2970/A Journey of 1000 Miles

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A Journey of 1000 Miles
Date of Scene: 05 September 2015
Location: Ala'Rem
Synopsis: The Crystal Caravan meets the Multiverse, and Kyra takes selfies with a moogle.

Squees ensue.

Cast of Characters: Tomoe, Eryl Fairfax, 626, 627, 632, 642, Starbound Flotilla, 675, 815, 866


Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Any individuals who have any methods of detecting poisons or other atmospheric anomalies like the Starbound Flotilla would immediately recognize something about the atmosphere here: it is filled to the brim with what can easily be identified as poison. Not only poison, but also something which seems to be as corrosive as a potent acid; something that would erode mechanical parts almost as easily as flesh if given enough time to do so. This would make the planet itself entirely impregnable were it not for the warpgate situated at the Western extreme of the destination, Tipa, or any other methods of accessing the place without physically passing through the veil such as teleportation. Fortunately, this should not be a concern for any of those elites coming into the region.

    Whatever their chosen path, the multiversal visitors would eventually find themselves at the outskirts of a small hamlet situated on a cliff overlooking the ocean. A wide, wide array of colors filter into the air above the place: the dark reds and yellows of the festive braziers scattered about the streets mingle beautifully with the ethereal cyan emitted by the massive crystal in the city's center to paint a truly beautiful scene. Beneath the latter stone are many, many people whom one would rightly assume to constitute the vale's population, each one dancing in a manner unique to their race. Many of them are too preoccupied with this gleeful charade to so much as notice the newcomers, which grants them all the privacy they should need until they seek attention of their own accord.

    Privacy that, in turn, gives the members of the Crystal Caravan all the time they could possibly need to hail them over. Amalie - a small, redheaded girl with a confident expression and rosy cheeks - is the first to greet them, quite literally bouncing to garner attention. She holds a flattened palm above her head to generate further interest before dashing off in the distance without a word. Lefalsien - a tall, armor-clad boy whose face is obscured not only by a sallet, but a wide-brimmed mage's hat, brings his large, clawlike, fur-flecked hand to his nose in a 'facepalm' gesture before following along behind her. Momo answers each of these actions with a giggle of her own and a polite bow in the direction of the new arrivals, calling Cyneric, a dirty blond-haired boy, to give a like greeting. Once that pair is sure they have their attention more fully, they take a quiet road apart from the busy square that eventually leads the group to a cliff overlooking the emerald sea.

    It's there that Amalie finally rests her feet, putting her balled fists on her hip in full confidence, spiking her lance into the ground beside her. Lefalsien bends down to rest on a log, retrieving a book from his side and opening it to block out the world around him. Momo finds a seat directly across from Lefalsien, taking her seat with much less flair before claiming also a calming breath. She keeps her eyes on the foreigners always after that, never allowing her kindly countenance to waver. Cyneric keeps his hands in his pockets in some meager attempt to 'play it cool', but it's fairly obvious to any and all that he's just as nervous -- if not moreso -- than Momo about this little gathering. Once in a while, one of his hands might meander to massage his neck.

    When they've all gathered, Amalie finally spins around, immediately launching into a volley of her own questions. "Where did you all come from?" "What are your worlds like?" "Do you know how to fight?" All these things and more, each inquiry serving to brighten the already considerable glint in her eyes.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    It is downright miraculous Alwyn didn't get lost on his way. That might be attributed to following Kyra here, though. Or whoever! Someone, anyway. He definitely followed someone. The generic everyman male Hyur (human) is in general steel and leather armor, with a rusted old spear on his back and no helm. He couldn't look more generic if he tried, and probably blends in perfectly if this place has adventurers or heroes just running around.

    Thus the Lancer roams, arriving at the hamlet and watching the festive colors. For a world on the brink of death, they're having a good time! That's good, actually, he was worried this would be... well, depressing, dangerous. Seeing people like that makes him smile.

    Greeted by Amalie and eventually her friends, the man introduces himself too, ALWYN HIGHWIND, ADVENTURER... and not much else. Err, well, slayer of Ramuh, maybe? No, that's way too presumptuous. He'd rather be humble.

    Taken to the square, he scratches the back of his head. "A-Ah, erm, my world, it's... I'm not sure there's much to say. Or where to start. I'm on a quest to find some crystals, I guess, given by a really big crystal, so I thought I should see what other worlds' crystals are like! Yours keep you safe from the Miasma, right? Is that all they do?"

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     The Shivan War is all but over, and Landon al Cid is finally excused from the battlefield. War-weary and eager to escape the chains of his fate for even a brief and fleeting moment, Landon heads off to explore, as is the purpose of the Light Warriors Extraversal Exploration Society.

     The blood of Ramuh makes for a wonderful blessing. It sets him on edge the minute he enters, the sixth sense granted by his Divine ancestor pricking like an alarm. It's uncomfortable in a lot of ways, an unpleasant poisonous *feeling* that looms around him but not *over* him. It's like standing in a barrel of molasses. It makes his skin crawl.

     Perhaps this wasn't going to be a pleasant jaunt to a fascinating new world after all.

     But the hamlet changes his mind. Amidst all this poison, beauty. Landon stands and appreciates the beauty for a long moment, enjoying the view, not merely of the ocean but of the multi-racial harmony. It was something like that, Landon wished, that could be brought to Shiva, and Galianda as a whole. They were all humes, but they fought over nothing. Why couldn't they be like this?

     The Caravan catches Landon's attention, presumably as Landon catches it. Landon is clad, after all, in heavy, shining silver plate mail, with a long purple cape inlaid with elegant designs. At the hailing, he makes his way over, following the eager redhead and the others with curiousity born of youth and excitement born of having just spent the last two months watching snow fall.

     Snow is, on the whole, not very interesting if you aren't a Shivan.

     Landon is formal to a tee, kissing the hands of both the ladies present, and bowing to both of the gentlemen. Amelie's questions are expected, and Landon introduces himself in the process of answering:

     "I am Landon al Cid of the world of Galianda, Prince of the continent of Ramuh. It is a pleasure to meet you." He leaves the description of Galianda to others, though at the question of his combat ability, the young Prince gives a small laugh.

     "I should hope so."

     Then he bows his head poliely at Alwyn. "Sir Highwind. A pleasure, once again."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "Uncertain," Is Lefalsien's ever-so-terse single word reply to Alwyn. Given that he doesn't seek to clarify this answer (and that he doesn't so much as bother to look up from his book when prompted), Momo finishes his statement after a small sigh. "What he means is, we haven't had the means to do extensive study of the crystals for some time. His family, the alchemists, are the only ones here who might know what other properties crystals have, but... they." She glances in his direction. "They're quite detail-oriented and would be remiss in giving us information that they can't be absolutely certain of." That decidedly diplomatic answer garners a roll of Amalie's eyes, a thumbs-up from Cyneric, and infinitely more nothing from the Yuke in question.

    "OH," But Amalie hasn't gotten her word in edgewise! "but -I- would be remiss if I didn't tell you the one other thing we know about them. Bigger crystals like this one are actually able to repel monsters! Pretty cool, huh? We think it's because monsters need the miasma to live, and that's one of the things that made us think that they're linked together somehow." How little they seem to know of something they're so utterly dependent on.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe needed to get out, he seriously did and here she was the posion wouldn't hopefully be as /bad/ for her as a salamander but she pauses as her HUD shows she's got an area debuff. She's going ot be careful and soon the Salamander is out of it, she's pretty easy to spot as she's over six feet tall and clad in a mix of plate and heavy cloth.

She seems curious as she now comes upon the group.

"Earth techinally and yes I do know how to fight miss. So how can we help you I noticed some of the local hazards here. I'm Tomoe the Iron Lily and it's good to meet you all."

Septette Arcubielle (632) has posed:
     Having decided to forgo her usual cloak for this occasion- it makes her mechanical nature that much easier to explain, and the white-and-pink blouse she's picked out makes her seem a tad less threatening- Septette had expected a few strange, if not fearful, glances from this world's inhabitants. Rather than having any synthetic 'skin', the robot girl possesses a flesh-toned exoskeleton that distinctly resembles a human endoskeleton, with black cables and tubes running beneath it; only her face and hands could really pass for human on cursory examination. She's shorter than most of the visitors here, at just five feet tall and with an unhealthily slight (by organic standards) frame, but the folded-up blades on her arms and legs give her a slightly intimidating appearance nonetheless!

     She's pleasantly surprised when the villagers seem too preoccupied with their revels to care about her appearance, and only barely restrains herself from joining in the festivities before she notices Amalie waving and bouncing excitedly! With clanking footsteps, Ms. Arcubielle sets off after the caravan at a respectable clip, leaving odd taloned prints on the ground behind her.

     When she catches up with the group gathering at the cliffside, the arcane war machine gives them a polite curtsy- how old-fashioned!- and sets about answering their questions one by one. "I'm from a world called Etria- you really ought to visit sometime; it's quite beautiful, and I can't do it justice in words. Fighting is one of my few skills of note, sadly- I had ought to be rather good at it, as it's what I was built to do!"

     Sept looks from one member of the caravan to another, soaking in their unique appearances and trying to memorize the details, before piping up with a question or two of her own. "What is Myrrh, exactly? Is it renewable, or finite? And what do you hope to gain through our assistance?"

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "And you, sir. We're all very glad to have you here" Momo stands again to give Landon a quick, casual bow, widening her smile just faintly as a show of warmth. He gets a much more nuanced, nearly fanged grin from Amalie, though, when he answers the question of his martial prowess. "You sound pretty confident!" She nods her head once, resolutely. "Good. We have too many strong people around here who aren't proud of themselves for it! And the ones who /might/ be proud of themselves for it," She says, looking pointedly at Lefalsien, "are too sour and silent to indulge a little self-serving banter now and then." Again, Lefalsien does nothing, and says nothing. Not even when Amalie sticks out her tongue and creeps closer to him, much to her chagrin.

    Amid that, Cyneric picks up for Momo. "I'm Cyneric," He says, before gesturing to each person respectively: "and this is Momo Phi, Amalie, and Lefalsien. Like Momo said, it's good of you to be here!"

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Cirra Constantine is always quiet, and normally reserved. But after last night she seems more... reserved. Her body language marks her as distant, subdued where normally she would be worried about Landon's safety in a new world. She lets the Prince do the introductions while she remains quiet.

    The Judge looks out over the ocean as Landon talks with hte members of the Caravan. When he finally stops - and she's good at timing that - "Cirra Cosntantine Judge of Ramuh, and the Prince's bodygaurd."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
A world covered by an unknown poison that kills people who come into contact with it. The explanation offered by the Crystal Caravan was insufficient to meet all of Souji's queries, nor would they be able to answer them. Because if they knew, they would likely have been able to work around the Miasma in a more definitive fashion.

This bears investigation. Hence, Souji has arrived onsite with his most eccentric researcher to begin getting the job done.

His arrival in the town of Tipa is like observing a stormfront on a summer afternoon. His stoic demeanor and dark clothing contrasts with the festive environment heavily, and the blade at his side is a similar, slightly dissonant punctuation. Looking at him beside Landon al Cid is like looking at opposing illustration panels in a storybook. The Noble Prince and the Dark Swordsman.

As he approaches the central plaza, he crosses his arms, looking up at the gleaming Crystal with a speculative expression, but it does not last long.

He turns, stepping past the dancers without disturbing them. When Amalie bounces at them, Souji glances in her direction, an eyebrow arching inquisitively.

He follows the Caravaners to their small gathering area, the Murasame heir looking over the trio intently, as if looking for something. If he sees it, he does not say, instead executing a bow of his own. His bow is precise, but without flourish or warmth. It is the kind of bow one uses in business: Respect, but distance. "I am Souji Murasame, of the Murasame Zaibatsu. It would take some time to explain our worlds, it is very different from this one..." There is a shift as Souji brushes the hilt of his weapon. "And yes, we can indeed fight."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Momo Phi is the first to take interest in Septette, to whom she gives another bow before moving more immediately, more fluidly into pertinent conversation. "Ah... well. As far as we know, Myrrh is renewable, but it takes a long time to generate. It's a dewlike substance with pronounced magical qualities, and while we only need twelve-some drops to fill our chalice each year, each tree is usually limited to one such drop apiece. Worse, each tree seems to develop only one such drop every two years. Given that, you can see why we sometimes come into conflict over which caravans should recieve which drops. There are only barely enough to sustain us all, and some Myrrh trees... are notably more difficult to reach than others." As far as what they hope to gain through their help, it looks like Cyneric has more to say about that.

    "There are only four of us," He says, "and from what we've heard, the monsters we'll be up against will take all that we have to give and then some. We would want you guys to help us with the fighting most of the time, but other times we would want you to scout ahead, see if there are Myrrh trees at certain spots, and to tell us if any other caravans have their eyes on them. We want to do this in as friendly a way as we can, which is why some advance information would be helpful."

    "Then," He continues, "we'd appreciate it if you guys could help us work toward understanding the miasma a bit on the side. Finding a 'cure', right? You guys seem to have a lot more technological expertise than us, so maybe you have something that could analyze it." He holds his chin a minute before concluding, "And I think that about sums it up."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Afterward, Cyneric gives Tomoe a small nod of recognition, trusting that his brief summary for Septette summed things up for her as well.

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "Bodyguard, huh?" Amalie takes her hands away from her spear, folding them at her chest. "Wow, Confidence Man, you must be pretty important to have a bodyguard on you at all times. Does it ever get annoying?" After several pregnant seconds of obliviousness, she hastily adds, "N-Not... that I'm implying you're bad company, Cirra, just. You know. Personal space and stuff." Ehehehe.

    Crap.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    The Starbound Flotilla is still recovering their strength; the battle at Shiva fucked some of their ships up pretty badly, so they're a little exhausted and a little stressed. However, a certain piratey bird has decided that a cirtain possible chemical compound may possibly have extremely beneficial effects for colonization technologies and they have to go investigate it for greed reasons.

    And so six multicolored beams of brilliant light streak down from the sky, hitting the ground and resolving into humanoid forms, slowly dispersing until they reveal the STARBOUND FLOTILLA!

    Moonfin, the fishman, is in elaborate full-body durasteel armor that looks like a powered cross between a diving suit and a samurai's armor, glowing cyan at the faceplate. Biteblade, the humanoid plant, is in durasteel plating with elaborately carved wood and bone ornaments over glowing powered components that glow an intense green. Pavo the bird-girl wears a pirate-aesthetic set of mesoamerican-style armor, with yellow bands of energized fabric linking the pieces and powering them. Albert the monkey-man is wearing elaborate dystopian commando armor reconstructed with a 'rebel spy' aesthetic: A sleeker faceplate, a slimmer form, and a more chaotic design that integrates thin, resilient plates of durasteel, and lines of bright white. George (just plain human) wears a set of futuristic EVA-combat and exploration armor in a suit that glows a gentle red at the faceplate. Seft, the robotic Flotilla member, is wearing full-on medieval knight armor with a soft energized blue glow below the plates on her body, and especially around the eyes. Each has a heavy industrial-yellow two-pronged plasma-cutter-like tool strapped to their side, a Matter Manipulator.

    They follow along without any issues, until they reach the cliff edge. There, the small crowd of spaceship captains calls out a variety of answers to Amalie's questions.

"We hail from many worlds, and many lands, each more worthy a story of its own than the last. Such an answer would be profoundly difficult to summarize."
"All kind of shitholes though, if you wanna know what they're like. Pretty universally awful stuff, rule o' thumb there."
"Want know if can fight? Can! Floran ssstreongessst fighter! Fight biggessst prey! Ssstab biggessst ssstabs!"
"Aye, lass. Now, a few questions for ye. What exactly does yer myrrh do, all around? Gets monsters away, gets poison away, what else? Make things livable any other ways?"

    Seft and Albert, unlike the other four, aren't speaking much. The former seems agitated in some robotic way; the latter seems like he just doesn't talk by default. They're the ones who start making sure the Core Fleet goes to fuss over Souji and Septette's arrival, and give them the appropriate greetings.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon's smile is wry. "No. Cirra is very important to me. She has never bothered me in the slightest."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Amalie is too flustered to notice the smile, naturally. "Well, good! It's good if you can be friends, too. Good." Phew, save.

    Though for her part, Momo miiight have caught wind of the implications there. She does her utmost to hide a small smile of her own.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Hello!" Kyra seems to pop out of nowhere, peeking from behind Septette after her approach. Having been unsure if she was able to make it to this place at all, her appearance might be a bit of a surprise.

    It's also possible to mistake her for a moogle very briefly as she peeks around her android friend since she definitely is wearing the aforementioned moogle hoodie. It's quite clearly just a hoodie styled to look after a moogle, made from cotton that is not at all fuzzy enough to be mistaken for moogle fur. So fortunately, there is no way she'd be mistaken for wearing a dead moogle around her like some kind of pure evil blackhearted Berserker that kills mooogles.

    "I'm Kyra Hyral, also from Galianda! The most important thing, I think, to note about that place is that it is not blanketed by miasma. We do, however, have monsters! I remember you mentioned having monsters on the broadband. So if there are monsters that have to be fought, we can fight them."

    She steps around Septette fully and grins at her, "Hi Septette! Ooh, hi guys!!" she waves at the Flotilla as well. Kyra seems to be giving Landon but most likely Cirra a bit of distance at the moment. "Hi Alwyn! Hello-ooh..."

    She stares at Lefalsien openly. "What species are you?"

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Cirra looks between Amalie and Landon. "...Even if I do wish he'd listen to me more often." She doesn't seem inclined to comment about being bad company.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    Though he hadn't said anything on the radio, Eryl was listening. He's always listening. And this new world intrigued him. Choked by a constant miasma, they had said. Having surpassed his quota on his travels several days in a row, he slips through the nearest warpgate and heads for the given coordinates.

    Immediately, upon his first breath in the new world, the implants in his lungs detect the trace amounts of miasma, even in this little village, and he coughs. Not only is potent poison, but corrosive too? He's briefly tempted to wrap his tie around his mouth as a makeshift filter, but he would look ridiculous. Also, if there's a village here, it can't be that bad.

    He takes a moment to look around, gazing out at the sea and taking in the surroundings, the festive banners, the glorious glowing crystal (which nets him a slight pang in the head) and the dancing populous. He can't help but smile at the people's good cheer in the face of such a pervasive threat.

    But, his motion trackers ping someone waving out the corner of his eyes! Turning his head, he spots the four members of the caravan. He raises his hand, but the girl is already sprinting off! With a bemused chuckle, he starts to follow her in a smooth jog.

    Coming to a stop on the cliff above the sea, he begins to step a little more carefully. You never know, after all. With a smile and a smooth bow, he introduces himself. "I am Eryl Fairfax, diplomat for the ReGenesis Corporation. I was silent on the radio, but I heard everything. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, all of you."

    He smiles at the machine-gun questions being fired from Amalie, giving a quick answer to each. "I come from a world also reeling from a disaster. I have been dealing with it for quite some time, so I hope my experience will be of use to you. As for fighting, I do not enjoy it, but I am built for it."

    At this point, he looks around at other interested parties, offering greetings to them too. To Landon and Alwyn, he bows his head. "Prince Al Cid, Miss Constantine. It is a relief to see you both back from the war safe." He waves gently at the arriving Flotilla. "George, Albert, Moonfin, Pavo, Seft, Biteblade. A pleasure, as always."

    Listening to Alwyn, he crosses him arms and muses. "Crystals do tend to come up in a lot of mythology as bearers of magical power. I suppose sentient beings are often drawn to the rare and beautiful, aggrandizing them as a result. But when said things are actually magic, that is to be expected." At that point, Souji arrives, and Eryl nods his head. "Mister Murasame, good to see you. Ah, and you as well Miss Hyral," he adds when Kyra pops up. A concerned frown crosses his face, his eyes flick between her, Landon and Souji. Might a fight break out?

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Amalie is -glad- of the opportunity to escape that awkward bit of social hell through conversation with Souji. THANK YOU, SOUJI! Amalie's hands go right back to her hips before she says, "Geez, so everybody here can fight? ... cool." Though her expression may betray a faint trace of disappointment, too; she's always been the big girl here when it comes to fighting! It would kinda suck if she was suddenly closer to one of the lower rungs because there are so many more people now. But... that won't happen! She just has to believe in herself! ... right?

    After a small breath, Amalie asks, "SO, it's neat that you can all fight, but what do you fight with? Swords? Spears? Axes? Bows? ... your hands? I don't really know what else you would fight with, but hey, other worlds and stuff."

    "Magic," Lefalsien adds. Amalie just rolls her eyes again.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    "Haha, yeah, I know the type. People who don't want to talk unless they're totally sure of what they're saying. I guess it's smart to do that for something as important as your crystals though!" Alwyn answers Momo with a nod.

    "That's alright though, I was just curious. So they ward off monsters... always? You never have to deal with monster attacks in places protected by crystals? I wish we had that back home! The crystals we put in towns are just for teleportation. People can come and go from any town with one, but that's all they do. Sometimes monsters or beastmen try to steal them."

    He nods to Landon, too! In a greeting way.

    "I'm not sure how helpful I'd be figuring the miasma out though, sorry. I can fight, I guess! But if your crystals ward away monsters, I wonder if you even have a use for adventurers like me...?" Maybe he missed an important thing, but surely that'll give one of the Caravan members a chance to correct him.

    He turns to Eryl, then, nodding. "I can understand that! Crystals are pretty, even without any powers. Those from my world can be charged with Aether-- ah, magic-- so that makes them valuable. I guess your term would be... battery? That, and the big ones teleport you to other big ones. Really handy. I didn't know our entire world was actually a big talking crystal until... a short while back. It was a shock."

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     "Cirra and I use our Law Cards, which produce barriers and other magical effects. I would give you a demonstration, but it would drain my magic, and I would rather not before the battle begins," Landon admits.

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "Actually," Cyneric looks to Pavo, here, "Myrrh trees are more wont to /attract/ monsters; it's the crystals that keep them away. That's what's so weird about the way things work here: in order to keep our crystals tempered, we have to go get Myrrh from places with massive concentrations of the very things it keeps away. This is why we would die out if no one could fight. Other than that, it..." He stops to rub the back of his neck again.

    "Magic," Lefalsien repeats. Cyneric's eyes widen again in a noticeable 'oh yeah' moment. "That's right, actually! Crystals are magical catalysts -- they gather aether in the environment and make magic easier to use. That's... actually kind of why mages are so rare. People don't have many crystals to spare in the making of staves, but... well. Lefalsien has one, so we just count ourselves lucky.

    "Yeah," Amalie's voice is steeped in sarcasm, "reaalll lucky, Cyn." As always, Momo just giggles.

Septette Arcubielle (632) has posed:
     Septette's eyes brighten (literally) in curiosity as she listens to Momo's explanation of the Myrrh trees, and her ear-fins twitch slightly to angle themselves for optimal recording quality. "I see... Etria has several magical trees as well, though they're large enough to be seen across most of the continent. I don't think you've any like that," she comments, briefly scanning the horizon. "But perhaps sharing information about Yggdrasil and the Myrrh trees could lead us closer to discovering the true nature of each?"

     She 'winks' at Kyra by flickering one of her eye-lights off and on again, seeming not at all surprised by the white mage's appearance. Did she notice Hyral tailing her? The yggdroid gives her friend's head-pom another flick, sending it bouncing gently to and fro, before turning to give Captain Seft an enthusiastic wave!

     In response to Amalie's latest question, Septette holds out her left hand, showing skeletal fingers ending in long and menacing claws. A slightly-curved blade swings out of her forearm, seemingly hinged just shy of her wrist, and it glows red after a moment as it heats up- then abruptly cools to a silvery sheen before folding back. "Magic and whatever's built into me," she answers vaguely.

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "Yuke," Answers Lefalsien when questioned of his race. Momo picks up for him here, adding, "The Yuke are... an interesting people. Some say they're actually descended from carbuncles while other people think they're no more than concentrations of aether that have gathered inside suits of armor." Cyneric adds, "Us laymen can never get a straight answer out of them when we ask about them, though, so I guess it's just going to have to persist as one of the great mysteries of the world. For now -- maybe one day Lefalsien will see fit to grace us with his true face."

    "No," Answers Lefalsien. The rest of them just shake their heads.

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Amalie leans on her spear, flashing Eryl a decidedly awkward smile. "That's... not a creepy thing to say someone you've just met at all. 'I was listening the whooole time'," She echoes, lifting her hands and wiggling her fingers to imply some sort of mysticism. "But then again," She continues, "Lefalsien never says anything, ever, and we've just kind of gotten used to that, so. I guess I'll let it slide for now." She gives another thumbs-up and a wink.

    Momo's greeting is, as ever, a bit more polite. "Ahh... it does sadden me somewhat to know that other worlds are suffering in the same way that ours is, but. I would not be so quick to say that is 'reeling from disaster'. The miasma is something to overcome, certainly, but our lives are by no means sad. So long as we remain inside of our respective villages, I would say that our lives are quite peaceful; quite nice. While it would be lovely to walk the world more freely and see its sights without fear of monsters, I am... actually somewhat grateful, sometimes. It's said that, long ago, the Lilty tried to conquer the world. They could never do something like that with things as they are. That may very well be why that crusade wasn't successful back then."

    A bit more than he might've been expecting from her. Even Lefalsien pauses a moment to give her a small nod of approval, though few would even notice the gesture. It's unclear whether Momo does herself or not.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra beams at Septette before scooting away from the android as she begins her very brief weapon exposition. She knows Septette is dangerous and doesn't want to be in close proximity when the blades come out! Though she does know she's careful enough to not hurt her on accident.

    She draws closer to the Yuke, walking around him curiously. "Descended from carbuncles? Err...what's a carbuncle here? I'm familiar with the name but it means something else where I'm from. It's probably not the same thing since he's not covered in green fur or rubies." She doesn't get too close to him, though, because that's just kind of rude.

    She seems, fortunately, too curious to be picking fights with people right now.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The arrival of the Starfleet Flotilla is always reassuring to Souji. They have been stalwart and pragmatic associates ever since they have begun working together. Both sides have profited extensively from their partnership. Seft and Albert gain a handshake from Souji, greeting them with what warmth he shows.

The arrival of Kyra causes a faint stiffening of his demeanor, even if he seems to be generally trying to ignore her. It's subtle, but it's there. He glances past her, simply saying, "Kyra." In acknowledgement. Of course she'd be here. "This is not a safe place for you. Go home." With that said, he looks to Eryl as he is greeted. With a bow, Souji returns the greetings to Eryl. "Hello, Mister Fairfax. It has been a long time." He straightens, and gestures. "Crystals are made up of powerful Patterns in their own right. This often makes them perfect for use in situations which require extensive conductance of Magic Particles."

Amalie gets a nod. "There is nothing to worry about. Some are more competent than others." He says, apparently reading Amalie like a book. "As far as fighting is concerned, I use my blade." He indicates his weapon at his side, "There are people who use one of a great array of weapons in my homeworld. Everything you have mentioned, plus more. Books, bells, guns, knives, and even more esoteric objects. One man I know simply fights with anything he picks up on hand." He says, with a slight sigh.

He then gestures again. "Magic is also a part of our heritage. All of us use Magic Particles for our abilities and to fuel various effects. From the classic spells to powering our weapons."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe see she's' got a lot to taken in from the locals. She also takes note of the likes of Souji Murasame showing up. This has got a lot more notice than she expected the group of travelers to get a chance to fill them in about what's going on.

"So just you huh? I can see why you'd not mind any help. Humm I'm not an egg head I'm afraid. Fighting though? That's something I'm very good at and I may know a few people who could help with fixing this."

She looks over at Kyra for a moment.

"Such as Kyra here as for me on magic? Eh consider it more of an emulation of magic than actual magic."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "Well," Cyneric says, holding a cheek in his palm in thought, "we don't know for certain whether /all/ monsters are actually repelled by crystals, or if they are at all. All we know is that they never come into our cities. Given how innumerable they are - and that they have a stronghold just North of here - I can't fathom another reason why they wouldn't just sack this place unless it would be deadly for them, or at the least inconvenient. Oh, and the smaller crystals aren't capable of blocking monsters at all; from what we've heard, Crystal Caravans often fight monsters inside of the miniature barriers created by their travel crystals. If size matters, larger monsters may be less affect by crystals in kind, and..." He closes his eyes, briefly. "There's just so much that we don't know. I'm sorry."

    After a few seconds of silence, Momo adds, "Hence why any aid that we can accrue from any adventurers is more than welcome. Were it that we could simply waltz through monster-occupied territory, that would be one thing, but travel crystals can only barely maintain the barriers we need for ourselves."

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Albert's handshakes come after a quick salute to Souji. He's a military sort of man, as always, and his respect is apropos. Albert's the one who explains things to him. "Murasame. Starbound squad reporting. We're here to investigate local chemical engineering prospects. We'll keep you appraised as the project continues." He says, in the usual stiff tones. Seft shakes hands, but doesn't speak much. She seems conflicted about something!

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Ah, Mr. Fairfax." Moonfin's the one who greets Eryl properly. "I see you have heard much of the war. Yes, Shiva has been a dangerous place this time of year, and we have been no exception. I think they aren't holding any particular grudges, though. I certainly know we aren't." The fishman chuckles briefly. "We do always seem to run into each other in worlds with a certain disastrous side to them, don't we?"

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Again, Amalie turns to Landon. "Magic, huh? Fancy. Honestly, I haven't gotten to see much magic beyond, you know, when it's been used to light fires and stuff, and Lefalsien isn't fun enough to use his when there's no reason to. But I'll look forward to the day when I get to see yours! If I get to see yours."

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Amused. That is an unusual introduction for a homeworld." Seft says, with a giggle-like chirpy noise at Kyra. And then her eye-visor flickers from '^_^' to '._.' "Concerned. Is everything okay after last night? All we know is that you had some sort of magical incident, in response to the unusual pattern construction. Is there any help we may be able to offer? I am sure you can handle it on your own, though."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "I imagine any such comparisons we could make between our worlds would be helpful," Momo says, if somewhat distantly. "Earnestly, the discovery of other worlds not plagued by miasma alone was a considerable boost to morale for our lot. I imagine that if we spread this news to the other cities of the world, they will be equally glad to hear of it. Perhaps moogle messengers have already brought that news to them, too? It was Mog who initially brought our radio to us, after all, and then knowledge of your existence. But as you were saying before... no. No, there are no Myrrh trees known to grow considerably larger than any others."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra also pauses in her observation to frown at Souji. "Not a safe place for /me/? Why do you say that? Why do you need to single me out here?" she seems downright offended by this. She wasn't riled by Souji's presence before, even as Albert makes overtures that they're scouting the place out on behalf of Murasame for mining prospects. But since he went out of the way to tell her to get out, she certainly is now.

    Seft brings up last night's magical problems and her anger deflates a little bit. "Everything...everything feels like it's okay." she says quietly, trying to not hint at her issues to those of the Caravan too much. "I may need controlled testing later to determine if the problem has passed, though."

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "S'up Bones, you doing more wandering ancient hero things?" George hassles Septette. "You've been doin' this for, what, lifetimes, right? You ever get tired of the whole 'monster-infested world' script? Or does that got enough punchy variety to keep you from gettin' bored and stressed outta your skull?" As usual, he puts on the dumb face and gets very casual about this business.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    "Travel? Oh! Oh, you don't just have big ones, you have small ones you cart around for safety? That's kind of cool! I mean, it totally sucks you have to do it at all, but that's really clever. So you just load up a crystal on a cart and travel with it, and then you have bodyguards to kill monsters that brave the field, huh..."

    Alwyn takes a moment to pause, because there's just so much to take in. He listens to everyone and their assorted chatter, keeping his smile on. "I wish I could just show you how to turn your crystals into Aetherytes. It wouldn't help with transporting large amounts of goods, but, at least single people could transit between your towns easily. I bet it wouldn't work, anyways..." No, probably not. Aetherytes allow travel through the flow of Aether itself, so unless this world had an equivalent... ah, well, who knows. He's not a mage, anyway.

    "Sorry, sorry, just thinking out loud. So how many towns are there, if you even know? Did a lot of people manage to find safety when the miasma arrived? ... come to think of it, how did that happen?"

    If it was overnight, it must have been absolutely devastating. If it was progressive, at least, maybe there's more people left.

    Turning from Cyneric to Momo, the Lancer gives a thumb up. "And hey, if you need a dumb brute with a spear, I'll be glad to help. It's why I became an adventurer. The big world crystal said I should do what I feel is right and everything'll come together sooner or later, so it all works out for me."

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    "Er... my apologies, it was not intended to come off that way," Eryl says, rubbing the back of his head and smiling in an apologetic way. Was that phrasing deliberate, in order to build a stronger social bond by breaking his formal manner to apologize, or a genuine slip of the tongue? Hard to say with Eryl. At the very least, he smiles properly when Amalie let sit slide. "Thank you."

    He looks to Alwyn and nods. "A battery is a good word for it, something that stores energy for release at a later point. Though now I cannot help but wonder if different types of crystals have different properties. Hm." He rubs his chin and looks off in the distance for a moment.

    Only to be snapped out of it by Momo's words about how they're safe within the confines of a village. At that, a pained expression flits across his face. "Safe, yes. But imprisoned. Restricted to a tiny corner of your world, less than one percent of what you could see. Condemned to the same sights, the same people, day in and day out. We have the means to view and understand the world and they are wasted in such confinement. In a sense, what has befallen your world is worse than what has befallen mine. Everything was destroyed in mine, but everything is still there, but out of reach in yours. That is far crueller, to me at least."

    He stops, again, and coughs into his fist, letting his cheeks gain a little color. "My apologies, I did not mean to rant." Thankful to Sept for offering him a way out, he responds! "I try to keep abreast of all Multiversal current events. I have nothing but time on my hands most days, may as well use it to stay informed." He holds his tongue though, not wanting to comment on the differences in the motivation he and the Flotilla may have. No fighting!

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "Your definition is consistent with ours," Lefalsien says, though he still can't be bothered to look up from his tome. So Cyneric continues for him, as usual: "Yeah. Carbuncles are mythological creatures here like moogles apparently are in other worlds, but like Yuke, they're thought to be incorporeal or something. Like, the big, green, fluffy appearances they take on are just so that we can perceive them, which helps to explain why we sometimes think the two are connected. That's another one of the many, many things we can't know for sure, though; no one has seen a Carbuncle and lived to tell the tale for years and years and years."

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    "Oh, ours do! Aether isn't a neutral thing. I mean, sometimes it is, but it isn't always. Aether can be aligned to fire, or lightning, or ice. Crystals that are found in those environments are better at storing specific elemental Aether. If that's what you meant." Alwyn answers Eryl.

Septette Arcubielle (632) has posed:
     The robot girl collapses her arm back into a more natural-looking configuration and rolls her shoulders with a clicking, crunching sound. If she were organic, it's the sort of sound that might be associated with popping a limb back into its socket. A worried expression crosses Septette's face as she deliberates whether or not to intervene in Kyra and Souji's little dispute, but that quickly passes as Seft mercifully breaks the two up by interrupting with her good-natured concerns.

     A little smile crosses her face as she turns to George, and she returns the ribbing in kind: "I don't bore easily, squishy; maybe that's why I find your jokes entertaining. Keep in mind that I've been confined to ONE monster-infested world for centuries; this is plenty of variety for me. And what about you? Don't you ever get bored of exploiting inhabited worlds for your own economic benefit?"

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Amalie's frown does not abate for Souji, unfortunately; she doesn't know whether to interpret his comment as reassuring, or to suggest that she's one of the less competent ones. She's not going to assume the other and raise a fuss, though, mainly because that would probably make Momo cross with her. She hates it when Momo is upset with her! So.

    So instead she swallows her pride and presumptions and forces a nod before eagerly pursuing the subject of weaponry again. Naturally the first she calls attention to are,

    "-Books-?" She widens her eyes in disbelief. "Seriously? What, do people whack eachother with them or something? That seems a lot less practical than the other ones you just listed. Unless they're..." Oh. She slaps her forehead gently. "... magical tomes. Right, I got it." Derp.

    The commentary on the usage of 'Magical particles' gets a brief glimpse from Lefalsien, but the moment Souji notices the glance, he looks away once more. What do his glances mean? Are they his way of communicating interest, or is it more intricate than that?

    Souji seems astute enough; he'll likely learn in time.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Pavo regards Cyneric with a fascinated, almost glittering set of bird eyes. "Aye, that so? Ye say it tempers crystals?" Something about the erchius engineer's eyes seem extremely energized, to the point that it looks like they'll start shooting laser beams at any moment or something. "Now, ye need the Myrrh, right? But what about the crystals? Where do those come from?" Please say mining please say mining please say mining.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Oh, I mix it up a lil'." George says, keeping up the banter with Septette. "Gotta branch out sometimes. Half of my job is running around breaking nerds' arms, and let me tell you, that wouldn't get boring in a billion damn years. Greatest shakeup for the old script ever." He laughs briefly, and then takes a particularly relaxed sort of pose, linking his hands behind his head. "Lady, trust me, you think I'm funny 'cause I could make a graveyard into a comedy club."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Cyneric lets out a small chuckle when Alwyn comments on the usage of portable crystals. "Heh, well, it might've been clever for whoever came before us, but we're just parroting strategies that have been used for years already. I think so too, though. I was fascinated by that when my older brother first..." He pauses a moment, squeezing his eyes shut rather suddenly. Attempting to mask this moment of insecurity, he attempts to continue, "... when my older brother first took me outside the barrier with him. For the longest time, I didn't think anything like that was possible, so I guess I thought it was pretty neat, then, too." He averts his eyes in a way that may nonverbally communicate to Alwyn that he isn't interested in having the discussion that wince might have foretold of. Maybe one of these days, though.

    The comment on Aetherytes gets rather sudden looks from all of the caravan, however, and this is one of those rare occasions which coaxes Lefalsien out of his usual silence. "Crystals are utilized for transportation in the same tales that tell of the legendary city of Rebena te Ra. This commonality in our lore may hint at the feasibility of your proposal. Please discuss this with me again in the future." With a concluding nod, Lefalsien returns to his book. For her part, Amalie's jaw has drooped so low that it may well be ready to come off its biological hinges.

    So Momo has to take over for the discussion of the cities. "The cities in the known world are the Fields of Fum, Leuda, Tida, Afiltaria, Shella, Marr's Pass, and here, Tipa. As we've said, however, Tida succumbed to the miasma not long ago, or so the messengers from Afiltaria tell us. There may well be more towns out there, somewhere, but we are unaware of them."

    As for the miasma, Amalie fields that one. "... well, like we've said, we don't know if there ever was a thing that happened. Most people think miasma just is, was, and always will be. If there's a 'thing' that happened to make it come here, we have no idea what it was. That's a big part of what we're trying to figure out. As far as 'people who found safety when it appeared'... well, you're looking at them, or at least the descendants of them. But an event like that would have to predate recorded history by... a lot." Finally, the mention of a 'dumb brute with a spear' gets a renewed smile from Amalie. Point to herself with her thumb, she says, "Hey, -I'm- just a dumb brute with a spear myself, and these people sure act like they need me. I'm sure you've got more to offer than you think!"

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    The next of Eryl's words garner a rather surprisingly deep frown from Momo. "That's... a rather dour way of looking at things. Really, though, it's because most people see things in the same way that you do that we eventually resolved to be rid of the miasma were that to become an option. I would never mean to suggest that I myself would hesitate even an instant were I ever given that option in a vacuum, and yet... this is my home. I have an undeniable fondness for the way things are. Every situation comes with benefits and drawbacks, and I feel that the strife the miasma presents makes us all very close-knit, very warm with one another. I would like to believe that our same degrees of familiarity could be maintained in a larger world, but I... I don't know. No one can know for certain." After a short pause, she finishes, "Please understand. I must consider things in as broad a scope as I can if I am to participate in such a grand undertaking as we are proposing. That is all."

Septette Arcubielle (632) has posed:
     Septette's 'ribs' expand and contract slowly in an imitation of a sigh, and she shifts her weight from one foot to the other as she watches the others chat amongst themselves. She's standing apart from the group now, a few feet behind and to the side- perhaps a conscious decision on her part. If these squishies do get to squabbling, they'll need someone to shepherd them back onto the right path and keep them from hurting themselves. Organics generally do.

     "The only way you could turn a graveyard into a comedy club would be to bulldoze it," she replies in a tone that might be cutting if it weren't so good-natured. "I'd tell you not to quit your day job, but it's not like anyone could make you stop swindling people if they tried."

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Oh, he knows that look.
    It's the look he gives people when they ask about his family.

    Alwyn gives a brief nod to Cyneric, and doesn't push the matter. "If it works, it works! It's still clever. Where do you guys find the crystals, anyway? The big ones must have been in the towns since forever ago, but what about the ones you carry around? You must lose them sometimes, so surely there's a place you get them?"

    Lefalsien gets a bit of a stare when he agrees the idea might work-- even if it's 'not yet', 'sometime' is still better than 'never' when it comes to improving lifes. "A-Ah! That's cool! We could go looking for Rebena te Ra ruins or something, maybe they have scrolls or books you could use for that!" But, you know, not now. Just sometime later!

    With Momo, Alwyn attempts to memorize all of those names. He... fails, pretty badly, but he'll do his best to remember. He does ask, however: "Succumbed...? Did they fail to keep the crystal powered?"

    And then to Amalie, Alwyn grins. "Well, if you say so! It's too bad you don't have records of it, I bet knowing how it happened would help. Oh! If you want we could train together, I'm always looking to test my spear against others'. I have... I have two tutors already, kind of, well... one's an actual tutor, the other is this... shady... person... disgruntled guy. I think he's trying to teach me something, anyway. Maybe he's just a jerk. The guildmaster seems to think that's what's going on, anyway. O-Oh, but, that's not important! I'm a blacksmith too, so, if you need your armor or weapons repaired, I could give it a look."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    "Crystals," Cyneric says in response to Pavo, "are an extremely rare, extremely precious resource. Not only are they incredibly difficult to move when they are found, but there are so precious few of them in the world. They're so rare, in fact, that we do not know where the crystals that protect our cities even originate from. Personally, I would assume that it's the other way around: I would assume that people found the crystal here and eventually resolved to settle around it rather than moving it elsewhere. I've no idea where other crystals would come from, unless..."

    "Aether," Lefalsien says, again serving to jog Cyneric's memory. "Ah, yes, that's right! Thank you, Lefalsien. Yes, the alchemists of our city seem to believe that crystals are but extremely large, condensed gatherings of aether. If that's the case, we could potentially create one if we found some way of interacting with aether more directly... but alas, such an advanced technique has never been devised. Though theoretically, any crystal treated with Myrrh is capable of repelling the miasma regardless of its origin."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji immediately mentally translates that to 'We're going to see if we can find a way to use the Miasma for our own benefit.' Chemical weapons? Bold move. "Good. I look forward to your progress." He says to George. Seft's silence goes uncommented on. He knows Seft has always been the... most ethically strict of the Flotilla.

Kyra of course gets offended. That's exactly what he expected to happen. Souji looks over at Kyra and arches an eyebrow. "Because I know you, Kyra." He says, simply, as if that explains anything.

He turns back to Amalie. "Some tomes are useful when directly applied. Others are used for the magical patterns within. It depends on the tome." There is a pause as his eyes flick back between Amalie and Lefalsien, and then back to Amalie. "We will assist you with your issues. The travails of your world are quite unusual. We are interested in assisting you with determining the nature of your situation and resolving it."

He tips his head, listening carefully to the conversation on Myrrh. "Fascinating. It seems like acquiring some of this Myrrh would give us a way to investigate the effects of the material."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Regarding Alwyn's question of 'where crystals are found', Cyneric only shrugs as if to refer back to his conversation with Pavo. He does clarify, though, that, "The crystal we have here has been here as long as the city has been from what I understand. Lefalsien's family keeps a small collection of the portable crystals in case those ever need to be replaced, and those are usually found by the caravans as they venture around. I've never really thought to ask where they got them from before." After another, quick scratch of his head, though, he adds, "Though, it's uh... a bit harder to lose transport crystals than you might think. We keep them mounted atop the crystal chalice that we keep Myrrh in, and since Myrrh is our entire reason for going on our trip in the first place... and since without crystals we would die, it's..." He makes an awkward grin."

    Yeah.

    But -FIND- Rebena Te Ra? Amalie has to stifle a laugh, here. "Gooood luck finding the Rebena Plains, guy. That's a bedtime story -- I'm almost sure it doesn't really exist. We'll be going a lot of places, though, so who knows? If it's out there, we'll probably run into it. Eventually."

    As for Tida... that only receives a solemn nod from Momo. "... the stories say that they had such faith in their caravan that not a single one of them left. They stood firm until the moment the crystal's ward broke." Her eyes close a moment. "There has never been so haunting a reminder of our responsibilities as caravaners."

    Back to Amalie, now she's -really- starting to doubt herself. Not only are these guys all pretty rough-and-tumble, but now THIS guy is an accomplished blacksmith too?? What, can thes people do everything she can do or something? She tries (and fails) to suppress a bit of a scowl, but at the least she doesn't let her anguish bleed into conversation. Instead, she vents her aggression in another way: "Hey, sure. If you ever need a sparring partner, I'm always game. And I seriously mean always -- I sleep with one eye open!" She accompanies that pledge with a quick point at her right eye.

    She's dedicated, if nothing else.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Huh, /very/ interesting. We only have one Carbuncle and any sightings of him are very rare and usually through the assistance of a Summoner." Kyra agrees, still looking over the Yuke. "Are you suggesting that Yuke are some kind of astral creature, then? Hmm. Such a thing would help with magic-" Kyra nods, acknowledging Lefalsien's hat, which is similar to many mage hats throughout the multiverse.

    Kyra bristles a little at Souji before turning away from him with an annoyed 'hmph.' "I don't need to take orders from /you/ either way."

    DONE WITH SOUJI, Kyra then addresses the elephant in the room: "So...where is Mog?"

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    Eryl doesn't seem at all offended by Momo's response. In fact, he looks quite pleased. "It is good to look at an issue from multiple viewpoints. Certainly, being forced to live with the same people all your life encourages strong community ties... but do you think they will last forever? Another issue with mandated proximity with others is that even minor conflict between people can snowball into something worse, simply due to the inability to get away from each other. With enough time, even the tiniest sleight can tear apart a community, just as easily as a vicious monster."

    He crosses his arms and tilts his head, some dust drifting to the floor from his hair. "However, I don't think that the elimination of miasma will destroy these bonds you treasure. Certainly, people may drift away if given the chance... but with the Multiverse, it becomes very easy to keep in touch. Warpgates help to eliminate travel time, and telecommunication is everywhere."

    Though looking away from the two, he's listening close to Kyra and Souji's exchange. This is an important first step in establishing peaceful ties with this world, and if these two start to ruin it with squabbling, he will have to do something... diplomatic!

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Somehow, the group's interaction thus far have likely given such a power to Lefalsien's inaction that his sudden gesture of shutting his tome may be a bit jarring. He pauses as would a statue, both his paws clapped around the book's cover, the point of his sallet situating itself perfectly in-between Souji and George. He offers no words; instead, his gaze only eventually scrolls to a more definite focus on Seft. He bows his head to her, slowly, gradually, before reopening his book as though that had never happened. The meaning of those gestures is completely up to interpretation, but his skepticism in their plans is likely self-evident. And to say nothing of the way in which he clapped the book shut! Such a noise that made, whence from such a seemingly calm individual. Not that a lone Yuke would appear very threatening to a whole Flotilla and the leader of the Muramase Zaibatsu, and yet...

    ... and yet the others seem entirely oblivious to their conspiring. As such, Cyneric responds only so amiably to Souji when he offers his hand in 'help'. "Great! We'll keep in radio contact with you, then. Assuming that's what you would prefer; we don't know of any other methods of communicating with you yet. Before yesterday, we didn't even know what 'radios' were!" He accompanies that statement with another of his terribly awkward laughs.

    Poor thing.

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Momo returns Kyra's curiosity with a small, underpronounced smile. "Yes, the Yuke are one of very many modern enigmas. And yes, they tend to be quite good with magic. Lefalsien is an excellent demonstration of that tendency himself." She offers him a quick, friendly nod at that, to which she of course receives no reply. Not that she had expected any different!

    As for Mog, Cyneric shrugs. "For all his quirks, he's actually fairly shy. He probably went off and hid somewhere before you --" He's interrupted, right on cue, by that melodic, wavering sound that accompanies all flying moogles. As it was on the radio, as it is here, now!

    "In the flesh, kupo," Proclaims mog, giving a small twirl as he quite literally -pops- in front of Kyra. "I've been listening the whole time," He says, bobbing his head appreciatively toward Eryl, "I just haven't said much yet. But if you want my /paw/tograph, I would be happy to give it, kupo~!"

    Somewhere in the distance, Amalie's brow twitches. 'Ugh, this guy.'

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Ah, right, Cyneric had just answered Pavo. 'Crystals are Aether'. That's pretty familiar. Are their worlds related, somehow...? Nah, that couldn't be. Similar building blocks, maybe, but that's like being astonished that gravity is a concept everywhere you go. The Lancer is rather surprised to find out they don't lose them very often, though. "I would have thought... well, you made travelling sound dangerous, so I figured it mustn't be too rare that one of your caravans gets overrun with monsters. Do they do nothing to the crystal when that happens? I mean, if I was a monster and crystals repelled me, I'd try to destroy them!" Or is that even possible? Let's find out!

    Amalie just gets a childish smile and thumb up from the Lancer though. "Isn't that what adventurers do, find new exciting places, dig up ancient things thought lost or not to exist? I'm sure it'll be fun either way!" He can't pick up on her frustration at his ability to fight and craft, but if he could, he'd reassure her he's not very good. Just passable. He has the skills to keep his armor in good condition, but don't ask him to make you a magical spear that glows in the dark and instantly grills chicken it strikes. That'd be hella handy though. "Anytime, though! Maybe you can visit my world someday. I bet the Lancers' Guild would be overwhelmed to have a spearman from another world to teach them how things are done elsewhere."

    And finally back to Momo, Alwyn loses his smile at the story. "So these people sent a caravan out and it never came back, and they just... waited for it patiently? That's a sad story. Has anyone gone looking for them yet?"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe falls back a bit as the group talks shop she hangs back and listening as the groups talk. She does seem to be taking int he area, heck she's got out a little sketch pad and is attemtping to sketch a few things out. She's not so good at it but well it's something right. All the while she's bene listening and she frowns as she hears the story.

"I thnk I get the rough idea of what's up here. For what it's worht I'm in to help all of you."

She looks to each part of the Caravan.

"STrangers are why my friends and I escaped a living nightmare and I want to pay that back."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Momo's smile to Eryl slowly becomes a trifle... reluctant. Original face would likely immediately identify that she isn't the sort who particularly enjoys lengthy debates, something which she would immediately solidify with a decidedly succinct reply to his many points of interest. "That's the hope," She says, regarding how being part of a larger world may help rather than hurt. All she has to say in rebuttal to his other proposals comes in a decidedly hushed, meek tone of voice: "Being surrounded by poison does much to encourage good behavior." Not really contradicting what he said, just... a point; another among many.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Not a ton of people with that kinda sense of humor, wish there were more!" George says, laughing to Septette. Then he glances over to the bits of conflict. "Haha, take it easy, Bones." He says, muttering quietly to her. "This stuff works out, you just gotta let it shake out on its own. Sorta like us, remember? Lil' bits of conflicting personality's just a fact. Probably won't work out their problems, but you kinda figure out how to fit them into things."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra considers Momo's answer. At first meeting, it'd probably be pretty /creepy/ to straight up offer Lefalsien a medical examination. She's no Xiao, after all, and she wants to make a good impression in spite of Souji baiting her into a bad mood.

    She starts to look disappointed as Cyneric informs her that Mog went to hide, being shy. But then that little musical sound follows, which Kyra hasn't yet quite connected to moogles, but soon will as Mog appears.

    Kyra gasps and lifts both of her hands to her face. She's biting her lower lip, trying to behave herself. Trying to /not/ absolutely melt into a pile of goo while emitting the most fel of teenage girl noises, the squee. She succeeds in behaving herself for the most part but is clearly excited as she addresses Mog. "C..can I get an autograph? And a picture? And a hug?"

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Pavo makes a lot of disappointed squawky noises! "Aaargh! Well, least ye know the value." She says, with a grumpy tone. Then she focuses on Souji. "Aye, cap'n. Wanna see if we can get some for me to take a look at, gotta know what it thinks of Erchius." She squawks an eager laugh. Oh well, if they can't find crystals, they'll just go focus on the thing they can find!

    "Floran, want to help! Isss material that monssster want, for sssome reassson. Maybe do thingsss for them. Floran find out what prey want, Floran find out what isss value for thingsss that aren't cryssstal!" Biteblade speaks up, trying to offer some encouragement to this line of exploration. And then, Mog's arrival! There's a hissy gasp! "Heal friend! Isss thing you have cool hood of! /Hood cat/!"
    "The term is 'Moog--"
    "HOOD CAT!"

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Cyneric emits a long, contemplative 'hmmm'. "That's a good point, actually, but from what I've heard monsters keep to themselves. They're like moths, to whom Myrrh is their flame; when the light exists, they will trend toward it without cause, even if that means ignoring all else around them. As such, it's actually fairly rare to see monsters on the roads; rather, it happens just frequently enough that we all live in fear of the happenstance. Monsters are brutes, but they're opportunistic brutes. They only strike when they're given some reason to venture outside of their particular zones of comfort. As it so happens, they are not often given cause, so most caravans can advance from place to place without worry. Though, when they venture inside of their strongholds...? Well, yes. That's why several spare transport crystals are kept, one by each member of the caravan." He reaches into his pocket, presenting his to Alwyn in example. Surely enough!

    Amalie's brows raise in response to Alwyn. She's having a hard time quelling her excitement, now. "A sparring match with a cool guy in a world without miasma?" She lets out a small, breathless laugh. "You better -believe- I want to do that! Sure, hells yes, any time you want, absolutely! Any time, that is, after we've gotten situated as a caravan. I can't let these people get their first drop of Myrrh without me, you know."

    Then, Momo only shakes her head. "No. If any members of Tida's caravan still live, they've yet to turn up... or if they have, they haven't been identified. I pray for their safety, but another part of me would be appalled to know that any caravaner simply ran away. Doing so with the task we face would be tantamount to murder of all that you hold dear. It's unthinkable."

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    Right away, Eryl pings that he might be making Momo a little uncomfortable. "I apologize for pressing the issue. In my duties, mulling over such issues becomes important." He kneels down a little, so as to look Momo right in the eye, and smiles. "But, we are getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we? Such concerns can wait until we actually understand things more. For now, we can only offer help in what needs doing. Helping you all retrieve Myrrh sounds like a good start." He's clearly been listening at least.

    As Mog comes in and makes The Worst Pun, Eryl has to force a smile onto his face, maybe harder than any he has had to force in his years. "For me? I'm flattered!" Reaching into the pocket of his coat, he produces a little notebook and a pen, offering both to the creature. "Sounds like everyone may want one, go ahead and use these."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    'It's so hard being popular~.'

    That's certainly what a blushing Mog must be thinking as he sashays back and forth in the air, the fur at his cheeks ever-so-slightly red from embarrassment. Though he's only being 'assailed' so adamantly by Biteblade and Kyra at the moment, he makes mountains of mu hills, saying, "Ladies, ladies! One at a time, kupo, one at a time~." Addressing Kyra first, he bobs his body up and down to signify a nod. "Of course you may. Though I will need to know what you would like me to sign before I can give you my signature, kupo~." To Biteblade, he says, "Oh, it's fine! I can be a 'hood cat' if you so please, kupo. Mog is whatever makes his adoring fans happy~." It's at that point that Amalie finally 'plucks' him out of the sky by his pom-pom, squeezing it. It emits the most adorable, plush toy squeak when she does so, but Mog is none too pleased. "K-Kupo! Put me down, Amalie, put me down! Moogle cruelty, moogle cruelty! I know my rights! Kupo, kupo, KU --"

    "Shut up," Snarls Amalie.

    "Okay," Says Mog.

    His pudgy little appendages droop. He knows when he has been bested.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "I...I have a pen but I have no idea what I'd have you sign. I don't have any papers with me like Eryl does. Oh! I have an idea. We'll take a picture, I'll go get it printed out, then I'll come back and you can sign /that/. I'll get fancy ink for it and everything." Kyra titters, pulling her mPhone out of her pocket. A giggle escapes her at Biteblade's nickname for Mog.

    She'll wait until Mog has both been freed and Eryl has his autograph before angling herself into a picture where she has an arm around Mog's shoulders. With the other hand, she holds out her phone, pointing it at the pair. "We call this a selfie on my world." she explains before taking the picture.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji simply lets the aggression from Kyra flow over him like water off a duck's back. As she huffs away, the perceptive might even see a tiny crook of a smirk on his face for a few seconds. He does not further antagonize Kyra... For the moment.

He continues to listen in on the progressing conversation, his eyes squinting as he see a Moogle in the flesh... However, he's not going to go nuts about it like Kyra. Instead, he crosses his arms, and he looks to Pavo. "That could be quite interesting indeed, Pavo. Your team should be able to ferret anything of note in that respect." This is why Souji hires people like Pavo. They're /thorough/ about it.

The Zaibatsu VP considers, then. "If you like, we can assist you in your journey. I believe an in-depth examination of the process you go through in order to perpetuate your protection against the Miasma can provide information that can be used to help you gain leverage. Survival is one thing, but with some investigation we can, perhaps, allow you to flourish."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Momo nods appreciatively to Eryl, his expressions of concern for her resurrecting her own good mood in kind. All of this tidily summarized by the gradual upturn of her mouth's two corners. "Thank you, Mister Fairfax. Yes, I would prefer to wait to discuss these things at length until we know more. It may be prudent to start making our conclusions once we have a larger pool to draw from in any event. Nevertheless, it's..." She joins her hands and bows. She holds the bow for a few seconds. "It's good to meet you, Eryl, and all of those you've arrived with. Thank you for your candor, and your interest in our plight. Never mistake our gratitude -- mine, or any of ours. Your presence here alone is enough to warm our hearts."

Septette Arcubielle (632) has posed:
     "If you want more people who share your sense of humor, try breaking their funny bones instead," Sept replies without missing a beat. Then, more quietly, but no more seriously: "This *is* me taking it easy, George. Watching over people like this is kind of my hobby, really. There's a vanishingly low chance this will all devolve into horrific bloodshed, so I've got little to worry about."

     She makes a show of stretching, arching her back and popping her elbow with a metallic clink, before settling back into a superficially relaxed posture. "I guess it's like how some dog breeds can't give up their herding behaviors, even when old and toothless. The only way they can 'retire' is if you get them to herd things that are capable of taking care of themselves."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Amalie flashes a /profound/ '=_=' face at Kyra, and she holds that look for as long as she is allowed to. Only when Kyra starts showing visible signs of protest does she finally relent, releasing Mog's pom-pom with a loooong roll of her eyes. She walks back to the point of the cliff, returning her lance to its rightful place in the ground. She's just going to watch the moon over the water to distract her from that nonsensical rubbish happening behind her. And, actually... actually...

    ... Amalie's eyes glitter. It's a decidedly lovely night, tonight.

    So lovely, in fact, that Mog's taunting shimmy of his almost invisible hips goes unnoticed, leaving his only recourse for his hurt feelings to hide in Kyra's adoring embrace. He gladly takes his place in the photo, situating landing himself on her shoulder. If he's allowed to, he might even give her a quick nuzzle on the cheek. He flinches a moment when he thinks Amalie might be turning around - she does seem to have a sixth sense about these things - but alas, he's safe for now. Safe, and judging by those flicking whiskers and twitching nose, quite pleased with himself.

    This is the start of a beautiful, beautiful friendship. He preens at the thought, puffing out his chest and straightening his wings for the photo.

    Say, 'Kupo'!

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Alwyn oohs at the pocket crystal, nodding. "Makes sense. Never too careful when the world is full of deadly poison. I can't imagine having to be that prepared and careful everytime I accept a job. So the very thing you need for crystals also attracts monsters, crystals repel them... I bet people who've been part of a caravan for years must be really strong! The sort of people you write stories about."

    To Amalie, Alwyn simply replies: "It's a date, then! Erm, well, not a date, I mean-- that's a saying. That I heard. Not an actual-- you know." Well that's his foot in his mouth. "R-Right, you should watch after your town first! That's more important. Obviously. I'm sure we'll find time sometime!"

    And finally to Momo, he considers, wondering what to say about all that. He wants to go looking for them, now, on the off-chance survivors are holding on, but can people really afford making pointless trips like that? That is, pointless in relation to keeping their own hides alive. "Maybe an opportunity to investigate'll come up. If it does, I'll definitely help."

    The Lancer's attention turns to the MOOGLE, whom he eyes with a bit of glee. Nothing compared to Kyra's, but he's interested in seeing one too! Seeing, keyword. He's fine just watching.

    ... tempting as poking the pom-pom is.

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Cyneric, who has proably been hypnotized for a while by the budding relationship between Kyra and Mog, is stunned back into wakefulness by Souji. With a few bats of his eyelashes, he responds, "O-Oh! Yes, that would... that would be very, greatly appreciated. I don't know what we have to offer you in return, but you'll always have a friend in us, and everyone in Tipa. If you ever need a home away from home, we'll all be happy to have you." He offers a vibrant smile as proof of this statement before, as Momo before him, he offers a deep bow to Souji. "Thank you for coming this night, Mister Murasame. We are glad of your help, and your kindness."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra makes the SADDEST FACE at Amalie until she releases Mog. Her lip sticks out, she becomes doe-eyed, there is even /wibbling/ involved. It's a very well practiced motion, honed on a pair of pretty religious parents in the past. Excited that this works, she promptly gets to the picture taking. She will /gladly/ accept a nuzzle even if she feels she might die of cuteness overload in the process.

    Lots of pictures are taken (providing ample opportunities to photobomb, which Kyra's not going to notice until later) and once that is done, she gives Mog a hug before freeing him, no doubt to the LOVING ADORATION of anyone else here who wants the autograph and/or hugs of the great Mog. Actually, she's not all too sure who else would be as excited about this as she is. Souji, Landon, and Cirra are all being way too stoic to be excited. Though she does half expect Biteblade to give the Hood Cat a hug as she's noticed that the Floran does seem to like hugs. In fact, she even offers Mog up to Biteblade!

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    Eryl grins as Momo seems to cheer up. Such a formal bow can only be answered by another. "It is my pleasure Momo," he says, responding to her informal addressing of him with more of the same. "I am glad that my presence alone can soothe and bring hope for the future. I won't let you down."

    He looks over as Amalie storms off to sulk and offers another smile to Momo. "Pardon me a moment." He goes after her, taking care to not accidentally be caught in the impending selfie. "Please forgive Miss Hyral," he begins in a placating tone of voice. "Moogles exist as legends only in her world, and she has something of a fascination with them. I'm sure she did not mean to irk you."

    He stands a little back from the cliff edge, not wanting his weight to cause a disaster. "It's funny, those parallels and differences you'll come to notice in the Multiverse. For example, the Moon." He gestures as the silver sphere up in the sky. "On my world, it was partially colonized before the disaster happened. Even now, you can see the remains of man's work on the surface. Going to other worlds and seeing the moon so barren took a little getting used to."

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Cyneric nods again to Alwyn. "Yes, they are. A few of them are still alive and in the village, actually! But they've earned reprieve after many, many years of service, which is why we're taking their place." Then, a rather distracted Amalie is privy to... to a flustered freakout from Alwyn. When she actually notices the stuttering, she turns around and tilts her head, an eyebrow raised in intrigue. "Um... are you alright? You look like you're in pain." After another few seconds of hesitation, she adds, "I don't exactly know what else a 'date' would be, so don't worry about it. Whatever you're hemorrhaging over is completely lost on me." After that, her look of mild concern transforms into a grin, and she playfully backhands his cheek. "Chiilll, lancer. I hope you don't break down like this in the middle of fights." For her part, Momo just gives a nod. Seems like she might be a bit too tuckered out for a more lengthy reply.

    Upon noticing Alwyn's interest - because of course he does - Mog gives a twirl for Alwyn. This likely occurs right in the middle of a picture! ... ironically, it probably makes for a good pose, too.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Cyneric's response gains another bow from Souji. "It is no matter. The knowledge we gain and the potential for more beneficial findings in your land will more than recomepense us for the effort. Simply tell us when you plan to set out, and we shall be of service."

Septette Arcubielle (632) has posed:
     Sept glances over at Kyra and Mog, and to anyone with unaugmented vision, her eyes seem to go completely black as they shift to emitting ultraviolet light.

     Subjective time slows to a crawl.
     The time is now.
     This moment is perfect.
     It shall not go unused.

     At some point in the future, Kyra will check the photos she took today. A single metal claw, crackling with electricity and crooked in an arcane reality-twisting gesture stolen from the left hand of the Heavenbringer, protrudes into the frame, hanging just an inch above Kyra's shoulder. Behind her stands Septette, wearing the widest shit-eating grin of her considerably long life.

     There's a rustle of fabric and a soft whirr, and Septette is standing right back where she was a moment ago. No shenanigans have just occurred. None whatsoever.

     So stealthy.

Crystal Caravan (866) has posed:
    Amalie waves a hand at Eryl. "Pssshh, I'm not really that upset. Most of it's just for show, but there /are/ admittedly times when Mog's... demeanor can be a bit trying. But earnestly, I'm glad he's found a friend in Kyra. Things are usually fairly quiet among our number, and if I had to guess, I would assume that he's more one for active settings... and ample praise besides." She gives a small smile of her own before turning back to the ocean, leaning again on her spear.

    She's silent a moment after Eryl speaks again. "A populated moon, huh." She nods her head, slowly. "Honestly, a part of me has always wondered if anyone - or anything - lives on our moon, too. Finding people there doesn't seem terribly outlandish after meeting all of -you-. What a thing to have happen the day before we set out! A group of explorers from worlds beyond descends from the heavens, heralding promises of eradicating miasma." She closes her eyes, shaking her head. "It really is like a fairy tale. After today, I really wouldn't be surprised if we one day ran into the Rebena Plains after all. There's a kernel of truth in every myth, after all, and..."

    She trails off at that, exhaling. She seems to become more and more distant as she loses herself in the moon's rays, yet her grip on her spear tightens. Under her breath, Eryl might hear her mutter, 'Ours will be the last'. The last Crystal Caravan. Before, that might have sounded such an eerie turn of phrase; today, it is instead an astonishingly hopeful promise. A world with no miasma, no monsters, no caravans... what a world that would be.

    Momo eventually meanders up to join them, gingerly resting a hand on Amalie's shoulder. She flashes Eryl a final smile before, silently, she quits the group for the evening. In all likelihood, the rest will be soon to follow.