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Mad Magitech II

Scene details

  • Start date: Jan. 23, 2022, noon
  • End date: Jan. 23, 2022, 6 p.m.
  • Location: Granse - Ruined Aqueduct
  • Participants: Reize Seatlan, Ivo Galvan

Setting: Now in very good graces with Zerhem's royal family, our heroes are preparing to venture back to Aurita Meloda on the western coast and delve into the Drowned Undercity beneath in search of the third arm of the Crux of Creation. But Kernunnos remains exhausted from their battle with the Elemental Chaos in the River Delta.

While the party remains in Zerhem, Ivo resolves to find a way to use the two fragments of the Crux currently in their possession to find a way to convert elemental aether into the power of Creation that Kernunnos needs to recover. Should even some of the eidola-demigod's strength be restored, he might then be able to begin to train Nais, the bandit descended from Vaeltrandian druids whom the party bested in the Misty Forest and who is currently imprisoned beneath Castle Zerhem.

It's a good plan. Surely, nothing will go awry. Or at least, nothing now that Ivo has shut down his olive presses. ...Don't ask.

Log

"Steady..."

With the deftness and delicacy with which he wields Hauteclare, Ivo adjusts a valve attached to an aetherglass chamber. Through the transparent, durable, and highly expensive material can be seen whorling energies contorting like a living thing. Even behind the protection of the glass, the sight is enough to make one's hair stand on end.

"There."

Yet the Cosmopolitan sounds satisfied already, as though he has seen enough. And indeed, after a few more seconds, the energies coalesce, settling into a blue-green sphere that floats like a feather down to the bottom of the chamber. It sinks into a tube crafted to be its own width and disappears from view before rolling out into a basin and within reach.

"See? Just at the border of solid and gas."

Ivo picks up the sphere, about the size of a slingstone, and hands it to Reize. Though it looks like a rock, it feels like an egg, frail and practically hollow.

"It's not dangerous," he explains. "If you crack it, the aether will just escape. It's to provide an elemental resource on demand. Kernunnos feeds off of domain aether, right? And the Crux of Creation supposedly converts elemental aether into Creation-aspected aether. So I was thinking I might be able to design a kind of... artificial worship, if you catch my drift."

The Cosmopolitan crosses his arms, smiling.

"If it doesn't work, it may still be useful for Argent in wielding the starmetal athame we found, so she's not reliant on whatever aether happens to be latent in the environment when she wants to tune to a specific aspect." He still isn't quite sure how her new powers work, but this might be a decent way of finding out.

Smile broadening into a grin, he jerks a thumb at the chamber.

"I used this to make those noodles, too."

Normally, Reize would be exploring through Zerhem Kingdom with his partner Ruidosa, whether it is handling the requests by the citizens or just help get her used to the humans within the environment. This time, however, Reize is on his own. It appeared that Ruidosa had some studies that she needed to do via her tome.

Leaving his partner to her devices, Reize thought he would explore some of the area that he had not looked at in a while. In this case, that would be the Ruined Aqueduct. Last time, they dealt with some of the water elementals that resided around the area.

So that brought him here to see Ivo's work.

He peeks over at the blue-green sphere, opening his hand out to take it from Ivo. It looks heavy, but it is very frail. "...Whoa..." He looks at the essence before him. "That's cool!"

"How do I use this? Do I eat it?" He squints at the oddly colored object, albeit dubious on the approach of using it to power Kernunnos. When Ivo notes about the athame, "Or do we use this with the relic that Argent now has?"

Thoughtfully, regarding the noodles, "Oh right, I have got spices together, I tend to keep them in a small knapsack when I need to add some flavor to them. You may want to consider that as well."

"Eat it? Hmm."

Ivo seems to take this seriously for a moment.

"If I used a similar technique to concentrate the flavoring so that it coats the noodles more evenly... but the vacuum sealing process would likely scatter it regardless..."

He assumes a far-off look for a moment, before shaking his head.

"No, let's just... put the spices in a satchel."

Science isn't always fun.

"Oh, right," he appends, realizing he didn't quite answer the question. "Well, it won't *kill* you." Pure elemental aether, all part of a balanced breakfast. "Honestly, Reize, a good rule of thumb: not everything that comes out of this chamber is meant to be eaten." Pause. "Just some things."

Aetherglass is typically used to make transparent visors for the impregnable helms of Ashaldi knights or diamond-sharp surgical tools. Even in the home of alchemy, few would think to use it for freeze-drying. But such are the virtues of Cosmopolitan eccentrics.

He's grinning again. "Well, I'm going to try to improvize a partial Cruz and see if it'll absorb some of the power of this sphere. In the meantime, why don't you help me by blending the perfect flavoring to complement our aetherically processed pasta? You've got a knack for cooking that I lack."

It's not that Ivo is bad at cooking. He's better at baking, which rewards his precision and methodological scientific approach. When he's confronted with a situation that calls for intuition, he tends to make whimsical choices out of an overwhelming desire to see what happens. This may steer him entertainingly in social situations.

But no one enjoys eating food prepared that way.

Admittedly, Reize was eyeing the orb, finding it dubious for ingestion. Thankfully, Ivo confirms the case as it's not meant to be ingested. He exhales a sigh of relief, "That's comforting, at least." He looks back at the pendant. "Don't think we want to power you up that way..."

He cracks a grin, then he looks over at his older companion. "Sure thing! Will be glad to help." He then starts off towards one of the corners, at least getting together some heating materials such as a tinderrod. He gets a small pot together and he places the noodles inside. Procuring a water jug, he pours it into the pot and lets the water heat up.

He looks over at Ivo, "What exactly are you planning your improvision for?"

"I'd be impressed if Kernunnos *could* power up that way," Ivo chuckles. "Now I'm wondering what druidic diets were. Maybe Fox knows."

He just wants another excuse to see her.

"The Star-Crowned were strengthened in part through their diets," Kernunnos replies. Ivo looks startled, clearly not expecting a response. "But the methods by which they were formed lent them a resilience surpassing that of my followers. I believe this was merely one dimension of their training."

"Was their training... quite rigorous, then?"

"I did not inquire as to the details."

"Mm," Ivo replies, looking faintly uneasy. "Well, Argent seems like she can eat practically anything. Her stomach's a veritable laboratory unto itself. Not every homunculus is built the same, of course--" He only knows two, and that much is already clear. "--but if she can utilize the techniques of the Star-Crowned, maybe she happens to share all sorts of qualities with them." He pauses, glancing at Reize's pendant, which faintly glows. "It sounds," he adds, a little hesitantly, "like the Star-Crowned might have had reason to be dissatisfied with their lot in Vaeltrandia."

"I could not speak as to what led the Bringers of Ascent to rise up and slaughter my people," Kernunnos replies, "but I suppose they must have had their reasons." The eidola's tone is hard to decipher, but Ivo looks nervous regardless.

"I of course don't mean to imply their acts were justified..."

"Of course." The light fades.

Ivo casts a sidelong glance at Reize, pausing for some moments more before cracking a smile, reaching toward an old table left behind a century ago and the stack of parchment upon it.

"Well," he says brightly, "if I can get just two pieces of the Crux to function as though it were complete, if at surely half power at best, then I might be able to feed concentrated aether directly into it and activate its conversion process, bypassing whatever lost rituals the druids used to make it work. Raw Creation aether is hard to come by, to say the least, so without some similar technique, Kernunnos is going to be constantly exhausted. Unless you want to build a shrine and start praying to him!"

He scribbles some notes with a stick of graphite.

"Here, check this out..."

What Ivo has written to Reize has nothing to do with the Crux of Creation or mixing spices for noodles.

'I don't want to offend our resident demigod,' his tight printed hand reads, 'but he sure makes a sharp distinction between his "people" and the homunculi they made, huh?'

"I am glad that my artwork was able to get her attention and you two were able to convince Nais to help us." Reize looks quite proud for a second.

As soon as the water heats up well enough, the young explorer places the noodles in and lets it go through the restoration process. Where as Ivo's abilities likely excel at bakery due to the scientific-nature, Reize's ability of field cooking does rely on intuition. If it's simple foods such as meat and such, he does a fairly good job.

Kernunnos's answer surprises the boy as well, who looks at the pendant. "Oh! Hello Kernunnos!" He brightens cheerfully. After a moment, he looks at Ivo and them. He closes his eyes thoughtfully, "...I guess Lily would probably be able to do the same."

He considers, "Oh right, you refer to them as the 'Bringers of Ascent'." He looks over at Ivo's nervousness and then he looks over to the older male who hands him the parchment. Reize takes the time to read it and then he frowns with a slight nod.

It is an empathetic smile towards his older companion. He hands the parchment back and then he brightens, "Alright, your noodles should be ready shortly... let me add a few things..." He places the spices inside, letting the heated water pick it up with the noodles.

"... Well, once we're done here, we'll have to return to Cosmopolis." He muses, "I never did get a chance to explore the city properly."

"All thanks to your artistic ability," Ivo replies lightly, ever ready to flatter. He keeps to himself his confidence that his, ahem, adjustments to the drawing were the real key to their success. "Frankly, I'm surprised Nais was so obliging, even given that he'd had time to reflect in his cell. Maybe the Misty Forest was his first taste of coming into his own." It sounded as though he only had been truly able to utilize his druidic talents there. "If he treasures the memories of his grandfather's stories and seeks a power tied to them, he might be more inclined to choose a kinder path than I expected."

Ivo isn't so foolish as to assume that Nais would never turn his strengthened powers against the party in vengeance. But so long as he gives Nais a path forward, he has reason to think this optimistic bet will pay off.

"I *have* wondered if Lily could master the Arts of the Star-Crowned too," Ivo says cheerfully, even as he dons thickly padded gloves and picks up heavy iron-wrought tongs. "I look forward to finding out once we return to Cosmopolis. When we arrive in Arcadios, let's learn everything we can from the records of the Star-Crowned -- not just how to restore Lily, but if there are any clues to how she might strengthen herself."

The Cosmopolitan seems pleased to discuss his city as he uses the tongs to grip a glowing red crystal, a misshapen chunk of aether best suited to serve as fuel for a magical forging process.

"I was excited to show it off to you!" he exclaims. Obviously, a higher priority arose. "I think you'll love the Warrens. The city didn't just build upward, it built *outward* as far as it could. So the layers run both vertically and horizontally. If you go within, where the light of the sun no longer penetrates, you can find people still living in fashions of decades past developed from cultures all over the world, as though incubated within the spire."

Ivo seems excited to explore it again himself.

"Now that I'm able to travel the world, I'm eager to compare the vestiges of immigrant communities in Cosmopolis to the actual societies from which our citizens hailed so many years ago!"

Luckily for Ivo, Reize is susceptible to the flattery, "Aww, thanks, Ivo!" He keeps a bright smile up. It soon relaxes as Ivo summarizes the outcome from the meeting with Nais. "Well, as long as he doesn't use his powers for nefarious means, we won't make him answer to us." He slaps his fist onto an open palm. Reize does hope that Nais will become a better person.

In regards to Lily, Reize muses, "That's a good idea." He looks at the pot once it seems to have boiled sufficently. "Lily was incomplete when we first met her. However, it seems that she stablized enough to not have to be dependent on me being nearby." He frowns, "Or so I thought..." Given her deep sleep, he is uncertain.

"Oh? The Warrens, you say?" He considers Ivo's words about the fashions of the past, indicating that Cosmopolis's lower area are filled with diverse people. "I would be happy to explore there!" Thoughtfully, Reize notes, "I only knew of my hamlet, so it is still new getting used to the presence of a city and everything outside of that."

He finally approaches the older male, holding the small pot of noodles, "It's ready! Eat up!"

Ivo grins at Reize's resolute response to the topic of Nais.

"I'll be counting on you, chief."

If they beat him once, they can beat him again, even if they end up training him to be stronger than before.

His grin eases somewhat as Reize turns thoughtful regarding Lily. "I'm sure she's still stable," Ivo replies reassuringly. "Whatever caused her condition couldn't have been related to you. The secrets of the Star-Crowned will surely resolve it." If nothing else, at this point, it is almost definite that no society better developed homunculi at scale than Vaeltrandia.

Heat sends ripples through the air as Ivo suspends the two fragments of the Crux of Creation, hard won by our heroes, in a small basin with green gems in the corners and the red crystal he had so gingerly maneuvered on its base. The power of wind keeps the glittering starmetal rods floating in place while the fire crystal sends energy pulsing through it. The young man looks up at Reize's call and smiles again before setting down his tongs.

"Don't mind if I do."

Quickly procuring a ladle, bowls, and forks from the laboratory's kitchen -- practically an extension of the lab itself at this point -- Ivo serves Reize and then himself before digging in, slurping appreciatively.

"Oh, this is excellent! Much better. What proportions did you use? Should we put the spice blend in small cloth bags?" He pauses, already thinking, though he does not stop shoveling noodles in his mouth. "I might be able to contrive some paper packets..."