the heat was hot and the ground was dry

[seesobserves]

WHO: Sherlock, Katniss, Thranduil, and Jamie
WHAT: There's a bunch of weird Chantry symbols leading to somewhere. Let's see what it is!
WHEN: Bloomingtide 16 - 19ish
WHERE: The Western Approach
NOTES: Gonna be some violence since we gotta fight through the White Claw troops.

First there was one symbol, then two. Two was the beginning of a pattern — so long as they could find the third, they'd know they were on to something.

They set out into the desert with plenty of water, and with only the sun and their eyes to guide them.

Comments

[seesobserves]

Sherlock isn't looking to Thranduil, or in fact to any of them: he's looking back the way they came, toward the nearest camp.

"We'll send back for more troops. They could have a bridge built in a matter of hours."

[wontforgetyou]

Two different options, with one not necessarily all that much faster than the other. Salvaging the boards'll take time just the same as getting the troops, but it's not the only factor, and his eyes flick from Sherlock to the cloud and back to Sherlock again.

"They'd need something to try and protect themselves from the fumes," he points out, the words somewhat muffled by the cloth he still has over his face. "Do we even have enough kerchiefs or cloths for that many people?"

[the_effect_she_has]

Katniss looked across the smoke, her gaze narrowing as she went looking into the dust. "Is there something we could build, to lift the gases? I'm not a person who understands engineering but there should be way to ... make the gas go away, right?"

[rowancrowned]

"Theoretically." But he refuses to be the one to suggest a giant fan- that the idea occurred to him at all suggests some sort of gas-induced lunacy. He switches his attention to Sherlock.

"You can convince Requisitions to donate the materials needed?" He's not that attached to his own idea.

[seesobserves]

"Seeker Pentaghast's curiosity ought to be enough to sway them." It had been no more than luck that Cassandra had discovered the symbols at the same time Sherlock had. Still, he's not above taking advantage of that fact, engaging in a little name-dropping. In any case, even if they do wind up using the materials from the abandoned mine, the extra hands will make it go all the more quickly.

He turns on the toe of a boot, already walking in the direction of the camp. Or at least getting farther away from the cloud.

[wontforgetyou]

Jamie hadn't realized that Cassandra had known about the marker, but as far as he's concerned, that should make getting things that much easier. Worst case they're missing some parts and then they can go back and get things from the mine. He nods, satisfied.

"Aye, alright. We can let them know about the cloud at the same time, so they'll know what they're getting into. Maybe someone can come up with something there."

Some sort of magic, maybe. Or a giant fan. If nothing else, getting away from the cloud sounds like a fine idea to Jamie, and he shrugs at the others before turning to follow Sherlock.

[the_effect_she_has]

Katniss watched Sherlock and Jamie start to turn back towards camp, and her grey eyes narrowed in thought. She looked over to Thrandruil, before nodding to the cave.

"While they go back, we could get started moving the lumber down here. Make quicker work of it when they return with the other soldiers."

[rowancrowned]

He hasn't done this sort of labour in years, but he knows he can. Not much different, really, in weights, only in materials. There's no shame in it. Thranduil tugs down the arms of his tunic to protect himself from splinters, and nods.

"Do you have a knife? Some way to pry the nails from the wood?"

[seesobserves]

Sherlock and Jamie return some short hours later with a small team of scouts, who survey the area and draw up the plans for a bridge. More soldiers are sent for, then: hands to load carts and hammer planks together.

Though he may not typically be one for manual labor, Sherlock participates in the construction - rather diligently, too, up until the point that the beginnings of the structure are tall and sturdy enough for him to climb upwards. He wants to see beyond the cloud as soon as possible, to gauge how close they are getting to the end of the trail.

If Thranduil is of a similar mind, he might find Sherlock seeking his observations of the horizon. The elf, he's noted, has remarkably good eyesight.

[the_effect_she_has]

In response, she reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of leather gloves which she handed over to Thrandruil, and pulled a knife off of her hip.

That way, by the time Sherlock and Jaime return, they have already amassed a fair amount of lumber. Katniss keeps building, and she is talking about what they can do to keep the gasses low.

[rowancrowned]

The gloves shielded his hands, though they were perhaps too small. The kind intentions with which they were given was more important, and he nodded in thanks before beginning the difficult task of pulling nails from lumber. Mostly useless beyond the heavy lifting, he follows Katniss' directions, and cannot suppressed an easing of his shoulders when Sherlock and Jamie return with help.

He offers Katniss his water, and tucks the gloves into his belt. Sherlock seems to have eased himself into the position of leader, and so it is Sherlock he addresses. "Do they have an estimate of how long it will take to finish?"

[seesobserves]

"A matter of hours, now" Sherlock says, idly adjusting his own gloves. "We'll be able to push onward at dawn."

Traveling at night being as treacherous as it is. You don't want to run afoul of a pack of darkspawn.

Sherlock nods in the direction they'll be heading, through the Springs. "How far can you see past the gas clouds?"

[rowancrowned]

"Not very." Legolas, young and uninjured, would be the best for this, and Thranduil is also not inclined to hand out information on his abilities freely as sweets. "Perhaps if I had the advantage of a higher perch..."

He trails off, scans the skyline. "Wherever the scouts are being placed to watch for darkspawn would be enough."

[the_effect_she_has]

Katniss climbs up the hill, catching the last bit of this conversation. Sweat is clinging to her forehead, as she speaks, "It seems the Wardens put in towers, along the bridges. The engineers are confident that it's these that are used to vent the poisonous gasses - I don't understand the half of it. However, the scouts are using those as towers."

She sucked in a few mouthfuls of water, before adding. "But if you want someone to scout ... Hello. I'm a scout." She smirked faintly.

[wontforgetyou]

"Aye, but the lands around here are dangerous."

It's the first thing out of Jamie's mouth as he wanders over to join the conversation, adjusting a larger-than-normal kerchief around his neck as he does so.

"Might be better to go in pairs, just in case one of the beasties around here decides to get any ideas. I may not be one of the official scouts, mind, but I've done my share of something like it back home."

[seesobserves]

"We won't be going far tonight, in any case." Darkspawn, and all.

But if they're to pair off — Sherlock scans the other three. Their skill sets, including his, are all vaguely similar to one another. It comes down, then, to which one he trusts the most at this juncture.

"Katniss," he nods. It leaves him without a rifter, but he doubts there'll be any need of their particular abilities before they're moving on. "With me."