[color=ed1c24]"Yes, Laurel, yes. We will,"[/color] the half-dragon murmured, letting Laurel lean on her. She glanced at Kraven, who would be the only one who noticed the look of dismay on Drache's normally unperturbed features, proving her to be a bit out of her depth when it came to comforting someone over something serious.

Thus, she wasn't looking at the quiet drow when he disappeared, but as they were already moving towards the rocks it would become somewhat apparent what had happened soon enough. 

[color=ed1c24]"Oh, shit, Sirik"[/color] the cross-breed cursed quietly, and she would have circled the pit to look in if Laurel hadn't been nearly attached to her by then. Leaning down as much as she could, the archaeologist tried to make out the markings but didn't recognize them at all. Even languages she couldn't read or write she could usually at least pinpoint what language the symbols belonged to, but strangely this one was completely alien. Touching them only deepened the mystery, and thankfully didn't reproduce the spell that had dropped Sirik thirty feet into a watery hole.

Drache looked up just in time to see the torch leave Kraven's hand and lifted her clawed fingers, [color=ed1c24]"No, wait...!"[/color]

But it was too late, Drache's breath hissed as she took a breath and held it with anticipation, her ear-frills flattening back against her head. The gyser shot up, pelting them all with spray, and the half-dragon barely had time to lift her wing to block the worst of it from splattering all over her and Laurel.

[color=ed1c24]"Kraven, you idiot!"[/color] Drache snarled, her voice low but burning with ire through her teeth as she rounded on the klutzy human, being careful to avoid standing over the pit. [color=ed1c24]"That's obviously some sort of enchanted booby-trap. Can't you do anything about it? And keep quiet before you get us all killed!"[/color]

Tail swishing hotly, Drache peered down through the gloom, able to see through the blackness to where Sirik was motioning with his hands. Thankfully able to understand him, the hybrid had to ask him to repeat himself only once or twice and then asked if he wanted rope tied up on the surface and left to dangle for him or if he wanted a whole coil thrown down to him. Once she got her answer, Drache dug in her pack, pulling her rope up from the bottom and situating it for Sirik.

[i][color=ed1c24]"See if you can find another way up,"[/color][/i] she signed to him. [i][color=ed1c24]"I don't think we can get down this way."[/color][/i] And it wouldn't be wise to try to get Sirik up this way either, even if they decided to abandon whatever waited from them down there.

While waiting for the drow to do whatever if was he was going to do, Drache found a piece of thin parchment and took a rubbing of the strange glyphs, not wanting to forget what they looked like. 

[i][color=ed1c24]"We will get to her as fast as we can, pet, but it wouldn't be helpful to get killed on the way, would it? Tell me what else you can feel."[/color][/i] Even if Laurel couldn't sense anything useful, it might keep her focused on something for a few minutes. Drache herself could only sense the fire, but was still feeling a bit haunted by the scream.

Moving in the same direction Sirik had mentioned he had seen the tunnel, Drache looked for anything else in this thicket that might hint at a way to get underground.