Idle Thoughts & Tales

Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    The town is busy with people coming and going. Though unlike the first days of the expansion drop, things have calmed down here. Stores still sell their wares and guards still patrol, but is more Landers these days than that of adventurers.

Though a few adventurers do come for the elixir shop, but in this case, an exotic imp sits under a tree, with a book in her hand that she is writing in. Her imp tail gently taps the ground, as her hoof feet stays slightly tucked to the side.

Her glowing lavender eyes shine ever so slightly as she hums to herself a soft, slow lander lullaby. It is peaceful at least, though anyone who dared to do an inspection on Katherine Tanzer would see that she needs to eat... and apparently has been fairly bad about /not/ eating.
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Having been directed this way to meet with someone, the vixen takes a moment to just... look around the town - to take in how it's changed, since last she saw it, the shifts and turns in its fate and fortune. There's a low hum, thoughtful, before she sets it aside for now. Those aren't the implications she's here for, today.

No, that brings her to a certain tree, following directions, and the imp beneath its boughs. Though she does take advantage of the woman's apparent distraction to look her over, and make sure it is the imp she's looking for - even if Inspect does always feel a bit rude to her. She takes a quick inventory, and then nods as she crosses the final distance...

The fox takes a seat against the tree herself, tails curled to one side, and she pulls out a plate of sandwiches to set beside the imp. "Good evening." She greets her, offering a pale hand, her silver eyes trying to meet the imp's lavender. "Estelle Mancer. Thank you for meeting with me."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Katherine almost doesn't look up, she seems so focused in her work, but the smell of a sandwich, well, that at last gets her attention. Her lavender eyes look to the offering of food, before to Estelle, "Good evening, my lady Mancer."

The imp then motions to the ground, "Please! Have a seat and forgive me for my rudeness, my work has been... Taking up a great deal of my focus." Katherine ahems softly, before she closes her book. "Also thank you for the sandwich as well," She gives it a look over before resting it down on her book with care.

"And just for the sake of proper introductions, though I am sure you are already aware, I am Lady Magus, Katherine Tanzer of the Outcasts. It is /always/ a pleasure to meet a new, lovely face, such as yourself."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

The plate has a few rather simple sandwiches, admittedly; wheat bread, sliced grunty meat, lettuce, and a bit of simmered sauce for a slight kick. Cut up in quarters, and neatly arranged.

"I was given your name, yes. You come recommended for fact-finding, as a lover of lore and seeker of secrets." Estelle settles her hands in her lap, as she gets comfy against the tree. Pale fingers stand out against the fabric of her gloves and dress, even with the stars twinkling from the fabric. "Which is exactly what I need, to try and get some questions answered, and better develop what to ask next - and where to ask."

"But, you're welcome for the food - it looked like you could use it. And, in turn, thank you for your time. I hope this will be a... compelling partnership, yes." Her smile is a little sly herself, as her ears flick and her tails briefly stir. "Though if you'd like a moment more to finish putting down your current thoughts on your own work, and eat, I can certainly wait."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    "'Tis fine! I don't mind the break." She does take a small slice of the sandwich, "Though I do /hope/ you forgive me for eating in front of you... Because honestly if I dare to pick that book up." Her eyes look at it longingly, "... I probably would not stop."

She grins a little as she looks back to Estelle, those glowing eyes meeting the other woman's. "It is /fascinating/ research. Using arcane energies to bring about living objects. My hopes this is if I can find the right source of energies, mixed with my own arcane magics... I can create knight-like constructs." The imp's tail flicks happily at the thought. "Lives could be saved! It would be most wonderous."

Then Katherine ahems softly, realizing she is going on a bit of a tangent, "But /do/ forgive me, what question may you have by chance?" Then she takes a nibble of the sandwich.
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"... Hm. Haven't I heard something like that, of late?" She muses aloud, turning that about in her head. "Something about Moonlight Artisans?" Her silver gaze turns back to the imp, looking her up and down a moment. "... Try to make sure you have friends at hand, just in case."

"And, no, I wouldn't have given you the meal if I didn't intend you to eat it. It would be incredibly cruel to do otherwise." Her thoughtful look turn into a soft grin, with a small flash of the vixen's fangs. "Though that does sound interesting - perhaps we can discuss your research, after, and I'll see if I have any insights I might offer to your process."

"But!" Estelle's ears perk, and her tails flit and curl with a bit more excitement, even as her gaze focuses keenly on the imp. "My questions. I've come across some terms and titles in my research, of late, but have had difficulty in tracking down details. Might you have come across the linked titles Travelers and Visitors in your own hunts, the Accursed Monkey, or the Fortress of Artosh?"
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Katherine Tanzer hmms softly at Estelle's questions. Her eyes soften as they almost close. ".. I would... I may have... I did so much traveling with others before the great change and our forever awakening here, that... It may take me a bit to be /sure/ on it."

"Though I would almost surmise that the Accursed Monkey may be that of another name for The Beast. A god that many monsters worship that can hae many forms or shapes." Katherine taps the quills feather against her lips in thought. "Normally the Beast is sen as The Hound, but there /could/ be still a correlation between the two."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"Perhaps, though the information I have implicates them as a human figure - our blessing of Babylon translates the term for humans, from context, as Monkey, with the Accursed Monkey as their leader." Estelle drums the fingers of one hand against the back of the other. "The Fortress of Artosh being the goal of an assault he committed to, which is referenced also as a fortress of the Visitors."

"Though, that said, a degree of divine trickery being involved wouldn't be amiss. The Accursed Monkey's goal is stated to have been the eradication of the World." She tips her head from side to side, even as her ears remain upright. "Which might be in line with the work of the Monstrous Ones. I'll admit I haven't looked into them as much as I should have."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    "I will have to dig into some scrolls and books I have to see if I have any old notes on such things." Katherine admits. "Yet this world has many secrets and it feels that after the change to this world-- other avenues that were not present before have... Opened themselves."

She takes another small bite of the sandwich. "... Including dangerous avenues that while may seem innocent at first, could bring about great injury to those whom we care for or love."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"Indeed. Great care should be taken, with some of the avenues - what I've learned so far of the Accursed Monkey, and even that his target was called the Fortress of Artosh, was all from something new." The vixen shakes her head, tails curling in around her at a memory. "Potentially deadly, though, with the wrong mistep." A beat. "... that was what Merek was going to throw up over that time on the chimlink, by the way. Him putting his foot in his mouth and getting a raid-killing weapon leveled at him."

"The Machina was intelligent. He talked about trying to fix her by reprogramming it. She took offense. I would've mentioned something, about your question, but I didn't want to talk about her like she wasn't there." She spreads her hands, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "It wouldn't be polite, alongside being foolish."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Katherine listens closely, her attention fully on Estelle. While she did plan to look up things herself, it was still important information to listen too.

Then as Estelle talks about Merek's behavior, the imp sighs softly. "That /boy/," She shakes her head softly. ".. Merek, has a good heart, but is a fool at times. He acts before he thinks and throws himself into situations before taking great care. One day, such behavior will get himself killed-- along with others."

Katherine then laughs softly, before a smirk crosses her imp limps, "Though it sounds as /if/ it almost did." Then she takes another bite of the sandwich, finishing it off, before she speaks again. "What is this Machina's name? Or-- is that /her/ name?" She hrms. "...Shame I may never have the chance to meet her."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"He does. He's made approaches to me about the cult he's a part of - thinks my lean towards Divination would lend itself to the group. I approve of helping the 'Lost', as he terms them, but everything else..." She waggles her hand in a so-so gesture, before it drops back to join its sister in her lap. "And it almost did, yes. He was murmuring into the chimlink, musing about possibilities, like she couldn't hear him."

"... And her name is... Uber Cluster Zwei... something Acht... something Teh Neun?" There's a pause, the fox nibbling at her lip. "Though we've just been calling her Spatjahr. It apparently means 'autumn'?" She shakes off the moment of hesitance, there. "She's a very... powerful machine, though, and my readings," that is, Inspect, "suggest that she might be enough to wipe a Tower Clearing Party on her lonesome, even as damaged and disrepaired as she is. But she isn't truly hostile."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Katherine's imp tail flicks once more. Her wings even give a minor stretch before resting once more near her backside. There was some gears turning in that imp's head, but whatever was on her mind she would not say. "Spatjahr." She says the name.

Her lavender eyes once more go to look Estelle dead on. "Can /anyone/ speak to her or is it... on invitation only? Is her door always open or... Is it like the tide? Only on specific times and days?" She then rubs the back of her neck gently. "Though I must apologize. You came to me in hopes to find out more on your questions, but it seems /I/ am asking all the questions and giving no answers."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    "She seems to prefer privacy, with the only meeting I know of past the first encounter being set by her. She's... protective of her space, I've been told that much." The vixen admits, tails curling. "Though I do intend to drop by its door, some nights, take a seat, and ramble about my specialty; the stars. I can only imagine it's lonely for her. As a known face, I can ask about others meeting her. Dropping in suddenly as an unknown might be unwise."

As for the apology... she waves it off, pale fingers flicking. "And I don't mind. Having more eyes and ears about, looking for information and digging up secrets, is a help all its own." She flashes a slightly warmer smile. "It wouldn't be fun to just be handed all the answers, hm? There has to be a hunt, a search, to make you appreciate them."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    "Oh, that is so true! Much like my project. There was indeed /much/ hunting. Though it /might/ come with its own danger." Katherine says as her eyes look down to the book. "But it is a danger I will deal with should that time ever come..."

Her glowing eyes snap back to Estelle. Her imp tail moving ever so slightly, as she tilts her head a little. "But yes. The more of us who are willing to look into the world's greatest past, the more knowledge we can obtain and with that knowledge," She waves her index a little with a soft smile. "Comes power and responsibilities as well."

"But /do/ tell me, Estelle." She moves just a bit to get closer, careful of her hoven feet and her own tail as she does. "What about these stars you speak of so? I'd love to hear about this specialty of yours."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"Well, as I said. If you would like, I can take a look and see what I can add to your designs and research - and be another wand against whatever dangers your hunt might bring." There's a flick of her wrist, a silver wand snapping into her grip. But she vanishes it again a moment later, hand returning to her lap. "And the pursuit of knowledge has ever been one of my loves, I'll admit, for its own sake. Alexandria was my second love, and its burning one of the hardest moments of my life."

She shakes off that briefly somber mood as the imp leans in, though, and she can't help but give a smug, foxy grin at the question and how it's asked. "And I am an Astrologian, so you can likely guess what my first love is." Her pale hands gesture to herself, and the way her dress, fur, and hair seems formed from the night sky.

"I am a student of astronomy and astrology both, and with Divination and onmyodo I can bend those skills to certain advantages. The fates are writ across the stars, for those with the knowledge and will to listen - even if the guidance can be faint and fleeting."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Katherine raises a brow gently as she shifts ever so slightly, "And what may the fates /say/ about me, hmm? I do wonder if they will tell you." Those words almost purr out. "I have always had an interesting in the arts of divination, but not the time to fully put a focus in it."

Katherine smirks ever so faintly with a soft hmm. "Mayhaps when my staff is fully finished."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"I'll have to ask them, won't I?" She winks back at that purr, one of her tails brushing along the imp's closer leg. "I'm sure it will be auspicious enough, though I have been surprised." She settles back, one ear twitching lightly as smirk is met with smirk. "And the arts are fascinating, yes. All sorts of... implications and connections, between the relations of the stars and the moons."

"... even if I need to relearn what the moons mean, with all the changes sweeping the land." It's admitted with a slight glower towards the horizon, where those moons will crest before too much longer. It passes quickly. "And mayhaps I can tutor you in such things, but we'll have to see."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    As that tail brushes by, the imp raises a brow ever so slightly. She flicks her hair gently, "I suppose we will have to see..." She says with a smile, before she shifts back slightly. With a free hand she creates what is like a portal, before placing away the sandwiches. "I'll finish these later, I think." Then with a snap of her fingers she closes the portal.

"Now," Katherine hrms. "It /is/ getting late and as you said, the moons will soon rise." The imp gathers her book and then goes to stand up. "However, I'd feel so rude that you granted me a chance to see your wand... So, I shall show you the staff that one day may create, along with control an army of constructs."

The exotic imp extends out her hand and from the dark purple flames emerges a staff made of ivory, with metal coil; perhaps copperl; snaking along its shaft, up to the very top holding a foci crystal. "This... is my labor of love." Her hand clasps around it. "This... Is what steals my focus day in and day out. Sometimes even robbing me of sleep."

Then she looks over to Estelle with a wink. "Or a good meal."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

A brow is raised at the imp's exotic little effects, alongside what is probably inventory management. It's a neat trick she may want to look into stealing and modifying.

There's a quirk of her lips, though, at the 'you-showed-me-yours, I'll-show-you-mine' aspect of things, but she doesn't disparage it. Seeing the work-in-progress is certainly something, as the fox rises to her feet herself. She looks it over closely, fingers trailing just above its surface as she studies the construction intently.

"The foci crystal is standard for staves, so I won't comment too much - but the ivory is a lean towards living materials, isn't it, as part of its goal of granting life to the lifeless?" Her tone is musing, hands gesturing at each part in turn. "Copper has, and forever will be, a material for conducting energy. The inclusion makes a fair deal of sense, especially given its associations with creativity and fertility in some regions. Something to help shape and imbue the constructs with life?"
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    "All are correct." Katherine says. She shifts the staff ever so slightly, which is then when Estelle might see the faded hint of runs that are carved into the ivory, along with etchings onto the very copper. "The other are the runes. These I constantly alter or add as I continue to figure out what the best combination is."

Katherine allows Estelle to touch it, but she, herself, never takes her hand off the staff. "But there is still much work to be done. Still much work to /perfect/ it. It /will/ be perfect."
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

When she is given silent permission to, the vixen does touch those runes. Trailing her fingers along them in study, turning them over in her head. "But, yes. I can see the effort. Constantly refining and rewriting your script, your goel, your intent - trying to distill it down to its purest form, in a kind of intellectual nigredo..." She shakes her head, pulling her hands and herself back from it.

"I wish you luck with it, and that the Stars bless you in carrying your passion through and bringing it to life."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Katherine watches as Estelle suddenly pulls back. The imp tilts her head faintly and hmms. She allows the rod to vanish in the dark fires once more, before she closes her hand.

She then steps up a little closer to Estelle, giving her a quiet look over, as if trying to search for something, before she asks. "Is-- something amiss, m'lady?"
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"Oh, no. There's just little I could offer from feeling the runes, and it is your masterwork; I'll help if you ask for it, but it feel... rude, to keep at it like that." The vixen doesn't retreat, as the imp steps in, meeting her gaze evenly once more. "I'm sorry if I worried you, or seemed worried myself. It is a fine piece of work, and I can't wait to see what becomes of it when it's finished."
Katherine Tanzer
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    The imp tilts her head faintly, a few strands of her own hair falls in front of her face. "'Tis fine. Just... Been awhile since I've... had a conversation like this. My days have been lonely and my interactions... lacking in company. I have not danced in nearly a month and how I do miss it."

"I miss the people. The smiles. Yet this world... I feel like there is a divide in the future. A darkness." Katherine admits as she shakes her head softly. "I hope, Estelle," She goes to walk around the Vixen. Her claws on her finger tips, gently trace across the Cait Sith's shoulder. "We do meet again, but I should go retire whilst I can."

Then Katherine Tanzer starts to walk away as she says. "Should I find out anything further to puzzle of the accursed monkey, I shall let you know." Then Estelle may find a friend invite sent her way.
Estelle
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"You've been caught up in your work - but perhaps take it as a warning, to take a break and let yourself relax for a time? I'm sure there are a few parties still, in the wake of the Festival." The fox comments, on the talk of what the imp misses. And the claw tracing her shoulder gets another brush of tails along a leg, and along Kat's own. "And I'm sure we'll meet again. We're both seekers of secrets, in the New World."

Once the other facthunter is stepping truly past and away, though, Estelle lets her feet start carrying her as well. "Thank you. Fare thee well, and may the Stars shine down upon your work and your journey." She answers back, one hand drifting up to accept the friend request.