Sky's the Limit

New Lust
Ah, Indra. Ever the confident, self-involved man. He was the very epitome of an alpha male that damn near challenged anyone to say otherwise. But she couldn’t deny that many of his claims he could back up and his strength was more than a little impressive. He teased her back as she greeted him, addressing her by a pet name that she assumed was how he believed she felt. A impish smile wormed its way across her lips as she met his gaze evenly. “Is that so? I believe I was thoroughly satisfied by the end of our… encounter,” she said, both complimenting and undermining him in a flirtatious manner.

Kage himself was far too enamored with the sight of her to even speak but the dragon apparently named Tailong introduced himself in grand fashion as the dragon of the sun. He even went as far as to reference Kage and Indra as his servants and to ask if she’d be interested in learning more over coffee before the Lightning Dragon Slayer cut him off. She giggled and shook her head. “Poor Indra. Surrounded by all these charming men. It must put quite the strain on your ability to pick up women,” she said, glancing back at him and winking.

He asked how she was and explained that while he would enjoy getting reacquainted, he was here for business. “As am I. I find myself rather short in funds lately and decided to take part in some wizarding jobs. Quite the unique way of earning jewel but not one I am against. And I’ll admit – it eases my trepidation to do it with someone I know.” She wouldn’t have really been nervous with a new person at all but it did make introductions go a lot faster with someone already known.

But their momentary friendly banter was interrupted another person arriving. Their face was covered by their garments and the air seemed to drop a few degrees as they approached them. Kessicia stared at them as they welcomed them, though their words held little friendliness in them. In fact, being called a guinea pig was quite the opposite of what she desired in a new acquaintance. It reminded her of her times as a slave and her mouth deepened into a frown. “And how fitting to have a rudesby greet us without a merit of warmth or kindness after we’ve traveled so far,” she said back, turning to face the robed stranger.

New Lust

Whoever this robed figure was, they clearly didn’t mean well for the merry band of adventurers – if that’s what one could call them. Kessicia kept her eyes trained on him, her normal pleasant exterior cooled by the frosty attitude of the supposed aggressor. He stated that the challenge of the tower was assumingly his and that in being so, it made the situation all the more humorous. Tailong spoke up, which caught the attention of the robed figure and revealed that the smaller dragon was similar in kind. Her eyes widened a fraction – was this stranger a dragon then?

Indra spoke up, claiming that dancing around the subject was pointless and it would be easier to simply get to the point. The stranger had put forth a challenge to them and Indra was ready to get the test started. Kessicia tapped into her power, small crackles of magic energy dancing around her fingertips. She wasn’t exactly the strongest of fighters but she could help make Indra all the stronger while, hopefully, weakening their prey. There was a brief, dangerous exchange as the stranger outlined that they were curious to see how humans handled the power they had. They also seemed to pick up on Indra’s magic, which was no surprise given that it had already named itself a dragon.

Nine challenges awaited them and before any of them could act or question the tasks, the ground opened up in the form of shimmering red portals. The group fell inside and as Kessicia looked skyward towards the opening, she could make out a dragon-like form flapping its hefty wings and making for the cloudy sky above.

They didn’t fall for long but the landing was not soft nor pleasant. Kessicia hit the floor with a grunt and lay there for a few moments, letting the air swell her lungs back to shape after the hard fall. They were in complete darkness for a brief moment and as Kessicia shifted to get up, she reached out for something to grab ahold of to help her up. What she found was not exactly what she was looking for at the moment and she retracted her hand instantly. “Apologies, Indra. I didn’t mean to grab you without warning,” she explained as she put her hand on the ground instead and used that to get up. As her vision adapted to the low light, she could make out braziers hanging on the walls, lighting their supposed path. Despite being underneath the ground – and within the tower, as Indra believed, she found herself much warmer here than above. She pulled her cloak from her body and wrapped it around her waist, now far more comfortable than she had been before.

“Perhaps our time would be better spent investigating than arguing?” She offered to the party, as Indra and Tailong seemed far more interested in getting the last word in. Bickering right now was pointless, given that 9 challenges now awaited them ahead. It was far better that they put aside their egos and push forward, if anyone of them wished to get out of here alive.