[network] @Zelda; beacon & tunnels; day 015, morning [open]

[sageprincess]

... So.

[You hear this voice, Norfinbury? This is the voice of a woman who has regrets. So many regrets she doesn't quite know how to shift through them all. May as well start with the ones with less personal baggage.]

How many of our number turned on the beacon while our minds were... affected? It may be prudent to keep track of those that did, in case something has been alerted due to such actions.

[She rubs her face a bit, though it's hard to tell given the only source of light around seems to be coming from the tablet itself. Distantly, she recognizes that she should probably be a bit more concerned about another morning of injections and subsequent paralysis, but after all that's happened in the past few days, she doesn't have enough energy to put into worrying about something that's happened twice before.]

Additionally, I have an update regarding the Jia Xú key I asked about previously. To the southwest, there is a building buried in the southern wall of snow. Previously, it barred entry to any who passed it, but it opened with the key I possess.

[Casually skips over the fact it promptly closed again once everyone was inside. It's not important.]

This building, though not a hospital as hoped, possesses a back door. The walls surrounding the town are not completely impenetrable.

[She flips the tablet then, casting the dim glow to the icy tunnels she's found herself in - dark, closed in, and sloping downwards. Not the best of views, certainly, but it gets the point across, she hopes.]

There is a series of caves branching out from that building, though I cannot yet tell how far they go or where they lead. It is easier to move quickly in here than it is outside as it is less affected by the weather, but suitable shelter seems sparser. So far it seems most of the buildings here have been destroyed, for the obvious reasons.

Should I find anything else of particular interest, I will be certain to share it.

[The feed ends.]

Comments

[armoured]

[Al is glued to the tablet as she shows off the dim and smooth icy tunnels, feeling a surge of excitement at the possibility of being able to move beyond the initial bounds.

However, his excitement is tempered with concern for her safety. Things here are often dangerous, especially moving into the unknown like that.]

Do you still have people travelling with you, it's probably a good idea to stick together when you're exploring somewhere like that, then there's help if you need it.

[sageprincess]

[HAH.

HAHAHAHA.

Goddesses, she wishes she was alone right now.]

... Link is still accompanying me, yes. The group was larger initially, but we have since split up in order to cover more ground.

[armoured]

[Yesterday, when the paranoia was burning strongly inside him, he would have felt the same about wanting to be alone. Today, that thought is as alien to him as it should be... what the hell happened yesterday?]

Mm, like when I met up with you and we splintered off. I don't like it, I think we should be trying to keep together, but it's probably necessary to conserve supplies at the moment.

@MarbleHornets; voice

[genreblindness]

[Jay's voice is tired and tense - last night was the most stressful he's had here, and things are not much better with it over.]

I turned on the beacon. It was- I couldn't think straight with that thing right there like that.

[Of course, for all he knows he just made himself easier for it to find. Or something even worse.]

[sageprincess]

It is... all right.

[She reassures, knowing in all likelihood things are anything but. Jay's exhausted tone is mirrored in Zelda's own voice - she didn't have the best of nights either, it seems.]

I did too. I was so convinced that this all was some elaborate ploy, and my head ached with the worst pain I have ever felt... in that state, it never crossed my mind that perhaps turning the beacon on would be dangerous. I wonder if it even could.

[genreblindness]

I think anyone who didn't turn it on was just too stubborn to go along with it.

[That seemed to be the case with Alex, at least.]

@RSTARK; voice

[kingofthenorth]

[Robb is confused what she meant by 'turning on the beacon', though if it had something to do with the so called tablets, he was at a loss. Sansa was far better than him when it came to working the piece of technology, as he had just learned how to take a photo on it a few days ago.]

What did turning on the beacon allow?

The caves you mention, is the climate eased once inside?

[sageprincess]

[Her voice drips with barely suppressed anxiety as she answers.]

... I do not know what the beacon did, precisely. I distinctly remember it being there on the tablet last night, and in my weakened state thinking it would be my salvation. But now, any evidence of it being there is gone.

[Whatever it does, it certainly can't be a good thing, she imagines. Robb's second question is a bit more easily answered.]

It is still terribly cold, and dark on top of that, but there is less freshly fallen snow to wade through at least. I still would not want to risk attempting to travel after the tablet's evening warning, however.

[kingofthenorth]

[Robb nods, even though she can't see him.]

I don't know much about these tablets, so I'll admit I didn't see that option on the display. That is... troubling.

[Because if it wasn't there now, there was a risk that it meant something, and perhaps something bad.]

Are the caves southwestward? I am traveling in that direction.

video; @fullmetal

[forfeits]

[ the tunnels are fascinating, and it's at least proof that there is something else out there. maybe not a direct way out, but different terrain. it beats miles of broken buildings and snow, after all. ]

I turned on the beacon, didn't have any effect other than stopping the noise. [ which he'd needed rather desperately. he doesn't cave easily, doesn't trust, but he needs his mind clear in a place like this. ]

The tunnels... do you think they're man made? [ maybe it could be alchemy? though it doesn't seem to exist in this world. ] At least there the conditions shouldn't be as harsh, but I'd be careful. Whatever made those tunnels and destroyed those buildings could still be around, be careful.

[sageprincess]

May we be so fortunate that that is the only effect it has.

[Though by the tone of her voice, she's not holding her breath on that front. A solid believer in 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst', this one.]

As for the tunnels... portions here and there seem as though someone came through and dug it out, but other parts seem as though they formed around the rubble of whatever buildings stood here previously.

[If there is something still around from whenever the town was abandoned (or murdered, as the case may be), Zelda's not certain if she would run or demand answers from it if she encountered it at this point. She rolls her shoulder a bit, the hockey stick she's adopted as an improvised weapon glinting slightly in the light of the tablet.]

I am not alone, fortunately. [Though haaaah, things between her and her traveling companions sure are awkward now. Not getting into that over the network, though.] We are being cautious as we proceed.

[forfeits]

Right, so the ice has been there a while. That could be a good thing, means whoever made them might be long gone. But in this place, I don't count on any of that. Especially since they still have some power over us, though how, I don't know.

[ it wouldn't be hard -- if it was anything like the homunculi where he was from, some of them had a way of getting into your head, of making everything seem so different. ]

Yeah, I wouldn't split up. Seems like teamwork functions much better in a place like this. It can't be trusted.

{ video | @Lavellan }

[carrywithyou]

What do you mean "turned it on?" How would we do that?

[ Someone didn't do it. She wouldn't have known where to start with apps. She still hasn't set up her personal assistant. She will, eventually! But using the tablet to talk to people is challenging enough right now. ]

[sageprincess]

It was...

[Hold on a second, Ellana, let her figure out a way to explain this with a limited vocabulary.]

When you make the tablet light up, it initially displays a collection of small pictures-- [icons] --with words such as 'clock' or 'calculator' or 'network', yes? Last night, there was another picture indicated with the word 'beacon'. I felt compelled to select it, and when I did there was only one course of action available to me: slide a square from 'off' to 'on'.

After that point, the picture indicating 'beacon' disappeared. I have not been able to find any evidence it was on my tablet to begin with, though perhaps someone with more experience regarding these things would.

[Explanation done for now, Zelda sighs, her posture sagging a bit as she's brought back to thoughts of what the beacon might mean or what it might do.]

Now, I do not believe it was a wise decision, to turn it on. But at the time I could think of no reason it would be anything but.

[carrywithyou]

It's not your fault.

[ Ellana's quick to reassure her on that point. ]

None of us were really thinking clearly yesterday. Whatever it does mean, however, I'm not sure.

[ But with all the mysteries surrounding them, she's unsure what was the best course of action here. Is she safe because she didn't turn it on? Or is she in danger because she didn't? ]

But you found where that key went. Tunnels sound promising, as long as they lead out.

@TW; voice

[maskintape]

Count me in Club Beacon, I guess.

[ Also count him in Club Sounds-Half-Dead. Urgh. ]

You thinking we goofed up by doing that too, or...?

[sageprincess]

[These clubs are BS, they don't even get jackets.

... Also give her a moment to parse what 'goofed up' might mean.]

I think the chances it could mean anything beneficial are slim, yes. Beacons are meant to draw things to them, yet we have not seen anything to be drawn, as far as I am aware.

Aside from one another, I suppose.

@Quark | voice;

[averytinyparticle]

I didn't turn it on. I almost did, it seemed like maybe it would be a good idea, but...

[No, he doesn't want to admit he was scared. That he's still scared, and worried maybe by not doing it he made an even bigger mistake. He already said he was scared when he first arrived, and he's sure that his Grandpa would be disappointed if he didn't try and move past that feeling.]

I dunno. I was just trying to stay awake.

[Not that he'd even accomplished that much.]

Should we be looking to find keys for other locked buildings? Where did you find yours?

[sageprincess]

[Oh, no.

Though Quark is only using voice, Zelda visibly falters in her video when she hears his young, boyish voice. It's too soon - all the cruel accusations she threw at Link the night before, all the revelations she had hoped to keep silent echo back in her mind in a wave. She's almost tempted to turn the feed off. It would be easier, less painful.

But it's not his fault.]

That is all right. I am just trying to get an idea of who did in case something happens later.

[She tries to smooth out her voice, make it level, calm, and reassuring. Her success is mild at best.]

There is only one other locked door that I am aware of at the moment. It is inside a small building near the southeast corner of the walled in area. But looking for other keys is a good idea regardless, I think. I found mine in one of the houses along the southern wall, though it does not look like a key at first glance.

[The benefit about SD cards is that she can just carry them around in her tablet instead of packing them away. With a flick, she opens the compartment and takes out the card, holding it up to the camera.]

Have you ever seen one of these before?

@Spoiler ; audio

[spoileralert]

[ Like everyone else, Steph is too bedraggled to be presentable. She sounds every bit as tired as she is. ]

I was hoping I'd be able to mess around with the app, maybe get into the operating system. Obviously it did not work out that way.

[sageprincess]

That is... better reasoning than I had for accessing it, at least.

[If she's understanding Stephanie right. All she had on her mind was seeking a relief from It's gaze.]

@crescent | voice

[lancingintherain]

[the woman in the tablet looks human, although it's hard to see much in the faint glow—but that's not the most interesting part of this broadcast. When Zelda turns the camera towards the icy walls, Freya stares in fascination, her nose nearly touching the screen, as though looking more closely might make the details easier to see. When the feed ends, she hastily pushes the "audio" button to reply.]

Hello—that's—well done. Well done! I knew there was a way past these walls; there had to be.

[her excitement burns out as she adds:]

I... um. I don't believe I turned the beacon on. The little button's vanished, too.

[sageprincess]

It was a collaborative effort. Those that speak under the names 'Spoiler' and... [A pause, heavy with hesitance.] ... 'Claytonator' are as - if not more - worthy of the credit than I.

[Speaking the aliases aloud just sounds silly, but she's pretty sure 'crescent' is a new name on the network, and might not know who she's talking about if she says 'Stephanie' or 'Clayton'.

Moving on!]

I believe all evidence there ever was a beacon has vanished. It disappeared the moment I switched it to 'on'; likely to prevent me from changing my mind afterwards, I would think.

[And her tone suggests she definitely haschanged her mind now that it's relatively unclouded with paranoia.]

video; @franziskavonkarma

[whippings]

( Here is Franziska, looking a bit worse for the wear; she's yet another person who had succumbed to the temptation of turning on the beacon. Her expression is a bit ashen as she takes in the implication that this might've been a terrible mistake. )

Should we have not activated the beacon? ( A beat. )

It stopped the noise.

[sageprincess]

That, it did. But what else?

[Zelda is getting a bit better at theorizing about how she might have made a terrible, horrible mistake, if for no other reason than exposure. Still, her voice is grave, and her features match.]

Does it not seem to you like there should have been more to it than that?