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Fenix had been casing the crypt for weeks, learning its few access points, layout, and legends. He was always very careful to know exactly how he was going to get in, and out of trouble before finally putting his plan into action. When he saw that someone had simply smashed haphazardly through the front door, his hackles raised. Someone very brave, or very stupid had entered before him. Feeling his chance at ancient treasure slipping away, he rolled his eyes, "Well, looks like tonight we're going in, ready or not."

Prowling through the corridors with just a touch more haste than he was comfortable with, he heard a chilling sound. It was like the distant roar of a beast, echoing through the halls of the place. Was this the clumsy adventurer who barged in before him, or was this the cursed monster he'd heard tales of? Either way, he had to lay eyes on it before it laid eyes on him.

He drew nearer to the source of the sound, keeping a perfect mental map of the corridors he passed along the way. Such a labyrinth would surely confound anyone without a mind as keen as his own. The horrible roar continued in periodic verses, starting angrily and then trailing off weakly. If a beast this was, then it was badly weakened, or perhaps caged. His path lead him ever downward, deeper below the surface. As he felt he had nearly arrived at the source, he could hear another voice join the chorus: A cruel one that cackled and hissed taunts and jeers.

Fenix was sure the scene lay just beyond the next corner. An unearthly green light flickered from the next room, casting shadows of the occupants within onto nearby walls. It must be some sort of magic. The cat crouched and noiselessly drew his shadowy dagger. Wispy, dark flames licked at Fenix's glove from the moment the dagger was drawn. Though these flames would incinerate spells and enchantments as though they had the heat of an inferno, they did no harm to corporeal things. The wickedly sharp blade, however, was more than capable of compensating for that.

Stealing a quick glance around the corner, Fenix's slitted pupils widened as he rapidly took in information. Two muscular figures were within: The reptilian one, surely the antagonist, had captured the roaring one with the golden fur. It was his magic that illuminated the room with the sickly green glow. Snakelike bands emerged from the sorcerer to bind the captive down to some sort of altar. The magic in these bands must be strengthening them, because surely such a muscular prisoner should be able to snap them with ease otherwise.

The air crackled with energy, the green light grew brighter, and the captive's roar grew to match. Fenix could smell the scent of scorched fur and evaporated sweat. Was this torture?

He could not clearly see the one bound to the altar, but wisps of smoke rose from the one with golden fur. The bands, along with the reptilian one's claws, were sizzling with hot energy. But wait... a subtle detail... While energy sprang from the sorcerer's claws and into the prisoner, the bands of cloth were drawing energy out, and into the reptile. The sorcerer was feeding off of this unfortunate adventurer! Fenix felt his stomach lurch, in part due to the grisly scene, but also from pangs of dread. He had hoped to slip by unnoticed and escape with a sack full of loot. But now he hesitated. Did he still have a shred of mercy in him to risk his own life to save this unfortunate oaf?