DUNGEON CRAWL! - Stylized Adventure Fantasy

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The craftsmanship is unlike anything Veles has ever seen before. 'Statue' probably isn't the right word for something like this. It's a humanoid female, made out of some indeterminate metal and wearing a light blue sundress. It could probably even pass for a human under casual observation, though close examination clearly reveals that is not the case. Oh, and it's not long before it is both moving and speaking:

"Excuse me..." Rasa gently removes Veles hand, before moving to stand up.
 
Anaxarete had returned to the middle of the village when she had heard the screams and felt the ground rumbling. She had been just about to cast the necklace away too! But she needed that party, and she'd feel bad if they died and she hadn't even been there to help. When the ground caved in, the hedgewitch fell quite hard on her back but her landing wasn't as painful because she thought she landed on something or someone. Speaking of someone...

"Father?!" She gasped, getting up quickly and ignoring the aches and throbbing. She patted herself down, feeling around for her belt pouches. "Father!" She hissed again, her voice raising an octave. She started getting teary when she didn't receive a response. But then she heard something like a squeaky cough and the flap of one of her pouches was pushed to the side, as her father poked his head out. He looked extremely unsettled and startled. "Dust in the pouch. Dust in my ears. Dust--" He complained, and she laughed in relief and brushed the dust off of his fur.
 
Veles fell onto her rear when the 'Statue' moved, and she stared in awe at it. It had spoken to her, but it was not of flesh. Perhaps it was enchanted with some sort of long-distance communication charm? Though, that hardly explained why it moved. "W-what are you?" she asked, pulling herself together and standing up to inspect it further. This was by far one of the most fascinating things she had come across, never before had she seen something of such... ingenuity.
 
Gabriel began to search the wreckage of various corpses, as he searched for his two throwing knives. Gabriel smiled as he began to pluck one of the daggers from the throat of a corpse. He promptly pulled it out and placed it on the right side, as he searched for the other. He saw another corpse, with a throwing knife jammed right in the left side of the torso. Gabriel went up to it, as he began pulling it, as he heard a nicking sound. "Hm, bone... This little guy needs to be wormed out!" Gabriel began twisting and pulling at the other throwing knife, as moved it around to avoid hitting more bone. He finally pulled it out, "Jeez that was stuck!" he said as he placed the bloodied throwing knife in the final sheath on the left side of his pants.

Gabriel glanced around, as he noticed the lifeless statue awaken, "WOW! NOW THAT IS FASCINATING!" as he pointed dramatically. Gabriel then glanced as he noticed one of the headdress of a fallen horseman. He decided to take it, as he placed it upon his head, judging how it felt. "Hmm... I think I'll keep this, it looks epic!"
 
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"That is a good question, but unfortunately I'm not sure I can provide a satisfactory answer." Rasa takes a moment to brush off her dress the best she can, before looking around the nearby area. No apparent hostiles, good. Looks like her decision to keep quiet until now had paid off.

She then fixes her gaze back on Veles, ready to ask questions of her own: "What is the current date? And where are we?"
 
Gabriel glanced around, as the Headdress began sliding forward down his face. He quickly pushed it back up, "Indeed this headdress is most satisfactory." Gabriel turned his attention to the rest of the group, "So is everyone not damaged too severely? No one needs any immediate medical attention or anything?" Gabriel then glanced at the fallen horsemen and some dead horses, as an idea brewed, as he quickly took out one of his throwing knives, and began to cut into the horse flesh. "Well this is a most opportune time to acquire more food." Gabriel returned to his task of flaying the flesh from a dead horse.
 
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Billy had finished bandaging his wounds when his sword called attention to Gabriel, "Hear that, boy?" the sword said to Billy, "That's how a REAL dungeon crawler does it. Remember, just about anything can be food if you're hungry enough. Why, I remember I had this one man, got so thirsty he actually drank poison when he ran out of water. Luckily he had an Amulet of Immunity, but it still makes for a good story."
"B-but I'm not hungry!"
"You will be soon, kid. Now help that man chop off some nice, meaty horseflesh!"
 
The battle was just picking up as he began entering his zone. It was just him and the horde as he danced around their attacks and traded steel. With the piercing clanging noise simply adding to his rousing. He noticed the number they carried and the circling maneuver. Predictable but expected, however he'd push back. That is if that rumbling didn't happen, and as soon as it the battle began it too also ended. As he found himself have a sinking feeling that gave way to falling. His thoughts as he fell? Where's his damned box.

Wincing as he arose from the shock and pain of the fall; he got up and surveyed the area. Others were around him which had its advantages. Amidst some dead bandit corpses he found his box which aside from some dents and scratches held steady. He looked around and everyone else seemed fine. Popping open the trunk he began taking out the contents. In particular his various instrument. The stringed ones he took interest a she played short melodies to make sure they sounds right, and they did so he stored them. As for the trumpet he played a little flourish before getting to the task at hand.
 
"I am currently undamaged, with the exception of near one hundred percent data loss in my memory banks." Rasa frowns slightly, upon realizing that there had been a fight before she had started moving again. The expression looks more humanlike than you'd expect.

"Perhaps I should have re activated slightly sooner, but those men appeared hostile and I did not wish to fight all of them at once if I could avoid it. But if no one was severely harmed, then that is good." Rasa speaks, while watching the small humanoid cut up the four legged creature in the name of food acquisition.
 
Veles shook her head. "I can't tell you the date, at least not by this worlds standards, but I can tell you that we are in the City of Fallen Angels." she then turned her attentions to the irritating Halfling. "Let me know when you've got enough so that I can take care of the rest of it." she said, as the scent of fresh meat tickled her nose. She then turned her sights back to the 'Statue', "So how do you move, and stuff?" she asked.
 
Gabriel rubbed sweat from his face, as he had plucked out a circular chunk of horse meat, which then placed down on a pile of rubble, as he then cut the layer of fur from the edible meat chunk, as he placed the scrap of horse fur into a separate pile, from the freshly carved flesh. He glanced towards Billy and the Sword, "Talking sword! It would be very much appreciated if you could bring your young ward to help carve the horse! ALSO YOU CAN TALK! THAT IS SPECTACULAR! HI!" Gabriel waved towards Billy and his Wondrous Sword.

He then glanced to Rasa, as he began carving up a new chunk of horse flesh. "That's good! Shame you don't have your memories with you, but that just leaves you the opportunity to make new ones!" he said as he beamed Rasa a smile, "Glad to meet you, Gabriel Knotts, Professional Entertainer and Freelance Adventurer!" he said as he continued carving more horse flesh from the dead horse. He glanced towards Veles and smiled, "Don't worry! I'm going to butcher this thing, and collect all the edible meat... I just hope that the sword will help. It'll be awhile if it is just me, but yeah, WE WILL EAT HORSE TONIGHT! Hopefully we can get a good fire going."
 
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"Though now that I have asked, I realize I have no frame of reference for either the date or the location." Rasa pauses before answering the next question, almost as if calculating how to best reply. "Synthetic musculature assisted when required by magical energy." She also seems to have decided it would be a good idea to brush the dust off her dress - those strange men had dumped her on the ground rather unceremoniously.

Rasa then turns to Gabriel when he introduces himself. "Greetings, Gabriel. I am Rasa, and I am not sure what my main function or profession is."
 
Gabriel continued carving at the horse flesh, "Well Rasa, only you can define your profession and purpose!" He decided to pause in his carving of the edible meats, as he gestured his left hand towards Rasa, "ONLY you can control your fate, so don't linger in the past! LOOK TOWARDS THE BRIGHT FUTURE YOU MAKE FOR YOURSELF! Just my thoughts on the matter, anyway, I've got a lot of flesh to carve." Gabriel then continued carving deep into the horse, as he pulled out another circular chunk of flesh. He cut off the pieces of fur and placed it in the pile with the other remnants of the beast that wasn't meat. He then placed the newest flesh into the pile, and began carving some more.
 
"I was almost certainly made for some purpose, I understand what you are saying, but..." Rasa actually pauses, gears turning in her head. Possibly literally. "Perhaps it would be best to set aside such matters for now. I am not even aware of the world around myself, existential questions can come later." She's still just standing there while talking, observing Gabriel and the others without moving much. Though after a while, Rasa seems to notice that being dumped on the ground got some dust on her dress, which she starts brushing off.
 
Rue coughed, staring up heavenward with a sour expression her face. Once again things had happened too quickly for her to respond to. She would have to do something about that if she was going to get her clients out alive. HER CLIENTS!

She leapt up with a start and proceeded to count heads. Gabriel and the strange boy were butchering a horse. Veles was talking to..a local. And suddenly there were quite a lot more people than she ever agreed to escort. And would be even more given the way Veles was speaking to that strange metal woman. She sighed and walked over to Gabe and the Boy and began assisting them with their bloody work. Waste not, want not after all.

"That," She said to the child as she sliced through bone, wondering if they could make use of the marrow. "was foolish. That was a trained swordsman, even if his sword was a mere chunk of sharpened steel."
 
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"T...Those bastards!" Ella let out an outcry as she got herself up from the ground, far(?) below the carnival, amongst the group. "What were they thinking? Attacking a cartographer of my stature! It's outrageous!" she huffed indignantly. "Though I didn't show them my society's letter of commendation. They would have surely reconsidered their crude act of violence."

In the next moment she remembered, now with her dignity somewhat restored, that Veles was beaten by her own family. That was what distracted and disgusted her enough not to notice the horsemen until it was too late. And fall. And "Ouch". The last part was actually said out loud as she placed her hands on her hips and the pain hit her.

Then she saw, and scrambled over to the female statue, noting the halfling and the boy at the dead horse. "Hey, Hello! Who are you? Are you fine?"
 
"I'm fine." Anaxarete murmured but her voice sooned turned into a horrified scream because of two things. One a talking statue thing. Two, the circus man was cutting up a horse. She knew other people ate meat, but horses?! "Why are you doing that?!' She screeched at him. (Gabriel)
 
"Food. The more fresh meat we can get off of this, the longer we can go without resorting to our various dried rations. Thus, the longer we go without starving." Rue explained the same way one might explain how brushing and flossing regularly will prevent tooth decay. "Besides, Horse meat tastes quite nice. It's very tender, and a bit sweet."
 
Anaxarete forced the bile from erupting from her throat and turned away from the tearing apart of the horse. "Suit yourselves." She stated, before turning and looking for anything she could use as an alternative to her rations. She could always plant a few of her seeds, but because of the terrain, the product would taste funny. Still...She was not going to eat horse meat. Or meat at all.

Stepping away from the group a bit, she set her father down in front of her. "Help me dig?" She asked, and he nodded and began pawing at the ground. She scooped up a sufficient amount of dirt and dropped a few corn seedling in the spot, before covering it up. She fished her flask out of her bag, and then placed her hand on the mound. Her father, not comfortable around magic, scurried up her leg and back into her belt pouch.

She closed her eyes and felt the energy flow through her fingers, and then leaves were pushing out of the mound of dirt, and soon a short stalk stood before her with a few small corns on it. As she had figured, the corn leaves weren't very green and the corn inside was pale, but it was still edible and that was all that mattered. She wrapped the corn in a piece of cloth and tied that cloth with another. Soon the corn would dry and she would have more rations for herself and her father and the rest of the party if some weren't as keen about the horse meat like her.
 
Rue craned her neck to observe the event, finding it fascinating. The plant itself was as foreign to her as the magic the hedgewitch used to grow it. Not a lot of Maize out in the dunes of the Eternal desert.
She returned to the task at hand, wondering just how Gabriel intended to preserve and store all this meat. Obviously they couldn't refrigerate it, she wasn't sure if they had enough salt either. Smoking or drying maybe?
 
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