Scene #3814: Eye on the Prize

Owner	Pose
Steve	Things had taken some time to prepare. Blaze rods, and the resultant powder, isn't easy to come by, but thankfully a bit more predictable to acquire than the ender pearls the responding Elites had helped gather, a week or two ago. The call had once again gone out, mostly over Syndicate channels, though certainly word could have spread easily, that the miner-mage is once again looking for some assistance on his current project. This time, he promises a more sedate engagement: Tracking down that Stronghold he had mentioned, so long ago, and a chance to experience the Flat Earth without the creatures of the night constantly attacking, for once. Accordingly, it is local sunrise. Elites venturing through the local gate, an obsidian-framed portal from this end, would be greeted by the sight of a few errant skeletons and zombies trying desperately to run back to shelter from the sunlight, only to inevitably catch fire and collapse into heaps. It is the same base camp as last time, wool stretched over wooden fencing frames, a few chests filled with supplies, an anvil and crafting bench. It is here that Steve, himself, emerges from one of the crudely constructed tends, rising from a bed and giving a stretch, before scratching unashamedly at his sides. "Hmm, another fine day. Should have some visitors soon enough." Wandering over to one of the chests, he takes account of the various items inside, lifting some out and depositing them into his ever-nebulous 'inventory'. Just the kinds of things he'll expect he might need for traversing the terrain between 'here' and 'there', wherever 'there' might be. As well, any Elites that need them will find food for the road, in the form of local fare such as fresh carrots, roast beef, and bottles of water, and functional iron shovels and pickaxes, for helping clear the work site once they arrive. There are also some building materials in the form of wood logs and cobblestone blocks -- the latter of which should weigh 2500 kilograms per cubic meter, yet any visiting Elites, through the local physics, can handle with as much ease as Steve can.
Mihk Lihzeh	The first hint that Mihk is approaching, would be an odd little golden creature scampering through the underbrush. It's certainly nothing local, but might act like a Cat and leaps up on the chest once it's closed, peering up at Steve with beady little red eyes and a soft chirruping sound. Bootsteps follow not long after and an exasperated sigh preceeds a call. It's a mix of a whistle and hum which gets the creature to jolt, startled, before scampering off to sit at the new arrival's feet. "I must apologize for my familiar, she can be rather curious." she offers. "I believe we spoke on the radio a few times, Adept Lihzeh of the Arcanist Guild of Limsa Lominsa, you may call me Mihk if you so choose."
Staren	"Nnngh... come on..." /Something/ starts trying to fit through the portal. It's a bit of a squeeze and it has to sort of turn sideways and pull it through with its arms, with Staren crouched inside working the controls... once it's through, it rights itself. He's riding in a bipedal construct made of some sort of striped wood. Where one might expect an upper torso and head, however, has been replaced with something like the inside of a car -- places for a few people to sit, and a control panel in front of the driver -- the shape of this 'cockpit' exposes the upper bodies of the occupants, in this case Staren. Two arms hang down from the 'body'. All in all it's maybe 9 1/2 feet tall, 11 if you count the exposed part of its occupant. As his ride steps clear of the gate, Staren gets his first look at the Flat Earth. "...Huh. It's very... cubical... Interesting world you have, Steve." His construct crouches by the supplies, allowing him to climb out and inspect them. He tries the food, and pockets a bottle of water, using his matter manipulator to gather the building materials for transport since he's to understand they'll be building a base. "Uhh... hello." He responds to Mihk, looking over the catgirl briefly. "Arcanist, huh? So what kind of magic do you do?"
Lezard Valeth	Lezard is present to support his ally in arms.... arms? Blocks? Something. Regardless, the Necromancer of Midgard arrives holding a tome. It's inscribed with a number of runes, and he drops it off on top of the anvil with a THUD. "Magus Steve. You may find this donation useful," states the mage. "As it contains a short treatise on the flames of Muspellheim. You might be able to use it in your... unusual work." Fire Enchantment book get? Still, he seems to look over the materials. He does at least deign to help with acquiring a load of the oddly cubic cobblestone. The arrival of others is notes. Mihk gains a bow, and Staren... Well, he gets a knowing smile, as he adjusts his glasses ominously. It's basically required by his contract.
Sarracenia	Next, is the princess who helped gather some of those pearls from last time. And, as she promised, she has an Ender Pearl set in a necklace around her neck. With how large those pearls are, it is a little awkward. But, she doesn't seem to mind. The lovely dark pearl is quite complimentary to her black dress. "Hello again, Steve." Sarracenia says as she approaches, raising a hand to wave while she watches the undead creatures burning away. She looks into the chests after that. "Are we building something?" she asks as she takes out one of the wood stacks. "...how is this so light?"
Alexis Maaka	Not long does it take for Maaka to arrive, her helmet unfolded and a marksman rifle in hand, a bag slung across her shoulder as she arrives. The car's been parked not far from the settlment, and Maaka only briefly gives Staren a look when his mecha arrives. "Huh. I need one of those." She murmurs, then waves at Steve with a friendly grin. She already brought her own supplies in the duffle, but she appreciates the sentiment once she spies what Steve's got left out. Her matter manipulator begins to pluck up block after block until she has a decent supply, as well as the rest of the tools laid out for her usage. "So what are we doing now, Steve?"
Eclipse	Eclipse had been exploring the worlds already, so if someone was asking the Syndicate to come explore a different world, the longtooth shifter was only happy to oblige. She didn't expect to be greeted by burning undead, but it soon became clear that they were too busy getting destroyed to be a threat. No need to bare the Fang just yet, she thought. She soon joins up with the others, giving a nod of recognition to Staren in his wood machine. "Greetings," she says to the rest of the group.
Steve	Instinctively, Steve starts to shoo the Carbuncle away, "Darn it, cat, I'm trying to work here--huh, wait." He gives a momentary squint, then realizes it's like no local cat, or even ocelot, he's ever seen. Two and two is mentally added, that it must be a multiversal arrival, before Mihk herself speaks up. He grins in her direction after, "Oh yeah, I remember! It's been a while." A glance is spared to the creature, and he gives a shrug, "Ain't anything I don't already put up with, ha ha. Good to meet you in person, Mihk." Lezard Valeth also shows up, a welcome sight judging by how Steve's eyes practically light up. Or, maybe that's because he's brought a housewarming gift. He's having to fight back his acquisition instincts, in favor of that polite socialising thing he's been hearing about. "Oh, you didn't have to bring me anything...but it's certainly appreciated!" He might have to be a bit more cautious with such a rare find as that, than his more usual handlings of the common enchantments. "Fire certainly works a treat on some of the local fauna," he also observes, gazing out at some of the smoldering piles that used to be undead, with a jovial laugh. Besides that, though, it is Staren that gets his attention, next. Or, more specifically, that contraption of his. He gives a light scratch of his beard stubble at it. "A golem you can ride on? Never really thought of that...I'd have to make a really big crucible." It seems a bit unwieldly to his eyes, but kind of fun all the same. "And yeah, I hear that pretty frequently. Starting to get the idea that my world is the exception, to a lot of things." Next in the greeting line is Sarracenia, that he remembers from prior troubles of the Flat Earth. He grins anew at how she used the pearl, and it is quite a fine bauble! Given that he is a man that sometimes wears purple robes over a cyan blue shirt, he's not one to argue about fashion tastes. "You improvised that ender pearl into a pendant quite well!" He silently ponders whether its properties remained intact in the process, but it likely isn't a big deal. To her question, though, he gives a sort of half-answer: "Yeah. I'll get to that in just a bit, once everyone gathers up."
Steve	A completely new face greets him next, or rather, everyone in general. It's Eclipse, that is. He doesn't tend to judge, at least not openly, though he does note, "Hmmm. You're new around here, right?" Most of the others he'd spoken with before, if not met personally. "The name's Steve. Today's little trip should be pretty unexciting," since the undead are already self-immolated, "So just relax and have fun with it. It's more about work this time than clearing anything out." Maaka's question and greeting, which earns her a grin and a nod from the miner, "Just getting to that. Let's see...everyone here?" Once people get settled and optionally supplied, he steps in front to gain attention. He can finally get down to the business in front of them today. "Alright. I've got something a little different for you this time." From within his inventory, he withdraws an object the same size, shape and luster as the ender pearls the group from last time had gathered. The difference is, rather than that seemingly endless, deep color on the interior, there is what almost seems like a slit-pupiled eye on the inside. It's probably the imagination, but it almost seemed to 'blink' for a moment. "This is an 'eye of ender'. Combining it with the flames of the nether's denizens produces this beauty. But, most important is this..." He hurls it into the air, underhanded, and rather than immediately falling, it hovers at the crest of its flight. The pupil seems to be scanning for something, as the sphere whirls around, before settling toward pointing east. The curious gem then falls back to the Earth, where Steve steps forward to catch it. "This thing can find the way to that Stronghold I mentioned a while back." And, as Lezard would know, that dimensional rift contained within. "The other stuff...well, this might be a long term project. We're going to set up a base camp once we get there. Strongholds are pretty deep underground, so it might take a while even for me to dig it out...at least, if we're not being risky about it."
Alexis Maaka	Maaka grins, "Perfect, I brought just the thing too." She unzips her bag to reveal a pair of folded up turrets, unloaded and intended for storage. "Little something from home, these autoguns are perfect portable defenses in case our FOB gets any visitors while we're gone." She says, before closing the bag up again. "How soon we heading out?"
Mihk Lihzeh	To Staren's question, Mihk quirks a brow and adjusts her glasses. "I would rather not divulge my abilities, my apologies." she replies politely. When Steve explains the situation, the Miqo'te nods, and pulls out her tome, flipping through the pages before pausing and tapping some inscription. "A mapping enchantment, curious... so the natural affinity of these, Pearls, mixed with Aetheric Fire, creates an item that leads to a stronghold of import..." she closes the tome, lets it hang from her belt again before hefting her Carbuncle up onto her shoulder, where it perches. "I am not physically potent, but should we encounter any problems, I should be able to provide support and succor." she offers, vaguely.
Staren	Staren just gives Lezard a silent glare and a slight nod. He glances at Sarracenia but doesn't say anything. Lot of confederates here, and not the ones he gets along with, it seems... Mihk gets an understanding nod at her declination to speak. At Maaka's comment, Staren pats the side of the golem. "I said you could borrow one for this... anyway, feel free to hop in, there's room." Eclipse gets a nod, and Staren smiles a bit in relief to see more non-Confederates showing up. At Steve's comment, Staren replies, "It's an experiment to see if I can make a cheap transport for the initial exploration of Amalgam. Unfortunately, I haven't had much opportunity to test and refine it yet." Staren waits next to the golem as Steve shows off the Eye of Ender. He raises his eyebrows at the demonstration of its power, and makes a "Hmh!" noise in intrigued surprise. Then he nods and climbs into the golem again, waiting expectantly for Alexis to either join him or decline. If she accepts, she can see that inside, Staren has a control console in front of him with a throttle, and some joysticks and buttons, with wires running along the floor of the cab to a battery affixed to the floor in back. There's also a caseless assault rifle sitting on one of the seats, just in case they /do/ run into any uppity wildlife.
Alexis Maaka	Maaka will indeed join him aboard the golem, in that case. She's able to fit in well enough without things getting cramped, as she stuffs her gear in the Matter Manipultator before entering. "Cozy."
Steve	"Automated defense, huh? Should come in handy, once night falls." The miner might not be the most technologically adept, but he knows purpose-built when he sees it. Maaka's question also causes Steve to gaze skyward, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand, while twirling the otherworldly artifact like an oversized marble with other. "Probably the sooner, the better. No telling how far out this is going to be." He...sort of understood most of what Mihk said, there, at least enough to figure it out. "Err...yeah, it's kinda weird to explain. The base material come from these jerks called endermen, that have certain 'dimensional' properties. I'll do my best to explain tonight, after dinner." Which will almost certainly be some combination of cooked meat, bread, and water. To Staren's golem testing, and the Flat Earth as a sort of proving ground: Well, it earns a bit of a laugh from him, but not the condescending or dismissive kind. "Given how different it seems to be, not sure how good the data you get here will be. But, you're welcome to ride it around as much as you please." A pause, as he second thinks his own, prior statement, "Just not in my farms. It's hard enough keepin' the chickens out." True to his earlier word with Maaka, Steve finishes gathering up the materials he expects he'll need, and sets out toward the east. As far as anyone else can tell, there is little there except more of the gently rolling plains that surround Steve's main base area. Though, longer range scanners might reveal slightly increasing elevation in that direction. Not quite proper mountains, by most worlds' reckonings, but certainly more varied terrain.
Kotone Yamakawa	Sometimes things just don't go as planned, so Kotone is running a bit late, she'd got prepared. She was running a bit late but the young cyborg does catch up with everyone else, she does seem to be geared up and ready to go. While she has access to heavier armor she seems to favour the steltht he light optic cameo suit seems to give her. She also doesn't seem to be ebrassed with it anymore either. "Don't have much the way in terms of fire but I'm armed well enough. Sorry I'm late by the way Steve." She'll move to fall in now and seems ready to go after the Stronghold and she grins over at Maaka whom she may have snuck up on. "Humm I brought some scout drones with me, Alexis but I don't have anything armed, as of yet."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia is surprised when that wooden robot thing steps through the portal. She raises an eyebrow, but disregards it for now. After all, she flies wooden ships around. Being only passingly familiar, or completely unfamiliar, with everyone here, the princess just listens to the briefing. When Steve is done, she hmphs. "I am not a laborer. But, I do not mind employing my pirahna plants to help with the task. When we arrive at the target location, I can have them summoned." The display by the Eye of Ender is impressive, but whether it can actually find some obscure hidden dungeon is still to be seen. "I will travel with you all nontheless." she says, and as if to help, she takes much of the food and drink that has been offered.
Eclipse	Eclipse nods to Steve as he asks if she's new. "I am," she answers. "My name is Eclipse, and I'm a warden of the Den-of-Oaks clan." She shows off her shield, marked with a wolf curled up in the roots of a tree, to illustrate this, before listening to Steve's explanation of the purpose of the expedition. It seemed interesting enough, and while they didn't seem to be planning on fighting, the eventuality was being planned for. "I will join you in battle if the need arises," she says. "I will do my best to keep you all safe.
Steve	"No problem, Kotone," Steve grins. "And don't sweat it, we shouldn't need anything armed for this, just yet. It'll practically be a stroll." He can never be too certain when some errant creeper might be around, but they tend to avoid the daylight, even if they don't burn in it. He certainly doesn't look too worried as he steps confidently out from one base camp, toward the future site of another. "Scout drones, though, might come in handy, depending on the terrain that's up ahead." Indeed, some of those 200 meter high crags slowly come into view on the horizon, even to normal human eyes, such as a thing exists in the multiverse. Steve frowns just ever so slightly, once again tossing the eye of ender into the air. It does its little spinning dance, though seems to settle on a direction just a little faster this time. Yep, still east, right through or over the mountains. He'll make that judgement call shortly. For now, he addresses Sarracenia, with a light laugh. "If they can dig, or guard the perimeter, then that'll do. Honestly, half of why I arranged this, besides making it quicker, is because of companionship, you know? Having somebody watching your back feels nice." On that same vein, while he's stationary and catching the eye of ender again, he gives a nod to Eclipse. "Some kind of warrior, then," he figures? "Don't know how much you like finding loot, but the treasure chests in the strongholds tend to have a lot of, hmm, melee-oriented gear. You can help yourself once we get inside." None of those terms had any immediate meaning to him, so he isn't certain of any codes of conduct. She can take it or leave it. "Alright," he gives another beard stubble scratch. "I've got no idea how long these mountains are going to go for. I'm just going to climb over them. Anyone else is free to join me, or go around...or through, if you're industrious enough." He did provide pickaxes, after all! As for his climbing gear, he steps up to a steep rock face, and sets...a crudely made, wooden ladder against it. On the next, he repeats this process. He's making better time than one might with actual climbing gear, though it is likely somewhat unusual to see. You know, like a lot of what he does.
Staren	Staren buckles up, and shrugs at Steve's comment about how accurate the testing will be. It seems he acknowledges it but wants to test it anyway. Staren gives Kotone a chance to board, then the golem stands up, and as Staren works the joysticks and throttle, it turns and walks after Steve. "Now we're riding in style! ...Hmm. I should put a music player in this thing. No matter." Something under Staren's left sleeve begins playing music, mostly pop and electronica, though if his passengers have other suggestions he'll change it. Staren's eyes widen a little at the unusual mountain formations, and he brings the golem to a stop while Steve checks the direction. Once they come to the mountains, Staren stops. He 'hmmms', and considers the problem for a long moment, then passes his matter manipulator to the mecha's hand, and makes his way up the steep, blocky slope by removing just enough blocks to make places for the golem to climb up using its free hand and feet, or even jumping!
Alexis Maaka	As Maaka settles into the mecha, she lets Staren handle the rest. "Don't you have one in your head?" She points to her own head, before shrugging and enjoying the ride, not minding the choice in tunes as she tugs Kotone to her lap. "Bit of a tight squeeze, sorry." She teases, before getting comfy once more. The jumping doesn't seem to worry her much, as she calmly buckles up and keeps a hold on her partner in field ops, otherwise letting Staren do things for once.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "Creepers are what I'm honestly worried about." She also takes note of the mecha for a moment. She doesn't mind getting the lip and it's a big snug, but it does't bug her t all. She seems to be content for the moment as they get going. "Well there's worse situation to be in like this, right?" She's got to admit she wasn't quite expecting the golem to be like this but she seems set for the trip. "Well good to know we don't have to worry about that much hostile, wildlife though."
Lezard Valeth	"It was nothing." Lezard says, shaking his head in return to Steve. "Just a trifle of my regard. I concur, fire is quite useful here... As is water." Referring to the event where they /gathered/ those pearls. "Still, this will be a simple outing." The Necromancer moves along with the others, keeping up with the occasional short-range teleport instead of riding. The approach of the mountain makes him smile. " How convenient." He states, referring to Staren's work to make handholds and stairs for his golem.
Eclipse	Eclipse grins, excited both for the potential of treasure as well as... well, just climbing a mountain. She doesn't have any sort of mount or vehicle, but she does her best anyway, beginning to make her way up the right-angled mountainside, on all fours much of the way.
Steve	As Kotone proved a while back, matter manipulators do work on the local terrain, and even some objects! ...the spawner just had some strange side effects, is all. The dirt and stone, though, don't seem to be exotic enough to be 'corrupted' in a similar manner, detaching easily from their place in the world and flowing into it. The slopes can seem more like steps, but are a good deal more manageable, even to a ten-foot-tall walking contraption. Just don't mind the slightly bumpy ride too much, and hope the hydraulics, or whatever the equivalent is, hold out. Steve watches this with some interest, as he continues placing ladders up one particularly steep facing. "...heh, wonder if that wasn't the easier way to go about it." It's a bit late for him to change tactics, though, since he's practically already to the summit, where traversing the terrain will be much easier. In his distraction, he doesn't notice a nearby cave in the cliffside, which is partly in shadow. Or, for that matter, a green, veiny creature with a hollow 'face' emerging from it. Right on cue, huh Kotone? It casually saunters up to the ledge Steve is climbing up to, and he looks up while it looks down, "...ffff--" "---ssss!" He manages to clamber back down a few rungs of his ladders -- hopefully noone else was immediately behind him, or they might get a face full of Steve, in the process -- to avoid the blast, which still sends blocks of rock tumbling down. While he's hanging there from one arm, he gives a slightly dry laugh to Lezard, though still seems in good spirits, "Simple outings can become complicated." He returns to using both arms, and further jokes, "You get around as well as one of those endermen jerks, Lezard. I'll have to figure that out myself, at some point." Nonetheless, the mountain's crest isn't far off, no matter how it is reached, and the actual walking becomes a good deal easier.
Staren	Staren hears AN EXPLOSION and stops climbing, the golem holding its position with tireless strength. He looks around with one hand on his laser pistol, ready to draw it. "What was that?!"
Mihk Lihzeh	Mihk follows after Steve, climbing the ladders while sending Topaz ahead. The little creature bounds quickly up the side of the cliff face, claws latching into the stone. As the Creeper explodes, Topaz snarls, leaping onto the top of the cliff and arching its back, in case others are there waiting in ambush. Mihk herself covers from the falling debris. She pulls her tome out, and channels Aether into it, then casts a spell upwards. Steve would feel reinvigorated, as Aetheric energy washes over him to repair any minor wounds from the detonation.
Alexis Maaka	Maaka reaches for her pistol when she hears the explosion, tensing up as her helmet folds into place. Her optics scan for hostiles as she begins surveying her surroundings, drawing her weapon slowly.
Steve	With a mouthful still of dirt and dust, that he spits out after, Steve grumbles. "A Creeper," he responds to Staren, "It already exploded, though--hmm?" That feeling that washes over him, briefly. It feels somewhat like what his olf friend Sanary can draw out, sometimes, though also distinct from that. Glancing down, he soon figures out the source. "Heh, thanks, Mihk. Didn't get hurt too badly, but can never be too careful." Case in point, he hurriedly climbs the last few meters, and jogs over to the rocky indentation the creature emerged from and plants a torch there. Just for extra security. With an exhalation of air, Steve also turns to the Carbuncle, speaking in a tone he figures for soothing, "Shh, it's alright, little fella. It's gone for now." That goes more generally, too. While he does, himself, give another glance around just in case, he doesn't spot anything, or any obvious other hiding places. "Looks like the coast is clear. Stand down." He thinks that's the proper term, anyway. The miner also wanders back to give Mihk a boost up with an arm, if she wants, for the last bit. It's the least he can offer for having his back, almost literally. With the mountain effectively conquered, he then draws the by now familiar eye out again, and casts it upwards. The scan commences, and it settles...lightly southeast, along the ridgeline. The direction seems to be getting more refined, which likely means they're growing closer. He also glances up at the sun -- still many hours of daylight. Hopefully they'll be able to secure a spot before night comes.
Lezard Valeth	Lezard observes the assualt of the Creeper with equinamity. Steve can handly it. And handle it he does. With another slow teleport, Lezard appears on the ledge that was bombed to join Steve as he climbs back up. "Agreed. Be careful, it would be unpleasant were you to fall at this point." He looks up towards the crest of the mountain once more. "One day you will be able to do so, I am sure. Perhaps even improve on my technique. Goodness knows mine is inefficient." He chuckles at that.
Alexis Maaka	Phew. Maaka holsters her TRP, relaxing once the situation cools off. "Okay, how much further to the outpost zone?" She asks Steve over local comms, otherwise settling in her seat again.
Eclipse	As she gets ready to make a pouncing leap further up the mountain, Eclipse stumbles at the sound of an explosion, looking about with a snarl. Thankfully, though, there's no further trouble. "Let us continue," she says. "A creature that explodes..." she comments, considering things. "What possible reason could it have to do such a thing? An animal's goal is to survive... perhaps there was something important enough to it to give its life." Or perhaps it was not an entirely natural being, having no survival instinct.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa has taken in the local lay o the land here and it's quite exoptic in how some of the formations have taken hape. She does watch with interest as she grins just enjoying the trip. She foes pause however as she hears something hissing. "WAit did you hear that?"
Sarracenia	The princess has been travelling along pretty quietly. The landscape, though blocky, is quite lovely. Unlike her home, the trees are not so tightly packed and huge as to be claustraphobic. They are spread out, the grasses are short, there are no choking vines or giant bugs waiting to ambush a person. There are however those nasty little things known as Creepers. Having been travelling near the back of the group, she is only staggered somewhat when the Creeper nearly takes Steve out. Within moments she has her gigantic hammer in her hands, ready to pound the TNT out of any other Creepers. "They do seem to focus on Steve, or on those of us not native to this world. Perhaps they are some sort of conjured guardians or manufactured creature, like my cute little bob-ombs?" she says to Eclipse.
Mihk Lihzeh	"They seem like some kind of golem... the Aetheric current flowing through them is... odd." mentions Mihk, musing to herself, accepting the hand up. "How much further do you believe it will be?" she asks, after the eye is thrown and the new direction set.
Staren	"A... creeper?" Staren echoes, but when it's clear the danger has passed, he resumes piloting his golem up to the top. He takes a moment to take in the sight while Steve readies the eye of ender, making another quiet 'Hmm.' upon seeing it point the direction. Off they go again! "We don't know how far away it is, that thing's only giving us a direction to follow. I suppose we could use it to triangulate, but we'd lose time we could use to get closer."
Steve	There is just a moment, while everyone that needs it, including him, catches their breath. This gives Steve a chance to engage Lezard in some constructive conversation. He had somewhat joked before, but now that the more senior magus makes note of it...it has that thinking look in the miner's eyes again. "Hmm, come to think of it. The ender pearls do have that same sort of ability. If I could coax that power into a wand focus..." The avenue of thought is obvious, though he soon shakes his head to dismiss such notions until later. They still have some ground to cover. He says as much to Maaka, as well over local communications, which he apparently has a cumbersome radio for instead of any fancy cyberwear, and pointedly for Mihk to overhear. "The eye doesn't really give a distance in numbers I could quote," he admits, "But it seems a lot more specific than earlier. I'd say it's just past these mountains." Steve says that like it has any meaning to anyone not intimately familiar with the geography of Flat Earth. Maybe he belatedly realizes that, as he follows it up with, "We should get there by night fall, if there aren't any surprises." Like Creepers. "It's alright, Kotone," he also responds, "Took care of the source. At least, one source. They like hanging out in dark spaces, is all." While continuing along the ridgeline, in the direction the eye last indicated, he gives a somewhat helpless shrug to Eclipse, as well. "Never really understood it, myself. Even pigs and sheep know better than that. A Creeper will just jump to its death, if it thinks it has any shot at you." Sarracenia's comment actually gets him thinking, too, "I guess somebody must have actually built the Strongholds. I'm not sayin' they're connected or anything, but it does make me wonder." While he had recently discovered the identity of at least one society that 'came before' him, their style of architecture tended to be more runed obsidian than chiseled stone brick. "Myself," he figures, climbing over a thankfully shorter rock ledge, "I think they're just somebody's idea of a prank that went out of control. Or maybe someone was trying to create something else, and ended up with that...and it escaped." It's hard to tell how serious he is with those thoughts. The mountains continue on quite a ways, but eventually, it seems there is a lowering of elevation, onto the other side. The green, brackish-looking water below, pooled up among trees and sparse, soggy soil indicates this is likely a Flat Earth swamp, to any scouting, long range vision, or otherwise. "At least the way down is easier than up," he figures, though while eyeing the quickest way back down, he wonders to Mihk, in particular, "This Aether stuff you keep mentioning, is that like Vis? It's this magic energy that can flow through the air, trapped in a wand core, and comes from 'nodes.'"
Sarracenia	They reach the top of the mountains, and then... "A swamp?!" Sarracenia says indignantly. "I am not trudging through a swamp! I am a princess!" She hmphs, then looks over toward Staren and his golem. "You! You will carry me." she says, then makes her way toward the already burdened golem. Whether it stops or not, she leaps up and attempts to land on top of it.
Alexis Maaka	"Oh for fuck's sake." Maaka says, upon noticing the Princess storming towards the mech. "Alright, fine. I need to stretch my legs anyways." She grouses, before climbing out of the mech, leaping out towards the green swampland, drawing her rifle once more. "Happy now, your majesty?" The title isn't exactly a polite one, delivered with as much venom as one can manage without seeming overt towards royalty. She does mutter some /very/ unladylike things under her breath, beginning to head further into the swamp without complaint. At least her olfactory sensors are filtered, so breathing isn't an issue, nor is scent. <Kotone, get some drones out here. We're gonna need to cover a lot of angles while we're trudging through this marsh.>
Eclipse	Eclipse nods as the others speculate. Some sort of artificial creature would make sense. In any case, there's not much use in pondering zoology at the moment, since they seemed to be getting closer to their destination. Now it seems like they're starting to talk about magic... there seemed to be many different types. At least the power of nature was similar between worlds, from what she'd seen so far. ...though, there was that digital creature she'd met earlier. Sarracenia's antics just remind her why she's not a fan of nobility. If people are going to claim status or power over others, they should at least do something to show they deserve it. In any case, they were on their way through this swampland.
Mihk Lihzeh	Mihk pulls her robe up a bit, cinching her belt to keep it from trailing in the muck. She also lifts her tail looping it around her waist to keep it from trailing too. "Heel. Obey." she states to Topaz, as it runs up and clambers up onto her shoulder again. "It seems the sun will be setting soon. Let us hope we find our destination soon."
Staren	Staren growls softly as Sarracenia leaps into his mech uninvited -- but there is room, since the cab is laid out like a car with four seats. He holds his hands out, palms-up in a 'what?' gesture as Maaka climbs out. She doesn't have to! "...I hope this thing doesn't get stuck in the swamp..." only one way to find out! forward they go!
Steve	Climbing back down, at least for Steve, involves some short jumps down and a bit of sliding. It's nothing too troublesome, and he seems quite practiced at it. "Yeah, a swamp," he confirms. "Wet, humid, the whole works." A lot of places for undead to hide from the sunlight, too, though it's still too light out for any of those to appear. "The thing about swamps, and where Maaka's gear will come in handy. There are these slimes. They're slow and aren't that dangerous, and make a racket when they move, but keep your wits about ya." As Steve reaches the bottom, he once again draws the eye out. In the standard fashion, he flips it into the air. It very quickly hones in again to the southeast, on a slightly different vector than last time. One can easily interpret that as the signal getting stronger. "Well, good news," he remarks, "Is that it looks to be close. The bad news is we're likely going to be setting up shop in a swamp." There are still worse places, like the desert, but you'll have to excuse him if he doesn't sound too thrilled by the notion. He gives a nod to Mihk, as well, gazing through the heavily foliage toward the sky, where the sun is now well past its halfway point, and marching steadily toward where it will give way to the moon, and night. Drawing his staff core out of his inventory, he affixes a fire focus onto the end: He's without his robes, but he'll just handle the vis inefficiencies, for now. As he had discussed with Lezard, a lot of things hate fire. "Alright, let's keep making good time, then. We're close, I can smell it!" Or maybe that's the decomposing plant matter. Further afield, one can occasionally hear the splats and sputters of...something. As well as the movement of something translucent and green. It sort of makes sense that something gross would live here, though the largest of them seem to be having trouble navigating the trees. The smaller ones hop a bit faster, and appear to be trailing after the intruders. They might even hop against feet and legs in a futile attempt to be threatening. Steve laughs them off, before stomping one under foot. "Annoyin', but harmless, when they're this size." As they get presumably closer, he tosses the eye up with increasing frequency. Eventually, it hovers directly in the air, and spins around without seeming to find a direction; before turning, downward. "Bingo!" That's a good thing, right?
Mihk Lihzeh	Mihk frowns a little at the slimes. One of the larger ones earns her ire when it attempts to leap on her. She lifts her tome and draws power from it. White light flashes from her hand, splattering the creature with explosive force. "Disgusting creatures." she says, then watches the Eye point downwards. "Beneath a swamp... whoever built this place must have either not known about foundations... or built it and the swamp swallowed it up afterward."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa seems to relax when Steve points out it's been handled and some more about the monster's behaviour she will not forget about that." She keeps tight but he does deploy several of the the small drones take off as Kotone issues commands to them she sees them taking flight and she looks over to the Princes and tilts her head a bit. "You did sign up for this your Majestyy." <<Done>> The drones fly away trying to get more data. "Just of note I hate swamps myself, I don't like ground I could get bogged down in. On the bright side I'll never deal with biting insects ever /again/.
Alexis Maaka	"Suit nothin', I used to trudge through swamps like these in plenty of places; Africa, Sino-territory, India, you name it." Maaka chuckles, before she begins to trudge ahead, following Steve like a loyal hound as she keeps her rifle handy. Slowed down by the muck, Maaka just grits her teeth before she kicks at one of the slimes when they get too close. "Shoo, not here for wildlife research." She hisses, before synching to Kotone's drones to get a good view at all ranges.
Staren	Staren desides to dispense with the arduous climbing and carful jumps, and simply uses the matter manipulator to remove bits of mountain from under his construct until it's back at ground level. Then he takes the matter manipulator and puts it back on his belt for now. "Slimes." he echoes, but nods at the warning. So, a swamp base. "Hmmm." he considers how best to deal with that. He watches the slimes curiously, but there seems to be no need to attack it. "The ground here doesn't seem to be any less solid. It may not be an issue, with this world's unusual physics." Staren unbuckles and stands up to look around as they come to their destination. "So, we're setting up some kinda base here? Hmm. Tell me where you want walls, and I'll make walls." That's what the matter manipulator's for, after all!
Sarracenia	The princess hmphs softly and smirks lightly as Maaka exits the vehicle. "Yes, thank you." she says, apparently ignoring or not catching the venomous response. But then...they have to set up the outpost here? In the middle of the swamp? Sarracenia is not happy at all about this development. "Well...I suppose the pirahna plants will enjoy such terrain..." she says with a sigh. When those slimes appear, she blinks. "Aww! They are cute!" the princess says. Of course, she isn't down on the ground for them to jump on. Slime on her dress would likely not make her happy. When Kotone speaks to her, Sarracenia just turns her nose up. "I signed up for exploration and monster extermination. I did not sign up for swamp duty." she says, crossing her arms over her chest. Then, she speaks into her radio. "Commander Leafy, please deploy a small detatchment of the engineering corp to my location." she says. What comes back is a series of growls and creaking that translates to an acknowledgment. Then, Sarracenia stretches her arms over her head and relaxes in the golem. "Excellent. You make the walls, and someone make a proper floor so that I will not have to get my dress dirty." she says, as if expecting everyone to do all the work for her.
Lezard Valeth	Lezard nods back to Steve as he comes up with an idea. "Just use some caution in your research. Spatial distortions are not what one could call safe to trifle with." He has little more to say as they enter the swamp. Lezard doesn't kick as slime when it bounces at him. He steps on it, crushing it under his boot without any more care than if he was annihilating an insect. Which, well, to be fair is about the same thing. "I can drop off the supplies I am carrying once we have ascertained a position to begin." Says the Sorceror.
Steve	"Yeah...I mean, the ground here is kind of gross, isn't it?" He'll accept that much of Sarracenia's complaint, as well as Kotone's dislike. In general, Staren and Mihk also raise good points, but it's not really in his capability to guess what might have been the motives for building something in a swamp. It's something he tended to avoid, himself. "So, tell ya what. I'll start excavating and building a floor that, while it might not be pretty, will at least be dry." He gives a nod to Staren's offer, as well, in addition to any help that this engineering corp might have to offer. "Have your...piranha plants, and whatnot, clear the trees around here if they can, and Staren can build some walls out of the trunks. Might as well use local materials where we can." It'll make engineering the descent a bit easier. "Maaka, Mihk, Lezard, Eclipse. I know it'll be boring and messy work, but if you could, team up with Kotone and her drones to keep the slimes away, and from making even more of a mess of the work site." For Sarracenia herself, well...he doesn't have that much to do, if she doesn't want, but if she's got minions to help, that's good enough. With that, he switches the wand focus on his staff to one of excavation; a deep green, hemispherical bauble. Channeling vis from the staff into it, he gestures at a rectangular area of the top layer of soil, which then flows into his inventory. It seems that will be the perimeter of the work site. It's tedious but predictable, so it leaves him time to answer Lezard, "Heh, of course! Likely only a few explosions, and maybe the creation of a 'hungry node'. ...I better do that experimentation away from my house." "Once I've got the foundation up, I'll set up some chests, so you can stow anything you've carried over. This shouldn't take long, then we'll take a break for the time being. It's going to be a deep dig." Good thing he brought a lot of extra ladders. The slimes, perhaps honing in on biological signatures of some kind, or following a distinct smell that isn't swampy, converge on the area. But, as Steve said, they are slow and easily managed, and their paths quite predictable. They are just animated cubes of goop, after all.
Steve	"Oh yeah, Lezard," he suddenly remembers, as he's hefting up some more soggy dirt blocks. "...lightning is completely cool against these."
Alexis Maaka	Maaka just ignores the slimes further once everyone gets to the base site itself. She nods, pulling out her Manipulator again to produce turrets, loading the automated coilguns up while beginning to plant them in choke points and synching them up with a power pylon she begins constructing, whatever that is. A lot of the tech she's setting up seems to be jury rigged together, althought solidly functional in practice.
Eclipse	Eclipse keeps her shield raised, facing the slimes. They don't seem too hard to handle. But now they've arrived at their destination, and it's time to set up camp. And of course, the princess doesn't want to get her dress dirty. "'Exploration and monster extermination' are not for those who want to keep clean," she says. "The wilds will not pamper you." While it wasn't the most comfortable situation, the shifter would have been fine resting in the wetland... but it looked like Steve was planning on building a shelter anyway. As the slimes approach, Eclipse pushes her sword a little ways out of its sheath, before drawing it forth with a howl. "Let's protect this camp!" she calls out, ready to let loose with her primal powers.
Staren	Staren nods, and has the golem stop and crouch so they can dismount, turning the controls off before shouldering his rifle and climbing down. He goes to disassemble some trees while Steve gets the foundation ready, then starts laying down walls and ceiling with cobblestone and wood. He should have plenty of materials -- there's the cobblestone and wood from the base by the gate, the local wood, and finally the stripey alien wood he's taken from Amalgam. Someone else will have to provide doors, furniture, and proper windows, though. Also light sources, though he'll put up bright LEDs attached to batteries as a temporary light until someone can put proper lights up.
Mihk Lihzeh	Mihk nods to Steve. "Carbuncle. Sic." she commands. The little creature chirrups and leaps off the Arcanist's shoulder, while Mihk herself channels Aether through her Tome. "Come Thunder, Come Lightening. Fill this bog and blight with thy power. I summon thee forth to do my will." She intones, voice resonating before she holds the page outwards, and a flash of Actual Lightening lances out to smash into one of the huge slimes in the distance. The flip flapping of a tiny slime catches her attention, and she peers down at it... "Hmmm, I wonder..." into her satchel she goes, rummaging around for a few moments as the slime bashes ineffectually against her boot. It's kinda cute that it thinks it's a dangerous creature. Mihk finally finds the object of her search, extracing a large jar from the bag. She stoops, and scoops the slime into the jar when it leaps to go for her face, slamming the lid down tightly. "There, that should hold you for a while." she says, shaking the jar a little, making the slime inside squish and squealch aggitatedly.
Sarracenia	After a short while, a wooden airship that looks something like a viking longboat approaches. It has propellers where masts should be, and at some 40 feet long it is able to cary about two dozen of the strange plant creatures that serve as Sarracenia's soldiers and workers. With root-like feet, green stalks for bodies, large leaves for arms/hands, and red pitcher plant heads full of shark-like teeth. They are a strange mix of harmless and dangerous looking. And, they don't seem to mind the swamp at all. It is actually quite pleasant to them. Dirty water? Rich soil? They love it! And they get right to work, going to Steve for direction since Sarracenia directed them toward him. They have brought their own tools, but no building supplies since the princess told them that Steve would be supplying the materials. So...Steve has a small army of happy-go-lucky plant workers to help build and dig and cut trees! Many a tree are soon felled, though probably not as quickly as Steve himself might have felled them. And Sarracenia? She continues lounging in the golem.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "I havet oa gree and slimes... Oh God in heven these things /actually/ exist?" She shudders and wioll take some pot shots at the slime and she'll never get too close to them. Oh she so does not want to get close to them. She does howevder seem to be enjoying herself otherwise. Though Maaka might get why Kotone is reactiont to the slimes like she is. "IT's not a job where you get to keep clean I'm afraid Princess, still it does you credit your out in the world. Also thanks for the lift Staren." She'll let Steve get to work and help keep the local wildlife away.
Steve	"Huh, what kind of torches are those," comes a wonder at the LED lights? They're even brighter than glowstone to look at, though for some reason, the light seems to taper off faster than the local lighting forms. With a cubic meter of 'floor' dug out, Steve places blocks of cobblestone in its place. As he said, it's not that pretty, but it is at least dry. When Sarracenia's workers arrive, Steve gives just a momentarily surprised look, but then remembers his own quite helpful golems probably seem just as strange. "Heh, your work force definitely seems fit for the environment," he observes. "Alright, you guys get to work on the rest of the trees. We don't want places critters can hide. I'll use the wood to build the walls and roof, then we'll have a serviceable shelter." With Staren and the piranha plants' help, a walled encampment soon arises, immensely defendable, especially with turrets placed. The slimes are, as Steve promised, not all that dangerous. Certainly, the ones that are a step up in size from the tiniest ones can do a sort of contact damage, which given their form is probably some kind of 'digestive' attack...but against an Elite's bare skin, it likely stings at worst. Against armor, it might do some light damage. Along with their predictable, and loud, movements, they are made short work of. The issue is they keep coming, squishing out from ever more distant nooks and crannies -- which, along with the rapidly darkening sky, is why building a shelter was important. Steve rapidly works about making the space more liveable, placing more permanent torches (local physics at work again) along the interior and exterior of the walls Staren made, as well as some creature comforts, like a front door for the cabin, and some beds for resting. Then some chests are placed against an interior wall, for stowing any excess. The piranha plants are directed to store the extra wood and saplings there. For windows, the cabin doesn't receive something as fancy as glass; crude wooden fencing doubles to serve as that. Finally, things look ready enough, that Steve calls out, "Alright, everyone get inside. I'll close this off, and then we can take a break!" The camp...well, it's certainly not the fanciest, but for a speed build it's quite cozy. Steve waits at the gate for everyone to get their final slime extermination, or in Mihk's case, slime collection, complete. Then, he quickly places some remaining wood logs in the gap, completely enclosing the yard and cabin. "Phew...I'll make a proper piston gate later, but that'll do for now. Good work, everybody." Against the timber and cobblestone, the slimes that by luck evade the automated defenses can be heard crowding up against the wall, but they're powerless to do anything about it, over any time scales that are likely to matter here. "After dinner, I'll get a secondary warp gate -- that's what you guys call it, right? Set up, so we don't have to make that trip on foot again."