Continued from this thread.

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The volcano at the rear of Leo, lit with lava, held a large cave. From this led various tunnels, reaching down into the Underforge: but before these tunnels waited an inviting workshop.

Here, the clang of hammer on anvil rang out, echoing for all those drawing close to hear.

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[Quest] Lost Knowledge - Part II has begun. Any Gembound may join at any time.

Unsurprisingly, it was Himmel who came upon the sound first. He had abandoned the hoard of strangers to their decyphering of the wall and moved on beyond. He had thought the fragmentary mosaic to be too old and weathered to matter - but the others had persisted, and as bored as he had been as a bystander he had picked up on pieces of the conversation.

Something about a weapon and a person capable of building one. Nonsense to the fawn, but Himmel cMe equipped with fire and had no use for other avenues of self defense. He hiked until the air felt stuffy with heat and the sound of something slamming, then ringing, hit his ears.

They swept in every direction while he paused, cautious but much more invested this time. Walls and rocks and dust meant nothing to him; the potential of something animate, or someone to perhaps talk to, drew Himmel closer.

He did not understand the layout of this area at all, only that it was hot like his magic was hot and there appeared to be a room (or at lease an alcove) where noise was being produced. He held no fear as he approached. He listened to the sound getting louder - occasionally deeper - and when there was a lull in the tempo he called out: "Hello...?"

Aran was most certainly lost - even with the sight he had, he got lost more often than not. It was a stupid cycle that Aran couldn't break. Some caves were easier to find, eridanus, canis, things inside those places had distinct shapes and he could make out those shapes easily enough. A brainaching noise rang through his head and Aran immidiately wondered what it was. Another gembound's voice calling out also reached his ears.

Something was up with this area - maybe another was there that he couldn't see, besides the one calling out.

"Hey?" Aran called back.

There wasn't much Aran could do here. Maybe a spell could work.... Or something.

@Himmel [bc hes tryina talk to ye lol]

The sound of metal on metal echoed through the cave, and Tahi-shei was immediately curious to know what could have been making such a sound. The immediate workshop, however, was intriguing... and well kept. So, taking initiative, Tahi-shei cleared his throat and called out, "Hello? Is anybody down here? A funny mural guided us to this place!" and then, careful not to touch anything, he started to sniff around the workshop as he waited for a response.

Following the instructions from the mural had instructed her to go visit the magic guy under... here. It was stifling hot in the lower part of Leo, and her thick fur built for cold weather certainly didn't help. Comet had already started to pant heavily, but her curiosity got the better of her. Her ear could pick up the distant sound of hammering.

This was turning out to be a pretty fun adventure. Let the record show that Damask was right about Kaimana, she was absolutely a puzzle person. Well, Damask didn't have to be wrong about a lot of things in regards to Kaimana. She was the type not to wear her heart on her sleeve per say, but to be honest first. There was no use in lying. The cost to benefit ratio was way more skewed towards cost than perhaps those similar to Mayfal and Damask realized...

Thoughts aside, they were here now. Several calls for an answer like knocks on a door. Who would be the unwitting host for this rag-tag party? Kaimana would be polite and not ring the doorbell -- although, it might be interesting to take note if there were actually any doorbells. Except Kaimana didn't know what a 'doorbell' was so when she was scanning her surroundings, she was really just looking for anything of interest on the walls and floor. Maybe even the ceiling.

The setting was changing, the heat rising. Kaimana could barely keep a handle on her anticipation -- in fact, she entirely couldn't. Too distracted to look at one thing long enough to tell it apart from another. She just wanted to see what, or more likely who was making that clanging. Despite her rising excitement, Kaimana continued at an easy, breezy kind of pace, not nearly as fast or as ferocious as, say, Comet's usual pace, for example.

Text. "Speech." Thoughts.

As they drew closer, the clang of hammer on steel drew louder: a rhythmic sound that echoed through the steaming cave, and one that was somehow almost soothing, despite its volume. At the first voice, it faltered; at the second, it ceased altogether.

The Gembound rounding the stalagmite corner would find a workshop there: somehow cozy, medium-sized but warmly-lit, hot but not searingly so. A forge simmered red-hot, its smelter open. Rows of tools lined shelves hewn straight from rock, and before a large metal anvil stood a figure that very much resembled the one from the mural itself.

It was peering up at them from a white face, or--no, perhaps a mask; and its demeanor was somehow gentle. Its voice, too, as it called out was kind.

"Mural..?" it said, and that head tilted ever so slightly, even this gesture soft. "They have seen the pictures? They, of borrowed shapes... They have found the story?" It paused, as if thinking; hands gently set down a long, broad steel shield with elegant lines and an unfinished curve. "There is magic even in words. Tell me: what story do you think the pictures tell?"

@Tahi-shei @Aran @Comet @Oka @Himmel @James @Kaimana @Leviathan @Haven @Electrum

Tahi-shei looked the creature over, and his eyes lit up. "Oh! You're the thing from the mural, aren't you?" he said, approaching eagerly at first and then stopping dead. The horns -- the fur around the neck -- the shape of the hand. He took a step back and frowned. This was not the Collector, clearly, but... he looked rather similar.

"What is your relation to the Collector?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing slightly. He had not yet donned the Crown (because liquid time), but he still knew more enough about the aforementioned creature than he ever might have cared to. He glanced at James and gave a slight jerk of his head -- he hoped it communicated stay back, and don't trust him.


@james

Leviathan, on the other hand, didn't care one bit about this Collector guy. The thing seemed soft and this place was very hot, but he'd also been asked a question and Mama tended to prefer he answered those. "You turned into a rock," he said loudly, referencing the fifth panel of the mural. He gestured, then, at the metal thing. "Made one of those for somethin', an' it killed you with it. Then you came back, and over and over and over again. Cycles."

He huffed and stretched out. It was far too warm in here for his tastes, and he felt rather like he needed a drink of water, but glanced over at Kaimana anyway -- she certainly looked excited. Anyway, what was this weird deer so upset about?

A flood of new bodies came to where Himmel waited; he turned his ears to a questioning voice, then when he realized the air was going stale afterwards he realized the voice was directed at himself. He glanced over to @Aran and was surprised to find he was not alone in his communion with the odd metallic sound. He opened his mouth to say something else but, those bodies - yes, the horde - they came racing over one by one. It was unsettling and made him want to bolt, too.

The sound of banging had ceased by now. Himmel hurried away from the gathering and inadvertently placed himself at the helm of it; between the group and the tall figure. When he looked back it was to gaze upon the pale mask of the stranger. He recognized it from the mural - he wasn't stupid - and moved around him, ducking on his other side as if to hide from the rush of bodies.

The tall thing spoke; other gembounds spoke too, one with an accusatory tone asked about a Collector. Himmel was overwhelmed. The room was warm and full of odd sights and smells, but he found himself near the slab upon which the tall thing worked, and lay down beside it, comforted by the familiar warmth of fire.