World Tree MUSH

    The domain of Vas-Onta wasn't always near the Valley of Rime, but as things become more integrated with the Tree, Blossoms break apart and become Branches, melding with the various other worlds fully. Once that happens, regions can slowly shift about... like this.

    It's still a pleasant enough kingdom, though 'County' would be more correct given that it is lead by Count Vas-Onta. It's well-maintained, with several paved roads and irrigated farmlands. The technology level tends to be more fantasy-esque, since no major power plants are nearby, but there are some smaller generators and the people are no strangers to technology when it makes their lives easier or healthier, leading to a rustic but educated population.

    Vines have been dumping people here a lot lately, though... and the Count has been taking advantage of this, sending them into the Valley of Rime region to hunt for a strange artifact called the Iridescent Tree. His obsession with this has lead to many edicts that aren't normal for the normally-kind Count, including curfews, demands of housing adventurers, and higher taxes of both manpower and money to pay for this search. As a result many people are unhappy, and show it, not to mention some have openly hostile glares toward strangers.

    Here in the capital city, there's quite a commotion, as a large division of troops has come into town just a few minutes ago, some of whom are roughly pushing the citizens about. All is not without hope though... it appears that many of these soldiers are reluctant to get too forceful as yet, but no doubt the whispered rumors of the Countess preparing to make a speech is why they are here.

    It's in Hyouka's nature to jump at any opportunity for a good adventure; sometimes without doing the expected homework about the job beforehand. Rumors about a quest to find some kind of special tree? Sure, sign her right up. No need to ask for more about it until she gets there, right?

    ...she totally should have asked for more info before she got here.

    The faux elf offworlder has been here for about an hour, trying to dredge up more information. Being an outsider, people have not been terribly forthcoming, but she's been able to pry loose enough info to know that the locals are unhappy about this search for a tree. She's just about made up her mind to head back when a division of troops arrives in the city, behaving in a way just belligerent enough to cause concern. "Hyouka, I think that perhaps we should be going," DARGN warns. "I don't think we want to get mixed up in whatever's brewing." The cyborg frowns at her AI's words. "...no, not yet. I kinda want to figure out what's going on here. We can always go to the rooftops or something if we need to get out of here."

    YoRHa has not been quite forthcoming in funds for its world scouting units and this means some things. For one; repairs are harder to come by with lack of funds, and that means maintenance is a bit on the tight end, and most YoRHa units working away from Earth are expected to fend for themselves.
    So when a job from the Gardners comes in...
    "Whoah 2B, there sure are a lot of humans here."
    "Is that still so surprising anymore?" the dusky skinned Battler unit comments as the two arrive through a vine into the capital city, earning a beat of headscratching from her smaller Scanner companion.
    "Well yeah but. There's something going on. Those soldiers are pushing people around.."
    "Mhm."
    "So like, the details were something about the Count sending people to look for some artifact, and no one's happy about it so-- OH HEY HYOUKA."
    he Scanner unit's attention rapidly shifts to start waving pretty blatantly for the faux-elf cyborg regardless of dirty looks sent his way.

    Emily Nyx has been here for a couple of days, and has been bluntly refraining from taking advantage of things like housing-edicts and the like. Although she's been causing a couple of minor stirs where she goes simply with her sheer Emilyness, she hasn't been specifically disruptive, and so she's had a chance to talk to some other adventurers. They've all had more or less the same feeling about this situation:

    There's something weird going on here, and it isn't her.

    She walks through the capital city in the form of a middle-class woman with black hair and her usual glowing purple eyes, dressed in a simple tunic and breeches which appear to be made out of devastatingly-expensive silks. She's smiling her trademark amused and faintly smug smile as she walks up behind 2B and 9S as the latter waves to Hyouka. She doesn't announce herself or greet them; she simply stands behind Nines and waits for one of them (or one of their Pods) to notice her.

  Of course word of this crisis had eventually reached the Mage's Association, formerly of London. The main difference between a lot of off-world help and the Mage's Association, however, is that the latter has absolutely zero sense of altruism. Ever. When they do something, there's a self-serving reason somewhere down there. So it is that Tohsaka Rin has been dispatched to find out what's going on in Vas-Onta, and more importantly, gather more information about that artifact.

  As official representatives of the Mage's Association, the young woman that strides in from the nearest Vine has her hands tucked into a wool winter coat, long black hair left loose about her shoulders, blue eyes scanning the area with deceptive nonchalance. She looks young for an official representative of anything, just shy of twenty, but there's a confidence and deliberate ease about her posture that speaks of self-control.

  She's frowning as she paces further into the area, paying attention not to her regular senses, but casting a wide net with her magus' senses. The place isn't completely dead, but it's not particularly interesting, either. Her eyes turn back to the assembling group, flicking over each in turn.

  And stares, kind of blankly. It's so long it might even seem like something's wrong, but after a few seconds of flat disbelief, she shakes her head and sighs. "Yeah, no, I'm not even going to ask. I'm assuming you're all here for the Vas-Onta matter, too? My name is Tohsaka Rin. I'm an official representative of the Mage's Association." Her long coat looks appropriately agent-like, as though she could be from some government agency. So too those sunglasses over her eyes. "What's the situation? Has anything happened since the initial posting?"

    Indeed, something is happening. It's reminiscent of an organized roundup of rebellious citizens, except that the guards don't seem to be of one mind about it. Most are brusquely following orders, but several hesitate, or question who they are gathering for longer than needed, leading one of the more professional ones to nudge them gently. Gently, meaning even the loyalists can understand the reluctance. It's a weird mix of authoritarian militarization and politeness.

    One of the adventurers nearby is able to explain, "It sounds like the Countess is planning on making some kind of speech, or was. If I were a more nefarious sort of person I'd have waited until she showed up to do this," she says. Looks like some kind of elf ranger. "Now he's probably going to ground... but word is she's not too happy and the rumor is she was going to try to unseat the Count. It's crazy. The job pays pretty well but I'm not so sure I want to do it."

    "Oh, 9S, 2B, hello~." Hyouka lifts up a hand to wave in the androids' direction, turning to head over their way. Emily gets a glance, but no more than that; she's not about to spoil the fun. Another approaches, though, and the cyborg regards her curiously, before giving a polite, Japanese-style bow of greeting that'd be more at home in an office. "Hyouka Kiyama. I'm a freelance adventurer. I'm afraid I don't have much info..."

    Oh, another adventurer offers some details. That's interesting. "...so we've maybe got some civil unrest brewing, then," she muses. "Even the guards don't look happy about this," DARGN observes. Hyouka shakes her head. "I'm not so sure about this either. Kind of glad I haven't done any paperwork yet."

    Pause.

    "You are always glad you haven't done any paperwork yet," DARGN remarks, her tone dry.

    "Wow. This sounds complex." 9S says.
    "All politics are." 2B says matter of factly, turning her head to glance over her shoulder.
    "Emily."
    That's her greeting to the Eudaemon; short, simple, and to the point.
    It's while 9S meanders over to Hyouka to attempt to enwrap her in the gratuitously long human handshake ritual, 2B's attention shifts towards the Tohsaka heir.
    "Mage's Association?" A curious note to her voice there before she listens to the adventurer.
    "Ooooooh... This definitely does sound like complex human political stuff, 2B. Imagine how much we could learn!" 9S... Sounds about as excited as a puppy.

    Emily's head rotates unnaturally towards Rin, and she greets her with a simple nod. She chortles slightly at 2B's non-reaction, and shrugs. "Yeah," she says. "Anyway, hey, Kiyama, hey Nines, and, uh, nice to meet you, Tohsaka." Failing to greet 2B? "These robots here are YoRHa number 2 type B and number 9 type S, and I'm Emily Nyx, which is to say, number MLE0 type Nyx." She turns back to 9S. "I mean, what I have heard of politics makes me considerably less enthusiastic. But suit yourself, I guess."

    She regards the guards for a moment; there's a swirl of what appears to be silvery glitter around her neck, which stretches out several feet, before she retracts it again. "Oh yeah," she says. "Definitely something weird goin' on." Her faint smirk suggests that yes, she is aware of the irony there.

  The magus' gaze sweeps the assembled party one more time before settling specifically on Hyouka Kiyama. Those blue eyes narrow almost imperceptibly. That isn't any trick of the ambient mana. Whatever that elf-eared woman is, it's something monstrous.

  "And while I'm asking questions..." The sideways twist of her mouth is crooked. "Who the hell are you, and why do you have a dragon's mana?" Emily is eyed flatly for a second or two, too, but in spite of the glowing eyes there's nothing in particular to sense. Not like Miss Dragon Fists over there. So too are the pair of YoRHa androids eyed. No magical energy, but they sure look like they could be something strange like a Servant by appearance alone. As Emily turns to eye her, Rin eyes back, looking just a little unsettled by that unnatural turn of the Eudaemon's neck. Um, that's really creepy. After a second of flat staring, her brain reboots enough to register that Emily's talking to her, and she raises a hand, waving it dismissively and sighing. "You can call me Rin, if that's easier."

  ...wow, she probably is one of the only humans here. That's an awkward feeling.

  More importantly, though, she's keeping an eye toward the soldiers. The mood around the village square is getting to be a little ugly, and Rin is starting to dislike the way they're just herding people around. "Sounds wonderful," she sighs, as the elfin adventurer explains the situation. Her right hand fiddles with something at the bottom of her coat pocket. She frowns, though, shooting a fleeting dirty look to the elfin adventurer. "Hey, at least you're being paid to risk your neck."

  Oh hey. Android. Rin turns slightly, blinking at the sudden raptor-like regard of 2B. She tilts her head, glancing between 2B and 9S with some bafflement. "That's right. I'm here to make sure this mess has nothing to do with my world's problems; they're bad enough without any encouragement. Were you two here to deal with this mess, too? Or were you just here to investigate?"

    The elf shakes her head, "Risking my life for reward is one thing, but I'm not a mercenary. I don't want any part of a civil war. I'm going to back out, I think." Which is probably wise for a simple adventurer, rather than a Harbinger like the ones here.

    Of course the guards DO know that offworlders are here, and one of them approaches. "Hello, are you here to look for the tree that the Count desires?" He sounds a little hopeful, but has dark shadows under his eyes. "Another party is going to be heading out soon, you can gather at the guild if you like, or I can try to answer questions." He lowers his voice a little. "And if you are, please hurry. This search is turning the city upside down."

    Did he just say 'yay politics'? Hyouka stares at 9S briefly.

    Wait, what's this about a dragon? The cyborg whips her head around with sudden interest - only to realize that Tohsaka is looking right at her. "Huh? O-oh, well. I'm a cyborg." She brings a fist up, and thumps her chest lightly, suddenly puffed up with pride. "My body runs on a cutting edge new mana reactor called the DraCor engine. It was designed to generate mana the same way a dragon's heart does, so it gets pretty good output." Her onboard AI chimes in, "As a result of using similar mana generation principles, the mana produced by the DraCor Engine also carries some of the unique harmonics of draconic beings. Please do not be alarmed. I assure you that Hyouka is not nearly forceful enough to be a dragon."

    Hyouka is still trying to decide whether or not to take that as a complement when a guard approaches them. "Hm? Ah, well, I'm honestly not sure. I don't know if I want to get caught up in..." She waves her hand vaguely. "It feels like this whole thing isn't very popular." DARGN adds, "There are pieces of the puzzle we don't have. It's hard to make a call when we might be stepping into civil strife."

    Yay politics, indeed. 9S looks pretty excited right now. In comparison, it's a complete polar opposite to 2B's normally dour self being... Pretty dour right now while Emily introduces the both of them to the magus.
    That... That has a wholly different effect.
    "Wait wait wait, did you say 'Mages' as in 'magic'?'
    In an instant 9S is laser focused on rin. "As in, a human who can use magic? Oh man you have to tell me what it's like, the only experiences 2B and I have had with magic has been with cybernetic organisms like Hyouka and..."
    Whatever Emily is.
    "Emilyyyyyy kind of? I think." He muses after a beat "--Anyway oh man today's going to be so cool, I get to experience human politics AND see magic?!"
    2B looks about ready to kill 9S. (Again.)
    It takes a certain force of effort and willpower to not do it where anyone can see, right now.
    "We're just here to investigate." The Battle unit answers Rin, before the guard approaches.
    9S and 2B share a look.
    "Maybe we are." 2B says.
    "Maybe we aren't." 9S says.
    2B nudges 9S gently with her elbow.
    "I mean maybe we are! --What can you tell us? How many people have gone searching already? What is this tree thing, and why does the Count want it so badly?" The curious Scanner barrages a slew of questions.

    Emily stretches (even though she's made of nanomachines and the gesture is meaningless). "Actually dealing with messes is always more fun," she answers Rin cheerfully. "One thing about the World Tree is, there's never a dull moment. I've lived more in the past two years than I had in the two-thirds of a millennium before then."

    She can't resist a giggle at 9S's sudden ... uncertainty. "Yep, definitely magic here, son," she says. "And technology. I'm three quintillion machines in a trench coat," she adds for Rin's benefit. (She isn't wearing a trench coat. However, it seems she's inordinately pleased with this turn of phrase.)

    She nods to Hyouka. "This is certainly an interesting situation," she says dryly. "I've heard that the Iridescent Tree itself is from the Count's world, but he's from a Bud. Possibly it enhances certain kinds of magic, and it seems that it isn't a weapon." She turns to the Guard. "But I do have one question."

    She gives the guard her full attention, and though her expression doesn't change, her eyes turn into completely black voids, so black they look like a rip in space or a graphical glitch. "What are you searching for?"

  "Well, that's fair enough." Rin waves to the departing elfin adventurer, only for a guard to take her place, asking about Iridescent Trees and Counts. Neither of these things are anything Rin knows much about, so she only shrugs expressively to the man, shaking her head.

  A hand strays down to pat her pockets down like she's looking for something, listening distractedly to the others. Producing a toothpick, she pops the end into the corner of her mouth, chewing on it as she eyes Hyouka.

  "I see," Rin says, in a tone that mostly disguises the fact that she absolutely doesn't. Draconic haromics? "Yeah, I think I noticed that," she adds. "So, uh, you're some kind of cybernetic entity. Got it, thanks--"

  Suddenly 9S is Very Curious. Rin stares blankly at the android.

  "I said 'magus,' as in 'Magecraft,'" the young woman clarifies. "I'm guessing you haven't dealt with the Mage's Association, yet. What we magi use is absolutely not magic."

  To the guardsman's questions, though, which are quickly drowned out by the incessant line of questioning from 9S, Rin only shakes her head and shrugs. "Sorry." Not really, and don't look at me, her tone seems to say. "I'm just here to investigate the area."

  She's going to stick to her 'observation and investigation' routine, but with her luck, she'll be dragged into a real fiasco sooner or later. Isn't that usually the way of things?

  "Says you," Rin retorts, to Emily. "I'm going to guess that you don't have to deal with debriefing and paperwork every time there's some disaster loosely related to another disaster halfway around the World Tree."

  Right, so, some kind of nanomachine colony thing.

  Rin is taking all of this pretty decently, all things considered.

  Her eyes flick back to the guard. "So, maybe he wants to use it to find a way home? I could understand that, depending on what it is and its nature... but I don't know enough about this Count to say one way or the other." The toothpick rolls to the other side of her mouth, and she frowns around it. Rin glances to Hyouka. "You two seem pretty pragmatic. What do you think?"

    The guard frowns, listening to everything. There's a minor scuffle nearby that nearly tugs him away, but it gets settled - without injury this time - so he relaxes enough to answer Rin before the others. "I don't... think he wants it to go home. He married a native and he has ruled the county for over a decade, it'd be strange to suddenly want to go home. I've heard he wants to use the tree to make our land more fertile or something... he said it would help him rule more effectively. And he's always been very kind to us and the peasantry. Always going on about this 'Equal Rights' thing that his world had." Someone paying close attention may notice that he used a slightly different language there, though both it and the one he was speaking seem to translate just fine.

    His face hardens. "As for who we are looking for... the Countess, his wife, has run away and begun speaking that her husband no longer deserves our loyalty. I disagree. We've been told to detain her. It's true that the Count has been acting strangely of late, but we owe him a great deal. Before he came here we were a poor town. Now we're a city." Not a wealthy city, but comfortable and certainly not poor, from the looks of it. "And starvation was a thing of the past until the recent riots. I don't think the Countess means ill either, but I think if someone finds this artifact that we're looking for, it may settle things."

    There were other questions, which he answers more formally, without as much emotion. "He's been sending parties to look for a few years now, it's only in the last couple months it has gotten drastic. About when we heard someone had seen it in the valley. So I don't know how many have been sent in total, but in the last three months I'd guess... hmm... three dozen, give or take? Usually in groups of two to four. Plus one squad of our elite guardsmen... losing them is when he decided not to send more of his men, and hire adventurers used to strange situations instead."

    Hyouka turns to arch an eyebrow at 9S. "Now hey, I'm still human, and I can sort of use magic." Immediately DARGN replies, "You channel elemental mana. The difference between what you do and magic, is the difference between shocking people with a taser, and building complicated electronics."

    Hyouka huffs irritably, folding her arms. "Details. There's totally enchantments worked into my chassis. Close enough."

    As the guard talks, Hyouka listens, her expression thoughtful. "Mmm... well, I don't mean to tell you your business, but if there's one thing I've learned in life - and don't mind my elven good looks, I'm not young - it's that past favors shouldn't excuse present abuse. It's not healthy to cling to someone if they mistreat you, and leaders have as much of a duty to lead fairly as followers do to follow loyally." For a moment there, the weight of world-weariness settles into her voice.

    Then she waves a hand breezily. "But I'm an outsider, don't mind me." She looks between 2B, 9S, Emily and Tohsaka, then shrugs lightly. "I can only really speak for myself. I'm not going on the next search party out, but I might take one soon. First I want to familiarize myself a little more with what's going on in the city." More specifically, she'd rather like to look for the Countess and get her side of the story. But she won't say that out loud.

    Emily gigglesnorts at Rin's insistence that 'magecraft' isn't 'magic'. "... Eh, I shouldn't laugh, any sufficiently advanced technology, and all that." She shrugs. "Or however things are distinguished in your world." She looks like she's about to answer Rin's retort with a retort of her own, then stops, frowning, before an expression of actual concern and sympathy crosses her her face. "Wow, yeah, that would take the fun about anything."

    She pauses as a sudden thought strikes her. "If you ever feel like deserting the Mage's Association," she says in an obviously-joking tone, "I could find a spot for you." (There's no way she's going to suggest this to a certain pair of YoRHa androids until 1. she's established this firmly as "A Goofy Thing Emily Does", and 2. gotten a better look at what YoRHa's deal is, and whether her suspicions about 2B are correct.)

    She starts to look intrigued as the guard describes the Count's policies, and listens to Hyouka's response with the expression of one who doesn't have the slightest understanding of what she's saying. But comprehension starts to return when Hyouka talks about familiarizing herself with the locale. "That makes sense," she says to Hyouka. "Y'know what, I might have to do that myself."

    Then she radios Hyouka: <<Figured something out?>>

  "It was worth asking." Why that is, Rin doesn't say, but she seems reasonably intelligent. She probably had some kind of good reason for a seemingly illogical question. So she listens, and she chews on her toothpick thoughtfully. The language swap confirms 'equal rights' is a transplanted concept.

  Rin reaches up, hiking up her coat's collar. Winter is winter no matter where one goes. "Either finding that artifact is going to settle things," she mutters, "or it's going to throw this place right the hell into a civil war."

  I'm still human, Hyouka says, and Rin turns on her heel to frown and stare very hard at the not-elf. The slight narrowing of her eyes suggests she's looking at something not with her eyes but with other senses, but all that does is cause her to scowl, looking away. It's like staring at a flood light through night vision goggles.

  "Yeah." This, to Hyouka, though Rin sounds distracted. "I was thinking along the same lines, myself. I'm not going to rush out there blind. That's a good way to get myself killed, and I have no special incentive to bother risking my neck over this business."

  Emily earns a brief sidelong look while she's still around. Rin chews her toothpick a little more pointedly, but eventually shakes her head and turns her attention back to the situation at hand. Best to keep her mouth shut and ear ears and eyes open, right now.

    The young man nods at Hyouka, "Hey, I know it, and some of us are a little uneasy, but erattic and evil are pretty different. He has been very firm that we avoid injuring the civilians, he's hiring the adventurers for this task that's too much for his guards... he even dipped into the treasury to give extra compensation to the families of the ones who died on this errand. I'm actually more worried that he'll empty the treasury for this than I am at being asked to do war crimes or something. Maybe he has a good reason for this, you know?" That's a good point. Yes, a few of the guards are being rougher than they should... a fact that is making this particular one uncomfortable, visibly so. But it's also true nobody has been badly injured.

    Everyone seems to be showing some caution, and the guard hesitates before sighing, "Well... part of me wants to warn you that if you're too slow, someone will find it first. But... a lot of people are failing. Look before you leap, as they say, might be a good idea." He glances at the crowd that's dispersing, with a few apparently being arrested. "Looks like we have a few to ask questions to. If you need me, my name is Sergeant Xander. You seem decent enough folks... if a little weird." He eyes 9S and Emily especially. "So good luck."

    Hyouka's response to Emily comes across in a simple, <<Not yet, no. But something's strange, and the Countess is probably best positioned to know what it is. When you want to know what's bothering the boss, you ask his wife.>>

    Emily shoots Rin a quick smirk, then nods to the guard. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she says cheerfully.

    Her response to Hyouka is, <<Hah! Looks like I'll be following your lead today, then!>>