Descent.

[shimmermods]

CHAMBERS.

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You've been down here for such a long time.

It's difficult to tell, perhaps, exactly how long it's been; the lack of need to sleep or eat has become more and more prevalent as time goes by, and it's made it difficult to keep to any sort of schedule - and while the darkness remains unyielding and unchanging, the same can't be said for yourself, now, can it? The further you go, the more it feels like maybe you could belong here; the longer you're within this place, the less it seems to want to let go of you.

It begs the question, really: Is it the mine that's making you feel that way, or is it the Shimmer itself?

Something is different today.

There's a sudden feeling that you've found a chamber, that the shaft you've been wandering down has opened up in a way that's more noticeable than the occasional offshoot leading to an eventual dead end - this feels massive, open in a way that clears the air and spreads out far enough in front of you that it's difficult to tell how far out it actually goes. There are a few promising signs here, however, even if you can't see them very well - the sudden clearing of the air's stagnation is one, but the sound of running water trickling through here somewhere is also promising.

There's also a feeling that should be familiar by now; namely, it's the general sensation that you aren't alone, wherever you are.

You've found something, but perhaps more importantly, you get the feeling that you're coming far closer to your goal than you were on the outside; don't get too excited, though, as you still want to be careful - after all, this chamber opens downward as well as outward.

You can get down to the lower level if you pick your way down; it shouldn't be too challenging, and you'll probably have an easier time seeing once you're down there. Just don't fall.

code by vuvuzela

Comments

[shimmermods]

[Just that the area you're in is very large, and very dark.

There are more of those large crystals jutting up out of the ground here and there, though, glittering in pale translucent colors; they look more like formations than lone structures down here, though.]

[atrueheroine]

[Very large and very dark? Lovely. Comforting. Bodes well.

...ugh. At least in the towns it was still creepy but it wasn't dark...she'll forge ahead, though, even if she's never wished more than she was in research or a medic....

If she sweeps her torch around as she goes, does anything pop out as suspicious or notable? She'll leave the crystals to the others to investigate.]

[pr159]

I think this goes without saying, but don't think about letting your guard down once we get there. There's usually some sort of elite monster or other in the depths of these places.

[ He will take note of the crystals as he goes -- is there anything that stands out about the formations they're growing in here? ]

[shimmermods]

[They seem smoother than the ones that were present in the mineshaft itself; there's also notably no water source coming in from above, or any other source of liquids immediately around them. They seem to have just...formed from nothing, somehow.]

[shimmermods]

[The sound of water is a bit stronger down here; it sounds almost like a stream of some sort. It's steady, which is possibly a good sign; it has to be coming from somewhere, after all.]

[atrueheroine]

Water....

[An underground river? That's something, at least, even if she's wary of them filling their bottles from it. But that's her body's problem.

...

...when did she start thinking of her body as a separate entity? Oh, never mind; if she presses on, will that water come into view?]

[shimmermods]

[It will. There's an area that appears to be sunken into the ground a little further than the rest - everything else seems to be more or less even, but this seems like it's been worn in. The water flowing through it doesn't seem to have that powerful of a current; it sounds gentle enough. It also doesn't seem all that deep.

There are also things near the water's edge that will come easily into view - it doesn't look dissimilar to the camping supplies and belongings you've all had with you. It looks like people may have been staying here for a while.]

[instrumentalized]

[ Cool, he hates this. Time to raise the gun with some more vigilance because if there are survivors here...? They might not be friendly. ]

We are retracing group after group.... Just what happened to these?

[blunders]

...I wouldn't be surprised if the Shimmer got to them.

[if we come across another diddly darn circle of people she swears to the gods--]

[pr159]

[ If we do, he'd like to not be a part of it this time, please. ]

[atrueheroine]

Nothing good, judging by how they decided to leave all their belongings here.

[She's definitely of the same mind as you, Garma; the belongings could easily mean they're still in the area. Guns up!]

Let's be cautious. We might not be alone.

[....

....are. are they alone....Page won't be looking at Garma at the moment, let's put it that way.]

[bornandbread]

If they left them...

[He’s keeping alert, but with the combat team all guns out and not-quite-yet-blazing he’s going to also duck his head down a little and check out the spread.

Anything notable about the supplies sitting there?]

[shimmermods]

[They seem to have been packed by someone expecting to have been here for a while - it seems a lot like your things overall, but with less of an indication that they were on a temporary mission, and whatever they were doing it seems to have been less aggressive - there are weapons among some of the things, but they're few and far between, and usually some sort of knife that's going to have multiple purposes instead of all the guns and specialty weapons that you have.]

[pr159]

[ There's nothing that looks familiar here, is there? ]

[shimmermods]

[There isn't anything that implies that Even More You wandered through here at any time, if that's the concern!]

[pr159]

[ thank fucking god ]

[bornandbread]

How much earlier...?

[It would have helped, probably, if their ring-around-the-rosy-dead earlier had had supplies with them to compare; but if the composition is noticeably different and less martial that probably means these guys were here relatively earlier.

Any indication of how old these supplies are, or are they preserved somehow?]

[shimmermods]

[There doesn't seem to be a lot of perishable things here, but they don't seem to have been disturbed in quite a while. They seem pretty settled in; there's dust. It seems no one has touched these in some time, and the composition does seem noticeably different to your own.]

[me_underfire]

[Dust. Grace's heart sinks. She brought everyone down here for someone who disappeared ages ago.

She's been checking the levels of radiation and electromagnetic activity a lot since they entered the mine, but are there any significant readings down here?]

[bornandbread]

[Okay, okay... Well, less chance that there's a bomb or napalm squirreled away somewhere. Presumably. Which might mean it's safe to dig through these, but first: time to shine his light toward the water and make sure it's safe, not just to drink but also there's no like sewer crocodiles or anything waiting to take a chomp??

Who knows what else is down here.......]

[crestological]

...at this point, I would really have to wonder if they were aware of us long before we were aware of them.

[It’s said a bit wearily, though... perhaps he should clarify a bit.]

Well, perhaps not, if they are still themselves.

[shimmermods]

[Still checking the immediate area, Page?]

[atrueheroine]

[Absolutely; the rest of the gang can handle the abandoned equipment, she's going to focus on anything that might threaten them.

....will she, uh. Spot anything?]

[shimmermods]

[There appears to be a large structure of some kind, beyond the stream. Tall and dark. It doesn't seem to be moving.]

[atrueheroine]

[....oh. Well. If she directs her torch at it, will she see some detail?

...gun still very much up, of course.]