The Narsier mountains were not the most hospitable of places.

Located on the newly drawn borders of Thalodreal and Eryndreal, the mountains were remote, cold, and stretched along the northern border of the two powers for a good ways. There really wasn't any reason for anyone to be here. There weren't any villages, only military patrols and military stations on either side for border control between the two rival powers. The only potential interest were those seeking thrills such as cavers, mountain climbers or perhaps those who sought to research in the area for whatever reason.

So seeing a makeshift camp setup at the base of a mountain, was not something usually seen.

The pop-up houses were well constructed. Made of quick self building materials inlaid with scripts that were effective, warm, and most importantly...cheap. Relatively speaking. Several of these rectangular constructs were situated in roughly a circular pattern around a larger one. Bunks for sleeping and living in. One was a server room and artifact storage. Another was designated a machining warehouse where all the equipment was stored. A smaller one off to the side painted with the emblem of Sirona signaled a medical bay. Of course, the main hub, where everyone did a bulk of the work. A bit of ways off was a landing zone for a small carrier craft for unloading personnel and supplies.

A few lights, too...though those...those were currently unpowered.

"A-achooo-! Bweeeh...Biancaaaa, its coooold. Look, my ears are freezing ooooff."

"Speak for yourself, you lazy priest."

"Warm me up a little?"

"Touch me and I'll upload your entire search history to the Institutes mail list."

"So mean."

"Alright that's enough you two." The sound of a sliding door interrupted the two's little argument as a second elf walked into the room, adjusting her glasses slightly. "How's the map coming, Bianca? And how's the medical equipment coming along, Sasami?"

"Well, hello to you too, our ever so lovely Monique." Sasami responded with a friendly smile and a playful wink. "Khalisa is still trying to figure out the problem with our generator. Cheap piece of crap keeps breaking. Hence why I was trying to get Bianca to share a little body heat."

The lights flickered, the various computers and instruments in the control hub lightning up.

"Well, it seems Khalisa finally fixed that problem so you'll just have to live without harassing Bianca."

"Foiled again." Sasami pouted just lightly. "Alright, I'll go make sure all the medical equipment is up and running on the very slim chance anything happens."

"Map. Problem. Drone is getting some interference." Bianca began as the Elf left, the scent of smoke and herbs from her pipe lingering for a few moments before the air vents kicked on. "Main area mapped out. Otelius helped with some scripting regarding theoretical rooms. We think its about 95% accurate. Margin of error is acceptable. Would have been better if the generators didn't keep cutting out."

"Well hopefully Khalisa fixed it this time."

The interior of the main hub was surprisingly large. A single storied building with a high ceiling. Various computers and instruments manned by a few other personnel running a handful of diagnostics lined one of the walls. Lining the other side of the area with numerous tables. Several artifacts laid scattered. Old mechanical debris. Anything that they had excavated so far that might be of some academic interest. A few servers hummed against one of the walls. In the middle of the room was a square area of slightly lower elevation, and on the wall immediately in front of it a large, flat screen displaying the supposed map in question before flickering and lighting up with the face of a green haired Tivven.

"Yahooo~! The greatest mechanical engineer this world has ever seen here! The generators up and running again, you can hold the applause."

"Ahaha, yes, thank you Khalisa. Also, the camera is way to close to your face. We can see food crumbs on your cheek."

"Bweh-!" The camera screen shook as the diminutive Tivven fumbled with the camera before quickly catching it and changing the zoom function, food crumbs having been cleanly wiped way. "Ahaha, you and your silly jokes Moni. Anyways, it should be good to go now! Me and Lizzie fixed it up real good. Just a problem with the-"

"Spare me the details, Khalisa. Are we good to go?"

"A hundo percento, Moni-Moni. You bet your pointy little elf ears were good to go."

"Ahem, alright then. Get yourself to the dig site. Otelius and the others will be there shortly. You two are to assist on this one, understand?"

"Gotcha boss lady. I'll be there faster than a sand board on sand river rapids!" Monique would grab her phone as the transmission would cut out and quickly send a message to everyone else on site.

"Dig starting soon. Meet at the main hub in an hour."

Not that anyone on site should be far, but it should be long enough for them to finish up whatever it was they were doing.

---

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR@Pyromania99

Back to the cold, mountainous border… Cellica wished she could say it was the same as any other assignment, but that would be a lie. These mountains carried memories that other locales didn't and every sight of an Eryndreal border patrol put her on edge, her hands itching for her sword and her lack of armour leaving her feel uncannily naked. Every time there was a moment of confusion as they didn't come under attack, then reality caught up and she carried on with her day.

That wasn't to say that the elf outwardly showed this, natural stoicism and a proper upbringing leaving her expression unaltered as she went back to her tasks. Logistics, mostly; making sure supplies were moving properly and to where they were needed. It was all good having scientists and engineers and exploration experts; somebody needed to make sure that food was ready and the fuel to cook it. Especially in such a cold environment.

Warm coats if required, too. Her normal attire and the armoured undersuit beneath warded off the worst of the cold – mostly the underlayer, in all honesty – but not everyone was necessarily that equipped. It also did nothing for her head, but she had a thick scarf wrapped around her head. It couldn't entirely keep her ears warm but, well, that was nothing new to her.

It only took a few minutes after the instruction to meet up came through for Cellica to finish up her count, signing off on their current supplies before heading over. At least the interior was warm enough to present more to the others than a slit view of golden eyes and long ears.

… not that it made much difference. A sober Cellica wasn't an expressive one.

Amalie settled herself into the machining warehouse where she was performing some last minute maintenance on her armor. The north was cold and had never really been up this far. She had spent her time working on the nation's armor while close family members were off fighting in the war. Some from the branch families had perished, but none of her close family members had. For that much she was thankful for. For now, she was a small bit concerned that the northerners might do something with how close to the border they were. That didn't... well, hopefully didn't seem to be an issue for now.

She hummed along to checking every nook and cranny to make sure all her systems were functioning. The cold and snow provided a small unexpected factor to her since prior to this mission she had never really considered using her specialized armor in such conditions. Luckily enough, there was nothing for her to change. She had insulated it before she left to make sure it wasn't going to be freezing to wear it. It was then that she would hear from her earpiece, "Dig starting soon. Meet at the main hub in an hour." It was almost time then. With a smile, she looked her armor over once more.

"This should be fine enough." She said to herself as she patted her armor, her visual checks passing meeting her rigorous criteria. "Now then, lets see what your insides are telling me. Nothing negative I hope." She adjusted her eyepiece and looked it over. All of her diagnostics were within acceptable parameters "Nothing seems to be off with the Scripting or Executable. Such pleasing readings. We're going to have to show off your greatness." She smiled, looking over the armor with pride before setting it aside to be collected later.

It was an hour until they were to meet now. Perhaps she could go over some of the other things in here while she waited? It wouldn't hurt to make sure everything was in tip top shape. Then she could go to the hub 8 minutes before the scheduled time to meet up. Early enough to not be the focus of most people as she entered but not so early she was called out for it. Well, hopefully. The others were a bit... Odd so it was hard to tell.

A few of the items here are mere trinkets, things only worth examining due to the location in which they were unearthed.

Others, however, have somewhat more potential. Curious objects sometimes without an immediately clear purpose, but nevertheless appearing to be part of a shattered window into the past. Others have a clearer purpose, such as the hand of an ancient golem or a fragment of a basic turret attached to a war machine.

Regardless, the artifacts doubtlessly raise questions.

And what is the path of Metis but seeking answers to questions?

Thus, it is only logical that I am here, and only logical that I am examining what they've managed to uncover. Not that they've delved into the main sight particularly deeply, yet, but what they've discovered in the surrounding area is enough to paint at least the beginnings of a picture.

Some sort of military installation was here at some point, that much is perfectly clear. Perhaps a facility that was producing these weapons? The industrial nature of some of the fragmented relics as well as the scattered pieces of weaponry points to such a purpose, at least, older than the far more recent war.

Naturally, it only makes sense that they contacted me. Who is more appropriate to participate in this expedition than a genius? And, naturally, I accepted.

I've turned down plenty of less interesting requests for collaboration before, but this digsite---

Well, in truth, it holds some interesting possibilities. An expedition into an unknown site to discover what may lay within is sure to grant me further knowledge, isn't it?

With my staff floating alongside me, currently acting as a portable heater, the cold isn't much of an issue either.

Only very few of those I consider peers are directly involved in this, which is somewhat disappointing. But at least they've hopefully gathered people who will be of some kind of assistance.

---Hmmm.

This artifact appears to be some sort of artificial limb. A bit more humanoid than expected from a killing machine, but at the same time no entirely identical to the structure of one of the ancient golems.

I may have to return to that artifact in particular. For now, it appears that the main dig is about get underway.

A genius wouldn't miss this.

@VitaVitaAR@Pyromania99@Raineh Daze@Crimson Paladin

---

When everyone had finally arrived, they would find the central hub of the dig site buzzing with quiet activity. A handful of other workers had taken seats around the main area, chatting among themselves and otherwise waiting for the main event to begin. Bianca was sitting near the far wall at a computer under the screen, tapping away quietly at a computer, not concerning herself with much aside from her work.

"Alright, alright. Mostly everyone is here already, so we'll get the beginning here out of the way." Monique's clear, level voice would break through the chatter as it would soon die out, leaving her in the center of the room and the center of attention. "Firstly, I want to thank you all for deciding to come with us on this expedition. I asked our ever so erudite Director to write a few words, but the only thing I got back in response was a few paragraphs about how adorable his his daughter is so we'll just get right to business."

The Elf pressed a few buttons on her mechanical hand, the screen behind her flickering to life.

"So, welcome to the Narsier mountains." An aerial video feed was playing on the screen, showcasing a site a bit further up the mountains. Trenches cut into the snow and large, square pits of ground had already been dug out around a large area as workers shifted through the snow and earth. One particularly large pit seemed to have a half buried mechanical construct swallowed by the earth. "And to the Survey Site 1108-Alpha. So, i'm sure you are all aware of the basics here already. We've dug up a number of artifacts seemingly related to some sort of military use. Old weapons, mechanical arms, things of that nature. We initially thought this was just some old battlefield and weren't going to be putting too much time and effort into excavating it, however," The Aerial view would slowly descend, traveling a bit further up the mountain where a large, hollowed out collapsed section of the mountain was revealed. "After an avalanche some weeks ago, it was discovered well, the site may be much larger than we though...case and point, this well...extremely large door."

What was presumably a drone surveying real time footage would fly closer, moving into the mouth of the cave where the rocky earth would soon find itself replaced with a clearly manmade metal flooring. Several large pillars and metallic scrap laid around the area, cordoned off with warning signs from the institute. And furthest in the back, was what exactly Monique was talking about.

An absolutely gargantuan metal door at least a hundred feet high and a similar length across. It was old, its surface likely at one point having a smooth and polished finish, but was now rusted and covered in dirt, earth, and even dents and a few cracks from some unknown source. Ancient, old, lettering was etched across its surface, the ravages of time and nature making it unintelligible.

"As you can see, this...well, we assume its a door," Monique switched to some still images of the door from different angles. "It has no discernable lock and otherwise no other way to open it from the exterior side. Otelius, Bianca, and I have all taken a fairly in depth look at it and we all can come to a similar conclusion. A powerful Executable of some sort is keeping it shut, and we believe its a very, very, powerful magnetic lock of some sort. Otelius has been working to try and remove it, but it will likely take awhile before he can properly interfere or reverse engineer the spell, which means we actually have yet to be able to step foot inside of the site properly."

"That...is where some of you will be coming in." Bianca interjected, speaking up, the screen shifting from the door itself to other areas of the cavernous entrance. "I've spent the last week with Otelius' help doing what we can to map the interior from out here. Ive had a remote drone equipped with some fancy scripts he made make a rough render of the place. There's at least two other entrances that could help us gain access to the interior properly." The image now displayed what seemed to be a corridor to the left of the metal door...or at least what was left of one. The metal flooring ended abruptly, almost as if something had cleanly cleaved through it and ripped the remaining bits out. Rocks, earth, metal debris and other refuse completely blocked passage here. "This...would be the first one. Unstable. We had Khalisa dig it out, but the entire structure here is weaker than her without her mech."

_{"Hey I heard that!"} A tiny voice came from the computer terminal she was at.

"The second option is...well, dunno if it goes into the structure. We detected a large amount of mana flooding the corridors in that area." The screen switched to a second picture, an old catwalk some distance off the floor, but leading into the mountain itself. "It kept messing with the readings and maps. I'll be sharing that map with everyone in the team....right now."

ping

All of those in the team would receive a ping on whatever their preferred work datapad or phone was.



"Ideally, we will be splitting into two teams to investigate either of these routes." Monique took over again. "Any questions so far, team?"

Regis Meynolt

As Regis looked over the map on his datapad, he considered Monique's assessment of the entrances. The route to the left was a known- its path known, its danger known. The route to the right was an unknown. No scans, no clue as to what the mana interference might be concealing.

The scans had given a fairly detailed estimation of the interior of the ruin, however it was unclear what they'd find within.

He suspected that he would be assigned to the left passage. His executables were ideal for moving debris, and in a worst-case scenario, his exosuit- built to withstand immense water pressure- should easily withstand the weight of a cave-in and provide him with a long enough supply of air for Khalisa or Amalie to dig him out.

This was going to be a lot different than his last expedition. Much less chance of drowning, but judging by the type of artifacts they found so far, this was probably a military installation and some of the defenses could potentially still be active.

"By your best estimate so far, how old is this ruin? From what era does this place and its artifacts look like they're from?" Regis asked. The more they knew about this place going in, the more prepared they might be for whatever may lay within.

Military goods; of course. There was unlikely to be anything else up here – her full expectation was that this would be an old base and their biggest danger further in would be, regardless of who established it, a lack of correct identification to disable any automated defences.

"These alternative entrances; they still lie on this side of the border, correct?" Cellica asked, inspecting the alternative entrances. If one of them was in danger of collapsing, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to reinforce it and hold it open; the difficult part ought to be transporting materials to the dig site itself. Not doing so was more likely to come back to haunt them in the future.

But this second entrance, the catwalk… it ought to be easy enough to correspond to the surface maps, and from there to the border. The last thing they needed was to be prepared for a dangerous environment and to be caught trespassing by the Eryndreal patrols.

"Additionally, is there a reason to take these side passages, in light of the additional dangers represented?" If the main entrance was hackable, it would seem the reasonable option to wait until it was opened normally and proceed from there. But if their provisions were more limited than the elf had come to believe or if there was difficulty securing a longer permit…

Amalie sat around, twiddling her thumbs for the meeting to start. Everyone had made their way in and didn't make much attention to her, a good thing for the moment. Soon, however, the meeting started in earnest. She looked at everyone else in the room, studying them a small bit. This was a somewhat insane mission, as far north as they were. The noblewoman still worried that there might be a random attack on them, despite the war being over... Still, she paid attention to all the details in the briefing. The more she listened, the more she became focused on the matter at hand. She stood up and tapped her foot as the structure was described. Her eyepiece showed the modeled floor plan of the building. She pondered over it for a minute, where her follows spoke their questions

Their questions were fine enough, though she figured she'd speak her mind on Cellica's matter sort of. "If there is no interface from the outside, it might be a bit difficult to open it. It would expedite the issue if we gain entry in other ways so we can open it from the inside." The engineer said as she started moving closer to the screen behind Monique to get a slighty better look than the back corner she had been in. She glanced at the plans in her eyepiece before looking between Regis, Cellica and Annette. "If the mana flood is causing havoc with our readings, how... powerful is it?"

She moved close to Bianca's seat as she spoke, starting to ask a separate question before she tripped over herself. The engineer faceplanted into the mechanical woman's lap with a soft pained noise coming from her. She grabbed at the mechanical woman's legs to push herself up before she stopped, felt the robotic limbs as if studying them and vocally mused to the room. "Oh, these are quite the well made legs. You must be proud of them, Bianca. I envy whoever does the work on these." She seemed quite sincere about it before pushing herself up and addressing the room for another question.. "Do we have any protective gear for mana flooding? I don't know about Sir Meynolt, but my armor will probably malfunction in such conditions." She added, still seeming focused despite having just faceplanted into a pair of hard, metal legs.

Interesting. I'm certainly not disappointed I chose to come here, to say the least. The site already held a certain amount of intrigue, and now the further details I'm made privy to the greater my desire to explore the ancient mysteries of this long-lost site. Given what's already been excavated, there's reason to suspect that there will be something to discover within.

---Speaking of the site and its relics, it seems there's a matter I should address. Obviously I am a genius, so I should not expect everyone to be on my level, but shouldn't observation make estimating the origin point of this ruin within reach for most of those present?

Then again, perhaps I expect to much.

"The site itself is difficult to give an exact age to," I begin, using my right hand to give an illustrative flourish as I tilt my head towards the images, "It's from before we began using the current calender, before the zero hour of the Sironium age. The relics, however---"

I raise my staff, turning it over in my fingers and using its tip to indicate an image currently displaying the lower half of a stationary gun emplacement.

"---Are fairly easily dated to the Late Solarium or Early Discordia era, based on their construction and the markings left behind by the process of their creation. Particularly the structure of the firing mechanism in the weaponry, and what remains of the core system in the drones."

I allow the corners of my lips to curl upwards as I run my free hand through my hair. It's hardly difficult knowledge for one such as myself, of course.

"Of course, very few can be both as smart and beautiful as I am, but at the very least I expect you to be able to retain that knowledge. It will certainly assist with interpreting the data we collect."

And collecting that data is what I'm looking forward to the most. As of now, I'm hardly worried about which team I'm dispatched on. Either one will be in the act of pursuing knowledge, after all. Well, perhaps that robot fetishist would make for an unusual partner, but the others haven't asked foolish questions.

While Meynolt's questions were simple for me to answer, by the standards of those who can't be called a genius they aren't foolish, and that's simply what I'll have to expect.

@VitaVitaAR@Pyromania99@Raineh Daze@Crimson Paladin

---

Bianca, was entirely in her own little world, not paying attention to anything else after she had said her part. When Amalie had walked over she had barely registered the other woman, one hand tapping away at a keyboard the other tapping the screen and alternating between a few screen readouts at regular intervals.

*Thunk*

"What the fuc-AMALIE." Bianca's voice wasn't particularly loud, but that did little to stop the absolute irritated venom with which they were said. " You know I do my own work, thank you." She'd nearly growl out through clenched teeth as she'd slide herself away from the elf slightly, the chairs rollers sliding loudly across the floor. "Stupid...pointy eared..." She'd inhale sharply, taking a few moments to quell her obvious irritation, accompanied by the whirr of mechanical bits and pieces from her body slowly starting to wind down. "Watch where you're walking next time, please."

"...are you two quite done?"

"...sorry, Monique."

"Yes well, Bianca if you need a moment you are free to have one."

"...I'm...fine."

"Very well then, back at the task at hand." Monique adjusted her glasses slightly with a hand as she'd turn her gaze towards Regis. "Annette has the right of it, Regis. At best we've been able to track it to sometime to the late Solarium Era and early Discordia Era, right when the height of the old divine civilization was at its peak, before the war with the Demon God Null." She'd tap a few buttons on her cybernetic hand, causing the screen screen to change once more.

"To touch on your observation a little, Lady Cecilia," Monique continued. "Its an issue of time. The executable that its locked with is...intricate, to put simply. Extremely complex and from what Otelius has determined, it has tampering measures to make external attempts to dispel it quite difficult and as Amalie suggested, there are no external terminals to interface with any systems on this side of it. Theoretically we could likely do it, but it would take far too long that our permits and funding would allow. And I dont think I should have to say it, but no destructive excavation unless there is no other option." A sigh left Monique's lips as there was a sheepish chuckle from Bianca's computer. The barely audible sound of a certain Tivven perhaps, being called out.

"As for your concerns about the border...we have permission from Eryndreal to be here as well, and they are aware. That said...the current political climate is...difficult at best, so lets try not to cross it if we can. The site for the most part shouldn't cross, but who knows if there's deeper places or potential entrances or exit on their side of the border. As for the Mana issue, Amalie, unfortunately the old equipment we had finally failed completely and we'll be needed new ones. Thats one of the reasons I'll be sending Otelius with you. He should be able to help regarding that, or alternatively...while it wasn't made for it specifically, Regis' diving suit should be thick enough to give some protection while we discover the source and hopefully clean it up...but ultimately I'll be leaving that up to you." Monique would turn off the display, a everyone's phones or other devices lighting up with some new information.

"Alright, that's enough for now. Cecilia, Regis, Anette, Amalie, do remember to stay in pairs of at least two. We have no idea whats in there and I don't want anyone by themselves. Bianca and I will stay in contact where we can, but I don't expect to have a clear signal. Good luck, and remember, if things get too dangerous you protect yourselves above everything else. I'll give you thirty minutes to prepare."

With that, the meeting was over. Monique walked back over to where the artifacts were stored and Bianca went back to checking some data. They group was of course, free to stick around a bit longer but eventually they would have to move on and up towards the dig site...

---

The trek up to the site was cold. A trudge through ankle deep snow and rocky ground marked with lit up beacons strung together with rope. On a clear day like this, it wasn't really needed. One could see for all the way to the tree line just from the foot of the mountains, and as the paths lowly sloped upwards it became even clearer. On a snowy day, though? Or a cloudy day where the sky and wind threatened to open up and create a landscape of snow and angry wind? Well, the markers might just be the only thing keeping someone from getting completely lost. They'd pass by a few sites where the ground had been dug out, here and there and as they got closer to the primary site more and more would pop up.

But eventually, though, the group would make it.

The first thing they'd see was the giant hole in the mountain left behind by the avalanche Monique had mentioned. A yawning chasm. The mouth of some great beast, perhaps it seemed. Its edges jagged like teeth. Once they got closer, they could see a secondary camp had been set up inside of it. Various tents, heaters for warmth, a few heavy duty vehicles and work equipment laid about, currently disused likely having been for excavating and removing debris from around the door.

"Ah, good, you all made it." Otelius greeted the group as they'd approach, his long red hair a stark contrast to the whites of the institutes tent and the gray rocks of the mountains. "Glad to be working with you all. I assume Monique has filled you in on the basics, everyone? Khalisa and I will be helping you to the best of our abilities." He'd turn his head to where 'Lizzie', the Tivven's mech was. It was currently sitting idly by a pile of debris near what was likely one of the secondary entrances. It was a narrow pass, propped up with a bunch of hastily welded together iron beams and pillars. The roof seemed to be straining to hold back tons of rock and metal.

"...we're supposed to, at least. Miss Khalisa seems like she'd rather stay inside her mech, though."

"Hey. Its comfy in here. I got everything I need. TV, games, snack bar, and also, most importantly, I'm not freezing my ears off. Lemme know when you guys are ready to go so I can grab my ear warmers."

The second entrance, a catwalk about halfway up the cavern had been similarly secured. A scaffolding had been erected to meet the metal walkway, and the walkway itself had been further secured with a number of ropes to tie it to the ceiling.

This site was older, then, than any of their border wars, which was going to present its own set of complications. She couldn't assume there would be any similarities to what she was used to if they managed to get access, which would push even more of the access work onto Amalie…

The trek up to the dig site was nothing special – annoyingly cold on the ears, as expected, and Cellica's eyes kept flicking to the horizon to check that the border patrol hadn't come to accost them over trespassing or accusations of spying yet – but everything turned out fortuitously boring. Unlike the promise of actually entering deeper into the ruins they wanted to explore.

"Yes, we have been briefed, although I was not aware that the supports for that entrance were so… improvised." Improvised was the kind way of putting it, the noble entirely unsurprised if the faint sounds of creaking were from stress and not the effect of wind and temperature changes on the rest of the site. It was hardly her preferred entrance, but it seemed to be the simpler of the two – if the others had no on-hand plans to neutralise the magical risk of the upper entrance, that was.

She was quite confident that it would resist being stabbed.

---

Amalie seemed too focused to allow Bianca's outburst to fluster her much. Instead, she seemed a small bit frustrated when Monique mentioned their old gear was done for. "How unfortunate." She mumbled to herself. She listened to the rest of the information before being told she had thirty minutes to get prepped. She looked to Bianca and smiled, "Well, if you do work on them yourself, let me know if you need a hand with them." The elf then turned and left before anyone else had anything to say to her. She scrambled to the bay she left her armor in.

As she made it to the bay, she tapped on a few buttons on the back of the armor and set her datapad on a nearby table. Amalie hummed along as the back of the armor slid apart, welcoming Amalie into it's confines. It was a repurposed design from the armor back when she started on this project, however it was made less armored since she wasn't as concerned about protecting herself from being shot or stabbed by various kinds of weapons, though she tried to keep the aesthetic similar if not a bit more... Sleek?

Amalie, still humming a song from her learning days, entered her suit. First her arms slid into their spots, soon followed by slipping her feet into the boots and her legs flush against the cuisses region. Her hands met the gauntlets and her fingers gave a little wiggle to affirm her fingertips pressed as far as they could. The last thing was making she her torso were pressed up against the chestplate before the armor slid its entrance closed. Around her neck metal slid, fashioning a fancy metal collar encasing the Thalodreal woman inside a cushy prison of her own design. There was very little room to move her body. If she were lucky enough, Amalie might be able to maneuver enough to scratch an itch, something she planned on rectifying when she figured out a practical solution.

However, the elf tested the servos in the exosuit to make sure there were no issues from her previous diagnostic. "Check.... One?" She wiggled the fingers and moved her arms. "Two?" She took some steps, making some big, awkward steps to make sure some of the scripting was working as intended. "Three." The engineer stepped around normally as she reached up with her right hand to her computer and pulled out a retractable cord, connecting it to the system of her exosuit that was by the collar.

A sound echoed in her earpiece, "AB15X Prototype, online. All systems online." As the computer had said, her eyepiece reported that all systems were perfect. She grabbed the datapad she had set down and tapped a spot on the rear side of her torso. A padded hiding spot opened that allowed her to safely deposit her device in case she needed to work with her hands, or have someone read off data for her. With that, she was all set and went to meet up with the rest of the party before departing.

---

With the bit of insulation she installed in the already crowded exosuit, Amalie felt fairly warm in all by her head on the walk to the site. The longer they were away from camp, however, the colder she felt. "I wish I could have managed to install a heater of some sort in here." She complained to the small group as they moved to the camp. As the arrived, Amalie was quite interested in the structure, pondering it as the walked to the camp and met Otelius and Khalisa.

Amalie listened to their self introduction and Cellica's response. "Definitely... Improvised. I'm rather concerned with the rampant mana from there. I believe my gear might be a bit useless there depending on what's in... There..." She trailed off as she looked at 'Lizzie' for few seconds before forgetting what she was saying and heading toward the mech. "Quality craft is easy on the eyes in such a tumultuous place. Beautiful." She gave the machine a pat as if it were a cute animal.

Regis Meynolt

Regis followed Amalie to the bay, where his own suit was stored. His first step was checking the exterior of the suit, particularly the life support and power systems. The suit had no remote controls- powering it up was a matter of turning a small valve to unseal a panel, then turning several switches and knobs. After what happened with his first crew, Regis did not trust a suit that could potentially be remotely deactivated. As the switches were turned on, the hum of internal fans began whirring, and lights within the panel lit up.

Entering the suit was done by climbing into the top, where the helmet would normally be fastened on. He slipped in and eased his limbs into the appendages, flexing his arms and fingers to test the power assist. With everything seemingly operational, Regis reached down and picked up the helmet off of an adjacent table, its weight evident even behind the power-assisted suit. He placed it on his head, fidgeting with it until a click was heard as the suit's bolts engaged, tightly sealing it into place. Gauges and cathode tube displays lit up inside the helmet around the viewport, much of which provided data that was only useful when submerged.

Oxygen looks good, power is nominal, servos are working, seals are holding, Regis thought to himself as if he was preparing for another dive and not for a mountain hike. At this altitude, he considered it unlikely that they'd encounter any flooded sections of the ruins, but many of the suit's protective properties ought to still be useful.

---

For the most part, the suit performed quite well trudging through the deep snow. Having been designed to shield its wearer from the cold temperatures found on the seafloor, the frigid mountain air was of no consequence. However, the one considerable annoyance of the journey was snow buildup on the helmet's viewing port. The suit's large gloves could not reached through the window's protective grille to wipe away the snow, and as a result Regis' visibility was annoyingly reduced.

Naturally, the first thing he did when reaching the camp was to saunter over to a heater and hold his helmet up to it until the snow was thoroughly melted off. Once he could see again, he turned in the direction of Otelius.

"The entrance with the heavy mana...what sort of hazards as we looking at?" he asked, his voice transmitted through a speaker on the suit. "Monique mentioned that it caused some of our equipment to fail." Fortunately, even if his suit failed, his executables should permit him to lighten his suit enough to move it even without power, and to avoid suffocating if the air pump stopped working.

From the look of that catwalk, though, he'd probably need to lighten the suit just to walk down that path without bringing the whole walkway down.

The temperature is chill. The trek, not exactly easy.

But why should a genius have to worry about things like that? The simple answer is that they shouldn't. And if they haven't thought about a way to circumvent some things, then they simply haven't reached my level.

I swing my legs over my staff, and the world grows ever-so-slightly further away as I seat myself on it sideways and it drifts off of the ground. No need to walk, and its built-in heating system means the cold is far less of a problem for me as long as I remain close to it.

Aren't I amazing?

I don't need an answer to such a question, as I already know that I am.

In any case, this means I'm plenty warm for the whole trek to the site itself. I assume those using power armor have some method of keeping themselves insulated, but aside from that I'm not particularly concerned. If they're here, they should be able to handle this much, shouldn't they?

... That's how the entrance looks, is it? Well, danger is hardly a reason to hesitate in the pursuit of knowledge. I can handle it, certainly. rather, it's more surprising they didn't put a little more effort into making it at least look sturdier.

"Of course we've been briefed," I declare, "Besides, I would expect all of us have at least put some effort into our research before setting out to enter an unknown ruin."

I can feel my heart beating quicker as I eye the entrance. I'll assume that everyone here is qualified, even if they're not possessed of my intellect. So, it hardly matters who I'm paired with, as I can assume that everyone is a good enough partner to assist in traversal and exploration.

Rather, it's my excitement that's driving my heart to pound faster and faster. Such an ancient, mysterious ruin is the perfect place to pursue knowledge, to further my own research. The very act of discovery is enough to make my spirit fly, to warm me from deep within.

"Mmm, just what secrets lie within...?" I comment, mostly to myself as I drift closer astride my staff, before looking over my shoulder.

"If we can pinpoint a source of the mana flow, that would be ideal," I say, louder, towards the others, "I may be able to mitigate its effects, depending on its nature."

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Pyromania99@Raineh Daze

"Improvised!?" Lizzie moved one of its mechanical hands, balling into a fist and pointing at Cellica. "I'll have you know this is peak Tivven engineering! This things not failing ever! Not on my watch! I made it to last!" The dull thudding sound of Amalie patting Lizzie like a pet would catch Khalisa's attention, one of the mechs arms moving and shooing the elf away like she was some sort of pest or too curious animal herself. "Oi hands off the goods, elf. Lizzie is a delicate girl and only I can touch her delicate bits."

"Ahaha, Khalisa did what she could to support it. Digging out too much or changing it too drastically was difficult." Otelius laughed softly. "We are entirely unsure what hazards exactly exist in that direction. The mana makes it difficult to use remote observation scripts and it completely rendered any drones useless as well - to say nothing of it interfering with both scripts and executables both making them harder to control." He nodded towards Anette. "As miss Anette has suggested, I can easily weave a script enough to shield us once we're ready to go in. If we can find the source, supposing its something easy enough we can cut it off and it should take care of that." He puased slightly. "Ah, and if you're unfamiliar with with the effects of heavy mana, well...at best, it simply corrodes electronics interfere with wireless signals. At worst it corrupts and causes...hm, the easiest way I can describe it as errors in programming. For us more organic beings, well...uh, people can get errors too."

"What he means is, it'll cause us to go boom. At best." Khalisa rather bluntly and perhaps inelegantly explained.

"Khalisa and I have decided that She'll be going through the ground level entrance here while my talents will be suited to helping deal with that Mana problem. Also, just before we head in. A bit of new gear for everyone."

Otelius picked up a box from a nearby crate of supplies.

"Comms devices. Bianca has worked on them herself, so they're pretty good. Longer range than previous ones and a bit more durable. Should help everyone keep in contact and I'm sure Monique will be keeping in touch." Opening the box would reveal rather simple looking ear pieces that fit around ones ear - a malleable design made of flexible metal that could be adjusted to fit comfortably around elvish or human ears. "And keep open mics, please, in case anything sudden happens. So...any volunteers for either route?"

Cellica took the comms device and gave it a cursory inspection before wiggling it into place, glad that at least it only really needed to cling to the base of her ears. She didn't want to imagine how annoying it would be to have some sort of earpiece that was tickling away all the time it was in use.

Now, as for who should go where…

"I think it would be for the best if Miss Kynbrough and myself went through the mana-filled corridor. She is, after all, a specialist and I have no sensitive equipment," the elf began, glossing over the other fact that her advantages lay in burst speed and strength if needed, not rockfalls, "While Miss Brunnenhild's equipment would probably be best served going through the other tunnel with Mister Meynolt, as another backup in case anything should happen."

---

Amalie frowned at getting her hand swatted away. "I was merely appreciating "Lizzie's" craftsmanship." The elf gave a small huff and then turned from the Tivven to pay attention to the conversation about their work. She was happy when Cellica was the first to bring up her own preferred way to split the team up. "I will concur with this separation of labor." Amalie said, noticeably happy to not have to deal with the flood of mana on the upper levels.

"And you can just call me Amalie. It'll make things easier." The elf said, seeming unconcerned with her surname or her heritage really. "Regardless if you and Kynbrough take the mana drenched area, I'd be much appreciative. Just don't let the mana affect you." Amalie gave a word of warning that, really, would be needless most likely. She then looked between the other two that hadn't commented on the suggested plan yet. "Though, I suppose it would be best to make sure we're all in agreement?" She studied Regis' armor for a good few seconds before looking away, hoping they'd both agree to the plan.

Regis Meynolt

"Yes, Cellia's plans seems sound," Regis remarked to Amalie as he engaged a release latch on his helmet. "You I are best equipped to clear rubble and are best protected should a cave-in occur. Speaking of which, could you hold this for a second?" he asked as he removed his helmet and handed it to Amalie. With his head uncovered, he was able to put on one of the earpieces, albeit with some difficulty due to his suit's bulky gloves.

It would be slow work to clear and stabilize the collapsed passage, but unless they could get the massive door to open from the other side, this would be the most suitable route for moving heavy equipment.

"Much appreciated," he told Amalie as he took his helmet back and put it back on. "This suit can be a bit of a hassle at times."

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Pyromania99@Raineh Daze

"Sounds like everyones in agreement then. Lady Cellica, Miss Anette, and myself will head into the corridor above and see if we can't deal with this mana problem." He'd walk over to where the rope was to the catwalk above as he spoke. "Regis, Khalisa, and Amalie will head into the ground level corridor and see if they can't find a way into the facility proper and get that door open."

"Hup-" Lizzie's frame shuddered slightly as a large hatch on its front opened up. The surprisingly well dressed Tivven would clamber out, climbing down the front of the large mech with agile movement, landing softly on the ground a few seconds later. "Sounds like a plan to me." She'd grab a pack full of tools from a storage spot on Lizzie's leg and sling it over her shoulder. "Big ol' door like that probably has a manual release somewhere. Maybe in a security room or something? Whatevs, should be easy with the two tin cans."

"Then lets get going."

---

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR
Auxiliary Storage -

Climbing up the rope was easy enough, if one could ignore the creaking of the metal catwalk. Supposing Anette simply didn't decide to carry everyone up with her magic. Heading down the passage would soon lead to a broken door, long since haven been stuck in an open position. A small plaque written in ancient script sat next to it, old, faded and barely legible. Once inside of the room it was remarkably well preserved, on either side of it were what seemed to be large pillars that went from the floor and ending just before reaching the ceiling. A few had blinking lights of blues and reds. Along these odd pillars were boxes and crates. mechanical arms of mechs hanging from the ceiling, sitting on old shelving corroded and rusted.

A soft, blue glow and a gentle mist was filtering in from some vents above before disappearing into the air.

"This room is about as far as we could get as far as remote recon could go." Otelius spoke up. On the other side of the room was a hallway. Taking even a few steps down it would reveal the room after was covered in a thick, blue mist that was steadily rolling into the the room they were currently in. Accidentally breathing any in would cause a brief coughing fit. "The rooms beyond are completely flooded."

"Testing...testing, this is Monique! Hows everyone doing? Any problems getting in so far?" There waqs a beep on their com devices as Moniques voice soon chimed in.

---

@Crimson Paladin@Pyromania99
Maintenance Corridors -

The debris and seemingly makeshift entrance creaked as the trio stepped into it, the supports groaning slightly under the vibrations from their foot steps, but primarily the two heavy mechanical suits. Steel beams, whatever Khalisa and the other engineers repurposed, seemingly from the site itself meshed with whatever she could get her hands on to hold it up. Lights had been strung up through the corridor creating a dim glow.

If nothing else, the hallway was holding.

"See? Nothin' to worry about. Dumb pointy eared bougie. Pfft, this is peak Tivven engineering." Khalisa grumbled as she'd have taken the decision to take point down the corridor. "Like A Tivven doesnt know how to build something to last, humph." One of her ears twitched irritably as the short hallway would soon open up into a larger room.

"Anyways, this is about as far as we got here." The room in question...well, it didn't look too terribly different from the hallway truthfully. A large, rectangular shaped room littered with various old machines and scraps of debris. Part of the roof had long since collapsed on the same side that they had come out on creating a pile of rock and earth filling the room. Part of the ceiling on the right side had collapsed as well, only held up by an old support column that was bending suspiciously. What seemed to be some kind of vent was hanging off of it, a blue, glowing mist leaking from it. "We determined it would probably be best not to mess around too much. Its really not very stable so be careful. The only way through is through that door over there."

The door in question seemed to be a sliding door. A keypad of some sort right next to it. There was just two problems. Going up to it offered no response aside from a very low scraping noise as it refused to open and a keypad next to it blinking faintly red in error. The second problem was that a large metal shelving of some kind had fallen over in front of it, resting at an angle on some wheeled ancient wheeled vehicle.

"Think either one of ya could get that door working?" Khalisa would walk over to some of the old machines and start inspecting it.

"Testing...testing, this is Monique! Hows everyone doing? Any problems getting in so far?" There waqs a beep on their com devices as Moniques voice soon chimed in.

---

Amalie had mutedly accepted the helmet, taking her time to study it before handing it back before they finally got moving into work. There was no lack of concern on the elf's face as she, Regis and Khalisa wandered into the makeshift tunnel. She held her arms up defensively as if something were going to fall on her at any minute, though, nothing did. It really took no time at all for the group to make it's way past the passageway and into the next room.

Amalie looked interested as the trio entered the room. It was collapsed to an annoying degree, but she could see all the non-functional machines and, almost worryingly, blue mist coming out of a vent. She looked over the room before setting her view on the keypad and the door. That looked frustrating to get to. As Khalisa asked if someone could get the door working, she looked over the mess that seemed to be there. "Hopefully." Was her reply, looking over the best way to get to it. "I just need access to it. Help me move this shelf and whatever that vehicle is. I'd love to take a look at that later if time permits, however." She mentioned, carefully moving closer to the door to examine it.

It was then that her device sounded in her ear. "Testing...testing, this is Monique! Hows everyone doing? Any problems getting in so far?"

The elf thought about how to start replying to that. "Amalie here. On Mister Meynolt, Khalisa and my side we need to displace some machinery and a shelf and repair a door. I might have to do a bit of rewiring or something of the sort." Her tone was fairly matter of fact.