The group had spent a good part of the day on the road and into the wilderness, cutting through the difficult Deep Woods. Athiyk led, riding Elemiire.

Finally, Athiyk saw it ahead through the trees. A great stone cave, with a maw threatening to suck in all life and light present. She shuddered, knowing she would have to face the horrible darkness again.

"There it is," She called to the others, pointing and turning Elemiire in that direction. "Not far now," she said softly, either to herself or to her steed, who's ears were alert.

As the group travelled deeper into the Deep Woods, Oppel noticed it had gotten reasonably darker and more overgrown. Using his Sword, he had to cut several large branches which threatened to cut either himself or Gwaith. Once Athiyk had pointed out the cave, it didn't take long for Oppel to feel the darkness and despair that lay within. Gathering might and courage, he continued on his way, in hope that perhaps the groups presence would go unnoticed.

Drizza kept up fairly well with the group, though there were times when she was breathless. She was glad that she did not have a steed in this forest as the overgrown branches always slowed the animals down. Her trusty swords were drawn to cut the branches out of her way and she noticed that it was considerably more quiet as they went deeper into the woods. It was foggy and Drizza was unaccostomed to having her sight impaired by natural causes.

"Is it always this foggy?" Drizza asked as she cut several more branches out of her way. SHe then pried her foot out of the mud and did her best to continue on.

Kiranni had managed to keep pace even in her horseless state. She noticed that Drizza also rode no steed and was heartened by it. Kiranni's hand had rested on her blade's hilt almost the entire journey. It gave her a false sense of security. She was constantly ducking under branches and stepping precariously over bushes. She already had a few small cuts. But then again, traveling in the woods you could usually expect a few cuts. Kiranni wasn't a slow poke or at the front with all the overly happy people, so she was somewhere in the middle of the pack. Athiyk pointed out the cave entrance. Kiranni had seen it before. She ducked under another branch and halted momentarily, staring into the gaping cave's mouth. She yawned nonplussed and wondered if they would have to rest for the people who were tired or if they would just plunge straight into the cave.

"Is everyone here?" she asked, looking back as she dismounted Elemiire. Seeing just about everyone, but not all, she walked near the entrance. looking deep into the darkness, her eyes peircing the dark, but now they were somewhat dulled, from her months above ground in the sun.

"We most likely won't be running into any trouble in the Upper Tunnels. The deeper we get though, the worse the dangers get," she said to any who was near.

Leaving the entrance, she began unsaddling her horse and took the bridle off, knowing it could be awhile before Athiyk made it to the surface again. She also knew that Elemiire would not go far from the area. For a horse, she was very loyal, more like a dog than anything.

Athiyk checked her supplies again, making sure she had plenty of food and water. The nearest tunnel was about two days from the surface and the edible fungai only grew in the dark.

Oppel glanced back over his shoulder to see if everyone had made their way through the forest. Seeing most of the companions, he turned back back to look at the entrance. Once Athiyk had told them about the monsters lurking within, he grew weary and hold onto his sword just for reassurance that it was there. Watching their leader dismount her horse, he did the same. He stepped down off of Gwaith while still holding onto his sword tightly.

Once he had gotten off of Gwaith, he peered into the entrance, entranced by its appeal. He turned to face Gwaith who was still standing near to him. He smirked as he unloaded some sneatly packed supplies which include several bundles of food, and cantines of water.

Drizza's heart lept when she heard Athiyk mention the word "danger." The journey to the caves was quite quiet and the drow wanted some excitement to stir up everybody. Her panther, Z'ress would follow her, for they were friends, loyal to each other no matter what. With her trusty swords and her side and a hidden dagger in the boot, Drizza was not scared and looked forward to danger. Her pack was quite heavy, filled with food and water but she didn't burden herself with excessive materials. Remembering the foul taste of edible fungi she had to eat on her last adventure to the caves, Drizza was sure to bring her supplies.

Varila leaned back on her seat behind Eliena's wing joint. The gryphon had been following the others for all the time, soaring just above the forest. "Go down," she whispered sharply, and felt a chilly exhilaration as they swooped down, creating a swirl of wind as Eliena's wings spread out and then folded inward. Dismounting, she patted her mount and then looked into the entrance, knowing that there couldn't be anything too bad in there. If there was, then she would have to rely on the glaive that rested on her back.

After all, nobody could know yet who she truly was. If she decided to reveal herself, then she would do it of her own accord. None of the other goddesses had decided to come along, but some voice of reason had to be there. Eliena walked off into the thick forest, and then the sound of beating wings was heard as she took off. Meanwhile, Ahranya stood alongside the rest of the company.

Lance arrived near the entrance to the woods in his human form, having been walking a while to get there, and chuckled softly to himself, seeing how empty it was. "So they left without me..." he muttered. "Figures...well, suppose I'll just have to catch up." With this, he closed his eyes, making anything nearby be able to feel a powerful dark aura growing from him as wings slowly sprouted from his back, and his hands became clawed. His teeth also became sharper as his eyes glowed a deep red color, and the rest of his body slowly formed into a black, somewhat scaly, demonic flesh. Lance then opened his eyes, ready to face whatever lied ahead for him, and gave a powerful flap of his wings, soaring off into the sky and over the forest.

After about a minute, Lance spotted a somewhat medium-sized group of people within the forest, some on horses, at least one on foot. He figured that this was the adventuring party that the girl Athiyk had assembled, so he maneuvered through some of the branches to land just behind them, and began walking with them, figuring it would be relatively pointless to introduce himself at this time.

Looking back and seeing Lance she smiled.

"All right, looks like everyones here, except Bahamut," she shrugged. "I warned everyone to keep up, but I will not wait too long," she stood on a rock so she could get everyones attention.

"Okay, we will be going into the tunnels now. Stay close, and do NOT get seperated. The Underdark is virtually an enormous catacomb beneath the earth. I know most of the major tunnels, but there are some that not even the most experienced Drow know of. If you get lost, most likely you will stay lost. If you need them to see, go ahead and light torches. The darkness will be almost suffocating for those of you Surface-Dwellers. We have to live for 2 days with no other food or water other than our own. In two days we will be deep and there will be underground streams and edible fungai. Menzoberranzan is only a day away after that. I will explain more about actually getting into the city later, but for now, we must get moving."

Gently jumping down from the rock, she whispered something to her horse before gesturing for them to follow her through the narrow entrance...

Lance nodded, listening closely to her words, although rather unconcerned. After all, he was a demon, raised for five years in the underworld...he was sure he could easily handle the underdark, whatever it held. He'd also heard a few things from back home about some of the creatures in there, and was thoroughly prepared for them as well, thanks to extensive combat training he'd went through all his life. He then followed her in, not worried about the food or drink situation, considering he rarely needed either, and making sure to keep a close watch around him for anything that may be hiding in the shadows, his deep red eyes somewhat illuminating the area in front of him, but allowing him to see better than they showed. He also wasn't worried in the least about getting lost; if he did, he'd simply find someplace to regain his directions. He just hoped he wouldn't have to worry too much about the others on this little expedition...he was much better fighting alone than with others around, who could potentially get in his way, but he'd have to deal with it.

Varila followed calmly, listening to the beat of Eliena's wings as the gryphon soared back toward her temple. "You look to be unprepared," she muttered, looking serenely toward Lance. Vibrant green eyes cool and unreadable, she shook her head and continued walking. Those who required flashy appearances were weak, and would be able to do little.

Suddenly, a clatter of bones sounded through the tunnel, and skeletal creatures assembled from remains of several different creatures made up an escort for the small party. She showed no sign that she had done anything as she dug in her cloak's pocket for a small, round orb that gave off a strange purple light. At least she could see something besides what was right under her nose. Demonic scum, she thought, looking toward Lance once more. The glaive on her back seemed light as a feather as she fingered the slender handle, almost ready to draw her weapon. Nothing could truly be down here that was harmful, but one could never be sure...

Lance disregarded this comment from the woman who'd spoken to him. After all, it was simply her opinion, nothing more...nothing for him to care about. As the woman pulled out a purple orb from her pocket, he looked at it curiously for a moment. It appeared to him that it was doing more than simply illuminating the area for her to see, but now wasn't the time for such thoughts. The skeletons came as a slight surprise to him, but since they didn't seem to be hostile toward the party, then, again, he disregarded him. As for her comment, however...she clearly didn't know much of anything about him, so it wasn't her place to say such things.