His jaw locked at her words.  She was right, whether he liked to think about it or not, but none of these men were on his list…It felt wrong killing them, even though it seemed a more proper justice than simply bringing them in.  True that they had slaughtered the ones here before them, but since his company was doing the exact same thing, did that make them just as bad…?  It was complicated and his moral lines were being blurred, either way he always saw death as an absolute last resort.  Well, save for those that he hunted, but that was a completely different story all together.
 
Her work was fast and effective and only now did he notice the peel back of her skin, the cracks he hadn’t noticed before.  It was enough to make his head light and his blood run cold: she was one of the undead, not a vampire no, but in the same dark vein.  Even her work on the man proved it so.  His eyes lifted up from her and towards the sound of feet and shuffling weapons.  They were coming, just as the fallen man had said.  Jaw locking, he straightened back up, watching the spill of blood and listening to the ping of arrows. 
 
Blasted!  If only he knew what the floors below looked like he could have all of them down them in a blink, but as it were that wasn’t a possibility.  He’d be sure to learn every inch of this place inside and out once this was all said and done.  Moving with strong strides he went over to their fallen member, nodding absently as the other went off to continue in the fight.  Out cold.  This would certainly take a toll, but he couldn’t leave him here. 
 
His hands closed, fingers rubbing against his palms as they grew warmer; the glow of his eyes grew brighter as he rose his hands and rested one on his forehead, the other at the center of his chest.  He was so much bigger than himself, and with an anatomy unlike one he was accustomed to dealing with, but either way these two points would do well enough.  His eyes closed, cutting off the light of them as he gathered energy from his gut’s chakra, building it stronger, higher, until it felt as if his very skin was burning.  And then, all of it got rushed up and down his arms to his palms, transferring from himself into the illithid to rejuvenate every cell.  Even minor cuts and scrapes he might have acquired over the past week healed themselves. 
 
It was too large of a surge and his fingers curled against his clothing and forehead, being sure to never let his hands raise up until the transfer was complete.  When his eyes opened their glow was gone: his own energy too spent in one go, but at least the man was healed…now they just had to wake him up.  There was just enough left that he was able to cast another wave of protection over them, but not before the reptilian man was hit with an arrow.  Unfortunately that wound would have to wait a short while because he had to ready himself for a very different type of magick.
 
His eyes moved to the side, watching the woman, knowing what he’d have to do to keep her safe and undo the accidental damage he’d done to her in trying to keep her safe.  Dark magick, unholy psionics…Something he had been forced to learn for his profession but never thought he’d have to use in favor of someone.  His fingers curled in as he stood, readying himself before gently sending a wave to her, and feeling more than morally ambiguous for doing so.  Part of him expected her to cry out in pain even though his studies kept repeating over and over in his head that she would be helped and not harmed.  If she was what he thought she was though, then he wasn’t sure how long their alliance would be able to last.  Part of him wondered if this was some sort of test.
 

Without looking back at the reptilian he spoke, “He shouldn’t need carried…He’s healed, if you can wake him then he’ll be better off than we are right now.  If he can’t be woken, then carry him…”  

(( Sorry about the length, there was a lot to cover @_@ )) 

The fading echoes of a smile remained on Chae’s face as she considered the unconscious illithid, recollecting with genuine intrigue both the familiar way he reanimated those bodies and the not so familiar way he devoured that half-orc’s mind. A part of her wanted to leave the healer to him and join Cha'Kwe'Tza in the fray, but then she was distracted by a strange feeling of fullness—turning to the source of the unholy magic, the lich was shocked to see their healer mending what little damage he had done with the protection spell. Not only did Chae's skin seam, but her cheeks rounded and the cloudy pale of her eyes regained a hazel hue. “Thank you,” she said sincerely, if not curiously. The fighter returned to them soon enough, injured but standing.

At Naota’s words, Chae shrugged. She reached an arm out toward Xallithelid and, though she did not touch him, closed his throat with the force of her magic. His body would panic at the lack of oxygen soon enough, knocking him awake. At that point she would release the spell with a smirk. “See? The squid is fine.”

Only then did she turn toward the approaching horde. The men that the illithid had raised were still standing, readied against the living. Chae called on the others as well, commanding the dead to fight for them; even the one with the broken back sat against a wall and prepared his bow. Then she pointed her splayed fingers at the ground, where a plain of eerie green fire sprouted from the ground. It would not hurt the undead, but it would certainly burn the feet of the other guards.

“That should be enough to slow them, if indeed we want to run. I agree with the reptile; we should save our strength for the monsters below.”

Thsarias was dancing with his half-elf wife, light grey skinned children, his children, ran about around the grove. He was a drow, yes, but the wood elves of Meldaron, a small forest in the otherwise rocky terrain of the Zujiuchu mountains, had taken him in as one of their own. Melersia, his wife, was a druid, and had tamed many animals, one of which had been gifted to him as a companion for the road. Fumble the rat was hopping about right now, running around the dancing couple, laughter and happiness filling the forest, nothing but peace…

And then Xallithelid choked back to life, the memories fast fading from him. His happiness was long past, ever since his wife… He couldn't even remember what happened. all he knew was he was needed, by heard the halfling say something about squids, which snapped him away from the past. He stood up, mumbling "Thanks, shorty." and feeling the mended flesh of his shoulder, still aching but able to move. He set his eyes towards the clanking armor of his enemies and hissed, a gurgle that promised death to the as-of-yet unseen but not unknown of enemies. He decided it was a better idea to follow his companions then to keep up a bloodbath, though. but all he wanted were to see those memories once again…

It had been a while since the Illithid had come to from his collapse. Since then, Cha'Kwe'Tza had found himself at the head of the group, although not necessarily its leader. Most of the hallways that the group used were fairly obvious, as the other directions were dead ends, cave ins, or lead to stairs leading up, higher into the mountain that they were currently walking through. The journey had also been quiet since they had last set out. The combination of his two assaults, the Illithid's own large push, and the green fire left by Chae must really be doing a number on the pirates and their mercenary counterparts as they passed only one group, which had retreated before any contact could be made.

Peering around the current corner that he stood at, Cha'Kwe'Tza's yellow eyes glinted faintly in the dim torchlight from down the hallway. Waving to those in the group behind him, the Reptilian proceeded slowly at a slight crouch, trying to make his steps as deliberate as possible to avoid the clicking his claws made against the stone. As they neared the torch, Cha'Kwe'Tza was the first to notice that the worked stone making up the hallway, was slowly deteriorating into the rough dirt and gouged stone of a natural cave. Turning to the other three, Cha'Kwe'Tza spoke, "I go look. Be right back." Turning back to face the direction of travel, the warrior kept his body low and his steps slow.

About one hundred yards through the cave, Cha'Kwe'Tza stopped. The cave he was in opened up into a massive subterranean cavern. Dropping to his belly, Cha'Kwe'Tza moved up to the edge of the stone outcropping. To his right was a long dirt ramp that had been packed down by years of boots stomping up and down it. The ramp made a sweeping left turn around the edge of the opening and landed ahead of him, on what he would call a lower balcony. What was beyond this balcony, Cha'Kwe'Tza did not know as his eyes couldn't pierce the darkness in that direction. However, there was more than enough to observe below him. A large group of mercenaries was gathered. Some were tending to equipment, a few lay huddled to the side sleeping, and the rest lounged lazily around a large bonfire in the middle of the circular camp. A quick count brought the number of men below to twenty eight.

Slinking back from the ledge, Cha'Kwe'Tza got back to his feet. Taking a few steps backwards, the Reptilian spun to return to the group. Just in front of him, entering the cave that would lead him back, a mercenary guard walked. Tail twitching in frustration, Cha'Kwe'Tza shadowed the man for a few yards before leaping forward, driving a large scaly fist into the side of the man's head. Easily hoisting the man onto his shoulder despite his added armour, Cha'Kwe'Tza carried him back to the awaiting group. Once he had returned, the Reptilian dropped the man onto the floor in case any of the others wanted to question him. He then recalled to the group everything that he had seen at the other end.

It had grown quiet for too long, and the forced ways they were being taken through –be it through passage blocks or not- made him antsy.  If he hadn’t known any better he would have thought that these corridors weren’t unreachable by accident, but to lead people to a very specific area.  The longer they walked the tighter his chest became and his eyes bled into crimson, illuminating red shadows against his cheeks as he silently moved on.  The pressure in his chest built up until the energy moved out in an invisible arch around himself and the others.  His body was trying to naturally protect them, and that level of threat and paranoia wasn’t something he was accustomed to.
 
His jaw locked, there was one option but he didn’t like to think about it.  In his mind he spoke to the daemon twin that dwelled within him, No riddles, no quips, do you sense anything…?.  There was an overdramatic sigh in his head as he spoke back to him, “No.  To be honest this amount of unnecessary bloodshed is becoming too commonplace even for me right now.  There’s no creativity in the splatter, no melody to the screams.  Just hack and death.”   His eyes halved, That’s not what I was speaking about.  “I know what you were speaking about, and no there’s no hidden danger that I can see yet.”   A chuckle resounded in his mind, “You must really be uncomfortable if you’re asking me for help.  I’m surprised you’ve even stayed with these people for so long.”   He didn’t respond to him and stopped with the other three as one of them went forward for reconnaissance.  A thought ran through his head, one enough to make his stomach turn…what if the threat and danger he felt was from his party…?  He didn’t like to think about it.
 
Even from here with his heightened hearing he could make out the sounds of people, but there was no alarm to their movements which meant, so far at least, that they were unknowing of the slaughter that had befallen their comrades due to his party’s hands.  His shoulders went down and his head nearly thudded back against the cavern wall when he came back with an unconscious body.  Nearly thirty men were down there according to what they had been told, and he had to speak.  It most likely would fall on deaf ears, but he at least had to try, “An unnecessary amount of violence is not always the answer to solving a problem.”  
 
His eyes opened, moving them from one to the other before continuing, “And it does not matter that they are ‘bad men’.  They got this stronghold the same way you’re trying to.  That makes you on their level, in fact it makes it worse because you see your actions as justified only because they hold blackness in themselves.”   His fingers moved up through his hair, lightly scratching against his scalp as his jaw locked, “There are other ways than brute force.  If you don’t strategize a more permanent solution then you’ll be undone in the same way they’ve been today.  It will be an endless cycle.  So if there are any ideas other than blind murder then now would be the time to voice them.”
 

It was the most he’d said to any of them, but this amount of senseless violence was something that he could no longer step back and watch, even if he wasn’t inflicting any of it on anyone.  Whether he liked their actions or not, they were still part of his fellowship and that left him with just as much responsibility for what they were doing as if it was his blade slicing through flesh.  His eyes moved to the woman, hoping to get more response from her than anyone since she had spoken with him logically already.

Chae squinted through the darkness, allowing the silence to settle between their ersatz scout and hesitant healer. The lich cared little for the implications of their slaughter; despite the mask she had woven to encourage the half-demon, she saw as much difference between good and evil as she did in the living and the dead. Where some might seek conquest or adventure or goodness in all this, she saw only the promise of arcane treasure. 

"If we kill them all, it would be easier to raise an army against whatever menace dwells below," she suggested plainly. Whether these mercenaries acted of their own accord or were manipulated by something worse, they were still only an obstacle to be surmounted. "Or they could be convinced to act against whatever leader has recruited them here. We have no money, nor any better reason to earn their loyalty, but… Squid,"

She turned to the illithid, then briefly back to the others, as if searching their faces for the rest of a plan. "Your powers are psionic, are they not? Can you charm these soldiers and convince them to fight alongside us?"

In the meantime, she crouched beside the unconscious man. She cast a familiar spell at his throat, watching perfunctorily as he opened his eyes with an abrupt gasp. "What is beyond this room?" She demanded quietly, but he was not one of her risen thralls. He shook his head wildly, grasping at his throat. She rolled her eyes. "Say it quickly, and perhaps I will spare your life and the lives of your comrades."

The man glanced over the four pairs of menacing eyes that surrounded him, then toward the balcony's edge. His breath, though still quick with fear, became measured as he assessed his situation. Chae would not recognize the look in his eyes as he turned toward his comrades and considered their fate. Perhaps he was a hired hand, but so had he developed something of a companionship with the others who had been hired alongside him. Was it enough to give up his master? He opened his mouth to answer her.

"Nothing matters to these men besides money, food and women. Although the former can get both of the latter." Xallithelid said to his companions, "But you dont need to pay something thats dead. Shall i commence the killing?" He looked over to the wall, where there was a mouse hole. He decided to send his rats in to investigate. They came back chattering about more men, men made of clay, standing stalwart in a barracks. Thousands, they said. "Since when can rats count?" he said to no rat in particular. "Since when can squids walk?" came Bumble's retort. "Since when do drow mate with elves of the surface?" Rumble, the oldest rat, said. More retorts came from the rodents, but Xallithelid simply said "Since when do rats eat for free and have easy lives?" Although the news of many clay golems was troubling, the look on the rats' faces, though, were too much for Xallithelid to not chuckle at.

To Naota, Cha'Kwe'Tza said, "Yes. Violence not always answer." Gesturing to the man on the ground in the middle of the group, Cha'Kwe'Tza continued, "Many like him, know violence only…Also, blind murder? Who kills with eyes closed?" The group was getting stranger and stranger. The young one had said more in the last few minutes than Cha'Kwe'Tza ever recalled, the short one seemed to be fitting in a little more, or at least showing more ability. The Illithid, Cha'Kwe'Tza wasn't too sure about that one yet, but he did feel a sort of natural kinship with him on the basis that both were certainly non-human. Looking down at the man that Chae stood over, Cha'Kwe'Tza said firmly, "Speak up. We wish to know what more lies ahead." The reptilian thought about threatening the man with being eaten alive, but changed his mind. The strange four figures around him ought to be threat enough.

He looked down at the man, eyes narrowing in thought as he waited for him to respond and only did they flicker up when the Reptilian spoke. His lips parted from his words and though it made him feel mad for doing so, he was smiling. That innocent answer was enough to lighten him, if only for a moment. The Illithid was speaking to rodents and while it was intriguing he kept his eyes down on the man. He doubted he'd talk, but he was there, his mind was aware, and he'd take advantage of that at least.


It was trickier since he was straddling the line of death, but he was able to pierce into his mind, seeing what he saw, knowing what he knew, and if he wasn't making it up to fool them then what he learned wasn't exactly pleasant. His eyes closed as he sighed, arms lightly crossing across his chest, "Men of clay, golems most likely. There wasn't a definite number but there were enough of them that it's enough to cause alarm." When his eyes opened they had dimmed in their glow.


"Explosives would be helpful, or similar magick. But their number was great, we need to come up with a tactic to use together. Hacking and slashing won't matter." He looked down and over to the halfling woman, "How far does your ability in controlling others go?" With any luck she might be able to slow them down.
 

He was all ears for anything anyone else might have to say for input. Either way, something like this was going to require team work. At the very worst they would simply need to come back to it another day, stronger, possibly with more people at their aid.

"Stone men," he muttered quickly, gasping as Chae intensified her spell. She already knew that. "Crafted by a wizard. Guarding a terrible artifact. I don't know what, I swear."

It was enough. She released him long enough to realize he was attempting to stand, and immediately pressed him with the same arcane force down to the ground. She considered killing him, for he had seen too much and she had left the rest of her minions in the corridors behind them, but ultimately she raised her eyebrows at Chalky in a vague suggestion to knock the merc out.

"I am no psion," Chae answered Naota, and without hesitation added, "I can only control them if they are dead. I could move us through the shadows to the other side of that doorway. We may be able to avoid the guards entirely, and set to destroying the golems without their interference. If you believe that flames will harm them, I can light many in hellfire. Killing the wizard might stop them all at once. Or it might not."

With a shrug, she began to prepare the unholy magic to meld them all with the darkness. With their consent, the spell would be completed–but not before she mentioned, "If we killed them all, we would have a small army on our side."