It was always so cold here, cold and gloomy. Rain always fell though it never feels with water, how come? Who cared, that was just how things where down here. The buildings were falling apart, the stone crumbling down around every corner you looked hitting you on the head as you passed. The pitiful animals you owned laided down at every given moment to die, thus you had to keep pulling them back to their feet to keep them moving. Disease swept through the streets like the rats that infested them, though no one here ever died. They just walked around sick and depressed. That's what Molly was doing now, walking like the rest of the lost souls that were down here. She had only just arrive, though already she didn't recall how this all came to be. Taking a long drawn out sigh she made her way to the swamp that was considered the relaxation point. What was this place? She had no idea. There was a man standing near the swamp, maybe he knew what was going on. Slowly, for that seemed to be the only speed here, she made her way to him.
"Excuse me sir." She asked standing next to him. He simply looked at her with a sigh. His armor was a bluish color, which was nice considering everything was a black or grey. "Do you have any clue where this place is?" She asked. No answer. The silent type...great maybe she would just stand there with him.... So she did. The lake or swamp was bubbling with its nasty bog water, the foul smell filling her nostrils. This place was so nasty, and dark. She wanted to find a way out of this place even though she had just gotten here. Was there a way? If there was a will there was.

Astrid made her way down the streets faster than most, for her floatiness gave her the chance to avoid all the muck piles which everyone learned to ignore. She floated by the swamp, and stopped and just stared out at the world. A few meters (2-4) away from her stood some man and a woman. She heard the woman ask "Do you have any clue where this place is?". She snorted a tiny bit. She knew quite well what this place was, and where as well. You might as well call it "limbo", the place where lost souls wander. She floated down and decided to lay down. she shook her neck a bit, and stared out at the swamp in front of her. Arthen stared at his melting wings in despise. "I'm melting alive. I might as well die here and not try to get out. What good will it do anyways? I'll melt as soon as I get out!" He grumbled. He looked at the Ryori beside him, along with the humans farther down. he snorted. "Looks like only rejects get sent here. And I might as well be one, too" he sighed.

"Limbo? What is that?" Molly asked not sure what this word meant, no one had ever used it before. "I'm afraid I don't not know that in which you speak." The man beside her tilted his head to the side some as he too didn't understand the meaning of this word. Something was not right about him. His helm seemed covered in blood just around the rim and on part of the face. Seeing this Molly looked down. Her chest plate was torn in places and bloody...that was right. She had been shot with at least a dozen arrows or so. Why was she here then? "Ho-how am I alive? I remember the fight, the arrows, my sweet..." She paused. Her sweet what? Her husband, that was what but his name, why could she not recall his name? "Where are we?! Why can't I remember anything?!" She shouted before the man put a steady hand on her shoulder. That hand it seemed familiar but why? She didn't know this man, she had never seen him before so why did he seem so familiar? There was no telling, he was probably a knight like herself for all she knew. She looked back to the strange green animal, waiting for an answer.

She bit her cheeks, holding in a ugh,laugh. She couldn't for long though and exploded in a huge chuckle. Finally calming down, she was about to explain when her seaweed snaked onto her head and poked Molly in the nose. "Tut Alex!" She scolded the seaweed. clearing her throat, she explained "Well, Limbo is like a place for souls with uncompleted business. Your sweet? Chances are, he's dead. However, your brain doesn't want to believe that. See that light over there?" She pointed to a thin stream of light barely visible. "Well, it's millions of miles away. But, that's your only chance to get back to "life". Find your sweet there, or find out he's not alive, your business will be done, and based on what happens you will Die, Go back here, or stay alive until age claims you." She looks the man in the eye, deeply and smirks. "Oh, I see. This will be fascinating to watch" She chuckled. "Since your a solitary "Polar Bear", as I like to say, you will have some problems. There's no getting there" she points to the light, "unless we work together." clearing her throat, she also says "This is one of the only times I speak clearly. You should be glad I don't have time to tease you with my riddles." She looks at Arthen. "Well, look who we have here." he jerks back, thinking he had been unnoticed. "What do you want?" his gruff voice cut Astrid's smooth one right out of the world. "So, I'll come. I have a rider to save and some hatchlings to come home to." His expression eased for a second as he saw his mate and hatchlings playing, awaiting his return, but it quickly changed to the gruff face of a battle scarred Dragon. "Good, now let's go."

"Ow!" Molly winced as the seaweed hit her, though it was more of fright than anything. "What was that for?!" She shouted ready to hit the creature though the same hand that calmed her before took her by the wrist as she went to swing.
"How do you know this?" His voice was deep and rasping not to mention it echoed in his helm. Simply he stood there waiting for his answer. "And how can we trust you? We only just met."
"And how come if you knew the beacon was there you've never went to it before? Seems unlikely to me...." She growled. It was the best lead she had, so it was at least a start. "It doesn't matter, if we are dead then we can't die again right? First step in this journey would be to get each other's names and what little we can recall. I'm Lady Molly of Holstien." She bowed lightly.
"Sir Horace of the East." The man said simply. "It's been a long time since I came here. I don't recall anything."
"Well this is a start." Molly smiled. That name though, it too seemed familiar, where had she heard it though? Again he could be anyone.... "And what about you two...whatever you are."

She chuckled again, and, putting a paw on her seaweed, she said "Let me put it this way. What choice have you got? I'm Astrid, and that's all there is. That beacon? Alta here" she pointed to one of her curled seaweed strands "has come quite close to getting in the beacon. Why can't she? It requires team work. There are about 6 stands. Each requires a different person to activate, and they open the door and let you in. And" she points a sharp gaze at Molly "Don't you dare touch my seaweed." Arthen gruffly spoke up "I'm Arthen. That's all there is to it."

"6? There's only four of us now, I don't see how that's doing any better than when she went alone." Molly sighed. "But if there's a will there's a way. I may not know who I left behind or even how I got here but for some reason I did and by god I'm going to get back." She said sternly. "With or with out any of you. If you don't wish to come that's fine but I'm getting out of here." Horace nodded hitting a hand on his chest. It was a sign of loyalty. He was in on this journey as well. He seemed almost excited about it, yet why? Did it matter? No not at this time. "So what say you two? Are you comeing with our little group or are you going to try it alone?"

"I want to get out too, and without me, there's no saying what will happen to you. Follow the snail, go to road, but if you bail, out you won't go, so instead of running, fight the attackers, and a show you must put up. Go to the serpent, find the age lost key, maybe a cent, would be all you need for a knee. Bow before the king, enter his grounds, and then the plants will sweetly sing. Follow this riddle, for you will then know, where is the true path to enter the beacon." Arthen was looking around, and then he smirked. "Follow the snail right? Then out we go!" But Astrid help up her Ethereal Sword to his neck. "I didn't answer the questions yet. Yes we are going" she shot a look at Arthen "And the other 2 are no doubt already with us. Quite more, actually. Just listen." After a silence spell cast on everyone by Astrid, an eerie silence over cast everyone. How ever, soon whispers started to be heard from an unknown source. "Will they do it?" "Hee hee I want to see them try" "shush! they might hear us! and why is there such a silence?" "Lets set up a few more traps to that beacon, this will be quite a show!" after that, the whispers go away and Astrid un silences everyone. "So, a few more traps will be set, but they won't be hard, I bet. These whispers are our only hope, convince them we have to work together, and they might be nicer forever." With that, Astrid ghostly floated up and and asked "So, where do we go?"

What did that mean? A snail? A serpent? Let them come, she could handle anything in order to find out whom it was she left behind. "What ever stands in my way will fall, I have a mission and I wont let it die in vain." she said with a stern look on her face. Horace hit his chest again saying that he two would not let the mission die in vain. "I haven't a clue where it is that we need to go, truly I thought that you would know since you have been there before." Her mind was beginning to hurt as all of this tried to process. She was dead, by what looked like a quiver of arrows, and she had to get back to living. Why though? This question was driving her crazy, making her mad, wearing on the nerves. Horace was not helping, he only added to the confusion. Who was he? She turned to him to see he was holding a map out to her. "Oh..um thank you, Horace." she said taking it. He nodded his thanks to her. For a man of few words he seemed to get his point across. Molly unfolded the map and looked at it. There on the map was the swamp they were in, so that meant that they had to start walking to the east on get there. "The map says to the east, so I would say that thats a good place to start." Horace was looking over her shoulder and thus he nodded his agreement.

Arthen butted in, and grabbing the map, said "You obviously don't get it. Follow the snail. Don't you get it?" He points his tail towards a rock in which tree roots formed a snail shell, and the head. "Follow the snail. Now lets get going." Astrid simply says "Not yet. We don't want to die when we get out right? Remove the cause of your death. Cure the diseases, get rid of injuries. Those arrows in you? You come back to life, they will send you right back here." She tends to her seaweed, waiting on you to finish.