#they all get along but in dungeons luvon is like that tour guide who has a rigid plan and wants to go slow and those two have no patience

[meximango]

Day 15 - portentous - G - Cahsi + Altani + Luvon

Summary: Cahsi, Altani, and Luvon explore some ruins. Luvon feels like a mom wrangling his two children.

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Luvon had been chattering away to his fairy, tens of yalms in front of his tank and caster, unaware how far they trailed behind. The healer was not supposed to lead the pack, but these ruins were supposed to be void of beasts, so he hadn’t been worried about that. 

The three of them had a simple mission: to reach the final chamber of the temple of Rhalgr to take pictures and aetheric readings for a small group of Sharlayan researchers who did not have the stipend required to travel so far from home to Gyr Abania Also, there was still danger inherent to stepping foot into any ancient dungeon, whether actively infested or not. It was a perfect job for three intrepid adventurers who had retired from saving the world for the time being and had no other pending matters. “Stop.” The lalafell’s light chatter ceased, cutting himself off. It was a command, one of those rare times Luvon took on an authoritative tone. The word snapped out of him with as much force as one of his punches. 

It was enough of a shock to work, Altani and Cahsi freezing mid-step, waving their arms about to keep balance. It seemed like the sort of situation one might whisper for, so Cahsi asked in her smallest voice (better her, as Altani’s whispering was like a standard person’s regular volume): “What’s up?” “I do believe I just heard a most portentous click.” The lalafell at the front of their group stood stock-still apart from the slight swivel of his ears. He did not turn around to address them. Do be quiet, though, as I am listening for more, he did not need to say. Cahsi and Altani shared a knowing look at the back of the group as Luvon continued listening. The red mage and warrior began playing a silent game of rock paper scissors at a rapid pace, best two out of three. Altani lost, as always (Cahsi had faster reactions and always used that to cheat, not that the au ra was aware--and she need not find out anytime soon, either). Well drat. Altani cleared her throat in preparation-- Luvon shushed her, tail swishing agitatedly, but she ignored him. “Lu, I think I know what caused that.” That did make his head swivel around, one eyebrow raised, head tilted to the side. “You do? Please, share with the class, Tani” Answering a question with a question wasn’t likely to earn her any points, especially when he brought out the sarcasm, but they weren’t ready to fess up. “Remember how you told us not to touch anything until we got to the final chamber?” Luvon picked up what she was putting down, if his sigh of restrained exasperation was anything to go by. He probably knew from her tone of voice alone before he asked. He was scarily perceptive like that, the guilt clear as day.

Cahsi, bless her soul, stepped in to help. An attempt was made. “It was a joint effort, really. The statues back there were awfully dusty--” “--we didn’t even take them, honest, just wanted to see them shine! This place is so gloomy--” “--too heavy to be worth stealing, my backpack is way too full for ancient pointy relics--” “Alright, so I dusted a little bit too hard, I think, the head came right off--”

“--was more interested in reading the plaques underneath, it was a matter of education--” “Can’t really blame me for the craftsmanship, can you? Would love to ask the goldsmiths of eld--” “But it turns out the echo doesn’t work with such eroded text. I have no idea what they said. What a waste of effort!”

“The small holes that appeared in the sides of the walls were the perfect size to put the head, so I thought ‘why not’--” Luvon finally cut them off. “Holes? In the walls?” Both of them nodded. “Now that you mention it, Tani, those are new, aren’t they.” “I said what I said, Cas, I can be good at observation just like you!”

Luvon’s face morphed from slight annoyance to a much more familiar emotion for him: nervousness. He had excellent hearing, but visual details often escaped him. The holes had appeared in preparation, but he only noticed the danger after it was already set in motion. At least they knew what kind of trap they were working with. Which they absolutely were--the mechanism was live, and the time wasted on their drawn out confession meant one click turned into multiple as old gears started turning. They only had a few moments before--

“Run. Now!” Luvon yelled. With a quick cast of expedient, they were granted a burst of speed. He shielded them for good measure and tethered the fairy to Altani (the biggest and slowest target), unsure how deadly the projectiles would be. He got esuna ready and flipped and spun his way through the rest of the corridor at top speed, neatly dodging each point that came his way. He wished he could say the other two were as efficient with their dodging. They were further behind than him, to be fair. More chances to be hit. Cahsi yelped and Altani yowled (or maybe the other way around?), shouts of ‘ow ow ow!’ echoing down the hall. The shields broke, and as suspected, the spears were tipped with poison--but they made it through. Unscathed, no, but Luvon had healed worse. One dungeon trap wouldn’t do any of them in, even if he had been a monk at the time. Luvon let his fairy do the rest of the healing once they were out of the danger zone. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot expectantly as Altani pulled a spear tip out of her side scales and Cahsi smoothed down her hair. They were smeared with blood and neutralized poison, looking scruffy but none the worse for wear. This time, Cahsi volunteered to speak up first. “We should have listened to you.” It hurt her pride to admit she’d done something foolish (and likely would do it again, her impulsive nature hadn’t been curbed in all her years of adventuring, and she doubted this minor encounter would change that).

Luvon, pleasantly surprised, should have known better. She wasn’t done. “But…it all worked out! So all’s well that ends well!” To her side, Altani gave a fist bump to the fairy, who reciprocated it jovially. A rather terrible apology, all things considered, but the lack of caution was understandable. This encounter wouldn’t rank in the top hundred of dangerous situations they’d been in. They’d fought and defeated gods--on multiple occasions!--so there was little to fear from some abandoned ruins. Sure, they'd given him a scare, but that's what was expected of his role: mortal fear.

Being a healer could be so stressful, but it was the job he signed up for, especially knowing how those two acted around each other. Barely better than children. Luvon rubbed a hand over his face, clearing his eyes of the dusty grit that pervaded these ruins. “Take care, just a smidge more restraint, that is all that I ask--” When he opened his eyes again, the miqo’te was gone. “Where did she sneak off to?” Altani was playing rock paper scissors with the fairy during that (the fairy was winning 5-1), and the empty spot where Cahsi had been responded with silence. Altani and the fairy shrugged as the score became 6-1, and then he got his answer in the form of a nearby shout that echoed around the corner. “Turns out the ruins are haunted!” The faraway voice got closer. Altani, preoccupied with losing yet another round of rock paper scissors, didn’t bother reaching for their axe yet. “You pull it, you tank it!” she yelled back as Cahsi screamed. Luvon pinched the bridge of his nose and motioned the fairy to follow him. He signed up for this. He did. He wanted to be the healer, insisted on it. “Use vercure until I get there!” He yelled to Cahsi. Then, to Altani, he wordlessly grabbed her wrist and pulled with a strength nobody would expect from his small body. The au ra nearly tripped from the force of it, getting the message loud and clear. 

They grabbed their axe and provoked the ghosts (she’d do a ritual for their passing later, poor things. But right now, it was time to kick ass.)