Active [See of Chearon] Deterrence of a Cold Case: Prelude ~ A trace of Atrocity

[Giftvi]

Scarred Wastes
A small encampment on the border of the Otenzian Empire and the See of Chearon, close to where once the beautiful Chachail had once stood.
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Goals:

• Watching of Reflection had stuck around after the actual raid mission was over, assisting for several weeks after the assignment. Sticking to the front lines to help out with any remaining bugs, which would still leave the mountain range before things truly quieted down. [Asset improvement → See of Chearon Military]

Here the scars which had been placed upon this battlefield were blindingly apparent to the eye. In this vast plain once stood a beautiful plateau of nature, a place of beautiful trees, grassland, and spotted with quant countryside housing. Of course so close to the border it had also been build around a fort, and tensions had always been high, but it had once been a true place of splendour to look at. Yet such a place no longer remained, whatever had once stood here was now desecrated. It had been burned to the ground, erased from the earth by the giant earth dragon Verdelothrondir which tore through the land, and had been devoured till almost nothing of value remained. Safe for the few dead husks of trees which had rooted so deeply into the ground they had withstood the testament of time. Till the See had conquered back so much of the land close to the southern portion of the Paizu mountain range, where it slowly dwindled off into hillside.

The land could roar in fury for the horrors it had endured, as this wasteland was marked with a horrifying amount of sinkholes, almost. Many places where the bugs had dug through themselves after Verdelonthrondir had made its passage to the east, and where much blood had been shed on both the Otenzian and Chearon sides. Though it was the Otenzian Empire which suffered the worst brunt of it, still after the aid of begotten heroes who had endured much tragedy and still prioritized their country and citizens above themselves. But the people who had raided the bugs, and drove them back to only the southern mountain ranges alone, had not yet departed from their station. It was too soon to simply depart after all, the entire encampment had to be broken down, and they had to make certain the bugs understood this wasn't to be a brief intervention. Their watchful eyes would fall upon the horrific monstrosities for years to come, if they couldn't rid themselves of their blight upon this earth sooner. And so at the dusk of evening, after days had passed since Rico's Raid and both Glacier and Watching had gone through the motions of being rewarded by the See for their heroic endeavours. It was soon to be their time to depart this place as well.

Languages: Common | <Bestial>
Mentions: Voider ​

A vegetarian stew was being passed around between the Chearon troops, and some slightly merriment by scarred men and women who had endured horrors together and lived to tell tales of such. People who above anything else needed the comfort of friendships or else before they would find their ways home. Or possibly even be stationed close to the Paizu border on the east to make certain none of the villages or forests would be further razed by these monstrosities. A positive air hang around, as the two survivors of Rico's Raid were likely participating in that themselves to some extent. Though how much it was the case was questionable, after all, neither of them likely was even able to partake in the food being served. The little critter of Watching of Reflection, which stood out even amongst this variety of ancestries found within the Fae fiddling around with the device which had been found within their mission. An unknown which brought some very major questions for the critter who had been ready to lay its life on the line for these people which it barely knew. Because it knew that is what felt right. Few of the Fae had actively questioned the device from the beginning, after all it wasn't something many had paid attention to, whether this strange outsider of theirs had brought it along from the beginning. Or whether it had found such in the dredges of those tunnels.

The two of them had become somewhat well acquainted likely just prior to the mission, but afterward in these last few days, how much contact had the two outsiders even really had with each other would be questionable? It had been quite busy after all with the personal training bestowed upon it from one of the high officers, and finding what little prey was still around here to somewhat sustain itself in this wasteland.

 

[Voider]

Glacier​

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Mentions: Giftvi
"Common" "<Beastial>" "%Analog%"​

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Glacier lay on the barren ground, just outside of the camp and it's commotion. He tried to take the quiet moments to further build the connection with his nature, while reflecting on the recent events of Rico's Raid. He could feel the artifact he was rewarded held significant power, but it was new, and he had to rebuild some progress because of it; still, Glacier was very glad to have received it, especially after seeing the power of the bugs.

Only now, once it was all said and done, did Glacier truly realize the sheer danger and fatal possibilities he had gotten involved in. Even the Empire village he had defended from a See raid some time ago did not feel so... perilous and precarious. Maybe because the war was over, but the bugs might never be. As his thoughts drifted, Glacier's meditation wavered and cut out, his focus lost. He huffed, without actual breathing involved, glancing up at the sky and the sun.

Seeing as it would probably take more effort than it was worth to regain that focus, Glacier stood up from the ground. After scanning the relatively empty horizon, barring some hills and lifeless trees, he turned around to head back into the encampment. As he gave short greetings to those he passed by, Glacier caught sight of Watching, who appeared to be studying the thumper they found in the caves.

While Glacier would call Watching an acquaintance, and solid ally given their shared experience, he'd admittedly not interacted much with the curious creature since the raid. Slowly making his way over, Glacier gave a wave of his paw once he was close. "Hello again, Watching of Reflection..." Glacier spoke, with his signature periodic pauses in speech. "...have you discovered anything new... or is the device still a mystery?" With the question hanging in the air, Glacier sat down on his haunches, patiently waiting for Watching's likely response with the writing board.

 

[Giftvi]

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Languages: Common | <Bestial>
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The critter glanced across towards Glacier who had approached the Fae encampment, or rather the segregated part of the encampment, due to the inherit racial tensions which still were unresolved rather. It was still mixed and some humans did break bread with the Chearon soldiers, but it was quite clear that overall tension remained present, and they kept to themselves for the most part. Watching itself had not been staying in any of the tents supplied by Chearon, but it had certainly welcomed itself to the warm energy that was brought across here. Seated close to the magical campfire, being produced by a minor magical item placed upon the ground. The flames hampered at moments, as it was clear the ambient mana present was quite lacking, but there was a hearth of comfort for the people against the cold night here on this wasteland.

For Glacier this heat might have been a little discomforting, but it wasn't anything to be worried about in any matter of course, nor as horrible as a warm summer day within Ryke or anything near the Continental lake. It grabbed out the wooden board out of the strange Kuridan looking backpack made out of cloth, and grabbed an odd-looking chalk piece which was attached by a manner of a thick thread woven around the cloth itself. Beginning to slowly with patience write down a response for the odd figure which it had comfortably enough got to know whilst it held the device within its tail's grasp. As Glacier began to approach further, Watching seemed to call them hither briefly to welcome him to come closer, if they so wished. Though of course it was a bit closer to the fire, so it was understandable if Glacier kept a bit of a distance in that sense as they sat down. “Ah oh hey, good to see you again, just returned from a short jaunt? But no… It's still a mystery, I had asked the commander when they gave us rewards before, but they seemed puzzled themselves. Nor am I good with these things either, 'machines' as folk seem to call it. I get how you turn it off and on, but I don't get how it got there, and I'm afraid to open up it up and break it.”

 

[Voider]

Glacier​

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Mentions: Giftvi
"Common" "<Beastial>" "%Analog%"​

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With the racial tensions of the encampment, Glacier was in an unusual position. At a glance, most would likely assume him a Fae, or some kind of spirit, of which he was not; yet, neither was he anything like a human, which made Glacier's nominal alignment with the Empire typically appear all the stranger to those he interacted with. Though, some of the confused reactions he garnered were amusing. So, despite the oddness of entering the Fae side, Glacier had nonetheless entered with as much assuredness as he could muster.

Upon Watching's gesture, welcoming the Glacial Fox to come closer, Glacier gave a nod and walked further up, still maintaining a fair distance from the fire. He remained patient, only speaking when it appeared that Watching had written all he intended to. "A moment of... magical practice, outside of the camp, yes." He nodded, before tilting his head. "Have you been faring well... since the end of the operation?"

Lowering his head to take a closer look at the "thumper" for the first time, Glacier found himself becoming quite curious. "While I know little of machines or mechanics... I have some previous experience in discerning things. Perhaps... I could take a careful look, if you would like?" Glacier offered with an extended paw, which was more a gesture for emphasis than anything, as he couldn't actually grab it.

If Watching agreed, Glacier would use his limited knowledge as a [Ryken Adventurer Guild Investigator F] to appraise the object, seeing if he could find any kind of clue as to it's origin or operation. [1] "It is truly curious... how this device was placed ahead of us... and yet, as far as I have heard, none seem to know of it's placer or it's purpose."

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Spoiler: Actions

Action [1]: Used Ability [Investigative Appraisal E]

Investigative Appraisal E - Appraisal E, Investigation F - Glacier uses his knowledge of appraisal and investigative skill to analyze something or someplace.

 

[Giftvi]

Languages: Common | <Bestial>
Voider
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Watching happily nodded towards Glacier, even if it could not offer a smile to 'properly show' how it felt, giving a slight pause as it wondered on what exactly it should reply back with towards the odd companion which it had become acquainted with. Truly, there was some truth after all in the concept of being together with one another whilst in dire situations that people can come closer together. Perhaps that was an effect of this, or maybe it was simply due to the fact they could so heavily relate with one another that it felt happy to talk with Glacier like this? Whatever the case, it began to write down its response as its feet waddled in the air backwards and forwards expressively.

Rather than using the paint which it had done before, it seemed to be using a strange chalk piece as it wrote upon the wooden board, that artistically enhanced the feeling of its message. Though strangely enough, it seemed like some sort of teenage woman out of Ryke or Widersia had written it, because it was far more… expressive than anything Watching had written before. To an extent of being overtly cutesy, rather than very to the point, and stylistically more akin to something being written by an old geezer or something of the like who took pride in old Kuridan writing aesthetics.

"Things have fared pretty comfortably, I'm glad I could be of help to these people still after things have died down now, because I was worried things weren't just going to be finished so quickly. But I guess I was wrong, as no bugs are really being sighted after all now with the weeks that have passed. I think you understand me when I say it's tiring being seen as we are, yet quite a few genuinely seem to praise me, which has been a while in earnest. How have you been, I did want to ask, because the gift they gave you was very odd in my eyes. I mean, isn't your core similar to your actual heart, so does it feel different to have such changed? Or am I wrong?"

Wiping it off, the chalk began to accumulate upon the side of its hand as Watching held forward the device so that Glacier could inspect it without holding back. Waiting patiently to hear Glacier's response before writing the second response it had accumulated in its head, "That is earnestly what confused me as well, how could it be that someone had entered those caverns which had been filled to the brim of bugs, it seemed tantamount to throwing away your life unless they were truly that skilled. And unless they had slipped past this entire camp, they had to have been a soldier from here, right?"

As for Glacier's personal appraisal of the object in question, it was difficult to inherently understand any complicated mechanisms or history of the object in questions. After all, they had no skills of engineering or artisan experience in the field of tinkering to discern specific parts or function by enhancing their appraisal skill. Little in the manner of clues were evident, however the overall design was far from something used in almost any country, save for the Sky Kingdoms, Widersia or the Duchy. However, even in other countries there were still some scientists of renown, but Glacier knew that the funding for such was in Ryke comparably lower. So few tinkerers would continue their research elsewhere in the long term.

 

[Voider]

Glacier​

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Mentions: Giftvi
"Common" "<Beastial>" "%Analog%"​

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Glacier watched as Watching wrote with a different utensil. "Curious..." He muttered, staring at what was surely magical chalk, with it's odd yet whimsical enchantment of the words. Reading the finished writing, Glacier turned his head towards the hills rising over the empty terrain in the distance. "Yes, it seems over for now... yet, I worry for when the bugs will become active again."

Glacier was silent for a moment, before turning his face back to Watching, giving a small smile as he addressed the next subject. "Indeed. It can be frustrating at times, to be seen as... lesser? Nonetheless, none can deny our contribution to the fight... and our capability as equal beings."

Looking down at his own icy chest, which eternally reflected the light blue glow of his core, Glacier nodded his head from side to side as he pondered. "It is... strange. They say they 'replaced' my old core with the artifact, but they do not understand... my core is not merely an object, but an ethereal connection to the nature of ice. It is like... having a different door, one with more features, but leading to the same room as always." Deciding to brave the fire's warmth, he moved to sit slightly closer; as the conversation naturally continued, he realized it would be more polite to talk from less of a distance. "I heard... that you received a kind of lantern? I imagine it has some power... given the significance of the gifts."

Ending his brief examination of the machine, Glacier shook his head. "Nothing that would denote an origin... I fear we may be at a loss." Reading Watching's second response, his ears drooped a bit. "Truthfully, I... do not know what to think. If it was a soldier... then surely, they did not act on any known orders." Glacier frowned, his lost expression solidifying to concern. "...unless, the Empire or See was attempting something in secret?"

 

[Giftvi]

Languages: Common | <Bestial>
Voider
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The critter would nod towards Glacier, as its tail moved towards its backpack, beginning to rustle whatever may be within it, before grabbing the lantern of question with the dextrous movement it had shown before of this appendage. A convenience of being able to use it as more than simply something to grow, it's… strange, as well as perhaps revolting or disturbing spines depending on who would be looking at it.

The lantern itself was clearly made not out of any sort of metal, but rather entirely biological, and a thin transparent fibre film separated the interior to replace any 'concept' of glass normally associated with a tool of such kind. Clearly showing no place to hold a candle, or to burn oil. Slowly held in the grasp of the tail, without any direction given, vines beginning to wrap around the end of it as if to take root.

Swinging the weight of said object back and forth for a second, before writing a response in very apparent haste, “If I would beg you for anything, then be more careful with the words you speak.” Though its words had been in a frenzy of astonishment, the playful nature of the magical tool with which it drew was of course still heavily apparent in each letter. “Still… Yes, to speak in euphemism, it is likely the hand which tipped the scales of what transpired here is to be involved with either or. It's just, I'm… lost and frustrated in anger as to why said choice could even be made? Can a person care so little?”

Its hands trembled, whereas its face was difficult to distinguish any sense of emotion with how alien its biology was, it was undeniable that much stirred within the words it spoke. A restlessness.

“Even if some may not accept me. This gift, and the time I've spent here show me plenty, still do care for my life. I never felt a single moment of distrust towards that, it's always just a little disheartening to see that look in their eyes? Quite poetic, by the way, to describe your heart in such a manner.”

 

[Voider]

Glacier​

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Mentions: Giftvi
"Common" "<Beastial>" "%Analog%"​

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When Watching brought out the lantern with it's tail, Glacier subconsciously leaned forward to look at the object. "A fascinating lantern... I assume it works through some form of natural magic?"

However, upon seeing Watching's words, Glacier pulled back and dipped his head. "Er, yes, you are right... this is not the most appropriate setting to speak of such things." As Watching continued to write, it was evident that it held strong feelings at that very moment. Glacier felt sympathy, but his own stance and voice remained still, as he found it difficult to share the frustration that Watching wrote of. "I cannot claim... to know for certain, but I have seen many kinds of people in my journey." He continued with a shake of his head. "I would not find myself surprised... if there are those who would truly not care."

Upon seeing the more personal, second writing of Watching, Glacier did not quickly speak. Instead, he took a moment to read and consider the words written, before he responded. "I must agree with your view, Watching. Though some... may look upon us differently, I have also met some very good friends." He then gave a respectful nod. "...and I thank you for the compliment."

After a moment of silence, Glacier asked a question as he stared at the fire before them. "If you do not mind my asking, out of curiosity... what inspired you to participate in the operation?"