Larissa's dreams are pleasant. She had been worried of nightmares after the day they had just endured. Yet she could easily say that this was a safe place and that her dreams would never worry her here. Her dreams centered around Kirin. They were so real. She could almost believe he was actually stroking her cheek.

As dawn approached, the hermit looked around his home with some sadness. He was about to play the villian and it was going to cost him. He stood in the night air, looking up at the stars. If he didn't do this though, they would never have that mental edge they needed to run. Run and find a place of power to protect them. He slowly barred the door to his hut. Then he carried a torched and lit the straw roof.

He had a hideaway where his more valuable herbs, potions, and items were stored. Where traveler's would never find them. However, this place still had memories. Watching the hut quickly go up in flames, he forced himself to assume the face of an angry and greedy person. Picking up the ax, he summoned magic to cover it in red flames. The blue flames. He couldn't pull off red without blood, and had no desire to. However the blue would be convincing and dangerous enough.

Kirin smells the smoke and starts coughing. What was happening? He pushed down the the urge to panic. "Larissa!" he shakes her shoulder coughing a bit. "Larissa wake up."

Larissa muffled voice asks a question and she slowly lifts her head from where it had been resting against his chest. She sleepily looks up and coughs. What is the world? Sitting up, she stares in wonder at the yellow flames starting to lick through the roof.

Kirin uses his magic to put a shield around them. He heads to the front door with her. A beam falls just in front of them but his shield holds. Holding her hand he moves around the fallen beam. He looks around as they move wondering where the hermit is. "Who would do this?" He mutters to himself as they finally reach the door. He opens it heading out of the burning hut with Larissa.

Larissa clutched his strong hand in terror. She was a weak human. What would she give to be a mighty gryphon right about now. Stepping outside where the cool predawn air was, she looked up and stared in complete shock as the kind hermit charged them. He brandished an axe covered in blue fire. His wild eyes wide open with blue fire streaming from them. He let out a blood curdling yell.

Kirin sends a bolt of lightening at him before turning to run. What had overcome the hermit? Or had this been his plan all along. Larissa stumbles a bit and he scoops her up. And continues to run till they are far from the hermit. He is panting by the time he stopped. "We shouldn't have trusted him." He mumbles through the panting.

Larissa holds on tightly, her face buried in his chest. She was powerless and hated it. They could of died because she couldn't fight with magic or fly. Trembling, she suggested, "Let's head up the mountain. Back to the glade..." At least there they had been safe.

"That's what I was planning." He says keeping the shield around them, just in case. "Why would he do that? He seemed so kind." He is shaking a bit. He just can't understand why the hermit would turn on them like that.

She nodded in agreement, her face puzzled. "His last actions were scary and if someone like that who seems so nice and all can pull that stunt, then we shouldn't trust anyone. No matter what. I wish I was a gryphon. Then I would be able to better understand what their motives are." She starts to cry softly in his shoulder.

"I know. When we get back I'll be putting up protection around the glade." He says as the continue to travel. He holds her close as they move. Soon they return to the glade. He lets the shield drop. He then goes to the edge of the glade and starts putting up defenses. He is a bit shaky when he's done but he goes to hunt. Soon he has a deer that he preserves he collects berries and does the same thing.

She sits by the water in sadness. The lake stretched out before her, glistening with the late afternoon rays. Kirin had disappeared into the forest and she was left to herself. Her useless self. She stood and turned to look at the ancient temple. It's white stone reflected the sun's glow. She was tired of not controlling her own destiny. What was it about gryphon turned human that brought the greedy and evil from hiding? She hated it. She stopped by their fire pit and picked up a burning branch.

Walking slowly, she entered the old courtyard and crossed it to the main building. The sanctuary was filled with pillars. Passing by them, she went into the inner chambers. She hated this place. The power she knew existed here, but couldn't feel, was unknown. She looked down the staircase that led deep into the dark abyss. Might as well go explore it. Her life was meaningless as it was now anyways.

Kirin gets done with the deer and comes back. "Larissa!" He calls out. Worry starts to fill him. He takes a branch and heads to the temple. "Larissa!" He calls out as he moves through the temple. Where could she be? All of a sudden he knows and heads to the staircase as well.

She had long reached the bottom of the stairs. Standing there, she realized she rather preferred being in the company of Kirin instead of by herself. Whatever magic was down here though, she was going to get a glimpse. Hopefully. She moved into a main room. Her torch created eerie flickering shadows that set her imagination going. From this room there were several corridors. She looked at them wondering which way to go. Finally picking one, she headed down the dark hallway. This was a pretty big underground compound. She had no idea it could go on so long.

Finally she reached a stone walkway. Emptiness was on either side and she had no idea how far it went. Larissa walked out onto it and slowly went forward. The air was both thicker and thinner. Cooler. Stiffling but refreshing. It made no sense. The sound of dripping water surrounded her and increased. Soon she reached the end of the long walkway. There was a round platform of stone with water falling in rivulets on all sides. In the center was a round altar like thing with something on it.

Kirin quickly heads down the stairs. "Larissa!" He calls. He stops and puts out his magic to find her. When he senses her he heads that way. He spots her. "Larissa there you are." He is a bit out of breath.

She turns and looks back. Crossing the long walkway was Kirin. He looked both worried and relieved. She rushes up to him, feeling so relieved that she is almost dizzy with it. Wrapping her arms around his warm body and pressing her head against his chest, she calms at the sound of his heartbeat. "Glad you came," she whispers.

"You shouldn't have come with out me. You could have gotten hurt." He says nuzzling her. He is relieved beyond belief to see her safe and sound.

She shrugged, "I didn't want to sit around and the only place that has any hope or answers seems to be down here... though there are so many corridors that I am uncertain we would be able to explore them all today. This particular place seems interesting.

"Next please let me know where you are going." He says holding her close. He is shaking a bit. He takes a deep calming breath and steps back. "Well we are here now, shall we explore." HE says finally looking around at their surrondings.

She nodded and looked around. The stone platform in front of them had beautiful small waterfalls surrounding it in with some sort or blue glow in the middle. The sound of trickling water filled the large spacious space, though they couldn't see beyond the darkness. In the middle of that platform was something. She didn't want to be the first to step off the stone walkway that she had been walking along. She didn't know what lay ahead.

Kirin is taken in by the glow. He wants to see whats out there but he doesn't want to do it if it would make Larissa uncomfortable. He just holds her close as they stand there. "It's so pretty here. There is such a sense of power." He says in reverent awe. He just stands there taking it all in.

"At least you can sense the power. I lost not only my magical sense but sight as well." She whined. Realizing she had acted the child, she shook her head and stepped out of his arms. "Well, after you, go see what it is." With that she gave him a gentle push towards the large platform.

Kirin pecks her cheek as he makes his way to the large platform. He will have to remember to ask her if any of her kind could help her undo the spell. He only wishes he knew how to undo it. To undo both spells. He lets out a small sigh as he comes to the platform.

She walks behind him a little, the cool air from the falling water clinging to her skin like moisture to glass. It was amazing that anyone could have built this place. Surely this was underneath the lake itself. Keeping one hand on Kirin's warm back, she peaked out past him.

((Whatever you want to be in the center of the platform works. Some glowing power. Some magical item. Something not useful at all. Whatever you want ^_^))

(Can it be something that will eventually break the spells?)

Kirin walks up to it. He senses no evil from whatever was causing the blue glow. He approaches slowly and sees a perfect orb about the size of a bowling ball. He reaches out to touch, and as he does so he feels the energy coming from it.

((Whatever you want it to be ^_^))

She watches him walk forward, her heart in her throat. Humans were so weak, their emotions so volatile. She didn't like this uncertainty. Yet as a gryphon, she could never have come to this beautiful cavern. As he reached out his hand, she heard something shift in the darkness. When his hand touched the glow, it seemed like something took flight. Was it possible this item, whatever it was, had a guardian?