Closed [Quartz Cave] Welcome to my ool - notice there's no P in it.

[Gemma Parker]

Winter 91st, 518 AV

Oh, what a gorgeous day! Gemma had done two double shifts at The Catholicon in the days before so she could take a couple of days off to just go swimming and relax. She hadn’t gone swimming all month due to the cold water, but today she determined to swim, even if she had to walk all the way out to The Quartz Cave to do so.

Of course, Gemma was a Konti, and Konti should normally have been able to swim in cold water with no problems. But Gemma had grown up in the always warm city of Lhavit where she only needed to swim for fun. Could she swim in the cold water? Of course. Was it fun and relaxing for her? No. That also effected how deep she was usually willing to go. Maybe one day she would get used to it or find a diving suit or something to keep her warm while she was in the water.

The hike was long, but for now she still wore her boots and herbalist’s garb. She wouldn’t change until she was in the mysteriously thermal waters of the cave. She had waited all winter to do this because it really was quite the hike from her home all the way down the mountain, past the port, and to the cave. In addition, the walk itself would be cold. Once she left the warmth of the skyglass, the cold wind off the sea whipped at her face and she pulled her hood up to shield her from the wind.

She was briefly asked what she was doing, but when she said she was a Konti out for a swim, no one stopped her. They didn’t need to know where she was going or especially that she wasn’t Konti enough to swim in cold water. Why would they need to know that?

She finally arrived at the cave opening and quickly shuffled inside, now hugging herself to keep warm. But once she was in the cave, which was currently at low tide, she started to warm.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” She called into the cave, but the only response was her own echo. “Good!” She said, pleased to be alone.

She walked a little farther into the cave until she found a pretty large and deep pool of water. She had swum in this very pool more than a season ago, and it looked like it had not changed since then. That was the cool thing about this cave. It never changed but for the ebb and flow of the tide. And whether it was at high or low tide, Gemma was content. And so few people came here that she almost never had to bother with people. If it wasn’t so far to walk she would definitely come here more often.

Gemma stripped down to her aqua colored bathing suit and put her belongings in her body pack. She took the pack and dove head first into the slightly green pool, taking a deep breath through her gills. It had been too long. She took a moment to just hover under the water and enjoy the feeling before she dove a little deeper and looped her body pack around a rock that was low enough to be invisible from the surface. That way if someone did come in while she was swimming, they wouldn’t be tempted to look through or take her stuff.

And with that out of the way, she began to have a ball.

[Savis Maren]

The journey ahead is treacherous, the Nuit mused as she prepared herself mentally for the ordeal she intended to put herself through. The pages of history turned this day, back and forth as the undead mage resolved to prove her mettle by solving the mystery she needed to leave behind for the sake of her safety. The Nuit's previous visit to the Quartz Cave ended in a cave-in, a mysteriously timed event that transpired with no discernible fissures or a cause the Nuit could determine before hand. Was it so strange for that to happen? No, but Savis Maren held the deep suspicion that this place held a power to it. She'd felt something in the aura surrounding the cave and thus... she prepared herself for the worst-case scenario.

Before her journey, Savis Maren decided to indulge herself in something she hadn't been privy to in her previous attempt at cave exploration As the nuit walked towards the Quartz Cave, she breached into the reservoir of djed, buried within her soul. Savis Maren created sleeves of it beneath her skin, raising both of her astral arms from the physical before connecting her will to the limbs. With her control firmly in place, Savis pilfered through her satchel, catching the eyes of those citizens who saw the rummaging of her bag without any sort of physical presence doing so. The undead ignored those who gawked at her, her white hood raised over her head as she traversed Tranquil Port and headed at last towards her destination.

In her approach, Savis' projected limbs retrieved her brush and two sheets of paper from her mundane technical tome. She split the pages into several pieces. The Nuit then created a focus, imbuing the sheet of paper with the word 'Djed' before creating a trigger around it. Savis Maren wrote out 'Pond', then inscribed the purpose of the trigger.

Activate when Shielding magic touches the focus. Disperse the extruded djed across the nearest surface. Once she completed the Trigger, Savis Maren began to chain 'Daeq' around, completing the sigil before beginning with her second effort. Savis worked quickly, forming an identical sigil on the second third of the paper before pulling her astral limbs back to their physical bounds. The Nuit stored each individual sigil within one of her boots, fully prepared to initiate them as she approached the cave.

As the undead approached the Quartz Cave, the heels of her boots clicked on the changing textures of the floor beneath her. Savis felt the ragged rock surface as well as the sloshing of very shallow water making contact with her boots. The Nuit delved into the maelstrom of djed within, pulling from the depths of her soul as she brought the Shielding magic to life. Droplets of djed waxed on her shins, slowly dripping down her legs. Lower and lower it fell until on each of her legs, the djed made contact with her glyphs. The Nuit couldn't hear the suction as the foci initiated, but she certainly felt it as the extruded magic was sucked into her sigils. Then, just as quickly, the sigils regurgitated it.

Djed seeped from the foci, sliding along her boots and wrapping them in an invisible veil of djed. Then, Savis willed her mind to re-connect with that unleashed djed. She set it to task, utilizing the water at the soles of her boots before she thought,

Repel it. Imbibe some of the liquid into your composition, then rebuke the rest. When Savis Maren entered the Quartz Cave, her feet were comfortable and dry, to her utmost pleasure. A chuckle escaped her lips, and the Nuit felt her attention diverted from her satisfaction and to the distant splashing. Savis Maren pressed into her djed once again, raising it from her soul into the silver pools of her eyes. She followed the movement, utilizing the Sight to augment her vision as the beautiful form of a familiar Konti woman dove into the pools and started swimming.

Is that... what was her name? Gem? In any case... she's swimming rather fast! Maybe she'll come in handy... she reasoned, a smirk carved onto her features. She'd wait patiently for the Konti to resurface, allowing her reflective pools to move next to the rock formations of the cave. She didn't see the rocks from the previous collapse, and reasoned that the cave-in must be further along inside.

First step completed, she mused, her fingers rising to her jawline as she began to incorporate the Konti into her little venture.

She wouldn't refuse, would she? In any case, it's best to chart the path ahead and be prepared with a proposition once she resurfaces.

[Gemma Parker]

Gemma reveled in the warm water all around her. She dove deep and let out a scream, but no sound would reach the surface. She laughed and caressed the rock wall of the underwater shaft affectionately. She loved coming here, loved exploring. It was more fun to explore underwater than on land because she felt like she was uniquely suited to exploration down here. It was super cool. Her attention span did not allow her to simply sit and meditate, though maybe some day she would try just that. This would be the perfect place for it. She filed that thought away for a later date, though. She was here to enjoy herself, not to meditate.

Finally, the girl shot toward the surface, racing with all her might until she rocketed from the pool of water, flying high enough into the air to hang for just a second before landing. She let out a loud shout of delight, landed on her feet, paused for dramatic effect, and struck a pose, straightening up to her full height with her arms above her head in the classic ‘ta da’ pose.

It was only then that she turned around to see the undead woman, and her normally pale face turned a deep shade of pink.

“Oh… I’m- I didn’t- This is embarrassing.” She said, covering her body with her arms and putting a hand over her face as she turned to make herself as small as possible and hide her blush. “Did you-? Of course you did, you’re standing right there. This is awkward. Um, I’m sorry. Don’t mind me. I can just go somewhere else. Please continue with… whatever it is that you were doing.” And she began to walk back toward the pool of water, wishing she had left her body pack up here so she could have at least covered up. She didn’t know why, but she felt very exposed under the woman’s gaze. She had never met anyone like this woman, and she wasn’t sure that was such a bad thing.

At the same time, though, in the two times they had crossed paths, Gemma had gotten the idea that this woman had almost as much to teach as Gemma had to learn. She had probably spent years exploring paths Gemma had not even thought of yet. How much could she learn from this woman if they were to spend more time together? Was spending more time together such a good idea? What would her mother think? If she was learning, where was the harm? And diplomatically, Savis knew more people than Gemma did. The only potential downside was the great unknown, and that was something that she could neither measure nor predict.

“What, uh, what are you doing out here?” She asked, having stopped at the edge of the pool. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is…” She said.

[Savis Maren]

Some might see knowledge and compare it to power. But, power alone does not encompass just what knowledge can be, the Nuit mused as she reflected on her purpose of being here. The Konti was a way's away from resurfacing, plunged deep into the warm waters of the Quartz Cave. Eventually, her aura fell away from the undead's range of Sight, and she allowed her connection to the Konti's presence to dwindle into nothingness. Instead, Savis Maren's attention shifted and she suffused djed instead to encompass the strange aura she'd seen in her previous encounter. The djed in this place was heavier, and she recalled the vestiges of emotion she'd ascertained.

However, when Savis Maren turned her attention to the rock formations along the ceiling and floor of the place... she saw nothing. There were no calls to attention, anything remarkable that drew her in. Disappointment flared within the Nuit, but she didn't allow herself to become upset or discouraged. If the power she felt previously eluded her, then she'd allow herself the distinct pleasure of exploring the place in an effort to recognize the place itself. The winding paths in the distance were uncovered by rock, and though one way forward was sealed, there were endless paths, it seemed. Savis Maren felt the discouragement set within her old bones, and wondered to herself if her indulgence was unfounded, a hallucination born from the excitement of discovering the gloves she wore even now.

Savis decided to ignore that discouragement, and quickly shifted her intention from hunting secrets to something else entirely. What if I looked around a bit more? Last time Eleutheria and I were stopped by falling rocks. Now, there's no such obstacle, she reflected. It was then that the Konti finished covering herself and began to speak, asking her the reasons for her arrival. The Nuit allowed a moment to pass, carefully considering her answer. Debate rose through the Nuit in the flicker of a moment, and she elected on the point where truth became flexible to interpretation.

"I've been here before. I thought I left some stones unturned. After all... I found these," she motioned to her gloves, the black felt stark when compared to her white cotton dress and the hood that matched with it. "There's no telling what sort of undiscovered beauties lay in wait. It makes me wonder..." she continued, gaining confidence in the edges of deceit as the story of her reasoning was woven. "Perhaps this place is some sort of treasure trove? What if some Svefra hid away their bullion?" she reasoned. Of course, the gloves she brandished had no obvious characteristics, and only Savis knew the magical nature that they possessed. It was another thread among many, woven in an effort to enrapture as she held Gemma at arms' length all the while.

"They're a bit more than they seem. Would you care to join me? I'm sure between the two of us we could even try to map this place out." The silver eyes of Savis Maren were devoid of expression as she spoke, but her lips were curved into a far gentler smile than moments before. Guile wasn't a part of the repertoire of Savis Maren, but she certainly did her utmost without it, implementing intrigue, waxing her words with careful deliberation.

[Gemma Parker]

Well this was… awkward. The woman seemed completely unbothered and unabashed, but Gemma was having none of that. She slid into the pool, keeping only her neck and head above the water. The water was pretty clear, but it at least made her feel covered.

Thinking back on what the woman had said now that she was covered, Gemma squinted at the gloves that were on display. “So someone visited the cave and left their gloves behind. That doesn’t mean the cave has treasure in it. I come here often enough and I’ve never seen anything that would qualify as valuable aside from the experience. Certainly nothing worth taking.” She said, sniffling and scratching her nose.

She thought for a long moment before speaking again, and an idea began to form in her mind. She was sure this cave had nothing to hide. It was just a calm place to come hang out. She didn't know why it wasn't more popular. Some people said it was haunted or cursed or whatever, but she'd never felt anything but tranquil during her visits. On the other hand, this woman seemed fully convinced, or at least highly suspicious, that the caves held some secret treasure. Might she be willing to give something in exchange for the help? It could be the 'in' Gemma had been looking for.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to find anything, but I’ll tell you what. If you’re so convinced of the treasures that lie in wait, I’ll make you a deal. You’re friends with the pregnant teacher from the Dusk Tower, right? Do you think you could put in a good word with her? Maybe you could help me get accepted as an Auristics student. I’ll even let you keep anything we find in our search.” She said. That might have been dumb since now she was kind of interested to know if there really were chests of gold stashed away. But… no, that couldn’t be… right? Someone would have found it by now if that were the case… But before she could second guess herself and possibly lose face, she spoke again.

“But let me get changed first. Even if the cave is empty I’m not gonna go walking around dressed like this.” She said. “You go ahead and get started with your exploration preparations while I get changed. Give me a tick.” And with that, she disappeared from the surface with barely a ripple. She wished she knew of a way to come out of the water all dry, but normally this wasn’t a problem.

She dove down into the darkness where she had stored her body pack and returned to the surface, but this time she only peeked her eyes over the water and looked around to make sure the pale woman wasn’t watching.

[Savis Maren]

Though the Nuit caught the signs of Gemma's presumption when she began to speak, the undead wasn't so rude as to interrupt her. The naive little Konti girl was hitting her stride, bringing up the idea of a 'deal' as if the notion of negotiation was one she had any intention of entertaining. Gemma had a warm body and the ability to swim to offer her, certainly, but did she have anything else? Her questions, while laden with the uncertainty of a younger woman's naivete, were also sprinkled in with thinly veiled ambition. Auristics? Dusk Tower? She wanted to lay in bed with the Tower alliance that Madeira Craven possessed and yet... Savis herself had never bothered to coax the Spiritist into such venture.

Why would I go to the Towers? Especially after that debate and the small time notoriety that came with it. Lhavit knows me as a soul not willingly bound to such authority, she mused, considering her answer in full. Instead of a simple 'no' to fill the silence, the Nuit allowed her lips to curve into a grin, the wickedness she sought to unleash veiled only very thinly by the inexpressiveness of her corpse flesh. Convinced? She even has the gall to openly express disbelief. Granted, the story I wove into that bit of explanation is perhaps too outlandish, but nonetheless...

"There are many an ambitious soul, enthralled by the promises of power and understanding of the human soul. They climb into the skies of aspiration, soaring higher and higher into the clouds. And yet... they neglect to consider the fall. The skies are cruel, and the winds will not carry everyone to the heights they wish to reach. The searing blaze of Syna might burn those whose ambitions stretch too high into the clouds." Savis Maren's ire found its materialization once again, for the mention of the Towers brought back to the Nuit the distaste their position brought to her.

"You were refused, weren't you? Deemed unworthy by the 'powers that be?' The Towers don't care who you are. They care who you know. You don't know Madeira Craven, and it won't be my hand that puts you at the heel of her considerations," she admonished the Konti. Some souls simply shone brighter than most, and Gemma's little ploy was going to get no rise out of the Nuit. She shook her head, a scoff escaping her lips as she said next,

"If you're not going to help, then stay out of my way," she said, her silver eyes looking over Gemma one final time before the only sound that moved from Savis was the clicking of her heeled boots with the rock floor of the Quartz Cave. I've wasted enough time and this Healer's ambitions have no place in my periphery right now. I need to focus on what's in front of me.

"Know this, Gemma. In my last visit here, a cave-in happened right after I collected these gloves of mine. Call it coincidence or poor fortune if you'd like. But I'm convinced there's more to this place. And even, just maybe, other things to find here, too. Your reward for joining me isn't going to be a 'good word'. But it might be something more practical," she said. The Nuit possessed the knowledge Gemma sought after, but certainly, the Konti hadn't earned any sort of affirmation.

Savis didn't wait for Gemma, and instead took several steps forward. Her grayish fingertips climbed along the surface of a nearby stalagmite, and the Nuit separated her understanding of aura from Gemma.

Which path should I take first? she mused. As she considered her next step, the undead reached into her satchel. She retrieved a mundane, plain scarf that she'd purchased as excess from the Silk Palace, and utilized it as a place marker as she looked ahead of her to three diverging paths.

This place is a maze. These paths might well lead right into one another, she mused, before curling the scarf into the shape of a 'U' that led towards the cave's entrance.

[Gemma Parker]

Gemma looked over the surface of the pool and found that Savis was still there waiting for her. Well that was annoying. Didn't she understand that Gemma just wanted some privacy to get changed before they went off on their grand adventure?

But then the woman began to scold and chide her for her desire to improve, to be better... what? All she could do was tread water and take the verbal assault.

Finally, the pale granny stormed off. Apparently something Gemma had said touched a nerve.

"Well- if you would let me get changed, I'd be happy to come with you." She called out as she pulled herself out of the water and ran on tip toe over behind a large crystalline structure. She unzipped her body pack and pulled out her sarong, drying herself quickly before throwing on her herbalist's garb as quickly as she could. When she emerged from behind the crystals, she was still struggling to pull on her boot, hopping as she did so. Once the boot was on, and with her pack over her shoulder, she jogged to catch up with Savis.

"You know, when someone makes you an offer you don't like, you can haggle. You don't have to get your panties in a twist because I'm a young kid who hasn't had a chance to learn all the cool stuff." She was still wringing out her hair into her towel as she neared Savis.

"All that stuff about flying and getting burned and falling; you're talking about what happened with Ponrose? That doesn't happen to everyone. She was just too ambitious. But if ambition itself was to blame, then all students and teachers alike would be just like her. She went too far. Hers was ambition without restraint. For every one Ponrose there are probably dozens or more students who show restraint and become useful, hardworking mages. And she had to throw around freaking portals before she went too far. I just want to use magic to better diagnose my patients. What's so bad about that?" She asked, her tone was raised, but she was not shouting.

"Yes, I was rejected, ok? The first day we met at the observatory, I was upset because they said no. And everything I've done since then to try and get an audience with one of the people important enough to get me in has failed. You can't fault a girl for trying." She said the last part almost under her breath as she stood a few meters away from Savis, waiting for her reply.

"See? Was that so hard? You can just say 'no' like normal people and offer an alternative." She sighed. "How about I help you now and you decide later what that's worth to you, ok? I'm sorry if I offended you with my suggestion. I just thought for a moment maybe I finally had finally found a way to get into the Tower, and I got a little excited. That doesn't change my goals, but if you don't want to help me with that specific goal, I'm sure we can still work something out."

Savis moved forward and laid a scarf on the ground. She was about to ask if the scarf was magical too, but she didn't know if that would offend Savis even more. She was just unable to tell with this woman.

"Shouldn't we use like, a really long thread to make sure we don't get lost?" She asked, following Savis from a distance and giving the scarf a wide berth.

[Savis Maren]

Considerations of modesty were the least of the Nuit's concerns. Once she ceased her little ran, she stepped forward and began to ruminate on the task ahead. The Konti made shuffling sounds behind her, and Savis paid her no mind as she allowed her fingertips to traverse the craggy surface of the wall. Towards the ground, the rock was smooth, but higher up the signs of erosion weren't as prevalent. Savis followed a particular crack in the surface, her sluggish pace taking her deeper and deeper into the cave until she allowed djed to suffuse into her gaze. She willed at the power of the soul, focusing her attention on the path to her left first.

She pilfered through her satchel, digging for her notebook as she began to draw a path beginning at the scarf she'd laid down. The Konti demonstrated a keen intellect, latching onto the point of the Nuit's little comparison. There was a great pity within the Nuit, for despite her stance on the issue of independent teaching and her feelings of personal responsibility, it was difficult to feel anything but compassion for the plights of an overgiving mage.

Not everyone is meant for this power. But, everyone deserves their opportunity to pursue it, she reasoned. Over and over again the 'Tower issue' motivated Savis' actions and her decisions, even influencing her job and taking her to an artistic direction she'd never expected. Truly, it'd changed her unlife, and the Nuit wasn't certain just how far those changes extended. Savis allowed the Konti to speak to completion, shrugging her shoulders at the flippant dismissal of Ponrose's tragedy before moving on to confirm what Savis expected to be true. The Nuit decidedly ignored the Konti's little lecture, seeing no desire to rise to her jab.

"Ponrose did things with magic I'd never seen before. She pushed herself to limits I've never dared cross. Ambition isn't the enemy, that's true. Otherwise my own dreams would be quite smaller," she began, girlish laughter escaping the undead's lips. The tone was quite contrary to her visage as she continued on, "There's nothing wrong with using magic for any purpose. Right, wrong, just or unjust. Having your specific purpose or lofty ambitions doesn't change anything," she completed. The conversation took a turn that the Nuit didn't expect, and she revealed more of her unerring neutrality than she might've done with a less informed person.

"Why would I ever want to be normal?!" she asked, the girlish laughter replaced by high, cruel tones that bounced off of the walls of the cave in excessive echoes. "You reached too far and it's best to quell that sort of beast before it rises and opens rifts to another world. Come, then, and we'll figure out what can be made of you," she said, acknowledging Gemma at last with one look with those haunted silver eyes of her. Then, she turned and focused her gathered djed to the task. The winding path ahead of her led to a fractured end, and the Nuit drew the shape she ascertained into her notebook before moving on to the middle one. The path stretched far beyond her sight, as did the one on her right, and she looked to the Konti.

"We'll stick together. Middle path, first. If you brought a thread like that with you, by all means bring it out and use it. Then try to find it against the stone floor. Otherwise, stop making useless suggestions and let's get moving."

[Gemma Parker]

Gemma made a point not to try to be funny around Savis. Her laugh. Was. Creepy. But if her giggling had sent shivers up her spine, her gaze practically paralyzed her. Gemma had never looked in her eyes from so close. They were so... dead. She wondered if there was a politically correct way to tell someone they looked dead. She kind of walked like it, too. She was probably even older than she looked and spent all her energy looking down on others and trying to sound way too philosophical. Half the time Gemma wasn't sure she even understood what the heck the woman was saying. 'She probably just says random stuff and hopes people think she sounds smart. Gemma thought, though even she knew that was probably not the case.

"Well forgive me for not coming prepared for an exploration deep into a labyrinthine cave that I had no intention of making. It's almost like that's something the actual instigator of the search should have thought of." She couldn't help the snark and sarcasm. This lady was just too much.

"And if we were going to stick together from the start, why even bring me along? I figured we'd be separating to cover more ground or something. Though I guess if we're going to get lost we might as well get lost together." She finished almost under her breath.

"If you do get hurt, though, let me know and I can heal you. That's really all I'm good at." As she walked, the looked up, down, and all around, fixating on random little details that she thought were interesting. A thought occurred to her and she voiced her concern to Savis.

"So if there really is treasure and stuff in here, shouldn't we be looking out for traps or something? Maybe the cave in you mentioned was caused by like a trip wire or something, and the secret race of ugly little people creatures that live here cleaned up the cave in and made it look normal so they could catch someone else and eat them." At this point in their walk, Gemma was just enjoying the gorgeous cave and had decided it was foolish to continue verbally sparring with Savis. It wasn't because she was losing. No, obviously not. It just wasn't interesting anymore.

"Seriously, though, am I actually supposed to be doing anything? I assume you see the same cave I see." She said. She briefly wondered if Savis had made up the whole thing just to convince the gullible Gemma to keep her company. Old ladies felt lonely, right? Maybe that's all she wanted. If that was the case, though, she could have just said so. She didn't have to go making up pirate stories like she was talking to a child... or at least a younger child. A little kid. Maybe the woman just didn't like to admit that she felt lonely and wanted a young lass to entertain her. The thought brought a stifled grin to Gemma's face as she was now convinced that she had divined the the truth in the matter. 'And I didn't even need a diviner's mark to do it.' She thought to herself with no small amount of self satisfaction.

[Savis Maren]

The Nuit wondered if she was simply wasting her breath. Gemma only seemed to grow more and more confused as Savis spoke, and she felt the inkling of fear, her aura so very close that she could taste it as the shivers rolled down Gemma's spine. Undeath brought with it its own set of problems, and though the vocal cords that she spoke with her different, she always sounded the same. The girlish voice coming from the elderly body was perhaps disjointed, and the undead did nothing to dissuade the notion of nerves that emanated from the Konti.

With someone so close and their feelings so strong... their auras beg to be scrutinized, she realized. Auristics was a power she'd taken to zealously, pushing every advantage she possibly could in the realms of conversation that she failed at so miserably. While the Nuit allowed the connection to Gemma to flourish, she breached outward and deeper into the path. The further they walked, the further her understanding stretched, and she felt in the distance the froth of steam rising from disturbed waters. A vent, perhaps? she mused, feeling it deep beneath a pool of water. The heat branched into other pools, and Savis looked to the Konti expectantly.

"I did think of it. That's why I'm making a map, you fool," she spat, the venom heavy on her tongue before she motioned to the pools of water the two had to weave around in order to avoid getting wet. Savis allowed her arms to fall limp as djed suffused the length of her arms. Sleeves of djed formed and she used them to pull the astral body from her corpseflesh. Her arms moved independently, taking hold of her notebook before retrieving her charcoal pencil. She willed those astral arms of hers to detail the path they were walking, as she turned to look toward the Konti.

"We're not trying to cover more ground. You're going to dive into these pools and tell me what's in there. If we map the cave in its entirety then it'll be safer by definition to explore. Don't worry about the ground. I've my ways to determine what's safe and what isn't," she told the Konti. At last, her demeanor dropped, and she abandoned the tactic of verbal abuse in favor of actually setting about the task she intended. Savis wasted enough time in this altercation, though in truth, she relished the game that Gemma played into. Releasing venom was a catharsis, and someone who not only took the 'punches' but also retaliated in kind was someone the undead could sympathize with.

"You don't see the same cave, at all," she told her, at last alluding to something unseen. This woman knew already of Savis' Projection. Or... she possibly did. In truth, the Nuit didn't pay much attention to Gemma during the altercation with Ponrose to ascertain what she might have learned. It didn't matter, after all.

"And neither do I... This doesn't feel like the same place as last time. Or maybe I was mistaken..." she trailed off, her words purely rhetorical in nature and perhaps not even intentionally muttered. She brushed past the point, then severed her connection to the auras of Gemma and the cave alike. She'd conserve her djed, and move forward, "I'll go ahead. Come join me when you've got something relevant to say."