Slime — Roleplayer Guild

All Roads Lead to Alefpria

Slime and Muttonhawk

c. 3 PR

Another morning rose with the din of birds and insects in the Shalanoir jungle. Moving against the green and brown that painted the environment were Helvana and her family, hefting the last of their luggage or raking at the ground for worms, respective to their species.

"All set. Are you ready to leave yet, boys?"

"You're the one carrying most of our stuff. We were waiting for you."

"Alright, off to Alefpria then."

The three set off on foot towards the great city. Approaching with a murder of crows, let alone a giant crow, would call too much attention, so Helvana landed Frederic well beyond eyeshot of the walls and left her crows with him as well.

Some hour or more passed. They stopped to eat before getting near. Alefpria was already in view, but not much detail could be made out from their distance. Just flush walls covered in greenery. The sparse jungle flora left in their sights had mostly been cleared for farmland.

"So, what are you expecting from the city, Hel?"

"Ilunabar said she helped designing it herself, so I expect the place to be a work of art. What about you Gwyn?"

"The city's pretty huge, right? I expect to see a lot of people there. I also want to taste a lot of new things."

"Heh, that's something I expected to hear from Hel."

Helvana rustled Gwyn's hair. "I guess I rubbed off on him more than I thought." She said with a giggle.

"Try not to set a bad example, okay?"

"I'll do my best."

"But still, you're sure this Lifprasil won't find us?"

"Don't worry, I'm pretty confident in hiding myself. Besides, Lifprasil is meant to be someone that works with his words. He can't use his powers on me, so if he does find me, I'll just refuse his offer to join him."

"But what about us? He could influence us, right?"

Helvana went quiet. She rathered to keep such thoughts out of her mind. "If he does influence you…" She shook her head. "No, he won't find us. I'll make sure of it, so don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy the city, okay?"

"Okay, I'll believe you, mom."

"I just love it when you call me that." She pulled Gwyn into a tight hug. Lloyd just looked at the scene with a smile. "You want a hug too?"

He looked away while scratching his cheek. "Maybe."

"Come here then."

The three of them held each other for long enough to be reassured. Their journey resumed before too long. The goal was to reach Alefpria before the sun started to go down.

Tall buildings, some even bigger than Frederic, covered in lush green and colorful flowers; vending stalls as far as the eye could see; and creatures of all kinds, be them human, hain, or those more horned, tall, short, beastly, and elegant than they recognized. Past the city gates of Alefpria was a completely different world.

The trio's eyes all sparkled like gems as they took it all in. Mostly oblivious to their amazement, the locals walked around carrying wares, wagons, and food. Others shouted out their merchandise and passersby bought what they wanted.

"Welcome to Alefpria, travelers." A smiling woman carrying a basket of flowers brought the trio back to earth.

"Ah, y-yes?"

"You three are first timers, I see. Here, have these as welcoming gifts." The woman took a purple flower from her basket and put it over Gwyn's ear. She did the same for Helvana and Lloyd, giving them a red and yellow flower respectively.

"What's this about?

"I said they're welcoming gifts. They're for free of course. Enjoy your stay." She left as soon as she came, waving until her dress folded into the crowd.

Helvana and Gwyn waved back. "I think I like this place already."

They moved deeper into the city, finding their way into a plaza. Trees and flower beds lined the streets, along with small flocks of cooing birds in varying tones of black, white, brown and gray. The palace was in clear view and its full glory, standing over all other structures. The three sat down on a bench in quiet awe. The sights never ceased.

"Okay, this place is…" Helvana was the first to speak. "I never thought I'd see a place as beautiful as this."

"Nothing like our village, or the hain village. I don't even know how to describe it."

"Gwyn, are you there?" The boy in question wasn't listening. He was distracted by everything possible. "Guess not…"

All of a sudden, Violet rustled on Gwyn's neck, catching his attention. The fiberling moved to his shoulder and ‘looked' at the flower in some nondescript curious shape.

"Something wrong with the flower?"

Violet formed a hand and pointed at the flower, then at themself.

"Is it trying to say something to us? Is it about your name?"

The fiberling nodded its head-shape. 

"Is your name flower?"

Violet shook their head.

"Maybe it's the color. Purple? Lilac?"

They shook their head.

"Hmm… Violet?"

The fiberling nodded its head several times then pointed at themself again.

"So Violet's your name!" Gwyn said excitedly as he petted the fiberling.

"I guess there was no way to know it before. Sorry for calling you Hairball, Violet."

"Yeah, these colors aren't very common where we're from." A familiar rumbling sound was heard. Lloyd smirked and shot a glance at Helvana. "Hel?"

"I'm sorry, there's just such good smells everywhere…"

"Wanna go get something to eat?"

"Yeah. Gwyn, are you hungry?"

"Sure."

Food was easy to find heading back the way they came. Some stalls had delicious looking meals on display in that direction. Before long, they approached one such stall and called the stocky human man addressing the customers. They were too hungry to spend too much time deciding.

"Excuse me, I'd like a small wheel of cheese and some dried meat. Do you barter?"

"Depends, boy, what do you have?" The man spoke through his black walrus moustache.

Lloyd unshouldered his bag and halfway pulled out the hides he was carrying. "We have some deer hide, is this fine?"

"Those don't fetch much of a price here. Don't you have anything else?"

"Just wood carving tools and cooking utensils."

"I don't need any of that."

Lloyd sighed in defeat.

The mustachioed man crossed his arms and peered across to Helvana. "Say, that cloak of yours. Is it warm?"

"Warm enough for you to last the night." Helvana butted in.

"I'd exchange the food you want for one of those. What do you think?"

"Not for a single wheel of cheese and some meat. These are harder to make than you think!"

"Uhm…"

"They look pretty normal for me, miss. I could throw in a bit more on my end, but…" He wrinkled his nose. "I've seen better."

Something broke inside Helvana. Her eye twitched.

Lloyd put a hand on Helvana's arm. "H-Hel, let me handle this, you can just make another cloak for us later."

"Excuse me? These cloaks are made with the best quality crow feathers! Besides, you couldn't cut or pierce through it if your life depended on it."

The stallkeeper's whiskers bent out and in with his scoff. "If I had a coin for every peddler that told me that, I'd live in the palace. If you wanted to make good quality feather cloaks, you'd use feathers from condors. Much harder to get. Crows are just another of this city's pests."

Something else broke inside Helvana. It was almost audible. Her hair and cloak wavered as she almost set a curse on this salesman's whole bloodline.

"Hel, calm down. W-we'll just look for another vendor." Lloyd's desperation grew. He didn't have fond memories of the last time Helvana was this angry.

Even Gwyn sensed the danger. "Let's go, mom. We'll find better food somewhere else."

She had no time for them just then. "You… These cloaks were praised by none other than Ilunabar for their beauty. She even gave me this bracelet as a gift." She said brandishing the star bracelet. "And you have the gall to say that crows are pests and that you've seen better?!"

"She also supposedly made about half of the city's decorations, sugarplum. That bracelet's pretty, but here Ilunabar's ‘gifts' are common as spit, now-"

A bronzed arm placed a pair of dull coins between the arguing couple.

The shopkeeper stuttered to a stop.

"I've got this one, sir. How about you give these people that meal they asked for?"

The arm belonged to a thin young woman, about Helvana's modest height, dressed in practical linens, a heavy-looking shoulder bag, and a rough, rawhide apron. A broad brown sunhat obscured her face, but her exposed skin glistened. It was too glossy to be the sweat of the day. As she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, a solid grey metal belt glinted from around her waist.

Helvana gasped in surprise. "You are…"

The salesman shrugged and snatched the coins off his counter with his shovel-like hand. "All the same to me, smith-girl. Just a moment, now…" He sawed a sizable chunk from a cooked leg of some creature, all the while muttering to himself. "Damn tourists, don't know how to haggle..."

The strange woman faced forward, avoiding Helvana's eyes and those of her companions. In seconds, the salesman extended forward a large lump of white cheese and several slices of rich roasted lamb leg. The woman produced a large leather purse to stow the food, received it, and then turned.

Helvana only had a moment to confront the face under the hat. An intent look from a visage not tanned or wet, but wrought of dark orange metal, pock-marked with faint grey freckles. It was the bright red eyes looking at her like wounds that made the shock real. She was not human.

A sharp tug on the arm made Helvana realise that the 'smith-girl' was pulling her away from the stall at a brisk walk. She had to fumble to hold onto the purse of food that was pushed into her hands.

"You're new here, aren't you? You must be lost or something," the woman said with a surprisingly pleasant tone considering the strength she was applying. And her tied-back hair was strangely stiff while she walked. "Come with me! There are a few things about this city you should know, and it'll be easier to talk someplace less crowded, yeah? Your friends can come along, too!"

"Ah, sure. Come on, boys." She shot a glare at the salesman while leaving with the 'smith-girl.'

"Thank you, miss. Hel doesn't like when her crows are mistreated."

"He didn't have to be so rude…" Helvana handed the purse to Lloyd. He pulled a knife and started cutting slices of the cheese.

"Your skin looks very pretty, miss. It shines."

The smith-girl smiled and a swirl of iridescence slivered over her neck and cheeks. She did not have a response while they quickly walked.

"Gwyn, don't be rude."

"It's fine, it's just skin..." The 'smith-girl' cleared her throat. 

"Ah, I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Helvana, the boy's name is Gwyn."

"And I'm Lloyd. Nice to meet you." Lloyd handed a slice of cheese each to Helvana and the smith-girl.

"Uh, Conata," the metallic woman said. "My name's Conata." A few more grey dots appeared on her skin. She was nervous and looking ahead, not at the food at all. She was hardly slowed when she spotted Lloyd offering. "Oh! Um, no thank you. I'm not hungry."

Helvana ate hers immediately. For some reason, swallowing the food lended a rush of alertness and energy to her.

"Ooh, this tastes amazing!"

"That's right!" Conata agreed in a clearly exaggerated voice, picking up the pace even more. "Juvo isn't the most fair-minded delicatessen, but he knows how to make a fine cheese." She laughed uncomfortably.

The swift walking brought them to the edge of the market before they knew it. They found themselves in an alley between two broad, stout, cream-coloured buildings that let plenty of sunlight in between. It was not very discreet but they were at least separated from the shopping crowd.

Conata's fake smile disappeared.

Only then did Conata let Helvana's arm go. She stepped to stand in front of her, the copper of her skin desaturating to a shining iron finish. She crossed her arms and narrowed her red eyes.

An odd silence passed. Conata weighed them all up with a suspicious frown.

"What was it you were just doing there?" Conata finally asked. Her tone was much more serious. "It...something didn't feel right. You're not like most humans, aren't you?"

"So you could tell…I guess I let some of my powers leak even though I was holding back. That was just me being angry, I didn't do anything to this Juvo."

"Though you almost did..."

"I wasn't going to get that far! Anyways." She said clearing her throat. "Indeed, I'm not normal, but the same could be said of you. Right, demigoddess?"

Conata's shoulders shuddered up and her skin rushed with a duller metal from the base of her neck up to her ears. "Pardon me!? How…?" She let out the rest of her short breath and let her arms fall to her sides. Her eyes cast down. "Okay, I'd be lying if I said you were the first to mention it," she admitted. "Not many people just say it out of nowhere, though."

After an uneasy swallow, Conata lifted her eyes again. "Look, you're obviously new to town. I don't want people getting hurt because of misunderstandings. I can help you, but you'll have to help me, okay?" Her skin pocked more heavily again. "Maybe you know something that I've been looking for."

"Well, I do have a favor to return, but I'm holding back my powers for a reason. If it's something that needs them, then I don't know if I can help. We heard some...bad things about Lifprasil."

Conata huffed into an open-mouthed smile. "I don't even know what your powers are, newcomer." The smile was short-lived. "No, nothing like that. It's a long story. I guess Lifprasil is a part of it, though not directly."

Conata half-stepped backwards and pointed a thumb to one side. "I've got tea at home, and some bread. Maybe we can talk over lunch?"

"I like you, Conata. Lead the way."

With a turn on the front of her foot, Conata set off walking. This time, there was less of a hurry.

"It's way too easy to please you, Hel…" Lloyd said with a sigh. "Though bread and tea can go well with cheese." He continued giving out cheese, a slice to Gwyn and another to Helvana.

"Wha- my mouth's tingling! It's so tasty!"

Conata glanced back with a half smile. "Where did you three come from, anyway?"

"We come from up north, past the big swamp. Do you know of it?"

"No, I haven't been up north," Conata answered.

"It's been quite the long way hasn't it…? We wouldn't even have been to Xerxes without Frederic."

"That's our ride, by the way. He's a giant crow, so we left him away from the city. Hel has a thing for crows, you'll see for yourself eventually."

"A giant...crow?"

"You sound like you don't like them, Lloyd. I'll take your cloak away if that's the case."

"Hey now! I didn't say that!"

Conata lightly shook her head. A few streaks of green patina grew on her temples and forearms, suggesting some other shift in mood. "You've come a long way indeed if you passed by Xerxes. People here say the knights had to fly there during the war in the belly of a great serpent in the sky."

"Great serpent?"

"In the sky?" The brothers were clearly surprised by what Conata said so casually.

"To be fair, I haven't seen it," Conata clarified, lifting a hand. "Everyone else has, though. It can't be impossible. Especially if a giant crow is...Whatever, it's not important." She breathed in. "Is there some place you're going on your big journey?"

"We were coming to Alefpria, actually. We were going to skip Xerxes, but we ended up visiting it, or rather, what's left of it… It's just a big crater now."

A sigh escaped Conata's lips. "So, it must be true after all."

Before Conata could elaborate, the group was waved down by a nondescript hain woman. They were between neighbourhoods and there were far fewer well-dressed folk around.

"Conata! Conata!" The hain woman slowed to a stop before them. "There you are! I just wanted to thank you for fixing my brother's plow last week. I have something to give you for it-"

"Oh, no, it was nothing, really Dara, he gave me the fee yesterday, I..." Conata raised her hands.

"No words! Please, take these," She took Conata's hand and wrapped her fingers around a pair of leather gloves in them. "Your hands always feel so cold! I thought you might like to keep them warm when you work during the night." The woman was already stepping away. "Bye, now!"

Conata looked down at the gift and sighed into a bronze complexion. "Let's keep going. Sorry, you were saying something before, right?" She resumed walking. "What brought you here to the city?"

"That's...kind of a long story. But basically it was sightseeing. I heard of Alefpria and how prosperous it is, so we came to see. Not disappointed so far, except for that salesman…"

"You didn't have to get so mad. You can just make another cloak later."

"I didn't like those rates of exchange. And he didn't even test how sturdy they are!"

"How is it living in this big city, Conata? We come from a small village, so everything's so different here."

The corners of Conata's mouth tensed and relaxed. "Hm, it's crowded and busy, and even though there are more people around, it means there's just more strangers. But...you know, you get used to it."

"Good day, Conata!" A human man contradicted Conata out of nowhere, waving from a nearby window while he was beating the dust from a rug.

Conata waved back. "Hello, Rommun!" She turned back to the others quickly enough. "It's not so bad, though. You meet little villages-worth of people. And...I don't know, this place has a warm feel to it. It's like I'm being held by the shoulders by someone I trust. Something about the walls and roofs and...the way the streets are laid out."

"New friends, Conata?" A wheezing hain man in a brown cloak raised a hand from up his seat against a nearby wall. He was not very clean.

"Just showing some new faces around, Sir Wallan."

"Tell them they can give me a coin for a full tour of the place. I'll even break 'em into the palace! Heheheh!"

They quickly left the vagrant behind.

"You seem to be pretty popular." Lloyd noted.

Conata shrugged. "I get by through working metals. A lot of people here needed help, still do. Not everyone had the wealth, so...I did some favours, that's all." She opened a hand out. "Of course, we were just as much strangers in the beginning. I came with friends from home and we've not been here for much longer than a couple of rainy seasons." She glanced to Lloyd and Helvana. "Do you three plan on staying for long?"

"We didn't think that through… Since the city's pretty big we might stay a few days to see all it has to offer."

"We don't have a place to stay, though. We usually sleep under Frederic, but that's out of the question, obviously."

"Okay, I might give my cloak in exchange for a room here."

"Just might...?"

"I know some places you could try," Conata said. "They won't try to cheat you, either. Not like Juvo."

Their walk did not seem to take much time, mostly because of the sights and sounds that kept entertaining them. It felt sudden when Conata took a turn towards an archway that granted access through a broad wall, at least thirty arm spans across. They passed a rough wooden gate into a courtyard that housed a few small pens of chickens and pigs. At the far end was some kind of clay oven next to a heavy block of metal standing conspicuously out on its own. They passed it all quickly to reach a main building in front of them.

Conata pushed aside the wispy curtain inside the door to lead Helvana and her friends into a dim hallway. The staircase and several shut doors they passed implied that Conata was not the only tenant of this place. The smell suggested that the tenants were not few in number.

They were lead to one last open door. Conata pushed it open to reveal a high-ceilinged yet rather plain room with a table, chairs, kitchenware, and other household goods. They did not have much room to move around. Another pair of doors led into a store room and a bed room, through which could be seen a large round green humanoid leant over a piece of white clay. The creature delicately worked at an image with a tiny brush and ink. Helvana had never seen anything like it.

"Hey Ruvac," Conata called through the little apartment.

"Hey," the creature said, half-present while focussing on his project.

Conata took off her hat and went to the little fireplace flickering in the corner to look inside a bronze pot hanging over it. "I've got some people over! Don't mind us, we won't disturb you."

The creature hummed acknowledgement.

"Uh, take a seat," Conata murmured to the three following her. "And try not to be too loud. Ruvac has been working on that character for months now."

The three of them sat down on the chairs, with Gwyn staying on Helvana's lap. "Quite the place you have here."

"It was a good deal," Conata admitted. "Especially since I get space out the front for an anvil and a furnace."

"What was that thing in the next room?"

"Don't be rude, Gwyn."

"Sorry. He's your friend, right, Conata?"

She didn't turn around from ladling water and leaves into the pot before her. "It's okay. Not many people outside of the Ironhearts even know what an azibo is." Conata turned around with a smile to Gwyn. "Do you know what rovaick are, kid? Gwyn, was it?"

"I've never seen one before. I've seen hain though. Some came to our village sometimes."

Conata's cheeks swirled that colourful iridescent pattern again. She couldn't help but smile wider.

"We didn't even know what the Ironhearts were until a few weeks ago." Lloyd said. He had an easier time cutting slices of cheese on the solid table before them.

"Well, that shows just how far you've come!" Conata said. Without even a flinch, she placed her palms on either side of the bronze pot above the fire and lifted it off its hook. As she turned and took her seat, holding the pot out in front of her, the others could feel the heat coming off it. Conata took no notice. "I heard that the mountains are so tall that you have to travel halfway across the entire world before you lose sight of them. The rovaick are the people who live inside of the mountains -- they have plenty of space for their homes, unlike here." She chuckled and more colours swirled over her skin.

The heat intensified. The trio watched on as the outer surface of the metal pot around Conata's fingers darkened and emitted a soft orange glow. The water inside steamed and bubbled furiously.

"That's where my long story starts, actually. I grew up in those mountains. In a settlement called Rulanah, down south. Heard of that place?"

"No, we didn't go very far down south of the mountain range."

"Makes sense if you're up from the far north, I guess..."

Conata proceeded with her promised hospitality. The steaming, fragrant tea was served in clay cups and boards of day-old bread was cut and distributed. Lloyd proudly placed the cheese slices next to them. The little room quickly grew cosier.

"Make sure to blow a little on your cup, Gwyn."

"Okay."

The brothers blew into their cups to cool down their drinks. However, Helvana took a sip right away. "It's bitter… I'm not used to that..."

"That's how tea's supposed to be, Hel."

"It's an acquired taste, but, uh..." Conata cocked her head to one side. "Careful you don't burn your tongue, Helvana, else you won't taste anything." In spite of her advice, Conata took a sip of the tea with just the same lack of caution, though her indifference to heat was already demonstrated.

"Don't worry, this much isn't enough to hurt me. I'll try to get used to this taste." She took another sip. "By the way, would you happen to know a metal djinn named Aeramen? You have the same name as his liege."

Conata stopped halfway to lifting her cup to her lips again and turned her eyes to Helvana. "Aeramen?" She breathed in and paused while a green patina streaked across her face again. "We...crossed paths once. Or, actually, technically he wasn't travelling, so we were just passing by, but we still got acquainted. Um..." She craned her head down and took on a worried expression. "You didn't travel through his crater, did you?" She asked slowly. "The one with the big obsidian spire in the centre?"

"I wish I hadn't… He almost killed me."

Conata buried her forehead in her free hand. Her skin covered in a dull pale grey sheen while she breathed some words in a harsher language than the local Alefprians spoke. "That great shiny-arsed bitzl, why does he keep bonking his head on the wraithstone?"

The trio each exchanged a glance. The best their magical assistance could grant them in understanding what a bitzl was came to an image of some organ in some unknown digestive system. Probably rovaick. Probably culturally humourous. They hoped.

"Well, at least you didn't have to beat him in a fight to get him to back off this time," Conata said, lifting her head. She curled in her lips and opened her eyes. "What happened, exactly?" She asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"We approached the valley and got ambushed by his metal djinn. We ended up on the center of the plateau and he showed up. He…" Helvana looked away. "Apparently had his reasons to try to kill me. My father's his mortal enemy or something. But these two managed to convince him to stop." She said while rustling Gwyn's hair.

Conata's eyes narrowed. "Really? Who's your father?"

"Vestec, the god of Chaos."

The room went still.

A chair creaked from the next room. Ruvac, the azibo, stirred from his focus and looked through the door. His wide mouth held a neutral frown.

Conata looked left and right. Copper settled on her skin. "...That explains why he attacked you, then. I told him to leave travellers alone, but he has this thing against chaos." Conata took her cup in both hands, drew in her elbows, and took a loud sip of tea. "That makes you a demigoddess, too, then. Huh. I've not met any others before. I kind of thought this moment would be more exciting, but...I don't know how to feel."

"You're technically my first too. I met one of my brothers already, but he had his divinity stripped off of him."

Conata was processing too much to give the comment more than a glance.

"And if you were wondering why we didn't think it was weird for you hold a hot tea pot, it's because we're pretty used to what Hel can do."

"Well, I still think the things that Helvana can do are pretty amazing."

"Thanks Gwyn. Your brother's a stick in the mud, but you're pretty nice."

"I might accidentally forget to cook your share of food from now on Hel." He said, taking a sip of his own tea. "Hmm, not bad."

"I take that back…"

"How'd you find out?" Conata's voice had gone weak. She was looking down. Little veins of brown rust had cut up her arms and around her eyes. "How did you find out it was Vestec?"

Helvana looked to where Conata was looking. "He was there when I was born. My other parent, Julkofyr, infected him with his essence, so Vestec had to expel it. Not a pretty sight, but that's where I came from."

"Are you okay, Conata?" Gwyn said a bit concerned.

Conata stared into her tea. The rust breaking out on her complexion spread like mud. "You didn't have to...talk to anyone or go anywhere to find out? You just knew?" The suppressed sadness in her voice was all the answer Gwyn received or needed.

"Is…Is this a bad topic? I'm sorry…"

"No, it's fine," Conata said, scrunching her eyes shut and lifting one hand. "It's really why I wanted to talk to you in the first place, actually. Other people with powers seem to know all this stuff about the world, more than I do. But I don't know much at all." She swallowed. "But, if I'm going to get your help, I should probably fill you in."

She sighed again and slowly turned her cup between her fingers. "I was raised by a tedar rovaick couple in Rulanah. They are goat herders. And the kindest people I know. I found out a few years ago that I'm not their daughter." She smiled, still rusting. "A bit obvious, right? Well, when the realta came down and burnt everything, this servant of Toun called Majus protected us. He told me I was a demigoddess. Just upfront told me. That was a less obvious thing. Majus told me to come to Alefpria and talk to Lifprasil if I wanted to find out who my real parents were. I don't know who they are. I don't even remember anything from before I was maybe four years old. Just...dreams and images. I thought maybe you would know how I could remember."

"I don't know how to do that myself…But didn't you talk to Lifprasil? I was told he has several divine entities on his side."

Conata blew a cynical hiss past her teeth. "When I first got here, he was too busy gathering all his friends to fight Xerxes." Some of her rust pulled into a dull metal. "Since he's got back...no one gets to see him. He's cooped up in that palace of his, silent. People say he got badly hurt in the battle for Xerxes. Some people think he died and they're covering it up. As for me? I'll see him eventually, I..." Some hints of bronze and a smile appeared. "Well, that's a secret."

"I had no idea Lifprasil was hiding himself… Why didn't Ilunabar mention this?"

"Still, couldn't you talk with anyone at all in the palace?"

Conata shook her head. "Most people brushed me off. Those that didn't had no idea who my parents were or how to find out."

"Other than my parents, I only know of two other deities. Ilunabar, and I heard about Stone Chipper from the hain. Ilunabar answered my prayers directly when I called, but in regards to Stone Chipper, I only heard tales. Maybe you can try reaching out to them?"

"Hmph," Conata sounded. "Most people around here don't get much directly when they pray. If it worked for you, though, I might give that a shot." She did not sound convinced. "What did Ilunabar say to you?"

"Several things. She told me a little about the city and that she helped design it. She told me to be careful with Lifprasil as he could influence the boys. Oh, and she also complimented my cloak's design." She said showing off the fruit of her work.

"...Right. I guess it's pretty and all." Some other traces of bronze glimmered through the rust.

"She also gave me this." And then she showed her bracelet. "It's a mirror that doesn't reflect the world, so the stars and moons are in clear sight."

Conata's eyes lit up with immediate interest. She leant across the table with a polished copper hand extended and took a closer look. No matter how she turned the bracelet around Helvana's wrist, all she saw was the night sky Helvana described.

Conata whispered to herself. "It's just alum-nayam and glass. How is it…?"

She trailed off, allowing Helvana to continue.

"And…I heard of the Realta invasion from her too…I fought one myself. It attacked a hain village that I happened to pass by and…I don't know if it was fear that I felt, but it was the first time I truly doubted myself. You must've gone through something similar."

Conata stopped turning the bracelet. Some other sheen of metal grey, different to all the others before, faded up her head and arms from her middle. She carefully withdrew to lean back on her chair.

For a moment, Conata opened her mouth as if to speak. She closed her mouth instead, letting her breath go. After trying and failing again, she instead looked to Helvana and shifted tones. "You mentioned your other parent was...Jul-go-fear? I haven't heard of that deity before."

The hint to drop the previous subject fell hard upon them.

"Julkofyr is the god of darkness. Right now he's a prisoner of Vestec in his realm."

"Oh..." Conata's eyes went to her cup again. "I'm sorry to hear that." She was conflicted for a moment, but had a hint of iridescence. "I wonder if Julkofyr is my parent, too." She smiled at Helvana. "That would make us sisters. Heh. Might also explain why I've never known, if he's a prisoner."

"It would be good to have a sister as nice as you." She said with a smile. "But I assure you, if you really were my sister I'd be able to tell. You're not related to him."

"Hmm. Did you ever get to meet Julkofyr?" Conata asked.

"No. Vestec left his realm after being attacked and expelled me in this world. If he hadn't told me of Julkofyr I'd probably never know of this."

"I see." Conata sipped her tea. "So, Vestec's your father, huh? I don't want to sound mean, but...you're calmer than I thought someone related to him would be. Vestec doesn't have the best of reputations amongst the Toun-and-Teknall-worshipping rovaick."

"Oh, I was told that before. Even Aeramen recognized that. Maybe I'm more heavily influenced by my other parent."

"Helvana does know how to be mean when it counts, though."

"If terrifying villagers is any evidence."

"I'm never going to live that one down…"

Conata brought a finger to her lips and hesitated, stressing the first syllable of her response. "Wwwhat did you do, exactly?"

"She came to our village right after being born and found a wounded crow. She took a liking to him and then cursed our village for hurting him."

"Cursed?" Conata tried to ask.

"The crows were innocent, I was just protecting them." Helvana retorted with a pout.

"Anyways, the villagers got terrified of her after trying to chase her out of the nearby woods."

"Lloyd told me to not go there, but I wanted to prove my courage to the other kids. I met Helvana there and she was really nice to me."

Conata's face quietly broke out in dull grey dots as she half-heartedly failed to get a word in.

"And you're still more courageous than your brother, Gwyn."

"Would you like to go fasting for a week, Hel?"

"What? Gwyn's a very brave boy."

Lloyd just sighed. "Anyways, we liked each other's company, so we would meet frequently. The other villagers didn't like that, of course. In the end we ended up being exiled and Hel kind of adopted us since then. Not really a happy ending, but we like each other enough to not mind it." He smiled reassuringly.

"Traveling the world is also pretty cool."

Conata smiled sympathetically but looked worried around the eyes. "I'm sorry they drove you out of home. But…" There was no avoiding the issue. "You cursed the village, Helvana? How did you do that? W-...what does that even mean? I don't remember being able to do anything like that."

"Curses are my power. You could say I cause misfortune with this power. But I can also weaken things like, say, a thick metal plate could become softer with my curses." She remembered what she did to the Realta, but avoided mentioning it directly this time.

Conata lifted her head high to nod in understanding.

"In the end it's nothing more than wishing evil upon others until it actually happens, except I can do it with just a glance. You could say my evil origins manifest through this..." Despite of what she was saying, Helvana mostly kept on a straight face, only grimacing slightly a few times.

"But you used it for good before, right?"

"Once or twice… It's not a very versatile power. You can only do so much good wishing for evil." 

A pair of brown rusty scars growing on Conata's temples hinted that Helvana's attempts at hiding her feelings were discovered. A pause gave time for Conata to rub the back of her neck and think.

"I'm still not exactly sure what you did to the village, but just because you took revenge, I don't think that makes you evil." Conata shrugged. "You don't seem so evil to me. Maybe...maybe your powers are just a tool? I make and repair tools every day. All sorts of people use them. But the tools, even if they're made for hurting people, they aren't good or evil. The people holding them are. What do you think you are, Helvana?"

"..." Helvana went quiet in thought for a moment. "Even if my curses are just tools, I can only use them to hurt others. An axe can cut wood for houses, a bow and arrow can be used for hunting, a spear can catch fish and a sword can defend its wielder. Curses can do good for someone only if it does evil to another." She stared at her reflection on her unfinished tea. "I can't say that I'm a good person…"

"You don't sound very convincing with Gwyn being so comfortable on your lap." Lloyd snorted.

With a sigh, Helvana gulped down the rest of her now lukewarm tea. "That's because I like him. And don't be mistaken, I don't resent myself over my nature. My powers can be abused for evil, but that doesn't mean I can't do good by other ways. And it's not like I have to curse things to live, so I just don't use them very often."

The rust on Conata's skin closed into fresh iron as she tried to process Helvana's words. "But that's not fair at all!" She huffed. "I thought...I thought being a good or a bad person was a choice! My adoptive father, Choukkud, he would never have believed me if I misbehaved because I couldn't help it. Are you sure about what you say, Hel? You don't sound like you want to do evil to people at all."

"I guess some people deserve it. Bandits, killers, they don't deserve kindness. But I can't do anything about a famine, as far as I know. I don't know if I could improve people's lives with curses."

Conata was still. Her palms were both open on the table in a gesture of loss. With her skin fully fading into polished iron, she looked around the kitchen and quickly caught Ruvac's eye. He had been standing at the door without a word ever since Helvana's heritage was revealed.

"Wha-" Lloyd was caught by surprise. Apparently he hadn't noticed him standing by the door.

"Hey Ruvac, can you lay curses on people?" Conata quickly asked.

Ruvac shook his large head. "Not really. Not without a lot of hard work and even then it won't always work."

Conata leaned her forearms on the table. "Then how do you improve people's lives?"

"Oh, uh…" His eyes lit up with understanding, but he had to think. He shrugged and answered. "Same as most people, I suppose. I do right by them, treat people in good faith and...help out however I can. Kind of a big question there. Not sure I could stop a famine unless all I needed to do was help out on a farm."

"See?" Conata smiled and gestured to Helvana. "It's not so hard. Just because you've got a sword, doesn't mean you're doomed to cut everyone to pieces. I should know -- metal is my thing."

Helvana giggled. "I said I don't mind how I turned out to be, didn't I? Still, thanks. And, Ruvac, was it? You don't need to peek next time."

Ruvac lifted a hard hand. "Yeah. Don't mind me, demigoddess. I'm just curious, that's all."

"Well, feel free to join the conversation if you want."

"And sorry if we disturbed you."

Ruvac simply showed his hand again. In spite of his size compared to a human, he did not seem used to the attention.

"So, Conata, you know what I can do. But what about you?"

"Oh, me?" Conata sounded in a better mood now. Her iron skin turned to bright bronze. "Well, it's a bit easier to demonstrate..."

Conata flourished up with one hand. The bronze teapot in the middle of the table lifted to a gentle hover above the table. Little flicks with her fingers made the teapot float across to each teacup and fill it fresh with more tea until the last drop refreshed Conata's own cup.

Then a harsh creak sounded. Conata brought both her hands forward, splaying her fingers. The teapot heated again, making the air above it waver and warp. It took on a red hot glow. Conata closed her fingers and it collapsed into a bright hot lump. Another of Conata's gestures, this one brushing her palms together, flattened the hot bronze to a flat length. It crackled and cooled to the shape of a shining bronze blade no longer than a hand. The blade floated down to the cheese on the table and slice three pieces from it in three gentle spins. With another odd wave, Conata caused the blade to grow serrations along its length. It was directed then to the bread, where it sawed rapidly until enough was cut for everyone. Finally, the bronze snapped in two. The pair of metal plates gingerly picked up each slice of cheese, placed them upon each slice of bread, and plucked the final snacks up to serve to the guests.

The cheese and bread was at a perfect warmth, one softly melting into the other.

One last flurry of broad and graceful motions turned the bronze pieces hot again, fusing them, shaping them, and warping them back into the shape of a lightly steaming bronze teapot that laid upon the table as if it had never changed.

Conata released a held breath. "Metal is my thing."

"Wow…" Lloyd expressed his surprise the only way he could.

"That was amazing, Conata!"

Conata nodded with a grin on her face. "Thank you."

"Impressive. You have a good control over metal." She said as she reached out for the bread. "I'll help myself." She took a bite. "Hmm. Cheese does go well with bread. You try it too Gwyn." She offered the bread to the boy and he also tasted it.

"It really does."

"Well, we did come here to have lunch." Now over his initial surprise, Lloyd also took his share.

"Enjoy your meal!" Conata let out a small laugh. "I, um...would have cut you some of your lamb meat to go with it but people tend to get uneasy when I cut into...fleshy things."

"I can imagine why." Lloyd said a bit troubled. "I'll cut the meat then." He took a parcel of dried meat and cut it into strips.

"May I have some of this spread you've brought?" Ruvac asked, finally piping up again. He was comfortable enough to approach the table by now.

"Of course, Ruvac! You look like you need a break anyway. Come, sit down."

For the rest of lunch, the mood remained positive. The acquainted strangers found no lack of adventures to talk about between mouthfuls of food.

Conata spent the rest of the day giving Helvana, Gwyn, and Lloyd an abridged tour of Alefpria along the main roads. The long distance did not tire their legs, and the more Helvana paid attention to it, the more she felt as though Conata had something to do with it.

When they returned to the somewhat cramped apartment, they were met by two more of the azibo creatures. The two others, Gio and Polia, male and female respectively, had spent the day in their own occupations around the city. Gio was reserved and Polia energetic, though they were both kind individuals. And they were close -- Helvana could see it in their little rovaick eyes.

Dinner was fried rice and river pebbles. Thankfully there were enough leftovers from lunch to substitute the more exotic ingredients.

When the night settled, Conata arranged for some space to be cleared along the walls of the storeroom to house the travelling guests. It was the least she could do, she said, in return for the stories they told and the knowledge Helvana shared. The inns would either be expensive or filthy, Conata explained.

It was very simple arrangement, only having a bed and a window, but then again, not much could fit inside it.

"It's not really made for three," Conata admitted. "Are you going to be okay? I could clear some space in the kitchen for someone else to lie down."

"Don't worry, we're used to snuggling together when we sleep, so this is enough room."

"A bed… A bed that I can fit in… It's been so long…" He was on the verge of tears.

Helvana let out a laugh. "See? Lloyd couldn't be happier."

Conata grinned and faded to bronze. "Very well, let me know if you need anything. Have a good night."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Having said their goodbyes, Conata left the room and closed the door behind her. 

"So, a bed. Are they as good as you make them out to be?"

Lloyd and Gwyn were already under the sheets before Helvana had noticed. "Heh, come here and find out." He said lifting the sheets for her.

"Oh? Alright then, make room for me." Helvana snuck up under the sheets as well, sandwiching Lloyd this time for a change. They spent their night as usual, but with less feathers than usual.

Next morning, Helvana woke up to see she was alone as usual. She was often the last one of the group to wake up and cited her affinity with Darkness as an excuse. But, this time, she felt like she had slept in more than usual. She lifted her body up, stretched herself, and then sat on the side of the bed.

"A bed, huh? How much did I sleep?" Suddenly she heard something knocking on the window. "That can't be the wind…"

She stood up and went to the window. When she opened, she was greeted with the sight of a dozen black birds looking right back at her. "Huh?"

Caw.

"Oscar?! What are you doing here? I told you to stay with Frederic!" She somehow managed to shout and whisper at the same time.

Caw.

"Worried about what? Having crows around me here is going to cause more trouble than it's worth! Now go back to Frederic before people notice you. Shoo! Shoo!"

Oscar tilted his head belligerently. He stayed put.

Three more knocks drummed behind Helvana. It was at the door. "Helvana? Are you alright in there?" Conata's muffled voice asked.

Helvana barely stifled a scream. "Y-yes. I'm just getting ready." She turned back to the crows. "I don't want to bring trouble to the people here, so please leave!"

Caw.

"Are you making...bird noises in there?"

"No, you're just imagining things!"

Caw. Another crow sounded loudly.

"Are they doing this on purpose?!"

"Pretty sure that one was real. What's going on?" Helvana could hear a smile shaping Conata's voice.

"O-okay, you got me. I like to imitate crow calls when I'm alone. Just leave me for now, I'll be out in a minute." Helvana would normally never feel embarrassed, but her words made a rush of warmth flood her entire face. Being distracted as she was, she didn't notice some of the crows hopping in through the window.

Caw.

"AHH, don't come in here!"

"Hel? I'm coming in." Conata sounded concerned now. The door latch lifted, a hinge creaked, and Conata's sheepish bronze face, straight wiry hair and all, peeked in.

Conata looked at Helvana, looked at the crows, blinked, and looked at Helvana again.

"..." Helvana stared back. She tried to keep up a straight face. "I can explain. I think…"

The way Conata looked around and softly stepped around the door into the room made it seem as though she was trying not to disturb the scene. She carefully shut the door behind her without turning around. She had gone copper, neutral and confused.

"...Where did these crows come from?" She quietly asked.

"They came looking for me." She replied in monotone and with a deadpan expression, having surrendered herself to her fate.

Hello. Oscar greeted Conata as he jumped to Helvana's shoulder.

Conata absently waved. "Hello?"

"These are some of the crows that accompany me."

"Oh...Lloyd did mention you had a thing for crows, didn't he?" Conata brought her wrist close to her mouth. A sudden wave of pinks and greens rushed over her face as she stifled a laugh. A small laugh escaped through her nose all the same. "I thought for a moment you'd injured yourself!" She chortled.
"Instead, it was just...talking birds..." Those two last words still came out with a degree of confusion. She swallowed back her amusement. "Um...I'm new to this...Is this a demigoddess thing, or…?"

"Kinda. They can't really speak, but I gave Oscar extra intelligence. I just...taught him how to speak a few words."

Yeah.

"And he can understand speech. I felt lonely in that forest."

Conata quirked her head to one side, looking at Oscar. Oscar twitched his head in the other direction. "...Right," Conata said. "Er...so, why were you trying to hide this?"

"What would you think if you saw someone being followed by a murder of crows? ‘Oh, there goes the crazy bird lady' or something, I imagine…" Oscar rubbed his head against Helvana's cheek. Maybe he thought she was feeling sad and tried to comfort her.

The leather of Conata's shoe creaked as she curled her toes. "I...am still trying to work out what I should think, being perfectly honest. But, you don't need to be embarrassed about this." Conata was frank more than comforting. "If you'd told me yesterday that you made a crow able to understand us, I would have said that was amazing. It still is, though...You caught me off guard, sorry." She took a step forward, looking remorseful, and extended a hand to Helvana's upper arm. "Are you alright?"

Helvana let out a sigh. "I'm fine. I'm new to embarrassment, but after what I went through to try and cover this up I don't think I like it. I didn't want them to come here, but they like to disobey sometimes. Sorry." Helvana looked a bit dejected. "I guess I'll just send them away." She turned back to the window to put the birds out.

Conata clasped her hands together. "Don't beat yourself up about it. I would offer to let them all stay, too, but...heh, Polia would kill me if this room got covered in droppings."

"And Lloyd would starve me if I let that happen… But if we let them stay they'll keep following me around and could cause trouble. They're just like children, I swear it." She whistled and the crows jumped to attention. "Okay, boys and girls, time to leave." She said signaling them towards their exit.

They didn't obey for some reason.

One of them jumped onto Conata's shoulder in what Helvana thought was an act of defiance. Conata cringed sideways and pulled the corner of her eye shut, but didn't quite cry out.

"Ah…" The bird promptly pecked Conata's hair. "Stop that!"

Conata giggled ticklishly while the bird bent a few strands of wire hair out of place. The iridescent hues swam over her bronze skin all the while. She brought a hand up to stop the creature but was afraid to do much more than shield her ear. Conata continuing to shine with bright colours was undoubtedly mesmerising for the crow, who only continued.

"Stop pecking Conata! And you." She said pointing at the girl in question. "Stop giggling like a little girl!"

"Sor-ahaha! Sorry! I can't help it-AAH!-Hahahaha!"

Conata's excitement combined with her changing colors only served to spur the other crows into action; even Oscar jumped off of Helvana's shoulder to join in. In moments, she was surrounded by the birds who playfully pecked at her. Helvana watched on from the sidelines with a rather desperate look on her face. She wanted to stop the crows, but at the same time she didn't want to hurt them. Her patience ran thin, however, and she snapped.

"I. Said. Stop!" With a stomp of her foot, Helvana let off a small wave of power. It shocked Conata's bronze into yet another new bright and shining grey metal. It wasn't enough to hurt or unbalance the crows in any way, but it scared them enough to force them to stop. "Get off of her." Finally obeying their command, the crows backed off from Conata and hopped into a group at Helvana's feet. "Oscar, I trust you'll be taking responsibility for this." He let out a groan. "But don't think I'll be leaving any of you off the hook." She lectured them just like a mother would her children.

Now faded back to bronze, Conata brought her hands up and padded at the mess of dangling wires from her head. With a single slow pass backwards with her palms, her hair gently scraped and uncurled back into its prior swept-back style without her physically touching it.

"What's with your birds and my hair?" Conata laughed.

"Crows really like shiny things and… Well, you're pretty shiny. But it's unusual for them to disobey me like that..."

Conata craned her head over the gathered crows and hummed, curious. "Can Oscar tell you?"

Yeah. The crow replied looking at Conata, then turned to his master. Caw caw.

"Oh, It's because you're a demigoddess. I guess me being around them for so long made them sensitive to divine essence. Maybe he could feel your presence through me and felt worried."

Conata faded to copper. "Hm, even the birds can tell better than I can..."

"Well, Oscar's special. And I am making a conscious effort to hide myself, so it's not that you're bad at it."

She smiled and knitted her brow. "Guess I'll have to learn how to hide it." She squatted down to speak to the crows. "I'm not going to hurt Helvana, you lot. No need to tickle me to death, okay?"

"They know better than to disobey me a second time. You seemed to enjoy it a bit too much, though."

"Oh, shush, you," Conata said up to Hel, before standing and peering down at the crows and their beady eyes. Her arms let in a quiet vein of a dull, dark grey metal. She bit her lower lip. "Maybe if I knew my parents, they could have told me all this stuff," she mumbled.

"..." Helvana thought hard for a moment. There was something she want to ask, but she was having second thoughts about it. "Say…" But she had to ask it. "I know it's a sensitive topic, but why do you want to know who your parents are so bad?"

Conata did not change colour or show any new pattern. She turned her eyes up to Helvana and the corner of her mouth twitched. "It's a fair question."

She turned and sat down on the side of the bed, looking at her woven fingers in front of her. "Maybe it wasn't the same for you because you started off around humans. Even then, you always knew why you were different. I grew up not looking like anyone -- no rovaick, anyway. Sure, my adoptive parents still treated me like a daughter, but I could hear everyone else whisper." Orange rust invaded in spreading scars symmetrically on Conata's arms and face. "I belonged, it was home. But...I didn't belong. I never knew why until Majus told me. All of a sudden, all the weird hopes I had that I'd just 'grow into it' or 'people would get used to me' just...didn't work anymore." The amount of rust covering her did not overtake Conata's words. She did not sob or weep. She only paused when she needed to. "I want to find the people who are like me. I want to find out where I belong, that's all. I can't do that if I don't know where I came from."

Helvana sat down beside Conata. "All of that just because you look different? I was born near humans, yes, but the only ones that liked me so far are Lloyd and Gwyn. Well, it was justified for those villagers to hate me, even if they had it coming in my opinion." She said looking away, but looked back right away. "But tell me, If you said you didn't belong, that you want to find people like you, why are you living with your friends from your village?"

Conata tilted her head but did not look up.

"If you want to find people that are like you," Helvana continued. "Then you should be out there looking or be living in the palace. With your powers, you could certainly find yourself a place to stay there." She placed a hand on Conata's shoulder. "Did you really not belong or did you think you didn't belong?"

"I..." Conata let some of her breath out. "I knew something wasn't right, okay? It was like an itch. I couldn't ignore it." She blinked hard. "I don't even know if the palace would be where I belong. I don't even know what I'm like. That's why I'd like to meet my father and mother."

Being suddenly told of what Conata was must have certainly shaken her life. Helvana softly smiled. "I see. I imagine it must've hurt to learn that the ones you saw as your parents aren't your real parents. But what do you think being a family means? Are parents those that gave birth to you or those that raised you? Being with Lloyd and Gwyn has given me a rather broad definition of family, you see? Gwyn won't tell this to anyone because he thinks it's embarrassing, but he calls me mom and I can't help but feel happy when he does. Lloyd and Gwyn mean the world to me and I'd be lost without them even though we're not related. I can understand why you left your home looking for your parents, but can you say that the ones that raised you aren't your parents? That Choukkud isn't your father as well? How do you think he felt when he saw that his little girl had grown up and wanted to leave?"

The rust curled over more of Conata's lowered face, roughening her cheeks and ears. "I get what you're saying, you three seem really close," Conata said. She shook her head. "The truth is, I didn't leave because Choukkud and Wutni, my adoptive parents, weren't my real mother and father. I knew that long before all this. And I still love them. I don't know how they felt when I left. Confused, sad, maybe. But, I think they would have understood."

Conata lifted her eyes up to the ceiling, straightening her back and breathing sharply through her mouth. She faced Helvana neutral but for a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I don't know how else to explain this. Back at home, I was stuck. Things didn't fit. I don't know, have you ever felt like you've wanted something so badly that it just presses down on your chest every day when you wake up? Before long, it's all you can think about. Just that little hope, you know?" She lifted her hand to show her finger and thumb almost touching. "A hope that you might, someday, know where you're supposed to be." Her hand fell with a dull thud on the bed. "Maybe finding my parents isn't what I need to do for that, but it's the best I've got. And I've gone this far already, I'd only regret it if I turned back now."

"Then how are you going to do it? Will you keep trying to find answers here, or will you go try somewhere else?"

Conata stopped for a moment. She peered at the floor and her head danced side to side for a short moment. "I have a plan," she said in a subdued voice. "If Lifprasil won't come to see me, then...well, there's only really one option left other than giving up, and I'm not going to do that any time soon." Her mouth curled into a reserved smile and her rust mostly fell back into copper. "Let's just say he's not going to ignore me for too much longer."

Helvana's smile widened seeing Conata come back to her cheerful self. "I sense a bold plan." Her words had a tinge of malice. "I'm not sure how I could help, but what do you have in mind?"

The cloth whizzed off the large, tapering cylinder shape it obscured. The morning light reflected off its polished surface, pouring a bright yellow shade across the walls and ceiling of the dim stable they stood within.

"This is it! A year and a half's worth of hard-earned coins, shaped into my way inside the palace."

It was large, to be sure. Heavy enough to crush a goat. Not the most elegant device, but simple and effective at face value. Conata's 'way in' consisted of a hollowed out metal shell that tapered to a blunt point at the front.

Conata put a hand on her hip and explained. "I worked out that if I can speed this up fast enough and guide it roughly into the roof of the palace above the emperor's bedroom, I can heat a part up the front and make it jet a little thin stream that'll punch a hole right through the ceiling. Then, I just crawl out of the shell, get my bearings, and give Emperor Lifprasil a piece of my mind."

Helvana tried to imagine how this would work. She certainly wasn't expecting this kind of approach. "Isn't this going to call a lot of attention?"

"Mmmhm!" Conata hummed enthusiastically. "Might even wake up Liffy himself! That's the hope, anyway."

"Hmm…" She could predict what her part in this would be too, but she want to be sure. "And let me guess, you want me to use Frederic for this."

Conata shot a finger up and turned her hand. "Great idea! But, I was going to try and move it myself. I was actually thinking of something else you might be able to help me with..." Conata whipped across to a straw-covered chest in one corner and waved her hand to make the lock click open. "Keep that thought at the front of your mind, though. If your giant crow friend could give me some height, that would save me a lot of energy."

After rifling through wads of rags stuffed into the chest, Conata reached into the bottom with both hands and heaved up a large cluster of metal crystals pointing out from a rock like a lustrous sea urchin. She carried the cluster to a table and let it fall heavily enough for the strands of stray hay to jump.

"This, Helvana, is Vitrum's knuckle!" She clanked a hand against the top of the cluster. "I had this idea bouncing around in my head ever since you told me about your powers yesterday. Do you know what this is made from?"

"I can only guess. I've never seen this before…" She got closer to get a better look. "It...feels weird, I think? Even for me, that is."

"Me too," Conata said, pinching daintily at the point of one crystal. "It's the only metal I've not been able to shape at all. Pure adamantine. Strongest thing I've ever handled, too. Doesn't heat, doesn't bend, doesn't even break." Her hair scraped with how fast she turned to Helvana. "Trouble is, this shape doesn't move through the air very well. And I need something unbreakable to get through the palace ceiling. If only there was some way I could make it a little weaker to shape it, just for a few minutes, hmm?"

Helvana immediately made the connection. "You want me to soften it with a curse, huh?" She held her chin in thought. "I suppose I could do it. I only softened metal once, but I can give this one a try."

Conata grinned. Her hair bristled with excitement.

Helvana shot a glare at the lump of adamantine. "Try it now."

"Huh?" Conata's grin dropped. She glanced at the cluster. "Oh, that's all it took? That's easier than I thought."

"Didn't I say all I need is a glance? That's as easy as it can get." She said with a confident grin.

Conata's grin reformed in turn. "That's fair. Now, Let's see..."

She turned to lean over the metal and held her open hands either side of it. The bronze on her skin faded slowly into a bright, shining iron as she stared determined into its reflective spurs.

After a tense few seconds, the air above the cluster wavered and rippled with heat. Helvana could feel it from where she stood -- it was more intense than the teapot from yesterday. Conata's half-curled fingers tensed. She closed her eyes, pursed her lips, breathed in through her nose, and let her power flow forth. Helvana could taste the divine influence in the air.

A high-pitched, tiny scraping sound grew to pierce their ears. It had the quiet noise of tiny stones pressed and scratching slowly down the surfaces of a thousand panes of glass. Helvana's eyes sharpened to see little black lines widening on the otherwise unblemished metal crystals.

Conata continued her focus. The sound waned. In its place was a soft red glow in the new recesses of the metal. The table it sat upon steamed with the heat.

"Did…Did it work?"

"I can't..." Conata bared her teeth. "It's giving, I just..."

A deep reverberation struck Helvana in the chest before she heard it. Conata crashed back-first into the wooden wall and crumpled onto the straw on the ground. How she flew backwards so suddenly defied anything Helvana had ever seen.

"Conata!"

The wood at the base of the adamantine crystal smoked softly. The vivid red fissures on the metal began to fade.

"Ooow!" Conata complained. She pushed herself up to a kneel and looked up at the metal with one eye held shut. "...Eheh...That was different." She brushed the straw from her face and hair and stood up, uninjured.

Helvana went to Conata and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Should you be standing? That looked like it hurt a lot." She said, letting her worry show.

Conata only have Helvana a quick glance. "Oh, I'm fine. Better than fine! Did you see that!? It went glowy and everything!" Even through her clothing, Conata's shoulder grew hot to the touch. She took two broad steps back up to the table and leant down to look at the new fissures. "Normally it gives no reaction at all. Nothing, like it's made of wood or something." She leaned forward and lifted her index fingers. "But just now, I felt it moving just a smidgeon! Then it..." She slowly straightened and held a hand to her forehead, looking at the metal again "I think it was storing all the energy I put in it. Then, after a while, I couldn't hold it from springing right back at me!" She spun around to Helvana, eyes wide and skin polished, heated bronze. "Isn't that amazing!?!"

Helvana snorted a laugh. "I wouldn't call being sent flying amazing. But glad I could help on the breakthrough." She looked back at the adamantine. "So, do we continue trying? Think you'll need another curse?"

The morning tests transitioned to the afternoon tests. While Helvana and Conata tried all they could think of and made irregular thuds against the walls of the stable. The noise meant they could not keep their project a secret; Lloyd and Gwyn gave them a brief and worried visit in spite of the azibos insisting that Conata made such noises all the time. 

All the same, it did not take long for Helvana to realise the depth of Conata's determination. At no point did any failure to shape the adamantine discourage her. She was so focussed that Helvana practically had to drag her back up to the apartment for a lunch break.

Late that evening, most means of cursing an object had been explored alongside most methods of shaping metal. The adamantine was more useful as a temporary bad luck charm than any tool, but they continued all the same.

Conata knelt with her forearms flat on the table and her chin resting on the back of her hands. She looked thoughtfully at the shining adamantine and the scorched ring of black wood around it. Three strands of bent wire hair stuck out at eye-poking angles from her head.

Helvana wasn't in a much better state herself. One could easily notice traces of tiredness on her face and her cloak was missing some feathers. Luckily her dress was only a little dishevelled. "This is way harder than I thought it would be…"

Conata hummed for the thirtieth time. "You know, I just want to make a cone out of some of this. Enough for the tip of the peapod thing I'm going to drop into the palace with." She lifted an eyebrow. "There's also enough here for a nice hammer. Then some more leftover." Her red eyes flicked over to Helvana. "Anything unbreakable you could make use of, Hel?"

"Nothing in particular… I think Lloyd would make you a list if you ask him, though."

"He whittles wood, right? I saw him making something with Ruvac just before we had lunch. Maybe he'd like a carving knife." Conata's lips rolled. "When we do make this stuff reshape, I feel like you should get something out of it."

"Thanks, but…" She looked at the lump of metal. "Is there enough of this to share like that?"

"Mmmmmhm," Conata's affirmative was more drawn out than before. "The thing about my metalwork is I don't waste as much. It doesn't look like a lot, but..." She reached out to point at the metal. "If you make it melt in your head, you can get a better guess at how much there is. There's definitely enough for a hammer, a cone, and some other small thing. A little knife, a comb, or a couple of nails or a hairpin, y'know. Could shape it into a feather, that'd be pretty."

"Hmm… Well, I'll believe the expert then." She took the adamantine and held it with both hands. "So, what didn't we try yet? I must've used more curses today than in my whole life at this point..."

Conata stood up. "Well, let's see, we pretty much exhausted all I could think of. And unless you can invent all new curses to weaken things, we've not got much more to work with." She held her arm and tapped her chin. "Going over it again...When it was cursed with weakness, it stopped rejecting my powers, but instead became a vessel for them. A vessel that pushed my powers back out. But I felt it very slightly reshaping each time until it got to the point at which I couldn't hold it all in there. Didn't matter how I pushed my power on it or how it was weakened." Her hand clapped onto her cheek. "Maybe we're thinking about this the wrong way. Are you sure there's no other way to curse this thing?"

Helvana held her chin, pensive. If Conata's energy was building up inside it, but she lost control when it became critical they just had to find a way to keep it bottled up.

Something to make the backlash turn around.

"Maybe there is something we could try…I never used it before since I never needed it, but maybe I can make the energy maintain a one-way flow. Force energy to loop back when it tries to come out, essentially."

"Hm?" Conata perked up. "How?"

"How should I explain it…? Imagine if you tried to bend metal, but your energy was prevented from leaving and instead it affected you. That's sort of what I'm trying to say here. And sorry about the mental image."

"Nnng..." Conata winced. Then, after a second, her mouth opened. "Oh..." Her hair bristled.  "Like, if you were cursing someone to only hurt themselves if they tried to hurt someone else, right?"

"Yes, except here we want to prevent this thing from getting us hurt in the first place. Instead of feeling what others feel, it's more like feeling what you try to do to others."

Conata's smile grew to its limit. "Hel, that's a genius idea! Let's try it."

She excitedly snatched the adamantine from Helvana's hands and placed it back on the table, before running around to the opposite side. She held out her hands, ready to flex her power one more time.

But she stopped and looked up. "Hey...This thing might take a lot of power before it shapes. If it blows out, it might be dangerous. Will the curse hold it all?"

"Don't worry about it." She walked up beside Conata. "If we give it our best we should keep it under control." She fixed her eyes on the adamantine, her hair and cloak wavering ever so slightly. "I'll keep the curse up, just focus on pouring your power into it."

Conata looked to the metal and wet her lips. "Alright, here goes..."

The familiar scene resumed again. Conata went iron. That same power she invisibly controlled imposed itself upon the obstinate cluster. No eyes could discern anything for half a minute. By then, Conata's determination was painted on her shining grey face. Her power built in the adamantine. It sunk like water in oil.

It pulsed with a power that could have melted and folded any other metal ten times over. A minute of Conata and Helvana's concentration brought the effort up fivefold, tenfold, twentyfold, and then lost meaning.

The black fissures on the adamantine glowed their same red. Conata did not struggle so early this time. This was easier. Without an outlet of pressure, the glow brightened into a mystical orange-violet.

Conata opened her eyes, in them was an anxiety born from great excitement meeting equal terror. Helvana soon felt why. She felt the power rising to more than what would simply blast Conata against the wall. It could have been enough to break the buildings around them. It could be enough to level her home. It could soon be enough to kill them both. Helvana had to keep the curse intact. The power pushed and pressed against it. She had never before dealt with another divine's influence simultaneous to hers.

Minutes gave way to more minutes. Conata's arms bulged with tendons that suggested flesh beneath her metal skin. Her jaw clenched. She bared her teeth, almost in pain.

The adamantine held still. They needed more.

Conata breathed in and, on her outward breath, heaved more power into the metal.

The renewed push made the curse stretch like fabric laden with a weight it was never made to hold. Helvana put in more effort herself, gritting her teeth.

"Almost...there," Conata hissed.

The adamantine's glow spread to new fissures on its surface. The orange-violet brightened. It took on a warm pink. Then brightened to pure incandescent white.

Sweat beaded on Helvana's temple just as she sensed the nearby straw shedding wisps of steam from the radiant heat. Conata's iron skin changed to a red hot glow. Red brightened to orange. Orange to burning yellow.

With every shift of hue, Helvana felt the curse straining and exerted herself to keep it intact. Her cloak and hair flowed in waves from an unseen wind. Just as Conata glowed brighter in heat, Helvana sucked the light in around her body, obscuring herself in a deep pit of shadows pricked with her two glowing yellow eyes.

Conata flickered. Her clothing smoked and ignited in a rushing flume of yellow fire. Her hair spread like a halo around her head as its wiry form expanded.

"Almost!...There!"

The heat caught the breeze and sent embers of burning straw up into a whirlwind around the two godchildren. Sparks flew out of the scorched wooden walls in spirals that whizzed around the stable.

To the rest of the world, light and dark incarnate worked together. Between them, the adamantine shone like a star from the sky brought to earth. Its corona framed the two opposites in a ring of orange-violet.

The rate of power slowed. The adamantine remained unshaped. The curse could not cope. It was stretched as thin as it would suffer. "Conata...I can't hold on...much longer…" Helvana let out a strained grunt.

The flames roared. Conata's determination turned desperate. She pushed just a little more and a familiar latch unlocked in her essence...

"WAKE...UP...ADAMANTINE!"

The cluster softly crackled like an egg opening. It peeled into three equally radiant parts.

A stitch in Helvana's curse plucked free, the light swallowed them. All sound stopped in an instant.

A force pulled the world away from Helvana. She flew backwards through the wooden wall of the stable and out into the courtyard. The fire within shrank into the blue of the night just as she processed Conata being pushed away in the opposite direction. Helvana's back and head struck to a stop against the courtyard wall. She was joined by softly burning planks and wood chips that flew and clacked in her wake.

The fire lit up the night. Helvana slowly rolled to her side and pushed herself up. She staggered, disoriented. But, with slow steps, she managed to plant her feet on the ground and remain standing, albeit listing over precariously.

Conata was not hard to find. The smoking pile of debris on the other side of the stable had a bright copper hand sticking out of it. Helvana stumbled to her landing place and pushed the burning wood off of her.

"Conata…" She was still alive, but apparently unconscious. The heat had evaporated her clothes to blackened tatters. Helvana removed her cloak, now naked of all its feathers, and covered Conata with it. She shook her shoulders to wake her up. "Conata. Come on, snap out of it." Conata was still burning hot, even Helvana's hands felt the sting of it. The thought of not having her darkness shielding her in the stable caused an uncomfortably tingle in her jawline.

"What just happened?!" Lloyd came running along with Gwyn, Gio, Polia and Ruvac. The brothers saw Helvana kneeling on the ground and rushed to her side.

"Helvana!" Gwyn hugged her. He was on the verge of tears. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

The stable's roof collapsed inward, sending a swarm of meandering sparks up into the sky.

"Fire, fire!" Ruvac brought a hand to his head and looked to Polia. "Sister! Do something!"

Polia hesitated. "Uh, right!" She lifted her arms up. With a gesture and a pain that made her pull her lips back as far as they would go -- showing all her sharp rovaick teeth -- all the flames suddenly bent back towards her. She hyperventilated. The magic caused her pain. But, the flames shrank. The stable went from burning beacon to smoldering ruin in the space of a minute. She fell to her knees, sweating profusely. It was enough to keep the fire from spreading.

"See...See to Connie," Polia said, catching her breath.

They already were. Ruvac left with apprehension towards her sister's state. Gio crouched beside Helvana and Conata. "What happened? Were you attacked?"

Conata groaned and squirmed. Her eyes cracked open. "Huh? Hel! Did it work? I think..." She stopped when she processed everyone's faces. "Oh...I didn't do it again, did I?"

"I saw it. Before the explosion, I saw the adamantine split. We did it." She flashed the best smile she could given her situation.

"You went way overboard, Hel! What were you two thinking?!"

"In my defense, I didn't think this would've happened. I was just giving Conata a hand."

"You did it?" Ruvac straightened, astounded. "It worked!?"

"It worked!" Conata cried. They couldn't hold her down if they wanted to. She scrambled up and threw the burdensome cloak over her shoulder before scurrying nude into the collapsed stable. No more than a second was spent looking over the blackened straw.

Lloyd looked away in consideration and covered his brother's eyes with his hands. 

Conata fell to her knees immediately to dig through a pile of charcoal that used to be the table. She knew exactly where to find the three grey shapes she pulled out of the ash. She put them together and cupped them in her hands like treasures.

She stared at them for a time, mouth agape.

The three azibos, including Polia supported with an arm over Gio's shoulder, walked up to her. Helvana picked up her cloak from the ground and headed over as well. She once again covered the demigoddess, and this time put an arm over Conata's shoulder as she looked at the adamantine shards as well.

Now that Conata's shame was hidden, the brothers approached as well, standing beside the bulky azibos.

The three pieces were not just separated, they had recognisable shapes. The largest was a simple block with one end flat, the other end wedge-shaped, and a ovoid hole through the middle. Next was a cone shape, just as tall as it was wide. The last was an unclear flat shape with a curve to it, half-covered in ash underneath the other two items.

Conata's bronze face turned silently to Helvana next to her. Their eyes met. Conata's mouth opened into the brightest smile she had ever seen.

"And you thought your powers could only do evil," Conata quipped. She held her lips tightly closed for as long as she could -- only a second. Iridescent colours splashed up her cheeks and she burst into giggles.

Helvana couldn't help but giggle herself. "Tell that to the adamantine, girl. I wouldn't be happy to be split into pieces."

Conata threw back her head in laughter. Polia couldn't help but chuckle as well, in spite of her fatigue.

It was a relieved laughter. There was no telling what would have happened if the curse broke before the metal split. If their outward displays of power were any indication, the entire district could have been damaged by the backlash had it not been subsumed into the shaping. And they were right next to the blast.

Still ebbing and flowing with colours, Conata caught her breath. She let the metal articles clink into one hand so she could hawk, spit, and wipe some of the ashes off. The same perfectly reflective surface as the previous metal crystals peeked out unter Conata's thumb.

"Told you I'd have enough metal. Here's the cone..." Conata lifted up the small cone shape. "...And my hammer, once I get a handle for it..." The block shape passed through her fingers. "...And I even got to make this for you..."

Conata deliberately lifted the final, thin, curved shape out of the ashes so Helvana could get a good look at it. It started narrow where Conata's fingers pinched it. A flat wafer of adamantine with two holes in the lower half. The upper portion broadened into a double-edged blade, textured with tiny lines emanating from its spine like the surface of a feather. It was a lightly curved knife, barely longer than Conata's hand and fingers, and missing the usual grip traditionally riveted to the lower portion.

"Never know when you might need it for cutting an orange or something," Conata said. "And...well, I don't have trouble sharpening things once they get dull, but this probably won't need sharpening for a long time. It might even stay sharp forever, I don't know." She half-spun the knife to hold it out, tang first.

Helvana took it and looked it over again. "It looks beautiful, I'm sure Lloyd will appreciate it. Hopefully he'll not punish me for what we did here." She whispered the last part so that Lloyd wouldn't hear it.

A growl was heard from Helvana's midsection. She simply scratched her cheek and let out a giggle. "I guess we both deserve a good meal after this, right?" She got up and offered Conata her hand.

Conata grinned and took it to stand up.

"You're hungry?" Polia's weakened voice said, turning their heads. "I'm damn famished!" She pointed an accusing finger. "Don't you girls dare burn down any more buildings unless you're going to make me flour cakes for the next month!"

Conata laughed into a smile. "Sorry, Polia."

"Pff...You're lucky I've had plenty of practice with that magic."

The group headed inside. There would be work to do later: Cleaning up, building a new stable, not to mention a plan to visit a prince. But, for now, they let the close call of the evening settle into its good outcome.

Still close by her side, Conata leant her head against Helvana's as they walked. Her skin faded from a bronze to another metal. Helvana knew it to be silver.

"Seriously, thank you," Conata said quietly. "This means more than just that knife. I owe you, Hel."

Featuring...
JOHN  CENA

We start with Hel & Co. preparing their things to leave. Her company close in on the great city of Alefpria. They're all very excited to see it.

Helvana leaves the crows at a distance from the city before they arrive. The city is like nothing they have ever seen before! Look at all these wonderful beautiful buildings! Look at all these strange creatures! Look at the fucking PIGEONS! Damn it, Dabbles! 

Along the way, they are stopped by a nice lady with flowers who puts one on each of their ears as a welcome gift. Everyone's favourite manic-depressed fiberling points to the purple flower and gesticulates enthusiastically. Helvana and Lloyd join the dots and they finally learn that the hairball's name is Violet.

They all stare at the palace for a bit, then they get hungry and leave to barter for food.

They try to trade for some meat and cheese with Burly Man #581 who's manning the food stall. Burly Man #581 spots Hel's cloak and offers to trade for it. Hel thinks the cloak is worth more. Mr #581 tries to haggle by questioning the cloak's quality and says that crows are pests. Hel ends up losing her cool.

Oh shit, she might curse him.

Before the situation can escalate, a mysterious girl with reflective skin places some actual currency between them and buys the food anyway. Who could it be, kids!? It’s no one other than best girl Conata!

Conata pulls Helvana away in a hurry out of the market crowd, trying not to draw everyone's attention.

Once they're out of the way Conata asks what the hell Helvana was doing, having noticed that she was giving off a strange power.

The situation gets contextualised, but Conata still offers to take Hel & Co. under her wing while they're in the city and bribes Hel with food. While this was a nice gesture to Helvana, Conata had the underlying motive of not wanting a rogue woman with divine power causing trouble.

They talk on the way back to Conata's digs. Hel & Co. share that they came from up north and saw Xerxes. Conata reveals that she's been living in Alefpria for almost a couple of years with her friends. In that time, Conata has become well known in her home district thanks to her charitable habits and helpful nature, though she makes her dough like everyone else, working metals.

They reach Conata's home. She's sharing a Imperial Roman-style apartment with her azibo friends, one of which (Ruvac) is working on Tounic calligraphy in one of the rooms.

Conata, Hel, Gwyn, and Lloyd continue chatting over a cup of tea, bread, and the food Conata bought. Conata hints at her power by boiling the tea with the bronze teapot in her hands.

Helvana hints at her similar condition by drinking the tea while it's hot while the mere mortals others at the table blow on theirs to cool it. Deific privileges, yo.

Helvana mentions that she recognises Conata's name from when Aeramen mentioned her as his liege. Conata learns of how Aeramen treated them and facepalms. The question of why Aeramen momentarily broke his promise to Conata leads to Helvana mentioning that she's kinda Vestec's kid.

Conata is conflicted. She's never met another demigoddess before, but Vestec is pretty much the devil to the Tounic rovaick that she grew up around. However, the more pressing question of how Helvana found out about her parents' identities comes to Conata's lips. Conata is a little emotional about it.

Also, Ruvac gets a little curious and just creeps for a bit.

Conata elaborates one of the reasons she wanted to talk with Helvana some more: She grew up not knowing who her real parents were. She relates where she grew up and how she found out about her divine blood. She includes the part about Majus telling her to go see Lifprasil about it.

Lloyd then asks if she tried talking to other people on the palace. Due to bad timing, Conata dropped into town just as the campaign against Xerxes was in full swing. Those at the palace brushed her off and Lif was out of town. Of course, when Lif returned, he turned into crusty vegetable Theoden from the Two Towers, so there was no hope.

Helvana suggests to Conata praying to Ilunabar and maybe Stone Chipper. Unbeknownst to them, Helvana actually hit the jackpot. Conata's experience of prayer has never really been as directly answered as Hel's has, so she's cynical, but it leads the conversation to Hel's encounter with Ilunabar. She shows all the pretty trinkets and it appears to pique Conata's interest.

Then Hel mentions the Blinding Purge. Conata goes quiet.

Conata changes the subject to Hel's other parent, Julkofyr. Hel shares what little she knows.

Conata wonders to herself out loud, musing the possibility of Julkofyr being her parent. That would explain why he didn't ever come to her birthdays. And it would make Helvana a sister to her.

Helvana mentions that, as much as she would like someone like Conata as a sister, she can tell that Julky's essence isn't in her.

The talk transitions to Hel explaining her powers. Conata is ambivalent about Hel's actions against Lloyd and Gwyn's village, but Hel relates that she thinks she has an evil nature about her because of her powers.

Conata protests and tries to convince Hel, with some help from Ruvac, that her powers don't have to define her morality.

Hel is sort-of receptive, but is comfortable with who she is anyway. She changes the subject to ask what Conata's powers are.

Conata shows off by manipulating the teapot to serve them all more tea, before reshaping it into various implements to serve them all food.

They all enjoy lunch, even Ruvac.

Time passes. Conata gives Hel & Co. a quick tour around Alefpria over the rest of the afternoon. They return, meet Gio and Polia, and score a bed to sleep in within the cramped apartment store room (the apartment wasn't very big to begin with).

Conata apologises about the modest arrangement, but it's okay for the guests. Not only would the inns be icky and/or expensive, but they haven't slept in a proper bed for ages. In fact, it's Helvana's first real bed experience. (Not that kind. Gwyn's still present.)

TIMESKIP TO NEXT DAY. WOHOAH! WE'RE ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH THE POST, MY DUDES!

Helvana wakes up alone, having slept in heavily. The bed was probably too comfy.

To her horror, she is greeted by a small murder of her crows waiting outside the window.

After a most embarrassing experience trying to simultaneously shoo the birds away (only for them to decide to enter the open window) and convince Conata outside the door that nothing fishy is going on. When she hears weird whispers and a crow cawwing, Conata enters.

Insert Kabuki drum going *dong* here.

Conata steps into the room carefully. The pair of them share an odd moment.

After overcoming her mortification and explaining what was going on, Hel tries to get the birds to leave.

They instead tickle Conata. The iridescent bismuth that swirls around her skin when amused only makes the crows want bits of her hair even more.

Hel (literally) puts her foot down to get the crows to behave.

The intelligent crow, Oscar, explains to Helvana that they were worried about Conata's presence after detecting her through Helvana as another demigoddess.

Conata is a little miffed that even the birds can tell she's a demigoddess better than she can. After a quick exchange over how detecting godly presences can work, Conata drops that she might have learnt all these things had her parents taught her.

Helvana takes the opportunity to ask why Conata wants to know her parents so badly.

Conata explains that she didn't fit into rovaick society growing up. Even with Helvana pointing out that her adoptive family was still family to her, Conata's feelings about the matter ran deeper than that. She felt she didn't belong. She admits that perhaps finding out who her parents are isn't the right way to go about finding her place in the world, but its the best she's got and she's put in enough effort already that she doesn't want to give back.

After Hel asks, Conata also lets on that she's got a plan to get to Lifprasil.

Scene change. The plan is a big metal drop-pod to bust through the ceiling of the palace.

Hel suggests that Frederic (the big crow) could drop the thing from a height if she likes.

Conata appreciates the offer and accepts, but she has something else Hel might be able to help with; shaping the adamantine she got from Aeramen. The same lump of adamantine that she's had no end of trouble trying to even lift off the ground with her powers, let alone shape into something useful. Hel mentioned that she can soften metal with her curses, so Conata wants to give it a try.

They try. Something new happens! Conata gets blasted back.

They spend the rest of the day experimenting with curses, trying to shape the metal. Conata proves to be stubborn and implacable in the face of repeated failure. However, she does try different approaches each time.

They only get as far as deducing that the cursed adamantine stores up Conata's expressed power like a spring and throws it back at her when she can't resist it.

By that night, they've almost run out of ideas. But then, Helvana suggests trying to curse the metal such that its backlash loops back in and closes the system.

Their hope renews, but it could be dangerous. With more power in the adamantine, it could backlash dangerously bad if Helvana's looping curse doesn't hold.

They try it anyway, of course.

The amount of power they need to stuff into the adamantine is more than they anticipate. They push themselves to the point of their power levels expressing visually in big awesome forms. Conata goes yellow-hot and sets fire to everything around her while Helvana looks like a spooky dark shadow.

With the help of Hans Zimmer, they split the adamantine just in time for the curse to break. They're both blasted through the walls of the stable they made their attempt in. It's burning now.

Helvana gets up and confirms that Conata is still alive.

The others come rushing out to see what the explosion was. They're all worried.

Polia demonstrates just how far her Astartean magic has developed by using her soul to suck away the energy from the fire so it shrinks down to a controllable level. This tires her out, though.

Conata wakes up from her temporary unconsciousness and rushes into the mostly burnt-down stable to retrieve the adamantine shards.

She scores a new hammer head for herself, an adamantine cone for the business end of her drop pod, and a pretty feather-shaped knife for Helvana.

They all laugh off the near-death experience they had creating such items.

As they're heading inside, Conata expresses her gratitude as sincerely as she can to Helvana.

Helvana:

L3 - 4MP - 51W

No Might spent.

Conata:

Before: L1 - 23 MP - 400 W (126 goblins)

-2 might: Rapidly shaping native adamantine into three useful parts with Helvana's help.

+126 worshippers: Goblin worshippers breeding/proselytising in turn 12 (Goblins now count 252). Arbitrary growth model.
+24 worshippers: Residents of Alefpria who have grown to seriously respect Conata...And desire her total worshipper count to be a nice round number.

After: Conata - L1 - 21 MP - 550 W (252 goblins)
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