Iki stood atop a large rock, breathing in deeply with a smile on her face. As the fresh, woodland air of the South Shroud filled her lungs, she placed her hands on her hips and chuckled.
"It's been a while since I was last in the Black Shroud, but the air is as clean here as ever. A perfect place to find some fun!"
Kuritsu clambered up the rock behind her, cupping her hand over her eyes to take in the view. "I agree. The view here is great! There are a few settlements that I can see from here. Should we see what trouble we can get into there?"
"Hm hm hm~" Elegia hummed as she floated up behind the two. "I've got a better idea. I know a lovely place in this area that we can haunt~"
Iki scowled, nearly forgetting that the succubus had followed them there after they found and released her from her prison in the Great Gubal Library. "Oh? This better be good..."
Elegia smirked. "It's a place I'm quite familar with; a deep dungeon known as the Palace of the Dead~"
"Sounds interesting," Iki said, her ears perking up.
"Sounds spooky..." Kuritsu followed up.
Elegia floated around the two, her eyes scanning the area. "It shouldn't be too far from here. I think we'd be able to find a lot of treasure down in the Palace~"
Iki and Kuritsu's eyes lit up at the mention of treasure. If there was anything that would nab their attention, it was that.
"Now we're talking!" Iki said, her tail swishing behind her. "Let's go!"
Elegia grinned, leading the way to the Palace of the Dead. "I must warn you, though, the Palace is quite a dangerous place. Monsters, traps and other...undesirable things lurk down there. You'll have to be on your toes the whole time~"
Iki waved her hand dismissively. "Eh, we'll be fine. We've dealt with worse; right, Kuri?"
Kuritsu nodded. "Yup! We're gonna be a couple of pals in the palace!"
Iki rolled her eyes with a groan. "Will you cut it out with the terrible puns??"
**
"Are you ladies sure you want to go through with this?" the Wood Wailer captain asked as he led Kuritsu and Iki to a wide pit, a ladder built into its side. Elegia hovered invisibly behind them as to not spook the Wood Wailers. Several feet below, the thieves could see several pillars strewn about, many of them broken. At the far end of the pit rested a glowing circle, a blue orb in its center. "It's not too late to change your mind."
"We'll be fine," Iki replied curtly.
The captain nodded. "Very well. Descend this latter into this pit and stand in the light of that cairn and you will be teleported into the Palace. May the Matron watch over you two."
The man took his leave, leaving the thieves to begin their trek into the unknown.
"Ready, partner?" Iki asked, her excitement growing.
The au ra nodded. "Let's go find that treasure!"
"After you, ladies~" Elegia said, reappearing as the Wood Wailers were out of sight. "Do watch your step on that ladder, though. We don't need either of you getting injured before we even enter the place."
Iki scoffed. "If only we could float so easily like you..."
Elegia giggled, giving the miqo'te a wink. "If only~"
Iki hopped down first, clambering down the ladder while Kuritsu followed closely behind. Elegia floated easily down to join them. When they had reached solid ground, they walked together to the glowing cairn and stepped inside. The cairn began to pulse, and after three pulses, the three were whisked away.
When the two thieves opened their eyes, they found themselves in what appeared to be a derelict, overgrown temple. Debris and rubble were scattered on the floor, while plants grew in some parts of the floor and walls. It looked like the place was beautiful at one point, but years of neglect had turned it into ruins.
"Whoa," Kuritsu said. "This place looks like it hasn't been touched in years!"
"Mhm~" Elegia replied, sighing nostalgically. "It's been years since I've last visited this place. I can sense that many foolish adventurers have tried their hand at exploring this place to...mixed results. Don't let your excitement get the better of you. There are probably plenty of traps still active and creatures of all shapes and sizes are lurking around every corner. You two would be wise to move with caution~"
Iki cracked her knuckles, pounding her fist into her hand with a smirk before brandishing her knives. "Say no more, succubus. We'll grab that treasure and be out of here before anything tries to trip us up!"
Kuritsu nodded in agreement, waving her pictomancer brush back and forth idly and walking forward as she kept her eyes peeled for danger. Elegia followed, though seemed distracted by her nostalgia for a place long forgotten.
Kuritsu noticed a couple bats and rats hanging about, but they simply fixed the two with blank stares before continuing on with their business. One rat made the unfortunate decision to try to rush after Iki's ankle and was offered a swift kick that sent it flying off into another room, the rat scurrying off with speed after landing on the ground.
"Ugh, I hate rats..." the miqo'te grumbled.
"Let's hope that there aren't any giant ones down here, then," Kuritsu replied.
Iki shuddered, tightening her grip on her knives. As they turned the corner into another room, another cairn lit up, signaling the way forward to another room.
"Ooh! We found a way forward!" Kuritsu cooed.
Iki shrugged, figuring they wouldn't find any treasure on the first level anyway. "Let's go, then." She looked around, finding that Elegia wasn't with them. "What the--? Where did that stupid succubus go? Hey, Elegia! Where are you?"
"Hm? Oh, I'm just checking something out," the succubus called distractedly from another room. "You two can go on without me. I'll catch up with you later."
Kuritsu and Iki exchanged a glance and a shrug before stepping into the cairn. "Whatever," Iki grumbled. "Maybe we won't have to worry about her annoying us to much now..."
The cairn pulsed three times before the pair of thieves were transported to the next room. A minute later, Elegia floated into the room they had just been in, looking around. She pouted, crossing her arms.
"I told them they could go on without me, but I thought they would be nice enough to wait for me..." she mumbled to herself. "Ah, well. Mortals are so impatient."
The succubus floated forward towards the cairn before she heard a faint click. She stopped short, whipping her head back and forth and checking herself to see if she had accidentally triggered a trap herself. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, so assumed that the click was nothing more than her imagination. She was floating, anyway. How could she trigger a trap that needed to be stepped on? Unless...
She took another step forward, though her eyes were drawn by something hovering above her. As she glanced up, she noticed a pair of large, ghostly hands floating just over her head. Elegia's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh. That was a location-based trap, wasn't it? Ah, poo..."
The succubus attempted to flee, but one of the hands grabbed the top of her head and lifted her up before she could get far. The other hand floated underneath her, grabbing her kicking feet and holding them steady. Elegia struggled to break free of their grasp, but to no avail.
