If she wasn’t going to ask, Isidore found no need to answer. Rather, he raised an eyebrow at Leuca’s insistence of a weapon large enough to slay massive beasts in a single blow. He had seen the results of her martial capabilities back against those armored centipede, of course, so she couldn’t have been lacking too much in terms of physical capability, but still, the presumption that only a large weapon could down beasts of prodigious sizes was going to be a…teachable moment.

All it took was a piece of metal smaller than one’s thumb to kill a bear, after all.

Still, if the ore used was of a superior quality to steel and could slice through bone without chipping, perhaps larger weapons did have their uses after all. Rubell Ore, hm? Certainly, judging by the Dirithen’s own overprotectiveness of their personal mines, it made sense that the Urutha would seek out their own ores for their own weapons. Isidore gazed at his own axe, wondering how they compared in terms of quality. No point in thinking too much about it though. Waste not, want not. He had a longsword, a dagger, and a halberd already. He had a form of ‘armor’ as well, and magic was indeed the answer he utilized for ranged attacks. The man paused for a moment, then remembered the face Augusta made.

“This one as well,” he said, pointing at a rapier. Isidore had the feeling it was the type of weapon she’d enjoy. Light and pointy seemed to work well with how she had been concentrating her magical attacks recently. “And two questions. Do you know magic that enhances the body? Do you know of any restaurants that specialize in less…aromatic cuisine?”

Isidore was feeling like he could go for something savoury himself, but Leuca would likely appreciate something lighter. A shame, really. She wasn’t going to grow up well if she didn’t eat something heavy.

Though it was slightly disappointing that the young fawn was disinclined to follow her as she headed back to the village, Misaki could at least take solace in the fact that the matter with the Kyrinth had been settled... In a way. The rest of the walk back had gone without incident, and she had ultimately come out of it all with whatever spare plants she had gathered in the process.

With those in hand, the foxgirl silently followed Nobunaga back into Enli's house, listening in silence as the older man gave them a quick synopsis of their mythology. Given that this was a world predicated on magic instead of science (for the most part), Misaki could not discount the possibility that the myth that had been summarized to them had some ounce of truth to them. Given what she had heard from the Kyrinth, though, it seemed obvious to join hands with a being willing to parley, rather than one who would throw others aside for their own ends.

"Forgetting knowledge, I suppose I can understand... But beholding 'infinite' possibilities is where the logic of this story falls apart. There is no way that they could know every secret of the world, else the place we are now would be vastly different..." she mused to herself, considering how to tackle the issue of rewriting the issue in their favor. "The impossibility of the omniscience of humans... Would it be better to create an Enlightenment-esque revolution as they did in the west? Treat this world as one not of gods, but..."

The foxgirl continued to brood to herself for a moment, thinking about what to suggest, before finally nodding her head towards the other two in the room with her.

"Inciting a desire to learn is one thing, but feeding the curiosity of the young and old alike should help to weaken the hold that this so-called 'God' has over them more than anything else I can think of. I understand the importance of tradition, of course, but given the recent issues that the residents here have had as of late, would it not be prudent to experiment and try things you might not have before? Improvements in the designs of your tools, the quality of your products, and so on and so forth... Wouldn't finding any of these both increase the quality of life of those living here and reduce the dependency that they have towards this god that gave them 'everything'?"

It was a long shot, admittedly; the Kyrinth had agreed to act as a teacher, but that only worked insofar as the natural world was involved. Things that could be done with techniques rather than observation—in other words, the world of practical sciences—was something that they would have to pursue for themselves.

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist

@Rune_Alchemist @Crimson Paladin

In the end, they’d agreed to go deeper into the catacombs to confront whatever danger there was as a group and rescue Leannah. There was the niggling concern that it was a danger that was out of the scope of their abilities to deal with… but Narkissa was still coming down from her high on using water to slice and explode things. Too cool. Too awesome. It felt like she could do anything.

And she was promptly disabused of that notion when they made it to the main altar.

The first thing that struck her about the scene was how creepy the entire thing looked. No matter how you could slice it, dancing in the dark with a mannequin –a mannequin made out of bloody body parts—was not something that a mentally sane, well-functioning individual did. No siree.

That wasn’t to mention the internal cringing Narkissa did when the strange girl introduced herself. Oh, no, it wasn’t just a deranged individual. It was a deranged god. She was fairly sure that none of them here could kill a god, if this girl was actually a god.

“Archeologist. Not scavenger,” she couldn’t help but to mutter under her breath. “No thieves here.” Lazhira scooting closer to her wasn’t lost on her at all, though.

“Well, if you think there’s nothing but empty space in his head, then at least we agree on one thing.”

Traitorous mouth!

… Not that she disagreed.

But it didn’t exactly give her much of an advantage in verbal rhetoric. Because if this girl was Iva’Krorh, The Illuminator, Narkissa was sure the only thing that could get them out safely at this point was talking, or hoping this god –the whole pantheon of them were starting to seem as fickle as the Greeks—was in a very good mood.

The problem was, she didn’t know how to respond, and she didn’t know how much the Illuminator did actually know about her. Surely, she didn’t know a lick about her past life, either? She could just ask her ‘what now,’ but she didn’t exactly fancy giving the god the initiative either. Since it seemed like she only had beef with Lazhira and Novak, she could simply try to just wiggle out of this herself… but it would feel wrong to do that to Lazhira, even if there was no lost love for Novak.

Right, fishing for more information it is.

“Well. Please forgive our intrusion. At this point we’re only searching for our lost friend. Forgive my curiosity, but how much do you know?” She left the ‘about us’ or the ‘about me’ hanging, hoping that either way wouldn’t be too… offensive. It hadn’t exactly been her style to address a random person dancing with corpse parts with the reverence of a god either, but Lazhira had already done worse and she hasn’t been immediately struck down by the will of a god.

Upon getting a closer look at the inhabitant of the room, Novak eased up slightly. On one hand, it was an old woman dancing with what looked like a bunch of body parts stitched together into a dummy, in the sealed sublevel of an abandoned temple. On the other hand, she didn't react with hostility as they approached, and that alone made it seem like things were going better than he expected. And the woman's eyes...they were silver. Novak momentarily touched his face, assuring himself that he was not wearing the mask, that the silver color of the woman's eyes were not merely an effect of the mask's insight. What would I see, I wonder, if I were to look upon her with the mask on?

Before he could come to a decision, the woman introduced herself- or rather- himself- as Iva'Krorh, Illuminator. The very god whom this temple was dedicated to the worship of. This in itself was a rather alarming revelation- assuming this stranger was telling the truth, they were in the presence of a literal god. Lazhira appeared to be quite concerned about his revelation, pulling closer to Narkissa and refusing to converse when the stranger addressed her.

Curious...so Lazhira isn't one of the thieves that stole the crystal. This Illuminator seems to think she intended to, but the phantoms that I saw...they must have been someone else.

So far this stranger's knowledge seemed to fit their claim of being a god, but nothing that compared their analysis of Novak. When the Illuminator addressed Novak's amnesia- and acknowledged that it was by choice- there was no doubt in Novak's mind that this person standing before them was indeed a god. The fact that this god was calling him a fool, or that Narkissa openly concurred- seemed inconsequential compared to the realization that within a day of arriving on this world, Novak had already found himself face-to-face with a god. And that god didn't seem to think very highly of him.

Novak wisely chose not to rebuke the Illuminator's quip about him being foolish. Aside from the fact that angering a god could end very, very badly, he did not want to enlighten Narkissa and Lazhira to the full context of what Iva'Krorh meant about Novak's head being empty. If others knew he had given up his memories, and struggled to recall whatever was left behind without some sort of external stimulus, they might seek to manipulate him. Better to let them assume that the Illuminator was simply accusing Novak of being conventionally vacuous.

There were many questions he had. Narkissa had taken the initiative to ask about Leannah, so Novak opted to ask about questions to a topic that was clearly of interest to the Illuminator.

"If I may, Illuminator," Novak asked, unsure how to properly address this god, "You're the one showing me the things with the mask, right? The crystal you showed me, whispered about to me...what exactly is it? Who stole it? Why did they steal it?" Novak has so many more questions- why was this temple abandoned, why was a god dancing with a macabre dummy at the bottom of an empty temple, just what was the deal with Lazhira- but pestering a god with unwanted questions on topics whom they had not expressed interest in was a good way to get on their bad side.

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This

---

@Rune_Alchemist

The gears in Don's head turned as he considered the fact that his 'time' was seemingly unharmed by the Kamaitachi. The ticking, the seeming slow of time, the accelerated rate of withering of the demons, and now the protection of his 'time'?

Was Suthainn perhaps some kind of time god?

Don looked around the tent; seeing that a fair amount of townsfolk were still milling about, including a few hunters. The man rubbed his chin in careful contemplation for a long moment; in all likelihood-- he could fix what was wrong with the dwarf... However, doing so would certainly reveal his hand to the Illuminator's faithful...

But Donovan was never one much to go about things the easy way, what mattered here was to do that which was right, not what was easy.

"Truth beh told Mie, th' power yah saw? Ain't mine... But-- aye'll give yah ah demonstration bout' what et can do."

The large man stepped forward, placing his right hand gently atop the dwarf's head as he would grip the emblem of his necklace firmly with his left. Closing his eyes, and focusing his mind, he sensed it... Something, 'off' slightly; not quite like the demonic infection incurred by the garden's thralls, but something more akin to a knot of sorts.

"Oh Suthainn--" he loudly beckoned to the deity, focusing any of the divine power he could draw from his emblem into his right palm. "Aye ask once more fer yer aid this day. By yer eternal benevolence an' timeless wisdom, may yer faithful bring forth yer blessing. Just as time heals all wounds-- aye ask this lass made whole, en bodeh an' spirit. May that what been wronged be righted, an' what stolen be returned."

"May yer radiance feravah grace our lives with time lived well, an' justleh... Amen."

Into the depths?
@Click This@Crimson Paladin

---

“What a dumb question! What don’t I know, is a more accurate one!” She laughed, taking a light, jovial and slightly thoughtful tone. “Its quite more than you’d think! Its rather infuriating, really. All those missing pieces of information...but such is why I always...experiment.” A slightly darker tone as she gave a decidedly non-answer to the question. A non-answer to them, at least, for it had told the truth as far as it knew how.

“As for the Bastelian...she’s not here. Not any more.” A chuckle. “I admire her curiosity. Fitting, for a cat, but lets just say I’ve decided to play with her a bit. Don’t worry too much. She’s doing fine...for now. Maybe she’ll be able to shed some light on things.” She rather jerkily turned to Novak, as if her limbs were more snapping into some place rather than moving.

“I showed you nothing. Merely shared a bit of my insight.” They replied to Novak. “And one of the few things I don’t know. who stole it? Who can escape the gaze of a god in their own domain? Certainly not you, I knew exactly what you were doing.” Lazhira frowned, rather defensively rubbing the tattoo on her arm.

“But...as for what it is? A key. A seal. A Memory. All three, and yet nothing of the three. The why? Who knows! Greed. Thrill. Maybe they knew doing it would annoy me! Regardless, its important and I must get it back.” She waved a hand, sighing in mild annoyance. “Done with the questions? Good, I’ve gotten bored of answering. Now if you fools will hand over that one I’ll kindly let you go.”

“E-eh! I didn’t steal anything though!”

“Maybe not, maybe not...but once we find it, you’d do it again. I know. I know exactly what you’d do even if you don’t.” Lazhira’s expression turned to worry, holding her hands together in front of her chest.

---

Nobbu and the Fox
@VitaVitaAR@PKMNB0Y
“You are not wrong, but logic is...difficult to apply to Gods, is it not?” Enli replied with small frown. “Its difficult to say if it is mere metaphor, or he does have some way to simply do as it says here.” He held a hand to his chin in thought. “As well...aside from the forest having gotten more difficult as of late? Focusing on merely surviving is what most of our time goes too.” He sighed, shaking his head. “The only one interested in even attempting the things you mention is Lazhira. Unfortunately...she’s not really...teacher material. She has curiosity but she’s a bit too...well, lets just say her idea of learning is to see if she can rather than if she should.”

He gave a thoughtful look to Misaki.

“I don’t mean to be rude or pry or ask too terribly much - but you seem quite knowledgeable. I can’t offer much but my own gratitude, but if you want to start teaching it might be best to do it yourself.”

---

The Roma Mob
@ERode@Pyromania99

---

“Rapier, eh.” The elf would walk over to where one was on display, grabbing it and bringing it over for Isidore to inspect. “You guys planning on visiting the old demon ruins further down or something with all this weaponry?” She questioned as she’d count out the rest of the money. “And...body enhancing magic? You could probably ask Miss Rullphana over at the Tower. She could...probably teach you the basics as long as she gets something out of it.” She would hand him the money and frown slightly.

“Not sure what you mean, human, but if you want something more dwarvish or human, there’s a handful of dwarvish gathering houses. My dad visits one regularly, uh...I think its...somewhere near the lake...” She frowned, holding a hand to her forehead. “Nnhn, no sorry, can’t remember. I think the name of it was ‘Rusty Ale Lake’. I don’t get dwarven names. What is even ‘Rusty Ale’.”



“I heard dwarves prefer meats and bread.” Leuca nodded. “Uhm...are we going there, next, Isidore?” She seemed a little hesitant, no doubt the fact that they had obviously attacked them on the mountain was probably still making her nervous.

“O-okay then.” Leuca nodded. “Right. It should be fine...” The elf watching the counter watched the pair leave with the same disinterest she had shown them through the entire encounter. The hammering from the forge just beyond slowed down as a rather short and stocky elf would walk out, a hammer over his shoulder.

“Huh? Was that a human? And a Sirithen?”

“Yeah, they were.” The other elf would rub his short beard, thinking for a few seconds as he caught a glimpse of the travelers as they left from a nearby window.

“Hmm...why don’t you go see if Rullphana needs anything. I can handle the forge.”

“Ha? Giving me the evening off?” She questioned, though quickly hopped over the counter and bolted out the door. “No take backs old man!~”

Isidore and Leuca wouldn’t encounter much trouble on their way to the supposed ‘Rusty Ale Lake’, aside from a fairly many obviously hostile glances the two were getting from a number of them. Most though, at least didn’t try anything and it was easy enough after some talking or convincing to find themselves at their destination.

A lake stretched out, a massive underground hollow. In the distance one could see a myriad of waterfalls pouring from holes in the ceiling above from some unknown water source. The cavern itself was illuminated as much the rest of Gloomhollow was. Twisting mushrooms and other plants growing in dim lighting, bioluminescence serving as the areas only natural source of lighting. Seems they were in an area of the city dedicated to a more seedy sort of company.

Walking into the establishment gave a strong smell of alcohol, along with some lively voices from the inside that were quickly revealed to be what were obviously dwarfs, shorter humanoids no taller than five feet, most were stocky and well built and wearing a mix of casual and working clothing. A few shadow elf patrons were mixed in.

Seemed like there was a crowd of people near the back around a rather large table cheering and hollering about something, but it was difficult to see what exactly was going on.

---

Augusta looked at Rullphana with a slightly questioning look in her eye. A court mage, was she? Well, her magical power statistic is likely very high then. And she wanted to know more about Octavia. It was a topic they were both interested in at least, demons. She definitely wanted to know more about them.

Augusta bent down to scratch Octavia behind the ears. "My, Octavia dear. You look like you're quite popular right now." The woman said, looking up to Rullphana now. "Now, I don't mind bragging about my precious pup to friends of mine." She emphasized by scratching behind both of the hounds ears.

"Isn't it fun to brag about things you love to your friends?" She asked the court mage, wondering if the mage felt the same.

“Eh? Really…?” Rullphana gave her a bemused smile. “Well, I suppose I could understand that coming from a Sirithen...though if you were my apprentice I’d have beaten such an attitude out of you.” She chuckled. “Being proud of oneself and accomplishments are fine, but needless bragging...well, if you have time to do that you have time to be doing something productive.”

Octavia leaned her head into Augusta’s headpatting, yipping happily.

“Regardless, Octavia was it...hm, you’re quite the interesting specimen indeed. Don’t suppose you’ll let me run a few tests? Completely harmless, I assure you.”

"Hmmm. Truthfully, we don't know how much we trust you. You say harmless, but how can we be sure?" Augusta said, scratching Octavia behind the ears more. "Between you and me, I've long dealt in the cutthroat world of politics. Lying is part and parcel of any world, you understand."

While it was true that it was hard to trust someone they didn't know, especially this highly suspicious woman. "What tests do you have in mind? I won't mind if Octavia agrees to them."

“Nothing dangerous. Just a little checkup is all. I would like to know what type of demon she is and what sort of abilities she has, that’s it.” She replied with a smile. “See? Harmless.”

"Hmm." Augusta pondered for a small bit before looking down at her pup. "Well, what do you think Octavia? Do you think she's trustworthy?" She asked as she stopped her scratching. Octavia was a smart demon dog. Augusta knew that she was quite intelligent despite her apparent age.

Octavia tilted her head, scratching one of her ears with a back leg before barking...and shaking her head.

“E-eh? Really?” The demon pup barked again. “E-eh! Come ooon! This is super important to my research!”

"Hmm, my dear girl clearly said no though…" Augusta said, scratching the pup behind the ear again. "Octavia's a rather smart girl. Perhaps if she got something out of it, she'd be more inclined to help you."

“And what exactly does she want?” Rullphana asked, pursing her lips with a frown. “I get that she’s intelligent to an extent, but to make desires and wants known is not quite how demons work unless they’re high class ones.” Octavia simply barked, laid down at Augusta’s feet, and looked at Rullphana with what seemed to be a mildly impish grin. “I think she just wants to make a fool out of me.”

"She has a rather mischievous personality at times." Augusta smiled a small bit. "So that is a possibility." She gave Octavia a nice head pat. "Good girl." After that, she stood tall and gave Rullphana a fairly diplomatic smile. "Now, I might be able to help convince her to allow you to do the check up. It depends on how willing you are to work with us." Like the politician she was, she was ready to negotiate. In her grasp, something Rullphana wanted. And Rullphana had many things Augusta wanted to know.

“Ah. I see how this is going to go...” The Shadow Elf’s mouth curled into a small frown. “Well alright...state your terms then, Sirithen. I’m a busy woman, but I’ll see what I can do.”

"Now, now. A deal is beneficial for both sides." Augusta smiled that diplomatic smile still. "First of all, remember how I mentioned friends like to brag to each other about things? I was thinking the both of us could be good friends. I think we could get along quite well. What do you think of this first point." Obviously, she was suggesting they share plenty of information and be friendly with each other. Really, not bad for each other.

“Well, certainly...I don’t mind being friends, Augusta.” She replied with a small frown. “And obviously, I don’t mind repaying those who help, but you’re asking for quite a lot. What exactly would you even want, hm?”

"Information we both seem to have a mutual interest in." Augusta mentioned, her eyes shifted to Octavia for a short time. "Demons. As well as other things, I suppose."

“Demons are fine,” She replied. “Its those ‘other things’ that concern me.”

Augusta gave a smile. "Tidbits of information of course. Nothing to threaten any secrets your people hold. However, albeit not as an apprentice perhaps, I would love to have someone I can tell is powerful to teach me about magic. I can do a few things but nothing too amazing, I don't think." She summoned forth a healing fire to her finger for a few seconds and snuffed it out.

“...curious. The fire had properties of both Heat, and Healing...hm. That’s a rather advanced sort of flame.” The Shadow elf replied with a thoughtful hum. She walked over to a table, where a number of books were scattered about. She would turn through a few pages. “So you wish for my knowledge about demons and magical secrets...and I get to study that pup of yours. That doesn’t seem like a very fair deal, now does it? The libraries I have access too likely hold some information. All it would require is a few nights of reading and cross referencing.”

"What? Not curious how me and Octavia came to this little partnership?" Augusta asked Rullphana. "Demon knowledge for demon knowledge and you get to study Octavia without hurting her and teach me a small bit about magic. Of course, this also means that in the future if I learn more, as friends, I'd be more than willing to share it in the future." She paused for a moment, "Unless you had something else in mind."

“I teach you both about magic, demons, and share with you my research in the future.” She wouldn’t bother turning back to Augusta, instead walking from the table with an old book in hand to a shelf with various plants, jars, and other similar things sitting upon it. “And I...get to study a single demon for a few hours at most, and potentially learn something from you about them in the future, as unlikely as it is. Surely, this particular demon is not one I’ve seen before, but a demon is a demon. Or have you forgotten our own origins, cousin? Where we lived among them in return for salvation against the unending abyss of the Moonless Era?” She would turn back to Augusta with a frown.

“I suppose you’re banking on learning things in the future by yourself? Please, without my aid you’d not even know what it is you’d even be learning or looking at in the first place. So, friend...what can you actually offer me in terms of information for my own, at this very immediate juncture? Otherwise, this particular trade seems to lean heavily in your favor.” Augusta’s sight would inform her that she did desperately want to study Octavia - perhaps there was a little something else she needed to do just to sweeten the deal a little.

Augusta put her hand to her chin as she thought. Obviously, she had another card up her sleeve but she seemed hesitant to play it. "I…" She stopped herself for a second and frowned slightly. "I have one thing you might also be interested in but I am hesitant to show it off. But, I planned on researching it as well. I wonder if I can truly trust you."

“And I wonder if I can truly trust you, Augusta.” She replied with a small frown. “That road works both ways, you know. After all...a mysterious Sirithen? With a demon pet, no less? For all I know, you’re some demon simply wearing an elf as a skin, seeking something from me and desiring some deal with I.” The Shadow Elf exhaled. “Far stranger things have happened, and its not unheard of for some demons to crawl their way out of the ruins further down and seek something here.” She would smirk. “Luckily for you though, as far as I can tell, at least, “You aren’t a demon...but that just leaves more questions.”

“Perhaps we can touch these questions later, for now though…” Augusta smiled. “Alright. I’m trusting you not to spread this information. Aside from my hound, my human companion and I possess a demon flower’s seed. The story has yet to be told nor deal agreed to so I’ll neglect to say more at this time.” She didn’t know what to expect. “Perhaps you would be interested in seeing that.”

“A...seed?” Rullphana questioned aloud. “From a demon flower...” A thoughtful voice, glancing at Octavia. “Alright. You’ve piqued my curiosity. A look at this seed and the pup will suffice, and I’ll teach you some things. I do hope, this is the real deal however...I wouldn’t want anything...unfortunate to happen.”

“I’m much too invested to lie about this, Madame Rullphana.” Augusta mentioned solemnly. “Knowing roughly the nature of demons, I’m much too afraid to let this seed let itself be planted or something happen to it otherwise. My human companion so happens to hold the treasure at the moment and I personally would like to stay here a few days or so, so I will bring it in the near future."

“I see.” Rullphana replied with a nod. “I doubt you understand the nature of demons, else you wouldn’t have easily so bonded with one, let alone be treating it like a normal pup, but I digress.” She would close the book, turning to Augusta. “I wish to see the seed first to verify it. Once I have done so, then I will gladly teach you. I’ll let Vallanur know you are to be...a temporary apprentice and can come and go as you please then.”

"That would be much appreciated." Augusta gave a small bow of her head. "Oh, and I would ask a favor. It's really for both of us, but I think it'd be easier for you to study Octavia and me convince her if she had some food when we go about it." This seemed like an earnest request at the least.

“Food, hm...alright, then. I suppose I do have something laying around.” She smiled. “Very well then, if there’s nothing else?”

"I believe not, Madame Rullphana, I take my leave." Augusta said, giving a curtsy and leaving. She had been rather successful today really. She wondering if there was more time before Sorcha would return. Perhaps… She'd find a tailor?

Builder and a Traveler
@Guy0fV4lor@PaulHaynek

---

“...huh.” Mie’s ear twitched in thought as she observed Donovan’s prayer. A mere eyebrow raise as he untied the ‘knot’ which had been afflicting the dwarf. The dwarf in question, merely glanced up at Donovan with a mild bit of irritation as she was accosted for another time that day, but it’d soon pass. An expression of surprise would soon replace it. Donovan could feel the ‘knot’ slowly untangle itself. It was slow at first, he was completely unpracticed in this, after all, but it seemed as though whatever power he was channeling was taking care of most of the work itself, seemingly guiding his own hands.

Each pull on the ‘knot’ would slowly start unravelling it. To him it would feel to take quite a while, a few minutes at most as he prayed, until finally the knot would slip free, unravelling and straightening itself out as it should be, flowing and moving fluidly.

“Eh...I dunno what you just did to me, human, but stones, I feel great.” The dwarf replied with a roll of her arm. The action however, would drain donovan of stamina, as his breathing would become more ragged, and his body seemed to become heavier. “Hahah, I feel about as good as the day I left the mountains! Before those giants took all my gear...ugh...”

“Huh…’Suthainn’?” Mie mused quietly. “Is that a god of yours from wherever your from? You travelers sure are interesting, eh~” A playful inflection in her tone as she’d look over to the dwarf. “Well...I think you’ll be fine now. Still, if you don’t have a place to stay, feel free, but you’re gonna be working with the Oni.” Notably, some of the villagers had taken note of the prayer. Though most simply looked on with mild curiosity, someone who was obviously a hunter had quietly made an exit.

Malphas gazed at the towering behemoth with a bit of worry. Was this the thing that made the noise earlier? Whatever it was, it was huge. Too big for the poison to take proper effect, Malphas surmised. An arrow or two possibly wouldn't work, either. He watched the creature's movements carefully, judging its speed and the possible weight of its footfalls. The wise thing to do would be to run while he was still undetected, cutting his losses as well as his connection with the cult of the Illuminator.

Of course, Malphas was no wise man.

Malphas sheathed his dagger as he searched the ground for a real nice rock. Procuring one, he threw it at a tree far enough to throw the beast off his direction. Afterward, he would quickly sneak off behind the nearest tree or bush large enough to hide his slender form. Should this tactic prove to work, Malphas would continue to do this on his way to the Illuminator's temple. If this failed, Malphas would instead beeline towards the temple instead.

Nick eventually returned to Dawn where there seemed to be more of the horned humans like Haruno than the last time he was there. He also saw what appeared to be an oversized weasel with white-gray hair being restrained by the horned guys. He asked them where he could find Donovan and he was pointed to Lady Mie's tent. He also found out that they were called 'Oni', the same word for demons or ogres that the Japanese back in Earth used. That had Nick wondering, how did this alien world had so much in common with Earth?.

Putting these thoughts aside, Nick made his way to Mie's tent and slowly lifted the flaps to let himself inside. "Err, sorry to intrude, but I'm looking for a man named Donovan?" Within the tent was a blue-haired, fair-skinned child fully decked out in leather and steel armor. There was also a woman with dog or fox ears. Probably fox, though, since she had the tail of one.

No sign of Donovan, though.

Nick's eyes fell on the fox lady. He did not know who she was exactly but seeing that this was Lady Mie's tent and she appeared like she owned it, it was safe to assume that she was Lady Mie herself. "Err, sorry for barging in like this. Uhh, pleased to meet you, Lady Mie?"

The conversation with the Illuminator was quite eye-opening. It was a relief to hear that Leannah was still okay, at least for now. It wasn't clear what sort of game that Iva’Krorh was playing with her, but it looked like the three of them wouldn't be able to do anything for her. Leannah would have to get through it on her own.

As for the stolen crystal, the Illuminator seemed to know nothing about the theft. He was able to read Novak like an open book, but knew nothing about the theft in his own temple, as if there was a blind spot within his mind. As unsettling as this god was, he couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Iva’Krorh. Novak had chosen to give up his memories and even if he couldn't remember why he'd do such a thing, even though the gods themselves seemed to think it was a questionable move, he could accept that it was his decision. To have memories stolen away, however, to be unable to know who took them, it was something he didn't wish on anyone.

Once Iva’Krorh was done answering questions, he demanded that they hand Lazhira over. Even though she had nothing to do with the theft of the crystal herself, the Illuminator seemed convinced that Lazhira intended to, and would still do so if she had the chance. And after all of the disturbing things Novak had seen down here, he definitely didn't want Lazhira to fall into this person's hands.

"Now hold on,..." Novak blurted out, before catching himself. To directly say "no" to a god was a good way to bring disaster upon oneself, but perhaps the Illuminator could be reasoned with with good enough reasoning. "...we'll need her to find the crystal. You said you didn't know anything about the thieves, right? If Lazhira was planning to steal it herself, I'll bet she knows why someone would want it, what they'd do with it, and maybe she knows who beat her to the theft. If we want to get the crystal back, we'll need her help." Novak didn't actually know what Lazhira knew for sure, and he knew the Illuminator knew that Novak didn't know. But Iva’Krorh would also know that Novak wasn't trying to deceive him, and genuinely believed what he said. Or perhaps Novak was just as much of a fool as Narkissa and the Illuminator thought.

"You...err...do know these things, right, Lazhira?" Novak asked his companion nervously. "Please, this is not a time to be evasive."

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This

"Hmm..."

Unfortunately, this would have to be denied. Nobunaga was absolutely not going to give up Misaki, nor was she going to pass up the opportunity that had been given to her by the kitsune merchant. The deal was five days, and five days it would remain. That did not mean, however, that the petite girl did not intend to leave something behind to assist.

"Unfortunately, both of us have no choice but to return to our homeland when we are done here," she began, waving one hand, "However, that does not mean we cannot leave something behind in order to aid your efforts."

She clapped her hands together.

"Were we to leave behind books cataloguing our knowledge, would that perhaps assist in conveying these ideas to the people of this village?"

@Rune_Alchemist@PKMNB0Y

@Rune_Alchemist @Crimson Paladin

Narkissa’s eyes flickered in annoyance. She hadn’t expected much from the strange god, but this was even more of a non-answer than she’d expected. She could have asked a leading question with some of her otherworldly knowledge as bait, but that had the potential to end… poorly. And the rest of what she was talking about was very riddle-like. Narkissa didn’t like riddles.

Intellectually, they were always a nice challenge, but she had dealt with enough riddles in her past job.

At least she answered her question about Leannah, although she couldn’t exactly verify the truthfulness of that answer.

It was becoming more unproductive the more they spoke with this strange god. She clicked her tongue. She really didn’t want the Illuminator getting her dirty mitts on Lazhira. In the end, she had no real reason not to give the girl up to save herself, but she’d already helped her so much, and it just felt wrong regardless.

“Yes, well, I don’t want to hand over an otherwise innocent girl if I can’t help it.” She let out a sigh, shaking her head at Novak. “I suppose we could help look for the lost thing, though.”

Misaki opened her mouth to respond to Enli's statement for a moment before deciding against doing so entirely. Everyone from Earth had been brought here by the machinations of a 'deity', so to speak, and even if she was by no means religious, denying the possibility of powers that were beyond their (current) understanding would be the height of folly. With that said, she still could not believe that humans could have the ability to process infinity in the first place; just as well, though, the possibility of having to take on a god, if even by subterfuge and knowledge...

Well, JRPG-esque thoughts like that were better suited for people who had the confidence and ability to back that up—neither of which she had at the moment, of course.

With that said, the matter regarding teaching was not something she could not discount the potential of. Granted, it would be far from simple to act as one, but referencing the diagrams and schematics of tools that would be the next logical step in their technological progress to give them and edge, then inciting them to pursue further improvements as a matter of course...

That much was at least tempting, and intellectual work like that seemed to suit her better than the subconscious weight on her mind that was being a noncombatant in this world of swords and magic.

Before she could come up with a response of her own, though, her companion decided to insert herself into the conversation. The fact that she had a pre-existing arrangement only now returned to her mind, embarrassing as it was to admit now given how recently it had transpired, and the foxgirl found herself nodding in turn. If she didn't have the luxury to stay here, then it was probably for the best that she leave behind what she could for those who had given them shelter.

"I... Believe that books would be fine. I could offer some designs and manuscripts, and maybe if they turn out to be useful, then maybe the other villagers would become interested of their own accord," she said, stroking her chin lightly in thought. "Better weapons, for example, would mean less strain placed on the hunters; better metalworking, better tools... And so on and so forth. I think that much could be motivation enough to look into things, no?"

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist

Into the depths?
@Click This@Crimson Paladin

---

“And what is a measure of innocence?” The illuminator questioned. “We do not determine that. Not you, nor I. Only that one who dwells in the remnants of the old world does, and she’s not here. She’s never here, unless one of her maids are...delightful bunch, they are.” The silver eyes of the god narrowed. “And were you not listening? That one doesn’t even know why she was looking for it in the first place.”

“...I...Novak...” Lazhira frowned, taking a breath before sighing. “I really don’t know much. I just know its a ‘seal’ to something, and if he gets his hands on it he’s going to use it.”

“Hmm...but that is a...interesting offer, though.” The woman said with a tilt of her head. “Do you want to help find it? And return it to me?”

“...I don’t think its a good idea if we do that.” Lazhira frowned.

“Silence, girl, you don’t even know what would happen if you did get it. If you agree...and keep an eye on that one from doing anything, I’ll agree to let her go...for now.”

---

@Crusader Lord

As she would lay upon the table, she’d notice something a bit peculiar. A faint outline of what seemed to be a body engraved into the table. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was there, and it was...only vaguely human in shape. In fact if she had to guess the various parts in the outline looked somewhat similar to the ‘unique’ features in the statues she could see. The main room would prove quite...unenlightening. Smooth stone. Doors. The receptacles for the spheres seemed to all be impossibly smooth, but overall nothing out of the ordinary given the already extraordinary nature of this place.

And when she walked into the western room?

Nothing.

Thankfully, nothing immediately happened.

It seemed a short walk to the statue at the other end. The large glass cylinders pulsed with the same blue energy the stone slab in the back did, slowly going from the top of each object to the bottom, disappearing into some engraving lines on the floor. The statue here was the one with a rather unusually large torso with a hole in it.

Would she approach?

Leannah silently seemed to think to herself for a moment...before ultimately not approaching the statue proper yet. More so, she decided to thoroughly investigate the rest of the room as best she could, to see if she could dig up any details or hints or inscriptions or so forth. That and she was keeping a careful eye out for traps along the way. This all reminded her of the prison well enough to make her cautious, but more so the ‘something’ missing from the statue made her wonder about the outline again back on the operating table.

Had The Illuminator been cobbled together from stolen stuff, like some kind of Frankenstein’s monster? As in perhaps Delphiti, who she was more and more guessing wasn’t humanity’s friend as the theorizing continued, nabbed aspects or literal knowledge from things to ‘birth’ the god of knowledge?

Still...careful investigation was key right now.

There were no inscriptions. The room was surprisingly sterile, and it seemed the Illuminator wasn’t going to be giving information unless he wanted it to be given. Leannah would however, distinctly notice the outline of...things within the cylinders. She couldn’t tell what exactly they were, but she could at least tell they were roughly human in shape. It was easy to make a few guesses about what would happen at some point from some context clues from previous encounters with such similar looking objects.

She had managed to move a little ways into the room now, a little over halfway between the entrance and the large black rock now.

Well, it seemed that this place was outright based on the prison complex, and the odd tubes used to make their bodies and likely humanity a long long time ago. Still, cautiously she would approach the large black rock in the room to search and examine it. Whether or not that yielded results, she would then finally sum up the courage to finally approach the statue with a hole through its unusually large torso.

Examining the stone was well...it was similar to the stones seen back in the complex, though this one was pulsing with unfamiliar power. In fact, it seemed the power may have been originating from this stone slab before slowly spreading through the rest of the room. She couldn’t see anything written on it, though it was definitely giving off a strong magical feeling that even she, as mostly untrained as she was, could feel.

The statue proved a bit more telling. Aside from the crystal sphere floating silently within the hole in the statue's chest, another small curiosity could be seen. The head, legs, and feet all had small grooves around each appendage. The stone didn’t look very strong, either. Written on the statue's featureless visage was a simple sentence.

“Holding secret knowledge often attracts the envious and opportunistic.”

A rather cynical statement. What would Leannah do?

The orb was so easily in front of her, like a secret waiting to be grabbed. Then again it also rang the pop culture alarm bells in her head of Hollywood traps and ancient temples with tiny golden idols sitting on pedestals without any ‘obvious’ protections.

But that was the allure of the prison complex as well for some of those humans, wasn’t it? The secret knowledge of the gods, the temptation that had brought out the worst in the ‘heretics’ who stayed behind and tried to lock up a goddess. The same who had become those monstrosities like the one she killed. Those that didn’t reject staying there, even as the ‘Sage’ had led others away and the moon mourned...only to perhaps turn to hatred to those that lingered behind after sealing the way to the lab/prison complex, if the Illuminator’s own comments were of any sense or truth to the matter.

So what would she do with this statue? That seemed to answer itself as she noted the nature of it.

Grabbing the grooves around each appendage, Leannah channeled magic into her arms and such to augment her strength. She would try to tear this statue limb from limb, just as whatever had been made there or left behind was being torn at by the gods themselves. A lab for fiddling with mortal life. The prison that was sealed by a goddess and knowledge-hungry son, the former whose love likely turned ill against that which she had made and ‘cared’ for.

Leannah would get to work, breaking and tearing the statue limb from limb...and immediately there was the sound of some large machinery grinding, the room rumbling as something moved deep within...and then the cylinders which had obviously contained bodies within, suddenly sprang to live as the creatures within began thrashing, flailing, and breaking out of each of their tubes.

They seemed...similar to the experiments at the lab, but also different.

These weren’t the slow, cowering things that milled about the place. Some seemed to have macabre augments attached right to their arms and legs. A few were missing fleshy legs entirely, instead being replaced by macabre metal blades or other augments. Similar with their arms, and some seemed to have their spines entirely replaced with some metal or other implants. They all got to their feet near instantly, turning to Leannah.

She had a handful of moments to figure a course of action before she was overrun with at least ten of these things, and there were still some unopened pods.

Wait. Wait wait wait. This was all about The Illuminator himself, right? Delphiti had those mortals in the Lab, and there was an operating table in the main room that noted that ”Knowledge was birthed by The moon's demand, but it was knowledge stolen”. Had the complex been used to experiment on the created humans, trying to find a way to create a god from literal ‘knowledge stolen’ by toying with mortal lives?!

Hell of a theory, supporting her ‘Frankenstein's Monster’ suspicions here, but more pressingly so a ‘hell’ of a situation. Seems she’d triggered a trap without realizing ‘how’ in truth, but that was no matter! She’d stop trying to tear apart the statue the rest of the way at the moment, and face the monstrosities toyed with by a mad god! However, she did have a plan of sorts.

“Come on! Form an orderly line! I knew I’d be popular here, but not this popular!” the catgirl shouted and teased, hopping behind the statue as she tried to lure the monstrosities close enough.

Her idea was channeling magic to just her arms and legs now, as compared to when she was doing things back in the complex the first time, focusing on using her keen martial arts senses and enhanced strength in her limbs. The goal was to lure the things over to chop at her, albeit safely gauging their reaction times with her own safety in mind, and see if she could bait out attacks to get them to chop the statue for her!

Worst case scenario, or if things got too pressing, she’d back off from the statue and make a break for the more spacious parts of the room to kite the things around. Not that they were the slow shuffling sort of ‘zombies’, but...hell she has the reflexes, agility, and training for getting herself moving and dodging at least.

The creatures, with surprising swiftness would soon be upon the statue. One would make an aim to chop at Leannah with a blade from the front that had been stitched onto its arm...and it would soon be followed by a second, lunging at her from her left.

Definitely not dumb weaponized zombies, that was for sure! But all the same, her plan hadn’t changed. She placed herself near an unbroken arm of the statue as the one from the front tried to chop at her, before leaping to the side to dodge at the last second! Yet it didn’t stop there, and as another lunged at her from her left she dropped down below its lunging stab into a quick attempt at a leg sweep at this creature. Success or not in the latter, she’d do her best to speedily rotate away from the creature to place herself on its left side with the statue at her back.

Thankfully though, Leannah was definitely more agile than these things. The first creature whiffed the attack completely, the blade on its arm striking the soft stone of the statue and cutting clean through it, leaving a slightly jagged edge behind as the arm fell to the floor. The second’s lunge would sail over her head, and was soon knocked off its feet.

A third and fourth creature now were upon her, having made their way from the front of the room. The third had an entire arm missing, and had just a jagged blade shoved into its other, much like the others. It would make a rather clumsy strike downwards. The other new one, though, had its hands replaced by two axes, and a metal plate had been fused to its chest, with more metal plates on one of its legs. It would make a wide sweeping motion with one arm, while the other would follow up with another frenzied sweep with the other in the opposite direction.

The others weren’t far behind - she’d need to do something before she was overwhelmed.

To that end, the catgirl drew on the first idea that came to mind. Or rather, the first memory that came to mind as she drew on her mind for a solution to the rapidly evolving situation.



The other night, when she’d tried to first learn the Light spell, she’d done the process admittedly wrong. Or rather, wrong but not ‘that’ wrong. It was the instability of her blessing, that touch of the cute bird sun goddess she possessed that had been wrongfully taken to be given to her by whichever goddess it was that brought her and the others to this world. Lazhira had ultimately taught her the control and caution to be able to do it right, even though the catgirl herself possessed a more unique effect when using the spell, but that small explosion had been the result. Just one instance that small had resulted in knocking them all down, and she’d bumped herself in the process with a mild scratch.

...But what if she did it on purpose this time?

She knew how to control the Light spell, and had come to understand how it could go wild and out of control again in the process. If she did that right here, as the enemies closed in, she could maybe knock them all down with one bigger exploding fireball! Not that she’d get out of it unscathed, as scaling up this ‘feat’ would likely have more dire consequences than before since she’d still be within the blast radius. That was the real rub of it all, if she got knocked onto some sharp edge it’d mean more harm and no current knowledge of healing spells if she even got out of the situation in the aftermath.

Yet all the same, she had to try something big to handle the crowd, as even with her speed all it would take is being surrounded well enough in due time to take her down. Kiting the group was possible, but she’d apparently triggered too many to awaken all at once.

So this attempt at a crowd-control area-of-effect spell, to use MMO terminology for a moment, would have to do something!

Leannah would thus begin to channel her magic instead for a ‘Light’ spell once more, albeit with far more ‘juice’ and magical energies this time, allowing the group to close in but moving to avoid getting hit with a blow in the process. Though rather than do things the ‘correct’ way to cast the Light spell, she would do it like she’d first imagined at Lazhira’s House. Channel the magical energy like a river, let it flow into her hand, and also deeply channel the visage of a burning sun with all of its fire and plasma and extreme heat. Then as she knew it was going to go out of control, and only once the group got close enough she had to unleash her ‘attack’ or else be hit with an attack by the things, she would push to surge all of of her magical energy that she could brute-force into the reaction to make it that much more potent and volatile when detonating!!!

As she would finally trigger the attack, she would throw the attack at the group of creatures and then drop the rest of her body down toward the floor. This all whilst having send the potentially deadly exploding fireball to hit the intended group of targets correctly and painfully.

It was a simple plan in actuality. Use what she had done before as a mistake, except do it on purpose this time - in a far more powerful way. Leannah would collect the power in her hand. It happened fast, relatively speaking. The rest of the creatures had started to converge on her now, though they rightly seemed wary of the miniature sun in her hand...that was steadily growing. More and more as she would channel more energy into it. And the more she channeled, the more unstable it would become - eventually growing to the size of a beachball, angry red in color as streams of energy leaked from its sides.

And then with one swift movement, she’d toss it into the crowd and would duck.

A searing, blinding flash.

A shriek of the creatures as flames engulfed the room. Leannah could feel the heat on her skin, the light searing her eyes and painfully knocking her completely prone. No attempt to shield her eyes from the explosion would work as her skin was burned. It would take some long, painful seconds before her sight would return.

Her body hurt all over, the side exposed to the explosion painfully burned - but the experiments? Burned to cinders. Completely and utterly reduced to ashes, and the pods which had yet to open had seemingly melted themselves shut from the intense heat.

...the crystal that had been embedded in the statue also looked burned and melted in some areas, and the statue was thoroughly singed, but it seemed at least she was safe for now. She was nauseous, and her body still burned, but she was safe now.

The black stone behind her hummed ominously, a rattling and buzzing noise before the blue light coming from it would blink and fade. Seemed she had succeeded in also damaging whatever this mechanism was, too.

The catgirl winced in notable pain, to say the very least, as the cooler open air began to make contact with the burned skin now on the right side of her body. Her hair and ears had survived, which was something to be thankful for beyond the obvious thankfulness for not being dead she supposed, but that mostly because her right arm had taken the brunt. Even the right side of her face was burnt, and whilst she could move the pain was something fierce regardless. On the one lone bright side, the former scratch wound from the birds earlier has been, ah, definitely cauterized at this point...ouch.

“Damn...stupid...piece of-,”

Leannah cursed under her breath semi-quietly, as she forced her body to sit back up and then to stand. Her vision was perfectly fine and intact still, however, which was also something to be thankful for...hell that peak body she had was good for something! Yet the stinging and stabbing pains were not so much fun, and even the light had been blinding. Like...like a small supernova had gone off before her eyes and smacked her! It was a hell of an attack, it seemed, and something to make note of for later...but whilst also toning down the output if possible.

She’d put seemingly enough juice, looking around, to make the attack blast the monstrosities and then some. It had also been far too much, even if the desperate move had preserved her life and chances of going on in the process. It seemed that spell was something to practice, then, very much so. That, Light, and her martial arts thus far. Still, the catgirl gritted her teeth as she dusted herself off and noted that her ‘inventory’ of items was still very much intact and ok. A blessing to be sure, but it wouldn’t have been so lucky had she not been only burned on the right side of her body with the stuff on her left hip shielded from the blast and burn.

Letting out a long sigh, and trying to not gag from the nausea, Leannah reached over to the statue to finish tearing the now-cooled-off singed stone apart to grab the orb and take it back to the main room. There was nothing else she wanted in this room, at least that was intact or salvageable, save dragging out the statue parts to set near the operating table in the main room. If anything else came out to play, though, she was going to cut the antics and shoot a magic flamethrower from her hand to melt the thing at this point.

---

Nobbu and the Fox
@VitaVitaAR@PKMNB0Y

“Well, I had to try.” Enli responded with a soft smile. “One does not come across skilled people as you often...though it seems quite a number have traveled into the village since yesterday.” He looked over to the faded scrolls. “If you have a way to make books, or paper or something writable, then by all means. I would welcome having things written down for the people here to use. I’m sure I could come up with something to ensure that some took an interest, though it may take awhile...”

He would nod, frowning lightly as he would consider a few ideas already running through his mind.

“Otherwise...I thank you for your help already. You’ve already given this old man a bit of hope. If there’s nothing else, for now, I shall need to prepare for meeting with the Kyrnith tomorrow. I can’t imagine what I’ll even need to start discussing for now.”

---

Builder and a Traveler
@PaulHaynek

---

“...Well someone left in a hurry.” Mie said with a small frown as Nicholas walked in, just as Donovan left. “Ah? Another one...haaa, so many guests to entertain.” Mie sighed with a mildly impish smile. “Yes, yes, I’m Mie. And you are? A friend of Donovan’s here, I assume?” She would ask with a stretch. “Well, whatever. You’re welcome here for now, if you want.”

“Another human eh?” The dwarf said looking towards Nicholas. “Well, if its all the same to you Mie, I’m gonna take off this armor and get settled in if you’re gonna let me stay here.”

“Yes, yes, we can talk later. I am...increasingly curious about the happenings in the dwarven home and that bait you had.” She would say, waving the dwarf off before looking back to Nicholas. “Need something? I’m likely closing shop soon, its getting a bit late and the Oni would like to have their evening off, I’m sure.”

Send Feet Pics
@Cu Chulainn

---

A rock was easy to find.

It was easy enough to use to distract someone, too. For a normal person, they’d have expectedly turned towards the noise...but of course, this was not a normal person. No, it was a giant deer. A giant deer that could probably flatten Malphas with a breath of air from its lungs. Distracting with with a simple stone toss? That was likely pure folly.

But sometimes, the most effective methods were the ones most simple.

The rock sailed through the air, and clattered against a tree some distance away.

The deer turned its head towards it.

And then towards the place Malphas had been. It would slowly, gracefully walk over to the tree he had been hiding behind. A few long seconds passed before its head jerked away, its gaze being called in some other direction.

And then as swift as the winds, it was gone. He was safe, but a choking air was left in the area, making it hard to breathe as he left. He had come mere seconds away from a second death...but perhaps he’d not pay that any mind, for now.

The way back to the temple was fairly easy, all things considered. Now that he had learned a bit of stealth and sneak, it wasn’t too hard to avoid the creatures of the forest as long as he kept his ears open and soon he was back at the concealed temple. The same hunter that had threatened him so casually last time would greet him again as he passed through the doorway.

“Back again? And why are you here? Or have you come to declare you failed?”

"Paper, huh...?"

Misaki quietly stared at the scrolls splayed out across the floor, mentally chastising herself for not realizing that their presence didn't necessarily imply the ability of this settlement to create paper. She couldn't exactly create anything to leave behind without something like that, but with five days left to go before their (supposed) departure, that became a higher priority than it might have been otherwise.

"I'll see what I can do, then; I wish you the best of luck in your negotiations," she said, bowing towards Enli before exiting the building. Of course, the only thing at the front of her mind at the moment was figuring out what method of papermaking to pursue... Which, as far as she could tell, could only be ascertained once she knew what sort of plants lived in the area. A trip to the herbalist would be prompt, at least—she could drop off her haul there for the moment, provided the owner was willing. More importantly, though, maybe she could see if there was anything suitable for making paper in the first place; wood pulp methods were likely out of the question, but if there was something more akin to bamboo...

Maybe a trip to Lady Mie was in order as well?

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist

“Need something? I’m likely closing shop soon, its getting a bit late and the Oni would like to have their evening off, I’m sure.”

"Uhh, I'm actually looking for Donovan." Nick told of his purpose in the tent. "Your Oni workers told me he was here and... I'm beginning to realize I just missed him." He then sighed at the slight misfortune. "Well, uhh, do you know where he went?"

Nick felt it would be a waste to visit Lady Mie's tent just for that one question. Since this fox lady was a merchant, Nick figured she might have traveled a lot and so knew many things. Maybe she could have some insight about his special artifact, "By the way, do you know about this?" Nick took out his black diamond thing he picked up from that courtyard with the titans. "I asked Kyrnith about it and he told me it might belong to this Sage guy in the mountains. Do you know anything about that person?"

"I'll probably be looking for this Sage guy in the immediate future. I have, uhh, questions for him. Or her."

Novak considered the Illuminator's offer carefully. Lazhira believed that the orb was a seal to something, and that the god would use it. She also seemed to think that endeavoring to return it would be a bad idea. If she wanted to prevent this, perhaps that was her motive for stealing it, he thought.

On one hand, there were a lot of unsettling things about this god. Dancing with a corpse-mannequin outside a laboratory where human hearts were used as ingredients at the bottom of an abandoned temple surrounded by an unnatural fog and infested with slime monsters...it was only natural that someone be a little apprehensive about dealing with someone like that. If the orb was as seal, does that mean the Illuminator wanted to break it? And what would that mean for the world?

On the other hand, from a pragmatic standpoint, agreeing to this was likely the only way to get Lazhira out of here. Novak counted himself fortunate that Iva’Krorh had been swayed by his reasoning, and to back out now would be foolish. Even if they were able to escape this temple- a task easier said than done considering the only way was a rope- they'd be marked, and the god's wrath would catch up with them sooner or later. Not to mention that Leannah was still somewhere here and they couldn't risk doing anything that'd jeopardize her safety.

There was one other consideration, however- their divine mission.

The goddess had pulled them from death and brought them here to restore the world. She told them that world is dead, inhabited by people who cling to survival with no future, and she wanted it fixed. He didn't understand quite what breaking this seal would do, but considering the world's current state, it might help rouse this dead world back to life. Furthermore, perhaps earning the Illuminator's favor could lead to the locals regaining the knowledge that was taken from them.

"I agree to your terms, Illuminator," Novak finally answered, his mind made up. "In exchange for allowing Lazhira to leave this place, I will do what I can to find what is yours and return it."

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This

The transition from curiosity to hostility was interesting. Isidore noted the glances and glares, but did not regard them either. There were hooligans in any society, eager to pick a fight at a moment’s notice. He’d know. He used to be one of them. Now though? No point in establishing any sort of pecking order; Leuca’s reputation would take a hit if one of her ‘escorts’ ended up killing any self-righteous Gloomhaven civilian.

If need be, Isidore would wait until he was alone to handle this.

His gait and posture relaxed by the time they reached the Rusty Ale Lake, at home as he was with the grayer parts of society. Despite the Dirithen gates being closed, there were plenty of Dirithen folk here, showing at least that there was some interbreeding between the two races. It made sense, perhaps, that two allied communities would have people over on both sides. Whether some of these Dirithen were allies or not of Firebeard was a point of concern, but not anything to think too hard of. Rather, Isidore was more interested in sitting down on a proper chair. Avoiding the larger table, where some sort of event seemed to be happening, he brought Leuca to one farther away instead, with a good view of the lake.

And with a sigh that almost made him sound old, Isidore enjoyed the feeling of having his back supported by well-crafted furniture. “I wonder,” he said, as he looked for a menu or a sign that detailed meal pricing, “what do your kind eat, Leuca?”

Leuca would stay close to Isidore, content to not stray to far. At least in this place it seemed like most of the elves weren’t bothering to bother anyone, and the dwarves seemed amicable enough themselves. She would sit across from Isidore, tilting her head at his question.

“Meat, normally. A lot of our food is derived from the large birds that inhabit the area.” Leuca replied with a glance at the patrons. They were being awfully lively...it almost reminded her of the training halls. “They’re the Kin of a rather...difficult Elder Beast that live in the forest. Aside from that there’s the Fellberries, Dusk fruit, and other fruit that the Fey grow in their gardens...but we’re not normally allowed to enter there. Are you...curious?”

There didn’t seem to be a menu, but a lively dwarf strolled up to the table dressed in casual clothing.

“Elf...and human, eh! Quite a rare sight here, aren’tcha? Lookin’ for food and drink? I take it you got no idea what food we got here?”

“Hm, the Fey protect you from retaliation?” Isidore asked, leaning back. Though it had healed afterwards, that monolithic deer had still been the deadliest creature he had encountered, its wisdom and intelligence molded by constructs foreign to himself. “And yes, I am. To enjoy proper cuisine is…”

He trailed off at the approach of the waiter, smiling slightly towards them. “None at all. Enlighten us, please.”

“Mhm...a bit, I suppose? I think...Uncle said its more...they tolerate us?” Leuca frowned. “Uhm...I’m not sure how much you know, but Elves were once created by the Fey to be their...protectors, but at some point during the Moonless Era, we sort of...lost that connection. N-not to mention a lot of the Fey were killed...” She shook her head. “And its not like the Elder Beast actively attempts harming us...uhm, I think Uncle put it like they don’t...see us? Most of the time we’re barely given any consideration by them...though I’ve heard sometimes humans worship them, and in turn the Elder beasts give them power and protection...but its flight paths often just causes huge torrents of wind and rain that can ravage the forest so we always have to be prepared for that - its the spawn that harm us. They scavenge food and bring it back to it when its nesting.”

“Well if you're looking’ for a good time, I’d say the Ale is a good place to start...though I think the kid probably couldn’t handle any.” He said with a chuckle. “Otherwise...hm, we got fresh cuts of meat from some cavern tortoises. Their flavour isn’t quite as rough as some other things, but its still got a bit of earthy smell once cooked. Covered in a bit of Blast Ant juice, it’s just as good as anything else! Also the Copper Bread, made right from the Copper Wheat we harvest from underground. No, its not actually copper - just the unique coloration it has from growing so close in the earth.” He would go on to list another number of dishes, from something involving a ‘Bat Mole’, more bread products involving different methods of preparing wheat. “And some Rusty Ale, human - named after its rough, metallic texture and flavor. I’d suggest it - it’ll wake ye right up.”

Not a protector, but rather the queen of a hive, hm? Isidore dwelled upon that knowledge briefly. It was good to know, that differences existed between Elder Beasts. Forest guardians may deserve some respect, but he didn’t need to worry about the feelings of a walking disaster. “Mm,” Isidore nodded. Further conversation would have to wait until after the order though. “A Bat Mole steak sounds interesting, alongside your Copper Bread and the Rusty Ale. One mug for now. As well, could you cook something up with this?” Popping open his pack, the dark-haired youth pulled out the meat that he had carved out from those centipedes earlier on in the day. “Would rather have it used than have it rot.”

He mulled something else over briefly, tapping a finger on the table. “Would you like something to drink, Leuca?”

“Oh...this!” The dwarf looked at the meat from the Crystal eater Isidore produced. “A Crystal eater! Ahah, not exactly an every day foodstuff...hm, but I can have the chef make a few things out of it.”

“...mhm, I think I’ll just have some bread and...what is blast ant juice?”

“Ah? Little critters that run around in the tunnels here. Real nasty, but great excavators - they make a naturally corrosive substance they spit on things to soften the stone up. Mix it with a few other ingredients and it removes the acidity, to safe levels...but makes it incredibly ah, well, you’ll feel like yer breathin’ fire, lass.” He said with a chuckle.

“I-I see...okay, I’ll take the Cavern tortoise and the blast and then...uhm...” She looked over to Isidore. “Rusty ale sounds a bit...much, so I think I’ll just take some water.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll have the chef bring them out soon.”

“Blast ants but they melt instead, hm?” Isidore rested his chin on the back of his hand. Confused naming, for sure. “A question before you leave; what’s happening over there?”

“Ah, sorry-” He chuckled. “‘Blast’ since if you agitate them they have a tendency to ah...explode if improperly handled. Quite a nuisance when your diggin’ and come across a nest of theirs - better hope you can run faster than they start chasin’ ye. As for over there...” He said. “I believe one of our regulars is having a little...verbal debate with a patron. Someone claiming to be the best warrior-poet in all of the realm, haha!” He gave a hearty chuckle. “Interested, human? Better hope your wit is as sharp as those weapons of yours. He’s been getting free drinks all day from the fools who keep challenging him, haha!” He’d walk off with a lively gait.

“Hmm...this is an...odd place...” Leuca commented with curiosity. “We don’t really have any place like this...w-well, my uncle has servants that prepare food and such, but I don’t think we have some place just for...this…” She smiled. “Its lively though...almost reminds me of some sort of celebration, hehe!” She giggled.

A debate, hrm? Isidore tilted his head to the side slightly, wanting to catch a little bit about what was actually being said, but the mass of people crowding around the area made it clear that this wasn’t just an argument. Rap battle or poetry slam? With this crowd, he was inching towards the former, but one couldn’t discount the latter if they were going to give themselves fancy titles like ‘warrior-poet’. In the end, he just nodded.

“Suppose these are the places that you wouldn’t often come, hm? Would you like to check it out after our meal?” Isidore leaned back, content to just wait on the meal for now. “Is Sirithen entertainment’s much more subdued?”

“Well...not really subdued, I think?” Leuca replied. “We have our feasts and revelry as much as everyone else I assume? But its not really an every day thing. Its usually reserved for special times of the year, such as the day the Fey Queen graces us, the Winterbloom celebration, or after a particularly big hunt...” She frowned. “I don’t know...it’s awfully loud, but I’d love to maybe see what it is! Its part of the reason I’m here, to...learn more about the Shadow elves and the Dwarves.”

“Dirithen as well? Were you planning to head over to that community?” Would be questionable now, and it bothered him as well, that there were still no signs as to why Leuca was desired by Firebeard, other than just her position in Sirithen society. “I must ask. What’s the difference between using Urutha or Shadow Elf? Is Urutha based off a different language?”

“Hmm...I’m not entirely sure.” Leuca replied with a frown. “I think, if I remember right - they call themselves ‘Urutha’ as a sign of respect for the demon that taught them how to live and survive here. I think ‘Shadow Elf’ was named for us calling them ‘Those of the Shadow’ in our language - ones that fell from the favor of the Fey.”

“Alright, here ya go.” It hadn’t taken all that long for the dwarf to return to their table, carrying a plate of food that the pair had ordered. The Crystal eater meat from earlier had been seemed to be seared over an open fire and cut open. It seemed some form of cheese had been melted over the meat and lightly coated it and a number of spices had been cooked into it. Several slices of bronze colored bread had been set to the side. He would sat it down on Isidore’s side along with a mug of incredibly strong smelling alcohol.

On another plate was what seemed to be a small shell, and inside was the meat of what was obviously the ‘cavern tortoise’ that he had mentioned before. It had been cooked, slathered with some form of red liquid. A mug of water was sat next to Leuca as he placed it on her side of the table.

“Ya need anything else, just wave down a dwarf. We’re always welcome to help any newcomers here.”

“Thank you,” Isidore nodded once more, before taking the fork and knife. As he began to methodically divide the meat into multiple bite-sized cubes, he spoke, “So where do Dirithen and Sirithen come from? Also as respect for whatever helped you survive this ‘Moonless Era’?”

As he waited for an answer, he took a sip of the mug of Rusty Ale, just to see if he could handle it. No point in getting dead drunk, after all, not when he was still very much a stranger in unfamiliar lands.

The ‘Rusty’ ale as it was called, was certainly not something a normal man would be able to handle. It was strong, and the warm, faint metallic taste was probably something only a dwarf could enjoy completely, but he could probably handle a mug or two.

“W-well...Sirithen, the way Uncle tells it we were originally another form of elf - we were created by the Fey as their subjects. As a sort of...way to interact with this world more, since Fey are somewhat naturally distant. ‘Sirithen’ comes from...I think it was the ancient words for ‘Those of Descent’ - noting our descent from the ‘True Elves’ of old. As for Dirithen...I-I’m not sure, to be honest. That’s what they’ve always called themselves, and our languages are similar but I don’t really know why.”

Leuca took the knife, curiously cutting off a bit of the meat coated in that juice. Cautiously, she took a bite…

“Oh!” She would perk up, savoring the taste. “Oh this is...actually pretty good? Its...hot, really hot, but in a good way. Huh...”

“Similar to ‘Urutha’ too. But if the Sirithen were created by the Fey, how did the Urutha come to being?” Isidore mused, taking another sip of his drink. There was a curious tang to the drink, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. If it had coated his mouth, he’d have likened the ale to the taste of blood in one’s mouth after being punched, but it went down smoothly enough. He tried some of the meat as well, nodding along with the creamy tones of the rather mild cheese, which served as a wonderful accompaniment to the sharper taste of the seasonings used. It was hard to identify which they were, but there was an array of spice and salt that seemed to work out well for any meat-heavy dish. The meat itself was springy, compared to the chewiness of beef or the tenderness of pork; insect meat seemed to have a tougher, denser construction that the domesticated livestock Isidore had once been accustomed to eating. It didn’t blow his mind, to be sure, but compared to the rough food from three days past?

“Good.” The man nodded, then forked another cube and offered it to Leuca. “Try this.”

“Well, I think I said it before, but the Urutha were once the same as us.” Leuca replied. She would look at the meat offered to her for a moment and hesitantly lean forward, not bothering to take the fork and instead just eat it as Isidore offered.

“A-ah! This is...I don’t...know what this is. What is this?” She was talking about the cheese - they didn’t have that back in Talamn. Domesticating animals were not something they were particularly good at doing.

“A-ah, anyways...My uncle said that during the Moonless Era some of us were separated, or intentionally left the Fey’s protection. Some eventually found a demon of the old world, and it taught them how to alter themselves with magic in order to survive. Eventually the magic twisted them into...well, being Shadow Elves. H-he wouldn’t tell me what magic exactly it was, but apparently it had to do with souls.”

“It’s cheese,” Isidore said, appearing nonplussed by the way Leuca ate it. “Derived from milk. Like it?” He pushed his own plate over closer to hers, motioning her to take more if she wished. The dark-haired youth leaned back and sipped at the ale himself, furrowing his brow from the sharpness of the taste. Certainly wasn’t a drink that went down smoothly, but he could understand why some would drink this to wake up.

“You often bring up the Moonless Era, but what exactly is it?”

“You...don’t know?” Leuca replied with a small frown. “That’s...hm, I thought everyone knew of it? Its...a little complicated, and the Fey don’t like to speak about it much.” Leuca would eat more of the cheese from the meat. “From the stories I heard from my Uncle though, it was a time when the earth was barren, and the sky was nothing but a void of nothingness - when not a single star, moon, or sun, could be seen and terrible creatures roamed the land that devoured and hunted..well, everyone. It came to an end when the Goddess Delphithi drowned them in the seas - and created the moon and the Night sky, thus ending the Moonless Era. I don’t know how it began, but the Fey have mentioned that there was a world before that...that was some sort of utopia? Or something that they can never return to.”

“It’s dangerous to assume that everyone studies history,” Isidore responded with a small shrug. “This Goddess...is she known as the Storyteller as well?”

“Oh, uhm, yes. We don’t...really worship her, but I think uncle said that’s one of the many titles the humans have given her.”

“Hm…” So when divinity is a reality, religion is treated as history. A history that supersedes different cultures and races. Rather than worship, perhaps it could be considered as servitude. A ruler and their subjects, rather than a god and their acolytes. And these rulers, whether Fey or Divinity, came from a time before the Moonless Era. The question arose then. Isidore finished off the rest of his plate. “And how did the Moonless Era begin, when you’ve a utopia beforehand, and it could be ended by the efforts of a single deity?”

“I...I’m not sure?” Leuca frowned, furrowing her brow. “The Elves like myself don’t remember...a lot of history and legends from before then were lost. The Fey don’t like speaking of it.” Leuca would finish her plate, too. “I’m not sure why any deity would do that...Gods need some form of worship or acknowledgement to sustain their power.”

Isidore was sure why a deity, dependent on worship and acknowledgement, would do that. For the disadvantaged, flipping over the chess table was better than playing the losing side. But there was no need to mention that. With the Urutha, he’d have time to compare notes and see how homogeneous historical knowledge is between these two different cultures. For now though?

“Well, that’s enough history. If you’re done, Leuca, would you like to see what that warrior-poet’s all about, before we head back to find the others?”

“O-oh, sure definitely if you don’t mind. I’d be interested in seeing what this is about.” The elf would say, hopping up from her seat. She’d follow Isidore over to the carousing dwarves, though it was difficult to get through the crowd, though when they did they’d find quite the sight. A rather stout dwarf with what seemed to be some ornamental staff with a stone engraving of a book on one end, and the head of an axe on the other. He was wearing a robe colored in vibrant golds and blues, a long beard of black hair fell to his chest.

“True, your voice trembles earth and stone,” Standing not too far opposite of him was another dwarf, this one a bit less descript and seemed to be of a more commoner status with a bit of a more rotund physique. A full head of reddish brown hair, and a long beard tied into decorative braids. “But don’t make us groan, we both know the earth moves from fear, it can’t stand being near!”

“Well said, friend, but make no mistake, this isn’t some fearful quake. My words enthrall and enchant, while all you do is rant. If you’re going to play game, you’re gonna need more than just a loud voice, else the stone will just sleep with rejoice.” His opponent took, perhaps too long to respond in time, and seemed like it was fine for him to continue his little spiel. “Why the sudden quiet? I leave you speechless? All the same - your voice couldn’t stir the stone you were birthed on.” That in particular, seemed to earn a bit of a gasp, followed by a laugh from the crowd, which in turn seemed to name who the victor in this little verbal sparring session was.

Isidore couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Freestyle, beatless rap battles where one only had enough space to shoot off a rhyming couplet? Certainly, more rough than diamond, compared to the extensive bars tossed by some of the more eloquent youngsters. But there was some potential there, and honestly, it was always a joy to see some kid from the streets clown on a private school fucko.

Having pushed their way to the front of the mass around them, Isidore nudged Leuca. “Ever learn poetry back in Tamaln?”

“Poetry…?” Leuca frowned. “Uhm, we have songs and such, but I don’t think we have something quite like this.” The dwarf that had won the apparent battle of eloquence and wits, had taken a mug of ale from a nearby table and took a long chug of it. “It was certainly something to hear, though! I’ll have to tell uncle about it.”

“And that my friends, is what you can learn from the stone-singers.” He gave a deep laugh, looking over to the crowd and noticing Leuca and Isidore. “Ah! We even have human and a Elf from the forests.” He would motion the pair over, the crowd starting to disperse, though a few would hang around the table he would soon take a seat at. “Well don’t be shy! Its not oft I get a chance to speak with one of the surface-folk.” Of course, they didn’t have to join the dwarf should either desire not too, and Leuca would probably go with Isidore whatever he decided.

“Consider it cultural exchange then,” Isidore said, before striding forward at the Dirithen’s behest. Pulling out a seat for Leuca before taking one for himself, the dark-haired youth set one arm of the table and leaned. “Call me Isidore. My companion here’s…” he waited a beat for the Sirithen to introduce herself. “Your display was certainly interesting. It went by another name in my own homeland, but stone-singing, you call it? This is a...tradition? Or something new?”

“Ah, uhm...Leuca. My name is Leuca.” The elf would walk over and take a seat where she was offered one.

“Warm greetings, Isidore, Leuca. Don’t mind the Shadows Elves too much, especially you little one.” He replied with a friendly, jovial grin. “They’re not so bad once you get them a bit drunk, haha! Otti Earth-song. And Stone Singing, my friend, is an art some dwarves such as myself learn. Its not just about singing, either. You have to hit just the right tone and pitch with your voice.” He leaned the staff in his hand against the wall, the bladed head against the ground while the end engraved with the book was sat against the wall. “We started doing it as a tradition some time after the Sage Urumna brought us here out of respect for them and the moon for bringing us to our current home. So what brings a human and a forest elf here, eh?”

Another origin story. Another instance of a single individual being responsible for the survival of an entire race. Could they have been similar to what he and Augusta were? Plucked out from another world by the Storyteller, for the purpose of saving lives? Isidore dwelled upon it briefly, but came to no solid beliefs or theories. “We’re travelling partners, with different ends. Though for Leuca’s end...well, you may find out of it later on today. You’re a Gloomhaven native?”

“Travelers eh? I bet you have stories to tell if you brave the wilderness above.” Otti chuckled. “But no, not from Gloomhaven. I’m from the Dwarvish city of Azurumnal some distance above here, you know, the biggest and probably safest civilization on the continent.” He chuckled.

“I think my uncle mentioned that...isn’t that where the Eye of Urumna is?”

“Ah, lass, you certainly have heard correctly. A gift from the sage - a stone colored as deep as the sea and as large as a giant that eternally generates water from nothing. They used it to turn these barren tunnels into a habitable dwelling...well, if you believe the stories entirely.”

“You’ve travelled a long way too then,” Isidore nodded. “Got a map?”

“A...map, eh?” The dwarf replied thoughtfully. “Hm, no, you grow up here you learn the main paths by heart fairly easily...OI! Anyone here got a map to Azurumnal!?” His deep voice bellowed above the din of the tavern, easily catching attention from most patrons. A few murmurs were heard, but eventually something was passed to him from another nearby dwarf. “Ah, here we are. A bit old from the looks of things and maybe not entirely complete but I think this should work.”

The paper in question was indeed weathered, and likely not the most accurate and only a handful of things labeled. Namely some areas labeled ‘Surface Routes’ and ‘Ancient Sea Caverns’. The main route towards the location though, was clear enough. A series of what was probably winding tunnels carved in an almost maze like fashion towards the city. A number of other sites were similarly labeled such as ‘Shadow Elf outposts’ a little further up and directly above or ‘Raider Docks’ much further away some distance up and likely near the sea if the markings were anything to go by.

“The main road itself is maintained well enough, and people travel on it daily.” Otti responded. “Aside from Stieneter occasionally collapsing a tunnel or the Crystal Eaters carving a new one, it should be safe enough to travel.”



“Kind of you,” Isidore said, glancing over the worn map before rolling it up and tucking it away into his pack. “Planning on staying around, Otti?”

“Aye, for a bit. Getting out of Azurumnal will do me some good.” He replied dismissively. “Besides, the forests and lake here make for great inspiration. Might practice my stone-singing. If you’re plannin’ on headin there though...I might suggest ye be a bit careful. Stieneter’s been acting’ real aggressive lately, and the scholars and craftsman are having one of their usual squabbles.”

“Gotta get Leuca to her friend soon, so I’ll be taking my leave here, but in case we don’t meet again…” Isidore turned towards the Sirithen. “Could you strike this beat for me?” He began to tap his hand against the table, two rapid strikes with his palm, followed by a heftier thump with a closed fist.

“Uhm...I suppose I could?” Leuca nodded. She would strike the table with her open palm twice, followed by as much of a hefty thump she could muster. “Uhm, there. Is that good?”

“Yes. Keep at it steadily.” Isidore closed his eyes, allowing the beat to seep into his mind. It was still amazing, upon reflection, how easily his thoughts came together, how well every synapse connected within his brain. Another gift, more brilliant than even this perfected body of his. Pushing away from the table, he rolled his head one direction, then the next, and winked at Leuca, placing his index finger before his lips. “No hard feelings, yes?”

Isidore’s hands spread out. His body swayed with the beat. And then…

“Call me…Isidore, Shadow Lord, demon slayer from the North.
Limp ass rhymes can’t compare, mouth full o’ earth while I float on air.
Reaper, rapper slaying bilaterally, axe or verse, ego larceny.
Keep to caves, stick with ya shorties, don’t tread on my turf, lyrical rookies.”

He placed his hand over Leuca’s, stopping the beat and slowing the tempo of his own voice.

“But I suppose least one of you’s got brains n balls.
Thank Otti, brothers, here’s inspiration for y’all.”

And bringing his fist up against his mouth, Isidore began to beatbox. The youth and energy of his body really must be doing something for him. This had been a pastime that he’d only shared with his daughter.

“E-eh? Isidore?!” Leuca was stunned for a moment as he broke out into rap, but quickly managed to compose herself and return to the rhythm she had been instructed to give. Otti, meanwhile, stared in stark disbelief and amusement as the human started spewing rhymes and beats he had never even heard of before. In fact, he was drawing quite a crowd from both the dwarvish and Shadow Elf patrons as the entire establishment hushed as this human started spewing lyrics and verses that’d have put most rookies to shame, and probably even give veterans a run for their money.

“...Ahaha!” Otti started laughing in obvious amusement, a deep, jovial laugh. “Well Isidore, you lyrical slayer, with talent like that you’re quite the player!”

“O-oh wow.” Leuca still couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Not that she minded, no, in fact this was...really, interesting. “Isidore, you have to teach me that sometime.” The crowd that had gathered was cheering now, and it seemed like he had made himself quite popular here, at least among the population of this tavern.

“Differing hoods got differing philosophies,” Isidore offered with a modest shrug. “Dirithens’ got steel, humans got odysseys.” He placed a hand against his heart, willing it to calm, before letting out a deep breath. “Well, I best leave before my lady friends get antsy. Between Sirithen, Dirithen, and human culture though, I’m sure we’ll get something interesting together if we’ve the time to sit down and think it through.”

With another nod towards the group, Isidore took Leuca by the hand and lead her out, paying the waiter on the way. “I’ll be happy to teach you. Just keep it a secret from the others.” Maybe the Rusty Ale was affecting him, or maybe it was the good food instead. There was certainly a curious lightness to his steps, one that he hadn’t felt since his first awakening in this strange world. No, not so strange after all. “I’ve still a reputation to keep amongst the ladies.”
“Aye! I’d like to sit down more with ye any time, friend. I’ll probably be here for awhile yet, drop by some other time!” Otti called out as they left, waving them off with a chuckle and a wave of his hand. “Alright, which one of you rusty pieces of scrap metal can top whatever that was…!” Seemed like the tavern was at least, in store for a lively time for the evening.

“Haha, Isidore, I don’t think you should be talking like that.” Leuca replied with a giggle as she was led out of the tavern. “Hmm...maybe I could show it to the others back home. Maybe they’ll like it?” She would ponder, though she was glad to be out of there she had definitely enjoyed the experience and was going to tell her uncle about it as soon as she was able.

But for now, it was probably time to head back to where they had agreed to meet Sorcha. She probably wouldn’t take kindly to being made to wait considering the nature of their visit and the events that happened on the way here.

---

Augusta would Leave Rullphana, earning a small grumble from the Shadow Elf standing guard, but otherwise no words were said. Seemed like now that she had left from the company of the Court Mage, those who had seen quickly averted their gaze and would stop any sort of hostile gazes, only to curiously glance at this odd Sirithen...and her demonic pup. A bit more sightseeing was in order though, and it seemed as though this place had plenty to offer.

Curiosity would eventually lead her back towards the ‘main square’ as it was, and back down the way they had come, and she’d soon find herself standing in front of a rather large mushroom with a series of abodes and what seemed to be people working with various things - one seemed to be making pottery and other various small clay engravings. Another was what seemed to be a Tailor of some sort, and lastly was a...well, not an abode, but a energetic Shadow Elf youth that was currently...stealing a mushroom skewer.



Augusta watched for a few seconds as she saw a young Shadow Elf girl stealing food. She got a rather quizzical look on her face before she decided to walk over and poke thr girl on the back of the head. "A capable looking girl resorting to this?" She said loud enough just she and the girl could hear her. The tailor was right there, but this girl seemed more interesting at the moment.

“Weh!?” The girl, would hop a few feet, making a rather defensive motion with her arm as she looked between Augusta, then towards the elf she had just stolen from, and then back to Augusta. “Dunno what you’re talkin’ about, I didn’t steal anything.”

“My, did I say anything about a cute girl stealing anything?” Augusta questioned, putting her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. She had a rather playful tone to her voice as she spoke. “Though, now that I look at it, I suppose you’re right. My, my.” She continued, as if disappointed with a daughter.

“Tch. What do you want, Sirithen? I got better things to do than be harassed by you.” She said with a huff.

“Did you steal somethin’ or not, brat?”

“Don’t matter if I did! I’m here to pick up something from Rullphana anyways.” She continued with a dismissive huff.

“Oh...you’re the Court Mage’s apprentice...”

“Heh, thats right!” She said with a confident huff. “I’m Raelzeth Vrelnir. And one of these days, I’m going to be a powerful sage! Later losers~!” And she would attempt to run past Augusta into the Tailors shop.

Augusta couldn’t help but give a big sigh as the girl barreled right past her. “So this was Rullphana’s actual apprentice.” She questioned while scratching her head lightly. Well, she was going into the tailor as well, though not because of Raelzeth.” Drooping her shoulders lightly, she walked into the tailor a little bit after the apprentice did. She wanted a quick run down on the Uruthra people’s fashion sense. “It still doesn’t feel real when all these people call me a Sirithen.” She mumbled to herself as she entered.

Upon entering the small abode, Augusta would be greeted by shelves full of fabrics, long flowing dresses of cooler colors, with only few more vibrant reds and greens mixed in. There didn’t seem to be much on display here, but these fabrics seemed to be high quality as far as she could tell. Not that she had long to ponder before a few voices reached her ears.

“Hmm...sorry Raely, Its not ready yet.”

“Haa? Still not? Rullphana isn’t gonna be happy about that.”

The other elf was a tall, if a bit heavier looking woman. Not unhealthily so, but definitely a bit more weight in some areas. Grey toned skin with a head of black hair tied neatly in a braid. The dress she was wearing was obviously one well made, and judging from her occupation, likely made herself. A fairly tight fitting dark blue dress inlaid with flowing gold-flower patterns that fell to her knees. Upon her feet were simple boots, and her hands were adorned with a few pieces of expensive looking jewelry.

“Earth Weaver-silk was already hard to get, and it seems even the hunters are having trouble finding any these days.”

“Tsk, man, at this rate she’s gonna make me get it myself...”

“Eeeh?~ I thought you’d love to go adventuring down to the demon ruins?~” Her voice was kind, if a bit teasing and airy.

“Geh-h-hey of course I would. Who wouldn’t! Perfect place to practice magic and all that, but...its a lot of...work, ahah~”

It wasn’t any of her problem, right? Augusta walked through the shop and looked at the fabrics and dresses. She was curious about how the fabrics felt so she lightly touched them as to try not disturbing them as much as she could. “What beautiful fabric.” She mentioned to herself as the two started to finish their bit of the conversation. Then she decided to speak up to them. “My, you really are Rullphana’s apprentice.” She mentioned as she got closer to the tailor and apprentice.

“What, didn’t believe me?” Rael replied with a click of her tongue. “Not that it matters much. She doesn’t even teach me anything these days.”



“...My, my.” Shesseri would turn to Augusta, tilting her head to the side with a friendly, quizzical smile. “What’s an Elf like you doing down here? Dangerous to travel alone when you’re so pretty, too.” She giggled. “...ah, you’re not alone. You’ve got a big brave guard dog, don’t you?” Octavia yipped happily in acknowledgement. “Hehe, sorry though, I’m rather booked right now so if you wanted a fitting or for me to make something...you’ll have to wait.”

She was tempted to tease the apprentice, but she decided not to. Instead she gave a small awkward smile and paid attention to what the tailor said. Booked? “Oh, how disappointing. I rather fell in love with your clothes when I came in.” The look of disappointment was light as to not let the tailor feel bad. “Well, I suppose I don’t have money on my person anyhow… Perhaps I should have asked Rullphana for some pocket money…” The last part was spoken under her breath.

“Sorry, sorry, I know my talents are quite well known, but that’s just how it is.” She sighed, clicking her tongue in mild disappointment. Rael would take the opportunity to hop onto a nearby counter and start eating that mushroom skewer that she totally hadn’t stolen. “I’d rather not trouble you with it...but I can probably point you in the direction of someone who is just as skilled with fabrics.”

“Why don’t you just ask help from the Pale Hand already?” Rael asked.

“I have, but they keep telling me they’re just looking into it. Haa, I’m probably going to have to go find some myself, or ask Rullphana herself to do it...”

“The Pale Hand are what we call her majesty’s guards, by the way, Elf.” Rael mentioned towards Augusta.

"It's Augusta Aquilonia." The outsider said, tired of being referred to as Sirithen and other things. "And what are you looking for? I apologize for the unintentional eavesdropping but I overheard you speak of Earth Weaver-Silk? Is that perhaps it?"

It's such an issue that Rullphana wanted something made from it and the Royal Guard were asked to look into it? "Forgive my ignorance, but is it precious enough the Royal Guard would look into it?" She questioned, wondering what an Earth Weaver was. A giant underground silkworm or perhaps a spider?

“What kinda elf name is ‘Augusta’” Rael replied, munching on a mushroom. “You got human parents or something?”

“Earth-weavers...hm, suppose you wouldn’t have heard of them if you’re from Tamaln.” Shesseri replied. “A type of insect that lives in the tunnels beneath the city. Extremely strong and durable - and excellent for our soul-weaving arts.” She frowned. “Its less that its their business - and more that Rullphana is not someone they want to displease. I’m just a seamstress, after all, so venturing there to find rare materials isn’t exactly something I can do and Earth-weaver silk is quite popular.”

"I see." Augusta mentioned before thinking aloud. "Rullphana did not seem like someone you would want to irritate." Which was something she sure as hell did. "So what seems to be the problem? Are the Earth Weavers not producing any more?" She questioned.

“Ha, no, if it was that simple...” Shesseri said with a huff. “Rather, it seems something has been actively hunting them at an alarming rate, and causing them to make their nests deeper into the demon ruins below us...which well, as you can imagine, are quite dangerous.”

"That definitely sounds dangerous." Augusta agreed. "Hmm, I suppose I'm not going to get a dress from you in time with my audience with the queen. Well, I don't even have any money I suppose." She didn't even have a wallet to attempt counting some with. "An Earth Weaver-silk dress though. Sounds interesting. Maybe I should look into it." She mused with a small smile.

“W-wait. You have an audience with the queen?” Shesseri replied with a surprised expression. “A-are you some sort of envoy from Tamaln? I thought I heard rumors of the king sending one of his relatives here, but I thought they’d be younger.”

"Ahh, well, that's one misconception there. I'm not from Tamaln. We rescued the young girl that is." Augusta mentioned, not making a big deal of it. "The girl's guardian wanted us to inform the Queen of something. I was hoping not to go in front of her in a tattered dress but…" She shrugged. "I visited Rullphana by accident and met with her like this and she didn't seem off put by it."

“H-huh? You’re...not from Tamaln? But...then what are you? You’re not a Sirithen then?” The Tailor asked with a mildly troubled expression.

“Eh? Guardian? You wouldn’t happen to know a human in some weird black attire and a Sirithen that wanted a weapon twice her size, would ya?” Rael asked.

“T-that aside...no, your attire is perfectly acceptable? I thought you were some Sirithen or Fey lady seeking my tailoring talents more for personal interest.” She replied with a light hum. “Though...hm...I suppose if you do want something a bit more suitable I could do a small something, though it wouldn’t be anything special.”

"Let's just say I'm from a place further than Tamaln." Augusta started off, "Something to note since someone said my name was not common for an elf." She added quickly before moving on to the next point with Rael.

"Ah, yes. Those are the exact two." She mentioned with a smile. "Sorcha is very fierce… Mysterious, even." The elf was thinking about the practically empty status window that woman had. "And Leuca is absolutely adorable, I'd wish she were my little sister." She heaped praise on the small elf girl.

She turned her attention back to the tailor. "Many thanks for the praise. I won't say there is no personal interest, of course. These dresses are all quite beautiful and, though I've done what I can to hide some of the more egregious bits…" Augusta showed the spot where she had been stabbed just a couple of days ago. "It was a dangerous set of moments but I have a clever little bodyguard with me." She added, bending down to scratch the pup behind the ears again. "That said, anything you could do to help would be much appreciated, Miss Shesseri."

Rael gave Augusta a mildly suspicious glance as she said something about Leuca being her ‘little sister’, tossing the skewer that had made up the mushroom kebab to the ground before hopping off the counter.

“Oh my...that looks like quite the wound. I hope you are alright.” The elf replied with a sigh. “I’m afraid armor isn’t my forte, but I can at least make you something a bit more durable...I am going to need your measurements though.”

“Well if the dress isn’t ready yet, I’m going to go tell Rullphana.” Rael walked past Augusta, giving Octavia a friendly pat on the head as she did so.

“Yes yes, go inform her. I’ll try and solve this problem sooner or later. And I’ll inform her you left a mess in my place.” Rael stopped, seemed to sweat a little, walk back and pick up the skewer and then proceeded to wordlessly leave again.

Augusta gave a small, quiet giggle as Rael listened to the tailor and picked up the skewer. "Please tell Rullphana I said hello." She teased before the girl headed out the door. Now that they were alone, Augusta regarded Shesseri again.

"The wound is fine now, well, mostly. Small twinge when I think about the fact I was stabbed there every now and then…" The elf's hand reached down to the wound as she thought about it. "But, I have some healing magic at my disposal. If you get a cut, don't be afraid to ask." She teased a small bit.

She then smiled, "But if you'd be willing to help me, I'd be in your debt. Something durable would be wonderful for when I'm going into dangerous situations in the future." Having her measurements taken were nothing, really. It's not like this wasn't common in the other world. "Now, you need my measurements, you said?"

@Rune_Alchemist @Crimson Paladin

“You are the Illuminator. Therefore, you must know of the legal concepts of innocence, and the presumption of innocence, and other fundamental tenets of a civil system of law. So, you’re right, the law determines that, not us.” Frankly, it was her opinion that if gods deigned to walk the earth, then they should have to abide by whatever local laws that existed. At least, in her perfect world, where laws made sense and were fair. It might very well be that she would have to make that world herself, with how this place was shaping up. Idealistic crap, really, but she was starting to get fed up with this petty god.

She did have some different opinions compared to Novak about this disturbing god, though. In her mind, any god that wanted young girls for whatever machinations, especially one that liked to dance with Frankenstein corpses, was a god that could not be trusted, period. If they wanted a seal, it meant that they wanted to break it, and if they wanted to break it, then that was probably a bad thing. Narkissa was prejudiced against this god like that after seeing that display.

That still didn’t leave her much choice in the situation, but she wouldn’t agree so readily like the brainless man next to her.

“As I said, I was an archaeologist. I find things. A marine archaeologist, to be sure, but one nonetheless.” She added onto Novak’s declaration. She’d let him be the one that promises his soul or whatever to the bad evil ancient god, not her. She was just stating facts, even if the implication was, 'let her go and I'll find it,' it wasn't a promise.

Malphas was noticeably on edge on his arrival to the temple. This was due to the fact that he was moments from death once more at the hands of a giant monstrosity. He wondered briefly if he was in a Saturday morning cartoon, hoping he didn't run into another unusually sized beast the next day.

Still, Malphas did not come here to discuss plans on dealing with giant monsters, at least not yet.

"Regretfully, your assumption is correct. I was unable to speak to Enli. Seems the old fellow was busy, after all." Malphas scratched his head, nervously. He wondered for a brief moment about that giant deer, once more, and how it could have definitely been used for its meat should his plan have come to fruition. For now, it seems that the mere mentioning of being pursued by such a monster is better left unsaid, for fear of being ostracized.

"Have we collected enough of that toxin? Perhaps an ambush could be in order, especially since you all know the inner workings of the temple, yes?"

Of course, Malphas's true goals are to obtain at least some of the poison for his own personal use, although it would be interesting to see what else he could take from this cult before he made his departure. At the very least, he does feel a hint of responsibility towards the task given to him, after all. It would be a waste not to squeeze every amount of opportunity he could from it, no?

Into the depths?
@Click This@Crimson Paladin

---

“Presumption of innocence? Sounds like something that old hag would come up with. Law this. Innocence that. Urgh, it makes my head hurt with the illogicalness of it all.” The robed woman turned towards Novak. “But a deal is a deal. Fine then. Find the orb, and bring it to me. And make sure you don’t let that one near it when you do.”

Lazhira said nothing, though her expression was one of worry and mild distress - she obviously didn’t take too kindly to this agreement.

“And...just so we’re aware, human.” A chuckle. “No one. No one, breaks a deal with me. I always collect, deceive me and I’ll make that head of yours emptier than you made it yourself.” The God would find the mannequin it had been dancing with, and pull it back into an embrace. “Now go on, leave. Get to work, before my friend here gets hungry. We wouldn’t want that.”

Seemed like the God's patience for conversation may have run out, now. Might be best to leave, unless they had an especially pertinent question.

“Do be careful though on the way out...the foolishness of mortals can’t always comprehend the words of a God and may act...rashly.” And with that ominous little farewell, the woman began resuming her dance with the mannequin.

---

Nobbu and the Fox
@VitaVitaAR@PKMNB0Y

Depending on where Misaki would attempt going, results may be slightly different. The Herbalist would be gracious enough to allow her to store anything she found there, and also discuss at length anything that the scholar might have in question. She however, did not seem to know what bamboo was. A brief discussion later though, she would mention there was indeed, a plant that may be similar in composition. She'd have to go a bit of the ways into the forest to find it, somewhat back towards where the Kyrnith's little shrine was. A tall plant with a hollow inside, that grew fairly tall. The locals called them 'Windcatchers' for the fact they often grew above most other plants and had leafy tops that would indeed 'catch the wind'.

Perhaps not quite exactly 'bamboo' but it seemed like a decent thing to check locally. She also would tell Misaki she was free to use the shop if she needed it for something.

A friendly old lady, it seemed.

Mie would prove a bit more useful in that area if she decided to go. It wouldn’t be hard to find her. The Oni were currently starting to pack up the wares for storage during the night, and Mie was lounging on a table. A pipe in one hand and a bowl of alcohol in another.

“Ah...Misaki, huh. Sorry, shop’s closed for the evenin’. You want anything else come back tomorrow.” She’d say with a relaxed tone. “You wanna join me for a drink though? I'm not gonna bite or steal your coinpurse, promise.”

---

The Roma Mob
@ERode@Pyromania99

---

Isidore and Leuca would be the first to arrive back to the front of the palace. Sorcha was already waiting on them by the time they would arrive. Most of the Shadow elves were giving her a rather wide berth, if any walked past. It was difficult to tell from her usual serious expression, but she seemed somewhat troubled, though upon noticing Leuca her expression would soften slightly.

“Sorcha!”

The young Sirithen would run over, greeting the blond haired human with a hug again.

“I wasn’t gone for that long.” Sorcha chuckled, patting the elves head with a loving hand.

“Ehe, well no, but I still like seeing you.”

“Well, anyways...Isidore. I trust you had no trouble with the locales?” She asked, scrunching her nose lightly. “...were you drinking? With...Leuca?”

“Oh, uhm, no I didn’t drink anything if that’s what you were thinking. We just went to a tavern. There were some really friendly dwarves.”

“Uh-huh. Well if Leuca says that...thank you for looking after her again, Isidore.” Sorcha would focus her attention off Isidore and Leuca, her eyes drawn towards Augusta, who was just now walking up as well in a stark contrast of garb that was distinctly more locally sourced.

A flowing blue and gold dress, with a starry pattern made of lighter colors inlaid near the breast of the dress. An overall fairly simple piece, designed more for everyday use than anything fancy or flashy. It was also a slight bit heavier than perhaps it looked, if only because it was made with a bit of extra padding and thickness. It wouldn’t be protecting against any direct blows, but as long as she paid attention she could easily avoid most direct injuries.



“And you’ve...gotten a change of dress, I see. Somehow, I think shadow Elf attire fits you better...” Sorcha mused quietly as she’d look over the dress. “Anyways, now that you’re both here...I’ve spoke to the queen and informed her of what has happened. You’ll be meeting her, so make sure to be on your best behavior.” Sorcha would say, motioning them to follow. Of course, they could still backout now if they wished. They were not obligated to follow through with meeting the Queen.

Supposing they did, however…

The path to the palace was lined with a number of guards, stoically guarding their charge wordlessly. A pair would open the large metal doors as they walked up the stairs, allowing the group to pass inside unimpeded. The interior of the palace was well...it was quite unlike anything they’d have seen on earth.

Upon entering they were greeted with a large reception hall, made of smoothed, polished stone that would cause their steps to echo across the chamber. Large planters and gardens decorated most of this particular entrance, the bioluminescence of which seemed to serve as the source of most lightning. A source of water flowed from somewhere overhead, flowing through channels above the floor before falling into a pool towards the only path forward - where Sorcha would soon lead them. The Throne room.

The first that would draw their eye, was likely the throne itself. Rather than a stone and built chair, it seemed to be made out of a large, living mushroom that had somehow been grown to make itself in the shape of a throne. The mushroom grew from the floor, twisting high into the ceiling so that it would act a large, natural source of light, bathing the entire room in an almost ethereal blue glow. A waterfall fell from some distance above, the water split by a rock and flowing into two separate streams which fell into trenches along the edge of the room, flowing into some underground place likely to be used elsewhere within the palace.

The room was overall, shaped like a large hallway. The smooth stone floor beneath them would give way to a plush carpet of a purple hue, but otherwise the throne room was rather bare save for the numerous guards that lined the hall at every door and that flanked her majesty.

“The Shadow Throne greets you, cousin from the forests and those that are blessed by the moon.”

The Queen in question had taken to stand the moment they approached. She was...well, not quite like any of the other Shadow Elves at all - a blue hue to her skin, with long pointed ears jutting from either side of her head. Much taller than they were, with a slender, almost fey and otherworldly physique. Long white hair fell from her head, tied neatly into a series of braids. She was dressed in a simple, but elegant and regal sleeveless black dress with a crescent moon emblazoned on it. Curiously, stars seemed to have been sewn into the dress, but they seemed to only shimmer occasionally with blue light. Upon her head was a regal looking silver crown, flowing as the waves and inlaid with sapphires.

“The one blessed by storms has informed me of what has happened - and on behalf of Gloomhollow, I, Queen Vasserasa welcome you.” She would regard Augusta with a small smile, almost seeming amused by something.



…

Probably would be a bad idea to attempt looking where she shouldn’t be here. Or maybe not - the queen seemed amused by the eye.

“I’m sure you are tired, so I shall keep things brief. The Storm Bearer has already informed me of you...but it would please me to have you introduce yourselves.” Curiously standing not far away from the queen was a rather effeminate male elf dressed in a rather tight fitting sleeveless top that showed off his navel. He had dark hair, and the usual greyish hue of the other shadow elves. Currently he seemed to be trying to not be seen.

Builder and a Traveler
@PaulHaynek

---

“Dunno,” Mie replied rather tiredly. “But he followed a hunter out...maybe he had business with them?” She swiped the stone from his hand, running her fingers over its smooth surface a handful of times. She frowned slightly, but for the most part didn’t seem too interested. “All I can tell you its probably not from around here. I’ve seen similar stones in some mines in Chagawa occasionally, though. Not valuable at all.” She would pause at the mention of a ‘sage’ however, and furrow her brow.

“Only sage I know is one that supposedly visited Chagawa once in the past, but the Guardian Beasts wanted nothing to do with them so forbid them from entering. I’ve heard the Dwarves and Shadow Elves have some Sage they revere, though.” She would glance over her shoulder to Haruno, who was currently directing some Oni to clean up their mess that they had made while drinking a bit too much. “And if you’ll excuse me, I need to start closing up shop. You wanna know more about that sage, maybe try asking Enli. I hear they’re pretty connected to the Moon Goddess.”

She would walk out to the main tent, climb on a table, pour herself a bowl of alcohol and pull a pipe from her cloak and proceed to light it with a long, drawn out relaxed sigh. Apparently by ‘closing up shop’ she meant ‘watch her workers do it while she gets drunk’.

Send Feet Pics
@Cu Chulainn

“Hmph, I told Soyala you were useless.” The man gruffly replied. “I don’t know why we don’t just force feed you this poison ourselves. I’m sure the illuminator would make a delightful sculpture out of your corpse.” He sighed, pulling out a knife and starting to idly consider Malphas’ words.

“Ambush huh...now’s probably the best time if that’s what we want.” He continued. “We’ve collected enough for now to use in that fashion, the plants are too difficult to find.” He smirked, giving Malphas a mildly hostile look. “But if you want an ambush...it’ll be you leading us. Put that confidence where your mouth is, outsider and maybe you’ll earn my respect.”