It was a damp, dank day in the forest. The rain had covered everything in a thin film of moisture, and reduced the earth to thick, sucking mud.<br/><br/>At the very foot of the kobold's mountain, Lucille Strasberg, Noviate of the Radiant Heart, stomped grimly through the mud, the bright blue of her surplice spattered by the muck. Her twin ponytails swaying as she walked, the honey-blonde paladin gazed down into the depths, and sighed.<br/><br/>It'd been an absolutely frustrating day, all right. Her arrival at the village had been greeted not with overwhelming gratitude, but a shocked belief that they'd sent just...one...paladin- Not the army they'd so obviously been hoping for. Lucille hadn't been pleased when the Village Elder had stumbled out, leered at her long, coltish legs- The creamy skin left exposed by her knee-length, plaited skirt- and said, "They're at the top of the mountain. Get 'em yerself."<br/><br/>And so she'd ventured out...here. The thing they'd forgotten to mention was that, the warrens were *in* a mountain. In fact, the entire mountain range was *lousy* with cave and tunnels and, and...Whatever horrors they'd had in the dark. Lucille had been forced to leave her horse back at the village- Too many branches and potholes underfoot, and the walk hadn't improved her temper.<br/><br/>The paladin ground her teeth together, biting back an unladylike curse. Sure, she was a novice- Just half a year into her training. But this...This was too much. The girl stomped again, just to calm herself; Her shiny chainmail chafed, and her plate-mail greaves made her jangle as she walked. Hardly ideal for dungeon -crawling...<br/><br/>Lucille blinked her emerald-green eyes, hefting her wickedly sharp sword in one hand, her buckler in the other. It wasn't like she had a choice, after all. Someone had to do it...<br/><br/>-By why did it have to be her?<br/><br/>With another sigh, the young warrior began her ascent, setting her first feet on the long, spiralling upward path...