Tyna knew the moment she encountered the dungeon dwellers that the gorgeous man above ground was not one of them. Not that she didn't have a strong inkling beforehand — every inch of him bled lies for survival's sake.

Well, it was certainly a drawback to have her gear stolen from her. She let Fenghar have his win, a noble act of her soft heart. It was all worth it after all, if not only for the sake of excitement and to have an excuse to see him again. She had been burned plenty of times before when it came to thieves and tricksters. Her gear was certainly enticing, all those scrolls and books telling ancient tales and holding forbidden magics. Tyna had placed a scentchantment upon her packs a week prior just in case she encountered another robber, the marks upon the fabric of her packs being of a certain scent that only she could pick up, even if it was fifty miles away.

So, for now, Tyna focused on the task at hand — these poor excuses for treasure hunters holding their jagged, uncared-for blades in her direction. She didn't give them the satisfaction of putting her hands up in innocence or trying to show them she was unarmed. Their fearful eyes kept glancing down at the blades hanging from her hips, after all. There was no hiding those beauties.

She stood across from the three wanderers in a torch-lit stairwell that spiraled far down into the depths of the world. She had the high-ground, meaning she could cleave any of them in two with a single slice. But they hadn't given her good reason to do that quite yet. Instead, she offered her usual, kind, charismatic grin.

"Hello there," she said with a quick wave. "I understand you're quite defensive at the moment. I promise you I'm not after your treasure, but," she looked behind her, then jabbed back over her shoulder with her thumb as she scanned their suspicious looks. "Some guy just stole all your stuff up there. You really should be more careful."

"Lies," spat one man, thrusting his sword forward as if that was supposed to be threatening. "She just wants us distracted so she can take the treasure!"

Tyna tapped her foot. "I just said I'm not after the treasure you seek."

"Lies, I said!"

Tyna sighed and stuffed a hand in her pocket. The men collectively gasped and stepped down a step, reaching higher up with their blades. She yanked out a fat pouch of gold coins and tossed it their way. It landed with a thud at their feet and tipped over a bit, spilling a couple golden contents. "Now that you see I don't need your treasure, and you've witnessed my generosity, I'm going to walk past you all now." She walked right on by as they were too distracted, kneeling down and picking at the coins inside the bag.

Tyna, being the empathic, generous person she was, turned back toward them. "Oh, you might as well take that gold and buy yourselves some new traveling gear. Or maybe track down the guy who robbed you. None of you are properly geared up for the threats down here."

The man who was the most vocal of the three slowly turned, eyeing her over his shoulder with a yellowed gaze. "What makes you so certain?"

She shrugged. "I like to read up on the places I want to visit. If you did your research you'd learn that the winding, dark, trap-filled paths of this ancient temple leads to a cavern where a Redsmoke Dangerbear was imprisoned long ago."

There was silence in the cavernous stairwell, save for distant drips and groans of faraway droplets and shifts in weight, whether from the buried building or something alive in motion. The men before her, older and weary from travel, still thought they could get more from this interaction, however. They were foolishly brave and needlessly greedy. But, Tyna supposed, she couldn't really judge them for that second bit. After all, so was she.

They, like many others, doubted her, despite her weaponry and despite her stature. Beneath her tunic were muscles that had been honed over years of training. Within her mind was the knowledge of dozens of combat tactics that she had learned from a dozen different teachers. Inside of her heart and soul was the power of learned magic that was forbidden to practice. Of course, they had no idea of knowing such things until they decided to risk tempting any three of her abilities.

Much to her delight, they decided to do so.

The three rose up, pocketing their shares of the gold and the eagerly spoken one approached with his blade once more.

"I still think you're a liar, treasure hunter. Such beasts don't exist — and even if they did, they would be dead being locked up underground. I think you have some more gold on you. Your confidence had gotten the better of you." The three raised their swords now, probably guessing she was outnumbered (which technically was correct, so fair enough), and that she was all talk and show and couldn't walk imposingly. "Hand over the rest of your coin. Maybe those swords too. And we'll let you leave here alive."

Tyna smiled at them and nodded. "Eh. I think I'll just take my coin back."

"Suit yourself!" The man charged.

With a lightning fast swipe of her arm, Tyna had unsheathed her right-handed sword and removed the man's sword-arm. It dropped in a bloody puddle and Tyna held herself strong at the end of the attack.

The man stumbled forward and then slowed his pace, walking down the steps as if he'd completely forgotten her.

"Oh," he mumbled, looking down at where the severing had taken place, right in the middle of his forearm. He collapsed onto the stairs and Tyna glanced up at the remaining two men. She held out her free hand and one man rushed over and clumsily shoved the coin pouch into her grip. The other threw his pocketed coin at her.

"Somebody take the coin he stuffed in his pockets please," she said. The two rushed to him and did what she asked, lifting the man to his feet. "Thank you ever so much." She swiped her sword once more, making them all flinch, splattering the blood from the blade onto the nearby wall. "You two go take care of your friend. The next town isn't that far off. Might even find the guy who stole all our gear."

She watched them go wordlessly, the wounded man whimpering, the other two breathing heavily.

Tyna called after them as they climbed back up the stairs. "Don't forget, you attacked me! Your welcome for sparing your lives, by the way!"

"Yeah, thanks," mumbled one of them on their way up and out.

Tyna shook her head in disbelief at that lot, truly hoping the eager one would survive. She didn't really mean to cut his arm off. She only meant to knock the sword away, maybe sever his hand at the very least. He'd lose plenty of blood but if they were quick, a potion-master would be able to save his life.

As she stood alone with her gleaming sword in her right hand, she closed her eyes, listening to the distant strange sounds. Dark things certainly dwelled deep below her feet.

And she could feel a powerful presence. One that was unnatural and lost to the world for centuries. Something watching over her. Something offended that someone like her had entered their domain. Perhaps it was the God, Gargantuanatia, peering into the world they had lost power in, sensing her inner intent for the divine realm above.

She grinned and looked up to the ceiling.

"I hope you're all watching, by the way. I hope those of you with influence send down obstacles, punishment and curses to try and stop me. Watch as a mere mortal attains godly power." She whistled a tune and descended the stairs with ease, steeling her resolve for the otherworldly threats below.

There was always fear to be felt. But if it was inevitable, why not face it with a song in your heart?