un: absterge | video

[downswing]

( Dark and damp and Lan Wangji's pallor strained under moonlight. Behind him, flickers of broad, long temple columns — and the smoke smears of... ghosts, gathered. He seems short of breath, the silvered sheen of his sword half drawn from her scabbard, a spate of parchment papers littering the walls: active talismans. )

They have crowded their halls of the dead, to excess.

Here, the key withholds itself. Who hunts the other locations?

( And a pause, hesitant — whether to find his words or, absently, slap another talisman on the spirit that looms with a gaping maw behind him. ) Ke-Waihu stands safe?

( ooc: forwarded dated to the group's incursions in Ke-Waicai. Feel free to run into him in person, if you're also chasing the haunted temple key! )

Comments

[beitangmoran]

Do try to not raise attention if you are joining us, from the way the doors were barred, I surmise we are no supposed to be in here.

[techmaturgy]

No, I won't be joining you. I would slow you down. If you see any interesting volumes, however, I would appreciate a look at them.

[reparo]

What interests you? The majority of books are hard to decipher at first glance, so some narrowing down would be great.

[techmaturgy]

The sciences, mostly. Barring that, any information on the magic systems of this world.

[reparo]

Noted. Not sure if they have written books on those things, considering how heavily they rely on superstition, but I will keep an eye out!

[techmaturgy]

Ehn, it's worth a shot. Like I said, I'm not in a position to be picky about it.

[beitangmoran]

The books are probably not in a language you know, but we have ways of deciphering some of them, I believe.

[techmaturgy]

If some headway has been made, that's better than nothing. I'm no linguist, but perhaps I can help.

[beitangmoran]

We have made some, but we've been moving and the language changes slightly with every new place we get to. Still, we're not starting from nothing.

[techmaturgy]

That's to be expected. What's important is that we have working knowledge.

[beitangmoran]

That we definitely do have. Any preferences? We do not have time to be overly choosy but we can aim at general sections.

[techmaturgy]

My interests are in the sciences, but anything related to the magic of this world or its history might also be useful.

[beitangmoran]

Similar interests as mine, we'll definitely find you something.

[techmaturgy]

Much appreciated.

[arsmechanica]

To add to that, since I'd also love to see whatever you find on the sciences -

If you see anything related to metalworking, I can probably get something useful out of it.

[ See, it's not even just curiosity. It's Helpful! ]

[techmaturgy]

Meatalworking? Are you a smith, of some kind?

[arsmechanica]

I am. Blacksmith, mostly I've been dealing with weapons and armor these days but that's less a matter of what I know and more a matter of what's been in demand.

[ He'd...kind of love if the world could do with a break from weapons and armor, but he doubts his luck in that regard is going to be much better out here than it was back home. ]

[techmaturgy]

Weapons and armor will always be in demand.

[Ugh.]

What do you prefer to make?

[arsmechanica]

I'd like the chance to make something more productive, rather than destructive. I do some tinkering on the side - spring traps, archery turrets, that kind of thing. More things for the war. But I'd like to start working on automating farming tasks, maybe? Something like that could be a game changer for my homeland.

[ Norzelia is...not far along the path of technological discovery yet, but he's trying to get it there. ]

[techmaturgy]

[Well, it gives him a good idea of how far along Jens's home is. And this is admirable, all things considered.]

Yes, I can attest to that. [Jens, you're going to launch your home world into a revolution and it will be great.] Is it a lack of funding that's holding you back? Resources?

[arsmechanica]

[ excitement ]

Right now, it's mostly the war. I think Lord Wolffort will be pretty supportive of such efforts, once we've lived to see the end of this, but we're right in the middle of...everything.

Our kingdom is in a good position in terms of resources, though. Trade routes all run through Glenbrook.

[techmaturgy]

Right.

[War! What is it good for! Scientific advancement, unfortunately. Viktor sounds a little bitter, maybe also about the fact that Jens is talking like going home is a possibility--for him, maybe.]

Continue to aspire to it, regardless. Seeking to improve lives...it's an admirable goal.