The Sunken Vault Part 2 - RPLOG
Participants
Date
20/1/482
Log
The sterile light of the corridor ahead bathes the filthy airlock, just as the fresh air wafting from within scares off the stench of the swamp that had followed the four felines in their exploration.
A faint, distant screech catches their attention, distracting them momentarily from the presence of the dead otter being. They don't know yet what he had been trying to stop, which creature or monster he'd been trying to prevent from escaping this place with him, but they may not have to wonder for much longer..
Walking backwards to lead Aleera towards the well-lit room, Lyas pauses. There's a disturbing noise issuing from that direction - certainly not something he wants to walk blindly into. Sodden tail flicking, the tabby listens, head cocked to one side. He gives Aleera's hand a squeeze, fingers creeping to his blade... then drifting to his gun... then back to the blade. Yes, definitely the blade. There's something much more comforting about holding a metre of sharp steel than a compact block of it.
"Hold on," he murmurs to the group, not wanting to draw the creature's attention. "Sommat might need its ass kicking up ahead." He draws his sword in a lazy sweep, giving Aleera a smile. "Would droppin' a few bullets in whatever that is make you feel better, Firework?" He gives a nod to the other two, signalling he's ready to move forward. One step forward - he's willing to take the lead, if needed.
Zalthar nods at Lyas in return. Turning to face the source of the sound, she grins a little bit, almost hungrily, drawing her hooked cane as dark mathematics softly pulsate around it, distorting its shape slightly. Quietly, and carefully, she advances, peering ahead in catlike curiosity, crouched low in predatory instinct.
Aleera's ears perk a bit when she hears Lyas's reassurance, though her grip on him doesn't so much as loosen for even a second. Still, thanks to his encouragement, the siamese does actually start to breathe again. A deep breath in and a deep breath out, again and again, while she tries to ignore the fact that the very air in this corridor feels oppressive.... Her eyes crack open slightly, just long enough to see the doorway ahead before she squeezes them shut again. Still, she readily follows the tabby, moving towards the light and fresh air with his guidance....
And... once they do reach it, she breathes in a deep, labored, gasping breath, filling her lungs up with fresher air once more. She finally opens her eyes up again after a moment, glancing about the room, quickly examining it.... Really the dead body doesn't even seem to bother her all that much. She's just happy to be in somewhere that's open and well lit. That screetching noise, however, is... less reassuring, and as Lyas pops his question, she offers him a weak smile and... reluctantly releases him from her embrace. "I... I reckon it will, aye...," she shoulders her musket once more, taking up a position... only a bit more than arm's reach behind him, "Just... don't get too far away from me, luv." Putting a shooter so close to the person taking the lead might make for a... strange formation, but either of their companions would likely have a lot of trouble getting Aleera away from Lyas at the moment.
Jendayi furrows her brow, holding up a paw towards the others. "It, errr, cooould be a machine, yes? I could calm it..." She purses her lips. "In case it is NOT, however," she trails off, taking her divine shield out of the pouch she's stored it in, deploying the field and dropping it to the ground so it can roll alongside the group. She holds out a paw towards it and smiles broadly. "See? There are ways to prepare for every situation that don't JUST involve shooting things. ... But. Uh. By all means, please shoot things if they start killing me." With that, she does her best to maintain her composture as she advances on the noise.
The corridor ahead looks pristine white, almost unnaturally so. The room is long and narrow, a functional corridor connecting to deeper areas of the facility. Pipes and cables run across the flat ceiling, and an idle hum can be heard on the background as some machinery is still functioning, albiet at low power.
As the four felines step into the room, that screeching noise manifests itself once more. It clearly came from ahead of them, one of the more distant rooms. Curiously, only some of the rooms seem to be barred with those sliding doors, while the most distant ones are flung open. Strange scrawlings and scribblings dot various parts of the corridor, near doors and across pipework, not immediately identifiable as any language of Promise.
The corridor ahead is even stranger than the first room, and if Lyas was a more finicky Being, he might have felt awkward about tracking mud all through it. Not this Cat, though. He lazily knocks mud from his boots, the muck sloughing to the pristine white floor. He checks his equipment over quickly, fingers flitting along his belt. Lyas then starts to prowl ahead, taking point - but quickly pulls himself up, realising Aleera is sticking close behind. He drops back a step, falling behind Jendayi, and twines his tail around the siamese's. His grip on his blade is easy, relaxed - a calm grip is better than a tense one, in a fight. He throws a grin at Jendayi as he makes a shooing motion, gesturing for her to move forward. "Looks like we two're a package deal today. But don't worry, we'll still fight things if you need."
Zalthar's slipping ahead down the corridor, and once she gets into the next room, starts making her way towards the door that the sounds are coming from. Holding back, however, she waits for Jendayi to make her way in, leaning against a spot of solid wall.
"Would it be possible for you to be able to dim the lights up ahead from here?" Zalthar asks, looking deeper in. "I can scout ahead. Not like I'll be missed if I go missing."
Considering how itchy Aleera's trigger finger gets at times like these, Jendayi is kind of lucky that the siamese didn't just shoot at whatever device she just dropped. But... thankfully, the feline simply shies away from it instead. "That's... some kinda fancy Creator gadget, eh? What's it do, exactly?" she asks, continuing to follow along with Lyas even while he moves further backwards, "Whatever it is, it don't seem as fun as just shootin' instead." She offers the sphinx a cheeky grin, although it's... hard to tell how much she's actually joking. A bit of her spirit is returning, it seems....
Or, well. It is right up until the point that she's greeted by a long, narrow corridor, anyways. Her grip on her rifle tenses up and Lyas can feel her tail twining around his a bit tighter, but the circumstances aren't... /quite/ as bad this time around. She's able to advance without needing someone to lead her this time, at least. "I can still shoot things, aye...," she assures, fingers flexing around her weapon. Zalthar's suggestion to dim the lights earns her an uncomfortable look from the siamese, but she doesn't seem intent on voicing any agreement or disagreement for the moment.
