[Nexus] Random Places and Plots 8: Adventures! Thrills! Groceries!

[Hattish Thing]

((Really? Works fine for me. *shrugs*))

Sewer Mystery

The combination of the sounds and the signs that this grate was removed frequently are enough to catch Krystal's curiosity. She'll crouch down and yank out the grate, lower herself into the drain, and put the grate back.

Taking a moment to get her bearings, Krystal will then head in whatever direction the sounds seem to be coming from. She takes it slow, not wanting to make too much noise. Never knew if something was gonna attack her.

((I dunno.))

The well-worn sewage grate easily slides open, the rusted old metal grinding against the pavement as Krystal begins her descent into the dark, lonely, smelly tunnels of the sewers. Within a minute or two, she's standing in one of the tunnels below. It's cold down here, and the drip of water seems to be the only truly consistent sound down here. Occasionally she'll catch the sound of something like metal upon metal, or the bang of a hammer on anvil. There's little light down here, but it seems like there's something glowing to the right of her current tunnel. (I'm assuming she moves forward, what with her curiosity piqued.) As she draws nearer to the source of the light, she'll notice what looks to be a small cube bolted or glued to the wall. The small cube gives off faint red light, and seems to be meant to light the way. Whatever lived down here seemed to require at least a little bit of light. This tunnel continues forward, and with every few minutes of walking, a new cube can be seen. It's a fairly simple source of light, but effective, for this particular tunnel system is well-lit.

After about five more minutes of walking at her gingerly pace, she'll come across what appears to be a dead end. The grating sound of metal is extremely loud here, and seems to be coming from... below her? How odd. There doesn't appear to be anything in this tunnelway, but whatever is making the sound is definitely coming from around this area. The entrance to wherever this sound is coming from has to be somewhere in this area... But where? Maybe there's some sort of secret door? Whatever is making the loud noise doesn't appear to have heard her, either, for the sound of metalwork continues even now.

[Earl of Purple]

Pyramid of Painful Demise

The harpies do not resist having explosives planted by their feet, however Wenomir will find they are flush with the wall- there's no gap to get behind them, and getting that close is likely a bad idea, due to the explosives. The harpy statues are still not activated, as neither individual appears to have investigated the secret compartment.

Unless Wenomir is trying to hide behind another statue away from the explosions anyway. They're all right up against the wall, but it is possible to use one as cover to avoid any potential flying shards of stone.

[KerfuffleMach2]

((I dunno.))

The well-worn sewage grate easily slides open, the rusted old metal grinding against the pavement as Krystal begins her descent into the dark, lonely, smelly tunnels of the sewers. Within a minute or two, she's standing in one of the tunnels below. It's cold down here, and the drip of water seems to be the only truly consistent sound down here. Occasionally she'll catch the sound of something like metal upon metal, or the bang of a hammer on anvil. There's little light down here, but it seems like there's something glowing to the right of her current tunnel. (I'm assuming she moves forward, what with her curiosity piqued.) As she draws nearer to the source of the light, she'll notice what looks to be a small cube bolted or glued to the wall. The small cube gives off faint red light, and seems to be meant to light the way. Whatever lived down here seemed to require at least a little bit of light. This tunnel continues forward, and with every few minutes of walking, a new cube can be seen. It's a fairly simple source of light, but effective, for this particular tunnel system is well-lit.

After about five more minutes of walking at her gingerly pace, she'll come across what appears to be a dead end. The grating sound of metal is extremely loud here, and seems to be coming from... below her? How odd. There doesn't appear to be anything in this tunnelway, but whatever is making the sound is definitely coming from around this area. The entrance to wherever this sound is coming from has to be somewhere in this area... But where? Maybe there's some sort of secret door? Whatever is making the loud noise doesn't appear to have heard her, either, for the sound of metalwork continues even now.

[Sewer Adventure]

Krystal gets confused for a moment as she reaches the dead end. Did she miss a turn somewhere? She didn't think so.

After a moment, she'll start examining the walls. Probably a hidden button or latch or something to activate a hidden door. That's what she assumed, at least.

[ThePhantom]

[Mirror, Mirror]
Reflecting Pool

*continues waiting for ThirdEmperor*


Grand Hall

When Darsy pokes the tile, there's another burst of magic on the tile! Sadly, she does not get sucked in, even though that would have been cool. Instead, I'll describe what it feels like to her: It feels like putting a glove on your hand and then sticking that into a bunch of mercury: or, in other words, a cool dense liquid that's shiny.

If you want to go through it, you'd have to jump in. There's no sucking involved.


Anyway, Card makes his way through the room. If he wants, he can step on both the black tiles and the tarnished tiles: it's only the polished silver ones that you can fall through. And so, he has his choice of which direction to go: to the rooms on the left, the hallway on the left, the rooms on the right, the hallway on the right,
or the staircase straight ahead (which leads upwards to three different wings: the North Wing, the East Wing, and the West Wing).

There are, actually, a lot of rooms in this mansion. Well over sixty rooms, there are.

(Sorry for taking so long)

Card goes the hallway to the left, but once he's out of sight of the others, he climbs up the wall and then onto the ceiling. Almost no one puts traps on the ceiling, namely because most people can't climb there. This technique was quite useful to his robberies in the past.

[ThirdEmperor]

[Mirror, Mirror]

Suthy kneels by the reflecting pool, dragging his open hand through the cold, sparkling water. Suddenly he's painfully aware of how warm the day is, how the cruel the sun beating down on his back. Almost without realizing he's shrugged off his jacket, then his shirt, and shoes and socks soon join them on the edge of the pool.

There's a moment where he hesitates, halfway through unbuckling his belt and scabbard. Maybe he ought to keep the electrosword. Could be any number of things waiting down there. And the thought of danger brings him back to thoughts of his companions. Only, they're already gone when Suthy looks back. Doesn't really matter. They'll do fine without him, and that swim seems more tantalizing by the second.

Settling on simply unscrewing the battery from the bottom of the electrosword's hilt, he draws in a deep breath and slips into the inviting coolness of the water.

[Shadowcaller]

[Pyramid of Painful Demise]

"Right. I'll stay behind them in case something unexpected happens," Wenomir says as he goes to do just that.

Arty's Epic Quest

Arty raises an eyebrow.
"I don't know. You look pretty stupid to me. They said they were the real deal too. Are you sure she doesn't think of you the same way as all the others?" he asks incredulously.

Pyramid of Painful Demise

The harpies do not resist having explosives planted by their feet, however Wenomir will find they are flush with the wall- there's no gap to get behind them, and getting that close is likely a bad idea, due to the explosives. The harpy statues are still not activated, as neither individual appears to have investigated the secret compartment.

Unless Wenomir is trying to hide behind another statue away from the explosions anyway. They're all right up against the wall, but it is possible to use one as cover to avoid any potential flying shards of stone.

[Pyramid of Painful Demise]

Dena doesn't plant them on their feet, she intends to climb up and plant them on the harpies back. The explosives the rogue uses aren't all that powerful but they should be enough to destroy the statues unless they have magical damage resistance. ¨

The drow did tell Wenomir to investigate but he he doesn't do it Violet will at least as it's the drones purpose.

Arty's Epic Quest

"Graaahhh!" The imp takes his both ears and pulls them in frustration. "Go on then, tell me you give up and I will enjoy seeing the final boss tear you apart!"

[Deathkeeper]

Arty's Epic Quest

"Oh, but don't count us out now!" says Arty with complete innocence. "What about this nice orcish helm of mine, very fine craftsmanship. Alistair can probably give you a free ride over the forest with his powers. I could give you a free physical, I doubt you've ever had a halfway competent doctor take a look at you. Or perhaps a spell of mine if you prefer cheating. Ashna probably can't offer much besides some free body piercings, unless you want her lycanthropy, which I don't know if she actually likes having." he says, tapping his chin ponderously at the last part.
He's not sure why he's goading this imp so much, maybe it's just how he's venting his frustrations. Normally he's really awkward in his speech but he seems to have no such problems when he doesn't care in the least how the other person thinks of him.

[Hyperbolic sine]

[Arty's Epic Quest]

Alistair smirks hearing Arty's words. "The Forest Aerial Tours Agency is at your disposal" he says, lifting his hat and bowing theatrically.

[Hattish Thing]

[Sewer Adventure]

Krystal gets confused for a moment as she reaches the dead end. Did she miss a turn somewhere? She didn't think so.

After a moment, she'll start examining the walls. Probably a hidden button or latch or something to activate a hidden door. That's what she assumed, at least.

The splatter of water onto the tunnel floor echoed loudly as Krystal searched the fairly decent sized tunnel ending, most likely distracting her a tad from her work. However, after about five minutes of concentration, she'll move her hand across what appears to be some sort of lever, tucked into a small area hidden in shadow. The lever appears well-worn, and a small strip of faded cloth hangs off it. It appears to be some sort of rag. Maybe it got torn off something in a hurry? Who knows. Should Krystal pull the heavy lever, she'll hear the quiet slide of smooth metal and pipe opening as a small trap door opens in the ground. As the door slides open she'll notice a ladder leading down into the depths, and that light flickers down from below. The sound of metal crashing into metal can be heard much louder now that the false floor has been opened, and the beep of electronic devices can also be heard. The many sounds coming from below create a bizarre and alien cacophony, no doubt a tad unnerving to Krystal's ears... What was this strange hidden place?

[Morty]

[Pyramid of Painful Demise]

In that case, Wenomir examines the compartment again, for lack of anything better to do.

[Earl of Purple]

Pyramid of Painful Demise

The compartment is easy to open; there's a hidden catch that lets it just be levered up. Inside, there's a small lever made from fossilised wood and set with a thumb-sized lump of red jasper. There's also a ring made from a thin band of verdigris-covered bronze, plain and without ornamentation.

The bombs won't stick to the statues, even if they should the affixing method just won't work. It's possible to just wedge them between the wings and the spine, but that will limit the amount that can be put on it. Also, if Dena is climbing using magical or technological suction cups, glue, or effects that mimic those items, they won't stick either, but the statues are rough enough that just grabbing and climbing normally will still work.

[KerfuffleMach2]

The splatter of water onto the tunnel floor echoed loudly as Krystal searched the fairly decent sized tunnel ending, most likely distracting her a tad from her work. However, after about five minutes of concentration, she'll move her hand across what appears to be some sort of lever, tucked into a small area hidden in shadow. The lever appears well-worn, and a small strip of faded cloth hangs off it. It appears to be some sort of rag. Maybe it got torn off something in a hurry? Who knows. Should Krystal pull the heavy lever, she'll hear the quiet slide of smooth metal and pipe opening as a small trap door opens in the ground. As the door slides open she'll notice a ladder leading down into the depths, and that light flickers down from below. The sound of metal crashing into metal can be heard much louder now that the false floor has been opened, and the beep of electronic devices can also be heard. The many sounds coming from below create a bizarre and alien cacophony, no doubt a tad unnerving to Krystal's ears... What was this strange hidden place?

[Sewer Adventure]

All of that noise does make Krystal a bit wary. What could be going on that makes that much noise? And had to be hidden away? Krystal suspected that somebody was building something. However, she had no idea who. Or what.

Only one way to find out, really.

Trying to pay attention as much she can, in case she gets ambushed by something, Krystal will go ahead and climb down the ladder.

[Hattish Thing]

In Search of Broken Things

All very good questions, questions that may soon be answered. Krystal may just regret her curiosity, or maybe find something wonderful hidden away in this dark recess of the world. After a short travel down the sturdy metal ladder, she'll find herself in an odd place. The tunnel walls here have been plated with an odd bronze metal. It's reflective and warm to the touch, but it's purpose remains unknown. Even the floor has been plated with the bronze tile. Many shelves are bolted into the walls, and small machines of every kind can be seen, some glowing and lightly beeping, others seemingly turned off.

This long hallway is completely dominated by the shelves of small to medium sized machinery, but other than that nothing can be seen here. However, the hall makes a right turn up ahead, and the light seems to be coming from that direction, along with the strange sounds. It's clear by the many seemingly randomly sorted shelves of tinkerings that this strange place was some kind of workshop.

But for who?

Or what....

[KerfuffleMach2]

[In Search of Broken Things]

Krystal will walk by the shelves slowly. She kind of had a soft spot for odd items, and these seemed to fit the bill nicely. She doesn't pick any up, fearing some sort of alarm tied to them or something. But she will examine them as close as she can without touching them.

As for the strange bronze on the walls and floor, Krystal will inspect that a bit, too. She'll even produce a small, spiked crystal from her knuckle and gently tap one of the floor tiles, just to see how it reacts. Essentially, the crystal is the same structure as a diamond.

If nothing odd happens during all this, Krystal will return to the task at hand and slowly make her way towards the light and sounds.

[Hattish Thing]

In Search of Broken Things

Scene Music:

There doesn't appear to be any sort of alarm system attached to the small items due to just how willy-nilly they're thrown about on the shelves. These seemed to be small projects and parts for larger machines, but it was probably best not to touch one of them. It was hard to gather what the small creations even did. Some have clock parts and gears sticking out of them, some are built with laser points for unknown purposes, and others appear to have no actual use at all. How strange. Machines built to do absolutely nothing but... well... exist. Some even appeared to be sentient, staring at her through mechanical eyes. The overall theme of the small inventions seems to be of bronze clockwork. Most everything here seems to be made of that bronze-colored material, from the bolts that keep the shelves there, to the ladder that leads out of the workshop. As Krystal proceeds to knock the ground with a diamond-like knuckle she'll find that the bronze metal seems to amplify sound, for her knock is quite loud. The knock doesn't appear to have alerted anything however. It appears whatever was making the noise was far too preoccupied with what it was doing to bother with just some other sewer sound. Maybe it was used to hearing knocks in the night.

After finishing her investigation of this first hallway, she'll move ahead to slowly gaze around the corner at whatever could be found. As she turns to look over, she might find it wise to hide as much of her as she could. Most people don't take kindly to being spied upon by strangers! And, from what she could gather, the great smith building all the devices seemed to be human! At least, originally.... Her eyes will gaze over the large bronze-plated room before her, taking in all she could. To the right, a massive forge of unknown metal can be seen built into the wall, with various pipes dripping molten metal down into molds. Whatever the pipes were made of, they seemed obscenely difficult to heat or melt. Across the room, many tables of machine parts lie scattered about. Those were obviously worktables. Many blueprints were taped or glued to the wall, covering the room with designs. A small door leads into a massive room, absolutely filled with what looks like junk. There's nothing there but machine parts. At least, that's all she can make out from this distance. Generators and larger parts appear to have been moved under the worktables and stored. The place was remarkably organized for whatever lived here. By the forge, a strange figure can be seeing beating some kind of metal over an anvil. The mysterious smith has his back to her, but from what she can tell, he's quite... oddly shaped. A large black cloak of rags covers everything from his shoulders down, though it's evident by his flowing sleeves that he's wearing some sort of robe as well. It's dark brown and muted, ripped in more than a few places. The man's left shoulder appears to be grotesquely malformed, suggesting that the man was some sort of hunchback. He's clutching a large bronze hammer in his left hand, bringing the thing down again and again silently. Matted gray and black hair falls down his back to his shoulders.

Spoiler: The Forge Down Below:

Show

[KerfuffleMach2]

In Search of Broken Things

As Krystal's white eyes widen from the sight before her, her mind thinks back to the stories of Hephaestus, the ancient Greek god. With the Nexus being the way it is, Krystal can't help but wonder if this actually was that God before her.

Krystal will take a step or two into the room, to get a better view of everything. Sure, the guy working the forge was big and scary and could probably snap her in half. But part of her wanted to know if he had made things besides the little gizmos she saw earlier. Like sculptures, maybe.

[Hattish Thing]

In Search of Broken Things

As Krystal's white eyes widen from the sight before her, her mind thinks back to the stories of Hephaestus, the ancient Greek god. With the Nexus being the way it is, Krystal can't help but wonder if this actually was that God before her.

Krystal will take a step or two into the room, to get a better view of everything. Sure, the guy working the forge was big and scary and could probably snap her in half. But part of her wanted to know if he had made things besides the little gizmos she saw earlier. Like sculptures, maybe.

Who knows, perhaps it was. However, the creature beating at the anvil doesn't appear to give off any divine radiance. He seems human. The man doesn't notice her just yet, and so she's able to take a few steps into the room. All in all, this place was magnificent, especially for something so deep underground. As she turns, she'll be able to get a clearer look of the parts at one of the closest worktables. Right now there looked to be some kind of armor on the table. It resembled a chestpiece emblazoned with a burning heart. Gears can be seen jutting out of it, and several wires can be seen sticking out of a large section. The armor obviously had some hidden capabilities that were being designed, but the piece didn't look fully functional. There's a few interesting looking prosthetic lying on the tables as well, incomplete. A few of them seem to be made for simple work, but others appear to be battle-oriented. There's one specific looking mechanical arm with sharp claws built into the fingers. This one seems far more detailed than the others, and it's obvious that this was one of the man's favorites. The detailing was exquisite! Everything here seemed very well-made. There's even a large rack of what looks like masks of human faces made of that same bronze metal so common in this strange place. Most of the masks are very beautiful, but some are horrific looking things, designed with leering faces and sharp teeth. Inhuman, to say the least.

Krystal will also get a more interesting view of the strange man before her. He's staring intently into the fire, and so the flickering light causes shadows to dance across his face. She'll be able to gaze at the man's face and see that an entire side seems to be encased in a bronze prosthetic. This man was some kind of cyborg! She'll also be able to notice a large bronze prosthetic claw hanging at it's side out of it's dirty robes. The metal side of it's face is intricate, seemingly made of overlapping bronze plates bolted into the flesh. A red eye glows out of this side, giving it a strange appearance. The whole thing was quite unnerving. The man was obviously some kind of cripple, and a cyborg at that. By it's side, leaning against the wall, a tall looking spear of some kind can be seen. A small diamond is built into it, the same shade of red as the eye built into it's head. As Krystal draws nearer, the man finally finishes his work with a final blow to the slab of metal upon the anvil. It looks like he'll turn around any second now.

Spoiler: The Tinker Down Below:

Show

[KerfuffleMach2]

In Search of Broken Things

Upon seeing the armor, Krystal comes to the conclusion that this person is building a robot of some sort.

Then she gets a better look at him, and her conclusion changes.

Now Krystal thinks he is building new parts for himself.

Krystal doesn't go to hide right now. She actually wants to talk to him. His work looked to be of high quality, and her curiosity has taken over again.

[Hattish Thing]

In Search of Broken Things

Upon seeing the armor, Krystal comes to the conclusion that this person is building a robot of some sort.

Then she gets a better look at him, and her conclusion changes.

Now Krystal thinks he is building new parts for himself.

Krystal doesn't go to hide right now. She actually wants to talk to him. His work looked to be of high quality, and her curiosity has taken over again.

The strange man turns to the side to set down the large hammer and dip the end of the long metal slab in a small cauldron set in the corner. He needed to cool the metal down a tad before continuing his work. However, as the craftsman finally drops the hammer down with a faint clunk, he catches Krystal's appearance out of the corner of his good eye. This obviously spooked the man-thing, and so he'll slide backwards, drawing nearer to the shadows. Along the way, he grabs the long spear-stave that'd been leaning against the wall. With a short swirl of the end, the lights in the workshop go out. Now, the place is lit only by the fire of the forge. Not much can be seen of the strange craftsman now, but the faint glimmer of firelight and his glowing red eye gives away his location. He'll glare at her from the shadows, both curious and paranoid regarding the sudden appearance of a topsider.

The man hisses out of the shadows at her, his staff pointed in her direction, an obvious warning not to move closer. ...Who is there? Why have you come? Have you come to laugh like all the others? To jeer and leer at the tinker down below? You.... He steps forward a little bit, more of his face visible now. You have come here... to the seat of gears, of bolts, of steam. What is your purpose here.... creature?

[KerfuffleMach2]

In Search of Broken Things

The man's reaction was one of the ones Krystal was expecting. Another was for him to attack her. At least he didn't do that one.

When the rest of the lighting goes out, the man may notice that her short hair reflects the firelight way more than it should.

Slowly, Krystal will raise her hands into the air, trying to show him that she means no harm. As she does, the man may notice a decent amount of scarring on her knuckles, as well as her wrists. The elbows of her denim jacket and the knees of her jeans are torn open, revealing more scars in those areas.

Krystal shakes her head a bit, causing the light reflected by her hair to dance around a bit. No, I didn't come to make fun of you. I didn't even know there was anybody down here. I heard noises coming up through the sewers and got curious.

My name's Krystal, by the way.

[Shadowcaller]

Arty's Epic Quest

"Oh, but don't count us out now!" says Arty with complete innocence. "What about this nice orcish helm of mine, very fine craftsmanship. Alistair can probably give you a free ride over the forest with his powers. I could give you a free physical, I doubt you've ever had a halfway competent doctor take a look at you. Or perhaps a spell of mine if you prefer cheating. Ashna probably can't offer much besides some free body piercings, unless you want her lycanthropy, which I don't know if she actually likes having." he says, tapping his chin ponderously at the last part.
He's not sure why he's goading this imp so much, maybe it's just how he's venting his frustrations. Normally he's really awkward in his speech but he seems to have no such problems when he doesn't care in the least how the other person thinks of him.

[Arty's Epic Quest]

Alistair smirks hearing Arty's words. "The Forest Aerial Tours Agency is at your disposal" he says, lifting his hat and bowing theatrically.

[Pyramid of Painful Demise]

In that case, Wenomir examines the compartment again, for lack of anything better to do.

Pyramid of Painful Demise

The compartment is easy to open; there's a hidden catch that lets it just be levered up. Inside, there's a small lever made from fossilised wood and set with a thumb-sized lump of red jasper. There's also a ring made from a thin band of verdigris-covered bronze, plain and without ornamentation.

The bombs won't stick to the statues, even if they should the affixing method just won't work. It's possible to just wedge them between the wings and the spine, but that will limit the amount that can be put on it. Also, if Dena is climbing using magical or technological suction cups, glue, or effects that mimic those items, they won't stick either, but the statues are rough enough that just grabbing and climbing normally will still work.

Arty's Epic Quest

If looks could kill both Arty and Alistair would probably have exploded now as the imp stares at them with pure hatred. "That's it!" Ibis very rudely gives them all the finger. "Screw you guys, I'm out!" And with a puff of smoke the imp is gone.

"Huh." Libra is suddenly floating in the air nearby, looking surprised. "Didn't expect that."

Pyramid of Painful Demise

I'd argue that climbing is a form of technology as it takes technique and works on the same psychics as suction cups.
Dena is climbing up the mundane way though and attempts to affix the charges with dutch tape. When that fails she instead calls upon Violet and affixes the charge on her instead, letting the drone rest upon one of the harpies. "Hey, looks like there is some magic preventing me from putting a charge on the other harpy. Can you deal with it somehow?" She calls after the warrior who probably have found the secret compartment by now.

[Recaiden]

[Arty's Epic Quest]

Ashna snaps her teeth at the imp to demonstrate, and hangs her teeth in an almost-smile as it vanishes.

Then, supposing she's stayed like this long enough with the moon gone, she starts to transform back, fur sinking in, face flattening, arm joints reasserting themselves.

[5a Violista]

[Mirror, Mirror]
Card

As Card goes along the East Hallway's ceiling, which is, in fact, very wide and tall, he'll successfully avoid any traps or problems he might encounter along the floor.

There's doorways along each side of the hall. On the ceiling, there's more of those gasoliers. For a stretch of hallway, there's rows and rows of mirrors along each side of the wall.

One of the doorways no doubt leads to the mansion's library; another, to the ballroom. There's various others, such as one that leads down into the depths of the basement. The hallway curves slightly as he progresses.

However, should Card continue all the way to the end of the hallway, he'll eventually have to descend to the last doorway, which leads to the Master Bedroom: a large, spacious room that has fallen roughly into disrepair. There are, of course, several broken mirrors around that room.

If only I knew what specifically Card was looking for, it would be much easier for him to find it.


Suthy

The water is, indeed, very nice and refreshing. One previous swimmer (who knows how long ago) described it as "like the Fountain of Youth." Not that I'm sure they've ever drunk from that fountain, but I'm sure it's just an expression.

While in the water, time seems really long and drawn-out, as if this day could last forever. However, if Suthy cares to notice, he'll notice something very odd. The sun seems to be shining over in the west now, as if he had been there for hours which passed in the blink of an eye.

I'm sure the second thing he'll notice is that his jacket, shoes, belt - everything he took off and left on the side of the pool are no longer there. Maybe one of the others took it, looking for him?

Also, some other things he may notice: the front door is still open, oddly enough. Seems like someone left it open. That fountain the others examined on the way to the front door? It's broken and dried up. Also, the plants look a little more well-kept. That doesn't make sense, though; if there was a gardener around, wouldn't he have noticed Suthy in the reflecting pool earlier and asked him to come out?


Everyone Else

Nothing happens yet, because they haven't posted yet.

[ThePhantom]

Mirror, mirror

Card himself isn't quite sure what's he's looking for. However, trying the master bedroom usually has some items in it, either nice items or ones that explain what is going on here. Once he gets there, he flips himself back to the floor and starts looking around. He's focusing on either finding either a journal or jewelry.

[Deathkeeper]

Arty's Epic Quest

Arty shrugs.
"He said he wanted to know what we'd do to avoid fighting his challenge. He didn't say his was the only option. So what now, Libra? Anything else you planned on surprising us with?" he says, raising an eyebrow hesitantly.

[Hattish Thing]

In Search of Broken Things

The man's reaction was one of the ones Krystal was expecting. Another was for him to attack her. At least he didn't do that one.

When the rest of the lighting goes out, the man may notice that her short hair reflects the firelight way more than it should.

Slowly, Krystal will raise her hands into the air, trying to show him that she means no harm. As she does, the man may notice a decent amount of scarring on her knuckles, as well as her wrists. The elbows of her denim jacket and the knees of her jeans are torn open, revealing more scars in those areas.

Krystal shakes her head a bit, causing the light reflected by her hair to dance around a bit. No, I didn't come to make fun of you. I didn't even know there was anybody down here. I heard noises coming up through the sewers and got curious.

My name's Krystal, by the way.

He does notice the unusual reflection, and his mind instantly jumps to the conclusion that she was wearing some kind of crystalline hat? A wig? He didn't know topsider style. For all he knew, wearing large cubes on your head was the latest respectable dressage. It was quite beautiful though, to him, in the light. He always found geological and metal things much more appealing than flesh. Flesh wasn't attractive to him. Flesh was... far too weak, far too soft, far too permeable.

He notices her hands move to the air, and recognizes the gesture as a surrender of some sort. He does poke the spear in her direction one last time before speaking, most of him still hidden in the darkness. However, his metal parts do reflect dim light. He was an ugly thing, his skin bump and ragged, his features too angular, and too stretched. Not to mention his hunchback and bizzare anatomy. His mechanical arm seemed much too thick and long, causing his other arm to look even more sickly and spindly than it already was.

He takes into account her scarring, and his mind wanders as to where the marks could have come from. Perhaps she injured herself on the way here? Perhaps on the cement? Or... Maybe something else. He couldn't know. He didn't really realize the marks must have occurred long ago to scar. He knew everything there was to know about smithing, about electronics, about metalwork. But he knew very little about people.

The man replies to her, though his more human eye follows the flickering light around. It was beautiful to him. No, no... Of course not. No one knows there's anyone down here. No one but Leech. That is me. I am... You shouldn't be here. This isn't your place. If you are here, and you have found me, it is not long before others do. And others will not be as kind as you are. At that, he twists his neck again to gaze at her. One other found me, long time before... Ago... Yes. One other. He was injured. I fixed him, but he didn't like my work...

It shames me so. I worked so very hard to fix and meld and bolt him together. Upon seeing how I worked upon him, and made him whole again... He broke himself. It saddened me. Wasted metal...

Are you... lost? Or damaged? Do you require repairs, woman-thing?

[Morty]

[Pyramid of Painful Demise]

"Maybe. I also found a secret compartment here," Wenomir says. "But let's finish putting the explosives up there first. Let's see if my knives work." He'll try to simply pin the explosives to the harpy using the adamantine knives, using his axe as an impromptu hammer if necessary.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Mirror, Mirror

((Sorry. Was waiting to see of Xanthos was going to respond to Darsy shoving her head into the tile.))

After taking a moment to look around the other room, Darsy pulls her head back up and looks for Xanthos and Card. To tell them what she saw.

Except both of them weren't there anymore.

Darsy looks around for a minute, but she sees no sign of where they went. Finley she shrugs to herself, stands up, and moves to the wall, staying on the black tiles. Once there, she'll find the silvery tile closest to the wall and climb through. That way, she could use the wall on the other side to help climb down.

In Search of Broken Things

If Leech knows of fiber optic cables, then he will notice that her hair looks exactly like the thin fibers inside them.

Krystal gives a small, almost sad smile. Yeah, I know what it's like to have people judge your appearance. But, most of the people in the city above aren't like that. It's one of the reasons I like living there.

At his question, Krystal will lower her arms and shake her head. No, no, I'm fine. Like I said, I heard noises and got curious.

You're really good at this. She gestures towards the armor on the table. You ever do any sculptures? Or just the mechanical things?

[Hattish Thing]

In Search of Broken Things

If Leech knows of fiber optic cables, then he will notice that her hair looks exactly like the thin fibers inside them.

Krystal gives a small, almost sad smile. Yeah, I know what it's like to have people judge your appearance. But, most of the people in the city above aren't like that. It's one of the reasons I like living there.

At his question, Krystal will lower her arms and shake her head. No, no, I'm fine. Like I said, I heard noises and got curious.

You're really good at this. She gestures towards the armor on the table. You ever do any sculptures? Or just the mechanical things?

Leech knows of many things, and has worked with fiber optic cables before, in the creation of the microchip implanted in the mask parts closest to his brain. He used these to communicate telepathically to other sentient machines. Her hair does interest him greatly, for fiber optic cables were difficult to acquire down here. They also looked quite alluring to him. Upon hearing her first sentence, he'll look down to the ground in brief shame before regathering his confidence and stepping closer to her, out of the dim light, revealing him in his entirety. The man looked almost regal with his mask on, his tall cheekbones and bushy gray hair giving him an almost kingly appearance. His brow was fierce though, and almost permanently locked in a grimace. He speaks to her, this time louder and more forceful. As he speaks, it sounds almost as if clicks and mechanical echoes can be heard. Do you now, woman-thing? Do you truly know the pains of life? The pains humanity forces upon others? Upon Leech? No... you don't, you can't know. You are... shining. Well forged. Leech is not. The world showed no compassion for Leech...

He draws closer still, and Krystal can sense that the man is actually quite tall. While he was working he was hunched over. As for the sculptures... Sometimes. I could... show you, I suppose. It is art, I think? The word? Sometimes I work with glass... or shiny metals. Gemstones, and such. I take those from the loud ones above...

Do you want to see the arts I forged with my hands? He speaks strangely.

[KerfuffleMach2]

In Search of Broken Things

Krystal gives the small smile again. Leech...I'm not even human. I'm a mutant. Back in my home world, most of the population hated mutants. When my powers activated, most of the people I thought of as friends turned on me. And on my parents. Trust me. I know what it's like to have people hate you as soon as they see you.

Then she nods a bit. Yes, it's art. My favorite kind. And I would love to see your work.

I do sculptures, too. I use a, uh, unique kind of crystal. Very unique. Her own bones.