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11 minutes ago, ElephantEarwax said:

Walking over from where had been standing, still shocked by the sudden arrival and appearance of the worm, Adren goes to examine the dead beast more carefully. 

In his mind Jethro and Mercy began complaining they he was going to cut it.

"Why are we cutting into it? I don't want to get tarnished from this unknown monsters blood."

"GROSS I don't want to go near that dead thing"

"Because I want to see if the beast has any useful properties."

Speaking out loud to everyone as he cut into the beast, removing slabs of flesh and large sheaves of skin, "Does the blood of the worm have any corrosive or poisonous properties  to it, beyond that of normal blood? 

@kenod @Sorana

 

Karin looked at the newcomer, thinking about his question. "Probably not," she said. "The thing looks like an apex predator. I hope it is, at least. No real reason for those to be poisonous. I mean, the thing would probably still kill you if you eat it, but I doubt it specifically has poisonous blood. No clue why the blood should be corrosive either. It isn't anything that normally occurs with lifeforms in this universe and it doesn't really serve any evolutionary purpose, aside from requiring exotic chemical systems to prevent your veins from corroding away while still allowing proper oxygen transfer to cells." She shook her head. "Seriously, corrosive blood is a giant nightmare to create."

She started walking towards her backpack, which luckily had stayed intact during the fighting. "I can run some tests for you though, if you want to," she called back. "I should have a pH indicator strip in my pack. I'm not sure how to test toxicity though, aside from just slapping some of the stuff on a radiant's skin and checking the reaction. If it's poisonous they can use some stormlight to heal it."

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A strange man dropped out of the worm and healed Corette. Covered in disgusting worm juices and leaking darkness, the newcomer was the scariest-looking man Allri had ever seen, but right now, she'd take any help she could get. With a sigh of relief, she extinguished her cadmium and scanned the rest of the room. The woman who'd been cut out of the worm earlier was in the pool, and she didn't seem injured at all. As Allri watched, the woman got up, dried herself, and started eating the dead worm. Wait, what? Shuddering, Allri turned away. That was something she didn't need to see.

The sound of Rig's voice brought her back to herself. He'd agreed to train her, and so had Corette, who was apparently a bronze misting. Listening to their banter, Allri could forget the dangers of the last few minutes. She found herself wondering how Rig would show off, and what was better than whiskey... oh. Blushing, she mumbled a quick "thanks" and scampered away, leaving the two together.

She found herself next to another group, recognizing the man with the bomb and the girl who survived being eaten. Where had that bomb gone, anyways? She tapped the man on the shoulder. "Where did you put your bomb?"

@I think I am here.

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1 hour ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

She found herself next to another group, recognizing the man with the bomb and the girl who survived being eaten. Where had that bomb gone, anyways? She tapped the man on the shoulder. "Where did you put your bomb?"

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‘Man’ is an overstatement :P I’m pretty sure he’s younger than Allri.

Karin hadn’t seen anyone else, and Wes couldn’t either. So, they were all dead. The approaching emptiness was held back by disgust as Wes sharply looked in the opposite direction when Karin started eating the worm. The DA, he could only tell himself. It seemed just about everything was possible to those from the Alleys.

He jumped as someone tapped him on the shoulder. The Mistborn. Why would someone so powerful choose to talk to him instead of the other powerful and smarter people?

“I dismantled it,” he said, pointing to the small pile of scrap metal and gunpowder a short distance away. “Oh, did you want t use it. Sorry... I can try and rebuild it if you want?” He’d even dismantled the bomb early. Stupid Wes.

Edited by I think I am here.
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It seemed that the woman who had fainted had already recovered, Whisper watched silently as she slipped into the pool of water and began relaxing. She seemed none the worse for wear, a little tense perhaps but still keeping up a positive mood which was more than could be said for many others. Whisper shifted her path, stepping forwards to someone who'd been injured and was making their way towards the camp where healing waited. She offered a shoulder to help him limp his way there, using the opportunity to travel at a slower pace and catch a little more of the surrounding conversations.

She saw Karin beginning to consume the worm, putting her real position even further in doubt. She certainly seemed to have something of Aylitha about her, but not as powerful. A clone perhaps? That would be an easy enough feat for a department head to accomplish, Aylitha in particular. Whisper shelved the thought for later exploration, there was little she could do to confirm anything now unless she wanted to simply attack her and see what reaction Karin had.

After escorting the injured was taken care of she found a cup around camp, filled it with water and began making her way back. Perhaps not as dramatic as fussing over an unconscious body but a little proactive thoughtful gesture could still do the trick, particularly when many still perceived her as being young. She walked up to Corette, freshly cleaned and speaking with one of the others from the camp. Whisper hesitated on the outskirts of their conversation for a few moments before taking a tentative step forward, holding the cup out before her.
@ZincAboutIt@TrailRunnin

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17 hours ago, Sorana said:
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I didn't react to the Wanderer as you placed him directly into the bubble.

 

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That's fair!

17 hours ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:
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Who's the Wanderer?

 

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One half of one of my characters, who had an...unfortunate accident...with the Nightwatcher. In a process much like Shard-level Forgery, every 25 hours, he switches personalities, essentially being rewritten entirely. There's some power overlap, but a fair few differences. Check the Era 4 character list for full details.

 

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Corette watched Allri blush and slip away, and she repressed the urge to laugh. If the girl couldn't handle a little harmless, mindless quipping between adults, Corette wondered how she'd fare on the rest of this expedition. Wearing one's true emotions on the surface was a one-way ticket to an early grave around here. Being a Mistborn could only take a person so far in life - even immense power could be toppled with some skill. Still, if the girl wanted to alert everyone to her inner feelings, well, Corette wouldn't stop her. All the easier to keep an eye on her.

Someone else had approached, the girl who carried the unique Investiture signature. If Allri was fresh-faced and enthusiastic, this girl was her foil. Her face was a careful arrangement of calm, calculated politeness, but her eyes were far too clever for simple charity. This girl knew how to watch, how to see, just as Corette knew. She might not be a Seeker, but she carried that same gaze. The girl held out a cup of water to Corette, and Corette took it in her left hand. 

"Thank you," she said to the girl, holding the cup but not taking a drink. It seemed harmless - poisoning Corette in a room full of Radiants was hardly logical - but a lifetime on the street had burned all the trust from her heart. Still, the girl was fascinating, and Corette let herself smile. In her experience, hiding one's enthusiasm made life boring; it was one of the few truly honest emotions she allowed herself to show. If she wasn't having any fun, what was even the point?

"I don't believe we've met, officially," Corette said. "Though if you're half as clever as you look, you already know my name. So, what do I call you?"

@Voidus

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47 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“I dismantled it,” he said, pointing to the small pile of scrap metal and gunpowder a short distance away. “Oh, did you want t use it. Sorry... I can try and rebuild it if you want?”

Allri shook her head. "No, nothing of that sort, just wanted to make sure we didn't all get blown up by accident. I'm sure you wouldn't have let that happen, but I had to know for myself. Peace of mind and all that."

She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the day's deaths. Nobody had talked about this before, at TUBA or ACE, and she hadn't imagined that there would be so much blood on the first day. She wished she was stronger, better able to deal with it. Everyone else seemed to be unaffected, to have gotten used to it long ago, or simply never cared at all. After all, the boy she was talking to had built a bomb out of scraps in just a few minutes, in the middle of the fight. He'd said he wasn't powerful before, but he could keep himself together. Why was it so hard for her after just a day, when the others could laugh off years of it?

When Allri opened her eyes again, she found herself looking at the boy. Up close, he looked younger, around her age. His eyes, though... his eyes didn't match that. There was some nervousness in them, true, but also a glimmer of something else, something that made her shiver. How long had he lived here, in this city between worlds? How much death had he seen, and how much more would he see?

When she next spoke, her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper. "How can you be so calm? How do you deal with it?"

@I think I am here.

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Whisper watched the woman take the cup, but she simply held it in one hand. Perhaps just not thirsty, but generally people would at least take a small sip out of politeness when handed something. Suspicious then? But was it a general suspicion? Or of Whisper personally?

She shifted her gaze back, making eye contact once again as she listened. She felt an urge to return the intrigued smile she was given, amused by the assumption that she'd be able to find her name. She had looked of course, found something amid some of the bookkeeping at the camp, but whether that was her real name remained to be seen. An alias wasn't always necessary for keeping secrets but it certainly helped, and Whisper definitely didn't believe that everyone had been perfectly honest on those questionnaires they'd all been given.

Her fingers stiffened for an instant when she was asked her name, about to instinctively drop a small spike into her hand and sign the response. But she wasn't in the Alleys right now, less elegant means of communication would have to be used. She hesitated, hand hovering over her waist for the board she'd been using to write on earlier, but instead she simply raised her hand in the air. She'd already mentioned on her form that she could Lightweave, it wasn't something she'd been intending to keep hidden for long. With a swift series of gestures she left a trail of Stormlight trailing behind her finger, leaving a faintly glowing green line in its wake as she spelled out her reply.

You can call me Wes. She replied, using the same name as before. Are you feeling alright now?

She kept the words polite, a little concerned. But her eyes were sparkling as she watched from behind the writing.

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Corette looked down at the cup of water and took one careful sip, still looking at the girl, Wes. What she really wanted was her whiskey, but she'd already given Rig the flask and he hadn't moved to return it. She hoped she hadn't offended the man with her joke; he seemed like the type to give as good as he got, but nobility could be odd about some things. He was one of the more interesting people in the expedition, and she'd hate to lose out on his company due to something so silly.

She turned back to Wes, smiling again - a smaller smile this time. "Well met, Wes," she said. "And I'm fine. Nothing like a little Progression to loosen the muscles and clear the head." Corette waved a hand to her right, not wishing to be rude. "This is Rigex Lekal, Coinshot extraordinaire and soon-to-be tutor of the next Ascendant Warrior, if all goes to plan. It's thanks to him we're not all dead, I suppose."

Corette focused her Bronze on Wes directly now, listening to the strange, varied beat of her Lightweaving. The barest stutter echoed after each pulse, and Corette was careful to let none of her realizations show in her expression. This girl had at least one spike, she'd bet her own metalminds on it - possibly more. Though that was harder to tell. She was increasingly convinced that she'd seen the girl somewhere before; she had a hunch, but nothing concrete.

"Lucky that Karin managed to stay alive inside that thing, hmm?" Corette went on. "Though I shouldn't be surprised, the Alleys do keep all manner of tricks up their sleeves. One has to wonder how many other DA members are here, incognito. I suppose we'll see, yes?"

She winked, then took another sip of water. 

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Rig took a swig of the proffered flask and closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh. He raised an eyebrow at Corette's next comment--at least he was sure she would keep the expedition from getting boring. Now he was really certain he'd have to stick around Corette; she was the only one so far who'd shown a sense of humor!

"Second best thing indeed. I think you scared away our little friend!" He shook his head and laughed before downing another gulp, looking on as Allri headed over to talk to another boy around her own age. He was happy for a moment to rest and chat with Corette, sipping slowly on the familiar whiskey, wondering vaguely if there was some way he could sneak some of it into some steel vials. 

He was silent for a moment as another girl approached them, bringing a drink for Corette. What, none for me? He wasn't sure if he would have drank, though-this one seemed quite a bit wiser to the world than Allri had; he hadn't missed the way the girl--Wes, he though he heard someone call her--had hesitated and listened in for some time before joining them.   

35 minutes ago, ZincAboutIt said:

"This is Rigex Lekal, Coinshot extraordinaire and soon-to-be tutor of the next Ascendant Warrior, if all goes to plan. It's thanks to him we're not all dead, I suppose."

"Ahh, Corette, you flatter me. Plenty of us died--I just single-handedly saved the rest of you," Rig shot back with a grin. Corette looked remarkably good, all things considered; Rig was pretty sure even he wouldn't be up and about quite this soon after a near-death worm encounter, but here she was, having a grand old time. The rest of her exchange seemed to hint at some secret she knew about Wes; something about an alley? He would have to get Corette alone later and have her explain that to him.

"What brings you down into the caverns, Wes? I mean, aside from the top-notch company." 

@ZincAboutIt @Voidus

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It was always troublesome to keep a proper eye on things while not keeping up a guise of innocence. Wandering eyes were too noticeable, it was difficult to be able to properly scan people's reactions without revealing that was what you were doing. Usually Whisper preferred watching other people talk, then she could watch from a distance to make it less obvious what exactly she was watching. But in a direct conversation like this she had to resort to peripheral vision and occasional quick glances to try to read body language. And her conversation partner did not give a lot away in those brief glances.

Whisper tried not to let her frustration show, letting the gleam of interest fade back to polite attention as she nodded towards Rigex when he was introduced. Lekal was an easy enough name to check up on, not very useful for a long term alias. Likely the real deal then, and certainly an interesting addition to the group. She made a note of him for later before turning her attention back.

She was sipping the water now, either noticing Whisper's glance or simply a change in mood it was hard to say. But this woman definitely knew what she was about, she was wary without being offensive, watchful without seeming rude. As she mentioned the Alleys Whisper felt an eyebrow twitch in immediate reaction. Had that been a threat? A hint? Or simply an idle comment? She widened her eyes as if a little afraid, casting a cautious look around the room towards Karin. People were always suspicious of anyone from the Alleys, she'd seen the look enough times when she'd revealed herself to people to be able to mimic it.

Rigex interrupted with a question of his own, saving Whisper the trouble of coming up with an appropriate response to the comment.

"What brings you down into the caverns, Wes? I mean, aside from the top-notch company."

Whisper cocked her head to one side, seemingly thinking the question over before raising a hand and scrawling more letters of light in the air.

I heard that people were trapped down here, wanted to help if I can. Also heard that it was strange. Curious.

Her eyes flickered back to the other woman for a moment. The caverns weren't the only curious things down here.

@ZincAboutIt @TrailRunnin

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7 hours ago, kenod said:

Karin looked at the newcomer, thinking about his question. "Probably not," she said. "The thing looks like an apex predator. I hope it is, at least. No real reason for those to be poisonous. I mean, the thing would probably still kill you if you eat it, but I doubt it specifically has poisonous blood. No clue why the blood should be corrosive either. It isn't anything that normally occurs with lifeforms in this universe and it doesn't really serve any evolutionary purpose, aside from requiring exotic chemical systems to prevent your veins from corroding away while still allowing proper oxygen transfer to cells." She shook her head. "Seriously, corrosive blood is a giant nightmare to create."

She started walking towards her backpack, which luckily had stayed intact during the fighting. "I can run some tests for you though, if you want to," she called back. "I should have a pH indicator strip in my pack. I'm not sure how to test toxicity though, aside from just slapping some of the stuff on a radiant's skin and checking the reaction. If it's poisonous they can use some stormlight to heal it."

"You're right. I have read to many stories and was hoping to find something useful. But this just appears physically to be a giant worm. Useless skin and blood and  nasty flesh." 

Kneeling in the water Adren brushes Jethro off and dries him by swinging him a few times and running the blade across his pants.

@kenod

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15 minutes ago, TrailRunnin said:

"Ahh, Corette, you flatter me. Plenty of us died--I just single-handedly saved the rest of you," Rig shot back with a grin.

Corette glanced briefly to the side, raising one brow. "Single-handedly? I'm sure I saw you using two hands on that last Steelpush. And speaking of hands," she stuck out her hand, palm up, expectantly, "I do believe it's time for you to hand over my whiskey. Won't do to have you get drunk on the job. We'd have to get Lady Mistborn over there to Pewter-carry you into the next cavern. Could you ever recover from that?"

Though she spoke to Rig, she kept the majority of her attention focused on Wes. That last portion of her answer, the part about her curiosity - Corette had a feeling that was far closer to the truth. That was something Corette could understand; curiosity drove her onward like a whip, pushing her through life, into and out of danger as it willed. She had more doubt about Wes's desire to "help," especially if her suspicions about the girl's guild were correct. Another grin tugged at her lips. Rusts, but this was fun. Between Wes, the Mistborn girl, and Rig, this expedition was already proving to be more than worth her time.

And this was only the first cavern. 

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2 hours ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Nobody had talked about this before at TUBA... 

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That’s not in orientation? Whoops. We’ll have to fix that, I thought the general warnings were all taken care of. Maybe I mixed it up with the reading of the DA disclaimer... :P 

Myriad’s first indication that things were not as they should be was a twitch of confusion jolting through her calm. Her second indication was the fact that her first hadn’t been the gargantuan worm now lying dead on the ground before her, leathery and eyeless and leaking its black life everywhere from the stone of the cavern to the water it had erupted from. She sucked in a surprised breath, and the blank her mind had been a few heartbeats ago eroded abruptly with her intense freaking out. 

She closed her eyes and tried to reason through it like she might do for a panic attack at a crosswalk. You are here, alive (relatively), fine, breathing. Keep breathing. Focus on each inhalation as you fill someone else’s lungs with sweet oxygen. You are not being crushed by momentum, and in this case, you haven’t been consumed by a massive cave monster.

Myriad drew open her eyes again, pointedly not succumbing to thoughts of the past. She’d already dwelled on her parents today, and once was certainly enough for one day. Thrusting herself to her feet, she gazed around at what the man operating the elevator had called Keep Venture. It was probably named for how big it was, like a keep of medieval days, and for the venture they’d be undertaking when they hiked into the depths of the cave system. 

The place was utterly disarrayed, though the director seemed to be working on fixing that. The woman had already called out for anyone needing medical assistance to move to a particular area where they could be healed; Myriad could remember that. Her memory hadn’t been affected, just her emotions during the fight. Some people were even beginning to relax again - she saw a few start cutting the flesh from the worm and glanced away, gaze landing on two women and a man sharing a chat. 

She started walking over, conscious of having not done anything in the fight. How had some of the others resisted the strange muffling of emotions? Had one of them been doing it somehow, or was it the giant creepy worm? She frowned at the thought that somebody in ACE might have influenced their fellow explorers that way, but then it could just be a side effect of some other action. All the various ways of using magic or technology here were insanely complicated...and as a member of the Scholar’s Guild, Myriad was determined to learn about them all. 

She reached the three, seeing one woman emit a flash right before she arrived. “Hi,” she said politely. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but could any of you explain to me what just happened?” 

@ZincAboutIt @Voidus @TrailRunnin 

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"I will take care of it, once they are done." Althea replied to Deb and then followed Karin over to the worm. Adren had joined them and she was glad to see that he appeared to be unharmed, now that the pressure on her mind was gone she relaxed again, easily able to resume the usual neutral mask of face. She listened to Karin offer to run some tests on the blood, check if it was poisonous and lifted her hand.

"It's not poisonous." She stated and showed them the little spots of blood she had gotten on her skin when she'd cut the worm open. "Otherwise I'd know by now."

Now that she was close to the worm again, the stench of its intestines became instense and started to breath shallow, keep back the urge to gag. "Actually I would be interested to find out, how it was able to soothe all of us in the first place." She gave voice ot her thoughts. "Same with regeneration there are several possibilities to acoomplish that feat. If we found out how it did it, it might hint at the abilities of the other creatures we can encounter." Pensively she touched the hide of the worm, moved her fingers over something that felt like thick flesh. "If it really was some kind of allomancy, there is a large chance, that we meet other creatures using something similar to the other metals. Or maybe it was simply biological, which I doubt given that it resisted other Investiture, then it will be hard to deduct any information at all." Pensively she stepped back. "Whatever it was, it'd be interesting to know how it worked."

@kenod @ElephantEarwax

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5 hours ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

When she next spoke, her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper. "How can you be so calm? How do you deal with it?"

Calm. She thought he was calm. Wes let out a small harsh laugh and stared at a pebble on the ground, shaking his head quickly.

“It all clashes with each other eventually,” he said and looked up at her. “I abandoned my friends. Apart from them, no one cares about me, knows I exist, in fact some person from the alleys could kidnap me and no one would bat an eye. I came down here to escape, without worrying about the surface, and,” his voice broke. “Now there’s the Righthand of the Ghostbloods who’s down here, who literally, could have any sort of terrible things to me and of course, of course now there are giant death worms that eat people down here.”

He looked down and covered his eyes with his palms, because it was easier than eye-contact. “And I just saw people die. For real, not like in an action movie.”

Finally, he shook his head slowly. “Maybe the ‘calmness’ is from shock. Or maybe all of the rust that’s happening in my life is just numbing me.”

He didn’t want to be numb. He wanted to be like how he was before. Happy in his dormitory, sheltered in the headquarters, never seeing the outside world. But life was seldom that easy.

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Karin nodded to Althea. "It's probably not chemical," she agreed. "Given the number of people from different planets here the chance of a chemical that can induce a specific mental state in all them would be rather small." Not to mention the fact that it shouldn't work on me, she mentally added. "It's probably magical," she continued, "which is rather interesting. I doubt it's actual allomancy, given that from what I remember that requires access to certain metals, which I doubt can be found here in sufficient quantities. There might be some ore here though, I'm not sure if allomancers can use ores directly?"

@Sorana

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1 hour ago, kenod said:

"which is rather interesting. I doubt it's actual allomancy, given that from what I remember that requires access to certain metals, which I doubt can be found here in sufficient quantities. There might be some ore here though, I'm not sure if allomancers can use ores directly?"

"Usually not." Althea replied, careful to include the word usually. If she'd learned one thing, then than there were no rules without an exemption. "An allomancer needs the metal, in this case brass, to be as pure as possible. Even a mixture that is a bit off can harm them."

She used a cup to scoop up some of the water in the pond, looked at it. The worm lived in the water, so it would be logical if the water played a role in this. Or maybe not, and it was some kind of inate ability they hadn't seen before. "Brass is an alloy, it's not found in water or the earth, without any other factors playing into the equation as well at least." She emptied the cup again. "For a worm to have a steady enough supply of Brass to base its whole hunting habit on it - it seems highly unlikely to me."

Turning back to Karin she tapped her foot against a part of the worm. "Additionally Allomancy is hereditary. It makes it not impossible for the worm to be able to use brass like a soother, but it adds to the unlikely part."

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Just now, Sorana said:

"Usually not." Althea replied, careful to include the word usually. If she'd learned one thing, then than there were no rules without an exemption. "An allomancer needs the metal, in this case brass, to be as pure as possible. Even a mixture that is off a bit can harm them."

Agreeing she used a cup to scoop up some of the water in the pond, looked at it. The worm lived in the water, so it would be logical if the water played a role in this. "Brass is an alloy, it's not found in water or the earth, without any other factors playing into the equation as well at least." She emptied the cup again. "For a worm to have a steady enough supply of Brass to base its whole hunting habit on it - it seems highly unlikely to me."

Karin nodded. "I see," she said, "that makes sense. In that case, I guess it's something that just uses the same principles? Personally the whole thing reminds me of something a lab-mate was studying. There's supposed to be this group of islands on one of the Cosmere planets with creatures that can sense minds, and even mimic mental signatures, or influence them. They were researching how it worked in an effort to mimic it themselves. It sounds kind of similar to what's going on here, don't you think?"

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Just now, kenod said:

Karin nodded. "I see," she said, "that makes sense. In that case, I guess it's something that just uses the same principles? Personally the whole thing reminds me of something a lab-mate was studying. There's supposed to be this group of islands on one of the Cosmere planets with creatures that can sense minds, and even mimic mental signatures, or influence them. They were researching how it worked in an effort to mimic it themselves. It sounds kind of similar to what's going on here, don't you think?"

"I agree. Copying the principles of soothing, but not soothing in regard of Allomancy. As far as I know the creatures you refer to are able to create allomancy-like effects, therefore it could be something similar." She sighed. "It's a pity, that it's dead. It would be interesting to know how it really worked. What it used to access the power, if it needed something, or not. How much it was able to influence or direct the effects of its ability. Its actions didn't hint at any strategic planing of some sorts, so I guess that it was more instinctive, but to know for sure I would have needed more time to observe and judge its actions."

Shrugging she looked away from the mass of flesh. "There is always the chance to find another one. Do you still need the body? Otherwise I'd get rid of it and the stench as well."

Her eyes returned to the animal. "But if it really was something like on that group of islands, we have to expect to meet other creatures that mimic abilities."

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Karin sighed in agreement. "Yeah, quite a pity," she said in a deadpan tone, "especially since I'm the one who will have to tell the others in my department we found this thing and killed it." She walked over to the corpse, rummaging around in her backpack. "One sec," she said, "I'll get some tissue samples, that way I can at least avoid getting lynched when I return." Kneeling down she took a small device out of her pack, opening it up she dropped a small piece of meat into it and pressed a small button on the side to active it, the cooling systems preventing the tissue from decaying. She repeated it with a few more canisters, taking some brain tissue and blood samples. Putting them back in her back she nodded to Althea and stepped back. "Done," she said. "If they want more they can just clone the freaking thing for all I care."

Waiting for Althea to do her thing she thought about her comment, the fact that they could encounter more of these creatures. "I wonder what kind of abilities they'll have," she noted. "This thing had a form of mental ability, I wonder if the others will have the same. I mean, mental abilities would require less energy, right?" She suddenly started smiling. "Well, at least this is going to be interesting," she said happily. "I mean, if this is just the first thing we encounter, just think about what else could be down here."

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1 minute ago, kenod said:

Waiting for Althea to do her thing she thought about her comment, the fact that they could encounter more of these creatures. "I wonder what kind of abilities they'll have," she noted. "This thing had a form of mental ability, I wonder if the others will have the same. I mean, mental abilities would require less energy, right?" She suddenly started smiling. "Well, at least this is going to be interesting," she said happily. "I mean, if this is just the first thing we encounter, just think about what else could be down here."

Althea waited until Karin was finished, then she inhaled, the familiar storm inside of her like a home she returned to. She remembered the man and his magical horse, how he had used huge, elaborate gestures to market his horse, and to signal it was well. Magic, real magic, no matter what you called it, didn't neccessarily call for huge gestures. They might be helpful to warn somebody that you were about to do something, but in the end she herself rarely never needed them. Althea looked up, considered which substance had the least potential to harm those around. Then she simply touched her mind to the spren, offered it some stormlight and the meat changed within the blink of an eye, turned into clear water, falling to the ground in a loud rush most of it flowing back into the pool, the rest leaving a huge puddle on the ground.

"I agree." She nearly smiled at Karin's happiness. She enjoyed to talk to her, to discuss possibilities and to rule them out. It felt good to think about something else but politics, or her daily work. The ideas bounced of each other, were so different from what waited for her above ground that she felt herself relax further. The expedition was harmless, but it was like an open door to a store full of sweets and nobody was there to stop here from eating as much as she wanted. "We should try to capture whatever we find next, try to study it. Especially if its as interesting as this creature was."

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6 minutes ago, Sorana said:

Althea waited until Karin was finished, then she inhaled, the familiar storm inside of her like a home she returned to. She remembered the man and his magical horse, how he had used huge, elaborate gestures to market his horse, and to signal it was well. Magic, real magic, no matter what you called it, didn't neccessarily call for huge gestures. They might be helpful to warn somebody that you were about to do something, but in the end she herself rarely never needed them. Althea looked up, considered which substance had the least potential to harm those around. Then she simply touched her mind to the spren, offered it some stormlight and the meat changed within the blink of an eye, turned into clear water, falling to the ground in a loud rush most of it flowing back into the pool, the rest leaving a huge puddle on the ground.

"I agree." She nearly smiled at Karin's happiness. She enjoyed to talk to her, to discuss possibilities and to rule them out. It felt good to think about something else but politics, or her daily work. The ideas bounced of each other, were so different from what waited for her above ground that she felt herself relax further. The expedition was harmless, but it was like an open door to a store full of sweets and nobody was there to stop here from eating as much as she wanted. "We should try to capture whatever we find next, try to study it. Especially if its as interesting as this creature was."

Karin nodded. "You can use your ability to make cages, right?" She asked. "Could we use that? It might not work on everything, but it could work for the larger stuff." She scratched her head. "I could try sedatives, I've got some stuff in my bag that could work, and I can make them myself as well, but dosages might cause trouble, and I prefer to avoid accidental allergic reactions."

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Sarah stood, shaken, several feet removed from the rest of the group. The adrenaline from the fight had faded, and she was left with a corpse and the conspicuous absence of many of her coworkers. Someone- Sarah had never gotten her name- had explained to her how Karin had survived, but Sarah had hardly understood half of the words used. Clearly she had much more to learn about this place than she had thought. 

She turned away, shuddering, as Karin began to eat the worm. Most people were deep in conversation, and so she hefted her pack and wandered to the far side of the cavern, running her finger along the wall. No one seemed to object, so after a moment she sat down and began to carefully draw her map, including a small symbol to show the presence of at least one giant worm. This thing needs a name, she thought to herself. Glow-worm? No, I think that's already a thing. Um. A Soothworm. A Still Water Worm. Her train of thought was cut off when, across the cave, the worm's corpse suddenly vanished, a wave of water appearing in its place. She stood up and began to jog over, nervous. Was that the worm's doing? No one else seemed concerned, though, and so she stood awkwardly for a moment. She wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to be doing; when she had applied for a job, she had expected much more ordering about. Instead, no one really seemed to care what she did. She bounced on her heels for a minute, then hesitantly walked up to Director Stancel, who was clearly in charge. "Um, excuse me," she said, "But is there something I'm supposed to do? Like mapping the caverns or something?" 

@ZincAboutIt

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52 minutes ago, kenod said:

Karin nodded. "You can use your ability to make cages, right?" She asked. "Could we use that? It might not work on everything, but it could work for the larger stuff." She scratched her head. "I could try sedatives, I've got some stuff in my bag that could work, and I can make them myself as well, but dosages might cause trouble, and I prefer to avoid accidental allergic reactions."

"Of course." Althea noted the woman who had asked about Karin's survival walk away without a word of goodbye. Impolite. To ask a question, and not even show that you heard the answer.

"I can trap them easily, but it depends a bit on the size and on their bodily abilities. The smaller the easier, until we reach a size that is best kept in a box with a tightly closed lid. With the huge ones, there will be a point where a simple prison isn't enough anymore and we might need to resort to a sedative as well. To trap something like this worm for a longer period of time, without blocking or hindering our path is difficult." She considered the size and the force of the worm as well. "And for a creature like the worm we would most likely need a prison with sufficient water and thick walls. I think we should decide based on the creature we encounter how to best catch them."

Hopefully they would meet another one using some kind of Investiture. That was the part which interested her most of all.

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