Duly Noted

Emblem of Ea - Wednesday, September 01, 2021, 10:52 PM

Venom is at the Explorer's Guildhall, breaking down her notes from the mission that lead to the recover of the Reliquary of Azahi into a form the archivists can more easily process and has been for some time. Aryia arrives in her courier capacity, but soon notices Venom and moves to join her. Vaera, too, sees the congealing gathering and joins at the table. Both of the women are curious about Venom's notes, which involve Kulthian measures and formulae as her peculiar shorthand. Conversation then involves the mission in question, and note is made of Aryia's grace in the festivities, which flusters the Mul'niessa. The flow of things turns toward parental duty and rearing new generations, which is met by varied viewpoints. In time, Vaera's weapon difficulties come about once more, and the discussion leaves Aryia a little out of her comfort zone, and is soon departing with new perspectives to consider. The engineering confab continues, with some preliminary design work being traded with some advice about ways to set Mul'niessa at ease. Soon, Vaera must take her leave as well to see to other affairs, leaving Venom alone with her notes, and the gift of jerky to munch upon.

-=--=--=--=--=--=<* A05: Adventurer's Council, Great Hall *>-=--=--=--=--=--=-

        As the phoenix is Alexandria's national symbol, so too has its Explorer's Council, often called the Adventurer's Council, risen from the ashes of its destruction. 

        Guards and mercenaries fill the interior of this huge building, one of the largest in its immediate area. Strong, metal walls divide its interior, crafting halls, briefing rooms and offices. A large space near the front has been set aside for mingling and stocked with comfortable chairs to wait in. 

        This area is catered by one of the Society of Arcanists' more famous chefs, a small lucht with a predilection for otherworldly cuisine and tentacle soup. Security here is as tight as it is anywhere in Alexandria, even more so now after its recent destruction. Sharp eyed sentinels and guards are ever-watchful and all manner of security contraption is said to be residing within the walls of the building. The walls are pristine for now, though not for long, and artfully decorated with murals depicting heroic adventure by members of all communities and races of the region. 

        The windows to the Council Hall are now stained glass, artfully decorated to depict famous moments in Alexandrian history, ranging from the death of Altima at the hands of the Phalanx Falcis at the end of the Sorceress Wars, to the city triumphantly emerging from the Mists to a changed world. Many spaces have been set aside for new stories to be added, with numerous tale yet to be written. 

        No matter how many times the Hall has been rebuilt, the statue in the front remains the same: a lone warrior facing off against what is presumably thought to be 'Cuddles the Otyugh Queen', with the Council's motto, below: Anything for the right price.

                               EXTRAS: +view                                 

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Aryia 4'8" 110 Lb Shadow Elf Female A heavily scarred mul with a tired look about her.

Vaera 7'0" 262 Lb Sith-Makar Female A tall, dark red Makari with a wooden leg.

Venom 5'6" 130 Lb Human Female A woman(?) about 5'6" in a ragged black veil and poncho.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- Objects =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

[Archives] Dun Morden War Stories The Plank

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= Exits -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Out <O>

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Tonight is a reasonably quiet one, most of the available jobs have already been met with dispatched teams, with any remaining being so freshly struck to paper that the recruitment phase hasn't even been considered, yet.

In the atmosphere of relative silence, Venom is at work annotating a copy of her notes from the recent trip underground, primarily expanding the references into common trade format from her pidgin of Trade and Kulthian.

Her posture is of somewhat extreme slouch, thereby removing her veils from being a direct impediment to her work, whilst still serving their primary function; obscuring her features.

A carafe of some roasted bean beverage stands out of immediate arm's reach of the silent one, though a baked clay mug stands somewhat closer, though far from the stack of notes as she works.

From the entrance to the guildhall was that of an oddly quiet, yet still visually loud grey and white blur. A set of footfalls thud against the front counter, along with clang as a body stops a bit too late. A beat passes, and a scarred mul'neissa in simple clothing pops up to her feet, none the worse for wear. The person manning the counter stands up in surpise, "What is the meaning of thi-"

Aryia holds up a finger, bring her other arm up, and drops a small box on the counter with a piece of paper wrapped around it, secured by twine.

The receptionist glares at her, picking up the package and peeling off the paper. They quietly read aloud. "For deliver to the... and.... time sensi-" It shuts them up, them scooping up the box and hurrying off to the back. The shadow elf dusts her hands off and turns, ready to walk out before spotting a familiar shaded figure. A smile crests her lips and she slides on over uninvited.

She gives a chirpy wave as she sits down across from her.

Vaera had nothing to do in the city that day, but she was still in the city. So the dark red makari had made the explorer's guild a usual haunt of hers. But that day the listings were disappointingly sparse. Or pleasantly, as much of the business requested was for unfortunate reasons. So she looked around, finding a familiar veiled figure working nearby. A wooden leg clacks against the floor, signaling their approach, before they wheel around at the sound of elven footfalls, and an equally elven figure crashing into the counter. Vaera chuffs and shakes her head, standing near as Aryia walked over and sat into the chair. She offers a slight twitch of her hand that may have been a wave.

"Hello, Venom and Aryia. What are you working on today?" They ask, glancing to the papers.

Venom's head comes up at the tromp of feet, swivelling along to the incoming side just in time to get passed and so she has to reverse transome. It's about as she whips her head back to the other side that the toll of Aryia's meeting with the counter reaches her ears.

If she's blinking, the veil's are doing a great job hiding it. As it is, when Aryia sits down, she offers a little fingerwave, then gestures toward the carafe and cocks her head.

"How are you?" she signs, but doesn't press about the business itself. Business is business, and somethings secrets are business.

Her heave pivots toward the uneven sound of Vaera's approach and she gives a little wave, repeating her query as the redscale settles in, as well as the gesture toward the drink container.

The question about her notes isn't exactly secret, though her raw notes are a unique mix of at least two languages, and her hands frame her response of, "Clarifying my notes for the archivists." <handspeech>

Aryia smiles warmly at the question. "Pretty good!" she gestures with one hand smacking into the other. "And yourself?"

She looks up at Vaera, the smile waning a touch, but she too receives a wave of greeting. The mention of the papers directs her attention towards that. And the fact that Venom wasn't hiding it makes the elf lean forward on her elbows, peering at the pages. It is very, very clear that she has no idea what she was looking at, nor even recognizing anything that wasn't Tradespeak. Akin to a puppy, she tilts her head far to the side.

"I think I recognize some of the words." Vaera nods along once she is finished investigating some of the papers. She walks some more, sitting down in a chair opposite of Aryia. All the better to keep her in view, just in case. "The guild doesn't like it when I write in draconic, but my tradespeak is not the cleanest looking." The red makari continues. "Kulthian, right? I have been reading up some on it, where I could. What is available at least, doesn't seem to be particularly popular at the libraries."

Venom nods, her hand flicking a quick, "Alright so far, thanks." and straightens up a bit so people can get a better look at her work, "These are my notes from the underground temple. There were musicians with us who were able to translate the music, but I couldn't. I don't have those notes." A shrug raises her poncho a smidge.

Vaera's question prompts a nod and she replies, "Yes. It uses less space to describe certain things, but, no, it has a stigma." <handspeech>

Aryia makes a very faint 'ah' sound, recalling that particular adventure. The one that basically cemented their friendship. "That place was really weird. Dancing. To open a door."

The memory of her busting a move plays across her mind, face dusting crimson. She coughs into a fist. Though she looks curiously on despite having zero comprehension. <Handspeech>

"An underground temple? Most I know of are above ground, unless you are dealing with Khazad, or less than pleasant people." Vaera replies, somewhat curious. "I have learned a few notes about Kulthian. It is much calculations as it is actual words, so it is hard to pick up. Music, I learned a bit, back home. Not much."

The admittance of Aryia makes her tilt her head. "Dancing can bring back memories, but opening a door is certainly a strange use for it. It is not something to be embarassed of however, as the intent and meaning is the most important part."

Venoms hand lifts to gently brush the crook of a finger along the line of an elvish cheekbone and she nods to Aryia. Her head swivels to Vaera as she speaks and she gives another nod, "It was a buried, and very..." she hesitates, "different, than I was expecting."

Then, with a hand held directly before Aryia, she signs a single word, "Graceful." <handspeech>

Aryia blinks at the grazing gesture, her smile morphing into a bashful one as she rubs her neck. Face only to grow further red at the compliment. She had no words for the present time, and busied herself with trying to comprehend the language in front of her (she couldn't.)

Vaera blinks, and looks to the shrouded woman. She was fairly certain it was not another Mul'niessa. The makari chuffs. "Long buried things have a way of losing their original history. It is why it is best passed down through the generations, so the purpose is not lost." Vaera replies. It was not her business to pry, though it was still curious. "I would be more surprised to find a non graceful mul'niessa. At least in movements."

Venom is.... probably not Mul'niessa.

She seems content with the response she garners from Aryia, and she nods before looking to Vaera once more, her hands coming up to parse her reply, "Sometimes, buries secrets build in power." she returns.

THere's a look back to see the crimson tinge along Aryia's features, and she starts to sign anew, "Perhaps." she concedes. <handspeech>

Aryia rubs at her face a bit, restoring the grey color that was once there. A final, lofty exhale sets her back in the now. She gives a small nod at Venom's observation. "Things not seen have time to grow. Why do you think some mul'neissa build cities underground?" she points out, looking up at Vaera before shrugging. "Sildanyar are like that." <Handspeech>

"Because limited food stores let nobles have control over the populace." Vaera hisses in another tongue. But then she just shakes her head. "There is just as much power in sharing knowledge over time, adding to it and growing. Hoarding of knowledge is stagnation. At least that is how this one always saw it."

"If no one teaches the next generation what they need to survive, then they may well be the last. But perhaps some simply cannot be trusted with certain secrets, which I understand." <Draconic>

She does nod back to Aryia. "Yes, something about Elves. The way their muscles function or something like that. Seems Venom liked your dancing, for certain."

The veiled woman signs, "Hoarding information also consolidates power."

An early, long session lesson for Venom, perhaps, but, she glances down at her notes and starts to shuffle pages to bring forth the appropriate raws to go with the next phase in her decryption.

Once that's organized, her hands start to gesture in a new chain, "Some see the next generation as a threat." <handspeech>

Vaera's observation makes Aryia blink, her glancing up to the redscale and back to Venom. And yet again, just as she got herself back to nominal, crimson washed out the grey once more. She just buries her face into her hands as her forehead makes a muted 'thunk' against the table.

"It does, but that is the fault of the untrustworthy." Vaera replies, and chuffs again. "If the next generation is seen as a threat, then that is setting up for eventual failure and fall. Maybe it is different among other races."

"She looks to Aryia, shakes her head. She could rouse her if she wished, but it was best not to. "Apologies, that seems to have been too much, Aryia. I thought it was clear by actions and Venom's speaking." She adds.

Venom doesn't refute Vaera's observation. Her posture isn't one of concession, but perhaps something she'd thought had all the angles sufficiently covered. Instead, her attention turns toward the 'thunk', clear by the angle of her head. A glance back toward Vaera, then her hand extends to gently smooth the crown of Aryia's hair in silence.

Aryia is about to reengage with the conversation, but soon she finds a gloved hand resting against her head. The elf's frame goes slack, a content sigh spilling forward. She gestures blindly in the vague direction of Vaera. She waves off the apology before mentioning, "I don't know much about mul'neissa generational things, so I don't know what to add there." <Handspeech>

Vaera shrugs, and leans back in the chair, to let the veiled woman tend to the mul'niessa. She taps her wooden foot against the floor and drums two clawed hands against the table, perhaps to ensure it was obvious she was not the hand over her hair. She reads the hands, and chuffs.

"Depends what caste you're from. Not the way makari castes are. Still, it matters how much one trusts their children. But other races seem much less centralized in their groups. In Am'shere, a family is as much the village as it is your parents."

Venom doesn't linger there, overlong, but her hand does withdraw once Aryia commits to signing in reply to Vaera. Her attention turns that way as well, and she gives a little shrug, not seeming ready to challenge the assertion, here.

Once the hand withdraws, only then does Aryia rise. There is a tiiiiny pout that the attention ended, but mostly a smile remained. A boot reaches out lightly tap Venom's leg while she directs her attention to Vaera.

"To be completely honest, I am the worst fucking person to strike conversation about raising kids and learning from parents about," she bluntly motions, propping her still slightly tinted face up on a hand. <Handspeech>

GAME: Vaera rolls 1d20: (11): 11

"Are you? I've known some bad ones." Vaera shrugs, and shakes her head. "I am sorry if it is a bad subject. But you cannot say that, as I do not think you have had any. Regardless."

Vaera shrugs, and rifles through her coat. "Would either you like any jerky? I made it a few days ago, so it is still quite fresh."

The veiled woman is not about to chime in on this one, it seems, though there is the slight cock of her head at the touch to her leg. A soft scuff of her tread shifting against the floor and there is a tap in return.

There is a consideration of the offer, particularly as a muted squawk emanates from somewhere beneath the poncho and with a slight slouch of her posture, she signs a quick, "Please." <handspeech>

Aryia's smile returns at the return tap, making the next bit of signs easier to bring forth. "You're right, I don't. Parents nor children," she mentions, a shred of new information to Venom.

The elf perks up just like Venom, her nodding. "Yes please." All that running earlier worked up appetite.

The comment makes Vaera shake her head, tail flicking a bit to the side. "None should grow up without parents, even Mul'niessa." She say before she pulls out two large handfuls of jerky from the coat, offering one to each seated figure. "But it happens."

Venom brings her hands up underneath her veils for a time, and there is the hiss and rattle of buckles being loosed, and the silhouettes beneath the shroud dangle in an inhuman fashion before one of the hands extends out for the meat, the other signing, "Thank you." <handspeech>

Thereafter, the morsel is brought up behind the screens to whatever maw lay behind her layers of obfuscations.

The talk of generational shepardry continuing remains unremarked upon by the shrouded figure, but the subtle angle changes of her head hint that she is paying attention.

Aryia takes the jerky, eyes a bit wide from the amount. A handful for a sith was almost three handfuls for a mul'neissa. She bows her head in appreciation, and moves the small pile to be in front of her. She frowns a bit at Vaera's observation, but she didn't have anything to add that wasn't productive. But she adds anyways.

"Happens a shit load in Charn, can tell you that," she soberly points out before shaking her head and changing topics. "I haven't seen you around lately. What have you been doing?" she motions towards Vaera as a foot extends outwards again, this time hooking Venom's heel with her own. <handspeech>

"I know." Vaera nods, and chuffs. She takes some more jerky out to chew on herself. "This, I have been out in Mictlan. And staying in a camp in the forest. I am used to that, so it is not a big deal. Aside from that, assisting thankless gnomes who have been poisoned, delivering prisoners of war to other nations, and helping with various jobs from the guild, many much smalled. Hunting, when I get the chance."

Venom contentedly munches on the jerky, and, signs a slow, "This is good." to get the compliment accross, then, flashes an inquisitive, "Elk?"

She shifts her posture a bit as her foot is snared beneath the table, and her head cocks a touch, but she doesn't 'say' anything.

She is a little hesitant to nod after the final exchange, and she does so after Vaera's word, and she signs a, "You've been busy." <handspeech>

Aryia nibbles on her dried strips as well, her nodding in agreement to augment Venom's insights on the food. She flashes a smile towards the veiled woman before gesturing herself, "That's a lot. Nice job." A compliment? From a mul? It couldn't have been genuine. But maybe it was..?

"Well, not that busy." Vaera replies, pauses, and chuffs. "I suppose it is busy enough. It's venison, not elk, smoked with oak wood."

Vaera seems to think a moment. "Did not do much of a good job about it. My archery has not been good for some time, and after a few recent maitenance sessions, the thunderbelcher has not worked quite right. Not your fault, Venom." She finishes quickly.

The shrouded one gives Aryia a look and nods, then turns back to Vaera on the musing of recent ranged outings. She brings another piece of venison to her mouth and starts to give it a thorough chewing while her hands sign in a response, "I'm still trying to crack the sigil blending. What has the weapon been doing wrong?" she asks. <handspeech>

Aryia directs her attention to Venom as they speak. Mostly to keep up the conversation. But also because she had no clue what they were speaking of. Her mind wandered some as she nibbled on the jerky.

"One of the gears in the assembly broke a tooth." She explains to Venom. "Problem is, it has more runes on it I don't know exactly how to translate. I have most of them translated, but not enough to reverse engineer the process."

Vaera sighs. "It still works, but sometimes the broken tooth catches, and I need to clear the weapon out to try again. Not exactly something you want to rely on in combat. I've been thinking, though. It's so complicated because of the folding mechanisms. without those, might be able to shrink the assembly down into something smaller. Like those dragonspitters I have seen gobbers showing off in the markets sometimes."

Venom lets out a sigh that ruffles her veil, then carefully sets the bits of jerky aside on the table to employ both hands in her reply, "You're not wrong. The extension mechanisms adds a lot of bulk." She thinks for a time, then adds, "The damaged sprocket can be recast. There are a few who can do it, quickly, for a price. I'd need to gather materials, first." <handspeech>

As talk begins to descend into so specifics, Aryia felt like she really couldn't keep up. She was interested, don't get her wrong, but she didn't want to sit there overlong. Besides, Venom looked like she was enjoying the talk. The elf shoves her share of the jerky into her pockets and releases Venom's foot. "I'm going to go work out. I'll see you two later."

She stands, gaze lingering on Venom for a beat too long before giving a hasty goodbye wave and leaving. As she left the front door and hung a right, she pauses a wall and covers her face with a hand. Aryia murmurs in a hiss, "Gr-c-f-l? Sh- th-nks -m gr-c-f-l..?" She makes a small flailing motion before scurrying off completely. <Handspeech>

"If it was much sturdier, wouldn't be as much of a concern about reinforcing the barrel. Though it likely would not fly as forcefully or true. You told me about how it falls off quickly due to the weight, and less force would only make that worse." Vaera nods. "It could be recast, most likely. It's just that doing to be a part with artifice involved, wouldn't work right otherwise. Think it's something to do with priming the runes on the ammunition."

"Price, it is not that much of a concern, it is my livelihood, and all. And, the weapon does mean a lot to me."

"See you around maybe, Aryia." Vaera replies with a wave. She watches her leave, making sure she was gone before turning back to Venom. "Might be one of the least uptight Muls I've met. Only one still alive anyways." Vaera notes.

Venom lifts her head toward Aryia as she makes ready to leave. She gives a little nod at her words, and she replies, "Alright, have a good night!" She isn't aware of the expanded effects of her compliment, seems to be content with things as they lay with her friend's departure.

She looks back to Vaera as the Sith starts to elaborate her thoughts on the inner working of her weapon, "Another propulsion array could also work, if may behoove you to consider it if you're going to do such a massive reconfiguration, anyway." Her head cants and she asks, "Have you looked into any of the other systems?" <handspeech>

"I thought about it, but I figured that I want to figure how it works anyways." Vaera explains. "Another system would work, possibly, but it would mean needing another set of ammunition, which, at the end of the day, isn't that big of a problem. And well, it is something a bit personal, or meaningful, to me."

The red makari tilts her head slightly, and chews on some more jerky a moment. "Was there something you would recommend, yourself?"

Venom nods, signing a return of, "Nothing says you can't keep the original around to reverse engineer as you go." She dusts her hands off, then starts to sign anew, "It comes down to what you want, really."

That said, she folds her arms a moment and leans back, her cocked a little in thought.

A new sheet of paper accompanies one of her hands as they reemerge from their shroud and she takes up the pen with the other and begins to scribble something...

"That is true." Vaera nods. "If I wanted to do something, I would say, I want to make this my own. It is some manner of acceptance, perhaps."

The sith-makar shrugs, and chews on the last of her jerky, watching what the veiled woman was writing. "By the way, Venom. If Aryia is ever flustered like that, there's a pressure point around an a few centimeters behind a mul'niessa's ear. If you massage that, it relieves tension and helps them relax." She offers idly while she waits.

Venom's pen stops midline, ink starting to wick out into a tiny blot before it hastily withdraws and the shrouded woman's head lifts. She might be blinking as she's left a sparse begining of some sort of chambering design incomplete.

It takes a couple of seconds, but she finally brings herself together enough to ask, "On both sides?" <handspeech>

Vaera was watching curiously, and she turns her head upward as Venom stops. Her head tilted slightly, then she nods.

"Both sides, only need one though." Vaera explains. "That design is interesting. And it just seemed like something worth sharing."

Venom cocks her head a touch for a second then gives a little nod, "Thank you."

Alright.

Interesting.

Her attention returns to her design, now, she starts to scribe in a couple of those Kulthian formulae at three of the four corners, with Trade notes, then scribes in what is likely a trigger guard, though the protruding lever of the trigger itself, as well as the grip are left unrevealed.

She puts the pen away, and offers the sketch to Vaera, signing with the other hand, "This uses what I think may be related to what your current weapon uses as far as impulse. I left the externals alone, because you know what feels right in your hand. This is loose, just an idea, there is a lot more detail work required." <handspeech>

"You are welcome." Vaera nods back, before settling in to watch the work. She squints at some of the Kulthian script, but she didn't quite recognize all of it as she took the paper.

"This is for me? Thank you, I appreciate it, Venom." Vaera replies as she opens a journal, slipping the paper between a few pages to keep it safe. "The mechanism looks familiar, and I may be able to make something work." Vaera looks to the door herself. "Apologies, but I still need to purchase some fish from the market. I promised I would roast some fish for a few young ones back in Mictlan." She explains, standing up out of her seat. "Perhaps we could work out the detail work another time?"

Venom nods and gives a little thumbs up, "You're welcome." she signs, then pauses a moment and starts signing again, "We can. I don't expect a far ranging job for a little while. Perhaps we'll have time to work out your grip and get to the finer details. Thank you again for the jerky, and the advice, be safe!" <handspeech>

She gathers her remaining jerky near her long neglected cup, then starts to examine the notes of her previous project. There's still a number of pages to go through, and no telling how long the archivists will wait on them...

"That would be welcome. having grips properly made for my hands would be good." Vaera seems to agree. "You be safe as well, though you seem the sort to be careful."

With that, the tall makari offers a light bow, before she steps out the door with half clacking step. Seems like stopping at the guild had not been a waste that day.