Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

The ink isn't particularly helpful - it's from a common pen that's practically everywhere in the palace. There aren't any figgerprints, skin cells, or dna traces, but parts of the edges of the paper seem slightly scratched.

"I mean, of course... I just haven't been there in a while."

There's two, one to the north and one down south. Both are withered.

 

"Do you wanna check it out?"

I fly over the one to the north, seeing if there's anything to see from above it.

 

"I mean, I never was with you back then, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to go take a peek." She shrugs.

Tangled webs, things hiding in bushes, hellhounds being hellhounds (mauling trees...?)... fairly typical underworld stuff.

 

The scientist checks the scratched edges of the paper for anything at all.

 

"Okay. You can go first."

I fly over the southern forest to see if it's the same result.

 

Again, no DNA, no dead cells... just a few scratch marks that line up with a clawed hand.

Linoa shrugs before jumping through.

Slightly fewer webs and slightly more hellhounds doing stupid things, but other than that, it's pretty much the same.

 

Crystal happily follows.

I got back to the north forest, seeing if I can see something more specific from a lower perspective.

 

The scientist continues to try and search for any evidence at all, frustrated.

 

The duo emerge at a clearing, the floating islands of Brisingr visible off to the east now stable as it seems reconstruction has followed.

You scare everything off as you descend.

________________________________

Just as they're about to give up, they catch a lucky break - a bit of keratin in a scratch mark.

 

"Hm..."
Crystal thinks.

I look around the webbed areas for anything of interest.

 

Linoa looks around more, curious.
"Interesting home."

Anything that was there seemed to have fled.

 

The scientist delicately takes the keratin and analyses it for it's DNA relations.

 

It... doesn't have a match in the system, but its makeup suggests the note is from a draconian.

 

"Yeah, kinda. I remember seeing this place."

I go to the southern forest, doing the same thing.

 

"Where were you from?" Linoa asks, summoning her staff.

Again, you scare off everything but a few hellhounds who are too busy biting dead trees.

 

"I dunno the name of it."
Crystal admits.
"But it's this island with a bunch of colored rocks and then a small field."

I do another take, checking for anything of interest.

 

"Uhm... that's... awfully general."

Nothing, until you catch a hellhound gnawing a tree down into a webbed pit, the half-spider tricked into grabbing the trunk as hellhounds take the opportunity to rain down upon them.

 

The scientist becomes incredibly frustrated, causing one of their colleagues to check on them.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" The other scientist asks.

"Ugh, I'm trying to find out who wrote this note, and all I can find is that a draconian wrote it who isn't in the system." The scientist says, frustrated.

"Well, that's a species link, isn't it? Besides, if they're not in the system, well...how could they have delivered the note? Even temps are put in the system for a while." The other scientist says.

"So, what you're saying the note is fake or something?" The scientist asks.

"I saw the king deliver it, so it could be just to distract him and look for whoever left." The other scientist says.

"Alright, considering he's been away in the draconian's world, this could just be a ploy to keep him out. I'll tell him it was a fake," The scientist says, sighing, "Thanks for...being a fresh set of eyes on this."

"It's no problem. No one person is responsible for a breakthrough." The other scientist says, smiling, heading back off as the first scientist puts the note in a drawer and continues with their previous work.

 

"Well, sorry. I don't know anything else about it."

I carefully land on another tree, watching the spectacle.

 

Somehow, minutes later, they get a match.
"Amber"

"I didn't mean it as an insult. It's just... vague."

The hellhounds rip the spider up however possible, be it tearing into flesh or removing bones and everything on them. It's gruesome, but of course the hellhounds aren't sure how they're getting out of the pit.