Suddenly, a deer exploded in a dramatic shower of sparks, turning into... Oh! Wasn't this amazing?! A... bee-thing! All Paige knew was that she HAD to figure out how this magic worked. It would be thrilling to be able to explode into whatever shape she wanted to be! And treasures! Anything they could find with the magic fork, or anything the Cheery Court could make - what a promise that was! ALL THE SHINIES she could ever dream of. PAIGE WANTED IN.

"I'll do it too!" she squealed, jumping forward to take the fork from the one with ankle-bracelets. She bounded in the direction the fork's owner (well, temporary owner, from what she'd said) gestured, stopped in front of another section of rock, and shifted the fork's handle in her teeth. She didn't have hands, so it was more difficult for her, but she wasn't about to let that stop her from trying! She struck the fork against the wall, but it buzzed instead of ringing. She must have held it wrong somehow. Pouting, she offered it back to Rain, or whoever else would take it. She'd have better luck next time.

Cerilaine still wasn't quite sure about this crowd, but the opportunity to do something rather than philosophize about rocks or magic was certainly better.

"Well then. Good thing you have a good crowd." Cerilaine's pelt fluffed out as she stood just a smidgen taller, looking about at everyone. She absently nodded to the talk of treasure- she wasn't aware of the veiled threat and dismissed it as soon as it came, her mind already on other things. Besides, she wasn't in this for treasure. Not yet.

It was probably just a bunch of shiny, useless things anyways.

It looked as though she were ignoring Arwen's comment of her pelt as she stepped towards Paige. In truth, she hadn't heard it- she could hear the underwater noise of a voice, but it didn't seem dire to know, after all, and so she simply ignored it. Instead, she was busy watching as the fox used the fork. Hm. "May I try?" Cerilaine uttered as she approached, taking the utensil in her mouth and pointing it directly out the front.

"Right," she grumbled out the side of her teeth. Her ears had flicked forward, then back, then forward again as she tried to find a good striking place, aiming to hit one of the rocks near her.

She waited, feeling it vibrate and clack uncomfortably in her teeth, a faint grimace coming over her. She had shoved her ears forward to listen, but-

"It's too quiet for me," she concluded, dejected that it didn't work. Turning back to the crowd, Ceri offered the fork back, hoping someone would finally be able to use it properly.

Action. Thought. "Speech."

(forgive my inactivity just pretend hes been trying lol)

'specs' walked around a bit more. he looked back to the crowd, sniffing the fork that cerilaine held. "may i..?" the fox asked, taking it tentatively into his jaws. he walked around, trying to find something.

as he walked, the fork began to vibrate. it hurt his teeth. badly. but it meant something! "g-guys! over here, i found something!" he yipped, slightly muffled.

The tuning fork began to suddenly vibrate, rattling Forgraves' teeth. It was stronger if he turned it toward the Generator; weaker in any other direction.

A little more searching in that direction could perhaps narrow it down...

The tuning fork is indicating the direction of the Generator. One more Barely+ roll should be able to pinpoint its target.

@Forgraves

Action. Thought. "Speech."

Tilting his head around, he would find it was stronger when he pointed at the generator, weird machine thing. strange.

he winced. well, guess it wouldnt hurt to look that direction. "guys, it seems to be by the generator somewhere! hold on."

he walked closer, trying to get a good read...

"dammit." he hissed, the tuning fork getting weaker no matter where he looked. maybe he was missing something? "i lost it, but its gotta be over here! the things vibrating! by the generator!"

Specs was the one who found it. Rain had a very narrow range of motion in their face, especially behind the mask, but it twisted with displeasure. The mandibles clicked in mild irritation below it and they snatched the fork back from him. It seemed to be a game of hot potato now, fighting to see whose ears were the best and who struck it in the right spot -- they couldn't deny their jealously, though they did grate out an "Excellent work, Specs."

Rain moved closer to the Generator. Whatever the fork was resonating with, it was clearly over here. They held it up, angling it slightly. They were good with vibrations -- all the faeries were, insectoid as they were. Surely it would be her who found it, her who claimed her prize--?

Her eyes lit up. It certainly seemed so.

The tuning fork led at last, in trembling assurance, to its terminus: a flat area of completely unremarkable rock a few yards from the Generator. It was still on shore: near the river's edge, but simply a part of the ground. There was nothing of interest here, at all.

Over one particular spot, the tuning fork shook and quivered, nearly jerking itself from Rain's grasp.

Was it trickery, perhaps? Had the Collector betrayed them, somehow, or did something lie beneath, just waiting to be uncovered?

@Rain

Curious, they tapped at the stone with a foot. "It has been laid to rest," they declared, parroting the Collector. "There may be hints nearby, the creature said. He said that thanks to our efforts they would wake up and break the stone, like our hatching-stones, but perhaps we have to break this one first." They held the tuning fork close to it, tapping it on the exact spot that seemed to pull it with the most force. Maybe the fork itself would break things?

"Wake up!" Rain demanded, scowling at the rock. "And you all, go look for clues. Or try to dig, if you know how to break stone." Hah, it felt good to be the boss for once -- they could understand why Rain liked it so much! Although, now it meant that everyone was looking at them, so if they made a mistake, it would be on their shoulders.



@forgraves @arwen @marshmallow @matthieu @cerilaine @jasmedai @paige

Won't you play a game with me?

Matthieu smiled cooly at the mantis. "Relax. The toys'll do all the hard work themselves."

And sure enough, they did. The fox in particular seemed extremely enthusiastic. The faerie leaned back onto their own bodies, watching the creatures skitter around, trying to get a signal. It remained as still as a corpse. They were surprisingly not bothered. It was unusual, off-script, changing. Constant Motion. It was entertaining.

Finally, it rang, in the mouth of the "specs." Rosy eyes shifted up to watch. Ah, perhaps they weren't so annoying after all. "Good work!" they sang, following Rain down to the Generator. "Ah, clues! Clues! We must unearth them."

The banks were rocky. Bland. Nothing of interest, though the humming device suggested otherwise. Where should they start, with no features to guide them? Right where they stood, Matthieu guessed. The bee hefted her mandibles to the ground and started digging, while the boy focused his efforts on channeling the dark-glow-magic to see anything of notice. Hopefully this shall go smoothly.

The Queen watched the commotions from afar, deciding to remove her glamour for sake of ease. She stood next to Matthieu, watching the others flitter back and forth like bumblebugs, a brow raised under her mask.

"... Busy busy," she mumbled, and followed Matthieu and Rain serenely, not particularly driven to hurry up.

A Queen is never early, nor is she late. She arrives precisely when she means to.

She walked forward and cast her magic out, the room lighting up in magnificent shades of white. The world of her element was beautiful. She could see the other's gut bacteria and more of them scattered across the ground. There were even dots in the air, airborne illnesses that would probably never make it past the body's defenses, if they got into someone at all.

She turned her attention to the Generator, focusing her magic on it instead, to see if she could find anything.