Amal watched, entranced at the spectacle for a brief moment. The serpentine seductress hacked off limbs and lashed out with her stone tail with the moves of a belly dancer, breaking legs with each twist of her lower half. She almost looked to toy with the men she hadn't killed in a manner that made Amal believe the statue was almost sapient. He wasn't certain if it had ears, but he would take no chance and he silently lowered himself and Emmaline, quietly bouncing off the pillar like a mountain climber lowering himself. Emmaline pressed her face into the back of Amal's thick head of hair so she wouldn't scream as he pushed off the pillar thrice until they made it to the ground. 

"There's no way out," Emmaline whispered. 

Amal placed a finger to her lips and nodded in the direction of where the statue had been. The ethereal lights within the chamber betrayed the location of a tunnel. Amal didn't know about his new companion, but a cutthroat's existence was about improvisation. Another door opens? You take it and hope you amuse Allah or whatever other God enough to curry their favor. 

As they made their way across the room, they noticed snakes began to pour out of small holes in the stonework. Adders, Black Mambas, Cobras, and the like slithered into view and fell lazily to the floor if they were higher up, some simply gazing out at the two from their high perches as if it was a curiosity to see them die. Amal ignored them, his adrenaline pumping, keeping ahold of Emmaline's rope as they hadn't had much time to untie themselves. 

The tunnel was lit only by the light that permeated the chamber, and it fed into a small cavern that widened into a great chamber of naturally carved rock, and they could hear the running water before they could see it. A small walkway made of marble, framed by terrifying figures of women with hair and fangs like Cobras, led toward's an ancient dock. Even Amal made a small gasp of relief when he saw the sight of the river, and a boat still within it. 

He was suspicious of the statues, but luckily none of them came to life as they passed. They need only figure out how to leave, for the small oaken boat was not tied down, but fixed in its position by an ornate brass pole, carved in the likeness of a Cobra, small rubies placed in its eye sockets. He could focus on the jewelry once they escaped, but for now he placed his thieving hands on the staff and pulled to free the boat as Emmaline hopped in. 

The Staff couldn't, wouldn't budge. Hard muscles from years of climbing and fighting grew prominent, but with all of his strength he couldn't move the staff. It was then when a great silhouette filled the chamber, and they both looked up to see the Guardian of Asaph, her swords and hips dripping in blood, appear at the entrance. She paused for but a moment, and then with blinding speed she charged their position. 

Amal took up his Shamshir and held it aloft in a brave show to attempt to ward off what was coming, and with a last desperation, Emmaline grabbed at the staff, only for it to simply pop out of the water. The woman stumbled back into Amal and they both hit the floor of the small boat. No one had pushed off, however, and the thing was nearly upon them, [i]was[/i] upon them! Emmaline held the Cobra Staff up at a vain attempt to guard a falling Scimitar...only for the blow to never come. 

As the small boat floated deeper into the current, they saw the Guardian, once poised to strike, shrinking back from the Staff as if it were a stone wall. Amal looked between Emmaline holding the thing, and the Guardian, and then he simply let out a relieved laugh that echoed across the cavern. "Asaph favors a beauty with magic!" he exclaimed. "Particularly one with blood on her hands." Amal helped himself and Emmaline up from their fall, and he gave her a grin that showed his teeth. "Asaph and I seem to have similar tastes." 

Any continuation of the shameless conversation was blocked out as the boat was suddenly swallowed up by a lightless cavern, and they were whisked off to Allah knows where into the mountains...
[@Penny]