One Giant Leap For Myrken

Postby Glenn » Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:28 am

"Sheer force of will can accomplish amazing things. If you find yourself able to lift up the object with YOUR sheer force of will while down there, yes, then you can have a full pardon." See? the government man was nothing if not fair and allowed all sorts of opportunities.

After that, Burnie would stand back, frowning slightly. For the better part of a year, longer, he showed little true emotion to anything. Perhaps in his voice, but never on his face. Now, though, watching the two link, if Tennant allows it, there's a sign of it. His connection to Rhaena was so special that he was loathe to see anyone else even taste a hint of it. Still, he was about to plunge this man helplessly into the depths of the lake in a potentially deadly glass contraption. That did make things feel a little better.
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Postby Tolleson » Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:01 pm

On the contrary, he didn't mind her at all. The shifting color was a little odd, but he would even free a hand from the orb and raise it to her, palm open as if he meant not merely a touch, but to grasp her hand.

She had seen inside his head before, but not like this, not as the consciousness of two people crammed into the skull of a single man. What would she see here, what would he feel? It was ever so gentle, aside from the vague notion that his head seemed physically heavier and the sneaking suspicion that someone was watching over his shoulder. He looked at Burnie silently assessing the jealousy bubbling up in his once stoic face. "Perhaps I shall," not that he truly could, still he'd grin as if he'd come out victorious.

Projecting his calm demeanor, it was quite different inside his mind. Here subtle fear rippled, his rational sensibility trembled if ever so slightly; as if in the distance, or deep below there was a thunderous motion beginning to roll. Anxiety crept like a mosquito, faint and barely detectable. Although not outwardly visible, perhaps Rhaena sensed it, the preemptive queasiness settling over him, the fear he betrayed, his worry for Genny, perhaps even a flash of it for the dark haired Hat. Feelings that rushed in, ebbing quickly and rushing away like the tide, almost as soon as they'd come. Replaced with the water, the danger it held, the unsettling notion of being Bernie's guinea pig.

"Whenever you're ready Mister Burnie," his voice reflecting none of what Rhaena might see or feel through her link with the soon to be submariner.
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Postby Jirai » Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:07 pm

Hands, one of flesh, one decidedly not, clasped. The link had not the depth of what she and Glenn shared, and would be much harder to maintain for that. The veiled woman swayed slightly on her feet before withdrawing her hand. She'd planned for this, though, and there was a chair not too far away. Seeing out of two different sets of eyes was disconcerting, to say the least, and would make moving about rather difficult.

She did her best to ignore what bits of Tennant's emotions reached her - despite what some people thought, she did not particularly enjoy knowing such things. Some things would get through though, and that went both ways. Tennant's sense of Rhaena would be cool and very controlled, but confident for all of that.

Stepping back carefully, she reached out to touch Glenn's arm lightly with her gloved hand, reassuring.
And though scary is exciting
Nice is different than good.
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Postby Glenn » Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:43 pm

To Burnie's credit, they had planned this out pretty thoroughly. That was the upside of having an entire staff of terribly smart people (for Myrken, that was) under one's employ. Surprisingly, especially considering the hints of jealousy a moment before, the government man would step back. He would DELEGATE. A third person had emerged with Glenn and his bespectacled underling, and it was that person who took charge now. Things happened quickly. Short and gruff, the man's shouts ordered people here and there, chains attached, the boat set off, fully staffed, and a certain sealant proffered.

Burnie would only step forth once Tennant was shuffled into the large glass container. "This." He'd hold up a jar. "is a ridiculously powerful sealant we imported from the Academies of Razasan. And this..." In his hand was a second jar. "is the sole agent that dissolves it. No pesky water getting in there to drown you." And no way to get out without their assistance. "oh, and just to reassure you, if anything DOES happen to you down there, we'll raise funds and provide them to Genny as compensation for her loss." Ever so kind, those Myrkenites. "Well, best of luck, then. Let Rhaena 'know' when you find something. We've calculated how long before we need to pull you up given your height and weight. Try not to panic. It'll skew the numbers. Do save your breath." The once-mapmaker handed off the sealant to the smaller man. "And good luck." then he stepped back with a little last wave to Tennant.

At that point everything happened VERY quickly. Time was of the essence, after all. The massive glass barrel (for it was little more than that) was hefted into the water, drawn in towards the boat with the chains, and then dropped down towards the center of the lake.

And within, Tennant plunged into the deep.
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Postby Tolleson » Thu Oct 20, 2011 6:02 pm

Rhaena looked ready to fall, and if it was any indication of his good intentions he took a reflexive step as if he were ready to catch her should she fall. But she would go to find a seat and his attentions would once again return to Burnie, unleashing all of his reassuring perhaps even threatening technology and the babble it came with. There was a smart-ass remark lurking, but he didn't add it, not now. Not as Burnie's team shuffled him into position and readied whatever simple machines were necessary to prepare the apparatus for decent. Tennant paid particular attention to the spectacle wearing chap, giving him a look that was somehow both pleading and threatening.

Everything in its place, he looked up from where he was positioned, the solmn worry becoming more visible on his features as the gravity of it all began to sink in as he looked out. The glass was very well made, smooth and even, lacking large distortions or points of terrible discoloration. Still, the figures outside morphed slightly, limbs thinning and swelling unaturally, bits of light catching in the grains and dust captured in the glass.

Try not to panic, and then good luck. This was little better than a death sentance. Burnie had begun to move away, "you'll tell her I'm sorry." It was not a request, but Burnie was, it seemed, good enough that he would tell Genny as much if he did in fact die as seemed to be a very likely possibility.

He would be sealed up, in tow and off before he had any confirmation. His heart beat wildly as he watched the water bend around the bubble. Gaping like a child at the world and every new and subtle detail, he stared at the water enveloping him. Fingers at the end of his long arm pressed gently at the top of the bubble, the last spot of air, the sunlight dancing on the ripples of water. He was under now, his life in the hands of Burnie's careful planning, Rhaena's mind, and a prayer to the Gods that somehow he'd live to tell about all of it.
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Postby catch » Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:32 am

Perhaps, before the poisoning of the Lake, the alien landscape would have been something more familiar, an underwater mirror of the world above, filled with thick forest of scintillating grasses and weeds, dappled by the light of clouds of fragmented water lapping turgidly above. Filled with flocks of sheep-fish, trout that could - and, commonly, did - provide any enterprising Myrkenite, and the Dagger, with something fresh and special for the table, and larger, solitary statesmen of carp and catfish, and here and there, the silent stalk of that river-wolf, the pike.

But none of these greeted the eye of Tennant, in his strange contraption. Whatever had poisoned the lake had done its job well, and there was nothing but a smooth, alien landscape as he descended, down far enough to make out the pocked and marked floor, with rotten vegetation and rotting fish scattered as far as the eye could see. It was a beautiful desolation, and the further he was pulled along, the more Tennant might doubt what it was he was looking for, for there was nothing for him to see.

Would he know it, when he saw it? What, exactly, was he looking for? A golden fish, a pretty rock, some sign that the Lake was still alive? An Eye, perhaps? For the conical gem, there was - well. There was a sign. Certainly, there was a sign. It would take sharp eyes indeed, and the flash that would meet Tennant's eyes was nothing jewel-like, or horn-like, but a treasure, all the same.

There was a patch of living. Just a little patch, a spit in the eye, a defiance of the poison that swirled around it and clawed with bony fingers. Verdant water-weeds grew, huddled and frightened, under a strange overhang, while tiny, finger-length fish darted frantically, to and fro, within their waving fingers. And the longer one looked, the more apparent it became that the overhang was quite deliberate, quite even, something that could, simply, not occur in nature. With the crust of sludge of great age and wear, and water-growth, it could be the outline of a feminine face, one great, pitted eye that jutted from the lake-bed, to stare blank and baleful at the sky, far above.

And, in the shadow of the face, a tiny portion of the lake lived on.
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Rhaena

Postby Jirai » Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:40 am

It had begun.

For those above the water, this was a simple task. Waiting. Now waiting can be unpleasant, but for Rhaena and Glenn Burnie, there would be no need for impatience. The veiled woman was sitting her her chair, eyes closed. She did not need to see with her own eyes, not when she had Tennant's vision as well. It was a delicate game she played, balancing her link with Tennant against the more-involved link she shared with Burnie. Rhaena saw what Tennant saw and, in turn, key images were passed on to the mapmaker.
And though scary is exciting
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Postby Glenn » Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:49 am

In truth, the time to worry was past. The contraption had sealed. If it had flooded with water, they would have known by now. If Tennant had panicked utterly, they would have known by now. If the poisoned lake (and was that not a lapse on Burnie's part? Not mentioning the current state of the lake to Tennant? Oops)... was going to melt through the sealant or the contraption itself, there would be early signs of that. No, even the ship and the chains were holding up fine.

Yes, everything was going well and Burnie stared at the water patiently. "Hm." He spoke finally. And that was it. All of Tennant's risk just for the one, lone, utterance from the government man.
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Postby Tolleson » Sat Oct 22, 2011 3:11 pm

Nerves had calmed and his stomach settled after several minutes under the surface. At least the fear of being under water had subsided substantially but the deterioration of the lake's ecosystem made him queasy. If it were even possible, he held on to Rhaena's link, her mind, more solidly now as he clung to anything familiar to keep from loosing all sense of place.

The way time passed down here, it was impossible to tell if it had been mere minutes or the better part of an hour since he'd been submerged. It seemed to take a while before the glimmer of hope among the blight appeared. Leaning forward he pressed his hands to the glass, squinting carefully to get a look, to focus carefully on the 'treasure' Burnie was after.
"Is this your treasure then?" He seemed to be asking Rhaena, and his mind would ask it the only way he knew how, aloud. But an effort would be made to focus on her, to call to her, he couldn't project into her mind, or if he did he wouldn't know how.

A patch of life at first, then the overhang and all of the detail struck him. If this was not what Burnie sought then Myrken's lake held far too many secrets and strangeness for one man to report. His eyes remained locked on the patch for sometime until they wandered to observe the outlining shapes, take in the features that made this area unique. Death and decay apparent on every article as it slid to and fro ever so gracefully suspended in the lifeless lake, the smell of rot seemed to penetrate the chamber.

Drip, drip, drip. A small pool had begun to form, the reek of it contaminating the already stuffy and gaseous, thick air. He saw it, stared, and said nothing aloud, but perhaps Rhaena could feel the building panic. Murky lake water dripping from the seal was perhaps a fluke, perhaps just a thin spot of sealant. Perhaps the poison of the lake was more potent than just water full of rot.
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Postby Jirai » Sun Oct 23, 2011 3:41 am

Rhaena's presence in the man's mind would be soothing at first, and interest at what he had seen. And then the dripping started. He saw it, and so she did as well, but while Tennant remained silent, above the lake Rhaena cried out, "Pull him up!"
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Postby catch » Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:51 am

It was a simple-mind that came to see it, indistinguishable from the simple-fish that had, once, littered the lake. No more, now. It could feel little more than a flicker of the swim-eat-breed consciousnesses, but it could not say when this had happened. Time was a blink, to use the crude metaphor of an Eye.

Time meant something only when the Other came to see it, pining over the lozenged water, far, far above. But the Other came no more, and was it because of this sickness, in the water? Was it because it had wished to explore the Tree-Animal-Hurt thing, inside and outside, until the Hurt thing had happened, and the Other had been cross with it? The Other had wanted that exploration. Did the Other not know, that they were to be one?


Ah. The simple-mind. Consciousness dragged itself, suddenly, a pinprick of light that focused and narrowed invisibly on the terrified man's brow. Suddenly, the simple-mind had become something else, something of throbbing, beating interest. And with that child-like interest came the realization, a muddy outlining of the strange, wonderful, beautiful contraption, and it decided that the Other may wish to see it, would he not? It was the sort of thing they both would love...


As the men and women above began to pull, there was nothing to see but a brief rippling of water, caused by some unseen turbulence, or - perhaps - the brief gusting of wind. Under the mirror-fragments of sick water, nothing could be seen, could be discerned, by either Tennant or anyone peering into the depths, except for the simple fact that the contraption would not move.

Rhaena, if she looked from Tennant's eyes, would see the strange, silvery appendages that wrapped themselves, gentle but firm, about the quickly-leaking sub-machine, their thin tips, constantly-shifting as the probe of an earthworm, exploring the surface of it in a gentle, loving way. She could sense, perhaps, the simple consciousness, so simple that it was emotion, and not words, a stream of loss-happy-satisfied-curious.

Yes. It would keep this strange thing, this Thinker-Bronze, until the Other could come and see.
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Postby Glenn » Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:33 am

Rhaena was keeping him informed. "If anyone asks," Burnie spoke calmly and coolly to the two men beside him, the short one and the bespectacled one. "I think we'll blame the leakage upon the magic going on down there, internally at least. I'll obviously want my money back when it comes to the sealant, and no, I don't think we should have used pitch instead." He added that last bit quickly, before walking forth. "Magic, pfft." And Glenn Burnie spat upon the ground. "I... WE come up with a perfectly scientific and reasonable way to get a man down to the bottom of that foul, gurgling lake and the thrice-damned arcane won't even allow us to appreciate the immense fruits of our efforts." He'd look about, left then right, trying to find someone who can answer him. "How poisonous is that water to the touch?"

Without even waiting for an answer, the government man stormed forth towards the edge of the lake. "Turn those cranks!" He shouted off to the men on the boat. "Raise that thing up. That thieving bastard down there did not kick. He did not scream. He did not try to run, nor shy from his fate! He stepped in bravely and put his trust in us, in each and every one of us, and in HUMAN ingenuity, and we're not going to fail him now because of some freakish, magical, silver tug. Turn those cranks and pull, damn you, pull!"
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Tennant

Postby Tolleson » Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:19 am

He hadn't yelled, he hadn't screamed or kicked or whined. Of course he had bargained, or tried to, he wasn't a complete idiot. But very likely Burnie was going to lock him and and put him to the bottom of the lake one way or another. Better in his good graces than not, especially now that his life was very truly in his hands.

Tennant couldn't hear the flattering commotion above and likely, even if he had, he was too pre-occupied with the sight of the gentle, probing tendrils of silver in the otherwise abysmal lake. Not just the sight but the tugging, however soft, rattling what had seemed like a large enough contraption as if it were a small child's toy. And he was frightened, it wasn't something he wanted to admit of course; but other than Rhaena's delicate presence which he clung too, he was very much alone.

Perhaps it was being so focused that fragment of her that he felt something else, a slight, almost trivial hint as if someone else had entered the room. Rather than over his shoulder, where Rhaena sat in his mind, it was a distant and hazy shadow he felt, through her perhaps. Maybe it was this sense than lead him to reach out, as if to touch the creature, his warm hand to the cool glass. Of course he couldn't actually touch the thing, not from within the contraption.

Curiousness hung in a delicate balance with his fear. On the one hand he had no choice but to accept that either Burnie would raise the submersible or he would die by being trapped, else consumed by the miasma in what was sure to be an ill fated escape attempt. But the under water wonders, natural or otherwise were somehow abysmally beautiful.

Then again, he was being tossed about, unable to keep his footing and could have merely reached out to stabilize himself.
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Postby catch » Wed Oct 26, 2011 1:44 pm

Mechanics pulled, and cranks were turned, and it was a battle of wills, of heroic men and women who labored to free the contraption, and the man imprisoned within, from the casual grip of some thing strange, and curious, and old. At first, it was a fun-thing, and the tendrils pulled back with mischief. But soon the pull was very hard, and very insistent, and it was becoming tired, and bored with the game. It did not want this toy, no matter how wonderful, if it must stay here with dull simple-things.

It did not see, not in the way a man could see things, but that pale palm against the glass made the tendrils hesitate, for it was a warmth against cold. And simple-minds were not warm, not this far down; they were cold, and stiff, and did not move, or they were the armored fish-things. A single tendril flattened where Tennant had his hand, splaying across the glass like liquid. But what a liquid! Not silver, nor gold, but this close it was a rainbow of colors, a swirling, viscous vortex, wherein sparks of various hues radiated, glittered, pulsed, like the electric impulses of a throbbing brain. It, too, was warm, so warm that its application to the contraption caused a spider's web of cracks to mar its surface.

It had a thought, fleeting, about prying the thing apart to pick out the simple-mind with the spark, to examine it at length, as it had wished to examine the Tree-Animal-Hurt thing. But then, it might grow cold. So as they struggled above, the tendrils gave a last, gentle probe, and let the pretty globe slip away, the silver dissipating into the lake like liquid smoke to slumber again.
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Postby Glenn » Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:49 am

If the broad-armed and burly men continued to fail in their efforts, then Glenn would have had to make a difficult decision, another one amongst the litany of difficult decisions that made up the life of the once-mapmaker. Risk Rhaena's mind in order to save Tennant. It was harder than a person might think, so was the faith (unwarranted, perhaps, the blindings of love) that he had in the veiled woman, and his sheer desire to defy this power that stood before him... before them.

Thankfully for either Tennant or Rhaena, it proved to be unnecessary. Whatever was keeping the contraption deep below the sea, whatever the magical force Rhaena was showing Glenn through Tennant's eyes, it gave up, and as it did, as the large glass object started to head towards the surface at high speed, Burnie let out a small cry of victory, fist pumped in the air.

It was a bit premature. The forces being employed to pull and yank with all the desperation that humanity could bring to bear were too strong without the arcane counter force. The damage done to the already leaking barrel was more than could absorb the brunt of the suddenly all too one-sided pressures. It was simply not made for this sort of thing, and the cracks upon the side began to grow wider, deeper, the sound undoubtedly unpleasant to the poor, unfortunate occupant within. Water started to pour in from more than one place now, though perhaps it seemed to Tennant as if it was a quicker flow than it actually was.

The glass cracked more and more by the second, but daylight and, even better, the shadow of the large boat loomed closer and closer. This had become a race where the stakes were nothing less than Tennant's life, but in which he was completely helpless to act. One way or another it would be over in just a matter of moments.
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