Eff It, This Is Now a Temple of Din [SS Earth Temple] [Guy & BP]

Eff It, This Is Now a Temple of Din
- Lamia, Acolyte of Din (3/4/1 Gerudo) [Blonde Panther] Reward: Wall of Hazards {Fire Variant}, +15 Rupees.
- Tent Emberwood, Din Devotee (4/4/1 Deku) [Guy] Reward: TBD
Earth Temple Music

Certain types of terrain were commonly associated with particular Golden Goddesses. Forests were attritbuted to the Goddess of Courage, Farore, lakes and rivers to the Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru, and the Goddess of Power, Din, was associated with mountains, more than anything.

Lamia knew this, and so, to finish her training as an Acolyte in the service of the Goddess of Power, she had been sent on a pilgrimage of sorts to an old temple at the top of a high mountain. The girl now stood in front of it, the wind vainly trying to whip her bound hair around her head as she stared at the immense structure. It was more than just a temple, as it had often served as the final training ground for those hoping to join the ranks of the Order's fighters. Still, she was astounded by the sheer scale of it. From the outside, she had no idea what she would find on the inside, but the key figuratively burnt a hole in her pocket.

Exhaling deeply, she drew the key to the temple from her pocket and clutched it in one hand. This was it, she knew. She had proved a few times that she had much more control over her fire now that she knew its nature. It was an ongoing battle... but the Priests and Priestesses had entrusted her with a key to the temple and the assignment to bring a particular item back from it. If she succeeded in that, she would be formally induced as an Acolyte of Din, from which point onwards she would be a full-fledged, worthy member of the Order. It almost made her giddy, but she inhaled the thin mountain air again and shut her eyes, clenching the hilt of her glaive with her other hand. No. It was best not to give in to excitement, lest her fire burst out of her already.

When she opened her eyes, now much calmer, she smiled, walking over to the temple entrance and inserting the key in the lock.

Tent found himself precariously balanced on a slab of stone precariously balanced on a river of molten rock, struggling to find his balance to maneuver towards the next one in a series of stepping stones over what would certainly be a river a death. He can hop across water, and his tunic saves him from fire, but in his mind, there was no way any Deku Scrub could fall into lava and expect to live.

As yet another Fire Keese flew towards him from deeper within the cavernous temple, he was forced to send Din's Burst after it, ending the thing with a fiery explosion. The last thing he needed was to be knocked over by one of those things--his life ended by a mere keese. Summoning all his courage and dexterity, the Deku Scrub dashed and leaped to the next stone, and used all that momentum to carry him through a long jump that would lead him to solid ground. He felt the tip of his boot barely graze the edge as he was sent rolling head over heels onto a corner of the floor save from the magma river that ran throughout the room. Just as he stood to dust himself off, there came the tell-tall shriek of a Lizalfos...

The monstrous figure dropped from the ceiling, slamming its morningstar-tail into the tile where Tent just stood, shattering a huge chunk in the floor. As the Din Devotee scurried to a safe spot, he charged his fists with the aura of his Fire Enchantment, guard raised, "Don't suppose you want to talk this out?" Hopefully the reptilian would pause to consider--at least long long enough for Tent to catch his breath...

...Just then, he heard a heavy door open from a corner of the room he hadn't yet visited. By Din's Grace, he hoped that wasn't the sound of Lizalfos reinforcements.

Lamia hadn't known what to expect when she entered the temple, but the sight before her was still a surprise, not to mention more than a little surreal. Evidently, Lizalfos made their home in the Temple. That made sense- their affinity for fire was similar to her own, to the heat inside the temple would appeal for them and allow them to thrive. What made less sense and provided a strong temptation to rub her eyes just to make sure she wasn't imagining things, was the person the Lizalfos was attacking.

What was a Deku doing in a place like this?

The assaulter/victim relationship between the two was obvious from just a quick glance, and Lamia wasted no time in grabbing her glaive with two hands and rushing over to the two. The Lizalfos heard her steps on the rock floor of the temple, screeching in surprise as it turned around, and effortlessly blocked her upwards stroke with the rock-like protrusion on its off-arm. Damn. She had hoped to take that arm clean off, as the beast was far easier to kill without its ability to block her attacks- not to mention the blood loss, she thought to herself just as it pushed back against her, trying to unbalance her.

Fortunately, Lamia's balance was much better than that, and she casually took a few elegant steps backwards. Still pointing the glaive at the reptilian that was now glancing back and forth between her and the Deku, she glanced at the latter, herself. "Hurry," she said, "Get behind me." She couldn't use any of her more powerful attacks with the Deku within range. The last thing she wanted was an innocent as collateral...

Tent blinked. It had been many months since someone tried to 'protect' him. Did he look that pathetic? Even if one has flaming fists, metal gauntlets, and a steel helm, people still saw a Deku Scrub and saw weakness. It was... an annoyance... even after all these years, and Tent's face betrayed his discontent.

The little warrior was already on his feet, fists flaming. With the Gerudo, the two of them were flanking this clearly-outmatched fighter--and Tent wasn't about to give up that advantage. The monstrous warrior clearly made his decision to attack the woman by facing her. The reptile took a deep breath to prepare a bout of fire, surely... leaving its back exposed.

Like a bullet from a slingshot, Tent launched forward. As the spikeball-tail swung towards him, he effortlessly caught the bulk of the tail in his flaming hand. He pulled on the tail as hard as he could--which, of course, barely caused the monster to falter. Instead, Tent used the force of the pull to launch his body forward, leaping into flying a kick towards the Lizalfos' leg. His leap, his pull, his sweeping kick, and the Lizalfos' backward momentum all combined into the ferocious CRACK Tent's iron-toed boot struck into the back of the monster's knee.

The Lizalfos roared in pain, instinctively falling onto its good knee to relieve the agony of his broken joint. The Scrub scrambled backwards, but not before that spiked tail skipped across the top fo his helm... Its resistance had grown pitiful, and it could not stand, let alone continue fighting.

Whether she realized it or not, the Gerudo offered Tent that golden opportunity to strike. He figured he would do her a similar favor. Standing up, the man simply offered the words, "Do with him as you will."

The Deku proved himself well capable of protecting himself, contrary to Lamia's expectations- she had anticipated that the Lizalfos's ability to breathe fire would give him pause. Fortunately he unbalanced the beast, dislodging one of its knees and pushing it onto its back, where it was wide open to further attack. It no longer struggled, except against its own pain, and Lamia felt a vague sense of pity as she looked at it. It was harmless in this state, but there was also no hope of it living for much longer. Walking up to it, she decided to put it out of its misery now by severing its head from its useless body.

With that unpleasant task fulfilled, she turned around to the Deku- who seemed to have no intentions of fleeing the temple, to safety. It was... unusual to say the least. Still, he had proven himself a capable fighter, so he must have had his reasons for being here... right? Lamia set her glaive on the ground and brought her free hand to her chest. "My apologies- I may have been remiss in assuming you could not take care of yourself. I am Lamia, and I'm here to finish my training for the Order of Din." Gesturing towards him, she tilted her head inquisitively. "If I may ask, what brings one of your composition to this place?"

Brutal. Tent imagined he would have--eventually--also given the Lizalfos a similar end.

Maybe it was the assumption she made earlier as well, but Tent still found himself a bit annoyed at the note of his composition... That discontent melted quickly, however, when the woman mentioned her order.

To answer, Tent slowly raised the back of his gauntlet, pointing to the mark of Din engraved into it. "You and I have at least one aspect in common. Although the particular order to which I once pledged myself is... not what it once was... my devotion to Her Grace has never ceased, not for decades." He quietly wondered if she was younger than he had first guessed. It was always a bit difficult for him to tell the edge of fleshen people based purely on their wrinkles... He had assumed their ages to be comparable, but doubted that now. Was the girl so young as to be a student, still in training?

"My purpose here is different than yours, however." Turning his body, he gestured deeper into the dungeon, across yet another river of lava, "I do not know why this temple was constructed, nor by whom. However, it is clearly dedicated to the earth and its molten might--which I know to be the most direct creation of Din with which this world has been blessed. Thus, the desecration of this temple is not something I will allow to continue."

The hand with which he was gesturing became consumed in magical fire, "Like many ancient temples before this one, I have come to purge it of brigands and monsters." His flaming fist clenched, "That is, I believe, the best way I can use my skills to serve our goddess... Even if many disagree with me, or look down upon me for it, that is the purpose of this Deku Scrub."

He sighed, softly, dropping his fist--and wondered, was that monologue too dramatic? It mattered not, he reassured himself. His aspiration was not to impress this person. With a slight tilt of his head, he looked up into her eyes. "I do not know what your training involves, but if you revere Her Grace as I do, and can use that weapon as well as I suspect you can, then it may be beneficial for us to work together in Her name--here and now, at least... Would you agree?"

It was much to her surprise that the Deku was devoted to the Goddess of Power as well. It was an odd choice for someone extremely flammable to worship and actively serve a deity closely associated with flame. Still, she understood that different people heeded their calling for different purposes, so she decided not to question it. He must have had his reasons, much like her. Upon hearing of his desire to purge the temple, she nodded. His words were disconcerting, to say the least. She imagined the Lizalfos were natural inhabitants of the area, but in recent years unnatural beasts had started to populate places they had no business setting foot.

"I agree. My Order does not know the details either," she started, "But the temple has always been dedicated to earth and fire, which is why it is a sacred place to us as well and why our Acolytes are sent here to finalise their training. Everyone is given a different task, based on their prowess. Mine is to retrieve a set of translucent gems from its inner chambers." She hesitated, weighing her options. She had been sent alone for a reason. She had to prove her fire was under her control, which was why this mission was a solo one. Still... surely it wouldn't hurt to bring a companion along? Especially since he wasn't there to help her per se- they would simply join forces for a common cause.

Certainly, the Order would not mind if she teamed up in order to go above and beyond what she had been told to do. And it wasn't like there was a time limit, either.

She nodded once more. "I agree, sir. There is strength in numbers, and no point in parting ways now if we both have business here." Taking her glaive in her left hand, she held out her right to shake his.

With a firm nod, Tent reached up to give an equally firm handshake--wielding the sort of grip one would expect from a man who made a living through his punches. As their hands parted, he remarked, "Well met. I am called Tent Emberwood, miss."

Miss? Was that the appropriate term? ...She was female, surely, given the shape of those weird fleshy-things. To him, it felt it had been so long since he'd spoken to one of these races... Lizard men, moblins, and fellow Scrubs were more common in this desolate reaches and ancient ruins, it seemed.

After taking her name, he continued, "Your goal is more precise than mine, it seems. I have not been here long--less than half of an hour, surely. Do you have any indication of where this inner chamber might be?" He reflected, momentarily, "I have seen nothing regarding it as of yet..."

As he trailed off, there came, quietly, the sound of rapidly-fluttering wings. "Ah. I'm not used to getting caught up in conversation in places like these... a moment, please." With a flick of his wrist, Tent sent a bead of light racing up and across the open corridor. The Keese fluttered towards them was consumed in an explosion of Din's Burst, its singed body falling impotently into the room's lava rivers. "But, yes, any indication?"

"Well, it would be quite strange if the halls of the temple were marked 'inner chambers that way,'" Lamia said, smiling. "So it's no surprise that you've not seen anything about it. As for me..." She'd obviously only been in the temple literal minutes, and most of what she had seen had been Tent and the Lizalfos, but before she had come, she'd been given the opportunity to look at some maps and read up on the place. "I do have an indication, vague though it is." She took her glaive up so it wouldn't drag, placed it over her shoulder calmly and started walking. "It's obviously deeper inside the temple than this," she said, "Hence the name. The place isn't all that huge, but well..." she gestured at the lava that flowed next to the edge of the rock ground. "Most of it seems to be filled with lava, so we'll need to find ways to either drain it away, go around it, or somehow go over it safely."

Looking around, she pointed at a wall that was close by a stream only a few meters wide. "In places like that, I could boost myself from the wall and jump over, but I am by no means immune to the heat." Actually, there was something interesting on the other side of that stream. "I'll actually go check that out right now, I think there's something there." With that, she started running, building up some speed, before leaping and placing both feet against the wall. It was solid, good. Its rough appearance belied its sturdiness, then. She used it for leverage, kicking away from it and launching herself over the stream, landing on the other side smoothly.

It wasn't until she stood up that she thought to look back sheepishly at her companion. "Er... do.. you have a way to get over?" She did not think this all the way through.

"I am accustomed to hopping across the surface of water," Tent was forced to raise his voice to remain audible, "But even with this protective Goron Tunic I wear, I doubt I could do such a thing across molten rock without surely meeting my end. 'Tis a very viscous fluid!"

In truth, he had not yet considered the limitation these magma rivers would put on his progress. Not all of them were dotted with rocks he could use to cross... and if he couldn't fully explore the temple, how would he hope to ride it off filth? Tent considered his options, quickly, as to not keep the lady waiting. Although he was smaller than her by quite a measure, it was doubtful she could physically throw his entire body across. Perhaps if he had Yeti Boots... or a Roc's Cape... even a Deku Leaf...

If only he had mastered that fiery-propulsion technique... Wait... He considered that the technique might actually work. It would certainly be a bit dangerous to try it out here, he believed, but Din favors the bold.

"I... might have something, though it is a bit dangerous." He tried to put the last instance out of his mind--he had to get a new helmet after that crash landing. Din was smiling on him that day, he supposed, as he didn't need to get a new helmet as well. Rising Tiger was not a technique one could learn in a day, but he had been working on it for quite some time now.

"I will attempt to propel across the stream. Please..." He hesitated, "If you can, try to halt me advance if I come across too quickly."

Tent leaned forward into a squatting position, and extended his arms backward--so both palms were facing away from the stream he was attempting to cross. He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing intensely about what magic power he possessed. His gauntlets lit up as if by instinct with his Fire Enchantment, but only a second later, a sudden and too-powerful burst of flames gushed from both palms, and then both boots, until all four limbs were rocketing flames that violently propelled the small Deku Scrub up and forward, tumbling wildly through the air. Overkill at its finest. Before he even realized how far he'd gone, his helmet audibly CLUNK'd against the high ceiling of the cavern. As if in response, all four bursts of flame extinguished from his limbs in an instant.

Tent was soon tumbling head over heels downward onto the other side, trying to keep himself from panicking as he tried to figure out how and where he was going to die--Din's grace what a way to go.

Din's merciful soul. Good idea, lacking execution, Lamia thought as she ran forward. Without a wall to start from, she couldn't make it back over the lava stream, so trying to jump over was out of the question... but she couldn't count on Tent's Goron tunic to protect him either, if he was completely submerged in the lava! She doubted it would be so easy as to catch him, too- he was tough, he could handle a rough landing on the ground. But looking at his trajectory, she found it unlikely he'd land on the stone ground.

"Urgh..." She looked around frantically. There! There was a large outcropping of stone not far from where she had landed. If she could hit that hard enough to dislodge it... She was stronger than she looked, she was sure she could move it if she could just dislodge it from the ground! "Hang in there!" she cried, despite knowing that the Deku obviously had no control over his falling speed. She ran over to the outcropping, quickly finding where it was weak and grabbing her glaive with both hands. There was no time to run careful calculations- and besides, careful calculations were not Din's domain to begin with. Rather, Lamia raised the glaive above her head and allowed her fire to pour into it, before she brought the blade down and crashed it into the weak spot she had found.

The result was a small explosion that dislodged the rock from the floor and she used the leverage from her glaive to push it into the lava, figuring it would be easier to move there. There was a light current, causing it to drift. If they were lucky, the platform would line up with Tent just as he would come within range...

He tumbled through the air for a disturbingly long time, falling at least 30 meters... Tent flipped head over heels--enabling him a view downward, and only then realizing he was falling straight towards the river itself. Not only had he flown so high he hit the Din-damned ceiling, but he didn't even go so far forward that he made it across. This was it--probably death. At least it would be in molten rock, after making a courageous display of power... If there was any death closer to Din's bittersweet embrace than this, he had never thought of it--but he wasn't going to meet her without a fight. "Not just yet!!"

With what desperation he could manage, Tent struggled to point his limbs downward, firing another reckless blast of power from them in controlled bursts. With these repeated small bursts, he again lost control and began to spin counter-clockwise--but as if by some miracle, was at least slowing his descent downward. As if this girl was a hand of Din herself, she cut forth a slab of stone just in time for Tent's slowed descent to land upon it with a reckless--but safe--crash. Scrambling, he managed to make a normal leap from the precariously-bobbing stone over the molten rock, landing with a tumble on the far side alongside Lamia.

He was still breathing heavily as he rose, not from exertion, but just from sheer panic and adrenaline. The man stood, taking a couple deep breaths, and began to laugh. "Thank you, Lamia. I certainly feel like a fool, after that. Truth be told, I have yet to control that technique successfully even once. Next time I shall save that maneuver for a last resort..."

For the first time since entering the place, there was a genuine happiness to his voice, "So much for first impressions... but... I am without injury, thanks to you. Din be praised. Hopefully I will be given a chance to save your life in turn, before this is over."

With an air of relative nonchalance, considering he just nearly died, Tent asked, "Shall we press on?" Taking a few steps forward, he went on, "I would hate to waste the excitement of this moment."

Lamia brushed off his gratitude. "It's nothing," she said. Anyone else would have done the same with her means at their disposal. "Besides, I'm sure you'll have to do the same for me soon." After all, she was young. Trained, yes, but exceptionally young, and in possession of an inner fire that was hard to control and as dangerous to her as to anyone opposing her. She did not doubt that it, or something else, would get her into trouble at some point in the temple. It was part of the reason she was glad to have him with her.

They moved on, Lamia nodding when Tent asked her to press on. She led the way, stepping over smaller streams of lava and making small jumps over gaps in the rock, until she reached a stone staircase leading up to a large door. On it, she saw a large mosaic that resembled the map she'd studied back home. "See here," she said, putting her finger on it. "I believe this is the Inner Chamber my seniors wanted me to retrieve the gems from." As she looked at it, though, her expression turned from a smile to a frown. "But... it looks like the only way to get there is tunnels... I originally planned to go through here," she said, pointing at a room and a connecting hallway that were marked on the map, "But that route appears to be blocked." As she said that, she pointed at the corresponding doorway in the room they were in, which had completely caved in.

"I don't like the look of those tunnels," she concluded, "But I'm afraid we have no choice." She braced a shoulder against the large, double doors. "Could you help me? I think we have to go through here..."

"I suppose that is the trouble with reading ancient maps of ancient buildings," Tent mused, "At times they fail to account for... restructuring." Restructuring, in this case, was the crumbling collapse of an entire hallway that was not entirely filled with molten rock. It was times like these Tent found himself envying Subrosians.

"Of course." The man was already pressed against the same door by the time he finished answering. Her size alone almost certainly made her the physically stronger of the two of them, but, to his surprise, their combined strength grated forward one of the heavy stone doors. As the gap opened, Tent felt a heavy wind of putrid heat blast him right in the snout. He pushed through into the corridor, hesitantly, "What is that... stench?! This room must not have been opened in ages."

Indeed, compared to the parts of the dungeon he'd seen so far, it was mostly intact. The doorway they pushed open led onto a small stone outcove. The room itself was large and hexagonal, and it centered on a hexagonal steel floor in the center--which itself was supported by chains leading to the room's stone walls. It was obvious where the heat had come from, considering that platform was hovering over a pool of magma that spanned the entire room. A small bridge of chains led from their entryway to the central platform, and, at the opposite side, an identical bridge led to an identical exit, similarly sealed.

Tent carefully tread towards the room's center, "Perhaps the ancients knew of Din in a more... brutal way. This is a gladiator arena if I've ever seen one." He didn't wish to say it aloud, but the stench was likely from the corpses that were still rotting somewhere in the magma below. It was worse than death, it was... undeath. A chill ran down his spine, a split-second before bones--lit by magical fire--floated up from the molten rock around the platform. Before his very eyes, Tent beheld a pair of Stalfos warriors form in the room's center--Stalfos warriors with charred bones that had been burning for--presumably--centuries. One wielded a sabre that seemed to be made of fire itself, while the other wielded a hammer of glowing orange that was visibly dripping--as if it was lava held together by magic.

As Tent glanced behind to check on Lamia, he witnessed the door they had worked so hard to open slam shut in an instant. "Well," his voice grew cold, "I hope your glaive can cut bone as well as tone." Knowing fire would be of no use here, Tent rushed forward, fists prepared for once without flame.

"Let's hope that armour of yours lives up to its name," Lamia responded, putting her glaive on the ground and instead drawing the twin scimitars on her hips. While they had less raw power, they were easier to use defensively- and with her being unarmoured and unprotected from the flames and lava that would be coming her way, the glaive's long handle could prove problematic as well. There was a fine line between boldness and foolishness, and Lamia had no intention of crossing it. Fortunately, the art of double-wielded swordplay was something that was passed down in many lines of Gerudo warriors, and hers was no exception. She was easily as deadly with the blades as with the glaive, she was sure of that.

Holding one sword out front of her and the other curved above her head, Lamia quickly and lightly danced over to the first of the Stalfos, the one with the flaming sabre, and lashed out at it. It parried her blade effortlessly, and the moment Lamia felt the two colliding, she leapt back, switching the positions of her swords. At least its attention was on her now, meaning Tent would only have to deal with the other one. The Stalfos caught up with her, starting a flurry of strokes and slashes that left Lamia dodging and parrying for a good few seconds, glad she had thought to switch weapons for this. The skeletal swordsman was fast, but the Gerudo fighter was faster, and blessed with the training standards of her tribe.

When her adversary swung back for a particularly forceful swipe, Lamia opted for distance rather than parrying, jumping up and backflipping out of the way. As expected, the Stalfos over-reached and was momentarily unbalanced. "My turn," the Gerudo said, smiling, as she held her left blade out front to parry and brought the right one back, concentrating her fire into the blade. It heated up, and soon the basket hilt glowed white-hot with fire. "Here goes!" she cried, thrusting the blade forward between the ribs of her opponent. The moment the Gerudo Dragon connected, the Stalfos exploded, bones scattering all over the arena and its flaming sword sent flying.

The recoil sent Lamia reeling backwards as well, but not before severely hurting her right wrist. She had not anticipated the blast to be quite that severe, but it had forced her scimitar -and the hand holding it- into a position her wrist did not support. She lashed out above her head just in time with her left blade to knock the flaming sabre away before it would fall on her head, but she gasped for air and was left distracted as she examined her throbbing hand.

Tent was already upon the hammer-wielder, hoping that massive weapon would slow the fighter down. The difference in reach between the two was even more staggering than usual--Tent's arm could reach at best a quarter of the distance that molten hammer could swing.

With a surge of strength, the Stalfos swung his weapon in a low arc—seeking an uppercut that would slam into Tent's reckless approach.

The Scrub deftly leaped up above the blunt tip of the hammer, his fist finding a forceful jab against the monster’s wrist. He hoped this would be enough to disarm the Stalfos—but far from it, the thing didn’t even flinch. Its arm kept swinging forth, and though Tent dodged the blunt hammer itself, a skeletal forearm slammed into Tent’s helm, sending him flinging through the air.

A groan of pain burst from Tent’s face, but he managed to land squarely on the ground. The tiny fighter glanced up to see the Stalfos was already rushing forth towards him—the momentum of their battle had sharply shifted. He knew he needed to use that to his advantage, however he could.

The flaming monster heaved its massive mallet high overhead, before swinging it in a downward. Tent’s eyes widened—that strength and weight could crush his entire body, even if he blocked the imminent pounding. Rather than move backward or to the side to dodge, Tent leaped forward with all his might. As he moved forward, he could feel the molten metal graze his boot. Behind him, the hammer hit the ground with a rattling roar—but that rush forward let Tent smash a furious punch right into the monster’s knee, the metal of his knuckles releasing an audible crunch of bone.

The Stalfos stumbled forward from its own momentum and broken leg; an inhuman groan of pain poured from its gullet. That forward momentum was all Tent needed. As it fell forward downward, Tent’s fist launched upward—using the strength of his legs extending, his arms launching forward, and the monster tumbling downward all into one catastrophic blow under its chin, breaking straight through its neck—its spine—causing the head to lop completely of its body and onto the arena floor.

Acting quickly, Tent crushed the flaming skull into flaming dust with a swift, decisive stomp. Its body, still holding the hammer, abruptly collapsed into a pile of lifeless bones. He glanced towards Lamia--

“DIN SA--!” Tent barely ducked in time as a flaming sword flew towards him, steel audibly hissing against steel as it grazed his helm. “—VE US!”

Lamia gasped, startled, when she realised the sword she'd sent flying had gone off into Tent's direction. She'd been too caught up in her fight and lost track of her surroundings! Her mother had so often told her to practice awareness! She hurried over to the Deku, sheathing her swords as she ran, and dropped to her knees next to him. Fortunately, the flaming sword had only grazed his helmet, which had lived up to its reputation of protecting its wearer from fire, and buried itself in the stone floor next to him. She grabbed the hilt, using all her might to pull it out, and tossed it into the lava below to dispose of it. "I'm so sorry," she hurried to say. "I- I just get so carried away with battle that I completely forget everything around me-" she held her hand out to Tent to help him stand up.

"Were those the only ones here?" she asked, looking around. The stench of undeath remained heavy in the air, and although she didn't see anything right away, she was convinced there was something... else... here. She had scarcely finished speaking when a loud cackling noise became audible, dozens of small, flaming skulls flying up from the lava and surrounding the arena. "Bubbles," she knew, "Tent... does that armour give full-body coverage or just the parts it directly covers?" Depending on his answer, they would take them on together or Lamia would be on her own.