Recently
In a place away from prying eyes and ears, pearls the color of midnight turns words into whispers, and far away, in a space where there’s no room, they turn whispers back into words.
“<This resonance is secure.>â€
“<Verified.>â€
“<Ser Rosebush. Lady Caber.>â€
“<Ser Skeleton Key.>â€
“<Ser.>â€
“<What do you have for me, Rosebush?>â€
“<From what I observed on the route we took, the underground passage into the operational area is inviable due to structural collapse. I retained a copy of the survey map given to the party and marked said route. Caber can deliver it for later perusal, if you or anyone else thinks it’ll come in handy. Anyroad, no way to tell what’s become of the wyrmtear, much less Goldentail or Superbia.>â€
“<What became of the survey team?>â€
“<…we…encountered a creature in the aqueducts composed of several dozen people – people’s bodies – and upon neutralizing it we found that it had assimilated the survey team.>â€
“…un cadavre roi?â€
“<Ah – no, it was alive. Not that it wanted to be.>â€
“<Intelligent?>â€
“<Enough to know that it didn’t want to be what it was. It…was in agony…it was attempting suicide by adventurer. Had it just asked for the assist, it would have been an easy request to grant. Not enough rationale left for that, unfortunately.>â€
“<The other bodies…?>â€
“<Clearly from Mountaineer’s tribe. From what details I could see – what details were left – likely rejects from the tribe.>â€
“<You said that the creature ‘assimilated’ other living beings. How was this done?>â€
“<Umbrally polarized aether from void and primal sources collapsed the barriers between individual bodies and anima, resulting in fusion. I don’t think it’s likely that the creature was able to perform such a feat consciously...it must have been a carryover from whatever experiment Goldentail was conducting, something more controlled that went awry when the place exploded.>â€
“<Void and primal? Didn’t you say she was trying to summon voidsent or something?>â€
“<I can’t be sure of that, but I’m pretty certain she was creating some sort of rift to the void to trap Superbia. It’s not a big leap from that to summoning, though…>â€
“<So, what? Was she trying to fuse voidsent with the tribe?>â€
“<Not so directly. If the presence of this void-sourced aether were not simply due to the opening of this rift, it is probable that if Goldentail wished to imbue the experiment subjects with some sort of voidsent qualities, she would need only to summon a voidsent and attempt to channel its aether into the experiment subjects. A larger number of subjects would require the use of a more powerful voidsent, of course…perhaps Mister U’dorian could provide some insight as to which one, no?>â€
“<If he’s feeling generous. Maybe the Whiteseer too, she was there…>â€
“<You were followed?>â€
“<No, she – I don’t know. She’s a crafty teleporter. Either that or she found some way to hypnotize the lot standing guard outside the entrance to the aqueducts.>â€
“<Why was she there? Did you speak with her?>â€
“<Yes, of course I spoke with her. She said – she sensed the anguish of her ‘children’ and she decided it would be best to use some sort of water-based cleansing spell on the whole area, some sort of rain. In an underground waterworks, I might add. While we were occupying low ground.>â€
“<What did she say this time?>â€
“<Nothing that she hasn’t really –>â€
“<Rosebush.>â€
“<…she introduced herself as the Whiteseer to those who hadn’t met her, explained that the she was the mother of the tribe but not necessarily in a literal sense, explained that she was capable of remotely understanding the state of well-being of individuals in the tribe, stated that she was happy that some of the people there were concerned about some of her ‘children’, and told us that we have stop Superbia again because the…darkness inside them was never supposed to be made manifest, that’s semi-verbatim. So, she’s still consistent.>â€
“<Nevertheless, I reiterate my discomfort knowing that you’re operating solely on her plea to discipline her ‘children’ on her behalf whilst knowing so little about her or her motivations. This question bears asking again: what sort of self-proclaimed guardian refuses to personally deal with their ward? Such behavior is suspect.>â€
“<Of course it is.>â€
“<It could be dangerous for her. Between Superbia’s power with the wyrmtear, his knowledge of his own tribe, and his Allag fetish, we still don’t know his full capabilities. She might be aware of the same circumstances.>â€
“<None of it was enough to keep his sorry arse out of Goldentail’s claws.>â€
“<The element of surprise is funny like that.>â€
“Enfants.â€
“<Alright, but – okay, so she’s a bit fishy. No one’s debating that. But you know that everything she’s been doing implies – or she wishes for us to see it as implying – that she knows at least as much, if not more, about the tribe than Superbia does himself. And so far, the only way to find out what that might be is to keep going along with her request. I can…try to find out more, but I’d have to be careful not to tip off the wrong people. And besides that, she said – claimed – that she has to rest in preparation for something.>â€
“<But she did not say what. Large spell, intense combat? Well, the tables were already leaning towards the probability of self-sacrifice…>â€
“<What do the tables say about how she’s using magic? Particularly that one ‘brand.’>â€
“<I haven’t been able to reason any differently since the last time we spoke of it. It’s still the toss-up between the elementals granting their approval or her devouring some sort of materia that gives her the capability, the idea you had last time. Both ideas still have their flaws.>â€
“<One of the people from the search party suggested that she might be an original.>â€
“<Original what? …tribe member? As if she were some sort of progenitrix? Well, that would certainly explain all the talk about all of the tribe being her ‘children’ and the insinuations that she makes about knowing the tribe’s secrets…as well as where she’d have attained her magical knowledge without the approval of the elementals. It is…possible that we’d have another Lot 481 situation on our hands, then…even if it is not probable, and still leaves some of the same questions unanswered. Rosebush, who did you say it was that had this idea?>â€
“<Oh, uh, it was…ah…damn it, I can’t remember the…>â€
“<Write it down for me. … … … It was Blackout.>â€
“<Gods, these names.>â€
“<Thank you. I will work this idea into the table to see what it spits out. In the meantime, Rosebush…I recommend you take what few new pieces of information you have to Mountaineer to see how she reacts. Additionally, in addition to keeping track of the wyrmtear, I urge you to seek out more information on the Whiteseer. She does not profile like 481, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to be concerned about. There are currently three people involved in this situation who know most of the secrets, and she’s the only one behaving amicably. If she is truly interested in protecting her children and securing victory against this ‘darkness’, she must be willing to share what she knows with those whom she has entrusted to fight in her stead so that they may operate accordingly.>â€
“<Sure.>â€
“<That will be all for now. As usual, I expect you will keep me apprised of any developments. Also, I will say only this: for everyone’s sake, don’t fuck her.>â€
“<Ah – wha…>â€
“<What?!>â€
“<-------------------->â€
“<Wait, why would you say -->â€
“<…ugh…why would he make a probability table for that…>â€
In a place away from prying eyes and ears, pearls the color of midnight turns words into whispers, and far away, in a space where there’s no room, they turn whispers back into words.
“<This resonance is secure.>â€
“<Verified.>â€
“<Ser Rosebush. Lady Caber.>â€
“<Ser Skeleton Key.>â€
“<Ser.>â€
“<What do you have for me, Rosebush?>â€
“<From what I observed on the route we took, the underground passage into the operational area is inviable due to structural collapse. I retained a copy of the survey map given to the party and marked said route. Caber can deliver it for later perusal, if you or anyone else thinks it’ll come in handy. Anyroad, no way to tell what’s become of the wyrmtear, much less Goldentail or Superbia.>â€
“<What became of the survey team?>â€
“<…we…encountered a creature in the aqueducts composed of several dozen people – people’s bodies – and upon neutralizing it we found that it had assimilated the survey team.>â€
“…un cadavre roi?â€
“<Ah – no, it was alive. Not that it wanted to be.>â€
“<Intelligent?>â€
“<Enough to know that it didn’t want to be what it was. It…was in agony…it was attempting suicide by adventurer. Had it just asked for the assist, it would have been an easy request to grant. Not enough rationale left for that, unfortunately.>â€
“<The other bodies…?>â€
“<Clearly from Mountaineer’s tribe. From what details I could see – what details were left – likely rejects from the tribe.>â€
“<You said that the creature ‘assimilated’ other living beings. How was this done?>â€
“<Umbrally polarized aether from void and primal sources collapsed the barriers between individual bodies and anima, resulting in fusion. I don’t think it’s likely that the creature was able to perform such a feat consciously...it must have been a carryover from whatever experiment Goldentail was conducting, something more controlled that went awry when the place exploded.>â€
“<Void and primal? Didn’t you say she was trying to summon voidsent or something?>â€
“<I can’t be sure of that, but I’m pretty certain she was creating some sort of rift to the void to trap Superbia. It’s not a big leap from that to summoning, though…>â€
“<So, what? Was she trying to fuse voidsent with the tribe?>â€
“<Not so directly. If the presence of this void-sourced aether were not simply due to the opening of this rift, it is probable that if Goldentail wished to imbue the experiment subjects with some sort of voidsent qualities, she would need only to summon a voidsent and attempt to channel its aether into the experiment subjects. A larger number of subjects would require the use of a more powerful voidsent, of course…perhaps Mister U’dorian could provide some insight as to which one, no?>â€
“<If he’s feeling generous. Maybe the Whiteseer too, she was there…>â€
“<You were followed?>â€
“<No, she – I don’t know. She’s a crafty teleporter. Either that or she found some way to hypnotize the lot standing guard outside the entrance to the aqueducts.>â€
“<Why was she there? Did you speak with her?>â€
“<Yes, of course I spoke with her. She said – she sensed the anguish of her ‘children’ and she decided it would be best to use some sort of water-based cleansing spell on the whole area, some sort of rain. In an underground waterworks, I might add. While we were occupying low ground.>â€
“<What did she say this time?>â€
“<Nothing that she hasn’t really –>â€
“<Rosebush.>â€
“<…she introduced herself as the Whiteseer to those who hadn’t met her, explained that the she was the mother of the tribe but not necessarily in a literal sense, explained that she was capable of remotely understanding the state of well-being of individuals in the tribe, stated that she was happy that some of the people there were concerned about some of her ‘children’, and told us that we have stop Superbia again because the…darkness inside them was never supposed to be made manifest, that’s semi-verbatim. So, she’s still consistent.>â€
“<Nevertheless, I reiterate my discomfort knowing that you’re operating solely on her plea to discipline her ‘children’ on her behalf whilst knowing so little about her or her motivations. This question bears asking again: what sort of self-proclaimed guardian refuses to personally deal with their ward? Such behavior is suspect.>â€
“<Of course it is.>â€
“<It could be dangerous for her. Between Superbia’s power with the wyrmtear, his knowledge of his own tribe, and his Allag fetish, we still don’t know his full capabilities. She might be aware of the same circumstances.>â€
“<None of it was enough to keep his sorry arse out of Goldentail’s claws.>â€
“<The element of surprise is funny like that.>â€
“Enfants.â€
“<Alright, but – okay, so she’s a bit fishy. No one’s debating that. But you know that everything she’s been doing implies – or she wishes for us to see it as implying – that she knows at least as much, if not more, about the tribe than Superbia does himself. And so far, the only way to find out what that might be is to keep going along with her request. I can…try to find out more, but I’d have to be careful not to tip off the wrong people. And besides that, she said – claimed – that she has to rest in preparation for something.>â€
“<But she did not say what. Large spell, intense combat? Well, the tables were already leaning towards the probability of self-sacrifice…>â€
“<What do the tables say about how she’s using magic? Particularly that one ‘brand.’>â€
“<I haven’t been able to reason any differently since the last time we spoke of it. It’s still the toss-up between the elementals granting their approval or her devouring some sort of materia that gives her the capability, the idea you had last time. Both ideas still have their flaws.>â€
“<One of the people from the search party suggested that she might be an original.>â€
“<Original what? …tribe member? As if she were some sort of progenitrix? Well, that would certainly explain all the talk about all of the tribe being her ‘children’ and the insinuations that she makes about knowing the tribe’s secrets…as well as where she’d have attained her magical knowledge without the approval of the elementals. It is…possible that we’d have another Lot 481 situation on our hands, then…even if it is not probable, and still leaves some of the same questions unanswered. Rosebush, who did you say it was that had this idea?>â€
“<Oh, uh, it was…ah…damn it, I can’t remember the…>â€
“<Write it down for me. … … … It was Blackout.>â€
“<Gods, these names.>â€
“<Thank you. I will work this idea into the table to see what it spits out. In the meantime, Rosebush…I recommend you take what few new pieces of information you have to Mountaineer to see how she reacts. Additionally, in addition to keeping track of the wyrmtear, I urge you to seek out more information on the Whiteseer. She does not profile like 481, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to be concerned about. There are currently three people involved in this situation who know most of the secrets, and she’s the only one behaving amicably. If she is truly interested in protecting her children and securing victory against this ‘darkness’, she must be willing to share what she knows with those whom she has entrusted to fight in her stead so that they may operate accordingly.>â€
“<Sure.>â€
“<That will be all for now. As usual, I expect you will keep me apprised of any developments. Also, I will say only this: for everyone’s sake, don’t fuck her.>â€
“<Ah – wha…>â€
“<What?!>â€
“<-------------------->â€
“<Wait, why would you say -->â€
“<…ugh…why would he make a probability table for that…>â€
