First Steps into the Unknown (Things Left Hidden)

"I got me an all-overish feelin' about this place..." the old man mumbled to himself. He shifted his backpack and had a hand on a holstered pistol, uncomfortable with the eerie tension the whispering of the temple brought upon him. "I ain't no genius but I say we get a move on. We can't keep trouble from visitin', but we don't gotta stand around here offerin' it a damn chair" he said stonily before moving up with James towards the front of the group at a brisk pace more than prepared to get a move on with this expedition.

- Thank you, mister Tynerson. You are very nice.

Orianna's voice rang louder, more clearer, as he finished winding up her key. The ticking inside of the metal maiden, previously rather faint and unnoticeable, now was pretty obvious - as if you'd be standing next to a large clock. Or a Clockwork girl. She turned to the young man, and nodded once more in appreciation, a facsimile of a smile appearing on her face. Together, they would follow the others into the temple.

Inside the temple was even more fascinating than outside. But what attracted the automaton girl's attention the most were the stone warriors - the warders, blocking the path. They were not mere statues - as Leona had proved, by touching them. Upon an unheard command, they moved, sounds of stone scraping against stone in their wake. Orianna felt strange kinship to the constructs of magic. They were ... like her. In a way. The Ball hovered behind Orianna, its chirps sounding rather concern. The automaton paid him no heed, for now. 

But there was something else here...

Unlike the living, Orianna did not hear any whispers inside of her head. Instead, there was something else that she felt. Despite the fact her key had been winded a few moments ago, the mechanisms working together in an unison, Orianna felt ... strange. Her thought process, usually clear and lacking all the interference that the living beings had, felt a bit slower. The reactions too, she could detect a slight delay... A few lesser anomalies the automaton had never experienced before, in this body. She scanned her memory, for something familiar, before approaching Razie from behind once more. He was the techmaturgist around here, maybe he would know.

- This is very strange. - her voice trembled, with a bit of concern, and idle curiosity. - This place makes me feel a bit... tired.  

Leona did have an idea of what might be inside. She could not fill their requests. Her theory could not possibly be right, this could not possibly be that place. Even if it was correct, telling them of it would change nothing. They would still be stuck, only stuck and horrified. She would not be lying to them, only withholding the entirety of the truth. She might have to reveal the entirety of it later.
"There are no records of this place. We will have to discover firsthand why it was sealed." With that, Leona advanced forward.

The staircase leading to the temple itself did quite the number on Ron, who started getting a bit of a fit about the journey. However, they were finally there. 'No turning back now' he thought as he took a step through the doors of the temple.

The interior... It was huge. He had a hard time to believe that brutes like the Rakkor built such delicate architecture, especially many years ago. He wasn't fazed much by statues, but as soon as the whispers begun... "What was that?" Ron whimpered. How could there be anyone else inside the temple? He thought to himself. He tried to wave it off as an enchantment to keep intruders out by spooking them, but couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't alone. "Soul... Power...?" Ron mumbled to himself. What did the enchantment mean? Is there some sort of soul power magic thing? It's being powered by souls? "What did I just walk into..." He said, standing closer to Scrod who was right in front of him now as he moved forward.

His first reaction was to think they were not unlike Hecaraim. Only less armored, or so it seemed. He didn't have much to question just what they were so instead the Immortal Soldier took a fighting stance. He lacked a helmet so if they were looking for a quick and clean kill they'd be striking for his head. If almost out of instinct the lines of scars upon his body began to glow very lightly.

"I got the one on the left." Tekun spoke and made his mark, waiting for his foe to grow closer. Once they moved in he'd attempt to exchange blows, his hope was to strike through his unarmored chest, while evading to the best of his ability. His abnormal sturdiness and armor were intended to do much of the work.

Parry and then go in.

The centaur bearing down on Tekun did not find his mark with his spear as it was successfully knocked aside by his parry. He was forced to slow his pace and quickly leave the range of Tekun's weapon to deny him the strike toward his chest. He did not look back, but instead rode forward, picking up speed once more, closing in on who looked to be the next manageable threat, James. He slowed down to a trot and quickly stabbed twice toward his neck.

The other centaur did not have any success, either, as his spear was parried to the side and Leona's sword struck his hind leg, forcing him to slow down considerably and starting a steady flow of blood. He did not turn to face Leona again, rather, carried on toward the rear of the group as the other one had. He moved forward at a slower trot than the other centaur, headed toward Scrod, Razie, and Orianna. He rode toward Razie first, attempting a jab at his neck from Razie's left.

The two at the front had no respite from the first wave of attackers as the next two centaurs were upon them as the first two had left. The one bearing down on Tekun came much the same as the one before, only his aim was diverted at the last moment away from his upper body and to his lower ribcage on the right side. The one facing Leona leaped toward her, aiming to crush her under the weight of his front hooves.

As soon as the sound of hooves were heard Razie raised his gloves defensively, the centaurs that were upon them were swift and he had no intention of being killed this early in the expedition. The creature that had chosen him had made a poor decision in continuing the charge with it's hind leg injured from Leona's earlier assault.

The creatures were looking to exterminate them quickly is all he could gather before he raised the steel gauntlets toward the creature.

"Miss Reveck, Mr. Scrod, be ready." he spoke aloud. He knew that firing a blast higher than 40% power would lead to unnecessary injuries due to their recoil the more potent the shot was, he settled for 25% and fired as close to the creatures neck with a quick click of the triggers as he could manage hoping that it would simply stray it's course due to the blast which if his quick mental calculations were on point was truly a coin toss, if it did Orianna and Scrod had best be on their guards. If not he'd hope for the best and attempt to roll closer to the wall he was nearest.







Proto-Armor Gloves functioning at 98%, Sonic Blast fired at Centaur making it's way toward Razie.