Catarina watched Alyssa run away after the darkmantles were dealt with. Clenching her fist to her heart Catarina let out a breath. [color=fff79a]"At least she's safe..."[/color] She had to put Alyssa outside her thoughts for now. Her job wasn't finished yet and there was still plenty more of this temple to be explored. That being said, she quickly regret Alyssa leaving when Jordis and Malkai decided to throw caution to the wind and just went headlong into the temple. This got Catarina rubbing her head through her helmet. [color=fff79a]"Ugh. Men..."[/color]

Letting the meatheads take point Catarina watched the rear with Vivian. She made sure to stand between the dark elf and any potential threat, mostly from the front since they had some people willing to trigger any and all traps for the sake of progress. Fortunately there wasn't any traps and they found the chalice in a large room. It was sitting on a pedestal at the center, just begging to be grabbed. [color=fff79a]"This looks like a trap if I've ever seen one. Someone should try to detect magic on it and see if it's the real-"[/color] As Catarina was making orders, the dwarf just went in and grabbed it. This got another dejected sigh from her, but at this point Catarina was no longer surprised. She just took out [i]Domina[/i] and got ready for the next fight.

Sure enough, the statues they passed along the way came alive and they were now attacked by Gargoyles. About eight total, a few going after Jarvis, but most where standing between the dwarf and the rest of the party. Just as she was getting ready to fight, Malkai walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She was tempted to push him away at first, still not trusting the stranger. Instead however he simply stated that it was time for her to prove her worth, and more surprisingly, buffed her with a magic spell. She knew what Bull Strength did and she could feel her body get stronger. However she was still surprised that Malkai was some sort of mage. Was he also a sorcerer? Was everyone in this party but her capable of magic?

It ultimately didn't matter. Two Gargoyles came straight at Vivian. One looked to be killed, but another was grappling with the sorcerer. Fortunately Catarina was close and charged right at the monster. She could feel herself getting stronger by the second, so instead of her usual sword-and-shield style, she quickly put her shield away and two-handed her bastard sword, increasing the strength of her blow. [i]Domina[/i] also began to glow with an awesome power, a tell-tale sign that her enemies were evil. Confident in her ability, Catarina put the full momentum of her charge, combined with with surge of strength, and chopped [i]Domina[/i] down with all her power at the gargoyle from head to toe.