ZincAboutIt

Corette was about to lead Althea and Karin back towards the cave paintings when a new voice broke her concentration. She turned, flicking her blue eyes over the Bendalloy misting, then alighting on someone else - someone new. The girl looked oddly familiar; she must have been at the general ACE meeting, though Corette couldn't recall seeing her down in the initial cavern. Had she sneaked along with them the whole time? Curiosity warred with her urgency over the mural, and she let it win for a moment. Addressing this seemed more pressing; the cave paintings would likely stay where they were for a few more minutes. "Another stray?" Corette asked, keeping her voice soft but making sure to add a little edge. Though she spoke to Sarah, her eyes lingered on the new girl, listening to the pulses rippling out from where she stood. They were light, whispering things, like the soft scrape of someone sketching. Rithmatists were rare, though the chalk in the girl's hands seemed to verify Corette's initial impression. "Well, now that we're all together, I think a proper introduction is in order." @Oduim’s Chmapion

Corette watched Whisper for another few minutes before she, too, went her own way. The girl seemed at once whimsical and ruthless, that odd blend of boundless curiosity and cruelty that often went together in the Alleys. Whatever her motivations were, Corette was relatively sure Whisper would largely keep her out of them, which was good. Her mention of "strange Lightweaving" certainly piqued her interest, but Corette made a point of funneling that curiosity elsewhere. If Corette wanted her own space to work, she'd need to give Whisper the same courtesy. And while Corette wouldn't exactly trust Whisper, she trusted their agreement. Distrust was hardly something new to Corette - indeed, it came in quite handy. Kept you alive. And it was so much harder to discover new and fascinating things when you were dead. She kept her Bronze on a light burn, watching, listening, feeling the world around her. It swelled and moved and sang through her spirit, an ocean of sensation, and Corette was the sleek prow of a corsair slicing through it all. This was at the heart of Seeking: first, you had to know that there was something out there to find in the first place. Corette grinned, glorying in the knowledge that there would always be more for her to chase after, to hunt, to ensnare. No matter how hungry she got, there would always be more. Some people would find that disheartening; to Corette, it was a benediction. Around her, the scouting party had begun to fragment along a few lines, separating into smaller groups. Althea and Karin cooed over a small creature in a glass case, speaking about DNA, biomes, other species. Allri had finished her training for the moment and had gravitated towards Wes, possibly due to age, possibly something else. The boy seemed remarkably nervous, though he had yet to crack under the strain of the unknown. Still others wandered alone, rather like Corette herself: the lost Epic, Eos, Myriad, the strange young woman with the echoing Investiture, and Adren, who had settled down further into the forest to set up camp. Rig was somewhere amongst the trees too, though she couldn't see him. Probably fussing over that coat. Corette moved through and around the others, slipping back into the thick mist of the petrified forest and flicking off her headlamp. The warm golden glow of the stones gave enough light to see by anyway - more light would only limit her field of vision and reflect off the mist. Alone in the damp heat, Corette's posture began to subtly shift, her old training coming to the fore. No longer was she a Scout Leader, she was just Corette, the fluttering and silent edge of shadow in the night, the watchful eyes and steady hands that were recruited years before. Her steps became softer, quieter, her breathing lower and more steady. As she moved upwards with the gently-sloping cavern floor, she left the flooded zone and truly disappeared into the world around her. She tapped some breath, drawing only a shallow sip of air every now and again, ears poised to catch the slightest sound. Corette was no Tineye, but sometimes too much sensation could be a hindrance. Without her breathing in her own ears, her hearing sharpened. It was almost as if she were a spirit, floating through the mist - a true little mistwraith, come to steal a soul. The air began to cool as she moved further from the hot springs, and with that distance the mist dissipated again. The stone trunks of trees also began to thin, until the old forest was behind her. Reluctantly, Corette turned her headlamp on again; as much as she enjoyed stepping unnoticed, the last thing she wanted was to break her ankle in a crevasse. "Pride will kill you, if you let it." That had been one of Matthieu's first lessons, all those years ago. She could still hear his gravelly, rasping voice as though he were standing right beside her. "You can be cocky as a god the day you become a god, and not a moment before." Corette smiled at the memory; it was rare that she saw the old Inquisitor these days. His duties as the Head of Acquisitions weighed more and more on his time and his body, though he'd never say it aloud. He had never looked older than fifty to her, but Corette could hear the age in the way he spoke, the way he breathed. Eventually, he'd probably die, and Corette imagined she'd be rather sad about that - he was terribly interesting, after all, and interesting people were so rare. Shame to lose one. Something loomed over her in the darkness up ahead, and Corette tilted her head upwards to try and catch some of it in the beam of her headlamp. The white light sliced up over deep black stone of the kind that made up the rest of these tunnels and caves. The cavern wall. It seemed she'd reached an edge, she'd have to -- Corette froze as the beam of her light caught a flash of color, and she turned her head back towards it, thinking she might have missed some vein of metal, or a new kind of fungus. Instead, the light illuminated a figure - a human figure, painted onto the dark stone in white strokes. That's right, Corette recalled, Stancel mentioned cave paintings. Grinning, she stepped closer, inspecting the figure. It was tall, and gave the impression of a man wearing a robe of some kind with the ends dyed blue and violet. The image of a flame rested in the center of his chest, and he held one hand outstretched, palm facing away as though pushing on something. Three small circles hovered before his hand. A Coinshot? In a cave painting? The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she moved closer, realizing now that it wasn't a robe, it was a coat. A coat with the ends cut into long tassels. A mistcoat. Rig's mistcoat. As she looked, she could see two small lines of color streaked above the man's face, where his hair would be. One blue. One purple. Rig, for it could be no one else, stood beside the skeletal form of a tree that looked very similar to the ones in this very cavern, shooting coins. Corette had seen him do just that not an hour ago. But this painting was here at least a month ago. How? Fear moved through her then, and it wasn't the bright, sharp terror of imminent danger. This was a subtler fear, deeper and more troubling. It was the sort of fear that Corette had trained herself to accept, to crave, to love. She told herself as much, forcing herself to move back slowly, to illuminate more of the wall. Other figures resolved themselves, arrayed around this cavern as they were now. There, Allri Steelpushing her own coins through more shadows of trees; here, a tall woman who could only be Eos with her flame-red hair, hands wreathed in aurora; and there, creeping beneath the branches of two trees, the form of a small woman holding a long dagger in one hand, so thin and sharp it might as well have been a spike. A slender silver ring lay around the woman's throat, and two smaller ones encircled her upper arms. Corette herself, of course. "Never run from fear, Corette," Matthieu would say. "Embrace it. Envelop yourself within it. Fear is the herald of a true secret. If you listen closely, your fear will lead you to knowledge you never thought possible." Corette kept her breathing even and measured as she walked back through the forest, back down the sloping hill, back into the golden glow of the stones. There had been far more paint on the wall than she could see - far more. But she had seen enough to know that this was something different, something new. Knowledge they never thought possible. Part of her wanted to keep this to herself, but she wasn't stupid. This level of prophecy was legendary even to her. This wasn't some vague correlation or coincidence. Somehow, before they even knew they'd be thrown together, someone in this cavern had predicted their future. When she reached sight of the group, Corette felt a slight knot of tension ease from between her shoulder blades. The whispers of a flush covered her cheeks in embarrassment; how long had it been since she'd been scared to be alone? She shook it off, moving first to Rig, then to Althea and Karin. The three most visible "leaders," besides herself. She kept her voice even and soft, careful not to draw alarm, and she told them all the same thing. "I found the cave paintings Stancel mentioned over on the far cavern wall. I have a feeling you'll want to see them. Immediately." @Sorana @kenod @TrailRunnin @anyone else

“I’m sure the sciencey people will be well pleased,” Corette answered, making a few more notes on her notepad and giving Whisper a warm smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Whisper, she thought. A good name, and apt for this little slip of a thing with her Lightweaving. Corette could tell she was about as harmless as a live adder, no matter how young she was under that Stormlight. The girl was right about Karin - it was rather convenient to have someone so obviously alien around to represent the Dark Alley. It made things far easier for people like Corette and Whisper. Your secret is safe with me, Corette signed between bullet-points. I’m not here to blow your cover. I’ll stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine, and I’d say we could have a nice working relationship. As I said, I’m largely here of my own accord. See interesting things, meet interesting people. It’s not every day you get to be one of the first to see something - even in the Alleys. She’d racked up quite a bit of vacation time this last year, and old Matthieu owed her a favor besides. He’d given her a nice chunk of free reign and told her to bring him back “something nice.” So far, Corette hadn’t found something worth his time - but then, immortality tended to leave a person jaded. She was confident she’d find something, or someone, to present to him eventually. For now, Corette was her own woman. No one to follow, no one to Seek, no one to stab neatly through the heart unless she wished it. And she might. But it was up to her. ”I’m going to take another loop through the cave,” Corette declared aloud. Your business is your own, and I won’t tread on your toes. Though perhaps if you’re looking to stab someone in their sleep, I’d request you choose me last. I’ll extend you the same courtesy, of course. Corette winked, then made one more notation. Oh, and leave Lord Coinshot to me. I have a feeling he could be quite useful. Though whether or not he’d be coming back with her in body or in...’spirit,’ would depend on the rest of this expedition. @Voidus

Corette leaned closer and made some notation on her little pad of paper, seeming to examine the vial of spores that Wes had in her other hand. "Interesting," Corette said aloud, careful to give the appearance that they were speaking normally. Alleycant was impossibly useful, but two people standing in silence twirling pens could be more conspicuous than simply speaking in whispers. Silence when people expected noise was just as loud as shouting when someone expected quiet. The trick to stealth was blending in. "Those could come in handy should we meet anything we can't catch or subdue." As she spoke, she twirled the pen again, interspersing the Alleycant with more small notations in her flipbook. To anyone else, they would see Wes talking to a Scout Leader - hardly suspicious. I've hopped around departments, she sent. Cut my teeth in Acquisitions, but I've done plenty of work for the Intelligence folks too. Here mostly on my own curiosity, but I've never been shy to mix business and leisure. If we find something truly spectacular, I'll give the higher-ups a ring. Didn't realize they'd be sending the Bioscience department - and so openly, too. But, then, Karin spent a good twenty minutes inside that worm and lived. If that doesn't say 'Dark Alley' then I'm not sure what does. @Voidus

Corette gave Wes a wry smile. "Lord Coinshot could use a few lessons in manners," she conceded. "Though I've met few people with his level of control over his Steel. A trick like that required more finesse than most could pull off. And he's got plenty of ambition, that hunger - one doesn't need to be a Seeker to tell that much." She shrugged. "Twinborn are quite useful - though perhaps I'm biased." She tapped her slender Cadmium torque and watched the girl watch her. Wes was a tightly-closed little book, her light eyes sweeping over everything, gauging reactions, expressions, filing it all away. Corette knew that look; she'd been watching the world from the shadows, quiet and still, for years. The stuttering echo that followed each beat of Wes's power was a good hint towards her origins, though a spiked power was hardly uncommon in the Alleycity. Hemalurgy alone meant little. But the girl's watchful poise, her comfort in the darkness, her apparent fearlessness - those were far more telling. She couldn't have been more than eighteen, and that could be a Lightweaving of its own. For all Corette knew, the girl was younger. Plenty of people got started in a guild young - she should know. Corette had been sixteen. She could still feel the blood on her hand as she stool over the body in the mouth of that alley, counting his meager crysts. She could still recall the quiet, rasping voice that had hissed out from behind her, where moments before there had only been deep shadow and rough brick. "Good aim" the man had said, then smiled at her. "Are you hungry?" She sent a pulse of Bronze out around her, checking to see if they were alone. Everyone seemed occupied with their own activities. Corette eyed the girl, still smiling a quiet, personal smile. She was almost positive she'd heard her signature once before - it was just familiar enough. But where? Corette would have recalled the girl if they had met face to face, even if she was under a Lightweaving. A spiked power like hers was unique. So where? A crowd, maybe? Somewhere out in the city? That seemed impossibly unlikely, and even then, a spiked power like this in a crowd would have stood out in bright, flashing lights to her trained Seeker's senses. She'd have had to be somewhere that one spiked power didn't stand out, somewhere it blended into the background. One amongst dozens. There was only one option, really. Corette slipped a hand into a small pocket inside her coveralls, thinking. This was a risk, but a minor one; it would either work, or it wouldn't. Either way, she'd know. She withdrew her hand from the pocket, clutching a little pen and notepad between her fingers. As though she were merely fidgeting, considering what to note down, Corette gave the pen a little twirl. Care to have a more candid chat? @Voidus

Corette watched Allri and Rig train for a bit, burning her Bronze and getting a good feel for each Allomancer's unique signatures. Allri's command of her metals was erratic, prone to fits and starts, flares and dips. Rig, by contrast, used his Steel with all the skill of a lifetime practitioner, putting just enough force behind each coin - no more, no less. He was efficient, intuitive, and, frankly, quite talented. A dangerous combination. And danger was fun. Corette found herself smiling as she watched him; between his glowing mistcoat, his height, and his Allomancy, he cut quite a figure. Eventually though, she grew bored and stood up, hopping down from one of the rocks at the edge of the hot springs and wading quietly through the trees. She gave Rig and Allri a wide berth, not keen on getting hit by a stray coin, and made her way back towards the others. Her smile widened when she caught sight of Wes; the girl stood with her customary watchful silence, keen eyes taking in everything and giving nothing away. "Nice jump, earlier," Corette said, once she was within earshot of the girl. She continued walking closer, until she was just a few feet away from Wes, and gave her a smaller, slightly-conspiratorial smile. "You don't miss much, do you? I recognize that look - 'Seeker's eyes.' Most people don't know how to really watch, do they? But you do." @Voidus

Corette frowned in concentration at the question, kneeling down on the edge of the pool and holding a hand above the water. It seemed hot, but not scalding. There was no immediately corrosive or toxic smell to the water, though that didn't necessarily mean anything. She slipped her pack off her back and set it on her feet, careful to perch on the damp rocks surrounding the hot springs and not in the few inches of water that flooded most of this cavern. Then, she withdrew a spare bit of cloth from within the pack - a scrap of wool blanket from back in the first cavern. Perfect. She eyed Rig, checking to see if he was in a position to Push her into the hot spring, but he was speaking with Allri. Convinced of her relative safety, Corette slung her pack back over her shoulders, then knelt back down and dipped the piece of wool into the steaming water. If it were truly corrosive, it should eat away at the organic material with little trouble. This was far from a fool-proof test; Corette had half a mind to encourage Adren to stick his hand in to set their minds at ease. However, she figured that type of cavalier attitude would win her few friends, and a lot more watchful eyes. So, she played the helpful Scout Leader and held the wool in the water. Nothing happened, and when Corette withdrew the cloth it seemed entirely whole - if wet. Tentatively, she held the wool over her arm and let one drop of water fall on the back of her exposed wrist. She grit her teeth, prepared for pain, but there was nothing. She waited a bit longer - still nothing. Then, with one more look at the sopping wet square of wool, she grinned and dipped a finger into the pool. Heat coiled up her hand in a delicious spiral, and Corette sighed with delight, rolling her shoulders at the sensation. It took a great deal of her own restraint not to jump right in immediately; the proximity to a good bath made her acutely aware of how grimy she was, and she itched to be free of her coveralls and soak in the hot mineral water. .Instead, she stood up and put her hands on her hips, surveying the area. This side of the hot springs were flooded with cold water, but she could see that the cavern floor sloped upwards on the other side, disappearing into thick mist and the shadows of more trees. "The water seems safe," she said, "and the cavern floor slopes up over there, out of the water." She pointed. "Could be a decent place to set up camp - especially if we can find more of those glowing rocks." The golden light still filtered through the mist here, but more light would help set everyone at ease. "Now, I don't know about all of you, but I'd murder for a nice bath." @I Rashek @TrailRunnin

Heat pressed in on her from all sides as Corette slipped between trees. The thick, humid air was warm - almost too warm. But anything was better than the bone-deep chill of the freezing pool. She slid a careful hand over the trunk of one skeletal tree, then tapped it with the tip of her dagger. It felt like stone, but looked like wood. A petrified forest? ”These aren’t statues,” she said, following after Rig now - rust those long legs of his - and hearing Allri follow behind. “This was a forest once, but time has turned it to stone.” There was a better explanation, she was sure. One of the scientists could surely do a better job, but Corette was not a scientist. Well, not usually, anyway. The corner of her mouth curved up in a tiny, private smile, and she ducked easily beneath a dense weave of stone branches. She slipped under the arc of Rig’s outstretched arm, curving around him, then stopped. The trees here had formed a kind of half-ring around two steaming pools - hot springs. She’d been right. Carefully, she skirted the edges of the pools, smile wide and eager. ”Now this is my kind of place,” she said, kneeling down to inspect the water. As soon as it was cleared as safe, she would be taking a long soak. @I Rashek @TrailRunnin

As they walked, Corette felt the cool air of the cavern grow slightly warmer. It seemed to be coming from their right - the side of the cavern directly opposite the glowing stones, and whatever had shifted amongst them. She stopped, cocking her head and stepping just slightly towards the current of warmer air. Corette reached her left hand out, moving her fingers through the air - yes, it was definitely warmer. "The air is warmer over here," she called, squinting into the gloom. The area off to that side seemed shrouded in a thick mist that hung low to the ground. The light from her headlamp caught the vertical shadows of... something. A lot of somethings. If Corette didn't know better, she'd have said they were trees. "I think there's some kind of forest over here," she said, louder this time. "Could be a hot spring this way, maybe? Anyone want to check it out?" Corette felt her curiosity spike, and she smiled. An underground forest. It would be foolish to go alone, but that didn't stop her from wanting to dash right in, be the first to see something incredible. And the prospect of warmer air was enticing all its own; Corette still shivered slightly from her dunk in the freezing pool. She tucked her hair behind her ears, noting with a combination of irritation and amusement that she still had that streak of purple glow in her hair. While she waited, she slipped a vial of Bronze flakes from a pocket and knocked it back. She would not be caught off-guard here. Not again. @TrailRunnin @Invocation @Sorana @Rushu42 @anyone else

At Eos's warning, Corette had grown very still, flaring her Bronze. She picked out each person around her - whoever was currently using their Investiture, anyway. Rig had turned on his Steel, and the slender little silent girl, Wes, pulsed with her customary skittering beat. Up ahead, Corette could detect...nothing. She chewed her lip in frustration, then knelt down and unsheathed her dagger again. The group caught up to her, surged around her, and she fell into step with them. The light from the glowing stones cast the rest of the cavern into a pre-dawn gloom; enough to see shadows in every corner, threats in each pool of darkness. "Whatever is down here, I can't detect any Investiture." Her voice was soft, but her words were sharp and bitter. She was blind down here, and this place had caught her off guard one-too-many times. Fear was all around her, dripping down her neck as water, following in her footsteps as shadow. She let it flood her, let the adrenaline coarse through her veins. Corette was part of that darkness, part of that fear - it held no purchase on her. Corette opened her eyes; she had closed them for a moment as they walked. Rig was to her left, dueling cane in one hand, the other on his pistol. He'd be better served with coins, she thought, though said nothing. To her right, Althea spoke about herding whatever was here into a corner to trap it. A decent suggestion, if this place weren't riddled with cracks and crevasses that made for an easy escape route. Eos stood next to the Elsecaller, animal companion still draped over her shoulders like a stole. "It knows this place better than we do," Corette said. "Trying to capture something in its own territory will be hard. For all we know, it could be alone, or there could be dozens of them." She checked the little tablet in her pocket, noting the three dots still above them. "What I do know is that eventually, we will need to rest. I don't like the idea of sleeping with a threat over my head, but at least in here we have room. We can set up a perimeter, keep watch, see if these things are even interested in us. Better than getting bottled up in a tunnel, which is our only other option." @Sorana @Invocation @TrailRunnin @others

Corette stalked out of the pool of water, the cold only intensifying as the air from the tunnel sliced through the fabric of her coveralls. Rig was bent over laughing, the sound echoing through the space that was, for the moment, shrouded in darkness. She circled Rig, thoughts blackened and vindictive. Tripping him wouldn't matter - the rusting Firesoul could sit in a tub of icewater and turn it to tea. Her fingers itched for her dagger, but she forced them to relax. Instead, she amused herself by concocting any number of suitable punishments. Rig was far too tall for a good slap - as much as he deserved one. Still, being petite had its advantages. There was all manner of vulnerable anatomy far closer to her reach. She tucked that little gem away for later use. Nothing quite like a surprise. The thought warmed her, and as she circled back around she actually gave Rig a little smile - nice and sharp. "You're right of course," she said. "One of us has to look respectable, after all." Corette paused, frowning in mock-concentration, before widening her eyes in an obvious parody of realization. "You know, once you're done lowering the team, why don't you come over here and light up the place? It's awfully dark over here." She hefted her pack, then turned her headlamp towards the vast darkness around them. Somewhere nearby, water flowed - a waterfall, perhaps? Eager to investigate, Corette stepped further into the dark, burning Bronze to check for any hidden Investiture. As she walked, she heard small pebbles crunch underfoot. The sound of rushing water grew louder, almost a roar; definitely a waterfall. Suddenly, her foot bumped up against something smooth and hard, and glowing yellow light flared into life before her. It illuminated the entirety of one large, rounded stone, but the light didn't stop there - it grew. As though she had kicked off a massive chain reaction, more and more smooth boulders appeared, all of them covered in a shimmering, translucent skin of yellow glow. Corette gasped, head tilting back further and further as the golden-yellow light crawled up the wall, revealing a cascade of water that poured from a crack in the cavern ceiling and plummeted down into a crevasse. Her face broke into a smile, wide with delight, and she whirled back to look at Rig and the others. "Well," she said, a little breathless. "Nevermind that darkness, eh?" @TrailRunnin @Invocation @ElephantEarwax @Voidus

Corette watched Eos go, jumping down into the shaft without any Allomantic protection, and raised an eyebrow. Can she fly? Corette walked forward and peered over the edge, half-expecting to see the red-head soaring down on some kind of living rainbow cloud. Instead, she clung to the sides of the shaft, hands and feet encased in that same boreal light, creating little hand and footholds for herself. Eos looked up at her and smirked, as if goading Corette to do something more impressive. Well, if you insist. She double-checked the zippers on her pack and tightened the straps, re-sheathed the dagger, and called down to the bottom. She could just make out the glow of Rig's headlamp - and his hair. "If you drop me Rigex Lekal," she sang out sweetly, "so help me, I will wear your guts as a scarf." Then, without a backwards glance, Corette kicked up into a handstand and flipped feet-first into the long drop. She caught one look at Eos and smiled as she sailed past, then felt an immediate tug on the harness at her waist. That would be Allri, slowing her descent with Iron. A moment later, she felt a far subtler push from below, as together the two allomancers guided her down. Air still whipped past her, and she let go of her Cadmium, laughing and breathing in the cold, dark rush of it. She felt herself spin once, though whether it was her own motion or some trick of Rig's, she couldn't tell. Whatever it was, it was glorious. All too soon, it was over. She felt the pressure from below intensify, until she was gliding smoothly down and stopped about three feet from a shallow pool of water. Rig stood there, grinning, hand outstretched. "We're fine, Allri, you can stop," he called and the slight pull on Corette lifted. Then, he looked down at the water beneath Corette, grin turning wicked. Corette's eyes went wide with realization, and she struggled in midair to point her feet downward. "Don't you --" Rig winked, then dropped his hand. The water rushed up to meet her with an icy smack - it was freezing, and Corette immediately began to shiver. She staggered to her feet, glaring at Rig through her now-sopping hair, and tried to shake off as much water as she could. "I," she declared, teeth chattering, "h-hate you." @TrailRunnin @Invocation

While people were lowered down the shaft, Corette observes the new one - the Epic. She’d come along readily enough, which was a good sign. Perhaps she’d be useful, or she could just be another threat to watch for. Plenty of these people posed her no threat, but Eos could kill any number of the scouting party with relative ease. Epic powers did strange things to their wielders. ”You came along willingly,” Corette said, moving up alongside Eos, careful to keep her Bronze on. “Must be disorienting, waking up here, and yet here you are.” She nodded towards the pit. “It’s safe - Allri and Rig will guide you down. You don’t need any rope. Would it help if you watched the process? Allomancy is a largely invisible art, and you’ve little reason to trust us.” And rightly so. Corette smiled, blue eyes glinting. @Invocation

Corette watched Rig step backwards into the darkness wearing that smug, self-satisfied grin, and she lamented that she hadn’t shoved him off the edge earlier. She waited a moment, then another, until finally his voice filtered up through the deep. Good, he survived. It would be a shame to lose him so soon. Corette was eager to see how many more colors he’d collect on that ridiculous coat of his. When no one stepped forward to volunteer, Corette addressed the group. “We’re going down,” she said. “Now line up, or you can stay here and have a nice rest.” She looked past the group, back into the glowing purple cavern. Corette knee she should stay and make sure everyone got down safely, but she figured she’d only last a short while before joining Rig and anyone else brave enough to take a first leap. “Who’s first?” @scouts!

Corette peered over the edge of the shaft, relishing in the cool air that wafted up, stirring her hair. She looked at Rig with envy - how she would love to step right over this lip of stone, falling through the air, with the knowledge that she could catch herself at the end. The idea of waiting for everyone up here while Rig got first crack at exploring the next cave felt like torture, and she had half a mind to hitch a ride down on his coattails. When Allri stepped up and began playing with a handful of coins, Corette got an idea. She looked to Rig, but pointed at Allri. “Between the two of you, we could get lowered down far easier than with rope. If you go down first, Rig, and Allri stays here with her Iron on, we could get support from above and below. Then, when we’re all down, Allri can follow last. Does that sound possible?” @I Rashek @TrailRunnin @Rushu42

Corette stepped back a bit at the flurry of glowing fur that scampered through the tunnel and up onto the Epic’s shoulder. Eos, she’d called herself - almost certainly an epithet. Epics never bothered to keep their old names after coming into power. She met Rig’s eyes and saw the question there, one she herself had been wondering: what to do with the new girl? Well, if it had been up to her, Corette likely would have left Eos to her final slumber. No point in picking up strays. Especially ones who had no idea what they were doing. Rig was an exception - Corette has never seen anyone adapt so quickly. Most newcomers went through a minor breakdown, especially if they fell through on accident. Corette shrugged, then flicked her eyes down towards the knife she still hid in her hand, then up to the coin between Rig’s fingers, then finally back to his eyes. She raised a meaningful brow. Killing Eos would be a bit of a challenge but nothing they couldn’t handle, especially with Althea along. Corette didn’t miss Rig’s sidelong glance at the Elsecaller, gaze keen and a bit suspicious. Jealous? Maybe. Rig seemed the type to enjoy control, and Althea had taken up something of a guiding role for the others. For her part, Corette didn’t much care who lead or who followed. When she walked, she walked under her own command and rust what others thought. Just then, Sarah’s voice echoed out from behind them, back in the cavern. A drop ahead? Well, that sounded interesting - more interesting than this anyway. Corette gave Eos one more look, then said, “I’m Corette. We’re scouting ahead; the main body of the expedition should be coming up soon. You can stay with us, or you can go back down this tunnel til you reach a large cavern. Should be about an hour’s walk, maybe more. Make your choice.” She made eye contact with Rig again and cocked her head back to the mushroom cavern. “Come on Rig,” she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a spare kerchief. She handed it to him. “Let’s go see about this drop. Who needs rope, when you’ve got a Coinshot?” @Invocation @TrailRunnin

Corette could feel Rig burning Steel beside her, a comforting and steady beat next to the whipsawing ring of the Epic’s power. Everyone spoke calmly, but they were all on edge. Too many deadly surprises for anyone to relax now. Corette smiled, cool and soft, but she was already running through several possible scenarios. Only a few were good. Rig pushed the tank into her hands, and she quickly slid it into her pack one-handed, keeping a firm grip on her long knife. She listened to the Epic speak, cocking her head with interest. “Seems like you’re not the only one who entered the Alleyverse down here, Rig,” she said quietly. Corette spared a momentary thought for all the people who had stumbled through down here and died, alone and forgotten. Her smile grew a bit colder. ”We’re an excavation team,” Corette said, louder now. “Sent down to explore these caverns, map the place, see what we can find. As far as your...pet.” She shrugged. “Didn’t see anything, though I’d hazard a guess it’s back in there.” Or lost to the formless Void that shifts between realities, she thought, though kept that to herself. @Invocation @Sorana @TrailRunnin

Corette followed Rig out of the glowing cave, watching as he gently pushed Allri out into the main tunnel. Nearly all of her drowsiness had worn off by now, and she held her dagger in a firm but easy hand as Althea shook the strange woman awake. Corette let go of her Cadmium, taking a long breath in, then out. Rig still had her oxygen tank; she’d need it back soon, but they might have bigger problems. She burned Bronze, just in time for the woman to manifest two handfuls of iridescent light. A wave of investiture washed out from the woman, clear and high and ringing like a struck singing bowl. Corette stepped back, flicking her eyes to the sides and twirling the blade in her hands to an overhand grip, hiding it behind the flat of her forearm. “Well whoever she is, she’s Invested - if that wasn’t obvious,” she hissed. “Epic, I’d guess, from her bronze signature.” @TrailRunnin @Sorana @Invocation

Corette watched Rig sway on the spot, eyes still half-lidded as he spoke. She still felt a measure of exhaustion herself, even though she was tapping now, and she gave another hard look at the luminous spores floating through the air. Aerosol dispersal, and strong stuff, too, she thought, fighting the urge to giggle at Rig's drowsy complaints. She did raise an eyebrow at the nickname. No one had ever given her a nickname before, not even at the orphanage as a girl. Nicknames were for people you trusted, people you liked. Hearing it drop from Rig's lips, easy as breathing, still warm and softened with sleep, was... Fine. It was fine. She could be Cor - why not? She rather liked it, actually. Corette rolled the odd prickling from her neck and tucked some hair back behind her ears, fingers leaving a glowing violet streak on a few strands near her face. "Don't you look fetching," she said to Rig, looking him up and down. He was well and truly covered in violet specks now, though nothing glowed quite as brightly as whatever he'd raked through his hair. "I think purple is your color." She found her pack where she'd dropped it, then fished around inside for her oxygen tank and breathing tube. Corette strode back towards Rig, who looked as though he might fall over again any second, and grabbed the front of his coat, towing him over to a nearby stalagmite. He followed obediently. The stone pillar had a rather flattened top, making it short and stubby - only about a foot high. Perfect. Corette hopped up onto the tiny plateau, the sudden elevation bringing her up to about Rig's eye level. With practiced hands, she looped the breathing tube around his head before shoving the two little rubber nasal tubes into his nostrils. He protested weakly, and she smacked away one hand. "Breathe through your nose," she commanded, staring him full in the eye now. Rusts, this is satisfying. "Feels better, yes? Now, pull yourself together and help me wake the Mistborn. Maybe give her a little Steelpush, that should be fun." @TrailRunnin

Corette drifted in a slow, soft haze, her mind totally at ease. She slept, and it was a full, deep sleep of the sort she rarely ever got. Violet light chased itself through her subconscious, pulsing and flowing in a swift river around her. Suddenly, everything slid sideways as her dreamworld was upended. The bottom dropped out of her stomach, and Corette’s eyes flew open just in time for her to see the purple light of the cavern swing past her as she crashed onto the floor. A cloud of glowing particles bloomed around her as she fell right into a large cluster of fat, purple mushrooms. They broke her fall, but the spores were so thick now that she coughed, struggling to breathe. Instinctively, she tapped her Cadmium, just to catch some respite from the glowing dust. Instantly, the world sharpened. She still felt drowsy, but already some of her earlier exhaustion was wiped away. Corette blinked, taking in Rig’s sleeping form above her, the glowing spores, the lines of pulsing fungus, the body of the woman lying limply next to her, almost totally hidden in mushrooms... Wait, what? Corette peered closer, and sure enough, the sleeping form of a woman lay down there, pale and still. She definitely was not in the scouting group. Corette got to her feet, eyeing the cavern with new suspicion. Several more people were clustered at the cavern entrance, peeking in. ”There’s a woman lying here - not from our group,” she called over, her voice slightly odd as she tapped and talked at once. “Good call not coming in. I’ll wake Rig and Allri, but this one might be dangerous. Better to wake her once we can watch her properly.” She walked over to Rig and shook him a bit. “Wake up.” Nothing. Typical. Corette shook him harder this time, gripping the lapels of his coat. ”Rig, wake up.” Still nothing. He murmured something in his sleep, lips quirking in a smile. He looked so peaceful, almost kindly, without his typical smirk. Corette fixed that image in her mind for one moment, then, grinning, she shoved him over sideways so he toppled into another cluster of mushrooms. @TrailRunnin @Sorana

"Oh, sit down," Corette called over, rolling her eyes. The newest arrival into the cavern looked around at the floating, glowing dust, soft mushrooms, and pulsing rivers of light as though they might jump up and bite him. "Does any of this look like it's going to try and eat you?" She waved her long, thin dagger at the cavern, which, apart from the motes of dust, was perfectly still and quiet. "We called a halt anyway. There's no point wearing ourselves out; after that worm, we could all do with a bit of rest." And I didn't see you doing much against it, either, Corette thought moodily, before turning back to the stalagmite pillar. Rig leaned against it, eyes closed, a calm, easy smile on his lips. His chest rose and fell with a deep, even rhythm, his coat-tails thoroughly dusted in violet specks now. A new line of glowing purple streaked through his hair where he must have ran a hand; Corette examined her own fingers, which were also stained with glowing violet from where she'd placed her hands on the floor. The ends of her own hair pulsed with a bit of light as well, and she smiled. She left Rig where he was, feet dragging a bit as she wove her way through clusters of mushrooms and over glowing networks of purple tendrils. Every fiber of her being begged her to sit down, to rest. She had earned this, hadn't she? Corette pulled her tablet out again and squinted at the screen with bleary eyes. She scrubbed at one eye with the heel of her palm, trying to shake the exhaustion from her mind, but she was just so tired. Others were filtering into the cavern now, more and more each minute. Allri, it seemed, had already fallen asleep on a particularly large bed of glowing dust. Corette sent out another sweep of Bronze, just to set herself at ease, and could detect nothing but the Investiture of the scouting party. That done, she meandered slowly through the cavern, feeling the soft, pulsing light draw her back towards the center of the cavern. It seemed right that she would end up back here; Rig had chosen an excellent spot. She'd never tell him that, of course - he'd be insufferable. But, with him fast asleep, Corette figured she was safe. Safe. The word thrummed through her, low and sweet. She was safe here, they all were. It wouldn't hurt to settle down for a moment and catch her breath, would it? With a last look at the cavern entrance, Corette leaned up against the pillar next to Rig and listened to his breathing. She let her eyelids droop a bit - not entirely closed, but nearly. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Slowly, slowly, Corette felt her breathing begin to match Rig's, both of them breathing in time to the pulsing indigo glow. Her head fell to the side a bit, coming to rest on something. Rig's shoulder? The stalagmite pillar? It didn't matter - she'd only rest her eyes for a moment. Just a moment. Just... @Lord Furret @TrailRunnin

Corette had walked around the cavern wall, and into a dream. The violet light cast everything into an evening glow, deep and soft as a summer night. She had wandered, marveling at the sheer number of the mushrooms and their variety, careful to step between the lattice-works of glowing purple fungus connecting each cluster. Rig followed behind her, drawing in a soft breath, then begin moving his way into the cavern. His steps were louder, and she heard the muffled, rubbery sound of the mushroom caps jostling around his legs. Corette looked over to him as he spoke, feeling herself moving perhaps a bit slower than she had before. "I rather like this one, Cor," he said as he finally made his way over to her. "Maybe we should rest here for a bit." Corette didn't miss the yawn he tried to hide behind his hand, and she gave him a lazy grin. The air here in the center of the cavern was thick with tiny motes of what looked like glowing dust, and she gave a little laugh when she saw them collecting on Rig's coat-tails. The cloth that had once been a deep navy blue was now speckled with both blue-green and glowing violet. She wondered how long it would be before some found its way into his hair. "Already getting sleepy, my Lord?" She drawled, though if she were being honest, Corette could use a bit of a rest herself. She set her pack down on a relatively mushroom-free area of the cavern floor. With a start, she patted her coveralls and drew out the tablet, checking on the group of little red dots. Sure enough, they were all clustering close to the cavern now. Lovely, no lost lambs. She swiped upwards, sending a quick text to Stancel. All was clear, and the main expedition could follow along. Maybe Rig was right - who knew what time it was down here, anyway? How long had they been walking? Corette reached her arms up in a languid stretch, then bent backwards in a graceful arc. She held the backbend for a moment, feeling the delicious head-rush, before completing the walkover and shaking her hair out over her shoulders. Rig was still looking around, his eyes heavy-lidded, a contented smile playing about his mouth. The violet light reflected off the deep brown of his hair, turning it almost black by contrast. "I like it here too," she said, still smiling, her mind drifting through the heavy air. "Maybe you're right - but don't let it go to your head. We'll wait till everyone catches up. Then we can decide. Deal?" @TrailRunnin