This Chapter shall be called
The Tiefling and the STILL oblivious Paladin. And the overprotective Necromancer
"We'll attract every demon in the place," Amon continued.
"It would ease our job- we would have to look for them," Mathias said with a slight laugh. He really was entirely oblivious. Amon simply snorted, wondering why he was not questioning her on what Kaurian had just said…
"Have you no sense of curiosity?" she burst out- and immediately regretted it. She didn't WANT Mathias to ask. He blinked, looking at her.
"What do you mean?"
"… Nothing… Let's find out what happened to our monk." She turned and helped Kaurian up from where he sat upon the dead Zombie. Then she turned toward the side tunnel that the monk had slipped into and moved towards it.
"Looking for me?" the voice of the monk called.
"Yep!" His voice what quite far away and he came back to them through the tunnel, holding a torch for light. That he picked up their conversation indicated that he had a keen sense of hearing. "So," she continued as he came up to them, grinning and crossing her arms over her chest, "where did you wander off to?"
"I… Took care of a group of Carvers… by myself." She nodded as a barely noticeable smile touched his lips.
"Thank you," she said with a thankful smile. "Do you loot corpses?" He shrugged.
"Only for gold."
"Ah, so we should check to see if there is anything else we want?" Again he shrugged. Amon grinned, and, in unison with him, said "If you wish." She grinned at him, laughing lightly.
"… "
Mathias, however, butted in, nodding. "That would be good. Come on," and he and Oocho headed off to loot.
Amon decided to tease the poor monk a little more, and then asked him, "Is gold so important?" Mimicking what he had said to her when they had first met.
"Hmm… It is… Not for me. But it is important for something else." Amon merely tilted her head to the side.
"I was mimicking your question about names. You still haven't told me yours." Kaurian limped by, going towards the looting chamber.
"Get a room," he grunted out. The monk simply responded with,
"…" Amon simply shook her head, sighing.
"Will you please tell me your name? Or at lease something to call you bye?"
"That I will. My name is Thaedras "Windbearer" Takegawa of the Windwalkers," he offered with a bow.
"Do you mind if I just call you 'Thaedras'?"
"I do not at all." She nodded, and then asked,
"Do you know what I am? Mathias seems to be the only person who doesn't- for which I am very grateful."
"I know that you are alive. But I do not know, or need to know, what you are."
"I'm not Human. Is that alright with you?"
"Perfectly." She nodded again, wiping her blade off on her pant leg.
"Okay… let's follow them then. Unless you want to wander off again."
"They aren't very far." Both turned, Amon hurrying after her accomplices and Thaedras following at his own place. The Paladin and Archer were both already looting, and Amon joined them, watching Kaurian play with his equipment (Which he'd just found in a sack). Kaurian smiled to himself, and then shot a bone lance past the Paladin, inches from his left ear. Mathias never even flinched, standing up slowly to look at him.
"What is it, necromancer?"
"What? I said nothing to you," Kaurian answered with a smile, standing up and hooking his wand to his belt.
"There was no need for any form of intimidation on your part…"
"I was just testing my aim."
"I see… And what would have happened if you hit me?"
"Ah but dear Mathias… What would happen if I hit you right now? I could if I wanted to. The point is, I'm not going to. And I haven't done so." He grinned darkly and went over to Amon, watching her loot. He seemed strangely protective over the Archer and Rouge.
"…You best not, Necromancer. I have no qualms with you, but if you are to provoke me, you can trust I will not be lenient. Kaurian didn't even grace him with a response, waiting for Amon to finish. Mathias eyed him a moment and then went back to looting.
Finally, when Amon finished looting and stood, Kaurian smiled and strapped a small bucker to his arm that seemed to be made of stretched demon hide.
"I'm ready," Oocho said, standing and stretching. "Everyone else ready?"
"Both of us," Kaurian answered.
"I am done," Mathias announced, standing as well.
"As am I…" Thaedras said simply, and Amon nodded, smiling and heading off, stealthing. Behind her, both Oocho and Kaurian followed, and Mathias and Thaedras followed behind.
After some time, Amon came back to them.
"Around six gargantuan, three fallen shaman, and their tribes."
"We will defeat them with ease," Mathias whispered back. Thaedras made a noise resembling, "Hmph…" but nothing more. Amon smiled beneath her stealth, and then a fallen carcass tumbled out of the shadow. Immediately, the Necromancer smiled with delight, raising a full blown skeletal minion, which moves to the head of the group, right beside Oocho.
"Same tactic?" he asked her.
"Same tactic," she answered. "I'll blow out a few fallen and you raise them before their Shaman can. Then we let Mathias, and if Thaedras stays with us, Thaedras through to fight as well. We're better off in the back."
"Oh goody : ) " The Nekromancer was defiantly a strange one. Their conversation was interrupted by Amon hissing out,
"Be quiet, they'll hear us." And, quite quickly, they came upon a new cavern. Simultaneously, there was a sickening thud as a shaman's head went rolling across the floor. After initial shock, the other two shaman and all the fallen instantly rushed at the party, ice bolts hitting the ground where Amon was and effectively making her visible, freezing her to the ground.
Oocho then proceeded to litter the fallen with arrows, six of the dead rising up as skeletons. Perfectly coordinated, Kaurian sent his minions crashing through the fallen all the way up to Amon, having them huddle around her and fend off attacks until she could properly move again. Then the Necromancer stepped aside…
And Mathias let loose an aura of strength, charging headlong into the pack of fallen. Only Thaedras stayed reserved, walking slowly into the room and letting those who wish to fight come to him. Eventually, Amon started freeing her legs, the magic wearing off, and vanished once more. The next shaman's head was split open. It never knew what hit it. The gargantuan, being the lumbering idiots they were, had finally gotten wind of the situation and were charging at the skeletons, smashing them to pieces. What came out of Kaurian's mouth was… strange.
"KNAVES! BLASPHAMERS! DEVILS!" As bone lances started thudding into them. Of course, Mathias didn't do much to help the skeletons against the gargantuan, concentrating on making his way to the last shaman and keeping the fallen occupied. And Thaedras stood still, watching the battle silently. Amon, seeing that the Paladin had the Shaman covered, ran back to the skeletons and started taking the weakened gargantuan down.
"GO CHAIR!" She was so flattering. And Thaedras crossed his arms across his chest, his eyes closing to slits while Mathias hacked, kicked, and bashed his way to the Shaman. With most of the enemy out of the way, Oocho merely nailed the Shaman between the eyes with an arrow, right as Mathias finally gets to it.
"…" Mathias grunted, standing up straight, and kicking the body while nodding contently. "Yep… Job well done, indeed."
Of course, without the shamans or the gargantuan, the rest of the fallen were slaughtered like harmless flies. And Thaedras hadn't made one offensive movement the entire time.
Amon sighed, reappearing, breathing in deep, and Mathias pulled of his helm to catch his breath. " I'm not one to highlight many things," the Paladin began, "But… could I ask why you did not help us?" He looked over at Thaedras. The Monk merely opened his eyes back up to look at Mathias.
"I look not for quarrel where there is none to be found.
"What he means to say is, we didn't need his help and no monsters were even bothering to attack him, so he didn't have to fight. I think," Amon supplied. Thaedras just smiled. Whether that was what he had meant or not, no one knew.
Oocho sighed and shook her head, watching the Rouge ask Mathias again if he was injured, and watching him answer with 'no'. "Amon, you always seem to get along with everyone. How is it you do it?" she muttered enviously, poking through the corpses. As everyone stooped to looting, she looked over at Amon again. "You smell any more demons, Amon?"
"No, just three infested rouges guarding a treasure box down that hall," she said, pointing.
"Oh, good," Kaurian said with a smile. He raised some skeletons and a clay golem, sending them after the treasure. Female screams occurred and the skeletons came back with the treasure chest.
"… That was slightly disturbing…" The Paladin said, making a slight face.
"What, I was just getting the treasure chest," the Necromancer said innocently. The cloaked rouge rolled her eyes beneath her helmet.
"He can't help it, Mathias. He's desensitized.
"I see… Shall we keep on?" the Assimar Paladin asked, standing up. Amon grinned and plopped down, looting.
"No. I don't smell any more demons. There aren't any left. Just wait a moment, you'll see."
"I do," he said in disgust, wrinkling his nose. She rolled her head and eyes exaggeratly.
"That's just their corpses! I mean live ones."
And as Amon promised, bolts of light shot through the cave, bouncing off solid rock walls and lighting up the entire cavern.
"Told you," she said smugly. He looked in her direction "It's purified." Kaurian snickered.
"Listen to Amon when she says something. Specially about demons. She's like a mini Horadrim Scholar."
"… That's what I'm concerned about," murmured the Paladin darkly. Kaurian blinked.
"What?" In return, Mathias just shrugged. Amon, however, looked straight at Mathias. Then she looked at her hands, clasping them in front of her. Kaurian merely snickered again. "You have no idea about anything concerning Amon, do you?" he asked.
"I have my suspicions," Mathias answered simply. "I suspect, but I do not denounce without evidence. I am not prejudiced like my brethren were.
Amon quivered lightly. "Do you want to know?" she asked with a slight rush. Mathias blinked, raising an eyebrow.
"To hide something from others can be dangerous. Amon nodded to herself, and then reached under her hood, pulling the helmet like a mask from her face. Gently, she sat it on the ground. Then she stood and came over to Mathias, kneeling and slowly pushing back the hem of the hood…
Revealing her maroon hair, small curved horns, and red eyes. She was a Tiefling. As he has celestial, angelic blood… she had demonic.