The stone hinges grind roughly with a resounding scrape from centuries of neglect, the noise drowning out all the sounds of the wildlife as the tall and tailed hooded figure grunts with effort, their red, scarred, and scaled hands pushing the large, moss covered door open. A waft of dust glides outs of the newly formed gap between the door and the wall, flowing out to gently rest upon the dirt outside, merely hinting at how long it truly has been since this vault was last opened- if it even was meant to be opened once again if the difficulty of tracking down the location provided any evidence of the sort; The map they obtained truly sent them on quite the perilous journey, they even wondered if this object was actually in the spot this piece of parchment indicated it to be at.

As the seconds go by, feeling like minutes with the amount of exertion they're feeling to push the door, it is finally opened enough to where they can slip in. With a satisfied huff and slapping the dust off of their hands, they step into the vault, away from the humidity and greenery of the jungle this vault resides in and into the cold, dry, dark corridor. As they take their first few steps, disturbing yet even more dust and grime from where it has rested for the time the door has been closed, they pause. With a sigh of annoyance and a few choice words in their native tongue, they take their adventuring pack off their shoulders and drop it in front of them; the bag landing with a metallic clang, their cookware at the bottom taking the brunt of the drop, and causing an uproar of grime into it's owners face. The adventurer lurches back, agitatedly waving their arms in front of their face as they cough for a few seconds before going back to the task at hand: obtaining their source of light from the bag. As they pull out the extinguished lantern and some extra lantern oil, they keep the bag on the ground: fetching this artifact should only take a moment after all. With a few moments of filling the lantern and getting it ready, the lantern is ignited. They pick it up and fumble with the outer hood mechanism, briefly having to squint as the light shines onto their large pupils and golden irises, complimenting their red, scaled skin along with their long, flat head and rounded snout; key characteristics of Komodiors. As they manage to secure the outer hood onto the lantern to increase the distance the light covers, the Komodior nods their head and flicks their forked tongue in satisfaction, proceeding to walk deeper into the vault hoping that the map they've been given this time is true to the merchants promise. If not, they'll teach the merchant one final lesson about lying to a Komodior. They smirk to themselves as they walk down deeper into the corridor, too preoccupied to notice the sunlight pouring into the room being obscured for a mere second as something enters the vault with them.

As the Komodior walks further into the vault, their claws clicking and clacking on the carved stone floor, they scan their surroundings with the hooded lantern, looking for any hallways or turns inside the corridor they're currently following. Quickly, the Komodior gains confidence that the only way forward is, well forward. No other distractions that they need to worry about it appears, luckily. They sigh in relief, thanking their Ancient One that this journey is finally simplified. After just a few more steps, something gold glints further in the darkness, the lantern's light reflecting off of it and grabbing the Komodior's attention, snapping them out of their thoughts. A smile forms on their lips, and they slightly pick up the pace to get to the artifact they've been looking to find for so long. Suddenly, they stop as they hear light thumping- the sound of steps- behind them. It's not too far away from the Komodior, but they don't sound like it's just one pair... The Komodior stands there, listening. Counting. Three thumps following their own rhythm. Three individuals. They smirk, they have this handled, they've fought up to five of those pesky little humans before! What's three going to do to this one Komodior, especially with how small they sound, so light and quiet! If this Komodior had any partners, they'd roll their eyes at the pure confidence radiating from them.

With an obviously exaggerated flap of the cloak, the Komodior unsheathes their newly-acquired longsword obtained from the same merchant that gave them the map, and turned around ready for a fight, only to nearly drop their weapon in shock and fear; Komodiors are one of the most feared races found around Lushia, standing over 8 feet tall and weighing easily 280 pounds, they put most races to shame in pure stature, not to mention their warrior culture keeping them sharp in most forms of melee combat. However, what is approaching this Komodior makes them seem small. These... creatures are well over 13 feet tall, and their black and gray patterned fur doesn't hide their musculature whatsoever. Claws extend out of their two fingers and posable thumb, small folded wings on their forearms, and large feet with claws along their toes, which the Komodior would've questioned how they moved so quietly had they not been as terrified as they are; Massive, intimidating creatures holding themselves such the manner as they currently are. Hunched over, ready to jump at a moments notice, their tails flicking eagerly behind them in the shadows, teeth bared and glinting in the lanternlight, staring as if this Komodior had stolen their young, their large, beady red eyes locked on this poor lizard. But what really has this Komodior terrified is that they heard three pairs of steps...

There's only two of them.

And as the Komodior bounced their eyes in between the two in front of them, they felt two fur covered hands firmly grasp the sides of their head, the claws resting right in front of the Komodiors view. Their eyes widen as they begin to process what was about to happen to them. And before that thought could even finish...

SNAP