[center][h2]The Journey Begins[/h2][/center] [center][h3]~ Unknown Location ~[/h3][/center] [center][i]Interacted with:[/i] [@Rune_Alchemist][/center] Nick reached the courtyard without further incident. Finally, he could catch his breath. He quickly cut some pieces from his shirt and made a makeshift bandage for his stinging gash on his shoulder. As he covered his wound, he noticed that a black film on top of the injury that coagulated around the blood. Nick blinked as he realized that that was not normal. Like, at all. He did not feel anything weird just yet but he should definitely find someone to take a look at this. Oh man, he sure could use Augusta's help right now. The brief thought about the Elf made him think back to his group earlier. He wondered how they were doing right now. Probably way better than him considering that they seemed perfectly capable and wielded weapons and magic as if they were born to do it. Meanwhile, ol' Nick here already took a hit and was alone in this courtyard about a quarter naked. Just when he was calming down, the earth trembled once more. An area near Nick, around the corner of the courtyard, simply fell and from the hole emerged black roots and vines that split and destroyed stone and soil. Nick moved and saw the whole thing happen. A humongous mass of black matter grew in size and began coalescing into what appeared to be Venus Flytrap-like plant. Just what was those guys doing down there? Were they alright? It was seeming like they weren't. A giant stone golem moved to confront it, wielding an equally huge stone blade. The two titanic beings watched each other for now, the golem appearing a bit hesitant. Nick didn't care, he was not sticking around to see what happens next. They seem distracted and Nick used the opportunity to run as fast as he could at the exit, wherever that was. He was confident that he would slip by unnoticed, but what if he didn't? What if the two monstrous things decide to chase him down? Oh, the thought sent shivers down wounded Nicholas.