abraxaslogs | dont underestimate the importance of terrarium humidity

[ A week into his time in the Free Cities, and he's still getting his bearings. Maybe exploring during a month long plague of dust storms is a bad idea, but Nameless aren't known for their caution when it comes to trailblazing. Even the ever responsible Dan Heng is willing to leap before he looks sometimes, confident that his Path and his own skills will keep him relatively safe. And the empty streets make it easier to navigate while keeping all of his coin free from wandering pickpocket's hands. The only trouble is, sometimes the storms rage a little too much, and he's a little too far out from the public safe areas, like the library or the barracks. He could always go into a pub and hunker with the rest of the citizenry, but then he'd lose the luxury of isolation.

Naturally, the solution is to just find a doorway on the leeward side of a building and wait on the stoop for the worst of the dust storm to pass, and practice the only piece of High Magic he bothered learning in Solvunn — a ward against (winter) storms. (The poor solider tailing him has to do the same thing down the street, without the convenience of protection past her own equipment.) Inside the ward's safe harbor the air is mostly dust free, enough that Dan Heng has yanked his standard issue mask up on top of his head, and is steadily working his way through an apple while he examines the map of the city in his possession. He's trying to decide where to explore next when the dust dies down. Hopefully, nobody will try to leave the building he's camped out in the doorway of in the meanwhile, or they'll trip right over him and get a mouthful of cold sea air for having the audacity to try and leave safety during a dust storm... ]

[ Since the storm has started it has been established several times over by the residents in the loft that going outside probably isn't the smartest idea, mostly because it isn't clear when the storm will start or end. The last thing Hilda wants is for Claude, Sylvain or herself to be trapped outside ~~like some nerd~~ waiting for a storm to blow over.

Unfortunately for her, business had needed attending to at the Old Public Hall and it had been just her luck that she had been a block away from the loft when the storm hit. Indignant and stubborn, she had decided to press on clad in a cloak she had long since resigned to being her "sandstorm" cloak and the necessary goggles and masks to navigate outside.

So close to home she practically bounds into the door way not realizing that the whirling storm obstructs the fact that there's someone camped out in their doorway. Her undignified squawk is only partially muffled as she tumbles over it and onto the ground. It doesn't dawn on her immediately that the bubble she's fallen into is far less dusty than the outside. It also takes a minute to realize who exactly is occupying said bubble. ]

Not that I don't think taking shelter from a storm is important but don't you think you should be taking shelter somewhere else aside from someone's doorstep? [ And then as her rights herself, she realizes who it is. ] Dan Heng?!

[ Dan Heng's busy checking the route he thinks he took from the barracks against the map when Hilda crashes through the wall of dust blasting past his ward and nearly topples on top of him. He must be getting rusty, because instead of pulling his spear on the infringing person, he bites down on the apple (that he paid for) and scrambles to keep the map (which he also paid good coin for!) safe from flailing limbs.

But he knows that shade of pink, even with the respirator and goggles. Well, that's convenient... Almost sheepishly, he removes the apple from his mouth and gives her a small wave with it. ]

... Hi Hilda.

[ Or he wouldn't have camped out on your stoop. Stoop kid's not afraid to leave this stoop. Carefully, Dan Heng tucks his map back into his notebook, and offers Hilda a hand to right herself in the bubble. ]

I didn't know you lived here.

[ Her retort is immediate even as she goes to clasp his hand so she can begin dusting herself off. ]

Don't you, "Hi Hilda me!"

[ But fine, she'll admit it. He did look adorably sheepish. That isn't enough to make her gloss over the fact that someone who definitely didn't live in the Free Cities is now in the Free Cities.

She'd glance around to look for others in the street or some kind of military presence trying to track down a Summoned that didn't belong. ]

What are you doing here? Don't you live in Solvunn?

Yeah. I wanted to see somewhere new though.

[ Pulling Hilda to her feet is easy, as easy as, uh. (checks notes) deciding to walk through a clearly malfunctioning portal "just because." There's no accounting for Nameless. Dan Heng's behavior only seems rational and braincell worthy when he's with the other two... Without Mr. Yang to guide their trailblaze missions, this kid just kind of goes wherever he feels like.

He honestly came up with his reasons for leaving Solvunn on the spot when they interviewed him. ]

If you're looking, there's a soldier about a block that way [ He briefly nods over his shoulder at the dusty figure huddling in a similar doorway nearly out of view. ] who'll make sure I'm back at the barracks by curfew.

[ He's already had to be reminded to go back on time twice, when he ended up spending too much time at the library. ]

[ Hilda's gaze whips back around to look at Dan Heng. Mild disbelief mingles with the confusion in her expression, still not quite understanding. ]

They know you're here?

[ But why would the Free Cities know he's here and be okay with it? Was Solvunn okay with it? Their movements had always been staunchly enforced to varying degrees. Even though she had been settled here for over a year now and lived largely without too much concern of her activities being monitored, she hadn't forgotten. ]

How did you get here? Does Solvunn know?

[ Reaching out she grips his shoulders a little giving him a slight shake. ]

I still don't understand how how you're here! You're not in trouble, are you?

[ Much like their first encounter, Dan Heng lets Hilda manhandle him without protest, counting off the answers to her barrage of questions on his fingers. Her concern is a little alarming, but he's handled it all fine so far this past week... and Solvunn never made a big deal about the other territories apart from the emphasis on the fact that the well being of their own community was most important. ]

Yes. Portal. Probably not unless someone saw me leave, but people disappear there all the time. I'm under observation for another week, but they didn't take any of my stuff and I'm free to go where I want in town during the day, so I don't think I'm in trouble. I told them that Solvunn is too low tech and they seemed fine with it.

[ The fact that Nanaue was the first attempted migrant combined with Dan Heng's ability to come up with solid, logical reasons in the interview probably helped him out. ]

Edited 2024-03-29 05:11 (UTC)

[ Hilda finally releases him, not because she understands any more than she did seconds before he gave her his answers but because she realizes that continuing to shake him probably won't provide that clarity either. Although if she's being honest with herself, this is probably the closest that she'll get to an explanation. The rest, is predictably, something that probably can't be explained because that's just how this world has proven to work. ]

What do you mean people disappear all the time? No they don't.

[ At least, not that native Abraxians. Sometimes the Summoned went missing but they more often than not returned home. She gives her head a fierce shake. ]

Never mind. What's more important is that you've been here and you didn't say anything to me?! I thought we were friends!

[ ? ? ? ? With the way his eyebrows furrow, and the proverbial "???" appears above his head, it's clear that Dan Heng did NOT consider the rammifications of not telling Hilda about his plans to swap territories. And why would he? Nameless come and go, free spirits — and its not like he was making plans to leave the planet entirely without saying anything. ]

... We were going to run into each other eventuall—

[ Dan Heng's response is cut short by a sudden splintering crack, ice over deep water shifting as part of his barrier finishes melting away, breaking free with Xeimer's discontent. His reflexive response, is of course, to guard. The crack doesn't even finish echoing before he's reached out to push Hilda out of the line of fire that doesn't come, palm open on the top of her head as he puts himself between her and the street. Like he does for March when she's caught off guard.

Instead of an attack, though, its just a sudden gust of hot desert air getting more sand and grit all over their clothes, before the second layer of the ward stabilizes once more.

... Oops. ]

Ah... Sorry.

[ He is LETTING GO. ]

[ Of course there's just enough time for her to hear him say that the inevitability of them running into each other was going to happen. And while that probably would have been true (on any given week she flits from one end of the city to the other and through the portals when her business takes her to Aquila), but that's simply not the point. Just as she's about to point that out she's cut off by the sound of that sharp crack.

A sharp gasp leaves her as Dan Heng is suddenly in front of her, protecting her she realizes, from the sand that spills into the dome.

Whatever scolding she was going to say is lost on her as she stares up at him wide-eyed as wind tugs and pulls at their hair. ]

...No, it's okay. Thank you. [ A beat. ] I guess it's a silly question to ask if you made this dome. huh?

[ There's a piece of trash in her hair...

Let him just. Pick that out... and then step back and then crouch down to look at the slowly evaporating rune. ]

It's a High Magic spell that's supposed to protect against storms, but I just can't get it to stabilize consistently. [ He splays his fingers over the rune, willing the water to stay liquid even as it melts, and sighs. ] Probably because it's meant for snow, and not dust. I guess I could try to modify it, but...

[ but that would mean staying on hilda's stoop in a storm. ]

[ As the trash is picked from her hair - trash that she hadn't even known was there - she blinks in surprise. Sand has settled in his hair and she motions for him to stoop down so she can brush it out for him.

He doesn't have to finish that sentence; she knows precisely where that was going and no, she does not approve of that particular scenario. ]

Do you think that soldier is going to have any objections if you come and stay with us until the storm lets up?

[ Not that there's any end in sight to the storms, but details. At least until he has to return for his curfew at the very least. ]

You should at least have somewhere comfy to stay for a little while.

[ Obediently, Dan Heng bows his head to let Hilda brush the sand out of his hair, and blinks a few stray grains away from his eyes. He doesn't mind how easy it is for her to push and prod when she thinks it's necessary; considering how they first met, and all the help she's been since, it would feel weird to refuse her. And this is much better than the "Emergency Eyeliner Repair Station" at Epulum. ]

I don't think they care as long as I'm back before sundown.

[ The barrier groans around them a few more times, and his shoulders hike up a little higher, in anticipation of it breaking (probably for the 10th time since he started trying to cast them). But it spurs him onto nodding in agreement, and when Hilda unlocks the door to her loft, he picks up his bag and follows behind readily.

Down the road, the soldier keeping an eye on him checks her watch, as his words start to die out on the blowing wind and sand, and the door snaps shut behind them ]

Maybe you can help me with this map: they didn't charge me much for it, and I think that's because its out of date...

[ Dan Heng's been looking for Haelva's Hole Guy as much as he can while under watch from the army at the barracks, and now with less than two days left before he's free to wander on his own, he has a lead. Rio Workshop? It sounds familiar, like he's heard people mention it before, but the map he has is old enough that one street's name is changed, and there's a newly built walkway that's both the new main route and out of commission from the storms that finding the place takes him almost all day, with a full dust storm of an interruption in the middle. Xeimer's barriers seem more and more put out, each time he tries to cast them, like the Herald objects to having their power called upon in a land that never gets touched by frost unless prompted by New Magic. The little bone carving at his belt is cold when he touches it but the material begins to warm before he even takes his hand away, and the respirator does more to keep the dust out his lungs than anything else.

The door to the workshop snaps shut, the accompanying flurry of sand from the slowly dying dust storm outside scattering across the floor near the visitor, dressed in the heavy wools of Solvunn which are only barely seasonably appropriate in the waning mild winter temperatures. He is, indeed, slightly roasting to death, thank you for asking. He yanks the respirator mask down after a second, to keep his voice from being muffled, and pulls the googles up to get a better look around the space, before focusing on the first person he sees. ]

Is there someone named Astarion here?

[ Special delivery from your "friend" at the "not weed" store.

( Dan Heng never actually learned what Hole Guy looked like, since he didn't stop by Horizon to put anything on the database. He also didn't bother to ask Haelva. ) ]

[ Dan Heng's in luck. Astarion usually flits between Aquila, Cadens and the Farhill mines - but with the very, very recent closure of portals he's currently bound to the Cadens workshop. The white-haired elven man seems almost slightly out of place in the workshop with his well-tailored, expensive looking clothes that don't appear as though they'd fare well in a space with so much machine oil.

He raises an eyebrow at the oddly dressed young man. Astarion is quick to identify the odd choice of clothing, he's seen what Haelva wears in Solvunn. Of course, it doesn't make sense that someone from a rival territory would come traipsing across the border. Perhaps a storm blew him here? Or some sort of mishap with the portals. ]

And who might you be?

[ He's stopped behind a table, continuing to eye the young stranger from a reasonable distance - very clearly suspicious of anyone looking for him. Old habits (and paranoia) die hard, even somewhere he should feel reasonably safe. ]

[ With the windows shuttered against the storm, the workshop has an arid gloominess to it; and in his sharp clothes and pale hair, Astarion almost looks like the ghost of a waifish old-fashioned IPC dandy flouncing about, even with the lights on. It's definitely not what he's expecting in the slightest. Though he marks the ears for what they are (a rarity, but less so than the walking shark), he is too polite to say anything. ]

Dan Heng. [ The silent beat stretches from one into two, and then onward, as Dan Heng patiently waits for this rude-ass elf to answer the original question, having also done him the favor of answering in return. ]

[ Dan Heng... Dan Heng...

Does that ring a bell?

Not really. ]

And you're here for... ? If it's a delivery, you can leave it on the counter.

[ He points to a counter where other unopened packages sit, and hopes that will be that. ]

[ jfc this really is an ipc fop. great. ]

[ give him 10 seconds to check something real quick. it looks like he's kind of spacing out for a bit there. ]

[ Finally, Dan Heng huffs once and ignores the instructions, instead digging through his stupid little messenger's bag as he crosses the shop floor, towards Astarion, rather than the counter with the packages. What he withdraws from it is a small, simple bundle wrapped in plain fabric—the folds were once much neater, but having gone through the inspection from the administrative offices at whatever the hell the name of city hall is, it doesn't look nearly as impressive.

Instead of putting it on the counter with the other packages, Dan Heng decisively places it on the table in front of Astarion. ]

Haelva said you probably don't practice your mirror spell as much as you should, so she made you this.

[ Haleva is right. He does look like he's been eating lemons. ]

[ Oh, no - he knows what that blank-eyed stare means. This farmboy is talking to someone else, another Summoned... Astarion narrows his eyes and crosses his arms again, waiting for the side conversation to finish when - ]

Er, Haelva?

[ Haelva? His darling. Light of his life. Partner in murderous crime.

Who did not tell him she was sending someone to sass him in his place of work.

He's going to ignore the comment about his magic practice (he has been busy! with saving orphans!) and focus on the other unanswered questions. ]

Then... you're from Solvunn. [ A raised eyebrow. ] How in the hells did you get here?

Unless you know a different Haelva than the purple one that hangs out with crows, yeah, that Haelva.

[ We still don't have confirmation that the purple thing is not because shes poisonous or something, btw. ]

Hadn't you noticed that the portals were acting weird last month? The one in Solvunn's Primary Settlement that normally goes to Nocwich dropped me here. [ It's just. The way he describes it, it sounds like an accident. But he came prepared, and packed with a stupid little bone scroll charm ready in advance... You been in one weird reality distorting portal you've been in them all. He didn't even have to resist attempted arrest this time. ]

Of course I noticed! The cities closed up their portals not long after...

[ Which has been a HUGE headache for him, and the cause of some minor stress regarding his attempts to get things started at Farhill. Between the portals and the storms, he's been stuck twiddling his thumbs and coming up with alternate plans, staving off boredom by letting Viktor teach him how to put together clockwork pieces. It's not all too far off from the delicate nature of lockpicking and trap disabling... ]

Well, alright. [ He waves a hand and crosses his arms. ] I assume that means you'll be... well. Staying?

[ Did Haelva send him this youth to look after? Gods. He hopes not. ]

[ Astarion seems to wind himself up in one sentence, realizes where he's going, and then deflates in the next. Like a little yappy dog, seeing its own reflection, in the bathroom mirror of a crashing spacecraft. ]

For now, at least. [ Just you wait until Viktor gives him a job, Astarion. ] Cadens is bigger than all three of the settlements in Solvunn combined.

[ But his task is done. Okay. So, he'll... just leave now, offering a small polite wave goodbye and heading back towards the door as he gets ready to put his respirator back on and head back out, sandstorm be damned. Sorry if he gets more dirt all over the floors, but he only came her for one thing only. ]

It was nice to meet you.

[ Insight check to see if he's lying. ]

[ (Insight Check: 11, his highest one yet!)

Dan Heng's back is already turned when he gives a slightly strained reply, calling out: ]

Lovely to meet you as well, do come back again sometime...

[ He too is being 'polite'.

And will no proceed to message his lovely Haelva. ]

Right now? No.

[The man who answers the door doesn't so much as answer it as he stays exactly where he is on his stool, barely looking up from his work to see who is intruding. Usually people are here to see him, which he's become accustomed to by now. The mention of Astarion has him intrigued, even if it's not more interesting than welding one object to another.]

Is there something I can help you with?

[Now he turns, pushing his goggles up his forehead, squinting a little. He knows this face, yes, but he never counted it among the Free Cities summoned.]

I have a delivery for him from Solvunn. Do you know if he's in Cadens?

[ He waits, patiently, for the searing light from the welding to fade before he looks closer at Viktor's face. Everyone he spoke to had been adamant that Rio Workshop was a Summoned venture, at this point headed by... ]

It's... Viktor, right? [ The name is familiar to him, at least! He's reviewed the notes from the visit to Ikorr several times over before giving the portable database to that Istredd guy. ] The way you talked at Epulum made it sound like you were a biologist.

[ Not that engineering and biology are mutually exclusive, of course. And it seems like every Summoned is exceptional in some way or another, so there's no point in thinking it's weird. It's just what he noticed, is all. ]

Edited (when writing your tags out of order doesnt go as planned lol. ) 2024-04-20 14:02 (UTC)

He'll be back. You can leave it with me.

[Viktor nods in response to the correct assessment of who he is and what he's doing here, though it seems additional clarity is required. The pieces fall into place fairly quickly, at least--this is the individual who organized information during the impromptu mystery-solving session at the festival.]

I'm a physicist and an engineer. But I know enough about biology and chemistry, I suppose.

[He is, in fact, kind of a super genius.]

It's fine, I can try again another time. It's meant to be delivered in person. [ Technically, not true, but considering the two (2) data points he currently has about Astarion (hole guy and needs a spell to see mirror copies of himself), maybe... this is a pervert thing he accidentally ended up offering to deliver for Haelva. No judgement, but he is just a little worried.

Instead of leaving, though, Dan Heng continues to hover just inside the door — there's an opportunity, he's realized. He could maybe learn something from this. ]

If you're busy now, I understand, but do you think you could show me the process you used to identify the genetic match for the different samples at some point? [ Who knows, it might be useful in the future. ]

All right.

[Viktor is not going to pry into a private matter, though he will mention to Astarion that he had someone here looking for him, if only to find out the story behind all this.

He remembers, at least, that Dan Heng had seemed heartened by his knowledge of basic biology.]

I have time. It's a new magic procedure, if you're familiar.

[He is still a bit stuck on the fact that Dan Heng is. Probably not supposed to be here.]

[ Viktor saw Astarion's hole guy posting. So don't let him try to besmirch Dan Heng's character over a completely accurate Teen Judgement just because Haelva was a narc.

Biology, history, weird pseudo-scientific hoax theories... you name it, he'll read about it. But he's technically the Express' on-crew biologist, as well as the guard and the archivist. Anything he learns now, he can maybe apply to a future expedition when he goes back to the Express. (Not if. When.) And if not, well... more entries for the databank. ]

I've only just started learning the basics. [ On account of the fact that... They don't have a lot of new magic... in Solvunn. Looking at him, in his dark wools and hand-stitched boots, and at the bone charm of Xeimer hanging on a small braided cord from his belt, he doesn't look like someone who would have an interest in new magic. But then he tugs a small notebook, half stuffed to the brim with notes and sketches out of his bag and strides over, flipping to a new section. Inside are careful sketches of the currently-defunct portals found in Cadens, and a few of the lesser new magic mechanisms found in the library, with careful cramped notes next to them. Always cite your sources. ] But I know the logical structures are similar to academic magic, with more functional elasticity. There weren't a lot of books on academic magic in Solvunn, though, so...

[ Shrug. He's catching up. ]

[The notebook gets his attention, and he Viktor is intrigued, yes, and he'll readily launch into his explanation of New Magic soon enough, however there's something unaddressed that he needs clarified before he does anything else.]

Yes, that's what I want to know about.

[He gestures, broadly, to all of Dan Heng.]

How did you get here? Are they allowing you to stay?

[ Dan Heng normally avoids all accusations of Teen Behavior in comparison to the Other Two, but sometimes, when he's just trying to learn about stuff, and people ask him about other stuff, he'll slip up and show his age with an exasperated look. Just for a second, though! Teens, man.

He's more interested in learning Viktor's gene isolating magic than he is exploring the political ramifications of assets moving across territory boundaries of their own free will, so the sooner they get this cleared up, the better. ]

I took a portal, and it dropped me here. Apart from having to return to the barracks before the end of the day, and not being allowed to leave the city for a few days longer, I still have my freedom of movement. There's a soldier outside who's been following me all day though, and if I'm not back before six, she'll escort me back.

[ And it would be stupid to go around asking for other Summoned if he wasn't allowed to be here, wouldn't it? ]

[Portals again. Viktor frowns, now thoroughly distracted from talk of genetics in favor of Dan Heng's presence here. Any mention of the military is automatically distasteful to him, and he moves to the window, expressly to peek out and confirm the presence of the soldier.

He is, maybe, a bit put off by the amount of government attention he's had recently. He doesn't want or need more.]

Is this probationary?

[Is he going to be supervised forever??]

They said after two weeks I could do what I want.

[ Whether or not that is true remains to be seen, but... Apart from the late night at the library incident, he hasn't had much trouble at all. And Dan Heng feels no need to test their leniency by trying to lose his tail, potentially extending the amount of time of his observation period. He's done what any reasonable summoned newcomer might do: explored, got his little grubby paws on a map, and start asking about work. His biggest crime is being out in the street during the gentler dust storms, undeterred by the prospect of grit in his boots.

Dan Heng watches Viktor check the window, looking out at the respirator and goggles clad soldier hanging out in the recessed door of a storefront down the way, and then looks back down at his notebook. Mentally, he shapes the words in the margins, in case his tail has bugged him with New Magic, or something: ]

Do you need me to leave?

[ Sure, he ran the conspiracy board for the Epulum theft, but he's no narc. While he isn't hiding the fact that he's willing to cooperate (for now) with the Free Cities administration, he gets it, dude. ]

That's nice of them.

[Viktor sounds largely unenthused--but with the military and the government, not necessarily with his guest. He's not sure what the two weeks are for, given most Summoned outside of Thorne have no real loyalty towards their territory. Having confirmed the presence of the guard, he moves away from the window and gives Dan Heng another good look up and down.]

No, unless they decide they want to come inside.

[He's had enough of the government poking around his laboratory, thanks.]

What will you do now that you're in Cadens?

[ So far, they haven't done anything to earn his ire or an attempted jailbreak, and with the storms blowing as hard as they are, he's loath to try anything rash until he really needs to get the fuck out of town... So he's just fine waiting. ]

Solvunn doesn't use money, so I have to find a way to resolve that once my observation is over and the weather clears up. But the ecological and geographical surroundings of Cadens are my main interests.

[ How do you explain to someone that you have a philosophical prerogative to go stick your nose in as many situations as possible by your long dead god? You don't, actually. ]

... And the library here.

There are plenty of jobs here.

[Because Cadens is a capitalistic hellhole, you see. Viktor might even provide some of those jobs himself, though he will not say as much unprompted, not when he's still gauging Dan Heng's interest and experience level.

What he can appreciate, is an interest in the library.]

The Academies are good. I do some work at them myself.

[ Honestly, Dan Heng hasn't even considered employment from another Summoned; a capitalist hellhole seems bog standard, and he simply assumes he will need to (and be able to) take care of himself. Nameless don't need much — and it puts him in a better spot to help others, if need be. ]

Your name was mentioned when I visited. [ What was the title? "Doctor of Illumination?" Pretty impressive, all told. ] Normally I don't get the opportunity to study a single planet for this long, so if you have any suggestions on fields of study you think are specific to the Free Cities besides new magic, I'd be grateful to hear them.

[ B u t, the genetic identification process remains his main goal. ] Assuming you have time after this.

I'm not surprised.

[Though he does not necessarily sound pleased about that. Dan Heng might get the idea that Viktor both hates everything about running a business, and all attention paid to him because of it, and his work. But the unfortunate reality is that the Academy has resources, and Viktor needs them, so he has to show his face there. The nature of his work means that people are going to watch him, for better or worse.

The use of the word "planet" gets his attention, and he raises an eyebrow.]

If you come from a spacefaring world, then I'm sure you find most of the technology here woefully inadequate. I would recommend new magic for that reason alone, unless you are interested in advancing your particular area of study.

[The cooperation of science and magic just happened to be his.]

In my experience, lots of industrialized planets don't develop interplanetary travel on their own.

[ And while Dan Heng likes studying the ecology of places and thinks that it's interesting to see how species change and adapt to their environment, he knows that where there's people, there's mechanical devices. If fixing generators and robots in Belobog weren't enough of a reminder, March's little elevator comment on the Space Station only made it more obvious about some of the gaps in things he's read about. ]

It's unfair to dismiss the work the people living there have done simply because of the difference, and may even create unnecessary hindrances. [ plus its not very trailblaze of you to be rude about the things people work hard on. ] So I try not to hamstring myself with a narrow point of view.

[ Another shrug. He'll find the books himself if he has to, but please don't think he's some snobby jerk just because he knows what a warp drive is. ]

You mean to say that it's introduced to them? By other spacefaring societies?

[It would make sense. He's sure many planet have the resources but not necessarily the knowledge or wherewithal to put them all together. Receiving a visitor from beyond must be...an experience, to say the least.]

I do not mean to disparage the work being done here.

[Viktor sounds sincere, at least. He wouldn't be investing so much of his time and energy into this business if he didn't believe in what he could accomplish.]

Can I point you towards certain resources?

[ Dan Heng nods. ]

Introduced may be... [ um ] an overly optimistic way to describe it in many situations, but yes.

[ Some are invaded and stripped for parts by followers of the Abundance, some are welcomed into the fold of the IPC and stripped for credits, some are just simply crushed under the heel of the Destruction and disappear. Lucky ones were greeted by the Trailblaze themselves, thousands of years ago, as the edge of the universe pulled back and the known grew. ]

Please.

I see.

[He understands the implication, and perhaps is not surprised, even if it’s disappointing to him all the same. Viktor supposes there will be time to chat with Dan Heng about space in the future, if he plans to stay in Cadens. For now, he can at least get him situated.]

You’re welcome to anything you find in this workshop. [He’ll gesture to his collection of bookshelves—most of it will be related to mathematics and physics, with treatises on New Magic collected from the academies. Viktor will start, too, by handing him a folio.] And my notes on the procedure you were interested in.

[ Even before Viktor finishes speaking, Dan Heng has opened the folio to start reading the notes; he makes it halfway through the first section, before glancing at the clock, then the window with the waiting solider outside. ]

... Can I borrow this and bring it back?

[ He'll be back later, after all, to give Hole Guy, er... Astarion his delivery. ]

Please.

[Viktor makes a little go ahead gesture, then he follows Dan Heng's gaze out the window. He leans forward to get a better look at the soldier, then back to his visitor.]

Just be careful.

[He's under no illusions that the soldier won't look--or otherwise confiscate the material, but he would appreciate some manner of discretion.]

dont underestimate the importance of terrarium humidity

closed to hilda.

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🎀!

at rio workshop.

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I'm so sorry

1/3. i dont think youre actually sorry at all

2/3.

3/3.

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