Apparently a nasty beast had attacked a settlement nearby Mount Hotan, and while Caius was not given any information on what this "large beast" was, he was pretty much told that if he found a large beast in Mount Hotan, it was likely the one that attacked the village and he would be paid in kind for bringing back proof of slaying it. Of course, the first thing that he saw after taking the job as he walked past were townsfolk staring at him when he began to leave without an escort or a mercenary trope. He could hear rumblings about the "dead man walking" and criticisms at him for going alone. Not that Caius was that bothered by them. This was his job, alone or not.

During his last year in this world, Caius had grown to hear rumors here and there of places such as Mount Hotan. Apparently it was a hotbed of dangerous creatures. Odds are, he'd probably find more than one, but if he took out just one, he would satisfy the criteria. Still, he went in planning to take on not just one... He was going in for a fight. He was sure dangerous creatures would always spawn from here, but if they were left unchecked, then they would grow too much in numbers to stop when more of them began making moves out of the cave and ravaging settlements for whatever reason. He may not be paid extra for taking on the extra beasties, since they were not part of the criteria... But that was fine. This was his decision. Any resources he expended going the extra mile would have to come out of pocket, for this was a decision made through his own interests and not in what they had asked for. Even if he knew that if he just killed the one big monster... Another would likely still attack.

Not that they'd understand most likely if he tried to explain that to them. Oh well. It was his decision to not take the easy way out regardless. Caius would stop in front of the mouth of the cave, brown eyes scanning the area for any sign of monsters. Instead, he caught sight of a young woman, also preparing to trek into the mountains alone. Walking further toward the cave, he found himself standing side by side with her, with his arms relaxed behind his head.

"Do you live around here? I was told the monsters here were dangerous, but I may have misheard when they actually said "dangerously beautiful" instead" He joked lightly, his tone casual and relaxed. He tipped his head toward her a bit and the smirk he gave indicated he was merely teasing, and his expression hinted at no malice nor desire, simply a bit of harmless, cheeky, casual witty mischief.

He looked back at the cave again and stretched out in that moment, cracking his neck as he made idle preparation to make the trek. He continued to speak without looking to her, as his eyes took a more focused, business-like visage. "In all seriousness, it looks like we probably have the same mind, if you're intending to go in there. Did one of the villages send you?"

Caius would nod his head in turn as he would listen to her talk about how she was wandering through, and then her indication that she was here to slay the monsters as well. It looked like she was hoping for a bit of company... Of the monster slaying kind, I mean. Which he didn't mind. He had a feeling, a pit in his gut, that he was going to need all the help that he could get. He was used to working alone, but his time in the Kingsglaive had allowed him to be more welcoming to the idea of help. Teamwork could make the dream work, as they always say...

"Caius" He answered first up. "Just call me Caius. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rydia."

He began to walk toward the cave's maw then, an excited glint in his eye at the idea of what trials could lie ahead, what challenges could be right in front of him, what sort of battles could await... "Well, I guess that makes us friends" He joked lightly toward the remarks about them having the same mission. "If you're a magic user, then I can lead the charge just fine, yes" Caius spoke as he would hold out a hand and his gunblade, Lonoaw, would appear in his hand. He knew he would likely be needing it as soon as they stepped into the caves. But it was also to indicate early on that he was a sword user, and could cover her just fine in regards to melee combat. "Covering fire will do just fine."

"Let's get going then" Caius would remark toward her, giving her one last glance before disappearing into the maws of the caverns. It was going to be a long road, he could tell... But he did not fear it. He walked the path with bright eyes.

Having company on an adventure was a welcome thing indeed, and judging by the fire spell she soon after cast, it seemed she was fairly handy with magic. It was good to have a good range of capabilities between a group, he knew. He was used to the Glaives having similar skillsets, even if he knew that wasn't always wise, their strengths generally came from different weapons. He and Rydia would likely be completely different, with different skillsets, different strengths and weaknesses, and obviously different weapons. He just hoped that they would compliment one another well enough.

"I was told that a variety of creatures lived here, though the villagers don't appear to consider them a threat in comparison to the big, bad dragon that is terrorizing them" Caius would point out as he would look around, noting the presence of the bats. But they couldn't be what was making that skittering noise... As whatever would approach was clearly on the ground or on the walls. "If we're lucky, we'll start with something smaller, for a bit of a warm-up. But who knows what-"

Unfortunately, he wasn't going to have his day, today. The skittering would come from a large spider-like monster, which would crash down from the ceiling, scaring the bats away. And as if to further taunt him, a bunch of smaller ones would crash down alongside it.

"Spiders. Why does it always have to be spiders?" Caius would ask, shaking his head as the gunblade Lonoaw would re-materialize in his hand again. His other hand would ignite as a fireball would materialize in his palm. He dabbled in magic, though he likely didn't have the skill in it that Rydia did.

He was definitely grateful for the Protect spell, as he would quickly turn and shoot the fireball toward one of the smaller ones, taking it by surprise and incinerating it.

"It might be best we do away with our numbers disadvantage first up."

@rydia

Caius had spent much of his life fighting on his own. He had been a solo hunter, fighting even the biggest of beasties singlehandedly without any fear. He tended to come back hobbling and barely clutching to life, but he came back victorious. But it was when he joined the Glaives that he learned to work with others. He had learned to be able to coordinate well with them... But while it was not her fault, Rydia was not one of his brothers and sisters in arms. She was a stranger to him. But perhaps through this, they might just be able to make this work. Who knows, right?

He would prepare his blade as the spiders would continue to come. It seemed that the larger one had been incited by the fireball hitting a smaller one, and Caius knew that the two of them would need eyes in the backs of their heads. "Don't get too far away from me" Caius would command, not wanting to allow Rydia to be overwhelmed as she favored magic. Her spell would spread out, incinerating several of the small spiders, and hitting the larger one. Their numbers disadvantage was dwindling quickly, which was a good thing. But they weren't out of the woods just yet.

Caius would toss his blade forward toward the large spider, using the Warp Strike to send himself forward, catching the blade and slashing the spider in the front. He would use the momentum of his flight to bring his feet forward and kick off the spider before it could retaliate, sending him flying back as he would then aim his hand down and begin firing several smaller fireballs at the smaller spiders. They would not deal as much damage, but with the smaller ones, perhaps it wouldn't need to. And he could fire more as a result.

Caius would land on his feet and charge forward, deciding to engage the smaller spiders head on...