[PQ+] shook up with sound

Left it is. The ice patch Loren makes does stem the flow of water into the boat, but already you can see that it will not prove a permanent fix. The water is warm - warmer than you might expect the ocean to be - and ice can only hold so long without his undivided concentration. Sunjata will find that the tunnel to the left is wide enough for him to squeeze through in his orca shift. He manages to narrowly avoid some of the sharper rocks on the bottom of the channel, and soon comes to a point where the water hits a rocky outcropping. It is too dark to see further without another source of light. Should Raza accompany Sunjata, she will see that the tunnel is indeed marked with the language of the smugglers, directing them to continue on. Above the well-worn, older carvings, a new set of symbols can be made out, though it is too dark to read them. From the boat, Melita will see the same symbols, though she will not be able to understand them. Sunjata attempts to navigate the tunnel and is successful Loren attempts to repair the boat and is somewhat successful. Boat health: 75% It will sink in two turns if not further repaired. Your randomly determined order is: Raza, Loren, Sunjata, Melita. Please summarize any action at the bottom of your post and include whether your character is going left, right, or straight. You have 48 hours to reply beware what waits beneath slumbering earth

raza

I remember seeing Loren use magic with the L’ma, but I can’t remember what kind, so the ice surprises me. Seems an odd fix, so I yell back to him “Can you magic up some pitch and something solid to put in the hole?” before kind of… easing myself/flopping into a straddle on his back, behind the fin. I just wish I had time to appreciate it more. But if he can get through the passage, I look back and wonder if we could also get the boat in, if we like, sit in it and guide it through, bracing against the walls with our hands? I don’t fucking know, but it seems important to keep the boat?

Luckily, the glyphs are the right ones… but there’s something else there. I need a light, but can’t take the lantern from the boat. Tapping lightly on Sunjata’s back to get his attention, I say to him, “This is the right way, but there's also something else written up there and I need a light. Don’t want to go forward until I see what it says.” On the off chance one of the other is Attuned and they can do the mind talkey-thing, maybe he can pass the message along.  
--------------

Raza suggests pitch and something else to patch the hold. She rides orca-jata and reads the glyphs she can see, then taps him and says she needs more light to see the newly added glyphs

LOREN

As Raza asked what Loren could do, he had to shake his head. "Sorry. Leather, meat, and ice is about all I can make that isn't destructive." That came out in a distracted tone, since he was focused on keeping his makeshift patch in place. Indeed, though he was aware of his surroundings, he was letting the others worry about navigating.

To help prevent the ice from melting, he cooled the water around them to make it hopefully stay in place longer. He also continued to try and steer the boat left. Hearing the faint call echo from Raza, he glanced around at their belongings. Strangely enough there was a dim glow from the sword Sunjata had dropped off. The healer pointed at it, hoping to draw it to Melita's attention. If there was a message from the other man, the Launceleyn would relay it to the redheaded woman.

---

Loren focuses on maintaining the ice patch and cooling the water around them. He also points out Flametongue to Melita. If Sunjata says something, Loren will tell Melita.

Loren is going left.

Water manipulation: Can create and control water. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

SUNJATA

the flood

i can't believe that you could just say
that "the answers unlock this gate"

It doesn’t take a second thought for him to pause as Raza settles along his back, holding onto his fin. Nor does it take him long to navigate to the glyphs Raza can see, lifting a small amount up to listen to her as she taps him and speaks. A thought crosses him, stilling at the next set of glyphs to refrain from moving to shout down the Attuned bond.

Loren, the sword I left with Melita has a light. Like a torch, can we get it over here somehow? In the meantime, he offers Raza a deep rebounding hum of a sound to ensure that he’s heard her, pausing before the rocky outcropping with the other glyphs.

---

Sunjata pauses at the second glyphs, tells Loren to have him or Melita grab Flametongue to bring over to give light to the area for the glyphs!

Type: Dark
Flametongue | Magic sword that sheds dim light like a torch and is warm to the touch; causes user to constantly have spice on the tongue as if they ate something fiery hot

'cause if you knew his name, not a thing would change
you'd still be wishing you were blessed

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Stuck, for a few moments, lost in the annals of darkness – translations back and forth between those Attuned – and for those intervals of seconds she felt rather useless. She didn’t know how to read the runes. She didn’t have magic to stuff earth or ice back into the hole in the boat. She couldn’t shift into a beast. But maybe she could lend herself, somehow, someway –

She’d thought about tossing the lantern, but there was no certainty that it wouldn’t fall into the water and they’d lose what little light they had. Loren, however, pointed out the sword, glowing amongst their pile of things. Quickly, she dove for it, removing it from its sheath, crimson gleam flickering within her eyes. “Here!” And she hurled it towards Raza and Sunjata, trusting the whale-form would be able to retrieve it if Raza couldn’t catch it.

--

Melita tossed Sunjata’s Flametongue sword towards Raza/Sunjata!

Type: Dark
Flametongue | Magic sword that sheds dim light like a torch and is warm to the touch; causes user to constantly have spice on the tongue as if they ate something fiery hot

to be the sun

MELITA

Loren is able to maintain his repairs, but the ice will not be a permanent fix. The boat's integrity is maintained for now, but it's obvious the chilly patch won't last forever. The waterway is only growing narrower and shallower the deeper into the cave Sunjata goes, and by the time he reaches the outcropping it is nearly impossible for him to avoid the jagged rocks that line the tunnel. His right pectoral fin catches on a stone, leading to mild abrasions. Raza's call for light is heeded by Melita, though perhaps she ought to have been more specific when dealing with the firebrand girl. Luckily you roll really well the women are able to coordinate the exchange spectacularly, and Flametongue flies gracefully through the air, missing Raza and landing on the outcropping of stone. The light is enough that you can now see the glyphs on the wall. Frantic and written in a dark material, they repeat the same thing over and over again: it's awake it's awake it's awake itsawake itsawakeitsawakeitsawa Beneath the trailed off writing, a dark lump is pressed against the wall. As far as you can tell there is no exit beyond it. Sunjata attempts to navigate the tunnel and is somewhat unsucessful Loren attempts to repair the boat and is somewhat successful. Boat health: 75% It will sink in two turns if not further repaired. HP: Melita: 125/125 Loren: 208/208 Raza: 45/45 Sunjata: 122/132 Your randomly determined order is: Raza, Loren, Sunjata, Melita. Please summarize any action at the bottom of your post and include whether your character is going left, right, or straight. You have 48 hours to reply beware what waits beneath slumbering earth

raza

We’re really fucking lucky with that sword toss - Melita must have stellar aim. I give her a thumbs up, hoping she can see it, and go to read the writing. But when I get there, my heart starts to pound in my chest - nothing like that has appeared in the Fingers before and I fall silent, running through the list of creatures in my head. First I think it might be the L’ma - but no, we’d saved it earlier. And it wasn’t threatening. Could it be - ? Can it survive out of the deep?

If it is the great sea monster from the bottom of the Maw, we’re all totally fucked. Or maybe it has something to do with fire and it lived in the volcano? Either way, I’m very unsettled. I slide over to retrieve the glowing sword, oblivious to Sunjata’s injury (sorry dude) and say aloud, “It’s a warning that something has woken up. I've never seen it before and I’m not sure we should go any further... Can you get back out or do you need uh - help?” If Sunjata seems to need help. I try and use the sword as light to guide him backwards, away from the rocks. By the light of the sword I also try to turn and try to signal silently to Melita and Loren that we shouldn’t go this way.

If something is awake, do I really want to be yelling? Not so much. I’ll explain once we get back to the boat.
------------

Raza reads the writing and relays the warning and dead end to Sunjata, offers to help back him out if he needs it. Tries to signal to Melita and Loren that the left hand tunnel ain’t the way to go anymore.

LOREN

Loren eyes widened as Melita straight up threw the sword. However, it all seemed to turn out well, at least from what he could see. The boat was still damaged, unfortunately. So he continued focusing on the ice patch holding out the water. His magic continued to flow out of him, doing what he could to hold off the water and keep the ice in place.

If he was able to see Raza's hand signals, he'd try to get the boat out of the tunel using a combination of his water magic and an oar. Similarly, if Sunjata communicates with him, the healer would do the same.

---

Loren continues to hold the ice patch together using his water magic. If he can see the signals from Raza, or Sunjata communicates, Loren will try to get the boat out of the tunnel using his magic and an oar.

Water manipulation: Can create and control water. Must be within a 30ft radius.

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

SUNJATA

the flood

i can't believe that you could just say
that "the answers unlock this gate"

A quiet whine slips from his body as he feels the rocks brush up against his stomach, leaving small markings in their wake — that annoying feeling of being grated — before the sword flies over their heads and he stills, waiting for Raza’s word. The sentence isn’t promising, but Sunjata hums to her in understanding. We’re turning around! He shouts to the bond, hoping Loren can hear it.

And then he takes the painstaking moment to wiggle beneath Raza, trying to stay light enough to slink back and turn around to face the boat again and choose a new direction, hoping he doesn’t slice up more of himself than necessary. At least Loren’s on the boat and might feel willing to help out if he does.

---

Sunjata tries to back out of the tunnel with Raza and the sword, back toward the boat to choose a new direction!

'cause if you knew his name, not a thing would change
you'd still be wishing you were blessed

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

The unknown hovered and harpooned around them. The honeybee youth watched, as the sword made it, as the words were read, as the news was spread that something had been woken up. Based on their prior predicaments with monsters, mayhem, and anything else lurking around corners, within fathoms, they likely didn’t want to tangle with it. While they had weapons, she wasn’t certain the boat would be able to hold up, and getting immersed into something deadly or detrimental this early on would simply spell one more angle of disaster. “Okay, let’s go back,” was a quiet association, a level of disappointment. A brief sigh flickered and flooded, but then she marshalled on, head held high all the more. There were other routes to travel, and they hadn’t been fortunate enough to find the answer initially – that wasn’t how this world had ever worked.

She went to grab an oar, presuming Sunjata and Raza would be following them, intending to help Loren guide the vessel backwards, from whence they’d come. “We still need to figure out how to repair this thing,” she murmured and whispered, as if not to disturb the rest of the tunnels, furrowing her brow, thinking, thinking, thinking as they strived to hasten along.

--

Melita grabs an oar and tries to help Loren back out of the tunnel to go find a new direction.

to be the sun

MELITA

Back out the tunnel you go. First the boat, already battered and bruised from its earlier misadventure but still somehow kept afloat. Melita and Loren are able to navigate their way out with surprising ease, only scraping lightly on the walls until they've successfully retreated to the original branching pathway. Luck continues to be on your side as Sunjata and Raza follow along. Good thing orcas are nimble swimmers, capable of swimming backwards according to google. Soon enough the quartet is again in the branching pathways, with four options of which way to go: the way they were, the shallow path, the dry path, or back to the exit. hr] Sunjata attempts to navigate the out of tunnel and is successful Melita and Loren attempt to get the boat out of the tunnel and are successful. Loren attempts to repair the boat and is unsuccessful. Boat health: 50%. It will sink in the next turn if not further repaired. HP: Melita: 125/125 Loren: 208/208 Raza: 45/45 Sunjata: 122/132 Your randomly determined order is: Raza, Loren, Sunjata, Melita. Please summarize any action at the bottom of your post. You have 48 hours to reply beware what waits beneath slumbering earth

raza

Now that we’re all back at the boat, I look at it with a critical eye - though Loren has valiantly kept it afloat, it’s clear ice just isn’t going to work. All of a sudden an idea comes to me. “What if we flip it? Might be enough room t’ give it an air pocket ‘n keep it afloat. Then we could tow it into wherever we try next.” Gesturing to the tunnels, I continue. “They both look more shallow ‘n this one. It could be safe until we get back.” Assuming we make it back. As long as Sunjata doesn’t get stuck in Orca form and beach himself, we should be able to tug it up and tie it somewhere. Looking down at Sunjata I pat him fondly (yes, it’s weird and I know it’s weird as soon as I do it) and ask, “I’m not sure what’s the best way. One of us might need to get wet. Can you hold all three of us or nah?”

Regardless of who opts to join me on Sunjata’s back, I reach out for the items we’ve all brought - the lantern, the weapons, the bags, hoping that the others can help figure out the rest. As for which tunnel - I leave it up to them, my choice ended up being a dud.

------------

Raza suggests tipping the boat to keep it from sinking. If the others agree, she keeps her position behind Sunjata’s fin and takes the items they’ve brought with them.

Raza abstains from choosing a tunnel again.

LOREN

As Raza suggested flipping the boat, Loren nodded in approval. "That's a good idea, but let me try something first." With that being said, his brow furrowed in concentration. A length of leather cord appeared in his hands. Taking it, he also picked up the oars. To the best of his ability, he tried to lash the oars to the side of the boat to cover the hole. It wasn't something he had any particular experience in, but hopefully his patchwork job would actually work this time.

Glancing at the other two tunnels, he frowned a bit. "I vote for the dry one. Straight ahead." However, he'd defer to the others' judgment if they had a better idea.

---

Loren makes some leather cord using summoning and creation magic. He used it to try and lash the oars to the side of the boat to cover the hole. He also votes to go straight ahead, into the dry tunnel.

Base Summoning : Can summon 1 large or 2 medium or 3 small animals or 3-types of mythical creatures of any size
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered

Base Creation: Can create medium to large non-magical items (up to 3 in a thread). Small items last roughly a week or so and medium-large items disappear at the end of the thread, and are adequately made. Must be combined with a base (or higher) magical element.
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

SUNJATA

the flood

i can't believe that you could just say
that "the answers unlock this gate"

Silently he thanks Safrin for the ability to fucking get out of the cave, using what momentum he can get to get him and Raza backwards back toward the boat, shifting to turn and take the lead of the slightly sinking boat. He can vaguely hear Raza’s instructions on the boat, paying closer attention when she pats him – thinking nothing really of it, because at this point he certainly is an animal and just that – the instincts of that overriding.

So he speaks to Loren, because that’s the only way he truly can respond to Raza with the inquiry she gives. Tell her that at most I think I could fit her and Melita. You might have to swim as a goose or fly above though. There’s a hint of humor in that before bobbing his large head to the dry tunnel straight ahead. And he begins to head that way, prepared to get far enough to where Raza might be able to dismount on dryer land before he shifts to his regular human form.

---

Sunjata tells Loren to tell Raza that he could probably only fit Melita and Raza on his back if they need to. He also agrees with the tunnel straight ahead!

'cause if you knew his name, not a thing would change
you'd still be wishing you were blessed