Paint in Numbers

    To say that the resources of Eas are stretched to their limit is something of an understatement. There are artisans curls up asleep just inside the theater taking power naps while others work away on the project. It is as-if the entire city is in a strange mood.

    Elly is moving from place to place, keeping people fed, keeping the support organized, and ordering people to sleep. And yes, waking them as well.

    "I am not sure exactly how this statue will look, but The Blind One shall get her due from our efforts alone, I think." She hopes that the work makes the difference. Every alliance has strained to the max to delive ron it.

Soujiro Seta is making his rounds offering refreshing refreshments in the form of tea. Cold tea. Hot tea. Mister tea (aka Sou ji). "No matter what it looks like, don't you think it is fun to see everyone so involved in this?" he asks, handing one of his beverages over to Elly. "Makes for good memories."

    "The blind one is probably lucky she is blind with all the cooks involved." Setsuna says as he watches several skeleton minions moving supplies on behalf of the necromancer. With that said he sips a mana potion from a straw as he watches the minion and then makes a face. " We really need to get better flavors of mana potions. Maybe mana gummies or something like that." With that said he goes back to keep sipping on his potion, making a face like it is cough medicine.

There is not much that Uta can do as far as the preparation of raw materials for artists is concerned. But she's got top physical form, and she's going to do what she can do best: training. Training in the form of carrying stacks of crates from point A to point B. Which is usually the packaging area to the shipping area.

In she comes trotting, relatively quickly, but showing the first signs of tiredness. "Where do these go?", she asks, as she appears into view.

"Flavoring potions requires Brew," she says, automatically. "I am sadly aware of that, as a mere Pharmacist. My potions taste authentic. And when I mention this, people ask, do they taste -good-? To which I have to reply, I said -authentic-."

"You ever wonder if maybe we're going a bit overboard?" Prophylaxis asks, from... Uh.

Atop... a literal barrel full of herbs. He's stomping them. He's stomping those herbs to mass-produce reagents for healing potions, dyes and all manner of other chemicals. There are probably better ways to do this, but none that are presently at Eas.

"I mean, it's not even /our/ statue. This craftsman is really getting a good deal considering we're the ones supplying all the goods."

    "It does make for good memories. And it will remind us in days to come just how powerful we can be when we work together," says Elly. "I've never seen our full power before. When you aim people at one critical goal... that is perhaps the greatest craftsmanship we've been able to achieve in this entire effort."

    She turns to see Uta racing into the area. "Uta, how long have you been working? I think you are due for a break. I will wake up some relief for you. It will be just a few minutes."

    Prophylaxis does bring up a very good point. "The good thing is, if we win, we can probably set a good price for ourselves. They should, I hope, be in an understanding mood." At least, that is her hope. But negotiating after the fact is a tried and true means to make really big demands. Assuming you are clearly the strongest at the end.

Soujiro Seta gives that simple nod of 'I agree!' back to Elly. He gives a cup of tea over to Uta for that refreshment buff, "Here you go, Uta. Authentic tea." From actual leaves, water, and samurai tea sets. The rest of the stuff is above his head. Goddesses. Economic differences in labor and materials. Potions. Potions are things he drinks and he goes overboard so often in Training(tm) that he wouldn't know what that limit looked like. To him this looks like a bunch of people having a good time. To the point of passing out. They must really love it! Sparkle.

"It's not? You sure?", Uta asks, as she deposits the crate onto a spot some Lander points her to. "Haven't we set up a contract? Hasn't anyone researched the property Laws in the Kingdom where this statue will arise? Of the Kingdom raw materials come from? Precedents for providing materials and combining them through craftmanship without a previous arrangements? Has the agreement been that sloppy?"

It does not come up often, but as a Godhand, Uta is trained in Law.

"I... I kind of lost track," she replies to Wake. "But I think I can do this!", Uta exclaims. "Everyone here has been giving their best, and-" Silence. Pause. "...ok, I get it. Arguing with the director of operations is only going to create chaos, and chaos is something we are, as a group, trying to avoid."

As the last crate is neatly aligned and stacked into place, she sighs and, looking down, mumbles, "Pity. I was in the mood for a little chaos," Before stretching and letting out a massive yawn.

"Oh, thatnks!", she smiles at Soujiro, and sips. "Hmmmmmmmmmm. Tea. Delicious. No wonder people keep hanging around you." Sip. "I should hang around you more often..."

"The kingdom where the statue will be located does not respect the laws of Yamato, nor the will of its Adventurers. But I do agree that we probably should have gotten a contract written up with this guy. He better not get by with an 'OH BUT I SAVED YOU FROM INVADING' excuse. Pah!"

Squash, squash, Prophylaxis continues to stomp. Stomp stomp. "Soujirou, pour me a cup too please! I won't be much longer up here...!"

    Setsuna looks over at the doctor, " Do you think that the guy who is brining up the project is conning us or something? Seems like it would be a waste of effort to con us into this. They would have to get that entire rebellion behind them too, rather crazy." Setsuna shrugs as he empties the mana potion and looks over at Uta, " So do yoou think we are going to get screwed on this too?"

"No, I'm merely saying we should have set down terms and condition upon reaching an agreement, whatever they are. As the Baroness says..." Arm sweep towards Wake. "As long as we -know and accept it-, it's also fine to just give away the raw material, in exchange for stabilizing the situation in the Palace Lands in such a way that Adventurers are not actively aggressed. And that we can still research things now, of what the Law says about property. We might have a case about at least partial ownership of the statue, depending on the exact laws. Which I- I mean, we, should research." Sip tea. Look down. "...think it is possible to make tea-based pigments?"

    "Well, if there is some cheating going on, we will have to simply claim compensation. If they lie on the name of The Blind One, I know I will act free of normal moral boundaries in avenging the insult."

The priestess would be very displeased. And religion has a fine track record for handling insults to their divinities of choice.

    She drinks tea to cool her head a touch, though. "Let us just hope that nothing so silly occurs. It would be unpleasant. The tea, however, is excellent as always."

From once there was an empty spot, now there is a Soujiro. His face embodies the emoji ':D' as he gives Proph a cup of refreshing tea. Best use of Mirage Phase! Then he uses some Gratuitous Acrobatics to return to his tea set and Uta. "I'd like that," he sparkles to Uta's suggestion of hanging out more.

    Setsuna shrugs his shoulders, " Another question to ask is if we are making this uber statue for the blind goddess are we not asking for escalation?" Taking a pause as his thoughts drift back to a certain eight legged incident. " We build a statue and then the monsters build a bigger statue and next thing you know we have a huge moment of statue boxing. " Shaking his head he looks at the doctor for a moment, "Can you imagine what would happen if the monsters made a beast totem with this much effort?"

"Okay so first of all," Prophylaxis raises a finger, "Giant statue boxing is basically giant robot combat, and that sounds cool as hell. Second of all, we're not competing with the monsters, we're building this to try and deal with Kallamore. Third, I'd hope that we'd be able to stop that kind of construction before it gets too far."

"Also where would they even /get/ that many teeth?"

"Anyway," the doctor hops off his barrel, the herbs now a squashed paste. He scuffs his feet on the ground before sitting down for some tea, "Winning is just step one. We still have to deal with whatever else is behind the Palace Lands going to war against us. Someone is pulling the strings."

    "Demiurge." The name is said in response to Prophylaxis's comment about string pulling. Setsuna whistles for a moment before he looks over at the doctor, "As for the teeth, well I am sure one could use their imagination and come up with something. " The necromancer shrugs, it's not like getting teeth is hard. Looking over at Soujiro he looks at the tea enviously, " So whats on the menu today tea bringer?"

"Setsuna is a Necromancer," Uta mentions to Proph. "I'm sure he knows where to find the raw materials."

She sighs, holding onto the warm cup of tea. "But yes, I am also of the opinion that someone is pulling the strings."

"Setsuna is a Necromancer," Uta mentions to Proph. "I'm sure he knows where to find the raw materials."

She sighs, holding onto the warm cup of tea. "But yes, I am also of the opinion that someone is pulling the strings..." Abrupt jerking of her head to Setsuna. "Demiurge? What?"

'Demiurge'

"Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Prophylaxis groans, his forehead knocking into the tea-table. "It /would/ be his MO, wouldn't it...?"

He wiggles his fingers at Uta, "He's... some/thing/ who has been causing trouble all across Yamato the past couple of years. Usually pulling strings from the shadows to manipulate various Monster factions."

"Some/thing/?", Uta asks, narrowing her eyes. "Like... we know it's a thing, or are we not sure if it's a person or a thing?" Sip tea. "Has anyone wondered if it could be the same entity as Cu Chulainn, aka The Beast? Who tried to seize power during the Fourth World Faction, together with Camelot?"

    Setsuna tilts his head one way or the other, "I don't think it's the beast. Mainly because this was all happening before quarantine was broken. " Taking another moment to give a beat as he whistles over to the skeleton crew, " Time to change you guys out your going to dust soon. Wrap it up!" The skeletons begin to quickly place their items on the ground before they fall into dust. Setsuna sighs and looks a little more relaxed, "Quarantine stopped the beast from influencing places outside our neck of the woods, until we broke quarantine. According to sources the beast stuff only started there after we broke quarantine and I kinda trust that source and her hot younger sister...or daught...or relative at least."

"No, I just don't know if he's a Lander or a Monster or something else we don't know about yet," Prophylaxis answers, his forehead still on the table. "But yeah what Setsuna said. The Beast had an opportunity to spread thanks to the Quarantine dropping. No idea what it /is/ yet, though."

"Ovan then, perhaps? We -know- he was here last year, pulling shenangans with the Babel tower on... uh... when was the glitch with translation again? Oh, yes, April, 11, of last year-"

Silence.

"...I wonder where the meddling with the Babel tower and its glitching falls within the whole timeline with the Palace Lands War between their Adventurers and their Landers. And if our opponents somehow 'turned' some sort of... 'Important Creature' there, like it happened in Mac Anu..."

"The Beast is what many of the monster races of higher mental capacity worship like a deity." True to her form Kauchemar is standing here where she wasn't before, and no indication of when she arrived or how long she's been there just out of the field of notice. "If it truely is such, or just an effergy they use to scorn the religions of Landers and Adventurers is unknown." She folds her arms, her staff resting in the crook of one elbow. "Considering those Gnolls have their own supposed God they're worshiping to gain dark powers."

Then she shifts her attention and demeanor easily enough. "So, any word on how that statue project is coming? With all the stuff we've been sending over there..."

    Setsuna sits and takes a load off for the time being while he looks over at the doctor, " We need to work out a message for the head turner that showed up that day." Then his head drifts back towards Uta, " We really need to put some people forward to get into the babel tower and investigate I think. Perhaps if nothing else we could use it's signal to disrupt all the other crowns." Taking a moment he looks over at Kauchemar , "What brings you here today long faced one?"

"We do," Prophylaxis agrees. "We should do that. And hopefully, avoid having anyone's heads popped off their shoulders this time. I suspect we may have encountered a... Not-Quite-Player-Character-Race? I don't know, though," the doctor rubs his chin. "...Well, you'll be the one delivering it, I think. So like, watch your head? Maybe we can invite her to the Second, though. Plenty of space for spiders in the caves."

Beat.

"I don't think Demiurge is Ovan. I've met Ovan, and I think I've caught a glimpse of Demiurge once. Unless he can change his form, I doubt they're the same person."

    Elly eventually comes back, having awoken a few people while sending others to sleep. She even takes the time to eat something along the way. She is curious about the topic of the beast, of which she has only heard whispers.

    "Does this mean we will see more monsters that can pierce our protection and cause severe pain? Or is that unrelated? Also, probably unrelated, but what are the travelers? We have the three Goddesses, but are they also gods? Like Artemis, for example."

"A break from preperations, dead leg," Kauchemar replies without even flinching at the 'long faced' quip, instead snapping back her own from the time Setsuna had the boney replacement limb. "Needed to tweak the Anthem of Eas now that I have a proper acoustictory location to perform it."

Speaking of Eas, here comes it's Baroness and Priestess. Kauchemar smirks a bit. "I'm not even going to ask if you've eaten or not, I know a certain someone was inevitably going to find you and if necessary force you to."

"Those are very good questions!" Prophylaxis says to Wake.

And then he sips at his tea.

He does not elaborate, because he doesn't actually know the answer. Siiiiiip.

    Elly gives Prophylaxis a look. She knows this silence is telling her what she was afraid of. He does not know. That is unfortunate. But Kauchemar distracts her!

    "Yes, Tae will not let me overwork myself. Well. Not too much. This reminds me. I should probably divert my attention to another kind of preparation very soon."

    She sighs softly and looks up at the sky. "Thankfully we are almost done. The shipment leaves soon, after which we can finally rest. Someday I will see the statue myself. Provided it is safe for me to journey there. I do have one last thing to see to in that place."

    Laira has to be dealt with. Either redeemed or... no. She must be redeemed.

"Hopefully this will work, and that day of safety will come soon... Of course, you've always got a bodyguard or two if you want to go, too." She winks at Elly. "But yeah, with everything we've gathered and prepared for them, it's definitely going to be a work of art." Literally.

She doesn't know much on the other matter either, but she's always listening as she goes about other tasks. Never know when an important tidbit will turn up thinking no one is there to hear it.

    "If I do go, I will keep the bodyguard offer in mind. I shall likely have need of one, if I am to try once more to deal with Laira." Hopeless as that may seem.

    "As for the statue, it is certainly set to be one of the most impressive monuments ever made. I think it is only fair if I next turn my attention to showing appreciation for The Burning One. I have not yet supported her in any great effort. Though before that, there is a matter of figuring out more about the Church of Alba. And before that I have to get married, go on a honeymoon, get my orphanage work to be officially recognized, and... well, let us just get this going, first."

    A breath.

    "Kauchemar, is there any dream you are currently pursuing?"

Kauchemar turns her attention back to Elly with a tilt of her head. "I have no shifted to another pursuit after finishing the training with the moles yet, no. Not with the efforts being put into cleaning up after our unwanted visitors finally left."

    "In that case, my hope is that this statue swiftly leads to a new dream. It is likely that much will be changed. If this truly works and frees people."

    How that works, Elly does not know. But in this world, things do not really have to follow the logic of the dream before.

    "Do you think Laira will listen. I mean, after a city is retaken, that is." Not if. When. "Surely it will open her eyes."

Kauchemar mmms softly. "She took the time to respond to our ... unorthadox messages, even if it was to turn them away. So she may not be unreachable. But we may have to find who filled her head with the ideas that we are some evil cataclysm coming first. Details on what she was told as prophecy would make it easier to disprove it."

    "It would help. If we knew what that prophecy was. But disproving a matter of faith is a remarkable challenge." Elly wavers for a moment, then steadies herself.

    "Rather like this is, I suppose, only less about endurance and more about understanding and creativity." She forces a small smile to her lips. "I am thinking too far ahead again. I want to be more patient, not less."

    The stumble does not evade all notice. While everyone is here to contribute, there are some adventurers that have additional responsibilities. Like sending a chim alert to Tae when Elly is pushing herself too hard. It has been a close call for the past few hours, but at this point, the call is made.

    The walk from the inn to the arcade is usually several minutes at a comfortable pace. Tae apparently did not care for that pace. She's there within a minute of the chim. Yet she does not show the slightest sign of being winded.

    "Well, well, look who is still at it, trying to save the world. With art." Tae uses a teasing tone, but she isn't taking no for an answer. She takes her fiancee by the hand, offering an apologetic smile to her friends. "I'm sorry, everyone, but the baroness is off to bed now. We will be seeing you very soon, though. At least, I hope many of you will be able to join us."

    Elly does not protest, she just sighs. "Very well. Goodnight everyone! Please do not push yourselves too hard. You have done an amazing job. You have come together and found ways to help our friends from afar, most often by pushing yourselves far beyond your areas of expertise. I am so grateful to have been part of this work."

    She is drawn along, then. The baroness does not allow herself to stubmle, nor does she show further signs of her exhaustion. At least not until she is out of view. Then she can rely upon her fiancee to help her home.