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Post by qhostqrowls on Feb 16, 2024 21:33:27 GMT -6
Rika pressed her hand to her face as she blinked back into consciousness, a terrible ache in her chest. She allowed herself a moment of anger, blinding and all-consuming.
There was no time for an emotional outburst. She exhaled, and shook the feeling away like water off her pelt.
“I’m fine,” She said, glancing over the two humans. There was concern in her dark eyes, pupils blown wide in the strange lighting of the cave. “Any injuries?”
Rika grasped Vincent’s hand to help haul him to his feet. The tall woman put herself between the group and the kneeling soldier, her expression flat and almost aggressive as she stared. He had a gun. Hadn’t reacted to their voices.
“Did everyone else have the dream, the voice asking you to be a priest?” She murmured, not looking away from the soldier. She had the feeling the man had accepted the strange request - might be dangerous.
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Post by beastly on Feb 16, 2024 23:10:38 GMT -6
Vincent practically jumped to his feet as soon as his hand was touched, surprisingly agile given his age, eyes wild as he looked at Merit and Rika. He stared at them, then looked up at the stone walls around them.
"O-oh."
It- He'd- It let him go. He was... Back in the cave.
His heart sank the same time he felt relief, and he tried to shove the complicated, heavy emotions swirling around him into a box. Not now. He reached for the skill set he had often utilized as a hunter. Bottle it up. The agent was saying something important.
Vincent seemed to have collected himself, his sharp eyes falling on the kneeling man. It made sense.
"Had it...Over now. He w-was here first."
And yet, there he knelt.
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Post by jarahamee on Feb 17, 2024 3:04:56 GMT -6
“I didn’t see anything. You two both dropped to your knees for a second or two, then came back. He was here the whole time, but he didn’t react to anything so far.”
Merit tilted her head as she studied her companions’ faces, obviously confused. She did not understand what either of them was talking about. She turned to stare at the armed soldier, moving towards his currently holstered weapon in case he did decide to rise and amend his currently vulnerable position, pausing when Rika moved to position herself between them.
“A priest? So the entity was speaking to you? Did you see anything?”
She squinted, now more concerned than confused. Maybe it had made them an offer, as eldritch beings were apt to do. The archeologist ran her fingers through her graying hair, frowning in concern at her companions.
Rika and Vincent stared at the kneeling man. From the boot prints, they could see a story; two other men had tried to help drag him, while a third stood nearby and did nothing. Somehow, he appeared to resist their efforts, and they had resorted to moving onwards. The kneeling man had returned to his ‘prayer’ position, and appeared to not move since.
The protected environment within the cave made it difficult to tell how long he had been there, but his hair appeared greasy, his eyes sunken with dehydration. Perhaps a day? Or had he been sick before this? He did not react when they moved near, his expression was one of serenity. His right hand was closed hard around something.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Feb 19, 2024 22:55:46 GMT -6
"It showed me the life I desire." Rika answered. "It felt real, like I was living a perfect life with my wife and my children. It asked me if I wanted to stay, that if I was its priestess I could, and I said no when I remembered this life, and knew what it showed me was an illusion."
She kept her description short and to the point, her tone brusque and entirely neutral.
She padded nearer the kneeling form, eyeing his weapon. Considered if she should take it before he might rise and turn it against them. From the marks on the floor, she guessed they wouldn't be able to move him if they tried. He could be helped later, but not now. Her priority was protecting her team.
"Dr, do we continue on?" She gestured to the boot prints leading to the depths of the cave. "We can't help this man now...but I can take his weapon. He may become a threat if...the voice considers us to be one."
The mission brief had been magical artifact, not eldritch entity. She was unsure of how to proceed, but willing to do whatever the two humans decided on.
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Post by beastly on Feb 20, 2024 22:42:47 GMT -6
"...I saw the same."
The former hunter gave a nod at Rika, his face a sturdy frown. The agent had been through the same as he had. He felt his gut twist in empathy, but did nothing except meet her eyes briefly and look away. Not the time.
He turned his eyes on the expert, waiting for her decision. He wanted both to go home and to continue onward. The thing here was dangerous. Powerful. If they could bring back more information for the WDSA or even handle things themselves, he could only see that as a net positive. He had no idea what the thing could throw at them, through. It had released them, but what if it'd decided it wanted to keep them anyway?
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Post by jarahamee on Feb 23, 2024 3:52:14 GMT -6
“I… I see.. It tried to… seduce you. Some magical items have powers that go beyond simple effects. I feel like this may be one of those.”
Merit’s expression was sympathetic. She too would have liked nothing more than to be with her wife again, even though…well… She had ruined that for the both of them.
She sighed, and nodded at Rika. It was just as well. If he woke and attacked them, they weren’t adequately prepared against an armed mercenary with a machine gun and a bullet proof vest. She moved closer to study him. Did he have to eat? Did he have to use the restroom? He didn’t appear to have moved at all since the event that had caused him to remain in place.
“Go ahead and take it.”
She decided not to question this further. The event was supernatural, after all, and likely didn’t have a logical explanation. At least not one that didn’t make a man (or woman) lose a little bit of their sanity with the strange warping that often accompanied the interaction and contact with other dimensions.
The archeologist glanced up at Vincent, frowning. He seemed strong, and somehow, she had her suspicions about his background. She inclined her head towards the automatic rifle still sitting at the soldier’s side.
“We’ll have to continue onward. Mr. Hudson, can you shoot?”
The dial on the compass spun before pointing them both into the deeper darkness of the yawning caverns before them. What they were looking for was there, waiting for them. Dr. Nasr cracked her knuckles anxiously, and walked on, ignoring the other mercenary tracks. If they had gone some other way, they could deal with them later.
The next cavern’s ceiling was high, with pillar-like stalagmites and stalagmites forming great columns that surrounded an underground lake. Their flashlights shone off the slick darkness of the clean water, and there was a soft splash of something within.
Bootprints were visible on the ground, dislodging stone and disturbing some of the smallest soda straw formations on the ground.
Somewhere, in the back of this new chamber, there was a soft shifting of stone.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Feb 23, 2024 21:33:39 GMT -6
Rika nodded, the decision made. Her eyes gleamed, appraising and curious, as she looked to Hudson - she had the feeling he most certainly could. Which was exactly what they needed. She liked the man, and if he could shoot, even better. She had the teeth and claws and raw power of her natural form to fall back on, they didn't.
She moved to take the weapon, moving swiftly and efficiently. There was a subtle tension in her shoulders, a guarded wariness in how she watched the soldier for any movements. He was weakened, and it would be easy to pin him with him kneeling and her position at his back.
She'd hand the rifle to Hudson if he expressed an ability to shoot, and took up a position next to Merit as they moved to the next cavern. She shone the flashlight in the direction of the soft scraping, her eye's shining like an animals in the dim lighting of the cavern.
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Post by beastly on Feb 24, 2024 8:05:06 GMT -6
"I can shoot."
The reply was firm, his normally soft spoken voice having shifted. It was accompanied by a careful look towards the gun. Yes, it would work. He didn't want to have to use it. But he would if things came to that. They were all going to make it out of this cave in one piece. He'd make it happen, but he wouldn't be doing it alone. The agent was capable. He trusted her.
Vincent tensed as Agent Ashrun with to retrieve the weapon, preparing to quickly take it if that was what needed to happen, or to help defend her.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 1, 2024 2:52:19 GMT -6
The man did not shift or move as she took his weapon. He remained kneeling, in a position one might consider semblant of prayer, eyes closed, head downturned. The gun bounced off the back of his arm and shoulder as if he were a statue, stiff and inert.
Vincent took the rifle. It was heavy in his arms, with a strap to secure it to his back. Already loaded with six shots. There was something that felt so right about holding a weapon again.
As Rika stepped over the underground river, she saw the erratic thrashing of pale fish slithering away from her footfall. Creatures used to living entirely in darkness.
The other side of the cave was crumbling, filled with fallen rocks where there was a partial collapse. A quick glance did not betray the origin of the shifting gravel, though their flashlights made the otherwise absolute darkness stark and menacing.
The three stared into the void, before Rika and Vincent picked out the faint sound of human voices, and the flicker of a flashlight in the chamber beyond. Someone was here. Or someones.
Merit looked around, turned off her flashlight, and sunk behind a pillar in the back of the cave, waiting.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 3, 2024 23:50:21 GMT -6
Rika’s pupils were blown wide in the dark, swallowing the colour of her irises. She raised her hand to her mouth, biting down carefully on her finger - she could see through the dark better than the humans, but the extra help wouldn’t hurt.
The spell hadn’t worked earlier, but she’d try again. She wiped the beading blood against the ink on her throat. Waited to see if her vision would clear - if the heat signatures or any blood trails from the voices she could hear would appear.
She clicked off her flashlight, slinking behind the pillar. She stood a little in front of Merit and Vincent, tensed and wanting to shift but knowing she shouldn’t. Not yet.
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Post by beastly on Mar 7, 2024 19:59:43 GMT -6
Vincent didn't bother to police the comfort holding the weapon brought him. Not today. Not after... Not now. He let himself slip into that hunter persona, that survival mode. He merely checked the gun over, and prepared to have to use it.
This man, at least, was no threat. Not right now, anyway. He sat there in his trance. The hunter wondered if that would've been his fate had he answered wrong.
Vincent followed the women's lead, killing his lights and stepping behind the pillar with the weapon prepared in case things got messy. One step at a time. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Vincent's vision was very human, and very, very limited in the dark. He tensed. Waiting.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 8, 2024 1:53:58 GMT -6
Three flashlight beams pierced the darkness, sweeping around the now silent, and apparently empty chamber that Vincent, Rika, and Dr. Nasr were hiding in. The men’s voices, which had been muffled, dropped further as they walked into the room, their weapons’ sights following their gazes through the otherwise pitch-black chamber, lingering over the shadows.
The three beams belonged to three bulky, dark shapes. Three fully armored men, wearing full paramilitary gear, carrying shields and semiautomatic weapons. Their ceramic plating clinked quickly against itself as they fanned out into the center of the room. All became silent as they scoured for their targets unsuccessfully.
After the soldiers, another tall shape strode out of the darkness behind them. Tall, thin, with an angular face and skin as pale as milk, his demeanor was entirely different than any of the others. His expression was aloof and tinged with annoyance, glasses balanced on the bridge of his prominent nose. He held a globe of light in his hand, and appeared unarmored, instead wearing a sleek military outfit and high boots.
The tall man glanced around, seeing nothing that struck his interest, then made an annoyed-sounding tongue-click and turned on his heel, before addressing the empty room before him.
“Now now. I know you’re out there. Step out and show yourselves, and we’ll not harm you.”
From behind a pillar, Dr. Nasr glanced at Rika and Vincent, and shook her head, as if to tell them not to do as the man said.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 14, 2024 20:59:51 GMT -6
Rika’s face scrunched into a snarl as she looked over the men. Three large, armed soldiers. They’d be slowed by their equipment - they might be able to sneak past if they were quiet enough. But their shields and armour also meant there wasn’t much she or Vincent could do to harm them.
The water was too shallow for her to drown anyone in, which was a shame. With such heavy equipment they would’ve sunk straight to the bottom.
Her focus slid to the thin pale man. The leader, clearly. Unarmored. Probably armed with whatever magic he possessed. If they were going to attack anyone, it was him.
“I’ll distract them.” Rika whispered, huddled close to the two humans. “Sneak to the next chamber. I’ll meet you there.”
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Post by beastly on Mar 14, 2024 23:37:48 GMT -6
Vincent didn't second guess Rika. There was no room for discussion or second guessing her, they needed to be on the same page and they could afford no hesitation or indecision. That didn't mean he wasn't concerned about leaving her or potentially being caught sneaking past, but it did mean he wasn't going to spend precious seconds voicing those concerns.
A nod was given and Vincent prepared to move as soon as Rika started her distraction. He would use the gun if he needed to.
He didn't like the look or sound of the men. They reminded him, distantly, of hunters outside the Midwest Association he'd encountered. Perhaps they were mercenaries, or agents of some other organization. Whatever the case, he thought the doctor's instincts were good ones.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 15, 2024 2:51:27 GMT -6
The thin man craned his neck, bird like, seeming to wait for a response. When none came, he lifted his globe of light upwards, towards the ceiling, and directed his attention at the three soldiers in front of him sharply.
“Go find them.” He commanded, his blue eyes clear and cold behind his glasses. His globe of light, hovering near the roof of the cave, grew brighter and brighter, diminishing the shadows that had helped to hide Dr. Nasr, Vincent and Rika.
Compelled forward by their master, the soldiers moved. Heavily armored and armed, they were emboldened by their improved vision. The three watched as they switched their flashlights for laser sights for their rifles, fanning out as they began to pick through the rapidly vanishing hiding spots in the cave.
In better lighting, the three became more visually distinct. One was wider, more heavily built, and carried an additional set of weapons. The second seemed to have a sniper rifle in addition to his semi-automatic primary weapon, and the last carried a number of (hopefully unarmed) explosives in addition to his main weapon. Their faces were obscured by their protective gear.
Crouching behind her pillar, Dr. Nasr glanced at the other two, and then frowned. This situation was looking worse by the minute, especially with another magic-user entering the fray. She paused, and took something out of her breast-pocket, holding it close as she spoke a strange word to it.
Vincent and Rika saw a faint glow from whatever she held, and her eyes seemed to glow faintly as she looked back over her shoulder at them.
“We’ll move.”
Dr. Nasr agreed with a slight nod. The aid she requested should make it more difficult to hit Rika, but at this kind of close range, could that really be trusted? She pressed her now bleeding thumb into her other finger, and pushed the idol back into her breast pocket as she prepared to run (and hopefully not get shot).
“On your mark.”
She eyed Vincent and Rika. They hadn’t come here for this, but they looked made for it. She could only hope they survived.
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