Darghon wanders up to the group surrounding the fury feline.. "What about the rest of the room..?" Darghon wanders up to the fire place and grabs the shiny poker out of its holder and stokes the fire abit..

"Well look what you've gone and done Darghon!"

D'Aleen chuckles a little as she warily observes this hidden room. Looking back to the sleek cat, she wonders if it is just what it appears to be....a cat living off the mice in this maze. Gazing at it, unbidden she concentrates on its life force and wonders what secrets it may have.

"Told you there was more to this room than a ginning cat..." Darghon grins "Well I may be able to clamber through a hot furnace unscathed but you lot may have abit of trouble with these flames..." With the poker in hand he casts extinguish flame on the fire...

After finding and reciting the poem to the others, Thantos moves over to D'Aleen, staying close as she is attempting to communicate with the "cat".

"Be careful my love, I can't protect your mind but rest assured your body will be safe."

Not being able to stand it anymore Kentelos crawls over to the cat and holds his hand out to his nose for him to smell, if the cat does not attack him he will next slowly rub the side of his face where the scent glands are. He thinks to himself that if he can get the cats scent on his hands the cat will trust him more.

Pulling her thoughts away from the feline, D'Aleen smiles up at Thantos.

"Thank you my love. I think I shall leave the mysteries of the cat to Kentelos!

It seems now we have another mystery opened before us, thanks to Darghon. I think there are secrets in this room, though...hiding from us still."

Her smile fades slightly as she glances to where Darghon is peering into the hidden chamber behind the fireplace...then passes about the tidy room they are in. Something nags at the back of her brain but she cannot place the unease inside of her. Moving closer to Thantos she looks about to make the others are all accounted for.

Coming out of his light trance that allowed him to read the cat's aura, Vinoh stands up and reports:

"Well, it seems that its mood and alignment fit those of a normal cat, although I'm registering a respectable level of power. Perhaps this cat's a familiar to a wizard we haven't encountered yet."

Turning to see Darghon open the secret passage, Vinoh chuckles.

"Ha! It would seem I'm not the only overtly curious one out here! Good job!"

"If it is a familiar as you say Vinoh.. then would the wizard not know what it knows?" Darghon raises an eyebrow before shuffling under the mantle peice into....

"Hmph" Krazixs eyes the cat with mistrust. "Well it's not as if our presence is not known in this place." Looking toward Kentolos, "Maybe our fire-worker over hear can do something about these flames so we may pass through?"

"Well, a wizard has to actually focus on his familiar to see what it sees. Since we don't know where he or she is, or if this cat is indeed a familiar or not, then we can only speculate this point. Let'S try to get into this secret room instead..."

The Cat Speaks:

"Kentelos, Thanks for approaching me and trying to win my trust. I have been watching you and your friends. It does not look like you mean me any harm. What are you looking for? Why are you here?"

Shocked, D'Aleen stares at the cat that has just spoken so calmly to the assembled group.

"Well....a talking cat. What other surprises are in store for us?"

With a startled look on his face as the cat speaks, you see he begins to blush..

"Oh sorry umm... You didn't take any offense to me attempting to pet you? Hmm didn't expect you to talk..."

Kentelos sits there a second with a goofy grin on his face until krazixs words snap him out of his thoughts.

"Oh yeah fire good stuff."

He focuses on the flames and begins to take the heat out of the logs swirling the fire into a compact ball brings it over to him and absorbs the wonderful heat and energy into his body. It would appear the natural fire rejuvinates Kentelos. He feels his bruises, aches and pains leave his body.

"Much better."

Starting slightly at the talking cat, Thantos is put on his guard.

"I'm not so sure about this cat. I could possibly accept a talking cat in this hell-hole but there was a poem written about a cat in the desk drawer over there. Too much coincidence?"

Moving closer to the cat Thantos speaks to it.

"Cat..err..that doesn't sound right, do you have a name we can use? We are here searching for the ruler of this cursed place. We intend him great harm. Now, can we ask the same of you? Who are you and why are you here? And, if you know, who wrote the poem and why?"

Placing her hand gently on Thantos' arm, D'Aleen asks curiously...

"My Lord, I saw you reading over some missives earlier. What is this about a poem about a cat? Do you not trust it? Should we not trust it?"

Slanting a look at the cat, the elf looks from it to the tall knight.

Visibly relaxing at D'Aleen's touch, Thantos mentions the poem he found in the desk.

"My dear, trust is often given too easily. True trust needs to be earned and is awarded based on actions. The cat, nor James for that matter, have done anything wrong, nor anything as of yet to acquire my trust.

In addition to this fact, I found a poem about a smiling cat in the desk. I think it is too strange that the poem exists in the same room that we find a talking, smiling cat. I'm not saying we can't trust the cat but we need to find more information out first."

"Your words are wise, as always, my heart."

D'Aleen relaxes yet does not take her eyes of the cat, waiting for it to answer the questions posed to it. At least now she understood her inability to "touch" the creatures mind. She may have the power to commune with beasts of nature but certainly her talents did not extend into the area of humans.

Seeing the flames dissapate around him Darghon pulls himself out of the fire place covered in soot.. "Kentelos.." Darghon sees the cat talking and simply raises an eye brow.. "I'm in slight awe yet not suprised with the things we have seen around this maze of evil."

Sitting infront of the fireplace he listens to Thatos speak "Do you think you could recite the poem to us Thantos.. I do believe I must have missed that while busy attending to the books and tomes in the shelves around us.."

He sits smiling..

"And now, for our listening pleasure, Sir Thantos' rendition of "That Poem Mentioning The Cat"."

Vinoh laughs to himself at the incredulity of the situation that was developping here. While he is alert to what might trasnpire in the room they are in, he nonetheless peers into the newly opened passage and tries to make out what's on the other side.

::XianXian raises her head from Sexodus' pocket, and eyes the cat suspiciously, and with intent caution. As loudly as she can whisper, so that Sexodus and those around he can hear, she makes a hasty suggestion.::

"Throw water at it!! Throw water at it!! That will scare it away!"

::Quickly, she tucks her head back in Sexodus' pocket.::

"My name is Succedaneum

A while ago I flew into one of the broken windows near one of the walkways. It felt like death had settled in the room that I came into. To escape it I came through the opposite door to find this study. This is where I settled to get my barings.
The way I came in is through the single door on the opposite wall. I would love to hear the poem of the grinning cat myself.

Now that I have told you all that I know about this place, I would like you to tell me why you want to harm the owner of this maze, and why do you intend to harm me? I can understand that I am not known to you, but in the same breath, you are also not known to me! Did I show you any agression? Why then do I see and sense agression and mistrust from you?