Into the Insolitus

[is0latedthinker]

Who: Those going on the expedition
What: Finding Bits! An expedition
When: December 27, 9am
Where: The Insolitus
Rating: G-PG?

As nine o'clock approached, one would find one Alan Bradley making final preparations outside the Insolitus. Backpack filled with supplies over his shoulders, he was examining the notes from the last venture into the Insolitus once again. He'd copied them into the new journal for easy reference.

Soon enough they'd be well on their way into the dark. He'd armed himself with a Grid baton but had a flashlight and extra batteries just in case. He didn't want to be stuck inside, lost, for a month or more, as the Castle had been known to do. Hopefully Gibson's energy nodes would be on the way, but you never knew. The Castle - and the Insolitus especially - were everything but predictable.

He and Dairine had been the first to arrive - which made sense, considering they'd been the ones to propose the idea - and waited for the others to arrive as nine o'clock rolled around.

Comments

Arrival

[is0latedthinker]

[psych0p0mps]

[Are you kidding? You couldn't keep Aradia away from this expedition if you tried. She shows up at ten minutes to nine precisely, wearing a dapper adventurer's hat (which would probably fit better if it had horn holes). She does not appear to have a backpack or anything.]

Hey, guys!

[wizard_redfive]

[Dairine is already there, going over the map, but she'll bound up to greet her with Spot following close behind.]

Aradia! I knew we could count on you.

[psych0p0mps]

Hehe, I'm just here for the adventure. [She adjusts her hat.] So what's the plan? Are we just going to run around until we find something?

[is0latedthinker]

Good morning.

Glad to have you with us. The notes from your previous expedition were very helpful.

[psych0p0mps]

Well, thanks! I'm glad. Kind of wish the maps could have been more helpful, though. Have you ever been inside?

[ruin_mania]

[Did someone say "expedition"? Yes, yes someone did. Raine's actually been to the Lost Room fairly recently, to get a flashlight for the virus, but that doesn't mean she's averse to exploring once again.]

Well! Good morning, everyone.

[psych0p0mps]

Haha, hi, Raine. I should have guessed you'd be along!

[ruin_mania]

I wouldn't miss it, of course. Who knows what we might find if we look? At the very least, we should be able to verify and extend the existing maps of the area, don't you think?

[wizard_redfive]

[Well, Raine is the one who indirectly inspired this trip. So Dairine isn't terribly surprised to see her here. Dairine waves towards the other person who collected the flashlight.]

Ah, hello again! Good to see you.

[ruin_mania]

Good morning. Now, have we any particular goal in mind, or simply to explore and see what we can find?

[wizard_redfive]

Dairine has been bouncing around all day waiting for this. Finally, she gets to properly explore the Insolitus without a mysterious illness looming overhead! After hearing about Gibson and Alan's research, she couldn't wait to check it out herself. About an hour or so before the meeting time, she practically dragged poor Alan here in her excitement.

It's a miracle Dair even lasted that long.

With her, she's carrying another backpack of supplies, travel food, her wizard manual Spot (although she isn't sure how well he'll take to the Insolitus), the journal, as well as a small vital of glowing liquid. The latter she is most curious about, having found it as a gift in her Christmas stocking. Dairine fully intends to ask Alan about it later.

Currently she is reading over the Insolitus map with Spot. Every once in a while she looks up at Alan or Spot, as though checking to see if it's time. Are they ready yet? She wants to gooooo!

[is0latedthinker]

It's rare that he sees Dairine acting so much like a kid, but this is certainly one of those occasions. Her excitement for the expedition seems to have outweighed her pride, and it's almost like she's an entirely different person.

Well, except for the patience. Dairine, in his experience, has never dealt well with waiting or with inaction.

As nine o'clock finally chimes on his watch, Alan hides his smirk and looks to the assembled expedition-goers.

"That's nine. Is everyone all set?"

[wizard_redfive]

As much as Dairine would like to deny it, under all the brains and responsiblity, she is still a kid. Usually she hides that part of her away, in order to gain more respect while on errantry or in school. Sometimes, though, her childish enthusiasm shines through.

Waiting has never been easy for her, no matter what the circumstances. So Dairine is extremely glad to hear Alan's announcement. Finally!

"Ready!" She hops up, folding the map back up and placing it in her pocket. Leaning back down, Dairine scoops Spot into her arms.

/super late sob

[legacydeck]

Clow showed up dressed in somewhat plainer, sturdier clothes than he normally wore, even working in the kitchen of the Pie Hole. There was, after all, no sense in wearing things that would get damaged easily or look awful before the day was out. He had a pack with him, too - not too large, but enough space for some small pastries sturdy enough to last a few days, dried fruit, and bottles of water. It never hurt to be prepared, even with magic at his disposal.

He gave the others a smile when he got there. "I hope I'm not too late."

No prob, jump on in!

[is0latedthinker]

"Just in time," Alan says, nodding by way of greeting. "Just making the final checks and preparations before we head out."

The man's voice is familiar and Alan places it from their announcement a few days earlier - why else would he be here, after all - but they've never met face-to-face. He extends his arm for a handshake. "Alan Bradley," the programmer says to introduce himself.

[legacydeck]

Clow returned the handshake, and gave the man a bright smile. "Clow Reed. I packed some food along for everyone, though I wasn't sure how long exactly we were going to be." Hopefully it wasn't going to be long enough they had to worry about starving to death, anyway.

Day One

[is0latedthinker]

And so they set off into the unknown.

[is0latedthinker]

Without further ado (or protest from those who've gathered that they're not ready), Alan swings open the door to the Insolitus and strides into the darkness that stretches in front of them, activating his baton to use as a lantern. He looks back from time to time as they walk, just to check in on the progress everyone's making, not wanting anyone to fall behind.

About a half-hour in, they reach a fork in the trail where the path splits into three - left, center, and right. Alan stops so that the map can be updated.

"Pick a path," he requests. He hasn't seen Gibson's lights yet, and it's really up to all of them to decide which way to go. He's curious, sure, but he doesn't have a particular preference on which way to go. It's too dark to see far enough to determine which path is most direct to the destination they don't have in mind.

[ruin_mania]

Raine looks thoughtfully at the fork. She could consult her own map, but the purpose of this exercise is to confirm them by mapping out new routes, wasn't it? She gets a piece of chalk out of her pockets.

"I'd suggest we choose the right, marking this passageway to show we've been by it once before. In many ruins, following a right-hand rule ensures you see all possible rooms or forks in the passageway."

[wizard_redfive]

Dairine has been grinning from ear to ear during the journey thus far. It feels great to be exploring new ground, even if they are still inside the castle. Being stuck in one place for so long really puts an intergalatic traveller like her in a rut. Why didn't she check out this place sooner?

"Sounds good to me." Dairine looks over towards the others to see if anyone else has objections. She doesn't really care which road they take, so long as it leads them somewhere cool.

Day Two

[wizard_redfive]

A day of walking and the group still hadn't found anything terribly noteworthy yet. If they had gotten very far, Dairine couldn’t tell. After the first 12 hours, landmarks had started to blur together. The maze seemed to simply repeat itself, same thing after the other. But Aradia had been right - somehow despite the monotony, the trip managed to not bore her. Dairine saw it as a challenge. A frustrating challenge, but a challenge nonetheless.

It’s late in the evening when they take another short rest break. Dairine finally opens her journal, using the light from Spot’s screen to read it. Her expression darkens as she comes across a threatening message. After reading it over twice, she sighs ruefully.

"That's not good."

[is0latedthinker]

Alan's glad he'd decided to bring liquid energy along - his old bones have certainly needed it. While he wasn't in bad shape for his age, he certainly hadn't been running around in the dark like this in a long, long time, and he tired more easily than he used to. He's grateful for the breaks and takes the time to sip at a little of it before unwrapping a snack from his bag. Revitalizing energy or not, the programmer still loved popcorn.

Alan looks to Dairine from where he'd been quietly enjoying his snack from a spot on the ground (and he was not going to have fun getting up from that spot - his old bones would creak, he knows.)

"What is it?"

[legacydeck]

The sigh pulls Clow out of his own work - some notes and sketches in a rather more mundane journal than the one one Dairine is looking at. He's not sure how much use any of this will be, but he likes being thorough. And sketching is relaxing.

"Hmm?" He sees what she's got open in her hands. "Bad news?"

[wizard_redfive]

"Very," she confirms, her voice serious. "Someone's threatening the castle residents and using hostages as leverage."