-----"Raven!" Rinda shouts dropping her torch. Pushing ahead of Sarah, the huntress rips off her own cloak and begins trying to smother the flames while Raven disoriented, struggles.
-----Sarah first rushes to help Rinda.
-----Sol's eyes flare in shock at the hunter's blazing mishap. With the two ladies doing their best to douse the Gorian's unfortunate friend, he determined there was little room for him to do the same. Besides, there was something far more useful he could do . . . Soak up any more traps that may be barring their descent.
-----So, quickly snatching up one of the torches, Sol began dashing down the steps, having decided that no more traps would foul his friend's progress.
-----Rinda and Sarah continue to cover Raven's head as the ranger, realizing what has occurred, pats covered portions of his upper torso. After a few frantic moments, Rinda eases the cloak from the hunter and Raven is heard to curse. Injuries to his head, face and shoulders are apparent as his exposed skin in places look blistered. Calming somewhat, Raven grasps his waterskin dousing his reddened scalp and face. This draws more curses from him.
-----In the meantime, Sol carrying Raven's torch has advanced farther on down the stairs to the place where the steps seem to end.
-----"Can you continue on?" the huntress asks Raven.
-----"Yeah," he says through gritted teeth fighting the burning pain, "but damn . . ." He lets the thought fade as he begins striding down the stairs.
-----Abandoning all pretense of stealth, Sol yells out, "If ye can here me, keep calling! Help's coming!"
-----"Sol, wait! We can avoid more traps if we're just careful." Sarah cautions, "Look, just watch for these sort of things," She lifts a torch up revealing the system that dropped the oil on Raven. "If they set these up to stop us there won't be too many more." She pauses. "Of course if they set these up to stop anyone and have been working on it for months there could be a lot more. The point is just be careful, check to see where we're going."
-----Raven daps his cloak across his face and eyes. Squinting into the glare of Rinda's dropped torch, the hunter reveals his burned face and hair. Though, by no means, is his hair burned away, strands of the hunter's hair appear singed and his redden complexion hints his scalp must hurt badly. Raven's eyes look swollen and puffy but he soon focuses on Sol's position on the end of the stone steps.
-----"Let's keep moving," he says before adding, "and look out for any more of those traps." He keeps one hand on the wall while heading downward. Rinda moves beside him as the hunter moves forward but a bit in a daze from his injuries.
-----As Sarah leads Raven and Rinda, they can see Sol pause at the base of the steps, holding his own torch aloft. For a moment, he seems to start off to his left, but then a response is heard that makes the young warrior turn.
-----"Hullo?" calls one voice with a shock and disbelieving tone, "Is s-someone there?"
-----This is followed by another voice, this one a bit stronger. "Who goes there? Are you here to truly help us or is this another mockery?"
-----Other voices and stirrings are heard though it is unclear what is said. Sol then heads off to the right.
-----"Sol, be careful!" Sarah hisses at the departing form of the warrior. "It could be another trap!" But she hurries to keep pace with the Gorian, keeping an eye out for traps and enemies. She's also worried about Raven, but figures that Rinda can take care of her man, and she would just be intruding if she was to try to help.
-----If anything, Sol's pace only quickens at Sarah's quite valid warning. Mirian's fate had left an oppressive weight on his mind, which Sol had so far ignored, or repressed, rather. The need to be of actual tangible use was equally oppressive for the Gorian.
-----Sol hurries down the corridor, his boots sending echoes back up the stairs Sarah now emerges from. The young mage sees the Gorian's form charging characteristically into the dark with his torch silhouetting him. She then hurries off behind him as Rinda and Raven continue behind her.
-----Up ahead, Sol begins to see the passage open into a chamber of sorts and the torch shines on metal bars within. As he stops and stands in the opening, Sol gets the sense of a large long dark chamber with small prison cells facing him. There are also people within the cells.
-----The people look to be a combination of human men and elves at least a dozen in number. Each cell holds a single person most of whom stand back from the bars and stare at the young warrior with alertness and suspicious. The prisoners look a bit haggard but still hale, hinting that they have not been here long.