Scene #5893: Fury of the Storm (1)

Owner	Pose
Lin	It turns out that there IS a natural Warp Gate that leads to this Creation. According to Lin it actually leads straight to the village she's talking about! The Warp Gate opens up at the mouth of a cave, facing out down a shallow incline that's covered in grasses and pine trees. LOTS AND LOTS of pine trees. It's a mountain forest, and the gate's about halfway up the mountain. The bare dirt, ill-traveled trail before the group winds out to the side and back and forth down the mountain... leading into the main path. Both the warp gate and the trail is covered in all sorts of knicknacks, paper talismans, and ornaments that are probably the local equivalent of wards against evil spirits. Supernatural senses can tell there IS something to them, but... only a little. The village buildings have low-hanging but steep roofs, not all of the same styles, but the buildings are mostly constructed of wood and the entrances are all at least a foot off the ground, accessible by ramps and small stairways. Wooden patios (of a sorts) are common. Some of the entranceways are covered in decorated arches bearing unusual symbols and more talismans. People mill about here and there, dressed in heavy-duty work robes, tunics, and so on. Some of the women wear simple but colorful kimono. The style is VERY 'early Shogunate' mixed with some regional cultures if a scholar were to critically examine it. The village gets water from a small stream that winds down the mountain through it. It's daytime, but stormclouds swirl angrily overhead as if a tornado is ready to brew at anytime. It's a wonder that it isn't presently raining. The air feels unusually charged, as if SOMETHING were building up... however slowly. The meeting place is down the path, which leads onto the flattest land available in the village - a combination of 'village square', martial arts practice grounds (if the weapon racks bearing wooden training implements and targets tucked up under overhangs are any indication) and perhaps a festival site. The biggest building in town - more of a mansion - overlooks it, its tall and elaborate construction clearly some kind of temple... though there's little iconography to suggest who or what it's dedicated to. It's out here in the grounds that Lin is speaking directly to a glowing man who's clearly almost a CENTURY her elder. At least.. he kind of LOOKS like an old man with a long, well-trimmed... FOREST GREEN BEARD? Or... no, his beard is a miniature forest. So are the robes (very similar to the locals) he wears. His form faintly glows... upon further inspection, it's possible to look straight through him like some kind of ghost. His skin is wrinkly but in a craggly, almost rocky fashion, and he's a full seven feet tall. "How... how can a god not know what's happening on their own mountain?" Lin asks, for what might be a tenth time. The old man, slightly irate but doing his best to keep his patience, responds with all the firmness of an old, old teacher, "As you well know, Karal Rei Lin, there are dark powers great and terrible in this world. Some of them are greater than a Terrestrial God such as myself."
Penelope Vasquez	The warpgate in the cave ripples minutely, a small civilian-looking motorcycle puttering out near-silently. The wheels crawl across stone and grass as it's rider takes in the forested mountain- and the thin little path snaking down it. She sighs, getting off to just carry the thing to the mouth of the cave- hopefully out of range of the killer storm that seems to be brewing. Penelope Vasquez makes her way down towards the distant village at a half-jog, glancing up occasionally at the gathering clouds. Calmer occasions would mark this as a time to wonder at the natural beauty of the place, but there's business to be doing. As she approaches the rustic homes, she slows a half-measure- pulling her scabbard from inside her coat to place it at her hip, hanging it there. It's superficially similar in looks to a katana one may expect to see in the area, but the blade looks to curve into some kind of hooked shape, assuming it matches it's holder. Marginally more local-looking, she steps in towards the meeting grounds. On spotting the ghost-like figure, she pauses, studying- the conversation drifting towards her confirms her suspicions. The god in question. Eyes glancing over the woman. Lingering a moment more than would be required for a professional sizing-up; she coughs once, both clearing her head and announcing her presence. "Ah- hey. Think I'm the cavalry?"
Twilight Sparkle	Helping people is something Twilight Sparkle is happy to do, and a chance to see something unknown and mystical is just added incentive. The little purple unicorn hops through the warpgate wearing her usual purple saddlebags with a star on them much like the cutie mark on her flanks. She looks around at the village curiously before she starts trotting toward the appointed meeting place. Noticing Penelope she raises a forehoof and offers a friendly wave, "Hello!" she calls out, and as she catches the tail end of the conversation she shakes her head to Lin gently. "God is a highly subjective term. If one does not have supernatural senses or is being blocked by some other kind of supernatural power then it is just as easy for a god to miss something as it is for you or me. Especially if the god in question has little reason to examine his or her territory on most days."
Josuke Higashikata	Since it's such a small village, Josuke has decided to forego bringing his usual mode of transportation, the Christmas present from Leyanne Mace. Though when he sees how far away the vllage is from the warpgate, he almost wishes he hadn't! But he hadn't wanted to startle the people here too much, not after almost giving that poor old man a heart attack in Windknight's Lot a while back! Josuke isn't bothered by the supernatural, mainly because he can't really sense it. Though he's keeping his wits about him due to a trace of a rather uncomfortable 'watched' feeling that he can't quite manage to shake. If the mountain path is too long, he'll just travel via Crazy Diamond -- that is, having his Stand throw him and then catch him before he manages to hurt himself. But he'll try not to do that in front of anyone from the village, because he doesn't want to spook anyone. He's coming in dressed in a dark blue uniform-style outfit with a long jacket, snug sleeves, loose pants, and loafer-style shoes. He has a fair amount of jewelry on his person, and that might be reason enough to look at him. And he's looking around the vilage as though he's never seen such a place before. Well, if he has, it's been a long time. Anyway, he heads up to the place where the person with the voice that matches the one he heard on the radio is talking to the ghostly man with a forest for a beard. The latter is definitely something he's never seen before! As for Lin? Her hair's very pretty; he doesn't see redheads often where he lives in his world. He's also taking a moment to look up at that storm. "...That's definitely not normal," he observes... though that's probably clear to anybody here. "Though... I guess that's the problem." Can Crazy Diamond unmake clouds? Maybe, but it'd have to be able to touch them first, and that's kind of a tall order in this case! He's not even sure Crazy Diamond could throw him far enough to REACH the clouds, much less if he'd be able to actually touch them or not. Clouds are just water vapor with an electrical charge, right? He pouts thoughtfully, chewing at his bottom lip a little as he tries to puzzle this one out.
All-Seeing Eye	"Part of it," comes another voice, in response to Penelope. And, in response to Lin, "Perhaps it might be best to start with what he /does/ know, dear." The soft, lilting voice of All-Seeing Eye rises ever so slightly above Lin and the god she speaks with, aimed primarily at announcing his presence. "You must be the one who radioed for help, hm?" He smiles. In contrast to the early Shogunate style of the village, his clothing is much more modern. Crisp, form-fitting forest camo fatigues, with armbands sporting the emblem of the Paladins, and an olive drab beret which bears that same emblem. Golden insignias upon velcro epaullets denote his rank, although it's unclear to anyone not also a Paladin. He offers the god a closed-fist salute, hand over his chest, heels snapped together, head bowed in deference. "All-Seeing Eye, Warden of the Paladins and Chosen of Autochthon." After a brief moment of silence, he relaxes, smiling cheerfully despite the stormclouds looming overhead. He nods in agreement with Twilight, when she makes her remark. "Chevalier Twilight Sparkle!" He uses her full name because he's just dramatic like that. "What a delight it is to work with you again." "Comrade Sparkle makes a good point," he says. Addressing the god, he offers, "When did you first notice the aberrant weather patterns?"
Tomoe	Tomoe has not heard form Lin in a very long time, so when she heard her voice on the radio? Tomoe was glad and quick to respond to her friend's call for help. SO here she wa arriving by warp gate she's taken flight to reach the town. Yet she'd kept close ot the gorund as she came into the meeting place. She lands banishing her red angle like wings as she does so. "I am Tomoe the Iron Lily." She notes to the man that Lin is speaking to. "Hello Lin it's been a while."
Eithne Sullivan	Creation! Eithne doesn't come out here often, but she likes what little she knows of it. On the walk down the mountain path it's /so hard/ not to get distracted by her own curiosity, though... She wants to examine the wards and talismans, she wants to explore the forest, she wants, wants, wants! This is business, she reminds herself sternly, and if she strays a little close to the edge of the path it's just because she can still inspect the local plant life this way. It still feels wild here. She likes it~ From the edge of the meeting place, she stops by the corner of someone's house to look around. Huh, it's different from Dun Realtai even if the technology level seems about the same-- "Huh?" Her eyes widen as she takes in the god's green beard and and see-through nature. He feels familiar, in the way nature spirits often do... The dark-haired Scion takes off at a run for Lin and the mountain god, stifling a laugh. To anybody else, she's just another wild-looking teenage girl in a t-shirt and kilted skirt. The big stompy brown boots are kind of a detractor from her 'I'm a schoolgirl, honest' look, however. She doesn't seem a bit put out by the growing storm clouds - if anything, she seems kind of like the sort of girl who'd cheer for a thunderstorm and run outside to splash in it. "Hi everybody! I'm Enya." She doesn't mention that she's here to help, but it's probably an easy guess.
Staren	Staren steps out of the warpgate in his usual armor. It's a certain baseline level of caution -- He doesn't know and trust this village as safe, and if they run into whatever's messing with the weather it might be dangerous. But it's not worth the big heavy armor that restricts his range of movement -- they might well just be investigating or talking to people mostly. He's not so worried about sticking out -- Lin has surely told the locals to expect some weirdness. Twilight gets a hug when he sees her. Staren notices the village but doesn't go bother them -- better to stick to the mission. Which has him confronting one of the gods. He realizes it about when he notices that the man's beard is a forest. So, this is one of the terrestrial gods that can make life hell for mortals... but... it sounds like this particular one is friendly, and seeks or at least does not reject help to stop the aberrant weather affecting his domain. Staren has his visor open so everyone can see his face clearly, and rubs the chin of his helmet. "What kind of being can do this? Is there any kind of crazy wildlife? Or just... other gods, and sorcerers? Or does the fact that it's hidden mean it requires the use of some kind of specific concealment power, which means..." He looks up at the sky. "A Sidereal wouldn't be this obvious, right? Dark powers... Demon summoning? Can some ghosts manipulate the weather? I just know so little about this world, even having learned so much..."
Wandering Dog	From the warpgate, a man dashes through the trees towards the village. He's dressed in a white silk Asian-style tunic, a bracer made of black jade with a large hawk statue on it resting on his right wrist. The village gets some looks from the martial artist, but Wandering Dog has something more important to do, as he eyes the storm above them with a 'hmph'. And then, Wandering Dog reaches the grounds where everyone else is. The older man glances among the group, and speaks up. "Yo. Wandering Dog, Creation's greatest martial artist. Do you know the source of this storm? I mean, I can try punching the storm itself, but I don't think it'd go so well." He grins, an attempt at a joke. He's addressing the obvious god, specifically, who he does make sure to answer a question. "Mountain god, right? What's your name?" Staren gets a brief reply. "Maybe an angry storm god. If it is, leave it to me. Gods can find me...very persuasive. Sup, everyone." A wave to the group in general. Wandering Dog's feeling pretty confident. How bad could one storm be?
Lin	'God is subjective?' The old man wrinkles his nose and curls his lips at this suggestion. "Impudence! A god is a god and is due the respect of one!" This line is snapped out seemingly at reflex (and with little actual fury... just token indignation!) as he turns to look at Twilight Sparkle... and the others who have come. Of course... there is far too much here for a god of Creation, no matter how experienced or aged, to quite take in all at once. A talking pony (strange, but not the strangest thing) with a powerful aura. A warrior who seems as much a spirit as a human, but no spirit of any sort he knows. A girl who is part... machine? A youth with the strangest hairdo, whose aura is unlike anything he knows of. A God-Blood who smells of grass and clover, and whose voice carries the faint sound of creaking wood. A strange human-hybrid carrying what might be ancient technology. A particularly ARROGANT Terrestrial Exalt (the God's brow furrows FIERCELY as he processes Wandering Dog's introduction and boastfulness, but his gaze is deadly serious when considering Wandering Dog, all the same. But what stands out perhaps the most to this spirit? His attention snaps to All-Seeing Eye, the only person here apart from Lin who radiates a kind of energy that he's familiar with... and uses a name he knows, and probably knows well. The God's face pales and lips press together thinly. But he actually offers All-Seeing Eye a respectful bow, albeit not a deep one. "I am Reaching Spire, the God of this mountain and its village. As you... surmised." (The last point added with a hint of disapproval for Wandering Dog's tone.) He can barely hide his confusion and desire to press for DETAILS about a 'Chosen of Autochthon'... "You have all traveled far to reach here. From lands I have never once heard of, I dare say. All because our fledgling Lawgiver here requested aid? You have made quite an array of friends and allies, Karal Rei Lin. Well done." The god does seem impressed! Impressed enough to beardstroke thoughtfully at the arrangement! (No doubt, he will be counting on Lin to reward everyone though. "The square grounds are a bit bare for a discussion..." Reaching Spire claps his hands once, and the ground SHUDDERS, somewhat ergonomically-shaped rocks jutting up out of it and taking the form of chairs sized for everyone here. "Welcome to Grantine Mountain. The village before you bears its name. Many more the mountain overlooks depend on our martial artists for protection from the local ruffians, and, of course, the Arczekhi tribes. But... for the last two seasons, strange storms gather around the new moon. At first, small, but they have grown into full-fledged /thunderstorms./ The last nearly drowned our crops. No spirit of Creation claims responsibility for them. But... I sense nothing. No spellwork, no curses."
Penelope Vasquez	As the chairs thunder into existance behind everyone, Penelope turns on a dime to face the noise, hand instinctually shooting towards the blade at her hip- but when any would-be assaulters turn out to be summoned furnature, she settles, straightening out her coat before taking a seat. After a moment's glance at those around her- a longer one at the All-Seeing Eye, evaluating- she crosses her legs in a largely futile attempt to look formal. A breath in, before looking to the present god. "Well, we'll... do what we can, mmmmister Reaching Spire." There's obvious confusion, for a moment, as to just how to address the spirit, before she soldiers on. "I'm not familiar with- anything like this, intensely. But there's some things that are universal, I'd hope. Is there anyone you know of who would want to do this, try and drown out the village? A motive to wipe it off the map? If we have a who, we can find out the how when we get to them."
Staren	Staren frowns at the god's reaction to Twilight. "We come from other worlds. The word 'god' can mean many things. to us. Sometimes it is reserved for the creators of a world -- someone like Autocthon is here -- and sometimes it just means beings of might like the lawgivers. Just understanding the difference beteen celestial, terrestrial, and small gods here has caused me no end of trouble." Staren folds his arms. "If you want our help, you will have to accept that we're not so familiar with this world." So, the guy can earthbend furniture! Nice. Staren takes a seat. For two seasons? Staren's pretty sure that seasons are about as long on Creation as they are on temperate parts of Earth. "Okay, so...You don't feel any unusual sources of essence. I guess that actually does rule out necromancy, since underworld essence's got a pretty unique feel to it. Not so sure about infernal essence. What's that leave? Gods and elementals?" Staren looks up at the sky. "...Or perhaps we're not the only ones here from outside. It could be technology, or a kind of magic you can't sense..." Staren checks with his own sensors for unusual power signatures, electrical, magical, or otherwise.
All-Seeing Eye	There is a slight change in the Exalt's posture when the god uses the word 'Lawgiver' in relation to Lin--a brief microexpression crosses his face. The very perceptive might notice it as a frown spanning less than a second. Otherwise, it's simply a slight ripple in his cheerful smile. Eye takes a seat in the chair as it rises up, a feat that would seem to require either excellent timing or a great deal of faith in Reaching Spire. Either way, he's got his legs crossed by the time the earthen seat stops moving. "Really?" he asks, his tone similar to a village gossip. "Not even a stirring of Essence..." In the event that anyone around him seems unfamiliar with the word, he offers a translation. "Chi, if you've heard the word--the energy of being. 'Mana' might be another good substitute." Turning his head back to face the god, he strokes his chin thoughtfully. His golden eyes peer upwards as he searches his recollection for potential culprits. Penelope's question and Staren's statement both steer his mind towards possibilities, although his face doesn't show any clues of such. As he thinks, he moves the hand upon his chin to twirl his long raven hair thoughtfully. "Good point, citizen Staren. Most honorable Reaching Spire, have you had any strange visitors lately?" He giggles at the question, flipping his hair over a shoulder and fixing the god with a smirk. "Besides us, of course. Any... disappearances in the village, of late? Failing /that,/ any familiar faces acting strangely?" In a sing song voice, he raises an index finger, wagging it playfully. "No detail is too small~"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight's eyes widen as the being before them seems insulted by her words, then she quickly bows...which is a bit different for a pony. She extends one foreleg forward and curls the other beneath herself so that her torso can actually lower a bit, and she bows her head as well. "Many pardons, Lord Reaching Spire. I meant no disrespect with my words." she says, despite Staren's words. Which actually earn him a bit of a glare from her. "Staren." she whispers. "Even if all that is true, your tone is not going to help in this situation." She then stands up straight again and smiles just before stumbling a bit as the ground shakes and rocky furniture pops up! "Oh! How considerate!" she says before claiming a seat. She sits with her hindlegs curled beneath her and for purposes of balance she has to also place her forelegs in the seat, much like a dog or cat when they sit. The others are asking pretty good questions, so Twilight just listens for now, her ears perked up in interest.
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke gives a thoughtful pout, raising his hands to lace his fingers behind his head as Reaching Spire mentions the array of friends an allies. "Well... I came here because somebody needed help," he notes. "I don't think I've ever met Miss Lin before." Altruism? Clearly that has to be because he's still young and it hasn't been BEATEN out of him, right? But hey, if he's here, his help might well be used! He too is startled by the sudden appearance of the chairs, but he doesn't take any offensive-seeming actions. He just gives a rather humorous, "GAH!" and a momentary weird posture change before he relaxes, realizing it's a chair. Once he realizes it's a chair, he sits down there, and offers, "Thank you, Lord Reaching Spire." The guy's a god, right? Gotta show proper respect! He doesn't have a lot to contribute to the conversation, since he's not really familiar with how Creation works. But he is listening intently to the words of both the earth/forest god and those around him who DO know the world better. And a nod to Eye at the explanation -- that's helpful! to know!
Eithne Sullivan	If Reaching Spire has to take a few moments to take in the whole crowd, Eithne couldn't blame him. They're a rather motley crew, aren't they? So she listens while he explains what's been going on, inspecting the chairs that grew out of the earth before choosing one to have a seat on. Huh... it's more comfortable than you'd think. "If it's just the crops, I can help with that - up to a point, I suppose, I don't think I'm good for more than a dozen acres at a time. But as long as the fields haven't become lakes, I can keep the crops alive to harvest," Eithne volunteers. The senses she can really offer are only good for death, and so far she hasn't felt anything out of the ordinary - it's a village. People are born and die all the time, right? Just in case, she pays closer attention, listening for the tiniest whisper of... well, anything dead and not quiet.
Tomoe	She looks at the old man for a moment. She notices the gfod is unhappy ther eis too much going on all at once of the god, but this is a god in creation who seems to be trying to do his job. So Tomoe retains the snark train thusly. She looks ot the diety for a moment. She will bow slightly to the deity out of respect. "Yes Lin is a friend of mine I had not heard from her in some time. When she called for help I was more than happy to answer. Thank you for the welcoime as well." She thinks for a moment "Reaching Spite we will do what we can to help with this situation but we'll have to see what we can find. This is creation after all so anything goes here in my experiance."
Wandering Dog	The furrowing of the brow and the disapproval gets a light laugh from Wandering Dog, who just stretches his arms and puts his hands behind his head, entirely confident in himself. Perhaps dangerously. "I'm not here for her, please. Your village is in trouble and needs a hero. I do hero things. Going to show her how it's done." There's a slight hint of disapproval for Lin in general in his words, as he moves to pace around the group. Wandering Dog takes a seat, relaxing into it as he explains about Grantine. "Alright, so you don't have any clue at all. Do you know where the storm may have originated? A place where they were really strong or something? Might be a good place to take a look, if you have any ideas." The others questions will be able to help with other things, so they should get a good amount of information out of this.
Lin	Lin, of course, hasn't met HALF of these people, so being praised for making this many friends and allies triggers a most sheepish look on the Dawn Caste's youthful face! The smile turns ESPECIALLY sheepish as her gaze turns across All-Seeing Eye, who's handsome enough to make her faintly blush despite the occasion. Though she puffs her cheeks out and forces that away in a hurry! "Chosen of WHO?" She asks, completely unfamiliar with Alchemicals and their long-missing patron. "Karal Rei Lin. Just Lin's fine! And yeah, I sent the request! Thanks for coming, everyone. I'll have to return the favor if we can get this sorted out! I'm... I'm kinda stumped though. All I can do is build some levvies and channels, maybe. Help redesign the place to buy us some more time." Reaching Spire, meanwhile, fixes Staren with a hard gaze that almost screams 'have you no respect for your elders?!' but he just coughs into his fist, and folds his hands behind his back. Clearly mollified by Twilight Sparkle's deferential and mroe respectful manner. Spire's dignified posture returns, along with a small smile for Twilight Sparkle. And yet he exclaims..."That is true. We are all like frogs in a well, when it comes to this... Multiverse, as it's been called." The admission sounds highly reluctant, though. Staren's scanners are actually not picking up anything unusual... close by, that is. The surrounding region AROUND the mountain surges with power from particularly strong dragon lines (although unlike the ones of his home world, these ones don't visibly glow to the naked eye... most of the time). The mountain is normal. ... In fact, the mountain's readings are almost too low compared to the surroundings. "Anyone who would want to sabotage us? Oh. Plenty. But none with the power to do it so... covertly. Or the patience. And no, nobody has gone missing or begun acting strangely. I do not sense a single bit of tainted Essence... whatever is causing it, it is masked VERY well." The God shifts uncomfortably, shoulders bunching up with some disdain... "Well. Visitors." He's clearly reluctant to mention it, but after a few moments of brow furrowing he admits, "Five Days Darkness has been training a special pupil of his from the village in a cave further up the slopes. I'm sure he has no connection to the weather, but he is not well-liked among the spirit courts. And refuses to speak to me. He... MAY just know something." "Five Days Darkness?" Lin seems curious about this one, attention perking up! The god 'clears his throat' again. "The self-proclaimed 'God of Calibration.' He formed from the darkness that fled the Unconquered Sun's first rays of light. He's always showing up wherever he likes, doing as he pleases! ... but to date, he has never been accused of anything HEINOUS..." Reaching Spire clearly dislikes him. Lin picks up on Wandering Dog's disdain towards her though, and curls her lip. "O-oi, cranky much? I'm tougher than I look! ... and if I can find whatever's causing this, you can BET I'll leave it black and blue!" She does grin at Josuke for some reason though. Perhaps out of gratitude? Enya cannot sense anything terribly death-oriented in the area though. There's not a peep from any ghosts, and only tiny hints of necrotic Essence coming from some of the buildings with attached family shrines (no doubt sites of minor Ancestor Worship). All fairly quiet.
Staren	(Staren's face showed a hint of a pouting expression when Twilight chastised him in turn for talking to the god that way. He doesn't like anyone disrespecting her, of course, and the god had no good reason, but he's not going to argue with her. Such disagreements can be saved for when she's actually in danger -- or discussed in friendship lessons later, not in the middle of a mission.) He indeed does not have any more respect for elders than he does for anyone else. That would be unfair. Staren turns his attention to his readings. "...Huh. The essence levels here actually seem low, compared to the surrounding leylines. Could something be sucking up this area's essence and turning it into something else? Is there any kind of spell that can... track where essence is going?"
Eithne Sullivan	Hmmm... Nothing. But there's the usual amount she'd expect to find in a place whose culture venerates their ancestors, so that's good! Maybe if she's lucky, she can visit some of the shrines and check on them. It's not really her business, but... in a way, it feels like her responsibility nonetheless. "I've got nothin'," she says at last, opening her eyes again. "Sorry. But hey, at least it's probably not hungry ghosts then, right?"
Wandering Dog	"Then prove it, girl. When we encounter this Five Days Darkness, show me how you handle him, eh? Looks like he's our best source." Wandering Dog turns to Staren's reading, considering. "Maybe whatever he's doing with his pupil is draining the essence. Maybe not, but he's a better lead than not. "Well, atleast that's a relief. Less of those, the better." Eithne gets that out of Wandering Dog as she speaks up about hungry ghosts. Wandering Dog gets up here to look around the village. "Where's that cave from here, Reaching Spire?"
Josuke Higashikata	Staren's words get a blink. "It's low?" And then a thoughtful pout. "Hm. Think maybe somebody's just redirecting the natural essence of the area into the storm?" he asks. "I mean... it wouldn't be technically 'unnatural' essence if it's SUPPOSED to be in the area and is just being rerouted somehow?" He tilts his head, with a small shrug. "It's a long shot, I admit," he concedes, looking to the god of the area. "Since I figured you'd be able to sense if someone was doing something hinky with the energy in the area -- would I be right in thinking that, Lord Reaching Spire?"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight gives Staren a shoulderpat when she sees his expression, but as the pupil of one of Equestria's diarchs she considers the god of a mountain to be much like a foreign dignitary. And they are guests here, even if they are here to help. She makes a mental note to arrange a lesson on basic respect vs earned respect vs recognition of authority. "God of Calibration?" Twilight repeats, intrigued. Sounds like someone she might get along with! But, Reaching Spire's apparent distaste makes her wonder if this person is trouble or just misunderstood. As she hears the others explaining their reasons for being here, Twilight blinks. "Oh, I think I may have met Lin once before, but I'm not sure we would qualify as friends. I'm just happy to help people in danger." She stands after that. "If we have no other leads I suppose we should head to meet this Five Days Darkness."
All-Seeing Eye	"Autochthon," says Eye in response to Lin, with a sly, relaxed smile. He extends a hand outwards, fingers outstretched as he idly searches for flaws. "The Great Maker, the Machine God, King of All Craftsmen, architect of your continued freedom..." His golden eyes flick towards her, and he smiles wider, uncrossing his legs. "I could go on, but I have work to do." Rising from his seat, he dusts off his pants with a brisk shuffling of his hands, then claps his hands. "So! It sounds like we have a couple of suspects," he says cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. "The vagaries of Essence aren't in my wheelhouse, but I can certainly question the god and his... special pupil~!" He wrinkles his nose playfully, folding his hands behind his back and rocking on his heels. "Your Eminence?" he offers sweetly to Reaching Spire. "If you'll excuse me, I should very much like to investigate that cave. I... think I know the one you mean." He offers another closed-fist salute, bowing his head briefly. After a moment of silence, he excuses himself, backtracking the trail back to the warpgate. If those little prayer strips were meant to be wards of some sort, it stands to reason the village must've been concerned about the cave and the warpgate. And if the unpopular god and his favored pupil are cavorting about in /a/ cave, it's a fair chance that's the one, given all the prayer strips and trinkets. When he makes it to the cave, he uses his enhanced hearing to navigate it, using the sound of his footfalls and the natural sounds of the cave to map out its terrain in the darkness. He listens for (really, with echolocation, 'looks' for, as well) anything that doesn't seem like it belongs. He also purposefully announces his presence, with a convivial, drawn out... "He-lloooo!~" His voice echoes through the cavern. "This little servant of Autochthon would just /love/ an audience with the inimitable Five Days Darkness. Is he home?"
Penelope Vasquez	"Yeah... if you've got a name fingered, it's probably best to go to them. Get a lead at best, cross them off the list at worst. We'll be right back, mist- ah, Lord Spire." Penelope agrees, rising from her stone seating to accompany the All-Seeing Eye. As she walks, she digs a pair of goggles from a pocket, slapping them across her face- it makes her look more than a little bug-eyed, with the dull orange optics. She studies the Eye without reservation as they travel, but remains silent. As he calls into the cavern, she remains near the entrance- gear enhancing the light and pointing out warm bodies, barring interference. She scans the ground for any obvious tracks, assuming there's nothing blatantly needing attention.
Tomoe	Tomoe looks over at Staren for a moment she thinks about saying somehing but Twilight said enough already. She turns her attnetion to Reaching Spire for the moment. Evne though he is relucant in the comment about the frog in the well? He still said it. "Could be anb outside infulence maybe they found something from creation's past. All manner of things lay burried in my experiance here. "So it osunds like we should go talk to this Dive Days Darkness then? She also looks to Wandering Dog whom she's never had a chance to meet. "Lin? Not everything involves punching, shooting or stabbing the problem." That from someone who could be assued of being a Murder Hobo. She's saying it in good spirits but also seems to mean it too. She looks over to Josuke for a moment hinking. "That could be it but really I'm terrible with magic." She looks back to Lin for a moment then to the God. "If I might ask? Is there any place one could find more information on this god of calibration?"
Lin	"Count on it!" Lin retorts towards Wandering Dog, just before she hops over to Tomoe, who receives a nod. "Yeah. I know, I know. Why d'ya think I called for help? This one's got me stumped! I've been thinking about it for weeks!" The ominous words Eye uses ('continued freedom?') get Lin's face screwing up as she tries to figure out if he's toying with her or something... but then... REACHING SPIRE actually flushes a bit at being addressed with THAT degree of politeness, stammers out a few syllables - but it's too late to more than offer a farewell nod to the Alchemical as he's off right away! He's going to remember that one, probably. "H-hey, wait for me!" Lin kicks off the ground and SAILS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE AREA, soaring high over the treetops and back up the mountain... landing at the base of the cave. She's already there by the time All-Seeing Eye arrives, but she decides to tail him, as he's piqued her interest! Reaching Spire scoffs at the idea of researching Five Days Darkness, but reluctantly explains, "More information? Only records dating back to the First Age or those kept in Yu-Shan would help much. Both are in short supply here, young miss." At the entrance, a somewhat irreverent, stream-of-consciousness female voice that either lacks confidence or has no sense of dramatics or politeness returns the call. "Oh. Hey. Someone DID decide to come. Is this one of those 'go home, angry villagers' moments again? I'm REALLY starting to hate doing those." There, deeper in the cave (and Eye could probably -swear- that she wasn't there just a moment ago?!) is... someone who's maybe four foot eleven inches, clad from head to toe in violet funerary robes. Faint stylized skulls are embroidered onto it in the same manner that one might see floral patterns on less... unusual choices of dress. The girl wearing these things... well, only her face and hair is exposed, and her skin's as pale as the moon. Scruffy and not-well-kept ruffled locks of hair blacker than pitch. And her big, youthful, almost hopeful, blood-red eyes scan anyone invading the cave with a mixture of uncertainty and nervousness. She... doesn't seem armed. Or like she's about to flip out and kill anyone. ... but there's something deeply wrong with this girl, isn't there? But within a few seconds... THWACK! Something ELSE emerges from the deep shadows of the cave... a solid shadow... and bonks the girl on the head. She yelp-topples, dizzied... and the shadow-spear then snags onto the back of her outfit and just HOISTS her up two feet off the ground, holding her there like a fisherman's catch. The figure HOLDING said spear emerges from the shadows... or perhaps it's easier to say, the shadows peel away, revealing yet more shadow. A six foot tall 'man' with four lean (but well exercised) arms, garbed in a tunic and pants of SOME sort (hard to make out, given they're living shadow). Slinging the spear over his shoulder (with the girl still dangling, but starting to come to her senses), he offers a minor beratement (presumably to her.) "Now now. That's no way to treat someone using a name that I have not heard in over a thousand years. But if there were a Servant of the Great Maker about in Creation... one has to wonder... how. And why."
Staren	Somehow, even though Staren started out respecting a god for once, who was rude and annoyed him /first/, people make a big fuss about it on the radio, and even start blowing up some general disrespect for useless institutions into some kind of plot to tear down this relatively nice god who was rude /one time/. There's work to do, though. Staren sends a small quadrotor to follow whoever goes to the cave, and flies off to examine the flows of essence in the area, attempting to determine where it's all /going/. If this area is so oddly low in essence, something's using it, which means the essence flowing in from outside is going somewhere and being used by something.
Josuke Higashikata	"Heh... I don't know much about magic either," Josuke admits to Tomoe's words, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck. Though as people seem to be heading up towards the cave, Josuke heads that way too. Not before bowing to Reaching Spire, however. "Thank you for the information!" he offers, before going to meet the rest. Gonna take him a bit, but he'll get there. Eventually. Even if he has to travel via fastball special!
Penelope Vasquez	Penelope jerks to the side in shock as Lin rockets down from on-high to land next to the cave's mouth- but, seeing as she's fully put-together and unharmed, she brushes it off, after a long, decompressing breath. Eyes shift back to the cavern as a voice echoes from it, and she even starts on a smile as the girl approaches. Which rapidly flattens as she's konked on the head, and Five Days Darkness approaches. She straightens her back and stands with a professional air, remaining silent. However, despite her mouth not moving, her voice murmors out of All-Seeing Eye's radio, or whatever he uses for communication. "Looks like this is the guy. That's the student. Looks unharmed. Seems in good humor. We in a decent position to just ask questions. Take the wheel."
All-Seeing Eye	The first thing that Penelope will notice is that All-Seeing Eye doesn't actually breathe, except for when he's speaking. Second, never during their travel to the cave, or even in the cave proper, does All-Seeing Eye turn and face Penelope. There is no physical evidence that he's aware she's watching him. Despite this, he remarks, with mischief dancing in his melodious voice, "Like what you see?" After a chuckle at his own remark, "It's alright.~ Most people do!" Of course, he didn't address Penelope by name, which makes him look rather churlish when the pale girl appears before him. He clears his throat. "Ahem. How long have you--nevermind." His question is made an order of magnitude less relevant when it's evident she's not the only other person in the cave besides the Multiversal visitors. It doesn't take him long to get back on his metaphorical feet, even if the girl's appearance momentarily took him by surprise. "Well, he /is/ the King of Craftsmen, isn't he? And, well... look at me." The Exalt twirls his braided hair around a finger, posing for the large figure and smiling coyly at him. "I am All-Seeing Eye, Chosen of Autochthon--if you're as old as Reaching Spire says, then you know it was he who designed beings such as her. And him." He turns, gesturing with a motion of his hand first to Lin, and then to Wandering Dog. "Of course, he kept the... more sophisticated versions to himself." He moves a hand up and down his svelte figure. "As you can see." "Now! Mind you, I don't know if he yet lives in /your/ Creation, but he does in mine. I came here through the warpgate because the quaint little Solar here asked for my help. Something about a... impending, /un/natural disaster. And since the villagers have already come by, I'm guessing you're going to tell me you don't know anything about it... or at least, that you didn't do it. Which would that be, hm?~" The whole time he's talking, he's /listening./ Not to the sounds of the cave, but to the sound of Five Days Darkness. Yes, he's arrogant enough to use lie-detection charms on a god, even one as old as Five Days Darkness. If he doesn't, who will?
Wandering Dog	Wandering Dog moves to join to travelling to the cave. Seeing Lin launch herself to it, Wandering Dog decides he's going to do similar, leaping from tree to tree towards the cave mouth. Once inside, he furrows a brow at the young woman, sighing in her direction, but doesn't speak to her because Five Days Darkness is there and obviously the one in charge. "Yo. Wandering Dog, Creation's greatest martial artist. I might not be sophisticated, but I've got the brawn. Moreso than prettyboy over there, I'd say." A jerk of a thumb to All-Seeing Eye for the sophisitication comment. "Yeah, what he said. You have any idea what's going up with the storm? Or why the essence levels around here are low?"
Eithne Sullivan	All the while there's a tense conversation over the radio, Eithne very carefully avoids looking at Staren. ...must...control...fist of death... That's how the old trope goes, right? She looks toward the edge of town. The fields would be out there, right? She'll have to remember them... For now, it'd be better to stay with the group. Eithne stands up and gives a short bow to the mountain god, a bit more than a dip of her head. "Thanks! We'll do our best, all right?" she tells him, and takes off running back up the mountain. She's not winded when she arrives, though her cheeks are a little pinker. It's weird - she ought to be mildly concerned by a four-armed shadow guy coming out of nowhere, but mostly all Eithne can think about is how she wants a dress like that. Look at the cute skulls!!!
Tomoe	Tomoe says "We'll figure out something I'm sure with the people we have here." She seems to look funny at Jojo about the whole magic thing then agian stands were not so much magic were they?> With everyone staring to head out she flares out her wings looks once to the god. "We'll do what we can." With that Tomoe is taking flight she will also be heading for the cave and comes in for a landing shorly after Josuke does.
Twilight Sparkle	With so many heading toward the cave, Twilight Sparkle decides to accompany Staren on his survey. That and he seems a bit upset now, and she won't leave one of her friends in such a state. That is, until he flies off. Twilight hasn't practiced her flight spell in a while, so with a bit of a worried look toward Staren she teleports up to join the others at the cave. She blinks in surprise at the sight of the small girl and her ears fold back at the sense that something is wrong...then actually yelps and leaps back a bit when that something else suddenly strikes! Even though she's the one that said it might be possible that Five Days Darkness could be some kind of guardian, she seems somewhat unnerved at the sight of him. But, once she has a better look, he isn't that strange. Four arms is pretty mild on the strangeness scale. She offers a small smile and raises a hoof in greeting. "I am Twilight Sparkle, and I also answered the call for help. It is an honor to meet an ancient such as yourself." She bows similarly to how she did for Reaching Spire.
Lin	"Pay my little pupil no mind. She has much to learn about... everything, in this incarnation." Five Days Darkness explains in an attempt to excuse those antics. He sets her down behind him just as she comes to her senses... and the first thing she does is rub her head where he smacked it. The second? Peek out from behind him by leaning sideways at some of the people! She's... VERY bad at hiding her emotions here. Curiosity and wonder for most. A little wariness towards Lin and Josuke. For All-Seeing Eye though - given a second good look - her expression brightens into a full-fledged bit of awe and... SQUEEE? Yes. Maybe a bit of squee! That damn Appearance score, man. Though perhaps other things are at play as the Abyssal Exalted - for that is what she is - and a Soulsteel Alchemical are in close proximity. Still, the girl remains silent, a strange shyness coming across her as she withdraws a few steps and leans against the cave... settling in to just listen. And watch. "A different Creation." The God of Calibration echoes, skepticism entering his already smooth-but-uncertain manner. "The King of All Craftsman has not been seen since his... self-imposed exile long, long ago." Clearly a diplomatic choice of words, ensuring that Eye understands his departure was far from DESIRED by... basically anyone. He is quiet, this shadowy man. For now, anyways. His gaze slowly turns over everyone present. Eyes that are deeper black than the rest of him - somehow - seem to bore into whoever locks gazes with him, as if perhaps he can see what lies behind them... into places where the light of day doesn't reach. But if he can do such a thing, would he speak of it? When the God finally finds his choice of words, they're given carefully. "I have many questions for most of you. Far, far more than you have brought to me. What an... intriguing assortment of individuals. All here for a single village?" He fixes his gaze first on Wandering Dog. "Tell me, 'greatest martial artist.' Why are you here? What connection do you have to this village you have never seen before, never heard of?" The questioning gaze next fixes on All-Seeing Eye. "Do you truly believe yourself GREATER than the men and women standing next to you, by pure virtue of your Exaltation?" Next, on Lin. "You have felt the touch of the Unconquered Sun, but stand quietly. Is this how a Lawgiver should act?" Lin's response is pretty swift! If a bit sheepish. "Interrupting's kinda rude." The man of shadows... smiles approvingly. "We will see about these claims about Autochthon. Ignis Divine would be overjoyed to see the Great Maker once more. He was far from happy with his Chosen then, you know. They went so terribly astray. But oaths are oaths, aren't they?" And with that said, he goes on to state, "I do not bring these storms. No god does. Nor an elemental. Ah but, what does? Look where my brother's light has never been, could never reach. The mountain hides many secrets."
Wandering Dog	As soon as Wandering Dog learns that the girl's an Abyssal, his gaze towards her is hostile, though he doesn't take any actions. He clearly doesn't like her, doesn't trust her, and is willing to punch her in the face the moment she does anything even slightly dangerous. His focus, however, turns towards Five Days Darkness as he addresses him. "I'm here to stop this storm. Girl asked for help, and I'm a hero, so I do hero things. Gotta prove that where one of the Anathema can't do something, I sure as hell can." There's clear contempt when he says 'Anathema', and a glance in Lin's direction as he says it. However, he turns back to the discussion. "Besides, just because I've never heard of it doesn't mean it's not important. Little villages have people who care about them. Gotta keep them safe so people can remember them, yeah?" The part about the mountain gets Wandering Dog slamming his fist into his palm, nodding. "Alright, so whatever's causing this is in the mountain, then. I assume your little deathbringer there isn't doing it either, yeah?" That contempt for the Abyssal is still present in his voice, as he paces. "Which means we don't have to deal with her. Which, in that case, we can find the real threat and break their knees. Someone's gotta be doing this, and they're not gonna get away with it."
Penelope Vasquez	Penelope remains mostly stoic as the living shadow converses with the Exalted construct; though the faccade cracks a hint at the Abyssal's wide-eyed awe, despite the dire opinions the rest of the part seems to have of the girl. She can't resist a little gloved finger-wiggle wave, though she quickly stuffs the hand back into her pocket as she listens. The Dog's response has her faint smile flattening once again- even with the goggles still over her eyes, the air of faint disdain can be tasted on the air from her momentary glare. She steps back to let the others questioned answer, considering, before looking to Lin, pushing the goggles onto her forehead as she looks down at the redhead. "The mountain hides secrets... do you know if there're more caves in the area? Could something be hiding right under his nose, if it's deep enough underground?" The 'his' is accompanied with a head-tilt towards the village.
Eithne Sullivan	Aaaand as usual, the kid whose only apparent sin is to be a necromancer gets blamed. Eithne rolls her eyes so hard it hurts a little and brushes past Wandering Dog. She also does her best to stomp on his foot in passing. She's going to wander over closer to the Abyssal girl and try to (silently) make friends while the adults talk. However, since it's Enya, this involves 'picking up a dead mouse from behind a rock' and bringing it back over to her in cupped hands. She shows it to the Abyssal, and murmurs something inaudible. Twitch. The corpse sits up in Eithne's hands, looks around, and begins washing its remaining whiskers. The Scion is beaming at her (possible) new pal. Cool, right?!
All-Seeing Eye	Upon being questioned, Eye laughs musically, a sound of warmth and life to contrast both his surroundings and his construction. "'Greater' is a curious word, your Grace. But..." He places a finger upon his chin, and fixes his golden eyes upon the young apprentice for a moment. Interesting... it's the same sensation he felt when he fought the Mask of Winters. He winks at the god's charge, smiling playfully. "Not an inappropriate one. Burning brightly within me is not the spark of a dragon, or even a god, but a Primordial, an architect of the very world we live in. A being whose will is powerful enough to create form from the formless. With that aside, I'm stronger, faster, more durable, versatile and perceptive than any of them, with potential for even greater might. So long as I use those strengths for the betterment of the world, what's the harm in acknowledging them? I don't do so cruelly, or to diminish their own accomplishments," he says with a sympathetic smile and a backwards wave of his hand. "But simply as a matter of fact." Wow. "I thank you for your cooperation, O venerable being," says the Exalt with a full-blown bow, one hand upon his stomach and the other swept outwards. "Nothing escapes my vision. I'll scour this village for a place the sun's light can't reach, and drag whatever lurks within it into the light."
Josuke Higashikata	If Josuke is in any way upset by the deeply probing gaze of the shadowy man, he doesn't say as much. As for the suspicious glance the girl gives in his direction? He just returns it with a friendly smile. This one's weird... if he IS a threat, he's not showing it. Then again, he hasn't understood a THIRD of what's been tossed about over the radio, otherwise he might feel differently. Particularly if he understood WHY she was giving him the hairy eye. But he is quick to assure as well, "Yeah... I didn't really know about this place 'till I showed up here. But people need help, that's all that really matters to me." Though he's a great deal less gruff about it than Wandering Dog. Josuke, after all, has no real reason to be prejudiced against either the girl or her master here. "Besides that, if this storm does start causing damage, somebody's gonna need to clean it up, and I bet I'd do a <great> job of that!" Yup, you heard it. He's perfectly content on cleanup detail. Meanwhile Stuff Is Happening amongst the people in the group, and it doesn't look good. Josuke really has nothing to say to it, since he really doesn't get the basis of it in the first place. He just pouts in a rather upset way, telling his opinion of it all pretty handily, while managing to look like the teenager he is (despite being the size of a full grown man in some Earth worlds).
Tomoe	Tomoe pays the pupil some mind she looks them over for a moment before she looks them over? Wait did the Abyssal Squee? Worrisome ideas fill Tomoe's mind. She could be one of the really crazy ones, though so long as nothing else happens on that line she won't act for a moment. "I can confirm there are several different creations. I have personally been to another and heard of several more." Tomoe then says something that might seem odd. "Many old things to lay buried. Creation is a very old place is it not?" She looks at Dog for a moment. She tries to not look at Eithne for a moment with the Abyssal? Okay, that is kind of creepy, then again after her experiences with Abyssals, she has no love for them. Hopefully Enya will not get in over her head she looks to Eye for a moment. She may be twitching visibly here she can get where Eye is coming from but also knows her home nation's stance on Creation as well. She takes a deep breath, she looks to just be muscle. She looks to the god for a moment and in a polite tone asks. "Do you have an idea of what might be buried in this mountain and nearby? For all we know it could be some old Manse that's on the fritz."
Lin	Staren's diligence does pay off. The surveying turns up lots of flows going 'into' the mountain. They don't, of course, simply vanish. The mountain is much akin to a boulder in the middle of some river rapids, with many currents swirling around it. But with enough scanning and mapping, he does come across a number of points - mostly aligned with the cardinal directions - where the flows seem to weaken the most. The strongest such weakening is on the mountain's southern face, about a quarter of the way up it. But the specific point, well... the math shows that it would have to be DEEP INSIDE. The god's pupil spots Penelope's wave. She blinks a few times... then returns it. "Wow. Jerk much?" The 'little deathbringer' finally founds some confidence, and plants a hand against her hip in a show of clear disapproval at Wandering Dog. Oh this girl maybe DOES have some fire in her? Five Days Darkness... makes a noise that's almost a snarl. It doesn't sound quite... natural. But before he can properly respond to Wandering Dog... he aims a ferocious scowl at Eye, unable to hide his disdain for the Soulsteel Caste. And what sounds like an inhale is followed by - ... by the 'little deathbringer' getting in the first word. "... They're /BOTH/ jerks!" Five Days Darkness... exhales. Because the best moment of delivering his own burn has passed. That dealt with, the 'little deathbringer' finds her attention drawn to the only person seemingly brave enough to approach: Enya! She looks a bit skeptical and suspicious at the strange-as-heck act of fishing out DEAD RODENTS of all things... but when it suddenly REANIMATES, her eyes go BUG-OUT WIDE and she leans in with clear innocent fashion! Though, right about then... "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?! I DIDN'T HEAR THAT RIGHT!" LIN, MEANWHILE, suddenly EXPLODES into a searing gold light, an eight-rayed golden disk blazing on her foreead. Her arm muscles bulge as she slams her fists together and fixes Wandering Dog with a look that just screams 'take that BACK, NOW, OR ELSE.' Five Days Darkness frowns DEEPLY at this development, the light causing his existence to... for lack of a better description, fade and wither. In the shining Solar anima, he is only about a third 'here' anymore.
Lin	Now mostly 'invisible' in this bright light, a very dismayed and exasperated God of Calibration answers Tomoe with an air of inevitably. "I know many things. But this group is more than qualified to find the truth without me. Why should I deny you that chance to grow and learn?"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight Sparkle learned long ago that what someone is isn't nearly as important as who someone is, and that can't be determined at a glance most of the time. Much like Penelope she offers a friendly little wave if the little Abyssal looks her way. Twilight was not asked a question directly, but so far this creature of death and darkness seems pretty amicable. But supposedly the problem doeesn't come from a god at all? Twilight realizes she needs to study up on this world some more. There seem to be multiple types of powerful entities, and multiple ranks within those types, not to mention elements within those ranks and types! She will so enjoy making a table about it later! And Staren seems to have experience in these kinds of worlds, so perhaps he can help! As Wandering Dog shows his open hostility and resolves to break someone's knees again, Twilight politely raises a forehoof. "Um...is there some reason that bodily harm has to be the first option?" she asks...though her question is no doubt lost in all the posturing and insulting going on. Twilight is honestly not sure what is posture or insult, so...the poor purple pony of friendship can only offer up an exasperated plea. "Please! We are here to help the people of this mountain and village! Whatever other differences we have can be settled after that! We should put all that aside for now! And no more insults or unnecessary posturing or threats!" Her voice is pretty loud when she wants it to be, and this is one of those times.
Wandering Dog	The snarl from Five Days Darkness and the anger from the Abyssal isn't what sets Wandering Dog off. It's Lin's anger, snapping at him, threatening him, and most importantly, that golden glow. Wandering Dog immediately slides backwards towards the cave mouth, taking a fighting stance as he activates his own anima, a black and blue aura forming around him, rolling patterns and roads inside the aura. Twilight Sparkle's plea is ignored with a wave of a hand, as he gestures to outside the cave. "You want a fight, golden girl? I'll show you why the useless Anathema's been grinded down for all these years!" And if Lin follows up with a strike, he'll move to start with his own, trying to lead them out into the trees for a bigger battle. Looks like he's not going to be much help here right now, either way.
Josuke Higashikata	Uhoh! Seems Josuke isn't the only one with a clear berserk button. And he becomes aware that it's not just affecting the light of the area. A look to Five Days Darkness will probably be enough to tell that this is Not Good for him. So Josuke does something that, in any other time, would be stupid. He steps between Five Days' and the expanding aura. Probably won't do anything, since at least physically he's just a human, but maybe it'll at least provide a shadow Five Days can get a LITTLE bit of respite in. He probably doesn't strictly NEED it, but maybe it'll make the shadowy fella feel a little better. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Josuke tries, raising his hands to wave them side-to-side, in the universal 'hold on, wait a sec' gesture. "This... this really isn't the time or place for this. At least take it outside? Or... further outside, anyway? Please?" He seems to be in Twilight's corner of 'let's not bash each other's faces in kthnx plz'. Though he's making some effort to try and keep that light away from Five Days, since it doesn't look like it's doing him much good. Then again trying to use one's own body to protect against the light of the Unconquered Sun -- or a fight between Exalted -- is probably dumb.
Staren	Hmmm. It's going somewhere /inside/ the mountain? Peculiar. He should tell the others, let's see what's going on there... Right, okay, whatever. He records a message just in case, and then pulls out his matter manipulator and starts to dig through the dirt with it... When he has an even /better/ idea, maybe. ...Staren flies back up to the initial meeting point. "Reaching Spire?" Staren reaches for an appropriate title and makes a bit a face as he distastefully adds, "Your Noble Lordship. I have identified where the local Essence is going. I was wondering if you might know what is there, or be able to take us there." A god should have some control over his domain, right? He projects an eight-inch-high hologram of the mountainside he's seen in miniature, transparent so that a pulsing, glowing red dot can be seen inside.
Penelope Vasquez	As things heat up very very quickly, Penelope takes a step back, shielding her eyes from the blinding aura of the two martial artists. She speaks quickly- voice full of more exasperation than anything else. She is clearly in the simmer down camp, but lets that known in her own special little way. By reaching for her hip, withdrawing the machinegun there, and firing it into the air, a piercingly loud RATA-TAT. She steps towards Lin, speech accompanied by sharp gestures of two fingers. "Eyecandy. You wanna beat his ass, I want tickets- but we WORKING, and we do not beat the shit out of each other on MY time. Unless you want that-" A sharp point up at the still-gathering storm- "To wipe your town off the face of the map." A step back- arm spread, the other snaking the weapon back into it's holster. "You wanna take time off to let some people die, sure, fine by me, but not while we're keepin' the same people alive." A sharp glare to the Wandering Dog- but the response is more disdainful than anything. "You, settle you ass down before someone demonstrate proper kata on your ass. Suppose to be a team here, fuck's sake."
Eithne Sullivan	Great, there he goes. Eithne just looooooks at Dog, and then turns to ignore him in favor of her New Friend(tm). "Hi, I'm Enya~ Nice to meet yeh!" There's probably a sparkling shoujo background behind them. It may feature skulls instead of flowers.
Tomoe	Tomoe nods to the Deity for a moment "I see, very well." There's that eye tick there for a moment she's about to say more hwne Lin and Dog are going at it. Tomoe makes a very unhappy face as she moves without even pausing to get between the two and barks in a tone that generally was only heard during the death game of SAO. "Enough of this both of you. You want to fight do it later take it to the dome. Right now we got a job to do. Dog prove your the hero you claim you are and be willing to back down from this. Lin? Is this worth putting your home and your people at risk and proving people right with what they say about you?!" She may be in for a savage beating from one or both of the exalts at this point but Miss tank is sick of the DPS being petty at eachother.
Lin	When she sees the Terrestrial anima, Lin's eyes narrow and she draws in a long and QUITE PROPER breath. Proper in the sense that it gets her Essence surging with martial intent. Yet she doesn't bother to take a stance. Instead, she just starts stomping after Dog-- And then GUNSHOTS! Lin stops quite suddenly, jolted out of the SURGE OF RAGE. Silently she regards Penelope and Tomoe both. They're both treated to an amazingly fierce stare. Her lips twitch and twist this way and that as she's clearly trying to find words or DO SOMETHING. After a solid five seconds of this staredown, she releases whatever tension's built in her chakras. The bulbing muscles slim down again, her anima significantly dims - but her skin retains a faint golden glow, and the mark on her forehead continues to burn. "... We'll settle this later!" She snaps at Wandering Dog, immediately turning away and folding her arms over her chest in a sulky fume.
Wandering Dog	As the gunshots goe off and Tomoe moves to intercede, Wandering Dog just puts his palms in the air, shaking his head. "If she's going to back down, I will too. Later, then. We'll have to settle this mano-a-mano. I'm going to head off to see if anything's changed with the storm." Wandering Dog turns, and moves to leave the cave as his aura subsides. He's going to take a look and see if anything's changed, or if there's anything new out there, as well as take a minute to cool down.
Lin	Josuke's efforts aren't in vain! Standing between a Solar and Five Days Darkness DOES provide him some shade. And with respite in shadow, some of his appearance becomes... marginally more solid. he doesn't seem PAINED by being in this light though... more, 'oh great, this again!' But the gesture is very much appreciated. "...Qualified, but with MANY difficulties ahead of you." Well, at least he does sound like he has some hope for the group accomplishing... whatever it is they need to do?
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke breathes a sigh of relief as the tension seems to break. Or at least, Lin and Wandering Dog don't seem to be intent on punching each other at the moment, anyway. Once the latter leaves the cave, and the light calms down, Josuke turns to look at Five Days' Darkness. Raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly, he offers, "S...sorry about that." It wasn't really his fault, but he does feel the need to apologize on behalf of the others. He's kinda working with them, right? So he kinda feels a little bit responsible. But... yeah, everything seems done here. So he bows to Five Days and his apprentice. "Thank you for talking to us." He'll head back down to the village then, since they seem to have lost someone along the way. The science guy probably knows something about the situation, so let's go see what he knows!
Penelope Vasquez	As the Exalts turn or stalk away, Penelope sighs, running a hand through her hair. She opens her mouth to speak to the god- but Josuke takes the words from her mouth, just nodding in agreement with the younger man. Enya is given a small little gesture to follow, and she moves to head on back along with the Good Hair Guy.
Lin	Yes the god is still back at the meeting point. Though when Staren reaches him... the god is shaking his head in clear exasperation for one reason or another. Until Staren draws his attention anyways. The overly ostentatious title is COUGHED AT. "What do parents TEACH their children about respect where you hail from, scholar?" All sense of propriety aside in thatquestion. He's utterly exasperated and baffled at Staren's sense of manners! Nevertheless, for the sake of his village's continued existence, he swallows his indignation and takes a very good look at the hologram. His brow fuzzles ponderously at it! "Hm. There? There is NOTHING there. Nothing but stone and dirt." Back at the cave, the pale youth in the funerary garb who's now hanging out with Enya... her voice catches in her throat as she starts with, "I'm C--.... no... I guess now I'm the Shadow's Little Secret."
All-Seeing Eye	"As. I. Said." A curt interjection from the Exalt--as if his idle threat were the reason for the cessation of hostilities, and not Penelope's direct approach--"You can settle this at the Concord facility, away from civilians, if you like." He edges past anyone between him and the exit, and makes his way back down the trail, all the way back to the village and the square where the god of the mountain resides. As he bounds down the trail, his hair bounces back over his shoulder, and is promptly thrown back behind him with a contemptuous, irritated flick of the wrist. The nerve of these Creation-born. The absolute gall! He arrives in an annoyed huff, but his demeanor brightens upon seeing Staren waiting there. "Ah! Citizen Staren. And our gracious host!~" He offers a bow to the god of the mountain. "We spoke with Five Days Darkness. He told us neither he nor his apprentice created the storm--but that we should look for the source of it somewhere the Sun's light has never shined. Does that mean anything to either of you?"
Staren	Staren just looks confused at that reaction. "My parents weren't big on the kind of respect a lot of people here show, I guess." He shrugs. "Is it maybe enough to know that I mean well and I just want to help people?" He grins awkwardly. "If you mean well and you want to help people too, I'm sure we can find some common ground..." He says, hopefully. "I recognize that you do, and you're caught off guard by our weirdness, and you have my respect for that, but I'm rubbish at formalities here. You're the second god I've ever talked to, and the first didn't seem to care about this stuff because she had a war to fight." That's a sad memory, though, given what happened to Lookshy. Un-formalities out of the way, the truth told and Staren hoping that that can be enough, Staren nods to All-Seeing Eye and then inclines his head slightly towards the holographic projection, before adressing Reaching Spire once more. "Since who or whatever is doing this has clearly done something to evade your divine senses... How about we all go have a look with our eyes? Can you convey us there?"
Tomoe	Tomoe relaxes now, that things seems to have cleared out. "Thank you." Is all she cna muster ot Dog as he backs down and Lin does the same? She just tries to keep up the look she is clam, as she gets ready to head back to town with everyone else. "Lets go."
Eithne Sullivan	Eithne's plenty happy to stay and make friends with the new girl because YAY FRIEND. Eventually she'll return to the village, sure, but for now... "Ah, that's a brilliant name! Shadow's Little Secret..." It's cute! She frowns. "Bit of a mouthful. Would yeh mind if I called yeh Secret?" She's totally going to see if they can find something bigger to turn into a zombie. Maybe a panda. Pandas are useless in life, ergo they'd be much better as zombies.
Lin	The Mountain God actually goes wide-eyed and thoughtful for few moments as he considers Staren's explanation. "... Very well, we'll put that behind us." That's... probably the closest thing Staren's going to get to 'dropping the formalities' from this god, but his countenance darkens considerably at the implication that something is HIDING from him. "... If you're so convinced, I suppose it is better than standing here doing nothing."