The path Alya followed grew warmer, the sound of the song growing louder. The knight that was bringing up the rear of the group [color=ed1c24][i][b]"Oy, stop wanderin' off!"[/b][/i][/color] But his words were muffled in the woman's ears, as the song was dominating her hearing. Rolling his eyes, [color=ed1c24][i][b]"Hinkley, let's follow her, better to stick together."[/b][/i][/color] This was followed by several swears directed at foolish women. After getting the mounts in order, following the woman and the Charr that were on foot, he commented again, [color=ed1c24][i][b]"Are you just following the warmth or what?"[/b][/i][/color]

This path led deeper and deeper, the song that only Alya could hear very strong now. Eventually it opened into a room lit by a ceiling littered with natural glowstones set in the stone, and large steam filled spring. In the center of it were two unexpected things. The first was a quaint little cottage, built into the spring itself. The second was a naked White Elf woman sitting atop a rock, eyes closed, in what appeared to be a meditative pose. As Alya came into view, her eyes opened, a kind smile filling her face, [color=f6989d][i][b]"Welcome Alya, I've been waiting for you. Please, come, rest, your friends too. I won't keep you long, I know you are on a very important journey, and I am here to aid you."[/b][/i][/color] 

She let loose a single melancholic note, and the steam parted, revealing a stone path across the water, leading to her house. [color=f6989d][i][b]"There's plenty of food and drink therein, help yourselves."[/b][/i][/color] 

Then Alya could hear the woman in her head now, [color=f6989d][i][b]"Come, join me. I must help you, it is my Purpose."[/b][/i][/color] She gestured to a rock next to her in the spring. The water was a few feet deep, the bottom quite clearly seen. There were a few small strange fish and plants, but nothing terribly concerning. 

The knight gawked at the naked woman for a bit, before composing himself. She was quite fit and beautiful and clearly not interested in anyone but the white haired woman. When she said there was food, he was more than willing, crossing the rocks, followed by the homonculus. Inside was various cuts of cooked fish and eel, as well as some foreign dish, that looked to be raw fish, foreign vegetables, rice, and seaweed. The man ate heartily, the homunculus exploring, for he had no need to eat. Mouth full, the knight shouted, [color=ed1c24][i][b]"The foodsh great guysh, you should try it!"[/b][/i][/color]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Svarak looked back at Rilana's panic, concern on his face. Not just for the rest of the group, but for the expedition as a whole. They'd already lost one man, with one knight missing, and now half the remaining people were gone. At this rate... he shook his head before he could finish the thought. Drisceya sighed, complying to the Envoy's orders. As she moved across the way to the other tunnel, she heard the woman speaking. She spoke loud enough that it would echo back, [color=bc8dbf][i][b]"Don't bother. There were no other paths, odds are they stumbled upon a deep dwarf tunnel. They open at the slightest touch, sometimes with triggers before hand, completely silent. I'd bet my sash on it. The trigger probably caused the wind too, as the wall opened without our noticing. The only chance at finding them now is to move forward and get lucky. Or find a deep dwarf and... coerce him."[/b][/i][/color]

She disappeared into the entrance, Svarak's eyes falling on the worried woman. [color=fff200][i][b]"We need to trust her expertise. This is her world. This is as safe a camp as any other we might find down here. If we keep splitting up, there's going to be no one left. But it is your call."[/b][/i][/color]

Drisceya didn't return for two agonizing stretches, [color=a187be][i][b]"We'll be through before midday tomorrow, if we leave at sunrise. There's only one other camp ahead, and I heard what sounded like underwyrm mating. You don't want to go anywhere near that, I've seen them accidentally destroy villages during it. We should wait."[/b][/i][/color]