Inn Chanting Work

Haru has been organizing a number of events in support of the Statue in the Palace Lands. A lot of this involves him in an office putting together edicts and missives that get posted on NWA's boards, in Shibuya, and communications out to other guilds and alliances. Craft Commander work is heavy in the logistics. When the morning paperwork is done the life of 'So I reincarnated as a Salaryman in a New World, So what?' gets to go to phase 2: Doing non administrative work. Tables are set in the Atelier with instructions for setting up catalysts for enchanting or doing actual enchanting on small objects such as rods. Depending on the skillsets there is something for everyone. People are needed to get goods from the market or load them up onto ships. Alchemists are needed for catalysts. Enchanters needed to etch in the enchanting. There is a greater response than projected and Haru has to negotiate the use of the Inn to handle overflow workstations.

Haru Haru, what should I do-u do-u. The silver haired man points over to a box and the attendant for preparing materials prior to catalysts. Cleaning, prep, placement. An alchemist is directed to a small lab setup with a burner and a mortar and pedstal. "Turnout is higher than expected," he says, finally taking a seat at a table and drinking a cup of coffea. No cream or sugar.

    Hyuga didn't know the first thing about Enchanting, but he had muscle and time, and so he had signed up to do grunt work. He appeared in the doorway in his casual clothing, getting in line with the other volunteers, and towering over most of them. It wasn't hard to pick him out of a lineup, but then again, Players and Landers might not blend in as easily as one would think. As he waited, he made sure to top off his energy with an Apple and a Drink of some sort, most likely the herbal tea that he was fond of offering everyone. The gentle giant was patient, waiting in line and snacking, making sure to not get in anyone's way.

Uta is nowhere as tall as Hyuga on her own; the pile of books she's carrying with one raised hand, the way a waitress would carry a plate, is so tall Hyuga can likely not see the cover of the one on top. Which is just as well -- the books look like cheap menu crafted fare, from the quality of the materials, to the manufacturing, and even the characters on the side bear the mark of a quick, cheap rush job.

Stacked with maniacal precision and kept absolutely level with the ground despite the bobbing movement of the Nurse, the tomes all seem to be multiple copies of the exact same book.

"I'm here to deliver the basic Enchanting reference books, courtesy of Crescent Moon," Uta calls out to nobody in particular. "Where do I put them?"

That is when she sees, and recognizes, Hyuga. "Oh, hey, it's you! Hyuga, right? We met during the the Bonded Hearts Festival, in front of Haru's Atelier?"

Haru drinks from a cup that says 'Number One Boss' in the local Lander script. Because Yumi got him a novelty mug while shopping one day. She had no idea it was a meme reference to Michael Scott. "Over here, Uta," he lets his Spriggan sister know, patting the table in front of him. He still needs to sort them out to which delivery station for what part of the process. Overseeing a mass production process is different than handcrafting, but he has experience in both. One is more of a job and the other a passion. "Yeah he was also with us during the Gnoll expedition. That whole spider-mark face curse debuff was during that mission. Curses and Enchanting are closely connected," he observes. That isnt as much his thing, of course, Wisteria is more into Curse-Enchanting than Haru. Ironically both Angelic Layer players though!

    When there is work to do, Elly is usually one to get involved. Even if that involvement involves a lot of traveling from one end of the game to the other. Which is why the priestess is here. She rarely journeys alone these days, and considering what is being done, this is no exception.

    She brings with her several helping hands. They are no masters of enchanting, but they are apprentices and eager to learn. That they are competent helpers is hopefully a plus.

    As for Elly, she's just here to make sure they get to work and get back home safely. She may be dressed like she's attending a high society gala, but her light magic is not only for show!

Uta is snatched out of her side quest to greet Hyuga. "Oh, uh, sorry, gotta deliver this!" She reaches the spot indicated by Haru, and places down the books with one sweeping motion. They don't even wobble. Literature is served! Bon apetit!

"Well, that's good that we have this good a turnaround," Uta smiles, looking around. "The more we work on this, the better the result will be. It's refreshing to see so much concerted activity focused towards one goal." She twists her mouth a little. "It's in moments like these I wish I could enchant myself... so many nifty things to do."

The Appearance of the Baroness yanks Uta from her train of thought. In slow motion and soft focus, her dazzling appearance radiates sheer class. And as someone who happens to have the Etiquette skill, even if used mainly for dealing with patients rather than navigating her way into the highest tiers of society, Uta can have the kind of extra appreciation for the feat only connoisseurs can have.

"...oh, wait, yes, we came here together," Uta comments. "The books were copied at the Library of the Valiant, in Eas," she returns to explain to Haru. "Crafting and copying were done as cheaply as possible, to gain time and still find a use for the materials deemed beneath the quality required for the Statue. And what would the Apprentice Enchanter's Manuals be without-"

She sweeps her hand toward the people Wake brought. "...Apprentice Enchanters?"

Back to Haru. "...It would be interesting to learn more about curses, actually. And blessings. You know, enchanting-based statuses."

    Elly smiles as she settles in. Her people are clearly in good hands. She has no skill in this area, but there is an air of order about this camp. Seeing Haru, she knows why.

    "I wonder if we can continue working this way. Imagine all the good we can do, if we treat this as the beginning of a new era of cooperation rather than an isolated, concerted effort to address a mutual threat."

    She can hope! She can also go speak to Haru and Uta instead of standing about. "How are you faring this day, my friends? I trust the Goddesses continue to smile on our efforts."

Haru sips his coffea as he takes the first break since he woke up. Visual oversight counts as a break in his book. "People work harder when there are small, tangible goals they can sprint towards and the big goals are not long out," Haru observes when talking with Uta. A hand raises to Elly when she stops in and begins to address the added help with providing directions to which tables to set up at and which instructions to follow. It is all very neat, very LEAN manufacturing. "Its important for leaders to take these moments of high energy and get the most out of them, as the opposite it true when projects lag. Motivation drops and you end up with a half-cooked bread that no one can eat, even when all that effort was put into the first half of making it."

There is a smile at the mention of Enchanting, "It is how I feel about Song and Artistry, especially given the new information about how well crafted statues work. There is an inspiring amount of skills and no one person can do them all," Haru says. His visible eye casts to all the books, starting through them, "These will help. And doing well, Elly, it has been a very active set of weeks, even before the big project was requested. From learning of new debuffs to divine beasts to this." A thought back about Uta's enchanting bits, "Happy to talk about it, Enchanting is as close to programming as I've found. Alchemy is as close to Chemistry."

"I've been pushing for more inter-alliance cooperation since forever, as you know very well," Uta replies to Wake, before turning to Haru, "I agree, motivation is a big factor. The sad thing is, believe it or not, there have been people backpedaling against getting the Alliances to work closer together. Granted, it seems like spirits are not as strained as they were in the past, these days, but nonetheless, as you point out, it is desirable to go further." She looks around. "This frantic pace of production, in any case, is not sustainable. You know very well that my recent promotion of Anesthetics all over yamato resulted in an undue strain on the supply chain. You also remember how bad things were when all us Adventurers got first stuck in Yamato. This game, if a game it is, as I think and hope it is," each step mumbled lower and lower, before returning to a normal volume and tone, "has some ridiculously sophisticated rules for supply and demand." Mumble. Grumble.

Back to Haru, "That is the main reason why I have not taken up Enchanting yet," Uta smirks at Haru. "Gotta leave some work for you guys, right?" And then leans over with interest. "New debuffs? Is it the one from the Gnolls?"

    "The rules are almost as complicated as they were in the real world," Elly points out casually. "Sorry, it has always been something of a amateur fascination of mine, understanding how economies do and do not work."

    She turns her attention to another point, though. "Divine beasts? This reminds me of something. But before I share that silliness, I am curious if you are communicating with a divine beast regularly. I know so little of them. I wonder if they have a special relationship with the Goddesses."

    As for Uta's comments on it being a game. Well, those slide on by with nothing but a smile. Elly has no intention of racing out of this world any time soon.

"To be honest," Uta replies to Wake, "I don't know much about the Divine Beasts. It's one of the little corners of Lore I am not up much to date with." There is some silence, followed by laughter and a shake of her head. "Before the Apocalypse, my knowledge of Economics was pretty much relegated to Budget Nights." She looks at the palm of her hand, where she points around with her opposite finger, and draws little illustrative pictures as she speaks, "It was some sort of cross between Monopoly, Risk, and Poker. Only real! We'd all pool our monthly income into a single pot -- virtual pot, of course -- it'd be all on pen and paper, and then negotiate the next month's expenses. As things got heated up, impromptu tokes and rules would be invented and pulled in." She bursts into laughter. "I've never been really good at that game. I'd gladly chip in my salary, secure my monthly budget for books, and pull out." She goes silent, and looks into the distance, with a neutral expression. A Poker face, one could say. Then shakes her head and returns to look at Wake. "But I digress." Some silence. "What were we talking about agai- Oh, right!", she punches her fist. "Light! I've thought that an endeavour like the Statue could benefit from a massive amount of Heal Slimes. We're going to require a massive amount of Light Magic to create them, and I thought that you could help there!"

"I believe there are forces that believe the Alliances should be less interactive with each other," Haru says as he flips open a book and looks through the content. "In this room you have a major leader for Olympus and one from New World Alliance. I don't expect Wake and I to agree on every little thing or that every policy. It is the hope that the big things, the important things like this Statue project, are ones that we can all agree upon." A page flips, "We all do it different ways. Shiruba and Wake do it by engaging in a personal touch so you feel connected to their ambitions." A page flips, "Proph and I do things a little differently and are more objective driven and look to give people a means to connect to these objectives as, at the end of the day, people will do what they want. They just need a common path to tread."

There is a smile as he puts a hand on the page and looks up at Uta, "I know full well talking about a topic like this comes off as impersonal, but, its how I talk. So long as there is trust and respect, the diversity of our methods will bring us into a better future. When there is not," Haru takes a pause, "like use of the Crowns? You have war. I hope our Alliances never come to that and in truth we are positioned to prevent that with a balance of power and oversight." A hand gestures, "And we have /great/ progress with things such as LOONS for sharing what information isn't trade secret to benefit the masses. That is the medicine that heals the wounds inflicted by our differences. The strain, indeed, can grow us stronger or weaker. I will continue to strive for weaker. Its not noble, but the fastest means to see my debt repayed, right?" Always trust a person with an easy motive.

"Thanks for giving us Enchanters some room to stand out," Haru laughs, "there are a few of us in the field that excel at it. Wisteria has her Curses. Pela and Kat both are in the storage and sustainment of mana energy, such as for automations. Fuka is making ice cream a thing and has cool results. I have worked on material based products supporting other trades with glassworks. We do not suffer for a lack of talented Enchanters."

A quick nod goes to the debuff mention, "The debuff from the gnolls, yes. It is a unique blessing to survive so we can research it. I wouldn't feel right asking anyone to get cursed so we can research the effects, but there is no other 'safe' way to research it without being afflicted."

Haru turns to Elly / Wake and thinks for a moment, "We learned a thing about Divine Beasts in that one does not communicate with it as directly as you think. It communes with your Cosmosphere and a Mind Guardian. So I am not in contact with Feng Huang, but the Phoenix is represented in my Cosmosphere as a Mind Guardian. Important to know as Middray from Palace Lands also is bonded with Feng Huang, but I couldnt communicate to him through my Divine Beast." He is not entirely sure about the Goddess thing, but does offer, "The Goddesses take notice of our actions, hence this project, and took notice on the Curse we had as the only true means to cure it. I havent seen any direct relation between the Divine Beasts and the Three Goddesses, but it is worth looking into."

    "We all find a way to keep the peace. At least, the current leaders seem to," says Elly. "So far it has been a difficult balance at times, though I fail to see why we cannot keep it amicable. There are certain things that are near and dear to our hearts. They are naturally different and change as time goes on. If I can keep the peace between Olympus and Scale, I foresee smooth sailing. The headaches we cause New World will hopefully grow less over time. If I can get us focused more on magical means before we go all-in on coal."

    She laughs at Uta's request. "Light slimes. Well, let me know when you need some illumination! I am obviously something of a diva when it comes to putting on a brilliant show. Hopefully the slimes enjoy musical numbers. Oh, and it is no worry. About the divine beasts, that is. I want to have a beautiful horse, like a ki-rin or unicorn, but not The Ki-Rin, which is apparently one of the divine beasts, from what I hear."

Haru nods to Elly as a hand rests on the table. The young man does not get much rest, but he is finding some today with taking the time to talk and direct instead of toil on a project. "Elly has the right of it and the fact there are three major Alliances is a blessing. One corrupts. Two divides. With three, there is a fighting chance for balance." He motions towards all the Adventurers that came out in support of the crafting work today, "It is heartening to see common ground. It unifies. Reminds that we are all citizens of the world we live in, even if what that means differs in ideology. As for coal, I think what people forget is that magic still has a source. Would mining fire mana be any better? There is a lot to consider on the economy and ecology. Goes back to we have the /right/ leaders at the helm, like yourself Elly, being mindful of these things and never giving up looking for a better future."

There is a hum as he considers Elly's request, "I ran into a similar issue looking for a Phoenix over a year ago. I landed on needing to find Feng Huang as the only viable option. Kirin is a divine beast of Wind. A unicorn, dragon, ox-creature. Perhaps your people could look for an actual unicorn-unicorn? It seems rather fitting for your duty and station. Else, Kirin may bond with you as well as they did Mikage and Fuka."

"Slimes don't seem to have much in the way of musical appreciation, sadly," Uta mumbles in response to Wake, with genuine disappointment. "They're adorable, but, let's face it, they're really simple creatures. I should diversify my endeavours into more sophisticated monsters, but-" Sideway glance in the distance. "...I kind of keep getting distracted by slimes."

"I am one of those old fashioned people who believes in Truth as objective," Uta replies to Haru. "Granted, each person has a personal idea of what truth is, possibly different from others. And on top of that, what we state in what we believe to be an impersonal manner is a form of personal communication. What we chose to say. How we color it."

"Are unicorns based on Grunties in this world?", Uta wonders. "I hope unicorns are based on Grunties. That would be amazing."

Uta nods deeply, seriously at Wake's previous comments. "We are going to need a LOT of Light, and having seen what you can do, I thought, Wake's the person we need for this!"

"Balance is paramount, yes," Uta comments, looking down, and scratching her lower lip with a hooked index finger. "Pretty much. The LOONS are an attempt at tugging the Alliances together. Goals are already dragging them apart, and I believe it is our common responsibility to put in the work to reconcile them."

    "I think the standard unicorn would be wonderful. Preferably not a gruntie variant. I rather like the aesthetics of a silver-coated horse." Plus she'd have to give up steak or feel /horrible/ about it every time she rode anywhere.

    "This talk of working together has reminded me of something. It is not yet off the ground, but I could use help-especially New World Alliance help-on it. I am working on fixing the orphanage systems that are used in the root cities of Yamato. I want to fix the orphanages, improve their organization, and introduce proper schools not only for orphans, but for any who wish to attend. With adventurer's mentoring and teaching where possible."

    And then pivoting back to light."Well, I will sing and bring the light. I just like making it a performance. It is definitely more fun that way." Elly has been noted to use her theater quite frequently for this. They are considered impromptu performances, but mostly she is just enjoying herself.

    Hyuga remembers, and greets, Haru. "Yup, I remember. So, I'm here to use the muscles to make help, unless you have a need for an herbalist." Finishing off his short snack, he looks around, somewhat afraid to touch anything without direction. "Of course, I also function well as a go-fer, and providing some magical elements." He cracks his neck and takes another look around. "Tons of folks out already to help though, huh?"

"I'm sure it can gain the support of New World Alliance," Haru affirms with Wake, "and especially if we attribute the orphanages to The Beautiful One while avoiding the ruffled feathers of the kingdoms hosting them. I do not know much about running an orphanage, but it may be simular to that of a hot springs resort. My mother's side had plenty of experience with those and I imagine some concepts overlap with room and board." A motion, "Plus you know I have a soft spot for kids." Back during the Last Light festival he was making flower crowns for some of the children then. It was one of the easiest accessories to make and children always seemed to enjoy the small things he made when he was starting out.

A look over to Hyuga with a smile as Haru says, "I do have need of a herbalist. Enchanting requires alchemical catalysts. Alchemical catalysts require raw materials, such as those from plant or mineral. Herbology expertise would help the alchemical side of this greatly." He swipes the air in front of him to bring up a menu, "There is a crate in Pela's cafe that would need grabbing and handling. She is also an herbalist and may welcome the relieved burden there." Plus, mellowpan!

    Helping Pela is a pretty good assignment. Wake has had more than her fair share of Pela's melon bread. She is rather greedy for it, honestly.

    "I will let you know when I make some headway. My aim is to spread reverance to the Goddesses, certainly. The Blind One will play a great role in matters, since there is so much interest among the landers to learn crafts from us. The Beautiful One's maternal nature will be the key to the way children and students are treated, as well. The Burning One... well, certainly we hope that our graduates will achieve prosperity for themselves and their people, as well. I am hoping we can avoid the war and destruction part of things for a time, save where marauding monsters are concerned."

    She smiles as she recalls Haru's time at the festival in Eas. "There will be many children to take care of, teach, and see grow up. If we are blessed with more time in this land."

    Hyuga snaps off a salute, and heads for Pela's place. His Herb and Pharma is modest - a 1 - but it's still better than a Lander. Attending to the crate of materials, once identified, would be quite easy for the Farmer. He makes sure to set up a proper workstation, keeping it free of clutter and trash, before properly giving the materials the attention that they deserve.

Haru gives Hyuga a thumbs up when the workstation is all set up. "Now all the Enchanters that stopped by will not be short on catalysts for a while," which is either a good or a bad thing depending on how much they wanted to work this week on it. The Artificer is sorting out the books Uta brought for use in instructions in those Enchanting worktables. "War is such an ugly thing," he tells Elly, "and taking care of those orphaned by it is one way of repaying the debt introduced by the conflict. I think those that have guilt weighing on their soul will be grateful for a path to lighten their burden, too, and seeing a garden grow is a wonderful opportunity for them." A smile, "Let me know when you have the momentium going on it."

    "I will keep you aware of progress. Once things are settled on the diplomatic side I hope to move swiftly. Perhaps I shall enjoy faster progress as a priestess than I did as a baroness."

    She laughs softly and shakes her head, "It will be wonderful garden, though. I am very much in love with the little ones of this world. They remind me so much of the dream before. For now, though, I have a chim to send. I want to check in with someone." Tae, of course. After having been away so long from home, then being at home often, and now away again... Every time they part it gets harder.