Into the Dark

[That Violin Guy]

Fasi looked on amazed. She turned to Sarah. "What do you think will happen if I shoot it?"

@Rushu42

[Rushu42]

2 minutes ago, Oduim’s Chmapion said:

Fasi looked on amazed. She turned to Sarah. "What do you think will happen if I shoot it?"

@Rushu42

"I would guess something similar," was her reply. "Unless your chalk does something other than break the stone. What if you tried writing on it?"

[That Violin Guy]

1 minute ago, Rushu42 said:

"I would guess something similar," was her reply. "Unless your chalk does something other than break the stone. What if you tried writing on it?"

"Perhaps," Fasi mused. "Or..." She trailed off. She pulled out a piece of green chalk and drew a dog chalkling. The moment she was done it puffed into dust. Fasi stared in disbelife at where it had been. 

@Rushu42 @Sorana @ZincAboutIt

[+Sorana]

47 minutes ago, Oduim’s Chmapion said:

"Perhaps," Fasi mused. "Or..." She trailed off. She pulled out a piece of green chalk and drew a dog chalkling. The moment she was done it puffed into dust. Fasi stared in disbelife at where it had been. 

@Rushu42 @Sorana @ZincAboutIt

Althea watched the Rithmatist toy around, her confusion and disbelief slight amusing. She folded her arms in front of her chest and observed the wall resist the tries to change it.

"Investiture resists Investiture." She stated neutrally after it seemed like the Rithmatist was done. The result wasn't surprising or unexpected, but it was good that someone had tried it out anyway. It ruled a few possibilities out, although it basically only cemented what they'd already known. It was no normal wall. It was a puzzle.

Her eyes moved over the faces of those standing around, the hint of fear here and there, the surprise, the astonishment. No joy at a secret, at something special. Just a little curiosity scattered in between.

[+ZincAboutIt]

Deb stared down the long drop before her, then looked behind. Further back, the main body of the expedition filed through the twinkling purple cavern, faces carefully shielded from the soporific spores. The scouts had apparently encountered the mushrooms unprepared, but a few quick texts from the Seeker girl allowed them to move through easily. 

She turned back to the pit, then allowed herself a small smile. Deb pulled a handful  of small iron disks from a pocket and tossed them down, burning Steel and watching them go. When she was sure she had at least a few anchors, she stepped off into the air and began to push. Some Coinshots favored drama, but Deb had always been in favor of efficiency. Still, the air rushing past her was glorious.

As she neared the ground she doubled down on her push, slowing until she touched down with a minor splash. The water was freezing, but nothing she hadn’t endured before. She raised a small communication device and spoke to the group waiting above. 

“All clear, begin descent.”

The scouts would be around here somewhere - it was time to hear their report.

———

Lita had begun scanning the area for a possible entrance to the caverns when suddenly, someone surprised her.

The shock alone would have been enough, but Lita had her tin on, and the horneater’s booming voice hit her like a ton of bricks. Instinctively, six months of practice kicked in and she flared her Pewter. Her resulting jump launched her at least seven feet backwards and a good yard into the air. She landed, spun, and stood there panting, feeling like a fool.

”By the Survivor’s bloody spear,” she spat. “What is wrong with you?” 

@Voidus @Invocation

[AonEne]

Quote

I’m sorry for the delay I’ve had in writing here. This thread goes pretty fast, and I’ve been a bit busy - and then I got into the mindset of My next post needs to be long and developy and full of details to make up for this, but I have come to the realization that that’s just not happening. So again, I’m sorry for my failure. Myriad lagged behind everyone else thinking about what Althea said (instead of answering her like a polite person ), only entered the mushroom cave after the warning to cover her face with her shirt, and rode the Pushes and Pulls down. She’s been wandering in the forest since then. 

(Also, I made a mistake and talked about her life earlier on. I haven’t written many amnesiac characters, and I forgot. Just pretend it didn’t happen) 

Myriad gazed up at the cave paintings that entranced everyone else. She was no more awed than she was by all the other magic, but apparently future sight of this magnitude was huge, so she went with it. It was interesting that the figure apparently depicting her was wreathed in yellow, and had many faces surrounding it; it knew what she was. 

[+Invocation]

13 hours ago, ZincAboutIt said:

”By the Survivor’s bloody spear,” she spat. “What is wrong with you?” 

"I wanted to see if your reaction would be as funny as the last person I did that to. Turns out, I should have done this sooner! Your reaction was better than I could have ever expected," Okame said, smiling broadly. "But come, come, I have a way down that they don't know about, and a little bit of information that will be good to know." He gestured to the hole he crawled out of, and, in a moment of cross-dimension in-joking, said, "We can all float down there."

@Voidus @ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt]

Corette turned her head at the sudden sound of splashing back near the glowing stones and the waterfall, thoughts first going towards the shadowed shape they'd seen after their initial descent. She pulled the tablet back out, then relaxed as she saw at least a dozen more dots all converging on their current location. So, the main group has finally caught up. 

She cast one last long look at the cave painting, then moved off back towards the new arrivals. Stancel would want to hear about this - and her distraction over the mural would allow Corette to do a bit of her own digging. There was something missing from this cave painting, and Corette wanted to test her theory.

On her way, she passed Rig and gave a subtle tug on his coat, then motioned for him to follow her. The Director would surely wish to speak with both of them and Corette didn't want to have to come all the way back out here. Besides, she didn't want to explore alone, not with that thing still out there. She had a feeling that the arrival of the full expedition would spook whatever had been lurking, but she'd hardly bet her life on it. Having a Coinshot around would be useful indeed.

"Time to do our jobs, Scout Leader," she said quietly. "And once everyone else is buzzing around that wall, I'm going to go look for the missing piece. Did you notice it? The flaw in the prediction?"

As she spoke, she caught sight of the Mistborn girl, Allri, speaking with the young Ghostblood. An idea started forming in her mind, and she waved the girl over as well with a small smile. 

If Rig is unwilling to go with me, perhaps the girl can practice her Steel and her Tin besides.

@TrailRunnin @I ♥️ Rashek

Edited October 24, 2019 by ZincAboutIt

[+Sorana]

16 hours ago, AonEne said:

Myriad gazed up at the cave paintings that entranced everyone else. She was no more awed than she was by all the other magic, but apparently future sight of this magnitude was huge, so she went with it. It was interesting that the figure apparently depicting her was wreathed in yellow, and had many faces surrounding it; it knew what she was. 

Althea lifted the cage with the Kales for Myriad to see, worldlessly repeated her earlier offer that she could study with them. Corette was gone to greet the main group, as usual without talking to anybody else. Exactly what she had expected. The woman would sacrifice everybody here if it played into her hands.

Althea changed her position slightly, intended to keep an eye on those remaining behind. Someone had to.

[That Violin Guy]

Fasi walked up behind Sarah. "So, what do you think this is?" She asked in a wispier.

@Rushu42

Edited October 25, 2019 by Oduim’s Chmapion

[Rushu42]

24 minutes ago, Oduim’s Chmapion said:

Fasi walked up behind Sarah. "So, what do you think this is?" She asked in a wispier.

@Rushu42

"I don't know," Sarah replied, lowering her voice. "It seems to be some sort of mural that can predict the future." She pointed at the two of them. "It's been accurate so far."

 

[That Violin Guy]

5 minutes ago, Rushu42 said:

"I don't know," Sarah replied, lowering her voice. "It seems to be some sort of mural that can predict the future." She pointed at the two of them. "It's been accurate so far."

 

Exept for the chalk, Fasi mused. "Well what do we do now," she asked.

[Rushu42]

1 minute ago, Oduim’s Chmapion said:

Exept for the chalk, Fasi mused. "Well what do we do now," she asked.

Sarah shrugged. "We keep exploring. Maybe we should try to find out what the pictures mean first, but I don't think it should stop us. We haven't found the other group yet." She looked back at the wall, an idea dawning. "Wait, are they on here?"

[AonEne]

2 hours ago, Sorana said:

Althea lifted the cage with the Kales for Myriad to see, worldlessly repeated her earlier offer that she could study with them.

Myriad saw and strolled over. "Hello again. What's this?" Peering in at the little rodent, she immediately decided it was adorable.

[I ♥️ Rashek]

4 hours ago, ZincAboutIt said:

As she spoke, she caught sight of the Mistborn girl, Allri, speaking with the young Ghostblood. An idea started forming in her mind, and she waved the girl over as well with a small smile. 

If Rig is unwilling to go with me, perhaps the girl can practice her Steel and her Tin besides.

Allri said goodbye to Wes and walked over to Corette. The scout leader was standing near a wall with cave paintings on it, and from what Allri overheard, they were some kind of prophecy. She found her face in the paintings. It was somewhat unnerving, but since she didn't see anything bad happening to her, she figured it was a good sign. Besides, Corette probably hadn't called her over to interpret the paintings-Allri had zero experience with prophecy.

She tore herself away from the paintings-they were actually quite good art, despite their age-and turned to Corette. "Hi, you called?"

@ZincAboutIt

[+Sorana]

8 hours ago, AonEne said:

Myriad saw and strolled over. "Hello again. What's this?" Peering in at the little rodent, she immediately decided it was adorable.

"We call the species Kalea. It's a little seeker." Althea explained and was about to explain more, when someone called her name. Slightly annoyed she turned around in time to see Allri leave Wes alone, walk over to Corette. Otherwise, nothing. Nobody.

She listened into the cave again, but couldn't detect anything out of place over the noices of the members of their expedition. Turning back to Myriad she was about to finish her sentence, when she heard Karin adress her from the side. The side where Karin wasn't standing.

Instinctively Althea inhaled, her body lighting up with stormlight and she was glad, that she was still wearing her sunglasses. A hint of fear made her heart beat faster while she tried to discern anything in the darkness around them, but she had no chance. Not with her sunglasses covering her eyes. Everything below their lights seemed pitch black to her.

"We aren't alone." She stated calmly. "It, or they, can imitate voices. Other abilities, as well as appearance, species or intelligence is unknown." She made sure her voice sounded exactly like before, hearable to those standing around. If it was able to imitate sounds, maybe it could interpret them to. Better to cover up on the fact, that she was speaking about it.

Still she made a gesture towards the Underling to come closer, knew that he could easily miss it if he wasn't looking into her direction and set Brashen to observe him. There was no way that she'd loose an Underling to whatever it was. And her gut told her, that this, whatever it was, wasn't entirely harmless.

Her hand closed around a lit sphere and she threw it in an high arc into the darkness. Something moved, high above them, hushed away into the dark when the glowing sphere came close. It indicated a smaller sized creature, one able to navigate quickly. "Above."

She glanced upwards, still unable to see anything and then gave up, instead she tried to listen. It was hard, there were so many people, moving around, talking, books scrapping over stone, the waterfall still hearable. Althea closed her eyes completely, listened instead. Breathing, water, cloths rustling and there, like water, but irregularly. "Wings. It can fly and it sounds like a swarm."

 

Quote

The bats are able to perfectly immitate voices. What they aren't is overly intelligent, so they mostly copy what they hear elsewhere, or what is repeated often. They are able to know which sounds come from which person, and through observation they can find out "key-sounds" like names, or sentences spoken regularly. Feel free to come up with whatever you need.

Their normal hunting habit is to lure their prey into a corner with fitting sounds and then swarmlike descend on it out of the darkness, kill it together. I'd say that humans are a bit too large for them, but if someone wants to write a fight, then go ahead. Otherwise we can write a more scary scene, or combine these too.

There are only few swarms in the whole cavern system, but theoretically you can encounter them anytime, anyplace. One swarm is in the cavern with the wall paintings at the moment.

Physical characteristics: about as long as your arm (the body), the wings each a little longer. Weight about 15-20 pounds (about 7-10 kg), huge ears, leathery wings, body covered in black fur, the luminous streaks we have on our clothing doesn't seem to be able to take hold on their fur. They keep to dark spots, prefer to stay out of the light cast by the luminous plants and keep to the shadows.

@ZincAboutIt

@kenod

@I ♥️ Rashek

@I think I am here.

@TrailRunnin

@Rushu42

@Oduim’s Chmapion

@Voidus

@Invocation

@xinoehp512

Edited October 25, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here.]

On 23/10/2019 at 3:30 PM, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Well, she couldn't go back now, so she might as well have fun while she was here. "Do you have a favorite movie?"

“Ninja Fighters II,” Wes said without skipping a beat. He paused, and then laughed.

“Sorry, I just love that movie. It’s got everything, action, mystery, adventure. You should watch it sometime.”

The talk about movies had gotten his mood up, and he smiled brightly at Allri. When she was called off by one of the Scout Leaders he stayed sitting, content just to look at the glowing luminous streaks on the wall. He wondered whether to take a closer look at all of the cage paintings everyone seemed to be so invested in (surely they couldn’t be that interesting. They were just cave paintings, after all), but before he could get up he saw the Righthand gesture to him and his eyes widened. Had he done something wrong?

46 minutes ago, Sorana said:

Still she made a gesture towards the Underling to come closer, knew that he could easily miss it if he wasn't looking into her direction and set Brashen to observe him. There was no way that she'd loose an Underling to whatever it was. And her gut told her, that this, whatever it was, wasn't entirely harmless.

Wes got up, slowly walking towards her and wrapping his cloak around himself.

“Yes, madam?” Was that the correct way to address her? He hoped he wouldn’t get punished for if he did mess it up. He waited for a second to see why she had gestured to him to come closer, before he heard a quiet voice coming out of a pocket darkness not too far away.

“Ninja Fighters II, Ninja Fighters II,”

Instinctively Wes stepped closer towards the main group, away from the shadows. Shadows that were repeating his own voice back to him. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to meet it. It creeped him out, even more than some of the horror movies he’d seen recently.

On 22/10/2019 at 8:08 PM, Sorana said:

She reached out for Max along their bond and offered him a memory of the picture to look at, in case he was training with somebody at the moment, then looked back at the original. The person was her, and at the same time, she wasn't. She was like an alternative, like a different version of herself. Someone she could have been, if she'd chosen a different path. If she'd met Max earlier. If she'd set other priorities in her life.

Max was in the Canton, doing some document work. Document work was an annoying necessity of helping run operations. Because operations needed permits, and equipment, and accountability. The black book Devaan had given him had been a perfect example of it. Still, it meant he was alone and sitting when he felt the gentle warmth of his mind link pulse and a visual memory being sent to him.

Dropping his pen down, he analysed the memory. Undoubtedly that was his wife, through the use of colour used. Cracked, but being held together. He supposed that was true as well. But the clothing didn’t match a Triarchy member and the figure had two smaller ones beside it.

You found it in the cave? He asked, though he knew it needed no answer. Where else?

It’s certainly interesting. Like some sort of future alternative of you? Are there more?

Edited October 25, 2019 by I think I am here.

[+Sorana]

1 hour ago, I think I am here. said:

“Yes, madam?” Was that the correct way to address her? He hoped he wouldn’t get punished for if he did mess it up. He waited for a second to see why she had gestured to him to come closer, before he heard a quiet voice coming out of a pocket darkness not too far away.

Althea gave a curt nod at Wes. "Unknown creature in the air above us." She informed him, saw him step closer when she heard his name repeated as well. He was nervous, afraid looked incredibly young with the shadows their headlamps cast and she deliberatly softened her voice a little.

"I figured you'd be safer with or prefer to be close to a group than standing alone in the darkness, given that we don't know what it is. No order, Wes."

Maybe that made him relax a little. If he took her literally and wandered off, hopefully he didn't. She made a mental note to find out who'd trained him, speak with that person. There were always those that took their positions a bit too seriously. But without further information there was no way to judge the situation.

She tilted her head and listened intently, then took another sphere and threw it straight up into the air. For the blink of an eye she could see a mass of strange forms, then her sphere fell down again. A swarm maybe. If so, they could be in great danger.

Max reply distracted her for a moment and she quickly send him her memory of the whole wall.

None of me.

She replied and heard another voice, quiet, so quiet that it was only a whisper, the words barely understandable. Max.

Best strategy against a nearly invisible flying mass of enemies? Can imitate sounds, further characteristics unknown.

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Sorana

[Rushu42]

Sarah looked up, following the arc of the glowing sphere. Something moved in the darkness, and she caught her breath. How had Althea known it was up there? Suddenly, she heard Althea repeat herself. "No order, Wes". Only, the sound hadn't come from the white-haired woman, who seemed deep in thought. She whipped her head around, squinting at the ceiling. Althea had said it could mimic voices. "Did you hear that?" She asked Fasi in a low voice.

@Oduim’s Chmapion

[AonEne]

5 hours ago, Sorana said:

"We aren't alone." She stated calmly. "It, or they, can imitate voices. Other abilities, as well as appearance, species or intelligence is unknown." 

Myriad blinked, hearing voices echo out of the darkness around her. One seemed strangely familiar; but she couldn’t remember hearing it before. It was whispering her name, then, “Little Seeker, little Seeker.”

She shook her head. “That’s certainly creepy. Do you think they’ll try to hurt us?” 

Edited October 25, 2019 by AonEne

[TrailRunnin]

Rig had finished up with Allri, impressed with the girl. She lacked skill now, but given a few year's training he suspected she could become one of the better steelpushers around. She likely wouldn't--it was rare for mistborn to focus on a single skill, according to Harmony's anecdotes preferring rather to become reasonable in all of them. Then she'll never know how to really fly, he thought to himself as he dropped one of the recovered coins and shot up over the forest canopy. He landed precariously among the strange stone branches, surprised to feel them flexing under his feet. He dropped another coin and floated himself down, twisting around branches as he controlled his descent through a careful burn of steel. He touched down lightly, and knelt, feeling in the mist for the coin. 

His hand knocked against something hard, which he grabbed. He pulled a slender grey branch out of the mist, just slightly longer than his arm and straight along it's length. Rig moved to throw it aside before reaching back down to grab the coin, but paused. He still had one of the canes his father had presented him with all those years ago, but the other had been lost during a fight with a pair of Tekial lurchers in the weeks on the run leading up to his appearance in the alleyverse. The branch was about the right size, and felt familiar in his hand somehow.  He straightened and pulled out his other cane, taking a few practice swings and dropping into a familiar practice dance with the canes. Something to remember the cave, by, then, he thought to himself, satisfied. He slipped the strange stone-wood onto his back, the satisfying weight on his back telling him it was the right choice. 

He wandered back out towards the rest of the group, following the sound of voices towards the cave paintings in the back. He peered over the heads of the assembled crowd, noting the strange art on the walls. It was interesting in a way the detailed portraits of mansions seemed to miss; it hinted to him, rather than telling. It seemed to be the story of some travellers coming through the caves...there was the worm, and there a sleeping woman in the fungi. He spotted a figure in a tattered cloak-no, a mistcloak- near the bottom of  a chasm, blue and purple streaks in his hair. It couldn't-what-

Rig felt waves of confusion wash over him as he made more connections. There was Corette, with her knife and bracers. There was Althea, he thought, covered in cracks. There was Eos, aura of power surrounding her hands. 

He drained himself of heat, the cold washing away his distress. This was nothing compared to being on a new world; just some prophetic paintings. They had had prophets back in the days of the Last Emperor, so really, this was more familiar than much of the rest of the alleyverse. He stepped away for a moment, feeling more confident. 

Feeling a tug on his jacket, he turned to see Corette disappear with Allri into the mist. He walked along, long legs eating up the distance between him and the duo, before coming to a  stop next to them. 

"What might you two be up to," he asked, looking from one to the other. 

@ZincAboutIt @I ♥️ Rashek

[+ZincAboutIt]

Corette looked up at Rig, then over at Allri. The rest of the team was still back at the cave wall, though she could no longer see them in the thick, humid mist. The glow from the streaks in Rig's hair and her own cast a tiny, neon halo about them. She felt herself smile.

"The first expedition," she said softly, "thought that mural was a legend. A myth, from long ago. They never had reason to think it was a prophecy; it must have taken up a good deal of their attention, analyzing, wondering. They wouldn't have seen the missing piece. But that painting was there before ACE even called the meeting for us. So, where is the other mural? The one about the first expedition?"

The soft rushing of the waterfall muffled her voice as she spoke, for which she was grateful. This was a secret she didn't want to share - not yet. "There's plenty of walls in this cavern," she said, blue eyes alight with curiosity. "What better way to discover what happened to poor Sawyer Warrick and his seven doomed colleagues than to have it all spelled out, nice and neat?"

She pulled her slender dagger into her hand, then looked over her shoulder. "I'm going to go have a look around, and I could use a pair of Tin eyes and a good Coinshot." Corette turned to Allri. "It should give you some good practice for Seeking, too. I'll be right behind you, but this will be ideal experience for you to venture a bit ahead. A Tineye is a valuable scout, and as a Mistborn you'll want to become accustomed to the limits of your abilities. Are you in?"

As she spoke, she gave Rig a significant look, hoping he'd fall back into step with her if Allri went ahead. The mention of that "redacted" discovery itched to be pondered, but she wasn't quite sure where the girl's loyalties lay. If she were part of another guild, she didn't want Allri getting too much out of her teaching.

@I ♥️ Rashek @TrailRunnin

[TrailRunnin]

Rig nodded; he had nearly forgot about the original expedition, having come down here under such strange circumstances. That search didn't seem to be the only thing  on Corettes mind, though, he thought, noting the glance she shot him as Allri's eyes flitted around the cave. He replied with a cocked head and a raised eyebrow, though his expression turned back to normal as soon as Allri's focus returned to them.

"Are you in," Corette said again, voice just a hair off. Rig's eyes narrowed, and he whipped around, but there was nothing there. He was certain Corette's lips hadn't moved, but he also knew he had heard something. Cave insanity doesn't befit a Lekal, he could almost hear his father say. Oh, shut up, he shot back. He turned back towards Corette and Allri, waiting on her answer.

@I ♥️ Rashek @ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt]

Corette followed Rig's turn and narrowed her eyes at the sound of her own voice filtering back through the mist - a near match. The uncanny similarity made her roll her shoulders, eager to shake off the skittering feeling of something crawling on her skin. She grimaced. 

Perhaps this is what has everyone's attention over by the wall?

She noticed that the other group had fallen rather silent. Something mimicking our voices? Her first thoughts went to Whisper, but then, the girl had promised to stay out of Corette's business. Another Lightweaver? Something else entirely?

Corette locked eyes with Rig, then mouthed 'Say something.' She turned to Allri, putting a finger to her lips, then pointing first to her eyes, then theirs. Eyes on each other. If something was out there, this would be the best way to test it.

@TrailRunnin @I ♥️ Rashek 

 

[TrailRunnin]

Rig moved closer to his companions, eyes on their faces. "Northern mountains sure are nice this year, Penrod," he said conversationally, making no effort to hide his voice. Corette was right again, of course; if something made a sound like that again, this would be the best way to test it. He reached behind himself with one hand, wrapping his fingers around the cold stone of his cane in the dim light and fingering a pocket of coins as he waited to hear something.

@ZincAboutIt @I ♥️ Rashek