&& LC: First Gem, First Test

[maka albarn]

Almost a day's travel from Hearts City, in a narrow valley between snow-capped peaks, a strange network of black stone ridges spread across even ground, gathering into a pinnacle like chipped obsidian at the valley's center. Masses of greenery grew between the labyrinthine walls, streaking up the rough rock faces but leaving the tops clean and shining in the sun. In the shadow of one of these ridges, a small clearing broke the thick roof of branches and leaves, leaving a patch of grass open to the sun and the breeze.

Red Dragon stood at the edge of this clearing, aglow with eagerness and enthusiasm, admiring the landscape around him. This was their trial run, the first test for their team. No one could say for sure how well they would operate together. Dragon knew there were no guarantees. But he felt confident in their team, in their abilities, in their chances of success. Looking up at the sky - a dome of robin's egg blue - and down at the sunlight glinting off the black rock ridges that surrounded them, at the brilliant and varied shades of green and shuddering blades of grass, Dragon rested one hand on his sword-hilt and smiled.

Jade, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the glories of nature. He stood a little to Dragon's left, examining an outspread piece of parchment: the Map which would lead them to their First quest Gem. "Magnificent, isn't it, Jade?" "Uh-huh. Hey, Dragon." Dragon spun to face Jade, his cape spreading out as he turned. "Yes?" "That pinnacle, there in the distance" - Jade pointed at the spike of black stone without looking up from his Map - "That's our target. Obviously, we'll need to look above the treetops every once in a while to check our progress, so Stargazer...." Jade looked up. "Where is Stargazer? And where's Blaze?" "Blaze will be here soon enough. As for Stargazer, I doubt he'll be late in leading his team on their first quest." Most of the team had already assembled. Mal, dressed all in black, was leaning against a nearby tree with her arms crossed. Kiku stood next to her, examining his items menu and shuffling through it's contents.
"We're still missing Lilly." "Here I am!"

As Jade spoke, Lilly came running into the clearing, waving in greeting. "Am I late?" Lilly hated tardiness, but nervousness made her put off logging in until the last minute. The result? A long-distance run to their meeting point. Jade smiled. "No, you're fine. And here's the rest of the team, walking in with time to spare!"

[✖STRIDE✖]

Blaze came stumbling down the path right next to Alyss and Sirius. The lore master appeared quite fidgety as he walked next to the other two members of the team. He wasnt excited in the slightest to have such a big team but knew it was necessary. As they reached the clearing Blaze blushed but ran quickly over to his older brother's side. "Whats the stats bro? Seems like everyone is here except the man of honor."

"I am quite sure that stargazer has his reasons for being late Blaze. He has been ranked a leader of a quest team. As an original soloplayer, Stargazer is likely to be scouting ahead or around the area. He is a shadow illusionist after all. It is his specialty." Sirius said indifferently. It was too late in the day for it to be too early, so he wasnt overly upset or emotional, but Sirius wasnt one to be easily impressed or entertained. He was easy to bother though.

Alyss walked onto the scene with the boys in a light confident step. She honestly didnt seem like the fighting type, but she sat next to kiku regaurdless, seemingly ready for just about anything that might come along. Sirius went and paused beside Jade, flipping through some kind of history book written in the game's ancient language. Sirius prided himself to be able to completely understand it, despite it being a natural game ability.

It was several moments before Stargazer arrived last on the scene, materializing out of the shadows around them. He wore his cloaked hood proudly as he stepped into the light of the clearing. He moved seriously from the shadows to Jade's side, between him and dragon. When he spoke, his voice was calm and collected, being a different Stargazer, "Jade, I scouted the pass ahead. I dont trust it."

[maka albarn]

"Whats the stats bro? Seems like everyone is here except the man of honor."
Red Dragon smiled broadly at his brother and clapped him on the shoulder. "Everyone's present except Stargazer. I suspect he'll be here at any minute." "I am quite sure that stargazer has his reasons for being late Blaze. He has been ranked a leader of a quest team. As an original solo player, Stargazer is likely to be scouting ahead or around the area. He is a shadow illusionist after all. It is his specialty." At Sirius's approach, Jade looked up from the Map, glad to see his old friend again. Sirius's lack of concern at Stargazers' absence put a small smile on Jade's face: that unemotional response was something he appreciated. Emotional outbursts caused the young architect nothing but frustration, and another cool head wouldn't cause this team of oddities, egos and lone wolves any harm .

Time trickled by. Far above, white cotton clouds sailed across the sky on a brisk, cool breeze. Lilly closed her eyes, listening to the patter and whisper of quaking branches. The sun felt warm on her skin. She stood still and crossed her arms, hoping silently that she wouldn't embarrass herself, that she wouldn't make some vital mistake.
After a few moments, Mal walked up to the group and stood with one fist on her hip, watching Jade with heavy-lidded eyes. "So. Where's the boss?"

Before she finished speaking, Stargazer seemed to come out of nowhere, as if the shadows at the edge of the forest had solidified in front of them. Red Dragon started. If Jade felt surprise, he didn't show it. Lilly felt herself relax a little. "Jade, I scouted the pass ahead. I don't trust it."
When the rest of the team heard Stargazers' voice, some of them jumped. Some of them merely looked in his direction. Then they gathered around him, listening for the plan. Jade glanced at Sirius, then at Stargazer. "Okay. That pass was the fastest route to the Spire, but I know another way. It's a narrow track (little more than a slit) between two ridges of stone. It's longer, more rugged, but hidden. It was my informants'... escape route." Jade made a movement to show Stargazer the map, then pulled back. Slightly nonplussed, he continued, "With our quest leader's approval, we'll head off to the left through the forest until we come to the track. It will lead us to a little courtyard of sorts beneath the Spire. From there, we strike out for a pair of double-doors leading into the base of the mountain, less than five minutes away." Red Dragon knitted his brow, focused on the Architect. Then, gesturing toward Stargazer, he said, "I'd like to hear why Stargazer doesn't trust the pass. And, if I may, I'd like to hear what beasts we can expect to see in this region, if Sirius can tell us."

[✖STRIDE✖]

The gesture to show Stargazer was a logical one of course. Under a completely normal situation, Jade showing the map would have been expected. However, unfortunately Stargazer couldn't see the map, which posed the awkward issue that Jade potentially showed disrespect in the process of trying to show respect. At the gesture Stargazer's lip twitched in an amused fashion. He usually wasn't offended by slips of the mind, an in fact found them to be entertaining. Even in the real world. But when Dragon spoke up and mentioned about how he had wanted to know why Stargazer didn't want to go into the pass, he was suddenly offended. Or at least he felt offended. He didn't know how he was supposed to actually feel, as he had never been in this particular situation before. He was the leader, so he should be trusted right? He wouldn't bring a team into a place he himself didn't trust. But when he responded to the fire elementalist, Stargazer's voice was just as it was. A bit dark and sinister, but not overall upset.

"The pass is fill with high level monsters. But thats not the problem I have with it. With our team as strong as it is, we could easily defeat them, though it may take time. Its the booby traps that have been set that make me nervous. I've only seen a few like it. And I'm guessing by the nice make from the one that I found, they were created by Bandit. A shadow elementalist I happen to know. The problem... If his guild is also after the gems, or if they are there for another reason I'm not sure. We have no time right now to contact them and ask. Besides, I checked the mouth of the escape route your intel used and though it may take a lot more time, I would feel much better about it, as I didn't find any traps through it like I did the other pass."

"Crap Stargazer, how long have you been scouting for?" Blaze asked with slight shock.

Stargazer shrugged nonchalantly. "Three hours perhaps."

"Three hours? I just got back from school! Did you stay home sick or something?"

Stargazer grew quite for a few moments. "I'm tutored."

[maka albarn]

"The pass is filled with high level monsters. But thats not the problem I have with it..."
Watching Stargazer and Dragon talk, Lilly had the impression that something wasn't right. She couldn't quite put her finger on it: maybe Stargazer seemed a little put out by Dragon's questioning. Arms folded, she listened and waited. Dragon was listening, too. If there was something bothering Stargazer, he hadn't noticed. He simply stood there, watching the shadow elementalist talk, an open expression of interest on his face. High level monsters. That was to be expected. But traps... Dragon made note of this. They would have be alert, ready for booby traps, maybe even an encounter with Bandit and his guild. However... if Stargazer knew this person and felt comfortable contacting him mid-quest, then an ambush seemed unlikely. Dragon frowned slightly. If Bandit's guild had taken this quest, they might be hours ahead. Maybe the gem was already won. There wasn't any time to lose. They had to go, now.
Suddenly, Dragon smiled again. Stargazer had done well in scouting the trail. He was good. Very good.
"Crap Stargazer, how long have you been scouting for?"
"Three hours perhaps." Jade blinked. Three hours? Jade was still in school three hours ago. Had this guy already graduated? Maybe Stargazer was older than he thought... There was a pause. Then, "I'm tutored."
- Of course. - Jade thought - Because he's blind.- "Well," he said out loud, " Now we're in a race against time. If there is another guild out there, they have a three hour head start on us: they might even have the gem by now. Alright. We'll follow your lead, Stargazer."

Not long afterward, the team found themselves in the deep gloom under twisting, mossy trees. Lilly walked between Kiku and Jade, clambering up natural steps of crumbling rock and stepping between tangled tree roots. A heavy silence lay over the woods, broken every once in a while by strange chatterings, faint whispers, or a ravens' hoarse caw. After what seemed like a long time, the team stepped out of the woods and into a small clearing. Blinking in the sunlight, they trudged on, wading waist-deep through thick marshy plants like over-grown watercress. The labyrinth walls rose far over head, cutting off all but a ribbon of clear blue sky. The heat radiating from the sunlit black stone made Lilly uncomfortably hot in her long, grey coat.
"That glade up ahead looks inviting." She spoke softly, and wiped her forehead with her sleeve. Suddenly, Mal put one hand up. "Wait." Lilly stopped. Ahead of them, Dragon stopped and turned around. Mal kept her hand up. "Did you hear that?" Lilly tilted her head, listening. Nothing. "What did you -" Before Lilly could finish, a low throbbing roar filled the clearing, echoing down the canyon from a distance like rumbling thunder.

OOC: if you just wanted to get to the courtyard scene, maybe that could be one of the guards (so they don't have to fight any monsters before they get to the pinnacle)? i didn't want to take them straight to the courtyard battle just in case you wanted to do something before then.

[maka albarn]

After some wrong turns and a lot of walking, the team found their way to the center of the labyrinth. At the end of a long canyon, they saw two Pillars marking the entrance to the guarded Courtyard and the doors to the Pinnacle beyond. Just before they entered the courtyard, some team members climbed onto a ledge in the canyon wall to scout out the Courtyard below. This is what they saw.

The Courtyard is an almost perfect circle, broken by the Pillared entrance at one end and the base of the Pinnacle at the other. It is surrounded by high walls of black stone almost too steep and slick to climb, though an agile person with a good grip could find some handholds. Outside the Courtyard walls, all you can see are treetops. The ground is perfectly level, and paved with massive black flagstones. At the opposite end of the courtyard, built into the base of the pinnacle, stand two massive doors inlaid with silver. The whole courtyard is about half a football field in length.
In the middle of the Courtyard stand five rows of armored guards. Each one is over six feet tall, and they carry a variety of weapons meant for short-range combat: swords, maces, and battle axes. The guards themselves are orc-like, with massive shoulders, thick necks, scaly hides and abnormally long ape-like arms.

[✖STRIDE✖]

After probably several hours of walking, the team finally found their way to their destination. Or that was what Stargazer supposed. The group had moved very slowly compared to his own movement on his own. That was what bothered him the most. Despite his lack of sight he was always used to moving extremely quickly. In fact, his speed stats was almost leveled to the max. It was part of his specially designed avatar form. When he received the game, it was created especially to accommodate his blindness. Not that anyone else would ever know that. He kept his outside life largely to himself. 

"Finally..." he muttered softly to himself as he felt the scene below them. As he came back, along with one or two of the other team members who went to scout around he gestured for the group to gather around him to hear his strategy. 

"Alright gang, listen up. Flamey (Dragon), Jack Frost (Kiku), and hmmn... Rainbow Spice (Blaze)? Nah... I'll come up with a new nickname for you later, anyway, you guys are our strongest. It's your job to be the bait and distraction so that Miss Hurricane (Alyss) and Princess (Mal) can sneak in with their attacks. Smartass (Sirius), four-eyes (Jade), and Brights (Lilly), watch everyone's life points very carefully. Make sure no one goes out. four-eyes make sure the area is secured. I'm going to be watching the battle progress and keep an eye on the enemy. I'll be jumping to help lower the numbers from time to time, but mostly I'll be on the outskirts trying to watch the bigger picture."

Then he stopped and turned as if to face the clearing below them. "We are basically in a big bowl. While we have the possible element of surprise, they can probably easily trap us into the area. Four-eyes, it will be your job to make sure we have some kind of escape route at all times. Ready guys?"

Blaze nodded, obviously excited. Sirius didn't reply, but his fidgeting was answer enough. He was ready to get moving. Alyss smiled softly and hummed to herself. She couldn't wait for that virtual adrenaline to flow through her virtual veins. "Lets do this," she said.

[maka albarn]

Mal slid down to the path below the ledge and waited for the rest of the team to gather around. She folded her arms. This fight shouldn't be a problem. The monsters were massive. They had a long reach. But that heavy plate armor - tough as it was to penetrate - also slowed them down, which gave Mal a distinct advantage. Easy to evade, easy to catch. Let's see how much good those axes do them when they're wrapped in webs of shadow.
Mal glanced around as the team stopped in front of Stargazer. Dragon looked as eager as ever, waiting for Stargazer's report. Dope. "Alright gang, listen up."
No one spoke as Stargazer laid out his battle plan. Jade felt some relief when he heard that Stargazer was teaming him up with Sirius. Truth be told, Jade was nervous. A high-stakes, high-level battle would be his first combat experience. Ever. This quest put him completely out of his depth. "Come on, Four-eyes. Examining stats, maintaining exit routes. It's simple enough. Nothing you can't manage."
"Ready guys?" "Let's do this."

Dragon, Kiku and Blaze were the first through the gap in the wall. Dragon burst through at a dead run, keeping pace with Kiku and Blaze. Shraahhhh. Metal scraped against metal as he swept the broadsword off his back in one smooth motion. Adrenaline coursed through him, driving him in a burst of strength and speed. Even as he flashed a grin at Blaze, and readied his sword with a flourish, something seemed to click. As if someone flicked a switch in his mind. Dragon analyzed the courtyard, sized up his enemies. "Substantial open ground on either side of us... makes us vulnerable at the flank.... Mal and Alyss should maintain a safe distance and keep those monsters from surrounding us by using long-range attacks..."
Throbbing roars and hoarse screeches shook the air. The ground shuddered with the impact of iron-plated feet. The guards met Dragon, Kiku, and Blaze halfway across the Courtyard and the team's first battle began. Jade stood at the rear, holographic stats flashing across a screen in front of him. "These beasts are fast... faster than I expected."

"Hey! Rainbow Spice! On your left!" Mal raised her hands, gathering threads and clouds of shadow above her head and forming them into a massive net. One second later, two guards were struggling to free themselves from a spider-web of thick, ink-like shadows. On the other side of the field, Kiku launched spears of ice at his opponents, distracted from the guards which swept up on him from the side...

[✖STRIDE✖]

After the group dashed into the fight Stargazer easily slipped into the shadows of the giant walls. Keeping himself close to the battle, while also being rendered nearly invisible, Stargazer was able to pick some of the smaller, more irritating, ones off with an illusion and dagger to the back or luring them away from the bigger pack. However, he watched the rest of the goings on very carefully. The scene around him seemed to be going quite well. He watched as Blaze, Kiku, and Dragon made their moves right at the monsters. And then even as Alyss took out the few ogre looking beasts that were attempting to make a surprise attack on Kiku's blind side. She seemed to come out of nowhere and made a pretty impressive slicing move that created several deep cuts on the few monsters in that area. Blaze had heard Mal's warning, and with a sigh took out the ogre he was fighting and the ones sneaking up behind him simply by ducking out of the way and letting them beat themselves over the heads.

But even so. Not everything was as it appeared and Stargazer began to feel very anxious as it appeared the team seemed to be winning the battle. He began to reach out to the pass where they came in with his "sixth sense," but there was no residue of anything there but themselves only a few moments ago. So he began to reach out to the tall walls. But along them there was nothing to sense either. Even within the rocks, as if it was just void of existence. However, the walls were so high that even his sixth sense couldn't reach the top to check the other sides of the walls. Strange... Usually walls didn't completely stop his sixth sense. It was if some kind of force was keeping him from....

Oh no...

Breaking his cover from the shadows next to Jade he grabbed the architect harshly. "A ceiling. A ceiling n--" But he was too late as there was suddenly a high pitched screech coming from somewhere beyond the walls. It didn't take long for some kind of flying creature to attack Stargazer himself and pin him down. Stargazer struggled with the bird for several seconds before stabbing it with his bigger dagger and pushing it off him. "Trap!" He called to the rest of the group as more creatures began flowing over the side.

[maka albarn]

Jade whipped around when Stargazer grabbed him, half expecting to see some enemy closing in for the kill. "A ceiling. A ceiling n-" Before the shadow elemental could finish, a piercing shriek split the air. WHAM. Jade's head yanked back. Something had struck him in the face. Hard. Blue sky and black stone seemed to spin, the ground disappeared, and Jade felt himself twisting backwards. THUD. Jade smashed down against the flagstones. Gulping for breath, he sat up just in time to see Stargazer kill a massive bird with his dagger.
"Trap!"

The creature's shriek had stopped most of the team in their tracks. Dragon froze mid-fight, watching the bird dissolve in a firework burst of pixels. Defeating his enemy with a quick blow, he looked at the sky. Three ink-black silhouettes circled overhead. And, down the whole length of the Courtyard, monster guards' thick armor flashed and glinted in the sun as they scrabbled down the walls like reptiles. Within minutes, the number of enemies had doubled. Mal, Lilly, and Jade watched in stunned silence. The reinforcements poured over the walls, thundered across the field, and a faster, fiercer battle began. Mal could barely hold the guards back: soon she was giving ground. Kiku found himself swept away from his companions. Before long, the entire team would be driven apart. The guards would destroy them one by one. Dragon watched the players struggling, and grit his teeth. "Telepathic link, engage!"

~ I need you to listen to me! I have a plan. We need to get inside the Pinnacle. Rally around Blaze. Lilly! Camouflage yourself, now. Lilly and Sirius are our mission: we get you two to the doors, you get them open. The rest of us will keep the guards at bay. Blaze and Kiku, I need you to clear a path for them. Alyss and Mal, keep the guards on either side at a distance. Jade, find some way to stop these beasts from coming over the walls. Stargazer, you and I are the rearguard and support. We'll be surrounded the entire way, so we have to move swiftly. Watch the skies. Are you ready? Let's go! ~

Lilly uttered an illusion spell, shimmered, and faded, her heart pounding. Jade gathered himself up, a look of intense concentration on his face. Standing with his hands outspread, the architect focused on the Courtyard's right wall. A rending, crackling noise like the splitting timbers of a hundred sinking ships filled the air. Slowly, the top of the wall began to bend, to curl and jut backwards. Armored guards roared as they fell crashing through the treetops.

It took several minutes of vicious fighting for the team to gather around Blaze. What used to be a fairly simple fight had turned into a pitched battle.

[✖STRIDE✖]

It was almost like a miracle to Stargazer that Dragon took over the demands calling. He himself was about to drop into panic mode whether he would admit it or not. Even so, he probably would have ran if it had't been for the creatures continuing to pour themselves into the bowl they were in. He should have done more scouting ahead. He should have gathered more information about the area. He should have paid more attention and thought more about the safety of the people traveling with him. Now, Stargazer and several other of the players were beginning to run low on hp, mp, and items. He was supposed to be the leader here. He panted as he made his way into the crowd to place himself at the back of the group near Dragon to help him support the rest of the players. 

Blaze was both terrified and having the time of his life. This was the thrill he loved to have while playing BOW. This was his favorite part. The high-risk, potentially deadly situations, where he probably won't survive. It wasn't that the creatures weren't easy to defeat. It was simply that they continued to come in massive numbers quicker then the questers could kill them. When everyone was finally around him and the plan began to slide into motion, Blaze couldn't stop the ginormous grin from plastering itself right on his face. 

Sirius was now standing beside a leopard sized feline creature that was very useful in aiding the battle around them. It would dart from side to side taking out the random monster here and there. Sirius himself was cast the occasional healing and status encouraging spell, but mostly stayed focused on his part of the mission, which would be to open the doors. He studied them carefully as they made their way the sea of creatures. If there was a special way of opening the doors, Sirius would be the one to have to figure it out. Architect may be Jade's thing, but it was the symbols and designs lined with Silver would be his to decide. Though he cared little for the story they told for the time being, He couldn't help but wonder if opening the doors would be as easy as one, two, three. 

Alyssa could see herself running low on hp and mp. She wasn't much of a magic user as she mostly used her Katana's to take out the brutish orc creatures, but that didn't exclude her from using mp based attacks. Either way. She could see that her health bar was running dangerously low. She, however, said nothing, and wouldn't say anything. Fighting was her job, and asking for a heal was not in her nature. She was simply happy to have been a part of the fight. Though if she died she didn't know how the rest of the team would make it to the Pinnacle.

[maka albarn]

The team moved forward across the field as tight unit, surrounded by guards, always close to being over-run. From the air, the Courtyard looked like a sea of dull glinting metal, broken by columns of fire, jagged spears of shadow like tongues of black lightning, and scattered bursts of pixels dissolving like mist.

Lilly watched her friends fighting around her. Taking a deep breath, she slipped her fingers around the hilt of her rapier. Along with all the nerves, the fear, and the adrenaline, Lilly struggled with something she had never felt this strongly in BOW: an urge to prove herself (and help her friends) by taking out opponents in her camouflaged state. "Get your head on straight." The team needed a healer. Joining the fight was too much of a risk. She needed to stay in-game, even if it meant looking like a scared little newbie. Jaw set, lilly examined the other players stats. Alyss. Her HP was dangerously low. Lilly spun to face the water elementalist, and spread out her hands. A faint glow of sunspots and thin rays of delicate light swirled around Alyss: in a moment her HP rose to a safer level (into the green).

At the back of the formation, Dragon kept an eye on the front line as he fought. So far, the team had held together. And, finally, the Pinnacle doors were straight ahead. Glancing around, he checked on his brother: Blaze, he could tell, was thoroughly enjoying himself. " He has that crazy grin plastered across his face again." A horde of guards rushed at Dragon all at once, snapping his attention back to the fight. Dragon raised one arm, and shot a column of fire from the palm of his hand. It was a simple thing to finish off his weakened foes with smooth, calculated strokes: spinning and twisting his blade so that the red metal flashed in the sunlight.
Finally, the team cut their way through the armored guards to the massive stone doors of the Pinnacle. Dragon shouted over the din of the battle: "Everyone but Blaze, Sirius, Lilly and Mal: form a semi-circle around the door! Kiku, make the ground under the enemy's feet slick with ice. Blaze, stand near Sirius and Lilly. You need to make it to that gem. Alyss, Kiku, and I will hold these things off. Mal, launch long-range attacks ahead of us. Nothing gets past this line."

Lilly stood beneath the massive doors. Standing over ten feet tall, they were set with circular silver patterns and etched with runes. Lilly glanced from the doors to the player's health stats. They couldn't hold out for much longer. "Sirius. The team's running low on HP. How tough is this going to be?"

[✖STRIDE✖]

While he so badly wanted to punch someone in the face, Sirius ignored Lilly's comment. He was too busy checking the doors for traps. He may have been acting anal. But if the doors had been holding a trap and it was set off when the doors were open, then they would have to start the quest all over again. And While that wouldn't be the end of the world, because they could come back to life in the game, Sirius hated to loose and be beaten. He would not let himself fall into the dark oblivion of death. Not this time. Just because Jade didn't go on too many quests, didn't mean Sirius had to follow the same rules. He rather enjoyed the excitement and the chance to explore. To learn more about the game's history and mythology. 

The riddle that was placed would be easy to figure out. It was the possible traps that Sirius had to check for. Which he did through the use of magic. He didn't have time to waste as he case spell after spell. He watch his own mp as it depleted and filled it back up with one of his, now running scare items, and continued to work. While Stargazer may have been the expert on traps, Sirius had no qualms about disengaging them. 

But he could detect no Traps and quickly moved back to give his attention to the riddle. He knew for a fact that the hp, mp, and items of the other team members were dwindling. Didn't she know that his own was dangerously low as well? Wasn't that her job? But he couldn't think about that. He had to focus on the job at hand. He knew what had to be done and what spells should be used. It wasn't like he was purposefully wasting time. 

Finally, once he finished checking for traps, he turned his attention back to the riddle that lined the silver doors. "No legs have I to dance, No lungs have I to breathe, No life have I to live or die And yet I do all three. What am I?" Sirius thought for several seconds before there was a voice behind him. 

"OH! I know! Its Fire isn't it!" At the sound of Blaze's voice Sirius jumped in surprise. He hadn't expected to be out riddled so quickly, but he guessed that was the point of reading the riddle out loud. Especially since, after the word "Fire" was spoken, the doors creaked and began to open by themselves.

[maka albarn]

For a moment Lilly waited for an answer. Then she looked back at her screen, unruffled by Sirius's silence. It had probably been a bad idea to ask him any questions just then: the din from the battle was distraction enough without her piling on.
Every health bar on the screen was below 50% except Jade's. Lilly glanced at her own stats and grimaced. The camoflague spell had burned most of her MP: she would have to choose who to heal wisely. Sirius. Blaze. Stargazer. Dragon. A pale orb of light encircled each of the players as Lilly their health stats raised to over 75%. "Come on, Sirius," Lilly thought, "Please hurry."

"No legs have I to dance, No lungs have I to breathe, No life have I to live or die And yet I do all three. What am I?"
A riddle? Lilly sighed and glanced at the horde behind them... and jumped.
"OH! I know! Its Fire isn't it!"
A loud creak filled the air. Something rumbled deep in the ground under their feet. The doors swung slowly outward. "Well done, Blaze!" Dragon's voice was jubilant. "Everyone inside! Kiku, help me cover them!" Raising both hands, palms out and fingers outspread, Kiku sent a blast of ice in a semi-circle. Guards jumped back from a barricade of ice-spines, glittering salt-blue in the sun. Snarling, they clawed between the spines. Backing toward the door, Dragon and Kiku managed to keep the guards away just long enough to slip inside the Pinnacle, and heave the doors to.

For a minute, nobody said anything. After the chaos of battle, the quiet seemed massive: loud and empty. "Everyone in one piece?" Breathing heavily, Dragon leaned against the doors. Kiku heaved a sigh and looked at Mal. Lilly let out a small groan of relief. "I'm good," Mal gestured toward her brother. "You good?" He nodded. "We made it," Dragon looked around the group, "Well done, everyone. Sirius, Blaze. Thank you. We didn't have much time left out there."

"So... what is this place?" Mal looked at the room around them. The transition from bright sunlight to a chamber inside the Pinnacle made their surroundings seem even more dark then they really were. The edges of the room were hard to see, but there seemed to be dark openings set at intervals in the walls. A pale pillar of light illuminated the center of the room, falling from some skylight far above their heads. From what Lilly could see, they were in some large, circular chamber of stone. In the center of the great beam of light, a pillar of stone jutted up from the floor and rose several stories into the air. Dragon pushed himself off the door and looked around. "I'm not sure. Sirius? Jade? You know anything about this?" Jade shook his head. "No. My informant only made it to the courtyard. That pillar seems significant, though." He turned to Stargazer. "What do you want to do?"