Desert Temple - Training

The sweltering Thedale sun beat relentlessly down on the dark red sands. The unforgiving heat was getting to the father daughter duo, and while their cloaks protected them directly from the suns rays, there was little they could do about the scorching air and blistering sand.

“Almost there…” Elysium wheezes out, dark eyes scanning the horizon. They had been traveling for hours, their destination a ruined temple that is rumored to be out here. While Elysium knows the location will likely have little for them, the mere possibility of there being overlooked treasures, be it the magical or traditional sort, it’s hard for the male to pass up that opportunity. He was surprised, though, when Behemoth decided to tag along, but he wasn’t about to complain.

Behemoth is definitely regretting that choice to go with him. She should’ve stayed at the inn, at least there the air is kept cool and the ground isn’t actively trying to burn her paw pads. 

Her ears perk up, however, as the temple begins to come into view, the weathered stone walls barely poking over the horizon as they start cresting a sand dune, and as they reach the top, she’s squinting critically at the dilapidated state of it, “wow it… looks like shit.”

“Well, yeah,” Elysium rolled his eyes at her comment, “it’s been here for nearly 300 years… of course it’s, uh… in less than ideal condition,” he’s eyeing the cracked and crumbled walls, “at the very least… it’ll provide some shelter from the sun.”

“If it doesn’t collapse on us,” Behemoth snorts as they descend down the dune, her paws slightly skidding in the loose sand to try and keep herself from tumbling forward.

“It wouldn’t! It seems… structurally sound enough.” 

“Love the confidence,” she sighs, but she’s increasing her pace, eager to get into any type of shelter, sketchy or not. 

As they reach the large doors leading into the temple, Elysium isn’t hesitating to begin pushing them open, wheezing a bit with effort at how heavy they are. The iron edges scraping against the stone flooring made the duo wince, until it was finally pushed open wide enough for them to squeeze themselves through. 

The immediate difference in temperature as the shelter of the temple envelopes them has both of them nearly slumping in relief.

Elysium lowers the hood of his cloak as he glances around the interior, his brows furrowing at the ruined statues, broken pottery, and the etchings on the wall? Weathered and worn, barely legible even as Elysium closely approaches. “Shit…” he murmurs, “it really hasn’t withstood time at all…” 

Behemoth watches him indifferently as he examines the various etchings, she’s not particularly interested in this place, not when it’s obvious that it has little to offer them aside from shelter. Though, while she’s here, she may as well look around.

Walking slowly around the interior, her pale gaze boredly glancing over the wall, she scrunches her nose at the deterioration, one would think it would’ve been somewhat protected inside… but as she looks around at the crumbling walls… she frowns. 

“What a shame,” she huffs as she brushes her paw over the wall to wipe away sand-

Click.

She blinks as the section of wall sinks in with the slight weight, with her snatching her paw away rapidly as soon as she heard the click, her ears flattening against her head in concern as she backs off, her father quickly coming to her side as the floor beneath them begins to rumble.

“What did you do!?” Elysium sharply asks.

“I don’t know!” Behemoth snaps, eyes narrowing at her father before they’re both drawn to a shifting section of floor as it pulls away, sinking and disappearing into the wall… revealing a staircase.

Elysium hesitantly approaches the staircase, peering down it with a scrutinous gaze, “well… this is… unexpected,” he clears his throat, “I wonder…”

“You’re not really thinking about going down there, are you?” Behemoth grimaces at the thought, “what if it closes and there’s no way out down there?”

“Unlikely…” Elysium mutters, more to himself than to his daughter, “worse comes to worse, we just blast through the floor.”

“We?”

“You’re coming with me, of course,” Elysium flicks an ear, before descending down the stairwell, leaving his daughter to groan in annoyance… and then reluctantly follow after him.

Their paws step quietly and carefully, both being mindful for more hidden switches, not wanting to accidentally trigger something else.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, they find themselves in a large chamber, one with many tall bookcases, some of them still containing books and scrolls, something that excites the duo, their eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Approaching one of the bookcases, Behemoth is reaching out for a scroll, but is freezing as the both of them hear distant voices. Her ears swiveling in the direction as she turns her head, squinting in bewilderment at the idea of someone else being here at the same time as them.

“Shh,” Elysium lowers his head as he carefully stalks along the shelves and pillars, head carefully peering around corners as his daughter follows, mimicking his footsteps to reduce the risk of creating noise. 

Glancing around a broken column, Elysium is stiffening as his gaze lands on 3 figures, both he and Behemoth recognizing just 1 of them.

Gravedigger, a member of their guild… a dark red Vayron with misty markings and eyes that blaze like fire… and a black Vayron with hard-edged marks that remind them of a burning kiln, with heavy breaths that emit smoke with each exhale.

“Anything of use to me?” Speaks the red male, his mature and gruff face wearing a heavy scowl as he looks over the books and scrolls that have been laid out in front of him. 

“Some of it,” Gravedigger is the one who answers, “a lot of what’s here is irrelevant… but I think these ones here are fine, this one pertains to-” 

His voice abruptly cuts off as the dark colored Vayron suddenly pops up with a snarl, head whirling in the direction of where Behemoth and Elysium are attempting to lurk, their heads quickly yanking back around the corner to try and avoid being spotted.

“Hound?” Gravediggers voice.

“Company, it seems,” the red male scoffs, his voice flat, “fetch, boy.” 

Behemoth and Elysium are scrambling on their feet in that instant and bolting away as they hear the thunderous steps of the stranger suddenly blasting towards their location, sharp nails scraping harshly across stone.

“Go, go, go!” Elysium hisses as he shoves Behemoth up the staircase, a feeling of heat coming up from behind them, a feeling that has him glancing over his shoulder, his eyes widening at a blazing inferno that barrels right for them.

With a yelp, they’re racing up into the stairwell, just narrowly avoiding being scorched, but they’re not out of danger yet, with the male charging through his flames as he continues his pursuit, his hunt. 

Bursting from hidden stairs, they’re racing towards the door, but on the way, Elysium is using his headstart to their advantage as he slams the secret switch to re-engage the shifting floors, the duo ignoring the rumbling that begins as they shove their way through the cracked open door, bursting out into the unwelcoming desert.

“Don’t stop, just keep running!” Elysium shouts, unsure if the floor panel will block off the stairs in time, but he’s unwilling to wait around to see.

Behemoth doesn’t need to be told twice as they continue running, the pain of the sweltering sands against her paws being met with indifference as she grits her teeth to bear it.

---

Back within the temple, Elysium’s impulsive plan had worked, thankfully, with the panel shutting just as the wild male had reached the top, his head slamming into it as he’s unable to stop himself in time. An enraged roar escapes his lava-filled maw, his head tilting up as though he’s about to just blast through in order to resume his chase.

“Forget it,” Gravedigger spits as he comes up from behind him, “you’re not going to catch them now,” there will be too much of a headstart, and with tall dunes surrounding this place on all sides and constant winds… pointless. “They didn’t overhear enough to be a problem.”

The male can only snarl in frustration.

---

Outside, Gravedigger is right, with the two having already made great distance in their retreat, neither having any attention on stopping until they’re absolutely positive that they’ll be safe to do so.

“What the hell was that!?” Behemoth is gasping out above the sounds of their gallop. “Who were they? Why was Graves with them?”

“How would I know!?” Elysium wishes he had an inkling of an idea, but he knows Gravedigger only by name, much like Behemoth. “Maybe your tarot cards..?”

“M-Maybe… I’ll have to see if I can get some sort of answer from them once we’re able to stop.” While she won’t be able to get any specific answers… perhaps it will give her some insight.

…What a strange situation, one that makes her hackles raise.

Training: Stage 2

Sometimes Reoseans find themselves in precarious circumstances and must be nimble to get out of it; depict your Reosean getting out of a tight bind, whether it’s attempting to cross a high up narrow path, sneak past watchful eyes, or something else.

Vays: Behemoth 9519 and Elysium 7675, with Furnace 7261, Gravedigger 15672, and Hound 15922

WC: 1522