[The Lost Shards Return] In Difficult Ground

[Feantari]

"Oh, that would give you some stories to tell I'm sure Lord Paxton, but I would counsel you not to go just yet. Meru is probably not as we remember it after so many years have passed, and we don't know what additional security measures may have been put in place or developed for that matter. Your skill is great, but without at least a bit of information I recommend against going there now. Should something unexpected happen you may have to run about creation with an army at your heels, or worse. We cannot afford your loss if we are to succeed in whatever we determine to be our mission."


Lothian smiled a bit, "Once we have made sure the ship is in a secure location your skills will be paramount to gathering vital information, but I implore you to work the edges of this new power first before diving into the heart of Meru."

 

[Midboss]

"He has a point. Our siddy friends might have some contingency in place exactly to prevent one of us from sneaking around to close to their home. If anyone should be hanging around there, it should be Ulysses. After all, he's actually cleared to be around there. Speaking of which..."


Some part intrigued him:


"You mentioned the dragon blooded realm being controlled by some Scarlett Empress girl. But this data you're showing us says she's gone missing. Who's leading them then for now ? If we could get a profile of that person, then maybe we can find a way to turn them friendly on the long term... or keep them off our backs by pointing them at something else."

 

[Coyotekin]

"Many points to consider. While each of you think on such things I will have the crew ready a new location, a possible new home and base of operations. I think in the West given the many islands, reduced traffic around the area, and being near the Wyld to access and create raw materials. This would also give us a chance to help safeguard against the Fae while learning more. And given the many adventures awaiting for us it would be wise to have somewhere to fall back on."


Speaking to nobody in particular, while specifically speaking to those whose specialties were involved, he issued his orders. "We need a reality engine for stability. We will need an Bivouac prepared, and we need a way to hide our forces from the bulk of Creation for now. A reconnaissance mission needs to be organized for gathering information about our immediate environment. And we will need to work something out with the local spirit courts. All other projects may be discussed and prepared for, but the safety of the crew as a whole is of paramount importance. Is everyone clear on these points?" His voice commanding while respectful of his peers as they had all grown accustomed to.

 

[Arynne]

Ayame responds with a crisp salute. "Crystal, sir."

 

[Zoronos]

General Wolf


Wolf sipped water from his cup, leaned back in his chair and smiled. It amused him slightly that Captain Nightwish would claim authority for the rescued young dragonblooded girl, but it did not bother him. Let the captain flex his authority.


Wolf quietly connected his Atlas of the Unconquered General into the receptacle on the table's edge, and with the tap of a few buttons the air directly in front of him was filled with the image of the nearby islands. He turned towards Paxton and folded his hands in his lap. "So, ready to actually put your stealth skills against a challenge? If these 'death lords' are as powerful as Ulysses' primer claims, it would stand to reason we should know about them sooner rather than later."


Wolf nodded towards the floating picture in front of him, "This island was called Darkmyst in our day, though it seems from this map Ulysses has brought us that it is now called Skullstone. Darkmyst was one of the first Shadowlands to exist in Creation, so it seems likely that if there is a Deathlord about in the West, we could find it there. If you'd be so kind, I'd like you to take a look, and find out what you can about the creature, if there is one there. If it's really as much of a threat as the book claims, the sooner we deal with it, the better. Alternatively, it may be simply a beneficiary of a very good propaganda campaign. Either way, if you'd be so kind as to put your infiltration skills to the problem, I think we'd all be the better for it, and perhaps it will pose you an actual interesting challenge."


Wolf pressed a button on the Atlas, and pulled the diagram back to show more of the West, "Unless I am required elsewhere, I think the best use of my time would be to head to Wavecrest, and see about turning its resources towards our use. It was a principal supply point of the Navy before we left; it may still be enough of a confluence of supply lines to allow for minor rearming of the Enterprise. Especially since I've still been unable to get Mobile Platform Three to respond to hails or long-range scans."

 

[Skrakes]

Lieh Tzu


"With due respect to my Twilight colleague, I would like to study the summoning device. I have already dismantled it once, and the machine intrigues me. Moreover, I would think Ailera is needed elsewhere. After all, she is the only one among us who knows Wyld Shaping Technique, and may well be needed elsewhere to carve the Wyld into something useful to us. By contrast, my uses are limited to my knowledge of esoteric matters."


Also, she saw it first. So there.

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera


The mage nods at her colleague. "Of course. As they say, two heads are better than one."

 

[Thorn Darkblade]

"Ah, yes, one last thing about the Death Lords...please tread carefully, and discretely, until we are ready to make a decisive move...not only to avoid their attention, for now at least, but my 'peers' as well. Considering the new and mostly unknown threat they represent, Sidereal interest in them is high, to say the least. Agents of Heaven may notice anything too overt...I mean, once we start making a name for ourselves in the West, this will happen anyways, but, until we're ready, let's not set any red flags."

 

[Axelgear]

Paxton


Paxton nods in acceptance. For all his confidence, he is not willing to take the risk without the consent of his colleagues. "Very well. I will leave the Isle to others for the moment, then. I'll put together a plan for the journey to the shadowland." He says comfortably, giving a nod to Ulysses for his concerns.


"I'll need some messenger spell crystals, or some other communications system. The isle is some distance away." He points out, this time looking in Ailera's direction.

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera


She pauses in her ruminations to respond. "Mmmm. Perhaps a Sorcery Capturing Cord or two with Infallible Messenger cast on it, or a elemental that can act as a courier. Do you have a preference for which one? Or, perhaps a combination of both?"

 

[Foxtailed_Teki]

Night Without Moon


As Hati thought, there was no need to voice her objection to Paxton’s foolhardy proposal. Others pleasantly stated the obvious, leaving her to organize digital cards. She was glad that the ship was being moved; the owner of the unsettling door would surely want to investigate their breaking and entering. Wolf’s quick redirection of Paxton’s enthusiasm was a good move in Hati’s opinion; a closer and presumably lower profile investigation was more in line with the crew’s consensus. Ah, and it appeared both Lieh and Ailera would work on the summoning device?


The game was swiped to the side and Hati scribbled out some notes. They did not have a reality engine, so that was something needed to constructed? If Nightwish insisted on it, Hati would look up what components would be needed, but with metals still very short… she might have to reintroduce him to the numbers.


She flipped away from her catalog of the inventory back to the cards. Keeping track and reminding everyone that they were no longer in the Wyld and were tight on resources better not be her project. It was her duty to complete, but Hati would extract equivalent personal time lost out of anyone who tried to make it anything more. Better to allow her off the ship to continue gathering materials where she could.

 

[tacolicious]

'Okay Lords, we have a plan forming. We have to remember that we might have an enemy on the Isle at the moment, but there is a much greater threat forming outside the now meager boarders of creation. I think Forming some alliances and helping those who would be swept aside by just the Vanguard of the Unshaped army should be one of our first objectives. However, I do agree with setting up a main base for ourselves. While the enterprise is quite powerful and also what will help us defend ourselves, it will seem a threat and also will make us seem alien to those we are interacting with. As such we should be reluctant to show the Enterprise to people when we first meet them.'


Taking a deep breath, Oron plowed on 'Also, resources. We have picked up a small amount of magical materials, and a few hearthstones. This will get some of the repairs along just fine, but we need more.' He spreads his arms wide, gesturing no ill intent to his next words 'I know this has been a bit of a shock to us all, but so far this discussion has sorted one thing, and that is Lord Paxtons infiltration into Darkmyst Isle. We need to start this ball rolling, because the more we sit here, the more rumours our potential allies hear, and the less prepared our creation is for the storm of dreams building up out in the Wyld.'


'I will take command of the engineering division and begin on a base for us on the ground. If the Lords and Ladies would like to submit a schematic of what they would desire for our first landing site, as well as a location, please let me know. But we really need to start identifying a list of tasks that need doing and begin assigning teams.'

 

[Coyotekin]

"Yes, each has chosen their path and missions and all are worthwhile to say the least. The base design will be standard bivouac with focus of anti-Fae and maritime defenses. Be prepared for retrieval of resources."