~SE++

Iados spends more time then is strictly necessary with his weapon trained on the downed zombies, awaiting the moment when they would rise again from the ground. His concentration is broken somewhat however by the loud and continuous chanting filling the cave as Hex goes about cleaning himself. Rolling his eyes he walks over to the corpses and yanks Hex's daggers from their rotting flesh before before tossing them to the ground in front of the rogue. "Invest in a crossbow if you're afraid to get covered in gore."

He stalks to the edge of the left tunnel, sighing in frustration when it becomes obvious it is impossible to see much deeper with heading inside. "...any preferences?"

"Or just learn to reweave causality to do your bidding via music, like I do," Luka added, probably less helpfully than she thought. Taking a quick glance and the hallways herself, she answered "Well, we could split up, there's like a .01% chance it won't end with all of us getting horribly slaughtered. Otherwise when people are lost they normally go left, so that's what they'll be expecting. I say we go the other direction. It just feels right." she added, grinning to herself.

Kitar returns to the spot he was during the fight to grab his torch on the floor while grumbling to himself "Not even a 'thank you'..." He walks towards the group and stands next to them. "I'm good with going right."

~SE++

Iados casts a wary eye towards the newcomers, his grip tightening slightly around his weapon as he takes a step away from the tunnel entrance. "You choose a strange place to take your walks. Did you not read the signs outside?"

Luka turned around causally and took stock of these new arrivals. Giving them a polite nod, she turned back to her comrades. "Hey, is it just me, or did Obed and Dev get a lot shorter and/or more existing since the last time we saw them?"

Albis, noticing the horned humanoid is a paladin, lowers his mace on approach. "Forgive me for startling you, paladin. We had been tracking some Aarakocra but lost sight of them. We saw your friend here" Albis points towards the bird man "and decided to follow him to see if he was with the others." Albis sighs audibly, lowering his mace further. "It appears we must have been mistaken. I don't remember anybody saying the Aarakocra we were looking for would be traveling with a group of non-Aarakocra." Albis pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts but is interrupted by an Aasimar woman. To her he replies "I do not know this Obed or Dev you speak of. My name is Albis." Albis leans his mace against the wall and reaches out a mailed hand towards the Aasimar hoping for an introduction in return.

"Oh, those guys? Pretty sure they're either burning Red Larch to the ground or dead in the streets by now, hopefully the latter," Luka glanced at Kitar and added "No offense."

"Nah, those were some of our old adventuring companions, but they spontaneously disappeared when we got here, I think they may have triggered some kind of temporal warp trap, causing them to go back in time and accidentally prevent their parents from meeting or something. At least that's my working theory, need to find a Psion to compare notes with at some point, but there are more pressing matters at the moment, such as ridding this cave of whatever dread forces occupy it."

Kitar gives a stoic look at the two strangers. "I met the band of aarakocra you're searching for in our way here. As Luka said, they were headed to Red Larch. You're better searching for them there than here." He starts to direct his speech to his companions, caring little if Rodel and Albis are hearing or not. "We sure one of those two isn't the so called Lord of this damn rock?"

Hearing the strangers tale Iados lowers his weapon and returns his attentions to the tunnel ahead of him. His attention is brought back to the group however when Kitar speaks up. "No. They are no lords - at least not of this place. I would know if they were."

Luka thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Hard to say, we've only had a few fights so far. On the one hand, these zombies seem unusually resilient, though I may be biased from hearing tales of the day when monsters of their ilk could be cut down in a single blow. But on the other, on a scale of one to twelve, things are considerably less on fire than they could be, so all in all I'd say pretty well. Though we could always use more assistance if you'd care to join us, my sense of narrative causality tells me things are going to get quite a bit more harrowing before this endeavor is through."

Rodel sighs, closes his eyes, and leans his head backwards. He palms a deck of cards from his pocket, weaving it in his hands through numerous shuffles at a speed that puts any gambler you've met to shame. Swiping a card from the top and the bottom, he opens his eyes again to look, before opening his mouth in turn.
"Hmm, fate would seem to accede. This place bodes of ill omens. What of you, Albis? We may still have time to corral the aarakocra, if you would find it more pressing."

Albis, his hand still outstretched while everybody talks, pulls it back slightly embarrassed. He picks up his mace again and casually rejoins the conversation. "Well Rodel, I'm not sure what we could do about the potential attack on Red Larch at this point. There's no way we could catch up to that scouting party or get to anywhere to warn people ahead of time."

Albis shifts about slightly, obviously uncomfortable in his mind. "As much as I dislike abandoning a mission, I feel like we could do more good here than returning with the mostly useless information we have." Albis looks at Rodel and then at the others before continuing. "From what I know of Red Larch I think they'll be able to protect themselves. Members of the Order that have traveled there return speaking of a rather powerful wizard who trains other wizards. Also they spoke of a veritable brick wall of a man acting as sheriff. I think all we can do now is hope that Red Larch will be okay..." Albis looks worried about the town for a moment but then steels himself for the current situation.

He looks to the pink-haired woman. "I am willing to join your group, if you would have me. I admit I am curious as to what is happening here and clearing out undead is always worth the trouble in my experience." Albis looks around to each of the other people in the party and clears his throat. "Now it would be easier for us all, I think, if we knew each others names. Like I said before, my name is Albis and I work for the Order of the Gauntlet. Who am I speaking to?" Albis tries an easier introduction with a smile.

Kitar gives a look as sharp as a knife to Luka as she suggest two complete strangers to join their party. He only relaxes a bit when Albis mentions the Order of the Gauntlet. "You're a member of the Order?" Good. At least now I know you won't backstab us. Unless you're lying, of course. I'm Kitar, and I also work for them."

Blissfully oblivious to Kitar's displeasure, Luka cocked her head quizzically as she watched the halfling perform his reading. Listening to the aasimar introduce himself, she responded in kind. "Well, since you asked, I'm the leader of the group, you know me well. I'm finally back to kick some tail. - Wait, scratch that, sorry, I started thinking of one of my sets and got distracted. Anyway, I am Luka von Stipplewitz, the always-lovely entertainer hailing from the Megurine Troupe, pleasure to meet you." Remembering Albis's previous attempts at a handshake, she extended her hand to either of the new arrivals.