The Sign...

[Kain Wynd]

Kain hopped down from his ship and landed softly and as silently as possible in the sun-baked sand below him. He felt its warmth even through the thick soles of his boots and felt right at home in the warmth.

He stood up and looked around him slowly, gathering as much visual information from his surroundings as his eyes could take in. Then he went back over all of his surroundings again, carefully watching out for sudden movements along the beach.

Seeing that all was safe and quiet around him, he summoned forth his blue scyth, the blade appearing first, and the shaft materializing downward in his hand. The scyth's blade towered over his head, but had competent control over the weapon, enough to know how to use it as a weapon, and a tool for reaching objects out of his normal reach.

He began walking inland, slowly, watching his steps and moving lightly, but quickly enough so that it didn't seem as though the small, thick mounds of sand hindered his movements. Neither his heels nor his toes intentionally dug into the sand, but it was unavoidable, as this was a beach.

Seeing that he would need an extra set of eyes before him, he called forth his familiar, Ankhar. The owl flew from the boat over to Kain's outstretched arm and perched. It looked down at him with a puzzled "What?" escaping its beak.

Kain, not turning to face the bird, looked out before him, and began to speak. "This is the island, right?"
"Yes, I believe it is," came the bird's response.
"Then you'll be my forward eyes. I need you to find out where this ruin is located, and about how far."
"Of course," the owl said as it flew up into the sky and ahead of Kain. Kain continued to walk forward, the owl leading him.

[Kain Wynd]

Ankhar had found the great ruins, and then found the only entrance into it. He reported back to Kain, only to find that he was right behind him and had already deduced the same idea.

Kain dropped down into the hole carefully, hoping not to disturb anything that may be located within these depths of darkness and foreboding.

He found, instead, a drop that was lower and longer than he thought, and would have broken his ankle if he had continued to fall -- had it not been for the small knowledge of a spell of levitation that he knew.

He uttered the spell as he dropped, and was carried down slowly by his own will in the air. Ankhar, light bouncing off of his shining white feathers, illuminated the shadows of the hole as he descended downward.

Kain, detached, began to look around his surroundings for light. Finding none, he called to Ankhar, who could emit light from his own personal stores. Ankhar flew over to him, and then perched on his shoulder. Ankhar produced enough light for Kain to use as he felt his way through this new area.

Then they came to a cliff...

[Kain Wynd]

Kain fell hard and fast down what may have been used as a mining shaft long ago, but he wasn't sure. Each yard passed by with such speed until he finally caught his wits and summoned the same levitation spell that saved him before.

Using this new ability, for now, he floated down gently and looked around at his new location: deep inside a cave, at the threshhold of what appeared to be an underground lake.

The opposite side of the lake was obscured by the horizon itself, lending the notion that this may actually be an underground ocean. However, there was something seen on the other side: a small island, upon which sat a tall spire of rock. The spire reached upward towards the looming stalactites, but didn't quite touch them.

Kain looked around, to see if maybe there was a boat about that he may cross and found nothing. He would soon realize that it was best that there was no boat for him to use, as these waters are infested with a large creature, known simply as a "Thing from the Deep."

A large horror of a fish, it quite easily dwarves giant squids, and is quite ferocious. This creature has been known to account for most at-sea deaths among sailors and pirates alike, and may be to blame for countless other weather patterns (though there is no proof that this creature's abilities are at all related to the weather).

A quick surface scan signified that all was clear, at least for now. Kain took the first step into the still water, which sent ripples across the entire surface, possibly even to the other side.

Then the water was no longer still. Bubbling up to the surface with great force, Kain saw the creature that nightmares on the high seas are made of. The creature known as the "Thing from the Deep" towered before him, dripping with water and rage at the disturbance of its stilled waters and roared out in a gutteral, angry moan that sent a shiver of despair down Kain's back.

Ankhar looked up at the creature and then back at Kain. "You can take it," he said, hardly believing his own words as it perched on a rock, back near the cliff-face.

Kain watched as his companion flew away from him, then turned back to face the danger at hand. His life was at stake, and, for the sheer fear that the creature gave him, he could not summon a spell that would save him alone -- so he thought of an actual summon creature.

Kain thought long and hard of the creature that he could bring up that could if not destroy the Thing, at least hold it off for a while, at least for him to get close to his destination: the other end of the ocean. So he summoned a large, Blue Drake, which had the advantage of flight.

As the Thing and the Drake fought, Kain enchanted himself with a blue feather (from a small pouch of other such items), which formed into a cape and allowed him to float until he removed it. He called Ankhar to him and continued proceeded to cross the treacherous waters.

Then he heard a sound that he hoped he wouldn't hear until he was a safe distance away from shore: the sound of the end of the Drake. It didn't last as long as he had hoped, and once again, Kain's life was in danger. He turned and saw that his fear was valid: his drake was gone, but he did have the advantage that the Thing had not been watching him making his move, and continued his flight to the other side of the ocean.

For a while.

He was barely halfway when the Thing realized that Kain was floating above his waters. He turned and gave pursuit immediately. Kain knew that the Thing was now following him as fast as he could, and there was hardly anything he could do about it. He could summon up another Drake, but the Thing was too smart for that. Kain would have to be original in his decisions. Original and creative.

All he could think of was to use a Missummon command. It was a longshot, but it might confuse the creature again. He performed the command, and, surprisingly, the creature began to dissipate. Its form shifted and slighted, until it was finally wisped away by Kain's chaos magic.

Floating in the air, Kain realized that if the Missummon command was successful that meant that someone was watching him, and did not want him to proceed to his goal. He treaded a lot more carefully now, aware that he was not alone in this cave...

[Kain Wynd]

Kain reached the other side without anymore incident than earlier, and his worse fears soon came to light: indeed someone else was here. The boat they used had been docked at the beach for quite some time. The presence of which did not make any sense. Why would someone use a small rowboat to travel in if they could summon such a fierce creature like the Thing? he thought to himself.

He forced his thoughts away from the question and turned towards the entrance to a cave farther away from the underground shore.

As he proceeded, he could hear the sound of a waterfall off towards his right. Turning to it, he saw the fine mist exploding into the air. If the mist was this thick this close to the edge, then it must not be a long drop. He made a mental note of this as a possible escape route, and proceeded on his way.

[Kain Wynd]

Entering the cave, he saw that there was more light than should be in a secluded place such as this. Before him lay a door, which led into a room where another figure stood, studying the walls. Kain was thus far unnoticed by the other figure, and was all for keeping it that way.

The figure in question was another Blue Sorceror, like him, and Kain knew him. It was Brice Mavin, corner-cutter extraordinaire. Brice was known for not studying magic, but being able to weild great power. That would explain the carelessly unguarded Thing from earlier. Kain decided that his overall wisdom in magic would be enough to best Brice, an utter novice in magic.

"Brice!" Kain called out as he entered the room. But when Brice looked at him, Kain knew he was in for it.

[Kain Wynd]

Brice acknowledged Kain with a bolt of blue energy, knocking him backward, outside the cave and into a stalagmite. Kain stood up to shake off the dust in time to see Brice flying towards him, his hands charged in the blue magic.

Kain began his defense by turning the air around him into a massive wall, which blocked Brice's advancement, then summoned to himself a crow, which knicked Brice in the forehead, dizzying him and knocking him backwards a way.

Brice stood up from the attack and summoned forth a djinn, which immediately headed for Kain. Kain responded by using a boomerang spell, which dispelled the djinn, and returned the attack with his crow.

After falling again to Kain's crow, Brice stood up, charging power to his hands again. But this time, it wasn't blue. It was black. That's when Kain noticed that Brice may be inspired by another being...