire room into obscurity.
"Who are you? What do you want with me? Is this your idea of a cruel joke? Well it's not funny! You'd better speak up now, or I'll" - her voice was silenced as she felt a warm body pressed against her bare, halter-exposed back; every motion of its heavy breathing could be sensed as the pursuer compressed them together. Long glossy hair fell across her shoulders. hair that didn't belong to her - she automatically perceived her attacker was a female player.
"What is it you were going to do if I didn't answer your silly questions?" the voice asked smoothly as a hand closed around Skye's tense wrist.
It wasn't a high-pitched tone, nor was it rumbling and low. Instead, it was right between the two, lathered with an eerie, glassy silkiness and a sarcasm that both annoyed her and sent goosebumps rippling down her arms.
"If. if you don't let me go, I'll scr" - her attacker released her wrist and brought it's arm around her throat in an odd sort of headlock, silencing Skye before she could complete her harmless threat. The hairs on the back of her neck stood frigidly on end, prickling and becoming even stiffer as the cold metal of a blade crossed chillingly before her face.
"I do hope you've saved recently, because if you even think about screaming you'll be trying to reconnect about five seconds later," sneered her pursuer.
"What do you want from me?" Skye snarled furiously.
"Just to talk," the voice replied casually. Skye felt its shoulders shrug, as if it were no big deal, as if she didn't have a sword placed at her throat and the two of them were simply old acquaintances having a chat over lunch.
"I won't say another word to you unless we go to where I can see your face," she announced sternly, attempting to have the same headstrong, assertive attitude as Cherry. As soon as this assailant's grip lessened, she'd make a run for it. that was the plan.
"I think the darkness suits us fine. As long as we can hear each other's voices then I see no reason why it should be a problem," it retorted, growing slightly impatient.
"And if I refuse?"
The voice chuckled softly, "Are you sure you really want to find out?" A short pause engulfed them. "You'll cooperate, or I'll just. I suppose the phrase for a stiff like would be 'betray you', am I right?" the attacker whispered with a tone identical to the chill within the chamber.
Skye felt a surge of fury burst through her veins.
"Who the heck do you think you are?! What is there to talk about? And even if you did PK me, I saved right before my party and I entered this dungeon, so it wouldn't do you much good. And I'm not a stiff!" she complained with an aggravated tone.
"Ooh, the sensitive type, aren't we? And, yes, you are a stiff. Trust me on this one - I'm a great judge of character."
"I don't really agree with you on that," Skye scowled as she frantically struggled against the tight hold upon her.
"Didn't you tell me you wouldn't say another word to me unless we could go to where you could see my face?" the pursuer sang tauntingly in her ear.
Skye could feel its warm breath against her flesh and she squirmed as if a deadly virus were touching her.
"That's beside the point!"
"Since when were you trying to make a point in the first place?"
"You came after me! I was never even trying to make a point!"
Skye growled, her body becoming taut and rigid as her assailant's arm slipped off of her shoulders and down by it's sides. However, their bodies were compressed too closely for her to take the risk of running.
"Wow, you really are a stiff."
"Ugh, I bet you'd be nervous if a total weirdo was getting too close for comfort."
"Hey, give a guy a break. I'm not that bad, I'm just misunderstood."
So, this was, indeed, a male character I'm dealing with, she thought to herself, which explains why he is clinging to me in this manner.
"I don't see your point with this," Skye snarled.
"The idea is not to think - the idea is to just shut up and listen."
"If there was anything to listen to," she grumbled under her breath.
"If you're that curious," he snapped acidly, "Ask a question."
"What do you think I've been doing?!" She released a shaken sigh, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed as she fought the anger simmering in her throat. She was not going to submerge to his level and play his immature mind games; however, she would like to learn who is was, and his reason for following her.
"First of all, if you wanted to talk to me that badly, how did you find me?"
"Let's just say," he finally responded after consideration, "That I'm a man of connections."
"Finally!" Kouji growled, "We've been waiting for almost half an hour! What kept you, anyway?"
"Er, I'm sorry," Skye apologized with embarrassment, fighting the blush that began to vibrantly tint her cheeks, "I had a run-in with another Wavemaster, so I was already behind on time, and then I couldn't find a babysitter for Tei at the Grunty Barn. I'm really sorry."
She fixed her eyes on Cherry, who simply shrugged it off.
"Don't mind Kouji - he's just eager to see some bloodshed," she teased as she elbowed him in the ribs.
"You did get the Sprite Ocarina, right?" Skye asked uncertainly.
"Of course I did!" Cherry grinned as she produced the item from her cloak and twirled it lightheartedly between her fingers, and reddened at the thought of Crim, but no one seemed to notice.
"And you're sure this'll work, right?" Skye questioned worriedly, "I mean, Kouji and I have only been playing for about two months."
Cherry carelessly tossed her lustrous hair behind her shoulders.
"But you guys are pretty good stat-wise, and I've been playing in 'The World' for over two years. We've got nothing to worry about! I'll watch your back, okay?"
Kouji grinned in spite of himself and exclaimed, "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"
Cherry and Skye couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm as they turned to face the dungeon.
"This area is for intermediate players, so you guys should have no problem. I promise," Cherry guaranteed reassuringly as she held up the sign that Crim had so happily displayed to her.
Kouji raised an eyebrow apprehensively as the three of them commenced in heading into the dungeon's dark entrance chamber.
"Are you okay, Cher?" he asked her suspiciously, "You're acting really. different."
Cherry smiled as she closed her eyes, "I've never felt better!"
Now Kouji's other eyebrow shot up; Cherry was often overexcited, but not in the goofy sort of manner as she was behaving now.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in love or something," Kouji commented skeptically.
"Who, me?" Cherry snorted, "Nah, I'm not the fall-in-love type."
Skye rolled her eyes at both of them, then stopped suddenly, causing her companions to halt behind her. Ahead of them, the main tunnel forked into three smaller passages. She sighed as she shifted her weight onto one foot and propped herself upon her staff.
"Great. What now?" she whined with irritation, anxious to come across a monster in order to gain some much-needed experience points.
Kouji surveyed the corridors broodingly as he suggested, "It would be safer to explore them together, but it would also be much more time consuming."
Cherry nodded sternly as she took a confident step forward. "Well, they can't all be dead ends," she concluded, despite the fact that the contents of the mysterious passageways were swallowed by darkness, "So Kouji, you go to the right one, I'll check out the center one, and Skye can look at tunnel on the left. If you meet up with a monster or something, send me a message, or, better yet, scream at the top of your lungs and I'll help you out. Meet back here in five minutes if you don't find anything. Any questions? Too bad, time to go."
Skye, admirable of Cherry's consistent leadership, watched her as hurried off into the middle channel. When she had submerged herself into shadow, Kouji flashed Skye a disturbed stare and then sprinted down the tunnel assigned to him. She sighed and began to travel through the remaining left one, wondering fearfully how she'd be able to make her way around in the gloom that lied ahead.
She sauntered onward for what seemed like centuries, until finally she stumbled upon a chamber illuminated by blazing torches lining the walls. In the dead center of the room sat a treasure chest; she gaped moon-eyed with marvel and disbelief, curious as to why it had been so simple to locate it. She kneeled tentatively beside the golden-lined trunk and unfastened it slowly, revealing its emptiness.
"Ugh, I knew this was too good to be true," she mumbled angrily. With a hint of disappointment, she increased her voice to a holler, "Hey guys, somebody's just come through here. Treasure's gone." She rose clumsily, her eyes darting throughout the chamber.
Suddenly she came to realize that all but one of the torches were extinguished, merely enormous lumpy clubs protruding from the mossy stone walls; half of the chamber was bathing in the dancing fiery glow of the single flaming torch, while the remaining half concealed the exit.
Skye released another broken sigh, then immersed herself into the blackness, carefully groping for the smooth wooden surface of the door that would lead her out of the room. But before she could scour any longer, a silky voice shattered the silence, "What's this? A Wavemaster traveling alone?" She whirled around, nearly trembling with the dread slithering up her spine.
"W - who's there?" she stammered, firming her grip on her staff, readying for battle.
"Aww, are you scared, little girl?" the voice cooed with an obvious sarcastic tone.
"Show yourself!" Skye ordered, glaring into the shadows.
An amused laughter rang through her ears as she snapped her head around, only to witness the flaring sparks of sword slicing stone. The colossal torch had been chopped in half, toppling to the ground with a thundering, deafening thud, plunging the entire room into obscurity.
"Who are you? What do you want with me? Is this your idea of a cruel joke? Well it's not funny! You'd better speak up now, or I'll" - her voice was silenced as she felt a warm body pressed against her bare, halter-exposed back; every motion of its heavy breathing could be sensed as the pursuer compressed them together. Long glossy hair fell across her shoulders. hair that didn't belong to her - she automatically perceived her attacker was a female player.
"What is it you were going to do if I didn't answer your silly questions?" the voice asked smoothly as a hand closed around Skye's tense wrist.
It wasn't a high-pitched tone, nor was it rumbling and low. Instead, it was right between the two, lathered with an eerie, glassy silkiness and a sarcasm that both annoyed her and sent goosebumps rippling down her arms.
"If. if you don't let me go, I'll scr" - her attacker released her wrist and brought it's arm around her throat in an odd sort of headlock, silencing Skye before she could complete her harmless threat. The hairs on the back of her neck stood frigidly on end, prickling and becoming even stiffer as the cold metal of a blade crossed chillingly before her face.
"I do hope you've saved recently, because if you even think about screaming you'll be trying to reconnect about five seconds later," sneered her pursuer.
"What do you want from me?" Skye snarled furiously.
"Just to talk," the voice replied casually. Skye felt its shoulders shrug, as if it were no big deal, as if she didn't have a sword placed at her throat and the two of them were simply old acquaintances having a chat over lunch.
"I won't say another word to you unless we go to where I can see your face," she announced sternly, attempting to have the same headstrong, assertive attitude as Cherry. As soon as this assailant's grip lessened, she'd make a run for it. that was the plan.
"I think the darkness suits us fine. As long as we can hear each other's voices then I see no reason why it should be a problem," it retorted, growing slightly impatient.
"And if I refuse?"
The voice chuckled softly, "Are you sure you really want to find out?" A short pause engulfed them. "You'll cooperate, or I'll just. I suppose the phrase for a stiff like would be 'betray you', am I right?" the attacker whispered with a tone identical to the chill within the chamber.
Skye felt a surge of fury burst through her veins.
"Who the heck do you think you are?! What is there to talk about? And even if you did PK me, I saved right before my party and I entered this dungeon, so it wouldn't do you much good. And I'm not a stiff!" she complained with an aggravated tone.
"Ooh, the sensitive type, aren't we? And, yes, you are a stiff. Trust me on this one - I'm a great judge of character."
"I don't really agree with you on that," Skye scowled as she frantically struggled against the tight hold upon her.
"Didn't you tell me you wouldn't say another word to me unless we could go to where you could see my face?" the pursuer sang tauntingly in her ear.
Skye could feel its warm breath against her flesh and she squirmed as if a deadly virus were touching her.
"That's beside the point!"
"Since when were you trying to make a point in the first place?"
"You came after me! I was never even trying to make a point!"
Skye growled, her body becoming taut and rigid as her assailant's arm slipped off of her shoulders and down by it's sides. However, their bodies were compressed too closely for her to take the risk of running.
"Wow, you really are a stiff."
"Ugh, I bet you'd be nervous if a total weirdo was getting too close for comfort."
"Hey, give a guy a break. I'm not that bad, I'm just misunderstood."
So, this was, indeed, a male character I'm dealing with, she thought to herself, which explains why he is clinging to me in this manner.
"I don't see your point with this," Skye snarled.
"The idea is not to think - the idea is to just shut up and listen."
"If there was anything to listen to," she grumbled under her breath.
"If you're that curious," he snapped acidly, "Ask a question."
"What do you think I've been doing?!" She released a shaken sigh, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed as she fought the anger simmering in her throat. She was not going to submerge to his level and play his immature mind games; however, she would like to learn who is was, and his reason for following her.
"First of all, if you wanted to talk to me that badly, how did you find me?"
"Let's just say," he finally responded after consideration, "That I'm a man of connections."