Breath sputtered in the chest of the Champion as he leaned against a wall to gather himself back together. His white armor was marred in black eldritch blood that dripped to the malachite tower floor. Kiba had lost track of what floor he had reached now that they small band he and brought with and fought their way through a recent horde. Head was knocked back to lean against the wall behind him. He looked through the visor of his helmet of the Bastille armor gifted to him from his previous Patriarch lord.

His team was looking rather haggard as they took up positions to allow each a moment to gain their composure. Cindy was somehow still as composed as when they had first entered the spire, though he could see the slight hunch in her shoulders as he back was to the rest of the group while on watch. Willits was kneeling beside Scarlet whom was drained from the constant casting. Each managed to make it this far with no complaints to be made. Garrus grunted while shifting his injured shoulder. It was already patched up by Cindy as he took up a perch on a higher up stair in the spiral staircase they had taken refuge.

Kiba pushed off of the curved wall. Each of his companions looked towards him for direction of what their next move was going to be. As he looked them each in the eye he saw there was no doubt in his leadership. They would deal with this situation and get out of it alive. A slight tilt of his head dismissed the helmet of his Bastille armor to allow his features to be made visible to the group. ”I know that we have been fighting for a while now, but we are making progress. We need to clear out as much as we can for any others that will dare to try to deal with this. If we can clear out a bulk of the Eldritch, than other forces can handle what is at the top level.” He could feel a slight flutter in Scarlet’s life orb, though it remained strong.

-Kiba, we have another floor. Larger beasts, but fewer.- The report was given by Duath, the shadow familiar that tied itself to Kiba years ago. Kiba turned to look over his shoulder to see the shadow familiar ready with weapon in hand. He glanced back at his four companions to see they had already begun to prepare for another onslaught. There was no describing the pride that the Champion felt to have found such loyal companions to take into battle with him. He could only hope that the work that they were doing now would bring aide to them soon.

A second tilt of his head summoned his helm to appear over his head. White armor still shone from beneath the black blood of their enemies. From his gauntlets the gifted living sand caressed his hands to create duel blades that were half the length of a normal sword. Despite them being made of sand, his duel blades had the heft of normal weapons.

The diowolf began to walk up the stairwell to reach a large door. From within he could hear the heated growls of the adversaries they were about to take on. Willits, Cindy, Scarlet and Garrus all acknowledged that they were prepared for their next task. Even though Kiba knew that they could handle what was behind the doors, he could not help but wish for some help.

Although her burning hatred for the pearl and its Spire was larger than the sun, Ciara had to admit it had some of the most chaotic monsters she had seen in a long while. Though, most of the ones she had seen were already dead. There were a few smaller ones but they were easy to evade, especially since Ciara had chosen to crawl on the ceiling. Her hands and feet had sharp hard claws that she used to help her cling to the ceiling like some sort of human spider monster. A satchel was tied around her waist and her clothes were different than normal. Instead of a beautiful dress, she was wearing a dark purple tunic and tight black trousers with the shirt tucked in. It wasn't her favorite outfit but it had its uses. Ciara continued to crawl on the ceiling until she finally came across the group just as they were about to enter through the door. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She warned in a sickly sweet voice, "The door is trapped. Look below you. Notice how the floor is metal instead of stone like the rest of the floor? Perhaps you shouldn't be standing on it when you open the door." 

With that she crawled from the ceiling to one of the walls behind the group and dropped to the floor. Her claws retracted and morphed back into regular fingernails. She reached into her bag and pulled out some bottles. Ciara pulled out some health potions, mana potions, and one bottle of wine and placed them onto the floor. The wine was obviously the most important part but then she picked the wine back up. 

"Sorry. This one's mine." Ciara said with a little smile. 

It was her favorite weapon. Unfortunately it broke often, so she could only use it once in a while. She plucked out the cork and began to chug some of the alcohol. Once her thirst was quenched, she forced the cork back into the bottle. 

"There are some healing potions and mana potions." Ciara said, "Feel free to take what you like. It cost me nothing to get them. And by that I mean I stole it off of people's corpses back on the lower levels." 

She wondered if they would want some or if the origin of where they came from would change their minds. Either way, they would need all the materials they could get their hands on. Especially if they were dealing all this damage. 

"I hope you don't mind if I tag along." She said, "I'd like to restore the nature as soon as possible." 

Stained gauntlets readjusted the dual swords in each hand as the Champion prepared to open up the door. Weariness may be pulling at himself and his crew, but they were willing to continue on to make sure that others could get to the final destination. A pull at the back of his mind made Kiba glance upwards to where a femme was crawling. He hid a flinch at the way her arms were moving to keep her aloft. It reminded him of one of the eldritch he had faced on the initial battlefield when the Void had opened.

Garrus was the first to bring his ax into attack formation to protect their backs from the newcomer. Cindy was skeptical of the arrival, though she left her features stone like to keep from being pulled in either direction without further information. Kiba cocked his head to the side as he moved closer to the female that had features that gave him the inclination that she was fae. With a quick flick of his hands, the blades faced backwards in his grasp instead of towards the woman. From beneath his helm and visor he was assessing the aura that was being given off by the fae. There were no lies in her words. Instead, there was intent of some sort that he still could not quite place.

Not one of Kiba’s cadre made a move for the items presented. The diowolf could feel that Scarlet desperately needed a mana potion or two before they continued even if she did not complain. A slight shift in the Champion’s chin dismissed his helm once more to expose his features. With that small change, his followers relaxed their stances. ”I appreciate your warning and offer of medicines. We have been fighting for some time now, and we are not as sharp as we should be.” His Reztreal analyzed the offered potions before he motioned for the group to take what they needed.

”I can offer compensation for these,” he responded before summoning his helm again. The armor formed like crawling sand until it formed a protective white steel. ”If you wish to join, I will not turn down additional help. This particular mission before us is more intense in longevity than we had initially thought. We could always use an extra helping hand.” Kiba’s tone had softened slightly as he nodded at the woman. ”I am Kiba Balatro, known was Protector Vitae Champion for the goddess Angela. My cadre here is Garrus, Willits, Cindy and Scarlet. Duath is off in the shadows somewhere.” The introductions were short, though he need point at each as he stated their names.

Scarlet regained color in her cheeks after consuming the mana potion. Kiba held in a chuckle as she flared out a small flame from each hand in order to test her powers. The giant knight stood behind the small mage girl as if he were the shield from every harm that could come upon her. Seeing his team back up to fighting strength.

Kiba turned his head back to look down at the fae woman. ”Thank you,” he said again. His voice even softer as it was full of extreme appreciation. Flicking his blades, the Champion returned to the door while avoiding the metal plate on the floor. He held up one of the blades. In the air before him it reshaped into a long javelin faced towards the door. With a pull back of his arm for wind up, he thrust it forward to open the double doors forcefully inward.

Creatures inside were stunned for a moment at the sudden entrance, which the team took advantage of. Flames rose from the malachite floors to encircle four giant beasts that were identical to the ones on the battlefield. Rhinos. These were larger than the ones Kiba had originally faced, but he knew that they were dangerous if they were able to get up to a speed. The diowolf moved swiftly to have his blades back in form to slice at his first opponent. He could hear the loud booms of Garrus’s weapon being swung into the flesh of his own target.

"I call myself Ciara." She said with a smile, "The only compensation I want is for every monster in this spire to drop dead." 

Despite her smile, the anger within her was clear. She picked up the potions that the group didn't use and returned them to her satchel. Without nature, Ciara's attacking powers were significantly limited. If nature was weakened, then she was weakened. But she was not weak. It just meant that her abilities with nature was rendered useless. The group she'd found was strong but they needed more support. Ciara could provide that support but she would have to leave all of the hard hitting up to the others. Even the mage would be able to hit harder than Ciara could at the moment. 

"Miss Scarlet. Before we go I'd like to give you an advantage." Ciara said quickly. 

She held her hand up towards Scarlet, motioning for her hand. If Scarlet placed her hand on Ciara's then she would feel a sudden power running throughout her body. That power would enhance her magical strength and mana durability. It was a small simple spell but the fey was well-aware of the advantage it would give them. A mage with extra energy and extra mana was a force to be reckoned with. Ciara looked to the group and cast a spell of protection on them. Each member would have a transparent silver force-field around them. It wouldn't stop the rhinos from hitting them but it would take the majority of the blows. The fey looked into her satchel and took a small mana potion, chugging it before picking up her wine bottle as a weapon. 

Her head turned towards the door when she heard the large doors open with a bang. The metal plate she had warned of opened, revealing itself to be a trapdoor. She peered over it and looked into the dark hole. Ciara carefully stepped over it and entered the room of rhinos. The rhinos were large, which was great yet the room wasn't big. There was room height-wise but not enough for her usual tactics. Ciara quickly ran up to a Rhino and smashed the bottle against it, which only caused it great annoyance. Her nails morphed into claws and she jumped onto the wall, using her claws to cling to it. She crawled up to the ceiling where the rhinos wouldn't be able to reach her. Now its attention was on her instead of the others. An idea came to her mind. 

She stared the rhino in the eyes and began muttering words of an ancient curse. One of the many fey curses that they had created long ago. As she muttered her words, her eyes began to turn black and started oozing with a black liquid. Soon her eyes were nothing more than empty voids. The rhino's skin started to shrivel, its muscles were decaying, and its bones became brittle. It was alive but fragile, like a delicate flower ready to be crushed. Ciara's eyes returned to normal once the spell was finished. She looked around the room from her place on the ceiling to see how the others were doing. 

"This one is ready to be taken out!" She called out to the others. 

A soft smirk appeared on Kiba’s lips as he heard Ciara’s payment requirement. ”I think we can call that a done deal,” he replied. Every person that made the decision to enter the spire for battle had the same goal: defeat the eldritch that were affecting Revaliir. Kiba was feeling the urge more than most considering it was affecting his mate as well as the domain he was Champion over. The battle that had taken place mere months ago had not been an easy one to fight. His life had come to an end suddenly that day. It had cost him the sanity of his daughter when she had seen his heart pierced. Angela had saved Kiba from the end. It was now his turn to hold up his end of the bargain for being saved.

Scarlet was a tough young mage whom found herself in many situations that few would have survived in her short years. She had been lucky the night that the Champion had found her to bring her into the fold of his cadre. Now she could practice and utilize her talents in a more productive way than prior. Crimson orbs narrowed as she was summoned forward by Ciara. There was a questioning glance made towards Garrus and then Kiba for approval. Both made their nods for trust to be given. Scarlet went to Ciara while extending out a hand. As the mana flowed through her veins, the young mage smirked while flexing her fingers. The rest of the group tested out their limbs while preparing to enter the main room.

When the room was opened for them to take the advance, Kiba made sure he was the first in. His entire cadre worked in a perfect meld that it would have surprised anyone to know that they were still newly formed. A yellow blurred struck multiple blows at the far end of the room that intermixed with a black blur. Kiba knew that Cindy and Willits were a perfect blend of strength and sheer ferocity.

Rhinos were difficult to take on in such a small space compared to when they had been on the open battlefield. Tactics that had been initially utilized for victory could not be while indoors. Archers had been a large support when they had fought last time. This time it would take a nimble fighter to handle the sheer bulk of the creatures. Thankfully, the team had been rejuvenated to bring out their full capabilities.

The diowolf heard the call of the fae woman that a rhino was ready to be finished off. Kiba pivoted on his heel to turn towards the prepped rhino. The creature had been desiccated in a way he had rarely seen outside of necromancy power usage. There was no time for Kiba to question as he allowed the divine sand form into a polearm. A quick wide swipe was used to turn the creature into dust. One mental note transformed the sand back into dual swords clutched in each hand.

”Well done,” he remarked while turning to another target. White armor shone slightly as Kiba maneuvered to take on the next rhino. A loud growl radiated in the room as Garrus halted a charging rhino with his hands. His feet were digging into the floor as he used all of his strength to hold back the creature form charging through the group. Champion was about to make a move just as a red ethereal light formed around the beast like a hand. In several simple motions it was torn to pieces to decorate the area in black blood. Garrus sputtered as he spit out a small fountain of black fluid to the floor. -You could have warned me, lass,- Garrus grunted, though his voice had a tang of pride in Scarlet as she shrugged. The two moved on to another beast that was in the corner.

It did not take them long to clear the room with the powers that had been imbued upon them for their task. Cindy stood with her weapon in hand as if she had not just fought an extensive closed-in battle. The rest of the team looked no worse for the wear. ”I am quite grateful for your arrival and powers,” Kiba spoke to Ciara. ”Join us for the next levels?”

Ciara watched as Kiba destroyed the rhino with one fast swipe. The rest of the team seemed to be doing well so she relaxed for a bit as they finished up the rest of the monsters. The group was powerful, there was no denying that. If she could help keep their strength and stamina up during the rest of the levels, then they would have a good chance of carving out more monsters. Kiba mentioned that they were only carving the way so that others would be able to take the pearl. It was a good plan. As long as the pearl was taken, that's all that mattered. She released her grip on the ceiling and leaped to the floor. 

"Your welcome." Ciara said, "And don't worry, I'll be here for the rest of the floors. Let me know if any of you are running low on stamina, health, or mana. I might not be the strongest fighter in the room but I can ensure you all last longer." 

Her eyes drifted to the door that led to the next level. Instead of opening it, she inspected the area around it. There weren't any traps this time but that didn't mean that it was safe. She used her sense of smell to identify any poisons in the area. There were none, at the moment. There was also another thing she needed to ask about before they continued too far.

"Does the tower change its rooms?" Ciara asked sweetly but with a serious tone, "If it does, I suspect we will run into different types of creatures. If I was the tower, I wouldn't attack with rhinos or anything like that again." 

She didn't want to go further until she received an answer. The rhinos were stupid and easy to fool. Not all monsters were like that. And if the tower was observing their strengths and weaknesses, she also wanted to know. A tower that could adapt to the people fighting through it was not something to be taken lightly. It was possible that the tower would change monsters to affect their weaknesses. For example, flying monsters instead of ones close to the ground. 

"We can go whenever you want." Ciara said, "But I suggest a level of caution on this next room."