A cloud of dust steadily made its way down the crater, obscuring visibility beyond a few meters. However, Lucius could just barely make out a sort of earth platform along the circumference of the inner walls, that spiralled downwards towards the deep unseen.
Taking a deep breath, he unleashed his earth sense, pushing it to its limits to gather as much detailed information as it could provide. However, due to the constant lashings he was getting from the wild winds, he couldn't focus to the level he normally would, and thus it didn't cover as wide an area as normal.
~Restritcted to a few meters it seems. Still, it will do. With Ghost taking the vanguard, she'll be able to deal with whatever guards we might meet on the way down there,~ he thought to himself, just as Ghost appeared right beside him, like a phantom emerged from the dirt clouds.
"I don't sense anything for the first few meters. I'll go in first and confirm, follow after five breaths," Lucius ordered, before jumping off the ledge, aiming for the platform along the inner walls.
He landed with a thud, perhaps not the stealthiest of landings, though luckily it seemed that there really was nobody around.
And fortunately enough, although the dust from outside had made its way down here, the wind was completely blocked off, meaning he could now focus properly.
"Pagan, heal yourself then begin to heal everyone else. If we encounter anyone on the way, I'll be dealing with them. Reserve your solar energy for real threats," Lucius ordered, before closing his eyes to release his earth sense once more.
This time it covered a massive area, nearly reaching the bottom of the volcano. Once he was certain that there were no obvious energy readings bouncing back, he decreased its coverage, deciding to do a more thorough search.
This time it only covered around 7 meters, however, he was completely confident that within those seven meters there truly was nobody there, invisible or otherwise.
Unless of course there were creatures down here capable of hiding their energy readings. However, apart from Ghost -who couldn't even do it all that well to begin with- the only other creature he knew capable of doing that was Shavak. And even in that case, he had to make use of his mystic mantle to perform that trick.
Ghost dropped down a few moments later, as he was scanning the areas around the walls, ensuring that no creatures were hidden within.
"Ghost, trying using your earth sense to see if you can pick up anythin-" Lucius was about to say, right before he got a glimpse of her.
While they were still standing outside, he couldn't really see much. And although he could make out Ghost's figure within the dust cloud, it was just an outline, nothing detailed.
Now that they were down here, where the visibility was considerably better, he could see all the wounds that covered her body. Her breath was laboured, and her eyes were drooping- as if she hadn't slept in a while.
"Were you hit?" he asked, as Pagan healed him. Although the latter could obviously see that Ghost was in dire need of it, he chose to heal Lucius first.
"Sorry," she replied, gripping onto a large gash at the side of her arm.
"How? I thought you were invisible," Lucius replied, subconsciously pulling out his crux to heal her, before stopping himself.
Now that he had the brand of the thief covering his body, he had to be very frugal with his spells. Even if it was something minor like healing, he couldn't waste even an iota of solar energy.
"I haven't figured out how to attack and keep my technique active. I was sort of hoping you could help me with that... I just never got around to asking," she replied, her voice a ragged whisper.
~And it seems that she's nearing her limit. Using it so much in a single day must be taking a toll on her... This is going to be tricky,~ he thought to himself, realizing that he wouldn't be able to depend on her for a while.
"Hmm, for now take rest. Pagan, you'll take over the rear, I'll take the front. Ghost, you'll group up with the Argonauts," Lucius decided. Just then, he sensed the Argonauts make it up to the rim of the volcano.
"I'll be right back," he said as he got to his feet. At this point, Pagan had begun healing Ghost.
Lucius looked up at the rim, before taking a few steps back. With a running start, he jumped onto the inner walls and began running up, using his claws to keep him somewhat anchored.
With some strain, he made it back up to the rim.
"It's a four meter- I mean the drop is around twice your height," he said to Ursa, to which the latter responded with a nod.
"You'll probably make it without much injury, but I don't have much faith for the others. We'll have to carry them," he continued, before using his tail to pick up one of the cynomys. His true-elmando tail followed suit and picked up another nearby cynomys.
With that, he wrapped them tightly, like a snake would wrap around its prey, before bringing them close to his body.
"Aim for the platforms," he added, before jumping off the ledge once more. This time however he landed a little more gracefully, having learned to crouch down with the impact from the last time.
A moment later, Ursa landed right beside him with an echoed thud, like a meteorite fallen from the heavens. Dust and debris were sent flying all around, and visible cracks had developed on the platform.
Lucius quickly used his earth sense to see if anything was coming, fortunately for them, it seemed that the howling winds outside were enough to mask the sound.
"You okay?" Lucius asked.
"Not used to falling," Ursa replied with a sort of pained tone, cradling the Argonauts in a sort of hug. They were currently staring blankly into space, no doubt in shock from what had just happened to them.
"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. Anyone injured?" Lucius asked sort of humorously, gesturing for Pagan to attend to them.
