roadrunnermuses | the EMILY HAS CONQUERED NANO open post

Hippolyta leads them back through the corridors, wandering back the way they came when the doctor eventually speaks up, drawing to a stop next to her.

"We don't want to go this way."

Hippolyta turns on him with an aggravated look. "Do you have a better way out?"

There's a pause. "Well ... no."

"Then, pray tell, why should we not use the exit."

There's the sound of clanking metal in the distance, and he points to the sound of the approaching soldiers as Hippolyta swears.

"That would be why."

And this? This is why plans are good. Breathing out a sigh, presses her lips into a thin line and turns to the doctor. "Do you know how many there are?"

Because if there are a lot, that actually might work in their favor, assuming they have to fight through them. They might be able to choke them in the corridors so they can't all come at them at once or get behind them.

"Oh, probably quite a few. I'm very highly valued, you know. They don't want me going ... ow, ow ... ow - good Lord, is that absolutely necessary?"

He's referring to Hippolyta's fingers tightening against his arm.

And yes, she knows about the plan thing. I told you so can come after the mission is completed.

"What's our way out?"

"Alright, alright. This way." And with that, he'll lead the way down a side corridor.

She might take her up on the I told you so thing, later -- it's debatable and right now, they have more important things to worry about. That in mind, she moves to follow, taking up the rear again, half-turned so she can try and keep an eye both on their backs and on Hippolyta and the doctor, just so she doesn't end up crashing into them, if and when they stop again.

And for the record, she's really, really hoping the doctor doesn't lead them into a deathtrap. He did say there was no better way out, after all, and it's what she'd do, if someone tried kidnapping her and it happened to be an option.

He's not. He's too terrified of Hippolyta to screw her. He makes his way through the building before he reaches what looks like a storm cellar and pulls the doors open.

"This leads down into the abandoned mines under the hill. Hope you brought a flashlight."

"I can see in the dark." That's not entirely accurate. If it's pitch black down there, she won't be seeing much of anything -- if there's even the smallest bit of light, though, she'll be able to guide them as easily as if they did have torches.

Rather than make that distinction, however, and counting on her training to help her cope, even if she can't see -- she was trained to fight even when she couldn't see her opponent -- she takes a step forward, glancing at Hippolyta as she does. "I can take point."

Hippolyta doesn't even hesitate and nods, letting her take the lead. Even though she's a demigod, she doesn't have the best night vision, and it'd be better for someone who can see. She places the doctor between them.

"I'll cover the rear."

Tail twitching idly, vaguely, like an irritated cat, she nods and moves to descend into the passage. Her hands come up in front of her, at the ready, just in case something decides to jump out at them -- or in case she needs to feel her way around, once they get down there. She doesn't check to make sure they're following. She trusts Hippolyta will and that she'll coax the doctor into doing the same.

She does. The doctor follows down behind her, fumbling down the ladder before falling into step behind I'seth. He takes a few steps forward to stay close, peering over her shoulder as he speaks.

"So ... who sent you, exactly?"

"Someone with an interest." Probably Ares, considering current company. Rather than say that, though, she glances over at her shoulder at him. "Know anyone who might fit the bill?"

She's curious as to whether or not he has suspicions and why the Agents might be interested in the first place, since they weren't exactly forthcoming on that detail. If she keeps him talking, he might tell her, and the deeper they go, the less she has to worry about anyone using the conversation to track them, if only because things get a little reverberant in mines, abandoned or not.

"Oh, several someones, actually. I'm very highly regarded, you know."

Or she doesn't. Personally, he doesn't really care and is set to ramble at her some more. Hippolyta has mostly tuned him out on this point, but he'll happily tell I'seth about the very interesting work he's doing in combining magic and biochemistry.

I'seth really has no idea what a biochemistry is and she's not particularly impressed by his self-importance, but she listens to him ramble without stopping him, all the same. She likes stories, even if she recognizes that this isn't so much a story as it is a technical dissertation. She grew up with bards (kind of), and she in a relationship with one (kind of), so if nothing else, she's at least used to people talking more than she does and at greater lengths.

"The lomidel would have a field day with you," she mumbles, amused, into a break in his rambling. A pause follows, if only because he attentions are drawn sharply away from him, and she comes to a stop, holding up a hand. Not like they can probably see it, but. "The path splits. Which way?"

"Oh. Right." He pauses, glancing both ways for a moment, before pointing to the left. "To the left. That should do it."

Then he pauses.

"Who's the lomidel?"

"Who are," she corrects, starting them down the left-hand path. "The humans of my world more commonly call them the dark elves. When they first came to Odina, they decided to continue to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors rather than give it up and return to magic. They were exiled to the north by the edhel, their cousins, and they built a city of steam there, in the mountains."

A beat and then she adds, "They're engineers."

"They do sound like my kind of people. Quite fascinating. I should like to meet them provided this little venture doesn't take up too much time."

Hippolyta rolls her eyes. "I'm sure we'll be able to find the time." She doesn't know that. She just wants him to shut up.

I'seth severely doubts that -- and if they can find time, she'd like to know when and where and how, so that she can go, too. As much as she hasn't exactly hated her time in Teleios, she'd still like to go home. She has a war to get back to. For the fate of the free world and all that.

Rather than say that, though, and understanding that Hippolyta would rather they stopped talking, she shrugs, says nothing at all, and leads them further into the dark.

The doctor seems to sense that as well, as he keeps his mouth shut to boot. As they make their way further and further into the dark, eventually a shaft of light starts to make an appearance in the distance.

"Oh, thank the gods," Hippolyta mutters. "The darkness here is suffocating."

"If you think this is bad, you'd hate where I grew up," she shoots back, lowly, dimly amused. The breeding pits Yuan-Ti children are raised in aren't exactly homey; the Temples those from her caste usually service aren't much better.

Hippolyta shakes her head. "I've never done well underground. Too many enclosed spaces."

"I'm not a fan of the cold." Mostly because, well, she's cold-blooded. Her armor helps, enchanted to absorb heat from ambient sources and store it, so she's not completely useless during the winter or a trip to the Maw of Vinar and Naesira'tal beyond it, back home, but she's still not big on cold. "I guess we all have our quirks."

Hippolyta smirks at that, before nodding. "Suppose so."

As they reach the mouth of the cavern, Hippolyta steps quickly into the light, one arm coming up to shield her eyes as she adjusts, but being a demigod does have it's benefits. The glare clears quickly, and she points to the south with a nod.

"Our exit is not far from here. Quickly."

I'seth mirrors her, raising a hand to shield her eyes. Where Hippolyta only needs a moment, though, she needs a moment more than that -- she's not a demigod and her eyes are hardwired differently -- but eventually, she recovers, even if she's still squinting just the tiniest bit when she follows the other woman's nod.

And as she heads in that direction and to their doctor friend, she asks, "Did these soldiers know there was another way out of there?"

She's curious because she didn't hear them following them down into the tunnels. She doesn't want to find out later that they did, took an alternate route to where they are now, and are waiting for them out in the wilderness. She probably should have thought to ask that before they headed into the abandoned mines -- not that it would have changed her decision to head into them -- but they were a little short on time.

"Unlikely. And they certainly don't have the ability to see in the dark that you do. No it will probably take them quite some time to catch up with us."

So as far as he's concerned? They're in the clear.

Hippolyta takes a few steps out further, eyes sharp for any sign of trouble. "It doesn't seem like we were followed or tracked."

Nodding, I'seth lets out a cautiously relieved breath. "Good." A beat. "Let's keep moving, then."

Which they're already doing, but. No time to stop and chat, now.

They make their way over the hills until they come to a point where Hippolyta brings them to a stop. She pauses for a moment, before smiling.

"This should be it."

She pauses, holding up her hands for a moment, and then just like that, the edges of the world part and a portal back to Thebes opens in front of them. "And away we go."

the EMILY HAS CONQUERED NANO open post

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