The Temple of Inari

Locales found within the main city centers; primarily Inside, Riverside, and Skyside.
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Fenric
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Re: The Temple of Inari

Post by Fenric »

[Stonemason's Guild]

The dwarf gives Steven a puzzled look, and Caroline quickly explains

Not one of our dragons, good sir.

The dwarf nods

Aye, clearly so: I do be forgettin sometime how different this place be. So ye be looking fer excavation and buildin' a home fer ye two? Tha's a decent enough job, no trouble at all. And where be ye thinkin' of locatin' yer home, then?

---

[Cafeteria]

Delphie chuckles

I can take you over to the truck docks, yes. It's over by the Intersection base in the northeast corner of the facility, and there should be a delivery coming along soon. Let's go.

Delphie takes her tray to the dirty-tray table and throws her trash away.

Are you ready?

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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Cafeteria]

"Yeah, let's go," comes Khannie's pretty matter of fact reply.

She...

Isn't really sure what to think of all this, though.

Sure she's eaten plenty of stuff that's already dead before but this is somehow different. Can she really eat something ALIVE? Is that something she'll be able to bring herself to do regularly? That twisty feeling of emptiness and hunger definitely suggests that yes, she will totally be able to do that.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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Stonemason's Guild

Steven hasn't really considered that he's less a "dragon" and more "celestial entity in dragon form."
Which might have delayed Tamamo's plans to make him a Messenger after his death by a few millennia.
"I believe the plan was to coordinate about that. We like it cold with a body of water nearby if possible, but we don't know the stone around here and the places south very well. It didn't make sense to pick a spot only to be told that it's a poor place for excavation."
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Re: The Temple of Inari

Post by Fenric »

[Stonemason's Guild]

The dwarf's face positively lights up

Yer from Inside! Ah, now it be makin' sense! An ye came up here ta choose us over tem elf-heads as not be deservin tha name o' dwarf, hence tha Lord grantin' ye his favor. Surely now we will get ye tha best dragon palace yer heart could wish fer!

he gestures to one of the attendants, who soon returns with a map of the area around Inside.

Hem hem hem... yer nearest mountains be nearer tha desert than anyplace cool or watery. South and east, near ta Clawgrave, perhaps... but there be nae temple of yourn there... Although... dead south here be a place in the great wood, near ta where the great shadow trees do yet grow, with lake enou perhap.

Caroline blinks

I thought that had been cut down and built over long ago! What's left of it is Midnight Park...

The dwarf laughs

Aye! One such was felled in years past and made into such a refuge. But that were not tha only such in tha world! Thisn' be a great deal further out from tha' city. But no matter that: we can set ye a circle without a doubt, then get ye a wizardly sort to make ye yet a portal twixt there and yer temple, and then the distance be no matter.

Caroline looks at Steven thoughtfully

---

[Walking]

Delphie leads Khannie north, past the guest hostel then the Priest's quarters and finally the unsettling squat form of the Summoning Chamber, to a small road next to the main north wall of the temple complex. There, she turns right and heads along. In short order, the fields where the Fenethi busily grow lentils, chilis, and melons can be seen to the right. But the little folk with big ears are nowhere to be seen right now, and Delphie continues along.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Walking]

Well that makes sense though, doesn't it?

Why would farmers be out tending their crops when it's dark?

Khannie is definitely feeling a little nervous. She's not sure what would be better. If she tries this 'eating life' thing and nothing happens, resulting in her STILL not knowing what she's hungry for-
-or it actually working and doing...

Well.

She's got no idea.

Making a zombie chicken?

Or something?
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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Stonemason's Guild

Okay Steven is pretty sure that the dwarf just placed his accent otherwise he's not sure how he gathered where they're from.
Well, unless the implication of him being an odd dragon just made it obvious.
"What sort of place is the Wood? I imagine the shadow trees would require very specific conditions."
Steven isn't exactly looking for opulent real estate but he does want to make sure it will be pleasant for him and safe for the workers.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Stonemasons Guild]

Accent, and that's the only place "South" with Vulpans and a Temple of Inari... moving on

The dwarf shrugs

They be needin' a remote place were tha light doesn't reach. Mountain-shadow and heavy old-growth o' more usual trees be doin' the trick. As to tha place? Well: it be a deep, remote, uninhabited, enchanted wood. Yer neighbors be woodland beasts an' wood-dryads an' shadowfolk an' such. There be nae road fer thrice an hundred leagues, so nae worry about human outlaws or any such. Sure but ye can handle a bit o' wildlife?

Clearly, the dwarf doesn't think that any particular danger. Of course, unlike some other dwarves of note, these have clerics and a god that answers them... we'll just say uncovering a demon in the mines would be a very different (and vastly shorter) event for them than in a certain book series.

(( Seriously, though... a leftover Balrog wasn't enough to get Aule to help the most important dwarven city? Sheesh... ))

----

[Walking]

Up ahead and to the right is the Intersection base with it's unsettling population of shadowy werefoxes, white straight ahead is the sort of squat warehouse building that occupies so much of the suburbs in our world. The whine of large diesel engines can be clearly heard, along with the loud "brappp!" of engine brakes. Clearly, deliveries are indeed currently being processed.

I think we're just in time if not a tiny bit early. If the trucks are still getting into position, they won't have unloaded yet. At least... not completely! Let's hurry!

The Delphox picks up the pace, her robe and fur flowing rhythmically as she trots along.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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Stonemason's Guild

Steven scratches at his chin as he considers.
"Well that does sound awfully nice. Quiet, cool, wet, and unlikely to have pesky neighbors. Though if the palace were to have aboveground elements there may be conflict excavating a space in an old, enchanted wood. We may have to parley with the local dryads."

Something else occurs to him
"And ah, do you need to see me at my full size to get an idea of our space needs?"
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Running!]

Delphi gets the weird built in clothing, right? All of Khannie's attire is the regular old mundane sort. Having real clothing makes it easier to imagine being a real human.

Not just a pokemon running around and pretending.

Regardless!

Running really fast on her hind legs is tricky. If she needs to move at a walking pace that isn't very hard. But if she needs to go fast?

Khannie drops to all fours and breaks off in a sprint.

Hopefully the shadow foxes won't mind some extra foxes at the gathering this evening.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

Post by Fenric »

[Stonemason's Guild]

The dwarf shakes his head

Nae, we be findin' a spot o' bare stone fer tha surface work, don't be worryin' 'bout tha'. We may nae be afeared o' the woodfolk, but we dinna be startin' a full-on war by clearin' space in a place like tha!

Then he chuckles

Only if ye dinna ken yer own measurements. How tall ye be, an how wide?

---

[Chicken Run]

Ew, no. She is poofy, certainly, and has long streamy fur, but I prefer to treat most "official" pokemon illustration as exaggerated and almost characture rather than "realistic". Her robes are fabric, not part of her.

The pair running up to the docks gets the attention of a small clot of people standing nearby. A dark-furred four-tailed foxy person waves and calls out

Over here! But they haven't started unloading yet: you don't have to run.

He is ... pointier ... than the vulpans. More feral looking somehow. And perched atop one of his tails is a small sphere the size of a baseball that is glowing with purple flames.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Chicken Run]

That's a little reassuring.

Maybe.

One way or the other Khannie is feeling a little self conscious now that she was really booking it. She... mostly avoids going four-wheel-drive. So to speak. It looks doofy. And it doesn't quite feel right. Or, rather, it feels TOO right and that concerns Khannie.

So! Who's this guy? One of the nogotsune or whatever they're called? Like Keiko?

Khannie, in spite of her multitude of tails, has no glowing balls. On fire or otherwise.

"Oh, uh, thanks? Do we just stand around and wait or...?" Khannie asks a little awkwardly. She has no idea what she's doing. And she really really REALLY doesn't like it when she looks like she has no idea what she's doing.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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Stonemason's Guild

Steven's ears droop a bit in embarrassment since he doesn't know off the top of his head but the numbers come back to him eventually.
"Ah. About fifteen feet long, three across. Probably about twice your height if I'm standing up straight." As a serpentine dragon Steven's height varies based on how much he wants to stretch up.
Of course considering the size of dwarven chambers if they doubled that the palace would be as high as a cathedral. So it probably won't be proportional.
"Ah, and of course I've never asked before how long such an endeavor would take. I know it's very early to be asking that as we haven't decided on any details, but how long have your other projects taken?" He knows only of dwarven results, not dwarven schedules.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Stonemason's Guild]

The dwarf chuckles

Well now. We been 'ere nigh on a ten-year, and all o' this built since then. Fer basic structure or excavatin', matters naught, a good team o' three can do a room the size o' this very one we be sittin in each day. Decoratin' takes longer, of course, as do ought of enchantment beyond tha' wha' ta builders be doin' as part o' their work. Smaller rooms can go a wee bit quicker, larger ones a wee bit longer. If we be doin' both excavatin' and buildin', and the stone be ought of quality, it be faster than if we be needin ta be quarrying.

The conference room is on the order of twelve feet wide and eighteen feet long, with a somewhat preposterous and badly out of scale twenty-four foot high ceiling. It is ornately carved, though less fantastically than the lobby was.

Caroline gazes up

This is too tall... the carvings are nice, though. It would need some basic protective measures, I would think. Many of those are nicer as Enchantments than permanent spells.

----

[Chicken Run]

Nogitsune, literally "wild fox", are the less nice of the Japanese-flavored foxes. Maybe not as violent as some, but they're not harmless little things either, with stories of them draining the life from their victims being fairly common. Tamamo chose to re-use the name for her people because she felt it emphasized the difference between them and the far more docile Vulpans, but it's only a name for them...

He smiles

Hiya, Delphie. Hello, newcomer.

Delphie nods politely

Hello, Hiro: this is Khannie. Would you mind explaining the process here?

The boy nods

Well, they bring the chickens in live, because the complex goes through a LOT of chickens every day and that way they don't need so much refrigeration..

he grins

And frankly, we prefer to use most of the stuff that humans usually throw away. Anyway, we all line up and the emotion-eaters go first. They drain all they can and leave the birds pretty well catatonic. Then us life-eaters take care of the killing part... or most of it if your draining has side-effects like the shadow folks - stop short of killing them if you'll leave a zombie or wraith or something. Once we're done they go into the building for processing and we eat them later.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Chicken Run]

Huh.

That actually makes a whole lot of sense.

Wringing all the magical stuff or whatever out of the birds first and then keep the meat for eating. That way nothing is wasted!

And if the birds are emotionally drained they won't even feel bad about getting eaten. Even if they probably feel pretty freaked out NOW thanks to all the fox smell.

Khannie DOES still have a bit of a problem, though.

"What if I don't know what happens when I life drain something?" Khannie asks in her illusionary voice. "Should I just lay off before it dies just in case?"

She had read all the stuff she could find on her sorta pokemon but none of them really said what her ghostly supplement to regular food does to things. And that's assuming she's even hungry for life instead of some kind of emotion. This is all a big experiment.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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Stonemason's Guild

Steven blinks. This room, with three men in a day? That means they could make an entire building of this size in....days with an entire crew.
"Well, I do suppose that dragons of our type are more long than tall so the horizontal space is more important than vertical space. I would also suppose that how many levels the place should have depends entirely on the space in question. There's no harm in having multiple if we can, I suppose."
They could even have some rooms underwater if they planned it well enough.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Stonemason's Guild]

The dwarf nods

True enou'. Not too much point wi' detailed design afore we ken tha site proper. So, an expedition it be! We will take ye on retainer, pending negotiatin' tha final price. Wha' had ye in mind ta' be payin wi' ?

----

[Shipping and Receiving]

Delphie waves

I'll leave you with Hiro, then, Khannie. Feel free to come look me up if you need anything!

She turns to go and Hiro shrugs

Try one and see? Losing one chicken's not going to ruin the day or anything, and there's enough and more people here who can deal with a zombie or shadow or whatever sort of monster you accidentally make. It's just a chicken, after all - nothing special.[/colro]
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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Stonemason's Guild

"We left our payment at the door with your priest, where he gave us this." He gestures at the symbol of the dwarves' god.
"It was several large sacks of glacial heart-ice, assuming you would accept such a payment?"
It was show enough to earn a god's token. And given how pious the dwarves seem to be Steven would assume that's worth something here.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Foxes Approximately Near The Henhouse]

Chickens are no big deal.

Not even...

Zombie chicken!

Khannie hasn't ever really messed with chickens before so she'll take the fox' word for it. "Okay, I'll give it a shot."

And so?

She waits for the birds to get unloaded and the emotion eaters to take their fill before stepping forward and picking up one of the catatonic chickens.

It flops pathetically in her paws.

She's feeling kinda bad just looking at it, but that hunger lurches within her at the touch. She just needs to-

Khannie opens her mouth WIDE in that horrific ghostly sort of way before sinking her teeth into the chickens flesh. Her hair and tails go wild, ghostly black flames licking away from the chicken and into her. The zoroark's skin splits apart, revealing dozens of dead crimson eyes.

And the chicken?

It rots and blackens and stiffens until all that remains is a mummified, frostbitten corpse.

But no zombie!

Yay!
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Stonemason's Guild]

The dwarf blinks, looks at the tiny hammer again, swallows, then nods

Ye ken we na usually be startin' without seen' tha payment... but... well... it be nae wise ta argue wi' yer own creator, so aye... that'll do fer now, no doubt. Consider our services retained! We'll be needin' ta be checkin' after tha appraisal, tho _ i'll nae be guaranteein tha wha' ye left be enou fer tha whole job at this stage.

Caroline nods

Of course, that is perfectly reasonable. When can your people be ready?

The dwarf motions to one of the ever-present attendants and sends them scurrying off to find out the answer to her question.

---

[Shipping and Receiving]

Hiro blinks, holding a limp chicken carcass in his own paws.

Oh wow... that was impressive! But the remains aren't very ... useful ... anymore. I guess you might want to stop short of killing them if you can.

he shrugs

Or just let them know how many you'll need once you have it figured out so they can account for that - these are here to be eaten, after all.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

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[Shipping and Receiving]

Okay yeah wow that was an experience.

And while Khannie was draining the chicken she felt...

Warm inside? Like... stuff was moving around again. The coldness and the stillness went away for a little while. She can still feel it, sort of, that warmth inside her. Like the glow of a warm, glowing coal slowly fading.

"Uh, I dunno if I know HOW to stop short of killing them?" Khannie admits a bit sheepishly. "I'm still trying to figure this stuff out. Is it... NORMAL to feel like..."

She wrinkles up her nose, trying to figure out how to phrase this in a way that makes sense.

"Like, normally, I feel all cold and still inside. But when I was eating the chicken I felt sorta alive again? Is that a regular thing for people who eat... life?"

Honestly Khannie has absolutely no idea what to expect from any of this.
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Re: The Temple of Inari

Post by Keeper »

Stonemason's Guild

"By all means, if you wish to confer with the priest about our payment I don't mind."
Especially since they have to wait for the attendant anyway...
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