ZincAboutIt

@Grey Knight

Deb hovered five feet above the ground, Pushing lightly on a small frame of iron set into the dirt. This was a waste of Steel, but her years in Preservation’s Wings had taught her the power of a visible authority figure. And, it offered her an excellent vantage point of the assembling group. Several of the new recruits had arrived, on time no less. Deb marked each one down on her clipboard, pleased to see clerks and assistants setting everyone up with coveralls and equipment. They moved about in groups, greeting the new arrivals and explaining about the tracking nodes. It wasn’t quite eight yet, and Deb was content to spend a few more quiet minutes in the sun before descending into the darkness. Hold on, Warrick, she thought fiercely. We’re coming for you. ——— Corette skirted the edges of the assembled group, moving slower now that she was storing her breath. Each inhale felt as though she were sucking air through a thin straw, but she forced herself to keep moving, to avoid looking helpless or useless. Every bit of breath she’s could spare, she siphoned into the cadmium torque around her neck. Her reserve was deep now, but Corette knew the dangers of playing fast and loose with one’s reserves. They could be gone far faster than you ever expected, and down below the water, there was no room for error. Flooded caverns, she thought eagerly, skin prickling with excitement at the thought. A slight disturbance broke her daydream, and she looked up in time to catch a young man tumbling down the side of the crater to land in a groaning heap. Her Bronze picked up something else a little farther away, that odd, stuttering beat she had heard before, and Corette watched a slim girl fall gracefully to land on enhanced legs. She cocked her head, making her way over to the girl, if only to watch her a bit closer.

Corette slid down the last few feet into the bottom of the crater, boots skidding on loose gravel. She shouldered her pack, grateful for the familiar jostle of the small oxygen tank tucked within; she had a feeling she'd end up needing it, if her reserves ran thin. The area around her thumped with Investiture, her Seeker's senses picking up dozens of unique signatures all over the place. There were already about twenty people down at the bottom, almost all of them in the olive green and orange of ACE. Corette felt her eyes light up when she caught sight of the deep hole descending down into the earth at the other side of the crater. A new world, just waiting for me. She smiled, tuning her Bronze for the rhythmic pulses of a Coinshot; she found several, but none of them were the Director. Either she wasn't here, or she wasn't burning Steel. A flash of early morning sunlight on smooth golden hair told Corette that it was the latter. Director Stancel stood at the center of the group, pointing, nodding, and delivering orders in her clipped, efficient voice. As Corette approached, the woman's sharp amber eyes alighted on her and she gave the barest sliver of a smile. "Good morning," she said, then motioned to one of the men beside her. He fished around in a large box and pulled out a pair of olive and orange coveralls, a headlamp, a harness, and a palm-sized tablet. Corette took them, sliding her pack off and quickly stepping into the coveralls, which fit surprisingly well. "Here is your tracking node," Stancel said, holding out a small device the size of a pea. "Pin it somewhere within your coveralls, and do not lose it. You will be able to keep track of both your own location and that of others through the device in your hand." She pointed to the little tablet. "Thank you, ma'am," Corette said, taking the little device. Stancel nodded approvingly. "Based on your file, you have previous exploration experience?" Corette bobbed her head. "Yes, scouting mostly, keeping watch, as well as --" "Free diving," the Director finished. She gave a small sigh, checked something on a clipboard, and then pointed towards a smaller group that was assembling off to one side. "You'll be joining our scouting team, Seeking for anything out there that might be coming our way. Thank you for arriving promptly." Corette gave another nod before walking over to the group of scouts. Her eyes continued to flick towards that black crevasse that sat there, waiting to swallow them whole.

No problem!

Welcome to the Alleyverse!

I can easily wiggle you into the list still!

Lovely! You’ve made the right choice. As we like to say, “Join the DA, because morally upstanding citizens are about as interesting as furniture, and half as obligingly useful.” We shall figure out how to get you IC recruited. And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer you this lovely cookie. *pulls cookie out of coat*

Ene basically covered everything. If you have any questions please never hesitate to ask! I have found that choosing the right guild depends both on yourself and on your character(s). What do you want, what do they want, etc. Whatever you choose I’m eager to RP with you! I think Lita would find Rig quite the treat to get to know.

My fellow traveler, the true question is: do you want the shackles of expectation, honor, and other assorted do-goodery, or do you want everything? The answer to your first question is, obviously, “to spike.”

So sorry for the double post here but I wanted to address one of TrailRunnin’s questions regarding F-Brass since no one has done so. First off, awesome character! I haven’t seen another Twinborn Firesoul around here aside from my own, so that’s always awesome. As far as heating specific portions of the body, I have taken that liberty once or twice with Lita, though I try not to abuse it. She’s heated her fingertips once on-screen and she’s also directed her heat out of her hands and into something else once to empty her brass minds. I try to keep this believable and not too powerful, and if she does it for long enough she can blister her own hands. And as far as a Guild with cookies, well, I do have one suggestion... I sent my talented Twinborn into the DA and I have not regretted it

Farren sat and kept watch over the remaining stragglers still chatting or eating, mindful of his posture even if no one was really paying attention. He'd scanned the last of the questionnaires over to Director Stancel, and now all he had to do was wait. As he observed the little meeting hall, he felt his heart swell with a tiny bubble of pride. He was no one, really, just an Alleycity kid with no Investiture, destined for a life of unremarkable drudgery. But Director Stancel had seen something in him - in him. When he'd applied for the job as her assistant, she had written two words on the bottom of his resume after his interview. 'Shows promise.' Now, Farren would do whatever it took to keep that promise alive. Even if that meant sitting up straight and watching a bunch of strangers eat muffins. A cheerful ping! sounded from his interior coat pocket, and he nearly jumped at the sudden noise, digging his phone out and giving it a cursory glance. His black eyebrows rose; apparently, the Executive Committee had reached a decision faster than expected. They must really want to get started, he thought. Farren straightened up and walked out of the meeting room into the little office down the hall, where, sure enough, a stack of papers were already sliding out from the printer. He picked one up, reading the names, then scooped up the rest of the pages. Within ten minutes, he had a small army of runners setting off to the listed addresses of the chosen attendees, bearing their official acceptance. Farren took two sheets for himself and walked back into the meeting room, then taped them to the front doors. "Your attention, please," he said. "The Executive Committee has made its deliberations, and the final list has been posted. If you have been chosen for the expedition, please meet in the new crater tomorrow morning at 08:00. May I be the first to formally welcome you into Alleycity Excavation." @Sorana @kenod @Voidus @I think I am here. @That Violin Guy @Rushu42 @Lord Furret @Invocation @AonEne @ElephantEarwax @xinoehp512

The air outside the little street was cooler, carrying the first whispers of autumn's chill. Lita squinted at the sudden light, dimming her Tin and tapping a bit of heat to keep herself comfortably warm. She extinguished her Pewter; it was inefficient to keep it burning, not when it depleted so quickly. Besides, anyone who could get the drop on a Tineye could probably kill her whether or not she was burning Pewter. "Stubbing one's toe is no laughing matter, Laurelai," Lita said, her reproachful tone utterly ruined by the grin that stretched her mouth. She caught Laurelai looking back into the street, back towards the slumped and shaking form of Javih. If she listened, she could hear him mumbling to himself, a low drone of nonsense that she doubted even he could decipher. It would have been easy to heal him - a little Feruchemical Gold could work wonders on just about anything, and Lita had an unsealed Goldmind right in her pocket. But the truth was, Javih was far more useful as an addict. So much easier to control. You just have to know a person's weakness. The words came back to her, whispered in her own voice. A slow, sick feeling began to uncoil within her; Lita knew to expect it by now, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant. Guilt. Foolishness, she chided herself. Guilt was a self-indulgent emotion, impractical and pointless. Always, it came after the work had ended, after the blood, and the tears, and hoarse, ragged whispers. When the sheet had been pulled over a cold face, and the spike stored neatly in a glass vial, then the guilt came. Never during an interrogation. During an interrogation, Lita felt alive. All her life, her Tin had allowed her to listen. Now, Pewter let her demand. "Hard to believe that we're the first guild to come have a look at this place," she said, breaking the silence that had fallen between her and Laurelai as they walked back to the vacant lot. "Though I suppose with all that's been happening, one missing tenement is hardly at the top of the list." She tapped her upper lip, then let out a small sigh. "Do you think he was telling the truth about the Koloss mentioning the caverns? I did wonder if there might be some connection. The ACE might be tight-lipped, but word on the street is that their entire first expedition went radio-silent almost two weeks ago down there. Who knows what's lurking in the shadows?" Lita felt her eyes widen a little in excitement, that familiar prickle skittering down her spine. A whole new world, chock full of secrets, just waiting to be cracked open. She looked over at Laurelai, feeling her smile widen. "Wanna go see?" @Voidus

Eh, I think Alla is cooler than Nocta, so let's just keep it like it is.

Phantus is far and away the best alternate option here, I think, though you could get a little more cryptic and go with something like "Diamatus" (referencing the diamonds of the tattoo/insignia) or maybe "Triarchus" to reflect the GB leadership structure. Also, if we're suggesting month names, I rather like "Noctus" for the DA month, though it's totally fine as-is.

I can't wait to see everyone's beautiful pictures! For those who want a little more information or "the rules" (there are no drawing rules in the Alleyverse), Click Here. Digital inks are welcome, and you can draw in pencil first and line over it if you want. Or, you can go old school and dip a spike quill in blood ink and draw with that! Honestly, any medium will be equally lauded - we just want to create with each other, after all!

Lita raised one eyebrow when Javih mentioned the caverns, though gave no other hints to her interest. The man's desperation for his pouch of moss had increased drastically after Laurelai healed his hand, and it took Lita a moment to understand before she met the other woman's eyes with a small, impressed smirk. Clever, she thought, more glad that ever that she'd asked Laurelai to come along. "Anything else you wanted?" Laurelai asked, looking over her shoulder towards Lita and raising an eyebrow quizzically. Lita stepped forward and fixed Javih with a smile that did not reach her eyes. She held the pouch up, and Javih's face was a war of hunger and terror, eyes flicking between the pouch and Lita so quickly they almost seemed to blur. "We were never here, were we, Javih?" Javih shook his head hard enough to rattle his brain. "N-no," he said, voice thin and breathless. "Please, I need --" "And if I were to come back here," Lita continued as though he hadn't spoken, "you'd tell me if anyone else had come looking, wouldn't you?" This time Javih nodded fiercely, somehow still keeping his eyes on the pouch. His face shone even in the deep shadows, slick with sweat and pale. Lita saw the tremors beginning in his hands. Laurelai really must have Forged him days past his last dosage. Lita stared into Javih's bloodshot brown eyes and held up her finger again. Javih winced, whimpering when Lita stepped a little closer. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you Javih?" Her voice was quiet and sharp as a razor cut, and Javih froze, barely able to shake his head now. "No," he whispered. Lita smiled then, broad and open, and let the pouch fall from her hand. "Wonderful," she said. "It is so nice to come to an understanding." Javih dove for the pouch, surely bruising his elbows as he lunged across the cobblestones, though he paid it no mind. He jammed a hand inside the little bag and withdrew a generous pinch of Firemoss, crushing it between his fingers with the fevered hunger of a starving man. His whole body shuddered, and he curled against the wall, eyes half-closed. The moss gave off a soft ember glow, like a tiny dying star. Lita looked back to Laurelai, then nodded her head back towards the mouth of the dead-end street. They had matters to discuss, and they would be getting no more sense out of Javih. When they were nearly back to the main road, Lita broke the silence. "Well, that probably beats a day copying records, wouldn't you say?"

While Laurelai began to question Javih, Lita tapped Brass. Heat began to trickle though her body, and she grit her teeth a bit, willing it all into the fingers of her right hand. Tin made this process rather painful, but she couldn't afford to lose the edge it gave her senses, especially her sight. She burned a little more Pewter to reinforce her body, hoping that her skin wouldn't blister like it did the last time she tried this. When Laurelai stepped back behind her, Lita let the spike up her sleeve drop fully into her hand. Javih stared at it with open terror now, and Lita passed it into her left hand before stepping forward. "I'm going to give you one chance here, Javih," Lita said, holding up one slender finger. The tip almost seemed to glow in the low light, the air around it shimmering with heat. Javih's gaze flicked towards her finger now, fear shifting briefly to confusion. "I know it's hard to concentrate, but do your best and think very hard. Now, did you see that building out there disappear?" Javih's eyes moved towards the pouch of moss again, and he licked his dried, cracked lips. "Give me back the pouch, then I'll answer. Whatever you want." Lita clicked her tongue. "Javih, I had really hoped you'd be smarter than this." She gave an overly-dramatic sigh. "But, I suppose I can't say that I'm surprised." In one swift motion, Lita had Javih pinned up against the brick wall. She wrinkled her nose at the sour stink of him, but kept a firm, implacable pressure against his shoulders and brought her shimmering finger up before his face. Lita gave Javih a cold smile. "One more question, then, Javih. Which, would you say, is your favorite eye?" Javih had been struggling, but he froze as still as ice at her words, dark eyes nearly crossing as he tried to keep her fingers in his line of sight. He began trembling beneath her arm, trying to wiggle himself into the corner as though he might pass through the stone itself. Lita brought the tip of her index finger so close to his left eye that she could smell the heat singe one of his eyelashes. "P-please," Javih pleaded, heart beating fast and desperate. "Please stop, please, Almighty, Almighty I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll tell you, I'll tell --" Lita stepped back, drawing the heat back into her bracers and shaking out her fingers with a scowl. Javih slid down onto the ground, still shaking, hands clasped over his face. "Now," Lita said, voice soft and dangerous. "My friend is going to ask you some more questions, and you're going to answer them - aren't you Javih?" Javih nodded, sniffling, pressing filthy fingers against his left eye as though checking if it was still there. "Good," Lita said. "Because you're out of chances, and I still have ten fingers." @Voidus