The wolf and two dragons reached the wall of Vel-Jerro with minutes to spare- as the trio rested behind one of the larger bushes that grew at the base of the great wall, they saw the top of the sun begin to peek over the horizon. It would be a few hours before the city's residents saw it- the two hundred foot walls prevented the earliest light from illuminating the land within, and for this reason it was common for residents to carry lanterns in the morning time.

"Lyle, you've got the map," Gaaren said, resting his back on the wall. "How will we know the hidden gate when we see it?"

"I'm not sure, Gaar... the map only marks the location. Rinnia's last message said she'd left a clue above the entrance, though- one I'll recognize..." the nightwolf replied. "We just have to get to... this spot..." he added, pointing to a small "x" drawn on the map.

"Alright, then lead us there," Gaaren said.

With the two dragons in tow, Lyle began walking around the huge perimeter of the Vel-Jerro wall, sticking close to it to minimize the risk of being spotted by early morning sentries atop the wall. He knew they patrolled around the clock, but focused more on the vast plains around the city, paying much less attention to the base of the wall. In addition to this, the trio chose to walk beneath the trees and through the shrubbery when possible.

"So. This sorceress friend of yours. Is she one of the wolf king's agents?" Gaaren inquired.

"No, no. More like... an honorary clan member, really. When she found out Kira was the priestess that had been kidnapped, well, she went off on her own to sneak into Vel-Jerro. She wanted to break Kira out by force at first, but Kira convinced her to keep her cover so she could supply intelligence reports, you know, about the planned invasions, the kidnappings..." Lyle said, then lowered his eyes to the map. "While she was snooping around, she learned about this secret passage. It was an old escape route, but it works just as well for someone trying to break in, instead of out."

"Good... And her sorcery? What school does she specialize in?" Gaaren asked, flatly.

"Everything," Lyle answered with a smile, "Even the darker stuff. Not that she would even need dark magic anyway, but Rin is, y'know, a bit obsessive about her magic studies. More than Scale is with his potions, for sure."

--

Within half an hour, the trio had come upon the west side of the wall. With the sun still rising in the east, the three were shrouded from view in the relative darkness cast by the wall's shadow, although the sky above was getting brighter.

"Lyle, do you see anything yet?" Scale asked.

"...It should be a symbol, or something..." Lyle mumbled, inspecting the wall in the general area marked by the map. "So far, all I've seen are stones."

"Does a set of three crescent moons mean anything to you?" the large, gold dragon asked in a sceptical tone. "Because that's what I'm looking at over here."

Lyle rolled up the map and walked over to Gaaren some thirty feet away and found the dragon kneeled down, focusing on the symbol. Three crescent moons were indeed what it was- there was no mistake. The three shapes were cut into the stone- not roughly, as if handheld tools had carved them- it looked like they had been burned into the wall, as if a sun-hot blade had made the marks in the stone. The brick it had been carved into poked out from the wall by a little more than an inch- but so did many of the bricks that made up the structure.

"You guys found it?" Scale approached, staff held in his tail.

Lyle smiled. "Well, it's certainly something I recognize... It has to be Rinnia's clue. But I don't see a gate, or a door... or anything. Just more wall." The wolf stepped back and scratched his chin in confusion. "Any ideas?"

"Try pushing the brick," Gaaren said, crossing his arms. "It could be a concealed switch."

Lyle put a hand on the stone, covering the symbol, and pushed. Nothing.

"I guess it's just a marker. It might be a trapdoor in the ground we're supposed to be looking for... or something else." Scale commented.

Gaaren continued to stare at the brick- besides the carved symbol, there was something else off about it- the cement surrounding it did look disturbed, as if the stone had been moved at some point.

"Try pulling on it instead," the gold dragon said.

The nightwolf shrugged, and again touched the stone- this time grabbing around its edges. Placing a foot on the wall, he tugged at the brick- immediately, but slowly it began to shift outward.

"That was it, Gaar..." Scale smiled, watching as Lyle pulled the stone out slowly, millimeter by millimeter until it stopped, with a loud *tap* sounding from somewhere inside the wall.

The nightwolf let go, and stepped back from the wall- inside, the trio heard a gear turning as a small part of the wall, a few paces left of the marked brick, began to move back, slowly revealing a corridor. The three approached the tunnel- it was about five feet high and equally wide. The section of bricks was still moving back, and for a minute the three friends just watched it, until, once it had sunken a dozen or so feet into the wall, a passage in one side of the wall was revealed. Lyle wasted no time slipping in, and called for the two dragons once he was inside. Scale ducked on his way through the secret tunnel, while Gaaren, being eight feet in height was forced to crouch down to fit himself through. Fortunately, once through the second opening within the wall, the space was more open- though completely dark.

"Are you going to light the way, little dragon?" Gaaren asked.

"Sure," Scale said, as the orb at the end of his staff began glowing, emitting a soft, purple light. He transfered the staff to his right hand, and held it out. The glow increased, illuminating the room. The now purple-hued room was dusty and damp, with walls reaching nearly twenty feet high to the ceiling. It was twice as long as it was tall, but only half as wide, with old crates, barrels and steel chests scattered around. Gaaren approached the nearest chest, a small one stacked atop a crate, and lifted the lid. Inside, the dragon found only two golden coins and a small metal spoon.

"So, Lyle. Is that map going to help us find our way through this old place?" He grumbled.

"Only part way," the nightwolf replied, folding the map and looking at the few lines of text written on the back. "Rin is supposed to meet us at a certain point, and she'll lead us out. The directions are written here... oh, and we have to keep the noise down, sometimes there are guards patrolling the old tunnels."

"Great," Gaaren said. "Scale, if we run into any, you know what to do. I haven't eaten all morning..." the gold dragon complained.

With Scale close behind for light, Lyle led the trio to the other end of the room- to a metal door of standard size. The wolf turned the handle, which clicked, and pulled the door open. Stepping through, he found himself in a hallway which began to curve a few feet in, to the right. Unlike the previous room, the hall had a low ceiling and was narrow, being four feet wide at most. The two dragons followed Lyle through, the larger of them having to duck through the door, and the nightwolf looked back down at the map in his hand.

"Okay, so, we follow this hallway until it breaks off into two paths," Lyle said, making some effort to keep his voice down. "Then we take the right one. It's a staircase, we can't miss it."

The trio followed the mostly simple directions, through the dark and dusty passages- at a few points, having to stop to find the way by looking for the same symbol as the one on the outer wall. A couple of times, they had heard pairs of footsteps muffled by layers of stone- most sounded like they were coming from above, but they had encountered nobody. It was, in all, an easy journey, and not too long, lasting only a half hour until the group arrived at the last place the map mentioned. Before the wolf and two dragons, was a rather tall wooden door. The top of the stone door frame was almost as high as Gaaren, but it was no wider than average, though the door itself looked thick and heavy. Lyle looked back to the two dragons, then back to the door, and knocked lightly on it, tapping twice. For a few moments, there was silence, then the sound of several locks opening on the other side. When the door started to budge, a warm, yellow-orange light shone from inside the room, providing light to the adjacent hall.

In the small gap created by the slightly ajar door, Gaaren saw a rather small, vulpine face appear- Purple and white in color, with two deep, blue eyes.

"Lyle...", she smiled, "...Hey. Come on in, but tread lightly. The tunnel patrols have been going all morning.", the vixen said, opening the door.

"Rin", Lyle said, stepping through the doorway and into a hug with the awaiting Rinnia. "It's been some time, hm?"

Scale dimmed the light on his staff and followed Lyle in. Gaaren, ducking under the doorway, followed the smaller dragon. As he stepped in, the heavy door quietly closed itself behind him, before each of the locks, of which there were nine, locked themselves.
The inside of the room was bright, thanks to several lamps placed around the room, and was free of dust and dirt unlike the entire series of rooms and corridors they had traveled through. It was also mostly bare, save for a single table on one side of the room, a few boxes, and old, wooden chairs that didn't look safe to sit on.
Gaaren could now see Rinnia in full- the purple vixen was about average in height for her species, a little more than a head shorter than Lyle, and her impressive figure was covered with little clothing. She wore a tribal cloth around her waist almost identical to Scale's save for the lack of symbols, with it being solid white, and a matching small tube top that was featureless save for a small, red, diamond-shaped gem in the center. Rinnia's coat was predominantly a lavender shade, with snowy, white fur covering much of her face and the front of her body, and accenting the tips of her ears and tail. Her wavy, shoulder length hair shared the same lavender color as her coat and looked soft, dense and smooth.

"Too long", Rinnia said, turning to the two dragons. "So... the little guy. Scale, yah?"
"...Oh, right. T-that's me", Scale answered, happily.
Rinnia shot the gray lizard a smile, and focused on the much larger dragon next to him. "And... wow, you're huge", the vixen smiled, eyeing Gaaren's form for a moment before making eye contact. "General Gaaren Goldscales, hm?"
"Just Gaaren will do. I've been out of the Drakespire military for years, in case you hadn't heard", the golden dragon said, looking down at the vixen as she drew closer.
"Mhm. Of course, I have... You caused quite a stir when you deserted, you know... and now, here you are with Lyle... What a lovely surprise". Rin stopped before the dragon- who, in the eyes much smaller vixen, appeared towering- and laid a palm on his abs, softly stroking down Gaaren's muscular midriff until she reached his navel.
"Nice...You must work out a lot, huh?", she said, before withdrawing her hand. "I approve", Rin added, smiling. The vixen then turned, and looked away from the gold dragon. "Anyway, before I get sidetracked...", the vixen said, and rested her hands on her hips, "You all know who we're here for. Scale..., "she met eyes with the gray dragon, "I hear you wield a very particular kind of magic. True?".

Scale looked at his magic staff nervously. "...Yeah, um, my staff. Size alteration... or, size transference, really...", he spoke softly.

"Hm. I'm... very eager to see it in action.", Rinnia said, casually, but with obvious interest, "Soon... Now, if you'll all come with me, I'll lead you out of the tunnels. With the patrols, it's not a good idea to linger here. The damp isn't good for my fur either..." the vixen complained.

---

The first new thing for some time :o Maybe more timely updates from now on. Maybe. I've become a lazy dragon.
Do share your thoughts~