Visitors to the Forge (Again)

Giganpor, having been going all night it seems, is finally taking a bit of a break from a personal project. A suit of armor that is currently in the basic stages and stuck on a mannequin in the corner. Said mannequin is nothing more than a stick figure practically, but still at least good enough for hanging armor on.

That being said, he was currently nursing a cup of tea from the looks as he had his eyes closed and simply waiting around, not even reading reports. Just taking it easy and waiting for the next customer, trouble, or whatever else might show up at the Forge since it seems like he is a semi-trouble magnet these days.

And he's not in Were Fang form, either. So yep. Just a relaxing day for him right now.

    The door would open into the smithy, as a woman walks into the shop. The door is closed behind her, but her figure is fully covered.

The obvious sound however is the 'clop clop clop' of the hooves on stone floor. Delicate fingers then run along a shelf life, before she pulls up her fingers toward her face, lavender eyes glowing like gentle embers under the shade of the hood that is only slightly supported up by her horns.

As she speaks, it is obvious who it is: Katherine Tanzer, "Nice little smithery you have here, Giganpor. Hopefully people have not been giving you /to/ much trouble."

Giganpor sighs as he opens his eyes to look over. The door was mostly soundless. Mostly! But seriously, people wanting to find him is a bit too easy these days even when he said he would make those trips to Fort Ouph.

"So far no one has tried to out right kill me again. I suppose they fear me for some reason, or the higher ups are keeping them off of me." Giganpor says before taking a sip of his tea.

"The warning when I respawned helped a little, I suppose. Not everyone wants to address the issue at hand, and I imagine down the line it will fester and grow until something explodes." He looks thoughtful, "Then again, I have thought about doing it Bear's way as well. Planting myself in the Tower's previously conquered boss room and making sure no one can get past. I imagine I could do it, too, with some practice or help. I do not know if any would help me in that as he said, but it might be doable. First, however, I need to finish my armor."

    Katherine walks over, removing the hood over her head. "Sadly, most of 'our' kind desire to return back to the realm of nightmares. They do not wish to be in the true reality and do not care about that possible outcome... Then you have those like Merek, who desire to bring that nightmare to life here, instead of seeing new ways to tackle problems."

She leans gently against the wall in front of Giganpor, looking at him. "After all, it is so much easier to copy what they once knew, then to dream something /far/ grander." The imp then motions her hand to him. "So, perhaps to set Scale back... You need to think outside of the box. Do the unexpected again, after all... Who honestly says Bear is your boss."

Giganpor looks thoughtful, leaning on the counter. He seems to be considering it, then hums. "Thinking outside the box is one thing. I hate to say it, but... I wish I could contact those three that helped us in the last Wave. The ones that went after the fishing pole girl. There is far, far more going on than I like and in ways that make it even more imperative that something be done."

He frowns, looking very thoughtful in that regards. "What do you have in mind as far as something grander, something that is not inside the 'box' that we have drawn for ourselves, so to speak? If I had a means to, I would gladly make some sort of invaluable service at the moment. Something that others could not live without."

    "My constructs could become a boss that may halt their progress, the trouble is," She then pushes off from the wall. "They are limited to power by my own abilities and aetheric energy.. If I could find a means to not only recharge my own aetheric energy to hold them under control longer..."

She then steps up in front of him, placing her hands gently down on the chair looking him dead on. "... Or maybe... Give those constructs their own power core... We could use them to fight the Scale and never linking back. That, after all, was the curse. We need a means to stop them that they can't track."

Giganpor looks considerate, "Do you think it could be done?" He looks at her, frowning a little. "Between us we have different constructs and summons. I use them sometimes in battle as well, and it is possible to bind one now in a way." He motions at his shadow. Which at that moment briefly looks like a horse rather than a man's.

"If we can find a way to do it, to find creatures willing to stop this and perhaps... renew them each time? Act as proverbial guard dogs that they have to get past?" He looks thoughtful, very thoughtful. Then considers. "Perhaps we can find that whale I heard about on one of the floors. That would certainly stop anyone."

    Katherine hmphs at Giganpor, before sliding her hands off the arm of his chair. She then summons out her staff to her hand. It appears in magical energy as she then takes her hand around it.

"Let me show you, Giganpor... What I mean." Her eyes glow brightly before she turns her focus to normal knightly armor pieces scattered.

    She extends out her fingers, as the other hand holds onto her staff. The runes of the staff light up, as magical energy dances around her finger tip. It isn't long does the head, chest piece, gloves, and boots come to fully stand as one whole. Taking on an armored 'knight' form with no body.

"Come... to me." She says with a whisper, as she beckons the construct toward her, and it walks over to her with ease. Though if Giganpor was to look, he would see that Katherine's mana is slowly draining.

Then she twirls her staff, before having it rest on the ground once more. She moves her free arm out to the side and the armor does the same. She looks toward Giganpor and the armor's head turns to look toward him. "This is the arts that I have found. This is the arts I am slowly uncovering. It is by this, if I had enough /power/, we could build a monster," Her hand then clasps tightly and the knight does the same. "To crush them."

    "Perhaps what the whale could give to us... Or mayhaps the rumors of those weapons that by pass the damage protection... Is a means to not only give them a fight." She then makes a motion and the knight walks over to get a sword. "But a fight that they will forever have the scars from!" Then the knight points the sword toward Giganpor.

Giganpor looks at the knight. Then eyes Kat. He can see the mana a little. He can see what it is doing. Then he seems to consider it. A small thought seems to come to mind. Then he nods.

"We can, I think, work on this. I would like to know how this is done in detail. If we can harness it as you say, and perhaps even do more. A lot more with it. Maybe even make more than one, a virtual army that they have to go through just to get to where they are going. Even Adventurers would balk at that." He notes, then looks thoughtful and sighs.

"A part of me wishes we could do so and be there for this, honestly. I would not mind summoning a dragon, a mammoth, or something like that and just be waiting to do so time and time again until people give up or we have to start over. I suppose Bear's words have had an effect on me more than I thought they would." He notes, looking perhaps a little thoughtful of that one.

    Katherine leans on her staff, as the knight seems to put the sword back up with care. "I can create more... But as I do so, the more drain it becomes on me... If I was to lose conciousness, then it is difficult to say what they would do. Though give the original writer that I learned this from said to not use them for combat, well," She laughs a little with a devilish smile. "I had plans to do just that. Use them in combat."

Slowly the knight goes back to where it was, one part after another they go back on the shelf, before Katherine twirls her staff once again. "It is this very staff that acts like a conduit. It allows me to draw on essence to bring them to life, to control them. Thus if cores were perhaps built... The cores mayhap could be used to channel that same energy like a large battery... all with an aetheric tether to my staff."

"I could give them commands and instead of draining my own aetheric energy, they would draw on the cores. In essence then as well, if I was to... cancel the transmission, they may go wild and just attack whatever they saw." She pauses, "In theory."

    Then the imp walks up to Giganpor, letting her staff vanish once more into aetheric light. Her fingers gently run along his shoulder, before she goes to stand behind him. Leaning down and whispering in his ear. "Forget him, Giganpor. They lack vision... They fear to do what is necessary. After all..." She then slides around, her claws very gently sliding along as she moves in front of him. "Do you see them trying to stop Scale? You and I both, in our own ways have. Only you and I so far see the dangers. Not only to the people of this world... but to our very future."

Once more her hands come to rest on the arm of the chair, her eyes moving to meet his own. "We have to become like gods, Giganpor... In order to stop this tide."

Giganpor looks down, frowning. "I do not want to become a god. I simply wish to protect this world. That is my only goal. I would honestly stay here if I could, rather than seek the freedom to go back."

"I believe that is where I do not see eye to eye with the others in the Alliance. But... I agree. We need to do as you say. Become a lot more to be better, to push ourselves and perhaps become Travelers ourselves in a way. Maybe even see about allying with them in an effort to not have them attack us." He says.

He goes silent for a moment, leaning back in the chair and looking perhaps more weary and considerate than before. "This is going to be a dangerous gamble either way. What do you have in mind to make this work? Where do you think we should start looking?"

    Katherine then goes to stand up. "I am still following where I believe the goddess is trying to lead me. I am looking more into the author of the books that lead me to this discover of magic. It is my hope that I can gain more control and power over this."

Her eyes look around his smithy, "As for you... The cores, if that is even possible will need to be built." Her eyes then fall on him. "Perhaps you could look into the weapons that can cause actual harm... if nothing else," Her head tilts gently. "It be a good weapon for you to use against others who dare to challenge you again."

    The imp then wraps herself back up, before moving her way back toward the door. "But yes, we both most become stronger in our own ways... sadly while time is of the essence, we can not also rush foolishly... For if we do, we could give away our hand to soon."

Her eyes lower, before she looks to him once more. "Have heart, Giganpor. We will stop them, even if it means dying a hundred times." Then she goes to reach for the door.

Giganpor glances towards his armor. "The goddess seems to be leading us all on ways. Perhaps to ways we do not quite understand... did you receive a quest as well? To follow those that came before?"

The question is there, but it is obvious that perhaps he is aiming to do so as well. Just in a lot different way. Moving to stand, he looks over, "The cores being built perhaps will be tougher and easier at the same time." He says. "Perhaps that will satisfy the goddess as well."

    Katherine looks over her shoulder. "I have... and I am still on that very quest." She looks away. "Till we speak again, Giganpor." Then goes to make her way out.