“At any rate, it would crush us, this door. These panels and the hydraulic gears would splatter my brain matter everywhere if I were to try to hold it open for a lovely lady like yourself.â€
A laugh, empty and airy as the shaft tunnel they had only just recently escaped. Sounsyy rolled her eyes unseen beneath her goggles. As inappropriately timed as Ryanti's comment was, it had replaced her nervousness temporarily. She relaxed her grip on her rifle and lowered it some as she moved to get a better view of the door, caught forever in its indecisive loop. She hoped for her own sake that this was no omen, that they themselves would not be trapped down here for the rest of their days stuck in some repeated cycle never being able to reach their destination because of faulty machinery. Twelve-damned Allagans.
"What a gentleman," Sounsyy breathed, and started walking slowly back down the corridor. She had begun thinking what Ryanti told her as he said it, though she hardly relished the idea after their incident in the upper levels. But even as he said the plan aloud, Sounsyy could hear him already breaking off the ancient panes of glass separating them from whatever lay adjacent.
Suddenly Sounsyy was taken by a wretched stench of decay isolated behind that now broken glass. She covered her nose quickly with her hand and shook her head. "Gods, is that recent?" She mumbled as she followed Ryanti to the window and through it. She scanned the room quickly with her rifle. Nothing. Nothing to suggest anything recent had been living or dying in here at least. But something had to be? The humidity was stifling, almost comparable to that of La Noscea's in the summer moons.
“That door was not ruined by any man or woman. Nobody our size could puncture such a dent in a door like this. It isn’t natural. Do you feel that? The moisture in the air? The suffocating dread in your heart? This place is haunted by the own nightmare of its past.â€
"How could I not?" She said back to him quietly, "There's nothin' natural about this."
Sounsyy watched her partner as he made his way across the room to a small door she hadn't noticed before. His voice drifted back towards her in an echo, "Make sure your safety is off." She opened her mouth to berate him, but no vexed words came out. She closed her mouth and flipped off her weapon's safety as quietly as she could so that Ryanti would not notice. She was fuming, even as Ryanti slammed his body into the door.
She took a moment to look about the room. The bloodstains, the instruments, beakers that once held unknown potions and elixers. These smelled particularly offensive. Sounsyy had to keep her hand cupped over her nose as she bent over to more closely examine the refuse. Just what were the Allagans making?
“Sounsyy, I need help.â€
Her ears swiveled about and she righted her posture. Ryanti didn't seem to have made much progress with the door on his own. She cast one last look at the standing beaker, stained from age, before moving to Ryanti's side.
"Right, on three," she said as she eased her shoulder up against the door. She breathed out the countdown before rearing back on one foot and ramming her arm and shoulder into the door much like an aldgoat would rear up to butt heads with another. The door caved in with a crash as one section of it fell away completely into a thick cloud of dust. Sounsyy moved forwards into the room with her rifle raised, ignoring the fact that her shoulder was now quite numb.
Sounsyy whipped about with her rifle, mentally checking off every corner of the larger room. There was light here, so much so she didn't really need the goggles. So she switched off the night vision and awaited for her eyes to adjust. Ryanti was standing still near the entrance, eyes fixed upon the ceiling. Sounsyy turned when she could see properly and fixed her rifle upwards at the three pods clinging to the ceiling.
The Lominsan lowered her rifle slowly, more out of disbelief than lack of concern for her safety. Her mouth opened slowly as she moved closer to the nearest pod, bathed in red glow. Some Allagan pet? Some Allagan creation?
"What the Hells is-"
A distant noise echoed into the chamber, abruptly cutting her off. Sounsyy whipped around, her rifle raised. There was only stillness, the dust they had disturbed already settling. The Captain couldn't be bothered to take another look at the chimerical creation again, her eyes focused on scanning the dark corners of the room as she slowly backed away towards Ryanti. That moaning sound of metal scraping on metal in the deep sea had become all too familiar with her, but something about this was different. It seemed almost agonized.
"Alright, what the Seven Hells was that?" Sounsyy stopped, her ears erect and scanning for other noises. Her whole body was tensed. "We should move, Ryanti, we should go right now. Wherever we're going, let's get there quickly."
A laugh, empty and airy as the shaft tunnel they had only just recently escaped. Sounsyy rolled her eyes unseen beneath her goggles. As inappropriately timed as Ryanti's comment was, it had replaced her nervousness temporarily. She relaxed her grip on her rifle and lowered it some as she moved to get a better view of the door, caught forever in its indecisive loop. She hoped for her own sake that this was no omen, that they themselves would not be trapped down here for the rest of their days stuck in some repeated cycle never being able to reach their destination because of faulty machinery. Twelve-damned Allagans.
"What a gentleman," Sounsyy breathed, and started walking slowly back down the corridor. She had begun thinking what Ryanti told her as he said it, though she hardly relished the idea after their incident in the upper levels. But even as he said the plan aloud, Sounsyy could hear him already breaking off the ancient panes of glass separating them from whatever lay adjacent.
Suddenly Sounsyy was taken by a wretched stench of decay isolated behind that now broken glass. She covered her nose quickly with her hand and shook her head. "Gods, is that recent?" She mumbled as she followed Ryanti to the window and through it. She scanned the room quickly with her rifle. Nothing. Nothing to suggest anything recent had been living or dying in here at least. But something had to be? The humidity was stifling, almost comparable to that of La Noscea's in the summer moons.
“That door was not ruined by any man or woman. Nobody our size could puncture such a dent in a door like this. It isn’t natural. Do you feel that? The moisture in the air? The suffocating dread in your heart? This place is haunted by the own nightmare of its past.â€
"How could I not?" She said back to him quietly, "There's nothin' natural about this."
Sounsyy watched her partner as he made his way across the room to a small door she hadn't noticed before. His voice drifted back towards her in an echo, "Make sure your safety is off." She opened her mouth to berate him, but no vexed words came out. She closed her mouth and flipped off her weapon's safety as quietly as she could so that Ryanti would not notice. She was fuming, even as Ryanti slammed his body into the door.
She took a moment to look about the room. The bloodstains, the instruments, beakers that once held unknown potions and elixers. These smelled particularly offensive. Sounsyy had to keep her hand cupped over her nose as she bent over to more closely examine the refuse. Just what were the Allagans making?
“Sounsyy, I need help.â€
Her ears swiveled about and she righted her posture. Ryanti didn't seem to have made much progress with the door on his own. She cast one last look at the standing beaker, stained from age, before moving to Ryanti's side.
"Right, on three," she said as she eased her shoulder up against the door. She breathed out the countdown before rearing back on one foot and ramming her arm and shoulder into the door much like an aldgoat would rear up to butt heads with another. The door caved in with a crash as one section of it fell away completely into a thick cloud of dust. Sounsyy moved forwards into the room with her rifle raised, ignoring the fact that her shoulder was now quite numb.
Sounsyy whipped about with her rifle, mentally checking off every corner of the larger room. There was light here, so much so she didn't really need the goggles. So she switched off the night vision and awaited for her eyes to adjust. Ryanti was standing still near the entrance, eyes fixed upon the ceiling. Sounsyy turned when she could see properly and fixed her rifle upwards at the three pods clinging to the ceiling.
The Lominsan lowered her rifle slowly, more out of disbelief than lack of concern for her safety. Her mouth opened slowly as she moved closer to the nearest pod, bathed in red glow. Some Allagan pet? Some Allagan creation?
"What the Hells is-"
A distant noise echoed into the chamber, abruptly cutting her off. Sounsyy whipped around, her rifle raised. There was only stillness, the dust they had disturbed already settling. The Captain couldn't be bothered to take another look at the chimerical creation again, her eyes focused on scanning the dark corners of the room as she slowly backed away towards Ryanti. That moaning sound of metal scraping on metal in the deep sea had become all too familiar with her, but something about this was different. It seemed almost agonized.
"Alright, what the Seven Hells was that?" Sounsyy stopped, her ears erect and scanning for other noises. Her whole body was tensed. "We should move, Ryanti, we should go right now. Wherever we're going, let's get there quickly."