A couple of weeks had passed since the encounter with the vampire and during that time Lysithea had done little but wander around the city of Rosas' outskirts. The large city casting deep shadows over the broken street and the old church. The guards patrolled with purpose up and down, following the outer walls and past the decaying building of faith. At night they would close the city gates, protecting the inhabitants from the outside nightmare of monsters which stalked the region beneath the moonlight.

Many of them would-be-heroes, outsiders who often didn't find themselves welcomed within the walls of Rosas' city would spend their days and nights in the outskirts, protecting the cobbled street and farmers from the evil which lurked in the shadows. 

Lysithea spent most of the nights beneath the cherry tree which had been blessed to forever be in bloom no matter the season. It was there the Shahermerites often stood, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, the church and the graveyard. She stayed there beneath the safe light of the lantern which Evander had tied to one of the tree’s branches. His companions and himself taking turns to patrol the nearby premises. Two walked while one stayed beneath the falling petals of the tree. They always answered the call of the guard's horn, as it was the signal of beasts and monsters trying to penetrate the city walls. Most nights however were eerily silent. 

However, that particular night Evander stood by himself as Lysithea once again - as she did many nights before - had vanished, wandering off somewhere no one usually could find her. This time she’d gone back down into the crypt.

She followed close behind her companions. Heroes which had ventured down to cleanse the place of the recently woken undead. Often heroes waited inside the church for other adventurers who had the courage to travel down into the depths and more often than not Lysithea would follow them, although with a different purpose in mind.

Now she watched as a tall man in black and red armour plates rained havoc onto the walking corpses which attacked the group from every corner. He held two blades in his hands and swung them with precision. They were heavy and there was little to no grace to his movements but it got its job done and got it done well. He had taken the charge, guiding the others through the maze of graves and broken walls. 

As the final pile of walking bones fell to the ground, once again lifeless, the blonde haired girl in gold and white rushed forward and grabbed the man in red and black by the arm. Nervously smiling up towards him as he looked back down at her with a smile in kind.

"Tristan… please wait a moment before-... before going further. My magic is fading and I need a moment to-... to mend this headache."

He patted her hand. His face was long with a strong chin and low cheekbones. His eyes gray as stone and brown hair were hanging around his face like vines. He cared little for his appearance and would hardly ever deal with his unkempt straight hair. He was unshaven, and a rustle could always be heard when he scratched his chin. She spotted beads of sweat on his forehead and scowled in worry.

"You need a sit-down too. I have-... have some water if you need it."

"No, no I-..." He waved a hand dismissively and opened his mouth to argue but as he tried to speak further no more words came out and he coughed heavily as exhaustion washed over him.

"...Alright, maybe." He smiled sheepishly towards her and sheathed his second sword, scratching the back of his head with a rather nervous chuckle. 

They both sank down against the nearby wall and Lysithea handed him a glass bottle of clear water which he uncorked with his teeth. "How far down did you say you wanted to go, Lys?" 

The others gathered around, two of them keeping an eye on their surroundings while the others took a rest.

Lysithea took a deep breath, rubbing her forehead with her fingers as the familiar headache slowly dissipated. She could feel her hands trembling but even that began to calm as she continued to breathe carefully in and out. 

"She said all the way down." A woman appeared, sitting right between the two with her arms around her knees.

Lysithea shouted out in surprise and threw herself to the side. Tristan leaped to his feet like a scared cat and they both stared towards the young girl who was dressed in all brown, with a small jacket which only reached past her ribs. On her head she wore a tight sitting leather mask with goggles attached over her eyes. She looked between the two as they collected themselves.

"Serena!" They both shouted. "You scared the life out of me! Don't just do that."

Serena snickered to herself. Her voice was sharp and light. She jumped up on her feet and dusted herself off.

“We're heading for the side passage." One of the party members stated. "No offence, but the thought of going down there with only six people, one being a magic user who keeps getting a headache when she uses her powers, is not very attractive." One of the men said as they got up from the floor.

They nodded and said their thanks before they walked off, leaving Tristan, Serena and Lysithea all alone in the dim lit corridor.

Serena turned towards the woman in white and gold, hands on her hips. "Why are you going all the way down anyway? You've been down there more times than I can count."

"I'm just-... just looking for someone." 

"Looking for someone? Who in their right mind would be all the way down there by themselves?" 

Lysithea blushed and stared down into the dusty floor. Her two friends looked at her closely. She slowly shook her head and peered up at the empty spheres of Serena's goggles.

"A friend. Sometimes he goes down there, and I haven't seen-... seen him in a while. I just want-... want to make sure he's alright."

Serena took a long and good look at Lysithea. No words were spoken and it was impossible to see what the woman was thinking. She then slowly turned to look at Tristan who merely gave her a faint smile. Shrugging she pulled her hands down into her pockets. 

"Alright. Let's go then, still a few floors left and I'd prefer to eat dinner on time for once!" 

Wandering down the steps Lysithea would sing the tunes of the Dusk's humming, letting her voice echo against the cracked and broken halls. Her own voice was the only response she would receive and with a heavy heart she continued the descent with her small party of friends. 

The undead were many and they came in packs. The majority of them were slow, walking with their heavy weapons in both hands. Some swayed from side to side, their rotten faces facing the stone floor and groaning. Others moved fast, as if they were alive. Running towards the three of them with shields and axes held high.

Tristan rushed them, pushing one of them back by tackling it’s shield with his shoulder. It fell to the ground and proceeded to stomp on the empty skull as it hit the floor.

Serena moved swiftly behind him, dancing from side to side as she swung her flail towards the attackers with precision, cracking bones and breaking their heads upon impact.

Lysithea could only watch, pressed against the wall, as her friends got attacked. They protected her and despite the wounds they received as reward they did so without faltering, not even once. 

"You really think this friend of yours is down here?" Serena asked, out of breath with small cuts and scratches breaking her leather armour. She pulled her dagger out of rotten flesh, letting the body of their enemy fall into a heap on the ground.

Tristan took a few deep breaths as he walked ahead, opening a heavy stone door with his shoulder. He would peer between the small gap before pushing it open completely to descend down another set of stairs.

Lysithea had begun to fiddle with her fingers, nervously she looked around the bone-scattered hallway. "I'm not-... not sure. I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks."

She followed Tristan down the stairs, almost bouncing as she walked downwards. The stairs were narrow and each step sat in high elevation from the next. Serena followed closely, keeping an eye on their rear. 

As they caught up with their dark-clad fighter the moanings and screeching of bones traveled towards them through the darkness. Sharp orange and yellow eyes flickered out of the shadows and slowly the undead stepped into view, dragging their weapons behind them. 

The blonde-haired girl placed both hands over Tristan's back and a faint purple glow grew from her palms until it covered his entire person and then dissipated. Tristan shivered heavily, shaking his arms to get rid of the chilling sensation of her protective magic. He then rushed forward and with swift movements of his two blades he cut the slow walking corpses in half as they lumbered towards the three. Serena ran up beside him, holding her flail and dagger in hand. She fought as if she was dancing, side stepping each swing of the rusty axes and blades the undead swung at her.

As the dust settled Lysithea placed both hands on the sides of her head and huddled forward. Her headache drummed in her ears and she gasped for air. Gently, Travis placed both hands on her shoulders. His armour was heavily scratched and he had a deep cut over his left arm from a rusted and broken long-axe. She looked at the blood trickling down his skin and dropping onto the floor. Carefully she placed her trembling hands on his arms. 

"You're-... you're hurt." She looked up at him with worry in her eyes. He just shook his head, smiling.

 "Don't worry about it. I'll be alright. Your headaches have gotten worse, should we give up for now? There's no shame in it."

Quickly she shook her head. "No! No… I need to get to the-... the bottom."

"The bottom?" 

A dusty and old voice reached them from behind. It bounced off the wall with the occasional bang of a walking stick in toe. From the shadows came a crooked man, in filthy brown robes and a tattered hood which cast a shadow over his face. His yellow eyes sparkled beneath the darkness. He walked towards them, back bent, and as he came closer Lysithea could spot a yellow toothed grin beneath the hood.