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| Details |
| Author: | Luridel |
| Summary: | Blue Squad sets out to determine what is wrong with the jinyu at Inkgill Mere. Bun hitches a ride. Dane and Shun disapprove of drinking sha-infused water. Estel fails a resurrection, but at least she tried. Iphindra is perceived. Almeiria forms an opinion. ~5k words. |
| Rating: | M for Mature 17+ |
"Cobalt Company! My friends!" calls Mayor Bramblestaff. "A word, if you please?"
Atley turns and squints at the Mayor before marching over.
"Sure! What's up?" Estel heads over.
Bun follows! He is also Mayor Bramblestaff's friend, having saved Binan Village last week.
"Thank you," the Mayor says with relief. He glances over his shoulder in the general direction of the lake before looking back to the group. "There is a merchant who travels through here regularly. Last week, the road was unsafe because of the yaungol attacks, and so he went across the water to trade with the jinyu until the way north was clear. But he has not returned this way, and the jinyu village itself has been silent for a time… Would you be willing to go over there and see what’s become of Merchant Shi?"
Shun grunts.
Atley nods once. "Certainly. Let's move."
Shun fetches the Black Goat.
Bun looks around at a bunch of unfamiliar mounts and hops up behind Dane.
Ahead of them is a jinyu village of carved stone buildings set around a central fountain. As they approach, a smashed cart and litter of broken crates come into view — and beyond these, the corpses of both jinyu and pandaren lie sprawled on the sand.
The bodies have clearly been here for at least a couple of days. Curiously, several of the jinyu corpses continue to ooze a peculiar, putrid dark fluid that soaks into the sand and vanishes almost immediately.
Two living people are present: A gray-furred pandaren man in a merchant’s robes, and a pandaren woman in leather armor who stands braced for battle, as if facing an invisible foe.
Atley grits his teeth and dismounts. "Stay sharp!"
Shun stares at the bodies littering the floor ahead. "Well. Shit."
"Ah, shit." Estel goes into Shadowform.
Almeiria's shadows deepen around her. "Interesting…" she says.
Bun stays sharp! Mostly with his teeth.
The merchant turns as they approach. His expression is desolate with grief and fear. "Have you… come to help?"
Iphi has put on her helmet because she's in serious mode. "I- interesting?.."
Atley briefly glances back at Almeiria and Iphindra before he looks to Merchant Shi. "Aye."
Estel approaches. "Yeah, we're here to help," she says. "Tell us what we can help with."
He wrings his paws and nods. "I am Merchant Shi. I don’t understand what happened here. The jinyu are a peaceable people, and they have always welcomed our trade. But the ones from across the lake attacked this place the other night! My son and I are no fighters, so we hid — but then the boy panicked and ran off into the darkness. I don’t know what’s become of him. If you could search…?"
Shun tilts his head, then glances across the water.
Atley nods once and briefly glances around at the destruction. "We'll search for him."
"Of course." Estel smiles at the merchant, dropping her Shadowform. "May I cast a protective spell on you?"
Merchant Shi sags with relief. "I welcome whatever you have to offer."
Iphindra raises a hand, and a small bird comes to land on her finger. "I— I'll ask around if anybody has seen him!"
Estel nods and traces the symbol of the Fear Ward in the air. "We'll find your son, yeah?"
Shi glances uneasily toward the woman with the sword. "I wanted to ask Mei to help me, but… something is wrong with her. The attack seemed to break something her. I do not trust that she would bring Wu-Peng back safely, rather than doing something…impulsive."
Shun narrows his eyes a touch, then nods.
Atley shifts his gaze to Swordmistress Mei.
Merchant Shi hesitates. "If you could — the priority is to find my son. But the jinyu seized all of our supplies, as well. If you are able to collect anything at all to return to us, I would be deeply grateful."
"We'll gather all we can find," Atley says, before he marches over to Swordmistress Mei. "Mei, is it?"
Bun sniffs the air.
As they get close, the pandaren woman’s low growl becomes audible. She is staring fixedly across the lake, her expression twisted with rage, growling. "Betrayers," she seethes. "Kill them. Kill them all."
Almeiria watches the others approach the Swordmistress, but keeps her distance.
Swordmistress Mei has nothing further to say.
[Shun]: "…"
Bun bristles, hissing at Mei.
Atley briefly glances back at the squad before he grunts, marching off. At the lake’s edge, a kneeling jinyu form straightens at their approach. He, too, gazes across the lake, but his expression is bereft rather than enraged.
"Has anyone seen a dead jinyu before? Is this normal behavior for their blood?" Almeiria examines one of the corpses.
"Definitely not," Estel says. "This has gotta be a Sha thing."
Atley shakes his head and stops by one of the corpses, raising his gaze to Almeiria. "Aye."
[Waterspeaker Gorai]: "Friends. I am Waterspeaker Gorai. I fear that my people have been… corrupted. Will you help me?"
Atley nods and grunts.
Gorai nods. "There has been great strife among the people of Inkgill. The sha of ancient legend began to seep from the earth into the waters not long ago. Elder Shai Hu drank the corrupted waters and found himself strengthened, emboldened. He forced others to do the same. When I protested, Orachi of the town guard took my ritual staff and banished me. Without my staff, I am unable to speak with the waters that once gave me guidance!
"I am no fighter, and I have not wished to ask the help of the pandaren there. I think their grievances with my people are too great, and I do not blame them. Will you cross the waters to seek out any of my uncorrupted kin and tell them there is yet hope, and send them here to me? And perhaps you can recover my staff, while you are there?"
"Willingly? They willingly drank sha water?" Almeiria asks, surprised. "For what reason did they seek that power?"
Waterspeaker Gorai shook his head. "I cannot understand it. Not without the divinity the waters grant me."
Shun furrows his brow.
Atley leans back and works his jaw. "Just as the greenskins. We'll save as many of your people as we can, and locate that staff."
Iphindra shakes her head in silence. "W- we'll find out together!"
"This'll be no ordinary sword work, you lot. Stay sharp," Atley glares at the village across the water before he starts jogging.
Waterspeaker Gorai says: Please, accept the ancestors' blessing. It is not much, but it is all I can give without my staff, and will help you traverse the Mere.
They are blessed with a water-walking enchantment.
Bun is not about this walking on water business. He scrambles up Estel's cape to perch on her shoulder.
Estel tilts her head back towards Mei. "I'm worried she's gonna turn."
Atley nods slowly. "Aye. She's on the cusp of it if she's not there already."
Shun spies one cowering jinyu and motions them to run.
Atley points out a cowering jinyu. "Another, there."
"Can we help her, though?" Estel asks. "What happened to the mask your squad had?"
"W- we brought a lot of negative things with us, when we arrived in Pandaria…" Iphi bows her head down in silence. "In a way, I'm surprised the sh- sha hasn't corrupted more people…"
"I've still got it. We can try to place it on her, but we'll be mindful if we approach. Might not work against this variant of Sha," Atley says.
"We have hardly even been in this area," Almeiria says, shaking her head. "No… this power was waiting for something."
Atley shakes his head at Iphindra before, to his surprise, he points Thunderfury at Almeiria. "That's my mind."
Estel nods to Dane.
The village is full of furious jinyu, mad with rage, but there are plenty of survivors who chose not to drink the water, hiding from the others.
Atley doubletakes the slain blacksmith and briefly peruses his work in passing.
"More village across the water," Shun notes.
Atley pulls a Dissenting Inkgill to their feet. "Make for the south. Now. Safer there."
"That's right…" Iphi looks around. "I hope we find whatever's been hurting them…"
Atley nods at Iphindra. "We'll root out this evil. We've done it before."
Iphi strokes the head of one of the fish statues, on the side of a house's wall. "They have so m- much love for the world around them… What happened?.."
They kill a jinyu who looks pretty much like the rest of the other jinyu, but happens to be wearing a staff on his back.
Atley lowers to ransack the corpse of Orachi, lightly shaking it around. "Our man, likely."
Shun falls silent as he helps strike down the sha corrupted.
Atley retrieves The Waterspeaker's Staff and looks to Almeiria for a moment before he tosses it over.
"Ritual staff?" Estel gives Dane a thumbs-up.
Atley grunts.
"The lawspeaker was right," whispers the cowering jinyu. "They’ve gone insane!"
Almeiria looks slightly put out by the toss, but she catches it and inspects it.
"There’s no hope!" moans the wide-eyed jinyu. "Our people have lost their minds!"
"Make for the south," Atley snarls. "Go. Now!"
"Hey, hey, no, we're working on it," Estel says. "Survivors are meeting south of the village."
Atley examines the inside of one jinyu hut. "That one looks important. Kill him."
They kill him.
"Keep your heads on a swivel. We've to locate the son," Atley says.
"You… you’re not one of them, are you?" whispers the frightened jinyu. "You’ve got to help me!"
"Make for the south. We've paved a road," Atley says.
Shun vanishes into the shadows to search.
The bird from earlier comes back to Iphi. "Th- the birds haven't found signs of him yet."
Atley grunts and briefly eyes the birds.
"Over here," Shun calls out, probably scaring the Pandaren from the sudden voice in the void.
"Mm?" Atley turns and jogs over.
A pandaren youth is huddled beneath a shell-shaped barricade at the far end of the village. He looks up, wide-eyed with fright, and then relaxes when he sees they aren’t jinyu.
"Hey," Estel calls. "Are you Wu-Peng? Your dad's looking for you."
Almeiria approaches as well. "What an excellent hiding spot, dear," she praises.
"Yo- you were better than the birds at tracking the missing Pandaren to- today!" Iphi compliments Shun.
Wu-Peng blinks. "My father, Mei — are they still alive?"
"They are. Have you got any injuries?" Atley says.
Wu-Peng shakes his head distractedly. ""They survived?" Wu-Peng gasps. His expression lights with relief. "I thought we would all die here in this horrible mere, at the hands of these insane jinyu. I will find my own way back. Meet me at the camp!"
"Very well. Watch your back," Atley says. He scrambles to his feet and darts away around the edge of the jinyu village.
"Okay." Estel surrounds Wu-Peng with a Shield of Light. "You stay safe now."
"We'll press back. Clear wot' we've missed and gather anything else worth taking," Atley says.
Bun scratches at the outside of a basket. This contains food.
Atley jogs out onto the water, shaking his head. "Sha of Wrath? Anger? How many bloody types are there?"
"I believe the tale of Shaohao may give us that answer," Almeiria says.
Atley grunts.
"Quite possibly one for each core negative emotion,"Shun states.
"I guess a- all the negative emotions?" Iphi tilts her head. "Sha of Despair. Sha of Disappointment. Sha of M- Mild Confusion," Iphi attempts to joke on that last one.
Atley misses the joke and grunts at her inquiringly.
Estel snort-laughs. "Uh, did Cho say in any of the stories?"
"He did not mention wrath," Shun says.
"Some were mentioned by name. I do not know if he encountered them all," Atley says.
"So… there are probably others he has not yet spoke of," he adds.
Iphi smiles gratefully at Estel for laughing at her joke. This priestess gets her.
"Father!" yells Wu-Peng, darting across the sand.
Estel approaches Shi first to set down the basket of supplies, because that's heavy.
Merchant Shi hurries forward with his arms outstretched. "Son! Are you well?"
"Yes!" laughs Wu-Peng, and seizes his father in a hug. "Your friends found me!"
Merchant Shi looks at the group tearfully. "I cannot thank you enough. Please, if there is anything in the supplies you recovered that you could use, please, keep it."
Atley inclines his head and grunts.
Atley makes a small stack of the supplies he recovered.
"Is it true?" calls Swordmistress Mei coldly. "Did you put the jinyu to the sword?"
Iphi stands near Mei, flowers with a calming scent bloom around her. She's attempting to calm her down.
Bun removes the top from a basket and peeks inside. He's allowed now.
Shun replies, "The corrupted ones at least."
Atley eyes Swordmistress Mei. "All that we came across who were beyond help."
Her lip curls. "Good."
Almeiria watches Mei, once again at a distance. She is prepared for hostility.
Some of the flowers wilt. Looks like they weren't enough.
Shun watches her for just a few more moments in case she becomes more black and white than usual.
Several of the escaped jinyu are seated on the sand around the Waterspeaker’s feet. Gorai comes forward to meet the Cobalt group. "Thank you, friends. I know that we may not seem like much, but I know too that we will rebuild."
Atley grunts and gestures to Almeiria. "We found something of yours, Waterspeaker."
Almeiria presents the staff.
Estel starts checking on the refugees, healing anyone who looks hurt.
"Ahhh." The Waterspeaker reaches for the staff. "Good. Now we have hope of redeeming this situation."
"Redeeming? How?" Almeiria asks.
Gorai holds his staff for a moment, gazing at it, and then looks up again. "From the moment I first rose from the river, I knew I was destined to be a Waterspeaker. I was taught many rituals, and have performed all of them — save one."
"There was an extremely ancient ritual that we were told to call upon if our people ever turned against us. This must have happened in our people’s distant past, but we have not needed to use it in our village’s memory."
Shun slowly tilts his head.
[Waterspeaker Gorai]: "I suppose now is the time to do so."
Iphi also tilts her head.
"A ritual," Almeiria says approvingly.
Atley briefly side-eyes Almeiria but doesn't interrupt.
Iphi follows the Wavespeaker a little worriedly.
Bun emerges from the basket to watch the ritual.
The Waterspeaker looks awkward. "As I say, I have never actually performed this ritual, Let’s see what happens." He makes his way around the fountain to the bodies of the dead jinyu oozing shadows.
Waterspeaker Gorai raises his staff and begins to channel, swaying. Gleaming, watery energy forms a web of connections between the jinyu corpses and the Waterspeaker’s staff.
Atley frowns as he observes, Thunderfury at the ready.
The pools of shadow that surround the dead jinyu draw back from their bodies, receding like a tide, and vanish into the sand. "It worked! The corruption is cleansed from their souls! It wo–"
A final water-channel still flows. This one connects the staff to Swordmistress Mei, who is swaying on her feet, blank-eyed.
"Wh–what is happening? Why is it affecting her?" asks Waterspeaker Gorai… just as a sha-creature detaches itself from Mei’s shadow and surges toward him.
Shun immediately stabs the sha without any hesitation.
Estel Shields the Waterspeaker.
After Shun's knife work, Mei blinks and lifts a hand to her forehead. "I feel… so much calmer. There was… a presence, a burning pain and rage… and now it is gone."
Iphi extends a hand. Plants grab the sha, trying to keep it off of Gorai.
Atley nods slowly in approval.
"The villagers must be afflicted similarly," says Waterspeaker Gorai. "Now I know what we must do."
Waterspeaker Gorai turns to face the Cobalt team. "As I said, pools of that sha contamination emerged in the lake recently. I will travel into the Mere with you to cleanse them. I will need you to deal with whatever comes out, and protect me as I complete the ritual." He lifts a webbed hand and casts a blessing; a cool, silvery net of magic descends over the group. "This will keep you light on the water."
Shun's gaze darkens a touch.
Atley sets his jaw as the spell lands. He looks between the squad members appraisingly.
Bun shakes vigorously like he's trying to get water out of his fur.
"Hozen masks, ancient jinyu rituals…" Almeiria trails off thoughtfully.
"You can count on us, Waterspeaker," Atley says.
"Sounds good to me." Estel gives him a thumbs-up.
"Let's get to it, then," Atley growls with determination before jogging out into — or onto — the mere. "Watch those bloody riders."
Bun doesn't seem so sure about all this walking on water business. He climbs up Estel's cape to her shoulder.
Atley warily approaches a pool on the surface and looks to Gorai.
"Now, friends — prepare yourselves to defeat whatever emerges!" Waterspeaker Gorai lifts his staff and begins to channel pure water into the strange, shadowy ripple in the lake.
Estel slams the sha that emerges with a pillar of Light.
Atley lifts a boot and briefly glances underfoot at a school of fish. It's scared away by his movements a moment later.
The sha energy appears to be oozing like oil into the water from a nearby rocky island in the lake. The blackened shore shimmers with ghostly smoke.
Atley nods at the rocky island. "Started there, did it?"
"Looks like it," Shun says.
"Probably." Estel shrugs.
Estel sticks close by the Waterspeaker, keeping him Shielded whenever he does his ritual cleansing.
They dispatch Sha by way of channeling with the Waterspeaker's Staff at Sha pools on the water.
"I cannot believe they willingly drank this shit," Shun mutters.
"Deliberately, too." Estel shakes her head.
"I can," Atley states grimly. "The greenskins did. There's a desire for power in all of us."
"I can believe it, but I would like to know why," Almeiria says.
Iphi looks weirdly guilty. "I- I'd like to know why they'd try something like this before… judging."
"I'd rather die than sell my soul to this rubbish for an extra fighting edge," Atley growls.
"Ah," says Waterspeaker Gorai. "Yes. I hear the voice of the Mere once more. I can feel the corruption clearing." He turns a grim gaze toward the sha-stained island. "But there is one more thing we must do."
"Big one?" Estel guesses.
[Waterspeaker Gorai]: "This evil chapter in my people’s history will not be fully closed until we have defeated Shai Hu. He must have gone there, to the Waterspeaker’s Sanctuary, our holiest of sites. We must end him to stop his poisoning of this place and my people."
Bun is ready to be on solid ground! Even if that solid ground looks a little iffy.
The maddened jinyu soldiers on their waterstrider mounts patrol the island’s shallows. On the eerily-shimmering sand, sha monsters crawl back and forth, their bodies boiling with ghostly energy.
"This Shai Hu was a great warrior?" Atley asks as they march towards the infested island.
Waterspeaker Gorai inclines his head. "Among our very best. Even then, he was dissatisfied with his mastery."
"Big one," Estel says, nodding.
Shun grunts, then slips into shadows.
"Ah, free ranging sha," Almeiria says, studying them even as she tears them apart with shadows.
"Aye. Take notes," Atley says with a gruff, sardonic edge as they march onto the Waterspeaker's Sanctuary.
Bun hisses at the sha.
Iphi feels a little light-headed as they get on the sha-corrupted land.
"WHAT IS THIS?" roars a voice from the center of the isle. "YOUR RAGE! I… FEED ON YOUR RAGE!"
"Now!" Atley charges in to battle.
"We'll cover you!" Estel tells the Waterspeaker.
Atley breaks out into a jog that explodes into a sprint as he charges the enraged Shai Hu, shield raised. "Spread out!"
Iphi grows plants in the Sha, slowing down Shai Hu. Her plants are corrupted-looking, and she struggles to control them in that state.
"Rage, wrath, anger," Almeiria murmurs, as her shadows plague the jinyu. "All the same, really."
Shun appears behind Shai Hu and promptly goes to cut into his back.
Bun growls from his spot on Estel's shoulders. Bring him closer and he will bite! (Estel does not bring him closer.)
Under their combined onslaught, Shai Hu sways in place. "I… feel something," chokes the jinyu as he staggers. "Is it… peace?" He sinks to the sand.
"You have done it," whispers Waterspeaker Gorai, overcome by emotion. "Please, friends — I will return to the refugees. Meet us there, so that we can all thank you properly."
Estel looks Iphindra over.
Atley looks from the slain Shai Hu to Waterspeaker Gora and nods. "Very well. We'll meet you there, then."
Iphindra struggles to make the sha-corrupted plants die. She seems to be using a lot of energy.
Atley winds up Thunderfury and flings a thunderbolt at the corrupted plants, trying to destroy them.
They tense, overcome by the electricity, and fall, burned from the inside. "Th- thank you…" Iphi says, a little weakly.
"Hey," Estel says to Iphindra. "Fight's over. Get back onto the water, it's better."
Shun furrows his brow.
Atley puts Thunderfury and his shield away and marches over to lay a gauntlet over Iphindra's shoulder. "Well fought," he says to her, before looking between them. "To all of you."
Estel glances at Shai Hu's body. "Should I see if he can be resurrected?" she asks.
"Perhaps we save the plants for healing?" Almeiria suggests. "If they can experience anger…"
Atley looks to Estel and nods once, gaze turning to Shai Hu as he takes hand off of Iphindra.
"I… O- Okay…" Iphi says, before moving away from the Sha.
Estel wanders over to Shai Hu's body. "Hey, you. You made some shit life choices. Wanna come back and make some better ones?" She nudges the body with her shoe, Light sparking up and quickly fading. "Nope? Okay."
Atley scoffs with amusement. "Let's get back to the refugees."
Estel nods and heads back out onto the water, offering her hand out to Iphindra.
In the village, Waterspeaker Gorai waits solemnly with Swordmistress Mei, Merchant Shi, and Wu-Peng. A group of jinyu villagers has begun to gather the bodies of their fallen comrades for funeral rites.
Atley removes his helmet out of respect and tucks it under his bicep.
Bun leaps off and hustles over to the supply basket. He's a hero, he's earned a feast.
"Waterspeaker," Atley says with a bow.
Iphi follows Dane's example, and removes her own helmet.
Shun dips his head.
Waterspeaker Gorai bows. "Thank you, friends. You have assured that the corruption that came to this place will not spread, and that those of us who escaped corruption will be able to rebuild our village and move forward. Our history will live on. You have done more for us than we could have dared to hope."
Atley grunts.
The Waterspeaker turns to the villagers working quietly around him. "My people! Here they are! The heroes of Cobalt Company!"
Bun stands at attention. That is him!
"All hail, Cobalt Company!" cries one villager, and then the others take up the cheer. "All hail, Cobalt Company!"
Iphi hides behind Dane. Do not perceive her, village.
Atley turns his head to the side and scoffs with amusement at Iphindra's shyness.
"We will remember your name in our people’s history," Waterspeaker Gorai tells the group, and bows again.
"I'm Estel, that's Dane, Almeiria, Iphindra, Shun, and Bun," Estel introduces belatedly.
Iphi looks wide-eyed at Estel. Oh no. She has been introduced.
Atley nods at Estel before he returns Waterspeaker Gorai's bow. "Call upon us anytime. We'll be in the area."
Atley steps to the side, exposing Iphindra to the crowd, before he tugs on his own helmet. "Back to the Mayor, you lot."
Shun grunts.
Iphi looks in horror at the crowd.
Estel moves in to cover for Iphindra instead.
As they leave, Iphi gets on her polar bear. The beast stares at Bun.
Bun stares back.
The polar bear takes a step back in fear.
Atley glances back at Bun and the bear with another scoff of amusement before walking Hal'vyr up to Mayor Bramblestaff.
They have returned to Binan Village.
"Trouble across the water's been seen to," Atley says, lowering his voice. "Sha. But it's been sorted, as I say. The merchants'll return soon and speak of it all."
Mayor Bramblestaff looks like he's reconsidering running for re-election. He bows. "Thank you, Cobalt Company."
Estel mutters to Iphindra, "These plants here are better, yeah? You need a sec' to re-connect?"
"I would like to remain in the area, to see if there was something specific that caused the outbreak here," Almeiria says. "Surely one man alone did not cause this much corruption to gather."
Atley looks to Almeiria before he nods the group farther away from Mayor Bramblestaff to talk. "I'll join you," he tells her.
Iphi nods at Estel. "Go- good idea." She approaches the trees in the middle of the village.
Atley dismounts and follows Iphindra. "You've got a sturdy helmet there."
Estel lets Menace graze. Surely this will not cause a problem further down the line.
Iphi giggles weakly. "Thank you… I picked it with o- one of my friends."
The druid sits down and breathes in, feeling the life all around her, the roots spreading all around the village.
Bun approaches Iphindra and puts a paw on her knee.
Atley removes his helmet and sets it down on the fence post as Iphindra reconnects. He rakes a gauntlet through his hair. "Well done. We've saved that village and kept the filth from spreading. For now. You lot are dismissed."
Shun nods, though utters to himself, "There is still so much we do not know about the Sha."
Atley eyes Shun emphatically and grunts in agreement. The fence squeaks as he leans in on it and he reconsiders forcing it to endure the full weight of him and his armor.
Estel gives Dane a thumbs-up. "You good?" she asks Shun.
There's a pause, but then Shun slowly nods.
Atley looks to Estel.
Estel reaches for Shun's hand. "So now we know there's a jinyu ritual that does the trick too…"
"Seems each of the peoples have carved out their own methods to deal with them," Atley says, before he looks to Almeiria.
"It seems they were prepared for this eventuality," Almeiria agrees.
"Still nothing particularly readily accessible to us for now. Unless we can learn how to punch it out of people," Shun says.
Iphindra gently pets Bun's head, still connecting to a healthier land.
Estel squeezes Shun's hand. "Not yet."
"Wot' do you make of wot' you've seen?" Atley asks Almeiria.
"I'm nearly certain it would be possible to draw it out using the void, but the risk of doing so might lead to the corruption of the caster," Almeiria says. "It is… a risk."
Shun furrows his brow as he lightly grips Estel's hand.
The disdain Atley has for the void and its drawbacks is clearly written on his rugged features, but he doesn't withdraw. "S'good to have you about here," he says, stiffly, but earnestly, briefly inclining his head.
"A- a risk you're not going to take, right?" Iphi asks, worriedly.
"As for the sha itself, there is Void in it," Almeiria continues. "The way it corrupts is the same, and yet something is… off. And no, there is no worry that I might take such a risk myself. I have no desire to become a puppet."
Iphi sighs in relief.
Shun blinks, "It corrupts more easily than Void, does it not?"
"Eeeeeh…" Estel wiggles her free hand in a so-so gesture.
Atley looks between them with a glare as he listens. He produces a strip of jerky and bites it in half before he tosses it to Bun.
"It's more that it is… old. Stale. Despite the corruption emerging only recently, it does not feel… fresh," Almeiria says.
Bun is living the good life. He got into the food basket earlier, everybody acknowledged him as a hero, the flower lady is petting him… but wait! There's more! He snatches up the jerky and returns to Iphindra, nibbling away.
"That aligns with wot' we know of the legends, mm? Shaohao buried all this rubbish," Atley growls.
Iphi raises her arms so Bun can lay on her lap. "B- burying isn't a good way to get rid of a problem it s- seems…" she says.
"Rarely is," Shun says. "Unless it is a body," he adds.
"If there is a source of this sha," Almeiria says, "it is either still asleep, relying on the old dredges of its power, or it is no longer present, and what we are seeing is a mere echo."
"No, it isn't," Atley agrees. "Though, we ought to be mindful of how we speak of Shahao. Especially around the natives. I'd have had him slay these things when he had to chance. They're now our problem."
"Hopefully it's the latter." Iphi looks at Almeiria for confirmation that it being dead is the best case scenario.
Bun climbs into Iphindra's lap and eats his jerky.
"Wot'ever its true nature, I know we have the ability to vanquish it, head on. Together." Atley states.
"Either way," Almeiria says, "it is dangerous. I believe the Emperor made the right decision for the time. The world was still reeling from the Shattering. It is likely they did not have the resources to handle this large scale corruption."
Atley knits his brow at that point, and seems to take a moment to consider it.
"Sometimes the best you can do is temporary," Estel says.
Iphi looks up, considering that. Is temporary ever enough, to her?
"If any of this weighs upon us, I encourage you to come me, or speak upon it. We've had squad members afflicted with some small Sha influence before. There's no shame in it," Atley announces.
Shun furrows his brow at this.
"Given the nature of the sha in this area, I am more concerned about you yourself," Almeiria says. "Do follow your own advice, Atley, dear."
"You can also ask me," Estel says. "I can sense it."
Atley stares flatly at Almeiria for a time.
Eventually, he scoffs with amusement and cranes his head in a nod. "So am I."
"D- Dane isn't angry!" Iphi shakes her head.
Atley inclines his head, a gentle look reaching his eyes despite his stern features. "I wake up angry, lass," he tells her patiently. "It's in my bones. But aye. I'll see to it."
Estel looks Dane over thoughtfully.
"I'll not be drinking any of that shit, either," Atley says, nodding past Almeiria.
"Nor I," Shun grumbles.
"You're all good," Estel says, giving Dane a thumbs-up.
Iphi blinks. "You s- seem to me to be a leader who's not letting anger get to you a- at least! To me, I mean."
Atley grunts and inclines his head to Estel before he turns to Iphindra and nods. "I understand. It's something to use, not something to follow."
"I should hope not," Almeiria says. "You have a greater sense of responsibility than to seek that kind of power. But do be aware, if I question your judgment at any point, I will make it known."
"I'll rely upon that. We each should. That's how've stayed upright during our initial Sha encounters. Checking on one another, shame be damned," Atley says, looking around.
Iphi blinks again. She doesn't know how he could use anger productively, as she's never really felt it. But if Dane says so, she believes in him!
"I'll tell you guys," Estel says. "Don't worry."
Shun just takes in a deep breath.
Atley pushes off of the fence. Squuuuueak. He replaces his helmet. "I'm off for a pint and to put together a report to the Captain. Tread lightly here, you lot."
Estel squeezes Shun's hand again.
"Sure thing. Later, later!" Estel waves.
Shun grunts.
Almeiria gazes back towards the lake.
Iphi waves goodbye. "I'll st- stay here for a bit, with the trees."
And with Bun. He's going to take a little nap right here.