ꙮ Queenstown. A travelers’ caravanserai that, I’m sure, has a name, but it doesn’t particularly advertise it. It’s one of many, and it’s perfectly at peace with that - Saranzaya put you up here for the night, with the promise of securing lodgings closer to the heart of the city the following day– and now it’s afternoon of that following day. Or, at least– the afternoon bells have rung. It’s hard to tell, unless you’re keeping an ear out, or paying attention to the one of many timepieces scattered throughout Queenstown, on mantelpieces, on walls, what time it is, precisely, here. But, right now, the clocks say it’s afternoon, and the caravanserai’s providing lunch - grilled sausages, heaping piles of peppered sauerkraut, even bigger heaping piles of potatoes, thick juicy slices of Roast Monster Of Some Indeterminate Variety. And at least one of you’s made a special treat for everyone to share, once you gather together, I think?
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had a special treat for one person, so that probably wasn’t him…? He makes his way back to the caravanserai after some business at the bazaar at the promise of free food, though, and begins digging in once he’s seated.
has a big, messy, piled high plate of meats, sauerkraut, spiced potatoes, a full flagon of ale and an appetite to match. His armor’s off during this feast- bracers tied and hanging from the back of his chair, breastplate now protecting a table leg. His small, yet solid, frame contrasts against the hill of food before him.
ꙮ Oh, yeah, the Awoken’s got some cool-ass armor, now.
strolls in to the caravanserai quite late, her hair Billowing behind her in lose, perfectly-formed curls. She had to make a quick trip to the bazaar to pick up the finished pieces of the clothes she commissioned, and she’s wearing them now. The dress is mostly a system of intricately knotted, gnosis-infused, silken cord in a deep red. The only fabric portions of it are a layered halter top and a skirt with two high-cut slits over either leg, both made of diaphanous Samudran gnosis-worked fabric flowing elegantly from the silken cord. The dress is made more practical by a finely-articulated scale-and-plate pauldron on one arm, and intricately articulated golden plates stitched into supple, thigh-high leather boots and fingerless gloves. The outfit is completed with a series of metalwork golden armbands bracketing either arm, another golden band high on her thigh. ⁂
In the hollow of her throat rests the Rose Gold Rose pendant, a rose-gold wreath of tangled rose vine, an eight-pointed golden star nestled within, and within that a crystal sphere, bounded by an iron band, with a single mote of quicksilver pressed against the surface. She’s wearing earrings that match, with a whip of rose vine that runs along the shell of her ear and terminate in golden points that match the star of the necklace. ⁂
filters in from…wherever he’s been wandering around the city–he clearly visited some kind of tailor’s shop, because the scorched edges on his coat are now covered with simple-yet-elegant black edging on the lapels, bottom hem, and cuffs–glances at Awoken, raises an hand in greeting, then pauses, examines him more closely, and squints. “…did you embark on some campaign of conquest that I am not aware of?”
is, perhaps most importantly, carrying an extremely complicated braided loaf of bread cradled in her arms. 🙧
looks up, and stares at Salme’s entrance. Not as cool as who just walked in!
strolls into the Caravanserai with an armload of steel and stone. “Friend-Awoken, I hear you have hunted!” They check their tomestone. “Also…that you are royalty?”
: “Sure… sure have… turtle… Gato…” He’s distracted.
looks distinctly amused, and waits for Awa to stop drooling.
ꙮ Honestly, valid.
: “Hmm.” Aurelius sets his fork down for a moment to properly appraise the outfit. “More gold than expect, but the dancer-esq does, indeed, suit you very well. The hair looks better than I thought it would.”
: “H-hey Salme!” He gets up to pull out a chair for her.
: “Your new outfit is hearttaking!”
snorts, as he takes a seat and starts grabbing food. “And brain-taking, clearly…” He grins at Salme, though–not admiring as Aury or Awa might, but with a bit of pride.
: “You’re really going to need to learn how to not lose complete control of your mind every time she changes clothing at some point. Also you clearly mean breath-taking.”
comes in, the smell of burnt spices unmistakable in the air despite the bath, change of attire, and liberal application of the complimentary fragrance he’d done to try to mask it. “Looking good, Salme!”
looks over to Awoken. “Woah, hey, you too. Glad we’re making a tradition of new outfits for each place, it’s too fun to abandon.”
snorts, half turning his head to retort. “What’s the purpose of having control?”
ꙮ I mean, unless she does a costume change in the middle of a pitched battle or desperate confrontation, it’s probably fine, right?
sits in the chair, a little amused, and sets the extremely large and complicated braided loaf of bread on the the table. “Thank you, my prince. I couldn’t be outdone by you.” She beams at Aurelius though. “I’m glad you like it.”
: “And nah, I definitely mean heart-taking.”
nods at the bread. “Jae sends her regards. Well. She said, specifically, ‘Take one of these to your clan of fucking weirdos, babe,’ but I’m interpreting that as ‘regards.’”
ꙮ It’s the intended message, really.
: “One hates to interrupt such well-earned admiration, but I’m still a bit confused by the Awoken’s newly-found royal blood.”
snaps out of it. “Oh! Right!” He settles, and sits, back down.
: “First, yes, I went on a hunt with Clan Twitherym– hunting a mountain of a Matamata–, and had new armor made at Gato and Gato’s! The metalwork is fine and leaves plenty of maneuverability, while also being stunningly shimmering!”
: “And the royalty… y’know, that’s what [Libra] says!” He nods approvingly. “Feels right! Don’t remember it!”
looks amused. “So…that’s it? You’re a prince now.”
breaks off a chunk of loaf and chews on it. It’s filled with a bittersweet poppyseed paste.
raises a glass of whatever they can find in celebration and slams it on the table, before pouring it down their throat. “What a first hunt! Congratulations!”
breaks off a piece of the twisted loaf. “Now and have been! It might come in handy, or it’ll have trouble in store for the future!”
: “Either way, I’m excited!”
looks at Awoken with a smile. “I mean, if Jae can decide she’s the Hero, why not let yourself be a Prince? I respect it.”
nods. “Archie does make a good point. Also. It’s definitely going to cause trouble. Hopefully the fun kind.”
glances at Salme. “Has Almachadta ever had a prince? I’m not sure of the appropriate forms of address.”
swallows a bit of actual food. She just couldn’t resist trying the bread first. “No. We call him the Palimpsest-King but it’s … I think it’s more that ‘The Palimpsest-Mid-Level-Bureaucratic-Administrator’ wouldn’t have the same ring.”
looks over at her. “Wait, does ‘King’ not accurately describe his actual role and title?”
chuckles. “He does not rule as the Scorpion-Queen rules, no.”
: “I don’t know, I kind of like it…”
: “Palimpsest-Wisest-Guy-In-The-Room.”
: “Kind of like the idea of royalty or … because we’re going in the harem, Aury. We’ve been over this.”
: “For the record, I’m not aware of any monarchic structures on Samudra, current or Ancient. The closest we get are Kushtaka clan structures, which are matriarchial and matrilineal.”
: “Huh? I meant ‘Palimpsest-Mid-Level-Bureaucratic-Administrator’.”
nods at Awa. “Indeed. It is more…the respect and deference one would give a wise elder, than…an empowered…role?”
looks at Aurelius, blinks a moment, then laughs a little.
: “Yeah, I wouldn’t call it a … monarchic structure. There’s always only one Palimpsest-King and they last for an entire—cycle.”
: “(She’s got her mind on the other topic.)” He folds over some slices of roast, stuffs some sauerkraut within them, takes a bite.
kicks the Awoken beneath the table. Not hard, but her new boots do have steel toes (gilded gold, of course).
: “One is free to listen to the Palimpsest-King, or not. But his wisdom is well-proved, so he is often asked to adjudicate disputes, settle matters of uncertain interpretation.”
purses his lips and steadies himself to reach for a nearby water glass and takes a long sip.
nods at Wolf. “Also,” she holds up her tomestone, with a newly-accessioned folio, {Libra}, open on the screen. “If anyone wants to see the Alethic text we got, including the Scorpion Queen’s, it’s in the library.”
plucks his tomestone from his belt pouch, taps a couple of times–and his eyebrows rise rather precipitously. “…fascinating.”
nods, scrolling through the entries. “As if you have to ask if I’m willing to be experimented on,” he says with a sly grin, before immediately realizing the words that left his lips. “I didn’t mean, like - I meant - First Principles, you know what I meant.”
: “I was thinking about cannons earlier…” Luĉja teases
curls up in his chair, which only serves to make him look more like a cannonball.
: “Yeah, yeah Archie, I know your type runs more towards Sunbeam-and-Dog Sword-Saints.”
: “…cannons?” He sighs. “And what, pray tell, is that?”
takes a long drink from his cup. “We sure are a group of people.”
ꙮ You sure are.
laughs goodnaturedly as he skewers potatoes and sliced sausage.
looks over at Salme with a scandalized expression that collapses into a grin. “I’d be more upset about you reading my conversations with Badri if I wasn’t reading yours with Caion.”
laughs. “Archie, I didn’t have to read your conversation with Badri. He mentioned ‘A delightfully impertinent question about ear scritchins’ and I knew. What is it the birds say? Time flows like a river and history repeats?”
nods slowly to Salme while going back to his food.
: “Whoof, if that isn’t an echoing statement…”
frowns a little. “Rather apt, given everything we’ve learned.”
’s own ears flicker as he laughs at Salme’s joke. “Okay, fine, you got me. Though I’m leaving the topic there, talking to you about my crush on your weird kind-of-dad is too far even for me.” He droops down a little. “Huh. Yeah, I guess so.”
looks up and to the side. “Yeah… I can see it!”
: “We can leave it there for sure. Thanks for reaching out to him, Archie.”
blinks. “Oh I was just joking about people being into Badri, but I suppose it is apt.” She looks back down at her tomestone. “Did. Everyone see what it said about Jae?”
: “I did. How can she outdate a cycle?”
: “Said about her where?”
: “Mmhm.”
: “It’s at the bottom of the {Libra} folio and. I have a theory.”
: “Sure did! And the ‘this body’ note, is really strange!”
: “Oh. That is… strange. What’s your theory?”
: “There’s one thing on each of the worlds we’ve been to that endures throughout the cycles. On Almachadta, it’s the Mask. On Samudra, it seems to be the noöplankton. And here, I think it’s her.” She stands up and begins to pace. “We’ve been talking a lot, a lot. When we met at the train station I already knew her very well, and when I told her about my duel with Badri, she said, ‘i think i would have died rather than lose that rite tbh.’ And I thought that was strange. That’s not how the Rite works and she should know that.” ⁂
spins on her heel. “But she did know that. She knows the Rite better than most, as we’ve all irritatingly found out. Her current body is over 4,000 years old, and there have been more. And she told me something did happen 1,296 years ago. She wouldn’t tell me what though. I think she endures. I think she’s the only thing that does.” Her voice does warble a bit at the end. Even her frantic pacing can’t stop that. 🙧
puts his elbows on the table and arches his hands, one of them rubbing the other’s knuckles. “It wasn’t just a turn of phrase?”
: “Fascinating. I wonder, then, if there were Endjinn the last time…”
watches Salme for a few moments before reaching out to grab one of her hands to keep her from pacing in the dinning room and squeezes it.
nods in understanding. “I wonder if that is how it works, for her. If losing a Rite means she dies. Maybe that’s reading too far into it, but something has to be sustaining her, and people don’t tend to cheat as hard as she did at the Rite if they don’t have serious stakes if they lose.”
squeezes Aurelius’ hand back and sits down, again. “I don’t know, but I think part of her wants us to win the Rite. If she’d die I—I’m not sure.” She looks at Awoken. “What part being a turn of phrase?”
: “The ‘think I would have died’ part. Did it mean, ‘losing would have meant my actual death,’ or was she being dramatic.”
: “SQ? Dramatic…?”
: “It is an important distinction!”
ꙮ Perish the thought.
: “Ah, I mean. I agree.”
: “She did seem to have, ah, quite the sense of the dramatic.”
laughs a little. “I mean, I took it to mean, ‘I would have rather died than let someone bear the Mask.’ I think … she was horrified by the concept. I think it was more she … wouldn’t have let someone else bear it, if she could be the one to do so.”
: “I was, to be fair, talking about how fucked up I was about bearing the Mask, so I suppose that’s important context,” she admits, squeezing Aurelius’ hand a bit harder.
: “Interesting conclusion…” He crosses his arms, and crosses one foot over the other (under the table.)
: “What if… she would die, if she lost a Rite?”
nods to Salme. “Well, sounds like it may be early to reach conclusions, but it’s an interesting idea to keep in mind. At the very least, we know for a fact that she’s preserved through the cycles, and that’s not nothing.” Then, a side glance at the newly re-crowned Prince. “I literally just said that.”
: “You did! It was worth repeating and (rotating).”
: “The same goes for the other persistent personae throughout the worlds. Though not neccessarily in a rite.”
: “That seems like a rather more unstable way of ensuring continuity than the other two, but…hmm.” He looks thoughtful. “One has a question for her, next time we meet.”
shrugs and gets back to the Meat Tower, diligently taking note of the various preparation methods used in a small notebook, which itself has become the bookmark for a much bigger notebook.
ꙮ I heard you liked notebooks…
: “Is it more unstable? The original idea on Almachadta was that Bahamut would be the only one to bear the Mask. If Jae—‘there have been others’.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know what it means for saving the Beast, or if she loses a Rite. I also can’t really defend my theory about her enduring, but I am almost certain I am, at least, correct about that.”
looks up at NIP with a smile. “You heard right. And to think you said ‘you’ sure are a group of people just a moment ago! You’re one of us and you know it.”
nods at Salme. “Aye, this is fair. Though I would argue that Bahamut thought he would be the only one. I am not so sure that was the intent. But that, for myself, is also speculating.”
ꙮ Alas, if I had hands to hold a pen. Maybe someday.
: “I’m not sure it means anything for saving the Beast, but it might have something to do with how the Beast is and has been and will be if we don’t do something. Which is its own dark theory to follow!” He uncrosses his arms and swipes up some more meat on his fork.
ꙮ Really, truly, a prodigious amount of meat. (And potatoes. And sauerkraut. And don’t forget the immaculate, delicious, poppyseed-braided loaf!)
ꙮ But, eventually, you’ve had your fill.
has a sausage roll to go, yeah.
also has a sausage roll to go, but not a suggestive one.
refreshes his ale bottle.
wraps some of the bread in a napkin and tucks it away for later.
is absolutely taking whatever is left of the Complicated Braided Loaf with her. That thing is fucking precious.
picks, approximately, that moment, to swoop in through the door with a bright smile to Salme that she smoothly and without missing a beat directs towards the party as a whole. “Good afternoon! Sorry it took me so long, there was a– there was a Situation at the bazaar, it was really stupid, I don’t want to– I’m here now, good afternoon.”
: “Isn’t there always.”
(It’s not a question.)
waves a hand in welcoming! “Good afternoon! The new lodgings have been superb!”
waves
grins back at Saranzaya.
: “They’ll be able to say they’re royalty-approved, now.” Said dryly.
doesn’t say ‘tonight’s will be even better’ while she’s in earshot of anyone working at the caravanserai, because that would be Rude, and Saranzaya is not Rude. But she does smile. “I’m glad you had a good rest.”
winks at Wolf with a tongue-click.
bows at Awoken, sarcastically.
nods eagerly at Zaya, the memory of the warm baths fresh in his mind.
does not comprehend, and she does not need to, and that’s fine. “Luce, you wanted to see Zaed about weaponry, didn’t you? I know he wanted to meet all of you, after he heard about what happened at the station.”
: “If time permits, yes, but it is not urgent.”
ear-perks, as literally as he can, at the sound of “weaponry.”
joins, his nose twitching into a smile.
hefts his breastplate, securing the side straps, slides his hands into his bracers, and punches a fist into a palm.
cuts a glance at Aurelius when she hears the name ‘Zaed’.
nods slightly.
: “–also, Aurelius, you wanted to talk to him about radios, I think?” She briefly has a slightly odd expression on her face, but it passes. “Alright. If you’ve got everything you need…” Although, it looks like they’re all done with lunch, and so she leads the group of them out of the caravanserai to the nearest tram station.
: “Right.”
ꙮ Most of you have been, to some extent or another, Exploring Queenstown, and so you’ve already had some experience with the trams - a hodgepodge of lines connecting the districts together, some elevated, some passing right through the large rusted-out metal frames dotting Queenstown that have been built up around with more recent structures. Zaya’s an expert at navigating them, though, and here and there people recognise her and make way.
gives the others a moment to clear out and makes some space, before wrapping an arm around Salme’s waist and slipping behind her. Not for a moment of melancholy, though - he produces a thin leather belt and secures it around her waist. On the side is a holster, and inside of it is a long barrelled revolver.
blinks a moment, and then grins up at him. “Oh. This is lovely. Thank you.” She kisses him quickly, and says, “and perfect timing, since I got my sword melted down into Jae’s throne.”
: “I did notice a lack of it upon your return, yeah.”
ꙮ She’s leading you closer and closer into the heart of the city - not quite the way to the bazaar or Spice Row, but the same for most of the trek until the last line, she leads you off of the tram a bit early. It’s crowded, and busy, and there’s all SORTS on the tram, and nobody ISN’T outlandish - nobody pays the group of you any mind, except for a few friendly nods from Hunter clans that clearly recognise their own.
: “I’ll need to find a new one, but maybe I can get something custom built for me.” She reaches down for the weight of the gun at her hip. She does not immediately pull it out and test it, but the temptation is there. She shoves her sausage roll in her mouth and takes his hand as they catch up with the others.
confidently follows, and is giving callouts and signals to anyone who acknowledges! He’s been learning about the various clans through various chatter and reading the bounty posters, and is beginning to recognize a number of them on sight and color.
ꙮ Queenstown’s – Salme’s described at as being bigger than five Courtyards end-to-end, and she wasn’t wrong; the air here is filled with the songs of steel and industry, and the peculiar smell metal makes when it’s being driven to its utmost, forged and wrought into shapes wild and varied. The Steel District, with the Adaman District rising in the background on a hill, dominated by its enormous, slowly-spinning spoked wheel that’s become an indelible part of the Queenstown skyline. Apparently, you can… ride in it? For Lucre?
: “Easier than you might think.”
stares incredulously at the thing. “That cannot be safe.”
ꙮ Someone, briefly, on one of the trams, dressed in AGGRESSIVE hot pink, gives the Awoken the most absolutely enormous thumbs-up and “YEAHHHHHHH”s at him, but– they were headed their two separate ways!
: “That’s correct, you should generally keep arms, legs and other appendages inside the moving trams.”
takes in all the fashions of the people surrounding him. “Okay, we HAVE to take Ksenija here as soon as it becomes an option, she’d get so many design ideas.”
: “But you can ride it? Like, without having to sneakily climb on it?”
just looks at Awa, flatly.
ꙮ In the oldest part of the Steel District, there’s what looks like an enormous, sturdy brick warehouse at the end of a row of workshops.
gives Wolf a serious nod.
: “Shockingly, it’s perfectly safe. Lovely view of the city, if you’re not afraid of heights.” She grins.
quirks an eyebrow at Zaya, giving her a look along the lines of what did I tell you, and says to Awoken, “Yeah. When you have time I was going to ask your royal highness to take me for a ride.” She says it while still holding Aurelius’ hand, after her thunking her head against the pauldrons of his clothes again because she got too used to the robe on Samudra, but she does say it.
spins about, eyes shining. “It would be my honor, and pleasure, to escort you, my lady!”
ꙮ There’s a sign posted by the door to the warehouse-ish building, and written on it, in careful and deliberate lettering, is: “COME ON IN, GIVE ME A HOLLER IF YOU NEED TO”.
gets a shocked, stifling-a-laugh look, then looks chagrined as he realizes what was meant…
cannot, and would not bother to, not giggle.
flicks a look at Wolf, and does not flick a crumb at him from the Fancy Braided Loaf but she. Frowns. Notes it.
turns to the others with a serious look. “Seems like it’s contagious today.”
quickly recovers and gives Salme a prim ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ look.
: “As it ever is…”
strides into the warehouse, motioning for the others to follow.
steps inside, looking around the space with awes.
ꙮ You walk into a workshop that defies imagination and description. Huge skylights in the ceiling cast starlight on clearly very-well-organized, defined piles of Unfinished Projects and prototypes that didn’t quite leave the drawing board but got attempted anyways and which will some day be returned-to; there’s a breathtaking array of much more functional-looking guns and hand cannons and vicious-looking weaponry, most of which seems to be designed in the Scorpion Queen’s own signature aesthetic. ⁂
walks inside
ꙮ The workshop is dominated by a gigantic hulk, teak reinforced with adaman and chased in gold, a ship’s hull even if you’ve never seen a ‘ship’ before, sleek and aerodynamic. It looks nearly finished - an incredible labor of love, grounded in the middle of the workshop, inert and unmoving. It looks like it ought to have wings. Like it had wings that were cruelly torn from it, maybe- like in its designer’s imagination, it would sprout wings and fly. It should be soaring. ⁂
ꙮ Leaning against a wall is a tall, older, remarkably wolfish metahuman with grey fur and green eyes and machinist’s goggles perched above his eyes. Ears studded with earrings, arms covered in heavy bracers and protective leather work gloves, and crossed over his belly; denim overalls lined with pockets and leather belts full of pouches and other pockets, stuffed with tools and notebooks and pens and more tools and other, different tools, whatever he might want to reach for at a moment’s notice.
looks up, and gives you all a Hunter’s salute - and then his eyes land on Aurelius, and his ears twitch up, visibly, but his face remains pleasantly neutral. “Hey, kid. Welcome back.”
bows, respectfully–he’s been craning his neck to look at all the…stuff.
whistles low, mightily impressed. His gaze traces from all the piles of projects, and comes to lock onto the gigantic hull, transfixed in imagination.
knows an expert in his field when he sees one, and gives him the proper respect.
glances around the room for a few moments, eye briefly lingering on the almost-an-airship, before they snap towards Zaedulf. “…Hey.”
follows Aurelius’ gaze to an the ship, an she notes it down in the rabbit-warren of Great Ideas in her head, but mostly keeps holding Aury’s hand quietly, steadily, though not tightly, in case he wants to. You know. Not have his hand held.
gives Aurelius a slow nod, and his face breaks into a grin. It’s a ‘despite everything’ grin, it’s a grin trudging uphill towards its destination, but it’s still a grin. “Fuck, it’s good to see your face. And you brought friends!” He claps his paws together. “What can I do for you?”
: “I think Lucja wanted to pester you about a hand cannon. And, maybe a new weapon for my friends…?” He nods towards Wolf, then Salme, before pausing.
tilts his head to the side, patiently, like someone who knows that pause well.
lets out a breath as he looks around the room again, eventually letting go of Salme’s hand and moving across the room. He produces a stack of maybe ten or twenty pages filled with notes and diagrams, sending them down on some spare counter space he can find before turning to Zaedulf. “I also… had some information about the radios for you and. Hm. I found the dagger, you left him.” Another pause, before he extends a hand. “…It’s nice to meet you.”
just watches Aurelius with a quiet, compassionate gaze–sparing a moment, as well, to look at Salme.
tilts her head up as she watches him move through the room. If she could radiate pride in him she would. Maybe she does.
breathes in, slow and deep and deliberate. Holds the breath, for a moment or two. Reaches out to take Aurelius’ hand and– he’s still smiling, but it’s a different smile. Something’s happening with his ears, but he meets Aurelius’ gaze, and he’s smiling, and he shakes Aurelius’ hand, firm and strong. “Zaedulfas, Queen’s Machinist. It’s nice to meet you.” It takes him a second to let go of Aurelius’ hand. His voice is… rougher. “I’d like you to keep the dagger, if you think it suits you. I think he’d have wanted that.”
returns it with just as much force before nodding. “I had a feeling neither of you intended it to wind up as a display piece.”
: “Hah! Enough of my shit ends up in a pile for years. Make it sing.”
: “Yeah.” Another pause, before he brings a fist to his chest. “Of course.”
returns the gesture. “Willing to build a companion piece, too. I’ve had some dangerous ideas in the past month. Got a prototype for you to look at, if you’re interested.” He takes a moment, to glance over the rest of you. “As for YOU all. Queen told me you were under her imprimatur. So if there’s anythin’ I can build for you, or I know anyone who can… you tell Zaedulf, and it’ll happen.” He then slams his fist down on the stack of papers Aurelius put on the counter space, and this somehow turns into all of the papers being scooped up into his paw, and that immediately becomes him squinting and paging through them.
swallows. “What do you need to finish it?” he asks in a thin, almost raspy tone, staring up at the hull.
: “….well, fuck me with a sledgehammer.” And he puts down the pages. Did he really read through it all that fast?
: “Sure -“ Almost seems caught off guard by the motion and speed reading, but not quite.
gives the Awoken Prince a long, level look. And then a grin. And then a huge grin. “Oh, we’re gonna get along. You see where the wings go, don’t you?”
nods slightly, still staring. “…I can see it, yeah.”
: “Yeaaah. Yeah. You and me, both.” He gives the airship hull a long, loving look. “…might have -really- bitten off more than I can chew, with this one, but. Queen’d tell me not to give up, y’know? So I won’t. Don’t, haha. Don’t even know WHAT would be able to power the damn thing. Not anything I’ve been able to build. Yet, at least. But.”
: “Nothin’s real until you build it!”
looks very thoughtful. “One wonders.” He’s clearly thinking of something he’s seen recently. “I doubt that it would be…replicable…”
eeeeeeeyes Wolf.
blinks, sheepishly–clearly finding himself in the unenviable and rare (for him) position of having thought entirely out loud without realizing. “Ahhh…well…”
: “Come find me later, if you want. Whatever you have to say… I won’t think it’s crazy.” And then he pauses. Looks at Salme, looks at Wolf. “Queen took some weapons, didn’t she?”
grins much less sheepishly at that. “Indeed. Can’t say I’m upset, but one does need a replacement, eventually.”
shrugs elegantly. “That’s a way to tell it. I like to think I gave her a gift she’ll never forget.”
eeeeeeyes Salme, then, and chuckles. “Well. Steel District’s the right place for ya, then. Take your time– find somethin’ that sings to ya.” And then he wanders over, pushes off the table, bonks Luĉja on the chestplate loud enough to ring them like a bell.
just gives Salme a very brows-furrowed, ‘am I reading that correctly?’ look.
: “Good, you’re still in tune.”
looks at him quizzically. “In tune?”
gives Wolf a confused look. She said what she said!
laughs. “It is good to see you again Zaedulf. My shield is still intact and I’ve made myself a replacement blade, but…” Luĉja draws their crystalline greatsword. “I’m looking for something a bit more…explosive.”
: “Hoooooolyyyyy shiiiiit.”
: “No, no, hold still, lemme–“
cannot, for the next… ten minutes, probably? Focus on anything other than the crystalline greatsword. It’s utterly hopeless. He takes measurements, pokes and prods at it, rummages around in his pockets for various tools and scopes. He’d be a holy terror on Samudra, probably - there’s no rhyme or reason to anything he’s doing, but he takes NOTES like a man possessed.
nods to Luĉja. “Is that what you’ve been working on?”
looks on in familiar amusement. He knows it’d be pointless to try to interrupt him from his curiosity for now.
surfaces, finally, from the madness, with a notebook full of Observations. “…something more explosive. Right! Hang on. I actually– you put an ORDER in before you went off on– well. I’ve got something for you.” He holds a hand up, ambles off into a back room, and comes back with a remarkably heavy-looking, Endjinn-proportioned hand cannon. He’s… struggling with it, and plonks it down on the nearest available surface at the very first opportunity.
: “It was originally going to be bait for the Scorpion Queen. Unfortunately, my plan was not clever enough.”
spends the time looking through the collection of blades still laying around the room.
: “But, I feel that it could be potentially useful to our battles. I haven’t yet infused it with burning gnosis, but it contains large amounts of flourishing and pellucid. Could help with some of the monsters we saw…a couple weeks back.”
gives an appropriate amount of raised eyebrow to that giant…weapon?…and ends up just wandering off and joining Aurelius in examining various blades. “(So much metal…)”
picks up the hand cannon and tests the feel and heft of it. They’d be grinning if they could. “This is magnificent, Zaed.”
: “Isn’t it, though? Stars, you’re strong. Wish I were an Endjinn.”
: “Ah, yeah. Beast is lowsey with good metals.” He glances back to make sure Lucja’s got the cannon for a moment, before wandering towards a particular workspace.
trails along behind Aurelius, curious–and, perhaps, exercising just a little bit of ‘paternal’ oversight.
ꙮ A corner of the warehouse looks like it hasn’t been touched in, oh, a month and change. A desk, a wall with some in-progress and completed projects. Leaning against the wall is a simple, elegant, utterly perfectly-forged naginata.
blinks at it, suddenly still, a complex, nearly unreadable expression on his face.
ꙮ It looks… perfectly weighted.
tilts his head at Wolf questioningly.
steps towards it. Runs a fingertip, lightly–almost lovingly–along the blunt back edge of the blade.
ꙮ In a moment of sudden clarity, you understand what Zaedulf meant, when he said ‘find one that sings to you’.
looks back over his shoulder at Zaedulf, almost distractedly, and asks, “May I?”
is leaning against a nearby wall. “That’s– that was Annarr’s work.” He glances at Aurelius, briefly- “Don’t think he’d have wanted it gatherin’ dust.”
ꙮ Aurelius: The desk’s covered in papers and plans – meticulous, neat piles, but a lot of irons in the fire. Tucked away, under a shelf in the desk, are a pair of black-lacquered boxes, sealed shut with a crystalline latch, both with pietra dura stone inlays on the cover – one of the inlays, a golden lion rampant, the other inlay a golden eye, inscribed within a bright-lit lantern.
glances at Aurelius, fingers ghosting down over the polished wood of the haft. Seeking permission, in turn.
: “…That certainly explained why I was considering one earlier but…” He shakes his head before nodding to Wolf. “By all means.” Then glances down at the boxes. The Golden Lion is one thing, but the other? He mouths ‘what the fuck’ to himself.
ꙮ The crystalline latch of the lion box is… glowing, softly.
flips it open.
wraps his fingers around the haft and steps back into an open space in the warehouse. He runs his hands gently across the haft, allowing the blade to dip and sway as he tests its balance. Wolf lets the blade-tip fall until it’s nearly touching the floor, then sweeps it around in a slow, sure arc until his arm is fully extended to his side–then slowly spins the naginata up and around until the haft slaps back into his other palm. He licks his lips, eyes now seeing nothing but the weapon in his hands.
approaches the desk, drawn towards the mark of the Lantern-in-Eye.
ꙮ Wolf: it could not be weighted more perfectly if it had been made, specifically, for you.
ꙮ Archie: It calls to you.
ꙮ Aurelius: It opens, for you. Without any effort, without any trouble. Zaedulf lets out a small huff of surprise. Inside, there’s a heavy-looking key with an ornamental bow - ten small hexagonal cells, each filled with a little purple jewel. Like a cluster of eyes.
: “Well, fuck me twice with a sledgehammer.”
: “The actual fuck?”
does go over to the desk now, after giving some space. “Bet you anything I know exactly what that’s a key to.”
stops aiming their cannon around and walks over “What have you…found?”
: “Yeah, not a chance anyone takes that bet. Which is. Utterly bizarre, and a little confusing, and possibly unnerving?”
looks at it for a moment. “Is it just me or does that seem… familiar?” He approaches the box marked with his own constellation, fingertips grazing the lid, thumb curiously but carefully testing the latch to see if it opens for him.
: “Annarr found those in a ruin, years ago. Spent years tryin’ to get one open.”
ꙮ Archie: It opens, for you. Without any effort, without any trouble. Zaedulf lets out… another small huff of surprise. Inside, there’s a heavy-looking key with an ornamental bow - ten small hexagonal cells, each filled with a little purple jewel. Like a cluster of eyes.
: “Ruins?” Aurelius immediately begins scowering the desk for a map. There’s no way in hell there’s not a map.
laughs at that.
ꙮ Oh, there’s totally a map.
ꙮ Folded, incredibly neatly and crisply, tucked under the box with the pietra dura lion in the lid.
, without warning, explodes into motion. The naginata’s blade turns into a sheen of deadly silver arcing around him, as he swirls the weapon into an intricate series of spins and loops, punctuated by staccato lunges and slashes. His coat swirls around him as he flows from one stance to another, the pauses between strikes and steps reduced until he looks like he’s dancing–dancing with death. And the blade doesn’t just sing to him–it thrums, an eerie almost-howl as the razor-sharp metal cuts air as efficiently as it would cut flesh.
might be — no, okay. He’s staring.
glances to the side while unfolding the map, a little surprised how at home Wolf seems with a polearm after only ever seeing him with daggers before, before deciding it’s maybe a good idea he didn’t plan to go with the naginata after all and returns his gaze to the map.
the dance escalates in a span of seconds, the naginata flashing, singing, arcing upwards in a brutal slash–and then he steps back, the haft of the naginata tucking itself under his arm with a thud, and he stands there, motionless, poised. The blade-tip rests just above the floor, as steady and unmoving as he is. He’s barely even breathing hard.
ꙮ Aurelius: Annarr’s handwriting, so very like your own. It’s a little unsettling. It’s a painstakingly-detailed Cartogrix map of a ruin site - it looks like it was explored, thoroughly, except… there was one thing that had been looked over, that Annarr’s eagle eyes caught. And in that one looked-over corner of the ruins, Annarr found these boxes– and had been driven spare by trying to get them open, since. There’s a thorough, extensive documentation of everything he’d tried, to get them to open. It’s…. well. It’s extensive. Also, thorough.
: “(Maybe Jae will get over herself and melt those daggers to the throne at this rate),” she murmurs, mostly to herself, smiling at Wolf’s clear joy. Considers trying to peek at the map over Aury’s shoulder, but also. “Would it bother you, either you, Aurelius, or you, Zaedulf, if I looked through the papers?”
shrugs. “Fine by me if it’s fine by him.”
looks at Wolf with appreciation. “It suits you, I have to say.”
: “…Wonder if we might be able to head out there later in case… something. I don’t even know. Weird.”
tilts his head back and forth. “Curious that he couldn’t get the Lion box to open, isn’t it?”
shakes himself, shakes his head as if to clear it, staring down at the haft in his hands with wolf-gold eyes. Licks his lips again. Blinks, looks up at Archie like he’d forgotten that there was anyone else in the room. “Yes. Yes, it…does.”
: “It’s a key to the doors in the library. Which, I must remind you, did not exist until two or three weeks ago.”
: “The fuck?”
: “Library annex.”
scootches enough to give Salme some space.
: “That’s even more curious, isn’t it?”
blinks again, walking over to the others. “Have we…found something?” He sounds…distracted, still, and he hasn’t let go of the naginata–he’s using it like a walking staff, right now, the butt thudding nicely on the stone floor.
: “Its. It’s easier to show rather than explain.” Aurelius gestures, and the tablet is on a counter next to Zaedulf.
: “Perhaps we ought investigate, then?”
eyes scan over the papers and she flips through them carefully, trying to—she’s not quite sure what she’s trying to do. Trying to understand, more than anything, who he was. His handwriting does look so similar. “Well. The annex could have existed for a long time. It’s not, strictly speaking, part of the library,” she says distractedly.
ꙮ Perhaps you ought.
nods to the rest of the group. “Let’s see what happens,” he says, reaching towards the tablet, the key in his other hand.
looks thoughtful, and then, in an abundance of caution and on a certain instinct, pulls a particular chain in arm’s reach. The door to the warehouse closes, and locks. Queen’s business.
: “Much obliged, Zaedulf.” They reach for the tablet.
: “It’s supposed to do that.” Before he can ask.
gives Lucxja a hunter’s salute.
ꙮ The Liminal Library. The Sun shines overhead through the central pane.
enters the Library, and continues once inside. “So then…” He holds up one finger. “The one who was fated to open it was never Annarr, so is it the essence of an Angel that is what is reacting to the lock, and-“ he holds up a second finger. “-the annex can be accessed by a place other than the door in the Library.”
blinks as he appears inside–realizing that he’s still got the naginata in his hand, but trying to follow what’s going on.
: “Anyway. So. Salme and made this a bit after we woke up and.” He pauses, looking at Awoken in contemplation, but doesn’t have an answer and files that away for now.
: “How does the second one follow?”
: “If the annex could have existed for a long time… okay, so, who did it, and where is it, really, and how did they get the wallpaper on?”
ꙮ Everyone’s seen Salme’s shelves, by now, and the extra bookshelf lining the Key-and-Gate wall of the Library, with its varicoloured books.
: “Oh. That’s new.”
ꙮ Or, perhaps, everyone hasn’t.
nods and looks at Salme. “A special collection?”
: “Not really. People just don’t use my excruciatingly crafted work of genius,” she says lightly. “Jory, where are you?”
ꙮ Ca-caw! Jory the Raven, a luxurious purple bird-fiend, librarian of the Liminal Library, appears, and says, “No, you can’t set this as your Home Point.”
: “Hmm. Good. Will you show everyone how to access the annex?” She grabs a little shred of paper in the basket by the door, scribbles something on it, and feeds it to him.
ꙮ Omnomnomnomnom. Ca-caw. Jory flutters over to the Key-and-Gate bookshelf obligingly- there are books of various colours, in the shelf, and one of the books in particular, one with a spine that’s a rich, deep blue, Jory tugs at slightly with his beak, and the entire shelf slides back with a soft CHONK, and then down into the floor.
ꙮ Behind it, there’s a door, with a ten-eyed sigil inscribed in it.
: “Right so. A little while after we build the main library. This. Just kind of appeared attached to a secret entrance one day? And down the hall there’s a few locked doors with the symbols on the keys.”
: “Well. It kind of appeared when I made the fiend,” she nods at Jory, “which I made …” she closes her eyes, “which I designed for Jorule, so Key-and-Gate, all that. When I turned around, that bookcase was there and the hallway was too.”
nods. “Appropriate, given the constellation. It makes me wonder what else we might be able to make happen here, given time to experiment.”
peers around curiously. “…fascinating. You have a crafter’s gift, Salme.”
opens the door and heads into the annex hallway.
: “I have the grand gesture gift-giving idiot’s gift, but thank you.”
: “Was that the only book that had an effect?”
gives Salme a dry, ‘take the compliment, girl’ look, but doesn’t press further.
nods. “Azure only. None of the rest reveal the door.”
: “None the rest reveal anything else, correct?”
: “That we’re aware of.”
: “I did test them. At the time, none of the rest did anything at all. That I was aware of.”
chuckles slightly to himself. “The azure tome, or perhaps, the blue print. I wonder if it was put here by someone with a sense of humor.”
ꙮ Beyond the door is a four-way passageway, with muted orange wallpaper, and orange rugs covering the floors. Two directions lead to doors with heavy-looking keyholes, and the passageway on the right leads to a green door with a crystalline doorknob.
nods to the right. “That door’s my atelier, where I do my weaving. It wasn’t locked; didn’t even need a key.” She nods to the other two doors. “Those ones are locked though. Don’t stick your finger in the keyhole? They bite.”
ꙮ It’s true, they do. But you DO have keys, now.
moves up to one of the other doors, jiggling the handle to make sure it’s still, in fact, locked.
ꙮ Yup.
looks at the rune on the door and back at the key in his hand. “Well, it seems like there’s something obvious worth trying, so here goes nothing.” He approaches the door and raises the key to its lock.
wanders down the hallway, both hands behind his head.
ꙮ Archie approaches the left door.
shoves the key in and turns.
ꙮ Nope, sorry, Archie beat you to it. One moment, please–
watches both carefully, standing guardian a bit–he certainly looks the stern guardian, with that big honking weapon.
ꙮ Archie: You put the key in the keyhole, and reach your hand towards the doorknob. Unbidden, possibilities come to your mind- rooms that could be behind this door, places of rest, places of work, places in which to challenge yourself against the world and its mysteries - and then, the possibilities coalesce.
ꙮ You open the door. A spacious and luxurious kitchen - a striking attention to detail, easily-cleaned gleaming steel surfaces, huge thick teak cutting boards, roughly Kushtaka-sized counters and cabinets across the board, with a sturdy, rustic, Whisker-clan style communal dining table tucked away in a corner. It’s got… gadgets. There’s a huge, expansive walk-in FU, there’s an entire counter against the far wall filled with Mechanisms you could spend all day exploring, there’s multiple different ovens and a huge cooktop. One entire row of the space is given over to a huge, seamless crystal window looking out onto a distinctly Samudran seascape.
gasps with glee and sprints forward, examining every inch of his new test kitchen.
ꙮ There are SO MANY inches to examine. But you’re a very exuberant Kushtaka, so you get to many of them.
peeks in through the doorway, but doesn’t walk through. “Hm. I wonder if we eat food in here if we’ll be full in the real world?”
: “Oh MAN, I don’t even know what some of this stuff is! It’s beautiful! Obviously, it’ll serve us well in the Three Grand Soups, but it’s exciting to know this will always be here for us any time we need a taste of home.”
ꙮ Salme: You have the strange sense that that would be the case, yes.
thinks that makes sense, considering she can bring whatever she weaves or spins or sews in and out. “You’ll end up on cooking duty all the time if you don’t watch it, Archie,” she says, smiling.
whistles softly. “Goodness. What a perfectly outfitted….gift? Who made these things?”
checks inside the FU, snooping around for any hidden gifts.
ꙮ Tragically, the FU is utterly empty. But that just means it can be filled with whatever delicacies you wish to fill it with!
beams at her. “Oh no, how terrible. Seriously, though, I could use all the practice I can get. And I’m not sure who! But in this case, at least for right this moment, I’m not inclined to look this gift horse in the mouth.”
says, to Wolf, “Neither silmät nor Jorule had any idea about the provenance.”
looks over at them. “Speaking of, however you managed to get Almachadtan ingredients to Samudra for the burger fest, I could use some help doing the same as we keep preparing for the Iron Chef contest. Not now, of course, but soon.”
: “It seems rather specifically…tuned? How could the key-maker have known…?” He just trails off, and shrugs.
: “Someone who loves us and wants us to be fed, clearly.” He leaves the FU, looking out through the Samudran-window-with-a-view, and then grins at Archie. “Oh yeah! You can count on it!”
nods at Wolf’s words. “It’s increasingly strange, yeah.”
smiles back. “I should have known it’d be you, our Prince. Looking forward to it!” He thinks on the rest of what he said. “Someone who loves us and wants us to be fed. You know, there are a few people who’ve been described to us in similar terms, or at least to me specifically.”
ꙮ If and when you return to the orange cross-hallway after exploring the newly-formed room, you notice that something is different - the middle passageway’s door is blue, now, and the keyhole has vanished, and the sigil on the door, rather than being the multiocular glyph, is now the inverted, fractal crescent of the rose windows on the doorways to a Kinder, Gentler Path, recessed into the surface of the doorway. The handle is crystal, multifaceted.
: “It appears to not want us to run out of passageways.”
: “Room for growth…”
nods. “Not yet, at least. I wonder - our keys appeared in boxes labeled with our constellations. Will each of us receive a room in the Annex for our own, or will there be as many rooms as constellations? Perhaps even more?”
laughs at Luĉja’s comment and then harder at Wolf’s.
blinks at Salme. “What did I say?”
: “Oh. Just. Room for growth? I thought it was a joke.”
laughs. “Well, it’s not…not a joke?”
waves toward the other door, her door. “We should let Aurelius open his door, but mine is an atelier, as I said, with the Centrelight shining through. Anyone can check it out whenever they’d like.”
ꙮ Well. The middle door no longer has a keyhole.
certainly didn’t stop from slamming the key into the door when it changed mid motion on him, at least.
: “Sure, but certainly there’s another hallway behind that door now, right?”
laughs a bit at Aurelius’ key mishap too.
: “That didn't happen *last* time, did it?“
ꙮ The key just kind of… slid off the surface of the door and is, conveniently, still in your hand, unused. But there’s a crystalline doorknob right there ready to turn!
: “No it super didn’t. Your finger just got bit.”
stares at the door for a moment, before opening it.
ꙮ The door opens into a spacious room, circular, with three doors on the sides of the room, each sigilled and locked like the doors from the original orange hallway. The walls and floor are lapis with gold inlay, like the decor of the Geode when you arrived at Samudra. The ceiling of the room is an enormous crystal dome that looks out onto a starry expanse. You can see, you think, some of the constellations you’re used to - that you can see in the main room of the Library. In the centre of the room is an enormous telescope of brass and crystal, in the middle of a complicated mechanism one might use to turn it in any position and angle one might possibly imagine.
- You hear — and your Star hears — a song, echoing from the stillness: In the Light of Far Stars
: “ - Excuse me?”
gives a whole-body shiver at that particular tone–commanding, rich, something he’s never heard before. “Goddess Bright.”
laughs as the organs hum; his back straight and steps confident, he enters the room.
: “Why two deep…”
: “Whelp add another ‘Salme’s wrong about the metaphysics of this place to my tally.’”
: “Though I suppose the free observatory is. Hm.”
: “It’s the gift that keeps on giving!” He moves up to the telescope, instinctively peering into whatever it’s pointed at right this second.
ꙮ A star twinkles, brightly, in the scope.
: “It’s beautiful.”
: “It is.”
: “Anything good?”
ꙮ Well, I mean. Stars are good. But nothing utterly world-shaking if that’s what you’re asking.
: “A star! Twinkling brightly!” He pulls back. “We’ll definitely need to put this baby through its paces,” he says, gently patting the telescope.
: “Mildly curious if it picks anything in the Empty Space up.”
nods. “We’ve been able to see the stars that appear in the viewing panes of the library, but it’ll be interesting to see if this telescope can show us any more.”
points a finger and clicks his tongue at Aurelius. “Immediately what I was thinkin’! But we’ve got even more doors to tour, now!”
ꙮ Three doors, and one shiny key.
: “Yeah but then he has to think of something he’d like behind that door.”
walks to the center door and unceremoniously jams the key in.
ꙮ You put the key in the keyhole, and reach your hand towards the doorknob. Unbidden, possibilities come to your mind- rooms that could be behind this door, places of rest, places of work, places in which to challenge yourself against the world and its mysteries - and then, the possibilities coalesce.
ꙮ The door opens.
ꙮ This one’s a markedly cozy game room. It feels smaller than it really is - the six of you could stand in it comfortably with room to spare, but the walls are dark, and the lights are low. There’s a corner of the room that’s sunken into the floor, with couches built into the sunken nook, around a spacious table you could use to play games or cards or the tiles, or just shoot the shit and tell stories; another wall is lined with shelves heavy with bottles of various liqueurs, tinctures, elixirs and bitters, and a bar in front of that wall with some comfortable-looking stools. Along the other wall is a dartboard with darts, and in the centre of the room is a regulation pool table with all the requisite accoutrements to enjoy a game.
: “Brace yourself!”
: “Of course there’s a bar. Okay.”
enters, and slowly nods in approval, his smile widening.
looks at it appreciatively, soaking in the coziness the space oozes with every design decision. “You know, I’m not sure what I expected, but hey, you have great taste.”
chuckles softly. “I…am surprised. And pleased.”
: “I didn’t do anything?”
laughs. “Oh, but you do have great taste.”
: “Suppose you would be invested in that narrative…”
does go into this one, picks up a dart, throws it almost casually, and hits the bullseye dead center. “Obviously?”
: “Obviously.”
ꙮ The dartboard is, mercifully, utterly and completely normal.
still looks incredibly bemused as he slips inside, before eventually hopping over the bar counter and examining the shelves.
ꙮ Aurelius: It’s delightfully well-stocked.
eyes flicker over the billiards table, all the colors and designs of the racked pool balls briefly flashing over his eyes in a rapid-fire kaleidoscope of color.
throws another dart and then goes over and leans on the bar. “Don’t tell me you’re great at mixology too on top of everything else.”
walks over to the…what would you call it, a “conversation pit”? And looks like he very much wants to flop down into it, but, um…staff with sword on it.
: “I don’t know. Probably?” He considers for a moment, before pulling six bottles filled with a brown, bubbling liquid inside of it. “Though, rather than anything mixed there was one thing I’d been meaning for you to try when you got here, since there wasn’t anything like it on Almachadta or Samudra.”
ꙮ FINALLY. Yes.
: “Oh?” She tilts her head to one side. “What’s that?”
does flop down into the conversation pit. “Well, looks like we’ve got a cozy home base to return to. Not that I’ve disliked any of the places we’ve stayed so far, but consistency is nice, sometimes.” He turns his head back over his shoulder, looking up at Aurelius and the contents of the strange bottle.
: “Sarsaparilla.”
ꙮ The sacred elixir.
: “Gesundheit.”
hops back over the counter, then brings the six bottles over to the table and couch, keeping one for himself as he sets the other five down.
goes over to the couch also flops down.
ꙮ It’s…. delicious! Sweet but not too sweet, with a flavour that’s completely unique.
jogs over to the pit and easily hurdles into the lower area, uncapping one bottle with a flick of his thumb before flopping into a sit on a couch.
ꙮ Truly, Aurelius is a man of exquisite taste.
un-flops himself just enough to lean forward for a bottle, examining it for a moment before having a tentative sip that becomes a greedy guzzle that becomes an all-out chug until the glass clinks back down on the table, empty.
looks around awkwardly–he really doesn’t want to let go of the naginata, but ends up…sort of propping it up in a corner, before dropping down into a seat near Salme, and takes a sip of his own bottle. “Hmm. It’s…ah…” He sneezes, violently. “…bubbly.”
ꙮ It is that.
takes a careful, thoughtful sip, and then another. “Oh. This is lovely.” She blinks, as if remembering something, then smiles at Aurelius. “Thanks for sharing.”
nods in agreement and looks at him. “It really is something special. Is this local to Beast?”
chuckles, tilts his bottle up in a little salute. “Aye, thank you, Aurelius.” He tilts his head, blinks. “Ahh…um…should we…just leave the others…outside?”
: “Yeah.” Before taking one single long swig and downing it all.
ꙮ They’ll be fine, I’m sure. Standing guard.
takes a drink. “I guess we should have explained ‘hey touch the tablet to go in’ but ehh… they’ll see it eventually.”
looks skeptical. “We didn’t really warn them what would happen to us, either…”
backsteps a bit towards the door, then leans his head backwards out of it and looks down the hallway.
: “Aury kind of did?” She takes another careful sip, savoring the drink.
shrugs. “It’ll be fine. I think they know to expect the unexpected when it comes to us, I’m sure Jae would have made sure of that.” He leans forward. “I should also let you know, I did some initial research and inquiries into what it’ll take for us to win the Three Grand Soups.”
ꙮ Of which there are, of course, four.
nods. “Of course. So as you’ll recall, Jae challenged us specifically to win with shark-fin soup. Zaya sent me out to a restaurant to do some field tasting and whose establishment should it be but Chef Lauritz’s, who you may remember as Jae’s chosen champion. Well, he confided in me that he’s not going to be competing this year, and one Rite later, I learned that part of the reason why is because the specific species of land-shark whose fins are best for the soup are very dangerous to hunt, and that the other part is that these monsters haven’t even been seen in some time.”
: “So, it looks like our next order of business is to track down any extant glass land-sharks.”
mumbles to himself, “(Glass land-sharks… … Has sharkfin soup been a stupid elaborate soup from a stone joke this entire time…?)”
ꙮ Well, they’re not literally made of glass. They’re almost perfectly transparent, you see, that– that makes them more terrifying.
resists the sudden and inexplicable urge to chant ‘glass shark, glass shark’.
swirls his bottle around before taking a drink. “Alright! Time to research and soar!”
: “Still need to track down ‘V’ and the others at some point… and maybe look into those ruins again if we get the chance… and something might come from Zaedolf being able to make radios make sense now… Hmm.”
ꙮ Somewhere… somewhere on the Beast, you’ll most certainly find one.
: “Well winning the Iron Chef competition is the way to the first. Though the radios are a good backup plan.” She looks at Archie. “Any idea on where we’ll need to go or what we’ll need to do to track down a glass land-shark?”
: “I mean Lucja and I sort of already know the general where abouts of where they are. Though. Obviously want to help Archie win this thing either way.”
shakes his head. “Not yet. Lauritz said that their disappearance probably has something to do with the disappearance of the moons and the changes in the monsters associated with it. We might talk to Jae or Zaya about it, but I get the feeling that whatever’s happening to this world, our ability to find a glass land-shark will be intricately tied up in it.”
looks over to them. “Oh? Lauritz mentioned they used to live near the Reach, not sure if that lines up with your knowledge.”
: “Er, the location of ‘V’ and others. No clue on this specific land-shark breed, especially if they’re recently on the move.”
takes a minute to let the rest of Aurelius’s words sink in, and when they do, he smiles at him gratefully.
: “Oh. Well, either way, a lead’s a lead. And as eager as I am to win the contest, I’m even more eager to see Tasna/V again.”
: “A visit to the local astrologians is in order. Surely, someone else has been keeping notes.”
nods confidently. “I have no doubt that you shall emerge victorious,” he says. “And I shall dedicate my utmost to your success.”
: “As will I. Even if you don’t strictly need to win, you’re going to.”
ꙮ The Three Grand Soups won’t know what hit ‘em!
: “All four of them.”
smiles around the room, including up above. “Thanks, everyone. I’ll do my best!”