"I'm sorry, but who are you people?" Ruby immediately regretted the words even before she finished speaking them. In all honesty, it had just tumbled out before she could stop it. Unfortunately, that didn't make it any less rude and apparently offensive.
"Excuse me, but what is that supposed to mean?" The elf snapped, glaring at her from her seat. "Who are you? The meeting time for this quest was several minutes ago. And then you barged in and started acting like we're the ones being tarty? That a lot of nerve!"
The elf, despite being the same height as Ruby, had a bossy voice that made the girl flinch. She couldn't tell the kind of elf the girl was, but if she had to guess, she'd probably say some kind of high elf. Something that was further supported by the beautiful, oriental lute tucked in her lap and by the girl's choice of armor.
She was clad in white armor, hard leather covering her chest with small, light metal plates covering her shoulders, arms, and legs, all small and slender fitting a more petite build. Further adding to her small frame was a silver rapier also hung by her waist, a weapon that indicates she preferred quick, accurate strikes over the huge, powerful blows of her scythe.
Over all, despite her clean and spotless attire, she carried herself with an air of superiority that was not lost to the young fighter. Honestly, it kinda rubbed her the wrong way as she couldn't shake the feeling that this girl was little more than a rich, silver spooned brat whose father was probably paying for her to have some fun before she was brought back home to lord over some poor-.
"Hey! Are you listening to me!?"
Ruby immediately snapped out of her thoughts by the sharp tongued elf, making her instinctively back up and raise her hand in defense.
"Yes! Yes ma'am! Hanging on every word!" She said so quickly that Ruby herself was sure a twelve year old could tell she was lying. But as she couldn't force the words back down her throat, she just had to cross her fingers and pray that this girl was that socially inept not to pick up on her lie.
Unfortunately, it seemed that her luck from yesterday was still in full swing as the girl scowl got even deeper.
Rising to her feet, the pale young elf walked straight across the dining room where she proceeded to get right up in Ruby's face, glaring at her with deep blue eyes that burned with pure distaste for the cloaked fighter.
"Are you mocking me?" She demanded, shoving her face so close to Ruby's that the young girl could feel her breath. "You've got a lot of nerve, human. I'll have you know a quest of this caliber is something I could handle myself! But doctor Bobichy insisted that this be a four man mission. So I've been waiting here since dawn waiting for a full team to show up matching the quest's description."
"Quest description? What quest description?" Ruby thought, thinking back to the bulletin in her bag. She didn't remember any pre-recresits to accept the quest.
However, before she could ask what the girl was talking about, a loud snort from the table drew both her and the girl's attention.
"Well damn. If I'd known you'd be on my team, I'd have told you to just go ahead. That way, when you got yourself killed down there, I'd get a bigger share of the treasure." The bronze Dragonborn said lazily, leaning back in her chair, kicking her feet up on the table as she tucked her arms behind her head.
This girl was the complete opposite to the elf. Bulky and clad in a leather tunic that left her ripped stomach and giant…assists on full display. A mane of beautiful golden hair flowed down her back. It was the only part of the girl that looked well maintained as her armor and boots had very much taken a beating.
Laying next to her, was a huge, two handed axe that looked well used, but not very well cared for. Chips and scratches were visible all across both its handle and blade, leaving a very obvious chunk missing from the center that looked like someone had taken a bite out of it.
Normally, this kind of careless behavior would get someone killed, (according to Ruby's uncle.) but given the visible tough scales and rows upon rows of sharp teeth that hide the flame sack somewhere down her gullet, the fighter was very much willing to give her a pass on that one.
Unfortunately, not everyone shared her sentiment.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" The elf snapped back, her eyes narrowing as she glared at her companion. "You think I can't handle myself? I'll have you know, I've been training as a bard for several years. I'm more capable of finding a single relic in some dusty old temple than a brute like-."
"Training and experience are two very different things, princess." With a single hand, the Dragonborn waved away the elf's words dismissively, as if baiting off a fly, making Ruby chuckle quietly behind her. "No amount of training is going to prepare you for the moment death comes barreling down on you. Try to remember that before you embarrass yourself again. Though if I'm being honest, I'm putting money on you pissing yourself in fear the moment a real battle starts. Which will be way more embarrassing than putting your foot in your mouth, princess."
Eyebrow twitching with rage, the elf shot Ruby a quick glare over her shoulder before storming over to the Dragonborn, looking down at her as she leaned back in her seat, held up by two of its legs.
"My name is Weiss, not Princess." She hissed. "And for your information, I've seen much more terrifying things than a couple monsters that made an old temple their-."
"Don't care." The Dragonborn said, waving the elf, Weiss, off again, this time opening one scaly eye to look up at the much smaller girl, letting a smirk spread across her maul as she took in her appearance.
"Though honestly, if you're willing to pay me a good price, I'd be happy to act as an escort on baby's first mission. Want to ring up daddy dearest for an extenuation of your allowance? I'll allow a late fee if you don't mind covering my boot cleaning bill with a bit of elbow grease and a bucket of-Wha!?"
Before anyone at the table could react, Weiss' leg lash out, kicking the seat out from under the Dragonborn sending her crashing to the ground in a crumpled heap, her tail squished between her back and the floor, giving her a tortoise on its shell appearance as she flailed around on the ground.
Looking down at the blond with a triumphant smirk, Weiss crossed her arms and strode a few feet back, coming to a stop by her own seat.
"Oh what a shame. Guess it's true what they say, a reptile is only a reptile." She said in a highly conceited tone. "Well, if a brute like you is too slow to stop some rich bitch from toppling her, I'm afraid what'll happen in a…oh how did you put it? Real fight."
With a dismissive wave of her hand, the elf shut one eye to look down at the Dragonborn as she managed to get herself on her hands and knees, almost looking like she was bowing to the bard, something that Weiss was quick to point out herself.
"You know, I think you look better groveling like that. Keep it up and I might consider babysitting you during the mission. You can carry my bags, while I take care of all the scary monsters. We wouldn't want you falling and getting hurt, now would we?"
Glaring up at the elf from on the ground, Ruby saw the Dragonborn's eyes flash from purple to red as flames seem to course through her body making it glow golden like the sun.
"Stupid bitch! I'll show you who's groveling! Yang Xi Long bows to no one!" With that, the Dragonborn, Yang, wrenched her axe from the ground as she leapt to her feet. Immediately charging towards Weiss with the blade of her weapon scraping across the table, knocking plates and goblets to the ground where they spilled their contents.
Acting immediately, the elf planted her feet to the ground as she drew her rapier in a flash, leveling it at the charging woman as she dug her heels in, standing there waiting for her opponent to close the gap, though what she was planning, Ruby had no idea. As while she had never seen either of them fight, she had a good guess who was physically stronger!
However, before either of them could get into striking range, a burst of green lightning shot from the other end of the table, blasting a hole in the ground and raining debris down onto Weiss as the attack brought Yang to a halt.
"That's quite enough out of both of you." Dr. Bobichy said, lowering his cane and setting it back between his legs. "You two are teammates now. Save your quarreling until after you complete my quest. Once you've placed the artifact in my hands, you are free to kill each other or do whatever. However, if you continue to put on such a childish display, I have no problem hiring two other adventurers in your stead."
Slowly, the Dragonborn and the elf pulled their gazes away from the old man and back onto each other, exchanging looks of mutual contempt before Weiss let out a sigh, sliding her blade back into its scabbard.
"Fine." She grunted, pulling out her seat and daintily sitting down in it. "I'll hold off on giving you your final crashendo. Until then, I'll make a point of chronicling your many faults and failures to create a lovely hymn to remember your stupidity by."
Snarling, the Dragonborn threw her axe to the floor before turning on her heel and making her way back towards her seat.
"Stupid bitch!" She muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "I can't wait to roast you alive while you beg for mercy. Too bad I'll have to save that pleasure for later."
Staking back to her seat, Yang strode passed the still seated Tabaxi, who pointedly rolled her eyes at the woman's actions, muttering something along the lines of "children." under her breath. Though fortunately, nobody heard for sure.
Once the Dragonborn was seated, the old man at the head of the table sat back down as well, calmly interlocking his fingers as he forced his attention back onto Ruby.
"Now, Ms. Rose, would you care to take a seat?" He said calmly, as if a fight hadn't almost broken out between two of his guests. "I'm sure we all must be starving, so how about I give you four lovely ladies the details while we fill our empty belly?"
With that, he clapped his hands, and not an instant later, a door behind him swung open, allowing an assortment of waiters to come in, quickly scooping up the destroyed dining utensils alongside the food and replacing them with platters of fresh, new foods. All clearly made by an expert chef.
Immediately Ruby felt her mouth start to water. Without wasting a second, she made her way over to the table, grabbing a seat away from the other three girls, and quickly began helping herself to the delicious food laid out before her, trying to tune out the others.
Calmly, not reacting at all to the younger girl's very clear antisocial behavior, dr. Bobichy clapped his hands, drawing all eyes to him. "Now, seeing as we're all seated, let's begin with the quest summary."
Reaching under the table, the old man pulled out a beautiful, oriental box, placing it in front of him on a small, elevated platform which he then spun, making the box spin around in a circle so all four adventurers could see it clearly.
"This is your target." He said looking at all his guests. "A replica, obviously. But one that was made to the exact dimensions of the original. Take a few minutes to memorize it, but remember that the one you're looking for is going to be weathered."
Looking up between gulps of food, Ruby took in her target and committed it to memory.
It was a jade box, not unlike a music box, with a silver lid sealed shut by a diamond studded lock. Strangely enough, the lock didn't seem to have a keyhole, opting instead to have four metal bars sticking out of the center holding it shut.
Strange, but even weirder was the fact that there didn't seem to be anything holding the bars in place, indicating that anyone could simply open it once they got a hold of it, completely defeating the point of having a lock in the first place.
And yet, it was clearly made by an expert craftsman as each side was painstakingly decorated differently than the others.
One side was painted in light greens and blues, depicting budding flowers and green grass. In the background, one could spot winds painted on with lightly delicate strokes, giving the skies few clouds the appearance of lazily drifting along as they were carried into the distance beyond in the beautiful blue sky.
The second side was painted with bright, vibrant reds and blues, depicting a beautiful meadow blooming with flowers and wildlife, both seeming to run as they were slanted by an unseen wind that made the flowers and trees dance next to the animals as they played together under a bright, golden sun.
The next, a beautiful gold and red depiction of a pile of leaves set against a tree that they had fallen from. There, Ruby could practically feel the chilly air as the gold and brown leaves were highlighted by the red grass and birds flying south from the year. Escaping the cold months that were just around the corner.
Finally, the last side was pure silver and white. A snowy wonderland stretching out as far as the eye could see, coming to a head at the mouth of a cave flowed from the snow that reflected the sun's light, practically igniting the icicles that hung from the entrance, making the back wall of the cave seem to dance with colors as the deadly stalactites.
"So pretty." Ruby breathed, not even realizing she had spoken aloud as she stared mesmerized by the box.
"Isn't it?" The older man said, calmly bringing the trays spin to a stop. "This is your target. While you shouldn't expect to find it in this good condition, I suspect it's not a far cry from what you can expect to find.
"How?" The elf asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Those ruins have been abandoned for centuries. Nobody even knows who built them. How could an object hundreds of years old still have even a fragment of its old shine, or paint, or even structure? I mean, even elven ritual objects fade with time. So how could this box that even bare a fraction of this…splendor?"
Turning to the elf, the old man calmly withdrew a book from below the table, placing it calmly on the table for all to see.
"An excellent question. See I've been doing research on these ruins for many years now." He explained. "From what I've learned, it was built by a shadowy organization who believed that the world was ending. As such, to preserve their thoughts and identities, they used ancient magic to initialize them into a container they believed would survive the coming apocalypse, and hide it away inside their temple, hoping that one day, it would be found by the next civilization who would find it and set them free."
"So, basically a bunch of crazy lunatics. Okay, got it." Yang said, raising from her seat and punching her own open palm. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go down into their lair, kick some ugly monsters in the face, get the box back and get our money and never see each other again. Sounds like easy money if you ask-."
"If you've been researching this for so long, how come you haven't tried to get it?" The Tabaxi asked, looking straight at the old man and ignoring the scowl coming from the girl a few seats down. "Sounds like you know what to expect and what to watch out for. And seeing as you're some kind of wizard or sorcerer, it seems to me you're going through a lot of trouble and willing to part with a lot of coin for some seemingly random trinket."
With an exasperated groan, Yang threw her head back rolling her eyes at her colleague.
"Who cares why he hasn't done it yet." She said pointedly, not even trying to hide her annoyance. "We get the job done, we get a butt load of gold! What more do you need to know? What, you one of those self-righteous rogues who thinks they've somehow developed a conscience just because they didn't slit some old lady's throat when robbing them blind? Because if you are, keep it to yourself."
"You should talk." The masked girl replied calmly, not even bothering to look at the Dragonborn. "I've known you all of thirty minutes and I already know the kind of person you are. Selfish, egotistical, only caring about yourself. Yeah, I've seen your kind all before, and let me tell you, you people are a dime a dozen. Always willing to walk over anybody who gets in your way and find an excuse after. And if may be blunt, I've had just about enough of that kind of person to last me a lifetime."
Growling, Yang immediately threw her chair to the side, making a threatening step towards the Tabaxi, hands balling into fists. "You wanna go?!" She snapped, drawing a bored look from the mysterious woman. "Because if so, I can knock your block off and send all the way down to the port if you want, you stuck up little thi-!"
"You are correct, Ms. Belladonna." The old man interrupted, drawing the attention back to him. "Under normal circumstances, I would try to recover it myself. However, recently, there has been a development that has caused me to take a back seat."
Reaching up, the old man brushed aside his beard, showing the four the horrible stitches that ran across the base of his neck, still red and raw, straining against his flesh as they held his head to his shoulders.
"As you can see, my adventuring days are over." He said, chuckling at the horrified looks on all the girls' faces. "This was supposed to be my party's grand finale. A way to celebrate our achievements and accomplishments. Unfortunately, the beast that gave me this, took out all my friends. So I thought, if I could bring what was supposed to be our greatest treasure, maybe then we could rest in peace."
Immediately Ruby felt her heart go out to the old man. The thought of losing those closest to you is something that hit terribly close to her. Thinking back, it didn't take much effort to conjure up the memory of a little girl, wandering around in the rain, crying as she called for her mother, begging for that source of comfort and security to come back and be with her, the most important person to her.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ruby jumped up to her feet, planting her hand to her head as she faced the old man with a solemn but determined look on her face.
"Mr. Bobichy. I promise you we will get that box!" She said without a second's hesitation. "We will do everything in our power to find and ensure that you get that box to your party so their souls can rest in peace."
Smiling up at the girl, the old man lowered his beard, a soft chuckle escaping his lip. "Thank you, young adventurer. Thank you so much."
Smiling down at him, Ruby lowered her hand, she gave him a gentle nod, understanding blooming in her chest. There and then, she swore to herself she'd see this quest through, no matter the cost.
Right up until a sharp snap drew her back to reality.
"Hey! Who made you the leader of our party?!"
A little while later on the road to the ruins.
"I can't believe this." Weiss snarled as she angrily kicked a rock down the path. "I can't believe I got dragged into some stupid old man's sentiment because some child can't keep her mouth shut! If I'd known my team would be a bunch of uncivilized hooligans, I'd never have bothered!"
"Plenty of time to turn back, Princess." Yang called back. "Believe me, nobody's thrilled about having you here either, so if you want to buzz off, it'll be fine by us. More coin to go around."
"Come on guys, knock it off." Ruby called from the front of the pack, looking over a map that was in the old man's journal. "We promised we'd get the Box of Seasons, and we need to stay focused. Can't you two at least try to sympathize with him even a bit?"
"Not all people really care about sob stories. Some of us just want to get paid." The Tabaxi, a girl who was named Blake, said, calmly walking beside her. "And those two are like oil and water. They'll probably be at each other's throats the entire mission. Best to just get used to it."
The young rogue was clad in black and purple, with tight leather bands wrapped around her limbs, chest, and stomach, acting as armor while not limiting her movements. Or make loud noises.
Aside from her mask, she also had a pair of dark gloves and soft combat boots with some kind of soft material on the bottom, making each step near impossible to hear. Combine that with the twin short swords strapped to her back, it didn't take a genius to tell she wasn't the run in type.
Though one thing that did stand out about the girl was her fur. Most Tabaxis had spots of some kind depending on their organ. Blake's fur however was completely plain, not a spot in sight on her. Something that combined with her yellow eyes, made her look less like a cheetah and more like a house car. Something Ruby had almost accidentally let slip as they were leaving the clubhouse.
"So, Blake. You have experience working with people before?" Ruby asked, mainly trying to drown out the fight going on between her other two teammates. "You seem to be experienced with working with people. That's kinda unusual for a rogue. Normally, you guys are the lone wolf type. You know, going off on your own while making edgy comments about your tragic past."
Puffing up her cheeks to make her voice deeper, Ruby began reciting a seemingly scripted backstory.
"I grew up on the street's alone, having to make tough calls in order to survive. With nobody looking out for me, I learned that the only person you can trust is yourself and that the boundaries of good and evil are a blurry line."
Chuckling at the depiction, the cat-like rogue rolled her eyes before calmly replying.
"Yeah, I suppose that's how most rogues are born." She replied. "Though I do wonder why being edgy is associated with growing up on the streets. Most of the people I know who grew up like that are perfectly good people…mostly."
As she mumbled the last bit of her statement, Ruby noticed the girl's face darken a bit, eyes castling straight ahead as she rigidly stared forward.
"And I have experience working around people, not with them." She corrected, not looking at the girl as they walked. "Besides, I'm done with all that. I find I work best alone."
"Typical rogue." Ruby thought, smiling quietly to herself. Back when she was training, her uncle had suggested becoming a rogue instead of a fighter as they worked batter alone. Though ultimately that plan fell through as she couldn't use a small hidden weapon to save her life.
"Hey, we're here!"
Looking up at the elf's call, Ruby saw she was indeed right as sitting right before them was a ruined stone castle that looked like it had fallen in battle, with the gates knocked down and the remains of siege towers now rotting and falling apart at the seams.
All around, the stone walls crumbled, with several parts having fallen over leaving gaps in what once must have an impressive fortress. A fact that was all but confirmed by the numerous weapons and armor laying all around the area.
"Well, at least we know there was some merit to that crazy cult's story." Weiss said, coming to a stop next to Ruby, pulling the book out of her grasp. "Now, according to this, the castle is just a distraction. The real hideout was in a secret basement accessible only in the throne room. How original."
Slamming the book shut, Weiss calmly hung it around her waist as she made for the castle, stepping over some debris as she climbed one of the fallen walls before coming to a stop at its peak, looking back at the team.
"You coming?" She asked before disappearing over the wall without waiting for an answer, leaving the rest of the party staring after her.
"Twenty silver coins says she'll get freaked out by a spider or something stupid and runs away before we've even found the box." Yang said, coming to a stop next to the rest of the party, grinning at them before following the elven bard over the wall, and into the castle. Ruby and Blake hot on her heels.
Upon landing over the wall, Ruby saw a massive tear in the wall of the actual castle, making what almost looked like stairs leading up to a toppled throne, one that sat conspicuously on its side.
"Well that was easy." Yang said as the other two landed, making her way up the rubble, walking past Weiss who was kneeling by the rubble, examining the torn down wall. "Guess that old man wasn't that much of an adventurer if this was too hard. I mean, it's not like there are people here shooting at us."
"I don't know." Weiss said, picking up a brick off the ground and examining it carefully. "What do you think caused this kind of damage? It looks to me like a dragon or giant. And wasn't that old man researching this place for months? These stones haven't been moved in-."
"Oh wow, ruins which haven't been touched in years haven't been touched. What a shocking discovery." Yang interrupted, making patronizing gestures at the elf as she spoke. "News flash, Princess, it's a thousand years old! I get you grew up pretty sheltered, but I would have thought the basic understanding of ruins wouldn't be lost to you."
Rising to her feet glaring at the Dragonborn, Weiss immediately strode over, jabbing her in the chest as behind her, Ruby knelt in her place.
"Look here you stupid brute. Not every problem is going to be solved by running headfirst at it." The elf snapped, her irritation growing as the barbarian pointedly picked at her nose, ignoring her. "Whatever happened here was no ordinary siege. It looks to me that this wasn't some cult trying to defend their beliefs as this wall was destroyed from the inside out! Meaning whatever did it came from inside the building!"
Rolling her eyes at her companion, not even trying to hide her annoyance at the girl's protests, Yang took on a condescending tone as she leaned in, looking down at her much shorter companion.
"Who cares what happened, it was a hundred years ago!" Yang said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "Why does it matter if it's a cult or a religious group, we're getting paid thirteen gold coins each! I say that's more than enough money for a little risk! But if you're too scared to keep going, then feel free to-!"
"She's right."
Breaking off from their argument, both girls looked up to see Ruby standing up, holding one of the bricks from the bottom of the destroyed, calmly turning it to show the Dragonborn both sides. One, the side obviously lying on the ground had stains from dirt and grass, the other however, was blackened, as if hit by fire or some kind of blast.
"Whatever blew this wall up came from inside. Meaning these cultists were welding something really powerful. We need to proceed with caution, because if they really did have something that powerful and it was seized by the kingdom, there would be a record of it. So whatever did this never left the compound."
Looking down at Ruby, the two bickering adventurers stared at the girl with new looks in their eyes. Weiss seemed impressed by the girl's observation, taken aback, (which Ruby found somewhat offensive.) but impressed nonetheless. She must have thought she was some thoughtless child, a fact the dark haired girl was happy to disprove.
However, while Weiss seemed to have an improved opinion on the girl, Yang's reaction told her a very different story.
Frowning, with a disappointed look in her eyes, the blond put one hand on her hip, looking down at the girl while focusing all that negativity down on her.
"You know, I thought out of everyone put together for this quest, you were the only actual adventurer, not some stuck up spoiled brat or a gloomy loner rogue." She said, her voice dripping with sad, disappointment. "Guess I misjudged you. That's such a shame. Here I was hoping to have an equal on this quest. Turns out, you're still just a scared kid."
"I'm not a scared kid!" Ruby yelled, practically jumping up as the brick slipped out of her hand. "I'm just saying we need to be careful! That whatever destroyed the wall could kill us with a fraction of its pow-!"
"Number, math, overthinking, this is all a bunch of kid stuff." Yang dismissed the girl's protest with a wave of her hand, turning her head up and closing her eyes as if she was talking to a petulant child. "Don't you see that if you aren't going to be an adventurer without an adventurous spirit? The only people who worry about math and science are little kids. Or snobby brats who never grew up."
Bristling at the comment, Ruby took a couple steps up the brick stairs, hand clenched into tight fists.
"My mom always told me-."
"Well then she was wrong!" The Dragonborn snapped, rounding on Ruby with a dark look in her eyes as she made her way down toward her, pushing past Weiss without so much as looking at her.
"Let me tell you something, little girl. There's a difference between real adventurer and the fakes like the Princess up there." Yang said as she descended. "Real adventurers charge into danger while fakes plan their way around it. Real adventurers know what's worth worrying over while fakes pick apart details that don't matter. And real adventurers learn from experience, not by listening to what their shitty mom's tell them! Because let me tell you something, if she was really that good, she wouldn't run away at the first sign of danger!"
As she spat those last venomous words, Yang had gotten so close, her muzzle was shoved into Ruby's face, steam visible from her nose as she panted. No doubt at the end of her very short fuse. A snarl spread wide across her scaly face, eyes blazing with emotions as she locked eyes with the girl, her fury noticeable with each breath.
But at that particular moment, Ruby didn't care. She had her own hands full, fighting back the tears that now stung her eyes.
Slowly, as the fire died in the Dragonborn's eyes, she immediately took a step back, raising her hand in surprise as she saw the fighter on the verge of tears.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked, reaching out for the younger girl's shoulder before stopping, realizing exactly what she had just said.
Sheepishly, she turned away, rubbing the back of her head as guilt suddenly filled her gut, drowning out her anger and making her unable to look at the girl as she tried to fight her own emotions back into the closet, shame of her actions quickly seeping out.
"Okay, yeah. Sorry about that. I didn't mean-."
"Whatever." Ruby cut in coldly, her eyes cast into shadow making her expression impossible to read as she pushed past Yang, shoulders colliding forcing the much larger Barbarian to shift her weight, letting the fighter pass. "Let's just get this over with and go our separate ways. Then you can go do whatever you want, and never have to deal with me or my methods again."
Watching her ascend the broken wall, the other three members of the party stared in shocked surprise at the otherwise pleasant girl's cold outburst. While not knowing her very well, from what they saw at the clubhouse, they had all pegged her as a goody two shoes, not capable of hurting a fly.
But while her cold words had caught them off guard, it was very clear to all who was the aggressor here.
Shooting Yang a nasty look, Weiss pointedly turned on her heel, following the fighter up the steps after and disappearing into the throne room at the top, not sparing so much as a second glance at the Dragonborn.
Meanwhile, Blake made her way up the ruined wall, stopping briefly next to Yang as she sent her a hard look.
"Hey." She said quietly, glaring daggers at the Dragonborn. "I know your scales are too hard to understand this, but here's some advice. If you're going to project your personal feelings onto everyone who has a different opinion than you, keep it to yourself. Nobody likes a loud mouth who constantly expects everyone to do everything her way."
With that, the Tabaxi strode past Yang, joining the other members of the party leaving Yang let out a grumpy huff, kicking a brick into the wall before following guilty behind at a safe distance.
A few minutes later, the team found themselves scouring the destroyed throne room for clues, with Ruby checking all the tiles of the floor with her scythe.
"You know, if that old man spent so much time researching this place, you'd think he'd mention how the cult normally hide their secrets." Ruby said, wiping some sweat from her brow as she straightened up, arching her back causing it to pop. "Found any clues in the book, Weiss?"
"Nothing." The elf replied, shutting the book with a snap. "But it's a bit strange, isn't it? Why put a secret passageway in the throne room? If this place fell to its enemies, this would be the first place they'd look. It feels almost counter productive unless…"
Breaking off, Weiss made her way over to the hallway that would normally lead to the room, running her hands along the stone as if she had suddenly lost the ability to see, causing Blake to walk over to investigate and Yang to let out a scoff.
"Maybe these guys weren't very smart." The blond suggested as the Tabaxi reached the elf, who began saying something the other two couldn't hear while pointing at the wall. "I mean, we've already established they're dumb enough to blow up their own wall. Is it really so much of a stretch to think they wouldn't-."
"Found it."
Before either girl could ask, Blake's hand disappeared into a wall as she pushed in a secret brick, causing a loud click to resound through the ruined castle. The next second, there was the deafening scraping sound from room over, as the floor beneath started opening, revealing a staircase leading down under the castle.
"Aha! I was right!" Weiss said triumphantly, walking over to the secret passage, looking down it as the others joined her. "Just like I thought. Upon realizing the battle was lost, they moved the throne to another room and blasted open the side, immediately drawing attention away from the real throne room and protecting their secrets."
Looking smugly to her side at Yang, the young Dragonborn let out a huff, turning away as she folded her arms. Letting out a grunt that sounded like, "lucky guess."
Her comment however was largely ignored as Ruby stepped forward, looking down into the darkness, squinting to try to see if there was anything dangerous down there. Unfortunately, it was so dark, she couldn't see anything.
"Shoot." Ruby muttered, reaching into her pack. She was already strapped for cash and the last thing she wanted to do was use her resources unnecessarily, but there was no way she could go down there without a torch and as such had to use her precious oil.
But before she had even gotten her starter kit out, suddenly all her companions threw their bags to the ground as they drew their weapons, leveling them at the staircase as they got into battle stances.
"Here they come, you ready?" Weiss called over her shoulder, catching Ruby off guard. What was coming? What was she even talking about?
"There's a lot of them, best if we bottleneck them here. Don't let them out where they can surround us!" Blake called, clearly in reference to whatever Weiss was talking about. But as she looked past her teammates, all Ruby saw was a mass of darkness.
But then, as she looked into it intensely, Ruby could just barely make out movement within the shadows. As well as a faint scraping sound as something hard was dragged against the stone floor. And while she couldn't make out what it was, she immediately got to her feet, drawing her scythe as she went.
"Finally, some action!" Yang said, excitedly spinning her axe in her hands. "No more small talk or pleasantries. Now I can start doing what adventurers are supposed to do and crack some skulls!"
Her comment caused Blake and Weiss to shoot her an annoyed look. Eyebrows twitching with cringe as they fought the urge to groan. Though, once again, Ruby had no idea why.
But before she could ask, the sound of scraping turned into a furious chorus as now the sound intensified ten fold, becoming louder and faster as whatever made it got closer and closer to the surface.
And then, right as it reached its fever pitch, an army of skeletons came pouring out of the staircase. Weapons brandished as they crawled across each other in their hurry to reach the intruders. Their bodies getting stuck in the narrow passageway as they clambered over one another in their hurry to reach the intruders.
And as the first few finally reached the top, with a quick burst of speed, Ruby shot forward, scythe pulled back as she made ready for her attack.