Goldenblade seeks some help

Goldenblade has been helping around the city with the emergency, like a lot of adventurers, but she'd put out that she was looking for Shiruba in relation to some research she'd been doing, that would apparently overlap with some things Shiruba had been investigating. For the moment, though, she's helping some Landers load a wagon. She's pretty strong, and doesn't shirk hard work, though she looks like she's been at it a while, her hair matted with sweat, her face flushed.

"Okay, we need all the main entrances into the town covered." As things would have it Shiruba is walking down one of the streets as is, followed by a few other Silver Sword members. "To defend the town, and if it comes to it, make sure people have escape routes. We don't know if the fight is going to happen in the city or near by, so we have to keep both possibilities in mind." The lupin cait sith paused to turn to her entourage. "We don't have a lot of time to work with left. Spread out, find the best vantage points, and report back. We'll get small sentry teams set up as locations allow." The other adventurers nod, salute, and head off in various directions to tend to their assignment.

Once they've left Shiruba, not realizing there are others nearby still with her focus being on one task, lets out a long sigh. "I just wish we could do more..."

Goldenblade looks up from her wagon loading as Shiruba directs those others for the preparations for the upcoming wave. She does a quick Inspect and sees that the silver Cait Sith is indeed the one she's looking for. So she tells the Landers to keep doing what they're doing, she just needs a moment, and she'll hop down off the cart and call out, "Hello!" to Shiruba as she walks closer. "Have you got a moment to talk?"

Ears flick back up when she hears a voice addressed in her direction, and Shiruba quickly recomposes herself as she turns to face the souce of it. "Oh! Hello." She leans a little to one side to look past the fighter to the wagon, nodding a bit. "Helping others prepare as well I see." She nodded and turned her attention back to Goldenblade. "What can I do for you?"

Goldenblade is indeed helping out where she can, but will lead Shiruba out of earshot of the Landers, not far, maybe a few steps. "I'm Goldenblade," she introduces herself, using the short form of her name. If she's inspected, her full name spills out of the box. She never uses that anyhow. And she's not sure who she's met and who she hasn't, she's met so many people on this game, and it's dizzying sometimes.

"Well, the thing is," she says quietly. "It's about something else that's going on. Not the thing after the floor boss," which everyone's scrambling to deal with, "but the undead that're all over Ninetails. I heard you were doing some investigations, and I wanted to see if I could work with you to help find their headquarters as well. Well, and there's a bit more."

"I'm not sure there is time for something el--" But Shiruba stops when the Undead infestation in the Ninetails Dominion is brought up. Ears flick towards Goldenblade with a revived interest. "Okay, now you've got my attention. Yes, I've been trying to locate the likely 'source' of the undead, believed to be a ruined castle some of us previously visited via unusual portal." She reachs down with a hand to pat the scroll case strapped to her quiver for holding various maps. "I've narrowed down a definite part of the region, but not a specific location yet. Beyond a theory or two."

Goldenblade nods as Shiruba starts to rebuff her, then smiles as she changes her tune. She hrms as Shiruba mentions her own investigations, and the castle visited before. She nods about the region, even down to a part of the region, and says, pleased, "You're close, then." She takes a breath and goes on, "I heard a separate rumor. A player's been captured, and hasn't respawned yet." She's pretty sure that's common knowledge among players, but she doesn't know for sure, and is trying to get all the background out first.

Shiruba nods. "I have heard that as well... and some unpleasant things about -why- they may not of respawned." Things that they both likely have heard, and know they're not a good thing to bring up in open public. Especially around Alne were much of the population is the lower level players who do go out actively questing.

Goldenblade is not as in-the-loop as she'd like to be, so those rumors have passed her by. But it's bad enough to know that the player hasn't respawned, which leads her to, "And I know it's someone in a PVP guild, so there's apparently no one that wanted to help them, or something to that effect. I only just learned about this the other day, though," she explains, "and /no one/ deserves that. So, I've been working on a plan to resolve the situation." She takes a breath, and says even more quietly, "We're planning, or trying to plan, a commando raid." They probably don't use that term anymore, but that's what you used to call them. Sneak in behind enemy lines, do something to the enemy, sneak out.

Shiruba points a finger at Golden. "So you're looking for any possible information you can find on the area you're potentionally venturing into?"

Goldenblade nods as Shiruba works out what she's asking. "The team I'm putting together are ace scouts," she explains. "And we'd figured we'd need to search, but if you can help narrow our search, that would be very much appreciated. And of course our discoveries will be reported back to you as well."

Shiruba nods. She turns aside to open the scroll case and pull the rolled up parchment from it. Then unfurls it between her hands and spread out so Goldenblade can see as well. "The best bet is the upper northwestern part of the Dominion. By all calculations and information that is the center of the undead infestation." She hands one edge of the map to Golden to hold, so she has a hand free to point. "I would hope you don't have to go -too- deep into dangerous territory... But I do know, from a reliable source of information that has seen it, that prisoners are taken here for the 'rituals' used to ... do the undead things." She doesn't want to get more into detail than that in public.

Shiruba pauses a moment, considering, then mmhms to herself and points at the farthest northwest of the Dominion landmass. "You see those islands there, just off the coast? That's where I believe the castle ruin may be located, and why a portal was previously used to get us there. I've seen an older map where this was actually a penninsula, but now it's flooded partially. I have not confirmed the accuracy of this discovery yet, because of how deep into the enemy territory it is."

Goldenblade takes the offered side of the map and peers as Shiruba explains. "I hope we don't have to, also," she admits, and nods about the prisoners taken for undead thing rituals. The islands noted actually bring a smirk to Goldenblade's face. "That ... would be ideal for us, I think," she agrees. "As one of the projects I'm working on may give us a scuba-like capability, which would be ideal in an stealth infiltration situation. I'm not sure how long it would take, but as I say, I have a team of stealth experts, so hopefully we could all sneak in deeply without being discovered."

Shiruba nods. "Neither the Dominion or the Dukedom want to sail near those islands, because they're off the trade routes and they don't know how hazardous those waters may be. If it IS a flooded pennisula, it may be too shallow for a proper ship to breach whatever defenses they have... but if you could go by underwater and sneak in..." She nods her head. "If you can, keep me posted on that idea and if it works out. I know a few other future projects it could potentially be useful for as well."

Goldenblade nods gravely about not wanting to sail there. "I can beleive that. It's nowere near where merchants would sail, if they could help it," she agrees. "And if it's a flooded peninsula, ... well, it'd depend how long ago it was flooded. Dogger Bank's just another piece of ocean now, for example, but that was many thousands of years ago." She nods about keeping you posted. "I will. This is already a cross-alliance project, and I'm certainly interested in keeping it that way. There's a lot for all of us to gain from it."

"I would appreciate it, thank you." Shiruba starts to roll the map up again, though pauses a moment. "... I make no promise with the more immeadiate danger coming, but if I get a chance I can copy the portion of this map that would be relevant to your scouting mission. The enemy is known to have a few labor camps that are harvesting resources. That would be the first places to look for prisoners that aren't being used to.. feed their higher undead." She makes a face at that, just the idea is both disgusting and mildly terrifying.

Goldenblade will help you roll it up, keeping the paper straight as you reel it in. She nods about copying the relevant portion, and says, "That would be much appreciated. And now that we have an idea where to look, and what to look for, I think we're close to a solution. Or at least close to a plan." She smirks. Nodding about checking out the labor camps, she admits, "I have no idea what they might use a prisoner for. I had imagined a player prisoner would be much more capable than a Lander prisoner, and would either have higher status or more critical responsibility. But that's all speculation." She, too, winces at the idea of prisoners to feed higher undead, though she says, "I think the idea of being converted is more fearsome than the idea of simply being slave labor, or merely eaten. Hopefully we can find the player and break them from the undead's control."

Shiruba shakes her head. "That is true... but irrelivant. The Queen hates Adventurers, and that kind of zealot bias is going to override common sense when it comes to capabilities."

Goldenblade ohs, nods. "I hadn't considered that. That's good to know, that will help us focus our searches." She nods gravely. She knew a bit about the zealotry, but not how deep it went. "I see. Labor camps and minerals, got it."

Shiruba tucks the map back into the case once it's rolled up. Smiles a bit awkwardly. "Glad my bit of personal search obsession could be of use to others."

Goldenblade bows deeply as the map is rolled up. "Thank you very much. I will remain in touch, to let you know how things go." Rising from the bow, she smiles then heads back to continue with assisting the wagon-loading that she'd been engaged in previously.

"The same. Take care." Shiruba turns with a swish of the tail and heads off to check on her guildmates that are preparing defensive positions.