The Moors are unsettling. Disquieting. Andrej doesn't like it, but he knows what he needs to do. Stomach in knots, though he doesn't shy away from the hard things. Hell, this was the whole reason he'd put his life on hold. The life that he'd known before the Dungeons, though that seemed further away by the day. Not just by the day. By the minute. He'd come down after Zora, the little sister who was damn near all his family had left... but this place. It was changing him. In more ways than the ragged soldier knew, the Dungeon was warping his mind and his outlook on the world. For better? For worse? Who was to say. It was too soon to tell.

With Phoebe at his side, Andrej ventures down to the Moors. This level of the dungeon was too dangerous to go it alone, though he found himself missing Reina as he did. Her presence was more calming than he'd like to admit, and her resolve admirable. Still, this isn't something that he'd burden her with. Better to hire out a mercenary, and pay her well for her discretion. Phoebe's company is cheerful, but delightfully businesslike. With the feelings hanging thickly in Andrej's head and the knots in his chest, he appreciates just how unemotional the girl is.

There's a chill settling into Andrej's system as they make their way deeper into the Moors. Phoebe's keen sense for danger enough to give him a bit more confidence than he ordinarily would have, given the circumstances. Nothing had set the sentinel off, so the pair continued on. Winding deeper into the Moors of Sleep, walking in careful step with each other. This level was far less traveled than the Furnace or the Caves, a peaceful quiet and eerie calm coloring the grey environment. It would be pretty. Would be, if it wasn't so grim. If it wasn't so strange.

If there weren't so many terrible thoughts coursing through Andrej's head. With every step, he searched for signs of Zora. Her scent on the damp earth, a lock of her hair caught on a loose stone. Anything that would suggest that she'd been here. There's comfort in the fact that he doesn't feel her presence within the Moors. It's enough to suggest that she isn't among the dearly departed. A cold comfort, leaving his head still desperately spinning with unknowns. The environment down here is inhospitable, but he trudges on. Relying on Phoebe's danger sense, and doing what he can to keep from dwelling.

It's hard not to dwell. Phoebe reminds him of Zora, in some ways. In enough ways. Zora was shorter, paler, but they carry themselves in a similar way. She's a force of nature, but that nature isn't always fearsome. Agreeable, but focused. Laser focused, especially when it comes to a goal. Excited and keen... someone as keen as Zora wouldn't be tripped up by the dangers that the Dungeon held. Phoebe wouldn't be caught unaware either. The comparison leads Andrej to feel the same protective, if slightly overbearing swell in his chest. They're capable girls, but down here, that's not everything. Even if that's an unfortunate fact.

Treasure is secondary, but it doesn't hurt. His gaze settling on a small stash of things hidden away by some crow or magpie within the high hollow of a tree, Andrej's approach is keen. Could be a trap, or could be a forgotten horde by a passing corvid. Sending Khors up to approach first, the bird would be able to make the fastest and most graceful escape, should anything be amiss. Swift and intelligent, it seemed safe enough. One by one, the creature begins dropping objects, freeing them from the skeletal branches. Coins, rusty armor pieces, scraps that they'd be able to examine more closely upon return to the surface.

One piece catches Andrej's eye, though. Hanging from a long gold chain, a delicately carved shell cameo. The back is curved, and it's cold to the touch. The face of it was not a face at all, but a skull. A skull wearing a crown, clutched between two hands. Symbolism older than even Andrej knows, and symbolism he recognizes all too well. Around the fringes of his vision, the world beginning to go black. A wave of nausea followed by one of grief. It's all he can do not to sink to his knees. Trying desperately to stay on his feet, to keep the same professionalism, but it's too much. The weight of the world crashing down upon him, Andrej desperately fights to keep his shit together.

It's his coat of arms. It's their coat of arms. A symbol that he's seen over and over, from birth. He knows it all too well, and the implications of it being down here were far too much. For as much as he'd like to say something to Phoebe, the words don't come out. Was it proof Zora had been here? Was it proof she'd died down here? Andrej needs to turn back, and do it now. Their adventure for the day needed to come to an end, and he needed to reassess. Take stock. Try to figure out where the hell to go from here, with this clue. Afraid of the implications, but with some hope still hanging in his heart, they need to return to the surface. There's still work to do.