Kriv watched her with curiosity. His muzzle let out a subtle yawn and his hand raised to hide it, his eyes then noted where he had left his pack. It was still slumped against the booth bench. It had completely slipped his mind and immediately, Kriv began to bend down to scoop it up by the strap. He had just secured it across his shoulder when he noticed Jen notch an arrow, drawing his eyebrow into an arch. Her statement was enough to cause him consider she had a point. 

When she moved past him, his figure tensed when he felt Jen’s hand trail along his midriff. His knuckles briefly tightened about his staff end causing his eyes to snap to her instantly. She hadn’t seem to notice his reaction to her gesture, much to his relief, and continued onward, her exotic floral scent filling his nostrils. Inhaling, he quickly walked in her wake. 

His hands held his quarterstaff at the ready as she pushed the stone door open, then edged in. It looked like any kitchen backspace with ovens, cooking spaces and a block stained with blood for butchering meat. The rustic, iron scent of the crusted blood grew stronger the closer they walked toward it as they made their way deeper in. His scales tingled with awareness over the staff’s looks, likely wondering why two customers were wandering into the back and poking around. Despite the discomfort, Kriv kept close to Jen’s figure. At the creak of the sturdy, aged trapped door, his head looked toward the source and had been about to bent down to help when the woman’s warning reached his ears. 

Kriv smiled warmly and stepped into her path, his larger figure blocked her path. [color=orange] “Don’t worry, that’s why we’re here. We’ll take care of the rats.”[/color] 

He let Jenphira handle the rest as she warned against opening the trapdoor before they returned, something he agreed with. When Jen vanished into darkness of the cellar, he quickly followed and shut the door behind him. His feet smacked hard into the ground while he caught his balance, prepared for fall down, then nodded at Jen’s words. [color=orange] “No turning back now, uh? I hope the rats’ descriptions are just exaggerated and not accurate.”[/color]   

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It was undeniably a storage area when he entered the area. His scales shivered from the cool, his hand pulled his tunic tighter about him and kept close to Jen. A musty air, filled with a  foul odor, reached his nose and immediately he fought a sour taste budding at the back of his throat. He thought for a moment he was going to throw up as he managed to swallow it down, then hear the faint scratching of something alive ahead of them. 

His eyes stare at the door, his voice commenting on Jen’s statement. [color=orange] “I don’t know, but I know the monastery’s didn’t. I assume that’s not normal.”[/color]