ORIGIN

New crystals slotted in, the machine-creature seemed to relax. Lights flashing along its sides brightened, then settled into a rhythmic pulse not unlike a heartbeat. "Your designations are acknowledged. Your assistance is appreciated." It paused, lights flashing, a question mark again appearing on its screenlike face. "Internal query. Processing."

Silence stretched, for a moment, as the being did its version of thinking. Then it turned. It faced the tram line, and followed that with its gaze, before a "!" appeared instead. "Travel to Draco currently cut off. Situation uncertain." Another long pause, and then, "But... time has passed. Restoration unlikely to pose threat." What sort of threat, or why, it didn't say.

The Construct-Engineer turned, and set off into Cassiopeia's flickering dark toward the tram line. It was clear that he--it?--was ancient. Now that he had lurched free from the rubble, patches of rust and streaks of metal eaten away by time were visible. What lay beneath might have been flesh or wires, or neither, or something in between: pulsing and faintly glowing, smelling both burned and dusty.

His movement, as clattering legs unfolded and lowered from his bottom end, was jittery. Some of his joints squeaked, and none of it worked quite right. A couple of wheels that were also fitted there crumbled into dust, though he didn't seem to notice.

"Users designated Sair. Tema. Relic. Hecate. Manticore. Query: do you report to a Master? Overseer? Valkhand?" A friendly but questioning face appeared now, and he turned to peer at them as he clicked along. "Cave structure and events: memory fragmented. Information requested to aid in its restoration." Translation: Richard couldn't remember the past, and was hoping some information might jog his memory.

He reached the tram line, though at this point in the cave, it was a sleek dark rail line suspended overhead. He turned, and clattered along beneath it, following it for a long journey of nearly twenty minutes toward the cave wall: a jumble of ancient boulders that had collapsed and seemingly crushed the area around it, with an immense door having closed over the line itself. Sealed--but why? And when?

He made his way to a massive ramp. Its dark metal and stone were still intact but only barely, and its age was blatantly apparent. Dust and debris littered the ramp and the platform up top, the fall of stones and dust leaving piles that could cause a stumble or a fall. In places the metal hung free, a silent threat that might collapse at any moment. But Construct-Engineer Richard Alpha wound his way up neatly, seemingly finding and avoiding any pitfalls. "Allies: follow closely. Degradation has damaged structural stability."

Up, up, to a broad platform above. This was a tram platform, though no tram was anywhere to be seen; a covered seating area held a few old seats of varying sizes and shapes, though many had long since fallen away or been stolen. The covering--a broad glass arch--was mostly shattered, its pieces scattered or missing. An old streak of graffiti was visible against the nearby wall, though it was mostly covered in dust. And a control panel lay dark and covered in silt at the platform's end. The Engineer went to this, and after swiping away the worst of the dust from the cracked glass, and plugged one arm in.

The screen lit up, blinking. The Construct-Engineer spoke. "Accessing latest files."

Abruptly, sound began to blare from unseen speakers all around them. There was an alarm, a siren, shrill and pulsing: loud then quiet, repeating. There was a staticky characteristic to it that suggested it was very old. And a voice, loud, like an announcement:

"AN EVACUATION HAS BEEN CALLED. ANY VALKHANDS, MASTERS, AND GUESTS ARE TO RETREAT TO CEPHEUS. VALKHOUNDS ARE TO REPORT TO CAELUM."

Images lit up all around them on ancient screens; most of these were cracked, destroyed, but a few remained, some hanging at a broken angle. Red arrows flashed, pointing along the trail line to this very platform. The scream of the siren continued.

"AN EVACUATION HAS BEEN CALLED. ANY VALKHANDS AND GUESTS..."

Construct-Engineer Richard Alpha withdrew from the control panel. The sirens silenced, and the screens flickered and went dark. He was silent for a long moment, his screen-like face a distinct ":|" until changing to worried and inquisitive. "A retreat." He turned, peering at them. "Rank-Designation Valkhand: superior to Masters. Immense power. Suggestion that force appeared enough to necessitate Valkhand evacuation implies greater power." He sounded... troubled. Distinctly so. But then he eyed Manticore, and Esther. "Valkhounds maintain. This fact and passed time frame suggest reopening to Draco safe, or even recommended. Query: is conflict ongoing? Is there a war? Rebellion? If there is not... if Draco is safe, I request aid in reopening this tunnel."

Richard turned, shining a light from one hand. It cast out, into the dusty dark, before settling on a huge black crank, with levers and gears, to one side of the tracks. And then he cast it to the other side, where an identical lever sat.

"Assuming hostilities are ended--confirmation requested--allies are requested to turn cranks simultaneously. They were built for Valkhounds. Strength is needed. Teamwork will help." The flashlight faded. "Priority: reopen communications and travel. Secondary priority: travel to inner City. Find more complete memory of events."

---

Construct-Engineer Richard Alpha is asking that Gembounds aid him in reopening the path to Draco. Gembounds will need to cooperate to do this: they must climb to the cranks high on either side of the tram line, and turn them at the same time. Doing so will open the massive doors to Draco, restoring the transit system. They may also investigate the area for hints as to its past, ask questions of the Construct-Engineer, or take any other actions.

Then, they will be invited to accompany him to Cassiopeia's central city to discover more of what transpired here.

New characters may join this thread at any time.

Construct-Engineer Richard Alpha was silent, for a time. He had pressed one plug-like limb back into the console, and the screen of his face was flickering; but after a moment, as the Gembounds moved to their various points to work, he began to answer them. "This display is simplistic. And..." a pause, and then faint distress in his voice: "...I do not remember." He withdrew again from the console and turned, a worried frowny-face visible on his screen as he looked to Sair. "Collapse of tunnel implies war or invasion. Closing of tramway implies emergency measures against powerful enemies. Dust and decay implies immense time has passed. The remains of this decay indicate..."

The Engineer paused, looking around. He seemed reluctant to finish his sentence; when he at last did so, his half-mechanical voice was softer. "...failed venture. A lost war." What might have been a sigh escaped him; did he even have lungs-? "Yet your presence indicates continued survival. At least some of the nest remains. I recall-... little. But the city was brighter. Clean. There were..." For a moment, as he turned to look off at the distant city center, it seemed that Construct-Engineer Richard Alpha might speak of wondrous times long gone, but instead he settled after a moment on simply saying, "...more lights."

The cranks, in the meantime--manned by Tema and by Manticore--began to slowly turn. They creaked, it taking immense muscle to budge what had been stuck in place for centuries or more, the chains that were wound up caked in grime and rust and thicked with dust.

And dust, too, was cleared from the graffiti by Sair as the others worked. Its smears along the walls were half-lost to time. Some of it was pictures: the faces of leering Valkhounds, by the looks, glowing-eyed and with leering, fanged mouths. These were violently crossed out, by the same hands that had painted them.

Beneath were snippets of words and sentences; if any of the Gembounds could read, they could make sense of it and if not, perhaps they could find some other way or time to interpret the words. Some were wholly lost. Of those that remained, all were violent slashes of words, painted in a fury. Profanity was visible here and there, and the following phrases had been painted in purples, blacks and reds:

"MONSTERS MAKING MONSTERS"

"YOU are the horrors in the dark"

"RISE UP BREAK THE CHAINS OF CHAOS"

...And at the tram, Hecate would find herself engrossed in brief, weak vision. The dust on the metal skin of the tram before her seemed to fall away, replaced by a dull shine; a crowd of humanoids and hulking monsters were either cramming their way into the tram, or moving to walk alongside it, along the walkway that lined the tracks. They were arguing; the atmosphere was angry and afraid. Faces were impossible to make out and voices were distorted by an already failing spell, but the words "cowardice, to run!" were followed by another, calmer, more authoritative woman's words: "There are too many of them. We must fall back, regroup..."

...and then the dust seemed to lift again, flaking to cover the tram before the owl, the vision fading.

Suddenly, one crankwheel's chain snapped.

The door had been fully opened; it cracked into place, lodging there, but the long-rusted chain on the right snapped and whipped powerfully downward, lashing down Manticore's side, enough to break skin and bruise if not shatter a rib or three. It was broken; the Construct-Engineer turned with a sharp sound of surprise. "...Will need to repair this, later," he mused. He eyed the now-opened door.

The gate between Draco and Cassiopeia was now technically opened. However, rubble still lay in the way. It would be cleared soon enough, but the lights, too, were out and the tram silent, so that the tunnel was an ominous, yawning maw of black.

"We must return the lights. And... access the databases in the city," Construct-Engineer Alpha decided. "Come."

---

The tunnel's tramway will be functional, its tunnel reopened for travel, by the end of this thread. In the meantime, Construct Engineer Richard-Alpha is now travelling to the city center to uncover more of Cassiopeia's past, and further repair the basics of its infrastructure. He is requsting assistance.

New characters may join this thread at any time.