She looked to him with a grateful smile as light filled the area, relaxing visibly as she stepped back to give him some room. He opened the trapdoor and she peered into the shadows beyond what light had entered. There were a few steps downward that she could see, but Shen was ahead of her. She heard no movement no sound of voices, so it obviously went down further. Or her information was wrong and the place was truly abandoned.
Shen only shrugged and slipped into the hole in the floor, picking his steps slowly down the stairs. He didn't seem concerned in the slightest really, he looked more than at home in the dark which might seem odd given his choice in magic. Shen's comfort came from not his attire, but the fact that he knew very well how to hurt what lurked in the dark.
And so, he reached the bottom of the stairs and found himself standing in something of a short hallway. There was a door at the opposing end, easily illuminated by his ball of light.
"Well. Another door. Still my turn I imagine."
He cast her a rather cheeky look then and nodded as if she'd replied, making his way to the door.
Marlena followed Shen down the stairs, choosing her footing by where he stepped, the light clearing shadows as they went. She turned her head occasionally to keep an eye on the church above and the trapdoor they came through. When he stopped, she moved to stand beside him, her eyes fixed on the door and her fingers curling around her sai.
She curbed her amusement at the look he gave to a smirk, watching him move closer to the door. She still couldn't hear anything, voices or otherwise, but she was not going to let herself slack off with the belief this place was empty until she saw it with her own eyes. She tensed when his fingers touched the handle, readying herself for anything or anyone that may be on the other side.
Shen pushed the door open and waved his hand casually, the sphere of light floating into the room and illuminating it's contents. It was bright enough, thanks to the sewer grate in the ceiling, the grey sky beyond casting enough to see by. Barely.
The room was large and circular, with other tunnels branching off from it. Two were collapsed, leaving three more as yet unexplored. It was wet, the stone floor slick, the wallks damp and lined with lichen.
Shen entered the room and walked toward the source of light in the ceiling, looking up for a moment and then recharging his barely waned light sphere. He then stirred a finger in the air and poited at Marlena, another sphere materializing and floating off her shoulder.
He gave her a smile then and half bowed before looking around again.
She wandered inside the room, her eyes roaming over the fallen brick and stone, then to the darker tunnels. Marlena had a feeling that it would be easy to get lost if one were to go wandering around aimlessly through those tunnels. Looking up to the grate, she wondered where they were in relation to Wistvale. Were they beneath the main street, or elsewhere? It didn't seem as if they had come too far.
Her attention was take by the ball of light that formed at her shoulder, a soft laugh leaving her as she became braver and moved to one of the tunnels that still stood clear, looking down into it. She did not know what she was looking for or what she was thinking to see, but she did it anyway.
Thank you, Shen... Are you sure you saw the thief run into the church? Unless there's something further on, there is obviously no reason for his to come down here.
Shen was busy looking about, pacing slowly and studying the walls and floor. The room seemed empty save the rubble from the collapsed tunnels. His lights were indeed bright but didn't eliminate shadows mind you, but instead bolstered them as they danced about the room. It was rather pretty, were you so inclined.
He stopped and looked over to Marlena.
"Yes. I'm rather certain. I do wear glasses after all."
He chuckled and walked closer, still watching his step.
"Of course, they're just for looks. To convince people I'm intelligent."
Marlena stood by the wall, looking around the corner and down into an tunnel. Their voices echoed slightly from the size and emptiness of the room, the sounds carrying down the tunnels some way. Looking over to Shen as he wandered towards her, an eyebrow arched and she smiled, her arms crossing over her chest as she began to walk to meet him half way. Her eyes quickly moved as she counted what tunnels remained standing, wondering what would be the best one to take should they continue looking.
I didn't need convincing, Shen. Though I may need some convincing to keep looking for this thief. If he ran into the church, this would be where he was heading. Though there are plenty of tunnels to go looking through. Though I don't rate our chances of finding him.
She moved away, heading across the room to look down a tunnel she had not inspected yet. Just as dark and damp as all the others, there was nothing special about any of them. Laughing as she teased him.
Personally, I think you just wanted to get me alone.
Shen groaned and shook his head then, him walking to her side and looking down the tunnel. He stared for a moment, squinted, then waved his light forward to illiuminate the tunnel.
"There."
The light hovered over a simple glass vial. He picked it up and frowned, the sniffed it. He looked about for the stopper and found none, so put it in his pocket begrudgingly.
"Eelthorne. And yes, it was stolen from me. Though I cannot think for the life of me what this thief of yours wanted with it."
He smirked, he wasn't done teasing back. But confirming the thief had been this way was enough for him to want to venture further. Still, he spoke to her and with all due seriousness now.
"You've led me this far Marlena. Thank you. I can do this myself if you like. I will let you know what I find later."
Walking a little further into the tunnel, Marlena looked down it into the shadows beyond the light then turned to watch Shen pocketing the vial. She had no idea about chemicals and such, and had never heard of Eelthorne, but it wasn't her job to know them, so she could give no insight to the thief's motives. She also ignored the comment about it being 'her thief'. If it had been 'her thief', she would know where they were. And she wouldn't have sent them after anything Shen had to begin with.
When Shen spoke and told her she could go, she let out a huff and began to slowly step forward along the tunnel ahead of them. Not looking back at him, the ball of light revealed more of the brick and stone walls, her eyes scanning every part she could see.
I said I would help, and so I am... Plus, I'd rather be here and doing something, than trapped in that manor because of the rain. This is far more exciting. Come now, Shen. Keep up. I'd hate to leave you behind.
Shen watched her for a moment, nothing too forward of course. He considered lighting his pipe but thought better of it, this wasn't an idle stroll through the Overwood for some sight seeing.
He caught up with her slowly but surely, his stride being longer. Looking past her and further down the tunnel, the light fell onto what was now an open chamber. It was also filled with water, a rickety looking boardwalk being the only way foreward. It smelled of the dank, moss and whatever waste had accumulated here and a skittering of movement was evident before it splashed into the water.
Shen didn't look impressed.
"Hmph. You certain about that? I'm not sure 'exciting' is the word I would use...."
Stopping rather suddenly, Marlena quickly became far more focused. The movement made her reach for her weapons and she was eyeing the boardwalk with obvious disdain. She followed the splashes, taking a slight step back as they got closer and trying to estimate as to how many different things were making the splashes.
Risking a quick glance up to Shen, she shook her head and debated simply running across as quickly as possible. And while one part of her insisted, the other part cringed at the thought of falling into the water, for the moment though, she continued to watch every ripple she could see on the surface.
Shen however, did not step back. No, he did something else altogether, something perhaps unexpected. He lifted his hand and with a tug of invisible strings, the two balls of light flew to his palm right before it snapped shut and extinguished them both.
The pair were plunged into darkness then, but she could hear him moving in front of her. He whispered now, on alert and wary of what lurked here.
"Stay behind me. Our light might be drawing them."
He had no idea what 'them' was of course, but a stirring could be heard in the water.... still getting closer. Then a strange sucking noise, a slapping like wet leather on a board. Very close. He remained in front of her.
Marlena's eyes widened when she realized what Shen was doing, stifling a soft gasp as the light disappeared and darkness overwhelmed. Flexing her fingers around the handles of her sai, she breathed deeply and steadied herself. She remained silent, relying on her hearing to tell her what direction sounds were coming from, close to Shen but not so close as to get in the way.
Both her breathing and heart picked up pace slightly, her pulse pounding within her ears and she thought anything and anyone around her could surely hear it. When the new sound came, whatever it was had begun moving towards them along the boardwalk and Marlena was suddenly very aware of the fact Shen was separating her and whatever it was. As much as she disliked the idea of being 'protected', she said nothing and did as she was told, wondering if she was far enough out of the way of that mean looking weapon of his.
Shen wasn't protecting Marlena. He wasn't so noble. Oh, he'd certainly get in the way of a monster looking to snack on someone so pretty; but he wasn't the chivalrous type. No, he didn't consider whatever was approaching a great enough threat that she needed protecting.
However, he was protecting her from himself. If he was to wield his magic in an enclosed area, he'd much rather have her out of his way before he did so.
Not that things were quiet so simple. A slurping, dreadful noise came closer... and then finally slapped itself onto Shen's boot. With an 'urk' of noise, he stumbled back and opened his hand, those two lights suddenly one and very bright now, illuminating the tunnel. Shen wasn't looking quite impressed as he pressed himself to the wall and his eyes darted about to fall upon what had just glomped his foot.
Slithering toward the pair in front of them, were three large, bulbous slime things, some three feet across. They were moslt a strange, translucent green and less complex than a jell fish, but were certainly heading toward he and Marlena. His boot was hissing, smoking even... and his eyes widened.
Marlena drew her sai and stepped back a little further as the light reveled what had been creating that noise. She had never come across such things and her eyes were fixed on them, both fascinated and repulsed. These slimes were inching closer, and her eyes left them briefly to see what Shen was doing. Her eyes followed his to his boot, wondering what was wrong that had drawn his attention from the slimes that were coming towards them.
Her fingers flexed around the weapons in her hands as she saw the small plumes of smoke rising from the toe of his boot. Her brow furrowed and her eyes turned to the slimes again. If they did that to someone's boot, what would they do to her sai? She couldn't kill them any other way. The closer they got, the further she was backing down the tunnel. She had no intention of getting near them.
Shen... Tell me you have some way stop them. Your light show is more than just pretty, right?