A'lai had spent literally days finding this suitable area, deep in the darkness of these caverns, to perform his ritual. His strange eyes remain closed as he patiently sat the ritual circle, surrounded by 'mystic' runes carefully drawn by his own blood - after all, his great lord K'Thalath demands blood, and A'lai was not hesitant about giving it. He knew what his god demanded of him and unlike so many other Kozkirrim, he was not afraid to satisfy those demands - A true fanatic, was he. So blessed was A'lai, that the great Priest-queen herself had blessed him with hearing her voice, ordering him to leave his lands to make a connection with their god, to speak with him personally.
He had sat within that circle now, for almost nineteen hours, forgoing food and drink, when finally, he felt a shifting in his mind, the feel of an omniscient power forming a connection. No fear flowed through him, but excitement certainly did, for none had spoken directly to the great god since the great leader Aazkai-e was offered the victory of that battle, so long ago. Even the Priest Kings and queens had only ever had a partial link to him. A'lai was overwhelmed with a sense of honour, of privelige, he was in ecstasy! Then abruptly the caverns shook with the shuddering of a large explosion, tipping A'lai off-balance and forcing his black and grey eyes to flutter open, only to realise he had been knocked off his central position on the ritual circle. A'lai Screamed in absolute fury, rising to his feet. "Sh-ekrath Du mekhramel orthiliath de-molian ..." This string of Kozkirrim linguistics streamed on for a good five minutes and, taking into consideration the people that may be reading this, I won't translate such foul language. Finally, A'lai stopped his uttering and shifted both hands beneath his Black, silver-rimmed (Showing his status as a Taacharai) robes and withdrew two slim poignards, perfectly formed to be able to slip between the ribs to strike the organs beneath. "By the one true god, I will find the maggot who is responsible for this!"
A'lai traversed back up the tunnel he had taken to get to that spot, his feet not even stumbling at the occasional rumblings which must mean a cave-in nearby - as he was used to subterrainean life, and was aware of how to traverse such unsteady ground with little difficulty. As he enters the branch to another cavern, he spots a peculiar sight - A large man attempting to push a boulder back, and another man half-covered by slate, rocks and the like. Sighing irritably, he resheathes his daggers and darts forth, his feet stepping nimbly apon the sturdy ground, deftly dodging any lose rocks. The man pushes that foolishly heroic male forth forcefully, shoving him and using the momentum of his speed to force himself forward as well, out of range of that large boulder, plus the worst of the rubble which falls around it. Of course little can be done to avoid small injuries from the many fallen rocks dropped, but A'lai's heavy cloak protects him from the worst. As for the others? Well, he cares little if they are too wounded, just so long as they can talk to tell him who made that Accursed explosion! After the the worst of the avalanche is over - the audible crashing and violent shaking, - A'lai shifts forth to kick away what rocks he can of what covered that other man, and once enough is revealed of this other person, he reaches down to forcibly wrench the man out. Beneath his hood, his flat, strange face is curled into an expression of absolute malice - in an other circumstance, he would have left these to die, but he wants to slaughter whoever caused that explosion, and these people may hold information for him.
A'lai has not yet seen either of the women, of course.
