An oubliette of grand proportions. On the outside, Dothaven has the appearance of an island fortress of biblical proportions... spans and cubits abound. On the inside, however, it is simply a place where things are placed to be forgotten. Its innards are those of a religious temple; well-kept, but viciously guarded by dozens of traps and unliving sentries. It's said that there are wondrous treasures here; riches beyond belief, artifacts of immeasurable popwer... but then, since those who come here usually do not leave, it's difficult to corroborate such stories. As if all that wasn't enough, there is a single living guardian in this place, the tireless beast called Malufel.

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Dothaven
Dothaven Living Quarters
The Seven Suns Inn
Four Temples

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Just as Felina arrives in Dothaven, a hint of something floods over the psychic spectrum. It's almost certainly the Jinneyeh's power signature. It's a tremendous spike, but its location is surrounded and blotted out by an energy so enormous that it could only belong to the Abyss. Only traces of the spike occur, really, despite its enormity.

Felina's heart leaps to her throat at this, and she begins spring-fly-running towards the general source of the disruption. Meanwhile, she laces psychic hints of what she's already seen into her footsteps, and into her clothes...no matter what happens, someone will be able to know this even though she can't get a strong telepathic note through the walls of Dothaven fast enough.

Sections of the wall adjacent to the four temples are gone. One of the caretakers, the kraken, lies half-dead in the water, shaking off the aftereffects of an unbelievably potent lightning attack.

Down the way, Legion approaches Felina at a fast clip. Asiba is not far behind, speeding across the ground at a float. However, it should be immediately obvious that they are not charging Felina, so much as fleeing.

Felina blinks. "Is this a good time to inquire as to what the hell is going on?" she asks, inlining it telepathically of course so they can both here and answer on the move. Her "danger" sense is going nuts. The hair on the back of her neck is sticking straight up.

The earth trembles in sync with a fierce, repetitive boom. Asiba streams past Felina, with Legion not too far behind.

A gate down the way bulges and bursts outwards. The Malufel shatters its frame and charges outward, chasing the two who dared to enter its territory. Its sensors flail wildly at the scent of a third, and its horrendous shriek only increases in volume.

"Ah. Fuck." Felina nods, and sprints back towards defined borders of the town, and simply jumps onto one of its rooftops. Waits.

The monster leaps and bounds after them, screaming its unrestrainable fury. Asiba clears the city walls and turns to see the beast descend upon Legion and scoop him into its tremendous paw. The warlock fires a half dozen potent attack spells into the creature's gullet, to no effect at all, and is on the verge of being consumed when Asiba's fingertips flash together, and both Jinneyeh and warlock vanish into nothing.

The monster looks at its paw, perplexed.

Felina lets out her breath. Good, it looks like it's calming down. She jumps back onto the ground, looking around the fairly empty town and then back towards the Malufel, just waiting quietly. Stepping outside the city limits will not be an auspicious beginning.

The beast examines its paw for a moment longer. Once it's sure that it hasn't already consumed Legion, it turns its sights to Felina. It approaches, but not quickly or maliciously, only out of familiarity. 

The beast has changed. It is certainly larger than it used to be, with thicker armor and vastly larger leg muscles. Its signature, too, seems more intelligent than previous.

"Hello," Felina greets it, nodding. She laces all of her words with telepathic meaning, pushing the ideas of the words themselves beneath the sounds. "They didn't tell you much, did they?"

Recruit. The creature sits on its considerable haunches, facing her. Wanted me. Kill. It is positive it's seen her somewhere before. 

"More than I thought, then." Felina nods. Doesn't sit down, just because this is a better talking height. The creature's head is still far, far above hers, but it's closer. "My name's Felina. I'm one of the people they wanted you to kill, probably."

You are not intruding. It bobs where its head would be. No reason. Felina.

The serinian smiles a bit, and nods. "Tell me...does the name 'Ansendul' mean anything to you?"

The monster pauses a while, contemplating. A fair while, actually, before shaking off like a wet dog.

Time, it mutters, pointing towards the fiery glow encases in its torso.

Felina nods. "Yeah. Ansendul is...well, very different from you, but you two have that in common. You both exist in step with time, and able to move it with you." Pauses a few moments to give that time to process. "The other two who were just here--their names are Asiba and Legion--probably wanted you mainly so that you could fight or kill Ansendul. No one else can really fight time-movers except other time-movers, and there aren't many of you. So, you're all very important right now."

The Malufel's feelers flicker. Is Ansendul in my domain? It has such a one track mind.

"No. Ansendul has his own domain." Felina nods. "Right now, though, he's trying to protect yours. He and I and our allies are trying to stop a war to protect this place. The war could destroy Dothaven, along with many others."

The beast scoffs, which blows a cloud of dust from the ground.

And the others want to destroy it?

"Want to? No. But their war may very well do it anyway." She's stretching the truth and she knows it. Asiba's group is probably looking to conquer, yes, but they want to prevent the armageddon battle, too. But they have the damnest way of doing it.

Malufel rises slowly, lumbering. Apparently, its swiftness is limited to a chase.

Would yours?

"Anyone's war will." Not going to lie, she suspects the Malufel is just smart enough to pick up on it. "Ansendul and I, along with others, are trying to stop it from getting big enough to destroy anything. We want to protect Dothaven and everyone else's home, too." Eyes soften a bit, though she has to crane her neck more now to look at the Malufel. "It isn't a threat, by the way. We're going to try to protect Dothaven no matter what you do or don't agree to. We just want to know if you'll help...since you are its proper protector and all."

The monster lifts a foot, lowers it slowly, then lifts the other one, pacing back and forth. Thinking, its limited brain going over and over the details.

I, it finally decides, will protect this place. Tell me how.

Felina almost sighs with relief. Smiles a little in any case. "Are you willing to leave Dothaven for a little while, to protect it from the outside? Now that the threat comes from outside?"

Until the threat is gone. The beast bows its shoulders a little. Yes.

"And once it is, I'll immediately bring you back. If I am unable, one of my allies will." Felina bows a low, grateful bow for this. "Thank you, really. May I open a door to Ansendul's domain, then?"

It bows again, its version of a nod. Must know who your friends are. I do not want to hurt them mistakingly.

"Everyone where we're going is...most are friends, the nasty ones are allies." Felina nods and, cautious of instinctive rebuttle, recalls the door to the Millenium Maze. "I would be happy to point them out to you individually as we see them, though, and tell you who they are."