6157/Under the Verdant noone can hear you scream

Under the Verdant noone can hear you scream
Date of Scene:	08 May 2021
Location:	Verdant - Abandoned Warehouse
Synopsis:	Vintridr, Felicity and Thea go explore the depths of the Verdant after the IT genius detects movement on the cameras set up down there. And they find DANGER.
Cast of Characters:	Thea Queen, Felicity Smoak, Vintridr

---

Thea Queen has posed:
Life as Thea knows it. That means going back to working on the Verdant's build-up, dealing with scammy building companies who try to rip her off at any corner due to who she is and the rep she's got. At *least* she hadn't received the visit yet from that criminal family trying to extort her for the place...

Small blessings. But she knew it was only a matter of time until it happened.

Yet as things went it was good to return to 'normal'. It certainly beat remembering Sweden and what had happened there. So getting to work was a priority.

She was burning the midnight oil today, up on her office by the Verdant, alone as is her usual, leaned over her table and letting out a small sigh at another bill of expenses that came wrong. As if she wouldn't pick it up. "Amateurs..." she mutters, shaking her head. A look to the clock. Well, she would have to call in the morning. Besides, she had sent word to Vin to come by and visit the premises. Might as well sell her the 'Come be a barista at the Verdant! It will be great!' pitch.

---

For Felicity, and the monitors and sensors she had placed on the various tunnels underneath the Verdant something was starting to pick up. Out of the ordinary ...

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Deep within the Batca- no, wrong 'cave'.

Deep within the Arrowca-

Still a horrible name, but we'll deal with it! So, deep within the Arrowcave, there are minor motion detection alarms going off. Perhaps Felicity was snoring, but certainly not drooling(!) as her palm supports her head in her rolly chair. Elbow on arm of chair slides off, causing a double 'start', and it takes a moment for her to get her bearings and actually figure out what the incessant *beeps* are.

"Wha- oh.. stop.. no, just stop that.." Felicity always talks to herself, and moreso when something is going down, bad or good.

Her bank of displays are lit, and it's an easy set of keystrokes to determine what is sounding, why it's sounding, but what to do about it is still completely up in the air. Blue eyes focus on the dark that is.. what sector is that? Felicity peers at the screen, getting her bearing as she demands that the camera identifies itself both by her telling it to, and hitting the correct combination on her keyboard.

"Where are yo- oh.." Felicity sits back in her chair, her head tilting as she watches a black... blob move away from the camera and down the hall.

"Right."

Immediately picking up her cell phone, Felicity also rises from her seat and makes a grab for her purse even as she's got the phone to her ear.. a call in progress to one Thea Queen...

Vintridr has posed:
    On the one hand, Vin already /has/ a job as a barista in a place she likes and wasn't really planning on looking for another career and venue change for at least another decade or so. On the other, thanks to Lady Sif's repeated visits, her colleagues and regulars alike are getting more and more curious and it might be time to pull at least a soft vanish before they start asking questions.

    ... And at least if the young Queen is starting a coffee place of her own, she'd at least be spared those type of questions. All in all, she might as well check the place out...

Thea Queen has posed:
The place isn't exactly up and running when Vin gets by. In fact it looks pretty much as if it's still just another warehouse on the outside. Though the windows appear nice and new. Dark tinted, not giving a view of the inside. Though a coffee place? This is more likely a night club of some sort.

Getting a knock on the door gets Thea to get up, "Uh, there she is..." and it's right when that call from Felicity comes. "Well, when it rains it pours.." she murmurs.

But the young Queen can certainly multitask! And so she does, getting up from her seat and wandering downstairs to the door while taking on the phone to her ear, "Felicity?" a look again to the clock and a grin in her voice showing. ".. Did you fall asleep on the keyboard again? I can imagine the little markings on your face and ..., woah, slow down.."

The door opens up to receive Vin, greeting her with a jerk of her chin upwards, "Hey, Vin. Come in."

"Yea, I am at the club. Come over." She calls out. Her brows furrow with some worry.

Inside the place seems pretty much like a WIP still, lots of construction still in the middle of being finished, half-painted walls, etc.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
QWERTY-faced... the mark of a dedicated computer jock. (Much better term than 'nerd', thankyouverymuch!) Rubbing at her face self-consciously, Felicity laughs and shakes her head, "No, I wasn't.. okay, maybe I was, but I know I didn't land on the keyboar-

"That's not why I'm calling."

Felicity walks with purpose; one can almost hear the sound of her shoes on the 'cave' floor as she hurries towards an exit and onto street level, phone still to ear. "Check your basement door, make sure it's locked. Locked, okay? I got positive movement downstairs, second juncture.." Felicity checks her phone quickly to be sure she still has bars before holding it up to her ear again.

"Did you hear me? Second juncture.. I'm on my way now.."

Vintridr has posed:
    Vin raises an eyebrow at the exterior, but enters when Thea waves her in. She takes in the environs with an experienced eye as she follows Thea inside.

    "It would seem this place still has a ways to go before it'll require the services of a barista," she comments drily. "... I may also have some questions about what kind of coffee house you're planning to run."

    Other than that, she offers no comment, letting Thea finish her phone call before holding an actual discussion, doing the young woman the courtesy of pretending she can't hear the other side of the conversation just fine...

Thea Queen has posed:
"It's more of a bar than a coffee house, Vin. I thought I had told you.." Thea may have conveniently forgotten about it. But then Felicity is talking on the phone about something on the 'basement'. Well, then. Her expression turns serious and she gestures for Vin to come along while she walks to a door that actually looks reinforced. She goes to it, checking on the lock, "It's locked." she assures Felicity.

"I will wait for you here. No skipping red lights, Fel." she turns off the phone and sets it away to wait for Felicity to arrive before her attention goes to Vin again. "Well, turns out you came right in the nick of time. Call it Fate, eh?" a wink to the tall Asgardian.

Not that she stays idle while waiting for Felicity, moving upstairs to get changed into the black and red leathers of her alter persona. No mask just yet though, nor the hood. But she does get a sword and a bow to go.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"It's okay, I know the police around here," is quipped before Felicity offers up her goodbyes, "I'm going to call Oliver next... see you in a few."

Felicity pushes the little red square on her phone before she puts another call through as she gets into her car, setting it on speakerphone as she tosses it onto her front passengerside seat.

Soon enough, she's in traffic (there's always traffic!) and on her way.

It won't take her long, however, and after finding a parking spot, Felicity pulls in and parks.. locking the door once she's out. A quick glance is given in one direction up the road, then the other before she mounts the few stairs and is into the club.

Obviously the IT genius is ready for adventure. She's in skirt, low heels and a jacket over a long sleeved shirt. "Hey.. I got here as quick-"

There's a pause when she sees Vintridr, and she searches for Thea, now in her red leathers. "Um...

"Locked?" Good recovery!!

Vintridr has posed:
    Vin was wearing her customary earth-toned leathers. They're not exactly super-tight, but they don't leave much to the imagination either. They definitely shouldn't have room to conceal the sword Vin is holding by the time Thea returns, but there it is.

    She looks Thea over with a critical eye who of someone who has seen a thousand warriors dress for battle and will likely see a thousand more. "Good color choices. You intend to hunt mostly at night?"

    She turns as Felicity enters, sword casually resting on her shoulder. "I take it you were the one the young Queen spoke to on the phone?" she asks, then smiles. "I am mostly known as Vinnie around here; well met. I take it there's a problem?"

Thea Queen has posed:
"Locked." Thea confirms, a faint smile on her lips at Felicity's choice of clothing. "Ready for battle, I see." apparently she is catching up on some Asgardian talking. A nod towards the tall Vin seems to tell she'd be one of those, specially when she says, "We met as a consequence of that trip to Sweden I told you about.." a trip that was still being quite disbelieved around Team Arrow!

But hey, if she has ONE Asgardian friend maybe part of it is true? "This is Felicity." she then tells Vin, "A very dear friend, and a genius." she says of the IT super-nerd.

"You spoke of movement under the club?" She then getting right on to business. Blue eyes look at the locked door, lips turning to a thin line, some worry visible there, "I didn't really contact much with the ones living down here.." she says, "But they *have* been taking longer to come retrieve the stuff I leave from them from time to time." food. Clothes. Other stuff.

"Going to need you go guide us down there, Fel. You are the one that knows all about those tunnels when you got those cameras set up." Then a look to Vin, "Ready to go explore?" she walks to the door.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity closes the door behind her slowly, the puzzled expression playing on her face. There is very little poker face here, which is why she's a //behind the scenes// gal. Unless desperation measures have to be taken, that is!

"Oh.. swords.."

Well, that came out before she was ready to say much, though it's no surprise to Thea. "Umm.. right. Vinnie. I'm.. uh.. Felicity. A..."

Pleasure?

Felicity looks back at Thea as she's quickly filled in; she'd also brought up the news articles on it, and.. oof. Okay.

"... pleasure." Better late than never, right?

Getting her footing, however, is reasonably quick when reminded there was a reason and purpose for her being at the club, and she starts over. "Right, movement." Her attention is back to Thea, though she doesn't let 'Vinnie' out of her immediate sight. "Black blurs moving past. I wouldn't think anything of it if it was, you know, the normal traffic.." Felicity talks in rapidfire bursts, and can actually walk, talk and think at the same time. She takes the information of the slowing up with a nod, and glances towards the door, and with a game smile begins to make her way there, pulling out her phone at the same time. "We might actually find out why."

Vintridr has posed:
    Vin /smiles/. "My personal specialty," she replies to Thea. "Lead the way."

    She then nods at Felicity. "Black blurs. Did you notice anything distinct about them? Shapes, movement? What kind of numbers?" She places a hand on the woman's shoulder, trying to calm her down and get her to focus.

Thea Queen has posed:
An Asgardian, a recovering addict and IT genius walk into a bar ... Is there a joke for that? Thea smirks just so as the three of them gather to go explore the depths of the Verdant, she reaching behind her neck to get that hood up and covering her features, just that spunky little chin showing. Her attention goes to the door and she inserts a key on the lock before opening a small panel on the side, clicking on a combination to get that secondary lock open. Courtesy of Felicity's security measures on the place!

A click, then another as Thea turns the key and the door slowly starts to open. With a creak. Eerily ominous one too. Why do they always do that? It opens to emptiness, to darkness. Silence surrounds them.. Or were there cries deep above? Perhaps it was just a feeling.

Reaching over she pulls on a lever, faint red lights barely illuminating the corridor ahead of them. Emergency lights.

"It could be our guests but .., they never got so further up here." She notes with a small frown, taking a few steps in and starting to walk down the corridor.

Some debris frames it, dark concrete walls surrounding them while they make way. This most likely having been a smuggler's route underneath Starling City back in the day.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity actually //jumps// at the feel of a hand on her shoulder. It's not something she expected, and once her heart is actually out of her mouth and back in place in her chest, she twist her head around and smiles a touch nervously. "Yeah, well.. not usually something I do on the fly. More like, when I'm comfy and sitting behind a bank of machines where I can just track the mmovements from one camera to another to another..."

She glances towards Thea, all decked out in her leathers, and then over to 'Vinnie' and her obvious... abilities. Looking down, her dress, jacket and low heels all absolutely give her an amazing advantage over whatever may be down in the basement. But! A sigh exits the genius, and a game smile returns, "Nothing like being dressed for the occasion, but what's a little excitement, right?" Maybe she's trying to convince herself? Sounds like it... or it could really just be Felicity and her penchant for sentence fragments.

Holding up her phone, Felicity accesses an app on her phone, and to look at her screen, it would be difficult to ascertain what is important, what isn't if one wasn't her. "Right.."

The unlocking of the door is that last part, and with the emergency lights flickering on, Felicity begins to make her way down the stairs into the older basement area. The actual 'basement' has to be passed before the true labrynthine passages are attained.

"How many? Blobs. Plural. And not the ones that we're, well, I'm used to seeing. I haven't been able to get the pictures any more clear, or.. actually, haven't had the time. I will.." and her voice drops, "If I survive this one.."

Vintridr has posed:
    Quiet, dimly lit corridors, unknown things waiting below in the darkness. Vintridr smiles fondly to herself as the situation brings back memories. She moves ahead in front of Thea now that she's done the leader's job of entering first, walking with a carefully metered step that seems to make no noise that isn't swallowed by the faint sounds of the building itself, sword at the ready, all senses alert as they haven't been in entirely too long. She has missed this more than she thought she had...

    "You will," she promises Felicity, in a confident voice that will brook no argument even from reality itself. "Keep between me and the young Queen; we'll see you safe."

Thea Queen has posed:
"You know, Fel..." Thea begins, moving closer to the other woman so as to be a comfortable, familiar presence as they go further down those corridors, " ... we will have to go through some training reviewing sometime. WHEN we find a weapon that you want to use. And please, no jokes about using the keyboard.." even if she knew how dangerous a keyboard to the face could be! Still, she smiles reassuringly at her friend and then nods ahead..

The corridor opens up to that basement, the lights here of the more normal kind. Crates upon crates are down here, Thea using it as a storage for both materials and other things needed for the club. "All seems good here.." she murmurs, eyes slowly going over the place, perhaps searching for anything out of the ordinary.

Near the corridor though they will find something more, crates broken up, the contents strewn on the ground. Some food, some building materials...

She moves closer, dropping on a knee near the trashing. "Seems they came up closer than just the second juncture. Though it's not far from here." she frowns, getting her bow ready. She still hoped this was just some kids having fun. But .., it felt wrong.

Further ahead the corridor seems to darken, some of the lights having been broken. Felicity will be able to detect some more movement on her screen. Quick, like before, a few corridors ahead of them.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
For some reason, Felicity actually believes that she'll be safe sandwiched between the two women. She has an idea of how good Thea might be on the 'outside'; after all, she'd worked out with Oliver, and, well, he's no slouch. And if he can trust his sister out and about (at least she'd never heard otherwise!), then, well.. Felicity is good with it!

"But the pen is mightier-- okay, keyboard is mightier than the sword.."

Felicity looks forward to Vinnie and adds, "Excepting present company, of course, but.."

As they draw forward to the broken boxes, there's something of a hush that comes over the tech geek, and she looks down at the crates, their partial contents broken and strewn across the floor. "Hope insurance covers-" and she nods at the observation.

Oddly enough, it all feels //wrong// to Felicity too, like.. the hair on her arms is rising, and not from the cold. In an attempt at a bit of brave levity, she still has her phone out, watching and tracking,

"I've got more tripping the detectors, down.. down there.. multiples." There's a pause as she peers into the darkness before she announces, "But can a sword do this?"

With a push of a 'button' on a keypad, there are small penlights that light from the areas of the detectors, pushing beams of light into an otherwise completely darkened area, thanks to the broken known lights.

"I rest my case."

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr doesn't comment at the banter behind her, and instead keeps on the lookout while Thea and Felicity examine the debris.

    She chuckles at Felicia's boast. "Impressive, indeed." No need to boast of Asgard's craftsmanship; let the young woman have her deserved pride. Instead, she turns her attention to the now-lit corridor and starts moving again. "Let me know which direction..."

Thea Queen has posed:
Remember when Thea said NO jokes about the keyboard being mightier than the .... Ah well, she gets enough time to give Felicity an eyeroll before the IT girl goes and does a 'BOOOM, mic drop' by getting the whole corridor lit up. All those little places where an ambush could occur? Uncovered! In fact, Felicity is the first to note the figures at the ready further ahead, strategic spots, hiding behind turns on the corridors. And like cockroaches attracted to light they stir and start to move. Fast!

The sound of footsteps is heard coming further down the corridor. "Incoming!" Thea warns, bringing out an arrow and letting loose as the first figure comes around a corner and running towards them. It takes the figure in the shoulder, sending it sprawling before another one takes it's place, then another.

The figures turn out to be men, or at least apparently so far, even if they move very fast. As for the weapons? Strangely shaped ones. Though Vintridr, knowing her battles, may know of those swords as khopeshes.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Wait.. wait.. it actually //worked//, as in, it actually did something useful? No one looks as surprised, perhaps, than Felicity does. Vint's comment about her being impressive carries a touch more weight, without stopping to determine whether or not the large, sword-bearing woman is actually serious or not.

Nope, no time for that!

Felicity squeaks as the first arrow is loosed from Thea's bow, and she flattens herself against a wall before finding something that looks vaguely solid.. ish. At the same time, she's mumbling more to herself than actually //talking// to anyone, "I should have put little plastics in there too.. why don't I actually think that things will //need// plastics? I should know better.."

Felicity hears a *thunk* and another squeak comes out of her as she pulls her phone closer, hitting on some flat-screened keys, which brings up come caged red lights way further down the hall. The 'enemy' is now officially backlit!

"Take that!!"

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr reacts instantly as Thea draws and looses, advancing in quick bounds toward the corner to hold them contained and away from the archers. A shield materializes on her left arm in a shimmer of rainbow light just as she raises it to ward off a blow, turning it away and leaving the attacker wide open for a counter strike -- in deference to Midgard's current standards for rules of engagement and the fact that Thea may want to ask them questions afterwards, a strike to the chin with the pommel rather than a beheading slash -- and she backhands the second assailant with the shield as she completes her turn, slamming her sword against her shield in a challenge that was old when those blades were first forged.

No battle cry.

Not yet.

These enemies haven't earned the right to hear it yet.

Thea Queen has posed:
First their perfect ambush is sussed out! And now they are getting backlit as if they were in some night club's dance floor! And the worse part is they aren't even the best dancers considering how Vin takes out a couple of them with a couple of swings, one falling unconscious to the strike to the chin while the other flies against a wall after the shield hits him.

Humans they may apparently be, but if that's so they move at peak performance. It's noticeable as they pause to get into position when they spot Vintridr's prowess. They move in as a combined unit, blades singing while others attempt to go past the woman's defense to reach the 'backline'.

Thea lets a couple more arrows fly.. One hits one of the men but the other misses. Or rather, the man dodges it. Rather impressive really. She quirks a brow.

"Crap.." the shift to sword appears to tell they may be getting some incoming past the corridor. One of them sneaks past Vin's defenses and bounds over, jumping to meet Khopesh to Thea's sword and making her grit her teeth.

Felicity is able to get a closer look at one now too, dark gaze, tattoos. And the eery part is, none makes a sound.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity is trying to stay as small as possible; this is //not// where she is usually during a fight. Normally, she's on the keyboard, calling out locations, numbers, and working out exit strategies in live time. Here, she's a little stuck with being //in// the battle itself. Yes, she could try and beat feet out, but that's not the way she works. Ever.

Never.

Felicity calls out locations; at least she can do that, offering up alarm as to arrivals.

There's that //look//, however, the one where she strikes upon an idea, and undoubtedly a good one at that. Fingers fly over the display of her phone before she plucks her communicator out of her ear. In the next second, Felicity calls out to Thea, "Your com! Throw it down the corridor!"

Beat.

"Fire in the hole!!" is called out, and almost in that same instant, she calls out to her own team, "Ears!"

Sonic. It's not a wide dispersal, no.. it covers perhaps five feet around, but to have it placed just where Felicity can see where they're coming from?

Priceless.

The genius geek lives by the keyboard, and will one day die by the keyboard, but until then?

Long live the keyboard..

Vintridr has posed:
    Peak performance is still peak /human/ performance. Vintridr has spent longer than she cares to remember lying low on Midgard, but her skills haven't gone so rusty as to make this much of a challenge.

    They have skill, raw talent honed to a fine edge by years of training - but all of them combined have fought for less years than Vintridr has /decades/.

    Only two things keep this fight from being completely unfair: One, their numbers, coordination, and apparent unconcern for their own individual lives allow the bulk of them to keep her busy while a scant few slip past to menace Thea; Two, the Valkyrie is actively trying to avoid lethal force.

    So rather than a rain of blood and limbs, there is the sound of thumping and the occasional cracking as Vintridr deflects, counters, and slams enemies into the nearest solid surface with /some/ amount of care to refrain from killing them, but the restraint is starting to get on her nerves.

    At Felicity's call she waits for the comm to sail past, then interposes her shield as if blocking a blast -- kneeing another assailant hard enough in the ribs to toss him a meter or two back in the process.

    "How many of these do you wish alive for questioning?" she calls out to Thea behind her -- both as an earnest question and as an intimidation factor to those she fights, and who now have to consider what will happen if Thea's answer is anything other than "All of them".

Thea Queen has posed:
"A little busy here.." Thea replies to Felicity as she calls for a 'bomb toss' down the corridor. She gets pushed back against a crate, air leaving her lungs with a gasp but dodges the decapitating blow that comes after, ducking under the blow and rolling to the side. As that second blow comes from the man she is already jumping forward, using that nimbleness to stay one step ahead, one foot finding purchase on the crate and her other meeting the man's head, sending it to sleep.

When she looks to the corridor again, and the mayhem happening she doesn't hesitate, taking the earcomm and attaching it to one of her arrows. She shoots it past Vin, the arrow sailing past and right into the middle of the group.

The sonic boom makes a few of them stagger, stopping that momentum and making it so no more come past. And that, along with Vin's methodical destruction of their training makes it so they begin to back out. Just a few more remain before the rest escape.

One thing that Vin will note, some had their blades bloodied already, most likely from victims. But then all of a sudden they are alone with the various unconscious or hurt enemies.

Thea lets out a deep breath, looking at Felicity first to make sure she is fine, then to Vin, "I am going to say not killing them would be good.." specially if they want the cops involved.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity keeps under most of her cover, such as it is, until it appears that most of the bloodshed and such is virtually over. Thea's safety was of concern for her, absolutely, but once the younger Queen had things in hand, she... had things in hand.

It's that second sonic screech that signals the basic end of the battle, sending the silent fighters into a tactical retreat. It's also post-that when the IT whiz girl actually emerges, blue eyes wide behind rectangular glasses.

"Oh my.. I.. I say we leave, and to be honest Thea? I'm not sure we'd want the police involved. Mr Lance would ask a whole lot of questions that I wouldn't be able to answer, and.."

There's a pause before, "I'm not even sure I even know what just happened.

So...

"I think I'm going to head back up, boot up the ol' system down here across my monitors and try and see if I can't get a better picture." Right.. perfect idea!

Vintridr has posed:
    ... And almost as sudden as it's started, the fight is at an end. Vintridr closes her eyes a moment and exhales, letting the accumulated battle-rage flow away.

    She crouches a moment by one of the fallen bodies to lift up their blade, holding the bloodied edge up to the light. "It doesn't appear they share your concern... And we weren't the first people they ran into -- just the /last/." She finishes her sentence with a distinct note of satisfaction as she tosses the blade away again and looks around for one still conscious, then bodily lifts him up one-handed and pins him to the wall.

     "Don't bother pretending you don't understand this, mortal. Your actions offend me and the blood on your blade condemns you; your life - and what lies beyond - are mine to claim and dispose as I wish it, so speak and answer truly: What were you and yours doing here? Whom do you serve, and in whose name did you commit these murders?"

Thea Queen has posed:
The one Thea defeated starts coming to their senses, the young Queen giving it a nudge with a boot and then a chinjerk towards the corridor. It's that universal tell of 'get the hell out of here'! The man does just that, running away, and starting to get some of his 'friends' to leave as well. Which leaves the one Vin is interrogating. Thea approaches with a small frown. "We will have to go through the footage later." she tells Vin..

As for the man Vin is handling they look surprised that Vin is talking in a way he can understand, blinking and then starting to speak in a tongue Thea certainly doesn't grasp. Though Vin does.

"Fool. We take what we want." his tone defiant, "We are the cult of the idol.." his eyes grow a touch wider, a fanatic for sure, ".. And we already got what we were looking for.. I am ready." he closes his eyes as if waiting for Vin to strike him down.

Thea arches her brows, continuing to look at the man, then at Vin.

Vintridr has posed:
    Bravado, defiance - Vin is no stranger to either. She's seen them before and she'll see them again. This man fails to impress her. "Of what idol do you speak? What were you seeking" she demands, fingers flexing with impossible strength but impeccable control around his windpipe.

     There will be no escape - in life or death - until and unless Vin chooses it, and her confidence in that truth communicates through her eyes. "You continue to draw breath at a Queen's grace; grant her the respect she's due." she commands.

Thea Queen has posed:
"The idol of our lord, of course.." The man rasps through that pressed windpipe, "Be against him and he will destroy you." bravado and with threats!

And perhaps fully believing that knowing the name won't matter in the end he speaks up, "For the Dahrk sorcerer has no mercy." and then he shuts up, smirking. It's clear he won't be speaking further. He doesn't even try to get out of the grapple. He knows he doesn't have the strength.

Thea folds her arms together, watching that hand around the man's neck. "Don't kill him please." she pleads, not wanting to have blood shed under her club apparently!

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr snorts in contempt, her eyes fixing his with the weight of centuries beyond anything humans can bear. "Little boasts from a little man. I've seen more little cults like yours birthed, rise and fall than you've seen years, and I'll like see as many more before Jormgandr devours the World Tree forever."

    At Thea's request she frowns in disappointment -- and then squeezes just a bit harder, cutting off his air supply entirely, holding his gaze in those piercing eyes while his vision slowly dims, as his body starts screaming for air beyond his fanaticism to hold at bay...

    And then she releases him to fall in a heap on the ground. "A Queen chose to spare your life today, worm. Every breath you take from this moment on is her gift to you. Now run off, back to your master... And tell him that if he values his life, he'd do well to flee while he still can."

    With that, she turns away from him and walks back to Thea.

Thea Queen has posed:
The man gasps for air, hands reaching up to claw at that relentless hand pressing on his throat. As he does so a tattoo is visible on his wrist, an horned, frowning face, the lines more of what would be seen in old Egypt. When relief comes he gasps out and drags back, not saying anything else but turning and running off.

Thea nods at Vin, in thanks both for having her during the battle and also at sparing the man. "That was some impressive swordwork.." She says of the other, moving to get that ear piece from the ground to put it on her ear again.

"Felicity. We are going back up. We will have to review the footage and see what more we can find.. Besides, we will still have to go further down the tunnels later."

But for now it was time to regroup.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr nods. "We will. Death cults like this need to be burned out swiftly before they become a much bigger problem."

    It's not, perhaps, obvious whether she's speaking figuratively about the burning part.

    ".. But you're right. We didn't come here equipped for a full search and sweep. Besides, Lady Sif would be most displeased if we left her out of the hunt..."