Hiks, Natalie, and the rest of their group stood in a huddle. They were close enough to keep an eye on him, but far enough away to conceal the content of their conversation. Of course, Quintin recognized them as the group of adventurers in the forest just outside PanQuil Caverns. He remembered their rational response to the [Intruder Wolf] carnage, which played a role in the decision to reveal himself in the first place. As before, they deliberated his offer as one rational unit.

While he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could tell from body language alone that Hiks commanded the arguments for his inclusion. Natalie, to her credit, knew this decision wasn't hers to make and stood idly by in silence. The most animated of his detractors being the man named Levi, who had called him a liar in their previous exchange. However, regardless of their decision, he was determined to follow them anyway. Thus far, this team held the only clue in his search for Vissitri.

Their huddle broke in general agreement. Shortly after, they came over to inform him of what they had decided.

Quintin stood with arms crossed over his chest, leaning up against one of many [Cobblerite] walls around. "Have you come to a decision then?" he spoke as they drew nearer.

Hiks quickly responded, "We may not trust you completely, but I was able to convince them it's better to have you in range than somewhere behind us."

"Smart man. Honestly, I didn't plan on giving up no matter what you guys decided," Quintin said, quite impressed by their ability to tease out such a reason to include him.

They didn't trust him completely, but this collaboration didn't necessitate it. On the contrary, the only true requirement was a passable motivation that would link their desires to an end goal, their two parties had both. The adventurer's goal could be described as harder than Quintin's to achieve, but far easier because of his inclusion; even if they had no way of knowing that for sure. For now, their reasons to team up outweighed any of the negative alternatives.

Hiks smiled knowingly. "Ai, I knew you wouldn't back down so easily, and to be honest I have no desire to fight you. Better then that we fight together, as allies," he paused as if he was forgetting something, "Ah, right! Before I forget, this is my merry band of teammates. You know Levi and Natalie, but these three are Gina, Ollie, and Zcentil; who we all call Scenti for... reasons. Anywho, all of us together make up the team—Clawbreakers."

With the exception of Hiks and Gina who had question marks for levels, the rest of the Clawbreakers were below him in that regard. In particular, Ollie had a mere ten levels and the gear to reflect that. Based on Quintin's time spent in PanQuil, they all appeared to have appropriate, if not mundane, equipment for their differing roles. Hiks had heavy armor alongside a durable shield and a chunky looking mace as befitted a primary tank. Meanwhile, Natalie wore the light fabrics of someone well accustomed to quick and efficient scout work. Scenti sported the classical idea of a magic caster's apparel, the same went for Levi with his 'sneaky git' outfit. Gina, the odd woman out, had an odd [Class] by the name of [Orbseeker]. She wore a one-piece of pure white cloth and a belt to match it for protection.

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Quintin figured they ought to know his specialty, so spoke to that effect, "Nice to meet the rest of you. I'm an up-front-and-personal type of fighter, also, I do have a pretty nasty ranged attack!"

"Then you'll be there alongside me!" Hiks lifted his clenched fist to eye level, "We should get moving before Natalie pops a blood vessel."

--

The Clawbreakers plus Quintin moved out at a much slower pace than before. Though slower might have been subjective to only one of them, as the heavy breathing of Natalie's teammates duly indicated a still respectable speed. She led the way, scouting out both the terrain and potential threats to their newly formed alliance.

Quintin couldn't help but wonder why they still followed her calls. Scant minutes before she ran ahead wildly, without heed or concern. On the move, he whispered his doubts to Hiks, "Is there a reason she's leading the way? I could do so if I knew which direction to go in."

Hiks understood his unspoken question, "It's not as if we're unafraid of death, but she's lead the way for us more than a few seasons on now and always calls true. That withstanding, she is the only one with a connection to the ring."

This pitstop on the way to Sozzelrift was a lot wider than it had first appeared. It made a certain sort of sense when one stopped to consider the sheer size of the Underhome itself. Quintin still wasn't sure if that was just a title or meant to be used as part of the city's full name even now. Regardless, the answer Hiks provided went a long way to confirm his thought that Natalie must possess a [Skill] or something of the sort to trace where the ring went.

"I see. Thanks, I can tell you all put a lot of trust in one another. To err is human, I forget the rest," he spoke softly, lips curling up ever so mischievously.

Hiks shared a quizzical look with him and snorted contemptuously. "What're you? A damn [Poet]?"

"Something like that," Quintin shot back.

The march continued in relative silence and without much in the way of breaks. Every now and again, a signal from Natalie brought them to a halt. Like clockwork, they would either circle back around or move on after a moment or two. The latter worked to allow everyone a chance to catch their collective breath. During one such pause, Quintin decided to try calling out to Vissitri, in a mental way, similar to how they communicated previously.

[Vissitri, do you hear me?]

After a few seconds of overbearing silence and just as some frustration began to tug at him, the noncommittal mind-voice of Vissitri came in loud and clear.

[You call and this God answers! That's capital 'G', mind- Oh, Quintin! Funny thing, I've been looking around for you.]