Burger

Iron Rose Adventurers [Light-hearted exploration and questing]

Alright, answer time.

@MarsAdept@Hawlin

Magic is between high and low fantasy, more towards high. Think of Dark Souls as the baseline for magic. The most common magic are sorceries, miracles, and -mancies. Rather, magic is unlimited. Mana, ki, any sort of magical force is one in the same. Different paths to one thing: changing reality. A sorcerer would study magic, and as a result, their spells are orderly. Clerics and priests pray to the gods for power, and as a result, they pray for magic to happen. -mancies usually come from heart and are instinctual, so they tend to head more for chaotic blasts of hell-yeah.

But this doesn't mean you have to stick with one of those three. You could write up a necromancer. You'd probably be hated for desecration, but that's unrelated. Simply put, the possibilities with magic are endless. New spells are created every day, but for the vast majority of commoners, magic is something that they almost never see. For adventurers, it's a common thing.

---

For the races, I'll just say that you can go for it. All of the human-like races (elves or dwarves) existed before the three nations began to fight each other, but once war broke out, they migrated around and just became part of mankind. Most elves and dwarves today have mostly human blood, but still go by elf and dwarf because of culture. Good riddance, because ancient elves and dwarves looked disgusting.

There also exist beastmen. They come from the eastern island of Adagari and have hundreds of subspecies. The most common of which are the lizardmen, but beastmen are a rare sight due to their insular culture.

If you want to make one up, just PM me some background information on them and put them somewhere on this map.

Just remember: Irithia, Sirris, and Rhode are the countries of mankind, Irithia is a kingdom of castles and nobles, Sirris is a cold theocracy lead by the church (most clerics, priests, and paladins come from here), Rhode is a coalition of different countries. Adagari is the country of beasts, Morburne is a horrible place to be because of all of the "demons", and the ancients still exist in the Ancient Marsh.

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also character sheet

[centre][img]i.imgur.com/Db9zwKb.png[/img]
(use [s]weeb[/s] anime art because i need to pretend that there's a cohesive style)
[.hr][.hr]
[b]Name:[/b]
(Self-explanatory)

[b]Alias(es):[/b]
(Any nicknames or such go here. Most low ranks would have nicknames only known to friends)

[b]Gender:[/b]
(Stick or no stick?)

[b]Race:[/b]
(If you use a non-common race, just PM me some information about them and their culture.)

[b]Age:[/b]
(How old are you?)

[b]Rank:[/b]
(Usually people will be D or C ranked. PM me if you want special permission. We would need to work something out.)

[b]Personality:[/b]
(Make it good)

[b]History:[/b]
(Your character's past. How did they become an adventurer? I don't expect a novel, just a little framework.)

[b]Magic:[/b]
(If any. Delete if unnecessary.)

[b]Skills:[/b]
(Anything relevant here)

[b]Equipment:[/b]
(General items, armour or weapons. Note that items are graded based on their strength and magical properties. The list is as follows: Common-grade, Magic-grade, Masterwork-grade, Ancient-grade, Legendary-grade.)

[b]Anything Else:[/b]
(Miscellaneous stuff)
[/centre]

For now, you can write up everything except for the backstory, and I'll tell you if it's all gucci.

Iron Rose Adventurers [Light-hearted exploration and questing]

Alma, the continent of man. For hundreds of years, war has raged between three nations. While their war had raged, the ancients had returned. Beasts of yore, wielding artifacts of untold might. The three nations had managed to band together to repel the foreign beasts. While many of the ancient still exist today, they are no longer a threat to the nations that had once repelled them. The defeat of the ancients resulting in three things: the proliferation of ancient treasures that were empowered, an era of peace between the three nations, and the discovery of ancient dungeons - fortresses of magic that constantly shifted and changed. The peace had allowed for man to realize that in their years of fighting, they had neglected to explore and discover their own home.

Thus began the golden age of adventuring.

With the three nations allied, man took to both the wilds and ancient dungeons. Eventually, the number adventurers began to soar to record amounts. Lands were being pillaged for loot, highwaymen ambushed hard workers, and the seemingly infinite amount of adventurers were impossible to control. A solution was created: the Adventurer Guild. They acted as leadership for the rowdy adventurers and punished criminal activity while working to build a sustainable environment where adventurers could always find something new. They seemed to solve everything. Well, everything except for the highwaymen.

Due to Alma's size, different chapters of Adventuring Guilds fill each city. However, there is one peculiar chapter located in the capital city of Rhode. With a name that reverberates around Alma, the Iron Rose Adventurer's Guild is the most well-known guild. Mostly because of their ever-absent leader whose exploits stretch the boundaries of mankind's borders.

Ranking

Ranks

Legend

Recognized by the guild and all three nations, Legends are the strongest mankind has to offer. Everyone knows of their name and exploits. Almost always given posthumously, living Legends are hard to come by. Nations and the guilds allow them to do anything they want. However, due to their power and desires, Legends are almost always absent from Alma.

There are only two living legends: The Lord of Iron - Rose and The Lord of Dawn - Alron. Rose charts unexplored islands and continents while Alron secludes himself from the world.
^{*unable to start as}

Hero

Given to those who have completed the Hero's Journey, Heroes are those who have graduated from the Adventuring Guild. They live freely and have free passage to anywhere. Most jobs for heroes are specialized and almost always extremely dangerous. Nations allow them to do anything they want, so long as they don't do wrong.
^{*unable to start as}

S-rank

The strongest adventurers in the Guild, S-ranks take the hardest missions. They deal with the things that no others can. Ancients, dragons, anything that the A-ranks can't handle. They're about as strong as grand champions. They have free access to the Ancient Marsh and most other islands.
^{*unable to start as}

A-rank

Veteran adventurers, A-ranks are prepared for anything. They're experienced with most things and as a result, they take difficult missions such as the subjugation of lords. They're allowed anywhere not extraordinarily dangerous. They're about as strong as grand warriors.
^{*unable to start as}

B-rank

Adept adventurers, B-ranks handle most of the heavy lifting. They deal with invasions, mapping out ruins, and teaching lower ranked adventurers. Their jobs usually are about dealing with hordes and exploring ancient fortresses. B-ranks have free no-questions-asked entrance into most cities, but are heavily restricted in island travel. They're about as strong as a knight.
^{*unable to start as without special permission}

C-rank

Experienced adventurers, C-ranked deal with most moderate jobs. They deal with the extermination of "pest races" like orcs and goblins - jobs of that sort. They have tolls to get into certain cities and aren't allowed onto islands. They're about as strong as a soldier.

D-rank

Novice adventurers are trainees. They take jobs meant for them to learn the ropes of adventuring and are usually accompanied by higher ranked adventurers. They have no special travel permissions and are about as strong as a militiaman.

E-rank

That's E for Employee. E-ranks are the support staff who make the guild work. Adventurers in name only, they deal with all of the menial tasks. They evaluate equipment, gather jobs, work bars, anything that an adventurer needs in their local guild hall.
^{*unable to start as unless you hate adventure}

Locations:

Locations

Rhode

Rhode is a coalition of cities, and as such, each city is independent. There is no baseline of what a Rhodian looks or acts like. This has left Rhode with a rather negative stereotype. They were once considered savage mutts, but this has since been rectified as the other nations have accepted Rhode's mosaic of culture. Rhode's western coastline is a long forest, turning into plains as it reaches into the interior. Southern Rhode consists of rocky barrens that act as a buffer from the Ancient Marsh. Eastern Rhode is a mountainous wall crossing into Sirris.

Swynport

Located near the coast, Swynport is where the Iron Rose Adventurer's Guild stakes its home. Swynport is a rich town - surprisingly without a port. This has left nearby cities very confused, as Swynport is too far from the sea to have a port. Rather, it's named after a man known as Swymport. Despite having 20,000 citizens, Swymport is considered to be safe. At least, inside of its walls. For the past ten years, Swymport had been dealing with goblins attacks. Nobody knows where the goblins come from, they just appear and attack things.

Sirris

A frigid and mountainous country, Sirris is a conservative theocracy. The church rules everything. Due to the church's focus on selflessness and charity after the war, Sirris had become a dreamland for commoners. While struggles due to religion still occur, the church does its best for the citizens.

Irithia

As a monarchy, Irithia is rough for the average person. Due to pressure from Sirris, Irithia acts decent to its commoners. They are given land and tools to farm, but are otherwise left alone. The noble circle of Irithia can be called a cesspool of sycophants and nepotists, but the king does an extraordinary job of keeping them in line. Central Irithia is an extremely fertile set of plains, but it quickly turns into a desert as the island of Morburne draws closer.

Adagari

A lush jungle filled with life, Adagari is home to beastmen. Centaurs, lizardmen, it seems like any sort of animal could make its home in Adagari. The culture is extremely tribal. Fighting is constant and the races are almost always insular from the world. Though, it is not a rare occurrence to see them on the mainland.

Morburne

The land of demons. Morburne is extremely dangerous. Open lava pits, volcanoes, rugged rocks, and dead trees litter the island. Only the strongest races can survive here. As such, very little exploration has been made on Morburne. Not even heroes want to venture there - though, that's less because of the danger and more because it is a sweltering hellhole.

Ancient Marsh

A deep marsh, this is the Ancient's last stand. While ancients appear from time to time, they are a common sight here. However, for some reason, they no longer feel the need to extend their land. As such, the Ancient Marsh is a dangerous treasure trove.

Silent Veil

Very little is known about the Silent Veil. The island is covered in a thick mist that causes sickness to those that approach and is thus undiscovered.

Hero's Landing and Journey

Very little is shared about this island. It's a well-guarded secret. What is known is that it's the trial to become a hero.

Item Grades:

Grades

Legendary

Objects of insane value, Legendary items are just that - of legend. They are impossibly hard to find and, due to their power, are worth as much as entire nations.

Artifact

Weapons, tools, armour, anything that the Ancients had brought with them. They are extremely powerful, enchanted with unknown magic, and enigmatic.

Masterwork

Great objects made by masters in their field. They are usually enchanted with magic, but are the pinnacle of mankind's creation.

Magic

Things imbued with magic. The properties vary extraordinary.

Common

Regular objects. Nothing is too special about them. Quality varies from pile of rust to beautiful swords.

Almanac:

Loose information

Currency

Copper Coin < Iron Coin < Silver Coin < Gold Coin < Crystal Coin
1 Copper Coin are equal to about $1 USD.
10 copper coins are equal to 1 iron coin. (10 USD)
10 iron coins are equal to 1 silver coin. (100 USD)
10 silver coins are equal to 1 gold coin. (1000 USD)
10 gold coins are equal to 1 crystal coin. (10000 USD)
By crushing a crystal coin, magic becomes empowered.

Guild Tags

Hunks of an ancient metal, carved by a master craftsman into a small tag. Each one has the insignia of where the adventurer first signed up as to allow them to remember their roots. Stained with blood, it reacts while the user squeezes on it, glowing a color to denote the user's rank. Each blood-mark is unique, allowing for the identification of adventurers.

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---

Here we go - an adventuring and questing RP based on all of those isekai manga and anime. Except, you know, without the entire isekai bit.

Simply put, this RP is about light-hearted adventure and character growth. I wouldn't call the direction that I'm trying to go with this as a sandbox. I would call it open-ended. You, as a player, will be subtly nudged in the direction of a story while you can do anything you want along the way. If you can't decide on what you want to do or get stuck, you could always take a mission from the board. And who knows, maybe those missions could evolve into something great. You can get sweet loot along the way, too.

Just gauging interest to see if I should go VERY fast Silver writing at incredible hihg speed.

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[centre][img]i.imgur.com/Db9zwKb.png[/img]
(use [s]weeb[/s] anime art because i need to pretend that there's a cohesive style)
[.hr][.hr]
[b]Name:[/b]
(Self-explanatory)

[b]Alias(es):[/b]
(Any nicknames or such go here. Most low ranks would have nicknames only known to friends)

[b]Gender:[/b]
(Stick or no stick?)

[b]Race:[/b]
(If you use a non-common race, just PM me some information about them and their culture.)

[b]Age:[/b]
(How old are you?)

[b]Rank:[/b]
(Usually people will be D or C ranked. PM me if you want special permission. We would need to work something out.)

[b]Personality:[/b]
(Make it good)

[b]History:[/b]
(Your character's past. How did they become an adventurer? I don't expect a novel, just a little framework.)

[b]Magic:[/b]
(If any. Delete if unnecessary.)

[b]Skills:[/b]
(Anything relevant here)

[b]Equipment:[/b]
(General items, armour or weapons. Note that items are graded based on their strength and magical properties. The list is as follows: Common-grade, Magic-grade, Masterwork-grade, Ancient-grade, Legendary-grade.)

[b]Anything Else:[/b]
(Miscellaneous stuff)
[/centre]

//: Project:EVE : (OPEN)

_{//:#4 ELI;ADAM}

Rnnnnn. Rnnnnn. Rnnnnn.

The alarm broke the silence of Eli's room. The high-pitched screech pulsated with the power to wake even the hardiest of sleeps and Eli was no different. In fact, no matter how many times Eli heard the alarm, he was always startled by it. This time was particularly bad - upon waking, his face warped and contorted. It opened in strips, revealing a gaping hole surrounded in oozing holes as saliva dribbled out. By the time he was lucid, his face had already reverted to normal. He looked at the briefing on the screen. Something about being at the auditorium at 6 AM. Eli wasn't exactly the most awake, so most of the wording was lost at him. He glanced over at his clock - a plain white clock with seemingly empty hands - pointed at 4 and 3. It was either 4:15 or 3:20. Either way, Eli had enough time to get ready.

Taking his time, Eli removed his blanket - being sure to neatly fold it against his bed - and walked to his closet. It was a dreamland for a fashion genius like him. Jackets, shirts, and pants filled the closet. After some choice deliberations, Eli chose his classic ensemble: turtle neck, jacket with a fur collar, sweater vest, corset, pants, socks, boots. All in some shade of brown or red. It looked good on him. So much so that, even though he wore it often, he spent an extraordinary amount of time looking in a full-body mirror. He was good to go - his hair was in order, his clothes were on point, he just needed to greet the guard on the way out.

"Hey Ray! Nice seeing you," he said as he waltzed out of his room, "how's the wife and kids? Didn't your son have a baseball game coming up? Tell him that he'll do fine and to just relax. And tell your wife I said hi." The guard, understandably, didn't acknowledge anything. He wasn't Ray. In fact, nobody was sure who this Ray was. Eli had probably made Ray up to get out of listening to guards be rude, but nobody was completely sure.

---

By the time Eli reached the auditorium, the majority of his sibs had already arrived. He looked around and saw Asmodeus, Alma, and Daniel all sitting together. Daniel, more or less, being gross and covered in blood (bad fashion choice). With a hop, skip, and a stumble, Eli chose a folding chair in front of them all. He quickly spun around, sitting backwards on the chair. "Hekyekyekyekyek. What's up with all of you?" He had said before glancing over to Daniel. Daniel was quite messed up this morning, what with missing lips and shark teeth. Not wanting to be undone, Eli quickly transformed. His head splayed open into five segments, as if a flower bloomed from his thin stem neck. Sharp teeth covered each strip as they danced around on a whim. Just as quickly as his face split open, it closed.

//: Project:EVE : (OPEN)

Theory crafting time about Cipher.

Note how he says abilities and not mutations.

While mutations are usually under abilities, they seem to be exclusive. For example, Eli's transformation is purely an ability caused by his cells being non-specialized. As such, his fingers aren't shortened while in Cipher's field. This would raise a few questions, such as, what qualifies as a mutation and what is strictly an ability.

So I'm going to go through every character to see who has what type of ability, which shall henceforth be known as a "Mutation-type" and "Ability-type".

Alpha is purely an ability-type. She would be affected by Cipher in some way or form. While I don't think she should be completely nullified, I do think that she should be heavily limited when Cipher is blocking. Mostly because I think power absorption is a crock of weenies because it's so vague.^{Also, any non-infinite number times zero is zero.}

Centipede is strictly a mutation type, thus, she is in no way affected by Cipher.

Vector's vectors is purely an ability-type. They would be affected in some way, but he doesn't suddenly lose brain cells whenever Cipher enters the room.

Eli's ability is a mix of ability and mutation. The ability part is to transform - his cells would say, become dormant whenever Cipher used his powers, thus reverting him into his squishy boy form. The cells themselves are a mutation, so whenever Cipher gives Eli an incredibly awkward high-five, he doesn't instantaneously turn into a skeleton floating in a pile of peach-coloured goo.

Monster is the same story. His bootleg Eli-cells would probably just turn off for a bit, preventing transformation, regeneration, and rage-bursting.

Psyker's ability is pure ability, so it would probably get diddled.

Reaper is the same story.

Zombie's regeneration is another mixed bag. His strength would probably be a mutation, but his regeneration is a mix. A decent solution would probably be to just pause the regeneration.

Gestalt is another special cell-boy. Same rules would apply.

For Echidna (the 4-ween wonder), the beasts themselves would probably be unaffected, but Echidna's regeneration and ability to create them would be halted.

Blink is purely a mutation-type, thus, would be unaffected.

Puppeteer is purely an ability-type and would be affected in some way.

Orphan is the same.

Dostya would probably be unaffected.

//: Project:EVE : (OPEN)

//: Project:EVE : (OPEN)

Eli "Adam" Avidan

∟ NAME: Eli Avidan

∟ FIELD NAME: Adam

∟ RANK: 4

∟ CLASS: Passive

∟ GENDER: Male

∟ PHYSICAL PROFILE: Standing at 5'4 with an extremely thin build, Eli isn't the most intimidating child, with his green eyes and kempt blonde hair. His physical mutations, however, make him look rather odd to others. Despite being so short, his arms are extraordinarily long. Not to mention his fingers, which are twice as long as normal. His extremely thin build even transcends what a normal person would consider thin - his neck appears to be so brittle that it could snap at any moment. This has lead to two things - an unnatural love of turtlenecks and a never ending desire to be fashionable. Desiring to hide his appearance, he tends to dress well.

∟ PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Eli is an oddball. He's rather self-serving and greedy, only caring about the well-being of himself. Thankfully, this attitude is mild. He doesn't go out of his way to put himself ahead, but he still is reluctant to help others with small things. People who are close to Eli find his laughter rather disturbing. Sometimes - and for no reason - Eli starts to giggle, as if he heard a joke that nobody else noticed. His laughter is another point of contention, as it sounds as if he never actually knew how to laugh. Eli also has a rather unnatural fascination for the macabre. If he could, he would collect the flesh of dead Hydras, but it isn't exactly known what he would do with it. His fashion sense, however, makes up for this odd curiosity. Eli dresses well and he prides himself on what he wears. He's in love with fashion to the point where he actively gets mad at people who dress ultra-casual or don't look well in their clothing.

∟ ABILITIES: Hydra Transformation - Eli is able to become a hydra. Rather, he is able to transform into something that is similar to a hydra. His transformations are always different - fitting to his current needs. The forms are always rather grotesque - so much so that people have a tendency to block out what his forms exactly look like. However, this ability comes at a cost. The more he transforms and the greater the transformation, the more Eli loses himself. At his full strength, Eli would be able to fight toe to toe with even the strongest known hydra. To do so would cause Eli to lose his mind, pretty much doubling the Hydra problem. As a result, Eli can only use a fraction of his ability at a time.

∟ WEAKNESSES: Eli's power is limited by the fact that he has a tendency to berserk whenever he gets too strong.
His ranged game is extremely lacking. He can only fight things that are close to him.
Due to the unspecialized cells that allow for Eli's power to work, temperatures below 4°C cause his powers to stop functioning and his body to seize up. Temperatures above 60°C cause his cells to go hyperactive, causing him to randomly transform.

Interviews

∟ Number 1 // ALPHA
"Who? I don't really pay attention to the unreal."

∟ Number 2 // CENTIPEDE
"She really likes to make things weird. One second, she's a mom, the next second, she's a frothing berserker centipede. I wonder how military jackets look on someone with sharp protrusions..."

∟ Number 3 // VECTOR
"Future is so chic right now. I think I might be in love. Is this what love is? Wait, no, I just like the style."

∟ Number 5 // MONSTER
"Did he call me weird? I bet he called me weird. I'll whoop his ass. I'm him, but stronger. Though his skin is rather... hekyekyekyek..."

∟ Number 6 // PSYKER
"What a dweeb. She only has one friend and everyone calls me weird? Hek... hekyekyekyekyek."

∟ Number 7// REAPER
"Fire and I are no bueno. I don't like working with him. Him being a dick doesn't help."

∟ Number 9// ZOMBIE
"Look gracefully at the man who's power is to break his own arms and be okay! I would be fine with him, but zippers and baggy clothes? Death sentence.

∟ Number 10 // GESTALT
"Yerch. I prefer to keep my body as my own. But his organs... hekyekyekyekyek..."

∟ Number 16 // WEAVER
"Again, they call me weird. She's a bit loud for my tastes."

∟ Number 18 // ECHIDNA
"She does have a nice modelling body... a good blank canvas... Hurm... But the beasts she makes... I just want to..."

∟ Number 22 // BLINK
"Surprisingly, I like him. He does him and I do me."

∟ Number 32 // PUPPETEER
"Nice body. Would probably look good in some dresses I have. Don't ask where I got them."

∟ Number 66 // ORPHAN
"What a baby. I don't like her. Children's fashion is terrible and should never exist."

∟ Number 116 // PINPOINT
"She exists, I guess."

∟ Number 128 // CIPHER
"I need to get along with him. He's like a portable temperature controller, in case I get too hot or too cold."

//: Project:EVE : (OPEN)

It is done.

Eli "Adam" Avidan

∟ NAME: Eli Avidan

∟ FIELD NAME: Adam

∟ RANK: 4

∟ CLASS: Passive

∟ GENDER: Male

∟ PHYSICAL PROFILE: Standing at 5'4 with an extremely thin build, Eli isn't the most intimidating child, with his green eyes and kempt blonde hair. His physical mutations, however, make him look rather odd to others. Despite being so short, his arms are extraordinarily long. Not to mention his fingers, which are twice as long as normal. His extremely thin build even transcends what a normal person would consider thin - his neck appears to be so brittle that it could snap at any moment. This has lead to two things - an unnatural love of turtlenecks and a never ending desire to be fashionable. Desiring to hide his appearance, he tends to dress well.

∟ PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: Eli is an oddball. He's rather self-serving and greedy, only caring about the well-being of himself. Thankfully, this attitude is mild. He doesn't go out of his way to put himself ahead, but he still is reluctant to help others with small things. People who are close to Eli find his laughter rather disturbing. Sometimes - and for no reason - Eli starts to giggle, as if he heard a joke that nobody else noticed. His laughter is another point of contention, as it sounds as if he never actually knew how to laugh. Eli also has a rather unnatural fascination for the macabre. If he could, he would collect the flesh of dead Hydras, but it isn't exactly known what he would do with it. His fashion sense, however, makes up for this odd curiosity. Eli dresses well and he prides himself on what he wears. He's in love with fashion to the point where he actively gets mad at people who dress ultra-casual or don't look well in their clothing.

∟ ABILITIES: Hydra Transformation - Eli is able to become a hydra. Rather, he is able to transform into something that is similar to a hydra. His transformations are always different - fitting to his current needs. The forms are always rather grotesque - so much so that people have a tendency to block out what his forms exactly look like. However, this ability comes at a cost. The more he transforms and the greater the transformation, the more Eli loses himself. At his full strength, Eli would be able to fight toe to toe with even the strongest known hydra. To do so would cause Eli to lose his mind, pretty much doubling the Hydra problem. As a result, Eli can only use a fraction of his ability at a time.

∟ WEAKNESSES: Eli's power is limited by the fact that he has a tendency to berserk whenever he gets too strong.
His ranged game is extremely lacking. He can only fight things that are close to him.
Due to the unspecialized cells that allow for Eli's power to work, temperatures below 4°C cause his powers to stop functioning and his body to seize up. Temperatures above 40°C cause his cells to go hyperactive, causing him to randomly transform.

//: Project:EVE

@SilverDawn Oh! The position of 1 was requested a little while go via PM - it's completely my bad for not editing it in as soon as I saw it. Would you like another position maybe?

@Little Eden

Dickens, number 4.

//: Project:EVE

Swing me in for that Smitty Werben Man Jensen number 1 spot.

Devil's Runners

It was disgusting, but now that Sidney had finished vomiting, she felt like a million dollars. Worthless since the apocalypse, but still comical to have around. She quickly suited up. As quick as she went, she was the slowest out of the bunch. She was one of the few people who seemed to wear an adequate amount of protection. Occupational hazards and regular hazards, after all. Bringing the right amount of equipment would be imperative. She would only need to bring what she needed this time. Her shotgun, about thirty rounds in pouches around her hip, both shovels on her back, her engineering kit on her hip, two blocks of plastic explosives hoisted in a bag on her chest, and a bag of assorted grenades above the blocks. About 1/3 of her usual equipment. It was the bare minimum that Sidney would bring with her.

She left the makeshift change-room, prepared to haul an ass-load of cargo.

---

As guns pointed at Sidney, she honestly didn't give a shit. More specifically, she was excited. An ambush gunfight? It would be so much fun for her. Even if she was shot to the point of certain-death, she could just pull a few pins in her bag and the surrounding area would light up as if it was the second apocalypse. She would die as she lived - surrounded in explosions. As the guns were lowered and they were called to meet the chief and walk through the tunnels, Sidney couldn't help but feel disappointed. Putting those feelings aside, she listened to what the chief was talking about. Service tunnels and darkness galore. Well, there weren't many better ways to spend Wednesdays. Or whatever day it actually was.

The cave-in was just that - a cave in. After a quick inspection by Sidney, she knew she couldn't blow it open. Well, she could, but it would probably make an even bigger mess. Vadri was right, but for the wrong reason. "I do indeed have enough explosives to clear it. The problem is that if I blow it up, it'll probably collapse more. If I had seven," she said as she counted on her fingers, "two weeks, I could clear it no problem."

Before she could explain why, Newt took the scene by selling flashlights. They would be useful. So much so that Sidney had to buy one. She pulled out a grenade from her bag. It looked rather makeshift and janky. A tube made from aluminum foil in a small perforated steel pipe with a string extending out from the bottom. "Trade," she said as she gave the small tube to Newt. "If you're in shit, pull the pin, you have four seconds to toss it behind you and run. Don't look back. If you cover your ears, make sure you're really covering them, and as soon as it goes off, try to hit the deck. Also make sure that you're not holding it when it goes off, otherwise you'll be a few fingers short of a ten-count," she joked as she took a flashlight. Some would say giving explosive devices to children would be a bad idea, but it was how Sidney was raised.