Ilya Crosspoint

Ilya Crosspoint (a.k.a. The Tour guide)

Ilya is a Kruggunite like any other - she loves to innovate, never skips her cofefe and doesn't like the church. She owns the Silver Lining, a jeweler and accessories (and occasionally information, if you know how to ask) store run from the 1st floor of her home where she makes ends meet to focus more on her new interest, tinkering with the newly discovered quenaztium essence. Or at least that was until Krugg himself came into her shop one morning, gave her a hug, and told her she would be the tour guide of the next batch of Talthorians that would be arriving in the next few days. She has been rather frazzled and somewhat anxious since.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Her overall build is slim, almost dainty. Like all Kruggunites she is of course much tougher and stronger than her appearance would suggest.

Identifying Characteristics

Her rose gold eyes have a dark rim, and the irises can be caught moving when she uses her gift.

Special abilities

She has been blessed with the Keen Eyes gift, allowing her to see more and farther than others. She uses this to land precise shots with her defense tools, and also uses it to appraise gems and create finely detailed work on her creations.

Apparel & Accessories

Ilya dresses in a variety of ways, but consitently wears a feathery hairpin and gems in some fashion. As of recently, she has taken to wearing her custom built armour that she made herself, powered by her gems.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Ilya Crosspoint grew up in the age before the Enlightenment, when there were still harsh divisions between nobility and the lower class. She would originally have learnt the ways of a mechanic if it weren't for the fall of Babylon that marked the turning of the age, and the death of much of her known family.
Instead, she learned the ways of the thief, spy and murderer in order to help make a living for her suddenly impoverished family. After nearly a decade's worth of hard work, she managed to pull them out of their situation far enough that they could continue their old trade of working on airships, an initially expensive endeavor that got easier with time.
Having learned that the trade wasn't for her, she instead stuck with her old work for a while longer, saving up enough and teaching herself enough about tinkering that she opened her own shop on point 7, where she has largely abandoned her old form of work in favor of doing what she enjoys and what is far less likely to get her killed.
Much of this seems to have changed upon a fateful day, 12 years after the Burning. Krugg himself decided to visit her shop, give her a hug, and assign her the task of taking care of the next group of Talthorians who would be arriving since the grand events with the Marsdens and new Ambasador...

Gender Identity

Ilya sees herself as and considers herself to be as she physically is - female. Despite this, due to her disinterest with the topics of gender and reproduction, she does not care what others call her or how they treat her regarding this topic.

Sexuality

Ilya has found herself to appreciate both male and female forms from time to time, though tends to prefer males. This view has never stretched farther than visual appeal though, as she has no interest in the topic of partnership or reproduction.

Education

Ilya was raised like any Kruggunite with a basic education, while learning a bit of the family trade on the side. By the time she finished she and her family had discovered she had not inherited the knack for mechanics and engineering, and was instead much more interested and talented in tinkering. Due to the chaos caused by the burning of Babylon and the subsequent family turmoil, she was not able to pursue a proper education in her preferred field, and much of her tinkering knowledge is from her own experience or stolen information.

Employment

During the hardships Post Babylon, she had to resort to less savory means of making a living. She learnt the information trade and black market dealings, and secretly made ends meet through just those avenues until her family managed to get back on their feet and dust themselves off.
Once they were all sorted and back in business, she realized that she had no place in their workshops, not truly. She was a tinkerer and possessed skills more suited for things other than building and repairing ships. Deciding to make her own way in life, she collected the funds to start her own operation and opened the Silver Lining, a jewelry, clothing and accessories store that offers more services, if you know how to ask. She remains the sole owner and worker of the store to this day.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Ilya is the founder of the relatively successful Silver Lining, owned and managed by her since the beginning.
She has discovered how to deconstruct material quenaztium into its raw energy form using frequencies, and has developed a machine that can do so. She has also discovered how to store said energy in gemstones to use as power sources, for which she has also created an invention.
She has been chosen by Krugg to serve as his "eyes and ears" outside of Automata.
As far as she is aware, she is among the first Kruggunites to leave Automata, or the planet on the edge of Nowhere.

Failures & Embarrassments

She has, and will continue to, have little regard for the life of others, even her fellow Kruggunites. While she feels it to be an extreme resort, she has and will kill others if she finds the alternative, or the consequences thereof, to be too problematic, and she will feel little to no remorse for doing so once she has made up her mind.

Mental Trauma

She was 19 by the turning of the age, when the city fell into turmoil and the whole status quo was upended. She lost much of her known family during the fights and chaos, as the family was closely tied to the nobility of the time, who were a major target during the event.
In particular, she was with her mother who was severely injured and killed during the first moments of the event, and was unable to save her, something that has weighed heavy in her heart through the years since.

Intellectual Characteristics

A sharp memory and the ability to focus on the current matter at hand regardless of circumstances has served Ilya well throughout her life. She has grown a love of learning, at the cost of failing to retain any information at all if it doesn't seem important or just uninteresting, the primary example being jewelry crafting and gem work which she never had a true interest in until far later in life, leading to her journey as a jeweler being a long and annoying one.

Morality & Philosophy

The events at Babylon deeply affected her and the way she viewed things. Where before she was altruistic, loving and naïve, she learned the very fundamental truth that everyone has their own story and agenda, and that their kindness is never guaranteed.
The Ilya of today can be described as kind, but selfish. She used to hold a deep hatred for the lower classes due to the death of her mother and family, but after dealing with them first hand to make a living, she let that hatred go, realizing them to not be entirely faulty, and that she was blaming herself as much as she was blaming them. She has still lost all regard for the life of others, other than that of those close to her, having permanently shifted to the view that you cannot care for both the world and yourself at the same time, and priorities must be decided on. With her negative viewpoint of others, especially the lower-class at the time, she drew a clean distinction between her loved ones and anyone else, which never really changed.
She has a very individualistic point of view, believing that in the end, all things are the result of someone trying to achieve something they want, one way or another, or the results of someone manipulating a system originally set in place by another. She has a flimsy regard for law, feeling that it should be treated as a general guideline, and that every person should take care of themselves, and if the law disapproves of the method, that it should simply be forgone; though being able to live freely within its bounds is much simpler and easier than not.

Taboos

Unlike many Kruggunites, Ilya has grown interested in what the Talthorians call magic, calls it such, and has decided that she would try to learn it, even if it would be frowned upon by her society who firmly believes that everything has to be done by or through a machine.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Any Kruggunite would tell you that their primary goal is to make and innovate. Ilya is no different. She enjoys tinkering, and is deeply interested in what she could do with her new discovery of quenaztium essence. Of course, many things can get in the way in life, and she has worked hard to eliminate such annoying variables from her day to day. Of course, when something threatens to upturn the whole city, she would naturally feel compelled to do everything she can to preserve her way of life.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

She is well versed in how to dig up information in Automata, particularly through the routes that very few know exist.
Magic, while a concept frowned upon by many Kruggunites, is something that facinates her, even though she has absolutely know idea what it is or how it works, even after making a bracer that uses the stuff to allow a changeling to turn into a true dragon.

Likes & Dislikes

Ilya loves getting lost in tinkering with all sorts of things and being forced to figure out how to make something work, just by working on it in general.
What she doesn't appreciate, is when others wantonly break or destroy these things, particularly if its something she has spent a long time on.

Virtues & Personality perks

Though she can be cold, when she has grown close to someone, or respects them, she can be very loyal, granted you don't lose her respect along the way...

Vices & Personality flaws

Ilya can be hesitant at times, after years of growing complacent to do things by the book and above board in her shop after leaving her more criminal career behind. She's lost touch with what she can get away with, and lacks faith in her abilities that are sharper than she remembers.

Personality Quirks

Ilya consistently has scrap and parts on her which she uses to tinker away when in thought, usually on something recent, like making bullets for her gun, or fiddling with any tools she has to see if she can improve them.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Jackie Marker is a chipper teenage girl from the lower points who seems to be endlessly busy doing this and that all over the place. Ilya pays her for bits of gossip and whatever other rumors she can bring her, not necessarily because she is interested and finds such information valuable, but because she likes the girl who reminds her much of herself before she founded her store. She often uses her for various other errands as well, including looking after the store for short periods of time.
Zack Locker is an old contact from her black market days whom she still speaks with on a semi-regular basis to this day for this and that. He seems always happy to help her out as long as he gets a cut of whatever she has going on.

Family Ties

Though she lost a good deal of her known family 12 years ago, some have still survived that she keeps an ear to the ground for, and occasionally visits, just to make sure they're ok. Her only direct family to have survived is her father, Tarkin Crosspoint who takes care of her aunt Yulia and her cousins Tilly and Mara, all of which work in the reestablished Crosspoint Airworks in some capacity. Though she visits rarely, she made a point of it to send them gifts and a little something extra every month or so.

Religious Views

Like any Kruggunite she is a steadfast believer in Krugg, and it would be impossible to convince her not to believe in him. How could she not, when she seems him semi-weekly, has witnessed him use his grand power and has conversations with him like he is simply any other in the city?
She knows that Krugg is responsible for all in Automata, for all on her home planet, and that their purpose is to create and invent and that they were expressly made in such a way that they could dedicate themselves to this. This has not stopped her from being curious about the Talthorian's 'magic' and way of doing things, but she maintains to herself that using a machine to do things for you is more elegant than doing things in any other way, like just bending reality to your will.

Social Aptitude

She is well enough versed in the social norms of Automata to get by quite well in the mid and upper points. She is familiar with the mannerisms of the lower point and the backrooms and black market, and while she can tell what someone might be up to, she is more comfortable on the upper levels. This only applies to Automata however, as she has never been off-world and only learnt of and met Talthorians in the past year.

Mannerisms

When not in use or in another position because of circumstances, her hands are in one of three positions: clasped together and held to her chest, one arm folded over the other and holding the arm/elbow, or folded behind her in some fashion.

Hobbies & Pets

Ilya has grown interested in the study and use of quenaztium, and by extension - "magic", ever since she discovered how to break the substance down into a raw energy form, which again compounded when she met her new Talthorian friends and was requested to make something to help the changeling Nathiri become a true dragon, if only briefly. Though she completed the request and it appears to work, she has no idea what she did, and is actively seeking more opportunities to study it.

Speech

She has a high pitched voice and speaks softly, with an accent somewhat similar to conservative RP from the UK. While the majority of her vocabulary is proper, she at times interjects various slang words or phrases, and it tends to increase the more overwhelmed, frightened or angry she feels. When uncertain about whom she is speaking to or the topic being discussed, she frequently pauses to think for a moment after hearing a reply or statement, leading to mildly odd and sometimes awkward interactions.

Wealth & Financial state

Ilya does well for a single owner of a store on Point 7, able to make more than enough money for herself an her hobbies even if the income is irregular. If she put her mind to it, she could save up enough to live a lavish lifestyle with others running the store for her, while she idles away in whatever fancily decorated place she built for herself, but she is not interested in such things and more than happy to live simple but well.

A simple jewler from the family of now formely renown airship builders. Don't let her trinkets fool you, she is crafty with any tool in hand, deadly even. Few to none can hide from her Keen Eyes.

Character Location

Sun'seir

View Character Profile

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Age

Date of Birth

3rd Turn, 8th Shift, 3362 AoP

Birthplace

Automata

Children

Current Residence

Silver Lining, Point 7

Gender

Female

Eyes

Rose Gold

Hair

Gun metal

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Tarnished silver

Height

5.7ft

Weight

192lbs

Related Plots

The Shattering Of Lislow

Known Languages

As a Kruggunite who has never left the city, and only encountered Talthorians in the past year, she knows no other languages. Instead, she has developed the ability to mimic any voice or sound she has heard for at least a minute, male or female, person or animal, bizzare or not.

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Complicated
26th Turn of the 7th Shift 12 PBB

This entry is quite late. Due to recent events I have been quite distracted, and somewhat put off. I won't go into detail; only go over the most important points:

We've established the guild - The Tourists. Got rings with communication abilities. I forget it can do this at times. Took a job. Didn't end the best it could have.

Was ... summoned, by Krugg. The reason ended up as Talthor being trivial and silly, but when we left he asked me to look into any traces of he and Automata that I can find, as something doesn't seem to be right. Possibly something to do with this other Kruggunite that has been here ages ago.

Found the holy paladin. He refuses to leave Lislow until the most pressing problems are dealt with. Guess what we're going to be doing for a while.

We found the source of the mind manipulations, and the one in charge of all this. It is in fact the city itself, Sunseer. I don't like 'her'. The way she acted, spoke and thought bothers me. More than bothers me.

We were going to leave. Most of us had made up our mind. Yara seemed set on finishing up here, though. I don't want to deal with this city anymore, but we have to fix its damned problem.

We went beneath the city, to try and find the soul lines. We found it alright. And its problem. "Someone" (The Unseen, in the highest likelihood) drilled directly to it and tried using it as a power source. The technology seems to be old and... crude... for its intended purpose. Something about a weapon that reduced their 3 moons to 1.5. It's long since broken and has been leaking. Its why the city can speak. It's why the 'demons' are upset. We need to fix it before all this energy causes something worse to happen.

This all happened over the course of about three or so days. We have just left from the Grand Lysium to find information as I write this on day 3. Though technically we shouldn't have been able to, it seems both groups were able to coax the neccesary information out of the relevant people. The problem is more a magical than structural one. Physical repairs are likely to be quick and easy, though the magical lot will have to dig into studiying 2-4 thousand year old runework to make proper repairs, as doing extensive repairs would require replacing the entire damned system. A system that SPREADS MOST OF THE DAMNED CONTINENT, AND FROM THE SOUNDS OF THINGS WASN'T EVEN PROPPERLY COMPLETED. It was a welcome distraction despite the absurdity, trying to learn and fix a machine, and though I'm still mostly useless as the technology is still foreign to me, I at least have SOME idea of what's going on. I'd love to just sit down and study the technology. This junk, though old and crude even by a Kruggunite's standards in some regards, seems like the logical next step to my gem tech. The Lislanders seemed to have access to energised quenaztium for most of their history by my guess; hell, actually, maybe Automata is the odd one out in terms of not having significant free floating energy about, since my gut tells me its what powers magic. Everything I've seen and heard so far hints toward it. Now I'm just sad. Imagine the potential machines we could make if we could harness magic, what we've been missing out on because we haven't been able to manipulate it as the rest of Everywhere has! Though... that's... what the Talthorians are, aren't they? A people with magic that have advanced so much farther entirely because they had magic and we didn't? How depressing. Would they think us primitive? That station where we found Bard Bot would certainly suggest that they might think of us as though we're tidy barbarians. Though I can't find myself to be mad or dissapointed in anyway toward/at Krugg. I guess maybe we're just intended to be purists. I suppose, in some sense this lends more credence to the theory that we're machines. I wonder if standard life is dependant on quenaztium, if not magic directly. From what I understand, the Lislanders certainly are. Without the whole soul thing, all you have is humanoid pile of meat. With it, you dont need a complex defense tool. A simple hunting bow could be as deadly, if not more, than a sniper rifle. If you have the proper training of course. Wilds and beyond, its Sunseer's entire existence. The only reason it can speak to us is because the soul lines - a literal RIVER OF QUENAZTIUM ENERGY (forget liquid quenaztium, I'd love to see the looks on the company men's faces if I could show them this), the leak of which is more potent than any generator failure in current Kruggunite memory - have been meddled with and the steady flow of leaking energy has given it, well not sapience it seems, but certainly the ability to interact with the physical world to some degree. Likely enough to be a minor god at least. And its using its power to puppet a corpse and make people fight. It hasn't tried to negotiate. It has no intentions of stopping the fighting for any reason. Just simply, there is an enemy. You lot, kill them. Can you imagine Babylon happening EVERY NIGHT? A nightly showdown between the church and their supporters vs every one else? During the day, you can do as you like, but by nightfall everyone has to have a defense tool ready or else you'll be on the next wagon to what would eventually necessitate an incinerator. And now have this keep going until one side has been completely wiped out. I understand having to defend yourself, but those who live in the city will defend it for you. You don't need to trap everyone inside and use mind magics to make them fight for you. It's their home. Like hell they'll just stand by and watch. But you also want to protect the city from the constant destruction. There's no point in defending something that no longer exists! It'll just be senseless slaughter! SO FIND A SOLLUTION TO STOP IT??? But no. There will be no negotiation. At this point it's likely far too late for that. If it were grieving, I could understand where some of this is coming from, but even then I still wouldn't understand. Its been thousands of years - they say sometimes grief never passes, and I still miss my mother, but I'm not doing THIS! I was mad, and I wanted someone to pay, but I didn't work my ass off just to buy armour, ammunition, and weapons to take on half the city! I just... don't get it. I see why Nathiri can hate some gods. If most are like this one... I just want to go home. I had hoped to stay and learn some things from their schools if possible, but I don't want to be in or around a city that only wants blood. I want to understand, but I don't think talking to it again will be any more use; it seems it just doesn't understand certain concepts, and doesn't seem to care to understand them. I've never encountered a puzzle that just left me... depressed? There's nothing I feel I can do here. I've always understood that gods are far above us in ability and understanding, but Krugg has always been approachable. He's understanding for the most part and kind even. He cares. But Sunseer... What DOES it care about? It doesn't seem to care about the people. Just the city? Is it just selfish? And it doesn't want to learn simple mortal concepts, and it refuses to see the long term rammifications that this will have, and doesn't care to do anything about it even if it does. Its so sure that its eternal. I'm not so sure. Automata has stood for a really, really long time. We don't remember, or even know how long. But that's because Krugg wills it. Sunseer came to be after it was created. It IS the city. If there is no more city, I assume there is no more Sunseer? I don't know. It feels like a raptor thinking itself a Rex. I- I don't know. I just don't. I don't get it. I don't understand. I kinda don't want to. I'm going to stop here. I just want to stop thinking about this and be done.

Navigation
23rd Turn of the 7th Shift 12 PBB

Ive changed my mind about the format. The list from earlier was far too ugly. Instead Ill just do a simple, factual summary, and then comment at the end. Early in the morning we all gathered in a street and got a good look of the surroundings. People were tired and downtrodden, for the most part. Some of the group started asking questions, and it seems the attacks have been happening frequently, but this has not always been the case. Tedrin approached an interesting looking fellow, and after some light conversation, he suddenly threw the man across the city with some kind of magic. Poor bastard. He and Stratos got into another disagreement and he started sulking off. Despite the earlier... incident I decided to follow the "god of travel" on a little excursion throughout the city and map it out. The others went another way, and we agreed to meet back up later. Along the way we met someone that I could have sworn were one of the Hamadas. Same accent and means of speech... it was so bizarre. It seems people can enter but not leave the city. Tedrin also asked if the man saw an old friend of his, Bard (strange, though I don't think he means Bard Bot), and after a little confusion the man seemed to know who he was speaking about and immediately became skittish. After giving us our "lafas" he packed right up and left. I don't know the situation but he wasn't necessarily afraid of him directly from what I could tell, though this Bard fellow might be travelling with dangerous people perhaps? When we returned, it seems the others went shopping. Sigmund appeared to have a new bag and was fiddling with some alchemical looking components, Vidar was gorging himself on a large piece of meat and I heard Stratos speak of the plains and hunting. Soon after Yara sold her healing touch to make some coin, it seems she was far cheaper than the churches, and people were very eager to be healed of all manner of maladies. Got some good cash out of it too. We then decided to head to the guild hall using the new map I drew, and inquired about all this guild business. The lady at the desk, Edna Kozalski, explained that guilds have plenty of power and one needs to be a part of a guild to do many things here. There was a tower of paperwork we had to fill in, but we would also need a guild hall, decide on a guild master, and note our certifications. She mentioned a seemingly abandoned guild house on the south western corner that, if we could clear it out, we could have it free of charge. Sounded like a steal so we went. The place we arrived at was rather grim looking, overgrown, dull and covered in magic of some kind. The interior was odd, a little too empty and Sigmund described it as a '5 star hotel for a hobo'. While Tedrin melted into teh singular couch, teh rest of us snooped about. I found nothing in the cellar, so I immediately went for the attic instead; two best places to find things in any building. Up there I found things that couldnt help but remind me of a grandparent's attic. Older, ornate looking things. Some junk, others not. Found a few good books that look magic related. Took them in case they help with my magic studies later, and will help me learn to read things. We also found a hatch that had a ladder leading much too far down. After gathering everyone we descended and found a short woman eating soup. She spoke to another and from teh skull on the table Mr. Vindicator from earlier appeared. Through some conversation we learned that this was his guild's guild hall, and he must have forgotten to pay rent or some such. They agreed to let us have the place as long as we beware of the undead. Supposedly a whole basement of them or something. Ill have to inspect the cellar again, I suppose. ----- Much calmer day with a good deal of progress, I feel. This guild business sounds like a pain, but probably a necessary evil. We still have yet to figure out who will be guild master, or what these calcifications are, but all in due time I suppose. Thus far it's between Muspella and Yara. I considered it for a moment, since I led most of us back on Automata, but I think my lack of knowledge and inability to do the paperwork will be major detriments. Speaking of knowledge, though this may seem dumb to say, but I'm proud of myself for jumping so quickly to the tasks I set for myself. I made a map, and a pretty decent one too even if I say so myself. Naturally I didn't get every alley and shortcut, but I'm pretty sure I can find most places with this. Next will be getting a feel for the general organization of the city, though this might take a bit longer. Along the way maybe I can learn how to make a few coin myself. Maybe repairs of tools and weapons. I might need a forge and materials though, Ill see what I can do.

Sun'Set
22nd Turn of the 7th Shift 12 PBB

Log 1:

Sigmund can apparently forge documents. Made me, Yara and Muspella some.

Spoke with Bard bot as I was finishing my study and taking apart the humanoid machine. Claims Kruggunites are the ultimate machines. Had a mild existencial crisis. Trying not to think about it till i can get some time to myself. Almost at Lislow.

Bard bot played us a recording of someone called "the Scribe". Why is there jazz in teh background?

Recording notes: - Full-hu-mines underground? - Well-sung symposium; "and their wild parties"? Live in mountain peaks* - Sun-Seer "home of adventurers" - "Far from the Talthorian home regions" - this isnt in Talthoria? - "only neighbour was Automata, and that was all the way out in Nowhere" ???? - "Thaumaturgy" ?? Different from magic? - Vindicators "insisted everyone get along - The Unseen "made sure it happened - '... narcisistic nigh immortal scientists and their pet explorers interfering with creation, again' ...

Arrived at Lislow. Storms over New Talthoria; Quarantine of unknown kind over Lakevale, something about 'strange mutaes'. Heading to Sun-Seer.

City is strange. No verticality. No ticking of the city. No music. Only noise. Almost no metal. Lots of stone and wood. Don't see any projectile based defense tools other than bows. Lots of magic; too much almost. The priests would have a heart attack.

No modern innovations that anyone from Automata would recognize. No vehicles other than those driven by animals. Very bizarre animals.

Upon entering I suddenly began to think it would be good to destroy evil. Strange. Sent Nathiri into a flat panic; says its a very bad sign. Yara thinks its an effect of the city itself.

Festival in the city. Lots of noise. Very colourful.

Stopped by a place called the Pea-Quill. Barkeep and ladies are very flamboyant. Is somehow able to give a command to the drinks and they will fly over to the right tables by themselves.

Nathiri and the others seem to feel the wildlands back around Automata are "incomplete". Primarily because the wilds keep changing with Krugg's will. That doesn't happen on other worlds. Supposedly everything stays pretty much the same like in Automata city itself.

Tedrin tried to strangle Stratos in his armour. He somehow teleported him into the air and Stratos fell through the floor. After he got out, one of the barkeeps miraculously fixed the floor.

Apparently you don't need to be born with magic to be able to use it. There are apparently Talthorians that simply study and learn to manipulate the energies to do so. They believe I can learn magic. Muspella has said she would attempt to teach me some tricks.

They had MASSIVE meat platters. Similar yet different. I think I like it.

Saw a wizard disappear in a cloud of smoke shaped like a skull. Weird.

People don't seem to be "mind controlled". More like they are nudged in a direction to do certain things. Some obey, others don't.

Apparently there is magic that can puppet a corpse, turning it into "undead" and "ghouls"

In Lislow, "demons" come from "underneath"

We tried to leave using Nathiri's magic, but something seems to have gone wrong, and instead we seem to have appeared deeper i~~

*Scratches and bloodstains cover much of the bottom of the pages* *On the next page in much nicer handwriting:* Writing this nearly an hour later, after much fighting and then finding lodgings in the city.

Was smothered in an opressing darkness. Magic most likely. Was drawn into a fight with tiny winged demon things, then bigger quilled ones, and also a huge one with horns and a two pronged spear.

- Nathiri really likes fireballs; killed most of the tiny ones with just one shot. Before that the rest of us were nearly her target as she just threw one wildly in teh dark. - Sigmund's quick-deploy defense tool is incredibly dangerous. Took out three of the large quilled ones in rapid succession - Muspella seems to be able to know how to figure out how demons are related, since apparently she targeted two of the spikey demons because they were mates? - Yara has a very interesting Touch. She is able to put a type of field around others that mitigates damage. Oddly much like magic... - Stratos didn't fight much, except for when he blew us all away with a piercingly loud thunderbolt. It still hurts. - Stratos also seemed to stick a perfect landing in his bulky armour somehow, as i didnt hear a loud metalic crash when he jumped down a rather high platform. - The huge demon was fighting another god. Long hair and glowing eyes. Lots of speak of justice and good vs evil. Nochar perhaps? Wasn't after the fight. Possession probably. - Tedrin turned the huge demon into a half jicken abomination with his strange arrow. Because of course he did. - The jicken demon self-destructed.

Vindicator Lorkoth, the one the god was possessing; doesn't like Muspella

Called Muspella part of "The Unseen"

The city has a barrier. We cant leave

Yara managed to convince Nathiri to calm down and not destroy everything for a day.

Tedrin teleported himself and Stratos somewhere and back again. Mentions of a storm.

When the Vindicator left, he also disappeared in smoke shaped like a skull. I want to think it's the same person but there are differences. The others feel like it is the same person. I don't know for sure.

~------------------------------------------------~ I knew it. I KNEW it. I knew something ridiculous would happen and I'd quickly start misremembering or forget details all together. It wasn't an hour after we arrived (maybe it was, I wasn't paying attention) before complete chaos breaks loose. Sure something similar happened on Automata, but that was well after everyone arrived and got together. I'm still a little jumpy, but as I encounter all these things my greatest concerns are at least being eased; I'm starting to feel I'm not as outclassed as I thought I'd be. I just need to get used to so much magic. Hopefully, if I'm able to learn it in the first place, Muspella's magic training will help with that. If I can't, well, perhaps it's for the best. I have no idea what the church would think if they learned a Kruggunite came back and had learned Talthorian tricks. That aside, there seems to be something going on here. Weird behavior, mind magic, demons, ghouls, a magical barrier trapping us... I have no idea what we've got ourselves into, but I get the distinct feeling we'll have to use the old swicheroo of getting involved so we can escape. I'd much rather not get involved in anyone else's business, but it seems it comes with being in the group, if my time with them in Automata is any indication. This mind magic, Yara and Muspella say, is strange. It isn't dominating, yet it's supposedly desperate. It's not controlling, yet everyone is acting strange. Where did the demons even come from? Why did they attack? The older paladin looking man spoke of doing this "again"; has this been happening for some time already? I have no idea. I don't like it. I used to know a little about everything back in Automata. Hell, I was far from all knowing but I knew a little of everything going on on each point, and I even used to pride myself on being able to figure out the story behind some of the headlines before they were even published! (usually because I had Jackie that would tattle to me all the time and I knew all the right places to sit and watch them go down thanks to my Touch, but still.) I knew people in Automata, I knew where to go and were to look... Now I'm just... lost and confused. I'm still not sure why we're all here, probably for a range of different reasons which is, mildly frustrating. Copshire and the Irregulars are also on the ship, Krugg knows why they're here. They didn't get off as far as I'm aware. Maybe. Maybe, I should try and get that going again? A little overkill perhaps... but it would be pretty fast if I had a network again... Nono. It's a little to soon for that. I'll keep it in mind if we can't seem to pick up any significant information ourselves, but I should just take a deep breath and put my strong foot forward. This is all strange and its getting to me, but I'm not going to get far if I keep flinching from everything at every turn. I should start looking around, get a working map and a working foundation of what's going on and how this place works. If that isn't enough, I'll just do as Krugg made me to do and innovate. I still have some materials and a bit of stock from the shop; I can easily make things to use and sell if I need to to get one started. Though...... the ship... is outside the walls... hmm. I suppose I'll have to take a page out of Sigmund's book and start collecting bits of this and that for time being. Point is, I can do stuff and I should start doing so instead of being such a child about it. First, I have to get some rest. Will will properly get myself in gear first thing in the morning. Assuming something else doesn't wake us first...

Spinning
21st Turn of the 7th Shift 12 PBB

I feel I have to write this down. Its not been too long since we left Automata, but already I can tell I'm going to get lost and be overwhelmed with so much that it'd be best that I start writing things down, just so that I can make sense of it all in whatever brief moments of reprieve I get. That and, while I have confidence in my own memory, there is always the chance that I may forget smaller details, or just overlook something entirely if I get too focused. Even though I was never one for journals, this is probably my best option at this point in time; this will probably end up looking more like a log book than anything else eventually. First, before I get into it, I want to note that time... is difficult out here. Automata is so far behind it's not even a speck in the sky anymore, nor are our two dancing suns. I know that everything is constantly spinning around our little homeworld and that being in the middle so much movement will make it very tricky to keep track of it all, but I now realize that without nary a single point of reference but my vague internal clock, and the speak of time changing like the wildlands do out here, I've come to the mildly concerning conclusion that I will likely never know the true time until I can get back to the city. My only consolation is that Copshire seems to have brought a little bit of everything from my shop, at least, amongst which was one of the pocket watches I made that also happens to display the current date. Though I can't be sure that it's accurate due to the possible effects of the time anomalies, it's the best I have and so I will be using it as my point of reference. According to it, it is the 21st of the 7th 12PBB, which as far as I can tell is about 5 or so days since we left, which feels about right as far as my experience of time goes. To begin, I will start with our first encounter as of leaving the city: It felt like we had been travelling for days when finally we arrived somewhere. I have no idea where, since I neither have a map, nor did the others know where we are, but apparently it wasn't the middle of nowhere because somehow we had just left the edge of it into everywhere. I didn't even know where to begin to ask so I didn't. Someone from some city or outpost-looking structure near the star of the system we had just arrived in was broadcasting distress calls, claiming that they were under attack. Though many were concerned about the supposed conflict within, we had little say since we didn't have the fuel to go anywhere else and Tedrin insisted he knew the voice and took us in. I was quite nervous throughout the whole affair as I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I had been fighting with the Talthorians this whole time, and never against one; I was afraid I might end up encountering a group of people with Nathiri's abilities, or with Sigmund's stealth. I suppose looking back it's somewhat silly, as Stratos them would likely still be with me should we get into such a situation, or would at least be able to warn and steer us away from such if we ran such risk. I suppose I'm still not used to being around them almost all the time now. Would that make us friends? ... I don't know. Muspella, maybe, I've known her a while, and I've spoken to and gotten along well enough with Tedrin before, the few times we spoke. As for Stratos and Sigmund, and Nathiri, I've only been their tour guide this whole time, looking after them as Krugg asked. Technically I still am. I've only just met Yara a few days ago, often in the middle of chaos. They seem like they could be good friends to have. Some of them, anyway. As we searched the place, we found the most interesting machines! What looked like a computer built into a wall, humanoid ones that seemed able to fight like any person could, and a large construction type one that appeared to be able to read blueprints and build the item by itself. Sadly, between my nerves, the pressure of time and being unable to read a lick of Talthorian I had to move on. I was able to snatch a broken humanoid machine on the way out at least, which I am studying. And while I'm on the topic, how come Stratos them seemed able to understand and read Kruggunite speech and text with their translator "device" while I am only able to hear but not read? Is it only partially reversible? Why? It is a mildly frustrating matter, since I will likely run into many troublesome situations where this is the culprit. Lets hope this isn't the case. Regardless, when we finally travelled deeper into the structure, we found Muspella! She was fighting a large crowd? hoard? of those humanoid machines, shouting that the stranger we had been talking to, Bard Bot, was replicating too much and that he sought domination of some kind, and she was trying to stop him. There was a mild argument between her and Tedrin, as he called Bard Bot a friend of sorts, but ultimately it ended in a fight against the machines. The hoard didn't last long fortunately, as they seemed weaker than I anticipated; though at the cost of using up all my ammunition, I was able to put down a good number of them with just the Marsden Prototype. I should remember to thank them for making this little thing, it performs outstandingly! I should also think about giving it a name. "Prototype", "8-shooter", and whatever other descriptors I can give are either inellegant, long or just vague. I suppose I'll just call it 5ves for now, after the engraving. After collecting Muspella, more supplies including fuel and the machine that Tedrin used his strange arrow on that made it into a machine jiken, we boarded the ship again. Tedrin seems to have done something to make Bard Bot part of the ship, through the jiken? I don't much understand it at all. I was told that Bard Bot is some sort of intelligent, thinking machine, and perhaps Talthorian inventions have some sort of way of interfacing with one another? This sounds like it could make sense to some degree I suppose, I've not really worked with computers much, and even less with Talthorian inventions. The only confusing part is that the jicken is still about, its metalic clucking ocationally heard through the halls. This is all probably some kind of strange, techno-magical nonsense, thinking about it. Krugg help me. Yesterday we managed to land at another place relatively nearby. All but the Irregulars disembarked to get some breakfast, even though I could have sworn it was late afternoon according to my watch - though I suppose another planet wouldn't care what time it was on Automata as it has it's own. Inside we met Krugg! Yara and I had many questions, all of which he answered in some fashion. Apparently gods take inspiration from each other, which is why Yara looks the way she does, as supposedly there is another kind of Talthorian that looks much like her. Or she like them. I don't know. He assured her that he would speak to some back in Automata to take care of some of her former duties, like guarding whatever "door 7" is. Though, there might be plans to some pass? I'm not sure. My gut tells me it has something to do with the Marsdens, but I am no longer there to find out. When it came my turn, I was assured that my shop will be taken care of and that Automata will not fall so easily to these Axelings or whatever they call them. As for myself, it seems he intended for me to leave with the others. Something about being eyes and ears... after explaining that he has some form of connection to us and likely knows and might be able to see what we're up to when he chooses, I suppose he wants me to use my Touch to learn about what is going in the universe. Perhaps it is related to that strange dream he granted me. It would make sense. The outsiders seemed very surprised and uncomfortable in the beginning when they first met Krugg. I believe it was Nathiri that told me that the other gods aren't like him, that you rarely see them, and when you do they aren't as kind. Perhaps Krugg can't leave because of the weird reception he'd get, if it would be anything like the other's. Regardless, I couldn't get much more out of him, whenever I broach the topic of what he wants and if he's planning everything, he starts speaking so, gratingly, vaguely. If he doesn't want me knowing what he's planning, then fine! He's Krugg, he can just tell me! And if its supposed to be a secret what I'm supposed to do, then same deal! Just point me in the direction you want me to go and tell me what you expect, and I'll do that! We're your tools you bellowing bronze statue! The least you can do is be straight with us! Either way, after Muspella and Stratos came to the conclusion that Nathiri was pregnant because she was fine with eating a raw steak, the sorceress summoned the ocean on everyone indoors and had us promptly kicked out. I admit it's a little strange but honestly I have little opinion on the matter as I'm sitting here still quite damp and rather miserable. Kruggunites were not meant to swim, and so help me if she does it again she is going to get a wrench to the head, sorceress or not. This entry is a rather lengthy first entry, but I there is so much I had to summarize between two days of confusion that I'm glad I started now and not later. I'm told we're currently on our way to a place called Lislow to look for someone. I plan on taking notes from now on, so there will likely be much less informal ramblings in the following, but that said, venting a little here was somewhat... soothing. Perhaps I might tack on little bits like this at the end of my other entries. We'll see.