Today's exploration was a little on the treacherous side, so it had been the safest bet to leave Bug at the den. The frog would keep an eye out for potential customers, or rally a search party if he didn't come back after a few days. With a small bag of supplies just in case, and an oil lantern he'd filled with rendered fat before leaving home, the green-dappled wolf ventured into the crypt. He wasn't expecting to map anything out or make any great discoveries, but he did hope that getting out of his comfort zone would be worthwhile. Skull low between his shoulders, he slipped into the darkness. Immediately he found himself grateful for the foresight to bring the oil lamp, with the darkness encroaching on all sides he felt almost claustrophobic. This was nothing like the mangrove at night, or the dense woods. There were no stars or moonlight to cut through the pitch black, just the halo from his lantern. After a long trek, the stone walls gave way to a cavernous room. Echoes of water dripping from the ceiling seemed to reverberate endlessly, and he was distinctly aware of something skittering across the floor nearby. A growl began to rumble its way up from his chest, though it barely built up loud enough to be threatening. It was a self conscious act while he made himself more aware of his surroundings. A few steps brought the pale hue of old bones into the light of his lantern, and he stepped closer to examine them. Canine, certainly. He began to recognize the familiar contours of a wolf's skull, and made a mental note that he was certain would become a tally of old bodies as he traversed the crypt. "speech" thinking "others"

She'd really done it this time. Who was ever going to find her in here? The bobtailed woman hadn't found one patch of bad luck, but two. First she'd sliced open her paw pad on an old, broken bone. Then, backpedaling towards the only natural light in the whole space, Ada had stumbled into a trap. Someone, somewhere had told her that his place was often used by save traders but she hadn't believed them. The trap that she was in was proof that they'd been right. Ada hung swinging in the air, encased in a big wire and rope net. She'd tried chewing through it, but no wolf could chew through wire. How long had she been up here? Surely the slavers would come back to check their traps before she starved to death, right? Ada hung, lightly swinging, a patch of natural light from a hole in the crypt's ceiling the only difference in an otherwise pitch black place. The fae's delicate ears perked as she heard movement in the darkness. A second patch of light began to slowly grow and Ada's blood orange eyes widened. "Hellooooooo!" Her thick, Irish accent reverberated off of the stone walls. "Can ye help!? I'm a little stuck up here!" Hopefully whoever found her was friendly. Oh, and not a slaver. Definitely not a slaver. "Ada"

The harsh cry of another voice from the darkness rang out, nearly deafening him. Auds pinned against his skull, the small wolf let his growl turn to a brief snarl as he recovered from the shock. "Can ye help!? I'm a little stuck up here!" that same voice called out, and he found himself hesitating. This could be a trap, and a voice that sounded a lot like the croaking of a frog was warning him not to follow from somewhere in the back of his mind. However, the moss-dappled wolf was not one to abandon anyone who might be needing help. Clenching his jaws around the handle of his lantern, he moved a bit closer to the source of the sound. That's when he began to see sunlight reaching around a corner in a nearby tunnel. A second entrance, perhaps? He kept his head between his shoulders, chin dipped to protect his vulnerable throat with the fangs of his muntjac skull mask. As he rounded that slight bend, there was certainly a young woman in a pickle up ahead. It could still be a trap, but he was less certain of an impending attack now. He carefully placed his rusted lantern on the floor, over to the side and away from potential frantic paws. "Looks like you've gone and gotten yourself stuck, my friend." he said absently, attention drifting towards the contraption that was holding her aloft. The net looked sturdy, surely a hemp or cotton rope would have fallen apart rather quickly as she struggled tooth and nail to free herself. He didn't have anything to cut through stronger bindings with. Instead, verdant gaze swept up, along the suspension itself, in search of a source. The dark cable ended behind a pile of heavy stones, likely mere rubble from a tunnel collapse in the past. He'd seen traps like this before, he knew how they were made, for the most part. "Can you get your feet under you? You're about to take a hell of a tumble." he raised his voice somewhat to be certain she could hear him, while he picked his way across the bone strewn floor to reach the tether point. It never once occurred to him that a stranger with a heavy cloth bag in a spikey skull mask might be a bit unsettling in this situation, and it continued to not occur to him as he went about finding the end of the tether among the rocks and rubble behind the strange woman. Once the debris was cleared away, he could see the metal peg set into the stone floor. That must have taken a lot of strength and effort, it almost seemed like a shame to be removing it. Well, it was putting others in danger, so there was no way around it. Clumsily clutching a stone in his paw, he began to hammer away at the peg until it seemed to loosen from its spot. "Three, two, one!" he called out, releasing the peg with a final, heavy strike of the stone on the end of his count. As the line skittered through the pulley set into the ceiling, the net began to drop, and he only hoped the trapped wolf would be prepared to hit the ground. He'd lose every single one of his teeth if he tried to grab the line, and probably just go flying off with it. Once she was down, it would be a matter of untangling her from the net itself, and he would slink over as non-threateningly as possible when the time came. "speech" thinking "others"

In time, the ball of light came closer, revealing an earthen colored brute holding a lantern. Aha, her savior commeth! The man inspected the contraption for a moment, then told her to prepare to land. "What? Oh, wait!" Too late. He banged on the catch and the monochromatic fae found herself plummeting to the ground. Her paws touched first, but her pad was still sliced and sore so she ended up falling to the side with a little gasp. After kicking the remnants of the net away, Ada sat up and lifted her paw, inspecting the sliced pad. It was irritated and was seeping blood again from her harsh landing. The fae cast her pumpkin colored gaze towards the brute that had freed her. "Ye wouldn't happen te have any o' that healing stuff, would ye?" Ada remembered her predicament and gave her head a shake before nodding at the man. "Thank ye for freeing me." She surely would have died up there. "Wot are ye doin' in a silly place like this anyway?" Ada motioned to the wide, dark space with a push of her muzzle. "Someone said there were slavers in here. I didn't rightly believe 'em." She then gave a little shrug. "I guess I believe 'em now, eh?" A good natured smile crinkled the corners of the fae's eyes. She'd found some poor luck, but good luck had followed. "Name's Ada. And wot might the name of me savior be?" The woman gave her head a little tilt. "Ada"

It was too late for adjustments, and he completely missed her warning that she wasn't ready. Emerald eyes tracked her sudden drop to the stone floor, immediately followed by an audible gasp and her toppling to one side. Oh no, had he broken one of her legs in his scramble to get her down? He would feel terrible if he did. When the greyscale female rose back to her feet, and began examining the pad of one dainty paw, he hoped that the problem was minor, and quickly fixable. She had untangled herself just fine, and kicked the sturdy net away from herself. Fair enough, he imagined he wouldn't want anything to do with the contraption either, in her position. Her attention fell on him again, and the masked wolf blinked back at her. "Ye wouldn't happen te have any o' that healing stuff, would ye?" she asked, and for a moment the moss-dappled wolf found himself wondering if he had hit his head. "Thank ye for freeing me." she added, and he quickly clued in to the fact that she had an accent. He bobbed his head mutely, acknowledging her thanks but not offering much else in reply. He was busy retrieving the burlap bag from where he had apparently dropped it near the lantern in his hurry to free the stranger. Sharp fangs and a few nimble movements of those teeth made quick work of untying the cord holding it shut, and he dumped the contents onto the dusty floor. Horsetail grew in relative abundance within the mangrove where he lived, and so he had a fair bit of it in his bag for occasions such as this. He figured there was always a risk of sharp stones cutting open an unwary paw, and sure enough it was coming in handy. He also had a short strip of tattered, thin linen he used for binding wounds. The small bundle of pre-chewed horsetail poultice was stacked on the strip of linen, and he grabbed the bundle in his teeth to return to the strange fae. "Wot are ye doin' in a silly place like this anyway?" she questioned as he plodded over, to which he initially shrugged in response. Once he dropped his bundle at her paws, he licked the stray fibres of linen from his teeth before saying "Exploring." and promptly set to work unwinding the sinew holding the leaf bundle together. He wanted to make sure the horsetail was still pliable enough to be used right away, or he'd have to take a moment to chew it up again. "Someone said there were slavers in here. I didn't rightly believe 'em." the fae continued, seemingly baffled by the notion that anyone would be here at all. The mud-hued healer shrugged mutely in response, focused on his examination of the herbs. They were still pliable and damp, as evidenced by a quick skimming of his tongue over the surface of the thick wad of plant matter. Perfect. "I guess I believe 'em now, eh?" as she spoke again, he realized he was probably being pretty rude by giving these curt answers. Verdant gaze lifted to meet hers and he offered an awkward chuckle and a nod of agreement. Thankfully, she didn't seem to concerned by his behaviour so far. "Name's Ada. And wot might the name of me savior be?" she questioned next. He lifted a paw to slip the muntjac skull away from his features, letting the leather straps catch it as it settled against the fur of his chest. He offered a crooked grin. "Bog." he said simply, before glancing back down at the assortment of supplies at his paws. "I can wrap that paw for you, and help you back out of here, if you'd like." he offered, tipping his muzzle towards the horsetail and linen placed between them. "Should only take a few moments, and then I would like to take that net with me, if you're not in a hurry." he added, lopsided grin turning just the slightest bit sheepish as he realized he was imposing a few expectations on a stranger almost from the jump. "speech" thinking "others"