Carmina Chat

Stars.

Uta might be excused for propping her head on her chin and staring out of the window.

This late at night, most people are asleep. Patients certainly are. As for the medical professional, well -- one of the things doctors working in a hospital learn to do is to get their sleep in whenever they can, as opposed to whenever they want.

Uta, right now, cannot. It's her turn to be available in case any patient needs her, and given the current work overload, she's doing double duty by manning the reception, which, at the moment, means staring out of the window, head propped up with one hand, twirling a fountain pen (something one doesn't see every day in this world!) in the other. There is some medical paperwork she's probably supposed to work on in front of her, but her mind is elsewhere.

Stars.

Stars.

It's always kind of strange how they can show up in the tower. The tower is supposed to be a closed off structure, after all. But each floor seems to be a world in and of itself, with each their own rules and histories. Uta isn't alone in the night shift. There are others still milling around the facility, tending to patients whose cases simply cannot wait for the next morning. Emergency room duty is, after all, a non-stop sort of job.

Doctor Prophylaxis does not rest. Or rather, he seems to rest only from time to time, taking short naps now and then to recouperate before getting back up to handle this that or another. The war being what it is, they're busier than ever.

"Uta," the doctor's voice calls as the scent of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the air. "Can I get you a cup? I just prepared a new pot."

Beat.

"You look like you have something on your mind. Is everything alright?"

"Oh. Potion of Alertness," Uta comments, absent-mindedly, kind of quietly, but given the silence, Prophylaxis has probably heard her. A glance around to make sure that no patients are in sight: none, confirmed. A yawn, a stretch. Some clicking of the tongue, and up she gets to receive her elixir; while outside the clinic one would probably not be able to guess that Uta has the Etiquette skill, she somehow does a 180 when on duty, or dealing with patients outside the clinic: her professional demeanour is never dropped in front of them, like some sort of instinct, as if the human-relational side of the medical profession, which she had never practiced before the Apocalypse, had become second nature to her.

Which speaks volumes about the ways in which this game affects the Adventurers.

If a game it is at all.

Uta calls back, "I'd love a cup, thank you." More eye rubbing. "It's... well, no information has reached me about what's been going on at that meeting between alliance representatives and Gilgamesh," she mumbles. "If only I could get to talk with Wake directly, or doctor Prophylaxis, or..." She squints at the Doctor. "Who represents the New World Alliance, these days?"

The doctor nods and pours out a second cup, "Cream or sugar?"

It is amazing what the 'game' does to people. People who never had a diplomatic or entrepreneurial bone in their body have become negotiators and businesspeople. Conversely, people who possessed skills they had in life are suddenly bereft of many of them, or find that they're ineffectual even at what they used to be experts in, simply because they don't have the right skill on the right menu.

"Mm. It's a shame that you can't get a hold of Doctor Prophylaxis. But perhaps once you have your cup, you'll be able to find him more easily? As far as I'm aware, Shiruba and the Lizardman are in charge of New World, but I'm surprised you haven't been able to get a hold of Wake. Then again, she has been rather busy."

"So," he offers, bringing over the cup once it's properly doctored up, "What do you want to know?"

"I... I don't know? I guess I just want to know if anything important was revealed? Lore? History? Future endeavours? If there's anything we're supposed to be doing? I have heard only vague rumors about securing root cities or something, that's it.", Uta comments with a shrug. "I'll take my coffee black, thanks," Uta remarks, quickly. "And yes, I am sure that once I have imbibed my coffee, things will be far easier."

Spin the pen left, spin the pen right. Glance down. Form. Check some boxes, fill in some fields, look up again. "Shiruba, Rizadoman. Good to know. And yes, Baroness Wake has been busy. She's got a lot on her plate, and on her shoulders. Cannot blame her." Silence. "Plus, in her defence, I've been hard to get hold of myself. This whole situation..." she gestures around, vaguely, "...is not exactly conductive to..." A pause, as if looking for the right words, then, looking down, she mumbles, "...well, anything."

"Mm, indeed," Prophylaxis answers over a long draw of his drink. "This whole situation is a terrible distraction from what we aught to be doing." Which, in the Scale's case at least, is the continuation of their ever upward climb. But until recently, they've had a /very/ good reason to put it off. Now, they only have a decent reason to do so. The sooner this war ends, the better for everyone involved.

"Well, in general," he begins, settling down into an available chair. "Yes. We are to be searching for individuals underneath the Root Cities who seem to have some measure of control over critical aspects of their operation. These lynchpins can do things like selectively extend the protection of the Guardians to certain groups, which is obviously something we would like to secure to prevent another Mac Anu situation. At present, Olympus has been investigating Breg Epona, New World has been handling Fort Ouph, the Scale has been taking care of Dun Loireag, and Carmina Gadelica has been a... cooperative effort."

"Incidentally, King Gilgamesh will be founding a new Kingdom in Carmina Gadelica. A new root town to replace the fallen Ezzo."

Uta perks up. "See, -this- is the kind of thing I wanted to hear!", Uta darts up, excited, hands extended towards Prophylaxis. Almost certainly in excitement, but there's almost cerainly a little bit of reaching out for coffee. "A new kingdom! This is history in the making! I'm looking forward to be involved in that! A new kingdom! A new kingdom!" Uta keeps looking towards Prophylaxis and away at each sentence. "Will we make history? I hope I do get to make history. Think there'll be a memorial stone? Like for when people beat the tower?", she asks pointing up, potentially at the floors above. "Think I can get my name on-" She shakes her head. "No, no, stop that Uta!", she chides herself. "This is not some silly ego boost. It's for a very serious, important altruistic reason, which-"

A pause. A blink. A squint.

"...why is a new kingdom being founded, again?" Uta scratches her head. "Is this an effort to solve the refugee crisis, or is there something deeper I ignore?"

Prophylaxis siiiips at his cup. When Uta gets this excitable, it's best to wait for her to burn off that nervous energy. The late hour probably isn't helping much.

"All good questions," he answers, then shrugs. "It's in part due to the refugee issue, I think. However, Gilgamesh and the Bandit King mentioned something about Yamato needing a new 'source of power.' Whether they meant political and economic power, or something more... subtle, I can't say. I think ultimately that it comes down to needing to better integrate Carmina Gadelica into the defense of Yamato, but there may be more to it than that."

"We'll be searching for the Lynchpin under Carmina Gadelica as well," he repeats, then. "They might be able to answer whatever questions we might have. If not, it's a good idea to track them down regardless."

"Whatever the case, once we've found and secured all the Lynchpins, or as many as we can at least, we'll be moving to reclaim Mac Anu."

Perhaps it's the recently offered coffee, perhaps it's Uta's natural excitability. Perhaps the two things are related. The point is -- as Prophylaxis predicted (likely due to his regular work with the Musical Kung-Fu Nurse), soon Uta exhausts her hyperactivity and is back to a more sedate rhythm.

"A source of power... interesting..." Uta sips her cup between both hands, her pen having been clipped to her belt. "Could it be..." Her eyes wander in the distance while the steam from her hot beverage rises in swirls through the air. "...could we Adventurers be the power? Someone mentioned this hypothesis that we're living in a sort of Matrix once, and-" She shakes her head. "No, again, this is just baseless hypotheses. No, no, let us just wait and see, until we know more." Sip. "That said, I'd love to help with Carmina Gadelica, in any way possible." A pause. "If possible."

"It could be that Root Towns and Kingdoms somehow serve to anchor the world? We don't know enough about the function of Root Towns to say for certain. What is the meaningful difference between the Palace Lands and Yamato, other than geography? We know each region has its own divine spirits, so... perhaps there's something there as well?" Prophylaxis shakes his head slowly. "...Far too much we don't know."

"I don't think anyone would tell you to not help," Prophylaxis continues with a shrug. "We're going to be doing quite a bit-- the Scale, I mean. Carmina is our nearest neighbor, after all. And many of our adventurers are originally from Ezzo, and thus Carmina by extension."

Of course, it helps that Gilgamesh, of all the Lander lords they've yet met, is the most sympathetic to the Scale's plight. Staying on his good side, especially once he gains authority over a Kingdom, is... important, strategically speaking.