War of Dragons 2: Act of Rebellion - Dark - 2

Camp Wrath has, by far, the largest population of Were Fangs and Cait Sith. They're run by an Adventurer that demands to be referred to as 'Wrath'. They're one of the most active assailants on the Palace Land defenses, committing to guerilla warfare. And with the creating of the large Statue dedicated to the Blind Goddess, releasing Crowned from their bond, their position has significantly improved.

With word recently that Kallamore has turned defenses more inwards, and isn't sending Crowned Adventurers out, it has given Camp Wrath the ability to work on some of its infrastructure and create proper defenses. As well as arming its people.

Most notably though, they want to repair the port so they can actually take shipments around. There's a lot of work to be done around the ruined town, and no doubt some things still left to be discovered in so many ruins.

Wrath is busy welcoming the Adventurers as they arrive. A few friendly punches to peoples shoulders, and offers of 'Spice Water' - which is almost assuredly alcohol.

Since the tournament, Tian has set themselves up in Camp Wrath as their 'home base'. It is close to Kallamore, the city that had once been their home. The place which the wolf-fox still has close ties to. To say that they are invested would be an understatement.

At the moment, Tian is sitting in a make-shift forge. There is a hard metal anvil, and a tiny kiln-like structure for heating metal. They are without mask or makeup, largely because the heat is enough to leave sweat dripping down their brow. Hair is kept out of their face by a headband that is wrapped around.

There is a tink-tink of small hammers on metal as the Cait Sith seems to be working on a series of accessories, moving them into and out of the small forge before making small adjustments to the pieces.

Daiyu takes the shoulder jab in stride but passes on the Spice Water for now. "Perhaps after we finish working, thank you," she replies politely.

With greetings taken care of she makes her way through the camp, having already set her curious sights on the ruined areas not yet restored. Those should be looked over so they don't miss anything useful and lose it to the reconstruction efforts.

It seems only polite that someone explain what the (extremely convoluted) plan for dealing with Kallamore is, and it only makes sense that the person to do so should be the (needlessly complicated) plan's chief architect. And so Prophylaxis is here, the Doctor of Tolbana himself! He has been keeping himself busy, distributing medicine and providing healthcare services at Camp Wrath for a little while now, but he hasn't had ample opportunity to speak with the base's strangely goblin-scented leader.

Until now.

"Good morning," the doctor says to Wrath, tipping the rim of his ever widely brimmed hat. "I see the camp is quite a bustling place these days. Have the ones who rode after the statue the first time settled in well?"

After fleeing from a certain cafe (allegedly), Lunaris had been finding her time much more swallowed up by the progress of the ranch, and that for the most part meant she had been spending time in Kallamore and able to utterly avoid having to explain herself to anyone else she knew. That strategy was working just fine for the most part, though left her a tiiiny bit awkward as she came to work in Camp Wrath, for no potential reason at all.

It's perhaps for that reason that she busies herself asking around about the ruins, making nice with the locals with her trademark overenergetic nature, gathering what people perhaps knew on them before actually trying to poke around. That was a great way to end up stepping on a trap, or get spiked by a nasty kobold or something. No, she much preferred having an idea beforehand. On this side of the camp. The one with slightly less forges.

Schneider has shown up to Camp Wrath and he's glad for the warm greeting, accepting some Spice Water, but only the one. He's not sure where he can help, but will offer to turn a hand wherever needed. The problem is, he doesn't have specific skills in any of the needed areas. If they were doing like bookbinding or something with Fire, he'd be all sorts of useful.

As it is, he will wander around, pass out water and fetch things if anyone needs it, and help people work out when they both need the same resource for different projects. One of the things the otherwise not-special humans can do is help smooth over bumpy edges, socially. And if it requires him running supplies between two parts of camp, he can manage that, at least. He hasn't needed to fast break in years.

    Recently, Wake has not been active in the Palace Lands operations. At least not the combat ones. Her last major effort here involved the statue. Her return, with much stealth, was to support Pela on a personal mission and the next thing she knew, she was drawn into helping more friends. And by a progression that she never expected, she ended up here.

    "This reminds me of my friends in the Ninetails," she says quietly. Specifically she's referring to one of the so-called 'outcast' groups that she works with. There's a complex mix of emotions in her eyes. Old memories from a world lost. The names and shapes change, but the feeling of determination, a scent rather like desperation in the air. It occurs to her that some of these players may be from South Korea. A topic for another time.

    Some small conversation leads her towards Wrath, and towards Prophylaxis. How long has it been since they just sat down and talked? It's strange how this camp distracts her with nostalgia. "Hello, Wrath, hello Doctor." Entering 'social mode', she focuses herself, controls her posture, and is, quite simply, the Baroness of Eas, Priestess of the Goddesses, and in control of her every gesture, word, and expression. "I was in the area and kept getting drawn in this direction. Clearly the Goddesses have something in mind. Perhaps you might help me in seeing what that might be?"

"An interesting bouquet. Rich body, with just the right amount of herbaceous. Perhaps a tiny ambitious in that regard, but fits the territory." She looks around, and takes another swig of Spice Water. "A hint of fruity, and the mouth feel..." Sip. Slosh. "Mmm." Swallow. "Sumptuous. Decidedly sumptuous. The terroir definitely worked its magic here. Is this varietal?", Uta asks, pointing at the vessel she's drinking from.

She is here to help with the social relations, and social relations involve generous amount of culture appropriate beverages, tendentially intoxicant, and small talk beginning over them. "Oh, hey, it's Baroness Wake. Good morning, Elly!", she greets, before turning to her interlocutor. "Do you know her?"

For much of Camp Wrath, Tian is a known quantity. A messenger, accessory forger, and someone who has no doubt been instrumental in freeing some of the members of those of Camp Wrath.

As they work on the metal with their small hammers, a large Dire Goblin Were Fang - a similar species to Wrath - is helping Tian by moving some materials onto a small bowl next to them.

Sitting on the other side is a small Peamink Cait Sith who is approaching the results, separating them into partitions. "Fine works as always, Tian. I'm even finding major buffs on some of these." They point out.

Daiyu in the meantime, excuses herself from the alcohol and begins moving through the ruins. They're clearly well lived in. And most things that have at least two standing walls has been occupied by people for sleeping quarters to stay safe from sandstorms and the likes. Camp Wrath 'enjoys' some rather rough and tough conditions.

A few members do attempt to broom their areas though, getting some of the dust and sand out. And as Daiyu scans through the region, she'll notice that some of them show some rather intricate blue tile work when exposed. Some cracked, some not so much. But it suggests that the former population of this area, a long time ago, used to at least be rather well off.

But more notably, who knows what shapes those blue tiles might take.

"Spice water." Wrath offers the doctor as he approaches, before nodding. The Goblin Were Fang looks remarkably humanoid in a ways. "Ye. Some of them moved to the other Camps. But most of them stayed with us. We're kind of running out of good living space though." He points out.

"I imagine you were getting drawn here by the sheer Strength of <Camp Wrath!>" He calls out that last part, and all of the nearby members let out howls and other beastly noises! There's a great sense of community here. It's notably that those who are not Cait Sith or Were Fang often even wear masks of animals. And some Cait Siths, like Tian, do regardless.

"And I don't know what varietal is. But it sure packs a punch!" Wrath answers Uta with a big smirk. Seems he likes these people.

Lunaris is mixing with more of the locals. Meeting up with a few crew members who are just coming back from a mining trip. Carrying large bags on their Grunties. They greet her as one of their own and start motioning at the various things they found. It turns out, there's actually a place nearby that produces iron, which is close to a small deposit of gold. They're about to settle in, tired, and looking to tell some stories to get morale up. After all, they've been at this for a long time, and Kallamore - in their eyes - is no closer to being conquered than it was before. Aside from the Goddess Thing of course.

Uta takes another sip. Careful balancing of alcohol and remaining vigilant enough is a key skill in negotiation. A line Uta seems pretty able to walk for now. "It certainly does, " she confirm, as far as packing a punch goes. "Trust me, I am a musical kung-fu nurse, so I know what I'm speaking of when it comes to alcohol and packing punches." Silence. Sip. "Oh, that's the... Nurse and Kung-Fu part respectively. the Musical part I should use for... well..." She swipes her menu open, and materializes a lyre. A quick strum, her fingers plucking pretty much all the strings in progression in a tentative scale. One or two strings are adjusted, and when she's happy with the tuning, she gives another strum. "...I can certainly help with the musical interludes and background soundtrack. For added emotional impact. Packing a punch. Spice Water for your ears."

    "Well, knowing the reputation of your warriors, that may well be it. Perhaps the Burning One has something in mind," replies Elly. Notably, she does not curtsey. That is not the language of etiquette she needs to speak here. She looks over the camp thoughtfully.

    "But there is another thing that comes to mind, too. Prophylaxis, I am working with New World and Olympus on a project to make magical books. I have not been able to get confirmation from the Scale Emblem. Would you like to contribute? The first round involves books on some monsters and animals."

    Having heard Uta call out, she turns and waves at her. That they ran into each other here is not really a surprise. Wake trusts Uta to stay safe. She would never follow her around to ensure that she avoids trouble. Not at all. This is a coincidence.

    Back to Wrath, though. "You have all been very busy. How can we help? Do you need supplies and manpower? I am admittedly unaware of the next step in the plan. Prophylaxis, maybe you can help me there?"

"Well, we'll be around if we can help. Even slowly things are getting better, the statue is proof of that!" Lunaris replied to the group she was talking to with as much enthusiasm as she can push into the words. Sometimes, what you needed was just the belief, and sure enough, they were working on it. The war thing. She brushed a strand of her hair back and nodded with confidence, "Between us, we can really make a difference here. You've already come really far! Though.. I'd best see how people are doing in the ruins, stay safe!" A wave proffered before the Cait Sith darted away as quickly as she had managed to blend in.

The ruins she was much more careful around than that energetic nature might otherwise imply, and sure enough while she wasn't much of an academic here, so to speak, she was often quite good at finding things. A hand pressed to the woven pouch at her side as she peered around to find a little friend. Some rodent that made it's home exploring the caverns to have a little chat with. On the way, spotting Daiyu she did offer a friendly wave, "Hope you're having some good luck!"

Thankfully, the Adventurers who make up Camp Wrath seem to not be aware of whatever encounter Tian and Lunaris had during the tournament. A few of the Yamato Adventurers might, however.

Tian does look up from their work, wiping at a bit of sweat, gold eyes following Lunaris briefly before they are spoken to by the peamink. With hands full, the deaf Adventurer can only nod their head, giving a fanged grin. Taking a moment to catch their breath and grab a drink of water from a nearby waterskin, Tian signs: "<We have much to thank our friends for that. Working with Haru taught me a number of new techniques.>"

For those at all familiar with Sign Language, Tian does not finger-spell 'Haru' as they might other names. They instead use a combination of signs for it.

With a curious tilt of their head that sends one ear flopping over, the crafter asks, "<How are we on accessories now? Should I switch my attention over to weapons?>" It seems that Tian is taking a brief break, catching their breath.

The people of the camp have made due with what they could to survive. Maybe in the future she can write a story about their struggles to endure despite the overwhelming position the Crowned army held upon the land. But for now, she is simply exploring. Observing. The foxwoman disappears around the corner of some ruins... and then can be seen walking by on the opposite side of the section. And a third time at a distance approximately between the two, before disappearing down another side path. It almost looks like one of those hallway chase scenes, but with one person. Daiyu is quick on her feet, but she's not -that- impossibly face. Or able to teleport.
No, it is magical but less fantastical than that. Daiyu is simply using the technique Miyako taught her to spread out her awareness a bit and cover more ground thanks to projecting her senses through the reflections as well.

Finally one sticks her head out from a leaning but stable structure, and the other two return to her. Then Daiyu crouches down, noticing one of the spots cleared away to show the tile underneath. A crack here, a chip there, but almost like it was preserved by the coating of dust over it.

A thoughtful hmm, and then she sweeps her tails forward, trying to clear away more dust for a closer look. Maybe she can uncover something in the tilework to indicate what sort of structure once stood here.

Schneider will continue to help iron out the little kinks that always crop up in large projects. Two craftsmen need the same resource? "Take five, I can bring more." Not sure where a thing needs to get delivered to? "I can find out." He is up in a lot of peoples' business, but somehow manages to keep them moving forward. Metaphorically.

"Gladly," Prophylaxis answers, taking a swig (albeit one more ginger than it appears) from the offered drink. "Glad to hear they're all doing well. I imagine that it was something of a shock for a lot of them, having their freedom restored all at once like that." They certainly had quite an emotional response when it happened. In a good way!

On reflection, it does make sense that there are so many of the beastly persuasion here. Considering how they're often treated in Kallamore as second-class citizens, it's little wonder that they embrace that aspect of themselves here.

...Even if it is a little weird for the poor doctor, who is keenly aware that these are all (or at least mostly) still ordinary humans behind the beastly masks.

The psychology is fascinating, but he's not a psychologist.

"I had not been aware of any plans," Prophylaxis answers the Baroness with a shrug, "Of course we'd be willing to lend a hand. I'll spread word among our craftsmen. Might I ask what the intended purpose of these books are?"

The next step in the plan, she asks.

"The next step, yes. That's actually what I wanted to speak to you about," he says, this time to Wrath. "We have a plan to find the Kunie. If we can pull it off, Kallamore can be taken without a fight. For reasons of security, I'm not going to be able to be too forthright with the details-- at least, not outside of Chimlink. But to put it simply, it involves making a great deal of money."

"A musical... kung-fu... nurse." Wrath speaks after Uta. Playfully joking; "Template stacking much?" In a good natured kind of ribbing. The Lyre comes next, and he nods his head. "I mean, I think some people are about to tell some stories."

He motions over to a few miners approaching alongside Lunaris, settling down at an open fire at the center of the ruined down. Using the remains of what was once a fountain as benches around a pit of stone and flame.

"Money?" He then asks Kallamore. "How is Money going to help us get in there and free that Kunie?" Assuming they need freeing. There's a clear assumption there.

To Baroness Wake; "Honestly, help with living quarters. We have too much population here right now. We're having a rough time with food in these desert conditions. And our housing is... awful. Any suggestions you might have would be welcomed."

Near the same area, where Tian is working, a lanky Undine with an almost oni-like facemask on, signs back at Tian. Their motions do not flow as well, and it's clear that they've been learning ASL from Tian over time. But their meaning still manages to come across; "<I think this is enough accessories, though we could use a few new fake Crowns. One of our teams got ambushed during an attempt to infiltrate Kalamore. The town is a lot more on guard recently or some reason.>"

Schneider in the meantime, is hard at work hauling supplies to people working on a wall. They've managed to collect quite a lot of stone that used to be present within the town, even collecting some stone from a small basement of one of the ruins, and have been slowly working on building up some protective walls. They appreciate the work Schneider is putting in, making a lot faster work with more hands dedicated to the construction efforts. It'll no doubt take days to complete this, but it'll be greatly helpful.

Speaking of old ruin walls. Daiyu meets up with Lunaris. And with some great amounts of bottle-tail brushing, a great deal of sand is parted to reveal... a rather intricate piece of work.

It displays what looks like a Dragon of sorts, being torn assunder. Around it, 'imprisonment' of 8 'shapes'. They're hard to tell apart. Most of the mosaic around them too worn to really get a good look at them. But one of them looks like two creepy 'stones' with yellow eyes and toothful maws on them.

Beneath this, a display of what looks like Were Fangs, Cait Sith, and Spriggans assaulting a 'wall' of darkness alongside what looks like Alv.

    "The intention varies by group, but for me? I want to use these books to teach people how to build things. With the earthquakes we have in the Dukedom lately, better housing would be a topic for the future. Once we actually reinvent that. In time, we can make them more advanced. Not just a book, but a magical projector that shows someone a three dimensional schematic. The possibilities are petty limitless."

    Wake's intentions are pretty simple. Make books, teach people, profit everyone. She will make sure to send out a call to the Scale members, too, once business here is handled.

    Speaking of business, Prophylaxis is talking about the sweet science of wealth generation. She is curious, but willing to be patient to hear the full plan in private. She imagines she has the general idea down. Kunie implies controlling or influencing the guardians, after all. This sounds like a variant of the trick that was pulled against Mac Anu. The Dukes would be so very pleased to learn that it was turned on the enemy.

    Still, there are things to pay attention to in addition to the conversation. Wrath's direction is helpful. "I will see what I can do."

    After a short walk, she feels it. There is a tug at her mind. It feels like time is slowing, nearly stopping entirely. It's a moment where Wake can intervene. Where a little nudge will make all the difference. The construction work is not beautiful. It is practical. As they say, 'it is what it is'. But in the name of the Goddesses, it will be so much more.

    Softly, Wake whispers, and the only word that can be heard is, "Fehu!" In that moment, the power granted by the Goddess is brought to bear, reshaping destiny and generating powerful inspiration.

    Coming out of the surge of that moment, Wake finds herself near a familiar face. "Oh. My apologies. How are you doing, Schneider? I hope all has been going well with your flight work."

"Interesting..." Daiyu glances up a moment to nod to Lunaris. "Come look at this." she gestures at the section she's uncovered. "This appears to be a mural of some sort, from whoever and whatever originaly populated here." She kneeled back down and leaned in for a closer look, adjusting her spectacles with one hand. The other traces fingertips gently across the surface, careful not to farther dislodge anything. "A dragon, some form of.. imprisoning?.." She taps a little lower. "These look like charactures of Were Fangs and Cait Sith... assisting the Alv." She mmmms. "This would suggest our races, at least in the Palace Lands, are much older than Yamato. Either natural, or a creation of the Alne themselves, rather than by later mages trying to accomodate for the absense of Adventurers if I recall what I learned of Yamato's lore correctly."

"Random generator," Uta simply replies at Wrarth, not without amusement, as she rocks away on a lyre like a rock legend. Even though she's technically a rock loremaster.

Details.

"Have you considered yurts?", Uta offers. "They're light, easily moved, and perfect for desert conditions." After a moment of silence, she adds, "...I am not sure how easily camoufalged they are, but..." Some silence. "Paula worked on camouflage suits. I wonder if they could be adapted to yurts..."

* * *

After further socialization, Uta ends up wandering to the mosaic. Once there, she stops, and stares. "Could this be the Twilight Dragon? And could those be... the shards?", she hypothesizes. "And if that is a Crused Wave... the one that that Scientifically Minded Alv, whose name I hope to find out soon, attempted to flee by building Clustania." Silence, as she taps her chin and looks away. "...and then abandoned in favor of a more successful experiment."

Turning to the rest of the team, she offers, offhand, "...of course, that's just a theory. Actually, no, that's a bunch of different theories in a trenchcoat. We need more data before we can claim such things."

She kneels over, and extends her hand towards the mosaic, without touching it. "Think anyone can Appraise this?" Some silence. "Maybe we could bring over a trained artist, and have it analyzed and restored..."

Uta turns to Daiyu. "The... Alne? Now, now, I didn't know that The Alne were a group of people."

Schneider replies to Wake, "I'm, all right. Flying is in rough shape." he frowns thoughtfully as Wake brings up his experiments in flight. "We're missing some important piece of the puzzle, and I don't even know how to look for it," he explains. We know that the way of the world, the game physics, is alterable with certain artifacts. But we don't know how, or where to find any of these artifacts. I expect one of them is what sends those horrible monsters after anything that flies. Even if you've landed by the time they get there, they'll shred anything that was in the air. I'm put of ideas now. It seems like a solvable problem, but I can't think how it might be solved. They got a chaos gate to work, though I wasn't involved. I'd done some of the research, but then someone else went and figured out what we were missing. I never found out what. This game goes on without me, but what can I do?"

Lunaris did pad over as the.. Unique.. Method of dusting certainly caught her attention, and a rather lighthearted giggle, settling nearby Daiyu and starting to take in the odd mural. She tried her best not to touch it but bent down to get a better look. At first pure confusion as she tried to work through it, though actually seemed relieved that Daiyu seemed to know as much as she did. "Well.. Alv and us? Aren't Were Fangs a pretty new creation?" She hesitated, that really did seem odd, maybe they were just Cait Sith that looked particularly monsterous? "Ah, is there a dragon here? It certainly appears to be being trapped, I guess?"

It wasn't particularly her forte, and the fox quickly got distracted by a scurrying rodent, and approaching it carefully, trying not to scare the thing, a handful of what looks like dust and herb in her hand from the pouch, softly blowing it towards the critter. She wasn't exactly an archeologist, but being able to talk with animals certainly had it's perks, especially when they could get places other people could not manage!

Daiyu scoots back a bit to make room for Uta. "Please, by all means, if you have a method to more thoroughly examine this."

Tian's attention is drawn back to one of their crafter companions, following the motions of their signing. It's obvious that the Cait Sith is very supportive of others learning to sign, so they do not interrupt or offer corrections, even if it is not perfect.

Instead, Tian nods their head, making a gesture that looks like someone placing a crown upon their head. "<We may need to vary our fake crown designs. They may have become too noticable.>" Taking a few steps, reach into a bag and pull out a couple of pages, setting them down before the other crafters. "<We need some new designs from the scouts.>" They explain.

It seems important to make sure that there is enough variance in the fakes that they cannot be easily identified by sight. "<Offer the existing designs to White and Black, and create new ones for use in Kallamore.>"

That will take more work, since they will have to create new ones which wouldn't be expected by the bounty hunters and guards within the city.

"The trouble is that we have no idea where the Kunie is located, and if it's the worst case scenario, then access is going to be basically impossible without expending a lot of manpower. Getting to the one in Mac Anu alone required a perfect storm, and was still a near thing." Prophylaxis smiles conspiratorially, "So instead we're going to be using Kallamore's social structure against itself. Power in the city is decided by net worth, you see. So the plan is to make a whole lot of money and use that to get in."

"Of course, it's a little more complicated than that, but again, details and security. I can't spill the beans outside of a chim, not when the enemy's got access to invisibility cloaks and the like."

Living quarters and food is a concern. It's a desert, after all. "Farming isn't my forte, nor is construction, but I've a lot of experience running refugee logistics and overseeing projects. If you like, I could see what I can do to help make resources go a little further. Of course, it'd be best if we could get safe access to the sea to do fishing out there. But otherwise, Uta does have a good point regarding housing. Yurts would be excellent. Have you found any caves, tunnels or anything of the sort down under the sands? If a cave system exists, it could mean beasts to hunt for meat-- and easy shelter besides."

Wake expresses her intentions. The doctor nods, "Sounds good to me, then. I'll do what I can to help."

"We've considered Yurts, but would you know it - there's no Leatherworkers or Cloth workers amongst us. Most of the people who specced into Kallamore and got out are more focused on metals, mining, that kind of thing." Wrath answers Uta. "If you've got anyone who could help, we'd gladly take it. We can't exactly rely on Kallamore for that."

Wrath grunts; "And I dunno. Using their own stuff against them is great and all, but it doesn't really feel satisfying, you know? I want to make sure they /know/ what happened. I want them to suffer." He raises his clawed hand; "I want to rip their hearts from their chests for what they've done to us."

He then motions; "And we'll need a proper port to do fishing. Right now, boats are too prone getting stuck in the shallow waters." A pause. "Caves? No, not that I am aware of?"

In the meantime, elsewhere, inspiration comes. As Schneider and the crew are working on the wall, the glint of Legend seems to bring some more life into them. One of them deciding to take a chisel to some of the stone to better work it. It isn't long before she hears; "We need an opening. How about I create some doors? I may not be good with stone, but I know my way around wood." Followed by; "We're running real low on wood though." - "I'll make something work."

And Inspiration continues to flow. Lunaris tries to get with the rat, but they end up jumping away and fleeing from them. Jumping into a few ruins and disappearing under some rocks. At first, it looks like this is where Lunaris ought to just give up. But something tells her to bear with it just a bit longer...

Followed by the rat suddenly peeking back up from under the rocks, holding what looks like a piece of torn wood, and a cold coin? The rocks are too heavy to easily be moved, but the layout of these ruins betrays that there may be something like a basement under these ruins.

    "Maybe the piece you are missing can be found somewhere here?" suggests Wake to Schneider, hopefully. "I look forward to having to build an actual air strip someday. I trust you are going to keep at it until you find a way forward." Schneider has been gnawing away at flight for as long as she can remember. Odds of him giving up are pretty much stuck at 0 percent.

    She has no skill in building anything, but while she is over here, she can certainly lend a hand. Provided that she's only asked to carry things and not wield a hammer. Who knows what she might break?

    And there it is again! That tug. This time it is far more urgent, and Wake spins to look in the direction of Lunaris. There is a different technique from this range. It is a pretty flashy thing, too. Wake essentially spotlights here, shining brightly as the power of the Legend is projected over to Lunaris. As others with these kind of powers know, using it twice in a short time strains the Baroness, but it does not break her. Not yet.

    As if nothing happened, she turns back to the Schneider. "So... got anything for me to carry around? You point, I move."

Lunaris chews her lip as she seems to spook the rodent rather than actually get something valuable, almost trying to pounce on the little creature before it peeks back up, almost taking the Cait Sith by surprise. She had little understanding of what compelled her to stay there, or what made the rodent come back, but she did offer a quiet thanks to the Blind Goddess. Sometimes these things just happened, and all you could do was be utterly thankful for the fact. She extended that gratitude to the little furred creature, fishing up a small handful of fruits from a pouch and laying them out as she softly took the oddly cold coin and piece of torn wood. The wood was probably nothing, but who knew?

Glancing back at Daiyu and Uta, watching the two try and work through the possibilities of what the image was she called back (a little quieter to not spook the animals), "I think there's a basement over here. Didn't get a glance inside, but it might have some more answers. And Twilight Dragon? So the keys that grant wishes and do random things are related to a god dragon that might or might not have been sealed, and spread out for us to find to do a vague something that might get us out, or something bad. Someone really didn't want this to be simple.."

Schneider nods about the missing piece being somewhere else. "It almost certainly is," he agrees, "but I have no idea where that might be. The best I can do is traipse off all the strange or odd goings on and do the best I can do." The odds of him giving up may be 0 percent, but the quantity of things he can do to make it happen also seems to be about 0, so while he hasn't given up, there doesn't seem to be anything he can do constructive to help.

On the other hand, he can help the constructors to be constructive. So, when Wake asks him about carrying things around, he says, "Actually, yeah, follow me over here, we need to bring some wood and stone back to these guys over here."

Daiyu watchs as Lunaris drifts off to investigate other parts of the ruins, and silently wishes her luck. Before turning her attention back to the mural. "Hmmm." She's considering, her tails flicking back and forth. "Twilight Dragon," she queries towards Uta. Another thought. "Let me try something," she finally remarks to Uta, as she grasps her spectacles again, this time between the finger and thumb of both hands on either side. Then a nudge against the bridge with her fingertip to slide them up into place. It's a subtle shift of position, as she focuses on what she is looking through them, at the mural before them.

Really it's the intense focusing of her attention that activates the power of the Glasses of Orth, the adjustment was just an indication that she was indeed using them. It takes a moment, but then aspects of the mural come into mental focus much more clearly in the mind's eye. The eight forms 'imprisoned' in the depiction...

A triangular 'rock' with yellow eyes and jagged teeth
A pinkish creature with long ears, long dreads of hair(?), and a 'skirt' with what resemble the eye-like markings of a peacock's plumage
A golem-like form with long narrowing limbs, and eye marks upon the chest and lower limbs, with a head crest resembling a broken halo. A long spear or polearm with a circular end is held in one hand
What almost looks like a mask, if it had one eye covered by a large disk with four more eyes adorning within the disk.
Another form that's hard to describe because of the way it's curled, what looks like a 'head' with only holes placed like they would on a bowling ball, and some kind of energy shaft connecting different parts
The next rock-like figure is even harder to describe, being more of an abstract piece of art than an actual recognizable form.
A large sphere, potmarked in craters around it's form, and an almost flower-like formation of what could be crystals making the petals on one end.
And one of a shape that can only be described as resembling a nut, with a ovoid protrustion featuring circular openings protruding from it.

Daiyu hisses, slinking back a bit from the moral at the visages. "Those... those are very horrific things that were locked away..."

The crafter is doing their best to adjust their gestures, learning from Tian. When the wolf motions the crown, they nod. The part-mink one notes to Tian; "Yes, I think you are right. We need to vary it up a bit."

The trio look at the pages being revealed, they start collaborating. "These were the ones they were wearing at the time." There's a great deal that seems to go into being an Uncrowned. And each time they access Kallamore, it's just that much more risky.

"I think they started favoring like, more exagerated helmets." The large Goblin Were Fang notes. "Previously they did these diadem things. But a lot of the crowned seem to really be into 'hats' these days. Almost like they're taking a strange kind of pride in them." He notes.

The one who has been signing with Tian takes out a small sketchpad, and starts drawing a few rough designs. Soon revealing a few rediculously feathered ones to Tian.

"I can understand your desire for revenge," Prophylaxis responds with a sympathetic wince. "...To do what they had done, stealing away free will like that, is certainly unforgivable. But if we go in guns blazing, many will die, including many of us here. Even if we /are/ adventurers, that doesn't mean we've got an infinite number of lives. Each death strips away more of what makes us who we are. That's something I can't allow if it can be prevented."

He is, first and foremost, a Doctor, after all. But what of the orchestrators? The ones who are really running the show?

Well.

"If we succeed," the doctor smiles, "Your revenge can lead us to the ones who are responsible. It may be less viscerally satisfying, but it means you can get your hands on the ones who /really/ deserve it, not just their underlings."

He looks to the port, then, and taps his chin. "...Weaving and woodworking. I think we can make something happen. We've got quite a few tailors and carpenters spread among the Alliances. Though I admit I'm basically useless in that regard, myself."

    "Maybe to fly forward, you need to start looking back instead. Your science, from what I understand, is not the issue. Perhaps there is something back in history that holds the key. Have you already done some work on this, or would that be a new angle for you to pursue? I rather doubt you like waiting on chance to nudge you along. If you need some help getting access to special libraries, let me know."

    She has a way of getting access to books, after all. Social skill focus. Sure, right now she can do little more than help Schneider by lugging things about, but in her element she can move mountains.

There is a huff of sound that follows as Tian gives a nod of agreement. Most of the earlier forgeries were simple tiara or diadem style head-pieces. With the shift in fashion within Kallamore, they will need to come up with something more elaborate.

"<These will need peko feathers, likely in a variety of colors.>" Tian taps the design, then motions around the head. "<Perhaps the hunters can help us, there.>" Though there were Pekos in the Palace Lands, they are not as common as in Yamato.

As for the hats, that may very well require some aid from the Yamato Adventurers. While Tian certainly works with cloth, somewhat, they are by no means as skilled as a proper tailor.

Looking across to where Wrath is conversing, Tian bends down and grabs what looks like a chalk board. The Adventurer scribbles on it, then gives a loud whistle, trying to get the attention of those hearing Adventurers nearby.

The sign says, in scrawled lettering: "Yamato: Got Tailors? We need them."

This, without any explanation, just Tian standing there, holding up a sign.

"That is... interesting." Uta considers. "Maybe we'll have to see if we can send over someone to teach some members of Camp Wrath Leaterworking and clothworking?", Uta offers to Prophylaxis, tentatively. "Maybe a small group to kickstart the knowledge in the camp. After that..." she returns to face Wrath. "...camp Wrath can be self-sustaining. Its member can start teaching each other, in a snowball effect." After some more silence, Uta turns to look at Wake. "We need to speak with Gwen. And Nyanta. And Jazuhanzu. And Pela. Maybe Hifumi. And Vespa. And- who else do we know who has that skill?"

"I don't know if they grant wishes," Uta mentions to Lunaris. "If you know more about this, please tell me. I do know that they seem capable of producing impressive changes in the world. For instance... did you know that the creator of the Aincrad Tower is listed as the Second Shard of Twilight?"

"That's just a hypothesis. I don't know if that's the Twilight Dragon. I know of at least two dragons in lore: Enkido, and the Twilight Dragon. The latter might or might not be a literal dragon. It might or might not coincide with Enkido. There's so much we don't know."

Uta turns to Tian. "Oh, right, what about you? Would you volunteer to learn?", Uta asks Tian. "You still have to teach me sign language. I could reciprocate by convincing Gwen to teach you Tailoring."

Daiyu recovers after her momentary start. "This... is facinating. Horrifying, yet facinating. I do not recall reading of any of this before, but we also did not have people delving into the history of the world as voraciously as your kind."

The foxwoman leans forward once more, hand tracing past the eight figures once more as she goes over the descriptions of what she saw, naming them off in order.

"Gorre... Macha... Skeith... Fidchell... Tarvos... Innis... Magus... Cobernik... Eight terrible forces, sealed away..."

Schneider says to Wake as he's gone to look for more wood, "If you have some new angle, I'm all ears. The hints of what I think I'm looking for all came so long ago, I can't remember them clearly." As far as science not being the issue, he admits, "So, there's two separate problems: One is that we can fly according to real-world physics, but none of the magical flight seems to work. Two is that if we fly above about a hundred feet, the game sends horrible monsters to eat us."

He comes back from failing to find more wood in the desert and ahems as Daiyu lists off eight names, stepping up to insert himself in the discussion. "Wait," he says. "Are those the Scrapped Princesses? Or the Heroes of the races, apart from Spriggans, who turned on the people of the world? Just, that seems like a weird coincidence," he explains, and ... he will look over this unexpected Lore, though it will take some considerable time to digest it all.

    "Horrible monsters. Yeah, that sounds like something this world would do. Hm. That gives me creative ideas for interrogation techniques, but that is for another time."

    Priestess or not, sometimes the harder side of the Baroness shows through. Best not to think on that too long, though. There are gentle people present! Possibly.

    "So I do not have an angle. Not yet. But I am getting interested in history. Mostly in the hopes of learning more about the origins of Faith in this world. As a Priestess, it is important I know what I am talking about." Hopefully the people of Camp Wrath do not mind that she has gone Lander to this degree. "I can expand my scope and direct research to lost wonders. Including flight. I am not likely to Indiana Jones it myself, but I know there is no shortage of people who will go monster slaying to uncover lost scraps of lore. I find locations, they get loot, we share information. Everyone is happy, right?"

    She hears Uta call out and looks over. "Oh? Fashion emergency, huh? Spandex is too tight? I was afraid that would happen to me but so far everything is really comfortable. The ability to move so easily is great! But yes, I can start sending chims out."

    Wake does have Gwen's newest invention on from neck to toes. She is a fertility Priestess! A body suit counts as religious vestments. Plus she has another one that is colored for forest camo! It's practical.

"Gorre, Macha, Skeith, Fidchell, Tarvos, Innis, Magus, Cobernik? The Eight Beings who followed the Alv after the Annihilation of their World?", Uta exclaims, startled. "I've heard that Some people hypothesize that those might be what some refer to as the 'Scrapped Princeesses'", she confirms to Schneider. Uta turns to the mosaic again, and looks at it with concern. "I wonder if that's what's sealed below that basement... and if so... uh..." There is a pause. "...well, I suppose that if those creature are sealed, we might have some advance warning before opening anything... dangerous?"

That said, Uta walks over to the basement, and, eyes closed, assuming a meditative stance, she inhales.

"Ohmmmm..."

Her eyes are closed. Her hands are at her sides. Then, all of a sudden, "YAH!", and her open palms swipe the air. Magical currents link with the debris, and connecting with the debris.... hopefully move it out of the way enough for someone to pass through.

"Damn right, damnit." Wrath answers Prophylaxis with glowering eyes. It's clear he wants to enact proper violence, and isn't the patient kind of man. But neither is he going to throw away the lives of his people.

"You just promise me one thing, doctor. When you figure out who caused all of this, you promise me, or at least one of my people, the final blow. You got that?" He demands to know.

Uta's suggestion causes another of those quizzical tilts of Tian's head, causing the opposite ear to flop to one side in a very 'confused-puppy' sort of look. "<I can teach any who wish to learn.>" Their expression suggests that there is no need to 'repay' the efforts, however.

"<There may not be time to learn. If there is someone we can lean on to get those skills here, that may be the best help.>" Tian responds, taking a step away from the forge. There are enough instructions for the others to continue their work.

Tian pulls off their work gloves, dusting off their fingers before trying to follow what everyone else seems to be up to. It's obvious that they haven't been following most of what is going on, with voices and the translation system having likely been drowned out by the roar of the forge.

Daiyu nods as some of the Yamatoans present fill in farther information for her. "As I said, equal parts facinating and horrifying." She pushes herself to her feet. "I am going to go let the others know. The settlement may wish to cordon off this section so the mural and it's representation can be preserved from farther degradation."

"Of course," the doctor says with a deep bow. He's glad Wrath's heart is at least in a good place, even if he's... a little hot headed. "Once we find the masterminds... Rest assured that they won't be escaping unscathed. Incidentally, I don't suppose a man with a tie to the Phoenix Spirit of the Palace Lands was among those who were recovered? I've a... personal interest in winning his freedom."

Somewhere nearby, lore is being dropped.

The doctor's ears burn. He doesn't quite know why.

Schneider nods to Uta about those names being Scrapped Princesses. "If they're sealed, though, what sealed them?" he wonders. "Or are they like cicadas, on some multi-year cycle of showing up, causing havok, and vanishing? The heroes got their asses handed to them, so there's nothing we could do. Maybe if we could convince Goblin Slayer they were Scrapped Goblin Princesses," he speculates aimlessly.

"No, I doubt they grant wishes honestly, it's just been heavily implied. Find the keys and things happen, the things you most definitely want, totally, no questions asked," Luna replies to Uta with a small smile, she didn't really have high hopes for the things, that was clear. Though the announcement from Daiyu gets an eyebrow raise, and a huff. "Ah, of course. Make the thing that people are heavily incentivised to get a way to release horrible terrors on the world. That's.. About what I expected. And yet so many people are going to try and open them.." She pauses and shrugs at the rest of Uta's info, "Can't say that I know that part. But it wouldn't surprise me that there were horrifying dragons. Doesn't make a whole lot of difference. There's someone presiding over the keys, made them, or was bound by them. All probably not great things."

She does still make a note of the names, then gives a gleeful grin as the detritus is thrown out the way, trying to dip herself below and into whatever awaits on the underside, "Trust me, I'll scream if there's anything scary! I doubt there's anything sealed here though. Silly plan sealing it in a place you put a painting!"

A few moments after the burning ear sensation Daiyu walks up to Prophylaxis, giving him a light nudge to get his attention. "Doctor. I am sorry to intrude, but we have found something you may of found interesting." She turns to point towards the mural, while giving him a brief rundown of what she saw in what it depicted... though he probably takes off as soon as he hears the name he was already familiar with...

Names.

/Familiar/ names.

Prophylaxis' head snaps towards Daiyu at the mention of those names. "What?" He asks, then nods to Wrath, "Excuse me, it looks like something important has come up."

"Why are we talking about the Scrapped Princesses," the doctor says, suddenly /right there/ in the midst of the Mural Team. "What have we uncovered? I was told that we know what they look like, now?"

Beat.

He turns to stare the mural, taking it in. Then: "I need a Moonlight Artisan here to preserve this," he says, "As quickly as possible."

"Just a moment, Lunaris!", Uta calls out. "Let us check what you're getting into!"

Uta will reach to her necklace, decorated with a Songbird accessory. She flicks a cover, and underneath it, she activates a glowing device, with a mechanical look; the expectation is that, once activated, it will project, visible to everyone, a mini-map of the area -- including any secret locations if available.

"Please be careful about secret locations," Uta warns.

"And I think I will attempt to... ah... garner special knowledge about this place soon, if necessary. If anyone can help-" She says, looking towards Tian and making sure they can read her lips.

As Lunaris and Uta work together on a different ruin in order to get some of the basement uncovered, they find...

Well, certainly no sealed Cursed Wave, Scrapped Princess, or any other horrific thing. Instead, they find a stone set of stairs leading down into a basement and hallway system. There's multiple areas where the hallways are partially buried in, but there's multiple rooms beneath the various ruined houses - as Uta can tell when she uses Kein-Eintrag's special feature

Clearly, this was some kind of community with a lot of shared space. Offering a great deal of respite from the sands and winds.

Lunaris soon finds her rat buddy, which had been scared back into the hole when earth started moving. Turns out, it's a ratroach, based on the carapace she can see better now. It's holding some more coins in its maw. There's an old chest that has largely fallen apart, containing a whole army of old golden coins.

"And speak up, I want to hear about them too!" Luna shouts back up the hole with a small laugh at the sudden panic. She really can't help it, not at that moment. "I did say I'd scream, but Uta, it's not some secret area just a basement. I wasn't really planning to just jump into dan-- Ooh, shiny." She soon picked up the coins, flipping them over in her hand and checking them against the coin the rat had proffered. Were these just coins, or did they have any relevance to the old culture? She clicked her fingers, alighting a small flame to help her navigate down there and get a better look.

"Oh, just looks like a gathering space down here, I think? No murals or anything, I'll have a bit of a look around." With that pacing around, this time being a bit more careful with cracking open any doors. The shared space wasn't going to be dangerous, but who knew where these led?

A lot of what is being discussed is unfamiliar to Tian, likely missing the context of the earlier explorations. However, as they approach, those gold eyes seem to be looking around, taking in the people more than anything else. Tian's focus always does seem to be on what they can do for others, rather than on the material.

What they are drawn by, though, is Uta's request. It isn't so much reading lips but the system translating the meaning.

From one of their pockets, Tian draws out what looks like a small set of paint brushes. One hand gently takes Uta's wrist, looking her in the eye briefly before moving the glove out of the way ever so slightly and tracing the dry brush over a bit of exposed skin.

A moment later, where no paint was placed, a symbol appears in Chinese. For those who know the language, it is the character for: INSIGHT. Releasing Uta, Tian steps back and motions for them to continue, tucking the paint brushes away.

Uta nods to Tian. She mouth a silent Thank-you, and after the Cait Sith is done, she reaches into her cap and extracts -- a fountain pen.

Her menu is shimmered open, a leather bound notebook is materialized.

Predictably, when one holds such implements, Uta paces towards the entrance of the basement and-

". . ."

"Oh, dang. Writer's block. Quick, somebody give me a prompt. Anything to kickstart- shiny? Where?"

After looking around a bit, Uta shakes her head. "No, no, focus! Focus on- shiny, yes. That can be a prompt... ah... let's begin."

And, tongue sticking out, she begins to attempt to write in her notebook, with a handwriting so maniacally exact and precise that it looks... printed.

    Wake allows other explorers to go first. It is admittedly not easy, but she has certain promises to keep. Only when it is clearly safe to do so, will she join others in searching below. Her only contribution is light. Which she can generate with great skill. She will add to whatever is already being generated. It is not blinding light, but it is more than adequate to help those with better eyes in their search for useful information.

Except... it's slow. Painful. Uta is -fighting- with the pen. Dragging it across the paper, like a stick through a mixture one part molasses and two parts solidified block of cement. Exhaustion does not creep on her feature, it ruins on them. "Such weight... must be... centuries... aggghhhoooo..."

THUD.

Uta sprawls prone on the ground. The scarce sounds she makes are scratchy, croaky; the few syllables she manages to rasp convey more an impression than a clear meaning, but it seems to be something about her brain being full of intoxicated ferrets going on a joyride using jackhammers as pogo sticks.

Her notebook, lying just past the grasp of her limp hand, reports, in her maniacally precise handriting that looks like that of a printed book: 'The undying spider, after the passing of her allies...'

Daiyu meanwhile has taken out a logbook so she can write down everything she's learned while it is fresh in her mind. Kind of wish those visages weren't quite that fresh, but one must capitalize on the moment.

    There are few ways to get Wake to break poise. Uta reacting like that is one of them. She moves like lightning, caring nothing for light or lore. She only cares about Uta. In short order, she's got a hand under Uta's head. She looks down at the the spriggan nervously.

    "Are you okay?" she asks gently. "Is it the power sickness? Just nod. Don't try to talk." Something she's very familiar with, herself.

    She calls out, "Prophylaxis! We need your help!"

    She isn't sure if he can do anything, but if anyone alive can, it would be him.

Worry is written across Tian's features as Uta collapses. Rather than trying to aid, themselves, they put fingers into their own mouth and give a series of high whistles in a tone that almost sounds like a bird call.

Soon enough, there would be other Uncrowned coming to help, but for now, the Cait Sith just stands back, looking uncertain. This may very well be one of the first times they have witnessed this sort of reaction.

Prophylaxis is already responding-- with one hand holding Uta's notebook close, maybe, but still. "She'll be fine, she just exhausted herself from overusing Loremaster," the doctor says, having seen these symptoms far too frequently. A tendril snakes out of his gauntlet, jabbing a potion cocktail full of stamina and MP boosters right into poor Uta's arm.

"That'll keep her propped up. Just a matter of rest, now."

...Which means plenty of time for him to read though what she'd written down.

...The Immortal Spider, is it...?

Schneider seems to have lost track of what's going on. But Uta seems to be in a rough way and .. but Wake is faster than he is, so with everyone clustering around Uta he will try to work out what seems to have happened to her. He may be able to help fix it, if it's something broken in the game, he will put up a small light around his hand and try to peer at what she was peering at. He can't look at it like she can, though, so won't see the same thing.

Uta's eyes swim into consciousness again. Each of them at their onw pace and, compatibly with the world's anatomy rule, each of them doing its own thing. Focus, defocus, swim.

Uta manages a nod to Wake, but it's unclear whether she's nodded because she was told to nod, or because she fully understood and acknowledged the power sickness. But anyone familiar with this, as Prophylaxis is, will definitely recognize the Power Sickness.

Prophylaxis might also get a glance on what's written on nearby pages. Prophylaxis will be likely familiar with at least part of what's written just before that. The Loremastering of what turned out to be prototype stepping stones to the Machina, the Type Zero and Type 91 from the Karluin Dungeon Core battle; From the Gnoll dungeon, Roarschach's terrifying, nightmarish Adventurer dissections that somehow bypassed the Red Light, by means unknown to Uta herself. The "'Gaze of Crystal', the telescope created by an Alv craftsman as a gift to Lord Apeiron, may he forever see the brilliance of his Crystal Tower," and how the Crystal Tower was once an 'Experimental Facility and Defense Weapon' created by Helba, The Queen of Darkness.