Landers ethics

The Drunken Donkey Inn lives up to its name. It's...a bit rowdy, even at this hour...and the commotion only fades once one makes it up to the second floor. The second floor which, for whatever reason, has its rooms numbered in the one hundreds. And down that darkened hallway there is a single patch of light. The door to Room 102 is propped open, and upon entering one would note that the room cleared of all furniture save for two chairs and a table, upon which rests two cups, a steaming pot, and two plates. Though it is already late morning, the overcast skies obscure enough light that the room's lanters are still alight.

Robert is not at the table, however. He has taken a seat on the window-sill, hands interlaced and placed in his lap, gaze fixed on the streets outside.

Ayame knocks, only once, at the open door, and waits outside, smiling politely, her shield resting on her back and her hands gloved as ever "You look somber" She offers in greeting, smiling a very little. She looks over the room and the view from the window, then to each side "You like this place?" She asks with a little interest, dropping her knocking hand to her side

SpritesHero turns away from the window, surprise momentarily registering at the sharp sound of knuckles on wood. Perhaps he'd thought to catch a glimpse of her on the way in, rather than getting caught unawares. He rises, straightens his clothing, and bows. "Thank you for coming. Please," he greets her a touch formally, gesturing towards the chair closest to her. Only then does he smile, however faint said smile might be. "I've honestly never been here before," he confesses. "But it was the only room I could find on short notice. I...suppose it has its own sort of charm?"

Ayame bows her head politely, clipping in, her heels sounding on the wooden floor "Robert" She smiles a touch, moving to sit, removing her gloves and folding them, then tapping the menu to make them vanish. She sets down a small case just inside the entry to the room, plain and unadorned "I did wonder. It didn't seem quite you" She chuckles a little

"Ayame." Robert counters, gaze softening. It lingers a touch longer than it ought, before he catches himself. "I suppose I will take that as a compliment. Have you eaten yet? Please order what you like," he suggests, leaning in to bring up the menu-menu (not that the personal status menu) with a tap of his fingers on the table. He sits, then reaches for the still-steaming teapot, pouring the contents into twin cups from a completely unnecessary height. Showing off, perhaps. Or maybe he just enjoys the aesthetic of the arc of steaming, reddish-amber liquid. "Closest I could come to cider," he explains. "Pressed apple juice with Japanese cinnamon." Both cups are then pushed to the center of the table. It's a 'you pick' sort of gesture. A bit odd, perhaps, suggesting an underlying personal paranoia. Her suspiciously simple case gets a momentary, curious glance.

Ayame follows his eyes, and then grins "Ah, a useful tool I have" She explains, settling down "It provides clothes for whatever occasion I need. I tend to keep it close by" As she examines her own menu-menu, tapping in a choice for the house specialities "Thank you. It'll be nice to have a proper meal - I find I often don't have time" A politeness and leaning back, resting against her shield, against the chair back "And really?" As she looks to the drink with delight "It sounds lovely. I'll have to try"

It's admittedly not the most complex of menus. Robert actually looks a bit guilty once he gets a look at it, the barest touch of crimson lightening his cheekbones. It basically boils down to porridge or last night's stew, with some bread on the side. But he doesn't apologize. He simply taps in his own order, pushes an arbitrary cup towards Ayame since she evidently doesn't share his paranoia, and leans back in his own chair. He folds his arms over his chest. His mouth contorts. It's a really quite unfortunate and rather unpleasant series of expressions, but it's probably just him thinking. "It's about the Landers," he begins, with a somewhat skeptical upward nudge of his eyebrows. "I looked into the quest-based evolution, and after a bit managed to get through to the Hunter's guild." Yes, he's leaving out a lot. Depending on her intuition, Ayame can probably get a sense of that. "They've agreed to allow the introduction of a Lander, subject to some quite reasonable constraints as to questline and the like. So at this point it's down to selecting candidate simple Landers. I was hoping to get your opinion on any ethical implications and where this is likely to..." Dang nabbit. His gaze is caught by the trunk again. "Sorry. May I try?" he wonders.

Stew and bread look absolutely fine for Ayame, as she settles to watch him and listen thoughtfully, tilting her head and then nodding "I'd be delighted to help. It sounds like a solidly ethical avenue of approach and one likely to produce a solid line of results, either yes or no, both of which tell us a lot. I like it" There's a little praise there, as she holds her cup in both hands, taking a slow breath in. She savors the scent of the drink, as much as anything.

And then she looks at his gaze, and then the trunk "Oh? Oh, if you like. It's an amusing thing to try at times. You were there for the pirates" She chuckles

SpritesHero is clearly not expecting much more than a bit of fun. After all, the sort of outfit that suits cider and breakfast is probably pretty bland, right? Right.

Leaving his chair behind, he crosses over to that deceptively simple and unadorned box, and with an almost graceful motion lifts the lid.

And freezes, as his eyes land upon the contents. His jaw tenses, his fingers tremble ever so slightly, and every ounce of blood drains out of his face, leaving it a ghastly off-white hue. Yes, it's the perfect painting of utter and abject terror, even if there is an undercurrent of longing as well. But he is stubborn, too. And for all that terror his gaze nonetheless rises to fixate on Ayame, chin jutting out a fraction of an inch even as he eases the lid of that trunk closed. This. Never. Happened.

Ayame looks to Robert, and tilts her head. She lifts a hand from her cup and pokes at her menu a moment, before she gives him a sympathetic smile "I didn't see anything" She reassures quickly "I think it might be trapped for people other than me who open it" She might not be a good liar, but it's all about giving people a polite out.

Then, she takes a cautious sip of her drink "Alright. So. How are you going to pick your candidates?" Oh look, there's a discussion

If anything, the sympathy is just rubbing salt into open wounds, and Robert's gaze is even more stricken (if possible) than before. He rises to his feet. He crosses to his chair. He takes a long sip of his spiced apple-drink by way of a reset. Right. Business.

"I-I..." he stammers, catching himself once more. He inhales, sets the tea-cup down with far more clattering than is necessary, and folds his arms over his chest. There's another pause. "Simple Landers are easy to find," he decides at last, with a shrug. "Usually a few background question are enough to determine their status. But I -suppose- there may be considerations for yanking them away from their family and tossing them into a...possibly dangerous...questline? I mean, especially if they're simple, I..." Dang nabbit. His hand lifts to rub at the back of his neck.

Taking a little sip, Ayame lets him ramble and speak, before she considers and nods. As the food arrives, she begins to eat slowly "Find someone linked to the quest if possible - a merchant's staff, instead of the merchant, for example?" Her attention remains on Sprites, as she thinks "Do you have a particular duty in mind, or have the Hunter's Guild made any suggestions?"

"I was hoping to start with a completely un-linked individual, actually," Robert responds, a bit more coherently now that he's had time for something like a reset. "As simple and as fresh as possible, all things considered. I could either aim for the most rural of rural areas. Or, alternatively, I heard that there's some nearly untouched Lander populations in the Tower. There's potential to draw from there, perhaps." Tearing off a bit of bread with his hands, he slides it into his mouth, chews thoughtfully, and swallows. "The guild has not made any specific suggestions. But I was thinking a slow start, since we're not permitted to adversely impact the quest itself. So...perhaps information presentation until the Lander becomes more complex. Something like the beginning of Karluin. You've run it? A secondary option is to just hire a Lander to follow me around, I suppose, though I do have concerns about what such a Lander would turn into. I suspect one of me is more than enough. More practically, the level of danger is inappropriate for the degree of investment."

"I've not, but I'd be glad for your thoughts on it" Ayame responds politely, eating the stew carefully and taking her time, talking over the meal and keeping her attention fluid, shifting between Robert and admiring the view out of the window

"I see what you're attempting" She agrees "I was considering more elevating someone from a median tier to a higher one, but I suspect that you're correct - it will be easier to see changes in as simple a lander as possible" She taps her fingers, just for a moment, and then crooks a smile "I think I would thank you for not bringing one into danger. I don't think any of us want that. After all, we are far better placed for it than the most complex Lander, yes?"

"Though I suppose," Robert murmurs over his rapidly cooling cup, as he continues to mull the matter over, "that your suggestion has numerous benefits as well. Let us assume that major questlines have Landers of different complexities involved. I can see a couple perks off-hand. First, it's basically a provisional promotion within a questline, rather than more serious perturbation. Second, there's not a massive increase in danger or the like for the individual involved, so the guild is less likely to object on those grounds. Third, we're not putting someone in a position that they are likely to be unsuitable for. And fourth, we're not taking some impressionable young shephardess and sticking her in the middle of a goblin nightmare. Lastly, presumably the Lander can be just left in the questline once we're done." He sets the tea-cup down, purses his lips, and slides his spoon into his objectively cold porridge. It clumps. He paints small tracks in it, mostly because he can. "How is this likely to go horribly wrong?"

Ayame listens, as she eats, considering and thinking before she responds, ticking off on her ungloved fingers - quite the rarity for her "The biggest issue I foresee will be people trying to bypass the newcomer and go to the merchant, for example, so something to keep that in mind. Another is drawing the Lander's attention to what is being done; never a good idea" She flashes a smile and a small shrug

"But yes, this is why I suggest working with the same group in the group"

There's an exceedingly long silence, during which Robert continues to cut troughs in his porridge, rolling his lower lip between his teeth. "They are considerations, but not, I think, game-killers," Robert supposes at last, his expression unfortunately scrunched up and dubious. He -really- needs to work on that thinking face of his.

"I don't think we need to worry about the Lander knowing or not knowing what's going on. You're correct that the ideal situation would be the Lander not knowing. But let's assume for a moment that the Lander -does- know wat we're doing, and that it's interaction that drives evolutions of complexity. If anything, wouldn't knowing drive the evolution faster? And even then, Landers do seem to have some built-in coding specifically around how they intellectually reconcile practical aspects of their lives idea of complexity."

"Regarding bypassing, although some Adventurers will certainly do so, there's -probably- enough who prefer to bask in the...oh, what's the word? Flavor? Flower-sniffing?" He trails off, eyes rolled way back in their sockets. "Lore?"

Ayame wrinkles her nose, as she watches and studies Robert's reactions, before she shrugs "Atmosphere?" She suggests with a resigned smile "I know what you mean. I think you're right, but remember, you want to be able to present this and show how you limited the changes and produced these results. The more things you change, the less you'll be able to narrow down what caused such a change."

SpritesHero utters a grunt of agreement as he levers a hunk of porridge out of his bowl and determinedly puts it in his mouth, almost as though he's doing penance for some horrendous sin. "Atmosphere," he agrees once he's managed to swallow. "And..." He trails off with a sigh. "For a reasonably controlled experiment, you're right. But this is a pilot, not a full study. And furthermore it's more of a social context, so there's bound to be uncontrolled variables flying all over the place." Beat. "Which doesn't mean we shouldn't at least try to control what we can. How would you do it?"

"Start simply" Ayame smiles a touch, with just one corner of her mouth, as she looks down at her nearly finished stew, and then returns to eating slowly "I understand people want answers. So, you speak to the Hunter's Guild and arrange the appropriate quest. You take a minor lander associated with the quest, and escalate them to the main figure. You follow them for a set period, and observe if they grow more complex, whether facts and history to them which was not previously present come to be"

She shrugs, taking up her cup, and savouring the scent of the cinnamon before she sips gently "Simplicity is a virtue. This isn't a full study. Once this is in place, you arrange for the duty to be run; consider, perhaps, making a contest or award out of it in addition, to recompense the merchant lander for their time and assistance - and then see how it's gone"

SpritesHero sets down his spoon. Closing his eyes, he leans back in his chair, arms parallel atop the chair-arms. His brow furrows, hard, and the ensuing silence is broken only by the distant sound of Adventurers and Pekos in the street.

"Redoable assault quest," he proposes at last. "Start small. Base camp merchant's assistant gets raised to the merchant's position. Merchant gets paid to mentor the assistant. Weekly check-ins to ask about historical events--parents, perhaps--as well as more recent occurrences. I'm honestly not sure what increasing the reward would do. In principle it would increase running if the questline is usually abandoned. But if it is not, and reset time is driven by hidden parameters, then you're just giving a higher reward for the exact same outcome." His eyes flicker open. "That about cover it, do you think?"

Ayame takes the time to finish her stew, and to top up both of their drinks - less showy than Robert, she pours them carefully after waiting for a nod, returning to settle and savor her own, letting him think, and then letting him speak.

"I believe it does" She nods with a smile "Everyone wins, and you get the results you're looking for."

"Then that about does it, I think," Robert concludes with a nod of thanks, drawing a scrap of paper from under the table and scribbling notes on it. Handwriting? Atrocious.

He tucks the document away, and allows himself a luxurious sigh as he wraps his hands around his cup. He does not drink, yet, instead enjoying its warmth and scents. "I deeply appreciate your assistance with this," he states at last, gaze hooded and lowered, pensive. There's a moment's hesitation, then. A growing discomfort. "You've been well?" he asks, then, his tones not -quite- so even and measured as they were moments ago. "And your sister too, I hope?"

"I'm more than happy to help" Ayame assures warmly "I might still be settling into things, but I think we all have a lot to offer, and if we all offer the help we can, we will come to a better place, I'm sure" She finishes her drink, nodding "I am. It's been relatively quiet; a few good duels, a good duty or two. And yourself?"

SpritesHero drains his beverage with the air of one who notices they've barely started breakfast, but their companion has already finished. "Amen to that," he responds, setting the cup with a faint clink. "As for me, nothing too much of consequence. The few duties I've been on have been...relatively uneventful." An obfuscation, if not an outright lie, and he shifts uncomfortably. "A few undead and some nifty little blade-monsters," he finishes. "Where were you thinking to head today?"

Ayame shrugs "Anything I find, really. I like working with people" She flashes a smile "So whatever comes up. Whether in town or outside of it. If all else fails, I'll try to drag Uta away from the slimes again" She notes with a crinkle of her nose and a chuckle

SpritesHero grins, the expression more than a little wry and lop-sided. "Again?" he echoes, with a quizzical cant of his head. "Does she she tend to run into them often?" he queries. It would appear that, against all odds, Robert is the -one- Adventurer who has yet to find out that that Uta has slime issues. "I do recall that at the monster-race, she ended up trying to fly one, or something, and ended up getting trapped inside for a bit. But not dissolved. I think it was knocked out or something." Beat. "Not that I've ever seen a slime get knocked out per se."

"Oh, you really should talk to her more" Ayame says with a gleam in her eye "I think it might do your perspective good" She taps at a menu, bringing it up and retreiving her long, thick gloves, sliding them back on and flexing her fingers "I hope we covered everything you wished" She offers, tilting her head and waiting a moment

"Perhaps. I find her to be excessively confusing, to be honest," Sprites admits. He rises to his feet, then, and offers a quick bow of farewell. "I think we've covered everything," he continues. "Again, I appreciate it. Good luck with your hunting today. I'll clear the table."

Ayame nods, moving to retreive her case, smiling and nodding deeply "This was a pleasure. I look forward to meeting and discussing again; if you need assistance setting this up, you've only to say, of course."

"Much obliged," Robert responds, hands linking behind his back. "I'll be certain to keep you updated as well," he promises. And there he stands, waiting for her exit before moving to clear the dishes.