The Guild Capitol: Chapter Three

First topic message reminder :

"Man that's complicated. " Matt rubbed his head, yeah, that was enough to give anyone a headache. "He's got no moral high ground now though right? Because he's totally got a kid now."

Kasi turned to look at the fronds, blinking. He nodded. "What did the Ishvara say?" He had no fear apparently.

Matt looked tense. "Knowing my brother, probably not a heck of a lot. He doesn't have nearly as much power as everyone thinks he does."

"The Elders had many years to grow accustomed to unopposed rule" Kasi pointed out. "they have grown used to getting their own way."

Matt's frown deepened.

"Of course, the Kalvair never really acknowledged the Elder's right to rule in the first place. As the story goes, the Elders themselves tried to stop the rebels from leaving all those centuries ago, but the Ishvara supported them and told them Fate would guide them. She did, and so we recognize her chosen vessel, but we do not believe the Elders are what they claim they are. Of course, to accept the rule of the Ishvara we must accept the say of the Elders as well, thankfully they mostly stay out of Kalvair affairs. They have spent so long underground, they do not understand our ways. it suits us well." Kasi shrugged.

"you talk about them as if you're still part of the community." Matt remarked softly.

Kasi smiled serenely. "I will always be Kalvair, a brand on my hand does not change that. The Kalvair were born of rebellion, what better way to honor that than through rebellion of my own?"

«The elders are arrogant fools...» Mandeep muttered to himself as he went back to brooding thought by himself for a moment.

Kasi chuckled. <<yes they are.>> Kasi agreed.

Matt frowned. He could mostly understand their native tongue but it took a while to translate. Especially when they were muttering.
"So uh.. Mandeep, what... what would you like to do now?"

"I think..." MAndeep's voice suddenly relaxed, and changed to a smile, "I think I would like you to meet the crew of the Kitsunebe, the crew of the FoxFire."

"The fox people? Cool." Matt looked pleased at that idea.

Kasi looked curious. "Foxes? Oh, like the woman who plays music in the capital square?"

Mandeep nodded, "No doubt you speak of Akari. Our native currency has yet to be evaluated to be converted into Galactic Credits, so she must rely on odd jobs and performance to get the money she requires to start off on her journey. They might all be at FoxFire now."

"Evaluated? Oh man, that sounds awkward. How long do they think that'll take?" Matt asked.

Kasi looked confused. "Why does she need to pay for her journey? Does she not already have a ship?"

"I don't think they're going where she wants to go" Matt pointed out. "Lead the way Mandeep."

Mandeep shrugged, "It takes a while for sure, because they have to compare the value of their economy to hundreds of others within the Galactic Trade. Who knows at this point." Mandeep began to head for Asteroid Manifest.

"Economics is extremely complicated. This is why I prefer to simply use Barter." Kasi would follow them uninvited.

"You don't have any money?" Matt asked.

"Of course not. " Kasi smiled. "But I have much jewellery and many skills, I have not had trouble trading."
All those bracelets, all those beads, yeah, they had to be worth a bit. A lot of what Kasi wore was precious metals and gems, worthless to the Kevali and Kalvair for anything other than jewellery making. The Kalvair loved shiny things, they were like magpies, and so too it seemed, did many other races.

They headed toward the Manifest.

James and Armin went into the city. "Want to see about that breathing mask first?" James asked Armin. "It'd be more comfortable for you."

Armin shook his head. "It is fine, I am accustomed to my mask, it is not particularly uncomfortable." After all, he'd spent most his adult life wearing it. "What sort of adaptations had you considered? I understand the pamphlets had an awfully large list of options."

"Nothing specific, I'm just curious to see what options they have," James said. "Okay, if you're sure you don't mind waiting." He headed in the direction he remembered from the maps.

Armin nodded and followed James. "I wonder how they do it." Armin mused.

"Magic!" James said. "They do seem to know what they're doing with their magic, I'll give them that."

Armin nodded. "Still, I share your curiosity."

James grinned. "Should be educational or something, at least." He looked around for the Drakkan android place. "The place should be right around here, I think."

Actually, Spring seemed to be out and about right now, as well as Akili. However, Rusty was sitting up front, fiddling with what could only be described as a child's toy for engineers, resting his bad leg while he sat on a porch chair.

James didn't recognize Rusty, they hadn't met yet. But that didn't stop him from going over to ask the guy for help. "Hey man, any chance you know where we could find Spring? Or," he wasn't entirely sure about the other person either, they'd also never met, "Akili?"

Rusty swung his doggy head to James, his nose twitching in silence for a second before he placed down the toy and stood up painfully. "Testing Drakkan and Technomagic on Spring. I can guide you."

"Thanks man, I appreciate that," James said cheerfully. "What's your name by the way?"

"Rusty." The ruddy colored wolf dog said. He limped on his legs as he led them down to the universities.

Armin held back, but bowed his head politely to the Canid.

"Rusty! Oh, I've heard about you," James said. He grinned, then frowned at Rusty's limp. Hmm, maybe making the guy walk them was a dick move. Darn. "You work with Akili, don't you?"

The canid nodded. "I'm her second." He continued plodding along, and though seemed to grunt in pain every now and then, he persisted. They went passed the Universities, buildings become more uniform as the reasearch centers also had various statues in front of them. He turned at one that had depicted a Drakkan android producing a ball of Arcana flame from his tips, the name of the Center lost to Entropium manuscript on the plaque.

"Awesome," James said. Rusty didn't seem very chatty, so he went quiet. "Ooh, these guys love their statues," he remarked aftera bit. He wasn't so great at staying quiet.

Armin looked sympathetic to Rusty's limp and picked up his pace so that should the Canid stumble, he could offer support.
He idly wondered why the magic here couldn't heal him but said nothing, it felt rude to bring it up.

"They enjoy architecture and art." Rusty complimented as he limped inside. He asked the receptionist about Akili and Spring. She seemed to hesitate upon seeing Rusty, as if he were a walking stick of dynamite, but eventually told them the wing and room. He nodded, seemingly oblivious to the suspicious stare, and continued walking. "If you like statues, pay a visit to the Memorial."