Chains, Keys, and Fish oh my! - Printable Version

She enjoyed feeling important during their time around these strange objects, knowing she was the only one who held their truth in her mind. She had mentioned that they must go to Polaris to continue their journey of discovery and had lavished in the fact that some actually listened. The cub had been the one to carry, more drag, the chain the entire way (and what a pain it was, her jaw would probably hurt for days) and she had hoped that someone else had brought the key for she believed that to be the most vital aspect to this. Sadly, so small and young, she would not have been able to carry both chain and key. If no one brought the key? Well, things would get a little complicated ~~and maybe a bit messy~~.

She walked into the middle of the room as much as possible - with a tiny (about the size of a thimble), toxic green wisp floating above her head - maybe they were a little too close to the Spire for she could feel that electric energy pound in her veins, and waited for any who came from Fornax. She hoped that most had decided to come for she really was enjoying their time together, it was proving to be fascinating and full of mystery. In her wait she placed the chain down on the ground and took a few steps back from it thinking that they could make a little circle around the objects they had found. "If you brought the Key thing place it in the middle too." Commanding (bossy most likely fit better) she stole the role of leader out from under the feet of everyone else, just expecting them to follow along. It was likely that more than one of them had to carry the rock-key if they brought it since it was definitely larger than a pebble, but then she guessed that they weren't all tiny. She supposed that if someone had decided to bring a fish they could place it with the others but she had no idea why someone would have wanted to bring one of those evil things. Each to their own. "Anyone else really excited to find out what happened?" The dictator's tone left her voice as an exultant one took over. They were in this together now, she fully expected all the others to call another meeting if they ever found out anything more about what happened here, no matter how far in the future it might be.

She had to think for a moment, they were here for a reason, not just because they decided it would be a good idea to give the objects a new view. "The...things said something about locking 'her' off -" No, that wasn't right. "I mean, blocking her off. How?" Though the question was voiced to all it was also an afterthought to herself, she had no idea where they needed to start and they were all kids (well, most of them) who had very little experience with...everything. This was probably going to take awhile. She really, really did not like not knowing stuff.

Sergei trundled along behind, upright and uneasy. He was still swathed in rough leather (if rotting, dried hide could really be called 'leather') rags, a makeshift, crystal-tipped spear tightly gripped in one hand.

He lingered somewhat behind the others, away from them--with the group, but not within it. He was watching for danger, but in a nervous, unsettled sort of way.

He still feared Mother, more than anything. Feared being dragged back into her grip. And he was afraid of holes, now, too; and fire-breathing, earth-splitting dragons. He really hoped none of those things would turn up here. As for Akaari's questions, the stolid bear had little answer. He was not excited, really--his dull mind was hardly curious--but as for blocking things off? "Perhaps... they block things off... with rock?" he suggested uncertainly.

Glaive... brings... FISH!

Gembound or not, this fish was certainly getting pretty rank-smelling. The musty scent of water had increased tenfold, while the aged cheddar taste wore off and she developed a surprisingly strong tolerance for the hallucinogenic effects of it. Synthesia still plagued her for sure, but she was far more amenable - or adaptable? - to it. She liked the grues it brought.

The spinosaurus set the fish down with a wet smack! and moved to take her place in the circle.

When Sergei offered his suggestion as far as a course of action, she flailed her arm up, raising her clawed hand and contributing: "yeah! Like that rock right before the Ocean! It's a swingy rock." Read: a door.

... she then was completely distracted by the vast quantity of gemstones in this cave. The glitz and glam was enamoring. Baby blues stared around, completely taken with the amount of it filling her magical senses ... maybe too much. It overflowed immediately, and she yelped sharply. Maybe the floor's better for now. Glaive stared petulantly at the floor, as her thoughts indicated that she would, and frowned away her pounding headache.

Polaris hummed quietly with power, its dim corners almost seeming to promise its secrets yet to be unlocked.

The Dam, crumbled and ancient, loomed a large distance away; the occasional movement of a stone Golem could be seen, silhouetted by reflected Spire-light.

The Crystal River ran smooth, over a hundred feet in breadth and twenty feet deep, its rocky shores treacherously steep, its icy waters sweeping swiftly away.

The Generator quietly clanked and turned, half-submerged in this river, a visible wheel trundling slowly in its eternal circle.

And the Spire overlooked it all: towering over thirty feet in height, crackling powerfully with magic, its teal blue shimmer marred at its base by oily black scars.

There was no clear route of investigation, but the clues the Gembounds had found had seemed to lead to Polaris; so perhaps there was something here to find..? The chain and the key, brought along by Electrum, were both with the group. Perhaps they would be of some help--or maybe not...

That big, brown guy was worrying and not because of the sharp thing he held or the dried skin against him but because of his fur. Was it fluffier than hers? It better not be. Her attention was soon moved from him to watch that evil fish thump against the ground, a small shiver running over her body at just the sight of it, Glaive actually brought a fish. Why? She had missed most of the chaos they caused by being trapped in her visions, yet, she still had a (perhaps unnatural and unwarranted) hatred against them. Glaive's yelp set every fibre on Akaari's body on end, jumping up in shock as she looked around frantically for the source yet all she saw was that meat slab demanding food. Akaari would have yelped at it too if she thought it would do them any good. "Meat is you. Eat yourself!" A little petulant, not that it didn't deserve her temper having a tantrum like that, but Akaari thought it was a perfectly reasonable answer. Then there would also be less of it to demand things from them. That was her job.

A deep breath. Keep cool, you need your head on.

She had no idea what swingy rock had meant, though she wasn't going to judge Glaive's intelligence on just that, maybe she was smarter than she was letting on. However, blocking things off was a little easier to grasp. "Isn't working together great?" False enthusiasm for no it wasn't, she enjoyed the information to be gleaned from others but not the fact that she had to rely on them to get it. Her eyes roamed with those words, though, trying to piece what little she knew from live and another's life together. "Maybe we should split up to see more things?" She didn't sound very confident, her dictator's voice losing its strength for the sheer size and suspiciousness of what they were getting themselves into was beginning to become overwhelming for the young girl. "Rock, swingy rock, so much rock..." deep breath, get everyone involved, this isn't just on you (in case it goes wrong). "Water moves, yeah?" She looked to Glaive for confirmation there, not really knowing why other than hadn't she called herself a fisher-dragon? Fish live in water. "Must come from somewhere and move to somewhere." They had to move to get places, right, wouldn't water do the same? Her thinking was that so far everything she had seen was to do with water, they had found the things in water, fish came from water, the serpentine not-her thing was trapped in Fornax which, lo and behold, had water! Thus, water = important.

Akaari had stood at this point and turned to face the river in the distance, it did not look very safe and therefore she took no steps towards it, just stared. "Where does that walk to?" And where did it come from? This she directed more towards the big, definitely-does-not-have-fur-as-nice-as-hers guy, he suggested the blocking with rock and there was lots of rock over there. After telling it to eat itself she had said nothing to the meat-dude, it just wanted food and who cared about food during this momentous occasion? "Maybe they blocked that off with swingy rock? We jump in and find out?" She was not volunteering herself to jump into the river to see where it went though, that was someone else's job. There would definitely need to be a high-five moment at the end of this, then they could all go off and get cave-style ice cream together after too.

The wisp that was once over her head now shot off towards the river, her attention so focused elsewhere that she was yet to notice the Golem stalking the corners (not knowing what a Golem was anyway it would be of no importance to her), she was even ignoring the power that seemed to thrum in one's veins when they entered this room. Her main thought at that moment, though? Caves, I really need to get better at working with others.

Polaris... if it didn't reek of dust and something... dry, in here, I'd like to stay here. Or at least send people here if they get too close for comfort because of my scales. Electrum hums quietly, thinking to himself as he follows Akaari, and occasionally lifts his head and upper body off the ground to eye Sergi at the back of the group.

"If this is the only place in the caves with all this moved stone, maybe whoever we're looking for is buried under the biggest ones? That's where I'd hide something that smells that bad." He'd had the large stone cradled under one arm ... wing, at first, but it proved heavy and difficult to carry like that for long, so he curled his tail into a few loops and propped the stone on to the small pad he had made of his own flesh and dragged it after him, wincing occasionally as he felt his scales pull funny under the weight or a twing of pain at his hips from the awkward hauling.

"Or maybe.." he's easily distracted by the glowing light of the Spire, the thrum of power he can feel acr across his scales, and he blinks, forcing his mind back on track. "Well, what's behind the big wall with all the walking rock things?"

That don't look... friendly. I don't like those, and this yelling glob of meat is making me nervous.
He doesn't say this, of course, wanting to stay cool and calm, but he blinks around, and grins at the water.

"Water always flows, yeah, but it's strong. I'd swim it if I was stronger, but..." he leaves the rest unsaid, and he looses the keystone from his tail and lets it finally roll off his tail with a thump as he takes a few strides toward the water.

Text Thoughts "Speech"