Sparking New Discoveries - RPLOG
Participants
Date
29/4/477
Log
It's a quiet evening - not many beings wouldconsider trudging through the sewers let alone the far more treacherous tunnels, leaving them quiet enough for beings to traverse without many problems - especially with a little assistance from the academics holed up in their safe room.
The group's grown from the three that were once present, now including a handful of freeswords in its own right, Selena present if only to discuss something or another with other beings from the academy. There's a generally spirited atmosphere despite the gloom, a quiet cheer rising from the group as a trio of beings lug in a mostly-intact but powered down servitor.
A flick of the tail, a rumble from Flora's muzzle as she shakes the assorted crap out of her fur, inadvertently wetting any poor being that dares stand too close to her with raw sewage.
Her twin tails twitch lightly behind her, and her eyes cast around the area. The servitor is observed for a moment, and it almost looks like Flora is planning to just take it apart then and there to figure out how it works, although she still holds her ground. "Flora did not enjoy the sewers, no... Not a nice place to be," she murmurs, ears folded back faintly.
Sveta enters the chamber at Flora's side, the goshawk's huge tower shield strapped to her back but ready to be unslung at a moment's notice. Thankfully, she hasn't had cause to use it yet, and leans on her spear as she surveys the familiar surroundings.
"It's not that bad," she tells the tigress. "The water may smell a little funny, but it's already clean. It's not as if we really discharge raw sewage into the sea..."
Some of the beings murmur amongst themselves as Flora and her entourage approach, whether out of respect, derision or surprise is hard to tell, though such is the price of fame.
Selena doesn't seem to notice immediately - perhaps because of the new acquisition or because of the discussion, but it doesn't take too much effort from one a water clan axolotl to bring her out of the conversation and over to the group. "Flora, Sveta. Good to see you both. I haven't been down here in a while, but nothing's changed." She greets with a half smile. "It's an impressive place, if you mind the lost - the servitors tend not to make as much of a problem of themselves."
"Anyway, I should get to the point. Since you're looking for the spark, the best place would probably be here or one of the old rooms the team here found when they were exploring. It's your choice, honestly, and in the worst case it's a backup plan, but... I can't guarantee anything."
Flora mumbles and shakes her head again. "Flora doesn't like water... And smelly water is... Worse, yes," she mumbles, her ears folded back, before she looks towards Selena, silently.
"Flora... Thinks further away is better, yes," she mumbles, her head canted lightly... "Flora thinks that if this... Spart would appear here, it already would've, maybe, yes..."
Sveta cocks her head at Flora's words, but shrugs in her usual nonchalant manner. "I don't think I have anything to add to that," she says. "The Undertunnels are still full of danger, but it's nothing the three of us couldn't handle. Besides, I don't get self-conscious that easily, but all these folks staring at us is probably going to create quite a bit of 'noise', as you put it. Wouldn't suggest going all the way down into the limestone caverns, but somewhere...I don't know, inspiring would be appropriate, I think."
Selena nods back to the cat, making a sympathetic face of her own - it's fairly plain she's not terribly fond of the sewers either. "If we knew of any entrance from the ground that didn't involve them, I'd have told you about it. And I'm only going to say this once - we're NOT going into the caverns." The wolfess replies, biting her lip.
"That said, there's probably a few options. I'm not sure what to look for exactly, but there's a machine room - though I'm told it's fairly hot because of the steam pipes that are under it - an old library that was found in one of the last expeditions I was on here... It might be a stretch, but there's also a piece of walkway in the lower ruins that runs between the upper floor and some more of the broken steam pipes. If there's a place you want to start in particular..."
"If this... Spark is the spirit of discovery, the library wouldn't work, no. Libraries hold known knowledge, not new knowledge... Flora doesn't suppose there are labs?" she mumbles for a moment, before raising a brow curiously... "What's in the machine room and walkway? Why... Why is the walkway interesting?" she mumbles, her tails flicking lightly.
"Not as has been discovered, I'm afraid. The machine room is...full of parts, but unfortunately no one's figured out how to actually get to them through the barrier. The servitors pass through it just fine, but any beings are repulsed and the wall's too hard to chip away at. Not to mention that doing so would be just short of sacrilegious.
"As for the walkway...I'm not sure it's so much of a discovery as it is an inspiring sight, albeit dangerous. You do have to see it for yourself to understand what I'm trying to get at."
There's a brief bit of attention directed to Sveta at mention of the mere word 'sacrilegious', though little more than a scowl from a machine priest that's directed to Selena shortly afterward - the wolfess rolling her eyes as slightly. "Anyway. Sveta's right. The beings here haven't found any laboratories here. It's a bit odd when you consider the scope of the place, too - it seems to be the only thing this place doesn't have."
The wolfess moves through the door an motions for the others to follow, adding, "The machine room could make for a good detour if we're heading to the walkway, though. It might prove interesting to take a look while we're here."
One of the other beings towards the exit - that same axolotl from before - speaks up abruptly; "Lost patrols haven't been coming too far up, so... So you should, er, be safe unless you go to the caverns, miss. A-and you as well, Ladies Longtail, ma'am." The meek being flushes embarrassedly as though speaking out of turn, fidgeting a little and shifting back. "Sorry. Sorry. U-um.. I'll just be... Over here..." And then suddenly they're back again, pushing a map of the area towards Sveta and Flora insistently. "But take this anyway! Ladies Longtail, before you go."
A nod, a tailflick, and a smile towards the Axolotl, as if trying to reassure him. Soon enough, she's taken the map offering another thankful smile towards him. "Flora appreciates the thought, yes. Anything else Flora should keep in mind?"
Soon after, she turns back to Selena, nodding faintly. "Sounds good to Flora, yes yes."
"It's your decision, Flora," Sveta replies. "If we have a map, then getting there is much easier now. Although I do wonder just how long it took to map out those tunnels. That labyrinth is a potential deathtrap." She adjusts the weight of her shield. "I'm just here to keep you safe, in addition to your little kitten there." She points at Bastet. "Want to lead, Selena? I'll bring up the rear."
The axolotl nods back to Flora after a moment's pause, still fidgeting nervously. "N-no Lady Longtail, Nothing... Uh, not today, a-anyway? Nobody mentioned anything else..."
The wolfess, on the other hand, is already at the exit and then a little. "I don't think the labyrinth is a good idea even with a deathtrap. The golems they have there would be a small nightmare to deal with wihtout more beings, and there's no reason to put Flora in unnecessary amounts of danger." She replies to the Goshawk, looking back through the tunnel as the machine priests begin taking apart their prize with religious care.
"I can lead if you'd like - I have been through the undertunnels more than a few times now. Just keep an eye out. Some of the Lost scouts started poisoning their blowdarts. Even if Donny mentioned they haven't been patrolling, it's better to be on the safe side."
Flora smiles towards the axolotl again, her tails flicking. "Flora prefers Flora. Flora is only 'Lady Longtail' in court, yes," she murrs with a friendly smile, before rummaging through the bags she's put over Bastet, to pull out a pair of bladed gauntlets, and... Slot a modified pistol into one of them, against the wrist. "Flora is ready, yes."
Sveta says nothing, but the goshawk slips into place behind Flora and her golem with practiced ease, taking up the rearguard. "Lead the way, then."
Matthews clears his throat gently as the tomcat makes his way through the workers to approach Flora and her group, the usually dapper dressed cat clad in thick leather armor with a thin bit of chain overlay. Large black cloth sleeves extending over his arms to help conceal a hand crossbow strapped to his right wrist. "Do pardon my tardyness, I hope I've not missed anything too crucial?"
Selena coughs politely as the other cat arrives on scene. "I don't think you have, Matthews. I'm glad you managed to make it, though. An extra being is always welcome." She comments, looking down the tunnel to the atrium of the building. "...It's probably not a bad thing to have Flora keep that map while we're down here too. So - we're heading to the machine room, then the walkway?" the wolfess begins moving along the passageway before getting a real reasponse - after all, they are in the same direction.
The axolotl, still as flustered as ever, nods. "Of course, M-miss Flora. Stephen - I- I'm Stephen..." He replies, cringing back a little into an imaginary corner. "A-ah, Good bye, L- Miss Flora!" the strange being retreats back into the room hurriedly, looking a little more relaxed among his peers than in the presence of nobility.
It's not too long before the group arrives in in the upper lobby of the undertunnels - one sign labelled in the nigh-unintelligible creator's tongue pointing into the toted machine room, steam rolling from the entrance giving it away more than the faint red and blue lights dancing about within it - and several other signs pointing to other passages. "The walkway's down there." Selena explains, gesturing to a path leading towards the collapsed ruins of the complex's atrium, largely ignoring a servitor as it skirrs past the group in one of those seemingly omnipresent service tunnels, another one replacing it soon after before pathing its way through the tunnels to some indeterminable destination. "As Sveta said, it's your choice where we go first."
A rumble, a smile, a flick of Flora's tails as she moves along with Selena, gesturing Matthews to the spot besides him, before looking to Stephen over her shoulder. "Remind Flora to do something nice for... Stephen. An engraved pen, maybe?" she mumbles, shrugging lightly as she moves along with the group, her ears flicking lightly and her paws carrying her along. "Flora would suggest taking... Whichever route is more logical, yes..."
A moment of pause, before a thought occurs to the cat. "Can we enter the machine-room, just not take things, or can't we enter at all?"
The Tomcat nods gently as he keeps pace next to Flora as he adjusts the thick parrying blade tucked into his belt. A gentle sway of his tails following him as he looks along the path before turning to Flora. "We could always test it if need be... So long as it isn't lethal and all." He gives a soft nod then before tugging up the cloth mask over his nose and mouth as he falls silent.
"Lethal? It's just steamy - literally. Nobody's been harmed in there by any of the machines." Selena replies, leading the group into the large room "Just watch your step - the guardrails are still here, but a lot of the floor's missing." She explains - taking a few moments to concentrate before the steam condenses into rain, clearing most of the immediate area a little more for viewing.
Servitors can be seen folded into compact shapes in odd-looking bays, soft blue lights under some of them, others red - and some missing in favor of frequent sparking, though all dimming sporradically as though not enough power were flowing through the complex machine spirits beneath.
A single machine servitor, perhaps the one from just before - clambers into an alcove on the wall before a glassy screen slides up around it, the creature folding itself before one of the woking displays lists down more creator babble - something the priests had no doubt taken exhaustive notes on. The room continues into the distance with strange turbine-like devices where the floor hasn't collapsed, each of them emanating a constant whoosh of hot, steam-laden air into the room and more of the strange bays into the distance where the steam finally overtakes vision.
Flora bounds into the room, silently, looking around with large eyes. Her twin tails twitch lightly behind her. Sure, she's got absolutely no clue what any of this means, and it doesn't change her opinions that beings can do this, if they get the chance, but... It's still impressive and years ahead of any being's capabilities. "Flora... Flora doesn't suppose... The Spark is here?" she calls out to no-one in particular, even as she tentatively pads around the room, looking at absolutely everything and picking up one or two pieces of... Well, likely just scrap. Even so, she inspects everything she can find... "Flora can't take anything from here? Not even the tiny gears? The... Blue wall thing would stop Flora?"
Matthews smirks slightly behind his mask as he watches Flora bound around the room, the Tomcat crossing his arms as he chuckles. "My dear, I do feel you've found a new favorite location then?" His bath more slow then her own as he begins to examin the servitors, his tail flicking as he works to memorize almost every detail of the most common ones, from how they look to what they seem to be doing.
Selena watches the cat walk around, shaking her head. "I'm not sure there's much here worth taking. If you find something small on the ground, feel free. But don't go too much further down the room, I'm not sure how stable the ground is." She calls over to the cat, flinching back as an unusually loud plume of sparks flies from a severed cable.
"Flora, get back!" The wolfess calls worriedly as the current crackles on the steel walkway for an unusual amount of time, perhaps from the steam in the air... But then, there's a voice.
~A CAT!~ the voice comes, sounding much like a child's - though distorted as though heard through a window with an unusual amount of clarity. ~Kitties! You called me? Isn't there so much here? It's so interesting!~ The source of the voice, the crackling on the ground, suddenly spits up a bright orb of energy that slowly defines itself into vaguely similar to one of the golems inhabiting the tunnels - though clearly unnatural as it zips from machine to machine and being to being. ~Ooh. Don't just want to know? How it all works? It's amazing, isn't it? Introductions! Right. I should be polite! The Spark! That's me! The Spark of discovery! And occasionally solutions.~ It chortles.
Selena, on the other hand, just watches a little dumbstruck. "...That's a spirit?" She deadpans; "I was expecting something more serious."
Flora nods and grins broadly as she picks up a few scraps, a few small gears and a completely broken... It's a green plank of sorts with... Little things on it. What little metal on there is completely rusted and therefor likely unsuable. "Flora... Flora finds it all interesting. Would like to look at everything, maybe take a few things to the lab to look at it some more, yes yes," she mumbles as she looks towards Matthews.
Selena's words fall on deaf ears, almost literally, with the amount of noise everything in the area is making, and Flora doesn't notice anything untill that strange voice rings out and the orb of light bounds from device to device, and from being to being. "Flora is... Flora... Flora... Flora made a camera... And a pen... And Flora hopes to discover more, yes. Erm... Sir... Sir Kendrac told Flora to find you?" she offers hesitantly, even as she rummages through Bastet's bags to find the two objects she mentioned.
Sveta steps back a moment, half-raising her shield until she realises who - and more importantly, what - has manifested itself, then puts it away. "It takes all sorts to make a world, Selena," she replies just as flatly. "Isn't that what is said in the First Text? They can't all be as deadly serious as you are - I think you're really starting to sound like him at times."
"So, you're the Spark," she says after a moment's consideration. "Flora said something about you. I'm afraid I'm not that much in the business of making new things from whole cloth, but more of making new ways to make things, if that counts. And...well...it's been nice finding ways to put Lady Longtail's inventions into action."
Matthews is quick to turn at Selena's shout for Flora to watch out, the tomcat dashing over to try and help her before suddenly -the- Spark was there... Though, givin it's sudden appearance the tomcat's quick to grab at the blade of his parrying blade with his left hand before his right wrist raised. Though, when the talk of kitties and such begins with it zipping around, he finds himself lowering his wrist as he just blinks. "Wait--- What? This is--- Huuuuh." He just blinks for a few moments as he looks at the spark, a little dumbstruck himself, though he awkwardly clears his throat and moves to step just slightly behind Sveta and Flora. "I'm not-- I mean, these two are the inventors really."
Selena looks back at Sveta, shrugging a little and chuckling. "True. But that doesn't mean we can't be surprised by something, does it? I suppose it's fitting that something calling itself the spark of discovery is excitable." She muses, watching the cat converse with the strange energy of the spirit.
~Ooh, A dog and bird too.~ The spark muses, distracted for a moment before it... 'turns' back to Flora, seeming to ooze an aura of bright interest in everything around it. ~Cameras and pens? That's fantastic news! Flora, Flora, Flora, new things are great, aren't they!?~
Just the time the cat turns to start looking through her bags is all it takes for the Spark to zap across the room in an arc to right in front of Sveta with all the lack of concept of personal space a child possesses. ~You're so different to the others! Feathers, and wings, and-~ it cuts off as the Goshawk explains her own position, before starting up again as though ithad never stopped ~That's invention too!~ It chortles ~Discovery! You're right, Other-Cat-That's-Not-Flowers!.. Why would you call a cat flowers..?~
Selena rubs the back of her head and chuckles quietly. "You know, I do much of the same thing with magic. I'd almost say it's a shame I have the dedication I do at this point." The woman quips, not getting much attention from the spirit for whichever reason - probably the infinitely more interesting musings of the UN-dedicated bunch in the room.
"Flora... Likes figuring out new things, yes. Flora enjoys researching things and then finding out how they work or how to use them, yes yes. And Flora is... Flora. Not flowers, no. Flora is Flora," she mumbles, offering a slight frown to the ball... Lightning... Thing. "Flora... Flora was wondering about... The things... Mister... Spark has to offer?" she mumbles, lingering on the word mister, as if she seems to be unsure about it.
"There's no need to be shy, Flora. Fellow's not going to eat you." Sveta takes a deep breath, rubs the small of her back, and rolls her shoulders. "What she - no, we- want is a pact. Flora here wants to keep on discovering and inventing new things. I want to help her bring them to as many beings as possible. We thought you might be interested in that."
Matthews blinks as the spirit seems to give him a rather long and distinct name, causing the tom cat to raise his hand gently as he clears his throat. "It's... Matthews actually. Probably a lot simpiliar too..." The tomcat pausing then as he lowers his hand and moves to Flora's side, giving her a reassuring nod before turning back to the spark. "They'd be great assistance indeed if I say so myself. Rather brilliant really."
~Ooh, oh. So Kendrac told you about how spirits work?~ The spark asks - and one could swear that were it a being there'd be a smile plastered over its face. ~My bid's to discover!~ It announces, the golem-esque-sort-of-lightning-spirit flitting between Sveta and Flora, then to Matthews. ~But you still aren't Flora!~ And back to the pair of more interested parties - ~Ooh, ooh, Kendrac's Doggy probably told you how this works, right? I haven't had anyone ask for me to come like this! It's exciting!~
"'Kendrac's doggy'." Selena echoes in a tone somewhere between indignant and amused. "Selena is my name, thank you. And I think you'll find that I am in fact a wolf."
Not that the spark's listening, no, it's much too busy finally settling on a spot in the corner, almost perfectly equidistant from Flora and Sveta. ~Of course I'll help! You'll make all kinds of interesting inventions, right? Come closer, okay? There's a formality I have to do for that!~ And then somehow sounding a little more serious, ~Flora and Sveta, I bid you to discover!~ ~I offer you inspiration and power;~ ~You will wield me, to forge new paths of flame and lightning and show the ascendancy of the machine court in ALL you do!~
The spark then holds out appendages with a tool in each, adding as an afterthought ~Ooh, right. Take the tools and then you'll be my first two callers here! That's important.!
"Yes... But... Flora would want to know if there are any catches, though," the cat mumbles, extending her hand under the... Multitool. It seems like a curious device, with many little tools in one, ranging from small saws, clippers, two screwdrivers, a knife, and so on. Most everything a crafter would need is on there, although one or two specialized things might be missing.
Soon enough, she's accepted the tool, flipping it over curiously in her hands, taking out each tool, and momentarily marveling as it hides a full pair of tongs.
"I accept," Sveta says with a small dip of her head. Although she doesn't outwardly share the Spark's outward excitability, who knows what lies within that feathered exterior? Firmly, she reaches out and grasps the tool - a blowtorch, a fine tool of both creation and destruction - with a gloved hand, and winces as her feathers appear to be set aflame. The embers crawl up her arm, across her shoulders to engulf her body, and finally fade at the tips of her wings - leaving her faintly aglow.
"Well," she says, dusting herself off, as if doing so would send showers of sparks to the floor. "I suppose I can tell most that I have my sacred family manifested..." she adds jokingly. "Flora...the catch is that - well, it was stated in the purpose. But you were already going to do that anyway, so it is a catch when you think about it?"
Matthews blinks at the tools, keeping his distance as he paces around the scene while observing as much as possible with a flick of his tails. The change that travels over Sveta does give him pause for a moment as he opens his mouth and speaks softly to Selena. "Is that--- Well is that normal? The whole, bursting into a glow and all that?"
Selena watches as Flora and Sveta take the Spark's offer with a smile, paticularly the results of it. "Well, congratulations." She comments, not really sure what else to add for a few moments, but then - "I hope you don't have as much trouble getting used to sleeping next to a light source as I did."
~You are mine and I am yours! Call me and I'll answer, and when I call you you will.~ The spark announces, officiating the pact as if it hadn't been already. ~I think I have to go, Flowers and Sveta and Matthews and Selena!~ The spirit announces- ~Wait. No. Yes. No...~ There's a moment's pause, then a final ~Yes. Yes I do. Ooh, you'll be somewhere else nex time w-~ It's probably a strange sight to see a spirit snapped up midsentance, but aparrently there really is a first for anything.
"... Well... I think we should probably head off. The Spark made a lot of noise and I'd rather not risk attention." She comments, looking back out the door. "We should get going."
A smile, a flick of Flora's tails, and Flora continues flipping parts of the tool out, all to enveloped in figuring out exactly what she just got. Momentarily, she stares at her fur as it takes on a much brighter shade of orange, blinking a few times. "Flora... Supposes that is the Spark's mark then, yes?" she asks with a confused look on her snout, before nodding to Selena and quickly grabbing a few more 'trinkets' from the ground.
Sveta watches Flora's fur brighten - it certainly hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for appropriating interesting objects any. "One would suppose that it would be. Although explaining the change the next time you attend court is going to be a mouthful, I expect. One can only wonder how the rest of you family will take to this development..." the goshawk's face suddenly turns deadly serious, and she's soon lost in thought.
Matthews blinks as the scene concludes with the spirit vanishing, the tomcat slowly approaching Flora as he tenativly reaches out to feel at her fur with a blink. "I... Wow... Does it feel strange? N-Not that it looks strange! Just a little shocking to watch someone's appearance change like that..."
