[Wyvern]

Myrddin's voice could be heard - or rather, be almost unheard - partially muffled by the safety mask he now wore on his maw. When he listened to Vesper's questioning, he simply shook his head, then pointed and gestured towards a group of rocky formations a few dozen feet away from the edge of the lava pools. "Oh, I see that! We can rest there, for a while."

The Battleheart didn't hesitate to move on to that direction, and stopped when he stood behind these pillar-like stones that acted as a small shelter from the heat and smoke. There were plenty of similar stones spread around the upper crater area, few tall enough to lead into crevices and ledges of the walls of the volcanic structure. He raised his head to look at these openings and ledges, some of which appeared to house and nest small creatures that were well-adapted to the Volcano itself.

Some seemed avian-like, while others were reptilian in nature. They were much less imposing than the larger monsters that were lurking across the edges of the volcano. A few were peeking outside of their nests, their figures barely illuminated by the glow of the giant magma chamber below.

While Vesper was found perplexed by the scene, the Tavil hopped off his shoulder, and sat upon one of the shorter pillars of stone. It was still warm, but the warmth was tolerable for their sensitive paws. Myrddin laid onto the tall rock, panting while tugging into the mask outwards slightly to catch a bit of not-as-hot air. "Uh huh, what are you staring at?" He noticed the green draconid completely distracted by their surroundings. "Come on, if you want to see my other cool stuff, get over here!"

[Wyvern]

Vesper raised one of their front claws at Myrddin, signaling for him to keep their voice low. "SHHH... Do.. do you hear that?" They whispered, their arm still held up in the air as the Tavil glanced down at them, perplexed.  Myrddin squinted before looking around with a confused gaze.

And then, the small mammal could hear faint echoes of growling and shrieking from above and beyond. He realised what their real surroundings were. It was a nursing ground for young creatures of the volcanic land. Myrddin began to think, perhaps the critters in their nests are the offspring of the adults that were outside. Were they afraid that the Battleheart and the Tavil were a potential threat to their children, which explained their hostility? Did they accidentally find the families of those monsters?

"Oh... oh no. That can't be good."

The furred creature squealed, startled, as he grabbed his bag and mask; he lept off the tall rock, not seeming to care about how hot the ground below could potentially be.

"Eeeek, what is that?!" He whimpered as he jumped down, having sworn to have seen one of those shadowy figures swooping down on him. His front claws were too busy holding onto his belongings to try and grab onto something to prevent his paws from touching the uncomfortably warm floor.

Reacting almost off time, Vesper saw a creature gliding down. All he could hear was a rush of wind and a loud whistling by his side. He turned to the spot where he saw Myrddin leap down onto, which the Battleheart stepped into. "I got YOU!" Barely, he was able to grab onto the mammal's scruff, causing a scared Myrddin gasp as he was held up, limp, just a few feet from the ground.

[Wyvern]

The two could listen to the sound of wings flapping over them, while the threatening noises of the creatures echoed, approaching, growing closer. "T-thank you, Vesper! ... b-but... what is going on?!"

Myrddin stuffed the mask and scrolled map into his bag, before he began to wiggle in Vesper's grasp. He climbed back onto the draconid's body by clinging to their arm and onto their shoulder. As soon as he looked up, he saw a cloud of black smoke covering his view. From the cloud, a large shadow propped forward, flying over the two travelers. A yellow figure was revealed from the smoke.

An avian creature sprung up, with their wings anxiously flapping and bright-colored feathers outstretched, clearly appearing in high alert. "Watch out! I-I said, watch out!"

Moments after the draconid and the small mammal saw the golden bird, they tilted their head in many directions, paying heed to the newcomer's warning. They could see many other sihouettes approaching from the smoke. A swarm of flying creatures, big and small, poured into the chamber of the volcano, akin to a mass of bats. Myrddin almost tried to scream in fear, but quickly covered his mouth shut to not grab their attention; Vesper only heard a muffled squeak from the Tavil.

"Come, let's hide down here!" Vesper crouched and hid among the stone pillars, while once again grabbing the Tavil, but with both of their claws. They firmly held Myrddin against their chest, using their body to shelter and cover the youngster's pale, easily-spotted figure.

[Wyvern]

The Tavil’s gleaming red eyes searched the tiny line of sight he was limited to while being held by Vesper, looking for that peculiar yellow creature who appeared moments ago. Myrddin barely saw a small glimpse of the avian, who was also now partially hiding behind one of the pillars of stone.

“Hey! Hey you!!” He exclaimed, as he stretched out his fuzzy arm in the direction of the pillar, though shadowed by the Battleheart’s body. “Do you know what’s going on?!”

His exclamation was barely heard, over the wild atmosphere the three were trapped into. The yellow bird’s head was seen turning to the other two’s general direction. “Shhh, shhhh!! Stay down there while I find a way out!” They responded anxiously, while the two could see the bird crawl out of hiding.

It revealed itself as a bright golden Sygriff, with vibrant blue feathers. It leapt into the air a short distance and flew up into the clouds of smoke.

“Wow... um, do you think they’ll be okay?! There’s a lotta monsters up there!”

“They may be a total stranger, but... they seem... like they know what they are doing.”
Vesper answered surprisingly calmly, in a soft, low tone.

He slowly began to loosen his grip onto the Tavil’s small, pale body, but still holding onto the youngster so that they don’t slip off and touch the hot ground.

The noises emitted by the mass of swarming creatures would eventually cease to the point where the two behind the pillars could clearly listen to each other again. However, what Myrddin could now listen is echoes from high above, within the upper chimney of the volcano.

They all appeared gone, or at least hidden within the smoke clouds once more.

“Where is that Sygriff? I-I think we should get out of this spot while we can.”

Vesper didn’t hesitate to agree, and start getting back up from the ground. He allowed the small mammal to sit upon his large, clawed hand, where they cautiously stuffed their belongings and the map into their leather bag. The mask and goggles were, instead, placed to wrap around Myrddin’s neck.

[Wyvern]

“Do you hear that? Is that them?”

With his other claw, Vesper pointed up into the air, as they could, once more, listen to the soft flapping of large feathered wings. The yellow avian carefully descended upon them, landing on a small stone that seemed to have once been part of a pillar. They spoke up both excitedly and surprised.

“I apologize! We haven’t even introduced each other properly! There’s, uh, some kind of dangerous situation at stake right now, so...”

Myrddin and Vesper looked at each other in the eyes, then turned back to the Sygriff at about the exact same time, both appearing confused. “Umm... you’re good! We came here looking for something, so we can’t quite... follow a ‘way out’ yet.”

“Is that so...? Oh, dear! Did you not know - especially you?” The Sygriff raised their front paw at the Battleheart. “Creatures native to this region, come to Nori Volcano to find partners and start families. It’s this time of the year where a new generation of these species are born! But... it looks like something has disturbed them!”

The Tavil would scratch their head before glancing at the draconid again. "...Huh. THAT explains a lot of things... did you... not know that?" He squeaked loudly at first, before his voice's tone decayed to that of a whisper, as if he didn't want the Sygriff to hear him.

Vesper puffed out smoke from his maw. He slowly shoved the small mammal back into his plated shoulder. Myrddin climbed onto the Battleheart's body; as he stepped forward, facing the yellow bird and staring down at them, their hulking figure would cast a shadow over the avian that was no taller than the average human. "... NO. My clan was forced to nest inside the volcano, far out of season. We... clashed against many rivaling clans and other creatures who were displaced from their homes."

"Oh."
Myrddin and the Sygriff answered unanimously. The avian didn't appear intimidated by the draconid, at least not visibly. "Well then! My name is Arianna, and I've been to the Volcano more often than I'd like to admit!" They raised their head with a soft smile. "I've helped many lost travelers before, you see!"

[Wyvern]

"Damn..." Myrddin kept scratching their fuzzy head with one claw, the other holding onto Vesper's shoulder. "Listen, um... I don't think story time has place for what's going on right now. It's too hot in here!" He stuck his tongue out of his maw, panting lightly, before looking at the Battleheart's visage and reaching a bit forward to whisper into their ear.

"Should we show them the map? Surely, they must not know about where we're headi-"

Arianna cheerfully lept off the small pillar, and started bouncing backwards and sideways in glee. "You must be looking for the treasures at the bottom of Nori, right?" She stretched out her wings and shook her tail left and right. "I've read that Battlehearts keep inmense amount of wealth collected over many generations within their nests. But the average explorer doesn't bother going down there. They're aware that they can't go past a Battleheart, let alone a whole family of them, you know!"

The Tavil, jaw left wide open in surprise, tongue still hanging out, glanced down at the excited Sygriff. "T-t... TREASURE, you say?!" He wasn't sure if to feel upset or amazed.

"You! You wanted me to retrieve your family's treasures?! And risk my pelt for them!?"

Vesper simply shook their head, not even phased at all the assumptions.

"Wait, so what is it then?" Myrddin reached close to whisper to his companion again.

"Is it something, like... super super secret?" The draconid crossed their arms, briefly closing their eyes as they shook their head a second time. "My clan, my family... they were NOT greedy, never longed for gold, jewels, or anything of the sort. All we sought was a place to call home." He grumbled, softly tapping one of their hind claws onto the hot stone ground, looking back at Myrddin.

[Wyvern]

The dragon unfolded their limbs, and with one claw outstretched, beckoned the Tavil to hand over the scroll. Much to Myrddin's dismay, he proceeded to delve more into the story.

"My clan grew accustomed to found their nests outside of the season since a great battle, hundreds of years ago. While it is TRUE... That there is an unknown treasure in tunnels deep inside the volcano, it belongs to the clans that settle during the season. There is a safe path, to reach my former home. That is why I found this map, young one." The small mammal handed over the old piece of wrapped paper into the dragon's claw. Vesper opened up the map, and turned it over to face Arianna’s general direction. “You seem to know a lot about the volcano, feathery one.”

He motioned the map a bit, to get the Sygriff’s attention. “If you are aware of the treasures of Nori, have you ever attempted to find them? I am assuming you have ventured into these lower levels.”

Arianna stopped in her tracks, then looked up to scan across the surface of the intriguing map. “How did you get this?!” She asked, seemingly awestruck, the feathers of her ears tilted up in interest.

“That map is one of the few surviving copies, from a group of archaeologists’ research, back in Basantha! It’s literally outliving the cartographers themselves!”

[Wyvern]

“Hmmmm...”

The Battleheart squinted, bright green eyes peering down at Arianna. “I will share what I know about this map if you agree to help us achieve our goal. If you appear to be so wise and experienced, then, assisting us in this matter will be, PERHAPS... an easy feat for you, correct?”

The avian stepped back, with her ears suddenly folding down, pouting in defeat. “Well, yeah, if you put it like that... you’re right! I don’t really have a choice, huh...”

Her tail swished about in frustration, as she approached Vesper and Myrddin once more. She began carefully analyzing the map spread wide open for her to look at.

The small mammal eagerly stood still upon the draconid’s shoulder. Myrddin pulled up the mask onto his snout, but the goggles remained upon his forehead. “Ugh! C-come on now, can we go find a better place to talk?!” He spat out anxiously, though his voice partially muffled halfway through his sentence due to the leather mask that now covered his mouth again.

Unaware of what he had just done to himself, the other two didn’t really listen to Myrddin’s complaints, making him seem ignored entirely yet again. He glared down at the two, who didn't seem phased at the dangerous circumstances they were found in, both clearly well-adapted to the volcanic environment.

[Wyvern]

Myrddin began to look around the chamber, while shoving the goggles down his face and onto his eyes. He shook his head as he sighed, before bracing himself, and leaping from the Battleheart's upper body, into the hot ground below. As soon as he landed on his two hind legs, he started skipping and hopping away, using his front paws as necessary to gain distance between each forward bounce.

"HEY! Where are you going, Myrddin?!" Vesper exclaimed as his head turned to the Tavil's general direction. He almost wanted to give into chase out of concern for the small mammal and any bodily harm they could sustain from the perilous terrain.

"Uh, actually..." Arianna loosely pointed to the map with one of her front paws. "I think they will be okay. That's one way to get there, for sure." She turned around, and calmly followed Myrddin, who happened to be running towards a dark opening within the chamber. "Come on, let's go over there!"

Vesper took his time to wrap up the map into his claw, standing there as he watched the Sygriff follow Myrddin without hurry. For once, he appeared surprised, bewildered at the Tavil's sudden initiative.

[Wyvern]

The yellow avian pursued Myrddin into the darkened entrance of a tunnel. Unlike the previous caverns, this particular path was not as warm nor had any signs of anyone having traversed within recently. It was, however, very obscure, almost lightless in it's entirety. "Myrddin? Is that right...? Hey, where are you?" Arianna spoke up into the cave, her voice echoing through the rather hollow area.

As soon as she took a slow step into the tunnel itself, she felt herself slip a little, a few small stones crumbling in front of her. These stones fell a short distance and became fragmented into many pieces a few feet below. The descent appeared to be a tight, steep slope into a floor of dust, dirt and tiny rocks.

"Wow, that kid really is fast. I can barely see a thing!"

Meanwhile, Vesper quietly made his way to the same entrance, not noticing how Arianna appeared hesitant to step forward. He calmly came to a stop right behind her. "Well?" He tilted his head slightly, then gazed into the dark of the cave. "Yeah, I mean, he will be alright. We should try and keep up!"

---

His old goggles covered the only light that the Tavil emanated naturally; the bright red of his eyes. He was comfortable in the darkness, needing little to no illumination to navigate through the dark of the subterranean area. It was nothing like the tiny, suffocating hole that he had to squeeze through a while back, after all. And he was able to remember what he saw on the map itself, or at least, part of it. It was gloomy enough that his pale body was hardly even distinguisable at all.

Myrddin was confident that Vesper would be able to keep up with him. He did, however, start slowing down his accelerated stride when he came to the realization that maybe, the newest addition to the party, Arianna, may not be able to keep up to him. He thought, she and Vesper were still together back there, right? There's no way they could have split up? The Sygriff claimed she knew her way around. Perhaps the Tavil was simply overthinking the situation.

"Ugh... my feet hurt already. Maybe I should stop somewhere around here..."

With a gentle flick of his claw, he summoned a tiny green flame. He stretched his hind legs, one at a time in the air, before plopping down right beside a small rock, allowing them to rest.

[Wyvern]

Myrddin rested calmly with his head laying over the surface of a cool, smooth rock that stood out from the many smaller ones that surrounded him. With the newly summoned flame in his paw, he could see that the tunnel had intruiging shapes around its structure.

Stalactites loomed over the path and rather than appearing sharp and imposing, they were smooth for the most part, as if they were formed a very, very long time ago. Some of which were infused with the walls of the cavern itself, looking stretched out and as if they once were melting into the floor, and now cooled down to their solid grey shape. The ground was covered in pebble-like stones, some were colored brown and ochre, while others appeared to be coal black or almost akin to that of obsidian.

The Tavil looked around, taking off his goggles to allow his view to become clearer. He felt quite safe and comfortable now, with not a sound or disturbance in his surroundings.

---

Arianna descended into the quiet tunnel, sliding down the slope with her wings outstretched to slow her slipping. Her front paws bumped into the sleek, polished stones that coated the dusty ground. It indeed appeared as if no one had used this path in ages. A bit odd considering how breeding seasons still took place within the inner chambers of the volcano, but perhaps this particular tunnel was no longer used in favour of other paths. "Hmm... it's... really silent in here..."

The Battleheart came along moments after, but rather than sliding down, he lept into the hollow, and carefully landed with the aid of his wings, almost seeming as if he levitated from the upper level and onto the ground. "Truthfully, this does not look like anything I remember before. There is a possibility this is one of the oldest caverns in Nori. It's not even hot at all."

[Wyvern]

Unable to contain her excitement, Arianna trekked forward onto the pebble-covered cave path. She occasionally skipped a few steps and lept a short distance into the air, gliding before landing and continuing her upbeat walk. Her movements were almost quiet just like the cavern itself, unlike Vesper's, who took the time to follow the yellow avian with a long, careful stroll.

Each and every of the Battleheart's footfalls made a gentle, but still audible noise from his claws pressing onto the dusty ground, raising tiny puffs of dirt. While Arianna's eyesight was a bit reduced in the near-darkness of the hollow, Vesper had no problem making his way through at all. He was able to appreciate the unusual rocky formations of the cave, his bright green eyes blinking softly.

The Sygriff took one last leap into the air, before arriving gracefully upon the ground, noticing something strange further into the cavern. Far beyond, she could see a faint eerie glow barely illuminating the walls. As Arianna stopped to analize her surroundings, Vesper was able to catch up to her, noticing her pausing. "I believe that light may come from Myrddin." He looked down at her and spoke up quietly. "His kind can naturally summon small flames at will... ALTHOUGH, you may likely know that already, seeing how wise you claim to be... hmm?"

---

Myrddin still stood silently, resting. He laid his arms to the side of his body upon the ground, with the green flame still held in one of his claws. The Tavil dozed off, maw left half-open - albeit covered by the crude leather mask still, and his ears were partly folded down. Over time, the summoned fire would lose it's already decaying intensity, causing his vincinity to grow darker and darker.

[Wyvern]

"Uhm, maybe? I don't think I've met someone like Myrddin up this close and personal, truthfully." The Sygriff kept on moving, as she turned her head to look up at Vesper.

"Is that so?" The draconid glanced down, then back to the light that appeared to be slowly fizzling out, leaving the two in the dark. "He seems to be running again. Let us proceed!" Vesper and Arianna, believing the green flame was moving away from them rather than simply disappearing, started to accelerate their steps. The Battleheart could see the cave narrowing slightly, forcing him to stay on the ground, but as for Arianna, she could still freely jump and glide short distances every now and then.

Arianna was able to outpace the Battleheart with relative ease once more. She noticed that the ground had larger piles of pebbles and stones, while the rocky formations and stalagmites were becoming more imposing, making the cavern's walls seem as if they were closing in, into a tighter crevice. She stopped again with a short leap, before scanning the poorly-lit area. Near a large rock that stood out among the rest, she saw a familiar figure besides it. The green light appeared to originate from behind this rock.

"H-hey... Myrddin, are you okay?"

Approaching the rock, she saw a fuzzy, pale creature curled up against it. It was the Tavil, who had fallen into a deep slumber. He was cluching his leather bag against his body with one claw, while his other arm, was laid across the dusty ground, the open hand containing a tiny, tiny fire.

The Sygriff smiled softly, sighing in relief.
She looked around the other direction, waiting for Vesper to show up.

[Wyvern]

The yellow avian realised her surroundings were growing close to pitch black. Her eyesight becoming severely limited. She looked down at the Tavil who laid deep in slumber on the ground. “Oh... no...”

Arianna lowered her ears in a pout, eyes saddened in concern. “I can hardly see a thing now!”

The green draconid, on the other had, was able to navigate through the narrowing section of the cave with ease. His glowing, bright eyes were one of the few things Arianna could see in the darkness.

He approached Myrddin on the floor, and carefully gave a nudge on their head with a soft tap of his claw. All he could hear is a light snore. Vesper nudged the small mammal once more, in hopes that he would wake up, rather than possibly having passed out or fainted from exhaustion, or worse even, from a heatstroke.

Vesper got closer to the Tavil’s laying spot, with Arianna watching - at least, watching what little she could discern from the movements in the shadows; he reached in with his both front claws and gently picked Myrddin from the ground, akin to how one would pick up a little animal. The Battleheart rested the Tavil onto his shoulder, their chest and front limbs hanging somewhat limp over their body.

“He seems to be very tired,” Vesper spoke softly. “But his breathing is fine and he does not feel TOO warm. We should be fine as long as we keep going down. There should be a safer place to rest further underground.”

Arianna shook her head in agreement, even though she wasn’t sure if Vesper could see her gesture or not. It took her a moment to speak again, in realization.

“I’m glad to hear that... damn, poor boy! Let’s keep moving then!”

[Wyvern]

With the young Tavil resting soundly onto their shoulders, Vesper crouched their large shape as needed to squeeze into the shrinking, darkened tunnel into a deeper cave system. Arianna, on the other hand, with much caution, followed the Battleheart’s darkened figure. Her ears were folded down in worry.

“This might sound a bit selfish,” she squeaked, “But Myrddin’s light would have been much perfect for us right now! I’m worried we will stumble upon something...”

“... DANGEROUS?”

“N-no, just unexpected...” Arianna answered while shaking her head. “There shouldn’t be anything, or... anyone down here, right? Except for... maybe... umm...”

The yellow avian paused her careful walk, noticing Vesper taking too long to respond to her. “Hmm. We should be safe somewhere around... here.” The green dragon, rather, could clearly see the path ahead, his front claws reaching out to a hardly visible pillar of stone that was marking the entrance to a unusually shaped cave clearing. He softly pressed his claw against the pillar, and with a gentle brush, revealed and saw claw markings covered in a thin layer of dust.

The markings were a bit more intricate than they seemed at first sight, each stroke containing a peculiar small rune-like symbol.

“Did you find anything, Vesper?” The Sygriff asked with a soft hum. “As much as I hate being in the dark like this, this is admittedly exciting!” Her voice echoed slightly across the chambers of solid rock.

“Whoa... what’s this place?” She noticed the strange way her echoes came to form.