Shoutouts:To Ilrery Cyciga: Hooray! I'm not bad. Now all I've got to do is work my way up to good.

To Avatar of Fyre and Ashes:I thought you had nothing else to say. Oh well. As for Khali, it just kinda seemed right. Also, with Tulwik, you seem to forget that Ishami talks even less than Tulwik. Also, the angels, I feel, are more of the mirrored image of the prime evils. Tyrael --- Diablo, Izual --- Baal, and Hadriel --- Mephisto.

To David 'Zhang': Good for Murdoc...or God, depending on how you refer to him. You know you're probably right, but then again, it's how I write. So sorry.

To everyone:Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. And anything else that gives a flying freak, here's the next update.

x x x

Chapter Five: The River

The sun was burning bright the next morning. Too bright. Which ment a big problem, the seven tried to travel to the temple on foot, they would surely die. Thank god for Warriv. When Moontear saw this she went to buy three covered wagons from him, which would make her flat broke, however, not a single piece of gold passed out of her pocket, into his hands. For you see, he gave her the wagons, and some camels to pull them, for free. So with the means of safe travel sought to, she went to The Golden Jewel for breakfast with the others.

It was several minutes, before a woman came down out of Khali's room, thus leaving the pub hurridly, and several more minutes before Khali himself entered the pub.

"Bastard," Fenrier said, as Khali sat down, shoveling rice into his bowl, from the pot in middle of the table.

"It's understandable that you're angry," Khali said, "I mean I would be too, if I was your age and still a virgin." At this everyone, even Ishami, cast the paladin an extremly suprised look.

Then Fenrier cast a poisonous look towards Khali and said, "Quit staring, all of you, and eat your rice." The meal was then finished in complete and total, strenuous silence. But as the seven were leaving towards the wagons,acompanied by Cain, Fenrier punched Khali in the arm quite hard and it returned to the mutual, bickering relationship that they shared.

They departed, after many tearful hugs, best of lucks and good byes from Atma and a few brothel girls. Aside from having to kill a few beetle demons, which Khali had taken advantage of, by turning them into mages, the trip went rather smoothly.

It was dusk when the seven reached the Claw Viper Temple. Down, down, and further down they traveled until they reached a corridor blocked by several feet of rubble.

"Well this dosen't bode well," thought Cain out loud.

"Yes," agreed Khali, "Especially since this is the only trap-free route."

"Wait," Leera said, extremly exausted and angry, from walking for so long without coming across any fights or gold. "This isn't the fastest way to the river."

"I never said it was the fastest route, just the best," Khali said, as he examined the the rocks that blocked their path, "However, if you want to be impaled, roasted, drowned and torn limb from limb be my guest...We're going to have to dig through it."

"Let's just use the volcano potion, to blast through it," Vash suggested.

"I'm not exactly a genious," Tulwik began, "But even I know that using explosives in a temple that's hundreds upon hundreds of years old, is extremly stupid."

"Bravo," Khali said, clapping, "Now time to set off to digging. Ishami, I belive that we went through a tomb, dedicated to some of the people who built this place. Could you bring back some of their bodies and tools? Tulwik, hand me one of your hammers and we can get started. And Fenrier...just stand there and look pretty," At this Fenrier made a rude hand gesture, as everyone else set off to do their assigned tasks.

It was several days of work, before any true progress was made in the tunnel. Khali speculated that they had worked for nearly ten days since they had started by the time they broke through, and when they did they took one day of rest, after which, they continued on.

As they continued on the temple seemed to have no end to it's depth, just when it seemed that travesing into depths of the temple was a fruitless endeavor, they rounded a corner, as a result, they were met with blue light, and the sound of running water. They then ran hurridly down the set of stairs before them, rounded another corner, and walked into to the vast chamber that was the dock for the under ground river. It seemed to be more a work of art than a dock at all. There were several intricate paterns carved into the floors, walls and the ceiling. Other carving depicted gory battles long since past, some told of love, and some of the rules set down by many kings, during their rule. The majority of the carvings had gold thickly melted into them, and the light came from the crevices in the carvings.

At the sight of all the gold carvings, Leera went beserk. She snatched one of Tulwik's hammers, and began to use it to chisle out some of the gold in the walls. Her efforts proved useless, but she continued on anyway. She didn't stop, until Khali informed her that there was a spell cast upon the walls, to protect it from materialists like her.

They then made their way over to a dock. And as they selected the three sturdiest rafts, Moontear said, "What's causing the light?"

"Well," Cain began, "My best guess is...mushrooms."

"Mushrooms?" Leera said skeptically.

"Yes," Khali said, "We use the same trick back home."

"Now that is amazing," said Fenrier. "I didn't know that there was place, besides hell, that could hold so many demons."

"You know," Khali started, "I said the exact same thing about idiots, when I heard about your home in Westmarch."

"Once you two girls are done making out," Vash said, "I have to tell you something." Once he had everyone attention, he said, "I'm about to turn into something called a werewhale, so when I come out of the water, don't attack me. I didn't tell Leera this last night, and that's how I got this," he said as he pointed at his bandaged up ear. He then sent out a whistle, it first sounded icredibly low, then unbelivably high. Then, out of no where, his animals appeared at his side. And as the animals piled into several different stone boats, Vash dove into the water, and arose, in the form of a werewhale.

The other seven then attached several ropes to Vash, and tied the other ends to the boats they'd be using. After loading up the boats, with supplies, ammo, etc., they gave Vash the order to go, and thus, they were off.

It was several hours later, when Ishami pulled her head up from her latest fit of vomiting, Khali said, "Why don't you get Moontear, or some other form of mage, to take care of those tedious ailments of yours?"

Ishami then replied, "In the words of Vash, 'not just no, but hell no,' okay."

"You know, it's funny," Tulwik said, "You're probably the most dangerous out of all of us, but you have things like motion sickness, and sea sickness."

"Not to mention you're allergic to dogs," Leera added.

"As much as I would like to continue this conversation, on my medical status," Ishami cut in, "we've got trouble." And it was true, for just down the river, jumping from wall to wall, were cave leapers.

"Well, hey, that's great," Leera said, sarcastically, "Oh, here's some more bad news, I CAN'T F$#ING SEE!" they had long since left the glow of the mushroom covered walls behind, and the walls had become narrow.

"Wait, hold on!" Moontear said. She picked up her battle staff and used inferno, sending the fire straight up, illuminating the dark, narrow tunnel, revealing over fifty cave leapers.

Then everyone that could, began to attack to the best of his, her, or it's ability. Vash's ravens took flight, pecking at cave leapers, the two mages Khali conjured up in the desert, began to shoot out random magical energy bolts.Fenrier used blessed hammer, Tulwik began to use throwing axes, Leera used the Strafe tecnique, Khali used teeth to attack multiple enemies, and Ishami used a Phycic Hammer, Mind Blast combo. Each technique they used would send several leapers into, the now, churning waters of the river.

However, even in their united efforts, some cave leapers still managed to make it within jumping range of the heroes. Once there, they attacked the thing they were closest to, Vash. They used their claws to ddig into the thick blubber of his back, and proceeded to hack away at the flesh, this of couse, enraged his wife.

She then began to fire arrows repeatedly with amazing speed. Saying, as she shot and reshot, "GET... THE... F$#... OFF... HIM... YOU... UGLY... MOTHER... F$#ERS!"

Even at the rapid pace at which the cave leapers were dying, if the fight didn't end in the next few moments, Vash would die. It was then that Khali had an idea, which was quickly followed by the little voice in his head, that warned him when he was about to do something stupid. Now it was telling him, he was about to do something extremly stupid. "Tulwik! Chuck me at them!"

Tulwik then grabbed Khali, and flung him into the heart of the demonic force. It was there, that Khali used Poison Nova to kill all of the remaining leapers. Khali then hit the churning water, and he heard a sickening crack, as a rock he bumped into, broke his left arm. And just as he was about to be sucked up by the undertoe, and drown, he felt something jab his left hand. Acting quickly, he then spun around in the water and grab onto it. He was then pulled up out of the water, to meet the smiling face of Fenrier.

"Don't die yet," Fenrier said, "I might have to use your body as a sheild."

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I'm so sorry this update is so short and it took me so long to type up, so don't review too badly. But as always, KEEP ON ROCKIN AND WRITTING, CAUSE I'LL HANDLE THE ROLLING!