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[aimsforknees]

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[aimsforknees]

[ Okay??? What do you want him to do about that??? ]

You think?

[cactusy]

Unless you know of another place with skulls practically built into the foundations, yeah. You got any idea where this is? Navigation hints?

[aimsforknees]

How about leaving the way you got in?

[cactusy]

Dragged through a river in a sack by Sasquatch? Pass.

[aimsforknees]

[ Well that's concerning. ]

Unfortunately there's multiple entrances and from what I can tell spreads over most of Etraya so I don't know where you are. Fortunately there's multiple entrances and from what I can tell spreads over most of Etraya so you've got decent odds of finding an exit. I'd offer to come find you but we could be at two opposite ends.

[cactusy]

Okay, could be worse. There's no map?

[ornithologist]

[ Harold cuts in with no warning. ]

I believe you can find the exit using Trémaux's algorithm, Ms. Shaw. I'll guide you through the first steps and you should be able to pick it up from there.

The device I gave you has a location signal and I can direct you further once you're not underground.

[cactusy]

Trémaux's what?

[Are you sure she'll be able to pick it up from there, Harold?

(Shaw, just because you prefer being the muscle doesn't mean you're not smart. You'll be fine.) ]

[ornithologist]

You don't need to do the math, [ he says dryly, ] just follow instructions.

You'll need something to mark the floor with.

[cactusy]

Knife works. Lay it on me.

[ornithologist]

[ A knife, of course... ]

Every time you enter or leave a passageway and arrive at a junction, mark the floor. It's important you mark the passage entrance or exit, not the junction itself.

Pick any direction to start.

[cactusy]

[Definitely squinting at this, but...]

Okay.

[She'll gesture for Carter to come with, and then head off down the hallway.]

[ornithologist]

Mark the floor as you leave down the path, and then mark it again as you exit to the next junction.

[ Technically he'd just said this, but Harold is going to be extremely specific. ]

[cactusy]

Done.

[ornithologist]

Keep going, marking entrances and exits, and let me know when you come back to a path you've marked before.

[cactusy]

Roger.

This is gonna take forever.

[ornithologist]

I didn't say it would be fast. But it is mathematically guaranteed to work in finding an exit.

[cactusy]

Okay - I'll let you know when we cross over our own path. If you don't hear from me in three days, assume I starved to death.

[ornithologist]

[ With a tone of mild offense, ] I certainly wouldn't wait three days to send in backup, Ms. Shaw.

[ They haven't worked together long by his reckoning, but Harold takes her entirely seriously as someone in his employ, even beyond his usual care for peoples' lives. If he needs to, he's prepared to ask Castiel for assistance. It seems like the kind of thing an angel should be able to handle if he's out there reading minds. ]

[cactusy]

It's a joke, Finch; those existed in 2013, right?

[ornithologist]

I decline to believe I've become callous enough in the next two years to joke about starving to death in underground catacombs.

[cactusy]

Nope, that's still all me.

[ornithologist]

Of course, [ he sighs. ]

Please check in at least hourly or I will start asking contacts for assistance.

[cactusy]

[Luckily, it doesn't take quite that long, though it's enough walking that Shaw is glad she's not in heels!]

Okay, Finch. What's next?

[ornithologist]

[ That it doesn't take her that long to follow up is a good sign for the length of the catacombs. Harold, of course, answers promptly. ]

Make a second mark where you just came out of -- traditionally an X -- and double back. The X means you won't turn down this route again.

When you return to the last intersection, pick an unmarked route if possible, and one with a single mark if not.

[ Yes, this could take a long time. But it is foolproof. ]