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[latkje]

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[trueltning_fury]

No. I meant both of us. If you have a preference I'll go with it but if not, I'm flipping a coin.

[waving said coin in the air like a threat]

[latkje]

[ He nods. ]

Let's leave it to fate.

[ Let's also hope that fate isn't listening. ]

[trueltning_fury]

All right, then.

[no arguments here. Flip, catch, slap...]

Left. Mark our position, so if it's a dead end we can get back.

[latkje]

[ Nash draws a circle in the wall with his chalk, a small dot in the center, and an arrow pointing left. The scratching noise can't be helped. ]

You think those monsters can read signs?

[trueltning_fury]

[...huh. Things he's never thought about. Can they? A whole lot of things in this world could go the wrong way if it turns out they can.]

Guess this is as good a time as any to find out. [strolling off in the direction of the arrow, as usual looking completely nonchalant to hide just how alert he really is] A discovery like that could make you famous. Assuming we live long enough to find our way back out with that knowledge.

[latkje]

A famous spy is also not a very good one. I'd have to change my name.

[ Nash, too, is keeping his senses turned outward, letting Geddoe take point with the shorter-range weapon. While Nash can't figure out where they're going, at least it's still quiet.

The air is dusty, though, either from staleness or something else. ]

[trueltning_fury]

Again?

[not a very powerful tease, but more than he usually manages.]

If it worries you that much, I'll take all the credit.

[it is fairly stifling, isn't it? Geddoe can taste the dust in the air, there's a stagnancy that other passageways lack, but there is only so deep the fresh air can penetrate these ruins even if all roads were clear. The stillness magnifies his heavy footfalls, and the crack of a stone skittering from under his boot is almost deafening. Well, shit, that probably got something's attention.]

[latkje]

[ In truth, Nash picks a new name out for every major mission. He rarely needs to use them. ]

After I went through all the trouble of—

[ And then he freezes, the rest of his sentence dying a premature death. The stone skitters across the ground, and Nash is perfectly still, listening for whatever might have heard that.

And really trying hard not to sneeze. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[Geddoe doesn't need to raise his hand to caution them to both wait but he does anyway, turning his head this way and that. This time, it seems, their noise hasn't led to any trouble. Lucky, just this once.]

Right. Watch your step.

[says the guy who actually made the troublesome noise this time.]

[latkje]

[ Nash nods once, not hearing anything coming for them. He's generally good at this kind of listening. After a pause, the space of a few breaths, just to make sure, he says: ]

I think this might be a dead end.

[ It would explain the stuffiness. Still, it could be because something is blocking the way forward. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[the eyepatch really does do the opposite of help with sharper vision, times like this he has to admit it]

Chance a stronger light? A bit of lightning, maybe. Just enough to see further ahead.

[if it's a dead end hopefully that end is within view, it would be extremely helpful to just check from here rather than keep going and have to come all the way back. He raises a gloved fist, ready to shoot off a low-level spell if it'll help.]

[latkje]

[ Nash nods. Even if it's a dead end up ahead, there might be something on the walls. These were old ruins, after all, and they hadn't had enough time beforehand to translate all the old markings. ]

I think we can risk it.

[ But he puts his left hand over his elbow, just in case, ready to fire on whatever comes up behind them. ]

[trueltning_fury]

All right. Guard yourself.

[not that he needs to tell Nash, the guy's already on top of it, but fair warning is fair. It's not like either of them can hide their eyes from the flash or they'll miss the important things they're looking for.

Rather than the True Rune, though, Geddoe uses the weaker Lightning Rune on his left hand to cast the spell, to use the weakest one possible that will still create enough light for the briefest moment to illuminate their surroundings. He aims low, in case there's something approximately monster-height lurking in the shadows just ahead, and fires off a Thunder Runner. Everything leaps out in sharp relief for that moment - the high, arched ceilings, the crumbled pillars of a blocked passageway to the left, the very stones beneath their feet.]

[latkje]

[ He squints in the sudden light, which has the effect of making him look even more shifty. When the spell's gilding is spent, and the room falls back into darkness, Nash blinks. His eyes are going to take a minute to adjust, but it can't be helped. ]

Did you see it?

[ He means the blocked passageway. But maybe Geddoe saw something else. ]

[trueltning_fury]

Yeah. [strike one] What about on the right side?

[his blind side - he doesn't instinctively look that way as often as he should, especially when the illumination is so short-lived.]

[latkje]

I think it's a room.

[ A room without doors. He grabs a pebble from off the floor and tosses it in that direction, listening for the echo.

There might be something interesting in there, but it's not another long hallway. It might not even be a way forward at all. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[oho, so it is. He can hear the pebble bouncing away into the gloom. Well, they're looking for a Rune crystal so every corner needs to be checked.]

Better check it out, if only to rule it out.

[he takes point again, stretching with his free hand to find the doorjamb and keeping his sword angled forward with the other. It's not enough that he doesn't really sense anything, it's an unreliable feeling and he'd rather verify with his own good eye that they haven't missed their target.]

[latkje]

Strange to have a room here. [ But he doesn't understand what this complex was built to do, really. So much of the stupid things people do can be blamed on a lack of information.

The rest, he supposes, can probably be blamed on people.

Nash runs his hands along the walls, following Geddoe. ]

I think there might be writing here.

[ But he can't tell, touching the stone through his gloves like this. It could be something else. ]

[trueltning_fury]

Hang on...

[they've managed so far without extra lighting but this room has no windows to let in any natural light, so they'll have to risk a torch. Geddoe has all the right equipment for it, he just needs to step back to the doorway to have enough light by which to see to find his flint and a scrap of wood. There is a surprising lack of wood in these ruins, why were the Sindar so obsessed with stone? But a little piece is all they need in order to have enough light by which to see the room for a few minutes.

Where Nash's hand is, it's actually just some fancy carvings. But there is writing on the adjacent wall, and of course it's in Sindar. Anywhere there's Sindar carvings and mysterious perfectly-framed holes in walls can't be good.]

...I don't suppose one of your many talents is reading something like that?

[latkje]

Would you believe me if I denied it?

[ He grins. That would be the play— translate the old carvings and pretend that he hadn't.

Still, Nash doesn't deny it, and walks up to the opposite wall, squinting at the letters. ]

Beware the one called Dios. [ He "reads", very carefully. ] For sideburns do not fill the head with wisdom, only hair.

[ Weird prophecy, right? ]

[trueltning_fury]

[from behind Nash is a long, drawn out, possibly over-exaggerated sigh. And then a pause before Geddoe mutters.]

Why are you like this?

[he comes closer to wave his small and quick-burning torch toward the lettering. At least it's very clear and clean, thanks to the room's lack of outlet - no wind and rain to weather it away.]

As curious as I am, if it's just an inscription and not instructions for getting into a secret room, I'm prepared to leave it.

[latkje]

[ And that is not the first time someone has asked Nash that. He's never had an answer, really, and doesn't bother to answer it. ]

It's about the Water Rune. I wonder if there are other rooms like this. Say, five total?

[trueltning_fury]

[thank you Nash see, was that so hard?

Color Geddoe ten thousand times more intrigued, now.]

Ohh, I see. I didn't come this way, I went after Lightning. [he gives Nash a wry look even as the burning brand reaches his glove and he waves it out, plunging them back into the darkness] It would be convenient if True Wind had found its own chamber, wouldn't it? But there's also a good chance that one is destroyed.

[though the only place guaranteed trashed and buried under rubble is the central hub. Guess they have more looking to do, and a one in four chance of finding the right one on the first try.]

[latkje]

Mmm. [ His lips press into a line. ] A lot of the inscription's worn thin. This could mean "to bear" or "to bury."

[ He points to a part of the carving that has indeed, gone a bit vague. And truth be told his Ancient Sindar vocabulary has some holes. ]