thebastion | Day 220

Entry tags:

Day 220

Who: Zulf, Tobias, and Zuko... plus a lot of Ura
Open: Closed
When: 220
Where: Out at the Skyway
What: Time for a return trip to visit the only other group of survivors they know of.
Format: Action
Warnings:

[And just like that, the days have all passed. It's time to go back.]

[Zulf tries very hard not to think too much on it, lest he go into another panic- something he's determined not to do this time. Tobias is the only reoccurring member besides himself, so as they get closer, Zulf relies on him to tell them if anything is amiss as he looks back to their newest addition Zuko.]

Please remember- no threatening movements even if they make any. It's only natural that they will likely to be wary considering your last encounter with them. If we're actually attacked, that's another matter entirely.

I'll hand over the shard amulets to them first so that they can all understand you before doing a proper introduction.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Tobias flies high overhead, keeping an eye out. He calls down to the two of them as he makes a scan of the area.]

<I don't see any trouble, but I'll let you know if I do. I don't know if they'll recognize me or not, or if they thought I was just some kind of weird monster.>

[Zuko is looking around herself, even though she knows Tobias's eyes are sharper. Without the weight of her swords across her back, she feels a little uneasy, like she's forgotten something. Funny how she's become so used to depending on them.]

I'll try to be as non-threatening as possible.

[She's likely to be wary herself, but at least she's unarmed, and she looks pretty small next to Zulf's height.]

[The change in group is interesting, but not unexpected to the Ura. But they do seem to be slightly more friendly than last time, possibly because of Zulf, or possibly because the medicine worked and their people are no longer dying in large amounts.

Whatever the case, this time two guards meet them, and they're not actually pointing their weapons at everyone!]

"Please follow us, the commander has been waiting."

[The lack of weapons being out is doing wonders for Zulf's mental state. The fact that there's only two people instead of a large group also seems to be helping; Tobias can likely pick up on the fact that Zulf isn't starting to freeze up like last time.]

"Of course. But one moment, please." [Zulf pulls out two shard amulets from his bag carefully and holds them out.] "Here. You can test them to make sure they work, if you like, by speaking with my companion here." [There's a nod to Zuko.]

[Tobias wheels down and lands nearby, watching both groups. He's not about to reveal 'hey I'm a talking hawk' yet, but he's also a bit more at ease. He does keep an eye out to see who's hiding in the area, though.]

[Zuko glances at Tobias, but she'll leave it to Zulf on when and whether or not to introduce their talking, shape-shifting bird friend.

Once the guards have the amulets, she bows her head to them. She doesn't think she recognizes either of them.]

My name is Zuko. Can you understand me?

[Once the amulets are on, the two guards look to Zuko, and they listen to her before they nod. It sounds like she's speaking Ura to them, but at the same time they know she's not actually speaking it.

One of the two guards answers her.]

"Yes, I can. Thank you, the commander explained how these work, but it's still amazing to see."

[The other guard is still fiddling with his when he speaks up as well.]

"Do these things work for like...horses and birds and stuff? Finding out what they have to say would be pretty cool!"

[The first guard sighs and rolls his eyes, silently mouthing 'idiot' before speaking up a bit louder, clearly trying to get the second guard's attention too.]

"ANYWAY, we should get going, the commander doesn't like to wait."

[If Zuko and Zulf follow them (they have not realized Tobias is a talking bird yet), the two guards will lead them further in. This time, they'll go right past where the group was stopped last time, heading deep into this group of Ura's territory. As they walk, eventually different Ura will be visible. Most of them are men or women of varying ages, either maintaining equipment or breaking down raw supplies like lumber into workable chunks to make things. In total, there are maybe 50-ish Ura here. All of these Ura look strong, though, like this is clearly a working camp. The elderly, young, and infirm must be in another location nearby.

Most of the workers look up from their work to see the group of newcomers, but ultimately they return to their work. Zulf is an Ura, and Zuko looks similar enough to one that at a quick glance they don't realize she's not Ura. Without any of their flashy party members with weird hair colors (or dragons), they're not instantly on-guard as they might have been otherwise. At least, they are for now, until Tobias reveals that he's more than just an ordinary hawk.

Hidden among the brush and tall trees are a few temporary houses. This is clearly not their permanent settlement, as they have made no attempts to dig new, more structurally sound homes.

The two guards lead the group to one of those tents, a large one with a symbol for Lemaign on one of the flaps.]

"The commander is in here. Step inside, please."

[The corner of Zulf's mouth twitches upwards a bit at the second guard's fascination and the questions.]

I imagine it would have to be quite the special case for you to understand a horse or a bird.

[To his credit, he continues to look straight at the guards and not at Tobias. Tobias is an even more unique case at any rate, as far as Zulf can tell.]

[He waits for just a moment for the bird in question to go onto his or Zuko's shoulder just in case he doesn't want to have to hop or fly after them before following the two guards. The further they go, the more Ura they see, the more Zulf can feel his nerves starting to act up. No one's pointing any weapons at them, he reminds himself firmly with his gaze kept straight ahead. Everyone is calm. Everything is alright. It's going to stay that way.]

[It's still something of a relief when they reach the tent, and Zulf gives a nod.]

Thank you.

[He starts to enter, keeping the flap open just enough for Zuko to take a hold of it as well before he goes further inside.]

[Tobias recognizes the gesture and he flies down, settling on Zulf's shoulder carefully. He doesn't want to dig in too much and hurt the Ura. He tilts his head and looks around at the guards near them, but doesn't say anything or make motions towards them. There would be plenty of time for that later, if he needed it.]

<Just stay calm, Zulf. We're fine.>

[He includes Zuko in that conversation too, but there's no need to alarm the guards yet.]

[There are more Ura here than Zuko was expecting. Guessing that there must be more she doesn't see, their numbers rival those of the Bastion. To be sure, it's a small number compared to what they've lost, but it makes her wonder again if there could be whole groups of her own people surviving out here, never making their way to the Bastion. Something to think about for later, and maybe not to give up on.

Zuko's not letting her guard down around these people, but she doesn't share Zulf's nerves as she follows him into the tent.]

[Zuko might be able to notice a couple of the young men- who are clearly around 14-ish years old and are probably apprentices or trainees of some sort- watching her and possibly whispering about how cool she looks. And then they go back and forth about how they should talk to her, but how the other boy should be the one to say hello first. They're quickly shushed by one of the older Ura, though.

A couple Ura (including guard number 2) are a bit surprised to see Tobias suddenly land on Zulf, and guard number 2 will even comment on it.]

Er...is that falcon yours...?

[He might be contemplating trying to talk to it. Maybe.

But regardless of the answer, everyone else will just assume the bird is Zulf's unless someone says otherwise, and they won't stop him from taking Tobias into the tent.

Inside, the man from before is standing at a makeshift table, looking over a map that is sprawled out over it. To Tobias and Zuko, the land on there would be unfamiliar, as it is not from either of their worlds. To Zulf, it may look familiar, since it's a map of the Terminals and the surrounding areas. But it's a map from before the Calamity, and several markings are drawn over it. Some places are circled, others Xed out, and lines are drawn here and there.

The man looks up when the tent flap opens, and he straightens himself up when he sees who it is.]

Two weeks, right on the dot. We've been expecting you.

[Guard 2 will just earn a smile from Zulf before he ducks inside properly. No one needs to know about Tobias just yet, and certainly not without the youth's consent.]

[Inside the tent, all of Zulf's tension seems to melt away. He glances over the map, remembering a similar one from his own younger days before he left for Caelondia. So they have a similar idea as he and Zayna... It's only to be expected. Maybe they would be able to share resources? It's something to keep in mind. For now, he focuses his gaze back on the commander.]

I hope we haven't kept you waiting for too long... and that you don't mind if I'm the only familiar face. [Well, there's Tobias- but if we're being literal, he was a horse at the time. Zulf gestures to Zuko.] However, this is Zuko. She was one of those on the initial expedition. When she heard that we had made contact with you, she wished to come so that she could say something.

[Tobias just watches, keeping an ear out. If anyone in the area moves, he'll know. He looks down at the map, committing it to memory.]

[Those teenage boys will get a look of confusion from Zuko before she disappears into the tent. What even.

She pauses just inside as she catches sight of the man greeting them. Zulf doesn't seem to realize that hers is a familiar face to the commander as well. Once he's introduced her, she places her fist to her palm and bows.]

I apologize for the distress I caused your people when we first met. I hope you understand that I only wanted to ensure the safety of our group. I had no intention of harming the boy.

[Oh right. That.

Fortunately, the two guards by the tent flap weren't there during that expedition, so they don't react beyond looking slightly confused. The commander, however, does remember Zuko. His face is stony, and difficult to read, but but his brow does sink slightly, as if he's considering this information.]

Yes...I remember you.

[Unfortunately, this commander is not as easygoing as Zahi is, so he's not going to say that 'it was nothing.' But he does take her apology into consideration.]

It is fortunate that no lives were lost then. You must understand, we had no idea who you any of you were. The traps we set were for the raiders who had been through the area previously, so when one went off, we assumed it was them.

[Not an apology, but an explanation. It's probably the best the group will be able to get from him about that.]

[Zulf listens carefull to the explanation, giving a nod when it's finished. Raiders... So that's a problem this far out. There's a lot they haven't discovered past the Bastion's borders... Another thing to store in his mind.]

Everyone was only acting in the best interest for their own group as much as they could with what they knew. I like to think that we can do more now.

[It's why they're here, after all.]

Did the cure help you greatly?

<Are they talking about someone else? Or did someone get this far out and start taking things?>

[Otherwise... who would be out this far?]

[Zuko was not expecting a return apology. The fact that the commander is willing to be civil with her is enough. Some of her past apologies have been met with death threats, so it's an improvement.

She glances aside at Zulf, and Tobias. She doesn't think that anyone from the Bastion would be raiding these people's territory, but that does beg the question, who else is out there? She keeps quiet for now, though, since it's hard to have a private two-way conversation with a telepathic bird and not appear insane.]

It did. Everyone who was sick is either entirely better or in the process of recovering. Which brings us to my next question...

[The commander looks between Zulf and Zuko, watching for any kind of reaction.]

How did you make so many doses of the cure so quickly? Even with the technology we had before the Calamity, it took time to make.

<Be careful what you tell them...>

[He doesn't need to tell them twice, but he might as well. He gives the commander a glare and turns his head to preen his feathers.]

[Well, Zulf's first reaction is to tend to 'his' bird. He makes a small quiet noise, petting the feathery head and feeling awkward about it.]

Calm down, I know.

[As though he's just calming down a fidgety bird and not affirming that he's well aware they need to be careful right now. Caelondian technology, especially one designed to withstand something like the Calamity perhaps with that as it's primary purpose... That might not go over so well. At the same time, outright lying is far from the answer both in terms of his morals and in terms of believability. Focusing on Tobias gives him a quick second to think over his options.]

[Zulf turns his attention back to the commander.]

We've just been fortunate enough to find technology that could, and levelheaded people who thought to use it in that manner. The man who was with me last time, Colin? It was mainly his idea along with a few others in our number, including Zahi. We'd have been lost ourselves without them.

[Hopefully the namedrop will encourage him that the Monument is something that's alright to use.]

[Zuko knows what the Bastion was built for, but from her persepective, it doesn't really matter who built something if you can make good use of it. They just need to convince the Ura of the same.]

We don't have anything like it where I come from either, but it saved a lot of lives, so I'm inclined to keep using it. You could stand to benefit from it yourselves.

[More than they already have, that is.]

[At the mention of 'where I come from', the commander looks at Zuko sharply. He had mistaken her for an Ura at first as well, but now upon looking more closely he can see the differences.

Truthfully he is more interested in this technology, though. It sounds suspiciously like something from Caelondia, though Colin did not look like a Cael. It could perhaps be from another world.

The commander does not react to hearing Zahi's name. Or, more accurately, he is poker-facing it up so that he doesn't display any kind of reaction.]

So this technology, it is used to create medicine more quickly? Or does it do more as well?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 220

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

WHOOPS TOTALLY GOT WRAPPED UP IN THAT EVENT