Naruhodo {Jarv/any}

[nightblood]

“This is it?” he asked, “I understand your surprise, but this must be here for decades now, if not more. We must focus on the present now. First of all, we have to find the food, that led us here, than we can care about this.”

"Skashi-," Haru began. In his panic, he began speaking in his native tongue, forgetting that Almerun could not understand.

“You see kid, it’s a great thing if you catch details like that, and we'll get back to it in time, but you have to learn how not to loose tracking what you’re after.”

"But what if they still bury the living?!" he called after him, running to catch up with him, "What if they catch us and bury us alive? What then?"

Haru looked back at the coffin as it shrunk into the distance, a worried look in his eyes.

"I don't want to imagine horror of being in one of those boxes alive."

[Jarwis-finiarel]

“I could tell you a story about being trapped alive in a small place without the hope of suriving,” said Dave, “But let’s keep this subject for when we left this Crypt. I’m starting to feel the walls already.”

While talking to the Tharim, Dave kept walking towards the way the was going to continue on inside the crypt. The smell of food was coming from the other side of the corridor. From behind a half opened door a bit of light was shining trough. Curiously enought the light couldn’t have been from any lantern or fireplace. It seemed to be moon light. But that seemed foolish. They were meters under the level of the ground.

Dave didn’t care about the words of the Tharim conserning the burried dead and living. He Just kept walking.

[nightblood]

“I could tell you a story about being trapped alive in a small place without the hope of suviving,” Almerun stated, “But let’s keep this subject for when we left this Crypt. I’m starting to feel the walls already.”

"Wakata..." Haru mumbled. He followed Almerun closely, now wishing he had never come into the crypt. He was too afraid now to be left alone. There was safety in numbers.

The wolfdog could not help but stare at the walls as they walked. He felt that they were closing in on him. Once or twice he thought he saw a grave or two move. He twitched at the thought of the dead bodies coming to life and attacking them. What a horrid way to die.

Just when he thought he could take no more of this terror, a laugh echoed throughout the crypt. This was not in his head. His ears heard the vibrations. The cackle was manic, but calm. He looked around for its source, but couldn't find it.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"Wall's are closing!"

Haru jumped at the answer and drew closer to Almerun, spinning around to see if the voice was coming from behind them. It laughed again.

"Wooden walls and iron nails! Twisted ears and broken tails...!"

The canine might have lurched at the frightening rhyme if he hadn't been so terrified of being killed at that moment. He backed up and looked at the coffins on the walls. Where was this voice coming from?

"Show yourself!"

"Aye, I would," the voice replied, sounding a bit less insane, "As soon as I feel I can trust the word of your kind not to take away my life."

[Jarwis-finiarel]

As Dave was walking along the corridor, he could hear Tharim catch up to him. The young wolf-dog felt tense. Although, no wonder, the place was an unusual place to linger around in the dead of night. But the smell of food was obviously coming from the room at the end of the corridor. They were only a dozen of steps away from it now.

The next moment Dave jerked his head back towards the Tharim. The wolf’s ears perked forward, than moved slowly, trying to locate the source of the laugh that suddenly filled the place.

Tharim called out for the one making the noise, but only a cinical answer came, probably fooling on Dave’s earlier comment anout the walls. Dave kept trying to find the source, but the echo basicaly destroyed his sense of hearing.

In the next moment an insane rhyme filled the place, leaving only a sharp contrast of silence behind. But the rhyme kept echoing in Dave’s head. And while Tharim only repeated his demand, the wolf suddenly started to laugh, although still trying to find the poet with his eyes.

“Wonderful rhyme!” Dave cried out still laughing, “Truly amusing. But I wonder if it takes a poetic joker to write this, or is a simple fool enough for it?”

Dave closed his eyes while talking to geather his hearing and see the place in his mind. A second and an answer came. First to comment on the Tharim’s demand.
The sound was flowing around and slowly filling out the corridor like a wave, But, Dave thought, this corridor isn’t big enough to hide in it this well.
Than like a lightning flashed through him the realization, and he turned his head upwards. This way he could no longer follow the voices’ flow, but as he opened his eyes he saw what he feared he would see. The ceiling was way up, many meters above them. And on top of the coridor’s walls there was a balcony. The crypt had a second level.

A wright railing run along the top of the walls, separated by collumns at some points. Not much was visible in the upper level, but Dave took it for sure, the sound came from there.

(Sorry for my typos in my last post D= I was half sleeping while I wrote it. Miracle I managed to do it that well, really)

[nightblood]

“Wonderful rhyme!” the wolf called out as he laughed. The praised was answered by a deep, sadistic chuckle from the walls.

“Truly amusing. But I wonder if it takes a poetic joker to write this, or is a simple fool enough for it?”

"That depends on your own level of intelligence, wolf," came a slightly irritated reply.

That was when Haru voiced his command and the unknown being answered with a reason for not doing so.

"What has our kind done to you, then?" Haru asked, a bit calmer now that there was communication. He could tell by the stranger's tone that they were not going to be attacked.

"MURDER! BETRAYAL!" the voice answered loudly, "Killed all and left none alive! And they say my kind are untrustworthy! HA!"

There was a distinct shuffling of paws and the sound of sticks and bricks hitting the floor beside them. Haru's head turned so quicly to the fallen objects that one would assume his neck would have snapped. Seeing nothing threatening there, the wolfdog looked up and saw there, standing on the overhang before the second level, was a red fox.

"Kitsune'!" Haruko cried out in aw. He hadn't seen one since his arrival on this continent.

"This doesn't concern your kind, dog," he said as he glared at Haruko. Instead, he turned to Almerun, saying, "It is your wolfbrothers that have done me wrong. But I do not hold it against them all. I am simply more wary around them nowadays."

Red-orange eyes flashed at the two of them in silence. From this height, it was unlikely that Kain could be attacked.

"Glad I amuse you, wolf," he said, turning to Almerun again, "Tell me. What sorrowful demon has possessed you to enter into a human's crypt at this unholy hour?"

[Jarwis-finiarel]

Wolf.

The word repeated in Dave’s mind. The other called him wolf. This meant he was something else. He closed his eyes and inhaled the dustful air of the crypt. He smelled the dirt and the decay in the air, and felt a slightly different scent too. But it was too faint to be specified. He couldn’t tell what the other one was by scent.

While Tharim kept talking to him, Dave listened again. A moment of silence came, and then the other answered again. It was obviously a male. There was anger in his voice as he spoke about wolves. But his own voice wasn’t very different from wolves’ either.
FOOL! Dave thought to himself, suddenly realizing how clear the answer was. They have come across a fox of some kind. A fox that disliked Dave’s kind.

He opened his eyes and started to look for the fox on the balcony. Dave didn’t want the fox to notice that he was looking for him, so he tried to stay mostly motionless, but his eyes jumped from one point to another in search for him, but it was too dark for his eyes in the corridor. He noticed four or five dark shapes that could have been the fox. There could as well have been more of them in the crypt and on the balcony.

In the next second Tharim yelled a word unknown to Dave, and looked at one point of the above level. Dave followed his glance as the fox’s voice could be heard again, speaking about his waryness around wolves, but the place was entirely swallowed by shadows.

Damn my senses! he thought to himself again. Althought he could not see the fox and his voice seemed to be coming from everywhere due to the echo, Dave tried to keep his view spread around the area watched by the wolf-dog as well. He listened to the fox’s following words which were addressed to him, but when he answered he kept his words cold and plain, as if he was here on official business.

“There is only one demon in and beyond this world, that could possess me into this crypt fox!” he said the half-truth, “And that is hunger.”

“And that makes me wonder,” came the sudden thought, “What is your purpose here?”

[nightblood]

“There is only one demon in and beyond this world, that could possess me into this crypt fox!” he answered, “And that is hunger.”

“And that makes me wonder,” he said suddenly, “What is your purpose here?”

The fox laughed and jumped nimbly to the other side of the balcony, making it seem as if he had flown.

"The same as your purpose. I smelled food and thought I could get an easy meal," he answered looking down at the larger canines. He started to leave from their sight, going further onto the floor of the balcony and closer to the wall. "No such luck, however. There is a human guarding it..."

Haru noticed that the fox trailed off, leaving him to wonder what had come to his attention. His curiosity was soon quenched.

"Maybe..." said the fox, stopping short before his tail left Haru's sight. A red-orange eye glinted with cleverness as he turned back to them, "Perhaps you gentlemen could distract him, eh? I could grab his lunch bag and be out of here quick as a rabbit. He wouldn't even know I was off with his food. What do ya say?"

Haruko went over the plan in his head a few times. It seemed logical. Although he didn't like stealing, he was hungry enough to eat a horse at this point.

"Yosh," he answered, "Sounds good to me. Omai? What do you think?"

As Haru turned to Almerun for his answer, the cross fox jumped down to their level and landed in front of them. He lowered his front half in a bow of sorts and returned his gaze upward to their faces.

"I'd be honored to have your help in this matter," he said truthfully, "You, stranger-"

"Kurai," Haru said quickly.

"Kurai. From where do you hail? I've not heard an accent like yours in these parts."

"Japan," he answered. To which, Kain could only manage a light smile. He'd never heard of the place.

[Jarwis-finiarel]

As the fox spoke, Dave listened. Quietly waiting while he was talking about the human guarding the food and how they could get the food together, and until there was a sound coming from one side, signing the fox has landed not far from them on the same level.
Soon after a dark, redish-orange figure arrived from the darkness and bowed as a greeting to them.

Dave got an idea. He never liked foxes. They were sly and sneaky. They could betray someone for just a simple meal.

“People do not guard their food.” said Dave and walked towards the part open door, “Well, perhaps in a town they are guarding food, but they most certanly won’t do so in one of their burrial sites.”

As silent as he could, Dave walked to the door and peeked in. Inside he saw the interior of a small room that he would’ve called a personal crypt. There was one coffin in the middle of the room, with empty vazes on it. With his back threwn against the coffin there was indeed a man sitting in the room. Beside him there were three bags, but only one of them seemed interesing to Dave. There was another thing beside the man; a long, shiny, silvery looking thing.
Dave turned around and walked back to Tharim and the fox.

“Alright then fox,” he said, “Seems like you’ve been telling the truth in the first round. As for working together”

Dave thought carefully. He new a lot about foxes and their capability for abusing others’ naiveness. He first wanted to say a strict no, and perhaps a few unkind words conserning his kin as well, but he had some bad experiences with foxes and knew them as vengeful creatures. He could imagine, that this would start immediate yapping, which would lure the man out and by the time he arrives the fox’d be already up on the balcony. And as the man chases after them he’d steal the food and run of as if he never was there.
But if Dave says yes, and lets him get the food, the fox’ll obviously be out of the crypt and the cemetary by dawn. Leaving them no chances to catch him.

Dave couldn’t allow that. He had to find a way to agree and disagree at the same time.

“Let’s see if we can make this job together,” Dave said finally, “acting like a team.”

(sorry if something doesn't make sence. I'm half asleep ]X )

[nightblood]

“Alright then fox,” he said, “Seems like you’ve been telling the truth in the first round. As for working together...”

The fox gave a friendly smile. Little did they know that he was suppressing a high pitched laugh quite well. The fact was that he really wasn't planning on sharing. He would act like he was working with them, but if all went well, he'd be eating alone tonight.

“Let’s see if we can make this job together,” the wolf said finally, “acting like a team.”

"It would be an honor to work with you, sir," Kain answered, bowing again.

With that, the fox jumped up to the second level again, not waiting to be told what to do. He had a plan already in mind.

"There is a crack in the wall up here that leads into the room. Keep his eyes away from this side of the wall and his food and I'll do the rest."

Avoiding any argument, he jumped away from their sight and headed toward the hole in the wall, walking slowly and keeping an ear on the larger canines.

"I think we can trust him, Almerun. He seems to know what he's doing," said Haruko.

[Jarwis-finiarel]

“Think what you want, Tharim.” said Dave, looking at the balcony where the fox had disappeared, “His words are un-trustworthy.”

He turned his back to the door and headed towards the other end of the coridor, from where they arrived from. A fox! he thought, Follow a fox’s plan! Bah! He didn’t even care if the Tharim followed him or not. He closed the wooden door on the corridor and than run to one of the closest wooden coffins and with all his strenght, he pushed it in the way of the door, which luckily opened inwards.
When he was close enough to the Tharim, he whispered into his ears;

“Do me a favor, Do not tell the fox.” he said, “In case he tries to get away with the food, this’ll stop him. But if he won’t, we have nothing to worry about in the first place.”

With these words, Dave walked to the half opened door, which led to the chamber where the man was, and as quietly as he could, he sneaked inside.

That was the moment, when a strange thought crossed his mind. What if the fox and the Tharim work together. What if they planned this all out; the Tharim to lead me here and the fox to lure me into the trap? What if they were the property of man? And they were hunting wolves.

Musn’t Panic! he finally thought, I can solve it.

(Thank you for thy patience =.o;)

[nightblood]

“Do me a favor, Do not tell the fox.” he said, “In case he tries to get away with the food, this’ll stop him. But if he won’t, we have nothing to worry about in the first place.”

"Hai," Haru said, nodding his head. He knew the importance of caution.

The younger canine followed Almerun. He stepped lightly, making sure his claws didn't tap on the floor, and kept his head down. He would follow the wolf's lead on this venture.

Kain, however, was aware of their plan. He would return through his crack in the wall. With this in mind, he lowered his head and began to crawl through the hole. Once on the other side, he had to balance on a thin molding that came out of the wall. It was wide enough to hold him, but just barely. He had to be cautious about wear he stepped. He chanced a glance down and saw that the larger canines had already entered the chamber.

Silently, the fox maneuvered himself behind the human and jumped down to the floor, eyeing the package from which the smell of food was emitted. He looked at his two accomplices and nodded his head. He could be out of there in no time if his plan worked.

[Blackfeathr]

((sorry to butt in all lame and OOC like, but is this not a good time for me to bring Seo in?))

[Blackfeathr]

The sound of voices filtered out of the echoing crypt, subtle yet apparent enough to wake Seo of her slumber.

The tan and brown Chinook was curled up, her back against the stone wall of the crypt. Leaves and foliage covered her almost entirely, the aftermath of some recent windstorm.

Deep purple hued eyes opened, looking at the land around her. It was dark and foggy. Quite a spooky night to be laying around a crypt. Eh.

She pushed herself up, stretching her legs--or what was left of them-- and arching her back, shaking off the dead leaves that stuck to her fur. She walked around a bit to loosen up her joints. Her legs moved in unison even though there was one missing. She was a three legged dog, her front left leg amputated because of an accident two years ago involving a raid in a ship. Old news. She continued to walk like a normal dog, the leg that was missing seeming to remain there as a ghost. She only noticed her leg was gone when the bottom of the nub touched the ground when she slept, or when ignorant bastard dogs found the angle that would knock her off balance. Though, every instance of that always lead to the bullies being bludgeoned horribly.

An odd smell reached her nostrils. She cantered to the entrance of the crypt, hovering her nose above the ground. The musty smell of two male wolves... and yet, a strange aroma of dog mixed in as well... but she was sure there were only two living creatures that had entered the crypt she was guarding.

Seo shrugged to herself and smirked. Oh well.
The local yokels of the town had hired her to guard the crypt, to keep grave robbers from stealing whats left of the ruined structure. It had turned decrepit over the years, theives coming and stealing anything of value from the dead and the crypt itself. They even hired a human guard inside. For extra measure, employed a canine guard outside. Yours truly.

It's not that Seo wasn't a good guard dog; she's excellent at it. However, she had a problem with expressing loyalty to any human other than the American sailors who cared for her since she was a pup. She had been here a long time, but not long enough to know these locals were on her side. And besides, she thought as her stomach growled and churned of emptiness, she would have done a better job guarding the place if they gave her a little... incentive.

Now that the deed was done, someone had entered the crypt on her watch, all that was left to do was investigate. Not for the humans, but for her own curiousity. She hadn't seen a living creature of her kind in a while. She doubted wolves... or dogs... would see anything of value to steal from dead humans. Only other humans did that. Curious disgusting creatures.

Seo stared into the chasm of the crypt, only inky blackness stared back. Those wolves were deep inside.
Sighing, she descended the stairs, reaching a point where she was enveloped in darkness. Though after being asleep for God knows how long, she could adjust easily to the light--or lack, thereof.
Stairs weren't her strong point. She liked the solid ground because she could move easier, but stairs required four legs and good balance, and this was the only time she was really aware of her handicap.
She could soon see the crypt clearly, and at the end of the long corridor, the light through the crack of a door signifying the guardhuman was on the other side of it. Something was going down. To get a closer look, she crept closer, slinking into the doorway and hiding behind an uprooted wooden cupboard. It was in the nick of time too, the older wolf had just missed her by inches, barricading the door with a coffin. The other male she understood as a wolfdog, was looming in the shadows, who had just finished talking quietly to the other wolf.
She had just smelled the stinging odor of a fox, who she couldn't locate in this room now. She wondered what the trio were up to.

Confident that they hadn't noticed her, she remained in the shadows behind the cupboard askew, the stench of rotting human surely getting to her. But, she couldnt just walk in the middle of this and ask dumbly "Whats going on?".
She had more sense than that.

[Jarwis-finiarel]

As Dave walked in the chamber, first he thought he was asleep, he was so motionless. But as he walked, he saw that the man was looking at his hands. Dave could hear Tharim walk in behind him and could also see the fox climb over on a molding and then jump on the floor, not far on the other side of the human. The man didn't seem to notice them.

Dave turned around and looked at Tharim.
"Smell kid!" he said quietly, almost whispering, "Smell and tell me if it was him who left the old hag in that state!"

He waited for the Tharim's answer before looking at the man again. But unfortunately and Dave's fright, the man gasped and than with a yell, he reached for the silvery staff. As he picked it up Dave felt a grip in his gutts, and by the time the man turned the staff towards them he already yelled out:
"MOVE KID!" and leaped towards the coffin to take shelter.

[sight]

For hours he's been laying there in one of the crypt's chambers, trying to get all his fears out of his head. He was sure he'll get away with what he did. The old woman had no friends and only a few people knew where she lived. But still while trying to wash the blood of his hands he felt rather sick and feared to return to Hallow, never knowing what might happen.

Saggita was a very dark person and dealt in suspicious trades. And as he found out she managed to get her hands on a lot of money. But back in the time she was well know in Hallow for her great healing knowledge.
This is why he visited the house she lived in. After he cut his arm with that coffin he accidentaly pushed up he didn't want his wound to get infected.

Suddenly the thought surfaced in his mind again.
"I've done many things and saved enough for myself to live my life in peace."
Gold.
She collected all the golden kronor she could before it was all taken out of use about one and a half decades ago. She was in her sixties, but still she was surprisingly alive.
She was.
Now he's done it. He has the wealth and he'll be the one who'll have a good life. He knew somebody in Rakine who would pay the worth of all the gold ten and twenty kronors.

In this moment he noticed something from the corner of his eyes, moving in the darkness around the door. As he looked up, he noticed two dark shapes walking towards him in the chamber.

"Wolves!" he gasped out as he reached for his gun, which was put against the side of the tomb.
He might pay dearly for his deeds tonight.