Nakreyya set up her small camp with practiced efficiency. The tent doors facing away from the wind, the small table set up so she could do some work if she wished, the traps all laid out in the surrounding area to catch food for their journey. She helped build a fire, and then spent some time tending to Anzu. Considering all they had discussed - of destines and fates - she was more than a bit happy to get back to the normalcy of survival, the sheer mundanity of it.

They were the three that had remained. Grug, Nak, and Fionn... as she removed the saddle from Anzu's back, she pondered they three. She wondered if they weren't making a mistake. They were all combatants, though others had exhibited far more fight than the three of them. She, herself, fought only as a last resort - she had always preferred the mysteries, and the puzzles to solve over the feeling of sinking a blade into another.

Though she was not opposed to the latter, by any stretch of the imagination.

Grug was of an advanced age. She thought she might be older, still - but he had lived enough to show wisdom behind his eyes. However, there was no speed in his muscles anymore. That said, she knew enough of Orcs to know not to underestimate him. She had fought her share in her day - old or not, he would likely surprise them if there was an issue.

Fionn... he was still interesting to her. He knew of mechanika, which she appreciated. She had believed she would never find another to speak with of such matters. Of all of the places she had seen, they had been very divided. Either mechanical to a degree that her magic was a hindrance, or so full of magic that there was no Mechanika. Machines were her first love - all she had left that excited her. To find another to talk with about them... that was... heartwarming. But he also had magic in his heart. He reminded her of her people - he would have been at home in Iescus, down to the fact that his eyes almost looked like those of her people.

She wondered if he reminded her of all she had left behind, of all that she missed.

Anzu nudged Nak's shoulder bringing her back to the present. She looked into his eyes, and ran her hand over his broad nose, and up into his fire hair, "It is alright, my friend, I was simply lost in thought. It is unusual for us to have companions with which to travel, my mind is on those matters."

She glanced back to the camp one last time, pet Anzu again, and set about with the items she had taken from the ruins, looking to see what she could glean of their inner workings.

**************************************************************************

Nakreyya was awake early, gathering the traps (and any food caught within) and reinvigorating the fire for breakfast to cook. She settled a creature that looked like something of wild foul over the fire, having collected its eggs as well for cooking. She had food ready for the group in short order, complete with vegetables she had found.

She greeted both Fionn and Grug as they emerged, inclining her head in her way, and raising a hand to her heart. She would always greet them with the same morning phrase. Even if they did not know the words, the meaning was always clear enough - a good morning. "'Quel amrun."

"Today is the day we begin the real journey, is it not?" Grug asked, looking somewhat displeased to have the morning sun in his eyes.

"An odd question, Grug. If you are asking if you have overslept - you have not. If you are not, then I wonder at your meaning. Are not all journeys 'real' ones? Do you have some deeper inquiry to our quest?" Nakreyya asked, glancing over at him with her one eye. She had grown more comfortable around the two, and was not wearing her eyepatch this morning. Her glass eye glowed with stored magical energy, casting a dull reflective light over the scarring around her eye and over her cheek.

She gave both Fionn and Grug a plate of breakfast and settled into a chair next to her table, close enough to continue with the conversation. She crossed her legs at the ankles, sitting as though she were in an elegant gown, instead of leather armor. She carefully cut her food apart, eating it with practiced grace and manners.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

@CoyoteLovely@Hekazu



A yawning Fionn gratefully accepted a plate of food and settled onto a nearby log to dig in. The contrast between the chill morning air and warm meal was a pleasant one and he let the heat and taste sweep the cobwebs from his mind. The other two were conversing across the small campsite, apparently more comfortable with each other after their recent battle. That was a good thing. They would need that bond before this was over.

"It would certainly be a very long journey for most groups on this planet. Luckily for us I have a way to fix that." He motioned with a small eating knife towards to east. "Our initial target is a rather peculiar monument in the Rzailian wastelands. Some sort of obelisk atop a mountain of corpses from the descriptions I've heard. It's supposed to hold some clues that might point us in the right direction. The only problem is that it's a several week long journey across extremely hostile terrain. I'm not even sure if the cart could make it without going slowly and very carefully. Which we don't have time for."

The knife flipped around and pointed in the almost exact opposite direction. "I have a starship." He couldn't help the dramatic pause that followed. Then he remembered that one of his companions had probably never even heard the word before. He looked over at Grug and explained. "It's a device that will allow us to reach the obelisk within minutes. Treaties keep me from flying it around willy nilly so I normally land it somewhere out of the way and reach my destination on foot."

While the Oracle was trying to make himself comfortable at the fire, Nakreyya greeted him with some phrase he had never heard before. It sounded like something cheerful, though mornings were far from that. He debated with himself whether he should respond with "Rak c'ntak", translating to 'cursed dawn', but in the end chose against it. No value could be gained by spreading such negative statements. Besides, she had another question for him and he would need to answer that too.

"It is not about the sleep, Nak", he began his response in a friendly tone, assuming she had meant the start as a joke. "What I mean with the real journey... what we did here was largely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. The true journey is the one where we may see if the world itself may hold up against the might of an ancient lich. Or if the heroes the world can provide can. What makes the journey true is that the very future of our world depends on it. Had we left this ruin alone, a village may have suffered at worst. If we leave this alone, the world will definitely be plunged into an age of darkness and un-life", he responded with his insights. She would likely get what he meant. She seemed like a smart woman.

He set his staff down and took the offered plate from the woman who was now not wearing her eyepatch. What was below did little to shock Grug, for he had seen much more outlandish things in his trade. By Oblivion, he carried one with him everywhere he went! While doing his best to eat with the one hand he could use and doing his best to not spill anything, Fionn shared his means of travel. Possibly to his surprise, the Oracle would simply nod. "I had questioned the Veil when I saw that. But when it repeated and repeated and repeated... I remembered that the Veil cannot lie. I am not sure if I look forward to experiencing it... ordinary travel is hard enough for me. But making use of it has to be in our best interests." He cared little about what bound Fionn. He would not have mentioned it at all if it was unavailable to them.

@CoyoteLovely@Silvan Haven

Nakreyya considered the words of her two companions in silence for a moment. She ate her food, the words of both tumbling around in her mind. Her expression was passive, difficult to read as she grappled with two difficult sentiments.

"I have two matters of concern.

"Primarily; Fionn, I have been on a Star Ship before, briefly. My version of Mechanika has proven a hinderance to that sort of advanced technology. You are, yourself, arcane - how is this ship powered? How do you bridge the disparities of that level of technology with math?

"Secondarily; Grug, are you certain that what you see is indication of fate? Is it possible that it is only a series of likely events that is now concentrated on the three of us as being the most likely to take this journey?

"I only ask because I find the concept of fate to be a little unbelievable. That we are predestined to a point in our lives, that all choices - and all evil we suffer lead to one particular point. If this is the case, how does one determine the last point on that scale? When are you past the tides of this fickle fate?"

She looked between the men as she spoke, her one good eye tracking their expressions as she ate, her lilting accent calm and elegant.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

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Hmmm, yes. She had previously mentioned how her presence had interfered with the workings of a starship she had reached in her travels. It was a reasonable question to ask about the thing they would be flying around at lethal speeds in.

"I will answer the second question first as it is more important. Yes, most mages don't mix well with advanced technology. The warping of reality tends to mess with the intricate electronics and nanotechnology involved. My people have traveling the stars for a long time however. Long enough that our magical bond has seeped into our blood. We had to figure out ways for magic and technology to coexist or be severely limited in those we could help. We did that in two ways."

He held up a finger. "The first was to develop magic that had a limited impact on technology. My style of magic focuses on controlling the fundamental particles of light. At my level that magic is restrained to the that light, it doesn't leak out and effect nearby pieces of high technology."

A second finger was raised. "The second way was by developing technology that could both resist magical warping and included it in the design. As far as I know we are the sole world traveling group who uses that type of technology in any great numbers. My ship is built like that. It has to be to work here. This planet is so chock full of magical energy that most ship can barely fly. Some can't even do that."

Fionn's hand went back to cutting up the meat on his plate. He was hungry but it was rude to spit food at people when talking. Preparing the food for consumption upon cessation of speech was much better.

"As for how it's powered? My people call it a Zero Point Energy Generator. To put it simply it draws on the fabric of reality to produce usable energy."

Nakreyya followed most of what Fionn said. His level of technology was different from her own. The spaceships she has seen previously hardly counted for being mechanical. They were sleek machines with few moving parts. She wondered if Fionn's ship would be similar - full of shiny chrome silvers and the placid voice of a woman of guide you.

"That is quite fascinating, Fionn," Nakreyya said, as Grug remained silent to allow the two to discuss the technology. "I shall try to refrain from asking you every question I have about your ship while we are on it... otherwise I fear we will abandon our mission such that you can teach me." She smiled a somewhat rare smile at her mild joke, the act warmed her one eye, and softened some of the severity in her expression.

"Anzu is... my method of movement between locations. He is a Nightmare, a corrupted Unicorn. He travels the dark dreams of those who sleep in this level of reality. He is capable of walking the darkness of their souls to take me somewhere new. It is an... unusual method of walking, and can be hard on the soul, but it is quite effective," Nakreyya turned her eyes toward her companion, who glanced at her. He seemed to understand she was speaking of him, and threw his fiery mane as though proud of her words.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

@CoyoteLovely@Hekazu



He couldn't help but follow her gaze. Anzu was certainly an interesting companion. And seemingly retained the intelligence associated with unicorns.

"I must admit that I am not familiar with this subspecies. Forgive me if I seem rude but normally when you combine words like 'corruption' and 'nightmare' you get something that needs to be put down. Anzu here seems positively placid in comparison. Why is that?"

Okay. Whatever these two were discussing now was well beyond him. They might just as well have started having the discussion in whatever language Nakreyya had greeted him in earlier, for he understood precisely the same amount of it. The more distressing fact was that he actually understood the words being spoken, or so he thought at the very least. The problem was that the words themselves said absolutely nothing to him. He had no clue what the two were speaking about.

When they finally moved on to Nightmares and corruption, it was a matter he could again participate in. He used his good arm to rub both of his eyes at once and began to talk: "Certainly, Nightmares are usually quite the bundle of bad news. It is not everyday one sees the wings of a Pegasus torn off or the horn of the Unicorn twisted and broken. But like any steed, they can be tamed. Us Orcs would never see a magical steed of any other variety, for they would reject us", he turned to Fionn with a crooked smile on his features, "and I am rather sure any ordinary adventuring group would rather have slain me than sought my insight. I am an Oracle. She has a Nightmare. You have whatever you called this vessel of yours. We are all strange in a way. Let it not cloud your eyes."

Having spoken his mind about that, he turned to the female of the company as the smile slowly died away from his face, only partially because the sun was now even more in his eyes. "For fate, I cannot tell. I peer beyond the Veil, I see what many futures may unfold. Not many see this world saved without our intervention. If I can help it, I will guide us to that result. But any of the many futures may still take place. There is no 'Fate'. The Veil is vast and unending", he rambled, taking a break to sip from his cup, "so it might well be as you say. A series of events that simply happened to land us there. But is there a reason for you to reject this opportunity?" The final question was asked with a heavy weight on it. It was the yesterday night's question all over again. But she now knew better what the old orc based his thoughts on.

@CoyoteLovely@Silvan Haven

Nakreyya listened to Grug as he spoke his thoughts both on her steed, and on the matter of Fate. She saw Anzu glance over as the word 'tamed' came out, and she knew both she and Anzu were thinking the same thing. The veil of a smirk crossed her features, but she waited for Grug to say his piece before speaking.

"Anzu is not tamed. He cannot be broken or gentled. He made a conscious decision to help me for reasons of his own. I freed him from a prison where he was being kept as an oddity, bound by twisted spells that were inscribed around him. He decided that I earned my freedom with his, and has dutifully been my companion since that day. He is free to leave my side at his discretion, as I am free to do the same of him - but neither of us has.

"The Nightmares we see in our sleep at night are... hard to behold, but that doesn't make them inherently evil. Such is the same for Anzu. He has suffered a great loss in his life that turned him from a creature of pure light to the steed you see before you. I cannot speak as to why he has changed, as he does not communicate in my language, but I know well enough the acts that create a steed like him. He is as I am - once beautiful, once respected and revered. Now a wanderer, feared or hated... certainly misunderstood. Anzu is not evil, he is corrupted - but he is not evil. He is... simply not pure any longer. His blood could no more heal you than mine could. His horn is gone, and all the powers with it. I would have to imagine he's sorrowful for what has transpired to take such things from him, but I have never known him to show malice or hate.

"I believe he chose me because I showed him mercy. It is a selfish arrangement for both of us, to need a companion - especially one that understands how we feel. I would no more recommend his demise than I would remove my other eye and make myself blind. Too much in this universe is mere misunderstanding over true despotic evil," it had been probably the most Nakreyya had ever said at one time, though she felt it was important for both Fionn and Grug to understand, and accept her unlikely companion. Anzu commanded fear at his very presence, but Nakreyya had never been afraid of him - and she hoped to pass that acceptance on to her two new companions.

"As to your answer about fate... There are many reasons to reject this opportunity. We are an odd party of people, and will certainly be in grave danger as we continue. This being a fated encounter, or random happenstance does not change that. That said, I have very little to lose with that danger, so I will stay. I simply have reservations at the notion of some grand plan that intended my presence here. I feel as though that moment passed for me long ago," Nakreyya reached down to the table and lifted her eyepatch as she spoke, shifting it up to tie it over her eye, feeling the draw of the mana from the glass battery she wore as an eye, and into the eyepatch, which whirred to life. "I will begin to pack so that we can alight to the Space Ship shortly."

@Hekazu @Silvan Haven

@CoyoteLovely@Hekazu



It seemed that the other two had taken his question as somewhat more threatening than he had intended it to be. Anzu had already shown himself as non hostile some time ago. Pitch black and flaming or not there was no need to kill a peaceful creature.

"I'll help." Fionn said as he swallowed the last mouthful of meat and got up. He moved around the small campsite to collect the other's plates. It would take all day to get to where his ship was landed and the young mage didn't want to waste anymore time than needed.

Grug rubbed his eyes while Nakreyya spoke, stating how 'Anzu' as she called her steed had never really been tamed and they instead had some sort of an understanding. Both had the chance to walk away whenever, but never did. Odd creatures. He tried to move his withered hand and wondered briefly if he should mention Slammy to the two... in the end, there hiding it from them would likely not do any good in the long run.

"The untamed can be dangerous at times. You are not the only one with a companion that understands you, but has a mind of their own. My arm was not always like this", he began to explain, taking the moment to close his eyes and tap his bad arm with his good one before returning it to shielding his eyes from the glaring sun. "We cannot really separate ourselves, but we work together as much as we can. Slammy does not like new people though... they never go to rest without killing once they awaken. It should not kill you first if we ever awaken it, but the risk is there. We can only hope we need not call upon them. I tell you this because I see no reason to hide Slammy's existence. But I repeat, I would rather not call upon it."

Then it came to her response about fate and how there were many reasons to refuse joining forces. There was grave danger ahead, she was correct. That was why they needed to move. But her reasons? She had nothing to lose. That was it. She was staying around them simply because she thought she personally had nothing to lose. Grug spat on the ground at the words, but he would not speak up. He simply handed over his plate to Fionn and began making his way to his wagon. "I will get myself ready for departure. It appears we are in a hurry."

@CoyoteLovely@Silvan Haven

Nakreyya nodded her understanding of what Grug was saying about his arm. She wanted to ask more after how it had happened, but figured that may be a question better saved for the Spaceship, when they were traveling. She did not miss his action of spitting at her reasons for going. She understood the act to mean that he did not feel she was doing this for the right reasons. In her old life she would likely have slapped him for such a show of disrespect, but she couldn't find the anger inside of her to do such a thing. It bothered her, but not that he had done it... it bothered her that there likely would have been a time she would have felt as he had.

She simply raised an eyebrow at him without speaking, before noting that Fionn was collecting dishes. She nodded as she watched him head to where she usually cleaned such things, and she herself went to collect the traps she had set. She was fairly sure neither man would follow her, and that was fine. She worked swiftly on her own.

As she walked, she thought about Grug's action. She had been passionate, once upon a time. She had loved, and fought, and nearly died - but those years had come and gone. She had long outlived her usefulness. Her passions had died, or been murdered. She was left as a surviving shell of herself. Perhaps this was a poor reason to fight, to go with Fionn and Grug to this dangerous place. Perhaps without the passions she'd once had she would die in the attempt - lacking the driving emotions that tended toward keeping people alive.

And yet... she just couldn't bring herself to care. She couldn't bring herself to change her direction now. She was rudderless, caught in the tides that pulled her.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

@CoyoteLovely@Hekazu



Cleaning up and getting ready to go did not take long. All three members of the group were well practiced in the art of making and breaking camp. With each member seeing to their own task the party was on the road perhaps fifteen minutes later. As luck would have it Fionn had parked his ship in an area somewhat central to their recent travels. So instead of the days his misfit collection of do-gooders had spent wandering the countryside they now had roughly a day's march ahead of them.

Fionn walked the entire way. He probably could have rode on the wagon if he had wanted to. Grug was a nice enough person. But he wanted some time alone with his thoughts. The situation before them wasn't apocalyptic, not quite. It had the potential to be horrendous nonetheless. Necromancers didn't need population bases to wage war. They could use the bodies of their foes.

The Lich would be stopped, he was certain of that. There were champions out there just as formidable as the paladin who had stopped it last time. But if they failed and the seal broke completely millions could die before the threat was dealt with.

Evening was falling as the three reached their designation. At first it appeared to be nothing more than a large meadow. No different from a dozen others that opened up in the vast forest. Fionn took several steps out of the woodline and then very pointedly stopped, raising a hand to tell the others to stop as well. All was still for a second before the air in front of them shimmered.

KRS Wandering Guardian

It took up most of the large meadow, an absolutely massive construct to anyone born on this planet. As the group watched a ramp lowered from the side and Fionn headed up it. Upon reaching the top he turned around and spread his arms in greeting.

"Welcome my friends, to the KRS Wandering Guardian. My home away from home."

The day's journey progressed like the one they had made to these ruins, though this time with much less people, talking and clattering of gear. Grug would be more than willing to hold up a discussion with any other traveller, but it seemed that Fionn would rather walk than share a seat at the front of the wagon and as for Nakreyya, she would be more than likely to be riding on her Nightmare. Yet with Fionn having made their lack of will to talk as abundantly clear as he had, all that was left was the elf. But she seemed rather apathetic when it came to this. He wouldn't be trying to start a conversation with her, that was for sure.

Eventually they arrived to a meadow that by all means appeared empty. Yet Fionn seemed to know something the others didn't as he ordered them to stop, Grug following the advice by pulling on the reins of his horse, not letting it walk to the open where it so desperately wanted. The animal snorted at him, but in a while that would turn to an almost panicked whinny which he subdued with a quick casting of calming illusory sounds and images, hiding away the scene before the animal. With his focus on that, he would only see the ship once he could cease his concentration on the stunt.

And, well, it was safe to say he had not seen such a thing before his own eyes ever before, yet it was the exact same ship he had seen beyond the Veil. This was what they would use to seek, to secure the future of this land, to save it from the clutches of necromancy. And perhaps, just maybe... he would find his wish along the way. He began guiding his wagon up the ramp, the horse being uneasy at approaching the vessel. But they needed to get in or they would not get anywhere.

@CoyoteLovely@Silvan Haven

Anzu walked alongside Grug's wagon, Nakreyya on his back. She was comfortable riding, the reigns for her steed loosely in one hand, and largely for show. She watched Fionn as he walked ahead, showing them both the way. His expression and body language spoke to a desire to be alone, and Nakreyya was find affording him that luxury. After all, she and Grug would be invading his space for an indeterminate amount of time, and Nak knew that she could be... cranky... herself if she didn't get time to be alone.

For her part, she turned her mind to her curiosity about Grug. She had some experience with the loss of a body part, and subsequent replacement with something different. Her glass eye and eyepatch were not sapient, as such - but mingle them with the not so incongruous analogy of her relationship with Anzu, and Nak understood why Grug had correlated her steed with his arm.

"If you do not mind me asking - what happened to your arm?" Nak asked, not turning to look at Grug as she spoke.

The orc was surprised by the question and took a moment to blink and gather his thoughts. The elf had wanted to talk after all. "That is a long story. It was always a weak and feeble arm, but once upon a time I spent too long gazing beyond the Veil... and next thing I knew, I was back in my little home, everything on the shelves had been trashed about and my arm was even weaker", he began to share, stopping to take a breather.

"The... Veil?" Nakreyya did turn toward him this time, raising a delicate eyebrow as she considered his words.

"The Veil is what guards the future and past from mortal eyes. We are only meant to view the present... few of us can see beyond it. I see the futures that may come to be. As I have told you, they are many. Some good, some bad." The question asked of him drove his tale to a different track than it had been taking before.

"I see, my apologies for the interruption. Please continue," Nakreyya said with a nod.

"Ah, yes, where was I...", Grug gathered his thoughts for a second. "I should have understood the warning signs back then... but what the voice I heard next told me what it was. Gaze too long beyond the veil and the veil will make you its own. And so I have carried Slammy within me. They awaken at the three words of awakening... I hope that need not be done."

"Slammy... that is an interesting name for your arm. It is sentient, I gather? Has will of its own?" Nakreyya couldn't keep a hair of a smirk out of her expression as she said the name.

"If it has a name it has not told me. That's what I call it. It slams things. And yes, it very much lives on its own accord. As I've told, it understands not to attack me. But once it awakens, either it has to kill or be killed. And the cacophony it makes..." He tossed his arm through the reins so that he could hold onto them with his elbow joint while rubbing his eyes. Slammy's appearance was hardly pleasant for anyone involved and he had to be present every single time.

"Interesting. I thank you for sharing the story, and hope my questions were not too personal," Nakreyya said formally, she did hate to pry.

"You are welcome", Grug responded to the woman with a nod, flicking his arm to guide the reins back into his fingers. "I will find the time to ask you something similar, so we will be even in time. Worry not about it. An Oracle answers to questions for a living."

Nakreyya actually smiled, laughing lightly. The sound was genuine - borne of amusement from the joke. It was rare she laughed, but she enjoyed it all the same. Something about laughter felt light, and airy. It felt like the old her... the one who had dressed in slinky gowns of red silk and tapped goblets of crystal in celebration. "As you say," she said to Grug, shaking her head with amusement. She kept her horse near his cart, continuing the ride alongside him in silence.

Once they arrived at the ship, Nakreyya felt an overwhelming urge to crawl over every inch of the mechanics and breathe in an understanding of how the ship functioned. She knew they wouldn't be on the ship long, and now she sorely regretted that fact. She would love to crawl through every secret the ship had to offer. Fionn ascended to the top of the stairs and opened his arms magnanimously for the others.

"Welcome my friends, to the KRS Wandering Guardian. My home away from home," he said.

Nakreyya dismounted from Anzu, and began to guide him up the ramp and into the ship. She looked around inside, taking in the neat lines of the construction.

"She is lovely, Fionn. What do the letters 'KRS' stand for?" Nakreyya asked, walking Anzu to the corner of a large area where he would be out of the way, and stroking his head as she turned to wait for Grug to come up behind her, watching to see if he'd need help loading his wagon into the ship.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu ((Transcript of Grug's conversation provided by Hekazu via Discord! Offered with permission!))

@CoyoteLovely@Hekazu



"Kindred Registered Ship." Fionn answered as he gestured to a nearby corner of the immense bay they were in. The spot he was pointing at cast an odd image. It looked as if someone had set up a small stable minus the walls and roof. "I don't fly the flag the same way a Kindred Navy Ship would, but most nations will accept a ship registered with us even if they don't recognize the make of the vessel or the species at the helm. Want a tour?"

He couldn't help but feel a smidge of pride at the way Nakreyya's eye flew across the ship. He hadn't helped design, build or majorly modify the Wandering Guardian so it was a bit silly of him to feel so. Still...

The trip wouldn't last long. Hardly enough for them to do general overview at best if she accepted. In the meantime he might be able to see if the database had any languages the elf could read. Maybe if she stayed around he would give her low level library access. If the young mage was any judge of character engineering was one of the few passions Nakreyya had left. Feeding that passion was the least he could do considering what she was putting on the line for them.

Grug took his time getting the horse to rise into the unfamiliar terrain. To be fair, he himself was a bit nervous about it, how he would hold up with the rumoured speed of such a vessel. But it was more or less the only way they could progress. Anything else would be woefully slow, especially now that they had spent as much time as they had to simply make their way here. Yet finally the animal ascended the ramp into the metal ship and he was pointed to some faux stable in a nearby corner. He looked at Fionn, the horse, the wagon and then at Fionn again. Everything? Just the horse? What was he going for?

That would be solved in short order, but it seemed the mage wanted to take the elf on a tour around the ship. Surely he had realised Grug was too frail to consider such a thing, so if they were to go he would simply retreat into his home and spend some time in concentration. It did seem to him as if Fionn was avoiding him whenever he did not have anything to directly add into the discussion at hand. That was not new to him, nor was it even unexpected. Few people dealt with Orcs willingly, even fewer considered the kind their friends.

In the confines of his wagon, he set up an incense and breathed in its fumes. He would need to take another look beyond the Veil, just to be sure. He unwrapped the crystal from its travel proofing by tugging open the knot that held all of it together. Such a pain to set up with one hand, but so very easy to break open again. Now... now he would focus. He had no knowledge of how long this journey would take. It might even be he would not have time to gaze properly. But that would remain to be seen.

@CoyoteLovely@Silvan Haven

Nakreyya lead Anzu to the stable section before assisting Grug with his horse. Anzu was quite acclimated to technology, having seen Nakreyya work on a great many mechanical things. He settled himself into the stable area, and seemed to be taking in the ship with a bored sort of dispassion. He gave the other horse a bit of space, the creature being more spooked.

"A tour would be lovely," Nakreyya said, looking back to Fionn. Her face seemed to light up a bit at the idea, a faint smile to her features, a light in her good eye. She waited until Grug and Anzu were settled before going back to Fionn. "I do promise not to touch anything, given my past experiences with vehicles such as this one. I do have a little experience with motorized locomotion however... I got the opportunity once to ride a motor...cycle... I believe that is what it was called. It was interesting - much smoother than riding a horse, but also much louder."

She would wait patiently if he had any procedures he needed to complete in order to take off. She didn't want to be in the way, nor did she wish to be a nuisance. She was excited to see the ship, however. She'd been so quick to leave the others she'd seen that she was looking forward to walking around one where her very presence wasn't paradoxical, or problematic.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

@CoyoteLovely@Hekazu



"Excellent!" Fionn said as he idly waved a hand at the open bay door. It closed significantly faster than it had opened, no need for the drama this time. Outside the air around the ship shimmered as the cloak reactivated. The physical gesture was not strictly necessary as the ship responded to the mental command of any registered crew members. However Fionn had discovered that most people found it less creepy if they had some visible sign to attribute the vessel's obedience to.

A slight hum ran through the deckplates beneath their feet as he turned Grug. The orc seemed to be settling in to meditate for the duration of the trip. Never one to be a bad host he spoke up. "If you need anything or have any questions feel free to ask them. Speak your request aloud and your needs will be seen to. Now if you will excuse me Oracle, I have some things that need seeing to." He gave a slight bow and turned once more, this time heading for the nearest door out of the cargo bay.

Said doorway looked like nothing more than an archway set into the material of the wall. The silver white metal within appearing no different to that outside. But when Fionn approached it the metal split along a nonexistent seam and slid into the walls on either side. The Captain and single crew member of the ship called over his shoulder as he walked.

"Why don't we start with the bridge? I need to head there anyway, Guardian always throws a fit whenever I try to command major ship functions anywhere else. And you can poke and prod at whatever you feel like along the way. Anything that might be disrupted by an active magical aura is so heavily shielded you'd need access codes and an engineering degree to get at it." He paused before continuing in a thoughtful tone. "Or heavy weapons."

Nakreyya followed a few steps behind Fionn. She ran her fingertips over the plating, feeling the almost seamless construction of the metal plates. She knew it could not be carved from a single source, but the fitting of each plate was so perfect that it was difficult for her to see where one plate ended, and the other began. Her ability to build was rudimentary when compared to this ship, though she felt no shame at her lack of knowledge. She had lived on a world where the stars were places where Demons or Celestial beings lived, not where one could fly in a ship of metal.

She knew enough about sailing vessels to understand what 'the Bridge' was, and what function it served. She had not been on many sea vessels that required a Bridge, most using Quarterdecks, however - she had been part of a political envoy once in her youth, and the vessel in which they traveled had been large and luxurious enough to require a proper Bridge. As part of her journey, she had been invited to view it. At that time, she'd borne no interest for such machinery, and had squandered that opportunity to ask questions. She would not make that same mistake in this vessel.

"Engineering Degree? I suppose I should not be surprised that there are planets and places where such things are taught in school. My Formal Schooling was geared toward etiquette and culture. Perhaps my life would have been different if I could have specialized in Engineering from a young age," she commented with the hair of a regretful laugh. "I must ask - many seafaring ships I have been on have needed a retinue of at least a dozen men to operate. I do not see any crew aboard this ship. Is that accounted for by magic, or is it simply a matter of efficiencies built in to the machinery?"

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu