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

/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.

[is0latedthinker]

It wouldn't be nearly so long, assuming everything went according to plan.

"Presuming no...outside interference, we're looking at a trip of about three days," Alan explains. He's too old to be crawling about in the tunnels for too long, and it would at least mean that even with interference their stay wouldn't be agonizingly long. Hopefully.

"We'll make it as far as we can in a day and a half before turning around. We should be able to track time through the journals, but otherwise it's almost pitch dark in there."

[legacydeck]

Clow nods - the idea seems reasonable enough. "I have enough food for light meals for a few people, then. And I can summon light, if necessary."

Being a mage had some rather decided perks to it.

[is0latedthinker]

"Thank you," Alan says with a nod. "That will prove convenient, I'm sure. Much better to be overprepared and have it be unnecessary than to be underprepared in a pinch."

[legacydeck]

Clow smiled in return. "Indeed - and I'll confess to being more of an armchair-explorer in the last few decades than an actual one. If we were headed outside, I'd probably have thought twice, given then season."

[is0latedthinker]

Alan looks more amused at the direction their conversation has turned than he did before. "Can't blame you for that," he chuckles. "I'd do the same. The expeditions outside the Castle aren't my speed."

[legacydeck]

"I haven't had a chance to explore too far from here, yet - I missed the expedition to Lastlook, though in retrospect, I think that may be a bit of good luck," Clow replied. "I do enjoy the outdoors, but I've become rather accustomed to cozy fireplaces in the winter."

[is0latedthinker]

He nods, eyebrows rising at the reminder of the virus. "I think you dodged the proverbial bullet," he agrees. Although not everyone who went on the expedition contracted the virus - for reasons they didn't know - it was harder to catch it from someone else once the strange behavior had been identified.

"Can't say we get a lot of snow back home, either." It just made the chill in his old bones more obvious.