the_last_resort

Goddammit! The hell were you thinking?

[Boone takes the needle and does as Niko says, scowling the entire time. Tuco put them all in danger, and could have gotten a lot worse than what he did. It does look like he's in pain, so he leaves it at that. That should be enough of a lesson for him. He's still visibly pissed off, though.]

[Belloq crosses his arms over his chest, looking on in amusement now that he knows that his own death is not imminent.]

The call of treasure is strong.

You should keep in mind, friend Tuco, that you can't spend money if you're dead.

[Belloq understands and embraces greed.]

I don't think he can focus too well on you guys. That is spider poison.

[Niko finds the closes pinholes in the wall and covers it up with the metal plate. He's going to have to do that with all of them so this is going to take a while.]

They have places in some of these temples that blow up, though. Keep an eye on him, he's probably going to see not fun things.

[When Niko's right, he's right: while Tuco makes a pitiful attempt to wrestle Boone's hand away from him before the needle sinks into his shoulder, he doesn't exactly look as if he's about to be jumping to his feet anytime soon. That's not to say he's lost all his fight, though. Directing an absolutely furious expression towards Boone, he kicks his leg, blurting out a strained:]

Me cago en tu puta madre. [And then, twitching his head in Belloq's direction:] Y tú.

I never— [There's a flicker of confusion and he lets his chin sag to his chest, looking rather like he's lost whatever steam he was trying to build up.] I didn't do anything. [It comes out as a creaky, distracted whine. Rather than glowering at his companions, however, he's now focused in on what appears to be a thin line sticking up from his thigh. An itchy line—one that hurts like a son of a bitch if you try to flatten it.

Moving his hand away, he rolls back and mouths a few variations of the word 'shit'. His arm hurts. His ego hurts.]

[Boone doesn't know what Tuco just said, but the look on his face says it wasn't pleasant. He doesn't care. He grunts and leaves him to his pain, waiting for Niko to get done with the plates but keeping one eye on Tuco all the while. He doesn't look like he'll be springing to his feet and causing trouble anytime soon, but it's still best to be sure. Another stunt like that could get them all killed.]

[Belloq knows many languages and has travelled extensively in South America. Tuco's accent isn't like what he's familiar with, but he recognizes the words well enough.]

Do you really kiss your mother with that mouth, friend Tuco?

[As he speaks, his eyes dart around, looking for further evidence of traps.]

Hey, guys. He still has a dart in him.

[Niko stops what he's doing and comes over to pluck it out. There's a nice pile of darts just laying on the linoleum stones.]

Most of the stuff here works by pressure plate or trip wire. That's why I said if something moves a little move real fast back the way you came. A lot of the machinery is old and shitty. Takes a while for it to work.

[The abrupt pull of the dart has Tuco's head swinging up. Predictably, he curses again, hand clamping down on his thigh, but this time the vitriol isn't aimed anywhere (or at anyone) in particular. In fact, when his eyes finally do flick up from his leg, it's to focus unsteadily on the wall opposite him.]

Heeeey, [he says after a long moment, holding the note like he's trying (and failing) to drag several syllables out of it.] Look. [He's pointing now, face scrunched as if he's staring at something stupefying.

...A very stupefying patch of rock, apparently.]

[Boone glances over at the patch of rock, then back at Tuco, visibly confused.]

What is it?

[He isn't seeing anything special about what Tuco is looking at. Maybe he's just confused from whatever the dart did to him? Still, he looks over at Niko to see if he's noticed anything weird about the rock, too.]

[Belloq looks as well, wondering if Tuco has spotted some markings left behind by the temple's builders, perhaps a small engraving, or a message etched in the stone.]

I don't see it.

This man is tripping balls. [Niko warns them.] The venom is more potent this way, and these traps are old. Very old. But it's his first time. It's a hard lesson in a new temple- at least we didn't get our fucking feet blown off. [He resists the urge to comment on how he knew a few people back home that would probably try to snort it. He usually doesn't try to hide too much in front of Boone, but he's still security.]

[Niko finishes blocking off what holes that he can. That leaves them with the chest, right there, that they can open.]

[Tuco looks away from the shifting pattern and opens his mouth to reply, only for Niko to get there first. While he has no idea what 'tripping balls' is supposed to mean, the image it conjures up results in a cat-sneeze of a laugh, and he smirks despite himself.]

One time, I blew up a whole bridge. [It comes out as some kind of liquid slur.] Langstone. [With a little waggle of his fingers he adds a helpful:] Pchhhhhh!

[At some point between becoming a junior foley artist and falling silent again, he must have closed his eyes, because something bright streaks across the backs of his eyelids and he abruptly lurches sideways, dry-heaving. It's in the process of dragging his shirt cuff across his upper lip that he seems to notice Niko is done with the plates. Throat bobbing, he drops his arm and makes a small, questioning sound.

And then his face contorts into some grim mask of determination: there's absolutely no way he's going to let them open it up without him. That's his two hundred thousand.]

[Boone scoots out of the way when Tuco leans over to vomit, getting back to his feet once he sees that Niko is done with the plates. He doesn't approach the chest yet, though.]

Is it safe?

[He doesn't feel like going down the same way Tuco did. It looks like the holes are blocked off, but he doesn't know if the chest itself will turn out to be a trap. Better to be careful.]

I am sure the falling bridge was very impressive. [He says to Tuco and holds his shoulders as he retches. Once the gastric spasm are finished, he gives Tuco a clap on the back.

He glances at Niko and Boone with an expression of "I've got this covered" and helps Tuco stay upright.

Gestures of helpfulness and compassion often earn people's trust.]

The chests haven't been made into traps yet. Let us hope this is not a start.

[He opens it up to reveal the contents. Which, sadly, are not all that impressive.]

[Aaaaand that right there sure isn't two hundred thousand. Tuco stares for a long moment, leaning heavily on Belloq all the while.]

¿Qué diablos es eso?

[Drawing his lip up, he flaps his free hand towards what can only really be described as 'mystery meat'.]

[Boone squints at the chest contents- it's not something worth being poisoned for, that's for sure. For that, he almost feels bad for Tuco. He thinks he can see the corner of something that isn't meat, though. He reaches in to grab it, and pulls out what turns out to be a saddle.]

...Huh.

[He's not sure why there's a saddle with all this meat.]

[Belloq is nearly as disappointed as Tuco at the unimpressive find. He was hoping for a golden idol or a chest of gemstones, not a pile of flesh and an old saddle. Yes, they may be interesting from an anthropological standpoint: What is the meat for and why keep it in a temple? What is the symbolic significance of a saddle? But Belloq likes treasure and this certainly isn't that.

But he deals with his disappointment phlegmatically. It isn't the first time he's tracked down a "sacred treasure valued above all else" only to discover that it's nothing but a smashed terra cotta statue of a forgotten goddess, or similar misfortunes.]

Ah well. Perhaps better luck next time.

And less poisoning. [He claps Tuco on the shoulder.]

I don't know what this shit is. Maybe the museum can make heads or tails of it. [Though as they're inspecting the chest, Niko turns his torch and starts heading back towards the area he blocked off. But he stops when he sees that there's a green thing with a scowling face standing there at the partition. Thin, thin extendable rod, and it doesn't seem smart enough to find a way to go over it or under it. But it knows they're there, and it paces from side to side like it desperately wants to go directly at them.]

I should have brought Snažan. [The beast's name.]

[Tuco is in the process of gesturing meaningfully between the saddle and himself when Belloq claps his shoulder. He jerks, glancing across to meet his eyes briefly, expression clouded, before turning his attention back to the chest.

When he eventually turns around again (possibly to question who or what Snažan is exactly) he appears to be holding a fistful of meat. From the way his jaw drops, it's clear he's spotted their new guest, and yet the following pause ends in a burst of staccato laughter.]

Hey! [Grinning, he waggles the flesh in the direction of the figure.] Almost, friend!

[Boone hands the saddle off to Tuco to hold, since he seems so interested in it. Maybe it'll keep him occupied for a while. He pulls out Maria when he spots the creeper, though. The poor lighting isn't doing it any favours- it looks more pissed off than usual.]

Yeah, maybe you should've.

[He could have brought his own beast along, but it's not as friendly as Niko's and would be more inclined to wander off on its own than stick around.]

We going back that way yet?

[He doesn't really want to risk attracting more creatures by shooting the creeper if he doesn't have to.]

[Belloq eyes the creeper, frowning right back at it.]

I hope not. If that thing explodes in here, even if we escape, it could damage the structural integrity of the temple, bring the whole building crashing down, a millennia-old work of art destroyed, just like that, and any treasure in here buried forever.

[Niko breaks open another torch, clearly showing Tuco, and then tosses it further down the corridor behind the creeper. There are a couple of others sort of lurking in the back, and when notice is drawn to them they wander forward to stand by the other.]

[And stare.]

[And pace a little.]

All it takes is three shots. But this just means we'll have to go slow. It also means probably less traps. These things are not setting them off or they would be dead.

He brought his friends, too, huh?

[Ordinarily, the sight of the three shifting figures would have him reaching for his pistol before there was even talk of shooting anything. As it stands, though, he's busy eyeing them with a kind of distant, amused curiosity.]

You want us to shoot 'em? [His eyes flit over to Boone's gun, before he drops his chin to his chest, peering down at his own. Thankfully the lanyard stopped the Colt from clattering to the ground when the first dart struck his arm... but he's struggling to work out how exactly he's supposed to keep hold of the purported treasure and reach down at the same time. There's a sharp sniff. Lifting his shoulder, he attempts to swipe at the sweat collecting on his cheek, before slapping the meat on top of the saddle and awkwardly thrusting it towards Belloq.] Here.

[Well, it's either shoot the creepers himself or wait for Tuco to attempt it. In the state he's in, it's not a good idea.]

Hey- hold onto that, I gave it to you.

[He lifts Maria and fires at the creepers, at least glad they won't blow up so far away from them even if they're being shot at. After the last one falls and disintegrates, he waits for a few moments to see if anything else shows up.]

it totally is though

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