oncertainty

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave Escus laughed then, erupting like water after a thrown stone. It tumbled from him like it would never end. All at once it ceased. His face fell back to a languid mask, disrupted only by mumbling movements of his lips. "True enough, that. What we do matters. On the way to where we're all going. Somehow it matters, to someone, somewhere. It matters. But where are we going? To whatever's going on in Ferrum. See what matters there, we will. See what matter's there. What's matter now, and wasn't before, I'm thinking." His own joke doesn't seem to strike him funny. If it does, he makes no move to show it. His water is now stilled. His speech is stilted. "I'm sorry. Gayle, was it? I hope you're right. I hope we make it count," Escus said. "But I think I've been not making it count longer than most. And this doesn't look like a different trajectory to me. Everyone else here is deluded, or defeatist. Nobody thinks anything good is waiting for us. Maybe you're right, maybe we make things matter. But I see the way the currrent is flowing. I'll pick defeat before delusion." He sighed one last time. He rose like from hibernation, loping past Gayle and out beyond the cave's edge. He stands there, silent, monumental, running down the time. All the rest is silence.

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua felt a certain kinship with the Agori, no small surprise for her. They were both trapped doing something they didn't care about, without the denarii to do what mattered. A cruelty of the wasteland: it brought them to this. "Blew away on the breeze... you do sound like an actor," she said. "Don't give up on it. And no, I think I'll be alright. I'd better collect my, uh, friend so we can hightail it out of here. Tajun awaits. Stay out of the sun, hm?" With a lazy wave goodbye, she stepped back out towards the field. "Lutenus, shall we? The caravans won't be waiting so much longer, I think." OOC: @Techn0geist @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero "That's sweet," Lorqua said. Her tone was unvarnished, the first time Mard had heard such from her. Maybe she stayed in that authenticity for another beat, flashing in return a smile that wasn't a grin. "I'll give you that I'm no dancer, so it could be that I don't know. I think I still see it your way; I wish people would take an interest in something that isn't happening on a tournament field. There's a lot knocking around in this world that I'd rather be spending my time on. But you're right—the arena's where the denarii are, and I know I'm not going to change that." She shrugged, taking a slow breath. "Of course, maybe I'm not enough of a theatre fan to totally get where you're coming from... Thinking back, I don't know that I've seen much theatre aside from Tajun street-farces, and those go a good deal lower than even my brows. But now I'm curious: where were you playing?" OOC: @Techn0geist, posts for other characters coming soon

IC: Aeragot - Ga-Koro, Tea House One thing that had long proved useful to Aeragot, in work and other pursuits, was a carefully cultivated memory. It was a skill, however much people didn't act like it. And a skill that every good prospector practiced. No matter how good your maps were, there would come a moment when you needed to know what you hadn't written down. But when utility had come and gone, his memory still offered up things uncalled-for. He would remember what it was like being a Matoran for the rest of his days. A Toa still remained something of a surprise, though Aeragot had been one himself for long enough now. When another Toa entered the dimly-lit tea house, it was Aeragot who couldn't help but stare. A Ga-Toa maybe, though something told him he couldn't be sure. Wiry, taller than him. She looked like she had seen some action. Still, maybe this was what he was looking for. A Toa always had a story. At least one. And that was something Aeragot could never resist. Holding his gaze, he raised up his own cup as if to toast. Forward, maybe. But that's how you found things out. OOC: @Geardirector

IC: Aeragot - Ga-Koro, Koro Outskirts A second day in his less than favourite of the Koro had driven Aeragot out of a typically-verdant rooming house and towards solid ground. Of course, without leaving the Koro gates he couldn't quite reach it. Ga-Koro remained the floating city, its pride and its strength. Forget about Aeragot's stomach. "Good morning!" a Ga-Matoran merchant called as Aeragot passed a stall. They had to be hawking wares, so Aeragot dismissed them with a wave on the way by. He said nothing. Misanthropic of him, he reflected once he had some distance. Even when he passed a few Dasaka, talking in low voices among themselves, Aeragot didn't respond in kind to their watchful gazes. His eyes were glazed. He felt like something had been lost. He had enough self-possession to know what was going on: Aeragot was bored. Yesterday had been exciting, and the point of comparison was making today even worse. He needed something to figure out, to pursue, to unravel. He wanted a mystery. The first solved mystery of the day came quickly, albeit with little satisfaction. Having wandered down an alley, he followed a flight of unmarked stairs up to the second story of one of the Koro's great grown huts. He skulked through the door at the summit without even an "Ah-hah!" He had, as it turned out, discovered the mystery of the oddly-laid-out-tea-house. He entered through the back door, passing a kitchen and a stare from another Ga-Matoran, to emerge into the hut's central room. Kneeling at a low bench, as if he had intended to all along, he signalled to the proprietor for a drink. This was something. Very little was hidden here, but it was something. There was time enough to decide on next steps.

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave Escus fixed Gayle with a languid gaze, his eyes a pair of deep pools. He stared for a long moment. She was still an Agori, but she had seen the desert's true face. More than most Glatorian had seen. "You come by those scars honestly, then, I take it. No deathwish, but you know more about death than most, hmm?" At that, Escus chuckles. "Dark remarks. We'll give the others nightmares if we're not careful. Hard to see any other way this could go, though. Hard to see anything at all." OOC: @Nato G

@That Matoran with a Vahi Sorry for the stall! I wanted to make sure we could actually meet with Nuparu before things got moving again, should have been clear about that.

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave On that, they agreed. Nothing good awaited them at the other end of the canyon. Escus nodded his assent, his face fixed in a placid mask. He sighed. "Bodies and bones... If we're lucky that's all we'll find. I'm not afraid of the dead." His voice was low, some ambiguous mix of sleep and caution in his tone. "You make it sound so... clinical. Have you ever even seen something like that before?" OOC: @Nato G

IC: Escus - Second Watch, in the Cave "Hmm. Our turn. See anything yet?" Escus rumbled, his eyes still closed. He rose in a single languid motion, albeit not without a certain grace, and drifted to the mouth of the cave to take his place beside Gayle. He stumbled down to one knee, and blinked in the light. He sighed, blinked again. He looked Gayle up and down. Then he spoke, almost as an afterthought, words burbling from his mouth. "I won't insult you by saying anything we both know. Not here to repeat myself. I’m not the one in charge, anyway. So we'll talk about something else. What do you think we're going to find, at the end of this? OOC: @Nato G IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua was content to let Lutenus follow his line of questioning. She could just keep listening, and find out what she wanted to know. Besides, these Agori were fun. It wasn't every day somebody treated her like a big shot. In fact, most of her time was spent with caravan masters who liked haggling too much to ever pay her the original fee. Maybe Lutenus was on to something with this tournament business. It came with some respect. "Something like that, yeah. I mostly do caravan work. The least illegal thing to do, if you're a Glatorian who doesn't care for the arena. Sorry, don't mean anything by that, it's just... not to my taste. How did you two end up doing this, anyway?" OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Escus - The Cave, the Valley of Death "Hrm," Escus grunted, and set down the axe in the sand. It was only a moment before he lowered himself to the ground as well. "I'll take the next watch, then. The second. The one where I get to sleep before and after." He chuckled, a hollow and humourless sound. He laid in repose, propped against the cave wall. With one hand he shifted his helmet forewards, covering his eyes. Even in the darkness of the cave, he needed more to have a chance at sleep. The heat troubled him. OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua couldn't help but smile. She turned away from the others, Lutenus and the Agori both, and looked towards the horizon. She shouldn't have doubted the Glatorian, nor that whirring sparking thing he had grafted into his head. Not for a second. Lutenus was sharp, at least. "Lutenus here knows a lot of people," she says, nodding, her back still turned. "Lot of friends, more acquaintances. In fact, that's the only reason I'm doing this tournament business at all. Not usually my scene. If you want to bet on me, well, thank him." OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Escus - Mouth of the Cave, the Valley of Death Escus knelt at the cave's mouth as Selamat called back to the others. He stared, unblinking, into its depths. On the one hand, he was letting his eyes adjust to the stark difference in light. On the other, there was a certain fervor in the gesture. It looked almost devotional. At once, he rose again. A thoughtful hrm emerged from the back of his throat. "Hasty, perhaps even dangerously hasty... But I concur," he said, gesturing with the head of his axe toward the mass of resting bats. He let the words hang in the air for a few seconds. "They wouldn't be sleeping in the same cave as something that would, well... eat them. Not much that wouldn't eat them that would trouble us. Unless it's something... strange. That is all to say, clear enough." He took another step forward, past the young Glatorian. One eye shut, his head inclined to one side, Escus continued to stare into the cave. OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero A skeptical look worn openly on her face, Lorqua followed Lutenus' lead in collecting up the Javelins—scattered around the arena as they were—and returning them to Mard and Ahmoa. As the adrenaline of the fight left her, Lorqua's other concerns came to the fore. If they wanted to know more about what was going on with that Ferrumite Glatorian who had stumbled into the bar, it seemed like these two were the ones to ask. Lutenus couldn't be planning to just walk right out of here, without taking such a beautiful opportunity, could he? Even if he was, Lorqua would dare anything. She couldn't resist some probing. "You two gentlemen must be going Grand-Tournament-way eventually, yeah? Hard to imagine a pair of trainers like yourselves wouldn't be tournament fans on top of that." OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Markets, the Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall's glance follows the others', the instincts of a unit—or a herd—easily taking over. The sight of the once-Skrall makes his teeth clench. He's never seen one from this close. To know that any one of them could be so reduced is troubling. His nostrils flare. The air of the marketplace at once seems sickly. A miasma. "If they see that more than they see us," he says, speaking quietly. "It would give anyone strange ideas. But out here... what do we do?" It seemed as important a question as any; being observed by what-was-once-Skrall, and observing in turn. Were Skrall simply to turn away? Skrall was asking for the purposes of unit cohesion, of course, but also because he had absolutely no idea. OOC: @a goose @Mel @Vezok's Friend @Burnmad @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua opened her mouth to answer Lutenus, then flicked her eyes over to Mard as he asked after their destination. "Tajun, of course," she says. The words came out quickly. Almost automatic, her thoughts already elsewhere. Followed quickly by her eyes, which give Lutenus a pointed look. She still remember why they were here. Lorqua wouldn't let standing on ceremony keep her from what she wanted to know. She didn't have any animus for the Agori, but she had to know. "Tajun is where every Glatorian as upstanding as Lutenus is going, I'm told. And rather a few not so upstanding, like yours truly. Lutenus, is that the plan?" OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Markets, the Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall had been listening idly to his fellows. He strayed, but not far. The Bone Hunters' stalls were not entirely different from the casemates of supplies in Roxtus, but the shopkeepers kept catching his gaze. Renegades, the most of them, although the occasional genuine southerner in their unbelievably garish armour passed under his moving eye. Other than their eyes, however, his surroundings were a blur. He kept meeting their eyes. They stared out towards him. Some curiously neutral and dead, like a beast of burden, meeting his own gaze but not following it. Others looked hungry, leering towards him, gesturing to their wares. He—briefly—flattered himself that only the former knew what he was. But, they all did. They could all see that, Skrall or not, he was very far from what he knew. With a shudder, Skrall rejoins his fellows. "The way this market operates, looks like all they see is value. Value that can be... exchanged. But, it seems they know us at least as well as we know them. Enough reason for us to move cautiously. For now." OOC: @a goose@BULiK@Nato G@Burnmad@Mel@Toru Nui@Vezok's Friend IC: Escus - The Valley of Death "Good eye..." Escus intones, his gaze following Selamat's point towards the mouth of the cave. One hand shadowed his eyeline, the Water Glatorian's eyes less well-used to the high sun than most. He felt a bead of sweat on the corner of his mouth, and pursed his lips to stop the moisture from escaping. He hefts the axe in both hands. "Ensure it's not already occupied, hmm? Well. If it helps, I volunteer. These eyes are used to the shade." It's bravado, of course. But Escus' tone is sober. He sounds resigned. OOC: @a goose @Nato G @Burnmad @Toru Nui @~Xemnas~

IC: Escus - Iron Canyon "Tch." Escus turned, perhaps too fast, at Selamat's words. It was a smart move, of course. Evidently the Fire Glatorian knew what he was doing. Escus wasn't going to contest that. Still, there was something about taking point, wasn't there? He could see it in the others' eyes. There had been a brief, spontaneous kind of struggle, and Escus had lost. But there was something that wasn't lost on him: the Vulcanites outnumbered the rest of them. Tueris was going to side with his compatriot, if it came down to it. Escus would not be self-deluded about that. So he smiled a grin that didn't spread beyond his mouth, and joined the others behind Selamat. "As you will, then." OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @Toru Nui @~Xemnas~ IC: Skrall - Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall didn't envy Skrall his task. Well, maybe that was a bit of a lie. Maybe there was a little bit of envy. But for the most part, he would take the freedom over the honoured place. And besides: this far outside of Roxtus, who wanted to do what Atakus told them? Not that Skrall held anything personally against the Agori. As far as Skrall could tell his reputation as a competent, if severe, administrator had some grounds. The Empire's tendency to a certain self-deception about the chain of command did not hold in all cases. Just this: he wanted to see the South. Here was their first taste. Here was life without structure, here was unfettered commerce. Skrall intended to see it for himself, and as quickly as possible. "This one is bound for the marketplace as well," he said, adopting the traditional tone of deference. Force of habit, perhaps. OOC: @BULiK @Vezok's Friend @Toru Nui @Burnmad @Nato G

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua's face fell back to a neutral expression. She eyed Lutenus warily, but said nothing at first, turning back to Mard and Ahmoa. She gave a half bow—without the energy a cheering crowd would expect, but there was only so much she could do—and spoke, "Thank you, gentlemen." She returned to Lutenus. "I don't mean anything by it, but I have a feeling you wouldn't normally call it after the first legal hit," her brow furrowed, eyes narrowed. "I have a feeling you're giving me this one to get me committed. Alright. I'll take it. Grand Tournament, here we come." She grins, offering Lutenus her hand. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Escus - Iron Canyon Escus, raised in the shade, felt a certain familiarity in the canyon's long shadows. He loped away from the platform, planted the haft of his axe in the ground, and settled to one knee. Raising a handful of sand, he clenched his fist and felt the grains flow through his fingers. Same as anywhere else. Taking up the the axe again, he turned back to the party, inclining his head to one side. "Shall we?" he asked, rhetorically of course, for their course was long past set now. Without waiting for a response, he set off into the canyon, hunched, hugging the wall. OOC: @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~ @a goose @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua is not cruel, as a rule. She likes to win. She likes the profits of victory. She just has no time for causing suffering, and rubbing it in. Even so, she can't help but smile when her strike hits home. If, after Lutenus' cry of pain, it makes her look like a barbarian. She begins to press the assault, before hesitating. There's supposed to be a procedure to these things, isn't there? Arena combat strikes again. Lorqua levels her javelin at Lutenus as he stumbles back. "Do you yield?" OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist