Atomos: The Linguist Part 1
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Three weeks have gone by since the adventurers and several things have happened. Edward in all of the Mix has wondered off and does not appear to be in the city anymore. The book that you had to experience a attack of Atomos to obtain
has wondered off with the crazy lady wearing a mask. Tristania has not been heard from in all of this time. At the end of the third week the Enterprise flies its way into port and Cecil puts out a call if anybody from the adventuring
party has been seen in the city.
The three weeks have not been altogether uncomfortable; Unable to speak when in Talen's vicinity has been an annoyance, but a bearable one... if expensive in paper. The arrival of the Enterprise, seen from but a couple berths over, is
met with a heavy, aggrieved sigh, and once her watch is over, she sets out to collect Talen and bring him the good tidings.
Talen is easily roused from his slumber, having been taking turns watching the skies from the Doodlebug's Crow's Nest. Rubbing at his eyes, the Viera grins at the news. "So they've returned. Hopefully this is good news. Though..
where did Tristania go, I wonder, with that book?" Once upon deck, his grin becomes brighter, and he heads down the gangplank. "Let us see how the Enterprise fared on her journey back here, shall we?"
The lizard woman finds herself heading to the Enterprise again. She flips through a notebook on the way, reviewing her notes about the Atomos crisis as a whole. She sighs as she toddles along the dock. She's got no one to speak to along
the way. Seems Ainsley is ready to begin her journey, by the looks of things. She has a backpack for luggage to carry her travelling gear.
The last to arrive is Tristania; the dryad approaches barefoot and leisurely, bearing a duffel upon her book with a large, square-shaped object contained within it. The dryad's hummingbird mask is firmly in place, but she has certainly
not been idle since she was last seen. Two more wooden masks grace her form, one held over ehr right shoulder, and the other dangling from her belt over her left hip. She walks towards the Enterprise, glancing about to note the
presence of the other members of the party.
Cecil has anybody who comes to the enterprise show into the meeting room. "Hello everybody, I am glad most of you made it back to Emberstrand safely. Though where is that spider kin? Alfir has been... a pain." Holding a hand to his
head, as the mentioned spider kin crawls over the Cecils wings, "Queens! Where is Pappy zhgir?" The young spider-kin peering at the queens. "Anyways, did you find anything through that doorway that we can use to track down the
artifact?"
Talen chuckles at the long sigh from Alba, eyeing her with a light smile. "I know, my Hunter, I know." Turning to eye the wee spider-kin, he points. "Zhgir is hiding in that sack over there." Turning back to Cecil, he offers a nod to
the approaching dryad. "Tristania has a book, which she has been studying I hope, that will lead us to the Mask. Which is what we require, I believe, to summon Atomos."
Tristania pulls the duffel off her back, and extracts the book, which she's kept wrapped in leather for protection. She unwraps it, and it lands on the table with a heavy 'thump', and a bit of a cloud of lingering dust. "The book," she
states. "Which these last three weeks has resisted my attempts to read it." She pauses, inclingin her chin. "I am getting closer, however."
Cecil pulls up the book and flips it open only after a moments hesitation. He blinks and flips to another page and then another his frown becoming deeper with each flip, "This is... ancient very ancient, I can see influences of both
Hi-Lunarian and Elven. You got this from the library?" Glancing up to the group and then back to the book, "beyond my skill to read, but I do know somebody who may be able to translate it. My old professor back in Archades, Professor
Fusoya."
Alba's mask tips up to the ceiling for a moment, another heavy sigh heard. Crossing her arms over her chest, she turns to look at the rest of the group, flicking her fingers toward the Aegyl.
Talen blinks and covers his mouth with a hand, stifling the giggle that was sure to pop out had he not. "It would be Archades, wouldn't it, Cecil? And how do you propose we get to your old Professor? Who may be of a disposition to
help, however, the nation he lives in will surely try to prevent our arrival, yes?"
Tristania reaches out to gather up the book, and starts wrapping the leather around it once again. "When entering the den of Lobos," she states, "One who does not wish to be eaten would do well to kill all the Lobos, first. If this is
beyond their means..." She shrugs lightly. "Then pretend to be a Lobo."
Cecil motions over to Tristania with a frown, "Pretend to be a lobo, probably the best course of action. We will have to charter another airship or sneak in by land or sea in some shape or form. Unless you can find another master of
ancient languages like Professor Fusoya." The agyle offering a hmm as he glances back to the book as it is wrapped up, "I will have to travel with you on this one, the professor is old and picky in who he talks to these days. A old
student would be the best in. so, we need to come up with a plan now?"
The mask is pushed up, a stub of charcal and sheaf of notepaper pulled from her hip pouch. A few moment's furious scribbling, and she hands a densely-scrawled note to Cecil. [If we are to do this foolish thing, there is little room for
mistake. The disguise must be perfect.]
"Is there a way to perhaps convince him to come to us? Find a neutral spot, and send a moogle mail?" Talen rubs his chin, his ears dipping low. "To go into Archades is incredibly dangerous, even with a good disguise. And are you sure
that he would see you, without tipping off the Archadean authorities?"
"The professor is old, and picky with whom he talks to," Tristania immediately points out. "He is not going to just get up and go travelling because someone writes a note and claims to need help." She snorts. "I will cloth myself as a
leper. I have seen them in the city. That way I may wear a mask and none will question why I do so." She pauses, and tilts her head. "And perhaps people like guards will be less quick to accost us if they think their limbs may rot
off as a consequence of our meeting."
"Wait, what," Ainsley speaks up, as she realizes where the conversation had gone since she had gotten absorbed in her notes. She looks at Cecil, and then the others. "Okay, I am going to say it: I am a fugitive in Archades because their
Princess is crazier than a Terrorsaur with a back itch. My presence would be a profound risk during this trip because any Archadian authority has a good chance of recognizing who I am."
Cecil just listens to everybody for a long moment and hmms faintly, "A few things here, you are right, the professor is not going to get up and leave on just a note. He is very stubborn honestly." A glance over to Tristania and Ainsley
and the Aegyl closes his eyes a moment. "Disguies are a possibility, Ainsley here could go as a construct or something that would cover her face. Though I have honestly never seen a dryad before in Archades." Glancing over to
Tristania, "Sneaking is posisble though, as I do not think the authories would think you have the gall to walk right into the city." Eyes directed at Ainsley, "The rest of you could go as you are i am sure. We would just have to be
careful not to get noticed by the Judges. There is another option, one very risky as well. As Archades is a very old city, there are the underways, crawling with fiends, low lifes, and a maze of tunnels and turns. I know there is a
entrance to leads to the Academy. Also, they double as the cities sewer system."
The stub of charcoal skitters rapidly, one side of the paper filled, then the other, and a fresh sheet. [Wiser to disguise ourselves until the warrens are found, then remain quiet and dangerous until we reach the house of learning.
Fiends, thieves, these are lesser concerns and a simpler road, one I would trust our fortune to with more certainty.]
Talen looks a little wary and shrugs. "Both choices are undesirable and dangerous. Are you sure you couldn't perhaps encourage him to leave his cosy place of study, and come out into the field to translate something you've found,
Cecil?" The male Viera tugs lightly at one of his ears. "If I had to choose one, I suppose it would be the sewers. Yick."
Tristania shakes her head. "I cast my vote for the disguise," she states. "If we are questioned we can at least try to talk our way out of trouble. If we are caught skulking about in the sewers, we are likely to lose that option."
Cecil offers a wane smile to Talen, "If you have a way to encourage an over 200 year old Lunarian to leave I am all ears. I will send him a letter just in case, but cannot promise anything." Cecil looks to the others, "So I am hearing
a mix. If any of you can think of other options I am more than willing. The sewers is not the route I want to go either. I have already been tagged by our enemies in this and am wanted myself for crimes I didn't commit. So disguise
for me as well. Right now as it stands, two for sewers, one for disguise."
[Disguise would be well, to allow us entry into the nation. I think not that we will wish ourselves into the underways. A message would be well, and a place that we may retrieve an answer determined, once we are within the city. Leave
little to chance if it may be helped.] Alba glances up at Tristania, and lifts an eyebrow, before writing her final message. [If we must venture into a den of Lobos too numerous to slay, best we leave no chance we shall be torn apart.] Talen rubs at that ear further, letting out a breath. "I suppose mixing the two ideas could work. But.. we're walking into the lands of an enemy that wants us dead." He looks to Cecil sadly, "Does your professor friend really want
Archades to have this weapon, to use improperly? This goes far beyond attempting to harness the Mists for ill, or waging war against people who have little chance of fighting back. Would not the idea of Archades using this to eradicate
the very memories of things be at odds with any professor of antiquities?"
Cecil hmms, "oh I am sure he would not, I think. He has gone a bit senile these days, but more importantly. Would you risk sending a message with that kind of information to him? He is a known associate of mine, his mail could be
monitored. As it has been stated, we must leave nothing to chance." The Aegyl picking up a glass of something and taking a sip, "We may have to end up smuggling him out of the city, as he may not be allowed to leave even. By chance,
did anybody ever catch what the first book Edward before it was stolen written in?"
Tristania watches the debate beginning between Talen and Cecil, and leans back in her chair. She spends the time arranging her hair, after she has pushed the book back down into the duffel. "Meaningless conjecture," she interjects.
"What the professor wants or does nto want is irrelevant to our concerns. We reach him, we have him translate the book, and then we leave as swiftly as possible." She pauses, and smiles lop-sidedly. "And we are caught, we claim to be
bounty hunters bringing the lizard-girl in as our capture. ...With luck we will even be able to rescue her again before she is executed."
Cecil hmms, "oh I am sure he would not, I think. He has gone a bit senile these days, but more importantly. Would you risk sending a message with that kind of information to him? He is a known associate of mine, his mail could be
monitored. As it has been stated, we must leave nothing to chance." The Aegyl picking up a glass of something and taking a sip, "We may have to end up smuggling him out of the city, as he may not be allowed to leave even. By chance,
did anybody ever catch what the first book Edward before it was stolen written in?" Cecil blinks and glances over to Tristania, "Err resucing her from the military in middle of the captial would be impossible. That would be a death
sentance, even if it would save the rest of us. Look." He offers standing up, "We got a couple of weeks to plan this. talk among yourselves, decide what you feel is the best course of action, and be mindful, we will probably have to
smuggle the old professor out. I am going to go write my letter."
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