Oasis

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"I know you will not be far, admittedly, I have a general idea of your new home, but have forbidden my scouts and hunters from approaching out of respect and, admittedly, fear of a potential confrontation, especially if your people are not aware of our current diplomatic relations".
She seemed to be hinting that informing the other rats might be a good idea, with how low the population was a violent misunderstanding could be devastating, and despite her best efforts Pellinta hadn't yet convinced all her people to remain calm among strange rodent creatures of unusual size and intelligence.
"Indeed, those sentinels of old have earned their rest after so much time standing watch, especially if they are as intelligent as Hin suggested the one you fought was".
It seemed Hin had most likely given a much more detailed report of the specifics of the mission, probably mostly technical or minor details that might be important, like how exactly the surroundings looked, meaning that the elder had been relying on Ratty for a more emotional rundown, to pick up on things that didn't come through so well in the words of a trained scout giving a report to their superior.

"I am sure your elders are reasonable, if they know it is to find others of your race, they would likely accept would they not? But I will leave such negotiations to you, you would obviously know them far better than I do".
That much was just obvious, she couldn't even assume that Ratty was a good example of them all since... Ratty was clearly not normal in the slightest.
"Indeed, though we will begin searching now anyway, this forest is incredibly vast, exploring it thoroughly enough to spot hidden nests will take time, even for those with as much experience and advantage as our scouts and rangers".
With their business seemingly concluded, Pellinta cleared her throat.
"Would you... Like to hear of the Great Trek, and the festival that came from it now?"
Her tone had changed, become notably heavier as she prepared to speak, calling up her own childhood memories, the memory of an elf was both a blessing and a curse really.

 

[Fyrra]

"Wise decision."

The ratling need not explain that an international incident between their people and the syol would ruin everything it and the elders had been trying to build over the past few day-cycles, if not outright raise hostilities to the point that it would be forced to use the uhar's gift against them, though in the ratling's defense, it still wasn't certain whether the act of instilling that gift without its consent was a means for the uhar to escape making it feel indebted to them for the ritual: she seemed crafty enough to think that far ahead, after all. Crafty, but not malicious. And as for Pellinta, the rodent couldn't get a good read on her either. She was friendly, even amiable. A pity, then, that her hopes for an emotional reading of the ruins were dashed by the chance that this ratling had trouble expressing any sort of emotion that wasn't wrath, or the glee that accompanied the thought of expressing wrath. Or scientific curiosity and excitement at the prospect of poking at things to see how they react.

This one might not be much warmer than Hin, come to think of it. But, that could just be the effects of working for several consecutive day-cycles, just as easily as it could be a little spark of warmth from being near Daoin. Or, the grim subject matter. For all anyone knew, it could have been steeling its psyche for the impending history lesson, since they'd run out of important things to discuss... had the ratling not interrupted one more time.

"One more thing. When we last spoke, you mentioned a desire to wait until I had amassed more power." Cue a long drink from the dirty-leafwater cup, with both hands. The creature's pupils quickly dilated and ears erected, its voice becoming a little bit squeakier, its body jittery. "Wereyouexpectingmetobecomepowerful? Whatledyoutothisconclusion? Wasitmerehypothesis? Youusedsciencewordsbackthenaswell. Areyouascientistandawizard? WhatsortofpurposesdoyoubelieveIservetomypeoplethatwoulddrivemetoseekpower? Howmuchdoyouknow? Alsowhatisyouropinionofournewfriendherewhoresidesinthebowl?"

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Crafty was definitely a good term for the elders, in fact it worked for most elders the rodent had met, even among it's own kind, one didn't live to such advanced age in such a cruel and dangerous world filled with predators unless you were the best at outsmarting the world and finding ways out of situations, one of the elders in particular at the nest had kept hunting things it's own size or larger right up until his legs stopped working properly.
Of course while the elder of the Uhar was undoubtedly crafty, it was also possible she simply didn't realise what the ritual would do exactly or even thought that it would be obvious that any animal would want a more humanoid body, the memories of the other world seemed to have many examples of such biases, though often used in far more malicious ways, usually intentionally.

The rodent child's emotional issues did not escape the notice of Pellinta, it was part of why she was trying to be warmer, while she wasn't skilled in aiding such wounded children she had met many of them in her time as the elder, most of her people had as they welcomed those fleeing persecution or cruel masters in the lands dominated by the various human majority nations.

The sudden rush of sounds that vaguely resembled proper words caught Pellinta completely off guard in such a way that it was visible, though she was able to quickly catch up and put together what the rodent was trying to say, or ask rather.
"Call it intuition... I have seen many people grow from child to adult, watched them grow into themselves and their abilities, I could tell from what I had seen of you through scrying and our brief prior encounter that you had nowhere near reached your true potential, you are closer now but nowhere near your limits".
She remembered more than one child being incredulous as she told them they would grow strong or fast or smart enough to stand out as exceptional, but Pellinta had always been right.
"And yes, I am certainly magically gifted, scrying is an advanced art and I am far from helpless in a magical battle, though I am by no means exceptionally powerful, I have just had many years to train what lies within my natural ability".

"Your purpose?... I may have been mistaken by the opinion I developed from what I had seen was that you had, intentionally or not, taken on the role of a protector of your people, defeating possible enemies, leading them to a new, safer home, and even willingly taking on a dangerous quest with strangers in order to protect them from the shroud... As for your new friend, I am not sure I have an opinion? I can tell it is magical and more or less have a basic idea of what it is, and that it is clearly unique, but in these forests it is not uncommon to find things that would be considered unique".
Pellinta decided to wait until the rodent had calmed down a little before speaking of the trek, caffeine overdose was probably not good for listening to a story told by an old lady who was a little girl at the time.

 

[Fyrra]

With its eyes and legs jittery and just a tiny bit of existential horror mixing with the acceleration effects of caffeine, the ratling stared at Pellinta, its restless nature becoming more visible as it tapped and scratched its fingertips upon the table and pondered on the elder's response to the rapidfire questions, likewise needing a moment or several to just process everything, not least of all the aggravating feeling that Pellinta's words sounded both truthful and genuine. In fact, that little detail might just be the worst part of everything it could take in this day, were the ratling not certain that this great migration to the forest was far more dreadful. The lack of acknowledgment for the word 'science' was another odd curiosity, but likely any questions regarding the term would find no answers here.

So, where did that leave the rat?

At face value, someone who'd lived a long life saw potential in the creature far greater than it could fathom, someone with great wisdom tempered with trials testing not just their ability but their drive for survival, and seasoned with something the rat wanted to call 'reality' and its tendency to just come crashing down on any sort of good time. To be nowhere near one's own limitations after throwing down with bone-monstrosities capable of destroying architecture was a frightening thing, but then again, most of that had to be Lumina's power. Probably. What should be an assuring observation from an expert carried with it the notion that there was a precedent for this sort of thing, possibly even a necessity. The lingering thoughts that once tried to dismiss Rept... Lizzy? Lizzy the Lizard Lady. The thoughts that once tried to dismiss her as weak, the other rodents as dumb, might have been but a matter of perspective and relativity, rather than just rude. The ratling wasn't even sure why those thoughts would even have entered its head in the first place, but was starting to see the relevance of it.

Most people the ratling met so far seemed.... uncomfortable with the idea of consuming things to gain their power? Or at the very least, wary of one who vocalizes the intent to eat dangerous things. But, that drive wasn't itself a unique thing: lust for power existed in humanity; why would it not exist in elves, or in some other denizen of the jungle where everything was either a threat, a snack, or a pest? There was a whole ecosystem of large creatures out there in the great forest, and the forest itself was a place where something as powerful as the bramble-core was interesting, but not out of place. In other words, this 'seek out artifacts' mission should be prioritized. Probably.

It was just such an annoying priority, for one who wanted nothing to do with obtaining power. Annoying enough to be draining. The ratling slumped in its chair after a good few seconds, crashing from all the information-processing that ultimately did nothing but reinforce its own prejudices about this whole situation.

"Hin suggested the same thing," the creature observed, discomfort in its expression, "There is a lot that goes into being a protector. That is why we have many. Cannot envy either of you, or them. My apologies for... not trusting."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Pellinta shook her head, seemingly dismissing the apology.
"There is no need for that... Trust is something earned through time and honesty, not something to be given the moment you meet someone with no strings attached, I would be more surprised if you had completely trusted me right away, after all, I clearly have my own goals and priorities, which at first did not include your own people".
The 'at first' implied that her goals and priorities now DID include Ratty's people, the fact that she admitted that hopefully meant that she intended to treat them well since it would be quite unintelligent to admit an intent to do harm to someone with such sharp claws and an ally who liked to burn things while they were within lunging distance.

Finally it seemed the time had come, they were more or less out of topics and the rat had calmed down enough that Pellinta felt that such a serious topic would not cause heart hammering which while usually not fatal was always painful and uncomfortable.
"Now... I think it is time, I suppose the beginning is a good time to start, though I was not immediately affected by the start".
Pellinta explained, closing her eyes for a moment to recall some of the events that happened so long ago.
"There was once a kingdom of elves within the empire, like many other such entities it was autonomous but subservient to the emperor's will, until, seemingly on a whim, the entire kingdom, along with many of the protections we as a people had gained many centuries ago through deals and treaties, were dissolved, the emperor at the time claimed it was due to a plot to remove him and take the throne, but that was ridiculous, until then the vast majority of us were loyal, thankful for the protections we had".
Treaties and deals being broken certain sounded uncomfortable familiar.

"The first we heard was an army marching through our lands, killing, burning and bringing in the slavers of the far north to work their trade, our own forces I am told fought well, but could only hold the line while others fled, their initial goals were the League of Free Kingdoms, the southern tribes or even Sel Ennama, so far away on the other side of the continent.
As they fled, they were forced to steal food from farms, never a lot, just enough to survive, to feed their children, but this simply gave the empire further cause to turn against us, as well as a new decree that we were, as a people, traitors to the empire for not submitting...
People took their chances to turn on more of us, neighbours who had the day before shared a table reported their elven friends as traitors, eager to take what they had for their own, my family was one such, we lived in a village that was nearly half elven, overnight it became a bloodbath, many died on both sides and I fled into the night, I was merely lucky enough to meet one of the many who had chosen to flee plantations and mines to join the massive migration, he helped me find the larger group right before they entered the kingdoms".
She seemed rattled, and from the way she spoke, it seemed likely that Pellinta's parents had not been so fortunate to make it out with her, instead falling to the sudden brutality of humans who saw a way to make some extra wealth for themselves or perhaps take out petty grievances.

"It was around this time that we ran into the goblinoids, who would later take on the name of Uhar, while they had never had their own autonomous entity, they were at least moderately accepted among the public, yet without any words from the emperor's cursed mouth they too had been attacked, forced off their land and viewed as traitors for their supposed links to us and what the humans called a 'monstrous nature that could not be civilised' due to their past of raiding, as if the humans were not themselves raiders and looters in their early history... The leaders allowed them to join us out of pragmatism, we had been attacked so many times and lost so many to soldiers, slavers and would be bandits that increasing our numbers simply added more safety, though I like to think that there was a sense of comradeship as well, it was where I met Nulyth's father... Ahh, Nulyth is the name of the elder of the Uhar you met".
She clarified.

"Unfortunately we had timing cursed by the gods, the United Kingdoms were embroiled in a civil war between the human centralists and the federalist forces... Both sides seemed to view us as an invading army at first and treated us as such, our camp was attacked during the night and many killed as we were separated again, I think a little over half of the survivors moved to the southern coast, where many settled or found their way further to Sel Ennama or the Free Mountains, the group I was with fled into the forest, we had been separated from our food and supplies, and had few who knew where to go or what to do, but in our hour of need, an animal approached us, it could speak and understand us, though it took the form of a great feline, standing half as tall as me.
It led us to sources of water and wild food, aided us in hunting the easier creatures of the forest for their meat, and even went so far as to lead us to the villages of the locals, the forest you see had several settlements of elves and goblins alike, those who had remained there for as long as their historians could remember, maintaining many of the ancient traditions and practices... Including, thankfully, hospitality, as they took us all in, despite there being so many even after the many deaths along the way, the guiding feline, who took the name Arraness when it was offered by many, though admittedly it was not I believe intended as a name, stayed with us, aiding in teaching us the ways of the forest, eventually though they were offered a gift by the Uhar, the same gift you now have, I remember as a child watching the ceremony, how they seemed so pleased with their new form, though that could have just been my childish viewpoint, they did change back many times in my lifetime, when they eventually passed away from age, as all must eventually, their requests were to not be honoured with monuments or ritual beyond stories, and that we take in any who needed aid.
So there WAS a reason they'd trust an animal appearing to save them out of the blue.
"The sanctuary festival was more or less a result of the trek, it is performed once a year to truly welcome the slow trickle of hopefuls who escape their mistreatment abroad and make it here, it mimics the welcome we first were granted, albeit with much more food and drinking, and allows them to be given or come up with new names to replace their often humanised ones, though of course those who choose may keep their name as well".

 

[Fyrra]

For the most part, the rodent sat still for the duration of the story, apart from an amused comment about not passing for 'naive' before it began, and a few internal interruptions from the void, claiming multiple times to know this story.... in the beginning, at least. Said pings from the void hushed as Pellinta's account of history continued, and the crunching of vegetables gave way to silent, intense glares. Apparently not reaching into the void for the details of what was probably a similar account of a horrifying event was the correct choice, but it didn't stop the little blanks from getting filled in by... guesses. Grim guesses. In its previous life, the ratling was starting to think it might have been more than just acquainted with the subject of genocide. It would explain the previous body's appreciation of The Blue Feather of Having Many Foes. The Foe-Feather. Or, since it was worn on the hilt of that metal cutting tool... The S-Word of Hatred? But there were so many other things to unpack from this story than historical parallels to a place that doesn't even matter anymore.

Slavery. Betrayal. Greed. Hardship. Death. All of them on a massive scale, all of them to a degree none of the rat's nest would consider under most circumstances, were it not for human intervention. The ratling itself didn't know the elder's thoughts on most bipeds, because it never felt the need to ask. The only thing on that subject worth knowing were the words avoid and flee... to most rats, anyway. Broaching the subject of integration with the elders might be a tricky one. Yet, at the same time, this accounting of the great trek brought with it a tale of survival, friendship, hope, kindness, and an interesting little tidbit about the previous hero of this forest.

It was too much. By the end of it all, the ratling's fingernails had been digging into their opposites' arms for several minutes. It nodded, spoke a quiet "pardon, one moment," and plopped down from its chair, bare feet tapping against the wooden floor as it left the room. The polite, restrained emotions up to and including a very tender closing of the door behind it could almost be comical, were it not for the subject matter, or the growing, agonized groan that the ratling didn't even bother to conceal from just beyond the portal.

"UgggghhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHY IS THERE NO ESCAPE FROM THIS <squeak>POO?! EVERY F'NARKING TIME WE CROSS PATHS, IT'S THEIR SKIN OR THEIR HAIR OR THEIR CLOTHES OR THEIR HEIGHT OR THEIR HORNS OR THEIR TAIL OR THEIR TENTACLES OR OR OR SOMETHING!! RRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr-" The ratling stamped its feet around on the floor, at least considerate enough not to enhance its strength to the point of leaving holes or dents. "Just one time, ONE TIME, TRY NOT TO INCUR THE WRATH OF THE HUNDRED HUNGRY HORRORS!! BUT NOOOO, WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS, CAN WE?! JUST CROWNS, AND AU-THOR-IT-AH, AND THE REMAINS OF THE RELENTLESS REVEREND REVENANT'S WRATHFUL RAMPAGE! WELL F&#% YOU TOO! THIS TIME I'M EATING EVERYTHING!! RAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

A frustrated scream. Then, silence.

That fury had to have come from somewhere, right?

Even the void was silent after that scream. That must have been the origin point. Somewhere in there was the answer, neatly compartmentalized with a very in-depth understanding of the human body, destructive motivations, and... faint memories. Evidently, death had not claimed those when it took the old body, or perhaps something interrupted the process? But that could mean-

A chill ran down the ratling's spine as it suddenly realized it had been screaming obscenities in the halls of a diplomat. The creature gave the door back in a timid tug before scurrying back to its chair at the table, its ears pinned back as it gave off a little, nervous chuckle. "Eheheh, they say one should not contain it all inside. That must be why."

"So! Umm, the Arraness. You are all good people, to honor their wishes after all this time." Think positive thoughts, think positive thoughts, don't dig your toes into the chair leg, think positive thoughts. "Cats make us nervous, but this one, we would have liked to meet. It sounds like they were acquainted with the subject of day-if-ick-kay-shun, enough to seek to avoid it. A wise one," They turned to face Lizzy, curiosity coloring their scowl into a softer expression. "Experienced. Do you think-?" A semi-nonverbal question: it sounded like this Arraness could have been a reincarnated spirit, one wise enough not to get involved in the headache of fighting a tyrant. But, it could be rude to openly speculate on the subject like this.

Not that rudeness was going to stop the ratling at this point. Composure had already been long broken.

"They were likely fine with the body. The uhar have a good ritual. Many benefits. Not enough power on its own to just rush in and start breaking things until a whole empire ceases to be, but that kind of power is dangerous, and-" Its arm trembled a little as it gestured about. If one looked closely, one might see the a little bit of red in the creature's eyes, as well as dampness in the fur surrounding them. "and my apologies, thank you for telling us this but it's so HORRIBLE and I didn't wanna lernta read but with this going around there's no avoiding it and it's not like we have the time for it but I NEED A BREAK but there's so much to do and there's no ignoring it and, and, and, you understand, yes?"

It slumped, head down onto the table, near the bowl with the magic stone in it, trying not to sob in front of everyone. Probably failing. The ratling didn't even raise its head up to pose another question to its companion.

"Lizzy?"

"I'mma go bakta bed, but when I get up, may I borrow coin? Need thing. Need many thing."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

As the door closed the spell that kept meetings within the hall private from outside listeners went into effect, leaving those inside blissfully safe from the barrage of shouting that would follow, which was good as it probably would have given Lizzy some anxiety, tougher and more confident though she may be, it seemed she might still not do so good around shouting and screaming, especially in reference to such a horrible topic as the actions of humans against any they deemed different, even in many cases, other humans, never mind those with scales.
One person who was less lucky was the servant who had been their guide, who, faced with a guest so obviously furious for some reason decided the best course of action was to calmly and quietly flee in the opposite direction fast enough to almost fall over, she could come back later when things were less shouty, she'd never known a meeting to get so loud it could actually be heard, even when she was listening at the door!

"Oh do not worry about us, these halls are quite sound proofed when the door is closed, though I cannot say the same for anyone else in the building at this moment... I can ah, guess what you were doing".
Pellinta was no fool, she had had many years of wanting to shout and scream about the injustice of it all, every time they greeted a new band of escaped elves and goblins to the forest and heard their horror stories she would feel the urge to rise, and sometimes, would give into it, which was a reason her personal room was ALSO sound proofed, if anything she felt herself relating slightly more to the angry rodent child, and though she did not know exactly what was shouted, she could tell it had indeed been shouted from the words of Ratty upon returning to the room.

"Many of us were alive to see them save us and our family from near certain death by starvation and exposure, it is not so difficult in such a scenario to honour the heartfelt wishes of someone who did so much, especially as their wish was simply that we NOT go out of our way to honour them as a saviour, I believe the only statue of them is the one that stands at their grave, it was an odd request that they were buried in the human style, but simple to honour, I simply hope we have done enough in the stories that they will still be acknowledged as a hero and not a subject of worship after I pass".
She had been trying along with other elders to strike a careful balance, they could not forget that they were helped so greatly by an outsider with no connection or duty to them, but could also not begin equating them to a god or guardian spirit.

Lizzy simply nodded, she didn't know if Ratty wanted to say such things aloud so assumed that would be fine, from what she had heard so far she was near certain that the hero the Elder spoke of was another of the apparently not so unique people reincarnated as an animal, it made her wonder just how many potential great heroes or innovators were lost due to not being in a humanoid form, at the very least a reincarnated person who became say, a reptilian would be listened to as their soul had been human in their past life presumably, but who had time to listen to a dog or a rat who hadn't managed to figure out how to communicate?

Pellinta felt her guilt rising again, she had to remember this child needed rest, they were not an adult, and even Arraness had needed breaks at times.
"No one here would begrudge you time to rest, take as much time as you feel you want, if you need me I will make time, and if you wish to leave, you are of course free to do so, anything within my power to grant here is yours".
Pellinta assured them.

"Oh umm, of course, I have all that I need and this coin is as much yours as mine, more so actually".
Lizzy would probably never have acquired much coin on her own, this money was basically the result of her following Ratty around so even if she WAS the type to dislike sharing she wouldn't be able to excuse not doing so.
Outside the room the guide had rather cautiously returned to waiting, wary of another bout of screams and shouts.

 

[Fyrra]

The ratling sighed, out of emotional energy after venting everything out, and just a little bit grateful that nobody seemed too perturbed about the content of its little litany of curses, or lack of interest in sitting back upright. At least the creature could rest easy knowing its emotions were functional, even if Wrath could spell out more trouble in its expression. Having it vented out made it easier to take in the story of this Arraness and their acts of bringing the refugees of civilization up to speed in a hostile territory, so that they could survive or thrive when the creature in question passed on. It seemed like.... such a thing a cat would do? Yet at the same time, it felt like something any of the rats might do as well, with a little bit less emphasis on hunting and tangling with larger prey.

This Arraness would be a tough act to follow. Perhaps their spirit yet lingered? Though, a spirit had proven itself able to take Lumi by surprise. It might not do, to go prodding at something like that just yet. Or prodding at an empire. Or trying to convince Lumi that it wasn't a scary little thing. But, the foundation had certainly settled, yes? There were people here. Communities. And, if this little rat-creature knew anything, it's that communities could produce some amazing things by working together. And, wouldn't anyone in the room know it, but one of these people had seen a finished product far larger and more chaotic than anything in the forest. It was just a matter of figuring out how to build things in the correct direction.

And letting somebody else do the actual labor~

But, plans like that? One could not make a plan like that for this vast sea of greenery without making plans for all its people, including the periphery villages, and one could not make a plan for all these people without learning their systems of language, commerce, and culture: the ratling would have to start small, if only to spare everyone the anxiety of a horrifying child invoking the name of something that truly would consume everything. Though, that would imply that the little ratling had no desire to make good on that little threat in its tantrum.

"If you need us, we will make time as well. We feel our plans will continue to intertwine. If that happens and I do not perish picking some fight, visibility may become a concern. The day we are transporting foods in excess is the day voices will carry unto the winds. But that is-" Yaaaaaaaawn. "-a dilemma for another season." A little hand plapped down onto the table as the creature forced itself upright, and then to its feet. It was at its limit for serious talks, but it looked like all the important stuff had been covered. "Best of luck with the... diplomatic nightmare this whole thing is going to stir up. We are sure you won't need it, but y'never know. Luck's saved our skin a few times."

But as much as the rat would like to, sleep just wasn't happening so soon after waking. That left Lizzy, and just how freely she offered her coin. Facing her, the ratling pondered a moment.

"You should not follow me into dangerous places and expect not to be paid for placing your life at risk." Except, maybe Lizzy didn't think of their relationship that way? The ratling tilted its head to the side, trying to reassess its friend. "Oh, right. I guess we're friends, and not That. And, it'd make sense if I were better prepared too. Can't keep a hypothetical adversary from targeting you if I'm not scarier than fire." One would expect building this girl's confidence up to take time, but was this a small step or a big step? Then again, it might be healthier to consider financial wealth as more of a group pool-sort-of-thing, if they were planning to travel with more than one person.

The creature stretched, getting its little muscles adjusted for the bright day outside, before leading its companion out toward the market area.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"No need to follow".
Lumina declared in reference to Arraness, seemingly having decided now was the time to speak, after sort of hiding after the outburst, sure it knew it was coming and wasn't actually scared, but didn't want to risk making it happen again, such things were stressful for it's host and therefore bad for it's health.
"Arraness was in time of arrival... Different things needed now, find those and be seen as just as great as Arraness".
Lumina seemed to think Ratty intended to earn a status of hero to the inhabitants of the forest, which would be fairly useful, heroes got rewards in just societies and could command the loyalty of others, which would certainly make it easier to pass on hard or tedious work to other people who could probably do it better while Ratty would be free to adventure as heroes do, at least, they did according to the random tidbits of knowledge Ratty had on the subject.

"Ideally we will not need your aid again... But this world is not ideal unfortunately".
The elder declared, ideally she would never be in any situation that required help from anyone, including her own people, she just wanted to continue maintaining the peace in the forest, but even as old as she was Pellinta knew that was impossible, things were changing, and she needed to ensure her people and the Uhar were able to change with them and keep up, else they suffer another Great Trek... This time into their graves.
"Don't worry on the transport of goods at least, it should be easy enough to disguise it as our usual inter settlement deliveries, some of the towns of both us and the Uhar don't produce enough of certain things so we trade".
Pellinta explained, confirming that there were more settlements within the forest, and not just the ones Ratty had stumbled upon so far, perhaps some were even closer to the new nest within the ruins? Of course Pellinta didn't know which ruins the rodents were nesting within so asking wouldn't help there.

"It's... Basically what I did as a student really... And even after that, I'm much happier to work for a friend though, and it's not exactly like I had anything else I would rather be doing".
Lizzy seemed to reach for excuses as to why she was okay with following without expecting pay, though friendship was probably enough of one really.
"Ahh, that's very true, actually one of the first thing any combat orientated mage is told is to never be caught alone in a battle, we need time to cast a spell and any half decent person with a weapon could close the distance and stop us in mere seconds, especially if we miss or flub the spell".
Flubbing spells would probably be dangerous in more than one way, the fire spells with vocal elements that Lizzy had used so far seemed to share common words and gestures so presumably they affected how the spell worked.

The market wasn't exactly bustling, the Syol were still setting up mostly though the stores that had proper full buildings seemed to be open, with a few having customers already, especially the fletchers, who must have been incredibly profitable living in a society that seemed so fond of the bow judging from the many men and women who seemed to carry them.

 

[Fyrra]

Trotting out into the square, the ratling relaxed and started enjoying the warmth from that star in the sky, the one that burned closer than all others. It was as good as any other time for Lumina to make their presence known, since all the urgent matters for the day had been taken care of, and the headache had been caffeinated and the stomach had been fed. The matter of the Arraness was still a curiosity, but between the ratling and its observant friend, it was easy enough to break down communication into pictures: one of the cat setting down a number of stones to form a platform or a building's foundation (and napping on top of it in the starlight), and another of the rat and a few other entities setting up the support structure for a wall: counterintuitive to building down, but if the bipeds preferred to live this way, they must have had their reasons. Then again, with nearly every adult in the town carrying one of those wooden devices like the one Daoin used, height had its advantages.

The problem was, this ratling had no desire to be a hero, much less be seen as such a thing. There was something about that word that made the creature uneasy, and from the tidbits pulled from Beyond, there were a number of conflicting definitions, such as 'a hero is a dead man' or 'the person who does things that puts them at more risk than anyone else is willing to for themselves.' Perhaps they were different stages of the same term? People appear to love and respect heroes, but in order to gain that sort of reputation, someone else usually gets hurt, no? And when one person had many foes... they died?

Yet, hearing of the atrocities committed by those who drove the syol into these woodlands, the ratling couldn't entertain the idea of not opposing such a society. That it stood here in this vast sea of trees today had effectively taken the choice of a peaceful, easy-going life of lying around and swimming from its little hands, and it couldn't help feeling just a little bit resentful toward whichever force of nature conspired to place it here. Something just seemed off about the whole thing, but there just might not be any avoiding it, whatever it was.

Thankfully Lumina's knack for finding new uses for ingested magical stones tended to yield surprising results! The ratling wondered if anything interesting had turned up in the days since the expedition.

"So if we put more time into preparing a magic, it becomes more potent?"

The ratling turned to face Lizzy as it passed by a stall, reminded of that time it threw the sleepy-web at a pair of guards chasing down a certain thief. The quick nature of that one specific moment should have resulted in a weaker spell... but it still nearly consumed all of the rat's energy at the time. The effect mass had on one's casting power was worth considering, as well as the fact that both the ratling and its reptilian friend were effectively malnourished in comparison to someone of higher standing. Care would need to be taken around a potential glutton-wizard in the future.

In the meantime, the ratling searched for a blacksmith's shop to enter, or anywhere that might have a forge. There were certain things the creature felt it needed, and fortunately it knew that certain types of tools and weapons could be found in the same place.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Lumina felt the need to chip in with some information it had from... Somewhere unknown, presumably from whoever it's previous hosts were before the long sleep that degraded so many memories, presumably someone great, since they had it's help, hard to be mediocre with such a great assistant after all.
"The greatest heroes... Rarely set out with the intention of being so..."
Ratty's lack of desire to become a hero likely meant they'd just end up as more of one, since when you fought purely for survival of yourself or others and not for fame and fortune, you tended to do more, go further, and eventually, be recognised whether you want it or not.
"Simple answer, destroy enemies before you have too many".
While surely not the most elegant or even most intelligent answer, it was in Lumina's opinion, a fitting one, after all you can't get too many enemies if they're all destroyed before they can team up right?

It seemed Lumina was scanning some surface thoughts as it picked up on the wondering of it's host, of course Lumina had been breaking down and assessing the magic of the latest stone it's host had eaten! And finally had some progress to report.
"Aura stone is... Seventy percent analysed, I believe I can recreate the barrier on a smaller scale, it is... Unfinished though, inefficient, untargeted, requires further work for precision".
It wasn't amazing progress, after all the spell was basically in what might be referred to as a 'beta' another word pulled presumably from Ratty's mind.

"Yes, some of the strongest rituals can take years to complete, obviously those are for things such as enchantments or grand spells for purposes like clearing or restoring land, I believe the enchanters have been working on one ritual for nearly a century, I just wish it was for something peaceful and not some weapon that will need to be locked away forever...".
She seemed to shake off a slight melancholy and turned back to the subject.
"Spells become more potent with time, but also more energy efficient up to a point, and more difficult to perform, especially if the caster has to dodge weapons".

Lumina had another comment it seemed after staying quiet to listen to Lizzy, since it too wanted to know more of the modern knowledge of magic so it could be more useful.
"Host... Much larger now, can cast many webs, efficiency is also better, more spells may be possible in time, I suggest consumption of related objects".
Sure the stones were good but Lumina could do so much with the head of a staff or a nice crunchy wand or maybe an enchanted ring! It had already improved Ratty's teeth to be able to threaten such things as metal and wood with no issue, well, softer metal at least, it had some limits for now.

Finding a smithy was easy, there were two elves working in a roofed outdoors area with a rather well built forge as well as other equipment, they had several tools hanging on a rack, buckets of arrow heads to be attached to a shaft by someone else, and indeed, various tools, some seeming new but most obviously there for repairs or sharpening.

 

[Fyrra]

Further illumination on the subject of heroic deeds only made the lack of a proper choice for a future life even more depressing, but the ratling decided to just let it go at this point: one could wallow in just how unfair everything was all they wanted, but it would no sooner change the situation that it would maintain the respect of everyone who couldn't do anything about the powers that threaten them. Truly, if there were internal ears for this kind of conversation, the shared ideas would simply go in one and out the other... until mention of some sort of weapon needing to be locked away caused whichever internal representation the Void had taken to tremble with panic. By that point the rat stopped walking.

Something about the words 'weapon that will need to be locked away forever' frightened the unknowable memories. That could not have been good... but again, it wasn't something the ratling wanted to address this day. Tomorrow's dangerous foes and anything they could possibly be armed with were a concern, but nothing worth fretting over so soon, when even the most basic of defenses for this current body remain untested.

It waved to the two elves at the forge upon approaching.

"Hello! Umm, do you know where I could get a-" The ratling paused, going over the different words it knew for this sort of thing. "A branch! A metal branch, sturdy. The sort of branch that can hold together when struck against stone or an armored shell, roughly the size of something carried by a warrior of... her stature?" It glanced toward Lizzy, seemingly thinking it should start with something a little bit oversized for its own body. After all, a blunt object didn't need to be precise. "Like a hammer, but not a hammer. And, also a farming sickle, but not for cutting crops." The hand-sickle idea had a different purpose: it was for cutting free from things in an emergency, but surely a few other uses could be found for such a device.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Oddly Lizzy hadn't seemed too shocked when she mentioned a weapon being sealed away forever, which might suggest that it wasn't out of the ordinary for mages to create things that simply had to be locked away somewhere, and considering they could apparently take decades or even a century to make... It really seemed to be a testament to the wastefulness of the mage guilds, and perhaps also their complacency or ego, making something so dangerous but refusing to destroy it, then again Lumina was clearly something that would have taken a long time to make and was clearly incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands so maybe it wasn't all bad.

The elves had been absorbed in their work, clearly professionals though one seemed to be instructing the other, and finally noticed the approaching rodent child, the spark of recognition in their eyes, it was safe to say everyone in the village with the ability of sight would know them at a glance by now, even those who hadn't seen directly would have been told about the new form at the very least.
They also seemed to have either enough respect or professionalism to not question the requests and instead responded earnestly, or rather the apparent instructor did.
"I see... If you wanted a metal branch in the most literal sense a club might work for you, though they are rarely made of metal, perhaps a mace, or warhammer? If you wish for a more direct hit then a war maul or pick may also work, I have an example of a mace but the others I have only drawings".
The smith explained, perhaps a little excited, he rarely got to make weapons other than hunting knifes, arrow heads and maybe the occasional wood axe or sword, the one mace he had was actually an order from one of the various adventurers from the periphery who 'wanted to try elven metal'.
"Ahh, a hand scythe? A versatile weapon indeed, I've never made one but it shouldn't be difficult to adapt a farming version into something more effective for other uses".
It seemed Ratty had plenty of options here! The topic of payment hadn't come up but there was the risk the smith might try and give a discount or freebie due to saving the town and everything.

 

[Fyrra]

Watching the two elves, the ratling helped itself to a quick peek through the smiths' helpful drawings, and when the suggested warhammer was mentioned, it nodded in affirmation: anything heavier than that, while already oversized for the little vermin, would simply be too unwieldy to be useful, but that looked like something Lizzy could carry in one hand if she were more warrior than scholar: it would serve the ratling's purpose for it.

"A sickle, and a... warhammer?" Something in the subconscious found amusement in the combination, but wouldn't elaborate on why. "Those two things should be enough to start with. Anything more, like a pick or a shovel, might weigh us down. And then there's carrying all of it-" Cue a pause as they looked around, not just at the displays but the people wandering about. Immediate defenses were one thing, but the ratling wasn't sure how to prepare for a proper expedition on its own yet. Perhaps a few containers, like the bag lifted from that dead wizard? Or that thing Hin carried, that saved its life! It was called a rope?

In any case, loading down on more than two striking implements seemed a bit much.

"What would be a fair trade for those, in coin?"

It might prove better to be direct with the craftsman: the ratling might have recognition here that could sway them into an advantage, but taking advantage was off the table for many reasons, some of which were sympathy for the syol people as a whole, and some of which were practical. But, as for the lingering thoughts about weapons that existed only to be locked behind a seal, it almost seemed like those were just asking to be eaten.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The two weapons would certainly be annoying to transport if they had to be held since the rodent only had two hands, perhaps something like those rings of hide that the Syol hung their sharp sticks from? Or a container like the one that held their arrows, a bag would also be helpful since it was doubtful that Lizzy could carry everything that would be needed for an expedition, though she would definitely at least know most if not all of the things they might need, she could act as a bountiful source of information on the weird ways of society.
Ultimately though if the rodent child wanted to carry lots of things for big trips... They'd simply need more hands, or some other way to move things.

The teacher smith gave Ratty an appraising look before giving his answer.
"Rightly I'd give you these for free, I wouldn't even have my smithy or home without your help after all... But I don't think you'd accept that, and perhaps would even be more comfortable with a weapon you paid for and can trust to be well made".
It appeared the teacher was wise enough to figure that much out, he knew he himself wouldn't want to use a free tool or weapon.
"Now the average price for a custom made weapon like these two would be four of the small gold coins, and ten of the larger silver ones, I'll knock off the silvers if you promise to send any future work my way... We don't get a whole lot of smithing work here and rumour is you might have some need of tools in the future".

A glance at Lizzy would earn a nod at that price, it matched what she'd seen before, the smith wasn't trying to be too kind or scam them in any way, and that they also had the coin for it, if only barely, they should have enough for other supplies but... Not much left at all after that, weapons were expensive, especially reliable custom made weapons in a place like this that saw so little weapons orders.
Lumina also seemed to urge caution at the thought of eating dangerous weapons... Eating mostly depleted magical rocks was one thing, but eating incredibly powerful weapons was another, aside from not knowing whether it could even break down so much power safely yet... There was the simple inherent danger of trying to swallow sharp things.

 

[Fyrra]

Once more, trying to read the smith's emotions was an exercise in frustration: he wasn't as shielded as Hin, but there was still something off in comparison to a human's expressions, or Daoin's warm, bubbly nature. As for the rat-child itself, it probably had no room to talk in little conversations like this, what with its habit of either staring or glancing at specific things, or looking away at something else mid-conversation. There was much to do, but the little one had this little habit of getting side-tracked, even by its own thoughts.

"Not at all. We would rather know what to expect in a less welcoming place than walk into such a situation unprepared. Besides, taking care of the shroud was everyone's doing. We had help from cartographers, cooks, seers, guards, a pair of vagrants, Hin and Daoin personally, and a number of others. This trade is the one by which you maintain your home, yes?" The ratling had no desire to spell everything out aloud, but this person seemed perceptive enough to figure out that his customer merely viewed itself as a small piece of a much larger group, and that taking more of a gift than anyone else who helped, even indirectly, wouldn't feel right. Granted, these people had families, homes, and resources to pull from, but-

"We also feel The Wise Pellinta will make a point of expressing everyone's gratitude, so there is no need to worry about gifts," the ratling commented as it fished out some coins: four of the softer, golden ones, and four of the heavier ones, because promises were simply not the sort of thing one made to strangers, even if the ratling still intended to send some future requests back here, if not most. After all, if the smith was as skilled at his trade as he was with conversation, why seek out someone else?

"But, not much call for smithing, in a town this large? Truly? No requests for plows, hinges, nails, screws, pots, cauldrons, sho-" The young one's questioning expression suddenly lit up with words it shouldn't know: a detail stood out, and thus it started reaching for images and words to place with them, before suddenly stopping mid-question with the realization that most of those things were for lumber, and syol culture seemed averse to bringing down trees or using beasts for farmwork, so there would be little need to shoe those either. The same could be said of saws, chains, spikes, and the like. "Right, that would be the circumstance," it mused, handing over the payment. "We will have to survive another journey before commissioning more, but sure, we could use some tools."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"Ahh, that is true, you're wise beyond your years, as much as it pains me to see a child needing to be so wise I hope it serves you well".
He was of course aware that the elder would reward their young hero... Heroine? He wasn't sure but it wasn't polite to question so he did not do so, for all he knew the rodent could be like young Daoin.
"Sadly so, farming is still new here, small scale, not a large need for tools as of yet but maybe one day... As for axes, I think the town has maybe four such implements, for use with dying trees mostly, we try to use as little wood as we can from the trees".
The way he said that and the clear abundance of wooden buildings around them suggested they might have another source of material, either that or there were just that many dead trees in the ancient forest, something that wasn't hard to believe with how massive it seemed to be.
"And as for weapons... I am afraid that is my own fault in a way".
He said that with a grin, clearly more joking than anything.
"The weapons I made rarely break, and everyone here knows how to maintain them themselves!"

The smiths didn't seem offended by the rodent's silent refusal of the deal, either way they made money and got to work on something interesting, both of them had gotten into the craft for the love of it rather than the sake of profit, even if they did it for free it wasn't like the town would just let them go cold and hungry.
"When your weapons are finished I will throw in some basic tools to care for them, and show you how to make use of them if you require it, I may joke but there is nothing I enjoy more than seeing something I forged lasting long and being maintained well".

Lumina had been observing the Syol and their expressions for as long as it's host had been around them, trying to work out exactly WHY their faces seemed... Not quite 'wrong' but something else, different in a way that could be a little disturbing, but had finally managed to work out a potential answer by plucking knowledge from the void... The void which seemed to be becoming much easier to understand now that it's host had attained a form seemingly much more similar to their previous one.
"Uncanny valley".
Lumina declared proudly after finding the words, simply hoping that the knowledge was also present in Ratty's mind, the best explanation it could find was that the Syol were SIMILAR to humans, incredibly so, but the slight differences in facial structure and expressions were what made them more difficult to understand, and this was, with time, something that Lumina was sure it could overcome.

 

[Fyrra]

Claims of wisdom got the ratling to giggle out loud, if nothing else. There it went again, putting on its serious and humble tones in order to avoid taking a personal stake in the shroud's defeat: an effort that could be described as counterintuitive if the creature was planning on hunting down even more dangerous artifacts for consumption, considering one would want to be as well-equipped and prepared for such a journey as they could, but the rat seemed convinced that there lie a greater purpose in keeping the peoples' spirits high without the presence of a hero, as it were.

"If claims like that hold true, then we will have no choice but to return." Cue a wave; the ratling practically beamed. "Give us time. It might take us a few seasons to have you swimming in commissions, but we have to survive that long first." To say nothing of convincing the other rats that establishing diplomatic ties with the periphery and somehow bringing them up to a similar standing height. It was a tall order all its own, even if it technically wasn't asked for, but the ratling had Plans, and finding out some of the unintended consequences might boost its favor in the region all over again was its own little headache, but maybe that part was just going to be unavoidable. "As for that other thing, I suppose it would have to. Product of a nomadic life in the forest. We are hoping the new nest is a permanent one."

At least the syol appeared willing to refrain from hero worship.

"When should we return for smithing lessons?"

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"A few seasons is nothing much in the grand scheme of things, you may have realised already but my people are exceptionally long lived, though I have no doubt you will survive to become a repeat customer, the elder would not place her trust in someone unable to survive the dangers of this land, already I doubt that there is much outside of the ruins that could truly threaten you, especially once you are properly armed, it seems like most of the most dangerous creatures have learned to recognise steel and associate it with danger".
That made sense, even the dumbest being could learn from exposure and pass that learning onto children, and the more dangerous creatures were usually more likely to be intelligent in the first place.

"Hmm... I should have these done by tomorrow, if you return then I'll show you some proper maintenance techniques then and there, I don't really have much else to keep me busy so I can afford to focus on getting these done".
When you spent as much time practicing as he did you could get pretty good at your job, it was lucky he was so relatively young, as many older elves tended to get bored of their careers and ended up changing over to others, at least temporarily, it was one of the downsides of being so long lived, and one of the things that had set them apart from the old dwarven nations, who's people could seemingly remain focused on a single topic for their entire extended lives without any sign of boredom, leading to them creating masterpieces as casually as one might yawn.

 

[Fyrra]

Something about the smith's words got the ratling to reflect on his observations and inferences. Of course, the anxiety toward having another place their trust in the young one and the burdens that implied was easily identified, but for some reason the rat had never put together that all the dangerous creatures of the forest had also identified steel as a danger-stick of sorts. Even as a small one, observing the other rats of the warren and their behavior would have passed that tidbit of knowledge along at some point.... but this one's instincts never adapted to the sort of danger-sense that kept the warren's numbers up. Sure, the knowledge that something was to be avoided was there, but most sane rats just hid from the humanfolk regardless of what they were carrying.

The fear and adrenaline kept them alert, heightened their senses, and discouraged the pursuit of anything dangerous enough to scatter the warren. Perhaps they might fare better against the silent steps of an elf? But then again, would they know to listen for anything odd in the branches above? It might be a little too cruel to study that far into the elders' behaviors and wisdom, but the thought persisted long enough to draw the ratling to its own criticism: either it was stupid for a rat, or it had no survival instinct. So far the data and its own ego favored the latter, and sort of emphasized why the rat would need to remind itself not to do anything that could get it killed in these woods, as opposed to having a natural desire not to perish.

Then again, was the act of protection not the act of beating the tar out of something before it could threaten anyone else, even to one's own detriment?

"Relativity. We do not have a basis to judge on the matter of long lives, but both the elders we've met have faced many trials on their way to these woods, where their current homes are now developed in ways that discourage environmental destruction. The time before Enial's construction was the time of an Arraness. Both elders have presumably witnessed this entity, but the Arraness' absence has been felt. An entire life, and possibly another. Longer than we can fathom, without numbers. Anyone could be considered long-lived, but you speak from experience." The ratling looked up at the blacksmith, appraising them again... and thought about Daoin for a moment, its tail flicking about.

For a minute the creature stared, the little gears in its head turning. Then its ears flattened out: it wanted to ask about loss, since it seemed like the syol and the uhar were close enough that friendships paid little attention to borders and such, but that was probably rude to ask about. "Very well then. We look forward to tomorrow." It sounded a little forced, coming from the ratling: getting stuck in a thought loop about all the serious stuff must have hit a few emotions. At least it understood most of the things it was talking about: bringing everyone else up to speed would be a nightmare in logistics. Maybe the act of repairing something could be calming therapy?

At least the wait provided a convenient excuse to take it easy for a day. The ratling waved its farewell to the smiths before looking around for another shop of sorts: someplace to find rope, sacks, and containers, maybe even a shoulder-bag for stones. With weapons out of the way, the only vital concerns left were food and drink storage, carrying things, and finding some way to unwind for a day that wasn't walking back to the nest and stewing in their thoughts.