networkinthenight | [Audio] @fjord, Unhappy Discoveries [May 11]

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[Audio] @fjord, Unhappy Discoveries [May 11]

[There's silence for a few moments, as Fjord collects himself. When he does talk, he sounds... tense, and upset, but it's wrapped up tight in a calm facade.]

During the flood, I accidentally discovered an underground tunnel that connects to the church - some sort of mineshaft, almost. I went back after the waters went back down, the other day, and I found a torch down there too, with...

[With Mollymauk's horn. He clears his throat, and continues.]

And, uh... with Soldat earlier today, we went explorin' it properly. Turns out that it connects to that trapdoor in the floor - there's some kind of fancy lock on the underside that we didn't try messing with. Followed it the other way too - about fifteen minutes of walking took us to an intersection, and about the same again took us to this big, steel door. Looks like it was supposed to be locked, but the storm fucked it up enough that we could get inside.

[There's silence, and a quiet, but audible, tremble to his deep breath.]

...well. You could almost call it a catacomb, really, there were. [Another, briefer, pause, and a faint tremor that comes out as an almost amused bounce to his voice.] Actual, uh. Dead bodies in it. There were. Five of them, all up. Covered in mushrooms and decayed as fuck, I don't-- I got no idea how long they might've been down there.

[And another pause, the longest yet.]

Kal-El, Alisaie, and... Mollymauk. I didn't see... there wasn't anything to identify the other two bodies.

[There's a light clatter, identifiable as him putting the tablet down on a hard surface. Another audible breath. And he continues a bit more calmly.]

After that we doubled back, got to the intersection and tried the second path. Not sure how long we were on it for, but given how steep it was, seems like we must've gone under the river - sure sounded like it. That took us to this big twisting tunnel going up. Not sure which direction we were pointin' by the end of it but there was another trapdoor at the top, locked again. Didn't look like there was anywhere else to go besides one a' those trapdoors or- or the door on the other side of that catacomb.

So if anyone wants to go tryin' one a' those locks to see what's on the other side, give us a shout if you get it open, yeah?

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["Getting along" is probably an exaggeration, but Soldat likes the guy. They hold up their up in a toast-like invitation. Come sit, Rosinante. They're not going to chase him away.]

Didn't bring enough beer for you. But you can have a cup of mine.

[Pause.]

A small cup. Silver swore it would get me drunk. So it's strong.

What, do I look like someone who can't hold his drink?

[There's a hint of a smile there. The corner of his mouth quirks upward as he steps into the room and takes a seat on the couch, folding his knees sharply upward rather than sprawling his legs across the floor. He's never one to take up too much space if he can help it.]

Besides, I'm outta cigarettes. Might as well make up for it somehow.

Don't try going one-for-one, it's not like we can afford it.

[A bit morbid, even with his dry tone, and he nearly winces at himself. He does reach up to rub his face with the one hand not holding a beer bottle.]

Sorry, I'm just a bit... tired, of folks dying.

Which is understandable. It's shitty.

[Soldat looks around for something to pour into for Rosi, then just hands over their own cup. They can drink out of the jug. There's no reason to worry about manners, drinking with a couple of guys.]

My experience until now has been I can't get drunk. Metabolism's too high. So maybe you can hold your drink, but not like I can. Try that.

Thanks.

[He takes a sip, and his stoic expression vanishes as his eyes widen in surprise. Yikes, yeah, better go slow with this, he can practically get a little bit tipsy off the smell of it alone. It's not particularly tasty - it's a drink made for one very specific, very potent purpose.]

And yeah. I hear you, Fjord. The flood was bad enough. Apparently we've lost one or two more since then, and somehow that feels worse. Death's common enough here but I'd hoped we'd never see losses like that first massacre ever again.

[So much for that. Too optimistic of him.]

[.......well, he's curious. And it beats talking about his own issues right now.]

I'm afraid I'm not really familiar with anything like this happenin' before. Haven't been here quite so long as you two.

Before my time, too. Rosinante told me about it first. He was the first ferry this round. I was. Third, maybe.

[They lean over to collect their jug, sitting on the floor still.]

Happened trying to get Robin hooked up to the network.

[He nods to affirm as he takes another slow drink of the super-booze. He's the last of that team, now. Winters and Five died that day, but he, Peter, and Riku had kept on. The three never became particularly close, but they all had a lot of respect for each other after the shared and very harrowing experience with one of the first green-eyed spirits the town had encountered. And now Peter and Riku, too, are lost.]

We had to run a cable out to the lighthouse itself since it got disconnected during the reset. We had several teams as lookouts and distraction just to get the handful of us through, and the rest of the town stayed back and threw a party for the spirits to both keep them occupied and show we wanted to be peaceful. We thought we had it, we were on our way back, and Robin was trying to signal to the spirits that we meant no harm and were leaving peacefully when something went wrong and they attacked Captain Winters, who was from Dr. Ingram's group originally - the only one of theirs who was supposed to survive, so he could help us. We couldn't save him, though we did try. The spirits came out of the woods, must have told the ones in town what happened, and they all started killing everyone they could. We lost about half the town in one day.

Son of a bitch...

[He takes another mouthful of his drink then, having somewhat forgotten to during Rosinante talking. Hearing some of the stories about what's happened in Beacon in the past, he always feels simultaneously lucky and somewhat useless, in being new enough to somehow miss all of it.]

Yeah, that kinda takes the cake on all this shit now.

At least then. There was a purpose to it. Things went badly, but the mission was still completed.

[A swig from the jug, and Soldat makes a face at the swallow. It's not as bad as the last thing that remotely affected them tasted like motor oil. This is better, but it's also stronger.]

This. This was pointless.

It was weather. It happens. Can't underestimate it on land or at sea.

[Not a reassuring thing to say, but he doesn't see the point in coddling these two. There's a time for motivating people and then there's a time for brutal facts and he's feeling the latter deeply right now anyway.]

Don't think there was a point to the first massacre either. Miscommunication between us and them, or something. They're as much a force of nature here as a flood is.

[Fjord can only nod in agreement with Rosi's assessment on the weather. Gods know he's seen enough storms at sea to really fear that kind of power.]

So death here was just-- really fuckin' meaningless, right up until the one time it isn't.

[Forces of nature, bullshit kidnappings, who knows whatever else these guys have faced before he got here.]

Right up 'til now, when we've finally found some fucking corpses.

[And then there's Xayah, who thinks nature "got angry" and took it out on them. Soldat makes the decision not to bring that up. It won't help anyone feel better.]

Not meaningless.

[Pointless is definitely not the same as meaningless, and they're never going to say that any of those lives lost were meaningless.]

They were people. Good people. We'll remember them.

[They have another gulp of their drink, and suggest,]

Tell us about Mollymauk. He was your friend from before. Yeah?

[For a moment he gives a stern look to Fjord, but Soldat speaks up first and so he nods, with a tip of his glass in their direction. Pointless, maybe, but meaningless? No. Finding bodies does not suddenly make those deaths meaningful, it just means they hadn't fully understood the nature of what was occurring when people died. Now they have a chance to learn something about their existence here in Beacon. Meanwhile, everyone who died before them still deserves to be mourned and remembered.

Rather than add anything verbally, he has a sip of his drink and waits in silence. Mollymauk wasn't someone he ever got to really know well, but he's interested in hearing about him now.]

[Fjord does look quietly cowed by both other men gently berating him, but he takes it in stride with a mumbled 'Sorry' around his next sip. He's not really expecting Soldat to turn the spotlight on him, but he can work with that.]

Yeah. We first met him when he was still with the circus, him and Yasha. He used to do this- fortune telling, bullshit, but Jester loved it. He was just a... real glorious bastard, always acting like he was the gods' gift to the fucking world. Terrible roommate, though. [He almost laughs as he says that.] Every time we stayed at an inn where, uh... companionship was an option I'd have to go and sleep in one of the other's rooms.

[He toys with his bottle with both hands, idly spinning it around.] He was... a good person. He was full of shit, but, uh. I'm not much t'talk there. At least his was entertaining, he always had some kind a' story to make 'f just about anything. Knew how to work a crowd, knew how to... hold his own in a fight. He died tryin' to save us.

[Long may he reign.]

[Soldat listens solemnly, nodding-- making a face at the idea of being chased out of one's room because of "companionship". They'd had to sleep at Misty's once or twice, because of Crowley and Aziraphale, before they got their own at the old cabin, so they understand that.]

I never really spoke to him. But he was in Beacon's past with Aziraphale. He had friends here, too. I'm glad you got to see him again.

[They pick up their jug again and hold it up over the coffee table for Fjord. Clink it, man.]

We'll all remember him. Promise.

[Actually joining in the toast feels awkward. He barely knows Fjord and this isn't cause for celebration. Hard to muster up that sort of cheer. Rosinante stares into his drink instead for a moment.]

Where I'm from, there's a saying, I guess you'd call it. Nobody's ever truly dead so long as you remember them. He'll live on in you, and your friends back home.

[One of those few beliefs that seems to be held common for everyone in his world. And it's all he ever personally asked for, once he realized he wasn't going to make it off that snowy island alive. Just being remembered by someone, that's enough.]

[He'll clink that, Soldat, even if it's kind of a token gesture. Can't leave a brother hanging. He's not fully feeling it but it still gets a thin smile.]

Yeah, I've heard something similar back home. Never been much 'f a spiritual sort, so. That one suits me just fine.

[He wasn't about to forget the tiefling in a hurry. They'd only known him for three months, but the fucking impact he'd left was a permament tattoo on their souls.]

[It's not supposed to be a cheerful toast, guys. Soldat does not look cheerful, they look solemn, if amiably so. It's a commiseratory toast. A touching of glasses (and jugs) in solidarity with each other. Getting a touch from Fjord is good enough, though. It's not like Rosinante is quite a friend, after all (sadly).]

It's a good saying. I don't know of Earth has one like that or not, but it should. Are there any traditions from your world for the dead, Fjord?

Sort of spiritual itself, in a way.

[But that's all he has to say about that. He'd rather sit quietly with his drink and listen to Fjord's response. There are a lot of really interesting customs on Earth from what he can tell in general, but it's much rarer to hear about other non-Earth worlds that are out there.]

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[Audio] @fjord, Unhappy Discoveries [May 11]

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