Nina stops, an idea coming to mind. She carefully retrieves a particularly well-preserved skull from amongst the scattered remains of the adventurer. it's surprisingly clean, the bone almost gleaming faintly in the soft light of her orb. She holds it out to Ronan, the smooth surface cool against her fingertips. The creature watches her with intense, obsidian eyes, its head tilted slightly. The crystal pulses softly from inside Nina's bag, a silent observer to their interaction.
Nina then asks Ronan, "I am here to collect as many of these as possible. Do you know where more are?" The question hangs in the air as her new partner looks at the out-held skull. He gives it a sniff with his enhanced lupine senses. After making sure he can identify the scent he turns his head up, sniffing the air.
Ronan then turns to a passage on the other side of the room and points, his body and movements radiate power. "I smell something down that path."
Gazing down the path Ronan has pointed out gives Nina chills. Even Rex is frightened by whatever lies down that path, causing him to whine and press closer to Nina. The air crackles with unspoken tension, the weight of the information heavy in the stillness of the hollow. The journey ahead promising to be far more perilous than before, the unspoken knowledge promising a much darker secret within the hollow under the old oak tree.