Into the Dark

[Voidus]

Whisper nodded a little more overtly than was necessary, raising her pen into the air and beginning to use it to write directly onto the air as she'd been doing earlier, leaving a glowing line in its wake. As she wrote she paused every now and then, considering the next word she was writing, and as she paused she twisted the pen subtly, shifting its grip around and giving small, discreet spins to it.

"I thought they might be helpful to study for making an antidote in case we found any more." She wrote in the air.
I move around a bit as well. She signed in between. Started off as a subject for R&D, mostly Intelligence work these days.

Her eyes flashed across the rest of the cavern, looking for Karin before finding her figure. She was certainly noticeable, even without the similarities in appearance to Aylitha, though of course there likely weren't many people who would be able to realize that particular connection. Corette was right that she wasn't exactly hiding her affiliations, which meant she wasn't likely to be here on any sort of subterfuge missions, was she also here purely out of personal interest? It would make things a lot easier if she didn't have to be cautious of messing up the plans of either Corette or Karin.

"Maybe one of the sciencey people could use it?" She continued writing.
Well it helps to have some people around who conform to the archetype that people expect from the DA, easier to remain hidden when everyone thinks we're all immortals with tentacle arms. She signed. Less people suspect the poor little orphan girl or the young boy trying to sell flowers, makes it much easier to stab them if you need to.

She relaxed herself a little now that they were both on the same page, but she still kept a close eye on Corette's reactions. Alleycant had never been openly compromised that Whisper knew of, at least not on any kind of large scale. But even so, it wasn't enough to confirm that someone was in the DA. And even if it were, that didn't make them all allies, there were too many different motives and goals for denizens, the lack of rigid rules and oversight meant a freedom that many enjoyed, but it also meant they were less closely allied than some in the other guilds were.

It'll probably be 'Wes' for the rest of this trip but you can call me Whisper if you'd like. She signed again.

There was little risk in revealing that she'd used an alias, Corette had likely assumed as much as soon as she'd noticed that Whisper was a Lightweaver. And if she wasn't part of the DA, or if she was but still tried to expose Whisper then knowing that name wouldn't help or change what she had to do.

If the secret of 'Wes' was about to be revealed then all it would take is one spike where no one could see it, one more secret. And Whisper did so love secrets.
@ZincAboutIt

[kenod]

2 hours ago, Sorana said:

Brashen returned to her side, taking his usual place on her shoulder, mostly vanishing from sight. Althea gratefully touched the spot where he was, knew that he would have told her, if the two left behind needed support in some way.

In front of her the little animal observed them for a while, but when they didn't act, or come closer it started to nibble at the bread. "I agree." She observed it for a while longer, then turned the remaining bread into a piece of apple. The animal flinched back slightly before the change, afterwards it only to slowly returned to the food. It had sensed the moment she had reached for her stormlight Althea realized and watched it sniff the apple suspiciously.

"We should search the forest as well," she added, "it seems likely that it hosts other living forms and might hint at the biome in total." Pensively she looked around. "This is the second species with some kind of innate investiture and it's highly different from the first one we encountered. We'd need to check their DNA to be sure, but there is a large chance that they aren't related. That fact sparks the question why and how these abilities were evolved, or if this evolution was started artificially at one point. There is a high chance, that its just a consequence of them living here in the Alleyverse. If its the last reason, then it would be interesting to see if other types of Investiture are mimiced as well. I suggest we take it with us over to the forest and try to find more clues about its habitat in general."

Getting up she streched her back. "As for a name, maybe we should figure its sex out, or go with something universal."

Karin gave Althea a confused look. "It has innate investure?" She asked. "Huh, didn't notice that. What is it?" She watched as it started to eat the apple, and then sent in a number of thin feelers into the cage. The animal immediately noticed, looking upwards, though it didn't move, looking somewhat confused. Quickly the feelers snatched a couple of its hairs. Retrieving them Karin put them in one of her containers, labeling it as 'Kalea'. That would take care of the DNA samples.

Remembering something she cut the top part of one of the hairs, absorbing it instead. For a minute she closed her eyes, focusing. This was a trick she had only learned recently, and one she didn't really understand yet. Still, it could be useful. Taking a bit of flesh from the Soother Worm container she absorbed that too. "The DNA is rather different," she reported eventually. "I'm not good enough at this to give you any specific points of difference, or give you a genetic sequence, but I can tell you that the two strands have little in common, somewhere in between the difference between a dolphin and a rat and the difference between a reptile and a rat I think, though there seem to be some commonalities as well, possibly what encodes their ability to use investure?" She shook her head. "Ugh, I need a full sequencer for this, and the department's databases," she complained, "not some improvised trick."

[+ZincAboutIt]

“I’m sure the sciencey people will be well pleased,” Corette answered, making a few more notes on her notepad and giving Whisper a warm smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Whisper, she thought. A good name, and apt for this little slip of a thing with her Lightweaving. Corette could tell she was about as harmless as a live adder, no matter how young she was under that Stormlight. The girl was right about Karin - it was rather convenient to have someone so obviously alien around to represent the Dark Alley. It made things far easier for people like Corette and Whisper.

Your secret is safe with me, Corette signed between bullet-points. I’m not here to blow your cover. I’ll stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine, and I’d say we could have a nice working relationship. As I said, I’m largely here of my own accord. See interesting things, meet interesting people. It’s not every day you get to be one of the first to see something - even in the Alleys. 

She’d racked up quite a bit of vacation time this last year, and old Matthieu owed her a favor besides. He’d given her a nice chunk of free reign and told her to bring him back “something nice.” So far, Corette hadn’t found something worth his time - but then, immortality tended to leave a person jaded. She was confident she’d find something, or someone, to present to him eventually. For now, Corette was her own woman. No one to follow, no one to Seek, no one to stab neatly through the heart unless she wished it. And she might. But it was up to her.

”I’m going to take another loop through the cave,” Corette declared aloud. 

Your business is your own, and I won’t tread on your toes. Though perhaps if you’re looking to stab someone in their sleep, I’d request you choose me last. I’ll extend you the same courtesy, of course.

Corette winked, then made one more notation. Oh, and leave Lord Coinshot to me. I have a feeling he could be quite useful.

Though whether or not he’d be coming back with her in body or in...’spirit,’ would depend on the rest of this expedition.

@Voidus

Edited October 20, 2019 by ZincAboutIt
Changed last bit of Alleycant to private musing. Made more sense for character.

[+ElephantEarwax]

is Sitting in his improvised camp, Adren removes Jethro from the hook on his pack and examines him in the golden light of the stones. The blade in perfect condition, not a scuff or a scratch along the surface.

Speaking aloud to the cleaver and the earring, "What do you think about the people we are with?"
"Everyone here knows a lot more than they let on. That is for certain."
"That is always true."
"Some of the other dark alley members are more violent than you. You should go talk to them. They seem really cool."
"I will sometime. Then you can learn how violent they are."
"Yay, I love that. New violence is great."

[Voidus]

Corette seemed likely to keep to her own business, and strangely Whisper trusted that she'd keep to her word on these agreements. Such gut feelings weren't something she experienced too often, particularly any that told her to trust someone, but they were usually accurate. Whisper gave another short nod, beginning to tuck the vial back into a pocket and giving the pen in her other hand one more flourish.

Agreed. I hope you'll ignore any strange Lightweaving you might notice and I'll leave his lordship to you then. Have fun.

And with that the 'pen' was tucked away once more. She gave a quick little wave to Corette before taking a few steps back and turning and walking away. She was mildly curious about what exactly Corette had planned for Rigex, was it simply personal interest? Or something deeper? The question brought about another subtle smile, as she'd promised, Whisper wouldn't go digging any more to find out. Corette could attend to her own business, Whisper was just happy that there was one more secret in the world.

She began looking around, weaving through the other scouts in search of interesting conversation, stopping now and then to offer a hand when she could. Karin and Althea were together it seemed, crouching over some kind of cage. More local wildlife? If they hadn't called anyone over then it likely wasn't dangerous, which didn't necessarily mean it was boring either but not exactly what Whisper was interested in. She was more interested in people than creatures.

As she turned away from them she gave a subtle roll to her shoulders, preparing herself to get to work. With the local Seeker now addressed she didn't need to be as cautious about using her abilities, there was that Mistborn still but she seemed too inexperienced to be able to pick up on non-Scadrian magics, let alone differentiate them. Besides, all she was doing for the moment was prep work, nothing too problematic yet. But if her later work was going to be effective it would help if people were already a little on edge, and interrupting people when they were trying to rest would go a long way to achieving that.

She continued walking in amongst people, making a second pass through the little groups that had begun to form. But this time she stopped every now and then, forcing tiny little bits of Stormlight out into the air, little enough that the glow wasn't noticeable amidst the other light sources in the cavern. A few seconds after she paused at each stop a faint noise could be heard, not enough to draw attention, barely enough to even notice. Just the faint sound of a breeze with no wind, a quiet crack as though from a stick that had been stepped on, indiscernible words carried on the wind.

Whisper caught one or two people looking about confused for a second before resuming their previous conversations. None of the sounds were enough to cause any alarm, they were all simply there to create a slight sense of unease and discomfort. A moment of confusion that people couldn't quite place, leading them just a little closer to suspicion and fear. Let Mistborn throw coins at each other and Radiants hack their enemies with enormous blades, let the spies use their tin to listen to secrets and the Soothers try to use those secrets to bring others down. She enjoyed her own methods, her own weapons. Subtlety was best, subtlety and cleverness could defeat any number of enemies, or if you were particularly good, could bring those enemies to your side. Sometimes all it took was a tiny little whisper.

[I ♥️ Rashek]

9 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

“I wonder what would happen if an Allomancer ingested a magnetically charged metal,” he said, stepping out of his hiding spot, waving slightly to Rig and Allri.

“H-hello. I’m Wes. I thought I’d just walk a little ahead, then I found you guys training.”

Allri waved back. "Hi, I'm Allri."

She recognized Wes, of course. He'd helped her calm down after the worm fight, showing her that she wasn't the only one scared of the Alleyverse's dangers. He looked a little nervous now, but after what had happened today, she felt a bit of that too. Instead of focusing on that, she thought about Wes. He was smart-he didn't just know things, he was able to put the pieces together and actually use his knowledge. If his improvised bomb hadn't shown that, his question now definitely did. As a Mistborn, Allri had never thought about magnetic charges, though some parts of Allomancy worked almost the same way. Even if burning magnets didn't change anything, it was a very logical thing to try.

"I've never tried burning a magnet, but I'll let you know how it goes once we go back up." She Pulled the remaining coins to her-just like a magnet-and returned them to Rig.

Another idea came to her, and she smiled. "Also, we were just finishing up the training. I'm free now-do you want to explore the cave together?"

@I think I am here.

 

[I think I am here.]

48 minutes ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Another idea came to her, and she smiled. "Also, we were just finishing up the training. I'm free now-do you want to explore the cave together?"

Wes hesitated, looking back towards the other people who were a little further back. Was he even allowed to venture off exploring?

Looking back to Allri he walked a little forward. It felt not be hiding anymore, to be in the open.

“Sure,” he said, smiling slightly. “Though, if we encounter anything like that worm, I don’t know if I’ll be of much use.”

[+Sorana]

11 hours ago, kenod said:

Remembering something she cut the top part of one of the hairs, absorbing it instead. For a minute she closed her eyes, focusing. This was a trick she had only learned recently, and one she didn't really understand yet. Still, it could be useful. Taking a bit of flesh from the Soother Worm container she absorbed that too. "The DNA is rather different," she reported eventually. "I'm not good enough at this to give you any specific points of difference, or give you a genetic sequence, but I can tell you that the two strands have little in common, somewhere in between the difference between a dolphin and a rat and the difference between a reptile and a rat I think, though there seem to be some commonalities as well, possibly what encodes their ability to use investure?" She shook her head. "Ugh, I need a full sequencer for this, and the department's databases," she complained, "not some improvised trick."

"It's something like a seeker, I think?" Althea lufted another sphere watched as the Kalea reacted to it. "It reacted to me inhaling stornlight, before there are any visible effects." She explained and pointed at the animal following the sphere around.

She depleted the sphere by adding a handle to the prison and picked the Kalea up. Karin's ability with DNA was impressive. Fitting, given her shape changing, but impressive none-the-less.

"Let's take a look at the forest?"

[I ♥️ Rashek]

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

“Sure,” he said, smiling slightly. “Though, if we encounter anything like that worm, I don’t know if I’ll be of much use.”

Now that was something Allri didn't want to think about-one worm a day was more than enough. Fortunately, this cavern seemed safe so far.

She tried to keep it light. "Don't worry about it, fighting isn't everything. I know the first two caves tried to kill us, but I have a good feeling about this one. Third time's the charm, right?"

She walked over to Wes, noticing how the light spread through the mist to brighten his face evenly. Another reminder of how strange this new world was. "How did you end up here?"

[+ZincAboutIt]

Corette watched Whisper for another few minutes before she, too, went her own way. The girl seemed at once whimsical and ruthless, that odd blend of boundless curiosity and cruelty that often went together in the Alleys. Whatever her motivations were, Corette was relatively sure Whisper would largely keep her out of them, which was good. Her mention of "strange Lightweaving" certainly piqued her interest, but Corette made a point of funneling that curiosity elsewhere. If Corette wanted her own space to work, she'd need to give Whisper the same courtesy. And while Corette wouldn't exactly trust Whisper, she trusted their agreement. Distrust was hardly something new to Corette - indeed, it came in quite handy. Kept you alive. And it was so much harder to discover new and fascinating things when you were dead.

She kept her Bronze on a light burn, watching, listening, feeling the world around her. It swelled and moved and sang through her spirit, an ocean of sensation, and Corette was the sleek prow of a corsair slicing through it all. This was at the heart of Seeking: first, you had to know that there was something out there to find in the first place. Corette grinned, glorying in the knowledge that there would always be more for her to chase after, to hunt, to ensnare. No matter how hungry she got, there would always be more. Some people would find that disheartening; to Corette, it was a benediction.

Around her, the scouting party had begun to fragment along a few lines, separating into smaller groups. Althea and Karin cooed over a small creature in a glass case, speaking about DNA, biomes, other species. Allri had finished her training for the moment and had gravitated towards Wes, possibly due to age, possibly something else. The boy seemed remarkably nervous, though he had yet to crack under the strain of the unknown. Still others wandered alone, rather like Corette herself: the lost Epic, Eos, Myriad, the strange young woman with the echoing Investiture, and Adren, who had settled down further into the forest to set up camp. Rig was somewhere amongst the trees too, though she couldn't see him. Probably fussing over that coat. 

Corette moved through and around the others, slipping back into the thick mist of the petrified forest and flicking off her headlamp. The warm golden glow of the stones gave enough light to see by anyway - more light would only limit her field of vision and reflect off the mist. Alone in the damp heat, Corette's posture began to subtly shift, her old training coming to the fore. No longer was she a Scout Leader, she was just Corette, the fluttering and silent edge of shadow in the night, the watchful eyes and steady hands that were recruited years before. Her steps became softer, quieter, her breathing lower and more steady. As she moved upwards with the gently-sloping cavern floor, she left the flooded zone and truly disappeared into the world around her. She tapped some breath, drawing only a shallow sip of air every now and again, ears poised to catch the slightest sound. Corette was no Tineye, but sometimes too much sensation could be a hindrance. Without her breathing in her own ears, her hearing sharpened. It was almost as if she were a spirit, floating through the mist - a true little mistwraith, come to steal a soul.

The air began to cool as she moved further from the hot springs, and with that distance the mist dissipated again. The stone trunks of trees also began to thin, until the old forest was behind her. Reluctantly, Corette turned her headlamp on again; as much as she enjoyed stepping unnoticed, the last thing she wanted was to break her ankle in a crevasse.

"Pride will kill you, if you let it." That had been one of Matthieu's first lessons, all those years ago. She could still hear his gravelly, rasping voice as though he were standing right beside her. "You can be cocky as a god the day you become a god, and not a moment before."

Corette smiled at the memory; it was rare that she saw the old Inquisitor these days. His duties as the Head of Acquisitions weighed more and more on his time and his body, though he'd never say it aloud. He had never looked older than fifty to her, but Corette could hear the age in the way he spoke, the way he breathed. Eventually, he'd probably die, and Corette imagined she'd be rather sad about that - he was terribly interesting, after all, and interesting people were so rare. Shame to lose one.

Something loomed over her in the darkness up ahead, and Corette tilted her head upwards to try and catch some of it in the beam of her headlamp. The white light sliced up over deep black stone of the kind that made up the rest of these tunnels and caves. The cavern wall. It seemed she'd reached an edge, she'd have to --

Corette froze as the beam of her light caught a flash of color, and she turned her head back towards it, thinking she might have missed some vein of metal, or a new kind of fungus. Instead, the light illuminated a figure - a human figure, painted onto the dark stone in white strokes. That's right, Corette recalled, Stancel mentioned cave paintings. Grinning, she stepped closer, inspecting the figure. It was tall, and gave the impression of a man wearing a robe of some kind with the ends dyed blue and violet. The image of a flame rested in the center of his chest, and he held one hand outstretched, palm facing away as though pushing on something. Three small circles hovered before his hand. A Coinshot? In a cave painting?

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she moved closer, realizing now that it wasn't a robe, it was a coat. A coat with the ends cut into long tassels. A mistcoat. Rig's mistcoat. As she looked, she could see two small lines of color streaked above the man's face, where his hair would be. One blue. One purple. Rig, for it could be no one else, stood beside the skeletal form of a tree that looked very similar to the ones in this very cavern, shooting coins. Corette had seen him do just that not an hour ago. But this painting was here at least a month ago. How?

Fear moved through her then, and it wasn't the bright, sharp terror of imminent danger. This was a subtler fear, deeper and more troubling. It was the sort of fear that Corette had trained herself to accept, to crave, to love. She told herself as much, forcing herself to move back slowly, to illuminate more of the wall. Other figures resolved themselves, arrayed around this cavern as they were now. There, Allri Steelpushing her own coins through more shadows of trees; here, a tall woman who could only be Eos with her flame-red hair, hands wreathed in aurora; and there, creeping beneath the branches of two trees, the form of a small woman holding a long dagger in one hand, so thin and sharp it might as well have been a spike. A slender silver ring lay around the woman's throat, and two smaller ones encircled her upper arms. Corette herself, of course.

"Never run from fear, Corette," Matthieu would say. "Embrace it. Envelop yourself within it. Fear is the herald of a true secret. If you listen closely, your fear will lead you to knowledge you never thought possible."

Corette kept her breathing even and measured as she walked back through the forest, back down the sloping hill, back into the golden glow of the stones. There had been far more paint on the wall than she could see - far more. But she had seen enough to know that this was something different, something new. Knowledge they never thought possible. Part of her wanted to keep this to herself, but she wasn't stupid. This level of prophecy was legendary even to her. This wasn't some vague correlation or coincidence. Somehow, before they even knew they'd be thrown together, someone in this cavern had predicted their future.

When she reached sight of the group, Corette felt a slight knot of tension ease from between her shoulder blades. The whispers of a flush covered her cheeks in embarrassment; how long had it been since she'd been scared to be alone? She shook it off, moving first to Rig, then to Althea and Karin. The three most visible "leaders," besides herself. She kept her voice even and soft, careful not to draw alarm, and she told them all the same thing.

"I found the cave paintings Stancel mentioned over on the far cavern wall. I have a feeling you'll want to see them. Immediately."

@Sorana @kenod @TrailRunnin @anyone else 

Quote

Shard won't let me tag  Anyone who wants to follow the group or overhear or whatever, feel free. I'm signing off for the night!

 

[+Sorana]

4 hours ago, ZincAboutIt said:

"I found the cave paintings Stancel mentioned over on the far cavern wall. I have a feeling you'll want to see them. Immediately."

The Kalea turned away from them, tail twitching as it moved towards a corner of its cage, for the first time showing an obvious sign of fear. Althea turned and saw Corette walking towards them. Interesting. She lifted the cage up and lokked the tiny woman over.

"Are you actively using investiture?" She asked directly, curious to see if the woman would answer at all. Corette had no way to know about the Kalea's abilities and Althea decided to keep the little one. She would catch a second one for Karin to take with her. But if Corette was actively using investiture, then this might be a hint regarding a predator. It depended on the type of Investiture Corette used.

Listening to Corette adress the paintings, the urgency in her voice alerted her. Corette was arrogant, acted as if the world was her own. Urgency, alarm weren't part of her usual expressions. "Of course." She agreed calmly, as usual hiding every hint at her emotions behind a carefully crafted mask. Immediatly. It sounded bad. And incredibly interesting.

[That Violin Guy]

On 10/19/2019 at 9:15 AM, Rushu42 said:

Sarah watched the creature leave, then turned back to Fasi. "Well, I'm not leaving you alone up here, and I want to see what the source of that glow is." She retrieved her rope from her bag and began dexterously tying it around the protrusion of rock. She kicked the other end down, and listened to it splash at the bottom. "I'll go first, just to be safe."

Sarah carefully scrambled over the edge, both hands holding tight to the line. After a few moments, the sloshing of boots in water indicated her descent. "Your turn," came the call, echoing from the depths. 

Beneath, Sarah stared in awe at the thundering waterfall that cascaded over glowing rocks. The rippling patterns of light seemed something out of another world- which, she had to keep reminding herself, they were. Past it, she could see the dark outlines of huge rocks, almost shaped like trees. Between them moved the figures of the other scouts. Sarah grinned.

@Oduim’s Chmapion

Fasi sighed and followed Sarah down the rope.

[I think I am here.]

11 hours ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

She walked over to Wes, noticing how the light spread through the mist to brighten his face evenly. Another reminder of how strange this new world was. "How did you end up here?"

“As in, this world?” Wes asked, sitting down on a large rock behind him.

“I was born into it. Like most people. It’s only occasionally you get some worldhoppers discovering this place, and rarer still, someone who’s never seen a planet before just appearing, like Rig.” Was it fine just calling him ‘Rig’? Or was that disrespectful? Rig was, after all, his scout leader. Looking back to Allri he continued.

“Dad left, mom died in childbirth. The standard, really. I was raised in the Ghostblood dormitories along with countless other kids. Strict routines. Harsh consequences. And occasionally someone disappearing even if they did everything right, just for the fun of it.” He extended his hands outwards.

“And now I’m here, I guess. In this cave. Sorry, too much information probably.”

[kenod]

12 hours ago, Sorana said:

"It's something like a seeker, I think?" Althea lufted another sphere watched as the Kalea reacted to it. "It reacted to me inhaling stornlight, before there are any visible effects." She explained and pointed at the animal following the sphere around.

She depleted the sphere by adding a handle to the prison and picked the Kalea up. Karin's ability with DNA was impressive. Fitting, given her shape changing, but impressive none-the-less.

"Let's take a look at the forest?"

Karin nodded. A Seeker. That would make sense given some of the other wildlife found, as well it had been interested in her hand, but would also indicate that there were other lifeforms with Investure living here. She wondered what else was around. Looking around she could see some insects skittering over the ground, but she hadn't seen anything else yet. Still, Althea's suggestion of looking in the forest seemed smart. If there was anything around that would be the likeliest place for it to hide. Besides, it seemed as if there was a hot water source down there, and she had always wanted to try a bath in a hot spring.

Just at that moment Corette came towards them, looking like something important had happened. So far for my bath, she thought as Corette started talking about cave paintings. "Uh, sure," she answered, wondering what about them could have gotten Corette so alarmed.

[Rushu42]

2 hours ago, Oduim’s Chmapion said:

Fasi sighed and followed Sarah down the rope.

Glancing back to be sure Fasi followed, Sarah led the way into the larger cavern. She could see the employees separated into groups, conversing, between large stone trees. Huh, she thought. Did someone carve those, or are they natural? Drifting through the air was a warm steam. It reminded Sarah of Scadrial, and she felt a brief pang of homesickness. This was banished by curiosity pretty quickly, and she hastened her step forward. 

Sarah wondered if she should tell the Scout Leaders about Fasi. She didn't want to get the girl in trouble, or anything, but it seemed that it would be more dangerous for her to follow alone. Seeing Corette talking with a group of people, Sarah approached. "Excuse me, Scout Leader?"

@ZincAboutIt@Anyone else over there

[That Violin Guy]

27 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

Glancing back to be sure Fasi followed, Sarah led the way into the larger cavern. She could see the employees separated into groups, conversing, between large stone trees. Huh, she thought. Did someone carve those, or are they natural? Drifting through the air was a warm steam. It reminded Sarah of Scadrial, and she felt a brief pang of homesickness. This was banished by curiosity pretty quickly, and she hastened her step forward. 

Sarah wondered if she should tell the Scout Leaders about Fasi. She didn't want to get the girl in trouble, or anything, but it seemed that it would be more dangerous for her to follow alone. Seeing Corette talking with a group of people, Sarah approached. "Excuse me, Scout Leader?"

@ZincAboutIt@Anyone else over there

Fasi dropped to the ground. Holding a piece of chalk in each hand and staying low to the ground she followed Sarah the group. 

[+ZincAboutIt]

53 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

"Excuse me, Scout Leader?"

Corette was about to lead Althea and Karin back towards the cave paintings when a new voice broke her concentration. She turned, flicking her blue eyes over the Bendalloy misting, then alighting on someone else - someone new. The girl looked oddly familiar; she must have been at the general ACE meeting, though Corette couldn't recall seeing her down in the initial cavern. Had she sneaked along with them the whole time?

Curiosity warred with her urgency over the mural, and she let it win for a moment. Addressing this seemed more pressing; the cave paintings would likely stay where they were for a few more minutes.

"Another stray?" Corette asked, keeping her voice soft but making sure to add a little edge. Though she spoke to Sarah, her eyes lingered on the new girl, listening to the pulses rippling out from where she stood. They were light, whispering things, like the soft scrape of someone sketching. Rithmatists were rare, though the chalk in the girl's hands seemed to verify Corette's initial impression.

"Well, now that we're all together, I think a proper introduction is in order." 

@Oduim’s Chmapion

[+Sorana]

"A Rithmatist." Brashen told Althea and waved at Sarah and Fasi from his place on her shoulder. "The one behind Sarah." He clarified and added almost as afterthought: "Tried to shoot me with one of his lines. As if that would work." He kept his voice quiet, so that only Althea could hear him and gave a slight incline of her head to indicate that she'd heard him.

"You managed to catch up." Althea looked Sarah over, she seemed alright, and then turned her attention to the Rithmatist. "I agree with Corette, in this regard. I think we should introduce ourselves."

She'd seen her before, but she hadn't taken the elevator down with them, so she had followed in secret. Whatever her reasons for that, now she was here and she'd have to keep an eye on her. Who knew what she was up to.

@Oduim’s Chmapion

@Rushu42

[That Violin Guy]

26 minutes ago, Sorana said:

"A Rithmatist." Brashen told Althea and waved at Sarah and Fasi from his place on her shoulder. "The one behind Sarah." He clarified and added almost as afterthought: "Tried to shoot me with one of his lines. As if that would work." He kept his voice quiet, so that only Althea could hear him and gave a slight incline of her head to indicate that she'd heard him.

"You managed to catch up." Althea looked Sarah over, she seemed alright, and then turned her attention to the Rithmatist. "I agree with Corette, in this regard. I think we should introduce ourselves."

She'd seen her before, but she hadn't taken the elevator down with them, so she had followed in secret. Whatever her reasons for that, now she was here and she'd have to keep an eye on her. Who knew what she was up to.

@Oduim’s Chmapion

@Rushu42

Fasi looked at the woman. "My name is Fasi Stem." She said almost imperceptibly. "And do you have a stormlight infused gem?"

Edited October 21, 2019 by Oduim’s Chmapion

[Rushu42]

"She was at the meeting," Sarah broke in. "She's been following us. I figured it was better to tell you." Sarah shot an apologetic look Fasi's way. It did feel rather like tattling, but what else should she do?

@Oduim’s Chmapion @ZincAboutIt @Sorana

[kenod]

Karin took a closer look at the new girl, and recognized her from the meeting and sighed. So she did end up sneaking after them. "Ah, well, it isn't like it's illegal," she said with a shrug. "Just stupid, brash, reckless, and possibly mildly suicidal." Holding a hand to her head she looked around at the others. "Of course," she said, "that raises the question of what to do with her now. I mean, she was rejected for the team by ACE, but we can't really have her wandering around here on her own either. Or well, I guess we can, but it'll probably end badly."

[That Violin Guy]

1 hour ago, kenod said:

Karin took a closer look at the new girl, and recognized her from the meeting and sighed. So she did end up sneaking after them. "Ah, well, it isn't like it's illegal," she said with a shrug. "Just stupid, brash, reckless, and possibly mildly suicidal." Holding a hand to her head she looked around at the others. "Of course," she said, "that raises the question of what to do with her now. I mean, she was rejected for the team by ACE, but we can't really have her wandering around here on her own either. Or well, I guess we can, but it'll probably end badly."

Fasi looked at the woman. Quicky she drew a Line of Revocation toword the nearest rock. It hit and blasted it to pieces. "I can take care of myself," she said. "And does anyone have a stormlight infused gem?" 

[+ZincAboutIt]

2 hours ago, Oduim’s Chmapion said:

Fasi looked at the woman. Quicky she drew a Line of Revocation toword the nearest rock. It hit and blasted it to pieces. "I can take care of myself," she said. "And does anyone have a stormlight infused gem?" 

Corette raised a brow at the girl.

"I thought you could take care of yourself," she said, looking at the shattered stone with minor amusement. "If you had been in the scouting party proper, you'd have recalled that I told everyone to bring their own Investiture sources. As it is, you're not an official member of ACE, which means you're not my problem."

She cast an irritated glance back into the misty trees. Ruin you twice, Rig, where are you? He drinks my whiskey, he drops me in the water, he leaves me to deal with rogue teenagers...

Corette gave a small sigh, then looked back towards Fasi. "Stancel will figure out what to do with you when she gets here, which should be soon. The main group is moving this way. Till then, stay out of trouble. Maybe one of the others has a spare sphere for you." 

She shrugged once, then made a mental note to keep her Bronze on alert for the girl's signatures. Wouldn't do to have her snooping about where she ought not go.

Karin and Althea still stood nearby, looking to Corette expectantly. Corette nodded her head towards the far cavern wall, where the cave painting waited. "Shall we?"

Trusting the others to follow, Corette began to move into the misted trees.

@kenod @Sorana @Rushu42 

Edited October 22, 2019 by ZincAboutIt
a word

[That Violin Guy]

30 minutes ago, ZincAboutIt said:

Corette raised a brow at the girl.

"I thought you could take care of yourself," she said, looking at the shattered stone with minor amusement. "If you had been in the scouting party proper, you'd have recalled that I told everyone to bring their own Investiture sources. As it is, you're not an official member of ACE, which means you're not my problem."

She cast an irritated glance back into the misty trees. Ruin you twice, Rig, where are you? He drinks my whiskey, he drops me in the water, he leaves me to deal with rogue teenagers...

Corette gave a small sigh, then looked back towards Fasi. "Stancel will figure out what to do with you when she gets here, which should be soon. The main group is moving this way. Till then, stay out of trouble. Maybe one of the others has a spare sphere for you." 

She shrugged once, then made a mental note to keep her Bronze on alert for the girl's signatures. Wouldn't do to have her snooping about where she ought not go.

Karin and Althea still stood nearby, looking to Corette with expectant curiosity. Corette nodded her head towards the far cavern wall, where the cave painting waited. "Shall we?"

Trusting the others to follow, Corette began to move into the misted trees.

@kenod @Sorana @Rushu42 

Fasi glared at the woman. "I can take care of myself," She said. "I wouldent want to be your problem anyway. The last people who were your problem vanished and are probably dead. And I did bring my own sources." Fasi gestured toward the glowing pouch at her waist. "However I ran out of one." 

[+ElephantEarwax]

Putting his things in top of his bag and grabbing Jethro, Adren strode over to the group gathering around cave paintings, with a new person. 

Calling to the new member as he walked up, "How'd those mushrooms treat you?" 

@Oduim’s Chmapion