Work from Home

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Theed had become home for the most part in the past months. Wounds were healing and with her search ending on this planet she decided to stay sticking around especially for her investments. There were consistent shareholder meetings, especially because in her own mind she had the biggest hand in the honey pot. Possibly, but that was what happened in Spencer’s mind for the most part. She wandered along the halls of Ajira’s place. It was probably the nicest home that Spencer had been in with Ajira’s former self. TIlting her head side to side she hummed softly to herself musing over the time she was going to share with the Theed Hangar Boss lady. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Most of the time, Spencer usually wore comfortable attire when wandering around Theed, but this time around she decided to wear a rather tight white dress. One of those dresses that clung to her every curve and didn’t leave much for the imagination. Though, Ajira already knew what was going on underneath the fabric that she wore to the dinner she was going to share with the woman she looked forward to seeing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Wandering along the way, Spencer wondered where the woman was hiding, mostly because she wasn’t the best at finding her way around the place without being able to sense Ajira. Frowning slightly, she stopped in the middle of one of the hallways and looked around. The Force dispensers was something she was going to have to work on getting used to. [member="Ajira Cardei"][/SIZE]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Computer, where is [member="Spencer Varanin"]?"

"Her Majesty the Queen of Eshan is on the second floor, north side."

Ajira quickened her pace. Her house in Theed tended toward the large end of things, and this wasn't the first time Spencer had wandered off a bit. Admittedly, Ajira hadn't been thinking of her former self's wife's needs when installing the secret Force dispersers. Spencer lived by her Force senses. Ajira, and Ashin before her, didn't really have any, or at least not the usual kind. She tended to think of Force senses as something other people, potential threats, might have. She tended to think of them as things to be avoided, so the dispersers' impediment to Spencer's navigation just hadn't occurred to Ajira at any point along the way. Ajira's first inkling of the truth had come about when Spencer slid out of bed at three in the morning and was found at six, looking for the cookie jar in the speeder hangar. Without her Force senses linking her to Ajira, it seemed Spencer was remarkably prone to getting lost.

That was a pity. Spencer was a major shareholder in Theed Hangar, with a full twenty percent to her name. As a noble guest and a business colleague, she often stayed with Ajira -- her dead wife's cousin -- when visiting Naboo. Shared her bed too, it was said (accurately). Considering those business visits were the only time Ajira could see her former self's wife, Ajira tended to arrange them as frequently as plausible. And that meant a past, present, and future of Spencer getting lost.

Ajira stepped into the central turbolift. A few heartbeats later, she stepped off four stories down and headed north. Two turns and some educated guesswork -- this was her house, after all -- brought her around a corner. There was Spencer, and a tight white dress, and a general look of frustration. Ajira repressed a grin and smoothed her gray-and-red Naboo formal dress against her hips.

"Does Your Majesty require directions to the pantry?"

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Hearing a voice that she had grown used to with the time that they had shared together. The many times Ashin had changed faces, Spencer had grown used to the changes. When Spencer actually thought about it she had a wide range of lovers, but only she knew truly that they were the same person. Beyond that, Spencer didn’t care as long as the person inside of the body was the same person she had fallen for. As she turned and saw Ajira a smile spread wide across her face. Eyes lighting up Spencer moved towards Ajira, the sound of her heels echoed softly while she made her way towards the woman.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“I seemed to have gotten lost...again.” There was a soft schoolgirl blush along her cheeks. Getting lost seemed to be the usual thing for Spencer in this place. Sighing softly, she brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and shrugged. “I need to learn to not rely so much on my senses - its just so hard.” Sticking her tongue out, Spencer shrugged. “Someone drilled it into me when I was younger on how important it was.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]The small distance between them began to drove Spencer quietly insane, so she moved closer to the taller woman and ran her fingertips gently against Ajira’s face. After all the faces, the one she always saw was her first face, the original. Sighing softly she let her hand fall and she wrapped her arms around the woman and gave her a tight squeeze. Waiting just a moment she brushed her lips against the business woman and then smirked. “Eh the pantry can wait, you’re sweet enough.” Tilting her head, she continued to smile, “I miss you, a lot. How have you been?” [member="Ajira Cardei"][/SIZE]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Varanin"] had, in her way, been several different lovers too. Umpteen years of marriage or partnership would do that. What rang her bell one decade wouldn't do a thing the next, and vice versa. That, and of the different forms Ashin had taken, several had been of varying heights relative to each other and to Spencer. This time around, she'd stolen the body and life of Ajira Cardei, her own cousin and kind of a dick. Ajira's body fit Spencer's fairly well, all things considered: there was nothing awkward about being embraced by Her Majesty the Queen of Eshan. Ajira smiled faintly at the brush of a kiss.

"Missed you too," she said, and meant it. She laced her fingers in the small of Spencer's back and leaned away to watch her wife's face -- to really see it, be aware of it, rather than just going through the motions.

"Sorry I'm late. I've been training Theed Hangar's security people alongside the RNSF and the Theed police. It's part of a city-wide security process -- well, bottom line, you don't care, but just know that it will probably happen again. You're here for, what, three nights this time? I'm bound to be late on this whole security project for at least a couple of those nights." She chuckled. "We're currently covering 'how to identify undercover Sith.'"

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Spencer felt the touch in the small of her back. The type of touch was familiar, but was still something she was learning to appreciate from the woman with her. Musing over the conversation, Spencer nodded at the comment about how long she was staying. “Three days this time, mostly because I have to go off world, stop by Eshan for a few days. There’s a vote going on - I’m still trying to find a successor” The issues on Eshan were strained mostly because of the Republic losing ground against the Sith, but what was helping was the Alliance. Trying not to focus on the politics of Eshan, she grinned.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“Finding a hidden Sith? I’m sure you have [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px]a lot [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px]of experience with that one.” Spencer couldn’t help herself, she had to laugh at the situation, but it was good that they were learning from Ashin. An index finger scratched the side of Spencer’s cheek as she pondered. “I do care about what you’re doing - if you need any help with that you know my services are always at your disposal.” Spencer was good with senses and that could help transcribe into something to help the security forces. In the end, it was all to help protect Theed Hangar and Ajira. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“I might need to download a map since you’re going to be late most days...I don’t need to end up somewhere that you won’t be able to find me in. Though, knowing my luck I’ll at least have finally found the pantry again.” A childish grin spread across her face as she remembered the stocked pantry, her wife knew her better than she knew herself - that was a plus. The subject of their daughter was on its way up next, Spencer made sure to keep Ashin up to date with the girl. As usual, Spencer pulled a small holocron from a place no one knows about on the dress and with a few buttons a small holo image of the roughly 18/19 yr old Ibaris popped up, looking like the splitting image of her mother at that age. “Ibaris is doing better, though she does miss you every day. She’s still with that Liam boy - that really famous Turkey Farmer’s boy or something.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Chuckling softly, “She’s happy.” [member="Ajira Cardei"][/SIZE]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Varanin"]

Ashin - Ajira - snorted. "Happy with that boneheaded twit? Well, I suppose. Oh, speaking of maps, I have something to show you."

***​

​

In due course they made their way to the map room. Yes, Lady Ajira Cardei had a map room. Paper, flimsiplast, holo, everything. A number of displays on top of low shelves projected rotating zero-distortion star maps of various sectors and systems.

"So, background." Ashin pulled a datacard from one of the shelves and plugged it into a slot on the armrest of a couch. She sat down and a ceiling projector flared to life, revealing a good chunk of the galaxy, Naboo to the Tingel Arm, with a jagged route inked in blue. The route led all the way to former Levantine Sanctum space, and beyond. "A few months ago, I sent [member="Lady Shambleau"] on a long-distance cruise, both to test the bio-hyperdrive on the Colo-class frigate and to visit the planet Kelsier. It's an obscure, hidden world in an obscure, hidden system, and it's one of the three or four places in the universe where you can find stygium crystals. The system is guarded by Echani raiders in cloaked ships -- there's a lot of strange history to Kelsier. Anyway, Shambleau exchanged the experimental frigate for a shipment of stygium crystals that we used in another ship line.

"But Shambleau's mission had another purpose. She got a decent scan of a certain remote location on the planet, and verified that it's still pretty much as it was when I saw it years ago. Fort Elsa: Rave Merrill's most important and secret alchemy facility. The center of operations for her uplift project -- the creation of the qo'saarai tuk'ata.

"And, I'm almost entirely sure, the location of the Dark Forge of Aza'zoth."

Ashin stood, animated now, energized by the topic. She paced to another map display and called up a projection of the farthest reaches of former Fringe territory. Aza'zoth was a dot like any other, but she knew it, knew it well. "That fether's been missing for about a decade, near as I can tell from the big scar in the ground where the Forge used to be. I always suspected that Merrill ran off with it, her or Zambrano or that Praelior lady. The more I think back to my visit there, though, the more I remember, the more sure I am that Merrill had the Dark Forge hidden there all along, and was using it to help with the creation of the qo'saarai. Shambleau's scans revealed pretty much what I saw last time, no real change. Merrill's gone. Her only heir, as far as I know, is her niece Mara, Jorus and Alna D'Lessio's daughter, and I seriously doubt Jorus Merrill's child would be interested in using the Dark Forge. I think Merrill had an assistant, too, so that might be worth looking into, but in the end? If my guess is correct, the Dark Forge is still there. Unused, Force-shielded, largely forgotten.

"I want it. You want it?"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Around the same time on Kelsier...
[member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Spencer Varanin"]

The enlarged room was all but quiet, if not for the steady sounds of fists thumping, legs lashing out in the air and missing their targets just so. Cries of victory cut short as another complication arose, as reflexes turned out to be just a touch faster than expected beforehand -- the Echani of Kelsier were different from their siblings on Eshan, different in many ways, except their focus on battle and the communication it provided them.

It had become a ritual for one Cerita Sarova and one Yusana Tvu as well.

Difficult to gain their trust, but after years Ceri had acquired something of an understanding between herself and certain more liberally-minded figures of their civilization.

Ceri bounced back from the ground, left leg immediately sweeping from the side to catch Yusa off-guard. The experienced Echani fighter saw it coming from a mile away; she timed perfectly, jumping over the leg and moved quickly to finish off the green girl. But they had been doing this for years now- she rolled to the side, the fist grazing the cold durasteel floor and then the surprise came. Yusa stumbled to her left, as a mid-level kick connected with her side and ejected all air from her lungs.

"Enough." The Echani growled out, a moment after skidding back and creating distance. Her battle stance melted away into a more relaxed stance, if still wary and searching. You could never completely take away the Kelsieri.

"Enough." The words were repeated, but this time there was a measure of pride hidden. Sarova saw it in the line her mouth drew while catching her breath again - just a small inkling of a raise upward in the corner. Saw it in the glint, softened just a bit. Even after all these years it was hard to gauge the Kelsieri, but part of her was catching on, if immeasurably slowly. "You have grown as far as you can, Sisqa, a decade more and I could make you into one of us."

Yusa looked, searched and then shook her head. "But you are pulled in many different directions, no focus, no commitment to our way."

Now it was disappointment coloring her words, or was it sadness? Both?

She rose up from her crouched stance, her hand automatically moving to rub away the transpiration. All around them the few Tuk'ata onlookers were already scattering, they had their jobs, their objectives, the dance was over and it was time to get back to it.

"We must move on, Yusa. You know this." Ceri finally responded. They had long discussions about it - fights, literal ones - but the truth was... "The Silvers are rearing their heads, their pacifism spent, brother and sister warriors expelled because they do not follow the dogma of the Jedi."

She shook her head.

"How long until their attention focuses here?"

Yusa smirked, but her eyes were cold. As cold as the snowy gales blasting around the mountainsides and tundra wastelands.

"Let them come. Our knees do not bend easily."

This went on for a while, but they all knew the truth. The Oculus had already been moved - most of the uplifting processes as well, some branches solidifying around Tash-Taral, others... farther away. There was just one thing to move and Sarova had postponed it as long as she could. Difficult to find a good place for it, frustrating to make it secure and safe.

Both in terms of handling and theft.

She felt it, though, in her bones. The point of no-return was approaching fast.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Cerita Sarova"]


"I'll take your stunned silence as a yes."

​

***​

An anonymous Naboo K-type yacht slid through the fog of Kelsier like a blade through something fluffy and insubstantial and non-resistant to blades. In the Force, she'd caught a flicker of attention, a sense of being watched, but the old agreements were in force. The system's defenders and inhabitants didn't screw with Fort Elsa's infrequent guests.

The yacht inscribed a lazy circle in the air above the research base. Something about it felt empty to Ajira's admittedly limited senses. She reached out with some delicacy and found no hint of the malevolent mindtrap, the Deicide Oculus, which Spencer had helped Rave to build years ago.

She brought the silver Naboo ship down in front of the hangar bay. Prepared for an ice planet, she grabbed her parka from a recessed hook by the cabin entrance and headed for the hatch.

"Feel anything of interest, lover?" she said as she stepped out of the yacht. The wind died down, the snowy air cleared, and a door on the hangar produced a handful of qo'saarai in winter clothes. And was that another figure among them?

Rave couldn't have come back from the dead, could she?

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer had known Ajira in other lives, so it would only make sense if the woman had a map room. Knowing the soul that resided within the woman next to her, maps were a very core detail of her. Sighing softly, she admired the room and the equipment the Theed hangar allowed her to purchase, it was a dream room...more like a playroom. Spencer mused on the thought of Ajira wandering about the room planning and plotting along the maps. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she remembered the small maps she was shown on several occasions in bed on a datapad.

Blinking quickly, Spencer smiled and chuckled as Ajira commented on her silence. “Yes I want it, I was just daydreaming.”

-------

The ride wasn’t as long as she had hoped it would be. The force stirred about them as they drew closer. She looked towards Ajira and wondered if she could sense the changes. Taking a few deep breaths she closed her eyes and allowed the yacht to land, it was always the landing that scared her and forced her to try and relax the best way possible. Taking off was no problem, just the landing for some reason.

“I hate cold planets, why is it always cold…” Spencer grumbled under her breath as they prepared for the weather. Quickly, she began to warm herself with the Force knowing fully the parka wasn’t going to be enough. Her focus was broken for a moment as her partner questioned if she had felt something. Spencer was so focused on warming herself that she didn’t think to sense the area around them. Twitching her nose, she allowed her focus to split and where she wasn’t as warm as she would usually have been, she expanded her mental field of vision and sought anything that was familiar or interesting. It only took a few minutes but she shivered and returned to warming herself. “Something familiar, something that I haven’t felt in awhile. Strong, but I can’t put my finger on it…”

Her nose twitched again while trying to avoid grasping onto Ajira for warmth and possibly hiding behind her slightly after seeing the qo’saari ahead of them. “Who...are they?” [member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Spencer Varanin"]

"We can help." Skairus said- growled even, thick brows were furrowed in annoyance and he was pacing. It wasn't a big surprise to Ceri, who had just said she wanted him on the next shuttle with the Tuk'ata, instead of staying behind and help with the Dark Forge. An illogical request for a sentient whose instincts spoke of guarding and guardianship.

"The Forge's a thing." Ceri responded calmly. Yusana stood farther away from the group of tuk'ata, leaning against a crate and watching the scene with some amusement.

"Rave put too much work into you to prioritize a thing."

It was a valuable thing, to be sure. A pretty thing. A pretty pebble that was often used for the creation of even prettier pebbles, but at the end of the day Rave had made the Qo'saarai Tuk'ata to give them a future. It was a thing of principle to move them first, before moving the last great pebble.

"And our free will tells us-" Sarova cut him off with a wave of the hand. She looked past him and the others, trying to pierce the gales of wind and snow and ice. Wasn't much to see there.

Not that she needed to see when she could sense.

"We have guests."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Cerita Sarova"]

"It's always a cold planet to keep people away. We're just not people who like being kept away." Ajira squinted through the driving snow and kept walking. "Those are Rave Merrill's...minions. Children. The qo'saarai tuk'ata - 'tuk'ata of the true way' or 'true path,' in Kissai. Plenty of tuk'ata are as smart as humans and can walk on two legs some of the time; Merrill just adjusted their hips and gave them opposable thumbs. That woman with them, though...I can't quite make out her features. Feels a little familiar, can't figure out who."

She came closer. Impatiently, she waved and the snow cleared from the air for a time. She filled her lungs with cold air.

"Who are you?" she called out.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Spencer Varanin"]

Scarra looked to Cerita and Cerita looked at the two figures.

Females, one... blonde and the other dark-haired. They felt familiar to her, but she couldn't put a finger on it. Jacobs and her were acquainted, the Fringe Lady had taught her of Plant Surge years ago... when Sarova had still been a lonely, little girl not quite knowing yet what to do with herself.

But not acquainted enough to recognize her from force signature only, sadly.

"Those who come as guests usually exchange their own name first," Sarova called back, before motioning the Tuk'ata down and back, they could get overprotective at times.

And the time of escalation was not yet here.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“I hate the cold” It was all she said as Ajira made the people who were Rave’s so called children her prime focus. They were interesting and Spencer would love to indulge herself into learning more about them. Rave was someone that was very different from those around her and Spencer had always wanted to pick the woman’s mind. Of course, remembering the situation with her brother so many years ago, Spencer avoided entering any Merill mind. It was probably wise for her to take a bit of a backseat, Spencer narrowed her eyes to get a better look of the person who was different than the others. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“I agree on the familiar feeling, but I can’t put my finger on it.” Backseat idea was now out the door. Spencer had nothing to hide really, Ajira on the other had a lot. A few steps and Spencer was now in front of her lover. A hand went over her brow as she used it to some how magically see farther than what her eyes could. Spencer might not look older than 28, but the woman was starting to feel the effects of age. Glasses might be in her future. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“Hello! Sorry for being rude! My name is Spencer, Spencer Varanin...Jacobs? Whatever you thing rolls off the tongue better.” Her hand fell as she sighed softly. If anything this could hopefully not end in conflict, but if it needed to, Spencer wondered how much of her and Ajira’s synchronization remained [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px]outside of the boardroom...or any other room in Theed…[/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px] [/SIZE]

[member="Cerita Sarova"] [member="Ajira Cardei"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Spencer Varanin"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"]

Cerita blinked.

Then blinked again.

Then exchanged a look with Scarra, who was studying her expression keenly. She wove them down for now -- in truth, the fact that it was them didn't mean quite that much, yet... yet, it was better than if someone like Circe or her hooligans had suddenly stumbled over this place. Jacobs and she expected that the other figure would be Varanin then.

If you got the one, the other wasn't all that far away either.

"Far away from home, miss Varanin... Jacobs. We have met before- Cerita Sarova, I am called." Ceri called out back, before shrugging. It was all or nothing at this point in time. "You and your companion can come in."

She wasn't going to open fire on those two.

One, it was probably a suicide call. Two, she actually had liked Jacobs from the brief moment they had met- one of the few nice people, who hadn't judged her because of who she was.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Cerita Sarova"]

She'd assumed she could let her Force signature relax, this far away from everything. She'd assumed wrong. Cerita Sarova: Rave Merrill's lab assistant, a power player in Akure Executive Interstellar. Not someone she knew personally, but still. Allowing Cerita Sarova to see the face of her cover identity just wouldn't do. Those had been the mistakes that frustrated Savan and her ilk. Her Force signature plus Spencer's presence obviously made her Ashin Varanin, but Ashin Varanin had very publicly died at Lujo. It wouldn't take ten seconds' thought for Sarova to decide that Ashin was operating under a new identity.

With a grimace, Ajira pulled up the fuzzy, low-temperature flap of her parka to cover everything but a strip of skin around her eyes. Her cold Force presence condensed and vanished with practiced ease.

Spencer had stepped forward; now Ajira did the same and kept going, heading for the door. She paused at the control panel and spoke over her shoulder.

"You know my name."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Spencer Varanin"]

"I do." She responded cautiously. No, it was quite clear who Jacobs-Varanin's partner was -- that sliver of cold in the air, before evaporating back into nothing. Ashin had always been cautious, but who would have expected to find someone who could link signature to face to identity here out of all places?

Only the truly paranoid, the answer was, and whilst Ashin Varanin had been many things in her life... she had never been a Vazela.

"You are welcome regardless."

Perhaps a little joke, perhaps retorting to a possible threat, it could be either of those or neither. The point stayed the same, with Sarova gesturing her head to the Tuk'ata.

They stepped back and assumed a more relaxed position.

Which did not mean much when you looked at them and their lumbering relaxation, but it was the thought that mattered.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Cerita Sarova"] [member="Spencer Varanin"]

Ajira grunted. The door opened and she stepped through, then sideways out of the draft. The inside of Fort Elsa's hangar was marginally warmer than the outside; she'd hoped for heat. Clearly, the massive bay doors had been open, and not long ago either. Snow flitted across the deck in the breeze from the door, piling up against the walls and the bay's main occupant.

It wasn't a ship, though it was nearly as big, a hulking mass of stone encased in high-grade nullification resin. Recently moved, judging by the snow under the skids and around them.

"You're evacuating," she said over her shoulder, certain that Sarova had followed her inside. "Or diversifying your locations." Even past the nullification resin, the Dark Forge of Aza'zoth cast an intangible radiance and pressure, like staring at a powerful heat-lamp and thinking this should be brighter.

"I've come for the Forge." She laid a hand on the segmented resin blocks and turned back to Sarova. "You're Rave Merrill's inheritor, here at least, but there are other claims. Older claims. Mine is as valid as hers ever was."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Ajira Cardei"]

"Could be," The calm reply came, as she stepped up next to her and watched the Forge. Cerita had experienced growth, as a little sapling growing into a grand oak tree - yet, there was still that little child inside of her, which had to suppress the urge of staring at the Empress of a Thousand Worlds and wonder if she was up to the task of defying her. Old instincts, telling her not to rock the boat and simply fall in line, but Sarova had not been taught by the three greatest alchemists this Galaxy had seen to be grinded into dust without at least putting up a fight.

Or something akin to one.

"The Galaxy is full of collectors, Varanin." a year ago she wouldn't have dared to use her last name like that. A year ago she would have bowed and Lady'ed, but she was Rave's apprentice.

Respect was one thing, groveling another.

"They collect pretty trinkets and pebbles, lock them up simply to look and experience the thrill of owning." She continued, her eyes far away as they studied the twisted form of the Forge. "This is not a trinket. It's made to be used, to study... to create."

Now, Ceri looked, turning her head slightly to watch the older woman.

"I can create." No smile, no twinkle in the eye, deadly serious intent. "Can you?"

Show me.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

"Girl, I've created empires."

Blocks of form-molded resin began to rise from the Forge and spread apart. They settled on the snow-scattered deck. The Forge's presence thrummed awake. It seemed to stare at her. She grinned, and she didn't do that often.

"Tell me, while I answer your challenge: what have you made with the Forge, that gives you such a claim on it? Hm? Or when you speak of collectors who do nothing with their toys, are you speaking of yourself? You're with Akure Interstellar now, I believe. I have yet to detect the Forge's influence on anything new from them. If the Forge was meant to be used, it seems to me it's in need of a new caretaker."

She pressed her palms to the flank of the complex stone structure, at the base of a glossy black anvil. A long channel of rough stone shuddered with dull orange heat.

"What sort of alchemist are you, Sarova? What have you made, or will you make?" She gestured at the other end of the semicircular channel, where another anvil stood. "If you want to challenge me on this level, I'm curious how you'll do it."

A rack held hammers, each one alchemical, the same hammers that Rave had used, and Val'Ryss before her. Another held bar stock suitable for alchemical forging. She plunged a squared bar into the stone channel, punched through the surface crust and into the stream of molten, well, evil.

"Some trinket for market, perhaps?"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

"Ah, yes. Very sturdy empires indeed." A response in kind came quite soon, without mirroring the smile. In fact, she had not specifically named [member="Ajira Cardei"] as one of those illustrious collectors -- the names of Ovmar and Zambrano had been far more succinct in underlining her point, yet it mattered little in the long run of it.

Now the smile came.

"Perhaps you should leave the detecting to those with the inclination to spend real time on it then." She suggested, before walking around Varanin and eyeing the various hammers.

Old, ancient, used by those that had come before her. But there were other ways, were there not? Cerita crouched down and took up a pair of old and worn gloves.

Gauntlets, really. Scaly; made out of the skin of a dragon.

"Oh, there was this little idea churning at the back of my head." Something to do with the weather and how annoying it truly could be at the end of the day. "I suppose I will have to look forward to another mighty shield talisman, then? You could add a rainbow effect to it, I am sure that will score points."