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+--- Thread: Meanwhile, back home... (/showthread.php?tid=5120)
Meanwhile, back home... - Amber Veritz - 09-08-2016
Murasaki rose from his seat in the monitor room. He really needed a break from this. Rose stepped in to take his spot for awhile while he head back up the tunnels. The young man sighed and rubbed the dust from his dark brown hair. The construction of the tunnels were going well, but they could always be better. The tunnels were currently being held up by thick wooden support beams that were cut down from the trees in the forest of the fields. Although Murasaki seemed like a simple and calm guy, but inside he was constantly worried about the state of everything here in the Fort. With Amber gone, that put him in full charge, and he would see this fort at it’s best 24/7.
The cold air that hit Murasaki’s face was like an oasis in a desert. While the tunnels were efficient for their purpose, the air was rather dense in the third tier. He took a deep breath and savored it, walking around the tents that traveling merchants had set up looking at their peculiar wares. Odd trinkets like necklaces and jewelry, and weird weapons and foods Murasaki had never seen before. It was interesting to see many new things, especially in a new world like this.
After his walk around in the courtyard, Murasaki returned to the tunnels, stopping in at The Barrow. The inn was already a social hub. It was not as busy as would be if they had chosen a more populated area, but nevertheless it had people coming in and out enjoying a mug of ale, or a can of soda. The alcohol was an addition Murasaki only saw for benefit. He himself did not enjoy the thought of alcohol, but it is hardly a settlement if your settlers are unhappy. On that note, morale looked extremely high. Many of the people in the tavern seemed to be having a good time in The Barrow. It was a sign that this might turn into a larger settlement with more time and care. Although the inn had a more tavern type of look, it still had some technology and modern additions. Things such as coolers for their drinks, and stoves to cook their food, even a relaxing tune played from the speakers above them. Who needs to hire a bard anyways?
‘Saki sat down in front of the bar and called for the innkeeper, Bianca. The woman approached him and leaned up against the counter, “Hey, how’s it going? This place is a dirt hole right now, but it’s our dirt hole I guess.”
Murasaki nodded with a grin. “Yeah,” he replied with a soft chuckle. “The snow reminds me of home. Did we get anything new?”
“Some travelers that recently departed traded us some coffee beans for only a few silver coins.” She replied.
“Coffee, hunh? I'm not a fan myself, but I assume you took the deal because of your fascination of the stuff?”
“Yeah, but I bought enough to sell to the inn guests as well, so we can make a profit off of it.” Bianca explained, handing the man a soda. “On the house.”
“Of course it is, I run this place.” He said.
“I always wanted to say that though.”
Murasaki silently judged his companion, but took the soda anyways. “You’re weird.” He took a gulp of the caffiene goodness and stood up. “Thanks for the drink but I should really get back down there.”
“No problem, keep us safe.” She replied as he walked off. Murasaki headed back down to the lower tiers and switched places with Rose again, resuming his day-to-day work.
RE: Meanwhile, back home... - Amber Veritz - 02-14-2017
Meanwhile, back home, Amber’s team worked diligently to keep her fort, her castle alive and well. Even now people had begun building homes around the forts exterior nothing was completely finished, but soon stone homes would stand proudly at the foot of the Primes doorstep. Even if the Frozen Fields was a harsh, unforgiving wasteland Amber’s fort was stocked with food and necessities of every kind. Murasaki was proud of his work here, being the sole person in charge of the day to day operation, he just knew Amber would be ecstatic to see how much her influence she was gaining in the Fields. Armed guards now patrol the battlements of the fort and the courtyard, most of the paying work here at current. Other jobs included collecting firewood and they were even lucky enough to make a deal with a smith to be quartermaster. With more work, effort and time, Fort Amber would become more than a simple outpost. It has only just begun for her town, but soon, her fortress of refuge would become an iron castle shining brightly among the commonwealth.
RE: Meanwhile, back home... - Amber Veritz - 03-13-2017
Murasaki sighed. Everyone seemed to needed his help today, and he can’t provide as many answers as Amber could. As usual, though, the cocky kitty found her way out of communication connections. Stressful all hours of the day. All he did was worry about her safety when coms were down. He knew how capable she was of fighting, but even the greatest hunters have their limits.
His train of thought was interrupted by that damn phone again. If it rang one more time after this, he was probably going to blow his brains out. Office work didn’t suit him, and neither did a ringing phone. Nevertheless, it was his job to answer it.
“What the hell is it now?” That did not mean he had to be nice about it, though. After all, if anyone wanted to complain about it his attitude, it would have to be to him. “I’ve had enough of all these phone calls. Can I not get some fucking peace down here?”
”I’m sorry Murasaki, but this is actually pretty important. You should come up here and talk with this chick.” Bianca’s voice rang through the phone. ”She’s got some things we might want to look into, and Amber made you the last-say-man when she isn’t present.”
“Right, right. Give me a few minutes with a ringing phone and I’ll come up.” He said rubbing his temples to help with his growing headache.
”He says he’ll be right with you ma’am.” The dark-haired adolescent hears as he hangs up the phone. He rests his back against the seats backside and rubs head, sliding out from the desk in front of him.
“I swear if I died today, people would still call me in the afterlife for assistance.” With that last snide comment, the teenager rises from his comfy, black computer chair and opens the thick-steel door. Pressurized steam shoots from some pipes along the walls as it slides open slowly. Once the stupid piece of shit finally creaked open, he stepped through and made his way down the dirt hallway, ill lit by dim lamps strung up on the ceiling. It took two flights of stairs to reach the bar, where Bianca had called him from. There he was met almost instantly by a woman in dirty clothing and hard hat wired with a flashlight on the brim. She shook Murasaki’s hand without giving him a chance to even decide on the matter.
“Good Evening to ya, friend.” Her voice blurted into his ears, wishing he had just shot himself instead. “The name ‘s Saya. We heard about your cozy little home here in the frozen wilderness and got an amazin’ idea!”
Murasaki looked at the somewhat brawny woman confusedly. “You...what? What could we possibly have that you want way out here?” He asked scratching the back of his head.
“Stone!” She said with larger-than-normal smirk. Murasaki’s expression only got harsher, not that Saya cared much about how he was reacting to her bold nature.
“Excuse me? Stone?” He asked.
“Yup! Well, to be puttin’ in better terms, I technically mean work. Y’see, we’re a bunch of miners from Camelot,” She said pointing to a table of hobo-esque men wearing matching gear to Saya. “‘s actually pretty simple. We mine up stone in the nearby caves, providin’ your little town with the stone it needs to expand, and ya’ll let us live here for work and pay. Who know what else we could find in that quarry too! Iron? Silver? Gold? It will all be yours!”
Murasaki was quiet for the passing moments. This was a decent offer. These people were coming for the intent of work, they were ready to earn their bread. Not only that, but they would provide a much needed source that even Amber couldn’t provide as a prime: Tons of stone and metals. “Miss Saya. Your offer is quite generous, and we have the money to hire your services, the problem is simply housing. There isn’t much room for permanent housing yet here in Fort Amber, but we’ll see what accommodations we can make to keep your men out of the cold. Just provide us with the materials, and we’ll have a station made for your quarry group. Do we have a deal?” He held his hand out to seal the deal. Saya complied nearly instantly to his gesture.
“You betch yer britches boy!” She turned to the group of brawny men drinking what seemed like some kind of ale - did they really sell ale? - yelled to them. “Drink up boys! We’ve got work to do tomorrow!” They all cheered and drank a round in celebration. Without another word, the miner had begun to walk back to her table to join in the festivities. The dark-haired teen walked up to the bar and spoke to Bianca. “Don’t call me for anything else, I’m going to go die.”
“Charming.” She joked back and watched him walk off, back to his mole-hole in the deepest reaches of the underground tunnels.
RE: Meanwhile, back home... - Amaterasu - 02-04-2018
“... and we would be looking like sun-dried raisins under all those coatings”, Fiara finished the sentence she'd started mid-warp. A wave of cool air hit them in their faces as all four of them - Oki, Fiara, Urist and Amaterasu - entered the Frozen Fields through the Nexus Gate and stumbled straight into the cold climate. Fiara stopped the Nimbus cloud that they were riding to tug her hood over her head, and the others imitated her to guard against the snow and hail.
“I thought you were a Phoenix”, Amaterasu pointed out, grinning broadly. “Shouldn’t you be resistant to that kind of heat?”
“That’s not how it works… besides, things are weirdly different in these parts, my whole body functions in ways different than it did back at home.”
“Hold on”, said Oki. “Look at this just ahead. This wasn’t there when I first came to this place.”
“What do you mean?” asked Amaterasu. She followed the warrior’s pointing finger with her eyes, and… a settlement? It was dominated by a large snow building but there were a few smaller structures around it. Wooden poles, a sort of first line of defence… interesting. “It would seem that someone has set up here. I can’t remember seeing this before either. Urist, does this seem familiar to you?”
“Nay. Musta happened while ah was with ye guys… and tha’s not too long ago.”
“How long would it take to build something like this?” she asked rhethorically.
“With a good crew? Ah’d say a couple o’ years if ye want it stable. An’ tha’s seven days a week o’ dedicated labor.”
“In other words, too fast for trolls or dwarves to have built it up… there was likely a Prime involved. Let’s check it out.” Fiara accelerated the Nimbus to traveling speed again and they crawled through the sea of the Frozen Fields, mindful of the thin ice under their feet, until they reached the fortress that they would later find out was Atlas. As they came close a guardsman spotted them and called out: “Hoy there, strangers!”
“Greetings!” Amaterasu shouted back. “Might we ask what this place is?”
“Atlas, if that suits you. You new ´round here?”
“Not quite, but we’ve spent most of our time deeper in the verse!”
“You came from the Nexus gate”, the guarded responded with a frown. Obviously he was suspecting a lie.
“We did. We only came back to the Frozen Fields recently.”
“Then you must have spent a good amount of time away from the Gate. This fort’s been here for a while now.”
“I imagine that it was built by a Prime, no?” asked Amaterasu. Now was the time to ensure.
“That it was. Its walls are sturdier than anything manmade, so don’t go tryin’ to bust your way inside.”
“Actually, we were hoping to come in, if that would be possible… those tracks of caravans you have leading up to the gate, you have traders coming in, right? We’re looking to do some trading.”
“You don’t look like traders… what do you have?”
Amaterasu detached one of the golden ink pots from her sash. Lacking gold pieces, she showed that to the guardsman, hoping that the distance would deceive him. “Money. And information.”
The guardsman considered for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, you may pass. Just stay out of trouble.”
As the gates opened and Fiara drove the Nimbus in, Urist asked: “Why are we going in here, Ama? Ye got some sorta plan?”
“I do”, she replied. “Whoever made this… they are a Prime, and they’re intelligent enough to set this fort up at an advantageous point for traders willing to come in. They have also built this place out into a small trading outpost in… a year, at the most. They may not have the same goals as we do, but they could be a very valuable ally. If I can get in contact with them I am sure that only good can come of it.”
“An’ what if they ain’t interested?”
Amaterasu shrugged. “Then we’ll just need to see if we can go up against a competitor. Anyway, for now you guys keep quiet about everything… out of the ordinary. If any of the merchants ask: Urist, you’re the leader of a small trade caravan, Fiara and I are mages and Oki is a mercenary. We’re on our way back from… from Camelot, having traded various goods there, and now we have some gold.”
“Oki doesn’t have a sword”, Fiara pointed out. She was just parking the Nimbus next to the horse stables inside the fort’s outer perimeter in its walls.
“An’ we don’ have gold”, added Urist.
“I’ll summon some of both. Fiara and Urist, you guys go out to see if you can gather some info on who is in charge here. A warlord or anything of the kind. And try to find out what race they are… might not be a good idea to stay around if they’re trolls. Oki, you stay with me while I summon our items. Don’t let anyone see it.”
“Wha’ do we tell ta the people in charge?” asked Urist. “If we meet any.”
“To the guards, keep the story I told you. To the people in charge, we can be a little more honest… but don’t tell them about my Prime powers unless it’s necessary. I trust your decisions on this matter. And remember, not a word about it.” Then she tucked her hands into her sleeves to hide the glow of the Omnilium orbs she produced to summon gold, while Urist and Fiara went out pretending to examine the other merchants’ wares while gathering information on this place.
RE: Meanwhile, back home... - Amber Veritz - 02-10-2018
Urist and Fiara made there way into the market district of Atlas, which wasn’t far from the gates where they had left their companions to search for information. Fiara took the lead, letting her dwarven friend assume the role of ‘hired-protection’. Amaterasu had given them some gold to use in searching for information. They approached the first stall: A cozy hide-woven tent lined with furs and brown leather. Just outside the warmth of the makeshift-hobble was a cat-like entity. He looked fairly humanoid, yet his body was covered in fur, and he retained specs that only the feline animals held, like a cat tail and ears.
As the two approached, he took notice of their interest, but did not stand up from the fire that kept him warm, beyond his furry coat.
“Ah, J’zargo welcomes you to his humble trading tent. The winds bite bitter cold here, like that of Skyrim, but this one is not bothered.” He states, only looking up to the two travelers from his cross-legged position on the woven blanket sitting on the snow. “Have you come to trade? Khajiit has wares, if you have coin.”
“Um, well, we are in the market, but we were also looking for something more than just items.” Fiara mentioned. “We were also looking for some information on this civilization.”
“Oh, J’zargo does not know much. He prefers keeping to himself and practicing his magic.” The cat says before Fiara flashes him some extra money. Urist had wandered the khajiit’s stall, looking at the weird traditional-looking antiques. “Well, it seems the jingle of fresh coin has stoked my memory, but what is it you wish to know exactly?”
“Who is in charge around here-?” Fiara then remembers Ama’s instructions to lay low. “I wish to speak to them about trade relations between the city and Camelot.”
“Hm, this one has heard of the girl, named after the exotic stone.” J’zargo strokes his beard as he ponders on his memories. “He has never seen an ‘amber’ before, but the one who has the ears that rival J’zargo’s he has seen before. She often comes and goes from the city, but last J’zargo saw, she has gone.”
“Then who would be running the operation around here? I heard this place was built by a prime.” She mentions to the cat. She notices Urist, sniffing around the oddities of food, some kind of cheese fondue had caught his eye. She passes the khajiit the coins for payment.
“Of course, done by the prime herself. Building the wall, from what J’zargo heard, was menial task for the girl. It took hours. The construction of a society in Atlas took quite some time, however. If you wish to talk with someone more informed, J’zargo suggests meeting with the one they call ‘Bianca’ in the underground tavern. It is much warmer down there, but J’zargo prefers to stay away from the toxic smells of sweaty barbarians and wide array of greased food and alcohol.”
“Very well, thank you for your time.” She says before gesturing to Urist to come along. They needed to return to Amaterasu to inform her.
RE: Meanwhile, back home... - Amaterasu - 02-13-2018
(02-10-2018, 10:25 AM)Amber Veritz Wrote: “Of course, done by the prime herself. Building the wall, from what J’zargo heard, was menial task for the girl. It took hours. The construction of a society in Atlas took quite some time, however. If you wish to talk with someone more informed, J’zargo suggests meeting with the one they call ‘Bianca’ in the underground tavern. It is much warmer down there, but J’zargo prefers to stay away from the toxic smells of sweaty barbarians and wide array of greased food and alcohol.”
“Very well, thank you for your time.” She says before gesturing to Urist to come along. They needed to return to Amaterasu to inform her.
As Fiara walked her way back towards the stables where Amaterasu and Oki were waiting something came to her mind. "Oh, I should check if there's any news about this Dee-Ay thing..." She opened her Dataverse device and flicked through the screens, browsing the news semi randomly. Messageboards... what was this? A PSA? She blinked and opened the thread. Agh, the reception in this place was terrible... then again it was the Frozen Fields, people probably didn't spend much time around here. She should consider herself lucky to capt any messages at all. There was a slow-loading image there... and a warning? "Yadda yadda yadda, sadistic, blah blah... will murder you. Huh.
Then the image finished loading and a deep frown crossed her face. Split personalities? Any five-year-old could have told by a simple look at her that she was possessed. Didn't look very healthy either... white hair and skin this pale was either albinism or it meant that her life was being drained by the possessing spirit. Couple that with her being murderous and sadistic and there was pretty little doubt. Some creep went off about her being Yandere, which made her wonder if there was an option to upgrade these things to slap people through the screen. Maybe? This Omniverse place had a lot of tech she'd never seen, that sort of thing shouldn't be out of reach.
"What're ye... mph, doin'?" asked Urist and leant closer.
"Just happened across this message about... what's that you're eating?"
The dwarf swallowed before replying. "Cheese fondue! It's delicious, ah'm gonna save some fer Ammy so she can summon more... bu' ah couldn' resist 'avin a taste an' now ah can't stop."
"Isn't it warm?" She took a closer look. Apparently that J'zargo cat had wrapped the food into a piece of carton so it could be eaten on the go. The smell coming from it was delicious. "Mmmh... I can see why."
"Aye... 'e said it's called fondue. Ah wonder if we got tha' in Dwarfholm."
The phoenix girl focused her attention back on the Dataverse device. It wasn't much but at least she could leave a message behind... 'Please log in to post'? What the hell... she grunted as she clicked her way through to the next screen and filled the form with some bogus data. It wasn't like they would believe her if she told them that her adress was in Nippon after all. Username? She thought just a moment for this one before typing in what first came to her mind. R4inb0w_Pho3n1x. She felt like grinning. What a cool idea to replace letters from that weird romanji alphabet with numbers! Now then for a reply... she typed down what she knew about the Youkai who she suspected to be possessing this poor girl and recommended that she go seek out a Kannushi, a shintoist priest. They had to have some of those around the Omniverse, right? As she hit Send, she hoped that the message would soon reach her.
DING!
Almost immediately someone replied. Xx_Yandere_Lo♥er_xX. This guy again... What the hell sort of name was that even? He made even less sense than his previous posts using slang that she made no sense of. She was about to tell him to get his head examined and cut the gibberish, but then they were already at the stables again so she decided to stop. What was that old saying again? Don't feed the Oni. Something like that.
When Fiara and Urist arrived, with the dwarf munching some yellowish sticky substance with bits of meat in it, Amaterasu was just about done summoning. Oki had a new sword on his back - though she had given him a glaive more reminiscent of the Blade of Kusanagi, the blade she had used during her journey, instead of a new Kutone, at his own request. The treasure of the Oina tribe was now in Omni's hands and he would not have a replica. The rest of the time she had summoned gold and silver pieces so that they would have some currency to spend. "Hey you two, back so soon? What did you find out?"
"Apparently someone named Amber is the Prime who built this whole place, but she's not around. We can meet someone named Bianca though."
"I see. And where is this Bianca?" she asked as she handed out three leather bags, each with a sum of gold and silver pieces in it.
"Underground, apparently. This whole place has several levels."
"Well... let's park the Nimbus somewhere more permanent and go inside, then!"
Though the stable-keeper was quite unsettled to see the group pushing a cloud into one of his vacant boxes, his attitude quickly changed when Amaterasu put a silver coin into his hand. "No feed needed, but if you could just keep an eye on it we'd appreciate it... very much", she said, then they asked for directions to the way down.
As soon as they got inside the temperature rose. Fortunately there was a storage space available to take their coats and luggage, though they had none of the latter left since Amaterasu had desummoned their provisions and climbing equipment a while ago. They were aiming to stay together, so there was no use in heaving that much material around. Urist and Fiara were already wearing their lighter clothes beneath the coats, but Oki and Amaterasu had to change in a dark corner. With her miko dress on and Oki in his light shirt and trousers again, they felt much lighter and more comfortable.
"Now for this Bianca girl", declared Amaterasu, and they descended as instructed, until they came to the tavern. J'zargo's description of 'toxic smells', 'sweaty barbarians' and 'greased food and alcohol' was pretty fitting. Amaterasu had to cover her nose with her sleeve to breathe, and even so the sheer volume of noise that assaulted her ears even after she laid them back against her head was very unsettling. Several tables went quiet as they walked by. While the Omniverse was anything but uniform when it came to its inhabitants and Atlas, being so close to the Nexus Gate, had formed quite the hodgepodge of people of various races and ethnicities, people as exotic as the three easterners, in particular the pale-skinned one in the white and red dress, drew more attention than others.
As they traversed the middle of the tavern an outstretched leg blocked their path. Fiara simply lifted her foot to climb over it, only to find herself walking into the arm of the stranger who had so rudely got in their way. "Ay, girl, wha's the big hurry?" he slurred. His breath smelled of cheap booze. He was obviously tipsy.
Fiara eyed the hand, then as if following a trail turned her eyes towards the man. "You want to let us through or should I break a few fingers first?" she asked coldly. This just drew mocking laughter from the other patrons at the table.
"Hey now, you know the rule. To pass the bridge you gotta pay the troll tax. But you're a cutie so I'll settle for just a kiss." He underlined his offer with a creepy wink. "But if ya can't keep your hands off me my lap's got plenty of space."
Fiara was about to activate her Blasters when Amaterasu put a hand on her shoulder. She gently pushed the girl backwards as she leant over the table and smiled at the patron, her elbows propped on the wooden surface. "Look, good man, my friend is clearly not interested. And if the barman sees you getting flirty with underage girls he'll probably cut you off, so... how about you go back to enjoying your drink? The night is still young." Though she felt quite different, this was not the time to be teaching a man manners. She put on her warmest, most innocent smile that she could and placed her chin on the back of her hands. "Okay?"
"Okay..." the man replied, looking stunned. The others of the table had gone quiet too.
"Thank you", she mused and stood up straight once more. The man hastily pulled his leg back and let them pass. As they got to the bar, Amaterasu chuckled. "I've always wanted to try that."
"Where on earth did you learn to put on a smile like that?!" asked Fiara wide-eyed.
"I sat through one of Kannushi Rao's sermons once, that's when I saw her do it. Of course I didn't know she was the Kyubi at that time, but... well, she pretty much caught the heart of every man who came to listen to her. If men behave that way they're usually sad inside, so I lifted his spirits a bit."
"A bit, eh? 'im an' 'is whole gang are still starin' at us", Urist pointed out.
"Don't mind them." She approached the barkeeper. "Pardon me, but we've heard that a certain Bianca could be found here. Do you know if they're around?" She carefully skirted the usage of gender pronouns. These western names were always so ambiguous...
RE: Meanwhile, back home... - Amber Veritz - 02-13-2018
Bianca’s day was severely boring beyond the usual days she has in the bar. Sweaty men talking about old aged battles and ‘proudly worn scars’. She couldn’t understand why Amber loved this place so much, but she followed her leader wherever she walked.
Just as she had finished serving up one of the regulars, the entire bar went silent. A group of four eccentric characters walked in, disturbing the un-peace of the patrons. The four, well, except for one, looked like they had just came through Mistral and took in the culture. One was even donning canine ears.
“A faunus?” Bianca whispered to herself, looking over at Rose who was behind the counter refilling the drinks of a table. Rose offered a shrug in return, then went back to observing the group that approached. When they caught the eye of one of the girls Rose began to hop over the counter before it was put down quickly. They approached the counter with the entire bar watching them. Rose’s voice echoed.
“Hey, dummies! Don’t you have notches in your axe to talk about?! Quit staring and go about your own business!” She yelled, and out of what the four could tell was fear, the bar became obnoxiously loud again.
“Thank you.” Amaterasu says before mentioning Bianca. Bianca puts on a smile and gives a slight bow.
“Bianca Serana of Serana Steel, Member of Team AMBR, Barkeep of Fort AMBR at your service. Whom might I be talking to?” She asked looking back to Amaterasu after finishing her bow. The sun goddess was surprised at the girl’s posture. She didn’t seem to have an Japanese knowledge just looking at her, but she seemed to know customs of greeting.
“You may call me Amaterasu, of no outstanding title I would say, but I am honoured to make your acquaintance, Ms. Serana.” The white haired ookami says working into a returning bow. “I have come seeking information about the ruler of this city, or those who govern it.”
“You’re a prime then?” Bianca asked, and Rose butted in.
“I’ll go get ‘Saki, Amber wanted to be alerted any time a prime came into the city.” Bianca nodded and Rose left the bar to go deeper into the tunnels.
“I don’t know your intentions for coming to Atlas, but that’s not my business. Now, would you like something to drink?” That’s when Urist spoke.
“Gimme one-a yer ‘ardest drinks.” He said taking a seat at the barstool.
“For some reason, the patrons take to calling our strongest brew the ‘Choumoyasu’ which is supposed to mean ‘Gut Scorcher’ or something. I don’t know what language it’s supposed to be, but it’s pretty tough. You sure?”
‘Sure ‘s me own beard.” The dwarf replied.
Amaterasu was about to correct the young Bianca before she felt a light tap on her shoulder. I young man, no older than eighteen stood behind her. His dark black hair covered most of his eyes, but the kami could tell his eyes were green. He was also armed with a katana.
“You are here to meet with Amber? I’m sorry to say that she’s out on an expedition within the fields to search for Dust. She won’t be back for some time yet, but I am the second in command and run the day to day operation of Atlas.” He said pushing some of the long hair out of his face.
“Thank you for the welcome to your city. I do wish to meet with Amber at her earliest convenience. Any estimate on when she will return from her expedition?”
“I can’t say. Sometimes it’s hours, sometimes it’s days.” Murasaki replies. “You’re welcome to rent some living space and wait but I-” He was interrupted before he could finish his sentence. Someone bursted through the door of the bar out of breath and bitten by the cold of the Fields.
“Help! Amber needs help! Explosives and trapped miners! She can’t do it alone!” Murasaki’s face grows grim. “Bianca, we need to rally some volunteers to help Amber. With most of out miners stuck in a cave fall, we could lose a lot of our main workforce to an unexpected occurrence.”
Amaterasu looked back at Oki, Fiara and Urist and then back to Murasaki and put on a serious face.
“I’ll do it, if you allow me. This will be a perfect time to meet with her, and if there are people in trouble, I would like to help as much as I can.”
“You would do that for a society and people that you don’t know?” Murasaki asked.
“And why not? All lives matter.” She stated simply, Murasaki smiled to that.
“Alright. I have a map of Amber’s location from Atlas, in case something like this happened. I will transfer it to your datadevice.” Murasaki said trading numbers with her and sending her the map. “Make sure she’s okay. Being immortal has stopped her from caring about her own wellbeing. You be careful too.”
RE: Meanwhile, back home... - Amaterasu - 02-15-2018
"Thank you", said Amaterasu as she accepted the map. The old troll phone beeped and she needed a moment to find the map, but then it lit up before her. "There we go. So this is where she is?" she asked and turned the phone to show Murasaki a red dot on the map.
"That’s the place. It’s a general location though, as Amber is underground and we don’t get her signal. Once you’re in the vicinity you’ll have to search for the caverns."
"I see. Well then, I’ll rush to their aid as quickly as I can. Which means… Oki, Fiara, you two stay behind. We need the Nimbus with as little a load as possible. Book yourselves a room here and wait for us to come back."
"Ah, an’ what ‘bout me? Ye want me along?" asked Urist. He already seemed to know the answer though because he was hurriedly finishing his drink, much to the amusement of the other patrons who saw the hardy dwarf chug the ‘Gut Scorcher’ like it was sweetened water.
"Yes. Your knowledge about the geography of the Fields will prove very valuable, as will your experience in mining. I can convert rock to Omnilium if I want, but if I do it without considering the stress points of an underground structure I may very well cause a cave-in." She turned back to Oki and Fiara. "You two have some money to get you over the next few days. If I take longer to come back, I trust that you’ll know what to do."
"You can trust us", said Oki. "Go already!"
Amaterasu nodded. As she was about to leave however, something else occured to her. "Fiara. Please message Kushi, let her know that we’re here in Atlas and that we’ll be returning to Dwarfholm for a short visit. I imagine that she’s doing okay but I want to check in on her before we move forward with the ‘project’ I mentioned."
"I see", said Fiara. "I’ll let her know."
"Thanks. I’ll be in touch"“ And with that she left the bar, already picking up a rapid pace on her way out so that Urist stumbled over his feet trying to follow her. There was no time to be lost.
"Now then", said Oki and turned back to the bar. "Would you happen to have any rooms available for two people?"
Fiara had quickly whipped out her phone and typed in a message to the sake brewer. It was a good thing that Amaterasu’s Communicator had synced up to hers so she had all her contacts… she was eager to see Kushi again, and to visit the caves of Dwarfholm. Come to think of it she had not gained access to the Mead Halls yet, as opposed to Oki and Amaterasu - perhaps she should try to get that done too?
"Blahblahblah… coming to visit you soon in Dwarfholm, we’re near the gate to the fields… eh, lots of stuff happened. There we go. Aaaand, sent."
Amaterasu reached the surface and barely took the time to slide into her coat before she headed out to take the Nimbus from the stables. Urist with his shorter legs was struggling to keep up so he was barely at the ground floor by the time Amaterasu reached the stables. The stablekeeper’s eyes widened as he saw her rush to the box she’d booked.
"Back so soon? Did you change your mind about staying?"
"Not quite. We have to head out in a hurry, no time to explain. Keep the change, though."
"What about your pals?"
As she opened the door, Amaterasu nodded towards the entrance where she had just come from. "They’ll be staying here in Atlas. And yes, I realize that this sounds like we’re criminals running away and leaving our accomplices behind after they got caught."
The stablekeeper gave a nervous chuckle. "Well if you are I can’t hope to stop you but the guards at the gate surely will. And if you’re not I hope you make it in time to wherever you’re headed."
"I think I will, thanks!" She grabbed Urist by his hand just as he came through the door and heaved him onto the cloud, then manoeuvered it through the stables’ entrance and to the door. The dwarf just… went with it and made himself comfortable on the back of the Nimbus.
At the gate the guards looked a little puzzled. "Didn’t we just let you in?" asked one.
"You did. We have to head back out, we heard about the nearby cave-in and thought that we could lend a hand. This dwarf who’s with me knows his way around mining. Can you please open the gate again?"
When the guards looked at each other Amaterasu grunted. She wished that she could just slice the gate open before they lost more time, but that’d paint a bad picture.
"Sure, go on out then", the guard said. "Need directions?"
"We already have them." She waited for the gate to be open just barely enough, then accelerated the Nimbus so they passed through just barely. As the guards shook their heads in disbelief Amaterasu went up to full speed and handed Urist her Dataverse device for him to read directions. Within minutes they were but a shrinking cloud of dust headed away from Atlas, off to meet the Prime who had made the place.