The Collector bowed, a swish of black, the brief glimpse of a many-fanged grin.

"I look forward to it. Be sure they know your name. And let us say that the direct cost will be, a gem for a gem; but I'm sure you can find something small, and weak, to trade me."

A flourish, then, and he was gone.

Ahh, his disappearing act. Amused, the Overseer attempted to follow Algol with his magic; but nothing triggered. He looked this way, then that; he'd have loved to fire a three-eyed wink after him, in his direction, but he had no idea where the Collector had gone.

Ahh, well.

Vargas turned his gaze back to Orthoclase-Alpha.

"Wait," he ordered, quietly, and then gave it a solid minute, even offering a "No eavesdropping, Algol," in a low rumble. But nothing responded; the quiet whisper of near-still air over stone was the only response.

He looked, at last, to Alpha. "Not much different than your given task, then. Algol's place in these caves is to cause conflict, to prove the strong, eliminate the weak. He is tricky, that one, but to do these things is our goal regardless."

He wondered which stone the Collector might have in store. Knowing him, if it had been anyone but Vargas or Orthoclase asking, it would be some tragically unsuited stone--a powerful but wholly aquatic beast, for example. But he and Algol had an understanding--at least, he hoped.

With Dhracia back around, having something to show for their efforts was important. If Algol didn't help him with that, well; he'd be hurting himself as much as them.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Just like that: nothing. Simply just air in the space Algol had just been occupying.

Alpha scuffled forth of its own volition, bowing down to sniff at the spot he'd been standing and lifting its head in abject confusion. Quills rattling, it scanned the piles of bones, before turning wide eyes on Vargas. There was a clear thought running behind those lights: how'd he do that?!

That wasn't a primary concern, surprisingly. The Overseer said as much, inadvertently directing its attention to the task at hand - the task which was relatively unchanged by Algol's wishes. Except - "I'd like to spar against my m-" it fumbled around the word, unused to it, "mother? Mother." It straightened, "Overseer, sir - this along with my other tasks."

@Vargas

Vargas grimaced at the word. A foolish concept. A pointless one, and had Algol used the word deliberately-?

"Your stone-giver," he corrected, with a dismissive wave of one too-long forelimb. He considered.

It would be an interesting battle, to be sure. He wondered who would win-? Alpha was not trained enough, perhaps; and not yet fully-adult, but it could be interesting to watch, nonetheless. Vargas was generally good at judging regardless--however Alpha performed, he could take into account age and experience and gauge whether it had been an improvement on its predecessor. But where had Elyon been-? Tunnel K, hadn't it been? Or was it Canis itself?

Vargas turned, springing up atop the pile of bones, and then another fortress, higher up, some twenty feet away. There he paused, peering into Canis, this way and then that.

He looked, for a time, peering over the faint heartbeats that he could see, but either Elyon was too far or his magic was giving him trouble again, because she herself he could not pinpoint.

"I do not see her here. We can search for her, and then check in other caves, if you wish; but she may be gone, or dead, by now."

Vargas turned to peer at Alpha, watching it with all six toxic eyes.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

"My stone-giver," Alpha parroted mutely, quills pricking in apprehension. No further insult came, and it plodded after Vargas as he fluidly swept to higher ground. It stayed firmly with all six limbs on the ground - reminded of earlier days spent trying to weasel up onto the fortresses and being unable to compensate for... well, sheer weight.

Without knowledge of what to look for, it simply gazed at its surroundings, a casual scan for any movement. Nothing came along in the time it took its Overseer to search, and it craned its neck to look back at him.

It... hoped that she wasn't dead. It'd be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to fight her. "What does she look like?" it piped up, reaching for its magicka and already starting to narrow its eyes in some vague direction.

@Vargas

Vargas grunted, shaking himself with a rattle of his own quills and hopping down to the ground below. He glanced to Alpha, at the question, thinking.

"Carapace," he began, to the point; "Forequarters upright, the rest quadrupedal like you; a total of six limbs, like you, but the front two were hands. More dexterous that way," he added. "Paler, creams and oranges. If I'm not mistake her sire, or ancestor somewhere along the line, was a similar being, but white, more agile than she is. An impressive fighter," Vargas added.

He looked around, again casting his senses out, focusing. More red heartbeats, this time--faint, and it took him time to pick through them, but Elyon's shape was not among them. He was not one hundred percent certain, but sure enough, at least, not to want to waste too much time in Canis.

"I do not see her signature here. Come--no," he decided, looking to Orthoclase. "Find her yourself. I will follow, and I will watch."

Everything is a test, he thought, and waited.

exit Vargas
@Orthoclase-Alpha

It committed the description to memory, mental image of Elyon surprisingly close to the real thing - with the trademark triangular headshape of itself and Vargas, of course. Alpha was willing to offer wiggle room on that part, but the rest seemed solid enough. She would, at least, be distinct from the rest of the Gembound in these caves.

Now, it was a matter of... locating.

Alpha blinked once or twice, nodding in the same fluid motion of giving the general direction of Tunnel P a brief glance, and the faint, muddled signatures beyond. As soon as the magic cast, it went haywire, sending a blinding red flash across its vision. The orthoclase jolted, screwing its eyes shut and rattling its quills.

Gnashing its jaws through it and peeling its watery eyes back open, it skulked towards Tunnel K, paying not too much mind to Vargas looming behind it and any reaction he might've had to such a display.

exit Alpha