The allure of the abyss is inescapable. Even so, no one has managed to reach the end. A golden city that sleeps at the bottom of the abyss. Relics that surpass understanding. For 1900 years we have ventured into the darkness hoping to make greater and greater discoveries. The romance of a lost age and the arcane. Drawn to the great unknown, the abyss devours us.

---

Four days ago
The afternoon sun shone down on the city of Orth just like any other bright summer day. The city was bursting with people, the business of selling artifacts and equipment went on as thoroughly to keep up the supply and demand of the mercenaries gathered at this specific city just for one thing. Artifacts, they were not only popular in the city of Orth but around the whole world as well. People came from far and wide to get their hands on the most precious of artifacts resulting in a mixed group of people from different cultures. They weren't only here to get a look at the artifacts but also to salvage them from the abyss. Rivaling delvers went down there everyday to find the most precious of artifacts despite the great danger. And then we are not even talking about the dangers of the abyss but the danger of their own greed. Once you go down in the abyss to discover its secrets it keeps getting harder to get back up again. Yet, there are still individuals who seek to find the most hidden secret of the abyss. What is down at the bottom?

A soft dim of light shone through the sun-sided window, the small particles of dust scattered themselves down gently all across the room as the orange hue of light eliminated the whole room. It was quiet, only the faint sound of pages flipping over one by one every time another page had been finished and the soft yelling of kids playing outside. A young small girl dressed in a simple brown dress gazed over the pages as time ticked on. She was sitting with her small frame against the bookshelves on the ground as she was quietly reading the day away. She found herself lost in the words of the book, the many drawing that had been made of various never seen before things. It was like a fairytale but despite that it was real. It was just under her feet, thousand of meter beneath the soil was a whole different world unexplored by most. She flipped another page, and another. It didn't stop, she could not take her eyes of the book. There were so many pretty and special things in the abyss that she wanted to see with her own eyes. The way it was described was unique, it actually felt a little like she was there when she was reading any book or text… In the abyss, close to a gentle warm fire spread across her body sitting next to an adventurer whilst he was reading a story to her and showed her many different things. It was great, the sun reached the point that it would hit her eyes. She swiftly closed them in annoyance as she turned her head away, she was taken out of trance.



She softly muttered as she put the book on her lap and softly rubbed both her eyes. Her eyes were as square as a box from having read so long. It was getting a habit to be reading all day in the small library they had at the orphanage. She could just sink herself into a few books for a few hours and come back up as hungry as an ox. The black haired girl leaned herself against the bookshelf while she took the book on her lap by the cover up with her. Her legs were shaking lightly as she was standing straight up still supporting herself by the bookshelf. Her legs seemed to be sleeping. She growled a little in annoyance as she softly took a few steps and put the book back where it belonged. Her legs had regained their blood back a bit as she stood up a bit longer and eventually she got some pace back in her steps as she made her way to the main part of the building. It was all silent in the building, her gaze passed over to the windows at her side as she timidly made her way through the hallways of the building with her dress softly fluttering after her in every step. The others were playing outside in the sun, that was always the case when it was sunny. The whole orphanage would play outside. Karen wasn’t so playful however. She would have life just a little more serious, a bit more grown up. It has exactly been two years ago that her sister had died. She remembered this day well, her sister was coughing in bed, she did barely respond to the things they said to her. It… no, she shouldn’t think back about it. Her sister wouldn’t want it either that she would dwell on things like this. Her pace quickened, her dress lightly jumping up and down. Only happy thoughts, she would be getting dinner, chat a little and go to bed. Just like any other normal day.

Her legs hurted... that was weird. Wait, was her vision always this bad. She felt like it wasn’t suppose to be this way. Huh..., why was the ground so close. A heavy thud sounded through the orphanage. Oh… she fell, it didn’t hurt though. She just felt a little bad that she had fallen. With all her strength she pushed herself up again. She was sweating, no one had come to check on her yet. She pushed one of her hands up to her face and gazed at it for a moment. It was shaking like crazy. Her breathing became faster. She knew what this was. She knew it. This was bad. Karen pushed herself up slowly, no one seemed to be inside at the moment since no one had checked on her yet. Karen could still walk if she held onto something, it was just the dizziness and headaches that caught her off guard before she fell. She should get as far as she could right now before the pain became worse. Karen patiently made her way over to her room. She wasn’t fast but could still move at a fair tempo when she tried. First thing she did when she got to her room was pull out a few of her drawers and clothes and quickly stuffed them in her bag. Her head was spinning, how could she work with this. Numerous items went into her backpack making quite a ruckus while she was gathering her things. It didn’t take long before someone found out what she was all up to. The sound of something falling behind her pierced through her ears. In shock she turned around and fell against her own bed. Hazily she saw one of her friend standing behind her. Dinner dropped on the ground as he gazed in shock at the girl. She looked more like an animal right now than actual human. She was too focused on getting away.





Karen gazed at him in surprise as she was yelled at. She dropped a piece of underclothes as she dropped down the rest of her body alongside her in awe.









Tears well up in Yuzu his eyes as Karen slowly collects herself and crawls her way towards the boy.





Karen her eyes well up as she speaks. Her voice growing quieter and more stuttering the more she goes on. Tears stream down her red cheeks as she tries to help her friend to understand.

Yuzu blankly stares at her as she speaks her mind. Words echo in his head as he hears the reason for her odd behaviour and mannerism. He can’t believe this is happening. Why does this keep happening. Why is the world so cruel.



Yuzu brushes the tears from his eyes as he gives a soft nod with his head.



Yuzu dropped to his knees to give Karen a huge hug to let her know she was gonna be alright with him at her side. That they both were gonna be fine and that nothing could stop them now. They sat there for a few minutes with Karen crying her tears out. She hasn’t vented like this since her mother had left them. It wasn’t till Karen had no more tears left that Yuzu stepped in and sat her down on the bed. Karen was as hot as a beet and didn’t seem all too lively. She was softly moving around with her head as she was panting softly. There was nothing to be done about this illness. It was just sitting out and waiting for the end. Karen was probably right though about the whole going out of Orth. It was their only hope at least.

Yuzu made Karen eat some breakfast before he prepared their bags. Karen had just stuffed random items into the bag but that wasn’t gonna help them. Yuzu carefully thought out a good plan and items for their upcoming trip. It was very important to get enough of everything when they would be going in on their own. The most important item they held was the artifact bound by stones. It was a communication artifact that allowed two users of these two stones to communicate with each other. They had left one on Karen her desk with a note of leaving. Karen had gotten somewhat weaker as time went on, time was drawing short. She could not even stand after a while, it was dramatic. It was a death wish but… Yuzu only had that deathwish to save her right now. He used sheets and ropes to bind her tightly on his back with the backpack strapped on her back. They sneaked out of the orphanage when the night had risen. It wasn’t the first time that Yuzu had sneaked out like this but it was still dangerous to go into the abyss on their own. Off course people of the orphanage had seen them pack and leave but… there was not much to be done apart from stopping blockhead Yuzu. Even then he would still go after Karen. Like a ninja Yuzu moved past the night guards and found a good spot to rock climb down. But before he could go down he was met by a local guard that had spotted him. Without a word Yuzu was picked up by the collar and taken back up a bit. The guard gave them a cheeky grin before he looked a little more serious and gave Yuzu a nod of trust while throwing him in the elevator down.



Yuzu seemed grateful to the well known guard. He gave a small blush and a nod of trust back as the elevator went down. This was a start for them to get down.They had until dawn to get down as far as possible into the abyss. Yuzu had been climbing for hours but still managed to get quite far in little time. Karen still responded when he had been going at it for a few hours.

---

Future
A cloudy day, the sun hidden behind the puffed balloons of wool, shaded but despites still warm. Orth didn’t seem out of place, it kept going on with its everyday routine of cheerfulness, mass trading and the usual conversations about the abyss. There was only one tiny thing different about the city today. The orphanage was completely quiet, it has been like this since the second day of the young children their disappearance. There hadn’t been playing around the orphanage for a few days. The adults and children had been searching through the abyss to find clues and signs of were the two had gone off too.

This was the third day of their search but there was just nothing to find, through caves, between cravages there was just nothing. The boy alone had taken them further than the first layer it had appeared, one way or another. Despites everyone wanting to find them back it was too dangerous to descend down any further, it was a code to abandon hope when a red whistle goes down further than this but there was of course still a chance to find them back alive. They had enough experience as a delver to cook by themselves and have enough knowledge to survive if they did not meet any fatal encounters. It would off course still be horrible to imagine that they might have fallen down while they tried ascending but it was better not to think about a possibility like that. Chris, the lead of the orphanage yelled one last time to see if they might receive a response this time.



The voices of the small children followed the leader his voice from multiple locations around the leader. They all put in their effort to find their friends, Chris gave a short sigh as he gazed down into the abyss. He lightly held the communication artifact to his ear that they had left behind as he gazed down.



He gazed into the abyss for a bit longer seeming lost in thought of them being in trouble and hungry. Their gear wouldn’t allow for easy ascending back to the surface and with the curse it was even harder for them to get back. The artifact didn’t show much sign of activation, the sound was usually soft so you had to keep it close to your ear, you had to talk loudly into it as well and wasn’t best at communication most of the time, the best bet he had was to listen to it most of the day to see if they would let their voice be heard. He only had heard Yuzu his breathing from time to time, he had probably be sleeping at the time. Two voices chirped in disappointment as they hurried back to their leader.













The elevator softly rose back up from the abyss to the surface with the children and their superiors. Gears cranking and cracking as the elevator lifted up the weight of all the people and supplies on it, they had come back up to a soft wind blowing in their face, the harsh sun piercing through the clouds showing them clearly they had gotten back to the bright and safe surface. One for one the children stepped off the elevator and scattered a little as they made their usual way back to the orphanage. It was somewhat more easy going and less tense from when they are in the abyss. The surface did always give a tad more relaxation then the abyss did. Children peacefully chatted with each other about their lost friends and dinner as they made their way back to the orphanage. Aya and Suu were walking in the front while leader fitted behind the group as to not lose anyone out of his sight while they headed back.

---

Rags had been busy during the search. She had quickly ran away from the rest of the group and began sniffing the grass for the scent of her missing fellow apprentices. After losing their trail near a cliff edge, she was fairly sure they'd descended further, yet when she tried to tell the adults, she got headpats and a reassurance that the possibility was unlikely that they're descended further than the first level. And maybe they were right. There was still a significant possibility that the trail ending near a cliff was insignificant and they were still on the first level, hidden. Even so, Rags did not appreciate being patronized because of her feral habits and poor speech. As she pouted, even headpats couldn't fully soothe her.

Rags retreated to her usual sulking place, by climbing a large rock feature in the Orphanage's garden, and resting on her haunches, watching the other kids play, with a view of the forests and waterfalls on the first level of the Abyss. She had no real desire to explore. or seek riches. She enjoyed the delves to the Abyss solely because of the freedom. She was let off the leash, so to speak.

@liferusher

Leader gently patted Aya on the head to show her she had done a good job. Aya happily snuggles up to his hand as the hand ruffled her hairs. Aya quietly giggled as she enjoyed the headpat, Aya felt nice when leader gave her attention. She would do anything if it is regarding leader. Leader let go of her and walked off towards the elevator. Aya was a little surprised when he had suddenly stopped. She felt a little down for him stopping so soon but she knee she could get more attention from him if she helped him. With her torso perked up she hopped after leader his steps.

In the corner of her eyes she could see the scene unfold of Rags running up to one of their superiors pointing at the side of the abyss trying to get their attention to thst spot. Rags was pretty good at finiding things yet, she would mostly lead them to death ends down into the abyss where they couldn't go and would just stop without any more reason to go further down. Rags got a headpat as well but didn't appear so pleased. She wss pouting like a mad child. Well she was but... Aya turned her gaze back towards leader his back as Rags pointed her head at the ground in dissapointment. Aya tilted her head to the ground a little as well partly ignoring her general dissapointment for now.

They turned back up at the surface. The elevator came to a stop at which Aya immediatly jumped off in cheery motion and ran ahead a little towards the orphanage. She ran to her room and dumped her stuff in her room. Shortly after unewuiping her helmet and jacket she janked some food out of the kitchen and searched for Rags. She sat outside sitting on the biggest rock in the garden. Aya sneaked up to her and climbed up at the back. Aya sat down next to Rags in clothmaker sit. She shoved half the bread she had gotten from the kitchen in Rags her mouth as she stuffed her own mouth as well. Aya silently ate her own bread as she watched out towards the abyss as well just like Rags had been doing.



Aya seemed cheerful at first but still gave a quick reality check to Rags. She didn't seem like the quiet girl but didn't talk much because of her lack of proper speech and being laughed at by the other kids sometimes. She stuffed her face with bread once more as her curious eyes turned towards Rags.

---

---

Rags was not surprised by a fellow apprentice climbing besides her, as the feral girl could smell her, and hear the sounds of her climbing, though supposed it was a little unusual that one of the other kids was coming to see her. Rags' guard was up. Hopefully they weren't there to bully her. When Rags turned, she suddenly found half a loaf of bread stuffed into her mouth, which, in her confusion, she let sticking out for a while as she stared down at it in surprise. This certainly wasn't a natural or expected turn of events. But this was bread. And bread was food, and she should be thankful for food and accept gifts. Rags started to chew on the bread, and her mood improved. When Aya started talking, Rags listened, and continued to chew.

"Brain says they not down. Smell says they down," Rags replied, showing that while she didn't have a full grasp of English and didn't understand every word that was said to her, she understood enough to get the gist of what Aya was asking her, and replying in kind. "But if down not safe, why adults down?"

The most unusual thing about Rags, once you got to know her, was her intelligence. She might actually be among the smartest and most inquisitive girls her age at the orphanage. She had a keen mind for reasoning and philosophy, as well as a large base of useful knowledge and wisdom that she had picked up from living in the wild, that came in handy during practice delves.

@liferusher

Aya gave a piercing look towards Rags to see if she was fooling her before she scanned over her carefully. She ruffled the girls her hair to see if there were any ears hidden, brushed over her skin to see if she perhaps shaved it everyday..., as final she looked past Rags her back to see if she had a tail. There wasn't anything bulging out but! It might be hidden! Aya pulled on Rags her trousers and stretched them as far as she could. There was only a smooth butt and nothing more. Aya let go off the pants and turned her head back towards the abyss somewhat sulking.



Aya pushed her chin onto her upper legs looking a tad sad about the whole ordeal of wanting a puppy. Oh right, Rags had asked her why the adults could go down but they couldn't. Why did Rags want to know in the first place? Aya wouldn't want to go down so far so it hadn't bothered her but was Rags curious about the depths? Aya pulled her head up from her legs and gave Rags a sweet smile.



Aya gave a shiver at the end as she thought about going further then layer 1. During the conversation Aya thought she had to speak a little simpler to Rags in order for her to understand. Rags had such simple speech pattern herself so it felt a bit fitting. Well.. at least Rags seemed to get the gist of the conversation. Perhaps conversations like this would even help her get to talk more proper.



Aya pushed up her nose when she mentioned her nose.

"Sweet kanava potatoes glazed in sugar... Onna noodles... saffron... blood oranges..."

A young girl with far too much hair hanging in front of her eyes walked slowly through Orth. She was likewise carrying far too much food in several bags, the weight a strain on her small body. She muttered to herself as​ she tried to mind her feet and not trip over her long green dress. One by one she named each item of food, making sure she had everything on her mental checklist.

"...shredded mixed meats... fish bits... onions. Lots of onions. Lots of.. heavy onions..."

In watching her steps and focusing on the food that was slowing her down the girl had been paying too little attention to where she was going. She was actually well off her normal route by the time she noticed. With a start she realized she was very close to the edge of the Abyss. There was a gated fence she had almost walked right into but a quick scan of the surrounding area revealed no one was nearby. As the surprise faded she also realized she was too tired to continue on without resting. At least that was the excuse she fabricated as she carefully set her bags down near the wooden fence.

Her heart was beating faster and sweat threatened to drip into her eyes as she leaned against the fence and looked down into the incredible, beautiful, terrible pit famously known as the Abyss. It had been a long time since she had been this close; normally she just stared at the Abyss from her window which never seemed to be completely free of dust no matter how much it was cleaned. Her feelings about this place were rather conflicted, but in spite of her anxiety she found herself leaning farther over in an attempt to look straight down. The great hole in the world was undeniably alluring and many answered its siren call on a daily basis.

Unfortunately for her the more she looked the more bad memories began to rise to the surface of her thoughts.

A sudden rustling very nearby startled her out of the mental descent that was coming on. Looking down where the noise was coming from and watched in horror as one of the sacks of food tipped over and the precious goods started rolling out and falling over the edge. "No! Nonononooo!" She could not move fast enough and several items dropped downward bouncing against rocks on the way before she could right the bag and start chasing after what was still within reach.

One onion was chased and barely caught as it started to fall, but this put her in the awkward position of being halfway over the edge herself. She managed to brace herself easily enough but her shoulder bag was not so lucky; that slipped almost completely off her arm. In a terrible stroke of luck the contents of the shoulder bag slipped out at the mercy of gravity and the winds. A strangled cry of utter distress escaped her throat as she watched her papers float away. Sketches, short stories, notes, little games she was working on, all were now lost to the Abyss along with the some of the food for her guardian.

Gone forever.

It wasn't as if she couldn't climb down and retrieve what hadn't fallen all the way out of sight, but she stayed where she was anyway. She wasn't allowed to go into the Abyss, she shouldn't even be as close as she was now. And she had promised to not break the rules. Not ever again. She felt like crying having so foolishly lost important things but she stood up and dusted herself off instead.

"My papers... scattered everywhere... M-maybe the animals will tear them up to use for nesting before anyone sees them. I guess I can just make it up from memory, it's not like they were irreplaceable, right? But Teacher's food! What am I going to do about that? Oh! Maybe if I hurry I'll have enough time to go back to the market and replace it all. Yes, yes that's right! There's a shortcut that goes past the orphanage!"

She normally didn't pass by the orphanage. Most of those kids were learning to be delvers and some even had whistles already. They looked like they were all having so much fun and Kryss had a lot of mixed feelings when she saw them. She had avoided going by there for a while but this was an emergency. It was afternoon already and Teacher would be waking up soon...

She set off at a run after gathering up the heavy bags, only one of which was a little lighter now. It was not long before she was tired out and forced to settle on a brisk walk.

Not ten minutes later she found herself walking near another pair of children sitting on a large rock. Passing by she overheard the two talking, and something they said caught her full attention. She stopped abruptly and stared at them, mouth agape, wondering if she had in fact heard what she thought she heard. She hoped she had not but part of her already knew that hope was pointless and would remain unfulfilled. She found herself approaching the two nervously. She took notice of the fact that they​ were both girls that looked younger than she was and felt a little more at ease.

"E-excuse me? I didn't mean to eavesdrop but... are there kids that got lost in the Abyss?"

---

---

Rags nervously allowed Aya to check her hair for ears and skin for fur. Nope. No ears in sight, and her skin was smooth. When Aya went behind her, Rags was about to ask her what she was doing when she felt her pants being pulled back. She yipped, stood up rigid straight and her face was now a crimson mask of mortification and embarrassment.

"Rags not dog!" She exclaimed, eyes tearing up adorably, though she was in no danger of crying. She calmed herself down by the time Aya answered her questions about the adults, and returned to sitting on her haunches, listening attentively. Despite Aya's misgivings about talking simpler, Rags understood what she was saying. You didn't have to be fully learned in grammar and language rules to get the gist of things.

That said, the explanation didn't quite make sense to her. Anyone can gain experience and knowledge. Anybody can be given good tools. Why was it determined that only at a certain age are you allowed these things? Who determined that? Maybe that's why everybody was so surprised when they heard about a child living alone in the wild. It wasn't that rags was alone. It was that she was a child. That's not how things work here. Children don't go out into danger alone here. A clearer picture was forming itself to Rags. And she didn't think it was fair. With knowledge and experience and tools, Rags could do what the adults could do.

Maybe that's what the apprenticeships and first level delving as supposed to be, but it wasn't testing. You don't learn to hunt in a forest by being allowed to explore a very small section of it and then being given food anyway. You learn faster by chasing and tracking for hours, across miles and miles of land. And you learn to delve by delving. By using the best tools, by going down deeper, with no safety nets. That's how Rags learned to live until now.

Rags was asked another question along with a nose bop by Aya, about the best thing she'd ever found by smell. She was about to answer, when an older child, not from the orphanage, approached the two, and asked about the missing kids. Rags responded by nodding, then looking to Aya, she could explain better than Rags.

@liferusher@FlitterFaux

Rags exclaimed it herself as well, she was indeed not a dog. The feral habits kind of made it a possibility for her to be one but she succeeded Aya her test of having no dog qualities with an A+. Aya would rather have had her get a C or a D, that way she could still adopt her to be her pet but unfortunately that was not the case.

Aya had sulked on her own for a moment to show Rags how sad she was for her passing the test but they cheerfully continued shortly after. Rags didn't seem to find the reason Aya gave a fair or logical reason. Aya thought Rags was a bit further ahead in skill of delving as well with her climbing abilities and nose but everyone had their own specialty so she didn't particularly stand out. Aya could not look in Rags her head to see what she learned of the abyss but it didn't seem more than the average like herself. Rags was quite reserve most of the time so it was less obvious to notice that she was trying her hardest. From what she knew they could get a blue whistle when they get older and that way you would be allowed further down. Right now there was only one older boy in the orphanage who had his blue whistle. Aya thought he was about 15 years so he had the right to have it at least. She didn't think there was anyone else over 15 right now in the orphanage though. Maybe they left?



Aya placed both hands on each side of her waist and gave Rags an angry pout. The pout slowly formed into a angry smile as she could not hold her composer. It did not take for her to drop the act entirely before she noticed Rags looking elsewhere. She turned her head to the place Rags was looking and noticed a somewhat pale girl staring up at them in surprise. She seemed like most other kids of the city only a bit tidier. Perhaps she was from a middle class family? The older kid asked them a question about the lost children in the abyss. Rags had already given her a nod but decided to leave Aya to the word by staring at her. Aya seemingly stared at her in surprise for a moment, she didn't expect anyone to come up to her and ask her a question. If it wasn't for the sudden Chris appearing from the door she would have been frozen forever.



Chris gave the two a short sign that their food was ready to be eaten and that all the orphanage kids and staff would be waiting for them inside before they start. They would always start with a short praise to god before they would eat. They wouldn't start without anyone still not attending at the dinner table. Chris noticed the new girl behind the fence of the playground apparently speaking to the two sitting on the rocks.



Leader gave the girl in the long dress a gentle wave before he shut the back entrance of the orphanage again and continued with setting the table while most of the other kids ran up to the table already seating themselves as they slowly started to play with their silverware and each other.

Aya stared after leader with both hands on her cheeks seemingly brainwashed simply by the sight of him.



Aya slid down from the rock and landed on the grass, she patted the dust of off her butt before she noticed the ignored girl once more.



Aya jumped a little when she remembered that they had to go eat. Her expression became a little haunted when she mentioned about what would happen if they didn't listen.


Aya dashed off towards the building and quickly made her way inside as to not upset leader.

---

Once inside Rags and Aya would be met with the spots at the dinner table being completely filled except for 4 left over spots. At each and every sitting spot a plate with food was set. After everyone was seated there were still two left over sitting spots at the table, everyone knew that these two sitting places was were Yuzu and Karen would normally sit. Everyone knew they still had every possibility to come back to the surface sooner or later and would definitly leave them a warm plate of food for when they would come back. All kids put their hands together, some closed their eyes and some looked up at leader who was sitting at the head of the table. After it was quiet leader softly started with a gentle smile on his face. You could still hear Aya gasp in awe at the sight of leader praying to the lord like you would hear every day during dinner.



Leader gave a soft bow as he was finished and told them to go ahead to eat dinner.

@Rekaigan@Melpaws

Softly the sun began to set behind the mountainside of Orth, an orange hue illuminating the paved streets of the town. Shops began closing down as the last passerby's went home to finish their day. Off course there were always people that kept shop open a bit later and went shopping later, that is how the scene formed. A sweetly dressed girl wearing a simple long white summer dress with a diadem in her hair to keep it back. She was timidly browsing the wares of the shop in front of her. Artifacts were spread over a woolen cloth in front of the shopkeeper that almost seemed to meditate somewhat. The girl in white sometimes widened her eyes at the sight of a somewhat special artifact and would immediately buy it like it was some manga shop where you would buy hundreds of books in an hour. The artifacts were not of any special grade, they were just neat little items that did the most simple things, they were still a fun thing to posses. While the shopkeeper and the girl in white did their thing a young lonely girl seemingly living on the streets came up to the shop looking up at the shopkeeper with a despaired look on her face. She was holding onto a small strange artifact that she had most likely found on her own seeming from her hurted hands and dirt spread over her body. She quietly waited for a while before realizing the shopkeeper didn't notice her at all.



The shopkeeper finally opened his eyes and glared up at the girl to see what she she had to say. The girl was patiently holding out the artifact to him. The girl looked quite cheerful knowing she got some money to spend again after giving this to one of the artifact sellers. The artifact seller sneered at the artifact and snapped his head away in disgust.



The girl her face turned completely white as she heard what the shopkeeper thought about her own gained artifact. This took her a long time to get, she didn't feel happy hearing him talk like this about her own artifact. She was gonna sell it for like 10 gold but from what was happening here right now she didn't think it would even get her 1 singel copper coin.



The girl stepped in closer to the man as she lightly trembled. Her voice shaking as she tried making the man still buy it. She almost shoved the artifact in the man his face, showing him even more how desperate she was.



The girl in white began to follow along a little having her eyes on the artifact. The two were arguing about it it appeared and the shopkeeper wasn't too happy about it. The girl in white stayed close.

The shopkeeper widened his eyes as steam blew out of his nose. He slammed his hand onto the artifact tightly grabbing onto it with his enormous hands almost crushing it in his grip. He opened up his mouth as wide as he could and growled out at the girl.



The man threw his arm back and threw the artifact away with all the fury he had in him. The artifact flew through the sky towards the abyss. The girl gazed after the airborne artifact. She already began running to get it back but clearly wasn't fast enough. A gust of wind passed her in only seconds that she started running. Two pair of sandals being pushed into her hands as she came to a stop and gazed forwards to the person that passed her. It was the girl in white that took a hefty pace to get the flying artifact back. The artifact flew over the abyss a bit. The heroic girl jumped onto the fence and launched herself over the abyss after the artifact. With a heroic look on her face she grabbed hold of the artifact. The heroic look quickly dissipated as she felt gravity shift and her weight took over. A loud scream was heard nearby as she clutched herself onto the artifact and fell down into the abyss, her screaming growing fainter the more time passed.

The small girl ran as quick as she could up to the ledge of the abyss and shockingly gazed down into the abyss after the girl.

---

---

Getting called to dinner, Rags followed Aya into the orphanage, and sat at her usual spot, near the edge. She put her hands together as other children did, and closed one eye, as her survival instincts were to never close both eyes if you could help it, and old habits die hard. Her open eye was on the leader as she, as far as she could gather, thanked somebody called 'lord' for the food, and asking for their help. Why couldn't you ask them in person, instead of putting your hands together and asking the air?

The leader then gave them permission to eat, and eat Rags did. She had been given many lessons on 'manners' which were a series of strange things you do or don't do, with little sensible reason behind them. With food, however, Rags could see sense in manners. Food here was served hot, so you cut it with knives to vent the heat, picked it up with forks so you didn't burn you hands, and ate it slowly so you didn't upset your stomach with the rich, seasoned food. And that's how Rags ate now; like everybody else. It had been a very different story when she arrived.

When the meal was finished, Rags approached the leader. She tried to remember the grammar that she had been taught. "Leader. When we go down more? Um," She pauses as she tried to find the right word. 'more' could mean 'more often'. "Deeper?"

@liferusher

---

There were kids... lost in the Abyss.

She already knew she hadn't misheard but to have those fears so casually confirmed through something as innocent as the nod of one's head...

Kryss was opening her mouth to begin a barrage of questions about the where, when, how, who, etcetera when a familiar voice derailed that train of thought. A second later a familiar face followed that voice and she reflexively hid her face, making use of her usually troublesome abundance of hair. Her heart was suddenly hammering in her ears and she barely heard the girl's further explanation and hasty assurance that their friends would be found and that they would be ok.

She nodded silently and after an all but whispered "I have to go now." Kryss hastily departed. She took the most direct route back to the main library she called home. All she could think about was that there were lost children in the Abyss. Lost human children that had been born on the surface, not down there in the depths. Up here was their home while the Abyss was a place they had to learn to navigate, not the other way around. How long would they survive?

"Kryssa. Kryssa!" Another familiar voice snapped the girl out of her thoughts. Her teacher and guardian, as well as the head librarian, had a look of deep concern on her aged face. She was holding Kryss' arm gently but firmly and for the first time the girl noticed she had been paying so little attention to what she was doing she had cut herself.

That's right, I was just slicing the vegetables like I always do. I must have slipped. When did I get home again?

"I-I'm sorry. I accidentally dropped some of the groceries on the way back, and then I was going to go get more and I.. must have forgotten along the way somehow. I'll go back, I'll buy it all back, I'll use my own-

"Kryss." The older woman had been cleaning the cut under running water but now she stopped and looked knowingly into her eyes. "What's really bothering you?"

Adults could be annoyingly perceptive at times. Rarely when you wanted them to be and usually when you wished they wouldn't be. Kryss was silent for a long while but under her guardian's patient gaze she eventually began to explain.

"I was taking a shortcut past the orphanage after I lost some of our food and I overheard some girls talking... about their friends being lost somewhere in the Abyss. From the way they were talking.. I think they went beyond just the first layer. But it also sounded like everyone was still looking for them. I thought... after the first layer..."

Shutting the water off and retrieving a dry towel her teacher nodded. "I see. It's true in most cases but sometimes there are those willing to search even deeper than usual. In any case you should leave it to the adults at the orphanage. You already know they're good people and if anyone has a chance at finding those kids it would be them. Meanwhile you," explained the woman with grey hair creeping into her once brilliant red, "should be worrying about you and be more careful with that knife. Why don't you go wash up, I'll finish getting everything ready here."

Kryss knew her teacher was right though she didn't like it. She knew all too well what it was like to be lost and alone down there.

Wait, did she just say...? Kryss looked up at the woman and wrinkled her nose, to which the other looked almost mildly offended.

"What? Oh fine! I'll just cut up the rest of this and we'll do it together under your expert supervision oh master gourmet."

Though she didn't feel much like laughing that pulled a little giggle out of her. She nodded and started towards the washroom. Teacher was right of course. Even if she wanted to help so bad it hurt it was better not to get involved.

Right?

Kai sat with his knees pressed right up to his chest, both arms wrapped tightly around them. The room he was allowed to call home was a mockery of human existence in a place that should be home. A mat on the floor with a single pillow and tattered blanket was all that remained in the wake of his brothers.

Damn locusts! Kai thought bitterly, fighting back tears.

The challenge to be the strongest had driven a wedge so deep between the remaining family that home had become all but a battleground. The brutes bumped chests brazenly and flaunted their prowess openly at every chance they got, refusing to look at their rivals with anything but disdain. Kai had been the worst receiver of their attention. All 5 of them had stormed his room and smashed or stolen every last thing he had owned, from clothing to the ornate wooden sculptures decorating the space.

Smashed into splinters, or fed to the bonfire no doubt raging on the property. The smell of smoke had only begun to invade the boys nostrils, sending him into a fresh fit of stifled sobbing.

There wasn't a time he had ever remembered when the family had existed in unison since their father had taken ill. Now it was a a nightmare. Whenever possible, Kai often snuck into his fathers room and sat veside the once proud symbol of the famIly, lamenting the pained expression glued to the mans face.

Under Kais shirt was the smooth painted masterpiece, a mask in the rough likeness of his father Leorin. It had taken months by candlelight to make and many more to smooth and paint without the others catching notice. Of all the items that had been born of his handiwork the mask had been the labor of love to honor the strongest person Kai believed he woild ever know.
To see Leorins legacy tarnished by the brutish and stupid offspring of his second wife was sometimes too much to handle.

"I need your help, Dad. I- I ca- can't d-do this!" His voice broke as he stifled the pitiful whimpers and tears thretening to break him. The boys lifetime of work was literally in smoke.
Wiping his face on the sleeve of his coat, Kai bit his lip so hard he tasted blood as he struggled to rise. Up and out, the youngest brother slipped from his prison and out the window to the slanted rooftop. His only posessions left were kept securely in Leorins room behind the dresser. In that room was the only place in the world safety could be found.

The others cared not at all for their ailing father and so never bothered to visit.

Kai traversed the rooftops with familiar ease, dabbing at his eyes the entire waym mask tucked protectively under his armpit.

---

The window was shut, blinds drawn, door locked, and Kai sat at the right of Leorins bed. Time was not kind to the man and had left the shell of a hero to occupy the soft linens laid before Kai. To the boys eyes it looked as if the man had already passed, the only sign of life was the blissfully rhythmic rise of Leorins sunken chest.

Was there months left for him? Weeks? Days? The fear in his eyes mirrored the white-knuckled grip of his hands as they squeezed his pant legs.

"Dad.." Kais voice squeeked tightly. Fresh tears were already forming as the words came unbidden. "This place isn't home anymore. These people are animals. I- you- everyone is gone!" His voice was tense as he pictured what felt like an eternity ago, playing in the fields withoutna care with his mother and olde brothers. "I'm sorry Papa. I'm so sorry. If only I was stronger I could- I could-"

I could have saved us from ourselves!

The words screamed in Kais mind. Just a few more years and Kai could have been a proper heir. Leorin has fallen ill before naming a successor, too ill and frail now to even whisper. Even if they could it wouldn't change anything. Nobosy here would follow the words of a talking corpse, as they had put it.
Kai clenched his fist all the harder as his grief shifted from fear to a blinding hate.

They had done something. Poisoned his drink, his food, something that kept Leorin weak. Nothing but the underhanded tricks of a rat could have done something like this.

"I'll win their contest. I swear." From under Kais shirt came the mask, placed atop Leorins hand as the boy took a series of steadying breaths. Each intake of stale air only burned his resolve even further. "You will not be forgotten, Dad.. but I can't stay here if I'm going to win."

If there was a way to win it was below. Far below. The others were stronger by far but they were slow. Stupid. Spineless balls of brawn that would never willingly put themselves at risk. The mask was a promise to do better, be better, overcome the obstacles in life.

"I love you, Dad.." Kai whispered as he slid out the window henhad entered from he'd entered from, the mask and carving tools tucked into a pillowcase from the closet. The journey ahead would be rough but the boy set his jaw firmly.
The only way out was forward. Over the fence, down the hill, and into the Abyss itself when the time came. Going alone was suicide.

If whatever spirits watching him were truly guiding his fate he hoped one of them saw fit to give him a friend.

With the day slowly coming to an end, the familiar city of Orth began to shift into nighttime. As usual, the mood was a more relaxed one as it was during the day. The normally rather hectic market district had calmed down and only a few people were actually either browsing through the shops or were just finishing up their final purchase for the day.

Through these streets that were packed with less and less people each minute, a somewhat young girl was making her way home herself. The slight breeze that was blowing a comforting and chilly wind was enough to ruffle the girl's hair, making it shift with the wind and swaying behind her. The long, red ponytail which had become a familiar feature for the girl: Luna Synth. With her backpack tightly secured on her own back, her hands buried in the frontpockets of her jacket and a neutral expression visible on her face, Luna had just finished buying a few items on the market herself. Admittedly, she had bought a bit too much since the wares on that particular day were just too interesting to ignore and when it came to the shops of Orth, Luna was known to... give in to her urges and buy one thing after the other, every now and then.

Just when she was about to leave the district, the commotion that was caused by the two girls and the shopkeeper caught Luna's attention. While she wasn't particularly interested in their actions for the longest time, the moment one of the girls did probably the most reckless thing that she would ever do in her life, was when Luna finally showed some emotion. While she had only walked past them initially, not paying them much attention, now her eyes opened widely in shock when she saw the little girl decending down into the Abyss, screaming in horror while she did so. It was quite a gruesome sight and those who had paid attention were quick to express their horror and shock at the situation. "What an idiot!" She thought to herself, having been quite shocked herself. Worse than that, there seemed to be noone around willing to help either of the little girls.

The way she fell down there, her chances of survival were miniscule at best. The red-haired girl couldn't blame anyone for not jumping after her into the dark chasm, it was the Abyss after all! Even Luna, the girl who was so experienced at dwelling in its depths was hesitant. Her natural human instinct dictated her to jump after the poor girl and save her. Instead, Luna just ran to the fence and looked after her, clenching her fist. Jumping after her would be equally as stupid... after all, her parents were waiting for her at home. Luna couldn't just risk her life for someone she didn't know! If only there was someone who was willing to, someone who would be the hero the situation needed.
All Luna knew was that she was not that hero. She never was one and never would be one. Yes, it was a gruesome scene but... jumping down after her would be suicide. Therefore, Luna just decided to clench her first a little more until she proceeded to leave towards her house, walking slowly as she left the scene.

Kai stared from a hilltop an hours walk from the family home and looked longingly back the way he had walked, seeing the familoar home in his mind instead of his eyes. The decision to leave had been a paniced decision born from desperation, loneliness, fear. Anger most of all. Doubt still clung to him like a bad smell as the choice, still so fresh, sat front and center in the young boys mind.

No money, no food, no clothing but what he wore with him on the way out. There had been no time to consider his options and Kai realized quickly how foolishly he had been to leave ubprepared for the outside.

"No!" Kai slapped his face woth both hands before shaking his head. "No. This is the only way. If I rely on hole to provide then I don't deserve to think it should be mine."

Leorin had always preached that making a decision meant seeing it through to the end. A smart person could make the best out of any situation. Doubt would never leave his heart and mind but the only way forward was to the city proper. Once there he would get food, clothing, supplies. There were shops that recognized the boys family and had a tab. That wasn't relying on the house! It was relying on his name.
Let the idiots in charge worry about the bill. Those morons could barely count, nevermind keep track of their own spending.

Down the hillside went Kai, eyes focused and back straight. It was time to conquer! Not cower.

---

Commotion in the bustling marketplaces were common. Kai was well aware of human nature to bicker and argue over everything when it came to money and that showed no signs of being false as the boy walked the avenues looking for the shops he needed. One such store he had stumbled on quickly, recognizing the owners wife who often commented on his growth, much to the boys chagrin.
They mourned the boys father like he did and offered what little sentimental wishes they could before aiding the boy in his resolve to be the family head.

All they asked for was that Kai keeo his business with them as their father had.

With rope, clothing, and a proper backpack (a packed lunch thrown in) he marched off, waving back to the owners in the first genuinly cheerful smile Kai had felt in months. Freedom thus far was intoxicating.

The next few shops he visited had less luck. One by one he discovered the older brothers had purchased food and cloth in great stock and had yet to pay what was owed, shooing the boy away until the debts were paid in full. As expected of the brutes..

Further commotion caught his ear in time to see his heart sink into his chest as the scene unfolded. A man threw something high and over the abyss, a girl screamed, and a body went over the edge with the artifact all while the shopkeeper roared and shoved.
Just like...

"How COULD YOU!"

Kai didn't remember putting on the father mask. Could not recall taking off in a run. Everything was a blur but the man who had thrown something. The distqnce shrank as he burst from the gathered crowd and all but threw himself forward in a rush of shouting as Kai tackled the older man.

@Melpaws@Zelosse

At the rate things are going, this is unacceptable. My house may fall in ruin before I set a foot in the depths of the Abyss proper. The words resonated on the head of the teenager as he wearily shifted his weight and kept walking by the dusk-bathed streets. Another day, another slog for survival and thriving. Well, it had gotten a little less excruciating these days. No longer the young man had to wait his already diminished resources decrease even further, as he impatiently sat in an Orphanage he all but imposed himself to be in, and that people rarely accepted him as he was. His clothes, despite stained and dusty were clearly of a higher cut than most denizens, and he had even had a couple of tools that most novice dwellers didn't have.

The crossbow, in fact had been fairly useful these days. The treasure hunt was hopeless and he could only bare scrounge the minimum for the baubles he had unearthed, but each day he could pay his sustenance in flesh rather than artifacts. Meat, no matter the creature was greatly appreciated in the orphanage, and hunting was not something a lot of teenagers were able to do that proficiently. Such was today's catch. He had all but the most bare baubles unearthed, but full lustrous-but-odd looking birds were tied by ropes and staining his shoulder with fresh blood, all of them bearing the holes of a quarrel's impact. Tomorrow there would be bird casserole, he could feel it.

And then tragedy struck. It wasn't totally unexpected of course, but... still rend at his heart like a dagger. He was not the closest to the accident site, yet for some reason, he felt compelled to begin to dash. Time was of essence. His eyes scanned the situation. Some adults, chaos. A brat trying to be an avenger of sort. That goddamn moron. Trying to beat up a shopkeeper, and screaming out of the top of his lungs. Definitely not useful. His eyes darted to his right. Assistance was needed, urgently. The moment he saw a blue whistle, he caught it in one of his hands, clutching firmly.

"I'm sorry, my lady. But you look reliable and I could use your help." He spat in a harsh almost whispered voice, his eyes meeting with that of a girl of his age. Synthia, or Synth or whatever. A veteran delver. "I need you to pass a message to the Orth orphanage. And these birds too. Gotta think of the kids. Time is of essence." He added. "Tell them that Sieg went down." He added, before dumping the birds at her feet, and quickening his pace as he begun to load his crossbow.

When he reached the chaotic scene, he knew that even if he jumped just immediately after, he wouldn't catch the falling girl, so he opted for a more practical solution. Embedding some cloth in oil in one of his quarrels, he took a guess shot at the girl's fall trajectory, even if a little swerved so he wouldn't hit the girl, thus marking the search area down below. After the deed was done, he took a rope and a hook, and firmly tying it to the rail and wrapped around himself, he gave it at tug.

"I'm going. Farewell." He curtly said, and jumping. He should've added. You cowardly lot. He thought, as the speed and the descent caught his full attention.

They were peacefully eating at the dinner table with some idle chit chat going by from time to time. It was maybe the only time of day the kids could all be quite for a second when they were focused on eating. Chris was also quietly eating while keeping an eye out for the other children to see if they didn't fight or steal each others food. He had just a little more food then the children just about enough to keep him going for another day. He had learned in the abyss that you had to preserve food so you last longer with what you get and have.

When Rags began talking a few kids poked their eyes at the feral girl. She never said much in the first place so it was intresting to hear her talk and to her questions were. Leader turned his head towards the petite girl as she started speaking. It wasn't hard to understand what she meant, her grammar was just a bit broken from her many years in the wild. The girl asked when they were gonna search deeper in the abyss for the others. More of the other kids looked up at the girl now curious to what she had to say about it. Leader seemed a little surprised about the question. She must have worried about the other two as well since the moment they had disappeared. Off course she would have. Leader gave a gentle smile towards the girl.



Most of the kids dropped their curiosity again and continued eating as if nothing had happened. He must not say to much about it or they'll worry or worse, try to go down themselves. While the others continued eating leader looked at Rags a bit longer to wonder about some things. Not one of the other children would have thought about how they could have been down deeper in the abyss yet Rags did seem to know that they had clearly gone down much further.





The girl that had just been shopping at his store had dashed off and jumped off of the edge of the abyss. He watched her jump in surprise as his jaw had dropped. It was such a measly artifact and she just wasted her life on it. He uttered a few words but was speechless. He knew her from before, she passed by frequently and gazed at each and every artifact in great detail. She must have loved those things an awful lot. She didn't seem like a delver right now or most of the times when she was just walking by in her everyday clothing but she seemed decently experienced when she passed by with her gear still on when she had just come back from her expedition. But... A fall like that, you wouldn't survive...

A kid watching the whole scene unfold immediately rushed up to him and gave him a harsh tackle. The man simply stammered back onto his other leg as he only felt a small nudge of the kid that dashed into him. His intimidating face glared down at the boy but not in anger, in surprise and absent-mind. The boy did seem angry at him for having thrown the artifact off of the edge, but... Was it really his fault? The man gulped.



The man paced himself towards the edge as well and saw another boy immediately handling the situation by going after her with some rope. The man simply stared at the boy for a moment before he called out to him before he went to deep. He was yelling at the top of his lungs to get the attention of the boy.



The man dropped an artifact after him that was somewhat shaped like a closed loop handle with a flat side to it.



The man watched after him in worry untill there was no more sight of him. He then turned back to the crowd around him and went to his knees in front of the girl begging as deeply as he could.



He stayed like this for a while before he stood back up and reached out to the girl with his hand before showing her a sack full of coins.



The man sat down near the edge of the abyss and stared in front of him like a solid rock giving no reaction, not even blinking a bit. Waiting for the two of them to come back out of the abyss.



Juuzou was timidly watching out for anyone trying to head into the abyss as his guard duty when suddenly... From the corner of his eye Juuzou could see the blonde jumping over the edge making him snap his neck almost instantly towards the falling girl.



He took a quick pace towards the group of people watching the girl fall down, there was already some boy trying to head down. He did seem to have a whistle so it was fine with him. The old geezer seemed to have been the cause, but looking at his face he didn't do it by accident. Juuzou leaned over the edge a little as he comically remarked something about the falling girl.



He cheekily chuckled a little as he came closer to the group. He noticed a young boy immediately trying to beat up the old man. Juuzou frowned a little as he studied the boy. Seemed like a brat that would keep quiet and have his rage moments. Juuzou smirked a little before he headed directly to the boy and waited for the old man to leave. He wrapped his arm loosely around the young boy his neck as he steered him away a little from the scenario.



He smilingly said to the young boy. He wouldn't want him to get hurt. He looked bad enough already. He would let go of him shortly after and look at him for a moment to give him a kind smile and let him do what he wanted to do again. Either he would help or attack, the outcome might be pretty or wont be.

---

---

Rags noticeably raised her hackles when the other kids stared at her. They talked all the time! Why was it always so worthy of attention when she did it? Was it that she didn't talk often, or that she hadn't learned how to talk exactly like everybody else yet? Either way, it annoyed her for reasons she couldn't funny explain. After she'd made her points, she felt the shift in the attitudes of her onlookers. They'd started to think. For children who were supposedly smarter, they sure did a lot less thinking for themselves. They were content to turn off their brains and follow a set of rules as if it was just part of life; the same rules that Rags had lived her whole life without needing, and was trying to learn.

Chris' promise to look on the first layer again, Rags accepted with a nod as she turned back to stare at her plate. She wasn't smiling. Rags didn't know anything for sure, but given the evidence, it was just...outright wrong and made no sense to write off the possibility that they descended beyond the first layer. And why did nobody give credibility to this idea? Because it wasn't part of 'the rules'.

Rags was snapped out of her thoughts by Chris again, who asked her about her future. Rags actually had to think about her answer. She'd never really thought about her own future. She hadn't been put in this Orphanage by choice. She enjoyed delving, sure, as she knew that better whistles meant the Orphanage let you go down further. The truth was, Rags didn't want to stay in this Orphanage forever. She didn't want to spend years here, learning how to think like everybody else and obey their rules without thinking. Doing what they say when they say and never more. Rags wanted to be free! But she'd never tell Chris that. It would be rude. Rags understood and agreed with the concept of manners.

"Yes," she answered without conviction. Rags was usually as excited as a puppy about things she was passionate about, but gaining ranks and whistles...apparently wasn't one of them, even though Chris knew she loved to delve...

@liferusher

Just before she was able to finally leave the scene, she was suddenly grabbed from behind and stopped in her tracks. Some other boy started to speak nonsense to her in a panicked voice and when Luna was fully able to turn around and look him into his eyes he was already halfway through and almost on his way back again.

"Haaah?"

She managed to say back to him before he was already on his way towards the abyss. What was he thinking? His behavior really ticked Luna off. With strong steps and gritted teeth the red-haired one went after him, arriving at the edge just when he jumped off. Leaning over the border Luna shouted after him. "Just who do you think you are?!"- But he was already gone. Yes- there was a life at stake, the life of the little girl and possibly the mental health of her sister. But still: Simply giving Luna these responsibilities was no reason for her to actually comply. If he wanted to jump down into the abyss, he would have to deal with the consequences himself. Luna wouldn't just accept these tasks with nothing in return from some complete stranger who spoke so harshly to her, even though the situation justified it. Luna leaned back.

"Tch."

And then out of the corner of her eye she spotted him, the shopkeeper who was responsible for this in the first place, seemingly struck by his feelings of guilt. Walking back to the spot where the boy had dropped the birds, Luna picked them up and headed towards the shopkeeper.
"Hey, old man," She said with an annoyed voice and dropped the bundle next to him. "Give these back to him once he reappears. He seemed capable enough so I don't expect him to be gone for long."
And with these words, she sighed yet again and turned around to make her leave. Luna had no intentions of actually going to the orphonage. Most she would do would be to tell any other child from there that she met to bring the message back there. She justified this action to herself by saying that he was already on the way to rescue this girl, which was her only worry at the scene. Besides, she saw it as a compliment and as trust in his abilities as a diver.

@liferusher@AtomicNut

@liferusher

More distractions, just what I needed right now. Sieg thought in his mind as he shrugged off the friction of the rope in his fast descent, intent on reaching the sources of the screams. A lot of things could wait. Even so, when he hear about the piece of gear thrown his way, he made a mental effort to catch it, and listen to the instructions on how to use it. It felt as a disgusting way to wash off guilt, but he accepted it nonetheless. There was no such thing as too many tools when delving in this unnatural precipice that was the Abyss.

He continued descending, his eyes peering out for the signs of the flame bolt he had thrown earlier, to make more accurate estimates. When the rope ran out, he began to laboriously use the device to descend. Eventually he noticed the flicker of flame, as he redoubled his efforts to find the little girl's crash site.

Please let her be alive. I would hate to haul a mangled corpse back up. He thought to himself as he inhaled and began to call.

@liferusher

The shopkeeper had barely budged when Kai collided with the man. Far larger it seemed he was only moved because of his own distraction. His own terrible guilt. The full weight of the moment had come crashing down and kai had hastily thrown himself in the middle of it like a fool. If not for the mask obscuring his face everyone would have seen the shame bloom across it.

"You had no-"

Someone from behind in the crowd wrapped their arm about him, not painfully but enough to steer Kai away from the scene. The man was older, not by much it seemed at a glance, but Kai didn't hear his attempt to calm him down. All he saw was another brother stopping him.

"I don't need your help!"

Kais fingers hovered over the handle of his dagger. It was meant to carve wood but would do against a person if need be, but better judgement than hurting others was the only option the young mans mind was stuck on.

"I'm going in after the girl who fell in, so help me or get out of my way."