#Altani Misair

[heartwoodventures]

Faux Memory: Inside the Locus

Kazushige gathers all the officers to show them his discoveries during the time he was missing in Haila's lab. Though it seems they weren't the only people that decided to explore the portals left behind by Haila herself.

Kazushige Asayama is waiting with relative patience, having summoned the rest of the officers via their private linkpearl. He wonders, distantly, if it truly required all of them--but considering what he had *found* in the depths of Haila's extraplanar space, it was easier to show them, than attempt to explain.

Cravendy Hound had always been vaguely aware of...'something' going on in Haila's lab. She didn't have a word for it, but could recognize it as 'something' better left untouched. However, it'd seem that she couldn't ignore it any longer. Hesitation writ on her face, she steps into the lab and waits for the others to show up. Cravs gives Kazushige a "what-up" nod and leaves it at that.

Nyscera Nara had entered the room and offered everyone a small nod as they showed up, a butterfly fluttering around her as she looked around the room. She can't remember how long it's been since she was in here. "Apologies if I took to long." She said softly.

Aislinn North slips in to Haila's lab with minimal fuss. She's not sure what this is about but Kazushige had asked them to meet him here. She just desperately hoped no one took it upon themselves to -touch- anything while they were there. In her pursuit of studying the gun and megaphone, let alone Myne's body or the necklace Aislinn herself wore, she was getting a better handle on just what kind of artifacts Haila might have lying around. "Alright, there?" she murmurs as she comes to stand in the middle of the lab.

Cravendy Hound: "Aye, what did ye want to show us?"

Kazushige Asayama offers both Aislinn and Cravs nods as they come through one after the other, one of Florus's little brown sparrow drones perched on one of the nearby shelves to give itself a good vantage of the goings-on. At the prompt, Kazu gestures at the door, "we must needs wait for the last of us to arrive, the ...portal, as it were, will bar access to the lab from the outside once engaged." He points to a lever over Cravs' shoulder.

Kazushige Asayama PRETENDING HE SAID THAT EARLIER, HE CONTINUES **COUGH**, and heads over to the lever, giving it a tug.

Aislinn North and just like that, before she can get a word out against it, Kazu goes and pulls a lever. Seven hells. She holds her breath.

Cravendy Hound sends the Au Ra a look of concern as he brushes past her. "Uhh, ye...water? Need water?" Her mind is redirected away from the lever and whatever it could hide.

Haila Wetyios | On cue, there is a metallic sound going off as well as something resembling magic being dispelled if anyone even knew how that sound was. The door from which people had come through slowly started to go down into the floor as if it had been a mere screen cover, revealing a rather large window that seemed... to stare off into space? It was hard to tell other than the fact that clearly the exit for the lab was no more and that whatever was out in this new place, was probably the reason so many people got lost inside the lab.

Aislinn North whirls around and looks at the new scene laid out before them. "What the..." she stepped back from the dizzying, disorienting scape. "Is that...is that where you were trapped, Kazushige?" she asks, her eyes still on the space beyond the lab.

Cravendy Hound is busy searching for water when the entrance shifts. She has her back turned when all the magic happens, and does an about-face with a vase in hand. She stares, dumbfounded, at the space before her. "Seven hells, I 'ad an inklin' of what Haila got into but...bah. What Lin said - there's more to yer story, ain't there?"

Kazushige Asayama: "It was, yes. And the space is as vast as it appears, within. I cannot discern whether it is an elaborate glamour, or..." He shakes his head. "At any rate, with Florus aware of our imminent excursion, we are unlikely to be trapped within. And there is something you need to see."

Nyscera Nara stared at the weird space magic, the Xaela should be surprised but with all the years she's spend with Heartwood this was kind of the norm for them. "This won't be the first time I've jumped into some odd portal."

Aislinn North glances between them with a look of disbelief. "We're going in and our backup to get us out is...-Florus-?" she asks, making sure she's heard correctly.

Cravendy Hound: "Well, it's /my/ first time so..." Cravs lets out a nervous chuckle. She involuntarily glances over at Lin, finding comfort in the other woman's presence, before steeling herself for her first step.

Haila Wetyios | Deep within if one was to peek at the space, it was full of distant stars, a sight a tad more vast than the usual starry sky, however, the ground that continued on the other side was clearly stone.

Nyscera Nara waved her hand and her butterfly moved to find a spot to keep an eye on the portal. "I'll have backup, if anything happens my butterfly will alert Tynos if that makes you more comfortable, Aislinn."

Kazushige Asayama tilts his head slightly. "So long as no one attempts to enter the laboratory, the portal will remain open." As though that were any consolation, considering the amount of people who bumble in here on a weekly basis. "It will be a matter of course for him to reopen the way." Which certainly doesn't explain why *Kazushige* didn't think to alert *someone* to his plight, including Florus, but... well, that was another story. He returns to the lever, activating the pad that would open the glass currently barring entry (I think?)

Haila Wetyios | Thus did the protective glass go down, systems kicking in to even point out a red light on the side of the portal frame, as if to remind people that this is a bad idea. But then again, this is Heartwood.

Aislinn North shoots her attention between Nys' butterfly and her own security node. "Good deal better than counting on the man who thinks we're all bumbling idiots." she murmurs in reply to Nys.

Kazushige Asayama takes a step towards the portal, evidently unperturbed. He'd been inside once already, after all. "I did experience some few... anomalies, within."

Cravendy Hound likes the color red, usually. She does not like it right now. Cravs grips and regrips her hora, hoping that she wouldn't find a reason to use them once within. "Of what sort?"

Aislinn North quickly steps after him. "Aye, that." she says on the heels of Cravendy's question

Kazushige Asayama: "I..." He hesitates considering the question. "Spirits, perhaps."

Kazushige Asayama doesn't look like the sort of man to say "ghosts, actually", and yet here we are.

Cravendy Hound: "Big ones? Small ones? Some the size of your head?" She waves her hand in a circle, urging Kazushige to elaborate.

Kazushige Asayama: "The sort barely able to manifest a corporeal form. The one I saw dissipated too quickly to identify." He's altogether too calm about this.

Aislinn North makes a low noise in the back of her throat, long and drawn out. None of this was encouraging.

Nyscera Nara sighed softly. "Well, at least we'll have a new story for good conversation starters."

Cravendy Hound: "Maybe I'll get a better look at 'em. Vision's shot for seein' normal, but I've been pretty good at seein' ghosts lately." She's not exactly looking forward to this, however.

Aislinn North glances over her shoulder at Cravendy with a considering look. "That's true."

Kazushige Asayama: "Presuming the compass given to us by the Judge remains where I left it, there will be some form of reading on it that may allow you to extract more solid identification." He turns towards the portal, starting to make his way inside, though he does hum encouragingly at Cravendy's words.

Haila Wetyios | Upon going inside, just as Kazushige had described, the place was more vast than anyone probably could have thought of. Floating islands with structures resembling palaces, starry skies mixing in with several shades of purple and blue. Purple mist on the distance that seemed to make it so that those who walked wouldn't see too farther ahead with ease. But probably more interesting was the fact that there was a gil coin and a bunch of trash one would see at a bare few meters away. A few smaller round portals also floating about overhead, though peeking through them was the equivalent of trying to look inside a drawer full of hats from the looks of it.

Kazushige Asayama peers up and around as he takes several steps deeper within, leaving the light of the portal behind. His gaze catches on the trash and coin, an eyebrow rising. That hadn't been here, the last time…

Cravendy Hound storms quickly into the portal and then abruptly comes to a halt. She's tense, hyperaware, and doing her damndest to watch for any signs of danger or "ghosts." While she can't quite make out the gil coin or trash at this distance, she can certainly smell it. "...so that's where the burger went."

Aislinn North The first thing Aislinn did after getting her bearings was to set her node to stationary and tap the side of her glasses, sending a signal that would ping the node every so often. She wasn't about to rely on Florus. Always good to have backups. That done, she looks around them at a loss before her attention is drawn to the glinting coin. She moves towards it. "What burger?" she asks.

Kazushige Asayama mouths 'burger?' to himself, glancing past Cravendy to Aislinn, a brow rising as though she could better understand the Roegadyn.

Cravendy Hound: "Aw shite. I 'aven't 'ad time to catch ye up. But since yer all 'ere...Altani can make portals. She tossed a buncha trash in a couple of suns ago."

Kazushige Asayama: "..."

M'shara Rhaz looks around, appreciating that she had arrived into a swirling black abyss and was totally comfortable with that. "Place has a certain charm to it."

Nyscera Nara: ".....why is Altani able to make portals?"

Aislinn North Now sees the trash and nudges it with the toe of her boot. "Good question. Here's another. Where'd the burger go? There's just the wrapper."

M'shara Rhaz: "Perhaps she finally drank so much that reality warped around her."

Cravendy Hound shrugs her shoulders. "Came back with the ability after that last thing ye all went to. Rising's been 'avin' trouble lately too - some weird gusty thing throwin' 'er off."

Kazushige Asayama 's brow furrows. "Was there not a surge of aether that passed from that crystalline Xaela to...?" She'd been able to create portals to and from this place, which... If indeed Altani had inherited that ability, somehow…

Kazushige Asayama pinches the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb.

Cravendy Hound: "Funny ye mention drinkin', Shar. Altani was so sloshed the night she showed me the portals that she even tried openin' one on 'er own body. Told me she opened a big one in 'er room for the 'ell of it too." She smiles at the memory of bar night, but it steadily falls as she begins to connect the dots. "......"

Aislinn North listens as she carefully moves past the trash, scanning the alien landscape. "To...Altani?" she finishes as he trails off.

Kazushige Asayama || Cravendy's words all but solidify where his thoughts had begun to go. "..."

Cravendy Hound: "..........."

M'shara Rhaz sighs, "I just assume she's always drunk at this point. Is that wrong?"

Nyscera Nara: "Please don't tell me Altani is here somewhere lost."

M'shara Rhaz looks around.

(Haila Wetyios) I leave the floor to Alt on where they'd like to show up drunk or passed out

Kazushige Asayama 's gaze drop to the burger wrapper.

Kazushige Asayama: "I believe that is the logical assumption, yes."

M'shara Rhaz: "This place is rather cozy at least."

Kazushige Asayama thinks Shara has a weird definition of 'cozy', but he's too polite to say so.

Aislinn North glances at her node. "Show me any bio signs in range." she asks the  node. It whirls as it complies, tossing the information up on one the lenses of her glasses. There were the five of them, obviously.

(M'shara Rhaz) shara gazed into the abyss and said 'aw fuck yes')

Cravendy Hound: "If she is, I'm gonna raise some HELL once I see 'er. Damnit, I TOLD 'er not to...." She stomps off in a forwardish direction, trying to find higher ground to get a better look around the place.

M'shara Rhaz: "I wonder if she's somehow still drunk even now."

Nyscera Nara: "I think the important question is how long has she been here if she is here? Without food and water."

Aislinn North waits to see if the node picks up any other signal. "Well, we know there was a burger at one point."

Kazushige Asayama closes ranks slightly in the direction Cravendy wanders in, just to ensure everyone remains in sight.

Haila Wetyios | The node would pick up on another signal, probably nearby, though it was a tad hard to tell given some strange interference that was starting to pop up around them. Bringing some static into any feed. There was someone out here though, that was definitely something that could be detected.

Nyscera Nara looked around to see if her eye could pick up the Viera's aether, even the slightest hint would work but with how this place was she wasn't sure if Altani's aether signature would be hidden from her.

Aislinn North lets out a breath. "There's another body nearby. We should probably spread out a bit and see if we can find her." she tells the others with a note of concern in her voice.

Altani Misair in the dirt someone may spot some faded foot prints, they were clearly human seeming to be heading up the mountain, the drone detected something living to the south west, Nys's aether scan would reveal a very faint trace atop the mountain

Cravendy Hound clambers to the top of a spire and looks around, praying that for ONCE her wack aethersight can come in handy. Barring that, Cravs relies on something tried and true (albiet pretty dumb, but she's too concerned with finding Altani to think too deeply). She tries shouting. "ALTANI?!"

M'shara Rhaz  ears twitch and she now looks towards the mountain top at the shouting.

Altani Misair the aether sight gave woudl reveal something that stuck out around the (I) Mark, the shouting fell on deaf ears

Nyscera Nara shook her head as a hand reached up to cover her right eye, a soft groan coming from her. "Damnit." She huffed under her breath, the Xaela would be going into this half blind.

Aislinn North heads in the direction of the spotty bio readout on her lens.

M'shara Rhaz: "Suppose the mountain top would be a good place to survey the surrounding area."

Cravendy Hound blinks, and points off into the distance. "Over there! And--" Cravs slides down the spire and looks around, disoriented. Trying to focus on something that no one else can see.

Aislinn North nods "Aye"

Kazushige Asayama glances back behind him, then follows the group on their trek up the rocky, uneven terrain.

Cravendy Hound tries talking to air. "'ello? Are ye lost, lass?"

M'shara Rhaz was going up the mountain but stops to watch Cravs be weird instead.

Aislinn North stops and looks back at Cravendy "Who're you...?" she glances over at Kazu and recalls what he said about spirits. "Cravendy...there's no one there."

Kazushige Asayama: "...?"

Nyscera Nara: "Did Crav's have a drink before coming in here?"

M'shara Rhaz: "It's likely."

Cravendy Hound narrows her eyes. ".....Uh."

Cravendy Hound: "I did. But that's not the point." She pushes a hand through her hair and groans. "I saw a girl? None of ye saw 'er?"

Nyscera Nara: "No."

Kazushige Asayama: "No," he says, glancing at the others for confirmation.

M'shara Rhaz shakes her head with a hand on her hip, "No one."

Aislinn North gives a worried look around them, one she quickly attempts to hide. "No." she adds along with the others

Cravendy Hound: "She's right there. Yer standin' on top of her, actually. 'ow very rude and unlike ye, Kazushige." She laughs nervously, but points ahead. "...anyway, I. Let's find Altani first. I think that's what my 'allucination wants us to do too."

Nyscera Nara looked at where Kazu was standing, maybe he was standing on something that was really small? Either way she didn't see anything and she held a very confused look on her face.

Kazushige Asayama 's eyes widen slightly, and he takes a step hastily to the side; strangely enough, he offers the space where he was a slight bow of apology.

Aislinn North nods slowly. "Right....uh...back to it, then?"

M'shara Rhaz now looks to Kazu who's being weird.

Kazushige Asayama: "Let us find Altani. The spirit may accompany us if she wishes, I see no reason to dissuade her." He says aside to Cravendy; if she's the only one who can see the girl, perhaps she's the only one who can communicate, as well.

Cravendy Hound keeps an eye on strange vision but would carry on, allowing it to tag along or leave if desired. First, Altani. Then, Kazushige's compass. Finally, coming to terms with going insane.

Aislinn North nods to Shara "Up the hill."

M'shara Rhaz: "A big bunch of rocky nothing. Just like home." She sighs wistfully.

Altani Misair at the top of the hill the first sign of the Viera would be her ears sitting right on the horizon, as the group draws closer they may have heard alt mumbling "Gods why didnt I bring any bleedin shoes, swear gonna need some damned magiwhatever feet.." Altani would seemingly be in the middle of wrapping up her bleeding feet with bits of fabric seemingly torn from her shirt

Aislinn North the ears were the first giveaway but as Altani's voice drifted over to them, Aislinn blinked, relief flooding through her. This is expressed by a sharp exhale of breath. "Bloody hell. Altani?" she calls out to the viera.

Kazushige Asayama: "The second missing Viera to be found in this space," he comments quietly, almost to himself. Still, it was good to see she was relatively unharmed, save for her feet.

Cravendy Hound whips her head at the sound of Altani's voice with the speed of a sighthound. She breaks into an angry sprint and gives the viera's hair a rough tousle once she's close enough. "WHAT DID I LAST SAY TA YE, ye piss-for-brains, arse-backwards bastard?!"

Nyscera Nara: "That's one mystery solved." Her eyes widened for a moment as Crav's gave Altani a scolding, it was the first time she's witnessed it and she honestly wasn't expecting it. "One scolding I don't have to do." She mumbled to herself.

M'shara Rhaz surveys the situation, her lips quirked as she thinks. "I swear I'm going to have to hold a seminar on the importance of footwear. They're really going to make me do it."

Kazushige Asayama smiles slightly over his shoulder at Nyscera's mumbling, bemused by the situation himself.

Altani Misair hearing Aislinn glanced back, she glared at the group for a moment "...Am I already seein things or...?" As Cravs came charging towards her, if it werent for her torn up feet she'd have tried to run "Eh?! What'd I do! Don't even know how I got 'ere!" Her voice was rather horse as she spoke up, but besides the feet and sunken eyes she seemed to be mostly alright, atleast at a glance

Cravendy Hound: "What'd I do. OOOoohh, what'd I do!" Cravs mimicks through grit teeth. "I'll tell ye what ye bloody did! Ye promised me ye'd close the portal that night and not mess 'round with the shite and - lo and behold, what do I find? Yer bloody IN the portal space!"

Aislinn North While Cravs scolds the woman, Aislinn crouches down and gently takes a look at her injured feet. "Probably something to do with those portals..." she trails off and lets Cravs continue. Meanwhile, she drew a small roll of bandaging from her hip pack and a travel size jar of salve. "Best let her get it all out." she tells Altani as she goes about dressing the wounds. "Worried about you, after all."

M'shara Rhaz smirked as she watched the dressing down, at least they had found the missing person.

Cravendy Hound drags her hands down on her face and sighs into them, the sound muffled and frustrated. "I 'ave 'alf a mind to knob ye on the spot, but that can wait until /after/ we're outta 'ere. Ye can walk, right?" She then turns to Kazushige. "What ye wanna show us. Far enough to warrant droppin' off Altani first, or should we take 'er with?"

Haila Wetyios | Judging from an extremely distant beep that could be confused for ambience sounds, it seems the walk is a little far.

Nyscera Nara: "Might be best to take her with, don't want her falling through another portal and needing to come back to find her once we leave here." She teasing the poor Viera at this point, Crav's had done enough scolding for Altani to learn a lesson so the Shinobi didn't need to add anymore.

Kazushige Asayama considers slightly, "I would say "far enough" but it is--difficult to say, in this space." He glances down at Altani, agreeing with Nyscera. "Cravendy or I can carry you, should the journey prove too arduous."

Altani Misair pouts up at Cravs, seeming to be genuinely confused "Eh? Oh....that makes sense..." She could barely recall the events of bar night, as Aislinn began to help she sighed letting her work, at the idea of being dropped off Altani shook her head "I know the place real well! So can kinda guide you? spent er...however long in this place anyways." Altanis stomach grumbled in disagreement

Nyscera Nara: "I have an idea to carry her if Altani is comfortable with it that is."

Kazushige Asayama lifts a brow slightly. "Did you find her?" He asks, his gaze intent on Altani. "The girl in the crystal."

Cravendy Hound unfortunately would have nothing to offer but alcohol. She nods to Kazu's assessment, then looks back to Altani with a well-meaning frown. "That's one way ye can begin makin' up for makin' us worry. What if we didn't come in and ye starved? Just..." She lets out a hot breath and doesn't continue. Everyone's probably got the idea by now.

Aislinn North Finishes tying off the bandages on Altani's feet. "Best I can do right now. Gonna want to stop by the clinic when you get back." she tells the viera. As she rises to her feet, she eyes Kazu "The girl in the what now?"

Altani Misair: "Don't mind being carried by who or whatever, but no, ain't seen much really 'sides some empty ruins? No people though."

Kazushige Asayama hums quietly to himself. "Likely further than you have explored, then. I too found the ruins, but she was further beyond." He nods slightly to both Altani and Aislinn, gesturing. "Provided it was not a mirage conjured by this place, that is what--who--I wanted to show you."

Kazushige Asayama: "And where I initially found Haila, before she was taken unto the Forelands."

Kazushige Asayama steps over to Altani, crouching nearby as though to let her clamber onto his back.

Altani Misair as Cravs kept scolding Altani she'd let out a groan "I didn't fall in on purpose, least I think so? You ought to know if I planned this I woulda packed!" She laid back grumbling softly, at the offer from Kaz she climbed on using his horns as handles as she did so "Thanks, guess I owe you er...Kazoo?" She really hoped she got the name right

Cravendy Hound: "What even is this place..." She blinks several times and squints, practicing normal sight and trying to get a read on the ruins scattered below. Who had put these here? Alternatively, what had destroyed this realm and rendered it like this?

Kazushige Asayama hooks his arms up under her knees, hefting a little to get her comfortably settled. If he minds his horns being used as handlebars, he doesn't complain. "Kazushige," he says, "but close enough."

Nyscera Nara reached inside one of her pocket and pulled out a small parcel wrapped in cloth, with her three kids the mother had learned to always carry food on her, even if it was just dried meat or fish. A small smile formed at Kazushige's nickname. 'Kazoo the Moogle' she thought, not wanting to die today she kept it to herself. "I have dried meat that you can eat, just don't get it all over Kazushige."

M'shara Rhaz watches the scene unfold, weird.

Aislinn North shakes her head in a bewildered reply to Cravs' question. "A space in the void?" she ventured. "A pocket construct?" It was the only frame of reference she had from her own experiences.

Kazushige Asayama plods along a little more carefully with his new passenger, nodding to Nyscera. "If I tire, I may have need of your aid." Not that he was one to ever *admit* weakness, really. He glances over at Aislinn and Cravendy, but he didn't have any answer for them, either.

Nyscera Nara nodded. "Just let me know." She knew the man too damn well and now would need to keep an eye on him if help was actually needed.

Kazushige Asayama will head on along to their next destination when everyone's ready!

Cravendy Hound: "What lies beyond the sea and stars...danger, and adventure, the wind at our backs." Cravs mumbles, before continuing.

Haila Wetyios | What awaits the party is something probably not expected, even by this strange space's standards. After a brief walking downhill among steep rocks, a distant beep slowly but surely started to sound louder and louder. One matching that of the compass aggressively trying to warn people about something. Much farther ahead though, was the answer. A small patch of flowers growing in this barren land with a medium sized crystal right in the middle of it, the girl Kazu had mentioned still "sleeping" from the looks of it. It was hard to tell given the fact that she did seem like she was able to move inside the crystal.

Haila Wetyios | Near the girl was the missing compass, still aggressively beeping and going off, how it had not run out of energy was a wonder by now.

Cravendy is able to stare at it directly which is odd given that crystals are usually dense collections of aether. This is something else entirely.

Kazushige Asayama peers down at the compass, a quiet sigh passing his lips. "The compass is there. It was alerting like that when I left it, as well."

Altani Misair rested her head atop Kazu's as they walked nearly falling asleep till she caught sight of the crystal entrapped girl "Huh...thats something."

Aislinn North comes to an abrupt halt several fulms from the crystal. Her brows drawn together, she fingers the slowly rotating pendant on her necklace as she studies the girl locked in the crystal. "How long do you suppose she's been here?" she asks quietly.

M'shara Rhaz looks upon it with brows raised. "Don't know, I'm more curous as to /why/ she's in there."

Cravendy Hound walks forward to recover the compass. What's it say on its display?

Nyscera Nara: "This whole situation doesn't feel right."

Altani Misair: "Someone wanna try poking it?"

Haila Wetyios | The compass would just keep vibrating endlessly, it's screen alerting you of impending danger nearby like a sonar. Pointing it at the girl in crystal though, would cause it to flash a clear number two on it.

Kazushige Asayama is very careful to keep Altani comfortable as he can, so it's no wonder she nearly dozes off. He does nod slightly to the space where he'd found Haila dozing, "and that's where Haila was, sitting partially upright. She was sleeping here, as well, and did not rouse even when taken by the Xaela." he nods to the location where the Xaela's portal had opened.

Haila Wetyios | While there was no open portal at this time, Kazushige had pointed to the general space to the left side of the crystal.

Cravendy Hound swings her arm away from the girl and then back towards her, double-checking the compass's readings. Two. That's a two. She lets out a drawn-out sigh. "The Beast Ileana wants to talk to."

Aislinn North eyes the compass Cravendy recovered. Something about the flashing 2 jogged her memory. "Aye." she stared back at the girl again. "Something dangerous, then. If Ileana is to be believed."

Kazushige Asayama peers up at the crystal, and the girl within it. "Do you trust her word?" He asks quietly, looking over at Cravendy. "We have no way to know if this girl can defend herself, should talking merely be a ploy to get in closer." He may have eavesdropped on their conversation, but he was also a suspicious man to begin with.

Cravendy Hound: "If not dangerous, then at least precious. Somethin' worth seekin' out."

Cravendy Hound: "Ileana told me that there are many Beasts, and the buggers aren't usually the aggressors. So 'The Lost' are more akin to 'unters." She stares down at the compass in her palm and then back to Kazushige, wearily resolute. "I've 'ad my fill of thinkin' everyone's just out for themselves. Ileana wants to talk, and I say let 'er."

Kazushige Asayama || A thoughtful hum rumbles in the back of his throat, but he doesn't argue, turning his gaze back to the crystal.

Haila Wetyios | The girl remained motionless for a time save for a brief hover movement here and there. At one point though, those observant enough would see her slightly peeking at the group here and there. Was she pretending to be sleeping? Who knew, the land would shake once or twice during this time before stopping. Ending up as if nothing had happened at all, no crumbling, just silence and stasis.

Altani Misair: "Does she mean to talk with 'er mouth or with 'er fist?"

Cravendy Hound: "I /think/ with 'er mouth? But like, when she does...we should come with. Make sure no funny business 'appens. If there's some way to limit 'er magic too, or somethin'?" Cravs glances over at Lin for this, unsure of what's within the realm of possibility.

Aislinn North Could appreciate Cravs' sentiment but wasn't quite there herself, especially against someone untried or tested. "Aye," she nods with Altani. "Probably best if few of us go along with Ileana, don't  you think?"

Nyscera Nara: "That's a concern we always have to worry about it seems, at least there's six of us....well." She didn't want Altani to feel left out but she was injured and without a weapon so really there was five if a fight broke out.

M'shara Rhaz: "Sometimes things must be forced. I'm sure the talking or fighting would've ended up happening either way. Perhaps it'd be a nice change of pace to go on the offsenive for once?"

Aislinn North thinks a moment. "Can't possibly know that without knowing what she's capable of. Could just break through something like those aether dampeners I made awhile back." she gave a half shrug. "Better than nothing."

Altani Misair tilted her head over to Nys "Six? What Kaz gonna toss me at 'er?"

Cravendy Hound turns back to the crystal girl and studies her odd clothing. "Well, we could always talk first? She doesn't even look like she can talk, and if she can't, ain't no reason to bring Ileana 'ere."

Kazushige Asayama tilts his head slightly, trying to discern whether or not the glimpses of the girl's expression shifting was only tricks of light through the prism of the crystal, but given what he'd seen before Haila was taken, perhaps not. He snorts at Altani's comment, however. "Only if you wish to be utilized as a bludgeon," he assures her.

Nyscera Nara: "We can use that option if you'd like but more or so wanted you to feel apart of the group."

M'shara Rhaz: "How thick her head is I think she'd make a pretty good one."

M'shara Rhaz hums, "Anyone try poking it?"

M'shara Rhaz: "The crystal, that is."

Aislinn North eyes the crystal. "You volunteering?" she asks Shara

Kazushige Asayama: "I hadn't the time, during my last visit."

Altani Misair: "....If it comes to it I ain't gonna say no to being a weapon."

Cravendy Hound: "After ye." Cravs sends M'shara a wry grin.

M'shara Rhaz: "I do have a rather long sword."

Aislinn North "Shame to let it go to waste."

M'shara Rhaz sighs and draws her sword, marching forward towards the crystal. "Fine, I'll poke it."

Kazushige Asayama: "By all means, then." He gestures slightly to Shara, and offers Altani a little side smirk, just visible between the serrated edges of his horns. Whether or not she could take that as a threat or a promise was a different story.

Aislinn North lips quirk up in a dry smile

M'shara Rhaz prods at the base of the crystal with the rapier, looking very nonplussed.

Haila Wetyios | The crystal is just as expected on the surface, a solid rock. The sword makes a very slight sound when poking it. However a faint force pushed at it with the same strength that it had been poked with, which is to say, not a lot.

M'shara Rhaz thinks she picks up on the force but just to make sure... "Anyone got a rock or something on them?"

M'shara Rhaz looks back at the NINJAS. "Something, throwable?"

Aislinn North immediately looks at Cravs

Cravendy Hound looks back at Lin and straightens to attention, quickly checks her pockets, but comes up empty. "Nothin' but this flask, and my flintlock."

M'shara Rhaz sighs,

M'shara Rhaz: "Where's Riylli when I need rocks thrown at something."

Nyscera Nara flicked her wrist and a set of ninja stars sat in between each finger. "Can't exactly throw a smokebomb at it." Or one of Yami's bombs for that matter. "Perhaps this will do." With another flick of her wrist did she send them flying with ease through the air until they hit the crystal. Now they wait.

Aislinn North tilts her head with a 'worth a shot' expression before turning her attention to the shinobi of the group

Altani Misair: "Could just shoot the thing right?"

M'shara Rhaz: "No, don't shoot it."

M'shara Rhaz: "Stand off to the side and throw something at it....make sure you duck after.

M'shara Rhaz sheaths her rapier and stands behind cravs.

Haila Wetyios | The ninja stars bounced off the crystal, repeating the same trajectory that they had gone through as they flew right back at Nyscera. The strength in which they did however, was the same that she'd used to throw them, which was not a lot... No problem for the ninja to dodge or even catch if one wanted to be flashy enough.

Cravendy Hound - Despite not even being in the trajectory, Cravs manages to get a shallow cut from one. Because I guess she goes over to check Nys is okay and trips.

M'shara Rhaz raises a brow as she watches her cover trip over nothing. "Cravs...you good?"

Kazushige Asayama chuckles quietly to something Altani whispers, offering just a little shake of his head, and murmurs something in response.

Nyscera Nara watched as the ninja stars came flying back at her, not even flinching the shinobi waved a hand through the air as the wind around her changed direction and stopped the objects right in front of her. Snatching each one out of the air to put them back in her pocket, except for one that landed in the ground. "....shit. I'm so sorry, are you ok?"

Cravendy Hound: "Sod off," Cravs mumbles. She steps away from the group for a moment to sulk over how unnecessary that was.

M'shara Rhaz hums, "Well, seems clear to me now that there's some sort of field around the crystal or at least a property of the crystal."

Aislinn North tries to stop Cravs from stepping in front of the star but it was obvious how that was going to go.

M'shara Rhaz: "That returns any blow to it with equal force."

Aislinn North "To Cravendy's point, maybe we should see if the girl is responsive at all."

M'shara Rhaz: "Well I did just poke the thing."

Altani Misair shrugs softly whispering to Kazu again

M'shara Rhaz: "Am I so imposing that not even crystalized women wish to greet me?"

Aislinn North approaches the crystal, shrugging in reply to Shara's question. She studies the girl a moment. "Hello?" she attempts, raising her voice just enough to hope it travels beyond the crystalized barrier.

Kazushige Asayama glances over his shoulder at Cravendy's sulking, though still minding Altani's whispering. "Is there aught you can see differently, between the rock or the girl, Cravendy?" He asks, though he snorts quietly at something Altani says.

Cravendy Hound is still flustered over getting cut over nothing, and answers with her back to Kazu. "Nothin' different. But the fact it don't look like a lighthouse to me tells me the shit ain't made of aether...or at least, ain't rich in it. Which is odd, don't ye think? Everythin's made of aether."

Haila Wetyios | Though the crystal and the girl in particular do not seem to be moving or reacting to anything. The ground shakes very slightly for a moment as a voice echoes around the group. Some sort of muffling making it hard to make out the words too well "Λεαϝε."

Altani Misair sat u,p seemingly happy with whatever answer Kazu had given her

Kazushige Asayama: "Especially crystals," he agrees, frowning slightly, shifting his hold on Altani slightly during the rumbling to make sure neither topple over. Whatever word is spoken sounds foreign and unintelligible to him, muffled as it is. "...?"

Aislinn North seems lost for a moment. "What language is that?" she murmurs to herself. Clears her throat and speaks up again. "Sorry, afraid I don't understand."

Cravendy Hound: "Maybe she's an alien, comin' from somewhere that ain't aether-based? It's not /that/ out of the realm of possibility given all...this. And the odd language." Cravs shrugs. But Ileana seemed normal, and she was certain if the murdered girl Myne was a non-aether based lifeform, Lin would've picked up on that right away.

Haila Wetyios | Once more, the ground would shake slightly. Almost as if the voice resonated with the space in itself. "Ψου'ρε α βοτηερ. Λεαϝε."

Altani Misair: "Maybe...er....okay yeah i've got no clue..."

Aislinn North Part of that, she understood. But not the important part. She looks back to the others for help. "Anyone?"

Nyscera Nara offered a small shake of her head. "I've got nothing."

Cravendy Hound shakes her head no as well. "I don't understand it neither...But I've 'eard stories of people with the Echo bein' able to understand all languages. We could record and look for such a person?"

M'shara Rhaz shrugs, "Nothing I recognize."

M'shara Rhaz: "I don't like how the ground shakes either."

Aislinn North nods at that idea. She glances back at the girl in the crystal with a look of consternation before returning to the others. "Seems like that's what we'll have to do. Florus' drone is getting a log of this, aye?"

Cravendy Hound gets the idea of getting more samples of this odd language - should they be unable to find someone with the Echo, then having a diverse set of data could help in decrypting it. "Oy, crystal lass! What do ye know about the Lost and the Saviors? Think we oughta trust 'em?"

Kazushige Asayama shakes his head. He felt like the understanding was within his grasp, but the words themselves lacked meaning for him as much as the rest. He remains silent for the moment while Cravendy prompts her further, his brows furrowed in concentration.

Haila Wetyios | There it was again, that slight shake, though with actual answers to the group for once. "Ι'μ νοτ ιντερεστεδ. Τηεψ ωερε ωαρνεδ αλρεαδψ. Τηε ρεστ ις ον τηεμ. " it stated in a rather distant tone. Pausing briefly as people may have assumed that she was done talking to add "Συστ λικε ψου. Τηις ις ψουρ φιρστ ωαρνινγ το λεαϝε με αλονε."

Cravendy Hound does not understand, but wants to ask one last thing since it seems that the crystal girl was responding seriously? Different sounds were being made - that's a start. Maybe they'd translate this and find out the beast was swearing back at them...still. "Also, what's 'appenin' with Haila and 'ow can we 'elp 'er?"

Haila Wetyios | At the mention of Haila, the ground stopped shaking for once. It seemed Crav's prodding had actually been enough to catch the girl's attention as she slowly opened her eyes and stared at the group, even going as far as to give a very hard glare at everyone except Cravs, Aislinn, Shara and the bird drone. She opened her mouth to speak, however, the crystal seems to have been the source of the muffling as the same voice was heard. "Σηε βροκε." she stated with an annoyed expression.| A frown starting to form with what seemed to be.. worry? doubt? Maybe concern? "Δον'τ γιϝε ηερ ονε βαδ μεμορψ ατ α τιμε. " she added, though that seemed all that they'd get out of her as she closed her eyes once more. This time not even moving at all from within the crystal anymore, she was probably gone for now.

Kazushige Asayama bows his head slightly in thought at the way the girl answers. From the distance in her tone, he'd assume she wasn't keen on either faction, though any nuance was lost on him. It was her reaction to the mention of Haila that gets him to look up again, his gaze narrowing slightly in response to the glare she settles on him, and the statement she makes. Whatever it was, it sounds almost like an accusation, softened afterwards by the --concern? In her expression as she continues.

Cravendy Hound: "I 'ave no idea what yer sayin', but 'opefully, we'll deal with that soon and get back to ye." She turns to the group with a sheepish shrug, unsure who could do such a thing and if she was promising the impossible. "...Well, nothin' left to do 'ere?"

Altani Misair gave a confused look back as she was galred at, mumbling soflty "Hells did I do?"

M'shara Rhaz hummed, "I should like to leave this place soon. Got a bad feeling."

Aislinn North frown deepening along her brow, she seems intent on puzzling out the language but as the girl grows silent and it's obvious she was done paying them any attention, she slowly nods. "Seems that way."

Kazushige Asayama: "So it would seem," he agrees slowly, frowning. Her ire had been settled on him, Nyscera, and Altani. What did they share in common? ... Nyscera and he were Au Ra, as was the woman who'd taken Haila in the first place. Altani had inherited her ability to open portals, somehow. Perhaps that was the connection. "Hm."

Nyscera Nara: "If that's all we're getting then I suppose it's time to head back, have Florus look over what we've found." She couldn't shake the feeling after being glared at by the crystal woman, something wasn't settling right with her.

Cravendy Hound kneels to the ground and plucks a flower for the road. It falls into her pocket, settling among dried bits casually stolen here and there from gardens neighboring Heartwood.

Kazushige Asayama spares a final glance for the girl in the crystal, unable to keep the knot from his brow. Still carrying Altani, he approaches and takes a last look around the area where Haila had lain, in case there were any clues he'd missed. That done, he'd soon follow the group back to the portal.

Aislinn North "Aye. Pretty sure no one wants to stay here longer than we need to. No telling what it'll do." she turns and follows the rest.

Cravendy Hound: "Found Altani, didn't 'ave to fight - that's a win in my book." She begins making her way back to the portal, eager to leave this strange nether-realm.

M'shara Rhaz: "And still managed to get hurt. Quite the outing indeed."

Kazushige Asayama || Once back and Heartwood, Kazushige deposits Altani DIRECTLY in the clinic. TREATMENT. And food.

[lettersnorth]

"Gods... Having one insufferable prick around is enough. Lets just put this to a damned vote already and get it over with! Raise your hand if you wanna beat the shite out of this Garlean creep!" Riylli called out, immediately raising her hand

Aislinn inhaled a breath. "For a few insults?" she asked Riylli in reply.

Haila sighed some, instead she opted to step aside and approach the consoles nearby if it was possible. "Leave this guy alone if he doesn't attack, that banter is enough to prove he ain't one of the forces from the Telophoroi at least. Though our employer probably knew that already."

"For being a GARLEAN and OBVIOUSLY messing with the damned AETHER!" Riylli shouted back at Aislinn, her patience no longer existant

Cravendy also raised her hand, and then raised her gun at the Reaper. “I’m with Riylli. I don’t give a shit, and I’m not takin’ this. Give me one good reason not to put a bullet in ‘is ‘ead.”

Mivo'to ilmed forward. Still, that hand did not leave his blade. His gaze craned upward to the Reaper, now standing practically below the device. "I hope you might empathize with the likes I have to corral. Chief of them-...Oh, I shan't even mention the name. A learned man such as yourself surely knows the mindset of their kind." He sighed, an open hand reaching to pinch the brim of his nose.

Aislinn glared at both Cravendy and Riylli. "Because he hasn't -DONE- anything that we know of. We don't know he's the problem here. For all we know he fled the empire. I'm not in the habit of shooting random people." she stated emphatically.

Mivo'to Laaski: "Why, might you please let those with a remaining brain cell speak, dear Tribal?" He called out to Riylli, his voice raising in volume. An step below a shout. A lurch below a scowl. A ilm of steel etching from its home.

"Well, I would like to smash it...but I 'SPOSE Aislinn is right.. if he ain't all tempered like some of them other ones maybe we shouldn't jus' break it yet...but I do vote to all punch Mivo cause he keeps callin' us stupid!" Rising chirped up at the end.

"Rising!" Riylli yelled angrily. "You're supposed to be on our side dammit!"

Aislinn eyes widened at Riylli. "We're all on the same side." she said as though stating that water was wet.

Rising Lotus: "I'm jus' sayin', I've fought mechanical things before, an' its probably got all sorts of hidden weapons, an' it ain't attacked us yet! I hate Garleans as much as the next person, but if this one is against them towers ain't that what we're really aimin' to stop?"

Cravendy Hound: “I’ve KILLED people who’ve done less. And Riylli’s right. ‘e’s Garlean, armed with a child-robot, up to who knows what. Ain’t that enough?! We were ‘ired to take out the trash, and by the twelve, I am all for it.”

Crific Storm: "We can exchange banter once this thing is no longer a threat. Disable it, don't destroy it--/if/ it can be helped." He hauled his sword over his shoulder.

Mivo'to spun. A rasp of steel. A clashing of metal. A once uptight Miqo'te now facing his band, the length of his blade wrestled free from its sheath. In one swift swoop, the Keeper would draw his sword from its den, a slashing motion attempting to render a crippling below to the Reaper's leg - An attempt that might find success, given his close proximity to the Reaper (And, maybe, the believability of his act.)

Riylli glared at Aislinn in return. "Sorry, you been ignoring all the shite the circus freak has been sayin' about me this entire evenin'? I get that you're a hyur and all, but you really think I'll just- oh welp there he goes."

Mivo’to’s swing sliced through the Reaper’s leg, and the machine groaned as it tottered. It tilted to the right, disabled, but then again...it never needed legs to begin with. The pressure built once more and it floated, leaving its leg on the ground. “That’s right, fight! Let’s go!”

It generated a thin shield and sent it forth like a blade toward Mivo’to.

"Bloody hell." Aislinn swore under her breath as Mivo'to's sword flashed out. Her face turned to stone, an all too clear indication that she'd had enough of them all today. Nevertheless, she drew her gun to cover them if necessary. "My mistake. Go ahead and pick your fucking sides." she spat out in anger as she chambered her weapon with more force than necessary.

Cravendy fired, sending a barrage of shots at the Reaper’s body. Disable it my ass - she wasn’t going to trust this robot to be so kind to them.

[second-chance-stray]

RP Log: Cravs, Aislinn, and Bertram try to find a buyer for stinky fish in a country of vegetarians.

Aislinn North Comes out from the house like a person moving briskly from one task to the next. Brushing a hand down her skirts, she smiles briefly to Cravendy. "Alright there, Cravendy?" she asks in her usual fashion.

Cravendy Hound - To this day, there have been -at least- five fish deliveries from Dirtpatch to Heartwood, all handled by Bertram Windshadow. The highlander’s feelings about becoming a fish courier was unknown...what was known was that Heartwood’s storage area would soon fill up if the product wasn’t dealt with soon. Crates upon crates upon crates, each full of fish in different stages of decay.

Bertram Windshadow was ponder such a turn of events himself as he walked along the path toward the Heartwood headquarters. It was certainly a stark change of pace for the man but it also came with the blessing of distraction. Something he'd found to be quite the blessing. Even if the perpetual smell of fish was ... maybe less than ideal. He waved a hand to the two standing just outside the yard and flashed a quiet smile, "Cravs! Lin!"

Cravendy Hound is outside, trying to dry some of the fish. But the drying racks are full and there are still plenty more to deal with. She turns to Lin and gives her a somewhat panicked smile. “Eh, er. Hm.” Then after a pause. “Nnn..nno. Oh bugger, Windy. Are ye ‘ere with more to deliver?”

Aislinn North By now she knew well enough not to jump right into the business at hand. Which in this case, was definitely the amount of fish piling up on the grounds. Even so, the looming need to move the product, and *fast* hung over her head. It was starting the smell and soon she feared the aroma would seep into the walls of the house itself. She turned her attention to Bertram as he arrived. She was smiling but her eyes all but dared him to say he had yet another delivery. "Afternoon, Bertram."

Bertram Windshadow: "Uhm ..." Bertram's gaze sweeps over the scene as he quietly processes what it all means, a somewhat nervous chuckle rising up from the man as he notes the look from Aislinn. "I ... uh ... was coming by to borrow a chocobo to haul it up the hill ..." He shifts his attention to Cravendy looking apologetic.

Bertram Windshadow: "But the ice crystals still have some chill in 'em, so ... they should be good for a ... bit!"

Cravendy Hound: “NO...” Cravs sinks to the ground, crestfallen. So soon! And all her efforts would barely cover the first batch, as there were still several more crates to process. That said, Cravs was really just buying time...a house full of fish jerky was still suboptimal.

Cravendy Hound: “The smell is startin’ to attract unwelcome company, if ye catch my drift. So far just small critters, like spriggans an’ squirrels, but if we don’t do somethin’ soon it’s only a matter of ‘when’ a bear’ll come and make itself at home ‘ere.”

Aislinn North groans inwardly at the news. With a shake of her head, she glances between Bertram and Cravendy. "We can't keep stockpiling it all here. Soon we'll all be smelling of fish." she makes a face. "What about...the botanist guild? Surely they need some fertilizer or somesuch?"

Bertram Windshadow watches in muted horror as Cravendy succumbs to piscine despair. Though he is pulled from that moment at Aislinn's suggestion of selling it to the the botanists. "That's a pretty good idea ..."

Cravendy Hound: “Seems like such a waste.” Cravs tips her head to a particular crate that she’s been too scared to open. The wood used to be straw brown, but now it was stained darker from its wet contents. She grimaces and averts her eyes from the disaster. “But we don’t ‘ave a choice for a lot of it.”

[FC]<M'shara Rhaz> if there's so much fish in the house all I can wonder if how badly the races with sensitive noses are suffering [FC]<Altani Misair> Maybe the fish smell good [FC]<Riylli Aliapoh> Did no one deal with the box after it was left there [FC]<Riylli Aliapoh> is it just rotting [FC]<M'shara Rhaz> fish do not smell good [FC]<Altani Misair> Maybe someone sprayed them with perfume [FC]<M'shara Rhaz> *shudder* [FC]<Cravendy Hound> ahahahah

Aislinn North she shoots Cravendy an incredulous look. "It can't possibly be fit for eating at this point. There's nothing for it."

Bertram Windshadow follows Cravendy's gaze to the ominous and unopened crate. "Yeah ... I think we've already passed that threshold."

Aislinn North waves a hand in Bertram's direction. "Maybe we can still sell the new delivery as food but whatever's sitting in that crate there..." she followed Cravendy's gaze to the ominous box like it was a ticking timebomb. "It just has to go."

Bertram Windshadow: "If it makes you feel any better, Cravs, it might be used to become food again."

Cravendy Hound: “By who?!”

Cravendy Hound: “Ye mean that one-” She points to the soggy crate. “-t-that one, as food?!”

Aislinn North tips her head. "I think he means that it'll be used to grow actual food. Part of the cycle. No one would eat it as it is." she assured the Roegadyn.

Bertram Windshadow blinks, trying to parse the question. "Not directly, I mean! But if we can sell as fertilizer like Lin suggested ..."

Cravendy Hound: "OH YE MEAN. AS fertilizer it'll become food again....Not like. Someone’ll eat it like food. Ah." Cravs finally understands. Gods, her mind is far too preoccupied by fish despair.

Bertram Windshadow gestures toward Aislinn, "Yeah, that!"

Bertram Windshadow: "Or maybe swine fodder ..."

Cravendy Hound blushes slightly as she clears her throat. “Ahem. Well, let’s go over and try to sell it to the botanists then. And keep an eye out for anyone interested in the fresher stuff as...instant food.” Cravs grabs a couple of fish samples before she heads out, just in case.

Aislinn North As the wind shifts, the putrid smell drifts their way. "Nymeia's breath." Aislinn chokes. "Alright. Yes, this needs to get solved. Yesterday. Surely we can make some sort of deal."

Bertram Windshadow suppresses the sudden urge to vanish as the scent of ripe fish wafts in his direction. He speaks as though he's being partially strangled, "Yeah. Let's go."

(Cravendy Hound) heading over to the botanists guild :D )) (Aislinn North) ((That firecracker was handy! :D)) (Bertram Windshadow) (( A signal cracker!! *grins* ))

Cravendy Hound - The Botanist’s guild is, as usual, a verdant and bustling place, with farmers diligently working the fields. As the trio approach, one of the guild’s workers stops what he’s doing and freezes in place, nose crinkled and generally confused. “Gods, what’s that smell?”

Bertram Windshadow follows along with Aislinn and Cravendy whilst also holding a russet colored chocobo by the reins and walking them alongside the trio. Hitched to the saddle bags are two small crates of fresh(ish) fish that are being kept chilled via ice crystals. He clears his throat and looks to the others at the cry. "Fish..?"

Cravendy Hound - Cravs realizes the stranger must be talking about her. When she had grabbed samples, she had grabbed a fish from every stage of rot, from unspeakable, to fresh, to bone dry. Figuring that there was no point in hiding it, she presents the source of the smell to the farmer. “Fish...”

Aislinn North Jerks to a halt, a dawning look of embarrassment flashing across her face. She knows it can't be the still fresh fish Bertram has in tow. "It's happened already. We reek of fish." she murmurs leans over and discreetly sniffs Cravendy. "Everywhere we go." a flush of red starts creeping up her neck.

Cravendy Hound: “I can’t tell if it’s ye, or this thing.” Cravs lifts the rotten fish in her hand slightly. “Or me. Or all three. Seven ‘ells, this is bad....Maybe we’re numbed to the smell.”

Aislinn North Realizes what Cravendy has brought with her and pulls back sharply. "Twelve above!" she hisses. "Nevermind." she says somewhat in relief. With a bracing breath, she steps forward and addresses the botanist.

Bertram Windshadow was starting to wonder if he was just going to smell like fish for the rest of his suns. He'd been around the scent for so long now that he was worried that he couldn't really discern it from himself any longer. "We ... uh ... we were hoping that we could, maybe, ... offer a trade with your guild?" He looks toward the botanist thoughtfully.

Aislinn North Nods in agreement with Bertram. "We find ourselves with some good quality fertilizer on our hands and we were hoping you all here might be interested."

Cravendy Hound - The farmer puts down his bag of seeds for a second to listen to the trio’s sales pitch. “Let me guess - fish fertilizer? We’re already stocked up on other varieties of fertilizer. What makes yours different?”

Bertram Windshadow seems entirely at a loss on this one. He's not exactly a botanist and his knowledge of caring for plants was ... middling. He looks over at Aislinn in the hope that she would know something about this, otherwise he'd have to fly by the seat of his pants.

Aislinn North "Namely, it's fish. It does wonders for the overall health of the soil. And the plants really take to it. The gardens at our Company House are quite the sight to see." Aislinn replied as she took a look around the garden plots. "We have an agreement with a fishing village and ended up with a bit of surplus."

Cravendy Hound: “Ye know why Sea Wolves are tall and strong? It’s cause we love fish. And eatin’ it daily ‘elps keep yer eyes workin’....Not that you’d know, since you Gridanian’s don’t eat meat...” Cravs notes, her comment both useless and insulting? She clearly has a bone to pick with Gridanian cuisine. “Anyway, that’s gotta count for somethin’ with the plants.”

Bertram Windshadow nods his head slowly along with Aislinn's explanation before looking back over to the botanist. "And I could make personal deliveries." He looks over to Cravendy's pitch with ... a bit of uncertainty but nods all the same. "It could bring some nutrients that the local varieties don't usually replenish!"

Aislinn North Blinks once at Cravendy's reply. And again. But aside from that small tell, she makes no sign that the comment was anything out of the ordinary and plows ahead, building off of what Bertram had said. "You really can't go wrong with a well-rounded fertilization schedule."

Cravendy Hound - The farmer listens intently to Lin and Bertram, his curiosity piqued. He opens his mouth, about to ask about price and volume, but is interrupted by Crav’s comment. So instead, he gasps, insulted. “Wait, what?! What do you mean by that?”

Aislinn North lets go the quietest of sighs. So close.

Bertram Windshadow takes in a *deeeeeep* breath as he lifts a hand up and rubs the back of his neck, "She ... uh ... she doesn't mean anything by it. She's just not from around these parts."

Cravendy Hound: “I’m sayin’ ye should try it too. Fresh fish. We got that.” Cravs says somewhat aggressively. She steps forward, invading the botanist’s space and looms over him with her fish-begotten height. The farmer shrinks under her shadow. What the HECK is this negotiation - more like intimidation?!

(Bertram Windshadow) (( I'm dying. "Fish-begotten" )) (Cravendy Hound) bad cop good cop confused cop ))

Aislinn North Steps neatly between the looming Seawolf and the botanist with a gentle laugh she certainly doesn't feel but sells all the same. "Or, just the fertilizer. Like Bertram said, our friend is from Limsa, very passionate about seafood. She just wants everyone to try it." as she's speaking, an elbow is nudging Cravendy back. "And I can't blame her. It really is, very good. Very fresh."

Bertram Windshadow takes a step forward and reaches up to touch Cravendy's shoulder with a pleading smile, "That's right. She feels real strongly about it, but it comes from a place of passion and knowledge."

Cravendy Hound - There isn’t much space between Cravs and the farmer, so for a second, Lin, Cravs, and the poor man are sandwiched against each other - chest to back to chest. At Windy’s touch though, Cravs backs down and takes a step back. She has more to say, but senses that maybe she should leave the talking to the others.

Cravendy Hound - The botanist is visibly shaken and annoyed. “Tell your oversized friend that around these parts, we live in harmony with the forest and Elementals! That our meals are balanced and wholesome!” He huffs, arms crossed.

(Aislinn North) ((I love the visual of us all just piling on this poor botanist XD)) (Cravendy Hound) probably never gotten a sales pitch like this before ))

Bertram Windshadow pats Cravendy's shoulder as she backs off from the botanist. Something that the man says seems to spark a thought. "I guess ... these fish would be like a wholesome meal for the plants that is in harmony with the forest? The fish returning to the soil..?"

Aislinn North For a moment, Aislinn stills and her smile grows tighter. Insults thrown in her direction rolled off her like water off a duck's back but insults tossed uncaringly at her friends were an entirely different matter. Even so, she tries valiantly to keep sight of the bigger picture. She merely nods along with what Bertram had said deciding it was much better than what might slip from her mouth.

(Cravendy Hound) return to soil )) (Bertram Windshadow) (( He's trying his best. )) (Cravendy Hound) I love all of this xD )) (Aislinn North) ((Ahh yes, the soil. Natural habitat of fish XD))

Cravendy Hound is being placated by Windy...for now. But when she hears the botanist spit an insult back, she nearly goes right back at it. Teetering on the edge of doing something rash, Cravs grabs tightly onto Windy’s shoulder and whispers harshly in his ear. “Guh, I know I shouldn’t, but I wanna give this whelp a new eye socket. ‘old me back, alright?”

Bertram Windshadow feels the vice like grip upon his shoulder and shifts his attention back to Cravendy. He listens quietly to the request before lifting his brow and, ultimately, giving a firm nod. "I'll do my best, Cravs, but you have fish-fueled strength." He offers back in a hushed tone.

(Aislinn North) ((*dies*))

Cravendy Hound - The botanist is at the limits of his patience and desperately wants this colorful trio to leave him alone so he can work. He raises his hands up in defeat. “Fish returning to the soil? I....doesn’t everything return to the soil eventually? Agh, look. Just. How much are you selling this for? If it’s a good price I might be willing to try, provided you throw in free samples as an apology for how your colleague acted. VERY generous free samples.”

(Cravendy Hound) LOL )) (Bertram Windshadow) (( I couldn't help myself! ))

Cravendy Hound: “Free samples?! F-for wh... Alright, this bloody drylander is askin’ for an ass kickin.” Cravs growls under her breath. She tries to lunge forward, truly testing Bertram’s strength.

Bertram Windshadow does his best to hold Cravendy in check! He slips his arm through her own and tries to lock it there ... or as best as he can! "Cravs ... we're *trying* to get rid of the stuff!" He whispers sharply.

(Bertram Windshadow) (( Good lordy. She's so much taller than Bertram. )) (Cravendy Hound) djfkls the contrast between professional and the absolute clownfoolery in the back ))

Aislinn North The only thing keeping the smile on Aislinn's face at the moment is the thought of this man opening up the dark, fish juice soaked crate that currently sat back at Heartwood. "Certainly. I can have that sent over straight away." she paused, a look of consideration on her face before tossing out a gil price per ponze of fertilizer. Discounted but still enough of a profit knowing the need to get rid of the stuff while still giving Dirtpatch something for their efforts.

Cravendy Hound is like a lion on a frightfully thin leash. For the moment she is held back, but for how long?

(Bertram Windshadow) (( *laughs and grins* Also, if you want me to roll or anything to hold by the fish primal just let me know. )) (Bertram Windshadow) (( *hold back )) (Cravendy Hound) oh god I desperately would want you to roll higher than me )) (Cravendy Hound) let's roll the dice why not xD )) (Aislinn North) ((famous last words)) (Cravendy Hound) also LOL the fish juice soaked crate....true fear )) (Cravendy Hound) Random! 664 (Bertram Windshadow) Random! 815 (Cravendy Hound) -wipes brow in relief- )) (Bertram Windshadow) (( Fate provides relief! )) (Aislinn North) ((Whew!))

Cravendy Hound - The botanist considers the price, considers the free sample, considers the sight of Bertram holding Cravs back....and finally gives. “Okay. But if this fertilizer isn’t up to par, we have the right to get a refund. Eh, hope this stuff really is a wholesome meal for the plants.”

Cravendy Hound isn’t able to break free from Windy’s grasp, and he buys enough time for the botanist to agree. This, in turn, is enough to defuse Crav’s fighting spirit.

Bertram Windshadow manages -- by some miracle -- to hold back the tide of fury boiling over in Cravendy, though he does hope and pray that the botanist either hurries or keeps his mouth shut a much a possible. He doesn't want to have to explain to the Wailers why there's a botanist outcold that smells of spoiled fish.

Bertram Windshadow heaves a sigh of relief as the tension seems to settle.

Aislinn North shakes her head. Did he take them for fools? The price was already discounted. All she could see was him opening up the crates of decaying fish and sending it straight back. They'd be in the same situation a sennight from now. "Alright, that's fair." she allowed. "But if you decide it's  not up to snuff, we'd like to come back and see the plants that you feel didn't benefit before issuing a refund." she replies.

Cravendy Hound - The man nods. “That’s fair. I’ll bring this up with the guildmaster and we can draw up official agreements, refunds and conditions included.”

Cravendy Hound shakes her arm free from Windy. Thank the twelve for Lin. It looks like she has something to say, but wants to wait until they leave.

Bertram Windshadow exhaled a sigh of relief as the botanist seemed to take to the demand reasonably. "And I'll be happy to come in and check up routinely for a moon or so!" He fully pulls his hands away from Cravendy as he decides to trust the roegadyn not to throttle the botanist now.

Aislinn North nods as the polite smile returns to her face. "We'll leave you some samples now." she waved to the decaying fish Cravendy had brought with her. "And we'll stop back later to sign the agreement. I'm excited to see how the plants here are going to take off once you start rotating in our fertilizer." turning to Cravendy and Bertam she gives them a look of utter relief. "We'll be getting out of your way now."

Bertram Windshadow nods in fervent agreement with Aislinn before looking over to the botanist with a small smile, "It was ... uh ... a pleasure doing business with you. I look forward to speaking again!" He then looks back to his two companions and quiets his tone slightly, "That ...wasn't so bad?"

Cravendy Hound places the rotting fish at the farmer’s feet and then backs away awkwardly. The farmer simply stares down at it and then at the three as they make their way out. The silence that follows is particularly uncomfortable for Cravs. What an experience.

Aislinn North Is only too happy to beat a hasty retreat before the botanist tries to change his mind.

(Cravendy Hound) lmao I like to think we ICly RAN AWAY )) (Bertram Windshadow) (( "Scatter!" )) (Aislinn North) (( Ahahaha! 'They bravely ran away'))

Cravendy Hound: “Pah, fish this high quality, and it’s just goin’ straight into the ground. What a goddamn waste!” Cravs bemoans, her agitated expression more intense than usual. She rubs the space between her brows. “Maybe there’s an underground market for this kinda stuff...I know there’re miqo’te in the woods that might be more open to eatin’ fish.”

Aislinn North Once they're far enough away, a rush of breath escapes her. "Alright, the important thing is we've dealt with the spoiling fish problem. From here on out, we can try and find takers who are actually interested in the fish as -food-."

Bertram Windshadow follows behind as they make their hasty retreat from the botanist's guild, leading the chocobo along with him. "That *does* take care of the more critical problem." He turns his attention to the crates on the chocobo's sides. "That just leaves the fresher catch..."

Aislinn North "Hopefully there are people around here a litt more open minded than that...." she stops herself. "man." from the stress she puts on the word it was clear she had something more colorful in mind. "Miqo'te, you say? Maybe some Keeper tribes?"

Cravendy Hound: “I can’t believe that man!” Cravs hears an echo of herself gently speaking back - but you started it. Undeterred, she shakes her head. “And he ‘as the gall to complain about how the fish stinks, when they’re usin’ literal shite as fertilizer too? Bloody shove it.”

Bertram Windshadow: "Sometimes it's the novelty of the stink that really gets people ..."

Cravendy Hound: “We’re givin’ ‘em the caviar of plantfood, and then ‘e’s askin’ for a discount, for samples,” Cravs grumbles. She sighs. But Lin was right, at least the problem of Heartwood filling up with fish was dealt with.

Aislinn North Nods to Bertram. "Shite, they're used to. Fish, not so much. But once they see the results, they'll stop complaining.

Bertram Windshadow nods his head slowly before lifting a hand and rubbing the back of his neck, "So ... we should look for one of the keeper tribes out in the Shroud?"

Cravendy Hound: “Worth a shot. A lot of ‘em ‘ave been branded as poachers though, so they might be ‘ard to find. Maybe Riylli could ‘elp us get a foot in the door.”

Aislinn North offers up a placating hand. "But think about it this way. You don't have to open that jack-in-the-box of decaying fish now. That joy belongs to him." she looks to Bertram and nods. "I think that's our best bet. Especially if that man's attitude is prevalent around these parts."

Aislinn North "Aye, maybe Riylli could help, if she's willing."

Cravendy Hound smiles smugly at the thought of the man dealing with /the/ wet crate. Hopefully, he wouldn’t return the merchandise, but still. It felt good to be petty.

Cravendy Hound: “That’ll be a once in a lifetime experience for ‘im. Windy, make sure ye run at least a malm away, in case ‘e wants to open it the moment ye deliver it.”

Bertram Windshadow glances over at Aislinn at the mention of pulling in extra help. "Well, I certainly wouldn't turn down someone that's more familiar with them. I can't say I know which would be the best to approach with this sort of offer." Bertram has chosen not to think about the horrifying pandora's box of the sea.

Bertram Windshadow looks at Cravendy at *that* comment. "I'll be ready to run ... don't you worry."

Aislinn North Seeing she had successfully hit the mark with appealing to Cravendy's vengeful side, she turns back to Bertram. "We'll have to move quickly though if we don't want the latest shipment to end up in the ground again." she glances over at Cravendy. "Can you try and track her down? See if she'd help us and soon?"

Cravendy Hound: “I can catch ‘er at the next bar night. Riylli...I don’t know where she lives, actually. She’s the type to drop in and out at ‘er own schedule,” Cravs notes. “Meanwhile, Windy, if ye can find others that might be interested, other Keeper clans or otherwise. I’ve found that when ye ‘ave rules on what ye can and can’t ‘ave, there are always interested parties willin’ to pay premium for illicit goods.”

Aislinn North snorts delicately. If that wasn't the gods honest truth, she didn't know what was.

Cravendy Hound gives the two a hearty thumbs up. A job well done! Well, it was mostly Lin, and 

Bertram keeping the situation from diving nose-down into disaster. But regardless, a job well done.

Bertram Windshadow nods his head firmly, "Yeah, I can do some scouting ..." his gaze drifts in the direction of the chocobo at his side, "And ... I'll keep these crates on ice as best I can."

Aislinn North glances at the crates. "We've got some more ice crystals back in Heartwood's lab. We can fill them up."

Bertram Windshadow reaches up and scratches the neck of the chocobo fondly before looking back to the others, "Compared to selling spoiled fish selling edible fish should be a breeze, right?"

Aislinn North "One would hope." she returns dryly

[heartwoodventures]

Heartwood Halloween Party!

The mercenary company took it easy for a change and with the help of two tiny ghost hosts had a night of fun dressing up, playing games, eating cookies and being picked off one by one by a werewolf in their midst! Sus.

[heartwoodventures]

Primary Access Required: Thy Ending

With the help of a few members Heartwood now has the location of the final beast created by the mad scientist, their job? Destroy it at all costs.

Full Logs Here

From Nys (The amazing GM of this adventure!):

This arc has come to a close, after an almost year long story I appreciate every single one of you that joined in this story. I enjoyed watching you all grow and making new friends along the way. After this I'll be doing holiday events until Endwalker drops, where Heartwood will be going on their next story arc.

[lettersnorth]

Ready to go deal with a madman’s abomination. Like you do.

[heartwoodventures]

Dirtpatch Restoration: Empty Space

Dirtpatch has been brought back from ruin, and it’s doing better than ever! Pearly white buildings stand proud atop sea cliffs. Verdant farms and the endless sky serve to frame the picturesque village. Though the paint has yet to dry, Dirtpatch has already become a mecca of seafaring activity.

However, although the village is restored, the wounds in peoples’ hearts will take much longer to heal. Everyone in Dirtpatch has lost someone - a partner, a child, a relative, a friend - to the Sahagin plot that set this all in motion. No longer distracted by pressing matters, the villagers reflect on what it took to get where they are today.

Heartwood is invited to the unveiling of a final project, something that the villagers have been working on in secret.

Summary:

Party hats, fruit punch, and paper lanterns, oh my! Alongside familiar villager friends, Heartwood steps into the middle of a boisterous celebration. The final project turns out to be a memorial - a stone fountain carved into the shape of a tree with a message set at its center on a brass heart plaque.

“A thousand thanks to the heroes of Heartwood! May their deeds be remembered by those before, now, and after.”

When night falls, the villages release a small fleet of lanterns out to sea to honor those they have lost. It has been a long journey, but despite all the challenges, Dirtpatch carries on, determined to live twice as hard for those who could not make it. The winds have changed for the better.

Full Logs Here!

>> DIRTPATCH RESTORATION COMPLETE!

[heartwoodventures]

Dirtpatch Restoration: Dododoom

More villagers have returned to Dirtpatch, and they busy themselves with restoring their home. However, there lies a task that none of them could possibly face...the ever growing legion of fat dodos that nest atop the old farmlands. Roehnebb Styrnsyn, interim mayor, is at his wits end as the rotund birds seem to multiply at an exponential rate. Scare them off or turn them into mincemeat - just get rid of them!

Summary:

After rescuing Roehnebb from being crushed by dodos, the villager charges after what he calls the “megadodo” - an abnormally massive bird responsible for coordinating the attacks on Dirtpatch. The reward for taking out the beast? Massive eggs, a mysterious wall painting, and an end to the dodo onslaught. The eggs are eventually eaten by Dirtpatch’s villagers...all but one, that has since gone missing. A problem for another day.

With the dodos taken care of, Roehnebb is able to fix the farmlands.

Full Logs Here!

[heartwoodventures]

Primary Access Required: Run, Rabbit, Run

Aislinn made her way into the room, giving a wordless nod of greeting to those already gathered. She zeroed in on a chair and sat slowly and stiffly down onto it, letting go a breath as she did so.

Alexi took a glance around as he came down the stairs. "Oh! So there are others around. I was beginning to wonder."

Aislinn lifted her gaze to the Hrothgar as he appeared at the edge of the room. "Aye. Here and there. As I understand it, there's to be a meeting shortly." she said, her subdued voice barely carrying across the way.

Alexi quirks a brow and leans against the door frame, arms folding. "A meeting? What about?"

Haila glanced back to nod in greeting towards Alexi. "A discussion of a not so recent expedition that one of our members organized. But I'll wait for the news to be given more officially in a few moments."

From where he sat on the couch, Mivo'to flickered his eyes, his red companion finally coming to rest atop his waist after a handful of stern glances. "Business as ever. 'Twould seem Heartwood is not to be offered reprise by the Twelve."

Aislinn nodded, glad to let someone else do the talking.

"As much as I wished to call this business the usual... 'Tis not anymore. Not after the near endless time I had with our little mechanical guests to figure out more. But once more, time to wait just a tiny bit for those coming." Haila explained, sighing as she reached for a small canteen on her side to open and take a few sips. Of what, only she knew.

Alexi Grenasch: "Either way, I've been looking for M'shara. She left the Bozjan front before me by quite a while and I had hoped to find her upon my return this morning. She wasn't at her home, so I decided to just wait here for her."

Mivo'to offered a single blink before the Hrothgar's ponderance, his still expression drifting to the slumbering rodent atop his legs. Nary a twitch pulled at his lips, thoughts drifting elsewhere as he offered an idle scratch to the Panda.

Aislinn's gaze skated away from Alexi, also avoiding his words. She just didn't have it in her to say more.

Rising Lotus was mostly watching the fish swim about as she sat  on the counter before the tank, she wasn't quite sure what the latest had been with the whole situation as of late.

Once more, Haila's ears twitched, this time at the sudden sound of the front door bursting open. She stood quickly and rushed to the lobby to check. Upon seeing Altani out of breath on the floor, she went to her side, gently tapping the Viera on the shoulder as if to let her know that they were there.

Alexi sat up straight, his ears perking up at the sound from the other room! With a grunt, he stood and followed...

Mivo'to followed the attention of his Panda as its eyes snapped to the thunder of the door, swiftly exiting from its brief slumber as it scampered forth. "Twelve's name..." He murmured softly, chasing after the inquisitive beast - Only to grind to a halt upon the scene.

Altani rolled onto her back curling her fist into a ball smacking herself on her chest another loud cough coming out of her, she stayed silent for a moment before sitting up glancing to the crowd facing her, she never did much like crowds and now it only made her feel even worse as she tried to speak up "W-We...Shite...W-We went l-look for Vanriri..." Whatever she was trying to say it clearly wasn't easy as she choked up looking down at her thighs.

N'yami ears flicked as her ruby gaze turned towards the Viera who came bursting through the door, pushing herself off the pillar the Seeker turned to see what was going on. Why was Altani out of breath? The hell's happened? The confusion was clear on Yami's face, maybe she needed to come around the house more to keep up with everything.

Aislinn pulled herself to her feet, her expression blank as she followed in the others' wake.

Rising Lotus followed suit, wanting to see the commotion her self, and it felt kind weird to just be sitting there alone.

Mivo'to Laaski twisted his figure around, eyes falling upon the recently vacated study. With a raised finger, the Keeper would gesture forth, ears flapping through the air. "Pray, might we make arrangement for the Miss? She is clearly in a state of shock." He spoke, attention trailing to and fro between the trio and their newly arrived Viera. "I shall fetch water - Poor Miss is probably running on naught but willpower."

Haila Wetyios 's expression turned rather grim, so the news she'd suspected and found data on were probably about to be confirmed. She looked up towards Mivo'to and nodded. "Aye, bring some water quick. And you, take a breath first... We'll need you to tell us what happened with a clear head."

Aislinn stared at Mivo'to a moment, as if it was taking her time to process his words. Then, with an inhalation of breath, she pushed herself forward towards the Viera. "Can you stand? Do you want to come sit down?" she asked with perfunctory calm, eyes moving critically over the woman, looking for any glaring injuries.

Alexi just stood back, letting clearer heads and more careful hands tend to the woman. He just watched. He'd been waiting all morning for M'shara after he'd returned and been told she'd gone out to help someone. Now, he was getting a bad feeling from this new arrival...

Altani shook her head after a few moments, listening to reason for once she tried to simply breath, but as Aislinn spoke to her she gave a light shrug "I-Im fine...j-just-" She coughed again her throat was probably akin to a desert at the moment, but at a glance she seemed to be fine more or less, her boots were caked in mud and her clothes were drenched as she reached up pulling her goggles down around her neck, a clear ring of dust and grime surrounding her eyes "N-Not good news ive got..."

"Aye... Such seems to be the only thing that comes through these doors these days. Here, can you stand?" Haila offered a hand to the woman, then nodded towards the library." I think everyone present needs to hear what you've been through." she added, still looking intently at the Viera.

Rising Lotus inched in a bit closer to hear the woman speak, keeping enough distance where she wouldn't be in the way. She had only spoke with Haila breifly about the whole big thing they were dealing with early in the week, so she was curious what the latest was.

Aislinn's lips twitch downward at that. The only sign of any sort of expression at all. Haila was right, and though Aislinn had no idea what news Altani brought she could only wonder how many hits Heartwood would be required to take. Awkwardly, she pulled herself back to her feet, trying to be mindful of her injuries that were still on the mend. "Aye. She's right." Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Mivo'to had reappeared and made way for him.

Mivo'to reemerged after sometime, a swooshing wooden tankard clasped tightly between his palms. "Apologies, apologies, nary a clean mug in this-" He rambled, taking a plunging step forth to present the tankard of water before the Viera. "Easy does it, my Lady, easy does..."

Altani glanced away from the gaze but she took the hand shakily standing slowly pushing most of her weight onto Halia slowly wandering wherever Haila took her, but at the sight of the tankard she didnt wait a moment before grabbing it from Mivo'to chugging it down in seconds not even thinking as she dropped it the the floor "O-M-My bad..."

The uncanny speed at which the tankard had been down at least brought Haila a brief smirk. Altani didn't seem injured, that was enough for her. "Don't worry about it. Come along.." she said, leading the Viera back into the library area for her to take a seat.

Aislinn trailed after them and returned to her seat, watching Altani with a note of trepidation. She knew she had best steel herself for whatever was coming next. Mivo'to positioned themself far from the scene, arms folding upon his chest as an askewed gaze met the two Viera.

Alexi was the last to follow, taking his previous spot against the door frame. His tail tip still flicked harshly back and forth, telling of his anxiousness.

Altani let out a quiet sigh, knowing everyone's eyes were on her as she leaned back, she new it was pointless to beat around the bust so she simply let it out "...Vanriri, M-M'shara a-and...G'lewra were all...taken by the u-uh..the spider shites....allagan things...a-ate em or something...?" She didnt really know how it worked or what the hells she'd seen "T-Think they arent dead though like...ate em weirdly...pulled em into its guts with lie...m-metal tendrils or something..."

Haila nodded slowly as Altani spoke, even opting to cross her arms as she leaned absentmindedly against the couch, piecing together Altani's tale in her mind. "It took them then." she merely commented, waiting for the rest to process what had been just said before sharing what she knew.

Mivo'to lifted a brow, lips parting as an ever concerned breath passed between his fangs. 'Ate', was it? He had little knowledge on their machinations, but such a description can hardly mean anything pleasent. "Miss Haila? Any trace of what she may be describing?" He questioned, turning to their resident expert.

Aislinn tensed as she stared at Altani. So that's where G'lewra had gone. Rushing headlong after Vanriri. She shot a glance to Haila, recalling the dissection they had previously performed. "Wonder if that's what the thing's blasted cavity is for. Hauling people."

"I wouldn't put it past it's design. Who knows, maybe one of Dellont's projects for the future was to design a creature that could carry the injured back into safety like that.." Haila then shook her head some, clearly the woman had disdain for all these machinations. "How twisted can something get from it's original intention? But then again, it wouldn't have any Allagan in it if didn't do that..."

N'yami's tail tip flicked and her eyes narrowed into slits, the corner of her mouth twitched as if wanting to curl into a snarl but she controlled herself. She wasn't mad at the Viera but mad that the allagan bastards had taken those precious to her.

"They're eatin' folks now? Wern't they jus'..." Rising Lotus twirled her hand around as she tried to remember "Drainin' em before?" she shifted a bit at the thought of being eaten by one of those things, shuddering a bit.

"They were probably secured after being stunned." Haila explained as she heard her name being called, then glanced over to Altani. "Did they all fall in combat? Or was something shot akin to a lightning shard that made them fall and unable to move? Or did you see anything like I described?"

"Mayhaps it is a method of entrapment, Lady Lotus. A means to save them for a later date?" Mivo'to offered.

"I 'spose they are spiders...sorta...an' real ones do that too, web 'em up an' all." Rising Lotus replied.

"I can only fathom why - Least they are in need of a sudden surge of aether." Mivo'to paused, a chill creeping upon his neck as a shudder passed over his shoulders, head shaking to and fro as he turned centerward. "I would rather not ponder the possibilities of such a cause..."

Alexi tensed as soon as he heard M'shara's name. His lips peeled back slightly and every exhale of breath carried the low rumble of a growl. His gaze flicked between Altani and Haila. "Took them? Took them where?"

Altani nodded softly at Halia "They seemed to be uh...sleepin I guess, was to busy running and all to look...but uh...they were headed for Coerthas...n-now that im im thinkin about it..." She shook her head for a moment "W-well...honestly think its was a trap...soon as we found Vanriri they were on us..." She cursed herself, in hindsight it seemed so obvious to her that it was some sort of trap she'd done similar in the past now she was falling for the same trick.

Haila nodded once more, then looked down at the ground for a few moments. Where to even start? First, she looked up at Alexi, the one who probably needed the most answers now. "So the team that G'lewra assembled a bit recklessly didn't go too well... As far as we know, those creatures prey on any that have a gift for magic. So no doubt they had a field day.." she told him before looking back over to the group. "I won't bash G'lewra for going off like this, she must have had a plan to be tracked---at least... But are we all in agreement that no groups will be formed to go after them unless we have a clear countermeasure to their stun shots and the hordes in which they come?"

Mivo'to pursed a bottom lip, fangs pressing softly into its purplish flesh. It was clear the Miqo'te was in thought, off-colored eyes raging with one another as Haila's words echoed upon his pointed ears. Sit back? How could they? Every hour, every minute might very well stand as the last, a fate let pass. "I doubt we can sit idly by. I have no intention of rushing headlong, but surely there are measures that can be taken now - Learn our enemy's weakness, locate where our friends are kept."

"It does seem out of character for her, to be so reckless." Aislinn allowed. She didn't really need time to consider Haila's words, to her mind it was just logical. She nodded in agreement with the Viera. "I think that only makes sense." she turned her attention to Mivo'to. "Most of us recall rushing headlong into a fight not too long ago with no idea what we were dealing with. We'll work fast, but we need a plan." she told him.

Rising Lotus nodded, as much as she was generally all for jumping head first into danger, a whole swarm of was a bit out of her comfort zone, and Haila knew what she was talking afterall. "Before they only went after folks that used uh, healin' magic right? Or mostly seemed, so does that mean they've gotten a bigger...appetite?

Alexi calmed somewhat as Haila gave him her brief explanation, his fangs retracted though that growl in his tone of voice persisted. He gave a slight nod to Haila. "Agreed. We wouldn't want to walk into another trap..." he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Though I WILL be assisting in the rescue effort. And anything else I can do to help prepare, I will."

N'yami kept her mouth shut as she listened but not only was her mother taken but so were her friends, her tail flicked behind her as plans started form in her head and what she could possibly do to save those that were taken. She would need to go track down her husband after this.

"We won't stand idly no, but at least it would be better to have countermeasures. At least a suit that is impervious to their stuns or a disruptor of the signal they all exchange." Haila commented, looking over to the Miqo'te. "If no one was drained of their aether there and then like the bodies reported around Coerthas, we can assume everyone that was taken is needed alive at the very least."

Altani stayed silent for a few moments as she recalled what all had happened, she then recalled something G'lewra had said "They did somethin odd, they just ignored me, as if I was a rock in the middle of a river they just went around me, even if I was fightin think its the only reason im here right now...but Lewra said it was my lack of mis-er Aether...?" She didn't seem so sure of herself as she finished speaking "Maybe...could send some of us...non spell casters lovers in to scout around...?"

Mivo'to offered a silent glance upon the room, an idle hand draping free of his chest, and upon his hilt, squeezing upon its worn, sturdy pommel. "Would it be unfounded to say your previous specimen has provided all it may, Lady Haila? Such a scouting party could also look to procuring another - Preferably intact."

"If that's the case, that they just flat out ignore those with lower registers of aether, then that might be best." Aislinn sighed. "As it is, I only have one aether dampener prototype ready to go."

"It's...given me quite a lot of data yes. We currently have three in our posession, two that I've almost finished fixing, and one intact. But they're all rather small." Haila informed them. At Aislinn's new information though, she glanced between her and Mivo'to. "While I would be opposed to you trying to find one by yourself given that you can be a target for them as well Mivo.. If you had a way of cloaking some of your aether, that would change things. A medium sized one would come in handy right now. Even if to establish a stronger connection to their base."

"How do you capture such things, aside from jus' smashin' 'em. Is there some way to jus' turn them off?" Rising Lotus asked.

Mivo'to trailed his gaze between the studious Haila and Aislinn, a faint hum occupying his throat. One, two, three blinks before he parted his lips, a rush of air passing between them. "Have you any means of baiting such contraptions out?" He questioned, furthering a nod to Rising's own inquiry.

N'yami raised her hand. "Can use me as bait." She said speaking up for the first time since the meeting started. "I have a lot of aether but it's not exactly aether they'd want to get their hands on."

Aislinn considered that a moment. "I would think a large discharge of aether in the area of Coerthas we know them to be should do it." she mused. "If the party is made up of those of a less magical bent, crystals might work." she stopped and looked over at N'yami. "Ahh...even better."

"As far as I'm concerned... Only aether draws them out, and they seem to be expanding territory too. Unles..." Haila trailed off, ears perking at a reckless idea that didn't seem too bad anymore. "Unless you use the smallest spider in our posession to send a signal to bring in a bigger one. You'd need to be aware of where their territory ends, but it could work. As for disabling them, while I don't have full access to this scientist's signals, the core is allagan, faking a signal from their original creators could work."

Haila glanced over to the volunteer for baiting. Her gaze softened a bit with a glint of worry. "You must be G'lewra's daughter right?... If only our reasons to meet were brighter than this..."

"An' if that don't work at least we could jus' break it's legs off, probably not too much important in those right?" Rising Lotus nodded confidently at her idea, cocking her head a bit as she thought it through a bit more. "..Though they could probably still call for it's friends if the main part is still squirmin'. Only if the first part don't work then."

Altani got a rather dumb idea but she spoke up anyway "Could get a uh, cage split it in half stick on of you in one side and the spider thing in then other? Dunno how strong the cage would have to be though." Alt shrugged lightly glancing around the room "Dunno about the things calling for its friends though...suppose just have to be faster then them? Or could bring a carriage?"

Alexi was doing his best to follow along, just listening to what the others were proposing. "Hm... if you already have specimins, broken or not, why do you need another? How will it get us into their lair to free the others?"

"'Twoud be a swift operation, nary a Ilm for failure. It would serve well if both our 'bait' and our poacher be familiar with Coerthea's terran - Or, at the very least, capable of quickly traversing the snow." Mivo'to openly pondered, flickering his attention to Altani. "Aye, holding a party in reserve would be in good order - Provide a swift getaway, and ensure the path is clear." The Keeper agreed.

"Probably wonderin' how in the hells someone so gentle and well spoken ended up with me as a kid." N'yami sighed softly to more or less collect her thoughts. "But yea, I'm her daughter, but from what you and the Old man has said these things detect aether and they go for ones with large amounts of it. If I can get a decent sized one to come after me I should be able to lock it down."

Haila nodded towards N'yami, "Aye, that would be of great help." she said to her before turning over to Alexi. "Because I need a bigger one to test their abilities... And because I may be able to snatch more data from their creator from here already." she explained, clearly reluctant as she stepped forward and opened up her strange tome as she set it down in the middle of the room. Holograms and formulas coming to life as very blurry images started to project among a constant flickering. The images in question being brief sights of doors and tubes, yet their contents were too blurred to see, one would say it wasn't even enough to call it proof of their friend's whereabouts. "I managed to get this from the smaller ones, but I can't clear the images or any recordings yet... There's also unfinished words encrypted, but I need more data to decipher them."

Alexi stepped closer as the display lit up, resting his hands on the back of the sofa and leaning forward to try and see better. He breathed a sigh as it all seemed to sink in. "Apologies, this is all quite new to me... So, we don't even know where they've been taken, other than somewhere in Coerthus?"

As Aislinn watched the flickering images a furrow formed between her brows. She couldn't be sure of what it was she was looking at. "Are these...visual recordings from the bioweapons? ...spiders. Old footage of their return point?"

Rising Lotus watched all the information float around, eyes darting around from image to image but not really understanding much of it.

"I'd say recordings, or images exchanged with the other ones. But we might be able to see where they go if we snatch a more intact and bigger one. Their signal reaches so far that even from here I can catch small bits of it. But yes, all we know so far is that it's somewhere in Coerthas, and a tad deep into that land at that." Haila said.

Alexi takes another deep breath and lets it out slowly to try and calm himself. As much as he wished it wasn't so, this plan was their only chance. "Sorry to interupt. My worry seems to be getting the better of me. Please, continue."

Altani squinted at the floating images, not really being able to make much sense of any of it she simply listened along whatever it was from the sounds of it it was promising, trying to not let herself fall asleep as her exhaustion caught up with her

Mivo'to trailed his eyes through the rough visuals, lips parting in a silent murmur, seemingly in a deep reflection with himself as he made note of what he may - Which, admittedly, was hardly much.

Aislinn nodded. "Alright, so if I'm understanding this, we need another one of those bioweap...spiders in order to collect more data and pinpoint where our members were taken. Then, the plan is to send in a team made up of non-spell casters on a rescue mission?" she asked for clarification. Just to be sure she was following all of this. Admittedly, she hadn't been her best lately.

"You've all the right to feel like that. I just wish I had more answers for now. But the images I got are very little right now." Haila said, nodding once as she waved her hand at the images, some of the clearer ones coming into view. There was a clear vision of a snake in one, and another one showed wings, and then a random scalekin that you could find anywhere in the land. "Tis the plan I can offer, at least for now. Lest I choose a more reckless option."

Aislinn made a low, uneasy noise in the back of her throat. "Well, let's try not so reckless first."

"I doubt we are short of volunteers for our first undertaking...Tis only a matter of who we choose to send." Mivo'to said.

Rising Lotus looked to Aisllinn "An' like you said, we only got one uh...anti...magic...thing, that we can use. Shouldn't be too hard to choose the non-magic folks, it's jus' that one we need to be considerin' a bit more."

"It wouldn't hurt to have a backup group watching over those that go and try to bait too..." Haila added

"Of course, I volunteer. Aside from ammunition imbuement, I've little in the way of aetheric skills or magick." Alexi spoke up.

Aislinn looked over at Rising. "Aye. Just the one. And like anything having to do with aether, it comes with a price. Can't get something for nothing. In this case, it'll dampen a person's signature but in return casting anything is that much harder. Like wearing weights." she paused. "But if it's needed, we have it."

"So you or N'yami could do it then..." Haila said, trailing off.

"Makes sense...Jus' like usin' armor I guess." Rising turned her attention back to Haila. "I can help out too, I'm used to travelin' over there, an' I ain't ever really done much magic ever."

Mivo'to curled his digits across the hilt of his blade, a rhythmic 'slip' sounding as he idly removed and insert the blade from its sheath. "Should you be in need of a soul to physically render the target null, I would like to volunteer. Familiar enough with those snow-touched wastes to make a swift departure."

Haila glanced between the two new volunteers. "That would be good then.. I'll have a device ready to try and disable the spider, at least on a small scale. I doubt it is possible to down the whole horde unless it's a direct command from their creator." she sighed. "I wished I could be of help there, but all I can do is give the tools. Lest we give that mad man more reasons to toy with Heartwood." "Probably goes without sayin, but well I can help, figure I can just scout around or whatever's needed, done a few jobs in the area so I’m a little familiar." Altani said.

"You also were the last person that saw how far they've reached into the Shroud if I'm not wrong. Drawing a small map of the route G'lewra's group did could help, as well as noting down where any report of dead bodies has taken place." Haila noted as she nodded once more. "I won't accompany you, so I believe you all who wish to go should decide on the roles each one will play. All that I ask is that no one is reckless and to withdraw immediately if more than one spider shows up."

"We've a plan, and we have our players." Mivo'to said, a previously lost spark returning to their tone as they lifted their arms, a closed fist punching into an open palm. "Let's get our girls."

Haila couldn't help but smirk a bit. "Aye, time to get everyone back safe and sound."

Alexi grunted and gave a nod to Mivo'to, then looked around to the others. "Agreed. Our friends must come home."

Rising Lotus grinned at Mivo's enthusiasm. "Aye, we'll get them back in no time, an' squash any of them things that stand in our way!"

"But I do get the ok if a large group of those spider things come that I get to at least blow up a few, yea? Don't worry I'll make sure the large one stays safe." N'yami asked.

"As long as you don't let them overwhelm you. Or get anywhere close enough to shoot a stun bullet at you, I won't complain. A whole horde coming at you isn't pretty, and I wouldn't doubt that the man behind this would still go for someone with aether related to one of his captives."

"Might be smart to have someone high up watching over everything, so if a horde of em shows we know before theyre all over us." Altani said.

Aislinn gave a single nod of her head. She turned to pass N'yami a look over her shoulder. "Before you go, the prototype is on your mother's desk." her gaze faltered a moment. "Just... cuff it to your wrist. The stone will take care of the rest."

N'yami offered a small nod. "I'll be sure to grab it, if any of ya need me I'll be in my shop off in the Goblet."

"When do we leave? Tonight? First thing come morning?" Alexi asked, eager to get moving.

"I'd say first thing in the morning. Give Altani some time to rest at least." Haila said, nodding towards the half dozing Viera. "The quicker the better, but as always, don't rush in, that goes for everyone involved."

"Agreed." Aislinn added firmly.

"Plenty an hour for rest - With such an undertaking, I would do well we all approach as alert as we may be. Our present optimism can turn head in a mere moment." Mivo'to nodded.

Alexi gave a nod and a grunt. "Then I'll be staying here to be as prepared as I can be for the morning."

Haila nodded "There's a few guestrooms open, and more than enough supplies to stock up on before leaving."

"If no one has much to share, I'd say we're set for now. I may need to find an extra hand on Allagan work though if anyone has any good contacts to put to use..."

"I can take ya to the Old Man one of these suns, he's been workin' on one of those spiders as well and he's been researchin' allagan for gods knows how long." N'yami offered.

Haila Wetyios blinked in surprise. "Please do... Two or three heads are better than one, especially when this is getting more and more personal with each loss."

If Altani had much to say she wasnt going to be saying much as she slumped over on the couch a low snore could be heard as she dozed off.

"Pray, if I may trouble you for your notes later this evening, Lady Haila. I would much prefer to know the workings of a contraption I will be so 'intimately' close to." Mivo'to asked.

Haila nodded, "I'll be sure to pass them onto you as soon as I can."

Alexi huffed out a breath. "If that's it then, I'm going to retire for the evening. I'll be in one of the guest rooms if anyone wants to go over strategy."

Mivo'to nodded, adjusting his coat. "May Twelve grant you their blessing - Heavens know we will be needing it."

N'yami pushed herself off the wall and gave a small stretch. "I'm gonna head back to the Goblet, if any of ya need weapons to pierce through the metal those things are made of give me a call and I'll work on somethin' for ya."

Rising Lotus looked to be mulling something over during the tail end of their meeting, but seemed to shake off whatever she was thinking of. "Tomorrow then, spider catchin'. Spose I ought to make suer everything is in workin' order."

Alexi quirked a brow at N'yami. "Are their hides any tougher than Garlean steel? Because I have no problem with that."

N'yami grinned. "In my shop there is, ya wanna come to the shop? I got extra beds so ya can crash there if ya like and we can work on somethin' for ya."

As the others worked out the details of their plan of attack, Aislinn rose from her seat. They appeared to have it from here and she still wasn't 100%. She needed to find some rest. "Just...try to all come back in one piece. Aside from the obvious reasons, of not wanting to lose another person, the clinic is short-staffed." she said as she made her way out. "Be safe."

Mivo'to lifted the Panda of his shoulder by its scruff, setting it beside his boots. "Pray, should any update arise, reach for my shell - I shant be but a hour's travel away." He spoke, drifting from the study.

N'yami offered a small wave. "Take care and get some rest."

Alexi nodded to N'yami, the first hint of a smile cracking the corners of his mouth. "Sounds like a much better option. Lead the way."

Rising Lotus started her way off. "See ya'll tomorrow then, I'll should be up in time otherwise jus' come get me."

[heartwoodventures]

Dirtpatch Restoration: Phase 1 Breaking Ground

After Red Argos’s raids, the town of Dirtpatch is not much more than a pile of burnt rubble and salt-worn ruins. Cravendy wants to change that. Help the villagers move debris, salvage materials, and set up temporary housing. Everyone is determined to start fresh and strong by wiping the slate clean!

Heartwood sails to Dirtpatch, carrying a much needed cargo of building supplies and muscle. After the supplies are painstakingly transported to the camp, the company sets to work on clearing the ground and pitching tents. Engelise and her daughter, Inga, are absolutely thrilled with the outcome. To new beginnings! 

Full Logs Here!