Holding the lantern before her, Akori turned the corner, and pressed on into the darkness. She hadn't been in many mines before, let alone ones that had been sealed for who-knew-how-long. Usually there wasn't much to pique her interest in such places, so the kitsune had never bothered to explore past the first one or two. Once you had seen one dark tunnel, you'd seen them all, right? That, and miners didn't seem to approve of random fox-women wandering into their places of work, just to have a look at what all the fuss was about.
This mine, however, had many interesting rumours floating around about it - so much so, that she simply couldn't ignore it, and just had to come and see the place for herself. Akori wasn't in it for the precious ores, the possibly forgotten loot, or even a souvenir rock or two. No, she was in it for the story. There was bound to be some clue down here as to the mystery about this place, maybe a scrap of a note, a tragic tableau of skeletal miners.

And if there wasn't?

Well, she could still make a song about the experience! The odd, echoing sounds of water dripping somewhere ahead, the subterranean moss and fungi that glowed, casting erratic shadows on jagged walls, and the feeling like she was crawling down the throat of the world, towards its empty belly. Ooh, that was a good line, she'd have to remember that one, use it in her song. Already, she could hear a melody forming in her head, and she hummed to herself under her breath as she walked, placing her feet with a care for any loose rocks.

Bright-eyed, she looked around, completely unafraid of the darkness or of the fact that she was rather far underground. Her pack was stocked with food, water, and some other gear to keep her going for a bit. While she could have used her magic to conjure some foxfire to see by, she was actually being smart, and keeping her magic in reserve and using this rather fantastic lantern instead. For once, there was also a sword hanging from her belt, Akori having dug the thing out from the very bottom of her pack in preparation of her adventure. It wasn't simply for show, either. Being over four centuries old had given her a lot of time to practise a variety of skills - she just simply preferred to utilise some more than others. Running her free hand over the wall as she walked, Akori had to marvel at the colour and texture of the stone - oh! There were some obvious pick marks, just there. What had people been mining, she wondered. Iron, copper? Or precious gems, even silver or gold? Did they venture down here in pursuit of wealth, or to pry ore from the earth so that they could craft tools for farming, building - or even war?

Footsteps reached her ears, and Akori stood, turning to face them. Lifting her lantern, the kitsune cocked her head, watching the shadows dance over the walls.
"I don't think I'm undead, so don't stab me. I'm friendly, I promise," she called out, referring to some of the other rumours she had heard. Whispers of undead roaming the mines, and preying on any adventurers daft enough to go plundering their tomb.
Akori figured that, while there could be undead, it was also likely it could be other looters trying to scare off rivals. Or just stories to keep children safe at home where they couldn't break an ankle tumbling down a mineshaft. Either way, this was why she had brought her sword out of hiding. Even if she didn't need to stab anyone, it was handy for hooking things towards her.

Darkness; winding corridors… all the things Kythe loved and felt at home within. For quite some time Hyloth Dungeons had been her home in DaeLuin and even now she found places like this comforting. Something about it calmed her heart even when she was at her worst; maybe it was the ability to vanish into the darkness, to become anonymous and unseen… she had spent so much of her life seen by the world - unable to hide because of who and what she was dungeons and caves were a welcome respite from the prying eyes of the world.

Upon her shoulder Tymor gave a hiss and she smiled softly, raising a hand to stroke the dark head of her Pseudo-Wyvern. He was an angry thing but he was at least as fond of her as she was of him and he was worth the money she had paid to get him free of the cage in which she had found him… it had been far more than his actual worth in terms of cost but she did not care she could not bear to see any creature (especially distant kin) locked away in a cage like that. The Wyvern lay his head in her palm, black eyes staring into the darkness - neither he nor his Mistress had need of a light to see their way through the dark after all both were blessed with extremely good eyesight.

The chance to explore something new had been hard to pass up despite the pain in her shoulder and the odd waves of nausea she had been getting over the last few days - it wasn’t enough to slow her down more it was enough to annoy her… and when she had heard rumours of the undead… well… Kythe had never been one to shy away from ridding the land of their menace. There had also been mention of treasure; now Kythe wasn’t a greedy person, in fact ordinarily she wasn’t that bothered at the prospect of riches (despite her Draconic nature) but so far she had not found herself much work and filling the coffers with enough to sustain her until she did find reliable work would be useful to her.

Tymor let out another hiss and sat upright, wings flaring either side of her head to reveal the neon green undersail, his tail tightening around her upper arm slightly in warning as his claws dug into her shoulder. Kythe had caught the scent at the same time as her companion but she was less hostile to newcomers than he; taking the approach of another in her stride - seasoned warriors assessed situations, they did not react with force immediately. Not that she was unprepared, her hand upon her sword hilt just in case. As the other spoke Kythe let out a small smile. ”Well that is good to know and is very much reciprocated friend.” She called back, rounding the corner to face the speaker.

Kythe bowed to the woman before her, using one hand to steady Tymor as she did so - the Wyvern less than pleased at the introduction of another person. ”Kythe Sitari at your service, and the hissy thing is Tymor.”

A hiss, low and menacing, reached her before any words or sight of fellow spelunkers. In response to the sound, the bag on Akori's back began to move of its own accord, bulging and writhing as something within clawed its way free. Excited cheeping could be heard from within, and, with a furrowed brow, Akori swung the pack from her shoulders, and to the floor. With hardly a second between her opening the bag and drawing her hand back, a scaled, purple head burst forth. Bright, golden eyes peered back at her, gleaming in the lantern light. Happily, the thing spread its jaws in a massive, contented belch - revealing crumbs scattered about its face, smears of food all about its scaled maw. With a sinking feeling, Akori lifted the thing out of her bag - her stowaway turning out to be a small, somewhat rotund wyvern - and noted the ruin of her provisions. She held the wyvern under the wings before her, studying it and being sleepily studied right back. Sighing, the woman shook her head, and plopped the wyvern into her skirt pocket. Apparently, this suited it just fine, since she felt the wyvern snuggle into her side, and sigh happily. She hadn't any idea how it had gotten into her pack, but, well, she had been wandering for rather a while to reach these ruins. It was likely the little guy had smelled the food, and sneaked into her bag while she camped for the night. Well, he seemed friendly enough - she was going to assume male, rather than call him 'it' all the time - and it could never hurt to have more friends, right?

Oh, on the topic of more friends, finally she had a face to put with the footsteps. A striking winged woman, with an angry, hissy thing on her shoulder. Huh, what were the chances of that? She just found her own scaly stowaway, and someone appears with their own. Cocking her head, Akori simply smiled as the woman bowed to her, somewhat amused at the show of manners in both a place like this, and a situation such as this. Some people were far too serious for their own good. A simple 'hello' would have been good enough to earn Akori's goodwill and friendship, but to each their own. She wasn't going to tell people how to live their lives, or how to greet strangers.
"I'm Akori Renu, travelling bard and all around dashing rogue," she grinned, before motioning to her bulging pocket with a flourish, "And the lizard in a food coma doesn't have a name yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something."
Because of course he was staying with her now - he'd eaten her food, after all, and he was kinda cute. Besides, he hadn't flown away, so they were friends now!
"Is Tymor always so grumpy?" Akori asked, curious rather than offended at the less than pleasant greeting from the wyvern.

"So, you here for treasure, adventure, or are you on the lam?" Akori asked, swinging her bag back onto her shoulders. It would be a good place to hide, she had to admit, but you also ran the risk of getting lost. So, yeah, you'd evade the law, but you'd also end up dead more than likely, and that was no way to enjoy your life of crime.
"Personally, I'm here to see what there is to be seen," she continued, lifting her lantern once more to study the rock walls. The tunnel continued for a long way yet, and nothing was visible but the darkness ahead - and behind.
"Though there's not a lot at the moment. The trail is still new, however," she finished, shrugging a shoulder. Maybe this Kythe would like a companion for this adventure. This kinda thing was always more fun with someone else, after all. Shame she couldn't have asked Aspect if she wanted to come along, really. That would have been fun!

A Kitsune… that was what the woman before her was; she could tell by the scent of her… How funny – Kythe had gone years, decades possibly even a century before her path had crossed with one of her kin – Kitsune tended to be fairly secretive creatures at the best of times and now Kythe had come across two in short succession! ”Well met Akori and good to know you.” The woman replied as was customary amongst warriors, knights and general travellers on her own world – old habits died hard where the woman was concerned; a lot of people would not know the greeting and many others would not have bothered with it but Kythe prided herself on her manners if nothing else.
Chuckling Kythe cast a glance to the Wyvern, poking him jokingly in the chest and earning another irritable his and a flick of his tail in response. ”Ever since I rescued him a few days ago but he does not bother me with it; he’s affectionate in his own way and I fear his life prior to my purchase of him was not entirely pleasant which has probably soured his attitude to the world.” The woman replied, smiling as he rested his head against her own and let out a soft coo.

”The first two.” Kythe replied with a smile. ”Though your addition of the latter would suggest a guilty conscience, would your own response apply to all three?” Kythe asked with a wry smile. ”Though have no fear; if the latter is part of it I have no intention of handing you in to anyone. That is not my place, it’s been a very long time since I took up a bounty of any kind and I would rather give people a second chance these days.” She snorted. ”If you don’t mind some company I would be happy to tag along and see what the mines have to offer? Share the findings fifty fifty?” She asked, offering a hand to seal the deal.

Akori watched Tymor interact with Kythe, understanding in her blue eyes. She sympathised easily with the plight of 'lesser' creatures, those humans would deem simple beasts to be used or exploited, and could understand how such captivity could foster such a distrust.
"Being in a cage and having some guy try to sell me off for profit would make me pissy at the world, too," Akori replied, happy to give the wyvern his space. If he wanted to be grumpy and hissy, then by all means he had earned that right, as far as she was concerned!

Pleased, Akori grinned, before tapping the side of her nose with a finger.
"Ah, I'm always guilty of something, as my ma would say," the kitsune replied, completely unperturbed by Kythe's admission that she had taken bounties before. Akori didn't have a price on her head - that she knew of - and she'd only been here a scant few months, so surely not enough time to irk someone enough that they would send assassins or the like.
"Dreaming, scheming, loving and leaving, maybe even a petty theft here and there," she continued, her trained voice rising and falling with the words, giving each layers of meaning. Not for any other reason than Kythe was someone new, and banter was always fun.
"Mostly, though, I am guilty of seeking stories. Maybe I stick my nose where it's not wanted, but one must be diligent and brave for their art."
The people she had spied upon as a fox would no doubt have other words for it, but that wasn't the point.

"Done," Akori said without a second's thought, taking the offered hand and shaking it. She wasn't in this for the money, but maybe the fame and adventure would suffice. Also, the bard had a feeling that, if she travelled with this Kythe, she would gather some interesting material for some songs. The woman had an odd air about her, an odd way of speaking that piqued Akori's interest. She felt like someone that things happened to, and by sticking near her, Akori could experience them second-hand, and immortalise them with lyric and tune. That was worth more than any musty gold or gems found in a dank tunnel.

Moving to one side, Akori began moving down the mine-shaft once more, lantern held on the side away from Kythe.
"Do you mind the light? I notice you don't have one - if it's a bother, I could easily shift and walk without one," Akori smiled, motioning to her shadow with her free hand. Cast by the lantern's light trotted the shadow, not of a woman, but of a fox.
"I can see better in my other shape, but I also had fingers in this one," she continued, as if the evidence of her shadow were all the illumination - no pun intended - Kythe would have needed.

”Me as well; I don’t blame him for being angry in the slightest, though a little more gratitude towards his saviour wouldn’t go amiss.” She chuckled, stroking the Wyvern’s head gently.

Kythe snorted with amusement at the Kitsune; she was a bright soul with a zest for life that Kythe had to admire; in her own youth she had been a little like that… but she was older (and wiser she supposed) and mostly just sodding tired. ”Well there is certainly no denying you’re a Bard with the way you weave words Akori.” She chuckled. ”Stories huh? Well let’s make a new story together shall we? And if you’re very lucky I may weave a tale or two for you as we go. The Gods know I’ve lived long enough and done enough in my time to feed the curiosity of one such as yourself.” |She sighed, rolling her eyes at the thought of it.

”Oh no you’re fine.” Kythe said with a wave of her hand to dismiss the question. ”My eyes have adjusted to it while we made our introductions, my sense of smell will alert me long before my eyes will to any impending danger I should think.” She smiled, winking at her new friend. ”You never know, we may have use for all our fingers down here. Lead on and I’ll bring up the rear my fine foxy friend!” Kythe added cheerfully, grinning at the Bard.
There was something about Akori that lightened her heavy heart and she was glad of the Kitsune’s company. ”Are you from Revaliir then Akori?” Kythe asked, genuinely interested.

At the compliment, Akori sketched a quick bow, such as she would at the end of one of her performances. In her pocket, the wyvern stirred and uttered an inquisitive cheep, poking his snout out to catch what smells he could.
"I do try, and from what I'm told I'm rather good at it," the kitsune said with no ounce of humility whatsoever. Bard-craft wasn't in her blood, none of her ancestors had been bards or musically inclined as far as she knew, so every bardly skill she possessed, Akori had spent years honing. She felt that afforded her some reason to be proud. At the mention of stories, her blue eyes gleamed in the lantern-light, and the bard in her sat up straight and rubbed its hands in anticipation.
"I'd be careful offering that - my curiosity is rather insatiable," Akori grinned, wondering if Kythe knew what she had just signed herself up for.

"Never underestimate a good nose. I reckon we'll smell any undead long before we see or hear them," Akori said, before tossing her glossy red hair over a shoulder and peering down the tunnel, "Unless they're skeletons. They don't tend to smell very much, but we'll make do."
Hefting the lantern, Akori started to walk, confident that Kythe was more than enough to watch her back, despite having just met the woman. The kitsune wasn't much for doubting people, or second-guessing them, preferring to take everyone at their word. It was much easier that way, and if stuff did go south, well, she could always wriggle her way out of any sticky situation.

Shaking her head, Akori glanced about at the rock walls as they walked by.
"No, I'm from a place called Ioka. It's a lot different to Revaliir, actually. Less magically inclined folk - don't see winged people like you there, that's for sure - and it's much less varied in scenery," cocking her head, Akori thought for a second. She hadn't been home in centuries, and had wandered rather far, though the memories had started to blur somewhat. Revaliir was the first place to have caught her attention for more than a moment in a long time.
"I think that's why I decided to wander - home was nice, but nice can be stifling. How about you? Are you from here?"

Kythe liked the Kitsune; she was lively and spirited and reminded the Minadrian woman so much of old friends now long gone. So many lives lived; so many lives shared and lost; Kythe had met a great many people in her time but never had she forgotten any of those she met - how could she? They had all made an impact on her life, had all meant something to her - they might be gone but they would never be forgotten to her no matter how many lifetimes she saw through. 
At Akori's enthusiastic reply Kythe laughed and offered the younger woman a smile. "A good thing I have an abundance of patience then not to mention an abundance of stories… I do not mind retelling them - it means that the friends and loved ones who I would speak of are remembered fondly by others as well rather than just myself. That is an immortality I prefer over the long years of living." She sighed softly, smiling as she absentmindedly stroked Tymor's head with a hand. 
Yes. To be forever remembered by those who heard your tale rather than to remain forever was far more preferable some days. Especially when all that you held dear was constantly ripped away from you. 

The woman nodded. "My son was born blind; it took me some time to convince him that it was almost impossible to trick someone's sense of smell whereas lies come from what one's eyes see. I'm not sure if he ever took that lesson on or not mind you." She said sadly, wings furled against her back as she followed around the corner into the next tunnel. "Oh you'd hear them coming; the clack of moving bones is hard to mask." Kythe snorted. 

She shook her head. "No like you I'm more of a wanderer; I have been to a great many realms in my time though I'm sad to say that I have never come across your home in my many travels. My home is called Myna, or it was before my Gods banished me from it for fear that I would kill them as I did their sibling." She snarled. "Gods are fickle bastards; I've never trusted them and I doubt I ever truly will even here though the Deities of this realm seem more mortal than any others I have come across before." She shook her head and turned her attention back to her companion. "Not a lot surprises me these days; not in terms of the sights and sounds of a world; as I say I've travelled far and seen so much that it's hard to really be shocked." 

A rare, almost reflective smile flitted across Akori's face at Kythe's words, and she bobbed her head, showing she had absorbed their meaning. It was part of the reason she enjoyed her chosen line of work so much, being able to keep old myths and legends alive, and to see that they were spread to places they would otherwise never reach. Within each wondrous tale nestled a fragment of truth, like a small, gleaming seed that sprouted the biggest, widest oak. The tale grew, nurtured by bards and minstrels, and sure, it became embellished as it grew, but within it was that same core of fact that had inspired the whole tale to be told in the first place. Anyone who wanted to could look further, past all the gilding and flourish, and see what really happened.
"I'll do them justice," she said, simply and earnestly. It was the least she could do.

Feigning innocence as if illusions and trickery were not her favourite pastimes, Akori idly twisted a lock of hair about her free hand, though she refrained from whistling. She ruined the effect, however, when she spoke next.
"Hm, smell is a much harder sense to fool. Memories can be tied to scents, and you really need to know someone to figure out what smell connects to what memory, emotion, or such in their mind. You can easily fool the eyes, but smell has so much more nuance to it, it's hardly ever worth the effort," she said, speaking like a true trickster fox-spirit.
"Makes sense. I guess without sinew, muscle, and all that stuff there's not a lot to stop them from clattering," Akori continued, almost eager to hear the sound of bones walking toward them now, just to say she had.

Wrinkling her nose, Akori stuck her tongue out at the mention of gods. Some of her kind had been seen as divine servants on her homeworld, others were seen as pests and dark spirits. Yet others were simply mischief makers, like herself, and held no real fondness for gods - holy men held the power to dispel any of their enchantments, and could tear their hard-worked upon illusions apart with a few self-righteous mumblings.
"Ech, gods. They never know how to have fun, and their servants are even worse! Can't think for themselves, have to ask their deity for permission to do anything," Akori said, almost spitting the words. Unconsciously, she rubbed at a small scar on her collarbone, the sole mark she couldn't shift away and all she had to remember a particularly smug monk by. Looking to Kythe, Akori cocked her head, and if her vulpine ears had been evident, they would have been perked forward in interest.
"You killed one, though? Remind me not to get on your bad side," she laughed, deciding she needed to hear that story.
"So, what are the gods like here? I figured there would be some, though I've not bothered to learn about them - figured one lost is much the same as the other. I'm curious though," she tapped her chin with a finger, even as she moved forwards. "Don't often hear about gods kicking dirt down here with the riffraff. That's intriguing."

“I honestly believe that you just might.” Kythe smiled; the Kitsune certainly seemed genuine in terms of her art and her respect for the stories that she told, it needed to be someone like Akori, someone who believe in the stories that she told and understood the heartache of the tales that they were telling - that each and every individual within those tales had meant something to someone, that no matter how small their part in one story in another they were the most important detail within it.

It seemed as though Akori knew all too well what Kythe meant and the older woman smiled - she wasn’t surprised, not really, Kitsune were well known for being tricksters, in fact Kythe had fallen afoul of their mischief on more than one occasion during the war - Zerd had been quite fond of using their tricks against her, determined to mislead her while he attacked from another angle…

Chuckling Kythe looked at the floor and shook her head. “Couldn’t agree more, capricious little pricks Gods, or most of them tend to be - I’ve met a few exceptions but they tend to be few and far between.” She sighed; as Akori said - their servants tended to be even worse… if only because they were so damned determined.
Throwing back her head and laughing Kythe gave the girl a wink. “Put it this way it isn’t easy and it comes at a cost but it is doable. Not something I intend on trying again in a hurry put it that way.”
“So far I’ve only met the one but he seems as normal as you or I. A kindred spirit in some respects; my son is his Champion which stood him in good stead with me for a start, my son is no fool and he’s highly unlikely to tie himself to anyone who was not worthy of his loyalty and he seemed as though he genuinely wanted to help me when we spoke so I cannot fault the man.” She shrugged. “I’ve heard rumours of another but have not yet ventured to meet her; I will eventually but again she comes with high recommendations from my son so she gets a pass just by association. That and her daughter is dating my son; as long as he’s happy I tend to be.”