The Fe'gan Mountains are the highest, coldest mountains Lambastia has to offer, with the highest peak recorded at 8589 m (28,179 ft). Only the toughest creatures survive here, and the trek to get to the Basantha Shrine lays through these harsh conditions. (+3 Endurance)

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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 9:02 PM

It didn't take as long as he thought it would to fill in the rest of the map. He hadn't traveled as much as he'd thought. That was a small blessing too, since it meant he could put the pen away, and not have to smell it for a bit. Which he did, immediately, along with the map. "Huh. This cave isn't that big, is it," he mused aloud.

"You never know. You're not done with it yet. But if this comes to a dead end, then I guess you'd be right about that," Melanie said absentmindedly.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 9:06 PM

Fabio had no choice then but to put the backpack back on. He stared at it for a moment, wishing he didn't have to do it, but not for very long. He wasn't a stranger to unpleasant tasks, and by now he'd learned that the sooner he got it over with, the better. No sense in dragging these things out any longer than he had to.

He heaved it back on, grimaced, and kept walking. Slowly, the cavern got darker again, and he felt his spirits falling with it as the gloom settled back in.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 9:08 PM

He hadn't realized how much the sunshine had been picking up his mood until it was gone. Now all he had was the flashlight again, and frankly it felt like... Well, how could he compare a flashlight to the sun anyway? It was like that.

"This cave had better end soon," he grumbled. "I'm getting sick of seeing rocks."

"And how do you think I feel?" said Melanie.

Fabio snorted. "Please, you have nothing to complain about. You didn't have to smell the guano." If they could switch, he would gladly have taken her place.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 10:33 PM

This argument didn't mollify Melanie. "It's still boring," she pouted.

"Take it up with Xing yourself then. Do you think I want to be down here?" Though at least he wouldn't blame her for the nature of their mission, even though she was the one who had told him about it. Fabio and Melanie did whatever jobs were handed down to them by Xing. Most of the time it was Melanie finding jobs for Fabio, but if Xing wanted something done and picked any of the Flock to do it... It was his organization, after all.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 10:35 PM

Arguably the entire point of the Flock was to have people on hand so he could accomplish what needed to be done. Fabio was just a piece of that puzzle, and in the meantime, everything else they did was so they could stay afloat.

"Nevermind," said Melanie, probably concluding that it was futile, just as Fabio was. "Let's just get on with it."

"My thoughts exactly," Fabio said, though even the satisfaction of having won that round didn't really hold up against the unpleasantness of the task at hand. Nothing to do but to keep walking.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 10:38 PM

Fortunately, it seemed like his troubles would be at an end soon. He saw the beam of his flashlight hit something, a little ways in the distance. At first it didn't look particularly remarkable, since it was just rocks, rocks and more rocks. He was pretty sick of the color of the rocks at this point. But then he took a closer look at it, and realized it wasn't a rock, but a wall.

A wall. An end. "A dead end!" he exclaimed, with probably more enthusiasm than he had ever used for those words in his entire life.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 10:39 PM

"Wait, really?" said Melanie. She sounded startled; he wondered if he had been a bit too loud over the comm. But Fabio wasn't really listening anymore. He was making a break for the wall, to confirm that it was what he'd thought it was. And it was! It was a real, solid rock wall. The cavern tapered off fairly quickly, and the part he'd reached was pretty clearly a dead end, just as he had hoped.

"I could kiss this wall right now. Hallelujah!" he said.

"Boy, I'd pay to see that," Melanie muttered.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 10:41 PM

He didn't kiss it, but he settled for hugging a stalagmite close to where the wall was, which was almost as good. It was also probably a sign that he was starting to get really delirious down here. "Fabio, are you... Are you hugging a rock?" said Melanie.

Oh, gods and angels. She sounded concerned. He really had been down here too long.

Fabio let go of the rock and cleared his throat. "N-No, I... You know what, nevermind. I'll walk back to where the skylight was, jot this down, and then get the hell out of here."
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 10:43 PM

Not a moment too soon, either. Well, at least now he didn't have to worry about spending the night! The thought of that was more bracing than Fabio had expected. It put a real spring in his step, thinking of getting to go home, take a shower--- no, a bath---

"Uh, Fabio?"

--- and eat a real dinner... Or takeout. In all likelihood, takeout. He wasn't in any state to cook, but he'd definitely treat himself tonight---

"Fabio...?"

--- that little Italian place on the corner had some of the best---

"FABIO!"
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 10:45 PM

"What?!" said Fabio. He was having a moment here. What exactly was so important that she was interrupting his fantasies? "Can't a guy have a moment to himself?"

"First of all, you're on a mission, so no. Second of all, ew. But more importantly... You realize you're looking at a Stargoyle, right?"

... Oh. No, he hadn't realized that. Fabio hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings at all. But once she pointed it out, he saw it immediately: another pair of eyes, staring at him. These ones didn't glow, but...
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/28/2017 1:28 AM

He'd read about Stargoyles in books before. Picture books, mostly. Based on those depictions, he'd always expected them to be smaller. Like the size of a corgi, maybe. Cute, but essentially harmless. That's what they were, right?

But this one wasn't corgi-sized at all. It was a little hard to make out with only the flashlight, but if he had to guess, he would have said it was probably longer than he was tall. Thankfully it wasn't taller than he was tall too, or else he would really have been losing it by now.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/28/2017 1:30 AM

It was only this, and the fact that it was staying still, that helped Fabio keep it together. Which was kind of pathetic, all things considered. He was part of the Flock; he'd been training in martial arts and gunmanship and all that other stuff since he was nine. And, okay, so Xing didn't give him a lot to do, and the tasks Melanie found for him was usually fairly pedestrian fare, but he'd still faced down gangs and criminals before. What could a Stargoyle do to him, really?

That didn't keep his heart from hammering like hell though. Damn.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/28/2017 1:34 AM

"Relax, they're not that dangerous," Melanie said. "Though that one does seem unusually large... Maybe it's starting to morph into a Garagnir." Her tone had shifted from petulant, annoying little sister Mel into handler Mel. That brought Fabio some instinctive measure of reassurance, though her words as such weren't particularly reassuring.

"Alright, what do I do? Run like last time?" he said.

"You can, if you want. It's not going to give chase, if that's what you're asking," she said. "But they're usually pretty docile, and they don't eat meat."
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/28/2017 1:37 AM

That did make him feel better, but he still wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation. He was currently engaged in a staring contest with the thing, its wide unblinking eyes unnerving in the dark, illuminated only by the flashlight. "You said that about the last thing we ran into, and it definitely tried to kill me," he said.

"Stargoyles aren't territorial... At least, not towards something like you. Actually, most of them are pretty placid. They make popular pets, in certain circles." She didn't sound concerned, though part of that was the whole handler voice thing.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/28/2017 1:38 AM

Melanie had just as much training as Fabio, possibly more, though of course hers was of a different nature. All the handlers were trained. And if a Flock agent's handler started losing it, that was how they knew things were really going to shit.

But Melanie was doing the opposite. "You know, I think there's an opportunity here," she was saying. Fabio's frown deepened immediately. He did not like that tone, or those words. He didn't like where this was going at all. "You don't think you could get it to come with you, do you?"
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