BZPRPG - Kini-Nui

[25K Now!]

IC: Rannin

 

"Did this expedition meet any expectations?"

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Arvas

Arvas shrugged.

"If 'My ribs will hurt real bad after this' was an expectation of mine, then yeah."

Rahkshi over one shoulder and helping hold Toshiko up with the other, Arvas started back towards the cave's entrance.

[Snelly]

IC: Oceanna

 

"I'm starting to think that maybe hunting for Rahkshi isn't the best career choice..." 

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

Peho shurgged.

 

-Void

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Arvas

"No plan survives first contact, after all. Guess that old friend of mine was right." Arvas shrugged. "And anyways, we'll know how worth it this has been when we see how much we get paid. After all, if it's enough to get your band running with some to spare, it might've been worth it on your end, wouldn't it?"

[Ghidora131]

OOC: Time skip.

 

 

The crew and their prizes, a full set of Rahkshi and their staffs, returned to their encampment - bruised, beaten, bleeding, but victorious, with several of the group rethinking their life choices.

 

It took Flabbergaster all that time to fully comprehend that someone was missing an arm. "Oh... You're missing an arm."

[Snelly]

IC: Oceanna

 

Oceanna looked at Flabbergaster incredulously. "You just noticed he's missing an arm? Seriously?"

[Ghidora131]

IC Flabbergaster

 

"I knew," He said, tearing his eyes away from the partially bleeding stump with a trickle of fear in his eyes. "Just didn't catch up till now."

[Wade.]

IC: Volin

 

"You must be in more shock than I am, Fatty," Volin muttered, carefully detaching himself from the Tiokaha. A few slow, tender steps proved that he was still weak, maybe on the verge of passing out. Frankly, that's all he wanted; to sleep, to fall into a void oblivious to the world. He wouldn't feel a thing. No pain, no tormenting thoughts about the future.

 

Only bliss. 

 

Gently, he propped his back against the ravine wall and slid down against its mossy surface. "Oceanna," he attempted weakly, beckoning for her with a lazy tilt of his head. He deposited his rucksack by his hip, then fished out a small metal cylinder. Inside was a pasty green salve, made up of natural ingredients that worked wonders on cuts. It wasn't a hospital-grade disinfectant but it would do, he hoped. "I need you to apply this," he held out the container. "Then change my bandages, alright?"

 

His eyelids felt heavy.

 

"After that uh..."

 

Suddenly, his head began to droop.

 

"I think..."

 

Slowly, his arm fell.

 

"I think I'm gonna take a nap..."

 

And then, mercifully, he slept.

[Ghidora131]

OOC:

Slowly, his arm fell.

That was most painful to read.

 

IC Flabbergaster

 

...Did he just call me "Fatty"?

 

Well I mean he's not wrong but still

 

He stood in silence for a moment or two, staring sadly at the unconscious figure. Finally, he turned to Oceanna with an affirmative nod. "Your call." He moved past her, and then broke into a jovial statis, clapping his fat hands together and instantly regretting it as he felt the burn.

 

"So, who else is on the brink of death and requires immediate medical attention?"

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Arvas

Arvas shrugged, identifiable by the bobbing motion of the limp Rahkshi corpse over his shoulder, although he didn't move the arm supporting the Vortixx.

"Toshiko here's seen far better days, I can say that much."

[Ghidora131]

IC Flabbergaster

 

"Perhaps, given the circumstance, you'd be better at that than myself." he said, remembering the particularly heavy dosage of salt he received from her.

 

He leaned back, only to snarl in pain, as he was leaning on a burn... And siiting on a burn...

 

"Y'know what, if nobody's dying, I'm probably going to tend to myself." He began feeling in the grass for particular plants.

[Silvan Haven]

Toshiko- Kini-Nui

 

IC: "Find a stream, put me next to it and then leave. I can take care myself after that."

 

I had to grate the words out. All the moving was playing karz to my rather large burns and I was fighting to hold in a series of curses and screams with every step.

[Snelly]

IC: Oceanna

 

Oceanna simply nodded as Volin passed out, beginning to apply said salve and then change the bandages. As a child Oceanna had often helped her parents take care of patients with all sorts of gruesome injuries, so she was able to keep relatively calm as she looked at Volin's handless stump. 

 

It also helped her forget about the rather painful burns on her back where she'd been struck by that laser. She'd have to have someone take a look at it for her later to make sure it didn't get infected. 

 

As she looked at Volin's freshly bandaged arm, one thought crossed her mind. This wasn't worth it. 

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Arvas

Nodding, Arvas wordlessly did as Toshiko had said, putting her by a nearby stream before walking back. He may have been in better shape then some here, but he still wanted to sit down and rest for a minute. Finding a rock to sit on, he dumped the dead Rahkshi next to it, sitting on the rock, digging his sword's tip into the ground and leaning against it. The trek...somewhere would probably be a pain.

"When we leave...where are we headed?"

[Ghidora131]

IC Flabbergaster

 

He looked up with a start, a small medicinal herb in his hand that he was about to crush the juices out of.

 

"Going next? I don't believe anyone here is keen about imagining where we'll get our limbs chopped off in the afternoon." He grunted the words out, but he was clearly being comical based on his expression. "However... We'll have to either make this place a little more concealed or move to another place..."

 

He went back to what he was doing, grimacing as the juices flowed down his palm, the numbing effect very minimal.

[SnowyAegis]

IC:Arvas

"I didn't mean that. I meant, like, where are we going to offload these dead rahkshi, or...anything like that."

[Krayzikk]

OOC: From Onu-Wahi.

 

IC:

 

He had only really been to Kini Nui the once, just for the experience. It was too hazardous for a Matoran alone before Makuta fell. A Toa could make the trip, maybe a Vortixx or a Skakdi too, but a Matoran invited too much trouble trying to make the trip alone. Kini Nui was very much Makuta's back then, his infected Rahi governing the wilderness around it as though to drive home his point. That the Mata had failed. The Turaga had still traveled, from time to time, to the Amaja-Nui but only under guard and only when necessary. It hadn't meant very much to him then, but he still had felt a certain reverence for the place.

 

He still did, perhaps even more than before. The Suva Kaita, sealed after the Maru's victory, waited above him. He ascended with Leli swiftly but carefully, keeping a hand on the handle of his saperka. Makuta had been defeated but wild Rahkshi tended to roam near the lair of their master, and that was without the potential for a trap. Neither Matoran knew what they would find here, and the notion set them on edge. Every rustle of the trees seemed a potential enemy, every loose stone a hidden foe, and the very wind an ominous whisper. But they reached the Kini Nui without incident and Tarnok surveyed it from the very edge. It was hard to tell what he was looking for. He had come based on a feeling, and little more. Something of a leap of faith. 

Faith wasn't something he was good at. He preferred what he could see. But he couldn't deny the temple's aura. He stood, as he approached its center, where two teams of heroes had stood before him. The Mata and the Maru both, years apart. Who knew what others throughout history. The temple was ancient and humbling, a testament to heroes victorious and fallen alike. But still, standing next to the Suva Kaita, he had no idea what he was supposed to see.

 

"He said we'd know where to go," He ventured, finally breaking the silence. "I don't suppose you've got any ideas?"

[sunflower]

IC:​ Leli

 

In the beginning Onu-Wahi had been crushing; the weight of the tons of rock and earth above feeling as though they were pressing down on her when she first arrived in the underground Koro. Eventually, Leli had gotten used to it, and almost welcomed the comfort of the sturdy tunnels and massive caverns. She missed that feeling, especially now, where even the air itself was crushing in a different sort of way. It was a small surprise, the matoran thought to herself, she expected a sense of relief upon reaching open sky.

 

Not here, not where the very stones they were walking on seemed to remember the darkness that infected the area, seemed to cling to her feet in an attempt to keep her from walking closer to the temple. Not where the wind carried with it the sound of warnings. Not when even the plants aroud felt poised to strike. Maybe it was just in her head.

 

Leli felt on edge, her hand clutched against the pack that hung from her side, barely able to make out the geometric contours of the glowing stone within. The matoran had the distinct feeling that it hated this place almost as much as she did.

 

Tarnok and her reached the center before Leli realized how close they had come, and she stopped with a start.

 

"He said we'd know where to go," Tarnok spoke up, and Leli glanced over to him, startled, "I don't suppose you've got any ideas?"

 

"Well I don't know!"

 

Leli immediately looked away, embarrassed that she had snapped so suddenly, shutting her eyes tight, hoping that she didn't sound as shaken as she felt.

 

"Sorry, sorry," She quickly apologized, letting out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. Gingerly, Leli placed a hand on her companion's arm, before looking back to him. "Uh, maybe circle around, see if there's anything here, y'know, out of place?" She offered.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

Slowly, after a moment, Tarnok shook his head.

 

"There isn't anything different here. I suppose he didn't say Kini-Nui specifically, so we should rest a little. Take a look around the base, see if anything... Feels right, I guess. We can go from there." The Onu-Matoran gave her a faint smile, at least as best he could in a place that made him feel so somber. He set down his bag and leaned against one of the pillars, surveying the scene quietly.

 

A... Lot had happened. Very quickly. He hadn't really had time to process it all.

 

He'd never really liked Toa.

 

That popped into his head first, but it took him a second to place why. It was true, though. When he was younger he admired them, but after the mines... He'd grown to resent them, more and more. First for not being around to help them, even though Toa were supposed to be their protectors. Then he started to see how few of the new Toa actually protected anyone. They were just people. They were greedy, and self-centered, and violent, and flawed and for them that made life so much easier. When you were bigger, and stronger, and more powerful you could do whatever you wanted. There were better people to try and balance the scale, but even they slipped further and further from what being a Toa was supposed to mean.

 

Joining the Ussalry helped. Learning to do the protecting himself, if they weren't going to. Made him strive to be that hero instead of waiting for one to come along.

 

He hadn't been perfect. But he had friends to drag him to his feet. It helped that he had a great example. Sulov was the leader they'd all needed, even when no one in the Ussalry wanted him to be. He took his duties seriously no matter what. The bureaucracy didn't matter. And Mata Nui, they won. They destroyed he Hive.

 

And then they were lost. All of them were. Without Koskium Seventh Squadron fell apart long before the Ussalry dissolved it. Gavarm couldn't hold them together the same way. Uyism helped him through, then. Reminded him what he strove for, what his duty was. So when he needed a hand he called in the only other friend he had left, and she had come without question. Leli showed up without complaint, just because he needed her help. Gave a hundred and ten percent for a village that wasn't hers, fought with him, bled with him. She'd almost died when the Rahkshi attacked. They all had. Makuta's sons outnumbered them by far, overpowered them, but still they had his back. His own little team, of people willing to do their best. She had his back through the whole siege.

 

And then she was gone. A Rahkshi had disappeared with her, and he couldn't find them.

 

But she survived. Someone found her and brought her to the hospital. The hero that had emerged from the Darkwalk, after the Rahkshi broke ranks and fled, was Sulov Koskium. Makuta was slain. Onu-Koro survived. Tarnok survived. His commander had returned, and his best friend was going to be okay.

 

But Sulov Maru had become a Toa.

 

He didn't visit his old squadron. He didn't call himself Koskium, anymore, no he was Sulov Maru. He was Onu-Koro's protector, but even at a distance he wasn't Sulov. The Ussalry dissolved Seventh, formally, and promoted his best friend to Major in the new Light Division. And he never saw her. She was distant and aloof, even though by all rights he should have run into her any time. In the halls, on the streets, somewhere. Even if they didn't try to find each other. Onu-Koro was making blazing strides forward with its technological achievements, and he was somehow more alone than he'd been before they started to win the war with Makuta.

 

And then Leli came back with a Toa Stone. Leli was going to be a Toa.

 

Just like Sulov became a Toa.

 

He didn't really hate Toa anymore. Not after Sulov. Not after Kehuri. He couldn't possibly hate Leli. But he was scared of them. Scared of what they could take away from him. A Toa had taken Whenua from them. A Toa had taken his commander. And now a Toa was going to take his best friend. He had almost lost her the once. He wasn't sure he could bear it if she came back but.... Didn't come back. If this Toa Leli came back in her place, and his best friend was gone. Like Sulov.

 

"... We haven't seen each other much, lately." He said, much softer than usual. The ground was very interesting suddenly. "Not since Makuta fell."

[sunflower]

IC:​ Leli
 
"Yeah... I guess we've just been kinda busy, huh?"
 
Leli slipped her head out from the strap on her pack before sitting down on the cracked stone of the temple, hugging her legs and letting her head rest on her knees. The area gave her the creeps. "Y'know, what with getting the Light Division reorganized, the whole Darkwalk thing-"
 
She stopped herself, and glanced over to catch Tarnok's eye even as he looked towards the ground, noticing only then that something was very distinctly off about the way he had spoke. It wasn't like him, not at all. Leli decided to not call attention to it, not now. "What about you?" She asked instead, "What's been going on, since... y'know... Makuta and all that."
 
She smiled, mustering what positive feeling she could find within while in this dark place.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

It took a moment for him to answer because on the surface the answer was 'nothing', but a lot had happened during that nothing.

 

"Work has been slow." Tarnok started, picking his words carefully at first. He didn't usually say much. Figuring out how to compress, articulate, what he was feeling... Was difficult. He started to pick up steam as he went, less hesitant in his words but still much quieter than normal. And still the ground seemed to hold his utmost attention even when he saw Leli glance his way. "Adjusting to Heavy Division has been hard. I was used to working in a squadron, that restructuring threw me. They moved a lot of people away."

 

"Seventh hadn't been around well before that, but they scattered what was left. It's been... Difficult." He took a deep breath, finally glancing in her direction. "I was in the hospital, while Light was at the Darkwalk. Had to stop a bank robber. Would have been nothing, in Makuta's time. Wouldn't even have been worth remembering. But I ended up in the hospital because I didn't have anyone to back me up anymore. Gavarm is in charge of Heavy, now. I can't remember the last time we takjed. Aside from Uyism the rest are gone."

 

He paused again, searching for the words.

 

"I haven't really known what to do." The Onu-Matoran's voice softened again, a thumb absently brushing over the Seventh insignia still on his armor. "When I needed help, you came. I didn't expect to be facing down legions of Rahkshi but you were there anyway. We almost didn't win, but you were there. We won. I didn't expect you to stick around, I thought you'd go back to Le-Koro, but you chose to stay. Sulov came back, as a Toa of all things. It should have been great."

 

"I haven't heard from him. I don't think anyone on Seventh really has. And I've never really heard from you. I'm left wondering what changed, and how I missed it."

[sunflower]

IC: ​Leli

 

"Nothing changed," Leli insisted, but even before the words left her mouth she could tell how hollow they were. Everything had changed. All she had to do was look around, her black armor was testament to that, as much as she had attempted to convince herself otherwise. Tarnok was right.

She was gone.

 

Nothing was the same, she hadn't been there.

 

Leli looked away. The realization didn't hurt, not physically, but it still caused a dull ache that she couldn't explain, as if a weight had been set upon her chest.

 

The silence was deafening.

 

"You're right, I don't know."

 

"Tarnok..." she started, quietly, glancing up imploringly at him. Tarnok had opened up, he was always honest, but never so... exposed. And here she was, at a loss for words, unable to come up with even the smallest thing. He was right, they'd drifted apart. It was her fault, her fault for not noticing, her fault for being so self-absorbed. So selfish, even when Tarnok stopped everything to listen to her, help her through her own problems.

 

They all seemed so petty now, not worth the cost on the two of them.

 

Words still escaped her. Leli pushed herself up from the ground, before taking a step to embrace her friend, slipping between his arms.

 

"Tarnok... I'm sorry," her words a near-whisper as she rested her head on his chest. It sounded woefully inadequate.

 

"...Let's change things now, then."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

His embrace tightened a little, as Leli slipped between his arms. He didn't trust himself to speak. Not yet. So he stayed quiet for a few moments, listening to her speak and the faint sounds of the world around them that followed. Kini-Nui was always quiet, almost oppressively so, but in that moment it was deafening. But he had to find the words eventually, so he rested a hand on her head and thought. Waited for his voice to return. Even for someone as quiet at him being without a voice was unfamiliar.

 

"You're my best friend." Tarnok said simply, pausing a second to gather his thoughts. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I'll always be there for you. No matter what it takes, I'll be there when you need me. No questions asked. No matter what we're facing. I refuse to lose you, not again. All I ask..."

"I lost one friend to becoming a Toa. I don't know if he'll ever come back. I can't think of anyone who'll be a better Toa than you. But please don't forget who you are."

[sunflower]

IC:​ Leli

 

At this Leli smiled. "Come on Tarnok, who else​ could I ever be but me?"

 

After a moment, Leli seemed to become distinctly aware of her arms around Tarnok. She somewhat hurriedly released her friend, as a small part in the back of her mind realized that she was being rather... clingy.

 

"Besides, I'll just be taller than you for once!" She teased.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Something you'll take the time to rub in, I'm sure."

 

The remark came across a little dry, but a small smile played at the edges of the Onu-Matoran's lips. Tarnok squeezed her shoulder a moment before he let go, too, and surveyed their surroundings again. The terrain didn't seem any more hospitable. If anything, in the slowly dimming light it seemed even more hostile. But at least he didn't feel like he was alone in it anymore. Problems were much more surmountable now.

 

"I'm not sure who else you'd be, but I wouldn't want you to be." A pause, and he pushed himself to his feet again. "Alright. Let's start thinking about this. You used to patrol Le-Wahi, you know the terrain better than me. What's around the Kini-Nui?"

[sunflower]

IC:​ Leli

 

"Oh, y'know; the usual," Leli put a hand on her hips, the other motioning to the jungle around that was darkening at an unnerving pace, "Trees, some more trees, rahi, evil rahi, small evil rahi, big evil rahi."

 

"Also these giant mean metal monsters, they've got sticks that pointy on both ends, real scary stuff." It felt... somewhat reassuring to refer to them as such. That is, after the intial unbidden spike of panic that came with bringing them​ up. Not that it showed through her mock show of boredum. "I'm not really too keen on asking them for directions, if I'm gonna be honest here."

 

"...Although," Leli reached out, and padded one of the massive stone columns that circled the Kini-Nui, "This place isn't exactly all in one place, there's more to it than just the altar, if we wanna go looking."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"So, lots of things that want to kill us."

A short summary, but pretty accurate; even after Makuta's fall, there were a whole lot of things around the Kini-Nui that meant harm. More, if anything. The Rahkshi had largely retreated into the Darkwalks, and here at Kini-Nui you could descend all the way down into their domain. If you were feeling brave, and Tarnok wasn't eager to try his luck. If the Matoran had been on the up-and-up, he doubted what they were looking for was down there anyway. But checking the rest of the area was a good idea.

 

"You're right. We should look around at the stuff above-ground, but I'm not going down without backup." He nodded slightly, and rested a hand on the handle of a knife again. "See if we can find some idea of what we're looking for."

[sunflower]

IC:​ Leli

 

"Sounds like as a good place to start as any to me," Leli nodded in agreement, readying her staff with a slow twirl. The weight of the weapon in her hands did much to calm her nerves, or more specifically, provided something to distract her hands and her mind. A little piece of normalcy in a place that was definitely anything but.

 

"So, I'll head off to the East and you can start looking for something around the West-side," she offered, nonchalantly.

 

There was a heavy pause, before Leli peered over at her friend.

 

"...Kidding, kidding; I'm thinking that we're only allowed to get a bio away from each other walking around here. Should'a seen the look on your face though~."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Ha." The Onu-Matoran intoned humorlessly, though a faint smile sneaked out despite himself. "Perhaps when the wild Rahi come, I'll let them get you. We'll see if it's as funny then."

 

"Still," He continued more thoughtfully, pulling a knife from his belt and lipping it casually in his hand. The area wasn't too large. Between the both of them, they could probably search it fairly quickly. Enough, at least, to know whether or not there was anything to be found. Easy enough to determine if it was worth their time. "I think that will work. If you see anything, hostile or otherwise, shout. I don't want to be caught off guard."

[sunflower]

IC:​ Leli
 
For single, horrifying moment Leli had the gut-wrenching sensation that after all these years she had completely read Tarnok wrong, and that she had completely wiffed. That is, until she realized that he was being entirely serious about splitting up.
 
"Ha, very funny," she shot back, as tone flat as the Onu-matoran's own, "Me and my big mouth, huh?"
 
"Fiiiine," Leli relented with mock exasperation, "I'll come and rescue you if some Muaka sneaks up on you."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"If I've gotten used to you sneaking up on me, a Muaka has no chance." The Onu-Matoran deadpanned, walking to the edge of the area and beginning to methodically walk along it clockwise. If there was anything to find, one of them would before long. "I'd remind you to keep talking, just in case, but I'm not sure that's an issue Major."

[sunflower]

IC:​ 

 

"Very funny​," Leli repeated. She shot a glare to the back of Tarnok's head as he walked off. "You're lucky I like you so much!" She shouted after him, before turning on her heel towards the opposite end of the space mostly clear of the jungle. There wasn't much to see, lots of jungle that didn't quite remind her of Le-Koro, old stones overtaken by that jungle, the occasional sign of rahi having passed through the area. It didn't help that the long shadows caused by the receeding sunlight began to paint odd forms over the area.

 

"Tarnok," she said after a moment, her tone curious as a thought occured to her, "Who do you think made my uh, stone​."

 

She was, of course, refering to the faintly glowing indigo rock that was currently tightly bound up inside her pack. It was an honest question, as far as she knew, the power within it had to have originated from someone​. Just not a question she'd ever considered before.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Absolutely." 

 

The easy answer as they started towards opposite ends of the temple grounds belied the turmoil that still simmered below the surface. Immediate surroundings aside, though they didn't help, he still hadn't worked out everything he needed to say. He'd said some, and it helped. It relieved some of the weight on his chest. But there was still more. Best saved for less dangerous surroundings, probably. The dying light no longer cast the temple in sharp relief, rather it showed the world in muddied hues of gray. Not very conducive to locating much of anything, but even less conducive to spotting a threat. Even eyes adjusted, as his were, to the dark started to strain as the sun went down. 

 

Leli's question caught him a little off guard, so he spent a few extra moments searching while he pondered his answer.

 

"I'm not sure," He began, reaching the edge of his invisible tether to his partner and working to the side, rather than further out. "But I'm not sure it matters, either. You found it in the Darkwalk. It could have been made by a Toa captured by Makuta, who decided their last chance was to empower someone else to carry on the fight. It could have been made by one of Makuta's followers, as punishment for failure. It's impossible to know. But I don't think it matters much. As soon as the Stone was created, the power within ceased to be theirs. Even its future ceased to be their choice. It passed into the hands of fate. Whoever made it doesn't have any bearing on who inherits it, or how they use it."

 

"It becomes the prerogative of the inheritor. That power's yours, now."

[sunflower]

IC: 

 

"Right. All up to me now." Leli hoped that sounded more reassuring than she felt at the moment.

 

It was the logical conclusion, the right one. The whole idea of it all, the stone, what was going to happen, what it meant for her; it wasn't something that changed there here and now, right? It could be months, years, before... it... happened. There was no telling when destiny would choose to act, so no sense in worrying about what she couldn't change. Even so, the reason behind it didn't completely banish the unease from her mind, just simply not knowing where the potential power she had recieved had originated from working to take root in the back of her mind.

 

Leli focused on other, more immediate, concerns.

 

"I've got nothing over here," she called over to Tarnok, before taking a moment to glance up at the treeline, and the receeding light that accompanied it. "And I really don't fancy the idea of wandering around this place when I can't see my own hands."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Nothing over here yet, either." 

 

The Onu-Matoran blew a breath out through his teeth, pausing his in his route and scanning his surroundings. By all rights, there was no reason to keep searching. Especially not after dark. If Kini-Nui required caution in daylight hours, staying past sunset was inviting disaster. It would already take a little time to find their way back to the relative safety of Onu-Wahi's tunnels. The Matoran's claims were proving unfounded, and they hadn't been based on anything but a gut feeling before. Neither of them felt comfortable in this place. It was time to go back, and forget about that strange Matoran. 

 

But he couldn't quite shake the feeling that wasn't what he was supposed to do. 

 

Tarnok wasn't much of one for faith, he preferred things that were concrete. Things you could prove. Decisions based, at the very least, on things that were real. But the feeling wasn't one he could dismiss. Or he might just have hoped it was true. That there was a purpose in mind, something he was supposed to do. Something material that he could affect in some way, beyond his day to day existence. Risking both their lives on such a foolish notion wasn't just unwise, but selfish. He needed to acknowledge that, and decide when he was willing to give up.

 

"Let's give it a little longer." He said finally, turning and headed back towards where he had deposited most of his gear. "I've got lightstones in my pack. If we don't find anything in the next few minutes, we'll start back."

[sunflower]

IC:
 
"What if we waited until morning?" Leli suggested, the idea sounding not nearly as crazy as its implications. Namely camping out around one of the most evil-infested place on the island. Actually, it was the most evil-infested area on the island, bar none. Then again, they had been fine so far, right? It wasn't as if they weren't prepared either, both of them were experienced enough to have brought along the necessary supplies.  That, and if she was being honest with herself, Leli much preferred the idea of taking shelter underneath the creepy temple for the night as opposed to making the trip back to the Darkwalk in near total darkness. Not that she would have readily admitted how deeply terrified of this whole place she was, especially given present company.
 
"It'll be easier to search in the morning, and I don't see us making it back to the Darkwalk anytime soon," She reasoned, moving to join him at their packs.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Might be best," Tarnok admitted, pulling a lightstone out of his pack to illuminate their immediate surroundings. The new light did nothing to alleviate the shadows around them, permitting the shadows to play further tricks just outside its revealing circle. But it was much better than nothing. Camping out at the Kini-Nui wasn't his preferred option, but it was the most sensible. The Darkwalk would be even more treacherous at night, and at least at the temple they had an unobstructed line of sight. It was a more defensible position, should anything come to disturb them. By morning they could check their surroundings in daylight, and head back if they didn't find anything. "We can camp out here."

 

"I brought supplies for a simple shelter, should keep us from getting cold." He indicated his pack again, within which he knew a square of canvas was folded. Heavy Squadron might not exist anymore, but old habits died hard and he stuck to the tradition. "One of the stones should be adequate for the line to keep it up."

[Silvan Haven]

Monk Hormd- Kini Nui

 

IC: "I thought I heard voices." Came an aged voice from the far edge of the clearing. The Ko-Matoran who had spoken was obviously old, wizened features and careful movements told of the weight of everything he had been through. A shuttered lightstone lantern hung from the end of a tall staff in obvious preparation for the oncoming darkness. The man looked at the two newcomers to the temple and spoke again. "More pilgrims. Or perhaps you seek to gain riches through the hunting of Makuta's spawn?"

[Krayzikk]

IC:

Tarnok almost jumped out of his skin.

 

The hand that had been resting on a knife drew it immediately, pivoting so it was held ready to engage whatever threat emerged. The three pools of light illuminated each Matoran, ethereally perhaps but at least clearly. Once he had a look at the Ko-Matoran, the Ussalry member relaxed a little. He was still a little suspicious, but the other Matoran wasn't an immediate threat. The temple's environment was getting to him, making him over-cautious. Something to bear in mind. 

 

"Neither, per se." He answered, slowly sheathing the blade again. "Ussalmatoran Tarnok. Major Leli. We were... advised to pay the Kini-Nui a visit. You are?"