She gives a small chuckle at Nicholas' inquiries. "I won't be following you in. As for how deep it is...The ruins themselves used to be that of a very large temple. I would expect that in its time it was quite spacious on the inside. However, as you can see there isn't much left of the ruins after all of this time. You are basically just exploring it's basement. It should not take too terribly long. A few hours maybe..."
"I think i'll leave others to test that skill." She pulls open the small chest in her hands and sets it on the ground in front of her. Inspecting it, you all see that it's a small spherical object that's flat on one end with an intricate pattern. Presumably that pattern is inserted into wherever the entrance of the vault. The key itself is made of bronze and appears to be quite old. Chunks of it have been broken off over the years and parts of the bottom look like it has been replaced with new bits of bronze. "I went through quite the trouble getting it restored. It...should work properly."
"Can you tell us anything about what lies between us and the vault?" Thritch shifts from side to side, considering his next actions. "I know you can't tell us about the vault itself, but can you tell us what's between here and there without breaking the magic?"
"Well, only one of us can really be carrying the key and unlocking, right?" Nicholas took an examination of the people beside him. "Would anyone seriously complain if I was the one who held on to it and took all the risk of whatever happening if I was the one who opened it first?"
“Sure, go ahead. I have no objections.” Vi'lea shrugged. If someone else wanted to face the dangers of carrying and using the strange key, she was happy to let them.
She shrugs idly at Thritch's questioning. "As far as I understand it, there should be very little between you and the vault. The entire area has been picked apart by scavengers for centuries."
"'kay. Well nobody seems to mind if I hold on to it." Nicholas approached and bent down to take the advice, though he stopped and looked upward at the woman before stopping. "Any special rules to know about hanging on to it?"
"It's a key. There's nothing particularly special or magical about it. You find the slot to put it in, put it in, and turn." Once close to the robed woman, you start to notice a few minor oddities. Her clothes seem a little large for her frame and said frame seems to be unusually tall for its size. You still don't really get any clear view under her hood.
Vi'lea waits for the rabbit person to take the key. “Since we will be working together, at least for a while, we should probably introduce ourselves – it will make communication easier.” She pauses briefly as she considers how to introduce herself. “My name is Vi'lea. Nice to meet you.” She says simply, without providing any details. There will be time enough for that later, if she deems it necessary. (OOC: I wasn't sure whether to wait for Nicholas to take the key or not, but I believe this version works either way.)
Nicholas picks up the key and stores it safely on his person. Jeez. How's this going to come back and bite me? "I'm Nicholas. Good to..." Nicholas half paused what he was going to say as he gave Vil'ea something a look. "Sooo...you're one of THOSE, huh?" Nicholas's tone didn't sound accusing in nature, but he didn't bother expanding on what exactly he was referring to. He simply stood back up and made sure the key was safe without further comment.
Vi'lea gave Nicholas a confused look. "I... have no idea what you mean by that, so I really can't say if you're right or wrong..." She said and shrugged, then made a mental note to be careful around the guy. After all, even the most innocent-looking person could turn out to be a murderous lunatic...
In the hopes to move things along a bit. If one of you examines the door, you'll find that it's pretty easy to manipulate and pull open. It isn't even locked! Upon opening it, the weight of the door causes it to flop open fully once you've pulled it half-way there. It hits the back wall with a metallic clang and you can see down the stairs into the darkness of the ruins. She cloaked lady waves politely from her position. "Have fun!"
Vi'lea watches the rat man enter and descend into the darkness, then turns her attention back to Nicholas. “Since you are the one carrying the key I think you should be in the middle. This way you will have some minimal protection if we get attacked from the front or the back.” She tells him. “After you.” She adds and waits for him to move.
"Kay. I can fight a little, but I'm a lot better at just keeping out of sight or dealing with mages. In fact.." Unsure of the exact nature of what he'll be seeing inside, he shut his eyes as he made an odd gesture with one arm and muttered something in an almost indescribable language before reopening them. Noy'hia didn't work by flashy lights or big shows of magic, but Nicholas was confident he invoked his magic defense properly anyway, as he stepped inside the ruins. Ancient ruins. Nothing ever bad happened in a place like that. He kept his thoughts internal as he followed the rat man and looked back a bit to see if Vi'lea was following.
Vi'lea watches with interest as Nicholas casts some sort of spell she's not familiar with. What was that? He said he's better at dealing with mages, so maybe some sort of spell for protection from hostile magic? She wonders, then takes a final look at their employer and politely waves to her in return. "Take care and we'll see you later!" I hope. The elf adds in her mind as she follows the bunny boy into the darkness of the ancient ruins.
Inside the basement, the passageway is dark and smells of bone meal and dust. None of you can see perfectly in the dark, except for maybe Thritch, but it's a pretty easy task to find a Sconce and remove a torch from it. Dust lays on the ground like snow and you can see the footsteps of past wanderer's throughout the room. It appears to be nothing more than a landing. It's fairly large. Clearly made so that a half doze people or so could traverse through it without bumping into each other. An ancient stone table is in the corner and the walls are made of cracked masonry. There are two doors that lead out of the room and they're both on the walls ahead of you. One is slightly ajar and your torch does not quite hit the darkness that lies within while the other is closed.
Thritch tries to shut his nose against the dusty smell, but mosly fails. Torch in one hand, sword in the other, he heads to the opened door and tries to push it open with his foot.
