The elder bat led Eve and Tora to a room just of the staircase, right in the middle of either end of the upper hall. The room, being a center room had no window, but it was also a bit less dusty than the others seen so far. It was furnished with a fireplace, a bookshelf next to it, a wardrobe, a set of drawers, and a writing table with an oil lamp and other assorted supplies. A wooden chair sat next to the desk, and in the corner was a couch and two chairs placed around a tea table with a china tea set. A large fully fitted king-sized bed was directly ahead, its headboard to the wall, and its foot facing the door.

Eve looked around the room and shrugged. She could see the people who had built the furniture had taken care in the details. She smiled at the sight of bed but moved to the couch. She set her bag down beside the table, moving the china set so she could focus on her current work. She dug through her bag and set her small coin bag on the table. She began to carefully count the coins and looking at the small amount of supplies she had managed to collect back in the last town. She looked at the book shelf and began to skim over the titles. She grabbed one marked in Elvin. She smiled, knowingly.

Tora also takes her time examining the inside of the room. Once she's satisfied with it's contents and their smells, she shifts into the shape of a tiger and hops unto the bed. She stretches out and then lies at the bottom end of the bed. Her eyes close but her ears perk up at any sound.

Eve looked around the room. She was tired, but something had not quite settled with her yet. She had stayed many nights in castles with questionable histories, but this one seemed odd even to her. Eve set the book beside her bag and sighed as she laid back forcing herself to relax. She had not really spent much time alone with the cat folk in the past few weeks. She had been better associated with the spirited hunk of metal than anyone. Hadn't he been the one to invite her into this rag tag group? She couldn't remember anymore. She felt her eyes grow heavy as she dropped her items back into her bag and place it under her head like a pillow.

The room seemed normal enough, nothing seemed particularly notable, though the books didn't seem to have any order or reason to them; a harvest festival cookbook, an Elvin herbology guide, a lonely third volume in a novel series about a pirate crew, a how to DIY for assembling carts... Either the last occupant had a very limited attention span, or they were picked at random. Beneath the dusty shelf a few scratch marks were etches into the stone, as though the shelf were moved repeatedly at some point.

As the pair dozed, a sudden knock came at their door. It was solitary, like a hammer or thrown stone, and harsh enough to make the heavy wooden door shudder.

Unless one of the pair made sure to light one of the potential fire-sources, the windowless room would be quite dark. A few flashes of light periodically flickered from the chimney coinciding with the sounds of thunder. Two spaced shadows could be seen from beneath the door; perhaps a pair of legs standing at the entry.

Eve sat up abruptly at the sound. She looked around and sighed as she stood. She paced the room size once before sitting down to make a fire.

Tora slowly opened her eyes and looks around without moving anything other than her eyes. Sensing Eve starting a fire, she closed her eye most of the way in anticipation of the light.

The fire crackled to life and slowly grew. The glow lit the room with an orange tint.
A second strike hit the door, as fierce as the first. A slight crackle accompanied it afterwards, as though the wood gave and splintered ever so slightly. If whatever was outside was intent ton getting in, it was a strange way to do so, it wasn't as though the door was latched though, a mere tug from the hallway would open it.

Eve stood from her spot and sighed as she looked at the door. She stood, "Latch it or find what is making the sound?" She asked as she looked at Tora. She knew she could sleep through the noise, if that was all it was. Part of her doubted the innocence of the sound. She moved to the door and touched the cold wood. Even if they latched it she doubted it would take much to break it down. The wood was old and well worn into its place, but things just did not feel right.

Tora stretch and yawns. "I say answer it. If something wants to get it, I'm sure it can. No reason to have a broken door." She hops off the bed and gets close enough to the door to pounce if need be.

Eve nodded and opened the door, keeping out of its path as it swung open.

As the door pushes outwards, a shadowy figure quickly moved to the side, dodging it with a sweep of their arm. A loud scrape resounded through the air, the creature took a light chunk off of the edge of the door, perhaps on instinct. The elder bat, accompanied by a few other unidentified kin screeched pleadingly from out of view. "Please don't do this! The storm will let up soon, you must come to your senses. Please just stay your hand for tonight, my lady, I beg of you!"

The figure gazed out at the pair form the darkness, silvery white eyes glowed faintly, they seemed somehow unaware, as though half asleep. It was not an outwardly imposing figure from what was visible; it seemed slight of build, just a bit over five feet in height, barefoot, and wearing fine bedclothes of some sort.

Tora lets out a growl as she sniffs the air. "You reek of blood. Not new though... Too old to tell the kind of animal it's from though... Feeling a bit hungry?" She watches the figure closely to see it's reaction.

Eve jumped back, surprised by the figure more than anything. She pulled a dagger out and grips it tightly. The air in the room had changed. This figure had brought in a darkness with it. Eve did not want to have to strike but something had her on edge. The lady? as the bats had called her was dressed elegantly, yet though just coming from bed- possibly still asleep. "The mistress?" She mumbled more to herself, though she doubted Tora missed what she said. The one who had long slept. They beckoned her back to them, yet she did not go. Where they afraid to come get her.

The lady's eyes light up for just a moment at the word "blood", she smiled slightly, revealing a sharp and pointed set of fangs and steps a bit closer into the room, blocking the entryway. "Hungry... Is't dinner-time?" She mumbles half aware of her surroundings. The night-dress the noble wears is covers in dark splotches of oxidized blood. She stares for a moment into the fire, sniffing the air. "Smells good, wanna eat now..." She keeps sniffing, towards Tora, towards the bats; who were now screeching something at her int heir native tongue, then circling back around towards Eve. She licked her lips, dreamilly trying to decide what to go for.

"Careful! The countess is very fast, try to distract her and slip away if you can!" The elder bat yelled from a perch above the banister.

Eve looked at the Bats, "You said we'd be safe here, how do I know this isn't a trap?" Eve began to search the room carefully as she carefully moved between the bed and fire place. She was keeping careful watch on the Countess.

"We would never go against the Countess' will like that!" The old bat interjected. "Rule number three is to treat guests with respect and not to drink their blood without their permission. The Countess would be quite displeased if she knew what she was doing... Oh! The bookshelf, it's a door leading out to the passageways, if you can outrun her for a bit, we'll go out and gather some other blood for her to drink." The bats flew away at that, back towards their cave.

The countess licked her lips, not hearing her friends' words. She approached Eve hungrily, but then paused. Her necklace glowed with a faint magic. She ran out a couple of feet from the room, though still blocked the doorway. She turned a gaze towards Tath and Feliph's room. "We're being invaded! There are hundreds. Arm the ballistas, assemble the guard...zzzzz" She closed her eyes and let out a snore while still standing up.

Eve grabbed the blanket off the bed and swung it into the flames of the fire. It didn't take long for the material to catch a flame. Eve ran with the burning blanket and tossed it between the Countess and them. She grabbed her bag and began shoving the book shelf aside.

"Tora, A bit of help if you don't mind." Eve muttered as she tried to figure a way to get to the others and part of her hoped they wouldn't lose another part of their team. "There has to be a way to get to the others."

The bookshelf moved without too much fuss, revealing a narrow and dark corridor that looped and branched into the walls. To enter would make it very hard to turn back, particularly for a lengthy tigress. The stone was cold and smelled faintly of the muddy rain outside.

The countess recoiled at the fire, disappearing into the shadows silently. The door itself was not so lucky, and seemed to be steadily catching fire as well. Smoke began to fill the room as the fire started to spread to anything not made of stone in the immediate vicinity.

Eve looked at Tora, then the passage. "Let's go." Her attention went to the small table which was now near the flames. On it the book she had glanced through. She bit her lip and snatched it into her bag. Her hand stung from the heat. She sighed as she moved into the narrow way as she pressed her hand against her skin to cool it. At this point anything was better to her than burning.

She had not intended to burning the room but improvising in the face of death made one do things they would not usually think to do. She thought about this as she pressed her hands against the cool stone. They were a bit damp to her touch. The smell of fresh dirt, cool and damp came to her nose. Eve coughed the smoke out of her lungs as she moved away from the room.

The light-less and cramped corridors trailed to and fro around the rooms, eventually widening dramatically to either side, and leading to face a wall. It was a fork in the trail, if either of the two were paying close attention to each 90 degree turn along the way through the maze of walls; the path to the left most likely led in the general direction of the countess' room, a small light glowed from a crack in the masonry floor; the opposite way was towards where their companions went to rest, it smelled more strongly of rain and mud.

There was no telling whether there were more forks further down either direction, given all the corners in the path.

Tora switch to her hybrid form as she followed Eve into the passage. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the limited amount of light as they made their way. As they made their way to the fork she sniffs the air and says "That way leads to there the countess lives and that way is where the others stayed. Which way do you want to go? You decide since it seems that it you that the countess thinks is delicious." She grins though Eve might not be able to see it.

Eve looked at Tora and shook her head, "Cute, very cute." She looked at both directions. "Others might be in danger, probably should find them first- then we can join my dinner date."

Going down the right passage led them to a rather disconcerting sound. a tapping, disorganized steps quite unlike the rain outside. The floor war sticky, the air sickly sweet. Hundreds of spiders were barreling down the path, pouring upwards into a wide hole in the wall that led outside. Many were missing some quantity of their eight limbs. The direction they were coming from seemed to glow slightly with a fireplace's light.

Eve let out a small sigh as she heard the sound coming closer. "Tora," She grimaced as she looked at the corridor. The smell made her want to vomit. She tore into her bag and pulled out a small piece of the bread she had managed to buy in the last town, before all chaos had broken loose. She stuffed the piece in her mouth to keep her stomach from churning more than it already was.

Tora lets out a low growl as the smell increases. If Eve can see, she grimaces as the scent assaults her nose. "Lets get out of here, this smell is disgusting."

"Lead on," She said quickly as she looked around the corridor.

The corridor is close enough to the room to faintly hear Lan'elli and Kerath's group speak. It was clearly coming from the room the spiders fled from. The last of them exited tot he hole on the side of the wall, but they paused. The many eyes stared and followed the pair, particularly the white-furred weretiger. "Follow my servants, you shall be safe..." A voice came form seemingly no direction, urging them to follow the spiders outdoors. The arachnids just stared, still as statues, as though waiting for something.

Eve looked at Tora- her stability had weakened more greatly than she had remembered. She let out a soft groan as she leaned back against the wall, "Tora," She barley mumbled as she felt the sickening trembles continue to grasp her. Trust the spiders or go to the others. She wanted to crawl back to the others and continuing on seemed impossible. Each breath was weaker than the previous.

Tora sighs. "It's poison in the air." She looks at Eve and sees her barely shanding. She sighs and says "Lets get out of here." She picks Eve up and heads towards the voices of Lan'elli and Kerath.

The voice called after them as they left the secret passage, fading as they put distance between them. "Sad that you turn from redemption and aid. You shall be next on my list, were-creature." The spiders did not follow, and soon they disappeared from sight.

They had escaped the darkness, but not the poison just yet, as they exited right into the sight of the battle, Tath and Feliph's room. Just beyond the open door they could spot their companions in varying states of consciousness.

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