The last wagons and stragglers and unruly herds were finally making their way into the site the migrants had taken to calling the Canthus of the Veil.  The sun had sunk below the peaks of the Shimmering Veil to the west, blazing a blurry conflagration in the scintillating violet haze continuing its ceaseless waves.  Small campfires formed the axes of rings of tents and make-shift shelters.  Conversations of doubt and anxiety, speculation and hope, dotted the ragged community as the laughter of children and the barking of seskii created an unexpected feeling of normalcy.

The migration had gone about as well as anyone could expect, that is to say complicated, longer than planned, and marked by anger, frustration, and more than few defections.  Packing was difficult, with emotion and practicality competing in an atmosphere of heightened pressure.  There were increased attacks from the reptilian armies continuing to pour out of the Caecilian Jungle just south of the bluff Canthus was situated on.  Some families, on seeing the changes wrought on the explorers, claimed the risk was too great and headed east toward the Black Riage, hoping to find a mining town to settle in, or perhaps carry on to the Steadfast.  Others balked at the enormity of the Veil, cowered before its towering heights, and took root with indecision.  Trail markers were left, in case they changed their minds, but few have hope they will summon the courage to cross.

Those that made the full traverse are a tired lot, and not unchanged themselves.  Many of the citizens of the wandering aldea have arrived with changed hair, changed eyes, changed skin, even changed teeth.  There is even a report of a child with a tail, although none of the explorers have yet seen that with their own eyes.  Some are enjoying the alteration, wearing violet eyes or green locks as mark of their courage.  Others merely grumble about that this isn't what they signed up for and maybe they should have stayed to fight, but there have been no serious discussions of returning.

The council is quite pleased with the site identified by Yazim Riders (as the people have begun calling the party, from an odd word etched into the metal of Radwa's machine).  There is fertile soil and sufficient water and room enough to allow the sentries to see danger in time to raise an alarm.  Yes, a few Yol were taken by wild terradels along the passage and there were reports of ithsyn spotted as well, but those are hardly insurmountable dangers.  However, the council is quite wary about all of the space around them that hasn't been deemed safe.  What is to the north of the river?  What is in the rocky pinnacle to the south that seems to be fused to an ancient structure?  What else is beyond the Great Bowl to the north and west?  And lastly, perhaps the most prominent concern, what of the Aix?

During the journey, Derrick makes a point of informing the council of everything the Yazim Riders encountered while exploring the Veil. He makes particular note of the deal made with the strange blue humanoids. While he is dubious what value the shins might have so far from any place to spend them, he reasons that the trash given in exchange for them will hardly be more valuable. He relays this opinion to the council so that they can begin collecting the necessary 'components' for the eventual trade. There is bound to be a lot of cypher use upon arrival at the settlement site so the remnants may as well be collected in one place.

As for the decision about whether to set up the instant shelter, Derrick leaves that decision to his companions. There doesn't seem to be much advantage to setting it up before the appointed time, but time also didn't seem to matter much to the blue humanoids.

Derrick also places himself at the council's disposal for further exploration. Whatever the Sovereign One's plan for him, he doesn't think it involves leaving the people of Canthus in such a vulnerable time. Though his speaking abilities are still unimpressive compared to Agatho's, Derrick does talk about his beliefs when on patrol with the others whom he has recruited to help guard the community.

It is no great surprise to find that free time is hard to come by at the settlement site. When he isn't helping to build the new community or the patrol its borders, Derrick is usually eating or sleeping. Still, he finds enough time to stake out a place for his own idea, something he proposes to Agatho: combining their rewards from the council to establish a site for a church.

As the days turn to weeks and the initial tasks of building basic infrastructure are completed, Derrick increasingly begins to feel that he and his companions should resume their exploration of the area. The strange, ancient structure to the south in particular draws his interest. When discussing the topic with his companions however, he advocates for a return visit to the Aix because he feels establishing strong relations with them will greatly benefit Canthus.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:06, Wed 22 Dec 2021.

At the edges of the aldea's new settlement - beyond its informal boundary, truth be told - Artor had begun to build his home. Extending up on stilts and down into a walled well, it was a lop-sided skeletal structure, unruly and strange. Ribbons hung from it in clusters, some metallic and some of hide and cloth, blacks and grays and reds and whites. Disks spun from other points, parabolas and whirlygigs, some on the structure and some on the ribbons.

Above, panels and hides marked half-rooms and a maze of drapes and hammocks, nets of oddities and disks, fragments of shins and io. Sometimes he even slept up there, beneath the hives.

Below, waxed wooden slats and mud-fired bricks laced with dustings of iron, together with the beginnings of several tunnels - though to call the foot or two a beginning was generous.

Between his time tinkering with his home and guiding the wandering aldea across the Veil, the strange Jack trained, though his regime might be considered unusual to those few villagers who joined him now and then as he strayed into the surrounding lands.

In time, his training paled. He began to brood, finally seeking out the others. He said nothing, but his presence spoke to his need to be away from people for a time.

The healing center, with a few small personal chambers for the trio who applied their housing allowance to it, is coming along well, but slowly.  Scrabbling together homes and shops and tools and barns and all the other physical structures that a community needs is ... quite an undertaking when done all at once.

Artor's odd structure draws curious stares from some, but is mostly ignored, as people are too focused on their own needs to speculate about the occasional clanking and clacking and chipping sounds emanating from the central "well".

A few times, citizens have spotted human figures silhouetted against the setting sun along the rim of the Great Bowl, but the figures never approach nor take any other action and often vanish back into the crater as quickly as they appeared.  So far, the humans have resisted the urge to approach them.

The council, or at least a majority of the council, has expressed concerns about the metallic structure in the jungle and the spire to the south.  Both, they feel, could harbor dangers as yet undetermined.  They ask the Yazim riders (and any brave others) to scout out one or both sites so that proper planning can be done.

When the council expresses their trepidation about the two unexplored structures, Derrick acknowledges the wisdom of making sure that there are no risks to the community in either before re-approaching the Aix. As the Yazim riders gather to discuss their next journey, he gives his opinion. "That spire to the south cuts an imposing figure. It would do well to put the settlement's mind at ease about it. It's a blind choice, but that's the one I say we do first."

Alyssa helps out whenever and with whatever she can. Being a village healer and a social person, she is happy that the new healing center is set up and that it's set up in closer proximity to the community than the cottage she left behind. She thinks about her old community she left so suddenly and she sure misses it at times, but she slowly grows attached to Canthus and the inhabitants. Alyssa also starts getting used to her physical alterations, although she still sees a stranger in the mirror at times.

Unperturbed by the judgements of others, Artor attends the Council meeting and listens to their concerns, "Let us cleanse the spire"

Using the cart, you expect it would take perhaps two hours to get to the "spire", as you don't have a route planned out already and you don't know the terrain precisely.

"I have no idea what poses the greater threat if any. I guess the spire is a good place to start with as any."

OOC: I guess all our pools have refreshed?

Hoa's dwelling is as modest as any other in New Canthus, though by design as much as necessity. She's furnished it with the best the young aldeia offers, though nothing ostentatious. As much as she can, the arkus has made it resemble her small apartment in Qi. There's a wide open space in the middle of the room for her to practice her arts, a handful of small tables around the edges that look ready to hold knick-knacks or potted plants, a cot, and a writing table (though she hasn't the supplies to make full use of it). It seems very much like it is waiting to be beautiful.

---

"'Cleanse' is a strong word, friend, but we should verify it poses no threat and take from it what resources we may. We do, after all, have a deal to uphold as well as our obligations to the community. We need every asset we can amass."

Derrick rejoins the others as they group prepares to depart. "Yes, we need to assess if it is a threat and then determine if there is anything in there that can help the aldeia."

Fully decked out in his new armor (not to mention the recent change that has made his skin crystalline), Derrick appears fully prepared to venture out again.

Artor shrugged at Hoa's correction, respecting the man's faith - and optimism - enough not to start an argument, "Shall I range a little ahead, as has become habit?"

Flex skill for today is: Appraisal
This message was last edited by the player at 12:18, Mon 03 Jan 2022.

Breogh arrived quietly at the settlement, as a nomadic delve that used to get in touch with the council members in the past , he was offered to scout for the comunitty and to join the initiative of moving past the veil.. he had accepted but his obsessive nature made him miss the date, as a result he did not join the explorers party nor get a chance to meet them .. but days later he managed to arrive to the new settlement, with the amount of people having mutations Breogh did not raise too much attention, with his skin that looked liked made of copper plates and lines on his face and body that emitted a little light most of the time.

As he approached he started looking at the constructions being made, something that made him realize he would need to get a place to live in or at least sleep in.. maybe he could rent a place and pay for it by salvaging numenera in the surroundings of the village, it seemed that this new place could use all the cyphers that someone could find .. having that in mind he headed to the council to see what other services could be needed there.. he had percieved that some people was worried about some mysterious estructures in the near.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Fri 07 Jan 2022.

Even as he suggested ranging ahead, Artor noted the newcomer to the settlement - a venturer and wanderer who had tagged along with the final crossing perhaps. He smiled, though cautiously, his own rippling darkness perhaps sensing a little of the light within the figure, the copper plates where his own body now held something akin to steel. He smiled, and stepped over when they approached, "Artor, called Greythane by some, stranger. You are the one the councilors spoke of, how might be able to assist us investigating the spire?"

As the group makes their way (cautiously) to the spire (?) they pass through the dwindling grasslands and enter an area that is quite arid, bare as the sands around the first Canthus had been above the cliff.  In the daylight, the herds meander a wide arc around the strange creature of glass and metal intruding on their territories.

The spire itself is quite large, many hundreds of feet high.  Still a mile or two away, the group would notice an area of green at the base, perhaps a small oasis of some sort.  The spire itself seems to be of three (?) main parts.  The near end (the lowest) and the high end (most distant) seem to be comprised of brownish stone, broken and worn, but between them (and still resting on the ground) is a stretch of silvery metal and glass (?) that seems frozen in an odd undulation.  The metal structure seems to be stuck at an angle, rising up toward the higher stone.

The voice of Artor snapped Breogh out of his meditations "Hi! ....Well... I guess so.., Hopefully i cand find stuff along the way providing clues to what that structure is.. once we arrive there sometimes I am able to make things 'Light up' nice to meet you by the way, Oh Im Breogh, Breogh Nal Hutt'l , I hope the road here was not too rough”

After that he excused himself to go verify with the council the spire mission and came back, greeting the others along the way to the spire.. at first being a little shy since he was the new one and looking into the surrounding if he could find any cypher that would tell them more about the place that they getting close to

OOC: Might a salvage numenera roll help? Im supossedly trained on that
This message was last edited by the player at 20:50, Tue 11 Jan 2022.

Derrick greets the newcomer warmly when he rejoins them on the way to the spire. Perhaps seeing something of a kindred spirit in this man with copper skin, Derrick takes a break from his typical role of scanning the path for threats in order to talk to Breogh. "Greetings and may the Sovereign One light your path Breogh. My name is Derrick. I travel with my friend Agatho over there sharing the good word and good works of the Sovereign One with communities in need. I'm sure it will be a pleasure to have you along on our latest venture. With luck this one will not be quite as long as the last one."

Unwilling to speculate on the nature of the spire while still so far away, Derrick never the less stares at the structure as they approach it. "It does seem sort of ominous doesn't it? Maybe the council was right to send us here first."