Exploring the Pit: The First Ai'Brone (Closed to Alyssa)

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent paused as Alyssa left. ‘She’s kinda cute’ he thought to himself as he rose from his crouched form. The ashes had been scraped out of the oven and he took Alyssa’s lead and headed to the library. As he walked through the double doors he shrugged off his coat and tossed it aside into a pile of dirty laundry. He glanced at his white cotton shirt and frowned at the large tomato streak down the center. He quickly stripped off his shirt and glanced around. A very sleepy Stella poked her golden haired head out from the bundle of blankets she was wrapped in and cooed in her strange chime language.

The scholar chuckled and pulled a shirt on as he limped over to her and ruffled her hair. “Shhh go back to sleep.” He chuckled as he glanced around once more. He snatched his cane from a random spot on the ground and stretched his knee a bit. While his first soak in the springs had done him a lot of good, it was not necessarily healed all the way. It still throbbed after extended use, and he imagined he would need a long soak and several more months of therapy before he would ever be truly ok.

Leaning on his cane he limped out of the library and found Alyssa standing at the stairway descending deeper into the base. “Ready to go?” he asked cocking his head to the side.

“Yeah.” Alyssa nodded smiling slightly. “Lead the way Vincent.” She gestured to the stairs and the scholar. Vincent sighed a bit and leaned against the wall and began to descend.

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa followed in his steps down the dreary stairway. Candelabras lit with magefire gave just enough light to guide them, but Alyssa hugged the rail in good measure. The steps seemed to go on forever, spiraling down and down. Surely if someone were pushed from the top step, they'd only find a meaty bag of bones at the bottom.

"How far down does this go?" she inquired.

"Almost there," Vincent replied.

Finally, they emerged to the second floor. Unlike the one above, light was sparse. Faint flickers danced across smooth walls. Shadows found the pits where the test of time chewed away at the polished marble. A fine layer of dust coated the floors, and myriads of webbing danced in the faint bellows of wind above. Alyssa took a few breaths and found the air stifling.

"There's a hot springs down here?!" she remarked, squinting to see past the expanding darkness in front of them. "Might explain the humidity, but what kind of place is this? A bunker?"

Alyssa extended her hand and opened her fist. She felt a tingle of warmth in her back that crawled along her nerves and up her arm. They collected in the middle of her palm and a small flame flickered to life. Its light reached to combat the darkness and give them bearing. Alyssa rest her free hand on the weapon strapped to her thigh and turned to Vincent.

"Where to?"

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar paused for a moment as he fished through his pockets. “Well…” he muttered softly. “I assume you would probably like to see the hot springs first so…”

His sapphire gaze darted around through the shrouded darkness as he pulled out a fist sized glass orb from his purples robes. “Illuminate!” he hissed as it sputtered to life, bathing the area in pale light. The two took a moment to let their eyes adjust to the bright light. Before them was a dark fog filled hallway with the vague impression of doors on either side.

“That’s handy…” Alyssa mused whistling slightly as she shifted her weight from one foot to another. “Where did you get that?”

Vincent nodded slightly as he watched the awed expression on her face. “Leona told me I’d find it from a vendor in Corone. So right after Toby whooped my ass into some semblance of in shape I bought it thinking about how useful it would be.” The scholar paused as he realized he was droning on. “It’s been very useful.” He added awkwardly, nodding in agreement with himself.

“So…which way?” Alyssa quipped.

Vincent blinked a few times and reoriented himself to face exactly the way the stairs had been facing. “This way!” he exclaimed. “Right at the end of the hall!”

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa followed her partner in crime through the dark, dank, and dusty halls of the lower level. She took care to avoid tripping on the stone tiles cracked and upturned at her feet. At the same time, she tried to avoid a face full and, more importantly, a hair full of web hanging lifelessly from the ceiling. The occasional loss of balance and flailing hand proved the ability to look up while looking down rather difficult.

"How much further?" Alyssa demanded as she tried to spit out the web which had found its way into her mouth.

When he turned, she scowled at him. His face scrunched together as he struggled to contain laughter, but failed to capture the occasional he and haw.

"Yeah... thanks..." she muttered, firming her grip on her pistol.

"We're practically there," Vince replied after calming himself. "Nice hair accessory by the way."

Alyssa cocked a brow, but at the mention of hair accessory, she felt something stir on the top of her head. With the blinding speed of a viper's strike, her hand snapped to her scalp and swatted at the spot. Vincent laughed again.

"Yeah, he's dead. You got it," he chuckled.

Alyssa took a deep breath of frustration and sauntered on. After only a few steps, their light shined upon a pair of openings. From it, Alyssa felt a damp warmth and noticed a fragrant, earthy aroma.

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar passed his partner, a grin spreading across his face as she glared at him. After several steps he gestured with one hand to the opening on the right. "You take that entrance, I'll take this one." he quipped as he peered into the left entrance. "It's kind of a mess so watch your step." With that he vanished into a wall of steam. Alyssa paused for a moment and entered towards the left and frowned.

She found herself in the ruins of what appeared to be a changing room at one point. Ancient wooden benches laid shattered across the ground, their fragments long petrified by age. The walls were lined with small openings that seemed to measure a foot deep, possibly for storing clothes in. Carefully she stepped around the wreckage, keeping an eye out for any eight legged vermin. Her eyes scanned the walls and found her next passageway on the left side of the room where an ancient seemed lazily draped across the portal, its fastenings halfway given out with age.

The quickly crossed into the next room and stopped dead in her tracks. Before her stood an enormous pool of steaming hot water, steam billowing lazily from the surface. To her right and left ancient statues stood covered in moss, a testament to their age. At the far end of the pool seemed to be an ornate stone wall bearing several stone dragon heads with their mouths open in a tremendous roar. From each gushed a torrent of steaming waters, which seemed to be draining off elsewhere as the water level was not rising.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Vincent's voice echoed seemingly out of nowhere. "Notice how it's bright with no obvious source of light? I'm pretty sure all the walls and statues have some sort of enchant on them." Alyssa paused for a moment.

"How often have you been down here?" Silence filled the air.

"A couple of times...mostly with Ioder. There are some neat glyphs and such at the bottom of the water!" Alyssa opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by a loud splash. "The two sides are walled of completely so feel free to take a dip while we're down here!"

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa couldn't see her companion from wherever he spoke. From the direction of his voice a wall of petrified wood stood several feet high. The sound of a splash most certainly meant Vincent decided to indulge himself in a dip. The homunculus, on the other hand, walked along the water's edge. The old stone had been worn smooth from either natural means over time, or artificial means when this place was first built. Her slender fingers ran over the damp unhewn stone.

"Can you believe a place like this has existed this long without being discovered?" Alyssa asked, her voice echoing over the division between the baths.

Her attentions focused on a shimmering glyph that had been carved into the stone. She ran her finger along the groove of the glyph and it grew brighter at her touch. Alyssa startled when a roar came from behind. She spun about and pressed herself against the wall, then sighed relief. The otherwise still waters roiled over themselves as streams of bubbles spat from glyphs beneath the water's surface. She knelt at the water's edge to get a closer look. Heat from the surface washed over her face in humid, comforting waves. The homunculus closed her eyes with a smile and took a deep breath.

The water invited her.

Alyssa popped up from her kneel and walked quickly to the ruined room from earlier. She bit her lip at the opening which lead to the darkened hallway, feeling concern for the potential of exposure. She glanced back to the springs and after a deep breath, began to undo her clothes. The girl pulled her half dress, half uniform off her adolescent form and placed it in one of the cubby holes. She took extra care to ensure no creepy crawly had turned it into a home. Her chest bindings and undergarments soon followed until she stood as nature intended. Long blond locks draped down her exposed back, swaying over the massive scar that ran along her spine.

Once again, checking for prying eyes, Alyssa made way for the springs and ran at them with a giggle. Airborne she flew until her own splash echoed over the walls.

[Cards of Fate]

Vince floated for a moment, enjoying the pure bliss of soaking in the warm water as Alyssa apparently went about her own exploration. His ears strained against the silence as she seemed to walk around, apparently activating some sort of bubble feature before finally…

Splish.

The woman had entered the water with a loud splash, and Vincent’s laugh escaped from his lips without realizing it, echoing throughout the large chamber noisily. The acoustics of the chamber seemed to be superb, and the scholar entertained the thought that even a whisper could be carried clearly to the other side. He closed his eyes and let out a light hum as he mused over her question.

“Given the history of the Tarot?” he asked back, not bothering to open his eyes as he floated on his back. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this place is never found again after we’re done with it…” he paused and chewed his lips. “Leona said something about us existing in cycles…and apparently this place has served as their base since the start.” He opened his eyes and “sat up” in the water, his feet sinking back beneath him as he turned and began to swim to the opposite side of the wall before him. “It could be thousands of years before another set of people see this…” he paused and mused on the magic of this moment. Two youths, lacking in clothing, enjoying a hot steamy…

He shook his head and tried to get the idea of his company in the nude, which was easier said than done. His leg seemed to ache slightly with each kick, and he began to find it hard to use his injured leg to gain any momentum. Hissing ever so slightly, he reached the far wall and grasped it with both hands, pulling himself up and turning around to sit on the ledge. The warmth of the air was slightly less than that of the water, but still felt good on his glistening skin as he massaged his knee in a well-practiced manner. He looked towards the wall and called out.

“Hey, what does your side look like?” he asked. “Anything super cool over there?” he paused and turned to his left, his sapphire eyes setting upon a large statue jutting from the wall several feet up, water trickling out in a steady flow forming a scenic little waterfall. He mused on whether or not it was for a “shower” of perhaps just a nice place to sit and meditate.

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa emerged from the water and slung her wet hair up and back. Water sprayed into the air in a perfect arch before blonde locks slapped against the horrific scar on her back. Steam rolled off her shoulders and she closed her eyes as the hot springs worked the tension out of her body. Stress melted like cold butter on a fresh baked bun.

"Ahhh~" she moaned with a smile.

Vincent's words filtered over the divider about the cycles. Alyssa wasn't sure what he meant, but placed little stock in finding out. Her mind focused on the amazing warmth that hugged her skin. The homunculus leaned back in the water, resting her shoulders on the stone edge and let the rest of her float weightlessly.

"I wonder what cycle we are?" Alyssa asked, but her tone sounded more as if she spoke to herself than the boy on the other side of the wall. "The second? Third?"

She watched her toes bob in the water, smiling in the tranquility this cavern offered. Moss grew atop stone statues and the humidity formed small stalagmites above. Occasionally, a small droplet would fall. One cold drop fell against Alyssa's chest and made her skin prickle with goosebumps. She heard Vincent's question and positioned herself back to her feet to look around.

"Well," she started. "There's some neat statues..."

She looked about. In the corner, covered with small sprouts of green vegitation were several wooden tubs. The wood planks held by rusted iron bands had come lose as the roots managed to pry them apart over the years. Similarly, a mound of something unusual sat beside it.

"I found some old tubs, but I think I found something interesting..."

Alyssa waded to the water's edge to get a better look. Like the tubs, small plants covered the majority of the mound. One part caught her eye and seemed like roots of maybe a tree. In curiosity, she reached out to touch it and it felt harder than she thought.

"Some kind of tree or weed?"

As she pulled harder, a cluster of the odd roots gave out. It broke free to expose yellowed stone beneath. Alyssa pulled the part closer to her, eyeing it with odd suspicion. Yet as she turned it over in her hands and clumps of dirt and plant fell to the water, shock laced across her face.

"A hand!" she screamed, dropping it. It splashed into the springs and lazily drifted to the bottom.

"It's a hand!" she repeated, looking up to the mound it came from. Her mind pieced together the shapes and she made out the shape of a body. Points and peaks were crested white or yellow and the dark valleys of eyes beneath the vegetation stared at the horrified homunculus.

"There's a dead person here!" Alyssa shouted. Sounds of wildly splashing water made its way over the divider as Alyssa jumped out of the hot springs. She clambered across the stone floor to make way for her clothes.