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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Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/18/2017 4:23 AM

Image

It was precisely seven seconds after Chi opened her mouth that she had begun to regret her decision; it was precisely fifty-one minutes and thirty-eight seconds after she left the saloon that the extent of her mistake became clear. She was good with numbers like that.

And that was precisely the problem.

With a sound like a balloon deflating, the slender girl plopped gracelessly onto a ledge by the mouth of the cave, lobbed her knapsack of supplies on the ground a few feet from her, and stared listlessly at it, head wedged between her palms. Despite the chilly mountain wind nipping at her extremities, she was flushed and uncomfortably sweaty from the trek uphill. This was already more walking than she'd done in a week. Giving up and rolling back downhill suddenly seemed like a viable course of action.

'I study math and physics,' the despondent figure pronounced like a revelation. 'I don't know the first thing about rocks, unless they're perfectly spherical and located in a vacuum.'

'But y'know,' she continued. There was no need to be delicate; no one else was listening. 'You chose this. You wanted to play hero and go on a big damn adventure. You wanted to prove to the world, to him, that you were just fine on your own, even if it meant plunging into certain doom armed with only the feather off some quack's ass.'

The cave maw stretched in front of her like a challenge.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?]

Postby Adelie » 08/18/2017 8:05 PM

Of course, she could talk herself up or down as much as she wanted; it didn't keep her from stewing silently in her regret and reluctance like they were spices and she were a cut of corned Shinzo. Looking at her hunched-over form, engaged in an intense and completely pointless staredown with her traveller's knapsack, one might even mistake her for a grumpy mountain spirit seeking to intimidate this unwelcome inanimate intruder from entering the cave of treasures she guarded.

Certainly, something had gotten a little mixed up along the way.

This was not her style. No, not the part about embarking on a spontaneous adventure into the unexplored bowels of Basantha - that was merely unusual, but not out-of-character. The part where she was sitting here, looking like a fine candidate for a clarifying photo next to the dictionary definition of frustrated.

Look, if you asked her supervising professors, you would hear descriptors like 'always has a smile on her face, bless her heart' or 'brilliant student dedicated to making knowledge more accessible to others.' If you asked her students, you would hear phrases like 'the best GSI I've ever had' or 'always willing to explain any problem, without any judgement.' If you asked her friends, you would hear epithets like 'saltiest bitch in the world' - but that's a different story.

She was not the kind of person who'd just give up, after all. She was - just a little tired from walking all the way from the edge of the Vast Plains to here. Yes. That was exactly it.

(if it's not obvious i'm kind of hungry.)
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?]

Postby Adelie » 08/20/2017 12:55 AM

In the first session of every discussion she taught, Chi liked to give the 'Deceit Speech.' She really needed a better name for that.

It always began the same way - the wide-eyed freshmen would file in, take their seats, and immediately be confronted with the monster of a theorem she'd chalked up on the board. 'Look,' she'd say. 'This is easy. Any of you should be able to do it.' A pause, here, for these supplicants to her altar of knowledge to gasp, burst into tears, or otherwise react; not that they ever did.

'There is a trick for this - there is a trick for everything. You simply have to delude yourself in the right ways,' she would explain, and then she would give the bright, encouraging smile that was always mentioned on her end-of-the-semester reviews, and think dark, discouraging thoughts about how tired she was of pretending all these kids had the mettle to survive in such a prestigious academic institution. Her hands would pick up the chalk, and she would explain the problem, piece by piece, tenderly pulling the correct definitions out of abstract space like they were characters in a novel, explaining lucidly how everything fell together just right if you chose the right perspective to view the problem, the right steps to create a story connecting what you already knew and what you wanted to prove.

Chi explained this to a friend, once, and he'd laughed and said, 'Isn't that just magic?' At her flustered and somewhat indignant response, he explained further, 'You're just superimposing your beliefs onto the world. That's the same thing magic-users do.'

'Hey,' he'd added as an afterthought. 'That would make you a wizard in real life, too.'

Not much she could say to that.

Well, magic or not, the 'deceit trick' wasn't simply for math. And considering she'd been sitting here staring blankly into the horizon for nine minutes and four seconds straight, this seemed like the perfect situation to apply it to.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?]

Postby Adelie » 08/20/2017 5:57 AM

With a certain dramatic flair befitting one who had just resolved a dilemma of such great importance, Chi picked herself off the outcropping she'd inelegantly draped herself over, stalked over to her bag, and triumphantly extracted a small, rectangular object from it.

Ah, the smartphone! Lifeblood of the modern youth, leyline that connects the sprawl of current-day society to the information superhighway. One could wax poetic about its importance for far longer than the casual reader cares to forget. To our protagonist, though, no amount of embellishing prose would be too much; this was the keystone to her brilliant plan to deceive herself into actual movement, and it needed all the heroics it could get for such an arduous task.

You see, Chi was an avid player of MMORPGs. Avid might be an understatement; she had devoted a significantly nontrivial amount of time to one and developed a strong network of friendship with the members of her in-game clan that she was going to take advantage of right now.

Not that she could actually play it on her phone. This wasn't some 'casual MOBA for casuals,' as she might eloquently put it, but there was a mobile chat client she had downloaded.

cat mafia wrote:[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] Going to be afk for a few days. You guys can five-man the Friday run without me, right?'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] Also, Nebs, A, can one of you handle updating the helpsite while I'm gone?'
[CLAN] nebu!a: '/// what, you're finally getting a life?'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] :('
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] I was suckered into mapping a cave system or something. And after that, idk.'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] kind of want some alone time.'
[CLAN] nebu!a: '/// have fun, don't die.'
[CLAN] nebu!a: '/// and i mean that part. i can cover you for friday, but if our favorite ranged dps goes and dies on us, ana will make me sub for you and you know i hate pve.'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] That's an interesting way to spell 'suck at.''
[CLAN] nebu!a: '/// stfu.'
[CLAN] nebu!a: '/// anyways, a-chan's probably napping but i'll yell at him to be responsible when i see him on.'


Well, that settled her business quite neatly. And now that she'd set up expectations for herself, she'd have to live up to them or risk committing the ultimate sin of disappointment. Chi knew herself too well; if she didn't step forward, she would never be able to shake of the embarrassment from backing out now.

See? Solving problems was easy.

(i can't believe i've devoted this many words to chi convincing herself to go into a cave. i also can't believe how much all of it sucks because i'm falling asleep and dead inside.)
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?]

Postby Adelie » 08/20/2017 6:23 AM

She was not exactly unaware of the absurdity of this entire situation.

Most normal people made decisions and either followed through or didn't. Some would add an extra step of hesitation between the two. Only Chi would consider the prospect of walking into a cave as a theorem, assemble the relevant facts and construct a storyline to convince herself to do it, and then pat herself on the back for achieving the amazing feat of not sitting on a rock for the rest of eternity.

She was not unaware, of course, but she chose to ignore it. She would like to say, 'Oh, this is a feature of my unique way of thinking,' or even, 'This is just the way I am,' but honestly? This was a form of procrastination.

Chi did not want to go into that cave. She did not want to map the cave with a fart-soaked feather from some flatulent professor's butt. Most of all, now that the stupid courage she'd had earlier was wearing off, she really just wanted to go home and bury her sorrows in a pint of ice cream.

But she had made her final decision, and she would stick to it. Pulling a flashlight out of her backpack, she made an exploratory poke into the cave mouth, and was greeted with nothing but stone and shadow.

It didn't look too scary. Maybe everything would be okay.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?]

Postby Adelie » 08/20/2017 6:45 PM

Rock, shadow. Shadow, rock.

It had not taken long to exhaust the full range of scenic permutations. Perhaps if Chi had paid any attention in high school geology, she would've recognized the signs of a fairly typical karst cave - curtains of drying flowstone on the wall, remnants stalactites and stalagmites, old traces of flowing water. She might've admired the dappling on the cave walls from mineral impurities, or the small, delicate rock formations blooming in the corners, untouched for all of recorded history.

To her eyes, though, this place could be described very simply: cold, damp, and boring.

At least the cave wasn't difficult to navigate. She'd prepared supplies in case of narrow corridors or sudden drops, but she wasn't particularly looking forward to long periods of squeezing through a clammy crawlspace or wading through stagnant cave pools. Instead, the cave had widened comfortably after the tight entrance - she estimated two of her could fit to shoulder-to-shoulder - and the passage headed smoothly downhill without bumps or significant obstructions.

'Honestly, if it weren't so dark and damp, I might've found myself enjoying this,' she mused aloud. Her voice echoed faintly before vanishing into the darkness. The only response was the steady drip of some stream of water, out-of-sight, but as she rounded a sharp corner, she noticed signs of light from ahead.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?]

Postby Adelie » 08/20/2017 8:16 PM

'Dark,' at least, was resolved. Here, the cave passage flared out into a massive cavern, illuminated by a long crevice in its vaulted ceiling, hundreds of meters above. Through it, she thought she could almost see blue sky.

Strange. It didn't seem like she'd come that far down.

From up on high, golden rays of light, given visible form by the moisture in the air, bathed the scene below. The effect was majestic - an immense tumbling cascade of cream and gold flowstone, like a roaring water frozen in time, stretched across the opposing cavern wall. Curtains, chandeliers, and ribbons of stone hung from above; spiraling towers and columns jutted out from below. Patches of lichens and mosses, tiny plants reaching eternally for the distant sun, lent splashes of color to the pale landscape.

If you had told her this was some overgrown cathedral to some long-forgotten god, some ruin of a bygone civilization far more illustrious than hers - perhaps Chi would have believed it. At the very least, the word 'boring' had left her mind.

'Damp,' however, was still an unanswered concern. In fact, water - perhaps rainwater, from above - had collected into a shallow pool on the ground, so still it carried a perfect inverse reflection of the stupendous scene above; as it expanded out, it splintered into smaller stone terraces. Luckily, if she followed the walls of the cavern, she wouldn't have to step into them and destroy their pristine existence.

Chi dragged her eyes away, almost wistfully. This, at least, had made her trip worth it, but she couldn't just stop at the first place she saw. There was still so much more to explore.

(i'm having fun using creative license on this cave! a lot of it was inspired by the karst caves in south china, which are absolutely beautiful but also heavily commercialized.)
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/21/2017 12:55 AM

To her left, the cavern extended into shadow; the weak beam of her flashlight diffused into nothingness before it could reveal much. To her right, following the crevice in the ceiling, the cavern narrowed into a long passage; a slight dip blocked most of her vision, but if she squinted, she could see where it forked into three different paths. Unfortunately, it seemed this lighted section was the exception rather than the norm, and she'd soon be back to slogging about in the darkness.

'Four roads diverged in a vaguely cream-colored cave,' Chi announced to her dutiful audience of ferns, lichens, and stones. A fat droplet of water fell from one stone icicle, like a single out-of-place clap. 'And sorry I could not travel none of them, and just sit here enjoying the view.'

She paused for dramatic effect, or more precisely because she had forgotten what the next lines were.

'...and, uh, I kept the last three for another day,' she continued haltingly. 'But knowing how depth-first search is inefficient for cyclic graphs or infinite branches, I doubted if I should ever come back.'

Yeah, this whole poetry metaphor thing really wasn't her schtick.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/22/2017 7:21 PM

Route decided, she paused.

One might attribute her hesitation to some romantic sentiment, some yearning for the pure wonders of nature, uncontaminated by civilization's grasping claws; some inner voice that whispered, give up your mundane everyday life and cast away your stress, your regular schedule, your box of papers to grade - stay here in this Walden, this Shangri-la, this peach garden outside the city.

One would also be attributing far too much. This was a wet, dark, and uninhabitable hole in the ground, after all.

No, the present conflict in Chi's mind was a completely different beast - or rather, two beasts.

chi's inner monologue wrote:VAIN CHI. Since you're here, you should take a selfie. C'mon, it'll be pretty.
CLASSY CHI. That's something normal people do. I, Chi Mirzakhani, a lady of erudition and culture, would never lower myself to engage in such a base action.
VAIN CHI. How else will you prove you were actually here? Isn't the whole purpose of this adventure to show off how cool you are on your own? You'll never get a chance like this again.
CLASSY CHI. Look, I know I just said something about 'doubting if I'd ever come back,' but that was just poetic license. I'm not actually going to try applying naive depth-first search to a real situation.
VAIN CHI. But look how pretty that sunlight is right now, it's the perfect angle to make you look good. This is a once-in-a-day opportunity, and do you really want to be stuck here tomorrow?
CLASSY CHI. Yes, but taking a picture of myself is just so contrived and so, well, tacky. Just imagine - if that really elegant and super cute history professor saw me engaged in such a classless action, I'd be too ashamed to meet his eyes ever again!
VAIN CHI. He has a selfie with his daughter on his faculty page.
CLASSY CHI. Yes, but -
VAIN CHI. Also, I don't think he even knows our name.
CLASSY CHI. I hate myself.


Her sense of dignity having left to go sob in a corner, Chi was free to fish out her phone and take a few photos. Out of respect for the loser in this bitter argument, she chose a few artsy landscape shots before going full 'Instagram moment' and putting on the most absurd, ironic pose she could think of. It came out awful; exactly the way she wanted it.

Almost instinctively, she moved to forward a copy - no, that idiot didn't deserve anything from her. Just thinking about it soured her mood.

She'd print out a copy of the photo when she got home, she decided. Put it up in her office, show the kids she was still in touch with popular culture these days, or something.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/22/2017 9:02 PM

To say that Chi hated water would be an exaggeration. No one who hated water would still be here.

It had taken some walking for that to be evident. Now, though - on her left, a membrane-like layer of water, so thin as to be almost unnoticeable, lent a pale shimmer to the smooth stone wall. On her right, the tributaries of the cavern's central pool had gathered into a long, thin gutter. Above her, water gathered at tiny rocky protrusions, gathered into droplets, and fell onto her head with preternatural accuracy. And below her feet, puddles gathered, merged, and disappeared into the porous ground.

'I didn't go underground just for it to start raining on me,' she grumbled, a forlorn little figure in this sea of stone and damp. 'Good thing I had the foresight to bring boots, but I could really use an umbrella too.'

Chi merely vehemently disliked water. When it rained, she made up excuses not to go to class; she had learned just enough of swimming to not drown and immediately left the building, never to be seen again. She didn't even drink water unless there wasn't a drop of coffee or tea within a three-mile radius.

Being surrounded on four sides with wet appealed to her about as much as the fundamental theorem of linear algebra appealed to a rambunctious five-year-old. When the cave passage once again opened up - no skylight this time, unfortunately - she was briefly excited at the prospect of putting some distance between herself and potential watery doom before suddenly stopping short at the sinkhole that yawned in front of her on the cavern floor.

Too suddenly, in fact. With a decidedly inelegant squeak, Chi slipped on a slick piece of stone, tumbled forward and landed unsolidly in the dark water.

No, perhaps it was not so much of an exaggeration after all.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/23/2017 5:34 AM

Shit shit shit shit shit shit.

If she could swear like this, that meant she was okay. Despite all the evidence to the contrary - the cold water currently licking at the bridge of her nose, the slippery rock uncomfortably wedged up against her chest, the worrying lack of solid ground beneath her feet - she was fine.

Panic subsiding, she evaluated her situation as critically as she could with adrenaline still screaming in her views. It took a moment before the scene before her came into focus. She'd dropped her flashlight when she slipped, but luckily it had only rolled a few meters away - but its beam, weak to begin with, was not doing her much good facing the other way. Her bag was also safe - it hadn't slipped off, and while the material was not designed for soaking, it was waterproof enough to keep her things safe. So that just left herself.

Honestly, she wasn't sure what she'd done when she'd tripped besides flail, but she'd ended up in a fairly awkward position, wedged like a beached whale on the edge of the sinkhole. The upper half of her body was precariously resting on the rim, below the water line, but - well, she couldn't get a good look, but she was pretty sure there was a sheer drop below that.

Chi didn't know which deity was appropriate to thank here, but something deserved a thank you for saving her from the void.

Clinging to the rocks with all the strength she could muster, she shimmied out of the sinkhole, retrieved her flashlight, and then just sat there, a blank look in her eyes, waiting for the fear to leave her system.

The sinkhole stared back at her, a few wavering ripples still filtering across its surface, echoes of when she'd left it. For a moment she was almost sorry - sorry for her own carelessness, sorry to have disrupted this fragile, tranquil peace within the cave.
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/23/2017 12:55 PM

Quickly, she realized she was cold - a natural result of sitting in an underground cave in dripping-wet clothing.

Planning ahead had not accounted for the possibility of falling into water; honestly, she'd hoped she'd be smart enough to avoid that. Now that that had been proven untrue - much to her disappointment - she was left with the unsavory option of stripping down, wringing out her clothes best she could, and hoping she didn't get sick from all of this.

So. She was okay, mostly - her left arm might bruise a little where she'd landed awkwardly on it, but it was nothing serious. Her supplies were looking a little damp, but largely functional - she'd saved her phone from spending days sitting in rice, at least - and it wasn't cold enough that wearing her wet clothes would be a major problem.

Honestly, she was just miserable. No other drawbacks.

Time to keep moving; staying in one place wouldn't help her not catch a cold. Very, very carefully, she picked herself up the ground and walked further into the cave.

(zzz fast post because i'm tired and i need to go to work LOL)
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/23/2017 8:27 PM

A few twists and turns later, the passage had narrowed down to the point where Chi had to get down on her hands and knees to scramble through. The prospect had not delighted her, but it was hard to get more wet and miserable than she was now - so she didn't protest, either.

Just when the crawlspace was starting to get cramped enough for her to seriously consider turning back - and she was just starting to realize she'd never considered how to turn in here - she felt herself emerge into a much larger space. Hefting her flashlight from the awkward location where she'd sandwiched it, she shone it into the spacious cavern - and almost wanted to cry.

'You're kidding, right?'

The lake did not answer, as lakes are wont to do.

All this way, through all this godforsaken water - from walking past one sun-splattered pool, to being violently dripped on from some helpful groundwater aquifer, to falling into an actual bottomless sinkhole - for a lake. Well, it was a pretty fine lake, from what she could make out of it in the murky darkness -  it fulfilled the lake-y duties of possessing a gentle, sandy bank for her to follow; it had clear, sparkling water that might've even looked inviting to someone who had not recently been drenched in clear, sparkling water.

She considered, briefly, swimming across it. Once again, this was not a prospect that excited her, but it was certainly possible - she had some talent for swimming, albeit much underutilized, and she was already wet - and she didn't want to bring back an incomplete map. Upon closer inspection, though, that sacrifice seemed unnecessary. There were no signs of pathways on the other side of the lake; just an empty darkness, broken only by specks of light off some reflective surfaces.

Then it was time to turn back; pick up the next node to explore in her queue.

In the darkness, the remaining motes of light glittered, blinked, vanished.

(need to go back through two normal rooms (2 + 2) + enter a new section from a boost room (2) = 6 posts total. time for more fluff!)
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/24/2017 7:01 PM

By the time she'd dragged herself - very carefully, this time - back to the central cavern, the light was fading; the sun had dropped low on the horizon, leaving only a few hazy, red-tinged rays streaming tangentially from the skylight. She checked her phone: 6:19.

Abruptly, she became aware of just how tired she was. Whether it was a side effect of adrenaline or simply having too many other things to complain about, it took seeing the current time for her to recall that she was, in fact, a generally sedentary graduate student whose primary form of exercise consisted of hauling about bins of yet-to-be-graded problem sets and running late - literally - to classes.

6:19 was not late for someone who hadn't slept before midnight in years, but just glancing at the next cave fork sent an overwhelming desire to become a gelatinous cube and never worry about moving again shuddering through her body. She reasoned that since she knew nothing of what might be down those paths, it'd be best to stay in the known world for the night - where it would be safe, at least.

Or hopefully safe; she hadn't seen any signs of cave beasts who might find her snack-sized, but she wasn't sure if she'd recognize them if she had.

In the dim light, she located a dry-looking niche inset in the right half of the cavern and quickly perched herself within it. Opening her bag, she checked briefly if any water had found its way in - not much - then brought out some of the supplies she'd brought - trail mix, jerky, bottled water. Nothing special, and certainly not a proper meal, but she'd expected to spend the night and packed accordingly.

Nibbling at a piece of spicy jerky, she swiped aimlessly at her phone and navigated back to her clan chat channel to see if she'd missed any exciting gossip.

cat mafia wrote:[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] guess where I am, right now.'
[CLAN] Gumiho: '>g< hey chi! are you staying late in the lab again?'
[CLAN] Mischief Managed: '[a] in a cave, sulking because you fell into a lake.'
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
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Adelie
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Re: Minimum Spanning Tree [Caving] [L?] [H by Z]

Postby Adelie » 08/24/2017 8:54 PM

On reflex, she grabbed for her flashlight and waved it across the cavern. Something reflective caught her eye - but it was just a crystal patiently growing in a corner, the same as it had done for millions of years.

cat mafia wrote:[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] Stop cheating, A-chan, it makes the game less fun.'
[CLAN] Mischief Managed: '[a] ?'
[CLAN] Mischief Managed: '[a] you said you were mapping a cave system earlier.'
[CLAN] Mischief Managed: '[a] and you're exactly the kind of person who'd walk into a lake! bet you even yelled at it for daring to cross your path.'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] :('
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] Did not.'


Honestly, she felt a little silly about looking around the cave. Aster's preternatural - no, practically supernatural - deduction abilities were a well-established fact. Besides, she reasoned, she had not yelled at the sinkhole she'd fallen into - just the lake, which she hadn't even entered. And did a completely justified outburst of frustration really count as yelling?

cat mafia wrote:[CLAN] Gumiho: '>g< wait, what's this about a cave?'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] Oh, I was on my way to the Vast Plains when I saw some guy looking for explorers for a newly discovered cave system.'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] Thought it sounded cool, so I volunteered.'
[CLAN] Gumiho: '>g< that does sound really cool! have you found anything exciting?'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] I'll share photos when I'm back! On mobile rn.'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] but it's really pretty.'
[CLAN] Mischief Managed: '[a] did you take any of the lake?'
[CLAN] Chi Squared: '[^2] Can we not talk about the lake?'


(this whole chat tag system is kind of a shout-out to my good ol' MUD days, but it looks kind of messy without color and a monospace font. i could integrate both, but i feel like it'd just be contrived.)
and if you ask how i regret that parting:
it is like the flowers falling at spring's end
confused, whirled in a tangle.

what is the use of talking, and there is no end of talking,
there is no end of things in the heart.

ezra pound, exile's letter
zoo pen | journal | wishlist
User avatar
Adelie
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Joined: 09/04/2007 12:34 AM
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