Through the extended hallway, Aldin gazes upon a vast circular chamber made of marble. Reliefs in the cracked grey walls contain ornate statues of winged angels holding bows, spears, and swords.

On the far side of the room also stands a remarkably intricate statue of an elegant woman clothed in robes. Six feathery white wings extend from her back and frame her body gracefully, her long marble hair cascades outward like a flowing waterfall and she holds her chest with both hands over her heart. High above on her forehead sits a circlet of gold with a bright white diamond.

Pushing to the front, Jorasko steps around Aldin, looking for traps and other dangers.

  § Jorasko: Perception: 16+6

He cautiously makes his way into the room but only gets a few feet before stopping abruptly.

 "Is everything alrigh-" Aldin starts to ask but Jorasko raises his hand, gesturing for him to stop speaking.

Aldin watches Jorasko's cat-like ears twitch and move. Fervently, Jorasko takes a hesitant step. 

A muted yet audible tone echoes in the chamber.

Without warning, Jorasko leaps back into the hallway as a blinding white light flashes abruptly in the room. Everyone leaps backward in fright, the blaze causes everyone to shield their eyes, and Aldin can feel his skin sizzle from the heat. It subsides and bits of ash float delicately in the air.

 "That is NOT a normal trap!" Jorasko hisses.

 "Are you alright?" Lou asks.

 "Yes, I'm fine," he paws forcefully at his neckline, snuffing out embers that have lit within his fur, "just singed, is all." 

 "Why don't we move back?" Lou offers.

 "I think that's wise," Aldin agrees.

 "What happened, exactly?"

 "I entered the room, keeping an eye out for tripwires, pressure plates, enemies, et cetera, and I heard a dull tone come from above. When I looked up, I saw the eyes of the statues flare with light. That's when I jumped back and you all know what happened then."

 "Jeez, I'm happy you went first and not us," Lou chuckles but stops when she sees the disapproving look on Jorasko's face. "So, Aldin... Know anything about this?"

  § Aldin: Arcana: 5+6

 "Well, um... that was most definitely a radiant blast. It's a light that's so intense, it can turn bone to ash. Normally devils and demons are weak to it."

 "Well, what is a trap like that doing here?" Jorasko asks, "I thought the door said pilgrims used to come in here?" 

 "I... I don't know," Aldin gets flustered and looks around for answers. Quickly he notices Mini is no longer with the group. 

 "Mini?"

Looking around, Aldin spots Mini back by the entranceway to the marble chamber. He seems to be holding something in his hand and is ready to throw it.

 "Mini, what are you doing?" Lou yells over but before she can get a response the Minotaur tosses the object high up into the room. 

 "Mini!" Lou screams as she runs toward him. 

A dull tone is heard and the two of them jump back into the protection of the hall. Not a moment sooner, a beep rings out and a quick flash blinds the party once again.

Once It fades, Lou smacks Mini on the chest and screams at him angrily,

 "What do you think you're doing, you mad cow! We don't know what this is, you can't just go throwing rocks at things you don't understand!" 

Mini flinches and takes a step back as Lou chastises him, "what do you have to say for yourself!?"

Mini's mouth goes to open but he can't seem to speak. His eyes dart around nervously and end up resting on the floor.

 "Lou," Jorasko bellows forcefully from behind.

She turns to meet his sight and Jorasko gives her a look that says, "Calm down".

Her yelling comes to a halt and she turns back to Mini, pinching the skin between her eyes. 

 "I'm sorry, you just scared me," she sighs and begins to speak extra softly, "I care about you, you big idiot. Just... what we're you doing?"

His anxious demeanour somewhat fades and he opens his mouth to speak, 

 "I... I wanted to know if it was the floor."

 "What? What are you talking about?"

 "The light came before my rock hit the floor."

Lou looks back at Jorasko bewildered but Aldin quickly realizes what Mini was trying to do.

 "...So how did it even know that the rock was in the room?" Aldin whispers, "that was very smart, Mini!"

 "Thanks," Mini responds.

 "So let's think..." Aldin begins, "If it's not about touching the tiles on the floor, what causes the flash?"

 "Maybe it's about proximity," Jorasko chimes in.

 "Maybe it's sensing movement," Lou states.

 "Maybe the room can see us," Mini adds.

Everyone goes quiet and Jorasko seems to think he's onto something.

 "Just before the flash, it was the eyes of the statues that seemed to react to my presence."

 "Oh!" Lou excitedly exclaims toward Aldin, "then why don't you do that thing you can do!"

Aldin feels a cold shiver run up his spine as all eyes turn to him and the hallway falls silent in anticipation.

Of course, Aldin knew exactly what she was referring to. 

When they were very little, Aldin would sometimes pull pranks on her by sneaking around behind her and scaring her. She never knew why she couldn't see him coming, that is until the unfortunate broken-nose incident.

As a kid, Aldin always had a connection with magic and picked up on certain arcane abilities fairly quickly. One of these abilities was a certain illusion spell: Invisibility.

Of course, Aldin rarely used such magic in his daily life. The people of Boulder found magic to be "an all but disruptful hobby which often leads to societal disarray," so he rarely practiced such things publically. Consequently, many years ago when Aldin tried to sneak up on her for the billionth time, Lou heard his footsteps creeping behind her. Knowing what was to follow, she turned around and jabbed at him blindly. The force of the blow sent Aldin flying backwards with a broken nose as he magically reappeared on the floor before her.

There was a flash of confusion and shock across Lou's face but it quickly gave way to a look of derision and anger.

Unfortunately, the reveal of such an innocent practical joke brought up many embarrassing questions.

 "How long have you been able to do this? "

 "How many times have you been invisible without me knowing?"

 "How can I trust that you aren't spying on me when I'm not aware?"

At the time, the hollow realization of such a thing had many implications that Aldin hadn't thought of. Over time, Lou forgave him but Aldin still made a promise to himself that he would never let anyone know he could do something like this ever again.

 "Um, I don't know..." Aldin mumbles awkwardly.

 "Oh, come on, It'll totally work!" She urges him.

 "You don't know that! If it doesn't work, I could become a Halfling ashtray in about three seconds!"

 "What are you two talking about? What can Aldin 'do'?" Jorasko budges into the conversation.

 "Aldin can turn invisible," Lou states frankly.

The halfling grits his teeth in embarrassment as Lou blabs his secret to the group.

 "Really? That's cool! ... Wait," Jorasko turns to Aldin with a look of suspicion, "did you ever turn invisible back when we were at camp?"

 "See! This is why I don't tell people!" Aldin exclaims to Lou.

 "You won't turn to ash, we all had enough time to jump back into the hallway after the noise," Lou says as Aldin lets out an unsure hum.

 "How do you even do something like that?" Jorasko asks candidly.

 "Well, I... I guess I don't really know. One day I was playing my lute quietly in my room and when I looked down, I couldn't see my own two hands. At first, I freaked out but the next day when I tried to do it again, it worked without issue. I never knew why I had the ability in the first place though... still don't."

 "Well, it's the only way across," Lou debates, "we won't get very far if we can't find a way past the room. We're counting on you, Aldin."

  § Lou: Persuasion: 12+3

Aldin looks into the empty chamber and feels a warm feeling well up inside his chest. He trusts Lou, she means a lot to him and to turn back now would be a waste.

 "Okay, I'll do it," he sighs nervously.

 "Yes!" Lou lets out a small shout and pumps her fist excitedly.

After finding the courage, Aldin walks up to the edge of the hallway anxiously. Even though every fibre of his being is urging him not to walk into this surely suicidal situation, he takes a deep breath, looks back toward his friends one last time, and turns toward the room in front of him. He unhooks his lute from his backpack and begins to pluck a few notes from its strings.

Every note feels solemn, distant, and echoes with a cold tone of loneliness. Every strum reminds him of the memories of his youth, the exclusion and hateful comments of the older boys, the judgmental criticisms of his elders, and the escape that music brings.

As Aldin opens his eyes, his clothes, arms, feet, hair, and even the lute he holds in his hands are all completely invisible. 

Its always been an odd feeling for Aldin, to look down at himself and see absolutely nothing. Sometimes It feels as if he never even existed in the first place. 

 "Woah," Mini whispers from further down the hall, surprised by seeing him disappear in an instant.

Holding his lute, Aldin bravely takes his first few steps into the chamber. The statues around the circular room look down on him with blank melancholy expressions, their pupil-less eyes stare ominously, and they hold their weapons ready to strike. 

While he hesitantly steps further into the chamber, he hears what he hoped he wouldn't. The hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge as a familiar muted tone heralds his death throughout the hall.

 "Aldin!" Lou screams as the statues' eyes flare to life with white holy light.

Aldin's heart drops and he turns to run toward the door but as he pivots, no second chime is heard. The statues' eyes remain lit but for the time being Aldin hasn't been reduced to ash.

 Aldin lets out a fearful breath and whispers back to his friends, "It's okay. I think Mini was right, they can't see me."

Everyone in the hall shares a great sigh of relief and starts whispering among themselves.

Aldin was sure he was done for, that he was about to become a pile of ash and would blow about the halls of this forgotten place for all eternity.

With a great sigh of relief, Aldin feels safe enough to walk about the chamber without fear of death. 

As far as the statues were concerned, as long as he didn't release his invisibility, they wouldn't burn him alive.

The ginormous room looms over Aldin. He has become very accustomed to small Halfling houses and tightly formed hills, the thought that someone could build a single room to be this large is beyond belief. High above, the domed ceiling rises with diamond-shaped geometric patterns that bend and converge into an eight-pointed star.

The statues continue to gaze at Aldin as he crosses the room, however, the one statue from earlier seems very different from the rest. The statue of the six-winged woman in the center of the room, unlike the others, holds no weapon and bears a loving expression. 

  § Aldin: Religion: 16+4

Looking at her face, Aldin realizes he had seen a depiction of this statue once before. 

"It's Allurinah," he whispers to himself. 

Aldin knew her to be the Goddess of mortal ties. She had a predisposition for manipulating people into good or bad relationships and scorned all who mocked her beauty. To many, she was considered to be a lesser god and had little control over the known world. To find a shrine to her in a place like this is unheard of.

Behind her, Aldin spots a single doorway; It's frame glimmers with gold but the door itself bears no handle.

  § Aldin: Investigation: 13+4

Aldin looks around the door for something to open it and begins to feel along the walls. After a minute, he notices a faint bulge in the stone to the left of the door. Aldin hears a click as he moves his hand over it, a hidden button snaps into place and the light from the eyes of the statues is snuffed out immediately.

 "I think I got it," Aldin calls back to his group.

Immediately, Aldin hears the sound of giant gears grinding against one another beneath the floor. The door to the next room slides upward and into the stone above.

 "I think It's safe to come through now."

Mini, Jorasko, and Lou all make their way hesitantly from the hall and into the large chamber. When no noise is heard, their nerves die down and they roam the area with ease.

Aldin walks up to meet the group and goes to speak; he only utters one syllable before Jorasko leaps into the air in front of him, 

 "B-BY THE GODS!" He screams at Aldin, recoiling in fright. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

 "W-What?!" Aldin shouts and looks down at where his hands should be but sees nothing, "Oh! I forgot, sorry!"

Aldin releases the spell and looks up at his friends in delight.

 "Good job, Aldin! I knew you could do it!" 

Without warning, Lou picks him up and squeezes him tightly in the air. His little feet dangle for a moment and Aldin can feel the immense strength of Lou's biceps. When she finally releases him, Aldin fixes his shirt collar, smiles, and gestures toward the open doorway, 

 "After you,"

As they all walk through the open doorway, Aldin sees a long hallway ahead of them. One by one, torches along the walls blossom to life with pale pink flames that magically illuminate the corridor. 

Multiple ashen doors border the right and left of the hall and Lou gestures for everyone to search the area.

"If anyone finds anything of value be sure to tell me. Also, if anyone runs into any trouble, yell and I'll come running. Sounds good?" Lou asks.

With an excited nod, everyone begins searching the hall.

Aldin comes to the nearest room and pushes a button to the left of the door, it slides upward into the ceiling with a grinding noise.

"Shit," he hears from further down the hall.

"What's wrong?" Aldin calls out.

"My door only opened halfway, I think I can duck under it though." Jorasko's voice echoes.

"Be careful," Lou yells back to him.

Stepping into the room, Aldin sees the area is bathed in a pulsating pink light that emanates from a mark in the ceiling. The room has benches that seem to be mostly intact and small stairs lead to a raised circular platform surrounded by pillars. Walking closer, Aldin sees something etched into the floor of the platform. 

  § Aldin: Arcana: 4+6

It seems like an arcane circle of some kind. Glyphs and Celestial runes mark its outer edge with various lines that continue inwards, decorating an inner ring. Unfortunately, he doesn't recognize what it might have been used for.

Around the walls, Aldin spots velvet tapestries that depict three titans. The one on the left shows a bird of immense size, its wings are unfurled and displace the clouds around it. On the right is a similarly large serpent that's depicted far below the crashing waves of the ocean, it's mouth lies open and ready to strike. The one in the middle is an indiscernible creature, it looks similar to a bear but its paws lie long and flat with its claws digging into the earth. It towers above the mountains around it like a great boulder in a grassy field. 

 "The primordial beasts... and so well preserved," Aldin says to himself as he lightly caresses the soft fabric, "it seems like the Celestials who built this place had a fascination with them." 

Aldin's eyes wander down to the floor and he jumps back in fright! 

Aldin gazes upon the skeletons of two human-like figures. Although the bones have aged and their clothes have all but disintegrated over time, it seems like one of them is cradling the other in their arms.

  § Aldin: Medicine: 20+0 [CRITICAL SUCCESS]

Aldin stares at the two corpses for a short while, none of their bones seem to be broken and Aldin can only imagine why they died here in this way. One thing does catch Aldin's eye though, one of the skeleton's bones seems to be carved with faint swirling lines and patterns, but it doesn't look created by any tool of man.

 "An Aasimar!"

Aasimar are very rare Celestial half-breeds that carry the blood of the higher planes. They often bear similar abilities to their Celestial counter-parts and can live for extraordinarily long lifetimes. 

To find a dead Aasimar was extra disconcerting to Aldin. 

Searching the body, Aldin finds a small pile of gold coins that were presumably left behind when their clothing disintegrated and a single odd ring with an aquamarine gem set inside it. He gazes at the ring for a while and notices small runes carved on the inside of it.

 "Um, guys!" Jorasko's voice rings out from one of the other rooms, "I think you should come and see this."

Aldin quickly pockets the ring and heads off toward the half-opened doorway.

Walking into the room, Aldin is the last to arrive.

 "Shit, are they..." Lou goes to ask.

 "Yeah, I think so," Jorasko ominously answers.

The sight of this room truly haunts Aldin to his core.

Standing inside the small chamber are detailed statues of people, all pressed up against the far wall. Their expressions are frozen in a baleful fear toward the half stuck open doorway.

 "They've all been turned to stone," Aldin's heart drops.

There's no mistaking it, no one can make statues this accurate. The statues are made up of Humans, Elves, and even some Halflings.

 "What could do this?" Mini asks.

  § Aldin: Arcana: 8+6

 "A few things, but only one that's likely," all eyes turn to Aldin, "...Basilisks."

Aldin looks solemnly down at the floor. When he set out of Boulder he never would he have guessed that he would have to deal with basilisks. Everyone just stands there in reticence, contemplating their next move.

 "Aldin, how long has this ruin been here you think?" Lou asks.

 "Eighty-thousand years, give or take."

 "Then they're probably gone by now, right?"

 "Lou, I don't know when this temple was last used. This could have happened recently, we have no way of knowing."

 "These people are so scared. Maybe they fled into this room but the door didn't close all the way," Mini explains sorrowfully.

 "...And I think that's where our journey ends," Jorasko announces.

 "What? We can't stop here, we're so close," Lou pleads with him.

 "I do not want to become a Tabaxi lawn ornament for the rest of my life, thank you very much. Come on, Mini."

Jorasko turns to exit through the door and gestures for Mini to join him.

 "Wait!" Lou shouts as they begin to leave. She looks to Aldin, "Do you know of any way we can protect from... um..."

 "Being petrified for all eternity?"

 "Exactly."

  § Aldin: Arcana: 19+6

Aldin lets out a long and strained sigh. He knows exactly how they could safeguard themselves from petrification but even entertaining the thought of going up against these creatures is not a pleasant experience. Especially thinking about the possibility of Lou turning to stone, it's just not something he ever wants to think of again.

 "Kind of... I don't know Lou, I think we should just go."

 "Aldin, please," She whispers as she puts her hand on his shoulder.

  § Lou: Persuasion: 11+3

 Aldin releases a sigh, "Basilisks have three sets of eyes. One for sight in the dark, one for sight in the light, and one for magically turning living creatures to stone. When it does this, it needs to be able to look you in the eye for at least three seconds. You can look away but the world explorer, Sidgorn Byarlgruf, found a better way to fight them. If you can view them indirectly, either through thick glass or through a mirror, they're unable to petrify organic material and thus are vulnerable to attack."

He taps his glasses lightly, "Luckily I'm nearly blind without these, The glass might protect me from petrification but I don't know how safe the rest of you will be."

 "Thanks," Lou whispers to him, "see guys, even if they're still around, there are ways we can fight them. Mini, toss me your pack?"

The Minotaur immediately tosses his backpack over to her and Lou rifles through it.

 "Here! What about these?" Lou produces a series of soot-covered pots and pans they used for cooking at camp.

 "I don't think-" Jorasko begins to say but is interrupted by the quick wave of Aldin's hand.

 "Lâva,"

Magically, the soot and blackened metal evaporates into mist, leaving perfectly shined and reflective pans in Lou's grip.

 "Thank you, Aldin!" Lou chuckles.

Jorasko shoots him a disapproving look and Aldin exhales a strained laugh.

 "Lou, is this really that important to you?" Jorasko stares her down.

 "...You know it is."

As she says this, a palpable silence pervades the room. 

  § Aldin: Insight: 18+0

Aldin turns confusedly to Lou, it seems like there's something she's hiding from him.

 "Wait... Lou, why did you want to come here, again?"

 "Uh..." Lou looks at him, clearly caught off guard with the question but their discussion is cut short when a deep gravelly noise clangs out in the hallway.

 "Shit! Everyone get away from the door," Lou whispers loudly.

The noise grows, it sounds like the grinding of stone and echoes through the hall.

Lou silently tosses her polished cookware over to everyone as they press themselves against the wall next to the door. Everyone readies their weapons, including Aldin.

  § Lou: Stealth: 16+2

  § Jorasko: Stealth: 14+7

  § Mini: Stealth: 7+0

  § Aldin: Stealth: 1+5 [CRITICAL FAIL]

Everyone holds their breath in anticipation as Lou discreetly peeks her polished pan out of the door to take a look at what's coming down the hallway. 

 "What in the world?" She whispers gently.

While this happens, unbeknownst to Aldin, a single undone thread is currently holding together the bottom of his backpack. It struggles against the contents within and in a single defining second, gives way with a crashing array of noises. The contents of Aldin's pack clatter to the floor with a cacophonous echo that fills the air of the room instantly.

 "What the hell!?" Lou screams toward Aldin, seeing the various items that now litter the ruin.

 "I-I-I don't know!" Aldin panics.

A grinding whirlwind of noise spins into view with a gravelly roar, as a large mass of living stone peeks in from under the door.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Jorasko yells.

"Not a basilisk!" Screams Aldin.

ROLL INITIATIVE:

Mini: 19+0=19

Monster: 13

Aldin: 8+3=11

Lou: 6+2=8

Jorasko: 4+3=7

§ Greatclub: 12+5✓ (1d8+3) 4+3 (Halved) = 4 Damage

Mini, without hesitation, pulls the greatclub off his back and with a resolute snort, bashes the stone monster from the doorway with a powerful smash.

The monstrosity beats against the door in a fury. Its arms claw into the room, sending flying rocks pounding into the chamber with unbelievable force.

§ Crashing Stone at Mini: 13✓ (1d8+5) = 6 Damage

Masses of stone crack against the statues at the back of the room, shattering them instantly and Mini is pelted with stones that whack against his harsh hide.

Seeing this, Aldin swings his sword at the grinding creature.

§ Rapier: 9+5✗

Chipping off the stone, his rapier reverberates and waves back and forth erratically in his hands.

 "This thing is way too dense!"

 "Stand back!" Lou yells.

She holds what looks to be a sickle attached to the end of a long loop of rope and spins it rapidly.

§ Roped Sickle: 8+5✗

Releasing the rope, the blade arcs toward the monster of stone and smashes against it, sending bits or rock to fly through the room but nothing more.

At the same time, Jorasko notches an arrow onto his bowstring and sends it reactively whizzing through the room.

§ Longbow: 17+7✓ (1d8+3) 2+3 (1d6 Sneak Attack) +4 (Halved) = 4 Damage

The arrow hits the creature and embeds itself deep into the stone.

 "Hah!" Jorasko scoffs with pride.

Following up on his attack, Mini jumps in front of the creature and wraps his large arms around the stone.

§ Grapple: Mini Athletics: 18+5 VS Monster Athletics: 14

It spins in his grasp, sending stone flying throughout the area but Mini holds onto it with a herculean grip. Enduring the creature's might, Mini pulls his unwilling passenger through the doorway into the room with them and pins him down to the earth with a great thud.

 "Get Out!" he commands the group.

Dust and rock are kicked up in a whirlwind around the monster, who smashes against Mini's embrace with its two large stone appendages.

§ Crashing Stone at Mini: 20✓ (1d8+5) = 16 Damage [CRITICAL SUCCESS]

With a boulder-like fist, the monster crashes over Mini's head. There's a shuddering crack and Mini grunts in pain from the impact. Stone shards fly across the room as shrapnel and a broken section of Mini's horn skids along the floor to Aldin's feet.

Aldin quickly grabs the horn and his nearby lute on the ground before running through the half-open doorway.

Following quickly behind, Lou and Jorasko slide under the doorway and hop up to their feet.

 "Come on!" they beckon him.

Mini, still reeling from the impact, pushes away from the Monster and runs toward the door.

§ Attack of Opportunity at Mini: 14✓ (1d8+5) = 4 Damage

As Mini slides under the door, the beast hurls bits of stone at him, pelting him with shrapnel. Getting to his feet he lets out a guttural shout and smashes the half-open doorway with his greatclub.

§ Greatclub: (1d8+3) 8+3 = 11 Damage

In a loud crash, the door falls back into place, slamming along the floor and sealing the rock monster inside. Mini snorts in anger and pain, His breathing is heavy and strained from the battle.

 "BANG!" A loud smash rings from behind the thick stone doorway.

 "Do you think it can get out?" Lou asks.

 "No, these doors are plenty thick. It struggled to get through in the first place," Jorasko answers.

 "What in the nine hells was that thing?"

  § Aldin: Arcana: 20+6 [CRITICAL SUCCESS]

 "A lesser earth elemental," Aldin informs everyone, "but I don't understand why it would even be here."

 "There's plenty about this place that doesn't seem right," Jorasko agrees.

 "Mini, you're bleeding," Lou brings her hand up to his horn and Mini recoils from her touch. Ruby blood lightly drips from his newly broken stump and Mini seems rather upset as he touches the crack.

 "Mini..." Aldin approaches him, holding his broken horn.

Mini looks down at it and begins to hyperventilate. His chest pulses up and down as he frantically paces in the thin hallway.

 "Mini, you need to calm down," Lou tries to soothe him but he pushes away from her embrace and grinds his new stump against the wall in a panic. Mini's heavy breathing increases, taking deep breaths before each word, 

 "I... I..."

 "Calm down big guy, don't freak out." 

 "Mmmm! Mmmm!" Mini hums out small noises of grieved pain in his panic.

 "I can fix it later! I can fix it later. Breathe. Breathe, big guy."

  § Lou: Animal Handling: 17+2

She places her hand on his chest first, then one up to his snout and pets him gently. After the tense moment, Mini's breathing wanes and he is lulled by Lou into a much calmer state.

 "Aldin, I'll hold onto that," she says.

Aldin gives over the horn and lets out an empathic sigh.

Jorasko says nothing, but Aldin can tell he feels sorrowful for Mini's loss.

 "Why don't we rest here for a bit. Did anyone else find anything interesting?" Jorasko asks the group.

 "Bodies," Aldin and Lou say at the same time.

They look to each other with a sombre demeanour.

 "Gold," says Mini, to the surprise of everyone.

Lou perks up to the word. 

 "In here?" she gestures to one of the rooms.

He answers with a gloomy nod.

The three of them walk over to the doorway and open it, revealing a large room with a white marble shrine to Allurinah. Offerings of gold, jewelry, and small rolled-up parchment litter the room.

 "Good find," Lou says back to Mini.

  § Jorasko: investigation: 18+4

 "There's at least a thousand gold worth of treasure here and I don't even see any traps set for it."

  § Aldin: Religion 20+4 [CRITICAL SUCCESS]

 "Allurinah is the goddess of earthly ties. I'm guessing people would leave offerings here of value in exchange for her help with the matters of the heart." Aldin tells him.

 "And what does that mean in Common?" Jorasko asks.

 "People pay to fuck," Lou simplifies.

 "What, no! They-" Aldin commences to correct her but is interrupted by the sound of many gold coins being piled into Jorasko's backpack. He stares at Jorasko in silent disapproval of the looting.

 "What? It's not like anyone still living needs these anymore."

Aldin looks back to the shrine, its craftsmanship is exquisite and has been perfectly preserved over the many thousand years it's stood here.

 "Why don't we stick here for a bit, We can close the door behind us in case any of those things come by again," he offers.

The rest of them agree and gather inside, taking a much-needed rest.

Jorasko leans up against the wall and slouches down into an exhausted heap and Lou helps clean Mini's wound. She inspects the horn for how badly it's been damaged, and kindly pets Mini on the snout.

Over by the shrine, Aldin holds one of his last remaining possessions, his redwood lute. He breathes as he begins to pluck at the strings, releasing a calm penetrating tone into the room. He sings lightly under his breath as he rests the nape of his neck on the cold stone wall and closes his eyes.

"A moonlit night, a starry sight,

Sending over the stone.

Without a care in the world,

We flutter and roam,

All alone.

If there be a place for us,

who is to know.

And so we flutter and roam,

All alone."

The music disperses as Aldin feels a presence in front of him. He opens his eyes to see Lou who stands facing him calmly.

 "Mind if I sit?" 

 She slides down next to him and looks down at his lute, "That was nice, did you make that?"

 "Yeah. I've been working on it since Hollow Pine."

 "Oh, Well... I never heard you play it before."

 "I like to get up early in the morning before everyone wakes up. It's peaceful. I haven't played in so long, it... it just felt natural."

 Changing the subject she pushes some of the curls from her face, "I... I wanted to apologize. The trip has been a little more dangerous than I've expected," she lets out an uncomfortable chuckle.

Aldin nods in a playful agreement. He looks down at the floor and then to the ornate stone room, admiring the intrinsic beauty of this place.

 "I think you were right though."

 "Hmm?"

 "I don't think I was really living, closing myself off in that house." Lou offers him a slight smile as he goes to speak once more, "it never was the same after you left. We all loved you so much, It broke my Mom and Dad's heart when you left." There's a long uncomfortable silence as Aldin is lost in thought. "...But I think I finally understand now. It... it would have never been enough for you. If you stayed, every day all you would have wanted was to go."

 "And when I left all I wanted was to stay." Lou looks deeply at Aldin. 

Watching her beautiful hazel eyes begin to well up with tears, Aldin feels a regret. An old memory that he'd rather forget. 

Lou stifles a cough and unstealthily wipes her eyes, trying desperately to regain her composure. Aldin stays transfixed, feeling the grand weight of an old wound that has yet to heal; a wound that he dealt.

 "I'm sorry," he whispers after what feels like an eternity of guilt.

 "It's fine," Lou casually replies.

 "No, not that. I'm..." The word gets caught in his throat as Lou turns to him. After a moment of seeing his discomfort, it seems Lou understands what Aldin is speaking about, something long in the past.

 "I don't want to talk about that," she shakes her head.

 "When you said you wanted to leave," Aldin frantically explains.

 "Don't-"

 "I couldn't control it, I didn't know what I was doing."

 "I said don't-"

 "I didn't understand you before, but now I do. I never got a chance to-"

 "I SAID SHUT UP, ALDIN!" Lou yells into the room, startling Jorasko and Mini on the other side. "You don't get to just bring this up right now!"

Her voice is harsh and pained. She quickly gets up and storms over to the door in a fury, slamming the button to open the door before walking out.

 "Coming?!" she barks to the group.

Jorasko and Mini get their things ready to go and hurry out the door. 

Aldin stares on at where Lou stood in the doorway with a pang of heavy guilt that weighs on his mind. He looks back to the shrine and hurries out the door. 

They leave and the door shuts tightly behind them. The chamber lays empty, its many offerings plundered and taken by the group. All that remains now is a single glistening new gold coin that lays in front of the statue where Aldin once sat. It rests there, silent and peaceful, to be slowly lost to time while the party faces the perils ahead.