[center][img width=650]https://i.postimg.cc/MKP9LqTv/banner.png[/img][/center]

[b][color=#c9b6ff]✦ Alexander Orion ✦[/color][/b] [color=#8bbcff][i]— "Everything I do, I do for the Gods."[/i][/color]
[hr]
[color=#b6a6ff][b]Location:[/b][/color] North Ryke - Dungeon Entrance | [color=#b6a6ff][b]Time:[/b][/color] Early Morning
[hr]
[color=#f0edff]
[i]Aster stood quietly among the gathered adventurers, his expression calm as he listened to the others speak. The morning air was cool, the dungeon entrance looming ahead like an open mouth in the earth, and already the group was beginning to sort itself out.[/i]

[i]He watched the woman called Astra with mild curiosity. She carried herself with a sort of unquestioning certainty that was difficult to miss. Bold. Practical. Fearless. She assessed the others quickly, assigning positions and possibilities with the ease of someone who was used to battle. Aster did not mind it. Someone had to start the conversation, and her reasoning was sound enough.[/i]

[i]His gaze shifted from one party member to the next. Silas could teleport. Elaria could conjure fire, though her memory seemed unreliable. Lord Percival carried himself with the strange ease of a man who treated danger like a pastime, while Xian-Fu looked far more grounded and immediately useful. Then there was Talos and Taotie, a friendly giant whose size alone made him difficult to ignore and a magical staff with a quirky personality. An unusual group, but not a hopeless one.[/i]

[i]When Astra asked whether anyone had a better plan, Aster was quiet for a moment before finally speaking, his voice even and unhurried.[/i]

[color=#8bbcff]"No major objections."[/color]

[i]He glanced toward Talos, then the dungeon entrance.[/i]

[color=#8bbcff]"If the halls narrow too much, we may need to adjust as we move. But that can wait until we see the interior for ourselves."[/color]

[i]He folded one arm across his chest, the other resting loosely at his side.[/i]

[color=#8bbcff]"As for me... I'm an archer. So long as I have some room, I can handle my share. And Taotie here can cast magic on her own. If you want to speak to her, you have to hold her."[/color]

[i]He lifted the staff, displaying it to those who had yet to see, and then he fell quiet again. As for the plan, there was no point in him saying more than necessary. Plans made in open air often changed the moment stone walls closed around a group and the dark began pressing in.[/i]

[i]For now, Aster simply looked toward the dungeon’s entrance and waited for the others to discuss further.[/i]

[/color]
[hr]
[center][color=#8bbcff]✦ @Proto ✦[/color][/center]