ᶾ 002 ; audio | @taken for granite

[rumorate]

[Okay, deep breath. You are the Hargreeves with public speaking skills. But given that she hasn't had the chance to meet all of you yet, she's going to just wing it and hope she's able to find what they need.]

Hi. So, uh. If we haven't met yet, I'm Allison. I've just recently arrived, but I'm working on something and I could use some help.

[Yes, good, that's an appropriate way to start.]

The place that I arrived in may have information on our ghostly friends? The only problem is, I'm not really sure how I got out of there. I was just grabbed and suddenly I was in the caravan. But I also saw that temple may be where the harpies roost, for lack of a better term. And they have their own exit above that space. This is where I need help.

[This is a very roundabout way of doing things Allison, get to the point.]

The harpies like me, for whatever reason. They tolerate me. But obviously, I can't fly, so while I might be able to follow them on land, after a certain point their tolerance of me becomes kind of useless. But if there's someone here who can fly, or have some kind of tracking ability that we might be able to follow, we might be able to follow them and see what the temple has to offer.

[Hopefully that makes sense. There's a beat and then, remembering Mayzar's pitch earlier:]

Oh, to be clear, this plan is not going to involve harming or capturing the harpies in any way. Whatever this rapport is I have with them, I'm not interested in burning that bridge. So anything along those lines need not apply.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

un: ut malum pluvia | audio

[somebadnews]

[ Well shit. She’s jumping right in, isn’t she?

His gut reaction is to say 'absolutely fucking not' because this sounds all like a huge risk and a distraction to getting where they need to go -- except. She did arrive there. If there's a clue in the temple as to why, he can’t be as opposed as he’d like to be.

Speaking of, how the hell-? Leave it to Allison… ]

Explain to me again why you think you have a rapport with harpies.

[ If she can rumor them, that’s something she could have mentioned. ]

[rumorate]

[Look, she doesn't really have an answer to how. She just knows what she observes.]

They keep me from falling off the cliffs. Sometimes they'll bring me presents, like giant, tar-covered cats.

[somebadnews]

[ What, are they a fan of her movies? ]

Presents.

[ Don't think he misses that part about falling off cliffs. He needs to stop letting them wander, it's a full time job keeping this family alive. ]

...So you woke up in their home, and now they treat you like one of their own. You must have their scent on you or something. [ Sure, that makes sense. Assuming they can smell anything over the tar. ] That only covers you.

[rumorate]

[She never really thought about it like that, but it ... actually makes some kind of sense. Maybe if they saw her there, she became classified as one of them.]

I might be able to negotiate with them?

[somebadnews]

[ He'll talk around her powers for the sake of eavesdroppers, but that's a very key element here. ]

Can you?

[rumorate]

I haven't tried, but ...

[Who knows what her power is really capable of? She's never really attempted to stretch her legs, so to speak.]

It could work. For simple requests, maybe.

[somebadnews]

[ Hm. She would know her ability better than he would, and he trusts her more than their brothers not to waste their time unless she really thinks it's worth the trouble. ]

Maybe test that before we jump headfirst into the nest.

[ Of course he's not letting her do this without him there to teleport them out if she's wrong. It goes without saying. ]

You're sure you want to do this?

xianxian of yunmeng

[weifinder]

I can cobble together a sort of tracking talisman for short distance. Easier would be a trailing one to mark the oath traveled in, though only a handful of those who are sensitive to spiritual energies would feel the path it traveled.

It's also possible... possible to connect to their memories if you could convince one to stay still and let me touch it. I don't know if that will be useful, between how their minds make work and how constructed they are or aren't, but if they've human intelligence, I should be able to see something, whatever they could last put to memory.

[rumorate]

I might.

[She hasn't tried to rumor them, and honestly she would rather use it as a last resort, but she has some things in her arsenal. The "if they have human intelligence" part is a slightly larger concern, but ...]

There were bones, in the tombs they crawled out of. It's possible they could have been human once?

[weifinder]

It's possible. In part because I don't know what is or isn't in there, but the army had to be buried someplace. Tombs of a temple would seem apt enough, if that's a custom practised here.

[rumorate]

Do you think the harpies and the ghosts might be one in the same?

[That's something she hadn't considered, and it makes her a little more uncomfortable. At the same time, it might give them an easier way in.]

If that's the case, we could also try asking the ghosts about the temple.

[weifinder]

As in both controlled by the same outside or internal factors? I don't know. The... you describe them as having the tar, isn't that what we're picking off the waters as we go, if we're helping the, ah, caravan leader? The ghosts aren't... presently tar covered, that I can tell.

That, however, that we can easily do. See if there was any such thing in their memory, whatever clarity they have of it.

[rumorate]

[Yeah, that makes sense.]

I'd really like to try and make upsetting the harpies a last resort if I can help it. Maybe if we gather whatever we can from the ghosts, they might know something we can use.

un: any fin is possible (audio)

[lancifolium]

I can't fly in the textbook sense of the word, but I can definitely assist you in reaching the temple, if you're comfortable with levitation. I'd be very keen to see this temple.

[rumorate]

Levitation works for me.

[She's been around people with powers her entire life. And she's also fairly certain that Vanya might be able to fly? But she doesn't know if she can take other people with her. Hence exploring her options.]

How many people would you be able to levitate at a time?

[lancifolium]

I'd be able to lift one at a time safely before teleporting myself. If it's just myself and another person things can be a bit more unpleasant but much quicker.

[ Apparaition feels awful. ]

[rumorate]

I think there will be at least four people.

[Herself and Wei Wuxian, and Five is a given. She's becoming accustomed to having him as a shadow.]

Myself, Wei Wuxian and my brother. And you, of course. But my brother can teleport too, so that might lessen the load some?

[lancifolium]

I can certainly assist, and if there's help more's the better. What do we know about what we'll be walking into? If we can't enter as a group, it might be wise to sort out who'll go first.

With that in mind, should we bring them food or a gift? I'm not experienced with harpies outside of schoolbooks but an offering might be a good idea - particularly if we mean to enter their home.

[rumorate]

The entrance is definitely high up in terms of the ground. When I was inside, they were flying up and away rather than around corners. So there's definitely going to be a bit of a drop.

Beyond that, I'm afraid I don't know how many there are. I didn't have a chance to make a headcount.

username: absterge

[downswing]

How many of the creatures in their nest?

[rumorate]

I didn't take a headcount. There were a number of tombs that they came out of, but I don't know how many.

[She also doesn't know if she saw the whole thing, because she was grabbed and deposited with the caravan before she could fully explore.]

[downswing]

We might infiltrate to ambush.

[rumorate]

I'm aware. That's why I'm not going alone.

[downswing]

Tombs.

Then, they are resurrections?

[rumorate]

I don't know. There were still bones leftover when they left.