After waiting for for a moment, only for there to be silence from the voices, you give up and decide to talk with the quiet sister.

Abisheed sits on the floor, leaned against the wall of the cart, as still as ever. You step over to her, and ask why she's resistant to heading north, to which you receive no response. After a couple more tries she just turns her to face you and asks, what are you talking about? You say that the last time you tried to get her opinion on whether or not you should go north, she only responded with some unpleasant sounds and covering her ears. She sighs frustratedly, and quickly says that you're annoying her, her that she doesn't care where you go, and to stop talking to her unless something important is actually happening. With that, she turns away from you, and the conversation ends there.

You decide that's about all you'll get out of her right now, so you turn to find Besheed again, only to notice that she is already speaking with Vyunuuataarer. You go towards them, and overhear Besheed arguing with him over how she and her sister are capable of taking care of themselves, with Vyunuuataarer only responding with any child can say that, and that she will need to show something. You can't help but think that it's strangely convenient that he expresses what he requires so plainly, and that they are so similar to what you planned for, though you suppose actually demonstrating their abilities might be more difficult than just mentioning them.

You step into their conversation and say that you side with Besheed, which Vyunuuataarer evidently finds obvious. You and Besheed both say that you'll be able to set up some way of showing their abilities, to which he sighs and gives up arguing, saying he'll deal with whatever little show you put up when you do.

Turning and stepping away from him, you ask Besheed for some examples of things she and her sister could do. She says that her power does do much that's flashy unless she can get her hands on someone who performing a real ritual or can manifest, but her sister can do this thing where she makes something be alive, sort of, which should be easy enough to show.

For now, you think that you should be able to get Vyunuuataarer to try and do a ritual, which should let Besheed demonstrate her power, but you wonder how you'll get Abisheed motivated enough to show hers. Feeling as though you've run out of ideas, you rest against the wall of the cart and open your mind, hoping once again that the voices might share something.

Apologies for my absence Kuch, but I have returned. I can't recommend anything solid, but she said she was not interested before because what you were saying was not important. This leads me to believe the key to convincing her to show her power is that it is important. If she has a sense of pride, you may be able to goad her into it, by taunting her and saying you don't think she can. If all else fails, perhaps Besheed can convince her, since she seems closer to the quiet girl than you are

Hello there. I'm a new voice known as Zaealix. I've a minor question, a thought about these 'pearly ones' and lastly, I believe the power Abisheed wields is a power we'd call 'necromancy', the ability to control the dead. So, first, I think we should ask her about this power.

Oh, as a side note... What are the Reds known for? The greens seem to be warriors and fighters, and given thir dislike, I presume the Golds to be merchants, while Reds, either are more skilled with the Practice, or with Medicine.

Most of this is me just guessing though.

>>504029

In your caravan, at least, it was the common opinion that Greens were dangerously violent, and Reds were far too willing to consort with Moun-- Carvers. Being Golds themselves, they didn't really have a sweeping opinion of them. You think those feelings about the other colors probably weren't accurate, but you don't know. You certainly haven't seen any Reds in person, and the one or two Greens you recall having seen didn't seem much different from the rest of the people in your caravan. You're curious what Zaealix's thought about the Pearly-ones was, since it seemed to have finished speaking before mentioning them.

Oh, and the Practice is very rare among Walkers, as far as you've seen. No one in your old caravan was a practicer, and only one person who you met while you were working for your small stars was. Most the people you know, excluding the Carvers you've met, who all seem to be practicers, though only Vyunuuataarer seems to be especially familiar with any rituals, either seemed to revere the On-High, which seems pointless what with how often they come and go, or the Star, which as far as you're aware is just a dim point of light in the sky.

>>503893

You remain somewhat unsure of how to go about convincing Abisheed to display her power to Vyunuuataarer, so you decide to just ask her about it, as Zaealix suggested.

She sighs audibly as you approach her again, and before you have a chance to say anything, asks why this is important. You say because it will decide where you'll all be heading, and because of that, whether or not the entire ordeal was fruitful or not. She sighs again, and asks what it is you want to talk about, to which you respond, you need to know more about her power. She asks what in the world you're talking about, to which you respond that Besheed has already told you about them, and that she can give any charades that she presumably uses with other people. She huffs, glares at Besheed, and says that it's not important enough for her to try. You think for a moment that you might try to attack her pride, but if she's already willing to say that she doesn't have any powers, then that might not work. You have another idea, though, and instead say that you'll have Besheed pester her until she agrees, to which she sighs loudly, and acquiesces. She says she doesn't know exactly how to describe her power, so she'll just go outside and demonstrate. You follow her out, weary of the darkness, though Abisheed says that it'll help her use her power, a little bit. You're both standing just beyond the back door of the cart, Abisheed now with her arms crossed silently, apparently concentrating. At first nothing seemed to be happening, but before long, the sand before her begin to rise and fall as if it were breathing, a pillar about as tall as the cart forming out of the sand. Abisheed finally leaves her former stature, seeming fairly drained, leaving a solid gold-sand pillar, which in turn slowly begins to crack, before crumbling apart and revealing a tall, golden figure, roughly man-shaped, kneeling down and facing Abisheed.

Over Abisheed's huffing and puffing you can hear quiet laughter from the cart, and turning around, you can see Vyunuuataarer standing in the doorway of the cart. He steps out and comes to you two, or three, you're not sure of the thing that Abisheed made counts, and says that was certainly quite a display, and that Abisheed, or rather the things she can bring about, can certainly defend her. Besheed and him had just finished speaking and had come to the conclusion that she would demonstrate her power with Vyunuuataarer once the darkness ended, but that still leaves you, this strange little Walker boy that's gathered them all for this strange occasion, with no proof that you're more capable of defending yourself than any other child.

You hadn't really thought of that. You suppose you had just assumed that you're ability to kill had been obvious, but as far as you're aware, no one besides you knows exactly what you did, and only Besheed has seen you fight, and that was in a dream, which might have an effect on her credibility. Hoping they might have thought of this already, you clear your mind and ask the voices How should I prove my own ability to Vyunuuataarer?

Hrmmm... This is a tricky one.
Your weapon is those strange claws that show up on your hand, correct? That's not helpful, unless you know some sort of fighting art to display your skills, but you seem kinda like the Berzerker type, raw power and savagery, which wouldn't be demonstratable without risking lives...
Show the claws, try and do any moves and whatnot that come to mind...Beyond that, I dunno.
I suspect, that it may be interesting to try and 'will' the claws on, but I'm guessing on that one.
As to the Pearly ones... I believe that those are humans like yourself, albeit native to that dream place. Their mounts, if I'm right, won't have toes, but a metal covering where their toes would be.

Well, the old man challenges your ability to protect yourself, so perhaps you could spar with him, a mock fight if you will. If he agrees, then as long as you demonstrate your abilities without actually killing him, you should be okay to go. If not, you may re-count your dealings with the pearly ones, and have Besheed vouch for you, or find some sort of large, challenging creature to kill as a test to prove your worth. That however, I might want to be your last resort, as needlessly killing is not usually a good idea, and it may be dangerous. However, if the other two options don't work, you may have to try it

>>504378

You have noticed, recently, even, not long before you arrived at the watering hole, that the claws appearing on your hand seems to be something about you, since they don't seem to appear until you stop paying attention to where your hands go, and once, when you handed them over to Toliingir to examine, and you didn't know where he put them, they didn't appear until you noticed where he had stashed them in the cart. Just showing Vyunuuataarer the claws wouldn't do much either, since he's seen them on your hands several times already, and that has apparently not swayed his opinion. You also don't really know what you do when you fight, it's more of a current you get pulled into and carries you to where you need to be and your weapon to where it needs to be.

Metal, where there toes should be? You can't imagine what the point of that would be, wouldn't it just make their feet sink into the sand? You try to remember back to the dream, but the memory is hazy, and you can't remember if this is the case or not.

>>504603

You figure you can go and give your stuff to someone inside the cart to hold, which should probably keep you from killing him if you do let go of yourself, so offer to spar with him to show what you're capable of. He laughs, and declines, saying he's hardly a fighting man himself. He coughs, and asks why you don't see if Abisheed will let you fight with that thing she just pulled out of the ground. You look to her and see she seems to have finished catching her breath, but didn't seem to quite here the suggestion, so you ask her, and she sighs, apparently her first response to most of your interactions with her, before saying she doesn't know how to fight, so the Ogyut, what she calls the gold-thing, won't either, not there'd be any point, since the thing is made of solid rock. If you really want to though, she says, she can set the thing to try to kill you, not that'll be any sort of graceful, and she'll stop it if looks like it might, but you can't say she didn't warn you. With that, she goes over to the thing, sits in front of it, and just sort of stares at it, not seeming to do anything. Vyunuuataarer looks at you with the slightest hint of a smile, waiting for you to say something.

You're left unsure again, though only two obvious choices seem to remain. You can go and get Besheed and see if you and her can convince him of what you can do, which at best will probably only work once Besheed demonstrates her power, or you can fight Abisheed's thing, which would be faster, and less likely to not convince Vyunuuataarer, but even including that she hasn't seen you fight either, the thing is big, and it really does feel like solid stone. You tell Vyunuuataarer you need a moment, clear your mind, and ask the voices Which of these do you think I should choose, or have you gotten another idea?

Interesting, less horse, more camel. I say this for the benefit of the others, as few as they may be.
Hrm.
I do not like the thought of fighting the being of rock, what we might call a golem. Your weapon seems Ill-suited to the task of fighting it, including demonstrated abilities. Thatit comes to you when you know where it is, and when you do not watch your hands...Hrm. I have a theory, that it may incline you to fighting, in what perhaps may be viewed as 'dishonorably' amongst the Greens, striking when the foe's gaurd is down, cheap shots, and generally being as pragmatic as possible.
At any rate, I think you should get Basheed's attention, and then have her demonstrate her power, on you performing the ritual of finding water. Pay close attention to what happens- does it fail, or work better or worse than it should? Or, does it act outside of your desires/control?

>>504917

You agree with Zaealix. Toliingir swinging a hammer might do something to the thing, but not you, as far as you can imagine. You realize that Vyunuuataarer's suggestion migth have even been a joke that had gone over Abisheed and your head.

You say that you're going to collect some necessary parts, and Besheed, and that'll you're going to try the water-finding ritual with her yourself. He nods, and you enter the cart. You explain what you're doing to Besheed, who offers to help you look for the things you need, which you accept. You tell her that you need a bottle of distilled water and a glass dish. There is a third thing, a jar of something called dendthuituumpe shavings, but weren't precisely sure how to describe them to Besheed, so you didn't bother to try. She finds the stuff you told her pretty quickly, and a few moments later, you manage to find the black-brown dust you were looking for, and head outside with Besheed.

You ask Vyunuuataarer exactly how the ritual goes again, just to refresh your memory, and he goes through the steps of mixing a pinch of the dust into the water, pouring it into the dish, making sure not to spill, placing it on some flattened sand, and finally placing your palm into the globule that the mixture forms on the dish. Remembering the result when Vyunuuataarer showed you before, when you take your hand out, the mixture should very dark,and rolling towards the end of the dish that the nearest body of water is. With Besheed's hand on your ear throughout the ritual, though, none of that happens, the mix sits in the dish, not even clumping together like it normally does, just acting like water with dust mixed in. Besheed, meanwhile, has seemingly done dark herself, kneeling on the ground heaving, and pitch black ball, about the size of your fist in front of her, slowly rolling towards the center of the watering-hole. She coughs up a couple smaller ones before returning to her ordinary shade of gold, and you stomp them into the sand to keep them from actually getting into the water, which probably wouldn't be good. You'll need to ask her about exactly what happened, later.

Vyunuuataarer seems a little surprised, but he seems like he knows what's happened when he admits to Besheed that she must have a power. Abisheed has no discernable reaction, and is still just sitting and staring at her thing. Besheed goes into her vision of your dream, hitting the points relevant to proving your combat ability, and by the end Vyunuuataarer seems pretty well convinced. He sighs with a smile, and finally admits that all three of you are more capable than he first thought, and that he's changed his opinion.

With that, it seems to you, that it's been decided. Northward is your new destination. Vyunuuataarer, Besheed, and you all return to inside the cart, Abisheed still lounging in front of her creation. Toliingir springs the topic of what in the world you've been doing since you woke up, and you just you've been convincing Vyunuuataarer to go north, which satisfies him.

You look around the cart, seeing Toliingir return to tinkering in his pile of trinkets, Djaudthig and Vyunuuataarer talks near the driver's seat of the cart, and Besheed sitting by herself opposite you, trying to figure out how to play a Walker card-game she must have found somewhere around the cart that you hadn't noticed before. Considering you almost certainly won't be leaving at least until the darkness ends, and you don't have much of a preference for what you do in the meantime, you decide to clear your mind and allow the voices to suggest something, if anything.

Uhhh... Hey, those cards Besheed is messing with- what do they look like?
Abisheed-Alright, so the golem she made is either controlled by her, or at the least, uses her knowledge. Could you teach her anything of fighting that you know? Regardless of if you can, I'd like to pass on this piece of advice-
"That living statue you made- in combat, it's big and tough, so naturally it can smash it's opponents right? But it's also tough-maybe it could try absorbing attacks and then countering-defensive fighting, in other words."-Phrase that however you like.
As for Besheed, it would seem she 'amplifies' rituals through herself... An interesting power to pair with her dream-walking. At any rate, did you pay attention to what direction those smaller balls rolled in, or in which order? I believe those pointed the way to either further away water sources, or smaller ones-Might be something to check out.
And one last thing- Considering the rules of those claws, perhaps you could get into the habit of wearing them always, and practice handling fine objects, or maybe using a finger to poke around in narrow crevices.
That's all from me for now.

>>505393

They're just ordinary 28-- wait, you might not know what 28 Pairs is. Each card has two symbols on it, out of a circle, a line, a cross, a triangle, a square, a pentagram, and a hexagram. None of the cards are the same, even if you flip them upside down, which is where the name comes from.

I don't know fighting styles or anything, it's all just kind of happens around me, at least out of the times I remember. I guess I'll try remember the specifics the next time I'm in a fight. But for now, what you suggested is all I could say. It seems like the other voice, Santova, has been a little quieter lately, though, so I might wait a little to see if it comes up with something to say, too.

I wasn't paying much attention to which direction they were going in, no. It didn't seem like they were going in the same direction, though, but that might be me misremembering. I do remember, from the first time Vyunuuataarer explained to me how to do the ritual, something about how the amount of water I mix with the same amount of dust should be less for farther away water, but more for bigger bodies of water. I'm not sure if that's the way that what Besheed coughed up works or not, though, so I guess it is something I should ask her or Vyunuuataarer about.

I don't know. I guess it isn't really a bad feeling, but it feels like when I know I have the claws on, that I should be fighting. I could get over it if I tried, I think, but it still a strange feeling.

@Claws- Then I suppose the claws can be called
'Honor of the Green' for their leading you to battle, by always being ready for use, and granting you the feeling of combat. I'm gonna also say my thoughts on your fighting style- I believe you to be a Berzerker, a type of fighter known for their savagery and danger, not stopping from wounds, at the price of thinking about the battle. Sound right?
DEFINATELY talk to Besheed about her power, maybe even have Vyuunathar there to help smooth over difficulties.
Card thing was me attempting to find something familiar about your world-I fear the others are confounded by how different your world appears to be-I doubt that, but now I'm rambling.
Aaaand Ritual...Hrm. Less water-more range, more water- better for bigger bodies- sounds like a weird trade-off between power and range to me. Again, ritual talk with Besh and Vyuu I think will clarify this.

>>505478

You wait for a moment, but Zaealix remains the only one who you can hear. You'll have to set aside some time in the future, once you've learned a few more things, so you can set as much as you can straight with the voices. For now, though, you'll go and see if you can work some more things out with Vyunuuataarer and Besheed.

Vyunuuataarer still talking to Djaudthig, though, so you wait and listen for moment. At first they seem to only to getting to know one another, talking about what they did back at the mountain, that sort of thing. You go to talk to Besheed, and you just catch the tone shifting, getting a little more heated, a couple of words, like "Hwondiataare" and "Dendeataare". Just more things you'll have to ask about, you suppose. Right now, you ask Besheed for some more information on her power, saying you're not quite getting what happened. She looks up from the cards at you and says that wasn't really a good demonstration of her powers, and that if she had some more practice, it would have gone differently. She goes on a bit how she thinks her power works, how there's a sort of invisible stuff that rituals use to make their effects happen, and that kind of leak out of people when they have those weird dreams, and her whole power is that she can sort of suck it in, and by this point it starts going over your head.

You notice that Vyunuuataarer seems to have finished talking with Djaudthig, so you call him over to you and Besheed and ask him you explain what he thinks happened, at which he proceeds to describe more or less exactly what Besheed did, albeit with more technical terms, which only gives Besheed a victorious smile. You also ask him about some of the details of the water-finding ritual, to which he chuckles, observes that you're very curious all of a sudden, and goes on to explain the ritual works. The reason for changing the amount of water, simplified somewhat, comes down to the sensitivity of the mixture, with the sensitivity going up with the more dust-stuff.

You thank him, to which he chuckles again, and goes to the driver's seat of the cart and beginning to read from a handbook he pulled from his pocket. Djaudthig is sitting at the very back of the cart, looking fairly annoyed. You think you can hear some moving outside, so it's possible that Abisheed is doing something with the thing. Besheed's gone back to trying to figure out the rules for 28 Pairs. Toliingir seems to have narrowed his fiddling down to one specific trinket, but it looks like he keeps fumbling it. Once again, you're left with a variety of things to do, and no preference for any them, so you clear your mind and hope the voices will have a suggestion.

Again, apologies for my absence; Why not check on Toliingir, see what trinkets he's messing, maybe ask him what they do, or if they have any particular use to you right now.

[Sorry I haven't been reading up lately, lot of stuff on my mind. I'll try and keep up though, I really really like how this is going so far!]

Sensitivity adjustment, based on the proportion of water to dust...
Could using another material instead of water allow that ritual to sense other things, I wonder-not worth it. You seem to not be able to grasp this stuff-should leave the ritual work to others I think.
Invisible stuff sounds like magic to me, and I think Besheed absorbs it, and then channels it through herself like I said before.
OK~ As far as what to do now, I concur with Santova-Speaking to toliingir sounds like a thing to do, though I'm curious about those words you emphasized earlier, hwonditar and dentar mean.

>>505886

Something like 'Zealot' for the first one, and 'Secret-keeper' for the second, I think.

>>505870

At the voices suggestion, you go to Toliingir to see what he's working on. He greets you quietly as you approach, smiling simplistically, and you ask him what he has there. He laughs as he picks up the parts he had dropped and shows them to you, followed by the rest of the device he was making. It looks to be long, thin box, made of just silver-metal as far as you can tell, with one end of the box having a some buttons, looks like one for each letter, a few numbers, plus some extra that don't have anything etched near them, and the other end having a few short wires connected to something inside the box through some long slits. You look at the underside for a instant, but just the numbers of gear, springs, and high-knows what else is enough to make your head hurt. He says he can show you what it does, which you agree to. He begins by pressing a button set off from the rest, which immediately makes the box emit constant, quiet, low hum. He proceeds to press the buttons to spell out "E Kuch Gudtomuu", followed by one unlabeled button, and then another. The box clanks, whirs, and hums for a bit more before going silent. He smiles giddily as presses a final button, labeled "Mutuu" or Read, before something frankly startling happens. The ends of the wires on the other end of the box begin to slide around, the wires beginning to glow all the while, until you read E Kuch Gudtomuu right in front of you, spelled out by the wires, glowing a dim orange. You're rather speechless, which only makes Toliingir's smile wider.

You say, with it already able to do that, what does he need more parts for? He says that was only a trick, nothing useful, and that if he could only get some these smaller parts in, he could do so much more. Curiosity driving you, you say you could help with that, but he declines, saying he couldn't properly tell you where to put the parts unless he was looking at himself at the same time, and that he's sure he'll get them in eventually. You don't really know what do after that, so you just nod to him and get out of his way. You know that Toliingir just doesn't get somethings, but you sometimes you think that he might get metal better than anyone else.

You shake yourself out that stupor and look about the cart, only to realize that everyone is looking at Toliingir. Even Abisheed is standing outside the back of cart looking in. You suppose the box was louder than it sounded. Everyone goes back to what they were doing before, besides Djuadthig, who looks to be trying to talk to Toliingir, though his attention appears to have been absorbed by his work again.

Left again with opportunities you have no preference for or against, you clear your mind and wait for the voices to express themselves.

You have earned this.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zph2nEHAkxpjdQ5BI1j2EODS0gL30HhEOm8CKtDvtCg/edit?usp=sharing

[holy wow that is awesome]
When you were with the Carvers, and you met Toliingir, you mentioned that you were illiterate. Perhaps you could get Vyunuuataarer to teach you reading and writing if you have the time. It would be a useful skill that might come in handy later on

>>506482

He actually taught me how to read and write, a little bit, when he taught me some of his rituals, since one of them needs something written down. I forget exactly what it did, but I don't think it was particularly useful. I could ask him that, if you really want to know.

Perhaps talk with the others of the caravan, or practice the rituals. Sometime soon I feel we should start heading North, so if you have yet to prove yourself, perhaps a trip out into the wilds, in search of something useful, or a a powerful beast to slay would be the next order of business

Hrm! That was interesting...Hey! Those claws of yours are mechanical, right? We should ask Tolingjir to take a closer look at them, maybe when he has some free time though.
A question though-how much do you know about hunting, and what kinds of things did the other boys in your caravan do exactly?

>>507003

You're almost certainly not going to actually start heading north for at least a day or so, when the darkness the finishes. Rootworms go out and hunt in the darkness, and you'd rather not have you and your little group end up inside of one of those. When you think about big beasts, though, you can't think of one bigger than a rootworm...

>>507147

For now, though, you decide to just share your claws with Toliingir. You notice, though, that Djaudthig seems to already be harassing him. Stepping in to hear what she seems to be shaking him down for, and even though you can't quite work out some of the words she was using, since she was speaking too fast for your familiarity with Carver-speak, you know she told him to tell her something. You have a suspicion, but you decide to ask Toliingir what she was doing with him rather than acting on. He's still a little shaken, so you reassure him that telling you won't make anything worse, which looks like it helps him, a little. He says that Djaudthig thought that she could make it big the next time that you stopped at a mountain, if she could get him to tell how to make the machine he showed you. He froze up when she came over to him, though, and he's not sure he could just say it at all, since there are a lot of parts, and a lot of steps for putting them together. He doesn't want his idea being put to use that way, anyway, though, he wants his little machines everywhere, not just where people can manage to buy them.

You're confounded by this. You certainly can't leave this conflict unsettled, since that would essentially guarantee something explosive happening the next time you visit a mountain, which will happen eventually, and that could take Djaudthig and Toliingir out of the picture easily, and possibly the rest of you, but you don't really know how to defuse it right now. You've got an inkling, but you're unsure, so you take off your claws off and hand them to Toliingir to inspect, and as has become something of a habit, clear your mind and ask the voices "What do you think I should about the tension between Toliingir and Djaudthig?"

Hrrrm... On the one hand Djuuathig wants money, but toliinjir wants the machines everywhere...
Ok, here's my thoughts- these machines need matinence-err, care and attention, kind of like a Halule needs food and water, to keep going. Sure, you can sell them, but sooner or later someone with the skills to repair them will be needed.
Here's what I think: You should have them work together, like this:
Toliinjir shows off the devices and what it can do, and then gives out a set of parts for people to try and figure out. If they can put it together and make it work ( or do something cool he's never seen before), then they get to keep the completed device.
Djuuathig, however, handles the business end of things: she'll be charging people for admission to try and figure the device out. If they fail, we keep their money and give them NOTHING! Be sure to mention this fact up front-less chance of people getting mad over losing their money.
I figure it will either make Djuuathig rich like she wants, or toliinjir will get to not only see the machines everywhere, but lots of people interested in maintaining them and possibly making more.

That sounds reasonable, I concur

>>507318
>>507356

You've never heard the voices speak in such concordance before, and though it's seems a bit convoluted to you, the plan itself seems good, so you resolve to describe it to them.

You speak to Toliingir first, telling him the plan. He has his reservations, he is uncertain of how many will grasp the construction of the thing in any amount of time you could give them, but he guess that the people who get it should be able to distribute it, and he seems pleased by the idea of other making his machine better. It doesn't appear he'll have a problem with it once he gets used to the idea.

You move on to Djaudthig, again telling the plan given to you by the voice of Zaealix. She responds quietly, a wide smile, and you must admit suspicious smile crossing her face, before she enthusiastically agrees. You're not sure what she's plotting, but you've got strong feeling she is plotting something.

Having finished speaking to both of them, Besheed comes to you, having seemingly admitted to herself that she can't figure out the games rules by herself, and ask you if you could help. You agree, since you could use something to spend your time for a bit with feeling compelled by your confusion to call on the voices so often.

You both sit down against one wall of the cart, she hands you the cards, and you shuffle through, making sure all 28 are there. They are, which is good, and you begin to explain. As you've described, each card has two symbols, any combination of a circle, line, cross, triangle, square, pentagram, and hexagram. Each player draws a hand of three cards to begin with, decide who plays first, begin playing cards next to first one played, drawing one for each one they play. In order to play a card, it has to share a symbol with the card its being played next to, though cards with two of the same symbol can also be played next to each other, even though they have different symbols. A card can only have two cards next to it, unless it has two of the same, in which case it can have four. When one of the players can't play a card on their turn, they draw a card, the other player goes. If there's no more cards to draw, the game ends, and whoever has the least cards in their hand wins. If there's a tie, whoever played the most of a single symbol, counting twice for cards with the same symbol twice, loses.

Besheed nods as you describe the game, and as you conclude, asks you if you'd try a game with her. You agree, and have idea. You clear quickly as Besheed shuffles the deck, and ask the voices "Would you like to play this game of 28 pairs?"

Hrmmm... Yes. I don't see why not.

Yes, let's! I fer we may not be very good though, as your games are still confusing to us, or at least myself. I cannot speak for Zaealix though, he may be better at it than I am

You maintain a clear mind as well as you can while paying attention to your surroundings, and deal a hand of to Besheed and yourself. You offer her the first, as is traditional, and she accepts, putting down the circle-pentagram. Coincidentally, you have the circle-line, circle-hexagram, and triangle-pentagram cards. It shouldn't be especially important on this first turn, but you leave the decision to the voices anyway.

Can you play your circle line of hers? Or do you have to put down your own pair. If you can, that's the card I suggest

Circle line-opening moves aren't really something to strategize over...

You play your circle-line card next to the circle-pentagram, and draw the cross-square card. She plays the square-pentagram and draws. You listen for the voices next move, but you're attention is momentarily broken by Toliingir telling you he's figured something out about your claws.

Play your square card of of her square card and see what stuff there is about your claws!

As Santova said, do... I wonder what Toliingir found out?

You play your card, draw the double hexagram, and ask Toliingir to continue, allowing your mind to return to its ordinary state.

As soon as he sees he has your attention, he flies into a detailed explanation of what he's found, pointing at bits of the claws, which he's managed to open in a way that you weren't aware it could be opened. Thin, white wires run in crevices you'd never noticed before, where they all connect to a faintly glowing leaf of silver metal that lies behind the palm. You don't even try to catch all of the specifics, but you understand he seems very impressed with it, that he thinks might be a couple of similarities to what he made, but he's still working out how it's storing the hand and arm movements in the silver-leaf. You nod, and he sets back to looking at the claw, noticeably more focused on the the silver-leaf.

Besheed's drawn a fourth card, apparently unable to play. While how it works is beyond you entirely, you think you're getting a better idea what it does when you're fighting with it. You decide to leave that for after the voices give you a move, and say whatever else they have to say, before describing it.

Play the Triangle Pentagram, save the double for when you get stuck.

Santova, I think I'm possibly on to something as to how the claws work. Interestingly enough, Kuch here seems more proficient with devices, although not at toliingir's level. Though that could simply be from him having several days worth of practice with the claws, I suspect it to be an unusual skill.

I second that move, let's see what Toliingir has to say

You heed the voices, and almost play the triangle-pentagram, but notice that there aren't any open pentagrams, or any triangles at all. In fact, the only card you can play right now the circle-hexagram, which makes you feel a little foolish for asking which card to play.

You play the card, draw the cross-hexagram, and then turn from the game to ask Toliingir what he thinks the claws actually do. He says he just said it, they record the hand and arm movement of the person who's wearing them. You sigh, and ask him what he thinks they do with the movements. He says he's not sure, it would be easier to tell if he knew how the records were stored, but if he had to take a guess, he would say that it lets the person who's wearing do the same movements, but he can't be sure. You're a little surprised, since that was what you were figuring, but you're still interested in what the voices have to say.

Looking back to the game, Besheed has played the triangle-hexagram. You take note of the way the cards are lined up right now, that being cross-square/square-pentagram/circle-pentagram/circle-line/circle-hexagram/triangle-hexagram, before clearing your mind and listening for the voices response.

This voice apologizes for the oversight, and recommends you play the cross-pentagram.

The claws store the skill of previous wielders. This is a double edged sword I think, as while the claws can grant Kuch a great deal of skill, I fear he may not keep the skills he gains from fighting with the claws, so it's useful now, but we may want to find an alternate weapon to master, just in case.

I cast my vote for our double which I believe is still playable, is it not? I'm sorry about the mishap, things in your world are more difficult for myself to understand as I do not see them in the same way you do

You consider what the voices suggested, and go with playing the double hexagram, since out of the two suggestions it leaves you with the most options. Besheed plays the pentagram-hexagram and draws, leaving it on your turn again, with no further distractions.

Can you refresh us on your hand? How many/ what cards do you have?

Oh, yes! You forgot to draw as well, which you do now, apologizing to Besheed for drawing out of turn. With that, you're hand is the line-hexagram, the cross-hexagram, and the triangle-pentagram.

Hrm, line Pentagram I think for this round.

You decide play the line-hexagram, specifically off of Besheed's pentagram-hexagram rather than one of the remains spaces around your double hexagram, since you notice there are more hexagram's already down or in your hand than there pentagrams. You draw the double triangle, and Besheed plays the line-triangle before drawing and looking just a bit relieved.

You focus on the voices again, though the fact that Abisheed has returned to inside the cart crosses your mind before you hear anything from them.

This voice is failing to transmit it's brain it seems.
Anyhow... Triangle Pentagram off the triangle line she just played.

Agreed- What was Abisheed doing before she went back into the cart?

You play the triangle-pentagram as suggested, drawing the cross-pentagram in turn. Besheed plays the double pentagram and draws.

>>510172

The last time you saw her, she was kneeling in front of the thing, but you don't know if anything changed since then. You could ask her, you guess, but Abisheed hasn't seemed like the most cooperative so far, and it would be another interruption to the game.

Beshi played a double, go with one of the two cards you have that isn't a double I guess.
As for Abisheed, no real need to pay her that much attention at the moment...

Can you play line-hexagram?

>>510471

You've already played that, actually. You're hand is cross-pentagram, cross-hexagram, and double triangle.

>>510451

That just the cross-pentagram, which you play. You draw the line-square, after which Besheed plays the circle-cross and draws as well. You wait to hear your next move.

Cross Hexagram... Hey, mind asking Beshieed if she notices anything weird about you? Particularly when she did the ritual hi-jack earlier, notice anything odd?

play your line square next, and yes, check out what Zaealix is saying

>>511226

You decide to play the cross-hexagram off of Besheed's most recent play, drawing the line-pentagram afterwards. You pose the suggested question as she plays the square-hexagram and draws. She says that she hasn't done it to very many people, only you, her sister, and a third person who she does not want to talk about. Out of those three, you do seem more like the third, rather than her sister, who she knows is strange. You're mostly similar with the third in the way you dream, though. She does seem to think there is something weird about you, though she has some trouble putting it to words. After a moment, she says that there was subtle sort of glowing when you took hold of ritual-stuff, almost sort of like light from the star, though she gives at that point.

You're really not sure what to think of that, so you leave it, as well what card to play next, up to the voices.

Pretty sure you can only play the double triangle right now, so do that.
The claws, how big are they in comparison to your hands?

ditto that

>>511746

You check the cards in case you forgot the state of play. You can actually play any of your cards, your line-square off of the cross-square that Besheed and you have basically ignored up to this point, your line-pentagram off of Besheed's double pentagram, and your double triangle off of any of the other doubles that down. You think you'll let the voices speak again on that subject.

About your claws, right now they fit around-- agh! How did you get them back from Toliingir without even noticing? You sigh and remove them, before continuing the thought. They fit fairly well around your hand, though they've got gears to adjust the size, which, now that you think about, probably was how Toliingir opened it up when you let him look at it. Testing it a bit, you can get them a lot bigger than your hands, maybe twice as wide, though the blades don't much longer, if at all.

How? They were out of sight, and you stopped watching your hands, that is the rule of them right?
Or maybe it's a case of out of mind, out of hand. Anyhow, this is...curious. Apologies in advance, I'm not going to be able to think up all the things those claws can do right away!
For now, I only have one question-
Can you make one of the claws big enough to hold a man's head in your hand?

this seems to be going in a scary direction

Line- Square then, save the double for later.

@Santova- Didn't mean to start sounding dark there, sorry.

>>512101

You can, almost, not that you can really use them at that point. What you were really surprised by was that you thought Toliingir still had them, though you suppose he might have put them down while you weren't paying attention. You might try and ask what someone else sees the next time you end up with your claws on.

You play the line-square on the neglected side of the game, drawing the double square in turn. Besheed plays the line-cross and draws, and you wait for your next turn.

Can you play your double square?

I'd like to say pentagram card, but I'm personally fond of saving doubles for getting out of a jam.

Yeah I'm down for that if it works

>>513670

The line-pentagram? If that's what you want me to play, there are a couple of places I could play it.

Hrm... We've got multiple doubles in our hand, so let's use this to spoil one of the on-field double slots that are availible, if we can.

any places we can put it that'll hurt her chances?

You could play it off of the double pentagram, but that wouldn't leave her any worse off, since once you play your line-pentagram, all of the pentagrams are going to be down, though you guess Besheed might have a double as well, though that feels unlikely. You could play it, or one of your other cards, on either end of the cards, but given what cards aren't down or in your hand, she'll be able to play a card no matter what.

You decide to play the line-pentagram off the double pentagram, since it opens up a third card-end, which is all you need, since as long as you play a card for the next two turns, you think you'll win. You dray the double circle as Besheed plays the cross-triangle off of the line-pentagram. She draws the penultimate card, and says you've been asking a lot questions since you woke up, and that she wants to know what you're using them for.

You have a couple of guesses as to why the voices having been asking these questions through you, the most obvious seeming to be that they just don't know a lot about the world, or at least the situation you're in, but you leave it to them to tell you what to say, since they're the only ones who really know.

Card structure
12/14/01/05/45/24/06/36/66/56/16/13/35/55(15)/25/02/26/46

Curiousity! Your world is quite interesting and curious and I'm just trying to make sense of it all? It's a world I don't know much of anything about, so I'm probably going to be perpetually asking questions like a young child might, Kuch.
Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind telling Beshieed about us, buuuut I'm none to sure how to prove our existence to her, so maybe mention this but wih a grain of salt, which if it isn't a saying in your world, means to not take it too seriously.

Yes, as said before we are in a strange new world and we want to know as much about it as we can! You live in interesting times

You take a reprieve from the game, which you just realize was becoming somewhat boring, to answer Besheed's question.

You say to her that before you gathered them, before you even came to that mountain, you were troubled. So troubled that you sought the help of void voices, despite the corruption you know that they wrought on those who heeded them. She doesn't seem to be familiar with the idea of void voices, but doesn't stop you. You continue, that by some fortune, you have been noticed by void voices but some other voices, seeming innocent and unknowing to you, who helped you through those times. They are still with you, and seek to learn, so they ask you to learn for them. One, called Zaealix, which you completely fumble pronouncing, was curious about what she felt when she did whatever she did as you were trying to perform the ritual, hence your question.

Besheed chuckles, and says that's awfully complicated excuse for your curiosity. You sigh, and suppose it wouldn't be so easy, but you notice the way that Besheed looks you in the eyes, and get the feeling she's convinced. You'll need to talk her about that later, maybe outside.

The remainder of the game plays out uninterestingly, since there is no way for either of you to prevent the other from playing cards. The games, you with two cards in your hand, Besheed with four. You pack up the cards, and she goes to the front of the cart, seemingly to talk with Vyunuuataarer, though about what you're not sure. Toliingir is tinkering as he always seems to be. Abisheed is reading a book, though it's title is unfamiliar to you. Djaudthig is slumped against a wall, eyes glazed.

You once more have no preference for what to do right now, though Djaudthig's state is perhaps more disturbing to you than it ordinarily is, and so clear your mind and await the voices.

Well, we've just spent quite some time with Besheed, so we should let her be for a while. We could talk to Toliingir but I doubt there will be anything new to say since we last spoke to him about the claws. Since Abisheed is reading she'll probably be even more desondant than usual, although I'd be curious as to where she got the book, I don't remember having one in the caravan before. Currently I'm most interested in Djaudthig, we should check to see if they're okay, make sure nothing is wrong. If they aren't responsive call Vyunuuataarer over to help you

Her eyes are glazed over? That sounds concerning, especially since you are concerned as well...
I think we should get Vyuuthar and at least tell him what's up with her.
Ah, and as for my name, you say it like this: Zae Ah Lix.

You decide to check her quickly before going to get Vyunuuataarer, in case it's not as serious as it seems. She doesn't respond as you walk up to her, or when you ask her if she's okay, but when you poke her in the side, she snorts loudly, swats your hand away, blinks a few times as some tears roll down her face, and stands up straight before asking you what you bothered you her for. You say you just wanted to see if what was wrong with her, and she scoffs at you before turning away, pulling out short pipe from her coat, lighting it, taking a long breath from it, putting it away, and returning to her slumped position.

You heard about this kind of thing during your stay at the mountain, it was similar to the sort of meditation the drivers from your old caravan did when met with sand-painters, but they always seemed to come out of the more lively than they entered, and Djaudthig hardly seems lively to you.

Your thoughts are interrupted by a the incredibly loud sound of a silverhorn enters your ears and does not cease. Your eyes are shaking in your head, and you're getting dizzy. You hold yourself together for long enough to look around the cart again, but the only one who seems to be reacting to the sound is you.

You try to block it out with your hands, but it only grows louder. In moments it feels as though it's shaking your entire body, and an instant later the cart seems to have blown apart before your very eyes, revealing the frozen landscape which you have seen three times, now. You prepare yourself to be attacked, unsurprised that your claws are at the ready. You are surprised, however, to notice that you are totally alone. You look around, seeing the glistening white landscape, empty of anything excepted for the immense ice sculpture, standing where it was before, over the watering hole. The sky is a bright white, with the dark circle small and on the horizon instead of directly over head.

"H-help me!" You call out to the voices, not realizing through your dizziness that you had actually spoken, or that you had spoken in the language they seemed to use.

! [attempt to fend off the attack]
Go to the statue if you can! Try and reach the watering hole. Zaealix can you help me?

Relax Santova, there are no more of the white ones here to disturb yough Kuch.
Now then, first thing that comes to mind is to examine that statue, but first, call out, and trust me on that one.
Then get goin and see how far you get.

You steady yourself, pondering the audibility of the voices as you reach down and throw some cold-sand in your face. The silverhorn sound is gone, in fact there's only silence, that or the sound deafened you. You're still incredibly dizzy, and your every movement seems to make the world around you shake. You plod through it, eventually reaching the base of the statue.

Taking a good look at it, it seems to be a six-armed figure, wearing armor, wielding a variety of weapons in four arms, a stylus in one, and a tablet in another. There aren't any letters on the tablet, as far as you can see. The longer you look at the statue, the more disturbed by it you are, so you turn away, and decide to start walking towards the dark circle, since the only really discernible direction other than away from the statue. The shaking is hard, but after falling on your face a couple of times, you notice that running seems to shake less than walking, so you end up going a quite a fast pace for a bit, until another unexpected happens.

You are on the floor of the cart, nose and forehead hurting pretty badly. Everyone's standing around you, looking fairly worried. You're still dazed from having apparently run into the wall of the cart, but you hold on to just enough focus to be receptive to the voices.

Hrm. Whatever this is...Well, this is why I requested that you call out, so as to warn any companions of the state that befell you. At any rate...Ask Vyuathaur and Beshieed if they noticed anything weird, as far as they may have noticed with their skills and abilities.

I think perhaps questioning can come after you rest for a moment, maybe drink something and have a small bite to eat. Steady yourself, try and sit up if you can, use the cart walls for support

>>516848

You are partial to this suggestion, though you stumble and fail to stand multiple times. You ultimately do stand yourself up with the help, of Toliingir, Vyunuuataarer having brought you a cup of steeped drink before you could ask. He asks you why you just broke into run inside of the cart, which you're unsure of how to answer. You say that you must have been hallucinating, probably because of the darkness, but you know to yourself that doesn't explain why you seemed to be in that frozen place. When you think about, though, out the times you've seen it, it has been dark, so maybe there is a connection. You leave that to ponder sometime when you aren't recovering from having slammed yourself in a wall.

You're recovering for quite a while, seeming to have hurt yourself a bit more than you felt at first, and by the time you're feeling back to yourself, the light's just beginning to return, which means you should be heading north soon. There's nothing you can particularly think of, but this will probably be the last time you here for a long while, by your judgement, but you make sure to keep your mind clear enough to hear the voices as you and your company prepare to leave.

Hrrm...Wellp, I can't think of anything much to say. Be sure you aren't leaving anything behind that you'll want, with the exception of the claws, cause they are the claws.
If I had to guess? I THINK, and this is kinda a wild theory, that you are a Mutator...Whiiich has a few holes in it, but if you have exceptional trouble with Rituals, even when performed properly, it might be accurate.
Beshieed strikes me as Cacher, which suggests that your 'trips' to that other world is somehow a function of essence or some sort of strange...Ah, ritual, I suppose? Might want to refer my ramblings to Vyuuathar to fact check them, and please don't be offended if he laughs it off.

I think we have all we might need, let us set off! To the wild north we go

With the the voices response, you decide to spend the remaining time with Vyunuuataarer, speaking to him about some of the strangeness you've encountered.

You do your best to convey Zaealix's speculations to him, first asking him simply what he believes Besheed to be. He says that he can't be certain, since he hardly has any of the tools that he had available as the small hall he had run, but given the feeling he's had around her since the beginning, and ultimately because of her display earlier, he would describe her as "'witomi", empty, you think. You ask what that means, beyond what Besheed might be, and he gives you a little of perplexed look, then explains that, in most people, people like him and you, their souls are solid in a sort of way, they can't touch stuff, but they can touch the essence of things, which is how rituals work, just like making things with your hands, but with a different kind of hand, and a different kind of thing. He goes, that if what he thinks is true, then Besheed doesn't have a soul, in the same way, but sort of have an empty space in place of one. She can't do rituals, at least any ordinary circumstances, like how it's a lot harder to make stuff if you don't have hands, but, well...the analogy kind of breaks down, but she kind of has cups for hands. She can hold the essence of things inside of her, it even wants to be inside more than outside, and she can let it out too, though she doesn't seem to know exactly how to control it. You nod your way through, hoping that the voices, or at least Zaealix, got what they wanted out of that.

You move on to the topic of yourself, but Vyunuuataarer only chuckles and says that you're just like him, except those claws of yours, at least as far as he's seen. Misjudging why you asked, he says that just because you don't come from the same place as him or the others doesn't mean you're different, not in the way Toliingir or the sisters are, anyway. You're experience can't help but lead you to think otherwise, not to the mention Zaealix, but you decide not to mention that.

Hitting on a topic you'd just thought of, you ask him if he has any thoughts on the claws. He says that you saw as well as him that nothing appeared when he waved the seeing glass around it earlier in your journey, and that for matters of its construction, there's nothing he could say about it that Toliingir couldn't. You persist, taking the claws off, unsurprised by their presence on your hand, and expand them,showing the strange network underneath, and say that even Toliingir didn't completely what it was doing on this level, and you think that it might be doing something strange. He sighs, but as you hand it to him, his expression changes, just barely, and agrees to try and use the seeing glass again, now with the claws open. You and he search for a bit, him finding it in the pile of things that Toliingir has examined, towards the bottom. Finally, Vyunuuataarer inspects the claws, but instead of the null response which he found before, he now finds thin, bright lines descending in tight arcs from the white-metal leaf within the claws, weirdly characteristic, he says, of a soul. It's certainly strange, he says, and he suggests that you let him inspect it further the next time they stop at a mountain, or any place with a Practice hall, to see exactly what is inside that's looking like a soul. He warns to not let let anyone else outside of this group know, since no matter who it is, this won't make them your friend. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Djaudthig quietly focusing her attention on your conversation, and you have the undeniable feeling that she's interested in something besides not making friends.

The darkness is fading now, and everyone sets about for moving again. You have woken the halule and are sitting in drivers seat, and the rest were tidying the cart the last you saw, except for Abisheed, who was and probably is sitting quietly as ever. Before long, you're off again, now northwards.

Time passes idly, everyone strangely quiet, again except for Abisheed, who is quiet in the ordinary way. You and Vyunuuataarer take shifts driving the cart, and the thought strikes you that he's been spending a lot less time just thinking, compared to how he was in the beginning of the journey, and some part of you wonders what's changed in him. Soon, the cart stops, and Vyunuuataarer comes in, having finished his third shift, and suggests that everyone gets some rest, since everyone seems tired. You, and the others but for Abisheed agree, and with the smallest gesture possible, she confirms that she'll take watch over you.

Everyone cobbles together something soft to rest their head on and lays down through out the cart, Besheed giving a quick, serious glance before laying down next to you.

Falling asleep normally almost feels alien to you even as it is comforting. Either way, you're asleep fairly quickly.


Your eyes are shocked open by the cold beneath you, and see only a blinding white sky. Standing up, you see the familiar frozen landscape of this strange realm, with a couple differences. The ice statue is gone, nothing even on the horizon. Likewise, the pearly ones aren't present. The shapes of four of your fellows are around you, though, seemingly frozen. Finally, the dark circle is not in the sky. Instead of the sky, it is standing next to you, and instead of circle, it is the perfectly black silhouette of Besheed.

She speaks in the words of voices, commanding "Show me the voices, Zaealix and any others."

You're baffled, and can only follow her command. "Santova, Zaealix, please speak, if you can."

Hello Beshieed! I was wondering if we would get the chance to talk to you! So! Your thoughts as to what this...World is? I honestly can't say I have even the slightest clue!

..."It's Kuch's soul, I think. Though now that I'm really here, it feels completely different. It feels almost real. If you wouldn't mind, which of the voices are you?"

I'm Zaealix. Rather curious as to how your world works...Hrrm...Mind doing me a favor? Could you keep an eye on Djaugthig for us?
I suspect she's out to basically wait for the right time to leave the caraven with as much stuff/money as she can get her hands on, or something. She's motivated by greed, and kinda acting fishy right now sooo...Yea. I'm hoping I'm wrong though!

..."Absolutely. I've been fairly certain since I met her that she's a heretic. Never can trust them, not ever. How much have you learned, so far?"

It's somewhat jarring to hear Besheed's voice come from the silhouette, in the voices words, and to Zaealix at that. And your soul? Almost real? Heretic? You're beyond confused, and can't help but ask, "What is happening?", your confusion snapping into frustration sending out a shock wave through the cold sand.

..."Woah, Kuch! Check yourself, I don't know what you can do, but I don't know what you can't do either, like hurt me, or Zaealix here, even! You're dreaming, I'm picking up the dream from next to you, and I don't even know what Zaealix is, but presumably you're used to them."

Here-Ooook...Sounds like this Djau is an Artisan, which...means someone from the Practice who does it for money. I wouldn't care normally, but if she's looking to backstab us, then it becomes an issue.
Hrrm...Well, I kiiinda had the idea of her and Tollingir work together to spread machines-He's in charge of seeing if anyone else can figure out any fun tricks with them, while she's in charge of the business of it, charging for a chance to try to figure out the tricks, and also reclaiming the parts if the person fails. If they suceed, they keep parts.
The idea WAS to balance her greed with his vision...But if she just goes and gets too greedy for her own good then there's no point in trying to appease her.
At the same time...Heretic is a word I associate with 'fanatic', err, might have misspelled it, but the thing I'm getting at here is you seem to have a bias against her, which makes judging tricky...
Ok. so this is tricky. I have reason to believe she may try and blackmail Kuch in the future, and I know WHAT it is...But I don't necessarily know the WHY it would be bad, and I can't say I trust you not to flip because of it. It might be something only Practictioners find repulsive, could be something everyone will recoil at. I don't know and this makes it tricky. I reconize you are curious, and will want to know more. If I'm right, Djuag will tell you the rest, should she act on it. That, can be your signal to burst her bubble/make your move, so to speak, ok?

..."Okay...It's a little off-putting that you won't up say it here, but I'll let it go. What else have you got, not about her?"

You take a breath and sigh, and though you're still somewhat tense, you speak "Betrayal? If there is even a chance that Djaudthig will take anything from me, I will abandon her now. I can already hardly stand her presence."

I would like to take a moment to introduce myself, as Santova, one of the void voices or some other concept. Zaealix and myself, whatever we may be have been attempting to assist Kuch.
I cannot say one way or another on our greedy friend, as I had not noticed this before. However, if we are in Kuch's soul, perhaps you can help us understand the battles he's been constantly fighting and strange figures we keep seeing.
On a side note, we believe the claws may have a soul of sorts. Seeing as you are more in tune with this sort of nature and energy, perhaps there is a way for you to investigate them someone, and help to unravel their mysteries?

Weeeeellp.
Since Santova here said it, I'll say that the thing that Djuag overheard, and what I was trying to keep under wraps.
Sorry about the cloak/dagger-stuff, didn't know how bad or not it was to find an ensouled item...

Pudd here,How yuors abilities works exactly? We have been given some sort of explanation,but I wuold like to ear it from yuo, if yuo don't mind,of course

Hiatus until 2013/7/21.

You're somewhat surprised by the appearance of new voice. The thought crosses your mind that maybe Besheed's presence has attracted them, or maybe more specifically her presence within your soul? From what you remember of your talks with Vyunuuataarer, souls in general didn't seem like a place.

Besheed asks you for your claws, presumably to consider Santova's question, and you remove them and hand them over to her.

..."Eugh...these things definitely have something in them, but it's...limp-feeling, like it's mostly empty. Whoever did must have been pretty nasty, even just to put a soul in something like this, but take out the inside, I...I don't even know how someone could do that. As for those weird people-things that are here sometimes? I can't really help with those. Like I believe I've said to Kuch, he's the only one I've seen them in. I don't feel anyone else in here, I don't even really feel you guys, so they might just be a part of Kuch. Then again, except for the cold stuff, he's been all new to me, so maybe there's something else going on.

How my powers go...Really all I know is what I feel, and what I feel is that there's stuff, everywhere. Most people have their own stuff, their soul but also some more, and they can kind of push stuff around, sometimes even make it into something useful. I, and maybe some others, I haven't met any but I've heard of them, we don't have souls. We don't push the stuff, it comes in and goes out of us. It moves as it pleases for me, but that's a matter of practice, I think.

So, what about yourselves? Have you tried doing anything, or have just been talking to Kuch this whole time?"

errr...We've mostly just talked? To be honest, if we can do anything, we haven't tried...I'ma give it a shot!
[raise a hill from the sand]
see or feel anything?
...
Well, anyhow, by the sounds of it, these things were made from someone finding a guy with a power in his soul, ripping it out, and stuffing it into a device. From what I hear, soul-rippy stuff tends to be highly taboo more often than not, and also extremely painful for the person being taken from. I don't envy whoever's in those claws...

On indefinite hiatus.