[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/BjtZNtv.png[/img][/center]
[color=ed1c24]Location[/color]: Underground complex, Lab area, Stritzel's Estate, Western Kindeance.
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The dried husk of a corpse that Solomon summoned, Veronica decided, was one of his more disturbing ones. It was one thing for the undead to be like Bartholomew, who reveled in battle and bloodshed, for who becoming undead was merely a second chance to keep doing what he loved most. It was one thing to be a vampire or even a lich, who gained as much as they lost in some ways. But it was quite another thing to be "preserved" in a state of eternal suffering. To imagine being eternally dehydrated, eternally [i]thirsty[/i] with no way to [i]quench[/i] it... The idea gave the vampire the shivers.

But she didn't have the luxury to consider such things right now.

As soon as a path through the flames was opened by a flow of sand, Veronica was sprinting, sending a final nod back at Solomon and Matteo. She hugged the wall as close as she dared, committing all due swiftness, as she ducked past the brawling forms of Bartholomew and the towering, burnt bear. She didn't stop for a moment, not when a thunderous explosion sounded from deeper within the lab -accompanied by the sound of crumbling wood and stone, not when Cedar's ever-bleeding heart compelled him to verbally tussle with Widernia. Veronica didn't have time to address all the bullshit that was happening right now, not in this place. She barely had the energy to be thankful that the burning bear had barreled past them down the other hallway, not willing to question their good fortune at this stage. Hopefully, that had something to do with Cedar...

[color=ed1c24]"Less talking, more moving!"[/color] She shouted at Lily and Rose, jerking her head towards Cedar, as she ducked to the side of the antechamber, adjusting her grip on Widernia to heft the mage a bit higher on her back and hold her with one arm under her butt. One hand freed, she reached out to grab the still unconscious guard, slumbering in the barracks, hooking an arm under his stomach to carry his limp form underarm. [color=ed1c24]"We'll have time for bleeding hearts later! The injured come first, so grab him and carry, even if he resists!"[/color]

Having secured both her prisoners, Veronica grit her teeth at the extra weight and pushed her muscles just that little bit further, now entering dangerous territory. In order to maintain her leading pace even with this burden, the exertion of her true undead strength was necessary, and she could feel the micro-tears breaking out in her legs with each footfall, even as she darted back the way the group had come, towards the storage room.