⏳ 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

ib

[lockedon]

[ Hello? What the fuck does that mean??

Anyway, dogman and swordman meet again, though this time under reversed circumstances. Eustace looks....well, safe to say he doesn't really look pleased as Matsui bustles his way over, eyes narrowing. There's a fairly deep gash running down one arm he's working on bandaging, but he only has the one hand so it's going slowly. But also— ]

Do you have experience in medical care?

[ Look, no offense or anything (actually, probably some offense) but like, this guy didn't seem to know what was going on when he was dying at the cafe last time?? ]

[sanguinary]

[THIS IS SO FUNNY WHY ARE THEY DESTINED TO CONTINUE MEETING STUPIDLY...

Yikes, though. Randy, your arm... Matsui doesn't seem to take offense to the full offense question here, considering his obvious lack of knowledge about health problems before. He simply settles next to Eustace with a thin smile. Fortunately, he's long-since dropped the "I am a normal human, look at how normal I am" act, so he can speak more freely - not that it sounds any less weird.]

I am unfamiliar with the workings of a human body, but I am still a blade, after all. If there is one thing I know how to do, medically-speaking, it's treating wounds on the battlefield.

[In a basic first aid kinda way... He won't be out here touching a wound with nasty, dirty hands, at least!]

[lockedon]

[ unfortunately it's because the gremlin in me gravitates towards the stupidest option always


Thanks for dropping the normal human act though, Eustace will kindly return the favor by...not asking him if he's still wearing the pen brush of his dead lover?? No, just kidding, he'll act normally for him too, which is unfortunately still kind of rude and standoffish. But hey, at least he's honest! ]

I can't say I've ever met a blade capable of performing first aid.

[ Then again he's pretty sure he's never met a blade able to walk and talk so?? The bar's on the ground here. He will give Matsui one (1) opportunity to prove himself. ]

Do you treat wounds with magic or with standard supplies?

[ Supplies that I....am not sure have been unfrozen here....time to wing this too ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ]

[sanguinary]

[fair and valid

STOP NOT HIS PEN-- But yay now Matsui can stop larping as a human and Eustace can continue on as he had been before, pretty much.]

It's a necessity when we wield ourselves in battle with this form.

[Gesturing to himself with one hand! Human bodies! They're so inconvenient!! Always getting cut and bruised and bleeding all over the place, damn.]

I treat wounds with standard supplies. [Matsui has a little stash which he's unfrozen, it's fine... He's still unharmonized so he couldn't use magic even if he wanted to.] Is that fine?

[lockedon]

[ Human bodies are truly so inconvenient….Has Matsui considered Harmonizing so that he can maybe ditch his flesh sack for something for something less prone to bursting at the merest touch? Eustace is unfortunately dog(person)-coded through and though, but some of us have other options….

But, in reply, he holds out his arm. ]

Go ahead.

[ Show him what you're made of, buddy!! Figuratively, not. Literally… ]

[sanguinary]

[LISTEN... MAYBE HE HAS....... But at the same time he [redacted] and [redacted] so really he just wants to [redacted] and Harmonizing will not help.

But that's neither here nor there.]

Then, if you will excuse me--

[He'll get to work! And fortunately because he went into this with the mindset to expect blood, Eustace won't have to deal with him... being....... too weird about it... Maybe he's a little too careless about bloodying his hands, but it's fine!!

Outside of that, he works with a quiet focus. Though his movements lack the gentle touch of a Person Used To Handling Other People, they're not overly-brusque, either. It gets the job done, essentially. Exactly as he'd said, very much like a soldier used to doing patchwork jobs on the battlefield. Once he's finished, he'll mop any remaining blood away, and that's about the peak of his gentleness.]

--You will likely want to have someone with healing magic or better supplies look at it, as well, but this should hold up decently for the time being.

[lockedon]

[ That's a lotta [redacted]....u ok there buddy......

Don't answer that, because somehow Matsui's handiwork is a lot more efficient than Eustace expects, enough to prompt a few blinks of surprise every now and then through the whole process. He really wasn't kidding when he said he knew what he was doing, huh? +1 respect point for this strange man and his strange ways, Eustace will now know who to go crawling to the next time he gets moderately injured in this frozen hellscape.

And once they're all finished— ]

Thanks.

[ Is that begrudging respect in his voice? Maybe. But more importantly, he has a question. ]

Are you really a [ what was it again ] blade?

[sanguinary]

[HE'S FINE...

More importantly, wow, he's earned some begrudging respect... Maybe he can finally make up for his terrible first impressions of having a pen from his dead lover and also not understanding what anxiety tummy rumbles are. He'll nod in response to the thanks, the gesture polite, as he continues to clean up. He and his terrible clinic will be here whenever this furry inevitably runs into trouble again...

As for the question!]

Yes. Matsui Gou, forged by Gou no Yoshihiro. [Though he's well aware by now that the name means nothing to basically anyone here.] Though I'm still learning how to use this form to its fullest, I can offer my assistance in combat as needed.

[lockedon]

[ Eustace has no idea who any of these names are supposed to mean but that's fine, he will do what he always does, which is to tuck them away in the back of his mind until they pop up again one day and he's forced to do further research into them.

He blinks a few times in silence, mulling over this information. The human form is, once again, awfully inconvenient for some things, which begs the question of: ]

Are you unable to change back?

[ To his original (?) blade (??) form??? ]

[sanguinary]

[Hopefully he will never have to do that because the Yoshihiro rabbit hole is wild.

ANYWAY WHAT A MOOD!! Every day he wants to file a complaint directly to god for making humans so weenie.]

That is correct. [HELP. He can demanifest (maybe, possibly) under normal circumstances, but considering he doesn't even have his actual body back yet, he's truly just stuck in a limbo. He looks down at one of his hands for a moment, flexing his fingers.]

I have only had this body for a year or so, but even then, it was not so fragile. After all, these are just a mimicry of the human form.

[lockedon]

[ DEMANIFEST……HELP. Someone help this man. This sword. This swordboyman.

Being a nonpowered pleb as he is, Eustace has only ever had the one (squishy) body his entire life, with no real changes made to it even after being tugged from one world to the next. Apparently that hasn't been the case for so many of his fellows here, and from the sounds of things Matsui's been subject to that as had so many others. ]

Did arriving here [ in Kenos and not the castle, though Matsui really can't be faulted for assuming the latter ] strip you of some of your strength?

[sanguinary]

[DEMANIFEST........ He does need help though, someone help him, save him from being a squishy nonpowered pleb like Eustace. i keep typoing his name as eustance someone help me too

Anyway, Matsui nods without much hesitation because he's either very naive or extremely confident in his abilities even now, giving away Potential Weaknesses without a care in the world.]

Even like this, we were "born" to be weapons first, and the bodies that we were given reflect that. I believe that here and now, what I have is more reflective of a typical human...

[Or like, a very fit one, but that's still weenie compared to a sword normally.]

Is this something that you have experienced?

[lockedon]

[ did you know that everyone in the discord spelled it like that for awhile and now i'm immune to it.

Eustance (that's his new name now) settles his now-patched-up arm back into his lap, careful not to jostle it too much. Matsui's right, he'll need to go get it checked out later by someone Professional (and maybe someone with a bit more magic) but for now he's willing to get some rest the old-fashioned way.

Also, this conversation is just weird enough that he's curious to see where it leads. ]

Being 'born' as a weapon? No. I'm just a regular mortal.

[ He says, with his furry dog ears. Look, it's fine, it still doesn't make him special. But...hm. He tilts his head, responding back with a question of his own. ]

Do you have a talent for using the weapons you were [ ... ] born as with greater skill?

[sanguinary]

[HELP NOT EUSTANCE THIS IS A CURSE. CEASE THIS.

Anyway, Matsui just watches him move in his weird alien way that he tends to watch everything, which at least probably makes sense now that he's made it very clear He Is Not Human. Eustace seems like the kind of guy who can take care of himself without anyone else's help (for the most part), but he's uncertain about how well his own medic work will hold up...]

Ah. [WHY DOES HE HAVE FURRY DOG EARS. Eustace Loveless is that you.] There aren't many people here who can claim that, it would seem... Being a regular mortal.

[Why are there so many freaks in this club. As for the question, he just nods!]

My sword is my true body, so I know how to utilize it in the same way that a human can naturally move theirs.

[lockedon]

[ Tragically he's banged already and the ears didn't fall off, so he would be rejected from the Loveless universe.

Why was he accepted into this world then, full of its circus clown of freaks? Who can truly say. He's not unaware of how powerless he is in comparison to so many of the people he knows here. And while it doesn't bother him most days, because he has plenty of other skill at his disposal, sometimes he wonders how much he'll fall behind if he stays the way he is.

But there's no point unloading that on the earnest-looking swordman in front of him, so he tucks that all away. A flicker of a smile crosses his face. ]

It's not that exciting. Though it seems none of us are regular anythings anymore, after arriving here.

[ He's pretty sure that regular people don't have rocks embedded into their bodies that prevent them from dying permanently?? And that make them apparently very much sought-after by both Yima and Cyrus. ]

Have you chosen a side yet?

[sanguinary]

[can't believe eustace loveless was kicked out of his original canon for bang crimes......

Anyway now it's Matsui's turn to politely not unload on a person who is just here vibing. He glances down at his hands, flexing his fingers again, before folding them neatly together.]

I have not. [It's Complicated. And a good thing that they don't share an aspect, because Matsui's feelings about this Complicated Matter are also very complicated and extremely depressing to boot.]

Have you? [Well. Most people have, so he amends by adding a follow-up question almost right away:] Which side have you chosen, if so...?

[lockedon]

[ Eustace already shares his aspect with Dokja, King Depresso, so what's a little more depression to add to the mix?? But no, thanks Matsui for not unloading on him while there's plenty of other things to worry about, Eustace Will Remember This. (He won't, because he doesn't know it's actually happening.)

It's an expected question and he shakes his head once in reply, almost automatically given how often he's had to answer this question. ]

No.

[ But his reasons aren't Complicated™, he's just a suspicious little binch. ]

I don't have anything I need to regain, and I don't trust what either of the two sides are saying without more concrete proof.

[ So instead of picking any side, he will continue to sit in the unharmonized chicken coop for as long as possible. At least he has another buddy now. He doesn't seem bothered by his neutral status, words offered up freely and without difficulty, though his brow does crease a little as he suddenly remembers a line several others have said to him in passing. ]

Though I've been told I should consider moving forward [ ie. picking a side ] instead of staying in place.

[sanguinary]

[KING DEPRESSO. Incredible. Everyone in this bar has depression and there is only one therapist to go around...

Also he is so valid. Matsui just nods because makes sense to him! If it weren't for his Deeply Personal Reasons, that would be his number one concern and why it would still take his ass forever to join a side.]

I do not see a point in that.

[Moving forward, specifically, but picking a side in more general terms. Granted, he's [redacted], so he has no interest in moving forward anyway.]

Have they said why you should consider it?

[lockedon]

[ [REDACTED]??? I'm so concerned....

But you know, that's a valid question to ask, especially from someone who's [redacted]. He thinks on it for a moment, one finger tapping silently against his leg, while he tries to remember the various conversations he's had over the past few weeks. ]

Generally speaking, because progress is good and stagnation is bad.

[ Their words, not his, though he can sort of understand the sentiment behind them. ]

You don't agree with that?

[sanguinary]

[LISTEN. It's fine don't worry about it...

More importantly, he seems to be paying close attention to what Eustace says, genuinely interested in the reasonings presented. No one has tried to convince him of anything, so far - he has nothing to judge by.]

I do not agree or disagree. [HELPFUL. But really, progress can be bad, stagnation usually is, there are exceptions to every situation, it's unnecessarily complex in the end. More importantly:]

I disagree with the idea that "progress" is synonymous with picking one of two sides offered.

[lockedon]

[ Damn, this guy really knows how to lay it sound so it truly sounds like he's not being helpful. But at least he follows up with something infinitely more interesting. It might not be any sort of lead for this castle they're supposed to be investigating, but Eustace is as interested in his fellow (not really) teammates as he is about this mission he's been sent on. Arguably he's more interested in the people around him, because most of them aren't trying to foce him one way or another. ]

What would you picture progress as then, if not picking a side?

[ Let Eustace pick your brain a lil, Matsui. ]

[sanguinary]

[Same hat! Sometimes you just care the most about the people on your own weird little team...

He also seems pretty okay with Eustace picking his brain, though the question seems to give him pause for a moment. Not because he doesn't have an answer, so much as he's just organizing how best to communicate that answer.]

...To me, I would picture progress as coming to learn more about this place and the people here, along with the details of our destroyed homes. Where did Yima and Cyrus hail from? Why did the power fall into their hands? Why is this the surviving edge of reality, supposedly, when infinite other versions of a single world, let alone worlds beyond those worlds, exist? Or existed.

[There are just a lot of things that don't make sense to him!!]

I do not like the idea of hearing every answer from one source of power or another. I do not believe that joining one cause would provide the clearest picture.

[He'll glance toward Eustace after that, almost as if to say, "do you see what I mean?"]

[lockedon]

[ doing tags on mobile was clearly a mistake, wtf were half my typos i am so sorry

But the point has been made and very well at that. Who knew a sword-turned-human could be so eloquent? Congrats Matsui for gaining another respect point. Surely he can only keep going up from here...

For his efforts, Matsui gets some thoughtful nodding, a clear sign of agreement from Mr. Dogman. That'd had been his line of thinking too for so long, and still continues to be his line of thinking even as he's buffetted by myriad opinions from those around him.

Even so.... ]

But it would provide you with more resources to hunt down the answers to those questions, wouldn't it? Harmonizing.

[sanguinary]

[puts 20 hands on ur shoulders it's ok i saw nothing

But yeah!! He's only an idiot when it comes to Being Human, otherwise he does possess one single vampiric braincell miraculously. Sometimes he even uses it! also the way i read dogman as douman at a glance and was like TWO OF THEM???

That said, Matsui's considered this angle before, too. Of course he has. Still, he'll ponder over it for a moment, as if searching to see whether or not the conclusion he came to before still holds weight.]

...You may be correct. That is possible. At the same time, I feel it would be a trade, in a way. Access to the possibility to more resources in exchange for existing unbound by either side or their goals. I do not think it would be impossible to find those resources without harmonizing, in any case. It will take more effort, I'm sure, but that is something I am willing to do.

[lockedon]

[ i buy a power that lets eustace the dogman transform into douman the clown (no)

He can respect the other man for wanting to keep all the paths in front of him open even at the cost of more work. And while he could choose to play devil's advocate and continue trying to argue the other side, that's never been his style, and it'd never been the point of the conversation to begin with. So he simply nods again in agreement. ]

Good luck.

[ Don't die out there, swordman.


—Ah, but hang on. He digs into his jacket and pulls out his Hourglass, and from it withdraws a small amount of sand, which he offers out to Matsui.

is this how it works, i am pretending this is how it works ]

Payment for your services.

[ Matsui may not have asked, but Eustace is going to offer anyway because that's just what he does. And also because he hates owing people anything. ]