It was lucky for the half-dragon that the riddle of the dwarf-carved stone was not much of a riddle at all, or she would have never puzzled it out. Half of Pyresian citizens were dwarves so things like shop and street signs all used the dwarven alphabet (which was, frankly, far more practical than using draconic) so "three stomps" was enough to get herself and Laurel down into the tunnels with Kraven and Sirik. 

The half-dragon hissed and coughed at the dust, landing hard on her tail after the unexpected drop. She was shaking her horns to get the debris out of her face and ended up blinking blearily at an irritable Kraven. [color=ed1c24]"Ah...eh...sorry to drop in,"[/color] the dragoness chuckled, reaching out to pick some dirt out of the man's hair.

The darkness around them was little more than shades of greyscale. Unsure if the alufiend posessed darkvision, Drache kept her close with a clawed hand on Laurel's arm. The closer they got to the opening to the main chamber, the more she could hear and smell. The rushing and dripping of water matched the soggy wetness Drache could feel against her hot scales. It was a slimy sort of feeling that she didn't appreciate. It rained a lot in the jungle, but the flooded underground smelled much different than the sunlit showers on the hot mountain.

She couldn't suppress a shudder, but her eyes widened as the temple came into view. It wasn't hard for the archeaologist to envision what the place had been like in its prime, and while she usually felt a twinge of regret when observing a ruins at having been born too late to know it when a place was alive, the fiery motifs and intricate flame-shaped carvings spoke to her on a much more personal level. Seeing it flooded and abandoned made her tail droop until it rested briefly on the cold stoney floor.

[color=ed1c24]"Such a shame,"[/color] she intoned quietly. Ordinarily the tomb-raider would have begun exploring at once, but the agonized shrieking forced her hand in another direction. Laurel broke free and tore down the steps before Drache could stop her.

[color=ed1c24]"Laurel wait, it could be dangerous!"[/color] She barely got the words out before the swilling water reached up and slapped the woman down, the sight of which earned a shocked snarl from the half-dragon's throat. Drache immediately began looking for a way down that wouldn't involve having to hop a stream of the water, but the options seemed few. In looking, she spotted the Elemental and glowered hotly as the creature made its way towards Laurel.

[color=ed1c24]"Oh no you don't,"[/color] Drache grumbled under her breath. It was hard to explain why she suspected the creature that appeared had been behind the attack on her friend, but she didn't stop to question this assumption.

There was plenty of room in this place to fly, so the half-dragon opened her wings and took a few brief flaps just as Kraven tried to run down the stairs. The wall of water spouted upwards to block his path.

[color=ed1c24]"Kraven, use your magic!"[/color] It was the second time today she had given the man this same advice. The sheet of surging water was similar to shapes Drache and Laurel had been able to forge with fire, and Drache knew that Kraven could sometimes defeat them.

But to what end? There was water everywhere. Could this creature control it all? Were there more water creatures? It was hard not to imagine the rippling dark surface of the water hiding many, many more. And even if there weren't, the one creature had plenty of fuel for its piercing jets and walls.

[color=ed1c24]"Let's even the odds, then,"[/color] Drache muttered to herself, lifting from the stone and sweeping around away from the wall. It hurt to leave Laurel lying on the ground, but putting herself in danger wouldn't be helpful. Focusing on an ornate row of torches along what may have once been a sort of street, the half-dragon took a deep breath and fire bubbled up out of her mouth. Most of it shot down towards her target like a swirling cone, though some dripped like flaming spittle down behind her. The heat raced along her veins even as the messy orange torrent fell upon the torches, the wood sputtering and hissing smokily before it caught. The braziers were easier, the oil lighting with an audible [i]Whump[/i], the flames flickering blue before growing into a more light-giving orange and white. One breath was enough, and the Elementalist used her power to light more, leaving a red glow in her wake as a small section of the village seemed to come alive behind and below her. With fire and heat above and dark floodwaters below, the some of the buildings had an appearance of ships burning at sea. 

All the water here seemed so [i]wrong.[/i]

As the cavern started to warm, the half-dragon turned back towards the others, emboldened by the heat. [color=ed1c24]"Leave her alone!" [/color]

In spite of the fires, the screaming still made her spine feel icy.