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I think I am here.

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  1. I think I am here.
    I’ll be there soon. Together we can organise some stuff to happen. I have a couple ideas, Max said, kept his gaze still on the wall. “A spren,” he repeated, summoned Sethramir as a sword in his hand. “Hey Seth, you think you can speak to it?” I’m Awakened, not a spren, came the reply. I can only speak to you, and the other worthy ones. Not this wall. That was unfortunate. Max wanted to know how the spren in the wall did its thing, knew he was coming and made this illustration, made the illustration with Althea and the little figures. Answers in a time like this was what he needed. Though, he guessed, that would ruin the wonder of the whole thing. Maybe it was better not knowing, accepting the phenomenon for what it was, without trying to debunk it. He shrugged, turned and began walking further down the cave, until he was met with trees and a forest-like structure. In a cave, of all things. He could see glowing moss and hot springs as he passed by the scenery, wondered about animals in this cave. He had seen some scurrying about, had seen something fly in the corner of his eye. He hadn’t spoken much in his walk, which explained why he hadn’t encountered the voice-mimicers yet. The voice-mimic animals could be useful, you know, he said. As an offensive strategy, if we weaponised them. Not like we should. Not everything that can be turned into a weapon should. But... this cave may have a lot of extra resources that are going unnoticed over the atium. Like these moss... could be an energy-efficient lighting source.
  2. I think I am here.
    Follow the chasm until you reach another cave. There are creatures there that imitate voices, but we weren't attacked by anything. You should be able to cross that cave and reach a forst, partially standing in a lake. Move past the lake, don't deter from the way and then you reach the cave we are at. Max nodded at the words, forgetting she couldn’t see. Calmly he stepped out of the water, begun advancing through the caves. Occasionally he could see some small animal scurrying around in dark corners in the edge of his vision, but he continued to walk forward. They were harmless to him. When he approached a cavern that seemed to be similar to a crystal forest he remembered Althea’s words, walked quietly past some bats and approached a wall. A wall with a drawing on it. It was a drawing of a single figure. Tall, regal, a streak of colour depicted some kind of robe. In the figure’s hand it held some sort of sword, and it was standing tall. There was something off, though. The figure’s head was broken, a large crack running down it. And there was something coming out of the head. Waves? Some sort of Investiture? Scratching his head Max remembered when Althea had shown him the cave pictures, brought the memory up in his head. It was the same wall. This wall. Stepping back Max looked at the cave drawing again. It had somehow changed to show Max, to show Max as standing tall, maybe even older than he was now? With a cracked head. And showing him Rioting. Quickly he sent it to Althea. Found the weird wall, he said.
  3. I think I am here.
    “Ah, a proper gentleman,” I say sarcastically as he opened the door for me, quickly stepping outside. The cold air is like a dame’s slap to the face, but a welcome one. It enshrouds me, captures me in a cloud of its environment, the light rain pattering on my hat and the dreary atmosphere of this town at night welcoming to my presence. I turn, face Raphael. I recall the people moving briefly out of his way as he walked. Maybe they can sense the authority. Maybe they know who he is and don’t want to speak up. Either way, he has an effect on people, with his demeanour, and I try my best to refrain from getting influenced by it. Smelling the air, damp from the rain and fresh with the banal smells of urban life I allow myself a brief close of my eyes, flare tin and become one with the setting, the surroundings. The chatter of random people and criminals become my chatter. The gentle breeze becomes my breeze. The uneven footing of the cobble is mine. Opening my eyes I sigh, look to Raphael again. “No matter where you live,” I say. “I’m surprised you can find a good place to live in a town like this. I half-expect I’ll be spending most of my nights in a shady motel.”
  4. I think I am here.
    “You want to kill them?” Brillin said, stepping in front. He looked around at the people gathered, here in the aftermath of the brawl. Of death and destruction. And yet, the idea of willingly killing someone else irked Brillin. He didn’t want to write in his book that he was a murderer, least of all in Elendel, supposedly the greatest city in the Basin. Since when had everything gone so wrong? He sighed, looked to the knife. “They will have allomancers too, won’t they? And they outnumber us. What if we just burnt the whole warehouse down? Crippled their supply of money and their hideout. That could put them at a real disadvantage for the Farriers to take care of them, without outright murdering people?”
  5. I think I am here.
    “Cleaning me clothes sounds dandy,” Aoryen said, trudging forward. “Good on ye’ for stabbing that boy. And don’t be feelin’ bad about not seein’ it coming. No one does. But, ye’, as soon as they said they wanted you as a bargain, I knew they’d be dead by sunset. The Colour Card game was just a little bit of fun, and to see if they’d be cheatin’ as well. Which they did.” Aoryen continued to walk forward out of the alley until they reached the main market square, and he looked back to Ophelia. “I guess we’re stayin’ here? At least until Ana here wakes up, then we can go to whatever house she was talkin’ about.”
  6. I think I am here.
    “Yeah,” Price said, shook his head from his doubts and nodded. “Yeah, I think so too. They are gods, they are bound to be near right important things. Especially with their tone.” Glancing at the torches that lit the halls he sighed. “It’s alright, I’ll think of something. Something, I don’t know, bureaucratic to say. Add some scientific words.” He grinned, distracted himself from his worry and look to Sagitta. “You can fool most of them that way. You know who leads this division, not who’s my direct superior, but who’s their boss’ boss’ boss? The right top of the hierarchy?” He chuckled a little bit. “A general. Someone who knows nothing of the research we do here, but they are a soldier and so they are trusted with this entire division.”
  7. I think I am here.
    Wes moved his knife. As she stabbed towards his hand he did the same stabbing motion towards hers. Now, it was up to her. Either both knives would hit their target, or none.
  8. I think I am here.
    Price nodded. With gods, the risk seemed muted, but he had to keep in mind the gods weren’t on his side. They were on their own side, which meant that any moment they were able to abandon Sagitta and Price. Looking to Sagitta and back to his ledger he shook his head and clicked his tongue. “I plan to tell my superiors. But, they won’t believe me. Why would they believe a single person, saying they’re following the gods? Unless we have proof, and the gods themselves don’t seem too keen on being tested again.”
  9. I think I am here.
    Aoryen watched as Ana stabbed the urchin, which surprised him. He had expected her to be like Ophelia, Who kept talking about saving the boy. Bah! As if he wasn’t about to do bad things to her. As if he hadn’t broken the Code. That was the crux of it, if you broke the Code, you were dead. Aoryen knew it, every sailor did. But still, while at sea he had seen smaller children kill full men, he hadn’t expected such violence from a city girl. But perhaps he had been too presumptuous. “Good on ye’,” he said, though he was sure Ana probably couldn’t hear him. Meeting Ophelia’s glance he ignored the smell of vomit and blood — life at sea made it easy, and picked up Ana, slung her over his shoulder and gestured to Ophelia to follow him. “We should leave,” he said. “Anyway, that’ll be one problem done.”
  10. I think I am here.
    I follow his turn to the door, try to gauge the emotion in his eyes. A calculated move? A challenge? I’m so used to scouring criminal eyes for dilated pupils, sketchy movements, anything that gives them away when I’m interrogating them. Anything that points to them lying or telling the truth. They say eyes are the window to the soul. Raphael’s eyes are perfectly still, like an ocean. Still water runs deep. A saying from back when I was new to the detective game. The quiet are the most dangerous. “Not going to finish your drink before we set off?” I ask, make the agreement final in words and tilt back my head, pour the rest of the whiskey down my throat. Hopefully by now he realises the alcohol is having no effect on me. Maybe that’ll make him reconsider if he wants to try anything shady on me. But no, he seems too sophisticated or anything too boring.
  11. I think I am here.
    Max jolted up at the sudden command, looked around although there was nothing to look at. Nothing but the gently glowing mushrooms. Max had already begun to clear a place out that he could rest on later. With all this travelling he deserved a rest. Looking back to the mushrooms Max felt something else pass over the bond, a sharp sense of panic rolling over him and he jolted out of his drowsiness for a moment. Some more moments came from Althea as Max moved forward, realising what was happening. Were the mushrooms making him sleepy? But why? Feeling his eyelids beginning to close Max forced himself to move forward, let himself he distracted by Althea’s voice. On the other side is a chasm, a ridge. Don't fall. There should be a rope there. Get away from the mushrooms. Looking ahead Max could see the chasm, long and winding. It was easy to see why someone so tired could fall down accidentally, but Max was prepared. Dragging his eyes away from the mushrooms he felt around in the dark, until he could feel a long rope extending to the bottom. So, he was on the right track, that was good. As Max slid down the rope gently to the watery bottom he could feel the effects of the mushrooms wear off, his usual alertness returning, albeit with a slight fatigue from his journey. A part of him was annoyed at his shoes getting wet, but he had prepared his clothes to go in caves, so it wasn’t like it was anything too important anyway. Thanks, he said. I’m at the bottom of the chasm. Where do I go from here? —- “Yeah, you’re right,” Wes said and looked down, another idea gone. But, it was okay. He was sure the high-ups would think of something. They always thought of something good for the people, there was always a solution. Even if kids like Wes weren’t really smart enough to see or understand it. Frowning, he looked at the Righthand as she sharply looked over her shoulder, paused, then resumed her conversation. “Is something wrong?” Wes asked, looked to where she looked. “Is a monster coming?”
  12. I think I am here.
    Rob was a little early to class. He could see some of his classmates hanging just outside the classroom door while waiting for the teacher to arrive, let them in. Among them was Ethan and Maria. His debating team. As he walked over Ethan looked over at him with a sense of resignation, held up his palm-cards, small slips of paper with his debating speech prepared on them. “So, give us the bad news again,” he said. “I’m guessing you don’t have a speech again? Or, at least, anything beyond: ‘I am Rob. You are wrong. Thank you’.” As he mocked Rob he stiffened his face, moved his arms like a robot and Maria laughed a little, covered a hand over her mouth when Rob looked back at her. “Sorry,” she said a little quietly. “But Ethan’s right. We always lose our debates, because you don’t write speeches.” She shrugged. “It’s alright,” Rob said, because it was easier to keep a straight face and pretend it didn’t hurt than the alternative. “I actually do have a speech this time,” he said and held up his sheet of paper, with his argument written on it. “Oh, wow,” Ethan said and snatched it out of Rob’s hand, held it front of him and squinted his eyes. “You actually did something this time. Who would have guessed?” Rob reached to grab it back and Ethan turned, stopped him and continued to read it over. Rob felt a sudden flash of anger, wondered what Ethan’s smug face would look like after being punched into a wall. He stepped back instead. A little part of him worried at how easily the thought had come the forefront of his mind. The sphere in his pocket pulsed and Rob wasn’t sure what to do, just looked at Maria. “It’s good,” Ethan said finally, threw it back and Rob caught it. “It’s not in Palm-cards, and you probably copy-and-pasted it off from some website, but whatever, it’s the best you’ve ever done in debating.” He sighed and Rob saw as the teacher and the rest of the class arrived. Now the debates would begin. “Let’s just hope it’s enough.”
  13. I think I am here.
    Quickly Price wrote down all of the things she listed, ordered them down on a separate page on his ledger, which he tore out, folded and stuffed it in his pocket. He could give it to one of his subordinates, have them organise it. “It’s... a lot of stuff, Sagitta. The department-heads will ask questions. They will wonder what work we’re doing.” Clicking his tongue he tapped his pencil against his ledger again, thinking. “Of course, I know the importance. But we can’t just say we’re following the gods, going to the Nomads’ land. No one will believe us... unless we show them results.” Results, like... new abilities? Price’s mind drifted back to Sensation’s ability to read emotions. Supernaturally. Something, that hypothetically, any Sensation Instinct would be able to do, if they knew of it.
  14. I think I am here.
    Sheathing his cutlass Aoryen looked around at his work, when a scream distracted him and he turned to Ana. For a second he wondered if the alive urchin was causing her problems again, but no, he was still on the ground, his blood seeping in channels along the cobblestone ground. “Ana,” he said, moved forward and kneeled down as the girl whimpered. “Ana, Ana, why’re you cryin’?” He asked and gently tried to separate her hands from her face. “It’s okay, they’re dead. All dead. They can’t be botherin’ you or yer’ house any longer.” Was she crying because she was injured? No, the only blood on her was from the urchins. Not injured. So why was she crying? “And even better,” he said quietly. “This next one is all yours.” He pointed to the whimpering boy.
  15. I think I am here.
    “Bees and plants are cool, but yes, defensive structures would be useful. I’m in the library too,” Rob said, looked to a side building in the school premises. “Straight after English. Which means debating.” Looking ahead he began on walking before looking back when he didn’t see Shana walking as well. He felt a little bad for her, especially that he couldn’t help, even though she’d helped him with debating. “You will do good,” he said, tried to be reassuring. “Just remember, they can’t make you redo the grade for one test. So in the big picture, you will do fine.” He gave her a thumbs up and slowly turned to walk away. Debating. Which meant hanging around his teammates. Who hated him after losing all of their debates. The sphere in his pocket pulsed as Rob wondered if a punch to the face would make them cast aside their glares. But no, why would Rob do that? He was a good person, a good student, and he dealt with demons every week, odd looks were nothing.
  16. I think I am here.
    “Going against HOWL?” Sinclair asked. “Keeping the public in the dark? Of course. Can you imagine the public backlash if they found out about us? About HOWL? We do a service to the world when we work.” Sighing he went and slipped on his work boots, watched the blue circuitry lines light up. He also took his goggles, though he slipped those in his pocket and didn’t put them on for now. No need. “Stopping at a burger joint seems good to me.”
  17. I think I am here.
    Aoryen stepped out of the way as an urchin with a knife lunged at him, using his superior lunge of the cutlass to slash a deep cut in his arm, spraying blood over the alley wall. Dropping the knife, the kid held the cut and cursed but Aoryen impaled him on the cutlass before he could make any other reaction. The other urchin lunging at him was met with the cutlass to his throat and Aoryen pushed his corpse to the side after he’d been killed. The stench of blood hung in the sink, and vomit too. Turning to the smell he saw Ophelia on her knees, her scissors stained red. Walking forward, Aoryen watched the urchin who’d grabbed Ophelia raise his arms, beg for his life. “Please, we’ll never bother her house again, plea-” Quickly Aoryen ended him too, dropped him to the ground. And then there was only one left. The original one who’s hand Aoryen had cut off was still laying on the ground, clutching the stump of his arm and crying. “What’d we do? What’d we do?” He said quietly through grit teeth, looked up at Aoryen’s looking figure. “For one, ye’ cheated,” Aoryen said, picked up the kid and pressed him against the wall. The kid whimpered as his arm continued bleeding. “For two, ye’ bargained with a lass’ purity.” He nodded to Ophelia. “When ye’ included her in the bet, ye’ broke the Code. I would’ve killed you right then and there, but I wanted to see if ye’ had any shred of honour left in ye’ bones at all. And then ye’ cheated, made it final.” The last urchin was crying softly, the corpses of his friends strewn around the alley. “Please don’t kill me...” he said quietly. “Oh, ‘course not,” Aoryen said, and threw him down, at Ana and Ophelia’s feet. “I’ll let them take care of ye’. Funny, how yer at their mercy now.” @Ookla the Dreamer @Ookla the Silent
  18. I think I am here.
    That’s it, then. The implication hasn’t been set since the beginning of the conversation. Raphael is no ordinary doctor. But what he likes to do outside of his professional work shouldn’t concern me. And yet, it does. He captures my attention when he looks into my eyes. His answer implies criminality, but I can’t help but wonder what type of crime would be fitting of a man like him. Obsessed with cleanliness, a doctor, perfect in the way he poses, shows off. I can’t help but think the common forms of crime would be too... banal for him. “Is that an invitation?” I ask.
  19. I think I am here.
    The urchins walked over and grabbed Ophelia, and she stared at him. Stared at Aoryen with those crying eyes. The remaining urchins grabbed Ana. One of them turned to him. “I thought sailor’s were s’posed to be good at cards.” “We are,” Aoryen said, turning to the urchin. “When we’re followin’ our honour. Our Sailor’s Code. And I can’t be helpin’ but notice you lot to seem to lack it.” “What’d you mean, you numb in the head or somethin? We won!” “Y’know what we do to break the Code?” Aoryen took out his cutlass. It hadn’t seen its use since he was on land, and its polished blade glinted in the sun. The urchin looked at it, begun to say something but Aoryen already swung, quick and without dramatic flair, severed his hand off of his arm. Quickly he held his cutlass up, as a warning to the other urchins, pointed it at the ones holding Ana and Ophelia.
  20. I think I am here.
    “They are,” Marcel said, and turned Lewis and Wita. “But we shouldn’t be too hasty and make mistakes. Sunrise is 6AM, it’s...” he checked his watch. “About midnight. We have time in plenty. But yes, we should go,” he said and stepped out of the cellar looking to the door he stepped close and examine do the house. “Kira?” He called.
  21. I think I am here.
    “I know a couple of charities,” Wes said, responding to Adren and looking from him to Althea. “So we don’t have to create a council. Well, we can, if the charities aren’t ready for so much money. But still, imagine just anonymously giving it to them.” He bit his lip when he realised what he was saying. “All that money will definitely kill the economy though. So... we just give it away? For research and not spending?” The Kalea moved around and he looked down at it fondly. ———x Max stepped over a rock as he looked to the rest of the cave. There were some things alive here, he knew that. Blood stains from the previous cave had told him that. He had just begun entering the system after getting the message, had lowered himself down and was now sauntering through the narrow paths. He’d encountered a small pool of water, had advanced. He knew found himself facing a beautiful colourful cave. Althea, you saw this cave too? He asked and sent her an image, of the fluorescent mushrooms and algae around the walls. It was so soothing, and Max began to feel a little bit exhausted from his travel here. It’s... really nice...
  22. I think I am here.
    Aoryen played a card and the urchin after him played his last card, yet another special card, one that reversed the order of play, but it didn’t matter any more. “Done!” He exclaimed and the whole trio of them stood up, laid all of their cards down. From across the deck Aoryen could see they had no number cards, and slowly he found himself standing up too. “We won,” one of the urchins said with a smug grin. He looked to Ana. “I guess that means we’re staying right where we always are.” Another one looked to Ophelia and made a gesture with his finger to come closer. “And that means you are ours.” “Aye, good game,” Aoryen said seriously, eyes unfocused, subtly rested his hand by his side, on the hilt of his cutlass. “I bet you lads are right happy about your gamble. Proper and done, wouldn’t ye’ say?”
  23. I think I am here.
    Rob nodded and stepped out of the car. He wasn’t quite sure what Cassie meant, but he shrugged it off, regarding the high school in front him. A blank, almost boring set of architecture. But it wasn’t like Rob could do any better. He could mould rock — but only on a small scale. To do so bigger, it would require a higher ideal.
  24. I think I am here.
    “But, Sagitta,” Price said, stood from his seat. Tiska. A nomad city. “I have responsibilities here. I have a job. I can — maybe get some leave, but why? Just to follow the gods on another one of their missions?” He paused. Let the gods go now, and it was possible he would never be able to see them again. And without proof, no one would believe him. “How will we travel?” He asked.
  25. I think I am here.
    “Stolen money...” Marcel said, considering the option. It wouldn’t be like Christopher would be using the money any time soon. And besides, they would be using the money to get to Big Ben, to stop whatever the bad guys were going to do. To complete Christopher’s mission. Possibly the best use of his money. “I have enough money on me,” Marcel said, shaking his head. “We can take his money, though — mail it to his sister anonymously after all this is over. She deserves to know his death.” Considering walking around the street, finding a taxi at this time Marcel rolled his tongue around in his mouth, stood up and paced across the cellar. Briefly he considered Wita had said first. See if someone would take them. “Like, as a hitchhike? That could work...” Marcel said. And wouldn’t require any money.
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