𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐄 𝐑 𝐈 𝐄 𝐒 [closed - pm if still interested]

[Stargazer3000]

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location the catacombs
mentioned other shifters
tagged alex, misha

As his warning boomed off the cramped walls of the catacomb, harsh against the previous quiet, Vas heard the others scatter. One, two, three resounding splashes, and Misha was still by his side leaving…one. Vas risked a glance over his shoulder, catching the retreating forms of the leopard, deer, and wolf as they vanished from the ring of flickering light cast by the lantern. That left…the lynx.

She must’ve gone the other way, up into the other tunnel - fine. Let her instincts lead her whichever way they deemed smartest - impossibly his glower darkened as his acute hearing picked up the sounds of a sudden splash from the tunnel she’d raced up. “Damn,” he grit out through clenched teeth.

Dont go get her, she’s a shifter, she’ll be fine, dont go get her, don’t - Vas shrugged off his cloak, holding it tightly in one hand as he poured all the remaining oil in the pathetically sputtering lantern onto it, hoping that against the odds his body heat had kept at least the top part dry - and lit it on fire. Vas had never been a godfaring man, but as his cape caught up in a blaze he briefly considered that it might be for him after all.

Or not.

As the sounds of the incoming threat grew closer with each second, Vas slammed his dagger through one corner of his now-blazing cape effectively pinning to the side of the catacomb walls, then secured the other side by wedging it between two loose bricks - as far as makeshift barriers went, it wasn’t the worst he’d ever made. In all likelihood it’d only buy them a couple minutes, but at this point? He’d take seconds.

Vas shoved the pathetically dying lamp into Misha’s hands, ‘I’ll be back, but if it falls,” he glanced at his burning barrier, “follow them into the water.” With a quick brush of his hand against the coyote’s head in a manner that he sincerely hoped was somewhat comforting, Vas was off. The blackness of the uphill tunnel swallowed him almost instantaneously, and he was forced to trust that he wouldn’t run straight into a wall, or something equally as heroic. Luckily he didn’t have far to travel before he came upon - or rather, nearly barreled into - the lynx.

There was no time for him to pause, no time to check for wounds, no time to let out a dry laugh at the muck that coated her fur (judging by smell), just no time, and so while barely breaking stride, Vas silently hauled the lynx off the ground and over his shoulder. Sprinting back the way they’d come was easier, thanks both in part to the downhill slope and the literal light at the end of the tunnel, but still he hadn’t been quite quick enough.

Vas tore back in the light just in time to see the fiery remains of his cloak split in two as the fire ate through the middle. Time was up. He didn’t pause to check on incoming rats, didn’t stop to gauge the situation, didn’t try to salvage the barrier. Vas barreled forward, catching Misha by the waist as he passed, and plunged all three of them into the icy waters of the lower path.

Even as someone raised in the winter woods, the cold hit like a slap in the face, but Vas’s feet kicked out on instinct, propelling him forward. Pushing forward through the putrid water he released his hold of the lynx, and once sure she’d be able to swim on her own, focused on Misha, making sure that the coyote hadn’t lost their grip on him. He was surprised at how quickly the bioluminescent algae replaced the light of the lanterns, and the wreckage of his former cape. “I liked that one,” he muttered under his breath, sending ripples across the oily water.

The trio moved forward in the odd tunnel, hemmed in on all sides by glowing algae and plant matter - though he no longer heard the sounds of their rabid pursuers. What’s that say about us - going where even the rats won’t? They moved quickly, more quickly than Vas expected until all at once he was certain that they weren't moving so quickly on their own…they were being pulled forward. The algae gave some indication of what lay ahead but with their other three companions nowhere in sight, he didn’t have the luxury of pausing to consider what the pull was…until all at once his stomach dropped and time slowed to a horrible crawl.

He was falling.

And then he wasn't, landing with a resonnant splash in a pool of water. Groaning, Vas glanced up to see that they’d fallen through a gap in the catacombs floor, far enough that unless he could suddenly shift into a hawk there was no way back up. As he treaded water, Vas paused to check that his companions were equally unharmed (if somewhat bruised), aided by the abundance of glowing plant life that clung to the walls as it had above.

But instead of the cobbled stone that had marked the walls of the catacombs, Vas found himself studying rock that was far more…cave-like. Still, fine threads of some silverish mineral run through the gray stone, emitting a soft undulating light, making their landing pool shimmer as the light broke and fractured across the rippling waves.

Mere feet away were the rest of the shifter party, and Vas made his way over, making a low noise to alert them to his presence - in the event that his free-fall hadn’t already. The pool they’d landed in was small, no more than ten feet in diameter, but the light of the cave walls barely illuminated the far end, indicating either a cavern wall with none of the glowing mineral in it, or, more likely - a steep drop off. As Vas approached, it appeared that none of the three shifters who’d entered the tunnel first were incapacitated by the fall - lucky. We’ve been lucky..

The air was warm - almost uncomfortable so as Vas passed his companions and neared the side of the pool that wasn’t illuminated.

‘Drop-off’ was an accurate description, water sloshing over the edge of the pool the shifters currently occupied, and falling off into another pool ten feet down. The pools extended down into darkness, and at the sight, Vas’s brow furrowed as he murmured the instructions that they’d been given as they’d planned to enter the catacombs. “Follow whichever path leads down.”

[Crazycookiemonster]

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ALEX schmitt ▪ 27 ▪ shifter - lynx ▪ located catacombs ▪ tagged Vas/shifters
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Alex sat for a moment just trying to get her thoughts together, not sure if she should go back to the group or continue down by herself. She could only hear brief murmuring before a splash so she was pretty sure the other shifters had just continued on their merry way leaving the little lynx alone and sticky. As she flexed her paws disatisfied with how intrusive the moss had become, she was weighing her options; she could go back and with any luck the rats hadn't gotten to the opening yet and she could rejoin the group of shifters or be eaten alive by rats or she could continue on her own most likely still being eaten alive by rats. What was a girl to do with some many cho- offpphhh. Alex couldn't even finish her thought before Vas ran straight into her, barreling down the cave like a man on fire. Alex would be lying if she wasn't completely ecstatic to see that one of the other shifters had cared about her enough to come find her and a small smile crept onto Alex face as she looked up at Vas with her fluffy checks and bob of a tail flicking back and forth. Though there was absolutely no change of expression or even recognition form Vas as he just scoped up Alex and started charging back to where the rats and the other shifters were.

Its not every girls dream to be rescued in their time of need, but Alex couldn't help but have a little flush to her cheeks thinking how he had come back for her even if that meant more harm for him. As he was sprinting back, Alex couldn't help but notice their was no cloak on him and his was was just soaked onto him either thru sweat or something else but whatever it was she was able to notice truly how big Vas was. He was already a formidable person just knowing that he could shift into a bear, but she didn't realize that he was a bear in and out of shift. So Alex was enjoying being carried around like a sack of potatoes just a little bit to much, not to mention that he was rather warm. Alex looked briefly at the fire wall protecting them from the infectious rodents, and was once again thankful of their leaders quick thinking, but that moment was soon ruined as she was plunged dead into rotten water.

No longer thankful for the bear like hold that Vas had around her waist, since she wasn't a good swimmer in her lynx form, she wiggled a bit before Vas let go. Quickly finding her was to the air pocket above, she shot up taking in a big breath of air, which was a bug mistake. The air was putrid from the water having sat stagnate for so long and only dead things feeding its water level. Alex grabbed onto the side of the cave trying to hold back from vomiting as she watched a few of the shifters shift into their animal forms and continue to dive so some reason. Her breathe as starting to become a little shallow and Alex started to hyperventilate for a minute as she readjusted her grip on the wall, trying to find some sense of security and comfort to calm herself down. Taking a quick look around all the shifters looked like they had a game plan of their escape, as they were taking their time diving at what Alex thought was the dead end. "I should have just kept running," Alex muttered to herself,"I don't even know why I came to this stupid city."

It didn't take long for the more productive members of the group to find a break in the wall and all the water started to rush through the small opening like funnel. Alex was still gripping onto the sticky mossy wall for dear life, not really sure if this was any better then her original tunnel, and for a brief moment she thought she might be able to make it back, but the rock she was holding onto loosened and got sucked into the sludgy mess with the rest of the shifters. For a brief moment it felt as if the world had stopped and Alex could see that she was falling, looking to where she was falling to, she could see all the other shifters had kinda of gotten up and shaken off as it was nothing, but this sucked. Alex had kind of just given up and just felt into the water side first hitting the bottom uncomfortably before floating up to the top. She sat there in the water for a bit, in awe that her companions just seemed to spring up and continue on this journey. At least this water didn't stink, that was the only bright side to anything that was happening.

After a moment of Alex just floating kind of hoping she would just close her eyes and open them to find that this had all just been a dream, she sat up and twinged at the pain on her hip from landing so funny. She looked around and it was kind of beautiful, hot but beautiful. Standing she made her way over to Vas who was looking over the edge, "ughhhh thank you...." Alex started, "for earlier in the cave." That was Alex's poor attempt at a thank you for saving her life, but talking was never her strong suit so as she stood on the edge looking down she pulled out her flask and took a long sip, before lifting it up to him as an offer to see if he wanted some.

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[enby]

ℕ𝔸𝕃𝔸 𝕀ℝ𝕄𝔸 ⸻⸻⸻ they/she | the mechanic

『 tags; nym, verena | mentions; << tags | location; wooden city 』

A sigh escape from her lips as she rubbed her head a bit, looking down at the door the two were putting their attention to. ''Well...Verena could for sure probably get something to burn through the door.'' They said quietly as they looked around a bit and rubbed the bridge of their nose in thought and also, probably mild disdain for what may transpire in the coming moments, they were never for these risky types of missions but they knew it had to be done and that was the only reason they were okay with it otherwise if all this wouldn't be for the better of everyone they'd probably be at home sitting by a fire and enjoying was tea, man they'd really like some tea right now, especially right now.

She shook her head a bit, pulling herself from her thoughts as she leaned over and looked at the door. ''I could also use something, but it would be loud, and probably alert someone...Verena, do you have anything? We need to keep quiet.'' They sighed a bit and rubbed their hands together to warm them, tucking them in their fur-lined jacket pockets, glancing around a bit as they looked out for any possible people that could come by- even if it was unlikely they still worried about it, just like they worried about everything else that they possibly could put any worry into. They shifted anxiously and look at Nym and Verena ''And...I think it could be good if we got it done as soon as possible..'' They frowned a bit and raised their shoulders ''I don't know how safe it is to be just sitting out here, anyone could come around at any time, I don't want to possibly get in trouble.'' They rambled on in a whispered tone, a tense and nervous expression spread across their face.

[enby]

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅 ⸻⸻⸻ they/he | the coyote

『 tags; vasily, alex | mentions; other shifters | location; the catacombs 』

Misha's body froze as Vas left to go get Alex, staring at the fire with large eyes, the flame reflecting off their eyes as they welled with tears, their heart pounding as they held their hands balled into fists up to their chest, knees trembling as they glanced back, waiting and praying to see Vas running down to them any moment now, their eyes squeezing shut overwhelming anxiety bubbling up in their stomach.

They opened their eyes again quickly once they were grabbed, gasping and looking around in shock, glancing at Alex for a moment to make sure she was alright, grimacing a tad at her struggle. A gag escaped from his lips as he smelled the air, holding tightly onto Vas and squinting a bit, puffing their cheeks out and frowning his eyebrows keeping his head above water as much as he could as to not let any splash into his mouth or eyes, as he'd probably just end up puking on himself and Vas. He shivered gently at the old water that soaked his clothes, causing him to look like a wet dog as the smelly water soaked into his hair.

A confused and shocked expression went across his face as he felt the water pulling in, eyes quickly glancing at Vas as a small whimper escaped his lips and he tried to grab at the sticky, slimy cave walls but to no avail, as the walls were too wet and moist for them to get a good grip on- and then they were pulled down, a yelped erupting from them as they transformed into their coyote on instinct from the panic, a whimper escaping them as they fell into the pool of water, their tail tucked between their legs tightly. Although they got up as quickly as he could, shaking his fur off, his tail still tucked between his legs and his ears pressed down against his skull as he looked around, following behind Vas slowly, his long sharp claws clicking against the rocks under him.

This was insane, they were going through all of this, it was like people wanted them dead! They were starting to regret coming here, they looked down at the drop-off with wide eyes, gulping a bit as they slowly tried to figure out a way to following the downward path, looking back gently to see if the other shifters would follow.

[vega.]

the chemist | tagged: all creators | mentions:

Verena removed her bulky gloves and slid the ruck sack off her shoulders to the ground, unlatching the buckles to dig around inside. The inside of the ruck was warmer than the numbing wind, and the woman almost wanted to climb completely inside of it if she could fit. Neither Nala nor Nym could bust the door, and she wouldn't even expect that from Jaymes; that was where her specialty came through. Finally reaching the bottom of her organized, layered ruck she removed a bundle of leather, inside containing reinforced glass vials (you wouldn't want some of these breaking in transit), ceramic bottles, as well as some empty containers for mixing and loading gun-powders. Her tools were mostly carbon fiber enforced, so not as heavy as they usually would be.

" probably have something, let me look..." She replied, in thought. She would use a shape charge or incendiary grenade, but they did have to be subtle. She kept forgetting that any suspicion of their presence would only cause trouble, and normal tourists didn't have an arsenal of explosives in their bag. No, what they needed was more subtle. Verena pushed the bundle to the side and searched with freezing fingers for where the door would be locked, either in the middle where the handle was or on the corner. There on the left side she found a keyhole. "Bingo." She sang, cleaning the snow away from the area of the lock. Turning back to her things, she put on some leather gloves and picked up some goggles as black as a welding mask, and a ceramic container.

"This is pre-mixed ferric oxide and aluminum. When cold, it does nothing, but when heat is added it reacts with oxygen and burns up to around 2000 degrees Celsius." She explained as she sprinkled a few grams over and into the lock, and in the middle of her pile place a thin, pretty little strip of magnesium. "Assuming this door is iron or steel or whatever, we should be inside in no time at all." She shrugged, pulling out an arc lighter and donning the goggles. She looked behind her.

You guys might want to look away." She warned. "Actually," she dug up an extra pair of goggles so Nym could watch. She knew the girl would be too curious to look away and burn her retinas. Finally, she ignited the magnesium. There was a flash, and then an even brighter flash after it. The flame grew hot as the door began to glow and melt around the lock, creating a hole and dripping molten metal down on whatever was below. Verena might have used a little too much, and hoped it didn't land on anyone. Oops.

Removing her goggles she tried to lift the metal door again, this time lifting it with ease. "We're in!" She smiled. She lay the door open softly onto the snow, and peered down into the dull-lit entryway, with a dark metal ladder leading down into the abyss. Spooky. "Who wants to go first." She asked as she rolled up her things, including the goggles she provided Nym, and packed her ruck once more.

[Cats&Cucumbers]

† Mave ❅ The Snow Leopard ❅ 26 ❅ Female ❅ Underground (Beneath the Old Wooden City)
Tagged: Other Shifters
Mentioned: All shifters, rats(?)
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_____In her last (perhaps truly last) trip to the surface, Mave had seen the shadow of a black stag kicking toward her through the water, the perked ears of a wolf not far behind. She had hardly paused to give them thought, preoccupied by the faint current that sucked in a fleck of azure algae into the dislodged rock and the bare traces of hope that had brought with it. Now, the ungulate shifter was beside her in human form, and again, she wasted barely a millisecond in processing his existence. There was nothing he could do to her in either of his forms, she had no reason to mind him, no reason to fear him.
_____Then human hands, flimsy-looking compared to her broad, powerful paws, but unexpectedly nimble and strong, grabbed hold of the rock (almost boulder, really), she had been struggling to move, and dug around the edges, heaving it backward and letting it plummet slowly and silently to the slimy floor. She pushed off of the wall to dodge it and looked at him in shock. There was no anger on his face, no potential threat at all, not even pity— just steady purpose in the set of his jaw and his half-squinted cobalt gaze. She watched as he moved without pause to the next rock, as though it were a given. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, to submerge himself in the fetid waters to help her, to, by default— the concept was not fully formed in her mind, but it had something to do with the fact that no one had ever followed her before and when she was knocking at death's door, someone suddenly had— trust her.
_____She indulged in her disbelief for only a moment, and then she was rejoining him with renewed vigor, though at this point her lungs were in agony and the adrenaline rush was fading, leaving a pulsing pain radiating from her left paw. She helped him haul rock after rock away from the cave, his hands prying them away far enough that her powerful paws could pull it from the wall, and the current pulling them toward the rocks became gradually stronger until from the diminutive open spaces around the edges of the last boulder that it was backlit by some unknown light source, wedged between even larger remnants of the cave wall. It was a struggle to hold themselves back from the wall enough to work at the rocks with the current pulling at their bodies, and she felt the limbs and figures of more of their companions brushing against her back as the water sucked them down, and all the while she was burning, her muscles failing and her vision growing dark, and for the first time in almost ten years, she found herself thankful she wasn't alone.

"I'll pull, you push!" A high voice, light and crisp like citrus, echoed over the stony valley, though it was muffled for the ears it was intended for.
"I don't need your help!" The second snow leopard cub huddled in the darkness within the cliffside, fearful bristled fur contrasting the defiance in her young voice.
"Oh yeah? Prove it!"
Silence answered, and in the shadowy interior of the rocks, Mave's fluffy little face wrinkled into a snarl of frustration as she pushed at the boulder that the landslide had carried down into the mouth of the tunnel.
"Mav, you helped me first! I owe you!" Outside, Myria clambered up above the rock and, finding that pulling wasn’t getting her anywhere, wedged herself in one of the gaps to try to push with her hindlegs, her back braced against the cliff behind her.
Mave saw her sister’s tail drop down above her head and couldn’t suppress a giggle. "What are you doing, sheep-brain?"
She was answered with a strained groan and the sound of claws scratching against rock. "I’m trying to help you!" Myria tried to sound firm, but her sister could hear the smile in her voice. “It would be a lot easier if we worked to-gether , though!” As she spoke, she pushed again, and her voice broke with the effort. “Mave, pleas—”
"I don’t need your—!"
"I know you don’t need it, you goat-head, but I’m giving it to you anyway! So just-"
Suddenly, the rock shifted and tumbled down the cliff, and Myria fell down from above it with a shocked yelp, landing with a thump atop her sister and taking her to the ground, both panting from their efforts.
“Ow.” Mave coughed, heaving her twin off of her, and upon meeting each other’s eyes, both collapsed into laughter, the kind of so-relieved-it-makes-your-belly-hurt kind of laugh, and for a few glorious moments, speech was entirely impossible.
As their hysterics died down into soft giggles, Myria rolled over onto her stomach to stare at her sister. "You’re welcome." She gloated jokingly, her voice sweet and smug.
Mave rolled her eyes and shifted into a human to stand, only a few feet tall at that age, and offered Myria a hand, meeting her blue eyes with sincerity. ”Thank you.” She murmured, wrapping her skinny arms around her best friend.

_____Cyrus's fingers dug around the edge of a rock. Mave pushed through the screaming of her lungs and squeezed both paws in the crack alongside his hands, and in unison they pulled, and the boulder gave way just a centimeter, and the water did the rest.

_____They were released in a crashing tidal wave, and suddenly, she was falling through the air. Air! She raked in a gasping inhale, immediately coughing as waterdroplets came in as well as air, but at least she was breathing. She and Cyrus tumbled right behind the boulder, and for probably the thousandth time that day, she thanked the grace of luck that she was a cat shift. Her long tail lashed wildly through the air as she righted herself, and in the moments before they crashed down, she was briefly able to see a vast, glowing ceiling, much the same as the tunnel they had just escaped, but on a far grander scale. Between the oxygen deprivation, abrupt collapse of the floor, and the swirling of the world, though, the only means of recognition her memory could associate with the brief impression was absinthe. And then she was in the water again, the water hitting her paw pads with a throbbing slap. She sank beneath the surface, only remaining there for a second before thrashing her way back up to the air and taking in another ragged breath, sputtering in the water.
_____No longer taking any pleasure in the swim, though this water thankfully seemed less stagnant than the previous, she swam shakily to the shallows and pulled herself out onto the shore, collapsing on her side as she tried to resettle her breaths, her ribs rising and falling dramatically under her thick coat. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, she heard the resounding splashes of a few later members of the group, but her back was turned away from the pool, and she didn’t have the energy or care to turn and see who else had survived. With the exhaustion creeping through her bones, she relinquished her shift, her body narrowing and the fur on her head lengthening until instead of a drenched giant cat collapsed on the shore, it was a slight, pale form with soaked brown hair, lean muscles highlighted in the dim light.

_____She shivered faintly in her human form, the wetness and exhaustion making her cold in her wet clothes despite the warm air, but she had released her shift for the sake of easy communication— which she now saw would be necessary. She had no intentions to die in this underground death maze, and loathe as she was to admit it, she would have, if Cyrus had not been there to help her, and perhaps even if Vas and Misha had not done whatever they did that delayed the rats for so long.
_____After a minute or so of heavy breathing, Vas and Alex’s voices broke the silence, save for the hum of running water, and Mave pushed herself up with her elbows, rolling onto her back to stare up at the faintly glowing ceiling. "Wait." She rasped to Vas, immediately coughing to clear her voice of its hoarseness and the almost plea-like edge that had crept in by exhaustion and the remnants of panic. "Not yet." She rolled over to face the rest of the group fully, some of which were still in the water. Now more composed, her voice carried a certain degree of firmness despite her weariness and hesitation to engage, strengthened in her conviction by the echoes of fear that tightened her still-aching chest. As she moved to stand, she brought her hands to brace against the stone floor and was faintly surprised to find one of her fingernails missing, with a few others splintered as well. She had only lost a claw once before in her life, and as she stood, pain flared in the wounded appendages and she uttered a low profanity. That would not bode for a fun trip, especially while her wraps were soaked through.
_____She occupied her hands with wringing out her hair when she stood, feeling a bit awkward for having spoken but pushing through with practical efficiency. “We don’t really know anything important about each other.” She started out, her gaze flickering between their eyes and her surroundings, as though unsure how to remain firm without inciting anger. And it was true— she had no experience working with people, and while she could charm the pants off of the lazy strangers in the tavern if she needed to, she saw no way her looks would benefit her here, and sensed it would be demeaning to try. “I still don’t even know what your shift is, Vas, if you even have one. And I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not so crazy about going-" she gestured vaguely to the darkness below them “-down there with a bunch of strangers.” She wasn’t used to talking so much with no interruption or background noise, and she felt her face growing slightly warm and looked away. In truth, it just felt like this whole thing was moving too fast. Their week or so in the castle felt stagnant, like they had existed in a bubble of nice food and forced pleasantries, and now all of a sudden they were who-knows-how-far underground, almost eaten by rats and half-drowned, and they were supposed to just trudge along for service to the crown? Frankly, she was regretting coming at all. She doubted the odds of her being caught by guards above ground for refusing the request were as high as her odds of dying down here, wet and hungry and uncomfortable. “I think we should dry off and eat. I want to get this over with as much as you, but I at least want to wander into the unknown feeling a little less like crap.” Her harsh words were softened somewhat by the almost-pathetic nature of her appearance, her wet hair slicked back and her lean frame verging on scrawny, which might have been outright humorous if her eyes didn't retain that fierce, hardened glint.

[cainhurst]

♜ ━ 𝙹𝙰𝚈𝙼𝙴𝚂 𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚃𝚃 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

indentindentthe anatomist ✦ // location wooden city xx tags all creators xx mentions / xx word count 560

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There was something infuriating about the damned cold, the fact they'd nearly lost their way to the entrance, and then the fact that the one thing keeping them back was simply a locked maintenance hatch that seemed to almost taunt them now. Feeling rather useless certainly didn't help either; for all that Jaymes could do, his skills were most certainly lacking when it came to forcing metal doors open to gain entry to places he was not supposed to be. Thankfully, he wasn't on his own and his companions all came with their own very useful set of skills, including a chemist who seemed more than well-equipped for the task at hand.

Honestly, as long as it got them out of the cold and out of sight of any possible city officials, he didn't care if somebody ripped the door out of its hinges at this point. The last thing he wanted was to be caught suspiciously lingering around the drop-off point of an underground burial site. He felt like that'd be quite hard to explain, or get out of unscathed for that matter. Considering the city dropped (at least some of) their dead into the underground rather unceremoniously, Jaymes really didn't care to find out what their jails were like.

Cold, probably. With a slight shudder, Jaymes pulled his scarf a bit tighter around his neck and nestled the lower part of his face into the soft, comforting fabric. He was sick of the cold. Once he was back home, hopefully with a cure in hand, he'd restrict Aaron's travel plans to warm places, and warm places only. He'd already had enough of numb toes and frozen fingers for years to come.

As instructed by Verena, the man turned his head away—or rather, he turned away fully, not at all interested in losing his eyesight to whatever chemical reaction was sure to occur. Was the information about the concoction intriguing? Absolutely, yes. Was he keen on going blind? Absolutely not. A blind doctor wouldn't be of much use to anyone.

Once he was sure it was safe to look again, Jaymes turned back just in time for Verena to lift up the metal door. Allowing a soft exhale to pass his lips, he couldn't deny that there was a sense of relief of having found a better way down into the depths. One that would hopefully pose less of a physical risk to any of them, though it was too early to say that for sure. Who knew how often maintenance accesses were used by the city? For all he knew, they could be just as dangerous as the chute itself.

Taking a small step backwards, Jaymes motioned towards the now open hatch with a respectful dip of his head. "Ladies first? And... and, uh, they-dies?" Why had he opened his mouth? To offend somebody he barely knew? Perhaps, if he got a chance to later, he should ask Nala what they'd prefer to be addressed as. "Alright, that was... terrible. Please forget I said such a stupid thing." Clearing his throat, the man turned his gaze towards Nym, doing his best to ignore the embarrassment pooling in his chest. At least he was a little less cold now. "I'd assume you're more than happy to go first, Nym? Wouldn't want to snatch that honour away from you."

[Stargazer3000]

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location Wooden City
mentioned other creators
tagged Jaymes and Verena

Nym rose to her toes as she peered curiously over Verena’s shoulder, straining to see whatever treasures were held within the sack. The chemist’s head was bowed as she set about finding a key - of sorts - and Nym couldn’t tear her eyes away as she worked in her element, fingers deft and certain as they flew though vials containing powders that Nym itched to examine closer. Before Nym could ask Verena what was held in the opaque purple vial, the chemist had produced a pair of goggles, and all questions flew from Nym’s mind as she couldn’t repress the squeal of excitement that burst forth between her lips. The linguist snagged the goggles, rocking forward in her excitement and seeming very nearly at the point of slipping forward while she pulled them over her layers of hoods and hats. The ultimate effect was somewhat ridiculous - looking not unlike a brightly colored pile of fabric topped with a set of goggles - but Nym simply shot the chemist a wide grin and thumbs up to indicate that they were secured.

She honestly could watch explosions all day.

Nym clapped softly in her best imitation of a high-born lady in acknowledgment of the chemist’s incredibly skill, before peeling off the goggles and handing them back to Verena with only a tiny bit of reluctance, aided as her attention shifted to the now open door. She stared down into the darkness, the movement an exact replica of what she had done earlier by the well. A soft snort was the only indication that she’d registered Jaymes’s comment behind her - if she was being honest, he was horribly endearing…when he wasn’t listing off all the ways that she’d likely die.

She wheeled to face the anatomist at his question, her wink likely being lost in the movement, beaming, “The honor is all mine,” as she made her way backwards down the hole.

Darkness swallowed her instantaneously, and while there was a part of her that was mildly intrigued by the idea of a pitch black climb - if you can’t see the bats, then they’re not really there after all - she paused briefly to push back her layers of clothing to free her glow gauntlets. Activating them while clinging to a ladder who knows how many feet above the ground was a surprisingly easy feat - nimble fingers kept you alive in the mines. In truth, too much of this was like the mines, and for a beat Nym paused, thankful she’d gone first - there was no one to watch as the smile slid from her face.

They’re a lifetime away, bury them, bury them, bury them.

The comforting glow from her wrist held the past a bay, along with the shadows, its strong light illuminating the narrow crawl space around her as Nym inhaled heavily once before continuing downward. The repetitive push and pull of the downward descent lulled her into uncharacteristic silence, broken suddenly as she let out a sharp cry - her foot had fallen through open air as one of the rungs had rotted away. This might be a maintenance tunnel of some sort, but in a twist of irony that she couldn't but chuckle at, it certainly wasn’t well maintained. Nym’s grip on the ladder had kept her from falling, though she was more proud of how her voice didn’t waver as she called up to the others to let them know about the broken rung.

Pushing ever more downward, Nym quickly gave up trying to figure out how far they’d traveled, but she knew innately that it was far. Her arms ached under the strain that they hadn’t been subjected to for many years, and her feet began to struggle to find purchase of the rungs below. She wasn’t sure when, but a thick condensation had begun to fill the small tunnel, cloying thick and smelling…rotten. Or perhaps sulphuric? Definitely unpleasant. The condensation pulled on her clothes, making the layers that had protected her from the cold horribly heavy, and stained her leather gloves, transforming the bright red into an ominous bloody tint that Nym chose not to focus on, casting her eyes instead downward and focusing on her feet.

Discomfort was a childhood friend, and Nym welcomed it back begrudgingly. Heavy, arms straining, nose scorching, and neck tilted at an uncomfortable angle to avoid staring at her hands, the linguist was less than happy as she distantly observed the walls of the tunnel change from smooth to rocky and craggy - natural. Perhaps they’d climbed down far enough that they’d entered the mountainside? Turning this question over in her mind and doing her best to track their earlier descent though the city - they hadn’t traveled that far to the edge of the city, had they? - Nym barely noticed the rising temperature.

But rise it did, and with every step down it grew hotter and hotter, the sulphuric smell growing in strength and making her head spin. Nym paused once more, realizing that she was panting, and shoved a few layers back from her face, a bead of sweat dripping down off her nose, as she called up horsley, “Never thought I’d miss this snow.”

I want to go back up. Nym bit the words back - there was no point in them. She knew, from the way her arms shook, that there was no way she’d be able to make the climb back up, and so once again she stubbornly turned her gaze downward. Dimly she noted that the glow on her wrist was beginning to weaken; maybe she’d get her pitch black climb after all. But even as it faded, she still remained able to see - a light had begun to rise up below

Joy clogged her throat, as she finally, finally emerged from the darkness - though it was horribly fleeting. They’d emerged into a massive cavern, easily hundreds of feet in diameter, but the point of real importance lay directly below them - a massive, glowing, bubbling pool of water emitted boughs of steam hot enough that even dangling stories above the water, Nym pulled her layers back on to avoid getting scalded.

A geyser.

They were dropping bodies into a geyser letting them dissolve in the molten waters below - and those chutes? They were likely originally built for the steam and to offset the pressure caused by eruptions. Inevitable eruptions. That the creators had no way of predicting.

Nym forced the growing panic down as she followed the line of the ladder down into…nothing. Perhaps a platform once stood in the vacant space between them and the geyser but now there was a whole lot of nothing. Tearing her eyes away from the water, Nym scanned the cavern, noting with surprise metal tracks criss-crossing the space above and parallel to them, holding carts and running into the walls of the cavern. They looked like mining carts, but moreover they were distinctly un-shifterlike, covered in intricate symbols that it took Nym a beat to realize were not just decorative, but a language. The hours of climbing must have scrambled her brain, because this language wasn’t just ancient it was also familiar; only found on the oldest ruins in the Republic she’d seen similar symbols before, examined them years back in school, but the steam stopped her from being able to discern their meaning, obscuring their intricacies in a frustrating veil.

“I’m not sure how often geysers are known for erupting,” she called up to her companions, her voice clogged by the thick air, strained as she attempted to be loud enough to reach them, “but I’m not very interested in staying around to find out!” She paused to indicate towards the carts, one of their tracks swinging close enough to the ladder that she was almost certain she’d be able to hit it if she jumped, continuing, “I think those are our exit, because unless I suddenly grow wings, there’s no way I’ll be able to make it back up the ladder.”

[Stargazer3000]

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location the outskirts of the wooden city
mentioned other elementals
tagged none

Caj felt his stance in the snow begin to slip as he boosted the last of his companions into the pipe with a soft grunt. The wind whipped the exhale away as soon as it had left his lips, and Caj clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep his teeth from chattering so fiercely - days in the cold had eaten away at his body heat until now every gust chilled him to the bone. He could hide his chattering teeth well enough, but try as he might, Caj couldn’t keep the tremble from his hand as he was helped up into the pipe by his companions.

Once inside he paused to catch his breath, a low murmured thanks to the hands that had pulled him up slipping from his lips as he glanced around the abandoned sewer. The light from the entrance extended roughly ten feet into the tunnel before dropping off into unbroken darkness. It was wider than he’d anticipated, allowing for the elementals to bunch together rather than move spaced out in a line as they had been for their trek through the snow - a welcome change. Glancing down was a mistake - the gray sludge that had been leaking from the pipe now pooled around the edges of his boots with a sickening, oily veneer that Caj quickly tore his gaze away from, choosing instead to focus back on his companions, silently checking that they were all in decent shape.

“Well, the good news is, the sewers aren’t… that,” he murmured, jerking his head towards the storm raging just beyond the pipe, before finishing, “Besides, I’ve always preferred traveling in the most efficient ways possible - scenic routes are always much busier.” His attempt at a joke fell somewhat flat when met with the howling winds of the external ‘scenic route’ - so much for busier - apparently he’d have to add ‘deeply unfunny jokes’ to the list of things he could summon.

Clearing his throat, Caj snapped his fingers, and like an old friend a flame sprung up in his palm, called forth to chase away the shadows and illuminating the faces of his companions. Exhausted as he was, as he was certain they all were, the flickering light provided little by way of warmth, and Caj silently willed it to burn brighter, be warmer. If one of his companions lost an appendage - or worse - to the cold just because he was tired? He’d never forgive himself.

“So then, shall we?” He questioned softly, holding his hands forward, the flickering light he held cupped in his palms illuminating the darkness beyond.

[vega.]

the chemist | tagged: all creators | mentions:

Verena thought the ladder-to-the-pits-of-hell would never end.

She had gone down after Nym and Nala, and right before Jaymes, thanking him quietly before lumbering down with her pack. She was glad she stayed active and strong despite raising her daughter. My daughter. Verena clenched her jaw as a pang of guilt claimed her heart, and she wondered how her little bug was doing right now. She had to be at home, far from the plague. She reassured herself as she always did.
She had cracked a chem-light clipped to her hip to illuminate the space with a pale blue in front of her, noticing the dark splotches of rust coating the interior of the shaft. Perhaps when all you need is gravity to throw a body, going down there to see if it made it wasn't as common of a task. The bars were gritty and damp from condensation, and she clutched each one with a vise-grip. If it wasn't for her people, it was for her family, and that was a damn good reason to stay alive.

Her eyes darted downwards as a yelp echoed from Nym below. She paused for a moment to make sure everyone was still attached to the ladder. After a brief moment, the linguist called up to them to beware a broken ladder, and Verena sighed with relief. A couple rungs down, she found the broken one, and carefully stepped past it. Sweat beaded on her brow, threatening to fall into her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was from the stress or if it was actually getting warmer in there. She glanced down every now and then. Her surroundings became more jagged, and past the silhouettes of her team members a faint light grew larger and larger.

"Almost there." Verena breathed. There was a grotesque smell that wavered in the humid air, making her nose wrinkle. With a huff she took shallow, controlled puffs of air into her scarf so she didn't have to smell too much of it. The light grew brighter, and the ladder grew shorter. "It's like a sauna in here." the woman protested, fanning herself, albeit the motion was useless.

“I’m not sure how often geysers are known for erupting, but I’m not very interested in staying around to find out!” Nym shouted to them. When the shaft opened up a bit, her eyes grew wide at the scale of her surroundings. She hooked her arm around one of the ladder rungs to provide some stability and craned her neck to see what everyone else was seeing. The pool of bubbling water was gigantic, ringed with neon oranges and greens of archaea bacteria, thriving of the rich minerals and ammonia. Do the bodies really end up here? Verena gaped at the realization. It almost made sense, though, as they scaled down the ladder the walls were more jagged, but their points were smooth. The geyser would vaporize and tear apart anything upon impact, and they could very well get caught in the blast.

"Uh, can you make it over there? I have a rope if you want to clip on the ladder just in case." She called down to Nym, gesturing to the cord she had attached to her bag. If she could get someone over there, maybe the mechanisms were still active and could move the rails closer to them?