Colin's posts

Vincent was about to say something, but she left.

"Leave her be." Samuel said to her.

"She's been a great help so far." he reasoned.

"Yes, that is true." Vincent agreed.

He then sighed, and watched Madison head off into the distance.

How could she talk about mana drain so casually, and like she knew what it was like?

Something didn't make sense, something wasn't adding up and connecting...

But what?

Samuel just sighed in relief.

"That's good to know." he said.

"We may need to call it a day." Vincent replied.

"Let those without mana do their work, and the mages hang back, and we recuperate." he went on.

"Now, I'm not saying we need to head back to the hotel." he then quickly clarified.

"I'm just saying we may need to take a less active role for the rest of the day."

"That is excellent news." they responded.

"Let Madison rest for a bit." Samuel told them. "After, she might be instrumental in dealing with that bothersome trap. Take her with you." he suggested.

"Yes, Dr. Rossen." the man replied.

"Madison." Samuel then addressed her.

"Come." he said.

"Let's see how Vincent and Dr. Kenzey are doing." he told her, concern laced in his tone.

"Hopefully they weren't suffering the ill effects for too long."

"Went quite well." Ryker responded, taking the last of the chocolate.

He then took a bite, and smiled.

"Sweet." he said.

"Like you." he added.

He then sighed, looked skyward.

"...how long?" he asked.

"How long before this storm ends?"

Samuel looked at her, and nodded.

"Very well." he replied.

"Let's go." he said.

With that, the two of them made their way back outside, where a small team was waiting for them.

"Dr. Rossen! Ms. Kiczys!" one addressed them.

"Are you all right?" they asked.

"Perfectly fine, myself." Samuel responded.

"Hm." Samuel muttered.

"Do an initial scan of it." he told her.

"If you feel you can make a breakthrough, we can stay for a while." he said.

"If it seems like you're getting nowhere, we'll leave and let a larger team come in to deal with this." he went on.

"I'll give you 10 minutes. Should be a decent enough time." he continued.

"Agreed?" he asked.

Samuel was silent for a moment.

"You make valid points on both." he told her.

"However, it seems like we are perfectly safe here for now." he said.

"It really does seem like the trap does not affect us." he continued.

"And I will be honest with you, this merely spurs me on to go further in." he then admitted to her.

"What say you?" he asked.

"If you feel uncomfortable, we can certainly make a tactical retreat for now."

Vincent nodded in response.

"Indeed." he said.

"Be careful, you two." Samuel told them.

"And you as well." Vincent responded.

"Let's go." he said to Michelle, before they left.

"...hm." Samuel mumbled.

"I daresay this may be a sign that this is, indeed, the place we suspected." he told Madison.

"After all, such a trap is the sign of a paranoid pharaoh, as no other pharaohs seem to have created such defensive measures." he reasoned.

Vincent was starting to feel it as well.

"...I think... we should..." he said.

"You two need to leave." Samuel told them.

"This place is extremely dangerous for the both of you." he reasoned.

Vincent was silent, before leaning against the wall slightly.

"Michelle." he said to the woman there.

"How are you faring?" he asked her.

Aly just made her way over and sat down beside him.

She looked over towards Ryker and smiled.

"Shhh." she said.

"I'll make sure he's comfortable and sleeps well." she whispered.

Ryker just nodded in response.

"Got it." he said quietly, before heading outside to get a breath of fresh air.

"........" Vincent was silent for a moment.

"Oh dear." he said.

"That... that will be troublesome." he muttered.

"For myself and Michelle." he went on.

He then shook his head and looked at Madison.

"We need to either find a way to shut this down, or flee immediately."

"Yes, yes, indeed." Vincent agreed.

"Aimee and Alex are truly amazing." he said further.

"I should know, I've watched them grow up into the fine adults they are." he chuckled.

"Regardless, let's all head back to the base tent." he suggested.

"Grab something to eat." he finished.

In the back of his mind, something was still nagging at him. Something about Madison was... off. Something was... strange. But he didn't know WHAT, exactly. He just couldn't place it. And he didn't want to say something so vague and potentially concerning.

So he ignored it again, though he wondered how long he'd be able to.

@xnovax: Very well, thread locked.

@kimmichan1989: If you would like this thread reopened for whatever reason, please let staff know.

"...." Vincent was silent as he looked at what she wrote.

"Hmmm." he mumbled.

"I see." he said.

"Yes, that would be a task." he agreed.

"But this is already helpful. Quite so." he continued.

"You really know your stuff."