Null's Game

[Shinigori V2]

Inside: Stray continues to glance around nervously, before whispering something in Nekana- "Yūrei...!"

Outside: "I don't think anyone would give a care one way or th' other." The chef says. "Worst case is we'd have something else to trade for. That dragon stuff don't come easy."

Meanwhile, Cannon gives Triya a glance, before turning back to the mine entrance. "It's about what they say it is. Extraordinarily strong, perpetually cold to the touch. That makes it hard for non-Snow elves to use, but Revenants aren't hurt much by cold, either. We found this mine unclaimed, so we thought maybe we could build up a stockpile and trade it to the Snow Elves. ...Or just give it away as a good will gesture."

[Idran1701]

Kyrie's fur stands a bit on end, her muscles tensing and her eyes widening as she glances around the area, looking for the slightest mysterious shimmer or glow in the air. As she peers about, she whispers back to Stray in the same language, a slight hiss to her voice. <<Are they...here? Listening?>>

[Shinigori V2]

Stray nods slightly, her tail jerking slightly to the left.

[Oleai]

Oleai steps a bit closer to the two Nekana, alive and dead. She lowers her voice as well, "W.. What is it?"

All the good hearing in the world can't make her understand a foreign language.

[Besyanteo]

Guy had shrugged at Kyrie's earlier question, his curosry stroll through camp granting him no insight to who the Zealot or the Outcast might be. He was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Stray, but he recovered quickly. He sat and listened to Stray and Kyrie go back and forth, with the odd question from Kyrie, when both Stray and Kyrie stiffened up and started speaking what was presumably Nekana. He set his bowl aside and looked around for what could be spooking them.

"Kyrie?"

[Idran1701]

Without a glance back to the other two just yet, she keeps her eyes to Stray for the moment. "<<Do they watch everyone? Who are they spying for? No names, nothing they'd understand.>>"

While she talks, she keeps at least some attention towards where Stray indicated; she can't see or hear them, but maybe she can sniff them out if she's lucky?

[Shinigori V2]

"Ōkina jū." Stray says, simply.

As the non-Nekana watch, they can see a slight shimmer in the air...As the temperature noticeably drops a bit. Faint images of glowering children flicker in and out of reality for a moment.

[Kelne]

"Well then, I'll go ahead and take a look at it,"Sana said, "Where can I find the device?" She definitely seemed to be looking forward to the challenge.


Triya nodded, "That sounds reasonable. How are you coming along with the stockpile?" She wasn't sure how the elves would react to either the prospect of trade with revenants or a gift, but there was no downside to making the attempt that she could see.

[Shinigori V2]

Outside:

The cook jerks his head towards one of the bigger tents. "Got thrown in with the supply cache, I think."

As he answers, though, he and a few other Revenants turn towards the main tent. "Huh." He says simply. "Somethin's got the ghosts worked up..."

Meanwhile, Cannon seems to take a quick mental tally. "About fifty bars worth. Not a ton, but it's something. We think the mine might've been mostly depleted when we got to it."

[Idran1701]

At the sight of the flickering, Kyrie gets the very barest of a sly smile, looking full at them now as she speaks to her companions. "Did you catch sight of that? We've got some company here, it looks like. Go ahead, come on out now."

She isn't entirely sure why, but somehow, an otherworldly spirit or two is far easier for her to deal with than a walking corpse.

[Shinigori V2]

Inside:

The tent gets noticeably chillier as the three ghosts haunting the camp flicker into existence. Even though they've flickered in and out of view the entire time the group's been in camp, this is the clearest view they've had of the trio of specters yet.

Two girls and one boy, all bearing marks of how they died. The youngest is even smaller than Stray, a sopping wet stuff bear tucked under her arm, her hair and clothes similarly soaked. The middle, the girl who'd been making fun of Stray almost constantly since arrival, looked sickly and pale even through the muted colors afforded of being transparent. The oldest, standing center and slightly forward, a boy with singed clothes and disgusting burnt patches of skin.

"Little Stray doesn't know when to quit her mouth." The boy says coldly.

[Idran1701]

"Hmph. Or maybe a little ghost doesn't know when to let her use hers. <<Come here, Stray. Ignore these children and their jibes.>>" Scowling, she stares down the ghostly bullies, reaching out for Stray. She didn't expect this to be the source of the spying; seeing them and how they treat her already hit home for Kyrie earlier, but this is just a step too far. She looks over to her with obvious irritation towards them. "<<Their words are nothing to Nekana. Wisps trying to tear you down.>>"

"Do you have nothing better to do than to harass a kit? Find another child to tease."

[Shinigori V2]

"She wasn't s'posed to say nothing to you about the spear." The boy says. "Lilly, go tell Cannon."

[Kelne]

"Hm." Sana turned an eye towards the main tent as she finished up her own stew. Whatever the disturbance was didn't seem to be spilling out into the camp just yet, "I'm sure they'll settle down with time." With a click of her fingers, she handed her bowl back to the chef, neatly cleaned, "Excellent meal. Stay well," she said, giving a little wave of farewell and turning her attention towards the supply tent.


Triya nodded thoughtfully, "I can see why you want a bigger stockpile before broaching the subject," she said, "If the mine's already depleted and winds up playing out, there won't be any prospect of ongoing trade. At least, not in cobalt." It was definitely a dilemna. All the past and future effort put into the mine might never pay off in the way the revenants hoped.

"We have our own commitments at the moment, but I should be able to return later if you'd like somebody to act as an advocate on your behalf." It seemed like the right thing to do, even if she wasn't sure just how long it would be until she was free to return.

[Visavis]

Rasmus, having listened in relative silence while he gulped down the stew as quickly as he could without burning himself, watched Sana as she turned toward the supply tent. He looked to the cook, shrugged and started to follow her, still eating his stew.

"Where're we going?" he asked upon catching up.

[Kelne]

"We're going to see if we can fix that draconic device," Sana said, leading the way into the supply tent in which it was apparently kept. She exhibited a certain blithe assurance that nobody would object to her wandering where she would.

[Idran1701]

Keeping herself between the ghosts and Stray, she keeps glaring down at the boy that seems to be leading this miniature gang. "Hasn't anyone told you that it's impolite to eavesdrop? Especially on guests. <<They ought to spy on you less and watch you more, Stray; they might learn something about manners.>>" With a light snicker, she glances back to Stray for a moment, smiling to her and hoping to keep her spirits up for now.

[Shinigori V2]

Housing tent: "Aren't Nekana supposed to pay for secrets?" The ghost boy says, as the youngest ghost flickers, before blipping out of reality.

Supply Tent: Sana and Rasmus enter the supply tent. It's much as it sounds, housing odds and ends, quite a bit of mining gear and stored ore and rocks, and presumably much more stored under the draped blankets and tarps. Sure enough, tucked into a corner, there is a small box that looks almost as if it were made of wood, with a few small dials and buttons.

[Idran1701]

"...Hm." Kyrie glances back to Stray, tail twitching as she thinks.

"...Stray, what do you want for what you've said so far?"

[Shinigori V2]

"Uh..." Stray mumbles. "I dunno..."

[Idran1701]

"Something to think on, then. I mean, that is all we care about, hm?" She looks back to the kid, with a light smirk, more amused than insulted at his accusation. "Just as all Revenants care about is killing the living, right? We're all pretty simple like that."

[Kelne]

Whistling cheerfully to herself, Sana scooped up the box and wandered back to the tent entrance, where she could work on it while observing happenings in the camp.

"Alright," she said to Rasmus, "the first step is to make sure we can put the device back the way it was if it all goes horribly wrong." She snapped her fingers in a businesslike fashion, then plucked a washed-out, translucent copy out of the original box, leaving it to float in the air off to one side.

"Now, let's see what we're dealing with," another click of the fingers saw the box... explode. Well, sort of. The pieces ended up in a loose cloud, connected by a tracery of green lines, illustrating the relationships of the various inner gubbins of the device to one another. Sana set the assembly gently rotating with a wave of her hand, perusing it with what looked for all the world like a practiced eye.

"What do you think?" she asked, inviting comment from Rasmus.

[Visavis]

Rasmus stared. His gaze went back and forth between the translucent copy of the box and the pieces hovering in front of him. For a moment, he glanced back down to the now-empty bowl in his hands, as though looking for an escape route in it somehow. It was almost as though he was worried. Still, the inevitable moment came when an answer was required to avoid making the conversation awkward.

"I.. have got no clue."

So much for helping.

"Like, I don't even know what this thing is. I'm not.. I can't help with that. Sorry," he added before glancing around and continuing, "Maybe I can do something else?"

His bowl was laid on top of a crate and he wondered back into the tent a little. "I know enough about cobalt."

As Rasmus said this, he lifted a blanket to peak underneath.

[Shinigori V2]

House Tent: "Weren't you listening?" The spectral boy says, as the already cold air gets even chillier, and he and his sister's eyes begin to glow a pale white. "That is what we're doing."

Supply Tent: As the device breaks apart, Sana can see a few pieces of the inner workings have snapped off or come loose. It shouldn't be terribly hard to fix, really. Especially not for someone with her sort of power potential.

Rasmus checks under the tarp, and...While there are indeed loads of Elven Cobalt, there are just as many mining supplies, and probably cause for some alarm- Armaments made of Elven Cobalt-- Not the ritualized masterwork of an Elven blacksmith, either, but bastardization of the precious metal in the form of things like gun barrels, daggers, and spearheads. Weapons no Snow Elf would be caught dead handling.

Outside: "That shouldn't be necessary." Cannon says simply. "I was schooled in this sort of thing, while I was alive."

She turns back to supervising, as the ghostly form of a young girl flickers into existence beside her, tugging on her hand. She crouches a bit, allowing the ghostly girl to say something quietly...before turning and giving Triya a particularly venomous look.

[Kelne]

Outside: A venomous look from one of the living dead was certainly one way of testing Triya's equilibrium. She coped well, her own expression reflecting genuine surprise and concern. "What's happened?" she asked simply. Cannon's own expression portended nothing good, she was sure, but she was at a loss to figure out how one of their number might have prompted it.


Supply tent: Deprived of an audience, Sana abandoned her commentary on the repair process and clicked her fingers three more times. The first mended those parts of the device which had been broken. The second properly aligned loose components, and the third saw the device begin to reassemble itself, rather more slowly than it had flown apart, as Sana watched to be sure each piece had slotted home into its proper place. Not a great challenge, but it did absorb her attention, such that she missed Rasmus' discovery.

Device hopefully reassembled good as new, Sana set about testing it, working her way through each of the dials and buttons in turn in an effort to divine their functions and coax some sounds from the device.

[Idran1701]

Kyrie stills at the boy's comment, but she manages to give a hesitant scoff towards him. "I...hardly believe that. Not after all the...the attempts at...hospitality that you all've shown. All I heard was words about someone trying to...regain something they'd lost. Who wouldn't want that? I think someone's been...telling you stories, maybe, kit." Though his comments can't help but tip off her paranoia yet again, bringing her fears back to the fore, she tries to keep herself controlled. Worried about the others here, though, she gives a glance back to Guy and Oleai, unsure about how they might take this potential revelation.

[Visavis]

Rasmus gapes at what he finds underneath the tarp.

"What're they doing?! They shouldn't make weapons like this! It's not what you do."

With a scowl, he turns to Sana.

"Can you believe this?" he asks as he sweeps his hand toward the various Elven Cobalt weapons.

[Shinigori V2]

Housing Tent:

"Don't you know anything about the undead?" The ghost says. "We haaate you. We hate you so much. We only want to see you burn."

"Th..That's not true!" Stray says.

Cannon:

"Someone's been telling stories." Cannon says, turning suddenly and walking hurriedly towards the housing tent.

[Idran1701]

"...you know, that doesn't sound as frightening as you probably meant it." Relaxing a bit at the spectacle of the ghost child saying this, the ridiculousness manages to break through her paranoia, a few gleams of light shining through. Though she's still tense, and her tail still flicks behind her, his words have at least helped to stop her shaking. Reaching behind her, she squeezes Stray's shoulder lightly as she keeps her eyes on the ghosts. "Just...leave her be. She meant nothing by telling us what she did. There's no need to hold anything against her."

[Kelne]

Supply tent: "Looks believable enough," Sana said, perusing the weapons, "Though I suppose if they're meant for elves, the aesthetics are all wrong." She didn't seem to be rushing to judgment just yet. Rather, she resumed fiddling with the device, perhaps simply to satisfy her curiosity about it.


Outside: Triya fell in with Cannon. Since this undoubtedly involved her group, she should probably be there for whatever confrontation was about to happen.

[Visavis]

"They're not meant for Elves! We'd never use these!"

Rasmus looked back to the weaponry with a scowl. His gaze paused momentarily on spearheads.

"..Not Snow Elves, anyway. I should do something about this."

[Shinigori V2]

Living Tent: Cannon bursts in, followed by Triya and Lilly T. Ghost. "What in the hells is going on in here?" She asks sternly, turning towards the ghostly boy. "Marcus...!"

The boy suddenly looks sheepish, before flickering out of reality, leaving the group, minus and elf and a djinn, alone with a very irate zombie.

[Idran1701]

Jumping at Cannon's sudden appearance, her confidence quickly falling at the sight of the angry zombie, Kyrie tries to keep herself together as best she can, to salvage things. Taking a deep breath, she steadies herself as best she can, though her ears are flat against her head and her tail droops behind her.

"I...Cannon, one of your subjects...said more than she perhaps should have, and...these spirits had been spying about. They caught her, and...had been threatening her about it. I'm...sure it's...it's nothing, hmm?"

[Shinigori V2]

"Subjects...?" Cannon asks, turning suddenly at Stray, then to Kyrie. "What, exactly, did she say?"

[Idran1701]

Taking another slight breath, Kyrie replies, torn between keeping eye contact and looking off past Cannon. "Before I answer that...will she be punished for...for what she said to us?"

[Kelne]

Supply tent: "Such as?" Sana asked mildly, looking at the weaponry, "It's not as if making weapons for people who aren't elves is a crime. Mind you, there's a pretty short list of people who can handle these ones."

Living tent: Triya stood quietly for the time being, waiting until she had a better idea of what was going on before speaking up. It sounded as if Stray had said something out of line, though the fact that this was a big issue was a definite concern. That there were spies on them was disappointing but perhaps to be expected. They were, after all, an unknown quantity for the revenants.

[Shinigori V2]

"That'll depend extremely heavily on what she actually said." Cannon says evenly.

[Idran1701]

Though tempted to hide the truth, Kyrie knows there's little point with the ghosts that had been lurking about while they talked. She draws herself up as straight as she can, focusing all her will on looking Cannon straight in the eye, holding herself between her and Stray.

"She...mentioned a spear you and your people had been looking for in the mountains. One that would...help you find your Razorbeak."

[Visavis]

Rasmus frowns. Sana's reply did not seem to be the one he had been hoping for.

"I don't know. I'll think of something."

After another quick look around, a look of realization crossed his expression.

"I'm going to talk to everyone else."

With that, he headed out the door, crossed the campgrounds, and opened the tent flap.

"Hey, hey guys, I found so-- ..What's going on?"

[Shinigori V2]

Cannon scowls as Kyrie fills her in, but turns as Rasmus enters. As he stops, she shifts her weight, glaring even more. "Don't mind me." She says. "Please. Continue. I insist."