[PQ] with our backs against the wall

Я

"I am not sure how long it will take me. If I am seen or things look suspicious I may have to detour. But...if our tunnel is in the right place, Jigano should be able to hear me even un-shifted." Then pausing, his blind gaze moving to the bard, he added, "If that is alright with you."  Tapping would help them with precision, but Jigano's mental voice would be better guide for Remi to find the actual location of the hole.

////

And so, when not in a KQ it would seem, Deimos' luck was remarkably high. The streets were fairly empty as was the prison. A boyish smile was all it took for Remi to get past the only guard at the entrance of the prison, and soon he was inside. Jigano? Remi called out, his mental voice a whisper, which was of course absurd. With his head cocked to the side, Remi wandered slowly through the prison trying his best to look as though he was simply inspecting chains and locks as he went.

"Yes, it is." Jigano smiled, giving a deep nod of gratitude at the question, and the courtesy inherent in it. "I haven't gotten used to thinking of using the Attuned link first, but you're right that it will serve us better in this situation." It was still a little uncanny, seeing the blindness in Remi's eyes, especially when he was able to see something of the world. Enough to sometimes forget that he was blind.

///

Jigano waited with Deimos, quietly considering the tunnel above them and the direction they might end up going. He conserved his energy until he heard Remi's call, and then he perked up, nodding to the big warrior as he tilted his head up, tracing the direction of Remi's mental 'voice.' I'm here, he called back. Do you see a likely place for us to come up?

D e i m o s

Send a heartbeat to the void that cries through you
Relive the pictures that have come to pass

While they waited, while they lingered, while Remi went through his orchestrations (with great, grand luck, something he wasn’t normally privy to), Deimos’ mind wandered, filling in the silence. “You communicate telepathically.” It wasn’t so much a question, as a statement, an insight into the way Attuneds worked with one another. It made sense, in a way, animals capable of melding and molding into one another’s membranes; sharing information when they couldn’t discuss anything with their own tongues; not human, not designed or applied for languages. “Is it similar to companion links?” In that he could hear Zuriel’s thoughts, in how they transferred from one being to another. Abandoneds didn’t have the same capabilities – they had to exchange looks and words, phrases and syllables, but since their magic didn’t impede their speech patterns, they likely wouldn’t require it. The notion was still quite a feat, however, and he would’ve been glad to have had it back in the Basin, across mountaintops, coding secrets and subterfuge between allies and comrades. But then Jigano nodded, and the monolith carved his way back into silence, creating a dart-like contraption in his palm, awaiting the proper signal and location, then he could place it in the loam as a direct marker. -- Remi first! For now we stand alone, the world is lost and blown And we are flesh and blood disintegrate with no more to hate

Я

It was really rather difficult to try and follow a mental voice. After all, it was sort of there. There was a difference in volume, but not in direction. Much as Remi tried to tilt his head this way and that, Jigano's voice always seemed to emanate from the same place. Right now I am in the hall. There are cells on either side and the doors to Edrei and Zariah's offices at the other end. If we come up in the hall, we would have access to all the cells, but our tunnel might be more easily discovered. If we are in a cell...well. I suppose offering freedom to whomever is in it would be an easy enough thing to buy their silence.

So saying (or thinking), Remi tapped gently but consistently against the floor as if merely thinking to himself, but giving the Sage and Sword below a way to properly home in on his location.

He hadn't expected small-talk from their tunneling host, but Jigano was always game for a conversation. He nodded, a wry smile kicking up the corners of his mouth. "Yes. I'm getting better at it, I suppose. Or at least, used to it. It makes sense when we're in an animal form but it's still... unsettling, having someone else's voice inside your head." Especially when most mental contact he had endured on his world had been hostile rather then something that happened between friends. "Luckily it's not as deep as the companion bond. But emotions slip through, sometimes, as well as words."

When Remi reached out Jigano went quiet for a moment, then passed on what he was told. "Remi is above us, or at least near us now, in the prison hall. The Launceleyn offices are at one end of the hall, and he's worried that the tunnel might be more easily discovered if we put it there. He's suggesting a cell would be safer, though we'd have to let out anyone being kept in it to keep them silent about our little escape route." He tilted his head to the side, frowning slightly as something other than mental contact made itself heard in the earthen tunnel where they waited. He glanced to Deimos then grimaced slightly and ducked his head uncomfortably as he shifted his ears to a fox's furred shape to better pinpoint the tapping above.

"There," he said softly, pointing towards the source of the sound - louder than a mouse pattering beneath snow, though muffled by the denser earth. I hear you, he called back to the alchemist. Is that the place we should dig up to?

D e i m o s

Send a heartbeat to the void that cries through you
Relive the pictures that have come to pass

Unsettling, having someone else’s voice inside your head; he mulled and thought it over, a musing sense of speculation while they stilled. The companion linking alone had thrown him, mostly because he’s only ever had his own munitions and inquiries to himself – not known to any other being unless he voiced it (infrequent as it was). But not as deep? Not as intricate? Not as integral? So there must have been some modicum of control within the bonds; perhaps levels of composure and precision. He shrugged, nodding his head in acknowledgment, leaving any other queries for a later time. His eyes riveted back to the bard though, as he passed on Remi’s reverberations. They certainly didn’t want the hole near Zariah’s quarters, discerned, and likely destroyed, along with anyone associated with it quickly locked, chained, or executed. A cell was something they could work with, even if it meant strangers may find their operation – a risk they’d have to take. There could always be ultimatums and oaths issued to those unaware or ignorant of their rebellion. He nodded. “Go ahead,” the order issued, the wait returning – eyes flickering up to the rooted source as Jigano pointed, tiny dart at the ready to mark their spot. -- Remi first again! For now we stand alone, the world is lost and blown And we are flesh and blood disintegrate with no more to hate

Я

Mmmmm Remi hummed softly, nodding his head though the bard wouldn't be able to see the gesture. If we are choosing the cell, then yes. The alchemist thought back, before turning around to ensure that the solitary guard hadn't decided to wander in and see what the alchemist was up to.

It is clear up here. When you are ready. He added, before kneeling down. His magic wasn't as effective on created matter such as this. He could transmute it, but wooden flooring into some other sort of flooring wasn't what they were after. Instead, he simply created a small axe to softly hack away from the top.

We'll start digging, he returned silently, though he spoke aloud for Deimos's benefit. "That's the spot. We'll head up - there." Fox ears twitched as gentle tapping soon turned to the soft thud of metal on wood, and he hefted his shovel, going to work - though cautiously, pausing as often as Deimos instructed to help shore up the diagonal tunnel they were unearthing. The sounds from above served as a guide as he continued to shift the dirt, spreading it back and to the sides, making their tunnel a little smaller temporarily with the reassurance that once it was complete they could fully remove the excess earth to the garden.

For now, however, with the goal in sight the lorekeeper was more focused on making as much progress as possible while Remi indicated the coast was clear. There was no telling when they'd have such a chance again, and speed was essential to taking advantage of their plan.

Only, not so much speed that they became overconfident again and risked a collapse when they were so close he could almost taste the air above.

D e i m o s

Send a heartbeat to the void that cries through you
Relive the pictures that have come to pass

The Reaper listened, then nodded his assent, marking the spot Jigano indicated with his dart, bright crimson so they didn’t lose their way in amongst the shoveling and digging. He raised his shovel and continued on the same trend as the bard, meticulous, slow, despite the increased intervals that they were close; one incorrect maneuver or motion and they could be starting all over again. As the hole became larger, enough for bodies to mold their way through, hopefully unseen, undetected, the beast created more supports along the sides, intending for them to hold the earth apart and together, not faltering, not crumbling. Then, if, when, they managed to extricate the loam, his palms glowed once more, creating a cover as he’d intended earlier, striving to match the surface of the prison on the top, blending hues to mask the charade, the pretenses, for as long as possible, undisturbed by guards. The bottom was almost a translucent surface, in case those below needed to glance up, to see if there was something, someone, hovering above. -- Done? Please be done. XDDD For now we stand alone, the world is lost and blown And we are flesh and blood disintegrate with no more to hate

Congratulations! A stable tunnel and secret entrance into one of the jail cells has been created between Ironbolt Penitentiary and the Bakery basement!