As Rhune comes from her frozen state her arm drops and she looks around. Going quickly over to Asif, "Are you alright? You had me worried there for a moment," she says checking him out to make sure he has no wounds then quickly brushing his forehead with her lips in a gentle kiss.
Asif his normal cultural reservations to resist showing affection in public worn away by the terror of the events, responds to Rhune's kiss passionately. Gently he pulls her into his arms and kisses her on the lips. He then whispers to her.
"Thesit - hati thank Aten that you are ok. That my hati can feel such fear and love in the same moment.... We must leave this place."
Occ - Thesit - hati = Lady of my heart./ hati = heart.
Returning his kiss just as passionately, forgetting for the moment that they are not alone. Then as he pulls away, "I am alright, Asif. Yes we should leave soon. But will have to wait for a moment as Ullar and some of the others are injured," she replies brushing the hair back from his forehead.
"This place is evil. It is not so much the physical wounds, but the danger to our mortal souls that sends shivers down my spine. A company of the Bishops elite infantry would I rather face alone than another of those walking dead. I still feels its cold touch upon my heart..." Asif says.
"I can understand, Asif, truly I can," Rhune replies.
Asif gives an involuntary shiver.
"How is the gladiator and the others. I fear I saw only you fall to the creature's touch, for only you were hit within my limited sphere of vision as I stood frozen."
"As for the others, Ullar was injured but I think Augustus is helping him there. Several others were also frozen but I think they are alright now," she replies.
"Yes the holy man is indeed a blessing amongst us. Such good in a man, despite the betrayal by his church. One wonders how the truth given to a man of holy orders can be twisted so, by other wearing the same robes. What do you know of this church of Jacabus Rhune? Has this Jacabus always been a belligerent faith of this land? My countrymen defeated an Frankish crusade which flew the banner of Jacabus twenty years ago. It amazes me that the church that invaded my home, and now attempts to enslave this land is the same that Augustus follows."
"I don't know that much about Jerboah. Sorry, Asif. That is why I was sent to Italy in the first place to see what I could find out," Rhune replies to him.
"Ahhh much apology Rhune, I forget sometimes that this too is not your home."
"Oh it is not so much that Italy is not my home, Asif. It is that I don't worship the human gods. My people have their own gods, though some were worshiping Jerboah....I, myself, worship Erevan," she replies to him.
Dakath grins from ear to ear as he waits a moment before clearing his throat politely. "When you, Aten and Rhune are quite finished, perhaps you can keep your mind here and now until we are out of danger."
Blushing profusely, Rhune looks up at him, "Yes I suppose we better hadn't we?" she asks to no one in particular.
Xania stifles a chuckle but cannot hide the smirk that crosses her face. "Ah, let her be, Dakath. After 100 years you'd probably need kissing too."
Dakath turns to her and smiles, "100 years? After a couple of weeks in your company I find that a very real need," he moves over to stand close by her.
Xania grins, "Keep your mind on the job, darlin'. There'll be time enough for that later."
Rhune studiously avoids looking at Dakath and Xania as she tries to regain her composure. She can feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment at their words.
Ullar just watches the two lovebirds, without showing any emotion. At least...he tries to hold his eerie feelings about the combination of a wizard who can't keep her mouth shut and a thief who likes to rush into battle.
Dakath laughs lightly, "So strange, patience has always been the one virtue I could follow."
"Hmmm. I'm not sure I subscribe to any of the virtues," Xania remarks, "but anticipation has always been one of my favorites. Is that a virtue?" She smiles, rather catlike.
"I don't think so, but perhaps they missed that one out? My knowledge of Virtues is almost as bad as yours, perhaps Asif would know?" he winks at her.
"Asif doesn't seem to like it when I ask him reasonable questions," Xania replies. "Perhaps he has anticipated too long?"
Rhune, her cheeks burning with the redness of embarrassment simply sighs and keeps her eyes on Asif, not wanting to look at either Dakath or Xania at the moment.
At this time, Ullar butts in. "Sorry Xania, but don't you think you can be tiny bit considerate towards our fellow group members? I really appreciate Asif in this group and with the two of you fighting over words, it doesn't improve our team spirit."
Dakath takes a step back away from both of them.
A red color appears on Ullar's face, uncertain which attitude to attend to after having said this.
Xania looks at Ullar coolly. "I have been threatened by the man for merely expressing my opinion. I have been called a tomb robber and who knows what else as I don't understand his language by him. Yet, like a man, you come to the woman, asking her to change her ways and be sweet. F*** you, Ullar. I'm not here to play nice or make a happy happy joy joy land for the rest of you. I'm here to do a job. And being 'polite' doesn't fall into it."
"I actually like the title of tomb robber it's got a certain ring to it..." Dakath stops mid sentence as he listens to more of what Xania says. He says quietly to himself "Happy happy joy joy land?"
Ullar responds angrily, "Who said anything that YOU had to change? I didn't. And don't start attacking me at the first sight of criticism. I merely concluded that it doesn't improve the team spirit if two people keep 'harassing' each other with words."
"Heck...I can understand why Asif got that angry at you," Ullar hisses.
"If you intended for anyone else to change, you would have spoken to them. As it is, you blame all discord on me--I would guess because you find it easier--after all, I carry no obvious weaponry and am still weakened from the shadow. I will not stop speaking what I think in an effort to make you or any other person happy. If you can't live with that, then that is your problem. I do not bid any other silent because I disagree with their words. Then again, perhaps it is that I do not fear discord as you do."
Dakath almost shouts, "Ok can we leave this discussion until we get to safer grounds? We've been lucky not to have encountered any more of those shadow creatures and if I die because of one of these inopportune discussions I'm going to come back and haunt you all."
"Yes, let's hurry while we're still unencumbered by battle!" agrees Forte, his adrenaline finally starting to ebb.
"Sorry, Dakath. I think I'm tired of being the fly in the ointment for simply being who I am. I wish sometimes that the 'we must all get along' speech would be given to others and not just to me," Xania rubs her head wearily. "I am so tired."
Ullar just looks at Xania and shrugs... "How on earth..." the rest is mumbled to himself.
After another shrug he adds one more thing, "I just wanted to point out that your 'teasing' seemed inappropriate at this time, seeing how the two of you nearly attacked each other a couple of hours (minutes?) ago."
"Well, then, I just want to point out that you're not my father," Xania replies. "And you don't get to pick what is appropriate or inappropriate for me or anyone else here."
"...which I certainly do NOT regret," Ullar interjects...
"Again.. I said SEEMED. Your lack of etiquette, even compared to a man with my history, is really strange. You just like to go against the flow, at least, that is my impression. You must really have had a terrible youth," Ullar says, shaking his head in disbelief of Xania's reaction.
Xania smiles sweetly, "I'm not about to tell you about my childhood. If you wish to place the blame there, feel free."
"Sure...denial is the best defense mechanism there is," Ullar stubbornly replies. "Ah...what the hell...stuff it," Ullar says, really annoyed and feeling mistreated here.
"You wish," Xania says, sweetly.
Just before he walks away Ullar glances towards her, with a rather pissed off look.
Xania merely smiles sweetly.
"I'm not supposed to hit her, otherwise she is going to use the 'all time female favored.' See...you can't handle things with words..." he says to himself, making a rather strange look while doing so.
Dakath decides to let them argue until Ullar mentions hitting Xania. Without looking up he says, "Hit her Ullar and I'll slit your throat from ear to ear when you sleep."
"Ha...ha," Ullar laughs out loud. "With your height, you can't even reach my throat."
Dakath looks over at him and grins.
"But I get the picture...don't worry...I won't hit her without," and then he stops...
"Nah...making threats to other group members makes me just as annoying as Xania."
"Oh, I've been hit by men before. I've survived," Xania says, her sweet tone never changing.
"I wonder how...must be real pussies who have hit you," Ullar says, still pissed off, and even more agitated with that annoying sweet tone of Xania.
"Indeed. Anyone who resorts to violence from mere words could justifiably be called so," Xania replies coolly.
"There...we...go," says Ullar, taking some pause between each of the words.
"Didn't I tell you? Women ALWAYS resort to this excuse."
Ullar just sighs...and says nothing more.
"I'd hate to disappoint you, you big strong man you," Xania says, eyelashes fluttering wickedly. "I'm nothing if not totally predictable."
"Quit doing that," says Ullar, still frustrated by the sweet tone Xania uses. "...I'm not Dakath..."
"Or do you have something in your eye?" he asks, quasi-nonchalant.
Xania can't help it, her temper, as quick to end as it is to begin departs and she starts laughing weakly.
Seeing that Xania can laugh about it makes Ullar hesitate. He is still angry, feels being mistreated, but a smile appears at his face as he recapitulates the whole scene.
"Yeah...I guess it was kinda funny...if you take another point of view..."
Once Rhune is certain that Asif is alright and looking up at the others, "Now what? Do we leave the mace and robes or do we take them?" she asks them.
"Let's take them," Xania affirms, "Forte, you want to try and help me open it? Or maybe I should touch it and see if anything else horrible happens. Then we only risk one of us."
"Well, let's get everyone fixed up first in case something else shows up....or someone doesn't want to be part of the desecration." Forte pauses a moment, then asks Xania, "Should we set the lid down delicately, or just drop it on the floor? Or maybe we could just hold it open while Rhune and Dakath grab the items. Then we could set it down again, right in place...and run like the wind back to our horses," he says with a grin. "Oh, and did you really want to touch it first, before we take the lid off? Or maybe we should just drop something on it to see what happens first?"
"I don't really want to touch it at all," Xania laughs. "I'd much rather have some magical way to lift it and take the stuff, but I don't. I suppose we can throw a rock at it first though."
She waits until Augustus and whoever else can heal helps out the wounded, then she throws a rock at the coffin.
The rock is rather small, and the crystal appears thick. The stone bounces off without scratching the surface.
When nothing happens, "OK, Forte, let's try to lift it--Rhune, Ullar, Dakath, you guys want to try and grab the mace and the clothing?"
Ullar, still weak, nods. "Yeah...*cough*...sure!"
Forte glances sideways at Ullar, "You don't look so good." Then the warrior turns his head to look Ullar in the eyes and say in a worried tone, "Maybe we should wait until you've had a little healing?..." He then glances over to Xania, for a little non-verbal confirmation that Ullar's health takes precedence over the grave-robbing.
Looking over at Ullar, "Yes let's wait a bit till you are feeling better," Rhune says worried about the big man.
Forte's words about healing remind Ullar about the potion he got! "WAIT!," he exclaims... "I got something from mother Kuzma. Do you mind if I quaff this potion? I don't feel so well.. ," he adds... in a sweet puppy tone...
When Augustus points out that his wounds are not severe and he is not really in need of more magical healing, Ullar puts the potion back in his pouch, realizing that to waste it on a minor wound would not be wise.
After everyone's wounds are tended to, Augustus walks over to the ghoul's lifeless (unlifeless?) corpse. Crouching down next to it, he retrieves from his satchel a long pair of forceps. Taking a piece of the creatures skin, he places it in a small glass vial, and puts it into his satchel. "Fascinating, really," he says.
Rhune looks over at Asif and shrugs. Standing up and crossing over to the coffin, she stands ready to grab something.
Patting Dakath on the butt as she walks by, Xania quips, "Don't lose that dagger, sweetheart."
Dakath grins as she walks past, "Oh don't worry I won't. I'm right behind you, and from where I'm standing I can fully appreciate my desire to save your skin should the need arise," he smiles at her as he watches her rear.
Keeping the sword handy and looking warily around, Rhune is prepared for anything as she watches Xania cross over to the coffin. "If it is all the same to you," Augustus says, "I would rather not be in the room when you open that casket...I make no claim to anything found within, or any moneys gained from the sale of anything found within." With that, the priest continues to tend to the wounded, but he asks that they come to him in the passageway.
Tag adds, "Ah my friends my conscience wrestles with this like the Aegean with the buildings of Venezia. Still I suppose this man must have been great evil to be guarded by the undead like this. I will not interfere with your plan."
Asif, Rhees, and Taglio join Augustus happily, not wanting anything more to do with the foul place. The others, still curious and not wanting to waste all the effort thus far, set themselves to at last retrieve the treasure. Realizing that she is hardly a good candidate to lift the lid of the coffin, even with her full strength, Ullar switches places with Xania and Dakath and Rhune prepare to take the mask and mace and see what happens next.
Dakath looks over as the three of them leave. "I take it they'll also not be wanting their share of the spoils from this tomb then?" he says to no one in particular.
"Immaterial, as they won't be getting it," Xania replies. "No pain, no gain."
As always, complications erupt, as the moment the two brawny warriors open the coffin, the resident within pulls itself out! The beautiful mace in it's hand drops to the ground as it reaches out with bony claws toward Rhune.
Stifling a scream as the creature reaches out for her, Rhune steps back and for once agrees that discretion is the better part of valor.
As the crypt creature rises from it's resting place, Augustus is heard to say, "Merciful Jebohah...not again!" as he turns and flees from this terrible place.
Realizing that they must first deal with this beast or run, the group decides to turn the other cheek. Rhune is unable to grab the mask or clothing, but Dakath does manage to snatch the jeweled mace. The two bulky warriors lend Xania a hand as they flee along with their light-fingered companions. The mummified corpse takes some moments to rouse itself from the coffin, and even Xania is able to outrun it toward the entrance.
Dakath can't help but grin nervously as he sprints along the passage, mace clutched in hand. He helps the slower members half-dragging them along, "Come on come on!!" he shouts as he flees the undead.