Six, three, two [Job - Episode 01: Buried Secrets! Enter Guy Stratus!] (Itori/Kanrya)

Itori looked up ahead at the large city adorning the mountain. Terra Ignis was a relatively new city, having been founded by the proud Fire King Ardere. However despite its youth it was already prosperous and a political power, not something that could just be ignored. In extension that meant that Fire King Ardere couldn't be ignored either, the man who had been able to give rise to such a rapidly expanding city, and who could reign over it without any serious competition for the throne. The lack of an expansive family might have something to do with that, but the Kitsune wasn't going to be the one to underestimate the self-crowned king (at least, she couldn't remember anyone crowning him other than his own declaration). Another reason why Terra Ignis was powerful was because it was the home of the Infinity Hydra guild, known for the fervency with which it hunted all dark mages. Fire King Ardere was also the guild master of Infinity Hydra, most likely using the guild members as his personal guards and soldiers. Considering that most kings and rulers still had to rely on allies to have enough magical might available that must have played a big part in Terra Ignis's rise to importance.

Well, she wasn't actually planning to enter the city today. Instead she had to meet two people at the ruins close by, where apparently a powerful, albeit forgotten, magical artefact was stored away. The client was an explorer or archaeologist of a sort, who wanted to go into the ruins and find the artefact but had hit a barrier which he thought he couldn't get past without a mage's help. Or even more than one mage. The Kitsune's three tails swayed behind her as she walked in the direction of the ruins, not sparing the mighty city sprawled out on the mountainside a second glance. She doubted the barrier actually required a wizard, but she couldn't blame the client from wanting to avoid too much chaos by asking the authorities for aid.

That said, Itori was curious about the other mage that was going to be helping out on this job. Itori hadn't seen this mage yet, although from what she had gathered the woman was already part of Sabertooth. A newcomer who she had happened to not walk into yet, which wasn't too unusual considering the fact that Sabertooth was a large and prosperous guild. Still, Itori would like to get to know her. What little of the new mage that she knew suggested that she could be a pleasant person to get along with, and Itori was always open to the idea of making new friends, or at the very least new acquaintances. A long life might make it harder for someone to bond strongly, but on the other hand it could leave one very receptive to getting along with everyone they met. After all, a long life didn't guarantee a peaceful or happy life, and Itori would rather enjoy her unusually long lifespan rather than constantly worrying who was after her and what she would have to do against it.

Regardless, the artefact. The client was someone with the unusual first name of Guy, which either suggested a straightforward mentality in the parents or a lack of intellect. His last name had been written down as Stratus, which so far as Itori's mind could recall wasn't a name with particularly interesting connotations to it. She had heard it before, but it had never appeared in the history books as belong to someone amazing or extraordinary. Well, Itori knew better than to judge someone by their ancestors, and there were a lot of people whose ancestors hadn't been particularly awe inspiring anyway. The mission request had been written down with a precise and careful hand, using very polite and straightforward wording. Whatever the cause might be for the man's unusual first name, Itori was quite sure he would be a sensible and reasonable man. Although he had neglected to give out any information about the exact nature of the artefact. The mission notes described it as an artefact which had been lost even to stories, meaning that Guy either found something truly well kept hidden or something not that special. Itori hoped the former, since it would be a bit of a disappointment otherwise. She'd have to see with her own eyes, together with Guy and this mage called Kanrya.

Up ahead, near the entrance of the ruins, Itori's vermilion eyes spotted the client. At least, she was pretty sure that was the client, and otherwise she'd have to go up to him and ask him why he was waiting near the entrance looking so excited and expectantly. However when she got close enough the man walked towards her enthusiastically, grinning widely even as he offered his hand for her to shake, an offer which Itori took even though she usually preferred bowing. The man didn't waste any second and immediately began to talk, shaking Itori's hand with clear excitement.

"Hello. Good day, isn't it? I'm very glad you answered the request I put up. I'm certain I've found the artefact, but the place is a labyrinth and the only path I found that went further ahead was filled with traps. I've got some training with my weapons," He indicated the short sword and the bull whip, both hanging from his waist. "But I'm afraid that otherwise I'm not much of a fighter nor can I bypass traps that easily. I'm really grateful that you're willing to help, although I believe there was another mage who was also willing to help?"

Itori nodded, not letting the man's enthusiasm unsettle or startle her. Instead she put her hands together, the wide sleeves of her outfit hiding them, as she bowed slightly before answering.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Guy Stratus. I am Itori. I shall do my best to aid you in finding the artefact while simultaneously keeping you safe from harm. There is indeed also another mage who has shown interest, so I suggest that we wait until she also has arrived." Guy nodded and looked around, constantly throwing glances back at the ruins as if he couldn't wait to dive into their depths.

As Kanrya made her way to the meeting spot that she and this fellow guildmate that was willing to help out with this job request. Supposedly the request was from an archaeologist needing a mage or two to help protect him from whatever that might harm him...

She heaved a sigh as she looked up at Terra Ignis and semi smirked. Someone must have had a love for Latin to name this placeShe thought as she heard a female and a male voice greeting each other. Otherwise who else would literally name a city Earth Fire? Which for her brought to mind volcanoes and magma. She shrugged this off and thought about her partner for this job. She really didn't know much about this guildmate, but then again she was busy trying to make money and get better with her magic. Once she hit B or A rank she guessed she could slow down and start making friends, but she wanted to prove herself to be strong and capable. She didn't want to be looked down on as weak, of course she really hadn't allowed anyone to really get to know her as of yet. Frowning she guessed that she could start with this person.

As her partner and the client came into view, she nearly faltered in astonishment. One of the people standing before her had fox ears and actually had tails! She decided to play it cool at least for now. It was likely due to the mages magic after all. Sorry I'm late haven't been near this area before. She said smiling sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head, the cigarette balanced on her lower lip as she chuckled. She then nodded to Itori holding out a hand. You must be Itori, the guildmate I was told to seek out for this job. She said before turning to Guy Stratus. And I take it you're the client who put out the job?She asked as she smiled gently.

332/2000

"That's good to hear. I'll be in your hands then, and that of your friend once she has arrived. I'd take this opportunity to tell you more about the dangers we would be facing, but as I've already noted... I couldn't really get anywhere." He grimaced, obviously somewhat chagrined at the fact that he didn't have anything else to tell her. "The first trap is... well, a bit of a puzzle, really. Whoever designed this place definitely had magic helping them out, because I can't imagine that trap could be sustained without magic. It's got this tile system, you see, and some of the tiles are dangerous and the others are safe, but the method of danger suggests that..." The man kept going with his explanation, somewhat countering his own claim that he didn't have a lot to say as he instead just didn't stop talking. For someone who hadn't gotten very far he definitely had a lot of information to dispense, or he just liked talking about the subject. Itori herself simply smiled and nodded, showing that she was still listening so the man wouldn't feel insulted or discouraged even as at the same time she kept an eye out for the partner she'd be working with, her tails sedately swaying behind her.

From the way that Guy Stratus just kept talking he was in fact completely honest in his intentions, although Itori hadn't really doubted that considering the lack of threat that he provided. He had some training with his weapons according to himself, but Itori was a rather keen observer, and she could tell that he wasn't really a fighter. He might have some skill, even talent, but he didn't show the signs of someone who really had spent a lot of time in battle and who had been hardened by the experience. As for her partner... well, that one had still to arrive so Itori couldn't really make a good guess about her yet, other than that she was a newcomer so either she was someone who was still learning the ropes, or it was an experienced adventurer who had finally decided to join a guild for increased safety and income at the cost of decreased freedom and additional responsibilities. Granted Sabertooth wasn't very demanding of its members other than that they behaved proper, but it was still different from being a freelancer.

One of her ears twitched as she heard approaching footsteps, the Kitsune not actually notifying Guy as he was still in the middle of his shockingly expansive explanation of how he had really not gotten very far yet in that labyrinth of a ruin. It was a good thing that a long life taught patience, because if she had been half her age Itori might have found herself annoyed at the man's behaviour, maybe even shown that annoyance. As a Kitsune she wasn't supposed to show her hidden thoughts and motives too readily, but even so... annoyance was a tricky one to hide, especially if you were also trying to focus on something else. Annoyance brought impatience, and it was hard to mask that.

When the other mage arrived Itori bowed towards her as well, inspecting her briefly. She didn't look like some veteran... still pretty young, although she didn't show any signs of being a particularly naive newcomer. In fact she looked both fresh and tough, the kind of person who'd charge into the wide world and knock it down just to make sure it understood that this youngster wasn't going to take life lying down. Which Itori had no issues with, provided that Kanrya didn't try to pull her into that kind of behaviour. Itori had lived a long life, most of which wasn't very exciting. She wasn't a fan of panic and hurrying either, and did not feel like she had to challenge the world. As a Kitsune subtly manipulating things to work in her favour was more to her nature, although this job shouldn't call for anything more difficult than dismantling some traps, maybe getting rid of some small creatures that inhabited the ruins...

"Do not worry, we have the time and the artefact is not about to move anywhere." Itori replied to the other mage with her usual soft polite tone. When Kanrya offered to shake her hand as well Itori blinked once before shaking the hand, wondering whether shaking hands was considered the better form of greeting these days. Bowing was more polite, but maybe people were getting tired of that stiffness... for now. Itori was very well aware of how fashion, rather than developing into new directions ever onwards, had the tendency to sway back between certain styles. New materials and a desire for originality might keep adding small additions, but the nature of humanoids resulted in somewhat predictable patterns of what they would consider 'the new look' every couple of years. "I am indeed Itori yes. It is a pleasure to meet you Kanrya." She nodded, then indicated Guy who had finally stopped talking once Kanrya arrived. "That is indeed our client, Guy Stratus. He was telling me about the first trap he had encountered. From the sounds of it we'll have to be careful: the people who left this place behind had not bothered with creating non-lethal traps it seems."

Guy Stratus nodded, stepping forward and shaking Kanrya's hand. "That is true on all accounts. I went forward and tried to see how far I could get on my own, but the very first trap already had me unable to move forward as it turned out that those tiles had been enchanted, and for them to still be working after all those years it must hvea been a very strong enchantment as we well and..." even as he talked and talked Guy Stratus began to guide them into the ruins, the daylight slowly dimming behind them as they went deeper and deeper. Itori went last, her ears swivelling about to pick up on any sounds. She could see quite well in darkness, and her ears were superb. It would be better if Kanrya and Guy were in the front, where they'd enjoy most of the light from the torch Guy had taken with him.

If Itori had noticed Kanrya's reaction to her fox features she didn't show any sign of it, having gotten used to people being surprised by someone as obviously non-human as herself.

"Do not worry, we have the time and the artifact is not about to move anywhere." Kanrya nodded and crossed her arms as she listened to the fox girl to fill in what she had possibly missed. "I am indeed Itori yes. It is a pleasure to meet you Kanrya. That is indeed our client, Guy Stratus. He was telling me about the first trap he had encountered. From the sounds of it we'll have to be careful: the people who left this place behind had not bothered with creating non-lethal traps it seems." Kanrya nodded finally and took the cigarette out of her mouth and separated the ember from the rest of the cigarette with a quick flick of her fingers before she tucked the cigarette behind her ear to save it for later before grinning in excitement. "Sounds like it should be fun. I'm always up for a good fight or puzzle."

"That is true on all accounts. I went forward and tried to see how far I could get on my own, but the very first trap already had me unable to move forward as it turned out that those tiles had been enchanted, and for them to still be working after all those years it must hvea been a very strong enchantment as we well and..." The young gunslinger looked to Guy Stratus as he began talking and began moving towards the ruins. She smiled ruefully at the fox girl before chuckling to herself as she followed him idly listening to him speak. What he was saying was intriguing but she was only half listening to him. She was more quietly thinking to herself about what puzzles were up ahead of them. She was no dragon slayer, more or less an average fighter, and her magic was shooting things. She'd have to rely on this fox chick to get them across it and have have their backs if things went south.

She was thankful that she had Skadi and Nyx in her holsters and thought about the gun in storage that Mash had given her. Maybe she should have pulled it out just in case of needing that extra firepower? Or she could learn the requip spells to switch between her guns and that rifle... She bit her lower lip as she thought.

387/1668

It seemed her partner on this mission was someone who didn't mince words or beat around the bush. The moment that she had enough information to move ahead the woman immediately signalled herself ready, apparently looking quite forward to the idea as well. Itori herself didn't have trouble listening to the man talk about his hobby and profession as if it was the most interesting thing in the world (from his point of view, it probably was) but she had years, years and then again years to develop a very patient personality. If she hadn't managed that she would most likely have gone insane, since there's only so much you can do within that many years if you're incapable of taking your time and patiently waiting for the next step. Itori never had been the most powerful either, which also limited her options. She got by on skill, experience and caution, and while that was good for keeping you alive it didn't help stave off boredom... usually.

The Kitsune walked next to Kanrya as the two of them followed the enthusiastic Guy Stratus, giving the woman a polite smile before looking around again, keeping an eye on their surroundings. This mission wasn't supposed to be a very dangerous one, at least not one of pressing danger: it couldn't be denied that some of the traps they would almost certainly encounter in the ruins would be potentially deadly, but that still was nothing compared to some missions out there, where you would have to visit places primarily inhabited by both very deadly and very hostile creatures, even other people who had less than honest intentions. Even with all the strange things loose in the world, there were still few things as dangerous as an intelligent and sentient being who didn't have the scruples to stop them from achieving whatever goal they had in mind.

Itori's looking around was more of an automated habit, as she liked to have a feeling of the place, and her appreciating their surroundings. As someone who was born in ages long past Itori had a certain liking for ruins, if only because they reminded her of times that she had already been alive and wandering, and it helped her create some momentary perspective on the difference between the then and the now. It also tended to make her feel a bit homesick, but that was a pang which would never completely go away anyway, and she had gotten used to it. It was better to stay positive and instead appreciate the beauty of such ancient structures, which despite ages of neglect and wear could still inspire people of the present and help illuminate the past and push people towards the future. After all, before one could shape the future they had to understand the past, lest they merely repeated that what had already happened before.

Her tails swayed behind her as she both listened to Guy Stratus about the ruins and looked at them with her own vermilion eyes. As they kept walking forwards into the parts of the ruins which either had been buried underground over the years or had simply been meant to stay underground those red orbs might appear to glow slightly to the woman next to her as the Kitsune's eyes kept doing their job faithfully even as the amount of available light had diminished greatly. The... hallway? Tunnel? That they were walking through was fairly simple, moving forward with only a few turns and no visible crossroads or branches. It also didn't take much longer before it opened up into a larger room, one which had some proper lighting as well. The lighting didn't come from torches though: instead it was the floor itself which appeared to be giving off light. The three of them were standing at one end of an elongated room, and between them and the other side there was a large pattern of tiles, all of them the same shape and size, but the colours varying wildly. Itori could see blue tiles, green tiles, red tiles, and yellow tiles. The four colours which could be considered the most primary, although there always seemed to be some argument on whether green or yellow was more primary, having a similar relationship to blue and red while still definitely not being the same thing. A very colourful room, at any rate, especially since all the tiles were giving off a soft light, the varying colours combining into something akin to white but not quite.

"Well, this is the first trap. I've already explained it I think, but just to give an example..." Guy looked around until he found a pebble, which he then picked up and tossed upwards a couple of times before letting it fall onto one of the tiles with a very lazy arc. What happens next wasn't lazy at all though: some kind of invisible force (telekinesis?) lifted the small piece of stone, which then began to contort and twist before shrinking, not looking like it was becoming smaller as much as some force was crushing it inwards. At the end not a single piece of the pebble was left, leaving the three of them staring at nothing as Guy nodded, as if confirming it for himself once again.

"From what I can tell that happens to everything that touches the wrong tiles. I've yet to find any sign that it can be blocked, so I think it would be safer to assume that the trap has to be beaten rather than overpowered. All the tiles except the yellow ones are dangerous: the yellow ones don't do anything so far as I can tell, but as you can see..." He pointed towards the middle of the pattern, where the problem could be seen. "It seems the people who designed this trap either had some way of covering the gap, or the yellow tiles were only meant to offer false hope to any would be intruders. I would guess the former, since construction of such a large trap must have taken a while and they must have had some way to move from one place to another unless there are other tunnels that I have missed which could very well be the case but considering that I have searched very thoroughly if there is another entrance we aren't going to find it any time soon. I can't cover that dangerous gap, so I was hoping one of you would be able to."

Itori nodded as she looked at the tiles, memorizing the pattern. The yellow tiles were heavily dwarfed in numbers by all the other colours. While she could see several paths it was also clear that if you took a wrong step it might be very difficult to make your way forward, and moving backwards could also be tricky... and there was that gap. The Kitsune stayed silent for a minute or so as she studied the pattern, then nodded to herself.

"I believe I should be able to make my way across. I urge you to wait until after, in case the trap affects everyone on it rather than only the one stepping on the wrong tile." With that the Kitsune stepped onto the first yellow tile, then began to... move forward rather fluidly. Having memorized the pattern of the yellow tiles she had little issue finding her path, and she did so quickly and without any hesitation, her tails swaying behind her as she carefully but with confidence jumped from one tile to another. When she reached the gap she barely hesitated before suddenly taking a low pose, followed by her turning into a flash of white shooting forward across the room, turning back into her physical form in time to land on one of the yellow tiles on the other half, gently putting one foot down and then the other. Looking around she nodded towards Guy and Kanrya, then covered the rest of the distance towards the other end. Her vermilion eyes fell on a plate of bronze embedded in the wall, with the impression of a hand on it. Itori studied it before smiling softly to herself, placing her hand against it as she had a feeling that she knew what this would do...

The room rumbled for a moment before suddenly all the red, green and blue tiles flipped over, revealing the other side to be yellow as well. The entire room having been turned yellow meant the trap had been dismantled, leaving the two to move across even as with another rumbling a portion of the wall on the far end began to slide downwards, revealing a hallway deeper into the ruins. Itori stood next to that hallway, patiently waiting for the other two to make it across.

Kanrya smiled politely back at Itori and followed Guy as he broke the silence with his history lesson and the animated way he was speaking as she looked at the ruins they travelled through. They were interesting, but held no real true value to her. She supposed that they held wonderous stories but, be it her age or how she grew up, she didn't feel like it was really her forte. As they made their way through the tunnel to the trap she looked towards the fox lady and bit the inner part of her lip, her curiosity stirring her to say something, but what she didn't know. It was then that she noticed the light coming from the end of the tunnel and her brow rose as she took the sight in.

Kanrya looked on in awe as she saw the glow from the various blue, red, green and yellow tiles. As Guy looked around for a pebble she didn't really listen to his rambling but as she watched him toss it onto one of the tiles, her jaw nearly dropped as it was crushed with some force as it twisted and contorted into nothingness. "From what I can tell that happens to everything that touches the wrong tiles. I've yet to find any sign that it can be blocked, so I think it would be safer to assume that the trap has to be beaten rather than overpowered. All the tiles except the yellow ones are dangerous: the yellow ones don't do anything so far as I can tell, but as you can see..." Yeah she could definitely see. She never figured she could potentially lose her life on the job to an inanimate thing... But she guessed that it was apart of the job detail she thought to herself tuning back into the client's explanation. "It seems the people who designed this trap either had some way of covering the gap, or the yellow tiles were only meant to offer false hope to any would be intruders. I would guess the former, since construction of such a large trap must have taken a while and they must have had some way to move from one place to another unless there are other tunnels that I have missed which could very well be the case but considering that I have searched very thoroughly if there is another entrance we aren't going to find it any time soon. I can't cover that dangerous gap, so I was hoping one of you would be able to." She looked to the middle tiles where it was all yellow. She quickly looked for some sort of pattern to get to that small isle of safety, noting the same things that the fox lady had about the yellow being dwarfed by the sheer number of other color.

She started to shrug out of her trench coat until she heard Itori speak telling them that she could make her way across and to wait in case the trap affects everyone rather than only the person stepping on the wrong color tile. Rya felt a slight pinch of irritation, but shrugged. It had been the reason why she had contacted the fox lady in the first place. She didn't know if she had the right skills for this job and sharing the pay off was always better then losing life or limb yeah? She nodded to her guildmates experience. "Go for it." She watched in awe at the kitsune's grace and chuckled as the tiles all switched to yellow.

"Show off..." She teased as she passed Itori "Good work all the same."She said before taking the torch from Guy, keeping an eye out for other traps and triggers leading the way towards the end. "So Guy, any idea what these ruins hold?" She asked after it felt like hours wandering through the tunnel and turned around to find that not only Itori, but Guy gone as well. "Well...Crap..." she said quietly as she felt an unsettling energy around her.

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The member 'Kanrya' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Guy Stratus was just happy that the trap had been cleared, quickly crossing the now harmless hallway while keeping his gaze focused on the entrance now opening up ahead. Of course he was quite grateful as well, but for him his enthusiasm about what they might find deeper into the ruins was taking direct control of his actions. The man was quite clearly the kind of person who got really obsessed with whatever had his attention at the time, so Itori could hardly blame him for being somewhat absent-minded now that he was finally seeing progress in his latest project. She just hoped that in his enthusiasm he wouldn't become too careless and walk into a trap that he didn't know of. According to himself he hadn't ever been able to get beyond the trap that Itori just managed to disable, so from this point on the three of them would be going in blind, no knowledge of what would be up ahead. Logically speaking that meant that Guy should be in the back, since while a good archeologist and a brave man he wasn't as good at picking up on things as the two mages. Fortunately Kanrya shared that idea as she took the torch from Guy and moved to the front of the formation, acting as their trap spotter, Itori smiling and bowing slightly in response to the other woman's comments regarding her performance with the first trap.

Itori had become observant after living for a long time, so she had noticed that Kanrya didn't seem to be completely happy with the Kitsune taking charge in dealing with the first trap. However she didn't know the woman well enough to guess at the true cause, so she was resorted to guessing. Was she annoyed at Itori moving on ahead and taking care of the trap by herself? The Kitsune preferred it when everyone worked together and did their part, but with the trap she had thought it sensible to have a single person take care of it since having multiple people on the job wouldn't actually help matters. Maybe she wanted to prove herself, or she just disapproved of Itori moving on her own as if her own decisions were all that mattered. Itori had no way to be sure, so she would just have to try and avoiding turning that moment of irritation into something bigger. For now she walked behind Kanrya, looking around and twitching her ears as she listened to the tune of the ruins around them. She couldn't find any signs of traps yet, but this place was still quite strange... there was something off about this place.

"Something strange is going on here..." Itori looked at the walls, then back at Kanrya... only to see that the other mage had disappeared. Itori quickly looked around, but Guy was also nowhere to be seen. The Kitsune frowned deeply. Had the three of them walked into the next trap without any of them noticing? She didn't believe that she was the only one who had been spared. If it was an obvious trap then either Kanrya or Guy would have reacted to it. The fact that neither of them had given Itori and reason to believe they had disappeared until they were actually gone led her to believe it was a more subtle trap, and Itori couldn't remember picking up on any signs of that herself other than that feeling that something was off about this place, which was a bit too ambiguous for it to mean she had escaped the trap.

Well, for now she would have to figure out where the other two were. She couldn't sense their souls, so some magic trick must be involved in masking their presence to her... or they had travelled quite the distance in a very short amount of time. The Kitsune was still considering her options when all the lights went out, the fox woman taking a more wary stance and placing a hand on the hilt of her blade as she looked around. Her eyes were good at night, but at night there was still the moons and the stars. This was utter darkness, so Itori had to create a small foxfire flame to provide enough light for her to see. The hallway looked the same as before, except that there was no light other than the one she was providing herself. That, and... It might just be a trick of the atmosphere, but it somewhat felt like the ethereal blue light wasn't going as far out as it normally would have. Maybe the darkness in these ruins was magical and wasn't that easy to dispel?

The Kitsune took a step forward, then came to a halt again as her ears twitched. Something was moving... no, two things. Big and heavy, but from the sound a lot of weight was focused on small areas so they must have a high density in comparison to humans. Itori frowned with some real concern when the golems stepped out and readied their weapons. Whoever had made these golems or placed the enchantments that would shape them had been a fan of soldiers, since the two figures had the appearance of ancient, petrified warriors who had begun moving once again to defend the treasures left behind by their people. The most roughly hewn parts about them were the giant hammers they were lugging, which looked a lot more like someone had just chipped a boulder into a somewhat rectangular shape and had then stuck a stick into it, which as time passed had also petrified.

Itori slowly backed away from both of the constructs as she considered her options, her hand flexing and gripping the hilt of her sword before relaxing again. Her sword was a magical and enchanted weapon, so it wouldn't break or shatter easily. However, despite being a very sharp sword, it was still a sword, and even if these golems had been shaped like people they were still made of solid stone. Even if her weapon wouldn't shatter it could still chip and bend, or otherwise jut prove to not be effective against these specific opponents.

So... how would she tackle this?

When the lights in the tunnel went out Kanrya reached for her lighting lacrima and lit the cigarette she had that she tucked up behind her ear. After she got it properly lit she shrugged out of her trench coat, then drew both Skadi and Nyx grinning like an idiot.

"Time to party neh?" She asked as she heard the sound of rock being dragged on rock. She turned towards the noise and took a step back when the lights turned back on. There were two stone golems that were dragging big hammers walking towards her. "Well this will be interesting..." she ground out as she called out Dark Clone, creating a copy of herself as she shot her Nyx gun she changed into a Grecian-Egyptian type outfit. She then fired an ice bullet from Skadi hitting one of the stone creatures, freezing it and doing a little damage at the same time. She was in big trouble if she let one of those golems near her...

"Bullet Blizzard!!" She yelled out as a hail of ice bullets hit both the frozen golem and the untouched one hitting them. She looked a little surprised that they took damage from the shot and grinned even wider. She might actually have a shot at defeating these rock monsters.

She quickly holstered Skadi and kept a tight hold on Nyx as she reached for Athena. She backed up a few more feet and kept her eyes on the rock monsters praying that she had ample time for her gun spells to cool down. She could always try to pit one golem against the other...

Her clone tried lifting the big stone hammer that one carried and couldn't even lift it off the ground. That was when her clone got pinned with vines and shifted into darkness when the stone golem bashed her clone breaking the spell returning her clothing to normal. She back up further returning Nyx to its holster and brought out Morrigan as the golem returned it's sights to her.

340/607

Stone golems::

Another check of her surroundings only told Itori what she was already aware of, namely that she couldn't find either Guy or Kanrya. For better or for worse, they were split up and she would have to hope she would be able to find them after dealing with her current predicament. The better part was that there was a chance only she was facing the golems, in which case being separated meant that Guy wouldn't be exposed to danger. Itori wasn't very worried about how well Kanrya would do on her own: the woman had given a pretty independent and capable impression. Guy, on the other hand, seemed a bit too focused on his hobby and just too normal a person to be capable of fending of a couple of golems which would most likely have no hesitation when it came to pulverizing those who dared to intrude the ruins that they were protecting. The odds of these golems not being that hostile were very low: if a civilization bothered to place golems to protect what remained of their pride they weren't going to make those golems do nothing.

Itori wasn't given much more time to think, as one of the golems quickly stepped forward and brought its hammer down. The way that it did so without battle cry or any other vocal action was a bit creepy. They were shaped to mimic human warriors in appearance and behaviour, but their movements and their lack of voices still made it clear that they were in the end constructs shaped from rock. The fox jumped backwards to avoid the hammer, closing her eyes reflexively when the hammer smashed into the ground with enough force to crack the stone floor and send chips everywhere. Itori could feel a couple of them pelting her, but it didn't seem any of them actually managed to break skin. Nevertheless if they kept using attacks like that she might end up being wounded by the collateral damage rather than the attacks themselves.

Her ears stayed sharp even as her eyes closed against the spray of stone chunks, giving the fox a good idea of what was going on. These golems did not have voices, but they weren't very silent either: with such weight and the movements of constructs rather than living creatures the ground shook with every step they took. The first golem was still pulling its weapon back up while the other thundered forward, bringing its hammer back for a sideward smash. An intentional alternating pattern, or was this just a random set of moves that the creators of these golems put inside them? Well, she'd have to dodge regardless. Itori had more vitality than most humans, but she wasn't exactly build like a tank. Being smashed with a giant stone hammer would certainly leave its marks. When she heard the creaking of stone to signal the attack she ducked, her hair and fur moving in response to the gust of wind the heavy attack summoned. Going by sound the golem hadn't lost balanced and hadn't smashed its weapon into a wall, having managed to stop the weapon after the swing had missed. Itori quickly jumped further backwards again, the gears in her brain clicking as she thought of a way to disable them.

They didn't have souls, so most of her magic would have very limited effectiveness. Her sword wasn't going to do a lot against golems, and she wasn't a physical powerhouse that could just smash stone as if it was nothing. If she wanted to win this she'd have to do what all Kitsune did when they were cornered: resort to trickery. What she knew about these golems: they were heavy, their bodies and weapons were harder than the stone of the tunnel they were in (or at least their hammers, since they smashed the floor without issue). They didn't have voices and no souls, they were purely constructs with a set pattern of actions in their repertoire. While they could move fast their reaction speed didn't seem too impressive, which made sense: while they would need to be able to observe their surroundings and react to be proper guardian, a construct would not be as good at reacting quickly to new developments as an actual sentient being, especially if a development lay outside of the predictions of their creators so their programming would have trouble adapting. They were extremely strong, given how that one golem could stop its swing without losing its balance. All in all, they were pretty much what you would expect from a basic type golem: heavy, strong, simple and straightforward, quick movements but slow responses. Which meant that the next move should be fairly obvious. Just to figure out the best way to implement it...

Itori dashed forward, waiting for one of the golems to swing at her before dancing to the side and continuing to run forward, in between the two golems. She ignored the loud crash of hammer meeting stone, instead focusing on the other golem. As predicted that one swung at her from the front, attempting to catch her while she was running and send her flying. The Kitsune waited until the last second until she turned into a streak of silver, flashing underneath the swung weapon and past the two golems. Her ears twitched and she nearly flinched when she was rewarded with a very loud sound. Opening her vermilion eyes she found that her guess had been correct: the weapons were tougher than the golems themselves. The second golem had slammed its weapon straight into the other when Itori had disappeared from in between them, thanks to the other golem reacting to Itori's sudden evasion and turning around to face her once again. Looking at the damage done to the first golem's torso it wouldn't be able to take much more damage.

The Kitsune balanced on the balls of her feet as she waited for the two golems to move again. They were constructs, so they shouldn't actually learn from their mistakes. While the creators had made these golems as killing machines they weren't very advanced golems, their programming was simple and they weren't even remotely sentient. As long as she kept making them hit one another she should be able to have one destroy the other and then figure out a way to deal with the other herself.

As Kanrya's fingers curled around the butt of the gun Athena something called out inside her that this gun was perfect to finish these golems that she had to face off against.

"Angel's Wrath!" She called out as a multitude of differently colored shots filled the area that the golems were in. She was glad that the effect of bullet blizzard was still dealing damage to the golems as she saw one crumble down into pieces of rubble her heart soared in near relief that this fight was almost done.

"Alright that's one walking piece of rock down, one to go!" She yelled and ran towards the golem only to get pinned by vines, slamming her into the wall. As she struggled against the vines, cursing her luck she hoped that the fox lady, Itori was having a much better chance at defeating the stupid golems, because this job was to protect the client and they needed to get back to him post haste.

Her eyes widened as the golem advanced on her and lifted his hammer. This. This was going to hurt... She thought as she sensed malicious intent coming from the golem.

194/ 267

Stone Golems:

The member 'Kanrya' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Block Dice' :

As Itori prepared herself to repeat her previous move, dodging the golems and making their attacks hit one another, her ears twitched as suddenly the tune of the world around her changed. She frowned, wary of the unexpected change. When she tried to take a step backwards she learned what this was about: while she had been focusing on the golems vines had crept through the cracks in the floor, widening them, silently preparing themselves to suddenly wrap around the Kitsune's legs and hinder her ability to move. The golems had been standing there waiting, which in itself should have tipped Itori off: simple constructs like that wouldn't just stand there doing nothing as long as they had a target, and Itori hadn't done anything to hide her presence because she didn't think she needed to use tricks of that level in this fight. The golems had been waiting for the vines to come into play and keep their target from getting away again. The Kitsune hadn't been respecting the wit of those who had created this place enough. After she had managed to outwit the golems once she had allowed herself to become lax and believe that there was nothing worth worrying about. She frowned as she tested the strength of the vines, even as she could hear that the golems were beginning to move again. It didn't seem like she could use these vines with raw physical force...

The Kitsune placed her hands together and concentrated, channelling and shaping her magic even as the two golems came close. However simple they might be as constructs, their creators had known what they were doing. They moved together rather than as two wholly individual forces, not getting in one another's way even as they prepared their hammers to smash the intruder to pieces. When she had made one hit the other it had only been because the movements the both of them had made in reaction to her actions had resulted in a collision. As long as she, the intruder, didn't force such a collision to occur their programming would prove itself sophisticated enough to prevent it happening by accident. And there was the problem of the vines... Maybe she should take the issue more seriously and try to defeat these things in earnest instead of just taking the easiest method.

Once the golems were close enough they swung their hammers as one, planning to squash her flat in between the two monolithic weapons as they came from both sides. The Kitsune was still concentrating and shaping her magic, waiting for a bit longer... when the two hammers were about to hit her she released her spell, her entire body turning white and translucent even as she jumped upwards, the vines losing their grip as her body became intangible. The hammers met with precise coordination, resulting in a loud blast and a collision of forces that made the tunnel shake for a moment. Itori meanwhile had disappeared as a white flash, reappearing above the two golems and placing her hands on their heads, her vermilion eyes glowing. Her magic was focused on spirits primarily, but she also had a fair share of other tricks, including illusions and ethereal flames. Beyond that she also had a lot of experience with magic of all kinds and sharp senses, as befitting of a spirit fox. With her hands on their heads, where most people would place the core of the magic sustaining the golems if only because they didn't think of placing it somewhere else, Itori took in the sensation of the magic that made the golems move. It was nowhere close to being like a soul: it was very rudimentary and mechanical, belonging to a machine rather than a complex creature capable of independent choice and growth. However she could see that there were ways to affect it... a small burst of pale blue flames erupted from both her hands before she used her hold on the golem heads to push herself away, landing a couple of yards behind the golems and quickly turning around to face them again.

The two golems, having recovered from the smash that made the tunnel shake enough for the two of them to be unable to quickly move without falling over, turned around and faced her as well. The pale blue flames had only lasted for about a second before disappearing, eating into the magic that sustained the golems before dying out as if they had never been. From the outside one would never think that Itori had done anything at all, but the Kitsune knew that it had worked, her large pointed fox ears allowing her to hear a different tune in the world as the magic inside the golems responded to the alterations she made. Since they weren't souls she couldn't manipulate them finely, but she could distinguish between different parts of the magic well enough to make a rudimentary guess of what she should burn to get rid of a certain trait...

The golems both brought their weapons back into a fighting position... but one golem knocked the other in the head as it pulled its hammer back upright. The other golem staggered, then recovered and hefted its hammer as well. Itori allowed a smile to flicker across her lips before her expression became serious again, once again standing on the balls of her feet, now dancing about and keeping an eye out for those vines as well. She wouldn't make the first move again: she didn't need to.

The golems charged forwards, but they quickly ran into each other as they both ran into a straight line towards Itori without taking into account each other. The sound of stone scraping against stone accompanied both golems being knocked aside, halting their charge as they both had to prioritize not falling over. Itori's trick had been very simple: even with programming as simple as this the magic that kept the golems functional and in good condition for so many years had still been too complex to easily mess with. There was too much for her to just get rid of it entirely within seconds, leaving the golems inanimate. So the only thing she had done was use ethereal flames to burn the part of the magic that linked the golems, so that while they may not directly attack one another they could no longer coordinate. Combine that with them only following simple patterns without room for growth, and making them destroy one another would embarrassingly simple.

The hit from the hammer that Kanrya took made her breath leave in a rush, a few drops of blood escaping from her mouth as her lungs spasmed For a second her mind whirled wishing she had trained just a bit more to take a hit like that. She was certain that had broken at least a few ribs, judging from how painful each breath was, well when she finally was able to suck one in again.

She grimaced only to glare at the offending golem. "Alright you stone bastard,  you just fucked with the wrong people!" She snarled, as she felt blood at the corner of her mouth. She started chuckling and aimed Athena at the golem one more time her hand shaking from the pain, however she was glad that she didn't have to expend that much more of an attack shooting the golem with regular bullets. Her magic attacks had already done enough damage so that when the bullets hit the golem it started crumbling, the magic that animated it dissipating.

"Should've figured getting my ass beat like a drum was apart of this job..." She mumbled to herself before lighting another cigarette, slumping down the wall to sit at its base in an effort to catch her breath. "Sure hope Foxy can heal me, else I'm going to have to wait a bit longer to use Angel's Wrath again." She muttered to herself.

237/73

Stone golems:

Well, now that she had ruined the coordination the two golems had Itori was pretty certain that the rest of this fight would be a breeze. Even as the two constructs tried to recover the Kitsune approached them, at first slowly but then gathering speed as she kept low to the ground. As she ran she channelled her magic, creating an illusion of herself which overlapped her actual body while the two golems managed to regain solid footing and turned towards her, ignoring each other and only avoiding another collision with their hammers by pure coincidence. Even with the two constructs now extremely likely to hit one another, their brute strength and somewhat straightforward movements no longer compensated by their coordination, Itori was still not going to risk getting slammed. She was a very healthy and fit person, but she wasn't build to endure lots of punishment. Swift and agile was her thing, and she would prefer to keep it that way. The two golems hefted their hammers, waiting for the Kitsune to get close enough for them to take another swing at smashing her.

Once close enough Itori dashed forwards even as her illusionary self jumped up, once again planning to bypass the golems overhead. The real Itori moved as fast as she could, like a flash of red and white slipping between the two sturdy constructs only to reappear on the other side. She didn't actually know how these golems interacted with illusions: if they used senses similar to those of animals they should be caught, but if they only targeted magic they might be able to see her illusion for the fake that it was. Her illusions were unusual in that she deceived more than just sight, but at the same time an illusion was still a construct of magic. Someone with sharp enough senses would be able to tell that the only thing holding it all together was a complex weave of magic, fooling the other senses and giving the appearance of something being there that wasn't actually there.

Fortunately it didn't seem like the golems were equipped with that type of high level magic detection. If they had magic detection it was crude enough that they could only sense the magic from the illusion, and deduced that it was her. Or they were using the physical senses in some way. Either way, the result was that Itori could hear two loud crashing sounds as they both slammed their hammer into the other, their weapons going right through the illusion and without their synchronization hitting one another without holding anything back. The results were instantaneous, and spoke volumes of what would have happened to Itori if she hadn't been avoiding their attacks as best as she was able. One of the golems cracked and shuddered, pieces of stone flying about as its front was crushed until the outer layer fell apart to reveal the craggy interior.

The other golem, the one who had already suffered two blows before being hit by this one as well, suffered far worse. Although it had looked like it was still fully functional before it seemed that the two previous collisions had weakened it, and now that it received another heavy blow the magic holding it together could no longer do so. With the sound of a thunderclap the golem ruptured, its limbs no longer moving as they instead fell apart, the rock and rubble cascading onto the ground, accompanied by the tunnel vibrating in response to the heavy weight unceremoniously dropped onto it in an irregular stream. Within seconds the event had concluded itself, and with it the golem had disappeared. The only sings of it ever having been there was the pile of lifeless rubble on the ground, a taste of ancient magic in the air, and the surprisingly durable hammer which had been spared the fate of falling apart and had instead simply dropped onto the ground as the golem's hands no longer had the strength to hold it up.

Itori watched as the other golem recovered, frowning as she realized that she might have to risk her own well-being a bit more. She had been hoping that she could get the two golems to destroy one another, but the one that was still standing didn't look like it was actually going to fall apart. It had been damaged, certainly, but it was still moving solidly and without stuttering. The damage that it had incurred hadn't been great or deep enough to destroy its core or disrupt the magic that coursed through it. Itori moved further backwards as she thought of her next move. She still had the issue that she couldn't actually do a lot against a giant block of stone, since all of her abilities weren't really suited for destroying objects, even if those objects stood up and went for a walk. The golem was already beginning to move towards her, the Kitsune continuing to back away as her mind raced for a solution. She could try burning the rest of the magic sustaining it away, but that would cost her a lot of energy and she had the rest of the ruins to consider in her plans. She didn't doubt that she could defeat this thing if it was absolutely necessary, but she wasn't sure if she could do it while retaining enough energy to deal with whatever else they might face further inside.

Her vermilion eyes were focused on the advancing golem when she thought of another plan, one which she quickly considered and then found worth trying. She retreated a bit further, but then dashed foward, straight towards the damaged construct. The construct in response raised its hammer while roots grasped at Itori's feet from down below, the Kitsune being forced to dance around them even as she advanced. Once close enough she dodged to the side, suppressing a shudder and a shock as the hammer missed her by but a hair, sending more fragments of stone flying that tore at Itori's clothes, leaving small rips in the fabric covering her side and also resulting in some scrapes and cuts. She'd have to heal that, but for now...

diving into the golem's chest Itori reached out with both hands, pressing them against the exposed insides of the golem, her hands going straight for the core inside the construct which acted as the nucleus for the magic that fuelled it. If she tried to destroy the magic from the outside it would be very exhausting to destroy it all without being hit, but if she had access to the core... Pale blue flames, as if belonging to the land of spirits, erupted from inside the core, the golem lifting one hand before it stopped moving. Its body was still intact, but its magic was quickly ripping itself apart as Itori's foxfire had disrupted any semblance of control and stability.

The Kitsune stepped backwards as golem turned into statue, quickly looking around when suddenly all the lights went back on. She blinked her eyes, but the results remained the same: suddenly Guy and Kanrya were back, both of them looking like they hadn't gone without their own share of challenges in the short time that they were separated. Itori didn't see any wounds on Guy: the man looked more puzzled and dumbfounded than panicky or exhausted. Maybe the golems hadn't touched him because he wasn't a mage?

Kanrya, on the other hand, was clearly favouring her upper torso, Itori's ears twitching as she picked up the sounds of something twisted or broken. The fox girl stepped up towards her fellow mage, not feeling like wasting time with silly questions about what had just happened?

"Do you require healing?"

As Kanrya heard Itori ask if she needed healing, she couldn't help but chuckle causing her to cough. She didn't trust herself to speak at the moment but nodded a yes in answer. As she nodded an affirmative, she felt Itori place a hand on her shoulder and a warmth fill her as the kitsune channeled her healing energies into her.

Kanrya could begin to feel the mending in her ribs, the aching strain as she struggled to breathe lessened. She sucked in a deeper clearer breath, the ache finally disappearing. "Thank you Itori. It feels much better." She said as she moved to stand up, taking a look around at her surroundings.

She eyed Guy sitting puzzled and almost shell shocked at what had happened. She surmised to herself that since the archaeologist was no mage that the golems had left him alone and had gone after her and Itori. "Hey Guy, you ready to see what those golems were hiding from us?" Kanrya asked with a cocky, sure-fire grin on her face as she walked over to the archaeologist and offered him a hand up.

Upon Kanrya accepting her offer of healing Itori placed her hand on the woman's shoulder, focusing her magic into regenerative energies that would aid Kanrya's body in mending the wounds as if they had never been. Itori's healing magic wasn't the fastest, prioritizing safety and avoiding discomfort over speed. That said she did put a lot of concentration into the magic, so the healing should go without any issues or hindrances. Neither Itori nor Guy had really been hurt: a stroke of luck, all things considered. Kanrya also turned out to be made of pretty sturdy stuff, as she seemed to have been smashed by one of those hammers only to gain no bigger wounds than some broken ribs. Itori was pretty sure that if she had been hit head on by one of those things it would have hurt quite a bit. She might even have lost consciousness if the hit was bad, and that would have been the end of her, since those golems had certainly been aiming to eliminate, not capture or chase away. Truly good fortune that all of them had managed to make it out of that scenario alive and without any serious injuries that Itori couldn't mend.

Guy meanwhile was still seated on the floor, ignoring the two women as instead he looked around in obvious confusion. Unharmed and healthy, if any damage had been done to the archaeologist it had been done in his mind instead of in his body. Not that Itori was fearing insanity, but whatever it was that the man had encountered while the three of them were mysteriously separated had clearly left him completely befuddled. The strangest part was that he wasn't even showering the two of them with his curiosity as he tried to figure out what had happened: Itori had only known the man for a couple of hours now and she had already learned enough about him that for him every puzzle or secret to be found in ruins of ages past were things to be amazed and intrigued by, things that he would do his utmost best to figure out and understand in the hope of catching even the smallest glimpse of what the civilizations of so long ago had been like (Itori had decided against sharing her knowledge of past civilizations, except maybe for small things. It wasn't like she expected that knowledge to wreak a lot of havoc in the modern age, but unless she had reason to believe it vital that she told someone she'd rather leave it to the people living in the present to satisfy their curiosity). However now he was just sitting there, looking around as if someone had been talking to him only to disappear without warning. He didn't seem frightened either, so at least it hadn't been too dangerous or shocking, but... Itori wasn't sure how to approach this issue. They'd have to keep moving, but with how Guy was acting he may receive quite a shock if either she or Kanrya interrupted his train of thought...

Kanrya cut her pondering short when she quite bluntly walked up to the man and offered her hand while inviting him to come and see what the golems had been protecting before being disabled by herself and Itori. The Kitsune blinked, but it seemed that Guy had no issue snapping out of his daze at being addressed, shaking his head quickly and looking up at Kanrya before smiling eagerly and nodding while taking the offer hand, pulling himself up with the gunslinger's assistance.

"Ah, yes, of course. Excuse me, I'm not sure what just happened so I wasn't really sure how to react either. But you're right that we're finally getting close to the actual goal of this expedition. Those golems looked like they had not a spot of damage on them, so either they can repair themselves perfectly or there had never been anyone who got this far other than the people who made this place. Either way now that we've passed these guardians the actual important things should not be far from here. Let's go."

With that the enthusiastic archaeologist stepped forwards, not waiting for the other two to take the lead as he instead began to hurry down the once again lit hallway towards whatever secrets the ruins might hold other than traps and guardians. Itori shrugged as she had to admit that Kanrya's approach had worked, so she must have been overthinking Guy's state of mind after that whole experience. Sure, he had looked puzzled, but it wasn't like he had given the impression of being faced with something he just couldn't accept or acknowledge as being real. Just... very puzzled. She must have been seeing signs to be worried about where there were none.

Instead of getting too hung up over the issue Itori nodded towards Kanrya in response to the words of thanks offered. As one of the relatively few mages who could heal others without paying some terrible price (she wasn't entirely sure why so many types of magic seemed incapable of healing others without it being a sign of great power, sacrifice or skill. She just had to stitch the body and soul back together and that did the trick most of the time) Itori was used to being thanked for helping people out with her restorative skills. She indicated the back of their client, who was eagerly looking around while walking towards the heart of the ruins. The fact that he was taking his time to study interesting markings on the wall was probably one of the only reasons that he hadn't fallen in some kind of trap yet.

"You are most welcome. Now then, may I suggest that we move to rejoin our client and resume ensuring his safety? I find myself doubtful at the idea that these were the only protective measures left, especially with their rather clumsy design. Whatever else may be further beyond from here, it is most likely something inhuman, to decrease the chances of personal feelings and emotions getting in the way of doing the job."

With that Itori smiled and walked after Guy, hastening her step to catch up to him and explain that it would still be best if at least one of the mages walked in front of him because they were more likely to survive accidentally springing a trap.

As Kanrya listened to Itori speak she nodded while keeping Guy the client in her sights. She agreed with what Foxy had said, especially in the fact that this job was not exactly done by a long shot. She jogged towards both Itori and Guy, keeping an eye out for anymore traps that may occur, making sure to keep a hand on the stock of Skadi. She felt the pull of power coming back to Nyx and Athena and smiled knowing that she was ready for anything that might go a little...weird.

As they came to the end of the hallway, Kanrya tilted her head noticing the Aegis effigy carved into the door. "Hey...Guy is that supposed to be what we're looking for?" Uncertainty ringing in her voice.

When the only reply as a grin and a nod of his head while he was busy moving the door to the side, Kanrya had to sigh and lend a hand. The client honestly looked like he was going to throw his back out from moving the marble door alone. Once Kanrya, Itori and Guy entered the chamber at the end of the hall Kanrya felt her jaw drop from the sheer size of it. To say that the chamber was huge was an understatement. The thing that caught her attention the most was the sarcophagus at the feet of a statue holding a shield with six different gemstones. She studied the statue carefully as Guy droned on about the old man that the statue represented because all she could hear were coins clinking at that moment.

She wasn't really paying much attention at all until Guy accidently applied pressure to the foot of the statue and caught the shield the gems were on. She had his back steadying him and had a first-class ticket to watch the eons of rust and tarnish erase themselves off of the shield. "Is it supposed to do that?" She asked as she heard a faint rattle...

As the three of them made their way deeper into the ruins it looked like there were no other traps to worry about. Itori kept an eye out while she saw that Kanrya was also on guard, but between the two of them either they managed to confirm that there were no traps, or they somehow were lucky enough to stumble past any traps that were still active without triggering them. Either way was fine for the fox woman, who would feel a lot more comfortable once they had what they wanted from this place and gotten out. It wasn't that she was actually scared, but it didn't take a genius to see that the insides of these ruins were more dangerous than the outsides, and while Itori wasn't exactly a coward a major contribution to her having managed to survive this long was a very strong sense of knowing when something was dangerous and, even more importantly, knowing when to fold them. Even if this wasn't the most dangerous thing she had ever done (not even remotely close, honestly) it was still dangerous, and something didn't have to be dramatically more dangerous than everything else for it to be able to kill you.

Fortunately they made it the rest of the way without anything trying to kill or otherwise hinder them, until the three of them were standing in front of a large, ornate, vine covered door which had in its centre an elaborate engraving of an aegis. With the amount of effort poured into forming this door Itori was pretty sure this was either a treasure chamber or the main chamber of this entire ruin complex. Guy confirmed that this was the place they had been looking for when Kanrya asked them, the two of them working to open the door and see what the chamber beyond would be like while Itori kept her hands free and her ears sharp in case opening the door would trigger another trap. With no sign of this being the case even after the door was fully opened Itori followed the other two into the large chamber beyond, frowning worriedly when both Guy and Kanrya immediately headed for the main attraction of the room: the large stone sarcophagus and the statue holding a very interesting shield in the middle of the room. Itori couldn't detect any traps herself, but it still felt reckless to just rush towards something as blatantly important and valuable as that while dungeon diving.

Whether Guy was aware of this or not wasn't known, because he seemed too distracted by the sarcophagus and the shield while he began to rapidly talk about what he knew about this place.

"Oh my goodness, this is the Prismatic Aegis of the God King Gen'atoh! I never thought it'd actually be here! I mean, of course I was hoping for it but I couldn't dare to actually believe it! Most people don't even remember the man, even though his kingdom was very big and powerful before it fell apart thanks to internal strife. It's a shame that we forget such amazing and intriguing things as time goes by, but it's also extremely lucky that we actually found this place. Gen'atoh ruled with strength and military might, and while he's been portrayed as a fair and just king there's never been any denying that most of his reign was based on his ability to defeat any enemy which stood against him and his six Prism Knights. If the theories I read were correct those six Prism Knights were always close friends or family of the king, and they were granted extraordinary power with those six stones embedded in that shield. The Prism Knights were the reason that nobody could challenge Gen'atoh's rule, and even more impressive was the fact that even if you managed to slay one of the Prism Knights, the king could just imbue another warrior with that same power! Of course he only chose the most talented and mightiest of warriors, but he never could have gotten as far as he did if it wasn't for the fact that he had this shield to make sure he always had six of the strongest warriors of his age on his side. Whatever kind of lachrima these gems might be, they must be much more powerful than any lachrima we are capable of making today. Why, if we brought the Prismatic Aegis back to some experts it could mean an entire new age of prosperity, if we could just utilize the strength of these lachrima for a purpose other than war."

Even as he was still talking Guy accidentally stepped on one of the feet of the giant statue, at which point the arms spread themselves wide and Guy and Kanrya were forced to catch the humongous shield. While Guy had been talking Itori had both been listening and exploring the room, and she was somewhat bothered by the fact that there were so many armed skeletons lying about. If they had been corpses of adventurers it wouldn't have been a problem, but they looked like fallen warriors, with ancient rusted armour and weaponry rather than tools and clothing. With the statue moving and the shield falling Itori spun around, watching as her two companions caught the shield even as the hair on the back of her neck began to stand up. Seeing the shield return to its original state of splendour and glory only made the ominous sensation worse.

Guy and Kanrya were forced to let go of the shield as it suddenly was pulled back up into the air by some invisible force, a prismatic glow covering it which became sharper and stronger. Itori herself kept a safe distance, worried by the magic that was emanating from the shield and filling the room, as well as the strange humming sound that was now filling her ears. Guy instead was standing right in front of the shield, staring at it as if entranced by it. Some kind of trap? Having an adventurer be enchanted by the main prize of the ruins wasn't that strange an idea, but that would still require there to be a lethal portion to the trap...

"Do you hear that?" Guy asked, looking both puzzled and amazed, the Kitsune frowning as her ears twitched. The humming was still there, and it originated from the shield. However she couldn't hear anything, and in Itori's case if she couldn't hear something it usually meant it didn't exist. However looking at Guy she thought she knew what was going on: he was hearing something which was directly put inside his head, which was why Itori could hear the magic but couldn't actually hear whatever Guy was hearing. Nevertheless, they still had to watch out for-

Itori quickly jumped to the side as a bony hand grazed her leg, the Kitsune drawing her sword as she looked around. The warriors from ancient times were rising up from their rest, and it looked like they weren't going to let the intruders get away peacefully. The Kitsune faced the skeletons even as at the same time Guy was suddenly lifted into the air while the ruby that was originally embedded in the Prismatic Aegis forced its way inside his chest, enveloping the man in a brilliant crimson light as even more magic filled the room. Itori wanted to figure out what was happening with Guy, but first she and Kanrya would have to deal with the risen warriors, who... Seemed to be showing an extreme amount of hostility towards Gen'atoh and his Prism Knights? Itori felt confusion ring throughout her mind as she tried to figure out what that meant. Guy had said that Gen'atoh had been a military king and that he had ruled with the aid of his Prism Knights, and that his kingdom had eventually fallen because of internal strife. Internal, not external. Looking at it like that, it seemed that the people under Gen'atoh's rule weren't actually that happy with him and that this ruin had been their attempt at getting rid of their tyrant ruler.

Kanrya didn't as so much catch the shield as catch the archaeologist from falling all over himself. Even so, she looked back at the kitsune when Guy asked if anyone heard what he had, shrugging at the question and seeing if the Fox could answer the question. After all she likely had better hearing than any human. Seeing her stumped, she turned her back to Guy, only to hear him cry out as the ruby that was on the shield embedded itself into his chest and lift up into the air in a red haze of light.

"You know I really didn't ask for a light show..." She puzzled over this until a cold, bony hand brushed her ankle. "Or skeletons walking around again..." She snarled and broke her leg free from the hands grasp only to stomp down hard on it breaking its bones.

Drawing Morrigan and Athena, she watched the skeletons gather, cursing the king and his knights with dry rasping voices. "Just take this bullshit into the next life already you morons!" She shouted before charging into the kicking, firing her guns and breaking as many bones of the dried skeletons as she could.

"Angel's Wrath!!" She hollered as she gained a little bit of air as she used a skeleton as a stepping stone. The multiple colors struck many of the other skeletons downing most of them.

Delayed rolls.

The member 'Itori' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Monster Dice' :

Looking around Itori did a quick headcount: it looked like there were eight skeletons in total, with Kanrya already engaging most of them. She was only leaving three of the skeletons to advance on Itori, which made the fox smile slightly as she thought of how that meant she had one tail for one skeleton each. Convenient, although she wasn't planning to actually make use of her tails here. Not when she had a much better weapon for dealing with the revived dead. Since the skeletons were capable of speech and seemed to have independent goals that meant that rather than merely being bones moved by magic they had to have actual souls and memories. And if they had souls then there wasn't a lot they could do against Itori, a Spirit Fox who had ways to deal with souls as exposed as those possessing a skeleton.

Narrowing her vermilion eyes Itori looked at the skeletons, seeing the souls possessing their pale forms. The bones were infused with the souls, but the souls also overflowed into a shape that covered the entire skeleton, linking the independent parts and turning it into one whole. There was magic and techniques that didn't include linking the bones with the soul, but the truth was that there wasn't a lot of reason to do that unless you had reason to believe that you were dealing with an enemy who could target the exposed parts of the soul. From what Itori could tell as she had travelled through the land soul magic was very rare amongst humans, if only because there weren't many who knew enough about it who could teach it, and many of those who had the talent preferred other types of magic or happened to stumble across other types of magic first. All things considered it just wasn't very common, which meant that those who used necromancy or other soul-related magic rarely had to worry about a user of soul magic messing with their constructs and pawns. Itori being here was more of a twist of fate or coincidence than anything else, even if it came in very usefully for her and her companions.

Dashing forwards Itori drew her blade and immediately lashed out, surprising the skeletons with the speed at which she both drew and struck in one flowing motion. Her sword scraped against the ribs of one skeleton, before slipping between the ribs of another skeleton without much issue. The last skeleton was too far behind to be hit, Itori stepping back even as she finished the slash to avoid getting countered by the skeletal warriors. Unfortunately the skeletons were a bit more aggressive than she thought, and she had to guard with her sword as one of them threatened to slice open her stomach if she didn't parry the attack. The Kitsune frowned as she stepped further back, holding her blade up as a threat and to make it clear that if one of them got in range of her blade she'd immediately retaliate.

The four of them stood like that, the three skeletons slowly spreading out to surround Itori even as her gunslinging partner seemed to be a lot more enthusiastic in her fight, crushing bones and shooting the skeletons without hesitation. It was a good thing her guns weren't shooting normal bullets, or she'd probably find that shooting skeletons was tricky business. That or she really was that good a shot, in which case the bullets actually could do a good job crushing bones and leaving the skeletons seriously hampered. Most skeletal warriors had a tendency to still act as if they were reliant on their body parts being whole to use them, so if she crushed the bones in one leg that skeleton should behave as if it only had one good leg left to stand on. As for Itori herself... The skeletal warriors had been more on point than she had been expecting, so she'd have to try and sole this issue with some creativity.

Silently crafting an illusion Itori made herself look as if she was positively glowing with sunlight, making the skeletal warriors flinch, keenly aware that they weren't going to survive if they were exposed to the glorious radiance of the sun. However since it was an illusion they weren't actually burning, the skeletal warriors looking around to find that the Kitsune had escaped their enclosing ring while they were all trying to shield themselves from the fake sunlight. With a fast motion she moved her hand along the flat of her pure white blade, an ethereal glow surrounding the sword and her hand which clung to her hand as skin and steel stopped touching. Clenching that hand into a fist while pointing at the one skeleton that she hadn't attacked with that sword Itori made a fast pulling motion with the fist... after which the two skeleton warriors that she had struck seemed to shiver for a moment before falling apart, lifeless as they were supposed to be. From the fallen bones two ghostly forms rose up and floated towards Itori, who made some motions with her hand before pointing upwards, the ethereal entities rising up and through the ceiling to disappear.

After having sent the two trapped souls to the next life Itori dashed towards the remaining skeleton, using another small illusion to make herself look a bit bigger than she actually was. When the skeleton slashed at her Itori could dodge it relatively, the blade only barely able to reach her when the skeleton thought she was close enough to split open her skull. With the skeleton having to draw back his sword Itori struck its sword arm with the pommel of her sword, breaking the bones and making the skeleton hesitate as the soul possessing it had to convince itself that it could still use the arm. During that small opening Itori struck again, her white sword a flash of light as it severed the skull from the rest of its bony body. This skeleton fell down as well, giving Itori enough time to use Shitenka's ability to chain souls to pull the soul from the skeleton and send that one on its way to the next world as well.

Turning around Itori saw that Kanrya had basically already finished dealing with the other five skeletons, where Itori had opted to pull out the souls instead having decided to just bombard them until the skeletons were no longer capable of functioning. Which just left the issue of Guy... And the fact that it seemed that more skeletons were beginning to stand up.