Date: 17.09.2684 (03.27.10)
Location: Central Plaza, Ierne Weyrhold
People: A'niek (NPC), A'rlo, Jaziera, Lyuba
Dragons: Allochkath, Chalianth (NPC), Keonath, Lucieth
Synopsis: An exploration group is rounded up to find out just what K'rill and Remolayith were up to. Venturing into the valley, they encounter something wholly unexpected … and vow to return the next day.
It's a bright, if chilly, early afternoon that's been chosen for the adventure, with the collected explorers gathering slowly together in the Central Plaza. Notably absent is the man who started this mess rather inadvertently; K'rill and Remolayith remain in the infirmaries, though it's known by now that he's none-too-pleased about the bronze's loose-lipped ways. Some might point at Lyuba and Allochkath as the organizers, but a few other riders seem to be taking over the task of organizing groups — all of them former wingleaders, no doubt.
The entire group is roughly two dozen, all rigged up with straps and flashlights of various types — word has spread that they'll be dealing with caves and fog, though the exact details are sketchy at best.
Off to the side of the main group, several individuals have gathered near what appears to be an inky, black dragon and have set a portable table up. Atop it, a map of the region in question, along with several overlays depicting weather and terrain features. A'rlo, one of the local airborn surveyors, is speaking with several people, Lyuba standing to his side. "We've actually been luckier with this than we originally thought we would be," the blue-rider offers to those assembled nearby. "Weather patterns, along with the geographical layout of this area have helped in narrowing down the area that we need to search. Terrain and meteorological overlays provided by the Starcrafters on the Yokohama tell us that we're going to focus our efforts here." He gestures to a heavily canyoned area.
It would seem that Keonath is able to walk, short distances at least — the well-bandaged dragon is stubbornly present, watching over the proceedings with an assessing eye. Getting suited up is her rider, wearing sturdy, dark clothes and a little half-grin that suggests of bad things in the near future. "I'll be fine, Keonath." The woman says absently, patting the dragon's shoulder while grabbing a riding helmet fitted with a light and securing it over bunned-up hair. Keonath eyes her rider with mild amusement, then glances around curiously, face upturned to the sun. "Mmhm," Jazi murmurs as she secures a pack to her back, checking all of her various straps methodically. "I know, love. I'll be careful. Now…" Here, the 'rider peers around with curiosity, seeking something — somebody? — or other, and heading over briskly upon spotting Lyuba and A'rlo. She listens quietly, nodding as she carefully moves closer to the pair and the maps. "Any chance of rain or flooding down in them?" Is asked curiously, offhandedly, as she continues to check her straps.
For Lu, it's just been a matter of getting things started and gathering recruits; the real grunt work was for the surveyors and those others who know the ins and outs of the area. Thus, the greenrider can be fount working at the straps on the diminutive green, listening with half an ear to the explanation of where they're going and how the weather is going to be and so forth. She's near that lot, easily affiliated with them, but still … distant. Her expression is a grim one, eyes glossed a fair bit. Communion is beigg had between woman and dragon and, perhaps, from one dragon to another for the way the green's head is pivoted in the vague direction of the Infirmary. She pauses when she hears a semi-familiar voice and half-turns, lifting a hand to Jaziera. "Hey, glad to see you could make it, Jazi."
A'rlo nods slowly to a few questions before Jaziera's is asked. She gets a nod as well before he slowly pulls one of the altitude overlays down to cover the section of the map in question. "Based on what we know, the cave isn't on the canyon floor, so we shouldn't have to worry about flooding, even if it does rain. The starcrafters upstairs are saying that we should have clear weather until the evening starts to cool off, but we've been having unpredictable amounts of fog lately, so they've advised that we clear the canyon out before dinner time, just to be sure we don't have another repeat accident." He looks between Jazi and Lyuba before offering the newly arrived rider his hand. "A'rlo," he greets. "Would-be smithcrafter, aerial cartographer and surveyor for Ierne Weyrhold, and rider of what is…" He looks over his shoulder at the monstrously large black dragon behind him before looking back with a grin. "…they assure me, a blue dragon named Lucieth."
Jaziera is going exploring, helping to solve mysteries — she should probably be grim, too, but just can't seem to manage it. Barely-concealed is her excitement, though she doesn't quite bounce from foot to foot with it, eyes alight. Keonath is as calm as ever, turning to watch her rider with little surprise and a soft huff. The woman glances back at the dragon and grins, before turning back to Lu with a sketchy salute. "I'm glad to come along." The 'rider says with more solemnity than her spring-coiled enthusiasm might show. A'rlo's speaking, then, though and she focuses on the maps with half-narrowed eyes, nodding. "Okay. That makes sense. Hopefully everybody can move quickly, then." A little smile is cast back out on the gathered, then turned back to the older 'rider. "Well met, A'rlo, Lucieth. I'm Jaziera — Jazi — and that's," A point to ever-calm Keonath, who croons. "Keonath. Are you entirely certain he's blue?" It's clear that the woman's kidding, though, as she peers curiously at the dragon, smiling. Back to Lu, her grin turns sheepish, a touch worried. "I hear that K'rill isn't entirely happy with all this?"
"Didn't realize you were an aspiring actor, too, Lo," is called over Lyuba's shoulder to the bluerider with a wink. "I hear the Harpers always have an eye for talent." Allo warbles, craning her head around to peer at the charts as she's done a few times already — not that it makes much sense to her, but they're fascinating, nonetheless. Charts! And things! And more charts! "Knock it off, you git. He's working," is playful chastisement from rider to dragon, while the last of the straps are cinched down. Then she's able to turn and return the salute to Jaziera, grinning over. "Good to hear it. Just be mindful; the cave was bad news for a bronze and I'd hate to see anything happen to yours." Her mouth pulls, though there's no smile to it. "Ah. He's … not. Not at all. But he won't say why and I suspect it won't be pretty, whatever it is."
"He's only blue when he poops, and we haven't figured out why," A'rlo stage-whispers to Jazi with a grin. Then he raises his voice. "And the Harpers just want me for my body. Same story every year, something about a calender they want to build." He waves a hand. "I just ignore it." Jazi gets another smile before he turns more fully to the map. "K'rill not being happy is just one more reason why we're only doing flyovers right now," A'rlo offers, his voice serious again. "If we do find the cave and it just happens to be his, we have no idea what we'll be walking into." He holds up a hand, fingers raised. "We'll travel in teams of two and three. Given the close confines of the canyon, we will not be double-backing like a normal sweep. Dragons will follow one another in single file, and if someone spots something, pass it along and peel out of the line."
Jaziera watches the green with a smirk, laughing quietly. Keonath, for her part, keeps her distance — either out of politeness for her bulk, lack of ability to move too much or perhaps both. She doesn't seem fussed, though, content to watch over the ongoings with curiosity. "Oh, Keonath can't fly yet — she's calling my younger brother in from Xanadu. Search and Rescue, he is, figured he could give me a lift today." Worry is faint on her expression as she glances back at Keonath, then winces and nods for Lu's last. "I can't imagine what it'd be, but…" There's a quiet shake of her head, and she's silent for all of ten seconds before A'rlo gets a /snort/giggle. Which is, really, very becoming of a goldrider. "Shells." She snickers, looking caught between still-worried and highly amused. "That's…" Thankfully, she doesn't have to figure up a descriptive word for either comment, as they're back on track quickly. The briefing is listened to carefully, before the 'rider is nodding, absently checking all of her various bits of equiptment again. "Gotcha. That makes sense."
"Uh huh." Could that be sarcasm for A'rlo? No. Never. That would be too obvious. "I'm shocked you haven't taken the gig to pay for Chubb and Chumm's food bills." Lyuba goes to check briefly on the state of the other groups, leaning around Allochkath and bidding the green to probe briefly and see how everyone else is doing. "I think most of us are getting close to ready," is helpfully offered, while she turns to lean properly against the fidgeting green. There's an 'ahhh' for Jaziera and she nods, "Wasn't sure if they'd cleared yours yet or not," she adds, then offers a grin, "That's good of your brother, though." A green firelizard blips from Between and comes to settle on the dragon's head, chirping delightedly — /someone/ smells adventure. To A'rlo: "Got it."
A'rlo points down at the map again. "The section of canyon that we're searching is nestled up against higher ground here. There's more than enough space here for our dragons to congregate if we happen to find a cave. In order to get people down quicker, if we actually find said cave, we'll meet up here and consolidate everyone onto as few dragons as possible." He holds up a roster with the names of dragons and their riders. "You've all been split up into teams. Just a reminder, team three will be will not be going down into the canyon with us, but will be flying higher to keep an eye on the weather in case things turn sideways. They have radios so the starcrafters can keep us appraised of any 'lake' weather if it crops up. If you receive the signal to bail, drop what you're doing and pull out of the canyon to rendevous here at the meeting place. No accidents. Everyone clear?"
Indeed, young A'niek arrives on-scene not long after Jazi explains about him, looking a great deal more sober and sincere than his elder sister. Black-haired and grey-eyed, the young man can't be much older than twenty, and he listens with much more solemnity than his sister. Actually, he might have been there all along — but he's quiet, and Jazi doesn't notice him until he moves up beside her. There's a little smile for the younger rider, before Jazi's smirking back at Lu. "I changed his diapers when he was a baby. He owes me." She says with a wink, while A'niek just eyes her with faint exasperation. "I'm A'niek. Chalianth and I figured we could be of assistance. We just spoke to somebody…" He murmurs, gesturing back first at an olive-tinged green and then one of the grunts, before falling silent to listen to the continued briefing. Jazi's quiet for the duration, eyes calculating and bright, likely working it all up in her head. "Aye aye." She agrees, nodding. "No accidents, no lollygagging." A smile for both green and bluerider, before she's squinting skywards, expression distant.
The other collected sorts seem to understand, with their murmured assent given. Most of them filter back to their dragons after quickly checking the sheet, with the rest double-checking the roster to confirm their team placement before they, too, take their place. Lu tips a salute to A'niek with a chuckled, "Well met, then. Well met. I'm Lyuba, this is Allochkath … that's A'rlo and Lucieth. Always good to have another set of eyes and ears out, especially trained for this kind of thing. All I can do is patch the lot of you up — but my first aid kit is only good for so much." Ah, so /that's/ the big bag rigged to Allo's straps. "Crystal clear, Lo. Whenever you're ready, O Fearless Leader," is added with a salute to the bluerider … and then she's quick to pull herself up onto Allo's straps. Helmet, goggles, gloves, and jacket? Check.
A'rlo nods once to A'niek when he makes his introductions before hearing Lyuba's comment and turning towards her with rolled eyes. "Oh, come on. I made the pre-game speeches because you said you didn't want to," he grumbles. "You know I always let you lead. Not only do you run into fewer stationary objects than I do but the view's about a thousant times better." He trots over to Lucieth's side, reaching for the straps to his harness. Two others move over to the dragon with him, their gear already in place. "And for the record," he calls over to Lyuba, "I would have taken the Harpers up a long time ago, but they kept insisting on a thong, and I have to draw the line somewhere other than the crack of my backside. I have standards, you know." Then he's flashing the greenrider a smile and scrambling up Lucieth's side. "You're on point!"
Allochkath> "Well met." Is A'niek's greeting for the pair, offered with a little smile, while Jazi watches on with amusement. "We'll do our best, M'am. I'm sure you will, too. I imagine everybody knows what they're flying into." A slow nod to she and A'rlo, and he's turning to move swiftly back to Chalianth for one last straps-check. "Good luck!" Jazi adds to the pair of them, eyeing the 'riders and their banter with bright amusement, before shaking her head and moving over to Keonath. The two share words for a moment, and Jazi's scratching her 'mate's chin affectionately, before moving back over to A'niek and his green. The pair are mounted in a flash, and Jazi carefully straps herself in, Serious Face in place to match the younger rider's, now.
Allochkath> The elder greenrider chuckles. "Just Lu, kiddo. I'm no ma'am — and I'm sure as shells no Lady. Just ask Lo." And speaking of that bluerider … Lyuba cranes around to snort at him. No words, not now; instead, she just lifts a fist in the classic, dragonrider's 'let's get it on' motion. And skyward do they go. Allochkath is a quick one, springing deftly into the air and lifting high, with the others following suit. Her course is set southward, steady and measured — and set to glide over the vast lake that's south of Ierne Island. No Between, it would seem; this is a long flight, all the way.
Allochkath> Lucieth's neck> Up into the sky do the dragons go, Lucieth is a winged patch of darkness as he makes his way further up into the air, and it's only when the sun finally moves out from beyond the cloud that it's skulking behind that the shimmering blue hue of his hide is finally allowed to truly show through. Several hand-gestures are made to a few of the other dragons and they raise up and out of formation to better track the progress of the flight. No stragglers now.
Allochkath> Keonath's neck> Jazi's probably already disabusing the young greenrider of his m'am'ing, or has tried to in the past, as he's wearing a weary expression when the fist-thrust is given. Chalianth follows without having to be told, spreading wide foam-tinged wingsails to spring up alongside the other dragons. Jazi watches the ground for a minute, likely her dragon receeding into the distance, but then is all business and focused again. No stragglers here; Chalianth is tiny and quick, and obviously enthusiastic where A'niek is calm — she follows, all pent-up energy and side-slipping enthusiasm.
Allochkath> With Allochkath relaying their intentions in aromatic grassy tones and textures, Lyuba's motioning onward, with her once-again-grim expression hidden behind the curve of her jacket's collar and her helmet. With everyone in position and her green on point, she's not terribly concerned enough to glance back and see how the others are doing; Allo, at least, knows where the others are in relation to her, using that odd quirk of draconic spatial sense to full ability. And yet … onward they go, further south, to where already cool air becomes much more chill and, below, fog can be seen rolling in over the lake itself.
Allochkath> Lucieth's neck> Lucieth's mind-voice in A'rlo's head is a hammerfall on an earth-deep bell. «One suggests you look down,» he offers simply, and gently banks himself so that his rider can get a better view of the lake. » I see it, « comes A'rlo's silent thought back. » Let the others know, especially the Eyes. The starcrafters thought we were going to have a clear afternoon. « And a moment later, dragons everywhere are made aware of the potential and asked to pass it on. For now, however, there's nothing to be done but press onward.
Allochkath> « Thank you. » Comes Chalianth's voice in a burst of something smelling faintly like charred flesh and sounding like a low hiss-whine of a kettle on the boil. Jaziera's expression darkens a little, but then — nothing ever goes according to plan, does it? So she just holds onto her straps a little tighter and lets A'niek and the green to do the steering. They both look confident, at least, following the others' lead.
Allochkath> "Huh." That's Lu, grunting her observation of the fog. Allochkath's reply is a dulled waft of soothing lavender salve, « Oh. Mine feels all will be well. » Maybe that's … paraphrasing a bit. Regardless, the woman just shakes her head, trying to pull up the images she was given before and compare them with the landscape. Her brow furrows, her mouth pulls, and a moment later, she's pointing sharply toward one of the fog-clotted sections in the mountains, with Allochkath relaying a broken image that seems to patch right over it — likely dragged from Remolayith. « It must be there, » is a sigh of sage from the green.
Allochkath> Lucieth's neck> As the team of dragons cuts out and over the fog-ensnared lake, A'rlo can't help but mutter, "Please don't let this be where we're going to start searching." The man sitting behind him leans forward, pointing down. "That's borderline marshland," He shouts inot the rider's ear. "You'll have that kind of fog there on all but the hottest days of the year, and sometimes even then, if the humidity's high enough." The blue-rider sighs heavily, turning his head to shout back, "That's like…at the top of the list of things I don't want to hear right now. You know that, right?"
Allochkath> Fearless seems Chalianth, sliding after the other dragons with outward calmness. Her rider is tight-lipped but calm, eyes calculating as he peers into the fog. "This isn't going to be good." Jazi mutters just loud enough to be heard by the younger man, and looks surprised when he actually laughs, not unfocusing. "Have a little faith!" The 'rider calls, as Chalianth soars carefully close to the other dragons but not so close as to crowd — she's sure not going to get lost! Jazi sits back and mutters darkly to herself, but doesn't seem too disturbed, eyeing the shrouded terrain below with calculating wariness.
Allochkath> Out of the frying pan … and straight into the fire. Allochkath banks, air spilling from her wings to set her at a sharp angle toward the valley in question. « This. Here. No, wait, » scattered thoughts, like pine needles, are strewn about and all of them with flickered images culled from the mind of the flightless bronze so far away. The flight itself has been a bit lengthy already, their southward adventure eating up afternoon at a rapid pace. Fog and trees are not a dragon's best friends … and, if this is where the older pair wound up injured, it's easy to see how. "Oy! Stay high; above the fog. There should be a thin spot or something-" because, as it is, there's just no seeing past the fog otherwise.
Allochkath> Lucieth's neck> A'rlo's eyes are riveted on Lyuba's dragon as she begins her descent and it's several moments before Lucieth's voice echoes into his mind like the ring of beaten metal. «Focus! Look at where you're flying, not at her. She can take care of herself.» Then Lucieth tucks his wings into his body and soars down after her. Behind A'rlo, the man riding with him mumbles, "I'm sorry I said anything…"
Allochkath> Still unworried, Chalianth, who is careful and quiet though her wingbeats all but scream that she wants to charge in or something of the sort. The drab-shaded green is silent, but her mind is a well of smoking fires and hissing steam, roiling and ready. Her rider looks no less ready, eyes darting in an attempt to assess their situation and not seeming to make much headway. "Faranth, it's everywhere!" The solemn young man shouts, while Jaziera's looking less and less confident. Maybe with her own dragon, maybe with somebody she can speak to directly — but this is looking less and less like something she can control!
Allochkath> The other riders fall into position a safe distance behind, clustered in their groups, but still hanging back. They remain high above the trees, higher than it would appear Allo is inclined to; the green drops low, low enough to skim above the bare tips of trees that pierce the veil. « Chalianth, Lucieth, » both names invoked with a solemn, herbal tone that's gone a bit clipped with her focus, « Follow closely. Mine insists. » And why? Because there's just enough of a break in the fog ahead for the smaller dragons to easily slip through where the larger ones might have trouble; it's just enough of a parting of fog to unveil cliff-face and a dark smear … but a ledge? Nothing of the sort seems readily apparent, with the lack of light making it nearly impossible to properly spot. Yet, still, that's where the green presses for.
Allochkath> Lucieth's neck> "Oh, Thread, here we go," A'rlo mutters. Then, louder to those behind him, "We're going in! Eyes open! Call out the walls if you see them!" And then the blue swoops down after Allochkath, the blue offering a steely bellow for his charge.
Allochkath> « Yes, » Chalianth's voice comes in a hazy rush of steam, char-scented and dry. « We come. » Sparks of red-hot excitement simmer just behind a veil of smoke, but her rider's gone quite serious again, crouching closer to his dragon as if that might help somehow. Jazi follows suit, eyes widening a little as the swift, small green follows with furious intent on the tails of the other dragons. Chalianth offers a bright trumpet as they move forward, eyes bright in the haze.
Allochkath> But it's as the approach is made that light catches the thin lip of ledge … and Allochkath utters a warbled cry of alarm. But such alarm is prompted only by a terrible final image, relayed in the equivalent of a blurted word — the bronze dragon, having come at it too quickly, with his wings splayed to either side of the cave and his head embedded in the cave, with his rider a rumpled wreck, smashed against the upper part of the cave. The image blanks and the green is quick to backwing, slowing her forward movement to allow her to start making a much more reasonable descent to the ledge to test it. Forget 'group up and explore' — Allo's got plans of her own. While the others are grouping below in the valley proper, the green's encouraging her two temporary wingmates to wait and then take her place once Lu's dismounted.
Lucieth's neck> "What is she…REGROUP!" A'rlo bellows into the wind, shaking his head moments later. »What in the name of Thread is she doing?!« he shouts into the vaults of his mind. «Dismounting, One would surmise,» is Lucieth's dissonant response. "Threadscore it, Lyuba! Back us off, back us off!" Then he's waving hand signals to Jazi and her companions to do the same. There's no sense in adding high, backwinging winds to an already dangerous situation. "I swear to all that's right in the world, I'm going to kill her if she survives," A'rlo growls.
At the commotion a few lengths ahead, Chalianth seems to automatically twist in midair, losing speed rapidly while avoiding trees in a bit of maneuvering that would likely make large-dragon-riding Jaziera pass out if she weren't made of sterner stuff. Nevertheless, the woman is as white as a sheet when they hover a little easier a dragonlength or two behind Lucieth, now — A'niek looks a little strained, but isn't as pale as his sister. "What's going on?" Jazi's voice can be heard in the muffling fog and draconic wingbeats, as she squints towards the ledge below. "Waiting." Comes the younger rider's assessment, bringing a scowl to the goldrider's face; how helpful!
A'rlo's lucky she can't hear that. As it is, her focus is purely on slipping down the green's side with minimal help — there's no way the green can properly stretch a foreleg out for her, so the landing is doomed to be a hard one. The kit is unslung and the green sent off with a slap to her shoulder, sending her spilling down the cliff-face with all the nimbleness of a much younger dragon. While Allochkath joins the dragons below, Lu takes just a slight step back and just barely into the cave, motioning for the next rider — whichever it turns out to be — to make their landing. And, in the meantime … she's digging a flashlight out.
Lucieth's neck> Lucieth wings in next, talons scrambling for a secure purchase before he's finally able to hold still enough for a dismount. It's only a few moments before he's landing on the ground with a hard crunching of boots and helping the minecrafter down after him with an audible grunt. "Stay frosty," he calls to the dark blue before stepping far enough away to allow Lucieth to glide down to join the others. Then he's turning on a heel, pulling his flash light out of a ring at his hip and walking towards the cave mouth. His face is clearly irritated, and not just because of broken protocol, but at this particular moment, he simply snaps the light on and offers a simple, "Well?"
Once the blue, as well, has made his landing and taken off again, Chalianth follows suit. The green is careful, holding securely to the cliff while Jaziera and A'niek dismount, the latter thumping his dragon fondly before she angles herself down and leaps off quickly. Jazi takes a moment to recover, while A'niek's staring around quietly, checking out the situation. Finally, the elder of the pair turns a tight look on A'rlo and Lu. "Well." She mutters faintly, and was that a gulp? "I guess I see…" Here, she takes a bare step back, staring at the rocks in faint horror.
The ruined rock doesn't go unnoticed, with the elder rider dragging a boot along one mark with a furrowed brow. The dark patches of stone, everything else, is considered with a troubled expression that turns into a shake of her head to clear it. For A'rlo: "It's a tunnel." Obviously. Lyuba's being difficult, it would seem … if only in contrast to Lo's irritated mien. But, there is no smile, where there might have been, not for the sight of what's happened here. "And … it looks like there's something else, so walk carefully." Her flashlight is swung around inside as well, highlighting the glints of mica in the wall … and something else, skittering silver lines that are hard to distinguish properly.
A'rlo opens his mouth for a moment before he just shakes his head. "Well, part of me wants to go first, but the other part of me thinks we should let the minecrafter that…you know, managed to make it to the ledge ahead of everyone else…down there…" He clears his throat. "Yeah." For his part, the minecrafter looks between A'rlo and Lyuba before slowly raising his hands and offering, "You tell me where you want me, rider, but…" Then both men are looking at Lyuba.
Jaziera's flashlight comes on, and she follows the others in with little trepidation, but a thoughtful expression. The other riders and the minecrafter get the faintest of smiles for their tension, but she's glancing back at A'niek to make sure he made it in safely while they're both looking to Lu for guidance. "Shells." Is Jazi's articulate murmur, as she roves her flashlight around slowly. Eventually, though, the woman has to turn her gaze, to, to poor ole' Lu, eyebrows drawing in just a little. What now?
"Minecrafter, you first." It only makes sense. The Healer hefts her pack, shouldering it easily. "Then you, A'niek, and then Lo … Jazi, and I'll take up the rear." Because, hey, the bandages should be as far from the fireworks and death and dangers as possible … right? With the marching orders given — and there's a look to Lo that implies that if something goes wrong, it's /his/ fault for trusting her — she waits for the minecrafter to trek on in ahead. "Something tells me," she mutters low, "that K'rill's going to be stuck in the Infirmary for a while longer." Ominous, that.
The minecrafter simply nods to the green rider before slapping a sturdy-looking helmet over his head and snapping a light on it into action. "Here we go…" Then he's slowly moving into the cave, one hand trailing bare fingertips along the wall and sniffing the air. A'rlo follows behind closely, and in response to Lyuba's last statement, he mutters, "Let's hope we're not constant company." Then he blinks when the minecrafter suddenly stops. One of his own hands snaps up in a closed fist. "Watch that," the miner warns, gesturing to a wire in the wall, and a moment later, he's examining a rock. "Bloody boulders…" Eyes look up at the silver in the walls before he looks back over his shoulders at the others. "This whole damned cave is wired, rider! I've been hearing things since I got in here, and I just found out why." He holds up the broken timer. "Who the hell is this friend of yours?"
A'niek does as he's told, nodding quietly and falling in step behind the minecrafter. The young man's eyes are narrowed and his expression tight, wary, as he takes a few steps, pausing briefly, then continuing. Jazi smiles a little at Lu, nodding. "Right." She agrees, then winces when A'rlo chimes in. "That would be best." Agreed once more in a low but even voice. When the minecrafter stops, A'niek does so too, nodding slowly at the man's assesment and staring at the trip wire. Jaziera's eyebrows do a little dance of wary shock, and she eyes the timer. "/What/ exactly does that thing do?" She asks quietly, head slowly turning this way and that, flashlight leading.
"Shells if I know, any more," Lyuba says a long moment after the device is held up. There's a hardness to her jaw, her eyes distancing briefly to relay something or another to Allochkath. "Faranth knows how many wires are working and how many aren't — this whole thing will have to be scoured for more of those … whatever they ares." Because those things? Those /can't/ be good. Further ahead, more lines can be seen, as well as the unpleasant promise of a fork in the tunnels. This … is going to take a while. Low-murmured, "Allo's relayed to the others that they're to stay put. If something happens … they should go back, I think. Go back and get others."
"I think not," comes A'rlo's flat reply. He leans down to take the timing device from the minecrafter's hand before showing it to the others. "This? This is a timer for a trap. Trap equals bad." He points with his other hand to the wall and the multitude of wires there. "Each one of those could be a live, life-threatening device. We've gotten foolishly lucky so far, but Lu?" He tosses the timer to her. "If this is his cave, we all leave here, right now, together, and you march into the infirmary and find out what the hell is going on. If this isn't his cave, moving further just became a stupid risk, and we all leave. Either way…our next move should be that way." He points firmly towards the way out. "Solving a mystery isn't worth risking all of our lives, especially when your buddy could very well know how to get us through this safely."
Very still is Jaziera, expression half-lost in the way of dragonriders communicating with their dragons. She's still paying attention, though, it would seem, as the walls of the cave and their glittering silver accompaniements are offered a long, wary stare. Talk of risks has her eyes zooming back to A'rlo, then flicking to the entrance to the cave — her own opinion kept firmly behind her teeth. Excited about adventure she might be, but this ain't her party and Jazi's more than happy to let them do the deciding. "Can we even get back out of here?" She asks, instead, glancing towards the mouth of the cave warily. "I'm not sure I remember where this was, or how we got here." She shifts a little in place, while A'niek examines the box in the minecrafter's hand with narrowed eyes. And a long flight away? Keonath is /far/ less than pleased with the turn of events, even if Jaziera's pretty calm-looking about it all.
"If this isn't /his/ cave," Lu grunts, a hand extended to catch the device, "then it won't do any good talking to him. This is the place, Lo. You saw the torn up stone and everything else outside; if it's not where Remo hit, then there should be another dragon somewhere with suspicious injuries under equally suspicious circumstances." The device is turned in her hand and then offered over to A'niek to get a better look at it. A glance to Jaziera is made with a shallow nod, the entrance itself not being far … though one doesn't know if they've managed to avoid a tripwire on the way by virtue of luck. "Lo. What makes you think he's going to say more /now/ that he hasn't in the months they've kept his miserable ass strapped down in the Infirmary? If he's a man that'll do this," she gestures sharply, "then who's to say he won't tell us all the wrong ways about things? Whatever it is … it's /meant/ to stay secret. And that doesn't sit well with me." Uh oh. Someone's feeling stubborn.
A'rlo sighs heavily. "Lyuba, if he's the kind of guy that would set these kinds of traps, we still -leave- here, and we let the minecrafters and Thread knows who else is qualified to diffuse these kinds of things do their job. You can come back after they get done here if you want, I'll come with you. Hell, we can come and watch them work…but moving further into the cave is stupid, and you know that." He folds his arms over his chest. "At the very least, you need to tell the other transports to bring up this guy's co-workers so that they can look at this place if you insist on staying here."
Jaziera's face contorts a little at the re-mention of the rock outside of the cave, disgust mingling with wariness. "How'd they manage to crash into it, anyways? If they'd been here before, and all." The younger rider mutters, a frown pulling as her helmeted head swings this way and that, casting light all about the walls. She probably knows what she's supposed to do in some sort of situation like this, if her training as a goldrider extended so far — but right now she's not a goldrider, she's not even riding her own dragon. At any rate, the younger woman seems almost relieved to not have to decide, expression settling back to plain wariness as she shifts a step closer to the walls, only after thoroughly examing her feet. After a moment, though, looking reluctant to speak up, she does all the same: "Even experienced, are more feet inside something like this really a good idea? I mean…" A wince, and she trails off, staring at the strands of wire with trepidation.
The greenrider levels a look at A'rlo and folds her arms; it's not a challenging look, just some measure of exasperation. "You forget just how deliberately stupid I can be," is aimed for the bluerider. "But this is /his/ call." That being the minecrafter. Her mouth pulls to a side and then Lyuba looks to Jaziera. "More feet in here isn't a good idea, either, no. The fewer in here, the better, otherwise it turns into a case of too many cooks in the kitchen," except with the potential for physical harm, "But," her features contort a little, digging around for something, some idea or another. She gives up and, instead, queries in a low tone to the goldrider, "How's Keonath doing?" Because it /has/ been a while, after all.
A'rlo exhales slowly with Lyuba's concession, turning to regard the minecrafter in quiet tones. "There are at least four more minecrafters down on the valley floor," he murmurs. "Can five of you disarm these things with any reasonable rate of success?" To this, the minecrafter raises his hands in a shrug. "If they're wired like traditional explosives that we work with, that's one thing. But if this is a custom job, we'll have to disarm them one by one, rather than simply cutting the wires. Bear in mind, we don't use charges that much. Most of the mines that are active today were started with stone cutters, not charges." The minecrafter stands slowly, eyes roaming around. "Then there's the fact that I can't guarantee you that we'll be one hundred percent successful in our efforts. Or that we won't miss one. I've never worked inside of a booby-trapped cave before." Then it's his turn to sigh. "Let me go and talk with the others. I've got a radio." And he's gingerly working his way past the others, to the opening of the cave. A'rlo, for his part, pads back over to where Lyuba, Jazi and her brother wait, his face solemn.
Jaziera smiles thinly at Lu. "Bigger fires." She murmurs with strained humor, absently shuffling her feet and crossing her arms. "Keonath's not shredding things yet. She's not happy, but…" A helpless shrug. "She couldn't be in here with me if she /were/ here." Faintly, the rider smiles, then turns to peer at the Minecrafter thoughtfully. She listens obediently, and nods occasionally, arms falling to her side and then crossing once more in an unconscious display of — nerves, excitement? Probably both. A smile for A'rlo when he moves closer, while A'niek lingers in silence, before Jazi speaks up again. "How long do you think it'll take for them to work on that?" She asks with a vague sort of worry. "Time's going pretty quickly, isn't it?"
There's a slow, sympathetic nod from Lu to Jaziera, with Allochkath sending a comforting balm of lavender to the gold in question; small reassurance, maybe, given that golds are generally the ones that soothe others … but it can't hurt. Similarly, a hand is offered, extended to touch Jaziera's shoulder if she's permissive of it. While the minecrafter speaks, she listens; her attention isn't entirely rapt, but the gist of things gets through, all the same. Still, the question of 'how long' is asked and she looks expectantly at the crafter, curious and somewhat anxious. A'rlo's approach is met with a sidelong look and a faint, lopsided smile. "It is. Can't imagine it'll stop flying any time soon, either."
A'rlo stops next to Lyuba, absently reaching a hand out to give one of her shoulders a squeeze. "This is liable to get worse before it gets better, you know. They'll have to disarm all of these things, and if they're smart, they'll figure out how to transport a few whers in here to help. And even then, depending on how extensive the tunnel system is…" He lets his hand slip from Lyuba's shoulder. "If he's trapped the cave, he doesn't want people in here. That means he's got something here he doesn't want discovered. Logic dictates that it's a WHO or a WHAT. If it's a WHAT, we can assume that it's illegal for some reason, and if it's a WHO…" his voice trails off. "Maybe you should talk to this guy one more time before we push deeper into the cave, Lu. Now that he knows we've found it and we know he's got it rigged…it can't hurt to try?"
Miles and miles away, Keonath's response is a subtle drift of palest blue-tinged snow, frigid wind anxious but a splash of soft, thankful spearment-tingle offered all the same. Her rider smiles at Lu and ducks her head sheepishly; a long way from home and her dragon, but she can focus! Mostly. "Likely not." Jazi murmurs with a wrinkled nose and rueful expression, frowning. "Any clue when the sun's setting? I've kinda lost track of time with the fog and the cabe." Then she listens to A'rlo with lips twisted in thought, faintly pursed. She's quiet for a moment when he finishes, peering deeper into the cave, eyes distant. Eventually, the younger rider 'hrms' warily. "What if he's working with somebody else — would there be people here while she spoke to him? Even if there are, if there's a back way in…whatever, whoever it was, could maybe be smuggled out before somebody knew or got back. Or, shells, it could be by now." She falls silent — yep, there's a reason she's been quiet so far! Can talk herself in circles, apparently.
"That's the way everything seems to be, isn't it? Worse before it gets better." Lu's mouth is pulled into a thin, tight line and her eyes go foggy, tangled briefly in communion with Allochkath. "If it's going to be a while," she finally says — if grudgingly; she's still looking down the tunnel like it's a good idea to go barrelling down there — "Then … we probably should go back." From her tone, she has her doubts that talking with the old coot will do anything, but it's likely some combination of A'rlo's common sense, Jaziera's concern about time, and Allochkath's own worried tendencies that has her backing down. "No clue how much more time we have, but it'll be dark by the time we get back if we leave now," she estimates. She heaves a sigh. "And the infirmary folk don't much care for nightly interrogations of their patients."
"Not to be rude, but at this point, I could give a damn about what the healers want after the sun goes down," A'rl grumbes. Were out here trying to find out what happened to this man and he doesn't even have the courtesy to warn anyone." There's an audible pop from one of the knuckles on his hand before he slowly begins picking his way back towards the cave entrance. "Maybe I'll go talk to this guy myself. Your face is too pretty."
Jaziera snorts faintly, looking a little sour at Lu's first assessment — too true! "Always." She mutters a little mulishly, then casting the same almost-wistful look down the tunnel. The older greenrider gets a grin, then, as she crosses her arms once more and wrinkles her nose. "Just don't wanna get caught in here at night. Never did like caves too much." The goldrider says warily, shifting. "They kinda…fall. Too often." Absently, she rubs at a shoulder, and eyes A'rlo with vaguely amused concern. Smartly, though, she doesn't disabuse him of any ideas — not her place, and anyways, maybe he needs a little attitude adjustment! She'd rather not be turned into itty bitty bits of Jazi, after all. Reluctantly, the 'rider gestures for A'niek to follow, casting a faint smile to Lu as she takes a few steps towards the entrance.
"I'll keep that in mind next time the sun goes down," is idly remarked, a wry half-smile tossed after A'rlo. The too-pale form of Allochkath glides up to the ledge to perch nimbly enough, the diminutive green warbling just a little for those emerging; easier than having a daisy-chain of dragons ferrying up and down. "Just don't threaten to break his legs; that'll get you nowhere at all." The others are motioned to get up on the green, with Lu opting to be the last one up … which affords her a backwards look tossed to the tunnel that rapidly grows dark once all of the flashlights aren't focused on the contents of it. The cave itself is, for all the world, reduced to a terrible black eye that seems far too eager to be rid of the specks of life in it.
