Crypt Keepers [Kouri, Mirage]

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna had nearly chuckled at Amaryllis' farewell, it was somewhat comforting to know that the Nuit still considered her valuable. As long as she continued to show her worth then her life expectancy could only rise, at least that was the hope. On Sahova it was better to be thought useful than a waste of resources, the minute that happened the wizard expected a rather final end to her life. That was the best case scenario in that event.

The wizard was somewhat comforted by the presence of Kouri, she was a very powerful creature after all. With her at her side hopefully things would go a lot more smoothly, if nothing else maybe she'd be able to throttle Daren if he made an unannounced appearance. The thought sent an amused smile creasing her lips as the pair made their way to the dungeons. The trip was uneventful, which actually put Anna a little more on edge. Something should be happening, there was no way this could be so easy.

As Anna prepared to open the door her vision was filled with white, a sound filling her ears. A vision flashed before her eyes, one that sent spikes of fear through her body. The thing she noticed most was something falling from her grasp, rolling into a corner near the entrance of the caverns. The rest of it slipped from her fingers, trying to remember the rest was like trying to hold water in her hands. It was gone, but she had something for her trouble. Whatever she had been holding must have been important.

There was no doubt in her mind, that vision must have been one of her suppressed memories rising to the surface. Anna didn't really want to know exactly how the rest of that vision played out, she opted to find out when she was tearing screams from Daren's lips. No, now she needed to focus on finding whatever had fallen from her grasp. The wizard realized that she had just been standing there with her hand on the door, she shook her head and offered Kouri a reassuring smile before opening it.

Screams filled her ears, washing Anna with the sound of another person's suffering and fear. Instead of recoiling from the sounds she basked in the sounds, there were indeed others far worse off than she. It was such a shame that she had somewhere to be, and had Kouri with her, otherwise she might be tempted to see exactly how much air she could pump into a person's lungs before they popped. She didn't break stride until she came to the source of the screams, raising an eyebrow at the work before her.

If she were being entirely honest it was rather impressive, though there was no one in sight to take credit for the work as far as she could see. This prompted Anna to once more sheath her hand in res, ready for whatever might come. At least that was what she thought, until she was surprised by a young ghost child appearing from seemingly no where. The child hugged Kouri, obviously the two knew each other.

Anna was a little leery of any thoughts of 'playing' whatever game this ghost wanted her to play. If it involved anything similar to what happened to that man she wanted no part in it, at if she were to be the subject of such a thing. In response to the ghost's question to Kouri Anna willed her res to detach from her hand and slither towards the mutilated corpse. Once there she flicked her wrist and willed the liquid to cover the man's head, transmuting it to a superheated molten state.

The reimancer allowed a slight sigh of pleasure to escape her lips at the casting, it was hardly stressful but it took the edge off of her nerves. The lava was of course extremely hot, the intense heat would radiate quite easily from the cell. Her little display complete she regarded the ghostly child.

"If your idea of 'playing' involves anything remotely similar to what occurred to that man, I should inform you I've always wanted to find out if Soul Mist burns, child." The wizard stated, her tone as intimidating as she could make it.

The wizard willed more res to sheath her hand, lifting it to her eyes to idly examine it. The liquid was a deep purple shade, the change having occurred quite recently. Normally she preferred a clear colorless res, but she found that giving it color tended to make the casting seem even more unnatural.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Un..." She nodded, Ama's explanation rewired her understanding of Nuits. How she viewed them until now was they were "solid" dead as opposed to "ethereal" dead which were ghosts. The talk about Dira made the ghost girl thought on she was offending the Goddess of Death by kept stretching her time on Mizahar, she was supposed to go somewhere... maybe to Morwen, the Vantha's Goddess. She fidgeted, hoping the "greeting" wouldn't involve the wizard from harming both of them. The calmness of their journey actually scared her more, she was expecting for something to happen, anything at all. "...." Kouri darted her crimson eyes left and right, still locating nothing, not even the presence of spiritual beings through their soulmist aura. The voice said about "chase", but she felt they were not being chased at all or maybe they were so good at stalking, she couldn't even detect them. As they arrived at their destination, something odd happened, Anna suddenly went rigid as if she lost control over her body. "Madame Anna?" The ghost girl was ready, she waved her right hand and four serrated tendrils took their place on her back, she approached the sorceress and looked at her in the eye, waving her left hand over Anna's face. "Are you there?" A few moments later, the sorceress took hold of herself once more, easing the ghost's worry with a smile. Kouri just smiled back and let her open the door. "K-kyah?!" The screams echoing from the dungeon startled the ghost and she instinctively hid behind Anna's back, only slightly peeking her head to see what lay ahead. "..." It was as bad as she imagined, the familiar vision of a butchered human only this was the work of something else, not her chakrams. The particular scream was a final defiant call of the man before he went to Dira or whatever god he worshipped. That's not good... he's dead... I should be the one who did it, right? The ghost girl shuddered at her own thoughts, she wanted to curse Mia, who was responsible of undoing everything Wanda taught her. "L-le't just g-..." Her sentence stopped as her crimson eyes found the aforementioned insane ghost girl. "M-m-mia?" So caught in her disbelief, Kouri actually had to reassure herself it was Mia. The pure white eyes, tiny stature, clothes, long black hair, and doll were unmistakable. "M..mi..." She felt her soulmist body being wrapped by Mia's tiny arms and hands. The somewhat adorable white eyes looking up at her, her adorable echoing voice urging Kouri to just have fun. The various grim mockery of children games spoken by the smaller ghost girl fitted quite nice with Kouri's child-like mind. She looked so cute~ B-but Rena won't be happy... no wait, Rena doesn't have to know about this! Surprisingly, Kouri's right hand raised and ruffled Mia's hair, a small sisterly smile on her lips. "Play huh, but Mia, Big sis is on another important game right now." The Vantha ghost leaned in and whispered to Mia's ear "We can kill evil men in the end, isn't that fun?" She could enlist Mia's help and satisfy this other ghost girl, killing two birds with one stone. Mia's cheerfulness mimicked her own in the past, Kouri stood beside the ghost girl as Mia regarded Anna. It was obvious the sorceress didn't take kindly to the child's offer, using her magic to burn down the corpse's head with molten fiery liquid. It was reimancy, Kouri knew of it, after her encounters with various kind of wizards, both friendly and hostile. Surprisingly, Kouri snickered at Anna's threat, she talked as if she held power facing a powerful ghost, two powerful ghosts if she decided to take Mia's side. Kouri had seen what Mia was capable of, destroying iron chains with her tendrils, flying as fast as a galloping horse, and possessing a body without so much as an effort. "I think you don't want to do that, Madame Anna, ehehehahahaha~" What am I doing?! "I think Mia here," She lovingly rubbed the apparently younger ghost's hair and glanced back at Anna, her large crimson eyes showing no amount of fear at Anna's display of powerful magic, showing Kouri was familiar with the art. "Can go inside you and make you eat your own fireballs, isn't that right, Mia? Soulmist can burn... and so does your flesh..." "Let's see if you want to play with us bo-" Come on, stop it! Stop it!! "...ha... uh... Mia, come with us and play together with Madame Anna instead okay? We can play lots with the evil men's body, what do you say?"

[Mirage]

Mia's attention was caught by the display of reimancy, and she turned to stare opened mouthed at the display. Far from being intimidated she clapped and giggled, floating closer to Anna to, her face the essence of childish eagerness, "Ohhh your a Wizard! Wanda said Mia is not allowed to play with the Wizards or their apprentices, but we can play together!" She clapped her hands together, the doll floating beside her, "Do it again! Catch another one on fire! Can you rip off their flesh with sand like Uncle Roknus can?" She was literally bobbing with excitement, but as with all children her attention span was short and she was brought to another subject.

Blinking before Kouir once more Mia pulled at Fubuki's skirts, smiling big as she giggled, "A bad man? Did he break the rules? Which rules did he break? Mommy taught me every punishment for every rule! I'm a good girl and I punish rule breakers." The exchange between Fubuki and Annalisa was completely lost on Mia as she twirled, picking up her doll once more to float in circles around them both, "We can go together! I'll teach you both what mommy taught me! Oh!" She paused in front of Anna and pointed at the corpse, "You played with it last so its your toy now! Mommy's rules, clean up your toys or you lose a finger!" She giggled and acted like she was cutting a finger off of her hand before floating next to Kouri once more, tugging on her skirts, "Can we go kill him now? Can we?"

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna realized she miscalculated, Kouri was turning out to be very unstable and it was certainly not working to her advantage. One ghost, Anna felt she could deter but two was likely a little over her limit unless she was very quick. Djed was quickly focused under her tongue, ready to form gaseous res out before her just in case. Strategy was already working through her mind, air reimancy to gain distance and lightning to prevent the possibility of dodging. Thankfully it turned out that was unnecessary, as Mia clarified that Anna was untouchable because of her position as Amaryllis' apprentice.

The apprentice allowed herself to settle down, lowering her hand wrapped in res to indicate a lack of hostility. The woman did make certain to shoot Kouri a rather hurt look, this was the second time the child had sided against her. It wasn't that Anna actually felt hurt, she understood betrayal and how easy it came to others. However Kouri's emotions were something she wouldn't hesitate to shape in her favor. She held the look for a moment before turning her attention to the younger looking ghost, this so called Mia.

Anna stared at the ghostly child for a moment, her expression blank for a few ticks before a grin broke out over her face.

"He, he ha. Bwahahaha! Oh, Kouri why did you not inform me you knew such a charming creature? I'm afraid your big sister and I have pressing business, but I'll tell you what next time I'm around the Dungeons I'll do some things even better than flaying skin from bone." Anna said, her laughter sounding rather cruel.

Oh Anna liked this child very much, initial judgments were certainly cast aside in the face of so potent a creature. The apprentice was slightly annoyed at being told to clean up the remains of the disfigured human, however it would hardly take much effort to do so. A little more than the lava but not by much.

She idly rolled her eyes, the purple res on her hands snaking down her body with more generated just to be certain. The lava would technically dissolve most of the flesh and muscle, burying it under a mound of molten glass. However that would take time so she had a better way of getting rid of it. The res moved to cover the ground under the corpse, seeping into it at Anna's whim. One she was certain it was deep enough she transmuted the existing earth into air, gesturing upwards with her right hand. The ground would seem to simply vanish though a rush of air would blow over the group.

Another thrill ran through her mind, pleasure tingling down her spine at the casting. She was powerful, being able to shape existing elements to her whims and changing them to suit her needs. Anna was feeling much more confident, less like a scared rat being chased and more like the wizard that she was.

The corpse simply fell into the hole, lava dripping and pooling around the body and the pungent odor of burnt flesh in the air. Anna focused the remaining res at the stone surrounding the body, building a screen of the purple liquid above it. She then utilized a combinations of transmutation and attraction to cover up the corpse in earth, the smooth floor of the cell looking no worse for wear.

The drain on her Djed was certainly more noticeable, however even in combination with her previous casting she was no where near her limits. Her mind was willing to indulge in the primal bliss of casting however, another sigh of pleasure escaping her lips. She faced her companions and gestured back down the path, her power and confidence practically radiating from her body.

"I'm afraid we cannot kill the bad man just yet, first we need to visit Uncle Roknus. He has something for me. However when the time arrives I'll make certain Daren won't be too broken and that you both get your turns. The only rule is that I get to play with him first." The apprentice stated, a little too much glee in her voice.

Uncle Roknus, Anna dearly wanted to snigger at the name. The only issue being that if she did it his presence he'd likely murder her horribly, not exactly the best scenario. The tall woman indicated for the two to follow, heartened by the presence of two spirits. She dearly wanted to know if what she had dropped was still near the entrance of the Caverns.

Her mind was also working up an appropriate punishment for Kouri daring to side against her, not once but twice. A particularly nasty curse would be in order, the trip would give the child either time to apologize or time to settle on a curse. Either one was acceptable. Anna didn't like the idea of harming the child, but sometimes naughty children needed to be punished.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Hehe~" Kouri watched Mia with childish eagerness, like a slightly older sister watching her adorable younger sister. Actually, with Mia here, who needs Re-... no... NO! She looked down to the ground and put both of her hands to cover her face, then pulled it down as if wanting to claw her own face off. The rational part of the ghost's mind knew Mia would bring to her doom, but the other - growing - part was trying to convince her that the aforementioned 'doom' might not be so bad indeed. An eternity spent at the island, having fun everyday with her 'new' little sister. Mama! Help me! The Vantha ghost's crimson eyes started to be glazed over as if she was hypnotized, evident of the battle inside her own mind. "Mia, yes, he's bad, very bad. We should kill him!" Even with her empty eyes, her mind and body still moved, breaking down now would not be a good action. She would push this matter off for now, at least until Dayren lay dead before their very eyes. "Ehehehe~ Mia~ I think Big Sis can also teach you some cute things to do with him~" She hugged the adorable white-eyed girl who was tugging at her skirt. Rena, I'm sorry. I'll come back to you someday... Kouri ruffled Mia's long black hair and hugged her tight. Glancing at the sorceress, Kouri narrowed her eyes. The ghost was annoyed Anna took the presence of two powerful phantoms with such calmness. The ghost girl couldn't think of the possibility of being calm in face of a potentially dangerous situation. Madame Anna... I wonder, I wonder. Why do you look so calm?" She hissed in her mind, faint whispers of inaudible sentences echoing as if there were multiple instances of herself in the very same location. "You like Mia too? She's my little sister so... Don't get so close." The ghost girl couldn't contain her jealousy, this woman was going to take Mia from her, unacceptable. Kouri's tendrils flowed from under her skirt, subtly slithering on the floor like ethereal black snakes with serrated body and cobra head. They stopped just a few inches from Anna's feet. I can kill you right now, cut your puny flesh apart. Do you think you stand a chance against me, human? She tilted her head at Anna, watching her display of magic by creating a pool of lava. Kouri had to admit Anna was a powerful wizard, far more powerful than Cyrus or Azcadelia, but like all wizards, they needed time to cast their spells. Even a tick was more than enough for Kouri to slice off Anna's head like a piece of wet mud, or she could always blink in and stabbed her eyes with her materialized fingers, freezing her to death. "You want to play with him first? Hehe, I agree, however..." The ghost girl narrowed her eyes, her slits in the process of turning reptilian. "I don't think you can tell us what to do. You're not my mother, Madame Anna." She took hold of Mia's hand and pulled her close, keeping her like an obsessive big sister. As much as she liked Anna, she was still a stranger and Kouri's experiences of people who promised to be with her ended disappearing or betraying her made the ghost girl actually hard to truly trust people, even if she herself didn't realize it. The mind of the ghost girl was indeed a fickle thing.

[Mirage]

Mia gave a muffled protest having been pulled into Kouri's rather abundant amount of skirts. She struggled, the words, "I camf bweef!" coming rather faintly from the ghostly fabric. Rather ironic in it a darkly comedic sort of way. With some effort she managed to extract herself, gasping for breath in a very dramatic, and largely unnecessary, fashion, before shaking her head and floating between Anna and Fubuiki. The little ghost girl held out her arms, the doll in her hand hanging freely as she said in as serious a tone as a child could, "No, no big sister you can't hurt Annana," She shook her head, trying to make her features into a more adult expression and failing horribly, "If you do Wanda will punish you and we wont get to play! And... and the other girl wont be able to come out of the jar and play either! I wanna play with her too! S-so don't kill her yet!"

Mia turned and bobbed before Anna, smiling broadly, "Annana, we can all play together! It's OK to take turns, mommy always said to take turns when you have friends come to play! You don't kill friends, unless the friends don't follow the rules, but I will teach you the rules so you wont have to die." She giggled, floating back to grab Fubuki's hand, pulling her doll close, "And you and me and Big sister and Big sister's sister and her maid and all of us can all be friends together! I will make you a ghost and we can play together forever and ever... Oh after your not a Wizard any more though, cause Wanda said not to make playmates out of Wizards again." She stared wide eyed at Anna, unblinking as she started to suck her thumb, the very picture of innocence. She bobbed slowly up and down, swinging her doll in a very childish way, and despite her words she clearly did not fully understand the situation at all. She simply didn't want to lose any playmates just yet.

As Anna began to walk away Mia was very quick to follow, pulling on Kouri's arm eagerly as she did. In the far corner nearest the end cell on the left, just before the entrance to the Cavern, there was a pile of soiled straw where the slightest glimmer could be seen. It would be nearly unnoticeable, unless you were looking for it. If found it would reveal itself to be a small key, beautifully carved and looked brand new unlike most things in Sahova. It looked like it belonged to a locket as it easily would fit in the palm of Anna's hand.

OOCLol Anna has a new nick name XD

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna noted Kouri's mood without comment initially, rather she kept her head level and didn't do anything overly rash. There was no reason for her to be nervous around the powerful ghost, she was untouchable for the moment which afforded her a good deal of confidence. Daren, he was the enemy at the moment and if nothing else Mia could try and keep Kouri in check. However Anna was willing to try her hand at calming the ghost down, while making very certain to try and keep this instability going. It, like chaos, needed some form of direction. So as she walked towards the Caverns she would speak to Kouri.

"You are absolutely right Kouri. I am not your mother. Neither am I some foolish would be master. I am however your friend, a friend who is not going anywhere. No matter who you kill, no matter what you threaten, I accept you for what you truly are. This chaos inside of you is not something you should fight, but embrace and give direction. The normalcy you try to enforce is a lie, one propagated by those who would chain you. Your potential is limitless, you need only realize this yourself." Anna said at length, her tone calm and even.

The apprentice looked over her shoulder idly and flashed a warm smile to both her and Mia. The new ghost was someone she was going to need to watch carefully, her childlike nature was useful but it could prove disastrous if Kouri was too swayed by the child. Anna was slowly revaluating her calculations, Kouri was going to be a little more difficult to manage if she didn't play her cards correctly.

As the group approached the entrance the Caverns Anna's gaze started looking for the item she dropped in her vision, searching for whatever had been so important to her. Anna noticed a slight glimmer in the corner of her eye and strode towards a patch of straw, confident this was the place from her vision. She shifted the straw and was rewarded for her effort with the sight of a key, new looking and very beautiful. It was small, easily fitting in the palm of her hand as she picked it up to examine it.

Deciding it best to explain to her companions why she had bothered to pick it up, Anna started slowly.

"Kouri, do you remember when I stopped outside of the door to the Dungeons? Well that was due to me experiencing a suppressed memory, one Daren had hidden away. I... can't remember the rest of what was in the memory, I suspect it wasn't pleasant but I noticed something was dropped from my grasp. This key. I'm not certain what it does though." She explained, keeping some degree of transparency with the ghostly child.

The woman stood and examined the key again, twisting and turning it this way and that. It was just a small key as far as she could tell, however it was obviously more than that. What did it go to? Why did she have it with her? Why didn't Daren take it from her? Did he even know about it? Too many question, all leading to answers with no doubt further questions. Maelstrom was right, she was close to insanity.

She sighed and started towards the entrance to the Caverns, curling a fist around the key just to be safe. Maelstrom might know more about this, along with having her letter and be able to tell her who this mysterious Master Witsle was.

"Lets go. The Element Sanctum awaits. Once we are done there we can seek out a solution to your problem, Kouri." Anna said, reminding the ghost that she to had an issue and that the apprentice was still willing to help her there.

Anna had certainly not dropped the idea of cursing the child, however, no she was still thinking over how best to deliver an effective one that could in no way be traced back to her. Something that caused a slight change in mentality perhaps? The possibilities were only limited to her cruel imagination really.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Kouri released Mia slightly to let her 'breath', but still kept bodily contact with the smaller girl. "Ehehe~" Kouri patted Mia's head even as the girl took her unneeded breaths, she looked so cute and adorable, Kouri couldn't help but stifle her giggles. Her view on Mia was skewed to the point she looked pass behind Mia's penchant for torture and dismemberment, Kouri herself had been like that once so why should she find it disturbing? Mia's defensive attitude towards Annalisa slightly perplexed her, but she got her explanation soon enough. So apparently Annalisa was protected by the Wizards, this made the ghost girl made a small 'tch' sound. That explained why the sorceress looked so calm in facing them both, she knew she was safe from the ghost' ethereal tendrils. "Okay, Mia..." Kouri leaned in and whispered directly to Mia's ear "'yet', right? So... we will have a chance to kill her later? Make her one of us?" Kouri nuzzled her cheek with Mia, smiling cheerfully mixed with not-so-subtle hints of insanity. The Vantha ghost released her hug on Mia, letting the smaller girl converse with the sorceress. Annana? Ehehe~ That's cute. A cute nickname for a tall black-haired woman, the contrast fitted nicely with Kouri's taste. She figured she should call the wizard 'Annana' as well. "Hmm?" Kouri regarded Mia as she came back and cutely grabbed her hand like an adorable little sister. The notion of them all playing together forever and ever brought a smile to her, especially with her plan of 'making' Anna a ghost. "Ehehehahaha~ That would be fun, Mia~ We can make Madame Annana into a ghost too! At least..." With a wide fanged grin, Kouri faced Annalisa "Until she's not a Wizard anymore..." Annalisa was visibly trying to get on Kouri's good side, even her child-like mind could see that. The ghost girl appreciated it though, she admitted her mistakes and showered her praises and affections. The sorceress told her that her sadistic traits should be fostered, not suppressed and that the general populace's sense of 'morals' were false. "....." Kouri looked down to Mia, seeing she could end up like her. Happy, no worries, and got to play everyday with no hardships, also unrestrained in what she could do to the puny captured creatures. It was a blissful existence. "Ehehe, Madame Anna~ Thank you. So other people who tell me what to do are fools right? I... agree..." No, no! This is not what I wanted to be! Her mind screamed at her, but the ghost girl ignored it for now. Kouri kept holding to Mia's hands with her right hand, her twin tendrils still slithering around her like two snake guardians. They emitted hissing sounds as if truly alive. Both of them stopped when Anna seemed to discover something of importance. Kouri led Mia to see what kind of item did Anna find, it was a shiny pretty key. "A key?" She tilted her head in curiosity. A key to what? A door? A chest? A treasure? She wanted to know. "Uhm, I see, so it was your memory?" Kouri experienced flashes of memories before, when she was possessing someone due to her past meagre skill in possession. She got a lot better now. "Awww..." She sighed in disappointment, if Anna didn't know what the key was for then it was virtually useless. "Okay! Let's go!" Kouri led herself be pulled by Mia as they headed into the Element Sanctum. The ghost girl wanted to ask about the rumored malevolent spirits who hunted ghosts like her.

[Mirage]

Mia smiled big, pulling on Fubuki and as she passed Anna she would reach out and grab the living woman's wrist as well, "Yeah lets go!"

The touch was cold, sending shocks shooting up her arm but they were perhaps little more than minor tingles compared to what Maelstrom had sent through her body several days before. Even more noticeable was that the girl's grip was as strong as an iron vice, not squeezing hard enough to be painful but her wrist would not come loose. With a powerful tug that came as soon as the little girl's hand had gripped Anna's arm, Mia pulled the Wizard forward with enough force that her feet would leave the ground momentarily as she sped down the caverns.

Mia's pace was not what it had been when she had lead Fubuki when they first met, but it was still fast enough that Anna would have to keep a steady trot to lot slip and fall. As they raced through the twisting and turning maze of tunnels Mia's firm and confident pull made the journey down to the sevenlth level in half the time it normally would. The little girl obviously knew where she was going, and the pace that she forced Anna to take would quickly leave her gasping for breath. From time to time Mia would give an extra hard tug, pulling Anna from her feet completely to jetison forward a couple feet before her toes found stone path once more.

Just as they past the marker for Lab 7L, Mia came to a very abrupt stop, releaseing Anna and Fubuki at the same time. Maelstrom's lab was little more than a dozen yards away, though that was not clearly visible because the usually blue mage lights in that area had somehow gone out. Thus before them stretched encroaching shadows that clustered in the deepest recesses of the caverns.

Mia pulled her doll closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around it and staring into the shadows beyond the soft glow of magelight. Her white eyes were open wide in some emotion akin to fear, and she bit her bottom lip in nervous agitation. She slowly drifted back, shaking her head as she spoke, though her eyes never left the shadows, "W-we... W-w-we c-can't go s-see Uncle Roknus r-right now..." She said slowly, still inching backwards. For Annalisa there would be no obvious reason for this. Through the darkness the outline of Lab 7M's door could just be seen, well within walking distance and only a few feet into the darkness itself. For Fubuki, however, there was something else. A chill that she could feel, an uneasiness, and a twinge of fear that began to well from seemingly nowhere, blossoming in her chest the longer they stood there.

Mia hugged her doll closer to her chest, [color=#FF00FF]"We sh-should come back later."[/color]

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna had not exactly been prepared for Mia gripping her wrist, in fact she had been rather surprised when it had occurred. Her own gait had previously be rather brisk but hardly matching the child's speed as she gripped the tall woman's wrist. A shudder coursed its way down her spine, the shock of ice very unpleasant though compared to being electrocuted by Maelstrom it was not so bad. A slight cry of protest escaped her lips as she soon found herself being pulled off of the ground, only to barely regain her footing a moment later.

Mia's grip was like a vice of iron, unyielding and never giving way. It wasn't painful per say but rather unnerving as it did indeed show that the child was very powerful, something to note just in case hostilities ever arose. The more time spent around the two spirits, the more Anna was considering that her study into the Void might be a little more necessary than she had first thought. She made a mental note to increase her exercises regarding it when the chance arrived, as well as look into more study with regards to Spiritism.

Anna, for the first time since arriving on Sahova, cursed her own mortality as she was forced to nearly run to avoid falling and being dragged. Her breath was coming out more and more heavy as they proceeded through the Caverns, physical exertion was certainly not something that mixed well with her. She felt rather like a rag doll being dragged by the child and it was more than a little irritating. She didn't waste her breath with words, her breathing was labored enough as it was. Being undead might not be so bad if it made this kind of thing less of a chore. The thought was quickly cast out, reaffirming that living had more advantages than not.

Finally, after a while they came to an abrupt stop just past the marker to lab 7L. Her release gave Anna much needed control over her movements, which she immediately used to double over with her hand on her knees and start taking in long greedy gasps for air. It might have looked rather pitiful but she dared anyone to judge her, if they did then they would soon find that they would lose their eyesight for about a week.

After a few moments Anna looked up and noticed that Maelstrom's lab was, by the grace of Rhysol, only a dozen yards away. Hopefully he wouldn't be so quick to fire away when she entered, she really was not in the mood or condition for another duel. She then noted that the magelights in the area were not lit, which raised her suspicion a little bit. Darkness wrapped itself around the entrance, threatening to swallow them up but Anna was not so much daunted. It was unusual for the lights to be out, but that didn't mean something overly sinister was at work here.

Anna regarded Mia incredulously as she said that they should come back later, certainly the darkness was a little daunting and unusual but that was no reason to just leave. She was not about to just turn around and leave after being literally dragged down here, not without some answers. She stood up more straight, gaining a little more control over her breathing.

"We can't just leave now. So the Magelights are out, that's hardly cause for panic. I need whatever information he has in there, without it I probably will be a little more close to Dira's embrace than I would like." The wizard stated, a little obviously annoyed by this whole thing.

Still she did pause to gaze at the dark area, her caution getting the better of her at the moment. Perhaps there was something over here and only they could sense it. If that was the case perhaps it would be prudent to check the path in front of them, just to be safe and perhaps dispel some of the fear radiating from Mia.

The woman once more willed Djed to gather under her hands, willing it up and out through her pores. The purple liquid formed easily and naturally, another thrill of pleasure taking the edge off of her exhaustion from the run here. She gathered a small amount into the shape of a ball and willed it forward near the darkness. Once a little ways out she willed the ball to transmute to fire, purple flames springing up to try and cast aside the darkness in her path. Paranoia had gotten her this far, best to continue with the trend.