Porcelain Child/SessionSeventeen

In the forest…
<onine> You and the Magistrate reluctantly set up camp. Magpie is gone. Vana is gone. Hell, you don’t even know if Tara, Epheri and Ujiro are still alive out there.
<onine> The night is cold - the nights have been getting a lot colder lately in the month of Air. Soon it will be the month of Water, and the snow will fall in the northern provinces. Right now in the south however it is just pea-soup mist and frost.
<Anona> "Brr. I hate this time of year."
<onine> Dull thunder rolls across the sky over the sound of the winds caressing the leaves above you. The night is far from peaceful, strange noises echo around you in the distance and the almost comforting sounds of wildlife is absent. You don’t think you have seen a single bird in your time this side of the mountains.
* Yengo nods. "I wonder if we can risk a fire... I'd rather be cold than have more of those... things after us, though."
<Yengo> "I just hope the others are all right..."
<onine> "The fall is long in this area of the Isle, a time for planting crops so that they will flourish when spring finally arrives." The magistrate says. "Vana will be fine. Magpie... I'm not so sure."
<Anona> "Yes... honestly, after all of these attacks, I still waiting for the other shoe to drop."
* Yengo grimaces, still beating himself up over that one. "Maybe Tara and the others have found her if Vana hasn't..." Of course, thinking about what might be left to find isn't a pleasant thought either.
<onine> Suddenly and all around you is a god-awful piercing (no not nipple) shriek.
<onine> It seems to come from all sides, and you cant make out where it originated from, which direction, how far. It sends chills through you as it grates in your ears - then fades just as quickly.
* Yengo immediately sets hand to the hilt of his sword, eyes darting around. "Damn... those things must be everywhere."
<Anona> "Yes. I wonder how all this could have*happened* without anyone noticing... I still don't get that. I mean, killing all the witnesses probably helps, but we aren't the only people to travel!"
<onine> "We may be the only people to travel and survive. This is a route that exalts rarely travel. Dragonblooded are rich enough for carriages south - or ships. Taking the northern road is a mortal's path."
<Yengo> "Who can say? Other than the magistrate, I haven't seen a piece of the Realm bureaucracy working right since I landed on the Isle..." His voice is bitter. "And for some time before that."
<Anona> "Considering our difficulties at every step, we aren't working all that well either..." Remembering too late that the Magistrate might take offense, Anona adds, "uh... not that I mean any insult, of course. But surely the job wasn't*always* this difficult?"
<onine> The Magistrate quirks a brow then shakes his head dismissing it as an insult. "No, things were not always this difficult."
<onine> "In fact... years before there were many of us. Magistrates and Archons. So many... With the Empress herself sanctioning our duty the Isle was free from trouble such as this... but since her... Hiatus... Those of us that escaped our old enemies left in exile, or simply gave up to start new lives."
<Yengo> " 'The Magistracy of Hares', I've heard it called..." Is that true? Is that what they all really are, or are they a little ragged for that? "Er, no offense intended, of course."
<onine> "Hmmm..." He smiles a little and closes his eye. "None taken. It is somewhat true at least to and for some, depending on the viewpoint."
<Anona> "So what are we going to do now? Just press on? Or look for the others? I don't want to abandon them but... Vana's the only real fighter of the lot. Maybe Ujiro. We might not be ABLE to help them..."
<onine> "We are in quite a rut are we not?" The Magistrate chuckles.
<Yengo> "I won't leave them out there... not if there's any other choice." Especially Tara, but until he was able to fly, she was out of reach for the moment... "But don't get me wrong, I'm all to aware that I'm outmatched against those things." He grimaces slightly as he gestures to his wound.
<Anona> "The picture isn't so good for any of us. Oh, that's not to say I won't take a hefty honor guard if I can, and let the brush fires I set take the rest, but these things are persistent as can be!"
<onine> "It is the way of the world sadly. Strong men who are not granted the power to follow their noble hearts - and men with minds of perversion and depravity with exalted power thrust into their unworthy hands..."
<Anona> "You chop off a leg, they keep coming. You set them on fire, they keep coming...."
<onine> "Evil creatures are always persistent Anona. We must be persistent back."
<Yengo> "The only problem is, we can't afford to lose too many limbs." He frowns.
<onine> Its true enough, despite what the order says on exalted and enlightenment, some men simply aren't more enlightened and still are exalted as Dragonbloods.
* Yengo sighs. "I just feel powerless..." It hurts to admit, but... "And sitting here isn't helping that feeling."
<onine> "You may be weak of physical power. Then why not exercise a keen mind in lieu of that? We still have not decided what these things are have we?"
<onine> "Yengo, do you know why I chose you?"
<Yengo> "No..."
<onine> "Not because you were exalted or because you have political or personal power, but because you have a noble heart. You are a man of honor and I saw that when I met you, and I am seeing that now. I can see how much it hurts you to be resting from the hunt for the others. Even a moment to take a breath is a moment you are not doing what is right."
<onine> "You posses a virtuous nature that in my life I have seen in few exalted."
<Yengo> "Magistrate... that's... I'm not a good man, and my heart isn't noble. I just try to do what I can, even when it's not enough." He shakes his head, clearly uncomfortable. "I know you mean well, sir, but believe me, my 'virtue' can be lacking at times."
<onine> "Do you suppose that the empress was ever in doubt? Of course she was. Was Hesiesh in doubt when he finally used his power for the first and only time to burn the bodies of the Anathema so they would not rise to slay us again? Of course he was. What set them apart is that they made the necessary choice."
<onine> "A man can have a virtuous and brave heart all he wants, but that is for naught if he does not use it. Choice is what sets good men apart from truly great men. And I feel that when the time arises for you to make the most difficult choice in your life, you will make the right choice."
<Yengo> "Ask yourself this, then, sir. What if at that moment, that moment when they had to make the greatest choice in their life, they made the wrong choice? And what if that time for me has already come and gone..." he trails off. "I thank you for the sentiment, though, sir."
<onine> "What makes you certain that the Empresses choice was the right one at the time? It may have been dead wrong - time changes perceptions of deeds. And just as true, time can make fools of us all."
<Anona> "That's right. People don't remember what really happens, they remember what they're told happened. That's history."
<onine> "Exactly right."
* Yengo nods, slowly. "You may be right..." But they aren't, of course, though they don't have to know that. His cowardice... how could that have ever been the right choice? "I guess we can only wait and see... if we make it through the night."
<Anona> "Yes. I suppose we need to figure out the watches."
<onine> The Magistrate nods. "Time will tell. In the mean time, I will take the watch, I can function without sleep. I want you two to rest."
<Anona> "If you insist." Anona doesn't sound at all unhappy about it.
<onine> "You can at least pretend to be upset about the arrangement Anona." The Magistrate chuckles.
<Yengo> "Some rest would be nice, I have to admit. It's been... a long day."
<onine> The strange noises in the forest abate for a while, and a rain begins to fall unfortunately for you.
* Anona lies miserable on the ground, muttering about the stupid cold and the stupid rain and the stupid Yengo-eating monsters.
<onine> Your conversation meanders for a bit with little productivity until you decide to sleep whilst Diamandus takes watch...

It’s raining. In the forest.
<onine> In the mean time, also in the rain, a Dragonblood and a little girl sit amongst a band of immaculate monks.
<onine> The rain continues down, soaking everyone. The monks for the most part are silent, most sit and meditate, the rain splashing down on them whilst a few man a silent watch.
<onine> The occasional one or two are shaving their heads with their short-swords*carefully* The others seem to have just let their hair grow, which is odd.
* Magpie is taking as much food from the pot into her bowl as she can get away with. She seems not to notice the rain.
<onine> Pazu sits nearby, and seems to have been relegated the task of liason - or babysitter for the pair of you. He's a slender man with a kind face, and like a few of the others he has kept his head quite clean shaven. At present he is tying a large broad leaf at the end with a small vine so that it becomes a funnel.
<onine> Underneath he puts the waterskins of the rest of the entourage of monks. He looks up at you.
<onine> "My, Daana'd is generous this night is he not? Do you have waterskins to be filled?"
* Magpie shakes her head, and continues to dispose of the leftovers.
<onine> (you mean you are throwing away the rice?!)
<Magpie> (No! Magpie is eating everything left in the pot)
<onine> (Phew... sort of)
<Magpie> (she can eat twice her bodyweight in food)
* Vana likewise shakes her head. "Mine is full."
<onine> "Good. Is she.. is she your child?"
* Magpie looks up from her bowl of rice, and turns her head to Vana, alert for the Dragonblood's answer.
<Vana> "Magpie? Well... depends on what you mean. I try to look after her, but she's not my flesh and blood."
<onine> "I was about to say - if it is not an overly presumptuous statement - that you make a very strange pair."
* Vana smiles faintly. "Not at all... we are a strange pair."
<onine> "She is a great deal like Adept Orihime, where as you are more like... well I suppose myself. Such a contrast. But contrast is what makes this land interesting, yes?”
* Magpie chews on her rice, and considers responding scathingly to the Immaculate. Luckily for him, though, she realizes that the crow hasn't had any rice, and, bowl in hand, she scrambles her way up the wet bark into the lower branches of the tree.
* Vana watches Magpie with mild worry. "I wouldn't know. I'm still a stranger to the Realm."
<onine> Pazu rubs his head, and there is the audible scritch of stubble. "Do you have something similar to the Immaculate Order in your fair city?"
<Vana> "We have the Immaculate Faith... I don't know how similar the two are, though."
<onine> "Then why not have a constructive debate to compare notes? I do delight in contrasting philosophy." He sits comfortably in the lotus position facing you and wears the smile that a salesmen or Jehovah's Witness gets when you say 'Tell me more'
<Magpie> Overhead, Magpie snorts, and Crow caws derisively.
<Vana> "Erm... to be honest, I don't know that much about it. It's fairly optional... not really a core part of our lifestyle."
<onine> "What a shame, but I do rather understand that your culture is different to our own. The Philosophy after all does not take a core place in the training of our House Legions after all. But I would certainly like to tell you of the foundations of our beliefs - it has helped to create such an empire."
<onine> He does not wait for a response, and begins to delve into the Immaculate Philosophy with all its bells and whistles.
* Vana sighs inwardly.
<Magpie> Experimentally, Magpie throws an acorn at Pazu's head.
<onine> In the rain and without even glancing at you, he catches the acorn in one hand. "Ah the joys of youth." he smiles.
<onine> "I remember such tomfoolery as that when I was a child."
* Magpie sneers at him, and in a bit of a funk, retreats higher up into her branches, to sulk, or, possibly go to sleep.
<onine> Pazu rubs his head again and glances at Vana. "We have none of the bronze razors for the weekly ritual. Some of us are shaving with our weapons, but some have decided that to use another blade would not maintain the spirituality of the deed. Hence the somewhat unkempt appearance that some of us wear at present." He chuckles to himself.
* Vana smiles a little.
<onine> "You see, hair is considered a devotion to self, and as a member of the order one must be devoted to the dragons above all others, even ones own body. It is a vanity that does not become a servant of the faith you see."
<onine> He delves further into Immaculate philosophy, but is interrupted by the Dragonblood, Orihime.
<onine> "Pazu." She says quietly. "We are tasked monks, not itinerant priests, the time for discussions of such nature are for perhaps another time?"
<onine> "Oh, of course!" He chuckles. "I was merely filling time and getting to know our new friends." He seems slightly irked that his lovely sermon has been halted.
<onine> "If..." Orihime says to Vana. "If you are interested in learning more about the faith, there are many temples and shrines dedicated to the dragons in the populous regions. I would invite you both to visit our monastery for a short time, but I do not think that the Abbot would appreciate that considering the present crisis."
* Vana nods. "I understand."
<onine> "The outer cloister is open to travelers usually, but given the few travelers lately and the rather numerous... things... it has been closed. Speaking of which..." She sits.
<onine> "These things that have been infesting this region. You have faced them before?"
<Vana> "They have attacked our caravan not long ago, and had infested a village we passed through before that."
<onine> "Village? Where? Which one?" she asks quickly.
* Vana describes the location of the village from memory, as best she can.
<onine> Orihime and Pazu exchange glances. "We shall mark that one off tomorrow then... We had hoped that our efforts had at least protected that village. We salted the earth there and provided the villagers with supplies to protect themselves. I even left one of my brothers there to offer wisdom and council in this troubling time."
<onine> Pazu adds, "The Abbot will not be pleased, if they have traveled that far there is a chance that they have escaped over the mountains..."
<Vana> "The brother... we saw him, strung up outside the town. We cut him down, but he wasn't there later on..." She frowns a little.
<onine> Orihime offers a small prayer to the dragon of fire. "Another lost to the beasts. We had hoped that they did not go past the river, it has only acted as a barrier for so long. In their 'younger' stages they are only capable of large leaps. But lately many have grown strong enough that larger leaps and even limited fight are possible."
<onine> "That one we faced earlier, was one of the strongest and the largest. We have been tracking him for quite some time." she says.
<onine> "Him is used irrespective of original gender of course." Pazu adds.
<Magpie> "How do they feel about water?"
* Magpie has grown sufficiently curious she has forgotten her anger, and swings down from her perch to drop beside Vana.
<onine> "The younger ones sometimes are killed by it. But the older beasts merely dislike it. We don't know why." she gestures at the rain. "The other one fled tonight because of this. We won’t even need a night-watch until the rain stops, but we are on edge."
<Magpie> "Is your abbot far away?"
* Magpie figures it would be good to know the location of the Evil One.
* Vana lets the girl take over, considering a number of possibilities.
<onine> The two monks look at each other, then Pazu speaks. "He is in the Len-Kei monastery. A good distance north of here."
<Magpie> "Mmmm." says Magpie darkly. "What was in that old building? The one surrounded by salt?" It had exploded, she seemed to recall.
<onine> "I'm not sure which building you mean.." Orihime says, genuinely confused.
<Magpie> "It was a mill...or a barn....or something. There was something inside. I wasn't there, though." She looks at Vana.
<onine> "Where?" Pazu asks.
<Magpie> "In the zombie village!"
<Vana> "It was a mill. Warded thoroughly with salt."
<onine> "Which?!" Orihima says impatient, you can see fire burning in her eyes and she seems to be radiating more warmth. "Many villages have fallen!"
<onine> "I think they mean the one to the East." Pazu says.
<onine> "Oh..." Orihime says covering up her sheepishness poorly. "Well er... rice probably."
<onine> She thinks a little more. "Probably used for grinding millet, so millet too I would guess."
* Magpie looks skeptical. "Do you think it was millet?" she asks Vana." Cause I thought it was banging on the door trying to get out."
<onine> "Millet banging on the door trying to get out?!" Orihime nearly bursts out laughing at the thought.
<onine> "Please Orihime, this is serious!" Pazu too has a hint of amusement in his voice.
* Vana whispers to Magpie what millet actually is.
* Magpie glares at the Immaculates, offended. "Well, if it was just some stupid CROP, you could have said so!" Her city upbringing is showing.
<onine> "I'm sorry." Pazu says. "I thought you already knew."
<Magpie> "Hmph."
<onine> "Well, with the angered millet aside, we can only assume it was one of*them*" Orihime says darkly
* Magpie leans in closer to Vana. "Can you call Yengo and the others with magic?" she whispers, wriggling her fingers demonstratively. "A zombie?" she says to Orihime. "But...there were zombies outside too."
* Vana nods to indicate she can.
<onine> "Zombies. I wish it were that simple." Orihime complains
<Magpie> "What? They aren't zombies? But they're ...icky corpses!"
<onine> "Yes, we have tried salt, wards, hunts..." Pazu counts off methods for killing on his fingers
<onine> "Fire only seems to make them angrier. Thus far we have only found one sure way to be rid of them, total destruction of the body and burning the remains. But they are reproducing faster than we can kill them, taking people's souls and using the bodies. Even wounding them doesn't work..."
<Magpie> "And your master thinks you should just -keep this to yourself-?"
<onine> "...That one you saw earlier we wounded previously, I was able to cut his leg clean off, but he just bounds along on his merry way as if he is better off without it."
<onine> "Orihime believes it taunts us..." Pazu ventures carefully and is cut off quickly.
<onine> "It is taunting us! They all are. The abbot well... that is a difficult subject." Orhime says glancing slightly at Pazu.
<onine> "The abbot believes that because we are the only temple in this region, we have been tasked to protect it, regardless of its vast size,” Pazu says.
<Vana> "But your efforts are failing."
<onine> "Sadly so..." Pazu shakes his head sorrowfully.
<Vana> "So why don't you ask one of the Houses to intervene?"
<onine> "The abbot has faith in us, but that is easy to do sitting in the monastery while we are out here fighting." Orihime grumbles, getting a sharp glare from Pazu. It’s fairly obvious that the pair have different feelings regarding the abbot of the Len-Kei temple.
<onine> Orihime continues. "As I have already said, the houses do not have any interest in this region, it is just poor farming. Why bother, even for the real estate? There are no powerful Demesnes here that make it worth the expense of administration."
<Magpie> "But if it's spreading..."
<Vana> "But surely they can see that if it isn't stopped now, it will spread to other regions?"
<onine> "The Dynasty takes a 'cover the ears, cover the eyes' approach to these sorts of problems. If it isn’t a problem for them, someone else can take care of it."
<onine> "And that someone else happens to be us."
<Vana> "You have to do something. People are dying."
<Magpie> Magpie looks at Vana. "Maybe if you asked them- the Dynasty, I mean- they'd surprise you? Maybe they just need a chance to not be stupid."
<onine> "We*ARE* doing something!" Orihime raises her voice but calms herself quickly. "We are doing something. And we will continue to do so with the abbots blessing until all of us are dead or serving the beasts."
<Magpie> "You're not taking a very positive approach," Magpie says reproachfully. "You can't win if you don't -believe- you can win."
<onine> She stands and walks off. "That is our lot."
<Magpie> "Well." Magpie says. "-She's- gloomy."
<onine> Pazu shakes his head. "Orihime... she never has fit in with the Order."
<Magpie> "Why not?" Magpie nudges Vana in the ribs.
<onine> "It was a path chosen for her by her family under some... delicate circumstances."
<Magpie> "Really? What'd she do?"
<onine> "She accidentally forged an alliance with a branch of the Nellens household whilst in her second stage of schooling."
<Magpie> "Uh..."
<onine> "At least... that's how the story goes. We should not be exchanging such gossip, my apologies."
<Magpie> "Why not?"
<onine> "Gossip is a devotion to self, and a personification of the Sickly Whore or the Unmanly Babbler... perhaps both."
<onine> He utters a short prayer for forgiveness and purity.
* Vana takes the elbow-based hint, feigning interest in something up in the trees whilst she whispers a message into the wind.
<Magpie> "Are you sure?"
<Magpie> "Because really..."
<onine> "I am as sure as the sureness of the Imperial mountain behind us child. Such silliness is for the courts, not monks."
<Magpie> "Gossip is about -others-, right? So it's not devotion to self at all."
<onine> "Ah but you do it for personal gain, degrading others and in turn yourself as well."
<Magpie> "It's devotion to everyone else that's interesting."
<Magpie> "No, no..." says Magpie feebly. "Because.because...."
<onine> "It is a very real manifestation of the Sickly Whore child."
<Magpie> "Uh, how can you choose right actions without good information? How can -knowing- hurt things? I mean, what if I hurt Orihime's feelings because I didn't know not to?"
* Vana turns back, message complete.
<Magpie> "And you just said it was the Unmanly Babbler too," Magpie says accusingly.
<onine> "Though she - the gossip - possesses great beauty and is tantalizing, the manifestation of it degrades the person you are speaking about - hence degrading others - and lowers the purity of your own soul."
<onine> "The Unmanly Babbler complains that he is in peril but refuses to help himself. By speaking of another in such a manner we divert attention from our own inability to solve problems."
<Magpie> "I don't think the purity of your soul changes on something so small."
<onine> "But a hundred droplets will fill a jug as easily as a torrent, the pace is merely different child."
* Magpie looks skeptical. She turns, and sees Vana has returned. She gives the Dragonblood a questioning look.
* Vana lifts her eyebrows once, indicating hopefulness at the message being received.
<onine> "Perhaps," Pazu says. "You should each get some sleep?"
* Vana nods a little. "That would be nice."
<onine> Vana and Magpie sleep with no ceremony from me. Meanwhile, morning breaks in Anona and Yengo's neck of the woods with the wind calling Anona's name.
<onine> ..................

The wind calls Anona’s name. In the forest.
<Anona> "Buh...? Mrph..." Anona is not yet fully awake. As usual.
<onine> "Anona... I have found Magpie. I am with Immaculates. Location is approximately five miles south and three miles west of the bridge."
<onine> The Magistrate is sitting up against a tree, wearing an expression not unlike Jean Reno in the professional when he sleeps with his eyes open.
* Anona snaps to a decent counterfeit of wakefulness. "What the... Vana!"
* Yengo has slept more deeply than usual, worn out. He stirs. "...huh?"
<onine> "Is something wrong Anona?" Diamandus asks quietly.
<onine> The morning is freezing, the rain left on your clothes has frosted, and there is a thick fog as usual.
<Anona> "Vana... she's alive, I think. Wind-carried words again."
<onine> The Magistrate breathes a sigh of relief. "Good..."
<Anona> "She's found Magpie. And some Immaculates." Anona relates the location Vana's message gave.
* Yengo sits up, cracking a smile. "Finally, some good news."
<onine> "Looks like the girl drifted a while, and bumped into just what we were looking for."
<Yengo> "At least we know they're all right... did she say whether the Immaculates were friendly?" He stands up, already bundling his gear.
<Anona> "Not as such, but I presume being "with" Immaculates indicates she's not busy fighting them."
<Yengo> "More good news. Maybe the Immaculates know what's going on around here... if they didn't cause it."
<onine> "Maybe so. We should get ready to move as soon as possible. Knowing monks, they
<onine> 'll be up early, and given young Anona's sleeping habits, they will have the edge on us time-wise."
<onine> "And I don’t entirely like our chances of catching up with monks on foot. If there is one thing that travels fast on land, it is immaculate monks."
<Anona> "True, but I'm sure they're facing the same kind of difficulties we are. And Vana will probably be doing what she can to allow us to meet with them."
* Anona reconsiders. "Well, if they didn't cause them, like you said."
<Yengo> "Guess we'd better get going, then." He seems in much better spirits than the night before.
<onine> Even your zombie-wound feels better.

And further and further into the forest…
<onine> You trek off into the woodlands, which are thicker here, and head south-west into the cold morning air. The Magistrate divides a small loaf of incredibly tough dried bread since you didn't get to cook a breakfast. After an hour, you make Perception+Awareness rolls.
<onine> It comes in on the wind. You probably wouldn't have been able to hear this if the air had not carried the sound to you. You are sure you hear what sounds like a shouted voice, and the ringing noise of tools on stone from the north. But it fades quickly as the wind dies off. The fog is still thick in the morning, the sun hasnt gotten over the mountains yet.
<Anona> "Did you hear that?"
<onine> "Hear what?"
<Yengo> "I heard a faint shout..."
<onine> The Magistrate shakes his head indicated that he did not.
<Yengo> "Sounded like it came from the north..."
<Anona> "Yes, I heard something like that too. And some kind of clang. Like someone working on stone..."
<onine> "Unless Vana has gotten north it cant be her."
<Yengo> "Think we should check it out or catch up with the others...?"
<Anona> "The others first, I think. Then we can investigate...?"
<onine> "I think we should look. As far as we believe the villages could be emptied of people, this may prove otherwise, although this is meant to be an unsettled region of the province."
<Anona> "Well... if you think so..." Anona sounds uncertain, but she's only so willing to buck three-hundred-plus year old Earth aspects...
<Yengo> "I say we press north for a bit to see if we find anything. If someone's alone out there... they might need us."
<Yengo> "If nothing turns up, we can turn back for the others."
<onine> The Magistrate looks at his map. "There is a ridge just north-east of us that would provide a good view of the area. We won’t see anything through these trees."
<Yengo> "Sounds good. We can take a quick look there. We might even be able to spot the others..."
<Anona> "Let's go."

Atop a ridge
<onine> You trek north and make your way up the ridge in short order. The sun is finally beginning to shine and cut a swathe through the morning mist. Just visible below you, perhaps a mile or two away, is a large open area dug out, and some form of construction going on.
<Anona> "O...kay. Monsters all around, and somebody's mining, or quarrying, or something... unless it's those things doing the stonework..."
<onine> It appears to be about (you would guess) between and meters wide, and appears to be a dark stone ring, placed at even intervals are pillars being raised by workers.
<onine> You can see a lot of steel and armour down there, many guards and troops. It looks less like a construction site and more of a chain gang.
<Yengo> "Strange... you ever see anything like that before, Anona?" He'd heard all those stories about summoning circles and howling demons running around the Heptagram, after all...
<onine> The inside of the unbroken stone ring looks to be flat dirt, no features, no stone, just dirt. Of the pillars there are about eight of them in the cardinal directions - or there will be when it is complete.
<onine> Anona, you know for a fact that it is*way* too big to be a summoning circle, and as far as you've been told, there are no demons big enough to require a circle of that size to contain it.
<Anona> "It's a little on the large side for a summoning circle. I might venture to guess it's some kind of manse, but nearly all such places..." Anona's voice trails off when she remembers the "impossible" fair folk they battled.
<onine> And if it is a huge summoning circle, you've got a long wait for calibration.
<onine> It could be a 'mass' circle to summon hundreds of first circle demons...
<Anona> "*Possibly* a circle for a mass summoning."
* Yengo nods. "I have no idea what it could be..." He looks over the workers, wondering who they could be.
<onine> "How odd." The Magistrate agrees.
<Anona> Can we tell what the workers are? Human or... other?
<onine> They are human, though telling if they're human, subhuman or 'other' would require a closer look.
<onine> You can definitely make out what look to be coordinators and 'worker motivators' with whips. Shouts ring out in the morning air and the sounds of tools make it to you. Definitely what you heard before.
<Anona> "Hm. Yes, we definitely need to look into this. Although I'd prefer Vana along. Just in case."
<onine> There are a lot of workers down there, that kind of workforce requires one or both of two things - House Cynis or the Guild.
<Yengo> "Yes..." Slaves certainly aren't an unusual sight in the Realm, much as he doesn't enjoy thinking about it. But this seems... different. Why here, why NOW? "I don't think they're going anywhere soon."
<onine> The Magistrate makes a note of it on his map. "We can come back. If they pack this up and leave before we return I congratulate them."
<Anona> "Right now, I wouldn't actually be surprised. I wouldn't be surprised if it started to rain mice and squirrels."
<Yengo> "You said it... but we'll have to take a chance. If it comes to a confrontation, we'll need every edge we can get."
<onine> "That reminds me of an incident in the threshold, though it wasn't mice and squirrels as it was whitebait and octopus, but similarly chaotic results." Diamandus says. "Lets get moving."
<onine> The three of you trek south, leaving the bizzare construction and its chained workforce behind to look for the missing girls.

In the forest with monks.
<onine> Who in the mean time are being woken up by the monks about to continue their trek.
<onine> Pazu gently shakes the pair awake. Other monks are nearby stretching their athletic bodies and preparing for the day. "Good morning."
<Vana> "Mmm. Morning." Barely asleep, as usual.
* Magpie yawns hugely. "Where's everyone going?" she asks blurrily.
<onine> "We are about to move on. You are more than welcome to come with us, in fact, that is preferred. We will take you to Glie perhaps and maybe help you find your lost caravan. There have been a few in the area, we'll find out where they headed."
<Magpie> "Mmm." Magpie wonders if the caravan had been the most convenient lie. Though, amazingly, they seemed to have bought it. Under the pretense of stretching, she shooes Crow aloft, and sends him to see if the rest were in the area.
<onine> Vana looks terrible.
<Magpie> "Vana..." Magpie says, delicate and solicitous. "Is anything the matter?"
<onine> "Yes, you do look a little tired. Did you not sleep comfortably?"
<Vana> "Uhm... no, I'm fine." Beyond being white as a ghost, that is.
<onine> "Come along!" Orihime calls to the rest of the immaculates. "Hurry to meet the morning lest it meet you first!"
<Magpie> "You're lying, aren't you?"
* Vana closes her eyes for several long seconds, trying to clear away the unpleasant visions. "Yeah."
<Magpie> "Bad dreams?"
<Vana> "Mhmm."
<Magpie> "It's bad to lie, you know." Magpie looks around her, and realizes they didn't have anything to pack.
<Vana> "Sorry." She looks around somewhat blearily, finally focusing on the girl. "You sleep okay?"
<Magpie> She closes her eyes briefly, opens them again. "Yeah. And you know, I had a -great- idea for finding everybody."
<Vana> "Oh?"
<Magpie> "Crows. Lots and -lots- of crows. Send them flapping all over the forest. They wouldn't miss 'em, I bet. And there are lots of crows in a forest, I think."
<Magpie> "They'd definitely find Yengo and Anona and ...everyone else." And it'd give Magpie a chance to show off.
<Vana> "Mmm... good plan." She brushes her hair back a bit. "We'll wait a bit and see if they show up, then, uhm... you can do that, I guess."
* Magpie sighs. "Fine. So, are we going to go with the Immaculates?"
<Vana> "Yeah... yeah, I guess so."
<onine> The monks begin to move off towards the west with the warm morning sun on their backs. Pazu comes up to you. "Shall we?"
* Magpie nods, and gets to her feet. "Yeah. Let's go."
* Vana nods shakily and stands, managing not to wobble too much.
<onine> The monks set off with you, they move quite fast, Vana keeps up with little trouble, but Magpie has to jog as much as she can, but Pazu offers to carry her some of the way - isn’t he nice?
* Magpie accepts, but only because she'd hinder his movements, she tells herself.
<onine> The small troupe comes to a shallow stream bedded with rocks and with an open 'beach' with grass and small shrubs.
<onine> One of the monks says "Why do we not stop for a short while to bathe? It has been some time since we had the opportunity."
<onine> Another monk says almost philosophically. "Rain is all well and good, but it does not match the purity of a clean stream."
* Magpie is grateful Tara isn't along.
<Magpie> At least, as long as these monks don't get any ideas....Magpie hops down off Pazu's back, and retreats to stand a little ways back from the stream.
<onine> Orihime considers the idea. As Pazu walks up with a Magpie on the back. "It might be a good idea, to refresh our bodies and our spirits. Our robes could use a cleaning too. We have been fighting for quite some time."
<onine> She sighs. "Very well! Half will bathe, and the other half stand watch."
<onine> The monks quickly work out a watch-bath routine, and half start to wash themselves (some look quite relieved) in the stream...