Meeting the Adventurers: Eas

Some of the members of the Palace Lands come to visit the Yamato region. They've heard of a place named Eas where Landers intermingle with Adventurers in a newly budding region, and have come to understand how this is possible.

Liminality
Village of Eas

The Palace Lands has been moving throughout the region at large. A particularly large group of ships in the docks at Fourlands, most of which are simple caravels, with one ship in particular the size of a modern cruise ship - but seemingly wooden - with various weaponry mounted upon it. Though it's notable that all of the weapons have little pink 'poms' on their tips, suggesting they're here in peace.

Still, the ship is large enough and imposing enough that it could not get into the harbor. Even from here, at the top of the mountains in the Eas region, they can see the ship well enough in the distance, along with the Dukedom of Takamatsu.

Taking their time to travel, there is a collection of Palace Lands members coming up the mountain now, approaching Eas. The one in the lead, an Undine that appears to be swimming /through the air/, is particularly noticable. Flitting towards the lights that line the road, then dipping down to touch along the remarkable work on the stones.

The procession of Undine, Humans, and a few blue scaled Salamanders finally step into the village itself, looking around at the many pieces of construction, planned out buildings, and mixture of Landers and Adventurers milling out. "Look at them. Look how peaceful they are." The Undine remarks, touching her hand to her chest as her body 'drifts' down until her tail is almost touching the ground. Two capable looking humans flanking her. One holding a book, writing something into it, while the athletic young man next to her is just casually looking around, tapping his fingers to his blade hilt; Wonder-filled eyes looking around. It is notable that the procession contains only so 'few' people to guard the highest ranking person in their Kingdom.

"And you're telling me they didn't try to start a war with the Landers here?" The Queen of the Rosenheim Kingdom asks.
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna, he had been in the neighborhood a lot more recently. Perhaps it was because he had became use to being around Eas from the tournament. Maybe it was because he had been seeking some special training from Yuuki, and so had been kinda hovering around hoping to bump into her. Then there was of course the possibility of trying to avoid work, or even some deeper meaning to it all. All that can be said now is that Setsuna and his three headed companion are watching the entourage approach from the ships. Casually raising his hand to rest on the side of his head, he speaks into the air, " Oh looks like Eas has some interesting visitors today. Come Demon, lets go say hello. " So it would be the necromancer and his companion would fall in with what ever crowd gathered around them.
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    The arrival of the delegation from the Palace Lands was not a surprise. A chimlink from a trusted friend tipped Wake off and so her people were set in order to watch. What a chimlink failed to convey was the sheer size of the ship.

    Wake herself views it from pinnacle of Eas. "It appears I didn't need to set a watch, after all."

    She makes her way down and along the way learns that all is in motion and there are no signs of trouble or concerning reports between Eas and it's first gate, and there is not notable monster activity that might pose a danger.

    "All the effort of our people has paid off there, it seems. And with Goldenblade's road to guide them, they will arrive comfortably enough."

    In the time that she and her people have, the Baroness is able to have a dining room setup and rooms prepared. Forewarned as they are, there is even time to determine just how many rooms will be needed. Their particular decorations are finalized in the very last moments, when the kind of each guest is reported. Everything, in Wake's mind, must be as close to perfect as can be managed.

    She does not rush out to intercept the guests. Early reports indicate they are here to get an honest appraisal of how Eas functions... so she waits, providing them time to look around as they wish before she begins making her way to greet them. She has no guards with her, but there is one servant who carries a basket.


Goldenblade
Village of Eas

Goldenblade is here with Baroness Wake, a friend and associate, and of course her chief builder, discussing some future project, perhaps, when word of travellers arrives. She will go out to meet them with the others, curious as to who this is and what this is about.

She looks pleased with herself as the visitors look around, she's quite proud of the bits she's responsible for. Which is a lot of it, to one degree or another. And they would cerrtainly have taken her road up to Eas, of course, but she smiles as Wake praises it. It -is- one of, if not the, finest road in Yamato.
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

o/~ Golden loaf upon your plate! Come one, come all, no need to wait! o/~
The catchy little jingle originates from near the bakery, but thanks to the voice of the source it's heard through most of the villiage.
o/~ Warm and freshly baked is best, let the bakery put hunger to rest! o/~

Well if you thought being trapped in another world would spare you from ads you're sadly mistaken. But Kauchemar is just doing her job, seeing as the Landerfolk don't have the fancy communications like chimlinks to let others know when important things happen. Like the baker just taking a fresh batch of bread out of the ovens. This is how advertising was done in back in the day!

Its with part of a fresh loaf and a few more gold in her pockets that the Nightmare Bard eventually makes her way back onto the streets, noting the progression making its way into town. "Right on time." She takes a bite from the bread loaf... then pauses again, squintly slightly. Mostly at the floating meremaid. "That's... different," she murmurs, and takes another bite. Seriously, getting paid in food is almost as good as getting paid in money.
Uta
Village of Eas

Uta is on a brief respite from her travels to the Palace Lands. She has decided it would be a good opportunity to come and visit her friend Baroness Wake and show appreciation for the present she's received from the ruler of Eas: a new kung-fu nursing uniform, of white fabric, but embellished with arabesques curling into polychrome slimes around the neck and along the back. Uta has made sure it's been properly enchanted to be used as Monster Handling protective gear.

"Well, let's see if that slacker of Setsuna has been hanging out these parts," she mumbles over the rhytmic tapping of her staff on the ground. "I have a hunch this-"

She freezes in place.

Her jaw drops, and shortly after, her eye twitches. A whimper escapes her teeth. "...how. How does she /fly/ like that. She doesn't even have /wings/."

Trying to keep as calm as possible, she tags along the group.

And spots Setsuna.

"Well, look at that. What official duties are you working on? Starting a new location of the Slime Labs at Eas? I wasn't informed of this."
Liminality
Village of Eas

It is notable that the ships that had been detailed by the people in Shibuya are different from the one out at Takamatsu. At Shibuya, they'd seen a few regular, if large, medieval Chinese styled battleships. The fleet out at Takamatsu is a notably different one, showing far more blues and whites to its colors. A different Kingdom of the Palace Lands.

Though, for all of Baroness Wake's arrangements, one might wonder if they will take her up on her offer to enter the fortified castle, or any kind of dining halls. At Setsuna's approach with his hound however, the young man with the Queen suddenly steps forward, and with a practiced motion, his blade leaves the scabbard and points forward in a 'ready' stance. "Halt!" Noting the bone on the Adventurer's leg, and the monster itself.

The woman on the other side of the Queen calmly touches her glasses however, lifting them and causing them to gleam, and points out; "Don't make a scene, Julius. That man is clearly controlling the young Cerberus."

Julius Zagan Analeit, the sword wielding Lander, stammers and notes; "Ah, sorry." Lowering his stance and stepping back a bit.

Overhearing Uta, the Queen chuckles and swims over to her. Swaying her tail to propel herself faster, until she stops in front of Uta with the sweetest smile. Touching her hand to her own face, she chimes; "Well aren't you a curious cutie!" She calls out. "It's this." She then brings her hands to a gem that lays over her neck. "It's a Relic from the ancient Alv." She explains to Uta. Even letting Uta touch if it she so wishes (and is unable to hold back from doing so).

She then rears up and swims backwards for a bit, and instead moves out towards Kauchemar and presents her with a gold piece. "Hmmm, got another piece of that bread?"

"My Queen, we should..." Yuri Ullen, notably an Adventurer, but the Queen remarks; "Oh I know. We are being waited upon. I think I can feel her gaze upon my fins."

Laira Lorelei, the Lander Queen, begins to move up the road, taking back up the front position with Julius and Yuri flanking right after her.
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

When the merewoman swims over Kauchemar bows briefly as appropriate. "Your majesty." And when she stands back up she does indeed have the other portion of bread in her other hand, having by foresight or luck (or just originally intending to save more for later) to be repaired. She takes the gold and hands over the freshly baked good. "Do enjoy~."

Hmmm, not many guards for such an important person... Oh, but one of them is an Adventurer, that's worth at least 3 standard bodyguards if they're capable enough.
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna is use to swords being drawn in his presence, and even having them pointed at him. Some days he feels he should be concerned about what he has become use to, but when the young man draws his sword he grins. The cerberus moves infront of him protectively as Setsuna only gives a grin, " Shouldn't you still be using a wooden sword?" As Julius stands down Setsuna and his pet also stand down. Looking at Yuri he gives a brief smile and nod, " It appears someone has rather sharp eyes, thank you." Looking over at Uta as she is fascinated by the flying Queen, feeling confident his slackerness can be ignored.
Uta
Village of Eas

One would think it'd be that easy to trick Uta. What people don't know is that Uta, besides being curious, also knows Negotiation and Etiquette, and realizes that in such circumstances, restraint and politeness are paramount. In many cultures, touching a Queen is outright forbidden, and even if not, it is always good etiquette to properly go through the hoops of a complex dance of hesitation and niceties, before-

"...I'm touching the gem, aren't I, Your Majesty?", Uta mumbles to herself, snapping out of her reverie.

Well, almost. Just as she snaps out of her reverie, her fingers are a fraction of a second from making contact with the relic (after having activated the Appraisal option -- she has no such skill, but you lose 100% of the chances you don't take). "I have never seen anything like this," Uta whispers. "Truly, an item fit for a Queen."
Mizuki
Village of Eas


    Mizuki helped in the fight to remove the castle's old owners, so she's probably welcome! And maybe able to get tipped off about the arrival of a delegation. Finally, a chance to talk to players from the Palace Lands! She has so many questions! It may even be enough to take her mind off things for a moment...

    But what could prepare her for a FLYING MERMADE?! She's so shocked she can't mentally spell right.

    Eventually, she picks her jaw up off the ground, and for whatever reason decides that maybe her casual outfit is insufficiently impressive? She switches to the ninja one, a midnight-purple gi with brighter belt and bracers, and a dramatically long red scarf.

    Mizuki approaches the party, waving and smiling. "Um... hi! I'm Mizuki... I have... *so* many questions, I've been wondering what happened to people in other regions ever since the Apocalypse... uh... but I'm not sure when it's okay to ask, do you want to talk about that...?"
Goldenblade
Village of Eas

Goldenblade watches as the party approaches, only to get sidetracked by Setsuna, then Uta, then Kauchemar. Amused, she will wait patiently for the Palace Landers to discover us. She considers the colors of the visitors, but since we're not going to be fighting, it shouldn't matter. Hopefully, it won't be a fight. It would almost certainly go poorly. So she stands by with a kind of frozen smile.
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    Wake notices that a crowd has formed between her and her guests, but she does not push ahead. "It's good to see so many people being polite to our guests," Wake murmurs. As she speaks, several of her people do take note of her presence and clear a path for her to draw closer.

    With a grateful smile, the Baroness moves forward and waits. When the Queen looks her way, she will glide into her customary, deep curtsey. She doesn't rise, but instead remains with her head bowed as she speaks.

    "Friends from the Palace Lands, please be welcome here. We are honored by your presence. I am Baroness Wake. I hope that your journey here has been a peaceful one."

    
Liminality
Village of Eas

"It's one of the many gifts left to me by the great Alv." The Queen answers Uta, as she turns and swims off.

"I do believe that if I swung a wooden sword at this point, it would break." Julius answers Setsuna with a joyful smirk. "Sorry about that. I was worried that monster might threaten our Queen." He explains to the Scale Emblem member, as his blade gets sheathed and he moves along with the Queen.

Yuri Ullen nods to Setsuna then, showing him a bit of a librarian's look. No smile. More of a 'of course I am' kind of gaze.

The queen nibbles on the bread, her tail swaying, and her golden jewelry jingling as she seems delighted. "Ah, this is the good stuff. The bakers at our palace makes the thing everyone enjoys. But that also means they have to many it in quantity. This is better." She declares, nodding to Kauchemar. "Thank you." She remarks.

The group slows a bit as Mizuki comes forth to ask her questions, the Queen committing to a 'swim and walk and talk'. Because she's not walking, but Mizuki is. "They are fine. Some of them even joined me." She motions to Yuri Ullen. "Yes." The young woman notes, touching the side of her glasses. "The Queen gave me a delightful purpose after a few months."

"And you really wanted to come along."

Yuri blushes a bit and glances aside. "And I really wanted to come along..."

"It's better to ask the people in the Palace Lands though. I may be the Queen, but that also means I don't interact with the Adventurers in person as much." The floating mermaid admits to Mizuki, before she floats on towards Baroness Wake.

Seeing her bowing like that before her, The Queen continues to hover over her for a moment. Yuri and Julius look between eachother. There's this strange pause. Like the two know what is going to happen...

As the Queen reaches out and gives Baroness Wake a pat on the head. Not a disrespectful one, or one that you would give to a child. More like a Priest touching a member of their church as they bow. "You may get up now." Her voice is bright and sweet. "The honor is all mine, Baroness Wake." She then touches her chest, and makes for a tiny curtsy before the Baroness. Less deep than hers.

"I am afraid we can't stay for very long. We only have so many supplies on our ship." Their rediculously massive ship. "But I wanted to see what it was that your people have built here. I also heard that your people are the ones who created those black smoke making ships."
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    "No need to apologize, however this silly thing wouldn't harm a fly." Setsuna says ruffling each of the Cerberus head, else one would get jealous. As the group begins to move so to does Setsuna, its not like someone told him 'No Scale Allowed'. So along he goes with them as listens in and takes notes of the names to report back later. So while they walk and the others seemed engaged Setsuna would just casually try to talk to Julius, "So not a lot of monster handlers in the Palace Lands?"
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

"Ah, yes, the age old quandry of quantity vs quality. Not that one cannot exist with the other, but one does tend to outpace depending on the need." Kauchemar merely strolls along behind the gathering as they make their way to Wake's as always graceful greeting, enjoying her own piece of fresh bread as she does. Contrary to her often ostentatious manner the Nightmare is capable of simply listening. It's an important skill to know. But now this is Wake's show, to do what she does best when it comes to hobknobbing with important visitors.
Uta
Village of Eas

It was a long shot, and it fell short. Or, rather, slammed right onto Uta's toes. Metaphorically. The Spriggan just stands there, in silence. as the Queen swims away.

That's okay, that's a unique relic, gifted to a Queen.

Wait.

"So, uh, you are... were... on good terms with the Alv?" She frowns. "What happened to the Alv according to Palace Land history anyway?"

While everyone is talking, especially the Adventurers, Uta will try as hard as she can to tune out the Translation Effect, and try and focus on the actual sounds pepole emit, to guess at what language they're actually speaking. And once she's gotten that, she'll try to tag along some more. "Adventurers, huh?", she asks the Adventurers specifically. "You also come from Earth, decided to give Elder Tale Online a spin, went through Character Generation, and all that?"
Goldenblade
Village of Eas

Goldenblade was part of the steamship construction project as well, and smirks as they mention the steamship. "We are," she says, having bowed and rising again. "Not us in particular as a group, but a few of us were part of the group that did." This was all some months ago, so it's been steaming around doing its thing since then. "If you have any technical questions, I can probably answer them."
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    Different lands have many different customs. Wake has apparently experienced enough of them to take the greeting in stride. She finds it a pleasant thing, and being acknowledged as part of the hierarchy, even as a lesser, is affirming that she's making progress.

    Wake rises smoothly, her eyes lifting to briefly meet the Queen's. "You shall come and go as you wish, of course, and we will be delighted to host you, even if the time is short. If you have any need of supplies, please let me know. I sense that you wish to explore freely. The scouts tell me that there are no dangers for many miles. I have no concerns, though if you wish to see the mines, I would ask your permission to provide a guide."

    As Wake speaks, her servant approaches the others in the group. She opens the basket and offers the contents. From the inside, a pleasant steam rises, "Though you may not be able to stay here long, perhaps a warm towel may refresh you. If you wish to have access to any of our records or see something in particular, please let us know."

    To those nearby, the identity of the 'servant' is clear. It turns out to be Tae, Wake's fiancee.

Mizuki
Village of Eas


    Mizuki looks to Yuri. "Well, who wouldn't want to come see Yamato, right? I went to the Palace Lands as soon as I could but..." She looks away. "...personal stuff came up."

    She looks to Setsuna. "Are there many monster handlers *here*? Most people can't, I think..."

    She gives Laira a curious look. "Pardon, your highness, but what are you the Queen of, exactly? The entire Palace Lands...?"

    One ear stays turned towards Yuri, after Uta's questions.
Proteus
Village of Eas

It's been some time since people saw Proteus in the flesh. That changes today, as the Archaeologimp slips out of the shadows of one of the homes, the cloaked and excessively mysterious-looking woman looking towards the giant ship and observing the people who disembark. Clothes, weapons, bearing. Names are noted. She slips into the entourage, not making a scene as she simply follows along. Her hand flicks, quietly tracing patterns as she manipulates her UI to inform her of various facets while they travel.

It's when the Queen is engaged that the Imp slips closer to Yuri. "Enjoying yourself, I trust?" She asks the woman. "It's something of a pleasure to see new lands... Though is this your first time to these?" Purple eyes flick over her clothing and gear. "... You are a priestess of some sort, yes? What religion do you follow?"
Liminality
Village of Eas

"Hrrm - yes. There are not many Monster Handlers in our Kingdom. I believe they are more common in Thor Kingdom and then there's of course the ones that capture monsters for the Arenas in Kallamore." Julius answers Setsuna, momentarily distracted by the bone-legged youth. A concerned glance returning to that leg of his a few times. Then, to Mizuki; "She's the Queen of all of Rosenheim Kingdom. One of the three Kingdoms of the Palace Lands."

Yuri addresses Uta; "They died during the Great War, along with much of the Spriggans, Were Fangs and Cait Sith." The woman notes, closing her little notebook. "It's surprising actually, how many Were Fangs and Cait Sith there are in this region." The Adventurer points out to Uta. From what Uta can tell, Yuri is speaking Chinese. The Queen and Julius are speaking the typical lander language.

"Yes, I did. Then I got stuck here." Yuri adds to that. "It seems you folk have been managing this a lot better than our people."

The Queen reaches forward in the meantime, taking the warm towel offered... and lays it over her shoulders. "Hmmm... this is nice." She remarks, swaying her hips and body along with this sense of delight at this discovery. "Now I just need one of those 'hot springs' I hear so much about, and I am set."

"I don't think we have time for that on our schedule, my Queen." Yuri impresses upon Lorelei.

"Yes yes, I know." She motions her hand a bit dismissively, then suddenly swims up to Yuri and squeezes her, and then tugs on her cheeks with her fingers. A bit childish, almost before she kisses her cheek and swims back into place. Hardly a... typical Queen. Speaking of being atypical, she looks at Baroness Wake moments later, then to Tae, then to Wake, then to Tae. They've made no show of it. None. Yet...

"Awww, you two are perfect for eachother!" Lorelei declares, interlacing her own hands and holding them up to her cheeks, before dropping that motion again and swimming around the two of them for just a moment, before swimming backwards again. "I'll probably leave some of my people at Takamatsu, and have them do any inquiries for me." She admits. "I just wanted to see the people more than anything."

She then looks to Goldenblade and adds; "I rather not. I mean, it's a military advantage your people have, right? You shouldn't just show that off like that, silly." She points out.

Proteus then ends up spooking Yuri a bit, jostling her. She steps back, then looks the imp up and down. "Uh, yeah. I am enjoying myself." She relaxes, smiling at the Imp. "The Queen has been great to me." She points out, "But this is my first time to Yamato. I'm from the Palace Lands region after all." She pauses for a moment, before adding; "Ehm, honestly, I just like the way it looks. I'm a priest class, so it fits nicely, you know? Though I do follow the Law of Alba, if that's what you are asking about. Since everyone under the Queen does."
Mizuki
Village of Eas


    "According to lore, the Cait Sith and Were Fang were *invented* by the humans of the Ninetails Dominion, so it's logical there would be many of us here... do they have a different origin in the Palace Lands?" For that matter, she should remember what the lore was in FM World, but that's literally neither here nor there.

    She looks to Yuri, "How did your people, err, the Palace Landers -- wait, that doesn't work. Err, anyway, what do you mean? What happened with the Adventurers there? And you *should* try out some hot springs, they're *great*."

    Less great is that Proteus is here. Mizuki frowns a bit. Her brain flags the incident as due for recontextualization but *now is not the time*, although she has a gut feeling she's going to feel even *more* annoyed about it eventually.
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

Kauchemar smirks a bit when Proteus makes herself present. Immeadiately to questions wrapped in casual chatter. Which is fine, it means she has to ask few herself, just listen more. Such as when one of the other conversations mentions several races, her own in generalization, being wiped out. "Hmmm... Mayhaps because our kind were supposedly created by one of the nations here... though that brings the question of how they got to your Kingdoms at some point." For a moment she recalls the settlemend up in the Tower, were the Were Fangs present didn't have the identifying tattoos. "Or somehow a different... strain was created." The same thing as Mizuki was thinking it seems.

The Queen zeroed right in on the pairing though, that's impressive on a first meeting though, considering they didn't even really do anything to show it. That gets a brief chuckle out of her. "Guess you two are so perfect together it's impossible to hide now."
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    The outburst of excitement surprises Wake almost as much as it delights her. "Your majesty is very kind and her vision is clear, indeed. We will be wed soon."

    Tae, having no need to follow Wake's level of etiquette, points out with a smile, "She has certainly made me wait long enough. But I have to admit it was my dream to be married in a castle, so I guess it's my fault, as well."

    Wake lets her own guard slide down just slightly. Replying to someone being so open and real with stuffy manners is hardly friendly.

    "I imagine, Queen Lorelei, that you have a schedule that is kept quite full. The next time you are here, though, we will ensure you have time to enjoy an onsen, hopefully on a cold night with a sky full of stars. We would be honored to share our hospitality with you. Of course, anyone who stays to serve you in the area can count on me to aid them in what ways they feel are appropriate."

    Wake makes a mental note. She has to ensure no Dukedom intrigue causes issues for the visitors. Just how that is to be achieved is a problem for another time.

Goldenblade
Village of Eas

Goldenblade chuckles dryly as they decline her offer, and says, "As you like. Our ship is hardly military, though," she claims. Militarized ships would be far and away more butch than Boaty McBoatface. "Merely a test platform to demonstrate principles." Without the range to even reach the Palace Lands from here, without a dedicated collier to follow with spare coal.
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna eventually follows Julius's eyes down to his leg following back up to the bodyguard's eyes. " A tiger got it, I could have our doctor regenerate it but instead I feel this serves as a better reminder to me for some things." For a moment his tone becomes just a little bit more serious then the jovial nature he had, it is the first time he can remember anyone asking why he didn't get Prophylaxis to just regrow the leg. At the mention of the hotsprings he does point out to Julius, "If your ship goes near Alne, you can let the queen know we have a rather nice bath house in Tolbana, as good as any hotspring. "
Proteus
Village of Eas

The Imp continues to focus on what she judges is the most potentially talkative member of the group... Once the ice is broken of course. Proteus, as ever, knows what kind of figure she's cutting, but there is a little smile under that hood to help warm up the issue of having a Mysterious Imp just /appear/ beside you like that. She isn't trying to be menacing. Just mysteeeeeeeeerious. But the line between the two can often be fuzzy, and no one ever accused Proteus of being the best with people. After all, Mizuki is /right there/ and one just needs to look at the ears, likely, to see how she's reacting to being around her critic.

"It is good to know that the Queen is as generous and pleasant as she appears." Proteus chuckles. "And welcome to Yamato. Eas is... something of an ambitious project of the Baroness', and it's flattering that it would get such attention."

There is a tilt of her horned head. "Oh? You're a priestess, but not a Priestess, as it were. Hehehe." She chuckles for a moment, smiling... Though the chuckling is short-lived. "Mmm. The Law of Alba extends to the Palace Lands, even. I suppose that would make sense, being part of the World. Be cautious, though. Some in the area have been breaking the Law in order to harm Landers and Adventurers both in ways that shouldn't be possible. In fact, you remind me of an event where an orc shaman had been using an altered Dungeon Heart in order to reach into the Palace Lands and summon up spirits..." There is a little hum as she reminsces. "It was quite the battle."

Proteus seems much more at ease around Mizuki, however, and she nods. "I agree. The hot springs can be wonderful. I'm sure many here would be happy to recommend some for when you have the time."
Liminality
Village of Eas

"Hmmm, I mean, they're a species. I don't think the Ninetails Dominion really _invented_ them." The Queen points out to Mizuki, sliding her hands behind her back for a bit. Probably because she thinks she looks cute that way. "So I think your Ninetails Dominion is just... y'know... wrong if that is what they are saying." She points out. Then, to Kauchemar she adds; "Same was as all the other races really. They moved there and lived there."

Then, to the Baroness. "You have to invite me to your wedding!" Followed by Julius pointing out; "My Queen, it takes a few weeks to get here. I don't think we have that kind of time for a single Adventurer's wedding." Which gets him a bit of a look from the Queen... until she relents and 'hovers down' a bit. "Oh, you are right..." She huffs, then points to Baroness Wake. "I will keep you to your word on that onsen matter though."

Yuri then adds for Mizuki's sake; "I mean, a lot of people on our side tried to take over the Root Cities and the surrounding towns, because there wasn't really room for us. A lot of us didn't want to sleep out in the fields, and work for our food. But, they quickly learned about the Guardians. And the Landers were of course stronger than us. This is their home after all." She points out.

The Queen then quiets a bit at Setsuna's offer. "No, ehm, I'm good." The first time she has showed a bit more aback. "I don't think I would be very welcome there." She doesn't explain exactly why.

To Proteus, Yuri points out that; "We've heard recent sightings of such things on our side, as of a few weeks ago. Monsters that are suddenly behaving... strangely. Some of them even building shrines with Teeth and other kinds of symbols. We've been having to send more Adventurers to help with those issues." She touches her chin. "It started happening roughly three or four weeks before you folk showed up." She doesn't say 'on New Years', probably because the Chinese New Years is on a different date.
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna tilts his head at the reaction, " I mean I don't really see why ? Its not like Tolbana was ever around befoe so I don't see why. " Its a concerning thing and some of the other tidbits of conversation which are interesting as well but Setsuna can't leave it alone. He just continues to ponder it for a little bit before he has shakes it off, " Well if you say so, it can't be helped. " Taking another moment or two to let the conversation move on, Setsuna would find a line to slip in , " So have you ever been to these lands before?"
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

Kauchemar mmmhmms, rubbing her fingers across her chin. "Of course, that is a very long time ago, and with no clearly defined records.... well, who can really say." It's a topic best left to lie for now, especially in front of such important people as the Lander royalty. Besides, there is nothing unusual for another region to have different origin stories. Just look at all the different mythologies in the real world. "History is written by the victors... and sometimes they like to omit and embelish for the sake of the story itself!"

Then her attention drifts back to Yuri and Proteus. "They did not do such before? Hmmmm. That's.. peculiar."
Mizuki
Village of Eas


    Mizuki can't help but giggle a little at 'my dream to be married in a castle', it's just... funny how that would be an unrealistic joke back home (well, maybe not entirely, some of the castles that still exist *must* rake in money from just that sort of thing...) and yet... wait, DOES it make more sense here? Hmm. But it's a good-natured giggle -- after all, Tae's dream is coming true!

    Do landers here dream of things like being princesses?

    Would... Mizuki have, if she'd known...? No, now's not the time for pondering that.

    A *tiger* is what got Setsuna's leg? "It wasn't me!" Mizuki quickly clarifies. She nods about the Tolbana bath house. "It *is* very nice!"

    Mizuki hmms as the queen speaks. "It feels like the kind of thing that bears more investigation. Especially considering things that we *know* have happened, like... ending up in this world, it may well be that the truth is something else even stranger, distorted in each region..."

    She nods to Yuri, remembering those times here. She didn't GET to sleep in an inn until like a week in; she was fortunate to be covered in warm fur that winter... "There were... issues at first, certainly. But I guess there wasn't a concerted effort to take *over* towns, although I guess we had Alne kind of de facto, so instead people pushed to build there... and we were focused on the Ezzo rescue effort..." Mizuki tilts her head. "Did anyone tell you about that, yet?"
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    There is something about the queen that inspires Wake to be.. unusuallly impulsive. Etiquette is, after all, about adapting to the customs of those you wish to put at ease. "It would be an honor to have you there, but I think you are quite too busy for it." There's a sigh.

    At the mention of the onsen promise, Wake perks up. She raises her right hand and extends her pinky. "I pinky promise on it. It will be fun!"

    Tae raises an eyebrow, then laughs. "I.. did not anticipate /that/ gesture to be part of our official diplomatic processes."

Proteus
Village of Eas

There is a flick of the purple eyes to the side at the response of the Queen to Setsuna. Hmm. The Imp's gaze flicks back to Yuri. The reaction was marked enough. And public enough... And if she won't explain, there's other ways to find out...

But Yuri also points out that there's problems in the Palace Lands as well. "... You too." There is an intake of breath as the Imp considers this. "They had been doing the same here for some time as well. We are trying to learn the true significance of the symbols and tools the monsters have been taking up, but it is a slow process. But perhaps I and others can lend our abilities to both help and perhaps find a solution to bring peace to both our lands in the process."

It's at this point her hand moves up to her chest. "But where are my manners. I am Proteus, of Plant Hwyaden, member of the Olympus Alliance, an archaeologist and explorer." She gives a little bow to Yuri, and then she's tapping her chin in thought, her tail flicking back and forth. "Three or four weeks before we arrived... If I am correct on the timescale of New World... That would be near the beginning of the year. The man in that event /did/ speak of a quarantine being broken..." She grimaces for a moment, thinking of the ramifications.
Goldenblade
Village of Eas

Goldenblade guesses they're not going to press her for naval secrets, or maybe they didn't believe her claims. Their loss. She has her own immediate plans in any event, so any warship building will have to be after that, so there's no immediate danger, perhaps. She smiles and watches curiously as the others question the visitors.
Liminality
Village of Eas

The Queen shakes her head. "No. I haven't." She answers to Setsuna with a smile, before turning to look at Mizuki as she mentions the rescue of the Ezzo Island. She shakes her head.

Yuri pipes up, "It's the badlands to the northeast of here, where something seems to have occurred that required the Goddesses to step in, if that dome is any tell."

"Ah." The Queen notes, nodding her head. "That's one of the things that happens when the Adventurers got stuck here, correct?"

"Correct." Yuri adds, before noting to Proteus. "Yeah, but only as of a month ago. You say they've been doing that in your region all of this time?" Before her head tilts ever so slightly, and Protues suddenly gets attention from all three in that party.

"A quarantine being broken? What quarantine?" The Queen asks, her voice a bit more serious all of the sudden. "Why would there have been a Quarantine over this region?"
Mizuki
Village of Eas


    "The... goddesses did that...?" Mizuki looks thoughtful. "Yes, what happened was..." She ponders how to put it in Lander-speak. "...Yes, *something* broke the Laws of Alba very badly. ...Forcefully, you might say, rather than simply removing their influence." She looks to Yuri. "It's glitched out to HELL." She looks between the Queen and Yuri. "The adventurers and Landers there were led to the beaches by..." She frowns, "It sounded like a GM posessed a Lander to guide them, but... nothing like that has happened since, so maybe we came to the wrong conclusion about that? Anyway, once the shield was up, they were trapped outside... the evacuation took a long time, figuring out how often we could send ships without provoking the leviathans' wrath."

    As for Quarantines... "Was there no giant floating holographic chair guy in the Palace Lands during the Apocalypse and a year later? *All* adventurers were teleported to Alne or Ezzo during the Apocalypse, the old guy appeared over Alne and gave a cryptic recorded message. Did nothing like that happen there...?"
Proteus
Village of Eas

Ah, now it's Proteus' turn to talk about things. "Yes, We've been dealing with many problems in the World for an entire year before that. Fending off invasions from other worlds, and a multitude of other problems, including the monsters and their... shrines." There is a glance to the side as Mizuki explains the events in Ezzo, but Proteus nods, not seeing anything that needs to be corrected there.

There is an arch of the Imp's brow as she suddenly has everyone's attention, however. There is a shrug, and her hands spread out, beginning to gesture as she explains. "It was during our own celebration around the New Year. I and many others make our place in Alne, around the Tower, for various reasons. During this celebration, an image of an old man appeared, speaking of his daughters." She flicks her hand and produces some paper from her Inventory, looking down at it. The paper itself is covered in what looks like an sequence of numbers and letters in pairs from 0 to F, but the Imp simply reads off of it. "I left this world to my Daughters. And in turn, I gifted my Daughters to you. Today, you lifted a Quarantine. Uniting my daughters. If my theories are correct, this means that you will be given a greater reign over this world. Take good care of this world."

The Imp looks up from the paper and nods. "It was a quite... pointed appearance. But as to why we would have been under some kind of quarantine in the first place, I have no idea."
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna listens to Mizuki's explanation of the Ezzo events, that was during a time he didn't fully remember, so it was nice to hear about. Then Proteus speaks up and adds to it, it is a whole lot of information. Looking at the Palace Land guests he decides to keep his mouth shut for now and instead do his best to judge reactions to all this.
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

Everyone else is already explaining the matter, so Kauchemar just stands back figuratively speaking, and listens.

More importantly she's studying the reactions the visitors make to what's being told. The ways the react, particularly one of their social and cultural leaders, will tell many things about the Palace Lands in general.
Goldenblade
Village of Eas

Goldenblade huhs at something happening to the northeast. She's not sure what that's about. But there /have/ been some odd things going on, and so she will listen to figure out what this is about?
Liminality
Village of Eas

Yuri notices those blank looks on Julius and the Queen's faces. "Hmm, no. No Guy in the Sky." She answers Mizuki. "And I don't think a GM has shown up on our side at all. Everything we've seen has been Lander and Adventurer driven." The note keeper explains, letting out a bit of a sigh. She claerly is being attentive to the other two.

"I think we should leave." She remarks, and then bows towards the Adventurers. "Thank you for having us."

Julius and the Queen seem a bit peeved at the moment, but at the urging of Yuri, the Queen lets out a bit of a sigh and nods. "Alright. Yes. I think that's the best thing to do. I think my ears are starting to play tricks on me." The Undine notes, rubbing at them.

Yuri seems notably more concerned than the rest as Proteus continues to talk, with Julius and the Queen already moving to depart. Quickly bowing respectfully to Proteus. "Thank you for this information. We will consider what you've told us." She explains, and begins to step back with the rest of her party. It's clear the group has listened to every word of it. And they're connecting dots right now.

She then bows again to Baroness Wake. "My apologies." And then moves after her.
Proteus
Village of Eas

Proteus is connecting dots as well. She returns the bow and simply smiles pleasantly to the Queen and the others. It would take someone completely oblivious to miss just how the tone of the meeting has changed, and the Imp certainly might be coming to the same conclusion they have.

"Safe travels. We will be in touch." Proteus says in a pleasantly neutral tone.
Mizuki
Village of Eas


    Was it something she said? Mizuki looks concerned as Julius and the Queen seem annoyed at something. "Thank you for visiting us! Uh... goodbye..." she waves awkwardly.
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna simply smiles as he notices the expression on their guests' faces , yep information overload and a reminder that with us we bring the plague of our adventurism. As they say their goodbyes Setsuna gives a small bow, "It was a pleasure to meet you three. I hope we meet again. " Setsuna would stand with the group as the visitors return to their boatss and once out of ear shot he would ask, " So they traveled here, do they count as travelers?"
Proteus
Village of Eas

"If they count, so do most of us." Proteus comments. "Something tells me there's more to being a Traveler."
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

Kauchemar just acts like nothing strange happened. "Ah, leaving so soon? But I suppose it's a necessarity of being the ones in charge. So much to do, so little time." She dips forward into a bow. "Prehaps we will speak again some time, when we visit your lands again. Until then, safe travels~"

She stands afterwards, tail idly swishing a few times while waiting for the trio to leave before finally speaking up. "Well, it's a good thing they had at least one Adventurer with them to pick up on the meta aspects." She shakes her head to Mizuki after noticing the catgirl's concerned look. "That's the Landers 'we don't hear certain things' in effect. Sometimes they still react... uneasy."
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    Wake has fallen silent, watching carefully. Interesting how even the most advanced of Landers have limits. The hasty departure doesn't trouble her. She simply does as always, sliding into another curtsey, "Have a peaceful trip, and send word when you are ready for another visit!" She imagines that will happen on the third Tuesday of never.

    Turning her attention back to her people, she says, "My apologies, friends. It appears we've a feast with no guests! If you could find some of our own who have worked hard this day, please invite them and enjoy what has been prepared."

    Citizens move swiftly at the new guidance. And the thought of a enjoying a feast no doubt provides some inspiration.

    "Perhaps someone can tell me just how that escalated?" requests Wake of her fellow Adventurers. "So that the next time we have visitors we don't have a repeat."

Goldenblade
Village of Eas

Goldenblade bows also as the party makes to depart, saying nothing. She will have to ask Wake afterwards what exactly happened. She's not one of the people that takes social cues.
Proteus
Village of Eas

Proteus was waiting for someone to ask that question. She shrugs. "I am assuming they came to the most logical conclusion involving the quarantine, Baroness. The thing the Quarantine was intended to contain..." She turns around, sweeping her cloak as she faces away, bowing her head just so to catch a little ironic smirk that reveals just a touch of those sharp teeth.

"... Was us."
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

o/~ Dun dun duuuuuuun! o/~

Kauchemar smiles lopsidely. "Sorry..Bardic instinct felt that needed an appropriate emphasis."
Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna looks at Kauchemar and then to Wake and gives a shrug, " I mean I could give guesses and all but I believe you have people to do that for you. " The necromancer's eyes glance over to Proteus and oh hey look she said what he was going to guess. " Going into the meta as Kauchemar put it probably didn't help. Also it appears the Queen adamantly didn't like the idea of coming to Tolbana, like something bad would happen. Any guesses on that? " Setsuna lets out an audible sigh, " Just more questions. "
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    "I don't see how the words you quoted lead to such a conclusion, Proteus. If removing the quarantine united the daughters, was it not they who were quarantined from each other? Or they were separately quarantined from the greater world in which they may now unite?" asks Wake.

    The Baroness turns to Setsuna, "I noticed that as well. Which made me curious. Also, how could she, at a glance, tell two adventurers have feelings for each other? Can our cosmopheres be read and reveal such things?"

Proteus
Village of Eas

"And we did it. We're harbingers of destruction, Baroness. They can even point to how what we did is beginning to cause disturbences in their own world." Proteus sighs. "I wonder if we will in the end accidentally destroy the world of the invaders, just as they predicted."
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    "Perhaps, but I think that is a particularly gloomy outlook," replies Wake. "And it need not be that way. If we are now entrusted with this world by.. whoever delivered that message.. then our decisions matter. It is not inevitable."

    The Baroness will not allow shadow to fall on the hearts of her people. "And we have in this place forged a home for ourselves that proves there is a way forward together. I will not allow such worries to plant the seeds of despair in my heart, nor in the hearts of those who stand with me. If you have counsel to give, I will heed it, but I expect us to see what is possible if we do the right thing."

Setsuna
Village of Eas


    Setsuna can't help but chuckle at Proteus's comment. " If a butterfly beats it's wings in Tokyo it causes a hurricane in Beijing." It's not the common version of that saying but it makes the most sense in this case. "Anyways it seems Uta has gotten distracted , I should slip away. I appreciate you lot letting me float around. " WIth that he gives a whistle and him and Demon begin to head off to who knows where. POssibly right around the corner to start making chimlink calls.
Proteus
Village of Eas

"If we can bring doom..." Proteus pauses, chuckling again. "Then we can also bring hope. We can be that hope still, Baroness. But it'll take a lot of work. I'll always be helping where I can. This World... must be protected."
Kauchemar
Village of Eas

Kauchemar snorts softly. "Wake is right. No future is set in full, not even to those that can glimps at it... Though it is also true that many do not consider the impact their actions may have on the greater scale of things."

Then the Were Fang turns, one hand to her chin thoughtfully as she paces a bit, tone more solem. "Regardless of the cause, the fact that the monster... adaptation let's call it, is possibly spreading there is... peculiar. How has it gotten there? Do monsters have a way to move between regions we don't know about? Or is this just some aspect that's able to reach a farther distance.... Tch. The Palace Lands must of been boring before, if the only thing they had to make Monsters interesting was the rediculous high levels..."
Baroness Wake
Village of Eas



    "I wish the whole world were boring in that way, Kauchemar, my dear," suggests Tae, her attention at last returning from where it had been focused, watching the guests leave. "It's sad to see her go and see her change like that. She is so bright and cheerful. This news has drawn a fog around her."

    Wake nods to Proteus, saying after a long pause, "My place is here, in Eas, where I can keep my people safe and give them solid ground to stand on. They have much to be proud of. To draw the attention of a visiting Queen is quite something, indeed."

    The Baroness looks at the ground carefully and her eyes flit from their search to meet Tae's gaze. In a moment, she, too, is looking carefully.

    "We should make sure that our guests didn't leave anything behind in their rush," Wake explains. "I have heard of such a thing happening with a different group of visitors from the Palace Lands."

Mizuki
Village of Eas


    Mizuki listens to the conversation of the others somberly. This World...

    Since arriving here... it had been an open question whether she COULD leave, but she had kind of hoped... kind of assumed... that it would be an open choice. That she might be happy either way.

    Now that she's less sure about that... not sure she wouldn't only want to *stay*... 'The world must be protected' has kind of a different ring to it. She stares into space, thinking.