Oururu POV

The serpent wakes to an early afternoon, a little ball of warmth in the center of his coil as he can taste the scent of Frisby, the large rodent relaxing with the serpent after her own busy day. He leans in, gently nosing her silky fur before slowly pulling away from the whining rodent, leaving her within the den as he coasts through the stony sand. He moved in towards the entrance of Vitmori's chamber, coiling up his considerable length on the warm stone path before basking in the sun's glow and Vitmori's radiance. Oururu couldn't help but let his mind wander as he brought the end of his tail to his mouth and bit down, slowly circulating his mana through his coils as his sight went beyond him. He's more relaxed in general these days; having adjusted to his size and strength, he no longer feels as vulnerable or weak as he did before. His desire to feed is almost non-existent, yet his hunger to be more pangs in the back of his mind. He needed to do more than observe and protect Vitmori's chamber; no, being honest with himself, he only wanted to do more, but that desire gnawed at him even more. Before he knew it, he realized his physical body had moved to stare completely down at the cave entrance, which led to the other dungeon; snapping from his stupor, his body jolts and shudders as his sight returns to his own eyes. Flicking his tongue out, he realizes that Frisby has come out to join him.

The rat nuzzled into his coils once more, staring into the sunset until Oururu jolted, smiling as she looked up at the serpent. "A lot on your mind?" She squeaked out pleasantly as she shifted around to rest more comfortably after Oururu's brief amount of movement.

Oururu hissed thoughtfully, flicking his tongue a couple more times as he turned his head to look at Vitmori's core. It seemed his attention was elsewhere for the time being, so Oururu looked back down to Frisby again as he hissed some more.

Frisby's round, ratty ears flick as she listens to Oururu's hiss seemingly reverberate throughout his entire body before looking up at him again. "I see... Well, I certainly don't mind accompanying you down there, but I do ask you at least bring a few others. Maybe not the Sinners since they're rather noisy with all that metal and stone."

Oururu slowly tilted his head from side to side, considering that as he reflected upon the experience, the sinners recounted after they returned from the depths of Vitmori's mountain. The ooze only seemed to move and attack after Dread disturbed it. From there, it only actively chased and attacked the sinners who were crying out, either in attack or from pain. Based on this and from observing the behavior of the rancid ooze pond, Oururu couldn't help but consider that they probably don't even have to defeat the ooze to get through its room, and they could sneak through to progress further below into the depths. Looking back to Frisby, he shared his considerations with a few low hisses.

Frisby's ears flicked some more at Oururu's soothing hissing; however, she perked up as she listened to what he had to say. "I... Yes, I think that might actually work." She considered while absently nodding her head. "I am sorry that I can't offer any information about what to expect in the rest of the dungeon, but I'm willing to be an extra set of eyes. Still, I would feel much more comfortable if you enlisted others to join us."

Oururu gave a nod of his head in response, turning to look at Frisby as he flicked his tongue cheerfully enough. He uncoils his considerable body, Frisby crawling around carefully to rest and sit upon his back as Oururu begins his descent down the mountain.

Isaak POV

"Are you serious? The Shepherd really said that?" He asked, positively bewildered yet intrigued as he turned to look at Sylvia, the dwarven woman jabbing a knuckle into his side, which caused him to jolt and resume his previous position as he looked straight ahead while staying still.

"Yes, he did." She responded simply as she went back to taking Isaak's measurements. "It's only a matter of time until Vitmori has the ones that tried to buy us in custody... I do wonder what he intends to do with them, and it's not like the law of Theocracy, or any laws at that, are applicable here." She wondered aloud as she dragged a log stool around to Isaak's side, hopping up onto it as she measured his shoulders and the range of movement for his arms.

Isaak hummed thoughtfully as the dwarven woman moved his limbs however she needed to. "I personally wouldn't mind seeing them hanging from a rope if it were up to me, that is." He considered, his brow furrowing at the thought of people who could just buy other people like a piece of bread. He shook his head at the idea, which earned him another knuckle jab to his sides as he winced and stood still again.

Sylvia huffed as she went back to taking measurements, getting off her stool after measuring Isaak's chest and measuring his waist now. "I get what you mean; who knows what nefarious things they would've done to us... To Aug and the other children. It makes my blood boil hot at the thought, as well as what probably already has happened to any others that were already taken. I don't dare hope that justice could be served for everyone involved, but I'd probably be satisfied if those that orchestrated all this got what was coming to them." She confided as she finally stepped away, committing Isaak's measurements to memory. "You can lower your arms now." She mentioned, glancing back at the young guard while she rolled her measuring string.

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Isaak sighed with tired relief as he let his arms fall before rolling his shoulders and neck, soon stretching and letting out a grunt of delight. Relaxing, he looked over at Sylvia curiously. "What are you making this armor out of anyways?" He asked as he sat down along the bench of the old fireplace clearing.

She flashed a smile as she sat down on her stool and looked up at the teen as she held out her fingers to list out the materials. "I'll be using Cloud Stag hide, Dryve Mantis chitin, taran-tracker silk, and some bones for various fasteners and buttons." She explained with a smile as she could visualize the equipment now. "You'll look rather wild, but it'll have to do since you humans are so squishy." She teased kindly as she rested her hands in her lap.

Isaak couldn't help but roll his eyes at the comment, but he flashed a rare smile nonetheless. "Well, excuse me for not having natural scales like a lizardkin." He retorted as he nodded in acceptance of her description. "I suppose it'll have to do, thanks."

Sylvia scoffed with mock offense as she looked back over at him. "You suppose it'll do then? Well, if you want better materials, how about you bring down a bear or even a dragon at that." She mused kindly before going about cracking her finger joints. "In any case, I'll see about improving it once Trisha gets metal production going in that forge Vitmori's making for her."

Isaak nodded as he looked up to the mountain in the near-distance thoughtfully. "I wonder what it's like to serve a dungeon core... Do you still have free will? To do as you want when you want it? Or is it another form of slavery?"

She considers this, glancing over at Zasutir as he chats with Woody while they dig out a spot for a smoker. "Well... I haven't had the opportunity to meet many dungeon cores, let alone meet anyone who actually serves them. But at the very least, Zasutir seems to be in good spirits and behaves like any of us. So perhaps it really all just depends." She offered with a shrug.

He sighed a little, not really up for thinking too deeply as he glanced towards the longhouse, spotting a giant snake with a rat on its back as they approached Basti, who had been lounging in the shadow of the longhouse. He wasn't really sure how to feel about all that, but after a moment, he mustered some words. "Damn... That's one big rat."

Sylvia seemed to look over and appraise the mentioned rat. "Meh... I've seen bigger." She replied plainly. Though as they watched, Basti went ahead and stood as she followed after the snake and rat.

Oururu POV

Oururu soon makes his way up to the cave entrance; it feels... Smaller than last time and less intimidating for sure. Though it may just be that Oururu was a much bigger serpent than his last time here. Slithering closer, the wolf standing guard for their den seems to stiffen with surprise before laying down with submission towards their superior, allowing Oururu, Frisby, and Basti to enter without a fuss. Entering the first chamber, the musk of wolves was rather apparent, but so was the mana of Vitmori's influence on the wolves, so overall, it wasn't a wholly unpleasant scent. A couple of wolves seemed to rest in this first room, but he could sense the rest of them in the next room over.

The wolves in question seemed surprised to see the trio of beasts enter, but as they were a part of Vitmori's pack, they were, of course, allowed to pass through unopposed.

In the next room, Oururu looked about curiously as he spotted about a dozen wolves milling about. A few were eating kills from their hunts, while others brought grasses from the forest, piling them together for bedding. Before long, they spotted Legosi quietly chatting with a she-wolf, though it wasn't much longer until he spotted the trio and quickly hopped to his feet, surprising the she-wolf.

Quickly approaching, Legosi laid before the imposing beasts submissively as he looked up at them. "H-how can I help you? D-did y-you need something?" He asked worriedly, unsure what invited this surprise visit from Vitmori's best.

Oururu looked vaguely surprised by this behavior, looking between Basti and Frisby as he hissed before looking down to Legosi and hissing reassuredly.

"That's right; you're one of us. There's no need to act like that for anyone else save for Vitmori himself." Frisby mentioned cheerfully as she hopped off Oururu, coming over to pat Legosi's side to reassure him.

Legosi's tail seemed to wag slowly as he watched Frisby curiously before nodding intently. "A-ah, okay... Sorry." He replied as he slowly sat up again.

Basti murrs with vague amusement as she flicked her tail while watching the young wolf before mrowling a gentle admonishment.

"S-sorry again I.. Err... Right, no more apologizing for that." He said, bobbing his head more confidently before looking among the trio. "R-regardless... How can I help you? Did you all need anything?" He asked again, a little more collected as he got used to their presence.

Oururu pitched in at that, lowly hissing as he explained what was going on, at which point he invited Legosi to join them, wanting as many capable members to pitch in on this endeavor.

Legosi's tail wagged more noticeably as he looked flustered once again, averting his gaze as he smiled at Oururu's words. "Me? C-capable? I'm humbled by your words Oururu... Very well, if you'll have me, I'll gladly contribute my presence." He enthused with a bob of his head before getting to all fours. He glanced back at the she-wolf in charge of den affairs, and she bobbed her head. With that, Legosi looked back to Oururu and the others, his tail still wagging slowly. "Lead the way."

Oururu hissed his approval before slithering further into the cave, passing another wolf who guarded the path which led further into the old dungeon, the wolf lying in submission as they acknowledged all the much more powerful beasts. They make their way into the depths, time seeming to drag on as they go deeper into the darkness, their animalistic senses making up for the lack of light. After what seemed like forever, the four beasts came into the room with the spring-sized ooze. Oururu hissed almost silently, signaling the others to wait for him to go first, even as Basti murrs with disapproval. Ignoring her protest, Oururu slithers forth, going as quietly as he could manage over the moss and fungus-coated floor. He stopped just over halfway across the room before looking back at the others, waving his tail to signal them. One by one, the beasts silently sneak across under Oururu's watchful eyes, and once Legosi cleared the expanse, Oururu slithered the rest of the way, entering the path on the other side of the room as he released a hiss of relief he didn't realize he was holding. At that, they pressed forward, encountering yet another trap-filled hallway and staircase, yet even as they intentionally triggered each one, nothing of note happened. Finally, they came across one more chamber; rounding the corner, they saw a faint, dwindling purple glow beyond some rubble.

Though as they cross the threshold of the room, a playful laugh is heard as the voice of a young boy tenderly calls out. "Someone new... Have you come to play?"