Completed All I Ever Wanted

[Orion Michaels]

Diving forward, Orion just narrowly avoided being crushed by the rock slide behind him. Fate seemed to be enjoying itself in its fun it was having at Orion's expense. There was nothing that the squire could do but continue to move forward, both figuratively and literally. He took a moment to glance behind at the rocks. He wouldn't be able to clear the rocks without a lot of time, and time wasn't something he had. Emily's approach would only solidify that fact.

When he avoided his demise at a collapsing tunnel, the squire lost control of his bow and torch as they both skirted across the ground. It was a good things his hands were free, because as he rose to his knees, his daughter all but collapsed into his arms. Simultaneously, the voice in his head bothered him once again.

"Emily!" The doctor cried out, wrapping his daughter in grasp. He immediately noticed the temperature of her body, grimacing as he did so. She's overheating.. "Whatever sick person did this to you will pay," he stated coldly, piercing gaze locking onto the blood-stained hand. Was it the calling card of her assailant? He'd never seen such a thing. "Emily, babe, your daddy's here. He'll make sure th-"

The voice rang out again, cursing Emily to death without a sacrifice.

Orion's own heart caught in his throat. If he had a mark, he would have ripped his own beating heart from his chest to save Emily. He'd not been seen fit to undergo his trials as of yet, and as such the voice's demands were unattainable, if he even wished to do so.

"Why don't you show yourself you son of a bitch!? I'll cut out your heart instead!" Slender fingers worked their way through Emily's hair, trying to soothe the fears of the terrified child. Foul-mouthed, temperamental, but completely innocent. He had to make the voice pay.

When Dinah's voice rang out, Orion didn't move from his kneeling position. Emily remained cradled within the protection of his arms, for all the good it did her now. She was dying, and if what the spectral words had to say was true, there was nothing he could do. Labored breaths escaped from his daughters lips, each one seemingly more painful than the last.

It had been some time since Orion had felt quite so helpless.

"The path's blocked, Dinah," he replied, unsure if she heard him. "Emily's got less than a hour, and it'll take longer than that to get through that rubble, I'm sure." The slowly rose to his feet, carrying Emily tightly against him with one arm. The girl's tiny arms wrapped around his neck as the squire first bent down to secure his bow to himself, and then grabbed the torch in the other.

Moving over to the cave-in, Orion repeated what he'd said moments before, to make sure that the message got through. "The knights let my Emily get kidnapped, and now she's in so much p-." Orion's voice caught, as a sob nearly snuck out his lips. Taking in a deep breath, he tried to offer a smile to Emily before looking forlornly at the mountain of rubble. "I'm going to see if I can find a way back around. Maybe there's something left in the cave that can help her."

[Radiant]

A hitch of breath from the other side of the rock fall, indicating that Dinah had heard her squire's voice and the sigh of relief denoted her concern for Orion, "By Sylir, are you alright?" She asked a rhetorical question, his voice sounded alright and Orion was a doctor, he would know if there was anything wrong with his body. "What do you mea-? You found her?" She wanted to say 'thank the gods', but stopped when Orion spoke the dooming words, "One Bell?!" No, not enough to get back to Syliras, petch, not even enough time to dig through this rubble. They needed to think of something and fast.

"W..." Of course, the Knights did all they could to protect Emily, but even in the Fortress City of Peace watched over by thousands of them, Syliras was not infallible, evident by the rare cases of Chaons infiltrating the city, perhaps this was a deed of those Chaons, foul servants of Rhysol, damn them to Hai. "We'll get her through this! I'll make sure of it! If you can't trust the Order, Orion, at least, trust me!" Dinah tried to assure the Squire, it wouldn't do well for him to lose faith now, not after so close to being a Knight, Dinah suspected it was only a matter of time before the Windoak personally requested for Orion's presence.

The redhead Knight then took her torch, looking all around her for an alternative, a quick alternative for time was of the essence. She couldn't deny Orion's plan, what else he could do? Wait? Unthinkable. "Alright! I'll go the other path, see if we can meet in the middle, stay safe, Sylir and Yahal be with you and your daughter, Orion." Without further ado, the knight dashed off to the left path.

.........

As Orion walked further down the corridor, he could feel the very aura and air around him got thicker and thicker, as if an unknown powerful presence was about, the squire's keen senses stricken by the slight thump of wrongness in the air. The particular corridor was long, with no branches in between, and then... an exit, leading to a large circular cavern, with more corridors leading to it, it was like a 'ballroom' in a cave.

In the middle of the room, stood a figure, wearing a dark hooded cloak, covering most of its features, the figure went absolutely still then he looked at Orion, eyes in the color of blood and dark heavy bags stared at Orion's azure blue, this figure was most likely the source of that present, a right hand raised, revealing a pale arm with sick crimson veins slithering on it, "A choice you made. The figure's lips moved, its voice androgynous, this thing was the one who spoke to Orion since the beginning, "You took the Blade of Discord." It pointed to the place where Orion stored the strange dagger, "Good, it shall do you well."

Should Orion tried to attack it, he would his body phasing through the being as if it was air, looking at the ground, a glyphed scroll stood where the figure was, which promptly burned itself to ashes after a few ticks along with the figure vanishing into thin air.

Then... as if on cue, "Orion! Orion! You there?" Dinah came, entering from one of the corridors, sweaty and breath heaving, she had been running for a while, "I... I found nothing on my way here..." She gave a look at Emily, panic trying to make its way to her strong features, "T-there must be something we can do! This place was an abandoned, perhaps there's some ancient healing potion or something! Let's go! We need to go, now!" The female Knight urged at her squire to explore the caves further in a wild goose chase for a potion which may or may no be there.

The dagger Orion picked up earlier started to thrum at his soul, prickling at his mind, "Throw me, I shall strike true" The dagger sent a thought, then it went silent again.

"Come on, Orion! What are you waiting for? Emily needs help!" Dinah's voice echoed in the caves.

[Orion Michaels]

Dinah did her best to reassure the squire. His faith was clearly shaken, and not just because of Emily's situation. It wasn't the first time that the most important person in his life was facing death within the city of peace. His first, his only love died before her protector's eyes. It seemed that despite everything that the knights claimed, if one wanted to do evil not even their watchful eyes could prevent it from being so. "We've got to do something besides wait around," he said, shifting Emily in his grasp. "Hope to see you soon, Dinah."

With that, the squire turned and made his way from the collapsed tunnel, digging in the depths of mind for anything that would clue him into just what was wrong with her. It had to be a poison of some kind. Orion knew nothing about that particular brand of wickedness. Syliras forbade its use, so he never got a chance to study their effects. How he wished he could have had that chance. His steps quickened as he wondered deeper into the cave.

The same dreadful feeling that covered him when he first saw the knife returned once more. It felt like no matter where he turned, there were eyes on him, and whispers that he couldn't comprehend teased his ears. Gritting his teeth, the squire stepped into the large cavern. When he laid his eyes on what was certainly the perpetrator, he set Emily gently down against the wall right by the entrance, the torch resting a short distance from her. "Stay still. I'll take care of this and we'll make you all better, I promise. I..I love you, Emily."

The squire retrieved his longsword from its sheath, turning to face and advance on his foe. "Shut the fuck up," he hissed, raising his blade high above his head. "I don't care what you have to say."

A powerful downward slash split through the phantasm. The squire stumbled through the magical apparition as he was unbalanced by the lack of resistance to his attack. When the parchment turned to ash, he knew he'd been had once more. Whoever was orchestrating this madness was four, five steps ahead of him at each and every turn. At that moment, Dinah's voice was the last one he wanted to hear. Least of all when the blade tucked in his belt began to beckon. He ignored its request, but the temptation was very real for a moment. Dinah for Emily? Was it a sacrifice he could make?

"There's nothing anywhere!" He snapped at her, advancing quickly on his patron. His longsword fell to the ground as he strode towards her, taking advantage of her exhausted state to raise his forearm and pin her against the wall of the cavern. "Why are you here? I didn't ask for your help. If you weren't here..." He leaned in close to the redheaded knight, lips a hair's width from her ears. All he would have to do is retrieve the dagger with his other hand, and give her a stab to the gut. She wasn't protected with the plate armor that she normally was. It wouldn't be all that difficult at all.

"If you'd have stayed away, I wouldn't be having these monstrous thoughts." The squire gave an forcible shove to his superior as he distanced himself from her.

"Tell me, Dinah. That bloody hand on Emily's face mean anything to you? How about a pale figure with crimson veins? Someone who can stay a million steps ahead of me or the knights?" His right hand found its way nervously to the dagger, thumb running over the bottom of the pommel again and again. "They told me if the knights came, Emily would die. Looks like they are keen on keeping their word."

Sighing, Orion retrieved his weapon from the ground, placing it back in its place at his side. "So that's all we can do. Wander this catacombs praying that someone happened to leave behind a potion or antidote to the exact affliction which besets my Emily?" He shook his head. "How powerless. How desperate." His tone was defeated. What made it worse was that possibility of survival sat feet away, but it wasn't a realistic one at all. He couldn't murder for Emily, could he?

The physician brought his daughter back into his arms, again carrying her with one arm and a torch in the other. Without another word, Orion began to make his way across the large cavern, pressing away the promise of the Blade of Discord.

[Radiant]

Dinah's eyes went wide when Orion suddenly assaulted her without warning, surely the Knight was an expert combatant, but to think her own squire would attack her in this very moment didn't even come to her, the shorter female Knight hitched her breath as her body slammed against the cavern wall then pinned there, eyes adorned by a few curtains of scarlet strands stared back at Orion with disbelief, Dinah's breath heaved up and down, because of exhaustion and surprise.

Suddenly, her face contorted into that of concerned anger, "Petch, Orion!" She shouted back at him, her eyes blazing in the same flaming color as her hair, she ignored the fact that she was screaming profanities in the presence of a child, Emily called Orion 'petch-face' all the time anyway, "Did you seriously think I will leave you alone?! On a crazy chase into some cave?! You didn't even tell me where you were going!" She clenched her teeth, she kept raising her voice despite Orion's ear being literally inches from her lips, "What patron in their right mind would not do what I did?!" Dinah was determined to continue scolding this man-child, but when he spoke something very uncharacteristic statement, she stopped, "Orion, what do you mean?"

Monstrous thoughts? No way, he seriously wouldn't think of petching her in front of his dying child, would he? Granted, the man was a Casanova, but by Sylir, no way. He must be stressed out and didn't know what he was saying, Dinah could understand, his blood daughter was dying after all. The patron Knight's expression softened as she rubbed the back of her neck, "L-look, Orion... fighting amongst ourselves will do us no good, Emily doesn't have time, let's go... please, whatever grudge or hatred you have with me or the Knighthood, lay it off for now, for Emily." She wanted to ask him what kind of thoughts he had exactly, but now was not the time, they didn't have the time.

"Bloody... hand?" The redhead was speechless as she followed Orion, now noticing the strange ghastly mark on the child's forehead, it was like another child played a prank on Emily by slapping her forehead with a red paint-drenched hand, but of course, that notion would be ridiculous. Dinah didn't know, as far as she was concerned, the foul servants of Rhysol had some kind of black and white circle as their symbol, perhaps this was the symbol of another Ravokian faction, another arm of the Evil God, at a loss, Dinah went by that assumption, "Orion, do you know about Rhysol, the God of Evil? This... horrific deeds... could only be done by one of his servants. I'm assuming, but... who else would do this to the Knighthood?"

The Stewart Knight's right hand then reached out to caress Orion's shoulder, "By Sylir, Yahal, Tyveth, and Eyris, by my sword and family name, we shall find who did this and slay them! Your daughter shall be cured, whatever it takes!" The Knight spoke with conviction, but Emily merely stared at her with horror, like that statement was wrong for some reason, "Do not worry, child, you will be alright, we will walk out of here, with the three of us safe and sound." She smiled, offering a rare motherly feature on her normally warrior face. "I'm afraid that is our only option right now... let us not dally any further." No matter how impossible the task might be, this was where the Knighthood's devotion to Yahal, God of Faith and Purity, took its greatest role.

The three of them then ventured to one of the corridors, simply picking a random one. As they ventured inside, the air seemed to change... voices, whispers, unintelligible and faint, but there, began echoing around them. Dinah raised her torch, searching left and right, but how cliche, no one was around them. The walk continued on and on, for about fifteen chimes, they found nothing of note, just a few abandoned rooms filled with ancient furnitures and broken glasses.

The further they went inside, the thicker the air became, "Orion..." Dinah suddenly stopped, "I think... we should, turn back, now hear me out" Her lips pursed and trembled, could she say this? To destroy his hope by delaying more time? "We are heading to the rumored 'Aylasa Abyss', I won't bother you with long explanations, but let's just say, it's not a good place to be... one of the Knights, an avid spelunker, warned me that." If an expert spelunker avoided this 'Abyss', then what could two bumbling fools - as far as spelunking expertise went - and a dying child could do? "Do you feel it? The air around us... the whispers, I think you both hear it too... this is not the place to be, Orion."

Of course, ever five chimes or so, the so called 'Blade of Discord' kept thrumming at Orion's soul, urging him to finish this redhead and save his beloved blood daughter.

[Orion Michaels]

"I didn't ask for your help," he replied sourly. "I wonder, would they have poisoned her or whatever it is that they did to her? I guess we'll never know." He shook his head at her question about her actions. "I can't say how many patrons would have stalked their squires through the woods instead of confronting them if they thought something was wrong, I'm afraid."

He could tell from her expression that she'd misinterpreted his words. How could she not? He hadn't explained to her just what those monstrous thoughts were, and he wasn't sure he could. "It's not that. It's..just forget it. I don't hold anything against you. But the Knights? This order that I've been so close to committing entirely to? It fails me again and again." He sighed, as he made his way away from Dinah. "We're wasting time, you're right." Was he capable of the profane things that the fear in her eyes suggested? Perhaps in his past. Today? He wasn't thinking like that. He just wanted to save Emily.

"We had that horrendous creature back in the Fall as well. I believe someone referred to them as a Chained One? I fear the knights hold more enemies than Rhysol, Dinah." The blue eyed man was ill informed on the gods. He'd rarely inquired or spent time seeking them out, as his life seemed tumultuous enough without the interference of these powerful beings.

Orion bit his tongue, the empty words of his patron falling on disinterested ears. The squire was focused on Emily and on searching for a cure, one he knew he wouldn't find. Emily was focused on her pain. Her nails had began to scratch at the back of Orion's neck as she cried out for relief from her misery.

It felt like an eternity of nothing as they searched fruitlessly for a way to save her. Cave after cave was quickly explored, and nothing of note was discovered. Worst of all, the dagger began to function as some sort of clock, alerting him every five minutes since the first time that it could end Dinah and save Emily. It only served to remind him that she had precious little time left. Three alerts since they'd left, not counting the initial search. Twenty chimes lost. Not counting the ten to twenty before he'd reached the massive cave with the message. If Orion were to believe Emily's assailant, they didn't have long left.

When Dinah began to explain the dangers of the abyss, Orion sat Emily down at his side, the dagger seeking the knight's blood again. "Then what do you suggest?" His eyes trailed down to the hilt of the dagger. "There isn't enough time left to even get out of the cave." He crossed his arms. It seemed he would have to tell her what information he had.

"Dinah. I was told there was one way to cure her. Pretty simple, really." He managed a sad smile and an empty gaze. "The heart of a Sylir-marked. What do you make of that?"

Use me.

Kill her.

Save her.

"As predictable as Syna's rise..." Orion shrugged, looking into the deeper caverns of the Aylasa Caves. "So it is what it is. Emily is lost. I'm not going to kill you based on the words of a murderer. Even if I knew it would work." He shook his head. He couldn't pick one life over another. And if he tried to pick Emily, he could very well lose them both.

The squire sat down beside his daughter, bringing her into his arms to try and calm her in this terrible moment. "I'm not sure I remember it all, but your grandma used to sing this song to me when I was your age. It always made me feel better." The squire swallowed heavily before a rusty, deep singing voice echoed throughout the caves.

Hushabye, sweet child of mine
the skies they are so blue
Hushabye, sweet babe of mine
the world is bright and new

Don't cry, my child it's fine
There's no darkness here to fear
Don't cry, my child it's fine
I swear I'll always be here

Hushabye, sweet child of mine
Your smile my life has blessed
Hushabye, sweet babe of mine
It's time for us to rest

Tears streamed down Orion's face as reality set in. He reached to his side and retrieved the dagger, sliding it across the floor in front of him. "Just let us be," he pleased, both to the dagger and the beast which tormented them all throughout their struggles.

"Just let her have rest.." He pressed his lips to his daughter's forehead, cutting through the bloody hand print with the moisture cascading from his cheeks. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry.."

[Radiant]

Of course, Dinah wanted to explain about the "Chained One" incident and how those are abominations created by the foul God of Undeath, Uldr, but... there wouldn't be enough time. It would have to come later, Emily's life was hanging by a thread and their first priority. The Stewart Knight looked with utmost concern and horror as Orion asked her for suggestion, what could she say? Just accept that her daughter would die? No, she couldn't say that, not after Orion felt the Knighthood failed him, she would fail him as well. "..." The redhead Knight went silent as the flickers of torch drowned the whispers around them, even those voices went silent, as if pitying their impossible predicament.

"A way?! What is i-..." The female Knight wanted to interrupt her squire but her eyes went wide, her arm shook as the torch almost slipped from her grasp, she felt her stomach contorting. What kind of sick individuals would do this? Ah of course, Rhysol's minions, it was an utmost evil act, forced betrayal, and the Evil God must be guffawing his villainous throne. She had to hand it to him, Rhysol wasn't the literal God of Evil for nothing, he embodied the concept of Evil, he was Evil itself, and this act... this foul act of forcing Orion to betray her, or betray his promise to take care of Emily, was amazing, truly, worthy of scorn and curses from all men whose heart was not black and conscience still lived.

"Orion..." No matter what Orion chose, he would betray one of them, he would betray the Knighthood or he would betray his role as a father, both are evil choices. Both were foul, both were wrong, forcing someone who was so close to their Knighting Quest for this, even the Windoak itself would not send them into impossible odds, let alone involving an innocent child. "Ori-..." Her breath hitched, she couldn't give him a reply, the female Knight merely stared into oblivion as her squire moved to her daughter. The dam broke, the dam of tears strengthened and honed by the Knighthood for years, finally broke, a tear, no, tears began trickling down from Dinah's eyes, the powerful warrior-lady very much looked like a weeping widow.

Orion's lullaby went over her head as she absently looked at the strange, glowing, dagger, it beckoned to her, it called for her blood, to do the right thing. Absently moving, Dinah dropped her torch as she walked to the dagger like a drunk woman high on drugs, the female knight then picked it up, the crimson edge glinting and the ancient-tongue engraving spoke out to her. "Do it" It said, "Do it for the glory of the Pain Mother.". The female Knight then raised the dagger to her throat, then... if nothing stopped her, plunged into her tender unarmored flesh.

Just as before she did it, Emily managed a scream, not of pain, but of horror and shock at the sight of a Knight trying to commit suicide.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion embraced the silence. Emily didn’t sob, calmed by a rarely heard singing voice. She simply gripped at whatever bit of clothing she could, nestled tightly against her father. She did not hate him, despite all her words to the contrary. He took care of her. He came to rescue her. Even if he had failed.

Emily was gently rocked back and forth in her father’s hold as the trio awaited the inevitable. Orion simply was not going to exchange one life for another. His sins were plentiful enough without adding that into the heap.

Dinah’s torch clattered to the ground, causing Orion’s vision to rise to her. She was crying, which caught Orion off guard. The woman was so stern, demanding, and at times, controlling. She rarely opened up; when she had it ended up causing problems as they realized they could only function if they kept things strictly as squire and patron. They couldn’t be friends. They couldn’t be anything but what they were.

And it had worked. Until now.

The squire saw it coming as she took that first staggering step towards the dagger. She was going to do something stupid. So unbelievably stupid. The knights were known for their honor, integrity, and valor in combat. Proud without being prideful. Confident without being arrogant. But it seemed they were all so ready to sacrifice themselves for no reason, too. It was foolish.

Orion slowly released Emily, putting her against the wall beside where they’d been sitting. He rose slowly to his feet, voice calling out, his tone threatening. ”Dinah…”

She went for the dagger.

He went for her arm.

Emily’s scream, louder and more pain-filled than it had been throughout the evening, pierced the silence of the caves. As Dinah attempted to end her own life with the dagger he’d tried to free himself from, the squire got a hold of her arm and attempted to prevent it from entering her flesh. "You fucking idiot!" He yelled, bringing his right hand back. Balling it into a fist he swung at Dinah's head, seeking to incapacitate the knight.

"You're going to kill yourself?" He spat, scowling at the redhead. With everything that was going on, she was going to end her life to try and make things right? "Emily, my daughter, is dying, and you think that YOU have the right to do this?" He shook his head and pressed his weight against her as he tried to slam her again into the wall. "Do you think it's going to fix anything!? Do you think I'm going to cut your heart out if you do this?"

She didn't know him at all if she thought him capable of such a thing. A year was a complete waste. He wasn’t meant for the order. Not if she were a reflection of it. ”If you want to die, do it on your own time.” He used his superior size and strength to keep her pinned against the wall. If she were able to draw her blade, he knew that she could easily overwhelm him. As long as he kept the advantage, however, he felt like he could control her long enough to get her to her senses.

”Stop this at once!” Orion didn’t want this to be his last memory with Emily. His daughter. His perfect mistake.

[Radiant]

The female knight's placid eyes suddenly went wide as Orion grabbed his arm, only groans and moans of pain left her lips mixed with the sobs of despair. She had become like Emily, mute due to pain, but unlike the child, the pain was completely mental in nature, she just couldn't bear to see Orion's daughter to die in his arms. The squire didn't deserve that, the discord dagger went trembling in her arms then fell completely when Orion struck her head, a minor concussion caused her vision to blur and deaf for a couple of ticks, giving the Knight some much needed self-contemplation moment.

"..." She still went silent as she looked away, refusing to gaze him in the eyes. She didn't want to explain this to him, of course he wouldn't understand, of course he would be angry, but what else she could do? Her honor and morals wouldn't let a child before her eyes even though she could save her life... with her own. The Stewart Knight simply let Orion yelled at him while pressing his body, she could feel his hot tired breath brushing against her sweating skin, the flickers of torch and Emily's whimper accompanied the duo of Patron and Squire.

"I... don't know..." Dinah muttered, if a stranger looked at them now, they would think Orion was the Knight and Dinah was the squire, a rare role reversal in their relationship. Dinah's limbs relaxed in his weight, signaling she snapped out of her trance, "Let me go, Orion." Her authoritative voice came back, "I won't do it again, I promise in the name of Tyveth." If Orion realized it, the Knight wouldn't say the God's name in vain so she would really not try to commit self-homicide should he let her go.

If Orion complied, Dinah would slump against the wall, shaking her head, after a few ticks of muttering, she suddenly raised her head, "No more." Dinah clenched her fists, "The forces of Evil and Corruption shall not win today. Let's go, we shall venture deeper. Let us find something in there, whatever happens, happens, I am ready to die in the quest to save your daughter, Orion, I assume you are as well. We will succeed or die trying." The Knight went on a zealous rampage as she bent down and picked up that dagger, looking at it with contempt, she would gesture for Orion to pick up Emily then charged deeper into the caverns, they had no time to waste, Emily only got about half a bell left. Dinah stored the dagger in her belt, just for safekeeping in case it decided to speak more non-sense which could be useful.

As they ran, Dinah would speak to Orion about the dagger, "This... blade, this thing. Where did you get this? Keep it short." And then after hearing his answer, the Stewart would growl, "It spoke to me... it said, 'Glory to the Pain Mother'... As far as I know, Rhysol is male and he's the God of Evil, Chaos, and Betrayal. Also, Uldr is the God of Undeath..." Dinah flashed an angry look at Orion, "We may cross something unknown to us, even to the Knighthood." Dinah didn't spend much time in the Syliran Archive, and... there was one section forbidden to all but the Grandmaster and Lord Knight themselves, "I will get Loren himself to explain! Even if he demotes me to squire! I swear!"

The long corridor got rather wider and at last, they found themselves into another room, this time with a downwards make-shift spiral stone 'stair' case. Dinah stopped then looked down, she took out a gold miza then dropped it, checking its height. After about seven ticks, a faint sound of clinking could be heard, it shouldn't be that far down, "Let's go." No turning back now, Dinah would move first as she led Orion through the staircase, assuming he would follow her.

With the blade now in Dinah's hands, the Blade gave urges for the Knight to kill herself every five chimes, but she ignored it out of sheer willpower and anger.

.........

The way down was a harrowing experience, random whispers and sounds, very faint reddish mist tinting the air around them, but Dinah didn't care, there must something down there, for better or for worse. "Orion, you know what, I think whoever told you this... is making a lot of bullshyke, you are right, even I give you my heart... there is no assurance she would live, they just want you to watch us both die!" Dinah screamed, brushing away a wave of red mist as they kept climbing down.

At last, they reached the bottom... a large cavern-room with a large pool, a glowing pool, in the middle of the cave. "By Sylir..." The pool was glowing golden, shining beautifully, obviously magical in nature... almost Divine, Dinah dared herself to approach it. She could feel... hope, courage, and determination filling her, chipping away at her negative emotions. Orion and Emily would feel the same, but it seemed the girl went... restless, as if her body was being burned.

"Orion, this is..." Dinah bent down to touch the glowing golden water, "What... is this?" She looked at him, giving him a look of 'what should we do?'. Of course, her first assumption was for them to douse Emily in these strange benevolent waters, she would risk it.

"Agh!" The Knight suddenly screamed in pain, coming from the place where she stored the dagger, when she picked it up, the dagger was... glowing dangerously crimson, the ancient word etching shining dark red and Dinah could feel her hand burning! She instinctively released the dagger and... it fell into the water.

.........

A high-pitched guttural sound could be heard, following by what seemed to be screams, cackle, and crying mixed into one, the waters bubbled and from it, jumped out... a creature, a horrific creature, standing at about one foot tall, looking like tiny humanoid with overly large mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. Skin in the color of crimson red and body covered in scales. It has short, stubby tails, three fingers and three toes on each limb and two tiny eye set in enlarged sockets. It landed just beside the pool, shaking its body to get the water off, the liquid visibly burning it.

"Ka...kakakakakaka!" The creature cackled at them, Dinah, of course, instinctively brandished her longsword, "What manner of abomination is this?!" And then, with great speed, the creature charged straight... at Orion, no, at Emily. It's malevolent eyes and sharp teeth aiming to gore the girl's fragile neck. "No! Orion!" Dinah ran back, it was fast, too fast, Orion would need to put all of his combat skills together if he wanted to prevent this... thing from taking his dying daughter.

[Orion Michaels]

Dinah didn't resist his attempts to control her, and for that he was pleased. It could have gotten messy if she'd continued to be so selfish, but it seemed that his restraint and his blow to her head did the job. Good. Once the dagger was on the ground, the squire gave it a little kick to slide it further from both of them. If it were whispering the same horrible things in her mind that it had been in his, there was no reason for either of them to carry the blade.

Silence lingered in the cavern as a wide eyed Emily watched her father continue to pin Dinah against the wall. Neither of them spoke as the high ranking knight refused an answer. Orion had been around Sera Lorene enough to know that she withdrew from conversations if she didn't have the answer. Most of the time she did have the right thing to say, but in this case she was as wrong as could be. When she broke the silence with an admission of uncertainty, the squire resisted the urge to roll his eyes. When she swore to her God that she wouldn't repeat her actions, however, he did release her and make his way back to Emily. Dinah's grumbling only escorted him back to his daughter.

An outburst of anger followed, as Orion made it to his daughter. It caused him to glance back at Dinah as she began an emotionally charged and quite over the top speech before charging off into the darkness. Of course she took the dagger, too.

This time Orion's eyes rolled in annoyance. The knights, it seemed, were full of bluster. "Come on, Emily. We've got to follow the crazy woman." Down into the Abyss. Searching for something that likely didn't exist, and if it did exist, they wouldn't know what it was. All three of them were rushing to their deaths, Orion was sure. After Emily was secure over his shoulder, and his torch was again in his hand, he went off in a trot after Dinah. It was hard to manage any speed while carrying her, but Dinah was moving slow enough for her protege to catch up.

"The dagger.." he said, looking down to where Dinah had secured the wretched crimson blade. "I just found it sitting in the middle of one of the paths, prior to locating Emily. I figured if nothing else, maybe one of the Lycata marked or Seers would be able to divine something of it." Dinah replied, confirming his suspicions. He'd resisted, so it had a new target. "It told me to kill you to save her. Promised me that all I had to do was throw it." He gave a curt nod, wishing to speak no more on the blade. The compulsion that it tried to put on him still echoed in his mind, still taunted him with a quick answer to his problem. It did neither of them any good to linger of such a cursed item.

The Abyss itself was a strange thing. Odd colors and mists, both vibrant and subdued, teased the edges of his vision. He'd rarely spent any times in caves, the only other time in recent memory occurring just over a year ago. Dinah was involved then as well. He was Doctor Orion Michaels at that point in time, a womanizing playboy that threw around money and petched with complete disregard for anything around. Dinah had enlisted his aid on a mission with the knights, and it turned out to be a tryout of sorts. After defeating monstrous animals and subduing a spy, Orion had made his way through the catacombs under an set of ruins. He'd joined Dinah as her squire afterwards and hadn't looked back.

Until now.

Orion didn't respond as his patron voiced her thoughts aloud. Too focused was he on keeping his balance within the treacherous depths of the caverns. He'd lost track of time, he didn't know how long Emily had left, and on top of that, he didn't need Dinah telling him something he'd already said. There was no reason to trust the voice, nor the blade. "Be quiet," he snapped. "Would you like to alert the entirety of what resides down here to our presence?" Her shrieks and screams would carry for days if she kept it up. He felt like he was training a squire of his own.

Despite his annoyance at the way Dinah was acting, the blue eyed man couldn't help but be awestruck by the area they entered. The strange glow as they approached caught his eye, but the reality of what stood before them couldn't have been captured in his deepest imagination. "W-what is this place?" Even Emily's whimpering stopped as she meekly turned her head to gaze upon the gorgeous cavern.

Before he could speak, Dinah exclaimed aloud in pain. When the sizzling dagger fell from her hand into the water, a sickening feeling came over the squire.

Recoiling from the beast that jumped from the water, Orion rotated his body to make sure he was entirely between it and Emily. It was a good thing, because after attempting to dry itself, the razor-toothed creature was on the attack.

Orion was in no position to fight effectively. A young girl slung over his left shoulder, and a torch in his right. He needed to stall it long enough for Dinah to grab it's attention. It was so small, and so quick, however, that he wouldn't be able to do much.

Taking quick steps back, Orion swung the torch low at the crimson monster, trying to use the flames to repel its attack. "Get back!" He yelled during his retreat. He'd been trained with multiple swords, the bow, and the lance. He'd learned to fight in the most impenetrable of armors, and yet here he was, finally facing something of serious danger, and he had none of it. The joke wouldn't end.

[Radiant]

The creature approached with swift calculated steps, much unlike a rampaging Yukman, but a calculated hunter... a predator, despite its appearance might suggest, as it jumped away over Orion's head and clung to the cave's walls, one could see the flicker of intelligence in its small glowing crimson pupils in the center of its black scleras. "..." After its initial cackle, the creature went verbally silent, only slight sounds of murderous groans as it looked upon the three humans. It was thinking, planning, forming a plan on how to grab that infant without getting its scaly skin burned by flames.

"Orion!" Dinah arrived by Orion's side, her longsword at the ready, the creature was much too nimble and fast for her to chase after it and the fact it could climb on walls like a Symenestra certainly didn't help. Dinah was glad she didn't wear her plate armor or else she would be sitting duck, but... she also didn't bring any ranged weapons so as long as the creature kept its position, Dinah couldn't reach it. Suddenly, it moved, fast, "!?" Dinah's eyes followed as it swiftly crawled on the walls to the ceiling, the creature snarling, "Orion..." Dinah whispered, "The pool's water seemed to burn it for some reason, get Emily close to it, in fact... douse her in the water." The Stewart Knight proposed as she kept her eyes on the creature.

If Orion decided to approach the pool, the creature would suddenly jump down, placing itself between the pool and Orion, seemingly determined to prevent the Doctor from reach it, "Get back, abomination!" Dinah wouldn't allow it though, she charged forward, forcing the creature to dodge away. Its small swifty body made it hard for the Knight to hit it even with her skills, the creature zig-zagged then made an expertly-executed feint jump, causing Dinah to anticipate for a jump that would never happen, the creature took its chances to charge forward and swiftly snatched Dinah's steel dagger, the ordinary one she brought from the armory, even managing a slash to the Stewart's waist before backing away. "Aaah!" Dinah screamed in pain, but fortunately, it was just a flesh wound.

"Sss... kekeke..." The creature sneered viciously as it literally lapped Dinah's blood from the blade then twirled it in its right hand, turning its glowing eyes at Orion, it even made a taunting gesture with its left hand, non-verbally saying 'Come, come and die!'.

In the meanwhile, Emily suddenly whimpered in pain as her body unhealthily tensed in pain, her time was running out, it would be just a few more chimes before the doomish prophecy would be fulfilled.

"Keke?" The creature then gestured to Dinah, then made a gesture by moving one finger across its neck, telling Orion to kill the Stewart, then it clasped its chest then made a pulling motion. "Kaka!" Finally, it gestured by moving that hand to its mouth as if consuming a heart.

It was telling Orion to proceed with the dark choice, to betray the Knighthood to save his own beloved. Or else...

"Ori-... Orion..." Dinah wanted to stand up but her body was suddenly paralyzed as she dropped to the ground, "T-that thing... agh!" When the creature slashed Dinah, it used some kind of poison smeared on its palms. After just thirty ticks, the Stewart Knight couldn't move, just groaning on the ground, but she wouldn't die... no, Orion would be the one to finish the job as it should be. "Kekeke..." It cackled as if saying, 'Your move, doctor.'.