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[indent][color=lightgray]By the time Shirik had cleared away enough of the fire, they could see that Kareet went into a hole. That was unwise, but she was smart enough to handle herself. Shirik was starting to feel a little lightheaded, so they descended down to the hole where a contingent of soldiers began to form. Shirik touched the ground with a smattering of sparks that gave way to smoke as they reached for their staff that [i]someone[/i] left in the dirt. The guards told them to make no sudden movements, but Shirik was too old to be listening to foot soldiers who gave orders. They wiped the dirt off their staff, and all the soot from their cloak, ignoring the soldier boy for several seconds before leaning on the staff more than usual. Flying was something best left to force mages, and Shirik was no such mage. Their hood was down, and the soldiers could see that Shirik had skin like bark, the same way an Iriad would. Except most Iriads didn't have flames lapping out from under their bark and where their eyes would be. 

[color=d68300]"I am Shirik of the Myriad. This is my companion, J'eon. We are here to investigate this object with a Seeker from Arcaeda, and I must go and ensure that she hasn't gotten herself killed. J'eon, if you'll excuse me."[/color] Perhaps the soldiers wanted to order the two mages to stay put, but if they did, Shirik promptly denied them that chance as they turned and trekked inwards, using their natural flaming body as a light source to see the way forward. Countless metal shapes, both twisted and shaped to impossible levels of skill gave way to what could've been a hall of some sort, where Shirik inevitably found Kareet and another soldier surrounded by spheres.

[color=d68300]"I assume those are you soldiers outside. Kareet, have you lost your head? We know nothing of this construction, other than that it is damaged, and your first instinct is to run right into-"[/color] They stopped talking the moment they saw some weird, pink, vaguely person-shaped creature holding some sort of object. There were living things in this crash. It looked like a S'Tor, only shorter and with less scales on its skin. 

[color=d68300]"Who is this...?"[/color] They asked with a substantially less harsh tone.


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