[ShadowStitches]

(*looks at the date where last post was made*
*gulps* whoa so sorry that I did not note you...the last few weeks where like...truly insane.
sometimes in a good way but still...a freakin lot to do...
)

Ovir sighted heavily. "I do think that the temple really exists. what I'm more worried about is the
question if there is an exit in there, obvious other problems, and the fact that we just said we
dont want to go. I dont like Allison, and just as you all, I think she is up to something. She might
get  more supicious if we suddently change our mind, and will make our stay at the temple  even more unpleasant. If she lets us go there at all." "aw...come on now, we can talk her into it, I'm rather shure....i mean she does seem to want to get rid of us one way or another, right? we just have to...act
naive.  If we do so, she  might get the impression we are new to the job, and that she only has to
lock us in the temple, in the hope we just rot down there." Chester looked at everyone of the group to another,then spoke  in a very calm, slow voice. "So the most of you really consider going down
there? okay then. have  fun, go and explore the temple, mind the scorpions/various other things
that want to kill you, goodbye." He stepped to the door, obviously planning to wander of. "Chester! come back here! if we go, we go together. and most of us..." "screw this!" he hissed, now very aggrovated. "I am NOT going into that horror temple. no way. If all of you want to go get yourself
massacred then  I'm sorry for you, but I want to survive this day" Layla opened her mouth,
but Chester cut her  short "dont even think about starting the whole 'but we're a team' tearjerker.
I'm sorry to say so, but  if the team is obviously mislead and suicidal, then I quit. jes, really"
he stood by the door, a slight hint of sadness in his eyes, but overshadowed by anger.He was obviously scared, and now couldnt think logically.
"Chester...you dont even know if you can make it out of the underground. you are hurt, we are in the middle of no where, and there might still is the sandstorm...please reconsider this." Ovir Looked at him pleadingly,
but he just shook his head "still sounds like more of a chance then the other option.maybe I can find a radio.. Everyone who wants
to join me can come.I'm sorry."  with that he opened the door, took a step out and nearly bumped  into a
mean grinning Allison. "Already leaving?" she asked, glaring at him in a now slightly psychotic way. Behind her, a bunch of men with guns ölined up. "err...uhm..w..wait  second. what the he-" "oh, I couldnt help but overhear your little...conversation. You really thought you could just run of? or escape this situation maybe?"
She scanned the others, smiling even wider "well, I sadly can not allow that. you see, the secrets that this place holds, are so precious, so holy, that we cant risk that anything from it might slip out...
and you sadly decidet to stumble arround here and crash into Albert. blame him if you want.
you will see the temple...I just dont think that you'll enjoy it very much"
Layla wanted to say something, but was cut short the second time. "please just let us get over with this, okay? Save your breath for later. now. would you please follow me without to much of a fight?" she stepped aside, looking at the group an an -you can have it the easy, or the hard way- look. Layla turned at the
others, trying very hard not to panick. //please...pleas all of you, stay calm. do what she says for now...
please dont act up...//

[SkyWolf11]

[[ No worries.~   Truly sorry for the wait; many things have been distracting me lately.  @_@; ]]

Gerik nodded solemnly as Ovir voiced his own thoughts.  He had a good point.  Allison was sure to catch on to them should they change their game up.  This was quite a mess they had found themselves in, wasn't it?  How bothersome...

Both were caught of guard when Chester started talking about leaving, and even more so when his threat seemed legit and he started towards the door.  "Ah- Chester?! W-wait!" Kuay tried to choke out, stepping towards him but stopping abruptly thanks to her mixed emotions.  In a way, she wanted to go along with him out of fear of her own safety.  But on the other hand, she wasn't going to leave there without the rest of them, especially Gerik.

But before she could even mentally debate her actions further, the sight of Allison, backed up by many armed soldiers scared her into a shaky silence.  She shook her head frantically before collapsing to the ground and wrapping her paws around her head.  "N-no ... no ... NO!  Oh no no no no no no NO!  I knew this was going to happen!  I KNEW IT!" she wailed loudly, unable to keep her fear from overwhelming her.  Probably, much to the others dislike, Kuay wasn't the kind to stay calm in the face of danger.  Gerik's gaze shot onto the Slynx and he rushed over to her.  "Kuay?  Kuay!  Get a hold of yourself!" he whispered harshly to his friend, trying his best to coach her into a calmer state.  There was no telling what this woman was going to do, but Gerik was certain that she wasn't going to tolerate a panicky hostage.

He laid a wing on her back and she shakily stood.  "M-m-mhmm...  I-I'll tr-try..."  Kuay looked at Layla with clear panic written all over her face, but gave her a slightly reassuring nod as if to say she'd try to keep her fear in check.  Her look then transfered over to Gerik.  He countered her look with a questioning glance.  He was just as fearfully clueless as she was as to what lied in store for them now.

[Lvl. 16 -- 75] [Lvl. 11 -- 51]

[ShadowStitches]

(*sighs*...sorry again, there where some complications, plus I was gone for some time without really
planing it (sponatous friends are so much fun! XP....no, they really are, but sometimes... XDD))

Layla looked at Kuay in a very worried manner, since some of the soldiers obviously got nervous,
or annoyed, she really could not care less, but they DID look like they wanted to do somehing unpleasant
to her. Luckily, Gerik managed to calm her down, and Allison did not tell them to do anything...
She just waited, with an cruel patience, and then turned to go. The group was escorted out and through
some hallways, seemingly deeper into the complex. Layla tried to memorize the way out, if they
in fact managed to get away from wherever they took them, and they had to escape through the
base, but after some time she had the feeling that she was loosing track of all the turns and curves they took.
hopefully some of the others had more luck in memorizing this...

about 2 minutes before they reached their destiny, Ovir noticed a little room on the right, the door only
half closed. it seemed to be a sort of monitoring room, with a lot of monitors hanging from the wall, but obviously not for the complex itself. He tried to get a better glimpse of it, but they already walked past the
door. Well, he already thought that the would get monitored, but he was not shure yet if that nescessary was a bad thing...

Finally, they reached the entrance to the tomb, wich looked nothing like a imposant old entrance, no.
it was just as sterile as the rest of the trackt, only even heavier guarded. Allison tapped a pin into the
security pad on the door, wich opened with a soft 'whoosh' sound and gave sight into a deep,
seemingly everything swallowing black. "so, I'm afraid your litte yourney ends here, my friends" she said, stepping aside. they got excorted though the door, however, the soldiers retreated hurringly and lined up on the other side of the door. "well...at least you can envastigate the temple now...you just wont get out of it"
with that, Allsion pushed a button, the doors closed and the stood in complete blackness.

Layla could hear her own heartbeat, while she fumbeled arround on her belt. She finally found what she searched, and klicked on her mini flashlight. It was not big, but bright enough for her to see her companions. "Okay..." she said, sounding relatively calm for the current situation "Okay, dont panic.
I know this is a very, very bad situation, but they shurely underrate us. We will find a way out of this...
there always is one. But we have to stay and work together" She glared at those words at Chester in particular, who seemed to shrink slightly, but did not say a word. She then turned arround to get herself and
the others a picture of where they exactly where. Insde of the temple, it all looked much more
temple-indiana jones-y. They where in a tunnel like hallway, that was supported by very old
looking pillars. The walls seemed to be only rouhgly cut out of the soil, and it was dusty, and, in Laylas opinion, too cold, even for being so deep down here. "well then, lets just get moving for starters.
be as quite as possible and by all means, dont touch anything..."  

[SkyWolf11]

[[ Oh, I know what you mean.  xD  And I get distracted, too, so it takes me a while to reply.  @.@; ]]

Much to their surprise, Allison remained silent, only turned to forcefully escort them to ... somewhere.  Her silence made Kuay all the more nervous, while it made Gerik all the more defensive.  He quickly took a look around as they were herded down the first of many dark halls.  He had hoped he could possibly find an escape route, but with little to no room in the hall, he had to abandon the idea.

It seemed to take forever before they finally reached the end of their destination.  They had gone through so many different winding halls and went in so many directions to get here that it was nearly impossible to find their way back, should they get the chance.  As they were urged into this new, darkened room, they were left with some less than encouraging words from Allison and then ... darkness.

Gerik stood there for a moment, then sighed heavily.  "Oh what fun ..." he cooed with angry sarcasm.  He felt useless, especially in a strange underground chamber when his element was the wide open skies.  Kuay turned towards his voice, only able to see a fuzzy outline of the Garudor thanks to his light patterns that glowed dully.  Her attention flicked over to Layla who had pulled out a small flashlight.  

"Don't panic?  Don't panic?!  I think it's a good time to panic!" Kuay squealed, falling to the ground and throwing her paws over her snout again.  It wasn't in her nature to stay calm at all, much less in dangerous and seemingly hopeless situations.  The poor dear nearly survived the easy going day to day life she had up on the surface.  But getting into these situations wasn't unheard of for her, since her curiousity usually got the better of.  Oh that blasted saying of "Curiousity killed the cat" was certainly gaining some truth in her case.

Gerik shook his head at her dramatics.  "No she's right.  It's best not to panic.  Keep your wits about you."  Kuay stood up, taking in deep breaths and trying to calm her shot nerves.  "You don't think there are like ... booby traps or stuff down here ... do you?" she asked nervously, taking Layla's warning into mind and staying away from the walls.  That's all they needed now.  

[Lvl. 16 -- 76] [Lvl. 11 -- 52]

[ShadowStitches]

"If there are any, then most likely further in the Temple. But anyway, mind your steps"  Ovir looked down the Tunnel, sniffing in the cool, dusty air, and furrowed his forehead slightly. "This is quite unusual, we seem to be in an sort of...backdoor entrance, this is not the main entrance, I'm quite shure about that." Layla nodded slightly, and let the light wander over the walls and ceiling. "This is...very old. as in older then most locations We've ever been. Yet, it seems to be almost intact..." They slowly, carefully made their way further down the tunnel.

"Has anyone else noticed that it is...pretty cold down here?" Chester asked, shivering slightly."And that this whole tunnel is somehow going further down, rather then straight or better yet, up?"Ovir looked back at him, then down at the floor witch actually was a little beveled downwards."that does not nescessary mean that we wont get to a place that will go up again. It could very well be that there are more then one level in here...we dont really know how big this Temple is"He hoped that this was calming in some way. He really had no idea what exactly they got themselves into here, and that there where no runes or anything at all, wich irritated him even more.

Chester was not really happy with that answer, but kept his mouth shut this time.  He looked
back to Kuay and Gerik, who where walking closest to him, and all of the sudden felt...very bad for the situation they all got them into, specially for Kuay, who looked as if she might die of fear every second."Uhm...look. This might sound a little strange out of my mouth, specially after that little show I put up back there but...well, given that we dont have a choice other then running through this darn tomb,I really have to say that those two freaks over there get themselves and others even out of the hairiest situations, once they are in their element...so try to not bother too hard, I'm pretty shure that
we'll get out of here in one piece" He tried to sound as confident as he could, hoping that his words would atleast calm her a little bit.

Layla was the first to reach the end of the tunnel and stoped abruptly. "Whoa..." she only exclaimed,staring at the hall infront of her. It was not very big, nor was it high, but it was illuminated by countless runes, that where scattered over the floor in an spiral pattern, and gave of an eery, orange-ish glow. In the middel of the spiral was an other, bigger rune, that for some reason was not glowing, and thus harder to read. "Ovir? can you read this?" She asked awestruck, letting her eyes wander through the hall. "I can try it...give me a minute or two, and...dont touch anything."

[SkyWolf11]

Kuay jumped a bit when Ovir told her to watch her step.  Images of trap doors and foot switches made into the floor tiles flashed into her head and she gulped worriedly and whined.  

Gerik observed the almost pristine state of the place when mentioned, which was a bit odd considering most ancient relics and sites were quite aged and almost decrepit.  "They must have preserved it well..." he stated, wondering if that was indeed the case.  

As they walked on, Kuay had indeed felt a bit of a cold bite to the otherwise stagnate air in the tunnel.  "It is a little cold in here, like ... oddly cold." she mewed softly, finding it strange that a place that was seemingly cut off from a good air flow wasn't stuffy or warm.  Her attention fell onto Chester who was walking just ahead of her and Gerik when he spoke to her.  She was a bit surprised to hear such words come from the usually bitter Chester.  And though they weren't the best form of encouragement, she felt a little better having him say that.  She smiled and nodded slowly.  "Yeah, I'm sure we will too!" she sighed, feeling a little more confident in their chances of surviving the temple.

They both stopped in wonder as they heard Layla exclaim.  They cautiously approached what had caught Layla's attention and stared in wonderment and confusion.  Having not been the seasoned explorers as Layla and Ovir seemed to be, they were unsure of what this particular pattern represented.  Gerik was the one who decided to speak up, letting his curiousity of the strange get the better of him.  "What is it exactly?  I mean, what could it mean?  Directions?"  He assaulted them with questioned that flooded his thoughts.

[Lvl. 16 -- 77] [Lvl. 11 -- 53]

[ShadowStitches]

While Ovir tired his best to read the runes, Layla carefully wandered further into the hall, not without being
carefull where to step. This hall indeed was interesting, allthough not that big. She looked over when Gerik asked his questions, and glared over at the runes herself, before carefully answering. "Well...I'm not quite shure if there is anything about directions in there. Most of these kind of runes are either a warning, a story or sometimes a prayer or a spell of some sorts. We have to wait for Ovir tho to really know..."

A few moments later, Ovir looked up at the others, looking a little confused and exited. "These Runes are...Very old. I couldnt understand everything of it, but I think this is a very important Temple. Luckily for us, it is no Tomb, I'm pretty shure about that now. This means that there are most likely a lot less booby traps
and other unpleasant surprises...we still have to be carefull tho." Layla looked at him exitedly, almost bouncing up and down. "What have you found out? what is worshipped here, is it something we..." but he cut her short."Later. We want to survives this, not explore it. I'll tell you all about it later, but first of, I suggest we get on."

Luckily for them, their route was pretty linear for quite a while. either there where no other tunnels or hallways, or they where blocked by stones. Layla only now noticed that Horus perched on Ovirs shoulder again. The beetle must have hid himself inside of a pocket of his owner the whole time.The elderly man was constantly scanning the walls for cameras, but he only managed to spot two yet. either, there where fewer then he thought, or they where very well hidden. before he could get too wind up in his thoughs tho, they came to a crossing of two tunnels. "aw damn...and here I thought it would be easy.." Layla held up a hand
to silence all of them, and listened intensely. "guys...is it just me or is there water running?" she asked in a very confused tone. And she was right. out of the right tunnel, there was a  faint dabbeling sound.

[SkyWolf11]

Gerik could only nod a yes to Layla's answers.  He had hoped that it showed a safe path out of this place, but he was also interested to learn what they really meant.  When Ovir reavealed it wasn't a tomb of sorts, Gerik's interest was peaked even more.  Though this time he'd keep his questions to himself for the time being.

Kuay laughed with some relief that it wouldn't be as dangerous as originally thought... maybe.  "Whoo ... that's good news.  The less troublesome traps the better!" she mewed.

On their little walk through the tunnel, Gerik had happened to see a camera as well.  He eyeballed it something fierce until they had walked on enough to lose sight of it.  'They're watching us ...', he thought madly.  It felt like they were playing cat and mouse with them.  It was aggravating to the big Garudor.  Kuay looked over and stared at Gerik curiously.  "Something the matter, Gerik?", she mewed softly.  Gerik glanced over at her and sighed a bit, shaking his head.  "Oh it's nothing ... I guess."  Kuay's look went from worried to confused quickly.  But before she could strike up a question, Chester and Layla's voice stopped her.

"Running ... water?" Kuay mewed questioningly.  She swiveled her ears slowly until she too heard the faint sounds of trickling water.  She smiled and gasped excitedly.  "She's right, there is water up ahead!"  Surely where there was water, there was a way out, right?  It had to be coming in from somewhere ... but where Kuay couldn't care less.  When the realization of a possible way out came to mind, she dashed down the right path in pursuit of the sound.  

Gerik gasped and tried to go after her but Slynx were much faster on foot than Garudors.  "Kuay, you crazy Slynx, come back!  You don't know what's back there!", he sqwaked after her frantically.

[Lvl. 16 -- 78] [Lvl. 11 -- 54]

[ShadowStitches]

Layla snapped out of her thoughts of where the water might come from when Kuay dashed forward.
"Kuay wait! Stop!!" She called out alarmed, before jumping after her. Changing into Rexxel form, she was quick enough to keep up with the other feline, but Kuay still had a little start ahead because of her shock second, and she had to struggle a little to catch up. As soon as she was at hight of her, she made rather radical decision,Instead to reason her into stopping, she pounced at her. now, she was a little smaller then Slynx, but still,the little bump caused them both to tumble and fall, ending the short run. Layla instantly felt bad for tackeling Kuay, and just opened her mouth, when a loud rumble interupted her. The whole tunnel shook violently, causing her to press herself against the ground, whining surprised.

Chester tried his best to keep Gerik from going after the ladies, While Ovir took some steps further and called after them. "Gerik wait! If we all run after them therewont be anyone to get them out of possible traps. It wont help anyone if we all get caught up in one, think about it!" He hoped that he could at least get him to think, because if Gerik really would try to get after the girls, neither he nor Ovir would be able to stop him, really. However, once the shaking reached their part of the tunnel, he had much different worries.
the rumbeling and shaking continued for almost 20 seconds. When it stopped, Ovir opened one eye and blinked through the now dust filled tunnel. Allthough there where some cracks in the celing, nothing broke in, and at first glance, nothing else changed ´drastically. After making shure that the two others where alright, as much as he could tell through the dust, he turned his attention back to the lost party of the group. "Kuay? Layla? are you alright?" He called, sounding a little shaken up.

Layla looked up, blinking surprised, before standing shakily. "You alright? I'm sorry about that" she said, looking at the other girl apologizing. She only yet felt that the floor was oddly soft, like covered in...moss?She only faintly heard Ovir call out to them "nothing bad happened here!" she called back, trying to peer back through the tunnel. "what the hell happened?"

Chester, who almost got slammed into the wall by the shaking, carefully looked past Gerik into the direction the came from, and hissed slightly "Oh hell no...". The way they came from was blocked by massive stone portal, that most likely just closed behind them, and made all the ruckus..

[SkyWolf11]

Kuay had heard Layla shout for her, but she was too driven by fear and excitement that it fell on deaf ears.  She keep running, hoping she'd soon see the light of day leading out of this place.  But the next thing she knew, there was a hard pain in her side, like getting tackled, and both she and Layla tumbled over.  She let out a surprised yowl and quickly spun around to see Layla.  Instantly, she was hit with a wave of guilt for running off like that.  But she had little time to apologize when there was a deafening rumble and the whole tunnel began to shake violently.  Kuay mirrored Layla and covered her head for protection.

Gerik was distracted by Chester's words, having to stop and take them into account.  If birds could scowl, Gerik would have been.  He ruffled his feathers and began to do a bit of pacing, torn between decisions.  The sudden short shaking got him even more flustered as he began to sqwak madly, "Ahhhh!  What's happening?!"  Before he knew it, it was over and there was dust floating about in the disturbed air.  "Kuay?!  Layla?!", he joined Ovir in calling.  When Chester cursed, Gerik did so as well under his breath at the sight of the new stone slab blocking their path.  

Kuay didn't move until she heard Layla's voice.  She slowly opened her eyes, looking around for an instant, then got to her shaky feet.  She trembled as she got up, wanting to fall back down and shut out this place.  She glanced over at Layla and shook her head.  "I should be the one apologizing.  I shouldn't have ran off like that!  I'm sorry."  She paused, noticing ... was that moss on the floor? ... But that wasn't her top priority at the moment.  "I'm fine, but are you okay, Layla?" she mewed after she had called out to the others, stepping closer to the Rexxel.  "What was that rumbling all about?"  She would hate herself if she came to know that she caused it.

Gerik, still pacing back and forth, was angry and, above all, extremely confused.  "Oh great!  So we're trapped now?", he huffed, throwing up his wings in frustration.  Put a normaly calm guy in a lost temple of horror and you get a very flustered Gerik.

[Lvl. 16 -- 79] [Lvl. 12 -- 55]

[ShadowStitches]

"Its okay Kuay" Layla said calmly, not wanting her to feel even worse then she, judging on her lookon her face, already did."Just make shure to stay with the rest of us from now on, okay? and I''perfectly fine too" She shook herself slightly to get the biggest amount of dust out of her pelt, before looking back at where the others stood. "Not quite shure..." she respondet to Kuay's question. "Whats wrong?"

Chester was about as frustrated as Gerik, and massaged the side of his head slowly, glaring at the slab as if it might fall apart just by that. "well technically we where trapped here for quite some time now..." he said half jokingly, furrowing his forehead in worry. Ovir went over to Kuay and Layla and informed them about the exact situation they where in now. After the group was together again, Ovir spoke up, making shure everyone was listening closely. "Okay. Since we dont have much of a choice right now, I suggest we just get moving down there. Whatever is there might be very important. I have the suspicion that the slab should have blocked the way before we even got here. most likely it's just old and reacted too late." He paused, looking at the moss covered floor, then ahead into the tunnel"Now, to the very important part. We are being monitored,so it is VERY important that all of you guys keep your eyes open for cameras. We should know about one before it even can spot us. If you do, say something, and no one goes on. ... maybe we can figure out how to trick those guys monitoring us...and I have the feeling that we get to a rather important place here..."with that, he slowly walked on, waiting the others to follow him. Another odd thing about this tunnel was that the air was beginning to get...heavier and...more humid?

[SkyWolf11]

Kuay nodded and turned an ear to Ovir.  After he explained a few things, she ran back over to Gerik's side, feeling relieved just by his presence.  Gerik gave her a look that said "Don't you dare do that again."  Her eyes fell to the ground as she gave a slight nod, almost like a kid that had been scolded by their parents.  And Gerik smirked at Chester's comment.  "True."  He took a deep breath and slowly released, calming down a bit that now they were at least back all together.

Kuay's eyes widened at the mention of being watched. "W-what?!  Cameras?!  We're being watched?!" she squeaked, becoming paranoid and looked frantically for any sign of a camera or what have you.  Gerik nodded, recalling the one he'd seen on their way here.  "It's true, though.  I saw one on the way here ..."  He felt the need to mention.  He wasn't sure the others had seen it. Well, he knew Kuay hadn't, judging by the way she was freaking out about it now.

With that, they started after Ovir, keeping their eyes peeled for any cameras.  Kuay blinked, feeling what felt like a change in the temperature.  She looked at the others, who hadn't seemed to notice yet ... or just weren't saying anything.  She looked at the ground, then back up.  "Um ... is it just me, or does it feel ... different?", she mewed in a whisper, "...like, temperature wise ..."

[Lvl. 17 -- 80] [Lvl. 12 -- 56]

[ShadowStitches]

Layla was pretty shocked to hear about the cameras too. She was good in picking up details usually,
and could have strangeled herself for not paying enough attention. She scanned the walls twice from now on.

Ovir nodded slightly when Kuay spoke up. "Yeah, not only temperature wise but its also kinda...humid?"
he looked ahead irritated, not really knowing what would wait for them at the end of the tunnel.
Even more surprising then the humidity and slight temperature changnings was that the walls now where covered in roots and...leaves?. Not much of them, but they where there...strange. A few minutes later
the came to a sharp stop. Ahead of them, at the end of the tunnel, was the strangest sight that you could expect
in an desert environment:

They stood infront of a huge hall that was flooded with light. The water now was obviously trickeling here, and the whole room was covered in plants! The air was almost sickingly humid, and it smellt of exotic flowers. It was...a disturbingly peacefull sight, and despite its beauty, had something unconfortable about it. What the heck did a place like this do in an old desert temple?. Since they stopped a little further down the tunnel, they couldnt see the whole scenario. What they missed was that the room was as insanely high, as it was deep. Somewhere down there was some gurgeling water, but you couldnt see it because the hole was far to deep. The hole could be crossed on a old, thin bridge, that lead to an other hall, that couldnt really be seen from where they stood. The plant and flower covered walls went higher and higher, untill they reached where the celing should have been. instead there was a huge hole too, wich let in the light. Sadly for the little group, it was blocked by a grill, obviously to prevent animals from falling in and too curious wanderers from getting in there.
(a little explanation: the water at the ground of the hole actually is an underground river. since there is so much light coming in, the water begins to oxidize, creating an tropical environment. that and the fact that
there is ia lot of water causes the vegitation to boost. The place is very old too, wich can be seen by the fact that there are not only fast growing plants like ilvy and the like, but also full grown trees, that burried their roots into the wall. The grill is pretty new though...)

Our little group just stood there in ave. Before anyone could get really moving, Ovir hissed. "Wait! If there is a place that is monitored more then anything then this. I want you to be extra carefull, okay?" He was just as surpised as the others about this little underground oasis, but he also felt that there could be something very wrong about it

[SkyWolf11]

Gerik nodded.  "Yeah, humid ... almost like a ... tropical thing...?", he spoke, a bit confused.  He had visited some tropical type places before and it felt like a  pretty similar atmosphere.  It was odd.  Very odd.  One would not expect to come across such a thing in the desert.  And then the sight of such out of place roots only made it all the more confusing.  Even the nervous Kuay had noticed the abnormal scenery change.  

As the scene took a drastic change, Kuay let out a surprised gasp; they had left the dry, dusty tunnel of a desert temple and seemingly wandered into what looked to be a jungle paradise!  Just where the heck where they?!  And how in Evelon was this even possible?!  They were still in the Wilt'no Desert ... weren't they?

Gerik, who was a bit skeptical, testingly touched a leaved vine on a nearby wall with one of his large feet.  It certainly felt real to him, not waxy like fake plastic vegetation felt like.  But he was still in disbelief that this was all real.  I mean, an underground jungle in the middle of the desert?!  What in the world were these people hiding?  Was some sort of strange biological experimentation going on here or what?  His mind became flooded with questions of all kinds.

Kuay stepped out a little further from the group, trying to take in the amazing sight of the odd place.  She stopped when she came upon a very large tree and strained to see the top of it, for it was incredibly tall.  "Whoa...  Just w-what is this place?"  As she said that, both her and Gerik seemed to turn to the others, looking for some sort of explanation on this ... strangeness.  They were the explorers, right?  They couldn't help but wonder if they had come across this sort of thing before.  "Did you know this temple had such a place within it?", Gerik asked curiously.

[Lvl. 17 -- 81] [Lvl. 12 -- 57]

[ShadowStitches]

Layla shook her head slightly, still awestruck and completely lost in the sight of this, she slowly inched foreward, trying to understand the scenario. "Well it is...I think it actually is naturally, or at least half of it" she finally said, still a little shaken up. "It is some sort of oasis, that, since there seems to be a constant water supplydown there, does not dry out and grows like crazy. I've read of this kind of things, but I never would have dreamed about stumbeling upon one..." She carefully stepped further forward, anxious that the little balcony like piece of floor, wich was conected to their end of the bridge might break of or something. the rest of the room truely was just...a hole. all plants grew on the walls, some of them grew into eachother above them."but...some of these plants dont belong here...even under this kind of ideal circusmatnces, that tropical
plants would never grow here on their own"  she looked at the ground, where, between some roots
where runes cut into the stoney ground. "I think that this temple was built arround this oasis, and was kempt and guarded in the horner of heir gods...Oh, I think we found something big here..."

Ovir wasnt as enthusiastic. he of course was totally blown away too, but he still had a bad feeling about it.
"They must have got these tropical plants from the Tengle rainforest...this isincredible." He eyed the narrow stone bridge suspiciously. It was the only way to cross the huge hole in the room more or less safely, and he really did not look foreward to it. The could try to climb on the vegetation covered walls, but that would be even more dangerous. Chester, who kept extremely silent untill now, softly spoke up. "Do you think we can somehow demontage the grills on the celing?" he asked, while shielding his eyes against the incoming light. Ovir looked up too "eh...we could try that, but first we have to get up there, and second, we have to put out the cameras first..." he pointed at one that was filming the room, but luckily for them, not the group yet, since the stood out of its radar.

Chester furrowed his forehead "but even if we somehow put it out, there still are a...kazillion other cameras for shure, and dont you think that this would be a little suspicious?" Ovir smiled knowingly "The cameras seem to be rather old. I think, if we're lucky, they might be connected to eachother. so if we can hack one of them..." "we hack them all." "exactly. can you do that? We just need to freeze the pic of it. shure they will get suspicious if nothing is happening on the monitor, but that still will take longer for them to realize then
if we just destroy one..." Chester bit his lip slightly. He eyed the camera, which was hanging from the wall right to them. It would take a little climbing action to get there, but he should manage it...despite his injury.
"well...I can try it for shure. no promises tho.."

After a short discussion, he shifted into quad form. Layla unwrapped the bandages arround his now
much smaller body. The wound still looked bad, but it stopped bleeding and did not look like it would start again, unless there would be some sort of impact. With a last wink, the small black Fenling began to climb up to the camera, surprisingly athletic for his condition. He seemed to be doing much better, despite all the stress. or maybe it was just the adrenaline...anyhow, he reached the camera without much problems,
setteled on a branch next to the camera, very carefull to not get into the lensefocus, and shifted back, since he needed his hands for this. After opening the old, rusted outer shell on one side of the camera, he whisteled
defeated. //wow...that will be fun...//

It took some time untill he finally hacked the camera, smirking happily. The others
meanwhile moved arround in their small safe radius, and Layla tried to explain as much about the oasis as she could, wich wasnt that much at all. "well, it seems like this place is called the 'room of life', freely translated.
this is...so old however, that we dont have a clue yet just what kind of gods these people prayed to...or still pray, obviously." "Hey guys, Ive got it!" cheered Chester from his branch, looking over at them. suddently, his face looked shocked. "hey...hey did you hear that too?"

There was a low, preditory hissing sound, and then everything happened at once. From the left side of Chester, an ugly, bald, bird like head shot out of one bush like plant, causing him to almost slip from his branch. He gasped, shot back into Fenling form,jumped over to the next branch, and tried climbing and jumping to escape from the thing that was after him. Bits of vegetation where flying everywhere, when the fat, foul smelling bird thing charged after him, knowing its way pretty well arround the jungle wall.

Before anyone could react, there was a whoosh sound, and from the higher branches of a nearby tree, a second Turkezilla landet infront of the rest of the group on the small bridge. It growled slightly, thick drops of drool dripping on the stone floor infront of it. slowly, almost mockingly, it snuck closer to them, needle sharp teeth bared. Ovir stood infront of the group protectevely, in Imeut form, and snarled at the ugly bird creature in a very disturbing way. No one had ever seen him quite like this...  
Layla snapped out of her shock second, and move a move towards the wall, to get after Chester and his hunter.



(OO
long post and action XDD
the tukes are no real characters by the way, so the can be fought and eventually killed off )