Thread: //.ghost/ECHO::Murphy_Was_Right:// [ClockworkCadence x Ryees]

The response elicited a small chuckle from the redhead, nodding in affirmation as she began to make her way in said direction. Fair enough. Her response was offered over her shoulder as she took the lead again, feeling wisps of air ghost strands of hair across her face. The sensation of a breeze this deep into the earth was disconcerting, to say the leastthis definitely shouldnt be a natural phenomenon. Something was corrupted down there, and heavily, judging by the tight pit of adrenaline starting to seed itself in .DUALITY s stomach. The feeling grew worse as the path winded ever downwards, just bland cave walls and an eerie suspense building at the lack of corruptions except for a few patches of missing data in the walls and the floor. There hadnt even been any .WRAITHS in their path yetunderstandable, since they must be much closer to the plasms source, though concerning because they had traveled a decent distance already. How far away was this .LOOT ? Every step further down made the trip back up to the surface harder and harder. That was one of the hardest parts of treasure huntinga raider might find their way to their prize, but they could easily fail to bring it back out from the dark fangs of the corruptions and .WRAITHS . Someone inexperienced would just try to tear open an .ECHO for an easy way out, only for it to become quickly corrupted by the nature of the area. The hard way out was the perilous, singular option here. That fact was becoming harder to face as the rumble of thunder suddenly growled from somewhere further down, trained muscles tensing in an automatic preparation for defense and evasion as the sound reverberated against the stone walls. Was that thunder? But how? A baritone voice piped up behind, breaking the tense silence that had been plaguing the group. Emerald eyes shifted to meet the warm topaz of Kaisrather, .CRADLE shis youthful face riddled with confusion and a bit of well-guarded fear. Thats rightMeda never went for valuable .LOOT like this before. Shed only find the paltry stashes .WRAITHS gathered from unlucky travelers or the occasional plunders dropped through an .ECHO . It was too risky for a group of average raiders to find .LOOT caused by high levels of plasm coalescence. The instability caused by such an event proved to be too dangerous, and it was smart of them to avoid these types of excursions. Weather corruption. .DUALITY replied simply, turning back to the path ahead as she sidestepped a gaping hole in the floor. Much worse than your average storm, though. High concentrations of plasm can cause all sorts of crazy shit. Youre welcome to disobey Rogues Rule and take another path, if you want. The sound of footsteps shuffling closer to her as they descended was her answer, mentally heaving a sigh at the added burden of keeping them from getting killed making this journey much more difficult than it needed to be. At least she had .LAPLACE here to help shoulder some of that burden. The barely-there brushes of air against the skin had gradually turned into forceful gales of wind as the path seemed to lead into a larger area. The white noise of rain had faded into the background noise of their silent journey a little while ago, but was now rushing with clarity and force. Finally, they found their way into a large, open space, the only thing betraying that they werent somehow outside were the slick, gray walls enclosing the place in a circle of torrential rain and slippery stones. Heavy, dark clouds hung in a thick miasma above, bright flashes of lightning crackling like fireworks above, veiled somewhere deep within the wall of haze except for the occasional branch breaking its way through into the open air, loudly rumbling and shaking the very core of the unstable area. The force of the wind was strong enough to devote a concentrated effort towards not getting pushed off-balance, while the rain reduced a considerable amount of visibility with its intensity. All in all, definitely not a good place to be. .DUALITY wiped strands of soaking wet hair away from her face as she made her way into the area, tensing as she detected motion in the corner of her eye. They werent alone here, of coursebut the sight of what had actually moved caused her to wince. They were definitely getting closera few .WRAITHS lay dead over to the right near the wall, their corruptions too debilitating to allow them to live for very long. One in particular had the misfortune of forming a corruption that had resulted in a random amalgamation of metal parts to crudely replace a part of its back, charred almost beyond recognition from the amount of lightning that must have struck it. The .WRAITH that had moved and caught her attention was dragging itself slowly with its front limbs, its back limbs swallowed by missing data. The further it moved, the more of its entrails it left behind, intestines slowly unraveling from within its body and falling out of the gaping hole. The sight almost made .DUALITY feel sorry for the creature, corrupted beyond repair. If it hadnt come here, it could have avoided its life being cut so painfully short. Like Icarus, this .WRAITH had found its way too close to the plasms source, its greed, hunger, and whatever else that might drive it ultimately becoming its downfall. Yet the same could be said of any raiderthey all knew the risks, but that small but enticing possibility that they could reach greatness was worth it all. The same could be said about the group here now, soft wingbeats in the air quickly becoming louder until an alarmed screech pierced their eardrums. .DUALITY whirled around, a large, birdlike .WRAITH coming into view, vaguely veiled by rain. Most of the time, when .WRAITHS approached an area this dense with plasm, they ended up like the poor carcasses encountered just seconds agocorrupted, disfigured, dead before they even get close to their destination. Yet sometimes, a very lucky one might actually make itthey might stumble upon the epicenter of the plasm coalescing deep within corrupted areas, and feed upon its power, transforming it into a terrifying being. Transforming it into a creature like the one that began a sharp decent towards them.