Naunet

There had been a rather nasty rumor floating in the northern sections of the Shroud. It spoke of a red hooded voidsent whose face was made of gold and dried blood. It spoke of it sacrificing innocent animals in an unholy ceremony, of eating them in clear disdain of the Elementals. It spoke of ghostly voices crying out for revenge wherever it went. The Wood Wailers spent a total of three hours looking for the source of distress. It wasn't hard to find. But instead of a voidsent, they found a man. His face was not made of gold, though it arguably had blood somewhere inside himself as most healthy men do. The unholy ceremony proved to be a campfire with a squirrel slowly roasting on top of it, kept in place by various sharpened sticks. There were no ghostly voices, no spirits clamoring for revenge or for the monster's blood. The only sounds were of the forest and the incessant rambling of the red hooded man. "The Elementals have given me permission to hunt squirrels." he said to the poor wailers. "You can tell that it is truth, for I have not been threatened by the land any more than you. And! You are the ones wearing the horrible masks to hide your crimes against the Elementals." This words annoyed the Gridanians, more for their implications that for their truth. "And with all my love, and that of the Elementals, I offer you this whole squirrel! No, no need to thank me. It might be my only food, but what is love without sacrifice...? Where are you going?" The wailers had seen and heard enough. They vanished, happy that the threat had been only a weird man but, at the same time, unhappy that it had been a weird man. "I see! You know there are more needy people in the world whose poor stomachs desire to be filled with tender squirrel meat. You would sacrifice your hunger so that others could eat! That's admirable! Menphina must have touched your hearts- oh, you are gone already." The red hooded man only spent a few moments more at his unholy campsite. Long enough for him to finish cooking, or better said, charring, and eating his meal. Most of the squirrel was left untouched, resting against the ground. The wild beast had a right to enjoy a cooked meal, he thought. He left, following a trail of withered plantlife. His rambling had been succesful, annoying the wailers so much that they forgot to question him about that. Or perhaps they never noticed. He made a mental note to ask them the next time he saw them. He kept on walking across the unnatural road until he noticed a familiar figure nearby. The masked miqo'te who had once called himself Thal, much to the chagrin of the one he had spoken to, was starting to think he had eaten something funky, because the strange, wibbly feeling under his skin and in his bones had lately refused to fully retreat, despite his more frequent outings. It made him uncomfortable, in ways he normally didn't want to think about. He wondered if that ghost he'd met got these feelings. Red furred ears twitched idly from side to side as he slid between a few shrubs, breathing in the sharp, bitter scent of the leaves, and the rot of dirt beneath his bare feet. Soil squished between his toes, and he wiggled them as he hummed an off key tune. The shrub he pulled his gloved fingers through seemed to lean into the touch and then sag. "A read headed man in the way of a red hooded man? An act of divine providence!" thought the hooded man out loud, implying that the matching colors must have been a signal. "Hello!" he yelled, this time making sure the other one would hear. Raising a hand and waving it wildly he added: "Are you hungry?" The miqo'te's tail swished as he let out a breath from behind the mask. Curse this Shroud and its chaos of smells; he would never get used to it. The blank eyes of the mask twisted towards the voice, ears swiveling with the motion. His head tilted, hands dropping to his sides. "Eh? Funny question to ask a stranger... stranger." He chuckled at his own words. "Not at all! All men need to eat." was the reply. The man walked breezily towards the miqo'te. "But I'll take it you are not hungry! Unless you are. Are you? Would you like a squirrel? Not as a pet, mind, just as food. Not that they are not lovely pets! But they are also good food." he continued. "Say..." the tone changed just as swiftly as he had moved and stopped right next to him. "...have you seen any plant eating monstrosities out here?" "A... squirrel, huh? Y'know, someone once offered me a..." The ears shifted, though the mask did not change its expression. "Heh, you kinda look like him." Another pause and the ears go lopsided. "I think a lot of things out here eat plants, friend." "Well, of course you remember! It was me. And I remember you! You rejected it in a great act of charity." he smiled. He waved his hand, less wildly this time, for he was not greeting anyone. He moved his head to one side and the other, inspecting the place. "Eating might not be the right word. There's a trail of withered plants that I have been following and I imagine that the only reason for them to be such is aetherial manipulation or lack of nutrition." he attempted to explain, waving his other hand in a not very explanatory gesture. "So it's either a mad ritual, a mad conjurer, or a mad hungry thing." The mask stared at the hooded man unblinkingly. A red-furred tail twitched at the very end, and a long pause later, the masked miqo'te brought up one arm to rub at the back of his head, letting out a hearty chuckle. "Not too sure what you're going on about. Plants die all the time out here. Sure it's some kind of cycle of life thing or whatever." "Well, yes. When something's rotten in the Shroud, the Elementals are the first suspects." The man rubbed the bridge of his nose, leaning his head down so that his golden eyes could stare at the mask. "But they don't kill plants in the shape of a trail. And they don't ussually leave future wildlings at the end of it!" "Future... uh, hey now, people don't just go calling other people that. It's not nice!" the miqo'te's voice was smiling and wavered with a chuckle. The hand behind his head didn't drop. "We are all wildlings in our hearts." replied the other, gesturing to his chest in a weirdly humble motion. "But that's unimportant. The trail leads here, and I see no continuation. And neither have you seen any strange creature wandering. So here's the most important question" he added, glaring at the mask as if he could see whatever was hiding behind. "Why do the Elementals hate you?" Those ears shifted again. The hand behind his head moved to tap at his mask. "What, y'mean this thing? Everyone 'round here wears 'em when they're out and about. Well." He paused. "Most everyone. I mean, the Wailers and all them do." The man smiled broadly, showing his teeth. "They are most interesting, those Wood Wailers!" he started. "The Elementals actually hate them, so they have to hide behind masks. Otherwise they couldn't protect the woods like they are supposed to. Are you protecting the woods?" "Well, uh..." The gloved hand went back to scratching behind his ears. "Heh. I guess? Sure." He pointed at some of the withered plants he had been speaking about, off in the distance. "Then you are doing an awful job! I think the Elementals want to evict you." The masked miqo'te leaned to one side rather theatrically to look around the other man towards where he pointed. "Mmm? I dunno, I feel okay." "You should! Wait...should you?" His shoulders shrunk and his arms opened in some disbelief. "Hasn't the wildlife tried to kill you? The plants and roots trying to catch your feet and make you trip over? The food you gather having a funny taste that screams 'Don't eat me for I am poisoned'?" "Uhm... Eheh, why would it do that? M...aybe you should watch out for all that stuff though." He pointed one gloved finger at the roasted squirrel. "Who knows what the Elementals would think about that." "Oh, yes, sorry! Were you hungry? There's plenty! If you don't mind the odd ant." The man tilted his head back, and some ambient light in the forest caught a flash of blue in the shadows of the mask's circular eyes. "Er, that's... not the same squirrel, is it.." The hooded man looked confused for a few seconds. "That squirrel is the same squirrel that it is. It could not be in any other way." he replied, spectacularly missing the point. The other miqo'te let out a burst of laughter, his tail twitching, "Hah! No, er, I mean, the same as before. You did say that was you, yea?" "Oh! Dear Menphina, no, that's not the same squirrel. I forgot what I did with that one. Probably fed some poor Ala Mhigan orphan. Why? Did you want -that- one?" he asked, looking sideways. "Nooo, no, that's alright! Heh. Was just wondering." The masked miqo'te flexed his toes in the dirt, rocked on the balls of his feet. "If it's all the same, I think I'll pass on the squirrel again. At recently anyway." "Ah!" the other one exclaimed, throwing his head back. "Such a charitable soul. You know those poor ants need all the food they can get. The gods surely will bless you!" He circled around Thal, looking around, searching for more signs of withering. He did not see anything more. He stopped. "Well, I will go back to my little hovel. Would you mind walking with me for a while? Squirrels can only keep one with so much company before fleeing away, horrified about the prospect of being eaten." The miqo'te shuffled in the dirt to follow the hooded man's circling; blue flashed again in the shadows of the mask. One hand scratched at the ruddy skin of his lower back. "I'm thinking squirrels aren't much company at all once, uh, roasted. Heh." His bare shoulders puffed out and then fell with a heave of air. "Anyway, uh... sure, I guess. Y'seem like a funny guy." "Great! My hovel is...uhm...where's the south...?" He continued the circle for a while longer, one hand over his chin. A moment later, he exclaimed "This way!" and pointed towards the trunk of a large tree, for that was the direction he thought was south. Luckily for him, it was. "We can catch another squirrel. Or maybe a lady bug. They are good in soup if you don't try to cook them over the fire. Otherwise their oil ruins the whole taste and it's like eating a candle." The other miqo'te's reaction to this was subdued thanks to the mask, but his tail curled in distaste. "If ya say so, friend. More of a fruit guy myself, heh." With a shrug he began to walk in the indicated direction. "Ever tried fairie apples? Had a whole bag of 'em stashed somewhere..." "Fairie apples are a dessert. You can't live on them! But they are good with melted caramel over them. But who's going to get caramel in these woods?" He walked alongside him, constantly looking around and behind them. "I wish caramel would grow on trees, actually." One of the masked miqo'te's ears swiveled around towards the other man. "Caramel?" "Burnt sugar!" he explained quickly. "You burn sugar and the result is called that. It has a nice color and a better taste than sugar alone. I bet someone invented it by accident. Probably in the middle of a big forest fire." He looked behind once more. "Uh... okay. Heh, the things people do in their spare time. Crazy huh?" He twisted to follow the other man's gaze, stumbled over a root, and returned to just watching where he was going. "Sure doesn't sound like it tastes good. Fairie apples though! And... alligator pears. Not sure why they're called that." "Do they grow on alligators?" A laugh. "Nope!... What's an alligator?" "It's a type of lizard. They hide in alleys, I think? I'm not sure! Nature is pretty mysterious and extremely weird." he nodded mostly to himself, glanced once behind, nodded yet again and then faced the front like a normal person. "That's why we have lalafells, after all." "Lala... oh, right. Heh. Weird, yup." Swinging his arms out to either side, he clasped his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture as he walked. His tail shifted lazily behind him with each leaf crunching step. "No weirder than some guy offering you a roasted squirrel though." He chuckled. "I have the feeling your have as much contact with civilization as a chocobo does with the clouds." One hand moved to scratch at his face beneath the mask. "Aw, I spend time in Gridania. Nice people there." "Yes, definitely." he agreed. "Though they don't like anything they can identify as unnatural." He gestured back to the way they were walking from. "I'm sure the Wailers will eventually catch up on that trail I was following and find whatever it's causing it. Then they will poke it to death! And maybe cook it. No..." He stopped to shake his head. "They will most likely not cook it. I don't think voidsent are edible anyway." The masked man's ears twitched. "Eh?" A pause and then a shake of his head. "Heh, well, I'm sure it's nothing." The hooded man resumed the walk. "It must be a tiny one! The big, dangerous ones always ask for an actual sentient sacrifice. Plants wouldn't suffice." he conjectured. Then he smiled and clapped his hands together. "Maybe I can set up a trap for it with enough crystals. Yes! I shall do that tomorrow." The masked man's steps hesitated half a second, and his tail curled a bit before he continued on, feet pushing through the detritus of the forest floor. "Uh, sounds... risky. Trapping a voidsent." He chuckled, rubbed at one shoulder. "How would you do that?" "Oh, there are so many ways! But I will keep it simple and just pile them up somewhere." the hood said. "Then just perch myself on a tree and keep watch. Voidsent are not exactly stealthy." Leaving his hand at the back of his neck, the masked miqo'te turned his head to look around him as they walked. His ears swiveled at attention. "Still... I mean, they're dangerous right? Why would you wanna trap one? Probably better to just leave it to the Wailers, I think. Yea?" "And let them stab the poor creature to death!" he chuckled. "Even voidsents are creatures worthy of love! Menphina does not hate them. Just like a man can't hate a gnat for stabbing his arm to feed itself! I would send it back to the Void and, maybe, with that show of mercy, love will grow in its heart and the next time someone sacrifices other people to call him he will think it twice and spread Menphina's mercy to the rest of its kind." The words that came out sounded painfully serious. The masked miqo'te's steps slowed, then stopped all together. "Oh. Heh." He shifted his weight, looked around. "Uh, y'know, I just remembered I promised a pretty lady back in Gridania I'd get her a bushel of fairie apples before the day's out. So.. I should probably get to that." The other one didn't stop, though he did turn his head and nodded twice. "Of course! Priorities! Tell her about caramel. I promise she will not hate you for it." "Yea, yea, right. Heh." The chuckle fell flat behind his mask, and he offered a little wave at the hooded man, taking a couple steps backward before turning to walk back the direction they'd come from. The Duskwight seemed to detach from the trunk of a nearby tree. "Strange, though. A man who follows trails of dead plants and believes that killing a Voidsent will redeem it." He stood in front of the red-hooded man, removed by several meters. He glanced past him to the masked man who was receding, only briefly, and then dropped his gaze to back to robed figure. "Your clothes are familiar to me." The masked miqo'te's tail stuck out behind him as his shifting ears caught the voice, and he paused in his steps to look over his shoulder. The robed man stopped at the Duskwight, golden eyes spying from under the hood. He sniffed the air. "You are the grumpy man that didn't like my squirrels!" he declared with one hand on the hip. "Do not worry! I have no squirrels. And what's that about killing?" His old head shifting like something caught in the branches of a tree blown by the wind, the Duskwight's silver eyes shone, his sockets adorned in dark tattoos. "Your robes. They remind me of a group of people I once saw living in caves, burning fires. They sounded like whispers and smelt like ash and mud. You remind me of them." "You are thinking I'm a Lamb? Because...of my color of choice and how badly I smell?" the hooded man inquired, raising a brow, though the action was obscured by the shadows cast upon him by his own clothes. Fully turning towards the Duskwight and the hooded man he'd been retreating from, the masked miqo'te worked his jaw and lifted his hand above his head to wave at the Duskwight. Spreading his spindly arms, the Duskwight shrugged, "I have been a hermit for a very long time. I've known many people who live in caves and cook meat by fire. I didn't say anything about any lambs." He flicked his eyes to the masked man, but did not lift his hand. It wasn't worth the effort, and he was sagging very tiredly at that moment. He looked down at the robed man. "It's very strange to set traps for Voidsent, or to seek them out in the woods. Voidsent are the business of very few men, and fewer among them mean well with it." "I guess I just happen to be one of those men." he smiled. He turned his head and saw that the other one was still at sight range. "And sending them back to their home is a worthy investment! They become happy that they are not here, and everyone -here- becomes happy that they are away! Charity at its finest." he smiled to the old man once more. "How loving," The Duskwight smiled again. His eyes flicked up to the masked man, and his voice raised. "If this woman of yours is really so pretty, you should bring her the apples after dark. Evening is a better time to engage women. In the meantime, here is a charitable and well-meaning man reduced to eating squirrels. Won't you even see him back to his hovel?" The miqo'te coughed behind his mask, shuffled his feet. "Eheh, well, she did seem kind of... fickle. Uh." His red tail twitched, catching against a few low shrubs. For several seconds he seemed locked in indecision, trying to decide if he'd been imagining something. Then finally, a sigh and a shrug, and he stepped forward slowly. "Well, alright I guess. You wanna join us, old man?" Inclining slightly forward, his greasy blonde hair hanging like a veil in front of his hair, the Duskwight was silent. He watched the hooded figure. He smiled, perhaps at the prospect of having visits. "Well, if you insist! Maybe a lady bug will be flying around and we can make soup with it, since I don't think everyone here likes squirrel meat!" His hands gestured beyond the old man, to no apparent location. "And I can't promise it will taste good, either." Body language shifting into something a bit more comfortable, the masked miqo'te stepped back to the other man and then past him. The empty holes of his mask turned to watch the Duskwight briefly as he did this, then went back to scanning the surroundings. "Dunno how I feel about ladybug," he mused. "Those things have a pretty nasty bite." "Their wings are tasteless." the other miqo'te offered. "And we won't eat their teeth. Because they have no teeth!" He started walking towards the direction he had pointed before, past the old elezen. The Duskwight, smirking, leaned against the tree he had detached from. he didn't seem to intend to go with them. As he walked, the masked miqo'te grabbed a low hanging branch and tugged on it distractedly. He twisted his neck to glance back at the Duskwight's spindly form and waved his arm before he realized he was still holding onto the branch. He let it go with a snap. Several leaves drifted to the ground, browned and curled. "C'mon, old man. You look like you could use some exercise." With a low chuckle, he said, "It's about thirty years too late for exercise." The hooded man asked over his shoulder: "What about food? Hermits have to share!" The Duskwight didn't even huff at that, just maintaining his place and composure, as though at any moment he would be reclaimed by the old tree behind him. The masked miqo'te kind of bounced on the balls of his feet, but he kept walking. "Right, well, no more talk of voidsent, I'm thinking. Silly think to talk about anyway, since we haven't seen any around." A beat. "Wonder if that soup would go good with apples?" "Apples are for dessert." the man repeated. "You don't put apples all over your dinner!" "Maybe you don't." The miqo'te's grin leaked into his voice. *** The hooded man, who identified himself as Qion'a during the walk, lead Thal towards a small house stuck on the side of a cliff. The northern half of it, the one that they first saw when approaching, was crumbling upon itself. The wood was rotten, the windows broken and the roof was only a skeleton of a structure. They did not go into that part, though. Instead, they moved across the wall, on the outside, likely to avoid making the floor collapse under their weight. The southern side was made of stone, covered in moss and likely extremely humid. It was evident that the 'hovel' was actually two old buildings built side by side. Which one was newer was not as obvious however. The hooded man stopped in front of a hole in the stone wall, large enough for both men. On the other side was a wooden door, rotten as one would expect. Likely torn from the other side of the house. "It's bigger on the inside." he said, smiling with some strange pride over his voice. The masked miqo'te hadn't been able to really hide his curiosity as they approached and moved around the structures. His tail fluffed out behind him as the myriad new smells and whipped back and forth with each step. The mask swiveled left and right as he turned his face from one part of the dilapidated shack to another, ears following in their own movement. He let out a low whistle, the sound muffled behind the mask. "Well, I guess it suits a hermit, huh?" He approached the stone wall and scratched at a bit of lichen. "You live here then? Not bad. At least it's a roof over your head." He chuckled. "It's pretty good, I'm not going to lie." the other answered, moving to the door to open it. It made loud cracking sounds followed by the moaning of the rusted hinges. The man lingered there, glancing outside to the masked one. "The previous owner died to the Greenwrath. A number of treants came by and smashed the place while he was sleeping. Nobody stops by since then. So now I can live in the part where nobody died!" "Huh," the masked man breathed out, brushing off his gloved hands on his already dirty pants. The mask itself remained as unmoved by its surroundings as ever. His ears swiveled towards the door as though straining to hear past it. "Well, here we are. Guess that's it for now." "Letting you go just like that would be very rude. Let me get you something for the trouble. Specially since it seemed that old elezen pushed you into it. Don't run away!" and with that said he disappeared inside. Scratching behind one ear, the masked man considered Qion'a's words, then the doorway. He glanced up towards the canopy and the dim slivers of light that pierced it, then back down. When a minute passed, he tossed his hands up at some private thought and stepped forward, craning first his head through the doorway and rapping on the frame with two knuckles, then stepping inside. "If it's another squirrel, or ladybug soup, I think I'll just kindly pass," he called out. The inside of the hovel was remarkably empty. It was just a large square room, with various holes on the walls, some of which could pass as windows. In the center was an unlighted campfire, right below an asymmetrical hole made to let the smoke out. On the farthest side was a simple wooden bunk, a chair, one large table and a row of shelves stacked against the wall. These two last ones were littered with odd looking trinkets, common books and what could be best described as 'random junk'. There were even clothes over it. The hooded miqo'te had just finished rummaging through that mess and was heading towards the door. He raised one hand, displaying a light-blue crystal the size of his fist. "I'm sure that lady you spoke of will offer you part of your own apples as payment." he said. "Instead, I'll give you this!" he added, shaking the crystal. "Payment? Nah, it doesn't work that way... er, what's that?" His ears went lopsided, and the faint glow from the crystal was enough to partially illuminate the shadows of his mask, revealing the vague outline of equally blue eyes. "I mean, she'd probably like that too. Heh." "It's a glamour crystal." he shook it again. "I forgot if it's a big or a small one. I never pay attention to my brother. But! He sells them down in Ul'dah. So I imagine you could trade it." He stopped a few steps away and extended his arm to give the odd crystal to Thal. "This one's charged with aether already, though, so don't go around smashing it carelessly." "A glamour...?" Ears tilting in the other direction, he reached out to take the crystal in one hand. He could feel it hum with the warmth of aether through the thick fabric of his gloves. "What, this thing transforms you to look like something? Haha, I think that might give the wrong impression if I give this to a lady." "Yes, yes it would." Qion'a said, rubbing his chin, eyes fixed on the crystal. "Specially since all she asked was for apples." The masked miqo'te turned the crystal, a vague pyramid shape, in his hand and shrugged. Almost on instinct, he caught up some of the aether that leaked from the crystal ambiently, feeling its warmth sink into his fingertips. He hummed. "Well, yeah. And giving her something that would change her appearance... kinda implies I don't like her current one! Now that's just asking for a beating." He turned his masked face towards Qion'a and flexed his hand around the crystal. "Well, thanks for this anyway. Kind of a funny thing to keep lying around." "Mm." was the first answer that came from the man. Then: "Mm? Oh, my brother just threw the stuff at me. I think he was trying to imply my attire is horrible. I just tucked them around with the rest of my things." he gestured back to the horrible mess covering the table. "Are you a mage, by chance?" "Hah, that's what I mean!" The masked man gestured with the hand holding the crystal. The chuckling faded quickly, however, and though the mask remained impassive, his ears spoke confusion, emphasized by a vague, "Eh?" "It seemed like the crystal reacted oddly when you held it." "Smelled?" He let out an uncertain snort of laughter. "Can't imagine how you can pick out much of any smell in this place. Anyway," he shook his head, red hair shuffling around the mask, "nope, no mage." Qion'a shrugged with a smile. "Oh, well, my nose must be terrible. You should go now before that lady finds another apple gatherer!" "Right, right. Uhm..." He glanced around the room, shrugged at the mess, and then just turned to head back to through the door. "Let me know if you want any of them! For... desert." "Sure. Don't spend that crystal's aether in one place!" The masked man hesitated at those words, then thought it better not to try and question. Instead he just lifted his unoccupied hand to wave behind him and continue out the door. When the masked Miqo'te stepped out the door, the Duskwight would be outside, lingering three meters from the door, tall and thin and gray as a tree that had been sucked dry of its Aether. His hair lay in filthy layers all over his face, but his eyes still shone through them like two moons through a haze of smoke. The miqo'te didn't seem particularly surprised by the Duskwight's appearance. He just turned his blank face up and gestured with the glamour crystal. "Ya should've come in and said hello." The man inside the hovel was immediately distracted by the need to start the fire, and so didn't notice the conversation outside. At least not at the moment. "I forget my manners in old age," the Duskwight said, his voice quiet, thin, and rough. "You're getting into the habit of being followed by strange people." "I am," he mused, then, "I am? Hey, that's not very nice to say, old man." He wagged the crystal at the Duskwight and chuckled. "I do not boast kindness. Perhaps you should stop drawing such obvious lines." The holes in the mask shifted vaguely as the miqo'te blinked, stilled. He tossed the crystal between his hands idly as a distraction. After a moment he just said, "Oops," with a sheepish chuckle. "Whatever the case, I have suspicions regarding your new friend. You should avoid him in the future." "I thought that too!" He declared, and then eyed the Duskwight sideways. "You're the one who was all 'go take a walk with your friend', y'know. But, he seems okay. A little weird. Still not going to touch any of his squirrels. And I got a nice little gift." "The fact that he's interested in you is reason enough to be interested in him." The Duskwight crossed his long arms, though they were so thin that the gesture lacked any real weight. "Is there really a woman awaiting those apples of yours?" The glamour crystal was a nice comfort in his hands, he thought, but at the Duskwight's words he just laughed. "That's for me to know, old man." A pause. "No more trails, huh? Well, I did just get a handy little... mm. Anyway!" He began to stroll away from the run down shack. The Duskwight followed him with his eyes. "Do you know the difference between a Glamor prism and any other kind of crystal?" He turned to walk backwards, though he did slow his pace. "I'd guess one's for glamouring and the other... isn't." There was a cheeky tone in his voice. "That crystal could be anything, as could the aether inside." This statement was given neutrally, with a tilt of his aged head. "Or it could be a glamor prism. You don't know." "Aether's aether, right?" The man shrugged bare shoulders, arching his feet. Qion'a came out of the shovel when he noticed that the man talking to himself outside wasn't talking to himself, but with another different voice. A small trail of smoke started forming above the house, coming from the hole that worked as a 'chimney' for it. He looked around. "Oh, you came after all! A change of heart, old man?" "At my age, if my heart did anything out of the ordinary, I would likely die." The Duskwight turned his gaze on the man in the red robe. "Does your brother in Ul'dah dress as you dress?" He chuckled, and the chuckle quickly became a laugh. It lasted a while. "By Menphina's lovely embrace, no! He has actual gil, so he dresses much better. I imagine he has an actual house in the city, too." "Good for him!" The masked man chuckled and ceased his toying with the glamour prism. His feet also settled more firmly on the ground. "Does he also set traps for Voidsent?" "No. Only traps for customers!" Qion'a said with another chuckle. "Each one of us has his own quirk. Mine is displaying Menphina's mercy to all creatures. My brothers do different things in the name of different interests." The Duskwight blinked. "And did you divvy up these quirks deliberately?" "What do you expect from strange people, old man?" Another laugh. "If I were another man, that'd be offensive!" the hooded miqo'te complained to the masked one, half jokingly. He turned back to the elezen and took a few steps towards him. "And I'm not sure what you mean with that question. We are made as we are made and we do what we do!" His gaze looming down at the hooded Miqo'te, the Duswight grated, "And what are the quirks of your other brothers?" "How many do you have?" "I have three. And one of them is a king. He has his own whole kingdom as very pushy about tributes and taxes to foreigners. I find it hilarious." he replied to both. "A king. Really? Hah." The man who once called himself Thal sounded disbelieving. "Where at?" "It's near the border with Thanalan." The reply was dry. "It's pretty far from here, and we do not get along. So I don't visit very often." Qion'a tilted his head, looking at the elezen. "And what does your family do? I bet they must have their very own oddities!" "They have been completely decimated," the Duskwight answers. "Thank you for asking." The masked miqo'te coughed and fidgeted with the crystal in his hands. "Oh." Qion'a's ears dropped below the hood. "Well, it's...ah...uhm." He rubbed his chin. "So what were we talking about?" "Aaaactually," the masked miqo'te took a shuffling step backwards, "I was just going. Heh." Qion'a glanced at the crystal from afar. "Wait! What are you doing with that?" he exclaimed, throwing one hand to the air. "You can't go around with a charged glamour crystal. There's a voidsent who would love to feast on that thing. Let me get you an uncharged, much safer one!" And he moved to Thal's to snatch the crystal out of his hands. "Uuh, hey! You gave me this!" The masked man stepped back, pulling the crystal out of reach. "C'mon, trying take gifts back isn't very nice either. Where were you two raised?" Watching boredly, the Duskwight remarked, "It's rude. And very bad luck." "Wait!" Qion'a stopped. "I gave you that?" Still holding the prism away, the masked miqo'te stared at Qion'a for a second and then just said, "Uh, yeah." He shook his head, smiling. "Then it must be safe. Otherwise I wouldn't have given you that!" He turned and headed towards his hovel. "Still, if you see a voidsent chasing you, throw it away! Dying is the worst form of luck!" After a moment, the masked miqo'te gave a blank look to his Duskwight companion and then just shrugged. "Off I go, then." He turned and gave a parting, "Don't be so scarce around here." The Duskwight did not acknowledge the masked Miqo'te, keeping his silent attention on the man in the robe. Qion'a just disappeared inside his home, closing the door behind him this time. Megiddo became a Fluttershy.

I saw stuff about that last week and could not stop laughing.

I... I just can't hold it in any longer. OP, to answer your question: The RP is in my pants.

Meh, not really feeling it. This on the other hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB8YqPjckIY And pretty much all of this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vqi1EuaiSo&list=PLB4C108EB21B891B3

PS theme is fine (as is the Lost City theme). I hate the combat music with every fibre of my being, though, and most of the zone and city music is just utterly bland to me. I also hate the primal themes with their ridiculous electric guitar... urgh. So much of FFXIV's music is overly treble-balanced or "noisy". WildStar and ArcheAge are currently my favorite MMO soundtracks. ^^;

Watwat. FFXIV's soundtrack is heinously annoying. @.@ Different tastes, I guess... re the UI in Ignacius's comment: A couple weekends ago, they launched a new build with a completely redesigned UI. They haven't yet transferred beta to the build that will include all the tweaks and bug fixes done since then. I agree it still needs a lot of work and is perhaps its weakest component at the moment. I do think it's safe to say improvements are coming, though. ^^ At this point, my greatest annoyance with WS is their bungling of the name reservation process. >_< It is so messed up.

"Preparing the ritual is wholly your concern," K'jhanhi rumbled. "Though know that becoming nunh would not be enough to earn back the gift of your ancestors." Off to the side, K'deiki wheezed and coughed, gesturing through the fit towards the tent's door. "We are done here," she hacked out after several seconds. "Trouble us not with your presence."

"Let him put his own face to the sand," K'deiki moaned, dropping her head forward, her knobby spine bending until it might snap. There was a certain sadness in her next words, "Of all he could have returned, he did not bring us back the one we would welcome most. K'yohko will put him in his place, if nothing else."

To be clear, I was talking from a purely story perspective. And okay, if you're going to insist on mentioning some existing IPs... maybe a Jak & Daxter one. Because <3. Not sure what time that would take place in... while the past would be nice, I did have an awful lot of fun wandering the deserts in Jak 3... Aaaaaaaaand I think it could be fun to see one set in Charles Stross's Merchant Wars universe, complete with world hopping and political intrigue. Let me introduce knowledge/technology from one parallel world into another and watch what happens. :3

Antimony's determined frown deepened at the name D'themia called her, her tail shivering out of sight behind her. That K'aijeen would perpetuate such a hateful title before the entire Dodo tribe hurt, but that the nunh would refer to her as such in a professional context offended. Green eyes shifted to the hyur man, his armor giving him a distinctly official look if his title denoting him part of the Sultana's cohort hadn't already, and she found herself distracted momentarily by his implied involvement. She had not expected the Sultansworn. "Of course," she replied, tone stiffer than she may have liked, but the more she tried to imagine her daughter living under this nunh, the more her ire grew. He'd barely spoken more than a couple dozen words, but that and what she knew from her investigation were more than enough for her to condemn him in her mind. One hand moved to reach into her bag, retrieving the linkpearl after a moment's searching, and her eyes didn't leave D'themia Nunh or Bayard Learner as she brought it up and spoke somewhat awkwardly into it, "Mister Carceri, I apologize if I'm interrupting anything, but I would request your presence back at the commune. We've..." Her lips pursed, "... managed to gain an audience with the nunh."

D'edy Nunh watched drops of wine fall from his soaked sash to the floor while he haphazardly swung it about. Puffing out his cheeks, D'edy caught his sash and tucked the wet end into a pocket, which was immediately stained red. He then dashed about in a small circle around where he'd been standing, using his feet to pull the dangling edges of his robe over the floor and soak up the little droplets of wine. While he did this, he stammered, "Uhm, nothing. I'm just thinking... See, I'm curious... And your friend did get rid of my keeper, so... I might take this opportunity to... Well...If D'themia doesn't show up I'll never find out why you're here, right?" Thin tail flying out behind him, D'edy spun and ran towards the stairs leading up into the tower, his feet slapping on the hard floor. "As long as I have a free second I think I'm going to be annoying. I bet I can find him!" The fuzz of his ears bounced as he jumped onto the first step. The strange nunh's antics across the floor distracted Antimony from much of what he said, such that she almost didn't catch him dashing off. She tossed a bit of a wide-eyed look Lamandu's way, grey brows arching up behind the rims of her glasses, and then scrambled to scoop up her bag. Her brain processed his last words several seconds later. "You know where he is? Or where he could be?" She lifted her voice insistently as she felt her feet carry her after the miqo'te's bobbing ears and tail. "We will go with you, then." Her own tail flicked behind her in an agitated manner. Why wait for that overbearing guard to return when they could just make use of this young man? "No, no," D'edy Nunh spun five steps up. He failed to stop his momentum, so fell backwards on landed on his elbows between steps, his wine-soaked robe making a wet splat on the stone. He kept a palm up despite this and said with only a mild cringe, "No, you can't come up here. That would be bad. Just wait for a second. And don't tell anyone where I've gone!" He pushed himself up backwards, crab-walking for half a meter before turning and ascending on all fours. No sooner had the echo of the Nunh's warning faded than the door to the tower was thrown open. It slammed inward, loudly, revealing the small, puffball-haired huntress. Her eyes were wide open, and the omnipresent cheer she'd had before was gone. "Hey, D'edy! What are-" she paused, her eyes flicking around, tail shivering behind her. She looked at Lamandu, then at Antimony. "Where'd D'edy go? What are you doing by the stairs there!" "Wait! It won't matter once he--" Antimony's words, and steps, halted immediately at the heavy thud of the door behind her, the noise shaking the walls and lodging solidly in her ears. She spun around, ears shaking to dispel the echoes of the sound, and barely held back a cring at the huntress's exclamation. "Ah, that! I was... just..." She cast a glance towards her lalafell companion, still lounging on his pillows, "... looking around! Here. Down here. The stairs' vicinity is pure coincidence!" Returning to a more upright position, the small man, who seemed so terribly out of place amongst all the Miqo'te found in the compound, spoke up, "D'edy? I believe he said he had some business to attend to. Had confidence that we could entertain ourselves in the meantime. We weren't about to go running around and getting lost in the place." He turns towards Antimony, who appeared far to curious for her own good, standing at the edge of the stairs as she was. "Really Antimony, I know you're anxious. Come sit down and settle out those nerves a bit. I don't know why you're so reluctant to. One could almost make the assumption that you don't know -how- to relax!" The woman's blonde tail flicked behind her. With the light of day at her back, she appeared almost like a caricature of a woman, wire thin at limbs and hips but the white armor making her broad at her shoulders. Her ears shifted about, invisible in her hair, and the movement manifested as a twitching of the yellow puffball on top of her head. Blue eyes flicked down at Lamandu, then up at Antimony, who stood very much like she was intending to take some kind of action. "D'edy," she hissed, stationary for a half instant more before her body shot forward, lance flickering sharply above her as she bent so low she was almost on all fours. She ignored Antimony and Lamandu as she went to the stairs, shouting as she went, "D'edy Nunh don't make me tackle you down!" She was well behind her quarry, though. "Wait!" Antimony found herself calling out again, though for a different reason this time, hands reaching out as though to try and stop the huntress, though not following through with the action. Her tail fluffed up, sticking almost straight out behind her. "There's nothing--nothing to worry about! He's only gone to... well, we must see D'themia Nunh!" "D'edy will return on his own, no need to rashly fetch him back." Lamandu was rather relaxed about this whole situation, still content to sit at his table, voice unraised. "He's perfectly capable of managing his own matters." "Just stay put!" The dandelion-headed huntress shouted, echoing the instructions given by seemingly every Dodo, as she ran up the stairs into the tower. Under her breath as she went were muttered threats to D'edy Nunh, ho was well out of earshot. She would once again leave the pair alone in the luxurious waiting area. "But we--" Antimony cut herself off as the huntress disappeared up the stairs, though her pounding feet were heard for many seconds after. The older woman stood at the bottom of the stairs, fidgeting with her glasses nervously, before casting a sideways glance in Lamandu's direction. One ear twitched. "... well," she muttered after a time, her tail still fluffed rather dramatically though it now hung down towards the ground. "That did not go quite as hoped." She sighed, tail swishing. "I hope that so-called nunh hasn't ruined our opportunity to speak with D'themia." "I'm sure things will work out quite alright. Not much we can do about it at the moment. We have no proof that these particular individuals are interfering in this investigation. If we find out later that they were... we can certainly charge them with obstruction, but as it stands at least we are inside and comfortable," responded Lamandu, shrugging. Lamandu's words may have been intended to calm, but they only spurred further thought from Antimony. Silence fell between them, broken only by the faint, rapid tapping of the older woman's foot against the floor. Her brow knit together, and she frowned vaguely towards the lalafell, churning over a number of private thoughts. She lasted all of one minute before spinning around towards the stairs. "No, I won't do it! I will not take being treated this way!" Pulling herself up to her full height and drawing in a deep breath, she made for the stairs. "With me, Captain. We will see this done, whether they like it or not!" Narrowing his eyes at the almost war-like declaration, the sense of gravitas did not come onto Lamandu as it seemingly found its way into Antimony. "And throw this progress that we have made away? No, patience is a virtue, I am surprised you have not learned that in your age. This is likely what saw you thrown into jail the first time, and almost saw us needing militant force at the gate." "I've seen enough at my age," the nerve of him bringing something like that up, "to know that they will not yield further unless a firmer hand is used. They will keep us here all day, waiting, in hopes that we will grow tired and... and retreat!" Her hands twisted about the strap of her satchel which she hadn't realized she'd taken up, wringing the leather until it wrinkled and cracked. She would not be driven away from this, through intimidation or through passive neglect, Antimony resolved, and ignored the small, internal suggestion that her single-minded focus was perhaps a touch too zealous and perhaps somewhat motivated by... other things. "Now get up here with me and do your part." She began to climb the stairs. Frowning, Lamandu considers his position, or rather that he wasn't really allowed to have one at this time. Even if she didn't realize it at this very moment, Antimony had the potential to make his life quite miserable if she so chose to. So, the lalafell dragged himself to his feet, following at the woman at as slow a pace as he could manage without actively seeming to be trying to lag behind, "Of course ma'am. This is your operation. I was merely playing the part of an advisor. But obviously you have no need for one." He followed that up with a mumbled opinion of his own, "Not that you haven't needed one in the past." *** "D'edy Nunh!" The puffball-haired Miqo'te lunged at the thin man. He paused and looked over his shoulder as the small woman came at it, even smaller than she was and thin besides. His shaggy ears bounced under his saggy hair, and for a moment he looked petrified, before a smile broke over his face like a crack in a mirror and he slipped away from the huntress with surprisingly deft movements. The woman fell to the marble floor with a huff. "Sorry, sis!" the thin Nunh announced, backpedaling down the hallway with light, dance-like footsteps. "You know how I can be once I'm interested in something!" He noticed Antimony's head cresting the top of the stairs in that moment, and waved to her briefly. Then, in an attempt to keep the attention on himself, he spun and began to careen down the hall, shouting, "D'themiaaa! Aren't you supposed to be in a meeeeting?" "D'edy shut up!" The huntress stuggled to her feet and gave chase again. "This is not the day for this shit!" Past several elegantly adorned stone doors lining the curving hallway, D'edy threw open a door through which light poured. He took a moment to cringe at the light, then shrugged and ran in. The huntress pursued him. *** Lamandu's protests fell on willfully deaf ears as Antimony started her way up the stairs. She could hear shouts above them - presumably the huntress and that pretend nunh - though the winding stairs bounced the sound around to make the words difficult to distinguish. She crested the top of the stairs just as the huntress's fluffy tail disappeared around a sharp curve in the hallway they spilled onto, D'edy's voice a fading echo. Holding the satchel to her chest, Antimony stepped into the hall and looked to either side, up the towering walls and to the doors. Several moments passed where the scene felt disturbingly still and silent, with Antimony poised at the front of the hall as she considered her next move. She heard Lamandu come up behind her and glanced down at the lalafell, managing something of an apologetic look. "I suppose it's alright to assume that man knows where he is going. Better than intruding on every room in this place," she gave a very brief smile and then was off again, her tail trailing behind her like a banner. The click of her shoes echoed strangely in the stone hall, but she could not allow the sense of being a foreigner to dissuade her. She rounded the same curve D'edy and the huntress had taken, caught sight of the broad door flung open and left invitingly a short ways further, and regathered her determination before continuing towards it. Lamandu followed with a sigh, he had rather been hoping that this entire thing would fall apart on the basis the Dodo's stall tactics. They were experts on the subject, unfortunately it seemed that Antimony was too obsessed with this whole bit, not that it came as a surprise. So he followed the lady at a slow pace, not particularly willing to speed the process up, "As you say Ma'am," he replied to her comment on pursuing D'edy. *** The door that D'edy had fled into was a portal into somber air. The broad room it opened onto recalled the "waiting room" where Antimony and the others had been left, albeit smaller and more intimately furnished. Its outer wall was a broad window, letting dry desert air and sunlight fill up the strangely shaped, only vaguely round-ish room. At the center ere odd pieces of furniture that seemed like soft tables or short daybeds twisted into irregular shapes, adorned in pillows and dappled with flat surfaces on which sat incense, decanters, or polished crystal cups. There were three huntresses in the room, dressed in white, before the dandelion-haired huntress chased D'edy Nunh into the room and became the fourth huntress present. The huntress immediately stopped, as though beached against the dire mood of the room, and whispered, "I am so sorry." D'edy vaulted one of the daybeds, trailing drops of red wine from his soaked robes, and landing in the middle of the room he interrupted a conversation that had been carrying in slow, heavy tones, between two men seated opposite one another. The thin Nunh with the fuzzy ears seemed singularly unaffected by the serious looks and tones of the others, spinning and falling back onto the red satin bed with a heavy thump that sent two pillows rolling across the floor. The men at the center of the room rose straight, lifting their heads from their discussion and giving the sandy cat confused looks. One of them was a Hyur in white and silver armor. The other, a Miqo'te with dark brown skin and light hair, twisted his craggy features in annoyance. "D'edy." "I'm so sorry," the Nunh said, mocking the tone of the woman that had chased him. He sat up and smacked the floor with his bare feet, grinning. "There are no naked women in here. Is this an actual meeting? Tell me what it's about!" The huntresses lining the walls exchanged looks, though they remained stationary where they were, with their lances in their hands and their stances relaxed. Dandelion-head slinked back towards the wall and tried to pretend she belonged among them. Meanwhile the craggy man snarled at D'edy. "Take a guess, Nunh." "Pardon," the Hyur leaned forward, gestured to D'edy, "Is this man-" "No!" The craggy Miqo'te snapped. D'edy pouted, though his ears popped up happily, "I am. I definitely am." Another growl, "Are what, D'edy?" "I'm not sure." "Wait outside!" Antimony continued her two-person parade down the hall, to the door, and then through the door without even a breath of hesitation. She had set her features into as firm and professional a look as she was possibly capable of, with a touch of impatience to drive home her point of no-more-messing-around-with-Anti. Upon entering the room D'edy had disappeared into, her eyes went first to the huntresses in white, and she stifled a flare of nerves before taking a few more steps inside. She could only hope Captain Tyremandu had not abandoned her and was right behind, prepared to offer the support of the Brass Blades. She wasn't quite sure what she would do if he had fled. Her eyes passed over the strange furnishings without really seeing them, snapping instead to the cluster of men further back in the room. One she recognized as the self-proclaimed nunh; the others were strangers to her. Well, there was really nothing else to it now. Antimony cleared her throat, put her feet together, drew her chin up, and announced, "Excuse my interrupting, but as a representative of the Commerce Regulation Agency and backed by the Brass Blades, I must meet with D'themia Nunh to discuss a financial matter of grave importance." Still trailing behind the small train of Miqo'te, Lamandu considered turning back and leaving Antimony to the Dodos, sure that she wouldn't last. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure that the Elezen would track him down and make good on the blackmail threats. So he moved into the meeting room behind the woman, standing as tall as one of his kind could. If he had to do this may as well do it in full measure, his blades uniform in full view. He holds out a hand "We apologize for this interruption, we had not intended to in this manner. But you need to come speak with us concerning certain matters." D'edy Nunh let out a small, silent cheer in approval of the interlopers' appearance, and as soon as all eyes in the room turned to Antimony and Lamandu, D'edy was on his feet again. The fuzzy-eared, thin tail man appeared overwhelmed by a need to stay in motion, like a bird that would drop out of the sky if it quit spinning in circles. D'edy walked the open space along the broad, open window, where the white stone met the brown-yellow wall. Occasionally he stepped up into the gap of the window, swinging one arm out into the open air, but stepped right back down again. Of the two men in the center of the room, the first to stand was the Miqo'te man, his broad golden tail sweeping elegantly behind him as he turned and gave Antimony a bit of a wide-eyed look, though his features remained in check. His face was not elegant as his gestures, cast in dark, rigid lines, with deep, dark eyes and a mouth that seemed carved into a permanent frown. The man spoke with a tone of obvious restraint, surmounting his surprise at the woman's interest to say, "Ah. Welcome. It's..." he shook his head. "Antimony Jhanhi." He looked to the Lalafel, "And with her, the lauded-" "Lamandu Tyremandu!" The hyur man snapped to his feet, wide-eyed and open-jawed as though some long-absent nemesis had just entered the room. His silver armor clattered with the movement, light hair shifting over his features. "I hadn't thought these issues connected! Do you mean to tell me your Blades are involved in this, Tyremandu?" Walking along the wall, D'edy laughed at the hyur's reaction. He hopped up into the window and began to walk the thin line of the wall between the wall and the long fall from the tower to the Husting's Strip. One or two of the huntresses gave him sparse attention, but it was dandelion-head, still looking out of place, who hissed in a whisper, "D'edy, get down from there!" "Now." The Miqo'te man in the center of the room held out a calming hand to the Hyur man. "I will be pleased to welcome the Captain and the Witch of the Sagolii into this discussion." He inclined his head to Antimony and Lamandu, "I am D'themia Nunh, and my friend here is Bayard Learner of the Sultansworn. If you would please recall Mister Carceri, who I believe just left?"

Antimony arrived at the base of the commune's entry tower considerably earlier than the time at which she had agreed to meet Amaury and Lamandu. She had ordered a "morning tea" at the Quicksand before leaving to chase away lingering sleep from the past two near-sleepless nights and now alternately stood and paced near the door to the spiral staircase. The satchel that hung across her shoulder - the one that did not still ache from horrible things - was heavy with documents. A copy of the summary report. Copies of raw data. Of transactional documents. Everything she thought they could possibly need to throw at the Dodos to get them to give way. She could only hope the Captain held up his end of the deal. Even if she hated the deal. It made her feel too much like a criminal, as well. She stood and waited. Then paced and waited. Rubbed at the ache in her shoulder. Paced some more. Meanwhile, her thoughts bounced between the papers and their information in her bag and another, much more personal dilemma involving the Dodos. Lamandu carried with him a hard leather case, with tabbed and organized documents tracing under ground doings of the Dodo tribe. The sort of thing that under normal circumstance would have been used to levy charges against a cartel once enough evidence had been massed. These had instead been filed away, purpousely forgotten until they now had use. He was wearing his freshly pressed officer's garb, meant for formal occasions as he walked to the Dodo compound, an older, familiar face standing at the tower's foot. Pressing a tight smile to his face, he nodded greeting to the woman. "I can see your... friend hasn't arrived yet. We are better for it, are we not?" Amaury was indeed late. He had probably slept more than he should have. Having an actual bed after twenty years in prison did that to men. Animony peered down at the lalafell, blinking behind the slight glare of a nearby lantern upon her glasses. Her weight shifted, her hands clasping low in front of her as she stilled her pacing. "Good morning, Captain." She thought back over his words, one ear twitching. "I hope you're not suggesting we don't require Mister Amaury." The Captain reached up to pull thoughtfully at his goatee, "Hmm? Now why would I suggest such a thing, when he gives out such good threats? I'm sure he'll fit right in with the Dodos." The corners of her lips pursed inwards and down. "I didn't... well, I didn't enjoy doing that to you." "Didn't enjoy threatening the liveihood of men? Isn't that what you do for a job though? I imagine that not many welcome you audits, including those that we are going to speak to now." Her ears splayed sideways. "That... is not... Regardless! We're waiting for Mister Amaury!" Amaury finally showed up, as if called, apparently carrying nothing. He was wearing the same blue robe and white boots he had used in their previous meeting. Buying a new wardrobe was not one of his highest priorities. Lamandu said quietly as the other man approached, "Well, you got your wish I suppose." "Good morning" Amaury greeted the other two as soon as he was close enough. Antimony gave a relieved look to no one in particular and turned to greet the elezen with a small wave and a bow of her head. "Shall we?" the elezen asked, more a statement than a question, accompanying the words with a slight gesture towards the Dodo commune. Drawing herself up as though to make herself taller, or appear more confident, or generally just be professional, Antimony took a breath and nodded. "Yes. We are as prepared as we shall ever be." She chanced a brief, uncertain glance down at Lamandu and then turned to lead the group through the door and up the rather impressive spiralling stairs. Frowning, Lamandu said, "You do remember the paper trail that you promised me?" he hefts the case in his hand, "I brought the replacements." "Good. I brought the originals." A hand slipped into Amaury's robe and then emerged with a large envelope, the papers folded and likely cramped inside. He handed it to him. "Do not mix them together. That would be so terrible." Looking back over her shoulder as she climbed, Antimony suppressed a grimace - either at the act of handing over such incriminating evidence, or their appalling lack of organization, or perhaps both. The lalafell takes them, smirking, "I'm sure you would be greatly saddened." He takes a peek at a few of the pages before stuffing them back into the envelope and tucking them into a back pocket of the case that he carried. "Well, let us do what we came to." "Climbing stairs is the first step,” said the Elezen. “Or the first few hundred steps, perhaps." Climbing the stairs was just as arduous a task as it had been the first two times Antimony had done this. She wondered if maybe she was slightly less out of breath by the time she reached the top, but more likely it was just her imagination. The rolling dunes of the Sagolii were a very different beast from a spiralling staircase, especially when one had been so long from the dunes as she. Antimony paused to make sure Amaury and the Captain were behind her before pulling in a steadying breath and opening the door. The guard standing just outside was only half a surprise, and a few seconds passed where she frantically tried to figure out if the guard was the same as the last time. Then she cleared her throat and, hopefully in a professional but demanding tone, announced, "I've come on behalf of the Commerce Regulation Agency and with the backing of the Brass Blades. I demand entrance and to speak with your nunh." Amaury took a few seconds to catch his breath before straigthening and looking like his normal self again. Wicking away droplets of sweat, Lamandu steps up next to Antimony, holding out his badge as identification to the guard. "We merely have a few questions for the man, if you would not mind." The huntress was a lumbering Miqo'te, taller than any Mitqo'te should be. She looked like she had the blood of an Elezen in her -- a very boring Elezen. Her very dark face remained neutral as she turned woodenly, like a potted plant being rotated. The lance on her back was a well-craftd Ishguardian export, her armor white. She blinked at Antimony, then down to the Lalafel. Then back to Antimony. "Hm?" "Your nunh, D'themia? We need to speak with him. Lead us to him, if you would be so kind." Darting her eyes down to the lalafell, and then back up to the towering miqo'te - she didn't think she recognized her - Antimony nodded. Her tail flicked once, belying her discomfort. "Yes. We have matters of, ah, business and finance to discuss with him. So if you'll please...?" Blinking again, the woman's tail flicked. She lifted her hands to rest htem on her hips, the movement glacial. She blinked. "D'themia is in a meeting." "If your tribe had been more friendly to the last auditor that visited, we might have been willing to wait. Sadly, your Nunh has been evading the matter for longer than reason would allow." Amaury looked at Lamandu, wondering if bringing the captain was going to have any effect at all. Lamandu spoke up again, having put his badge away, "This is Blades business, miss. You really don't have choice in the matter, if you don't cooperate, you'll have to be brought up on charges of impeding an ongoing investigation." Happy with both Amaury's and Lamandu's words, Antimony settled for just looking as official as she could possibly manage, leveling an expectant expression on the statue pretending to be a miqo'te. “He's in a meeting. Not here." She blinked again, large, dark eyes, and looked down at Lamandu. She stared at him for a moment and then looked sideways at Antimony. Finally, she spoe to Amaury. "You'll have to wait for him to return." "Where?" came the question from the elezen, looking unconvinced. Then he clarified: "Where is this meeting of his?" Antimony frowned. "That is what I was told the last ti--" She stopped herself, shook her ears, lifted her chin. "Take us to his office now, please." Lamandu added, “Or his meeting place, whichever would be more expiedient, if you would." "I can't disclose where he is meeting or for how long," the woman said. She sounded neither bored nor thoughtful. She was reciting the words from a script. "He does not have an office. The commune is closed to outsiders with no business. You can wait elsewhere and we will send someone to retrieve you." Lamandu shakes his head, "I believe that you misunderstand miss. This isnt a request, we are on Blades business and are here on the business of an investigation that D'themia is involved in. You may not deny us entry." "Please do us a favour and not make me have to haul you off to the hold." Antimony huffed, nodded at Lamandu's words, and tried to keep her tail from fuzzing out anxiously. "This is a legal investigation and you cannot impede us!" Amaury gazed at the woman with some pity. "Let me explain: if you do not allow us to see your Nunh now our return will be pretty loud. Just imagine it. Instead of two auditors escorted by our good diplomatic captain here, escorted by half a dozen noisy Blades with just enough legal justification to open this door and march inside your commune, with you in backpedaling in front, unable to stop them. Wouldn't that be terrible?" He paused and then shruged. "Or you can let us in and we will solve this matter quietly with the Nunh." Antimony's ears only spent a few seconds pressed back against her head at the thought of being escorted by a swarm of Brass Blades. The woman blinked again. Her tail twitched. Finally, she frowned. "I assume you came with a warrant?" "Did we come with--of course we came with a warrant!" She pulled herself back together and frowned expectantly at the Captain. He frowns, before reaching inside his lapel, "Of course. I had merely hoped for cooperation without it." Lamandu draws the folded sheet of paper out, handing it to the much taller woman. "Please don't break it." Amaury said to the guard, his words still pouring with diplomatic experise. "That would be illegal." The woman doesn't take the paper. She recites, "You may wait in the commune. It will be in a place out of sight from the rest of the commune. I can not tell you how long you will be waiting." Her tail shivered, and she took an inordinately long breath, but when Antimony spoke it was largely calm, "I should hope it won't be overly long. Or we... will leave and return with those my colleague mentioned." Instead of talking to the guard again, Amaury turned to the lalafell. "Captain, this woman seems to be under the wrong impression that our investigation is a joke. Maybe you should call your men so that we can enter and let the whole commune see and hear us." "She is just doing as she's been commanded, loyal dog, I'm sure. We can find our own way dog." Lamandu says to the guard. In a sudden motion, the woman ripped her lance from her back, swinging it down beside her and slamming it into the floor so hard that it cracks the stone and creates a hard metallic clang that echoes through the commune. Well behind her, near the found, well-dressed Miqo'te who had been in conversation pause and look over. Huntresses standing near the other bridges and towers glance their way. The hair on the massive woman's tail stood out as it flicked behind her, a furtive shadow about her calves. Her face scrunched up hideously, and her voice trembled in her chest. "Perhaps YOU are under the impression that this tribe is a joke! YOU have no place here. YOU will show respect and professionalism, for both your task and mine. You may enter as you are instructed or leave as you wish. If your beastkin brains cannot understand that, we have nothing to talk about." Antimony jumped at the sound, ears pressing flat back before she protested, "This entire issue could be resolved quite easily by simply taking us to D'themia Nunh so that we may resolve our legal matters! There's no--no need for any of this--this... well!" "And you are now threatening an officer of Blades and his associates,” Lamandu said this as he perched his hand on the ceremonial sword strapped to his belt, “When you are legally obliged to let us pass and speak with your nunh. You are the one turning this into a joke and making a scene. Stand down or you will be arrested. That is a last warning, miss." Amaury sighed, rubbing one brow. "Smash that spear on the ground all you wish, for that is all you can do. You are not outside of Ul'dah. You and your tribe must abide to its laws. Not to mention it will be very awkward of you to explain to D'themia why you made such a scene once we have cleared our investigation with him." He then glanced at Lamandu and silently wondered if Blades used linkpearls. The huntress bit down hard on her teeth. "Obscene vilekin with no talent for negotiation. A warrant does not grant you unlimited access to the entire commune. Oh, no, and I cannot give you unlimited access to D'themia Nunh because he has not told anyone where he has gone. Is my INVITING you to wait in the commune not sufficient concession? No, no." "Of course it isn't,” Amaury said. “Let's assume he is indeed not here. Who's left in charge?" Antimony's hands flexed at her waist, "Now wait! Just--just wait!" She turned to Amaury, Lamandau. "Waiting for a short time won't hurt anyone, will it? And she's at least letting us inside, which is--well, it's more than... ah! If D'themia Nunh doesn't appear quickly, we can always press the matter further... yes?" Lamandu looks to Antimony, "Yes, of course." He turns back to the guard, "If you had mentioned this course of events earlier, we could have avoided unneeded drama. My assocaite does bring up a good point in this though, if D'themia is not around, we would speak with his second." “She... did," Antimony muttered faintly and then turned back to the guard-woman-statue with the scary weapon. "I will keep that in mind." The massive woman drags the point of her lance across the ground, making an extremely unpleasant noise, which the Miqo'te near the fountain cringe at. The other huntresses, mostly out of earshot, are at least wearing unapproving looks. "Follow. Do not wander. I assume you are capable of such a task." She stepped back and turned, the movement stiff, her weapon dragging as she moved. Amaury lifted a brow and prepared to follow by...following. "If I didn't know anything about Ul'dahn nobility I would expect those noises to be some kind of convoluted alarm." he commented to the other two. Unwilling to look a gift chocobo in the mouth, Antimony hastened to follow. She didn't actually have to hurry, thanks to the guard's stiff pace, though. She also very deliberately did not look towards the fountain, on the off chance that she might spy any familiar faces. "Let's not--let's not make any undue assumptions!" "Hmm." He follows without further comment on the matter. The very tall Miqo'te would lead them through the courtyard, around the fountain, past the silent, cringing Miqo'te women wrapped in fine silk in gemstones and trying to pretend they haven't notice what's going on. The sound of the dragging lance continues the whole way, leaving a long, ugly line in the floor. The other huntresses just watch her, wide-eyed, bemused and a little concerned. As the tree-like huntress leads them towards the bridge that would take them to the largest, most extravagant tower of the commune, she passes a much smaller huntress whom Antimony might recognize. A thick puff of hair like a dandelion bounces as the second huntress steps over and lifts the lance's tip off the ground, saying cherrily, "We're just going to stop doing this now." "Excellent. Our ears will appreciate it." Antimony winced, bowed her head briefly in some sort of agreement, and then looked up towards the tower. "You're taking us inside, then?" She questioned the guard. Ah, progress! Dandelion-head pulled the lance from the tree-woman's hand -- which did not cause the furious huntress to pause in the least -- and then trotted along behind her as she fastened it on the woman's back on her behalf. As she did this, she said jokingly to Antimony, "Congratulations on not getting incarcerated this time! You still look like a beggar, but you're doing so much better!" As they approached the primary tower, the balconies near its roof would cast shadow over them. Vast windows decorated the tower, and the tapestries adorned with the rather indiscernible seal of the tribe hung on either side of the main door. "Erm," Antimony managed in reply, visibly flustered by dandelion-head's comment. Lamandu glanced around them, "That is because we are here with a warrant this time." The tree-like Miqo'te exhaled a growl, which made dandelion-head gasp and whisper, "Oh no. You've made her angry." The puff-ball-haired huntress stopped walking, letting the party move ahead of her, and said, "Warrants won't help too much if you do not accurately play your audience. Bye, now." "Yes, we will make sure to bow our heads and apologize." Amaury joked. Tail lashing once, stiffly, Antimony muttered, "Perhaps you should! You could at least be polite." "Politeness was my first approach. Unfortunately, that doesn't always garner results here," replies Lamandu. The tree-like Miqo'te growled once more as she pushed the main door open. As it swung heavily inward, there was a loud thud and movement as the woman evidently hit someone with the door, but she didn't stop to worry herself about it. She kept pushing the door open until whomever was behind it was completely trapped against a wall to the left of the entrance, and left it there as she motioned for the trio of interloppers to proceed into the foyer. The foyer was remarkably furnished. A large room with a marble foor and large, wide-open windows -- that did not look as if they could be closed -- was furnished with no tradiitional seating of any kind. The floor had three tiers, the lowest being in the center of the room and stocked with a number of pillows situated around low-tables. Bowls of incense, lit and burning, sat upon the tables, a few near hookahs or empty crystal cups near full bottles of water. Antimony wrinkled her nose briefly at the heady aroma of incense - no scent she could recognize - and cast her eyes about the foyer. Then to their escort, as she made to step past to large woman, intent on moving further into the tower. "How long do you expect D'themia Nunh to be?" she said as she did this. Lamandu answered, "I believe that she said earlier, a long time. Especially because she does not know where he is. In other words, we should make ourselves comfortable." The woman harumphed and leaned against the door, lance clacking against it, arms crossed. "You could let her answer!" Antimony chided the lalafell captain, already feeling antsy at the prospect of waiting in this place. Tail curling up behind her, she cast a half-frown in the tree-woman's direction. The short man shrugs, "She still can. I am not taking away her words." He glances back at the tree-like Miqo'te before walking over towards one of the tables with seat pillows arranged around it. Amaury chose remain standing, bowing his head slightly to the guard. "Thank you." he said unceremoniously before walking very slowly around the place, admiring the expensive room and almost feeling sick about it. The very large Miqo'te stood glaring against the open door. She glanced out the door to the bridge as though waiting for something, then returned her glare to the people in the room. An exceedingly timid knock came from the door against which the woman leaned, cueing her to step forward and throw the door shut. This revealed to rather thin, short Miqo'te man who had been trapped against the wall when she pulled the door open. He collapsed forward, freed from what must have been the crushing weight of the door and the massive woman. He nodded thanks for being free. The tree-like woman tried to ignore him. Lamandu sat down on the cushions, looking quite at home admidst all the finery and trails of smoke that crossed through the room on the breeze. "I..." Antimony blinked at the man, then at the tower-turned-woman, and back and forth a few times before shaking her ears and continuing, "I apologize. I never, ah, never asked your name...?" This elicited a huff from the woman. The man, on the other hand, dusted off his silk trappings -- more of a half-robe than anything, as if someone had taken tribal wraps and tried to make a modernized fashion statement with them -- and with a smile and lazy swivel of his ears hastened into the room to join Lamandu on the dispersed pillows. "Hello," he greeted, without hesitation. The lalafel looked over sideways, at the strange, formally squished man, "Hello. And... you are...?" Amaury couldn't recognize if the greeting was directed only to the lalafell or to everyone in general. So he chose to be polite just in case, nodding and then resuming his walk. Antimony persisted in watching the guard women for several seconds before sighing, her tail twitching rapidly at the tip. Thin fingers brushed some stray hair that had somehow freed itself from a braid and tucked it around her glasses as she half turned to blink at Lamandu and the... she could only assume he was a Dodo tia. Her brow furrowed just slightly as she searched for any familial resemblance to D'hein. The sandy-haired man with the fluffy ears and very thin tail dropped himself onto a pillow near Lamandu, grinning. "D'edy Nunh." He pushed the hookah on the table towards the Lalafel and said, "Try it. Very relaxing." Antimony's ears tilted at odd angles in confusion. "This is business, Captain Tyremandu. That would hardly be appropriate." Then a pause and, "Nunh? I wasn't aware your tribe allowed for more than one." The Captain didn't take Antimony's advice and accepted the nunh's offer, unhooking one of the pipes from its keeper. He took in a breath from it, before releasing the resulting smoke from his mouth. "It seems different nunh have different degrees of authority. I imagine D'themia doesn't get trapped and forgotten behind doors." Amaury commented. Antimony frowned. "That's not how it's supposed to..." The fuzzy ears bounced on his head. "Oh, it's not like that. I don't want to cause problems, so I don't complain. D'themia's good at things." The huntress muttered, "You're not supposed to talk about those things with outsiders..." But the Nunh ignored her. Antimony bit her tongue, unwilling to really question the chosen family-societal structure of another tribe outright. Still, it was confusing. "Good at what?" Her tail curled at her own words and she forced her green eyes to wander the room a bit. "Good at money and talking, I believe. But feel free to elaborate, D'edy." The lalafell leans into the pile of cushions. "That's pretty much what I mean!" The meager Nunh stood, spun, took up one of the decanters and a cup and poured a glass. "He's better at running the tribe and being respected and dealing with the women and all of that. Who's thirsty?" One of Antimony's ears twitched but, after a lengthy pause, she seemed to finally resign herself to at least some duration of a wait. The satchel she carried was slid from her shoulder to the ground, the action inspiring a wince and a ginger rubbing of her opposite shoulder. Then she just stood and fidgeted before thinking it might be rude to refuse the nunh's offer so she added, "I will take some water, if you don't mind." "I am good, thank you." the elezen said. Lifting a finger up, Lamandu let his wish be known, "A glass of wine would be lovely, thank you, good sir." D'edy Nunh happily filled a cup for Lamandu and set it in front of him. "So, why are you all here? Must be a good reason if you're... here." It's not precisely something we can, ah, discuss in detail with just anyone," Antimony ventured slowly, pursing her lips. "We're to speak to D'themia on legal matters." After taking in another breath of the hookah, Lamandu settled the pipe back into its keeper, "Unfortunately, he is in an unknown meeting, so we were brought here... to wait." Setting aside the decanter and reaching for one of the crystal flasks, D'edy poured another cup to offer to Antimony, saying, "Ah, yes, that's the basic idea. He's always in meetings. And I'm always here. I guess I could do a few meetings once in awhile but the wine is better here." The tree-like woman stomped her feet loudly, but D'edy continued to ignore her. "Where are the meetings held?" Amaury asked plainly. Antimony accepted the water with a slight dipping of her head and ears. She shifted her gaze towards their guard-escort-statue, looking unnerved by the woman's continued displays of displeasure. "And when might D'Themia be free, if at all?" "I don't know. I don't remember him going anywhere today." D'edy chuckled, returning the the decanter and pouring himself some wine. Then two more glasses without explanation. "He's probably having more 'meeting's with the women. That can take... hooooours." The tree-like woman stopped her foot again, growling at the Nunh, "You're not even supposed to be downstairs." D'edy trotted over in front of the woman, clearly afraid to get very close to her, and put one of the glasses of wine on the floor in front of her. "And this is for you." The Captain reached forward for his own glass, "Then might you be able to help us in his stead? As was mentioned earlier, we are on official business, as comfortable as it is in here." He motioned at the room, glass in hand, finishing off with the wine at the tip of his mouth about to sip from it. Spinning back around to Lamandu, Antimony nearly dropped her water. "Aah--I don't think that is a good idea!" She winced, ears fidgeting. "Everything needs to be done according to protocol or.. well, or the whole thing could collapse." "We won't discuss this with anyone but D'themia." said Amaury. He took some steps to turn around and face the guard, only a few meters beyond her. "If he does not receive us soon I will simply hand the paperwork to the Sultansworn and let them organize a meeting with us." "Well you all are very serious," D'edy Nunh dropped himself into some pillows and said, "You shouldn't leave until you've had something drink. That would just make the Dodos appear very rude, wouldn't it?" "I don't wish to leave until I've spoken with D'themia Nunh," Antimony stated plainly, though she did drink from her glass afterward. She liked to imagine it punctuated her statement. It probably didn't. She felt a bit silly after that thought and darted her eyes towards the guard woman and then D'edy. Lamandu sipped at his wine, "Well, so much for that idea. When Antimony puts her mind to something, that is that. Seemingly, anyway!" "Miss Antimony" Amaury started his inquiry turning around quickly on one foot. "Did the Agency issue you a linkpearl? And did you bring it?" "A link...?" She trailed off, blinked in some sort of confused surprise. "Well, now that you... yes, they did. Ah, I don't know if..." Dropping carefully to her knees, she began to dig around in her satchel. Amaury waited. Lamandu drank more wine, directing a question towards the Elezen, "What were you hoping to get from a link pearl... Mister?" "Amaury." the elezen completed the lalafell's sentence. "And I'm hoping to expedite my work." The tree-like huntress nudged the glass of wine that D'edy had placed before her and it fell over, spilling wine on the floor. The Nunh immediately rolled to his feet and dashed over to clean it up, sopping it up with the slack from a silken cinch on his clothes. He does this wordlessly, on reflex, the same way someone would automatically try to catch something thrown to them. Antimony's searching slowed momentarily as the nunh scrambled to clean up the spilled wine, her head and ears turning to watch him sideways. It occurred to her that he wasn't really behaving like a nunh - not any that she had ever known, at least. Her tail swished across the floor when her fingers brushed against something small and round lodged into one far corner of her satchel, and she retrieved it hastily. Eyes still half on the nunh, Antimony said to Amaury, "It seems.. ah, I have it, yes. What do you need...?" "Hmmph. Then please, do so,” Lamandu was saying to Amaury, “Though, I have to say, the waiting area that the Dodos have, is not so bad." “Yes, it's the kind of joyful place where you could lose track of time and forget what you came to do in the first place." said the elezen to the captain and then turned to Antimony. "Good. Keep it close to hand. We don't know how long it might take mister D'themia to...do whatever it is he is doing, if he ever finishes, so I will visit proceed with the next step in the investigation. Mostly to save time." He paused to get a long breath for no reason. "I'm sure the captain will keep you company." "Ah... What?" Antimony's brow knit together. "And what is the next step then? ... Amaury? This was the 'next step', or so I had thought," reasoned Lamandu. "I'll let the Sultansworn know about the financial... 'anomalies' and the 'incident' that had miss Antimony be in jail unfairly. That was the step that followed this next step we are currently in." he explained, not really sure of how that last part could be understood. "I have a pearl myself, so if D'themia decides to meet you soon after I leave please do inform me so I can reassess if this step is needed, or if more would be." Pushing herself to her feet, Antimony frowned at the linkpearl in her hand and then up at the dark-haired elezen. "I suppose that seems reasonable..." Her tail swung behind her in anxious thought and then a moment later she nodded. "I will keep you informed." "You haven't had anything to drink yet!" Protested D'edy Nunh from where he was mopping up spilled wine. The huntress said, "You intend to exit the commune? I cannot guarantee you will be permitted to return." Lamandu squinted his eyes at the man, unsure of why he was brought into this, if the Elezen had already intended to bring the Sultansworn into this. "We had discussed this before Amaury, the Sultansworn are not normally involved in this sort of matter. But you are of course, free to go to them." "I was hopping we could settle this matter in a much simpler fashion." he answered to the lalafell. "Your help is appreciated, captain. I won't forget. Please stay with miss Antimony and assist her as planned." He turned around and headed out. "Farewell, gentlemen. Miss Antimony." The huntress boldly blocked Amaury's path, "You can't wander around unaccompanied." The guard woman cut off whatever good bye Antimony had been about to offer. "Then you should accompany me, or trust that I know the way out." he smiled. The Captain patted the cushions next to him, "Come sit down Antimony, it looks like there will still be some wait ahead of us. You may as well be comfortable." The tree-like woman levels a glare a D'edy -- he smiles in response -- before instructing Amaury, "Come with me. And hurry. I won't have you wating any more of my time with your impatience while I restrain my own." Amaury just followed. As the two exited, Antimony remained standing despite Lamandu's initial invitation. Her hands wrung together by her waist, the linkpearl clutched in one, while her tail fidgeted behind her. "So!" D'edy stood and spun on his heels, "What are we investigating? Will it cause any fun drama? Get anyone in trouble?" Antimony winced, rubbed at the bridge of her nose with one hand. "Apologies. We... should not discuss details with you, I do not think." Sipping his wine, Lamandu gestured towards the elder woman, "This investigation is really her thing, I am merely a pawn in it, as you could be as well, D'edy, if you really wished to partake. I am not certain it is in your best interest though." He paused for a moment, thinking that over, "On second thought though... it very well could be in your interest to. It would look good for you in the long haul." "I don't worry too much about looking good. I just find it interesting that you're around." He pointed at the door, "What is telling the sultansworn about it going to help?" "As I said, it is in part a legal matter," Antimony began, looking uncertain about her words, "and so they may be able to assist if there are any difficulties on, ah... that end." Bending, she dropped the linkpearl back into her satchel, comfortable in knowing of its presence. "I do not know what your friend has planned Antimony, this matter really is more Blades territory. I'm sure that it will be... interesting. You really should sit down though. And perhaps have a glass of wine with us?" "I, ah..." She blinked, thought back to that unfortunately tearful night in the Quicksand and then muttered, "I don't particularly want that kind of drink. I would rather focus on my job." "But you do not wish to try to recruit D'edy onto our purposes? What else is there to do at the moment? Do you wish to go over the files that I brought with me perhaps?" Asked the lalafel. "You just... standing there is making me a bit uncomfortable, you understand?" Swinging his wine-soaked sash around, D'edy muttered, "I bet D'themia would want to know if people were calling the Sultansworn into the commune." Lamandu seemed to have almost reached the bottom of his wine glass, and on hearing muttering, inquired, "What was that you said, good ser?" He leaned a bit towards the man, as if the miniscule distance would actually help him hear better.

Ahah. I had a really hard time following the tells.

It depends on the lore of the sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Just because something fits into the fantasy genre doesn't mean it has to reuse the same tropes over and over again. Marrying someone who makes his living (meager as it is) writing science fiction and fantasy has confirmed that to me. But a Mega Man MMORPG? How is that original? It would just take existing characters and story and stick them in an MMORPG.

I used to want an Otherland MMORPG. Then they made one and it was just so disappointing. I honestly can't think of any other existing IP would want turned into an MMO. I really want more original universes, because I want to see what kinds of fun lore people can come up with. And maybe some day my dream job of science advisor to a creative team will actually exist. ;.;

Nothing will every compare to these. D: *whines about how BHS is terrible and ruined an amazing game*

I'm confused as to what the problem is. o.0;;;

I don't mind this. I loved the look of slayer and berserker in TERA haha. And while realistic armors are cool and all (alongside "normal" clothes), I like to have access to armors with flair. I actually very much adored TERA's armor designs and the detailing that went into them (the armors, not the lame as fuck cash shop costumes), with the exception of female castanic plate.

I honestly don't think it needs that many, especially if a chest and muscle tone slider are included. For females, you'd want a slim type, a curvy hourglass type, a boxy type, a more hip-y type (the "pear"), a generally "average" type, and a heavyset type. That pretty much covers everything, especially if you can adjust bust size and height (and muscle tone - gawd I am so bitter at SE for restricting the muscle tone slider to hyur and roegadyn).

Well, ESO has the advantage of being backed by 1) a studio with already a lot of money and 2) an already existing IP, so they have a lot more cash to throw at "fluff" things like expanded character creation. Though tbh I find ESO's character models utterly boring. Sure you've got body customization, but every single race has literally the exact same body model, just with slightly altered heads or a tail added. Carbine doesn't have the huge pre-funding that comes with being an already well-established studio with an existing IP, and they have had to make a number of choices. For example, the race-class restrictions are only there because they couldn't get all of the animations done for each race-class combination in time for release. There's an interview floating around out there that I can't be bothered to look up at the moment where a Carbine dev discusses body sliders and how previously they had thought they were a technical impossibility due to how they modeled and animated their characters, but it turns out they recently solved the technical problems. It's entirely possible it's something they intend to work on, and the body presets are a temporary patch. Either that or they decided to just go with body presets, which does admittedly make it easier on them when it comes to development demands. I dunno. I just really don't think body sliders are that big a deal. Preset options are fine by me as long as they look decent, though I'd really like my aforementioned chest/height/muscle tone sliders.

"Who will dance for the feast?" The former nunh maintained his heavy gaze on K'ile, the beads cupped in the palm of his weathered hand. "Perhaps that is a question you should have asked yourself before you made your decisions, tia." He stepped back away from K'ile, features somber, and let the shadows wrap about him once more. "They represent the soul of our faith, of our family. You must earn them back, for the pain you have brought us shames you in Azeyma's light." As K'jhanhi turned away, moving further back into the tent until he had all but disappeared, the elder K'deiki turned her face towards the disgraced tia. The decision on punishment had been clearly made, and she could not bring herself to object; the former nunh had been more forgiving than K'ile's own mother was prepared to be. Her near sightless eyes blinked past a watery film before she sighed out, "What of K'airos? Why has she not come?"

"And if your punishment is to be lost to the sands?" It was K'deiki of all people who said this, her ancient features unreadable in the shadows. "Give me your arm," K'jhanhi suddenly spoke and didn't wait for K'ile's response before bending with visible effort to take hold of the tia's wrist and lift it up. The red stones there flickered. "I do not want to cause our family any more grief. You will not be abandoned." He spoke without pity as his gnarled fingers grasped the bracelet to pull it up over K'ile's hand. "But you will not be gifted with the responsibility of our ancestors until such a time as you can prove your worth in bringing happiness to our family once more."

"Are you trying to get yourself exiled, firedancer?" K'jhanhi muttered, words low and bitter. "Are you trying to bring more grief to this family? More than you already have?" "Stop this," K'deiki's voice sounded from the shadows, weary, resigned. She shifted in her cloth wrappings, and there came the sound of bones clattering together as her hands moved within. "K'ile Tia, son of an exile," she uttered his name as though awarding an official title. Her head turned and the dim light of the tent caught the deep creases pulling down on her features. "It is fitting that you would bring so many exiles to us then... I think. I find myself wondering... what is the meaning in all of it."

The former nunh's face was a stormy shadow, his heavy, wrinkled brow drawn low over deep-set eyes. He shuffled a few steps towards where K'ile knelt. Off to one side, K'deiki looked away. "Tell us more, firedancer," he growled. "Leave nothing out. Not a single thought."

K'deiki bowed her head, body swaying slightly. She let silence follow K'ile's words, and the other elders seemed inclined to do the same as the weight of the tia's confessions settled into the air of the tent. She heard K'jhanhi's feet shuffling in the sand and wondered at his thoughts. He had taken the loss of his granddaughters and, shortly after, K'piru very hard. News of them alone was likely troubling enough. "These transgressions are many," she breathed. "K'ailia did return, but she was ungrateful, immovable. She could not stay. You lacked wisdom in that decision and brought much strife to our family." Another breath, that was followed by a hacking cough which shook her body violently. When she spoke next, her voice was quieter, careful to not disturb her lungs, but no less authoritative than any elder, "It does not seem that your outsider magic has done K'luha any good either. Even my old ears could hear her pain, and she has known more pain than she deserves." The withered woman lifted her head towards K'ile, though she could only barely make out the tia's form. When she spoke, her tone was almost sad, "Young K'tahjha may be your only glimpse of wisdom in your actions. The only decision of yours that has not brought pain."