((I just finished this when you posted Diablos. xD Do you mind if just Diran heard him in his head? I don't want to delete all this if I don't have to. lol ))<br/><br/>He loved teasing mercenaries, or crooks-for-hire, as his circle liked to call them (granted they could be even crookier).  But she didn't seem to care too much. His sister would have given him a smack over the head if she were here.<br/><br/>Where to enter? Diran looked over at the temple and chewed his lip thoughtfully.  The archway had caved in long ago and was choked with sand and blocks too heavy to move. But he knew that wasn't the way in anyway.  In his dreams, Diran had fallen through the ground and been swallowed up in darkness in some sort of chasm. Letting his eyes adjust, he soon realized something was moving around in the shadows, muttering words of sadness and hatred, but he could never manage to speak to it.  The dream always ended when priests of the new religion appeared at the hole and sand began pouring into the chasm, smothering him.<br/><br/>Hopefully that wasn't what they were in for.<br/><br/>Diran dragged himself out of his thoughts and glanced back at Linai.  He remembered her name because it was pretty. "Should be a hole somewhere," he answered and went to climb the sandy steps.  His heartbeat had not slowed since he first saw this place, but luckily he could blame his sweat on the heat.<br/><br/>At the top of the steps Diran looked for something out of place.  An animal had dug a den under a block, but he could see the tunnel ended just a few yards in. The stone, too, had nooks in many places, but none were deep or wide enough for either of them to fit through.  Diran moved around to the far side of the structure, away from the mercenary, and searched the wall for weaknesses.  He was drawing his fingers over another symbol-- this one also hacked away by robbers or priests --when he looked to his left and saw something odd.  A sand dune that had piled against the wall looked like it was split in two.  Wandering over, he saw the split was caused by a fissure in the ground at the base of the wall. Diran crouched beside it and estimated it was just wide enough for them to slip through.  A breeze moved against his hand.<br/><br/><em>'It must be deep,'</em>he thought.  Diran grabbed a fist-sized rock and tossed it down. Hearing nothing, he grabbed a larger rock just as the first finally clattered against stone.  '<em>It must be REALLY deep.</em>'<br/><br/>Just then, a voice cut into his head-- a voice so present he would swear it had spoke aloud.  Diran swallowed hard and slipped to his knees, bowing with a fist clenched tightly over his heart. "It is your servant, Diran Felero, son of Murex Felero, who loved you as much as I. I've seen you suffering in my dreams, my lord. I've come to let you out of your prison, to serve you, if you'll have me," he murmured.<br/><br/>Diran went cold as he stared into the the chasm, thinking of Linai.  Now what? Move in by himself, or bring his potential sacrifice?  He didn't know her well, he didn't particularly like mercenaries, but still...<br/><br/>He squeezed his eyes shut as the answer came. The voice was weaker then before, but clear enough:<em>Bring the woman with you.</em><br/><br/>After a moment mulling over his choices, Diran whistled for the mercenary and called to her, "Linai? Do you have ropes?"<br/><br/>((Edited for ya Diablos. Sorry, I should have explained better so you didn't go delete. I think it worked though. :D ))