Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Oh."
Crystal just thinks.
"Is the lab open for anyone?"
He says, opting to change the subject.

 

"Yeah... just, understand that the affairs of the gods are... neccesary for the current way of mortal life."

 

The higher up Shadow leaves regardless, passing off the thought as just a crazy suspicion.

"Everything seems good." The higher up Shadow says to his colleague.

 

Alice waits to see if the errand boy ever comes back.

 

Crystal nods.
"Alright."
He heads over to one of the halls to get directions again, but then he realizes,
"Can you unlock the doors?"
He says, seemingly not annoyed, but as a genuine question.

 

The errand boy never returns, and the day soon begins to end, the higher up Shadow and his colleague calling the earth guardians out of the mines as they begin to head back to the city.

 

"Nothing should be locked, hon." Xlentia says, pushing the collosal door open a crack for Crystal.

 

Alice silently curses to herself, then opts to trace her previous locations.
Upon getting an opening, she bails from the higher-up shadow and moves towards the location where her trail goes out of the mines, stops, then goes back, keeing watch of her... everything.

 

"Oh, okay. I thought I saw you locking them, but thanks!"
He goes out into the hallway, and looks for the map.

 

It's quite a few hours before anything happens. The mines fall silent, before a Shadow arrives, wearing different clothing to the errand boy's. They head into the mines, looking like they're headed to the slave area.

 

"My chamber only, hon. Unlocked now." She says, smiling.

Map is in the same place. Lab the destination?

 

Crystal smiles back, before looking for the Lab.

 

Alice slips into them, again making herself invisible and letting them go about their day.

________________________________

Seems it's three doors down the right halls.

 

Crystal goes there, and jogs along the hallway to the lab.

 

The Shadow heads into the slave area, walking directly toward the secret passage and heading into it. The Shadow reads the note, takes it and the Ruby, before heading back out of the passage.

An earth guardian slave notices the Shadow leave the passage, having fallen unconscious in the mine during the day.

"Hey, w-what are you- ACK!" The earth guardian cries as the Shadows hand-turned-blade is jammed into their throat. The earth guardian slave weakly tries to remove it before dark spikes erupt from all over their head, blood going everywhere as an expression of shock and pain is burned onto their face. The Shadow pulls his mace hand upward, easily ripping the earth guardian's head off, before throwing it against the wall. Blood spurts out from earth guardian's neck, spilling onto the floor as the Shadow exits silently, leaving the mines.

 

Inside, two researchers are running tests with a flower, it seems.
"Hello. Is there something we can help you with?" One asks.

________________________________

Alice just lies in wait, again satisfied with the lead.

 

"I'm kinda just exploring around, seeing what's going on. I don't have much to do today and I haven't been here yet."
Crystal says, examining the flower.

 

It's red and purple, mostly. For whatever reason, it's contained in a clearly airtight system with multiple fallback chambers.
"Well, it's nice to know not everyone's too scared of the Void anymore." The second one says.

 

The Shadow heads back to the city, into a different part of the outskirts.

The Shadow enters a dilapidated building, windows boarded up, ascending the stairs within. A few Shadows and guardians live in the building, moans of pleasure coming from a few of the rooms the Shadow passes on his ascent, another Shadow standing outside one of the doors giving him a shifty look. Once the Shadow reaches the top floor, he heads toward a room with a pair of tough looking Shadows.

"Gentlemen." The Shadow says, pushing past the tough looking Shadows and entering the room.

A tall, skinny looking Shadow makes out with a water guardian behind a large wooden desk, papers, money and knives stuck into it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here!?" The tall Shadow asks, noticing the Shadow Alice is waiting in enter.

"Can't you see we're busy?" The water guardian asks, offended.

"Hate to interrupt, Boss, but we got news from the Slitthroats. They want all our slaves, and more. They say they can pay big. Real big." The Shadow says, handing over the Ruby and letter.

The tall Shadow reads the letter, the water guardian sitting on his lap reading too.

"Ahahaha, I guess they finally wised up to my services. We'll do it, get some of the men out to kidnap some people, I'll get the slaves ready." The tall Shadow says, dismissing the Shadow Alice waits in.

"Right, Boss." The Shadow says, leaving.

"C'mere, you." The water guardian says as the pair resume making out, the Shadow leaving the room, uncaring.

 

"It doesn't seem like too scary of a place, other than the monsters I keep hearing about. But what're you guys working on?"