165th page

[ladybirdcrap]

Hey good job guys you actually fulfilled a mission of a post for once and nothing got set on fire? Wow gold star what special little sports you are. Okay so once you pick up and leave town after you stay the night you're on the road again, you're headed for a small village about a half day's walk. Take up your horses and your wagon and all that and hit the old oregon trail etc

Somewhere along your walking montage you'll pass a gathering of stones that look kind of out of place. You can stop to poke it if you're really bored but you're going to have to keep moving, so

[Mission: walking montage, poke things, be cool]

Comments

[armedarchaeologist]

Hey, that gathering of stones looks kind of out of place...

[pretty much talking to his horse, since the horse is pretty much the only one that seems to be listening to him, and he's pretty sure he's imagining that because it's a horse and lacks the ability to interrupt him.

gently steers it in a stonely direction. he's getting better at horse.]

[armedarchaeologist]

[dismounts and goes to take a closer look. good horsey. stay.]

[mumbles something about karen and takes out his flashlight to shine under the narnia table thing.]

[scantilyclad]

Oh, look. The fool seeks to get left behind.

[armedarchaeologist]

[still squinting. is that a—?]

We're moving about ten miles an hour and leaving a trail a mile wide. I think I'll be fine.

[scantilyclad]

My, your rocks must be fascinating.

[armedarchaeologist]

They really are.

[they really aren't. there seems to be nothing there. but damned if he's going to turn around and tell morrigan as much now. no, he's got to find something interesting.

gives up on the space under the table and starts looking at the walls instead, which really are interesting. to him.]

[scantilyclad]

You speak untruth. 'Tis nothing here but stones, and lo! More stones.

[armedarchaeologist]

Yeah, but put here by who?

[crouches next to an inside wall and pokes at the cracks between the stones.]

Whom.

That's the interesting part. Not to mention when.

[scantilyclad]

If you love the ruins so, why do you not wed immediately and cease thy games?

[armedarchaeologist]

[stops.

turns to morrigan.

stares.]

Did you just Pee-wee Herman me?

[he's not offended, that's his speechless face.]

[scantilyclad]

[ does it look like she gets the reference. ]

[inenochian]

[ feel you sister. ]

[armedarchaeologist]

[no.

he knows she's an alien, he's just—]

It never fails to surprise me how frequently completely different—alien in fact—languages have such a huge idiomatic crossover... Until all of a sudden they don't.

[scantilyclad]

Whatever 'tis you may think of my power, I am quite human.

[ she doesn't know what aliens are but she knows people use the word to refer to non-human things. ]

Ah-- we have another who wishes to partake in your rocks.

[armedarchaeologist]

Oh. No, I know, I know, but you— You're not from Earth, right? So, alien world, alien language, even though we're all... Mostly all the same species.

[fairy werewolf.

speaking of fairies— glances over to cas with a smile and a wave.]

Hi, just— Found some ruins. I can catch up. And if not, radios. But we're really not all that fast, sooo yeah.

[inenochian]

...You're aware that when we investigate ruins, there tends to be some malevolent force attached to them.

[ weeping angels. ninurta. yanno, the ush. ]

[sawedoff]

[dude there's totally an altar right there

does anyone else see it

no? just me? just the devil worship guy? okay]

[rhymeswithdesign]

[my ears are burning]

[scantilyclad]

Barely even a ruin. A rock and crumbled walls.

[armedarchaeologist]

[grimaces at the stones a little guiltily because yes, cas, he remembers that one time from his entire life.]

Well— Yes. But what's the point if we're not going to look at anything? Just— Just walk through here with our fingers in our ears? I mean we might as well just stay behind and homestead.

[yeah fuck you ninurta, you can take his deicidal mania but you can never take his nosiness.

eyebrows at morrigan.]

Well if it was in good shape it wouldn't be a ruin, would it?

[inenochian]

[ i cannot with you people. ]

[ this is why i'm the party's forward scout. ]

By all means. [ flaps arms against his sides, not going to try and logic the archaeologist out of archaeologying. ] Please. Inspect the potentially diabolical blood altar.

[scantilyclad]

Oh, indeed! Do curse us all.

[armedarchaeologist]

Well I'm not going to sacrifice anything on it, am I?

[so sue him, he's been trapped in a pastiche of 1800s america without any semblance of ancient culture for like a week. it's been awful.

anyway he seems more interested in the construction of the walls than he is in the structure in the middle of the room.]

I thought it was more likely some kind of well or maybe a filled-in cellar, anyway. It's lowered in relation to the surface, which is unusual for altars, and the walls are pretty light on any kind of iconography indicating religious significance... Or iconography period.

[sawedoff]

Lay off the guy.

[cant take you two gangbanging him anymore it's just become sad. glances at abandoned little altar with a dismissive look before turning to keep going]

If you wanna stay behind and play in the rock garden you go right ahead, dude.

[scantilyclad]

Very well. Are we to move on?