OOC: Sorry for the delay guys, I had the whole post typed up yesterday, but my computer ate it or something so I had to re-type it.
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~ Orpheus ~
"Thanks Esper." Orpheus said to the Poe. For some reason, he felt a little more at peace.
He turned to the rest of the travelers, no the rest of the warriors. They had certainly proven themselves in the past few hours (which felt like days). Each one of them had come a ways since he had first met them, but they still had a way to go before they would be ready to face Malbel. This encounter had proven that Malbel was not only capable of complete remote possession, but he was also able to use his own magic through the possessed body, regardless of that body's natural abilities. This meant that Malbel really could be anywhere. Heck, he probably set all this up without ever setting foot in the swamp, much less the temple, himself. At least the white eyes would be a tip.
"Alright guys," he said to the group. "I think its time to find out where that green energy came from." Orpheus took a quick look around before finding a small, rusty door on the far wall. Hopefully it would lead down under the colosseum floor, because that had to be where the green energy came from. Orpheus motioned for the others to follow him as he headed towards the door. After getting some help from a few of the others, they finally managed to push the rusty door open with a loud creak.
The other side of the door revealed a dark, damp staircase that did indeed circle back around to head directly under the colosseum floor. As soon as the group rounded the bend, a strange sight awaited them. The ceiling, and a bit further in the walls and floor, where covered in glowing fungi of various shapes and sizes that radiated a dim green glow. The result was rather eerie.
What made the atmosphere even worse was the upcoming maze of chambers. The entire bottom of the colosseum was basically a catacomb. Skeletons and other macabre things decorated the walls, wether in actual crypts or cemented into the walls. All over the place, the dead were scattered around as if they had simply fallen while trying to dig out of their tombs. Which they probably had. Some were even clawing their way up and into the ceiling when the Litch Lord had fallen, and as a result there were occasional legs and torsos hanging from the ceiling.
"Well, I guess we know where the undead came from now." Orpheus said. With the glowing green mushrooms everywhere, green light often reflected into some of the skulls scattered around, just like the green light that light the eyes of the reanimated. Orpheus was a little worried that something would grab his leg as he walked by, but the dead were once again dead.
As the group neared the center of the arena, the area where the syphoning circle had been, A much stronger green glow began to shine around the various columns and crypts. As the group neared, Orpheus got a clear view of what lay ahead, and actually stopped in his tracks. It just shouldn't have been possible, but right in the center of the arena, amid a massively tangled bunch of all kinds of plants which in turn crawled with all kinds of insects, was the Emerald Leaf. The Elemental Stone of Nature, representing life itself. It was right there, close enough to touch. Orpheus had never even seen it in person before, and now here he was staring straight at it.
After a moment of surprise, he finally moved to allow the others to enter the circular chamber.
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OOC: Don't think I forgot about you new guys. I've got something in store for you while the main group finishes up.
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~ Kinpo - Base of The Great Deku Tree ~
That letter had worked out nicely, Kinpo thought to himself. The main group had gone ahead, but with the abruptness of the call to arms Kinpo was certain that there would be a few stragglers. And it turned out that his intuition had been correct. This time at least. He had made a few bad calls in the recent past that he'd like to forget. And now, it looked like his luck was about to change.
Kinpo waited a little longer to see if the group would get any larger before approaching them. He thought he recognized one of them, but he didn't think that person would recognize him. Deku tended to all look alike. Besides, he wasn't even sure if he did in fact remember this person. Agh, so many people came through the marketplace anyway, he was probably just imagining it.
Kinpo, a Deku of course, approached the group dressed in a Leaf Guard uniform (which was basically a coat of reddish leaves) and saluted them.
"Greetings warriors." he said. "You must be here for the call to arms correct?" he asked them. "Why don't you guys come and take a rest in the Inn? I have some information to convey to you guys from Orpheus." he said.