Mesaraih's eyes rested on Ester for a moment as she whispered to a darkspawn before freezing it over. Rather morose and creepy, but he had to admit that she had some kind of sense of humor. Then again, most people probably did. Some just chose to never use it.<br/><br/>He waved over to Tal and Valehna when they finished off the last of the darkspawn. "We did it!" he said, smiling brightly like a child who had just received a present.<br/><br/>Valehna shook her head and rolled her eyes, though she was still smiling. "What did I say? You really are a child."<br/><br/>Ester walked past him and began walking ahead of the group. Mesaraih jogged over to the others. "I've always enjoyed fitting into the labels people give me," he said, grinning as he walked past Valehna. He gave her and Tal a pensive look. "Kind of like a child, now that I think about it."<br/><br/>Valehna looked at the cut on his chest. It had damaged his armor somewhat and was still bleeding. "You're reckless," she said. "Maybe if you stopped jumping around the battlefield like a damn circus trouper you wouldn't be hurting yourself all the time."<br/><br/>Mesaraih looked down at his wound. "What, this? Eh, it's intentional to be honest. I want at least forty-five healthy scars by the time I retire."<br/><br/>Valehna sighed in exasperation. "You'll be lucky to get five without one of them being a fatal wound."<br/><br/>Mesaraih smiled wider. "I'm careful," he said, giving her a small wink. His expression turned thoughtful again. "But you're right. I am reckless. Reckless but careful. You get me, right?"<br/><br/>Valehna crossed her arms and shook her head. Mesaraih waved his hand dismissively. "Eh, doesn't matter. As long as I know what I'm talking about."<br/><br/>They kept on walking, guided by Ester's fire, until at last they came to a large, stone door embedded into the cave. It was gilded with several engravings and designs of different metals, though Mesaraih understood none of them. He gave the others a meaningful look. "Well, here goes nothing," he said, bringing out the key that the old spirit had given them. He looked for a mechanism into which it would fit, and, once he located it, put it inside and turned it. The doors shuddered visibly, then started to open of their own accord.<br/><br/>A giant lake stood before them, with small stone houses surrounding the shore closest to them. There was a bridge leading across the lake, and on the other side stood what looked to be the ruins of an old, abandoned dwarven city. The ruins were in excellent condition still, with not a crumbling wall or cracked stone in sight. They were huge as well, with several different levels and towers, all gilded with intricate patterns of gold and silverite. Somewhere in the distant center of the city, a blue and red glow emanated ominously.<br/><br/>"Damn," Mesaraih said, at a loss for words. He had never seen a dwarven thaig before.