nysalogs | cut clean from the dream that night [closed]

Who: Soldier: 76 (

personalwar), Ana Amari (

nanamari), & Bruce Wayne (

beknight)
What: Actual Pillars, Outside the Community quest
When: Mid-April
Where: Edrathe Ruins
Warning(s): Mentions of post-torture PTSD

[ This marks the first time that 76 has directly taken a job from Voss. As much as he remains suspicious of the man's true motives, 76 had been rewarded well for a successful first mission, branded an agent of the Temple. It means that he can actually move around Olympia without risking capture, so long as he keeps a low profile. Voss had even implied he would vouch for him if he got into some real trouble with the Olympian authorities.

So when he's asked to study some ruins and go search a cave, 76 doesn't balk at it. It means taking a trip from Wyver to the ruins, but he doesn't actually have to enter the city of Olympia, so he isn't particularly concerned. Ana agrees to come along with him, though this isn't the sort of job that should require backup.

Alan had mentioned that they should get in touch if they cross the border, so he'd sent him a message and he'd agreed to join them. 76 and Ana are just reaching the ruins on horseback, and as the ground becomes uneven with stone formations, he decides it's time to switch to moving around the area on foot.

He glances over his shoulder at Ana, who isn't thrilled about their mode of transportation. She's been gripping his waist with all of the strength she borrowed from him. It's rare enough to see her uneasy like this, that 76 almost wants to tease her. ]

All right, hop off. I'll tie Apollo up and we can take a look around. Alan should be here by now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Leave it to Alan to always be just vague enough that they'll want to know more. Which friend gave him (or let him borrow) the pegasus ultimately isn't that important, so 76 is willing to let that mystery lie.

Talk of the institute, on the other hand, he's always interested in. He glances over his shoulder to Alan. ]

Hot how?

[ If Alan's thinking that he might remove himself from working there, it must be pretty serious. ]

[ Ana rolls her eye, but she doesn't press him for details. Sure sure she'll meet this mystery friend sooner or later. Maybe it's Clark - he seems like the kind of person who would just have a magical flying horse. They're attracted to people who are pure of heart, aren't they?

She spares him a glance at the comment about the Institute. ]

Something to do with the break-in?

Plural.

[ He describes the atmosphere clinically, the questioning the guards do to every employee now — because it's damn obvious some of them are inside jobs. The rotations increasing, people being unable to trust each other. Not an environment anything can thrive in. ]

— if we want anything from there, we either wait or use extreme caution.

[ So enough people have been sneaking into the institute that they've decided to double down on security. It's not an unexpected turn of events, although Jack can't help but be frustrated to learn this when he hasn't yet gotten the chance to infiltrate the place himself. ]

Kind of an admission of guilt, isn't it? [ If they're cracking down, there must really be something to hide within the institute's walls. ] I'm not surprised that some amateurs got noticed. [ Thus ruining it for the rest of them.

They're approaching the ruins now, so Jack digs into his pocket for his phone and navigates to the camera setting. ]

I'm gonna take a few shots — shouldn't take long.

[ With that, he strides further ahead of them to get to work. This isn't the sort of job he's used to doing, but he won't say no to some easy silver. He has to wonder what Voss thinks he'll learn from these images, though. ]

I don't know what Cree is thinking, bringing so many people onto these jobs. [ Granted, making things tense and difficult at the Institute probably accomplishes his ends too. ]

I'll keep an eye out for trouble, since you two are so good at attracting it. [ She's not expecting to have a lot of competition when it comes to other groups visiting the area, but the local plants and animals are another story. The only thing she's learned about them is that they're so strange she can never really let her guard down. ]

[ He hums in agreement to Jack's words. ]

Probably wants to stir up trouble.

[ Chaos achieves his ends, and there is something Evras is hiding in the depths of the Institute. A few things, as a matter of fact. Bruce doesn't like that they may have only scratched the surface, even with how long the three of them have been around in this world. ]

[ Even now, 76 remains unclear on Cree's real intentions. All he's really gathered is that when it comes to potential problems they need to remain on alert about, Cree is probably only one of them. He might have a personal vendetta, but he can't get completely focused on him either. Get too distracted by one thing, you'll get ambushed by something else.

So far they haven't attracted any attention, and Jack would like to keep it that way. He's thorough in how he takes the photos, making sure to get close-ups of the foreign language etched into the stone. It's nothing he recognizes, but apparently Voss has started to learn how to translate some of it.

Once he's done he returns to the other two, pocketing his phone. ]

All right, there should be a cave hidden somewhere against the cliff wall there. [ He nods in the direction he means, and then starts walking, glancing at Alan as he goes. ] Got any gadgets that might be able to find it for us?

[ Ana does as she says, keeping her eye on the perimeter, but with Alan there as well she allows a few minor distractions. The writing isn't something she expects to understand just by looking, but it does give this place a sense of history. It's strange to think that her own language will die in this place, maybe not so long after she does.

When Jack has taken his pictures, she moves back in with the group. ]

Echolocation maybe? [ She's helping. ] If we any have trouble finding it, I can scout ahead.

Charming.

[ Narrator: It was the opposite of charming. He supposes Ana's being nice by sparing him more comments on how the environment would suit him. Bruce pockets his own phone, used for a quick scan of the language as well as the environment around them. It does have SONAR inbuilt because he's not an animal. ]

We'll find it the old-fashioned way. There should be an opening.

[ That tease from Ana along with Alan's response seems to be getting at something that Jack isn't privy to, but he recalls the symbol that Alan had signed some of his texts with, and he's starting to get an idea of what's going on. He'll ask Ana about it later.

For now, they should focus on the task at hand. They have to hug the cliff wall for a while, but eventually 76 spots the opening they'd been expecting. It's shrouded in shadow and blends in well with the rock around it, so it's no surprise that it hasn't been well-searched yet.

He steps inside without hesitation, but the first thing that greets him is a steep slope downward, and an almost instant drop in temperature. Suddenly a knot grows in Jack's stomach, and he pauses for a second too long before he looks over his shoulder at the others. ]

Gonna have to watch your step.

[ Ana flashes Alan a grin. She's very charming, she knows.

They move into the cave one at a time. Ana is in right after Jack, so she sees the moment of hesitation after he's moved inside. It's chilly, but that's usually the sort of thing Jack barely notices.

She shares a glance with Alan - he'll understand what she's asking. ] Since we're in your natural environment, do you want to take the lead?

I'll take the lead.

[ Not because of ur joke :| He is practiced navigating caves, having his night vision goggles on him as well as a torch. ]

Follow me.

cut clean from the dream that night [closed]

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