un: nami (video)

[cartographie]

[ Instead of pointing the pendant at herself, Nami aims it so that the top of the table she's sitting at is what's in the frame instead. ]

This is a book I took from the chained god's room. [ She begins as she opens the book and starts leafing through the pages, making sure she lingers on each so the people watching on the other end of whatever this not den den mushi based network can get a good look at the contents while she thumbs through ]

There's a lot in here, and, weirdly, some of it looks like it was written recently. From what I've read, it sounds like the men of Ephes turned on the god and chained him up. One historian in here, Gallia Salusa, mentions that because the god didn't have a physical form to start with, the men waited until the timing was on their side, and this god - put himself together, or whatever it did, gaining a form - they think just from slowly accumulating power - so could be chained in the first place. [ She's seen that thing, it's gross. ]

The book also talks about how that worm god thing isn't the only being like this around, but like the chained god before whatever happened to him, happened - they don't have a physical form, and want one

[ Nami shuts the book finally turning the communicator around on herself so she's visible, along with the interior of the rundown windmill she and her crew have posted up in. There might even be one or two straw hats or perhaps an errant clown pirate milling around in the background, who knows? ]

Oh, and, that whale fishman told me about how the borders of Ephes - both land and sea - are much bigger than the space this place is occupying, but after the chained god was captured the dark water's been encroaching from many sides - something that's obvious to the farmers and the fishermen but not as much to everybody else.

[ She sits back in her seat, shrugging plaintively at whoever's on the other end of this not-a-snail, tempted to just end the message there before she remembers herself– ]

I'm Nami, by the way. If you want to meet up, take a look at the book, and tell me more about what's going on here, that's fine with me. I've got a crew to get back to the East Blue and any information is useful at this point.


[ ooc: a link to the initial comment with this info about the book, since Nami is slowly paging through it for the network, feel free to use the info in the comment if you want to let your character clock a snippet or two as she goes or something.

and threadjack away, ]

Comments

[cartographie]

No idea, so far all I can tell is that dark water isn't doing anything good. What else do you know about it? [ A beat pause, while she grimaces at his last question. ] The god thing? Yeah. I saw it. [ Just thinking about it, and what she had to do to make it there turns her stomach. ] It was gross.

[somebadnews]

It's followed us everywhere we've gone. It's stopped volcanoes from erupting, made copies of ourselves, and apparently... it created the undead. [ The jury is still out where it originated from, but he's convinced it's near the source of all their problems. ]

I didn't know it was taking visitors. [ Unfortunately, she just opened herself up to twenty questions. ] Anything more specific? How well was it chained?

[cartographie]

Great, awesome, nice if anybody I've talked to before this led with that. [ The problem was already fucking huge, and now this? The dark water's not some new creepy thing to this new creepy place? ]

Had to do some talking to get through. [ And that's all she's going to say about the process. ] It didn't look human, it didn't look like anything, exactly. Maybe a worm, but only because it was too solid-looking for the word blob to fit.

Sorry, not up to snuff on the chaining gods standards. Well enough? It didn't look like it could get out.

[somebadnews]

[ She could have asked! Her fault for being too distracted by the flashy robot mouse. ]

Told them you worked there? [ He remembers. ] Good to know the bonds aren't weakening. The last I heard the water was feeding off of it, not the other way around, but water is a lot harder to control.

Have you tried tracking Gallia down?

[cartographie]

[ All those golden mice have proven themselves to be really useful okay!!

She scoffs. ] No, told them I was a pilgrim. Cloistered types always know who works there.

So nobody's found a way to get rid of this stuff? Do you guys just keep running away from it, or does it follow you?

Not yet. Want to join me if I do? Big chance they're dead but any lead's a lead.

[somebadnews]

[ He might just believe her. Generally his opinion is that people are incredibly gullible; cult followers in particular. ]

...There's several theories about what it's following. It's fair to say we're on similar paths. It hasn't always reacted as it has here, but maybe that's to be expected.

[ The offer surprises him, but he only takes a second to think about it. He can't risk missing something if she doesn't ask the right questions. ]

A lead's a lead. [ Which is to say, he will. ] If they know how the god was chained, we're one step closer to how to destroy it.

[cartographie]

So it's not trying to attack you or help you?

[ It shouldn't. He's presented himself as a person with a firm handle on what the hell is going on, and Nami is not going to let an opportunity to pick his brain get away. ]

Any idea where to start looking for this guy? I haven't heard the name before.

[somebadnews]

As far as I know, it could be the same as the chained god searching for a body. That'd explain why it's drawn to the dead. [ All of these things should have been more obvious to him sooner than now, but that's what happens when you jump from crisis to crisis. ] If there's a reason it's following us, it might have more to do with what we're carrying.

[ Five hasn't heard of him either, but with any luck he's well known within that particular group. ]

We could start by seeing who notices the book was stolen. If they wrote in it recently, they'll probably be going back for it.

[cartographie]

But the book makes it sound like the chained god obtained a body from accumulating enough power to just - manifest one, instead of taking over a dead one. [ Super creepy if so. ] What are you carrying that it wants?

[ He's got a point, but she doesn't like it, and it takes a second for Nami to decide how to respond to Five's suggested route. ] I don't think I can go back there, but if this person's a historian then, their name probably turns up in other places too right? Does this town have a university?

[somebadnews]

[ He doesn't know much about gods manifesting solid forms, but there does seem to be a common theme. ]

Potentially... body parts. Cursed ones. [ It's a recent theory that he's not overly fond of, having hoarded a tongue in a box for months on end, but it would make sense how the dark water has shown up everywhere they've gone. ]

It's possible. Or if it's important enough, word will get to the town criers. Otherwise it might take some asking around that could garner suspicion.

[cartographie]

[ Cursed body parts. What is with this place? All it's good for is making her think twice now when she considers anything her crew does weird.

Slowly, carefully... ] Did you see what they were attached to?

Doesn't have to. We're researchers. Researchers ask about historians at universities all the time. [ It's not the kind of hustle she's used to working, but... ]

[somebadnews]

No. But I have an idea.

[ That he just leaves out to focus on this other thing. Which for the record, he can appreciate the hustle. ]

Could work, if they didn't know about my reputation of working for Messalina. [ Not that he's dismissing it. What is he afraid they'll arrest him? ] ...Then again, that could work in our favor.

One of us was assigned to a map maker. If there's anything like a university here, she should know where it is.

[cartographie]

[ Hold up. Nevermind that she's been talking to America about this map of old Ephes and offering to help her, or that the idea of cursed body parts in their midst hunted by dark water conjures up just so many questions– ]

There's a map maker around?

[somebadnews]

An apprentice, if anything. She'd have the easiest access. [ Why they gave children all the most useful assignments... between her and Kamala, they're remarkably convenient. ]

If Gallia is well-known enough we may not have to go far. Since he included his name in his notes, he obviously wanted to be.

[cartographie]

Good to know. I'm helping somebody with a map already, I'll ask around. Thanks for the tip.

[ The guy's got a good point about the name inclusion. Nami hadn't even considered it was intentional, though in retrospect it makes sense. Academic types were usually wealthy, and wealthy people were usually vain to some extent. ] So what did the body parts come from?

[somebadnews]

[ He squints, wondering who she means, but it’s not like it can hurt. If anything comes of it.

The question gets some careful consideration before answering. He doesn’t want to remind everyone that he’s still holding the tongue. ]

I don’t know where all of them did. There was chatter about a hand in the arena. [ He listens to the network, even if he ignored it at the time. ] Before that, we weren’t the first to find them before we became in possession of them.

[cartographie]

Do you think the parts belong to one of those divine or destructive forces this book's talking about? [ And if so why are you idiots carrying them around?! ]

[somebadnews]

[ The tongue does other things! Hoarding weapons is always the right move when you're paranoid and trust no one. ]

And so far it's only managed to form random pieces of itself? [ Seems... unlikely. ] We don't really know for sure if they're related to each other, but all of them seem to still be alive, as far as I remember.

They aren't easily assembled, in any case.

[cartographie]

I'm not sure why I'm supposed to think that's a good thing. Random pieces are still pieces.

Do you keep them all together or?

[somebadnews]

We don't. Some are more protected than others. There's been disagreements on how to handle them, but they were supposed to stay out of the hands of anyone who might be tempted to experiment.

[cartographie]

Including, I'm guessing, experiments that might help anybody figure out whether or not the water is following the body parts?

Why are some more protected than others? Are they more powerful or something? [ A fist would require more security than, say, a big toe, she figures. ]

[somebadnews]

It’s never occurred to us. The dark water existed in other places before we got there, so if they did attract more they weren’t the only source.

[ He hesitates to mention the power that the one he keeps has. If it weren’t for him, it would have been destroyed a long time ago. ]

Some had known effects.

[cartographie]

On people, or the undead?

[ What a mess. ]

[somebadnews]

[ It would have been handy if it only worked on the undead. There’s a reason he never talks about it. ]

…It summoned something. I don’t know how much it controlled it after, but it disappeared after we got it back in its box.

[cartographie]

Shit.

[ Seriously. ]

What's so special about the box? Is it made of something that can contain the dark water or something?