Drannon nodded to Ian as he explains who the tracks might belong to. He didnt know the Paladin Marsala, but he had heard of the new Lord of Elmshade before. He smiled and patted Pheryl on the side of her neck, her greyblue scales shining healthy. Being female, Pheryl wasnt as big, nor as spiney as the males of her kind. She was more sleek, and with larger wings than the males for better flight. She looked back to Ian and bowed her head to him, and got a good long look at his steed Vorowier. She licked her lips with a forked tongue..

Drannon tried to protest as Ian left to follow the horse tracks, but the Ranger was too quick... and probably wouldnt have stopped anyway. Drannon thought about following, but decided against it for now, someone needed to be here when the others showed up. He could always track them later if need be.

Drannon and Pheryl turned at once as Arienne flew in and landed next to them. They were use to seeing her fly around often by her ring powers, and knew who she was before she even got close to them. Drannon waved, and walked up to her as she landed. He immediatly informs her of what he just told Ian. The three different tracks around the new giant hole on the ruins. One set was identified as Ravens, another as Marsala, and the final set is a mystery... and vanish into thin air. He tells her of Ian taking off to follow the horse tracks of Marsala, and how he had to beat Drannon off from preventing him following before he got away and left. Drannon chuckles at that last part, trying to bring a little light into a bad situation. His sarcasm about the young Ranger rushing off was surly caught as he pointed off the direction he left.

Pheryl comes up next to Arienne and rubs against her. She smiles to Arienne like a true trusting friend would. The female scalamagdrion would die rather than let harm come to either of these two humanoids next to her. Both Arienne and  Drannon are held in high regard to the dragonkin, and its shows through her effection tward them. Which she knows shes sure to recieve back if shes cute enough about it. "Hasty boy Ranger rushes off to follow tracks, riding tasty looking horse, Vorowier." Drannon gives her a look when she says that, like.... dont you even think about it ...without him even saying a word. Pheryl just shrugs, arching her head back in defense... "What?"

Drannon looked from Arienne, and back to the large hole... then back to Arienne. "I dont like the feel of this place. Even more so now that theres a gaping enterance to its very bowells. Heebee Jeebees!... Im tellin ya, this place is creepy! Maybe we should wait for your friend Silvara to arrive before we go down?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Drannon shrugs, and turns to the steps leading down into the ruins. He lights a torch, and then walks carefully down the steps. He notices the three sets of footprints that travel up and down the steps. However the ones he identified as Ravens did not come back up. "Either your friend Raven is still down here, or he flew out... cause his footprinmts sure dont come back out." ...he informs the others as he continues leading the way down the steps. The stairs themselves curve around as they descend deeper and deeper, spiraling over themselves as they stretch downward. After a short walk down, the group finds themselves in a large room. Drannon holds out his torch lighting it enough to see some details. The room was over forty feet high, and the same in width. It was decorated in relief of a strange race of ppl dancing and rejoicing on one side of the room, and then as they reach the doors on the otherside, the reliefs turn to pain and anguish. The doors opposite the steps were huge, running from floor to cieling, and sealed tight. They looked to be made of solid gold, and were also decorated with the same relief in the room. Only five large circular symbols crowned a sixth larger one decorated the doors, the entire image split between the two doors. The language long lost, none of them knew how to decifer it... but they knew of someone who might. Someone whos been working on the ruins for months now, and has produced several rubbings that resemble the ones found in here. There was a small unmistakeable keyhole in one door, and a strange small two inch shelf on the other door. The shelf was empty...

Drannon crouched down and looked at the prints on the floor. He quickly surmised what went on. "Looks like your friend Raven was here, but fell down or passed out here." ...he points to an impression of a body in the dust. "But... looks like the mysteriouse 2nd set of prints picked him up, and left. Thats would explain why they were sunken more outside... they were carrying him." ...he looks back to the prints, and continues to describe the events that took place, according to his print reading. He moves around, and performs the actual movements of the prints. "Then this 3rd set, that Ian said was Marsala, came in... but he was apparently too late. Raven and the other person were already gone. He then left here, and pursued on his horse." Drannon gets back to his feet and looks to the three wemon... "I dont see how he followed anyone though. The 2nd set of mystery tracks disappear not far from the enterance above. So what could this Marsala be chasing?"

Pheryl stays on the steps behind them, looking around curiously herself.

"I can see why you think this place is creepy Drannon." ... she then sneezes from the dust everywhere.

 

Arienne studied everything with her cool blue gaze as they descended the steps into the ruins. She kept her staff readied in front of her, in case they ran across trouble. When they reached the large room at the bottom, the elf maiden scanned the carved relief trying to make some sense of the symbols and pictures presented. She shook her head and frowned lightly, tracing her fingertips over some of the ancient works. "I cannot decipher this," she murmured to the others in disappointment. "I have studied much ancient lore and a few of the more archaic languages, but this...I've never beheld anything like it. But..."

 

She set her staff against a wall,  reached into her cloak and pulled out one of the rubbings she had brought from the dias, opening the parchment to compare it and the notes written on it to the walls and doors. "Drannon," she said quietly. "It seems like there should have been a key for that keyhole, doesn't it?" Arienne paused from her perusal of the rubbing for a moment and narrowed her sapphire gaze at the small shelf near the door. "If that were true, it isn't there now. Do you think whoever took Raven also took the key?" She mused on that for a second and then continued, looking slightly puzzled. "But if that were true, why wouldn't they just use the key and go inside?"

 

The lovely mage padded closer to the door and bent down, looking at the ground the same way Drannon had done. "There are no marks to indicate that the doors have been opened recently, so I think your assumption of events must be correct." Her frown grew deeper and more anxious and she walked back over to pick up her staff, then looked at the others again. "I think we should go after him," she told them. "Drannon, Pheryl, can you track him? I know you said the tracks disappear, but...is there no way to follow....hmmmm.....wait. I have an idea."

 

Her eyes gleamed and she actually smiled a little. "I'll try this, and we'll see what happens." She slid her staff into the loop at her back and withdrew a small forked twig from a pouch at her waist, concentrating and reaching with her mind and spirit for the Magical Weave. She held the twig in front of her and chanted, "Templa, tu amin utu Tel'cath-elee tankla." As she said the words, she pictured Raven's tiger's-eye brooch, the one that held Raja, in her mind in crystalline detail. Arienne felt the Weave's energy enter her and power the spell, so she slowly began to turn in a circle, feeling for the tell-tale sign that would help her know in which direction Raven's tiger-eye brooch could be found.

 

 

 

 

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Marsala heard his wife's voice and he unconsciously rubbed his ring.

"You are definitely a pleasure to hear right now," Marsala replied. "I'm several miles into the forest and Aonian is with me. We just finished off a giant ant...I'll tell you all about that later. Right now, it's imperative that I meet with Silvara and Arienne. I have some news that the remaining Trinity members must hear before taking any other action. Do you understand? Tell them not to do anything until I have talked to them. Are they with you? And if so, where are you? Mercury and I can be there very shortly."

Drannon steps to the side... and stands over at the base of the stairs with Pheryl, petting her neck and agreeing with her coment earlier. They both watch curiously as the mages cast spells, and study the area. A couple of them even seem to be talking to themselves... Pheryl and Drannon just look at each other quizicly at the sight, and just chuckle silently to themselves. Drannon did however think Diedras idea was a good one and nodded to her.

Ariennes spell goes off and faintly picks up the brooch in very close proximity to the Ivory Tower. It then suddenly vanishes completely as it passes into the tower itself at a high altitude... maybe the upper balcony levels. The sudden cut off can only mean the towers defenses were raised, and the tower itself sealed with powerful protections and wards. That usually only happens when there is a battle, or Raven is hurt. The tower will seal up automaticly as a safety measure if the white wizard is inside and injured. Getting inside will be very difficult now...

 

Arienne’s face brightened as her spell located the brooch in close proximity to the Ivory Tower and she looked over at Diedra, astonishment plain on her face. "That is exactly where the spell is picking up his brooch," she told them all. "Diedra, how did you know?" Then Arienne’s attention was drawn again to the small twig she had been using as she felt the magic abruptly cut off. She gasped and frowned in alarm, quickly walking back to the stairs that would lead them outside. "Something’s wrong!" she said urgently, rushing past Drannon and Pheryl, her blue eyes heavy with worry. "Raven’s hurt! He’s in the Ivory Tower and he is hurt! Come, we must get to him!"

 

There was no stopping the lovely elf once she got started, and she was up the stairs and outside within seconds. As the others returned to the surface they could see that her ring was already activated as she began to float, preparing to make all haste and fly to Raven’s Tower. Arienne was a Trinity Mage - surely she would be able to get inside...the Tower recognized her, and she was going to find out just what the Hades was happening!

Drannon and Pheryl were very loyal to the mage Arienne, and when she said 'lets go!'... then she means "Lets Go!!". Drannon had spent the majority of his life staying with Arienne and protecting the surrounding forests, and her tower from enemies. Sort of an unnappointed guardian... They were even childhood friends, and she would often protect him from other human hating elves... like her brother. So both Pheryl and Drannon filed in behind Arienne and went back up the steps. Drannon was kinda glad of it anyway... the place was creepier on the inside.

Once they reached the top Pheryl scrambled to the side of the ruins enterance where Drannon mounted the saddle on her back. He tied himself into the custom flight saddle like he'd done it a thousand times. Pheryl even dipped a wing for him to step up on and reach the saddle easier. Drannon turned around in the saddle, gripping the female scalamagdrions reins and pivoting her around as well to face the others. Pheryl spread her wings out to their fullest 22 foot wingspan, stretching the muscles for a flight to come. Her body, including long prehencile tail and long neck, is a total of 12 feet long. Her main torso the size of a horse in general with squat and muscular reptilian legs out to the sides and down to large black claws. Her tail also ends in a spikey silvery club on the end, mace sized and agile. She looks like a miniature dragon without all the spines and sails and more smooth and streamline. Her scales are mainly metalblue in color and irredescent like a snakes sides. Her underwings, and underbelly are a dark grey to silvery in the center of her chest. She wears a custom made flight saddle, which has rear saddle bags where she carries her belongings... Drannon carries his own stuff.

Pheryl folds her wings back down and stands waiting, and looking at the others. Drannon looks to Diedra, and Silvara as they come up as well... "Anyone need a ride?" Pheryl rears back a bit ready to take off, Drannon waits to see if anyone else is comming... he doubted it with these wemon being wizards, but he'd offer just the same.

 

 

 

 

 

Arienne could have easily teleported immediately to the Ivory Tower, but she flew instead, scanning the ground for any signs that might have told a story about Raven’s strange disappearance. The elven woman was deeply concerned for her old friend, but somewhat relieved that he was apparently inside his home. At least knowing he was safe at home was something that eased her anxious mind a bit. Her slender form quickly became naught but a speck as she raced as fast as she could fly to the white wizard’s tower. (( Moving to this thread now.))

Pheryl reared back once, and lept into the air 30 feet. Her wings opened, catching the air like large sails filling with wind and pumped them with powerful wing muscles as she lifted off... leaving a cloud of dust on the ground under her as she gained altitude. Drannon shrugged to the others, and held on as Pheryl took off. Pheryl soon reached incredible speeds in just keeping up with Arienne, she rode the air currents like a professional... folding her wings to dive and gain even more speed... then opening them halfway to level out and maintain. Drannon just ducked down and held on the the saddle horn as tight as she could. Even though he was strapped in, Pheryls daring flight maneuvers can still whip him around a bit if hes not careful. His cheeks and face squished back by the extreme force of wind, even while ducking down and using his best airborn riding skills. He could make out Arienne just ahead, and the tips of the Trinity towers beyond her...