x. the moment he received verification that they were ready to move forward, he was slightly impressed. emil hadn’t come traipsing unprepared. with aqua activating the stone dais, it only took a matter of seconds before they were transported to the lower level. a vast and open stairway is what they were immediately met with after the light began to fade – softly glowing glyphs aligning the wall in order to provide a pale form of light, casting the ancient stone in warm shades of green.
in the distance, he could hear the faint ringing of — bells? yes, he was sure of it.
“interesting.” fascinating, even. “be careful to not make any unnecessary steps.” it escapes him as more of an order than it is a request. although he’s never stepped foot inside of these ruins, he’s read enough about them in prior research that this visual matches the descriptions perfectly. there’s a reason that not just anyone can enter these ancient ruins.
immediately, his gaze was set to looking for oddities in the stone structures that surrounded them, his footfalls sounding just as emil had begun to move. the quiet rustling of his sheaths accompanied his patient stride. remaining just one step behind – he was the one to have asked for direction, after all, but he didn’t allow too many steps to create distance between them. wouldn’t be the first time he’d caught the other in a daze. the last thing he needed was for emil to get injured right off the bat, even if he was charged with his own protection. it would only slow them down.
if anything, it allowed him to take a good discreet look at emil. when they’d first met, he’d been shocked – but now, he was riddled with doubt & some very astute questions. after all, it couldn’t have happened already, not when his part of the deal remained unfinished. unless .. .
no. it best remains a fleeting thought. turning his head, he focuses on the task at hand.
emil nodded slightly, “There aren’t any traps from wh-what I remember in here last time.” he gave the information from beyond his shoulder, green hues glittering brightly in the dimming light. the shimmer near translucent, glowing in response to the situation and excitement that he could be of help to his companion for once instead of the opposite. no signs of ill will crossed his face as his eyes re-focused in front of them, passing the first hallway with only a glance down it to discern whether enemies passed it’s halls before going the down the second.
“Let’s see…this way, I think…” his voice held a note of uncertainty to it, before it solidified and he nodded firmly, “Yeah, this way. One more hallway down and there’s the dais where the sorcerers r-ring get’s its upgrade and ability change, one before leads to a dead end, this is the right way.” mumbling the words beneath his breath, it was an exercise to comfort himself, so he did not appear as weak or timid as he usually did. making opinions and judgements on the surroundings.
stepping down the second path, the warm glow of lights splayed in neon greens colored his ‘costume’ in odd shades and made his shadow take odd shapes. whatever richter was doing, was only noted upon by glancing over his shoulder, listening to the sharp boots hitting stone, showing that the other followed in his footsteps, nothing more was discerned. just in this way, he moved forward, going passed a statue which stuck in the wall near halfway.
not something that emil found particularly interesting, though, it was paused at, his gaze lingering upon it before nodding. this was the correct hallway, neither of the hallways on either side had a similar thing between them. “The monsters mostly come out ahead, wh-where it’s warmer … though sometimes there’s one or two wandering the hallways, so I w-wouldn’t worry too much.”
it was a proffered smile to the half-elf companion, “The hallways are also really narrow, so we’d see them before they came at us … r-right?” there was a hesitation in his words in the sudden realization if he had said something wrong. would it be jumped upon? richter was usually so strict and factual, that perhaps if he tried to act too knowing that it would get on the red-head’s nerves. true, he had been the one leading richter through the ruins, but … that did not mean the other was still impressed or liked these tiny details pointed out.
for all emil knew, richter could, most certainly, feel disdain for what emil tried to offer helpfully!
“A-ah, it shouldn’t be far now till we get to the main part of the ruins!” emil laughed, the uncertainty clear in tight shoulders as he tried to throw thoughts out the window. there was no need to think like that. not now … he could handle himself, with the ‘ratatosk mode’ he had, it should be perfectly fine. he should be an asset in fights now.