[Action]

[malnosso]

On the afternoon of the 26th, as instructed, another meeting takes place, this time situated in the town hall. Two men stand at the front of the meeting room; one a shorter red-skinned fellow well-known to all, the other a tall blond-haired muscular man, humanoid in appearance, standing next to him. The blond man takes a step forward first, hands folded behind his back. Some may recognize him from his earlier appearance on the journal network, though he seems completely different now. No longer is he the jovial man of a few days ago, now taking on a much more serious demeanor.

"Thank you all for attending our second meeting today. My name is Tyr Hymirson, the leader of this village. I trust you're all already familiar with my companion, Romaeus." He motions to the man next to him.

"As you're all aware, you've been sent here to assist us. Much as Romaeus and I work tirelessly to find a way that someday we might be able to free everyone from this world, the Resistance--whom you now know as the 'Third Party'--stands in opposition to us, having their own ideas and methods. But once, we were friends. Comrades. Their leader, Theobald, was once someone I considered--and do still consider--to be one of my closest friends. But something changed in him, and he eventually became our enemy. But with the information we've gained, we now know it's not too late to save him. If he can be convinced to rejoin us once more… Then I know we can be successful in accomplishing our goals."

Tyr turns, and walks to his left. A large map-like diagram is set up, which he begins to motion as he continues to speak.



"Right here is where we are currently located.", he says, motioning to the black dot signifying their location. "And over here is where the Resistance has set up their base. Once, we had another enclosure in this area, but it was wiped out. I plan on assembling a team of your very best to go. Our route is as follows: we will travel up the river to the other end. A port enclosure has begun forming near there. We'll be able to use that to travel to our destination. I've spent the past few days making the necessary preparations already. I'll make my selection from the lot of you and notify who I select personally. We'll be departing in three days' time. Please prepare yourselves.

There is one thing I want to emphasize here. We are not going here to fight. If at all possible, I want to avoid any unnecessary deaths. Death and the rules it chooses to play by here are what has turned Theobald into the man he is now. Our mission is to either persuade him or capture him if that can't be done. Is that clear?" His eyes narrow and his voice drops as he says that last sentence.

It's at this time that he takes a step back. "Now, I understand Romaeus has something he'd also like to discuss with you all. Rommy, if you'd please."

Romaeus makes a face at the nickname, but he's long used to it, so he speaks up. "Obviously, not everyone will be able to accompany Tyr- peace does not begin with the march of an entire army. We would like to keep enough people here in the area to protect ourselves and the research we have done over the years, in case this mission does not end well. I understand that you have been trapped in a small area for a very long time, however, and it would be unfair not to allow you to explore the world. Therefore, I offer a compromise: explore as you please, but there is a list of resources I require for my research, as well as directions on where you might find them. Anything you find would be useful, particularly since a number of these resources are required for the technology that will send you back to the time you came from."

He tugs a sheet from his labcoat pocket and tacks it to the board beside Tyr's map. "Additionally, work still must be done within town, for those who cannot or will not travel beyond the village. Farming and preparation for the potential of war, should this fail, but I will also welcome any help offered with the construction of my equipment. Help me help you, yes? Perhaps some of you might appreciate first-hand knowledge of how to build and repair artificial shifting equipment." He offers them all a calm grin, though the situation is anything but. "Any questions?"


[Related mod post here!]

Comments

[ricecakes]

...Hah... the spirits. I will say that they haven't been much trouble yet, but we both know that doesn't stay true for long. There have been exceptions, of course, and they caused enough conflict that we had to halt research for a time in order to come up with a way to negate their powers. The less cooperative spirits are a part of the Natural Shifting that led to the barrier's creation.

[He taps his toe meaningfully against the floor, pointed towards the tunnels below.]

And then, of course, there is Twila. An exceptional exception.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He's attentive as Romaeus goes on about the spirits; it's been a long time since their presences have been described, let alone to this detail.

The mention of Twila has him briefly looking down at the floor, as if he can see where Twila had been sealed. Romaeus must already know that Twila has been released in their time.]

We have noticed that Twila seems to ... incite problems. And that the Organization does not interact with spirits as most of us do.

[ricecakes]

The organization has had its share of unpleasant experiences with them. It's entirely possible that living within a barrier has "tamed" the spirits you know; there's a surprising lack of aggression in their behaviour, quite different from the majority of the spirits beyond the enclosures.

[chikaidestroyer]

[It was an interesting theory. If the spirits they had come to know in the Luceti enclosure were 'tamed' by the presence of the barrier for such a long time, it could explain why they would act so differently.

And yet...]

Has that behavior been observed elsewhere? Or only within this enclosure?

[He had never heard of others from other enclosures using the spirits' magic.]

sorry for the delay!

[ricecakes]

Here and there, a little. One of the reasons this enclosure was chosen as a home base of sorts is because of its unusual connection with the world through the spirits. When one is trying to study shifts, one must go straight to the source.

no worries!

[chikaidestroyer]

So that would explain why you--your future counterpart--returned to this area to continue your research. We were led to believe that those chosen to live in the future enclosure, Luceti, were those with a particular ... trait or aspect that made us resilient to the amount of Shifting experimentation done.

[Add all of that together, and it seemed highly likely that Twila was an even more troublesome force before the barrier could have potentially "tamed" it.]

Is there some reason why you would risk sealing Twila underneath this place, when it's become such an important base? Was there no other option?

[ricecakes]

Less a risk than a necessity, I would say. Sealing it away was a fluke, and we couldn't risk moving it for fear of setting it free again. Now that I know the end result, however, it may be something we can revisit at a more peaceful occasion. Assuming such a time ever exists.

[chikaidestroyer]

I'm sure that it will, unless you allow something to happen to you over the years. It's clear that many things hinge on your efforts.

[ricecakes]

Oh, yes. I'm quite irreplaceable, you know.

[It has done wonders for his ego, gosh.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[He snorts, but can't really say anything to challenge that remark.]

There is something that I have wondered for years now. I believe I have a better idea of what it may have been, but it seems prudent to have a concrete answer now.

In our time, a situation occurred when the barrier around Luceti fell, and what was beyond Luceti seemed to be a void. At that time, the barcodes on the backs of our necks burned and the feathers began rapidly falling off of our wings.

Merely asking the question of what happened to those in the Organization has caused people to cut off conversations with me. Clearly it is something that causes discomfort.

So, I will ask you: Why would our barcodes burn and our feathers fall out?

[ricecakes]

...Yes... about that.

[Nngh. An awkward subject, actually.]

I... confess I wasn't involved in the organization at that time, and nowhere near as "in the know", so to speak, as I have been in recent years. A great many people who were a part of whatever happened have been lost to us one way or another, so it may be impossible to ever get the answers to such questions. I imagine those you spoke to didn't have answers, either.

There are theories. Most of them are wrong. More are flimsy at best. I will say this, however- it was not an intentional Shift. No technology existed at that time that possessed the power to make such drastic changes to the world. I'm certain it doesn't exist even now. That means it was limited either to our cultist friends or the world itself chose to attack us all.

Either way, something must have gone wrong. Enough damage was done that such an event has not been repeated.