[Carrie] Chapter 2: Into the New World

[Erynn]

While her host was tearing through the feast laid out before them, Carrie pointedly stuck to the least rich fare that she could find. The bread seemed to sit well, but she doubted much else would. The wine, however, was doing wonders for Carrie's stress levels. As she tried to relax though, what she was hearing from Synithise was leaving her more and more irritated. A people suddenly transported to a new world, separated from most of their leadership, and apparently blamed for another nation's losses. The mention of people being sold into slavery particularly got Carrie's attention and roused her ire. However, Carrie's anger was tempered by the fact that she was simultaneously making an assessment of the information she was being given, and just how feasible the request that had been made of her was. She had reached a conclusion on one point though, voicing her decision aloud.

"If your neighbors don't know I'm here, then we had best keep it that way.", Carrie agrees, then cautions Synithise concerning her plea for aid, "I'd certainly be willing to aid you in putting an end to outside forces running roughshod over your people, but let's be clear on one point; I'm not invincible. I can't single-handedly overthrow an entire occupying force. I'll aid, advise, and train your people in any way that I can, but taking back control of your country is ultimately your peoples' battle to fight. Your freedom isn't something that another person can simply give you. If you're not prepared to fight for it yourselves, the next tyrant that comes along won't have much trouble robbing you of it again. After all, even if I were some kind of invincible champion I'd still only be able to protect you for the span of a single lifetime."

Carrie paused for a few long moments to let the idea she sought to convey sink in, then continues, "As for the demon countries attacking the civilized world,........for all I know they might have as valid a reason to fight as your people. Have any of your people tried reaching out to them diplomatically? For that matter, are there any neighboring nations or people who haven't acted in a hostile manner toward Darmona and its citizens? If there's any chance of your people reclaiming their land and liberty, I'm going to need to know exactly what the political situation looks like in this area of the world. If there are any friends to be made, it would be in our best interests to forge those alliances, whether economically or militarily. Of course, any political maneuvers would need to be made by a central governing authority of some kind. With your queen absent, that presents our primary disadvantage. Your people need leadership, and they need it soon. What do Darmona's laws have to say concerning the event of a monarch being unable to rule?"

Before a response can be started, Carrie takes the opportunity to address something she hadn't felt important to her, but realized might be very much so to her host. "By the way, you need not apologize for bringing me here.", Carrie reassures Synithise, "I wound up departing from my world for reasons completely unrelated to being summoned. I'm fairly certain that your summoning ritual had an effect only on which world I wound up in after departing mine. There's really no need whatsoever for formality toward me either. Just Carrie is fine."

Carrie holds out her hand to the prostrate priestess before her, standing now, wordlessly bidding her to rise. She also takes a moment to make another important point as Synithise no doubt rises to meet her gaze once more, "Just......don't write off all humans in this world quite yet, okay? Your people have suffered a great deal to be sure, but I'm walking, living proof that not all harbor such prejudice. Take great care that you and your people don't become for others the very thing which you seek to combat."

By the final sentence, Carrie's voice had become quite soft, filled with concern and an understanding that could only come from having seen the ugly face of prejudice and hate first hand.

[Throndir]

"Thank you... I know you're a human, but the hero was always an existence that stood for justice. According to our texts of course. And I know you aren't invincible... But the blessing of the goddess should have granted you abilities too. Let's see... Try saying 'Status'?"

"And that reminds me... Is that... black thing your holding part of your goddess blessing?" She asked as she pointed towards your M4.

"I know there are stories of heroes being summoned with items too. Each hero have some basic blessings that are shared among them, but they generally have a few that are unique to them... What are yours? If I can ask..."

"My people personally have never made dealings with the demons that the humans of this world are fighting... But I do know that the demons make use of what humans call 'monsterkin'. Though... Those tribes that the demons influence swear fealty to their own demonic lords, and they are generally more savage... They are reminiscent of us in the times before our own royal family, and before our country of Darmona was founded hundreds of years ago."

"But for the humans nations... Let's see! Actually! Wait here! We have a map!" She turned towards one of the guards and got her attention, btu the guard already knew what she wanted as the two priestesses at the door were listening to the conversation. One of them disappeared, and shortly after, came back with a scroll in her hands. She passed it to Synithise, who, of course, had to momentarily stop eating in order to receive it.

Link to map. Autoupdates to the latest whenever I make changes. Lets the Lamia Priestess tunnels be exact center of Darmona kingdom. I'll update that next time I can.

"We have the bad bad Felencorp United Alliance. They have the strongest military in this world... And have been fighting the demons the longest. Their war has been one that has been going on over a hundred years as they tell us. Then to our west is the Kingdom of Bürsteig. They have recently appeared in this world... Before they were there, the Felencorp United Alliance was a single... blob... around us. But that human kingdom appeared a year ago, and from what I know, the Felencorp United Alliance are trying to get reparations from them too, in much the same way as us. Anyways! When they appeared, they split the Alliance into a northern and southern section. Then we have the Baolong Dynasty to our east. They've been here for much longer than us. At least a decade or two. Their slavers are much worse... Most of the tribes that live on the outskirts have already either been raided, conscripted by the Felencorp United Alliance, have gone into hiding, like us, or are trying to avoid attention in some of our larger cities. All of these human lands around us send forth slavers though... And each time we try to complain to the Alliance that governs our lands, they don't listen."

She moved the map over to you, for you to look at, as she began to dig back into her food.

"We... Have no leader. According to Darmona law, it's the royal family that has succession rights. The entire royal city is gone though, along with many of the cities near it. If we're going by the most authority... That might... actually that's probably you. Which... you being the hero, I should call you by your title, and you know, show proper manners, and noble etiquette, and things like that." She said as she continued to messily eat the food, and had even started licking her fingers.

"I haven't tried much of the fruits or these things called salads, but all of these meats are really good!"

[Erynn]

As Synithise responds to Carrie's cautionary statement, she makes a mental note to try saying status at an opportune moment. In the immediate moment, however, she responds to her host's question concerning the M-4.

"No. This has nothing to do with any blessings." Carrie explains with a suddenly somber demeanor, noting that firearms are clearly foreign to her host, "Some would even go so far as to call it a curse, but if it is it's a necessary one. This object is a weapon of war. It fires lead projectiles over long distances at high speeds and can fire many such projectiles very rapidly. It also makes an exceptionally loud noise when fired. The proliferation of weapons like these made the wars fought where I came from dramatically more deadly. It's designed for the sole purpose of causing the death of whatever living thing it's fired at. In case you haven't already guessed, I served as a soldier before I came here."

Carrie took a moment simply to banish recent memories from her mind before continuing to answer Synithise, this time concerning what blessings she had been given.

"As for what blessings I've received........ I did notice several notifications appear within my field of vision.", Carrie explains, then runs down the list, saving one particular item for last, suspecting it might annoy her with something else in her field of vision, "Summoned Hero, Quick Learner, Mana sensitivity, Translate All, Magic Reflect, Magicless, Program, Programmer, apparently twenty six unspent points of some type, and.........."

Carrie utters the last one with a voice that conveys an expectant anticipation of something.

"Personal Status."

(For the moment Carrie will ignore any field of vision obstruction as best she can and simply continue the conversation)

Carrie then takes a look at the map, taking careful note of all the features and nearby nations. What she finds doesn't leave her pleased. Surrounded by nations that consistently enslave their people, and their people press-ganged by two halves of a nation to the north and south, the strategic situation was a worst-case scenario. Though perhaps there might be an unlikely ally to their west. If they were being pressured to make 'reparations' by Felencorp as well, they might be willing to look for aid in unusual places. The Baolong Dynasty was a wild card in the mix. If they too had suddenly appeared within territory occupied by the Felencorp Alliance, things would likely have gone very differently, in Carrie's estimation. The similarity in land area alone spoke to much greater access to resources than either Darmona or Bursteig, not to mention that the Northeastern Felencorp Alliance would have been separated from the rest when they arrived. The Baolong Dynasty was likely a neighbor that the Felencorp Alliance lived with because they had to rather than as a result of any sort of goodwill. Bursteig though was an interesting case to Carrie. Despite its smaller size, the Felencorp Alliance hadn't managed to simply run roughshod over them like they apparently had Darmona. Clearly, Bursteig was being viewed by Felencorp as a legitimate obstacle that they didn't wish to challenge militarily. The key word being obstacle rather than rival. If they were seeking 'reparations' from them, they clearly had designs to take power much like they had in Darmona. It was then that Carrie came to a sudden realization. Control over Darmona gave the Felencorp's northern and southern territories a direct link between each other. With this new information, Carrie instantly knew that they would not sit idly and let Darmona go. The road from the northern territory to the southern would no doubt be vital to their efforts against the demons. Strategically speaking, Darmona was a giant problem for them.

Carrie then addressed the idea that she had the most authority out of anyone in Darmona.

"Yes, well, if these Felencorp bastards hear that I exist it'd bring them right down on our heads, wouldn't it? And calling me by that title makes it all the more likely that somebody might realize what happened here and inform them, whether they intend to or not.", Carrie reminds Synithise, "Besides, I'm a soldier. I know how to lead people in battle, and how to gather intelligence on an enemy in the field, but I don't have the first clue about managing a nation. We need someone who all of your people will accept, and can inspire your people to follow them wherever they might lead. If you're telling me that I'm the only option, on the other hand, that'll be a whole different can of worms. It becomes very difficult to lead people without being present and visible. An obvious predicament if we don't want Felencorp to come calling. On the topic of Felencorp,...... our position may actually be a real pain in their ass. Looking at the map, it seems like their territories were split by both the Baolong Dynasty and Bursteig which I can only surmise would make relations between those two powers and Felencorp rather tense. If, as I suspect, they're unable to move troops or supplies for their war effort through either of those nations, that would leave Darmona as their only option. If so, there would be regular large scale troop movements and supply convoys through this country. Can you confirm for me whether or not this is the case?"

It wasn't long after asking that last question that Carrie's mental focus finally snapped. Whether it was reduced inhibitions brought on by the wine, or simply the accumulated stress of the day's events, the constant offers of red meats and her host's tearing consumption thereof had finally gotten under the traumatized marine's skin. As Synithise tore into yet another chunk of whatever steak she had, Carrie reflexively reached out to take hold of the other woman's wrist with a trembling hand.

"Could you,.......please, just,........stop.", Carrie manages to choke out, her voice wavering, while attempting to keep down a rising bile, continuing once she was sure her stomach had somewhat settled again, "Look,..... I'm going to put this bluntly. Before I came here, I was on a battlefield fighting against towering purple creatures with blades for legs that decapitated my friends, eviscerated my superiors, and sliced the recruits I had been training to ribbons. I've seen more dead bodies than I can count with faces I can put a name to, and been covered in more blood and entrails than a fucking butcher, so forgive me if watching you tear into bleeding red meat is just a little bit more than I can take right now!"

Carrie's mind then produced an image of a slashed marine with her own face staring blankly back at her. Carrie's body suddenly tenses, and she speaks once more with an entirely changed tone of voice, no longer hysterical but very intensely matter of fact instead.

"I'm going to be sick."

[Throndir]

Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - Dining Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

The moment you finished saying Personal Status, a translucent green window appeared. It however in the air, and you suspected that it was visibly only to you.

Carrie Cook
Magicless
Level 26

Condition: Uninjured, Refreshed

HP: 55/55
MP: 45/45
STR: 21 +
DEX: 21 +
CON: 23+
INT: 21 +
WIS: 11 +
CHA: 13 +
MAG: 18 +

Blessings: Quick Learner, Mana Sensitivity, Translate All, Personal Status, Magic Reflect, Program

You have 5 unspent ability points.

Synithise stiffened up.

"I'm so sorry!" Synithise said dropping the food she was eating as she hurriedly went over to a napkin and bowl of water to clean her hands. Right after that, she immediately went down to her knees, or what you imagined could be her knees if she were human, and bowed her head, or rather, begged for forgiveness. At the same time, realizing their matriarch was asking forgiveness, the two other guardswomen at the door also bowed their heads low.

"It will never happen again hero Carrie! Err... Carrie! I will quit eating meat and eat... salads! And breads... and water..." She seemed to grimaced, but she shook herself out of it quickly. While still on the ground, she continued to speak.

"I thought your clothing was weird... But heroes from other worlds are said to wear different and strange clothes, so I didn't think you were some sort of soldier. I'm sorry. The matriarch of the Lamia Priestesses beg for your forgiveness hero."

"Maybe... we can take some of the wine and bread and go to a proper room? I was planning to show you where you were going to spend the night. I can talk to you about some of those blessings you mentioned too. Oh, we should bring the salads too. And if we get thirsty, the water and juice? Umm... Oh about those pies? They're fruits... One is chicken... Oh! How about the fruits too?" She stopped herself from continuing as she realized what that she wasn't really being a proper host.

"... Okay... how about just the wine and some bread to go?"


Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - On the way to Carrie's Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

Synithise eventually lead the way to your room. While heading there, she began to answer more of your questions, along with more details of how their country now operates. The two guardswomen from before continued to follow behind.

"There are many caravans and troops that move between the northern and southern halves of their country. Our people had been ordered to create a large highway stretching from the north end to our southern end. It's along this road that the majority of the traffic goes through."

"Apart from you... There are the tribe leaders of each tribe remaining here. There are many... Even among the race of Lamia, I am only matriarch of this clan, the Lamia Priestesses, but I know there are other Lamia tribes too, headed by their own matriarch. Likewise there are the other races. The harpy tribes, the various beastmen tribes, the spiderfolk tribes, the goblin tribes, the mermaid tribes, the lizardfolk tribes, the centaur tribes... Those make the largest groups. But there's other individuals from our country that made it here with us, though, their homes didn't make it with them. Usually they're ones who decide to move to the cities, or work as adventurers. Nightwalkers, members from the dullahan tribes..."

[Erynn]

Carrie doesn't hear a word from Synithise, instead reaching for the nearest bowl, and quickly dumping its contents before she begins violently retching into it. This continues for roughly the next ten minute with a pattern beginning to emerge where every time Synithise mentions food, Carrie resumes the process of dry-heaving for lack of anything remaining in her stomach to come back up. Eventually, when Synithise stops mentioning things to eat, Carrie's fit of nausea starts to subside. Finally setting the bowl and its new contents down, Carrie takes a moment to address Synithise, who was clearly prostrate once again, her voice now somewhat distant, audibly fatigued, and continuing to waver, though to a lesser extent than before.

"It's not your fault.", Carrie explains simply admitting, "Normally, how others eat doesn't bother me, but seeing so many people all cut up like carcasses in a butcher's shop got to me. Today just isn't my day, it seems. Let's forget about the idea of feasting for now and just talk somewhere else. I need a change of scenery."



Carrie sluggishly follows behind Synithise, once more able to focus on what she's saying and glad to be away from the feasting hall. Despite her exhausted and mentally spent condition, the mention of a large highway used by many caravans and troops captures Carrie's attention in a way that only a soldier specializing in reconnaissance can understand. What Synithise had just told Carrie, combined with the information she had gleaned from the map, generated what was referred to as Grade A Human Intelligence. Confirming her suspicion told Carrie that relations were indeed sour between Felencorp and its two larger neighbors, as well as made clear to her just why Darmona was being so harshly treated.

"Well, what do you know?", Carrie comments, "Felencorp is actually afraid of Darmona's people. They're not just taking advantage of a fractured society, they're trying to rule through fear so that nobody gets the bright idea to grab them by the short 'n curlies!"

Carrie found the situation quite comical indeed. Despite the fact that the Felencorp United Alliance was seemingly the strongest military power, Darmona, if it managed to actually unite and organize, could clearly create a strategic catastrophe for their adversary.

Carrie listens intently as Synithise lists off the different races that comprise the people of Darmona. She recognizes more of the races by name than she had expected to, in particular the mention of Dullahan conjuring a terrifying image she was all too familiar with from legends originating from her own Irish heritage and culture. There was one type of people Synithise had named that Carrie couldn't quite determine the nature of though.

"Oddly, I recognize most of these races from legends and tall tales where I came from.", Carrie explains, then inquires further about the ones she's not so sure about, "I'm not sure which legends the Nightwalkers you're referring to come from, nor am I all that familiar with the idea of Beastmen. Could you provide more information concerning those two?"

Carrie had a nagging feeling that Nightwalkers were exactly what she thought they were. As various images of old school Nosferatu began to fill her mind, she found herself irritated at having to banish a certain sparkly variant from her mind and replace it with something more appropriate to the legends.

[Throndir]

Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - Dining Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

"Then... Let's head to your future room. And we can talk there!" Synithise suggested as she smiled. Soon enough she started to lead the way.


Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - On the way to Carrie's Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

"Nightwalkers... It is a broad category actually. The dullahan tribes are similar... But nightwalkers are anything that are ghoulish. The majority of nightwalkers appear only at night, due to the daytime sun being too painful for their eyes or body. But generally, when we say nightwalker it can include monsters that are undead. Though, only with a level of intelligence that they don't... you know, eat everything in sight? Vampires are one such class of them too. Though, there are some that can appear in the sun... but we still call them as such."

"As for beastmen... they are different from the demihumans that are part of human societies. Like the nightwalkers, they are a broad category too. Anything that looks like an animal, but shares a level of intelligence for communication and willingness to abide by laws are accepted in the Darmona Kingdom. Imagine... If a giant wolf stood on its hind legs, with a large muscled body, and could speak? Those are the wolfmen, but there are other tribes in the category of beastmen too."


Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - Carrie's Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

The room was fairly wide and spacious. The bed too looked well-furnished, and it seemed like there were no expenses spared when it came to decorating the room and making it comfortable. Synithise made herself comfortable at one of the tables.

"Most heroes are given a few specific blessings. Quick Learner, Mana Sensitivity, Translate All, Personal Status, correct? Quick Learner allows you to learn faster. Much faster than normal... Mastering a whole new style of combat for example, could be as short as a week or two, whereas for others, that process might take months. Mana Sensitivity allows you to see mana. Usually it's invisible to us normal people. Translate All lets us communicate with each other, along with any other people you come across. Lastly Personal Status gives you an overview of who you are. Then you mentioned two others... Umm... Magic Reflect sounds pretty straight forward, but the other one was... Pog-ham?" Synithise said the word hesitantly, and you also noticed that the translation effect didn't trigger, as Synithise was attempting to pronounce the actual word.

[Erynn]

As Carrie Listened to Synithise describe the beastmen, she suddenly recalled a Greek myth she had read in high school, and gave voice to the obvious question, "Hang on a sec. Do you mean to tell me that your people have Minotaurs among their numbers?"

Carrie's expression had changed from curiosity to outright shock. If the kingdom of Darmona had minotaurs that matched the legend, just how the Felencorp United Alliance had managed to actually subjugate Darmona became a more and more pertinent question. Minotaurs, for heaven's sake!

"Okay. It's pretty clear at this point that the strength of your people lies both in their diversity, and their unique capabilities. If I'm going to provide your people with sound advice, particularly where matters of war or state security are concerned, I'm going to need a complete list of just which races exist within these lands, how many there are of each, and a full accounting of their capabilities relative to the average human. Before we can figure out any sort of strategy, we must first know our own capabilities."

Carrie's mind was still on vampires to some extent though. She knew the legends of the blood sucking undead relatively well given their prevalence in pop-culture. At least........ they were until the thought of a more dangerous type of undead suddenly appeared front and center in her mind.

Carrie couldn't help but keep seeking confirmation of what various types of legendary creatures might be present in Darmona.

"I forgot about Liches. They would qualify as Nightwalkers too, wouldn't they? If there's even one lich in these lands that has been around for any real length of time, we'd be well served to touch base with them sooner rather than later."



As Carrie took a seat on the bed, listening to Synithise speak, she realized that much of what she had initially surmised concerning the notifications that had appeared when she arrived in this world was true. Program and Programmer were still a wild card though. Carrie also noted that the word program wasn't translated into her host's tongue. Carrie gathered that the word simply didn't exist in that language, and was therefore impossible to translate. Since saying status had opened a window like Carrie suspected it would, she decided to put the knowledge to use.

"Status.", she states purposefully, immediately followed by, "Program."

[Throndir]

Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - On the way to Carrie's Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

Synithise nodded.

"Yes, there are minotaurs too." Synithise suggested as she smiled. Soon enough she started to lead the way. "For exact numbers... I'm not sure how accurate any of the city records have. At the very least, since our country has been sent into disarray, record keeping, especially without a government, is something that had become a lower priority... I would imagine each of the tribe leaders would know their numbers though. And perhaps someone in the cities might have that information. At the very least... functions of the government have all but ceased since, though, I am sure there are some in the cities who are still attempting to manage it. But likely, they have been replaced by human counterparts."

"I can tell you about us though... There are 200 Lamia Priestesses in these tunnels, around 50 of them keep their mates with them too, so about 250 altogether."

Synithise started going through every race. The number of different races was staggering. It seemed like they welcomed any kind of monster who could both follow laws, and be able to effectively communicate with the rest of the society.

In terms of population count, she lists these as probably the largest concentration, but is guessing, and cannot give a good exact estimate. She doesn't know the total population count.

Most Population
Harpy
Goblins
Lizardfolk
Lamia
Wolfmen

Medium Population
Lionfolk
Boarfolk
Birdfolk
Batfolk
Mermaid
Naga
Centaur
Orcs

Low Population
Human (actual original citizens of Darmona)
Sharkfolk
Other beastmen tribes (dragonnewt, kitsune, etc)

Very Low Population
Vampires (nightwalker)
Dullahan (nightwalker)
Other nightwalker tribes (intelligent zombies, etc)
Other (slime people, centipedefolk, etc)

"Many of us have been culled though... Especially the more 'abhorrent' races to the humans. primarily the undead ones... Unfortunately even the Guild of Darmona is strictly run by the Felencorp, with quest postings of killing undead, most of them are in hiding."

"There were well-known liches back in our original country. The advisor to the crown was one himself... I am unsure if there are any still around in our little corner. Usually the nightwalker citizens aren't looked upon too favorably even among the others, but there generally isn't many of them. The Dullahan, and the Vampires make up the most."


Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - On the way to Carrie's Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

When you spoke the Status keyword, the familiar screen reappeared.

Carrie Cook
Magicless
Level 26

Condition: Uninjured, Refreshed

HP: 55/55
MP: 45/45
STR: 21 +
DEX: 21 +
CON: 23+
INT: 21 +
WIS: 11 +
CHA: 13 +
MAG: 18 +

Blessings: Quick Learner, Mana Sensitivity, Translate All, Personal Status, Magic Reflect, Program

You have 5 unspent ability points.

Next you spoke Program, and you were greeting with another notification.

No target selected.

[Erynn]

As Carrie realizes that she had likely managed to select whatever program was for activation, and incorrectly at that, she takes a moment to explain to Synithise what it meant relative to her own experience.

"Program, where I come from, refers to a set of complex instructions given to a device that we use for the ease and convenience with which it allows us to handle and manipulate information.", Carrie explains, "However, I never learned how to program such devices and given how you appear completely unfamiliar with the word I suspect they don't even exist here, to begin with. That blessing is going to require some effort to figure out with any degree of certainty."

Carrie then opts to address the lack of information concerning Darmona's inhabitants, and once more goes back to the topic of leadership.

"If the individual leaders will be more able to inform us, then our definitive next step will be to gather those leaders to discuss the state of Darmona as a whole, as well as the selection of a new leader for all of Darmona's people.", Carrie informs Synithise with a sigh, "Given the number of different tribes, making this happen is most likely going to be a logistical nightmare. We're also going to need to decide who can be trusted with the knowledge that a hero has been summoned, and whether or not that information will be imparted to the gathered leaders."

Carrie then comes up with an idea, well in line with a plan she had to conceal from any of this world's inhabitants that she was a summoned hero at all. The primary indicator that she was a hero, it seemed, would be the translate all function. As convenient as it was, the appearance of a bad dub while conversing with someone would give away the presence of communication magic instantly. Accordingly, Carrie puts her most short term plan of action into motion.

"As useful as this translate all ability is, anyone conversing with me will realize something's off nearly immediately.", She tells Synithise, "If I'm to have any hope of moving about without Felencorp's people realizing I'm out of the ordinary, I need to learn their language, or at the very least a common trade language. I'd also like to learn whatever common language the many tribes that inhabit this land use to communicate with each other. I'm going to try something. Wait a tic."

Carrie decides to try something that seems intuitive in an attempt to interact with the translate all blessing.

"Translate all, off. Do you still understand me?"

[Throndir]

Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - Carrie's Room
Date: Day 1 - Evening

Every time you mentioned 'Program' out-loud, notifications appeared. However, since you were talking and focusing on Synithise, the notification was different this time around.

Invalid target. Target must be inanimate.

"A gathering of all leaders... That honestly hasn't happened since we were first brought into this world. After that, dealing with the demands from the Felencorp, along with slavery of our citizens, it had been hard to simply rally the tribe leaders. There are a few tribes that respect and revere the Lamia Priestess tribe, for our role... As for whether or not the hero will be summoned, so far, only my tribe knows of this. There are other heroes too... I know the Felencorp have a hero or two that they send out where they're needed... The Kingdom of Bürsteig had declared they would be initiating their summoning ritual too a few months back. Though, I haven't heard anything more recent."

The moment you thought about turning off the Translate Languages blessing, and spoke, Synithise's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She proceeded to reply back to you, which confirmed your idea.

"Windras hamdok? Zu'u slaak't mindoraan hi. Drey hi tzux oizan faal trazaak? Zu'u slaak't mindok tol sizaan polaas!"

[Erynn]

"Translate all, on.", Carrie says, looking rather amazed by the degree to which the blessing had facilitated communication, then explains herself to Synithise, "While the blessing is active, I don't actually hear the words that make up your language. If I intend to learn to speak it, I need to be able to hear how to pronounce it. I've also inadvertently learned something about the less obvious blessing we've been discussing. Apparently, it applies only to inanimate objects. I'm likely to need to exercise caution where the use of the blessing's name is concerned, otherwise, it might affect an object I don't intend it to."

Carrie then addresses the news that Bursteig was in the process of summoning or had already summoned a hero, as well as the news that the Felencorp United Alliance had at least one of their own if not more.

"The Felencorp Alliances having heroes of their own complicates matters. We should assume until proven otherwise that their heroes are just as capable as I am, but we shouldn't forget that those heroes come from a different world. They may not share the ideals of their summoners, though that is an assumption that we shouldn't make. As for Bursteig....... if they're not on great terms with the Felencorp Alliances I can't imagine the Felencorp leadership being happy about the summoning of a hero by a country they're looking to annex. For that to happen, one of two things must be true. Either the Felencorp Alliances are getting something out of the situation, or else Bursteig's military is threatening enough that the Felencorp leadership doesn't dare even provoke them. They might win eventually given they have the strongest military, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a catastrophic event given they're already at war with the demons in the south. It's entirely possible that both factors may be in play..... Dare I say it.....? I think the Felencorp Alliances might be in far more desperate a position than they at first appear. Ironically, if they can be made to listen, their hand at the negotiating table would be quite weak."

Carrie's curiosity then, despite mental exhaustion and emotional drain, takes hold of her. She looks at the door to the room and says, "Program."

[Throndir]

"Oh fascinating. You can turn off the translation blessing? That's not something we have recorded... As for Bürsteig, it wouldn't surprise me if the Felencorp humans demanded any hero summonings be turned over to them. Believe me... If they knew that we could summon you, they would have forced us to, then simply take you to the front lines after training you up, and fight the demon lords."

"If they ever find out that we summoned a hero, they will demand us to hand you over to them as well."





When you focused on the door, and spoke the keyword 'Program'. You were granted a new display.

Object: Door

If (『CONDITION』)
{
    『STATEMENT』
}

『SAVE PROGRAM』『ADD TO SAVED CONDITIONS』

The moment you thought about the '『CONDITION』', all of a sudden your mind was filled with various items. Conditions such as if the door was opened, if the door was closed, if the door was touched, if the door is destroyed, if any other particular condition happens, among many, many others as well.

When you glanced at the 『STATEMENT』, the same thing happened. Statements could be it blowing up, opening itself, closing itself, locking, unlocking, among many other options.

Feel free to get creative.

[Erynn]

"It seems heroes are popular people.", Carrie cracks wise, continuing, "These Felencorp people piss me off the more I hear about them. They seem to enjoy governing by force. Something that would be a colossal mistake if they try it with me."

As Carrie sees the new menu and the relevant choices open up before her, she utters two words laden with astonishment and excitement.

"Oh shit."

A half elated, half murderous grin slowly creeps across her face as she realizes exactly what the Program blessing does.

"This is exactly my kind of blessing."

Carrie then makes a rather basic set of choices for the door. "Condition: The number 1776 is spoken aloud in any language, Statement: Unlock and Open. Save Program."

Carrie then turns to Synithise once more, explaining, "Apparently, I can give a set of instructions to any inanimate object I come across."

Carrie pauses momentarily.

"Let's keep this ability between us for the moment.", Carrie requests, "This ability is incredibly useful, but if it becomes widely known who employs it, it turns into a sort of signature whenever it's used."

Carrie is silent for several long moments before speaking again.

"Yeah, I'm totally drained. Anyway, Tomorrow I'd like to begin learning the two languages I mentioned earlier, and we should get the ball rolling on a meeting of the various leaders to discuss unifying this land and its people under one banner. Before I rack out for the evening though, Is there a place where I could freshen up a bit?"

[Throndir]

When you thought about including two Statements, one for both Unlock, and the other for Open, you received an error.

Ability not yet unlocked.

However, you worked around the issue by instead using the ability twice with the exact same condition.

"Instructions to any object?" Synithise thought for a moment. "... like an ancient artifact? Magical things?"

Synithise agreed with you.

"Any of a hero's powers, apart from their blessings they all share, are treated as secrets. Fear not about us and the Lamia Priestesses! We know that fact very well. If there was a sudden influx of magical things... Well, that would draw suspicion too."

"I can teach you then... Our country has many languages, though, the language I use is considered the common tongue for my people. As for the Felencorp... They share the same language used by the Antwarch Dragon Knight Kingdom. All of the other countries on this world had been summoned have their own languages though. For me, personally, apart from the languages I know of my people, I am proficient in the Felencorp's language, and can teach you!"

"Freshen up? Yes! The next best thing from eating is bathing!" Synithise happily said. "Come follow me!"

[include u=2]Carrie MP Used: 2[/include]

[Erynn]

"It might be possible.", Carrie answered while following Synithise, "I intend to test the limitations of this blessing thoroughly when I have some free time tomorrow. Knowing its maximum range would be extremely useful, for example."

Upon arriving at their destination, Carrie eagerly removes her pack and rests her rifle and helmet against it before unfastening the velcro closures at the sides of her body armor and doffing that as well. She then goes about locating towels and bathrobes. Carrie goes about this task in silence, not really focusing anymore. Mentally, she seeks a calm 'center', having been completely burned out by the day's events. If Synithise happens to meet her gaze, a 'thousand-yard stare' would be found settling into Carrie's eyes.

Once she had found what she was looking for, Carrie would simply take a seat and wait for the bath to be ready. Still and silent, unless Synithise decided to prompt a response.