Into the Dark

[kenod]

Karin was suspended in darkness, trapped in the beast's stomach. She could feel it trying to crush her, the acids burning away at her body, only for the wounds to immediately regenerate again. She had tried opening her eyes, only for them to immediately burn away as well. She kept them closed now, and had severed the optic nerve. It didn't matter much of course, they got damaged all the same, but seeing your vision being burned away was disturbing all on its own, even if you couldn't feel the pain.

She slowly got used to it though, and stopped panicking. Her regeneration was easily keeping up, she didn't need air, and the drain on mass reserves was low enough that she could easily stick it out for an hour or two before dying. The biggest issue at the moment was that all the acid would ruin her outfit. She had selected it based on durability, but she doubted it could stand up to this.

She started trying to move, trying to think of way out this situation. She tried shaping a knife in her hand, but the force from thing's stomach made it impossible to move enough flesh around to actually form it. She tried moving around, seeing if she could push outwards with her arms to create space, but she wasn't strong enough. She stopped moving, feeling the wall of the stomach slide around her, thinking about her next move, aside from waiting until someone killed the thing.

Suddenly she smiled, giving her a look that would have been rather disturbing if anyone would have been able to see it, parts of the flesh of her face still regenerating and other parts being burned away. Sharp teeth started growing inside of her arms, arranged in a pattern similar to a saw-blade, or a serrated knife. The flesh in between the teeth stopped regenerating, either being absorbed by her body or burned away by the gastric acids of the beast's stomach. The stomach pushed closer inwards, pushing itself onto the teeth, the movement of the beast making it start to cut its own stomach to pieces on the teeth. It would likely take a bit before the damage would start to really show, but when it did...

Still smiling Karin relaxed, waiting until something else happened, taking the time to contemplate her current existence as worm-food. It was her first time being digested after all, and while she didn't much care to become an expert on the subject the knowledge could always be useful. She noticed that the pressure of the stomach wall was actually kind relaxing, once you got used to the crushing and the burning of the acid. It was warmer than she had expected, since a worm-like creature would have normally been ectothermic. It made sense though, once she thought about it. It's level of movement wasn't something you'd expect from a cold-blooded creature, especially not with the local ambient temperature, or its ability to function out of the water. Of course, the level of metabolic activity implied by that didn't really work out either. Hibernation, she guessed, or some other form of torpor. She nodded, or at least tried to. Heterothermy, that made sense, given the circumstances.

[Grey Knight]

20 hours ago, TrailRunnin said:

"Bulveye, do you think you could distract it?"

"Dra dit peppern gror," Bulveye growled. "The day I am a distraction for a man with a popgun is the day I go to helsikken." He spat to the side. "But the sound, I can provide." He grabbed his storm bolter- a massive, two-barreled pit bull of a gun- from where it was mag-locked to his thigh. The roar of the bolter would deafen everyone in the cave. For the beast, it would be much worse.

[Voidus]

Whisper stuck to the back as the rest of the expedition leaped into action, her gaze remaining fixed on the giant worm-like creature. She felt the wave of soothing hit her, but as a generalized wave it wasn't tailored to each of them it simply targeted what the worm expected them all to feel, negative emotions like anger and fear. She felt the wariness that she felt among any group of people fade from the soothing, her caution and suspicion. But it left her boiling excitement completely alone. She stared up at the creature with wide eyes, a genuine smile forming on her face rather than her usual polite expression.

The worm attacked the rest of the expedition, grabbing people up one by one as they stood calmly nearby it. Some appeared able to throw the soothing off in time to avoid being attacked, but it seemed the one who looked like Aylitha was not so lucky and quickly consumed by the worm. Whisper was idly curious as to whether or not she'd be able to survive that, it was a good chance to see whether she shared any of the real Aylitha's abilities. But her attention quickly drifted back to the worm itself, she watched its swaying figure, watched the fear it inspired in those around it, quickly suppressed by its own abilities until there was only a peaceful sense of wonder in people.

This was why she'd wanted to come with the expedition, to journey into these unexplored caverns. There were secrets here, dangerous secrets. The worm would not be the greatest of those secrets if they were lucky, simply the first. And with so many dangerous secrets already down here, surely no one would notice if she slipped a few more in.

Unable to control her grin, Whisper forced some strength into her legs, crossing the distance in a series of leaps she landed inside a speed bubble that someone had thrown up to buy some time, clearly an extensive conversation had happened while time was running slower in here but she only caught the end of it, something about an opening. Whisper was reluctant to help in attacking this creature, but while impressive it also was definitely not one of the true horrors of the deep, if it was then there would be little any of them could do anyway.

[I ♥️ Rashek]

Allri Venture walked out of an elevator and into a warzone.

She'd skipped the briefing, figuring that she didn't need it for a simple stroll in a cave. As she got her first look at her surroundings, she really wished that she hadn't. There was a huge worm in the center of the cave, and it was angry. All around Allri, people fought, but to her eyes, they might as well have been trying to Soothe a stone.

Speaking of Soothing, she felt like someone was trying to Soothe her. The battle before her seemed unimportant, all of a sudden. The fear that she'd felt upon first seeing the worm had melted away, replaced by peace and calm. It felt exactly like her father's Soothing. The situation was a little different, though-instead of bedtime stories, she was listening to gunfire. This was no time for complacency. Quickly, Allri downed a vial and burned copper. The Soothing stopped, the weight of the situation hit her, and suddenly Allri felt a lot like running away. Unfortunately, the elevator had already gone back up.

What now? Getting up close was out of the question. As she watched, the worm snatched up a few more motionless figures. Why weren't they moving? It was probably the Soothing Allri had felt before. She didn't know who was doing it, but it was killing people out there, and she had to help. She flared zinc, Rioting alertness across the room.

Edited October 10, 2019 by I ♥️ Rashek
Mixed up bronze and copper

[AonEne he/him]

40 minutes ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

Allri Venture walked out of the elevator and into a warzone.

She'd skipped the briefing, figuring that she didn't need it for a simple stroll in a cave. As she got her first look at her surroundings, she really wished that she hadn't. There was a huge worm in the center of the cave, and it was angry. All around Allri, people fought, but to her eyes, they might as well have been trying to Soothe a stone.

Speaking of Soothing, she felt like someone was trying to Soothe her. The battle before her seemed unimportant, all of a sudden. The fear that she'd felt upon first seeing the worm had melted away, replaced by peace and calm. It felt exactly like her father's Soothing. The situation was a little different, though-instead of hearing bedtime stories, she heard gunfire. This was no time for complacency. Quickly, Allri downed a vial and burned Bronze. The Soothing stopped, the weight of the situation hit her, and suddenly Allri felt lot like running away. Unfortunately, the elevator had already left.

What now? Getting up close was out of the question. As she watched, the worm snatched up a few more motionless figures. Why weren't they moving? It was probably the Soothing Allri had felt before. She didn't know who was doing it, but it was killing people out there, and she had to help. She flared zinc, Rioting alertness and aggression across the room.

Quote

1. You mean she burned copper, I assume? 
2. I thought she didn’t have enough training to target specific emotions. 

I like this character so far, this is a fun first post, so I’m sorry if I sound critical. 

 

[I ♥️ Rashek]

49 minutes ago, AonEne said:

1. You mean she burned copper, I assume? 
2. I thought she didn’t have enough training to target specific emotions. 

I like this character so far, this is a fun first post, so I’m sorry if I sound critical. 

Quote

Thanks for pointing that out. I did indeed mean copper.

No training with most metals, but her father was a Soother, so she has a rough idea of how emotional Allomancy works. I will change the Rioting two things to Rioting only one, though. It seems more appropriate for her skill level.

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by I ♥️ Rashek

[TrailRunnin he/him]

Rig

16 hours ago, Grey Knight said:

"Dra dit peppern gror," Bulveye growled. "The day I am a distraction for a man with a popgun is the day I go to helsikken." He spat to the side. "But the sound, I can provide."

Rig grinned at that. The big man was starting to grow on him, although he didn't think the feeling was mutual.  

"Alright, big fella. Let's see what we can do." 

Corette's plan was good-sneaking up on something was generally a safer way to kill it-and if she was a cadmium ferring too, she should be able to pull it off. She pulled out a wicked-looking blade and set off with a determined look, padding silently across the floor of the caverns. 

Rig walked to the edge of the bendalloy barrier and took a moment to settle himself, storing all of his heat for a moment. He had always found that the shock of cold brought him clarity, and today was no exception.Glancing down, he made sure his dueling cane was secured at his waist before reloading his pistol. Noting the cannon of a gun the big man was toting, he idly wondered if Bulveye might be compensating for something.

Quote

Pistol held ready, Rig finally took out a glittering handful of coins. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the barrier--

--into a full blown warzone. Whereas before everything had moved with a slow calm, now Rig could see the chaos of the scene in it's entirety. He began circling the caverns away from Corette, slowly approaching the beast as he fired coins at the exposed mouth. He noticed that the effects of the soothing were far less pronounced now, or rather that his emotions were being pushed and pulled on. Was one of the expedition rioting them now? While the war in his head was distracting, it was vastly better than the waves of soothing he had felt before.

The creature writhed and turned, gulping down victim after victim. It took some damage, but hardly seemed to be slowing yet. If they didn't get this done soon, the expedition might be over before it had even begun. 

@ZincAboutIt @Rushu42  @I ♥️ Rashek @Grey Knight

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

1 hour ago, TrailRunnin said:

She pulled out a wicked-looking blade and set off with a determined look, padding silently across the floor of the caverns. 

Quote

I hadn't quite planned for Corette to leave the bubble yet, but I'll work with it. Next time just tell me first please?

Corette tapped her Cadmium, and stopped breathing. 

It was a strange sensation, the dissonance of feeling as though her lungs were full of air clashing with the stillness of her chest. She moved like a ghost through the wild, screaming melee of the cavern, circling around to put herself alongside the thrashing body of the worm while Rig peppered it with coins from the front. Her feet pressed softly into the fine dust that coated the cavern floor, and she held her long dagger with steady fingers. Its cold weight was comforting in her hand, and she focused on that familiar chill, forcing it to cut through the seesaw of emotion that rippled around her. Between the worm's Soothing and a new tide of Rioting, Corette needed a firm lifeline.

She was just ten feet away from the beast now, and it hadn't so much as turned its head in her direction. Corette would have breathed a sigh of relief at that, if she'd needed to breathe at all. She'd been right. A tiny smile played at the edge of her lips as she waited, tracking the movements of the creature, trying to anticipate its next lunge. When it lowered its head enough, she'd have only a moment to drive the point down into its ear canal. Just one shot.

Her heart pounded in her ears, that much louder now that it didn't have to compete with the sound of her breath. She hoped it couldn't detect that. Corette kept close to the wet, luminescent side of the creature, noticing that patches of its skin were slowly steaming away. Acid? She cast an eye over the crowd to see the Ghostblood woman, the Elsecaller. A Soulcasting, no doubt. Corette wrinkled her nose a bit; the pain would make the worm's movements all the more erratic. But, there was no helping it now.

She stood on the balls of her feet, ready to spring. Her eyes flicked towards the speed bubble, where Bulveye waited with his massive gun. When he unleashed that thing, the worm would go straight for him - all that sound would be like one big flashing sign. That would be her opening. She'd succeed, or she'd die.

Edited October 10, 2019 by ZincAboutIt
wrote post

[+Sorana she/her]

Quote

Althea absolutely loves being rioted

Althea was waiting for the Underling's reply when someone else stepped out of the Elevator and looked around. A woman, judging her cloths and the way she moved. Althea turned back to the monster, inhaled more stormlight and reached out for the first ACE employee to get them out of the way of the monster, when a rioting hit her. She recognized it immediatly, the familiar touch on her emotions, the way they changed, how she suddenly was alert, taking in details she had missed earlier.

With a groan she lifted a hand, pressed it against her head. Who was it? Someone here had to be a Rioter, another one. Just like Max. But Max touch was different. She closed her eyes when the world started to spin when her memories surged again and this time she here, she was alert and unvoluntarily welcomed them with open arms. Remembered. The screams, the burning city. The storm, someone ripping her apart. It was the same, it was always the same, only the faces changed, but the feeling stayed the same. Again. Somebody was playing with her again, tricking her, hurting her. She screamed, opened her eyes in time to see the worm snatch up another employee of the ground and reacted on instinct, shaped the air across the head of the beast into a large stone spike, dropping it on its body. She didn't really aim, couldn't think clear enough to aim and calculate where to create the stone, but it was better than doing nothing. The worm moved, nearly avoided the stone, but it still left a gash in its side, before it hit the ground with loud, ground shaking noise. The noise. A build was crashing down, flames all around, engulfing them, the screams. Her screams. The woman's screams. They mixed became one and Althea placed a hand against a nearby structure, not seeing what it was to remain stading, tried to fight the memories back. "Just stop." She whispered, "Stop it." Brashen gently hugged her hand, when she tried to look past the rioting, past the memories that so easily surfaced again. She hated herself for being weak, for breaking so easily. Everybody was fighting and she was freaking out, freaking out again. Her hate only added to the mix, added to memory of desperation and pain, of darkness consuming her thoughts.

Again it was dark around her, the storm was raging, no she had closed her eyes. Her chest constricted when breathing became difficult, when she slowly lost a fight. A flickering light reminded her of fire, the beast's movements, sounded like stone moving over stone. She clung to the post, forced herself to breath in and out, wished that it would finally stop, that whoever did this was finally satisfied and would let her go, let her escape her past, the feeling of mind being ripped apart.

 

@TrailRunnin @ZincAboutIt

Quote

Again mostly fyi. I'm not sure if you read all posts.

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Sorana

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Nekorb cowered behind a rock in terror.

[Rushu42 she/her]

Sarah dropped her speed bubble and dashed forward. Around her, the cave erputed into chaos, the noise nearly overwhelming. She gasped as she saw Karin swallowed by the worm, and she readied her stick with a new determination. 

She realized dimly that her emotions were not nearly as suppressed as they had been, but she chalked that up to the fact that she was now aware of and resisting the Soothing. Rather than worry about it, she ran up to a man who was huddled behind a rock. Burning her bendalloy again, she enveloped them both. 

Quote

Not my best writing- I might go back and change it, but the plot will remain the same.

@xinoehp512

Edited October 10, 2019 by Rushu42

[TrailRunnin he/him]

Rig ducked behind a tent for a moment, catching his breath. The caverns might be even more chaotic, now that a number of the expedition had begun fighting the worm with their respective powers. Had he really seen a boulder materialize out of thin air? That was new.

He had made his way over here because it seemed to be either where the worm's soothing was weakest or the rioting was strongest. Glancing around, he noted a teenager standing by the elevator with a concentrated expression on her face. The source of the Rioting, maybe? Rig downed a vial of steel and dropped a coin, shooting himself over towards her. "We might want to find some cover," he noted, and gestured to a nearby rock formation. "If the allomancy is you, don't let up." With that, he shoved off of the elevator cable and towards the formation.

@I ♥️ Rashek

[I ♥️ Rashek]

1 hour ago, TrailRunnin said:

Glancing around, he noted a teenager standing by the elevator with a concentrated expression on her face. The source of the Rioting, maybe? Rig downed a vial of steel and dropped a coin, shooting himself over towards her. "We might want to find some cover," he noted, and gestured to a nearby rock formation. "If the allomancy is you, don't let up." With that, he shoved off of the elevator cable and towards the formation.

Allri blushed as his words sank in. She was standing out in the open while she Rioted, completely exposed if the worm decided to go for her. A rookie mistake. Before she could beat herself up more, the man shot off towards the rocks in a graceful arc. A Coinshot. She could do that too! She burned steel, watching the blue lines appear, then dropped a coin and tentatively pushed. Nothing happened-the push was too weak.

She pushed again, harder this time. Allri hadn't been expecting the push to have that much force, and the speed and height of her jump took her by surprise. She sailed over the rocks-oops, she'd overshot. Scanning the other side of the room for blue lines to push against, she noticed her direction changing. Too late, she realized that she was coming down without anchors. She landed roughly, but quickly got up and scrambled to the pile. Leaning back against the rocks, she shivered. Steelpushing wasn't as easy as it looked.

After a moment, Allri had recovered enough to peek around the side of the rocks. The battle outside was still going on. Unfortunately, the worm was still going strong. Most people were moving more and looking more alert, which was nice. A woman near the beast was holding a rock, seeming out of it, but Allri was already Rioting the room as much as she could and couldn't stop to focus on one person. She turned to the Coinshot, who'd got here earlier than she had, and without as many bruises. "What is that thing?"

@TrailRunnin

[I think I am here. he/him]

10 hours ago, Sorana said:

Again it was dark around her, the storm was raging, no she had closed her eyes. Her chest constricted when breathing became difficult, when she slowly lost a fight. A flickering light reminded her of fire, the beast's movements, sounded like stone moving over stone. She clung to the post, forced herself to breath in and out, wished that it would finally stop, that whoever did this was finally satisfied and would let her go, let her escape her past, the feeling of mind being ripped apart.

“Well, Investiture resists Investiture, right? I think we could use that?” But something else was happening. The Righthand groaned and raised a hand to her head, had closed her eyes and clung to a post. With a start Wes felt a sharp sense of alertness, and he realised what was happening. The worm must have been targeting the Righthand specifically, to get such a reaction.

Unclasping one of his bendalloy bands, and orienting it so it was a flat piece of metal, he tried to give it to the Righthand, a little scared, but he was sure it would help somehow. “Slip it under your helmet,” he said. The Investiture from the metalmind would be hopefully be enough to resist the Investiture of the soothing, just as aluminium did when applied to hats.

Eyes widening he realised there was no one to hide behind now, Wes looked back at the worm. The Righthand had said it was a good idea, to use the bendalloyminds, but how? Wes wondered if it would hurt the creature if he threw one of his bands into the open gash the Righthand had created, but no, that wouldn’t work. The worm wasn’t a spren or piece of sentient Investiture, it was an Invested creature. And throwing a metalmind in the wound wouldn’t hurt more than it would for Wes.

Then, how could he help? Running to a gun dropped by an employee when the worm had eaten him, Wes quickly dismantled it. It still had gross worm-slime over it, but Wes ignored it to collect the bullets, separating the gunpowder from the cartridge cases and removing the priming handle and other components. A screwdriver wouldn’t have been really helpful, but the scream scene of eaten people were enough motivation to finish his little assembly in a new record for him.

Finally he held up the finished product. It was a bomb, combining the gunpowder from all the remaining bullets Wes had found in the gun, encased and wired in with more parts to make it very explosive. Wes made sure to carry it gently, moving nearer to the monster. A wrong move, and the bomb could explode right in his hand, which awesome definitely didn’t want.

Running forward with a warcry Wes called out to the new guy. To his memory, the man was a coinshot from Scadrial. Great, very useful. Wes tried to refrain from feeling proud, after all, the worm was still alive and Wes was still in danger of being exploded to bits as well as eaten.

“Coinshot guy! I made a bomb! Maybe if you coinshot it into the mouth, it could explode and hurt the worm?” Did that work? Wes hoped it would be enough. He held the makeshift bomb in front of him, looking at the other woman here as well.

“Some sort of worm? I’ve never seen it before.”

@I ♥️ Rashek

@TrailRunnin

Edited October 11, 2019 by I think I am here.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

The worm had lowered its head, lunging for a few more ACE employees. Corette gripped her long needle, ready to dash forward. This was it!

A gigantic spire of rock materialized above her, seemingly from nowhere. It tore a long gash in the worm's side, and Corette threw herself backwards out of its path, wrenching what would surely be a horrific twist into her spine. Still, she wasn't fast enough. As it crashed to the ground, a large piece of stone flew off and ripped a jagged line in her exposed shoulder. Corette heard herself scream, tumbling to the sandy floor and gasping against the pain.

Gasping. She'd stopped tapping her Cadmium. Terror flooded her. Corette flipped over, her strained back muscles groaning in protest, just in time to watch the worm stop, then begin to turn its head towards her.

It was almost as though Corette were back in the speed bubble, watching it all happen in slow motion. She felt her fingers tighten around the dagger - by some miracle, she hadn't dropped it in her fall. The worm stayed low, shifting its undulous bulk along the cavern floor. Dark blood seeped thickly from the gash in its side, puddling in the sand, turning it quickly to muck. Corette grit her teeth against the pain, forcing herself to her feet, and tapped her Cadmium again. Blood dripped down her left arm, and her body felt like one large collection of aches. As the monster turned, Corette tightened her hold on the thin blade, dashed forward, and slammed it into the soft fold of its ear.

The shriek that ripped from the worm's serrated mouth was a sound unlike anything Corette had ever heard. It rolled towards her, so fast that she barely had time to react. She scrambled away, sprinting full tilt across the cavern, then slid down behind an outcropping of rocks. Three others waited there: Rig, and two people she didn't know by name. One was holding something in his hand.

"I think the dagger's still in its ear," she said, gritting her teeth and inspecting the gash on her shoulder. It was deeper than she thought. "Damnation Soulcasting ruined my plan - who Soulcasts a whole boulder out of thin air in the middle of a cavern full of people?" She turned to Rig. "Do you think you - rusts this hurts - do you think you could Push the dagger in further? Maybe rip through the brain?"

@TrailRunnin @I think I am here. @I ♥️ Rashek

[+Sorana she/her]

Althea didn't question his words, the part of her still able to think knew that he was right. Wes rushed off, but she didn't care, didn't even notice the worms tail moving towards her, when it rushed towards a different prey. She was breathing in and out, tried to stop herself from crying, from breaking down completely, only her fear to embarress herself keeping her standing. She had to be strong, she was who she was, she represented - the tail hit her square in the chest and flung her over towards some boulders. Althea hit them with a sickening sound, pain blazed through her arm and somehow she still registered that most likely it was broken. And yet, the pain was almost inconsequential compared to one inside. Curling up she pressed the piece of metal against her forehead, closed her eyes and prayed that Wes had been right.

He had been right. Of course he had. Investiture resists Investiture. She felt the rioting lessen, the same way the soothing lessened as well. Not completely, but enough that she could think again. That she could push the memories away. Althea slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position, tried to get an overview over the situation, held her arm close to her chest. It was strange. She had been in so many battles, but she still lost track of who was where, doing what. Another deep breath, close eyes, open them again. Take a breath. Calm down. Slowly her throat felt less constricted and she leaned against the boulder, took a closer look at her arm. It was broken. Still shaking she inhaled more stormlight and looked up at the worm. They were killing it, because it was killing them. Gently she touched her connection to Max and froze when she found it weak, like a thread about to vanish completely. Investiture resists investiture. Assuring herself, that he was still there, she decided to count to ten and get up, walk over to the others and see if she could help. Counting was nice, it offered structure, a point when you had to act. The bendalloy was warm from the contact with her skin and she knew that she had regained her mask, her fears and pain carefully hidden.

Ten. Althea knew why she was here, but at the same time, she wished she had stayed behind, stayed in familiar territory. All these new people, she hated to talk to strangers, to meet them.

Nine. She was always afraid that, they would look down on her, laugh at her. It was easier to hide everything. Even after all these years, she still expected to be laughed at.

Eight. And she had to live up to her position, had to make sure she didn't damage their reputation. Had to appear strong to ward off possible attacks.

Seven. If she wanted to make a difference she would have to talk to them at one point.

Six. It would be easier to follow her oaths, if she simply talked to them.

Five. She could always wear her mask. It would make interacting with them easier.

Four. Nobody requested her to open up. She could take her time, hide her emotions.

Three. She was strong, she was better than this mess lying on the ground, memories dragging her down.

Two. She had sworn to accept her emotions, but maybe she had to accept the memories as well. The burning cities, the falling stones. The desperation. But the desperation hadn't been hers. Neither had the fear. She could push them aside.

One. Althea inhaled, felt her bone knit itself back together. She could do this, she forced herself to look past the shadows the memories cast.

Althea got up.

[AonEne he/him]

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

...which awesome definitely didn’t want. 

Quote

I understand how this happened, a-wes-ome, but I still find it hilarious that Wes temporarily turned into Lift for a second. 

Sorana. How do you consistently write purely amazing writing. Zinc. That was such a great post. Itiah. I love Wes. You guys are too good at this. 

 

Edited October 11, 2019 by AonEne

[I ♥️ Rashek]

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

“Coinshot guy! I made a bomb! Maybe if you coinshot it into the mouth, it could explode and hurt the worm?” Did that work? Wes hoped it would be enough. He held the makeshift bomb in front of him, looking at the other woman here as well.

“Some sort of worm? I’ve never seen it before."

14 hours ago, ZincAboutIt said:

"I think the dagger's still in its ear," she said, gritting her teeth and inspecting the gash on her shoulder. It was deeper than she thought. "Damnation Soulcasting ruined my plan - who Soulcasts a whole boulder out of thin air in the middle of a cavern full of people?" She turned to Rig. "Do you think you - rusts this hurts - do you think you could Push the dagger in further? Maybe rip through the brain?"

Outside, the worm thrashed around wildly. A woman near it had jumped onto it and jammed a knife in, and this time, the worm seemed to notice it. As Allri watched, keeping up her Rioting, two more people took cover behind the rocks near her-the woman who had stabbed the worm just now and a man holding a package. Both of them wanted the Coinshot to help-the man wanted him to throw his homemade bomb into the worm, while the woman wanted him to push her knife deeper. It would take an experienced Coinshot to do either. With the way the worm was thrashing around outside, any mistimed Push might send the knife flying out of it or throw the bomb onto someone. Her own Steelpushing probably wouldn't cut it here, but the Coinshot who'd warned her could pull it off. Allri stopped burning her steel-she didn't want to interfere-then looked at the Coinshot. Was there anything she could do to help? She looked through her metal reserves, remembering the new metals that TUBA had given her. Cadmium... Chromium... Nicrosil, that was it. A metal that could make other Allomancers stronger. She smiled.

Allri reached out and touched the Coinshot's arm, ready to start burning. "If you're going to Push something, I can help you with my nicrosil. On your mark?"

@TrailRunnin

Quote

You can godmod Allri's nicrosil allomancy.

 

[kenod]

Quote

Can you go with the knife? Karin wouldn't appreciate being bombed.

 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Corette did a double-take at the girl, the one who mentioned nicrosil. She narrowed her eyes, the puzzle a welcome distraction from the throbbing wound in her shoulder. A light burn of Bronze told her this girl was the source of the Rioting, though that was plain enough. Her alertness had ticked up the moment she'd slid back here, and the effects of the worm's Soothing had faded. Now that she was listening, she heard a quick beat of Steel pulsing out from the girl as well, though that faded.

She raised an eyebrow. Three separate Allomantic powers? Hemalurgy, possibly, though with that much metal in her, the girl should have been well under the control of the worm's emotional Allomancy, toddling up and obediently climbing into its mouth. Not to mention the absence of the whispering stutter of hemalurgically-granted Investiture. It was hard to detect, but Corette had spent her entire life in this city. She knew what a spiked power sounded like. And this girl had none of the signatures. So that meant...

"A Mistborn," Corette whispered, smiling a little. "You're a Mistborn, aren't you?" She'd only met a handful in her whole life - natural Mistborn, at least. They were rare, even here. A Mistborn could certainly be useful. So many powers...

Corette shook herself a bit, then looked to Rig, eager to watch his reaction. If Corette had been surprised, she could only imagine the look on the Twinborn's face when he encountered a living legend. "If you're half as good as you act with that Steel of yours, with a nicroburst you'll be able to drill that blade through its skull, nice and neat. But you've got one shot here. There's no rusting way I'm fetching it and putting it back in."

@I ♥️ Rashek @TrailRunnin

 

[kenod]

Karin rested inside the worm's stomach. Around her she felt the walls shift, expanding and contracting, shaving around her. Rips had started appearing from the teeth on her arms, and it seemed things where happening outside as well, judging by some of the thrashing. She prepared herself and waited, and just as as the stomach expanded again she jammed her arms sideways, expanding the teeth at the same time, stabbing deeper into it.  She kept repeating it, again and again.

While she was doing all that she started feeling sorrow about killing the worm. Sure, it was eating her, but it wasn't as if it had any ulterior motifs there. Food was food after all. That reminded her to eat some it if afterwards, she needed to refill her reserves. It was a waste though, killing it. It was an extremely curious organism, being able to grow to such a size in these caverns, and the soothing was exceptional. She wondered if it was actually soothing, or just something with similar properties. Aside from all the weirdness with an allomantic worm, there was the question of where it would get all the required metal. On the other hand, she remembered reading reports about creatures on a certain planet that had evolved the ability to sense minds, even mimic and broadcast mental signatures. She figured this might be something similar to that, instead of actual allomancy.

She sighed, or tried to at least. A stomach wasn't the best place to get the air necessary for sighing after all. She would have to report the existence of these creatures to the department once she got back. They would absolutely love investigating this. Best not to mention she had to kill one of them though, they wouldn't like that, never mind the fact that it was eating her at the time. Just then the stomach expanded again, the creature thrashing around, and she jammed the teeth into it again, and smiled. She had finally managed to fully penetrate the stomach wall. She started moving around her arms, small motions, trying to expand the holes. The stomach acid started escaping through the wounds. She prepared herself for more thrashing. The creature really wouldn't like the pain that would come next, after all.

[TrailRunnin he/him]

Rig crouched behind the rock formation with Corette, the girl, and the little mechanic. A bomb could certainly be useful, he thought, but he was far more interested in the consequences of what the girl had said. If she could burn Nicrosil...a mistborn? Rig's carefully crafted expression dropped for a second, replaced by a sense of awe. Mistborn were things of legend; he was in the presence of someone with the same power as the warrior ascendant herself. Now wasn't the time to focus on that, though, thought Rig as another scientist was snapped up by the worm.

43 minutes ago, ZincAboutIt said:

"A Mistborn," Corette whispered, smiling a little. "You're a Mistborn, aren't you?"

Corette had apparently made the same connection he had. And she was right--he would never be able to push hard enough on that spike alone, but he had been aided by nicrosil mistings before. With that kind of boost, he could do it. 

"Alright. On my mark. Three."

He stepped up on top of the boulder nearest to him, getting a clear line of sight to the thrashing worm's head. Absently he reached into his jacket pocket and flicked the cork off of another two vials, downing the contents as he stared at the monstrous creature.

"Two." 

Rig turned his steel back on, stoking the power in his chest until a glowing blue line connected his chest to the spike in the monsters head. He waited for the power to rise, warming him in a way even his brassminds never could.

"One."

Rig flicked a coin behind him and pushed it into the rear of the cave, giving himself an anchor to keep himself from being thrown backwards by what he was about to do. He began to feel a pressure on his reserves coming from outside of himself. It was a strange sensation--the metals you burned were something that was supposed to be yours in a way nothing else was. For someone else to touch them felt wrong. But right now, he needed that feeling if this expedition were going to make it any further. 

"NOW!"

Rig thrust his arms out and felt the full force of the mistborn's nicrosil hit him. He shoved on the blade with everything he had, flaring his steel to levels he didn't even know existed. He felt himself begin to be crushed between the anchor and the worm, but fought to keep pushing, actually rising slightly off of the ground between his anchor and the worm. Blackness began to swim at the edge of his vision, but nearby he felt the girl flare her own nicrosil. The blade began inching ever closer to the thing's brain, and it let loose a shriek much like it had when it was stabbed as the blade ran into a thick skull. Just before his reserves ran out, Rig gave one final Shove and the blade shot forwards, lodging itself into the thing's brain.

@I ♥️ Rashek @ZincAboutIt

Quote

I left the ending ambiguous intentionally, so if anyone wants to keep fighting it doesn't have to be dead yet

 

[I ♥️ Rashek]

Quote

I think it's time to wrap the worm up.

The worm reared, emitting an unearthly cry. Even in its dying throes, it was dangerous-something of that size would always be. Fortunately, most people stayed well clear, waiting as the worm's motions dwindled. After a while, even those stopped, and Allri let herself breathe again. The air was refreshing, relaxing, a much needed respite after the fear and tension of the fight. When she'd arrived, even knowing that most worlds weren't like Scadrial, she hadn't been prepared for this at all. Of course, not knowing hadn't helped either-even now, a part of her just wanted to curl up into a ball and feel safe. Instead, she focused on her Allomancy, feeling the reserves and the steady burns, calming herself with the one part of Scadrial that she'd managed to bring with her. Her metals wouldn't last forever, though, and the outside world called. Reluctantly, she extinguished her metals and turned to the people around her.

"Hi, I'm Allri, and yes, I'm Mistborn." The words brought up memories of her Snapping, surprisingly fresh, and she took a moment to center herself. Remembering her ballroom training, she forced a weak smile, then continued. "So, who are you guys? Do you do this sort of thing everyday?"

[I think I am here. he/him]

59 minutes ago, I ♥️ Rashek said:

“Hi, I'm Allri, and yes, I'm Mistborn." The words brought up memories of her Snapping, surprisingly fresh, and she took a moment to center herself. Remembering her ballroom training, she forced a weak smile, then continued. "So, who are you guys? Do you do this sort of thing everyday?"

The worm fell, and Wes could feel the finality in its final cries. When all was done, he turned back to the group. Looking down at his bomb he quickly dismantled it until it was a random assertion of metal parts and gunpowder at his feet. It was okay his bomb hadn’t been used. It had been a bad idea anyway, he thought and looked at Allri, the Mistborn. You didn’t see those often nowadays.

“No, not really,” he said, wrapping his cloak further around himself. He gestured to Rigex and Corette.

“They might, They’re powerful, you know? My biggest concerns are usually something like some accounting issues or a bad screw in one of my inventions.” Or a world-ending Vortex, he almost said. But that had been one time.

[+Sorana she/her]

Althea watched the worm die, glad that it was over, and even more glad when she felt the rioting and the soothing stop pushing her mind this way and that way. She lowered her hand, took a moment to collect herself and then she walked over to the group Wes had joined.

"Hello." She greeted them. "My name is Althea Tenira." It was about the same she had said when she had greeted Wes and Karin earlier - Karin. She was still trapped inside of the worm. If there was a chance, that she was still alive, she had to try to get her out. Althea looked towards the worm, and then back at the four in front of her. She could do it on her own, now that the worm was dead, she could simply soulcast all of it's flesh away, but she had decided to greet them, to come over. That also meant, that she would have to work in a team. A team. She wasn't entirely sure if she liked the thought, she didn't knew them, to trust them - no working together didn't mean, that she had to trust them. Trust could come later.

"Would some of you be willing to help me try and see if Karin is still alive?" She gestured towards the worm. "If she isn't, then it will be a mess for nothing, but there might be a chance." It depended on Karin's investiture and a lot on the fact if Althea's suspicion was right or not. "I just think, that we should try? I can cut it's hide open easily, now that it doesn't move anymore, but it's huge and I think some aditional pairs of hand could be vital. The more time passes, the lower her chances are." She added without mentioning anything about her hunch towards Karin and her abilities.

@ZincAboutIt

@I think I am here. @I ♥️ Rashek @TrailRunnin

Edited October 12, 2019 by Sorana