kenod

Karin gave him an uncertain look. "I'm not sure on the value of those beads, but from what I saw... As a rough estimate, probably somewhere in between buying yourself a skyscraper and buying yourself a Great Guild." She looked at the pool behind them. The thought of what was down there scared her more than any monster could. Monsters you could deal with, but this... Fighting between the guilds might even be good, compared with the alternative. The fighting would be bad enough, but a single group or individual getting hold on what was down there? That could be worse, way worse, if the value of the metal reached into the higher areas of her estimate.

"Keep walking until we die?" I say. "I don't know, my first idea would be trying to follow our footprints back, but most of those are probably already gone."

I continue to follow Sorana.

Karin climbed up to the others, her body soaked to the bone. She heard most of the conversation as she climbed up, and when she finally arrived she was dissappointed that there wasn't anything she could use to warm herself. "Couldn't we just collapse this place?" She interjected. "If we block of these tunnels, or better yet, bring down the whole ceiling on the well, we might be able to prevent anyone from getting to this metal." The suggestion made sense to her, but deep down she felt it likely wouldn't work. The large guilds had too many resources, they could likely find someway around it eventually. Still, it might offer a temporary respite, time they could use to organize and find a more permanent solution.

A young girl wearing a strange dress walked into the tavern, heading for the counter. Aylitha looked around the room, noting the various strange folks around. I don't think that's something you in particular are allowed to say, a sleepy voice echoed in her mind. Finally awake? She answered in joking tone, though all she got back was a sense of disapproval. Shrugging she walked up to the bartender, fishing in her pocket for some coins. "Do you happen to have some lemonade?" She asked softly, having forgotten to breath in before talking. Really, lemonade? Karin said in her mind. Everybody here is drinking alcohol. Shut up, Aylitha sent back in annoyance, You know I don't like alcohol, and I know you never liked it either! If he doesn't have any I can just ask for water, or for juice or something.

Karin looked at Corette for a few seconds, and then nodded. She could understand that. "Alright," she said, and then she shrugged. "It's probably not my problem anyway. I've never heard about that substance, so I doubt it's of any interest to Bioscience. The only real issue I can see is that the oncoming gold-rush might destroy some of the ecosystem here, or make it more difficult for us to do research on the fauna and flora in these caverns." She then looked down at her own wet clothing, made especially uncomfortable by the cold air around her. "And yes, let's go back up there," she agreed. "With some luck one of them will have been smart enough to prepare blankets or towels, or maybe a source of heat."

Karin followed after Corette, watching her swim up to the wall. Some sort of glow seemed to come from fissures in the rock, apparently the thing Corette had been looking for. Curious Karin swam closer as well, only to suddenly kick backwards when a giant eel came out of the fissure Corette was inspecting. Looking closer she could see things in the other fissures as well. In hindsight she probably should have expected it, the holes made great shelter, but that didn't help them much now. She watched as Corette pulled a knife out of a sheath on her leg and followed suit herself, growing a bone-white harpoon in her right hand. In the end it didn't seem like her precautions were necessary though. No further animals came out to attack them, and Corette managed to find a fissure without any life, though Karin had no idea as to what she was expecting to find in there. She watched as Corette put her arm in one, pulling out some rock. Curious Karin edged closer, barely noticing the flows of blood coming from her arm. Corette broke open the rock, pulling out a small piece of metal that Karin hadn't ever seen before. It had an odd sheen to it, similar to silver, but reflective enough that it looked more like mercury, though in solid form. Corette obviously was familiar with it though, staring at it as if she'd found some kind of holy artifact. What really caught Karin's attention though was when she suddenly pulled a small spike from somewhere. Just as Karin was trying to figure out why she had something like that she started twirling it around. It took a few seconds for Karin to figure out what was happening, but then she finally noticed it. Alleycant! She thought. But then, that meant Corette had to be a DA member. Karin looked at her in shock, almost missing the message itself. Even then, with her weak knowledge of Alleycant she only managed to make out a few things: Rare, tunnels, immediate action. Karin simply stared at Corette, trying to understand what was going on, but then she finally noticed the blood coming out of the wounds on her arm, and worse, she thought she noticed movement in some of the other fissures. Nervously she swam up to Corette, touching her arm to get her attention. She pointed at her arm, then at the signs of movement in the crevices. Finally she made the gesture for up, hoping Corette would understand what she meant. They could discuss what they found here later, first they had to get away safely. *** Deep in the alleys Aylitha watched at the findings ACE had made, somewhat annoyed at the fact that she too had missed the fact that Corette was a DA member. Still, she was even more annoyed at what they had found. Unlike Karin she did know what Atium was, and how valuable it was. She also knew it was utterly useless to her department, and that if anything it would simply eat up funding in some dash to try and get as many as possible of it, and she sighed in knowledge of how much would be wasted on this while it could be spent on pursuing science. Still... Tentacles all through the alleys started moving erratically as she thought through her options. She wasn't interested in the Atium, but there where other things discovered in the caverns that were of interest. Maybe if she managed to make sure the right people got down there... Yes, that could work. Anybody being sent would probably be from the DoCI or acquisitions, given their expertise with fieldwork, but if she managed to get some fitting people selected... Maybe have chat with them before they left... The tentacles stopped moving, and a single patch split off a large fox, which quickly started walking towards one of the Records rooms. It was time to look through some of the personnel files...

Karin felt a shock run through her from the cold of the water, her clothing both wallowing out in the water as well as making it hard to move. She looked around, but couldn't see much, even with the lamp, the water stealing most of the light away. Suddenly from the darkness another light appeared though, followed by Corette a few seconds later. Karin sighed in relief, and started swimming towards her. Corette gestured at her though, pointing towards what Karin figured was the direction towards the wall, and swam off in that direction. Karin nodded and started following her, hoping Corette knew what she was doing. Karin looked around while she was following Corette, noticing her own low speed. She thought for a bit, and then she altered her hands and ankles, growing large fins to help with the swimming. Currently it seemed everything was still going well though, with no dangerous things having appeared yet, and she started to appreciate the silence, now that she had gotten used to the cold. She hoped that the people topside would remember to get some blankets or other source of heat before they got back though. she wasn't sure if the water was cold enough to cause hypothermia, especially once they got out and stopped moving, and she wasn't sure Corette would have some way to deal with that.

They can, but it isn't as interesting.

Sort of, but given that Lita and Lena already seem to be getting busy I'm reserving my opinions for now until we see how that works out.

^

Karin walked along with the rest of the group, the silence pressing on her. It almost felt like they were waiting for something, as if they were getting closer to something. A few minutes later the tunnel started widening, opening into a large room. Corette went in first to scout, saying something to Eos before she went, though Karin couldn't hear what she said. She tried to look over the heads of the rest, trying to see what she was doing, though it didn't help that much. Softly she dropped her bag and moved more to the front, trying to move to the side of the group. As Karin was moving she finally managed to see the room properly. It was a large cavern, with a ceiling far above them and the floor missing, their tunnel ending with a ledge stretching out above what looked like a large lake of water that stretched the entirety of the room. Something seemed to glitter in the distance, but that was all she could see, the cavern lacking the level of light of its predecessors. Finally she managed to find Corette as well, only to find her in the process of taking of her cloths. Confused she stared at her, trying to figure out what she was doing. It became clear in a few seconds though when she suddenly lept of the side of the ledge she was standing on, diving into the water below. For a few second Karin simply stared at the place where she had vanished, trying to figure out why she had done that. Had she seen something down below? Or was it perhaps something like the worm, trying to lure her down? She shook her head in annoyance. At this point it didn't matter why she had done that, but if Karin was sure of one thing it was that she'd likely need at least some form of back-up down there, and as far as she knew she was the one best suited for diving. Besides, she was curious about what had compelled Corette to jump in there. She ran out of the group, ducking away from the others as she ran to the pool. As she was running her hair started moving, the tentacles disguised as hair coming alive again, wrapping themselves around her helmet and its lamp to secure it. I really hope this thing is waterproof, she thought just as she jumped and dove into the water herself, quickly paddling downwards, trying to spot Corette.

Dahinel walked through the alleys, Venta floating around him. He walked quickly, nervously looking around, wondering where he had ended up, and how to get out. He didn't even know how long he had been here. The place was strange, and it always felt like someone was watching him. Suddenly a voice called out behind him, and he spun around, Venta turning into a Shardblade for him. Behind him he found a woman, Atlethi based on her looks. "Are you lost?" She asked. "I am," he answered in a terse voice, wondering who she was, and how she had gotten here. "I figured you were," the woman answered, walking around him, and he turned with her, making sure to keep facing him. "You're currently in a place called the Alleys. As for explaining what it is..." She tapped her chin for a second, lost in thought. "Ah, right! That works," she suddenly said, sounding enthusiastic. "You can see this as a place similar to Shadesmar. It's actually quite easy to get lost in, though nobody has ever managed to determine exactly who gets pulled into this place. The place where we currently are is a stable area, mostly because of it's proximity to the boundary between the Alleys and the real world." Dahinel looked at her, trying to work through what she was saying. He thought he had gotten the gist of it, but it was still confusing. He had never heard of a place like this, not even from the Elsecallers or the Willshapers, who would have been the mostly likely ones to know of it. "By the way," she asked, "you're a Knight Radiant right? Which order are you?" Dahinel looked at her for a bit and relaxed, giving her a sheepish grin as realized that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "Guess I never introduced myself huh," he said. "I'm Dahinel, a Windrunner. My Spren is called Venta." He gestured to his side, where Venta appeared for a second, nodding to the woman. "Ah, a Windrunner," She said with delight audible in her voice. "That's great! You know, that's the order I hate the most!" Dahinel flinched back in shock at that, less because of her statement and more because of the absolute delight in her voice as she said it. But just as he was still starting to react she breathed in Stormlight, a glow emanating from her. She lifted her hand, and a sword took form in the air above her. Dahinel looked at it in confusion though. It didn't look like a Shardblade, which would make it a Lightweaving, but what danger could those be to him? He got the answer to that question when the sword shot forwards, piercing his right leg. He let out a loud scream, less because of the pain and more because of the shock. After all, there was no way something like that was possible. Still, it wasn't the first time he had fought, and his instincts kicking in. He breathed in Stormlight himself and tried to jump backwards, but it was too late. The woman made another gesture, and chains shot out from the ground and wall around him, wrapping around his limbs and pulling them outwards, anchoring him in place. Smiling she walked forwards, putting her hand on the sword in his leg. He grimaced in pain as she pulled it out, but his Stormlight quickly healed the wound, and he glared at the woman, only to be met with another surprise as the sword somehow turning back into Stormlight, flowing back into her body. The woman smiled and started talking, ignoring Dahinel struggling in the chains. "You really are unlucky, aren't you?" She asked in a whimsical tone. "First getting pulled into the Alleys, and then running into me. If you had only continued for an hour more you would have made it out of the Alleys, into the settlement, and there somebody could have explained things to you, and you might have even managed to make a difference. Now though..." A cruel smile appeared on her face, and she let out a laugh. "Hey, did you know?" She asked. "The settlement you where going to, the one you're never going to reach? Did you know its name? Well, do you?" Dahinel stayed silent, simply glaring at the woman, and she laughed. "It's called Sanctuary!" She exclaimed, "Sanctuary!" She laughed even harder, tears appearing in her eyes. "It won't be called that for much longer though," she continued once she managed to gather herself again. "After all, we're going to build a city there, a nice big one. And when it's finished... Well, cities always need rules, don't you think?" Dahinel simply continued glaring at her, and she started getting annoyed. "Well, this is no fun," she said. "Ah well, I guess I shouldn't have experienced anything interesting from someone as delusional as a Windrunner." She snapped her fingers, and spears appeared in the air around him. She waited for a second, letting him see them, letting him understand what was going to happen, and then he screamed in pain as a dozen spears pierced him at once. His Stormlight started healing him, the spears vanishing as she reabsorbed them. He was almost healed when his Stormlight ran out. He slumped in the chains, bleeding from a half a dozen small wounds, Venta flying around him, trying to encourage him, to get him to at least try to resist, but he already knew he was done. He looked up to the woman, the one who was killing him, and he saw a metal tube take shape in her hand. "Goodbye," she said with a smile, and then everything went dark. Nimari looked at the body of the man she had just killed and fired more spears into him, more and more and more. Only after a few minutes she stopped, taking a deep breath, finally calming down. She spat on the mess that was left on the floor, and started walking away. She wouldn't have gone that far if he had at least had the decency to die properly, if he had begged, or cursed, or broken down. But the piece of crem had simply hung there silently, not even granting her the dignity of a response. Like she was some sort of embarrassment, like he was trying to tell her she should have been someone better, the same thing all the other Knights had told her when they cast her out. Still, she would show them. After all, she was the one who had power, and once they finished building the city, once they controlled it, and all the different Investure users with it... Well, once they had done that nobody would mind if she went back to her old world to show them the error of their ways. And even if they did mind... They weren't the ones with power.

By the way, this is a conversation Zinc and me had yesterday about how the alleys might work in sanctuary. I figured it might be good to post here so other people can pitch in on the discussion.

Karin reached the group just in time to hear Corette call out, and the first thing she noticed was Myriad's body nailed to the wall. She almost asked what happened, but bit that question back just in time. The gist of it was quite clear after all, and it was obvious from Corette's explanation that the others didn't know what had happened either. She stared at Myriad's body, expression bleak, and her eyes started flashing around the area around her. She had joked about people being down here, and the dangers, but she had never seriously thought about what that meant, that the people she was with might die, that she herself might die. She stepped in line with the rest of the group, face serious, and followed Corette, looking around for any sign of movement.

Yeah, probably. Trying to work out how each metal behaves when it rusts it just going to be a massive pain.

Ugh, I always dislike Epic logic. For example, Firefight-type fire epics should be easily killed with a heavy sniper and bullets of specific alloys. In a similar fashion, Rustborn's PI is basically just disintegration of inorganic matter with a nice visual effect, while against organic stuff it's just a barrier that burns whatever hits it, while transforming the surface in rust. Of course, if it actually did work like rusting should it would be a horrible ability that provided no defense whatsoever, so your version is quite a bit better in that regard. It's just that Epic logic makes trying to analyze potential uses and weaknesses of powers a pain.

Ah, alright, thanks. I do have to admit that now I want to figure out what would actually happen if you'd force gold to oxidize, but that isn't that important. Also, her ability to make rust grow on metal she affects, is said rust iron oxide or made from the metal the original object was made from?

Ah, thanks. So her power can also force oxidation with metala that nornally can't undergo it, like gold?

Alright, thanks. By the way, for your character, how does the rusting actually work on humans, or on noble metals. Does actually change it to rust (iron oxide), or would it mimic the chemical process of rusting, in that it forces the molecules to react with oxygen. Because in the second case if you'd use the ability on non-metals you'd basically just be setting them on fire.

Sounds good. As an aside, could you check out the updated version of Aylitha?