• Event • [Moderated Thread] Digging in the ruins: Flora

[Pegasus]

Prologue

It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Ash'ti was a Sev'ryn who had grown up in Desnind and she was used to beautiful sights there ~ the iyọ of her home were beyond most people's imagining and to see them take flight in the Mwẹnz Tsäbtä was a sight one had to see to believe. A hundred thousand glowing butterflies taking off into the darkness of Cylus ~ Moseke's promise of light always returning.

Moseke, her most beloved Immortal ~ she had warned Ash'ti that there was darkness here, in her dreams and in her prayers. Ash'ti remembered that and raised her hand, touching the small silver leaf necklace she wore, the emeralds which nestled either side of the delicate leaf shimmered in the light which emanated from the construction in front of her.

She had been warned, but it could not be about this; this thing in front of her was just beautiful. The lights captured her imagination, pulling her gaze and moving her feet towards it. She had to see it, to touch it. One delicate hand reached out and in the trill before she touched it, Ash'ti glanced at the wedding band she wore and the pattern of entwined vines and leaves on it. Her beloved husband was here, and yet she had not called him to look at this find which had suddenly appeared in the shrine. It was hers and in that moment, Ash'ti realised that there was something wrong here.

Yet, her feet took the next step and as he hand touched it, tears of joy and rapture fell down her face. The sights before her eyes were the most beautiful ones she had ever seen.

Ash'ti's screams echoed around the camp; at the sound her husband turned and ran to where his wife had been cataloguing the strange shrine they had found with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

And Ash'ti's light extinguished as her soul descended into torment unending

20th Ymiden, 717

The sun was bright in the sky and the birds were chirping. It was a beautiful trial on Scalvoris and the group who had volunteered to help were gathered on the docks of Immortals' Tongue. It had been a short boat ride over to the island but there had been a chance for them to meet and greet and so on. However, the boat ride had left before dawn so that they could get over there and they arrived on Immortals' Tongue in the heat of the Ymiden morning.

There was a woman waiting on the docks, a tall human woman with dark hair and caramel coloured skin. She had intense brown eyes and she looked at them each. "My name is Reza. I am overseer of Immortals' Tongue. You are here only because I speak yes when asked." Her accent was thick and her eyes did not seem entirely pleased to see them. Standing with her, however, was a woman who seemed much more prone to being friendly, at least. She had long red hair and might be recognised by some of them. "Hello. I'm Jo'ne, I'm the mayor of Scalvoris Town and I'm here representing the council, the military and the university. Thank you for volunteering your time, we are very grateful."

Looking around at the people gathered, she handed out a piece of parchment to each of them. If they looked, it contained a detailed map of the island with the location of all the shrines on there. "You'll see there, there are ruins near the shrine to Chrein and Ziell. Those were the ruins the first team were exploring when they disappeared. The ruins up more to the north by the shrines to Treid and Vhalar was where the second team was. There is literally no trace of them, it's like the people simply disappeared."

However, Jo'ne explained, the equipment and so on was still there. It was as though the archaeologists had been there one trill and not the next. "So, what we're going to do is we've split you into two teams. Flora team, you'll be in the southern ruins. That's Pash, Padraig and Lakia. Fauna team, in the north. That's Amaris, Kali, Arwel and Tio. Each team will have an archaeologist and a guard with them. Both sets of ruins are above and below ground, so you're going to be in dark places."

She looked around and smiled, then Reza spoke up again. "The Immortals. This place, this ground is sacred. Here, they walk. They dream and they speak. If they speak to you, listen. If you disrespect them, you die." It didn't sound like a threat, more like a statement of fact. "There are monsters here not found anywhere else. Take weapons, do not be afraid to fight. If they look diseased, try not touch. Medical supplies with guides."

Without further ado - and with a little bit of a feeling of trying to get them hurried along (and maybe of shutting Reza up), Jo'ne split them up into their teams and introduced them to their guide and companion.

Teams!

Ok lovely people - because there's a lot of you (my poor old brain!) I'm going to split you into two teams! The names were kindly provided by one of you who shall remain nameless!

Team Fauna		Team Flora
Amaris		Pash
Kali'rial		Padraig
Arwel		Lakia
Tio

This is team FLORA

OOC Info

!	Message from: OOC Information!
	I will post again on 6th June. No placeholders, please. If you miss 3 rounds, I'll write you out. To remind you: this is a potentially high risk thread. Please pm me with any questions. Both groups have the same introduction post (but different prologue). Team specific stuff for your team is in the following tabs

NPC

Your archaeologist companion is a female human called Yolande.
She looks to be in her mid thirties.
She wears a sword at her hip, which she seems comfortable with.
Yolande does not speak unless spoken to.
Whilst she is an experienced archaeologist, this is her first time on Immortals' Tongue.
She carries a first aid kit.

Your guard is a male Biqaj called Varn
He looks to be mid to late twenties.
He wears two swords, has a bow slung on his back and has knives dotted around his clothes.
He is a talkative, loud and rather brash individual with a booming laugh.
He is new to Scalvoris

In your next post

Feel free to chat with each other (of course)
For this round only, you can post more than once between mod posts if you wish.
The NPCs don't know more than you do, so you can assume they answer that - anything else, I'll answer in my next post (please don't control the NPCs!)
Please let me know- either by a list or by description - what equipment you're bringing with you.
Please let me know- (yes this is potentially important!) - what you are wearing.
Take your post up to the point that you've walked for 2 breaks (hours) as you are in the southern ruins.

[Lakia Amaranthine]

Lakia had been silent on the boat ride, not a huge fan of ships in general. Several times during this trip, she asked herself why she was doing this. Each time, the answer was simple. Doing the Ice Caves had sustained her and Delta for the entire season, and this promised similar pay, though she hoped to make it out of this in better health. When they docked, she unfolded her tattered light coat and put it on over her simple shirt and pants, all a faded brown like they had been made by someone who didn't care too much about the color.

She took the map she was given at the meeting and listened quietly to their briefing, running her finger against her the scar on her hand from the ice caves. At least it looked to be warmer during this adventure. When given the team split, Lakia hoisted the bag she had gotten in the Ice Caves. The bottomless sack still contained some of the supplies she had gotten from the ice caves, plus the warm weather gear and her bow and arrows. It was also light, which was good, and she walked over to her guides and companions.

"Together again, huh? At least it's warm this time." she said, waving lightly at Padraig. She looked over at the new face in the group and nodded. "Lakia Amaranthine. Padraig and I worked together on the Ice Caves expedition last season." she said before she looked at their guides. "Hope you're good with those. Jackson didn't make it out of the caves." she said, her tone blunt. "Let's get going." she said as she started towards the ruins.

[Padraig]

Padraig liked a good mystery. Of course as a scientist he tended to explore and even solve them inside a laboratory either at the university or in his small one at home. Sometimes through the end of a telescope.

This one was different though. People were missing and no one seemed to know why or what had happened to the archaeologists who'd disappeared on Immortal's Tongue. They were fellow scientists at any rate, there was an implied comradery and he'd felt compelled to join the expedition that might reveal what had become of them.

He'd come prepared, as he had for a previous exploration into the ice caves. Leather armor over leather breeches, gloves, hat, a coat and gloves if necessary, stored in a sack that held far more than it ought to have. His bow, sword and a dagger, a first aid and spelunkers' kit along with a selection of things from his chemistry set.

Packets of sand for warmth and a bedroll, jars of glowing sand and small glowing stones to light the way in the dark, rations and well, the list went on. He lived with a professional organizer after all, who wouldn't have let him leave home less than prepared for any natural or man-made or Immortal made disaster...or even an apocalyptic event.

The map and a warning not to offend the Immortals were just two more things to add to his belongings. He didn't exactly care for the idea of the lot of them splitting up. But there was a sense to it and he was familiar with at least one member of the group he'd been paired with. "You never know," he said with something of a grin when Lakia mentioned the weather.

The other member of their group was unfamiliar though and he offered his hand and introduced himself before they set out. "Padraig Augustin," he said. And then? Padraig saw no reason to delay their departure any longer, so when Lakia suggested they head out, he nodded in agreement and set his sights on the ruins.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Pash was perhaps the most sociable on the boat, though he must have spent the first several bits inspecting the thing from where he sat (which was near Kali’rial and Amaris because he knew them and enjoyed their company), criticizing the rigging silently to himself or noting some of the hull that needed repair. Being raised a shipwright’s son was a blessing and a curse for the seafaring musician, though the new faces that had all been brought together by the strange event soon got the better of his curiosity.
 
He’d dressed as he normally would anywhere else but at Cally’s more because he owned little else than because he had no interest in being prepared for an adventure—he wore a loose linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up and mostly buttoned, his dark harem pants tied just below his knees, and his well-broken in leather sandals as the only barrier between his feet and the brined wood of the ship’s deck. Pash had also brought his wool half cloak because he’d come to understand that Scalvoris’ temperatures were a wild, unpredictable thing regardless of the season. He’d brought his daggers, sure, but the truth was he felt a little naked because he’d left his lute behind on his own sloop. It wasn’t really adventuring gear, after all. He’d spent some nel on a waterskin, some nice leather bracers to protect his inked forearms in a fight, and a small rucksack to carry rations in.

By the by, he could at least pretend to be prepared, but it wasn’t like he knew what to expect. Trouble at sea, he knew. Trouble on land? He would have to meet that as it came in his own hedonistic sort of way.

Pash studied those he sailed with, those who’d volunteered like himself. They were, when all taken together, an odd lot. Some looked as though they were meant to be there, as if they were there to research or there to fight. Had they heard the rumors, too? Other than the disappearing researchers, of course … surely, he wasn’t the only one curious about Emea and the Immortals, about some chance that the two things touched here and blurred together like lovers lost in each other’s gazes.

Once ashore, the seafaring musician was displeased by the grouping, seeing both Amaris and Kali put in a group without him. He wanted to object, but felt as a volunteer it wasn’t his place,

“Stay safe, m’friends.” He gave a wave and a wink at their departure, his typical bravado hiding his concern after all the explaining of their true purpose had left a sour taste in his mouth. Simply disappearing people did not sound safe. No one just … disappeared … without something happening to them. No one that he knew of anyway. They had guards who were well-armed.

The two other members of his group were well-armed, as well, and that left the Biqaj feeling a little underprepared. His weapons were different—his body, his words, his songs, his wit—but when he was told not to touch things …because they might be diseased … well … he began to feel a small twinge of regret for his enthusiastic curiosity over this particular opportunity to see more of Scalvoris and have a bit of adventure.

At least there was a Biqaj in their search party; that made up for everything else, especially once he realized the well-armed pair knew each other. He could deal with being a third wheel so long as he was a safe third wheel. His daggers and his charming smile had gotten him out of a lot of trouble in his twenty six arcs, though he honestly hoped that this was a misunderstanding and it’d be a beautiful hike and everyone would be safe and sound.

The shipwright’s son was greeted first by Lakia, the rather stoic woman, and then by Padraig, who looked to be the most prepared adventurer he’d ever met, before their trek began, and he shook the other man’s hand warmly, his own calloused and sea worn, his Rakahi accent unable to go unnoticed, “Pash Vy’ryn, thank y’much. Y'two know each other, eh? An' been to th' Ice Caves?” When Lakia warned their guard, the seafaring minstrel bit his lip. This was not the first time he'd ended up in over his head, after all.

He wondered briefly if the other man was familiar, if he’d seen him in passing at least once or twice at the restaurant where he played music most evenings, but perhaps he’d just seen enough faces in Scalvoris Town now to not know them all clearly.

Regardless, once everyone felt ready for travel, he followed, eagerly taking in the sights and sounds like someone starved for inspiration (as always).
 

Ledger for Past Purchases Mentioned Here

• Leather Bracers (based on gauntlets but just for wrists) 4gn
• Rucksack (lg) 4sn
• 3 days’ rations 1gn
• waterskin 3gn

TOTAL: 6gn 4sn

[Pegasus]

20th Ymiden, 717

When Lakia had made her comment to the two guides about Jackson not making it out of the Ice Caves, Yolande nodded her head and murmured a soft-spoken "I'm sorry for your loss." If any of them recognised it, then they would see that Yolande was almost cripplingly shy. Varn had a different response, though, and that was a booming laugh and a good natured grin to Lakia. "Well, you're a cheery soul aren't ya? I've got out of every bit of trouble yet, an' ti's a habit I plan on maintaining." Two quite different approaches, it seemed.

When they introduced themselves, Yolande simply gave her name, not looking at anyone but studying the ground as she spoke. "An' I'm Varn. Pleasure to make yer acquaintance, each one of ya. Tis my job to help y'all stay alive, so I'm goin' to do ma best to like you all. Helps, you know. I'm afraid you're my least favourite." Varn said that to Padraig with a wide smile. "Since I like beautiful women an' my fellow Biqaj. So I hope you're useful with that sword!" Varn's booming laugh at his own joke led to a group of multicoloured birds to take flight. The sun beat down on them for the two breaks that they walked. Immortals' Tongue had a lot of strange superstitions and so on about it and for all of them, it was their first time on the island itself. This was tricky in and of itself and meant that they did not know the terrain or what to expect. The first thing that became obvious to the five of them was that the word "path" held a strange meaning here, and a very loose one. The path they were following could mostly be sort of seen, most of the time. It was uneven and made of loose stones. For the first leg of the journey, they risked snapped ankles if they stumbled.

Within a quarter break, they passed their first shrine. Quickly, it became obvious that the shrines here on Immortals' Tongue were as varied as the Immortals they were dedicated to. Some were small, barely more than stone altars nestled into the foliage, others were large and intricate. Which of the Immortals the shrine was dedicated to was not obviously apparent each time, although of course they had their maps. It was worth to note, also, that there were shrines not only to the Immortals here, but to the beings who came before them, the Originals.

After half a break, their journey took them in the direct line of a small set of ruins. Not the ones they were moving towards, this seemed to be the ruins of a tower. Yet, they just kept going. Onward, and the terrain grew more uneven as the flat grasslands gave way to hills and then steeper climbs. Once or twice there were steps carved into the side of the incline, making their travel easier ~ other times, it was a steep climb. Nothing requiring ropes or such, but certainly taxing. Yolande struggled more than any of them, she seemed quite weak, physically and should anyone offer her help then she would most gratefully accept it. Varn bounded around, apparently unable to feel anything except energy.

During the walk, Yolande had barely spoken, Varn had chatted with Pash, with anyone who would talk. If no one was talking, he would tell outlandish tales of sailors and sea monsters, of his many exploits with women. Often, the exploits with women would involve the lady's husband arriving home unexpectedly ~ it seemed that he had made a lot of escapes from a lot of houses. Every story ended with him laughing his loud, booming laugh and each story was more outrageous than the last.
However, eventually, they arrived at the base camp. There were tents and a camp set up outside a set of ruins. Yolande spoke up, still quiet and her voice betraying her nerves. "We... what we would normally do is this. A camp, outside the ruins." Varn turned to look at her, gazing at her intently and this obviously made Yolande more uncomfortable. Obviously, that was, to everyone except Varn who kept staring.

"Speak up, girl, we can't hear you! Tell ole Varn all about it, aye?" The thing was, he was obviously trying to be kind, but making the whole situation much worse for the archaeologist. Still, she kept trying.

"The tent in the middle, that will be a command tent." Yolande spoke, a little louder for Varn's benefit it seemed. "The ones around the outskirts, they'll be... places for sleeping. Three per tend, by the size." There were four tents around the outskirts, of a similar size. Yolande, though, suggested that what they did was get themselves into the command tent to look.

It was a strange thing for them, really. The command tent, like the rest of the camp, was empty of people. But it was like there should be people here, there was a mug still half-full of coffee on the table in the center of the command tent, a book lay open on the floor by one of the chairs, pages slowly turning in the wind. There was equipment out, a table with a number of artifacts on it and chests which were labelled "Catalogue" and "Equipment", things like that. Against one canvas wall of the command tent there was a large chalkboard, on which was drawn a map of the island. Someone had been in the middle of writing something, and the words on there had been stopped half way through.

The chalk was laying on the floor, as though it had been dropped mid-word. Also pinned to the board was a map, labelled "Ruins Ground Level". The map there was detailed, notated and had spots of colour on it which obviously meant something. Unfortunately, there was no label saying what they meant. There was also a space for a map of the same size, with the words "Ruins Below Ground Level 1"; there were pins to hold it and even small ragged bits of parchment attached to the pins, suggesting the map for that bit had been torn off.

In the eerie silence, Varn's voice boomed. "Right them! What's the plan then?" It had to be said, it was Padraig and Pash that he looked at.

OOC Info

!	Message from: OOC Information!
	Since you'd all posted, I took the opportunity to split up the post days. Thank you! I will post again on 8th June No placeholders, please. Please don't control the NPCs, feel free to direct things to them - they'll respond in my next post Please pm me with any questions.

NPC [color=#0000ff

updated[/color]]
Your archaeologist companion is a female human called Yolande.

► Show Spoiler

She looks to be in her mid thirties.
She wears a sword at her hip, which she seems comfortable with.
Yolande does not speak unless spoken to.
Whilst she is an experienced archaeologist, this is her first time on Immortals' Tongue.
She carries a first aid kit.
She tires easily and is not physically very fit
She is painfully shy

Your guard is a male Biqaj called Varn

► Show Spoiler

He looks to be mid to late twenties.
He wears two swords, has a bow slung on his back and has knives dotted around his clothes.
He is a talkative, loud and rather brash individual with a booming laugh.
He is new to Scalvoris
He is very fit
He has a tendency to tell un-funny jokes and laugh at them. Loudly
Could reasonably be considered a bit of a chauvanist

In your next post

Let me know what you're doing. What's important for the story is the difference between what you are looking at and what you are touching ~ please keep that in mind as you write.
You can spend as long as you want here - or move straight to the ruins. We'll go with the majority, so please make sure that you make that explicit in your post.

[Lakia Amaranthine]

Lakia simply ignored Varn when he said she wasn't a people person and followed them quietly to the ruins. Along the way, she considered something and stopped on one of the rockier bits of the path, examining the rocks. After a bit, she lifted a decently heavy one that fit in her hand and added it to her pack before she started along the path again.

When they arrived at the camp, she listened to Yolande tell them about the camp, before rolling her eyes at Varn. "We can hear her fine." she said, her tone blunt, though at this point she was more annoyed at Varn's constant talking than actually hostile towards him. In the command tent, however, she immediately started examining the contents of the room. "Whatever happened here happened suddenly. But there's no indication of trouble. Something convinced them to leave perhaps? We could be looking at something that has some form of control over people." she said, grimacing slightly.

The maps caught her attention next. She noticed that one of them had been ripped away, but the one that was still there was handy and she took it from the wall and set it on the table, before pulling out her own writing equipment, having saved it from the Ice Caves. She copied the map and the notes on it, then passed the map to Padraig. "We should each have a copy, in case we get separated." she said calmly, before she looked over at the word on the wall. It didn't mean anything to her, but she copied it down as well, just in case.

Then she turned her attention to the chests. Immediately upon seeing what they said she tried to open them. If they proved locked, she took out the rock she picked up on the road and set to work on bashing them open, going through the top of the chests if need be. The equipment could be useful in keeping them all alive, but it was the catalogue chest she was largely interested in, as the notes on the map indicated the catalogues had more information on the ruins. Once she had the chests open, she pulled out the catalogues and started to look through them.

If the catalogues proved to be useful, she'd suggest copying them as well, so they all had the information from them. "We should take the equipment. Padraig and I have bottomless sacks, so we can carry it all. And we should search the camp before we go into the ruins, see if anything else useful is here." she said, hoping they'd find the other map.

[Padraig]

The journey over on the boat had been enlightening, if only to gain some insight into the preparedness of his fellow volunteers. Appearances were one thing. How well armed and equipped they were, how confidently did they present themselves. Those things might speak volumes but Padraig also realized that outward appearances weren't always the whole story. Besides, when was anything on Scalvoris predictable. What leisurely outing ever truly was, when even the ground could disappear beneath your feet during a romantic interlude and you were left to battle giant spiders instead?

Amaris, Padraig knew, though it appeared she'd be heading elsewhere with a different group. Then there was Lakia and he was pleased to find that they'd be sent off in the same direction. She had a level head, could handle herself in a fight and knew how to equip herself by now. The man who introduced himself as Pash had already struck him as familiar, though he couldn't quite place a name with the face till then.

Where had he seen him before? Ah, Cally's. They'd crossed paths once or twice, even nodded a greeting in each other's direction. But Padraig these trials was always coming and going between the restaurant, the university and home. He was a musician, that was it. And with a mildly concerned frown, Padraig realized that at least outwardly, the man didn't appear as well equipped as some others. But as with anything else, Scalvoris was always full of surprises.

"We do," he said when asked if he knew Lakia. And from the ice caves, he confirmed. If he could offer the man any tips or advice it would be to expect the unexpected and in all things, don't expect much of anything to go as planned.

But yes, he knew how to use the sword, and the bow, he told Varn when asked. As an aside however, the man's demeanor and the way he interacted with Yolande, the lack of respect where the women were concerned, led Padraig to conclude that he didn't care much for the man. He'd keep that to himself however. At any rate, he could hear Yolande well enough and she needn't speak louder on his account.

The path was treacherous in places and the hike was challenging. But along the way, the young scholar discovered any number of things that interested him. The shrines, and to the originals in particular. On another trial he'd like to have had time to stop, study and explore them a little. But for now, there was reaching their destination and doing it without stumbling and breaking a leg along the way.

But there was plenty to look at once they reached the camp. And for the most part, he'd quickly developed the habit of ignoring their male guide, only noting and acknowledging those things that seemed relevant. He agreed with Lakia at any rate. "It's almost as if they were simply portaled out of here without warning." He could almost imagine it. Mid sentence, mid sip of coffee, halfway through a stroke on the chalkboard.

Taking out his notebook, he copied the maps, the strokes on the chalkboard while trying to make some sense of them. He'd look through the equipment then, trying to identify what most of it was. And what he could lift and manage he'd put into his sack. He'd wait for the others before moving on to explore the rest of the camp. But in the meantime there was the question of the missing map.

"It looks as if it was snatched away in a hurry," he observed, considering the tattered bits and the pins. If that was so, however, it ran counter to the theory they'd been portaled out. But while Lakia looked through a chest of catalogs, Padraig would search the chest labeled equipment for anything useful. Rather than try to force or bash the lid open, if he couldn't find an actual key, then surely he had some small bit from his pack that he could use to try and pick the lock.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

While he’d definitely never met Lakia thus far in his time on Scalvoris, he did recognize Padraig once they shook hands. He quickly made the connection that they’d seen each other in passing at Cally’s and that the other man had particular attachments to Faith in a way that was difficult to keep a secret from someone observant and keen on feelings in general.
 
Pash really, really wanted to like Varn on the principle of the other man being Biqaj, but the boisterous, loud fellow who would have been an otherwise most excellent companion for a tavern crawl or a party on the beach was really bringing down the group dynamic in their little expedition. He did his level best to give the guard the benefit of the doubt, though, holding his tongue from making a choice side comment in Rakahi about ships with their sails too full of wind in a storm while they hiked.
 
The sea had no obvious paths, just currents and water. Whoever had first traversed this place had apparently been inspired by the Orm’del Sea in that their idea of a path was just as loose and treacherous, only rockier and with scenery that included shrines to Immortals and Originals alike. It was hard not to want to find the good ones, or at least the ones that meant something to himself. He was there for a purpose, and Pash found it hard enough to stay focused on not falling and spraining a knee instead of wandering off and exploring. Apparently, if folks had disappeared here, exploring wasn’t all that safe.
 
Unless they’d done something wrong, anyway.
 
There were ruins everywhere, and the Biqaj found himself grateful for a map but interested in knowing who’d lived here long before with such prolific building capabilities.

Once they got to the steep climb, Pash was somewhat annoyed to notice no one cared much for their guide, who was clearly struggling. So, he offered a hand where he could, when it wasn’t dangerous for his own stability to do so. He spent most of the hike trying to take in the scenery, to listen to the new sounds, and to tell himself the place couldn’t possibly be that dangerous even if the Immortals walked there. Strangely enough, however, some things felt familiar, as if he’d seen them before in a dream or heard about them in a song. He’d find himself pausing during the climbing and trekking to look around the breathtaking landscape and figure out why it felt like so much deja vu.

Finally they made it to the camp, and it was set up outside even more ruins. Pash was full of questions, waiting for his moment to step close to Yolande (because she didn’t seem comfortable speaking up enough as it was), and ask in somewhat train-of-thought succession:

“Why these ruins? Why no’ some other ruins—we’ve passed so many I've jus' 'bout lost count. What makes these special?” He glanced around the tents and counted four, which meant there were between nine to twelve people, according to how their guide had explained it, “How many folks were here so we know how many we’re lookin’ for?”

The seafaring minstrel was often mistaken for riff raff, it was true, but his creative, curious nature required all the details.

Because everyone else went into the command tent, Pash followed, lagoon blue eyes shifting to something dark blue and stormy as he took in the place. Crossing his arms over his chest, he hovered in the doorway, not wanting to disturb the details as everyone else rummaged for supplies and voiced their theories. He noted the strange colors on the map, the missing lower level map, the writing in chalk left unfinished, and while he could probably have gone for a cup of coffee about now, he wasn’t about to pick up the mug. He didn’t trust his handwriting in Common to copy the map, but he wasn’t about to admit that out loud while the other two were perhaps more studious than himself.

“There’s no sign o’struggle, though. It jus’ looks like they were goin’ ‘bout their day only to … uh … disappear. Y’know, I heard this place is more’n jus’ a collection of shrines an’ such, but that th’ Emea actually touches here. How many days were the researchers here b’fore they disappeared? I wonder if sleepin’ here is as weird as bein’ awake …” The tall Biqaj spoke to no one in particular while everyone else examined the tent, somewhat uncomfortable by the lack of obvious signs of problems. He wanted to see blood or some sign of violence to make this easier. A hint of struggle would have helped them now what they were looking for. This was … this was worse, “… Does anyone else feel like some o’ these places ‘re familiar? Jus’ me. Alrighty.”

His curiosity still gnawed away at him, though, and Pash felt like it would be worthwhile to check out the other tents, to see if they were all in the same state as this one, and he looked to Varn, mostly to get him out of Yolande’s personal space and because it looked like Padraig and Lakia had the command tent under control with their searching, “Let’s go check out th’other tents b’fore we head out. Might be somethin’ we need to see there.”

If the other Biqaj would come with him, he’d give the man a chance to voice his thoughts in Rakahi while peeking in the other tents for clues, wanting to see if they were in the same mysterious condition before meeting back up with the group. Pash figured they’d all want to go into the ruins that had been mapped, assuming perhaps that’s where the researchers may have disappeared to.

 

[Delta]

Delta was in way over her head. She had regained most of her physical strength as, finally, she and Lakia had made it through to the other end of the withdrawal. but she was still mentally very weak and, more importantly, vulnerable. the ten days of agony had resulted in her becoming almost entirely dependent on her Mistress, who had, despite Delta’s frequents episodes of rage, been nothing but kind and supportive.

The memories of having a cold compress rest on her head, and the soothing word of the naer woman in her delirious moments, or even the calm, yet firm, grip of Lakia’s strong arms around her weight heavily on Delta’s mind. This was the first time Lakia had left, save the odd, quick trip out to get food for them, as she had promised.

Now that Delta had regained her faculties, Lakia had announced the night previously that she would be leaving for a few days. She could not say how long, nor could she say where she was going. Only that Delta wouldn’t see her in the town for a period of unknown trials. But she would be back. That much was promised. Delta had barely slept as anxiety crept in. The was a foreign emotion to associate with her Mistress, which confused Delta all the more. All she knew is that she did not want to be alone.

When Lakia left the next morn, her slave did too. It was simple for the trained biqaj to stowaway on the boat, unseen and unheard. She recognised the odd face, having seen them about the island in the past, but she could not put any names to faces, or say anything about them. As the party split, however, Delta felt s thrill of excitement race through her as she realised there were other biqaj there. Even if she wouldn’t leave, they were a welcome reminder of the life she missed so dearly.

She followed quietly behind the party her Mistress was in as the two split up. Her resolve to remain was shaken by the words of warning, which were spoken by one of those meeting the boat. Maybe Lakia’s words wrong true, maybe she should have stayed at their accommodation. But then a flare of anxiety at that thought reminded her why she was here.

No one had noticed her, as they walked. Reaching a campsite, Delta hung back, watching the group of five as the bustled about the camp. slowly, she rounded the side, hoping no one spotted her until she could reach her Mistress. “Lakia,” she hissed as the woman knelt over a chest, as alone as she had been for a while.

Off Topic

Surprise! >.>

[Pegasus]

20th Ymiden, 717

When Pash helped her, Yolande smiled at him gratefully. At one point, she slipped and she grabbed on to his lower arm, her hand against his was warm. Like, really warm. He might be forgiven for thinking that the woman had a temperature, but then his employer had exactly the same thing. Faith's hand, when he'd shaken it in his interview, was warm, exactly like that. The Biqaj musician might note that Yolande also had a tattoo on her wrist. It wasn't exactly the same as Faith's, but it was similar enough to be... well, similar. Still, she smiled in a friendly manner and spoke in her usual, almost whispered tone, "thank you." Up close, he could see that her eyes were a vivid blue and if she didn't spend so much time looking down at the ground, they'd be a lot more evident.

On the way there, there was lots to see for all of them. Lots of shrines, lots of interest. However, except for Lakia stopping to pick up a stone, they made their way and they found the camp. Once there, things took a strange turn quite quickly. The mystery of the missing archaeologists, the ripped off map and all sorts of things. However, once there, they all listened to Yolande and what she said. They did this despite Varn's shouting at her. When Pash asked her how many, Yolande smiled at him. "Ten. There were ten of them. I have a list of names, races, ages. I can share it if you like, but I'm hoping they'll introduce themselves to you." It was the most she'd spoken and she looked at them all, her bright blue eyes visible to each of them.

However, as the group started to move, Varn turned his attention to Lakia. "Right, love. Now, I don't know who you think put you in charge, but they didn't. You don't break stuff, you don't rip stuff off places. Not unless I tell you to. We are goin' to do this sensible, or you're going to take your little tush back to the boat. That is not up for negotiation." It was strange, he was different, as soon as Lakia had taken the map. He hadn't said anything then, but when she started bashing at the chest, though, that was it.

"And no, we don't go yet." Varn said to Pash. He turned then to all of them. "It's my job to keep you alive. Ten people jus' disappeared from 'ere, we are not messin' around. So we're staying together an' if your best solution is to 'it it with a brick, don't."

Looking at Yolande, he asked her what seemed to him to be a very sensible question. "Will they 'ave a central set of keys?" Yolande nodded and pointed to where the tent flap covered the tent itself.

"There, probably." True enough, underneath the fabric of the tent, was a set of keys. Varn looked at them all, but then his gaze landed on Lakia. "So you bunch decide now. We work together, or we don't work. I'm not saying it's my way or the highway." He smiled, but there was no mirth in it. "I'm saying it's my way, or bog off back to the boat. Anyone got a problem with that, don't let the tent flap hit you in the ass on the way out."

To Pash, he turned then and spoke. "Lets explore this tent, then each of the others. That way, we're all together if something happens an' if someone just ups an' disappears, there's a chance someone sees it. So, lets all be here, check the place thoroughly, an then do the tents."

If they used the keys, then they did indeed open the chests and it might be strange to note that the chests, each one of them, were empty. They were each locked, but they were empty. At Pash's suggestion of the place being close to Emea, somehow, Varn looked and made a sign Pash would certainly recognise. A Biqaj custom to ward off evil. However, at his idea of things being familiar, Yolande spoke up.

"I..I thought it was just me. Yes, I feel the same way. Like, I've seen that map before, but I don't know when. I feel a little nauseous too, but that might just be nerves." They'd gone through all the chests bar the last two. Padraig was looking in one, Lakia the other. Varn had asked Pash if he'd record exactly what was on the table, how it had been laying, that kind of thing. Yolande was reading through the book, checking to see if anything was out of the ordinary. They were all coming to the same conclusion. Nothing. There was nothing in the chests, there was nothing of interest on the table. The maps (both the one there and the missing one) and the chalked words were the only thing of interest to them.

Delta was quiet as a mouse, yet as she hissed Lakia's name, Varn turned and looked, his hand falling to his swords. He'd half drawn both of them before he realised that this was a woman speaking, a slave by the visible brand on her neck and that she was calling one of them.

And of course, which one of them was it. "This your slave?" Varn asked Lakia, his hand not gone from his sword until he knew one way or another. Lakia confirmed it, but told him to stay away from said slave. Varn let his swords drop into their sheathes and he smiled at Delta. "Come in, love. You followed us? Don't suppose you've got equipment, do you? We'll kit you out, best we can, alright?" For those who might pay attention to such things, Varn was suddenly a lot more tense.

"You want something to eat or drink?" He asked Delta. Then, once he'd gotten Delta at least in the tent, he'd appraise what equipment, if any, she had. However, that done, he'd suggest that they check the other tents. Which were just like this one. Empty, yet like they were just waiting for the archaeologists to come back, or like they'd just stepped out for a moment. They had chests of personal belongings, clothes and such. Those were there and, if all else failed, Varn would use those to give Delta something warm and sensible to wear, a waterskin, backpack, first aid kit and a warm cloak and shoes. He'd hand them to her, not Lakia and do so with a calm expression. If she took them off him or not, he'd offer them.

"I suggest that, before we 'ead over to the ruins," Varn said, once they were outside, "we skirt the outside of the camp an' see if there's a bunch of tracks all leading off in some other direction." He looked at them all, but his demeanor had changed, obviously so. "When we go to the ruins, there's a number of ways we can do it. I suggest we explore the top bit, room by room, making our own map. Then go below ground. We could just head straight down and work our way up, though, also. Thoughts?"

OOC Info

!	Message from: OOC Information!
	I will post again on 12th June No placeholders, please. Please don't control the NPCs, feel free to direct things to them - they'll respond in my next post Please pm me with any questions. This thread is now closed to new players. I have pm'd some of you secret information!

NPC [color=#0000ff

updated[/color]]
Your archaeologist companion is a female human called Yolande.

► Show Spoiler

She looks to be in her mid thirties.
She wears a sword at her hip, which she seems comfortable with.
Yolande does not speak unless spoken to.
Whilst she is an experienced archaeologist, this is her first time on Immortals' Tongue.
She carries a first aid kit.
She tires easily and is not physically very fit
She is painfully shy
Her skin is warm to the touch
She has a tattoo on her left wrist
She has vivid blue eyes

Your guard is a male Biqaj called Varn

► Show Spoiler

He looks to be mid to late twenties.
He wears two swords, has a bow slung on his back and has knives dotted around his clothes.
He is a talkative, loud and rather brash individual with a booming laugh.
He is new to Scalvoris
He is very fit
He has a tendency to tell un-funny jokes and laugh at them. Loudly
Could reasonably be considered a bit of a chauvanist
He has a temper
He obviously does not approve of slavery

In your next post

Let me know what you're doing. What's important for the story is the difference between what you are looking at and what you are touching ~ please keep that in mind as you write.
If there's anything else you want to do in the camp, put that in the first half of your next post.
Feel free to assume that you find stuff for general living etc!

Thanks!