abraxaslogs | ( closed; quest ) the long and winding road

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( closed; quest ) the long and winding road

WHO: Stephen, Thancred, & Yennefer
WHAT: Three individuals go on a quest to help perpetuate better magical monitoring of the Singularity!
WHERE: ALL OVER THORNE
WHEN: End of March into mid-April.
WARNINGS: Some eventual monster-related violence and injury! But nothing else for now; will add as needed.

(( quest info here ))

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[Large yellow birds. Thancred's version of horses, he assumes, but Yennefer is the one to say the thought aloud, so he only adds somewhat unhelpfully as he moves a bag around, trying to center his gravity so he doesn't send the wagon tilting:]

So they're like ostriches, but yellow.

[He grabs for one satchel in particular, which has always been held close to one of the three travelers to highlight its importance. The dull sound of something rustles within. Stephen's made sure to wrap each thaumametor in thick cloth so that they don't needlessly clink into each other during their journey, no matter what it brings. Wouldn't be much help for all that magical energy to spill out after all this effort.]

Are you talking about the supplies, my bones, or my pride? [He flings back at Yennefer, his sarcasm projected for all to hear. The latter might not have come away unscathed, but he'll survive it. For now, he tucks his book away and waits for the wagon to go move around the bend and a little further down. There, they should find their destination: a hilly stretch of ground right at the edge of a forest which, if he had read the map correctly, would crawl all along the coastline if they took the time to explore it properly.

Which they are, decidedly, not doing. It's good to see one more spot to soon be checked off the list, and he waits for Thancred to direct the wagon closer.]

Some of them can fly, yes. They're also far more common than horses in most areas.

[ Horses are used primarily in the Far East due to the fact that they can be found in the wild there. Chocobos, on the other hand, can be found in all corners of Eorzea, particularly Coerthas, and they've spread out from there due to their decent temperaments and their variety of uses.

He has no idea what an ostrich is, but he can only assume he's painted a decent enough picture if Stephen is able to relate it to something he knows. Thancred shrugs at him, then sends him a brief smirk in response to that sarcastic comment. ] Could it not be all three? [ Though he has full faith that Stephen has kept the supplies safe, if nothing else. The wagon also seems to be holding up just fine, and as he sees the tree line as they come up over the crest of the hill, he knows that they've reached the correct spot according to the map.

They can also see the ocean from here, though they're not close enough that he can smell or feel the sea breeze. A bit of a shame, that, but it's not like they have time to spare for sightseeing. He'll enjoy what he can from this distance.

Once they're at the edge of the forest, Thancred pulls on the reins to stop the horses and allows them a moment to settle before he jumps down from the wagon and circles back around toward Stephen's seat. ]

Did you need a hand?

[ He winks at him, one hand planted on his hip while he offers the other to help him down if he really does need his aid. ]

[ well there you go - they can fly, and of course yennefer can see the use in that. as well as if they are more common - people will always take the route of ease, though the idea of riding a giant bird anywhere, or with any kind of seriousness, does not exactly appeal to her. thankfully, she does not think she'll have any need to - these horses do just fine, and in many ways she's glad that thorne feels similar in more ways than not to many of the kingdoms back home.

( home. a funny word, actually. )

as the cart makes it up the path and crests over the hill, yennefer notices the ocean just beyond, feels the sun breaking through a bit of the winter chill. it will be spring soon, she knows that, but something about this spot makes her feel like it might actually come sooner rather than later. thancred pulls the reins to stop the horses and jumps down, and yennefer follows him soon after. could it not be all three? thancred asks, and yennefer actually laughs softly at that, straightening the hem of her skirt. ]

But I did mean the supplies. Your bones can be fixed, and your pride's a lost cause, as far as I'm concerned.

[ thancred asks stephen if he needs a hand, and yennefer absolutely catches the wink, shaking her head a bit in amusement as her own hands go for the device (that stephen does hand over, thankfully). knowing that if stephen does want out, thancred will help him, yennefer turns and continues on the rest of the way to the spot. she is in too much of a get this task completed sort of mood to wait for all of them to approach together, and the other two are able bodied enough to follow. it's not as if it's too far away, and it's not the first of these devices that they've set up, and she had watched stephen well enough to know the gist of what it is she needs to do. she's not worried about it.

so, with the thaumametors and watch in hand and the assumption that the other two men aren't far behind, she finds the location that had been set out on the map and begins the process of setting it up - securing it to the land and attuning the watch - just as stephen had already done twice now. ]

[ The thaumametors begins to slowly rotate as expected, but in the dry chill this far north, something goes awry. That rotation starts to stutter as the hour glass bobs backwards and forwards. When it looks like it may begin to move correctly once again, the device flips back into the opposite direction. Readings on the watch are all over the board as well.

It seems conditions inside of the laboratories in Thorne were not enough to accommodate for the climate conditions outside of Hayle. The team will need to creatively calibrate the confused thaumametor. Unfortunately, instructions on how to do so were not included! But if they can find some way to protect it from the cold, they may be successful. ]

[Oh, how tempting it would be to ignore that helpful hand of Thancred's altogether, except: 1) He does not think he's being totally sarcastic about it and 2) it actually would be nice to not lug himself out of the wagon, plopping onto the ground like a piece of luggage. And so, with a very loud eyeroll, he takes the man's hand and eases out of the cart with a murmured thanks. Joke's on him, though; Stephen's pain provides immunity to that charming wink. For now, at least.

The state of his pride (and muscles) notwithstanding, he's only slightly trailing behind as they reconvene to where Yennefer's set up the device, feeling less stiff with each step. He stops and crosses his arms, watching without feeling the need to interrupt. That is, until the device itself bobs erratically, stuttering as its hour-glass shape flips in the opposite direction.

This is definitely not how things should be going. They've seen a correct installation of the thaumametors before now, and none acted this way.]

Well, that's great.

[Can nothing go smoothly? Of course not, why does he even waste micromeasurements of energy wondering if it ever will? Stephen unfolds his arms, stepping closer, casting his eyes about for any interference. He sees none, other than a blast of cold chill that sends the device jittering again.]

We're pretty far removed from a lab setting. Maybe it was just a matter of time.

[ To Thancred's credit, he doesn't hesitate to help Stephen down as soon as it's clear that the help is wanted. While his charms may be falling on deaf ears at the moment, that hardly matters. They have a job to do and it would be best if Stephen was there to oversee setting up the device, seeing as he's handled the first two.

By the time that the two of them catch up to Yennefer, however, it's clear that the thaumametor is not working as it should be. ]

I suppose we couldn't have expected this to be smooth sailing the whole way through.

[ Thancred lets out a brief sigh and draws a hand back through his hair. Stephen thankfully does not suggest that Yennefer somehow made a mistake with setting up the device (which would have been likely to get him killed with a look alone), but that does beg the question of what's different about this particular spot.

As another cold wind blows through and sets the readings off the charts once more, Thancred frowns and falls into a crouch next to the device. ]

It is quite a bit colder up here. [ He lifts one arm up to hold at the side of the device, an attempt to brace it against the wind and observe if that makes any difference, much like one would while trying to keep a flame from being snuffed out. ] Is it possible they did not account for that?

[ It strikes him as a silly oversight, but he's no scientist. Mayhap they'd run the tests and yet had not quite been able to replicate the conditions here. ]

[ while the boys are flirting, yennefer finishes setting up the devices. she knows the process that she has to complete, knows the steps she needs to take to complete the set up. she barely acknowledges when both of the others appear, watching as the devise settles and…

the wind picks up, and immediately yennefer watches something go wrong. she frowns, watching the devise turn in the wrong direction, stutter off its course that she’s come to realize is the normal set.

well, that’s great.

yennefer shoots strange a look, defensive and edged, as if she’s expecting the comment to be directed at her instead of the situation itself. except that the two of them both make comments about how they were should have expected as much, how this was almost to be expected, and yennefer…swallows back her immediate reaction, moving to stand. both stephen and thancred move to come closer to the device, and she steps back, letting them take a closer look. ]

The cold’s different, but also the wind. [ her attention turns to the immediate surroundings, the way the wind buffets up against them. she pulls her coat a little more tightly around her. ] Should we try and build something around it? To protect it from… [ she gestures around them - the weather, the wind. ]

[He thinks he catches that look from Yennefer out of the corner of his eye, like he’s about to be derided for something unsaid or implied — but it seems he’s spared her irritation when both he and Thancred put the blame on not enough laboratory testing and the cold weather, instead. He has no reason to doubt her own abilities to set up the device; he wonders how quick others she knows would be, given he almost won a remark about it just now.

But it’s put aside to focus on more important matters. Stephen makes a noise from the back of his throat.]

Someone could stand in front of it with their arms held out to act as a windshield.

[That’s obviously not a real suggestion.]

We just need to shield it enough for the calibration to stick. Think we can bring the wagon around? I could use my magic as a shield, but I think that’d interfere with the process.

[ Thancred notes the glance between them, but doesn't comment on it. They're all in this together which means that when there are hitches in the plan, they should attempt to solve it together as well. He's relieved to find that all three of them seem to be on the same page about that point.

He lets out a little huff of a laugh at Stephen's first suggestion, but it does seem like the presence of his arm, even for only a few moments, had made some sort of difference. If they place the entire wagon and the horses between the device and the trajectory of the wind, it could very well stabilize it enough to calibrate.

Besides, Stephen has a point about his magic. The thaumametor is magical in nature, which means that adding more variables to it could easily cause further problems. It's for reasons like this that Thancred doesn't necessarily see his presence in Thorne as a waste anymore — sometimes magick isn't the answer.

He hops to his feet and dusts off his coat. ] I've got it. Just a moment. [ And with that, he hikes back to the horse-drawn wagon, jumping up onto the bench so he can guide the horses forward.

It takes some careful maneuvering to position the wagon in such a way that it's protecting the device from the wind, but Thancred is up to the task and is eventually able to steer it into the configuration that he wants. The horses are thankfully rather well-behaved. From the seat of the wagon, he peers down at the other two. ]

Has it helped?

[ the moment she's confident enough that the comment isn't about her, or something she's done, her attention does shift. whether or not stephen catches the look, or thancred does, she ignores any possible reaction. lets it pass entirely and focuses, instead, on the issue ahead of them. stephen's comment about holding out their arms earns a kind of huff of a laugh from thancred, but yennefer ends up ignoring it, her attention on the wind itself, the direction, the way it feels to be gusting around them. ]

No- you're on to something there. We don't want to interfere while it's trying to settle, especially with how far we are from the Singularity. [ which is an interesting concept that hadn't really thought about up to this point - how stephen is going to be a walking connection to the singularity, perhaps even a source in and of himself. yennfer wonders if that could have compromised the other two they've already set up, but pushes the thought away. if ambrose had asked them to set these up, he obviously doesn't expect it to be an issue. and whether or not he's right isn't her problem right now.

stephen mentions the cart, and she almost shoots that idea down as well - too much effort, and they probably won't need the whole cart anyway, but then i've got it thancred offers, and heads out back to the wagon before yennefer can offer any snide remark. which is probably for the best, considering that it will probably end up working in their favor. ]

Here- [ yennefer steps forward when thancred does reappear, helping maneuver the cart and horses to most efficiently buffer the device. and then, once they're settled, she ends up reaching back into the cart to remove some of their supplies as well - tossing one of the larger bags to stephen and directing him on where to set it while she does the same, closing off any openings between the cart and the ground, or under the wheels.

and once those are in place, she glances over to see if there has been any change. ] I can't tell from here - can you? [ to stephen ]

[For as improvised as their solution may be, they certainly can’t call it uncreative. Or slipshod, given how diligently Yennefer throws a bag at him, Stephen catching it in his hands more out of instinct than anything else. But he follows suit moments later, filling in the holes beneath the wagon with what they can manage, even if crouching and bending over is not on his list of Easy Things To Do right now.

The sacrifices one makes for magical science.

At any rate, the barricade becomes solid enough—between the wagon and all the supplies—that it takes the punishment from the chill wind rather than the device. Stephen stands, peering over the wagon and at the thaumamator.]

Give it a few.

[It wobbles back and forth. Teases at righting itself, until— with one vacillating swing, it starts to rotate properly, but slowly. Promising, as long as it continues.]

Looks like it might’ve worked. Let’s wait a little and see what the readings say.

[ Both Stephen and Yennefer quickly spring into action when it comes to blocking up any openings beneath the wagon that might let that pesky wind through. Thancred nods in approval, remaining where he is for now if only to ensure that the device isn't disturbed any more than it already has been. There does seem to be a change in its behavior, visible even from where he's sitting. ]

Fair enough. We should give it a few moments to adjust.

[ All things considered, that could have been much more disastrous. Thancred leans forward slightly in his seat to pat both of the horses on their backs, a small encouragement to let them know they've done well thus far. Given that they'll need to still make the journey back to Hayle after this, it seems only right to show some appreciation to their transport. ]

As it turns out, the wagon was a brilliant idea. Stephen, your suffering has ultimately worked in our favor.

[ They have time to kill, and so naturally that means he's back to running his mouth. ]

[ yennefer does not really take into account stephen's soreness into the situation when she tosses the bag at him, already moving to complete her own side of things (and yes, alright, maybe she's a bit one track minded here because there's a small part of her that thinks maybe her lack of magic is what's caused it to go off-kilter. she won't let this be ruined because of her), setting up the bags to best buffet the wind, and trying to gaugue any response.

stephn says give it a few and yennefer grinds down on her teeth. she can tell it's moving, but not fast enough. whether or not the other two feel it, yennefer is tense as she waits, a string wound tight, waiting.

and then the device settles, gives one final swing and then starts to rotate properly. yennefer lets out a breath the second she can tell that the device is rotating properly, standing from where she'd ended up crouching down next to the devices to help.

with the tension in her easing out in a quick rush, yennefer actually snorts once at thancred's comment, shaking her head. ]

Thank the gods, we would have been lost if he knew how to ride a horse.

[ she can already hear his response - his monotone ha ha - but it doesn't matter too much to her. the device has settled, it's all worked, and she settles in to allow the device to finish with it's set-up, and for stephen to check its first set of readings. then, soon after, they'll be off on their next location.

one more down, quite a few more to go. ]

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( closed; quest ) the long and winding road

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and....that's a wrap!