Scene #4629: The Forest Below

Owner	Pose
Yunomi Stadler	THE SIMIC COMBINE LANDS -- UNDERGROUND The various notebooks recovered from THE REDFERN FLAT and from Rhapsody's meeting with IJIWARU have been translated! Coded notes from Yunomi's personal studies, secreted away from the Izzet and prying Magic-Eater eyes both outlining not only the plans for the Mana Nexus's components and the Mana Vine network planned to cover much of the city of Ravnica -- both above, and below. The notebooks pointed to several locations within Ravnica, possible secret labs of the tanuki's work. The first of these was called The Underground Forest, and it is true to its name. Thewalls glow with their own soft light, the light of sunlight filtered through the green of early summer leaves. THe cobblestones and concrete of this part of the undercity give way to knobbly roots and leaf litter at this sttrange opening in the middle of one of the mid layers, sandwiched between the Simic Combine's territory and the undercity below. The sound of leaves whispering and the protesting moaning of boughs shifting around. Gnarled trees, impossibly old for how much ground has been worn away around them guard the entrance to this place. There is a lot of green mana here; the air is thick with it, like a high humidity that makes the hair on the back of a mage's neck stand up with electricity.
Sakura Kinomoto	Sakura shivers slightly as she stands just on the 'threshold' to the Underground Forest. She pulls her cloak - white, with a red sash, and a large peaked hood currently not pulled up - closer around her, as if trying to ward off the cold that isn't actually there. It's downright warm here, really. "I knew there was a lot of mana in Ravnica, but... wow," she murmurs to the small 'plant fairy' perched on her shoulder. The Wood looks positively blissed out from all the Green Mana around.
Staren	The Simic seem friendly enough, going by Staren's previous encounter with them. Although his own expertise is in machines and ocasionally magic, biotech is just machines made out of meat, right? So he can appreciate their work. As they enter the cavern, he assumes the walls glow on purpose. "Hmm. Now that's /interesting/. Usually with glowing moss you see blue-green light, not the best for growing green plants. But they've managed to get it to glow with artificial /sunlight/. I wonder how they did that? ...And where the heck does the moss get the energy to glow from? Maybe it feeds on mana... Yeah, there's a lot of ambient magic here."
Kirika	Kirika more or less is here DESPITE her rather shameful actions the last time she was in this world. To say the least, she has a good bit to atone for in her mind. The Kitsune carries her katana tucked on her hip as usual, prepared for the worst. She's been briefed on green mana, and also the sort of properties this land has as well. There is nothing Kirika likes more than not being consumed by some sort of horrible green mass of horror, so there is that. Holy Crap. Sakura Kinomoto is here. "Sakura!" Kirika doesn't take long before she notices the protector of Tomeda, and suddenly Sakura's given a hug. No more words, just Kirika wrapping her arms and tail around the little mage. "...I missed you." she murmurs sheepishly, releasing her.
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite isn't really the investigating type. That was usually left to the Rangers, or the local law. She just showed up when something needed to be fixed, or broken for the better good. This sort of problem wasn't really in her usual foray. But she still didn't trust some of the people that were supposedly 'helping'. So she was mainly along to make sure other things don't turn this thing into a bigger mess than it already was going to be, even if the Simic weren't being as antagonistic as some of the other guilds. Not that she gave a shit about what the majority of the Council thought at this point. The fox tilts her head a little in the direction of Staren's rambling, and despite all can't help but snicker a bit. "Well there's one fella that CAN see the forest for the tree."
Iria	Primarily she's a bounty hunter, but sometimes investigating is also part of that work, which is why Iria's taking the time to look things over as she makes her way here. The Underground Forest might seem like an unusual place for some, but for Iria, she's used to just about anything, anywhere, at any time. She looks around from side to side, scowling a little as she does look things over. Not because she's got a bad feeling about this, but because this whole thing with Yunomi has been worrying her ever since it started, and the longer it takes to conduct this investigation, the more frustrated she ebcomes. As Iria makes her way into the cave, she looks to Staren and sneers a little as she narrows one eye, listening to him ramble. She's tempted to reply to him, but bites her lip since she figures that she'd make a sarcastic comment and end up causing more trouble than need be.
Rhapsody	In need of making sure folks don't consider this an Izzet investigation? That people are wandering through for a reason other than research? "Oy, whatcha all doin' on my patrol route?" If anyone had been in the Namamura District when the riot was being dealt with, they may recognize the former Boros Legionare wandering up on the group. She looks a bit bewildered to see so many people here at the forest's edge. "This isn't really a place folks frequent a lot, ya know? 'Course, I don't have ta patrol it either but, well, ya know, old habits'n all that, right?"
Yunomi Stadler	The patrollers may get the feeling of being watched. THere is movement in the rees, s omething retreating -- maybe even a flash of red among the foliage. On closer inspection, there is no real 'mossiness' to the walls -- the walls themselves are enchanting to glow -- as is presumably the ceiling above, obscured by canopy. The ambient mana about seems to pulse, like a heart beat. There is a mechanical humming that kicks up, whirrrrring to life within.
Sakura Kinomoto	Sakura gives a faint smile as Staren begins to hypothosise out loud. It hadn't hit her until this moment how much she actually missed the huge nerd. But then, suddenly, fox hugs! "Gack!" She goes rigid for a moment, then exhales sharply and laughs. "...Hey, Kirika. Good to see you too." Awkward hair-ruffles ensure. The mage that tries to extricate her from the fox, and close her eyes. She exhales slowly, concentrating... "I don't... sense Yunomi, but all the mana might be messing me up." She rubs the bridge of her nose. "And the mana is just coming from all around us, so no help there either..." She gives a short laugh. "Guess I should've paid more attention in tracking training."
Rebound	It seems that wherever Corona goes, Rebound doesn't seem to be very far behind her. Even when they don't plan on doing it. The kangaroo had joined up because, honestly, she doesn't trust Ijiwaru, even if all he's done to earn her distrust is act like a smug asshole. It's not really enough for most people, but damnit is ifor her. She's found herself following the group, not able to sense any magic or anything like that, so having to do things the hard way, with her nose and eyes.
Kirika	Kirika is not accustomed to hugs, but she makes an exception for close friends, and Sakura is definitely. Her ears wiggle as Sakura ruffles her hair, and she smiles faintly. "I can track her." She says, growing more serious again. "At least I think, anyway." She produces her amulet, trying to focus for a moment as she attempts to hone on anything that resembles the tanuki's signal.
Staren	Staren turns around at the sound of a familiar voice. "Sakura! You made it!" He's next in line for hugging, although he keeps it brief. "It's good to see you again." And then he waits to follow Kiriko, since it seems she has a way to track Yunomi.
Corona Arclite	The mutant may feel out of place, but Corona feels better having more familiar faces around. She knows she can count on Rebound to watch her back, which means she can focus on what she does best if things do get messy. However for the moment she's distracted by a familiar but surprising voice chiming in to the group. Who expected her to be here? Patrol?.. but wasn't she... oh. Force of habit. Well that's understandable. "It's a long story," the vixen replies to Skara. "Story ya might not wanna get wrapped up in."
Yuna Kagurazaka	As much as Yuna loves her work as an idol singer, it DOES occasionally conflict with the commitments she's chosen to the Union and to her friends - and when it runs up against the latter, Yuna gets unhappy. Not angry so much as disappointed - and not at others so much as at herself. Fortunately, once Elner has a chance to analyze the coordinates, it's not that hard for Yuna to rendezvous with the others, already in her Light Suit. Jiina, Marina, and Erina are with her, although they're hanging back for now. "Hey everyone, sorry I'm running late ..." If Sakura's busy hugging people, Yuna accepts one and hugs the mage back, followed by taking a moment to wave to the others as well, before she turns her attention to the forest. "Yeah, I can definitely imagine Yunomi hiding out down here. Green mana's one of her specialties, she could probably blend in perfectly."
Rhapsody	"Right, I getcha," Skara muses as she closes distance, giving the rest of the group a wary eye, but turning back to the artificer since, you know, she actually responded to her question. "Eh, I got time if yer willin to explain it," she offers before looking out toward the forest. "Kinda familiar with the area but things started changing not to long ago. I think there was an Izzet workin' down here on somethin'. Not enitrely sure what, though. Got something to do with ya'all being down here?"
Yunomi Stadler	There /was/ an Izzet here. THey're gone now. Leaving behind the forest lab. As the group enters in, there's another bit of movement in the trees. Flashes of red that do not belong to birds. SLithering sounds. THere is a workbench off to one side, some notes flitting about in the golden light coming from the walls. And the mechanical 'whirrrrrrr' gets louder.
Sakura Kinomoto	Sakura is being assaulted with hugs! But they distract her from her mystical senses enough to let her use her physical senses for once - and she spots a workbench! Blink. With a tap of her wand against a card inside a pocket sewn into her leg (she's... planning ahead?!), she suddenly superhumanly leaps over to the workbench. Let's check these papers!
Rebound	Rebound moves over towards Corona, "You ever get a bad feeling being somewhere?" She asks, "Like looking around. Like we're being watched." She frowns a bit, "I don't know if anything is gonna jump out at us, but be ready for it just in case." She's gonna look around as best she can in this strange place, but she's no detective, so she's not sure what to be looking for.
Corona Arclite	"Possibly," Corona replies. "With the way things are lately it's.. well, looking into some of the things that might of gone on away from the guild halls." On one hand, she doesn't want to say to much. On the other hand, she gets the feeling this former guard is okay. Gut feeling. Or maybe it has to do with that oh-so-familiar sword. And the accent. Not that she gets to ask about either, because that whirring buzz of machinery makes her ears snap upright. Izzet's may mess in magic and machines alike, but she wasn't expecting such a familiar buzzing noise around here. It causes her to tense, tail frizzling noticable as she slowly pulls her space blaster out of its holster. "y'all might be rawht, Hoppy..."
Staren	"Where's that mechanical sound coming from?" Staren looks around, then starts pacing to measure the sound from slightly different positions and try to track it... Others are already looking at the papers, after all...
Yuna Kagurazaka	"Good question ..." Yuna comments to Staren; she heard that mechanical noise as well, and she's actively looking around the laboratory now. Not just in the obvious places, but under the workbench, upwards - if there's a ceiling, she's checking that out; if not, she's just looking among the branches as well as she can. "Elner, this might be an environment too high in mana for your sensors to work at their best, but are you picking up anything mechanical that isn't one of the people we know are with the group?" The robo-faerie sets about scanning.
Iria	Meanwhile, Iria takes notice of the notes on the table. She goes over to examine them, giving them a scrutinizing look. Even if she can't read what they says, she's going to try to examine them extra closely to see if she can figure out any other clues, like when they might have been written or who might have written them, the latter based on the style of writing while the former based on things like how cool or warm the papers are or if there's fresh ink on them.
Rhapsody	"I'm gonna agree with that one," Skara says, looking over at Rebound, "Somethin's here. Ya'all look for what's makin the noise," she suggests, drawing the blade that Corona keeps looking at. Rather than look for the device or whatever is making the whirring noise, Skara's eyes go upward, trying to track the movement above them. "A lil' urgency might be helpful right about now.."
Yunomi Stadler	The papers flitting over the desk aren't recent. A couple are sap-stained. They're technical drawings, done in Yunomi's hand. Multiple pages describe connecting generators, scrathed out ideas and reminders like 'Take Reximus to the vet' and 'Christmas Cards for Prowl + Optimus -- update on dad's health?' 'Make sure goblins finish welding greenhouse supports' fit into the margins. A few have sketches for what Sakura may recognize as scenes from Danger Tanuki specials, thumbnails for figure drawings. A drawing of a grumpy looking man in his early twenties, wearing a military style cap with a few sketches of a bulldog around him. Some of these notes are years old. One: 'Who Burned Redfern?' is quite recent, but still much older than a week. The whirring, humming noises are coming from a generator! The mana generator appears to be powering the forest itself, producing green mana throguh a converter system marked 'CONVERTER MK II', attached to a turbine turned by a steam vent, contained and sent spiring upwards. There is a clipboard of notes here, starting with 'The array failed, and I lost Niv' as the very first page.
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite's sharp hearing hones in on the source of the whirr, and she's off at a scamper. Oh now we're getting to things Corona can at least understand, machines! Even if it is machines dealing with magic. She's learned a thing or two thanks to all the time she's spent around Ryx and the Izzet lately. Almost immeadiately she notices the clipboard sitting nearby and picks it up. Peers at the first one, then her eyes widen. "Wait... wait a rootin' tootin' moment here!" She turns, holding up the clipboard. "Hey, Ah found somethin!"
Kirika	Kirika approaches the notes, where they're placed on the desk. "...hmm." SHe quirks a brow at the military dressed man. Could this be Lieutenant Stadler? It looks the part, at least, but it's too young to match Richard's age. Kirika frowns, before setting that picture aside. She also rifles through some of the other pictures, before she stops at 'who burned Redfern?' "Hnnnn...perhaps this might be a clue. It's older than a week however, seems less aged than the other notes, however."
Rhapsody	As a former Boros member, Skara's attention is going to stay on protecting these find folks, not sticking her nose in notebooks and sketches. She does glance over occasionally, but she's going to try and look for movement as often as possible. Corona's outburst does get the woman to reply, "Whatcha got?"
Iria	Iria scowls at the notes. They're written by Yunomi, sure, but that's just upon first glance in Iria's opinion. She puts them down and sighs, folding her arms underneath her cape. "OK, so what else do we have to go on?" She asks the others. "If you ask me, there's something fishy about this place and I don't like it!"
Yuna Kagurazaka	Just a generator? Not so much to worry about, then, but Elner keeps monitoring the Converter Mk II for a few moments, making sure that the power levels are remaining steady - not trending noticeably upwards or downwards. With that question answered, Yuna's attention shifts elsewhere. She can't read straight-up English without help, so if that's what Yunomi was making notes in, she'll be dependent on others to read. (Japanese, Yuna would be okay - she's not illiterate. And Elner can help her with English but the robo-faerie is otherwise occupied.) "What've you got, Corona?" is Yuna's immediate question.
Staren	Staren homes in on the source of the sound with Corona. "A generator-powered forest? Don't see that every day..." He looks at the clipboard with Corona, mentally wincing at the first page. So these notes are from then...
Corona Arclite	"Good thing Ah came prepared," Corona murmurs as she walks back to the group, holstering her gun with the other hand so she can pull out her analyzer. Which she thought ahead to load a translation program after knowing Yunomi's mixed background. It's kind of hard to miss the Japanese influences by this point. It also works for bad scrawling English. Seriously, have you seen Corona's own handwriting? It has to. She sweeps the device over the clipboard. Then holds the device up for others to read the translation on the screen. -Array failed, and I lost Niv-. Corona goes from surprised to confuse. ".. Ah thought he was already gone?"
Rebound	"Niv..He was Rhapsody's dad, right? A bit before my time in the Union but I thought he was gone, which is why Rhapsody took over that place in the first place. You think she was trying to like..Raise the dead or something?"
Sakura Kinomoto	Sakura chews her lip. "Technically speaking, I don't think Niv-Mizzet actually -died-. So... Yunomi might be trying to perform some ritual or procedure to bring him back from... wherever he ended up. But something went wrong?"
Yuna Kagurazaka	"I'm pretty sure that's what Yunomi's been trying to do, yeah," Yuna chimes in. "Although 'dead' or 'banished from this plane,' it comes out pretty close to the same thing. Not exactly, but the effect is similar for the people Niv left behind. Does it say anything else, Corona?"
Staren	Staren nods to Sakura. "Yeah. We found evidence in another hideout of just such a plan. Doesn't help us clear Yunomi's name, though..."
Yunomi Stadler	The notes continue on the clipboard, but they are all highly technical. Connector notes, diffusers, samophlange materials, magical sourced vs. non-magical sourced. Boring, dry, the kind of stuff that you'd find hiding in the back of technical books that cost way too much at college bookstores. Maths, descriptions, places to source, lists, the occasional 'no, this mix is too volitile, back to plan b' notation, until the manavines are used more prominantly. It then builds up into the honeycomb. This lab might have been the first step of the Nexus research. Those at the counter would find that beneath the papers, there are books. "PORTAL MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS: An Expert's Guide" property of the Izzet League. "Theories of summoning" notes, from the Senate. And not checked out. Sheafs that are unmarked, and written in strange tongues and odd, archaic handwriting, even for Ravnica.
Sakura Kinomoto	"Clear her name? Clear her name of what?" Sakura sounds genuinely perplexed. ... Does she not KNOW why they're even here?
Kirika	"Treason. She attempted to wrest control from Rhapsody of the Izzet guild." Kirika says grimly.
Corona Arclite	"If she was... that would take a lotta energy. Thus the mana nexus... but then why would she...." Corona lets that trail off as she flips through the other pages on the clipboard to see if there's anything else relevant. "The rest of this looks to be technical notes 'bout the nexus... lotta trial an' error written here..." Corona's probably one of the few here that would actually understand that part of it, even if her engineering isn't the same. "Ah reckon this was one of the first places she was workin' on it." She turns her head to look up at the forest around them. "She succeeded in making green grow... but not what she was tryin' for..."
Rhapsody	"Oooooh, that's what the vote a few weeks back was held fer, wasn't it?" Sounds like despite Skara's status, she's familiar with the headlines in Ravnica, at least. "To answer yer question, I guess there was an outsider brought into the Izzet League. Somethin' happened over at Presentation Day an' a Guild Council got called and voted to send some other outsider after'er." pause. "For not likin' outsiders, that logic dun make any sense ta me."
Yuna Kagurazaka	"Yunomi was accused of trying to murder Rhapsody and take over the Izzet League by force, Sakura," Yuna answers quietly. "I don't think any of us believe that at the moment. God help anyone who DOES believe Yunomi was capable of murdering Rhapsody - particularly if they make the mistake of saying so in Yuna's hearing. Yuna still believes strongly in Yunomi's innocence - or at least, that there was some reason which made her desperate enough to try such extreme measures. Bringing back Niv-Mizzet would certainly count for that. "And then this jerk named Ijiwaru showed up while the Guild representatives were talking about what to do, and he persuaded them to let him and his fellow 'magic-eaters' join the search for Yunomi," Yuna continues. "We're trying to find her before they can."
Corona Arclite	"Yeah. Buncha hypocrites they were," Corona adds sourly in reply to Skara.
Yuna Kagurazaka	"Not to mention that Ijiwaru explicitly admitted he has a grudge against Yunomi and would be willing to kill her out of hand," Yuna adds further, scowling. "He gave his word not to murder her on sight, but ... I don't expect him to be bound by that. If nothing else, he can kill her and claim self-defense - and he might not even have to lie; Yunomi probably would try to kill him or any other magic-eaters, considering she's as strongly magical as anyone I know."
Sakura Kinomoto	"Oh." There's a long pause as Sakura chews this over. "That's dumb." Yeah, she made her mind up quickly. "...Wait. Magic eaters?" Sakura's eyes harden - and suddenly a flicker surrounds her, before her body is wreathed in a bonfire of magical energy. "They're after her again?" she practically whispers.
Kirika	Kirika quirks a brow. "Have they been about before?" She asks Sakura, concerned and worried. "Obviously, we believe there is more to Yunomi's actions. However, there is little doubt everyone else sees it a different way."
Iria	Iria still doesn't understand what's going on, since she's not versed in magic. Yet, the more she sees of this, the more suspicious she becomes. "Something's really wrong here. In fact, I think there's something here that's been planted. Call it a hunch."
Staren	"To clarify," Staren adds to Yuna's explanation, "She's probably posessed or something. So, everyone /did/ see her hold Rhapsody at spearpoint, shatter Thionel, and demand control of the Izzet league. It happened when she was trying to link Namamura and Ravnica, and bring Namamura's guardian spirit through, to protect the Namamurans living in Ravnica... but something killed the guardian spirit, so it didn't work. Who knows /what/ was pulled through instead..." "...What do you mean 'again'?"
Sakura Kinomoto	Sakura's aura slowly dissipates. "THe Magic-Eaters... I just remember they've been plaguing Yunomi for a while. They jumped her in the street one time, but we managed to fight them off... It was years ago though so I dunno if I can give you much info. I just remember, well, magic doesn't work on them very well." "...Wait, wasn't... Yunomi's mother's the guardian of Namamura, isn't she? Or at least, she's... important to Namamura. Yunomi's Guardian powers were tied to her nature..."
Yuna Kagurazaka	"Yunomi is the Guardian of Namamura right now, as far as I know," Yuna offers. "But there was at least one being from Namamura who's been murdered - Kaeruhime. And," she adds with a scowl, "they're trying to pin THAT on Yunomi too, the idiots." 'Idiots' is said in such a tone that Yuna would certainly like to use far stronger language ... but it wouldn't be ladylike, and it wouldn't really be like Yuna, so 'idiots' will have to suffice.
Staren	Staren looks at Yuna. "Wait, /seriously/? Well, I guess if anyone would believe Yunomi attacking Rhapsody and the Izzet, they'd believe that too..."
Sakura Kinomoto	"...Wait, Kaeruhime? ... No, that's a different spirit. ... That's still sad though."
Rhapsody	"Sounds like a right mess," Skara muses. After not seeing anything moving for a while, the woman puts the blade away and turns back toward everyone. "Sounds like ya'all really care for this Yunomi. If there's anything I can do ta help ya'all out, I will. From what I remember the Boros voted against allowing that fella to go after Yunomi. Can't believe they got overridden..."
Rebound	"Honestly I barely know her. I talked to her on the radio, she seemed so nice. Everybody else is so convinced she's either being controlled or doing it for some other reason...I might not always be able to see the best in people, but so many folks are behind her even after what she did, I can't help but at least...Give her the benefit of the doubt." Rebound says, "I mean that many people probabbly aren't wrong about her."
Yunomi Stadler	It was a right mess. There is, however, movement above them, and from the canopy, something reaches down, tendrils flecked with leaves in bright red drawing downwards, drooping against Skara's shoulder, before curling around, and then trying to draw her up in curiosity. Anyone else might see that the flashes of red are a face, large blossoms making up the face of a dragonsnap flower -- a plant creature about eight feet tall. With firebreathing.
Sakura Kinomoto	"...Maybe... Maybe we should go speak with O-Asahi..." Suddenly, Dragonsnap! "FLY!" Wings erupt from Sakura's back as she's already leaping into the air. "And.. SWORD!" Her wand transforms into a sword just as she swipes it at the tendril dragging Skara off the ground. Looks like she wasn't totally ignoring her!
Kirika	"GET BACK!" Kirika immediately draws her sword, attempting to cut Skara free from the creature's vines. She grabs hold of the ex-Boros, attempting to pull her out of the plant's grasp. "Hold onto my hand!"
Yuna Kagurazaka	"I still don't think Yunomi was literally possessed, Staren --" Never interrupt Yuna talking to somebody by trying to attack one of her conversation partners. With the dragonsnap trying to ensnare Skara, Yuna leaps back and conjures the Matrix Divider, the weapon's blade/barrel flaring with radiant power as she raises it rifle-like, and fires off a concussive blast. It's probably not going to punch right through the dragonsnap, but it will pack a significant amount of kinetic force - maybe enough to let Skara drop free without the vines needing to be slashed through.
Rhapsody	Something on her shoulder. "... The moment I look-ACK!" She knew there wasn't going to be any time to actually stop what was coming, so when she's suddenly lifted, "LEGGO!" she yells, not expecting the plant to understand that. When everyone comes to her rescue, the ex-soldier reaches out for Kirika as best she can, depending on where the plant wrapped her up at. "Get me outta here!"
Corona Arclite	True to engineer form, Corona is so busy musing over Yunomi's notes that she doesn't realize something is happening until Skara shouts after being yoinked from right behind her. She turns her head a bit with a blink. "Ah knew it was a bit too quiet for findin' all this." That said, there's a lot of people going to help Skara out already... So she turns back to the notes. She's curious. They know the Nexus failed, but why? And how does that play into Yunomi going wonko and trying to deal Rhapsody death's hand? Some of these clues still don't add up in a sensible way. The answer probably isn't in all the technical notes, but the vixen is at least trying to apply her intelligence where it can help.
Rebound	"Oh hell!" Rebound jumps back, of course when she jumps, she JUMPS. She leaps up into the air and lands on a nearby platform, balancing up there for a moment, "C'mon you stupid plant! Lets go!" She jumps off of the platform and drives towards the big plant, trying to slam her feet into it and take it down to the ground, "I hope somebody brought a weed whacker!"
Yunomi Stadler	THe plant had just wrapped loosely around Skara's shoulder and waist, pulling up curiously, taking a look as if something was familiar -- and then suddenly EVERYONE WANTS IN on Murphy! Murphyt he Dragonsnap gives a gurgling, hissing sound before it lets go of Skara, and retreats back to the canopy. While Corona studies the notes, more of those red faces peer down from the canopy, giving low hisses, rattling leaves and eyeballing the group beneath. HISSSSSSSSSSSrattle! But they seem very, very awre that breathing fire in their home is a bad idea. There is a gnashing of bright red teeth in those 'monkey faces'. The technical notes are very technical. THere is a page about potential blastback, and how one portal briefly was opened, immediately collapsed in on itself and sent Yunomi herself sailing into a wall, knocking her out 'for about eight minutes, as far as I can tell. Pidge recorded it, and I really, really hope neither Chuck or Rhaps ever see it. Chuck will laugh, and Rhaps will beat him up for laughing." -- a note in the margin lists possible operation names. SHELLBACK, HELLHIGHWATER, SHUTDOWN, GOAWAYGOHAN among the list.
Iria	The moment Iria sees that huge plant, her eyes go wide in terror, before she goes for her sword, which solidifies from a chain-link blade into a solid blade. "Looks like we're gonna have to cut this thing down to size!" She looks to the others as she speaks. "Unless someone else has a better idea?"
Yuna Kagurazaka	Oh, that's a lot of dragonsnaps up there. Yuna keeps an eye on the canopy, getting another shot ready with the Matrix Divider but keeping her finger away from the trigger. "We probably don't want to stick around here too much longer ... anything else that's useful?" she asks her allies.
Rhapsody	As quickly as she's picked up, she's dropped.. likely still holding Kirika's hand when she hits the ground. "Ouf!" wince. Sigh. "Bloody moment I stopped lookin--" she pauses, glancing up, seeing a whole lot more of the plants up there. "... Well then.." she starts, looks at everyone, then waves them down, "Hold on hold on hold on," she insists as she climbs to her feet. "Yer in Simic Lands. It's entirely likely plants here kin be as smart as people, so ah, ... maybe not threaten'm? Maybe they know yer friend?" With one hand still on the Sparkblade's hilt, the woman glances up to where 'Murphy' retreated, "Heya! Fella! You know a gal named Yunomi?"
Sakura Kinomoto	Sakura lands back down on the ground, in a three-point crouch, then quickly glances up at the plants above! The plants that... aren't attacking? Sakura gives a pause. She then glances over to The Wood - who's been just kinda chillin' this whole time - and points upwards with her thumb. The little forest sprite swoops up towards the injured Dragonsnap, hands up in a nonthreatening position, before attempting to touch the injured tendrils. SHHH. THERE THERE. MASTER DIDN'T MEAN IT.
Kirika	Kirika notices the faces peering down at them, and she tilts her head. "WAIT!" She calls, before sheathing her blade. "...are you friendly?" She asks, before suddenly bowing in apology. "I apologize for our intrusion and actions, noble plant. We were here looking for Yunomi Stadler, do you know her?"
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite can't help but snicker a bit at the remark about Chuck and Rhapsody written in the notes. She knows the sentiment. After all the times Bucksaw has scolded her for being reckless, only for Miss C to swat the beaver and remind him of how often her 'recklessness' usually pays off. If unorthadoxly. Corona puts the clipboard back where she found it. So it'll be there if... WHEN Yunomi comes back finally. You don't mess with another inventor's stuff and leave it in disorder. That and she probably memorized most of the technical notes now anyways. Finally she turns her attention to what's going on around them. "Don't get all triggerhappy guys," that sounds weird coming from her, "they's pro'ly just locals watching over their turff. Don't do no unnecessary weed wackin'."
Yuna Kagurazaka	And that's why Yuna is keeping her finger off the Matrix Divider's trigger, Corona. Still, Sakura seems to be trying to make amends, and Skara is actively trying to engage them in conversation ... keeping a readied weapon pointed at the dragonsnaps probably isn't going to improve the odds for talking it out to work. So Yuna lowers her weapon, the glow fading from the Matrix Divider's barrel/blade. "I'm sorry for hurting you," she calls out in a genuinely apologetic tone, then - well, looking away from them may be a bad idea, but Yuna doesn't have the kind of flexibility which would let her keep her eyes on the dragonsnaps while she's bowing. So she does indeed lower her head as she bows - essentially offering her back for a moment, during which the Matrix Divider vanishes with a subdued flash of light. After the bow, Yuna straightens up and looks canopywards again, glancing away only briefly - partly to prevent kinks in her neck, partly to see if there's a tree she can lean against if they'll be here much longer.
Staren	Staren turns as Sakura cries out, and then looks up at the array of... monkey flowers. "...Does anyone speak plant?" At Iria's suggestion to attack it, Staren holds up a hand in a 'wait' gesture.
Yunomi Stadler	There are a lot of dragonsnaps up there. One or two begin smoking at the mouth, tendrils of gray sweeping about their brilliant red faces as they hissss and grumble to one another, vines hanging down, curling against themselves before Murphy looks pretty surprised, drawing back from The Wood as he gives a grrrrrooooooowwwwwwl... then retreats. a moment, satisfied that the gathering will not be causing further harm. THere is still an awful lot of books that do not belong here in this lab over by the desk -- but the flashes of red are studiously watching the group, the occasional hiss and mutter from above.
Rhapsody	"Go ahead and look around some more, I'll keep an eye on them," Skara suggests before looking back up at the plants. "You just surprised us, ya know? We just wanna find out if this gal is still around or needin' help or somethin! If ya'all can help us we'd certainly 'preciate it."
Sakura Kinomoto	The Wood continues to 'talk' to the plants - it's really more a sort of telepathy, although similar to the way plants communicate using chemicals too. MY MASTER IS SIMPLY PROTECTIVE OF HER FRIENDS. If allowed to touch, the Wood will promptly go about fixing Murphy's damaged flesh. Sure, she could do it at range, but this makes it more obvious she's the one doing it! MY MASTER IS FRIENDS WITH YOURS. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR MASTER HAS GONE? MY MASTER WISHES TO PROTECT HER.
Iria	Realizing she's gotten a bit hasty, Iria sheathes her sword and sighs. "I hate when I do that," She says, folding her arms under her cape again. Realizing she's not going to get anything accomplished standing around, she decides to take a look around one last time to see if she missed anything.
Corona Arclite	Well that's one extra confrontation seemingly avoided. Yay? Probably yay. They really weren't looking for a fight. Corona meanders back over to peek at some of the other books and stuff lying around. Though probably a little more hastily so they don't upset the natives more by lingering too long.
Yuna Kagurazaka	In Yuna's experience, you don't have to be looking for a fight in order for a fight to find you when it's least convenient. For now, Yuna does indeed lean (gently) against a tree and keeps half an eye on the dragonsnaps; more of her attention is on her allies at this point. Some of it may also be on Elner. As far as Yuna's concerned, Elner should have detected that. As far as Elner is concerned, though, between the high levels of ambient mana and the fact that the 'monsters' are just more animate plant life, Yuna spotted it about as quickly as Elner could have. "Are there any clues about where we might be able to find Yunomi ... ?" Yuna wonders.
Yunomi Stadler	If the Dragonsnaps know, they're not talking. They retreat back into the canopy, the vines curling back, laying in lwo arches, but the figures below are all kept under a weary eye. Murphy gives a low grumble, but answers nothing before retreating, the place going quiet again before the generator kicks on, giving a loud WRRRRRRRR as the steam passes by its turbine, the area beginning to flood with green mana again. The other books are largely diverse -- building, shielding generators, and a sheaf taken from the Izzet League, scant information on travel between planes, whether it was possible, how it could be done. Notes on summoning creatures, on creating weirds. Notes of transcribed items, directly from Niv-Mizzet to a goblin scribe writing down a list of items, the paper beginning to deteriorate badly -- it was, after all, written only a few hundred years ago.
Sakura Kinomoto	The Wood soon floats back down to Sakura, giving a little shrug that seems to be saying 'I tried'. Sakura nods her head, then leans back slightly. "...Maybe we SHOULD talk to Yunomi's mother. Maybe she can try to divine her location? She's a kami and they're mystically linked, after all..."
Rhapsody	A helpless shurg is given to Murphy and company as they retreat before Skara glances back to everyone else. "I think they're done fer now. Lets jes focus on takin' a look around and seein what can be found, eh?" Here's hoping looking away doesn't bite her in the back of her head, now. The ex-soldier starts to look around herself, seemingly circling in on anything Izzet rather quickly for no apparent reason.. "I gotta wonder why she's doin' everything ya'all have been sayin'. I mean, I understand losin' someone as important as ol' Niv.. but .. well, I gotta wonder why she'd do it all on'er own. There's a whole guild that coulda helped.."
Corona Arclite	Yunomi really did her research, Corona will give her credit for that. Though that makes the mystery of what went wrong so more perplexing. There doesn't seem to be much else here, though. She's careful with the really old papers, though. And makes sure to get scans of them with her analyzer along with everything else. There may be more clues here, but she's getting that hackles on the back of her neck feeling they shouldn't linger much longer. "Dunno. It's like ev'ry piece to puzzle we find, there's two more missin'." The vixen shrugs a little. "Ah'll poke through more of this later. All the things starin' at us is making me a li'l uneasy." As she walks away from the work area she looks to Skara, and shrugs a little. "To prove herself? This was a big thing to her." Pause. "Or was worried she'd just be told to leave well 'nuff alone, maybe." The Guild all misses Niv... but how many of them would be worried trying to find him would cause -worse- problems?
Staren	"It's okay." Staren says, to Iria. Then he goes to help look over the notes.
Yunomi Stadler	Muphy doesn't make things uneasy! He just stares. And smokes. and reaches down with a vine. And just pats Skara on the head, as if in apology, b before withdrawing. The remainder of the notes on the desk cover myriad topics -- magical travel, engineering, old lists from long bygone days of the Izzet ... and a little tract about The Planes, and how to travel them -- in theory. That book was supposed to be lost in a certain room in the Izzet League's headquarters. Presumably forever. The easiest location provided by the Redfern Notebooks is now explored -- the next one, the Red Notebook lab -- would be The Butchery. ... at the edge of Golgari Territory.