⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳

[beleos]

ARRIVAL

All Bearers have heard whispers of them - the Oracles. Mysterious and unknown entities of an abstract nature, they serve as the heart of each faction’s cause - both as a means to an end and a very real stepping stone in achieving their objectives. To claim an Oracle means growing ever closer to victory: to see your homes restored as they were, or to herald in a new one of your making.

So you go.

A Cornerstone has been set up for each faction; one for the Zenith and one for the Meridian in Yima’s manor and Heliopolis, respectively. They warn you that upon transportation, your safety cannot be guaranteed and there is no telling what waits for you beyond - to be prepared. To make sure you have whatever you deem necessary with you before you go, as there is no telling when - or how - you will be coming back. CONTINUED HERE...

NOTES

Upon your arrival, you woke up with an HOURGLASS NECKLACE. Please refer to the Time Mechanics on the OOC Summary and bottom of this post for details on its usage.

The COURTYARD is frozen in time. Player Characters and the Great Tree are the only signs of moving, free life in the courtyard. During the intro, time magic does not work.

Characters are free to investigate but cannot move beyond the courtyard if you choose a prompt during the intro. You may mingle among your fellow Bearers or speak with [MR. TIBBS] if you so choose. (Also? LOOK AT HIM HELP)

Iconoclasts and Stargazers will notice Aspect benefits/detriments now.

All characters will be weak for the 24 hours - think like mild flu - and unable to leave until Mr. Tibbs has dispersed them. This is the time in which any threads with the NPC will be carried out.

The INTRO concludes with said dispersal of PC’s once interactions concluded. They will be sent to a location around the castle of your choosing; they are free to move about freely from here. Your prompts can start with you waking alone or in the presence of others - whatever you’d like!

Your character will innately understand how to use time magic from this point forward. It will come naturally to them, like a skill they were born with.

CASTLE: OVERVIEW (p a s t)

The Scorching Isles is home to the Atirat, a people of sea-dwellers who have the ability to walk on land. (Think mermaids with the ability to shift back and forth between human and mermaid forms.) As such, much of the Scorching Isles is covered in large bodies of blue water and glistening pieces of ice to accommodate their lifestyle.

THE CASTLE, however, is what dominates the landscape and it's where the Shard-Bearers will be spending their time. The white castle with colorful glass windows is obscured by a thick layer of clouds and fog. Nearly every location on the island has a thin layer of fog that rolls through it, which gives the entire Island an inescapable chill. The castle has artfully built rooms with a CAVALCADE OF DECORATIVE ICE, lavish mirrors, and white plants accented with blue decorations. Several portions of the castle are submerged due to the aquatic nature of the native residents.

And everywhere you go, you find them - STATUESQUE BODIES FROZEN mid-movement. They are haunting reminders of the power in your Hourglass - the very real power to decide their fates.

The castle has many winding paths to explore, as castles often do. There are sleeping quarters, HALLWAYS, a wine cellar, and a few large rooms presumably for diplomatic affairs. Players can use these rooms at their own leisure for whatever purposes they see fit. (Exploration, combat, or supply gathering.)

However, many of these rooms will require some strategy to access their full potential! Atirat were much more comfortable being underwater than many Kenosians may be. Therefore, rooms of higher importance may be COMPLETELY SUBMERGED or require swimming through an underwater pathway to reach them. Very minimal supplies will be kept out in the open for all to reach. More desirable supplies - such as warm clothing, small weapons, treasure, and the like - will be located past or within one of these flooded areas.

Players may gather supplies within and preserve their Sand or use their Sand to make other rooms accessible and gather whatever lies within! The larger the asset you attempt to unfreeze, the more Sand it costs - and the more drained/vulnerable you will be as a consequence, so choose your path ahead wisely.

Currently, a pervasive fog is preventing you from wandering beyond the Castle's limits. Should you try to venture past it, your Sand will rapidly be stolen and you will find yourself suffering the same fate as the islanders if you don't move back to safety quickly... However, if you ask Mr. Tibbs what lays beyond the mist - he will tell you about the thriving farmland, the once-bustling village surrounding the castle, and the beautiful coral reefs beneath it. Sadly, they're beyond your reach - but maybe if the Bearers decide to unfreeze them when the week is up...

LIBRARY (s a f e z o n e)

The ROYAL LIBRARY - A treasure trove of knowledge, history, and glimpses of a fractured past scattered throughout. The lower floor of the Library is void of much reading material and contains several intricate-looking art pieces on decorative pedestals.

A spiral staircase dominates the center of the room, with its once delicate structure overtaken by sheets of formidable ice; it leads you toward the upper levels where a sea of books awaits. There are isles and isles of books, most perched on intricately carved shelves. Many books lay in piles or are discarded onto the floor, and scattered papers are common throughout.

Curious Kenosians may pick out books from the shelves and read on various topics, but players may also pass through this room on their way elsewhere. This area will function as a safe haven where violence and the taking of others' Sand is not allowed; do not disturb the books or Mr. Tibbs won’t be happy!

NOTES

Characters who wish to receive a book with lore specific to the island may comment [HERE]. You will be RNGed a book from a pre-written list of topics. The books may give you a deeper look into the island, its inhabitants, and its history! (Only 1 book per player! Please assume all other books they read are about commonly-available topics.)

THE EATING PARLOR (p a s t)

There are no basic amenities on the island. No hot water, no warm beds, and no salacious magazines (that you know of. heh heh). That would make the Eating Parlour a wise stop for anyone. After all, this could be the perfect chance to procure some provisions!

The EATING PARLOUR has all the equipment one would need for meal preparation. Dried plants hang from the ceiling, and the walls are lined with mason jars filled with every strange manner of presumably edible thing (Is that a head over there? Hmm… maybe you should check).

The parlour also comes with a garden under a massive windowed dome so that the inhabitants could have fresh produce at hand. Many plants have withered, but there are some salvageable plants if you know how to look for them. But beware… Some of the plants have a strange blue glow. These plants can spell potential disaster.

If someone should make contact with these glowing plants, they will crumble into glass shards - glass that will quickly burrow its way under the skin and curse that person with Blight. Blight will make all resources within that person's vicinity slowly age and eventually crumble to dust. (Which I relate to on a personal level tbh.) Iconoclasts will be immune to its effects.

NOTES

Please see the "Blight" section below for more information on its effects.

TREASURE ROOM (f u t u r e)

Faint singing can be heard coming from this room. Once you hear the song, it dulls your senses and leaves you in a haze. There is no stopping your feet from guiding you to it through the doors and into the Treasure room. The door slams shut at your back, sealed with a wall of ice and magic.

Players will find themselves lured to an icy chamber bordered by a ring of cold blue fire. There is a deep pond that surrounds the platform you’ve found yourself standing on. Beyond its glassy surface and crystal clear water, one can glimpse all manner of treasures - from crowns, jewels, ornate statues in various statues of repair, scepters, spears, and books that seem impervious to the water's cold chill.

As you come to your senses, you will find yourself frozen in place and at the mercy of a large statuesque being before you. This beautiful and horrifying figure in a perpetual song is the SIREN, the only Atirat you’ve seen in person. She measures nearly 20 feet (6 meters) from her head to the tip of her long-finned tail. She cradles an icy shard in her arms, singing to it as if it were a child.

She sits serenely in front of a large hourglass filled with white sand, which is bordered by a spear and a lance. Emblazoned in faint text at the base of where she sits reads: “The future lies in our hands.”

NOTES

Welcome to the Siren’s Chamber! Players must use their wit, charisma, or some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to escape the room or break the Siren’s magic. The Shard that the Siren holds contains dormant time magic that players may activate by using the Sand within their necklace. Players can access the future in 5-second intervals and use whatever they find in that time period to escape their predicament.

For example, if they activate the shard by using their time magic, that shard will begin to glow blue. The room around them will shift, and it could change to a point in the future where there is a sword nearby. If you can grab it, now you have a weapon! When the 5 seconds are up and time returns to the present, you will still have that weapon on your person. You may also try verbal communication if you’d like. If your character is someone who would try and talk their way out of a situation diplomatically, they may give it a try!

It is up to player discretion/creativity to think of a scenario you’d like. Each “future" does not have to be the same across player encounters! What one group experiences may be tailored to the player wants (because branching timelines exist). Let your imagination run free!

HALL OF MIRRORS (p r e s e n t)

Should you reach the rightmost wing of the massive castle Library, you will find a door hidden in the very back of one aisle against a wall; it looks as though the door used to be concealed by magicks that have since dissolved.

The stairwell leads down and into darkness. Once you reach the bottom, shimmering light cast from an unknown source beneath sheets of glistening ice will illuminate your new surroundings; you are in a maze of mirror-like ice. This labyrinth is silent save for the quiet creaking of shifting ice that may disquiet you and leave you uneasy regarding the stability of this area… but it holds beneath your feet.

Mr. Tibbs had told you that the “Kaleidoscope” - where your Sand is counted - rests through here, so eventually, you must brave the journey. Is it a trick of the light? Maybe the product of an especially active imagination…?

Did you just see one of your reflections move without you?

NOTES

Please refer to the OOC Summary for details on the Hall of Mirrors!

THE BLIGHT and TIME MECHANICS

BLIGHT

Blight is an infliction that will age supplies and infect people with a creeping disease that steals their Sand. For objects, this includes weapons, food, and items like cloth. It will take a few days to deteriorate things beyond use - so watching your supplies and acting accordingly is in your best interest. Generally, it will make it more difficult for PC's to get by given that their already scarce resources will dwindle and deteriorate - especially since it's 'contagious' through touch.

The Blight will not act quickly enough to severely hamper infected persons, but repeated exposure will cause effects to a person's body - notedly protruding VEINS in the face and extremities, a lower body temperature, and increased agitation. These effects start out mild and grow more severe with each 'dose.'

Characters must touch an object/person that is Blighted to become inflicted with Blight themselves. When that happens, it will become easily identifiable as Blighted from the faint blue, shimmering outline around the infected subject, as well as the WITHERED, FROSTBITTEN or ashy appearance it takes as it progresses.

However, there is one single perk with Blight. (Or is it a perk?) Players will feel reduced impact by the cold surroundings, making the climate around them somewhat more hospitable. Beware of falling victim to a chill you can't feel...

TIME

To use your Sand, each character is granted access to and innate knowledge of a spell they channel from their Shard that automatically manipulates their Hourglass. This allows the remote control of Sand (aka gathering and dispersing), as well as the ability to pull Fragments of time from Shards.

Fragments are literal pieces of you taken from your Shard. They manifest as memories or images displayed on little shards of broken glass (think of the memory being played out in real-time on the mirror's surface), and can be crushed to convert into Sand automatically, either voluntarily or by force. The only stipulation is that the parties must be close to one another, and the Fragment must be exchanged while both Bearers are still. This means someone has to give it to you, or you need to immobilize them before you take it - one way or another.

Once the Fragment is crushed, the memory and associated time of that person's life is lost and your character will suffer amnesia until the Oracle is claimed. How deep this goes is up to you; they could lose a large chunk of time - even all their memories surrounding a person or place for a big payload of Sand, or they could lose very little for a meager net gain.

Sand is automatically gathered or distributed by your Hourglass and added/subtracted to your running total. No need to micromanage. Convenient!

Please note that using Sand to unfreeze anything (resources, a door which can be then opened, etc) is an unpleasant experience. Each time you use Sand in this way, your character will be left feeling weakened and flu-like for an hour or two, which will leave them vulnerable. This effect stacks and scales up to outright KO-ing them for a few hours if they go crazy, so unfreezing too large of an area is off the table!

NOTES

• An OOC POST will be coming shortly explaining how Sand is going to be tallied and the Oracle claimed.
• Should your character attempt to unfreeze any NPC's, please respond [HERE]. NOTE: unfreezing NPC's may result in physical violence with CW's for severe mental instability/illness and a potential reference to self-harm.
• HAVE FUN!!!

CODING

Comments

[zauneyete]

Of course not. We will send others this way, once we have secured the resources. As far as I was able to tell when we first entered, most of the grounds outside is also frozen. Should we not invest our sand in unfreezing that, when given the option?

[ He asked, his tone more...authoritative in tone. Knowing. Silco was, after all, always the logistics guy. Even when they were young, and he'd been scraping and scrabbling his way out of mining, the whole point of teaming up with a bruiser like Vander had been to use his brawn and Silco's brains to make the smuggling lanes that they'd manifested.

So Silco knew how to make something out of nothing, at least. ]

It would be to our advantage, if we used our sand in that way, once we are asked what it should be used for.

[wolof]

[ She let him take his time to respond, perfectly happy with the silence. She, herself, had her convictions, after all. They were vital and tightly held, for all that they had cost both her and Calernia. ]

I don't think many of us can be expected to have weighed the fate of not just one world, or land, but innumerable worlds.

We're all out of our depth, dear. I'm resolved to rise to the occasion, no matter what it would be. The cost to do otherwise is far too great.

[wolof]

Hm? [ She asked, and her head tipped in question. She, of course, had also not seen him, but that was not a question she would ask, given...

Well. She'd though he seemed rather comfortable in Highstorm, in a way that not many were. He spoke with the easy familiarity of someone who considered it to be where he belonged. She, however, had not belonged there, as much as she had... felt the draw of it.

It felt natural, to walk in darkness, after all. Right. She was a Villain, of the highest and tallest order, she dwarfed all beneath her other than Dread Empress Triumphant -- May she never return. ]

Well, my dear, I do believe that is because I do not stay in Highstorm, whereas you do, yes?

[wolof]

[ Akua watched too. She knew that look in the doppelganger's eyes as well. It's an old thing that she had long put down, but she knows it, intimately, and understands the person that Hayame had been.

For all her pride and anger, Hayame was so different to that spiteful, hateful creature she had been. In the same way that Akua was different.

That was growth, but she also knew the specter now that loomed over Hayame's back. What lurked in her shadow and dogged her steps. She knew it, and knew that they were similar. ]

Of course, as long as you have mine. I have admitted to... a great and terrible thing tonight. [ She paused and looked her up and down. ]

We both have burdens we must bear.

[cutlery]

[ Truly, they’re in good company… Because the comment gets Sebastian to laugh and wears a wry smile easily as he teases back, even at his own expense. ]

Well, in that case, your grace and kindness are boundless, milord. [ Okay, maybe a little bit at Voryn’s expense too considering he’s obviously overdoing it on the flattery, but. It’s purely warm and playful rather than any biting sarcasm about status. ] It is not my first choice for how I would have you think of me, but ah, well…

[ But, onto the more serious matters. As they sit, Sebastian does keep his hands busy by wringing out some of the water in his hair since it’s uncomfortable and annoying. ]

But indeed, it is quite odd… I thought perhaps it was indeed a similar case to the trees that can be found at what I shall simply call “home” for simplicity’s sake. The tree which people arrive through is certainly not bound by convention, after all… Though my experiences with it had admittedly been poor indeed.

[ And technically more with the corrupted dryad than the tree, but it’s also a matter Sebastian is very petty about, so. ]

But I attempted to reach out to it all the same. I did not glean too much from it, so you have my apologies for that failure, but I can at least be certain that it is like that very Tree I speak of, if not perhaps the same one. It gave the same impression, at least.

itp caren threatens to flash a man. welcome back jill

[consolation]

[She froze a little, considering what he had said. Most people remained ignorant of these things where they did exist: That was the point. The Church itself was instrumental in enforcing those boundaries. As far as his experience went... he would have been looked at much the same by those mages who long ago divorced knowledge from humanity. She could not see much reason for maintaining the veil here beyond what was needed for protection, especially not when magic flowed into the least capable hands upon the utterance of the vow and gods and monsters alike proclaimed their power for all.

But his disdain didn't make much of an impression on her, either. It was not particularly unusual.]

I imagine that once you've experienced enough, very little surprises you, though I doubt this has happened before.

[She sighed, predicting there was yet more to come. Caren had only just pulled her shirt back over her pale, torn shoulders, but - ]

Should I show you my injuries, as well? If you want to see you might as well ask me to disrobe directly. I'd like to know before I'm fully dressed.

[It was a little short. Her outfit for this escapade may have foregone pants, but that didn't mean that dressing again was an easy matter, especially when her limbs felt too cold and too sore to easily maneuver.

And he was asking questions that telegraphed, but he was also asking a great deal of them - and perhaps a little squeezing would be helpful. If he really worried about what danger could befall her or others, he might as well get to questions about preventing said danger. If he wanted to taste the spectacle with his own senses, he was doing a disservice by not embracing his own desire.]

[settingup]

[ It's an entirely unreasonable demand, but he does simmer down some as Gray offers him that undeserved apology.

Besides, she's making a good point with that, and getting fussed about stupid things can wait until they're out of immediate danger. While the anger seems to seep out of him, there's still an air of wariness about him as he glances around the mirrored hall. ]

Yeah, this place gives me the creeps. Let's get the hell outta here.

[ And he's starting forward, in the direction he's relatively certain he didn't come from. ]

[zauneyete]

[ Silco appraised the man for a moment. Now that his doppelganger was gone -- fragile in a way he had not expected from the boasting and intensity of his fury -- and his corpse now shattered... Silco can only look down at it with a half-unblinking gaze. A long, hard stare as he looked down on the thing that had threatened both of their lives, and while Silco had not needed to help this man, the satisfaction of running his knife through it certainly felt...

Right. Good.

He did love a bout of revenge. Probably more than most. ]

Then perhaps we shall go the same way, then.

[ He said, his tone mild. He does not trust the man to not attack him, but neither does Silco trust that he will not encounter his own doppelganger. He has not met it yet. It can still arrive at any moment, and Dagoth's own power is considerable, compared to Silco's.

He only has shimmer, after all. Little more than that, and he would have nothing to use it on, if he was alone.

Better the enemy that one knew, rather than the knife in the dark. He does not wish to call Sebastian so readily, without good reason, either. He wants that card to be kept up his sleeve as long as possible. ]

I will accept your offer.

[zauneyete]

[ Though there was an invitation to attack, Silco's feet are quick and confident. He hadn't ever been a brawler, but they'd both been in plenty of scraps in their youth, and then there was the wealth of experience that dealing with his time in Horos and here combined. He is not a fighter, never will be a fighter, but he will indulge in the violence necessary to take what is his. Whether Vander liked it or not, whether he accepted it or not didn't matter, Jinx was not his daughter, in his mind, never had been, because Powder was as dead as the rest of her family had been. Just like Silco had been reborn from the water, so had she.

Did it help? He remembers her asking Kaeya, deep within Kowloon. When the shared promise of drowning hadn't --

No. It had helped. It couldn't have not, and he would not let a moment of questioning, a moment of uncertainty haunt him. The past always haunted them. Eternally.

He watched with an unblinking eye as Vander didn't even allow him the right to charge again. His motions are obvious -- because Vander had the bulk and strength to do whatever he wished -- but Silco didn't mind that. He wanted to be close, but he didn't want to be tackled. No hands on his throat, choking the life out of him this time. He won't allow it.

His knife is fast, and he lashed out with it, for Vander's hand -- wrist -- whatever -- It's meant to distract, and with a wary eye on the fist, a momentary flick, to watch for it, before he looks at what he really wants. It's not Vander's death, or dissipation. Not right now. There are greater plans in the works for that. No, what he wants --

He can see it. The flicker of shard and memory. He wants -- no, needs -- to take it.

His fingers reach out, almost of their own accord, to try and grasp for it. ]

[exhound]

[His brows furrow as the confusion begins building a little more, echoing between the two men. After the last couple of months with the two of them seeming to be riding the same wavelength, it’s an odd sensation to finally find a snag in it. It feels like the jolt one gets when stepping off of an unexpected curb.]

Only dead if we leave them to it.

[It shouldn’t be a big deal. No two people are going to see eye-to-eye one hundred percent of the time… but this isn’t something simple like a disagreement on personal tastes. These are people’s lives.

He shifts his stance, wincing briefly as his side protests against the movement. There’s no judgment in his words as he continues to speak, just a more apparent tinge of the confusion hanging in the air around them.]

Just think it could be worth lending them a hand. Doubt they asked to end up in this mess.

i feel so welcomed 😳 silco screamin' tho

[zauneyete]

[ Silco appraised her with one unblinking eye, and a curl of his lip. ]

That was not what I asked, so don't bother.

[ It's short, and obvious from the way he looked, that he absolutely did not want that. Silco lives in a place like Zaun, reveled in it, and has crossed by -- and done (official, he's not Sevika) business with the Brothels -- but that's not the source of his disgust. (Well, not all. Let's be real, he wouldn't anyway.) No, it's the assumption of it.

He gestured, and tipped his head away, as if to indicate that she should continue, if she intends, and that he doesn't have an interest in letting her "show off" her injuries in full. ]

I'm merely curious about the nature of the injuries. I do not have much martial prowess, and must spend much of my attention on strategizing. If this is something that can happen again, it is best to know before two people are directed to work together in the future, yes?

Or is that too direct of a question for you?

[settingup]

[ Right so... any metal is what Atsumu is getting at. He can grab things that are metal at least, he has the ability to tell that much.

As reluctant as he is to reach an arm out into the cold, he does start pawing through the pile to look for anything with a remotely shiny gleam to it, figuring that's going to be the stuff he wants for now. He's half focused on the task at hand, half listening to Amos, though he does pause to look up at Amos for that suggestion, brow furrowing in confusion. ]

What to sell you metal I find, or something?

[ Apprenticing himself for mechanical work not occurring to him, despite him having a short lived apprenticeship with a wizard before the man up and disappeared on him. ]

[settingup]

[ Atsumu frowns thoughtfully, pulling his legs up close to himself and resting his chin on his knees. It's not like Silco doesn't make some sense, but Atsumu still isn't sure what out in those grounds he should be looking for. Even spelled out it seems like it'll be rough going to figure out what is or isn't actually useful to unfreeze. Then again, he's not going to do any better in this library, where he isn't that interested in spending his time reading. ]

So all the stuff and none of the people, huh?

[ Not that he sounds like he's really arguing with that. ]

Alright, but most of the stuff outside all looks the same to me. Nature's all kinda just nature.

[goldendeceiver]

[ To live in a world where a person wasn't expected to step up to some insurmountable seeming challenge must be nice. He can certainly see the appeal of what the Zenites happen to be striving for...

But it is somewhat meaningless if it's not with the people you care about in the places you want to protect. His sigh is heavy as he rolls his shoulders back and sits up straight. ]

You're right, we don't have many other options, and the ones we do have look pretty grim.

[ He turns to look at the people milling about the library. ]

It might do us good to get some sense of where people's heads are out right now then.

[baltimores]

Yeah. I do.

[ There's a casualness that belies what he's really thinking, though there's a chance that, based on how she's answered him, she's already thinking the same: he resides in Highstorm, which means he's a Zenite, which means he intends to use the sand here to benefit Zenith. She does not reside in Highstorm, and yet has powers, which means she is Meridian.

The kaleidoscope is just down the hall.

Amos starts walking back towards Akua, gait slow, easy. ]

So, I kill you, we save the world, you keep your sand. [ Which seems to basically be what happened. ] What's the plan now?

[ What are you planning on doing with it?

Do I have to stop you now, too? ]

[baltimores]

[ Amos stays still. Documents Vander's shift — his wince — but stays perfectly still.

He's confused. They both are, and that isn't going away any time soon. But there's an element of caution now, too, because he doesn't know how far Vander is willing to go for his ideals. Considering how Amos is drawn to him, feels he's a good guy, someone he would want to follow...

He wouldn't be surprised if it was far enough to become a problem.

And despite the way this seems to be going, he really doesn't want it to become a problem. ]

Shit happens to people all the time. Ask has got nothing to do with it. Doesn't mean you stop keeping your head on straight. It's not like you even know them.

[ And underneath, a silent plea echoing across their empathic bond: Please don't do this. ]

[baltimores]

[ The pile is getting smaller, at least. That's good. Then they can go back to the other side of the room, hopefully make quick work of that, and get the fuck back to the library.

He keeps going even as Atsumu stops, sorting through everything he can here. Some loose coins. More gems. They'll all have their place eventually, when they start loading everything up proper. ]

If you want. [ He doesn't look back up, answer casual enough. ] Or if you ever want to learn what metal's what or how to build shit. I had an apprentice once before; no reason I can't have one again, if mechanics is something you're interested in.

[ Just tossing it out there like it's the most natural thing in the world to him. Sure, why not? Atsumu's a younger Zenite; it's his job to look out for him. ]

[zauneyete]

The people are an unknown element, and certainly of variable use.

[ He said.

It's cold, hard calculus, but Silco was a man who addicted his city to a drug all for the right to force an uprising against Piltover. He wasn't opposed to burning the wick at both ends, after all. Destroy what they had to get the chance to make more. It made perfect sense. ]

Sure, but when converted into the resources necessary, it may be of use. Nature is just -- plants. But plants when burnt make fire or food. Rocks are simply stones but can be used for building, or mining for precious resources.

And you would be surprised what people will do for that.

[exhound]

[For just a brief moment, Vander almost wants to press the issue. Amos is a good guy—a very straightforward kind of person, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders. So part of him wants to make him see sense. To question why he’d take a cold and almost callous view of the situation like this.

But Vander has learned over years spent trying to maintain a fragile peace back home when to leave well enough alone.

So he hesitates, nearly as still as Amos has become while he takes a moment to watch him. Takes in the feeling of that quiet plea from his fellow Exalt. The he exhales, and when he speaks, his words have the tentative air of offering an olive branch.]

Guess we might need to agree to disagree on that one.

[Alright. He won’t push it if Amos won’t. Not that it leaves them in a great position here, with that precious sand just out of reach and no real consensus about its purpose. But if they can avoid getting into it here, now, then fine.]

We got more than enough on our plate in this place as it is.

[wolof]

I think you're right. We could hopefully encourage them to do what they think is best in this event, and begin looking toward capturing this oracle.

[ A tight smile. ] I do not know if it will finally put an end to this conflict, or if it will offer the power it promises, but without any other options... I do think it is the best we have for now.

Later, I do hope we will find an avenue to do the best for all worlds, even if it is not to remain here.

[ Maybe not Zenith either, but Akua holds onto her power with a tight grasp. She will stay harmonized, if barely, for power alone. ]

[wolof]

Oh dear, you want to take my sand? [ She asked, with a soft laugh, and a finger toward her own hourglass, where it was kept.

She'd known he was a Zenite, of course, but the attitudes between them had been rather... less than hostile for the most part. Akua had not necessarily planned for Amos to attack her, but a Sahelian was always prepared for a betrayal -- being of the first betrayal, of course they were -- but still. She tipped her head, and smiled, something sharper than she'd offered him earlier.

The smile of a villain, partially a challenge. ]

Personally, I wished to use my sand toward Meridian's resources, given that we are both in need of such things.

If you want to do something different, dear, you will have to prove to me that you're capable of taking it.

I am not an easy target.

[ She wished, however, that she had worn armor. ]

[settingup]

[ The thoughtful frown on his face deepens as he starts back with shifting through the shrinking pile. It's still more impressive than he'd like for it to be, given their currently shivering state, but it's not like they're going to be any warmer no matter where they go in this castle. Atsumu isn't exactly looking forward to hopping back into the water either. ]

Not really.

[ His reply is a touch too honest and casual, given this is Amos' field of work. He never did learn to be tactful though. ]

Knowing types of metals could probably be useful though...

[ So maybe he could at least learn that much. ]

[settingup]

[ As limited as resources are, both Highstorm and Springstar seem like prosperous enough cities to Atsumu. His understanding of these things is pretty marginal though, and it likely won't be until the a later Blight follows them over that he starts to appreciate the true concept of scarcity.

Amazing what it does to you, growing up with enough money to live comfortably your whole life in an area that isn't struggling to survive.

He gives Silco a skeptical look for his seeming overestimation of the resources he's telling Atsumu to gather. Look, something to burn for fire sounds great to him right now, but-- ]

For rocks?

[ But fine. He shrugs, not necessarily looking to fight over this one. ]

I'm goin' for the plants first though.

[ Food and fire... definitely his highest priority at the moment. ]

[baltimores]

[ There's relief at that olive branch.

He doesn't want to have to fight Vander. He really doesn't. Does he think he could take the man? Sure. Does he also think Vander could take him? Yeah, it's possible. But whoever would win that particular pissing match doesn't matter, because he doesn't want it to begin with.

A silent thank you reverberates through the air between them, at Vander's willingness to concede something, to be the bigger person, because Amos is pretty sure he himself wouldn't. Not on his own. Too single-minded. Too focused on the goal before them. Too capable of stabbing a friend in the back if he saw the need.

He doesn't want to be that, but he is. ]

We sure do. [ Got enough on their plate; fuck, they could've died in this room, too. They really don't need to get into it here.

But.

Amos glances back at the sand behind him, because they maybe aren't going to fight, but they also aren't going to leave all of that just sitting there.

Back at Vander, with a tilt of his head indicating the sand. ]

What do you want to do with that? Split it or something?

[ It sounds kind of dumb, the question almost rhetorical, and something in him does make his skin crawl at the idea of just leaving so much he could use on the table, but. Vander's his friend.

Maybe they could just do that? If Vander doesn't think it's a stupid idea, after all. ]

[zauneyete]

[ What a difference a comfortable life makes! Silco's head tipped, in acknowledgment. ]

You've never seen what mines look like, have you? There's... desperation when it comes to resources, and any possible way to extract them is encouraged. If you think that people would not give, take, or sacrifice a great deal for the wealth they provide, it would do well to learn.

[ Silco had learned to, after all. Then again, when you start smuggling your way out of the mines and learning logistics on the fly part-time while you're trying to fight your way out from working down in the deep caverns...

One learns these things rather quickly, don't they? ]

Plants, rocks, it doesn't matter. Take what you want for Zenith, just be sure it's for Zenith.

[ His tone says, very clearly, he thinks this is for the best. ]