Eraser, Where Art Tho?

Haru is seen walking down the Market Street of Shibuya with a book in his hand, the Elder Tales Equiv of being a man with a clip board. The monocle sells the look of 'Yes, I check boxes' if not for the fact he looks like he is in early twenties. He stops at a particular stall that is selling apples. This has nothing to do with Art. He needs a snack. One is purchased and munches onto it. Need brain sugars. The morning has been nothing but looking for finished or raw materials for the Statue effort. At this point in the process the supply in the market is thin and its a matter of producing it while not going broke. The economic impact in places like Eas and Shibuya are being felt.

Yeowang is at the adjacent stall, looking over a few items of hastily-made ... bric-a-brac, it seems to be, and she shakes her head slowly. She tells the owner, "We can't pay you for it unless it has a minimum level of artistic merit."

"What do you know of artistic merit?"

"I know I'm not going to give you coin for something your children made by gluing macaroni to construction paper."

There is a hrmph as Yeowang departs and, seeing Haru at the next stall over, will nod in greeting. "Good morning. How goes the search?"

Haru nods back to Yeo during the great Art search. "Above projections. Yesterday we had Gathering specialists go out for raw materials and processing crafters convert it into dyes. Miners. Hunters. Herbalists. It is pickiing up the slack for the goods on market which," he taps the book with the backside of his apple before taking another bite, "Which are drying up or prices are becoming unreasonable with demand." Chew chew chew. "Negotiating a short-term bulk buy order is going on, but the Adventurer community is picking up so much of the slack I question how much it will be needed beyond reinvesting into the Shibuya market."

Uta is following at a short distance behind Haru. It has been some tiring days, and the Spriggan's schedule has been far more packed than it usually is. The life of a Musical Kung-Fu Nurse requires packing a day of activities normally required by each of the three separate disciplines into one, so, for instance, mixing healing potions is usually done as a form of acrobatic mixology while extracting melodies out of the various levels of the containers. Physiotherapy doubles as combat practice, and those HA's better follow tempo and pitch!

With the Statue of Eas, Uta's commitment has gone from three to tenfold, and while chaotic creativity can provide a boost to how many activities can be packed into one, there is a limit to what the iman body can take.

And so, Uta is pretty much sleepwalking behind Haru, like a docile NPC, carrying items. The little bubble that grows and shrinks from her nose leaves no doubts as of her state of consciousness: she's getting her rest -and- helping the cause. No, she wouldn't have it any other way. She insists that throwing objects at her in her sleep is a great way to practice her kung-fu skills.

Yeowang says to Haru, "Bearing in mind that our investments are, ostensibly, going to overthrowing a Palace Lander city-state and gaining us that state as an ally, I think that considerable capital investment is warranted." Her own financial contributions are a matter of record, of course. "Sadly, the indirect capital investments are, as you say, becoming less advantageous as everyone comes to realize the amount of liquid cash we have at our disposal."

She eyes the sleepwalking Uta, and seems inclined to wake her, but then decides, "Perhaps she needs her rest. She does quite well sleepwalking, it seems?"

Haru is not alone for a long shadow falls over him along with his friend. Wait that's just Gwen She also goit a basket of food under her arm and gr9ins. "So how about I get everyone here something to eat?" She looks down to Uta for a moment and doesn't have the heart to wake her up...

"Did anyone say..." Uta's eyes spring open. "FOOD?"

Iris glint.

And blink. Look around. "Wait, what's happening here?"

"You are helping me carry goods that the shops have in stock for the Statue project," Haru reaffirms the current state of things for the dazed and confused Spriggan Kung Fu Nurse of the Sleepwalk Clan. There is a nod to Gwen for the addtions, "Snacks are good. So long as I can carry it in one hand." The noodly arms raise up a ledger book in the other. He crunches into his apple before it gets destroyed into nothingness. He hums to Yeowang's thoughts, "She does sleepwalk well. Running to the limit of her ten-fold training and then some. It is a busy season and Uta certainly is doing her part." The FC of ETO! "Kingdoms contributing is an active involvement in foreign hostilities. I have noticed that now that domestic soil is not under threat that the politics have..." he thinks about the right words here, "... softened involvements. A war overseas is an investiment that could weaken them to domestic plot. Fortunately for us, Adventurers are more often swayed by their hearts, not their political strategem."

Yeowang won't complain about something to eat, she's been tightening her belt lately with everything going on, and so many resources diverted to the big project. Uta's moment of wakefulness at the mention of food shows the second thing she's been forgoing. "Uta, you /need/ to eat and sleep. Impairing your own health makes you less eff..." but Uta has zoned out again. Small wonder given her fatigue meter is pegged, or something.

She nods as Haru summarizes the overall political situation, but says, "I think Fourland is more eager than the rest to put the Palace Landers on the defensive, and Westelande is generally quite happy for a scrap. They were always a reliable source of aid. But yes, adventurers hold grudges far harder than even the most belligerent nations. I, myself, have a mercenary company that I will be extracting a refund from, in the fullness of time." The way she says it, they are not going to be happy about providing this refund.

Gwen bobs her head as she foloows along and she'll start to pass out food. "Well I don't fault them with the danger off their shores right?" She will start to hand our food ro anyone who wanrs itr. "Well that's good news, Given the genocide and the means to make all Adventures suffer we need to end this threat for the long term one way or another right?"

"All debts get repaid when effort is put into doing so," Haru says to Yeowang's recovery of funds, "and I have no doubt you will recover yours." It is all closer to the core of Haru's motivations, given the conversation with Feng Huang airing it all out. He takes one of Gwen's snacks, a kabob of cluck cluck, fruits, and veggies. He snacks on it. "Politics are complicated and to be expected. The second two groups apply different policies or methods to achieve them, it is bound to happen. People are always fighting for power, being the ability to influence an outcome, and the outcome is the policy or vision they set. It doesnt mean people can't band together, but a weak leader will direct those resouces incorrectly due to any number of reasons. It is better to think that what is commited is a blessing and solve this problem ourselves. Adventurers had a heavy hand in causing the war by reaching the Palace Lands, are heavily effected by the Crowning process, and motivated to act over there for thier own gains."

A hand gestures to Gwen, "Yes. Putting an end to the genocidal acts and mental suppression of will is good news as it progresses. Less 'speaking for all people' and more 'speaking for myself' on the matter? I'll find a burden off my shoulders righting this wrong and see what comes next. Nature abhors a vacuum so what happens next is almost as important as removing the malice."

The tenfold training is taking its toll. Ask not for whom the training tolls, it tolls for thee. The toll that has to be paid, in this case, is in the form of exhaustion, as it has already been pointed out. Both in the meters and, for those who do not pay attention to such technicalities, by the massive yawning Uta undergoes. With stretching. All the while without dropping a single one of the multiple items she's carrying. "Right. Carrying items. Sleep-training. I... I..." She rubs her eyes, and bows her head down. "...I may be overdoing it a bit," she continues to Yeowang. "Maybe. I should cut back on the activities. It mpfflggpfpgmm fpmfmgpgm mgmgpemgg. Mfpgmgm."

A deep nod underlines how profound and lapidary the last statement is. It would probably have been more impressive if Uta's mouth didn't suddenly find itself full of breakfast, Gwen-provided.

Ecstatic Spriggan Noises follow. Because Real Food(tm) is not something one eats every day.

It takes her a few moments to chew and swallwow, moments that are, in true multitasking fashion, employed for thinking (with a small nap in the middle).

"...Oh, yes. And don't forget. This whole thing goes back to other events in the Palace Lands. Which was started with a lie, just like the Scrapped Princess war. There's someone, or something, -preying- on a vacuum. Someone or something actively working against us, for some reason."

Yeowang cautions Gwen, "The danger may have been driven off, but it is not gone. The more thoughtful Lander leaders understand that the threat is not yet abated, and will support us. At least as far as they supported us with anything previous to this Palace Land business. Though now I wonder if we have spoken with any Eastal nobles as far as occupying Shibuya the way Wake did with Eas?" She looks to Haru, but she's not sure he's with the Lander politics any more than she is. She speaks into her chimlink, to ask her Alliance. Surely someone will know?

She nods to Haru about his political observations, though she clarifies, "The actions of /their/ adventurers, in the first days of the game, caused their Landers to war with us recently. How heavy a hand that is, is a matter of judgement. /I/ think they overreacted." She continues to talk with the Alliance on chimlink, but seems pleased with the conversation.

Nodding to Uta, she says, "It -is- a game, the obstacles and challenges are deliberate, for the most part."

Gwen got a lot to think about as she's done with handing the food out she pauses at Uta for a moment and she looks to her for a moment. "Something which is willing to fill graveyards with enough people to get into the ball park of people like Mao which shows how dangerous iand debased it is." She notes getting serious.

"We're not done with stopping that we're dealing with it still. We have to destroy their supplies of crowns."

"I believe they are being manipulated," Haru goes on record for saying, "into such extreme actions. Though I do count Yamato Adventurers in the ledger of actions against, as we sailed across a sea, across a barrier, established a colony, and exposed them to whatever we are keeping at bay at the heart of Ezzo." Enough lore to swirl in a pot and call Lore Gumbo. He finishes his snack and goes on to say, "I'd rather spend my time investigating what is beneath Shibuya or in the Oceans. What is the hottest volcanos and the most frozen of tundras. However work and duty comes first over whims, despite what other policies guild leaders put down."

He changes the topic to something more pragmatic and pleasant, "Did anyone else here know about the power of Artisanry and Statuecraft that this effort is built upon? It makes me consider the next city works here in Shibuya should be one, similar to Tolbana's."

Yeowang nods at what Haru says about the Palace Landers being manipulated. "Wake insists that is the case, also, but she presents no evidence. Why do you think they are being manipulated, or who by?" She nods at exposing the Palace Landers to the waves, but says, "Clearly they knew about Waves before we got there, or they would not have assembled such a huge force, enough to take care of the waves, and us besides, and had clearly planned to ambush us. As for establishing a colony, it was clearly on lands they did not want and could not maintain. The rank and file Palace Landers are considerably lower level than we are, and /we/ have to remain in large groups to handle the content at Seeker's Landing. If we are guilty of anything in that regard, it is in moving in without first asking leave. But we sought out the local leadership as expeditiously as we could. They misled us, and concealed their motives. I consider our actions to be by and large blameless and their reactions wildly overblown. They have swatted a fly with a sword, and now, I think, they begin to see the folly of their actions."

"I did not -know- about Artisany's effect," Uta replies. Silence. This is where she puts her free hand, which previously held her snack, on her mouth, while she reflects. Iems have to be carried with her other hand.

"...That finally explains what happened in the Libraries of Shibuya and Eas. I thought it was a one-off blessing of the Goddesses...", she comments, before blinking, shaking her head, and deciding to explain from the beginning. "See, when I set up public libraries, something not available in Yamato, I was afraid that the Nobles or the Alliances would have tried to pull shenanigans in order to exclude people from the free access to knowledge. So I decided to have -three- libraries, one per Alliance, with exactly the same books, with regular alignments, to keep the politics of a single one from spoiling things." A glance towards Haru and Yeowang, in turn. "And I trusted that at least the New World Alliance library would ensure permanent access to the Landers."

"That took care of excluding people, but as far as warding off the ires and meddling of the Nobles?" A pause. "Oldest trick in the book: I came up with this ruse where we'd build them to look like they're 'religious buildings' devoted to the Goddesses. If a Noble tries anything nasty against a Library? It'd look like sacrilege." She scratches her head, looking down and away in embarrassment. "It was supposed to be nothing but a clever ruse... and yet..." Head still diverted, she rotates her pupils to look at the assembled group. "...imagine my surprise when the statues for the Beautiful One in the library of Shibuya, and the statue of the Blind One in the library of Eas, started emitting this glow and seemed to make concentration easier, and we got a notification that the relevant Goddess had noticed our actions!"

Gwen says "I'd love to help your alliance clear out under the city too here. That's some far better work for everyone but we have to deal with what we can do. The Genocide started long before the barrier went down Haru. Still I'm with you I want to get back to living here and exploring it. Good idea on the Libaries Uta."

Haru nods to Uta and ponders, "Ah so we knew the Goddesses took notice, but not that the statues were directly connected to it? To be fair I think it may be any given work, but I havent seen the same results of an area wide benefit like this from other crafts. To a degree there is Enchanting, but that is like magical sciences in an area. Dozens of enchanting circuits have been proven not to scale to the degree that this sort of effect does. The only that that comes close is Song, being the distance that it can be heard and effect the person. A visual version of Song." A tap on his book. "Cooking could be considered a taste version, if we are walking down the senses, but the tongue doesnt have the sort of distance the eyes and ears do. We are not snakes." Pause. "Most of us are not snakes." Were and Cait might be an interesting experiment there.

Yeowang hrms to Uta, and admits, "There are strange effects in this world, with concrete repurcussions which are only metaphorical in the real world. I do not understand them, for the most part." As far as meddling nobles, she says, "I learned today that NwA was essentially granted Shibuya by the authorities in Fort Ouph. But we are far enough off the beaten track that we see few Landers that are not already part of our community."

As far as the Palace Lands genocide, she says, "That situation confuses me greatly. For some reason I'm not clear on, their players thought that controlling a Root Town would allow them to log off, and in desperation, they attempted it. And failed, of course. It wasn't easy for /us/ to take a Root Town, and we had a Wave and two years worth of levels that they didn't have. The Crowning and subjugation of their players was revenge for that attack, we learned, and while it /now/ seems excessive and unwarranted, I can understand their Landers concern for their own safety at the time."

Haru's ruminations are given due consideration. "I think the Goddesses take notice of most great efforts. Not necessarily to bless, but in many cases. Healing seems to come easier with the Red Chain, for instance," she plucks an armband from her inventory, white, with a red chain depicted as encircling it. "I'm not sure if that counts as a blessing or what."