Last of the Ancients(?) [QUEST]

[Nanashi]

How very exciting...

Truth be told, Nanashi was becoming rather tired of the first floor of the Labyrinth after having visited it so many times, but there didn't seem to be much of a reason to travel deeper into the ancient maze either. On the other hand, the lack of anything interesting could easily be contributed to the fact that this level of the Labyrinth, the first Stratum, had been combed over by so many would-be Heroes in the past that this section of the maze had practically been strip mined of anything that might hold some value. Except for her, he thought, quickly correcting himself.

The Ninja didn't know how it had occurred exactly, but a small section of the maze had been destroyed very recently. Nothing particularly major about the damage, just two trees that formed part of the first floor's wall had been pushed apart- from the looks of it, by some kind of explosion. But more interesting than that had been what he'd found in the rift between the broken trees...a small smirk formed against his features. He hadn't been able to do much with what he'd found, which is why he'd put out the call for someone who could translate the ancient text and activate the machine hidden there-

Ah, but that was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to wait for the sacrifices to arrive. To that end, Nanashi simply stood beside the entrance to the Labyrinth, waiting patiently for the three travelers that were going to be assisting him in this excavation.

[Anton]

Escorting a translator plus the quest giver.... Should be easy enough. Anton knew something was bound to wrong, but that's why he had his Dadao. Don't get so cocky, Anton. We both know that can get people killed. Stay focused if you want to survive. The whispers were back. They never left, but up until now it had been relatively quiet for a week. Anton willed the voice into the back of his mind as he moved through the labyrinth's first floor. His body had no such conflict as his mind. On the outside he moved with purpose, strong and unmoving when on the battlefield. Thankfully most people couldn't see the conflict inside. It was perhaps an hour of walking before he located the agreed upon location. The quest leader was already there, waiting. Anton knew that though this was a simple escort mission, he should proceed with vigilance and strength. Anton calmly approached the man and bowed slightly. “Hello, my name is Anton. It is an honor to meet you.” He said with sincerity before straightening up and looking the man straight in his eyes.

[Elias]

The idea of ancient texts and hidden societies appealed very much to Elias' sensabilities. Not that he'd ever admit it. Still the announcement had called for body guards, and while he was no expert on translation he wasn't a complete idiot. He could probably help with something; even if it was just holding off creatures.

When he arrived at the enterence to the labyrnth, the quest giver and another party member had already arrived. His fellow party member was currently locked in a bow. 

Elias gave the two men a quick survey. The man who was bowing seemed to be a fighter, judging by his height and size. Not the coveted monster freak size; maybe only as big as Elias but his height made up for it. The quest giver was less... physically  impressive, but he seemed to have a cunning air about him. The type of guy who'd find ancient texts in a picked through labrynth. Elias wasn't sure if he trusted that air, or wa reassurred by it.

He raised his hand in a mock salute. "Good day. Elias Dunmarre reporting for duty. Not late am I?"

[LULU]

[atrb=valign, top][STYLE= font-family: franklin gothic medium; font-size: 11px; line-height: 85%; text-align: center; color: #666;]❝ REMIND ME AGAIN AS I CONVENIENTLY FORGET ❞[/style][STYLE= width: 250px; border-right: #373737 dashed 01px; border-left: #373737 dashed 01px; border-top: #373737 solid 10px; border-bottom: #373737 solid 10px; padding: 10px; background: #fafafa; font-size: 10px; text-align: justify; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: tahoma;]Late. Latelatelatelatelate. What time was it though exactly? His eyes wandered upward only to close as he tilted his head back, enjoying his brisk walk as he hastened his steps. It wasn't as if the party would leave without him. He doubted they could, actually. But a bunch of angry men with pointy sticks wasn't exactly what he wanted to see when he got there. No, happy smiling faces were much preferred. With any luck this little "adventure" would prove to be at least a little bit exciting. Ancient texts weren't necessarily his cup of tea, but ancient treasures certainly were. Somehow he'd managed to convince himself that was just what they'd find, too. With the labyrinth already picked clean and scavenged by the other adventurers, being the first to explore a new area could mean new stuff. And... potentially new monsters. But then, that was what the mercenaries were for, wasn't it? His eyes opened slowly as the trees cast their shadows over his face, signalling he was nearing the labyrinth. Sure enough, as he looked level with the horizon he saw the group waiting. He frowned slightly at the thought of having made them wait, slowing his steps to walk at a more leisurely pace. Adjusting his book under his arm he shook his head and gazed off, pushing his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. "Sorry to hold you all up...!" he called out calmly, though he seemed a little unsettled. As he strode up to the three he lifted his head and furrowed his brows, inspecting each of them. "This the group in search of the texts, isn't it?" He paused, gathering his thoughts before shaking his head softly. With a slight smile he looked up, standing straight and combing his fingers back through his hair, relaxed. "Getting here was really a hassle..." There. With everyone here they could go on inside and get started. This was everyone, wasn't it? Smiling warmly at the group he waited for one of them to take the lead.[/style][STYLE= font-family: franklin gothic medium; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; color: #373737;]MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖[/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:300px, btable][STYLE= color: #d5d5d5; font-family: franklin gothic medium, arial narrow; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; background: #373737; padding: 05px; margin-top: 09px;]❝ QUEST ❞[/style][STYLE= color: #d5d5d5; font-family: franklin gothic medium, arial narrow; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; margin-top: 05px; text-transform: uppercase; background: #373737; padding: 05px;]❝ 342 words ❞[/style][STYLE= margin-top: 05px; height: 100px; width: 100px; border-bottom-right-radius: 30px; border: #373737 solid 10px; background: url(http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh443/dbkarma/Shima%20Kinzou/002.png);][/style][STYLE= color: #373737; font-size: 80px; margin-top: -43px; margin-left: -09px;]◤[/style]

[Nanashi]

The Ninja glanced over the newcomers as they approached, giving each the label that he found most fitting. The Gladiator and Protector were the first to arrive, although the translator was nowhere in sight. It didn't bother him too much...the translator was more or less a pretext to get these two into the chamber to be used as sacrificial lambs. Still, there was no reason not to have fun with it. Once the pair had introduced themselves, Nanashi pointed at the Gladiator and proclaimed, "Fool!" That was sure to upset him, but he was referring to the Major Arcana- which meant that it could have been taken as a compliment had the raven-haired man bothered explaining himself. He moved his finger towards the Protector and declared, "Strength!"

It was then that the translator finally arrived. He let the man speak for a short while before cutting him off with, "Hermit!". With everyone accounted for, Nanashi turned on his heel and headed towards the entrance to the Labyrinth. He'd only taken a few steps before turning slightly, pointing his pointer and middle fingers at the Protector and Zodiac with a bright smile, "You're both late, by the way. Minus five points. Each." He pointed to the Gladiator with the other hand and gave a small shrug, "You can have them, I suppose. Plus nine points." With that, he turned back towards the Labyrinth and walked inside, not waiting to see if the group would follow him or not.

[Anton]

This man is up to something. Anton thought, watching the dark-haired man walk away. Still, he had a job to do, and should complete it. Watch him. He may endanger us. Whispers. Again with the whispers. Though they were not wrong, those whispers spoke common sense during the calm before the storm. Anton looked at the other two members of the group with a look of confusion, almost to say is this normal? Regardless, he needed to keep moving, so Anton followed the man with wary movements. This quest seemed odd to him, but he was not very interested in archeological findings in the first place. The concept of unearthing old artifacts from a civilization that perished before our arrival was interesting, but shouldn't take precedence over the continued advance of our own civilization. He would continue to dwell on this at a later time, for he needed to focus on the task at hand.

[Elias]

Elias perked up at the mention of his new 'nickname'. Not that he caught the reference. It seemed a little harsh to call the Gladiator a fool, but (if he allowed himself to be a little cocky) the other two seemed to be right on the nose. He'd have to come up with a new name for their quest giver as well.

He gave Anton a half hearted shrug as if to say 'eh. Who knows? It'll be a pleasure workin' with you though'.

He shot a calculated glance over at their translator, "Nice to meet you, too," he said and trotted over after their quest giver.

Something dawned on him then. "Hey, wait. Where'd the extra point go? You took five from me and him and gave nine to that guy!" he gestured to Anton. "And for that matter when'd we go on the point system?" 

Elias frowned. He never liked loosing. Unless of course, the points meant nothing and he was just being anal.

...Even then if he was being honest, he'd still want to win.

[LULU]

[atrb=valign, top][STYLE= font-family: franklin gothic medium; font-size: 11px; line-height: 85%; text-align: center; color: #666;]❝ REMIND ME AGAIN AS I CONVENIENTLY FORGET ❞[/style][STYLE= width: 250px; border-right: #373737 dashed 01px; border-left: #373737 dashed 01px; border-top: #373737 solid 10px; border-bottom: #373737 solid 10px; padding: 10px; background: #fafafa; font-size: 10px; text-align: justify; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: tahoma;]Lulu's expression went blank as he stared at the ninja cutting his words short. He simply blinked at him before allowing a single brow to arch over his gaze, frowning lightly. Hermit? Well now, that wasn't very nice. Just because he wore glasses didn't mean he was a shut in. Of course, being the scholarly man he was, he'd have understood right away had he heard the terms used for his companions. Seeing as how that had slipped by him though, he took it as an insult. Straight to the heart. But not really. He glanced to the finger pointed at him before looking the man in the face again, puzzled. At his words however, his frown furthered. A points game? He could handle that. Starting with a disadvantage would be rough, though. "Yeah, pleasure," he murmured in response to Elias. With a soft, rather dramatic sigh, he followed after the man without argument. He could see from the corner of his eye that the redhead was rigid, and at the sight of it he only smirked. With a carefree smile he hummed softly to himself, turning his eyes to watch the path rather than his comrade. "You look kind of tense. You sure that'll help if we get into a fight?" Didn't make any sense to him to be so cautious. Seemed to take the kid a while to realize five and five didn't add up to nine. He didn't let his complaints distract him any though, simply shrugging his shoulders at his words. He'd leave it to Nanashi to answer him.[/style][STYLE= font-family: franklin gothic medium; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; color: #373737;]MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖[/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:300px, btable][STYLE= color: #d5d5d5; font-family: franklin gothic medium, arial narrow; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; background: #373737; padding: 05px; margin-top: 09px;]❝ QUEST ❞[/style][STYLE= color: #d5d5d5; font-family: franklin gothic medium, arial narrow; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; margin-top: 05px; text-transform: uppercase; background: #373737; padding: 05px;]❝ 263 words ❞[/style][STYLE= margin-top: 05px; height: 100px; width: 100px; border-bottom-right-radius: 30px; border: #373737 solid 10px; background: url(http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh443/dbkarma/Shima%20Kinzou/002.png);][/style][STYLE= color: #373737; font-size: 80px; margin-top: -43px; margin-left: -09px;]◤[/style]

[Nanashi]

The Ninja largely ignored Elias' inquiry and continued deeper into the labyrinth. The points did have some meaning- whoever had the highest total got to live. Probably. It was really more of a progression thing, where the lowest scorer would be tossed to the metaphorical wolves first. A small smile crossed his features as the group came to the first split in the path. There was a low rumble coming from the path to the left while the right path was strangely silent. Nanashi quickly pivoted on his heel and started walking down the left path without a moment's hesitation.

The raven-haired man's memory was one of his strong suits, and he remembered the exact path they had to follow to get to the goal of this little outing...but there was no reason not to have a bit of fun with it. He snickered softly, just loud enough for anyone following him to hear. The Ninja had briefly entertained the idea of not speaking at all during the trip, but eventually decided against it, "It shouldn't take too long to get there, provided nothing...unexpected happens." It was obvious from his inflection that the Ninja was in fact expecting complications beyond the usual hordes of monsters that patrolled this floor...