Keera- 40 Rupees. Noah- 40 Rupees. Holle- Magic Power + 5 Rupees. ______________________________________________________________ The swamp had not been easy to traverse, but here she stood. Keera; a Kokiri not especially known for her thirst for danger. Yet here she was again: standing in the mouth of a despicable dwelling, where danger was sure to lurk. Had she been here alone, Keera was certain she wouldn't even enter the Bottle Grotto. To her good fortune, however, she had acquired the company of two males who looked more able to deal with monsters than she. Whether for pity, sympathy, or indeed their own reasons, they had agreed to accompany her into this den. She wasn't sure how to process the sight of the first room they encountered. A room full of... Bottles. Illuminated quite well by wall-mounted torches, the room was full of large bottles, all of which were identical. Naturally, Melda couldn't help but fly into one, soon exiting after finding nothing of interest. After several more inspections, she returned to Keera's side. "Empty." she said plainly. Beyond the three adventurers stood an iron-wrought door, flanked by a line of bottles. There seemed to be nothing holding it shut: no visible keyhole or barriers. "Right... Should we?" Keera asked. As the shortest, and the only girl, she certainly did not want to assume command of this exploration.
Leopold Puerulus took careful stock of the room they found themselves in. The ragged-looking youth had been sent to investigate the Bottle Grotto, true... but he hadn't thought the place's name was quite so...fitting. The entrance alone was decked top to bottom with actual, literal, and perhaps most mystifyingly, seemingly mundane, bottles. Each one housed nothing but air. He bent down to pick one up, then turned it upside down and shook. He wasn't certain what he was expecting, but nothing came out of it. "Hmm." He straightened up and pocketed the bottle. It was perhaps a bit strange, but he found that there was rarely a situation where having one was unhelpful. He quickly reflected on the odd incidents that brought him here. He had been heading to the grotto's location when he found these two... Other than already heading here, he knew it felt distinctly wrong to let civillians, let alone a little girl, go alone into a potentially dangerous cavern. "Um. If we're going in, please stay behind me, miss," he said quietly, turning to the door. He would never forgive himself if she got hurt on this mission when he could've prevented it.
Holle stared, one eyebrow raised, at the gallant in front of him. Shaking his head a little, he jumped between the other two, placing his hands in from of their chests. "As much as this lovely display of chivalry amuses me, which I have to say is quite a bit, I must point out that we are in a room full of bottles, and unknown threats. For all we know, an attack might come from the door behind us. What I suggest is that we, well, try the bottles and react as the situation suggests. There's no point in protecting the girl when you might be on the wrong side. At the end of his small speech, Holle turned around and grasped a bottle in each hand, twirling them each such that the bottles rested easily in each palm. "Does it look like anything's happening yet?"
Leo shook his head. "No, sir. But it's bad form to underestimate anything out here," he replied. He'd learned that long ago, not in the least because that also applied to him; he was in no way imposing, but he'd been in underground fighting dens for a good amount of time, and he was by no means bad in them. Even the most ridiculous-looking Octorok was nothing to be sneezed at. A well-placed rock could seriously wound or kill you. "I should probably go before anyone else," he continued, "I've had military training, so..." He slowly opened the door. He didn't sense anything, but...
As the door swung open, Keera peered past Leo. But there was nothing. Darkness. "Hmm?" She mumbled, her feet carrying her into the pitch-black room as her mind pondered what might be inside. It wasn't something that scared her: often Keera would go foraging for medicinal herbs deep into the night. "Hey, Keera!" Melda chimed, but no to avail. Her fairy instead hovered at Holle's shoulder: "Go after her, will you?" But it was too late, for the curious Kokiri had already been swallowed by the darkness. It seemed to be empty. She had hoped Melda would follow her; now she couldn't see. "AAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" The sound of shattering followed Keera's scream. She felt sharp, clean cuts along her arms as she tried to cushion her fall. She could already smell the blood. Nothing but the chinking sound of broken glass beneath her shuddering form alluded to what had occurred. Shaking, she pulled herself up to her feet, groaning as shards of glass dislodged from her skin. "Ngh,nnnngh." She tried to conceal her pain through gritted teeth, but failed. She wrapped her unsteady hands around herself, shut her eyes and chanted silently. From the darkness grew a pure white glow which silhouetted Keera's body. Soon she was a living beacon in the darkness, while the healing energy swirled around her, sewing up her wounds and soothing her pain.
"Wha--hey!" Leo cried after her. He tried to find her in the gloom, but he couldn't make out anything in this blasted darkness... The immediate scream alerted him to trouble. What? How?! He hadn't sense hostility... a moment later he chided himself for thinking that anything had to be inherently hostile. It was entirely possible there were traps here, and he couldn't get a feel for those... He rushed in as quickly as he could without sacrificing caution. He didn't get very far before the girl he was looking for began...glowing. He watched in wonder as wounds he saw by the light of her spell began to disappear, and the light faded softly into the gloom. "Keera?" called Leo, hoping that he could at least have her nearby so he could grant some semblance of protection.
Holle ran towards the glowing light of magic, starting to juggle the pair of bottles he had brought along with him. "A healer, eh? This should make things easier. Let me shed a little light on the situation." Swapping his juggling to a one-handed form as he slowed to a stand-still, Holle raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. A small flame, the size and brightness of a candle, popped into being above his right index finger, revealing the features of the room as the soft glow illuminated Holle's face. Holle turned to the fairy flying between the circling bottles one eyebrow raised. "Was the sheer number of Keeses on the ceiling strictly necessary, or did the designers of this dungeon just put a few particularly licentious Keese in here when they closed the door?" Holle brought his power to bear, condensing it into the force of an explosion released right in the centre of the colony of Keese swooping down on the bright light of the candle flame. The squealing of the dying keese was quickly over as Holle pointed at two door silhouettes barely visible in the low light of the magical flame. "Which way now, my compadriates?"
