RP:The Uyeer in Review

Part of the What You Leave Behind Arc

Part of the Vakmatharas' Jar Arc

Summary: Moments after concluding his business with Pilar and Yozenra in Chartsend, Lionel catches up with Kreekitaka. There, he informs his companion that Jaize and her naga may soon strike the frontier town. Preliminary arrangements are made to defend it -- even if only the two of them will be around to do so -- but an evening stroll to Kreekitaka's nearby uyeer encampment reveals a battle of the minds just as pressing as any war.

Chartsend at Dusk

Kreekitaka had arranged this meeting with a purpose, and was here early with no retinue, no escort. Just him by himself. It would work better if Lionel could see for himself. He waited outside the tavern, pacing back and forth, facial crushers twitching. It wasn't a good look on him--there was just something -off- about the way he was carrying himself. Most of the time, he projected himself into an even larger space than he normally occupied, striding confidently about, puffing himself up. Whatever he was doing now, it certainly wasn't that. He probably looked as worried and anxious as he felt, and he knew it, and that was even more worrying. It was a positive-feedback loop of anxiety but something inside him couldn't find a way to break it. He'd been trying so hard for so long, but whatever had happened was finally catching up.

Lionel | Having concluded his business with Pilar, Lionel’s mind has immediately raced to its implications. What she’s told him has thrown still one more wrench into his hopes to bring peace back to the realm. “There’s always another wrench,” he admonishes himself in a mutter, prompting curious glances from a few of the townsfolk presently organizing the turnips his disguise prompted him to bring. He’s still in his full red cloak emblazoned with the symbol of some far-off and altogether-irrelevant lord. His cowl is still up, too, completing the camouflage. Kahran’s minions could be anywhere here after their unsuccessful attempt to seize or destroy the city, and now there’s Jaize to fret over as well. Perhaps a meeting with Kreekitaka will help set things right somehow. At the very least it will catch the uyeer up to speed, and allow Lionel the opportunity to offer his condolences over a certain recent tragedy. He’ll need to be discreet, but he’s quite sure Kreekitaka will take the lion’s share of the crowd-tilting charisma for himself, so why should that be so difficult? Seeing his ally standing outside The Slippery Eel, however, with no entourage and nothing confident in his paddle, immediately casts a shell of unease about the proceedings. Even on the high seas in naval combat against some eldritch demigod Kreekitaka has always been a man of gusto. There is no gusto here this evening, at the far end of the continent beside this simple establishment where the worst they might run into is a spy for the enemy who’d sooner slink away into shadows than strike head-on. It’s enough to prompt Lionel to do something he hadn’t expected: he removes his cowl to reveal his face. Maybe it’s best he takes the lead here, after all. “Hey there,” he greets. “Let’s head inside, yeah? I reckon we’ve got a lot to discuss.”

Kreekitaka perked up a little when Lionel arrived and revealed his face, mostly out of relief that he didn't have to be alone here with his own thoughts. Finally, an excuse to at least alter the cycle. He shook his head at the suggestion to move inside. "We have, yes," he said, rippling his paddles and gesturing with his head off to the east, "however, I aoso have someHHHTHing TAH!oo show you, which is noTAH! here. Can we DAH!iscuss on HHHTHe way?" He'd tried to get his people to come out here, but they had turned him down. He did very much want to get up to speed, however, so he didn't want to ignore anything Lionel had to say. A walk-and-talk seemed like the best solution.

Lionel shrugs simply. “I don’t see why not.” He’ll let Kree set the pace; there’s just something about him today that signals all of Lionel’s nerves to stand at the ready. Not that the bulk of them are ever in any other state, but surely there are varying degrees of it, or else he wouldn’t feel especially nervous now. “I’ll start things off, I suppose. I’ll be holding a meeting in Cenril in a little under a week. I need folks caught-up on the state of the war. I know what to do next, where to go, who to target, how to do it. But doubtless Kahran has missives coming in on the regular. I’d rather not breathe life into those words except all at once.”

Kreekitaka nodded and took the lead, turning sideways as they moved so as to produce a somewhat brisker pace than he would have if he were facing forward. That, and it helped him maintain focus on Lionel. A meeting to brief on the state of the war sounded useful, and he nodded approvingly. "I approve," he said, stealing my adverb and verbifying it. "Io assisTAH! in any way I can, so you can be sure Io DAH!oo my besTAH! TAH!oo be aTAH! HHHTHe meeTAH!ing." Since Lionel had said he wanted to start things, maybe Kree ought to counter with a point of intel of his own. "We are, for HHHTHe recorDAH!, going TAH!oo my campsite. HHHTHere is someHHHTHing wrong with my kin which I cannoTAH! comprehenDAH!, an' since you seem TAH!oo be yeaDAH!ing HHHTHis efforTAH! againsTAH! Kahran--as is correcTAH!, since he seems TAH!oo have someHHHTHing personoh againsTAH! you--you mus' see HHHTHis so as TAH!oo have ao HHHTHe information." Even still, he couldn't bring himself to come out and just say it. Maybe it was his flair for the dramatic. Maybe the words just disgusted him. Whatever the case, he maintained his air of mystery.

Lionel flinches almost imperceptibly when Kreekitaka mentions his personal stake in the war. He’s not wrong, but it’s never an easy cross to bear. “I’m sorry to hear about your kin,” he says. One of the predominant changes to the Catalian since Kahran revealed himself is his candor. He maintains a modicum of wit, which can still flourish when under intense and immediate pressure in high-stakes life-gambling situations. But for the most part, he’s altogether more direct and sincere now that it’s been confirmed to him -- personally, as Kreekitaka correctly declares -- that the end of days could truly be upon them all. A mother guides a small child by her skirts, more concerned with the here and now than the pending apocalypse. But the mother’s eyes are solemn; Chartsend is the sight of a recent battle, after all, and any innocence here has surrendered to realism. They can see it on the faces of the guards, militia one and all. They’re tired. Everyone’s tired. Lionel and Kreekitaka round a corner into a busy evening marketplace, then round another toward a quieter intersection. “If there’s anything I can do to help, know that I will.”

Kreekitaka nodded gratefully. "Many HHHTHanks, Io remember HHHTHis." Fortunately, his dinosaur camp wasn't too far out from town this time, so it wouldn't take them an obscene amount of time to get there, but it was still a fairly decent walk. After a brief pause, he perked up again. "Have you hearDAH! abouTAH! my fighTAH! wiHHHTH a represenTAH!aTAH!ive from HHHTHe naga?" He rippled his paddles against each other, recovering some of his usual attitude. "HHHTHe fighTAH! was inTAH!eresTAH!ing. Were you aware HHHTHey can change shape? Even increase HHHTHeir size? He became a huge cephayopoDAH!." He opened his claws and extended his tentacles for effect, waving them around. "I yook forwarDAH! TAH!oo experimenTAH!ing wiHHHTH--" Bad choice of words there, Kree. "...seeing whaTAH! ess HHHTHey are capabo of."

Lionel is unsettled to discover it is Kreekitaka who first references the naga, not himself. Even chillier are the uyeer’s descriptions of their physical capabilities. “You won, I hope?” There may be more riding on Kree’s confirmation than he yet realizes. “I hadn’t heard, no, but fancy you should bring them up. Keep this on the down low, but I’ve got reason to believe Jaize’s naga will soon invade Chartsend.” The town is behind them now, but only just, and even from here with the main gate still in disrepair and the perimeter fence fit to stave off little more than hobgoblins it should be crystal clear how hopeless a fight that would be if they’re left to their own devices for it. “I can’t commit Frostmaw to this and I can’t ask my allies to push it to the forefront of the agenda either. Not when so much else is so frakked-up with our world now. But you know me, Kree.” Lionel eases the tension in his neck, sighing at his own hopeless heroism. “As it stands, there’s exactly one person who will answer the call and protect Chartsend if Jaize plays her hand, and you’re looking at him. But if you’re still aching to experiment with -- I mean, fight -- some more of her ilk, might be we can make that two.”

Kreekitaka found himself having the wrong reaction to hearing that they were planning to invade Chartsend, and that was to want to find another way out of the conflict. Couldn't go and damage his reputation with them right before entering an alliance, and besides, they would be on land this time, not underwater, what if their changing shape meant they could become worse monsters, like--out of nowhere, Kree's left claw shot upwards and he clocked himself right in the side of the face. He couldn't afford to have a breakdown here in front of Lionel, not before he'd even shown the problem with his people. The shock brought him back to himself, even if it was inevitably temporary. "I know noTAH! who HHHTHis Jaize is. Perhaps HHHTHere are more factions among HHHTHe naga HHHTHan I reayizeDAH!. If Jaize is againsTAH! CharTAH!senDAH!, she is againsTAH! me, an I imagine my new naga parTAH!ners are eager TAH!oo strike aTAH! her whioh she is away, here." He'd shifted immediately into tactical mode. "If we make HHHTHis pyace more of a chayenge, she mus' commiTAH! more forces. A seconDAH! chayenge from oHHHTHer naga may be TAH!oo much for her. An' if she cannoTAH! commiTAH! as many forces here, TAH!oo DAH!eoh wiHHHTH her enemies esswhere, we can DAH!efenDAH! HHHTHis pyace far easier an' reDAH!uce her forces significanTAH!yee. No maTAH!er whaTAH! happens, we can force her inTAH!oo a yosing position." He clenched his facial crushers eagerly--as long as he was thinking about victory, he could ward off the fear.

Lionel is hesitant to suggest too many available opportunities to make Chartsend a hardier place with the limited resources at their disposal, but he likes his companion’s point of view here just the same. There was never even a question to it; Kreekitaka simply leapt into tactics mode. Minor revelations like the man’s fresh ties with Reginae come as gentle waves on the waters that ushered in precisely the words Lionel wished to hear. “It sounds like we ought to schedule an appointment with those new naga friends of yours. Might be we can spin this into success after all. If you’d like, you could arrange to field a talk with Pilar, too. See what sort of bulwarks we can have up in the town and around it in time for the big honking showdown.” Maybe that will give Kree even more to roll with. In any case, as dusk falls and the great plains fade to shadow, the two of them fast approach the uyeer encampment.

The Uyeer Encampment

Kreekitaka nodded. "Yes, I agree--we mus' gaHHHTHer as many resources as we can. Io have Muzo begin work on many potions yike HHHTHe ones he makes for me, so as TAH!oo improve our chances here--" Of course. Why hadn't he seen it before? A potion to remove fear. Surely that was doable, yes? Whatever had befallen his people, he was certain Muzo could cure it with Science!. That being said, it was sure to be only a temporary fix, as most of his potions were. As they approached the camp, Kree lowered his voice a bit. "OrDAH!inariyee, you woulDAH! see much acTAH!iviTAH!ee here. HHHTHe forge, for exampo, woulDAH! be harDAH! aTAH! work. HHHTHere woulDAH! be fighTAH!s, jousTAH!s, training." And here is where the problem became evident. There was hardly any movement whatsoever. Nobody was outside. The forge was quiet and barely smoking. The dinosaurs were moving about lazily in their pen, not being trained properly. What uyeer moved about were constantly looking over their shoulders and -scurrying- from place to place--always popping out of the small artificial lake for a brief moment to tend to something before returning as swiftly as they could below the water, and never looking directly at the dinosaurs in the pen. "HHHTHey are frighTAH!eneDAH!, Yionoh. Of HHHTHeir own shaDAH!ows. I have never seen anyHHHTHing yike HHHTHis. Some DAH!isease of HHHTHe minDAH! has infecTAH!eDAH! HHHTHem--every one."

Lionel isn’t familiar with the name Muzo, so he’ll have to hope that any friend of Kreekitaka’s is a friend to the cause. Were Lionel more aware of Muzo’s previous station in life, however, he’d have words. That’s the sort of war this has become, though: even after his words, he might be forced to acquiesce. True friends to the cause are few and far between, but allies who might otherwise bend in Kahran’s direction are everywhere. It’s a foul thought, but seeing Kreekitaka’s forces mired in motionlessness is almost as foul. His instinct, fiery and immediate, is to pin this latest woe on the same shadowy threat he’s chased since the beginning. The damned thing of it is, there’s barely any reason to suspect otherwise. Lionel sighs, alarmed. He crosses his arms and stands stoic in the center of the camp. All around him, apathy. “This might be my fault,” he whispers. His eyes are wide now. “You’ve been seen with me in so many battles. You’ve helped snag close victories from the flames of utter defeat. The saurians and insectoids would never have gone down without your aid.” Each passing word breathes more life into Lionel’s own fears. For all his humanity, with posture and tone like his he might just blend into the camp this way. “Our enemies saw to the saurian migrations. They saw you benefit from them, even. They probably awakened the insectoids, too. Tensions with Larket? Bandit raids? Who knows how far down the hole this rabbit goes? But you were with me almost every step of the way, Kreekitaka, and just as villages burn from one end of Lithrydel to the other, just as cities are besieged, your uyeer here are having a fit of lethargy. I’m sorry.”

Kreekitaka paused a moment. Lionel didn't seem to understand. Lethargy wasn't the problem. Lethargy, he could fight. This was worse than lethargy. This was... this was... "Before I address exacTAH!yee why whaTAH! you jus' saiDAH! is HHHTHe mos' moronic HHHTHing I've ever hearDAH! come ouTAH! of your mouHHHTH," answered Kree, putting as much blunt -disinterest- into the statement as he could manage, "ayow me TAH!oo correcTAH! you." He swiftly turned and plunged into the water, and ordered one of his people up out of it with a gesture. There was hesitation, but the uyeer followed his king out of the water and stood before them--quivering. Kree turned to Lionel and gestured. "Observe." Then he turned back to the person and performed a dance, rippling his paddles and making a series of clicking noises with his carapace as he did so--while translating verbally for Lionel's sake. "You are a worHHHTHyess sanDAH!shrimp! I chayenge you for HHHTHe cyoHHHTHes on your carapace, an' when you yose you're going TAH!oo suffer shame unyike any you have before!" The underling actually seemed to shrink before the king's challenge, and had turned to flee before he'd even finished speaking, diving back into the pool and, as could be seen through the clear water, hiding behind his fellows, who were all trying to avoid him for fear of being called out for being the one to defend him. Chaos and panic spread through the assembly below the water, ending with them all diving into their homes and slamming the doors shut. Kree turned back to Lionel and gestured. "NoTAH! yeHHHTHargy. Fear. HHHTHey have--HHHTHey have become--" His facial crushers flared, his claws clenched shut so tightly one could almost see sparks from where he was grinding them together. "...Yionoh, HHHTHey are -cowarDAH!s-," he finished. "Any uyeer worHHHTH his sTAH!ation woulDAH! have aTAH! yeasTAH! foughTAH! me, raHHHTHer HHHTHan DAH!ishonor himseff by rejecTAH!ing my chayenge. DAH!oo you see now?" He decided to wait for Lionel's response before laying into him, making sure he got the picture.

Lionel isn’t exactly Lithrydel’s most prideful man, so any talk of the stupidity of his statement goes in one ear and out the other. Bearing witness to Kreekitaka’s demonstration alters the variables but doesn’t do much to change his present perception of the likeliest culprit. Still, the more he watches that subordinate shiver, the stronger he gets the sense that there could be other forces at work here. Forces which, for all Lionel knows, are in league with Kahran. But forces he can more readily identify. “Fearlessness is one of the top three words my mind tends to ponder when I dwell on the uyeer that I’ve seen.” The second word is adaptability; the third is ill-fit to be repeated even in narration. “The gods are nothing but trouble. This has the scent of Vakmatharas’ Jar to it now. Tell me you’ve heard of it.”

Kreekitaka shook his head. "I have noTAH!." This was problematic. Were the gods against him, now? Had he not proven that he was worthy of a hero status? Perhaps this was another test of his abilities. "I am gyaDAH! you have reayizeDAH! HHHTHaTAH! whaTAH!ever has happeneDAH!, you are noTAH! HHHTHe source, however." Even if it had been Kahran, that didn't make it his fault Kree's people were in danger. "Give me everyHHHTHing you have on HHHTHis jar, so I can smash iTAH! an' be riDAH! of HHHTHis curse." Smashing it is exactly what got you into this mess, Kree.

Lionel isn’t quick to absolve himself of blame, justly or otherwise, but in the interest of keeping things focused he’ll press on with his reply. He does unfold his arms, and he’s back to a more normalized pacing, and his eyes don’t seem so shocked, so he’s got all that going for him, at least. “I’m the wrong person to ask, but I know exactly who you need to speak with. Her name is Brennia. She’s something of a higher-up down Schezerade way. Or I suppose it would be more fair to say -up- Schezerade way. There’s this curse, you see, and it’s spread across the realm, and it’s giving various peoples the sorts of ailments that seem custom-tailored to screw them over and redefine their most essential characteristics. Last I heard, Brennia and her associates were working on a cure, and the more intel she receives the better their odds of pulling it off. If you work with her, or someone close to her, I reckon we’ll have these uyeer right as rain just as soon as the billion-and-one alchemical variables are resolved.” He flinches. Science isn’t his forte. Then again, it -is- Kreekitaka’s. “Come to think of it, if you have the time to spare before we charge off into our next fray, I bet you’d be of significant help.”

Kreekitaka wasn't certain how to react to this information. On the one hand, a massive curse spreading across the land didn't sound very encouraging. On the other, hearing that he could very much be of help was a good thing to hear, and that a cure was already being worked on was also very important. It meant he had a shot. Same thing with hearing of victory against Jaize. The thought of winning could keep him sane. "Io be sure TAH!oo track her down." He nodded, and then paused. He didn't want to come out and say it. He didn't. But he needed to. Just--just in case. But if there was a cure coming, maybe it wouldn't be such a problem? Maybe he wouldn't need to admit this weakness. "Y--Yionoh." He shivered and folded his paddles for a moment, and then drew himself up. This needed to be said. "I beyeev I have been infecTAH!eDAH! aoso." Once he'd said that part, the rest came pouring out, words he'd kept hidden for so long. "ATAH! firs', I HHHTHoughTAH! iTAH! was noHHHTHing. Stress, perhaps. Kahran's war. BuTAH! HHHTHere is aoways -more-. More worry. More -fear-. When I syeep, when I dream, I am no yonger emperor HHHTHere, buTAH! prey. SomeHHHTHing aoways eaTAH!s aTAH! me. I fighTAH! iTAH!. My minDAH! is very strong. BuTAH! I am growing weary--every DAH!ay a fighTAH! TAH!oo mainTAH!ain my grip on saniTAH!ee, never ceasing, never even pausing for a momenTAH!. An' HHHTHinking abouTAH! iTAH! onyee makes iTAH! worse!" He'd started pacing back and forth, struggling to keep his voice even. "I can--I can push iTAH! back by HHHTHinking of vicTAH!ory. BuTAH! iTAH! never goes away--I am trying so harDAH!--" He stopped there, and regained as much of his composure as he could. "If HHHTHere is aoreaDAH!ee work on a cure, I know I may noTAH! have TAH!oo fighTAH! much yonger, so HHHTHis is gooDAH!. I can hang on. I can keep iTAH! TAH!ogeHHHTHer whioh I waiTAH!." He paused a moment. "I musTAH!."

Lionel quits his own pacing in order to bear witness to Kree’s own. He purses his lips and studies his companion in earnest. “With so much at stake and so many battles to be fought, my impulse is to tell that such anxiousness and doubt is merely… human.” Hastily, Lionel waves his left hand to ensure Kreekitaka understands it’s a bit of farce, not laughable prognosis. “But like you’ve said, stress is stress and it comes for you folk as surely as it comes for us mammalians. This doesn’t sound like you, no, and I promise you we’ll get to the bottom of it posthaste.” Lionel is a den of promises, many kept and some tragically severed. Heroism, for all its faults in real-world application, was born in him through the anger and passion of his childhood, was fully seasoned by the victories of his adolescence, and spited the failures of what came thereafter to emerge in this holistic and unconditional fashion in the Lionel of today. “Besides, I can’t afford to lose one of my best fighters, and neither can Lithrydel.”

Kreekitaka shook his head at the thought of his being lost. "FighTAH!nig is one of HHHTHe few ways I can fighTAH! HHHTHis. If I missTAH!ep, if I hesiTAH!aTAH!, I know I am going TAH!oo freeze up and fyee, yike HHHTHaTAH! uyeer." He gestured to the pool. "Trus' me, if I have a war TAH!oo fying myseff inTAH!oo, Io DAH!oo iTAH!, so HHHTHaTAH! I can avoiDAH! HHHTHeir fayTAH!." With that out of the way, and with the state of his people revealed, Kree felt that he had informed Lionel of the new developments that were necessary. "I beyeev HHHTHis is everyHHHTHing I wisheDAH! TAH!oo show you. I have new ayiances, new resources, new probyems, however... iTAH! seems we have means TAH!oo assisTAH! each oHHHTHer. Pyease remain in cyose conTAH!acTAH! wiHHHTH me, an'--" Here he paused, lifting his head a little and looking around, then lowering his voice as best he could. "If you can keep my conDAH!ition beTAH!ween us, Io be very, very graTAH!fo. I DAH!oo noTAH! wish my weakness TAH!oo become pubyic knowyedge."

Lionel glances at his left hand ponderously. It seems a shake is the best way to cement the trust between the two men, but how does one shake hands with an uyeer? One cannot; it’s a simple, practical truth. Lionel has oftentimes been admonished for using what many would consider the wrong hand for this action, yet in this case it really wouldn’t matter which hand he used. Undaunted, he balls his left hand into a loose fist and reaches out calmly to bump it against Kreekitaka’s right paddle accordingly. And so it is, then, that a gentle tap will be their confirmation. “I won’t breathe a word of it, pal.”