World Tree MUSH

    Seele blinks, "Oh right, Bronya left this to give to you. She said you'd know what to do with it." she pulls a letter from her belt pouch, a little crumpled, but perfectly legible still. She hands it to Stelle who opens it without hesitation, holding it so the others can read it also.

    It's written in Bronya's elegant handwriting.
    My friends from other worlds,

    By the time you read this letter, I should have returned to the Overworld and be on my way to see my mother. I apologize for not telling you of my plan. I was afraid that you would strongly object, which might sway my resolve.

    "Damn right we'd object!" announces March grumpily, Dan Heng frowns softly, but continues to read. "Hmm, she's going to try and reason with Cocolia... but it says here, that if something were to happen, we are to seek out the Landau siblings, Serval and Gepard."

    Stelle blinks. "Wasn't the Guard Captain we met outside the city called Gepard?" she asks. "Never met anyone named Serval though."

    It's time to go track down Serval. Talia vaguely remembers that one, the engineer with the stylin' hair, right? She sighs at Bronya's note. "Reckless. She intends to fight the entire damn city." She then glances to Stelle. "The engineer, with the hair, right?"

    Clara is here!
    "Huh. Big sis Bronya went on ahead without us? ... That seems kind of reckless." She muses, lips pursing into a slight frown.
    Svarog, of course, is with Clara now, as well.
    "I agree: Considering the present hostile status of the Guardian, her actions are very reckless."

    "Well she probably wants to give it a try to talk sense into her, I mean she is close..." Jessica reasons. That doesn't sound like a bad idea to her, escept for, well... "But people don't usually like to talk when they're so set in their ways."

    Looks like everyone else is agreeing with her, so the catgirl just nods. "We'd better try to catch up. Or meet up with the two mentioned."

    Bi De hmms. "Even if they choose to talk, simple discussions can often be profoundly violent, for some." The chicken clucks thoughtfully. "When the Great Master's own Master appeared, they disagreed, and chose to speak out their differences in a friendly fashion. The resulting spar moved my favorite star-watching hill."

    Stelle looks up from the letter, handing it off to Dan Heng. "Sampo, do you know the Landau siblings?" she asks.

    The blue-haired braggart sputters. "Landau? Uh... yeah, yeah we're old friends. I've mostly dealt with the younger brother in the past, but the sister... whoo, she's much scarier... lets not talk about it right now." he says, doing his mile-a-minute talk when he's making up stuff. "Anyway, I'm ready when you lot are, if you wanna do anything more down here, do it, I'll be here when you're ready to set out."

    Regardless of if people want to go immediately, or have unfinished business to attend to, Sampo will guide them to the surface. "Remember to bring enough food and drink to refuel along the way. The Furnace Core has a lot of steps in it... they're murder on my knees. Aaah to be young again."

    SURFACE,

    It was a lot of stairs... and once on the surface, Sampo is nowhere to be found, as usual.

    March is sucking in big lungfuls of fresh surface air... and then shuddering as the biting cold hits her. "I forgot what fresh air tasted like..."

    Stelle blinks. "Aren't we missing someone?"
    Dan Heng is quick to speak. "No."
    Seele frowns. "Where the heck is Sampo?"
    March comes back from cloud cookoo land, "Nope! Next question. Where's our next stop?"

    Talia follows up to the surface, stoically enduring the fatigue. By the time she reaches the surface, she takes in a big huff as she pulls her coat on. "Missed it, honestly." She says to March. "Nothing like fresh air to revitalize someone."

    With Sampo gone, Talia lets out a stoic sigh and drops her shoulders. "I guess we're on our own. Again."

    "It's not that bad! I'm sure everything will be fine!" Jessica says, trying to cheer up Talia. "I mean... hm." The catgirl pauses as she tightens the straps on her pack, looking a little flushed from the long walk up. Then she just outright asks:

    "Are you worried about Sampo's safety or about us without?" It's hard to tell!

    Stairs! ... Lots of them. But Clara perseveres as the party heads up to the surface and...
    "... Why is the ceiling blue?" She asks the most pertinent question to arise as the party gets there.
    ... Funny. Svarog is nowhere to be seen, now.
    Oh Sampo is gone.
    Clara doesn't look surprised.

    "Ahhhhhhhhh..." Bi De's squawk SOMEHOW sounds like a sigh. Of relief, that is. "It is good to be out in the open air again. Too much time underground..." He flutters a bit and then hops up next to Stelle. "Perhaps I can be of more use now."

    The rooster's neck cranes toward Clara. "It will not always be blue, do not worry." As if that's the problem!

    "It's not a ceiling, Clara." notes Dan casually.
    Jessica's question is fielded by Stelle. "I'm more worried about our safty from him. He ambushed us when we were running from Bronya at the start, remember... what if those gas grenades weren't knock-out gas." she shrugs.
    The group then looks to Talia, Dan Heng piping up. "I think our next step should be to contact Serval Landau... Miss Kyras, you mentioned you met someone by that name? Care to lead the way?"

    Jessica scratches at an ear, then sighs, "Well we can't do much if we don't move on! Let's find this Landau person, yeah! Good thing we have someone who knows what they look like." She looks expectantly at Talia, smiling. No pressure, Cheddar Knight.

    Another cluck, and Bi De hmms, "What else would it be? I'm afraid that Ri Zu is the one that knows the most about medicinal concoctions and poison, I merely follow her lead... and she is sadly not with us. We could use a healer."

    Talia remembers the workshop, specifically Serval's spot there. "We met over a broken heater." She says. It just occurs to her that Rebecca isn't here right now, so she has to call upon her memory (and the Force) to lead her back to Serval. It should be a short trek, hopefully.

    MEANWHILE Clara is staring up at the sky.
    "It won't always be blue?" Oh god Bi De what have you done?
    The girl, so clearly entranced with the way the overworld looks, nearly wanders off entirely on her own.
    Before something gives her a little nudge and she resumes following the group and Talia in the direction of the workshop.

    "So, we should avoid Gepard for now, right?" asks March uncertainly.
    The group start moving, following after Talia, Dan Heng answers the question, "He's an elite officer in the Guard... if the letter doesn't convince him, we'd be walking straight into the lion's den."

    Seele's looking a bit, concerned. Her brow knitted, her eyes darting around a little. "Something wrong, Seele?" asks March gently.
    The Underworlder sighs, "The last time I was on the surface, I was just a child... I don't have any memory of this place. We've, been cut off from each other for too long."

    Stelle pipes up. "We're still wanted fugitives, so we should keep a low profile." she says, but instead of comically starting to do the 'Sneaky Walk', she just tries to act natural... until she spots a Wanted Poster on a nearby wall. It's crudely drawn, almost like a child did it, and the local script reads: Wanted, reward: 50 shield.

    The trek to the workshop isn't all that long, though, and once they arrive, the shop is open, with the sound of rock music wafting out of it... this close to the steps leading to the Fortress though, there's a lot of Guards stationed, though they don't seem very attentive.

    Talia is not exactly looking forward to it, but she could perhaps grease some palms with a mind trick or two if there's trouble. The wanted poster is...well, Talia tries to hide a snort and fails. "Spitting likeness." She says dryly.

    Not much of a bounty, either.

    With guards having been posted all over the workshop, it seems like there's quite the garrison of guards at the fortress. "Let's be quick with this." She says, as she pulls her hood up and makes her way toward the shop purposefully.

    "They probably should have put something on there about travelling with a chicken," Jessica muses. "But Bi De probably has some kind of super secret martial art to turn invisible or something." Even on Terra, apparently there are simply ridiculous films about mystic arts, despite them having ACTUAL mystic arts.

    Then again, Jessica still isn't sure whether or not Manticore is following her and just building up the courage to say something.

    There is one problem with this assessment.
    "I'm not." Clara points out. She is, in fact, not a wanted fugitive. Yet.
    "... That looks like something Hook drew." She points out quietly about the poster while making her way toward the sound of ~rock and roll~. She pauses though.
    Clara looks at Jessica. She looks at Bi De.
    The girl furrows her brow.
    "I don't think you need martial arts for that." She says. What could she mean by that?
    WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSD TO MEAN?

    "I do not," Bi De says firmly. "My abilities are mostly in the combat realm. I am, after all, a rooster. My task is to guard the coop and Fa Ram from undesirable invaders, to protect the Great Master's home and livestock, and of course to help enlarge the coop. That is what I train to become better at."

    Don't think about that too hard.

    March frowns. "There, weren't this many guards the last time we were here, right?" she asks.
    "No." replies Dan Heng. "The security is much tighter rnow. Perhaps because of us... The Supreme Guardian may already know we've arrived. Bronya..."

    Stelle gently pats Dan's shoulder, reassuring him quietly.

    As Talia approaches the door, a voice calls from inside. "Who is it? Shop's closed today." the voice is uncertain, skittish. And clearly belongs to Serval.

    Talia leans into the door gently, "We need to talk to you, and your brother. We received a message." She produces the note they found before. "Mentions you."

    Jessica is standing nearby, and blinks a few times. "Um, Talia... maybe you should explain just a LITTLE more. The way you said it makes it sound like we're here to arrest them or something." She lowers her voice so only those near can hear and adds, "Bronya sent us."

    In a rare moment of dry humor, Bi De points out to Jessica, "While I would agree with you normally, I am not so certain that the Guard regularly employs chickens, cats, and young children to do their enforcement of strict policies and thrashing the commoners."

    Clara is, meanwhile examining the heater by Serval's shop. Looks like it busted again.
    While the others try to convince her to open up the door, the silver-haired girl... Opens up the busted heater and starts futzing with its internal components.
    "There, all better." She says after a few moments of making adjustments and repairs.
    "Good as new~." Not really. It'll probably just beak down again soon, Belobog IS practically falling apart as it is.

    March attempts to interject. "Miss Serval, Bronya sent us, she said you could help."

    Serval's quiet for a few moments, then she seems to remember, "Oh, I recognize one of those voices, the green lady who fixed that heater. Shame it broke again not long after. It might be a write-off." she then comes up short, like a record scratching. "Wait, why are you strolling around the city?! Don't you know the Silvermane Guard are looking for you?" she asks. "Quick, act natural and get inside, don't get spotted!"

    The door clicks as it unlocks, and the group can cluster inside. Luck or provedence sees that no guards even bother looking away from their postings.

    Talia nods as she walks in. "We're aware. Thus why we're looking for you. Bronya insisted we come find you, she ran off on her own." She does give Serval a pat on the shoulder. "Shame about the heater, poor thing must've been a lemon."

    "No, Talia, I'm pretty sure it actually was a heater," Jessica points out as she shuffles inside, stepping to the side so she isn't in view any more. "Why would anyone heat their home with citrus?"

    Brushing off the jedi's absolutely silly ideas, she looks at Serval. "We were looking for you! Do you know why?"

    "I fixed it!"
    That would be Clara on the subject of the heater. "It's a temporary fix without some new parts but... That should have it working again for a few days at least." Girl knows her way around machines as she steps inside Serval's workshop and...
    Her eyes go wide.
    Are those hearts in her eyes.
    "Oh wow look at all the machines."

    "We didn't have much choice," Bi De points out. "It was either this or storm the guards. We have things to do here, and they're important. A giant metal construct told us."

    Once inside, Serval stands with hands on hips. "You should be safe in here. The workshop has pretty good soundproofing, and barely anyone comes by." she says, then adds, "Just what crime did you commit, exactly? The recalled a bunch of Guards from the front line to track you down, -- It's unprecedented and now the whole city's in a panic."

    "Well... we--" begins March, before Dan Heng cuts her off. "Not yet, March." he turns back to look at Serval. "Bronya said we could trust you completely."
    "Does that mean you don't?" asks Serval, her eyes narrowing slightly. Dan simply nods.
    Serval's face lightens, and she smiles. "Good! That's smart of you. But you needn't worry. Cocolia and I aren't even on speaking terms. She's the reason I got ejected from the Architects. I refuse to stand with her."

     She looks down, "I don't believe you would do anything that bad, and the Architects will need conclusive and publicly available proof to change my mind on that. Besides, I know the Architects, and if they did have evidence, they would've released it by now. This is classic Cocolia. Stir up everyone into a frenzy, then release some half-baked lie that aligns with the public sentiment she's cultivated. People in a frenzy don't often ponder over details."

    Talia nods curtly. "She wants a scapegoat, it seems. And we make a very convenient one." She says, before approaching Serval. "Can we count on your assistance in this?"

    Clara looks between Serval and Dan Heng at the tense moment of debating whether or not to trust the woman. Before it becomes evident that they can, in fact, trust the woman.
    "Making people frenzy doesn't sound very nice..."
    "No it does not, Clara. It is a standard tactic of a typical despot, wielding public relations like a weapon." Svarog says.
    WHEN THE HELL DID HE--
    Svarog, who was NOT here just a moment ago suddenly... Un-cloaks himself as he steps into the workshop, light bending around him briefly before flickering and his cloaking system de-activates, revealing that he had, in fact, been here the whole time.
    Hello, yes this is giant metal construct.