Outpost... Rising?

The area has... certainly transformed since the last time Prophylaxis has seen it. The paths to and around it have been gentled, with some obvious reshaping of the ground for an easier climb for both people and goods - including drain works, so that they can't be easily washed out.

The external buildings for the station have been raised, and one of them is already in use storing materials for the main thrust of the burrowed outpost. The gate to which lies open, creating a yawning portal into the 'dark depths' of the mountain. From within, the now-familiar voice of a certain craftgnome rings out, as she gives instructions.

Following that voice - and the lanterns left along the path in - shows the gnome herself looking at... what's obviously an interface, by the way her eyes are focused, as she calls out spacing and depth corrections to the labour force helping mine out the space, as they put on finishing touches to the room. The walls still look a little rough, but for the most part the 'buried' storage room is complete. It just needs whatever shelves and containers it's intended to have brought in and installed.

The trip up and down the tower is actually one that Prophylaxis has made regularly in the past few months. After all, when you're in charge of so many different projects all throughout Aincrad, you tend to get around! Especially with how critical the efforts in Karluin have become lately. But this is the first time in recent weeks that he's decided to stop by and check in on the trade depot. Certainly, the first time since a certain gnome got her start working on the place. Last time he was here, there was barely a work site starting, and Xander had just been <s>coerced</s> roped into doing his fair share of earthmoving. Now...

Well. Things sure have changed.

A crackling, pale-blue nimbus of light drifts through the lamplit corridors, hanging from the head of the magus' staff. Prophylaxis produces a sharp, impressed whistle as he turns his head to admire one end of the room to the next. "This is more done than I thought it would be. How much effort did it take to get the dimentions geometrically perfect...?" Prophylaxis wonders aloud as he meanders up from behind the craftsgnome. "I don't suppose I'm interrupting anything? I just thought I'd check in on things, and I must say it's much further along than I had expected."

"Hm?" Arianne glances behind her at the sudden voice, gaze skimming up and down Proph's form. But she has actually seen him before, so she just nods and turns back to her interface. "... Right, that's that wall done. We're making good progress, as the Doctor said. Take a breather, grab a drink and a snack, and I'll get ready for the next incision. I think there're pillows in one of the earlier rooms, still, from the last break?" It's a musing question, but she just shakes her head.

Then she turns to the Doc herself, resting both hands on the haft of her own pick, and her chin atop that. "Interface helps, some. I've got an earned upgrade that lets me view the dimensions of the work project; the right calls and markings, and we can get close. It'll all need some polish work to smooth things out, but another group and come in and do that before we start putting in proper furniture; they've already handled some of the earlier rooms." One hand gestures back the way the Cait Sith came. "Got them using some course stones and water, for that. A mage comes through with water arts and pushes all the grit out into the drainage system."

In the Before Times, Prophylaxis was not a world-builder. His crafting skills were (and still are) better spent brewing potions and making a killing on the consumable items market. He's familiar with the craftsman's interface-- but not with... The sort of thing that can shape terrain to the user's whims. Certainly not since the Apocalypse trapped them all within the bounds of the game.

As Arianne begins, she might catch a hint of the doctor's brows twitching in surprise and interest beneath the wide brim of his hat (still atop his head-- it actually looks like it fits him better in a cavern like this, being a mushroom and all). He diverts his attention for a moment to wave at the rest of the workforce as they make off for a well-deserved break, but the distraction soon disperses, and the conversation can resume. "...Interface, you say? I'm... not familiar. Is that a thing that you've had since-- you know, before all this? You're saying it still /works?/ That's... surprising, to say the least. It can just-- /move/ terrain the way you want it to move?"

"Camelot's Interface is something I unlocked before it all, yeah. I wanted to get ahead of the update, since it had Homesteading in the title, and worked to snag something to help me with construction work." The gnome gestures airily where the interface is, for her. "And it certainly is coming in handy now. Lets me look at blueprints, plan out their construction with the materials at hand and the local terrain. I can make slow adjustments to said terrain over time, too - like, say, I could probably smooth out the stone walls here if I took the time? But I've mostly been using it to improve the paths, smooth out the ground for foundations to go on, and things like that."

The gnome stops leaning on her pick, walking down the hall a little to a marked section of wall. "But, every now and then after it all, I can do something a little... bigger." Her fingers dance along the unseen screen, making and refining an adjustment. Narrowing it into a thin line, as deep as she can... and then executing it with a thrust of her hand... that's replicated on the stone in front of them, the wall caving in along the vector of the gesture to create a rough incision that'll save some digging work. "... like that. But it eats up a charge on the interface, and it takes time to refill."

She leans on her pick again, staring at the 'boss man'. "... honestly, I've been thinking about making camouflage covers for some situations. Punch myself out a foxhole, drop into it, deploy the cover on top to hide. Makes all this a bit easier now, though. We can get a few guys in there to start digging out to the sides, increase our surface area to work with in carving out the general shape. Then I use the blueprint function to guide a more precise cut of the final dimensions."

"'Camelot...?'" Prophylaxis' furrowed expression turns even more thoughtful. "Like, the British one?" What the heck does that have to do with constructing /anything?/ "And it works... anywhere? Inside and outside the tower? Can you use it in the middle of combat? How many charges--"

No. Getting ahead of himself. Prophylaxis pauses and takes a breath, settling his inner GAME MECHANICS NERD. "You aren't kidding. I don't know how long it would have taken us to dig all this out by hand. Even if it's just cutting tunnels through the rock, that alone means dozens of work-hours saved every single time." The doctor touches at the etched stone, and... frowns for a moment. "...I've seen this kind of magic once before, but it only worked because the Traveller doing the job was using... He was /singing/ in the language that the Landers do, but purposefully. It was a kind of magic that doesn't require continuous investiture of energy. What was it..." The Magus' expression tightens. "'Erra lhasya rre ganna yeal ganna?' I think that's what he said."

Not that it matters now. The power in those words was tied to the mask that he wore. Prophylaxis shakes his head slowly. "There's so much in this world that we just don't understand yet. 'World.' Whatever it is that we're in, now. That Camelot system you have is able to interact with it in a way that I've only seen once before, and then only under very special circumstances. You've got something special there, that's for sure."

"Presumably." the gnome admits, on the source of the word Camelot. "That's... the Legend of King Arthur? A popular tale." She clucks her tongue after a moment, and shrugs. "I don't know the details, though. I focused on my crafts."

As for the rest, she just listens with an air of... not quite detachment, but close. She gives a soft, thoughtful hum. "... I would be interested in methods to improve how it works. I'd be able to get more work done with it." She mouths the repeated words from the Traveler, but doesn't try to say them properly - not yet, at least. "And I don't know how special it is, really, but it's certainly useful." The work they've managed so far is a sign of that, after all, even if it will be days yet before they're done.

"As for understanding things... Eh. You can do the research. Just let me know if you need tools for it; blown glass, forceps, scalpels, whatever. That I'm good with. You want to put together a physical puzzle, that too. Solving a metaphorical one...? Unless it involves material sciences, you're better looking elsewhere."

"Ah, yeah. I think that's the one. She's pretty popular these days, isn't she? That King Arthur." Nevermind that she's a he in the original mythology. Don't expect Prophylaxis to be familiar with /every/ foreign legend! Just... a lot of them. Maybe he's familiar with this one, too? Maybe he's just continuing some long-running gag...

"Honestly, I didn't even know something like this existed, so your guess is as good as mine. But what I do know is that, if it's Alvish, then chances are halfway decent we might find something in the tower that could help. This whole place was apparently built by the Alvs, you know? Maybe there's something about that that your Interface is... interfacing with?" Or maybe not. Maybe it's just spooky ancient relic-magic and he shouldn't think too far into it. "Regardless, the fact that it's let us make so much progress so quickly says a /lot/ about its utility. Still..."

"Don't write yourself off so soon," the doctor adds with a good-natured chuckle, "I was just an ordinary city doctor before all this, and now I've got a half-dozen or more construction projects under my belt! Still, I do appreciate how much you've been able to do for us in such a short time. It really speeds up our time table quite a bit, having someone actually dedicated to crafting and building onboard."

"... she?" A blink. "... oh, right, that anime thing." Arianne shakes her head, shoves it off, and starts swinging her pick, getting to carving out the room a little more - one swing at a time. "And that could be interesting. Wonder if there are any caches they've got buried, and the Interface can dig them up? Hm." She doesn't seem too invested in that particular idea, but. She would like to get it more functional...

"I joined up with you lot because I figured climbing would give me the most challenge. And that's something I've wanted for my craft for... awhile. I spent too long having to cater to the rich's aesthetic tastes, or aids for those affected by the Flash and other things. They get... redundant, except in the artistic touches on the former." She gives a snort. "All these projects seem good for that; like this. Never burrowed into a mountain before. Figuring out the supports, the proper digging angles, and the like is good work. The counter-weight systems for the lifts is another thing that'll be an interesting challenge."

"... though, if you want something to start with, try saying those... song words again, one by one."

"It's certainly possible. I managed to find an ancient medical facility of all things on the third floor not long ago. I wouldn't be suprised if we found other ruins of note as we continue our ascent. It was strange, you know? Maybe you would be able to get a better feel for what happened, but it's like the entire place was... sandwiched and squished underground in strange ways. Not like the earth had been layered on top, but... Well, I'll just have to show you." If it's even still there, of course.

He nods along, though. "I can understand that. It can get boring, doing the same thing over and over again. Even with everything that we've built so far, we're still missing so much. While the Alliance's goal is eventually to escape, I think it's worthwhile to build some of the comforts of home, if we're able to do so. Improving infrastructure is part of that, and if you have any ideas of anything that you'd like to work one, please feel free to let me know."

There's a beat. He fixes Arianne with a look as she makes her request then, more slowly, repeats: "Erra lhasya rre ganna yeal ganna."

"... Hm. Yeah. There's a reaction, there. That phrase - in its /entirety/ - is probably tied into how the Interface functions. Be interesting to ask this... Traveler about it." The gnome admits, listening carefully to each word and looking at her interface. Then she shrugs, and starts trying to mimic the song-phrase herself, studying to see what, if anything it changes about the screen...
    ... even as she keeps swinging her pick, working away blow-by-blow at the wall to chisel out just a bit more space for the crew to work on in a bit. "... but, yes. I think I'd like to see the lab if there is something strange about its construction. It might give us some insight on things - though I have to wonder if it's a matter of it just being... sunk into the ground, to conceal it for some reason." She hums, thoughtfully, before giving another shrug. "... Erra lhasya rre ganna yeal ganna? Hm. Wish I still had a charge to see if it improves that function, any." She can still murmur it while she tries to smooth the floor with the subtler functions, though.

"Hmn, well isn't that something...?" Prophylaxis wonders aloud, his eyes glimmering with interest and curiosity... Even after there seems to be no apparent change in the interface's function. "I wonder if maybe the phrase is only one half of the deal-- or if it's incomplete, somehow? Still, something to keep in mind. Makes me wonder if there's a similar phrase tied to /my/ old Alvish relic..."

Maybe he'll have to examine the inscriptions a little more carefully.

"At any rate, we can make our way there at some point when you've got a moment. I don't think it's the kind of distortion that comes from being buried, though. I don't think burying something typically results in it... stretching out. You know?" Buildings are not taffy, as it turns out.

"... No idea. Probably something to ask some loreseeker types." She gives a shrug, and stops murmuring the chant. She'll try again with the other function, later. "Or dig up yourself, if you know it's Alv-related." A shake of her head, and Arianne closes the interface for now; she doesn't need a guide to limit her digging for awhile, given the space being worked with. So she can just keep on swinging, chipping away at the room blow by blow.

"Probably give it a couple days, then. Let me get this all in a state where other people can do the polish work, and the interface isn't necessary for measurements." The talk of 'stretching', though, says there's more to the talk of it being 'sandwiched' than just being buried in things. "But... Hm. I'll have to see it. Make a guess based on that. It does sound weird, though, if there are obvious signs of stretch-stress like you're suggesting..."

"Hah, I'm the closest to a loreseeker we've got around here," Prophylaxis answers with a laugh. "But I guess I could ask the other brainiac I know. Whether they'll be willing to help me out is sort of a toss-up, admittedly." Dealing with Proteus is an interesting experience. Sometimes it feels like talking to a smol, female, imp-shaped clone. But then again, she's way more devious than he is.

He largely hangs back while Arianne works. This is admittedly probably for the best. Prophylaxis is a doctor, not a miner!! He does seem to remember something, though-- and silently conjures what appears to be a picnic basket to hand. "I've brought some refreshments too, when you're done," he says, setting the basket aside for now. "It /was/ very odd, though. We found a few interesting things inside, but... Well, it can wait. For now, I might head up toward Karluin and see about getting things set up for the next phase. We're going to be rebuilding the city sooner rather than later, I think, so if you've got some spare time, you should take a gander at what we've got to work with, if you haven't already."

"I haven't. No one talked about those sorts of efforts, so I've been focusing on the current projects." Arianne admits, stopping her swinging to look at that picnic basket, considering. "... Yeah, probably best to go take that to my helpers, split the food out among the crew. Probably help morale, with the drudgework we're doing." She puts her pick into her inventory, snagging the basket.

"... but I'll take a look at Karluin, then, sometime the next few days. When the opportunity presents itself. See what base we're working from." She doesn't sound too enthusiastic, at rebuilding an entire... township? City? But she'll do what she can all the same. "Good luck with your combat preperations. Let me know if you'll need my help with anything for it. Even if it should mainly be maintenaince that I can offer for that sort of thing."